Bane or beauty? The arts and the Christian (part II)

Posted on June 18, 2013 by

The next several Tuesdays I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the Christian’s engaging with the arts (visual and auditory) along with entertainment and media. Join the discussion and comment below!

Martin Luther95 Theses and then some

Middle Age art is almost vaudeville in its division of secular and sacred. There was church art and church music, sacred in every stroke and tone, papal in its palettes. And then there was secular art and music, fit for the rest of life when outside the cathedral walls. 1517 changed all that with Martin Luther, a young monk who had enough of the selling of forgiveness and the gospel-clouding errors of the medieval papacy. His 95 Theses started the Protestant Reformation, and brought a new era to the understanding of the wholeness of true Christian living.

Luther recognized and clearly taught that for the Christian, whatever calling God bestows, it is a holy calling. The farmer, priest, politician and peasant worker each held their stations in life according to God’s gracious and holy purposes – and so long as they pursued them in faith, so God was glorified.  Luther’s convictions on vocation (a.k.a., “calling”) was in stark contrast to the then taught distinctions within the Catholic Church, distinctions that made those who “took up the cloth” or who entered the holy life of monasticism of higher status before God than other vocations, and those activities that were overtly religious as earning greater favor with God.

Luther’s understanding of vocation flows directly from the New Covenant in Jesus:

“All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government– to what does it all amount before God except child’s play, by means of which God is pleased to give his gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of our Lord God, behind which he wants to be hidden and to do all things.” (Luther’s Exposition on Ps. 147)

For the artist and his art, for the musician and the listener, this is an enlightening truth: that as we set to use our gifts, there are no distinctions between sacred/secular as long as we offer them in faith and with eye to Jesus Christ. Hear reformer John Calvin’s voice alongside Luther’s:

“The Lord bids each one of us in all life’s actions to look to his calling.  For God knows with what great restlessness human nature flames, with what fickleness it is borne hither and thither, how its ambition longs to embrace various things at once. Therefore, lest through our stupidity and rashness everything be topsy-turvy, he has appointed duties for every man in his particular way of life. And that no one may thoughtlessly transgress his limits, he has named these various kinds of living “callings”. Therefore each individual has his own kind of living assigned to him by the Lord as a sort of sentry post so that he may not heedlessly wander about throughout life…and so that no task will be so sordid and base, provided you obey your calling in it, that it will not shine and be reckoned very precious in God’s sight.” (Institutes, III.xi.6)

Here is the end result of this reformation when applied to the music and the arts: no matter our station of life and our particular tastes or output of art – each has the potential to honor the Lord Jesus, to become springboards to glory!

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Monday News

Posted on June 17, 2013 by

Father/Daughter Campout — On Friday and Saturday, Crossway dads and their daughters ages 4-12 gathered on the farm property for a treasured annual tradition. Under nary a hint of rain, they pitched tents, cooked out, sang songs, made s’mores, slept (or tried to sleep), listened to a gospel message, went hiking, collected and raced bugs, slid on a water slide . . . and more. Thank you to everyone who served to make the weekend special! Click on the photo to see the pictures taken by the dads.

FDCampout2013_13

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David and Sarah Erk Make Headlines — The Erks serve Crossway in many ways, particularly as care group leaders. On Friday, readers of the Lancaster Newspapers opened the front page and saw David and Sarah’s smiling faces accompanying a feature story that documented the help they received from a local volunteer group in 2011 when their basement was flooded by Tropical Storm Lee. Read the article by clicking here.

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A Call to Pray – Wild Fires in CO

Posted on June 15, 2013 by

We received the below email from Ivan Fisher. He and others in our church have family near the Colorado wild fires.

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I’m sure you have heard of the wild fires in Colorado Springs Colorado, well I have family within a few miles. The whole city of Colorado Springs needs our prayers. Several hundred people have lost there homes, thousands have been evacuated.

So far my family is OK, pray for rain, pray for wind to die down, and for safety for all the firefighters, and the whole city. Most importantly pray that people would turn to God for comfort.

This fire is a menace! The evacuation zones keep growing and moving closer.
**BREAKING NEWS** El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa: The Black Forest fire evacuation area covers 94,000 acres. 360 homes have been destroyed; thus becoming the worst devastating wildfire in Colorado history. – PC  (This was coming from my sister in law)
http://gazette.com/live-updates-360-homes-lost-in-black-forest-fire/article/1502250

Thanks Ivan

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A Summer ‘To Do’ List

Posted on June 14, 2013 by

To Do ListAhhh, summer! Here I am again, looking at a nice break from the ordinary, and I’m faced with some really great opportunities to do a lot of things, and maybe check some things off my ‘to do’ list that I haven’t been able to accomplish until now because of the pressure of other things in my life like school, or cold weather, or [you can fill in the blank here]! (Woo wee, that was a run-on sentence! ☺ Let’s all take a deep breath now!)
So, I have all of these things I hope to get done this summer, but I am realizing that I must prioritize. Yes, I would love to clean out my garage, organize my children’s clothing, rearrange some furniture, … (and, of course, not leave anything half-done) but I must submit these things to God. What I am seeing is that if those things get done, but my home has not known peace this summer, what have I accomplished? I can imagine that I might put my face to the tasks, and yet be willing to sacrifice what really matters to check things off my list! I might be willing to get angry with my children because their need for training interrupts me when I am ‘on a roll,’ or, because of the interruptions, I don’t finish what I start. Now, does this mean I don’t start anything? No, but I need to pray and ask God to help me to accomplish his goals for my summer.
What do you feel God is pointing you toward this summer? Do you feel similarly to me, that there is so much to do and so little time to do it? Or, perhaps for you, the summer doesn’t mean a ‘break,’ but rather just a hotter time of year, and the inner struggle to be content with where God has you.
Dear sisters and friends, I would remind us of Ephesians 5:15-17: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” God speaks to us in His Word and tells us what his will is for us in our seasons of life. I love the reminder in Proverbs 14:1 that, “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” No matter what our season of life, we have a ‘house’ that we live in, whether with children, a husband, roommates, parents, or just some stuff God has given us! And we can be a wise woman who builds our house, or a foolish one who tears it down with our own hands. I know that if we ask God, he will give each of us wisdom to do what he wants us to do in this season, and we can embrace it in faith and with peace in our hearts and our homes.
Right now, I feel like God would like me to focus on enjoying and training my children. It has been a rough season for me with illness and busyness this past school year, and my children are growing up so quickly… My oldest son will graduate from high school in only three years! (I know, some of you are grabbing your mouth and inhaling in unbelief, because you, like me, feel like he was just born, but it is true, time is just not standing still!) So, I am going to be purposeful in carving out time to spend with each of my children. And, if the summer ends and the garage is still in need of my attention, but my family has experienced a faith-filled Mama and a peaceful home, if they know a little bit more of the things of God, have a greater knowledge of the gospel and a deeper love for the church, if they know more of the love of their family, then I will feel like we have accomplished something really great this summer. And, if I can check a few things off my ‘to do’ list, well, that’s really a bonus, but the reality is, those things will get done eventually, they’re not going anywhere, and I can trust God to help me if I am seeking to follow him and build a peaceful and faith-filled home. (And maybe the children can help me clean out the garage! ☺)

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A Prayer to know the Gospel More

Posted on June 13, 2013 by

I read this prayer from Scotty Smith a few days ago and I really appreciated it. As believers, we need to think about, see, cherish, and apply the gospel more and more in our lives. But, we need God’s grace to grow. So, let’s pray.

A Prayer for Seeing and Believing Much More of the Gospel

“The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Cor. 4:4

Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gift of another day. In keeping with the heartbeat of this Scripture, please fill my gaze with your beauty, my mind with your truth, and my heart with more of the gospel—much more of the gospel.

Satan doesn’t work hard just to keep unbelievers in the dark about the gospel, but believers as well. I know I need the gospel today just as much as when I was still dead in my sins and trespasses (Eph. 2). So by the Spirit, through the Word, Lord Jesus, please reveal more and more of the gospel to me—more and more of who you really are; more and more of what you’ve already accomplished by your life, death, and resurrection.

More and more of what you’re continuing to do in your commitment to make all things new; more and more of what it’s going to be like to live with you, and the whole family of God, in the new heaven and new earth. Show me, convince me, dazzle me, change me; and then show me still more.

Don’t let me frame any notion of God apart from you, for you are the very image of God—God incarnate. Don’t let me read any part of the Bible without thinking about you—for everything written about you in the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled (Luke 24:44).

Don’t let me desert you by turning to some other gospel—which is really no gospel at all (Gal. 1:6-7). As the gospel is producing fruit and growing all over the world, so may it enlarge my heart and bring forth fruit, in me and through me, to your glory (Col. 1:6).

Lord Jesus, if you’ve moved me from total blindness to a 20/200 vision of the gospel, take me on to 20/100, then 20/50, then 20/20, then 20/15, until the day I see you with glorified eyes. In that day I will see you as you are, and I will be like you (1 John 3:2). Hallelujah, many times over! By the light of this hope, I surrender to your purposes for this day. So very Amen I pray, in your peerless name and praise-worthy name.

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Authority 2 – God’s Word

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

In light of our upcoming Vital Life class on Authority on Saturday, June 29, I thought it’d be helpful to give a little taste of what to expect. Authority is a very important topic, as God has structured his world with authority, and in rediscovering how authority is meant to function in our lives we can grab hold of his gracious intentions in providing it for our good. This post is the 2nd of 4.

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Last week we laid out some basic principles on authority in this world, and next week we’ll begin to look at some of the specifics of what it means to both submit to and exercise authority faithfully. But before we go there we must turn to the source and standard for our ideas on authority, God’s word.

God has great regard for his word. It is how he accomplishes his purposes:

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:10-11

We also must regard God’s word with reverence and respect because of its power and truth. In fact, his word is immensely powerful:

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light…And God said…and there was…And God said…and there was…

Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14-15, 20-21

His Word sits above us and ought to humble us:

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Isaiah 66:2b

It has been given to us as the authoritative revelation and standard for the Christian life:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

And finally, the Westminster Confession of Faith sums up the why of the authority of Scripture–it is authoritative because it is God’s Word:

The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed, and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any man, or Church; but wholly upon God (who is truth itself) the author thereof: and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God.

(WCF I,iv)

When we come to understand any topic in this world we begin with God’s word, because it alone is inerrant and it alone comes to us from God. As we read the Bible, God speaks to us. He reveals himself to us and he shows us his truth. He explains how we are to live lives that honor him in his world.

God’s word is therefore the standard by which we judge all claims to truth. It is the authority for understanding and determining truth from falsehood, and it sits above us all. No Pope, pastor, or priest can bind our consciences with anything other than God’s word. It will not do to appeal to councils, creeds or any other documents if those things are found to be contrary to God’s word. His word stands supreme. Again, the Westminster divines sum it up beautifully:

The supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to be determined, and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits, are to be examined, and in whose sentence we are to rest, can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture.

(WCF I, x)

This is one of the great legacies of the Reformation–and getting this one right is vital if we are going to live faithful Christian lives. As we deal with a challenging and controversial subject like authority it is especially important that we be clear on the authority of Scripture itself. Only as we submit humbly to its authority and truth can we hope to know the truth and life that God intends for us to gain.

Next week we’ll look at some of the exercises of authority, and the final week will begin to address when and how we might resist authority. But short blog posts will never suffice to cover all that the Bible says about these things, so please register now and plan on joining us on June 29.

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Bane or beauty? The arts and the Christian (part I)

Posted on June 11, 2013 by

The next several Tuesdays I’ll be sharing some thoughts on the Christian’s engaging with the arts (visual arts & music) along with entertainment and media. Join the discussion and comment below!

“no one does not worship”

imageHarold Best in his book “Unceasing Worship” makes a clear and biblical case that as long as the human heart is beating, so the soul is worshipping something or someone: “We begin with one fundamental fact about worship: at this very moment, and for as long as the world endures, everybody inhabiting it is bowing down and serving something or someone–an artifact, a person, an institution, an idea, a spirit, or God through Christ. Everyone is being shaped thereby and is growing up toward some measure of fullness, whether of righteousness or of evil” (Best, 17). Bob Dylan couldn’t agree more:

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody

The reason for this unceasing worship is that within our spiritual DNA we are fashioned Imago Dei (Latin for “Image of God”): “As God eternally outpours within his triune self, and we are created in his image, it follows that we too are continuous outpourers, incurably so. The trouble with our outpouring is that it is fallen. It needs redeeming, else we spend our outpouring on false gods appearing to us in any number of guises. Salvation is the only way our continuous outpouring-our continuous worship-is set aright and urged into the fullness of Christ” (pg. 10).

blowing up sacred & secular

The fact that we are always worshipping has life-encompassing ramifications that includes our understanding of and our approach to the arts. For the unbeliever, this reality is dramatic and sobering, for it reveals that idolatry is a way of life and will be judged by God. On the other hand for the Christian, it means there is a wholeness to life in the gospel that simplifies and streamlines our purpose for every given moment.

Jesus explains this new dynamic to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:23-24: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Since Christ has come, bringing and fulfilling the gospel through his life, death and resurrection, since Christ has ascended to the Father’s side, and since the Spirit has come to indwell all who belong to Christ, the Father forbids any distinction between sacred and secular. For the Christian there is no such distinction as we walk in the new and whole life that the indwelling Spirit brings. Francis Shaeffer puts it this way: “True spirituality means the lordship of Christ over the total man” (“Art and the Bible”, pg. 16).

Christ has imploded these terms and the walls that often build up in our manner of thinking and acting. Jesus declared to the Samaritan woman that it did not matter one rip where someone worshipped, whether in the most sacred of places to the Jew in Jerusalem or in “secularized” Samaria. The Father requires Spirit-empowered faith in the living Christ – which translates into unceasing worship that honors God in all places at all times.

There is no shortage of profundity in this truth of the gospel. When at the moment of Jesus’ death the temple curtain rent in two, all of a sudden the way to God was made complete. As narrow as this single way to God is through Christ – this one Way has opened wide the doors to salvation to people like you and me: sinners far from national Israel, far from the temple cultus and from the locations and objects once associated with God honoring worship (read Leviticus!) This is great news for the sinner and has profound applications in our lives, of which our understanding and practice of the arts is but one.

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