Author: Frank

R12: What does God really want from you?

Frank

Today continues our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For an introduction with disclaimers, click here. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

The first section, or “unit” of Living on the Edge addresses the first relationship in Romans 12, our relationship with God. There’s an exhilaration that comes with having a relationship with the Creator of the universe, and eagerness to soak in His Word, and a compulsion to rid ourselves of the sin that plagued our past. That’s how Chip Ingram opens his first chapter. Though his second paragraph begins with “But…”

But… If it were only that simple. Eventually some of the old sins and old habits return. Sometimes new character sins are revealed. (For example, I became a Christian before I was married or had children. Both life-changing events have uncovered flaws in my character that were either new or that I thought were gone long before.) We approach crossroads in our faith where we either choose to fight against our sinful nature or conclude the fight’s not worth it, that it’s just who we are. Marriage, career, children, etc all face the same crossroads: keep fighting to change, to grow, or concede that it’s just the way it is so I better learn to deal with it.

Of course, God does not intend for us to live this way. Jesus promised, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) He further challenged the church in Ephesus, “You have forsaken your first love… Repent and do the things you did at first.” (Revelation 2:4-5) As we mature in our walk with God, we forget that feeling when the Holy Spirit was fresh in our hearts. We settle for Jesus our Savior and forget about Jesus our Lord. And we are either content in our circumstances or we find ourselves struggling against God’s will. Romans 12 begins with “Therefore… “and the opening thought concludes, “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.”

So how do we get there? Romans 12:1 instructs us to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship.” No, this passage is not asking you to go sacrifice yourself on an altar. It is asking that you live your life holy and pleasing to God. “Holy” means “set apart” and of course we want to live lives that please our creator. So what is this sacrifice? It is our will, our sinful nature, our selfishness, our pride, our whole selves for it is these things that keep us from experiencing God’s best for our lives.

That leads us to the “s-word” of the first relationship in Romans 12: Surrender. It sounds harsh. It sounds intimidating. But it is the only way to tap into what God has in store for our lives and the only way to truly live as the lights God intends us to be on this earth. To quote from Chip’s first chapter, “If you’re tired of all the rules, all the formulas, all the religious activities, and even well-meaning church programs that promise transformation but don’t deliver, I invite you to join me on a journey of grace, faith, and relationship that leads to genuine transformation.” He asks us to trust him, but more importantly to trust God.

Each chapter concludes with TRUST ME as an acrostic for: Think, Reflect, Understand, Surrender, Take action, Motivation, and Encourage someone. I’m going to follow that same format here by paraphrasing the same questions as in the book. I encourage you to answer these questions in the comments if you feel comfortable to do so. You can carry on the conversation over on FB as well.

Think: Do you relate with the “crossroads” I describe above? How so?
Reflect: Does this stir something inside your heart? If so, why do you think that is?
Understand: How does this make you feel, encouraged, scared, convicted?
Surrender: Pray about this. Tell God how you feel, what you desire.
Take action: Come back tomorrow for Chapter 2
Motivation: Watch the first video on Surrender here.
Encourage someone: Pray for someone who you know is going through these same struggles. Pray for all those reading this book or going through an R12 small group, that God encourages them to fight on.

R12: Introduction

Frank

Today begins our “virtual small group” covering the book Living On The Edge. For how this group is going to work, read this entry. For some numbers from Barna to motivate you to continue reading, go here. For the R12 videos, click the R12 button on the sidebar to the right. Finally, as we move forward through the book you can always catch up by clicking the R12 label at the end of each post.

It’s also important for some “official” disclaimers before we dig in. I am not affiliated with the ministry of Living on the Edge, Venture Christian Church, or Walk Thru the Bible. The opinions expressed on this blog are my own and do not represent Chip Ingram or any of the organizations above. At the same time, the video lessons linked to at R12, do not represent myself or my church.

While I agree with and endorse the purpose of the Living on the Edge ministry, I do disagree with some of its theology. This becomes clear at the outset with the video questions: How Can I be Certain I’m a Christian? and Is Surrendering to Christ the Same as Becoming a Christian? Chip and I have different answers for these two questions. Personally, I do not believe “Christian” is a label ever intended to look like it does today. It was originally an insult meaning “little Christ”. It is not a marketing or political label. And it didn’t describe the casual believer in Jesus. I believe most Christians in America are not disciples of Jesus, so I share that concern with Chip and is why I’m pushing this lesson. But unlike the answers in the aforementioned videos, I also question many Christian’s salvation, so I pray not only that this lesson helps revitalize the Church with “sold-out” disciples of Jesus, but also that this lesson leads the lukewarm into a deeper, saving relationship with Christ. So where Chip and I diverge is in the second question where my answer would be, “yes, surrendering to Christ is the same as becoming a Christian.” Simple statements of faith have nothing to do with our personal relationship with God, and accepting God’s grace without repentance and a commitment to count the cost of daily carrying the cross cheapens the Gospel.

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On to the introduction…

To quote from the preface of the book: “Is this book for you? The answer is YES if…

  • You are spiritually stuck.
  • You are tired of the spiritual status quo.
  • You wish you knew what God really wanted from you.
  • You long to break free from some habitual sin.
  • You desire to grow spiritually.
  • You need a clear pathway to spiritual maturity.
  • You are discipling other believers.”

Look around and consider the numbers from Barna describing the spiritual health of the Church. Look at your own life and your walk with Jesus. It becomes clear we’re not all that Christ would want us to be. This isn’t an indictment, but a call to grow. This isn’t a criticism, but an acknowledgement of a common state from which we can learn and repent.

It is important to point out early that Romans 12 is not a list of “to dos”. Religious activities does not equal being a disciple, that leads to religiosity. Absence of sin does not equal being a disciple, that leads to impossible expectations. Keeping rules does not equal being a disciple, that leads to legalism. Romans 12 is only a description of what a disciple of Jesus should look like. Evidences of your faith lived out.

Romans 12 follows Romans 1-11. It begins with “Therefore…” So something must come first. This lesson will not be effective unless you start with a conviction of the sacrifice of Jesus and what that has done in your life. Therefore… this is how we should live. If we try and apply this without that conviction, we are no different than the Pharisees.

Chip gives his background in the introduction. If you have the book, you could replace his story with mine and it would be almost identical. I say almost. I stuck with church at the same point he turned away. I did so convinced that God wanted something special from me, but I grew frustrated trying to figure out what that was. Like Chip, I didn’t have anyone to teach me how to get deeper, how to grow. And like Chip in the earliest years of true Christianity, I kept one foot in religion and one foot in the world, and it was tearing me apart. And like Chip, it was Romans 12 that opened my eyes to a different way to “do religion”. It is that conviction that leads me to “Therefore…”

Finally, to quote from the introduction, “The great majority of Christians have been taught that life is about coming to know Christ personally, being saved, being good, and then helping other people ‘get saved’. Before long, they become part of the religious machinery whose primary goal is to help more people enter the kingdom of God.” In the book Sticky Church by Larry Osborne, the problem of this mentality is described in detail. Assembly line Christianity does not address personal growth, personal discipleship, and as the book puts it, so much effort is made making the “front door” as large as possible, we don’t notice when many leave out of the “back door”. It’s not meant to be this way.

In his introduction lesson, Chip gives some more damning numbers describing the Church today: One in twelve Christians live a Christ-centered life, described as holding a Biblical worldview, living their lives with integrity, are other-centered, and manage their money, career and relationships focused on Jesus. Less that 20% of Christians are involved in any service to the Church, including small groups or “do[ing] life together”.

If these numbers shock you, convict you, or sadden you. Stick around. Let’s change it. Let’s use R12 to transform the Church.

Virtual Small Group

Frank

So how is all this R12 stuff going to work?

There are five sections of the book corresponding to the five relationships in Romans 12: God, World, Self, Other Christians, Non-Christians. (The book puts it much more elegantly: Surrendered to God, Separate from the World, Sober in Self-Assessment, Serving in Love, and Supernaturally Responding to Evil with Good.) Each section has five chapters. We’ll be discussing each chapter Monday through Friday on this blog.

The R12 section of Living on the Edge online also has videos that correspond to each section. I’ll link those from Facebook. If you’re not a follower, no sweat, I’ll direct you there from here or you can just click the R12 link on the sidebar. I’ll do that on Monday and then follow up through the week with the Q&A videos the rest of the week.

I’ll use Twitter to post updates on when the videos and blogs go up. I’ll also post some “deep thoughts” corresponding to the TRUST ME reflections at the end of each chapter. You can follow me through the button on the sidebar so you can keep up to date on what’s going on here.

Actual Q&A discussion, we’ll see as it goes. I expect comments on FB and here. I’m also going to be posting discussions on the Living on the Edge FB page. Unfortunately, I don’t have access to all these resources throughout the day because of firewalls at work and the remoteness of my worksite keeps me from being as “mobile” as I’d like. So I hope enough people are interested that can keep the discussion going until I can follow up in the evenings. Oh, and I’m on the West Coast, so that doesn’t help any. The tweets will be scheduled though, so hopefully momentum can be maintained throughout the day.

Saturdays are bonuses. I’ll be posting a summary of the original lesson that the chapters are derived from and using the discussion questions from LOTE’s study guides.

You don’t need the book to follow along. LOTE provides so many resources online you can participate easily through any of the means above. Even the lessons I’ll be going over on Saturdays are available as “resources” that are linked with each video.

Next week is going to be off schedule a little. I neglected that there’s an introduction lesson, video, and obviously an introduction to the book. So that’s where we’ll start on Monday and finish the last chapter on Saturday. The rest of the book will follow the schedule above.

Welcome aboard! I pray the next few weeks lead us closer to Christ and help us to reflect Him through all of our relationships.

Why R12?

Frank

So I’ve been mentioning all week I’ll be hosting a “virtual small group” starting Monday going over the book Living on The Edge. You may be asking yourself, why me, why you, why here, or why now?

I’ve already given some background on why me, but I’ll dig deeper as we go through the studies.

Why you? Well, chances are if you’re taking the time to visit my blog, given its theme and topics, you have some passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That makes you the perfect person to take this lesson and spread it to your own small group, house church, congregation, ministry leadership, neighbors… you get the idea.

Why here? Well, this isn’t only one place this will be happening. You can also follow me on Twitter for more topics for reflection, Facebook for more discussion (sorry I don’t give that one out, but if you want to follow me, leave me a message and I might hook you up), and the LOTE Facebook page for even more discussion. There will be more on that tomorrow or later this evening.

Why now? Well, that’s the important question. This book came out at the beginning of the year, but I’ve had the original R12 study guide for a year now. I figured right after Easter is the perfect time for a spiritual ‘rebirth’ and that gave me time to get a head start on the discussion. But on a larger scale, why now, is because the American christianity (TM) is hurting. Faith is dwindling, the Gospel is watered down, corruption seems rampant, and our focus is not where it should be. In fact, Living on the Edge commissioned a study by the Barna Group to dig deeper into this.

I want to share some numbers that should keep you up at night if you’re in love with Christ’s bride:

  • 81% of those calling themselves Christians said spiritual maturity is “following all the rules”
  • Half of churchgoers don’t know how their own church defines a “healthy, spiritually mature follower of Jesus”.
  • Only 21% of Christians described their relationship with Jesus as a sign of their own personal spiritual maturity, 14% living a moral lifestyle, 13% being involved in spiritual disciplines.
  • A minority of churches have a written statement outlining the expectations of spiritual maturity and they often define this by what people do, not what they believe.
  • Outside of the Barna study, an anecdotal example Chip gives is someone he knows was traveling and speaking at different congregations. He asked fifty pastors what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Only one was able to give a coherent answer. Everyone else gave a vague version of “a follow of Jesus”. When asked further what that looks like, answered varied as the numbers show above.

The fundamental question I will be asking throughout the study of this book, what does a disciple of Jesus look like? Chip often says the mission of his ministry is to help “Christians live like Christians.” I think that is a purpose we can all get behind. If that’s your desire, if that’s what you long to see in your church and in the Church Universal, come back Monday as we dig in to this great study.

Trailblazer

Frank

What inspires you? I don’t mean encourages, or edifies, I mean honest to goodness “God breathed,” (2 Timothy 3:16) in-spirit moving of the Holy Spirit in you. Maybe it’s a psalm, hymn, or spiritual song (Ephesians 5:19), maybe it’s a favorite verse in the Bible, maybe it’s a friend, a book, or a movie. Maybe it’s the stories of those who came before, who blazed God fearing, Jesus-led trails.

Monday, April 5th, Michael Spencer, aka the Internet Monk, passed away after a long battle with cancer. A little more than a year ago, Father Richard John Neuhaus, author at the blog First Things passed away. I can honestly say that without the inspiration from these two men of God, I would not be blogging today. I was shocked to read that the imonk started blogging 10 years ago. These two saw the opportunities of the Internet to spread the Gospel and shaped the online Christian landscape. From Father Neuhaus, I was inspired as he tackled issues of interest to me. From Michael, he introduced a new way to reach the masses without preaching down to them using this new-fangled interweb thingy. I regret not following them as closely once I set out on my own blog.

The early Christian blogosphere, including Get Religion and Blogs4God soon grew to include the Thinklings and Boar’s Head Tavern, Stuff Christians Like, Purgatorio, and JesusNeedsNewPR. Most recently, Peter Pollock’s and Bridget Chumbley’s Blog Carnival has been a network of diverse Christian blogs that all aspire to encourage applying the Word of God through the Internet. Yesterday’s topic, Gentleness, drew 39 posts. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of Christian blogs. I will never have time to find them all, but I am grateful for the inspiration the ones I do read bring to me.

Back to imonk for a moment. Another blogger commented a few years ago that America is due for another Great Awakening and that it would likely come through the power of the Internet. I couldn’t agree more and I believe the legacy that Michael Spencer leaves behind started the ball rolling that direction. I pray his legacy continues throughout the Christian blogosphere and through the hearts and souls of readers everywhere. Michael was too young. He didn’t live to see the next Great Awakening. But he lived to see it begun.

Evident to All

Frank

“…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12)

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:11)

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.” (1 Peter 3:15-16)

This week’s blog carnival topic is gentleness. A topic that sounds easy enough and was certainly easy to do a simple word-search in Bible Gateway to get the above passages. But let the above sink in for a moment. Can these scriptures describe your attitude, your character? Does it describe your brothers and sisters in Christ around you? Sadly, I think this is a fruit of the Spirit we do not see often enough.

But we should. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” (Philippians 4:5) Our gentleness should be seen. And not just at church on Sundays, but every day, in every circumstance. “All” includes the impatient reckless driver on the freeway, the restaurant server who is rude or indifferent, the others stuck in a long line at the grocery store who all have someplace better to be. “All” also includes the non-believers acting in ways contrary to our convictions, believers who do not subscribe to the exact same doctrine, those whose politics do not align with our own, and those who just sometimes make boneheaded decisions. “All” includes our spouses, our children, our mothers-in-law. “All” means all.

We should restore gently (Galatians 6:1), instruct gently (2 Timothy 2:25), and deal gently (Hebrews 5:2) with others. All these passages are about dealing with others’ sin. Because “we have all sinned” we should be that much more patient and gentle with others.

The book Living On the Edge breaks Romans 12 into five relationships: God, the world, ourselves, other believers, and the evil around us. It is this last relationship where gentleness can be most evident:

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.

“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary:
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:14-21)

I will be going through this book over the next several weeks (and hopefully finding a way to tie in with the blog carnival at the same time!). I hope you come back as we break down Romans 12 so that we can grow in these relationships and prayerfully, ultimately, be gentle to all.

Work In Progress

Frank

Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Without this event, our faith would be worthless (1 Cor 15:14). And it is through his death that we die to our sins and through his resurrection that we are given a new life. (Rom 6:4). So now that we have new life, what do we do with it?

I believe the expectation is to build something with our lives. Paul gives an allegory in 1 Corinthians 13 about building on the foundation of Jesus. I’ve heard this applied to churches, but I believe the context demands it be applied to individuals. In other words, we cannot lean on our church for our faith and how we live our lives as Christians, it is up to each and every one of us at a personal level. An important point is found in verses 12-15 that what we build will be tested so we should build the best that we can. If not, “it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Cor 13:15) So how do we build?

A couple of years ago, my wife and I purchased a Do-It-Yourself enclosed patio kit. As advertised, it would only take a weekend or two with a small crew of a “few” people. Piece of cake right? So one weekend, I called my crew, laid out all the pieces, brought out all the tools, and stood there overwhelmed. None of us knew what to do. The patio slab has a downward grade so the walls won’t be even. The back wall of the house is stucco so the vertical beams that connect to the house leave up to two-inch gaps. The doors were too heavy to move. Not every piece fit. And on, and on. So we disbanded with our sanity intact, but my pride damaged. That “couple of weekends” project took a year of weekends and weekday evenings. What did I learn from this? Without help, without expertise, and without the right tools and materials, whatever I build will be burned up. So I learned. I just completed a swing set for my children. This took four days. But this time I had help, I had the tools, and I knew a little better what I was doing.

The same is true of our faith. Without help, without expertise, without the right tools and materials, we cannot hope to build anything of value. We try and try and get burned time and time again, but we learn. Many Christians are content with just showing up on Sundays and living their lives their way the rest of the week. Many also treat the resurrection of Jesus as the ends, not the means, of their relationship with God and take God’s grace for granted. What they build will be shown for what it is. But I do not believe it is meant to be this way. We know this verse by heart: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9) But we neglect the rest of this passage: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (v 10) We are a piece of work. We are incomplete. And we are meant to do something with the grace God has given us.

Over the next several weeks, I hope to give us the right tools and materials for us to build something of value for God. I will be going through the book, Living on the Edge, by Chip Ingram and using the online resources to lead a “virtual small group” in an exposition of Romans 12. I’ll be introducing the lesson the rest of this week and will dig in to Chapter 1 on Monday. You don’t need the book to follow along, but you do need an open and willing heart. Please join me the next few weeks to build something that will last.

Universal Donor

Frank

My blood-type is O-negative, meaning my blood can be used by anyone in need. Because of this I am diligent about donating regularly. I used to dread it, agonizing over the initial prick of the needle before the blood begins to flow. Now I treat it as routine. Some times go better than others, but when I gave a few weeks ago, I hardly felt it and was done before I knew it.

Once that pint was full, it was quickly whisked away and I will never see it again. I don’t know who needs it and I will never know who will use it. Will it be used during a critical surgery, or be on-hand during a childbirth? Will it save a life or sustain one? I often wonder, and I always pray my blood is put to the best, most needed use.

While my blood can be used by anyone, I am not as fortunate. I can only receive my own type, so I would be dependant on the sacrifice of another stranger if my own life was at risk. But not just any stranger, only one who has the perfect match for my blood-type; one who has perfect blood.

Jesus shed perfect blood. He knows us and knows our specific needs. He knows whether our bodies will accept or reject his transfusion. And while knowing it would be rejected, he donated anyway.

His donation was not the result of a prick from a needle, but from 39 lashes on his back, countless blows, a crown of thorns, nails in his hands and feet, and finally a spear in his side. Yet his blood was spilled voluntarily.

In his struggle, there was no transfusion that could save him. As his life poured out of his body, there were no paramedics to perform CPR or a Red Cross to provide blood. He gave his blood, his life, knowing that there was nothing any of us could give to save him. Our blood is not compatible with his. Still, he gave.

Jesus Christ, our Universal Donor.

“The blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Fast

Frank

I fasted yesterday. I don’t say that to boast, but rather to note that I don’t do it often. Maybe not often enough. But yesterday was too important not to. Some friends of ours had a court date over the custody of their adopted nine month-old daughter.

Since she was only two days old, this couple with two older boys, also adopted, has been the only family she’s known. Her birth mother had no objection to giving her up for adoption (having lost custody before to other children). And the birth father was unaware the mother was even pregnant. But that was then. Once the father did find out, he wanted to be involved, and has been fighting ever since. I don’t know anything about either parent other than that. But I do know the family that is on the verge of being ripped apart.

There’s nothing special about this court date. They’ve had others and they’ll likely have more. But our friends are tired. The weight of legal fees is multiplied by the economy reducing his hours and cutting her job. Tuesday they put their house on the market, unable to bear that additional weight. So my wife and I fasted yesterday. Only God knows what is best for this precious girl. But the prayer is for this just to be over.

My wife and I are especially sensitive to this. Both of us were adopted. Both under very different circumstances. In addition to these friends of ours, other couples we’re close to have adopted from China and have even adopted embryos. One of our good friends is a social worker for the Department of Child and Family Services. My wife teaches half-time in an “alternative” school, a PC way of saying her school is one step away from Juvie. She teaches the other half at an “urban” school (inner-city wouldn’t accurately describe it because of geography, but urban certainly describes its demographics) that will permanently close its doors at the end of the school year. So you might say we’re on the front lines of this battle for the health and welfare of these children.

It is the children who are at stake. I pray this baby girl has no recollection of this tug-of-war ever happening. I pray she never has to know. But I also pray that the bonding that has happened over the past year, that is so important developmentally, is not all for naught.

It is the children who are at stake. Tuesday I wrote about the faithfulness of God in context of the infidelity we see too frequently in our headlines. In each of these cases, Jesse James, Tiger Woods, John Edwards, children are sired and then transformed into gotcha headlines or publicity stunts. The media creates permanent memorials that will haunt these children the rest of their lives.

It is the children who are at stake. Every day a child is given up, either with the hope of a better life or out of despair of present circumstance, opposite sides to the same coin. Every day a child is born into a single-parent home. Boys raised without any father figures other than elder leadership in the neighborhood gang. Girls raised without the bonding they need to value their bodies so they spend the rest of their lives seeking that affirmation in any and every way.

It is the children who are at stake. The decisions we make. The relationships we have. The love we either share or willfully withhold. Abuse, either physical or verbal, and neglect or unavailability leave scars that do not heal.

It is the children who are at stake. Thank you JoAnne Bennett and Jeff Jordon for your battles to remind us. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers. Thank you El Roi for seeing the need and answering our prayers by giving us clear instruction of what we must do to stop this cycle from repeating as it has for countless generations.

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Tabloid Christianity

Frank

While not intentional, this week’s blog carnival topic, faithfulness, is timely and appropriate. You cannot even say the word without images of Tiger Woods or Sandra Bullock filling your mind. Sadly it’s become impossible to define the word without invoking its opposite. What should be the norm is overshadowed by tawdry headlines and tell-all confessions. I say “should” because faithfulness is God’s design. He instituted the sanctity of the marriage covenant to reflect his covenant to his nation, Israel. In fact, if you’re looking for headline-grabbers, look no further than the 28th book of the Bible. There you will see a scandalous relationship as an object lesson for why faithfulness is so important to God.

Like Hosea, we can learn from our own current events. Does it surprise anyone anymore to learn about a Hollywood celebrity having an affair with their co-star while shooting their latest blockbuster? If it does, it shouldn’t. What do you expect when you pull someone from their family, isolate them on location, and then reenact scene after scene of passionate words, warm embraces, and… well you know the rest of the story. It shouldn’t be a surprise when we see the same headlines for our favorite sports stars. They too, are on the road away from their families a majority of their season. It’s not “addiction” or some kind of god-complex that comes with being a celebrity that enables them to think they can get whatever they want. If it was, why isn’t every movie star and athlete an adulterer? Instead, it is the lack of keeping their roots deeply embedded in their homes and their families.

Just as adultery is anathema to God’s faithfulness, the root-causes can also apply to our own spirituality. Should we be surprised to stumble and fall when we’re not firmly rooted in God’s own word? When we spend days, if not weeks, months or years away from God, shouldn’t it follow that we’d have a love affair with the world? That is what’s so tragic about “Sunday Christianity.” A couple of hours a week cannot be expected to compete against a 40 hour work-week. A visit to church on holidays cannot stand against the hours of polluting our eyes and our ears with the filth that comes through our media. So we become unfaithful to our Lord. We have our affair. We have no regrets. Until it all comes crashing down. Then the paparazzi get their pictures, your face is on the front page, you lose sponsorships, you lose custody. Inexplicably your spouse takes you back. He cries over you. He caresses you. He forgives you. The Lord takes you back.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (1 John 2:15)

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (Revelation 2:4)

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:5)

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)