In an alarming number of our churches, it was even "desperate," at least according to one RCA leader.

"In many of our congregations," he declared, "the Spirit seems at best to be a peripheral presence.

"Pastors and people labor, and I mean labor, to maintain the forms of life.  But the spirit of life is absent.  Forms of worship are observed, necessary duties are performed, but they are dull and labored and lifeless...."

The Sleeping Congregation,  by William Hogarth, 1736 - author's collection

This outspoken RCA leader called for "the renewing power and presence of the Spirit."

"We should all open our lives to the working of the Holy Spirit" he urged, and we should
"use no defense, theological or otherwise, to protect ourselves against the working of the Holy Spirit."

Did you catch that?  

This guy had the audacity to suggest that some of us might actually be trying to protect ourselves and our churches from the "working of the Holy Spirit."

Protect ourselves... not from the world... not from the flesh... not from the devil.

From the HOLY SPIRIT!

I don't know if 2 Timothy 3:5 (having a form of godliness but denying its power) had just come up in the lectionary, or what.  Maybe this fellow had simply visited a few of the wrong churches on the wrong Sundays. 

Maybe he was a clueless charismatic with authority issues.  Maybe he didn't really know, value or love the RCA.  Who knows.  

We have to wonder, though, if back in 1983 there might have been a pinch of truth in what he preached. 

And if there was any truth in it then, might his challenge apply in any way to any of our churches today?

Is it possible that some of us have set up our Sunday liturgies, our lifestyles --even our theologies-- in ways that defend and protect us against anything startling that the Holy Spirit might want to do?

Sure it's possible.  That's human nature.  We naturally resist painful disruptions in routine.

My wife and I set up a family budget.  We want to be responsible; we want to pay down some debt.  We want a better future.  But when it comes to the actual patterns of our daily lives, change is brutal.

Who wants to give up any of the familiar patterns and predictable comforts that we've come to enjoy?  We need the Starbucks, we need the get-aways.  We need the pleasant stuff on the endless list.  Any changes in the way we live would really stress us out.

Besides, we're exhausted.  It's Monday morning all week, and we just want to shut off the alarm, roll over, and sneak another hour of sleep.

Some congregations are probably feeling the same way.

A few months ago our General Synod decided to appoint a task force to "explore the nature of a major worship initiative in the RCA."

Cool.  A task force and a major worship initiative sound pretty important.

I wonder, though, what sort of input the above quoted preacher might have if he was still around, if he was allowed to participate as a member of this newly forming task force.  I wonder if he would still be raising any of those same concerns from 25 years ago.

I'm sure the task force will talk about the presence and role of the Holy Spirit in RCA church services.  

But I wonder how long the task force will be scratching their heads trying to solve the problem of where to put the correct measure of this "Holy Spirit stuff" in the liturgy.

And I wonder if anyone on the team will have the nerve to declare:

"Our claim to being Reformed is not authenticated, it is betrayed by preserving the tradition untranslated." 

I imagine that most or all of our RCA churches take the Holy Spirit seriously, and that we all want to believe that we have sufficient times and places within our liturgies for the Holy Spirit to do...

... ANYTHING ... that is truly of God.

I'm not going to say otherwise.

But at the risk of redundancy:

"In many of our congregations, the Spirit seems at best to be a peripheral presence.  Pastors and people labor, and I mean labor, to maintain the forms of life.  But the spirit of life is absent."

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom.

                                                   -- Dave Cheadle

pg 266 "Our need for the renewing power and presence of the Spirit of Jesus Christ is urgent.  In many places it is desperate.  In many of our congregations, the Spirit seems at best to be a peripheral presence...."

NOTE:  All of the above quotes come from Arie R. Brouwer, RCA General Secretary.
Occasion:  Brouwer's final sermon after six years as General Secretary, General Synod, Pella, IA, 1983

(Published Source: Ecumenical Testimony - The Historical Series of the RCA, 1991- #44, "The Lordship of Christ in the Reformed Church in America")

The Sleeping Congregation,  by William Hogarth, 1736 - author's collection

 Galatians 4:11 is the text above the woman's head in the above engraving:

"I am worried about you!  Can it be that all my work for you has been for nothing?"

Meanwhile, the preacher comforts his snoring flock with the words of Matt. 11:28

"Come to me all of you who are tired... and I will give you rest."

History of the Reformation, 1878 edition: "Burning Bibles in London...."

Yes, we'd like to add some color to our pews --- that way the world will know how loving and full of mercy we are. But don't mess with who we really are... our Dutch-American Reformed traditions, liturgies, polity, etc.

One example: Commissioned Pastors.

From the beginning, the body of Christ has flourished by means of lay leadership. We see this in the book of Acts ("The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were, and to learn that they were ordinary men of no eduction." Acts 4:13), and we see this continued throughout the history of discipleship and missions right up to the underground church in China today.

Yet we read in 2009 Synod documents of murmurings against the Commissioned Pastor movement. The fear, of course, is that leaders who have not been screened, enculturated and culled out by senior-ranking identity managers are a huge risk.

Which they are. The gatekeepers have it right. Commissioned Pastors are a very real threat to the identity of the RCA.

Hundreds of years ago, the Roman Catholic church freaked out about translations of the Bible. A Bible in English or Dutch, rather than Latin, could be read by ordinary folks who had not been properly screened, enculturated into the Church system and tested for institutional orthodoxy and loyalty.

The conservative institutional managers of the Roman church had it right; flames of Reformation were fueled by Bibles opened in the hands of ordinary people, and deep change followed.

Yes, of course, not all change is good.

For example, a new breed of leaders with a low view of scripture, minimal interest in social justice, a taste for passionless worship, and no interest in mission would be a horrible thing for the RCA. Such change would be bad for the RCA, and bad for the Kingdom.

If these are the sorts of leaders coming out of the RCA's Commissioned programs, then we have serious grounds for concern.

But if the problem is that Commissioned Pastors are bringing cultural change to the RCA, and we don't really want to loosen up on our Dutch-American Reformed traditions, liturgies, polity, etc., that's a different issue altogether.

It's still an issue, a big one, but it is a psycho-sociological identity issue, not a biblical one.

Much boasting throughout hundreds of years of RCA history has centered around our openness to ecumenical fellowship, both on mission fields and at home. In theory, we support and cooperate with conservative Presbyterians who refuse to ordain women, we pray with Baptists who dedicate children and refrain from infant sprinklings, and we break bread with Methodists who choke on TULIP.

Historically, our view of the Kingdom has long been broad and merciful enough to embrace many non-RCA traditions, liturgies, polities, etc., at least so long as they conform to basic biblical principles.

Perhaps, though, our own denominational identity is too sacred and too fragile to endure deep change... the deeper-than skin diversity of the broader Kingdom even as we theologically understand it to be.

Perhaps, deep down, it's still more about being Dutch-American Reformed than simply being about being sold-out dieing-to-ourselves followers of Jesus Christ.

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom.

                                                   -- Dave Cheadle

Engraving below: "Tonstall Burning the Bibles in London," comes from

"History of the Reformation," published in 1878

Bishop Tonstall was determined to destroy every copy of Tyndale's "heretical" translation of the Bible. He hired people to locate and purchase the English translations just so he could burn them. The Catholic church became Tyndale's biggest client, purchasing early editions through Tyndale's friends at inflated prices, thus financing Tyndale's next edition!

Reporters leap into action.

Acts 2:1: "When the day of Pentecost came...." Antique engraving, 1650.

Impatient after days of waiting for edgy quotes about the RCA dialog on homosexuality, media professionals have finally got a story. Not what they expected, but something even more sensational, more juicy... more inflammatory. They go with it.

Sound bites about spiritual "fire" and quotes about "rushing wind" are eagerly recorded. Camera crews pan the college campus for impromptu sermons about sin, repentance, miracles, and "The Last Days. " Frothing religious fanaticism is burned onto network tape and beamed up to satellites in time for the evening news.

Within 24 hours, there's no going back. Lives are changed forever, and the RCA will never be the same.

Within months, follow-up stories recount church splits in Iowa and heresy trials in New York and California. Denominational lawsuits are filed against several congregations that have begun meeting in homes while attempting to sell church property in order to divvy up proceeds among the unemployed.

Pastors and elders have been purged from some communities and have taken to teaching and preaching in parks, sports complexes and shopping centers.

Restraining orders have been issued against many of the most outspoken. Credentials have been yanked, and a special theological commission has gone into emergency session to clarify the nature, times and parameters of Holy Spirit "baptism."

The CRC has pulled from the RCA "Faith Alive" resource partnership. Christianity Today has begun preparing a cover story, and CNN has assigned a crew to investigate how anything so dramatic could happen so quickly to such a respectable mainline denomination.

Lists of names begin appearing on blogs.

Jobs have been lost, families have begun to unravel, religious dialogs have started taking new turns....

Naw.

Wouldn't happen.

God would not have any part in such chaos.

Not today. Not in the RCA. Such a "Pentecost" would be nothing but a cruel joke... probably of the devil.

Besides, it's not needed. The Spirit has already come. We've already been baptized once and for all. Through our lectionary, confessions and creeds, Reformed teaching and preaching is already covering the full counsel of God. Our communities are pretty much missional, and we're well enough already.

Who needs another Pentecost, anyway?

Certainly NOT us. Maybe in Africa or something, but not here.

We'll let God decide.

If He really wants that sort of thing for us, He'll tell us, and then we'll know. Then we'll pray. Then we'll obey and start acting like radicals if we must.

Otherwise, the prudent thing is business as usual.

If God wants something else, He'll let us know.

Pentecost was then -- and this now.

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom.

-- Dave Cheadle

The 17th century copper plate engraving, "I will pour out my spirit," comes from

"Visscher's Printed Bible," published in 1650

with text in Latin, French, English, German and Dutch.

Below are the English and Dutch rhymes as found on my original. Note: "f" can = "s."

Acts 16:18: "In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her!"

A couple days ago I opened a can of worms by mentioning "signs and wonders." I blogged about whether preaching the gospel in words alone -- without the reinforcement of signs and wonders -- was really a "full" proclamation of the Kingdom.

Today I want to push it a little further by bringing in the whole messy business of the role of "spiritual warfare" in the life of a missional church.

Paul, the author of Romans (and probably as good of a missional guy as you'll ever find) said this:

"I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done -- by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit.... I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ." (Romans 15: 18, 19, emphasis added)

The Greek word Paul uses here that is usually translated as "I have fully preached" or "I have fully proclaimed" is peplērōkenai.

This particular word is different than the words (kerusso, euaggelizo/"evangelize") that Paul frequently uses when speaking about missional preaching. Here, he's speaking about something bigger and more holistic. This word is not just about sermons. It means to complete, to fulfill, to totally accomplish. We're talking here about bringing in the Kingdom with both words AND deeds.

Or, as some might say today, to "git 'er done!"

Paul is the same guy who cautioned us that "our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm." (Ephesians 6:12)

And then in the next verse, Paul launches into some pretty practical tips for conflict management for when dealing with the devil: "put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day."

Scissors-Paper-Rock is only fun until somebody gets mean about it. Like that bully who used to jump into our lunchhour games totally uninvited.

"Rock crushes scissors."

Ouch.

John Calvin, in his commentary on Romans 16:20, says: "He (Paul) indeed exhorts them to fight manfully against Satan, and promises that they should shortly be victorious."

And in reference to the Ephesians 6 passage, Calvin observes:
"Satan is called the god and ruler of this world, the strong man armed, the prince of the power of the air, the roaring lion....
Being forewarned of the constant presence of an enemy... (who is) equipped with all the engines, and the most expert in the science of war,
let us not allow ourselves to be overtaken by sloth or cowardice...
let us stand ready to resist...
let us study to persevere." (Institutes, I, XIV, 13, emphasis mine)

More on this whole business of standing to resist and studying to persevere in a future blog.

In the meantime, we proclaim the message of our Lord with all the power that God has given, knowing that our sworn enemy will protect what's "his" and will play hard and mean if he can get away with it.

But the missional church need not be intimidated.

When the dust settles, Satan and his minions will know for sure that Our Rock crushes.

And, somehow, the devils will be under our feet.

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom.

-- Dave Cheadle

FYI: This Acts 16 image, "The Pythoness," comes from Vol. 2 of:

"Scripture Narratives for the Young," published in 1888.

Yes, I know, "Full Gospel" folks are self-righteous, holier-than-thou anti-intellectuals, and we Reformed types don't want anything to do with that kinda nonsense.

Acts 2: "When the Day of Pentecost came.... Peter stood up: 'This is what the prophet Joel spoke about.... What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us.'"

So, when I carelessly suggested that "the most effective missional churches of the future will be those that embrace and preach the full gospel," I was appropriately and immediately corrected.

We need to be careful. I need to be careful.

Preaching the "full" gospel sounds an awful lot like "The Full Gospel" we'd hear from God-TV, and we good Reformed folks certainly don't want any part of that kinda nonsense, either.

But here's the thing... Peter's first sermon was filled with references to supernatural stuff. The stuff that most Reformed people squirm about.

Many of us are pretty comfortable "doing mission" as a series of classes -- installments of philosophical indoctrination -- with a few Good Works and "Be Nice" lessons thrown in to make it all agreeable to even the most resolute of reprobates.

Dr. Timothy Brown, President of Western Theological Seminary, just published a great piece in the most recent rcatoday. I loved his title, "Oh My! We've Got to Do Something about That!" Dr. Brown's "Oh My!" shock comes from statistics suggesting that Christianity is suffering a dramatic decline in America. (Okay, so most of us in the RCA already suspected as much from our own denominational reports. But Dr. Brown had some even bigger numbers.)

"Even more stunning," says Dr. Brown (and I think this was his real point), "if the statistical sampling holds true, 46 million Americans identify themselves as having absolutely no connection to God whatsoever!"

I love Dr. Brown's essay. It's worth quoting a bit more:
"The Christian church does not make up the story of who we are. We have a story, our story, the one that will change this abysmal statistic." He then references "the story of Pentecost, the rushing wind, the tongues of fire...."

Okay, so 46 million Americans don't take God seriously. And Peter baptized 3,000 people in one day. How do we get from America today to scenes like we read in the book of Acts?

No brainer. Pentecost. Read the Book.

God says: "I will pour out my Spirit on everyone.... Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, your old men will have dreams. Yes, even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit...."
"I will perform miracles...."

Peter says: "Jesus of Nazareth was a man whose divine authority was clearly proven to you by all the miracles and wonders which God performed through him. You yourselves know this, for it happened here among you."

Peter adds: "What you now see and hear is his gift that he has poured out on us."
After Pentecost, the story continues: "Many miracles and wonders were being done through the apostles, and everyone was filled with awe."

The masses were moved from indifference to "...filled with awe."  Followed by repentance, conversion, baptism, transformation, discipleship, sanctification....

But starting with: "awe."

Not as in, "Awe, shucks."  But as in: "Oh... my God!"

Our Reformed confessions, creeds, pastors, seminaries, and even Sunday School teachers all teach us that the gospel is to be proclaimed in Word and Deeds.

By "Deeds," we of course mean an externally focused church that behaves very nicely and loves people via charity and all kinds of kindly acts of service.

By "Deeds," we don't necessarily rule out signs and wonders -- miracles, healings, and deliverance.

But we just don't go there.

Jesus told Peter and the others to wait. He basically said, "Hold onto your Words and Deeds until I say you're ready. Until you've been powered up. In the meantime... pray."

Great, many of us are eager to proclaim the gospel. "Powered up," or not. After days and days of waiting and praying... or not.

So let's just do it.

But then, let's not be surprised when the 46 million folks who don't take God seriously don't take our God story seriously, either.

The success of the churches of Acts was rooted in a Spirit-powered full gospel proclamation, including Words, Signs, and Wonders. Take away the Signs and Wonders, and let's not be shocked.

Let's not be shocked to discover, as Dr. Brown puts it, that "while the American population has swelled 50 million since 1990, the church of Jesus Christ has shrunk."

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom.

-- Dave Cheadle

FYI: This print, "Day of Pentecost," comes from page 390 of a 19th century edition of:

"The Complete Bible Gallery," by the famous illustrator Gustave Doré.

Generally speaking, that's the way adults deal with children who are too immature to just naturally do chores on their own.

But is that how our Lord deals with His churches?

IMAGE FROM: 1487 original woodcut, Mark 5 - author's collection

Based upon letters to seven representative congregations (Revelation 2-3), Jesus seems pretty comfortable with the above approach, at least when immature churches start drifting off focus.

Ask.  Tell.  Remind.  If necessary, threaten and punish.

(Well, actually Jesus FIRST makes a love connection and offers encouragement... then come the prompts and threats where they are needed.)

Today the RCA wonders: "What does it mean to be Reformed and Missional?" 

Implied is an assumption that Christians SHOULD be "missional," as well as a hint of concern that maybe we're falling a bit short in that department.

Jesus says, in John 7:38:

"Whoever believes in me, streams of life-giving water will pour out from his heart."

Missional can be defined different ways, but it's hard to beat Christ's metaphor:

You know you're being missional when streams of life-giving water are flowing from your heart.

To be missional is to produce streams of life.  To be missional is to move down from the hills and out into the desert with a presence and power that brings hope, life, and transformation.

If a congregation is failing to water a community --let alone is withering itself-- something is probably pretty messed up.

Sticking with the life-giving water metaphor, maybe we need to work our way upstream and try to figure out what's choking off the waters.  Perhaps there is something in our structures or traditions that is restricting the flow.

Or, heaven forbid, perhaps the hills themselves are dry.  If it's a matter of drought, perhaps what is called for is some serious prayer for rain.

A third possibility is found in Revelation 2:2.  Jesus walked among the Christians of Ephesus and noticed lots of water.  "I know," said Jesus, "how hard you have worked."  The Ministry Team was hard at it and doing all the right stuff.  And the elders never let down their guard: "I know you cannot tolerate evil men and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not."

"But this," said Jesus, "I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first."

The water was flowing at Ephesus, but something was missing.  There was no life, no love, no Holy Spirit power in it.

In Mark 5, Jesus flows into a lifeless place-- a place of tombs.  He confronts that evil and unholy presence with love, authority and holy power that flowed naturally from the reservoir within his very heart.  Missional streams of life-giving water were released that day, and a village outcast was himself transformed into an anointed man with a mission.

In the same way, apostles and disciples went forth after Pentecost filled with love, authority and holy power for missions.  They engaged in spiritual warfare and shared the good news backed with tangible demonstrations of love and power.

"Missional" folk throughout history have done the same.  They have flowed into dry, dead, and suffering places with waters energized by love and holy power.

It's great that the RCA is talking about what it means to be Reformed and Missional.  But three harder questions might be:

1.  Is something choking greater flow?

2.  Are the hills a little dry?

3.  Is there enough holy power in the water?

These are fair questions.  These are questions and issues that Jesus himself addressed to congregations that were younger than most of our RCA fellowships.

It may be comforting to know that churches that were planted by the apostles themselves were dealing with these same questions within such a short time after getting organized.

Of less comfort are the words of Revelation 2:5 to the church at Ephesus, a body of believers that was filled with orthodox doctrine and overflowing with good works:

"If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."

As a footnote in history, First Reformed of Ephesus... is no more.

Such are the mysteries of the Kingdom. 

                                                                  -- Dave Cheadle

FYI: In case you were curious about the illustration at the top of this blog, below is a full page reproduction of that 1487 page ("leaf") printed on vellum that depicts Jesus engaging in spiritual warfare as recounted in Mark 5.  This leaf was printed on one of the earliest presses in Europe, and the gothic lettering of the period should look familiar to some readers -- the text is Dutch.

IMAGE FROM: 1857 reproduction of illuminated manuscript page - author's collection

When King Herod gave orders to kill all the little boys in Bethlehem, he was acting on directives from God's enemy and fulfilling prophecies. We read, "In this way, what the prophet Jeremiah had said came true." (Matt. 2:17)

But it didn't end there. God's enemy continued, and continues, to stab at the Child.

"She was soon to give birth," we read in John's Revelation, but a great dragon "stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born." (Rev. 12:1, 4).

This has been an on-going strategy of God's enemy, Satan, the Devil, Apollyon, the dragon.  Our enemy wants to crash those holy-days where our Lord seeks to show up as "God-With-Us," or as we like to sing this time of year, Emanuel. Satan looks for those moments of mystery, then slips between us and God to do what he can to devour the miracle. Thank God, literally, that for the sake of His Kingdom, at key points our Lord has outwitted (and out-muscled) the enemy.

The Bible tells us that God was alert to Satan's ploy. God countered. He acted to save the holy baby: "An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, '...take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.'"

Or, again, in John's Revelation, "But the child was snatched away and taken to God and his throne. The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1,260 days." (Rev. 12:6)

All mysteries and controversies about interpreting "days" in the book Revelation aside, John is clear about a couple things: 1. God is up to good -- He's pro-active in Kingdom history, and 2. God's enemy is active in thwarting Kingdom plans -- he's Anti-Christ and Anti-God's people. And the tense shiftings throughout Revelation are always interesting, constantly suggesting action that continues from the past into the present and on to the future.

We're talking on-going spiritual battles.

Too weird? Too abstract?  Too frightening?

IMAGE FROM: Pilgrim's Progress, an 1897 illustrated edition - author's collection

Try this. Peter, who knew both Christ and Satan firsthand, put it bluntly:
"Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings."

Believers. Peter is talking to us, and he says it's not just the "unsaved" who are hunted and harassed by the Anti-Christ. Satan stalks "believers in all the world."

Yikes.

Now, for those who are wondering if we should take this roaring lion stuff at face value, "the Devil" is NOT code for Freud's "id," or even for shame issues that a person needs to work through with a therapist. At least not in the minds of Peter, James, John, Paul, Matthew... well, actually, in the minds of every writer in the N.T.

Every single writer in the N.T. understood "Satan" to be real.

But --in fairness to Satan-- not all the dirty work can be attributed directly to him. The World and the Flesh are at the root of much that is going badly, and Satan has a whole army of helpers more than willing to do his dirty work when he's being tied up in bigger spiritual warfare matters.

So while I might say, "the Devil made me do it," it is probably more true that I did it myself. Yet it is also true that I may have been urged on by the coaxing of one of Satan's nasty helpers.

Satan himself is probably too busy for most of us. Most of our demonic harassments probably can be attributed to some low-ranking un-holy spirit who just happens to hate us almost as much as it hates our Saviour.

Fallen angels --demons-- are under the authority of Satan and are still trying to take stabs and swings at God-With-Us. If they think they can thwart the coming of the Kingdom and inflict a wound on Jesus by working on us, they'll give it a shot.

Back to Christmas.

Demons and Enemy #1 don't mind a happy secular holiday... it's "God-With-Us" that drives them crazy.

Evil spirits will let us have our seasonal eggnog, late-night parties and credit card binges. But when our thoughts turn to "God-With-Us," they'll begin to prowl in a little closer. They'll begin to meddle, lull, distract and even pounce to destroy what is holy.

Most of us have at least a vague sense of all of this, and we respond by just trying a little harder to "put the Christ back into X-mas." We respond. We try.

Here's the thing. If it actually IS the devil --or a fallen spirit-- who is sometimes trying to snatch an experience of Jesus from us, then we're talking about spiritual warfare stuff.

Not to get spooky with pentecostal shouting or superstitious rituals, but all the biggie saints and most of the greatest missionaries, evangelists and reformers (including John Calvin), probably took spiritual warfare more seriously than 9-out-of-10 Christians in the RCA today.

The "biggies" of the past knew enough to practice disciples to help them stay alert against the enemy. And they were intentional about ways to resist and fight back against our demonic harassers, just as Jesus and the N.T. teaches us to.

IMAGE FROM: Pilgrim's Progress, an 1897 illustrated edition - author's collection

Within the Reformed tradition, spiritual warfare classics like Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress and Gurnall's The Christian in Complete Armour: A Treatise of the Saints War against the Devil were once all but required reading. But hardly any Reformed folks today read the modern equivalents of those works, let alone the originals.

(If you'd like a nice "safe" introduction to this topic, I suggest a CRC publication available through our own Faith Alive resource center: Straight Talk About Spiritual Warfare: What the Bible Teaches and What You Need to Know.)

Scripture teaches many ways to resist and fight back when spirits try to devour our "God-With-Us" moments. This Christmas, I mention but two of the most basic:

1. Be alert.
2. Pray.

First, don't assume every distraction from Christ this season comes from the World or the Flesh. Be on watch! Be willing to believe what the Bible teaches. We have an enemy who will distract and destroy "God-With-Us" moments whenever we allow.

Second, when you catch yourself wondering where Jesus went, stop and pray.

Seriously.

Stop... and pray.

IMAGE FROM: Pilgrim's Progress, an 1897 illustrated edition - author's collection

Pray: "Jesus, you're the reason for the season. I want to remember you. Right now. I want to WORSHIP you. Right now. Our enemy seems to be messing with our intimacy, trying to thwart this 'God-With-Me' moment in my life. But it's YOU, Jesus, that I want to feel close to. It's you that I love, that I serve, and you're the one I want to turn to for love."

Pray: "Jesus, please come to me now. Let us be close. I rebuke anything that is within me, the world, the flesh... and I rebuke any agent of the enemy who is messing with my head or heart. Jesus... I want the door to open. I want to be with you, to experience your love and presence. In your name and by your power, may it be so."

Some people who have been Christians for many years have still never developed a willingness to deal with the enemy. Their lives have been a lot of one-sided battles. They just "give it all to Jesus," while ignoring that at times Jesus "gave it all to us." Jesus sent his people out to engage the enemy themselves, and taught them how to do it.

Many of us have never practiced how to be alert, nor how to respond when we know that the lion is lurking nearby.

Anger, television, worry, greed, gadgets, sports, lust, fear, shame, distractions of the world, gossip, hobbies, work, pride... the assaults against us and "God-With-Us" encounters are nearly endless.

Unless we know how to respond and have the courage to engage, many "God-With-Us" moments are easily lost, easily devoured.

You want to experience Christ back in your Christmas?

Then take on "the dragon" who would devour the Baby. Get as serous about his intentions as the Father did. Get pro-active.

Be alert. Resist the enemy. Engage in spiritual warfare as needed. Pray.

Do your part... Jesus did his.

"God-With-Us" is for those who seek with all their heart, soul, mind and strength to be with Him.

Satan is doing his thing... if you're not doing yours, "God-With-Us" might not happen for you.

Such are the Mysteries of the Kingdom. -- Dave Cheadle

IMAGE FROM: Pilgrim's Progress, an 1892 illustrated edition - author's collection

-- Rev. Tim Vander Baan spilled the beans in his provocative Nov. '08 Church Herald piece, "The Measure of Success."

On page 22 he raises the question, "The two-talent pastor has something to offer, but does it merit being on the payroll?"

Bean counters lord it over the kingdom of commerce -- but who manages the Kingdom of Heaven? How do we measure yield from the field? Who decides which ministries get funded, which ministers (we are ALL ministers) get paid (and how much), and when to cash out investments that show little "measurable" returns?

If there's one thing we've just learned from the meltdown on Wall Street, it's that just keeping bean counters on the payroll is not enough.  Dollars and holdings can be looked at from many angles, and then it takes integrity, wisdom and interpretation to figure out what is actually going on with an investment.

I applaud Tim's painfully honest confessions. His journey is a gut-wrencher of lurches, twists, mountains and dips ending with his declaration that despite (or because of) his "failures," God's grace gets the final word:

"I'm free."

Perhaps our measuring devices for success should be occasionally flipped upside down ... kinda like a great Teacher from long ago used to do from time to time. Maybe once in a while we set a 12 inch ruler up alongside a ministry and measure from the sky down, instead of from the bottom up.

Jesus might have looked at a can full of beans and observed: "Not much room for God in there."

Then he might have pointed to a can with only a few beans in the bottom and said: "Hey, you just wait and see what's coming! Great reversals! Surprises, mercies, wonders, miracles and fillings that will bring glory to heaven like you've never seen!"

The truth is, as Tim accurately spilled it, measuring success can drive us to despair... and then beyond despair, it can drive us to God.

Bottom Line: God has special blessings for the poor in spirit... those living on beans, those who are hungry, hurting and crying up for more.

Accounting for such parodoxes requires mind-bending math that sometimes leaves us shaking our heads.

Such are the Mysteries of the Kingdom. ---Dave Cheadle