Get What You Deserve?

I woke up several days ago, with an incident on my mind, that happened several years ago, and my response to that incident. To this day, I don't know what I should have done, but I don't think it is what I did do.

As a result, I was feeling kind of guilty, and inadequate. And the thought popped into my head: "You get what you deserve."

And I began to consider how God gives us, just what we deserve. Just like that guy in the Bible, who was responsible for a persecution of the church, and the death and imprisonment of, possibly, thousands of God's children.

God treated him as he deserved:

• God appeared to him, and spoke to him audibly.
• God blinded him, forcing him to slow down, and really who Jesus was.
• God miraculously healed the blindness.
• God forgave, redeemed, and saved him.
• God used him as a catalyst of a huge expansion of his kingdom.
• God used him to write half of the New Testament. 

No, God does not deal with us, as we deserve. First, God deals with us in mercy.

Imagine, you are driving 80 mph in a 25 mph zone. A policemen pulls you over. You deserve a ticket of many hundreds of dollars , and suspension of your driver's license.

Instead, the policeman says: "Good morning, sir. I noticed that you were driving in excess of the posted speed limit. This is a residential area. The posted speed limit was chosen to make sure that pedestrians in this area are safe. So, the next time you drive this area, please, reduce your speed to the posted speed limit. And have a good rest of the day."

That's mercy. Not getting what we deserve. But God does not just give mercy. God gives grace.

Grace is not only mercy, but the policeman also says: "And here's a gift card to one of my favorite restaurants. Please, enjoy a meal on me with a friend. And here's another gift card. Please, give it to another friend, so they can enjoy a meal on me. And have a good rest of the day."

God gives grace. We don't get what we do deserve; we do get what we don't deserve.

Jesus Begins

John is preaching, and baptizing, by the Jordan. Jesus presents himself to John for baptism.

John says Jesus should baptize him. He recognizes Jesus as Messiah. He is humbled by his stance with God, and recognizes Jesus' superiority.

Jesus assures John that everyone needs to complete what God desires.

Jesus did not need to repent from sin, because he had none. Jesus did not need to turn to God, because he never turned away.

When Jesus comes out of the water, a dove settles on him, and a voice proclaims, "This is my beloved Son."

There has been speculation as to what is going on here. The Old Testament prophets woulds anoint the new king. Is John "anointing" Jesus?

Or are Jesus and the Father coming into full agreement about the mission? In baptism, Jesus fully agrees with the mission he is about to begin, and the "baptism" that will end it. And the Spirit, and the Father, reach out to Jesus, and communjicate their love, and commitment to him, and the mission.

Jesus could not complete his part of God's mission without the active support of the Spirit, and the Father.

And we must come into agreement with completing our part of God's mission. We need the active support of the Spirit, and the Father.

To Repent or Not Repent

John the Baptist had a message of repentance. The word in the original language literally means "to know after." The idea is a comparison between what I used to know (or knew before) and what I know now (or knew after.) It is trying to describe a change of mind.

John called for a change of mind about sin, about God, and about a way of life. Most people associate repentance primarily with sin. Repentance comes to mean: don't do that.

John called the Jewish leaders to repent. In the Jews' minds, those needing to repent the least were the leaders, because they kept the law the most. The leaders had developed a religious system. He, who checks the most boxes, wins. The religious leaders felt quite righteous in their system. They felt they were more accepted by God, than the rest of the people.

But what if repentance is not so much what we are turning from, but what we are turning to?

First, if our focus is primarily on stopping certain behaviors, we wind up creating a vacuum. Some other behavior will fill it. Perhaps, one that is worse than the original.

Second, life is not about what we don't do. Life about what we do do. We are designed to live by faith, hope, and love. We are designed for fellowship with the Father. And behavior modification is just another expression of religion.

Please, do not misunderstand. I am not wanting to minimize sin, or God's stand against it. It just seems to me that choosing to give allegiance to Jesus is more important than choosing not to sin.

We do not have the power to stop sinning no matter how much we hate it. It is when we give allegiance to Jesus, that we receive forgiveness, a new identity, and God's presence, which provides the power for transformation.

Identity

"Identity" is a word that is used to describe a person's self-perception. Do I have value, or worth? Am I ugly, stupid, clumsy? Is the world better off with me in it?

I have heard it said that mothers rovide nuture, but fathers define one's identity. The Father made men and women. He defined their identity. He designed them. He created them.

Before creation, he could have spent 2000 years focused on the design of one person. And then, moved on to the next person. Or, because, he is right now, giving each and every person 100%, focused attention, he could have given that same attention to each one … and spent 2000 years designing us all simultaneously!

He designed our identity. He designed the place we would fill. He designed us to grow, to bless the world, to improve the world, to touch it as no one else can.

When sin entered the world, our identities were crushed, and broken. No one matches what God sees in us. But when we give our allegiance to Jesus, the Father still sees the child he designed, and created.

When Jesus rose from the water, at his baptism, a voice called out: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

God saw the one he loved, whose heart was totally entwined with his. The one who had fully accepted God's mission of building a bridge between people and God, of restoring God's family.

Jesus was beginning a new phase of the mission. He, the Father, and the Spirit knew the cost they would be making. And they knew they were accepting the cost out of love for the race of men.

God designed each one of us to fill a place. None of us are doing that. Some are in the place, but not walking in it fully. Some are lost, and have no idea in what direction the place even is. Some of us kinda know where the place is, but aren't too sure how to get there.

God designed each one of us to fill a place. And he hasn't changed his mind, because of sin. He gives 100% focused attention to restoring us to our original design. He gives 100% focused attention to guiding us to our place.

If we give him our allegiance, if we surrender to his purposes for us, if we walk with him in fellowship, we are in a position for his work in us, and through us, to occur.

Whether we find our place or not, whether we walk in it or not, if we return, and cross the bridge, if we give him our allegiance, if we walk in the relationship he has set us in, he views us in the identity he gave us before creation. We are also a beloved son, and he is pleased with us.

Our identity is who God designed us to be. Our identity is who God proclaims that we are.

God's Control

When times get difficult, or troubling, people remind themselves that God is in control. What they mean by that is: God knows what is going on; he doesn't like it anymore than we do; and he is going to correct it to how he designed it to be.

All true. But it seems to me, that he does not always exercise his control like we expect him to. At least, he is not exercising his control now like we expect him to. If you read Revelations about how this world will end, and how he will bring a new world into existence, it seems that, at that time, he will act overtly, and openly, to correct what is broken in the world. But, now, he seems to act in a more hidden, and subtle, way.

In the East, a group of men, who study the stars, see an especially prominent, especially bright, star in the night sky. They study, and discuss it. They decide that it is a sign that a very important king has been born.

If you know that something gigantic, something historic, something that will totally revolutionize the world, was about to happen, would you go to witness it? Evidently, these wise men thought something really big was happening, and they should go and see it.

They planned, prepared, and set out on a long trip. Some estimate it was a two year trip, because of what happens later. But, the star stays in the sky, guiding them the whole way.

They see that the star guides them to Israel, and near the capital, Jerusalem. So, they assume that's where the new king is. They gain audience with Herod, and tell him about the star, and the new king.

Now, Herod is very jealous. He has executed his wives, and his children, because he thought they were plotting to overthrow him. So, he was worried about this new king.

He got as much information from the wise men as he could. And got them to agree to come and tell him about the new king, when they found him.

Now, Jesus, Joseph and Mary are in danger. If Herod kills his own children to "protect" himself, he would have no problem killing someone else's child.

But God is in control. He could put on a size 500 boot, and stomp Herod. He could send an army of angels. He could teleport Jesus, and family, to Egypt. Instead, he warns both Joseph, and the wise men, about Herod, and urges both to escape. And, through the wise men, he provides gifts to Joseph, so he can support his family, while they escape.

Why does God work this way? Maybe, because Jesus, and we have a certain mission, and a particular role, which requires we have particular mind-set, attitude, and life-style? And this mind-set, attitude, and lifestyle fulfills that mission and role, better than a size 500 boot?

God Sometimes Sends Surprises

In Scripture, Isaiah prophecies that God will send his Promised One into the world. And the birth of this Promised One will be a miracle.

Biblical prophecy draws a map concerning the Messiah. We have a map, so when he comes, people will be able to recognize him. One of the more unusual prophecies, the Messiah's mother will be a virgin. In other words, in a world where babies are born all the time, and, in order for a baby to be conceived, there must be a mother and a father … in the case of the Messiah, there will only be a mother.

Or, if you take a step back, the father will be God.

Muslims have a hard time with this. They say that God would never have had physical relations with Mary. I highly doubt that there has been any Christian ever, who believed that was the way it worked. God, who made elephants, whales, and robins, as well as men and woman, is perfectly capable of creating one seed, and one egg, putting them together, and then teleporting the resulting zygote into Mary's body.

What amazes me more than the biological miracle is the sociological, and psychological interactions of the people involved.

First Mary.

Here is a normal teenager, hanging out in her room — maybe listening to her favorite tunes on Spotify, while looking at pictures her friends posted on Instagram — when an angel appears in the room. Imagine the range of emotions racing through Mary: amazement, curiosity, fear, confusion. Or maybe none of those. Maybe peace, calm, and wonder.

The angel tells Mary that God has a job for her. She will be the mother of the Promised One. And the angel gives a summary of what this baby will accomplish. Mary points out that with every other baby in the world, a father is involved. The angel says God has that covered. And Mary believes the angel. There is no confusion, denial, grief, or anger. There is acceptance.

This is an unusual woman. God has just turned her world upside down, and inside out, and she does not flinch, she does not blink.

Then Joseph.

Mary is pregnant with Jesus by the Holy Spirit. And she is beginning to show signs of being pregnant. And, like Mary, like everyone else in the world, Joseph knows that baby making involves one man, and one woman. In that culture, a betrothed couple were considered to be married, just not living together yet. So, logically, Mary had been unfaithful.

That culture took being unfaithful very seriously. Women found to be unfaithful were often stoned. That is, everyone in the village threw rocks at the woman, until she was dead.

So, Joseph, facing what looks like his wife being unfaithful, and all the emotions that involves (sorrow, embarrassment, inadequacy, anger, confusion) and knowing what the rules and penalties of his culture were, has an amazing response. He should be calling for Mary's stoning. Instead, he is seeking a way to end the marriage, but in a way where Mary avoids the anger of the community. He gets sucker-punched by his wife, but seeks a way to give mercy.

Of course, the angel comes back, and appears to Joseph. "Hey, Joseph! You know that crazy story Mary told about the Holy Spirit, and the baby being the Messiah? We, guess what, it's true!"

And Joseph believes. God has just turned his world upside down, and inside out, and he does not flinch, he does not blink. He marries Mary.

We have two people, who, in terms the world understands, were not much. But, in terms God understands, they were two amazing, rare, and unusual people.

The Bottom Line

A scribe asked Jesus how to get eternal life. Jesus turned the question around, and asked the scribe what he thought. The scribe responded: "Love God with all you've got. Love people like you love yourself." And Jesus told him that he was correct.

When gets to the bottom line of Christianity, it is all about love.

Paul writes that a person could be the most accurate prophet in history, speak/pray/sing in tongues, have the Bible memorized, and believe that Mt. Rushmore would be transported to Disney World — and it was, but if all that is not motivated by love, it would be worthless.

And if these things need to be motivated by love, what does that say about any practice that people who follow Jesus do? All spiritual practices should be motivated by love: prayer, reading the Bible, evangelism, going  to church, and giving to support any work.

Spiritual practices should only be an expression of love, but they should also be an arena for growing in love.

We should connect with our Father, who is love, who washes us in love, who will tweak our spiritual DNA, so we will think, speak, and act more with love.

We should read the Bible, so our Father's mind-set, attitudes and values become our mind-set, attitudes and values.

We should be involved in Christian community, because God did not design us to be alone. God did not design us to be transformed by interaction with him alone. We are also transformed by travelling with others on the same, but also different, journey.

He gave us the metaphor of his people being a body to illustrate how people are different, but how each one contributes to the health, well-being, and growth of the whole body. Together, we all benefit form the other parts. God joins people together to further increase love — among his people, and from his people to the world.

God's Attitude About Lost Things

One day, Jesus was challenged by the Jewish leaders concerning how he spent time with unrighteous people. He had this habit of being kind to, and loving lunch with the prostitutes and tax collectors.

In Jesus' day, and culture, sharing a meal with someone was more than being polite. It was an affirmation of relationship, worth, and connection. It was a stamp of approval of the person. So, the leaders were telling Jesus: "These people lead corrupt, ugly, sinful lives. God says what they do is evil, and you are approving of what they do, and who they are."

Jesus, by no means, approved of sin. But he was born into the world to call people back to the Father. He intended to re-connect people with the Father, in a strong relationship, and growing fellowship. Sin was the reason there was no relationship, or fellowship.

So, Jesus told three stories to reveal the Father's heart toward people. All people. His heart is for relationship and fellowship with everyone.

There are times that my children have not made decisions I approve, that I think agree with who God made them to be. Does scorn, shaming, refusing to associate with them, motivate them to change? Why does Scripture declare that it is God's kindness that motivates repentance?

There is Scripture about breaking fellowship with ones in the church, who do not repent. But it is an extensive procedure, with a focus on restoration, moving back into agreement with God's best, and minimizing a bad influence on the rest of God's children.

The first story is about a shepherd with 100 sheep. One of the sheep gets lost. The focus of the shepherd changes, and fastens on the lost sheep. He leaves the 99 sheep, hikes out into the surrounding country, to find the lost sheep. And when he finds it, he carries it back to the flock.

There are a number of things the story does not say. Does the sheep want to come back? Does the shepherd have to chase it? Is it a 20 pound lamb? Or a 100 pound ewe?

What matters is that the shepherd knows that the health and well-being of the sheep is optimal, when it is with the flock. And the Father know that people are at their optimum, when they have fellowship with him. It is best for people, if God pursues them in their lostness.

The second story is about a woman, who lost a silver coin. Since, it is valuable, that is enough to make someone want to find it. But I have heard theories that the coin was part of her dowry, or part of a matched set, and set into a necklace — even a necklace worn around the head. (A lost coin from such a necklace would be very obvious.)

At any rate, the woman lights a lamp, and sweeps the entire house. She covers every inch of the house. She is intense. She is thorough. And she finds the coin.

And the response for finding these two lost things? Relief, joy, exultation. A party is about to break out.

The third story is about a father, and his two sons. The younger son wanted his inheritance … NOW!! And when his father gave it to him, he went away, and squandered it partying.

Soon, he ran out of money, and out of friends, and out of food. He got a job, but even that could not meet his needs.

And then he thought about home, and thought "Even my father's servants are better off that I am." So, he made up his mind to go home, and get a job with his father. So, he wrote a speech, and practiced it all the way home.

And while he was coming home, the father sees him, and recognizes him from a long way away, His father was elated to see him, ran to him, and threw his arms around him.

The son gave his speech, but the father barely listened. Instead, he order the servants to bring the finest robe (whose robe would that be?), a ring, and sandals.

I have heard some say that the robe was meant he was received into the family, and the ring was an awarding of authority.

And then, the father arranged for a party.

When the brother returned home from working, he heard the party going on. And when he learned his brother had returned, and the party was for him, he got angry.

When the father came out to him, he complained to him: "I have worked hard. I have never complained. I have done all you ask. And I got no party!. But when your son (Note: not my brother) returns after wasting your money, you throw him a party."

God calls us to live in relationship with him. God calls us to live in moment by moment fellowship, And people turn away from God, and the world is broken.

Though God is gracious, and generous, some come to God only for what they can get. Their whole attitude is: "Gimme! Gimme!"

Though God is deeply concerned with our lives, and how we live them, what we do does not, and cannot, affect our relationship with him. It can affect our fellowship. We can cut ourselves off from fellowship with the Father, but we cannot do anything to give us closer fellowship.

These were the basic positions of the two brothers. One said: if I have stuff, pleasure, I will be blessed. The other said: If I do the right stuff, I will be blessed. In reality, they were blessed, because they had a relationship with their father.

The world is broken. It will be fixed somewhat by people living right. It will be fixed somewhat by people receiving adequate provision. But, the primary factor in fixing the world is people coming into a relationship with the Father, and living in fellowship with him.

That's why Jesus spent time with people who did not have a relationship with God. So, he could reveal the Father to them. So, he could reveal the Father's acceptance of them.

That's why we need to spend time with such people.

That's why the father replied to the older son: "You have always been with me. All that I have is yours. But your brother has chosen life. He has returned to where he belongs, where he was created and designed to be. And we need to celebrate that."

God is a Family

When Jesus began his ministry, he went to John, and was baptized. And when he came out of the water, a dove flew down, and rested on Jesus, and a voice proclaimed, "This is my beloved Son. I am well-pleased with him."

People have suggested several different things about this incident. Some think that John may anointing Jesus as Messiah, like the Old Testament prophets anointed the kings. (For example, Samuel anointed David.)

And some think Jesus may be giving people the first example of a life, that is intended to be emulated.

But a couple of things are certain:

• God revealed to John, that while he was baptizing, he would see the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descend and rest on someone. That someone was his promised one.
• God proclaimed his acceptance, and approval, of Jesus.
• God revealed that the God-head is family.

There is a Father, and a Son … and a Holy Spirit. These complete the God-head family. And family reveals several important traits about God.

God did not need to create mankind to have some one to give love to, or to receive love from. God is all-sufficient. Love is built into the God-head.

Love and communication are built into creation, because they are already built into God.

And God made people to live in families. Not only their physical family, but also the spiritual family that God is creating.

God created us to be like Jesus in this life. Obviously, we are broken, because of sin, and are not living like Jesus. And equally obvious, God is working to transform us into what he intended, and designed us to be.

Part of that, God wants us to have the same fellowship with him, as Jesus had with him. In Jesus, the ideal father had the ideal relationship with the ideal son. We still have the ideal Father. We are not ideal sons, because of sin. And we do not have the ideal relationship, because of sin.

We learn how to be sons and fathers, through our relationship with our physical fathers. Because of their sin, and brokenness, we don't experience father-hood as God designed it. Our fathers' failures smother our ability to be sons. And they replicate patterns in our lives, so we fail as fathers.

To live as we were designed, God must transform our hearts. (Our thought process, our desires, our motivations, our imagination.) And part of this transformation is a restoration of God as ideal Father in our lives, and ourselves as son. To have the proper relationship with God, we need to open our hearts to him, and because of sin, we learn to close our hearts to our fathers, and we learn to close our hearts to our Father.

So, we need to connect to our Father, who is God, and the ideal Father, to learn who he is, how he thinks about us, how he responds to us, and how he reacts to us. Then, we will learn how to respond and react to him. We will learn our identity in the world. And we will be able to stand, drawing on resources given by a loving Father, who is generous, and faithful, with all that he has.

A Place for Each Man in Christ

God has designed humans. He has inspired the Bible to give us a pattern to follow, to promote joy, peace, and fulfillment of personal potential.

And, as he can give each one of us his eternal presence, his 100% focused attention, he is fully able to design each of us. and I have been feeling for the last couple years, that the Father has intentionally taken time, energy, and thought, to design and form every human being. He gives each one a place, a calling, and a unique message.

It is not always easy to live out of the place God created for us. Understanding the place is one thing. Social, cultural, and personal expectations can also interfere.But our joy, our part of God's mission, our value in God's kingdom lies in flowing out of our unique place.

What may interfere more than the expectations of the world are the expectations of God's family. Leaders, and churches, also have expectations of what a proper follower of Christ looks like.

Don't misunderstand me. If one says: "My place in Christ is to help relieve poverty," it is not OK for that person to rob banks to do that.

Some churches have a more sedate, calmer form of worship. And if a person raises his hands during worship, he is almost regarded as rude. Other churches have more exuberant forms of worship. How is the person, who engages in periods of contemplation during worship, regarded there?

It is often the differences of people, that give them value to their family. And maybe others need to learn to see the differences, to see the niches that God has filled for their good, and their growth, and be thankful for them.

Growing in Righteousness

We have seen in the past, that before allegiance to Christ, we were slaves to sin. We were sentenced by God to eternal punishment. We were powerless to change the way we lived.

We gave allegiance to Jesus, and God applied his death to us. Ghrist's death cancels sin's penalty. Christ's death frees us from sin's power.

The problem is: we still sin. We still fall. There is something that holds onto us. There is something that still exerts a control on us, because we desire to live righteously. We desire to live as we were designed.

There is a Scripture passage that talks about "living according to the flesh." That is, we agree with our flesh. We say to ourselves: "This gives me comfort. This helps me. This gives me meaning." So, we continue to engage in sinful activity.

Or we say: "This person hurt me. O deserve better. I deserve to be recompensed by this person." And we agree not to forgive.

We continue to sin, because deep inside our spirit, we don't see that we are agreeing with sin. We don't recognize that something is bad. Pain can blind us. We can refuse to surrender something that we have used to protect ourselves for decades.

If we have given our allegiance to God, we belong to God, and we have made a decision to agree with God, and with his Spirit, overall. We agree with God in a general, over-arching way.

Now, we begin the process of transformation. We remain open to God to reveal specific areas where we actually agree with sin, and not with him.

First, we are with God: this are is sin. Then, we are to turn away from this specific practice. Then, we agree to practice what God says fits in this place. Then, we practice God's substitute.

Transformation is always a four step process:

• Recognize what is wrong
• Choose to stop doing what is wrong.
• Recognize what is right.
• Choose to start doing what is right. 

All four steps are needed for real progress, real growth, to occur.

The Commission (3)

Scripture records that Jesus gave his disciples a commission to go to every people group in the world, and make disciples from every people group.

Scripture, giving us a sneak peek of heaven, proclaims that representatives of every people group, will worship together before the throne of God.

It is obvious the Commission is not a command that the Twelve are going to complete by themselves. Too much area to cover … especially by foot. Too many people groups. Too much time for each people group. It is a command to every disciple.

The goal of disciplemaking is to instill obedience to the commands of Jesus in the hearts of every disciple. All the commands. Every command. Including this one.

It is also obvious that this will involve crossing borders, both geographic and cultural. And it is the cultural kind that will probably be the most difficult. One person getting inside the mindset, the perspective, the values, the motivations, of another person takes time, patiences, and stubborn persistance.

For a natural point of view, this close understanding is required to position the gospel in a way that speaks to the heart of a new people group.

For example, those following Jesus from the West tend to understand sin in terms of breakinjg standards, guilt, and punishment. Those form the East tend to understand sin in terms of honor, shame, lost relationships, and lost value. I do believe that Scripture speaks to both, but the message giver and the message receiver need to see the same perspective.

Generally, except for those inside the people group, those who understand a people group the best are those from a different, but close, people group. Next door neighbors, so to speak.

I sometimes think that God intended each people group to impact its "next door neighbor," setting off a chain reaction of "going next door" and a ever-growing tsunami of disciple making.

The political situation does not seem to allow that today. There are governments who will not allow the necessary freedom for political reasons. There are governments who will not allow the necessary freedom for religious reasons.

I suppose there are people planning, and strategizing, about how to impact the people in those countries. And there is also testimony about God himself, taking initiative, by sending dreams to people in those countries. My focus at the moment is on the "every man" follower of Christ -- though I may broaden the scope of this picture in the future.

What can I do, right now, in my context, to create disciples in every people group?

Obviously, we can give financially. I don't want to give the impression that giving is bad, but I also don't want to give the impression that is the only thing. But there are people positioned (culturally, geographically, and politically) better than we are, but may not be positioned financially as well. As we are all part of the same kingdom, we can certainly support thos on the "front lines."

We can pray. There is an entirely spiritual component to this work, as the enemy seeks to keep millions in darkness. We can pray to bind the enemy, to open eyes, to send dreams and visions, and to open hearts. There are web sites that list unreached/unengaged people groups. We can pick one to engage in prayer. Lastly, Jesus specifically command us to pray for workers in the harvest.

Lastly, we can reach across cultural lines in our current context. In the US, there are cultural lines all over. There are different racial communities. There are ethnic communities. There are the unchurched. There are the immigrants and the internationals. Right now, at a university, not even a mile from my house, are several thousand Chinese, attending class and doing research. And there are students from other countries as well, including Muslim majority countries.

Finally, we must remember that we are not citizens of our country only. We are citizens of God's kingdom. Whenever, we walk out our door, we are crossing cultural borders, to act as an ambassador, and represent our King. In every personal encounter, we can present God in a positive light. We can illustrate his character, act out his values, and his message. And maybe even speak that message.

The Commission (2)

When a person gives his allegiance to Jesus, he becomes a part of God's family. And when a person becomes a part of God's family, he also becomes a part of God's army.

All armies have ranks: private, captain, general. God's army has two ranks: priest and high priest. And there is only one high priest. And his name is Jesus.

A priest's basic job is to represent people to God, and God to people. A priest must be able to explain God's message. He must be able to explain God's character. He must be able to intercede with God for any need a person may have: body, soul, or spirit. He must be able to help people enter into a relationship with God. He must be able to help anyone improve his realtionship with God, his walk with God, and his practice of how God designed him to be. (And we are all designed differently.)

And not just able to, but ready and willing, day or night, at the first sign of need.

When God created the world, he intended to be personally involved in it. To rule it. To grow it. But Adam and Eve sinned, and rejected God. Now, God is in a war to win back his creation, to win back his family.

Theologians define God's Kingdom as anywhere God rules. So, God, through his army, seeks to extend his rule, and gain back everything that is rightfully his. Every institution. Every business. Every art. Every science. Every life.

Indeed, this war is usually fought one life at a time. And the weapons used, are not the usual weapons of war. God's weapons are:

• Prayer.
• Scripture.
• Acts of love, service, and grace.
• The unity that surrounds this army of priests.
• Transformed lives.
• The lives of heroes, who regard the truths of God, as more real and more important, than the reality of this world, that they willingly sacrifice their claim on this world. Up to, and including, their lives. 

There are approximately 325 million people living in the US. Approximately, 25% of them (80 million people) consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. What if each one took seriously their role as a priest in God's army?

What if 80 million people:

• Prayed for God's presence in government, schools, universities, and corporations.
• Sought, not only to learn, but to freely share God's message of love, and forgiveness. To encourage. To give hope.
• To reach out in love, and service to the homeless, the foreigner, the disabled (whether physical, mental, or age), the lonely, and outcast.
• To honor other Christians, other churches, other groups of Christians, believing the best about them, speaking well of them, being supports, resources, and solutions for what they face.
• Spending as much time, if not more, being solutions, and positive influences, instead of critics, and complainers.

Mother Theresa moved into the slums of Calcutta to care and comfort the dying. During the Middle Ages, man and women, motivated by the love of God, moved into plague infested neighborhoods to care for the plague infected. Followers of Jesus have put themselves into impoverished situations to share Jesus' good news, and to provide health care, education, and clean drinking water. And during Roman times, God's family amazed people by how much they loved one another.

As God's priests, and God's family, we walk our way upstream, against the cultural flow. The media highlighted the visit of Vice President Pence (a follower of Jesus) to the Olympics games, and his ignoring / snubbing of the sister of the North Korean dictator. I'm sure his intention was to avoid seeming to give approval to North Korea, its policies, practices, and treatment of its people. But what if he viewed this woman like Jesus viewed the tax gatherers, and prostitutes? Not as one condemned by God's law, but one who God loves, and one who Jesus would (and did) sacrifice his life for. The media probably would never notice. But like the prostitutes, maybe she would.

The Commission

When we chose to give allegiance to Jesus, it was basically because we were convinced that what he taught was true. Meaning:

• That his death on the cross was effective to deal with the brokenness of the world. Including my personal brokenness.
• That he is part of the triune God-head.

Because his death was effective, the penalty for my sin was satisfied. I have peace, a relationship, and fellowship with the God of the Universe.

Because he is part of the God-head, he is Lord and Master of the Universe. He is designer, and creator of the Universe, and all that is in it. Including each, and every, person.

And he is designer, and creator, of a way of life that is in harmony with his character, the nature of people as they should be, which gives him glory, and which gives human beings the most peace and joy.

And he has given us the Scriptures to describe what that way of life should look like. He has given us stories to act as illustrations. He has given us principles to act as guidelines. And he has given us commands to promote specific actions.

It is the commands which usually give us the biggest problems. It is usually assumed that God's commands are universal. That is, everyone should be obeying them. And some of them give people difficulty in believing God wants everyone to obey.

The tithe gives some people trouble. "Love your enemies" is a problem for others. Then, there is the Great Commission.

At the end of Jesus' ministry, as he is just about to ascend to heaven, to return to the Father, he gives the disciples their commission. The commission is:

• To connect with every people group in the world.
• To think, speak, and act in such a way that people are convinced to become disciples of Jesus.
• To baptize them, as a public declaration of that choice.
• To help these new disciples know, understand, and practice everything Jesus taught … which includes this commission.

Of course, the question that gets asked is: does this really mean everybody who follows Jesus? Is the paraplegic, who can't move anything below his neck, expected to live in a hut among the Digo of south Kenya? Is the 80 year old retiree supposed to learn Chinese, go to Guizhou province, and launch a disciple making movement among the Miao? Surely, those who go have a special gift? Surely, someone needs to stay, and provide funding for those who do go?

Scripture does say that there is only one body of Christ. And as we are all part of this body, each with different functions, we each do complete a different facet of God's mission.

But Scripture also commands all of us to love. Are some of us supposed to provide funding for those specially gifted in patience, to be patient for the rest of us? No, we are all required to practice patience, and kindness. And we are all required to practice all aspects of our commission.

Some focus on the word "Go" in the commission. In the original language, "Go" is a present participle. Which means, it could be translated as "while you are going." We are all going somewhere. We go to work. We go to the store. We go home. We go through life. And we are always living in the middle and probably close to many others, of one of the world's people groups.

The operative part of the commission is: to make disciples of all people groups. We are to live as disciples -- live with Jesus, and walk as Jesus -- so people who are not disciples may learn, understand, and become convinced in their hearts and minds, whether by our words, or by our deeds, (and most likely both) to become disciples of Jesus.

Sin's Power

Scripture says that, when Jesus died, he broke the power of sin. Sine does not rule over the Christian any longer.

Except we keep sinning.

There is a reality of what God did on the Cross. And there is a reality of what goes on in our lives.

The penalty for sin was broken in our lives. So, if we have given our allegiance to Jesus, we are assured that we will be with him for eternity.

The power of sin was broken in our lives. Sin does not command us anymore, even if we are not 100% fully free yet. Even if we will never be 100% fully freein this life. But without Jesus breaking the power of sin, here and now, there is no hope of ever overcoming sin in this life.

I, personally, do not think a follower of Christ will ever be sin-free in this lifetime. But I do think there can be substantial growth in this lifetime.

There can be, and there will be, habits and practices that we have, that we know are wrong in God's sight, that will be replaced with God-glorifying habits and practices.

Lives of Worship

In Scripture, we are encouraged to consider God's mercies. We are sinners, rebels, and law breakers. We deserve punishment, and death. Yet, God made a way to fix what was broken. God has restored relationship with him, brought us back into his family, and is pursuing a renovation project in our lives, so that we will work like we are supposed to.

And we, for our part, need to give our allegiance to God, give ourselves to God, and stand with him. Scripture characterizes this yielding and standing as "a reasonable service of worship."

There are two concepts from the original language used here. The first is translated into English as "reasonable." This is referring to "spiritual reason." Mean it is logical to god.

We are beginning to see things from God's perspective. We begin to realize what is important, what God values, and we choose to live in agreement with those things. Or, as I thought about it when I was a child: I choose to be on God's side … like it was a football game.

The second is "service of worship." It refers to service to God. It is a technical term meaning "priestly service."

There are probably two ways to view this. First, we should live as God's representatives. Meaning people should look at God's family, and say: "Wow! If this is what Christians are like, imagine what the Christian God must be like! How can I become part of this?"

Second, we should live as God's agents. We, not only should look like Jesus, we should act like Jesus.

• We should forgive sinners.
• We should heal the sick, and feed the hungry.
• We should guide the lost.
• We should throw the money changers out of the temple.
• We should love, pray for, sacrifice for, and give our lives for those who are lost and broken, those who are our enemies, and those who rebel against God. 

Jesus served on "Sunday morning." And so should we. But he did not stop there. He served all day, ever day. And so should we.

Service of worship is Sunday morning. It is going to a meeting, praising God, taking communion, and listening to a message. It is also meditating on Scripture, and hearing God speak to us. It is also serving food in a soup kitchen. It is also framing a house, selling a car, painting a picture, writing a program, or a story, or an article. It is also eating dinner, and sleeping.

Everything Jesus did was worship. Everything we do should be worship.

Eternally Present

When the Father knows that a person has truly given him his allegiance, the Holy spirit makes his home in that person's heart. And God becomes eternally present in the person's life.

When I use the term "eternally present," I am not focused so much on the "forever" aspect of "eternally," as I am on the "always" aspect. Because God is eternally present with his children, he is able to give 100%, focused attention on each child. From someone in prison in Iran, who is scared for himself and his family, because his commitment to Jesus goes contrary to the lows of the country, to someone in the US, worried about being late to an appointment, because he can't find a parking spot. God is present with each one, giving 100% focused attention to each one … and all of his children with their lesser and greater problems, fears, and concerns.

He speaks to the hearts of each one — all the time — and takes action for each one — all the time.

He is involved with each child, because:

• He is restoring everything to its original design. He designed the world, the human body, and the human heart/the human core to work in a particular way, so it functions in optimal fashion.
• He is inviting all of his children to participate in his restoration project.
• He is providing the right fuel to meet the right need.
• He has designed his family to be an orchestra. His children do not all play the tuba. Some do play the tuba. But some play the violin. Some play the drums. Some play the triangle.

The Spirit works with each one, custom tailoring the training, the teaching, the encouragement, to bring out the optimum in each one.

We are all different. We have different needs, different styles, different impacts, different gifts, and different places. Maybe we all have different designs?

God works with each of us differently, because we are all different, to bring us all to optimal living. And he is eternally present with each one to prove the customized input needed to accomplish his work.

Maybe God was eternally present with each of us before creation? Maybe the same thought, planning, and attention he gave to creating the world, to our customized training, he also gave to individual, customized design for each person's creation?

He designed each person with a view to their unique position in creation. Each person has a unique, valuable place in his plans and purposes. No person is a mistake, but fills God's intended niche. Not whether he/she lives outside expectations of church, family, society, or culture.

We were designed and created to fulfill God's intentions. The first people chose to live outside God's design specs, and so, broke the world. We are all broken, and do not fulfill our design. Hence, God's restoration plan.

God has given us instructions to show: why the world is broken, what brokenness looks like, what the world should look like, and how to get back to where we should be.

And he has promised to walk with each of us, to help us, to guide us, to complete his restoration in each of us, and to complete his eternal, and unchanging, purposes.

Discipleship (4)

Discipleship is learning to walk with Jesus, and learning to walk as Jesus. But which Jesus?

We would all say that we walk with\as the true Jesus. We walk with the true God, become man, to save the world from its sins. But do we see Jesus truly?

Many movies, pictures, and books portray Jesus. Experiences, lessons from the Word, and lesson from the Holy Spirit affect our mental image of who he is. Life lessons from leaders in our churches affect our mental image of who he is.

The images can be true. And they can be juxtaposed incorrectly. And they can get mixed up with wrong images.

To get a true picture, we need to go back to the New Testament, and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.

And we need to see that the real Jesus cannot be a simple picture.

• He healed lepers by touching them.
• He willingly let himself be arrested, and nailed to a cross.
• He protected the woman caught in adultery; then, admonished her to live rightly.
• He was exasperated with the small faith of his disciples.
• He responded with anger, and chased the money changers from the temple.

Scripture, and the Holy Spirit, will teach us to have a true picture of Jesus, and therefore, of who we should be. And we all need to have as lifetime goals, to continually refine, and correct our perspective.

Discipleship (3)

Discipleship is learning to walk with Jesus, and learning to walk as Jesus.

Followers of Jesus talk about sanctification. That is. the process of being transformed into the image of Christ. (Or, as I like to look at it sometimes, since God intended people to have Christ's image before Creation, since he designed us to be like Jesus, God is going to restore people to their original design.) Usually, people mean that we will choose to obey God, we will always make the right moral choices, we will always choose to love.

As amazing and revolutionary as these changes would be, what if God intended us to be like Jesus in all ways? What if God intended his children to literally be able to walk on water?