August 22, 2007

Breakthrough Faith

Why I do, what I do...

Within a matter of moments, my entire faith experience came crashing down around me. Almost three years ago, I was sitting in one of my classes at school and the professor began to lead us down paths that I had never tread upon. To that point, my faith was characterized by a certain naivete and simplicity. But in moments I was stripped of innocence and found myself swimming in the waves of uncertainty. It is a moment that many that engage critical thinking about Christianity can attest to, a moment of deconstructed certitude. I felt alone, anxious, and a bit angry that he had done that to me. I wanted to quit, to run, to hide amongst the memories of my safe faith. But I couldn't...there was no turning back.

In just a few weeks, I found myself seated before my professor, frustrated and blaming him for my struggles. I was even bold enough to accuse him with certain names we use to disregard the thoughts of those who envision reality different from us. I was a mess. But I pressed on. I knew Christ and amidst the uncertainty, I clung tightly to Jesus. No one could take him away from me. They might strip me of my folk theology or my ideological idols...but Jesus had taken hold of my life and he wasn't letting go. Needless to say, with much stress and prayer I survived that semester. And can I tell you this...I am a much different (I hope to say more mature) Christian for it. I weathered the storm of critical thinking and watched as my statues were torn down. Something happened that semester. I was set free, free from the bondage defensive thinking. I was free to worship the God who is above all things, through all things, and in whom all things hold together. No longer was my faith dependant upon random verses loosely held together. No, God had become the origin and destination of my faith. I now credit that same professor with leading me into the understanding of Christianity that I now have today.

Unfortunately, we reserve such breakthroughs in faith development for the esteemed clergy and seminary graduates. We are told to keep the cookies on the bottom shelf for the "common folk." Because we have had such an experience we feel a sense of spiritual superiority...which is nothing less than intellectual narcissism. I say hog wash! Since that liberating moment, I have made it my mission as a minister of the gospel and a teacher of what the church believes, instructs and confesses to lead my brothers and sisters in the congregation into an atmosphere where they might experience God in freeing way. I have committed myself to teaching the faith in such a way as to remove comfort and ideological idols and instead negotiate an encounter with the God who stands above the certainities that we have defended so pointedly. I desire nothing more than to invite Jesus into our midst to disrupt and disorient us so that he might reorient our faith in a faithful, God-centered way.

Occasionaly you might read a devotional, if you are in my Sunday School Class-you might hear a comment, if you attend Saturday Nights you might encounter a Sermon that challenges you in a way that makes you uncomfortable. I am both sorry and glad. I don't do this to "mess with you." I don't do this to scrath an academic itch. I do this because I love God's people. I love them enough to risk frustrating the church if it forces us to reconsider (for some of us consider for the first time) our faith. I want nothing more than you to have a rich faith in the God who through our Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed and saved you. I pray that you walk in an ever-deepening relationship with him. I know that it will hurt and I might even frustrate you, but in the rapidly changing world we live in...we as the Christian church must know what we believe, why we believe, and how believing it changes the way we interact and engage the world around us.

Let's continue to walk together and allow the Great "I Am" to reconstruct our realities according to the glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What he has begun he is faithful to bring to its fulfillment.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jeff

August 21st, 2007

Persevering in the Promise

Read Luke 2:1-7 (Yes, Again)

"She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in the manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn." vs. 7

It was anything but a perfect scenario. In fact, it was enough to make even the most strongwilled amongst us throw in the towel. You would have thought there might be a better way for God to introduce the world to his only begotten Son. The Christmans story has become such a cultural commodity that it has lost much of its shock and strain. Joseph and Mary pledged to be married are told by a messenger of God, both seperately, that Mary would be pregnant and carry the child of the Most High God, and Joseph would have nothing to do with it. How might that conversation go over in 1st century Galilee?

"Mom, Dad...I'm pregnant?"

"But Mary you are yet to be married. How could you have done this? By who?"

"By God..."

"Child, do not mock your parents, you are to honor us! And now you have brought upon the family much shame."

Facing rejection, ridicule, mockery, and possibly even death by stoning, Mary carries the child of God faithfully. Then near the end of her pregancy, a decree is given that all people groups must make their way back to the city of their ancestry in order to register for the census. Not only was the tyranny of the Roman government further straining their finances, but now, Mary and Joseph would have to make the over 100 mile journey over rugged terrain from their hometown of Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral city of Bethlehem. By donkey they would gather up every bit of strenghth and courage and traverse this immense obstacle, carrying faithfully the child of God. Upon arriving at Bethlehem, it happened. Mary had gone into labor and tenaciously Joseph made his way through Bethlehem searching for anywhere that his wife might be able to deliver this child in comfort and security. But it was the time of the census and all the hotels were packed. There weren't even any of those seedy pay-by-the-hour types available, nothing; the only place, a stable, probably a cave of some sort...damp, dingy, and offensively smelly and unclean.

They had faithfully carried the child of God, but do you think they might have asked the question, "where was the faithfulness of God." Their story was one of trial, struggle, and exhaustion. They were racked with fear, doubt, and exclusion. Mary and Joseph are the original author's of Murphy's Law (If anything can go wrong it will...) From an unplanned pregancy to a grueling 100 mile journey across the desert terrain, it was enough to make someone want to give up. But Mary and Joseph refused. They kept on. The pushed forward, persevering at every juncture. Why?

The nights that God's messenger had visited Mary and Joseph, he had not only made and announcement but he had also made a promise. The promise..."Your child will be the Savior of humankind...he will change the world...he will be the Messiah...he will be God amongst you...he will save you from your sins..." It was the promise. It was the promise that held them close to one another as they faced the daily condemnation, gossiping, and ridicule from their townspeople. It was the promise that rang deep in their hearts when they had reached just outside Samaria and felt as though they could go no further. It was the promise of God's deliverance that carried them through that dark and lonely night in that cave. Mary and Joseph, despite the uncertainty and the relentlessness of their circumstances, held on because of the promise. Despite the sense of abandonment and forsakeness, they carried the promise. Their faith in the promise of God got them through.'

Still feel like giving up? I am writing this from a Pastor's heart. Too many I encounter are ready to throw in the towel. This Christian journey has not shaped up the way they had anticipated. Not everything got better when they got saved. God wasn't restoring relationships quick enough. It is too hard to endure with their spouse. They were being mocked and ridiculed. They felt as though they had been treking through the desert for miles and miles and there was no end in sight. When they got "there" all the rooms were booked. It's just too much to bear. They give up on their marriages, on their relationships, their kids, their church, and unfortunatley even on life. My heart breaks...had we forgotten to remind them of the promise? When the world seems to be falling down all around us, sometimes the promise is all we have to hang on to.

Again, I write from a Pastor's heart. Hang on to the promise. God promises to "never leave you nor forsake you." God promises us "rest" and "peace." God promises us a never ending relationship with him. It is the promise of hope and a future. It is a promise that God will work all things out to the good of those that love him. It is a promise that nothing can separate us from the love of God. God has promised to faithfully "come through" in Jesus Christ. Hold on! Cling to his promise! No matter where life might lead or the pain you might endure, there is the promise!

August 19th, 2007

The Power of Decree

Read Luke 2:1-7

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree..." vs. 1

There is great power inherent in the ability to issue a decree. A decree is not something of the common man. A decree is the demand of the king, the power to move others in accordance with the will of leader. To issue a decree is to demand to be recognized and obeyed as the authority over all of life's affairs. Decrees give no consideration to convenience or opinion...they simply redefine reality on the whim of the Imperial structure.

In Nazareth, Joseph and Mary were busy making preparations for the birth of their new born child. They had just finished decorating the nursery with the latest Noah's Ark wall paper border and stuffed animals. :) Soon they would graduate from their childbirth classes where they had studied the fine art of Lamaze. Life had a certain flow as they awaited the arrival of God's special gift.

But in the midst of that flow there was a disruption. In a flash they were reminded that their lives weren't really theirs. They belonged to the Empire. Certainly they had been given space to live rather normally, until based on the tyrannical needs and economic desires of the Powers that Be, they decreed (demanded) that Mary and Joseph leave behind their plans and make the long journey to be registered as a number, issued their tax bracket, and redefined as rather expendable component of the authoritative machine. Just like that the decreed at upended their lives. That is the power of an empire, to provide the illusion of freedom and normalcy, yet in a moment disrupt lives, turn people into numbers, and define humanity by their earning capacity...all in the name of the endurance of the Kingdom.

Yet in this story something occurs that subverts even the greatest attempts of the Empire to dominate its citizen's existence. A very different kind of decree is issued. From the throne room of a much different kingdom there comes the decree that today a new king should be born. Right under the nose of the tyrannical system comes a coup de tat...They had been overthrown but uninformed. They still exercised the power, yet lived an illusion. This decree would be of a much different sort. Where the first was issued to dominate, the second was issued to bring freedom. While the first turned people into numbers, the second extended to them dignity. As the first defined people by their earning capacity, the second defined them by their proximity to God.

The emperor of Rome had issued a decree, upended lives, and stolen hope from his people. God issued a decree, upended lives, and gave to the people His only begotten Son in order that they might experience a hope that trancends the power of any temporal regime. It is a hope based on the coming of a True King, one who exercises the authority of a King of kings, and Lord of lords. Through Joseph and Mary a revolution was born. The Empire had been undercut by the power of God. Yet, noone had remembered to tell them...at least not yet. Let us as we make our way throughout Luke follow this revolution.

August 17, 2007

A Redemptive Vocation

Read Luke 1: 67-80

"...for you will go before the Lord to prepare a way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation..." vs. 76-77

What a calling. Prophecy had told of one that would come before the Messiah in the spirit of Elijah and proclaim the way of salvation. This proclamation was a preparation. For there would then come another whose power and authority would far exceed the proclaimer. It would be in this "other" that salvation would be offered and life would be restored. But before this "other" would come, there would be the declaration from the desert.

As Zechariah sings (note our devotional from yesterday), he sings of his child. The Spirit had revealed to him that his son would step into a foundational role within the Story of God's salvation to mankind. It would be his son that was to be raised in the way of the Lord, set apart for a special calling, uncorrupted by the perversities of the world, given over to the vocation of the Prophet of the Most High. John, the child of gift to Elizabeth and Zechariah, would one day stand before the Israelite people and proclaim the nearness of God's reign. Boldly he would declare that liberation had come. With courage he would call people back to God, calling them to turn from their sins and receive the forgivness God has promised. Prophetically, he would announce that the sun had risen...light had broken forth, darkness was on its retreat, and path would be seen. What a mighty calling, indeed. There would be no one like John...or would there?

John the Baptizer's vocation as prophet of the Most High was both special and particular. God has chosen within a certain time in history, through a certain family to make known the way of salvation. John is one that two thousand years later we still honor as a saint among the faitful of God's people. But I have a fear. I fear that in reducing John to a historical figure to be studied, we miss something central to the story of God's work in this world. God was not done with proclamation and preparation when John was beheaded by Herod. That special calling of John's becomes the mighty calling of a new people.

Reading through Zechariah's song as we have over the last two days, we encounter something extraordinarily essential to its meaning in our lives. As Zechariah sings, his melody is sung throughout the chosen people of God, the church. The church is a participant in that melody, those that have tasted of the liberation, experienced the freedom, enjoyed God's favor and faithfulness. The church are those that live wrapped up in the gift of God's salvation. But beyond the first portion of the song, we continue to listen. We continue to hear the lyrics of that special calling...a calling that began with John and has now transcended a historical man. That calling, that redemptive vocation has been passed to those who have been graced by the melody of the beginning of Zechariah's song.

As the church we live in the in between. Jesus has come and offered salvation. We have tasted in the Lord and we know that he is good. However, the time has not yet come for the second advent (arrival) of the Lord. "He will come again to judge the quick and the dead." (Apostle's Creed) Until he comes we must ask ourselves what is our vocation as the church? Until the return of Jesus, the church is called to be those that proclaim the way of salvation. We proclaim that the return of the Messiah is at hand. We live as those set apart, sanctified in heart and mind. We battle the perversities and the corruptions of the world so that we might present God's path of forgiveness, mercy, and renewal faithfully. By living as those who have left behind the old way of sinfulness and disobedience, we offer this world the gift of something different from which they now experience. Our lives become the dawning of God's light (a city on a hill if you like), this light is not ours in origin...we are simply the vessels. However, as vessels we carry this light to dispel the darkness and illuminate the path of hope and redemption. The church in the "in between" lives according to the spirit of John whom makes straight the path of the Lord. What a calling? What a mighty and humble calling indeed.

August 16th, 2007

Wrong Lyrics, Right Melody

Read Luke 1:67-80

"...that we would be saved from our enemies and

from the hand of all who hate us." vs. 71

Note: Emman, here! I have yet to break my streak...it might be a little later in the day, but it is still today. By the way, didn't I read something about patience and the fruit of the Spirit? OK, OK, on to the devotional...

Over the course of the next two days, I intend to spend some time working through the Prophecy/Song of Zechariah. There is so much in here that I would hate to leave something out by covering it in one day.

I can't imagine what this prophecy might have sounded like in AD 71. To hear the gospel of Luke being read aloud as the community gathers to worship, what might the response be when this portion of the Scripture is reached?

Its AD 71 and the world has drastically changed since the moment when those words were first uttered nearly 40 years earlier. 40 years earlier the air of Jerusalem was filled with expectancy and hope as many within the Jewish community were praying for God's deliverance and redemption from the hands of their oppressors. They longed for the Advent of the Messiah, the coming of God's chosen One. They yearned for the moment when God would topple the regime of the Roman Empire, like he had done with Assyria, Babylon, Persia, and the Greeks before them and set his people free. Within a small family of nobodies, that dream was becoming a reality. Mary, the virgin, was pregnant. Elizabeth, the barren woman, had bore a child. Angels had come announcing God' faithfulness. There was an excitement, a hoped for possibility...Could it be that God had come through, faithfully bringing into his world the promised redeemer?

As the drama unfolds, Zechariah the father of John is caught up in the fervor of the moment, carried away by God's Spirit and he begins to sing. He sings a song of delieverence. Much like Mary his is a song of hope and praise of God's faithfulness. God's purpose had been unchanging. Just as God had remembered Noah (Gen. 8:1) in the days of the flood, He had remembered them in the days of their oppression. An easy song to hear when the hope of liberation lay before the people.

But now it is AD 71. The world had changed. The people of Israel had raised up in revolt in AD 66 against the Roman army. Rome responsed with unreserved ruthlessness. Jerusalem is sacked. The Temple is destroyed. The Jews experience yet another historic diaspora (dispersion). They become refugees without a home. But what about the lyrics of Zechariah's song?

The lyrics of this priest's song are the articulation of the common hope of the Jewish people throughout much of the 1st Century. They are lyrics of liberation. The Jewish people will once again rise to prominence. The glory of the temple will be restored and Jerusalem will be city of splendor and power. But in AD 71 those lyrics fall short...

However, there is melody heard in the song of Zechariah that seems to stick in the mind. It is melody that seems to have been written in ages past. This particular melody awakens the heart and directs the gaze. It is a melody of hope, a song of redemption. It is the song of creation, the song of the Patriarchs, the song of the exodus, the song of the prophets, the song of exile. This melody shatters hopelessness and strips despair of its power.

This is the melody of Zechariah's song. Although the political victory will not be won by the Jewish people, God's politics will still triumph. In the face of oppression, God has sent forth the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, to proclaim liberty for the captives. They have been set free within a world of chains. In the face of exclusion, God has remembered his promise to Abraham and has sent forth his Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, to bless all nations, to create for Himself a new people that will represent him faithfully in this world. In the face of an enemy that threatens to vanquish and hate, God has sent forth his Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, and fear has been nullified and death has lost its sting...

So continue to sing Zechariah, sing...although your lyrics are off your melody is the song of God.

August 15th, 2007

Freed in Obedience

Read Luke 1:57-66

"And at once his mouth was opened and tongue loosed,

and he began to speak in praise of God." vs. 64

Lest I be considered an Antinomian, we pause today to consider the necessity of obedience in the life of God's followers. Antinomianism was a heresy within the early church that basically made moral behavior and obedience to God's direction of no particular consideration. According to its adherents, grace was such a free gift that any attempt at justifying ourselves through our behavior was a mere act of futility and of little consequence. Therefore, as you might guess...grace became a license for sin.

However, this movement within the church was readily rejected by church leadership because it failed to recognize the fullness of the regenerative and redemptive process of God. Yes "we are saved by grace through faith," however, within our salvation we come to recognize that we are saved "as God's workmanship to do the good works for which we have been purposed." Ok, enough big church word mumbo jumbo and formal language...Boiled down, only as we come to understand James who says "faith without deeds is dead" can we understand the complete package of salvation.

Now allow me to tie this in with where we have been over the last few days. God is a gift-giver. In fact, He is so much so that the consistent posture of God throughout the sciptural story is that of extension, extending gift to his creation. That gift is free. As I stated earlier this week, our posture is that of receipt, we are ever reliant and completely dependant upon the faithful giving of the father. But our posture dances between receipt and the response of obedience. As a result of God's faithfulness we are called to be faithful. We are called to orient our lives to the direction of God's Word and Spirit in fulfilling the Father's will.

In the above passage, we see this dynamic manifest itself in a powerful way. Zechariah receives a vision which by faith he is unable to accept. Therefore, through his muteness, he is bound by disbelief. However, as his wife obviously carries the child to term, the gift of God's child amidst barrenness becomes evident. Zechariah could do nothing more than to accept the reality that faced him each day. But Zechariah was still bound.

Only on the day in which the receipt bore the fruit of obedience did the chains fall off and he was set free. On that day, Zechariah heeded the word of God's messenger and obeyed the command to name the child John. Resistance had given way to receipt and doubt gave way to obedience. Zechariah's freedom was the working together of acceptance of God's gift and his faithful response to God's direction.

The challenge for us is to alway live within the delicate balance of the economy of salvation. To view grace as license without necessity of obedience is to make grace cheap and impotent. To make grace dependant on our actions first and foremost is to accept legalism and works righteousness as a pathway to God. Therefore, the balance is found in the recognition that God's gift of grace is free, to be received with utter amazement and joy. However, the freedom in accepting the gift only comes as we surrender our lives in obedience to the will of God...following Him wherever he shall lead. Salvation is a holistic response to God's inexpressible mercy and grace. That response bears the fruit of obedient living in a world bent on doubt and disbelief. Those who hear the voice of the shepherd and follow his commands are those that by the grace of God live freely and abundantly.

August 14th, 2007

Check This Out!

Read Luke 1:40-56

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." vs. 48

I will only do this occasionally when I feel it is worthwhile. I have attached a link to a sermon preached at Duke University Chapel on the 3rd week of Advent last year. This is an amazing sermon that speaks to the heart of today's passage. I would encourage you to either listen to it or read it today.

http://www.chapel.duke.edu/worship/sunday/viewsermon.aspx?id=245

May God bless you through this as he did me.

August 13, 2007

Only She'd Understand

Read Luke 1:39-45

"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town..." vs. 39

Where on earth do you go when you have just been visited by one of God's messengers, told that "you" a nobody peaseant virgin girl from a dump called Nazareth has been selected to receive the gift of God, and given the task of bearing that gift into the world? Well you certainly don't go home. That would go over like a ton of bricks. Can you imagine the conversation, "Joseph, guess what I'm pregnant." "You're what? But we haven't been together yet." Mary responds, "I know isn't it great. God did this to me." Stunned and angry, Joseph might say, "Right, God...well its safe to say we're through." That's if he doesn't grab hold of a stone and call in his friends for one of the world's first rock parties.

No, you don't go home...they wouldn't understand. I guess the first place you go is in search of someone that might understand. In her divine visit, Mary had been told that Elizabeth, her cousin, was also now pregnant with a child...not quite as dramatic as a virgin birth, but barren throughout her age, she would most definitely have understood the blessing of God's gift. As Mary arrives, Elizabeth bursts with joy. The grace of God had captured them both and now they could no longer contain their joy. In fact, the joy is so extreme that even the child in Elizabeth's womb does a little dance. In the face of overwhelming uncertainty and a dangerous future...joy triumphs over fear and doubt. Two lives that had been touched by the finger of God and whose hearts have now been set free to celebrate.

When you've encountered God; when you've stood in amazement of Him; when you've humbly received the gift that dramatically changes everything (for both of them and for us it is Jesus) there is something that you must now do, celebrate. The joy is uncontainable...if you aren't careful it might even get you accused of being crazy.

This is part of the point of yesterday's blog. If we aren't careful, as the church we are quick to strip new converts of their joy. I have watched it, oops I've probably even done it. Someone is touched by the grace of God and we immediately place an instruction manual in their hands. They are now weighed down by rules and restrictions and never given a chance to experience a heart set free to dance, to sing, and to celebrate. Joy is the response of a heart set free. Joy is the response of a life redeemed. Joy is the response of one who has received God's overwhelming gift and now has been made new. That is why joy cannot be stolen by circumstance because joy is properly centered on a God whose loving, just, compassionate, forgiving, redemptive nature never changes. Joy is the response of one "who has believed that what the Lord has said to [us] will be accomplished."

But word to the wise...if you have been captured by such joy, careful who you tell. There are many that won't understand. Even those who call themselves Christians might not understand. Many skipped right over the whole gift and celebration thing and right into the instruction manual and the last thing they have is joy. No, first go find yourself someone who will understand. Where? Oh believe me, when you meet them you will know.

August 12th, 2007

Believing is Receiving

Read Luke 1:30-45

"May it be to me as you have said." vs. 38

I had initially decided to write about obedience today. In fact, I was even going to use Mary as picture of what pure obedience is...however, as I read the passage over and over, sat, prayed and meditated, I realized I had it all wrong. In essence, I had attempted to put the cart before the horse. Reading the story of Mary's encounter with the divine messenger, this profound announcement he makes on behalf of God, and this disorienting and disruptive moment in the life of Mary, I was quick to jump to her response, "May it be to me as you have said." At first I thought what a radical act of obedience toward God...and that's when I realized. This wasn't an act of obedience because no command was given (besides naming the child Jesus). Instead this was a profound act of accepting the Gift that God was offering the world. In the economy of God, receiving the gift always preceeds obedience to a command.

God had extended his hands toward Mary. You child will carry mine. You have found favor. He will be the Son of the Most High. Yes, Mary, he does have many of the titles that the Messiah is to bear. Here Mary is the gift. What is your response? Yesterday we talked of the response of innocent and simplistic, childlike amazement. Today we turn our attention to the response the proceeds from amazement...receipt.

I nearly perpetuated an extremely unhealthy tendency that exists within the church. I had nearly forgotten that before their is obedience, their is acceptance; which is truly the most profound and dangerous moment of faith. Unfortunately, we too often forget this. We are quick to turn our attention to commands and obedience. In fact, too often Christianity becomes a simple moralism, an existence that is caught up in nothing more than a running talley between the good done (commands obeyed) and the bad (commands rejected). Tragically, we measure our faith by our works done in fear rather than our lives offered in love.

The movement of God throughout the Scriptural story, as we discussed a few days ago, has always been the movement of gift. He gives life out of nothingness, hope out of impossibility. Humankind, has always been on the receiving end of God's tenacious gifting. Before there is a command, God gifts humanity with his ruach (his breath or Spirit--Gen.2). Before there is a command, God gifts Israel with liberation, identity, and hope (Ex. 11-19). Before there is a command, God gifts Mary with a child...a baby of His own making, not a man. Before there is a command, God gifts us with the salvation through Jesus Christ.

But just as gift preceeds command, acceptance preceeds obedience. The ball is seemingly placed in our court time and again. Will we believe in the gift of God? Will we have faith...however, realizing that faith without receiving is dead. But yet, too few accept the gift. Many chase after the commands attempting to justify their lives through good deeds done in obedience to God's weighty commands. However, few live as those whose lives have been radically altered by a God that interuppted their existence with arms extended out, saying, "Here, take this...it will change you." Few, are gutsy enough to say, "May it be to me as you have said." Therefore, we leave God with arms extended, responding, "Wait a minute, let me work a little harder first." "Wait a minute God, what are the stipulations first?" All the while, He is simply trying to give us His gift.

Today, I challenge you. I challenge you to back up for a moment and identify whether or not you too have placed the cart before the horse. Have you ever received the gift? Does your response of obedience first flow from a life completely altered by the awesome gift of God? Or have you bypassed acceptance and moved straight toward fearful obedience of God's weighty commands. How you answer these questions will greatly determine your faithfulness in following God and bringing him glory in this world. "Without faith it is impossible to please God."(Heb. 11:6) Faith is believing...but believing is receiving.

August 11th, 2007

Mouthes Wide Open

Read Luke 1:26-38

"For nothing is impossible with God." vs. 37

This summer I was given the opportunity to spend 3 nights at church camp with 1st and 2nd graders. It was an interesting 3 nights to say the least. But I realized during that time how much we can learn from children. The speaker for the camp would catch the attention of the children with little magic tricks. He would pull things from hats, out of his sleeve, blow on things and make them disappear. Quite entertaining honestly...But what I remember was how utterly amazed the children were. The adults were mildly impressed, but the kids were in awe of this man. They would watch him so intently, jump out of their seats to volunteer for his tricks, and talk about him all the way back to their rooms. There was something so innocent and simple about their amazement as they stood with their mouthes hanging wide open.

How much of that amazement is lost on us as adults. How little do we set back awed by something that has just taken place. We are too rational, right? We jump to explanations and logic, stepping right over the innocence and simplicity of amazement. Jesus says to us still today...unless we become like the little children we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Now, I understand there are many implications to that statement...however, I have to believe that until we can begin to accept the actions of a God who takes the divine initiative to upend impossibility and out of nothingness offer us gift as a child would, with mouthes wide open, the Kingdom is lost on us.

Our story speaks of a God that shows up, terrifies, and amazes. Zechariah is amazed by his encounter...there's just no explaining it away. Mary is amazed by her visit...but there is no logic that will reduce her encounter to anything less than the amazing act of God. When God shows up with a gift, our host of characters is taken back...unsure of what to do with it. They, in that moment, lose their senses and become like little children. And...in Zechariah's case, his voice is stolen from him until he lets go of his logic and accepts with innocence and simplicity the awe-full-ness of God's initiative.

Where has that gone for us today? God has been domesticated by our reason. God has been limited by our logic. We no longer stand utterly amazed by our encouters with his grace. We immediately jump over innocence and simplicity and head right toward explanations. There must be some logical explanation for the impossible to become possible, right? In fact, many would explain away the Virgin birth as an ancient myth...but that's because we have been accosted by observable data and scientific fact. We have forgotten that God transcends our formulas and observations. We have forgotten that "nothing is impossible with God."

Yesterday, we asked the question "How must we live in response to a God that gifts humanity out of impossibility?" We respond with mouthes wide open. We respond as children to stand back before the awesomeness of God and ask ourselves..."How'd he do that?" Allow the grace of God to help your capture again the innocence and simplicity of a child. In doing so we become disrupted by a God who again is freed to be God...

August 10th, 2007

From the Beginning There Was Gift

Read Luke 1:1-34

"But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren..."vs. 7

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin." vs. 34

Their stories should be told again and again, stories of lives radically interupted by divine initiative. People, who although are separated by time and culture, are much like ourselves. They had responsibilities, let-downs, fears, and hopes. Some of their dreams had been realized and others had been crushed. Stories of the past, they serve as a framework by which we come to understand and gain coherency of our own stories. We could tell the stories of Abram and Sarai, wanderers, wealthy, yet disappointingly without a child. We could tell the stories of Jacob and Rachel, a true love story enveloped in lies and manipulation, inheritors of a promise, yet disappointingly without a child. We could tell the story of Hannah, a woman without need, under the protection and care of a capable husband, yet dissappointingly without a child...We could tell their stories...but for now we must content ourselves with the stories of Elizabeth and Mary.

But wait a moment...can the stories of Elizabeth and Mary be told and understood without the stories of the others. From the outset of Luke's gospel account, he is quick to draw readers and listeners into picutre of life that is directly continuous with what they had learned growing up. For the Israelites, Jewish readers of Luke's gospel, their story is dotted with moments in history when the God of life extended his divine hands and gave to humanity what they couldn't give themselves...namely a gift. Barren and old, God gifts Abram (Abraham) and Sarai (Sarah) the gift of Isaac, a gift that will carry forth a promise of hope and abundance. God stepped into history in a purposeful manner fulfilling his plan in an impossible way, taking the divine intiative to interupt and alter life of all those who would look back upon Issac. Frustrated and fearful, God gifts Rachel two boys--Benjamin and Joseph, a gift that will save an entire people. Despairing and wounded, God gifts Hannah with the gift of Samuel, a gift that will lead the Israelite people.

The Old Testament story is accentuated with divine moments in which its readers and listeners are reminded that the hope of this story is not determined by human will, but despite the barrenness and despair, it is determined by God's redemptive intiative to bring all things under his reign. It is an intiative that disrupts human history and reminds us that all of history is an outworking of God's gift giving capacity.

This is the backdrop of Luke's gospel. Within the first chapter Luke announces that God has once again taken the initiative to fulfill his plan in a mysterious manner. God has looked into the heart of barrneness and nothingness and brought forth life. This life will be the light of the world. This life will be the one who testifies to the light that has entered into the world. This life from nothingness, this gift of impossibility is the announcement that God's future of hope and promise, an announcement that salvation and liberation has drawn near. In the beginning of Luke's gospel is God...and this God extends gift.

How must we live? This the question of the those that first heard this story. How must we live in response to a God that gifts humanity out of impossibility? This is our question. That is a question that seems to be answered in the following moments of Luke's gospel. But I will say this and then elaborate further in the next couple days. When we come to understand that all life is dependant on the gift-giving capacity of a faithful God, our response becomes one of amazement, of obedience, of patience, of joy, and hope...our response to life becomes one of gratitude.

August 9th, 2007

Fearful, Frustrated, Frantic

Read Psalm 46 (Summer Observations Con't)

"Be still and know that I amd God!" vs. 10

OBSERVATION 4: We struggle to hold onto a belief in the Providence of God and in so doing our lives reap the consequences.

No I don't believe God makes all things happen. Allow me to explain. I don't believe that all actions are actions from God. I don't believe that God wills extremely evil and sinister actions in this world. Nor, do I believe that God lets bad things happen simply to teach us a lesson. In the world we live, God has created space for life to take place. Within that space humanity is given opportunity to act, choose, rebel, and destroy.

Now wait a minute...does that mean God is not sovereign? That discussion is one that will have to wait for a series of devotionals in the future. However, I will say this for now. God is free to act and respond in whatever way he chooses. God is God. God also exercises providence in this world in a way that shapes it and moves it in accordance with his redemptive, salvific will. Again, allow me to explain...

Throughout the Old Testament story God at times seems to step aside and allow humans to act and react according to their wants, desires, and wills. Having stepped aside, God then seems to step into the midst of those decisions and actions and work to redeem even the most foolish and destructive. The power of God is not determinative nor coercive (making things happen just the way he plans by whatever means it takes), instead God's power is recognized in a faithfulness that refuses to abandon humanity to its own devices. It is a power that is recognized in redemptive love. It is a power that is witnessed through a steadfast determination to bring all things on earth, under the earth, and above the earth under his dominion and grace.

Therefore as I acknowledge the space for which God has created humanity to live, I do not feel that this threatens my understanding of his providence. In fact, it strengthens it. Those who are often quickest to tell me that God pre-determines all things, are often those that seem to me the most frantic, fearful, and frustrated. Their theology usually works until something bad happens, until someone hurts them, until they sit alongside someone suffering terribly, until they lose a loved one tragically...then God's rationale ceases to make sense. They find themselves unable to make the disparity fit. God, if they hold onto their faith, becomes a testing God, an arbitrary God, an angry God.

However, as I read the scriptural story and especially the Psalms, a much different picture of God emerges. Throughout the Psalms, we encounter writers who are quick to admit that bad things happen...sometimes even really bad things. However, they write and and pray to a God that they believe won't abandon them amidst life's destructiveness and despair. They pray to a God, they beleive that despite the rebelliousness and wickedness of humanity can break through in a faithful manner and in some way redeem hopelessness and hurt. They believe that God's greatest power is recognized when we abandon theological musings on the pre-determined actions of God (accepting what can't be explained) and simply trust in the One that has proven faithful time and time again. For them God becomes a refuge, an orderer, a peace-maker, a redeemer, a savior, a life-giver, and a hope-restorer.

OBSERVATION 4: We struggle to hold onto a belief in the Providence of God (because oftentimes tragedy, evil, pain, and loss don't fit into easy conceptual categories--nor do many of our "why's" have answers) and in so doing our lives reap the consequences (we become fearful, frustrated, and frantic).

CLOSING WORDS: Amidst the inexplainable and offensive in life...there is One who refuses to abandon us, promising to never leave us nor forsake us. God is God. He is quite capable to enter into our situations...provide hope where there was none...redeem what was lost...heal what was broken...and guide all of life along according to his redemptive, salvific will. God needs not make all things happen in order to hold all things together. In fact, only as we surrender our need for certainty can we move to a deep trust in God. Only as we are still...do we come to understand that he is God.

August 8, 2007

Persevering in Truth

Read Colossians 3:1-17 (Summer Observations Con't)

"Do not lie to each other..."

OBSERVATION 3: People lie. I realize and accept that this doesn't seem like much of an observation and, no, I (captain obvious) didn't just discover this, but over the course of the last summer through watching relationships between people both inside and outside the church I felt as though I might need to spend a little bit of time discussing the ramifications of this observation.

Trust is probably one of the most difficult gifts that we can give to another. Many of us are willing to offer forgiveness even before we are willing to grant trust. Trust is dangerous, for in the act of granting trust we are placing our vulnerable selves into the hands of another. Trust is made all the more difficult because throughout life we have come to understand our own propensity toward exaggeration, manipulation of facts, and out right untruthfulness. We have been caught so often in the web of deception that we have come to doubt that anyone else can avoid such a seductive web.

We are a people consumed with self-preservation and self-exaltation, which are the two primary motives behind telling lies. Through deception we are either attempting to protect ourselves from the consequences of wrong-doing or we are attempting to get ahead of others by our ability to manipulate and alter facts. This becomes extremely problematic in the end; because what happens is that as each of us is so radically centered on either protecting or exalting self, we become a fractured people, doubtful that anyone can break free from such cycles of deceptive living, fearing that we are constantly being told lies, unsure of how to navigate the blurry line between truth and lie, and finally left constructing protective walls-- a skeptic toward the words of others and giving of ourselves over to the fatalism of untruthfulness.

I have watched lies wound people at levels so deep that their entire lives are the acting out of that pain. I have observed people so ensnared by untruthfulness that their grasp of reality over deceit has been nearly lost. I have witnessed families utterly destroyed by the constant game of manipulation, half-truths, ommitted information, and down right malicious lying. I have counseled people that have become so utterly distrustful that they have chosen the life of isolation rather than be hurt by deceit again. I have come to recognize that the superficiality of most our relationships are bound up in our unwillingness to trust, trusting others and ourselves. These are the ramifications of observation 3...

But Paul, writing to the church Colossae says, "Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and put on your new self." St. Paul seems to believe that it is possible to cast aside the enduring temptation to deceive. In fact, his belief seems to be wrapped up in our experience of Christ. In the gospel of John, Jesus states, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." In Jesus, there is an engagement with something so real, so pure, and so true that we are willing to surrender our lives to follow Him. We are consistently implored throughout the New Testament scriptures to Trust Jesus...Take a look at his farewell discourse...He says to his disciples, "Trust in God, trust also in me..." Jesus is consistently calling us to risk hurt and trust in Him. His disciples came against an immediate challenge when they watched the one whom they were to trust placed upon a cross, killed, and laid behind a stone. On that Saturday, the very integrity of God was on the line. But one day later, Jesus will remain true to His word.

As Christians we are called to enter into Christ, taking off the old man and putting on the new. The new man is being restored to the image of God. The new man is being stripped of its selfishness and isolation. The new man need not be concerened in protecting himself/herself or exalting self. The new man places all of life in the hands of God, the One whose integrity has been sound throughout all of eternity. By trusting in Jesus, we are able to break from the web of deceit and become truth-tellers. As the church, we become the kind of community that can sustain both truth and trust. If there is wrongdoing, instead of manipulating others, we confess our sin before God and our brothers and sisters and trust that God through Jesus will cleanse us of all unrightousness. If there is a desire to exalt ourselves, we come to recognize its sinfulness and instead take the roll of servant, protecting the integrity of our lives.

In addition to becoming truth-tellers, we also become trust-givers. As we witness the lives of those around us being intersected with gift of God's Spirit we find ourselves willing to step out in faith and trust. This is no guarantee that we won't again be wounded...but just as Jesus suffered our betrayal, we suffer one another's betrayal as we "bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances we have against each other...forgiving just as the Lord forgave us." (Col. 3:13)

OBSERVATION 3: People lie.

CLOSING WORDS: Through our experience with God's faithfulness, we become, as the church, the kind of people where truth and trust can be sustained. We live daring enough to place our protection and our future in the hands of God. In essence, we have learned to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth...by the grace of God.

August 7, 2007

Difficult Message

Read 1 John 3:11-20 (Summer Observations Con't)

"If anyone has material possessions and sees his

brother in need but has no pity on him, how can

the love of God be in him." vs. 17

OBSERVATION 2: It is easier to look away than it is to look into the eyes of someone in need. Generally, we are drawn to pretty things. This summer I spent time in Charleston, South Carolina. I thought it was truly one of the most beautiful cities that I have ever visited. The architecture was grand, the ocean--magnificent, the food--delicious, and the atmosphere--inviting. In no more than a week, I managed to fall in love with Charleston. Staying on Folly Beach throughout our vacation, by the end I was ready to sell everything and buy a surfboard. Everything was beautiful...Well, that is until you venture north of Calhoun Street. When we arrived in Charleston our map directed us to our beach house via one of the most impoverished areas of the city. It didn't take us long to realize that we weren't in "Kansas anymore Toto."

See, we had driven quickly through this portion of town on our way to luxury, and having spent most of the week in the midst of the "pretty" we forgot the unseemly was still present...until we left and were forced to make our way through that portion of the town once again. There it was, right before me, reminding me that not all of life is pretty...But truthfully I didn't want to see it. I wanted to look at the pretty, the clean, and the inviting and drive real fast past those areas of need. Besides, I was on vacation...right?

I have come to recognize in myself and in the church as a whole, that the tendency to look away, to stay south of our Calhoun streets, to covet the beautiful, inviting, and grand keeps us from truly being effective in fulfilling the commands of Christ. The Apostle John writes a challenging word for us still today...maybe, especially today. Throughout his letter, he discusses the necessity of love. However, for John love isn't some benign emotionalism or even the lustful bent toward self-gratification. For John, love is the very embodiment of Jesus Christ in this world. It is way of being that bodies forth God in such a way as to offer to the world the gift of self-sacrifice and unconditional love. Love is the way of Jesus that refuses to let us off the hook and instead forces to look upon the "not-so-pretty." The love of Christ recognizes and runs to the broken, the needy, and the disregarded.

In our passage above, John writes, "If anyone has material possessions and sees..." Seeing is key. We spend most of our lives attempting to stay blind to need. We avoid those areas of town. We scurry past those people in the parking lots. We avoid those brothers and sisters on Sunday Mornings at church. We bury our heads in the beautiful and in the process we miss Jesus. The gospels are pretty clear in teaching us that to see Jesus is to look amongst those that are generally ignored or invisible.

OBSERVATION 2: It is easier to look away than it is to look into the eyes of someone in need.

CLOSING WORDS: God in Christ refused to look away. Instead, he took a good hard look into the neediness of humanity. He saw the broken and the ugly. He saw how "not-so-pretty" life wrapped in sin had become. He ventured North of Calhoun Street and made his way to us...God in flesh. He loved us even though we weren't pretty. In fact...he loves us so much he gave himself away on our behalf. And here's the kicker...He calls us to do the same. So let us quit looking away so that we might see Jesus.

August 6th 2007

Painful Separation

Read 1 John 2:15-17 (Short Passage so read a few times)

"Do not love the world or anything in the world."

Having taken a bit of time off from writing, I find myself sitting in front of my computer on the first day of recovered normalcy for my family in weeks. We have taken the same journey of busyness, trips, camps, vacation, conferences, family visits and so on and so forth that many others have taken this summer and now we will spend the next several days attempting to restore some sort of routine to our lives. Although I haven't been writing, I have spent a great deal of time over the last two months observing. Simply put, I have been watching life swirl around me. I have been watching the lives of those close to me, watching the lives of those I minister to, watching world events unfold, and watching Christians live and respond to the world around them. Over the next few days, I intend to elaborate on the observations I have made and hold them up against our Scriptural story...

OBSERVATION 1: As Christians we expend a great deal of energy attempting to avoid the seriousness of the gospel. I was recently at a conference for church leaders in which different pastors were given opportunity to speak about what had been happening in their churches over the last year. In the midst of those reports, a representative from the largest church present began to speak about the blessing God was bringing their way. This church, located in the heart of a good sized city, has been for the last few decades situated amongst some of the most impoverished people in its city. Out its back door lies a government housing project. To the east of the church is neighborhood after neighborhood riddled with violence, poverty, oppression, and hunger. One would expect the report to have something to do with ministry to those areas; God giving them the opportunity to make a difference in thier surrounding mission field. However, the representative spoke about the urban renewal that is taking place in that area. He spoke about how the poor were being moved out and the rich were moving back in. He spoke about the condominiums starting at $500,000.00 that were being built right across the street. He celebrated the perseverance of his people who were willing to put up with all the poor folk awaiting the city to come back to them. The city is arriving. The per capita income is going up...and for that we praise god...(lower case g is on purpose because I'm not real sure which god we are praising.)

Now I have much to say about that report...but I will resolve to say this for now, that report is indicative of a much greater problem that exists in the Christian church in America. We have failed to take seriously the call of the gospel in our lives. We have been wooed into complacency and lethargy. We work diligently to make the Kingdom of God look like the Kingdoms of the world. We have worshipped the gods of manna and comfort. That is both tragic and unfaithful.

Speaking with a group of people once, Jesus uses an illustration about a wide road and broad gate that so many people travel down and the small road and narrow gate that only few find. At the heart of the this illustration is the recognition of the implications of becoming a Christian. Many will claim Christianity but few will practice Christianity. Many will speak of God's forgiveness, but few will extend God's forgiveness. Many will speak of the gift of God's grace, but few will give it. Many will speak of selflessness, but few will practice denying themselves. Few will accept the seriousness of following Jesus. Few will seek to live in a way that represents God's redemptive plan for all of creation.

Accepting the life of a follower of Jesus requires us to allow Jesus to upend our lives. We haven't the privilege any longer of coveting what the world covets or playing by its rules. Instead, as followers of Jesus we have experienced a painful tearing away, a separation from that which we once thought worthy of our time and energy. We have allowed Jesus to show us the world for what it really is, a Godless world is empty. We have allowed Jesus to lead us down a really skinny path that forces us to live in constant tension with the world around us. The Kingdom of God is somehow present here on earth. The Kingdom of God is here in the person of Jesus...but yet it is found in a corrupt and perverse world. We now live as citizens of the Kingdom of God and aliens and strangers in the kingdoms of the world. We aren't given the opportunity to flee. Instead we are invited to live faithfully. We are invited to expend our energy in fulfilling the serious implications of the gospel. We are invited to desire what the Spirit desires--instead of the cravings of sinful man. We are invited to be seduced by the grace of God, giving ourselves only to Him--instead of the lust of the eyes. We are invited to boast about God's redemptive plan for all of humanity--not about what we have or what we've done.

Again...OBSERVATION 1: As a Christian we expend a great deal of energy attempting to avoid the seriousness of the gospel.

CLOSING WORDS: The gospel is utterly serious. The gospel tears us away from our love of the world. Following Jesus requires us to "lose our lives so that we might find them." And remember, only few find that path...