justindetmers.com

[You may say,]“Everything is permissible for me”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”–but I will not be mastered by anything. ” …  The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

- St. Paul

If we name Jesus and claim to understand His Gospel, we must acknowledge that His gracious and sinless blood was not shed to give us a license to be selfish and live without self-control. Our lives tell God, “This is how much I love You.” Our lives also give others a picture of God, regardless of how well we are representing Him.

Oh, may we live new lives that are for His glory and pleasure (which oddly produces the most possible joy for us in the process). May we not take lightly or ignore the one called King, Lord, Almighty, Alpha & Omega, Savior, Holy, Master, & Redeemer. May we imitate, not frustrate the One who was pierced for our transgressions. May we trust His way is actually better than ours.

Amen.

*Disclaimer - A man wiser than myself has said that people should think about the word “heretic” like they would the word “rape.” Heresy is a such a serious claim that it must only used when it has to be. I concur and I squirm in the presence of excessive suspicion and those who want to split hairs.

But, because I hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that I can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9); I must be the provocateur, faithful to my theological & intellectual commitments. Thus, from my historical examination, I do not see King as a faithful steward of the Gospel of the risen God-man Jesus Christ, who is to get primacy and priority in everything. Further, I wonder if King could be called a Christian, as far as historical orthodoxy is concerned.

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JEREMIAH 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

A “conscience” helps us make sense of a Holy God. A conscience illuminates a moral/ethical dimension in our lives/world that shouldn’t be ignored. When people don’t have these, oh the horror…I think we can all understand the need for a moral compass. But I’m not talkin’ bout that, Willis.

I’m talking about an over-active conscience. When one’s conscious has been hijacked and one becomes too sensitive and plagued heavy sense of being wrong/unworthy/not good enough. He or she has no gray, it’s all black and white; even if the “morality” is just a construct of societal/cultural norms, these are seen as mandates from God Himself. This could mean a prohibition on consuming lawful/moderate amounts of alcohol, using sarcasm, listening to non-Christian music, or so on. But Christianity isn’t about what you don’t do, it’s about who you know. (continue reading…)

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Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy

A thing that strikes one who browses around in the vast literature about the book of Revelation is the utter dogmatism with which so many put forth their opinions - not as opinions but as categorical statements about the meaning of even the most obscure passages, as if they know all about it and their say-so settle the matter. We think a spirit of reverent humility and openness of mind would be more becoming in those seeking to interpret a book like this.

Henry H. Halley

Ryan Adams - Wonderwall

Peter said, (2 Peter 1:5-9)

“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”

When examining the Greek (I don’t know Greek, but I can spend 5 minutes clicking around a website with the best of ‘em), we learn Peter uses the word, spoude (spoo-day’).

Spoude means get on it.

I wonder if spoude is the same kind of powerful exclamation that the late Freddie Mercury had in mind when he screamed, “Get on your bikes and ride!” at the end of an especially catchy Queen song…

Go after goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love with: (definition of spoude)

- haste, with haste
- earnestness, diligence
- earnestness in accomplishing, promoting, or striving after anything
- to give all diligence, interest one’s self most earnestly

So, the question is, what does it practically look like for us to “make every effort” with those virtues?

Bright Eyes - Four Winds

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up to Dry

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

James 3: 13-18

Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy

My understanding of temptation is basically two-fold: 1 - the state of being enticed to do wrong/bad/evil OR 2 - a test that aims at producing an ultimate spiritual good when all is said and done.

Sadly, when we don’t view temptation correctly the deck is stacked against us. The false alternatives that follow are: a - ignore it and lie about the reality of our condition or b - be led into sin by the enticement that appeals to us and  c - there is also sometimes an unneccesary guilt we feel just for being tempted — as if we are in the wrong just because something naughty seems appealing. (As opposed to what we do with the impulses…)

But, if Alex R. G. Deasley’s assertion, “temptation neither constitutes nor necessarily leads to sin”, is true, than we may sigh a deep sigh of relief. We don’t have to fall and any guilt we feel when something wrong seems appealing isn’t valid, we can face the test with dignity…

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A prophetic voice (from a terrible movie) once said, “I fear you are underestimating the sneakiness, sir.” And oh boy, I share that fear about the nature of temptation.

If you’re like me, you can recite the well-known ‘Lord’s Prayer’ in your sleep, overlooking the precision and care that each word carries with it. ‘Temptation’ isn’t “rocket surgery”; it’s not like exploring the nuances of epistemology, comparing/contrasting dense theologies, or pondering deep questions of life such as, “who let the dogs out?”

Temptation is sneaky because it is an issue that even a child can grasp. It is seemingly familiar because we know it has been present from time to time. BUT, in my experience, there is actually immense ignorance about what temptation is and isn’t and how we ought to think and act in light of it. In fact, it seems that a shallow familiarity can breed complacence or apathy or even a lack of true awareness.

He taught us to pray saying, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”

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Proverbs 2

1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,

3 and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones.

9 Then you will understand what is right and just
and fair—every good path.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.

12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,

13 who leave the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,

14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,

15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.

16 It will save you also from the adulteress,
from the wayward wife with her seductive words,

17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made before God.

18 For her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead.

19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.

20 Thus you will walk in the ways of good men
and keep to the paths of the righteous.

21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;

22 but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

‘Twas tracking along with Riv’s text project, and behold: Luke 7. It’s one of those passages that moves me and causes me to admire Jesus, makes me proud of Jesus, impresses & comforts me…it’s one of those passages that I think everyone, especially those who feel slighted by Christianity — and those who misrepresent it — need to hear.

There’s something about having a meal or a drink with people that puts you on the inside, and connects people. I think that’s why my God was described as, “A glutton & a drunkard, & a friend of tax collectors & sinners”, in v34…then we hear one of my favorite stories: ‘Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman’.

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Blue Öyster Cult - (Don’t Fear) The Reaper

“Chazaq” (חזק) is an old Hebrew word that’s used over 300 times in scripture; it’s pronounced in a “throaty & guttural” way that starts with an ‘h’ sound and makes the ‘c’ silent. Chazaq is courage that comes from God, translated as strength, something to fasten upon, be strong/strengthen, be courageous, cure, help, fortify, encourage the self, be established, fortify, harden, maintain, mend, become mighty, prevail, be recovered, repair, retain, seize, strengthen (self), be stout, be sure, behave valiantly, withstand…

We see it in show up in places like Psalm 27:14 - “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” & 31:24 - “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.”

And Chazaq begs the question, “What gives you strength?” Because the thing is, we all practically call on ‘gods’, if you will, to give us strength. The ‘god’ of money can deliver us from bank account woes, the ‘god’ of what people think can attempt to deliver us from rejection and insignificance, the ‘god’ being attractive can try to deliver us from the plight of ugliness, the ‘god’ of pleasure can temporarily deliver from burden of discomfort and stress. Having stuff go our way isn’t a bad thing, it’s just unhealthy when something good is elevated as an end in itself. We see this when someone lives for petty and shallow things, and as soon as their fleeting ‘god’ let’s them down (they become poor, rejected/disrespected, feel unattractive, or experience pain), they fall apart.

And as I’ve been thinking about what it is that give me “Chazaq“, about what it is that affirms me, makes me feel whole, makes me feel okay, gives me the gusto to be courageous…I’ve been encouraged by a passage where David ran into horrible circumstances. David had been running from his own king (Saul) who, despite serving and respecting, was trying to kill him. Enemies kidnapped the wives and children of Dave and his men, and now Dave’s men were thinking of killing him too. We see in David someone who, like us, is very vulnerable and human, but fortunately his God was the Lord, not just a favorable state of affairs.

1 Samuel 30: 1-6

David and his men reached Ziklag on the third day. Now the Amalekites had raided the Negev and Ziklag. They had attacked Ziklag and burned it, and had taken captive the women and all who were in it, both young and old. They killed none of them, but carried them off as they went on their way. When David and his men came to Ziklag, they found it destroyed by fire and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to weep…David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God.

Awful circumstances knocked David down to a point where he didn’t even have the strength to weep; lonely, rejected, and in immediate danger… “but he found chazaq in the Lord His God.” Chazaq grounds us in unseen and eternal Divinity, saying, “Be brave. Be strong. Take courage. Endure. Press on…do not let up, don’t give in. You’re not forgotten in the chaos of life, your suffering is redemptive.”

May you get your chazaq on!