Sunday, April 27, 2008

Dependence

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1. This verse has been on my mind over this past week. Though the mystery of God is something that we’ll never fully understand, it is amazing how, through His Word, we are given glimpses of His face to better understand who He is…and in turn, better understand who we are and even why we are.

So…this verse has been on my mind a lot this week. I memorized Genesis 1:1 as a child. I’ve reverted back to it when asked if I had any scripture memorized. I’ve even used it as a joke to clarify that baseball is in the Bible because “In the Big Inning…God created.” As I was reading the Confessions of Augustine earlier in the week his musings about the mystery of God found in this verse stirred thoughts in me.

I can’t say I know much about building but I’m going to take a shot in the dark and assume that you probably start with a foundation. Maybe you need to even start before the foundation and pick out a good location for the foundation. Before doing that maybe there are other things to put in place first. What amazes me about the mystery of God is that Genesis didn’t say, “In the beginning God checked out the best universal real estate and then got to work.” What does that have to do with the mystery of God?

There are a number of questions that surround this verse: If God created from nothing, who created God? Did God get bored one day and then decided to create us…making us objects of His boredom rather than objects of His affection? These are questions often asked by those who are searching and should be treated carefully. I would like to go into these at a later time but not right now. What I would like to focus on is the mystery of God as THE Creator.

With no foundation, God laid the foundation of the heavens and the earth. All things were then created within the realms of that which was first created as a foundation. Nothing can be created that has not been created. God created me. God created you. The very air I breathe is because God created.

The first breath of God’s Word found in Genesis 1:1 paints the picture of dependence on God. From the very beginning, God has wanted us to understand that we were created in dependence on He who created. We find ourselves sprinting in the direction of deep independence...only going to God when we cannot do it ourselves. We try to create ourselves delving deeper into dependence on what our own hands bring to the table. The better we understand God as Creator the better understanding we’ll have of what God created us for…a relationship of dependence.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Little White Box

This past Thursday Night was the kickoff of our Thursday Night for the Master. Great things are going to happen. Lives will be touched. People will grow. And the family at Northview will be changed. Jim started us off with a challenge from Isaiah 42:18, “Forget the former things” and followed it up with, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” – Ephesians 3:20-21. With these two passages, the mood for outreach was set at Thursday Night for the Master.

Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head that simply drives you up a wall? I get one from time to time. There for a while I was walking around with arms up singing, “If I were a rich man.” Over the past day or so I’ve had an old Vacation Bible School song stuck in my head. You probably remember it. “If I had a little white box to put my Jesus in, I’d take Him out and *Kiss*Kiss*Kiss* and share Him with a friend.”

I used to love that song as a kid…I think because I got to say “Bash his face” when I talked about taking the Devil out of his box. As I’ve thought more and more about this song I’ve began to wonder how big my “Little White Box” is. Ten years ago, my box wasn’t as big as it was five years ago and my box has grown even larger since. As Brothers and Sisters around tables Thursday night, ideas started to flow concerning how we would reach those around us who do not know the Relationship with God that we cherish so much.

The Jesus I began to see wasn’t coming from any kind of box. The Jesus generating the thoughts of evangelism Thursday night couldn’t be contained in a box. The Jesus that was being talked about Thursday night was a Jesus that can do immeasurably more than all we can imagine. The “Little White Box” is beginning to disappear and we’re going to start seeing imaginable things.

Here’s the question. How big is your box right now? What will it take to get you out of it and experience the “power that is at work within us?” Plant your seed and let God’s power make it grow into something immeasurably more than all we imagine.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Intentional Potential

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to walk among great people in our nation’s Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Washington, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Heroes of WWI, WWII, and Vietnam, and many others. What amazes me about these great people is their incredible potential lived out in amazing ways. How does one come to live out this kind of potential?

When in his late 20’s, Benjamin Franklin made a list of thirteen virtues that he would dedicate his life to live by. Franklin was a leading author and printer, comedian, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. It is quite evident that the acorn of Franklin’s potential developed him into an oak of a man. What we take from a man like him is not only did his define his potential through his list of virtues but he then lived them out. Some may say he was destined to do great things. Who am I that I’ll become like him?

That very question is what amazes me about The Greatest Generation (WWII Veterans). They were all simple people who saw what needed to be done and did it. They defined their potential was defined in different ways through their upbringing. What really gets me when I watch interviews of “Heroes of WWII” is that they do not see themselves as “Heroes.” They saw what needed to be done and they did it.

Jim Smith, glad he’s back in the office, keeps running around, talking about being intentional. He keeps trying to convince me, and anyone who will listen, that we have to be “Intentional Christians.” I think he might be on to something. Dan and I were talking about the idea of potential and I brought Jim up and almost simultaneously we came out with “Intentional Potential.” Not that we would give Jim any credit to a great idea, but we need to be intentional with the potential that is going to drive us as Christians.

How do we define it? A good list is found in Colossians 4:2-6: Devoted to Prayer, Watchful, Thankful, Be Wise in Action, Be Opportunists, and be Gracefully Salted Conversationalists. Let these be your Six Virtues for the Intentional Potential of a Christian. No matter what your age is, let’s define the greatness God has called us to and live up to this Intentional Potential.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Evangelistic Like a Dog

It has been three weeks since I've posted anything...some of you have been asking where I've been. Well...I guess you could say that my blogging voice had gone mute for a time. I couldn't find the words to share some of the things on my mind so I simply went mute. I wouldn't say that my voice has fully come back but here it is.

- Ryan




I have a dog…his name is Zeus. There are speculations as to how I came to own him but he’s been with me for about seven months now. I have only lived in my house for about nine months so Zeus has been with me for most of my time there. From time to time I’ve let him run loose in the neighborhood because it seems to be the thing to do where I live…and he was chewing through everything I put around his neck and running loose anyway. In the past nine months, I’ve only been able to get to know my next door neighbors just a little bit. Relationships weren’t really coming along that quickly till Zeus joined my household.

As I’ve ran into people around the neighborhood I’ve come to find out that they had already met Zeus and had fallen in love with him. A lot of my neighbors even have nicknames for him. I was contemplating finding a new home for Zeus because of how little I am home but my neighbor talked me out of it because their family loves him so much. I’ve met more of my neighbors and they all seem to already have a good relationship with Zeus.

We’ve been talking about evangelism a lot around the office in preparation for the things Jim is going to be doing with the congregation here. One of the major aspects of evangelism is relationships…genuine relationships…with people. It seems to be a lot easier to travel around the world, across the country, or even across town to tell others about a relationship with God. We often find it difficult to walk across the lawn or street and build a relationship with our neighbor.

Though I don’t agree with many of his methods, Zeus has quickly gotten to know many of the families in my neighborhood. The good side off all of this is that he’s been my foot in the door to getting to know everyone. Last Sunday evening, Jim challenged us to be “intentional” with our lives…to be “Intentional Christians.”

Take a moment to sit down, think of all the good relationships you have. How many of them are Christians? What percentage of them are not Christians? The reality is we tend to stick close to the people that make us feel comfortable. Be intentional. When you go outside to get the paper and your neighbor is standing there doing the same…don’t simply say “morning” and then head back inside the house. Strike up conversation. Start walking your neighborhood with your spouse and meet people. If your kids play in the backyard…cast your nets on the other side…and go play with them in the front yard.

I may not do all the things that Zeus does when he meets people but it is completely obvious that he wants to meet people. Let’s start being Intentional Christians. Let’s build relationships. Let’s bring them home to meet our Master.