What is obedience?

How's this for a definition of obedience:
obedience = whole-hearted compliance with the wishes of the one in authority, even if you don't appreciate or understand them, out of respect or love for the one in authority.

• whole-hearted: even if your mind disagrees, but because of your loyalty and respect, you act as required
• wishes of the one in authority: not merely the words, finding loop-holes, doing the bare minimum
• even if you don't appreciate: even if you disagree. In fact, obedience is greater when your personal will and preferred choice is different from the one in authority
• out of respect or love: this is the ground for obedience, not understanding the wishes

Additional concepts:

• If the authority commands us to do something illegal or immoral, we don't have to do it.
• Abraham sacrificing Isaac -- if someone other than God had commanded Abraham, that would've been abhorrent.
• Uriah obeyed David -- fully trusting him, and he died for it. He was betrayed by his authority. Parents should never do that. God will never do that.
• Pharaoh refused to obey the LORD (Exodus 5:2) because he had on respect for Him.
• If we're not convinced that the direction given came from the one in authority, obedience is very hard.
• Disobedience == rebellion.
• Slow obedience == disobedience == rebellion

Pharisees and Tax Collectors

We began studying the three-part parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Sons, found in Luke 15 of the Bible's New Testament. At the end of the hour, the homework assignment was to think about, "What was it about Jesus that attracted the untouchables and repelled the respectables?"

Jesus had told this parable because the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him, and the scribes and Pharisees were offended that Jesus didn't just shoo them away.

We probably would have been offended, too.

Tax collectors were wealthy tax farmers who were considered traitors by their fellow Jews. Tax collectors bought the right to tax a certain region. And like the mafia or loan sharks, they extorted taxes from the citizens at whatever interest rate they chose. And the Roman army was at their disposal to make sure they got paid.

Sinners were folks that you could easily recognize as sinners, like prostitutes or pig farmers.

Pharisees were generally good people. What's funny is, they were known more for their religion, their Jewish denomination, than for their vocation or where they're from. That's because they were loud about their religion. When we wear t-shirts or ties with Christian messages, or long denim dresses and no make-up, we are loud about our religion, too. Soon, our religiousness becomes the first thing people think of about us.

Pharisees were all about externals: what they did and did not do. Externals are so easy to measure, and to succeed, and to judge others about. Externals are not what faith is about. They're just markers. Jesus said the Pharisees weren't getting it. "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20).

That's because they were focusing on the wrong things. "The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  [Whoever] serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men" (Rom 14:17-18).

At the Pharisees' outrage that Jesus receives sinners and eats with them, he told this parable. Join us as we discover together what Jesus is teaching through it: Parables for ThirtySomethings, Sunday mornings at Southside at 8:45.

The Kingdom of God

Carpooling to seminary back around 1994, one day my friend remarked, "In Matthew 6:33, Jesus says that we are to seek first the kingdom of God. What is that? If you don't know what it is, how can you seek it?"

That question has stuck with me. Did you know that the phrase "kingdom of heaven" and "kingdom of God" occurs 101 times in the New Testament. That's more often than the words "salvation" and "saved" (together 100x). More than "repent" (54x). Almost as many as agape (109x).

Consider some of these verses:

1Ch 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

John the Baptist and Jesus' ministry were all about the kingdom (Matthew 3:2; 4:17). And when they proclaimed that the people were to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand, they were saying, "Get ready, because the king is here!" The kingdom is to be the heart of our message, too #Mt 10:7.

Extremely important: The kingdom IS HERE NOW #Lu 17:20-21|. Those for whom Christ is king are citizens of that kingdom: #Php 3:20|.  We are dual citizens.

The old saying, "It's not a religion, it's a relationship," misses this important point. The Sanhedrin persuaded the Romans to crucify Jesus Christ because He represented a treasonous competing claim to sovereignty. Caesar can't tolerate another "king of kings." It's not clear to me whether Pilate bought their argument. He kept calling Jesus "king of the Jews" (John 18:33ff; 19:20), which may have been bad enough for Rome to execute him, and offensive to the unaccepting Jews (19:21). But that fell short of what Jesus was really claiming.

Consider the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Another old saying is, "Jesus isn't Lord at all if he isn't Lord of all." "Lord" means sovereign, ruler, master. He's "Lord" because He's the King of God's Kingdom.

This is a life-transforming concept. Dig for yourself and see what you discover.

What is fear?

The preacher began the sermon with "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). That got me to thinking about fear, and what causes it, and how it is that love could somehow be the antidote for fear. (After I pondered on fear a little, I checked out the wikipedia article on fear. It's pretty good, but it's more clinical than helpful, I think.)

I discovered that I feel fear whenever I get the idea that I, or something I care about, or someone I care about is threatened.

• Standing on the edge of a cliff is scary because you believe there is a real chance that you might fall off and get seriously hurt. 
• A new lump or tingle or twinge or numbness somewhere in your body is scary because it may be the beginning of bad things that will cause you pain and suffering and death. 
• Having to give a speech is scary because you may fail and be ridiculed. Or you may fail to communicate well and cause harm to your listeners. Or disappoint the one (the One) who sent you to speak.
• Bizarre foods have a fear factor because of their odor and texture and their source just seems wrong, so you fear that it will taste horrible or make you sick.
• Spiders and big flying roaches are scary because you think they might bite or carry disease or otherwise violate and contaminate you.
• Computer viruses are scary because they may crash your computer and destroy (or distribute!) your precious information.

There are three components to fear:

1. The thing that may cause harm to me or mine (a terrorist with a bomb, a plane crash, an angry parent)
2. Proximity - the nearness to me or mine of the thing that may cause harm (in the same room vs. across the globe).
3. Investment - how dearly I hold myself or mine.

The first way we combat fear is by reducing proximity. Put the threat far away and I won't be afraid of it.

There are terrorists, to be sure. And if I really believed that that cello case might really be a bomb, I'd have fear. But in our little town, we don't really fear terrorists because we don't really believe they'd be interested in us. After all, we reason, a bomb here would not strike as much terror as blowing up a big important building crammed with people. That's proximity.

There are cliff edges all over the place, but I don't fear them because I'm in my house. The risk of falling off of them from here is just about zero. That's proximity.

Fear of death is not a motivator to young people because they don't really believe that death could happen soon. They see lots of old, reckless people who are still alive. They haven't seen much death up close. That's proximity.

The second way we combat some fears is by discovering that their threat is non-existent. Eating cooked sheep's eyeballs (a delicacy in some countries) becomes un-scary when you've done it and found them to be delicious. The threat is eliminated.

They may look ferocious, but daddy longlegs 'spiders' are harmless. The threat is eliminated.

The third way fear is reduced is by caring less about the things I care about. The hard drive in my old computer may crash one day. But that's my old computer. I still use it, but I no longer keep critical information on it. Back in the day, I cared a lot about that computer. Now not so much.

And when people in my life are threatened, the degree of fear and concern I have is proportional to how dear they are to me. Before facebook, all my high school friends were just a memory. When something happens to a faded memory, it doesn't affect me near as much.

The Christian way of dealing with fear is by realizing that, in God's hands, you're perfectly safe. Jesus taught and actually demonstrated that there is a God, and that He cares, and that He is perfectly in control of all things. And when we reach the point in our lives where we understand and believe that, and are willing to entrust ourselves and our things to Him, we are relieved of fear. That's because we've let go of those things. We aren't in control of them after all (and never were, though we once thought we were).

Fear still creeps in for a Christian who has entrusted everything to God. Sometimes God lets things happen that don't make sense. Christians still get sick and die. We get hit by drunk drivers. We lose our jobs. But we believe that in it all, God has a purpose. And that in the end, we get to go home.

Some scripture references: Isaiah 54:17; Jeremiah 29:11-14; Psalm 56:4; 118:6; Hebrews 13:6; Matthew 14:27; John 14:27; 1Peter 3:13-22

A Prayer of Faith In Christ

In church today, the pastor led in a sample prayer of commitment to Christ in faith. I was reminded of when I invited Jesus into my heart "to be my friend." It was at a Vacation Bible School at West Huntsville Baptist Church. I was about 8. I prayed that prayer after having been exposed to some of the message of Jesus and the cross. And I remember a wonderful exhilaration of joy when I did that. I enjoyed knowing that Jesus, the Son of God, was with me.

A few years later, it came time to seriously examine my life and my soul. That prayer in that VBS was just so wrong. The concept of inviting Jesus into your heart isn't exactly biblical. And inviting Jesus to be your friend isn't exactly right either.

Of course, God doesn't care about mere words. When we pray to Him, our inner thought and our outer expression need to line up. "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9).


A better prayer of consecration and faith occurred to me. It's more appropriate for adults than for kids.

O God,

I understand that my choices show that I live a life of self-centered self-reliance. I've lived as if you were not real. I understand now that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins like mine and to offer eternal life to everyone who receives Him. I believe that's true. Forgive me. Accept me. Change me. I entrust my life into your hands. My body is yours. My thoughts and dreams are yours. I look to you for guidance and security. I'm yours. Wholly yours.

We have assurance from the Bible that God hears when we pray in faith. "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." (Matthew 21:22) "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)

Why don't we listen to stewardesses?

You know that speech they give at the beginning of the flight where they talk about how to fasten the seat belts and how to operate the oxygen masks, and that the seat cushion can serve as a flotation device?
It's a marvel to look around the cabin as she gives that speech. People are reading, gabbing, ipodding, resting. Definitely not listening to the stewardess. Why not?

Problem #1: Defective Message
1. The message is stale. There's exactly one way to fasten a seat belt. It's a skill we've all mastered long ago.
2. The message is unbelievable. Who really believes that if we crash, we'll have a chance to use our seat cushions for a flotation device?
3. The message is irrelevant. Don't need to listen because what she's describing will never happen.

Problem #2: Defective Listeners
A lot of people will be completely surprised one day, and they'll wish they had paid attention.

Problem #3: Defective Presenter
Sometimes I think they try to make their presentation as perfunctory as humanly possible.

This is a parable. He who has ears, let him hear.

What does personal holiness look like?

Holiness isn't just an option. The Creator and King of kings commands: "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matt. 6:33). (Also see Eph. 1:4; 1Pet 1:16.)

I'm looking for someone I can look to as a role model. Someone I know about whom I can say, "That person is holy." 


What does holiness look like? As it applies to God, holiness means being extremely different, absolutely pure. For a human, holiness means being set apart to God.

One way holiness is evident is when someone is touched by what touches God. Not stoic, but compassionate. Moved to tears (and action!) at the plight of those suffering around him. (James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.")

To be set apart to God, a holy person doubtless spends quality and quantity time reading the Bible and meditating, in order that he may better know God and understand what God wants of him; and secondarily, how to be successful at being and doing what God wants.

A holy person is someone who literally loves God foremost. That love will show, no less than a sports fanatic's loyalties are known. Devotion to God shows in how he prioritizes his time, and where he spends his money.

A holy person is able both to enjoy earthly pleasures as a gift from God (1 Tim. 6:17) and, when appropriate, to deny himself of those very same pleasures (Philippians 4:12). (Can someone be self-indulgent and holy at the same time?)

Holiness really shows up when life is hard. A holy person demonstrates love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faith, self control (Gal. 5:22) even while undergoing a trial of life.

What are your thoughts? Do you know a person whom you could consider a spiritual role model? What is it about him or her?

Soul-stirring stuff

We live in a world where people don't believe in souls. Yet thrilling things happen in this world that can only be described as soul-stirring.

Something like that happened to me again today, and maybe it's contageous. Check out the words of this hymn (but if you recognize it, don't sing them):

To God be the glory, great things He has done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin
And opened the life gate that all may go in.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood.
To every believer the promise of God.
The vilest offender who truly believes
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.

Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear His voice! Let the people rejoice!

 Uncommon ideas that thrilled my soul:

• God's love for His world, in perfect concert with Christ's love for His world, is so magnificent that He willingly sacrificed His Son in our place. 
• Jesus gave up His life to "atone for sin." He willingly let driven, self-centered men (like you and me) torture Him and crucify Him, but not just to be a martyr or an example. Jesus' sacrifice literally appeased a just God's wrath. My sin, your sin, is offensive to God. Rather than punishing us for that offense, Jesus Himself voluntarily took that punishment in our place.
• Did it work? It worked: "perfect redemption"!
• Redemption? That's right. Someone paid the ransom for me, and it cost blood.
• Now, it's a standing promise of God, available to everyone who'll receive it.
• You don't have to "be good" to earn God's favor. "The vilest offender" is eligible to receive a pardon from God.
• We are pardoned, forgiven, made right with God, the moment we believe.

So, what is this "believe" business? That's another tricky term. Lots of people say they believe in God. By that, they usually mean, "I believe there must be a Supreme Being."

But there's much more to this word belief.

If you tell your child, "I believe in you," you aren't just saying, "I believe you exist." You're saying, "I have confidence in you that you will reach your potential." You're also saying, "I'm going to keep investing myself in you to help make that happen." True belief in your child has two facets. There's an aspect of appreciation for the character of your child, and there's an aspect of your commitment to him.

If you say, "I believe in the president," you aren't just saying, "I believe the president exists." You are saying, "I believe that the president is good for our country. I believe in his leadership. I will willingly follow him as a citizen of this country because I am convinced he is leading us in the right direction." True belief in the president has two facets. There's an aspect of appreciation for the character of the president, and there's an aspect of your commitment to him.

In the same way, if you say, "I believe in God," you aren't just saying, "I believe God exists." You're saying, "I believe God is God. He is fully in control of the Universe and of me. I unconditionally relinquish my autonomy and surrender my goals and my agenda to Him. And I believe that, with Him in charge, I am inconceivably better off than when I'm in charge."

The Bible says the same thing. "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." "God has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.""As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God."

This is soul-stirring stuff. I hope it helps you understand why I am a Christian.

Jesus Christ "opened the life gate that all may go in."

I'd love for you to join me.

Getting a PET scan

With a PET scan, they are able to detect cancer activity nearly anywhere in your body. When I was first diagnosed with lymphoma, that's the first thing they did in order to figure out where all the cancer is in my body. Of course, it saw the big spot in my guts, but it also saw a spot along my esophagus, and another under my collarbone.



I got my second PET scan today, and hope to hear results by Monday.

Know how they do a PET scan? For 48 hours before, they don't want me to do any exercise. The night before, they want me to eat a high-protein, no-carb supper. (Last night I had fried egg and mozarrella cheese, fried salmon, and Brussels sprouts.) This morning, I was at CCI at 7 a.m. with iPod in hand. I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since last night. Turns out, I could drink water, so the nurse gave me a cup of chilled water. Ahh.

By 7:15, I'm back in a very comfortable, powered la-z-boy recliner, and the nurse is starting a line in my arm. She took my weekly blood samples and disappeared. They test your blood to see if you're diabetic, too. Being diabetic can throw off PET scan results.

At 7:30, nurse #2 comes in with a thick (lead-lined?) box holding the syringe of radioactive sugar. She injects that into my line and disappears for about 70 minutes. I was to be as relaxed as possible while the sugar went around looking for cancer cells to stick to. I listened to the entire "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" album.

The nurse came in, let me take care of necessary business, and escorted me to the PET machine. The PET machine is a vertical donut with a stretcher I lie on to go in and out of the donut hole. After 20 minutes in and out of the machine, I'm done.

I'm at work by 9:15.

The radiologist is in and should read the results today, but I have no promises that Dr. McGee will get the results today, or that he'll get them to me today. Of course, the sooner the better, because if there's more chemo ahead, I'll want to get a port installed.

So, there's this new twinge I've never felt before...

UPDATE 2-15-2010

I've had a few days to live with the new state of things after four chemos. My whole insides are being assaulted. The twinge in that one spot comes and goes, and has a few friends throughout my abdomen. I'm going to say that it's side effects from the chemo. I'll know for sure after Friday.

ORIGINAL 2-8-2010

It's near where my first tumor was, only not behind my stomach, but sort of on top of it. Sounds scary, right? I'm doing that on purpose. It's not really that scary, but it does give me pause.

So, there's this sort of a pinch feeling at a spot I can put my finger on, just south of my ribs on the left hand side. It's been there the last 24 hours, I think. When I touch it, I'm pretty sure I can feel a bump there. Bummer. How can there be a new bump when I'm already getting chemo for lymphoma? Suggestions? A different kind of bump? Maybe this is some Hodkins? Or a side effect of chemo?

Whatever it is, I'm having a scan done on Friday the 19th. If it's anything, it'll glow, and that'll mean that I get to have more chemo treatments. Woohoo.

I've already told Dr. McGee that if I have to have additional chemo, I really need to get a port.

In the meantime, I'm going to live like I'm living. The life I've been granted is too good to miss.

Love,
-Andy