Tuesday, November 25, 2008

God, What Do You Want?

For the first time in my life I have had the ability to accumulate “stuff.” I’ve never had this ability before and I’ve been struggling with it. On one side of the stuff I see a Gospel being preached in Christendom that God blesses us with stuff when we are good followers of Him. On the other side of the stuff I’ve read a number of authors that more or less preach “God wants your stuff.” If you don’t give all of your stuff to Him then you are not really one of His disciples…you really aren’t following Him. I have some respect for this second group because I’ve actually seen many of them live it out in powerful ways…but I’m still not sure if that is what the Gospel really teaches…I’m not sure if that is what Jesus really says.

In Luke’s Gospel we find Jesus in conversation with a “Rich Young Ruler.” He asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus responds with a list from the Law but the Rich Guy had kept all of those since he was a boy. Jesus then says something that I have heard people throw around a lot in terms of “Stuff.” He says in 18:22, “Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” It is this verse along with, “You cannot serve both God and money” found in Matt 6:27, which have been used to say that it is wrong for followers of Jesus to have stuff.

I have been struggling with this teaching for some time, and I know how controversial it can be, so I want to share a conviction and a challenge to you. Take it or leave it…I won’t judge. I don’t think Jesus wants our stuff. Somewhere in the middle of these two extreme teachings of Poverty vs Plenty we find what Jesus was really saying. In I Sam 16:7, God tells Samuel, “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

All throughout Jesus’ teachings I feel like He is echoing what God told Samuel. If you can get past what Jesus said to the Rich Guy, He then says, “I tell you the truth…no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.” It isn’t just about the stuff. It is about anything that takes your heart away from God. Go read Luke 9:57-62. Jesus encounters different people who want to follow Him but first want to take care of their stuff. He tells them at the end to focus on what is important…He wants their hearts.

Here we ask the question in Luke 18:26, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus’ answer is basically this. “If you try and be saved on your own…you’re arrogant. Give it to God. It is only possible with Him.” Here is the challenge…examine your life on a regular basis. What can you give up for a time to make sure God has your heart? Make the practice of sacrifice and depend on God…be reminded the He is God and you are not. He wants nothing more than your heart. Find ways to make sure He has it!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Chocolate Pie

I was thinking the other day about chocolate pie…not that it consumes my thoughts often…but this time of year I have to prepare myself for it. My Mother and Grandmother both make incredible chocolate pies. I have to eat a few slices of each holiday and I never reveal which chocolate pie is better…when the other is in the room. I always kiss Grandma on the cheek and tell her that hers is the best…then go and do the same thing to my mom. They get their lovin…I get my pie…we’re all happy.

Grandma still isn’t doing very well so I don’t guess I get to play my usual game with her and mom. It isn’t about the pie at all. I really look forward to seeing her but things are going to be different this year…again.

Over the past 5-6 years it seems as though my family has looked different at each Thanksgiving meal that has passed. Close family has passed on and others just cannot be with us anymore. Grandbabies have been born. I’ve moved away and everything seems to change a little bit each year. It can be hard at times and I can see where people have a hard time finding what there is to be thankful for. I know these probably aren’t the thoughts you were expecting right here before Thanksgiving but they are the thoughts I am having.

I believe life is about choices. I right now choose to be happy and thankful. My Grandmother is a Saint…a Woman of God. My brother is growing in his relationship with God. I am a Child of God which makes me part of an incredible Family that I love spending time with. I have a lot of people in my life that I am very thankful for. God has blessed me with amazing relationships.

I see where it can be hard to look at all the bad things going on in life but I am going to make the choice to look at the good. We are the people who know what is Good about everything going on in the world. We are the people who know Who is the Good that is going on in this world. Make the choice to be happy, to be thankful, and to share the Good with others so they can be happy and thankful too.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Letter From Paul

As you look through the New Testament, you see a lot of letters written from Paul, Peter, John, or one of the other Apostles to some church or some individual. Most of the time they are helping them get back to what is important. They are helping them get back to Jesus. To get back to a relationship with God…and what that really means. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says He didn’t come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. That is because everyone was missing the point.

According to the Law…I’m doing pretty good…I haven’t killed anyone all day. Jesus brings everyone back to what is important. You say you haven’t killed anyone all day…how are you doing with your anger problem? There is something deeper that Jesus is calling us to in the Sermon on the Mount. There is something deeper that the Apostles tried to call the church to than simply “doing church.” They were encouraging when they needed to be encouraging. They were blunt when they needed to be blunt. They didn’t hold back if you needed to hear what they needed to say. And they did it all out of love for God’s people.

I’ve been asking myself a question that I want to challenge you to ask as well. If Paul were to write me a letter…what would he say? If a letter were written to Northview…what would it say? Would it look like a letter in Revelation? A letter to Corinth? Philippi? Berea? What would the letter say to you/us about how we need to get back to Jesus…to what is really important?

Friday, November 07, 2008

Eye for an Eye...Really?

Good events happen in the world every day. Bad events take place in this world each day as well. Some events are good for one person and bad for another. Sporting events can be this way. Championships in particular. Elections. Vacations. Just about every kind of activity comes down to what your attitude is. I’ve been on a hiking trip where most of our time we were hiking in the rain. I loved it but one of the other guys thought it was the worst experience of his life. We react to everything that happens in life. That reaction often shows who we really are.

Whatever your reaction is to events in this world either makes this world sicker or healthier. This can either be a personal reaction to something someone says or a mass reaction to a major event that affects everyone. Sometimes a small group of loud obnoxious people react in very sick ways and poorly represent the rest of people who are also classified in their group. Many reactions in history have been done under the flag of Christianity that have made the world sicker.

There are things that Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount that annoy me at times…mostly because I know He’s right and I simply don’t want to do it. For instance in Matt 5:38-42, “You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

When the world says, “Hit!” Jesus says, “Don’t react maliciously!” When the world says, “Steal!” Jesus says, “Make a gift out of it!” I think Jesus would even go on to say that if someone says something bad to you, tell them thank you for your opinion. As Followers of Christ we have to be careful what kind of reaction we have to everything that happens in this world. I’ve watched many of my fellow Brothers and Sisters make this world a sicker place because they did not get what they wanted and I know I’ve been there with them from time to time. A challenge to all of us…let’s let the Light of Christ shine through each of us no matter what happens in this world and let’s make this world healthier each and every day.

Sunday, November 02, 2008

Spunky Little Irishman

I was walking through the streets of Dundee, Scotland one day, on my way to a Bible Study with a spunky Irishman named Arthur, when I realized that I was walking alone in one of the most dangerous parts of the city. Even though I stood out because I was an American I calmed myself because it was the middle of the day and surly bad things only happen at night right? I looked down a street as I trudged onward and saw a guy walking a few blocks away. It was at this point that I saw a mob of guys come out of the alley and beat him with bats, take his wallet and leave him for dead. I hurried my pace fearing for my life and eventually made it safely to my Bible Study with Arthur.

Studies with Arthur were always interesting. When I walked in he could tell I was troubled and asked if everything was ok. I simply told him I had a headache to which he offered me a beer. Like I said…meetings with Arthur were always interesting. We always studied what he wanted to study and this particular day he wanted to read Luke 10:25-37…The Parable of the Good Samaritan. I started to feel sick as we read through it in our group. My mind was racing. What could I have done for that guy? I even justified to myself while I walked on that I was late for a Bible Study with a spunky Irishman named Arthur. I’m thousands of miles away from my family. What if they jumped me and I died? I’ve got a long life to live. I just walked on hoping to make it to Arthurs soon.

This ate at me all day and still brings me to tears. For the first time in my life, one of Jesus’ parables played out in a very real way and I failed miserably. I remember hearing these stories in youth group and being asked which character I would be. I would always answer the correct answer because that is what an “expert in the law” does.

When Jesus said the things that He said, did He really mean them? The expert in the law in this passage answered Jesus correctly but did he walk away thinking, “I don’t think Jesus really meant that.” Jesus calls us to be the Samaritan who cared. He calls us to be the Prostitute who washes his feet. He calls us to pick up our cross and follow Him. He doesn’t really mean to make us uncomfortable does He? Does He really want our lives to be in danger in order to show Him in very real ways to the people of this world? God spoke to me through a spunky little Irishman named Arthur that day…and I think He said, “Yes!”