The Heart of Jesus

God intended his people to demonstrate what it means for someone to live in relationship with God. God intended it for Israel. God intended it for the church.

Israel turned a relationship into a system. They believed that, if they kept the system, they pleased God, and were accepted by God. We know that God revealed through Paul, that no one can keep any system, and please God. We know that Jesus came, and superseded the system.

Jesus began his public ministry, describing the person, who does please God. God did not favor the one who went through the system. Moreover, he continued to demonstrate who God favored — the one who keeps the system, or the one who responds in faith and love.

One of God's commands to Israel: do not form binding relationships with people, who do not follow him. God created relationships to strengthen convictions, and lifestyles. Deeper relationships (like marriage) meant stronger effects on a person's convictions and practices.

Israel interpreted that as: have no relationship at all with people, who do not follow the God of Israel. Do not eat with gentiles. Do not enter a gentile's home.

So, what does Jesus do? He goes on a short-term mission trip. He takes his disciples to the region of Type and Sidon. This area is north of Galilee, outside of Israel, in current day Lebanon. And the disciples are freaking out. They are surrounded by people, who they have been taught all their lives, to have nothing to do with.

And, to make matters worse, a woman is following them around, begging Jesus to heal her daughter. And, after a few words, not only does Jesus heal her daughter, but he commends her faith. Jesus commended the faith of very few people. One was this woman. Another was a Roman Centurion. There were no Jews.

Then, he moves down to the Sea of Galilee, on the gentile side, and heals all the gentiles, who come to him. Then, after three days (doing what? healing? teaching?), he sends them on their way, after feeding them lunch. (Maybe 12,000 people with seven kaiser rolls, and a can of sardines.)

Jesus lived among men, as God intended all men to live. Jesus' lifestyle was an example, and a model for God's family to follow. He was kind to all people. He loved, served, and cared for all people. He put relationship with his Father, and with people, first.

Most of us belong to a "normal" church. Most churches function more as organizations, rather than families. Some system is bound up in organizations. The trick is for God's family to not let the system overwhelm the family. We need to live with love, kindness, and service first, and the system second.

Human Worth

I recently had a couple of days where I failed at a few things. In a couple of cases, I was asked to do something for someone, and I missed one step in the process. And that step turned out to be crucial to the process. In another case, I was asked to do something, and, then, I thought I was told to forget it. Of course, I was not told to forget it.

No one died. There world did not come to ant end. There was some inconvenience. But I was sad, felt like a failure, and felt like I had no worth. Looking back, I can see that I began to behave in a way that sought approval, and validation.

Then, one night, as I was getting ready for bed, I realized that down inside, I held a belief that I needed to do right (or, at least, not do wrong) to have worth.

Another common theme, across humanity, is a yearning for stuff that reinforces our worth. We look for events that say we matter, have worth, or feed our spirits. As followers of Jesus, we need to agree with the Bible, that, in themselves, there is no one who is worthy. Sin corrupts any worth intrinsic in human beings. Not Mother Theresa, nor Billy Graham, nor anyone else is worthy in themselves. And there is nothing anyone can do to gain, or earn, worth.

But, also, as followers of Jesus, we need to agree with the Bible, that human beings have immeasureable worth. Their worth does not come from what they do, rather it comes from who they are. People have worth, because they are created by God, for realtionship with God, and in his image.

And the perfect demonstration of a person's worth is the payment God made to reconnect with people, after sin brought about seperation. God was born into the world, in the person of Jesus, who proclaimed God's love, and died for mankind's sin, to satisfy god's justice, to redeem a family for himself, and to express that love. The worth of something is the price one pays for it. And Jesus paid the ultimate price for us all.

He did not pay the price for just righeous people. He did not pay the price for just good people. He paid the price for all people. Which means all people have immeasurable woth. Dictators, drug dealers, slave traders, rapists, and mass murderers all have immeasurable worth, because an immeasurable price was paid for them.

An immeasurable price was paid for all. But not all have reaped the benefits. One reaps when one decides to follow Jesus, when one gives him allegiance. So, those, without allegiance, have no relationship, do not begin to live as intended. But the price was paid, and God declares how he values them.

We will all continue to fail. We can never achieve worth by what we do. We can learn to live in God's valuation of us.

How does one live, who recognizes, and holds, the worth that God gives him?

Effective Prayer

One practice that I have had trouble being consistent with is prayer. 

At times, I have been very regular, and consistent. At times, prayer has been practically non-existent. Sometimes, God has seemed close. Sometimes, God has seemed far away. Sometimes, he has acted quickly, enthusiastically, and powerfully. Sometimes, it seems like God is saying "Are you kidding?"

And at times, when I have been consistent, it seems like the prayer gets mechanical, formal, and repetitious.

Some people look at prayer, as if it is a check-box to mark off. Or it is a magic spell to get God to give you some sort of advantage.

What if prayer is an expression of a person's relationship with God, and one of the means of partnering with God in affecting the spiritual climate of the places that person touches.

Seeking God to intervene becomes part of relationship. It becomes more like asking your dad for help with homework, or to play with you, or to get your kite out of a tree.

Sometimes, it seems like there are rules for effective prayer. And by rules, I don't mean there is formal structure and routine to follow. I mean a rule more like: "Look both ways before you cross the street." It is just something you do, you make it a rule, so you don't get hit.

But even rules require a little flexibility. I know of a Japanese college student who got hit by a car crossing the street. It wasn't that she didn't look. She followed her habitual pattern. But that pattern does not work in the US, because Japan, like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, drive on the other side of the street. Look left, then right, doesn't work in Japan.

I am reading a book called "Moving Mountains" by John Eldredge. He is trying to describe (what I am calling) rules of effective prayer. There are two rules, that are introduced in this book, that I am hoping to implement to grow in relationship, and effectiveness.

The first rule is: get aligned. When we give our allegiance to Jesus, we can be said to be choosing to be getting our lives aligned with God. Please understand, I am not referring to this initial, fundamental alignment.

Every day, we get battered by the world: war, crime, discrimination, bad attitudes at work, and driving on a freeway. Life seems intent to blow us off course. Each blows distracts us, twists us away from a properly tuned relationship with God. We forget who he is. We forget who we are.

Getting aligned is simply getting God, our lives, the world, and everything that is going on, back into the correct focus, and perspective.

We can do this by spending time in worship. Worship is simply bringing to our attention the greatness of God. We remind ourselves of his character, and attributes. We remind ourselves of his works for us. We remind ourselves of how he views, and treats us.

We can also declare our alignment. This could sound a lot like giving him allegiance again. We confirm our desire to know him, to be transformed, and to live as he designed. We could confirm our desire, and intention, to think, speak, feel, and act in agreement with his intentions for our lives. We could confirm our desire to live as we were designed, as fully as possible.

The mis-aligning forces pull us away from agreement with God, with his word, and with his plans, and purposes. They put a strain on our relationship with our Father. It is agreement with God that powers prayer's effectiveness. So, alignment ought to be step one in gaining prayer effectiveness.

The second rules is: ask God what he wants me to pray for.

People discuss why God is not working in an area. There is sin. There is a timing issue. There are blocking issues. There are a number of layers, interlocking together.

Sometimes, situations are simple. Sometimes, they are very complicated, and confusing. They are like a gigantic log jam. blocking a river. Who do you suppose would know which log to push? Which way? How hard?

I know situations where I don't know what to do, what to say, or even how to pray. I would probably make things worse, if I did something. So, I ask the one who does know.

Get aligned. Ask the Expert.