Blowing off the Stink

Jeremiah 48:11 "Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another - she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged."

When I was a lazy teenager sitting on the couch watching tv, my mother would come in and say, "Why don't you go outside and blow the stink off." I tried to act offended, but I knew that what she was saying was right. Sitting around, you kind of collect a stink about you. You need to shift positions, to get into a new place, or else your "aroma is unchanged."

Elijah spent three years in the desert being whittled by God, poured from one jar to another, before he was standing on top of Mt. Carmel. David went from cave to cave before he was settled as king. Joseph spent years in an Egyptian prison and then ascended to second in command of the entire country. Peter entered into a self-imposed "prison" with his denials and failures before truly becoming "the rock."

I would venture to say that these times of being poured from jar to jar were what enabled these men to blow the stink off and be brought to great heights.

When we are uprooted, when the rug is pulled out from beneath our feet, it is God at work. He is changing our position so that our aroma will be changed. A settled body of water becomes rancid and undrinkable. A settled Christian becomes the same.

God pours us from one jar to another to change our aroma. As painful as these times may be, it's better than the alternative - a useless pool of stench.

The church in America needs to undergo this same type of pouring. We have become stale and have lost our aroma. In our quest for relevance, we've lost our distinction. In our desire to maintain traditions, we've become stale. Neither place offers anything to the believers or the unbelievers. The true Church should be an aroma to both.

We need people like my mother to come into our churches and say, "Why don't you get up and get outside and blow the stink off!"

II Corinthians 2:15 "For we are to God the aroma of Christ . . . among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

Armor Bearing

I Kings 20:11 "One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off."

As I push through everything in my "noble" attempt to get to the truth, I need to remember the above verse. It's easy to dismiss prior generations and say that we alone have a stranglehold on the biblical truth, the way of Jesus - that we alone know what the Kingdom really looks like. We need to remember in our search for the truth that there are people taking off the armor who have already spent a lifetime fighting the good fight, living in the Way.

Don't get me wrong. I want the truth even if it means pushing aside the empty ceremonial water jars for the new wine. I don't want, out of respect for my elders, to ever tolerate traditions and methods that are not of the truth. If all they have to offer me is a lifetime of no wine, then I will dismiss it.

But there are those before me who have lived out lives in the new wine. Maybe not necessarily in the jars that I would choose (music, church, methods) but they lifted high the Cross and they sought the Truth. They loved God with all of their heart and their neighbor as themselves.

These are the ones I better be careful not to dismiss too easily, because in many ways I am just putting on my armor. They were able to take it off and know that they had finished well. Only a fool would make a claim before the battle that they knew the better way.

The reason I write this is because I am studying John, and currently as I preach through chapter 2 I see Jesus eradicate the uselessness of the old ceremonial water jars by filling them with the new wine. As I read this, my first thoughts were: "This is what I'm going to do! I will push aside the old, useless ways and be filled with the new wine!" Then, as I prepared for another Bible study, I read I Kings 20 and God set me straight. So - I'm just letting you know that I've been humbled and will not look so condescendingly upon the saints of the past as I pursue the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The Way of God

Hebrews 8:7 -
"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said . . . . . I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts."

There is a problem with discipleship, and the expectations of the disciples of Christ, and it is that people, for some reason, aren't actually expected to live out the "way" of God. They're expected to be in Him and be saved by Him, but the Way of God has been cast aside as not relevant anymore, as if the death of Christ put it to death.

Christ did not put to death the perfect Law of God, He put to death the stranglehold that this law had on us, causing frustration and death. He put to death the Way of Man that had been superimposed over the Way of God. He put to death death itself, the condemnation of our inability to keep His law. But He did not put to death God's perfection and His holiness.

According to Hebrews, God did not find fault with His Law, He found fault with the people. If the Law was flawed and ultimately irrelevant, then why would His ultimate goal be to write it upon our hearts and minds?

Why is this important to me? Because I think that we are dismissing the Way of God too easily. Jesus calls Himself "the Way" and I believe as self-proclaimed disciples, we are not truly following His way. We are creating our own ways and then claiming it to be His way.

There is a demand upon someone who claims to be a disciple - it's to follow in the way of his master. You can't cast aside His way and claim to be in the Way. I was reading in a book (Mere Discipleship) this past week that somehow, somewhere in the development of Christian thought, moral action was replaced by moral thought. Almost to the point where you could justify DOING things by saying that they had no hold on you. Accumulating wealth, for example. As long as it didn't have a grip on you, you could amass "stuff" for yourself.

I believe that the heart and mind must be changed - as well as the actions. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's still a sin if I do it, isn't it?

I believe that there is a Way that is right, and it's more than just a thought of the the heart. It's DOING what your Master says is His way. True discipleship is walking in His steps, adhering to His teaching, and doing what He said to do.

This Way has not been cast aside by the Cross.

sunday 10.17.10

we here at cbc are going to try a little experiment. we are going to post an outline of points from tom's sunday sermons for further discussion throughout the week. here is the first installment in our little experiment.

I. opening passage of scripture: john 1:1 - 18
- "the Word became flesh

II. intercession - the highest calling a christian can have
1. your vision must change
- not sympathy or empathy...we are called to action
- your vision of Jesus must change
- your vision of other people must change

2. your methods must change (unlearn the "egyptian way")
- exodus 2:11
- moses kills the egyptian in order to avenge the mistreatment of a hebrew slave. this is not the way of God

3. enter into their life
- Jesus enters in and becomes one of us
- he voluntarily takes our form because he loves us
- not an easy task. people come messy and broken.

4. expect something to happen!
- we give up too quickly on people

5. pray like crazy
- ezekiel 37 - God brings that which was dead to life (dry bones)

we are called to a live of service and love for the people around us. how can we take this call seriously in our daily life?

feel free to comment with thoughts, opinions, objections, questions, etc.

Victory by Diversion

Mark 9:29 "This kind can come out only by prayer."

I do not want victory by diversion. I do not want to have thoughts in my head that are only cast aside during momentary times of prayer and Bible study and general busyness.

Upon coming down the Mt. of Transfiguration, Jesus confronts a demon-possessed boy and frees him, telling the demon to "come out of him and never enter him again."

Can there truly be an exiting in this life? Or is every victory simply a temporary stay of execution - the inevitable execution of the sin that is working through your mind?

I find that many times in my devotions I enter with thoughts raging through my brain, then I enter into times of prayer and study that often become so focused on God and His Word that I feel free. However, upon exiting this time, the thoughts, and worse - how to put these thoughts into action - return.

Jesus says that "This kind can come out only by prayer" and that IT is to "never enter" again. There is an underlying assumption of an eternal exiting. In this life. Only by prayer.

I fear that I give up too easily and that I lack the faith to move this mountain.

Changed by a Third Grader

I got a bunch of birthday cards today from the kids at elementary chapel. I do this chapel each Wednesday - one of the highlights of my week. Their innocence and pure love for God reminds me of what it's really all about.

Anyway - I'm sitting at my desk reading each one and this particular prayer from a 3rd grader's card struck me:

"Thank you Lord for Mr. D. I pray that he will continue to serve you with all his heart. Amen."

It seems so simple but it slayed me on the spot. I know my heart can drift, and I forget that I need to be fully there because these kids need me to be fully there. It refocused me and brought me to a place where I needed to be.

They see me as serving Him with all my heart. I need to be serving Him with all my heart. "From the lips of children . . . . you silence the foe and the avenger." (Psalm 8).

Satan was silenced this morning - in my heart - as I read a card from an 8 year-old boy. That's a good day.

I Think Not

I Corinthians 8:11 "So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge."

I read an interesting article a few years back about former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Her husband of 54 years has Alzheimer's and is in a nursing home. . . . where he found himself a girlfriend. Justice O'Connor goes and sits with the two of them, knowing his level of understanding doesn't allow him to remember the depth of their relationship, their decades together. She sacrifices this knowledge and swallows her own personal feelings to allow him to have peace. What an incredible act of submission.

It is an incredible act of submission to God and your brother when you forfeit your incredible knowledge of the deepest theological truths (said sarcastically) and stoop to the level of understanding of a weaker brother to allow him to be at peace.

We should never forfeit the Truth. But really, how much of what we cling to is the actual Truth and how much is simply the arguments of man?

Are we able to bring peace to our brothers and sisters by putting our knowledge on the altar and sacrificing it? It's a sobering thought.

He Ain't There

"Oh, for a man to arise in me, that the man I am might cease to be."
Tennyson

I used to have that quote written on the inside of my devotional book, waiting for the day that this 'better man' would arise out of the rubble of who I was. I was not satisfied with the things I thought, the things I said or the things that I did. I longed for that 'man' to emerge, the man that I wanted to be. This longing brought me to Shakespeare's Henry IV part I, which I read over and over. In this play, Prince Hal, spends his youth hanging with fools (Falstaff) and acting foolishly, all the while knowing that eventually he will emerge as the man he really is deep down. And he does, becoming a great king. I identified with Prince Hal, biding my time until this 'great man' arose from within the foolishness.

There was only one problem: This man is not there. There is no great man inside each one of us just waiting to come out. We are sinful to the core of our being and it isn't simply a matter of time and maturity: that man ain't there.

If you desire to be victorious, if you hate the man you are and like Tennyson long for a day when your foolishness and childishness is cast aside and you suddenly become the man that you desire to be, then you must come to a complete and utter end of yourself and be 'born again.' That's right, the phrase that makes most Christians recoil out of embarrassment is the only thing that will allow this man to exist. Because he is not just sitting inside of you waiting to come out.

You must be born again. The old nature must be crucified with Christ and you must be raised in a new nature, as a new man, not some modified version of your old man. The message that is often preached is that God will take you and bring you to a higher level of yourself. That is not salvation, my friends, that is a lie. It is not some higher level of yourself, it is an obliteration of everything that you are and the implementation of a new nature, from outside of yourself, into your being. You are a new creation, not a souped-up version of your old self.

The reason that this doesn't get preached enough is because in today's age of tolerance and humanism, we don't want to tell anyone that they are sinful to the core. That doesn't sell well. An add-on to who they are sounds better and less demeaning. But it is a lie and they will forever live in the body of death, never finding that 'new man' that they so desperately desire.

Do what I finally did: fall on your face, acknowledge that there is nothing good that lives within you, and receive the new nature that is promised by God. (I Corinthians 5). Be born again - because that man that you're waiting for to arise from within? He just ain't there.

True Calvinism

Calvin is gone. He's been missing for 6 weeks now, and even by his standards of wandering I don't think he's coming back. So I decided to put together my own Memorial TULIP for him. You see, I think I've learned more from my cat Calvin than the theologian Calvin. No disrespect intended, but that's just the way it is.

The original Calvin's TULIP is as follows:

T = Total Depravity. All of mankind is totally affected by sin to the core of our being.
U = Unconditional Election. God pulls us out of the mud with no will or work of our own involved.
L = Limited Atonement. The death of Christ was only for those chosen by God to be saved.
I = Irresistible Grace. The chosen will not resist when God pulls them out of the fire.
P = Perseverance of the Saints. The chosen will become progressively holier and will never be unchosen.

Well, here is my new TULIP:

T = Tearing Out the Matt. Calvin would get these intricately woven matts (or furballs) growing almost into his skin. To get them out I would have to hold him down and pull. He hated it and would scratch and claw at me when I pulled at them. I learned to get them early and often, or else the pain was intolerable for both of us. The longer they were left there, the less I could tell where Calvin ended and the furball began. It's like that with the things in our lives that we don't deal with right away. Eventually they grow into us until it looks as if they are a part of us and they're very difficult to remove. Holiness requires constant cleansing. I'm reminded to get up every morning and pour His Word upon me and His Spirit through me. I can't allow any of these thoughts to grow into me.

U = Unless You Become Like a Child . . . Once in awhile Calvin would revert back to his kitten days - playful and fun. (Most of the time he was a bit surly - like the rest of us.) I think we all could learn a lesson from this. No one likes the angry and mean Christian. Once in awhile we need to get back to our child-like simplicity and love and hope. Where we forgive immediately and don't hold grudges. Where we could be arguing one minute, but still best friends the next. The angry and mean cat would never cause a non-cat person to desire to get a cat. The angry and mean Christian will never cause a non-believer to say, "Hey, I want that." Our lives should be marked with child-like faith and joy.

L = Love Me! I'll never forget when we got another kitten a few years ago. Calvin must have felt threatened, because suddenly mice and other animals (dead) started showing up at my backdoor, laid out like a sacrifice. It was as if he wanted to remind me that he was still around and wanted to prove his worth or something. It was very strange. But we do that - we think we have to prove our worth to God with our sacrifices and works (certainly not bad things), when in reality God desires brokenness and repentance and emptiness. Concepts my Calvin never quite grasped! He was never sorry for anything.

I = Inside/Outside. Calvin was mean inside the house. He never would let me play or pet him (I know, you're wondering why I loved him so much. But we always love our own, no matter what.) But outside, he would roll around in the grass, climb all over you when you sat down, play with you, etc. I thought this was odd until I realized we do the same thing. We're funny, kind, playful to people outside our house, then we get in and act like monsters to the ones we love the most. Husbands - this should not be. Inside the house, with your wife and kids, we should be the same way we are to the people in your work and neighborhood. Even better. Sometimes we're nicer to a person we just met on the street than we are to the ones that are in our own homes!!! Ministry begins inside, not outside. Otherwise we're just hypocrites.

P = Please, Just Come Home! When all is said and done, I just want Calvin to come back home. In dealing with families with broken relationships and kids that have gone astray, I realize that this is their sentiment as well. They just want the prodigal to come home. It breaks my heart on a daily basis, but it's the best ministry to be in. The ministry that brings these kids home, that brings healing to these families. The ministry of Nain, restoring a dead child to their mother.

So, after all this typing, I'm going to go out into my backyard one more time, and see if Calvin is walking through that back garden. If not - maybe I'll plant a TULIP in his memory. Because he sure has taught me a lot of valuable lessons.

To Infinity and Beyond

"Dad, I will give him 5 chances."

So said my 11-year-old son to me when I told him that he needed to have more patience with his younger brother. It was a very magnanimous gesture.

This was after a little lecture from me regarding the passages in I John that dealt with loving your brother. I was really glad he listened and actually wanted to do something about it. He honestly felt that he was taking a stand on the higher ground. But still . . . he was setting a limit in his willingness to love and forgive. Not just a limit that he reached out of exasperation, but a pre-established limit, the worst kind.

"Joseph wept."

Those two words in Genesis 50:17 tell me everything I need to know about true forgiveness. Jacob had died and Joseph's brothers were now worried that any promise of forgiveness and protection would be eliminated, so they wrote a letter claiming (lying?) that their father had desired this covering of forgiveness to remain. When Joseph read this letter, he wept.

Why did he weep? I believe it was because it deeply pained him to think that his brothers felt the forgiveness was conditional, limited. When instead it was "to infinity and beyond."

I will rest in that forgiveness from my Father, who doesn't hold it over me like a guillotine, waiting to drop it on my head at the first sign of my unworthiness. It's eternal. I will offer that same forgiveness to my brother - an extended hand that has no limits.

Movie Theater Holiness

It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly normal people (like myself) can enter into a movie theater and suddenly start tossing trash around like we've gone crazy. Popcorn bags are tossed to the floor, cups are left in the holder, candy wrappers are kicked under the seats . . . . . it's like we've created this little sphere in our life where the normal rules of cleanliness and littering don't apply.

I've come to realize that we do this in other areas of life as well, using similar rationalizations. We create little spheres of our life that allow us to justify actions that we clearly would never do under "normal" circumstances. The Workplace. Politics. Sports. It's a "Survivor" mentality. We can backstab, deceive, elbow someone in the teeth, push down someone so that we can rise to a greater position, and then say that "it's within the rules of the game." Never once stopping to think that these are rules that WE created.

I love sports and I truly understand the need for rules within these games, but let's never mistake these rules as God-created. In boxing, it's okay to hit someone in the face. Because I've created that rule.

I don't want to go too far down this road because I might find myself getting convicted of things that I enjoy doing. I would never want to have to confront a non Christ-like attitude or action that I have already created rules that justify it.

Movie Theater Holiness. It's a pretty neat way to live your life. You don't have to be a true disciple of Christ ALL the time. You don't have to be clean ALL the time. You can create your own little dark places and start throwing your trash around with complete justification, then walk away and let someone else clean up the mess.

Just Men

Colossians 4: 7-18 contains a list of characters that have varying backgrounds. We have Onesimus, a runaway slave who has been transformed by the Lord from useless to useful (read Philemon for his story). We have Mark, who deserted Paul during the first missionary journey, creating the great divide between Paul and Barnabas (read Acts 15:36), now restored and seen as a fellow laborer who should be welcomed, not shunned. Then there is Epaphras, wrestling in prayer, emptying himself for others.

We also read about Nympha, faithfully holding church meetings in her home (not an easy thing to do, from personal experience). Aristarchus is a fellow prisoner, along with Paul, in chains for the Gospel. Finally we see Archippus, who like many of us seems to need a kick in the pants to finish what he started in the Lord, to follow through with something that we don't need to know the details of. Others mentioned: Tychicus, Luke, Demas, Justus - they're not just throwaway names of throwaway people.

I love this passage, because it shows what Christianity really is. Just men. Not better or worse than the rest of mankind. Just men (and women) changed by an encounter with God, still struggling but holding firm to the faith. Wrestling, encouraging, deserting, failing, faithfully opening their homes, witnessing to the point of chains, failing to finish the job, etc. Again - just men like the rest of us.

Sometimes my cynicism gets the best of me and I get frustrated with fellow Christians. Once in awhile it's valid, as hypocrisy and apathy rage, but most of the time it stems from my own self-centeredness. I want people to fit into my box, my own interpretation of justness and justice. I need to understand that for 2000 years it's been a series of people like those in Colossians 4. Just men, pouring through time like thousands of points of light. Not better, not worse, but justified through the blood of the Lamb and bringing Him, through their own broken vessels, into the darkness.

I read this list and I am brought to repentance in how I view my brothers and sisters in the Lord, holding them to a higher standard than I hold myself to, making the narrow gate narrower. I am driven today to read I John and remember that if I can't even love my own brother, how can I claim to have the love of Christ within me?

Brave Prayer: I Have an "Aachen" In My Heart

II Samuel 21:1 "During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death."

There was a famine in the land and David inquired of the Lord. What he found out was that there had been some unaddressed sin: Saul had destroyed the Gibeonites when they had made an oath to protect them (Joshua 9). Because of the Israelites failure to keep their word, dryness entered into the land, and the only way to bring relief was to make atonement for this sin.

I am really challenged by this passage - because I can often be a cowardly prayer. The dryness that is in my life can most-likely be traced to some sin or thought process that I'm quite good at avoiding. It takes deep, soul-searching, honest prayer to come to a place where this sin is recognized and dealt with.

Toward the end of WWII, as the Allies pushed through France and Belgium to Berlin, they approached a well-fortified city called Aachen. The commanders knew that it would take a long time and a lot of casualties to defeat it, so they decided to simply surround it and keep moving. However, the Germans inside the city kept attacking the supply lines to the front, and the generals finally decided that they had to take it out. It ended up costing hundreds of lives as they were forced into door-door combat to root them out.

We need to approach sin that way. If we side-step it, our supply line will be under constant attack and we will be drained of energy and power. It's time for some honest prayer. Brave prayer. Prayer that acknowledges even our deepest sin. We need to go door-to-door and root out even the deepest part of our human nature.

"I Am Bethel"

In Genesis 28, Jacob sees heaven and earth come together in his vision, and he calls it Bethel. "The House of God." Angels are ascending and descending.

In John 1:50, Jesus tells Nathanael that if sticks with Him, he will see great things. He will "see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." In other words, Jesus is saying, "I am Bethel." "I am the House of God." Forever.

Jesus is where heaven and earth come together. That's exactly where I want to be. Because that is where we really can bring some authority and healing into the world. When we bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven. That connection is THE connection.

That is why deep prayer is needed. Courageous prayer. Lonely prayer. Prayer, that like Gethsemane, leaves behind even our inner circle and goes "a little farther." Prayer that uncovers who we really are and lays it bare before God. Honest prayer that lifts the blanket off our self-deception and rips open our hearts to God.

That brings new meaning to the last verse of Psalm 23. "And I will dwell in the house of God forever." In Bethel. In the place where heaven and earth meet. In Christ.

Seeing IT Coming

There's a common complaint in our Weds night Bible Study: "I stink." "I'm tired of failure."

Well - putting out the fires is exhausting. It's the reason so many people leave jobs in teaching. But I've been in education long enough, as administrator, teacher and coach, to know one thing: if you see IT coming and prevent IT from ever happening, you will not only survive, but grow to enjoy it.

It's a simple concept: If you're always putting out fires, you will eventually burn out.

One of the things an experienced teacher can do to prevent this is to watch carefully in a class, lunchroom or recess. You get to the point where you can see things coming, eliminating problems before they happen.

This is why disciplined prayer is so important. You get before God and into His Word every day and you can start sniffing out problems before they develop. You can see IT coming, whatever your IT is. You won't be trying to put out IT's fire all the time

Disarming Satan

There are three ways that we can disarm Satan in this present life:

1. Psalm 8:2 "From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise because of Your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."

When children praise God, Satan is silenced. What can he say in the face of such a simple understanding of the Creator of the universe and of His love for us? Satan knows that there is a basic simplicity in our belief in God and he wants to complicate it with our arguments and man-made "theologies." He wants to muddy this pure water, to the point that we are confused and powerless. But the water is pure to the children, and there is nothing he can do but wait until they "grow up" and start over-thinking it.

2. I Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where O death is your sting?"

If Satan can get us to think that death is an ugly end to our life, then he can get us to struggle for every breath and grieve uncontrollably over every loss. The cross of Christ destroys this stranglehold and releases us to live every moment now in an eternal way.

When we understand that death is defeated, that it's stinger is removed, we can start releasing the things of this world instead of hoarding them. We can die gracefully instead of kicking and screaming for one last breath. The fear of death, the fight for "one more day," is a major weapon of the enemy. When that's removed, there really isn't much left he has to hang over us. We can let this world go.

II Corinthians 2:7 - 11 "Now instead you ought to forgive and comfort him . . . reaffirm your love for him . . . in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes."

In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul tells the church to deal with a man who is living in a sinful situation. (Chapter 5). He knows that the church must be distinct in its holiness from the world, so that it can hold out the Light in the darkness instead of blending in.

In his followup letter, he acknowledges their faithfulness in doing this, but now asks them to pull this man back in and show him love and forgiveness. He knows that Satan uses these things as a burden around the necks of men and churches. Our inability and unwillingness to forgive a brother who sins against us is a weight that drags churches to the ground, grinding them to a halt. Satan knows this - it's one of his favorite "schemes" against the church.

When we forgive, we disarm Satan. It's one less weapon in his arsenal.

So - simplify your faith, simplify your life, and start releasing those you're holding in your own personal captivities.

The Mean Christian Life

"Let your gentleness be evident to all . . .. "

What has happened to the gentleman Christians? I see over and over in Scripture the call for the Christian man to be gentle - to have a sweet spirit that is contrary to the striving, competitive, arrogant spirit of the natural man. But I don't see it. I see mean Christians throughout the churches.

I understand foolish. I even understand weak. But I don't understand mean.

Part of the problem for men is that anger and meanness are almost seen as badges of honor. Lust can never be admitted to. But anger? That's a sin men will confess in any small group because it sounds strong. Lust sounds weak, and it takes a humble man to pour that out before his friends.

But again, anger is strong, and they will then be able to excuse their meanness as a by-product of that anger. I don't get it. The fruit of the Spirit and the commands from the Scriptures all call for a gentle, calm, humble Christian man to step out from the mean and nasty way of the world. A gentle spirit will shine like a light in the darkness.

The mean Christian man and woman is simply not walking in the Spirit, but in the flesh.

Being There

Luke 7:7 "That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. "

The centurion in Luke 7 understood the reality of who Christ was -that's why Jesus commended his faith. He understood that Jesus didn't even have to be under the roof of his house to heal his servant - that He simply had to say the word and it would be done. He understood that the authority of Christ was immersed in this world and that His physical presence was unnecessary.

However - I believe that Christ demands that we go into the funerals and touch the coffins. (see previous post) We cannot simply stand off from a distance and pray and hope that lives will be touched and changed. We need to go into these places.

I remember being called to go to a home that I didn't really want to go to. I sat in my car and prayed to God, "You are the God of all of the universe, can't you simply hear my prayer right here and fill that house with your presence and healing?" I could feel God speaking into my heart: Yes, I could do that - but you must go. You must enter into that home. That's the plan. We are how He enters these homes. We bring Him with us, and there's something about our physical presence in these places of hopelessness and darkness that matters. Sometimes our ministry is simply being there.

The authority of Christ is invasive and immersed in all Creation. WE are that invasion and immersion. Let's enter into these funerals. Let's reach out in tears and touch these coffins.

Touch the Coffins

Luke 7:12 - 15 "As He approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. he said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."


My poor niece. She was over my house the other day and started yelling at my son when he killed an inchworm. I didn't have the heart to tell her that in a few days I was going to be committing "inchworm genocide." My trees are going to be sprayed because I can't let these inchworms do what they did last year - eat every leaf off every tree.

Last year the trees did end up "releafing" themselves within a few months, which encouraged me. (I want to say that the trees "releaved" themselves but that just doesn't sound right.) But my neighbor told me, and I believe him because his daughter has a degree in botany, that every time a tree has to "releaf" itself it is weakened severely. It has only a limited amount of times that it can do it before it is in danger of dying. So I'm not taking any chances this year and I'm having them sprayed.

What does this have to do with Luke 7 when Jesus raises the young man? I believe that we need to start raising the dead young men that are all around us, and we have to start doing it now, before they're past the point of restoration. I'm not saying that we don't have a huge God who is capable of complete restoration when we think anyone is past their limit. What I'm saying is that in our own humanity - apart from His divinity which can raise the dead - but again, in our own humanity we don't have a lot of personal resuscitations in us.

The body is a finite thing and it does wear down and I have seen countless people get to a point where they try to "revive themselves" over and over again, and then they simply fade away and die out before the healing hand of Jesus can ever touch them. Our flesh is weak and will eventually wear out. You can see it in their faces every day when you walk past them. They have nothing left.

That’s why we have to touch the coffins of these young people now. Jesus reached into a funeral procession and touched a dead man's coffin. You just didn't do that in Jewish culture. It was the epitome of unclean. But if we are to bring the healing hand of Jesus to them, we have to first get into the funeral and then touch the coffin.

As we approach Mother's Day, I can think of no better gift or ministry than to start bringing sons back to their mothers.

The Big 162

Luke 7:35 "Wisdom is proved right by all her children."


As I teacher, I sometimes struggle with handing out grades. I want everyone to know and master the material, and then to test out with the highest grades. If everyone got an "A" it wouldn't bother me. But then I realize that there has to be some kind of separation for those who are really trying, those who are truly gifted, from the pretenders and the lazy.

And really - life is like that. It will separate them, it always does. Given enough time, children will be produced that reveal what has been true and what has been false.

Baseball has a saying about the "Big 162." What it means is that the season is so long, 162 games, that contenders are eventually separated from pretenders. Winning streaks can be deceiving and the best team will survive the 162 games and end up on top.

This will happen, Jesus tells us, with His words and all other false religions. The children will eventually prove what is true and what is false. 2000 years later, I think the point has been proven. Jesus is Truth.

This will also happen with those in the church who are truly seeking to be His disciples and those who are putting on all the "dressing" but not really interested in following Jesus. Eventually, life will sort them out, and if it doesn't, the threshing floor will finish the task. I'm not looking for this to see people get punished, I believe in the judgment of God but do not wish it upon anyone. However, I am a little weary of those who claim to be in Christ but deny Him with their thoughts and actions.

Back and Forth

"They have their whole life ahead of them."

A newscaster used this phrase the other night when talking about some teens that had made some stupid mistake that would cost them either jail time or probation. He was lamenting the fact that they had wasted their life. I thought, "Wait a minute, they don't have their whole life ahead of them. Clearly they've lived a portion of it up to this point!" I know - I'm being petty picking apart a phrase that has other implications, but it did make me think. How much does the past matter?

The reason I ask this question is because I know some people who let their past define them, to the point that they can't move forward. To them, I counsel the word of God in Isaiah who said, "Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past - see, I am doing a new thing." I want them to move forward and not let the past be an anchor around them.

But at the same time I know some people who use this as a form of cheap grace and just step away from the rubble they've created from past decisions. This bothers me. The present does matter, but so, in a sense, does the past. Decisions I've made and people I've hurt are very real in my present life. I don't want to dismiss it completely, because that would mean I'm gaining my spiritual growth on the backs of a world of hurt. I don't want my progression to be at the expense of others.

In other words, I don't have my whole life ahead of me. I've lived a portion of it already, a portion that matters. People that have mattered. Consequences that still linger.

Why do I mention this? Because if I understand that the past does matter, then it will change how I live now. If I think the past is just washed away then I can justify things now, thinking that they'll just be washed away as well. I will lose my sense of urgency to do right - now. To treat people with respect and love. To be honest in everything I say and do. I need to know that decisions made may have eternal consequences.

Knowing and Kneeling

John 13:3 "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God, so . .. .

As I was reviewing for our recent Maundy Thursday service, I was again awestruck at the fact that Jesus knelt at the feet of Judas - and then proceeded to wash the grime from his betrayer. How can someone put every thing aside and do what goes against the nature of man? Every fiber in our body tells us to break from those who hurt us.

I believe that one of the keys is found in verse 3. He knew His place. He knew that all things were in Him, under Him, for Him. He knew the love of the Father in a way that was (is) deep and eternal. When you know your place, you are able to kneel before a betrayer and wash their feet. You are able to humble yourself, to place others, even enemies, above you.

Many aren't able to do this because they are always in fear of losing something. They think that if they kneel before a "Judas" in their life then they will be placing themselves in a position of defeat and loss. But if you know your true position in Christ, you can kneel. You can forgive. You can reconcile. You can offer your cloak, your hand, your money.

There are many who have broken relationships with their brothers and sisters in the Lord and they think it's okay, that they can still go on in power and victory. But Christ has shown us that this is not true. It reveals a lack of faith, a lack of trust, a lack of confidence in their place in Christ. If this matter remains unsettled, then they are stuck. We are told to reconcile before offering up our sacrifices. But we can't reconcile if we aren't willing to kneel, and we can't kneel if we don't have deep faith.

Christ washed the feet of Judas. Because He knew, He could kneel. Because He could kneel, He could offer up His body as a living sacrifice to His enemies and betrayers.

Push Through to the Final Third

Lately, we've been having great Bible Studies at our house, things are happening at church in the sense that the Spirit is moving, powerful decisions are being made, and young men are being saved. And yet . . . I can't help but feel that my natural tendency to pull back at the sign of spiritual momentum and success is starting to take hold. I have a bad habit of shooting myself in the foot every time I get to the threshold of God's all-consuming fire. I really desire to push through this so that I can experience true healing and life-changing fruit. In my own life and in the lives of those around me.

I wrote a post recently about how we're missing the third element of the disciples - the element of authority. To push through to that is huge. I really believe it is where GOD resides in power.

In my Bible readings, I've noticed this trend recently - how important this third element is.

Hosea 6:1 - 4 "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us, that we may live in His presence. Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him."

The third day is the day of healing and restoration. It is the day where we push through to the presence of God. Days one and two are the ripping apart. Many of us choose to dwell in these days. But it's day three, if we are willing to press on, where the healing takes place.

Isaiah 37:30, 31 (to Hezekiah, who has been devastated by the Assyrians): "This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyard and eat their fruit."

The third year is the year of fruit. Years one and two - recover, live off the mercy of the Lord. There's nothing wrong with taking a deep breath and gathering yourself back up. But the third year, if we can push through to it, is a year of life and healing and production.

Recently, in reading Daniel, I noticed that the world understands this principle. When Nebuchadnezzar grabbed the best of the young men from Jerusalem, this is what he instructed his court official:

Daniel 1:4 "He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service."

The Babylonians knew that if these young men were immersed for three years in their culture, then they had them. If they could push them through to the third year, then the ways of Israel would be erased and they would be useful for the king's service.

This principle holds true spiritually. We often grow weary - pushing up to the point of victory, then pulling back. Push through. Whatever is keeping you from the surrendered, abundant life, push through it. All the way to the Third Day - the day of the resurrection. Any man can have the first two days. Just like man killed Christ and had two days of "victory." But the third day belongs to God.

That's a Wrap

I have come to the final conclusion that this Christian walk cannot possibly succeed without God's people wrapped around me. As I look back in my life, I realize that every major spiritual growth spurt has occurred when I have entered into a community of believers that loved me and allowed me to ask and seek, push and pull, rise and fall, - ultimately drawing me deeper into God.

This lesson has been driven home sharply this week. One of the boys of my congregation was drawn away from his church family by a "friend" and into a community of hate and darkness. There was no love, no hope - nothing of value. How did it end? Let's just say that I am doing a funeral this Monday for a 15 year old boy who at this time last year was wrapped in the love of a small church.

I truly believe that he is now wrapped in the love of God - but that doesn't take away all the pain. When he was pulled away from our community, he was enveloped in darkness. Please - follow the directions of Scripture: "Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." (II Timothy 2:22) Do not try to do this alone.

A Failing Grade 66.7%

Mark 3:13 "Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to Him those He wanted, and they came to Him. He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons."

Two out of three ain't bad. Well, actually, yes it is.

I'm speaking of my own life, and by missing the third element, I'm feeling the failing. When Jesus called His apostles, there were three things He was putting into play:

1. That they would be with Him. I think, at least in my limited but growing faith, I have this. I desire to spend time with Him and I do, for the most part.

2. To preach. Check. I do this - most of us do this in life and words.

3. To have authority to drive out demons. Here's where I think most of us fall short. I'm not saying that we're constantly confronted by demon-possessed people, although we may be surprised to know the truth when the veil is lifted. What I am thinking is that we are spending time with Christ, telling others about Him, but completely lacking in the authority that changes lives, that brings healing to the oppressed, that knocks down the gates of hell.

By missing this third element, I think we're failing. Where I teach, 2 out of 3 is a failing grade. you need a 70% to pass. We need to push through to this third part, the authority and power of Christ in our own lives to "drive out demons" and the power of the Christ to enter into the lives of others and bring them out of the darkness and into the light.

It's not like there's an Activation Switch that suddenly turns on this power. It comes from faith - truly believing that the same power that raised Christ from the dead resides in us. The same authority that confronted demons and cast them out of people is upon us. The same Name that is above all other names is written on our foreheads. The fullness of God is within us.


I John 5:4 "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

Step out today with the faith and the expectation that your life can be truly transformed, and the you can have authority to bring this life-changing Power into the lives of others.

Well Pleased

So I'm half-asleep in the middle of the night and I start to get this feeling (vision?) of heaven, with Satan and Jesus standing next to God. Satan is laying out all my garbage before the Lord. I don't know exactly what he's saying, but I get an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach because I know who I am. A heavy weight starts to descend upon me.

Then Christ stands in front of God (who I can't see but I know is there) and says something to the effect of "Look at him through Me." And God responds in the same words as He did when Jesus was baptized: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Needless to say it felt as if this giant weight was lifted from my chest. That's how He sees me. Through the body of Christ. It was so thrilling to realize that Christ stands in front of me.

I don't care if it was just a dream or if God gave me a vision. It's the truth.

Blaming the Fire

Exodus 32:24 "So I told them, 'Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.' Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!"

My cat Calvin killed Bob. Bob was our pet hamster, we loved him as much as you could love a hamster (which isn't much). But I really couldn't get mad at Calvin. That's what cats do. They kill rodents. And cats will do what cats will do.

We have a tendency to blame the things that will only do what they are, by nature, designed to do. When Aaron was confronted by Moses after creating the golden calf, he blamed the fire! Fire will do what fire will do. It's not the fault of the fire that our precious jewels become idols.

If you continue to throw the "temple of God," which is your body, into the world, don't blame the world when you become a useless idol. The world will do what the world will do, and it can only do this with what you put into it. Your gold and your intentions with that gold, mixed in with the fire of the world, will produce what you are designing it to produce.

I think it's time some of the younger generation starts to step away from the flames, stops blaming the circumstances for their failures, and begins the process of holy consecration unto the Lord. There's only so long that you can continue to blame the world for your stumblings, for your idols, until you begin to sound as foolish as Aaron did in this situation. The fire of the world is not the problem. The fact that you intentionally throw your gold into it is the problem. It's insulting to claim otherwise.

Firing All the Chambers

I just finished reading Oswald Chambers for this morning and I was really touched by this passage. It was perfect timing, because to be honest - I'm exhausted. Physically and spiritually. So this was a good word:

"Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, "Feed My sheep," but He gave him nothing with which to feed them ( John 21:17 ). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him."

I agree with this, and am encouraged. Until people learn to feed off Christ it may be necessary for them to feed off of us as we lead them to Him. Obviously it can be extremely draining. But it is a great work. A meaningful and eternal work.

I am reminded that if I am to be this source for them, then I need to make sure I am feeding off my Source so that I can have something to offer. This releases me to "fire all the chambers" - be broken and poured out for others, holding nothing back. Christ will fill me, He will give me what I need for the hurting. Every day that I open the jar, there will be oil for the day.

The Real Promise

Cars and houses. Health and wealth. Bigger churches and multiplying ministries. These are the promises that are held out to believers. But as I read the Bible it becomes clear that this is not what God holds out to us. What He says, over and over, is this: The one thing I will promise you is My presence. Nothing more, nothing less. Is that enough?

Some examples:

Genesis 28:15 "Then the Lord said to Jacob, "Go back to the land of your and your relatives, and I will be with you."

Exodus 1:11,12 "Moses said to God, 'Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?' And God said, "I will be with you."

Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified and do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Even in the Great Commission - He ends it in Matthew 28:20 by saying, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The most heart-breaking chapter in Scripture is Ezekiel 10, when God removes His presence from the Temple. He hovers over it and stops (v. 18) above the cherubim. The feeling is intense - like one look back before leaving. He knows what it means - His presence means everything. Once it's gone, there's nothing left of any value in the Temple. It's just a shell.

So that's the promise. Is that enough for you? Because seriously, I don't think it is for many Christians. They want the peripherals. The stuff. But the true saints understood. Moses fought for His presence, at the risk of all else. David understood that it was the difference between him and Saul. Elijah drew a line in the sand on Mt. Carmel and declared it to be the only thing that mattered. It allows you to live away from the spotlight, to be poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice, never to be seen again. You can let a brother have the upper hand without fighting for your rights. Praying for the "competing" church down the street won't be a problem.

I can honestly say, that for me, I have come to the place where it is enough.

Authority - A New Message

Do you honestly believe that change can occur in your life? In the lives of those around you? I think we speak one thing but really, if we're honest, live out something completely different.

Mark 1:27 "The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, 'What is this? A new teaching - and with authority."

When Christ began His ministry - things actually started to happen in the lives of people. Blind people could see, the lame walked . . . you know the story. Lives actually changed, physically and spiritually. Because of this, it seemed like a "new teaching." I tend to think that if we lived a life of faith and our life changed radically, along with those around us, it would seem like a "new teaching" in this culture as well. Why? Because I don't believe we really believe our own message!

When did Christ ever do nothing? Only in two situations: among the hypocritical leaders and in the towns that didn't believe.

Mark 6:5,6 "He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith."

We need more childlike faith. My kids actually believe that I can do what I tell them I'm going to do. When they ask if we can do something and I say, "Maybe" they cheer! They even have great expectations on a "maybe." Think about that! We don't even have expectations on our Father's "Will."

A prayer I like to recite each morning is Psalm 5:1-3:
"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to You I pray. In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation."

I love this. Instead of "raising" our prayers to Him, we "raise" our expectations to Him, to His authority to accomplish change in our lives. This type of prayer will seem like a new message in this age of mediocrity and compromise.

Starting now I'm going to have a simpler faith - a faith that expects things to start happening in me and around me.

Home Invasion

Genesis 4:7 "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you; but you must master it."

This is one of my favorite verses in Scripture. It puts the burden on us to get right with God, to do right, and to keep sin from working its way into our homes. The crouching tiger is a hidden dragon - but he can only get to the door. He can't get in if we don't let him.

One part I especially like is thought that we can protect our homes, that they can become sanctuaries of holiness and rightness, even while the world flails away at you from the outside. I think of the time when I was growing up when one of my older brothers was being bullied and ran home and got to our front door, only to find it locked. He then got beat up. But he knew if he could have made it inside he would have been alright. Home was a safe haven from the bully.

This is not necessarily true anymore. I just finished reading an article about a local high school girl who hung herself because the bullying had entered into her home through the internet. They got to her in what should have been her one safe place. What once gave the bullied some sense of security, some peace, is now being lost. Satan is in the process of a "home invasion" and he no longer is simply crouching at our door.

Men - we know this. What we once had to seek to find (filth) is now pouring through the wires. The walls have been breached, and we have allowed it to happen. Satan has amassed an army of the vilest images and has them pulsating in the cables of your home. All you have to do now is flip a switch, hit a button or click an icon - and it comes in like a flood.

If we truly want to master sin so that we can be vessels of kingdom advancement, we have to begin in our very homes and purify them. They must become sanctuaries for God to work freely. Our very bodies must become the Temples that they are designed to be. If we can't protect them - then we're lost. The bullies will come in and destroy us. They got to this girl in her one safe place, and they will get to us unless we allow the "consuming fire" to be the only Life burning within us.

Rebellion Eliminates Options

I work in a private school that for the most part consists of students who want to be there. However, as in most schools, there are kids who for some reason or another are forced by their parents to come. One such girl came up to me the other day after class wanting to know how she could get her grades up. She said, "I didn't want to come here so I rebelled by not doing my work. Now I'm applying to another school and I don't think I have the grades to get in."

I immediately thought: Rebellion eliminates options.

I try to tell my students that all the time. When you choose paths now, they will affect future decisions. But of course, like I was at that age, they can't see beyond their nose. Some will smoke because they "want to live their own life" not realizing that this very decision will not allow them to do so in the future. Some live destructively in relationships, not realizing that this will affect a future ability to relate rightly with someone that they want to spend the rest of their life with. In trying to create our own walk, we shoot ourselves in the foot, giving us a permanent limp.

This is why God intervenes. He knows these little rebellions will eliminate plans He has made for us, plans to prosper us and to make us useful for His kingdom. If He is speaking to you now about some life-decision, listen. He is not a kill-joy. He knows. He knows the ends of paths and the destruction that follows. He knows that decisions now will pare down your ability to pursue things that are eternally meaningful. He knows that rebellions now will eliminate options then.

Listen to Him - give "it" up now. Whatever "it" is.

Yield

In II Samuel 7 we read that David's heart's desire is to build a Temple - a permanent resting place - for God. It's his consuming passion. During the night it is revealed to Nathan the prophet that David cannot do this - he is a man of war. Solomon will build it.

What is David's response? Incredibly, he yields his heart's desire to the will of God.

Your consuming passion may not be the will of God. Do not base your life on your emotions, your wants, your desires . . . .even if it is something as noble as building a temple for God. Be willing to yield everything you are to God.

Broken Cisterns

When you watch over a 7th grade study hall, you get your fill of stupid conversations. Consider the following that took place this past week:

7th grade boy: "Mr. D. may I go to the bathroom. I need to redeem myself."

Long pause....

Me: "Son, I don't know what possibly could have happened last time you went that would make you think you have to redeem yourself, but go ahead."

Student pauses . . . . looks at me. "I need to splash water on my face, I'm getting tired."

Me: "Oh. Okay."

Student walks away.

I call out: "Son - never use that phrase again. Ever. Just trust me."

But it did make me think. At that moment he came to my desk I was reading Jeremiah 2 - about the Israelites rejecting the Living Water and digging their own cisterns. Why do we do that? We have the God of the Universe who loves us and wants to pour Himself through us, and we head off to dig our own wells that are nothing but stagnant, putrid water.

We're not much smarter than that 7th grade boy. At least he was looking for fresh water to redeem himself.

A Christian Medium

I had a tough week / weekend. A good friend of mine who had been battling cancer for a few years finally was brought home. I had the privilege of doing his funeral Saturday. Why was it a privilege? Because I got to be what seems like a contradiction: a Christian medium.

What is a Christian medium? It is someone who speaks for the dead. Who goes between that dead person and those still alive and gives the message that they wanted you to hear. You see, my friend and I had some good conversations before he died, things he wanted you to know. He wanted you to know that chasing the world is a complete, 100% waste of time. I'm not talking about chasing the people of the world - that's what Christ came and did and empowered us to do. I'm talking about the THINGS of the world. Money. Prestige. Security. Comfort. When all is said and done, there is no "there" there. Your hands are empty.

My friend found this out over the past couple of years as God stripped away the facade and he realized what matters. But because of setbacks and treatments and testing he was unable to shout out to the world what he was learning. He wanted to, he was ready to - but his voice was taken from him.

So I will speak for him. I will tell my elementary chapel students that they need to start looking beyond what is right in front of them. The things that they can touch are not necessarily the things that matter. I will tell my Jr. High youth group that these feelings that seem so important right now, like they're the end of the world - are not. That bigger things await. I will tell my Sr. High students that God is not a concept - that He is real and they can trust their futures to Him. They can ask Him the tough questions, that He will answer, and they can sell all to Him now. I will tell the Young Adults group that meets at my house that as they are beginning their careers and families, now is the best time to put a stake in the ground and not get stuck in the entanglements of the world to the point that they think it can never be undone. That the decisions they are making now are tying up their futures in increasingly intricate webs that will cause them to feel that they can never undo them and follow God with a whole heart - so don't get caught up in them now. Stay simple and clean. I will tell the middle-aged, the age of my friend, that he found out the truth and was ready to live in it until God took him away. They can learn this truth and live in it while they are still here. I will tell the elderly of the church that it's never to late to learn this lesson. As long as they have breath they can let go of every fear and doubt and be a fruitful vine even into their last days.

And I will tell myself that I need to stop typing this and start living it.

Accustomed to the Desert

Jeremiah 2:23 - 25 "You are a swift she-camel, running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving - in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, "Its no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them!"

Does the world even have to try to take you in?

I think we're too easy. I think that we sniff at the world, not to find out how to help the lost, but because we are enthralled with it. We want it. They don't even have to try - any temptation and we're in.

The excuses we make when we fail are embarrassing. I Corinthians 10:13 says that there is no temptation that doesn't have a way out. The problem is we don't want the way out. We want the way in.

In the Lord's Prayer Christ tells us to pray: "Lead me not into temptation." This is very powerful and challenging, as He is in essence telling us to ask God to keep us away from the things that we love (from a worldly sense). To move out of the desert and quit being so weak. Every time we cave into a temptation every part of our being is weakened to the core. Our spiritual structure becomes more and more tenuous. In this weakened state, the next step in the progression is crumbling.

I hate being this easy. I hate being so "accustomed to the desert" that I never see beyond my self-imposed borders and head for the streams of living water.

Faithlessness versus Unfaithfulness

Jeremiah 3:11 "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah."

I'm reading through Jeremiah for this month and I come to a devastating passage - one that pierces my heart. Israel, the Northern Kingdom, has been cut off. She had lost faith, walked away, and was done. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, remained. But she had watched her sister and had learned her ways. Now she is turning to false gods - yet still proclaiming to be the "chosen bride."

In Jer. 3:11, God pronounces judgment on Judah, saying, if I'm reading it correctly, that Judah's unfaithfulness is worse than Israel's faithlessness. Help me out here - is that what this passage is saying?

If so - it slays me. It means that, to God, a lack of belief is one thing, but to proclaim that we believe, that we are His lover, yet continually betray that covenant is worse. I see the truth in this. It would be one thing for a woman to reject me and walk away. It would be a completely different story if she proclaimed her love to me, covenanted with me, yet then kept leaving me for other lovers - all the while proclaiming that she is my chosen bride!

Our betrayals are worse - less righteous - than just walking away in unbelief. It's the less righteous part that kills me. I tend to think my stumblings and my turnings are okay because I am still His. I am still righteous! Yet this seems to say otherwise. How can I possibly proclaim to be righteous, to be His chosen bride - yet continue to walk away from Him? I'm worse than an unbeliever. Less righteous.

This has huge implications for the church as well. We think we are righteous simply because of who we are. I know God's righteousness is imputed, credited, to us. And I know it is apart from any works. But the after-effects are what I'm talking about. The church thinks it can go off in any direction it wants and is still "righteous." This is a dangerous mistake. We must be a holy vessel, set apart unto the Lord.

Jeremiah 3:11 is a killer verse.

New England and Christianity

A couple of quick points as I come in from shoveling and find out that the reason my feet felt funny was that the socks from the last snowstorm were still in the bottom of my boots:

1. New England and the Mega-Church

I have always wondered why the people in Southern California like to mock those living in the cold weather states. What are they trying to accomplish? Do they want everyone to pick up and move there with them, thus ruining what they’re bragging about? Secondly, just because you live somewhere doesn’t make you a better person. The same thing with big churches. Just because you go to a bigger church doesn’t make you a better Christian!

And finally, why do people that live in nicer places or go to bigger churches try to get others to change where they are? Do they not trust that God has called people to specific places to minister? Would you say to a missionary in Africa: “What are you doing there? The weather and the living conditions are much nicer here!”

Before the conditions make you wonder if you should leave a place, make sure you're not leaving your mission field because the cross (or the shovel) is too heavy to bear.

2. New England snowstorms and a “good enough” walk with God

After shoveling out for the third time this winter, I have come to the realization that we in New England have a definite sequence to digging out of our storms. When the first storm hits, we wipe every thing down perfectly to the point of pulling the cars one by one out of the driveway to get every last speck of snow off the ground and cars. Second storm hits and we are still diligent but not quite to the same exacting degree. When the storms keep coming we care less and less until finally we wipe enough snow off our windshield so that our face can look out and then drive right through the plowed snow bank at the end of the driveway and never look back. "Good enough."

I’ve realized that our Christian walk tends to look like this. When first struck by a “revival of the heart” we strive to remove every last jot and tittle of sin, anything in the past or present that could cause the slightest stumble or block our vision. In subsequent “revivals” we tend to knock off enough that allows us to still see and move forward. "Good enough." We’ll deal with the snowbanks later. As long as I can move unhindered I don't need to get rid of everything. Do I?

2010 Vision

2010 vision is when you can see at 20 feet what most people can see at 10 feet. I want to see things more clearly this year. To see the bigger picture (God's plan) but also sharper details (people). To know that real change is possible, not just a pipe dream. To understand that God really can change "that" - whatever the "that" is in your life.