Cannot Spend Our Way Out of Recession

Money is on my mind ... not only because of our church's participation with the free, live event via streaming video with Dave Ramsey's "Town Hall for Hope" (this Thursday at 7p CST, www.townhallforhope.com/), but also because money is on nearly every news show, in very many conversations over backyard fences, and because the bills keep showing up in my mailbox. It is even on the international scene. At the request of a friend who intelligently keeps his finger on the pulse of "all things current," I watched a video from the UK parliament about ... you guessed it, money. But the conclusion ... well ... hit the money. "Prime Minister," one Daniel Hannan said, "you cannot spend your way out of recession; you cannot borrow your way out of debt" (www.youtube.com/watch?v=94lW6Y4tBXs). Wow, that is different from what I am hearing about money on those news shows. I am ready to get even more serious about standing in the freedom of frugality and even more resilient to the worldview that shouts, "Spend more money now." [I hope you can attend a "Town Hall for Hope" event at our church or one of the many other venues nationwide.] We must not give in to fear. "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ... but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:31,33-34).

Proximity Does Not Equal Nearness

Devotion involves motion. Sometimes abrupt, sometimes steady, sometimes slight—but devotion involves motion. But even that statement—devotion involves motion—seems like a shallow echo of its deeper punch. Devotion demands motion! However, motion is not necessarily a physical characteristic. Devotion demands motion at our spiritual core. At times devotion compels and propels us to “go out, not knowing where we are going” (Hebrew 11:8). But devotion-motion might also cycle at full-tilt internally while our feet remain at home. Devotion demands spiritual motion … and all spiritual motion intersects Calvary.

I am awed at the microcosm at Calvary. Around the crossof Christ, during the day of His crucifixion, even at the precise moment of his death at 3pm when “He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46)—a full representation of humanity orbits. Many are in physical motion that dark day; but not all motion is devotion-motion. The “centurion” (Luke 23:47) is on shift duty; initially there because he has to be there. The “crowd” (Luke 23:48) is present because, frankly, they want to be there in a disturbing circus-kind of darkness. The apostles, reduced to anonymous “acquaintances” (Luke 23:49a) are there, but not really … close enough to see, but far enough to elude identification with Christ and risk their own arrest. The “women” are there, as close as their appropriate fragility will allow, but the pain is sharp. They will be the first witnesses of the resurrection.

Within these four groups everyone is represented and every response to Calvary is demonstrated: a volitionally thoughtful response, the frenzied and cursory response, the painfully passive response, and the acutely emotional response. But proximity to Calvary does not equate nearness to Christ. The crowd is closer than the women, but the women understood the deeper punch of Calvary. The women seemed to be shoulder-to-shoulder with the apostle/acquaintances, but the apostles were elsewhere internally. The soldier ought to have been so desensitized to Roman crucifixions by this point in his career, but he kept rapt attention to all that was happening with “this Man” (Luke 23:46). All of humanity orbits Calvary, voluntarily or involuntarily, but not all land on the Mount of Crucifixion. Many hover around the vicinity of Christ, but few cling to the cross of Christ.

Devotion demands motion … motion of the spiritual nature. It is the motion that breaks the inertia of sedentary spirituality. It is the motion that moves us from onlookers to witnesses wherever our feet happen to be physically. Let me suggest taking two steps. The first step: step into the narrative … which role do you fill? The second step: wherever your starting point happens to be, step toward Christ by faith. May these two steps be the first of many as the Lord moves you from onlooker to witness. “Almost” is never close enough to the nearness of God in Christ Jesus.

Kevin Rees, April 3, 2009

The Clash of Confidences

Though I am reluctant to remember, I have been known to watch Saturday morning professional wrestling matches. In my pre-teen era, the "actors" in the canvas ring included such names as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, and Randy "Macho-Man" Savage. The clashes were legendary ... staged, yes ... hyped up, certainly ... but legendary. Look out, your adversary might grab that metal folding chair when you're not looking or disoriented from the pile-driver or the suplex from the top rope. "One, two, three, that's a match, folks."

But the clash of confidences lives on, interestingly enough, in the ring of spirituality. And this challenge dwarfs any of the professional wrestling matches in any era. In the blue corner, religion. In the red corner, relationship with Jesus Christ. There could be no more diametrically opposed adversaries than these--religion and relationship. Allow me to run down a list of synonyms that sheds light on what I mean.

Religion is man-made; attempting to please God with the things we can do and generate. Relationship is God-given; standing upon the fact that Jesus pleased God for us, doing everything perfectly on our behalf.

In the blue corner is trying. In the red corner is trusting. In the blue corner is striving. In the red corner is resting. So the contrast continues: flesh vs. Spirit, law vs. grace, works vs. faith, duty vs. love, have-to vs. want-to, complying vs. obeying, never-ending vs. once-and-for-all, death vs. life, the curse of Adam vs. the blessing of Christ, slavery vs. freedom, external vs. internal, image conscious vs. heart conscious, renovation vs. regeneration, Pharisees and the Sadducees vs. Christ and the apostles, oral tradition of men vs. the written Word of God, Old Covenant vs. New Covenant, the blood of bulls and goats vs. the blood of the perfect Lamb of God.

Christ has exposed the hollowness of man-made religion, challenged its confidence, and extended His hand of grace to rebuild a relationship severed since the Garden. "One, two, three, that's a match folks!" Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Up to Easter 2009

Join us this season at Fellowship Bible Church as we march toward the center of our worship calendar—Resurrection Sunday, April 12. Even without the chocolate bunnies and the bright spring colors that Easter invariably and delightfully brings, this is a joyful and deliberate season of pilgrimage. We are marching to the cadence of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—with so many other born-again worshipers all over the world. It is a spiritual journey we all must personally take in faith—trekking up to the city of God to glimpse (for the first time or for the next time) upon the great love of Christ against the dark backdrop of our sin. But even with the personal nature of faith, our faith is never meant to be isolated from or insulated against those who walk these same, well-trodden paths up to Easter. We really are meant to sojourn together. Join us as we march, together fixing our eyes on Him.

Cheating Death

There was frantic barking in the backyard. What was it this time? Did the dogs corral another mole? Is the meter-reader attempting a brave shortcut through our backyard? Is that frisky Border-collie taunting from the fence-less beyond? I gave it no second thought. But apparently Shellie did not so easily disregard chaos. She brought the report a few minutes later; her voice slightly frantic—“It’s a stray kitten. The dogs have a kitten and are tossing it around like a chew toy.”

It turned out that the kitten was not supper; not even bloody, just terribly slobbered upon. Shellie was somehow able to get the dogs into the garage, coaxing the kitten out from a corner, setting it free on the dog-less side of the fence. It sprinted off, but did not sprint away. Into the night the kitten meowed, taking residence in our van’s warm, dry, and safe engine compartment. Safe, that is, until we cranked the engine … which we mercifully didn’t do the next morning.

After extending to this rather foolish kitten water, food, and solitude over half the next day, we decided to double our efforts of scatting this cat. We turned on the van’s radio, misted the engine area with water from a spray bottle, rolled the van backward (without the engine), doused the cat with the garden hose, called Animal Control, and (with the officer’s help) finally started the engine. Surely that would scare it off. No.

This traumatized, wet, disoriented, sticky from dog slobber, stray kitten was decidedly not going to come out without a physical removal. With much effort the officer finally snagged the little … (ahem!) feline … but it wriggled free. And where did it run? IT RAN BACK TO OUR BACKYARD WHERE THE DOGS WERE WAITING. We darted to get the dogs in. The officer darted to pluck the kitten from the jaws of “round two.” How many lives this kitten has left is only a guess.

But the analogy of the story is its punch. Here we were attempting with great effort to show mercy and grace to this kitten; being even more cognizant of the danger than it was. Yet for all of our trying, the kitten was convinced that we were the enemy—sadistically heating up the environment, causing all kinds of racket, slinging water around on a cold and windy afternoon. And after a forceful deliverance, at first opportunity, the kitten attempted to dart straight back into the “lion’s den” where this whole escapade started. We are that kitten! In the jaws of our own sin and death—there was literally no escape. Mercy and grace stepped in, in the person of Jesus Christ, to rescue us. Yet in our frenzy, largely oblivious to the depths that rescue effort cost Him and meant to us, we run straight back to the danger from which we were plucked because we misinterpret His forceful rescue as malicious toying. Nevertheless, He will not let us wriggle away—even when that is all we want to do at times.

“I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-30).

Kevin Rees, March 4, 2009

Sense of Wonder

I THINK I UNDERSTAND a little bit -- a tiny bit -- of what Louis Pasteur once said, "The more I study creation, the more I see the Creator." Quite removed from freshman biology class, I am nevertheless amazed all over again at the level of complexity and interconnectivity in the created world. Whether I look into the most powerful electron microscope or the most powerful full-spectrum telescope, God is fully present. I would have to agree with David's rhetorical question, "Where can I flee from Your presence?" (Psalm 139:7). Not only is God everywhere; God is everywhere undiluted. It is not like somehow God is too little butter spread over too much bread (to butcher a line from J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring). With that in mind, there really is no "God-forsaken place;" that is except for the dark moments when Christ hung on Calvary's cross for our sins, crying out, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me?" The contrast between all time and that time is infinite. The comparison between all places and that place is unfathomable. "How precious are Your thoughts toward me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17).

Reasons to Celebrate

ORGANIZATIONALLY SPEAKING, there are some reasons to celebrate with regard to our three stated and church-wide goals for 2009 (and beyond!)—knowing Christ deeply, loving God and others authentically, and serving the world sacrificially.

Know. We celebrate a successful launch of the “Truth Project.” Each Sunday evening there are 46 participants assembling around living rooms for a DVD-based lecture and discussion series probing into the foundational and transformational dynamics of having and living a Christian worldview. If you missed out on this cycle, we hope to launch another 12-week cycle this summer. See Randy Blackwell for more information.

Love. We celebrate family; not only the idea of family, but also the determination to strengthen real families in real ways. Think and plan ahead toward participating in this year’s Weekend to Remember® with Family Life. In mid-May, this highly acclaimed marriage enrichment conference is coming to Rogers, AR. If enough couples sign up from FBC, we can qualify for a discounted group rate. See Nick DeYoung for more information.

Serve. We celebrate the amplification of our children’s ministry. Two new classes, a new curriculum, and several new volunteers have been added to better help our children to know Christ, love God & others, and serve the world. This has created multiple opportunities for the FBC body to use their gifts and resources to serve the world, starting right here at home … for only God knows to where in the world these children will zoom with the message of Christ. See Shellie Rees for more information.