ToddHDow Studios

Category: philosophy

  • Lent Time – Part III

    Title: Lent Time
    Key Verses: Galatians 6:7-10
    Topic: Following the calling of God’s spirit in our lives

    Part 3: Understanding the call
    But what exactly should we do to satisfy our Spiritual nature and to avoid our sinful nature? There are numerous lists in the Bible of positive and negative acts. Galatians contains a pretty good overview of appropriate and inappropriate actions. Consider:

    Galatians 5:16-26:
    So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
    The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

    I don’t want to dwell on each of these items at this time. What I do want to highlight again though is the intentionality of these acts. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

    We must understand that our motivation is the key. As I mentioned earlier, if my family doesn’t meet our family goals for 2006, we haven’t necessarily failed. Circumstances change. We sometimes miss the mark. We all suffer setbacks. The important thing is how we deal with those setbacks. Do we simply give up and call it failure, or do we reassess the situation and modify our plan so that we can keep moving forward? Do we quit, or do we persevere as Paul tells us to do in verse 9: “we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”.

    Dietrich Bonhoeffer provides us with the concept of “The Visible Community” in his book, The Cost of Discipleship. Consider:
    Thus the life of the Christian community in the world bears permanent witness to the truth that “the fashion of this world passeth away” (I Cor, 7:31), that the time is short (I Cor. 7:29) and the Lord is nigh (Phil. 4:5). […] The world is growing too small for the Christian community, and all it looks for is the Lord’s return. It still walks in the flesh, but with eyes upturned to heaven, whence he for whom they wait will come again. […] They show the love of God to all men, “but specially to them that are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10, II Pet. 1:7). […] But they are only passing through the country. At any moment they may receive the signal to move on. Then they will strike tents, leaving behind them all their worldly friends and connections, and following only the voice of their Lord who calls. They leave the land of their exile, and start their homeward trek to heaven.
    Bonhoeffer: pg 269-270.

    As Christians, we are a Visible Community. We live within the world, yet we are striving for a life of salvation in heaven. The question to ask here is, “Are our eyes upturned to heaven”? And do we use Jesus’ example to live our lives?

    Are we making the most of this time that we have been lent? As Paul mentions in Galatians 6:9: “for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’” Thus, it is important to be disciplined and to intentionally use the time that we have been given, this Lent Time, to make every day count and to look to that long awaited harvest.

    Coming up next: Part 4: Putting the call into action

  • Lent Time – Part II

    Title: Lent Time
    Key Verses: Galatians 6:7-10
    Topic: Following the calling of God’s spirit in our lives

    Part 2: Contextualize the letter to the Galatians

    Today’s scripture reading is taken from Galatians. The book of Galatians is a letter from Paul to the churches in southern Galatia, which had previously been founded by Paul and others within the Christian church. The letter is dated to approx 49 AD. The Galatians were struggling to understand how to live as Christians. There were disagreements pertaining to how to live as a Christian. Many within the Galatian community were falling back on old customs and laws, specifically many of the Jewish traditions.

    As we can all see in the Gospels, Jesus was constantly at odds with Jewish traditions that involved strict adherence to the laws set forth in the Torah. As Paul reminds the Galatians in Galatians 3:5: “Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”

    Paul’s letter to the Galatians served to remind them to be careful when following ritual and tradition at the expense of faith and intentional Christian living. To Paul, and Christians everywhere, the new law brought by Jesus could be summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” This law appears to be quite simple, but when put into practice it can be quite complex and all encompassing.

    Paul urged the Galatians to do good to all and to live lives of positive Christian intentionality.
    Galatians 6:7-10:

    Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

    The key here is the word “please”. As in “the one who sows to please his sinful nature” or “the one who sows to please the Spirit”. The word please means to gratify or to appease. The New Living Translation uses the word “satisfy” in this context.

    Galatians 6:7-10:

    Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

    To Paul, your motivation is key. Without the motivation to please the spirit, your intentions miss the mark. With proper motivation, you please the spirit. And to Paul, it is important to persevere and to use the time that we have been given for good and for pleasing the Spirit.

    Coming up next: Part 3: Understanding the call

  • Lent Time – Part I

    In this 4 part series, I’ll be posting a recent sermon that I delivered entitled “Lent Time”. This is an important topic to me. I believe that we are stewards of our time and that we should use our time wisely. I hope that this sermon rings true in your heart as well.

    In Him,

    Todd Dow

    Title: Lent Time
    Key Verses: Galatians 6:7-10
    Topic: Following the calling of God’s spirit in our lives

    Part 1: Introduction
    I’ve been given the next 20 minutes to share this message with all of you this morning. I’ve been given 20 minutes to share God’s word with you. This 20 minutes isn’t something that I’ve freely taken, it has been given. It’s been lent to me. By all of you. And by God. It’s my responsibility to use this 20 minutes wisely. There’s a sense of stewardship in this opportunity. In a way, we could say that I have been lent this time to do God’s work in his community of believers.

    This isn’t taken time or stolen time or stumbled-upon time… this time has been given to me, lent to me, so that I can share this message with you.

    Time isn’t something I can create on my own. The past, present and future that I live in has been lent to me by my creator. Through the grace of God, I have been given the freedom to live with this lent time in any way that I please. It’s up to me what I do with this time. Should I squander this time? Or should I use this time wisely?

    I might be getting ahead of myself though… let’s come back to this thought in a moment…

    It’s New Years Eve. New Years resolutions. How many of you have or will be making some resolutions? Saving money, losing weight, quitting smoking, eating healthier… We’ve all got habits to kick or more disciplined approaches to living to commit to.

    How many of us use a financial budget? How many of us set yearly goals? Julie and I do both of these. It’s sometimes fun, sometimes not so much… But, it helps keep us on track.

    Does all of this sound familiar to you? I’m sure that this is familiar ground and that most of you can relate. We all make plans. We all anticipate the future. We all look forward and try to maximize what we are doing now to make us more comfortable in the future. In this way, we use our “lent time” to live our lives to the fullest.

    But, I’m not here today to talk about financial goals… I’m here to talk about something much more important. Something else that requires upkeep, planning and long-term decision-making. Something that impacts more than our material needs and our short-term challenges. I’m here to talk about our spiritual well-being. Do we use our collective lent time to enhance our spiritual lives? Do we have spiritual goals? Do we have good spiritual health? Do we feel a close relationship with God? Do we understand the gift that Christ gave us on the cross? Are we using our lent time to make the most of that gift of salvation that we have been given?

    What are our spiritual goals? Do each of us have them? Do we plan our spiritual growth in the same way that we plan other parts of our life? Many of us make budgets. Many of us make exercise plans. And many of us make school or career plans. But how many of us take the time to sit down and identify where we want to be spiritually and build a plan to achieve our spiritual goals?

    I like to call this intentional living. It is about consciously living our lives for the things that we believe. We all believe that we need a financial plan because we need money to survive, to buy food, to pay the mortgage, etc.. We all believe that we need a school or career plan in order to obtain a better standard of living. And since we’re all here this morning, we are in agreement that God plays some part in our lives. In the same way that we plan in other areas of our lives, do we plan spiritual health, growth and well-being? My challenge for you this morning is this: Do you have a spiritual plan and if not, why not?

    Coming up next: Part 2: Contextualize the letter to the Galatians

  • Evangelical Sabre-rattling won’t lead to peace

    Interesting article from rabble.ca:

    Evangelical Sabre-rattling won’t lead to peace

    This article comments on the allegiance of some Christian leaders, including Billy and Franklin Graham, with American military might. While I do respect Billy Graham, I have often asked myself whether his chummy relationship with the White House was positive or negative. This article raises this same concern. And, it also highlights the troublesome violent messages of Billy’s son Franklin in his recent comments pertaining to Afghanistan and 9/11.

    The article challenges us to look deep within ourselves and ask if war is the correct answer to conflict, or if we should try to rise above it and offer peaceful alternatives to violence instead. The following excerpt is, to me, the most powerful piece from this article:

    Franklin Graham, brandishing a tone not heard from his father, called Islam “a very evil and wicked religion” and, in the wake of 9/11, said the U.S. should drop nuclear weapons on Afghanistan. He has backed down somewhat from the former statement but refuses to retract the latter. Rather than countering increased division in the world with calls for understanding and unity, he is digging the trenches deeper.
    To be clear about what Rev. Graham suggested for Afghanistan, picture in your mind the apocalyptic images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — disfigured people and a lifeless smoldering moonscape.
    Is that what the religious imagination has to offer the world?
    Compare that with the Amish of Nickel Mines, Penn. When faced with senseless violence, they did not respond with righteous vengeance but reached out to the family of the man who killed their children, setting up trust funds for his kids. Confronted by unthinkable violence, they responded with unthinkable forgiveness and compassion. For them, faith meant replacing the human impulse for fear and retaliation with something kinder and gentler.

    I have yet to see the same compassionate, loving and gentle side to Franklin that I see in his father. I hope that this will emerge from Franklin as he fills the void left by Billy. Yet, I can’t help but feel alarmed at the influence that Franklin will have as he inherits the large and far reaching audience that his father developed through his years of dedication to spreading God’s word.

    One can only hope that a voice of peace emerges in Christian circles with the same kind of influence as Billy Graham to help fill this void and to help replace the more hardcore and intolerant messages being preached by his son.

    One can only hope…

    Todd Dow

  • Book Review: Velvet Elvis

    Book Review: Velvet Elvis
    What do I read in my spare time? I sift through a wide variety of stuff. And from time to time, I’d like to use this forum to share some of my reads with you. Some good, some not so good, but all of them thought provoking in one way or another.

    This first “book review” comments on a book called Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. For those of you that don’t know who Rob is (I didn’t know who he was until I read this book), he’s the lead pastor at Mars Hill Church in Michigan. He planted this church and has been instrumental in its growth. This book is his statement on what Christianity should be about.

    The title Velvet Elvis is the visual queue that he uses to help convey the constant and never-ending growth that occurs within the church. As Rob describes it,

    “What if the painter of my Velvet Elvis announced there was no more need to paint, that he had painted the ultimate painting? We would think he had lost his mind because of our instinctive understanding that art is never done – it’s the endless process of learning, exploring, shaping and forming. And it’s no different with faith. The Christian faith will never be complete. We will always be exploring and discovering what it means to live in harmony with God and each other. If we don’t, our faith may end up in the basement. This book is about the endless need to keep painting.”

    The most memorable portion of the book is in “Movement 3” (this is how chapters are denoted) under the heading “Everywhere”. In this section, Bell describes the awakening of an awareness of God within friends of his as they prepared for their wedding. My description couldn’t do it justice. Read it for yourself. Trust me. You won’t be disappointed.

    In any event, I don’t want to hold you up from reading the book. So go get a copy. Read it. Share it with a friend. Enjoy it. Contemplate on it. And drop me a line to let me know if you agree with my recommendation.

    Happy Reading!

    Todd Dow