Community Baptist Church

A Tale of Two Passovers

2011-06-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

There were two major revivals in the OT, with Hezekiah and Josiah, that were both marked by a reinstitution of the Passover Festival. The one by Hezekiah was considered to be the greatest one since the the time of Solomon. However, the one by Josiah, about 100 years later was considered to be the greatest one since the time of the judges. I have an opinion on why Josiah's was considered deeper and more meaningful and I think it relates directly to today's generation:

I. Hezekiah's Revival / Passover

II Chronicles 30: 2 "The king and his officials and the whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month."

II Chronicles 30: 18 - 20 "Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God—the LORD, the God of their ancestors—even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.” And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people."

Hezekiah had a passion for God that was driving him and the people to celebrate, whether they got every aspect of it right or not. They celebrated it in the second month, a month later than prescribed, because they couldn't get it ready in time. They allowed "unclean" people to participate for the same reason. They just wanted to have the celebration and the rules were somewhat cast aside because of their passion.

Hezekiah understood this and prayed to God that it would be okay, that in this particular moment they could bend the rules a bit - and God allowed it. God, in a sense, sidestepped His own stipulations of the Passover to allow the people to celebrate because He knew the intention of their heart, and He healed them.

II. Josiah's Revival / Passover

II Kings 23: 21 - 23 "The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the LORD in Jerusalem."

Josiah had found the Law buried in the rubble and idolatrous pornography that that had filled the Temple, and had thus proceeded to "clean house." Everything that was not of God was smashed and burned and scattered over the dump site outside the city. They were going to get it right, because they had the Word. When they celebrated the Passover, they did it according to the Word of God. They got it right.

Josiah's revival and Passover celebration leapfrogged the acclaim of Hezekiah's because it combined the passion with the truth of God's Word. There is a reason God prescribes things a certain way - because it is under this prescription that we are able to fully find the joy and power that He is offering to His people.

Summary

So why is this so important in today's generation? I believe that we have young people who are on fire, who are returning to the Lord, who want to be in Him, who have a passion for celebration and revival, and who want to get into the lives of others with the message of Christ. However, in their passion the Word of the Lord is in some ways being set aside, or not embraced to the level of fullness that it demands. If this is left unchecked, this passion will either burn in the wrong direction or it will burn out. It will be a useless fire.

I fully believe that as God allowed the people of Hezekiah's day some wiggle room to celebrate apart from every "jot and tittle," we must embrace this generation and give them the same slack as they enter into their own celebrations. But we also must continually direct them and disciple them into the truths of His Word so that they will experience the fullness and the power that God desires for them.

II Kings 23:25 "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses."

Josiah had an intense passion for God that burned to the depth of his soul. What made it so effective and cleansing was that it was fully aligned with the Word of God.

Right Behind

2011-05-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

With all this "rapture" talk, I started thinking. . . . .

What if there were a "rapture" but with one caveat: You had a choice to go or not. What if God gave you the choice to opt-out and say, "I'll be Right Behind you guys," and stay amidst a world that would now be almost totally devoid of everything you valued and found security in, just lost people with ever-increasing evil and ever-decreasing communities of faith? Not like some demented game of "survival" - but with the intention of bringing God's redemption into the most hostile world imaginable.

Would you stay or would you go? Are we so focused on not being "left behind" that we forget that this is exactly what Jesus did to His disciples? He said, "I'm going - and you are NOT coming with Me." Then He left them with the tools to bring redemption to the world they were still living in, to bring salvation to them.

With Jesus, salvation was never merely about getting out of this world and into heaven. It's a big part of our hope, of course, but it's not the be-all, end-all of salvation. Salvation is about being a disciple of Christ here and now and even "then" whenever and whatever "then" is.

John 17: 15 - 19

"I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify Myself for them, so they also may be sanctified by the truth."

Oh, the Humanity

2011-05-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was driving back to work from visiting some people at the hospital, and I passed a young woman pushing an older woman in a wheelchair down a pothole-filled sidewalk in the pouring rain. I looked at the old woman and started groaning inside . . . . humanity stinks. It's all about relentless decay and pain. Rain, muddy puddles, wheelchairs, an aging process that has one destination. In my discouragement I had an urge to write a book and call it "Humanity Stinks." Or whatever stronger word you want use. It was a picture of continual pain heading to a greater pain.

Then my thoughts turned to the younger woman, pushing this older lady through the muddy puddles in the driving rain, and my thoughts changed completely. It suddenly became a picture of continual love heading to a greater love.

I had one quick glimpse of two women, a rainstorm, broken sidewalks, muddy puddles and a wheelchair. I guess there are two ways you can look at humanity. God says in Deuteronomy 30, you can choose life or choose death as your viewpoint, then pleads with us to "choose life."

Choose life.

Be Careful . . . She's Somebody's Wife

2011-02-10T08:19:00.000-08:00

If you want to make a lot of money in Christian circles today all you have to do is write a book that slams the American church. It's an easy target with a large target audience. I have read a number of them, finding myself nodding in agreement at the critiques and criticisms.

However, this morning in my devotions I was reading through Leviticus and I started getting a nagging feeling that maybe I shouldn't spend so much time slamming the bride. You see, I read Leviticus as a marriage covenant between God and His people. He brings them out of the bondage of Egypt, walks them up to His holy mountain, and . . . . marries them. They become His bride. The rest of Leviticus is basically the vows of the marriage, the conditions of their covenant relationship.

The bride, regrettably, was prone to adultery. She broke the terms of the marriage in the most vile ways possible. But God was relentless in His love and ultimately brought His bride back to Himself, cleansed through the blood of Christ, and renamed her The Church. He filled her with His presence and put His heart into her heart. His desire is that they would become one - with Him, through Christ.

Though still prone to wander, this broken body is Someone's wife. Instead of cynicism and a critical spirit, I need to extend my hand in love, to treat her as I would want someone to treat my own beautiful wife if she were hurting. Not kicking her when she's down, but lifting her up to restore her to where she belongs.

I know there are issues - but rise above them and look upon this broken woman as one who is loved with a deep passion by the God of Love. Don't get me wrong, the issues can run deep and have hurt many people and have stifled true discipleship, and they should be addressed. I'm just saying be careful - she is still Someone's wife, and she is very much loved.

Ephesians 5:25 -32

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church."

Freedom

2011-01-31T08:05:00.000-08:00

John 8: 31, 32 "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Where does true freedom come from, the point of entry (salvation) or following Christ (discipleship)? I think this question is more important than it may appear.

Of course there is a freedom that enters into your life at the moment you become a child of God, by repenting and believing that Jesus is the Messiah, that He did die for you and rise again. Your past, at least the guilt and condemnation of it, is washed away. The freedom and release associated with this moment is indescribable - and very real.

However, there is still the slavery of your former mindset that holds you and keeps you from truly experiencing the full freedom that Christ promises. The freedom from chasing the things of the world, from living and reacting the way the world does, from thinking the way the world does. Free from the fight - in every way.

According to John 8:31, 32, this freedom only comes after you commit to His teachings and become His disciple. It is beyond the salvation experience. It is salvation at a much deeper level, the salvation of everything you are, the release of the grip the world has on you and the grip you have on the world.

We talk about knowing the truth and the truth setting us free, but mostly this is done in the context of the "salvation experience" - at the point of entry, so to speak. But Jesus says that this freedom comes AFTER you become His disciple, which comes AFTER you hold to His teachings, which comes AFTER you believe.

This makes perfect sense if you think about it. While the condemnation is removed at salvation, it is in following Him, truly understanding His way and living in it (the real Way, not your idea of what His way should be) - - - then and only then that the strongholds and strangleholds of the world start to fall away and true freedom is found.

There are far too many Christians who claim freedom because they "accepted Jesus as their savior" but actually don't experience any freedom because they have never subsequently followed Him as a disciple. They are caught up in the ways of vengeance, money, anger, lust, hatred, lack of forgiveness, worry, depression - all the things the world struggles with.

The progression of Jesus' teaching in this passage is fairly straightforward:

Believe Him
Hold to His teachings
Become His disciple
Know the truth
Be set free

There are no shortcuts.

Sharing with our Oppressors

2011-01-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

There's a great story in II Kings 6, 7 in which some lepers are outside the city during a famine and come across the spoils of the enemy army. God has just caused the army to leave their camp in fear and the food is abundant and the riches are laying all around. The lepers first thought, of course, is to hoard it and keep it to themselves. Why not?

But then they make this amazing claim: “What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves." (II Kings 7:9)

In other words, they will share these riches that have been poured into their laps with those who have oppressed them and kept them outside the city gates.

This thought brought me to Hebrews 13:11 - 16

"The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased"

Jesus was beaten, stripped, and dragged outside the city in total humiliation. Yet He still offered peace and forgiveness to those who did the beating, stripping and dragging. Not only that, but He offered the very riches of heaven to them. You see it's one thing to offer an oppressor forgiveness. It's quite another to turn around and offer them something from your own storehouse.

There is a suffering outside the camp that we will endure if we truly follow the words of Christ , but there is also the indescribable riches that are beyond anything the world has to offer. However, too many of us go outside the camp to be with Christ but never return to our oppressors and share with them the riches of the good news. We would rather see our enemies suffer and die than to bring them love and peace and forgiveness and a chance for a redeemed life.

We could learn a lesson from these lepers. The way of Christ is to return to those who spitefully use and abuse us and offer them the riches of God. Unconditionally.

The Last Drop

2011-01-19T06:25:00.000-08:00

I have too much, and to whom much is given much is required. But where do I start? What do I release? As I walked around my house one day, under the intense conviction of the Holy Spirit, I could hear Him saying over and over that this world was not my home and that there was too much "stuff" in my life.

I didn't know where to start. But in my scripture readings for that week I came across a great passage in Deuteronomy 24 beginning at verse 19:^"When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this."

Don't try to squeeze the last drop out of everything that you have - give the excess to the poor and the hurting. It is already assumed that the Israelites give their firstfruits, and my wife and I have covenanted to do that. But then what? God tells them not to be intent on draining the last drop out of the remainder of what they have harvested.

It's the mentality that has to change. If we tithe (as we should), then what . . . . we're okay? As I stated, it's already assumed that the Israelites are giving their firstfruits, but God also requires that they don't have mindset of grinding out every last sheaf, olive or grape.

I've been challenged in 2011 to start stripping away the excess - not just literally, but to have my mindset changed so that I don't feel the need to squeeze every last cent or every last second for my own gain. To use these "excesses" for the alien, the widow and the orphan.

So if you're challenged on what you should do with the blessings in your life, a good first step is to simply bringing the excesses into the lives of the poor. I think if you do that, you'll also begin the process of emptying the entire storehouse.

Blowing off the Stink

2010-11-02T10:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-07T06:34:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T07:15:00.001-07:00

"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

2010-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-06-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-01T07:39:00.000-07:00

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"

2010-05-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-05-07T06:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-01T20:14:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-28T06:26:00.000-07:00

"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

2010-04-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-05T07:16:00.001-08:00

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%

2010-03-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-19T09:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-09T05:29:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-08T11:06:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-05T10:34:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-22T05:45:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-21T08:52:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

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:

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.

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

2010-01-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

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.

Default Setting

2009-12-22T05:56:00.001-08:00

I was listening to my friends the other night talk about their grandmothers who were in declining health. They told us that one of these women, who all her life had been a strong Christian, was suddenly swearing like a sailor and using language that was vulgar and even racist. A comment was made that it seemed as if "her filter had been turned off."

This caused me to think about what it really means to be "saved." I have begun to develop a higher view of salvation than I have had in the past because I want to believe that it's more than simply a "filter." I want to believe that something radical happens - that you do become a "new creation" and are truly "born again." I want to believe that an actual change has taken place.

The odd thing about these types of stories, when the elderly lose their filter, is that it almost always ends up with the person becoming meaner, not nicer. They resort to using odd language, not sweet language. It's as if the "default setting" of man is extremely low, and that once the guards in our life have been taken away - this is the place we go.

Is salvation a true change or simply a strong defense system?

I think of things like pacifism, purity, kindness, serving the poor, gathering together in community, etc. Do we have to force these things upon ourselves? Do we have to convince ourselves that they are the right way then do everything within our power to live within the confines of this decision, this way of life? I would rather that I begin to naturally think this way, and that offering an enemy a hand isn't fighting every instinct in my being - it IS the instinct of my being.

Christ didn't fight Himself to offer forgiveness to His killers as He hung on the cross. It poured out of who He was. I want that.

Slumdog Savior

2009-12-18T06:43:00.001-08:00

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."

I believe that in the opening scenes of "Slumdog Millionaire" we get one of the best pictures of Christmas. It's a pretty graphic scene, in which the boy wants to see one of his heroes, so he jumps into an ocean of human waste. As he climbs out you can barely see him through the filth, and most people watching get sick to their stomach. But that's just what Jesus did - He climbed into the mess with us, the mess that we created. He covered Himself in our waste. "The dear Christ entered in."

As I get older I become more and more amazed at what Christ did, because as I get older I become more and more frustrated with this body of flesh that I reside in. I want to get rid of it . . . . and He willingly took it upon Himself.

Not only that, but after covering Himself in human waste, He allows Himself to die in it. If that's where His story ended it would be pathetic. Valiant - but pathetic. However this is not the end - He rises . . . . clean. He blows off all the filth in the most powerful display of God's love and power in human history: the Resurrection.

He rises clean - and if we are crucified with Him we will rise clean as well and no longer be under the control of the flesh. What a beautiful picture - the God of all Creation entering into the human waste of man's own making, immersing Himself in it, dying in it, but then blowing it all off in one final act of victory.

In Pursuit of Our Brothers

2009-12-17T07:45:00.001-08:00

II Samuel 2:26 Abner called out to Joab: "Must the sword devour forever? Don't you realize that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their brothers?"

2:27 Joab answered: "As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued the pursuit of their brothers until morning."

For any cycle to stop, someone has to take the final blow, the last hit. In this story in II Samuel, civil war has broken out in Israel. The men are going to fight to the death. Finally Abner has enough and confronts the obvious: until one of us simply stops, this will never end until we're all dead.

For a cycle of unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, division to end, someone has to take the last hit. They have to allow the last hit to rest upon them without seeking revenge and continuing it all over again. This is obviously a difficult thing to do.

The past few days the big news story in our town has been about a case of road rage that ended with the cars pulling over, one man getting out and confronting the other driver, and then getting shot in the stomach. This is how unchecked violence will end. We kill our "brothers." Abner knew this and pleaded for it to stop.

Are you willing to bring healing to our "civil" wars by allowing the last hit to fall upon you? It screams against every natural desire, which is to avenge ourselves for even the slightest slight. If we are courageous and humble enough to do this, we can begin to end the cycles that are destroying our families.

The cross is the final resting place for revenge. That’s why it’s such a violent scene, because all of the violence of revenge comes to a screaming halt upon it. The ‘hits’ end there and the cycle is broken. Christ takes the final blow and does not retaliate. The last hit rests upon His broken and bloodied body. And by taking the final blow, He disarms Satan, who lives off violence and revenge.

This frees us and allows us to take the ‘hit’ from the brother and end the cycle of violence on earth. We do not have to return blow for blow. We can turn the other cheek and walk the second mile - and to make it even more amazing, we can do this with pure intentions: the redemption of our enemy.

I do not have to return the blow. I can become a resting place.

Count Him Out

2009-12-10T05:05:00.000-08:00

According to one count, the Gospels record 132 contacts that Jesus had with people. Six were in the Temple, four in the synagogue, and 122 were with people out in the mainstream of life.

I know what you're thinking: "Get out of here!"

I'm thinking the same thing.

The End of Man's Way

2009-12-08T05:12:00.001-08:00

I hate Children's Hospital. Not the people there and the wonderful work that they do, but the very fact that it must exist. I went in there the other night to visit with a boy who was in CCU and I felt a flood of all of the other visits to all my other "children" overwhelm me. Students and youth group kids. Nephews and cousins. All there for one reason - they were dying. I thought about all the times I held their hands or prayed over them, about the times I held their parents hands. I remembered the time that I came in with my young son Luke to visit one of my basketball players - a 12-year old boy - and watched as Luke threw up upon entering the room. My thoughts exactly, son.

As I walked past room after room of children lying in these beds, I asked God, "Is this really the plan? This is Your way?" I was sad. I was angry. I was confused.

Then I felt His anger return upon me. No - this is not My way. This is the end of man's way. What should I expect after years and years of decisions that were contrary to His commands? Man has systematically removed God from every sphere of life: education, science, medicine, government . . . . even religion. Did I think that the end result of this would be beautiful? Without God it's ugly and messy. Romans 1 gives the perfect picture of life spent in man's way. Three times He says that He (reluctantly) gave men over to their own desires. And how does Romans 1 end? In a cesspool. The entire chapter is a downward spiral into this, what I like to call "The Cesspool at the end of the Slide:

Romans 1: 28 - 32: "Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents, they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decrees that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Children's Hospital is man's desperate (and well-intentioned) attempt to fix the most grotesque part of this cesspool: dying children. I commend these doctors and nurses. They're awesome. I just hate that they are necessary, that man has made them necessary. These children are caught up in man's way and they are dying as a result.

But . . . Christ has risen from this cesspool with healing in His wings. At our lowest point, neck deep in the feces, Christ came, right into our own filth, into the cesspool. He didn't just stand off to the side and say that He had a life-preserver - He entered in. He got neck deep with us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among men, declaring that this will be the end of man's way. He will reclaim His children and He will heal them. HE is the manifestation of God's way.

That's the true story of Christmas. The end of man's way. It makes me love my Savior even more than I thought was possible.

"Accepting" Christ

2009-12-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Salvation - what is it? We had a wonderful experience in Bible Study last night where a man came and "accepted" Christ. But . . . . well, no buts, I'm thrilled. However . . . . . I have a high view of salvation. It's not simply praying a prayer or signing a card. It's entering into a deep relationship with the Creator of the universe. One of my favorite writers, A.W. Tozer, preached a sermon on it back in the 50's. I think it's still timely and worth a read:

TOZER:

"Now my relation to Jesus Christ is one of those few matters of life or death. To the average one of us who listen now it's taken for granted that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners: I take that for granted; I assume that, I know that's true, I don't in any wise question it. And then it's further taken for granted - and properly -- that we are saved by Christ alone without works. That, I also take for granted because it's declared there, I don't question it; I don't ask that somebody come and explain it: it's so! He did die for our sins according to the Scriptures, He did rise again. The Scripture does say that we are saved by Christ alone without works.

But now the big question is -- and right here is a hole in the bridge where millions fall through -- how do I come into saving relation to Christ? He alone saves without human merit or works - but he doesn't save everybody! Therefore there must be some connection made or some relation sustained; somehow or another I come into a relationship to Christ that saves me. Now, what is that? And that is a matter of life or death. You dare not assume anything. You must know. Not to be sure isn't to gamble with your soul. Not to be sure is to be dead! Just as you dare not cross the mighty ocean without a compass; to do so would be to die. So you dare not assume that you have the relationship unless you have; it's got to be there before you dare accept it as being there: to be wrong on this is to be lost!

Now if you were to ask the average man, the average preacher or the average person - the average Christian anywhere - "How do I come into saving relation to Jesus Christ?" the answer would be one of three. People would either tell you "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" -- that's Acts 16:31 or, they would say "Receive Christ as your Savior" -- that's John 1:12, or else they would give you this other answer. (And of course, those first two answers are true; they're true!) Or else they would give you this third answer, "Accept Christ as your personal Savior."

Now the word 'accept Christ' to the astonishment of a good many people does not occur in the Bible - it's not there. It's this 'accept Christ' doctrine that I want to talk a little bit about tonight. What is it to 'accept Christ'?

Now, I do not reflect on the words 'accept Christ' even though they're not in the Bible. It's possible to teach truth and yet not use words that are in the Bible always, because if what you say is the sum of what the Bible teaches on a subject then you're teaching truth provided the people know that that's the sum of the Bible teaching. So when you were told to accept Christ to bring us into saving relation to Him what the teacher was attempting to do is to say 'believe and receive' and 'believe' and 'receive' are Bible words though 'accept' is not a Bible word.

But accepting Christ has become the panacea all over the evangelical world and it has become fatal to millions! A whole attitude of accepting; the passive acceptance of Christ. This easy acceptance! A man will preach a tremendous sermon and then say "Now, what should you do? Accept Christ. Have you accepted Christ?" Or we go to the bedside of a dying man: "Have you accepted Christ?" And if he says he has, why, we pat his head and the next day or two we preach that he's in heaven twanging a harp. Well, now I'm awfully afraid that there are millions of people who are perishing because they are being told to accept Christ and they don't know what's meant by it.

You see, to tell a man to 'accept Christ', while it is relatively right, it yet, if not carefully explained, makes Christ to stand hat in hand waiting on my pleasure; neatly awaiting my verdict on Him. It makes Him apply to me, instead of my applying to Him. It permits me to accept Christ by an impulse of my mind or my emotions and accept Him painlessly and at no cost and no inconvenience.

Somebody suggested that the cross of Christ should not inconvenience people. Well, it is the most inconvenient thing in the world, this cross of Christ! It took a man by the name of Jesus in the height of his healthy human life and took Him out on a hillside and killed Him there - now, that's an inconvenient thing for Him! And any cross is inconvenient; it's a most inconvenient thing, this accepting Christ, if we know what we mean by it. But the accepting Christ of popular theology has no inconvenience attached to it."

The Scribblings of Man

2009-12-01T08:27:00.001-08:00

I had a student come up to me today, frustrated with her math book. It seems that the student who used it the year before had done a lot of work in the book, and there were scribblings throughout the practice problems. She said that it wouldn't have bothered her so much if she knew that the previous student was 100% correct - all the time. She didn't know what she could trust so she couldn't trust anything. I gave her a new book.

I was talking to a man the other day who was really struggling with depression. Since I've struggled with it myself, I was able to help him a bit. I told him that one of the biggest turnarounds for me was when I took all my commentaries and devotional books and set them aside. Then I got a Bible that had no "words of man" inside and started reading. And reading. I needed to hear God's Voice. Sola Dei. Only God. One of the problems with depression is that there are too many voices speaking to you. Including your own.

I had to eliminate the scribblings of man - at least for awhile. Not because I believe fellow brothers can't help with their thoughts and interpretations, of course they can. But I was desperate, and when you're desperate you need to know the truth 100%. You can't be questioning what you can trust. Even the chapters and verses were added a thousand years after they were written - even those are the additions of well-intentioned man.

Recently I dealt with a young man who was really struggling, to the point where he felt the oppression of a personal demon. After spending time with him, sitting in his room filled with the "scribblings of man" (dream catchers, serenity rocks and other trinkets he was using to try to ease his pain) I realized what this kid needed was simply this: Pure Christ. He needed to get rid of all of these things and allow the fullness of Christ to consume him.

Strip it all away. Clear off the table. Get back to the words of Christ.

How You Close It Is How You Open It

2009-11-24T05:31:00.000-08:00

I was out in the backyard trying to fix something with the rabbit cages and I looked at the pool (an above ground piece of garbage - don't get the wrong idea) and wanted to cry. I had been lazy at the end of summer and didn't close it well. I knew what that meant - come spring it would be a pain in the neck to open. I just walked away. I'll deal with it then.

I realized a great spiritual truth at that moment: How you close it is how you'll open it. I need to be more diligent at night, soaking myself in God and His Word, not the things of this world. When I go to bed I should have God's thoughts coursing through my mind. Scripture, blessings, His strength and power. Then His Word will protect me through the night and cover my house and family - and I will have a greater chance of opening up the next morning in the right frame of mind.

Relationships with others, job performance, our walk with God, our inner thought life, pools . . . . . they all run under the same principle: How we close it is how we'll open it.

Ephesian 4:26,27 "Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

Go back to some broken relationships and close them out under the reconciliation of the blood of Christ. Do everything at your job so well that you can walk out the door with a clear conscience. Immerse yourself in God's Word at night instead of television or any other things that are merely the thoughts of the world. Get into a community that causes you to talk about God and not "stuff." Close out well.

The Last Laugh

2009-11-23T05:23:00.001-08:00

Last night at church we were singing the old favorite "Count Your Blessings." I know that to some degree this is scriptural - many of the psalms are recountings of things that God has done - so the song itself doesn't bother me. Except for some reason, I was bothered by the following:

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

It really struck me - I am not envious of others who are receiving wealth in this world, with the attitude: "Well later on I'll get mine!" I love what I have right now, Christ in me. I really don't want to be living through this life as if it's a great struggle but I get rewarded in the end. I don't think it's how we're meant to live through this life.

We must be convinced that this life is the best way. That this boat we're climbing (or being pulled) into is more than just salvation to an eternity with God and streets of gold, but to the best possible life now. I'm not talking the way prosperity preachers mean it, I mean that we must be convinced that the life following God, filled by His Spirit, is the best way to pilgrimage through this world. The life with the most meaning, peace, joy, purpose, fullness, fuller relationships, etc.

I get a little tired of hearing testimonies that make it sound like someone was having a blast and then they got saved. You know the ones that I mean: "I was drinking, messing around, doing what I wanted to - then I found Jesus!" You want to know what the kids hear? "I was having fun doing all the things of the world then Jesus came and put a stop to it."

Eternal life starts upon the moment of salvation, not the moment of death. Following God and being filled by His Spirit now is the best life. There is no need for thinking, "Don't worry, you can have yours now - I'll get mine later." This will change how you witness to people because you'll want what is best for them right now. It will allow you to forgive people and carry their burdens because you know that right now you have the power of Christ within you.

It's not about getting the last laugh. That thought alone means we have it all wrong. God loves these people. It's not about sticking it to them.

(by the way - "The Last Laugh" by Mark Knopfler/Van Morrison is one of the more underrated songs around. Look it up.)

Common Rain and the Church

2009-11-20T11:40:00.001-08:00

I would like to followup on my two previous postings. In the first, I questioned to what extent the church (or "a" church) should be affected by outside forces such as an economic downturn. In the second, I addressed how individuals are most definitely affected by these (the rain falls on the just and the unjust).

I've been thinking about this and I'm not sure of the answer (regarding the church). I understand that when an economy fails or a disaster strikes - a "church" will most likely get caught up in the the current. But is that because we are structured in a way that is contrary to Scripture? Should a church fail? By fail, I mean should it collapse under budgetary concerns? What is the distinction between an individual getting caught up in the storms of life and a church getting caught up?

Again - are we structured wrong? I think we are. With huge buildings and budgets and staffs I think we expose ourselves to the ebb and flow of society and nature. We have built a system that relies on the how the world is doing. If the world is doing well, the church reflects that with bigger buildings and larger staffs. If the world is failing, we fail along with it.

I don't think "church" the way Christ defines it should be subjected to the health of the world. I think that what He taught, what He set up, what He breathes life into should be so different that if the world falls around it, it doesn't fall apart. There should be no "breath of the world" that is holding it together. How else can we be of any help when the individuals are lost in the 'current.'

Common Rain

2009-11-20T06:56:00.001-08:00

Jesus Christ: "The rain falls on the just and the unjust"
Isaiah 5:5 "I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed."

Question: Is there a "hedge" and if so what does it really mean to a child of God?

I think that there is one. I think that once you enter into the family of God, there is a certain place that you enter in which you can find rest and bear eternal fruit. But how does it play out in a world in which the rain falls on everyone without prejudice? Where Christians and non-Christians alike suffer and die from cancer? Where Christian and non-Christian children die of starvation? Where a drunk driver can come out of nowhere and destroy a life - Christian and non-Christian?

It's because we're all in the same "flood" of corruption. The corruption of creation which is evidenced in nature itself, where diseases cover all of mankind, where irrational acts destroy lives, where the decisions of man can destroy a nation. The accumulation of thousands of years of selfishness has covered this world in man-made mud. The entire world is corrupted, top to bottom, front to back.

At what point is the Christian and The Church immune to this? At all? If we live better lives will we avoid this? Of course not. We're all in it together. Salvation isn't being pulled out of the mess, salvation is being changed within the mess. I think where it's different is that we all suffer these things, but in an entirely different realm with outcomes measured in entirely different ways. A loved one getting cancer, a baby dying - within the hedge - is not the same as the meaningless, painful, emptiness of dust returning to dust.

In Isaiah 5 we read of God's verdict on His vineyard (Israel). Because there was no fruit He said He would remove the 'hedge' and they would be destroyed. The implication clearly being that there was a 'hedge' to begin with. I believe Christians live under this same protection, within these same walls. Without it, well - - -let's just hear David's words on it:

"If the Lord had not been on our side- let Israel say - if the Lord had not been on our side when the men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away." (Ps. 124)

There it is. It rains on the just and the unjust and we're all just a step away from being swept down river and drowning it. Cancer. Death. The economy. Chaos. It's all around us, Christian and non-Christian alike. But that step is the thing - either it's a step toward God and into Him, or a step away from Him and apart from Him. That step creates a huge divide. It's contrasted with these two verses:

John 15:5 "Apart from Me you can do nothing."
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Down-Sizing Church

2009-11-19T07:10:00.000-08:00

Quick question: Should a church be structured in such a way that it is "economy-dependent"? The reason I ask is that I have had discussions with a number of people from churches in the area who were talking about the struggles of their programs. Some have had to abandon building projects and mission projects. Some are drastically cutting staff. I was talking to one lady from a huge church in Arizona that is really hurting - with a budget that is currently millions of dollars in the hole.

I feel for these people - honestly. But I also wonder to what degree churches should be at the mercy of the economy. We need to have vision and faith and this requires stepping out in programs and projects. We have done it ourselves at our church. But how can we truly fulfill the mission of helping the hurting if all we're doing is plugging our own holes? If the economy goes down, shouldn't we be there to help, not drown in it ourselves?

Is church really supposed to be like this? I can't help but think that something has gone seriously wrong and we are way off mission.

Define and Dismiss

2009-11-17T10:07:00.000-08:00

I've been a teacher for a long time, and I've seen the temptation to slap labels on kids, put them in a box and avoid having to go the extra mile to truly disciple them. It's a lazy way of dealing with students - if we can define them we can dismiss them.

I noticed this the other night at a banquet I went to with my wife. We were asked to host a table with six international students for a Thanksgiving meal. I looked around the room and discovered that there were about 25 nations represented at the various other tables. All kinds of dress, languages, customs poured through the room. Trying to process it all was a little overwhelming, so I reverted to my natural instinct of "classifying" each person within their culture and then I could deal with the magnitude of so many different variations. They were boxed in within the boundaries of my self-protective prejudices. But as I talked with the people at my table, these prejudices started to fade and I felt upset that I had been so lazy and unwilling to deal with them as individuals.

We do this all the time. We do it with the unborn - find the definition of life and then we can dismiss any that fall before it with a clear conscience. We do it with the elderly - define them as "senior citizens" and place them in boxes and dismiss them. Older people in church do it with the youth. The youth do it with the older people. We do it with people from other cultures. Defined and dismissed. Conscience cleared. I do not have to deal with you any longer.

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 5:21 - 24 when He tells us to reconcile with those around us. Reconciliation is more than just saying you're sorry. It's all based on how you see the person you're dealing with. It's a lot easier to leave relationships unreconciled if we can simply dismiss that person in our mind as someone beneath us. He uses the terms "Raca" and "Fool" to make this point clear.

"Raca" is an Aramaic term implying "empty-headed." Name-calling was highly insulting in Jewish culture. You were given a name in accordance with who you were, and to strip that away and give a different name was extremely demeaning.

"You Fool!" is similar to the Greek word "more" which gives us the word "moron." The implication here was more than just a cursory insult - you were making some long-lasting comment on who that person was. You were defining them. When you strip away the dignity of your brother, your fellow man, it's a lot easier to live in a state of hatred and enmity. We can easily rationalize not having to reconcile with someone who we have just destroyed with a label, who we have just rendered unworthy of reconciliation. Again: define and dismiss.

Before we can truly reconcile, we must be able and willing to see them as brothers, not enemies. Only the love of Christ and the eyesight of God can do this for us. Jesus never dismissed anyone - He held His arms open for all to come. He allowed them to dismiss themselves, which is something completely different. I pray that we will start a reconciliation between cultures and generations that will show that the Spirit is really at work within our lives.

Three Years of Best Days

2009-11-16T11:26:00.001-08:00

Psalm 84 "Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere."

Do we really believe this? Is one day, one moment in the presence of God, worth three years of our best days? Think of a great day for you. A financial breakthrough. Romance - the best date ever. A vacation day that without planning became a day to remember. A sports achievement or victory. The day your baby first smiled at you (and you knew it wasn't just gas).

One day in His presence blows ALL of that away.

Do I really believe that? Is one moment with God really better than a thousand of those moments? I think I do believe it. I think that those glimpses He gives us break through our spirit and are so transcendent and beyond explanation that they render any earthly experience almost meaningless in comparison. But these moments also make our earthly experiences even more meaningful.

The problem is that we are so stuck in the world that we miss this. We must be convinced that it is the best way. That this boat we're climbing (or being pulled) into is more than just salvation to an eternity with God, but to the best possible life now. I'm not talking the way prosperity preachers mean it, I mean that we must be convinced that the life following God, filled by His Spirit, is the best way to pilgrimage through this world.

I get a little tired of hearing testimonies that make it sound like someone was having a blast and then they got saved. You know the ones that I mean: "I was drinking, messing around, doing what I wanted to - then I found Jesus!" You know what the kids hear when people say this? "I was having a fun doing all the things of the world then Jesus came and put an end to it. Now I'm a Christian"

Three years of my best worldly days can't compare with a moment in His presence. I truly believe that and seek that moment with all of my heart. That matter is now settled and it changes how I approach every moment here on earth. I can redeem these moments instead of enduring them.

"One thing I ask for, this is what I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life . . ." Psalm 27:4

"Earth has nothing I desire besides You." Psalm 73:25

Things That Make You Go Hymn. . . . . .

2009-11-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

More rambling church thoughts as I prepare for a Music Commission meeting tonight and try to avoid the "Worship Wars":

Psalm 144 says to sing a new song on the ten-stringed lyre. Seriously, how far off the worship track would that throw some people that I know. Bang a few cymbals while you're at it, as the psalm says.

I'm always challenged by the phrase "a new song." When you stand up to give you testimony, is there something fresh that the Lord has spoken to you or is it a recounting of something that happened a month, a year, or ten years ago? I experienced this the other night at church. While preaching about the presence of God, I told a story of an experience I had with Him - that happened 7 years ago!! This made me stop and think: Where are my new experiences?

When someone says, "to make a long story short" I say in my head, "Too late!"

What if you're good at something you don't really like doing? I remember when an All-Pro football player retired at an early age and all the critics blasted him. His response? "I don't like playing." Their response, "But you're good at it!" I sometimes feel that way about __________________. But I press on because people say I'm good at it. Why?

I was watching a football game the other day when my wise-guy son kept leaning his head in front of me, blocking my view. I started to get mad, when I realized that this 7-year old was of greater value to me than 11 muscleheads that I've never met. I shut off the game and went out and played in the backyard with him. (Actually . . . . DVR'd the game - I'm not that self-sacrificing).

Speaking of Josh, he was really sick the other day. I went up to his room and asked him if he wanted something to drink. In a quiet voice, he said, "Yes, please." I realized that sickness knocks all the wise-guy out of a person. It's helpful to understand this concept when you're witnessing. When people are hurting, their arrogance goes out the window. They allow you to serve them, which is a huge step in leading them to Christ.

I have officially anointed myself as "The World's Worst Pastor" when it comes to the worship problem. I simply don't care. Really - I don't care. You could rejoice in silence, with Gregorian chants, easy listening or rap songs and I'd think, "Good for you." Again - I DON'T CARE.

Once, when I had to let an employee go, he referred to me as a "meathead." He called the person who took his job a "vulture." We've debated it ever since. Which is worse? A meathead means you're inherently inept. A vulture means you have bad intentions. Years later, we're still trying to figure out who got the worst insult. I believe he did, but he's a bad person. I'm just stupid.

In I Samuel 26 Saul once again tells David that "he's sorry." But David does not cross the valley to see him. He sends his servant. When I read this, I ask the question, "At what point do we entrust ourselves to someone who hurt us?" Even after repeated repentance, Saul has not changed and David knows it. He will not be hurt again. But the true goal of forgiveness is reconciliation, as God did with us. He crossed the valley. I don't know the answer to my question. Like I said above - I'm just rambling. But it's an important one to figure out.

In I Kings 19, when Elijah is depressed, God doesn't do anything at first but feed him. Twice. Think about that the next time you encounter someone in depression. Don't you dare say, "Snap out of it."

I've been listening to the new Derek Webb cd, "Stockholm Syndrome." What a great title - when the captives start identifying with their captors. It's a little different than his other cds, which I love. I consider him to be somewhat a prophet to the church and I would love to find out how we can get him to Boston.

The following three jokes always work:

1. "Did you hear about the corduroy pillows?" "No? I'm surprised, they're making headlines."

2. Knock Knock
Who's there?
I'm a stinking pileup . . . . . . .

3. What do you call a dog with no legs? Anything you want, he's not coming.

Enough fooling around - it's time to get to my Worship Commission meeting and talk about how worship needs to be defined and manipulated and dissected and discussed and programmed and adapted to EVERY SINGLE PERSON sitting in the church . . . . .

Sorry - thanks for letting me vent.

The Delusion of the Semi-Detached Christian Life

2009-11-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

For those of you who read this, I apologize for the barrage of postings. But a few things have happened fast and furious this morning - so here is the story:

I have been praying for a deeper walk. A walk that is more rooted in reality than what I experience in myself or witness in others. The verses I wrote on in my last two posts have been coursing through me. Especially Hebrews 12:4. "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Jeremiah 8 shows me the need for a broken heart, a broken church.

So I prayed this morning. Harder than usual. And while I sat in the back as my Calculus class took a test, God spoke into my heart. I literally shook while He moved within me. I wrote as he said:

Your problem is that everything is motion to you, nothing is real. You don't love them (I have pictures of my children on my desk) - you love the thought of them. You love the thought of everything. It is time for a reality check - time to step out of the fog. All these pictures are moments in time, a time you are allowing to pass without true engagement. You have to solidify the vague sense of sin that you live under so you can truly offer it up. Up to this point, you have only offered up the concept of sin in your heart. You must offer the concrete - the flesh of your old nature, not just the thought of it.

If that doesn't make sense to you, I'm sorry. I understand exactly what He is saying. Ideas and thoughts will not turn me into a new creation that is living with power and authority. The Holy Spirit is a person and must enter into me as Christ entered into the world. Physically - as a person, not a concept. I know what God meant when He said that sin is just a "thought" to me. My selfish ambition, my lust, my competitive spirit, my coveting of the things of the world - these are real things and I let them pass day by day, bemoaning the thought of them but not crucifying the reality of them.

I need to place them on the altar as real things and allow them to be crucified with my flesh. Otherwise my life will continue to drift by as I try to capture moments in time - a time that is passing without any real effect on my life. That is why the authority of Christ is not evident in my life, that real change is not happening, that lives around me are not being redeemed. I have been living a life of minimal engagement. I have been walking under the delusion of the semi-detached Christian life- the one that goes through the motions without ever bringing true redemption into any area of their life.

God does not co-habitate. He is real. My sin is real. They will not co-exist. It's time to give Him everything or walk away.

Jeremiah 8: The Blushing Bride

2009-11-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

Jeremiah 8. God's broken heart spilled out. We are so foolish.

"When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying "What have I done?" Each pursues his own course, like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But My people do not know the requirements of the Lord. How can you say, "We are wise, for we have the Law of the Lord," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain, prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush."

The Puritans used to talk about what they called "The gift of tears." I know what they mean, tears that have not been manufactured simply because we know that we're supposed to feel bad. These are the real tears - the tears of a broken heart. You know when you have them, because you can't stop them even if you wanted to.

Sometimes I worry about the church - not only do we not have these tears, but we don't even know how to blush at the wrongs in our midst, in our hearts. We feel bad, but only because we think we're supposed to feel bad. I was praying through the Lord's Prayer the other morning and I was "trying" to repent when I got to the part that said, "Forgive us our sins." I even identified them specifically. You would think that when you voice a particular fault, it would be accompanied by an appropriately broken heart. But in my spirit, I felt as if I was merely reciting a list - cold and manufactured. I prayed for the "gift of tears" but they did not come.

I feel terrible reading Jeremiah 8. But I want to feel worse.

The Point of Blood

2009-11-05T08:51:00.001-08:00

Hebrews 12:4 "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood."

I have to admit it - I complain to God and cry out for victory but I haven't pushed myself to the point of blood. I see this problem all around me, people like myself saying that we want holiness, that we want more of God, yet we continue to stumble in our mind and in our walk and enter into our Bible Studies saying: "I blew it again!" while everyone pats us on the back and tells us it's going to be okay.

Why don't we admit it and save everyone the pain: We really don't want IT as bad as we say we do. If we did, we would chase harder after Him. We would cast off the things that hinder instead of allowing them to cling to us. We would fast and read and get by ourselves, praying these things down. We would draw a line in the sand on the mountaintop, like Elijah, and not come down until we've won the victory. "Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled" is not an empty promise.

When I pray the Lord's Prayer, I am very careful in each part. Especially, "Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from evil." In this request I am asking God to take me away from the things that I am drawn to. But I like the things I am drawn to. So if I want victory over them, I must be drained of this "like", and that takes a struggle to the point of shedding blood. The blood of my fleshly nature must be drained out of me. Leviticus 17:11 - "The life of the creature is in the blood." I also think that "The like of the creature is in the blood."

This blood must be replaced by the healing blood of Jesus - a new life with new likes. The victory comes when the desires have changed. But my fleshly nature will never change its desires (see Galatians 5:16 - 18). So - - - - in my struggle against sin, I must shed the blood of my old nature, and this takes more work than most of us are willing to put in.

Bending Our Ears to THE VOICE

2009-11-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

We all have natural bents. Some toward lust. Some toward violence. Some toward self-gratification. (actually - ALL toward self-gratification). There is a battle raging within us. In Galatians 5:16 we read that the Spirit and the flesh are at WAR with each other. This explains why some non-Christians can seem at such peace. It takes two to battle, and they are so consumed by their own fleshly nature that a battle doesn't exist!

The Christian has a war in his soul because upon salvation he is sealed with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13,14) and now has two conflicting entities within him. Of course there is going to be war, and what Christian could honestly claim that they don't feel the battle within their heart?

David and Saul are classic examples of this. Both had a bent to violence. All men do. In I Samuel 24 David sees Saul "relieving himself" and is overcome by a natural desire to kill him. Or at least humiliate him. But he listens to the Voice and feels stricken that he even had the thought. He repents and lets God go to work. In I Samuel 25 Nabal insults David and he responds again with an intense desire to take matters into his own hands and seek vengeance. It's difficult to overcome this bent. But Abigail intercedes and he once again listens to the Voice and pulls back his hand. He has a change of heart.

Saul has the same bent as David. He uses all of his best resources to hunt down his rival with the intention of killing him. Several times he hears the Voice - and he repents for a moment, but then continues on his way. He has heard the Voice, has a temporary change of heart, but then continues on with his natural inclination.

What is the difference between these two men? They both have the same natural bent to self-justification. We all have it. A bent to violently taking matters into our own hands. The difference is a willingness to listen when God speaks and then to act upon it. To allow His Spirit to truly change our minds and to remove our hand from the neck of our enemy and let God move in His way.

How is this battle won?
II Corinthians 10:5 "Taking captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
It is won in the mind. It is won in our quiet times with God. David meditated upon God and His Word and so was able to not only hear the Voice, but to respond with a change of heart. The battle is won before it is ever waged.

Do you take every thought and make it captive to Christ? Or do you make Christ captive to your thoughts and make Him obedient to them? We have a tendency to lean in a direction and try to force Christ into that direction with us. Saul did this. Read his story and note how many times he misunderstood every piece of information as a sign that God was with him. God was not with him. He had left him. But Saul was leaning in a direction and continually made God obedient to his own personal thoughts and agendas. How often do we see individuals and churches do this.

Step back and listen. Feel which way the Wind is really blowing. Go that way. Lean hard into the direction God is going.

Jeremiah 6:16 "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."

Swords

2009-11-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

I Samuel 25: 13 "David said, 'Put on your swords!"

John 18:11 "Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I knot drink the cup the Father has given Me?"

I'm still reading the Intercession of Abigail in I Samuel 25, learning more each time. I can't get away from it. She falls prostate to the ground before David to save a) a man she despises (Nabal) and b) the conscience of the future king. She doesn't want David to have blood on his hands.

But that was David's first response. When he was insulted by Nabal, he told his men to "put on your swords" and he was going to avenge his honor. He was going to take matters into his own hands and bloody them as he seeks revenge. Abigail is truly a Christ-like figure, bringing the king and the coward together. She understands that violence is not God's way. It never has been.

We see this scene repeated in the Garden of Gethsemane. Peter wants to avenge the insults hurled upon Jesus. But like Abigail, Jesus tells Peter to put down the sword. This will not be the way.

We need to be willing to listen to this Voice of Intercession. Will we avenge ourselves - seek our own violent self-justification or will we leave it all in God's hands and accept His way. The way of peace? This is more important than it sounds. God's way is the only way that brings true healing. The way of violence brings temporary relief but in the process hangs a "staggering burden" upon ourselves. There are many who live under this. They don't forgive. They don't release people. They seek their own justification.

If we will step back, as David did, and listen to the Voice, we will allow room for God to go to work. And His work is the only eternal work.

If there is something you are holding against someone - let it go. You do not have to carry the "staggering burden" of being the judge, jury and executioner. Love freely. Forgive without strings. Release without expectations. Increase your heart by removing yourself, and then God can truly enlarge His kingdom.

Re-membering Community Part IV - The Point of Holiness

2009-10-29T07:25:00.000-07:00

God pulled the Israelites out of the darkness of the world, cleaned them up, set them apart - then put them right back in. They had one purpose - and it wasn't to be a "special" people. It was to be a light in the darkness to draw the others to God.

Exodus 19:5 "Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant,. then out of all nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

Don't misunderstand the "treasured possession." I believe what God is telling the Israelites is that they will be a treasure in the sense that they will be His vessel to bring salvation to the entire world. (Is. 49:6) The point of their holiness is so that they will be effective priests, an entire nation of men and women who stand between God and man. Their holiness was for others, not themselves. The Law was given to them as a means of cleansing and revelation. Cleansing for themselves as a revelation to the world. It was not a Godly means to a personal end - which is how they ended up applying it.

The concept of holiness is often taught on an individual level, where we desire to become separate unto God through prayer, fasting and other disciplines of an inner life. We think of monks and priests and monasteries and quiet nights chanting to our self. But that's not what it it's all about - it's about being separated by God, unto Himself, so that we can then become useful as intercessors for others. The purpose of a holy priesthood is to bring others to Christ. The disciplines are important - but as a means of cleansing us for His use, not our self-satisfaction.

Dwell on this passage for a moment:

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friend, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us." (I Peter 2: 9 - 12)

Why were we called out? To bring others out of the same darkness we were in. We cut ourselves way too much slack in the things we tolerate in our lives, because we're only thinking of our own personal holiness. "I can't believe that I did that again!" We're not thinking of how this affects the testimony of God through us to the lost, only of how it makes us feel bad.

The quest for personal holiness is important, but as a means to an end. It is not the end in and of itself. Other people are the end. If I am so self-centered that I think even my own holiness is only about me, then I am a useless vessel in the house of God. Good only unto myself. And that, quite simply, is not good enough. It's why Jesus declared the Temple invalid and said that He would take it from there. Using a new temple - us.

(Read II Timothy 2:20 - 22)

The Staggering Burden

2009-10-27T10:20:00.001-07:00

I've been preaching through Saul's chase of David and here are a couple of quick things I've been learning:

I Samuel 23:1 "When David was told, "look the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," he inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?"

When we are under the oppression of a Saul in our life, it is tempting to curl up in a cave and wait for the storm to pass. David still had the heart of an intercessor, the heart of a king. While on the run, he felt for the hurting, for those under attack. Don't lose your heart for the weak when you are under personal attack.

I Samuel 24:2 "So Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats."

As Israel was suffering the effects of Philistine oppression, he took a large force, the best of the best, and chased after David. Beware of using your best resources to chase your personal agendas while the kingdom falls apart around you.

I Samuel 25:30,31 When the Lord has done for my master every good thing He promised concerning him and has appointed him leader over Israel, my master will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself."

This is the passage when Abigail comes to David and intercedes on behalf of her husband Nabal, trying to convince him not to bring his violent wrath upon her family. In her plea, she speaks deep wisdom, the wisdom that we often attribute to the New Testament way of peace and non-violence. She speaks as Christ would speak, removing our hand from striking our enemies and allowing God to move in His way. Her words hit hard - she talks of the "staggering burden" of violence and taking vengeance into our own hands. She is the ultimate intercessor - a Christ-like figure. And she's an Old Testament woman! The way of God is peace, it always has been. When we pursue violent means to bring self-justification, we place "staggering burdens" upon ourselves. The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus relieving us of this and placing it on Himself.

A Certain Choice

2009-10-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

I Samuel 23: 7 "Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, and he said, "God has handed him over to me, for David has imprisoned himself by entering a town with gates and bars." And Saul called up all his forces for battle, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men. When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod." David said, "O LORD, God of Israel, your servant has heard definitely that Saul plans to come to Keilah and destroy the town on account of me. Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me to him? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O LORD, God of Israel, tell your servant." And the LORD said, "He will." Again David asked, "Will the citizens of Keilah surrender me and my men to Saul?" And the LORD said, "They will."

So David and his men, about six hundred in number, left Keilah and kept moving from place to place. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there. David stayed in the desert strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.”

I know that's a lot to read, but this passage underscores a point that I think is more important than we realize. Where does our decision-making fit in with the sovereignty of God?

In this passage, we read that David is on the verge of being surrounded by Saul and his men, with the distinct possibility that the men of Keilah will turn him over to Saul. As he inquires of the Lord, David founds out that these things will happen. They are certain to happen. God knows the future and He knows that this will be the result if David stays in Keilah.

So David makes the decision to leave, and these things do not happen. God has laid out a certain end to specific decisions. In His absolute sovereignty He knows the result. So David does something different. He moves away from the absolute certainty of the consequences of staying. If he had stayed he would have been devoured. For sure. So he decided to leave.

There it is in a nutshell: We always have a certain choice.

I believe in the sovereignty of God. I have staked my life upon it. If I thought that He didn't know the end from the beginning, that He wasn't the Alpha and the Omega, then why would I put everything I treasure into His hands? I'm not going to entrust my life and the life of my family upon the whims of a Divine Roulette Wheel.

David had the same belief. So he listened and acted accordingly. Set before us in this passage is the perfect picture of sovereignty and free will in action. He lays out what will happen and lets us decide upon that information. Information we can base our entire life upon. Choices based on certainty. Can there be a better plan than that?

My Goodness

2009-10-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

I just read an article saying that an atheist organization is going to start putting billboards up around New York City promoting their belief system. They will say: "A million New Yorkers are good without God. Are you?" I have no real problem with this, as it is the way of the world and I’m not called to fight the world but to be an ambassador for Christ. The only issue I have is the underlying meaning of the statement and the quote that one of the leaders made, that individuals "don't need religion to be good people and productive members of society.” I think they're missing the point.

To me, it’s not about creating “good people” or being “productive members of society.” That’s not what drives me as a Christian. What I see is that we live in a society that is not good, that creation is groaning and that we are currently living under the weight of thousands of years of bad decisions, decisions made apart from God. We live under the weight of these as individuals in our old nature, and as a culture under a fallen nature.

I live as Christian because I believe that individually I need to be redeemed. My goodness is not the point. My productivity in this fallen culture is not the point. The fact of the matter is that in the beginning God called His creation “good” and since then it has fallen into a very not-good place. My call is to be an agent of redemption, not a proclaimer of my own goodness, as these billboards try to do. Who in the world can make that stunning claim? “I am good!”

I think that Atheists and Christians alike can see that things are not good right now. How can you live in world where there is constant war and famine and proclaim it good? How can you live in country that averages five (5!) child abuse–related deaths a day and proclaim it good? I live in a town that has at least one heroin overdose a week – I can’t stand up and make some broad claim of goodness. If we can’t feel this problem - taste it, smell it, see it - then we’ve purposely closed our eyes and shut down our senses.

That's why Christ came - to bring healing and redemption to a world that has gone bad. I can quote all the verses about the foolishness of the atheist, but that would be pointless. The atheist doesn't accept the Word. What isn't pointless is the obvious fact that things are not right. Our claims of 'goodness' are only relative claims, made against the lives of other people. I haven't been redeemed so that I can stand up and declare "My goodness." I've been redeemed so I can bring the goodness of God to a fallen world.

The question is - am I proclaiming my own righteousness or am I an ambassador of the righteousness of God? If the resources of the church are not used on both levels, personal and creation redemption, then we've proceeded to produce the most hypocritical waste of money in the history of the world.

Re-membering Church - Part III - Now Matters

2009-10-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

Psalm 19 "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul . . . making wise the simple . . . giving joy to the heart . . . giving light to the eyes . . . ."

Acts 13:36 "When David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep."

I never cease to be amazed at David's feelings about the Law. He absolutely loves it. He doesn't endure it, he embraces it. When I look at it, I see restrictions. When David looks at it, he sees light and life. He sees God personified, and a means to serve Him and draw near to Him. We know now what "God personified" really is all about - the Word actually becoming flesh and pitching His tent among us. David didn't experience this, but that didn't stop him from experiencing God in a full way and serving God's purpose to the generation he was in.

God is capable of being fully immersed in whatever "light" your generation is working under, and making you effective in that light. In Galatians 2 and 3 Paul talks about the Law as being set aside, having served its purpose, which was to bring us to Christ. He talks about "Christ in us" as the the fulfillment of the Law. He calls this a better thing.

But that doesn't diminish David's moment, and the beautiful light of a future in heaven will not diminish today's moment for you. If we want to experience God, we have enough right here and right now to do that. We can write psalms today that to a future generation in heaven may seem as confusing as David's meditations on the Law. But that doesn't matter. Now matters. This generation matters.

The reason I write this in a "Re-membering Church" post is that many churches spend too much time hoping for a strike from God that will pull them to a higher level, and then they will move out in service. I also know of some who simply talk about enduring this life until we "all get to heaven." That's not good enough, and it's why we have a disconnect with today's generation. They understand that now matters and want to see it matter in any church they go to. If all we sing is "We're Marching to Zion" then we'll see them march out the door. (by the way - I like that hymn but that can't be our sole focus)

We have enough for now. Actually, we have more than enough. We have more than David did and he served God's purpose in his own generation. We can offer our generation a now that matters.

Re-membering Church Part II - Holy Invasion

2009-10-07T07:27:00.001-07:00

If the church matters, which I believe it does, then how do we proceed? Where do we draw the line? The church is to be holy, yet invade the world with the Gospel. Christ did this when He became flesh and dwelt among us. Yet He retained His holiness. So here is another thought:

Jeremiah 10:2 "Do not learn the ways of the nations."
Exodus 23:13 "Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips."

I think we are heading in the wrong direction. It's taken me awhile to figure this out, but God has been patiently relentless, pounding it into my heart as He allows me to work through it. He is getting me to a place of holy separation.

Our church culture is, in the name of evangelism, embracing and assimilating into the culture of the world. I have piggy-backed onto this movement for many years - hey, who doesn't want to save the lost - and I think I'm wrong. I can feel in my own walk that I'm wrong, as I struggle with the effects of this working through my own spiritual life. Simply put - I am not of this world anymore, and when I get into it, it gets into me, and I feel completely out of sorts as a Christian. No good to anyone, including myself. Jeremiah 10:2 states, we are not to be learning their 'ways.' Their way of life - their 'gods' - should not even be on our lips. Ephesians 5:12 says that it is 'shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret' - so why would we ever tolerate it, never mind enter into it?

When you learn their ways, you quickly enter into their means, their intentions - and ultimately into their true heart. This is an ugly place where we really should not be dwelling. We think separation causes us to lose our ability to testify in this world. Wrong. Assimilation causes us to lose our ability to testify.

I know that this is an unpopular thought in the new church movements. Believe me, I've bought into the impact by assimilation mindset in the past and the fruit has tasted awful. I've seen two negative consequences:

1. My mind, being saturated with these worldly things under the guise of more effective evangelism, has become a stagnant pool. I know, emerging proponents will say that this is my fault and they may be correct - but it is what it is.

2. The 'salvations' have been very shallow and program/people-dependent. As long as you're being like them, they'll listen - but they leave upon the first sign of anything that's intolerant or goes against their own feelings or core beliefs. This is because they haven't abandoned anything to reach for holiness, they've had their way of life catered to.

I do not say this lightly, because I am desperate for the lost to be saved. I say this after years of study and personal experience - but mostly I say this after feeling the pressure from God to allow Him to fully separate me from this world - so that I can be a better witness of the Truth. Please don't get me wrong - I'm not saying separate from the world and focus solely on your own personal holiness. I'm saying that if we strive for personal holiness, we will have a true picture of God to offer to the world - not simply a neutered version of Him.

Re-membering Community Part I - Church Matters

2009-10-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of implementing a sermon series called "Remembering Community" at my church. I have been in conversation with many people, mostly young adults, who are questioning the purpose of church in their lives. Not God. Church. I realize that the older generation (myself included) has not put across the best picture of what church is all about. In our portrayal of church, there has been a lack of true fellowship among the body and true effectiveness in the world - two things that I believe the current generation is seeking. They need to know why they should bother, otherwise - they're gone.

I strongly believe in the need for a local church, a community of believers within each specific section of the world. If we lose this, if this generation splinters off into mere cell groups, then we've lost what I believe is the Christ-established form of invasion - - - Invasion by Community.

Paul's life in Acts was geared toward establishing these communities, and his letters are geared to maintaining them, making sure that they don't splinter or fall away - blended into the world or lost in false doctrine. So much of the New Testament is focused on the local church that it has to be of utmost importance to kingdom building. Church matters.

So I know that I have to fight for it as well. Not just for the small, local body of believers that I pastor. That would be disingenuous, as if I were merely intent on preserving my livelihood. I'm not interested in personal kingdom building. I fight for it because it's the best way to bring the Gospel to the world.

I believe that's why God placed "Remembering Community" on my heart. The purpose is two-fold:

1. To remember why community is so important and understand that we can't let "church" fade away into new movements. I want to teach the need for the local body, the church. For Sunday morning services. For weekly Bible studies. For "fun times." Anything that builds up the community.

2. To literally "remember" Community - the church I pastor. To have a complete re-commitment to this particular local body as an extension of the kingdom at large. To re-member every member, not so that we can claim more numbers, but so that each person can understand what being a part of a church community really means. It's not just showing up on Sunday mornings. It's getting together throughout the week. It's getting into the world and being the ambassador for Christ that we are called to be.

If membership is going to exist in a church, then it should mean something. I believe that it does, because I believe that the Plan is invasion by community. Jesus built up a small body of disciples that ate together and struggled together. After he left they huddled together. Ultimately they advanced the kingdom together. Community matters.

The next few posts will be the aspects of this. For example, my next post is "Keep It Clean" - why it so important to keep the vessel (individuals and churches) free from the stain of the world. If there is no distinction, then there is no clear call to the world.

Could I Have Just a Moment?

2009-10-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

I Samuel 19:20 "But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied."
I Samuel 19:23 "But the Spirit of God came even upon him (Saul) and he walk walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth."

So let me get this straight: Saul, who is so full of himself that he can't even see straight at this point, so full of rage that he wants to kill someone who has just delivered him, is overwhelmed by the Holy Spirit? As he goes to finish the job that his men can't seem to do (kill David) he gets a dose of God that knocks him to his knees in prophetic ecstasy?

And I can't even get a taste at all this week, not even a sniff? Even though with everything within me, I am chasing after a moment like that?

I realize that I am a slave to my senses. God knows that as well. Is He trying to break me of that addiction? Is that one of the reasons that fasting exists - to break me of the need to have every itch scratched immediately?

Increase my faith, because I need a touch and You don't always give out those touches.

Riding The Thin Line

2009-09-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I took my 7-year old son Joshua to his first Sox game at Fenway. The look in his eyes when I told him that I had got him tickets was worth everything. When I told him we were taking the subway into the game, he got even more excited.

So . . . .we're riding the T last night and he's talking and taking it all in and having the time of his life. I can literally feel his joy. As we passed a stop in the middle of town, a thought suddenly occurred to me. I can make the best night of his life the worst, by stepping out the door of the subway car just before it closes, leaving him alone. I don't know why this thought came to me, I would never, ever do that to anyone, but for some reason I realized the tenuousness in life between absolute joy and abject horror - and it's a very thin line.

For Josh, the thin line was simple: my presence. As long as I was there, even in the middle of the chaos of a crowded subway car, it was the best night of his life. If I suddenly disappeared, it would immediately turn into the absolute worst moment he'd ever experience. My presence was the difference.

While thinking about this I almost started to cry for him, for what he would feel if that did happen. I would do anything to protect and stay with him, to keep him in his joy, to let him rest secure. I wrapped my arm around him, without saying anything, just to give him a physical reminder that I was there. He looked up at me and smiled . . . . All is well.

I thought of God - how He loves us and promises to never leave and forsake us. How He desires to wrap Himself around us, if we would only let Him. I thought of how horrific my life would be if He suddenly stepped away just before a door closed, leaving me alone in this chaos. My feeling for keeping Josh close must be exactly how He feels about us, knowing what our life is like without Him.

I thought of His feelings for the people of this world, His children. Just as I wanted to cry at even the thought of Josh going through a terrifying moment without me, He must feel the same about His children that reject Him. He knows what they will ultimately experience as a result of this rejection. If I felt a pang of sorrow over what Josh would possibly go through without me, imagine what He feel knowing what they will definitely go through without Him. Jesus was a 'man of sorrows' and that has to be a part of it.

Hell is the absence of God. Heaven is His abiding presence. I got a little glimpse of that through my son's eyes last night.

And to top it all off, Big Papi hit a home run.

Immediate Test

2009-09-24T11:31:00.001-07:00

So - do I really believe what I ended my last post with? That I simply wanted to be a "drink offering" and didn't care if I received any glory or blessing as long as the work went forward. The work of healing?

Well, God didn't take long to put that thought to the test and I FAILED.

I met someone who I had been counseling through some bad times in their life. They had been on the brink of complete destruction so it there were many nights of phone calls and meetings. I met with this person through these dark times and then I saw them the other day and it was evident that a healing had taken place. Their countenance had changed, they were testifying to God's power and it was awesome.

But I failed the test when they explained how it happened: This person went for a couple of days to another ministry and something clicked inside of them and God moved them out of the darkness and into the light. I felt a pang in my heart - I had spent countless hours and now they were giving this other ministry glory for helping them through - in one moment of light. Of course, they were thankful for the time I had been with them, but still . . . why couldn't it have been through me that this breakthrough occurred?

And so - I failed the test. The blessing of the "work" isn't the only outcome I desire, the blessing of the "worker" is still embedded in my heart. I see it clearly, I just can't overcome it. Yet.

Jesus said first remove the log from your own eye - and I am on a quest to know how. (A minor detail that He happened to leave out of the Sermon.) Sanctification is one tough process.

The Blessing of the Work, Not the Worker

2009-09-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

James 1: 22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.”

When we are living out our faith by helping others we often have underlying motives that betray us. We want to be blessed in who we are. But this passage in James says something else - it says we will be blessed in what we do. That's a big difference. The action we are performing - feeding the poor, counseling a brother or sister, visiting the sick - that will be blessed.

If we truly want to be an effective ambassador of Christ in this world, if we truly want to see people healed, then this is exactly what we want the promise to be. That the work will be blessed, not the workers. It goes against every popular teaching. It goes against the desires of my flesh. It cuts across the nerve center of my natural man. I want to be lifted up in my self-sacrificial ministry. I want to receive the praise of man.

Jesus states in John 5:41 - 44: "I do not accept praise from men, but I know you, I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in My Father's name, and you do not accept Me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"

Do you see what Jesus is saying? He is saying that when we are seeking the praise of man, we do not have the love of God in our hearts, we have the love man! We will accept words from men and we will accept their praise, but we do not seek out the praise of God. Jesus says that in this case . . . . . we don't really believe. So, just to get this straight, when we are seeking the praise and acceptance of man, we don't really believe, and we don't have the love of God. In a moment of honesty, I would have to admit that this is one of my biggest hurdles. I want the praise of man. I want their acceptance. I have to be broken of this for any fruitful ministry to take place in my life.

My goal for this year is to be a true Drink Offering. The drink offering was poured on the sacrifice and burned into it, never to be seen again. The only thing that was seen was The Sacrifice. We become part of the aroma, that's all. But that's good enough for me, because II Corinthians 2:15 tells us that the aroma of Christ brings healing and life to those who are seeking Him. So what if no one ever notices me . . . . the work will be blessed.

I want the work to be blessed. I want to see people healed, lives changed, the lost come to Christ, the poor fed and clothed, the church united, relationships mended, forgiveness poured out, . . . I want to see THAT happen. I don't want or need to be lifted up in the process. I don't need to be blessed for who I am. When I'm walking in the Spirit, I want to see the work prosper and God be praised.

A Very Becoming Savior

2009-09-22T05:17:00.000-07:00

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us."

When we were lost, God became and He came. Not in the Spirit, but in the flesh. While dead in our sins, counted as enemies, He became one of us, and He came. He wasn't in some semi-detached spiritual form shouting out holy counsel, He became fully human and He came.

This is the true Gospel: God 'pitched His tent among us,' lived with us, ate with us, cried with us, rejoiced with us, lifted our heads, healed our eyes, opened our ears, cured our diseases, brought us out of darkness, walked side by side with us, taught us, gave us water when we were thirsty and food when we were hungry. He touched us, and He let us touch Him. He was here with us in every human way.

According to the prosperity gospel, all people have to do is give more, pray more, be closer to God and all will be well. Why should anyone go among the hurting? Just give them this message, preferably over the radio or television, and move on. Other churches are preaching the Word every Sunday, but are never making this Word "flesh" and dwelling among the lost.

This is not the Gospel. The Gospel is that God dwelt among men and then saved them. When we step away from the poor, for whatever reason, we are eliminating the humanity of Christ, and without His humanity there is no Gospel. He took our sins and our pain away as both God and man. It was through a combination of His love and strength that we were saved. Through His love He identified Himself with us and took our sin upon Himself - the true Intercessor. Through His strength He took on the full weight and darkness of this sin and then destroyed it completely upon the Cross, shattering its hold on us - the true Savior.

When we deny our brothers food and water, when we deny them their humanity, we deny the true Gospel which takes on their humanity and delivers them from the darkness. When they cry out . . . . we come to them. We don't shout out holy counsel from white-washed palaces. We physically enter into their world and touch them, hold them, feed them, cry with them, laugh with them and love them.

When we cried out, God became flesh and He dwelt among us. We can do no less for our fellow man. That's the true Gospel.

Lost in the Translation

2009-09-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend of mine who is a Bible translator in Central America and she told me that they have only translated the New Testament to this point (and she has been there over 20 years). I looked into this further and found that this is pretty much the case across the world. If you had to translate a part of the Bible as quickly as possible with maximum effectiveness, of course you would focus on the NT.

However, they are finding out that the Old Testament is more than just a luxury - these cultures are begging for the whole story, for a number of reasons:

1. They feel that they've picked up the story in the middle. Why the need for a Messiah? Where does He fit into the Big Picture? What about the beginning? Where are the frames of reference for all that is happening? If Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, the final Sacrifice, what does that even mean? There is so much missing if you just pick it up in the Gospels.

2. Many of these cultures have a great understanding of the OT culture. They get why the genealogies are so important. They understand the Law better because their societies are similar in how they function. Even the agricultural concepts are more familiar to them than to us. The OT makes sense to them.

3. They miss the incredible stories of faith. Read David and Goliath like you're reading it for the first time. Or Joseph, Elijah, Daniel, Nehemiah. . . . . these are people who believed that God would actually move and act in wonderful ways. Because they're so familiar to us they can lose their emotional impact. Imagine reading the story of Joshua crossing the Jordan and taking down Jericho for the first time. You would think anything was possible with God. (What an amazing thought!) The verses and doctrine of the NT come to life with the stories of the OT.

Read the whole Bible and be thankful that you can.

Terminal Disease or Taking Leave of our Senses

2009-09-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading an article about a local private school that has emptied out its library of all books and now is completely on-line. It now has roomfuls of empty shelves, with everybody sitting at their own terminals.

I don't know about this - I feel like an old man even saying that I don't like it but . . . . . I don't like it. There's something about a book - holding it, feeling it. Even the smell of an old book brings back feelings of prior readings and places in my life. I know this sounds contradictory as I sit at a computer and type a blog, but if this is where we're heading, I can't help but feel a deep sense of loss.

There is something to be said about engaging in a full sensory experience - even with a book. When I hold my Bible, I feel everything involved in it. I feel passages I've read that have moved me. I see things I've written in the margins that marked struggles and victories in my life. I even have food-stained finger-prints of that day. And some pages, when studied closely, look like they've been gripped tightly, as if at that point in my life I was getting my heart ripped out by God. I think we're supposed to be like that, that's the way we're wired. We're meant to hold, taste, smell and touch. It's how we remember. It engages us, and years later, on subsequent readings, re-engages us.

I envy in some ways the Old Testament worship experience, where they could smell, hear, feel and ultimately taste their offerings to the Lord. It was all around them and they were fully immersed in it. We weren't meant to lose that when the sacrificial system was replaced by The Sacrifice. Communion, serving, singing, eating together, praying together, Bible studies . . . it's all meant to be a part of the normal community of believers. Our daily life together.

But now we have a "terminal disease" - each one of us worshiping on-line, reading and listening to our favorite pastors and teachers, never coming together and eating and talking. The community has fragmented and we're losing our senses. We've perfected the H1N1 Fistbump, having gone from a holy kiss to a hug to a handshake to a fistbump to a head nod. What's next, a computerized message of the events of our day? We even think that somehow, one hour a week in church will bring us some kind of connectedness.

I think the pendulum is going to swing back. It may even be happening now. We are wired for a sensory experience, and the churches that start to engage each other and get deep into the heart of the world will be the ones that will draw people in. The ones that create true communities that meet more than on Sunday mornings will find seekers knocking on their doors asking to get in.

Begittin' the Begotten

2009-09-15T08:11:00.000-07:00

Psalm 40 "Blessed is he who has regard for the weak . . . .

If there's one thing I hear over and over from people who are Christians it's this: I want to experience God. They believe and live out His Word, but they want a deeper, fuller walk with Him, a walk that feels real.

You want to experience God? Get in where He’s at. Go to where He is working. If you wanted to follow Jesus around, you would have found yourself in the homes of sinners, in the places of the poor, in the corners where the lepers were. You would have lived on the fringe of acceptable society with the outcasts. You would be in the desert with a rock for a pillow.

We want to be drawn into Him, into His heart. But the more you read the entire Scripture, the more you see that this is where is heart is at: where the poor, the confused, the hurting and the lost are dwelling. Those who have been pushed down their entire lives.

I believe in quiet time – but if my quiet time doesn’t drive me out into the streets then it’s just a selfish seeking of a personal experience with God. If my mountain-top doesn't bring me into the valley, then I'm the worst kind of useless.

We are masters of helping the helped, seeking the found, giving to the given, engaging the engaged, teaching the taught. We spend a lot of our energy begittin’ the begotten. We would never leave the ninety-nine for that one lost, dirty sheep who's caught in the thickets. But that contradicts what we claim when we say, "I want to experience God!"

He's in the thickets with them.

You Must Adjust to Me

2009-09-14T10:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I came out my front door and a car went zooming by. I held up my hands in anger: "Slow down!" I got into my car and began pulling out of the driveway. There was a car coming up the street so I waited. And waited. "Will you speed up, for crying out loud!" If I weren't so serious about my selfishness, I would have laughed. I guess everyone has to run at my speed.

That's the way we live our lives, and that's why we're so judgmental. We have a standard that varies for different situations, yet we still manage to judge others on these shifting gears. "You're too fast!" "You're too slow!" "Adjust to me!!!!"

I love how in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus removes the burden of judgment from us. It can be very tiring making these demands upon other people, especially if we have to base it on our own feelings of the moment. If we were totally honest with ourselves, we would admit that our current state of personal development is very nebulous. We're "wimps" - "works in major progress." How can we, understanding our own growth, try to mark others based on where we happen to stand at this moment? I've grown tremendously over the past twenty years, and I'm embarrassed to think that I judged others based on who I was back then. They weren't going at my speed of that time. But like my experience this morning, I somehow managed to be very serious about my selfishness.

Be careful when you place your judgment upon someone. If it's based on the absolute truth of the Word of God, then it can be helpful in bringing them back to a better place. This is a humble type of judgment that is constructive. However, if it is based on the shifting sands of your own feelings or the point you happen to be at in life, then it is one of the most destructive forces on earth.

What About Bathsheba?

2009-09-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Most people, even those who don't read the Bible, are familiar with the story of David and Bathsheba. One restless night, David gets up and sees Bathsheba bathing and sends for her. Without any apparent regard for her, proceeds to sleep with her. Upon finding out she's pregnant, he goes into self-preservation mode and calls her husband Uriah in from battle to sleep with her. When Uriah shows that he has more integrity than the king, David sends him back to be killed.

After he is confronted, David is ultimately repents and is restored, writing two beautiful redemption psalms (32, 51) in the process. He is now considered the unofficial patron saint of adulterers. Governors, pastors, senators . . . . they all use him as their model of how you can be restored from such a heinous sin. God's grace is very, very good.

But my question is this: What about Bathsheba? One moment, she's minding her own business, and before she knows it her life has been turned upside down. Her husband is dead and she's pregnant with another man's baby. Good for David, he gets restored and can even write a best-selling piece of literature about it. Bathsheba, however, is somewhat left in the wake of this marvelous restoration that has enabled wayward men for years to find their peace with God. (And yes, I say this somewhat mockingly. Not at God's inexhaustible grace, but at man's inexhaustible ability to use this grace to cover their repeated moral failures. These men have made it a lifestyle!)

The problem I have with this is that we tend to mark our spiritual growth on the back of those we've hurt. Where is the spiritual growth that simply pours out of our love for God? Why does it always have to come at the expense of others?

My brother has come up with an ingenious plan for feeling good about his weight. He's going to put on 10 pounds, then lose 5 and rejoice in the victory. He's being funny, but isn't that what we do spiritually? We fall, we hurt people, then we take a few steps forward and proclaim a great victory! The problem with this isn't God's grace, which thankfully is new every morning (Lam. 3:23), but with the Bathshebas we leave strewn by the wayside.

I would love it if some men would seek spiritual gains that are not simply a continual stepping out of the muck and mud of poor decisions, but out of an honest quest for holiness. A quest that involves healing those along the way, not building your victories upon their backs.

Where are those who are seeking God for who He is, not just for eliminating their trash?

Punching Holes in the Darkness!

2009-09-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

Okay - I get it. Everything is a mess and we've become a beehive of arguments and inactivity. We argue Creation Theology, End-time Theology, Resurrection Theology, Open Theology, Reformed Theology . . . . . So What?!!!

I'm going to defer to the Scriptures when I answer the "So What?" question. In my readings, I've noticed that at almost the end of every major discussion we get basically the same message: So get your life in order, stand firm, and advance the Kingdom.

(Look - I recognize the importance of 'getting it right.' I'm not dismissing correct theology. WE need to ultimately base our "so what" on a right foundation or it's meaningless - I do know that.)

In Mark 13 Christ gives a tremendous discourse on the end times. But when all is said and done, He basically sums it up in verses 32-37 with the words: "Be on guard . . . . be alert . . . . keep watch . . . do not let Him find you sleeping . . . . watch!" We can work through the theology of this all we want, but what it comes down to is RIGHT NOW. Live your life today in a way that is Spirit-filled, loving, holy and right. Be ready now.

At the end of Paul's great passage on the Resurrection, he closes with "Therefore, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (I Corinthians 15:58).

Again, when all is said and done regarding the resurrection of Christ, we are encouraged to use this information to live differently RIGHT NOW.

This is a constant drumbeat throughout the entire Bible. Every major theological discussion should end with this: Therefore I will live today in a more powerful, loving, expectant and holy way. Otherwise, why bother? If my life is angry and combative then I've missed this point. If my life is spent only defending my position instead of advancing His Position, then it's a waste of time. I'm trying to be relieved of my agenda, not further entrenched in it. If I theologically "gain the world yet lose my soul" - what's the point?

My previous blog wore me out. I was upset with all the screaming, so I screamed. When given time to reflect, to settle down, I realized that TODAY is what it's all about. Yielding to this moment.

I heard a great illustration the other day:
Robert Louis Stevenson, as a young child, was looking out the front window of his house one night. He was fascinated by the lamplighter coming down the street, lighting the old fashioned gas street lamps. He called to his nana, "Nana! Come quickly! There's a man coming down the street punching holes in the darkness!"

I'm done with punching holes in my brother's arguments and in the process punching holes in my brother. I want to be punching holes in the darkness.

The Great White Wail

2009-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me at church, I thought I would sail about a little and see the material part of the world. It is a way I have of cleaning off the spleen, and regulating the circulation of my soul. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses called churches, and bringing up the rear of every worship service I meet; and especially whenever my cynicism gets such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking steeples off - then, I account it high time to get to my knees as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a philosophical flourish the Pastor throws himself upon his Church; I quietly take to the woods. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the Lord with me."

(Adapted from the opening paragraph of "Moby Dick" - the search for the Great White Whale - my changes are in bold print.)

Let's face it - we have it fairly easy in our white American churches, yet we complain about everything. Music. Bible versions. Building programs. Personal agendas. It's pretty revealing to me that in such a cold, dark world, these are our biggest issues. There is a Great White Wail rising from America and to be honest, it's kind of pathetic. I say this to my shame, because I'm part of the chorus.

It's not a wail for the Lord, for the lost, for the hungry, for the poor. It's not even a cry for our own souls. It's a wail for our way of life. Jesus never intended this to be about a way of life. That's why He attacked the Pharisaical attitude of self-preservation. Christianity is not about preservation, it's about being spent out completely - a drink offering poured out upon the true Sacrifice, where God increases and we decrease.

As Ishmael went to the sea when he felt this coldness come upon him, I often drop my 'church' and head for the woods. I know that this isn't to be a dwelling place. I know that we are built for community, and that through community the church advances most effectively into the darkness. But if the community is crying out for their way of life, not for the way of the Lord, then we are dead in the water. So I head to the woods and shut my eyes and my mouth and I listen for God. I allow His Voice to drown out this self-centered wail from the American church. And for a moment, I am content.

Emerson wrote:

When I am stretched beneath the pines,
Where the evening star so holy shines,
I laugh at the lore and the pride of man,
At the sophist schools and the learned clan;
For what are they all, in their high conceit,
When man in the bush with God may meet?

Don't get me wrong. I love structure. I love rituals that allow me to enter into the presence of God without always trying to figure out what's coming next. The rhythm of liturgy can be a beautiful thing. I also truly love the people of church and a true corporate worship experience is one of the most amazing feelings in the world. I am just fearful that we build structures and impose methods, then we hope for a filling of the Spirit to eventually empower them. It doesn't work that way.

The first Ishmael was banished to the desert because he was a result of Abraham's attempt to manufacture the promise of God. Only when Isaac was miraculously born through Sarah did Abraham understand. Wait on God, then build. We build, then wait, and in the meantime we wail.

Call the church Ishmael . . . because we too are trying to manufacture the presence of God.

Entertaining Lust – The Guest That Never Leaves

2009-09-02T14:18:00.000-07:00

Entertaining Lust

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. I’ve only invited him for awhile. He’s not staying, I’m only going to entertain him.

Of course, by entertaining him, I will have to feed him – it’s only polite. He doesn’t require much, just a little TV, a few magazines, a movie here and there. As a matter of fact, I can feed him with only my thoughts – so it won’t cost me hardly anything!

What do You mean, the more I feed him the bigger he’ll get? I’m only entertaining him, I don’t intend on keeping him around. I don’t want him to get too comfortable, too big – and I certainly don’t want him to feel at home.

You think that I have a problem on my hands? That he’ll start to take over the house? Trust me, that is not what I set out to do. I just wanted to have a little company, a little fun. I don’t want a permanent house guest – he’s just visiting, I promise. What harm can he do?”

Verses:

Proverbs 6:27 “Can a man scoop a fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?”

Proverbs 27:19 “As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.”

Galatians 5:17 “The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit.”

Harboring Bitterness - The Cellar Dweller

2009-09-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Harboring Bitterness

“I’m just going to hide him here for awhile. People are always chasing him around and he needs a place to stay. I’ll push him deep, deep down so no one will see him. He gets the basement – I promise.

You say he’s a lousy guest? He seems okay, a little self-centered and moody – but as long as he keeps quiet I should be okay.

You say he’s a lousy hider? That he’ll keep popping his head up into business that doesn’t involve him? I can’t have that. I can’t have him messing around in areas that he doesn’t belong. I’m just harboring him - that means he has to stay hidden and not bother me or anyone else. He can do that, can’t he?

You say he’ll eventually take over the house and no one will want to visit? That he’ll end up being my only friend, my only comfort? I’m not sure I like that thought – he’s really not very friendly. He’s hard to get along with and doesn’t seem to like anything or anyone. He’s also pretty self-absorbed, cynical, and critical of the rest of my friends. I’m not even sure that he likes me!

But don’t worry – I’m only hiding him here in the basement. My house will remain untouched.”

Verses:

Proverbs 14:10 “Each heart knows its own bitterness.”

Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Job 5:2 “Resentment kills a fool.”

Christian 2.0

2009-09-02T04:51:00.000-07:00

Galatians 4:19 "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you"

You have not received Christ to make you a better version of yourself. It's not like computer programming, where they're constantly updating them, working out the bugs, making them better and faster. Many of us think this way, that we have a lot to offer and that we just need someone to fine tune us and enhance who we naturally are.

This is not God's intention. He is molding us into the image of Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit within us. This means more than some alterations and adjustments, it's a complete overhaul. Nothing good lives in us, all of our righteous acts are like filthy rags. When we understand that we are to be poured out and "born again" we can begin the process of Christ being formed in us. As long as we think we are bringing something to the table, then this can never begin, because we are always in the way.

Granted, there may be some personality traits and talents that God will use for His glory, but that's completely up to Him. Our job is to absolutely surrender every aspect of our being to the working of the Spirit and to the glory of God. The sooner we do that, the sooner the real transformation of our heart and mind can start.

Fat and Happy

2009-08-31T17:45:00.001-07:00

Sitting in the Copley Square mall – waiting for Ruth – watching all the younger people milling around and wondering what it would be like to be that age again. Then I realized something – it came upon me very powerfully. The things I know now would not fit into that person of 20 years ago. I have grown beyond that person spiritually and I want to continue to grow. I don’t want to go back one step. Age is irrelevant – it really is. That’s not just the statement of an older person. It’s the truth. I want to fill up with Christ and I don’t think the person of 20 years ago could handle where He has taken me.

Just like the old pair of pants that don't fit anymore, the old wineskin of my youth would not hold where God has taken me over this journey. I'm glad. I wouldn't go back to that person for anything.

The Crux of the Matter

2009-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

The resurrection brings life into the heart of the matter. I know this is nothing new, but as Paul says at the beginning of I Corinthians 15, he feels the need to 'remind' them of this important truth. Without the resurrection we are useless, the most pitied of all the people in the world.

It seems important to Paul to stress the bodily resurrection of Christ - as if a spiritual resurrection would not have been enough. I've been really thinking about this lately. Why is it so important that it was His body? Wouldn't a spiritual resurrection have accomplished the same purpose?

I think part of the reason is because 'in the beginning' God breathed life into lifeless matter. It was part of His original plan, and if there was only a spiritual resurrection, and we aren't raised bodily (in some way that I don't understand) then the Cross is only a partial victory.

When Christ is raised bodily, and we are raised with Him, life again is breathed into matter, the two worlds are intersected in a wonderful, victorious way. There is a true redemption of His creation. One that it is "groaning" for (Romans 8) and one that is fulfilling in every way, one that we can now be part of as we bring a 'resurrection mentality' into the matter that we interact with on a daily basis. Physical beings (and even places) can be redeemed, restored to the original intention.

Think Redemptively

2009-08-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount that we're not to hate or lust, that how we think of people, in the depths of our heart, is huge. I was struck by this last night - when we lust after someone, or dwell in bitterness and hate upon someone, we are living selfishly instead of redemptively.

That person you're lusting upon is a child of God and you're using them as an object of selfish desire, instead of praying for their life to be raised and redeemed. I don't know if this is making sense, but it made perfect sense to me last night and I was really moved by it. I had one of those 'moments' where God really spoke to the depths of my soul. He told me that these are His children, and if I truly am walking in His Spirit, I will see them the way He sees them - not as objects of personal desire, but as people who are hurting.

Here's what He told me: Any lust or hate simply adds to their hurt, even if they don't know it, because you are seeking your own gain upon that person instead of their redemption. You may think it's harmless to them because they're ignorant of it, but it's not. The fact that you're preying upon them mentally instead of praying upon them spiritually hurts them, because it removes you as a possible agent of change in their lives. You have, in a sense, become a predator instead of a healer, whether it's hating them, not forgiving them, judging them, or lusting after them.

(And, of course, there is the spiritual harm it does to your own relationship with God.)

Psalm 73:22 "I was senseless and ignorant, I was a brute beast before you."

When we dwell in the caves of hate and lust, we are living like an animal, feeding off the flesh of other people. (The pound of "flesh" we demand in our hate or the allure of the "flesh" we desire in our lust.) Either way, we are not living redemptively. He showed me that very clearly last night and I was changed and I prayed for people I know.

It may have been a momentary change, but these moments of change add up in the long run.

Press On

2009-08-25T06:42:00.001-07:00

Read I Samuel 16 !!!

David is out in the field, minding his p's and q'ewes, when suddenly he's brought in and anointed by the mighty prophet Samuel and told he's the king of Israel! Then, apparently, he's thrown back into the field. It must have been the most surreal experience imaginable. "Well, that was interesting!"

Then, probably a long time later (as David has become more well-known and has grown into a man) Saul undergoes serious depression. In the process they call for a harpist - and David is brought in. Thus the wheels are set in motion that will bring David's anointing and call into the place of fulfillment.

Many of you may have felt at some point that God placed a call, an anointing, on your life to do work for Him. But now you feel you're just out in the fields doing nothing but the mundane. Keep doing the mundane and offering it up to God - you never know which aspect of these daily routines God will use to pull you into a deeper place. David played the harp, and he played it well. This seemingly insignificant aspect of his life was used to draw him to the throne room.

This chapter is a great reminder that God anoints us, but uses us in His time. In the meantime we need to do whatever we are doing with all of our heart to the glory of God. Every little thing matters.

When Stewardship Becomes Excess

2009-08-15T16:50:00.001-07:00

We’ve all seen it – the churches that turn the corner from maintaining a nice building to becoming a cathedral. When does it happen? As a pastor, I struggle with this. Resources need to be used, but when does it become excessive? I know that part of being a good steward of the things of God is to make sure buildings look nice, that they are accessible, that they show a loving concern for neighbors and visitors. But when does it turn the corner and become excessive and extravagant?

Our church is in the final stages of a remodeling project, one that I am fully on board with. We needed to make it more accessible to those who have trouble walking or are in wheelchairs. The full body needs to be able to gather together. Also, there were parts of the building that needed updating and there's nothing wrong with doing it right. I am convinced that those involved have the right motives in place. But during the entire process, I felt a wariness - watching closely to make sure we didn't begin to use money and energy to build our kingdom.

It makes me think of my own life - we need to keep a close eye on our pursuit of personal kingdom building under the guise of the will of the Lord. It's an easy deception to fall into, because we can justify almost any expenditure as a necessity when in reality it may be a luxury.

The Loss of Now

2009-08-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

I Samuel 15:27, 28 "As Samuel turned to leave, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. Samuel said to him, 'The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors - to one better than you.'"

There's a silly game I play once in a while when I'm out with my kids. They're still at a young age and we can do things like go to the park, the zoo, etc, and sometimes when I'm getting the sense that these years are flying by, I pretend that I was an old man and asked God to bring me back to this particular day, this particular moment. It probably seems foolish, I'm aware of that, but it has the surprising ability to bring me into that moment, to draw me into the NOW, and appreciate what I'm doing with them without the distracting thoughts that can cause these moments to pass without engagement.

Today was one of those days. There's nothing like a crisp, clear, 70 degree August day in Boston. I was watching my kids in a local park and my mind was elsewhere. So I played my little mind game and sat there enjoying the simplicity of them laughing on the swingset, as if it were an answer to an old man's prayers. God has an amazing ability to regift the present.

The loss of Now is a frightening thing. That's why Saul is so desperate in I Samuel 15. He loses now. He's done - as of that very moment. It's not a vague, disconnected future loss, the kind that seldom seems to affect or move us. The kingdom is pulled away from him - now.

So many people sacrifice the future because they can’t see it’s immediacy. Athletes and steroids. Rock stars and drugs. Young people and sex/drugs/alcohol - and tanning booths. We all do it, so I can understand Saul not being too upset when Samuel pronounces in chapter 13 that his future kingdom will be pulled from his family. But chapter 15 is an entirely different story - he's frantic. He pulls at the old prophet's robes, pleading with him for another chance. Why? Because of that one word that Samuel uses: TODAY. "Don't take today away from me!"

NOW is a wonderful gift from God. Don't go through today in a haze of a million un-doable and unknowable things. Sit with your kids and enjoy them. Empty out your resources to advance God's kingdom. Pour yourself into His Word and His work. Call, visit, write, forgive, move, give, help, lift, touch, embrace, feed, clean, clothe, love . . . . anything but nothing. If NOW is so precious that it will bring a king to tears, why are we wasting it?

Why Not

2009-08-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

"Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few."

In I Samuel 14:6, Jonathan basically says, "Why not?" Why not move forward - we've been hiding in ditches and caves and in the thickets. God is the one who saves and brings victory, so why not be very simple and trust Him and move forward against the enemy?

It's a very strange thing that Christians sing and talk about victory, yet don't advance against the forces of darkness, fully expecting strongholds in our lives and the lives of others to crumble before the Lord. We plan, we study, we discuss - but we don't move. Is it a lack of faith? Cowardice? Laziness? Love of personal comfort?

All of the above. But read in this chapter as Jonathan casts all caution to the wind and says, "Today I will move forward. It's all in God's hands anyway." What happens when he does this is awesome, as a tidal wave of redemption follows - death is swallowed up in victory.

1) v7 His armor-bearer says: "Go ahead, I am with you heart and soul." When we move out in faith, those with us will move as well. It's like we're all looking at each other waiting for someone to make the first move. Be that one.

2) v21 "Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan." When we move out, weaker Christians who have caved back into the world and into their own darkness and addictions come crawling back out into the Light. We can bring back from captivity our fallen brothers - and there are many out there.

3) v22 "When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined in hot pursuit." When we move out, those who have been discouraged and are hiding in the churches will step out boldly as well.

One man. One man believing that God is real and powerful and present tense - one man stepping out in faith, can lead a charge that will embolden lost and discouraged brothers and sisters to step out of the enemy territory defeated and into enemy territory victorious. We are to be in enemy territory, but standing in love and victory, not on our knees in weakness and submission.

Sometimes faith is very simple. "Today I will crawl out of the rocks and move forward."

What Happened At the Cross?

2009-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

John 8:32 "If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth set you free."

John 8:36 "If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed."

Do you feel free? I don't. Not completely. I still feel hindered by myself and by the world around me. Even by the church. I still have a drag on me, like a racecar with a parachute at the back, and I'm not sure what it is. I have some suspicions, and they appear to be tied in to the fact that I don't think I completely understand what happened at the cross. I know something mystical happened there and that in understanding and embracing it I will be set free - free indeed.

But the 'drag' on my life is still there, so my understanding of the truth is limited. We're missing something. Yes - He took the penalty for my sins. Yes - His justice was satisfied. Yes - He conquered death. I get all that. I've been taught it from birth. But what haven't I been taught? What am I missing? What else happened there? Why do I have the nagging feeling that I'm still far short of what is possible?

I want the truth, because as He said, it's the only thing that will set me free. Jesus said that if I hold to His teachings I will become His disciple. It appears that too many are holding to traditions and teachings of the church instead of to Christ. Therefore they are disciples of the church. Therefore they are not set free.

Again - do you really feel free? I think Paul did - and it's no coincidence that he had as his stated goal to "know Christ and the power of His resurrection." He only preached Christ and Him crucified. So I put all this together and I come to the conclusion that I better zone in on the teachings of Christ, the life of Christ, and what happened at the cross. The Truth lives there. Find that, and you find freedom.

Self-Compelled

2009-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

I've been preaching through I Samuel in my Sunday evening trek through the OT, and as I came to chapter 13 I was reminded of how important it is to have "community" around you to discuss Scriptures and point out things you missed. Or else your own heart begins to compel you in directions that are not in line with the Truth.

For example, Dave C. told me he was really struck by Saul's statement in I Samuel 13:12 that he "felt compelled" to offer the sacrifices, when he was specifically told by God to wait for Samuel. As Saul watched his troops disappear, his heart told him something opposite to what God was telling him. So he acted in fear and disobedience instead of waiting on God.

Without true community around us, we can start to feel compelled by our own heart to make decisions that are contrary to God's word and think that this inner compelling must make it right. Our voice becomes the dominant voice in our heart and there's no one there to snap us out of it. We watch fearfully as our 'troops' begin to disappear. Maybe it's money, or health, or relationships, or just the steady drip of time (and thus our dreams) and we feel compelled to act on our own instead of waiting upon God.

Without the Voice of Truth and the voices of the Body, it's easy to fall into the trap that Saul fell into: the self-delusion of our own compelling. Get into a community and wait upon the Lord. I never would have meditated upon this passage if someone in my community had not pointed it out, and I am richer for that. Hopefully this will now be transferred on Sunday night to an even larger community as many are worried about their 'troops' disappearing in this economy. See how it works? The Body enables me to hear the Father with greater clarity, and His word can spread even further.

"It is not good for man to be alone." He will eventually become self-compelled - a very dangerous dwelling place.

In Remembrance of Me

2009-07-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Of all the things that Christ did in His life, He asked His disciples to remember Him in His weakest moment (from an earthly viewpoint). He asked them, and all future generations, to remember Him as He willingly set His life aside, poured out, for those who hated Him. He asked them to remember Him as He "sheepishly" went to a publicly humiliating death, never raising His hand or His voice to those who were continually mocking Him.

He could have asked them to remember the time that He went face to face with Satan, in a weakened physical state, and defeated everything he threw at Him. He could have asked them to remember the time that He went into the Temple and cleared out all the hypocrisy and compromise with a whip. He could have asked them to remember the time He stood on the Mount of Transfiguration in all of His glory. He could have asked them to remember the countless times that He displayed His power in healings and miracles.

But He didn't. He asked them to remember the time He poured Himself out for all of mankind in an act of personal sacrifice that the world has never seen. He asked them to remember the time that He hung naked in front of friends and family covered in blood and His own filth.

There has to be a reason for the Lord's Supper beyond a piece of bread and a cup of wine. I think we should stop worrying about the methods (yeast? no yeast? grape juice? wine? once a week? once a month? ) and seek out the meaning. I imagine it has something to do with pouring ourselves out for our enemies, for bearing on our body the marks of the One who suffered and died for us.

Hidden in the Baggage

2009-07-03T09:11:00.000-07:00

I Samuel 10:22 "He has hidden himself among the baggage."

Saul has been chosen and anointed as king. He has been given three very clear and powerful signs from God, including an empowering by the Spirit. Yet when the time comes for him to step forward as the king of Israel, he is nowhere to be found. He is hiding in the baggage.

At some point we have to embrace the call upon our lives and quit hiding in the baggage. The baggage of our past or the fears of our present. Humility and cowardice are two very different traits but they can often be mistaken for each other. If you have been called out of the crowd and anointed to be a servant of the Lord, you do no one any good by continuing to hide under the pretense of humility.

Not one of us deserves the place God has brought us to, or the task He has empowered us to do. Understanding that is humility. But an unwillingness to step away from the baggage and advance the kingdom of Jesus, living out publicly what He has done for us privately is not humility, it is fear and cowardice.

The Three Phases of Cranky

2009-06-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

I know - I get cranky once in awhile. The good/bad thing about it is that I very rarely deceive myself. I know when I'm "there."

I've come to the conclusion that there are three phases of a cranky person:

1. I will affect the entire mood of the house. (Bad)

2. I realize I'm getting cranky, so for the sake of the house, I will separate. (Better)

3. I realize I'm getting cranky, so I will work through it and not allow my mood to become the mood of the house, nor will I separate. (Best)

We have the same phases with the things that bother us in a church. The morally neutral areas of Christian living. We either bring everyone down with us, divide, or acknowledge and try to work through them.