This past weekend was my church's 5th annual Fall Retreat up at Camp Shamineau. Even though it rained most of Saturday, we had a great time. We spent most of our time playing games, climbing around the high ropes course, eating way too much food and staying up too late, but we also talked about where the Lord is leading Antioch this coming year.
Our theme was "Internally Strong, Externally Focused". On Saturday morning Andy shared from John 17:20-23, where Jesus prays for the unity of future believers so that the world may know. The whole purpose of having strong community is to be a vehicle for the gospel into the world. To only have community with no mission would be like having a Maserati that never leaves the garage. If you got a brand new car, you wouldn't invite people over to come sit in the garage; you would drive it around! So too we want to grow this year in using our community for the purpose of gospel mission in our neighborhood and world.
Sunday morning we spent some time worshipping and sharing what the Lord was doing in our lives, and what we wanted to see him do going forward. I was so impressed with my Antioch family. Even in a group of about 75 people, it felt incredibly intimate. Each person who shared was open and vulnerable about God's hand in their lives and hearts. And on top of that, just about everyone shared something from Scripture that was currently convicting them and causing them to change something in their lives. As I listened to each person, I was overwhelmed by the maturity and humility our people have with handling the Word and their willingness to be led by it. I felt how I imagine a parent feels when they see their kids doing things they've been telling them about for years. Antioch really is growing up! *tear*
So as we look ahead to what the Lord wants to do in and through us this year, my prayer is that the solid community life we have at Antioch would not just be among ourselves, but would be externally focused on mission to those who still need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. May our hearts be overwhelmed with the reality of the lost, my our feet be quick to run to the aid of those who need Him most, and may we together as a family carry the transforming power of Jesus everywhere we find ourselves.
Amen. Now let's get to work.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Reflections on a Song of Praise
Jude 24-25
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
This doxology from Jude's short little letter is one of my favorite in all of Scripture. The word doxology comes from the latin words for "praise" and "to speak" so usually it's just called a "hymn of praise". Jude's message is all about living in the truth and persevering to the end. It is fitting then that he ends his message in this way.
I'm a pretty klutzy person, so it's not entirely unheard of for me to lose my balance on a perfectly level surface. Typically in everyday life though, the risk of stumbling is only present when the way is rough. This promise that Jesus will keep you from stumbling would have no importance if the road was always smooth, so it must imply something about the life of a follower of Jesus.
Imagine you're going on a walk and you come to a split in the path. One way is paved smooth, has signs indicating what's ahead, and is clearly headed toward civilization. The other way looks like it hasn't been touched in years. It's more like a well worn deer trail through the woods. It's uneven, has muddy potholes, and leads into the mountains. Who knows if it even goes anywhere!
Which one would you choose? While the intrigue of the unknown might call me for a minute, I would eventually take the paved way because I want to make it back alive. And because if anything were to happen to me, I have plenty of friends and family would would yell at me for doing anything so risky!
Unfortunately, the gospel is not interested in which way is safer. In fact, Jesus promises a difficult life for those who follow him. In Matthew 7:13-14 he says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Jesus tells his disciples later on, when they are vying to be Jesus' second in command that they don't know what they're asking for (Matt. 20:22). Even the disciples who saw Jesus every day expected that following him would lead to an easy life. But Jesus' call is "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matt. 16:24).
Jesus promises to keep us from stumbling not by keeping the path smooth, but by providing us with the strength, maturity, and support we need to keep our balance. In keeping us from stumbling into sin, he may not remove the temptation, but he will always give us the strength to withstand it or the resources to run (I Cor. 10:13).
Running from sin can be a lot more successful than we often imagine. When you picture yourself saved from sin, do you see yourself as covered in torn clothes, cuts from the jungle brush, with bite marks from the lion you ran from? Or do you picture yourself as clothed in royal robes, and celebrated with joy as blameless? That is what Jude says we are!
If you know Jesus and have surrendered your life to him, you are not one who has escaped death by the skin of your teeth. You are one whom the only God saved through his son Jesus Christ! As the only God he holds all the glory, he is the most majestic, and he has power over everything in the universe from before it was created, until forever! How can we not praise our God with great joy?
Yes, the road of the believer is rough and narrow and filled with places to stumble. But the reward is so much greater than any reward we can find if we follow the wide path.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Reflections on Being Called a Child of God
I have been loving the first letter of John recently. Whenever I read Scripture I rarely take in every word, so I can read the same chapter (or paragraph!) for a while before I'm able to recall what it says. Anyway, one of my favorite elements of John's writing is the names he uses for his audience. My little children. Beloved. Children of God. Some people may not appreciate being called children and see it as condescending, but I think he is using parental language because of his deep love for them and he can find no more affectionate way to address them.
In calling the readers children, John also draws attention to their, and our, relationship to God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. We are not just in an earthly family, we are part of God's family too! Through this whole letter I can almost hear John pleading with his readers to understand and embrace their standing with the Father. In chapter three, John makes the connection for why it is so critical to understand our relationship with God. "See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!" (exclamation mine)
What are children like? You could answer that question a lot of ways. For one, kids tend to acquire traits from their parents. They might have the same mannerisms, tastes, opinions, or sense of humor. Kids pick up on these things innately, sometimes even while unaware of what they are doing. In verse two John says children of God ought to be the same way. Someday when we see God in person we will look like him. Until that day we live in the hope of his coming and we ought to emulate him, even if our knowledge of him is imperfect. He has given us enough through his Word to mature into his likeness. "And everyone who hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure" (vs. 3).
Then there's a new paragraph. Until recently I had never really noticed the connection between 3:1-3 and 3:4-10. Verses 4-10 are often looked at when talking about eternal security and sin in the life of a believer, and that is fine. But I think it is much more compelling to read that paragraph through the lens of life in God's family. Right after John says God's kids ought to be pure because he is, he gives an example of the opposite. "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness…no one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him...By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."
While I would much prefer to believe that I am my own person, independent of any outside influence, that is clearly not the case. I am either a child of the devil, or a child of God. And my life will reflect my family tree. Either I will live a life defined by sin, or I will be made righteous by my new Father. There is not a lot of grey area here.
John goes on a roll for pretty much the rest of the letter talking about abiding in Christ and letting the Spirit lead, and having wisdom in a world controlled by the devil. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. It's a short one. Then, we get to the last paragraph of the letter: "We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
Sometimes when I'm reading letters like this one I imagine the author writing it. Where was he sitting? What materials and tools was he using? This letter ends so abruptly that it makes me wonder if he ran out of parchment! Did he start the last paragraph and then realize his handwriting was too big to fit in his thoughts? Maybe he said, "Oh shoot, I was going to explain the connection here, but I'll just squeeze the conclusion in…Kids, stay away from idols. There. They'll figure it out." God must have wanted him to be brief, but you have to admit it's a funny way to end a letter! If Paul was writing this he would have gone on for pages...
So what is the connection? God's family doesn't live in continual sin…got it. The world is under the power of the evil one and doesn't know God, so the world sins…check. Only Jesus has the power to save leading to eternal life and give us an understanding of God…right…so what about idols?
Idolatry is the worship of anything that is less than God; it's putting anything in place of God in our lives. In other words, the world lives in perpetual idolatry because they do not know the one true God. The world puts a myriad of things on the throne and calls many things King. This is a temptation that believers have to fight every moment. Being in the world, we are tempted and enchanted by lots of glittering things that only look like they will satisfy. We are God's children and to follow, worship, or surrender to anything other than our Father is to walk a path that is not laid out by the Spirit. It will only lead to death. So consider: what are you following that is not the one true God? What things of the world are getting your allegiance? What do you spend the most time thinking about? If we know Christ, we need to ask these kinds of questions and continually grow into the likeness of our Father. That will not happen if we are being led by the things of this world. "Little children, keep yourself from idols."
In calling the readers children, John also draws attention to their, and our, relationship to God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. We are not just in an earthly family, we are part of God's family too! Through this whole letter I can almost hear John pleading with his readers to understand and embrace their standing with the Father. In chapter three, John makes the connection for why it is so critical to understand our relationship with God. "See what kind of love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are!" (exclamation mine)
What are children like? You could answer that question a lot of ways. For one, kids tend to acquire traits from their parents. They might have the same mannerisms, tastes, opinions, or sense of humor. Kids pick up on these things innately, sometimes even while unaware of what they are doing. In verse two John says children of God ought to be the same way. Someday when we see God in person we will look like him. Until that day we live in the hope of his coming and we ought to emulate him, even if our knowledge of him is imperfect. He has given us enough through his Word to mature into his likeness. "And everyone who hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure" (vs. 3).
Then there's a new paragraph. Until recently I had never really noticed the connection between 3:1-3 and 3:4-10. Verses 4-10 are often looked at when talking about eternal security and sin in the life of a believer, and that is fine. But I think it is much more compelling to read that paragraph through the lens of life in God's family. Right after John says God's kids ought to be pure because he is, he gives an example of the opposite. "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness…no one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has seen him or known him...By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."
While I would much prefer to believe that I am my own person, independent of any outside influence, that is clearly not the case. I am either a child of the devil, or a child of God. And my life will reflect my family tree. Either I will live a life defined by sin, or I will be made righteous by my new Father. There is not a lot of grey area here.
John goes on a roll for pretty much the rest of the letter talking about abiding in Christ and letting the Spirit lead, and having wisdom in a world controlled by the devil. If you haven't read it, I recommend it. It's a short one. Then, we get to the last paragraph of the letter: "We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
Sometimes when I'm reading letters like this one I imagine the author writing it. Where was he sitting? What materials and tools was he using? This letter ends so abruptly that it makes me wonder if he ran out of parchment! Did he start the last paragraph and then realize his handwriting was too big to fit in his thoughts? Maybe he said, "Oh shoot, I was going to explain the connection here, but I'll just squeeze the conclusion in…Kids, stay away from idols. There. They'll figure it out." God must have wanted him to be brief, but you have to admit it's a funny way to end a letter! If Paul was writing this he would have gone on for pages...
So what is the connection? God's family doesn't live in continual sin…got it. The world is under the power of the evil one and doesn't know God, so the world sins…check. Only Jesus has the power to save leading to eternal life and give us an understanding of God…right…so what about idols?
Idolatry is the worship of anything that is less than God; it's putting anything in place of God in our lives. In other words, the world lives in perpetual idolatry because they do not know the one true God. The world puts a myriad of things on the throne and calls many things King. This is a temptation that believers have to fight every moment. Being in the world, we are tempted and enchanted by lots of glittering things that only look like they will satisfy. We are God's children and to follow, worship, or surrender to anything other than our Father is to walk a path that is not laid out by the Spirit. It will only lead to death. So consider: what are you following that is not the one true God? What things of the world are getting your allegiance? What do you spend the most time thinking about? If we know Christ, we need to ask these kinds of questions and continually grow into the likeness of our Father. That will not happen if we are being led by the things of this world. "Little children, keep yourself from idols."
Friday, July 26, 2013
Article 1: God
This is the current draft of the first paragraph of a paper I'm writing. I may have written myself into a corner...
To describe God in any adequate manner, we would have to be God. Any attempt to describe his characteristics, or explain his motivations, would immediately do him an injustice by its insufficiency. God is One, and he is three. God is eternal, and he is always present. God is the Creator and the Destroyer. He is Love and Wrath. He is unknowable and yet he has made himself known. This is why our God is so incredible; this infinite God has put himself into words and flesh so that we finite creatures could know Him. And in that moment, we also know that we cannot comprehend him. That is why we worship.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The Way of the Cross
The other day I was working on the reading for Porterbrook's first course entitled "Gospel Living." It looks at all areas of life and appeals to the cross as our only motivator, sustainer, and hope. As such, the cross ought to have an impact on every single facet of life, no matter how small. One of the exercises asked this question: How will the way of the cross affect your next five minutes/hours/days/months/years?
I encourage you to ask yourself this question about each time frame given; for me, it is surprisingly difficult. We are often very good at talking about how Jesus' sacrifice makes us feel, and how we should respond to it in a general sense, but to ask how the cross will change my life in the next five minutes is another thing entirely. Do we believe that the cross changes not just my life in the cosmic sense, but my every moment? I had a harder time dividing it as specifically as the book, so I grouped them into Today, This Fall, and Years to Come.
How will the way of the cross affect you today?
I need to remain others-oriented in a busy schedule. In light of the focused perspective Jesus had for his mission, I can be fully present with every person in front of me, even when I'm aware of the next person/activity on the schedule.
How will the way of the cross affect you this fall?
Jesus gave to the point of death -- I have no right to let tiredness determine the amount of grace I give to others. I need to keep the big picture in view and follow Christ in all ways in ministry and personal life. I need to bring my stress to Jesus and not medicate in my own unhealthy ways.
How will the way of the cross affect you in years to come?
Come what may, the cross does not allow for bitterness. The future is completely unknown (to me, not God) and the cross frees me to live in peace regardless of circumstance. Loneliness, bitterness, fear, and uncertainty will come and go but resting in the power of the cross I am not alone. Ever.
How does the way of the cross change your life?
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A Silver Soul
Last week I had the chance to be in the northwoods of Minnesota for four whole days! It was a great chance to rest, and it looks like church went along without a hitch, so no worries there! These are some of my thoughts from the time I had to read and journal.
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole soul and spirit and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
How would you describe "sanctification"? Sanctification is a big word to say set apart for a purpose. So a book that is read is sanctified. A book that is holding up an unsteady table is not. In being set apart someone or something who is sanctified is not mixed up with anything that distracts or detracts from their intended purpose. Another way to say it is, sanctified is to be holy. Only God is truly holy but he also commands us, "Be holy as I am holy" (Lev. 11:44).
Don't miss the severity of Paul's language here. He prays that the believers would be sanctified completely and that every aspect of the reader's being would be totally blameless until the end of time. In other words, be perfect, and be perfect forever. If that doesn't break your heart and make you feel at least a little bit hopeless, you don't understand your sin in light of God's holiness. Thank God for verse 24: "He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it." The same God who says, "Be holy as I am holy" is the one who carries us to that end. And really, he's the only one who could. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself."
I am afraid we have a view of sanctification that is much too soft. Of course we will never be made perfect in this life, but that doesn't give us permission to take Paul's prayer (or the Lord's command in Lev. 11:44) any less seriously. In John 17:17, Jesus prays for believers saying, "Sanctify them in truth. Your word is truth." Sanctification comes through the power of the Word, but it's not just 15 minutes in a devotional over a cup of coffee, praying that God would make you stop doing the same sins you've been praying about for years, and then living just like anyone else in the world. No, Sanctification is a radical transformation that takes drastic measures to accomplish.
In his book Every Body Matters, Gary Thomas spends a lot of time looking at 2 Timothy 2:20-21.
"Now, in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work."
What is it that makes silver useful? Proverbs 25:4 gives us an insight, "Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel." Dross is anything mixed with the silver that is not silver. This could be other metals like copper, or clay, or quartz. Until the silver is totally separated from the rest, the blacksmith cannot use it to make anything. As the dross must be removed, our sin has to be dealt with before we can be of any use to the Master.
Removing dross from silver is not like an archeologist uncovering an ancient city; it is not done with a little brush and chisel. It is removed with fire. The mixed up metals get heated up to the point that everything else burns away, melts, or can be hammered into form. This process is brutal, but it's the only way for a vessel of silver to be made.
To use Gary Thomas' phrase, do you have a "silver soul"? Are you able to withstand the brutal process of eradicating sin in order to be sanctified? Are you burning up your sin, or are you content to live all mixed up with worthless things? If sin has a stranglehold around your neck, massaging it's fingers will not loosen it's grip. You have to cut off the hand.
Yes, sanctification will take a lifetime in Christ. But that is no excuse for appeasing our sin, letting the dross of this world take residence in our souls. If you have become accustomed to anything in your life that is less than holy, repent and turn to Jesus! Let him sanctify you. Let go of the junk and be made wholly useful.
So, we need to be sanctified by the Spirit. But don't forget it's for a purpose. The Lord wants to take our ridiculous mess, burn away the dross, and hammer us into something useful in his great house. As we eradicate sin by the power of the gospel, we need to look at every aspect of our being. I mean every part of us. Paul says, "may your whole soul and spirit and body be kept blameless." See that? He prays for our spiritual, emotional and physical elements. Are you testing your spirit and soul and body to see if it is ready for every good work and useful to the Master? Ask yourself these questions:
Am I filling my soul with Scripture, or am I worshiping lesser gods?
Is my attitude motivated by Christ, or am I responding to others like one who has no hope?
Are my thoughts honoring to God, or am I meditating the things of this world?
Am I filling my body with life-giving food, or am I content to fill up on empty calories that leave me with no energy to be ready for good work?
Am I caring for my body in a way that makes me "ready for every good work" and "useful to the Master"?
We as the body of believers need to spur one another on in this. I encourage you as we come to the end of this series to talk with others in your Community Group or close friends about where you need sanctification. And then don't be afraid to ask each other how it is going! Follow up is a crucial part of the process of spurring one another on. How great would it be if every single person in Antioch had a "silver soul"?
Monday, August 13, 2012
A little song I'm working on
Never the Same
Captivated by your love, this is real.
Enraptured in this mystery I can only feel.
Who am I to say that you should ever look my way, but you did.
And I'll never be the same.
I'm too small to comprehend your great love.
If only I could see the fullness of your grace.
But You came down and rescued me, God as Man, in you I see.
And I'll never be the same.
You Lord, called my name
You Lord, sought me out
You Lord, saved me from all my doubt and shame
And I'll never be the same.
Even though I walk the Valley of Death,
You are right beside me guiding me to the end.
There's no place that's high, deep, long or wide enough to be beyond you
And you will remain same.
You Lord, called my name
You Lord, sought me out
You Lord, saved me from all my doubt and shame
And I'll never be the same.
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