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Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Komen Mess- the Pink Stink

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Susan G Komen dropped its support of the Planned Parenthood because they have an internal policy that prohibits supporting groups under congressional investigation. Since Planned parenthood is under investigation the charity dropped its support. Then turned around based on the angry response from the Planned Parenthood crowd. Exaggerated claims of help PP being the "only place for women's health" began to make the rounds. Threats were abundant on Twitter and FB. Suddenly Komen anounced a reversal. They have succeded in angering both sides of the argument. Today heads began to role. I think that we should avoid the pink stink until they get their story straight.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 12:00 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Spiritual Gifts- Healing

We come to the gifts of healing in our study of the charisms of the Spirit. Once again, we remind ourselves that the context of these verses is the church gathered. Beginning in 11.2 the Apostle has been talking about propriety in worship as the church gathers. it is in this context, that he has mentioned the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. Paul sees these as equipment that the individual believers have distributed upon them by the Spirit so that they may minister one to another. In the same way that the other gifts are not the sole property of the one on whom they have been distributed, neither is the healing gift the express possession of one individual.

Interestingly enough, when we look at the verbiage we recognize the plural in both the word "gifts" and "healings". What is the significance of this? Some have  recognized that the gifts of healings refer to various healings of various diseases. The thought being that there is a variety of proficiencies in healing various diseases. But T. Holdcroft implores us to look deeper than that saying"... the Bible by no means restricts its presentation of God's provision for human healing to a limited scattering of gifted healers..." Truly, the gifts of healing may "shine forth" through many as the church gathers. God has given us direction in James 5.14,15 for the sick to call the elders of the church for prayer and anointing with oil. But any can used in healing, if they are open to the Holy Spirit's manifesting himself in such a way through them.

That these gifts are often attached to evangelists is of no surprise. Mark 16.17,18 reminds us that these signs shall accompany the proclamation of the Word. For we often see the celebration of healing and forgiveness in the same breath (Ps 103). We see these gifts in the lives of those apostles in the book of Acts. But these gifts of healing and other miraculous signs are not limited to those who are apostles as some have said. Philip, for instance (Acts 8.6) did many miracles in Samaria and Barnabus (Acts 14.3) had the word of grace confirmed by signs and wonders. Here in 1 Corinthians Paul is reminding them of the significance of the diversity of the Spirit's manifestations among them when they gather. We ought to be pricked to measure our gatherings against those of the Corinthian church, and to seek the gifts of healings and make room for them among us, realizing that we are given these gifts to compliment and equip the body of believers.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 9:33 AM 0 comments

Sunday, January 15, 2012

A wrong view of Marriage

I am responding to an article written by James Peron.
One of the more prevalent arguments waged against marriage equality is historically equivalent to creationism. Creationists ignore science and argue, based entirely on their reading of Bible mythology, that the world is 7,000 years old and that species don't evolve. For them, reality has to fit their theology, not the other way around.
Here, of course, James is demonstrating his ignorance of creationism. Not all of those who believe in that the earth has God as it's author believe that the earth is 7000 years old (actually none of them believe that! since Moses was likely writing in the 12th century BC!) and certainly many who actually look at the sciences of cosmology seen likely evidence in things like the cosmological constant and various other scientific evidences that point to the possibility of a creator. For the Christian truth (be it scientific or theological) is absolute and will always be consistent within itself.
One of our projects at the Moorfield Storey Institutehas been the fight for marriage equality. To do that, I've had to do something that opponents of equality fail to do: research. I've read a dozen or so decent histories of marriage, countless papers on the situation regarding the laws, and contemporary looks at what really does happen when marriage equality is realized.
OMG he can read! Seriously, is he honestly saying that people of faith are ignorant of the history of marriage?
In that study I realized that marriage and the origins of life are similar. There are two basic views. One assumes that marriage was created pretty much as it supposedly existed in 1950s America. There was a husband, who was a wage-earner, with a stay-at-home wife and 2.1 children. For good measure, there was a dog, a cat, and grandparents who provided babysitting when Mom and Dad had to attend a business dinner.
Of course, actual marriage in the 1950s wasn't even like that, but then marriage has never been like that. Faith-based history is different. Focus on the Family claims that "God created marriage as a loyal partnership between one man and one woman." The Protestant Reformed Churches of America, a Calvinist outfit, claims that "God created the family in paradise as the first institution He made." They are also quick to tell you that "woman is not man's equal (except in terms of their salvation)."
Here James pseudojournalism is clearly mistaken. Jesus  and Paul was an advocate of equality between the sexes. many of his followers were women, they advocated the empowerment of women into spiritual leadership, and assured their followers that "in Christ there is neither male nor female". Evangelicals today clearly recognize that there is equality, but we also recognize a distinction between the sexes. This is something that the liberal left has difficulty recognizing (except between the sheets).
The creationist view of marriage is that a divine being magically made marriage appear one day by creating a man and a woman and having them make a family (which always raises the question as to the sexual partners of the children of that first couple, especially as the Biblical account has Eve giving birth only to sons).
And the view of Peron and his ilk is that men and women magically appeared from some prebiotic soup mixture (that also magically appeared) and through millions of years of accidental mutations a man and a woman popped out of the soup and mysteriously knew what their penis and vagina were for! And thus the species was able to propogate!(though the thousands of ooppsies and tragically misformed left not a single fossil as evidence of their existence)
However, not even the Old Testament verifies what the creationists argue. It showed marriages to be anything but the Focus on the Family version of a loving couple and their loving children. The men of the Old Testament, including patriarchs of the Bible, often had multiple wives. Abraham supposedly had relationships with Sarah and Hagar. If the Book of 1st Kings is to be believed, Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines -- which really does sound like male bravado more than anything else.
OT is describing the fall from God's ideal as it records these things. In it's recording of these things it is not endorsing the actions. Jesus came to restore the ideal of marriage as a man and a wife for life in Matthew 5.32; 19.9 etc. If one can read the texts for themselves they can  see that Jesus is restoring a standard that is higher that the one being lived out. Surely even James Peron can read that... if he dares!
When you look at the real-world history of marriage, you don't see any evidence for this creationist view. What you see is that marriage evolved and has kept evolving. At different times, in different places, marriage filled different functions. The functions marriage filled determined the nature of the marriage at the time. Form follows function.
When land was the major means of production, marriage was intimately tied to the acquisition of land. Under Old Testament law, a man was obligated to marry his brother's widow, as it helped keep land in the family. Where land was a prime consideration, marriages were often arranged, and marrying close kin was common.
Clearly - James must have misread this. The purpose of the levirite law was to propogate the lineage of the deceased brother. In fact, Israel was not a land owning society. The Israelites were nomadic peoples at the time of that law being written. Sorry James!
In Imperial Rome, families that ruled the city were very concerned with the politics of marriage. Alliances were formed or dissolved through marriages and divorces. Meanwhile, the husband wasn't expected to necessarily love his wife, or desire her. No one was horrified if he stepped out on her with a mistress, or even a male lover, provided that rules meant to preserve the social hierarchy were followed -- at least in public.
While this is true, there were many that were horrified (even in Rome) at the dissolution of the family and wrote to warn that the fall of the family unit and marriage in particular would end in the collapse of the Roman empire.
Marriage, at other times, was primarily about household production. The natives of North America had male functions and female functions. Various tribes allowed same-sex relationships, provided that one of the partners took on the role assigned to females. In addition, they often ascribed mystical powers to this individual as a "two-spirit" being, encompassing the spirits of both genders.
The further one gets away from the divine understanding of marriage as a God inspired institution the more utilitarian and empty it becomes. Respect for others and honoring within the family unit and marriage itself is the cornerstone of the family.
For most of human history, marriage was not about love at all. The idea of marriage being about loving couples is very much a modern idea. Of course, once love and mutual nurturing became a prime function of marriage, it opened the door to same-sex marriages, as well.
Rome's ruling families saw marriage as politics, not love. Marriage was to insure that a political elite held power. Romance was found outside marriage. Sexual satisfaction could be found there, as well, with partners of either sex, with little disapproval. A homosexual Roman gentleman could still have his romantic interest, because that was not the function of marriage.
What was on display was rampant hedonism not a display of marital commitment as it should be. Even those who acted out homosexually were smart enough to know that 2 people of the same sex cannot create children. Therefore, the marriage was entered into to create a family.
The moment someone tells me "marriage has always been" something or another, I know they are ignorant of the actual history of marriage. It has never "always" been anything. It has taken different forms, with different social rules attached. Those forms and rules changed as the function of marriage changed.
Not true- Marriage has always been about the propogation of a legitimate family. Hence the creation of terms like "bastard child" and "illegitimate child".
In our world, the function of marriage is not about land, politics, or even procreation. It is about love and mutual support between the spouses. Given the modern function of marriage, it is hardly surprising that gay couples want to be included. They have the same needs and wants as other couples, and marriage provides them the same benefits and serve the same functions as it does for straight couples.
Marriage is not a stagnant institution. It is a vital, evolutionary institution constantly changing forms as the functions it fills adapt to new circumstances.
In fact, the idea that loving homosexuals should marry is undone my Mr. Peron's argument. Marriage isn't about love but about legitimizing family. Since homosexuals are incapable of having children themselves there isn't any need for them to be married. Well, except the real one behind the homosexual agenda... that is the social legitimizing of homosexual relationships. The reason the gay agenda has so soundly embraced this marriage idea is that they want to be legitimized in society. They want to be seen as the biological equivalent of the heterosexual couple- but alas, they cannot be what they are not. I do not endorse violence or hatred of homosexuals, nor do I endorse prejudice or somehow keeping homosexuals from their civil rights. But marriage is not a civil right of the homosexual as it is biologically driven- hardwired into the species.
My suggestion is that James Peron... do a little more research!
Posted by Pastor Dave at 6:24 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Gifts of the Spirit 3

Once again we revisit the "manifestations" of the Spirit- this time regarding the gift of faith. The term used by the Apostle Paul for manifestation is phanerosis means to "bring to light" or "shine forth". We are confronted by Paul's understanding of the "manifestation gifts". These spring forth and reveal the character and nature of God. These are Spirit-imparted and reveal themselves in the corporate gathering of believers (usually). When we speak of the NT 's use of the term faith we see that it is a fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5 where it should likely be translated faithfulness. We know also that Paul understands saving faith to be a gift from God (Eph 2.8-10). But what he has in mind here is a sort of turbo charged trust in God. There are those times when we are out of our depth in God and need to walk through deeper waters than our experience in Jesus has prepared us for. God gifts us with a faith beyond ourselves. Recall the stories of men and women of faith who stood in the face of adversity and believed. You can imagine the need for this in a congregation of saints who will soon come under persecution for their allegiance to Christ. This may manifest itself in the purchase of property, in the trusting for healing or raising the dead.

Some confuse this with extraordinary faith of individuals who habitually trust God for great things.But this is inspirational. In brings in the God-perspective on a specific incident. The gift of faith lifts one from the natural realm and shows a divine perspective. Of course, nothing is impossible with God. Yet, it seemed that Jesus' own miraculous ministry was weakened by the lack of faith in his home town (Mark 6.5-6). Lest the body of Christ be limited in performing the will of God, the Almighty has provided this great and glorious gift. It springs forth and reveals the path of faith from within the believers. We this faith manifest itself in the peace that allowed Paul and Silas to sing hymns at midnight after being beaten and imprisoned.

Certainly, God wants us to be open and seeking this gift. May he fill our hearts with supernaturally derived faith as well as the growing trust in the faithfulness of our Savior.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 4:50 PM 0 comments

Friday, December 30, 2011

Resolutions for 2012

Here are a couple resoutions that I am prayerfully considering.
   1. To develop a more intensive prayer life
   2. To refuse to compromise my character or my soul
   3. To develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle
   4. To honor my wife- she deserves it for living with me!
   5. To love the unloveable and God's difficult children
   6. To Challenge myself on leadership through reading and relationships
   7. To Persevere in tough times
   8. To Speak truth- even when it will not be well received
   9. To lead from internal conviction and yet to listen to those around me
   10. To increase savings and giving to others
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Posted by Pastor Dave at 11:36 AM 0 comments

Spiritual Gifts #2

We continue on to discuss the gift of knowledge. There are those who seem to feel as if this is a residential gift in the mind-heart of an individual. As if God places an occasional smarty pants in the body of Christ who knows things. Now, I want to thank God for the hundreds of people who are smarter than me in the church where I serve. They have been a resource to the church and to myself in confusing times. But though they are operating in knowledge they are not operating in the gift of the Word of knowledge. The Word of Knowledge is a revelation based gift- much like the Word of Wisdom that we wrote about earlier. The Word of Knowledge comes usually in a time of prayer although, occasionally it just shows up in our minds while we are about the business of ministry. It isn't, as one author writes " the ability to understand scripture in a way that only comes by revelation". That is a dangerous and unbibilical doctrine! Scripture is to be used to judge revelation not the other way around. The objective standard of the Word of God always is the measuring stick of the subjective revelation of the prophetic and revelatory gifts.

The Lord moves among his church in profound ways. His purpose is to work his will of strengthening, encouraging, comforting, healing, etc among the body of Christ. He does so by revealing a bit of knowledge to someone open to the gift so that it may be used by God to instigate the process of healing or strengthening. For instance, we read of Jesus knowing that he had been touched by someone with faith. The woman with the issue of blood was revealed to Jesus by a word of knowledge. Clearly the Spirit revealed that to Jesus. (We know that many of the miracles of Jesus were done by the anointing of the Holy Spirit on his life because he claimed in the synagogue in Nazareth (Luke 4) that that is what drove him to do the miraculous. And we have Luke's synopsis of Jesus' ministry  in Acts 10.38 where it clearly says that his ministry of "doing good, healing all who were under the power of the devil" was Spirit directed.) But we also see similar working of these gift in the body of Christ in the book of Acts. Peter should have been pretty impressed with the offering placed at his feet in Acts 5. But he knows something is amiss. He calls Ananias to task saying things that could only be known by a revelation of God.

Thankfully, the Word of Knowledge doesn't always end with someone being struck down by God! Often it is used to establish trust in the heart of someone so they may receive a prophetic directive or a Word of Wisdom which is to follow. " I saw you under the fig tree..." Jesus said to Nathanael. This fact known by revelation opened up Nathanael to the rest of Jesus' ministry. So as your seeking the greater gifts in obedience to God command in 1 Cor 12.31 include an openness to the Word of Knowledge.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 11:18 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Understanding Spiritual Gifts 1

As I perused the internet looking for some information regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit I became increasingly concerned that not only do many not practice the gifts but many are so ignorant of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that they cannot even define them correctly. Disconcerting to say the least! How can we be a Spirit-filled people if we cannot define the objective descriptions of the Spirit's working among us?

So let's take a look at the 9 charisms mentioned in 1 Cor 12. Other sections of Scripture speak of motivational giftings and offices within the church but 1 Cor 12 clearly identifies these gifts as manifestation gifts. Their purpose is to reveal the Word of God, the Mind of God, and the Power of God to the situations within the believers gathered. John F. MacArthur is certainly no sympathizer with the charismatic movement but is forced to acknowledge that these gifts were "specific enablements" for the purpose of "authenticating or confirming God's Word". Unfortunately, MacArthur himself has called these gifts "temporary sign gifts"-despite the complete lack of any indication in this (or any other) text that these gifts were designed to be temporary. Miracles were common in the first century among those followers of Christ. So much so that some miracles became "ordinary" (Acts 19.11). They were not worked strictly by the Apostles alone. Indeed, the NT records many healings and miracles by those outside the 12. Paul seems to be encouraging the proper use of the charismata in 1 Cor 12. It is clear that the purpose is to manifest the Spirit for the common good (12.7) Donald Gee reminds us that these gifts arose out of individuals who had been personally filled with the Spirit. He writes, "The very phrase "manifestation of the Spirit" makes this clear. The Greek Word is phanerosis, 'a shining forth.' The nine gifts...are examples of different ways in which the indwelling Spirit might reveal himself through believers."
So, let's examine these manifestation gifts.

The Message (Word) of Wisdom- This is more than some sanctified natural gifting. It has little to do with human intelligence. All of these gifts are divinely imparted. Since the gift of healing has little to do with medical science- wisdom should not be expected to be connected to intelligence. Neither is the Word of Wisdom simply the application of the divine wisdom that comes down (James 3.17). That is the application of the teachings of Jesus. One author I read taught that the Word of Wisdom was a way of proper interpretation of Scripture. As important as good hermenuetics is, it is not connected to the Word of Wisdom. The Message of Wisdom is a spiritually imparted nugget of divine purpose and application. It is differentiated from the Word of Knowledge in that it gives a directive on what should happen based upon God's perspective. It is the revelation of God's mind on what to do in a particular situation. It is actionable. It is recognizable in the council rooms and board rooms of the church when the leadership is prayerfully seeking to honor God. It is seen in prayer meetings and presbyteries over those who are seeking direction for life and ministry. It is seen occassionally at the altar, as the Holy Spirit moves through everyday christians caring for one another. We see evidence of this revealing of the divine tactic in Acts 13.1f, when during a time of prayer, worship and fasting, the Holy Spirit said "Set apart for me Barnabus and Saul to the work I have called them." Before this we have no indication that Paul would lead a great missionary endeavor. But God knew what to do when the believers gathered did not. God can see the future, knows intimately the giftings of individuals, and can choose to reveal this to the seeking church to clearly direct the path of the church.

I have experienced the Word of Wisdom on numerous occasions. I often look back upon those keystone moments. They are like the divinely inspired stepping stones of my life. Looking back I see confirmed the path of God's plan and am encouraged. God sent men and women at key moments in my life to speak a Word of Wisdom to me regarding the direction of my life and ministry. When I am facing decisions that are not clear, I seek the Lord and he helps me by his Holy Spirit. often God uses others to speak a Word of Wisdom to me. It is not the wisdom of their age, nor the wisdom of scriptural principles, for these are too broad. This is the Wisdom perscription from Jesus. Is this not what we mean when we say Spirit led? Let the Spirit lead you in to his purpose by being open to the Word of Wisdom. Seek it out, desire it, be eager to be used in that gift and you will not only live a profitable life for the Kingdom of God but you will be a blessing to those around you.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 12:17 PM 0 comments

Friday, December 16, 2011

When the Athiest Dies

[image]Today Christopher Hitchens died. He was 62 and lost his battle to esophageal cancer. His career as a provocative journalist and his penchant for attacking religion- especially Christianity- established him in some circles among the intellectual elites in Britian. He was the author of  God is not Great (Twelve Books), a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and visiting professor of liberal studies to the New School. Hitchens published a series of letters to Douglas Wilson entitled "Is Christianity Good for the World?". These are worth the read by folks of either persuasion.

He leaves behind 3 children and a wife. For those of us who are believers, we recognize the ultimate sadness is that in spite of engaging with some of the most brilliant minds in Christendom he has slipped into a Christless eternity and is destined for perdition. Yet, he had powerful witnesses to faith and will be judged according to the truth he knew. Certainly he had rejected, even at the end, the message that a real salvation comes to those who place their faith in Christ, and not in their own intellect.

How about your friends, loved ones, and neighbors? Have you given them an adequate witness of faith to offer them a way out from spiritual ruin? Paul said to the Ephesians " I am innocent of the blood of all men for I have not hesitated to proclaim the whole will of God..." (Acts 20.26f)- have we been faithful proclaimers of God"s message of Grace and Love to those who are in our lives? After all the love of God extends to them as well. Christ followers need to speak up before it is too late.
Posted by Pastor Dave at 1:09 PM 1 comments
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