Category: Faith

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“Come To Me, and I Will Give You…”

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.
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As It Turns Out, Love Does Win

No, this isn’t a post about the recent book that has some corners of the blogoverse all a-Twitter. Sunday morning, we were talking about following Jesus in 21st Century and how to convey the idea of Christ as King and Lord to a culture that knows nothing about kings and masters. We live in a country where we elect our leaders, and we can vote them out if we don’t like the way they lead us. How do we talk about a ruler to people who cherish democracy and hate being told what to do?

As I thought about this question, I realized that a possible answer lies in the type of kingdom Jesus established. Jesus came in the midst of a world that had much experience with kings. Kings who established their kingdoms by overthrowing others. Kings who ruled by force and fear. Jesus came to inaugurate a kingdom based on love, a kingdom begun by a king who submitted to a cruel execution at the hands of the Roman empire. Jesus kingdom later turned that empire upside down. By love.
When you think about it, our world really isn’t that much different than the Roman world in the first century. We elect our leaders, but how many of us obey the laws of our land because we love them. For the most part, people obey the law because they don’t want to face the consequences of breaking that law. Just notice all the brakelights that come on when drivers on the highway see a state trooper on the side. Most people live lives full of fear. They fear the opinion of others. They fear the future. They fear being seen as they really are. There is force as well. The force of public opinion, the force of things that control us, the force of religion dictating how they live their lives.
As the early Christians did, we have a message that can free folks from their chains of fear and force. We are part of a kingdom, economy, world, family (whatever you want to call it), in which love rules. The reason we are in this is the love of Christ for us. Because Jesus loves us, we love. We love the Father, and we love his children. We also love those around us. We do what we do because of love. It is love that shows the world around us that we belong to Jesus, not the force of our moral or theological arguments. It is love that makes us different, not a set of behavioral rules. It is love that takes us to serve the least of these rather than expect them to come to us. It is love that lets us forgive when everyone else says we should get our revenge. It is love that allows us to lay down our lives for others when the world tells us to look out for number one. Love is the foundation of Christ’s kingdom, and it is by love that his kingdom will conquer.
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
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Church: First Century and Twenty-first Century Part 2

On Tuesday, we looked at the first two things to which the church in Acts 2 was devoted. To sum up, the early believers were committed to Jesus Christ and to each other. Today, I want to discuss the other two things that had the church’s devotion.

The Christians in the first days of the Church were devoted to the breaking of bread, according to Acts 2. Breaking bread meant something far greater than taking communion together, especially the way it is done in many churches today. I believe that this goes along with fellowship. In those times, to break bread with someone meant to share a meal with them. Sharing a meal meant that person was accepted as an equal, as someone who was valued. When the Apostle Paul gives his instructions concerning the Lord’s Supper, he is talking about more than just passing a few crackers and cups of grape juice around. The early church met together for meals, and it seems that “communion” was a part of those meals (Someone who has more knowledge than I do can feel free to correct me). Table fellowship is an important part of living life together. It is around the table that conversation flows, and folks get to know each other. It is around the table that the relationships so vital to the body are formed and strengthened.
The last focus of the church was prayer. When the early church prayed in Acts 4, the place where they were was shaken. Their prayers shook buildings and empires. Today, we have reduced corporate prayer to something that happens on one night of the week or when there is an emergency situation. I wonder if one of the reasons we don’t pray as a church is because we don’t know each other. If we aren’t devoted to the life together, we aren’t going to feel comfortable letting each other know what our real needs are. So, our times of prayer as a body can tend to be very shallow. Our personal prayers for each other can also become flat, if we aren’t able to be open and honest with each other. Prayer may be the single biggest thing missing in churches today. I think that lack may be tied to the lack of devotion to Christ and to each other.
A great deal of negative rumors were spread about the first Christians, but the one statement that no one could deny was, “Behold, how these Christians love one another.” I pray that statement once again becomes the truest thing that people can say about us.
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Church: First Century and Twenty-first Century

In Acts 2, Luke gives us an account of the first days of the early Church. Verses 42-47 describe what the earliest believers did as a group:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I don’t believe that the accounts of the practices of the first century churches are prescriptive. Many of the things they did would not fit in another time or another culture. However, I do believe that the attitudes that the first Christians had, and the actions driven by those attitudes, are necessary for any group to be vital and show Christ to a watching world. This is especially true in smaller fellowships where it is not easy to get lost in the crowd.

Notice verse 42. The early followers of Jesus were devoted to four things. We’ll talk about the first two in this post, and the next two in another post. The first was the teaching of the apostles about Jesus Christ. They were committed to learning how to follow this Lord from the ones who had spent three years as his disciples. They weren’t learning how to be a better ____________________. Somehow in the last 2000 years, we have drifted away from that original teaching and replaced it any number of teachings that could easily pass for motivational lectures, or sermons that betray the speaker’s desire to control the lives of his listeners.

The second thing they were committed to was fellowship, or as The Message puts it, “the life together.” Again, we have drifted away from the original. Fellowship now means a covered dish supper or some other type of special event where church members get together. To the early church, fellowship carried the idea of living life together, of being involved in one another’s lives, of having an intimate relationship with their brothers and sisters and fellow members of the Body. There was a bond that they were committed to.

You could say that the first century Christians were devoted to Jesus Christ and to each other. In a later post, we’ll look further at the devotion of our spiritual forerunners.




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Hearing From God

When I was growing up, we were taught that the only way God spoke to us today was through the Bible. Most of the time that meant the Bible as interpreted and explained by the man preaching from the pulpit up front. There were numerous Bible study aids and approved teachers that could further explain anything anything we needed to know. God may have spoken to the saints in the Bible, but that ended when the canon of Scripture was complete. Folks who claimed that God spoke to them were out there on the fringe.

Over the past few years, my views on the subject have changed. As I have been exposed to the wider variety of people and ideas in the Body of Christ, I come to accept that God does speak to his people today. I realize that the One who created the universe can speak to anybody he pleases, in any way he chooses. Up until the last couple of months however, I wondered if, and how, God would ever speak to me.
While reading Walking With God by John Eldridge, it was suggested to me that I try an exercise that is in the book. The exercise was to ask God how I felt I was doing, and then to ask him how he saw me. So, I decided to give it a try. I asked what I thought about myself, what I really felt deep down. I was thinking something along the lines of “okay,” “could be better,” or something along those lines. While I was asking, the word, “failure” came to me. I immediately recognized it because I knew that was exactly how I saw myself. Not that I was a total, abject failure, but that I just never quite measured up, that whatever I did just wasn’t quite good enough. Needless to say, that threw me for quite a loop.
The next part of the exercise was to ask God what he thought. So, I asked, and waited for the answer. And waited. And waited. All night I asked God what he thought. I began to wonder if maybe I was right, and that God agreed with me. On my way to work the next morning, I continued to pray. As I did the words “clay jar” came to mind. I realized that God was speaking to me. Not in an audible voice, but through my heart. God was telling me that I was not a failure, but that I was a clay jar for him to fill. Over the next few weeks, God continued to expand on that idea, and I am learning to listen and recognize the voice of my Shepherd. I am learning that that voice can come any number of ways, from a song on the radio to something I read, from a prompting deep in my heart to a friend’s words to me. God still speaks through Scripture, but now I firmly believe that we cannot limit how God chooses to communicate.
By the way, try the exercise. You may be surprised.
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Why Easter?

Easter is one of the most important days of the year in some church traditions. In others, it’s a day when more folks come to church and fill the seats, providing a boost in the overall attendance figures. Some churches merely give the day a passing nod and go on about their regular business.

N.T. Wright, quoted here in this post on the internet monk site, states that we should celebrate Easter with enough wild abandon that the watching world wonders what in the world we are celebrating in such a manner. When I stop and think about what Easter really means, I’m inclined to agree with him.
The resurrection of Christ from the dead is his triumph over death. Jesus died for us, really died. He entered into something that has plagued humans since the Fall. What makes the difference is that Jesus DID NOT stay dead. He entered into death, took names and kicked butt. Death thought that Jesus had been stopped, that death had once again triumphed. By rising from the grave Christ took the teeth out of death. As the Apostle Paul writes, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Death cannot touch us now. Oh, we may experience physical death, but it has no power over us. Because Christ is risen, we also shall rise and never die. Paul also says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” If death has been put to death, then its sting, sin has been put to death as well, as well as the law. That means we are free from death, free from sin, and free from the law.
Sometimes this journey following Jesus gets tough. There are obstacles all along the path, and sometimes things get so dark that we can’t even see the way ahead. At those times we can look back to the Resurrection and realize that because we can look back to that event, we can also look forward to the promise of our own resurrection and victory over death. The Resurrection gives us the strength to carry on.
The Resurrection also gives us the motivation to love others as we love ourselves. Because there has been a Resurrection, there will be a resurrection. Because their will be a resurrection, every person matters, and every thing we do matters. We don’t know what any one person will be resurrected to, so we are moved to treat everyone with dignity, love and compassion. The Resurrection also guarantees that all of us who follow Jesus will be with him for eternity. This moves us to see all who claim Christ as our brothers and sisters, and fellow members of Christ’s Body. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that enables us to love one another when we tend to act in an unloving manner.
The Resurrection is the opening move in the ongoing and final restoration of all of God’s creation. It is truly death working backwards. That moves us to see creation as something that is being restored, rather than as a goddess or a thing to simply be exploited. We are invited to participate in the restoration that is happening now while looking ahead to that which is to come.
The Resurrection changes everything. It was, and still is, a world altering event. So celebrate! Throw Easter parties. Some traditions celebrate Easter for more than just one day. That’s a great idea. Let those around see us go far beyond the chocolate bunnies, the new clothes, the ham dinners. Let them see how much we value what has happened, and let them wonder.
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It was quite definitely early morning now, not late night.
“I’m so cold,” said Lucy.
“So am I,” said Susan. “Let’s walk about a bit.”
They walked to the eastern ridge of the hill and looked down. The one big star had almost disappeared. The country all looked dark gray, but beyond, at the very end of the world, the sea showed pale. The sky began to turn red. They walked to and fro more times than they could count between the deadAslan and the eastern ridge, trying to keep warm, and oh, how tired their legs felt. Then at last, as they stood for a moment looking out toward the sea andCair Paravel (which they could just now make out) the red turned to gold along the line where the sea and the sky met and very slowly up came the edge of the sun. At that moment they heard from behind them a loud noise–a great cracking, deafening noise as if a giant had cracked a giant’s plate.
“What’s that?” said Lucy, clutching Susan’s arm.
“I–I feel afraid to turn round,” said Susan; “something awful is happening.”
“They’re doing something worse to Him,” said Lucy, “Come on!” And she turned, pulling Susan round with her.
The rising of the sun made everything look so different–all colors and shadows were changed–that for a moment they didn’t see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end, and there was no Aslan.
“Oh, oh, oh!” cried the two girls, rushing back to the Table.
“Oh, it’s too bad,” sobbed Lucy; “they might have left the body alone.”
“Who’s done it?” cried Susan. “What does it mean? Is it more magic?”
“Yes!” said a great voice behind their backs. “It is more magic.” They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
“Oh, Aslan!” cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad.
“Aren’t you dead then, dear Aslan?” said Lucy.
“Not now,” said Aslan.
“You’re not–not a–?” asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn’t bring herself to say the word ghost. Aslan stooped his golden head and licked her forehead. The warmth of his breath and a rich sort of smell that seemed to hang about his hair came all over her.
“Do I look it?” he said.
“Oh, you’re real, you’re real! Oh Aslan!” cried Lucy, and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.
“But what does it all mean?” asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.
“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.”

C.S. Lewis: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Christ is risen!

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Weekend Wanderings

This week has been a week off because the schools are off. I caught up on some yard work and traveled to spend some time with my sister and her family. We went to a Stations of the Cross event in our town this evening. Tomorrow we’ll go to a Saturday vigil, and Sunday will see us at a sunrise service somewhere in town.

There’s a fair bit of good stuff out there about Good Friday, Easter, etc., so here it is:
Rest tomorrow, and have a glorious Easter!
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This week, I’m going to repost some things I wrote last year during the Easter season. This first one was written for Palm Sunday.

Today we celebrated the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by people hailing him as the Messiah. Evidently this procession was not the only one making it’s way into the city that day. The Roman governor, Pilate, was also entering Jerusalem with his forces. This was something that happened before every Jewish holiday. After all, the Romans had to remind the Jews who really was in charge.

So, you have an imperial Roman procession on one side of the city and a subversive, Messianic parade on the other side. The people shouting, “Hosanna!” as Jesus made his way along the road thought they understood what was going on. As they saw it, this man who had performed so many miracles was the promised king who would drive out the hated Gentile oppressors and restore the glory of Israel. Unfortunately, as the week unfolded, many of these same people, now disillusioned, would join in the calls for his crucifixion by those same oppressors.

Those folks were partially right. Jesus was the promise Messiah. He had come to set up a kingdom and free them from their oppression. What they didn’t realize was the nature of the kingdom. It was a kingdom that is not of this world, a kingdom that came in, not by way of overthrowing the present empire, but by the king dying at the hands of that empire. The Jews were expecting God to do things the way they expected. They didn’t understand that God rarely works that way.

I thought of how many times I’ve prayed for things and thought that God was going to answer those prayers in a certain way, either because I had jumped through a certain number of hoops to “earn” God’s blessing, or because I couldn’t think of any other way God could act. I trusted in God for the things I thought he would (or should) do. Like the Jews I followed Jesus for what I could get out of it. The funny thing is, God never seemed to do the things that I expected, yet so many things turned out in such a way that I knew the Father was taking care of me. Things were not all sweetness and light, and sometimes I questioned God about what he was doing. But I can look back on those days and see that God was there, and that he was working.

During our times together at St. Thomas, we have seen that God is not predictable. He is not someone who can be counted on to always do things a certain way. God relates to people in all kinds of ways, and we cannot tie him down to a particular plan of action. None of us can figure God out, yet he calls us into relationship with him. In that relationship we learn to trust God simply for who he is rather than for what we think he can do for us.

Be encouraged. Your Father loves you more than you know. He has given you his life and his glory. Trust the Father, even when the parade of Palm Sunday turns into the darkness of Friday.

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For My Friends

In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Of course, we know that the context is Jesus telling his disciples that he is now calling them friends and that he is going to lay down his life. That has also been interpreted over the years to teach that we, as followers of Jesus, are to lay down our lives for others. I look at this verse and put it together with the command to love each other as Christ loves us and the declaration that that love will be the mark that shows who we belong to. It causes me to look at myself and ask if I’m really willing to lay down my life for my friends. I don’t mean just being willing to take a bullet or throw myself in front of a speeding bus. It is much deeper, and I believe, much more difficult than that. Am I willing to give up my time for my friends? Am I willing to make them a priority? Am I willing to rearrange my schedule, if possible, for them? Am I willing to be awakened in the middle of the night to lend a hand? Am I willing to let them have their way in certain matters? To go deeper, am I willing to pursue a brother or sister who is estranged? Am I willing to forgo worship to be reconciled, as Jesus taught? Am I willing to humble myself and ask forgiveness? Am I willing to forgive, whether the other has asked or not? Am I willing to acknowledge hurt, forgive, and then re-establish fellowship because the other is my sister or brother, because we are family? Now it’s starting to sound more like dying. Am I willing to do whatever it takes, at any cost to myself, to strive to keep the unity we have in Jesus Christ? Am I willing to be misunderstood, criticized, even slandered to show Abba’s love to a world that is desperately in need of it? Am I willing to die? Tough questions. Questions that I ask myself, questions that all who follow Jesus should ask. My answer echoes the prayer of the father with the sick son in Mark 9:24: Lord, I am willing, help my lack of willingness!