Many people will go to a doctor and pay lots of money for the doctor to cure them. This merely cures the body. And yet, many people refuse to admit an ailment of the soul, would never pay money for a cure, and remain spiritually sick.
Jesus = THE Ultimate Soul Physician.
Pastors & Ministers & Churches = Physician's Assistants.
(Hint: How do you measure how good they are? By how well they connect you to the doctor Himself...There are plenty of them who should be sued for malpractice too.)
As a minister myself, part of my job is helping people shed spiritual ailments. I am not the doctor, but I know Him. Have you been to the office lately to get a soul checkup?
Perhaps you are in the office all the time, but you've yet to take your prescriptions and yet to ever really meet the Doctor. Sitting in a church doesn't heal you spiritually any more than entering a doctor's office and sitting in the waiting room makes you physically well...in fact, you might just get sicker in the waiting room! Make sure that you are connecting with Jesus personally and reading His words, taking His prescriptions, obeying His counsel...in church and outside of it. It is nearly impossible to meet the Doctor truly and remain the same when you leave.
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." - Jesus (Mt. 10:28)
"Jesus said to them, 'It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but the sin-sick.'" - Jesus (Mk. 2:17)
-RCW
Easter is (like Christmas) never really truly “over.” The reality that Christ has risen is just as real today as it was two weeks ago as we celebrated Easter Sunday.
Some of you may be wondering why I let Easter come and go without having posted anything. Here is a goodie for you.
Click the link below to view a lecture given from Dr. Gary Habermas (Ph.D in History from Michigan State University). It is an excellent presentation in 11 parts. Watch them all in order and you won't be sorry!
http://www.youtube.com/view_
-RCW
Click the link below to view a lecture given from Dr. Gary Habermas (Ph.D in History from Michigan State University). It is an excellent presentation in 11 parts. Watch them all in order and you won't be sorry!
http://www.youtube.com/view_
-RCW
As you ready your hearts for Christmas, let us not easily forget that Jesus Christ is central to our celebration.
Certainly, we know that Jesus was not born on December 25th. Few people would ever make such an argument (and if they did, they'd be flat wrong!). But it is at this time every year that we remember His coming. We as Christians anticipate Him throughout the Christmas season via Advent and we long for His coming---both remembering His first coming on the 25th and ultimately looking to His future glorious second coming as well.
The Christmas holiday season is a great time of year (like Halloween as I mentioned before) to ask yourself a question....
As you ponder that question, I'll leave you with a humorous story. C.S. Lewis once pinpointed the marked difference between celebrating the birth of Christ and "all this ghastly [Christmas] racket at its lowest" with this story actually, so the credit for the laugh is his and not mine... Lewis wrote to a friend: "My brother heard a woman on a 'bus say, as the 'bus passed a church with a crib outside it, 'Oh Lor'! They bring religion into everything. Look--they're dragging it even into Christmas now!'"
Prayer: Lord, help us at this time of year to think of this season as we ought. Help us to enjoy the time of rest, the time with family, the time of reflection, and let this all lead us ultimately to savor this time of year as a time of worship. You are the cause of celebration for us this season and forever. Amen.
-RCW
P.S. For some of my Southern Baptist friends who live somewhat in a bubble and legitimately do not know what "Advent" is, click here and you can see what the majority of the universal church in western culture does around the holiday season. (That means what other Christians do who aren't Baptist....Yes, I do mean to tell you that there are a great many Christians who aren't Southern Baptist). :) I don't mean to poke fun....for I was certainly once very ignorant of these matters myself.
P.P.S. For my scholarly friends, the Lewis quote is from Letters to an American Lady (29 December 1958), p. 80. The letter itself is housed in the Wade Center at Wheaton...an amazing place should you ever manage a visit. I know how several of you (like myself) have a nasty distaste for quotes that lack a citation.
Certainly, we know that Jesus was not born on December 25th. Few people would ever make such an argument (and if they did, they'd be flat wrong!). But it is at this time every year that we remember His coming. We as Christians anticipate Him throughout the Christmas season via Advent and we long for His coming---both remembering His first coming on the 25th and ultimately looking to His future glorious second coming as well.
The Christmas holiday season is a great time of year (like Halloween as I mentioned before) to ask yourself a question....
- Does the way I celebrate Christmas bear the markings of something distinctively "Christian"?
- Does the way that I celebrate Christmas (or even my Christianity) instead seem to have adopted all the trappings and accommodations of our contemporary culture leaving nary an inch for Christ?
As you ponder that question, I'll leave you with a humorous story. C.S. Lewis once pinpointed the marked difference between celebrating the birth of Christ and "all this ghastly [Christmas] racket at its lowest" with this story actually, so the credit for the laugh is his and not mine... Lewis wrote to a friend: "My brother heard a woman on a 'bus say, as the 'bus passed a church with a crib outside it, 'Oh Lor'! They bring religion into everything. Look--they're dragging it even into Christmas now!'"
Prayer: Lord, help us at this time of year to think of this season as we ought. Help us to enjoy the time of rest, the time with family, the time of reflection, and let this all lead us ultimately to savor this time of year as a time of worship. You are the cause of celebration for us this season and forever. Amen.
-RCW
P.S. For some of my Southern Baptist friends who live somewhat in a bubble and legitimately do not know what "Advent" is, click here and you can see what the majority of the universal church in western culture does around the holiday season. (That means what other Christians do who aren't Baptist....Yes, I do mean to tell you that there are a great many Christians who aren't Southern Baptist). :) I don't mean to poke fun....for I was certainly once very ignorant of these matters myself.
P.P.S. For my scholarly friends, the Lewis quote is from Letters to an American Lady (29 December 1958), p. 80. The letter itself is housed in the Wade Center at Wheaton...an amazing place should you ever manage a visit. I know how several of you (like myself) have a nasty distaste for quotes that lack a citation.
Have you ever thought about how much irony (or perhaps a better word is mystery) there is in Christian beliefs?
The pinnacle of ironies is truly this last one -- That God Himself, Almighty Sovereign of the universe with all power, all knowledge, and all wisdom would stoop down to live among us and reveal Himself to us. He could have simply appeared in all His glory and conquered the entire world. Indeed, this is the type of earthly king that some of His closest contemporaries expected Him to be. He could have "Lorded His authority over us" as most human leaders and rulers do. Why, if God had seen fit, He could have been a wealthy 21st century executive living in a swanky New York condo!
This of course was not the plan. Instead, God Himself took on human flesh (the concept theologians call the Incarnation). He came to earth in one of the most destitute lands at one of the more primitive times in history. Nobody had room for His parents to even bring Him into the world, so the birth that was announced to mere shepherds and foretold by the prophets instead took place in a stable for livestock. His mother laid Him in a feeding trough. Then the family fled to Egypt so that He wouldn't be killed.
A beautiful irony, it is Jesus' birth we celebrate - most precious of gifts, most holy of Kings.
-RCW
- We worship the One and Only Triune God. He is One and still being one, He is three.
- We believe that Jesus was 100% God and simultaneously 100% man. To sacrifice either one (His divinity or humanity) amounts to something non-Christian.
- We believe that mankind are created in the image of God, but somehow that image was "defaced but not erased" when mankind first sinned. Thus, humans--while being precious to God--are also deeply corrupt and innately capable of the most heinous evils.
- God in His sovereignty is distant, remote, unreachable, unfathomable, otherly, sitting high upon His throne. (Theologians call this His transcendence.) Yet He is also close, near, reachable, revealed, intimately acquainted with us, involved in our every day affairs. (Theologians call this His imminence.)
And these are just the tip of the iceberg.
The pinnacle of ironies is truly this last one -- That God Himself, Almighty Sovereign of the universe with all power, all knowledge, and all wisdom would stoop down to live among us and reveal Himself to us. He could have simply appeared in all His glory and conquered the entire world. Indeed, this is the type of earthly king that some of His closest contemporaries expected Him to be. He could have "Lorded His authority over us" as most human leaders and rulers do. Why, if God had seen fit, He could have been a wealthy 21st century executive living in a swanky New York condo!
This of course was not the plan. Instead, God Himself took on human flesh (the concept theologians call the Incarnation). He came to earth in one of the most destitute lands at one of the more primitive times in history. Nobody had room for His parents to even bring Him into the world, so the birth that was announced to mere shepherds and foretold by the prophets instead took place in a stable for livestock. His mother laid Him in a feeding trough. Then the family fled to Egypt so that He wouldn't be killed.
A beautiful irony, it is Jesus' birth we celebrate - most precious of gifts, most holy of Kings.
-RCW
It's hard to describe all the different things that changed about me while I was away at college. As a high school student, I had enjoyed math and excelled at it, but loathed literature and reading. After sensing a call to ministry during my junior year of high school, I went to my youth minister at the time and he said that one of the first things that I should need to do if I was indeed experiencing God's call to ministry was that I should become a reader. I took his advice and have been one since. Yet the transition was one that would continue.
Evidently someone in higher education knew the sensibility and soundness of my youth minister's advice. For I went off to Dallas Baptist University and wanting to study for ministry, I chose to major in Biblical Studies. It wasn't until I began to map out which courses I would take when that I began to realize that studying for ministry must have included a healthy dose of reading for sure...I was required to take 4 English / Literature courses and 4 philosophy courses.
After beginning such courses, I found that I enjoyed them so immensely that I would use my electives to take 3 more of each and thereby earn minors in each as well! Part of the blame surely falls on some great teachers. A philosophy professor named Dr. Naugle kindled within me a love for learning and desire to love the Lord my God with all my mind...to think critically and prayerfully about things which most people take for granted. A semester or two later, I had a remarkable English professor, Dr. Mitchell who showed me that Christ was the holder and giver of all wisdom and that I could see Him and find Him in the world of literature, poetry, and books! He further kindled my love for learning and reinforced that I should love the Lord my God with all my mind as well.
The point of this blog, however, is not biographical in nature. Instead, it is spiritual. The season of Christmas reminds me that our God is so very different than others. He is True and Real surely, but what I am speaking of is that He chose to draw near to us and dwell among us.
John 1 speaks of Jesus, the "word" and "wisdom" of God, in this way:
"the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Other religions focus on how men might ascend to God. Christianity tells how God came and made His way to us.
Philippians 2:6-8 is known by theologians as "the kenosis passage" (kin-'oh-sis). Kenosis simply means "emptying". Jesus Christ, being equal to God, "emptied" Himself, made Himself nothing, took on human flesh, and came to earth to suffer and die as a man.
It is this "Kenosis" passage that my English professor whom I just spoke of wrote about when He composed the following:
KENOSIS
Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Philippians 2:6-8:
Who, being in very nature God
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death --
even death on a cross!
What happens when our words cannot express the complete truth? What do we do when our attempts to formulate an answer end in contradictions? What do we say when our every attempt to put the experience on paper fails? What are we then left with?
How can we understand the kenosis of Christ, the self-emptying of God, for our sakes? What nouns and verbs can do justice to this most profound of mysteries, that God made himself nothing?
Is there any way to sum up the deep wisdom of God in suffering? Why does his creativity seem to overflow through us when we are at our weakest and most wordless? Where may we go to better know that Christ suffered on our behalf? How can we adequately express our thanks for such a complete outpouring of himself?
How do we endure the silence of our literature when it falters in its attempts to name what is there, when it loses its moorings and contradicts itself, when it seems so full of holes and spaces? How can we explain what needs to be said once the words end? Is there any clear way to suggest that God was broken because we in word and deed are broken?
Why has God chosen to leave some things silent and unsaid?
* * * * *
Central Insight: Christ's kenosis reminds us that God was willing to be with us in our doubts and limits, including the limits of language and literature.
Suggestions for Application: Examine a particular passage that shows the limits, contradictions, or unanswered questions of a text. Draw an analogy between this and Christ's kenosis.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This "kenosis" entry from Dr. Mitchell was copied over from his own website: www.dbu.edu/mitchell. Browse it freely if you like!
-RCW
Evidently someone in higher education knew the sensibility and soundness of my youth minister's advice. For I went off to Dallas Baptist University and wanting to study for ministry, I chose to major in Biblical Studies. It wasn't until I began to map out which courses I would take when that I began to realize that studying for ministry must have included a healthy dose of reading for sure...I was required to take 4 English / Literature courses and 4 philosophy courses.
After beginning such courses, I found that I enjoyed them so immensely that I would use my electives to take 3 more of each and thereby earn minors in each as well! Part of the blame surely falls on some great teachers. A philosophy professor named Dr. Naugle kindled within me a love for learning and desire to love the Lord my God with all my mind...to think critically and prayerfully about things which most people take for granted. A semester or two later, I had a remarkable English professor, Dr. Mitchell who showed me that Christ was the holder and giver of all wisdom and that I could see Him and find Him in the world of literature, poetry, and books! He further kindled my love for learning and reinforced that I should love the Lord my God with all my mind as well.
The point of this blog, however, is not biographical in nature. Instead, it is spiritual. The season of Christmas reminds me that our God is so very different than others. He is True and Real surely, but what I am speaking of is that He chose to draw near to us and dwell among us.
John 1 speaks of Jesus, the "word" and "wisdom" of God, in this way:
"the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Other religions focus on how men might ascend to God. Christianity tells how God came and made His way to us.
Philippians 2:6-8 is known by theologians as "the kenosis passage" (kin-'oh-sis). Kenosis simply means "emptying". Jesus Christ, being equal to God, "emptied" Himself, made Himself nothing, took on human flesh, and came to earth to suffer and die as a man.
It is this "Kenosis" passage that my English professor whom I just spoke of wrote about when He composed the following:
KENOSIS
Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
Philippians 2:6-8:
Who, being in very nature God
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death --
even death on a cross!
What happens when our words cannot express the complete truth? What do we do when our attempts to formulate an answer end in contradictions? What do we say when our every attempt to put the experience on paper fails? What are we then left with?
How can we understand the kenosis of Christ, the self-emptying of God, for our sakes? What nouns and verbs can do justice to this most profound of mysteries, that God made himself nothing?
Is there any way to sum up the deep wisdom of God in suffering? Why does his creativity seem to overflow through us when we are at our weakest and most wordless? Where may we go to better know that Christ suffered on our behalf? How can we adequately express our thanks for such a complete outpouring of himself?
How do we endure the silence of our literature when it falters in its attempts to name what is there, when it loses its moorings and contradicts itself, when it seems so full of holes and spaces? How can we explain what needs to be said once the words end? Is there any clear way to suggest that God was broken because we in word and deed are broken?
Why has God chosen to leave some things silent and unsaid?
* * * * *
Central Insight: Christ's kenosis reminds us that God was willing to be with us in our doubts and limits, including the limits of language and literature.
Suggestions for Application: Examine a particular passage that shows the limits, contradictions, or unanswered questions of a text. Draw an analogy between this and Christ's kenosis.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This "kenosis" entry from Dr. Mitchell was copied over from his own website: www.dbu.edu/mitchell. Browse it freely if you like!
-RCW
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