Archives For Faith

On Suffering Well and The Wasted Life

Aaron Armstrong —  February 1, 2010 — 9 Comments

Matt Chandler, center, holds hands with his son Reid, 4, left, and daughter Audrey, 7, in Flower Mound, Texas as they take a walk after a treatment for Matt's brain cancer. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

 

Yesterday, Eric Gorski from the Associated Press published a fantastic article on Pastor Matt Chandler’s battle with brain cancer. If you’ve not read it, you absolutely must.  

In the article, Gorski wrote,  

Matt Chandler doesn’t feel anything when the radiation penetrates his brain. It could start to burn later in treatment. But it hasn’t been bad, this time lying on the slab. Not yet, anyway.  

Another cancer patient Chandler has gotten to know spends his time in radiation imagining that he’s playing a round of golf at his favorite course. Chandler on this first Monday in January is reflecting on Colossians 1:15-23, about the pre-eminence of Christ and making peace through the blood of his cross.  

Chandler’s hands are crossed over his chest. He wears a mask with white webbing that keeps his head still when metal fingers slide into place on the radiation machine, delivering the highest possible dose to what is considered to be fatal and incurable brain cancer.  

Yesterday I was listening (briefly) to Tapestry on CBC Radio One while on the way to read a book and drink a warm beverage. I caught a snippet of an interview with William Lobdell, a journalist who became a Christian in his twenties, served as the religion reporter for one of the biggest newspapers in the U.S. since become an atheist.  

In talking about the Christian worldview, he said something that really caught my attention, which was that,  

Christians see this life as a fleeting moment in light of eternity. So to waste a day, a month, a year… it’s not really a big deal. They think they’ve got all eternity. But for an atheist, because we know this is all there is, we take as much joy as we can and make the most of every moment (my paraphrase).  

Continue Reading…

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A Faith Worth Imitating

Aaron Armstrong —  November 11, 2009 — Leave a comment

faith-imitating

Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

 

Seven times—in 1 Cor. 4:16 & 11:1, Phil. 3:17, 2 Thess. 3:7, 1 Tim. 4:12, Titus 2:7 and 1 Pet. 5:3—we’re told to follow the example of others who are following Christ’s (imperfect as they may be).

It seems that the Holy Spirit was pretty emphatic on this point when inspiring the Scriptures.

The example of others is a critical part of our growth as Christians.

Of course, this also means that as we follow the example of others, we must be an example worth following.

I guess, then, the question for me becomes:

How am I doing with that?

Is my faith worth imitating? Am I an example that should be followed? Continue Reading…

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147 Million

Aaron Armstrong —  October 7, 2009 — Leave a comment

147-million

On Monday night, Russell Moore posted the following on Twitter:

147 million orphans are out there tonight. 147 million.
Where are you?

It’s a provocative challenge, isn’t it? 147 million children without a mom and dad.

I think about my two year old girl sleeping in the other room, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like for her to not have her parents, and it breaks my heart to even try.

Something Emily and I decided to do a few years ago was adopt; after we saw how the foster system affected our extended family, we knew it was something we wanted to do. And after we became Christians, that desire as we read and began to understand passages like James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” For us, it was really encouraging to see throughout Scripture how God shows how much He cares for those who desperately need it. And so we want to do the same.

Now, here’s what I’m not doing: I’m not pointing my finger at anyone and saying “You’re not doing enough!”

I’m also not saying that everyone who is a Christian should adopt. But, maybe some of us should.

Maybe we need to open our homes to children living in the foster system and be a family—even for a few weeks—to a boy or girl who needs one.

Maybe we need to sponsor a child with Compassion, and provide an opportunity to have his or her life transformed by the gospel, as the church proclaims it in word and deed.

Maybe we need to volunteer with an after-school program in our community and be a positive voice in a child’s life.

There are so many things we can do. And there are a lot of who are doing these things, to the glory of God. In an act of obedience, an act of worship, they’re reaching out to care for those who are in need. Regardless of our feelings on social justice, it is a fruit of the gospel. It is a part of living out our faith. A part we’d all be wise not to ignore.

“[B]e doers of the word, and not hearers only,” James tells us.

How will we respond today?

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My Heroes in the Faith

Aaron Armstrong —  June 13, 2009 — Leave a comment

Matt at EV recently wrote about who he considered his heroes in the faith—those people whose lives have been an encouragement and a model for his own.

I’ve been thinking about that question for a few days now. I’ve answered this question in part over at Evangelical Village in an interview, looking at three people who’ve impacted my faith. There, I answered Matt Chandler of the Village Church, my friend Adam Duguay, and my lovely wife Emily. Those three have all made a huge impact on me (and one without having ever met me, thanks to the wonders of modern technology).

But I’ve found it to limit myself, simply because there are so many. The Apostle Paul is a huge influence, in part because he is the greatest example of God’s grace to sinful humanity. A murderer of Christian men and women, saved by Jesus to become His instrument.

His disciple, Timothy, who was beaten to death in Ephesus for contending for the gospel.

Men like John Piper, Tom Carson, Charles Spurgeon, Chris Matthisen, and so many others all are men I look to as an example of the pursuit of holiness.

But in thinking about this subject, I came across an article by John Piper called Hero Worship and Holy Emulation. Because it deals with this very subject, I felt it would be appropriate to share an excerpt:

What is the meaning of the attention given to well-known pastors? What does the desire for autographs and photographs mean? The negative meaning would be something akin to name-dropping. Our egos are massaged if we can say we know someone famous. You see this on blogs with words like “my friend Barack” and the like. And I presume that, for some, an autograph or a photo has the same ego-boost.

However, I don’t assume the worst of people. There are other possible motives. We will see this below. But it is good to emphasize that all of this is more dangerous to our souls than bullets and bombs. Pride is more fatal than death.

When I say “our souls” I mean all of us—the signature-seeker, the signer, and the cynic who condemns it all (on his very public blog). There is no escaping this new world. The question is, How do we navigate it for the glory of Christ, the crucifixion of self, the spread of truth, the deepening of faith, and the empowering of sacrificial love?

Here is one small contribution. In spite of all the legitimate warnings against hero worship, I want to risk waving a flag for holy emulation—which includes realistic admiration. Hero worship means admiring someone for unholy reasons and seeing all he does as admirable (whether it’s sin or not). Holy emulation, on the other hand, sees evidences of God’s grace, and admires them for Christ’s sake, and wants to learn from them and grow in them.

May we not make idols of our influences; they are a poor substitute for our Savior.

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Week Four: A Step in Faith

Aaron Armstrong —  May 21, 2009 — Leave a comment

It’s a short update this week, and admittedly vague, but I actually learned the most in the fourth week of the challenge than in any of the previous weeks. This post is very much a follow up to last week’s on finding direction; if you have a moment, please do give it a read as it will give some further context to what I’m talking about here.

I’ve been contemplating on the words of my mentor regarding God ordaining the recent events of my life to draw me closer to Him, and to move knowledge from my head to my heart. Something I think that needs to happen in this is also taking action on ideas that have been in my head for more than a year.

Almost two years ago, I had a dream that didn’t make any sense to me at the time as it involved me doing things I didn’t have the skills for. This dream freaked me out for a number of reasons, the most primary being that it involved public speaking. Up until fairly recently, I was one of the worst public speakers you’d ever see. I could barely string together a sentence when people were watching. Once, my friend (and former supervisor) Richard counted more than 40 “uhs” and “ums” in a 5 minute report. In college, we always used to make fun of how awkward my hand gestures were during presentations (it was like I was beating eggs the entire time).

In January 2008, I joined Toastmasters at the request of my employer, and I’ve actually become a good speaker. Not brilliant, by any stretch, but I can definitely hold an audience’s attention. I’m honestly not ready to talk about what that dream was yet (publicly), but I can say that public speaking is no longer the issue it was for me.

This week, I’m taking a step in faith and sending an email that I probably wouldn’t have sent if it hadn’t been for Chris’ encouragement. This is a scary thing for me to do, as I don’t know what the outcome will be. Maybe nothing. Maybe something big. I really don’t know.

Only time will tell.

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Blogging the Psalms: Psalm 71

Aaron Armstrong —  April 17, 2009 — Leave a comment

Something I’ve never fully appreciated in the Psalms until recently is the revealed constant reliance on God of the authors, especially during difficult seasons of life.

It’s truly inspiring to see this, even in a song of lament like Psalm 71 these statements:

Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you (v. 4-6, emphasis added).

But I will hope continually
and will praise you yet more and more (v. 14).

The Psalmist boldly proclaims, “You are my hope. My praise is continually of you… I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” He does this while in the midst of trial! He does this while facing persecution from his enemies.

This is a big deal!

The psalms bring this important lesson—that despite our circumstances, despite our trials, despite our hardships, we can and should continue to praise God for all He is and all He has done—in a way that few writings can.

They show us what faith lived out really looks like:

It’s tangible. It’s deep. It’s all encompassing. And it’s awe-inspiring.

Honestly, who among us, who profess to be followers of Jesus, wouldn’t want a faith like this?

I want it. And by God’s grace, I will proclaim like the Psalmist, “You are my hope! I will hope continually and praise you yet more and more.”

For other entries in this series, please visit the Blogging the Psalms page.

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