11/30

Jesus our Lord had deep religious affections as well. He kept them for God and man.


Let's take a look at a few.

John 2:17. The zeal for the Lord and his house consumes him. This is an emotional episode for Jesus. He cares so deeply for God, that seeing moneychangers hanging around the temple causes him to overturn tables, scream, and shout. Zeal drove him to this.

Mark 3:5. He grieved at sin hardening man's heart.

He wept, WEPT, for Jerusalem. Luke 19:41-42

His compassions for people ran deep. Matt. 15:32 (he even was worried about people fainting from hunger), Luke 7:13, Matt. 9:36, Matt. 14:14, and Mark 6:34. His compassion runs very deep.

When I was thinking about all this, I thought, didn't Jesus do great things. Look how compassionate he was to those people back then. But then I realized that we serve a Living God and a Risen Christ. His emotions still run deep. He did not just care way back when. He is alive today and he still cares for us. He is still with us. He still cares for us.

11/24

So the Bible teaches us that knowing God is part belief, but not only belief. Another part of knowing God is our affections. Do we love him. Is he the object of our mind only or of our heart as well? Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Let's consider for a moment those in the Bible who not only believe in God, but loved him with all their heart and life.

David is considered a man after God's own heart. God chose him to be king over all of Israel. He had a lot of responsibilities. Not only that, but during his life he was on the run. He fought against the Philistines, he fought for the Philistines. Saul tried to kill him, Saul's son tried to kill him. His own son Absalom attempted to usurp his throne. The grass did not grow under his feet too long before he had to run again. But in all this, David's affections were turned towards the Lord. Look to the Psalms

Psalm 9:1-4. Psalm 14:1. Psalm 16:1-2. Psalm 23. This is just a taste of what is in there. David loved God with everything in him.


Paul the Apostle. He was beaten up, arrested, and jailed on how many account, the Lord only knows. He traveled across eastern Europe preaching the gospel. But look where his affections lie.

2 Corinthians 5:12,14-15. The love of Christ controls us. And because he loves God with all his heart, he loves and cares for God's people as well. 2 Corinthians 2:4. And Paul is not just affectionate towards those he knows, his friends. He loves the new people in his life, 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

If you read through all of Paul's letters, you see that all his emotions and affections are tied to 1) God and 2) the church.

Paul's religion consisted of many affections and emotions.


We will rest on these two examples.

11/22

As I am reading through this next section (Edwards is writing about the holy affection of love), it occurs to me that in our culture we have diluted the word. We use it so often that it loses some of its power and meaning. You can flip on the TV and hear the Beatles' All You Need is Love being used to sell Blackberry Phones. The water has become diluted and muddy for us. Or you can watch the political minefields and see one group on one side yelling that they are truly compassion and loving, while the other side is yelling the same thing. So love is a loaded term for us. But that does not mean we abandon the thought altogether. No we must learn more about it, so we can act genuinely loving in our life and see the pretenders as pretenders.

Let's look at one love myth that is prominent in our culture, then what Jesus and Paul say about love, and finally how love relates to all the previous emotions we looked at.

First, the lie of our culture is All you need is love.
It is popular out there to take love and try and divorce it from any belief system. The idea is that if you are kind and good and nice towards everyone then you are good before God. Any belief system about Jesus or Allah or anyone that opposes the good feelings is unloving and destructive. This is a basic flower child belief. It is a can't we all just get along kind of feeling. The problem with this is love works within belief systems, not apart from them. Love never exists outside belief systems, because humans do not exist outside belief systems.

The best example I have is in how to raise a child. If you believe that love is being nice to everyone and never being mean, then when you raise you child, you will not discipline them. Discipline is considered mean in your belief system. Therefore, the way you love your child is to let them do whatever they want and never correct or discipline them.

Or if you believe that love can consist of disciplining and correcting your child, then when you are "mean" to them in discipline, you are actually loving them. We love our child and therefore hate when he acts wrong. Love comes in the form of many different actions.

It seems like everyone is sellin' love these days. You have to ask, "what kind of love are they sellin'?"

Again the main point is love always, always exists in belief systems, not apart from them.


Now let's see what Paul and Jesus have to say about Love.

Matthew 22:34-40. Jesus here quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18.
Romans 13:8-10. Paul again points back to the Law of Moses to understand love.

So what do we know now. Paul and Jesus agree, love is the chief heartbeat for what proper actions are. God directs us to the heart feeling of love to be the first of all our actions. And these actions fall into a belief system. And remember love and these other affections are outgrowths from our faith in what Jesus has done on the cross to allow us to be forgiven and live.

I want to conclude with a quote from Edwards because I think he concludes his section very well. He shows us how love can and should relate to all our other emotions and affections.

"From hence it clearly and certainly appears, that great part of true religion consists in the affections. For love is not only one of the affections, but it is the first and chief of the affections, and the fountain of all the affections. From love arises hatred of those things which are contrary to what we love, or which oppose and thwart us in those things that we delight in: and from the various exercises of love and hatred, according to the circumstances of the objects of these affections, as present or absent, certain or uncertain, probable or improbable, arise all those other affections of desire, hope, fear, joy, grief, gratitude, anger, &c. From a vigorous, affectionate, and fervent love to God, will necessarily arise other religious affections; hence will arise an intense hatred and abhorrence of sin, fear of sin, and a dread of God's displeasure, gratitude to God for his goodness, complacence and joy in God, when God is graciously and sensibly present, and grief when he is absent, and a joyful hope when a future enjoyment of God is expected, and fervent zeal for the glory of God. And in like manner, from a fervent love to men, will arise all other virtuous affections towards men." (Edwards Religious Affections Part 1).

11/20

The next attribute we have as true Christians is zeal, excitement. This like all the other characteristics grows from our affections.

If your affections dwell on fantasy football, then you will have zeal and excitement for it. If they dwell on shopping or getting a good deal, then you will be rolling out of bed at 2 am and fighting the crowds a week from today.

If your affections focus and remain on God you will have zeal for 2 things.

First, you will have zeal for doing good. Titus 2:11-14. In this passage, God's grace has appeared. As a result (not a consequence), we flee ungodliness and move towards godliness. And Jesus' people are characterized as having zeal for good works. We know this and most people outside the church understand this about us. We as a people should move towards social justices (see IJM). This is a good thing and what many people forget is that it has been a part of Christianity since the beginning. Christians have always sought good works with zeal (or at least should have). I was reading about some early Christians and their involvement with fighting plagues. While others were sending the sick away during plagues, Christians nursed the sick. Some caught the different illness and joined the dead. Others just helped the sick. Either way, while others ran, Christians had a zeal for good works.

Second, you will have zeal for Jesus. Revelation 3:15-20. Here we find Jesus going for a drink. But the water is not cold, which is refreshing, and it is not hot, which is soothing. Instead it is room temperature and tastes like feet. What else can he do but spit it up. Christians without any zeal are about to be spit up. In this passage, the people put their affections on earthly and material things. They were wealthy. They were wearing designer togas. But Jesus only sees them as poor and naked. Their affections and their zeal rest only on things here. Jesus says instead let them rest on me, I offer so much more.

Affections and zeal are closely related. As Christians let us turn our zeal towards good works and towards Jesus. He is the one who has given us grace and provided forgiveness through the cross.

11/19

This next part perplexes and confuses me. Edwards writes about compassion, mercy, and generosity. And again these characteristics of a true Christian grow out from our justification (God forgiving us). These things do not cause us to receive salvation. As I heard it said, our sanctification does not cause our justification, but grows out from it.

First he connects all three as a common sisterhood of attributes. I will write want I know and understand, but I must confess that I have a lot to learn.

First, let's get an idea of what mercy is not. Mercy is not justice. In fact they are opposites. Justice is getting what you deserve. If my pay rate is $6.00 an hour and I work 3 hours, then it is just that I get $18.00. Justice is a good thing. If I only get $12, then injustice has occurred. However, if I work 3 hours and my boss gives me $1,000, then mercy, generosity, and compassion has occurred.

Second, what then is mercy? I would say that it is not getting what you deserve, but for your favor.

Third, how are mercy and generosity related? Mercy can take the form of generosity. Generosity is typically (but not necessarily) associated with money.

So this is the picture I have in my mind of mercy. Let's look at some of the Bible verses:

Psalm 37:21-22. Wicked people are cheap and cheats. But the righteous are generous (again a form of mercy). Psalm 37:26.

Matthew 5:7. And look here this is interesting. It is possible to be giving, but not generous. Matthew 23:23.

Hosea 6:6, which is quoted many times in the New Testament. In fact, Jesus quoted it several times. In Matthew 9:13, he says it to the Pharisees when they ask him why he would have dinner with the scum of the earth. And he quotes it at the Pharisees again in Matthew 12:7, when the call Jesus' disciples out for breaking the Sabbath traditions.

We need to be fond of mercy and make it part of our lives because 1) Mercy is the foundation of our salvation and 2) it is an attribute of God that we copy. God was merciful to us by defeating the devil, forgiving us, and freeing us from the bondage of sin. We do not do anything to deserve it. Jesus did not die because we were so lovable. It is God's mercy that he went to the cross. Not only that but he is merciful by providing us with food (in abundance) and with it the sun and rain.

Check out Matthew 18:15-35 to get a clear understanding of Jesus' teaching on the necessity of mercy.

11/18

I have found this devotional reading to be helpful. I tend to find belief (thinking) to be easy but the internal reactions (feelings) to be harder. So this is perfect for me because it is challenging me in areas that I need help.

In Matthew 5:3-4, Jesus restates something that is found throughout God's word: God is near those who are sorrowful. We last looked at joy, but on the opposite side of the same coin fits sorrow as one of our religious affections. Sorrow is in the heart of every true Christian.

Let's look at more Bible verses:

Psalm 34:16-17, here we see that the Lord is near those who are low and he saves them. So this adds some light to what Jesus said, because it is God who comforts those who mourn.

Isaiah 61:1-2, if these words sound familiar that is because Jesus quoted them in Luke 4:16-21. In Luke, Jesus applies them to himself basically as his inaugural address. He uses these words to start off his ministry.

Psalm 51:16-17, the Psalmist contrasts here what pleases God. God does not delight in mere temple sacrifice. Religious actions without a religious heart mean nothing to him. Prayer without a prayerful heart means nothing. Singing for the sake of singing means nothing. But a broken and humble spirit he will not despise. Take a glance at the title of this Psalm. David wrote this at one of the lowest points of his life. He was repenting and sorrowful over his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah.

Isaiah 57:15, God is said to dwell in two places here: He is above the heavens controlling and running the universe. He is the mighty King over all kings. Everything bows to him. But also he is with him who is low in spirit. He is with them to revive them. Wow! Isaiah 66:1-2 reinforces this point. Wow!


Why is sorrow, humility, and lowliness such an exalted attribute?

Part of many of our evil actions is arrogance. We do not want to obey and then we puff up and decide to follow our own way.

It is interesting, Sorrow is not opposed to joy in the Bible. Instead sorrow and joy are both good characteristics. No, sorrow is opposed to pride and arrogance.

The sorrowful understand their lot: they need God, they gladly obey. He is their only source of life and grace, where else can we turn. If you do not see yourself as a brokenhearted captive, a prisoner, mourning and in need of God's favor then he cannot help you.

11/16

Jonathan Edwards in Religious Affections has been showing that Christianity is not just about knowing the right teachings or as he might say true orthodoxy. It is not just about believing the right things (although that is part of it). But true Christianity is also having the right emotions or religious affections. The Bible has a lot to say about how we live our lives in response to God, emotionally, spiritually, mindfully.

The next attribute he talks about is joy (which ironically is followed by sorrow).

The Bible commands those who follow God to be joyful. It is a good thing it says it so much because this is one of the harder things for us to keep. It is so much easier to complain, worry, whine, and fret. But let's see what the Bible can teach us about holy joy.

First lets see what is says about when we should rejoice. Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16.
In both these verses we are told to rejoice always. Now the problem is that at some point in our lives if we live long enough we are going to get knocked down or kicked in the teeth.

Notice though in both verses, we are not told to rejoice in the good time. Nor are we told to rejoice in the blessings of God. In fact we are told to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in who he is. Rejoice that there is a just, wise, Fatherly God who cares.

So if we are rejoicing in who God is, then it makes sense that we can be joyful always because even though our circumstances might change from good to bad or bad to good in a heartbeat, he never changes. He is always a holy, gracious God.

Let's look at a few more verses. Jesus teaches us that we can rejoice in persecution. Matthew 5:11-12.

We can rejoice despite evil and evildoers. Psalm 37:1-4. All the evil will fade away. Delight in what God delights in, this will help you to be joyful always. Rejoice in the person of God, not just in his blessings or your good circumstances.

Now the question I have, how do we rejoice?

Psalm 33:1-3. With lyre, melodies, 10 stringed guitars (harps), make us a song, sing an old one, play skillfully, and sing it loud. Turn your heart to God and shout for joy. He is good. Jesus is risen! Death your time will only last a little longer! Evil is on its way out! He is good and He is risen! Shout it.

And Psalm 149:1-4. Not only sing it, but dance it. Boogie down with tambourine and guitar. The Lord takes pleasure in his people! He clothes us with salvation!

Finally, all this may come easier to some than to others. But it is a part of true religion/true Christianity. If this is difficult for you remember that joy fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:21). Ask God to help you have a joyful heart and see his Spirit work in you. Prayer is a tool that will never go to waste. Call out to him and see your heart change.

Check out this joyful video. The fall of Satan! A Mighty Fortress is Our God!

11/15

Edwards next deals with desire as a necessary part of true Christianity. The desire for God must be our first desire.

I realized as I was reading the verses he laid out for this section that many have contemporary songs written about them. Here are the examples.

First an oldie but a goodie. I learned this one at camp.
Psalm 42:1-2
Here is the song

We sang this at our wedding
Psalm 63:1-2
Here is the link (with Spanish subtitles!)

Psalm 84:1-2
Here is the link

I couldn't remember the song to this one, but someone out there might know
Psalm 73:25

Here is one I thought of
Isaiah 55:1-2 and Rev. 21-22
This is a great song

We have so many good songs out today that cry out in our desire for God. Let us not stop crying out to him in desire. Let us add to this other songs and other affections. I was just really happy when I was reading these verses. I thought, this is something the present church does well.

11/13

What is our proper response to sin? A part of true Christianity and true Christians is a proper response to sin. So how should we respond to it?

Let's see what the Bible puts before us.

In Psalm 97:10, it reads that those who love the Lord need to hate sin.

Again in Psalm 119:103-104, the man who finds God's ways sweet, find false ways completely bitter. They hate them.

Again in Psalm 139:20-22, man hates those who hate the Lord. He hates those who sin maliciously against God.

In Proverbs 8:12-13, says that the fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.

Finally, lest we think hatred of evil is from the mean Old Testament God and Jesus and the New Testament only Love, Romans 12:9, says first that Love must be sincere and part of this sincere love is hating what is evil.

The bible tells us that God is completely righteous. Sin stands in contrast to God's righteousness. Therefore we must abhor any sin, especially any sin within us.

We cannot dabble, play-around, or rollick in sin. It is the opposite of God. It is what he saved us from. Our proper response is hatred of sin. We cannot let it be a part of our lives. Thank the Lord that he saved us from the depths, mud, and mire of our own sin. His grace is wonderful. We hated light and loved the darkness, but he forgives us. He brings us out of sin. Thanks be to God for the grace he provides through Jesus. Damn sin. Hate it, for it is opposed our Good and Gracious God.

11/12

Hope is another sign of a true Christian (or true religion).

Hope is something that keeps all people going when they feel weak. If you are running a race, the thing that will keep you going when you get that side cramp is the hope that you will finish alive. It keeps people strong. Check out Hebrews 6:11-12.

The Bible has a lot to say about hope.

First and foremost, God tells us what not to put our hope in, (Psalm 146:3-4, Psalm 33:16-17). The first part is we ultimately do not put our hopes in man. These verses even tell us why, Man is not strong enough. The best of men fail. The best of men lie. The best of men eventually die. We cannot put all our hope and trust in them.

If any and every man is not strong enough, then who do we hope in? Read the verses that are right after the previous ones (Psalm 146:5-7, Psalm 33:18-19). God is the creator over all. He is big enough to hope in. Not only is he strong enough, but read those verses again. They tell us that he is just and gracious. He is big enough to hope in.

So the who to hope in is God not man. But what do we hope for? Here is what the Bible says, 1 Peter 1:3-5.

First God's mercy gives us the opportunity to be born again. Because Jesus did not rot in the grave, if we are in him, we will not stay in the grave either. At the end of it all, we can receive the inheritance that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading," waiting for you in heaven. Do we deserve this, heck no techno. But that is part of God's grace.

Take heart and take hope. Do not hope in the promises of man. The utopia's they envision will never be fully fulfilled. Man cannot bring about heaven. The justice of this earth is limited. Hope in the one true living God who will never fail, who fulfills every promise, who is big and powerful enough to accomplish his work. He will never die. Hope in Jesus who leads the way to heaven. Hope in the inheritance he provides at the end of it all. Trust in his grace for he is good.

11/11

So holy affections must be at the foundation and center of our religion or we have a shallow and worthless faith.

Next Edwards talks about what emotions should be a part of our feelings towards God. If our heart is going to cry out to him, what is the emotional response that it cries.

First, we must fear the Lord.

We fear him because he is 1) Creator of all, 2) Judge of all, 3) righteous.

1) He is the Creator over all. To be the Creator gives him authority over his creation.

2) He is also the Judge over all. He declares what is right and wrong. This comes from the fact that he has authority and right over all creation. Part of his authority is demeaning what is right or wrong.

3) He is righteous. As a judge he is righteous. Believe it or not, some people in authority misuse and abuse their power. Judges accept bribes and favor those with the most money. God cannot be bribed. He is not respecter of position or wealth. He judges and acts righteously.

Knowing this about God, our proper response is fear. We have a healthy respect for the authority over us. We respect his position and his work.

Here (briefly) is (in part) what the Bible has to say about fearing God.

Fearing God is foundational for everyone (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). This is not just for religious people or those who go to church. Fearing God and respecting his great authority is foundational for everyone on the planet. Unfortunately not everyone approaches God in fear. This gets us into trouble.

Further those who fear God as a righteous God, act morally righteous because they know God to be the judge over all. So fearing God calls people to moral living (Genesis 42:18, Exodus 1:17).

True religion and true godliness are characterized (in part) with the fear of the Lord. This is hard for us as American Christians. Authority is "the man." We don't like to listen to the man. Rules are meant to be broken and authority is out of touch to the real man's needs. Most people in authority on TV or in movies are not smart but achieved their position by sucking up to the other bosses who are also not smart. This is what we are constantly being told (if you don't believe me watch The Office).

But we cannot takes this attitude from our culture and bring it into our church. For one of the characteristics of true religious soul affection towards God is trusting in his authority and obeying him in fear.

11/10

I have begun reading Religious Affections by Jonathan Edwards. Here are a few thoughts from the beginning.

Today, especially in younger Christian circles, we have been emphasizing good works, helping the poor, freeing the oppressed, being kind, so on. But we must be careful not to forget about the hearts of the matter, because "true religion in a great part consists in holy affections." I know we emphasize good works, but where is the heart.

At the beginning of his work, Edwards says that all our affections come from the soul. And one of the great differences between true religion and false religion is where the heart of our soul is, where our affections lie.

Because the Bible does not just call us to good works. Instead the way I would think of it is that works are the outgrowth of the affections of our soul. Fantasy football is huge today. One ESPN reporter said that over 27 million people play fantasy football. On average, they spend nines hours a week playing it during the football season. I would say then that the people's soul loves fantasy football, therefore their actions show it: they play it over nine hours a week on it.

It begins in the soul, what the soul loves or hates. If the soul loves something, then their actions will reflect it. So if in the church today we are merely talking about our actions, being kind, freeing the poor and so on, we are missing a big part of the equation.

Instead here is what the Bible calls us to Romans 12:11, Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Deuteronomy 10:12, Deuteronomy 30:6. Edwards puts it like this, "True religion is evermore a powerful thing; and the power of it appears, in the first place in the inward exercises of it in the heart, where is the principal and original seat of it." (Religious Affections part 1).

We can do these good works without any concern or care for God, but that is not what he calls us to. Again here is Edwards, "If we be not in good earnest in religion, and our wills and inclinations be not strongly exercised, we are nothing. The things of religion are so great, that there can be no suitableness in the exercises of our hearts, to their nature and importance, unless they be lively and powerful." And here is the Bible, 2 Timothy 3:5.

So here is the question I have for us today, what stirs your spirit? Is it God? Is it fantasy football? What excites you the most?

And though true grace has various degrees, and there are some that are but babes in Christ, in whom the exercise of the inclination and will, towards divine and heavenly things, is comparatively weak; yet everyone that has the power of godliness in his heart, has his inclinations and heart exercised towards God and divine things, with such strength and vigor that these holy exercises do prevail in him above all carnal or natural affections, and are effectual to overcome them: for every true disciple of Christ “loves him above father or mother, wife and children, brethren and sisters, houses and lands: yea, than his own life." From hence it follows, that wherever true religion is, there are vigorous exercises of the inclination and will towards divine objects: but by what was said before, the vigorous, lively, and sensible exercises of the will, are no other than the affections of the soul. (Religious Affections part 1)

So we all stand here asking ourselves, what excites me? How is my prayer life? Do I read God's word daily? Do I love God with all my heart, soul, and everything in me?

I hope this has challenged you as much as me. Moreso, I hope we all turn our soul's affections towards the one who created us, redeemed us, forgave us, and loves us.

My Utmost on a Sunday Morning

Here is the link for today's My Utmost. It would be helpful to read this first.

We do not always know/understand how God is working in the world. The churches I usually go to, we tend to emphasize our action. Asking questions like, how are we bringing about the kingdom of God into this world? I know in more reformed churches (Presbyterian, some Baptist) they will emphasize God's part in changing the world. They will ask, where is God working and changing the world?

I know the biblical view is a balance of both, but this devotional for the day helped me to balance back to how God is working in the world.

When you think about it, God's plan of redemption did not come about in the way we would have accomplished it. If it was up to me, right after Adam sinned, I would have either scrapped the whole creation thing, or immediately sent Jesus to redeem the world (my impatient side comes out quickly). But God waited many many years before he sent his Son. Meanwhile people kept sinning and the world seemed to get worse.

Check out Galatians 4:3-7, part of it reads, "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons"

God is powerful and working in this world. Verses like this remind me that the world is not mine to save (it is initially God's work). But he does call us to action. It is only in his call that we act, it is his will not ours that needs to be done.

So we being a part of the work of God can say, " Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son...He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?" (My Utmost 11/1)