Saturday, June 25, 2011

An Institutional Man


In the scene previous to this one, Brooks is wielding a shank and is on the verge of taking Heywood's life.  The reason?  He has recently been informed that he will be released from prison on parole.  To anyone outside the prison walls, and to most inside of them, this is a ridiculous idea.  Who would not want to be free from prison?  But if you were standing in Brooks' shoes, you might consider the same thing.

See, as "Red" (Morgan Freeman) said, Brooks is an institutional man.  After spending most of his life in prison, that is where he is most comfortable; and to practically begin life all over again after making one in prison seems detrimental to old Brooks.  As a matter of fact, it seems so detrimental to Brooks that he is willing to take a mans life to ensure that he doesn't have to leave the Shawshank prison.

Now, picture this.  A young man from the community begins coming to youth group.  After a while his best friend becomes the youth pastor.  He goes to every single service, even the ones that don't attract the younger crowds.  He does all the outreach projects.  He goes on all the trips.  Then, one night during the youth group, the youth pastor makes announcement that shocks this young man.  God has called the youth pastor and his family in another direction and he is resigning from the church.  The young man is heart broken.  So heart broken that he quits going to church.  This young man has become "institutionalized."

Whenever moments like this happen, and they do happen far too often across the United States, most people are surprised.  I know that I am.  We say, "How could he just quit coming to church like that, he loved church so much?"  And when we ask that, we answer our own question.  The reason that this happens is because people fall in love with the institution and routine of the church and not its kingly head, Jesus.

Love Jesus, then love the church.  If you try to love in the wrong order, you will end up like Brooks.  You will be an institutional man.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Jesus in a Box

I can remember quite well the first time I heard it.  I was at Falls Creek Camp and my youth group had just finished doing a low ropes team building course when the counselor said it.  "You can't put Jesus in a box."  The counselor was almost right.

Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God.  He is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  He is the First and the Last.  Jesus is he Lamb that was slain and  the victor over death.  He is my healer and my Wonderful Counselor.  He is the Word.  The Creator.  Jesus is the Messiah.

The list above describes Jesus.  It is not an exhaustive list, but you can bank that Jesus is at least all of these things.  Why do I  make such a bold statement?  I make such a bold statement because the Bible describes Jesus that way.

Now, if you have studied any church history at all, you will know that one of the great battles the church continuously fights is the battle against heresies, or false doctrines.  Some of them are bold, some come in costumes, but what makes a heresy a heresy is they are taking Jesus out of the box.

I know that when people say that "You can't put Jesus in box" they often mean we can't make Jesus into what we want Him to be or we can't make Jesus less than who He really is by putting Him in a box that seems to suck away all of His power.  But, I can assure you of at least one thing.  There is one box that Jesus has to go in and cannot come out of.  It is the Bible box.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Storm Warning

“I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”
Joshua 7:12

                Picture this.  It is hurricane season in the Atlantic.  You live in a nice beachfront house with a porch that leaks out onto the sandy dunes.  It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon and you are relaxing out in the sun’s warm rays.  And as you are relaxing in your fold-out beach chair and listening to the radio, an emergency broadcast screams across the radio waves.  It is to inform you that a hurricane is surely going to hit your town and the whole town needs to evacuate immediately.  Despite how frightening that situation may be, there is a situation much more frightening than that: not hearing the news of the coming storm and continuing your day like the next was going to be just as pleasant.
                Today, in the United States, a very common verse from the Bible is used to give people peace and comfort.  It is the verse “God will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).  But like the person in the story above, many people who are told that are going to live their lives as usual and wake up the next morning to find a storm is right over head.  The reason that is so is because many people, when they are told that “God will never leave them or forsake them,” are not hearing the whole truth when it comes to that verse.  The whole truth to that verse is that God will not forsake you if you do not forsake Him (2 Chronicles 15:2).  People want to live their lives thinking they can live however they want and still receive the blessings of God.  But that is not true.  As you can see from the above verse, sin separates us from God.  Achan had stolen objects from Jericho that God had commanded the Israelites to devote to Him.  When Achan stole the devoted objects, the nation of Israel was exactly where they didn’t want to be: without God.
                Even though God shows us grace and mercy when we sin, there are still consequences.  One of those consequences may be God stepping away from the situation and letting us do it on our own.  Don’t let it happen.  You have been warned of the storm.