Reflections on Community and Mission

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. 

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.  

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." 

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.

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? 

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.

We are coming up to the end of the I Thessalonians series at Antioch. Through the letter we have looked at a bunch of ways to live a Christ-filled life in faith, hope, and love so that the world will see Jesus because of us. Coming to the end means we will finally look at our memory verse! 5:23-24 is Paul's conclusion after so many instructions. In case you don't have it memorized yet...

     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"? 

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. 

Looking Jesus in the Face

The Gospel of John, chapter one, is one the the most exciting passages of all of scripture to me. It's like a great story where you're not sure what's going on until part way through, but when you go back and read it again you see all the details were there from the beginning. You just didn't understand the story enough yet to see them. 

Starting in the cosmos John explains Jesus to be the Word of God through whom all creation came into existence. Light explodes everywhere in creation and from Him. It's like the beginning of an action movie where the camera starts back near Pluto, rockets past the planets, cuts our atmosphere, and lands on a street corner in Brooklyn. Or in this case, a middle eastern wilderness. Zooming into focus we see this guy named John (not the author) who came to tell about this cosmic Light. Crazy John (as his friends called him) starts telling everyone about this Light that is coming, and is here already, and that this Light can make you a child of God because the Light is God. The onlookers aren't so sure about this guy.

Jesus walks into the group and John flips out in excitement, "This is the Light I've been telling you about! Your Messiah is here!" The Holy Spirit descends like a dove from the sky, confirming that this guy is the Son of God. Something tells me we're not done with the cosmic perspective in this book. 

But then things get personal. Jesus starts talking with people. John's disciples leave him and follow Jesus. And the first recorded words of Jesus in the book are to these men: "What are you seeking?" It's clear they don't quite know what they want, except to be with him. "Come and you will see." So they followed. 

Jesus comes across this guy Philip, "Follow Me." Philip had a personal encounter with Jesus and there was nothing he could do, but be changed. He ran home and told his buddy Nathanael. "We found our Messiah! He's Joseph's son from Nazareth!" Nathanael seriously questions him. "Oh come on, how could the Messiah be the son of a carpenter from a hick town?" Philip could have argued this point for awhile, with prophecies from the Old Testament, with what Jesus did and said already, but Philip just replies, "Come and see." 

When Nathanael goes and meets Jesus face to face, Jesus is able to tell Nathanael where he was sitting when Philip found him. Nathanael replies in awe, "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" I almost think I can see Jesus laughing at Nathanael when he says, "You believe in me because I could see where you were? You will see greater things than these! You will see heaven itself!" This man who is calling people to follow can also control the cosmos! 

The rest of the gospel of John goes on to tell about the Jesus' life, but the message is the same. Jesus Christ is God of the universe, creator of all things, and he is the one who sees Nathanael lounging in his shady backyard. He left his throne where the earth was his footstool, and came down to save us sinners. He has complete sovereignty and he wants to rescue us from our mess. 

The best witness Philip had was to invite Nathanael to come and have the same face-to-face experience that he had. I could make brilliant arguments that prove Jesus is God, but until you or I have a personal encounter with Him, it makes no difference. When Jesus says "Come and see. Follow Me," can we do anything but follow? There is no other adventure like it. 

Look him in the face and see for yourself.

I Thessalonians and Personal Growth

This coming Sunday, Pastor Andy is going to kick off our new sermon series through the book of I Thessalonians. I was reading I Thessalonians this morning and I realized I had done a project on the letter while I was a college student. After digging through a couple of files I found my project. The goal of the project was to synthesize the themes in Paul's letter. While so often biblical study is focused on analyzing and breaking down the text into the smallest bits, my professor wanted us to bring it together; to look at the whole thing at once. I had a blast with this project because as much as I love to analyze I need to see the big picture for it to be worth the work. 

But as I looked closer at this project, I started seeing a bunch of things I didn't like. I drew some connections that don't seem that important, and missed some more of the obvious points. I didn't like how I broke down the segments. Why did I stop that section there, when Paul kept on the same theme in the next verse? Did I seriously misspell a three letter word? In a matter of minutes, this prized project became embarrassing. 

Then I noticed the date on the cover page: December 12, 2002. I did this ten years ago?!? I did this project the first semester of my college career! Now I feel old. But, I also get to have grace for myself. While this was a mildly impressive display of biblical literacy when I was 18 (at least my prof thought so), I have changed in the last 10 years. I see things differently now.

Life with Christ is never stagnant. We never learn anything in finality. We are always growing and changing, and so our understanding of God and his Word must always be growing as well. The Bible is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and so are we! The gospel of Jesus never changes, but because of its infinite dimensions, we should always see it new. 

I pray that I never see the Bible as something I have all figured out, or even any one book as something I've already studied enough. I pray these next 13 weeks through 1 Thessalonians will be a great rediscovery of the unchanging message of the gospel and that it would penetrate our lives in a brand new way. 

Living in Reality

Psalm 4

¹ Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

² O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?    Selah

³ But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.

⁴ Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.   Selah

⁵ Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the LORD.

⁶ There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!”

⁷ You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸ In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

----------------------

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this verse while playing a little Bible Roulette. I don’t recommend this as a regular reading plan because it can really lead you in the wrong direction, but I didn’t have any ideas of where to read that day so I was just flipping around. 

The Psalms are well known for not mincing any words, and for expressing extreme emotions, but what stuck out to me about this chapter is not the circumstantial context of the words but the process David goes through. He looks honestly at his circumstance, looks at the truth of the Lord, and then responds in light of the truth. 

In verses one and two David cries out to God about his troubles, and to his neighbors about their sin. David looks around and asks, “How long?” In other words, “Will this never end?” It is easy to get caught in that cycle of thinking: look at the messed up world around me (or the messed up me!), yell at God, repeat. But David doesn’t stop there; he looks beyond the trouble to what he knows about God. 

Who The Lord Is

The truth about the world is glaringly obvious to us, but the truth about God is all too often more difficult to find. In the middle of his distress David is able to say in verse three, “The LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call him.” 

How could David say this with such certainty? I think there are two basic reasons. First, David knew the history of God’s faithfulness to his people. He would have grown up being told all about how the Lord had called Abraham out of his homeland, how he had protected Joseph from slavery and made him #2 in all of Egypt, how he had called Moses to service through the burning bush, how he made the Red Sea dry for the Israelites to cross, and then flooded Pharaoh's army in it. He would have known about the manna and how the Lord led them by fire and cloud through the wilderness. He knew about (and had copies of) the Law that was handed down to the Israelites to set them apart for the Lord. 

But knowing about good work of God in other people’s lives does little to change our own. After all, David’s older brothers would have known all the same stories, but they weren’t exactly jumping up to fight Goliath. Which leads me to the second part: David had personally experienced the Lord’s work in his life. When he was just a kid he talked King Saul into letting him fight Goliath by saying, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37 ESV) He had seen the Lord protect him before and he had confidence that He would do it again! 

For us, all of these stories and more are now in our Old Testament. If we don’t know the history of God’s faithfulness, how will we ever trust him ourselves? It would be like handing over your children to a daycare you had zero research on, and no one recommended to you! Having personal experiences with the Lord, however, leads to greater and greater trust in Him. This means we cannot hide in our comfort zone. We need to be willing to be in places that require us to trust God. It means stepping out in faith even when the reality of the situation is grim, because the reality of God is great. 

David responds this way in verses four through eight, with a few instructions and some attitude adjustments. If we really believe that God hears us and will always care for his people, we are freed up to not be angry, to trust the Lord, and to live in joy. Even with his enemies all over the place David entrusts his safety to the Lord so much so that he can lie down and sleep in peace! 

If the Truth is True...

If this doesn’t sound like you, what is missing? If we say we believe the truth about who God is and what He can do, then why should we live any other way than in peace and joy? Either we don’t believe the reality of God, or we are crazy. Reality (i.e. truth) inevitably affects how we live. 

Consider this example: You have a friend who is deaf. You know this about her, so naturally you communicate differently with her than with a hearing friend. Maybe she can read lips, so you’re conscious of facing her when you speak. Or maybe you learn sign language, or you type to each other. Whatever you do, you change your typical habits in light of the reality of her hearing loss. You then see someone walk up to your friend and start speaking to her as if she can hear. The speaker doesn’t get a response and repeats themselves more loudly. What goes through your head at this point? Either 1) they don’t know she’s deaf so they aren’t changing their habits, or 2) they do know she’s deaf and they’re foolish for thinking that they should be able to communicate the same way they always do! 

We naturally conform to reality in every day life, so why is responding to the reality of God so hard? Either we don’t truly know or believe who the Lord is and what He can do, or we are actively choosing to live life contrary to that reality. 

Truth is not just a thing to be studied or argued about, but something that radically changes our lives. In John 8:31-32 Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” David was not spending sleepless nights wondering what would happen to him. He slept soundly, knowing the Lord was protecting him. Knowing the truth turns us from slavery to freedom! 

So what? 

A couple questions to consider:  

Do you know the Lord? God has revealed himself to us through his Son Jesus (“the Word made flesh”) as recorded in the Bible (“The Word”). God is powerful enough to overcome any circumstance, but he will only do so if you know him. Commit your life to him, and turn from your sin. If you are struggling with trusting God in tough times, spend more time in his Word, and find out who he says he is. He has things to say to each of us in our situations, and wants to be our Redeemer. 

Are you living in reality or in fear? Sometimes we live contrary to the truth we know because even if we say we know it, the scary reality of life is more convincing than the reality of God’s truth. Meditate on John 8:31-32--the truth will set you free! Ask yourself, “What am I afraid of?” and then ask Jesus to redeem that fear and help you live in the truth of his love and power. We need to continually remember that His Word is the ultimate authority on everything, and when our circumstances don’t make sense, he is still true. 

Who will walk with you? The Christian life cannot be lived alone. We need each other to function. Share with at least one person where you need help trusting the Lord and ask them to support you...and support them as well! Your Community Groups are a great place for this. You don’t always need to give all the details, but no one will be shocked if you share that you are not always believing the truth of the gospel and living it consistently at all times in all ways! The nature of life on this earth is one of constant growth in this area. 

Other thoughts? Leave a comment below! 

Living It Out...in the most unexpected ways

Early this summer, Andy told me he wanted a mini fridge in the church office so we could offer water and snacks to people when we had meetings there. Being the ever-submissive assistant I went to Home Depot and got one for less than $100! We almost had some trouble with our tax-exempt status because I didn't have a Home Depot account for the company, but a manager came over and just hit a few buttons. It looked great, was inexpensive, and held water bottles. Mission Accomplished.

But in the fall it mysteriously stopped working, and lukewarm water just wouldn't do. So Kyle dug up the receipt for me, only to discover that the return date had passed! Knowing that, I dragged my feet on calling Home Depot to find out what to do next because I just don't enjoy cold-calling people or companies, especially when a negotiation is likely. I know that I put the receipt in a safe place because I would need it when I did finally deal with this. Unfortunately, it is still in that place, and that place has been lost to history. Without the receipt my interest in calling Home Depot plummeted even further. 

I finally went there in person yesterday and explained my problem at the service counter to find out what the options were. Praise the Lord, it was super simple! They found the receipt in their system, printed it out and told me to come back with the fridge and they would give me store credit. I ignored the note at the bottom of the printout that read, "This receipt cannot be used for returns."

So I immediately went to the office and brought the fridge back to Home Depot. The Service Desk guy scanned a few things, but just as I was about to sign the transaction, I realized that they had returned the tax to me even though I never paid tax. It was about $7, but I never had it, so they shouldn't give it back to me! That little mention I made led us down a path of 20 minutes of phone calls to multiple managers, finally resulting in them just deciding to give me the tax anyway because they couldn't figure it out due to how the manager got around the tax when I first bought it. 

The last thing I had to do was pick out the new fridge. I found it (still under $100, and bigger!) and brought it up to the same service desk because I also had to set up a formal tax-exempt account with them. But I told the woman I wanted to pay the tax on this one because they had returned the tax to me that I didn't pay in the first place and this would just even everything out. 

The woman's reaction took my totally by surprise, "Did you go to Northwestern?" I realized I was wearing an old NWC shirt. 

"Yes," I replied. 

"Well, you are just a wonderful image of Christ!" Come to find out, she had two kids go through NWC, and is currently reading a Piper book that she's loving. 

That was about the last situation I ever expected to be pointed out as a witness for Christ. Granted, if that woman hadn't been a believer I doubt she would have made the leap from financial integrity to Jesus on the cross, at least not without more of a conversation. But whether or not the world fully understands why we are compelled to do good, we are still called to do so. Scripture calls it being the "fragrance" of Christ (2 Cor. 2:14ff); I once had a youth pastor call it "being Jesus with skin on." However you want to say it, the way we act to the world reflects Christ for good or ill. I want to continue striving to mirror Christ in a way that honestly reflects him, and in so doing, change the world through the simplest encounters. 

A Song Inspired from Multiple Stories

Long ago, out of the night I was led

By a Voice, I’m still not sure what he said

but in my heart I heard the unrelenting words of love

When he said, 

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

Now this is something new

Freedom in the fences, could it be true? 

I always thought I knew that freedom came without a home

‘Till he said, 

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

What is it about your grace that terrifies me? 

Why can I not live in light of love? 

Oh great and mighty, awesome God I know you are

But my Redeemer, Father, Friend, I’m not so sure

Still you say,

Follow me, out of the night I will lead you

Take my hand, live in the light you are mine. 

Back On Land

On Monday I returned from a week-long vacation in the Caribbean on the Disney Dream cruise ship with my parents, littlest sister, grandparents, and one cousin. It was a fantastic week of sun, sleep, salt, snorkeling, and sweets. Wow, I didn't even try for that alliteration! That's just how good it was. 

The biggest adjustment was not learning to move with the ocean swells, or not having to pay for anything on the ship; it was the disconnection from the rest of life. We of course had no cell service or internet and I was surprised at how much I missed connecting with my friends after just a couple of days. It was a serious adjustment to post on Facebook the funny thing that just happened, or text someone when the crowds were just too much. It was incredibly eye-opening to how much I rely on technology. I still like to think of myself as a country girl who's been called to this crazy urban world, but it really showed me how much I have consigned myself to this lifestyle. I have trained myself to not seek silence and solitude and rest. I have learned to fill my moments with tweets, movies, music, and texts. 

Here at home I have no roommate or office mates and I sometimes go a whole day without seeing anyone. On the ship I was never alone sharing a room with my whole family on a ship of 4,000 guests and another 1,500 staff, but I had better solitude there than I have at home in quite awhile. 

So now that I'm back on land, the challenge is to merge the two. Can I re-enter my life of ministry, family, friends, housework, etc, while maintaining the priority of solitude, rest and reflection? The jury is still out on that one. I continue to have feelings of swaying on a ship, so I'm not sure I'm totally back yet. 

I'm On A Boat

This morning my sister Kelsey and I were talking about the book Sticky Church by Larry Osbourne (which I highly recommend), and the nature of our churches and the individuals that make them up. She used an awesome analogy that I have thought of before (and I’m sure many others have) but she took it to a whole new level. 

Kelsey and her husband Dave both work at a large church that has been in the cities for 125 years! It’s not a mega church, but it has maybe up to 1000 regular attenders and something like 20,000 children. At least that’s what their children’s programming makes it seem like! 

By contrast I work for 3-year-old church plant, we have about 100 committed adults but the 40 somethings are called old, and our regularly scheduled children’s ministry is a nursery. And sometimes that’s empty. 

She told me about a young man (non-pastor) in their church who is really frustrated that the church is not latching on to the renewed vision which has been presented in the last 4 months for where they need to go next. He wants to storm the kingdom of darkness now and can’t understand why people aren’t aren’t carrying the torch with as much vigor as him. 

Then Kelsey proceeded to explain that their church is like a barge or a cruise ship: there are a lot of people on board, it takes a long time to turn it around and you have to be careful to not hit icebergs or other hazards. This young man in contrast is like a jet ski. He can tear off in the direction of his choosing, and if he changes his mind he can make a 180 degree turn with very little wake.

Now what if this same guy gets married? He is going to need a bigger boat! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) He may think that he can just throw his wife on the back of the jet ski and keep up the same speed, but at the first hairpin she’s going to go skidding angrily across the water. So maybe this new couple needs something more like a canoe. They’re both responsible for getting the boat anywhere, but it’s a little slower. And they will need to watch the waves. If they don’t work together and they hit waves at the wrong angle, they’re both sunk. (Some couples opt for a fishing boat--more room, goes faster, but only one person can control the motor at a time.) 

Someday they’ll have children and it’s time to get a speed boat. Life speed picks up, you’re carrying more passengers, but you also have to be careful not to whip the skier you’re pulling into the reeds, or into the path of an obnoxious jet skier. Though he can get out of the way quickly if he needs to. 

Compare the nuclear family to the church family, and you’re back to the barge! With each new life phase, an individual becomes a family, there are new cautions and people to consider. 

My church feels more like a catamaran. A catamaran is like a sailboat but with two hulls connected by a canvas or solid platform. The beauty of the catamaran is that it can carry a lot of weight for its size, and it’s surprisingly maneuverable and stable for its shape. The danger is that it’s surprisingly maneuverable. It may not capsize even when one end is 60 degrees in the air, but it is easy to suddenly veer off course if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

We have only two main focuses (Sunday mornings and Community Groups) and can’t offer all of the services of a passenger or freight ship. But wow, do we have wind in our sails! We are powered by the fervor or 100 jet skis. Where my sister’s challenge is to get the ship turning at all I am just hanging on for dear life, trying not to capsize, and enjoying the ride. 

Courage and Fear, part 1

A couple days ago I used a topical bible index to look up the words Courage and Fear. It was an older book so Fear redirected me to Cowardice, and I happen to like that alliteration. :)

So I copied the ones that stood out to me most into a list so that I have them to read/meditate on at will. Of course they came up in biblical order, so here's the one at the top of the list:

How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up? Deut 32:30

I immediately loved the confidence, security, and assurance it gives, but a few days later I read the entire chapter.

The context of this verse is nothing like I thought it was. I expected it to be one of those situations where the Israelite people were terribly outnumbered and yet they succeeded. Instead, it is about the Lord contemplating destroying his people because of their disobedience and using their enemies to do so. But He decides not to because he doesn't want the enemies to get the wrong impression that it was their might that defeated the Israelites when really they could only win if the Lord were to hand the Israelites over! God is still in control and the Lord is still the one who gives victory, but this realization puts a completely different (or at least fuller) perspective on things. If anything, it kind of makes me feel more secure because even if I am disobedient, get myself into trouble, and make myself easy prey for my enemies, they still can't harm me without the Lord's hand being involved.

The Critic and the Bird

What music have I not heard?

What song have I not sung?

Only the bird’s song

has escaped me.

The critic never sings,

but judges the bird on his song.

Evaluating pitch and rhythm,

he misses the melody.

What good is pitch,

if there is no joy?

What rhythm truly beats in time,

without a metronomic heart?

I could compose a thousand songs,

but never could I silence the critic

or improve the bird.

Coffee and Convos

Last weekend I had the chance to speak to a group of women in leadership at an E. Free Church here in the cities. We had everyone from the 79 year old woman who has been serving her entire life, and still has more fire in her than some of my own peers, to the 27 year old who recently taken on a position of leadership for the first time. The only similarities among them were that they all loved Jesus and they all had a heart to serve the women around them.

I was invited to come and talk to them about mentoring. To be honest, I didn't really know what I could tell these women that they didn't already know. When I first arrived, I asked the leader of the event how old the youngest attender was. Come to find out, I was the youngest one there! I really was the odd one out when it came to life experience and history in ministry. But truth is truth regardless of how old the voice, right? Whatever else, I wanted these women to feel encouraged and leave with a renewed perspective of why they do what they do.

The biggest thing we discussed was what redefining our idea of mentoring. Most people have a top-down model in their heads. A person seeking mentoring has little experience and wants to become a better person, so they seek out a mentor who is older, wiser, and has time to focus on them and their issues. This idea is rather rigid and really self-centered, if you think about it. Visually, this looks like two people sitting across from one another at a coffee shop having a conversation about life. This is not a bad thing, but mentoring is about so much more than just coffee and conversation.

The alternative is a constellation of mentors (stealing vocabulary from Cadre Ministries...thanks guys!), where I am being poured into by mentors but I am also pouring into the lives of others around me (peers) and following me (disciples). In order to pour into someone's life (or put more accurately, to overflow into someone's life) we must be a part of their life. Not just sitting at coffee shops, but working, serving, playing together. This is so much more how Jesus did it--he took his disciples everywhere! They watched him lead, teach, care, and rebuke. Then he sent them out to try it themselves.

If every believer was overflowing what the Lord was doing in their life, truly sharing life, with those around them, the kingdom of hell would have a lot more to fear.

Whenever I hear "constellation" I think of Daniel 12:3 which, speaking of the last days when the dead will rise, says, "And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." The light of millions of stars could shine Jesus into the darkest crevices of people's hearts.

Mentoring is not for the purpose of making individual people stronger, smarter, or feel better about themselves. It is about building them up to build up the Kingdom of God. The Church is not a school, or a philosophical idea in which we help students iron out the rough spots in their thinking; it is a place where we ought to be equipping warriors with the weapons they need for the battle! This spiritual life is a battle, and not one of us can fight it alone. We need as many warriors as there are stars in the universe!

Whenever I start to wonder if this is all worth it--all the time put into an individual who walks away, all the energy put into developing a group that ends up turning on you--I remember that this is what Christ has called us for and has promised to be with us to the end. "Go and Make Disciples." Until He returns I can do no less.

All you have to be...

This weekend I was up at Shamineau again for the Scrap N' Stamp retreat. What? Yes, It's called Scrap N' Stamp. 180 women come up for the weekend (some stay till Monday!) and scrapbook their photos. I'm not going to spend any more time explaining it, because unless you've seen it or something similar, you'll never understand. :)

Anyway, at these retreats I give chair massages to the ladies for a small fee. This weekend I did more backrubs than I have ever done in one weekend! I was exhausted. This is virtually my only responsibility aside from leading devotions Sunday morning for those who want to come. Saturday night I finally went home at 3am, and just decided I would figure out what I was doing for devos when I woke up. I didn't have to give them until 11am, so I had plenty of time.

Come morning, I roll over and my eyes land on the clock: 10:57. No!!!!! I jump out of bed, try to look a little bit like a person, and call my mom to tell her I was on the way. I had five minutes on the road to decide what the heck I was going to talk about with these women! Then a quote from my dad came into my head, "all you have to be is 30 seconds ahead." Okay, thanks Dad, but now I only have 20 seconds! Ah!

I arrive at camp and walk into the room where there are 15 or so ladies waiting for me. I tell them to keep talking amongst themselves while I "get organized" aka, figure out what the heck I'm doing. If you know me at all, you know I always tend to cut it close when planning teaching things, but I have never in my life been standing in front of a group not knowing what I was about to talk on. It was a rush.

Then it hit me. "I'll talk about rest!" I thought. "That's wonderfully ironic, it's an easy soapbox for me, and these women are all mothers who never get a weekend for themselves. Perfect!" So I naturally swing over to Matthew 11:28, but there's not enough there. It's pretty straight forward, and I dont think I have enough to say about it. "Where's the hook? The unexpected element? The less obvious truth? Come on..." I know I'm running out of moments to stall. Then I find it. It ended up going somthing like this:

After admitting I had only awoke 15 minutes earlier, I told them I wanted to talk about rest. That got a good laugh.

Matt. 11:28-30 goes like this: "Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

What do you hear? Rest, comfort, open arms, gentleness, etc.
Is there anything here that is discouraging, frustrating, or unsettling? The first thing we see here is the invitation to rest, but we tend to ignore the command to take on a yoke. And not even my own yoke, but someone else's! at the risk of sounding selfish (aren't we all, anyway?), why am I carrying someone else's burden, no matter how light it is?? How is that rest, and why does Jesus have the permission to tell us to pick it up?

Now before you throw me out the window as a heretic, understand that I am not asking these questions with the implication of the answer. Rather, I am asking them because I want the answer I know to be true to be proven from the text, not just because it feels right.

Zoom out a bit. Matt. 11:25-27: "At that time Jesus declared, 'I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hiddn these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor..."

My Bible makes this all one paragraph. But what does the Father and Son knowing each other have to do with resting, and the yoke? It all comes down to authority. Jesus is establishing here the fact that everything we associate with God, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, is also true of Jesus. The Father has given Jesus ALL authority!

Verse 27 could sound very elitist. I guess it is, in some ways. Him being God and all. But in our humanity when we hear someone being elitist we also hear that person saying things that cut them off from the rest of the little people.

Jesus would be totally justified here if he would have said, "no one know the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him, so you better shape up if you want to get let into the party."
Or, "...to whom the Son chooses to reveal him, so suck it up if I don't pick you."
Or, "I have have authority, so pick up the yoke, pansy!"

But he doesn't.

He says only the Son knows the Father...So Come. What a good God we have who has all power in the universe and beyond but he calls us to himself to come and rest. And he has all the rights to tell us what yoke to carry. And because he is good, he calls us to carry a better load than we have to start.

One of the ladies noted that a yoke goes over the back to two oxen, and they cannot pull in opposite directions. I believe there is nothing more tiring that trying to control something that is out of your hands. Like backseat driving, or pining over the poor choices of a loved one. Jesus knows how exhausting this is. If we simply let go of what we don't have control over anyway, recognize He has all the authority, we will begin to learn to rest.

That, I believe is where the comfort in Jesus' authority comes from. Not from the fact that he can wallop my enemies, which he can; not that he could wipe me off the face of the earth, which I deserve; but from the fact that Jesus is in utter control frees me up to not worry about it. I can let go, follow the Master, and pull the burden he has for me. Nothing is more freeing than that.

The Complete History of My Recent Life (Abridged)

Last night my sister Kelsey and my cousins Emilee and Mikki and myself took a roadtrip to Eau Claire, WI and saw a show. We have been bemoaning the fact that we're all in the same city and never hang out! So we got together to see The Reduced Shakespeare Company's "The Complete History of America (abridged)". It was fantastic! There were moments what were borderline inappropriate, but for the most part, they just fly through 50,000 years of American history in 90 minutes. Seriously. It's a riot. I had been aware of them for awhile, but never seen a show. Eau Claire was the closest they were coming to the Twin Cities, so I knew we had to take the opportunity. I would highly recommend checking out their website www.reducedshakespeare.com. All in all, it was a great time of catching up as cousins and laughing a lot! Good Times!

Blasted Cars!

If there is one thing that can be counted on causing problems, it is the car. Or any vehicle, really. Just when you start to trust it, when you believe you've found the most reliable, that this car is the one you were meant to be with, it will all blow up in your face. Such is the relationship of this girl to her car.

I must say that my current relationship with my Chevy Malibu is not nearly as rocky as my past relationships: It's not as unpredictable as my Ford Ranger's topper that would fly off on the hwy on my way to school, or it's heater that would decide when it wanted to work, which was typically in the summer. This meant I had to drive to church in a snowmobile suit and Sorel boots, scraping the inside of the windshield with an ice scraper. It's much less annoying than my Ford Escort's engine that was so loud I would end up with a headache and ears ringing if I had to go more than forty miles per hour for too long, so I couldn't hear the radio...even if it had worked... And it's less dangerous than the van that I swear took me into the ditch three times before I finally spun on ice and rammed the back end into a tree...I sure showed that van who's boss.

No, my Malibu has been much better. That is, until last week. I should have seen it coming! Looking back, I see all the signs of trouble, but I wanted to believe this one was different! The chugging, the occasional stalls when I would start it up, the delay between shifting gears, it all was trying to tell my something: it's just like every other car.

It was going to take something big to wake me out of my denial. Well, that wake up call finally came. I had just left from having coffee with a friend, and my car chugged again as I started it. I had a foreboding feeling, but it kept running, so I hoped for the best and made a mental note that I should get that checked out "sometime". Shortly after getting on 35W almost into downtown, I realize I'm not accelerating anymore. The end was near. I pulled over to the far side while I still had momentum, and turn it off. I turned it on again, but it wouldn't stay running.

That was the moment I could have chosen to freak out and curse the people who told me the Malibu was more reliable, or I could take a deep breath, accept that cars will always let you down, and call a tow truck. So that's what I did.

A long tow, two days in the shop, and an entire fuel pump system later, my car and I are reunited. It will never be like it was, but there is a renewed level of trust, combined with a little more reality. It will probably let me down again, but heck, I'm not always the nicest to work with either!

As I write this, my mother is nursing her Blazer back from Iowa, in which they need to stop every 20 minutes to add water to the radiator. I told her to leave it on the side of the road. "No way! I just got a new transmission and a new gas tank! I'm not letting this one go!" was her response. It's amazing the destructive situations people will stay in, when they have so much put into it already.

Wait, am I talking about cars or people? Everything in this blog is factual in relation to my experience with vehicles. How are your relationships?