Sin

Following Jim Burgen's message this past weekend (“Full of It” – April 6/7, 2013), our good buddy Trent Culver wrote the following blog to share. Very thought provoking...and convicting.

—Dan

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There are two things common to all people: All have sinned—all fall short of the glory of God and God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.

Our world is broken. Satan opposes God and all that He loves. As a result, satan opposes humanity. He calls our attention to the things of this world. Materialism, power, distorted sexuality, substance abuse and un-numbered other distractions all fight for the love of God. Pride is our coping mechanism. At our core, we know that we are flawed and finite. Pride covers up and numbs us to our sin and sense of eternity.

In pride we deny God's truth and in doing so, we deny God.

As Christians, we live in the light. We are strangers in this world. As such, we should expect opposition from it. When done right, Christianity's roots are grace and truth. Humanity's adversary hates both. He is a destructive liar bent on preserving the chaos, confusion and disorder of this world. His lies are so effective that many people accept them as truth. As a result, many of the lies are written into our cultural fabric. When general acceptance of these lies is combined with human pride and insecurity, intolerance is born. The results are polarizing. As a result, people desperately in need of both grace and truth are duped to believe that they need neither.

The level of opposition that Christianity receives from the mainstream provides evidence of two truths: Satan has powerful influence in this world and Jesus Christ is truth. I know of no other belief system that is opposed by the world in the way that Christianity is.

To preserve worldly chaos and humanity's detachment from the divine, satan strives to keep those lost in darkness. Satan's tactic with the believer is similar. With us, he also exploits our insecurity and fills us with pride. In observing the sin of this world, our error is to target the sin and sinner and forget about our enemy who is the real source of the problem. 

The pride and self righteousness of Christians and Christian religion has done immeasurable damage to the cause of Christ. As believers, we have to be different. Because we know Christ and have received His spirit it is up to us to greet the cold intolerance and opposition of this world with grace and love. If we are to be like Christ, we have to be willing to "turn the other cheek", to be spat upon by the world and love the spitter just the same.

As Christians, we will be opposed by this world.

—Trent

A Holy Moment

So, I am what you’d call a “processor”. Meaning: It takes me awhile to process through major events and situations in my life. I’m GREAT at quickly processing everyone else’s stuff…but slow on the uptake when it comes to my own life. Case in point: my recent trip in February to South Sudan with the Flatirons missions team. Even though I’ve been back home for over a month now…I’m still working through what I experienced over there…especially my “Holy Moment”.

I’ll get to that in a second.  

The entire trip to Africa was amazing. It was amazingly far away. It was amazingly exotic and beautiful. And it was an amazingly difficult trip…emphasis on “difficult”! Our team of eleven (9 men and 2 women) also got along amazingly! We got to know each other in ways we never foresaw or expected. I guess that’s what happens when ALL semblance of privacy gets chucked out the window and you experience some stuff with friends that you’ve never experienced with your own wife! I mean, Amy and I have been married for almost 32 years, but I’ve never “dropped a deuce” side-by-side with her…like I had to with my buddy Andy Wineman!

No. That was NOT my Holy Moment.   

No…the real revelation from the trip was this: The Bible simply came alive to me! It was almost immediate. Watching the sheep, goats and cattle—led by the village shepherd boys—roaming in…through…and around us made it obvious that the culture and living conditions of Maper are much more like EVERYTHING we read in the Bible than ANYTHING we can ever experience here in 21^st Century America.

It was easy for me to envision the story of Jacob...who worked 7 years for Laban as a shepherd....payment for the chance to wed Rachel (Genesis 29). Then, after being tricked (and given Laban’s other daughter Leah) Jacob then worked another 7 years as a shepherd for Laban. And listening to Jim Burgen teach through Jesus’ Three Lost Parables (The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son—Luke 15), I could see each and every one of those parables being lived out in this tiny African village.

But the culmination of all this came at the end of our stay in South Sudan. As a symbol of gratitude and generosity, the leaders in Maper gifted our team with a lamb to take home. Needless to say, we couldn’t really take it back to the States, but we did throw it in the back of the van on Saturday and drove it the 2 ½ hours back to Rumbek—where it became Sunday night dinner.

And this was my Holy Moment. I had the privilege of slaughtering the lamb.

Slaughtering the Lamb in Rumbek, South Sudan

I know how weird, creepy and harsh that may sound, but it doesn’t make it any less true. I was asked if I would do the honor of slaughtering the lamb for dinner…and I agreed to do it. And at that moment…that Holy Moment…when I somberly took the knife to do what I’d been asked to do…all of scripture came flooding over me.

The blood sacrifice is such an integral part of the Bible, and the centerpiece of all we believe, culminating in the blood sacrifice of Jesus—the Lamb of God (John1:36). And as I slaughtered this lamb…this gift…this sacrifice…I was overwhelmed by the sacrificial imagery God has given us in the Bible…and I was filled with gratitude for what Jesus has done for us…through His body and His blood. It was a Holy Moment.

Now, I know we can’t all experience what I got to experience in South Sudan, but one thing I do know for sure: All of us, as believers in Jesus, will one day all get together in Heaven to thank Him face-to-face for what He’s done. For His grace… His mercy…and His sacrifice…paid for with His blood.

And I know I will be joined by my friends in Maper...and it will be the greatest of Holy Moments.

—Dan