Acts 23

Acts 23 is an interesting account of some of the things the Apostle Paul went through. I had the opportunity to teach from this portion of Scripture this past Sunday. You can take a listen here.

Father

All of us have fathers. My father was a good man. Not perfect, but good. There never was a time when I didn't know he loved me. He was a good provider and role model. I learned a great deal from him, although not as much as I could, or should, have. He was the kind of father that makes me proud to be his son.

Many folks don't have a father like that. It is heartbreaking to hear those who had fathers who were absent. Some of their fathers died while they were young, others were absent because of work or simply lack of interest. More heartbreaking are the stories of the fathers who were abusive, who treated their children in ways that no one should be treated.

Our picture of God is often colored by our experience with our earthly fathers. Some of us see God as Abba, as the loving Father who cares perfectly for his children. To us, he is Papa, Daddy. Others unfortunately, have a hard time seeing God as their Father. Their image of God is that of a King who is hard, who is demanding, who is always asking more and more of us. That saddens me, because I believe the picture we have of God has a great deal to do with how free we are able to live as his children.

I once heard someone say something which I  believe will help those who struggle with the idea of God as Father. If you have trouble with that, try to imagine the perfect father, with all of the best attributes and no bad qualities. Imagine a father who always makes good and loving decisions, and who always does what is best for his children. Then, take that image and magnify it beyond comprehension. Do that and you have God.

Even the best of earthly fathers are imperfect. My father had his flaws, and I definitely have mine. But our heavenly Father, our Abba, has no flaws. He is absolutely perfect. He is everything anyone would want in a father, and more. We can't begin to imagine such a perfect father. But we can accept that he is and trust him to be exactly what we need.

Cry out to Abba. Let his furious love wash over you and let him wrap you in his arms. Crawl up in his lap and rest in his perfect care.

Some Things I Don't Understand

A young teenage girl died this week. She left behind family and friends who loved her dearly. I know all the things that are true. She lived far longer than expected. She is no longer in pain. God is good and kind and he is in control. I know all that and I believe all that. Still, there are some things I don't understand.

Last night some of us sat with two friends of the young lady. Most of that time was spent in silence. We grieved with them. At this time, it's the only thing we could do. I spent some time wondering about the brokenness of this world and the pain that we humans have to endure. Jan and I have lost both of our parents in the last few years. That kind of thing is more normal. Children are "supposed" to outlive their parents.

This is different. Parents are not supposed to bury their children. Teenagers are not supposed to spend evenings grieving for other teenagers. People are not supposed to die that young. This world is not supposed to be the way it is. Even though I know the creation is broken and groaning because of sin, I still don't understand why it sometimes works out the way it does. Even though I know God is good and compassionate, I still don't understand why this compassion sometimes plays out the way it does.

I know and believe that my Father is loving. I know and believe that his love extends to the young lady and the family and friends she left behind. Having said that, I still have to admit that I don't understand. The only thing I can do is try to trust my Father's heart. I have to trust that Romans 8 is right, that God works in everything for the good of those who love him. I have to believe, not only for me, but in some way for my friends who lost a loved one. 

I  have to trust my Father because I can't trust my own understanding.

Following Jesus: Part 2-Loving God

If we follow Jesus, we will seek to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The problem is that we don't often really know what it is that we love. We may think that we love God, but our love actually belongs to something else. We pursue a different version of what the good life is, a different kingdom. In You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit, James K. A. Smith makes the case that we are primarily loving beings and that our love is formed by habits and liturgies that we engage in. Many of the things that we do in our day-to-day shape us and present a vision of a life worth living that is antithetical to the kingdom of God.

Smith makes the point that our love for God is formed and strengthened by the liturgy of the church through the centuries. Coming from a background where we said that we didn't do liturgy (even though it really was a liturgy of sorts,), I have come to appreciate the parts of a worship service, from the greeting and call to worship where we are welcomed by God and called to come apart and lift him up, to the benediction where we receive one final blessing from God and are sent out to bring his Kingdom to bear in our day-to-day. In between, we sing praises to God, confess our sin and receive a reminder of his forgiveness. We give a portion of what God has given to us as an act of worship, and we hear the truth, goodness, and beauty of Jesus from the words of Scripture. We gather around the table and remember what Christ has done for us and receive a foretaste of the feast to come in the new heavens and earth.

All of these things have deepened my love for God, his Kingdom, and his people. I have found that they have begun to work in me to wean my heart from those things the culture says we need to flourish. I have a long way to go, but I am confident that God will continue to work in me and give me a heart for him.

May we all come to love our Father more and more.

Following Jesus: Part 1

When Jesus called people to follow him, they understood that he was calling them to spend time with him, to listen to him, and to learn to relate to God as he did. For Jesus, this meant seeing God as Father and following God's commands. Jesus did something a bit different than the other rabbis though. He went to the spirit of the Law rather than just the letter. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that the Law went beyond actions all the way to the heart. Jesus then took the entire Law and boiled it down to two commands; love God with every fiber of your being, and love others as you love yourself. And then, Jesus gave us the new command to love our brothers and sisters as he loved us.

I believe that these two things sum up what it means to follow Jesus. We love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength. We spend time with our Father, we learn what is important to him and those things become important to us. We seek his Kingdom above everything else. This involves far more than just reading and even studying the Bible, although that is an important part of it. It involves far more than just hearing sermons and Bible lessons, although that too is important.

We live in a world that asks us to love other things in place of God. There are a number of things that clamor for our affections and allegiance. These things all present a vision of the good life, a vision of a kingdom. Like the Sirens, these things try to draw us into the treacherous rocks where ships run aground and are destroyed. I want to look at that in a future post.

May God help us to love him and follow his Son as our King.

Blast From the Past: Light

This was first posted on August 25, 2009.

Sunday morning we were talking about 1 John 1:5 , where John declares that God is light. That verse is one of the few times where Scripture says God is something. It's hard for me to imagine pure light with no darkness at all. God is light, and that light is so pure that it is impossible for one of us to see God and live. Maybe taking the idea of staring at the sun and multiplying it by infinity might approach the idea of God being light, but probably not.

Now think of Adam and Eve in the Garden before the Fall, spending their time in God's presence. They walked and talked with their Creator. Were they pure enough to be able to see the glory of God and still live? I think that they were, even though I can't wrap my tiny brain around that. Unfortunately, that purity and close relationship was broken by sin, and people could no longer stand to see God. Moses only saw the afterglow of God's presence and had to put a veil on because the people couldn't even stand to look on that reflection of God's glory.

Then along comes Jesus, the One called the Light of the world. He revealed the Father to us and abolished the barrier between us and God by his death, burial, and resurrection. Now we are the light of the world. Think about what that means. If people are to see the glory of God, they will see it in those of us who follow Jesus. Jesus said that people don't take a light and hide it, but rather allow it's light to shine. In the same way, we are not to hide the light of God that is in us, but we are to live our lives in such a way that people see God in us.

I believe that we let our light shine by taking it where the darkness is. If you light a candle outside on a sunny day, there is not much light seen from that candle. In the same way, if the only time we shine is when we are with other followers of Jesus, our light is not going to be as bright. We also can't sit behind walls and lob "truth grenades" at those outside and expect any light to be seen. We need to shine where those living in darkness can see God's light in us.

Jesus the King: Part 1

Back in December, our church did an Advent series on Jesus as a prophet, as a priest, and as a king. I had the privilege of teaching about Jesus as King. We looked at three aspects of Jesus' kingship: shepherd, servant, and absolute ruler. This first post looks at Jesus as Shepherd.

For the rare person who may not know what a shepherd does, he takes care of the sheep. He watches nover them and feeds them. Ancient Near-Eastern peoples saw their rulers as shepherds. Sumerian kings were depicted as wearing a shepherd's hat and were recognized as the protectors of their people. The Hykso rulers were known as shepherd kings. In Psalm 23, David declares that God is the Shepherd. The Hebrews would have understood that David was also calling God the King.

Israel's human leaders, both kings and priests, were called shepherds. In Ezekiel 34:1-10, God calls the nation's leaders to account for being bad shepherds. In verses 11-16 of the same chapter, God says that he himself will be Israel's Shepherd. Jesus applies that to himself in John 10:14, when he says that he is the Good Shepherd, that all who came before him were thieves and robbers. Hebrews 13:20 calls Jesus the great Shepherd of the sheep, and 1 Peter 2:25 tells us that he is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls. Like a shepherd, our King takes care of us. As David wrote, we lack nothing. He feeds us, protects us, and leads us. Sometimes he takes us into the valley, but we can have assurance that he is always with us and has gone that way before.

In this election season in particular, let us remember that there is no human ruler who can provide what we really need, no matter what they promise. Our Shepherd is the Creator of this universe. He is the true King.

Without Defect

In Leviticus 21, the Israelites are given the instructions that any of the descendants of Aaron who had any defect at all, even something as minor as a broken bone, could not offer any gifts or sacrifices to God. I don't know about you, but if that passage was all I had to go by, I'd feel pretty hopeless. Seeing as how I've had a few broken bones, including a little toe that is still crooked, I wouldn't come close to being able to come into God's presence.

When you think about it, none of us are qualified to give anything to God. We are all born with a serious defect that we can't get rid of. That defect, sin, is far worse than a broken bone. A broken leg can possibly heal on its own, but we can do nothing to heal our sin. So, we are up the proverbial creek without a paddle or even a canoe.

There is also the problem of not making the grade as far as how others see us. We spend our entire lives trying to measure up, to parents, friends, spouses, employers, or any number of people in our lives. Many times we fail. We are seen as defective, unworthy. But we keep trying because we want to be be accepted, we want to be loved. That is true whether we are talking about people or about God.

Fortunately, there is someone who has no defect, who is absolutely sinless and perfect. Because Jesus took our sin on him and has taken it away, his acceptability is now ours. We can now approach the Creator of the universe with boldness, knowing that he sees us as he sees Jesus, as spotless. That also means that we are not bound by attempting to appear as if we have it all together. Ultimately it doesn't matter what others think of us because God himself calls us his beloved children. If we are without defect in the eyes of God, wouldn't it be a a good idea to live in that knowledge and stop trying to prove ourselves worthy. We have nothing to prove, nothing to do to make ourselves worthy.

That has already been done. Believe it. Live it.

Birthday Reflections

As of today, I have completed my sixth decade on this earth. I remember, when I was young thinking that sixty was so old. I don't feel that way anymore, except when I get out of bed in the morning.

It's been an interesting journey so far. As a wise man once said, "What a long, strange trip it's been." It's not been a story for the ages, although there have been many moments that were memorable, at least to me. As I look back I see a life that was just a little bit outside of what some would call normal. Of course, what is normal?

Like everyone, I have had highs and lows. I have been married to a wonderful woman for thirty five years now and that union continues to be a high. My two beautiful children are happily married and are making their own way in the world. Looking back I see that my family has always been the best part of my life. I have had good jobs and bad jobs. I have lost good jobs and bad jobs. While I never got what I thought was the dream job, I've always had the sense that I was in the right place, even if I was there in order to learn some lessons. I have had good friends through the years. Some continue as friends, others have been lost and replaced by better friends.  I have been hurt by people and learned to forgive. I have hurt people and I hope they have forgiven me. I have learned from each of them.

I have traveled through the Christian landscape, from fundamental Baptist circles where I didn't quite fit in, to a small Presbyterian church where I feel love and acceptance. Along the way I dabbled in Reformed Baptist, non-denominational, simple, and house churches. I have been fed up with church and ready to call it quits. I have gone from being an advocate of attractional worship that uses music to bring in a crowd, to believing that it is in intimate community that we really are formed into the likeness of Jesus.

As the years have gone by, I have become far less convinced that politics can make lasting change, and far more convinced that being an agent of Jesus' Kingdom is the only thing that can. I have grown less tolerant of those who are convinced that their way is the only way, and that those who disagree are the enemy.

I have traveled the back roads on this journey. I have not been been successful in business, have not built any empires. I have not been named man of the year, or been roasted in front of a large crowd. I'm not famous. Hopefully I'm not infamous. I don't really care about all that stuff. I do hope that I have touched some lives in a positive way, that I have made a difference in a small way, that others have seen a bit of Jesus in me.

Sixty years. It does seem like a long time. But, it's not enough. In many ways it feels like the start, like there's much more out there. Maybe with all the advances in medical science, I'll have sixty more. Who knows?

Give Thanks

How's that for an original Thanksgiving post title?

Psalm 136 begins with the words, "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." (NLT) The psalmist then goes on to describe this LORD to whom we give thanks, using terms such as God of gods and Lord of lords. The writer also describes God's actions in creation, delivering Israel from Egypt and giving them the Promised Land, and providing for his people. Each description is paired with the declaration that his faithful love endures forever.

As I was reading this Psalm, I thought how comforting this Psalm is. The God who created everything, who brought all things out of nothing,  who is powerful enough to miraculously deliver his people and set up and take down rulers; that God is the one whose faithful love endures forever. The God who provides food to every living thing is the one whose faithful love endures forever. The LORD who is above all other gods, his faithful love endures forever. God is faithful. This is the one who can not lie. He is the one who is described as faithful and true. God's love will never fail.

So, if this faithful love comes from a God who is sovereign over all and mighty enough to accomplish his purposes, what does that say to us? To me it says that no matter what happens in my life, my Father's faithful love is there. Think of the absolute worst thing that could happen. Even that can not remove God's faithful love. We live in uncertain times (then again, who has ever lived in certain times?). There is a lot of fear, much of it unfounded. We don't need to fear. The Creator of all things loves us with a faithful love that endures forever. As Paul says, there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from this love.

Give thanks to the LORD for his faithful love that endures forever. It is this love that brings us all the blessings we can think of. Fear not. It is this love that will bring us home.

Blast From the Past: "Come To Me, and I Will Give You..."

This was first posted on June 14, 2011.

Rest? I know that's what Jesus said, but how many of us really live like he has given us rest? How many of us have learned "the unforced rhythms of grace," as The Message puts it. For many of us, the first thing we learned when we became a Christian was that there were certain expectations that we were to live up to in order for God to bless us, or at least in order to stay in the good graces of the group. Some still live that way, and are burdened by a load as heavy as the one the Pharisees put on the Jews of Jesus' day. Others have broken away from that bondage but taken on another heavy burden, the burden of "proving" how free they are in Christ. Even if we are not burdened by Pharisaical rules or by a need to prove our Christian liberty, we may have a hard time simply resting in God's grace and mercy.

One of the things that the Father is teaching me is that he loves me, my family, and my friends dearly, and that his heart is good toward them. He takes care of his children. Even though I have seen the hand of God numerous times as he takes care of us, I am having to constantly be reminded by my Father that we are all in his arms, and that it is not my job to do what only he can do. I can only do what God has called me to do as a husband, father, and friend. I cannot change anyone's heart. I cannot make them do what I think they should do. I can't heal anyone. I can't provide jobs. Only the Creator of the universe can do that.

I am learning that the only thing I can do is love them, pray for them, and give them any help that I can. As I do those things, I have to rest in Abba's love and grace and trust him to do what is good. When I am able to do that, it brings a peace and contentment that is not there when I try to do God's job or worry about how he is carrying it out. As many times as I've seen that played out, you'd think I would have learned that lesson well. I am learning it, but I still have a ways to go.

No Fear

Fear. It seems as if the world runs on fear. A whole industry has evolved that is fed by fear. Organizations on both ends of the political spectrum raise money by appealing to the fear that those at the other end are going to destroy our country. Even Christian organizations use fear as a motive for giving money. The common thread that runs through the billions of dollars that are raised is fear of the future. Fear that things are not going to be good unless you give us money to fight "evil."

Those of us who follow Jesus should not allow ourselves to get wrapped up in fear of the future. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that there are two reasons we shouldn't fear. One is the spirit of adoption we have been given, and the other is the wonderful future that lies ahead of us.

We need not fear because the Creator and King of the universe has given us a spirit of adoption that causes us to call him "Abba," or "Daddy." Think about it. The sovereign God invites us to call him "Daddy." That blows my mind! Think about the most wonderful father you can imagine. Now consider that God is infinitely better, more powerful, more loving than that. If we are children of God, we have a daddy who desperately loves us, who cares about our good, and who is powerful enough to bring our good to pass. Our future is secure because our Father is in control.

So, why do we suffer? I believe that we suffer because Jesus suffered. The early church believed that the suffering of Christ on the cross and his resurrection inaugurated the Kingdom. They saw their own suffering as building for that Kingdom little by little. Paul wrote to the Galatians that his suffering somehow filled up what was missing in Christ's suffering. The church grew in the first three centuries through suffering and bloodshed. Look around the world today and you will see that the church still grows in suffering and bloodshed. It is in the West, where the church has grown comfortable and rich, that there is stagnation. Even so, we here in West do suffer. We may not be persecuted, but we suffer from sickness, disease, heartbreak, death, and sometimes it is hard to see any good in it. I believe even that suffering somehow builds for the Kingdom. There is hope for the future.

Our future as children of the Father is so bright that shades won't do any good. Somehow our future is so wrapped up with the restoration of all things that creation itself is waiting with expectant groaning for our final redemption. The glory that will be revealed in us will make our suffering in this life seem like nothing! Wow! When we come to the end of our rope, we can look ahead to a future that will far surpass the worst we can go through. I don't totally understand all of it, but there have been days when that truth was the only thing I had to hold on to. The good news is we do have that to hold on to in the midst of the worst storm.

Brothers and sisters, take heart! Your Abba loves you with an infinite love that will never let you go. Your suffering is being used by God to bring his Kingdom to bear in this life. Nothing that this life throws at you can ever prevent the glory of God from being revealed in you when the final restoration of all things comes to pass. Fear not.

C'mon People...

A few years ago, The Youngbloods finished the phrase with, "Smile on your brother / Everybody get together / Try to love one another / Right now." It wouldn't be a bad idea for those of us who follow Jesus to take a closer look at this song and see if we can glean any wisdom.

The song begins with the words, "Love is but a song we sing / And fear's the way we die / You can make the mountains ring / Or make the angels cry." When you look at the very basis of Christianity, you find love. God loves us and he calls us to love others. All of God's law is summed up in the commands to love God and to love others. Love is the song we sing. Why don't we love like we should? Fear. We fear the other. We fear loss of face. We fear being taken advantage of. We fear any number of things that may happen if we love. So, we don't love. And, we die. As C. S. Lewis said, "But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable." If we love, God is glorified. The mountains sing. If we don't love, God is dishonored. The angels cry.

As the song goes on, we are told  that we are just "a moment's sunlight, fading in the grass." Our time here in this life is short, yet we tend to waste it on things instead of spending it on, and for others. We only get a limited amount of time to love those whom God has placed in our lives, yet we spend that time focusing on our interests and desires, building our kingdoms rather than building for the kingdom of heaven. As the song continues, we see that we "hold the key to love and fear / All in your trembling hand / Just one key unlocks them both / It's there at your command." We are the ones who are called to cast off fear and love. We are the ones who can love because we have the Spirit of the resurrected Christ in us.

Loving others is not an easy thing to do. It will be messy. You will get hurt. Nietzsche said that Christian love looks like weakness, and it opens us up to manipulation and abuse. He's right. Look at Jesus' command to forgive over and over again. Look at Jesus' statement that the greatest love was laying down one's life for our brothers and sisters. Look at Jesus asking the Father to forgive those who were murdering him in the worst manner possible. It does look like weakness. It does leave us open to abuse. But it is the way of the King and his kingdom.

Let us love as we are loved.

Easter: Hope and Challenge

Easter is a time of great celebration. It is the pinnacle of the Church year, a day when we remember the resurrection of our Savior. Why do we celebrate? Why do we make such a big deal of this day? I would suggest that we celebrate for two reasons. The Resurrection gives us hope for the future, and it gives us hope and a challenge for today.

We have a hope for the future. Jesus said that he is the resurrection and the life, and that those who believe in him will never die. The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus' resurrection means that we too shall be raised. When the kingdom of heaven comes in its fulfillment, we will be raised to never die. The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of our future hope.

We also have a challenge and a hope for our day-to-day. When you look at the gospel accounts of the Resurrection, what you don't see are mentions of the future hope. The followers of Jesus don't say, "Jesus has been raised, so we will be raised from the dead and live with him forever." That is in the rest of the New Testament, but the sense of the first disciples was more about now. Jesus is raised, so he is the Messiah. Jesus is raised, so new creation has begun. Jesus is raised, so we have a job to do. We are called to be heralds of this new kingdom.

Easter changes everything! The restoration has begun! We are subjects of a new kingdom, a kingdom of love, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation. It is a kingdom in which we lay down our lives for our King and for others. It is a kingdom that puts loving God and loving others ahead of everything else. That is the challenge. There is hope along with the challenge.

The cross calls us to come and die. The empty tomb calls us to find that we can truly live. Because Jesus is raised, his Spirit is now in us, so we can die daily. We can give up our wishes, our desires, our comfort, our need to be right, our self-righteousness. We can show the world the truth, beauty, and goodness of Jesus by the way we love.

While we may live in the in-between time before the restoration is complete, we can live as Easter people because Jesus is raised. Let us begin to live in the power of the Resurrection today.

My Prayer

Abba Father, let your name be glorified in us, in our work and play, in what we say and do, in our relationships with our brothers and sisters.

Your kingdom is a kingdom of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation, a kingdom of healing and wholeness. Let that kingdom come to our relationships as it is in heaven. Your will is that your children be one. Let that will be done in us as in heaven.

Give us each day what we need. Give us sustenance, grace, and faith.

Forgive us our sins, against you and against others. Help us to forgive those who sin against us, as many times as is necessary.

Don't let us give in to the temptation to build ourselves up at the expense of others, to prove that we are right and others are wrong, to hold grudges. Deliver us from evil.

Help us to remember that it is your kingdom, your power, and your glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Too Much Grace?

"You're encouraging people to sin." "Folks are just going to use that as an excuse to live any way they please." These are just some of the complaints aimed at those who teach grace. If you have been a reader here for any length of time you can guess that I am going to disagree with those who say we should ease up on all this grace talk. I agree with what Robert Ferrar Capon once wrote.

“The Reformation was a time when men went blind, staggering drunk because they had discovered, in the dusty basement of late medievalism, a whole cellar full of fifteen-hundred-year-old, two-hundred proof Grace–bottle after bottle of pure distilate of Scripture, one sip of which would convince anyone that God saves us single-handedly. The word of the Gospel–after all those centuries of trying to lift yourself into heaven by worrying about the perfection of your bootstraps–suddenly turned out to be a flat announcement that the saved were home before they started…Grace has to be drunk straight: no water, no ice, and certainly no ginger ale; neither goodness, nor badness, not the flowers that bloom in the spring of super spirituality could be allowed to enter into the case.”

I believe that when we look at the whole of Scripture, we will see that the message of pure grace is the message of Jesus. During Jesus' time on this earth, he made it clear that there is no way we could ever be right with God by keeping the Law. The letters written by Paul and the other apostles also are insistent that it is God's grace and mercy that brings us to him and makes us his children. 

Now, there are some who preach what they call a message of grace, but which is really a message of license. They say that because of God's grace a Christian is completely free of all sinning and is never convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit. It is true that the Spirit doesn't pound us down and burden us down with condemnation, but it is also true that we do sin. The conviction is not a judgmental thing but is more a reminder that we are not living as a child of God, but it is still there. When we are called on what we do, whether it is the Spirit or another person, it is not necessarily an accusation from satan.

I believe that an individual who truly has been captured by God's amazing grace, and who truly understands it, will agree with what Paul wrote in Romans 6. We don't sin so that there will be more grace. Grace does not mean that we can just do anything we want and God will just let it slide. God's grace is so powerful that it leads us to want to do whatever our Father wants us to do. The desire of our new heart is to love God with every fiber of our being, and to love others as Christ loved us. Sin is still present in us, and though it is not our nature any longer, we still sometimes choose to do those things that are wrong.

Folks who get grace are not against the Law. Rather, they appreciate the Law because it shows us how desperately we need someone else to do what is necessary to make us right with God. Jesus has fulfilled that Law, therefore it is not an external rule in our lives. Instead, by God's grace, we have an inward law of love that works in us so we can live like the children of God that we are.

The grace of God is amazing, wondrous, and powerful. It saves us and makes us children of God. It causes God's love to fill us and overflow onto those around us. As we are filled more and more with that love, we become more and more like Christ. 

That's pure two-hundred proof grace. Drink deeply.

Goodbye 2014, Hello 2015

If there is one word that best sums up the past year here in the sunny South, it would be the word interesting. There have been a lot of changes and adjustments through the year, especially in the second half. I started 2014 by choosing grace as my word for the year, and there have been multiple moments when I have had to lean on God's grace.

The first five months of the year were relatively normal. Then, things got weird. June 5 was my last day at the middle school where I have been working the past eight and a half years. I didn't actually go in to work that day though, because my father-in-law fell and broke his hip that morning. That was the beginning of the adjustments. I was without work and my father-in-law was taking a different road in his journey. As it has turned out, being out of work has allowed me the time to help him out and to take care of his financial affairs as well as helping him with doctor visits and life in an assisted living facility.

We made it through the summer, and in the middle of September we flew out to California for our daughter, Jennie's, wedding. We had a wonderful time with her and with our new in-laws. I also had the honor of being the officiant at the wedding! That was an amazing thing, and I only choked up three times! We came back home, and within a few weeks our son told us that he and his wife were moving from Charlotte to Seattle so he could work with his cousin who has his own architectural design business. The idea of both of our children being on the opposite side of the country has taken some getting used to, but we know that it's a great opportunity and we are happy for them.

We were able to get together with both of our children at the beginning of December, when we celebrated Christmas and a couple of birthdays. On the 19th, Josh and Alicia set out with all their worldly possessions in a Honda Fit. They drove across the country and arrived in Seattle two days before Christmas. Jan and I celebrated Christmas with her father, and then with some close friends. So Christmas was a bit different, but it was good.

Last night we said goodbye to one year and hello to another. While there are things I could wish had happened differently, I am grateful for God's hand in everything. As we enter into this new year, I still don't have a job, and I'm not totally sure how to proceed. The path is shrouded in fog, and we really don't have a clue what will happen in the future. What we do know is that our Father loves us, and that his heart is good toward us. He knows what is to come, and how we are going to best represent his kingdom.

My word for this year is trust. My prayer is, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!"

What is the Good Life?

A few weeks ago in our gathering, we were looking at the Gospel of John, chapter 5. In this passage we find Jesus in Jerusalem for a feast. While there, he healed a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. Jesus asked the man if he wanted to get well. We could restate that question as, "What is the good life?"

There are at least three answers to that question. Each of us has our own. The first answer came from the man himself. "I don't have anyone to help me." I can't do it. He was looking for someone else to provide for him.While I would guess that he did want to get well, it's also possible that he had become comfortable in his condition and was content to just lay there and let others take care of him. Perhaps he had given up. His idea of the good life was to be physically whole and it just wasn't happening. Many times we get the idea that the good life involves good health, a nice house, late model car, and smart children who do well in school. In other words, the American Dream. Those are good things that God sometimes blesses us with. Jesus did heal the man. However, that is not the good life.

The second answer comes from the religious leaders. They told the man that he was breaking the Sabbath by carrying his mat after Jesus healed him. Their idea of the good life was following the rules, being a good, religious person. They believed that rigidly walking in lockstep with the law and all of their addendums would lead to God's favor. In their thinking, Israel would be restored to its former glory when everyone started keeping the law.

Looking over the religious landscape, there are churches and organizations that would give either of the answers above. On the one hand are those who preach that God's favor comes in the form of material blessings. Others preach that "being right with God" by following certain rules is the way. While God does provide for his children and there are commands in Scripture, those things are not the good life. One can have material things or follow the rules, and still not have the good life. One can have little and not follow all the religious rules, and have it.

Jesus gives us the third, and best, answer. He found the man that he healed and told him to stop sinning. Now, Jesus was not telling him that following the rules would bring the good
life. In verses 16-30 Jesus states that the good life is the life to come and could only be found in him. Jesus says that the Son gives life to whomever he pleases, and that those who put their trust in him have crossed over from death to eternal life. This life is not just some far off, future thing. It is life that is right now. It is the abundant life that Jesus promised to his followers. That is the good life and it is available to all who believe, whether wealthy or poor, healthy or sick. It is a life for those who realize that they can't keep enough rules to make God accept them and who fall entirely on the grace of God through the finished work of Christ on the cross.

The invitation is there. Come, live the good life.

Church Signs: When We Love Christ...

A few weeks ago, I saw another church sign that arrested my attention. This time it was in a good way. The sign read, "When we love Christ, we love others." As I thought about the message on the sign, I thought about how true that is, and how it pretty much sums up our profession of faith in Christ.

There are a lot of people going around who proclaim their devotion to Jesus, who stand up in churches every week and loudly sing of their love for him. Now, it's way above my pay grade to determine how many of those people truly belong to Christ, so I am not judging their spiritual state. I am simply putting this out there as an encouragement for all of us to look at how the way we relate to others matches up with who we say we are in Christ.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is spending time with his disciples on the night he was to be betrayed. He is giving them some last minute teaching and encouragement because he is going to be leaving them. One of the things Jesus gives to his followers is a new command. In Chapter 13, he says that the new command is to love one another as Jesus has loved us. This comes right after the Teacher performs a menial task and serves his disciples by washing their feet, and just before he lays down his life for them. Jesus says that this kind of sacrificial love for others is the way the world will know that we belong to him. In Chapter 15 Jesus calls us to keep his commands and obey his teaching, and then follows with the statement that his command is to love others.

In his first letter, John reminds his us of that command given by Jesus, and then goes on to state that love for others is a test of whether we are truly walking in the light or are still in darkness. John later says that our love for others shows that we have passed from death to life. If we hate, we are proclaiming that we are still in darkness. This love is to be shown, not by flowery words, but by action, by laying down our lives for others.

The command to love was given to followers of Jesus who were facing a world that was totally against them. They were told to love their fellow disciples because there was great danger that their fellowship could be destroyed if they weren't willing to give themselves up for one another. We don't face the same opposition that the early believers faced, but I would venture that all of us have either seen or experienced fellowships that have been destroyed by a lack of love. People have left churches, churches have split or dissolved because folks refused to think of others before themselves. Whole denominations have even come into existence because of a failure to love.

Some may say, "That's all well and good, but we don't have to show the same kind of love for those outside. Right?" I beg to differ. Jesus stated that the second greatest command was to love our neighbor. He also said that our neighbor was essentially anyone with whom we come into contact. The early church understood this. They were known for the love they showed each other and for the love they showed their pagan neighbors, even for the ones who persecuted them. The first Christians were known for their love. They were not known for their "spiritual" vocabulary, for their dress, for what they were against. Yes, they proclaimed truth. Yes, they were not afraid to speak out when a believer was not living out his profession. Yes, they proclaimed that Jesus was the only way, the true King. But, the sacrificial manner in which they lived out their lives in relationship to others put weight behind their words. They showed the world that this Jesus stuff was real and was life changing. With that they turned the world upside down.

Let us all look at our lives and ask ourselves if what we say we believe works out in our day-to-day relationships, both with our brothers and sisters in Christ, and with those who don't don't know him.

Living in a Broken World

A young wife loses her husband, a child loses a parent. An elderly parent leaves this life. A middle aged man loses his job and sees no prospects ahead. Marriages struggle. Church leaders struggle with the demands of ministry while others succumb to the temptation of celebrity. In some corners of the world, believers are imprisoned and killed simply because they follow Jesus.

Anyone who thinks that because we are Christians, our lives are supposed to be sweetness and light, needs to wake up to the reality that we live in a broken world. Sometimes, life sucks. Things don't always go the way we think they should and we are sometimes left wondering. At times, the stuff of life can be overwhelming. We are tempted to give up and despair. Words of comfort fall on deaf ears. I don't have any words of wisdom. I don't have any explanation for most of what happens. I definitely don't want to spout out empty platitudes that may do more harm than good.

There is one thing I believe, and hold on to. I believe that God is good. When things don't make sense, God is good. When the stuff piles up, and the pressure gets unbearable, God is good. When everything seems to fall apart, God is good. As I've gotten older and been through a few things, I am certain of less than I used to be. At the same time, I have become more certain of the goodness of God, more certain that my Father loves me and desires to do me good, even though I may not understand what that good might be. Unlike people I have known who said they were trustworthy and failed to follow through, my Father can be trusted to do what is loving and what is good.

Take heart, friends. God is a loving Father who knows what it is like to suffer. His heart is good to you, and he knows the end from the beginning. Even though it is hard, trust God's heart. Trust his love and his grace. Trust that, though we currently live in a broken world, your Father is redeeming and restoring all things.