I recently wrote about my frustration with the song ‘Precious Puritans’ by Propaganda. Many other people have written similarly about it voicing the same frustations. Well today I’m going to follow a similar vein and look back at history again. So many times we view many of our church fathers through rose colored glasses, refusing to acknowledge or think about their shortcomings. One such example is John Wesley. Many people remember his brother Charles Wesley for the many hymns he wrote, such as “And Can It Be” “Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” and “O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing” One area many people fail to look at is a marriage. John Wesley’s marriage was terrible! If a pastor is unable to treat his wife the way Christ treats the church then that man shouldn’t be preaching. I realize that no one today is perfect, but a Christian man is called to lovingly and sacrificially give everything for his wife. This is of utmost importance. You can read more about Wesley’s failed marriage here. So what does this mean for single people like me? It means preparing yourself to give yourself to your, Lord willing, spouse someday. It is only through God’s grace that we can find the strength to die to ourselves.
All posts by mikethestrand
A Higher Calling
Posted by mikethestrand on November 20, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/20/a-higher-calling/
Bitterness and Age
Cheyenne Evangelical Free Church, where I have the privilege of serving has continued to go through Hebrews, last week being in Hebrews 12. One of the verses the stuck out to me was verse 15 which says, “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.” It reminded me of an experience I had at Culver’s earlier that week when I noticed an elderly couple sitting near me who were complaining about everything they ordered. Having worked at a fast food place I know how difficult it can be to keep all the customers happy. I one time had a guy order French Fries at McDonald’s, then come back an hour later complaining that they were cold. It seems to me that as people age they continue to become more and more bitter. Either everything has gone so well in their life that they expect it to continue to be that way so everyone around them needs to continue to fulfill all their wants and desires or life has been so hard that they continue to expect nothing but the worst, neither of which attitudes is godly.
By God’s grace, there are some exceptions to this rule, and I can think of no one better than my grandma who makes this clear. She has been a widow for almost 25 years and has lived with cancer for over a decade, yet she continues to serve in her local church body and continues to visit her local nursing home to visit her friends. Despite her loneliness she continues to serve pray and strengthen her local body. That’s the way it should be!
Where does this “root of bitterness” stem from? I think it often comes from a lack of contentment. Paul says in Philippians 4:11 “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” How many of us can say the same thing? How many of us can continue to encourage, support and set an example in our life as we continue to age? Titus 2 paints a brilliant picture of the way the church should work. The older should be teaching the younger to be self controlled and to “teach what is good.” We younger people in the church need the influence and support of those who are older so that we do not fall in to the same errors that the previous generation did. I hope and pray that as I continue to grow older I do not let bitterness rule my life, but instead that I continue to serve as God gives me the strength to do so.
Posted by mikethestrand on November 14, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/14/bitterness-and-age/
The Young People Don’t Have All the Answers
At the beginning of October I wrote a blog titled ‘Where Are All the Young People?’ I encouraged those who are older in the church to come and talk to those of use in the church who are younger. Believe it or not, it may be the beginning of a very fruitful friendship. Today I’m going to address this issue again, but in a little different way.
So many people I talk to in church today continue to look for new ways to attract young people. We saw the emergent church rise up, we see church planting becoming trendy, even t-shirts that declare “John Calvin Is My Homeboy.” Yet despite all the churches efforts to change in order to attract more young people, they continue to leave in droves. Why is this? I think the emergent church is a perfect example of this: they are willing to skimp on the essentials in order to be more trendy to a larger demographic. I’m sorry, but Christianity and Jesus are not trendy topics. It isn’t easy to follow a guy who’s example of leadership was washing his disciples feet and who told his followers that to follow him meant to give up everything, even their lives (see Matthew 16). I think the church has sacrificed on far too many essentials in a drastic attempt to reach out to those who are leaving those very churches.
So what is the answer to this? We need to refuse to give in on the essentials. We need to be in a community of believers that encourages each other (Hebrews 10), we need to daily take up our cross to follow Jesus (Matthew 16) and we cannot be ashamed of who Jesus is (Mark 8:38). It’s not helpful to the world to try to make Jesus your homeboy and missing the atoning sacrifice that makes him your Savior.
Posted by mikethestrand on November 5, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/05/the-young-people-dont-have-all-the-answers/
John Newton Quote
My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things-that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour.
-John Newton
Posted by mikethestrand on November 2, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/02/john-newton-quote/
The Meaning Of Meaninglessness
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you completely resonated with Solomon when he wrote Ecclesiastes? “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
These past couple weeks have honestly been kind of boring for someone who always likes to stay busy and engaged. Granted, I’ve had a couple of event filled weekends, but they seemed to be a lot of monotonous repetition, like setting up a PVC maze for a church event. How are we supposed to stay engaged and energized when everything seems to be boring? (sorry mom, I know how much you hate that word)
Honestly, I think it stems from a lack of contentment, at least in my own life. I’ve become so saturated with entertainment, that if I don’t have a screen in front of my eyes or music in my ears I feel lost. How can we continue to strive ahead when we’re always so distracted?
As a self-confessed techie and extrovert to the extreme, I do find it hard to sit down and rest. Yet throughout Scripture I see so many instances where we are commanded to sit down and rest. (see Psalm 27, 130 and Isaiah 40) Even Jesus, before his earthly ministry took 40 days of solitude in the wilderness. I so often struggle with this idea. I always want to have people around me and be having a fantastic time together. Even with my extroverted ways I’ve begun to see the importance and necessity of both taking a Sabbath and taking times of solitude.
What does this look like? Well for me, that means I have a day where I have absolutely nothing scheduled. I enjoy my rest, I’ll clean up around the house, I’ll spend time reading, catching up on some TV shows, talking to friends and family, honestly whatever I feel like doing. I’m very blessed in that the church I work in gives me 2 days off, 1 of which I try to use to clean and run errands and the other I try to use as a Sabbath doing only the above activities. What are some ways you’ve found to take breaks and Sabbaths in your life? Do you think it’s important to be taking regular scheduled times of rest?
Posted by mikethestrand on November 2, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/11/02/the-meaning-of-meaninglessness/
Halloween
Happy Halloween/Reformation Day/All Hallow’s Eve/Whatever you’re celebrating today! As someone who grew up hiding in our basement with the lights off, I have continued to have mixed feelings about this holiday. What should Christians do in response to this “pagan” holiday?
Thanks to Tim Challies, I found a wonderful article on why a family will be trick-or-treating today which you can read here. He prefaces the article by saying 2 things. First, you should not violate your conscience so if you cannot celebrate Halloween without it feeling like sin, don’t participate. Secondly, he says that no days are different than the other so if something is demonic today, it would be demonic on other days as well.
Personally, I can only think of good things happening by people in the church opening their doors and welcoming their neighborhood kids in with open arms. We are to be the salt and light of the world showing people what God looks like on every day, and today, when people will literally be walking up to your door, it gives us a great opportunity to begin building some connections with those who may not have another opportunity to see Christ working in our lives.
So what will I be doing tonight? Well tonight is the night my small group from church meets. We’re going to be getting together with all the lights on, giving candy to any of the kids who come knocking on our door, to the glory of God! Stay safe and have fun tonight!
Posted by mikethestrand on October 31, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/10/31/halloween/
The Meaning of Marriage
As someone who is not yet married, I’ve been trying to do my best to figure out what a biblical view of marriage is so that I can, Lord willing, be ready for it when that day comes. My thoughts and views of marriage have continually been shaped and molded and continue to change as I continue to learn and grow. Through all the books I’ve read, the best book I’ve read on this incredibly important topic is Tim Keller’s ‘The Meaning of Marriage’. One of the key lines in the book is that you always marry the wrong person. How does that work when people are continually looking for “the one”? Well honestly, that person doesn’t exist. Now let me clarify that a little bit. God, ultimately has a plan for our lives, but so many people wait forever looking for that one person who perfectly completes them. That person doesn’t and never will exist. When two sinners come together it doesn’t equate perfection, but even more sin as your selfishness and sins are more easily exposed. So “the one” is the person that you eventually marry. Plain and simple. Walk with God, surround yourself with a supportive body and then get married. Whoever that person is is your “one”.
Posted by mikethestrand on October 26, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/10/26/the-meaning-of-marriage/
Don’t Judge Me
One of the passages I hear quoted most often (and out of context) is Matthew 7:1 which says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” So many people use this when confronted about an issue or when referring to someone who has fallen into a grievous sin (“well he’s human too”). Yet despite what simply that verse says, Jesus isn’t saying we should never judge someone. If you continue on into verse 2, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” So ultimately, whatever standard of measurement you’re using to determine an offense of someone else is the same standard of measure God will use to determine your offense. What a scary thought! This is why it continues to become incredibly important to continually investigate and wrestle with Scripture and to continue to put to death the sin that so easily entangles us. So already, with just 2 verses in, we can see the reasoning to why we should not be judged, because ultimately we will give an account to God for our own judging. Does your life match up to the sins you call out to others, either to their face or behind their back?
Jesus continues in Matthew, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” We again see that Jesus isn’t commanding us to ignore the speck in our brothers eye, but to first stop and evaluate our own life. Is this an issue in my own life that I need to deal with before I come to my brother or sister and try to help them deal with the issue in their life?
Interestingly we also see Jesus’ instructions for confronting a brother or sister who sins against you in Matthew 18:15-20. It looks to me like Jesus is instructing us to “judge” those who are in the body (but not those who are not believers, they’re hearts have not yet been conformed into the image of Christ). We even have another one of the more misunderstood phrases in Christendom, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Looking at the context this is within the issues of confronting sin, maybe I’ll deal with that one in a later blog post.
Another instance we see of “judging” is Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 where he says, “I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing.” Whoa Paul! Back off man, no judging here! Paul continues to say that we should not even associate with anyone who claims to be a believer and is living in sexual sin, or is greedy or is an idolator, reviler, drunkard or swindler. Did he hit all of you in that list? Only in a life marked by repentance is God truly glorified and are we able to continue to pursue Christ. Going on into the next chapter of 1 Corinthians Paul says, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” Wow! So there SHOULD be judging going on! However, we need to carefully heed Jesus’ words in Matthew 7, first let us prayerfully reflect on our own life, laying down our offenses at the cross, accepting Christ’s forgiveness and living a new life set apart for God before we confront our brothers and sisters. But don’t judge me! I’m still trying to work this out.
Posted by mikethestrand on October 19, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/10/19/dont-judge-me/
Misquoting Historians
One of the biggest misquotes and misunderstandings I heard often in college and even out of college was the quote:
Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.
This was supposedly penned by St. Francis of Assisi who lived in the 1100s AD. A long time ago. While that statement is helpful for telling believers that, as James says, faith without works is dead, it paints an incomplete picture of the Gospel but was also never said by St. Francis. The Gospel can’t be painted simply by actions, believe it or not there are some unbelievers I’ve met who are far nicer than some believers I’ve met. I also am hard pressed to think of some places besides the church where there is more animosity toward those who are supposed to be your family. Yet it is still Christ’s imperfect bride. Romans 10:14 gets to the very heart of this issue, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? ANd how are they to hear without someone preaching?” So we should preach the Gospel at all times using both words and actions. The fact that this is so often quoted shows just how biblically illiterate our culture is. No one wants to actually spend time searching the Scripture for the answers, they want cute little tweetable phrases that they can throw out at random times. Spend time reading and wrestling through the text and then apply it to your life.
The Gospel Coalition has begun a series called FactChecker that has some helpful information on this topic.
I’d also encourage you to check out this article by Duane Litfin.
Posted by mikethestrand on October 18, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/10/18/misquoting-historians/
What Does It Mean to Lead?
So many people today have so many different ideas about what it means to be a leader. Some people say that to be a leader is to be successful. Others say that you simply need to be a man. Still others say that it means you can take charge. And someone else says it’s someone who has followers. Yet what does the Bible tell us about leaders?
If you look in your Bible at John 13 you’ll see the account of Jesus washing the Disciples feet. Just as a quick side note, I love Peter’s response to Jesus. First he tells Jesus there’s no way he’ll let him wash his feet, then when Jesus tells Peter he won’t have a share with him then Peter gets too excited and asks Jesus to give him a bath! I’d encourage you to read this whole passage, but where I’m going to focus is verses 14-17, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.”
This flies right in the face of many of the world’s view of leadership today. Jesus said that to be a leader means to wash the feet of those who follow you. What does this look like on a practical level today? This means caring about the gross little details about every day life of those in your local church body. This means you’re continuing to rub shoulders and encourage your brothers and sisters who need encouragement (Hebrews 10). This might even mean that for a time you need to volunteer to clean the bathroom at the church. What are some ways that you can show true leadership at your church this week?
This came about from a blog on honorable leadership, specifically related to the Vice President debates in which Biden was incredibly rude to Paul Ryan. You can read that blog here.
Posted by mikethestrand on October 17, 2012
https://pastormikesmusings.com/2012/10/17/what-does-it-mean-to-lead/
This is Me
Pastor Mike's Musings 