Discipline is not God trying to pay you back; it is God trying to bring you back.
Jesus
All posts tagged Jesus
Our company said goodbye to a really good guy on Monday.
He was the husband of a wonderful wife, who is also with our company, and the father of two little ones. His death was a total shock, and appears to have been something like a freak brain aneurysm. This got me thinking…
Did this man have a meltdown at age 18, wondering what he was going to do with the second half of his life? Probably not.
Particularly when you are under the conviction that life is about so much more than yourself, it bears asking the question:
“If guessing the midpoint of my life is impossible, can I do anything more than take every moment to honor God, serve others, work hard, and love people well?”
No. No you can’t.
Some churches here in the States spent the 80s and 90s talking like it was a brand new cultural shift for people to NOT be a part of a Christian church. a.k.a. They were talking like a post-Christian culture was coming fast, as opposed to recognizing that it had long since arrived.
How old of a cultural institution, for example is Sunday Brunch?
Isn’t it this loud, unapologetic, “WE DON’T GO TO CHURCH. IT DOESN’T EVEN CROSS OUR MINDS.”?
I’m not complaining about Sunday Brunch. I want Christians to look into culture and figure out how, when, and where to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in attractive, bold and humble ways. I wonder if a local church could host a Sunday Brunch that’s all about Jesus? Hmm…
My latest sermon is up. It’s about how Ezra and Nehemiah point to the coming of the Messiah.
Here is a link to the sermons page if your finger is too tired and/or lazy to scroll all the way to the top right. 🙂
One of the most divisive issues in America is whether or not to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the news. Sure, abortion, gay marriage & Obamacare are big ones…but what about the judgmental attitude some of us have toward those who avoid the news altogether and drink up The Bachelor like cold water on a hot day?
Most of us have been in conversations over the years where this came up. One side says something like, “I used to watch the news, but everything is so depressing.” If someone responds at all, it may sound something like, “You can’t just bury your head in the sand! This stuff is real! You’re just living in a world of fiction; and you’ll never make a difference in the world!”
Allow me to jump in and make enemies on both sides. (It’s a gift of mine.)
To my friends who love reality TV: There are very real things in this world that break God’s heart. You are His hands and feet; so do something with your life.
To my friends who are news junkies: You are not the Messiah. You cannot wipe away every tear. Work hard for the orphan, the widow & the foreigner, but understand that the ultimate solution is in Christ alone. Only He forgives sin, and only He can end all injustice.
Some of us find ourselves in a tough spot in-between: we switch channels away from the starving Ugandan child or the fighting in Israel because to become emotionally invested seems masochistic when I can’t do anything to fix the problem.
If you are skimming this post, please go back to my last sentence.
My proposed solution: How about church leaders lead? How about breaking down huge problems into smaller, bite-sized tasks to glory of God?
Can I end abortion? No. Could my pastors encourage my wife and me to go be trained to be adoptive parents so that one day we can say to a 15-year old girl, “We will raise your baby?” Yes.
Can I end multi-generational poverty? No. Could my church engage relationally with high school students; inviting them into our adult small groups, or maybe just do a great job of staffing our student ministry events? Yes. Young people will go out into the world repeating what they know. What if a student is in your house the first time he hears a man apologize to a woman? What if he watches you fight with your wife, and is quietly amazed that you did not scream at her, threaten her, or worse? Can our churches help us live in relationship with young people? Of course.
Lord, light a fire in our congregations! Spirit move until we cry out, “God, I want to care, and now I can!”
His eyes darted to the left, then right. Terror gripped his body. Then the cat lunged at him with a speed he simply couldn’t match. As if to taunt Hammy of his impending a violent demise, the cat didn’t strike; it only rolled him back and forth between its paws like some kind of a sick game.
Hammy wondered to himself how many wagers had been lost by the citizens of the Capitol who thought better of some other unfortunate tribute who hadn’t made it as far…
Oh. Wrong story. Sorry.
Back to the cat… after a few cruel moments of taunting, it seemed like the sweet relief of death was finally nearing when the unthinkable happened! A large, strong right hand of a human being reached down and delivered him from the jaws of death.
We love to empathize with the guilty and judge God as wicked, don’t we? We just don’t have the right perspective. Here’s the back story:
I was in 6th grade. I had a pet hamster creatively named “Hammy,” and a cat named “Tiger.” I was holding Hammy one afternoon, when he decided to bite my thumb and draw blood. In my knee-jerk reaction, Hammy ended up on the floor with Tiger. So whose fault is it that Hammy is in a precarious situation?
Exactly. I’m glad you see God’s perspective.
You see, before we were condemned by God, we bit him. (Genesis 3) It’s not the fact that humanity stands in God’s wrath that should surprise us; it’s His mercy extended by Christ on the cross that should be shocking. At our point of greatest need, God’s strong right arm reached down and delivered us from the jaws of death.
If I’d had no love for Hammy, I could have left him to the fate he created for himself. I’m just saying.
This series of posts is primarily for the benefit of my home church 14th Ave Baptist Church in Sacramento,CA, but if it can be a blessing to others, then great! I will be posting in this series every Monday. I look forward to great comments from everyone!
Part 3: Jesus is the Group’s Hero; No One Else!
I can’t tell you the number of times in youth ministry I heard a young person give “prayer requests” that sounded like nothing more than a list of personal accomplishments. I wonder if we are struggling at times to believe the gospel; that while we were yet sinners Christ died. That we are accepted based on Christ’s work on the cross, not our long list of good deeds.
Anyway. In a vibrant small group culture, Jesus absolutely must be the hero of every story that is told. When we are discussing Scripture…Jesus is the hero; not Paul, David, Moses, or anyone else! When we are praying in the group, we are asking Jesus to step in as Cristus Victor, the conquering king that He is! When we are hanging out and sipping coffee, we must share about how Christ worked in our life this week, not about how “I did this great thing!”
To hold up anyone else as the hero is a false gospel. Ouch.
People my age tend to think they will live forever.
But when living in light of Jesus’ command to make disciples, one has to ask the question: “Will any of my family, friends, coworkers or neighbors remember the Gospel that I taught, shared, and advocated for when I’m gone?”
This struck me last week as I read through 1 Peter and found a man who seems aware that his physical death is imminent; and he is more focused than ever on just one thing: ensuring that the flock of God remembers the Gospel of God. Peter says this:
“Therefore, I will always remind you about these things—even though you already know them and are standing firm in the truth you have been taught. And it is only right that I should keep on reminding you as long as I live. For our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me that I must soon leave this earthly life, so I will work hard to make sure you always remember these things after I am gone.”
-1 Peter 1:12-15 NLT
Peter had some decent life accomplishments, to be sure: He walked on water when no other disciple had the faith to do it, he was commissioned by Christ Himself to “feed” His sheep, and his shadow healed people at one point. Wow.
But Peter didn’t want the Church to remember him. There was someone else who deserved glory. What a strong word for those of us in pastoral ministry. What a rebuke for me at times.
Lord, lead pastors not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
This series of posts is primarily for the benefit of my home church 14th Ave Baptist Church in Sacramento,CA, but if it can be a blessing to others, then great! I will be posting in this series every Monday. I look forward to great comments from everyone!
Part 1: Safety That Flows From the Gospel
Many a small group leader has been frustrated at times when trying to get people to open up and be real with the rest of the group. Sometimes the individuals that want to hide can do so quite easily because the talkers in the group won’t stop for a breath; or maybe when the group leader asks the “hider” a question to draw them in, they give a superficial answer.
What I’m about to advocate does not solve this problem every time, but it is foundational to creating safety.
A group that understands the Gospel of Jesus Christ will naturally provide the safety that we want to feel in a group before we share. If the group believes that a perfect world was maligned by human rebellion against our Creator, that all of us are implicated in that treason, that Christ alone provides reconciliation between God and man, that holiness in this life is a constant struggle in the Christian’s life, and that success in spiritual growth is found only in God’s power, to God’s glory, then it’s hard for the group to look down their noses at other peoples’ weaknesses, isn’t it?
If…..Jesus is the Savior and the Hero Then…..I can share in a way that is honest about my weaknesses.
If…..I share honestly about my weaknesses Then…..The group has the opportunity to respond with condemnation of my sin OR with the grace the Gospel dispenses.
If…..The group responds in a Gospel-centered way Then…..Others know that this group is a safe place to be real.
Emily and I received the privilege of watching our good friends’ daughters for a few days recently.
While the girls were mostly a blast, we did encounter some attitude from one and a few def-con 4 poopy diapers from the other! (I really don’t think a smelly diaper will intimidate me ever again.) I used the word “privilege” earlier because, like most difficult things in life, they are for your own growth and your own good.
I came face to face many times that weekend with the incessant desire to have the world revolve around me. As it turns out, children seem to revolve around themselves, as well. (The physics behind all this must be mind-bending.)
Even though Emily and I don’t have children yet, we received this grace: a glimpse into a world where the family’s only hope is to revolve around the Savior.
Jesus, please continue to show me why You are the only one worthy of worship.