Christian Hedonism

I wrote this 3/21/2010 in response to a series of Sunday school lessons that left me heartbroken and frustrated. As a teacher I could not consciously read from the script. Since I am a big believer in looking for what we can agree on rather than fight over, I just loosely followed the ideas he was presenting each day i.e. "The Joy of the Lord is my strength," "What makes God happy," etc. This outline is NOT notes from the Sunday School materials. It sort of follows and rebuffs some of the ideas he was presenting, so some of it may not seem to flow logically if you haven't read the materials or his book. But, for the most part the ideas should stand alone. Much of it is foundational to what I believe and why I do the things I do. I figured that it may help some of you know where I'm coming from.

John Piper week 1

The foundation for Christian Hedonism [seeking after pleasure]

“The Joy of the Lord is my strength.”

Day 1

A. The reason that we can have joy in God is that God Loves us.

1. God is Love (1 John 4: 8, 16)

2. Love= doing what’s best for others regardless the cost to one’s self.

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 1 John 3: 16

3. Love produces true joy and peace. They do not grow from any other lasting source. [Gal 5:22-23; 1 John 4:18]

B. God’s original plan for mankind is for us to rule and reign in full fellowship with Him in His Kingdom on the earth. (Kingdom= 1. Love is King. & 2. Obey laws i.e. love Love & Love others.)

1. God’s intent for us was stated in the Garden [Gen 1: 26-28] and is fully accomplished at His return. [Rev 20: 6] It is the overlaying theme of His interaction with us. [Romans 8: 16-21; Luke 12: 32]

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. [Romans 8: 16-21]

NOTE: We must be “in His Image” to have this authority for humans do not carry power in and of ourselves.

2. Satan’s intent is to ascend to the throne of God and be worshiped as God.

You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” [Is. 14: 13-14]

3. Since it is impossible for Satan to ascend to the throne of God by overpowering God, Satan tries to ascend to the throne through taking authority from man. Man chose not to rule, but gave Satan authority over himself by subjecting himself to Satan since the Garden. [Gen 3]

4. Therefore, God, knowing this would occur, planned before time to redeem mankind and provide a way for him to return to his intended place of authority.

1 John 3: 8 “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

5. To sit on the Throne one must become servant of all [Matt 5: 43-48, 23: 10-12]

Mark 10: 42-45 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

~I can have strength in the joy of the Lord, because I can utterly trust His Love for me. That place of love breeds happiness, peace and safety. That security gives me the power to stand up, unafraid of the life ahead, ready to take my place as a servant king.

Day 2 & 3

What makes God happy?

A. Us

1. Who we are: Gen. 1: 31; Psalm 35: 27*; Psalm 149:4*; 1 Cor 12:18;

2. What we do: Psalm 104: 34; Psalm 147: 11*; Micah 6:8; Matt. 9:13; Heb. 10: 38; Heb. 11: 5-6*; Heb. 13: 16

3. His relationship with us: Isaiah 58: 1-14; Ezekiel 18: 23 & 33: 11*; Eph. 1:3-4; 1Cor 1:21*

B. His Son

1. Who He is: Matt 3: 17*, 17: 5; Mark 11: 1; Luke 3: 22; 2 Peter 1: 17

2. What He does: Luke 12: 32*; Matt 12: 18; John 6:38

3. His relationship to us: Col 1: 19- 20

C. God’s original intentions fulfilled:

1. Revelation of who God really is:

a. 1 Corinthians 2: 6-16

b. 1 Peter 1: 20

2. Reigning with Him for eternity on the earth [see day 1]

3. Redemption:

a. Gal 3: 8 “The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you."

b. Matt 25: 34, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”

c. Is 46: 9-13* Piper quotes vs 9 & 10, “Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” BUT he leaves out what God is pleased to do in vs. 13: “my salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion, my splendor to Israel.” His will is not a mystery in this context it is clearly stated. (See also: Isaiah 43: 10-13; 51: 5; 56: 1)

d. Also used out of context is Ps 115: 3. The psalmist wasn’t afraid of God because of His “love” and “faithfulness.” In this context, “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” is in contrast to “But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak.” It is not referring to an unrevealed mysterious will of God. According to this context, God is to be “their help and shield,” and “will bless” us as opposed to idols who can do nothing for us!

e. See also: 2 Tim 1: 9,10; Titus 1: 2 (eternal life)

4. Restoration:

a. Humanity Glorifying God: (Glory= “to give the proper opinion of” [Mirror; weights & measures] We glorify God not only when we give the “proper opinion of Him” through praise, but more exactly when we live out His image like a mirror of Him.)

1) John 17: 5 Jesus prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” Jesus defines the occurrence of this as: “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them [believers].” [vs 10]

2) We glorify God when we live in such a way that others can understand the proper definition of Love.

3) We can only give others the proper opinion of Love if we abide in Him & He in us.

b. In our pre-fall state: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love” [Eph 1: 4]

D. God’s happiness is in Love. He is delighted with restored relationship with you. He is works to restore us to our rightful place as sons instead of slaves. [Rom 8: 15; Gal 4: 5]

Day 4

God is for Us!

A. Although one could argue: God’s happiness is in Love, and God is Love. Therefore God’s happiness is in Himself. By the very definition of love, “Love does not seek its own.” [1 Cor. 13: 5] Therefore Love “seeks” for its object—that is us. By making humanity the “apple of His eye,” we do not become an idol for Love we are the fulfillment of it. [see Deut 32: 10; Ps. 17:8; Zech 2: 8]

B. God’s Word says that He’s for us: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” [Rom. 8: 31b]

C. Everything God does is for us—including, but not limited to:

1. Creation [Gen. 1:29, 2: 18] 8. The fruit of the Spirit (Love, Joy, Peace, etc.)

2. Incarnation [Is. 53, John 10: 10; 1 John 4: 9*] 9. Second coming [Rev. 19: 9]

3. Death [Phil. 2: 6-8] 10. Covenant [Ez. 37: 26]

4. Resurrection [1 Cor. 15: 16-19] 11. His Word [1 John 1: 1-4; 3: 17]

5. Ascension [John 16:7] 12. Formed people groups [Acts 17: 26, 27]

6. Discipline [Prov. 3: 12] 13. Rain, sun, crops [Matt 5: 45; Acts 14: 15-16]

7. Passion for His name [Ez. 20: 9-44—He loved the nations! Is. 48: 9, 17-19]

Day 5

Because we are overjoyed we cannot help but express it.

Because Love is the only One who can satisfy us, we delight to express our love in return. Praise overflows from a heart of thanksgiving. Ps. 100 give a great synopsis. Verse 1 says, “Shout for joy to the Lord.” Verse 5 gives us why:”For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” Who God is produces thankfulness and joy. It is an outward demonstration born of our inward joy and satisfaction in Him. We do not only offer “words of affirmation,” but also quality time, acts of service, gifts and touching the world as His hand, feet and mouthpiece. Without doing so our love is not complete, for we must “seek” for the object of our professed love. We do not offer praise because it is a compulsory practice, nor do we seek after joy as an end. We seek after God Himself which produces joy in us as a seed growing into fruition. Galatians 5: 22-23 says that Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. If God is in your heart you cannot help but produce the fruit of Joy. This will over flow in praise and thanksgiving.

The drought changed life for me.

In 2007 my son was born in February, and we moved into our new house in March. It is close to Lake Catoma--our cities water source. I started to walk to the lake regularly when my 30th birthday came rumbling around that April.

The South was soon covered in what was one of the worst droughts in years. Our lake began to shrink. The lush area I had begun to visit in the spring looked like a desert by the fall. Catoma became more of a puddle than a lake. Water restrictions were in full force. Our city was trying to devise some sort of solution to the water shortage. There was little hope of a short term solution. Every idea seemed a long way off. Predictions were that it would take at least 4 years and several hurricane remnants to fill the lake back to its previous conditions.

In November God started to really speak strongly to me about planning a day of fasting and prayer for the county. As a stay-at-home mom with little connections I hardly felt qualified. But, I began the planning process and sent out letters inviting area pastors to lead us in a 24 hour fast starting at 7 pm Fri. February 22, 2008 and ending 7 pm Sat. February 23, 2009.

The turnout was small, but on March 23, 2008 the Cullman Times headlines read "Spillway Splash"! One month to the day from that corporate fast God had the lake overflowing. Most of the rain was at night and didn't interfere with our daily lives and none of it was destructive. Unlike what was predicted by the experts, it had not taken even ONE hurricane to fill our lake.

God had already shown me the power of fasting & prayer on a personal level when I got pregnant with my first child after years of infertility. The "Spillway Splash" was a revelation to me about corporate prayer and fasting. These two prayer events were my lion and my bear. Nothing is impossible. Nothing! No problem is too big for my God. No giants can arise that cannot be slain. My God is GREATER!!!

A Love letter to God, 2/21/08

A Love letter to God,

I have known You for so many years, I feel like we should be old friends by now. But You continue to amaze me! Just when I start to understand, You show me another side of You—even more beautiful than the last. Your Word like a perfectly cut diamond shows a new facet of You every time I look. But, they all reflect back to one truth—You are love. Not just that You do love or that You have love, but You ARE love! Everything You do is motivated out of the core of who You are—Love.

You must, by the definition of Love, want the best for what is others—no matter the cost to Yourself. Therefore, You love me... I can do nothing to inspire that love. Nor can I do anything to inhibit Your love. You give it freely because it is who You are. You can’t not love me. You work all things together for good because You are good.

Love, when given, does not subtract from the giver—it multiplies. Hate on the other hand destroys. If then, You are perfect love, You multiply infinitely. You are self sustaining--completely independent. You need nothing from anyone or anything. There is no hate in You to tear You apart or destroy You. You do not need me to do anything or say anything or be anything for You, to make You complete. You are complete in and of Yourself. You are the “I Am.” You desire for me to act and think and be in accordance with Your Word, is not just because You know You are better than me and You deserve it, but because You love me and what You desire for me to become, is what is best for me.

You show us snap shots of what our relationship with You should look like by creating examples of those relationships among us humans. You relate to us as a Father, a brother, a friend, a King, a servant…but they could all be summed up in one relationship—lover. Not adulterous affair lover, but as in bride and long awaited bridegroom lovers—as in “They two shall be one flesh.” A permanent, complete conglomeration of two entities into one functioning body of which You are the head. This is why when we act outside of the proper bounds of each created relationship, it is so appalling to You. Disobedience, hatred, fornication, adultery, rebellion, pride all skew the reflections these relationships were meant to show of You.

Even Your discipline of such acts is because You love. In discipline You encourage Your own to do what is best for them. In wrath You create justice, defending those who are trampled upon. It is retribution as an act of Your love for the victim. It is jealousy for what is best for the World. It IS love. Many bad things happen to people because the World chooses NOT to follow the way You set up for us. Mankind chooses to live with rape, murder, drunkenness, hate, greed…You did not choose it for us. You abhor such actions—they are not Your fault. You are grieved for the victims of such acts. One day You will set all things right.

We as humans have holes and cracks in our heart, voids that must be filled—both those You created in order that we would see our need for You to complete us and those made by the destructive power of hate in us. When we try to fill these holes in our lives with something other than Your love, we just shove junk into the cracks that drives those cracks wider. Sex, food, money, things, relationships, vengeance, work, self-pity, substance abuse ...these things that we try to patch our souls with become a wedge in our hearts that can eventually shatter us and those around us. They become what we turn to for help other than You, and in so doing they become a “god” to us. One thing that we use to fill the gaps is not worse or better than another. It is all on the same level of repulsion to you. Therefore, the person filling their gaps with food cannot look down on the one filling it with drugs. The one filling it with busyness is no better than the homosexual. We should look on one another’s wounds with a godly compassion—seeing one another’s pain instead of just our faults. Only through the healing power of Your love can You create a new heart in us. That is why You are so jealous for us to only fill ourselves with You. Every other thing we use to fill our gaps harms us, and harm to Your beloved grieves You. That is why we are only to have You as our God, because it is what is best for us!

We are created for Your love and in our perfect state of creation we would have reflected You perfectly “in Your own image”—the image of love. But, in our fallen state we can only offer this warped reflection which is skewed by filters of hate. Reflection= to give the proper opinion of= glory. We are created for Your glory not because You are arrogant and need to be reminded of Your beauty, but because being a reflection of Your perfect love is, again, what is best for us and those around us. It allows us free access to the healing power of a loving relationship with You, and opens us up to love each other without inhibition. When we act outside of the boundaries You set up for those relationships in our lives, we “fall short of the glory of God.” Mankind’s original act of choosing to fill our desire with something other than Your Love, shattered our ability to reflect Your Love at all. Because You are perfect love, You cannot allow this imperfection to mar Your beauty, for then You would no longer be perfect. And since man chose to be imperfect rather than wholly pure as You created us to be, You predestined a plan of rescue for us even before we ever needed it. On one hand You must love—You must care for us more than You do for Yourself. Yet, You are perfect and cannot accept the destructive power of imperfection as part of Yourself—it must be cast out of Your presence. How can one who is wholly love cast away the very object of that devotion? And so, you came into the World—not to condemn the World, but that through Your provision, You can have fellowship with the World again. Jesus’ death covered our imperfection. He spanned the gap in the relationship between You and us that our choice created. You see us through the filter of His loving blood. Your own infinite love was and is the only thing great enough to bridge such a chasm between perfect and imperfect. Imperfection does not hold such power to reach out; we are too absorbed with holding on to ourselves. The endless depth of Your love is amazing in that You—being God—knew before You ever created the World that we would choose hate over Your love. And yet, because of Your compulsion to love and have an object other than Yourself to receive that love—You created us anyway.

You are the only infinite power in the universe—the only entity that is self sustaining. As such You have all the sovereign authority to demand us to fulfill Your will. But instead, in Your perfect love, You set aside the power You have to force us to love You back or follow Your rules. You showed us this humility when You set aside your rights and became a man for our sake. Forcing “love” is a human characteristic that we often term as “rape” or at the least “controlling”. You are not a megalomaniac—a negative social psychotic condition. You simply encourage: “Today, I set before you life and death—choose life!” Then with all Your heart desire us to choose life. We most often do not. Even when we are moving in that general direction, sometimes we pull back from fellowship with You because it is too much effort, too much change, we think it cost too much, it is uncomfortable…whatever the reason, we deny You Your rightful authority to change our lives for the better. When we sin after accepting Jesus—Your way to restore fellowship with You—we dent and warp our ability to reflect the proper image of You. You want us to give You the chance to smooth out our reflection, not just so You can gloat about what You see reflected, but because seeing that reflection means that we are beautiful—like You. You are patient and kind as You work to smooth out our bent and broken reflectors. You are slow to anger even when we pull back from Your tools that refine us into Your beauty.

Today, I choose life. Make me a perfect reflection of You, not just because it will bring me joy, completion, satisfaction, stability, hope, power, access, beauty… but because it will help those around me see You more clearly. It’s is what is best for them and in turn what is best for You. You are beautiful to me! I want to reflect You as fully and brightly as the original creation allows. Begin to change the world around me through the breath of Your love. You are lovely and I want the whole World to fall in love with You! I have been reflecting You as if the light of Your love could be expressed by a set of eight crayon box. It might give a good idea of who you are, but it’s not the full picture. Teach me to reflect You in the full spectrum of Your love from ultraviolet to infrared—and all the colors of Your love beyond that. You are the Light of the World and I want to reflect Your love with a bright white brilliance. I want to KNOW You and make You known for who You are! I want to give the proper reflection of You!—to bring You glory! I want to live to the full potential of who You created me to be. I am not worthy of such a beautiful thing, nor do I have the right to ask it, but I know it is what You desire for me. It is the delight of Your heart. And so, for Your sake and mine, I give You me. Do with me according to Your endless love. I am not afraid! I am nothing without Your infinite love! Create my life into its full potential according to Your will and plans. I trust You to love me more than I could ever have asked or imagined. It is what makes You God and not man. Thank You for who You are, and for inviting me to be a part of You! Be my Lover and let me be Your beautiful bride!

My Faith Story

Written 11/24/08 for a church wide project:

Hi, my name is Melissa. My faith story has been more of a journey. As a young child I believed that Jesus loved me and would forgive me for the things I had done things to break His heart. I trusted that He took the consequences for my actions on Himself so that we could have a relationship. I lived the next 20 plus years trying not to do things that the Bible said were wrong, and tried to do things I thought were right because I loved God and wanted to please Him with my actions. I never went through that typical rebellious period, but something was missing. I was focused on keeping the rules—with good intent—but I always seemed to fail. In my mid-twenties, tragedy came into my life. I couldn’t understand why. I had followed the rules and done all that I thought I was supposed to do. I came to a point where I had to figure out: If this God is good like He says He is, then why is all of this happening to me. I set aside all the things I had been taught about what I think He should be and went on a quest to find out for myself who He REALLY is. The first step was to decide if there was a God. The evidence was an overwhelming YES! Second was, since there is a God, who is He and what affect does that have on me. My conclusions are He is a God who desperately loves me, not because of whether I am good or bad, but because that’s who He is! He doesn’t just have love or do love, but He IS love. Yes, things were happening to me that I could not understand, but just like in the story of Lazarus His heart was broken over my pain. He wants what is best for me. I wouldn’t trade that time of heart ache for anything in the world. It helped me find my value in Jesus. His overwhelming love DOES have an effect on me! My life is no longer about the rules and trying to do the right thing. I have a passion for who He is. I have peace that I was looking for. I have the joy that always seemed to be just out of reach. I have love that satisfies my most desperate need—enough that it is overflowing. I can give love away without expecting anything in return, without fear of being hurt and without being drained. I no longer have a focus just on the rules. I don’t feel always out of balance. I’m not insecure. I have full confidence that God wants the best for my life, and I am willing to go anywhere and do anything to fulfill that best. And that has brought a satisfaction that NOTHING can take away. This love for who God is, results in the life I was always trying to live, not the other way around!