Planting vs. Harvesting

Jesus said that the harvest is plentiful. The main need at the time was workers for harvesting. This means that many people were ready to hear Jesus’ message, receive it and him.

If the harvest is plentiful, that means there has been a lot of work cultivating, planting, weeding, watering, fertilizing and pruning. A lot of work has gone into the fields, or garden, to get ready for the harvest.

When we look at evangelistic activities currently – methods of gospel sharing, crusades, calls-forward – these are all harvest activities. Let us understand. We need harvest activities. But we also need planting activities. We also need watering activities. We don’t see those activities. They are not popular. They are not public. But if they are not done, there will be no harvest.

The apostles “harvested” 3000 souls early in their ministry, and several more thousand a few days later, because Jesus had been working the ground and the fields for the previous three years. Jesus himself did not harvest nearly so many. There 120 in the upper room. And 500 witnesses of the resurrection. Are these the greater works that Jesus mentioned? And if Jesus spent most of his time preparing for harvest, which activity is more important? I would say the answer to that question is “neither.”

Greatness

The way of the Cross is the way of topsy-turvy values. The general tendency is to judge greatness by visibility as in the case of movie stars, or how large a position of authority they occupy, as in politicians, generals or rulers. Jesus’ rules of greatness were very different. One question for Jesus that determines greatness is how available a person is to connect with people who come to him.

Many homes in Jesus’ time were built around a central courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard was a table. Guests would sit around the table eating and discussing religion, philosophy or current events. Since, there was no TV, movies or the internet, passersby were permitted, as part of the culture, to sit or stand around the perimeter of the table to listen to the conversation.

So, Jesus said that one way to determine greatness was how willing was a person to not only allow them to stand around and listen, but how willing were they to invite the person to the table. Were they willing to let a five year old to sit at the table and to participate in the discussion? And were they willing to treat his remarks as importantly as if it were a celebrity or the president sitting there?

The Gospel and Miracles

Jesus did not perform miracles to just demonstrate power. The miracles were also a preaching of the gospel.

When he cured someone of a disease, he was also proclaiming their souls were broken, just like there bodies were. And as he had the power to mend their bodies, he had the power to mend their souls.

When they were surrounded by a hungry crowd, and it was impossible to feed them, he fed them, they were satisfied, and they had enough leftovers that a sizable part of the crowd could have had lunch the next day. There is an ability to feed the hunger of the soul in Jesus. And not of a few, who had to struggle through hours, days and weeks of prayer, fasting and meditation. Soul satisfaction can come by sitting and waiting for Jesus to serve you.

Human beings live on multiple kinds of fuel. Some fuels – eg. love and mission – require taking action. Some fuels – eg. receiving love and forgiveness – require open hands and acceptance.

Sharing the Gospel

In Luke’s biography of Jesus, he gives a brief description of a training trip Jesus’ apostles went on.

Jesus begins by equipping the apostles.

• He gave them power and authority over demons and disease.
• He gave them an objective. To preach the Kingdom of God and to heal.
• He gave them guidelines for proceeding from city to city, and what to do in each place.

Here are some observations from this story.

• The was not at the end of Jesus’ ministry. Neither was it the beginning. Jesus did not wait until the apostles had it all together. They had some training and education. They watched Jesus share. They had been taught be Jesus. They observed and absorbed Jesus’ heart and spirit. He spent enough time to prepare them to complete the job. Was God’s work in their lives complete? Did the y have no more room to grow in? Were they at the peak of efficiency and effectiveness? No, no and no. Which probably means there were successes, failures and learning.
• The purpose was to proclaim the Kingdom of God and heal. Then, it said they were preaching the gospel and healing. It seems to make proclaiming the Kingdom and preaching the gospel equivalent. Are the Kingdom and the gospel equivalent? Does the Kingdom equal the Four Laws? (The four Laws is a tool to explain the gospel to someone who does not understand it in a succinct and easy to remember way.) The gospel is probably more than Jesus forgiving people and bringing them to heaven. (1) All things will be revealed. (2) God’s rule will be established. So, everything that is wrong will get righted. (3) People will be given a new life. This is more than forgiveness. It is purpose, meaning, and significance. It is community, the giving and receiving of love, creativity and beauty.

• Part of God’s instructions were to heal. He expected diseases to be cured and demons cast out … by a group of relative neophytes. Does God expect the same for today? There can be a number of understandings about the concept “heal.” We could provide medical care for those who need it. We can participate in giving emotional and psychological care. (We may not be trained counselors, but a lot of healing can occur with love, acceptance and forgiveness.) And I do not want to downplay Jesus’ apparent expectation that his disciples are involved in praying for people.

Light

No one lights a lantern and covers it with a blanket or puts it in a closet. That would totally negate the purpose of the lantern. The purpose is obviously to give light, to show the way, and to prevent injury by revealing what is hidden in the dark.

At some point, everything will be revealed. So, we need to pay attention to what we learn. Like a lantern, any truth of God is supposed to guide our steps. The most obscure, esoteric piece of theology has a place, an ordering effect, in our hearts. We should take care to reflect on what we learn so we can understand it, obey it and allow it to have the proper effect in our hearts.

How we handle what we learn today affect how God teaches us in the future. They are building blocks. He cannot add higher rows until the lower rows are in place.

Kingdom: LAN Metaphor

We have seen that God’s purposes include the establishment and growth of his Kingdom in the world. People are introduced to Jesus and given the opportunity to enter into a love relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. By accepting this relationship, we are also invited to participate in his Kingdom and be his agent in the world.

In turn, he gives us his presence in our hearts, and empowers new capacities in our lives. God’s spirit and these capacities enable us to take up our vocation as God’s agent. In this light, it seems reasonable that to fulfill our role, that we clearly understand the scope of our capacities. And Scripture indicates that we should reflect on our role in a wise and humble manner.

That nature of God’s Kingdom is like a network. Each node is investing in the increase of other nodes it is linked to. Each node invests in the expansion of the network linking in new nodes.

To push this networking metaphor towards absurdity – The nodes are organized into clusters. The clusters are linked into clusters of clusters. These mega-clusters should be linked into other mega-clusters.

As each node interacts with other nodes in its cluster, each node should increase in signal strength and through put. This increase should cascade throughout the cluster, into the mega-cluster and eventually into other mega-clusters. This increase should also affect unattached nodes bringing them into the network.

Usually, firewalls are established. There are firewalls between mega-clusters. There are firewall between clusters. And, too often, there are firewalls between nodes – even within a cluster.

When a person realizes that he occupies one node on the network, and he is in need of the other nodes, as much as they are in need of him, he cannot assume too large a position. But neither can her assume too small a position. Assuming too small a position results in diminished functionality. The node – here we break the metaphor – loses motivation to complete his vocation. The node stops adding its voice to the song. Each node add a unique part to the whole. Without that node, the cluster is poorer, has a weaker signal and its ability to grow and attach new nodes into the cluster is diminished.

Fruit

Fruit is produced by heart abundance. Life flows from the heart. It is possible to judge a life based on its actions. We should not be surprised to see wicked things flow from a life. When the condition of men is described in Scripture as “none is righteous”, “no one seeks for God”, and “no one does any good”, is it any wonder that evil flows from every person’s life.

The writers of Scriptures do engage in hyperbole. There are people who do seek for God. There are people who do good. But there is a life of struggle, especially among those who follow Jesus. The Spirit is in their hearts. The power to do good is there, even as the corrupted nature of man to do evil is there. Until perfected with the coming of the Kingdom, we will continue to see a struggle.

We see good in those who do not follow Jesus. They do not have the Spirit, who can power their lives for good. But they do have the image of God. Part of God’s image in us are the “fuels” of the heart. A human being is created with a need (or several needs) that when they are filled powers their living, like gasoline for an automobile. To power our hearts, we need a supply to fulfill these needs.

One of these fuels is love. Human beings not only need to receive love, human beings need to give love. And humans give love to one another largely by doing good. To function as a healthy person, one needs to do good as an expression of love. We need to produce fruit.

Love Your Enemies

Jesus said “love your enemies”, because he wants us to be like God. It is very natural for people to love other like themselves, or others who show love to them. It is not natural, or easy, to give love to people who ignore us, who hate us or who we do not know. It is God-like to love those kinds of people. God is kind to the ungrateful and evil alike.

Vocation

God has created us as new creatures. More, we are given a place in his Kingdom, and a vocation to carry out for that Kingdom. We embrace that vocation and move into correct alignment with the Kingdom.

A vocation is a God-given drive and passion to impact the world, to establish God’s rule over the world.

To live out our vocation, we need to know ourselves and the tasks God wants us to complete. The Scripture calls us to know ourselves and to know the grace God gives us to use. Our vocation is fundamental to our Kingdom identity. Our vocation is the primary interface if our partnership with the Spirit in the Kingdom.

Blessed are the Poor

Jesus said that the “poor” are blessed. This is not how we look at things. People look at the poor as being at the bottom. Jesus treats the "poor" here as if they were on the top. What is he referring to? If a person is “poor” he is conscious of his need. He may also be conscious of a path to seek relief.

If the person seeks relief by seeking God, He will find God and become part of His Kingdom. He will move into a while new life, supplied by the promises and directions of God.

The person who is truly poor lives in fear. He has no contentment. He cannot live as God wants, because he cannot give as God wants. (And do not just imagine dollar signs. “Give” means more than that.)

God wants to do more in your life than you can possibly conceive of. If we could receive something of God’s plans and potential, and lived to fulfill a fraction, we would flip the world upside-down.

We are God’s channels to pour out his purposes into the world. He reveals plans, steps, actions and words for us to complete, pursue or deliver. We do not see his kingdom worked out, because we do not believe his promises.

For the most part, the church of today focuses almost entirely on their own. The main question asked is, how can we meet the needs of our membership?

Jesus’ focus seemed to rest among people who had no relationship with God. He did not focus on the Sadducees, who were the traditional caretakers of Judaism. He did not focus on the Pharisees, who were the purists and fundamentalists of Judaism.

The Pharisees had tremendous discipline. Discipline is a good thing. But their discipline required a person having sufficient means to keep it. And what of those who did not were not in a position to maintain Pharisaic practices? They had tried, failed and gave up. Or they were not in a position to learn the requirements and practices.

Jesus’ invitation to people had to be simple so everyone could follow it. Jesus had to remove barriers so sinners, apostates and failures could feel free to move in God’s direction.

Real Authority

There is a story about Jesus giving a lecture at someone’s house. Several men bring a paralyzed friend to Jesus. It is too crowded to get the man – on a stretcher – to Jesus, so they take the extraordinary option of removing part of the roof and lowering the man down to Jesus. Imagine someone wants to see you. Instead of knocking on the door, or ringing the bell, they rip part of your house down, so they can get in. They seem to have stopped thinking. They must have seen this as the only way to help their friend. And it was the only time, now or never. Jesus may never come this way again.

Jesus recognizes the desperation, but he also recognizes their faith in him as the answer to their friend’s need. “If we can just get him to Jesus, his problems will be solved.”

But Jesus speaks to a different need. He says their sins are forgiven. (I have often wondered why Jesus did this. Did he realize that this was their real concern? Was he setting up the crowd to demonstrate his authority as God?) The religious experts in the crowd see all sorts of red flags go up. Since, only God can forgive sins, how can this MAN say something like this?

So, Jesus asks the question, which easier to say “your sins are forgiven” or “rise and walk”? It is easier to say “your sins are forgiven.” No one expects anything to happen. There is no physical manifestation.

But if someone says “rise and walk” to a paralytic … If people expect something to happen, and it does not, then people get angry, disappointed or do not take the person seriously any more. If people expect nothing to happen, and it does not, people dismiss the speaker as a fool, who just likes shooting his mouth off.

But something happens, you have to take another look at that person. You have to take them a whole lot more seriously. He is not just a talker. He might just know something you should know. Maybe he knows something about forgiveness I do not know. Maybe there is something about him you should know.

Jesus intended it as an obvious demonstration that he does have authority to forgive. Not like we have authority to forgive someone who offends us. I can choose to not factor an offense into how I interact with someone. He has authority to absolve from real guilt, to justify and to declare righteous.

Importance of Scripture

When Jesus began his public ministry, he started with a 40 day fast. At the end of the fast, presumably because he was weaker, Satan attacked Jesus by tempting him. Satan attacked Jesus’ credibility. Jesus responded to each temptation with “It is written” and quoted a portion of Scripture.

This underlines out need to know the Scripture. Quoting Scripture is not some magic incantation. The power of Scripture lies in its truth.

Understanding Scripture is important for a number of reasons. (1) It clarifies God’s thinking. We have spoken several times of the need for revelation and wisdom. Scripture is the cornerstone for both. In it, God lays out the parameters for revelation to fall in, as well as wisdom to guide the evaluation of revelation.

(2) It reveals the mind and heart of God. In reading the Scriptures, we can remind ourselves again and again of what God finds important and what we should find important.

(3) It guides the pathways for our own thinking. As we read, study, meditate and pray, we agree in our thinking with God. God’s thoughts become our thoughts. And our mind are slowly and thoroughly transformed.

(4) It guides our actions. We know that the insides and outsides of people are equally important. Our inner life should propel the our outer life. And it is the outer life that we were created for.

Spiritual Realm

To understand the laws of the Kingdom, we need to realize there are several building blocks.

• God’s Kingdom does not function like the world. The laws that govern it are often the reverse of what we expect. We will experience surprises and upside-down values.

• The Kingdom – indeed, the whole spiritual realm – does not exist in isolation from the physical realm. Actions in one have effects in the other. If a person’s heart-focus connects the physical and the spiritual, then thoughts, desires and attitudes have an effect. People can move through daily existence influencing the spiritual realm, and in turn, the physical realm, because of how their hearts are focused.
• People are spiritual creatures. They stand at the intersection of the physical and the spiritual, influencing both. And the Spirit of God in the hearts of Jesus’ disciples places them in the middle of his Kingdom. We need to realize that we are already living and having an influence.
• If we are living and functioning in the Kingdom, perhaps in unrealized ways, we are already living according to the laws of the Kingdom.
• The keys to unlock the laws lie in what God has said. God has already given us his promises. They reveal how God has determined he will act. We need to respond to him with the hands of faith.
• God wants us to live in agreement with the laws of the Kingdom. Since, they are often the reverse of what we expect, we need to know and understand what they are. Since, God wants us to follow them God wants us to know them. Since, God wants us to know them he will reveal them to us. If a person reads the Scriptures, he probably knows many Kingdom laws already. They may not be labeled as a Kingdom law in the person’s thinking, but they will recognize the obligation to “keep” something they have read.
• Many regard the “works” of the Kingdom in almost a mystical way. And I suppose they could be. Many Christians believe that God still speaks, but they would also think that God giving them a message for someone else, especially a total stranger, as moving into areas of weirdness. But we need to see that Kingdom “works” can also be extending kindness or hospitality. The simple act of sharing food or water can send shock waves through the spiritual realm. What matters is that the “work” agrees with the Kingdom laws, even if – and especially if – they run against the current of the world.
• We need to act in agreement with the promises. If there is a condition, we need to meet it. If we accept God’s promise, in some way, it already exists. We may need to modify our behavior to prepare a place for it. God is unlimited. Or to look at it another way, God is self-limited only. God has determined how he will act in the world. There seems to be some evidence that God has limited himself to act only in response to prayer. So, we should be inviting God to act as he has indicated he would. Or we should be thanking him for acting on our behalf, for his glory, as he promised. Or some other way. And since Satan really does not want the Kingdom taking root in the world or our hearts, maybe we should taking note of these things. Keep a journal or a recipe box with 3x5 cards.
• Some people would hear or read something like this and, because of the promises for provision, associate it with some type of prosperity gospel. (1) I am not going to be critical of someone who claims God’s promise for a new car, and then “coincidentally” receives one. (2) We need to keep the fact foremost in our thinking that God’s promises, and God keeping his promises, are not for some sort of “bless me” club. They are to promote his purposes. The ultimate purpose of God is the validation, the demonstration and the completion of his glory. The penultimate purposes of God are the salvation of men and the transformation of individuals, cities, states and cultures into something that reflects his nature. God did promise to provide for us. He did not promise we would be rich.

Spiritual Realm

There are laws that govern the physical universe. Gravity is one such law. It involves all matter. There is a constant; there are observable relationships.

There are laws that govern the spiritual universe. Reaping\sowing is an example of this kind of law. Focusing the heart (as in prayer, meditation and chanting) to connect the spiritual and the physical is another.

There are laws that govern God’s Kingdom. One of the first laws is that faith accesses God’s promises. Faith is the pair of hands held out to receive what God gives. Faith is confidence that God has the power, resources and desire to fulfill his promises.

Another law of the Kingdom is that the best attitude of heart focus is love. It is heart-focus that reaches into the spiritual realm. Prayer is a way to focus our hearts. We can prayer with hate or anger in our hearts. If we do, we can still succeed in connecting with the spiritual realm. Love has a motivation that invokes results that agree with God’s purposes more. That’s one reason why worship is an important factor in following Jesus. Worship should be an expression of love.

Spiritual War

There is a spiritual war. We need to be prepared to fight the devil. It is his servants that will trip us, confuse us and knock us over if they can. It is his servants who want us to be miserable, discouraged and focused on all that is bad. If we are focused on the bad, we are not ready to serve.

• We must understand the truth and have it ready.
• We must stand in our position of favor, having been reconciled, living at peace with God and his family.
• We must be ready to take action. We have peace with God. We do not have to fear moving to serve, to encourage, to share. God has already forgiven us for all we have done. Will he be angry if we step out to act in love?
• We must hold onto God’s promises. Satan will work to distort God’s word in our hearts. We will remember God’s word, but Satan will say it is all a lie. We must remember to believe God, because he does not lie.
• We must keep God’s words and promises in our thinking and acting. It is the Truth that brings Satan down.
• We must be given to prayer. Pray for people to stand, to obey God, nd for the gospel break through barriers.

It's the Heart that Matters

If you are a follower of Jesus, it does not matter whether your bank account looks like Bill Gate’s or the national debt. God does not evaluate your life by whether you drive a jaguar or a 10 year-old Chevy Malibu. Nor whether your wardrobe is on the razor’s edge of fashion or you are hopelessly out of date. God is not pleased with you based on the number of piercings and tattoos you have, or the lack thereof. God evaluates a person’s life based on an entirely different set of criteria, involving the condition of your heart.

People are all born with heart-poverty. Sin robs us. Yet, some people recognize that poverty and inherit the Kingdom. They seek for God, recognize the Spirit’s work and mature as they interact with the Spirit, scriptures and other people. They give a sound, but humble evaluation of themselves, realizing they are not perfect, but neither are they second-rate.

Others dwell in that poverty. They may go to church, but they never find God. They never see God work, though he ignites fireworks and blasts sirens and air horns right in front of them. They never mature. The Scripture is just words. They are consumed with what they don’t have and how to get it.

New Life New Conduct

We have chosen to follow Jesus. But that decision leads to other decisions every day. As we learn to live like Jesus, we are confronted with a multitude of habits, actions and choices which are not obedient to Christ. We must learn to refuse the urging of those choices. We must develop new patterns of thinking. We must make new decisions that result in a new lifestyle.

We choose to speak truth, because we have a new unity with other Jesus followers. Lies divide. A divided body cannot survive. Anger also divides. Do not let anger control a situation. Repair the relationship, so Satan will not have room to work. God’s nature is giving and generous. So, put yourself in a position to be generous.

Do not speak in a way that tears. Speak to encourage, build and bless.

The Spirit of God is given as a seal and pledge of continued relationship with God. The Spirit is our link into God, the body and new life. Actions that practice the flesh and disunity grieve Him. Actions that practice new life please Him. Things like kindness, forgiveness, compassion and patience.

Not Just the Pastor

God gave grace to each one. And He gave leaders to train God’s people so God’s people can serve. God’s people serve and the body is built. Growth is a result of service.

Does growth result from receiving service? Or does growth result from giving service?)

The leaders prepare. The people serve. Growth happens. It creates a spiraling upward situation. It spirals up until we achieve unity. We build confidence in Jesus in each other, until we can all walk on water. We open the eyes of each other, until we can all see Jesus clearly in HD. We mold the character of each other, transform the thinking of each other until we all become Jesus clones, until Jesus’ DNA becomes our DNA.

Then, our lives with be founded on the rock. Circumstances will not control us. Fads and glitz will not captivate us. People will not persuade us to follow deceptions, distractions us with pretty toys or bright lights.

We will focus on truth as scripture reveals it, as the Holy spirit highlights it and as Jesus live it. And we will speak that truth in love.

God’s desire: Every part of the body of Christ matures. Every part of the body builds into every other part. Every part of the body remains connected and supported by every other of the body. And every part of the body actively pursues the completion of his role. This building, connection, supporting and pursuing is plaint by the Holy Spirit in our hearts, when He took up residence there.

Transformation

God created a community among men. The community was created to show God’s nature to the world, to live in a love relationship with God and to rule the world. God gave control of the world to man, intending that man, in cooperation with God, would create an environment of increasing beauty, harmony and bounty.

When Adam sinned, the world fell under the control of Satan. Increasing misery, pain and destruction were the result.

However, God’s purpose has not changed. He continues to invites men to form a community with Him as a partner. He continues to promote the creation of beauty, harmony and bounty in the world. So, we are His partners in winning back rule of the world, and establishing God’s rule … one place at a time.

People tend to view God’s work in an either\or context. Either establish God’s Kingdom through a spiritual transformation, or through a physical transformation. But, in reality, they cannot be separated.

Spiritual transformation has priority for a couple of reason. (1) It affects the eternity of people. One of the problems with a number of business practices today revolves around the fact that businesses too often focus on the bottom line for the short term. And business practices (and attitudes) have crept into the church.

(2) Spiritual transformation has priority because it forms the foundation for physical transformation. The essence of spiritual transformation is a renewal of the human heart. When a person perceives truth about Jesus, and it affects them, they can choose to alter their allegiance from themselves, their company, their country, their tribe, their group to Jesus. This change of paradigm is so powerful that it can only be compared to living a new life. (Spiritual realities are also activated. So, it is more than a mental change. But the change in thinking is extremely powerful.) It is this re-ordering of values, purpose and allegiance that lay the ground work for real physical transformation.

Physical works can move situations toward God’s ideal of the world. There are multiple factors that produce the complex phenomena know a poverty. It requires more than economic stimulus and jobs to overcome it. There are educational, health, political, psychological and cultural factors that contribute to and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Building schools and hospitals correct part of it. Ensuring a fair and honest government is part of a solution. Giving people hope of a better future contributes. So, works that lead to physical transformation can lead to spiritual transformation. Acts that further the renewal of beauty, harmony and bounty of God’s creation can create an environment of openness to the good new of God’s love. But they may not.

We often underestimate the power of God’s message. We often underestimate the density of Satan’s fog of deception. We often underestimate the power of acts of charity to disrupt someone’s world view. There is a tension between the physical and the spiritual that we need to learn to live with, to utilize and to feed off of. We need to use this tension to stimulate creativity to plant transformation in whatever soil we are currently working.

Representing God

We have been invited to live with God and to live for God. We have been invited to be His representatives, His ambassadors. There is a way we ought to live. It should represent Him in the best light. It should draw attention to Him in the most positive way.

We have accepted this invitation because of certain convictions we have come to. Convictions we think others should have. So, how do we live so people will look at us and conclude, “There goes a happy, delightful soul. I wonder how I can become like that?” Or if the person knows we are a follower of Jesus, “No that’s what a Christian is supposed to be like.”

Good Works

The Bible calls the result of a person’s life “fruit.” It is what is produced from the life of a person, like apples are produced form the life of an apple tree. If the heart is bad, it will produce bad fruit. If the heart is good, it will produce good fruit.

Water, nutrients and oxygen pass through the tree. As they pass, they absorb from the life of tree; and the life of the tree passes into the fruit. If the life that the fruit receives is bad, the fruit will be bad. If the life that the fruit receives is good, the fruit will be good.

Fruit can never be good if it grows out of a heart that is bad.

Good Works

Jesus totally pleased the Father. He exerted His power to raise Jesus, not only from the dead, but to a position of ultimate authority.

We, on the other hand, lived in agreement with the world, the flesh and the devil. We deserved wrath and condemnation. But God expressed His love by extending grace and giving us new life in Jesus. We are given a new position with Jesus.

Doing good things have nothing to do with pleasing God to gain salvation. Not that God is unconcerned with the actions people take. He has given new life. New life has the effect of producing good actions.

God's Plan

God created man to demonstrate His nature to all witnesses – spiritual and physical. God is Father, Son and Spirit. God is a community of love.

God created man to become part of His community, to rule over the world – not gut it greed, but cultivate it like a garden – and to create a community on earth that reflects God’s community in heaven.

Sin caused a change in the basic fabric of creation. Man is alienated from God, from other people, from himself and from nature. His heart and spirit are dead. And his natural tendency and focus is to himself and his needs and desires. The result is an ongoing cycle of evil.

God’s plan has not changed. God still wants men to demonstrate His nature, to become part of His community, to create a community of men, and to rule the world. And God wants these things done in a spirit of love, righteousness and holiness.

Jesus dies to remove the barriers that alienate God from men. Once the barriers are removed, God can begin a work that establishes God-centered, God-breathed rule over the world.

Revelation ... and Wisdom

It is obvious we need revelation to know God. He transcends us. We have no way to get to Him. We cannot measure Him, listen to His heart beat or flash an ink blot in from of Him. In some ways, He is totally alien from us. In some ways, we are completely alike. If we cannot get to Him, for there to be a relationship, He has to get to us.

We also need wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge of what is true and right, combined with judgment of what action to take. When we receive revelation, God speaks to us. Satan also speaks to us. And we speak to ourselves in our hearts. Out of these that speak to us, only one is completely trustworthy. One is sometimes trustworthy. One is never trustworthy. Our Father wants our good, so he will speak truly and righteously. Satan only wants our misery. And we are just limited. We are not big enough or know enough. But we need to know enough to see each word clearly, and to decide what we need to do about it. Wisdom resides with God. He gives wisdom, and trains us in wisdom, so we can discern words from Him, word from other voices, and obey Him confidently.

Conduct in Unity

We have received an invitation to become part of the family of God. And we have chosen to accept this invitation. Now, we ought to act as people who are part of that family.

We all have equal standing before God. So, we should not behave as though we stand above or below one another. We should live in humility, because we all live in need … of God and of one another. Has someone failed you? Have you failed others? We all fail. We all need help. That should strongly motivate us to be gentle, forgiving and patient with each other. Like begets like. And we are going to need someone to treat us that way.

Show love by giving room for failures and differences. Failures and differences disrupt any family. We should pursue peace and unity in all relationships.

Unity and Grace

For followers of Jesus, unity is one of the primary values. Maintaining unity has utmost importance. We need to behave in ways that maximize peaceful relationships. We need to be humble, patient, and gentle with each other.

But he also made us individuals. He created us to do god. He gave individuals to equip God’s family to complete these good things. As God’s family serves each other as individuals, and as members of the family, the family grows. The whole family attains Christ’s image. We will speak truth to one another, motivated by love. So, we will all grow into His image. He gives grace, so all parts grow and builds the body, as each one fills his purpose.

He gives grace that powers the growth. But the growth will not come if each part does not do its job.

Unity

The church is comprised of all the people who follow Jesus. The church of God really is a melting pot. White Americans. African Americans. African Africans. Korean. Chinese. Copt. Assyrians. Indians from North America, South America and India.

We don’t see the church this way. We see the small groups sitting together. People are used to being with people like themselves. People are more comfortable in homogeneous groups. That’s why we see the church like we do.

God intends the church to be one new humanity, loving, helping and welcoming one another. God tore down the dividing wall. So, how do we mesh the multitude of Jesus-pictures, the right of people to go where they are comfortable – to worship in a style they prefer, with music, dress, times, and style they prefer – with the expression of love and unity that Jesus requires?

Good Deeds

Good works do not gain right standing with God. Good works are what we are created for. Many treat good deeds, going to church, giving money as if they are they cause of right standing. New life in Christ is the origin of good works.

A seed is planted. It germinates and produces a plant. The plant produces fruit. Seed may come from the fruit. But seed only come when a seed has life, and yields more life. Life is already there.

Communication

Cell phones and computers are becoming an ever present, omnipresent part of modern life. Texts, emails and chats are more and more prevalent. “Texting” is communication. But it is not complete communication. People who are married to their computer\cell phone can give themselves the illusion of connection. But, in the same way, learning is fuller when it impacts more centers of the brain, communication when it impacts more centers of the brain. Touch, sound, sight – symbols, pictures – smell all enhance and enlarge communication. (Taste can add to communication too.)

“Texting” is true communication. I would not want to remove any form of this type of communication. But face-to-face encounters are the best form of communication. We are losing out by not being in close contact with people.

God established Israel for a number of things. To provide the law for the nations, receiving God’s heart and mind. To prepare for the coming of Christ, the Promised One. To bless them, so they would be a blessing.

But Israel’s heart turned inward. They became more interested in being blessed, than being a beacon to call the nations into God’s community.

So, God transitioned to a new phase of His plan. Instead of calling all peoples to be part of His people, He created a new people. He invited that people to be His people. He would unite them, reconcile them to Himself, make peace, and charge them with inviting the world to unite with Him. His call to fill the earth with His presence is being completed. Segments of this new community are being founded and built around the world. He promised that people from every nation, tribe, people and language will be part of His community.

Revelation AND Wisdom

In order to know God, a person needs revelation. It is basically an attempt to know the unknowable. We need someone to open a door for us to look inside.

But revelation is not enough. Wisdom is also needed to rein in our imaginations. We are more than capable of going off the deep end. God gave us the Bible as a safeguard. We can have something to evaluate our revelations with. Was it the Spirit, the devil, or our own flaky thing?

We yield ourselves to God and accept His paradigm. This process molds our hearts and minds. As a result, we can see for ourselves how good and perfect God’s will is.

The first part of that will is that we, as human beings, are not the center of the universe. The sooner we see and live that way, the better it is for us, the better it is for the world. Not only does this mean that God is the center of all existence, but it means we do not travel through it alone.

God has chosen to place us in a body. It is His will that contribute to this context. He has enabled us to contribute. It is His will we use that enablement. If a person only attends a weekly meeting and contributes his tithe (Don’t misunderstand me. Those things are important. They cannot be neglected.) that person is not walking in the will of God.

Paradigms

We can see that mankind has been living contrary to God’s purposes and standards. We were either ignoring God or were rebelling against Him. But now we are yielding our bodies to Him, so our lives have to change. God’s standards become our standards. God’s purposes become our purposes.

The change comes from the inside. The current term used is “paradigm shift.” A paradigm is a model or a picture of a system. Choosing to follow Jesus changes a person’s model of the world. (I think each person has two models. There is a model of how the world should work. There is a model of how the world does work.)

We shift to a paradigm with Jesus as the focal point, and everything realigns itself to have a new relationship with the center. Other nodes are realigned along the edge. We have a new understanding about how interactions with the core work. We develop new protocols and responses. We develop a new framework through which to make decisions, to evaluate options and to evaluate results.

I've evidently been on a blogging vacation and not knowing it. I have been playing with a book idea and have spent a lot of time with it. It'll need a lot more time. But there are other things I have been thinking about besides the book topic. So, I am going to try to do both for awhile.

Given man’s status before God (sinner, helpless, rebel), given god’s response of mercy, we should choose the most reasonable response – changing allegiance and moving to be with God. Accept the shift in paradigm, so we do not live with the world’s mind-set. The, we will be able to demonstrate that God’s will is good, pleasing and perfect.

This is the first mind-set alteration. Do not consider yourself too highly. Be very serious about your estimation of place and importance. God has provided an interdependence, but it is based in diversity. He has given interlocking functions. The different functions meet different needs. As needs are met, love is given. Unity and growth are created. Growth becomes a by-product of love and service.

Right thinking must progress to right acting. Right acting demands we serve and love one another.

We become other focused. God has created us to live fueled by unity. Unity is designed to function as we focus outward, using our gifts to meet needs. And God has given each of His children gifts. So, if you have a gift, do it!

Living Sacrifice

We need to recognize and understand God’s mercy. Look at its scope, and its effects. Look at people – their helplessness, their continual dark hearts. God has given so much. It is only reasonable to expect people to give much also. To sacrifice their lives. But dead people do God no good. So, it is a sacrifice of allegiance. More over, it is a life that has changed. A life that turns from the darkness and consecrated to God, pleasing to God.

Beyond the Walls

Many Christians are under the mistaken impression that life with Jesus is only encompassed in the church meeting. They act as though the only place to encounter God is “there”, the only place to serve God is “there.”

A large part of the church’s purpose is to engage the world, to rub the world’s face on Jesus’ robe. Part of that is inviting and accompanying people to a church meeting. (Take them to your house. Introduce them to your family.) Part of that is bringing Jesus to their house.

In the Bible, the pastors do not lead the church. In the Bible, the elders lead the church. And pastors are sitting all throughout the room. We believe the scripture when it says we are all priests. But only a few are allowed to do priestly things. (We share Christ with someone; they choose to follow Him. We share baptism; they choose to be baptized. We call someone to do the baptizing, when we are priests of God Most High.) It is not the senior pastor’s job to do the priestly things. It is the senior pastor’s job to equip the church – all the other pastors – to do the priestly things. Everyone who follows Jesus should be able to preach a sermon, cast out demons, pray for the sick, give counsel, pray for other needs, baptize, initiate the Lord’s supper.

We put god in a box. We put Jesus-followers in a box. We put the church in a box.

Worship Always

Live a life of worship and continual renewal. We should be giving our lives to serve God, and continually gaining a new perspective on God, the world, ourselves and the relationship among these things.

We need to understand our role in God’s purposes. We are vital to its success, but we are not indispensable. (There are no appendices in the body of Christ, but the only indispensable person is the Holy Spirit.)

Most people view themselves as either “if I stopped what I am doing, this place will fall apart” or “I am warming a spot on the bench.” There are no spectators on Jesus’ team.

We need to realize that your “job” may not be in the building. There is service in people’s homes, or under their cars. There is teaching and encouraging beyond Sunday School or the Sermon. There is serving, loving and investing in inner city neighborhoods, UD students or ELI students. There are thousands of places prayer should be applied.

Why do we believe the world instead of Jesus? Jesus says there is a problem in the world, and the solution involves a relationship with Him. And people with a relationship with Him are part of the solution. Our time with Him in the worship meeting is supposed to affect the world.

Influence

When a movement begins that has tremendous promise for good, magnetic, charismatic leader and strong surges of growth, it will not be viewed as a positive when that charismatic leader is executed as a criminal. Indeed, it will be the death knell of that movement. Yet the Jesus movement not only views such an execution as positive and an advance, but it is the culmination, the pinnacle of that leader’s work. That “failure” is total victory in the eyes of Scripture.

Our Father is the God of paradoxes. Failure becomes success. Weakness becomes strength. The path to great influence is promotion, personal magnetism, money, connections and polished speechmaking. Is that what the Scripture says? Scripture says the path to great influence is humility, service, love, faith, prayer and a connection with the Creator of the Universe.

During the last elections, one party came roaring into power. The other party was pushed out of while sections of the country. Pundits, politicians and reporters sent up a roar of rejoicing at the apparent political dominion. Is that what Jesus sought?

“Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”

Jesus had the power of dominion. But He chose not to use it. Indeed, He chose the opposite.

“Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing.”

Love is ...

Life runs ahead at break-neck speed. It also comes to a screeching halt, and everything goes flying. Life can come crashing down on people.

God’s family should realize when the roof has fallen in on someone, and move in to put clean up, push everything back into place.

God’s family should possibly even monitor others, and move in to for a support team and prevent a collapse in the first place. Strengthen the beams and joists. Erect pillars.

Love is ...

One thing is axiomatic to Jesus’ disciples: in everything Jesus said He intended to promote God’s purposes, strengthen the relationship between God and His people, and among His people, and draw people to unite with His community. What He encouraged led to building, enhancing and promoting these things. What He encouraged led to wholeness, integrity and authentic living.

How can someone rejoice when people experience misery and alienation? We rejoice when God’s truth is applied and people experience peace, growth, rest and health.

Love is ...

Coming into contact with other human beings inevitably leads to periodic collisions. How we handle the collisions is related to how we view the ones we collide with.

What were their intentions? What am I hanging onto? What is more important: this person? This relationship? My feelings?

To Jesus (falsely accused, illegally executed), the people and the relationships were more important than His suffering. If we have the attitude of Jesus, all reminders of these collisions will be dismantled bit by bit until any suspicion of their existence can only be a matter of speculation.

Love is ...

There are numerous things that get under people’s skin: aggressive driving, tail gating, negativity, whining, frustrated expectations, or misunderstandings. Being sick or tired can make little things grow very big.

And these can light a short fuse with people – either because they are the cause or because they are in the area. Often our focus is glued to an issue, and we respond to the issue with people getting damaged incidentally.

Are people reckless, trouble-makers, or selfish? Are they afraid of losing their job by being late again? Or do they feel like no one listens to them, or takes them seriously? Or maybe they don’t understand?

Usually, we cannot control the causes of irritation, but we can control our responses to people. The response God desires is a longer fuse and extending grace.

Love is ...

Sometimes, it seems like people have an internal need to reveal themselves to others. We need to be known. It is part of our need for community. We hope that when we open our hearts, someone will listen. Someone listening affirms who we are. It affirms our acceptance and worth.

(People don’t open up, because they are unsure how they will be received. Maybe they will be rejected. Maybe the contents of their hearts will be mocked and ridiculed.)

We all know people who only seem to be able to talk about themselves. Any event is interpreted solely by its relationship to them.

(Are these people convinced they are the only ones with worth? Or are they convinced of their worthlessness, and are continually seeking someone to listen, and thereby let them know they are wrong?)

There are people are encouragers. Their focus is not themselves, but out to other people and how they may able to affirm who they are in their hearts. There are people who are servants. Not only is their focus outward, but they are alert for needs … and consider ways and means for meeting them.

Love is ...

In every society, people come to agreement about the basic patterns of conduct toward other people. In the West, these practices are called “common courtesy.” They apply to family, friends, acquaintances, strangers and visitors.

Keeping these practices is important. Because they are applied indiscriminately to everyone, it puts everyone on equal footing. Everyone is treated equally, so everyone is perceived equally. If they are perceived as equal, they are equal.

Respect, acceptance and honor are shown with these practices. Disregard, rejection and dishonor are shown when refusing to keep these practices.

Love is ...

A common metaphor for success in the business world is climbing the ladder. The higher one climbs the better.
Often, it is accompanied with the idea of knocking others off the ladder, so one can advance more easily. The main concept of the metaphor is that it is better to look down on people. When a person looks down, it places them in a position of superiority. To remain in that superior place, a person needs to continue to move higher or push others lower.

The world seems to reguard this pursuit as bringing life. In reality, it brings death – to those below and those above. On the contrary, life and energy seem to be created when people give no consideration to their “height.” If a person does not look at life in terms of up and down, he free for other considerations, other focuses. Maybe one that pushes everybody up the ladder.

Love is ...

Over the last few years, I have come to realize that some people want to hear “good news” about people they know. But I also realized it is only true if they value other people and are not consumed by their own issues.

Most people would not want to be bothered. And we all know people who would be depressed for a week by someone else’s “good news” and the fact they did not have any. Some, we suspect would sabotage the “good news” if they could.

If we get outside of ourselves, we will celebrate everyone’s “good news” and embrace their “bad news” with them also.

Love is ...

Too often people are engrossed in their own affairs. They only see their own problems, pleasures, space and world.

There always seems to be a surge of relief, gratitude and joy when we find someone who sees beyond their circumstances and steps into the circumstances of others, getting involved, providing help, solutions, benefit, comfort, courage or encouragement.

Life, society and the nature of man can lead everyone to self-focus. Alertness to the condition of others and willingness to step in and act require firm commitments to the inherent value of love and of people and discipline and courage to look at the world with a heart to engage it.

Love is ...

Emotion that gets expressed too quickly or too soon is often uncontrolled. It gets expressed inappropriately – harshly or in anger. So, love stretches out the expression of emotions.

Strong emotions take off by themselves. The person needs to hang onto them, so they don’t run wild and crash into anything. So, they stretch them.

A person who keeps a firm hold on his emotions recognizes the value of people and the damage run away emotions can cause. Stretching emotions is a choice to avoid damage to other people. It expresses value given to people.

More Missions

Sin entered the world and marred the nature of God’s creation. His intentions, desires and goals for mankind have been eternally thwarted. So, He packs it in. He quits. He takes His ball and goes home.

No He doesn’t. His purposes have not been thwarted. His intentions and goals remain the same. He will create a people who enter into a love relationship with Him. He will create a community that will mirror His community within the Godhead.

More over, the fallen nature of His community will bring an opportunity to bring Him greater glory.

• Part of the Godhead will go on a mission of redemption.
• People will choose to become part of His community.
• His family – marred by the fall – will be transformed by His presence among them and their participation in His family.
• His family will become an influence that restores His creation to what He originally intended.

God is working consistently, steadfastly and strategically, sometimes behind the scenes, and sometimes with great fanfare. But He is always active across the great backdrop of history to bring these things to pass.

We already rejoice at the completion of Jesus’ mission. We already rejoice when people choose to be part of His community. Don’t we rejoice when we see people change and conform to His image? Do we rejoice when His community works to restore the original image of creation?

Mission as Fuel

Mission is fundamental to the nature of God. God created with a purpose. God ties His glory to the completion of that purpose. God chose Abraham for more than the beginning the lineage of David, for more than the giving of the Messiah. God chose Abraham to live a life a blessing, and to give that blessing to the world. As the world receives that blessing, the world will turn their eyes to the God who gives all good things. And when Israel failed to be the blessing, He called people in the world to be a kingdom, a family, a special assembly designed to bless the world. That assembly should bless the world, calling it to share God’s life, and uniting themselves with God – under His name, as a part of that assembly. That role should be part of His family’s DNA. To live as if there is no mission denies God’s purpose for His family.

God's Mission

All of God’s thoughts, words and deeds are designed to bring Him glory.

All of God’s intentions toward us, His works for us and with us are designed to bring Him glory.

And our mission is to paint the world with His glory … three coats! We are to describe His glory by sharing who He is and what He does. We are to live and act so others give Him glory.

Power of the Gospel

Several leaders of a church were gathered in prayer. During this time, the Holy Spirit revealed that He wanted two of the leaders to become church planters. After a time of preparation, the two men left to plant churches. The visited eight large cities, and planted four churches.

Normally, God spread His presence with His people. If His people are not in a place, then His presence is not in a place. God’s intention has always been for His people to cover the earth. But, at this time, as today, there are some places where His seed is planted, and some not. The cities they visited had varying degrees of influence by God’s people – some a lot, some not at all.

Let’s get a clear picture of the environment. The cities were spiritual cesspools. Idolatry, superstition and immorality were rampant. There were no Bibles in the heart language of the people. And if there were, there was only 5-10% literacy.

The cities were used to make commercials for relief organizations like Compassion. Families made their living sifting through the dump. There were some land owners, some soldiers, some subsistence farmers, some craftsmen, and possibly half the population were slaves. Poverty was overwhelming. Cities were dirty, smelly and unsafe. There was disease and malnutrition. There was a 25% infant mortality rate. 50% did not reach the age of five. 30% did not reach the age of eighteen. Life expectancy for men was 45. Life expectancy for women was 38.

These cities were “unplowed fields”, with lots of birds, rocks and thorns. The ground was hard. It was next impossible for any “desirable plant” to take root.

Moreover, there were no planes, trains or automobiles. There were three modes of locomotive power: wind, animal and feet. The journey was around 1200 miles, taking about two years. Average travel was around twenty miles a day. 1200 miles at twenty miles means 60 days of traveling. (That is, if everything went well – no sicknesses, no shipwrecks, no robberies, inclement weather, etc.)

Let us assume they attempted to plant a church in every city they visited. How do they do that? There is no TV, no internet, no radio, no newspapers or printing presses. There were no big evangelistic rallies. There were no call-forwards.

(“Call forwards” were not invented until the 1830’s or 1840’s. So, not only were they not part of these church planter’s arsenal, but the world had experienced several large, high-impact revivals with it.)

They sought out those who they believed would be most open. So, they went to the synagogues, arguing from scripture that Jesus was the Messiah. From there, they approached God-fearers wherever there were groups of people: markets, schools and places of business.
So, if they took:
• Two months to travel
• Fours to reach out to four unresponsive cities
• And eighteen months to plant four churches.

That’s an average of four and a half months for each church plant. And in most of the churches that were planted, they were beaten and thrown out of the city. And they left a group of baby Christian to fend for themselves for 1-2 years.

Understand –
• On barren soil,
• In destitute physical circumstances,
• Amid opposition and persecution,
• Amid scores of deceiving voices,
• Without leadership,
• Without resources,
• And with minimal grounding.

(Which sounds like a recipe for disaster) These baby churches survived, thrived and grew.

They presented the gospel and painted a picture of Jesus in a way that all those factors had no power against the gospel and the Spirit behind it. The testimony is that the gospel grew and increased. Transformation was evident everywhere it went.

Transformation

When we became followers of Jesus, why didn't God perfect us? Why not transform us into morally perfect beings? Imagine the tremendous testimony.

Part of the answer is: going through the sanctification process is not just about becoming like Jesus. It is also about learning about God, people, relationship and forgiveness.

God also created many cultures. Why? God has placed a small piece of Himself in every culture. As we express this piece of God in our culture, we demonstrate God's nature to the world. And, as we see the faithful of God in China, India, Kenya and Kazakhstan express that piece of God from their culture, we see God in new ways. We learn what God values from His heart being expressed in and through them.

Many cultures have well-defined expressions of community. We learn God's heart about unity, mutual care giving, mutual encouragement and the need for all of us to have a place.

I have heard American praise these cultures amd lament living in America. As if God was displeased with America and its culture. As if God was somehow surprised by the way America turned out. What do we see when we look at America with God's eyes? We see how God values personal initiative, creativity, responsibility, risk taking, hard work, diversity, as well as individuals and minorities.

(There are not too many places in the world, where one person can stand in front of the whole nation and say "You're wrong!" and be right.)

Being Part of the Mission

If you are a disciple of Jesus, He has given you a mission. He has sent you into the world. He did not send you to be a part of the world. He did not send you to apart from the world. He sent you to fill whatever niche you are in with His presence.

To fill it with His glory. To fill it with His love. To apply the gospel – in word and deed. To be a priest of the Most High God – caring, serve and prophecy. (Phophecy in this case refers to understanding and proclaiming God’s word and purposes to where it is needed.)

Maturity

Watching over the church of God is a good thing. And it is a good thing for a man to aspire to it. But not just anyone can be an overseer. The primary qualifications must be a certain type of heart or character. This heart-character will be revealed by certain types of activity. Scripture tells us in several places that words and actions reveal what is in the heart.

God takes these men and set them to watch over His family. God also gives them to be models. He encourages His children to imitate these men. So, God wants all His children to grow to have this heart, this character and to demonstrate this activity. This description should describe anyone who follows Jesus.

God's Spirit of Hospitality

Throughout eternity past, the Father, Son and Spirit lived together in a completely satisfactory, mutually fulfilling lover relationship. God was a complete community.

In the infinite past, God made plans to extend this community. He would create a multitude of finite beings to share His love relationship. He would create a community within His community. This community would demonstrate his nature, his community and his love relationship.

God chooses to create a community that will have a love relationship with the Godhead, and a love relationship with one another like the love relationship with the Godhead, demonstrating the community of the Godhead.

God chooses to create a community that He will invite these created being to join. He will extend these invitations partly by Himself and partly through His created community.

One of God's primary impulses in His nature, in creation, is hospitality.

(Thank you to Frank Viola. The initial picture of for this post came from Untold Story of the New Testament Church.)

Influence

It is not the pastor who has the greatest impact on people. A large portion of the population will never enter a church.

It is not the televangelists who have the greatest impact on people. Christian TV is not meant to reach the world. It is aimed at Christians. I don't watch Christian TV. And if I don't, what makes anyone think those not following Jesus will watch.

(I don't want to the impression that I think Christian TV is worthless. Still, I don't think it is effective in influencing those who don't follow Jesus.)

Those with the greatest impact on people not following Jesus are everyday, normal Christians. Those who will never preach a sermon, never play in a worship band, or never have a title with the word "pastor" in it.

If someone follows Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in his heart. So, the Holy Spirit goes wherever he goes -- work, school, the mall, a New York Yankees game, little league, golf, sailing, Mcdonalds, jogging, camping, recycling, I95.

The Possibility of Radical Transformation

The family of God is full of individuals where the Spirit of God dwells. where the Spirit of God is, there exists the possibility of radical transformation.

Most people reading this will think in terms of ther personal life. And this is a true application. But there is a bigger application. Radical transformation is possible wherever the people of God are.

When I order Hunan Chicken from Happy Garden, and I go to pick up my order, the Holy Spirit is now at Happy Garden. There exist the possibility of radical transformation at Happy Garden.

Imitate God

We are encouraged to imitate God. It seems to be a reference to a child’s tendency to imitate its parents’ actions. So, what does the Father do? What is He like? He is infinite. He is holy. He is personal.

The infinite qualities of God are things like being all-powerful, all-knowing, present everywhere and transcendent. These things are physically impossible for us. We cannot hope to imitate them. We cannot hope to understand them.

The holy qualities of God are things like being sinless, moral perfection and righteousness. Human being were designed to follow these patterns. However, sin corrupted the image of God in humans. Until mankind is glorified, people cannot maintain this standard of perfection. But we can strive and move toward it. Commitment to make right choices after failure honors God. Making right choices in the midst of temptation really honors God. Choosing right continually so it become instinctive honors God.

Personal qualities seem to form the largest group. These include things like love, mercy, compassion. And they include the need for community, beauty and creativity. And inner qualities like will, aspirations and hopes. People are designed to move in these areas. We struggle with some, especially those that intersect with the lives of other people. But we can choose to grow in those areas, and choose to sacrifice.

Living Like Jesus

Reading through one of the biographies of Jesus, I asked myself the question, “what did Jesus do?” What a person does and says demonstrates their values and priorities. So, I tallied up his activitiy.

“One healing. One teaching. Another teaching. One exorcism. Another healing.”

Jesus’ life ― outside of the cross ― seems to involve:

He takes people’s circumstances, and makes them better.

A person should not be ill or deformed in body. So he healed. A person should be controlled by evil forces. So he liberated. A person should not be in need. So he fed.

He takes people’s misconceptions and wrong perspectives, and turns them right side up. (Or upside down.)

He shared about getting right with God, the fatherhood of God, acceptance, right living, grace, legalism, money, family and responsibility.

He demonstrated what a right heart and attitude was.

He touched lepers, tax collectors, and the immoral. He uncovered silly rule, rules that did not accomplish what God intended. He made decisions with one ear tuned to God, the other to the ground, one hand to the plow, the other held out in welcome, one eye on the road and the other one the prize.

He lived his journey in an efficient, effortless and assured manner that we cannot hope to match, but which we are urged to imitate.

Learning

True learning or discipleship cannot be accomplished in a "pew" or a classroom setting; related activity must accompany lecture or true learning does not happen.

God of Surprises

Life is not easy, because there does not seem to be any rules.

When Israel arrived at the Jordan River to go into Canaan, the river was flooding. God commanded the priests to carry the ark into the river, ahead of the people. When all the priests were standing in the river, God pushed the river back so the people could walk across on dry land.

Sometimes God’s guidance is just like the opening of the river. We have to get our feet wet before the way to go opens up before us.

Sometimes God does reveal the end from the beginning. Abraham knew that he should travel to Canaan, have a son, and bring blessing to the world. Moses knew he would lead Israel to Canaan. Jesus knew he would go to the cross. Paul knew he would take the gospel to the gentiles.

God does not lead everyone one way. He is the god of surprises. If God laid out his rules, and always followed them, then He would become predictable. To follow Him would not be a matter of faith. We could follow Him by sight.

“OK … God just applied rule #1, so He is going to apply rule #2 pretty quick. That means I better to A and B, not C and D.”

Even though He showed Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul what the end would be, that does not mean they knew every step of the way. (With the possible exception of Jesus. Jesus breaks the mold in a lot of ways. He lived in complete dependence on God, but He was God.) They needed to trust God for the next step. And the next step. And the one after that. So, they could be sure to reach the end.

Survival?

What is the sustaining force of any church? It is God's Spirit which sustains, directs, empowers and gives gifts and brings growth.

Who is the head of the any church? Jesus followers everywhere proclaim that Jesus is the head of the church. Jesus is the head of the church and they are a family of priests. All believers minister.

So, what would happen to the average church if the building blew up and the pastor and staff went with it? The church should still exist. The family of God still exists. The head of the church is still alive. The one who sustains it still exists and still is working. Life may be different because important members -- even strategic members -- are gone.

So how would the average church react?

Maturity

Steve Covey wrote that we all create thing twice. First, we create them in our inner life. Then, we create them in the world. So, the shape of our inner life determines what flows out of our lives. Our character,  temperament, perspectives, worldview and experiences give birth to our actions.

James seeks to demonstrate that a proper walk with God produces proper actions. So, he encourages:

• Right response to trial/temptation
• “doing” the word
• Fair treatment of people
• Faith and works
• Right speech
• Wisdom and its deeds
• Being friends with God
• Being content
• Right use of wealth
• Being patient
• Being honest
• Being devoted to prayer
• Encouragement to follow the Truth

The life of a Jesus-follower oscillates back and forth between flection, listening and absorbing to doing, loving and obeying. Doing allows the grace, love and spirit of God to flow from us.

The filling of the Holy Spirit alone does not produce fruit or promote spiritual maturity. The flow of the Holy spirit produces fruit and promotes spiritual maturity.

Guidance II

Just because there are surprises, it does not mean that God is arbitrary. He does not follow whims. He is not capricious. He does want us to know Him, understand Him, so we will trust Him.

We learn to trust people, when they tell us what they intend to do, how they intend to do it, and they do what they say. So, God reveals Himself to us, and He acts according to what He says. He always does what He says. So, we can always trust Him.

He promises He will guide us. He promises that He will not contradict what He has told us about Himself, what He values, or the way He told us to live. He did NOT promise to give us the precise method of guidance. 

He could have promised to mail us detailed instructions, complete with diagrams and a MapQuest map. But He didn’t. He sometimes tells us  where the end is. He promises to show us the right road. But fairly often, we won’t know which turn to make until we are right at the intersection.

Guidance

One thing that most Jesus-followers hold is that God is active in the lives of people. This includes providing guidance. Guidance should make life easier. God knows a lot more than we do. But there seems to be a surprising lack of rules.

When Israel arrived at the Jordan River to go into Canaan, the river was at flooding. God commanded the priests to carry the Ark, and walk ahead of the people, right into the river. When all of the priests were standing in the river, God pushed the water back into a heap, so the people could walk across on dry land.

Sometimes, God’s guidance is just like opening up the river. You need to get your feet wet before the way opens up.

But sometimes God reveals the end from the beginning. Abraham knew he should go to Canaan. There he would have a son that would bring blessing to the whole world. Moses knew he would lead Israel from Egypt to Canaan. Jesus knew he would go to the cross. Paul knew he would take the gospel to the gentiles.

 God does not lead everyone only one way. He is the God of surprises. If God followed one method, he would become predictable. And we would follow him by what knew, and not by faith. This element of surprise leaves God in control. Following requires a bit of courage and a bit of risk taking.

Even though he does show us where the end will be, that does not mean there will not be unexpected turns or landslides blocking the road. We have never been on this road before. We will always need to be actively engaged with the road and with our Guide.

Easter Thoughts

Some of us got together Friday night before Easter to watch “The Passion of The Christ”. I had seen it before. Two things stood out to me this time. First, a faction of the Jewish religious leaders committed legalized murder. The trial was at night. Only a part of the religious leaders were called. Jesus was struck at the trial. The high priest directly questioned Jesus. All illegal according to Jewish jurisprudence. And the Jewish leaders worked to incite a riot to convince the Roman authorities to crucify Jesus.

Second, Jesus was scourged and nailed to a cross. When he dies, the universe changes. A cosmic spiritual shockwave created a tsunami that engulfed all creation. Like creation or Noah’s flood, when everything was new. The rules had changed. Even the playing field is different.

Easter Thoughts

Some of us got together Friday night before Easter to watch “The Passion of The Christ”. I had seen it before. Two things stood out to me this time. First, a faction of the Jewish religious leaders committed legalized murder. The trial was at night. Only a part of the religious leaders were called. Jesus was struck at the trial. The high priest directly questioned Jesus. All illegal according to Jewish jurisprudence. And the Jewish leaders worked to incite a riot to convince the Roman authorities to crucify Jesus.

Second, Jesus was scourged and nailed to a cross. When he dies, the universe changes. A cosmic spiritual shockwave created a tsunami that engulfed all creation. Like creation or Noah’s flood, when everything was new. The rules had changed. Even the playing field is different.

The Present and The Future

Does anyone remember seeing a bike in a store and going “Wow! I want that bike!” ? (It could have been – and probably was – something else.) You wanted that “whatever it was” (WIW) really bad. It embodied the best that could ever be. If the WIW grabbed ahold of you imagination, maybe you would starting planning and preparing to buy it. You volunteered for extra work to earn extra money. You sacrificed purchasing something else. And you began saving until you had enough to get the WIW.

Notice what happens here. We see something, and it creates a wonderful view of the future. And it changes the way we behave.

The present creates the future; and the future creates the present.