Am I pleasing to God?

I had a discussion during a worship practice over some song lyrics which is always a good thing to do. The question of our state of being pleasing before the Lord came up. Now the preface was where does the Bible say "I am pleased with you" You know, chapter and verse? Well it doesn't that specifically because that would require God speaking to us specifically which he doesn't often do. He is usually speaking to the disciples. 

I immediately responded that the concept of being pleasing to God was all over scripture. That is a benefit of being a child of God. We all know that Jesus was the beloved Son in whom God was well pleased not us! But, I would posit that because we are in Christ, because of his precious blood and wondrous work of the cross, I can be brought near as an adopted son.  I can come boldly to the throne to receive mercy and grace because I am now a family member. 

I do not shrink away from his presence because of feelings of guilt, or unworthiness, or wonder if I am pleasing to God...not anymore. I suppose that this is part of every Christian's growing experience, to believe the promises of God. To believe that I am accepted in the beloved and will make it into his presence on that final day. This I believe is why the author of Hebrews writes without faith it is impossible to please him. (Heb 11:6) If we do not believe and live in such a way that his truths are true for us then our relationship with God will be very different than what he desire for us. 

Colossians 1 teaches that God was pleased to not only fully dwell in Christ but to do this for the purpose of reconciling the world to him. 

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

God was pleased to make peace with us. So I have to ask did God do these things, pleasing himself, to remain not pleased with his people? This really brings to mind the idea of an angry God in heaven who scowls as his people that he was so please to reconcile himself to. It doesn't really follow does it? But I know that our sin has a tendency to trap our minds in this cage. This is basic theology that perhaps we forget when we are looking at ourselves instead of God. If God has taken the time to reconcile himself to us it follows that he wanted a relationship with us. He desires us. 

Now I understand the reasoning for this. When I first heard the song that caused such tumult I though it was perhaps a bit light to say the least but I did not think that author was intending to communicate that we were pleasing to God in a vacuum.  If the author was intending to communicate that we are so pleasing and therefore God cannot but simply recognize our merit, then yes we would have a problem. But this gets back to the filter issue I wrote about before. If I am weighed down by my past or I am thinking about someone else's lack of righteousness then my lens might cause me come to the phrase in this song and think "We are not pleasing! Haven't you read Romans?" 

This is putting the Bible at odds with itself. Yes there is no one who does good, no not even one. But this is the reality of fallen humanity not the regenerated son of Christ. Yes we as sons and daughters of Christ are people who still sin, but the glorious gift is that we can turn to him who is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. "Jesus paid it all", to quote another song. We do not believe that we are perfect by any means but we understand that our filthy garments have been replaced by robes of righteousness. This is what makes relationship with him possible. 

See if we forget this truth then we fall into a performance based relationship. We seek relationship through obedience, however the the real way it works is because of my relationship with him that he established I desire obedience because of love for him.  

I wanted to exhort us to not walk around with our hands covering our face just in case God is pitching burning embers our way. God is pleased with us as we walk with him. This is not to say that perhaps some of us do not have some repentance and Christian discipline to do, but God is not shocked at our failures to be perfect. We should always strive to keep short accounts with God for sure. It isn't different than going to seek forgiveness on account of any transgression that we seek to repair for the sake of relationship. 

I walk with my head held high not because I know I am some awesome human specimen, but because "I know that my redeemer lives." To quote another song. I know that I have a relationship with the most powerful, most beautiful, most loving, most forgiving, most welcoming, most just, most good, most best-est God ever! My words fail to even give majesty to him, but I know that he loves me and thus I try to be pleasing to him as Paul writes many times over and thus I love him in return. 

Now I didn't have the benefit of this one in my back pocket during the discussion but I am thankful because it lead to this entry, but I am glad but the Bible does teach this:

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.

(Psalm 149:4)

This psalm teaches that God does delight in his people, he takes pleasure in them and that he beautifies them with salvation. God did this very thing, he came and beautified his bride with his righteousness. Jesus made his bride beautiful because of his gift of redemption. Now we cannot say we are pleasing in a vacuum just as I would not say I made my wife Kimberly beautiful because of her distance to me. Only God has the power to cleanse and make beauty from ashes and this is the very thing he did.

This is not simply Israel because remember John teaches that each of us have been grafted into the promise though Christ. We are part of the people of God. We can know we are pleasing to God as much as Flanders knows he is pleasing to God.

So are we pleasing to God? Yes, but for you to believe that perhaps you might need to pray and talk with God about it and do some heart examination. Be encouraged.

thanks

Chasing the Carrot

Theology of hope and blessing are an interesting thing. Always having hope is important. It is essential to the Christian life. Looking toward the future with expectation in Christ's return is important. Looking forward to the day of our redemption is vital to Christian health. Knowing where we are going is important to any journey.

When we read the beatitudes. We recognize that most of the blessings that come about are because of attitudes towards life that are not normal to the natural man. We have to re-frame our perspective about life according to the very real world changes that come about because of the Gospel. When we look at them closely we recognize that many of the resulting blessing are in a sense kingdom come blessings. As such they will find there ultimate fulfillment in the actual kingdom of God. It is about looking to the future. It has less to do about present and immediate tactile increase.

Blessed are the meek, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the peacemakers etc. The blessings are inheriting the earth, possessing the kingdom, seeing God. All of these have there fulfillment when Jesus returns. There may be temporary comfort and mercy but the unending guarantee of them is when we are in heaven and the new earth. Jesus is calling for a change in behavior now for the promise of what is to come. The even better thing is that with the Spirit we get to experience some of this relief now but the truest fulfillment is yet to come.

But watch Christian television for any length of time and you get the feeling that God is always around the next corner waiting to shower you with blessings and prizes. Wow the Christian life is exciting! Now I don't doubt that God blesses his people in this way but this seems to lack balance and perspective. 

I don't say this because I believe he doesn't bless but often this message is that it is just around the next corner. God has something amazing! God has the fix you have been looking for! The solution is coming, always coming. It sounds very infomercial. 

So is my problem with buying or is there some issue with UPS, a strike perhaps?

My real question in this is how do we get perspective on the lack of arriving? Do we continually swallow this line that it is still on its way? I know that it is true that the destination is always still a ways off while we are still in transit. But don't we at some point check the route again? 

This is a hard question, but I want to wrestle with hard questions. Does even asking the question undermine my faith? Would this be easier to shut up, get in line and hold my hands open for the inevitable filling all the while feeling something is wrong? What do I do when it doesn't feel inevitable?

Worse yet what do we tell people in ministry when they experience this dissonance? The easy answer is have more faith, but this doesn't help. Is it perhaps some of us are just poor waiters? Perhaps, but might a continual message of carrot chasing need tweeking?

See I want blessings as much as the next person. I don't think rose colored glasses are the answer though. We are taught to pray "if it be thy will" this needs to be applied to that blessing that we want. If the message we are hearing is continual blessing around what seems to be endless corners then maybe we need to consider that crucial phrase "if it be thy will".  

That way if checking around each corner only reveals another boulevard to be traversed it will not bring more undo stress. Jesus has another leg on this journey huh? Well get back up on the wagon and let's continue on. Perhaps at some juncture we will realize we have learned to navigate the map better and learned to actually listen to the GPS. God's, Path, of Salvation, ha!

See I believe faith is more about believing the promises of God and not so much about receiving the next item of blessing. It is hard enough to keep myself in the love of God without worrying about whether my check is coming in the mail. Worrying about the check is a real enough issue but faith is about calling us to settled truth that we are loved and accepted in the beloved. It is about moving forward with a renewed sense of urgency because I have new sense of place in the world. I am loved and cared for and forgiven and my blessed of eternity with him gives me what I need to negotiate today. This truth helps me wait for the check without calling into question his character and provision when the mail seems to get lost.

I am a Christian for the relationship with God not for the personal benefits that may come to me. This is a truth that I have to remind myself. I don't want to get so caught up with petition that I forget adoration. The relationship absolutely brings about personal benefits but I want to seek his face. When it becomes about the carrots then I become a dissatisfied bunny.

There are so many advantages and benefits to being a follower of Christ that I never want to grow discontent because I feel short changed on some temporal blessing. I want to focus on Jesus forgiving nature that positions me for a relationship that I do not deserve. When we focus on this it gives such freedom to the Christian life that I cannot stop to mourn a loss of discontentment. Along with this truth we get to inherit eternal life and live in the presence of the maker of all things.

I get to befriend God.

No carrots are worth losing my center which interrupts enjoying the lover of my soul in the now. This is preparing for the coming storms that come and having that solid foundation in Christ. This is why Jesus taught us to look to the blessing that come with eternity because that is where the real fun begins. This is not pie in the sky and self denial this is recognizing the true joy of our salvation. This way God is free to bless and withhold as he sees fit in order to develop our hearts for him.

This is how we can say "The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away blessed be his name."

This way God is able to say "yes" and "no" if needs be. He gets to be God and I get to be a faithful member of his kingdom, a loving member of his family, and a happy bunny with carrot rations.

thanks

Dying a Death that Kills

A man makes his plans but God directs his steps.

Solomon tells us that even our jobs are vanity. The conclusion of the matter is unless we fear God and serve him first, then our work will be vain, and ultimately all of life.

Holding on for life is a great thing to do on a roller coaster. But holding onto my dreams for life may just kill me. Why? Because I can only move in a direction but God informs the end game.

I do believe that God gives us the desires in our hearts. Not that he grants them as a genie would but that he has placed within us passions, skills, and interests that are good for us to pursue. Hopefully we discover these before we head off to college and train ourselves in our respective fields. God leads and calls and directs. This is a good thing.

But as a famous theologian once said we are idol factories. If my dreams become the source of my joy. If my dreams become the focus of my thinking. If my desires become the source of my happiness. If my goals become my obsession, then I am in danger of making a God given desire into an idol. This can happen in the day to day tasks as well as the big dreams and goals that we all have.

God wants us to pursue our dreams, but not in a way that if delay in fulfillment should happen, it causes us to lose our contentment. It causes us to lose sleep, it causes to beg in prayer, it causes our view of God to alter. It becomes an idol I worship instead of God.

I have learned how easy it is to let my desires fall into a fire and simply come out as a golden calf. I didn't mean for it to happen, as Aaron told Moses, but the pressure of the crowd and the emotion of the moment, well, here is your god.

God is the only one who I am to worship. This is easy to do if we think of worship in terms of only bowing down, but what consumes our minds, our thoughts, and even our prayers? Does it grant joy in my salvation or does it steal it? God wants us to pursue our dreams but they are supposed to bring us closer to him. If the promise land becomes our end, well God is more than happy to put a desert in our way.

If we think God must perform a certain way for us to be happy, If we believe God must come through in a specific way for us to have stabilization then he will probably simply destabilize us so that we fall into the everlasting arms. This may seem like a hard truth but only if we view our definition of the solution as best, when God wants our very lives, he wants to know us. God wants us to find him.

I can only ever go in a direction. I cannot define the destination, I mustn't. The destination must be God himself. It is like following a light at the end of a dark cavern. The path I walk to get there is my own based on where I am but the destination must be the light, it must be him. I spoke a little bit about this path before about courage. Walking, truly walking with Christ is an invitation to death. He asks us to take up our cross in order to follow him.

Might it be because the only way to know truly him is to understand his sacrifice? To understand his sacrifice we have to understand the chasm that stood between us, the chasm he crossed to get to us. Suffering is a picture of God's gift to us. We tend to think only in terms of our sins that distanced us, which is true but the suffering he endured to bring us near gives us insight into our distance thus into his character and heart for us.

As much I hate to admit it, suffering teaches us.

As I carry my cross I grow to know him more and in turn to love him. I do not rejoice in suffering, I endure it for the sake of the relationship. If God went through so much suffering to get to us, will he really just leave us hanging? Will he really just abandon us on the way to the destination?

So with a new year upon us I have to ask myself how will I proceed? We are moving to Tucson, I am to take on a pastorate position. I walked ups and downs rounds and bouts and even though I see a bright future I need him more than ever. With a job on the horizon and a bit of the metaphorical forest starting to clear I now see a valley of jagged rocks with pointy bits waiting for my exposed ankles to pass by. I cannot let up now for now the real challenge begins.

I knew that when the job came a new enemy would veer its ugly head. My own confidence it seems is the next punching bag. I am still learning to fight. As I look at the new stretch of path laid out before me my mind is filled with my inadequacies and shortcomings. I recognize this for the attack that it is but I knew it was coming. I don't know if my foresight is comforting or worrying.

I know God is inviting me forward and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is with me. Is my new found instability the reality of my life or am I just now noticing how exposed I am apart from God? I will not move out from here if you are not with me. I know that much and my time in the desert has reinforced this. As much as Romans has helped me build a foundation of truth that is without compare, I find solace in the book of Psalms of late. The people cry to God but they always come back to praise. As praise is now a major function of my duties, I welcome the part. I know the road less traveled isn't easy but I know all the more where my compass points.

To battle my new adversary I feel God calling me to two things. My identity which is framed by his identity and returning once again to worship. Worship positions my identity rightly before his which is rightly primary over mine. As I sit in his truth and bestow on him praise I can rest that my identity is fastened to him. I am only because he is, or rather because of the great I Am, I can be also. My identity takes focus as I remove it from myself. He calls me to come and die so that I can truly live. 

So I return to the Lord who is my rock. I worship before the Lord of hosts and King of Kings knowing that I am apart of the household of God. Even though ease may not be my calling I want to run again, and keep running till I see his face. God, here is my life, here are my dreams, here is all I have. Take what you want even if it kills and causes a death that I didn't want to happen because you are the bringing of new life. 

Thanks

Do not harden your hearts as in the Rebellion

With Christmas almost here and the big movie Star Wars coming out on Friday I thought I would role out this gem. As in Star Wars, the Rebel Alliance fights against the Empire and their rule over the Galaxy. They raise up X-wings Y-wings to battle the Tie fighters. War is at hand. Jedi are needed. But what's everybody so upset about?

15 As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

I have always pictured Darth Vader saying this line to the rebel alliance, calling them to return to the Galactic Empire, but alas it was not so. The author of Hebrews is of course talking about the Israelites who grumbled and complained about life on the road. But God was saying you don't have to live like a refugee.

The Israeli rebellion was all about losing their way. It was about looking at the accommodations on the journey and musing if it was better in first class. The rebellion was about people grumbling. Isn't that where it always starts, with discontentment?

I have had to start asking myself this question. What causes you to complain? What causes you to complain to God? Does being a Christian mean that our lives should reflect the American dream? What comforts are essential to you and yours?

How does God fit into the picture? When I spoke in Tucson at my vetting I was discussing this very issue. I realized that even though I escaped the name it and claim it theology of my youth I still had expectations of God that put stress on our relationship. I expected him to fulfill certain needs, wants, and desires in my life. I expected his grace to look a certain way. When after long enough, it didn't, or they went unmet, I started to to wonder at some other promises from God. It started to affect my relationship with God. 

You know like a relationship with a friend or family member who you feel cheated you or let you down and it still affects the way you think about them. In person you are cordial enough but you always come back to the wrong or the disappointment. In the end the relationship becomes of toleration, or perhaps you depart it.

I realized I expected certain comforts especially since I was pursuing ministry. Since I was pursuing God. A certain amount of wealth, health, protection and provision? What expectations of God do you have? 

As I have gone on in my Christian I keep coming back to the Exodus story and the wilderness journey. The longer I live my life I have become convinced that the Torah is a picture of our lives. The first five books of the Bible I believe represent our faith walk. Just like in the Exodus, for us Jesus raises himself up and delivers us from the bondage of sin. He does miraculous works and so why wouldn't we follow him? But as we travel together and we start to learn some of his truth and his ways we can get a little overwhelmed. We continue to walk and we start to realize that this journey is actually hard. We walk and start to think that life perhaps was a bit easier when I wan't out in this wilderness but safe back in the city as they did. 

We are warned in scripture that those who desire to live a righteous life will suffer persecution. We are reminded that we will have trouble in this world. Jesus warns that we will hated as he was. This doesn't mean all is bad of course but it does mean the accommodations may not always make us feel like we are in that 5 star place of rest. Perhaps sometimes we get to stay in the stable. There will be times of challenge but what do we do? Do we grumble at the pillar of fire or drag our feet at the leading cloud?

I think the Exodus is a picture our lives with God. God wants us to continue on to the promised land, but some fall in the desert or give up, or harden their hearts and rebel, as this verse was referring to. Some raise up for themselves new leaders who will tell them what they want to hear. They look for leaders who will lead them how they want to be led, and feed them how they want to be fed. So does Jesus like Darth Vader find your lack of faith disturbing? Are we grumblers or are we committed to the walk, the journey, to the destination? That classic question are you a Caleb or a "nay-sayer"?

This is what happened with Korah's rebellion as well. They were tired of Moses' lead, one that dragged on through the desert. They grew tired of him saying that he spoke for God and brought to them the words of God. The grew tired of the mana. They wanted their own leaders who would be nicer to them. They wanted their own representative, their own relationship with God. Their own meals. But God was Kingdom building and was not interested in an insurrection.

I feel the pull of not only a society that wants a specific kind of freedom but a growing sect of churches who want a certain kind of savior. A kind of savior that only possess one attribute. Unadulterated acceptance. We can continue to say the words of God after him. Or we can grumble depart and raise up teachers who teach a form of religion that pays service to God and Jesus but denies his harder side. His side that cares about conduct. His side that calls to repentance. His side that says if you desire to live a righteous life you will be persecuted. His side that says you will hated as I was hated because I call people's deeds evil. His side that makes whips. I don't say this because I prefer Jesus when we said those harsher things and not when he communicated grace, but to honestly follow him I have to come to terms with everything he taught. He is interested in my obedience as well as my love. Jesus is more complex than he simply loved people and accepted them. His message also said go and sin no more. His love looked like sacrifice because our lives of sin are repulsive. His love looks like taking sin very seriously. He taught his disciples this as well and they continued to write about it the rest of the New Testament . 

Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 

God is concerned about his Kingdom not yours and what you want to bring into it. 

So do we grumble and attempt to follow new leaders back to Egypt? Back where we were still on good terms with the Egyptians? We wouldn't want to upset  anybody. We wouldn't want to make the Egyptians feel bad about worshiping false gods. We wouldn't want the Egyptians to feel bad about their sin so perhaps we should go back and join them? This is that wide road that many go, the highway to hell that doesn't upset the status quo. That road that is paved with smiling leaders that say "peace, peace" when there is no peace, only capitulation. As the writer of Hebrews again reminds.

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.

We have walked through history and we are starting to feel the squeeze of what persecution feels like, of what being uncomfortable for our beliefs is.

This is my squeeze because I know as Jesus said that holding to his truth would not make friends. Jesus even says woe to you when people speak good of you. Our message is so upsetting that Jesus encourages us to check our walks when   people are liking the things we have to say.  Because the kinds of things we are supposed to say sound like death, death to ourselves, death to our vices, death to our idols and life to the King.

I am not tempted to grumble against God so much. But I see my temptation of one feeling sad that the Gospel is no longer good news to our culture. I feel the squeeze of trying to say God's words after him while others are raising up new gospels that itch ears. People raise up rebellions and we who want to be disciples of Jesus are made to look like bigots and fundys and the worse charge yet? Unloving. Well all I can say is I love God and I love his people and so we continue through the wilderness at his leading. Some may grumble and some may rebel but we must continue onto the promise land. So please rebels but down your pitchforks and blaster rifles, soften your hearts and come back to mountain of God.

thanks

Stuck in a Delay

I Recently I flew to my hometown Tucson and wouldn't you know it? I finally had that terrible airport experience that you often hear about.

First my plane was delayed a bit, no problem, only a half hour, happens all the time. We were supposed to leave st 7:25 so I sent needed text of my new arrival time. A lady came and tagged my bag and then walked away, my small bag would now have to be checked, OK. Then after we boarded and sat for five minutes we were told to deplane because of maintenance issues. I was told I couldn't have my bag back that they just took, I doubted it was even under the plane yet. We were then directed to another airplane many gates away that we for some silly reason thought we had to rush too, I was hungry. I sent the respective text again so they wouldn't arrive too early and have to wait. I grabbed a small snack.

We sat and sat and then at 9 they told us we were waiting for a crew. At 10 they told us we were still waiting for one. At 11:30 they told us plane was cancelled. At midnight they told us to get out of line and go to hotels and call to reschedule. At one I finally got through the line and rescheduled my flight for 7 the next morning.

I then had the decision to stay in the airport without my checked bag or go retrieve it and stay in the hotel I received a voucher for.  I decided a change, a phone charge, and a hotel was better. When I reached the bag check they told me it was closed and I could come back at 5 to get my bag. So deflated I went to find the free shuttle to my hotel, but that also had stopped running. So I split a taxi with the other unfortunate souls in my position and took a two hour nap at the hotel. I came back at 5 to get my bag as I had been informed that my bag would still travel to Tucson even though my new flight was for Phoenix. The bag lady told me I could not get it until 6 but by then I needed to be at the other end of the airport to check in, this was at O'hare in Chicago.

I decided to reroute my bag to phoenix and then walk all the way back across the terminals to my new airline with no bag and still no food. Time was so tight that I couldn't use the vouchers for free food which I discovered I had left back i  the hotel. When I finally did board at 7:45am the flight was a no food flight and I was tired. My new connection flight in Houston left me no time to eat either, I literally had to run to the already boarded plane. The best part about all of that was that I was flying to an interview and they were picking me up, un-showered, un-eaten and un-rested and unchanged. Awesome.

They asked me later if I would blog about it and I said I would. This isn't a complaint to the airline as many people said I should make but it did get me thinking.

Psalm 37:23 and 24 says

The steps of a man are established by the Lord; when he delights in his way, though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

This crooked path reminded me of my life. When I make plans my projected path is much straighter than this was. My foreseeable hiccups accounted for and strictly avoided. There is nothing like a plan coming together but that path rarely happens when walking with God. God seems to have another plan in mind.

He seems to be more interested in the shortest path to him not the shortest path to my objective. The quickest way to him sometimes seems to be through trial. When I need help I turn to him. It causes me to grow.

When Kimberly and I were first married we decided to honeymoon in Florida so of course we decided to go Disney world. While we were visiting I wanted to visit Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's water park.  I remember when I was little all the advertising for it on the Disney channel. I remember watching all the drawings become actual construction. I remember all the planning and advertising and announcements for the project coming to fruition. Now I never dreamed of actually getting to go, but once we were heading that direction I knew we would have to make a visit. 

On the day of we had prepared ourselves for a day in the Florida sun experiencing the huge wave pool and sweet water slides. I was genuinely excited. Kimberly and I walked through the ticket gates and noticed how dark the skies were. We passed through the concessions and I think I heard a low rumble in the skies, but we headed for the water. I remember just seeing the iconic beached fishing boat when alarms started going off. We were told to exit the park. Hurricane warnings. I made the joke that park was already hit and prepared for a Typhoon but it didn't matter. We would not be  experiencing Typhoon Lagoon. I was a bit sad, I had wanted to see it my whole childhood and now it would not be.

My plans do not always work out. 

I remember being disappointed but I decided to not let that ruin our honeymoon. Being with Kimberly was more important and really the point. We went to see Legally Blonde 2 instead, not really a great place holder but I was with Kimberly so it was fine. We both agreed it wasn't that great a film. But man I must have been in love because really that movie is terrible. 

When we focus so much on the destination we lose sight of the sunsets during the journey. Worse yet we lose sight of our travelling companion on the journey. I have often done this with God. 

God himself is always going to be the destination but part of reaching him is realizing he is also our travel companion that goes the distance with us. When we ignore our travel companion, the journey may just stretch out to be a bit longer than planned, but remember the destination is sure and the company is good.

Think of that footprints in the sand poem.

Sometimes our eyes can get so focused on where we plant our next step in the sand that we forget where it was we were going. We forget that our hand is firmly held. There is one other thing though. When we step back and realize that God is with us we are able to enjoy the journey in a whole new way. We are able to view the journey in a whole new way. The journey doesn't have to be a dread, it doesn't have to be a delay, it can simply be what is next. So next time your destination seems far off, and the road blocks continual, remember who is with you and where you are actually heading. 

When we finally do arrive, we realize we are better for having come the way we have. This is something I had to learn along the way. 

thanks

Hit you where you Live

Back when I was a youth pastor in Prescott, Arizona I had the privilege of co-leading a youth mission trip to skid-row in LA. There I met a man just out of prison. We had just finished conducting a service for some of the people in the community and I got to speak to the man afterward. He greatly appreciated the message we brought but he was regretting his life and lamenting that fact that he had wasted so much time. He was overwhelmed with sadness that he had not met Jesus until he was way past his mid-life and wasting away in prison.

I was overwhelmed and at a loss for what to say, but after we talked for a bit God brought this verse to my mind. 

Acts 17:26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.

I pointed out this verse to the man and explained that God graciously draws us to himself in the situations we are in.  I went on to explain that the verse seems to indicate that not only is God not far from us but that God orchestrated our each and every completely different situations. He not only set out the boundaries of our lives but the locations we would live on the earth.  He did this so that we would respond to him.

In other words God put us in the situations that we are in so that we would have the best possible opportunity to respond to his call. 

Along with the the doctrine of God's sovereignty this shouldn't be too hard to swallow. So I will just place these verses here.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. 

John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

Ephesians 4:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

What this means is there really isn't the situation of the poor tribesmen across the world who doesn't have the opportunity to hear the gospel.  Or for that matter a man trapped in prison away from the possibility of meeting God. He may very well currently have that problem but this verse seems to imply that God is ultimately not far from him. This is not to introduce deterministic language into the mix but for us to recognize God's hand even when we can't see it.

I believe that I am in the best situation to respond in faith to God. I like the idea that perhaps if my situation was different I wouldn't have responded to God's call in my life.  If I lived in The Hamptons and had a cushy life perhaps I would have never have recognized my need for the Lord. Or if I was raised in a poor third world country perhaps I would have simply followed the culture and not been open to other ways of thinking. Or if perhaps I was born in England, I would have been too distracted by mine and my fellow countryman's sweet accents to bother with Christ.

This is not to say people in those situations cannot find God as I previously stated, but for me I am in the best situation for me, so those others will not suit me better. I should not lament what could have been or be overcome with what is, but recognize I am a short prayer from reaching out to him where I am.

After our conversation the man was drawn to tears to learn that God may very well have been drawing him throughout his journey and not delaying him because of it.

God is not waiting for me on the other side of my problems, for me to get my act together, he is graciously drawing me to himself while I am in them. God is not waiting for us to arrive before he gets involved. God hits us where we live.

So when I look in the mirror I should say: "This is who I got to be, this is where I got to be, now what am I going to do with the rest of my life?"

I will leave with a quote from the J.R. Tolkien from the Lord of the Rings.
"I wish the ring had never come to me, I wish none of this had happened".
Gandolf responds. "So do all  who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.  There are other forces at work in this world Frodo besides the will of evil..."

thanks

Raging Against the Machine much? (numbers and disciples) 3 of 4

I wrote the previous blogs about different church experiences to point out that we are all different and have different filters from different experiences and backgrounds.  This was in hope for us to be better at gathering together. Gee, Gabe why it that? Well I frequently see open letters to churches about why they are doing a poor job and why people are leaving. These along with how to find a "better" church seem to be on the rise. This is really not surprising as the church is made up with people and people are not going to agree on a lot of things as I said.

Now it is one thing to want to find another church because of gross theological concerns, but often these are usually about preferences and offense. So after reading yet another article on how the church or leadership needs to change or else, I thought I would add a thought to the discussion.

It is true the church has been poor in some areas. Sometimes we are poor at love, sometimes we are poor at evangelizing, sometimes we are poor at charity, sometimes we are poor at outreach, and sometimes we are poor at worship (this is coming), and sometimes we are poor on the Bible.  

As much as I agree with some of this I think it is important to note that these types of articles seem to share a common denominator. They include that they at one point felt judged, or encountered something they didn't like, and then they proceed to finger pointing and departing. I am starting to get the feeling that these writers would rather that doctrine and sin not be talked about at all; and to empathize, I suppose I can sometimes understand that to a degree, but it really misses the point.  

We are obsessed with love in our culture. Which is not really a bad thing. But how some of the church seems to have adopted this mindset is that love is looking the other way and being as inclusive as possible. But for Jesus love was meeting people where they were at, for sure, (which we like) but he never failed to tell them the truth. (which we don't seem to like anymore). Jesus' exclusive message of the Father and himself divided people, further the doctrines from the Bible will contain some exclusive truths and theology as well.

When we treat Jesus like a one dimensional character like Cupid who is only concerned about "spreading love" we miss the point.  Jesus admits that what he is most concerned about is doing the will of his father. Fulfilling that will meant bringing a message and going to the cross. Both of those points were and are hugely divisive. That message was repentance and the kingdom. Repenting and joining the kingdom meant leaving things behind. Mathew left behind the tax collector life, the cheating and stealing and swindling his fellow Jews for money. The love is the sacrifice for sin, the calling is fellowship with him, and the relationship is following after him away from our selves. Romans 6 makes this clear.

So let's not confuse what love is. This confusion has led to the very issue of church's tailor making their services after felt needs. So then we get other articles that are pointing out that the church is shallow busy creating a big production and missing people. But could it be that church has fallen into being producers because the people have fallen into being consumers looking for their needs to be met?  

I am not saying this is right, but demanding that felt needs be met is another reason why the church is doing exactly that. For the church to be a body we need to pay attention to what the head who is Christ is saying. If God is bringing issues of sin up in his church then our response should be to repent, not whine about our toes getting stepped on and then leave and find another church that is more lax with that sort of thing.

It is sad, but if we are prepared to leave church because of an offense then some churches unfortunately will continue to change tactics to be as unoffensive as possible. And the ones that don't? Well they get articles written about them. But when did the church becomes about getting as many seats filled as possible?  The Gospel is an offense and a stumbling block. Pointing to sin and the need for a savior is offensive and has been driving people away since the time the Pharisees first heard it. But that message is also the same one that has been bringing people in. 

If you are a disciple then you will allow correction into your life. When challenges come you will meet them, when hard encounters happen you will work through them. When offense happens you will use compassion and grace to attempt reconciliation. When sin is addressed you will seek forgiveness. In short, you will grow. But if you are a merely number in a church, then you will leave when uncomfortable and find another church to add to their count.  

My point is not that we shouldn't encourage our leaders to do better, as I have already added my own critique, but church will probably always offend in some way.  We need to work on this internally.  Not leave and then hurl criticism from the outside. As Christian leaders we should be working for more than increases in numbers and people should be desiring to become disciples closer to Christ. Are we going to be a family and stick it out, or are we going to take our spiritual toys and go home?

It is so easy to blame institutions for personal problems but institutions are made up of other people. The church specifically is not an institution but when articles are written this way it makes them out to be. It seems to often follow the rebellion of rock n' roll against "the man". The church gets equated with being "the man" so of course we should rally against it!  But the church is not "the man" but it is about a man, Jesus. So when we are quick to pick up stones against it we should really consider what Jesus said about it.

Jesus tells us that his church is the group that he if for on the earth. The church is the ones who will not be triumphed over by evil. The church is the one that Jesus left behind to carry out his will. The church is the bride of Christ. So before we rally against her let's remember what we are doing. We are actively raging against the body of Christ. We are actively warring against his bride to be. Christ does not want his body abusing itself. Christ wants his body at harmony with the head which is himself. Christ is not angry with his body and disappointed with his body. Let's stop threatening to take away the golden lamp-stands before their time.

It is easy to draw lines in the sand with ambiguous institutions, but the church is you and me. The church is the people and we are all a part.  If you want change then be the first to do it. But do it while you are a part, not after you have written them off.  This is how gossip is minimized and relationships are restored. But when you do, make sure you are wanting change in accordance with the head who is Christ. A church attender always complaining about the church is as out of place as soldiers on a aircraft carrier rocking-out to Rage Against the Machine. 

Now before we say "well if I am the church, then what's the problem?"  The answer is because finger pointing is not self criticism. The Church is a body as we gather together and not as we depart. These open letters and articles pointing out the reasons for leaving, and affirming them, is simply under-girding the emerging philosophy of the church which is "If you offend me I will leave". This is not unity nor is this helpful. Let's work on these problems together not after we have jumped ship.

Christ's prayer before he went to the cross was for our very unity, because he knew that our tendency is to depart, just as the writer of Hebrews also reminds.

So before we encourage more dismemberment, remember: A dismembered body is a corpse. In our critique of the church are we contributing to life or death? If the church is you and me, who exactly are we Killing in The Name of?

thanks

The 3rd Guy goes to Church (2 of 4)

The guy walks into the building and sheepishly looks around and walks forward as a hand is shoved into his hand.  The guy at first is taken aback at the treatment but looks up to see the genuine smile on the owner of the hand and his defenses fall.  "Hello, welcome to church."  The guy returns the handshake and greeting and makes his way to the back on the left side of the auditorium and takes in the massive room.  As the man walks through the auditorium he notices the massive curtains covering old stained glass and has to stop and take a peak at the old artwork now covered over. 

The guy sits down listening to the pumped in music at just the right level to still accommodate conversation. The guy places his coat on the seat next to him to make sure no one sits beside him. The lights fall and everyone stands, so he does too.  A familiar sound fills the room, had he heard this on the radio or something?  The guy at first does not sing as he feels silly but he starts to sing when he notices that he really can't see anything and that probably nobody can see him also.  The guy finds that singing is actually a bit enjoyable even though the words are a bit distant to him.

The next song starts and he realizes that he didn't recognize the last song but just that these songs all seem to sound similar.  The third song starts and while he still did not know the song he was confident he could follow the song fairly well. This time he starts paying attention to the words he was singing, which were very positive he thought.  The guy noticed how all the people on stage were significantly more attractive than he was.  And even though nobody could see him in the dark room he was reminded that he needed to work on his weight. The guy sat down feeling a bit uncomfortable but he was disarmed again when the dressed down pastor came out on stage and communicated with the demeanor of a kind father, one that the guy assumed all these other people had.

The pastor began pointing to the Bible passage on the screen and after reading it he began telling a story. The guy paid close attention while the personality of the pastor worked his magic and continued to disarm the guy and make him feel welcome. The guy was a bit taken off guard when he actually related to a story that the pastor told and smiled as he thought that this pastor was a bit different from those other priests.

The pastor continued and the guy began to have positive feelings about God that he had not thought about since he was a kid. The guy surprised by his own receptiveness smiled again as he thought that there was something to this Christianity. The guy wondered if he was being had and looked around to see if everyone was looking at him. He calmed himself when he realized that other people were just as engaged as he was. The guy appreciated the humble approach of the pastor and attentively listened to the rest of the sermon.

Afterwards another man came up asking for money with the music playing again, but the guy appreciated that he had said for new comers to not feel compelled to give as it was a privilege of those who claimed the church as their home. When the service ended the guy wanted to approach the pastor and thank him but the room was crowded with people talking.  The man stood and looked for a moment and he decided that maybe next week, he would.

Humility

In these three different stories, three different guys attend the same service in a church.  These are not meant to sum up all church experiences but to pinpoint some different specific perspectives of the visitors.

The first visitor was a guy new to church with no way to interpret this foreign experience. One would say he was simply ignorant of church culture which is fair to say about anyone new to church.  But his problem was not his lack of knowledge only, his problem was the way he already thought he knew what church was all about. It was because of this "background" he had a hard time figuring out the new experience. His perceived knowledge of church mixed with his ignorance of how to interpret made it more difficult. He had some assumptions to work through. He was confused.

The second man was a classic example of a cynic/proud man who believed he knew what church was all about and had already made judgments about the whole experience. He didn't believe he had any ignorance or need and therefore did not have trouble interpreting.  He knew already what it was about and thus his experience of church went accordingly. He mocked. There are people in attendance who do this as well.

The third guy was clearly new to the experience but he displayed a basic openness and a teachable spirit. He possessed humility you might say.  He was able to accept the service as it was and with this he was able to take something away from it. He may come again. He grew. This is the type of person we hope all visitors to church are like. But they aren't.

These were not different services catering to different people but different people interpreting their experiences. Unfortunately we can't always reach everybody, so all we can do is serve the Lord as best we can. All we can do is trust that God will draw those who he will draw. That is not an excuse but it is simply to say not everyone is going to agree on church and that should be OK.

Outsiders are not going to agree on church and neither do the insiders.  These were examples of outsiders interpreting church, but insiders have the same issues.  In fact some of these types of people are also inside the Church and these people also affect the way visitors view the experience. Some are proud and want their way. Some are humble and always give in. Some are ignorant and don't see why any of it matters. Some are there going through the motions. Some are there wondering what lunch will be and if a certain other person has come today.

Guests and members both have their opinions and preoccupations. As much as outsiders have preconceived expectations and experiences, surprisingly even so do people who are already in attendance.  As uncle Ben said to Peter Parker "With great experience comes great preference." (he didn't actually) But with different people come different feelings of comfort and desire and background. This is why it is important for churches to remember that they are a body. Different parts are different.

Shoulders like to be rubbed but bellies do not. Cheeks appreciate being squeezed but double chins do not.  Hair likes to be combed but ankles do not. Heads like to be scratched but throats do not. And so on and so forth...

All bodies are different, all churches are different, because people are different both inside and out. People visiting are different and people regularly attending are different. We are all not going to agree on the carpet or the drapes, the chairs or the pews, the drums or the organ, the lights or the candles, the wine or the grape juice, the sacraments, or even the preaching. And the music, well? That is for another blog. But we just aren't going to agree on everything are we?

If we do not start remembering that we are a body with different parts then we may just start simply being a bunch of people jockeying for our sacred cows. This only appeals to other people with similar sacred cows. It is only as we stand together that our love communicates to the world. The church should be the one place where a little leg room is given. Where a little grace is given. If the body of Christ cannot get along then why should outsiders be interested?

I know this started out about the visitors but often we can get hung up on them.  We can't control the visitors can we? But we can address ourselves. If we are too focused on our preferences then someone may come to our church and simply leave confused. Or if we are fighting over our preferences than somebody will come and leave more cynical than they came.  But if we are humble in our approach to church and to each other, people that visit will see it and grow.

Our preferences may not appeal to the outside world but our love will, the Gospel will. So if the church cannot start granting grace to each other, if the body cannot take care to be understanding of each other, then the body will start to decay.

And we don't want visitors smelling dead meat when they visit, right?

thanks

A story of 3 guys visiting Church part 1 of 4

Church is complicated, everyone has a background, and everyone has a perspective. 

The guy walks in and gawks across the room that looks like a concert hall.  He thinks to himself that this church has money.  He looks around again and a nice looking gentleman approaches him and shakes his hand. "Welcome to church, is this your first visit?" "Well, Yes" trying to get away the man shakes off the small talk and moves off to the right. He finds a seat mostly towards the back and begins to watch. A few more minutes pass and more people fill out the room.

Then at the top of the hour the lights go dark and a man comes out on stage who he assumes is the pastor, but you wouldn't know it from his casual attire. The guy recognizes this for what it is, a disarming tactic for people who feel distant from anyone called a pastor let alone to God himself.  But it has the opposite affect. "Shouldn't these people have more respect for God?"  The guy looks around and realizes he is more dressed up than most of the people in attendance. The man gives his pep talk and then exits stage left as a young attractive man comes out on stage with an acoustic guitar and a big smile. He begins strumming the typical Christian sound that even someone not familiar with church recognizes; a slight pop rock sound but with an overall clean and tamed manner emphasizing the vocals over the music. At first the man was surprised that there was no pipe organ but he decides this will do.

As he then tries to sing some of the words he finds himself distracted by the large face of the attractive young man on the screen being projected behind the words. As distracting as this is he attempts to put this out of his mind. He closes his eyes to focus but when he opens them an equally beautiful girl had appeared on screen with a light now projected on her as she does her best Mariah Carrie impersonation.  The guy finds this distracting in a completely different way. But it eases his mind a bit and he finds himself mouthing the words along with her. Another two songs with pleasant sounding not imposing music and the guy is starting to enjoy himself.

The show ends and the lights come back on and everyone takes their seat. The host comes back out and then says some things about stuff that the guy has no knowledge about, logistics, he is guessing? Church meeting? Finally the man up front says he will speak out of the book of John and the words are immediately on screen.  The guy adjusts himself in the seat and leans a bit forward, this is what he came for, to hear some of the Bible that he has heard so much about.  The man starts by reading the passage and then immediate starts talking about his life and how God has done stuff. Then he continues, and then, he continues some more, and the visitor starts to think that the pastor will never come back to explaining what he has just read.  

Minutes slip away and the guy starts to feel a bit disappointed. He came here to hear about God, instead the pastor is selling himself.  He looks around and some people are engaged and still others are looking at their phones. The guy wonders how this type of message fills this large a room week after week. As he is thinking he is interrupted by clapping all around and he realized he has missed something, a punch-line perhaps? Many of the jokes already had gone over his head but perhaps this one hit home for everybody. He again tries to concentrate but he starts thinking about how attractive the girl singer was.  He quickly stops and reminds himself that his friend will probably ask him what the service was about, but he has little idea. 

The guy can tell that the pastor is now circling the last base and the conclusion of the message is coming so he pays attention closely.  "God loves you". He hears.  He tries to listen more but he gets very little of substance but once again the people clap and he realizes they are simply agreeing with his points not being told anything they do not know. This makes the guy feel more like an outsider because he does not get it.  It wasn't clap worthy in and of itself so he must assume he has missed something again.  He realized he cannot keep up as he can't relate to all the stories and cannot simply follow along in the text as there isn't any.  The guy resigns himself that he cannot get anything out of this.  

Then the services switches to asking for money.  

The guy looks around and almost laughs. "What do they need more money for? They seem to be doing just fine." The girl starts singing again and the guy wishes this was a social setting so he could go talk to her, not that he would have the courage to talk to her, still, she was pretty.  The service ends the guy sighs deeply and gets up to leave. This time nobody approaches him so he just walks out the door.

He is new here. Confused. Ignorance isn't always bliss.


And with that another Guy goes to church...

He reluctantly sits down having walked a long way around the edge of the room to avoid having to be greeted. He sits down and tries to look ahead to not engage anyone accidentally.  Unfortunately for him someone notices him and comes over to try and make small talk.  "Lovely, sigh..." " The well dressed man mentions the weather and talks about nothing at all, the visitor somehow navigates the conversation and puts his head down to not draw any attention, but this has the opposite affect. Someone else draws near, "Sigh...I was just noticing the casino like carpeting...".

The woman that now beside him repeats herself and asks if he is OK.  At first he doesn't respond, but realizes this is a mistake because the woman persists, so he disarms her quickly. " I am just tired".  He lies.  It is already 10:30 am, a very reasonable hour of the morning for anyone to be quite awake enough. No, he is not tired but he is not bothered with conversation.  This works and she eventually wonders off and the service succinctly starts.

The lights go dark and the guy is relived because now he can literally not see the people in the row right in front of him. The music begins and the guy thinks that it is just OK. He scrutinizes the words of each song and wonders if Jesus appreciates all the fluff. The band is full on now and he laughs to himself at the missed chords and missed opportunities. The man tries to peer through the darkness to see if anyone is engaging because quite frankly, he can't hear anyone singing.  He spots a few people a couple of aisles over who appear to be mouthing the words but there is a surprising lack of volume.  He somehow makes it through the worship and eagerly sits down.

The minister comes on stage wearing a bad tie over a dark shirt with a sport coat and blue jeans.  "He looks like he is going out to a bar to meet women." He thinks. The minister begins by talking about the Bible of which he carries none. And then says that God wants to talk to the people about love, the guy smirks to himself, "So, no substance then? Anyone can talk about love. But it's hard to do it when using your bible."

The preacher continues to talk down to the people in the audience while the guy looks around to see if anyone is buying into this. He is surprised to see some people seem to be enjoying themselves. "Simple minded I guess" he muses. As the preacher continues, he starts to pick apart the pastor, piece by piece. After a few minutes of this he notices something. The young people sitting grouped together to the left are not paying attention. The guy smirks again and leans back in his chair which was starting to feel pretty comfortable. As he did he also noted that this chair was much more comfortable than the last churches' pews. "Well that's at least something."

The pastor eventually gets over himself and stops talking. But another man comes up to speak while the worship team starts playing again.  This man precedes to ask for money and the guy smirks again.  "Yup this is what it is all about, not a chance."  The man crosses his arms. Then there is a video about some dude going somewhere else who also needs money.  "Get a job kid". As the basket passes the guy's demeanor hardens as he sees that people are actually dumping their money into the basket.  "If only making money was this easy for the poor huh?"  The service ends and the guy quickly raises from his seat and leaves the building . "Just as I thought, why did I bother?"

The guy leaves smiling to himself, but another person sees him leave and at noticing the guy smiling he assumed he has enjoyed the service and says a prayer of thanksgiving. 

Pride.

These guys don't go to church much, but even they need grace. One more visitor next time and some thoughts. 

thanks

Proverbs 3 five and six

This was my life verse for awhile and then I realized I really was really poor at doing it.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. I used to think I knew what this meant. I've taught it to students confident it had to do with salvation.  It sounds very easy, at least theologically speaking. I do trust in the Lord with all my heart because I trust him with my soul, right? I used to think it was that easy. I have prayed the sinner's prayer and therefore I do trust him for the securing of my heart and the very safety of my soul. But this I've found fails to help at all with not actually leaning on my own understanding, as the next phrase of the verse reads. Doesn't trusting God for my eternal life mean I am not leaning on my own understanding?

Well a bit. I am not leaning on my own understanding as far as salvation goes, but what about the rest of life? I believe I have a bit of understanding about life. This is the rub. I think that at this point in my life I do have some understanding, but more often than not it probably flies against what is God's understanding.  This is what this verse seems to be getting at.  If I was trusting in the Lord with all my heart, I shouldn't be leaning on my own understanding because my understanding is limited to my experience.  Worse than this limiting is that my experience is skewed by my own ideas of right and wrong and where I place value and how I judge pleasure and pain.  So my understanding is limited and my preferences are selfish and thus my understanding is not a useful barometer for the way things actually are.  But thinking not in my own understanding is really difficult.

This is why the verse calls us away from our own understanding.  So I may think that I am trusting and leaning but I actually keep getting caught up by what I feel about my experiences. This is why I have the problem of why my path seems not so straight or not so directed, depending on the translation.  My path seems crooked, which does line up with my experiences, which makes my trusting in the Lord difficult.
It is silly, but I only just realized that I was poor at trusting, really trusting.

I wasn't paying attention to the fact that I find it very difficult to not lean on my own understanding. Leaning only or leaning mostly on my own understanding is another way of saying that I am piss poor at faith.  Not faith in God strictly speaking. I think of the verse where faith requires not simply that I believe that he is, which is fairly easy to do as a Christian, but the second part which says that we must believe that he is also a rewarder of those whose diligently seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

This is difficult because I haven't seen much reward. I feel that I have been diligently seeking him my whole life, but this may be more of that my understanding thing again.  And while I do not think of the reward as cash and prizes, I still do feel more reward should have arrived by now. I have heard it taught that the reward is simply more of God himself, which I can appreciate, but this would lead me to believe that if I did have more of him I would be better at leaning on his understanding rather than my own.

This is mostly to say that I realize that I have probably been affecting my enjoyment of God because my skewed perspective of my circumstances. Good theology cannot speak to the trials in life if I am only looking at myself, or at least barely staring above myself.

So in the end maybe I have just revealed my poor faith when it comes to looking above my understanding of my circumstances to trust in God. But I am aware of the problem and I can only continue walking before him as humbly as possible as I attempt to get more of him and alter or have my perspective altered.

thanks