Pastor Jim's Idea Exchange

Are you a vampire Christian?

2012-02-07T10:37:00.002-06:00

Dallas Willard says many Christians mistakenly preach and live a “gospel of sin management.” Essentially all they want is a Jesus who will forgive their sins and take care of the eternity question. Willard calls them “vampire Christians.” He says their attitude is like this, "I'd like a little of your blood, please. But I don't care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see you in heaven."

This is not Christianity and when we try to make it so we quickly find out that it isn’t real and it isn’t sufficient, especially when we are faced with real challenges and decisions and we need God in our lives. Thankfully this is not what the Bible talks about when it spells out our life with God. As His sons and daughters who have been forgiven of our sin and adopted into His family, we experience whole life transformation. We become brand new people in Christ and the reality of that newness is seen more and more each day. Here is how Willard goes on to describe it:

The spirit brings the inward transformation of thought, feeling and character that "cleans the inside of the cup" (Matthew 23:25) and "makes the tree good" (Matthew 12:33). As we study with Jesus we increasingly become on the inside . . . exactly what we are on the outside, where actions and moods and attitudes visibly play over our body alive in its social context. An amazing simplicity will take over our lives--a simplicity that is really just transparency.

This requires a long and careful learning from Jesus to remove the duplicity that has become second nature to us--as is perhaps inevitable in a world where, to 'manage' our relations to those about us, we must hide what we really think, feel and would like to do if only we could avoid observation. Thus, a part of Jesus' teaching was to "avoid the leaven, or permeating spirit, of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Luke 12:1)

The Pharisees were in many respects the very best people of Jesus' day. But they located goodness in behavior and tried to secure themselves by careful management at the behavioral level. However, that simply cannot be done. Behavior is driven by the hidden or secret dimension of human personality, from the depths of the soul and body, and what is present there will escape. Hence they always failed at some point to do what is right, and had to redefine, redescribe or explain it away--or simply hide it.

By contrast the fruit of the spirit, as described by Jesus and Paul, does not consist in actions, but in attitudes or settled personality traits that make up the substance of the "hidden" self, the "inner man." "Love" captures this fruit in one word, but in such a concentrated form that it needs to be spelled out. Thus, "the fruit (singular) of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatains 5:22)

How do you relate to what Willard is saying? Have there been “vampire” tendencies in your life? Where specifically can you see the Spirit at work in your life right now?

Where is mercy & grace showing up TODAY?

2012-01-31T10:40:00.001-06:00

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” – 1 Timothy 1:15-16

If you know Paul’s (Saul before conversion) story then you know he should know what it means to be a sinner. Innocent people were unjustly tortured, imprisoned and even murdered as a result of his actions. Not many people can say that. Not many people actually have to live with that reality. But Paul did every day. I have to believe that reality was the reason he gave himself that peculiar title – worst of all sinners. I also believe that reality gave him a truer appreciation for what God’s mercy really is than most of us, including me.

It’s so easy for us to minimize God’s mercy and grace to important ingredients in a religious formula that grants us a desired spiritual outcome – salvation. This happens when we are able to divorce mercy and grace from the real sin that exists in the world and in our life. The Bible says that sin includes any wrongdoing (1 John 5:17), but also not doing the good we ought to do (James 4:17). Who isn’t included in this definition?

Sin is evil. It reflects evil in the world around us. It reflects the evil that exists in you. It reflects the evil that exists in me. That is not something we want to acknowledge and live with, but Paul was able to get in touch with that.

He knew and never forgot the great need he had – every day of his life, before and after his conversion – for huge doses of God’s mercy and grace. He was thankful for it. He devoured it every chance he could get. He wanted his life to be an example to the whole world for what God’s mercy and grace could do. And it was!

How about us? We may not be “the worst of all sinners,” but are we in touch with the reality of sin in us so that we can be in touch with the reality of our need for God’s mercy and grace! I hope so.

Where has God’s mercy and grace been particularly real in your life lately? Where is it on display for others?

Shrinking ME and Enlarging JESUS

2012-01-17T09:29:00.002-06:00

One of the most convicting and challenging texts in scripture for me is 1 John 3:16-18:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Of course I remember John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I memorized that verse when I was a little boy. It is one of those verses that encapsulates the gospel in one short line. God loves me (and all people) so much that He willingly sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for my sins so that I might have life with God instead of the judgment and death I deserved. That is a perfect picture of God’s self-giving love on display toward us all. Jesus laid down His life for us so that we might have life in Him as a result.

Now let’s leave the Gospel of John and return to the letter of 1 John. As Jesus laid down His life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for others. When we start talking about laying down our lives we are going way beyond ME.

When ME is in the primary position my reason for living is to do whatever it takes to offer maximum benefit too . . . you guessed it – ME. I will do whatever it takes to make ME comfortable, to entertain ME, to focus on ME. And let’s be honest, left to ourselves, our alignment naturally drifts inward toward ME.

That is why these words from 1 John are like a cluster bomb exploding in the center of the ME universe. If we take these words seriously the bomb will explode in our hearts, destroying the ME-centered spirit, and fragments filter out into every area of our lives, the places where ME is more directly on display.

As I write these words I am aware of the powerful influence ME still has in my life, but I am also aware of how ME is shrinking as the presence of JESUS is enlarged. That is how it works as we grow spiritually. ME shrinks and JESUS is enlarged. But how? How does this happen? Here is how it is happening in my life:

1. I am reminded every day how much I continue to need the saving grace of Jesus. ME has indulged in sin and led me away from the person God called me to be. So I need God’s grace.

2. I must daily – sometimes multiple times in a day – invite the Spirit to control my life, to destroy the influences of ME and enlarge the power and presence of JESUS.

3. I must intentionally do the things that Jesus would do and say the things that Jesus would say. I can’t do that on my own. ME won’t let that happen. But I can do that more and more as Christian friends help me to see places where ME still lives and encourage me by pointing to the places where JESUS is growing.

4. I reorient my life more and more around the basic teachings of verse 17 and 18, focusing on the needs of others first before I focus on my own. ME fights the hardest here. This is where the battle rages the most. When I fail, I remind myself of my need for grace and move forward again. When I succeed, I give glory to JESUS, not to ME.

How do you react to this? How does ME need to die in you so that JESUS is enlarged?

Having friends and being a good friend

2012-01-10T11:45:00.002-06:00

The story about the four friends bringing their paralyzed friend to Jesus told in Mark 2:1-12 teaches many powerful lessons to us. Jesus is teaching in a full house and there is no way for them to get in the traditional way – the door – so they get their friend to Jesus in a very non-traditional way – through the roof. The point is that they knew their friend needed Jesus and had no hope without Him so they were desperate. Jesus was evidently impressed with their love and devotion to their paralyzed friend and their faith and trust in Him to heal. Verses 4-5 say:

Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

I am struck by the fact that it doesn’t speak about the paralyzed man’s faith, but about the faith of his four friends. See, these four people knew how to be good friends. They knew that involved doing whatever it took to help their other friend in need and what he needed was Jesus. Their faith and their action made this event possible.

I am also struck by the fact that the religious leaders can never be happy about something good Jesus does. They always find fault with something or someone. These are the guys who should be the biggest cheerleaders for Jesus and for these four friends, but all they do is complain and find fault. And to add one other thing to the mix, they don’t see fit to bring any of their friends to see Jesus. They already know Jesus has been used by God to heal people (1:45). They thought his teaching was important enough for them to go hear. Surely they have a friend who also needs to be healed! Surely they have a friend who also would benefit from Jesus’ teaching! Where are their friends?

Either they didn’t have any good friends or they didn’t know how to be good friends! I am not sure which is worse.

I believe a Christian has a duty before God to have friends. This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but I think this passage and many others lift up the value God places on friendship. We have a duty to make friends if for no other reason but to obey God.
I believe a Christian has a duty before God to make friends with non-Christians. Over and over again the bible tells us to be a witness for Christ and to develop a good reputation for the things of Christ with people outside the faith. There is no better way to do that than in the context of friendship. That is why it is critical for us to make friends with people far from God. They need to see Jesus in us and they can’t do that very well from a distance.
I believe a Christian has a duty before God to learn how to be a good friend. A good friend can always be counted on to love and support you in your time of need. They can be counted on to do the right thing. They are trustworthy and true to you. And a good friend should always point his or her friends to Jesus in natural ways that are both explicit and implicit, conscious and unconscious, through word and deed.

Which do you think would be worse for a Christian – to not have friends or to not know how to be a good friend? What is God teaching you about friendship through this story?

The reason we stay hungry and thirsty!

2012-01-03T11:13:00.001-06:00

John 6 is filled with a lot of stuff –miracles, Jesus’ teaching at the height of His popularity and a major PR disaster on Jesus’ part.

First the miracles: 5,000 people are miraculously fed and then (for the 12 disciples’ eyes only) Jesus walks on water.

Now the teaching: There are thousands of people following Jesus around right now. If Jesus was “smart” he would give them just enough to keep them interested (like more miracles), but not enough to actually share with them the true cost of following Him. If Jesus could keep this crowd energized and build on it, there was no end to what He could accomplish. But Jesus wasn’t “smart.” Jesus wasn’t interested in the size of the crowd as much as He was their level of commitment.

So here is what Jesus said:

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (6:35)

“Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” (6:53)

Being the “bread of life” is easy to receive if all we have to do is sit around and ooh and ah at all the miracles Jesus does for us. Who wouldn’t like to sit and receive good things at no cost? But having to consume Jesus is another matter altogether! Jesus isn’t talking cannibalism here, but in a direct and graphic way He is calling all of us to go all in with Him. To be His followers means we have to receive His good gifts (forgiveness, healing, love, grace, mercy, acceptance, etc.), but it also means we have to obey His commands (the cost part).

The PR disaster: If Jesus was “smart” He would have stuck with the miracles and the gifts. But Jesus wasn’t “smart,” at least not as we think of the term. He put the commitment cost right up front. And verse 66 says “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” By our standards this was a PR disaster. Jesus’ crowds evaporated.

The choice: When Jesus really presents Himself He leaves us only two options: to turn from Him or to fully embrace Him. That is what Peter and the 12 did. Speaking for the group, Peter said, “You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God” (6:68-69). To “believe” means to obey. It means to receive and to follow Jesus completely and without reservation. There is no third option.

I think the rub here is that we want to know what’s behind door number three. We want that third option. Because we refuse to fully embrace Jesus we never really receive the new life He promises and we are always “hungry” and “thirsty.” So, we think we have tried Jesus and come up short when in reality we have never received Him because we have never paid the cost. We have tried to create a third option when there isn’t one and we don’t have the power to make one! I think this is the reason so many of us lead empty and stale lives. We don’t really know Jesus. We have never really tasted the “bread of life” because we don’t want to pay the cost of giving our whole lives to Jesus.

What do you see from this passage? What is God showing you about the cost of following Jesus?

Being Thankful

2011-11-22T10:48:00.001-06:00

What does it mean to be thankful? It’s a word that we throw around a lot, especially during this time of year. But what does it actually mean?

Is someone thankful simply because they have an abundance of things to enjoy and they are happy about it? Is someone thankful simply because they have great relationships with family and friends that enrich their lives? Are we thankful only because of these things?

Would we be thankful if they were all removed? What would it mean to be thankful if we lived in need all the time or if we lived in loneliness or fear? Would we, could we be thankful then?

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not wishing to have everything good and valuable removed in my life to see if I would still be thankful and I don’t want that for anyone else. I am simply trying to figure out want thankfulness really is apart from everything I have been blessed with as a healthy, middle-class married with two kids in a reasonably healthy, loving and functional family, American. (That’s a lot of adjectives!)

What does God really want to teach me/us about being thankful?

I am firmly convinced that the good news of Psalm 34:8 to be true it must be equally true for me in Houston, TX USA as it is for someone in Nairobi, Kenya or San Salvador, El Salvador or Calcutta, India or Manila, Philippines, etc. If that verse is truly good news for me it must be good news for Christians there as well. So, somehow, being thankful as a Christian has to be much deeper than the temporal things we value. It must be much deeper and broader than that because I hear stories of Christians in those places and others who are truly thankful amidst desperate poverty or persecution or disease or all of the above.

Which brings me back to my original question: What does it mean to be thankful?

I don’t have complete answers. Unfortunately, I only have more thoughts and more questions. But I believe God is at work, teaching me what it really means to be thankful. I think things might be different in my life as a result.

As you reflect on what it means to be thankful, what has God taught you? What is He teaching you now? How are things different as a result?

Making it clear and simple!

2011-11-15T10:47:00.001-06:00

Last week as I was preparing for my sermon I wanted to develop a short, pithy definition of the Gospel. I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel so I went on line and searched for some definitions that others had put together. I thought surely there would be others who were in my position who had come up with something that just hit the mark.

I read and read and read. I read a lot of good stuff from a lot of people way smarter than I am. Unfortunately most of their definitions were a half a page or more. That is anything, but simple. On top of that, most of their definitions were filled with very technical language that was absolutely theologically precise, but hard for the average person to understand, especially if they are not familiar with the Bible.

I read and read and read. Finally, I gave up finding that perfect statement and came to terms with the fact that I would need to develop my own. No doubt with some of the inspiration of all the brilliant people I read I came up with the following simple definition of the Gospel. Here it is:

God’s Son Jesus died in our place to pay the price for our sin and those who trust Him and surrender to Him are forgiven, graciously offered new life and adopted into the loving fellowship of God’s eternal family.

My goal is for clarity and simplicity. I want it to be clear, with words and terms nearly everyone can understand, and I want it to be simple so that no one will get lost along the way.

It’s still a work in progress. I have already edited it briefly a number of times and am open to any suggestions you have.

Feel free to pick it apart and put it back together again with your input.

In the meantime, allow the power and wonder of the Gospel truth sink deep in your heart and mind and work its transforming work on you every day.

How are my words and thoughts?

2011-11-08T11:40:00.002-06:00

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” – Psalm 19:14

This is a powerful and challenging passage of scripture that hits us right where we live every day, everywhere.

If the words coming out of our mouths were pleasing to God, would they be different words from the ones we normally utter? The things that we say matter a great deal. We have the power with our words to build someone up or tear them down, to speak the truth or a lie, to point someone to Jesus or to lead them away from Him.

If the meditations of our heart, the things we think about and dwell on, were pleasing to God, would they be different? The things we think about may even matter more than our words sometimes. If we think about something long enough we are going to act on it. Nearly everything we do, whether good or evil, is a result of something we have thought about ahead of time. If our hearts are seeking after Godly things then Godly words and actions will likely follow.

If God is my Rock and Redeemer how does that change the equation of my life? A rock is something secure, immovable, something that can always be counted on. A redeemer is one who buys people out of slavery or bondage of some kind. They are hopelessly trapped, but the redeemer sets them free. If God is my Rock and my Redeemer then everything in my life is affected by that reality. There is not a single thing that is outside of God’s concern, not a single thing that He is unaware of. In fact, God is keenly aware of what is going on with us and, as a result, He has offered us redemption. At the same time His ways and His character never change. We can count on them no matter what.

I don’t completely understand how this all shakes out in my life, but I am thankful for it. I am also challenged as well. I want everything in my life to be pleasing to God. And when it isn’t, I want to repent and run to Him for forgiveness and another taste of the redemption He has granted me through Jesus.

How does this verse encourage, challenge or speak to you? How are your words and thoughts?

Do you yearn for Heaven and to be with Jesus?

2011-10-25T09:52:00.000-05:00

Every time I try to think about eternity and Heaven I am overwhelmed by the vastness of it all. I have said many times it seems to me like a vast ocean that can never be fully explored or understood, but can be experienced in part. I know a bunch of the theological explanations about eternity and I accept them, but that still doesn't mean I understand the concept. Eternity is forever, totally void of our understanding of time and space. History, current events, future planning - none of that really makes sense when you really try to focus on eternity. Here is what I believe in a nutshell:

Eternal life is real - and I'm living a taste of it now!
Depending on the life we choose, we will take one of two eternal paths - what the Bible calls Heaven and Hell.
The offer has been made to every person to embrace the man Jesus as Son of God, Savior of sins, Lord of life. Doing that grants one entry into the eternal kind of life I am living now.
Somehow, in ways I don't fully understand, aspects of that eternal life - peace, joy, deliverance from sin, transformation into Christlikeness, hope, etc. - are already taking shape in me. Indeed, as the days and weeks go by I can see it taking shape more and more.
The eternal kind of life I hope for in Heaven is so much different and greater that it simply blows my mind to try and define it.
Sadly, the hellish alternative is just as impossible to fully grasp in all its terrible consequences . . . and I am thankful Jesus has kept me from that experience. And I pray that my life will be used by Him to keep others from that experience as well.
In the present, based on my eternal trajectory, I am either bringing Hell to earth or Heaven to earth. Not that my life will be Heaven on earth, but my life in Christ should bring tastes of Heaven to me and to those around me. For those who are not in Christ, the opposite is the case.

I long for more and more signs of Heaven in my life, for more signs of the holiness that Jesus is bringing and seeks to bring to me. And I also long for more and more people to experience Heaven with me some day.

How about you? How do you understand God’s eternal reality to be shaping your life?

Are you a quicker forgiver?

2011-10-18T10:57:00.000-05:00

Forgiveness is a non-negotiable in the life of a Christian. On one hand, we must be forgiven for the offenses we commit. On the other hand, we must forgive those who commit offenses against us.

There are far too many texts in the Bible to mention on this subject, even if we limit them to Jesus own words. However, here are a couple of key passages from the mouth of Jesus:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” – Matthew 5:23-24

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” – Matthew 6:14-15

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” – Mark 11:25-26

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:37-38

We cannot ignore these powerful commands or treat them as optional and still be followers of Jesus. That means we have to come to terms with the unforgiveness in our lives any time it appears.

In my experience, when people hold onto unforgiveness it’s usually because they don’t understand what forgiveness is or they have never received it themselves. Here are some examples:

1. People mistakenly believe forgiveness says what was done against us is “OK.”

2. People wrongly believe that forgiving someone means getting into the position where they are free to hurt us again.

3. People have only received a poor substitute for forgiveness, like when someone makes it conditional or temporary.

4. People incorrectly believe that if they truly forgive they will forget what happened.

All of these (and many more like them) notions are wrong and if they get mixed up in our understanding of forgiveness we end up poisoning this beautiful gift God offers us.

Instead, forgiveness is about allowing God’s forgiving love and peace for us to bring us to the place where we can be whole and free. It is about His supernatural power vindicating us, making clear to us and to others that we were wronged. It is about protecting us from the offender in such a way that we do not become like them. It is about receiving the unconditional acceptance and love of God in such a way that we are able to offer a portion of it to others. Finally, it is about remembering that offense as it truly is, but releasing our right to take revenge for it because God has allowed us to be free from it. In that regard it is about a supernatural victory we gain from God that brings us peace and right relationship with Him and, at least on our part, with others.

What role has forgiveness played in your life?

What areas do you need to grow in to better resemble Jesus?

Do you still grieve over sin?

2011-10-11T11:33:00.000-05:00

English Puritan pastor Jeremiah Burroughs wrote these words in his book The Evil of Evils over 300 years ago:

There’s a great mistake in the world in the matter of trouble for sin. They think repentance or mourning for sin is but one act, that if once they have been troubled for sin they need never be troubled anymore. It is a dangerous mistake, for we need to know that true sorrow for sin, true repentance, is a continual act that must abide all our lives. And it is not only at that time when we are afraid that God will not pardon our sins, when we are afraid that we shall be damned for our sins, but when we come to hope that God will, yes, when we come to know that God has pardoned our sins.

How do you react to this statement?

As you grow in Christ, how do you respond to sin that seems to continually show up in your life?

Do you need God’s forgiveness more or less the longer you are a follower of Jesus?

I have found that the longer I am in Christ the more and more I am aware of how much God has done to transform me and how much more He still needs to do to fully conform me into the image of Jesus. I can never be too far along that I don’t stand in need of God’s grace, forgiveness and help. As a result of this, I still find times in my life where I grieve over sin and am stirred to repentance and change as a result.

How about you? What is your story?

Do you delight in God’s people and His Church?

2011-09-20T10:44:00.004-05:00

I ran across an interesting story the other day that makes a great point:

A Christian once visited a farmer to talk to him about Christ. "I wouldn't come to church up there." the farmer said. "I know old So and So church goer who claims to be a Christian and So and So who attends church there who claims to be a Christian and they don't live any differently from me. I'm as good as they are.”

Everywhere the farmer went he told about the hypocrites in that Church. Months passed and the Christian brother went to see the farmer again.

"I want to buy a hog,” said the Christian. The farmer showed all his best hogs to him. Then they came to the runt. "I believe I will take that one" the Christian said.

“BUT you don't want that one. He's the worst runt to the litter,” replied the farmer.

"I sure do" said the Christian. So they loaded the runt in the truck.

"Now," said the Christian "what if I take this pig here from your farm and ride all over this area telling folks that this is the kind of hogs you raise?”

"That's not fair!" the farmer exclaimed. "I have some nice hogs and you want to show people that runt?!”

To which the Christian replied, "If it's fair for the church it's fair for the hogs!”

It doesn't take much effort to find fault with the church, but it DOES take a lot of effort to love her and the people who are a part of her. Instead, if for no other reason than because Jesus commands us to do so, we need to re-orient our lives so that we can come to lovingly delight in the church.

Let's start that conversation today by sharing some of the blessings we have received by being a part of God's people, the Church. How have God's people blessed your life? How are you being a blessing to others.

Share those stories of blessing this week.

Do you have a growing concern for others?

2011-09-13T10:28:00.002-05:00

Thomas A’ Kempis said, “A person who does much loves much; he does much who does it well; he does it well who serves the common good rather than himself.”

Later John Calvin said, "There is nothing in which men resemble God more truly than in doing good to others."

This should not be revolutionary stuff, but it often seems to be. The church in Jerusalem in Acts 2 and 4, not to mention countless other examples in the New Testament and throughout history to the present, offer countless examples of the love of God's people being translated into meeting the temporal and spiritual needs of people.

In those examples Christians sacrifice for each other and for those outside of the Church. They share generously. They love radically. They give without thinking of themselves. Compassion and empathy come natural to them. They are faithful, determined and they persevere no matter what the challenges that lie in front of them. And when they do so, Jesus is on full display.

Today, as in any other time in history, when these kinds of Christian examples are visible that is revolutionary to the world.

I know we don't have to think very hard to recall the times when Christians didn't show up. I know we can point out all the self-centeredness, greed, ugliness, etc. that has unfortunately been present when so-called Christians have shown up and Jesus was anything but visible in their lives.

I am interested in how we can make love and good deeds common and growing in our lives and in our churches.

How can we develop a growing desire on our part to meet the spiritual and temporal needs of others?

How can we make sure not to get comfortable with the status quo around us and, instead, envision a world where Jesus' principles and values take root?

How can we envision our role in that Jesus-centered world?

Where do we begin individually and as local churches together?

Are you more sensitive to God's presence?

2011-09-06T10:48:00.002-05:00

There is no shortage of people interested in sensing God's presence. Scores of people write about it, talk about it and think about it. But how do we begin to understand the subject?

The Bible offers several different ways where God’s presence can be seen and experienced:

God is everywhere or omnipresent. Psalm 139 makes clear that there is nothing in our lives that he is unaware of or unconcerned about.
God’s fullest expression is seen in Jesus. Matthew 1:23 reminds us that Jesus was called Immanuel, which means God with us. If you really want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.
God’s Spirit indwells His children. John 14:16-17 reminds us that all people who have received salvation through Jesus have the Holy Spirit in their life guiding, directing and transforming.
God’s presence is seen in His work. Look at all the miracle stories in the Bible. When God shows up in miraculous ways people notice. Also, when God’s Spirit clearly rests on a person, people notice that He is present (Acts 11:21).
God’s eternal presence. The Bible is clear in passages like Revelation 21:3 that God will be most fully present with us in Heaven and that the opposite of that is in Hell, the place where He is fully absent. (Whitney 58-59)

What is important to notice here is that in every instance God chooses to reveal Himself. There is nothing that we can ever do to deserve God's presence in our lives. There is certainly nothing we can do to demand it. He is present only as a result of His love for us and His desire to be in relationship with us.

There is one other important piece to remember. God never contradicts His Word. He will never ask us to do something contradictory to what the Bible says. We won't be encouraged to cheat on our taxes in order to have more money to share with the poor. We won't be asked to to treat others in an ungodly way even if our goal is a Godly one. None of that lines up with His Word and, therefore, God is not present in it.

Instead, as we follow God and are open to His Holy Spirit, He works in and through us and we can sense Him all the time. We can develop "eyes to see and ears to hear" what God is doing and the heart and mind to respond.

How do you make sure to tell what is a sign of God's presence and what isn't?

How do you respond to His presence in your life?

Are you more loving?

2011-08-30T09:16:00.002-05:00

Jesus made plain that the greatest commandment was to love God and love people. As a way to further spell out the implications of that kind of love, John wrote, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:16). I get the concept. I believe it. I accept it. I want to pattern my life around it. I want it to be self-evident in every area of my life.

The problem is that it's one thing to understand and accept a concept and quite another thing to see it fleshed out in my life with real people. Jesus expressed this clearly in the Sermon on the Mount. He said:

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven . . . If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

Being perfect means to get to the place where we are perfect in love. That is the love standard of Jesus that we must strive for. But we all know that we fail to achieve it.

Donald Whitney writes, "The test of Christlikeness is not the greatness of your love toward those who love you, but the bounty of your love toward those who do not" (pg. 44).

I don't know about you, but loving difficult people is the greatest challenge for me. They don't deserve my love. They may take advantage of my love. They may reject my love. They may manipulate me as a result of my love. All of this is a real possibility whenever we love people - ALL people.

Yet somehow we are called to grow in love despite all the risks involved. The only way this is possible is for us to be filled up with God's love for us so that we know what real love is and are able to offer it to others. We also need to be wise and discerning, which is another gift from God. Our world has a warped understanding of love and what someone may consider love isn't really love at all. God doesn't want us to offer a warped, worldly love to others. He wants us to offer His love to them. That means sometimes love means standing for truth when it would be easier to lie. It means protecting someone when it would be easier to let them go. It means saying no because its the right thing to do or the best thing for that person even when it would be easier to say yes. And it means we will have to sacrifice when it would be easier to just take care of ourselves.

I don't have all the answers to loving as God would have me to, but I want to grow in His love.

Do you see His love growing in your life or are you regressing? How?

How is God helping you to grow in love?

Are you governed increasingly by God’s Word?

2011-08-23T09:55:00.002-05:00

Psalm 1 says this:

¹ Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
² but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

It makes sense that one would be blessed by God if they do not walk where the wicked walk, stand in the way sinners stand or sit where those with those who mock God sit. Being in those places will be destructive to any life in pursuit of God. That makes sense.

But how do we know what steps to take to move forward? By delighting and meditating on the "law of the LORD." When that Psalm was written centuries ago the "law of the LORD" meant the first five books of the Old Testament and the prophets. The people of Israel knew that as "the law and the testimony." That was to govern their lives.

As Christians we accept the Old Testament and the New Testament because that contains the words of Jesus, the stories of his saving life, the birth of the church and the life of the Holy Spirit poured out on God's people. We believe and testify that God breathed and inspired every aspect of the message of the Bible.

It is the truth of God, God's truth for us together and God's truth for us personally. That means we can trust it and rely upon it. It also means we cannot ignore it. We must obey it. It is not some generic source of truth. It is true for all of us whether we accept it or not. It explains and defines reality. And its promises and commands are ours personally, not just for some "other people." We can count on it.

When we "meditate" or think on the truths of scripture and apply it to our lives it forms our character and our practices. There is nothing in our lives that the truths of God's Word won't touch and we will be like a well planted, growing and fruit-bearing tree. That is the life we are seeking.

What have you done to make sure your life is governed more and more by God's Word? What advice can you give to help us overcome some of the obstacles along the way?

Do you thirst for God?

2011-08-16T10:51:00.001-05:00

Listen to these words from Psalm 42:

¹ As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?

Or Psalm 63:

¹ You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

Saint Augustine said this, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

These words shine a spotlight directly on the need we all have to have our thirst quenched by God. The general activities of our life can make us dry. The stress and anxiety we face can make us dry. Adding “everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1) to the mix and our soul can seem pretty parched.

There is no one who has not faced these realities and no one who will ever be immune to them. That is why we need God so much. That is why we need to be thirsty for Him. We need Him to quench our thirst and renew our souls.

Apart from this, we are doomed to life in that “dry and parched land.” And it doesn’t need to be that way. Even in the midst of running from God and worshipping other gods, the Israelites were told, “But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Our pursuit of God begins with our thirst for Him. The question isn’t primarily one of mechanics but one of deep soul thirst. Are we thirsty for God?

A.W. Tozer offers this wonderful prayer that illustrates this desire:

O God, I have tasted thy goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. Oh God, the Truine God, I want Thee; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made thirsty still (Whitney, pg. 23).

Are you dry? If so, can you identify what has made you dry? Are you thirsty? What are you doing to have your thirst quenched?

Passing the Right Test

2011-06-03T15:56:00.002-05:00

Imagine going to the ER with a tremendous pain in your stomach, thinking it could be an appendix, gall bladder, heart attack, kidney stone or some other terrible problem. Now imagine the doctor coming into the room calmly with one of those little hammer-like tools they use to check your reflexes and all he does is tap your knees and elbows. While you a writhing in pain he is checking reflexes! How crazy is that!

While it is important for you to have good reflexes that is clearly NOT the right test to pass at that moment. You need to take the right test.

Unfortunately sometimes we measure our spiritual health with similarly ridiculous tests:

In the same way that perfect attendance in school doesn't guarantee that the person is a good student or even well educated, perfect attendance in church doesn't guarantee spiritual maturity.
Even though people can go to a prestigious university and get a great degree that doesn't necessarily mean they will be the best employee to hire. In the same way, someone can grow up in a good, Godly home or go to a great church, but still be very far from God.
There are a lot of people who pass the written test perfectly, but who turn out to be the worst drivers on the road. In the same way, people can know all the right answers about scripture and theology, but never put them into practice in their lives.

You get the point . . .

We need to pass the right test and the right test for measuring spiritual growth and maturity is a heart test, a test that measures the gracious love of God in our hearts.

Everyone who receives Christ does so only by grace, through faith. They accept the gift of Jesus' salvation, which forgives them of their sin, makes them alive spiritually and right with God. It also fills and keeps filling up their lives with the love of God. And as the love of God fills their hearts it naturally is poured out to others around them.

In other words, having received grace, they become gracious. Having received forgiveness, they become forgiving. Having received love, they become loving.

That means the right test for spiritual growth and maturity isn't an IQ test - measuring what you know - but an EKG - measuring what is happening in your heart.

That is the right test, the test you really need to pass.

I would love to hear your reaction and thoughts to this. How do you make sense of this in your life?

Standing on Shoulders

2011-05-27T16:10:00.003-05:00

I ran across a prayer recently that was used by Christians originally over 1900 years ago! These early Christians, some suffering under persecution and trial, prayed this prayer fervently. They expected God to act and because of their work and God's power we are here today generations upon generations later. We stand on their shoulders as a result of their faithful life and ministry. Some day younger generations of Christians will stand on our shoulders because of our faithfulness. Here is their prayer:

"We give you thanks Holy Father, for your holy name which you have caused to dwell in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality which you have made known to us through Jesus your servant; to you be the glory forever.

You, almighty Master, created all things for your name's sake, and gave food and drink to men to enjoy, that they might give you thanks; but to us you have graciously given spiritual food and drink, and eternal life through your servant Jesus. Above all we give thanks because you are mighty; to you be the glory forever.

Remember your church, Lord, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in your love; and gather it, the one that has been sanctified, from the four winds into your kingdom, which you have prepared for it; for yours is the glory forever.

May grace come, and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha! Amen." (from the Didache, 2^nd Century)

More and more, I am keenly aware of the shoulders I stand on. That challenges me to think of those who will stand on my shoulders some day as I remain faithful to our Lord.

Whose shoulders do you stand on? Who is or will stand on your shoulders?