Living in the Light

God is revealing the way he wants us to live. This “way” is not a surprise. He has been revealing it to us since the beginning. But it has taken on new meaning. Things are changing. New life is taking hold in people who follow him. They are living in increasing measure in the light.

Love is the main quality of living in the light. If a person does not love a brother, he is still walking in darkness. He is blind. No matter who you are or where you have progressed in your relationship with God, this is true. Love, light and knowing God travel together.

But do not love the world. It is a system that runs counter to God’s system. Its values run counter to God’s values. It lifestyle runs counter to God’s lifestyle. And it is temporary.

This is a link to an article I read today concerning the disaster in Japan. It is not about the disaster per se. It is about the response of people to disaster. And how Japan -- who has had a number of earth quakes -- has learned from previous disasters.

http://reason.com/archives/2011/03/16/resilient-japan

Obedience

The point of life is to know God. He is the maker, the designer, of life. He urges us to walk in a certain direction. He urges us to follow certain guidelines, because he want us to live as we were designed to live.

A football was not designed to process “html” traffic from the internet. A laptop was not designed to play rugby with. A human life was not designed to engage in certain practices. It ruins their relationship with God. It ruins their relationship with people. It damages their own inner being.

If someone follows these practices, they do not have a relationship with God. It is impossible to engage in “stuff” which ruins a relationship and still have that relationship.

God is Good

God is good and perfect. There is no stain in him. There is no darkness in him. Before we come to know him, we are all in darkness. And when we come to know him, we will change and live differently.

We cannot claim to know him and walk in darkness. We will at time stumble into darkness, but we will not let our eyes grow accustomed to the lack of light. To be accustomed to darkness means we are not accustomed to light, where he is. To live in relationship with him, we become accustomed to what he experiences. If we are with him, we will become pure and become more like him.

We cannot say we have never done anything wrong. If we had never done anything wrong, we would be like God. No one but God is perfect. That’s why we need someone to defend us. Jesus has satisfied God’s demand to punish evil. All evil, all over the world, has been dealt with because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

This doesn’t mean evil is gone. It means the evil people do will not come between them and God.

And Still More Preparation

After he told the story about the ten young women and the three servants, Jesus made announcement. He revealed that he would return at the end of the age, and all the people of the world would be brought to him. And they would be judged. They would become part of his kingdom, or condemned to eternal fire, based on their treatment of him. Did the people feed, shelter or visit him? If they did, they would be allowed into the kingdom. If they didn’t, they were condemned. As there were people there, who had never met Jesus personally, they did not understand how that was going to work. And he informed them that their treatment of people was the same as their treatment of him.

It is interesting that the eternal state of people is not based on the proclamation of the gospel. It is based on love and service to people. No one is arguing that this proclamation is not vital. Is Jesus talking about a perspective of people that creates an environment and generates action that creates receptivity for the gospel? Or is he talking about an attitude that forms a foundation for any proclamation?

More Preparation

After he told the story about the ten young women, Jesus told another story. A man was going on a journey. His house and property would not take care of themselves, so he gave different servants different responsibilities. In the story, he gave three servants different amounts of cash.

When thinking about these stories, people usually focus on the cash. I think Jesus was focusing on the job and the servant’s attitude about the job they were given. The job was the same whether it was $50,000, $20,000 or $10,000. The attitude of two servants was to gain as much profit as they could with what they were given. The attitude of the other servant was to avoid trouble.

At the end of his ministry, Jesus gave his disciple marching orders.
•    Engage the peoples of the world.
•    Develop “apprentices” of Jesus by:
       o    Fostering identification with Jesus.
       o    Training the apprentices to follow the values attitudes and practices of Jesus.

There are some pre-requisites to these marching orders.
•    We are living like apprentices of Jesus.
       o    We have identified with Jesus.
       o    We are following Jesus’ value, attitudes and practices.
•    We are engaging people.
•    We are training more apprentices.

In the stories about preparation, being ready when the master, king or bridegroom comes, maybe he is talking about those marching orders?

Preparation

Jesus told a story about ten young women going to a wedding. Weddings in Jesus’ day were not held like today’s weddings.

The bride and groom were betrothed. Which is like getting engaged, but it was more formal and more binding. They were married, but just not living together yet. The groom had to prepare a home for the bride. When it was completed, he could bring her home. Then, family and friends would gather together to celebrate the marriage. So, timing was important.

In the story, the groom was detained. It was late before he came and the celebration began. The guests were waiting. It was dark, so they brought lamp. The lamps used oil to produce light. The oil in the lamps of the young women was consumed. But five of them were prepared. They brought extra oil. The others needed to purchase more oil. So, they were not there when the celebration began, and were not allowed in.

The story is about preparation. People need to be prepared to meet God when he comes. How do you prepare to meet God? Where do you go? What do you do? What do you bring with you? It is not quite like going camping. Do we say a little prayer, receive our ticket to heaven and that’s it?

Marching Orders - IV

The second part is “teaching to do all I command.” This is the very simple, complex process that Jesus put his disciples through.

A current implementation might involve class work, lectures with maybe even a lab. Jesus knew that the current educational model was inadequate for the life transformation that Jesus intended to take place.

Jesus was intentional about this process. He went through a selection – involving all night prayer and an invitation to those he wanted to come to him.

Jesus appeared to be a master of recognizing opportunities to give spiritual lessons from what occurred in everyday life. But he also arranged planned learning opportunities. The last supper and the sermon on the mount were more class-room-like.

Part of the heart beat of Jesus’ “coaching” method was his awareness of God’s being and working in the world, and a heart full in his relationship with the Father. There was an ongoing, daily butting against practices, attitudes and values that went against God’s practices, attitudes and values.  He had the father’s desire to be investing and working at all times in the lives of those around him.

The core of Jesus’ coaching methods may just be the intention of his heart to make a difference in the lives of those around him, the realization that genuine healing requires God touching a situation, and the purpose to bring both of these things together.

Marching Orderss III

There are two parts to making disciples. First is “baptizing them.” There is a lot of thinking around baptism. There are many theories and speculations. In its core, it is an identification with Jesus. It is saying “I’ve died with Jesus. I have risen with Jesus. I am living with Jesus.”

A person hears some teachings of Jesus, learns of some aspect of who he is and what he has done, and it speaks to his heart. It convinces a person that there is some reality, something authentic about Jesus. And they listen to how he explains the world, defines its problems, and the solutions to those problems. And the person comes to some sort of agreement.

Baptism is a symbol of that agreement. This agreement touches a deep part of the heart. This agreement convinces concerning a need to change a lifestyle and a worldview. Baptism takes place at the birth of something new.

Marching Orders II

Part two = “make disciples”

Train people to follow Jesus in such a way that they are motivated, trained and practicing how to introduce, demonstrate and train others how to follow Jesus.

And, of course, actually doing it.

Marching Orders - I

Before returing to the Father, Jesus gave the infant church their marching orders. Those marching orders fall into two parts.

Part one = “Go”

The operative word in most churches seems to be “invite” or “come.” The idea seems to be that if we can get people into a church meeting, the spirit will break through or they will be confounded by the church’s superior programming. Let’s not misunderstand. The Spirit does speak to people inside a church meeting. And, as a result, people do change their allegiance to Jesus. It happens just enough that most followers of Jesus are led to believe that they are accomplishing God’s work.

But Jesus’ instruction was “Go to the world.” Engage the world in dialogue, conversation. Rub shoulders. Live and love like Jesus in the world. Apply the gospel ot people and society.

We all engage the world on some level. We go to work, to stores, to athletic events or to the library. In all there situation, we need to learn to point people to Jesus.

Perhaps the most spiritual thing we could do today is join a bowling league – and make sure the glasses and litter are cleaned up afterward.

Kingdom - II

God’s work always moves inside out. He moves deep inside a situation, changes the heart and aloow the natural results of the heart change to flow out.

That’s one reason we often miss God working. Work in the heart is not obvious. If you mix yeast in the dough and watch, you won’t see anything happen. But if you go away, wait for awhile, and then come back, something has happened.

Of course, people are impatient. They want results now. They want to see something move now. So,  they begin to push from the outside in. It is a lot easier to agitate from the outside. To picket. To have voter drives. It is much harder, more sacrificial to adjust a lifestyle to create the atmosphere for heart change.

Kingdom

God’s work always starts small, like a seed resting in the ground. Given the right ingredients and proper care, the results become a massive sequoia or oak. We expect overnight, dramatic results. Seeds don’t work that way. Once planted, we will not see anything happen for some time. And we are too impatient and give up too soon.

Jesus was born into the world. The King of the universe had come to ransom the world back to himself. So, he lived as the son of Mary and Joseph for thirty years. And we know very little of what he did. Most of it was probably ordinary.

Then, he did serve for three years, culminating with his execution as a criminal, by jealous men.

And yes, he did some amazing things in that time. But most of the time, he lived and spoke with a small group of men. He invested his time and energy in them, so they might demonstrate, portray, represent Jesus when he left this life.

And something happened to these men. In Jesus’ life, their paradigm shifted. Their world view changed. And in Jesus’ death and resurrection, everything coalesced.

Jesus planted a seed of twelve men in the world.

World at War

God plants his word into the world in order to promote his purposes. The ground receives the seed and fruit is produced.

The enemy also plants into the world. His purpose is to disrupt the production of fruit. The weeds compete with the word.

While we remain in this world, we will always exist in a shadowed state. We will see God work clearly. And it will be obscured by the enemy. We experience life and joy through the Spirit. We will experience pain and loss.

It is proof of the struggle we are in. Success and failure. Gain and loss. We are at war. It is only at the end that a final sorting will take place.

Salt - V

Maybe there is no saltiness, because Christians have stopped being real.

Christianity turned the world upside down, because they got off the couch, turned off the TV and loved people, proclaimed truth, prayed, engaged people without an agenda – no Bible study, no church, just being friends in Jesus’ name. I’m not saying never have a Bible study, or never invite someone to church. I’m saying do not engage in drive-by friendships. “I’ll be your friend as long as you show interest in Jesus. If not, I’ll drop you like a hot rock.”  No one would like it if someone expressed interest in us for ulterior motives. Even if that motive was for the greatest of reasons. That is a scam pure and simple. And Christians do it all the time.

Salt - IV

Maybe there is no saltiness, because we have started depending on the world's systems.

After Constantine, Christianity grew to become a dominating force in Europe and America. In Europe, it had tremendous political clout. In America, it exercised a large moral influence. However, its power has wavered. Christianity in Europe is virtually non-existent. In America, more churches close each week than are opened. More and more, people walk away from Jesus. And those still sitting in pews are worried about the moral swamp things are turning into.

Christians lament the loss of influence. The church was a revolutionary force for good in the first century. And "somebody" needs to "something" to restore order and moral decency. And "somebody" is somebody else. The pastor. The government. Mary. Rob and Judy.

Has anyone noticed that the first century was the golden age of the church? Has anyone noticed that the first century was a cultural and moral swamp? There were no civil or political protections for Christians. Being a Christian was good way to become an appetizer at the Lion's club.

Those following Jesus turned the world upside down by obeying Jesus, speaking truth, loving one another and loving those outside the family.

Welcome to the first century!

Salt III

Maybe the is no saltiness, because we have stopped taking the word of God seriously. We read the word and are delighted to review and rehearse the blessings. We are a blessed people. But we forget we are bless to extend God's glory.

• Make disciples.
• Give to the poor.
• Pray for workers.
• Pray for open doors for the gospel.
• Always speak graciously.
• Walk in love.

These are a few things God commands us to do that will demonstrate the person of Jesus to the world. How much preaching, teaching, planning and coordinating of church resources are churches giving to these thin? They will all require time and energy. They may require sacrifice.

Salt - II

Maybe there is no saltiness because we have stopped following Jesus' mission. When Jesus left the earth, he gave a command. "Go and make disciples." Most of the time, people read this a "make converts."

Yes, getting people to say "yes" to Jesus is important. So is the birth and delivery of physical children. But ask any parent, birth is just the beginning. There is feeding, diapers, cleaning up messes, little league and driver's ed.

The point of making disciples is not just getting them into the Kingdom. It's getting them Kingdom, preparing them to function on their own, and enabling them to make disciples on their own. And we will really only know if the job is done riht when the "grand-children" have "great grand-children."

If this is Jesus' mission, then TV and huge stadium events will not cut it. Children cannot be mass produced. Neither can disciples.

Salt

Jesus said that his family was like salt. Salt in Jesus' day was a very important commodity. It was a food preservative, a spice and -- given the hot dry climate -- a key to proper hydration. The lack of salt could result in a bland diet, but also disease or possibly death.

So, what if salt lost all those properties that made it so valuable? It would become just another variety of dirt. Not worth anything.

What is salt in God's family? What is this quality that preserves and enlivens? Is it our morality? Is it our proclamation of the gospel? Is it manifestations of the Spirit? Is it miracles and healing? Is it love? Is it all of the above?

Looking at the church in the US -- loss of interest, loss of respect, local churches closing, young people going to college and never setting foot in a church again -- there seems to be a lack of saltiness.

Missiology and the Gospel

I remember reading in the early 80’s about the discovery of Christian documents in the Vietnam delta dated from the 8th century. Missionaries from the early church had spanned Asia from Jerusalem to the Mekong delta in that time.

I believe in the importance of missiology. Researchers and practitioners can work together to advance the gospels in ways that we can only imagine. But the information from above cause me to ask a question. How did the first Christians without all the advances – language training, Bible translation, computers, internet, anthropology and sociology – cross all of Asia? Maybe a little radical faith and love is more important than advances in knowledge?

God's Resources

God has allocated tremendous resources on our behalf. These resources enable us to live out the “divine nature.” We are – in our physical bodies – supposed to demonstrate God’s nature/personality to the world.

Since, the world is supposed to see God in us, we cannot sit still. We need to grow in Christ-likeness. We has chosen a faith that leads to salvation. We should now choose behavior that honors God. We should be good – not good that avoids the bad things only, but good that pursues good things: service, kindness and generosity. Then, we need to increase in knowledge, so we can agree with God. We should, in ourselves, live in agreement with God’s standards. We should continue pursuing with our actions and decisions a godly lifestyle in light of difficulties or troubles. It is in the fire that what an object is really made of comes to light. And that “material” really begins to shine. And we should demonstrate real love – love that is expressed within the family, and love that expressed outside the family. Consistent expression in these areas will, as the family of Jesus lives and functions together, generate fruit and disruption of the world system.

Called Vs. Commanded

God has given different gifts, different effects, different ministries, and different passions. But we all have one God, one Lord, one Spirit and one plan. We are all given the task of extending God’s glory over the whole earth, by making disciples from all peoples. The body of Christ is given the task of reaching the world. If you are a child of God, you are part of the body, and part of the mission.

We have unities combined with differences. The question practically is "how does that work out?" The question is not “Am I called to participate in reaching the world?” The question is “What is my part in reaching the world? How do I affect over there? And how do I keeping impacting over there?”

The Greatest Command

A man asked Jesus what was the greatest command. Jesus answered to love God and to love one’s neighbor. A large part of scripture goes on to illuminate and analyze love, neighbors and our behavior with others.

Real love is alien to this world. It cuts across our flesh, our desires and our pursuits. It takes us out of our routines. People love their routines more than they do other people. They feed their comforts, reinforce their view of the world and protect themselves from pain. I know this, because at the time I was thinking about this, someone challenged one of my routines, and, although it is something good, maybe there were reasons -- and listed a few -- that I should change this routine. Part of me (the selfish, want my way part) reacted quite strongly.

To really love people is to embrace otherworldly objectives and to deny what the self wants most. To love at any level is sacrifice; and the self flees sacrifice like the plague. The self rationalizes away, hides from and ignores the sacrifice of love. The self lies to itself.

There are things that provide a basis, a foundation, for love that need to be cultivated. I cannot love if I do not sleep. I cannot love if I do not eat. I cannot love if I do not strengthen my relationship with the Definition and Source of love – so I need my time of prayer and meditation. But all these things can be excuses not to love.

The challenge lies in cultivating the foundation, completing the life maintenance tasks and taking steps of love. God has created us to do all these things, and not to close ourselves to just one of them. The challenge lies in living with sensitivity to the Spirit, circumstances and people so we can act in the right sphere, at the right time.

What this will mean for my "routine" -- which involves part of how I conduct my prayer, reading, and meditation time with God -- I don't know. I would be less than honest if I said I liked the thought of changing. I would be less than honest if I did not examine the possibility of needing to change.

Breaking Walls, Building Bridges

There is a story about Jesus going to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A gentile woman comes and asks him to cast a demon out of her daughter. His response seems to reflect the common Jewish prejudice that God is more concerned for the Jews than other people. But we know from many places in the gospels that Jesus’ heart flowed far beyond the borders of Israel.

•    He caused a riot in the temple, because the Jews had turned the part of the temple where the gentiles were allowed to seek God into a flea market.

•    He told his disciples he needed to seek out others from different sheepfolds to make them one flock with one shepherd.

•    He commanded the apostles to go to all the world and make disciples from all peoples.

Jesus touched lepers and ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. Jesus was all about removing walls, and making bridges. And yet he seems to build a wall in front of this woman.

Because he continually opens his heart to everyone, I do not think he is closing his heart to her. Perhaps he is trying to reveal to her what resides in her heart.

I am not familiar with the particular ethnic group the woman was from, but there are numerous examples of strong ethnocentricity throughout the Mediterranean. The entire region was in Roman hands. To not bow and worship Caesar, who was considered a god, was regarded as treason. The Greeks had a highly developed culture – philosophy, drama, science, literature and politics . Everyone else was second class.

Did the woman regard Jesus as just another magician? Did she regard the Jews as a simple ignorant people, an so Jesus was one of the same? Yet she opened her heart to him, and demonstrated in her words and countenance, that she realized her need and Jesus was her only answer. So, she understands her heart and responds in faith and humility.

People Live from their Hearts

In physics, there is the center of balance, the center of mass. These centers are imaginary point that we can say if a force acts on this point, it acts on the entire mass. People have a center of personality that the Bible calls the heart. Jesus treated the heart with utmost seriousness.

There is a common belief that outside influences impact a human being and can corrupt him. Different foods, places and practices are all regarded as things they exert spiritual influences on a person and can bring blessing or corruption on him. The scripture says words are very powerful and can have a huge spiritual effect. But the effects of corruption or blessing do not come from these outside things.

Jesus says a person is defiled\blessed by what comes out of him. Defilement or blessing are products of what fills a person’s heart. It is as we live out what fills our hearts that we blessed or defiled.

Words are powerful. Scripture urges to watch our words. Words are in one perspective just vibrating air. Vibrating air has not power in the spiritual realm. But words also express a focus of the heart. That’s why they are powerful. It is the heart-focus that connects to the spirit. It is the heart-focus that gives power to spoken words. It the heart-focus that gives power to listened-to words.

There is a person of my acquaintance who is rather small and petite. No one in their right mind would ever refer to her as fat. But, when she was a teenager the boys in her neighborhood began to refer to her as fat.

(Now, as we all know, people go through tremendous changes when they hit their teens. One of the changes some boys seem to go through when they reach 13-14 is their brain turns off. And it doesn’t turn back on until they turn twenty-two. So, to a boy who wants to promote a positive relationship with a girl, it makes perfect sense to either insult her or to knock her over.)

The words were spoken to my acquaintance, and she received them. They were placed in her heart. Now, she has a self-perception problem.

Outside influences – friends, TV, news, important people, books – can have a profound impact, if we receive them into our hearts. That’s why we need to deal wisely with our hearts. We need to protect them. If my acquaintance had heard the word “fat” and responded in her heart “What are those boys talking about? My BMI is 15!! I’ll be really glad when they decide to turn their brains back on.” If she had “heard” the truth and received it, then the lie would have had no power over her.

But the defilement did not come from the boys speaking. Rather it came from the receiving the lie.

There are some outside influences that resonate with our hearts so much, they ought to be avoided at all costs. There are some influences that are almost impossible not to reach. Just as truth would have protected my friend’s heart in the first place, truth can counteract lies received in the heart. Counseling, teaching, meditation, prayer and sharing with one another can plant truth, and strengthen the heart.

Real Equipping

Jesus found himself surrounded by a crowd of people. He looked out into the crowd and realized it was characterized by a soul hunger. In a country and people chosen by God to be his dwelling place, given the Word, the covenants and continuous demonstrations of his reality, there was a failure of leadership to equip people in knowing God, in character development and in real ministry. The Sadducees were more concerned with the political situation, and their place in it. The Pharisees were more concerned with maintaining their spiritual “superiority.” No one was concerned about the common man. Spiritual abundance was for t he elites.

Except Jesus knew God’s heart for people. He invited all to become part of his family, to participate in his life, and to experience the adventure. So, his heart went out to them. And he focused on building into their lives, revealing God’s heart to them, and showing them how to share that life God intended them to live.

Kingdom Like the Earth - 3

The Kingdom of God is like “the earth produces by itself.” Since, the earth is a figure of the hearts or spirits of people, and fruit is produced from the “earth” without any intervention from the farmer, then all that is required to produce fruit is already present within the “earth.” What might be required to produce fruit: workers, finances, hospitality, love, faith, prayer, relationships, and a local understanding of culture and its connection to the gospel.

Kingdom Like the Earth - 2

The Kingdom of God is like “the earth produces by itself.” Jesus identified the earth as the hearts or lives of people. There is good earth for producing fruit; and there is bad earth for producing fruit. There is only so much a farmer can do. He can plant seeds. If the soil is good, it will produce fruit. If the soil is bad, it will produce nothing.

It is god’s desire for his family to plant seed and produce fruit. If we plant, and no fruit is produced, what then?

We can decide that the production of fruit is completely out of our hands. It is entirely in God’s control. So, if there is no fruit, God did not want it? Or his timing was off? If this is true, all we, as his family, can do is to continue to plant. And wait for God to act. This story is about the mystery surrounding fruitfulness.

Some people look at the story and conclude that the earth contain everything for fruit. All we need to do is plant the seed. But planting cannot be construed as a simple throwing of seed. Consider Jesus’ instructions to the seventy.
•    Go in teams.
•    Pray for workers.
•    Seek the man of peace.
•    Live among the people.
•    Heal the sick. (Or serve to meet needs.)
•    Proclaim the kingdom. (As Jesus was coming, this proclamation was in preparation for his appearance.)
•    Go to specific cities. (The ones he was going to.)

The planting that Jesus prescribed was not haphazard or unplanned. It was intentional with particular steps and aims.

Kingdom Like the Earth

The Kingdom of God is like “the earth produces by itself.” The Kingdom of God is first of all in the hands of God. We see churches developing techniques, campaigns, etc. that have tremendous success in impacting the world and drawing people into the Kingdom. Other churches see the success and copy what the first church did. (The first church may even market what they did as THE Kingdom builder. There may be a book and seminars.)

However, techniques, method and campaigns do not build the Kingdom. The Kingdom is built as truth and grace are applied to people’s hearts. And it is only God who is stronger than a person’s heart. (And he does not force someone to choose to follow him.) So, it is God who builds his Kingdom.

The Gospel

I was with two groups that brought out an amazing contrast in how the gospel is perceived.

The first group consisted of Jesus followers who were discussing their relationship with God. Someone asked how many chose to follow Jesus in the “normal” way – realization of one’s sin, God’s hate of sin, certain punishment without Jesus, God’s love that substitutes punishing us with punishing Jesus, receiving that love, inexpressible joy, total transformation, fireworks and brass bands. Out of the 12-14 people, only two were “saved” in the “normal” manner.

The second group consisted of people who were learning the message of Jesus for the first time. God’s message was presented in the “normal” way.

A quick survey of the first group revealed a variety of method and motivations for following Jesus:
•    An understanding of God’s nature and identity;
•    Realization that only God can meet certain needs;
•    Heart level longing for protection, companionship, purpose and meaning.
•    Repugnance for the dysfunction of life.

The first group concluded that God pursues people with grace and not a formula. I have concluded long ago that “unmerited favor” is an inadequate and incomplete definition for grace. Grace is God meeting you where you are and supplying you with whatever you need. God’s supply is favor and unmerited. But God supplies with wisdom, forgiveness, understanding, friends, food and water, mission and emotional support by his grace.

Are we short changing the gospel by providing an incomplete message?

Truth

God revealed the Truth about Jesus so we can find our way back to him. There will always be people who distort the Truth. They are deceived. They look to draw attention or authority to/for themselves. Honest people who search for the Truth are in danger of being deceived.

The only cure and prevention is truth. People need to know and understand Truth. People need to know how to handle it accurately. Not only will we be protected from going the wrong way, but we will be able to help guard others in the way also.

Transformed Life: Sowing

There is a general principal of life, of the spirit realm, and of relationships. As you sow, so shall you reap. The transformed life sows deeply into people sows deeply into the people who he connects to. He gives his heart. He sows loves, prayer, grace and service. He should reap a huge harvest.

There can be a tendency for discouragement. Someone gives long and strongly from the heart, and nothing happens. Like the farmer, the hardest work is the initial work when the is no result to be seen. Like the farmer, someone giving into a community needs to believe that the planting is not in vain. Fruit will come quickly enough, if faith is kept.

Transformed Life: Farmer

Farming is a very difficult job. First, the land must be prepared. Rocks and weeds removed. The ground made loose.; (Fortunately, the more the ground is worked, the easier is becomes it year.)

Then, seeds are planted. Consideration should be given what to plant. Each plant is different. Each are is different. Cucumbers are not planted the same way as corn. Oranges shouldn’t be planted in Minnesota. There are different requirements.

The seeds need moisture, fertilizer, light and heat. Weeds will continue to compete with the crops.

A tremendous amount of work is done before any results are seen. The famer must work in faith that what he does is effective.

It would not be fair if the farmer works hard to prepare, to plant and to bring the crop in, and someone else gets to choose how to dispose of it. The farmer puts his heart into his labors. He has a connection with the land. There is almost a love relationship.

The transformed life takes on new purposes. He joins with God’s purposes, so he seeks to plant God’s life into his “field” – his household, or his community. His loosens up the “field” with prayer. He waters it with love and service. He plants it with truth. He develops a love relationship with it.

The transformed life gives its heart to the people around him. As the give their heart, they will receive the fruit.

Transformed Life: Athlete

Athletes dedicate themselves for a chance to compete. They cannot guarantee success no mater how hard they work. Athletes working toward the Olympics work hard for long hours each day (for perhaps years) for a career that may last one race, a couple of jumps, one match or one game.

Many athletes search for something to give them a small advantage – a tenth of a second, a centimeter, or a few more grams. Success or failure can often be measured by these small amounts.

Sports authorities have long recognized that the desire for an edge can lead to unfair or detrimental practices. Steroids can give an unfair and unnatural advantage. They can also hurt the health of the athlete. So, rules are made that ban these practices; and penalties are given and enforced to stop them. Athletes is often banned from the sport they hope to receive glory from. Still, some cannot resist temptation. They seek their edge and hide their practices. There are too many stories about successful athletes, who are discovered and theglory they received turned to shame.

There are rules for the transformed life. The reward is influence over people, changed lives and transformed cities, countries and cultures. But the influence is earned by love, grace, service, truth and pure character. Some have tried to gain the influence by modern advertizing techniques, manipulation, guilt or glitz. These methods skirt the truth, love and honesty. It demonstrates less than godly character.

No one can match Jesus in any of these areas. But we can have authenticity in all these things. Using these other means will lead to less – less glory for the Father, less influence for the man, less effect for the Kingdom, and more denigration of God’s ways and purposes. And in the end, God will reveal his sorrow with ones who sought more for themselves than for him.

Transformed Life: Soldier

The perception of what it means to be a soldier of Christ usually involves large, expensive campaigns, assaults on people who resist the good news, and loud explosions of action designed to push back the tides of anti-Christ movement.

Jesus does give very powerful weapons of warfare. These weapons include love, prayer, transformed lives, unity, community and truth. (Truth is communicated verbally and in action; and it is encased by the other weapons.)

The weapons are different; the ways of waging warfare are different.

Transformed Life: Warfare

There are modern movies – “Saving Private Ryan”, “Platoon” – that paint a very graphic, real picture of the horrors of war. Regular people can get a taste of what soldiers lived through, and cannot speak of.

A soldier is called on to withstand pain and hardship to serve a cause greater than himself. And God has called on each of his children to serve as soldiers in his cause.

They cause Jesus-followers serve adds to God’s Kingdom, God’s family and God’s glory. People are filled with love, hope and purpose. God’s bride is filled with greater beauty.

It is a worthwhile cause deserving compete expressions of courage, devotion, concentration, intentionality and creativity. It is a cause that the vast majority of God’s family – myself included – fail to take up sufficiently. They do not have the vision and mind-set of the soldier.

Transformed Life: Reproduction

A transformed life ought to cause ripples in the environment. It should make a difference. One of the traits of life is reproduction. The ripples of the transformed life will be planted in human hearts. If the seed is received and nourished, it will germinate. And another person will begin the journey of the transformed life.

The transformed life is new. It requires new tools, new perspectives, new vision and new purposes. Much of the new life requires action. Much of it requires new understanding. And understanding must be given, so the new life can act efficiently, effectively and in the right direction.

Life begets life. A seed is planted and germinates. The life grows – and in its time, releases a new seed. The equipping of new life becomes a chain. It is passed to faithful ones who can act and equip other new life. It also becomes a matrix, multiplying new life. Equipping each new life is a vital concern to the Father. It ought to be a vital concern of each follower of Jesus. It ought to be a skill each one cultivates. The knowledge of what to do, how to do it, and how to pass it along, should be passed to each new life.

Transformed Life: Walk in Grace

When asked to define grace, most Christians answer “unmerited favor.” This isn’t wrong, but it does focus on the aspect of grace as purveyor of salvation. But a Jesus-follower’s entire life is supposed to be by grace.

I heard one definition as “God giving someone whatever it is they need to meet their needs at that given moment.” It is the giving-ness of God.

To live the transformed life, at some point, we will need to take action. Often, the action involved will be scary, difficult or unpleasant things. The transformed life – power for grace and love – does require that we walk through these things. We will need grace to take the first step. We will need grace to sustain us in strength and peace as we continue.

I am not speaking about an extreme form of persecution necessarily. That might be such a situation, though. We may need to surrender a personal liberty, because it is a hardship for someone else. We may need to speak to someone about an offense. We may need to take a step of service. We  may need to accept some deprivation to benefit someone else. In all these things, our nature will want to rebel, because of the pull of sin and the natural desire for personal peace. In all these things, to walk in love will require grace to strengthen the transformed life, now planted in our hearts.

Transformed Life: Culture

Since God is the creator of culture, relationship with him finds a home in the midst of culture. Since, man lives within a culture, and within sin, all cultural forms can be filled with sin (which should be repented of) or filled with the Spirit (and should be embraced.)

It is almost as if every generation needs to go to God and recreates the forms of connecting with him. It is almost as if every person needs to define the framework of life in Jesus and define an expression of that life that embodies their individual relationship with Jesus. But it needs to be defined in a way that connects to the family of God and to those who still need to choose to enter into a relationship with Jesus. (For part of Jesus’ framework is a relationship with him, a relationship with his family, and a relationship with those outside his family. One cannot choose one of these relationships without choosing an active, engaged relationship with all three. And the relationships do not stop within a person’s immediate context, but continues onto the horizon and beyond.)

Transformed Life: Discipline

In order to live the transformed life, The Holy Spirit gives us discipline. Richard Foster defines discipline (σωφρονισμος) as doing what we need to do, when we need to do it.

Jesus lived in total dependence on the Father. He was always where he was supposed to be, when he was supposed to be. And without a planner of any sort – electronic, paper. He didn’t even have a calendar. He always did what he needed to do, when he needed to do it. He was disciplined. But not like we think of discipline. To live like Jesus requires a radical change in a number of areas.

(1)    There is a change in priorities. Many people have their schedules pretty set. One cannot have a normal job without a schedule. Others have to-do lists. In Jesus, God’s priorities move to the top. And God’s objectives are love relationships – between God and people, and people and people. And we need to recognize how best to fulfill God’s purposes (what), the correct timing (when) and make choices appropriately. The choice involves action. Sometimes, discipline requires I mow the lawn. Sometimes, discipline requires I forgo mowing the lawn. Sometimes, discipline requires I intentionally with premeditation forgo mowing the lawn.

(2)    There is a change in how we perceive and treat interruptions. Interruptions are usually perceived as bad, a waste of time and energy. Followers of Jesus (especially professional followers of Jesus) often perceive interruptions as hindrances to completing God’s purposes. To Jesus, interruptions became the main opportunities to minister.

(3)    There is a change in how we perceive and treat ministry. Ministry is viewed as opportunities to apply God, grace and truth to life. In current church culture, people tend to organize ministry opportunities. They schedule meetings and invite people to receive God’s grace there. Jesus never organized meetings. Jesus did attend meetings. He would go somewhere – and lo and behold, a meeting would break out. But these meetings never seemed to follow one pattern. Sometimes there was a teaching. Sometimes there were healings. Sometimes he served lunch. Sometimes there was prayer. (Interestingly, a time of worship was seldom mentioned.)

Transformed Life: Love

In order to live the transformed life, the Holy Spirit gives us love. Love (αγαπη) is a very difficult term to define. It is seen and experienced on many different levels, in many ways. It is above all a focus outside of the self, with the intent of thinking, speaking and acting toward others to build, bless, encourage, serve and bring out the best.

Jesus’ love was not blemished by sin. Our love, though marred by sin, can still be a true reflection of Jesus’ love. Our love can have all those effects listed above.

Love is a strong motivator for change, for new living. It is love that motivated Father, Son and Spirit to create, to express perfect faithfulness, to redeem, to build, to forgive an infinite number of wrongs, to pursue and to bring finite, fallible humans into partnership with him.

And fear can smother love. Love brings openness and vulnerability into the picture. Love necessitates trust relationships. Sin will always slap trust in the face. We, in our strength, will protect ourselves from pain. With the Spirit’s strength, we will continually lean into the wind, and choose love.

Transformed Life: Power

In order to live the transformed life, the Holy Spirit gives us power. Power (δυναμις) is defined as the inherent ability to take action. It is associated with miracles, but it is also associated with a freedom from constraint.

There is obviously power to perform miracles in God. Jesus’ disciples performed miracles, but that power was not inherent in them. They were given authority (εξουσια) by Jesus. The power was inherent in God. The disciples became in effect lenses of God’ power, focused on a situation.

But they did have power to take action. They can choose to re-activate a gift, proclaim Jesus, serve or risk suffering. God’s will is that we take action to cooperate with him to complete his purposes. He has brought us into partnership with him in his mission. There are things in the world that smother any impulse for action. Fear on one sort or another is a very large force of constraint.

Transformed Life: Reality not Perfection

When we begin a relationship with God, we begin to live as Christ intended. (Sin still corrupts this life, so we will not fully live as God designed it, until we live in his kingdom at the end of time.)

We are not only living for our selves, but we are living it in demonstration for others. We are living it it with the Spirit of God in our hearts. And the Spirit of God should fill all our thoughts, words, and actions.

There is no particular formula to follow. There is no set liturgy, prayers or rules. (Scripture says the Law was given for sins to be made evident. Scripture says that love fulfills the Law.) Rather the Spirit infuses itself within each follower’s heart, so God’s life is breathed out in every community and culture where those who seek him and call on his name are found.

If we walk with God, the God life flows through us … imperfectly. It is marred by sin. But it is what the world needs. The world needs to see lives like this. Since, we know the world needs the life of God, given through Jesus, and we have that life of God, we can be confident we what the world needs. But we need to walk it out humbly and with love. We were beggars once ourselves.

Transformed Life: More than Lip Service

The church should demonstrate transformed living. Men and women should demonstrate dependence on God. Men and women conduct themselves in ways that fit God’s purposes, so their quality of life does not detract for Jesus. Rather it is an attraction to Jesus.

And leaders ought to model a Christ-filled lifestyle. Their actions, attitudes and words should emit a flavor and aroma of Christ. And they should demonstrate how all follows of Jesus should live.

Transformed Life: God Must Be In The Picture

In the same situation, people were not living in ways that displayed the transformed life. Daily life and conduct should be built around God and transformation. Men were acting in independence. Women were acting in unsuitable ways. There needed to be a radical shift in thinking and perspective. Men needed to pray. Women needed to conduct themselves with grace. Together they would declare their dependence on God, their reliance on grace and their practice of the transformed life.

Transformed Life: Better than the Law

There was a situation in the early church, where a group of men were trying to gain positions of status by becoming experts in spirituality. So, they pursued discussions of controversial issues, the Law and false doctrines.

The Law is a good thing. Except it has no relevance in the transformed life. God gave the Law to Moses to reveal sin and everything that is anti-gospel.

Paul himself sought to serve the Law. When Christ revealed himself to Paul in a power way, Paul realized that God’s plan was radically different than he realized. Transformation was its essence.

So, Paul wrote to a young leader, giving him the assignment of stopping this torrent of words. His overall objective was the promotion of transformed lives. Love is the primary ingredient in a Christ-transformed life.

God Speaks

Sometimes when God speaks to us, it is like a seed. As we live out this message, it waters the seed until it germinates. And as we continue to live it out, it grows until it bears fruit in agreement with the message.

But sometimes, it is a target. The message gives us a point in the distance to walk to. Other people may know what our destination should be. If they love us, they can help us walk out our journey. They can partner with us.

Transformed Life: The Church

One could describe the purpose of the church is to be the body of Christ. Jesus is in the world in spirit, but not in body, physically. The Church should be that physical presence. Together they need to demonstrate the life of Jesus to the world.

Since, sin entered the world, it has hidden the life of Jesus in people. God’s family receives his life, so God in his family can break past the sin hiding his life in people. God’s Spirit is in us transforming our hearts, which is the well-spring of life, so his family can live the transformed life. The concern of all God’s family should be that God’s family live out that transformed life. The purpose of God’s family is to demonstrate to the world how a person was designed to live.

And since Jesus returned to the Father, we keep getting trapped into thinking that talking is living. We cast words into the air that sound spiritual, and assume we are following our high calling. We focus on what has no profit.

I am beginning to wonder if that is too much preaching and teaching. What most of us see modeled by those who are supposed to model transformed life for us is preaching and teaching.

Paul had a situation where some were focused on false ideas, meaningless talk and the Law. (Showing that they did not understand the Law. The Law demonstrated sin. Those in Christ should demonstrate love arising from a transformed life.)

Men were living in independence. Women were conducting themselves in inappropriate ways. Both demonstrated lives subject to sin, and not lives transformed by the Spirit. Men should pray – showing the dependence on God, Women should behave appropriately – demonstrating the heart of transformation.

Picture of God's Love

There are a number of people who believe that physical events are “pictures” of spiritual realities.

So did God:

• Create Adam first alone,
• Design him with “fuels” of giving love, receiving love, and community,
• Have him name the animals to underscore his alone-ness
• Then provide a companion who is a perfect complement to him

To give humanity a picture of God’s heart – that he wanted an “other” to give his wholehearted love to?

Great Commision

Ownership of the Great Commission does not belong to missionaries, mission organizations or para-church ministries. Ownership belongs to the church. Which means ownership belongs to everyone who calls on the name of Jesus.

Back to the Garden

The point of my horticultural rambling is to focus our attention on the fact that we all like to harvest. But to harvest, we need to cultivate, water, weed and all the other tasks needed to insure a harvest takes place. And it is those beginning steps that require the greatest work. And if those beginning steps fail, we need to rework the ground again … more. We need to begin the hard work one more time.

If the ground is prepared correctly, the seed produces fruit almost magically. If there is little fruit, could that mean there was inadequate preparation?