Quantity or Quality?

     As I was reading Scripture today, I came across a passage that made me stop and reflect on Christ's ministry.  Luke 14: 25-27:  "Now great crowds accompanied Him, and He turned and said to them, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot my disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.'"  In the verses that follow, Jesus goes on to describe how a builder always counts the cost before laying a foundation so he knows if he has enough materials to finish the job.  Likewise, a king does not go to war unless he is certain he is able to defeat the foe.  Counting the cost of discipleship is the message the Lord is giving in these verses.
     Looking further in my Study Bible, I read this footnote to verse 25:  "Christ's aim was not to gather appreciative crowds, but to make true disciples.  He never adapted His message to majority preferences, but always plainly declared the high cost of discipleship.  Here He made several bold demands that would discourage the half-hearted"  (MacArthur Study Bible, pg. 1506).  The footnote also referred to another footnote on Chapter 13:23 that carries much the same message.  In this chapter and verse, the Lord is asked if there will only be few that are saved.  Jesus replied (verse 24)
"Strive to enter through the narrow door.  For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."  According to the footnote on Chapter 13:23, Dr. MacArthur indicates that the question asked about how many will be saved may have been prompted by many factors.  He says, "The great multitudes that had once followed Christ were subsiding to a faithful few (John 6:66).  Great crowds still came to hear (Luke 14:25) but committed followers were increasingly scarce.  Moreover, Christ's messages often seemed designed to discourage the half-hearted.  And He Himself had stated that the way is so narrow that few find it (Matt. 7:14)" (MacArthur Study Bible, pg 1504).
     Reflecting on these two passages, there is clearly some things we can glean from what the Lord did.  Jesus, in no way, shunned crowds of people but as Dr. MacArthur so aptly said, our Savior was not as concerned about making everyone feel comfortable.  He did not fashion his message to tickle the ears of those who came to hear Him.  He realized that many followed Him for what He might do for them.  Others came to see the miracles He performed or out of curiosity.  Yet, Jesus was seeking those who were called by God to believe in Him.  He desired disciples who would put God first ahead of all other concerns including their own life.  He was not encouraging for those that were half hearted in their commitment.
     Thinking about this in terms of our culture today, we see some churches that do things more from a marketing position than from the example our Lord  gives in these passages.  Big programs, special music with lots of drawing power do bring in the crowds.  However, we need to stop and ask why people come to these events.  Do they come for entertainment?  Are they coming just for social interaction and nothing more?  Jesus clearly told those who followed Him that it would cost them to follow Him, and unfortunately, we know little in our country of the cost that others in the persecuted church have to pay to follow Him.  Therefore, we do not value our commitment in the same way.  The persecuted church cannot have big name speakers come to preach or hold huge rallies.  Yet, their numbers are growing more each day.  Why?  They have honed in on what is most important...they preach the Gospel which is able to save.
     These passages point out the importance of discipleship over attracting the masses.  Jesus wanted the committed to follow Him not the half hearted.  As believers in church bodies, how are we doing in terms of discipling those who are new to the faith?  After all, it is not the quantity of people we attract in our churches each week, but rather it is the quality of the preaching and teaching that prepares them to go out in the world to reach others.  May each one of us be faithful to use the gifts which God has given to us to help those around us grow in their faith, and may God receive all the glory as we follow in the Master's footsteps.  Selah!

"The Next Big Thing"

     Sitting and sipping my coffee this morning, I could not help but reflect on the old coffee mug which once belonged to our oldest son Aaron.  It has a large representation of the Tasmanian Devil (cartoon character) on the front of it.  I have probably used it since the day our son moved out.  It feels comfortable to me.  We have plenty of other coffee cups, but there is nothing like my "Taz" cup to start the day.  There is something to be said for tradition.
     Growing up, my family attended a Presbyterian Church in our community where we weekly recited the Lord's Prayer, said the Apostle's Creed and sang the doxology and the Gloria Patri.  After hearing it for years, I learned it by heart so it became a part of meaningful worship to me.  Now that I

am older, I find a security and stability as I recite these same things that the saints of the early church also said.  Yet there was a time when I thought tradition was boring and went searching for "the next big thing".
     My husband and I joined with a group of believers who were going to "throw off" tradition and hear from God afresh in worship.  It sounded good, and so a new church was born.  A praise band replaced traditional hymnody, and we rarely, if ever, recited the "Lord's Prayer" or the "Apostle's Creed".  Instead, we stood and sang until the Spirit of God moved upon us and someone would utter a prophetic word in tongues with an interpretation.  Needless to say, it had elements of excitement because it was new and different.  However, I believe much of it relied upon feelings and emotion rather than a move of the Spirit.
     Cracks in the foundation of this new body of believers began to show when doctrine came up in preaching.  Most of us had come out of traditional churches and were well acquainted with the Bible. Yet one week, we were told "once saved, always saved."  The next week, we heard that we could lose our salvation.  Nothing seemed to be settled.  After a number of such incidents, we prayerfully decided to leave this body.  We had made many wonderful friends and thankfully, we are still friends today, but we realized we could not stay where doctrine was fluid.  The whole experience was very painful for us as a family, and for a time, we had no church to call home.
     When we finally settled in to the ARP Presbyterian Church in our community, I cannot begin to describe the comfort that came over me as we sang the "Doxology" and recited the "Lord's Prayer".
I was home...felt secure again as I heard the Doctrines of Grace expounded from the pulpit.  "The next big thing" was not at all what I thought it would be.  Lesson learned.
     Solomon learned this over the course of his life too.  He started out well by asking God for wisdom ( 2 Chronicles 1 and I Kings 3).  God was pleased at his request and granted him this as well as riches and peace.  From there, however, things went downhill.  Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter and formed an alliance with Egypt.  God had told the Children of Israel not to marry foreign women, so while Solomon may have been wise in his decisions among his people, he was not wise in his own life.  He was always seeking "the next big thing".  He gathered 700 concubines to make his life happy, and he began to engage in pagan rituals along with them.  He certainly had a fabulous palace, he built the Temple for God, and he had peace on all sides with the nations around him.  However, in all his quest for "the next big thing" to titillate his senses, he lost sight of true worship of the only God.  His regrets are recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes where he writes, "Vanity of vanities says the Preacher, vanity of vanities!  All is vanity."  His quest for excitement led him to the realization that "new things" were not always the best things.    He concludes his writing (Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14) by saying, "The end of the matter; all has been heard.  Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.  For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."  Indeed, Solomon learned the hard way and after him, the kingdom was torn in two as a result of his wayward leadership.
     As we look at our culture today, we see the pursuit of the same thing Solomon wanted:  "The next big thing."  Whether it is the newest smartphone, electronic gadget or toy, man's heart has not changed...it is still tinged with that old sin nature.  Unfortunately, some of that desire for the next big thing has also crept into the church.  Even though our experience happened many years ago, the same scenario can be seen today where congregations want to throw off the "old" traditions in favor of new ways of attracting a crowd.  Yet Scripture teaches us "...no one understands; no one seeks for God" (Romans 3:11).  What is it we are missing here?
     The church is to be a bastion of teaching and discipleship.  A place to be equipped to go into the world and share the Gospel.  We are to be the salt and light.  As a peculiar people, we are to influence the world and not allow the world and its methods to influence us.  Why is it that  in many cases we see bodies of believers compromising with the world's standards and becoming places of entertainment rather than centers of teaching?  God does not change and neither does His Word.  Therefore, do we think we can improve on what He has told us?  My prayer for the church at large is that we seek to return to reformation principles:  Sola fide (faith alone), Sola Gratia (grace alone),
Sola Cristos (Christ alone), Sola scriptura (Scripture alone) and Sola Deo gloria (to God be the glory alone).  All else is window dressing.  We must not get caught up in "the next big thing" if we are to be faithful to the one who calls us.  Tradition may seem stuffy to some, but in the context of the Christian faith, it ties us to the generations that have gone before us saying "The Lord's Prayer", the Apostle's Creed and singing the doxology.  It is what sets us apart from this world with its trinkets and baubles.  Selah!
   
   

Being Thankful in All Things Great and Small

     In this season of Thanksgiving, I had the privilege of visiting my grandsons today at their school for a special parent/grandparent lunch with them.  What a delight to see them smile and hear about what they have been doing.  Family time and the simple things like having lunch in a school cafeteria are a gift from God.  Perhaps we forget to take time just to praise the Lord for these moments that bring a smile to our heart.
     As I was reading today in "The Valley of Vision", the Puritan prayer I read touched my heart strings:
     "O my God,
       Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee,
       for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in
       ceaseless flow.
     When I think upon and converse with thee, ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
       ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
       crowding into every moment of happiness.
      I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, sanctifying it,
       though it is fixed in barren soil; for the body thou hast given me, for preserving
       strength and vigor, for providing senses to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom
       of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding; for thy royal bounty
       providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste,
       sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others,
       for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
       for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
       for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.
     I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures.
   
     Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity." (pg 16-17, The Valley of Vision).

     What a beautiful expression of thankfulness and praise to God in this prayer.  How often we overlook the bounty of all that we have been blessed with.  We often complain about our appearance, or even our performance on the job whether homemaker or worker outside the home.  "I wish I was more like so and so," we say.  However, Scripture paints a different picture of who we are in Psalm 139.  David writes:  "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13-14).  Our Creator made us just the way He wanted us to be with a plan for us to bring glory to His name.  In this, we should express our thankfulness just as this Puritan prayer expresses.
      Having the basic needs of our life met (i.e. food, clothing, shelter), what more do we really need?
Yet, daily, through commercials, we are told that we deserve more.  Our society runs more on "the next great thing" than on thankfulness and praise to the God who has so richly blessed us.
     Perhaps the most meaningful part of this prayer is at the beginning where the one uttering the words calls herself a "little vessel" that is filled as it can be.  Jesus told us in John 7:38:  "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”  We are meant to pour out the streams of living water to those who do not know the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit use us all for His glory and praise.
      As we approach Thanksgiving, let us begin to reflect on all that God has given us and be thankful for who we are, for the time we live in, and for the opportunities we have daily.  These have been ordained by our Sovereign God who made us and loves us.  If we do this, we will find a greater contentment in the life He has given us.  Selah!