I'm Just Saying...

I love John Mayer's hit song, "Say."  It has a nice melody and a catchy, smooth groove to it, but recently I examined the lyrics.  Check this section out:

Have no fear for giving in

Have no fear for giving over

You'd better know that in the end

Its better to say too much

Then never say what you need to say again

Think about the last 2 lines.  I think JM was trying to declare that sometimes it's better to get the issue out than hold it inside and never deal with it.  I could be wrong about his intent but, hey....I'm just saying.

Now that begs the question, "Is it really better to say too much?"    The bible has a lot to say about what we say.  After all we are relational beings who communicate every day in one form or another, so it would be in our best interest to know what God "says" about "saying what we need to say."

"Let your speech always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one."  {Colossians 4:6 NKJV}

As I started chewing on that verse I realized that we are smacked in the face with a huge paradox. The only way we can really know how to say what we need to say is to let what we say be full of grace and seasoned with salt. 

Thanks, Paul. 

Now that opens up a new reality:  We actually have to say something with grace and salt (hold the pepper) to gain insight on how we need to say it. 

Hmmmmmm. 

On the surface that verse doesn't help much, but when you drill down deeper it makes perfect sense.  Jesus taught us that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks, so the condition of our innermost person will have a profound impact on what we say.  Many of us (myself included) have "vomited" on people when the condition of our spirit-man is not in sync with grace and dare I say that many of us have also been on the receiving end of someone else's spewing.  Oftentimes the spewing is under the guise of "I had to say it!"  "I'm full of hurt, pain, disgust, misery and dog-gone-it someone needs to know.  In Mayer's words, "It's better to say to much than never say what you need to say again."  

Now understand this:  by definition, grace is (Thayer's Lexicon) 

a spiritual condition governed by the power of divine grace. 

We all face times of crises in life where we get overwhelmed.  The danger is not becoming the crises - not letting the crises become our identity, define who we are or shape the condition of our spirit-man.  If I allow God's grace to govern my life and choose to live in a state of grace, it is grace that will define my life and become my identity.  Then I will be able to say what I need to say with the knowledge of how God wants me to say it. 

Next, the verse says our speech needs to be seasoned with salt.  I will continue on this in my next blog posting.  Be blessed.

Pentecostal Culture

Several years ago I read a book from Willow Creek titled “Becoming a Contagious Church” which illustrated the gaps that exist between the unregenerate (unsaved, lost, unchurched, far from God…whatever description you choose to use) and God.

The author described the vast cultural chasm that exists and has to be bridged before individuals will become open to hearing about the life changing message of the gospel. In our nation, secular culture has truly helped shape the worldview of this generation and when (according to this worldview) truth is now relative to individual interpretation and any lifestyle is acceptable, the Christian church faces the daunting challenge of proclaiming Jesus as the way the truth the life amid this popular outlook. Like it or not we, the church, have become another face in the crowd in the American psyche – persona non-grata – just one very "intolerant" way of expressing first amendment religious liberty.

I contend that there is yet another cultural chasm that exists and in many cases has to be overcome before individuals will be open to the gospel and that is "Pentecostal Culture." Pentecostalism (which I grew up in and love dearly) is unlike any other expression of Christianity. The past 100 years have seen a rapid rise of Pentecostalism across the globe and we are privileged to be a part of this great expansive movement. Pentecostals doctrinally believe that the Holy Spirit gives power for evangelism yet in America we see that many non-Pentecostal churches equal and in some cases exceed us when it comes to evangelistic impact. Why is this? Could it be related to the culture of Pentecostalism?

The Eyes of Our Understanding

This afternoon, Gwen and I were at lunch with a new couple from our church and I got a phone call from the school nurse where my two youngest boys attend.  A call from the nurse usually means a stomach ache or a headache to which we can easily say, "Give him some Pepto or some Tylenol and send him back to class."  Today was different.  My youngest son, Chandler (who is the most accident prone of my 5 kids) was playing soccer, tripped and ran his thumb into his eye socket.  Yikes!  We cut our lunch short and wound up in the E.R.  After a thorough examination from a wise-guy of a doctor (I won't go further down that road) it was determined that there was no cornea or retinal damage.  Whewwww! 
When I got home I started thinking about how badly his life would have been affected had there been serious damage to his eyesight.  Every area of his life would be affected dramatically. 

Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church was that

"...the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." (Eph 3:18 NIV)

Proverbs tells us that all issues of life spring up from the heart.  If our spiritual eyesight becomes damaged, it can ultimately damage our heart and greatly affect all of the issues of our lives.  We need to guard against that and pray the same prayer over our lives that Paul prayed for the 1st century Ephesians. 

What are some things that can damage our spiritual eyesight and what can we do to make sure that the eyes of our understanding stay enlightened?