by RobertCummins | Oct 11, 2016 | 41. Brokenness
An article I read recently, borrowing from the best sociology, made out to demonstrate that the world has not been, and never would be, changed by good theology and sincerity. It had only been changed by society’s elite: the cultural icons whose ideas find their way into the main stream, affecting group thought and ultimately human behavior. I found the article intellectually compelling but deeply troubling.
The research reveals that, in the last two millennia, neither piety nor prayer has change the world. This Christian writer was proposing that they never would. It was even implied that putting any confidence in piety and prayer might be a form of insanity. I was stunned! I wondered if the author had bothered to imagine what the world would look like without Christianity?
Another stream within the church, which also aspires to change the world, has made the same observation: that atop seven mountains of culture, dwell the mind-molders—the elites who shape the world. If Christians want to change the world, they must set their sites on these summits and begin their ascent. This presentation too was impressive yet troubling. Why? They had left Jesus at the base of the mountain: “Let him who is greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant… I am among you as the one who serves.”
This passage teaches that those with aspirations to climb, may already be hampered by altitude sickness and its symptom of fuzzy thinking: “And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest.” I can almost hear the rebuttal of the world-changers: “But we have a mandate to climb. We won’t succumb to the same pride and pettiness as Jesus’ disciples.” Really?
Peter was giving a similar rebuttal as Jesus was trying to show him he had already been affected by altitude delusion and that Satan liked this arrangement. Peter’s attitude was, “No, Jesus. You don’t understand. I really can do this.” “Lord with You I am ready to go to both prison and to death!”
We know what happened next. Peter had to be broken before he could lead. He had to discover that he had grossly misjudged himself. Can you imagine the painful awakening that began for him when the cock crowed three times? This was both Peter’s lowest point and the trailhead of his revival. It was from the bottom Peter ascended to the high place of leadership in the early church.
As I watch Christian thought swirling around me, mostly free of any current of brokenness, I wonder, are we not dreaming that water flows uphill? Can one really lead without being broken? What losses within the body of Christ and to the Kingdom of God are caused by unbroken leaders?
We recall God’s original instructions to take dominion over the earth, but does that mandate equate to setting our sights directly on the summits of earthly influence? I would hate to miss it, but I have not heard any call to scale Everest. I don’t believe the scriptures direct us to change the world. I do read that we are slated for change. I believe we have been directed to build God’s kingdom by sharing in His sufferings. Perhaps after we aspirants to power are broken, we will then be equipped to serve and then ascend. “You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you [the kingdom].”
There are little t truths and big T Truths. Changing the world falls into the little t category for me. It’s real. It’s vital. It’s a worthy aspiration. However, I believe the kingdom of God is the big T reality. In its eternal nature the kingdom of God is a vast mountain range dwarfing the Seven Mountains of Society. One day God’s broken kingdom leaders will hike up and beyond the offices of this earth’s movers and shakers. From their lofty places, they will ultimately rule and judge this world (see vs. 30) with love and wisdom. Then we will see the world changed in earnest. Whether you are a world-changer or a kingdom-builder, grab a copy of Hind’s Feet on High Places (see warning below). This is Hannah Hurnard’s trail guide to climbers.
And if we are tempted to abandoned piety and prayer, just remember, Satan has requested permission to sift us too. So, as Jesus’ instructs us, “Don’t abandon prayer.”
Father, we see the winds of Your Spirit blowing. We don’t know where they are taking us, but we do know that we are to gird ourselves as You did, to love and to serve our neighbor. Help us to identify with the needs of those around us. Help us take our next steps downward that we might ascend. Amen.
Warning: Hannah Hurnard will not pass the doctrinal checkpoint. The Bible police have stopped her and will stop you, too, if you are caught with any H.H. contraband. They will show you her rap sheet and prove she was a heretic. They will reveal she drifted into universalism in her later life. They will fail to mention though that with Hinds Feet on High Places, she wrote a theologically sound allegory, describing the unlikely pathway to authentic influence.
by RobertCummins | Oct 10, 2016 | 41. Brokenness
What is the deepest and truest thing about you? I have observed that part of my family in Christ believes they are, in their essential make up, wonderful. The other part believes they are wretched. Welcome to the bi-polar Body of Christ.
Whether we are wonderful or depraved is not typically found in the print of a group’s doctrinal statement. However, it is easily found in the believer’s heart. If you listen carefully to the conversations and to the music, you can hear what we think of ourselves. One group sings, “My heart is prone to wander.” The other sings, “God makes beautiful things”. How well I understand.
For three decades I was wholeheartedly committed to the idea that I had a Jeremiah 17:9 – heart – one that is deceitful, desperately sick and beyond understanding. I thought, “Thank God my heart was like David’s, whose sin (like mine) was ever before me! Thank God my heart was like Paul’s – wretched (Romans 7:14-25)!” Then, there were the two confirming witnesses; my thought life and my behavior – they were always ready with their affirmations of my depravity. Even though I was dying inside, I was proud that I was mastering Psalm 51– brokenness and contrition, which God so loved. Spiritually speaking, I was flying pretty high but in a very low sort of way.
The assumptions I was making about my nature drove me with an intensity, similar, I believed, to my hero David – that man after God’s own heart. If you could have listened in on my heart-to- heart conversation with God, it would have sounded like this:
“Oh Lord, my sin, which naturally springs up from my heart, is ever before me. My heart is not clean, and believe me, I know! Oh God, create in me a clean heart, renew a steadfast spirit within me! and please, please, please, do not take your Holy Spirit from me!”
If I would have had ears to hear, I would have heard God’s response to my dirge, “Oh Rob, I did create in you a clean heart and furthermore I have no intention of taking my Spirit from you. Stop praying this. OK?”
However, being dull, yet zealous of heart, I believed if I could adequately establish this lifestyle of brokenness, if I could just repent deeply enough, if I could just seek Him with more discipline, then I could finally know Him and I would not be such a perpetual problem child. (Note; if you would like to construct a religious treadmill; this paragraph should provide a pretty good blueprint.)
I was being driven by an “if-then” legalistic caveat. I was not being drawn by a loving being. Where was all my intensity and desperation coming from? My sense of depravity was producing mega-wattege of shame and guilt driven energy. I was dead serious about God. I was perfecting the dark night of the soul as a lifestyle. I was so zealous I thought God might just snatch me up in my own personal rapture like Enoch. My family would say, “Rob was…..and then he was not”. (I am only barely exaggerating). God’s reply? “Oh Rob.”
In the midst of my dead reckoning approach toward God, some events transpired that served to modify my identity – how I viewed myself. Today, as I read Psalm 51, I see a snapshot of David’s thinking in the midst of a season of deep repentance. It was taken after he had taken ownership of his actions as a murderer and adulterer. I don’t believe a moving picture of David’s heart would reveal that Psalm 51 characterized his lifestyle any more than I believe Romans 7:14-21 characterized Paul’s.
When I read Psalm 51 today, I am at peace that God has cleansed me of my sin therefore it is not continually before me. He has purified me and washed me whiter than snow. He has made me to hear joy and gladness. He has not hidden His face from me. He is not threatening to take his Holy Spirit from me. He has restored to me the joy of my salvation. I don’t believe a dirge about my old nature is the song I was destined to sing. A sorrowful dirge coming from a new creation is not music to God’s ears.
As the beneficiaries and heirs of a new covenant, we can sing songs of rejoicing which acknowledge our newness in Christ. Our deepest reality is that Christ lives in us and we are temples of the Holy Spirit. The deepest and truest thing about us is that we have been grafted into the Vine. We are rooted permanently into God through Christ. Exclusively, by God’s scandalous grace, we are in a wonderful place. God thinks we are wonderful and I find that I am agreeing with Him on this point more and more.
David has reminded us that we were conceived in iniquity – so there is a depravity component to us. Even though we have been buried in Christ and raised up with Him, this aspect of us seeks expression. But, are these impulses proof positive that our fallen natures define us? Isn’t it plausible that giving our fallen natures so much credit empowers them to have more influence than they should?
When I get caught in a cross-fire within our divided family, I just tell my story. I now believe there are little–t truths, and there are big-T truths. Our fallen nature is a “little t” truth. It is not as large as the big-T truth, our new identities are built upon. Welcome to the New Covenant.
This is my story. This is now my song. I am praising my Savior, now, more than ever, all the day long.
Father, may Your opinion and big-T truths prevail. Help us to renew our minds with your opinions about us. Restore to us our identities as children of light, truth, joy and freedom. Cause us to be those whose songs and behavior validate, not contradict, the Good News you came to bring. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 9, 2016 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. (from Psalm 42:1-2)
There are diamonds in Psalm 42. Miners, like this psalmist are those who find them. Miners are questions askers. Because they learn to ask the right kinds of questions and persevere in their asking, they find the gems. Questions are native to thirsting and panting souls. Listen to this miner’s digging: “When shall I come and appear before God? Why are you in despair, O my soul? Why are you disturbed within me? Why hast Thou forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of my circumstances?”
There are different types of questions. Some are mere camouflage for bitterness and unbelief. Others are rhetorical tools used by the proud for posturing and positioning —an actual question would be redundant to them. They already know the answers. Some questions are asked to collect the data we need to support our existing hypotheses. None of these types of questions unearth true gems.
Then there are questions free of agendas and pre-formed notions. They come from child-like, searching hearts. They are often hard questions, shaped in the depths. Hungry and thirsty souls have the courage to unearth them and bring them before their God. Digging in this vein equips the miner with the humility to encounter their God in new ways.
As miners, we are both driven and drawn. From behind, we are driven by pain and fears we dare not stop and face. We know that pausing to face off with these pursuers would be our undoing. We’ve looked over our shoulder before. We have seen those deep and unwelcome questions gaining on us. They were raised by experiences (or their lack) that once nearly destroyed us. We have vowed to outrun them because we are convinced they will kill us. This is not a problem though—we have worked this out. We have learned that we can turn up the volume and speed of life such that these questions are drowned out and left behind in the wake of our efforts to escape them. This is a tragic waste, because the pursued and the pursuer are exactly where the father of lies wants them.
The real Trilateral threat is from the world, the flesh and the devil, who conspire to see that we remain driven. They gladly provide us with diversions and excuses—anything it requires to keep us from excavating deep enough to uncover our long-buried issues and put them in their place as our servants rather than our masters. It is from these unexplored caverns that God calls to us. This is essential because He endeavors, with our cooperation, to overthrow every lie and half-truth we have buried by believing them. These are the very things that drive us.
Then there are those, like our psalmist, who are drawn. They hear the call and they descend. They press on down through the valley of the shadow of death. With a familiar voice, albeit faint at times, calling them, they press through various strata of pain and find Jesus waiting for them. They discover the diamond.
The writer of this psalm descends along a particular vein. He is being drawn. He has bumped into his painful questions and instead of returning to their own story (We could call it The Surface Driven Life), he has written the “Miner’s Psalm.” He gave voice to his questions, paused to articulate them in words. Journaling, by the way, is digging at its best.
The power of journaling rests in its capacity to make us psalmists in our own right—those learning to become transparent before God. We are very close to the gemstone here. This is where deep responds to the drawing of deep. Here, in our depths, His Spirit touches ours; His light touches our darkness. If we will slow down and ask the right questions, we will discover that eternity overtakes time and that a banquet has been prepared on our behalf in this most unlikely of places—in the presence of our enemies.
A precaution: When we start applying the breaks and turn down the volume, the painful questions of the past are going to pull up along side us and call us names, tell us lies, and feed us their best temptations. They have enjoyed driving us—keeping us from the abundance of our rightful liberty. Our Psalm 42 miner gives us a tutorial in his craft. He slows down, listens to the call from his troubled mind, and records his thoughts. He does the very thing we work overtime to avoid. Please listen to this minor shovel:
My soul thirsts. I cry day and night. When will you bring relief God?
I REMEMBER—I HAVE PRAISED YOU BEFORE. I SHALL PRAISE YOU AGAIN!
Why are you in despair oh my soul?
I REMEMBER—I HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH YOU. I SHALL HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH YOU AGAIN!
Thy breakers and Thy waves have rolled over me.
LORD, YOU WILL COMMAND YOUR LOVINGKINDNESS AND YOUR SONG WILL BE WITH ME IN THE NIGHT!
Why hast Thou forgotten me?
I WILL HOPE IN GOD. I SHALL YET PRAISE HIM. MY COUNTENANCE SHALL BE LIFTED!
This psalm leads to the mother-load. It demonstrates a man’s complete emotional honesty before God. It highlights the value of questions. It demonstrates that we do not require an intermediary between God and us. It demonstrates that a troubled heart can be a place of new beginnings. It demonstrates the power of recalling truths and declaring them to ourselves as answers to our own questions. It reveals that it is from our wounds, our failures, and restlessness that God calls us. Can you hear his voice? Are you being driven or are you being drawn?
Father, we are children of light. Teach us to live in Your light, especially when it gets uncomfortable. Lead us into that place where we truly become free souls. Help us to mine deep enough to that place where your sacrifice and suffering touches our depths. Help us to do our part in overthrowing the lies which have robbed us of the abundant life. Succeed in making us that city set upon a hill that radiates your light. When this world asks, “Just where is your God?” they will receive their answer in the joy of our countenance, the vigor of our step, and the wisdom of our council. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 7, 2016 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
I listenined to Thirty Million Words by Dana Suskind on Audiobook. She is the surgeon-turned-social scientist who wants to change the world, one child’s brain at a time. Her solid research has proven that between birth and four years old a child’s brain is a super computer under construction. The contractor? The child’s primary caregivers, who either connect the circuitry of that brain by way of a language-rich environment or leaves the wiring only partially connected through language deprivation.
I spend time with four year olds at a local public school. My heart aches knowing this window of extraordinary opportunity is closing on these precious children. Sadly, I can see that it has, in fact, already closed for some. The TMW research shows that by 4 years old, if a child has not heard thirty million words, they will suffer an achievement gap which will follow them their entire lives. For want of words (and wiring), incalculable potential is squandered. This thought connects directly, but perhaps not obviously, to the American Dream, which, to many, seems to be at great risk.
Research tells us that the American Dream has gone awry—the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; the middle class is shrinking. And, to make matters worse, profit-driven media and power-driven politics have framed this problem for us as a policy issue. People, please, policy making is like spitting on a raging fire. New laws and policies are at best a futile form of damage control. Our nation could take a giant step forward in extinguishing our fires by owning one simple truth—our problems are way too big for government to solve. Only we the people can resolve our problems. Only we the people can resuscitate our American Dreams.
May I share a piece of my American Dream with you? It’s really just a byproduct of my vision of God’s kingdom, which includes honoring the inalienable right of each human to reach his or her fullest potential, which happens to come from a higher source than the United States Constitution. Dignity comes to us by virtue of having been created in the image of God. The moment this notion is abandoned, every dream of freedom is at risk. My current American flavored kingdom dream includes a statesman or stateswoman who has chosen to rise above divisive, political claptrap, who, armed with poise and hope, will take the podium and say to us, the American citizenry:
Dear American family. I intentionally address you as “family” because that is precisely what we are. Within the bounds of these two oceans, we have a unique mission and common destiny. Perhaps you may recall: that for America to retain her beauty (which we each treasure), she must “confirm her soul with self control and her liberty with law.” I hope that sounds familiar. It is from the second verse of “America The Beautiful.” Remember her? Sweet Land of Liberty, of thee we once sang? Here is a portion of the third verse: “America! America! God shed His grace on thee, till selfish gain no longer stain the banner of the free.”
Dear American brothers and sisters. Let me begin by asking you to help me rescue public discourse from hate mongers and sound bites. For their own selfish reasons, they pit us one American against the other. Shame on them! They profit as they con us into blaming each other for withholding the American Dream from a shrinking middle class. With your help, I am going to do my level best, as a steward of truth, to rescue public discourse from its media captors. We, meaning you and I, must spend our personal and national resources dealing with root issues.
Admittedly, for a time, it will be difficult for us to grasp, that at their core, our problems are not rooted in policy. They are rooted in people. So permit me to lead you back to the people-place where disparity actually begins. The roots of our American losses can be traced to the womb. From this place of safety, a child enters into this world with one of its organs not yet fully developed—its brain. What happens to that child’s brain after it leaves its mother’s womb is critical to America’s future. It is at risk because it is entering into an environment where “whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
We are currently exhausting, dividing and bankrupting ourselves wrangling over symptoms. If we must point the finger, let’s point it back toward root issues. Let me direct your attention to what may be the root of all roots—early childhood development. Hang with me. I’m not just talking about educational policy reform—I’m talking about societal awakening.
As Americans, we must become a racially, politically blind people where the collective good transcends selfish ambition. If we don’t overcome our selfishness, if we fail to exercise self-restraint, we are going to fuel a cold war within our borders that will weaken our nation at its core. Our enemies will laugh at us as we divide and bury ourselves with politically driven laws instead of giving ourselves to the proven roots of our liberty. We, the American people, have opportunities before us. They are many, but certainly one of the greatest is how we raise the next generation.
Let’s acknowledge together that our children are this nation’s future. Let’s repent of the evil we have foisted upon them with our national debt. Let’s do everything in our power to make this right for our children. And… while we’re talking about our nation’s greatest resource, our children, let’s acknowledge the fertile window of brain development that is being squandered between birth and four year’s old. Let’s do everything in our power to equip these children to reach their fullest potential.
Opportunity, not tax coffers, is the true wealth of our nation. This is how we will redistribute the true wealth of our nation. This is a major way we will restore the middle class. This is how we will restore our American dreams. Please vote for hope when you go to the ballot in November.”
Well … I’m not running for office. I’m just a Christian, who happens to be a citizen, dreaming and praying that my voice will be mingled with other kindred spirits. Our dream is that America may succeed in her destiny as that nation tasked by God, to reconcile its soul with self-control and her liberty with law.
This may not seem like a very spiritual topic since saving a soul from hell was not once mentioned. While I have not discounted the sweet-by-and-by, the Father’s business also involves redemption in the here-and-now. It may not be the whole story but helping humans reach their fullest potential sounds just like something Jesus would do. It fits with His kingdom mission to…
Bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To comfort all who mourn,
To grant a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.
Thy will be done on earth, even in America, as it is in heaven… and by all means, allow our children their bread of at least thirty million words. Amen.
by RobertCummins | Oct 7, 2016 | 40. Moving Through Suffering
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I have conquered the world. (John 16:33)
It is the “I have conquered the world” which allows “taking heart” and “continued difficulties” to coexist in the same sentence. It is also the “I have conquered the world” which allows us to “take heart” in our “continued difficulties,” making us into the overcomers we are destined to be. What does that mean though, that “Jesus has conquered the world?” How much relief am I to expect as a consequence of His conquest?
Jesus is presented to us in our passage as the great high priest. Why does the author give Him status as “great?” The traditional duty of a high priest was to oversee the sacrifices and to offer up the blood of beasts in behalf of Israel’s sins. This inspired author points to Jesus coming down from His high place in heaven and taking on human flesh so that He could experience our frailty and temptation. He was great because in doing this, He never once sinned. He was also great because He didn’t just oversee the sacrifices. Jesus became the sacrifice, once, for all.
His sinless life qualified Him as a sacrifice which met God’s criteria. His blood as an unblemished substitute purified and secured victory for all who would believe in Him. It was at the cross that He conquered the world. This is what made Jesus a great high priest.
Beyond the gratitude due him, what other application is there, now that we have a fresh reminder of God’s greatness? First: Hold fast to our confession. In Romans 10:9-10, Paul ties our profession to our salvation. I don’t believe he was speaking only of the initial profession of faith our traditions require at baptism or confirmation. I believe Paul was also speaking of a lifestyle of profession in which our union with Jesus is expressed throughout our lives in the midst of continued difficulties.
Second: Draw near to God with confidence. The early part of Hebrews 4 discusses the essential nature of rest in a believer’s life. Resting from our works (that thing in us that says approval from God must be earned) is a primary piece of our weaponry. Resting in God’s work on the cross enables us to come boldly before His throne so that we may find grace in the continued difficulties life in a godless world guarantees. In our rest we are supremely dangerous!
We live within a cosmic war. Our hearts are beachheads into this godless domain where the battle is being waged. As in Normandy, the Lord of Hosts is invading a stronghold of enemy opposition. The domain we relinquish in our own hearts becomes the substance of our stories and the newly taken ground of His kingdom. With these stories, we will mute Satan’s cosmic lies, which often sound like this: “Just look around. You and I both know you’re outgunned. We both know exactly who’s in charge here. The reason this world appears as a godless place is because it is a godless place. Its mine! Hasn’t suffering confirmed to you yet that God is absent and indifferent? Don’t you think that if God were good and all-powerful, as He claims, He would have relieved you of your continued difficulties by now?”
While there is no doubt great spiritual battles are being waged in the heavens, every believer’s heart is the beachhead of this same battle on earth. That is why I remind myself frequently that we must “Watch over our hearts diligently; everything, including this battle, starts there” (my paraphrase of Proverbs 4:23).
Our ongoing difficulties appear to us as blockades when they are really footholds. When we take heart in this reality, we discover just how Jesus is conquering this world. He will take more ground in our hearts as we face off with the satanic lies rooted in our own belief systems. Watching over our own hearts will cause a shift in the tide of this battle. Here is the cosmic irony: the greatest warriors are those who nurture the most rest in their hearts.
In that final battle, I picture Satan’s last accusations—his final condemning and intimidating lies being drowned out by the stories of millions of God’s rescued and resting children. His foul ideas will be silenced by the roar of praise from the multitudes of captives Jesus has set free. The stories of how He sustained us through our continuing difficulties will abound. In us, In Christ, we will have become the overcomers God destined us to be. God will have the final word!
Father, may our hearts adopt Your perspective regarding these continued difficulties of ours. Help us to meet You in the midst of life, facing off with whatever shows up on the battlefield. Show us where to resist enemy attacks. Show us how to advance in our rest. Amen.
