Who's our Interpreter?

When I was on a mission trip to Nicaragua in 1998, there was only one person in our group who spoke Spanish.  Anytime any of us would be having a conversation with someone, we would constantly be calling for him to interpret for us and the person we were talking to.  After a while, I felt bad for him because he looked so tired of running back and forth between conversations.  But, he was a very valued member of our group because we never had to question who our interpreter was.  He was the man and he did an excellent job of it. 
The reason I tell that story is because in the Church today, it seems like there is uncertainty about who our interpreter of Scripture is.  Jesus said in John 16:13-14, "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come."  Jesus teaches the disciples that the work of the Holy Spirit is to guide us into all truth.  Our world claims to have many truths.  All the religions claim to be true.  The Holy Spirit is here to guide us in all truth found the Scriptures because those contain the true words of God.  However, something I have noticed lately is that so-called Christians are not allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth.  Christians are turning to another interpreter to "illuminate" the Scriptures for them, the philosophies of this world.  In our goal to become more relevant, the Church in some parts of our country are becoming too relevant by allowing worldly philosophies that come and go to interpret the timeless and unchangeable Word of God.  Rather than calling on the Holy Spirit to guide them to the truth of a difficult passage of Scripture, we are running to all the worldly philosophies that are out there to give us "wisdom."  It makes me question whether some in the Church have had their minds renewed by the Holy Spirit of God.  Paul says in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you will be test and approve what God's will is; his good, pleasing, and perfect will."  Paul warns against conforming to the pattern of this world and I don't think some Christians are heeding that warning. 
I have talked with those who profess Christ through Facebook and through other conversations about their views of Scripture and the Bible.  It breaks my heart to see those who are supposedly transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit interpret Scripture to conform with the world's ideas of what is right and wrong.  The Bible is our standard for what is right and wrong and when the Bible is black and white over an issue, then as followers of Christ, we need believe that and adhere to it.  Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."  This echoes what God told the Israelites through Moses before they entered the Promised Land.  And, if Jesus is the same God who spoke to the Israelites about keeping the commandments then we need to do the same if we are to confess our love for Christ.  Christ did not set us free so that we could have the freedom to follow what we wanted to.  He set us free so that we would be unhindered in our devotion and service to Him. 
So, who is your interpreter of the Scriptures?  Do you let the philosophies of this world interpret the Scriptures for you and if so, what do you think of Jesus' statement in John 14:15?  This world needs those who are devoted to Christ wholeheartedly.  The more we look like the world, the more Jesus will look less and less necessary for people's lives.  People need a Savior not another worldly philosopher.  Christians, we need to be courageous enough to stand for the truth and we need the Holy Spirit, not the world, to guide us into all truth. 

Desire versus obligation

Today is Valentine's Day.  This is the day where millions of men all over this country are frantically scrambling to find flowers at the last minute for their wives, girlfriends, or fiancees so they won't be upset with them.  I can be right there with them some years, so I know the feeling of sheer panic that I almost forgot to send my lovely wife flowers or planned a romantic evening for just the two of us.  Observing this trend in our country, it makes me wonder if we are doing this for our wives out of a desire to show them how much we love them or do we feel obligated to check this day off the yearly husband check list.  I think Valentine's Day should be a wake up call for the men of our society, especially those who follow Christ.  We are commanded to love our wives as Christ loved the Church, which means sacrificially.  If we are showing love to our wives on Valentine's Day only then we are not fulfilling the God-given command as husbands and men.  What our society is missing is real men who are not afraid to show that they desire their wives above all other people in their lives.  Our society says the mark of a man is one who does not show emotion.  Men are supposed to be stone-cold and tough.  However, the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ, was not emotionless or stone-cold towards women.  His society treated women as less than human.  They were supposed to keep quiet and stay in the house while the men went out to work and socialize.  Jesus ignored this cultural stigma towards women.  He spoke with a Samaritan woman in public (John 4) which a Jewish man just did not do in his time.  Women followed him around (Mary Magdalene) and women were the ones who found his tomb empty while the rough and tough men who were the closest to him were hiding out behind locked doors.  As men, if we are afraid to show emotion and let those around us know how much we love our wives, then we need to ask ourselves how much we really love them.  I would not be the man I am today if it were not for my wife.  She is everything to me.  Besides Jesus (who is number 1 by far) she is the next most important person in my life.  She helps me in so many ways.  She is loving and considerate.  She is thoughtful and her attitude towards life is challenging and infectious.  I am not afraid to let the world know how much she means to me everyday because I see her as a gift from God that is to be treasured and cherished above all other treasures this world has to offer. 
The standard of a real man is found in Jesus.  He was not afraid to show his emotions.  He was not afraid to exalt women to a higher standing in society.  He was not afraid to show love to his closest male friends.  Sometimes men are uncomfortable to show love towards some of their closest guy friends, but this is what Jesus did.  Men need love too.  Love is not a weakness; it is the greatest strength we could have.  Paul says that faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is love (I Corinthians 13).  God was not afraid to show people everywhere how much He loved all of us by sending Jesus to die in our place.  Therefore, real men should not be afraid to let their guard down, get emotional, and show love because our wives/fiancees/girlfriends need it, our kids need it, our friends need it, and our society needs it.  Rise up men of God and love!