Rules or no rules?

I was having a conversation with a good friend last week and he was talking about the idea of rules and their relevance on the lives of Christians today. His point was essentially that people get too caught up in rules and we should be primarily concerned with loving others. I have to both agree and disagree with this statement; let me explain how so. I think it primarily comes down to what kinds of rules we're talking about.

If we're talking about rules imposed by humans, such as Christians can't drink, watch R-rated movies, or listen to secular music, then I'm in agreement. When we add rules to the teachings of the Bible and seek to impose our individual convictions (beyond what Scripture teaches) on someone else, then we're just as bad as the Pharisees. God wants a people seeking after Him who have changed hearts, not just people who can follow a list of regulations and appear to be holy on the outside.

If, however, we're talking about teachings (I like that word better than rules) that are clearly specified in the Bible, then that's an entirely different matter. In some of His last teachings to His disciples, Christ talked about obedience as a way to demonstrate love for Him (and several times at that). So, to disregard the teachings/commands of Christ is to demonstrate a lack of love for Him- something I'm sure no God-lover really wants to do. God has every right to make certain demands of us (teachings of the Bible) and we are responsible to follow those. Does God love us any more if we keep them or less if we don't? Of course not. But, out of a desire to please God and show Him love, we should desire to live in these ways and not just write them off as unnecessary rules.

Our actions also carry consequences. God will forgive us when we miss the mark, but that doesn't mean He will always remove the consequences of our actions. Sin brings about negative consequences and will not lead to the best life that we could live. So, another reason for sticking to the teachings of Scripture is to live life as God intends.

Interestingly enough, John Piper has a new book coming out soon called What Jesus Demands from the World, which gets into what He demands throughout the gospels. I'm sure that should be a good read and get into some of these issues.

Essentially, my point is that as Christians, we should desire to live for God and a primary way we do that is by obeying His commands. This means studying and applying the Word to our lives, not just accepting what the "Christian culture" tells is the way that we should live. True godliness starts in the heart and manifests itself in the way that we live- not the other way around.

-JRO

Who am I?

Those three words were posed by Branson, our senior pastor as a part of a recent talk (yes, I'm bigtime behind on blogging, but I still want to talk about it). In case you weren't there (I think many who read this were), he was talking about a conversation he had with his father-in-law, who was essentially talking about how God had done so much in his life and how undeserving he was of that.

That really resonated with me. God has blessed me with so much in my life and has come through for me time and time again. Surely I deserve none of it; it's only by His grace that I am who I am, what I am, where I am, and with who and what I am. I find that it's easy for me to grow comfortable and to lose sight of what incredible blessings I have in my life. Lately, I've been trying to grow in the discipline of being truly thankful for what God's done in my life and what He's blessed me with. Instead of complaining about how things could be different in life, I'm focused on remembering how God has me where I am now for a reason and that things really are quite good.

Above all, I have God in my life and that should be enough for me. Beyond that, I have a great family, friends, girlfriend, job, etc. My material needs are all met (and then some), I'm healthy, I have been blessed with good skills & abilities. God answers my prayers, gets me through the hard times and gives me reason to rejoice in all seasons of life. I don't say this to boast about how great my life is, but rather to recognize that it's all God. He may choose to take some of this stuff away (like He did to Job), but even then He'd still be good. I hope He doesn't choose to do that, but I know He'll do whatever is necessary to refine me and mold me into what He'd have me to be.

But for now, I'm seeking to remember God and recognize Him as the source of all in my life. I believe He wants me to be glad with what He's given me and not look ahead to the next step or what I might want to change.

Who am I that God would bless me? I'm His child that He chose to bless in the way that He has. It's nothing I've earned or deserved, but something that I'm immensely thankful for.

-JRO

Working Backwards

I was reading a book recently and the author suggested the idea of living life based on who would be crying at your funeral. Family, friends, close associates, etc. will be there- those people whose lives you've impacted in one way or another. Often times, those we really try to please or impress won't give a flip when we die. And, all of the toys we've accumulated throughout life will be divided up and given to other people right after that funeral. So, what is the point in trying to keep up with the neighbors, impress or compete with a coworker, etc. when it won't really matter in the end? Life is a vapor and a lot of what we place so much emphasis on doesn't really matter.

So, this got me thinking about what I'm investing my time and energy in. A favorite quote of mine is: "Life is short, twill soon be past; only those things done for Christ will last." If I'm putting all my energy into running the rat race and living for my own pleasure, then I'm wasting that energy. The things that I'm pouring myself into should have lasting, eternal impact.

In that spirit, I went through and considered what my priorities in life are and I'm now trying to go back through and figure out how the things in my life are helping me live into those. I know that I'll never be perfect and I think I do need some seemingly wasteful time- watching TV and relaxing, chilling with a book, etc. I think relaxation and down time is purposeful and helps in fulfilling your purposes in life.

I guess my point (in a roundabout fashion) is that I realized that there are a lot of goals and priorities I have in life, but if I'm not living today with those in mind, then I risk losing sight of them. A company makes its decisions starting with its mission and vision, then setting goals and working down to the day-to-day stuff. If we lived our lives this way, I think we could be more effective: by knowing our mission and the goals we've set for ourselves, we can keep ourselves in check and make sure our daily activities are keeping in line with these. I don't want to near the end of my life and realize that I've gotten so bogged down in the daily stuff that I haven't really left a lasting eternal impact on the lives of those around me. After I'm gone, no one will care what car I drove or what job I had, but if I see one person in Heaven whose life I impacted, that will matter.

Just some food for thought... probably an area where we all (especially me) need some growth :-)

-JRO

Interesting new tool

For my fellow bloggers out there, I came across a new extension for Firefox that I've been trying out today. It's called Commentful and will track blogs for new entries and comments and will alert you when one on your watch list is updated. Now, I won't have to go from one blog to the next each morning to keep up-to-date :-)

Here's the link.

-JRO

ESV Outreach New Testaments

I saw the other day that Crossway is selling ESV New Testaments with features geared towards newcomers for 50 cents each. The idea is that you buy several and give them away to those who may not be that comfortable with the Bible. The ESV is a good translation for someone not that comfortable or familiar with the Bible- it's a good balance between readability and accuracy (fairly close to the NIV). They're being sold through Christian bookstores exclusively through March or so of 2007.

More info here.

-JRO