The Loving

03.30.14

1 Corinthians 15.56 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (NIV)

There you go! That’s it! There’s the answer! The sting of separation is sin and the power of separation is the law. Thank God the next verse is there: But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (V. 57)

Much of what is preached today is sin-centric; sin is the focus. The focus is do this; don’t do that, and you’ll find peace with God. You’ll please God if you do or don’t. The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law: do or don’t. The more we talk about sin the less we talk about God.

I have a grandson. He’s cute. Every time I look at his picture I smile; I am so proud of him. He makes the cutest faces and his mom dresses him up in the cutest stuff. And his smile – well his smile melts my heart. Everytime. But the bad news is this: he was born separated from God. As cute as he is, his cuteness won’t get him into heaven. Nor will my smiling over him get me there.

I want to tell God just how good I’ve been. I want to tell God I’ve succeeded in life. I want to show God all of the good things I’ve done and that I love my grandchild and smile over his picture. But none of that matters in terms of salvation. None of that matters in terms of righteousness. And I know in my heart of heart – that deep place in me – that I am not good and I routinely do what is not good. I want to prove to God how good I am at keeping the rules and His loving reply is this: Paul, the sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law.

I’m not a Jew. I don’t know Jewish Law. I don’t live by their code of conduct. But I’ve been raised to live by another code of conduct. And it has the same result as every other code: the sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the code of conduct. Trying to win God’s love by living according to the code is like trying to win a spouse’s love just by taking out the trash. It don’t work! And the whole of humanity is cursed by living according to the code.

So, Paul, what is left? What do I do if I can’t prove my faith by my works? We love. Like God. We love Him, and by Him, we love others. We learn what it means to love the unlovable. We learn what it means to love and get nothing in return. We learn to love when we’re hurt, cheated, or defamed. We learn to love when it seems useless. We learn to love by picking up a towel and a basin and wash the feet of those who would kill us for it. We learn to quit looking for reward. We learn to be so heavenly focused that the world can’t take it away.

We learn that the Loving: … were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them… (Hebrews 11.37-38a) We learn, in all this by love, what it means that death has lost its sting.

Today Lord, I pray that You fill in every low place and take down every high place in me that refuses to love. Today, may I learn what the saints of old learned, that the law is useless and that only true love prevails. May I prevail today in Your love for me is expressed in my love to others for You. Amen.

Big People

03.29.14

1 Corinthians 14.34-35 34 Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. (NIV)

Sometimes one just feels compelled to wade in where sharks wander. I think there is a perfectly plausible explanation for why Paul made this statement to the Corinthians. I’m not going to defend him, but I am going to say that those who land on the above as a “law” are the same ones who land on head-coverings as law as well (see 1 Cor. 11).

Paul was instructing a fledgling church and to be sure, there was a lot of misinformation and disinformation afoot in Corinth. Corinth itself was a pagan’s delight as well as a destination for debauchery. So, to even plant a church in Corinth was difficult enough, but to minister to people who were used to the worst of the worst, no wonder they had things so messed up.

So, Paul said some things to them that we might need to take in cultural context; and he said some things that we need to be careful of, lest we make them into cemented rules, only, by which we can worship God. Can you imagine Jesus making a statement about women in churches this way? I can’t.

And yet, Paul seems to be the one God chose to flesh out for us how a church is to operate as in their place of ‘worship’. (But even in that statement I need to be careful, because how a church is to operate is governed by order and love; it needs to make sense to outsiders in a warm and welcoming and godly way.)

When a seeker (Paul calls them inquirer or unbeliever) comes into the meeting and it’s chaos, they are going to draw conclusions about God and church people. Nowadays, the church is commonly, viciously caricatured as actor Dana Carvey’s Church Lady. It’s no wonder we are pre-judged; but it is also no wonder we bring it upon ourselves.

Arguing about whether we cover our heads or not, or whether women should speak or not, is the least of our worries. Today, in the Church, we face a whole host of issues ranging from how to treat the openly homosexual, to the practice of living together, to abortion, and on and on and on. But Jesus didn’t build His church of the continuation of law and order; He proclaimed His church to be a place of spirit, truth, and above all else, love. We’re to teach others about God to the point that God can teach them about how to avoid their sin. Loving God and loving people. It takes a big person to truly love another person. We’re to be big people.

And as big people, we represent a big God. Part of representing a big God is avoiding petty issues and making it impossible for people to experience His presence and wonder. Rules’ll pretty much do that. Big people are concerned with others coming to know their Big God in a wondrous way and then worshiping Him in spirit and truth. The quickest way to quench that is to start arguing over petty, past stuff that has no bearing on the present of His presence and power.

My application today is to hang up my Church Lady costume, and then do whatever I can to enhance another’s experience of my Big God who will show us all how to live in Him and love each other like there’s no tomorrow… I want to be a big person.

Teach Your Children

03.27.14

Judges 2.10 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. (NIV)

Sometimes, it just doesn’t take long for stuff to go wrong. It was only one generation after the conquest of Canaan that the people of Israel forgot who they were, and Whose they were. There were two things wrong there: 1. the current generation forsook the Lord; and 2. the previous generation didn’t teach the current generation about the Lord.

In 1970, the music group, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young released a hit single called, “Teach Your Children”. It was a catchy tune with a country flavor, and some tasty steel-guitar licks. It was a very popular song. It was an anti-war tune and in those days, the Vietnam thing had reached fever-pitch.

The chorus had the following lines in it:

Teach your children well, their father’s hell

Did slowly go by.

And feed them on your dreams, the one they pick

The one they’ll know by. ©

Ancient Israel could’ve learned a lesson from this song. We moderns could as well. (It seems to be a standard in American foreign policy.) The problem is that as we teach our children, so do the other nations teach theirs. And what one society does, so does another. The difference is focus and results may vary.

Ancient Israel had been given a code that they were supposed to live by. (See the first verse of Teach Your Children.) They lived by the code under Moses, and then Joshua, but by the time Joshua died, they forgot the code. And then they allowed themselves to be influenced by the societies around them and Scripture says: They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. (Joshua 2.12) They did exactly what they weren’t supposed to do. Sometimes, it just doesn’t take long for stuff to go wrong. They forgot who they were and Whose they were.

Teach Your Children well is a catchy slogan but it isn’t a magic wand. But it isn’t to be ignored either. Teaching our kids well about God in a very hostile, anti-God culture is fraught with difficulty; but it isn’t to be ignored. And praying for our kids and grandkids isn’t to be ignored either.

Today, you and I live in a part of world that seems to have forgotten who we are, and why we are. Unfortunately in other places in the world, the same old stuff persists because they haven’t forgotten the importance of teaching who they are, and why they are. At some point, surely, somebody’s gonna lose.

Father, may I remember the lesson of Teaching My Children well, and helping them to live in a world that is against You, and ultimately against them. I pray for wisdom. And I pray for strength to live and teach who we are and Whose we are – through Jesus, Amen.

©"Teach Your Children" Graham Nash, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,    1969, Atlantic Records

What It Heard

03.26.14

Joshua 24.27 27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” (NIV)

On the week before His crucifixion Jesus came into Jerusalem and was hailed by many (loudly) as the King of the Jews. The Pharisees were indignant and told Jesus to tell His followers to: shut up. In Luke 19.40 it says that Jesus replied: “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” If the stones will cry out, then the stones have heard the truth. I thought about this as I read Joshua 24 this morning.

A few years ago I went to a conference where the speaker addressed the issue of how sound is a huge part of creation and the very elements around us hear the truth and remember. I thought: What phooey is this!? And this morning I’ve backed off on phooey because Joshua said, speaking of a rock, “…It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” I thought, hmmm, it has heard. Do rocks hear? And if they do, what difference does it make?

In Romans 8 Paul said: For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Vv. 19-21) Creation hears and sees and, yes, hopes. Creation is alive and we dare not forget it for creation finds its purpose and being in God and God is not dead.

All of creation is God’s and all of creation is watching with eager expectation for God’s grand experiment to succeed through the freedom and glory of the children of God. Friends, it is much bigger than we know – the whole of creation hears and sees and hopes because the whole of creation has been subjected to frustration in hope (real expectation) that what God has wrought in us will free it to be all that He created it to be.

So when Joshua says, “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.” It has a vested interest in God’s marvelous plan for the redemption not of just mankind, but all of creation! That’s big! So, what does it matter? It matters a lot!

Creation is watching. God is watching and principalities and powers in heavenly places are watching (some opposing) how this is all going to pan out. And the rocks and hills and trees and seas listen because they have heard and they know and they hope that you and I, piddley little pukes most of the time, will hear what they hear and hope as they hope. It’s that Big!

Father, may my life honor You today and the creation You have formed. The creation waits for its caretakers with eager expectation of what You intend for us to be forever: free and glorious. Lord, the rocks and stones do cry out: how long O Lord until they get it!? And get it we will if we true to You. Help me God to be wise and not get fooled. May I be true to You through Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Right to Do

03.25.14

1 Corinthians 10.23-24 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. (NIV)

It’s true: in Christ, I have the right to do anything. That’s a pretty big statement, but it’s true.

On Thursdays I meet with a group of men who would be considered leaders here in our local faith community. One is a Baptist. One is a Wesleyan. Three are Pentecostals. Every once in a while a Presbyterian shows up. And we talk theology. We talk common practice and we challenge each other over this very thing: “I have the right to do anything”, but not everything is beneficial.

There are those in the group who espouse: people need to be reminded of their sin, so they’ll stop sinning. There are those in the group who say: people need to embrace the magnitude of God’s love so they’ll be overwhelmed by it and give up everything to possess it. But the argument is usually this: Are there limits to what I can and can’t do in Christ?

Some would argue, emphatically: YES!! And the subsequent thought being: if you are free to do anything, you will. Others would argue, yes, you are free in Christ to do anything, but why would you? And Paul sums it up nicely: No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. It seems if there is anything to avoid in the life of the believer, it’s don’t do anything for your own good but always do what is good for others.

And there, right there: it becomes a matter of the heart: does what I do help or harm others? It’s not a matter of offending God, but a matter of helping or hurting others.

In our lives, it appears the Bible teaches we’re to keep our ‘self’ on a very short leash. The shorter the better. Our propensity toward untoward behavior is probably rooted in this: our self-life is either: A. out of control; or B. undisciplined, ignorant, immature, and out of control. So, if we are indeed free to do anything and do so with disregard for others we are not free in Christ, but bound in self. And a poor witness to, or reflection of, the unconditional love of God.

We are free but there is a boundary: love, and consideration of what my actions do to another. Any other. Are they helpful or hurtful? Yes, I can disregard the boundary but that simply reveals my lack of understanding of true and godly love.

My freedom in Christ is really my abiding in love. And my abiding in love shows me just how important Jesus is to me. I am free to love. It’s true. The greatest calling on my life is to help others by loving truly God and loving truly them. In that, it’s true: I have the right to do anything…

Father God, help me to do just that – Amen.

Girls Who Do Need Jesus Too

03.23.14

1 Corinthians 8.7 7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. (NIV)

Paul began this portion of his letter by declaring: But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (V. 1) In other words, what we know may be good, but the way we use what we know may be detrimental to others if we don’t use what we know without considering that others will draw conclusions about what we know by what we do with what we know.

Paul quotes: “We all possess knowledge.” And that is true, we do. But we all don’t apply knowledge the same way when it comes to disputable matters; like smoking, chewing; and going with girls who have no problem in their doing. To some in Paul’s day, eating the meat sacrificed to a god was no big deal – but to others, it was tantamount to sacrificing the meat themselves. To the one who couldn’t get past eating the tainted meat, their conscience told them they would be tainted by eating such meat. Some smoke. Some chew. And some go with girls who do.

Where Paul wanted the Corinthians to avoid hurting someone was in how they approached eating the sacrificed meat in the restaurants that sold it and being seen by someone who couldn’t mentally get past what had been done to the meat having been sacrificed to some god. Paul wanted them to be wise and to be careful in how they did it so as not to hurt someone.

That’s why I don’t offer you a beer at my house. I don’t want to rock your boat. What does it matter? What’s wrong with beer?

What’s wrong with beer is what my drinking it may do to someone else’s conscience; and the Bible (at least in this part, written by Paul, and inspired by God) says: don’t shipwreck someone else’s faith over something you think is no big deal but to that person is tantamount to being terrible. Be considerate of those around you. My consideration in disputable matters is not just how I am judged but also how my God is judged.

God doesn’t need me to defend Him. He’s a big God and can take care of Himself. But God knows how we humans are and how we think; and He knows that going with girls who do will, for the dumbest reasons of fear, suspicion, and superstition, render my faith ineffective. It’s not Him. It’s not my faith in Him. It’s what I do with what I know and some are just not going to accept being with girls that do; even though in reality, those girls need Jesus too…

In the brotherhood of believers I’m to be considerate of what I know and what I do with what I know. Paul said, “So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.”  (Acts 24.16)

Father God, help me to be considerate of what I do and say so that in disputable matters I don’t foolishly by my use of knowledge, rock the boat and be the source of someone else’s discomfort or shipwreck someone else’s faith. The choice is mine, but may I be wise in You – Amen. 

As Best You Can

03.22.14

1 Corinthians 7.29-31 29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. (NIV)

Paul wrote to a group of people and tried to give them guidelines for basic life skills as children of God. He had already addressed a number of issues and it appears he was now answering a number of questions they had given to him at some point previous to this letter.

I think one point of this chapter (writing as a married man) for me, is to do whatever I can to minimize the number of distractions in my life that take me away from ministering effectively for the Lord. Paul is right: But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. (Vv. 33,34) And there is nothing wrong with divided interests, except that one whose interests are divided will have a bit more on his plate to deal with when it comes to things of the Kingdom.

But, getting married isn’t wrong. And getting married isn’t displeasing to God. And getting married can augment or enhance one’s ministry; we mustn’t forget that.

This week, both my wife and I are dealing with separate issues in our lives as older adults where our individual character is being called into action. It’s not the issues per se, but our response to the issues, that is important. Why? Because others are watching, and perhaps taking their lead from how we respond. We know what to do. It’s just a matter of doing what we know to do; and others are watching what we do. That’s just how life is: somebody is always watching us… And our response. And our attitudes. And our words. And our actions…

Paul was urging the Corinthians to be wise about how they approached life and he really seemed to be saying: just be as effective as you can be, but in all situations live for the Lord as best you can. That why he said above: live as if you were not. In other words, use whatever situation you are in, to serve the Lord more – not less. Don’t let distractions in life get in the way of effectively serving the Lord, wholeheartedly.

A married person who wholeheartedly serves the Lord will have a happier spouse. An employee working a job who serves Jesus wholeheartedly will have a happier boss and happier co-workers. The one who wholeheartedly serves God is a source of happiness to those around him… except to those who envy such happiness and hate the Lord… but at least they are being treated rightly…

To live as best I can, is simply to align my life and circumstances under the leadership of the Holy Spirit; and use all of the things in my life to reflect the glory and goodness and favor, of God. If I am married, to use marriage to serve and glorify God. If I am single, to use my singleness to serve and glorify God. If I have things, use them to serve God and glorify Him. Distractions can either distract me from God or drive me to Him…depends on how I employ them… As a child of God, they ought to display Who is really in charge of me.

This Weekend

03.16.14

Sorry, no Bible verse… just thoughts

This weekend we had our grandson (and his mom) over. It was fun. Grandkids are a lot like kids except when they get tired or crabby – or both – then you can hand them off to their mom or dad, and when the weekend is over they go home with mom and dad. He was cute though – I laughed. I smiled. I kissed. I hugged. And I wept. And he went home, and we went home…if you know our part of the world you’d know what I meant. (Google Dayville, Oregon and it will mean more.)

So, I thought about kids and life; and then grand-child and life. I realized that life with all of its treasures (children and grandchildren) isn’t about kids or grandkids. But they sure do make life more interesting and fun. Yes, there’s the pain of trial and error – and error and error and error… but it’s all a part of life and all a part of the adventure. So you laugh, you smile, you hug, you kiss, and you weep. It’s the complete package.

We decided to cook out after a fun-filled few days of a wee-little crawling and toddling around our house and tonight, it hit me – after I asked God for 10 million dollars – all I have is the clothes I am wearing, the air that I breathe… and the mercy of God. I’m going to Africa in June and where I’m going all the people there have is the clothes they’re wearing and the breath that they breathe. And the mercy of God.

I could sure use the ten million right now. I’d give most of it away and disappear with the rest to a little valley between here and Bend and live on the ranch I’d buy. The problem is, even then, with all that, the only thing I’d have is the clothing I was wearing at any given moment, and the air I breathe; and the mercy of God.

God is merciful to me all the time. He was merciful to me the day I was born and His mercy hasn’t ceased. I tend to think in terms of quantity; God seems to respond in terms of love. And I think after this weekend with our daughter and her son, all I can conceive of is His love. I’m glad for that. It’s really all I have, have ever had, and will ever have. I’d still like the ten mil, but it is fantasy compared to His love shown to me in the life of a wee-little who brought so much joy into my life this weekend, and the reality of the thought that all I have is what I’m wearing, the air I breathe, and that love. His love. Merciful love. Unending love.

Lord, You know where I am, what I think, and what I need. You know what I need right now and what I’m going to need before June 19^th (our departure date for Kenya). You know what I’ll need in Kenya as I attempt to relate to those people over there whose lives amount to today’s clothing, today’s air, and today’s mercy. Your mercy; You everlasting and abundant mercy. Ten million, over there, is like a spoonful of water thrown into the ocean because their needs are so great. But reality is Jesus, their needs as immense as they as they may be, are all met in You. How great is Your love.

May I focus on what to bring, and how to share; and I’ll let You tell me what to say – the majesty of Your word makes ten mil look awfully inadequate. Amen.

Legal Obedience Loving Obedience

03.15.14

Deuteronomy 28.1 1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

Today, I read Deuteronomy 28 and 29 concerning the blessings of keeping God’s laws and the curses for disobedience. Today, I saw that the blessings were immense and the curses were vast. Today, I saw the difference between legal obedience: if you fully obey the Lord your  God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today… and loving obedience: If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. (John 15.10).

The other thing I saw was that though the commands and laws of God were to be carefully and diligently obeyed, they were always tempered with love and respect: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6.4-5) But the Law was never completely obeyed and I’m sure the blessings turned into curses… until...

Until Jesus lived a life of total obedience and showed us, by the power and presence of God, there was only legal obedience – at least for the Jews. But when Jesus came and live and died and resurrected, He showed us that we can too: through Him. Jesus turned legal obedience into loving obedience. Jesus loved (loves) the Father and because He loves and trusts the Father directives and (dare we say) motives.

And I think that is really where obedience finds its foundation: in love. Jesus loves the Father unconditionally; and the Father loves Jesus in the same manner. Jesus loves us unconditionally but says, if you love Me, you’ll obey me. Obeying Jesus means we love and trust Him.

O Jesus, may I love You more. May I drop my charade of love trying to mask my selfishness and disobedience to Your will. It’s as simple as denying the request of a lover or spouse when I turn my back on what You ask. I know my behavior is not conditional, but I do know my love for You is fulfilled when I simply answer Yes, to Your requests. O Jesus, may I love You more.

The Small Stuff

03.13.14

Deuteronomy 22.7 7 You may take the young, but be sure to let the mother go, so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life. (NIV)

When I read this today I thought, hmmm, this sounds familiar. Then I looked back to Deuteronomy 5 and found: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you." (V.16) So I thought, hmmm, there must be some kind of correlation. And then it occurred to me that God respects the big stuff and the small.

Honoring one’s parents surely would be more admirable in the hierarchy of things, wouldn’t it? I mean, parents to most are a big deal, aren’t they? Taking care of one’s parents makes the top 10 doesn’t it? So it is no wonder to me that God had Moses include parental care in the Top 10. Our parents ought to deserve our best – after all they brought us into the world, and in the world is where we’ve come to know and experience God – what’s better than that?

It’s a big deal. At least it should be. But not everyone honors their father and mother. Not every father or mother is honorable or meets the test for honor. Some parents are real jerks to their kids. Some parents are nothing more than Baby Mamas or sperm donors; just an oven and dough. But God never intended for it to be that way; life in this world is way often way less than God intended for it to be.

But as far as I know there are no qualifiers for the God-knower as to what is honorable and what is not: the commandment simply says: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you…” So, law or no, we’re to find that place in our hearts before God to honor those who participated in the days leading up to our live birth. It was because of that that we know God today. It’s a big deal. Good parents or no. We’re to accept them for who they are, not what they are.

And I think as far as the verse above goes, about birds and nests and eggs, we’re to even honor those whose job it is to be involved in the bringing forth of life in whatever manner God has chosen for them – even birds. It’s not the bird, it is respect for what God has chosen for that silly bird to do: bring forth life. We’re not to destroy it.

This little verse in the midst of Moses’ re-telling (or repeating: Deuteronomy) of the Law helps me understand God a little bit more today. Jesus said, Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! (Luke 12.24) God cares for all life and for the propagation of life and for the continuation of life in whatever manner life takes form. It seems in the matter of nests and eggs and birds, we’re to care as well, and honor all parenthood in its various forms…

Father in Heaven, You care for birds and You care for me. May I partner with You in the care of this earth and in the care of the things You have placed on this earth for my good. May I follow Your heart in the propagation of and the continuation of life in whatever form it is, that all may be blessed by You. Amen.

Where to Stand

03.11.14

Galatians 2.3 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. (NIV)

Those were turbulent days in the early Church – it seemed there was no small concern as to how the new Christians were to live: as converted Jews, or as freed Christians. Those who belonged to the converted Jews insisted that the Law be maintained as a matter of liturgical practice. And why not, it’s what they knew, and if it “all pointed to Christ” then why not continue with the practices and customs they already knew?

And then there was the group of converted Gentiles who knew nothing of the Law and lived their faith out by worshiping God without the customs and practices that the Jewish Christians held so dear. But conflict arose because one party maintained the importance of tradition and the other didn’t. The real conflict was the converted Jews held that the traditions were too important to let slide and the Gentile Christians should embrace them to make their faith complete.

So, into this mess Paul and his followers go in to introduce themselves and report what they had been doing. Paul, Mr. Grace, took Titus with him because it seems Titus was the real deal. And even though he was a Greek (a converted Gentile) he wasn’t compelled to give into the pressure to conform his faith to the Jewish traditions and observances of the Law. The Law party, I’m sure, tried to convince Paul that the observances and traditions of Judaism were what made one’s Christian faith complete. And Titus who witnessed all this – even Titus in his walk and witness, wasn’t compelled to be circumcised (as was probably the core issue of the Jewish Christians argument.)

Titus is an example to me today: Paul said:  not even Titus… If you thought anyone might, it might be Titus because it just might be that Titus was well aware of the traditions and customs of the Jews as he had learned them from Paul. Paul may have explained all of the customs and traditions in detail and told why they were so important to Jewish worship. And Titus may have bought into all of the mystery and majesty of the Judaic worship. But not even Titus was compelled to give up his grace for all that; as good as it may have looked…

Titus knew where he stood with God and he didn’t give into religious pressure to conform. Titus knew it was by grace through faith he stood in God’s presence, not because he did special things or even submitted to circumcision.

And that is the example for me as well: know where you stand child of God – and don’t budge from there. Don’t use your stance as a club; but know where you stand with Abba God and don’t let humans pressure you into anything that causes you to question your stand. 

Father, You know I am willing to learn and willing to sample most anything, but I am not ready to jettison Your grace to make room for law. Help me to know where I stand and to know where to stand that I may be an example to my brothers in helping them know where to stand: by grace in faith. Amen.

Stupid Human Thoughts

03.09.14

Mark 16.14 14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. (NIV)

In my Bible are the following words:

[The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.]

As you can see, I have chosen Mark 16.14 as the Scripture that made its mark on me this morning; it’s included in the Do-Not-Have List. I don’t know why the earliest manuscripts and other ancient witnesses don’t have verses 9-20 but I do know this: they make sense to me. If they were added at some later point after the original gospel was written (which they obviously were) I really don’t have a problem with them because they don’t contradict the rest of Mark’s work. And, they don’t contradict the rest of the Biblical narrative.

Now, Matthew, Luke, and John all say that Jesus appeared to His men after His resurrection. The other three gospels point out varying degrees of the Lord’s response to His men in His post-resurrection meetings with them. Only Mark’s account has, in my opinion, a hint of sternness in it: Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. But we must remember Peter’s influence on the Gospel of Mark and how miserably Peter felt by denying Jesus. Bad times make for sad feelings.

If there is one thing that marks the life and times of Jesus on earth, it is this: He took His mission seriously. Although Jesus was very human, He was also very God. Yes, I think the Lord laughed – I think He had a great sense of humor. But I also know He tried and tried (often sternly) to get His men to believe beyond their understanding of Him; He was not just another of the guys.

If we understand – even in small part – what Adam lost in the fall, then we begin to understand the magnitude of what Jesus came to restore in His earthly ministry; it wasn’t fun and games. (Those are for later.) Jesus, throughout the Gospels, repeatedly rebuked His men for thinking stupid human thoughts. He tried to get them to raise their understanding to a higher level.

And the same is for us. Specifically, the same is for me. I think stupid human thoughts all the time and Jesus (by His Spirit) tries to get me to live by faith, not lack thereof; and to lose my stubborn refusal to believe those who’ve experienced marvelous encounters with Him by faith. 

Today, I am to walk by faith in Him and remember His marvelous majesty as it invades my life in real and tangible ways. Today, I am to lose my stubborn unbelief. And today, I am to rejoice that though my mistakes pile up mountain high, He is the One who looks past those things to what He is truly accomplishing in me. 

Jesus, thank You for Your presence in me and for the gift/privilege of walking by faith in You. Forgive me my unbelief and help me this day, this hour, this moment, to walk confidently in You – Amen.

The Last Fighting Man

03.05.14

Deuteronomy 2.16-18 16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar..."

God’s time is not our time – or better: God’s timing is not our timing. It blows my mind that all of the comings and goings amongst mankind is all under God’s control and direction. Some might think then that God is responsible for both boon and bane; that He is the Author of military victories and the vast genocidal actions of men. The issue for me is not His Authorship, but His omniscience: His all-knowing mind. God knows everything.

God knows the coming and goings of nations. God, right here in Deuteronomy 2, takes responsibility for allowing some nations to settle where they would, while driving other nations out – often at the expense of their lives (some were wiped out completely). It’s not that God did the massacring it’s that He knows all and sees all and uses all for His holy and loving purposes. Some find that very hard to swallow. Some will only see God as a genocidal tyrant with anger issues.

And even if He is, let’s think about this: God, in perfect goodness and pleasure created the heavens and the earth, created mankind, and placed men graciously in creation’s midst. And the arrangement was that God and mankind would become friends and live graciously together forever. And mankind, spat in the Creator’s face. Hmmm, how’s that working for you?

You would think that the party’d be over, and God would go back to His drawing board and sullenly defeated, start all over again. But God didn’t because God said: Even though they hate Me, some will love Me; some will see Me as the only Answer to all of mankind’s problems. And they will all be weak and fragile and some will act in the most heinous ways toward the others but I will offer My redemption to them all – right down to the very last one; to the last fighting man.

God knew all of this would happen but He didn’t give up on His plan – He simply looked forward to the next phase of His operation: the full redemption of man and fixing man’s sad habit of spitting in God’s face. Some will somehow by God’s grace and mercy, buy into this redemption thing. Some will insist their ways are not good enough and only God’s ways will see them through. God looks for those who will believe in Him and believe Him. And those who refuse will perish, right down to the last fighting man. It’s not because God is mean; it’s because man refused.

If we can believe it, there are those (somewhere) who are betting against God and His whole redemption experiment. There are those who cynically claim, mankind will never get it and the whole experiment is a colossal failure. In ancient Israel, there were those who thought that way and they died, right down to the last fighting man. And when the last ones die God looks to the next ones and says, now it’s time to move. I want to move and I want to help the next generation to move as well…right to where God wants us to be: in the very center of His love.

Father, help me, help us to believe in You and to believe You that You will take us and place us right where You want us to be that we may serve You and reach others who will hear the message and believe as well – Amen.

Grace and Truth

03.04.14

Mark 11.13-14 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it. (NIV)

His disciples heard him say it: “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” Maybe they wondered what He meant because the next day Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!” (v21) Jesus never said why He cursed the fig tree. Maybe Jesus said what He said and the disciples thought: there He goes again! Whatever the case it appears it didn’t make much of an impression on them at the moment.

A friend of mine, just yesterday, asked me: why did Jesus curse the fig tree? I don’t exactly know. Jesus was making a point but apparently it was lost on most of His hearers. Mark points out, it wasn’t even the season for figs. It didn’t seem to be the tree’s fault; it only grows figs in the season set by the One who cursed it.

Some further study lends some perspective on this curious little incident – it wasn’t the time for figs but the tree looked as if it was fruitful. Well, didn’t Jesus walk in omniscience during His time on earth? Wouldn't He have known? Not necessarily. Jesus walked in complete obedience to the One who led Him during those days. Jesus set aside His omniscience as the God-man who walked in humble submission to the every will of God. Could Jesus Christ have been that vulnerable? Are we?

The story is set in what revolves around it: the hypocrisy of the times. The record shows that the Pharisees, Sadduccees, and Herodians; as well as the priests, scribes, and teachers of the Law repeatedly accosted Jesus about who He was and why He did what He did. They did so as leaders of the people of God. They looked good but in reality were not: they didn’t even recognize the Lord of Glory – and they should have. The tree looked good but was fruitless.

One of the things the modern Church must learn is she is not ancient Israel. What happened in the Gospels was meant for Israel because their Messiah had come to them to help them return to God. The Church is not waiting for her Messiah, He’s already come; that’s why she is the Church.

John 1.17 says: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. If there was one thing Judaism had become, it was other than grace and truth; it was hypocrisy. And so if there is a lesson from the fig tree for us today it might be this: don’t look like the real deal and come up short – look like the real deal and deliver the real fruit that real people are so desperate for: the grace and truth of God.

Religion looks like the real deal but it doesn’t deliver. We in God’s Church, must be the real deal and deliver the goods or else we’re no better than the religious leaders of Christ’s day and a cursed fig tree.

Father, help me in Jesus to be the real deal. Hypocrisy never wins. May I walk today in grace and truth because of Who You are in me and who I am in You – Amen.

Dive for the Bottom

03.03.14

Mark 10.43 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. (NIV)

It is a culture of the Kingdom: the one who leads all is the one who serves all. Jesus told His men it isn’t about position, performance, or possession; it’s about caring for the needs of others by either doing it personally, or making sure personally it is done through others. That He said is true leadership – it’s a dive for the bottom.

Conversely, the world climbs for the top and uses whatever means to accomplish the climb regardless of the necks one has to step on to get there. Worldly leadership is All About Me. Godly leadership is all about others. Worldly leaders want palaces, playgrounds, and perks. In the Kingdom it is all about taking care of others needs always and whatever works, works.

Jesus’ men, like us today, struggled with the pull toward worldly leadership – it was the only model they knew. Who wouldn’t want an estate like Yanukovych’s in the Ukraine? The issue here  is that the leadership pull toward perks doesn’t inspire people to move any closer than the perks; and nothing of importance ever gets done. Yanukovych proved himself to be who he really was: all about himself and nothing about others.

Reward in the Kingdom of God is not a big estate; it’s a big heart for others. There might be estates in heaven but I really don’t think they fit in with the model of Christ on earth: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10.45 NIV)

The perk of leading in the Kingdom of God is being the slave of all. That dog just don’t hunt in this life – that is except to the one who sees what Jesus is saying and says, Lord use me, and the talents You’ve given me to influence and help as many as I can.

The one thing a godly leader can and should do is lead expeditions with others to the bottom. We need to be ready to take the next generation not to the front door of the palace but to the servant’s entrance where we belong and where we meet our King – serving the ones He loves…

Jesus, let me follow You to the bottom; help me to dive to the bottom and then lead others to do the same. The measure of our worth is not the things we possess in this life but the lives we influence for You and Your Kingdom. Help me to servant-lead with a pure, willing, and instructed heart – I pray in Your Name. Amen

Faith in an All-Nighter

03.01.14

Mark 8.12 12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.” (NIV)

Last night (or this morning, whichever you prefer) I stayed up all night with our Royal Ranger group (and some invited guests) at church. It was called a Lock-In and as you see, we were locked in (2 adults and 25 or so 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders.) We in America (somewhat) and especially in our church would call this ministry: we let 25 kids get together, play video games, watch movies, play dodge ball, smash-mouth, and gaga-ball*). All night.

The reason we do this (although not too often, thank You Lord!) is we want to be faithful adults facilitating a youth gathering where we all have fun together, invite some friends, and hint at why it would be important to be a part of Royal Rangers at our church (call it out-reach if you want…) It’s a point of reference for the kids: Yeah I remember this time I went to this all-nighter at a friend’s church and we had food and fun all night and some guy prayed over the food.

I suppose I look for a sign that something happened. Well, you know, something did happen – we stayed up all night, and had a lot of fun, and two adults made sure we didn’t do anything stupid. Now, did anyone get saved? Not that I’m aware. Did anyone get healed? Not that I’m aware. The operative word here is: not that I’m aware. I am not aware of the inner workings of God on the heart of a person. I know so little about them that to guess or surmise, or judge that God has done anything is simply arrogance on my part. I am not privy to the private movements of God in a person’s life.

The Pharisees, in Mark 8, demanded a sign: Prove Yourself, Bigshot! And Jesus replied, Nope! Ain’t happenin’! (His implication was: y’all gonna jus’ have to take Me by faith.) God doesn’t need to prove Himself to anyone – ever. When I read this passage I see Jesus shaking His head in exasperation and saying: You people! With all we’ve been through over the last two millennia together, what more do you want!?

Today, I am tired and worn out from staying up all night. But today, by faith, I know God was there because, for at least two of us, we were there in faith that what we were doing – sleep-deprived and all – it was for God, and the kids for which we did it. And this: we all made a giant leap forward in building relationships, and maybe some friendships, that will transcend the passing of the years to come, and may result in someone(s) coming to know Jesus better. What more of a sign do I need than that!?

Father, the sign is simply this: You’ve allowed me by Your grace to know You, be excited about You, and trust that what I truly do for You (all-nighters and all) will have some effect for the Kingdom over which You rule and wherein I am Your child – my sign is You by faith! Amen.

*Really fun action games in which one has to think, stay awake, and not get hit in the face with a rubber ball…

PS: To Pastor Brad Philips I am eternally grateful – thank you for letting me be a part!