Saturday, December 5, 2009

Revisiting Twisting the Truth

Of all the classes that have seen Andy Stanley's Twisting the Truth, we were the first. But do we get any recognition? Hah! Its a good thing we're humble servants of the Lord and not seeking acclaim :)

Seriously, I wrote down some thoughts about deceptions after we finished the series last summer:

Some deceptions about the self

The Father of Lies has innumerable schemes, but I think he frequently goes to the basic deception, the oldest deception laid before Adam and Eve. This says that we can be equal to God given a bit more extra knowledge or some small benefit. This could be summarized in a simple statement, I'm OK. I think there are two basic subcategories of this deception:
1) I am OK, I am as good as anyone else in anything that really matters. Under this deception, I won't want to hear people say that someone else is better at X than I am. Or if I can no longer deny it, I will try to conclude that X is neither necessary or important.
2) I am OK, what went wrong wasn't my fault. When it is obvious that things in my life aren't what they should be, I look for something or someone to blame. Since no one else is perfect either, I can usually find something. So I'm a victim, I can never change; or at least I can never change until those who wronged me fix what they did.

The basic message of Scripture: We are not OK yet God loves us anyway and wants to make us OK.
The basic twist: We are OK now, don't you dare say we are not.

God with us

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's discussion on Immanuel, God With Us. Jacqui brought up the question that's bugged me for a while now: If Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14:
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

why did the angel say to name him Jesus?

One thing I do know though, in Jesus, God took on human flesh, and "pitched his tent among us" (John 1:14). In what better way could God be with us? Jesus clearly was 'Immanuel' even if that wasn't his official name.

I've been learning these last few years that the Christian life is really about realizing God is with me, even in the midst of difficulties and confusion. I used to think the difficulties and confusion showed something was wrong. Now I'm thinking they are really normal for this life, yet God is nonetheless with me.

Prayers for C

Our buddy C had an operation for a detached retina this week. Our thoughts and prayers go with him. May the Lord sustain and encourage him, and restore his sight.