Be the Church (Love) - V

"Kindness" is the next quality of love. Kindness to many people has taken a very nebulous meaning. Most people understand it as being nice, or not being harsh.

Kindness in the Bible is taking action that benefits someone else. People in current times fill the schedules with all sorts of activity. They barely can maintain their own lives, let alone reach out in a way to benefit others. The church follows right along with this frantic pace of life. Meetings upon meetings are held: conferences, retreats, worship, planning and policy decisions. (Because when millions are spent constructing a building, it is a waste not to use it.)

I know of some churches who are beginning to realize the power of kindness. They are stepping away from normal meetings and doing yard work for the neighbors, cleaning bathroom for local businesses, and hosting camps of one sort or another for children in the community. Of course, to do something like this requires setting up another meeting, posting it in the annoucements for several weeks in advance. Churches need to do this because kindness is not really on people's heart ... and therefore, love is not really on people's hearts.

There are a number of reasons why this is true. Mostly, it is because we are still influenced greatly by sin. Love cuts across our sin-impacted tendencies.

We can see the countering tendency of love. Patience is part of forgiveness. When we are offended, the initial impulse is to want pay-back. Patience holds that tendency in check. We see it in kindness, which surrenders time, energy, and resources that we could use elsewhere. It is much more fun to go water skiing, or golfing, than to help a neighbor clean up after a storm ... especially without him asking.

We understand love because Jesus gave his life. Now, we love by giving to someone in scarifice.

Be the Church (Love)- IV

"Patience" is the first quality of love. We generally define patience as perseverance when confronted by a delay or adverse circumstances.

Patience in the Bible is usually seen in the context of personal interactions. And interacting with people does not always go smoothly. There are some people, when they encounter a problem, who has what is described as a "short fuse." A person runs into a problem, the fuse is ignited and an explosion soon follows.

A short fuse is the opposite of patience. Patience is a long fuse. Patience is tying more fuze, onto the original fuse once it is lit, so it takes longer to explode.

Eventually, anger becomes an appropriate response to cruelty, dishonesty, or injustice. Patience keeps anger in check, or in control. We all know of, or have experienced, instances where uncontrolled anger has caused damage, perhaps disproportionate damage.

Patience demonstrates God's nature, because God treats us with patience. We have all broken God's law. God is completely justified with condemning us ... now. God could judge us right now. But he has a long fuse, because he expects, and works toward, people choosing to establish an allegiance with him. He expects something good to happen.

What if we approach people, expecting something good to happen, when the only thing in evidence is something bad? What if we gave people room to change? What if we invited God to work, and then waited for it to happen?

Maybe that is the fundamental reason for patience. We can have a positive response to people, because we know God is in control ... and we can wait for him to act.

Be the Church (Love) - III

We have seen how love demonstrates that a person follows Jesus, that a person belongs to the family of God, and that God is walking with that person in relationship, in transformation.

There is a list in the Bible of the traits of love. Traits that should answer the question: "what should love look like?"

I have looked at the list in the past. Mostly, I have wanted to define them, or to describe what they should look like. The last couple of days, I have been wondering what is about these traits that cause a person (or a group of people) to stand out in a positive way.

Obviously, a group of people displaying the same behavior together, good or bad, draws attention to the group and what they stand for. Jesus was one person. And he lived his life in love. And since he was perfect, he exhibited perfect love. So he exhibited these traits perfectly. And people noticed. We are not perfect, so we need God's family. We are God's representatives, so getting people's attention to his message (and their understanding, and their obedience) is our job. Our primary tool to that end is loving people like Jesus loved.

NOTE: Obviously, I did not take time here to describe any of these traits and how they might draw attention positively to Jesus. I wouldn't be surprised if several posts are dedicated to that purpose. I will still be thinking about them for the next couple days.

Be the Church (Love) - II

The Bible says that we know what love is, because we know who Jesus is, and what he did. 

Love is a human condition. All humans need to give and receive love. It is one of the basic fuels that the human spirit was built to run on.

But there is a difference in the love of Jesus and his followers. That love somehow stands out. It is different from the love of "normal" human beings. It demonstrates the reality of Jesus being in a person's life and not being in a person's life. John says that we can recognize the reality of Jesus in a person's life by recognizing the reality of love in a person's life.

Be the Church (Love)

How we treat wrong doing in our lives and the lives others is important. But, as God's family, how we deal with sin is not the only thing. It could be argued that it is not the most important thing.

Scripture argues simply that love is the greatest component of life. It is greater than hope. It is greater than faith. It is greater than spiritual gifts: prophecy, healing, miracles, supernatural understanding/speaking of other languages, etc. The greatest event in history was Jesus' sacrifice of love. The only thing that gives meaning to life is love. This is what Scripture teaches. This is what Jesus lived.

Scripture says that judgment will come into the world. God will punish evil. He will set right everything that is wrong. There is even a passage that seems to indicate that God's family will participate with God in this judgment. But that's in the future. Right now, God's family is supposed to represent Jesus and his invitation to share with his family in God's love. Right now, love is his priority.

Where is the Holy Spirit?

I was reading another blog this morning ( here ) and the writer was describing a situation where some people began to attend a different church, and wondered where the Holy Spirit was in this church. The writer asked the questions: Was the Holy Spirit really not at that church? Or were the expectations about how one experiences the Spirit, leading these people to not see the Spirit there? (I have phrased the questions here slightly differently than he did. And I appreciated his two points in response. Well worth reading and thinking about what he wrote.)

It reminds me of attending a concert with my wife and another couple. The concert was by a Christian singer. Which meant obviously the songs would be about God's nature and work. One particular song was approaching a crescendo. And as it did so, it was moving me to focus my heart on God, his presence and his work. It was apparent that it was affecting most of the audience that way also. Now, I find that when I do this, my tendency is to become more quiet and contemplative. But the crowd around us erupted in a shout of joy and enthusiasm. The man we were with -- who was evidently built more like I was -- spoke softly, almost to himself, "No guys. This is a time for worship."

A shout of joy can't be worship?

I do not want to appear to be condemning the man or the crowd. The man had a definite idea of what worship was, and was not angry with the crowd, but seemed more disappointed that they did not read the moment like he did, and respond appropriately to the moment. I think the man responded appropriately to the Spirit moving in his heart; and I think the crowd responded appropriately to the Spirit moving in their hearts.

Maybe I am playing with semantics, but it seems to me that it depends on how we define worship and what our expectations are. It is like the other blog's questions about the Spirit. One person I know expects, that if the Spirit is present, people will receive physical healing. Another person I know expects, that if the Spirit is present, people will decide to follow Jesus. Scripture testifies to both. What if there is only one? What if there is none?

Scripture does define what should be apparent if the Spirit is present. Scripture does define what can be present in worship. We need to be true to the Scripture. We need to remember that God is very big, and can encompass all of human experience. We need to give God room to be God. And we need to give people room to respond as the Spirit speaks to them, and as they are built ... with the purpose of giving God glory.

Be The Church (Sin)- VI

And if God still works, how I regard and deal with sin is important.

Does someone celebrate his past sin? Does he remember how cool or fun some past "adventure"was? Do they hang onto "stuff" that leave them open to temptation? Do they expose themselves to opportunities for sin?

Sin and failures from the past are not small things. We build our presents and our futures from our pasts. But more important is how we make choices in the present and establish practices going into the future/ We can choose disciplines that strengthen current right practices or prepare us to make right decisions. For example, we can immerse our thinking in what God thinks. We can read, meditate or memorize the scripture. We can read biographies, commentaries or other books espousing kingdom values and ways. We can regularly and consistently spend time with other followers. And there is prayer in all its different expressions.

What is first ... how we set our hearts toward God and toward living a positive Christ-like life, and not being consumed by what we should not be doing.

Be The Church (Sin) - V

Another reason what we do is important is because God has entered our heart and changed our spiritual DNA. If God is in our DNA, then there should be a ripple effect through out our lives.

A change in DNA means a change in how the process of the body functions, a change in the body's programs, if you will. This change demonstrates the reality of our choice to follow God.

One of the main areas of change is in our "want-to." Our motivations change. The things we want to be involved in change.So, if we do not care about our lifestyle (how it agrees with Jesus' teaching and example) then there is reason to consider that we have never chosen to follow Jesus.

There are people, who in the midst of emotional excitement or trauma, say they follow Jesus. Sometimes it is genuine. Sometimes, this is an attempt to bargain with God. "I'll do what you want, God, if you do what I want." A change of allegiance must recognize God's role and nature in the universe. That is, he is King and Ruler. We are choosing to submit to him.

We will never live this life we have chosen fully or completely. There will be slips, stumbles and falls. And, although no one else can see my motivations, it encourages me to realize that even my frustration with my failures indicates I am still motivated to seek, strive and follow Jesus as best I can. Which means he is still working in my heart. The steady process of re-creating my spiritual DNA still continues. If he still works, I am not rejected, I am accepted by him.

Be The Church (Sin) - IV

We know sin contradicts the ways of God. We know sin agrees with the spirit of the anti-Christ. And we know it is a fact of life, like gravity, death and taxes.

When man chose to turn from following God, and live out his own ways, sins was injected into the DNA of the human spirit. We are powerless to change our life, because we cannot touch our spiritual DNA.

That's why, when a person does choose to follow God, God injects his Spirit deep into our hearts, changing our DNA and re-creating us from the "molecular", "cellular" level out.

So, if our practices cannot ultimately affect our spiritual state, or complete change in our lives, why do we bother? Why be concerned with sin at all? Why try to understand the Bible and live a particular lifestyle?

Although, we cannot reach down to our spiritual DNA, our conduct does have an effect. First, how can live gives God room to touch our DNA. We can extend an invitation for God to work in our hearts. Or we can block him. He has given a gift ... the ability to cooperate with him in our growth and restoration.

Second, we have a renuine relationship with him. It is in our thoughts, words and actions that we live out this relationship. Our lifestyle imp[roves or hinders this relationship. And the way we conduct our relationship affects how God connects with our hearts.

Lastly, we are invited by God to participate in his mission. we represent him. We can have an eternal impact on the world, and the lives of people we know. It is the conduct of God's family that can have the greatest impact. Testimonies of new members of God's family demonstrate that it is the genuineness, or the radical change in someone they knew, that motives a choice to follow Jesus. And testimonies of ones not in Jesus' family demonstrate that Christians living contrary to the teachings of Jesus is a primary factor in their choice not to follow Jesus.

Be The Church (Sin) - III

To repeat: I do not think it is spiritually healthy to be caught up in sin: not with being engaged in it, not with its penalties, and not how to avoid it.

I am not saying we should not be serious about sin. Jesus was very serious about sin. The Bible says very definitively that we should avoid situations or people, and remove things from our lives, that can push toward sin.

But it is not sin, or even the avoidance of sin, that we have given our allegiance to. That would be the Father.

What we should be focused on is our relationship with God. Our questions should predominantly be things like: 

•   What please God? (And yes, one could say God is pleased by our not sinning.)

•   What is most on his heart?

•   What does God want?

•   What is he like?

•   What do I do that leads me to a greater closeness and a greater understanding of him?

A journey is pointless if a person spends most of his time considering where he is not going, rather than where he is going.

Be The Church (Sin) - II

There are people in Jesus' family who believe that if they continue to sin (and usually, it is one particular sin) God will reject and condemn them. 

First, we started sinning the day we were born. And we will continue to sin until we die. And God knew this would happen from the beginning.

Second, God is always active to promote his glory. Part of that is getting his people to live as he designed them to live. To live as the Bible says.

• He speaks to us to promote right behavior.
• When a wrong thought or desire is introduced into our hearts and minds, he speaks to us to turn us back to him.
• When we entertain these wrong thoughts or desires, he speaks to us to turn us back to him.
• And if we fail, he speaks to us to turn us back to him.

God continues to speak to us. Sometimes, he whispers into our hearts. Sometimes, he highlights a verse in the Bible. Sometimes, he relays a message through another person.

The main point to realize is: God continues to speak to us. And as long as he continues, he still expects to achieve his glory through us.

He is serious about sin -- one does not get any more serious than the death of Jesus -- but he is not surprised or dismayed by it.

The devil gains advantage if we sin.  And the devil gains advantage if we get hung up by our sin.  If we focus on sin, we are not focused on God's glory, obedience, faith, love and grace. And so, God does not receive glory. And we do not live as we are designed.

Be The Church (Sin) - I

The Bible says God is light. "Light" is a metaphor for Truth. Truth meaning the real way the world works, and the real way it should work. We know that God made the world, and he made it agree with the Truth. The world, at creation, actually functioned the way it was supposed to. But the world doesn't function the way it is supposed to now. And we don't function the way we are supposed to.

When we choose to follow Jesus, when we change, making Jesus our primary allegiance, Jesus fills our hearts with his presence, giving us power to live as we were designed to live.

The reality is: we do not live as we were designed to live, even after we switch allegiance. Whatever got broke in the hearts of people, when sin was released into the world, is still broke.

When Jesus dies on the cross, and we he rose, his Spirit and his Body were released into the world. He released his DNA ... and his DNA creates his proteins and enzymes to re-manufacture the world.

We do not live as we were designed to, because the re-manufacturing process is in progress. Moreover, there are forces that want to hinder this process for their own purposes. This hindering is the essence of spiritual warfare. Although it can be, spiritual warfare is not generally some ugly, demonic manifestation. It can be as simple as introducing a non-Jesus-like thought, getting it considered, entertained, invited out for dinner and, maybe, asked to move in. And I am willing to bet that we will all at least once have dinner with something non-Jesus.

Of course, it would be best to "stay on our diet" and refuse the invitation. But what happens when we come out of our trance in the middle of dessert? I am beginning to wonder: if short-circuiting the temptation cycle early is the most important step, then is the second most important step our response after we fall?

Be The Church - IV

My wife’s father has been having health problems the last couple of months. He just got out of the hospital, and she has gone to try and help him get his life re-organized. (He lives around 1000 miles away.)

I am amazed at how dysfunctional everything has gotten. We are at the stage of life where our children have moved out to establish their own life, or they are very involved in their own activities. So, the everyday normalcy of a meal together has gotten near impossible. And, with my wife, the one who organizes, prepares and almost coerces these times\events gone, picking up the pieces has pretty much failed. I have no way to predict what is going to happen.

I have attempted to pick up the pieces, but some things suffer. We have both been encouraged to do some type of exercise daily. It is difficult to find time, when cooking and cleaning should be done. Tending our small garden falls in the same category. (Lettuce and  raspberries will need to be picked soon.)

It makes me wonder if Jesus’ family is like this. As Jesus’ family is Jesus’ body, and each part of the body has its function to carry out to build the body, if a part does not carry out its function, how dysfunctional does the body get? Are there important things that do not get done? Are there people running around trying to pick up the pieces? Is it only the loudest squeaks that get attended to … and the loudest is not necessarily the most important? And like my garden, is there reaping going undone, because our attention is elsewhere?

Jesus’ family is supposed to fill the world to rescue, restore and renew. That should be its main focus. Does where our attention spend most of its time reflect this?

Upside-Down Kingdom (Sifting ) - V

Jesus, as God, is Lord and Inventor of all of life ... including culture. The Spirit can enter and reveal himself through each and every culture. And he does. Each and every culture has aspects that point to the creator God. Don Richardson has written several books ("Peace Child", "Eternity in their hearts", etc.) demonstrating that fact. Each and every culture can make room for Jesus, and serve and honor him, in contextual ways.

However, as we are born into our culture, and wear it like a second skin, we often interpret Truth in terms of our culture. And our culture becomes, in our eyes, the best -- and maybe only -- way to live out the teachings of Jesus.

One of the reasons, perhaps the main reason, God allows sifting in the lives of his children is the work it does in their hearts.

If sifting breaks through the walls that block our hearts from his grace, move us to greater dependence, greater humility, more listening and learning, then we become a better servant, bearing more fruit, and giving God greater glory. We look at our life, our church and our culture as things that reveal God's nature and grace. And we can grow to see other lives, other churches and other cultures as God-given masterpieces. They become teachers and partners.

It's almost like we ought to be thankful for our weaknesses.

Upside-Down Kingdom (Sifting)- IV

We will all at sometime experience offenses, attack, and temptations. These things always aim first at the heart. As the heart goes, so goes the mind and the body.

Our response needs to be a response of the heart. We need to move in agreement with God's perspective.

First of all, we need to remember our dependence. We live under grace, under the cross.  When we chose our allegiance to Christ, we declared our need and reliance on Christ. We continue to live in a state of dependence in our day to day walk with him. It was our choice to surrender to him that defeated sin and death in the first place. It will be our continual surrender to God, regarding continuous attempts by Satan to sift us, that will bring God to apply grace to our hearts.

So, we need to yield in surrender, admitting we cannot stand on our own. Too often, people proclaim God's authority over all creation, including Satan, and God's grace over any situation, only to re-position their hearts to defend themselves with their own determination and willpower.

We defeated Satan in the first place by surrender. We will continue to defeat Satan in any battle of the heart by choosing to surrender to Christ.

Upside-Down Kingdom (Sifting) - III

If part of being the church, being in relationship with God, is God speaking into our life, showing us his nature, or showing us our nature, then he is going to speak to us during a time of suffering, pain or attack. One of our responses during such a time has got to be asking "what is God trying to teach me?"

God's response to us might not always be "rescue." (At least, not what we may perceive to be rescue.) God spoke to Job before restoring his fortunes. God spoke to Paul about his thorn and no mention is made one way or the other if God ever did heal Paul.

Part of forgiveness is the releasing or surrendering of pain we have suffered. Without forgiveness, the pain controls us, and not the love of God. Part of spiritual warfare is Satan poking at our memory, dredging out old pain, and seeking to capture us with it.

There are people whose focus, passion and energy are invested in an offense suffered thirty years ago. They are controlled, not by the offense, but by the memory of the offense. And God says we are to be controlled by what?

We need to apply God's love, grace, wisdom and perspective to each offense, pain, problem or trouble.  

Upside-Down Kingdom (Sifting) - II

God lets us experience sifting. For some reason, the process is important. It is part of the on-going battle in the spiritual realm.

God has made us partners in his mission. We are not just spectators, we are active participants. We can respond, initiate, succeed or fail.

He could protect us. He could regenerate us, so we are morally perfect in this life.

My personal theory is: if he protects us, if he perfects us, we lose something. Choices we would need to struggle with, are made automatically. There are no steps of faith. There is no need to forgive. Unity is automatic. Love is no problem.

The cross is a proclamation of God's grace. It is a declaration that we are dependent on God. Even when we change allegiance by choosing to follow Jesus, become a part of his family, granted access to his heavenly kingdom to be with him forever, we still need grace. We are still dependent on him.

If we are dependent on him, we still need him to act on our behalf. If he still acts for us (and we are alert), we will see the reality of God, we will have reason for praise and worship, and God will receive glory.

Be The Church - III

I have often pointed out how a book I am reading starts a train of thought. Here is another one. Sometimes I try to write here to clarify in my own thinking what the book is saying. Sometimes I add to thought in the book. Sometimes it's a combination.

First, as we have stated before, the gospel is not just our ticket to heaven. It is an invitation to walk in relationship with God.

Second, God is always active, always speaking to us, always teaching us.

Therefore, God is always speaking into our daily existence, trying to reveal how what happens reveals who he is, and as his nature is in us, who we are ... or who we should be.

We are driving on I95, going 70 MPH, in rush hour traffic. Another car, driving 90 MPH, starting from the extreme left lane flies across traffic to the far right lane. Once there, he flies back to the extreme left lane, missing your front bumper by not quite ten inches,  and manages to pass one (1) of the cars that was in front of him.

There are now thoughts going through your mind. What are those thoughts?

• "Gosh! That was incredibly skillful driving! He should be in Nascar!"
• (My personal favorite.) "What are you thinking?"
• "!!%#@!*$!!"
• "God, protect that person from injuring himself and others because of his foolish decisions."

Which of these is closer to God's heart? Maybe none of them. Maybe something else all together. Which of these, or others, reveals God's nature? And, therefore, which of these should spontaneously and naturally be expressed from our hearts?

Every day, we encounter people and situations that God intends to reveal who he is, how we should reveal him to others through our lives, where we need to grow, where we need to seek him, needs to meet, people to love, and words to speak. Quite often, these things and people fly under our radar. We don't see them, understand them, act on them ... or act on them correctly.

There is a prayer that monks used to practice. I don't remember its official name, but it was a series of five questions to, in prayer, review the day. (Not the official questions either. Just something to give the idea.) What happened? Who did I meet? Was grace given in any of it? Failures were taken to the cross. Successes were celebrated. And prayer offered for growth in sensitivity and love.

We are following the Great Shepherd. He is leading us in the way we should go. He is the one training, transforming and teaching us. He is always active and always speaking. We need to be ready to stop, listen and reflect ... or we will mis the way.

Upside-Down Kingdom (Sifting)

At the church I attend, they have been teaching about the upside-down kingdom. In other words, the things Jesus values, the things Jesus believes are important, seem to be directly opposite what the world generally believes to be important. One of the most obvious areas this is true in, is the area that some people call "sifting."

"Sifting" is an all-inclusive term for any sort of trouble we experience, that God allows us to experience, that God intends to purify us. There is a passage of scripture that says we should REJOICE when we experience trouble. Can you imagine? "Yahoo! I've lost my job!"

First, is there anything that could be more upside-down than the the world expects than that? Second, does God really expect us to rejoice in trouble? I don't think so. 

There is a "picture" that I think of (and may have already posted about) when I consider this area. If a person is a long distance runner, either for just exercise or for competition, while the person runs the oxygen and the fuel that powers the person''s heart, legs and lungs becomes depleted. It is consumed in the process of running. And it finally reaches a point where the "gas tank" is empty. That point is called "oxygen debt." 

It is at the point of oxygen debt that pain and discomfort really make themselves known. It is the point where the brain really begin to scream to stop, to get relief. It is also at that point that the body begins to carve new capillaries into the body, into the heart and other muscles. 

Capillaries are the channels that pass oxygen and energy into the body. New capillaries mean the body can get the needed fuels into deeper parts of your muscles, to places where it is most needed. At the point of the body's greatest pain is when it is creating the means of fueling your body more efficiently and effectively. 

If a runner can push into the pain, he will gain in speed, stamina, as well as a heart that is not controlled by fear. Sifting is our spirit's oxygen debt. Troubles are our spirit's oxygen debt. We are not urged to rejoice, because we are having trouble. We are urged to rejoice, because we recognize that at the point of our greatest pain, if we push into the pain, God is creating channels in our hearts and in our spirits for greater grace, greater love and greater faith.

Be The Church - II

The original word that is translated "church" is "ekklesia." It means "called out ones." It was used for a group of people, who were separated from other people for a special job. An example would be a city council, ie. a group of people who come together to decide what is best for the city.

God's family is an "ekklesia" called to represent God to each other and the world. They are to be a picture of what God is like ... both to those in the family of God, and to those still outside of the family of God.This representation should remind/inspire/enable others in God's family in what/how to improve the picture. And it should attract people so there is a change of heart and allegiance to Jesus. There should be movement toward God and his family based solely on the lifestyles of his family.

The Bible says that when God's family first banded together after Jesus' return to the Father, and together pursued living the revolutionary lifestyle, people chose to follow Jesus daily. The revolutionary lifestyle of God's family certainly accounts for some of this. The revolutionary lifestyle of Jesus himself account of much of this. Jesus sewed and cultivated his seed into society and culture. The church reaped from his work. God's family assumes they can continue to reap. But they need to learn how to sew and cultivate, so there is a preparation for reaping. All the work is in this preparation. We would all much rather reap.

Be the Church

Early in church history, the enemy worked hard to pollute and corrupt God's family. He lied, deceived and cheated some of God's children, so they woud live out those lies.

Church leaders responded by training and authorizing only those who were trained to interpret and share God's Word. This resulted in a dichotomy of God's family. God declared that his whole family would be priests. This decision made part of the family priests, and part of the family were dependent on the priests. This created a hierarchy within God's family that God never intended.

As Paul wrote Timothy, God's intention was faithful men teaching faithful men, resulting in a cascade of truth. Restricting access to God's word does not protect it. Empowering access to God's WQord protects it.

The old story is:Treasury agents learn to identify counterfeit money by becoming so familiar with genuine currency that any differences in a particular bill stand out like a sore thumb.

Jesus followers, as priests of the Most High, should be as disciplined, diligent and dedicated as those Treasury agents. Each should understand the gospel, God's mission and their part in the mission thoroughly.

Assignments

There was a common belief among the Jews of Jesus' day, that any bad thing that happens to people, is a result of evil they committed. So, when they found someone who was born blind, there was some confusion among the disciples. If someone is born blind, who committed the evil, the man or his parents?

Jesus' answer was totally unexpected. Neither. No person's evil. Rather the man's blindness was to demonstrate God's glory.

Then, he said something interesting. We all have assignments, job God gives us to do. We need to do them quickly, completely and thoroughly. And there is a time limit. The time limit is Jesus' presence in the world.

That doesn't necessarily mean that we who live now can sit on the laurels of those who came before us. Jesus' family is also his body. Jesus' family are his hands, his agents, and his SWAT team in the world. So, just as he was given assignments, his mission, his purpose is all in those assignments. Notice then, how important it is to pay attention, to keep the communication lines open between the head and the body. Unlike any corporation or army in the world, the chain of command in God's kingdom is short. The commander-in-chief gives every soldier his orders. There are zero intermediaries.

Signs

Sometimes I wonder about people. During his time among us, Jesus, on a couple of occasions, fed a large crowd (15,000 to 20,000 people) with one person's lunch. On one occasion, when the crowd realized what had happened, they wanted to make Jesus king. Since that wasn't Jesus' mission, he made himself scarce.

Well, that crowd decided to follow him. With a little detective work, the found him again. And Jesus told them that they were only following him because he fed them. He urged them to pursue their relationship with God, because that was the only thing the would feed their spirits in any kind of eternal way. The crowd said, "OK, we want to be right with God. How do we do this?" Jesus responded, "Choose as your first allegiance the one God sent." The crowd correctly recognized that Jesus was referring to himself, so they said, "We will if you show us a miracle."

Now, wait a sec. Didn't he feed this whole crowd just the day before with one person's lunch? That is why the followed him. That is why they wanted to make him king. Not flashy enough? Not mesmerizing enough?

I wonder what would have happened it Jesus did do another miracle. Would they have followed him? Or would they have said, "Sorry not good enough! Do another one!"

So, what is the deal? Were they afraid? Making him king was one thing, but choosing him for first allegiance another? Why do people see, hear and experience something that catapults them into a totally new existence, and others see, hear and experience the same things, and it causes their hearts to freeze?

True Light

The Bible describes Jesus as being "true light." "True light" is obviously a metaphor, because Jesus was a person. But light is what people need to successfully navigate. And people have a lot to navigate through:

• What to give ultimate allegiance to
• how to conduct life
• what to value
• what to pursue.

Jesus was true light, because he revealed the truth about these things. He not only pointed us toward God, but he revealed God. When we look at Jesus, we see a picture of God. We don not see the infinite attributes of God, but we do see the personal attributes of God. We see his conduct, his values, his goals and his attitudes. We see how God responds to positive events and how God responds to tragedy. And, therefore, we can see how we should respond. But probably of first importance, we can see who we give ultimate allegiance to.

Unity

One of Jesus' primary concerns was for his disciples to live and function in unity. Unity is not uniformity.  Unity does not mean we live,  act, dress, or speak the same. Just as love demonstrates we follow Jesus,  our unity demonstrates God sent Jesus, and God is for us. There is some scripture that links love with unity.  So, it is not too hard to recognize how unity testifies to the truth of Jesus. 

One metaphor used to describe the church is the human body. Each person isa part of Jesus' "body." Just like the physical body,  the part s of Jesus's body have different functions.  The functions are intended to maintain the health of the body.  As I have written before, I believe the functions within the body of Christ are better defined as to build the kingdom, because some parts have the function of interacting with the environment, other people,  and the culture.  These functions are not intended to be focused internally. The Bible calls these functions "spiritual gifts."

The concept of spiritual gifts got lost for several centuries between Jesus's time and our time.  Of course, in God's economy,  there are things that are more important than gifts.  (Love is vastly more important than gifts. I think gifts are a subset of love. Each person's gift is a way God has given them to demonstrate love to others.) When it was re-discovered,  there was understandably a lot of confusion and ignorance. This was a new thing. There are more theories about what gifts are, how they are to function, how they are gotten, and how important they are in the overall scheme of things. And people disagree. And what God gave to express love and unity does the opposite.

The Gospel - VII

I have been trying to describe how our relationship with Jesus is what the gospel is about. And I have been trying to describe what it should look like.

I have described what rules we should follow and responses we should give. All true, but not enough.

I was with a group of people recently, sharing what was going on in each person's life. One person mentioned that it seemed like either God had stepped up his activity, or that this person was becoming more aware of his activity. And the group began to share different moves of God each one had experienced recently, how they had responded and its effect on people. It was punctuated with such phrases as "God told me", "God said" or  "I felt God wanted."

God created us as communicating beings. And he is by nature a communicator. And though he doesn't communicate for the most part using audible words (although, I read a story, where a man said he believed God spoke to him audibly, and relatively recently), but part of the adventure is this moment by moment partnership. God attempting to use us as a laser, hitting the right spot with the right strength. So, somehow a person stays in tuned in, or regularly checks in, to get the fine adjustments to the current assignment.

Still, there are many ways this can play out. There are expectations based on culture, upbringing and personal history. There are responses based on spiritual gift, temperment, passion and place in the mission.

Culture can create strong individualism and strong community. There are strengths inherent in each. Community can draw on more resources and apply them to a common goal or problem. Gifts, talents, and passions give value and impact to each one's contribution.

Our walks and experiences of God are influenced by contexts of Jesus' commands, Jesus' expectations of what our motives, our behavior and our attitudes should be, the resources he gives us to contribute to his family and his mission, and our ability to maintain a close communion with him.

The Gospel - VI

Does this mean there are no common areas of experience?

We mentioned a couple of posts ago, common rules or commands Jesus expected all Christians to practice. If people do the same things, one would think they would have the same experiences. (Of course, activity involving “love” can be more varied than activity involving, say, “skiing.”)

And experiences involving relationships have commonalities, even if there are differences between a relationship with a friend and a spouse. All relationships include communication, support, problem solving and completing shared ends.

Jesus talked about “fruit.” The word “fruit” meant things like apples and oranges. It also came to mean figuratively the results of something. For example, a man and woman come together, and a child could be the “fruit” of such a relationship. Jesus used the term to indicate the results or effects of living our lives.

In one place, Paul writes about the results of living without Jesus. And then, he directly contrasts them with the results of living with Jesus. These results are definitely things all Jesus followers should experience:

- Love 
- Joy 
- Peace 
- Patience 
- Kindness 
- Goodness 
- Faithfulness 
- Gentleness 
- Self-control

As we and the world are not perfect, our experience will not be perfect. But there ought to be a significant difference. It should show up in our relationships with friends and strangers, our dealing with difficulty and difficult people, and in our behavior driving.

The Gospel - V

Probably the biggest divergence of opinion in churches today is the expectations of what and how people should experience God and his family.

Suffice it to say, the expectations of different Christians are wide and diverse. Rituals, supernatural presence, individual expression, the role of leadership, educational processes, finances and methods of governance are all subject to much discussion and sometimes, animosity.

Perhaps, the main question is: if people have the same allegiance to Jesus, will their experience be the same? If people have the same allegiance to Jesus, there should certainly be common areas. But there are things that suggest there is considerable freedom in the family of God, for all the areas mentioned about, plus many more.

Scripture does not proscribe a God approved way of doing church. There is no where in Scripture that outlines the worship service, church governance or ways of education and assimilation. Yes, there are places that describe what type of people leaders should be. Yes, there are places that say, "when this happens in your meetings, make sure it is done this way." But that is a long way from saying that the meetings:
- have to be held in a particular place.
- can only be this long.
- can have no time limit placed on them.
- can only have music by Fanny Crosby.
- can only have music by Larry Norman.
- can only use a particular Bible translation.
- cannot do this.
- have to do that.

God did create families, languages and cultures. There are similarities in everyone from all over the world. All languages have words that signify objects and actions. I would bet each one has a word that describes the color of the sky with no clouds in it. God created a world with incredible diversity. And God promises to take a people for himself from all peoples. And God is big enough to encompass the different ways all those families express themselves. It is to his glory that Arabs, Chinese, Bushman, Pygmies, Germans and Italians are united in their allegiance to Jesus, and their love for one another, differences notwithstanding.

The Gospel - IV

Probably as different as each person is, each person's family is different. Size, personality, ways of operating and values are all different. There are, of course, many similarites. Families reproduce. They feed, protect and teach the members. There are families that are broke. The father is cruel. The mother is lazy. The children are out of control.

But as part of a family -- good, bad or indifferent -- we are all called to participate in and experience being family. This is part doing the chores (cleaning your room, doing the dishes and mowing the lawn) and part enjoying the perks (vacations to Disney and the Grand Canyon, camping, holiday feasts and -- at, least in my family -- laughing until your sides hurt.)

What about the family of God? How do we participate? How do we experience?

We particpate by keeping the rules. Like all families, the Jesus-family has rules. And Jesus' rules are a little more complicated and a little more open-ended.

• Choose God as the main allegiance.
• Baptism.
• Worship\communion.
• Pray.
• Love.
• Give.
• Make disciples. 

These rules keep peace and order in God's family, makes sure the needs are met and has the potential of turning the world inside out. It the almost one-fifth of the world loves -- as defined in the Bible -- just imagine the affect it would have on the US interstate highway system, especially the I95 corridor, let alone the rest of society.

 

A lot has been written recently about "bullying" in the public school system. If people lived in love, there would be no bullying. There would be no gun control debate. The discussion about immigration would take on an entirely different slant.

 

Then, there are the other rules. 

The Gospel - III

There is a funny kind of balance here. Do's and dont's are not the point, but Jesus gave commands for us to keep. And he said that keeping these commands does show our love for him. Obedience to his commands does build the relationship between God and man.

But keeping the commands is not the point. Paul said that gave gave the Law to show man-kind that we could not keep the Law.

Does God want us to try to do the impossible? Is this some kind of cruel joke? Like the rock of Sisyphus?

I think Jesus gave commands, knowing we could not keep them, but also knowing that without them people would have no where to focus.

There does seem to be a mechanism in people (perhaps it is spiritual, a type of sowing and reaping) that focus accomplishes. The object of focus is drawn to us, and we to it. Focus brings "it" into our lives, and makes "it" part of us. To choose to intentionally practice "it" only serves to make it more real.

Of course, "it" can be anything: love, prayer, giving, etc. But our focus should yield practice. And practice should yield greater reality and transformation.

In this life, we will not achieve perfection. However, without the commands of Jesus, there would be no transformation, no maturing in Christ, no increase in relationship, and perhaps, a sinking into more damaging behavior.

And as transformation is a work of God in the lives of his children, transformation should be celebrated with thanksgiving, worship and praise. 

The Gospel - II

As I wrote before, the gospel is not about avoiding hell. It is an invitation to know and walk with God; it is an invitation to join God's family.

There is a large group of people who see Christianity as avoiding a negative afterlife and keeping a list of "do not's".  They see any religion as putting up walls to block people from certain areas. And some of these people regard some of these areas as the source of joy.

But, as we wrote before recently, the prime/first source of life and joy for people, built into  their original design, is their relationship with God.

Afterlife types is not the point. The list of proscriptions is only pertinent as one realizes that there things block or detract from the relationship, which is the point.

If we get hung up on these things, we are moving away from joy, our design and our life. If we get hung up on these things (though, they are important and need to be included in the whole package) we give people a false impression of the gospel and being a disciple.

The Gospel

I am seeing more and more talk about how the current movement of Christians have limited the gospel. They are saying that the gospel is not solely a message of salvation.

For a long time, it seemed that the primary focus was on the salvation aspect of the gospel. The main consideration wa what people could avoid. The main point was what people were saved "from."

There is definitely a "from." We should rejoice that our future is not one of condemnation and punishment.

But all too often the "to" is only heaven. The "to" is relegated to the afterlife. The gospel is not just Jesus' invitation to avoid hell. It is Jesus' invitation to walk with God now. It is Jesus' invitation to live a new life now. It is a call to join and experience the Kingdom now.

God injected us with new life when we came to him. He has spoken to us about this new life, about living our original design. He has given us propositional declarations:
- about how we should live
- about what he will do
- about how he will react
- about what resources he has given to us.

The whole point of these propositional declarations is to enable us to live as we were originally designed, to enjoy a vital relationship with God, to participate in and experience the Kingdom and to weaken the holds of Satan, the world and sin.

Sin and New Life

We received divine power from God to enable divine living. We got this power because we entered into a relationship with him. When we chose to shift our allegiance to him, he chose to indwell our hearts. The indwelling begins a change in our hearts, a re-arrangement of our spiritual DNA, toward living as we are designed.

So, why does it seem so hard to give up sinning? There are several reasons. And they probably all contribute.

• Satan battles to maintain his grasp.

 This is certainly true. His goal is to take as many with him as he can, to deprive god of glory, and create as much misery as possible. Whenever someone comes to Jesus, and his life is revolutionized be the gospel, there is a possibility that that person could become another Paul, Francis, Moody, Graham or Cho. Guilt can be a strong deterrent to love and faith.

•  The world system is unforgiving and relentless.

Societies and cultures develop laws, norms, morals and expectations as ways to insure people are able to live and function together. Not only is there a tremendous inertia to these things, but there is usually a strong animosity toward those who propose and walk in a new way of life. The group resists and attacks change. For many, their identity and purpose originate in the group. Change can strike deep and threaten.

• Sin must be starved.

I read some years ago, that sin cannot be lopped off. It is entrenched too deep in the core of a person’s being. Even if the person of the God-head plants himself in the core of people, it takes time for the new spiritual DNA to recreate an individual. So, sin does not just die instantly. It is rooted out by sapping its life and energy. There is a simultaneous process of “putting off” and “putting on.” “Putting off” by not choosing to practice the things that go against God’s life; “putting on” by choosing to practice the new life. Each decision weakens or strengthens sin in our life. Choosing to resist Satan, the world and the old way of life weakens sin. Choosing to obey Jesus and God’s original design strengthens the new life. That’s why God is in it for the long haul with each person. He know renewal in this life will take time. And he is a lot more patient that we are.

Priority of Relationship

We have often talked about God’s design and the “fuels” necessary for people to thrive. There are certain fuels people need to survive. And there are others needed to thrive.

The human body could function on a diet of French fries. But it would not thrive on such a diet. To thrive, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables ought to be included.

The human spirit works the same way. There are many things that could be “consumed” in our hearts that we could exist on. And people have tried all of them. Drugs, alcohol and porn are at the top of that list. People have also tried putting   money, family, friends, sports and material possessions as the main thing to fuel their  spirits.

But that is not how God designed us. Some of the things mentioned about are toxic to our spirits. And some are good, and God even recommends that they should be included in our lives. But none of them are the main fuel for our hearts. Partaking   of them as the main provision for your heart would be liking eating a diet that consists mostly of French fries for your body.

What is the first commandment? What is the most important commandment, having priority over all the others? It is  not “go to church.” ? It is not “tithe.” ? It is not “share the gospel.” It is to love God.

The foremost ingredient necessary for thriving in our spiritual lives is our relationship with God. He designed us to “feed” off of him. He designed us to need him more than anything else.

And like our bodies, if we are “eating” correctly, we “perform” better. I don’t think we can say if we get a daily time of Bible reading, prayer and worship, that life will be perfect. (How many chapters? How much time? What positions?   On knees? What percentage of what type of prayer?) But I do notice that if I prioritize my time with God (and it is consistent and regular) that my life agrees with Jesus’ life more. And the effect and impact should be greater too.

In Us

To facilitate God’s family becoming “one of” the people in the world, Jesus became “in” us. Jesus moves into the core of our being – becoming “one of” us in a higher, greater, more far reaching way that we could ever conceive.

 

Because Jesus moves into the core of our being, he affects our lives at the lowest, most basic level possible. Which then flows through the rest of our lives. So, writers compare it to a change in the person’s DNA.

 

DNA controls the manufacture of the necessary chemicals and molecules needed for growth, repair and maintenance of the body. If the DNA is changed, what is manufactured changes too. The body becomes different.

 

Jesus in our hearts does not affect the DNA in our bodies. It does affect the “DNA” in our hearts, souls and spirits. Our bodies stay the same, but we become different people. We speak differently. We act differently. We think differently. We become more in tune with God. We become aware of his standards, his desires and his practices. Our desires change to mirror his. Our behavior changes to mirror his. Because we mirror Jesus, people can see God in us … a little bit anyway. And maybe, over time, they can see him a little bit more, and a little bit more.

One of Us - 2

By final provision, I do not mean the last time, or the last action. Jesus has continued to provide for us, since we have chosen to follow him, since he was nailed to the cross. By final, I mean ultimate. By final, I mean decisive and conclusive.

 

The cross does draw a line. By choosing to follow the way of the cross and Jesus, we step across that line. We become part of the family of Jesus.

 

In our identification with Jesus, it is helpful to draw that line. We focus our hearts on him. We are connected to him.

 

But, Jesus does not want us to strictly and entirely identify with him. He has called us to identify with others in the Jesus-family. He has also called us to identify with those not in the Jesus-family. And drawing the line is not helpful in that case.

 

Viewing people across that line, we see their otherness. We see differences. We see ways we do not and cannot connect with. But Jesus commands for us to connect with them. Like Jesus became one of us, we are to become one of them.

 

We should sympathize. We should be examples. We should draw near, feed, encourage and heal. As we become one of, people should see God more clearly, more vividly, more really than at any other time in their lives.

One of Us

“Being with” wasn’t enough. So, God took the next step and became “One of” us.

“With” did not quite work. Israel’s roller coaster life in Judges, that I mentioned in the last post, demonstrates that. Israel believed that God being with them, in his covenants, in the Law, in the temple, was sufficient. But they continually chose not to walk with him, even though he continually demonstrated he was for and with them.

So, God chose to go one step further. He became one of them.

As “one of,” he could sympathize more fully. He could be an example. He could touch lives by drawing near, feeding, encouraging, and healing. As “one of,” people could see God in a way that is more clear, vivid and real than any way that had ever been done before.

And as “one of,” he could be man’s ultimate and final representative before the judgment seat of God. He received judgment for our sin, though he did not sin.

This, he made the final step of identification with people. And he made the final step of provision for people.