Assumptions

People make assumptions about life. We all do it. Assumptions are basic rules that are always true. We hear a fact. This fact is similar to other facts. So, we assume its ramifications are like those other facts.

Your mother loves you. So, she provides good things for you. She provides things that you like, like pecan pie. She wants the best for you, so she guides you toward the things that comprise the best. She doesn't want you to get hurt, so she protects you as best she can. But she is limited.

God loves you. So, he provides good things for you. He provides things that you like. He wants the best for you, so he guides you toward the things that comprise the best. He doesn't want you to get hurt, so he protects. And he is not limited.

So, why do followers of Jesus get hurt?

Maybe God really doesn't love us. Maybe God really is limited. Maybe there are other factors and our assumptions are wrong.  Maybe.  Maybe.  Maybe.

It is very complex question. Lots of people, a lot smarter than I am, have tried to answer it. I couldn't get close in the post; I couldn't get close in a series of posts.

Like habits,  human beings make assumptions.  Assumptions are built subconsciously, unconsciously. They affect our behavior, our expectations,  our responses and our relationships. They are built from past experiences,  cultural norms and ideals. And they are often wrong.

I assume God loves me. My assumption is based in large part from God's declarations in the Bible. Its proclamation that the Father sent Jesus into the world,  to die on a cross, to raise from the dead, to restore our relationship with him, and to satisfy God's justice regarding sin.

I also assume God wants to restore the reign over his kingdom.  There was a rebellion,  and as a result,  life is not as God wishes.  We are all experiencing the effects of that rebellion.

I also assume the rebels are resisting God's efforts. And like certain terrorists, who blow up city buses to create fear and stop any momentum towards positive living, they don't care who they hurt or what damage they cause.  God's enemies are only interested in causing pain,  fear and misery.

I also assume God could crush the rebellion with a wave of his hand.  And I also assume that God's love extends to the rebels,  and his desire for relationship with all peoples, includes them as well.

And. And. And.

People make assumptions to make life simpler and easier.  Decision making is greatly reduced in complexity.  Of course,  decision making can miss necessary factors and be wrong. So, assumptions need to be challenged periodically.

Or maybe we need to approach life differently. Maybe life is too complex for us to analyze.  Maybe we need to trust our relationship with God,  and the "fact" that God is eternally present with us, has all the time in the world for us and wants to speak to us and guide us. So, we need to cultivate the practice and skill of tuning into his presence and hearing him speak to us.

God's Family

I often describe God's people as God's family. Scripture bears this out. God calls himself our Father. (Though he often acts our Mother.) Scripture refers to fellow-Christians as brothers and sisters.

We became a family by being born of the same Father. We are then knit together with an indissoluble bond.

Why is the fact that the body of Christ is a family? Family is one of the foundation stones of humanity. It gives the under girding for the definition of being human.

Families:

● provide values. We learn what is important, what is necessary and what is not.

● gives instruction and modelling. Numerous areas in life are caught, rather than taught. We learn these areas by watching and being with others as they are examples.

      - We learn steps and methods in problem solving.

      - We learn how to respond in failure and negative circumstances.

      - We learn ways and attitudes around resolving conflict.

● work together to achieve goals. In the family of God, this includes:

      - demonstrating God's nature.

      - proclaiming his message of restoration.

      - instilling his character in members of the family.

● growing together in wholeness.

● depending on and including God in life.

● nurturing and giving identity to his children.

Many are pushing to redefine family. In part, this is rebellion against the God who created family. In part, this is a reaction against a church that has not fully lived out God's word.

Church has moved away from being family, and has moved toward being a volunteer organization, like club. One chooses to belong based on personal preference. Don't like the music, the decor, the speakers, then change. Keep shopping until you find one you like, that you feel comfortable with.

But a person cannot opt out of his family. God designed people and he designed family. And he gave each person a mother and a father. God designed men and women differently, so God designed mothers and fathers differently. Each parent contributes uniquely to the development, health and well-being of each child.

Similarly, God puts each person into a place and enables him to contribute to the health and well-being of his spiritual family.  The family of God grows and flourishes as each member contributes his part. (Jumping to a different metaphor ... how well would your body work if your right hand decided to quit? Or decided that doing the work of God was entirely the province of the mouth?)

Eternally Present - II

There is another aspect of God's eternal presence. There are places in Scripture where it describes God's intimate knowledge of us.

He knows our thoughts, our intentions and our motivations. He counts the hairs on our heads, the steps we take and the tears we cry. He knows our ways, our actions, and our patterns of life.

Scripture says he has uncountable thoughts toward us. Imagine ... he is thinking about, totally consumed with, seven billion people at the same time. Right now, he is giving each one his complete, undivided attention.

So, what is he thinking about?

Many people immediately think, "He's thinking about my sin." We'll, if there is one thing I'm sure he's not thinking about it is our sin. I know this, because there is (at least) one place in Scripture where God says he is the one who wipes out our sin. And not only does he wipe them out, but he won't remember them. And if he won't remember them, how can he think about them?

I'm sure he will be aware of our needs, weaknesses, failures and areas of growth. But I am equally sure he will consider our strengths, our destiny and the places/conditions where we are assets.

We are designed by God. He is eternally present with each of us. So, he gave infinite, all-consuming care to each of our designs. These designs are now marred by sin, but we are still intricate, beautiful and marvelous mechanisms. And we are more than mechanisms. We are dearly loved. God considers each one of us as a wonder and a miracle. God only makes wonders and miracles!

Eternally Present

Someone told me once that they thought it was inappropriate for people to ask God for mundane things. She felt God was too concerned with the important issues in life (like hunger, poverty, cruelty and injustice.) So, eventually, I found myself asking the question: is God concerned about all of life, or just the heavy issues?

My answer to this question has made God's omnipresence one of my favorite attributes of his nature. Because it doesn't only mean that God is present everywhere, but it also means that God is eternally present with each person.

So, God is the only one who is in a position to pay focused attention on world hunger and each child's empty stomach. He cares deeply about human trafficking and each person sold into slavery of any sort. He cares about war, disease, pollution and poverty. And he is eternally present with people who are worried about tests, parking places, being late to work, as well as loneliness, inferiority and loss of hope. God is eternally present, so he can fully enter into what is on each person's heart.

Tendency toward Religion

Part of the nature of human beings is the tendency to move toward systems that make life simpler and easier. (I am, by no means, against simple and easy. I am a human being after all.) So, when there is a problem, one develops a policy and a procedure. That way, when one encounters this problem, one automatically knows what to do and how to do it. There is no thinking, no evaluation, no fuss, no muss, no bother.

Also, there are no nuances. No consideration of mitigating factors. No need for grace or wisdom.

In the world of spirituality, this is the process of moving from relationship to religion. Religion can be characterized as a systematic, formalized way to interact with God.

Some churches are obvious in this. What happens at each meeting is intended to be the same .. with almost clock-like precision.

Some churches claim to be led by the Spirit in all that they do. If that's the case, how come the Spirit never says "Look! This issue is really important, so I want you to scratch the normal agenda and spend the entire meeting in prayer." I doubt that this have ever happened.

We do need to realize that God created the human nature to form habits. God designed people this way, so the habit making process is good. (Do not confuse this all habits are good ... because that's not the case.) Groups of people make habits too. Group habits are called customs or traditions. If the process of making individual habits is good, then, maybe, the process of making group habits is good. But if individuals can make bad habits, then groups can make bad habits too.

Part of being led by the Spirit is knowing when to change from what is normally done to something different, and accepting that with enthusiastic, good will.

Part of being led by the Spirit is knowing this tendency toward formality, knowing God's desire to walk in relationship, and knowing that God-ordained stuff will happen will happen to shake things up and move his family further into relationship.

NOTE: God periodically enters into life with God-ordained stuff (some of which are called revivals, renewals, or awakenings) in a special way. Heaven seems close. God's presence is tangible. Life is wonderful. People are growing, getting saved, and everyone seems extremely excited for thew things of God. Then, it all kinda fades away. One would think that this is what God wants, so why does it fade.

• Maybe people are not designed for such intense, sustained emotional outpouring. There comes a point where it cannot be sustained. There comes a point where it becomes detrimental.
• Maybe God has achieved everything he is intending. Any further pursuit in this direction will not have the effect he is seeking.
• Maybe people are no longer moving where God is leading. God wants his family to go to point "F". They have progressed from "A" to "B" to "C" ... and they are enjoying "C" so much they stop there and don't move on.
• Maybe people have begun the process of formalizing this new experience in God, and it has turned into religion. So, it loses power and becomes just another activity.

"Market Share"

After discussing “market share” Christianity a little while ago, I bumped into a couple of “ideas.”

First: Willow Creek (WC), a mega-church outside of Chicago, gave a church-wide survey in 2004. The leadership believed WC was growing, that the attenders of WC were growing. (They defined growth as increasing love for God and increasing love for people.) The survey was intended to show them what methods and tools were working to promote growth. They were shocked to find that all their assumptions were wrong. They assumed, like many churches, that increasing church participation (attending worship, small groups, Bible studies, work groups or short-term missions) meant growth. When the data was analyzed, they found that increased “numbers” to not mean growth.

Second: With “market share” Christianity, the primary assumption is “bigger is better.” There are “economies of scale” gains in impact, effectiveness and efficiency. But, there has also been push-back about mass production, cookie cutter methodologies. The reasoning is as follows: if each person is unique, has a personal place and function in the body of Christ, then such methodologies will not work. The church needs craftsmen and not assembly lines. So, there is a growing movement of people who espouse a “smaller is better” philosophy. Smaller allow for more personal attention and greater craftsmanship-like concern. So, there is a call for house or cell church models. (And I confess a personal draw in this direction.)

The second “bump,” however, is not that mega is bad and micro is good. It is that, maybe. Churches have their attention in the wrong place, on the wrong things. Jesus’ marching orders are to make disciples, who are obedient to all his commands … including the command to make disciples, who themselves make disciples.

The Bible says that God gave leaders to the church, who will prepare his family to do his work. And, as each part does its work, the body grows … increase in love for God and people. Since, Scripture equates loving God and loving people with keeping his commands, doing God’s work is, in part, keeping his marching orders.

The second “bump” is that churches need to adjust their thinking to provide better methods of equipping and preparation. It could be possible this preparation can only be done in micro settings. But size does not ultimately define the quality or focus of the preparation.

Work Vs. Rest

The Bible says that God loves his children with unfailing, everlasting love. He values, loves and accepts them as a father does his infant child, when he has done nothing to deserve it. It also says nothing can separate us from God's love ... maybe, even, ourselves.

The Bible also says that God has given gifted men to prepare his family for significant work. He has given marching orders to make disciples of all peoples, all over the world. And he says that his body will grow when each part does its work properly.

On one hand,  there is no need for us to do anything.  We need only accept this rest. On the other hand,  there is clearly an expectation that God's children will take action.

Like so many things, the answer lies in the heart. God has poured out his love into our hearts. He changes our motivations. He changes our want-to's.

Love gives birth to love; love gives birth to loving action. God loves us. So, we love him in return. And we give love to others. And we act in love to God and others.

Following Jesus

The Father invites us to follow Jesus. This means we take his character. And it means we serve people the way he served people.

 

How did Jesus serve people? It seems to me that he was a healer. There was spiritual healer (salvation and the restoration of God’s image), physical healing, inner healing (emotional and psychological) and social-cultural healing (families, cities, tribes and countries).

 

How did Jesus heal? He got personal. He got close. He engaged people at their point of need. He showed people the Father’s love, and let them experience it. The lame walked. The blind could see. Sinners were forgiven. The broken hearted were comforted.

 

One thing struck me in a new way this morning. Jesus went small to grow big. He did serve large crowds, sometimes 20,000 people. If he made an impact in such a setting, that was good. But he wasn’t aiming at huge crowds. He was aiming at a small group of men. He was training a group of men to be healers, like he was a healer. And he was training these healers to train healers.

 

It seems like the common model today is to gather a large group around one person, creating an organization and using economies of scale to carve out a space in the “market”.

 

Many people are sincerely trying to follow Jesus through this “market share” mode. It is what they have seen and experienced throughout their lives. But are they really following Jesus?

God's Purposes

When God created the world, he created it perfectly. And he created it with two purposes in mind.

One: To create a family. People would be created. They would bond together in one family. They would have intimate, ongoing relationship with the Father. The Father would have intimate, ongoing relationship with the family as a whole, and with each member individually and personally.

Two: To demonstrate his nature\character through his creation. He would pour out his love on all people. The people would all experience it fully. Creation would be whole and harmonious. The family would be whole and harmonious. No pain, death or loss. Nature was gracious and giving.

Then sin entered the world. It corrupted. It disrupted. And everything broke.

But did God’s purposes change? No, they did not. The purposes are the same. The mechanisms for achieving those purposes needed to change; the end results did not.

God still wants to make a family. God still wants to have intimate, ongoing relationship with the family as a whole and with each individual. But, before sin, when someone was born, he would have automatically been included in the family. Now, with sin, each person is separated from God and from the family. So, God has set up an adoption process. Each person is placed in the family by the process. And God considers each “reclaimed” person as if they were born into the family, instead of being adopted into the family.

But each person has freedom to choose to be a part of the family or not. So, there needs to be an “invitation mechanism.”  And each person is fundamentally broke. They do not know how to live in the family. The do not know how to live as a son\daughter of the Father. So, there needs to be a “restoration mechanism.”

And the family itself is involved with these mechanisms. The family demonstrates the truth of its relationship with the Father. The family demonstrates the extent of its restoration. The family participates in extending invitations. And the family participates in restoring one another to health and wholeness. The family teaches one another how to live in the family. The family teaches one another how to connect with the Father.

And it is this connection with the Father that changes who a person is at his\her core.

And God still wants to demonstrate his character through his creation. Scripture says all of creation declares God’s character. But sin blocks the view. It should be seen most clearly through his family. Which is why the “restoration mechanism” becomes vital.

Jesus came and formally re-established God’s family. He set up the invitation mechanism and the restoration mechanism. But, he prioritized the restoration mechanism. Both are important, but it is the restoration mechanism that gives power to the invitation mechanism.

And restoration covers wherever God’s kingdom should reign: individuals, families, neighborhoods, cities, societies, cultures, institutions, fields, forests, mountains, factories, industries, stores, offices, universities, parking lots, highways and bi-ways. In whatever place, in whatever condition, in whatever situation God’s presence is, God’s restoration should come and prevail.

Vines and Braches: Why is Relationship Important?

We wrote, quite a while ago, about how people need “fuels” to live. Food, water and air are examples of physical fuels. Love, beauty and freedom are examples of other fuels – emotional, psychological and spiritual. The foundational fuel source is our relationship with our Father.

Our relationship with God is important, because it is the source of life. And there is more to life than just living. (Read: surviving.) As we relate, he floods our hearts and spirits with his love. It is this love which powers our lives. It is this live which he uses to recreate, restore and redeem us. It is this love which transforms our heart – and therefore, our motivations, thoughts, words and actions.

Churches all over the world reconstruct the law. Attend church, tithe, serve and witness are new laws put out by churches for people to live by. But sin still abides in us. It rebels against any law. It uses the power of any law to generate rebellion.

God’s family does not live by the law any more. It lives by the power of love and grace. Love fulfills the law – in deed, it is the better fulfillment. People follow the law out of fear. They seek to avoid the stigma and any negative results.

God’s family pursues what the law commands, but not because the law commands it. The recognize these things as an outflow of love – of God’s love through them. They recognize these things as an expression of love to God and to people.

Imagine wanting to share the gospel with people, because: 

• it is best for them to know the Father, God and Creator of All; 
• it is best for them to have God’s love flood their hearts; 
• knowing and experiencing God’s love is so wonderful, that you can’t help yourself.

Vine and Branches: What Does Relationship Look Like?

I have been floundering around trying to grasp what a relationship with God looks like, if it is not based on religion. And I realized today that there is not just one picture. That’s because it is a personal relationship.

Some of us had bad fathers. Some of us had good fathers. Some fathers were extroverts; some were introverts. Some were emotional, intellectual, quiet, noisy, aloof and  touchy-feely. Some dads took the whole neighborhood top play ball. Some worked on the yard. Some read the paper. It is true: we understand our Father based on the character and relationship we had with our fathers. And because our fathers were all different, we have different expectations, issues and hot buttons – which includes things that make us angry, sad, happy encouraged and discouraged. We have different preferences, patterns and codes – personal ways we learn and understand best.

Some of us will work better if we have set times, places, durations and practices. Some of us can be more flexible. God did make people to have habits. So, no matter how spontaneous a person is, there will still be some routines. Spiritual disciplines are practices that were identified, defined and refined over years as ways for people to connect with our Father. But they can be adapted to fit our time and lace.

However, the primary arena for our relationship with our Father is the heart, the mind and the attitude. We speak to him with them. We listen to him with them. We expect him to respond there. We expect him to act. We expect to receive and experience his love. We expect our concepts of “father” to be corrected and altered, so our ways of responding to our Father will be perfected.

As I said before, because people change, relationships change. Therefore, the ways of communication, the common areas and the grounds for concern will change. So, if our choice of practice\discipline lead to understanding, transformation and intimacy, continue to practice them. But hold them loosely. Be prepared to adjust, to surrender old practices and be open to new ones. Hear his voice. Feel his presence. Know his heart, embrace it and follow it.

**

Jesus did not die on the cross, so people could go to heaven for eternity.

Jesus died on the cross, so people could have a relationship with the God-head, know and experience his love, be part of his family, and demonstrate his new life in us. (Which is the same life as he originally intended and designed.)

Eternity in heaven is just a lucky strike extra.

Vines and Branches - VIII

I have read (or am reading) three books this year that have wrestled with this religion vs. relationship issue. ("After God's Own Heart" - Mike Bickle; "Sonship" - James Jordan; "Grace Walk" - Steve McVey.)

The writers started from different places, with different problems, with different perspectives and different aspects of God's truth impacting them. It is amazing how similar their solutions are and how similar the language is. (Ie. The examples, the sub-topics, and the analsis sound alike.)

They mention the strident calls for maturity, and how the church defines that. They mention the demand for victorious living, and what is expected in that. They mention common practices/disciplines and how often they are more characteristic of religion than relationship.

Christians commonly follow a practice of personal devotions/quiet time. Imagine a marriage where the wife comes home at night (illustration courtesy of Steve McVey) and haas a practice of spending time with her husband. She begins by praising or complimenting him. She outlines several jobs she wishes he would complete. She expresses concern for her family, coworkers,  and, possibly, a situation in the world. And then she's done until the next day ... same time, same place.

I don't know about you,  but my marriage doesn't seem to work that way. I do get my to-do list. I do hear about problems and concerns.  It is rarely in a compact, neatly scheduled container. We don't always lay out precise, well defined sentences. We don't always communicate with words. My wife can lay her hand on mine and it can mean: "Excuse me. I have a complicated situation I need to discuss", "I really like being married to you", or "Be careful of what you are going to say next. You are close to getting youself in trouble." (And it may not necessarily be with her.)

Or there doesn't have to be any communication at all. We can sit quietly watching football or golf together. Or taking a nap with said programs playing in the background.

Relationship is not neat and tied up with a bow. The Bible says we can pray continuously.  The Bible says we don't need words. The emotions of our heart directed at God are enough. He is capable of interpretting our needs, desires and intents from that.

Vine and Branches - VII

These are probably the big three of relationship: heart concern, open communication and commonality. Commonalities provide a platform to build a relationship on. Open communication is the vehicle. Heart concern is the motivation.

Because God loves us, he is always seeking to communicate with us.  He sometimes communicates about our failures. He sometimes gives marching orders. Most of the time, he is trying to reveal his heart to us. And as one person put it: "to know him is to love him."

As we connect to the Father, his love flows back in response, healing our heart, re-wiring our DNA, and transforming our lives. Transformation advances his purposes, but it also restores us closer to our original design. The more we advance his purposes, the more his love embraces more people.  The more we are transformed, the more we are restored to original design.  The more we are restored, the better it is for us. We are healthier, happier,  more whole, and more at peace. It is founded on God communicating his love to us. And he communicates his love to us, as he tells us who he is. As I said before,  he communicates many things to us. First and foremost,  he is trying to saturate our minds and hearts with: he is love, he gives love, and he wants us to know him and it.

Vines and Branches - VI

Another aspect of relationship is an area held in common. People getting married have a mutual attraction. People in business together have a mutual vision for profit. Friends can all sorts of mutual interests: stamps, music, sports, crafts. The question in the relationship between God and man is, of course, what is that common area?

In most other relationships, there is giving and receiving. In our relationship with God, there is really nothing to give someone who is all-sufficient. Much of our relationship is recognizing the truth of God's worldview and synchronizing our worldview with his. So, we develop the same worldview, values, priorities, mission and character.

There is a mutuality of love. The expression of love on God's part is a heart renovation -- including the initial reconciliation between God and our selves, when we gave him our allegiance, so we can fulfill the items on the above list.

Vine and Branches - V(c)

Open-hearted communication requires two way expression. We open our hearts to speak honestly. We open our hearts to listen honestly.

God has given us special ways for expression. We can pray. We can worship. We can read, study or meditate on Scripture. People have designed methods that combine these in various ways. All of them facilitate focusing our hearts in open communication. Through all of them, God can speak to our hearts and act in our hearts.

Of course, the value of expression is any relationship lies in its consistency. Which implies regularity.

I can meet, fall in love, propose, and get married. But if my wife and I never meet or talk after that, there's not much point. And it's not much better, if we just get together every Christmas, whether we want to or not. Such relationships work best, if there is fairly frequent communication. Daily maybe?

There are some caveats. One, things change. Relationships in marriage change. At first, there is a man and a woman. Then, there are children. Then, there is a man and a woman, again. The addition\subtraction of people add to the complexity, and the need for adaption. At first, there is only a focus on the needs of two people. Then, the needs of children become important: health, school, sports, driving, university, and starting their own families. And children are different. Boys are different than girls. Special needs? Special gifts or talents? Then, there is a rebuilding of life after the nest empties. Relationship with God is not a static thing. Prayer\reading practices will need to change. New rhythms developed. Variety in the rhythm.

Two, the Bible is not a text book. I am sitting here, trying to understand the difference between living in relationship and living in religion. Ostensibly, my intention -- since, my thesis is living in relationship is what God designed -- is to grow in living in relationship. But, it sometimes seems like all I am doing is mastering the material and proposing theories. Hopefully, I will pass the final and go onto the next class. But the disciplines that connect us to God, are not just for knowing. They are for practicing. They are for transforming and enabling love.

Three, communication requires listening as well as speaking. People seem more inclined to speak and less inclined to listen. With God, we need to learn both "skills."

Vine and Branches - V(b)

Open-hearted communication is first and foremost about openness. Our life in God can only grow as we are willing to let him in. Connected close with openness is honesty. (Or maybe it is another way to describe openness.)

Dishonesty is one way of closing our hearts from God. It is one way of hiding our hearts. We can say, "No, I'm not like that." Or "I don't have that." Or "It's not that bad." Or we can just ignore it.

Dishonesty is like finding an ugly toad in your yard. You decide you can't have this ugly thing around, so you paint it bright pink to make it beautiful. In reality, you make it worse.

Honesty is telling yourself the truth ... good, bad or indifferent. Honesty is being humble with what you can do, or what you can't do. Honesty is knowing you need help, and asking for it. 

Vines and Branches - V(a)

Probably, the most important consideration for living in relationship, rather than living in religion, is open-hearted communication.

I think there are several characteristics of open-hearted communication. First, it is open-hearted. In other words, there is nothing closed off, nothing hidden. There is no subject that is out of bounds ... for conversation. Obviously, since God is holy and righteous, there are things that are out of bounds for practice. It is one thing to say, "Man! That guy makes me so angry, I want to kill him!" It is another to actually kill him. The Bible does say that if something is real in the heart, it is just as real as if it was in the world. It is sin if we do something. It is sin if we contemplate it.

We have said this many times: we live from our hearts outward. Anything we say or do begins in our hearts. And as someone who has given his allegiance to Jesus, we want to live in obedience. So, when we do evil, we tend to hide it, or to "behavior modify" it. But it is the condition of the heart that produces action. No one is stronger than their heart. But God can flood our hearts with his love, transform our motivations, rewire our DNA and make us new.

It is the openness that allows God to work on these areas. God has given us freedom. He does not coerce our transformation. He invites us to cooperate. It is in our openness that he has a pathway into our hearts.

Openness is not just for transforming the evil in us. It enhances the good. It opens a pathway for revelation. We show our hearts, our thoughts and our natures to God. He reveals his heart. He reveals his thoughts. He reveals his nature. And, maybe, he reveals his marching order. 

Vine and Branches - IV

Often, people get into a trap of believing that they need to obey God’s commands to convince God to accept them.

One, God will never accept us on the based on our obedience, because we have already shown we are total flops in that area.

Two, God has already accepted us, because of the cross and Jesus. And just to make sure we get it, Scripture declares that those who give their allegiance to Jesus are:

• Given life.
• Chosen to belong to God’s family.
• Chosen to be Jesus’ friend. 
• Chosen to be part of Jesus’ body.
• In Christ … same position, same status, regarded in the same way. 
• Citizen of God’s kingdom.
• Complete … which means we need nothing more. 
• Dearly loved.
• Forgiven, justified, redeemed and sealed.
• New, salt and light.
• United\yoked with Jesus.

Is obedience important? Yes. But, once, we choose Jesus, obedience takes on an entirely new motivation, basis and rationale. Obedience is not to get God to accept us; it is to demonstrate God’s love and nature.

Vine and Branches - III

I have been trying to conceive of a picture where my relationship with God is based on relationship, rather than a to-do list. Religion is a to-do list: read your bible, go through your prayer points, attend church, give your tithe, and, maybe, share the gospel. (I hope anyone reading this realizes that all those things listed above are good things. Indeed, there are things we should do. As I have written previously, it is probably motivation and other heart qualities that are affected most, not the actions.)

So, if a relationship is not a to-do list, then what is it?

As I poked at, last post, one element is a mutual concern for each others' heart. If we are concerned for each others' heart, we seek to:

• Understand.
• Discover ways to build the heart. 
• Avoid things that damage the heart. 
• Avoid things that block the connection between the two hearts.

Maybe, the most definition of “mutual concern for each others' heart” is “love.”

Vine and Branches - II

NOTE: I changed the title because I am not really talking about the heart anymore (although the heart is involed), I am trying to describe what living with God by relationship, as opposed to religion, is like.

The mantra that essentially all Christians proclaim is that our allegiance to Jesus is not a religion, it is a relationship. Yet, many live like it is religion.

When many people approach their lifestyle, it is often with the thought of what's right or what's wrong. If I do what's right, I glorify God, declare my stance to the world, and bear fruit. I will grow and mature. If I do wrong, it dishonors God and sends the wrong message to the world. Sin contaminates the individual's soul. Obedience brings health.

I notice there are times that when I fail, I don't want my wife to know about it. I want to hide what I have done wrong from her. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, there will be a mess to clean up. Cleaning up the mess leads to a large disruption in our relationship. And I value the relationship enough that I don't want any sort of disruption.

Two, often my failure will cause pain and disappointment. In part, I don't want her to be disappointed. In part, the pain and disappointment leads to a large disruption in our relationship. And I value the relationship enough that I don't want any sort of disruption.

How often do we consider our choices from that perspective? Will this choice add\detract from my relationship with the Father? Do I ever consider the pain and disappointment my Father feels when I fail? Especially when I choose to fail?

Sin always steals something. And when we choose wrongly, one thing it always steals is our connection to the Father. At the time of the choice, we evidently value the sin more than the connection.

Maybe our moment by moment connection is so flimsy, that we are not aware of any difference it makes in our lives?

Maybe our "check off the to-do list" style is more a religion -- instead of a relationship -- that we care to admit?

NOTE: Just to make sure there is no confusion ... Part of walking in relationship is concern (almost, protecting) the other person's heart. Another part is open-hearted communication. My example was about the first. It is not a very good example of the second. Indeed, it could be looked at as not being honest. Which in a way it is not. Still, is it good to tell everyone every bad thing you ever did? Selective communication may be kinder in the long run. Not lying, just choosing not to talk.

But the primary focus is guarding the heart of the one you are in relationship with.

Vine and Branches

There is a metaphor Jesus used to describe what the relationship that God’s family should have with him. He is like a vine; we are like branches.

The branches are connected to the vine. It is through the root, to the vine and into the branches that nutrients flow. It is the connection that gives life and health to the branches. It is the connection that produces fruit.

I have been using the term “heart-focus” to attempt to describe a person’s response to Jesus that activates this connection. And I have been trying to grasp what this means. Is it the same as mental focus? It is easy to see we are connected when we worship, pray or meditate. But what about watching TV, or driving to work? Do we live in a state of connect\disconnect? I don’t think so. Or at least, I don’t think that’s what God intended.

Mike Bickle has part of the answer, at least, in what he calls “behold and become”.

“Behold” refers to what a person “sees” about God – what he knows, understands and believes. “Becomes” refers to hold a person’s life develops. And beholding develops into becoming.

If we see God is primarily concerned about right living, about following the rules and doing the right thing, we are going to be involved in constantly checking our behavior, making sure we are doing the right thing, the “Christian” thing. We are going to be obsessed with failure … because if God is focused on us doing right, how will he feel when we do wrong?

And we have slipped, unnoticed, back into living by the law. The law does define right and wrong. It does define God’s right and wrong. But Scripture also says nobody can keep the law. God gave the law to push us to find a savior. To push us to grace.

(If we can’t keep the law before we gave allegiance to Jesus, why do we think we can keep the law after giving allegiance to Jesus.?)

If we see God is primarily concerned about having a relationship …

And I get stuck right here. I find that I am not sure what should go on in my heart and head. I have been focused on how I should live, what I should do to please God, and not what life looks like living in relationship with God.

In many ways, what activities a person is involved in probably do not change. Motivations and attitudes probably do change. And I could really believe that fruit would change.

Forgiveness and the Heart

Jesus told a story about a king who ordered a general audit of all his finances. They found that one of the servants had stolen\wasted billions. They were about to haul him off, when he threw himself on his face, and begged for mercy. And the king forgave him.

(Imagine someone stealing $5000 from you. Imagine it was someone you trusted. Now, because he asks you, you forgive him. You give up your rights to that $5000!)

Now the servant went off and found another servant, who owed him a much, much smaller sum. And when the second servant begged for forgiveness, the first servant refused and had the second servant thrown into prison.

The king heard about this, and he summoned the first servant. Since, the king forgave the first servant, he should have forgiven his fellow-servant. And the king imprisoned the servant and gave him over to torture.

Jesus finishes with a warning. Unless we forgive from our hearts, we will receive similar torment.

Most people who read this story interpret Jesus' warning as a statement about a person's eternal destiny. I have recently read a story, where there writer interprets Jesus' story differently.

(NOTE: I am writing here primarily to think through his rationale about this passage.)

The writer shares his story. He tells about his father, who was harsh, condemning and belittling. There was no physical abuse, but he grew with no sense of love, closeness or approval from his father. Eventually, as we all would probably, he closed his heart to his father.

He describes the effects of a closed heart, which we won't go into, but weren't good.

Then, he goes through a process of discovery about his father. He learned about his upbringing, the low opinion his family had, and his experience during WWII. He realized his father had no love to give him, because his father had never been loved!

It was recognizing his father's barrenness of life, to see with his father's eyes, that enabled him to forgive his father from the heart. And forgiveness released the hold his pain had on his heart.

When we live in unforgiveness, we have our hearts focused on the ones who offend us. We are, in reality, connected to the ones who sinned against us, and those sins. We were designed to be connected to our heavenly Father. If our heart is focused on our Father, we are filled with grace, love and healing. Unforgiveness blocks and disrupts the flow. So, we are cut off from our source of love, joy and peace.

The torment we will experience is not the torment of hell, but the torment of separation from the Father. We will live a barren existence, just like that man's father. We know the answer. We need to work our way through to the answer: see their hearts, forgive, renew a heart focus and connection to the Father, and receive his love.

The Heart - V

God loves people. As people turn to God, they focus their hearts toward him. God focuses his heart back to people, and he fills their hearts with love, grace and healing.

As our hearts are changed, our lives are changed. We have new values, new priorities, new goals, and new patterns. There is an overflow into the lives of people around.

But there are barriers. Our flesh is naturally antagonistic because of the original man and woman's choice to sin. (A deliberate move of heart focus.) The enemy knows of this linkage between heart focus and grace. His desire to bring misery to everyone will motivate him to disrupt our heart focus any way he can. Barriers can also be built from within.

Our heart is built by all the ideas we ever had, all the words we ever heard or spoke, and all the experiences we have ever gone through. Experiences can cause us to make promises to ourselves. For example, many people grow up with cruel, abusive fathers. Because of wrong treatment by their fathers, they conclude that "father-ness" is bad. They conclude that if a person connects to "father-ness" in anyway, bad things will happen. So, they make a promise to themselves to have nothing to do with "father-ness" in any form ... including their infitiely loving, heavenly Father. This promise becomes a barrier to their heart focus. Which, in turn, blocks the flow of love and grace to them. Which stops the healing of their hearts, and the fruit that results.

There are, of course, numerous barriers. And, because of God's goals and purposes for our lives, he spends significant time and energy trying to get us to see and address these barriers. And other forces work to cover our eyes, and to strengthen these barriers.

The Heart - IV

Someone referred me to a passage of Scripture recently, that speaks to the heart and heart focus. The passage says those who live by the flesh focus their hearts on the things of the flesh, and those who live by the Spirit focus their hearts on the things of the Spirit. The flesh brings death, and the Spirit brings life.

Normally, when I had considered this passage in the past, I thought that someone focused his heart on the flesh in order to gratify it. But what about focusing our hearts on the flesh so we can tame it?

That is what a lot of us do. Focus our hearts on avoiding sin, resisting temptation, presenting a positive image of God, and living victoriously. But are we still focusing our hearts on the flesh? Is this what “walking in our own strength” really means?

If our hearts are focused on “doing stuff”, then we are not abiding. Our hearts are not focused on Jesus, the Father and the Spirit. We are not drawing on his grace, we are drawing on our strength. And our strength is based on the flesh, a person’s nature that is not controlled by Christ, or, or one person defines it, “the techniques we use to try and meet our needs, independent of Jesus Christ.”

Focusing our hearts on “doing stuff” – whether it is being victorious, living in abundance, or being fruitful – we will never succeed in the long run. We may succeed in the short term, but we will eventually fail. Then, we may find ourselves in the yo-yo existence of: fail, repent, resolve to try harder, succeed for a while, and fail again.

We are never going to be 100% perfect in this life. But Jesus died, and sent his Spirit into our hearts to create us new – to re-program our spiritual DNA – so we live new. The re-programming is already done. The goal now is to practice what God has put into existence.

The Heart - III

There are two principles at work in the world. One is the principle of the law. Scripture says God gave the law, but it wasn't intended that we should live by it. We cannot live by the law. We are not able to keep it.

God created the world perfect. But sin entered and contaminated the world; it broke our hearts. When we were born, our hearts existed in a condition that was against God. Our hearts were filled by sinful desires. And the law actually encouraged those desire. So, we sinned.

If we live with the focus to obey God's law, we will fail. This is why God insituted the second principle.

The second is the principle of the Spirit. We give allegiance to Jesus, and God sends his Spirit into our hearts. The Spirit begins to create our hearts anew. The Spirit makes our motivations and want-to's brand new.

Living by want-to has a greater and different power than living by have-to. Which is why God works in our hearts, changing our want-to's.

The Heart - II

We always act from the abundance of our hearts. If we respond to any situation with anger, it is what fills our hearts. If we respond with lust, it is what fills our hearts.

We can through all sorts of behavior modification, and it won't do any good, because in times of stress, we will revert to the overflow of our hearts.

I don't think it affects our eternal standing with God. Our standing is based on God's promise. We give him our allegiance, and he gives us sonship and citizenship. When he admits us into his family, he chooses to renovate our heart and rebuild his image in us. But the prime focus is not our attitudes and behavior. It is our hearts.

Restored Father\Son Relationship

God seeks to re-connect to us as his child. The primary reason for that is because God loves us. His original design for the world was for there to be one giant family for himself. Sin broke people, and their ability to be that family. Now, God seeks to restore that relationship. He seeks to be the Father to us the he intended to be. 

When God created the world, he intended, he designed people to be like Jesus. (Part of me says we would not have produced the works of power like he did. If the world was like God designed, there would be no reason for healings.) Each person would have Jesus' character. 

(One way to think about this, heaven is the fulfillment of God's original design. Heaven is what the world would have been like, if there had been no sin.) 

So, God is now in the process of redemption and restoration. He seeks to imprint us again with the character of Jesus. 

When we think about this process of transformation, there are a lot of tools that come to mind: his Word, his Spirit, other people, his discipline and grace. There are some tools we don't think about. When we choose to give our allegiance to Jesus, he gives us his Spirit, and his Spirit gives us a special ability. Whenever we practice this ability, there is a transforming effect, because the Spirit flows through us. Just like flowing water has a cleansing effect, the flowing Spirit has a cleansing effect. 

One tool of transformation that gets very little thought is the restoration of the father-son relationship. Like Jesus' story of the son who turns his back on his family, but realizes he made a mistake, and returns to his family. When he gets home, his father welcomes him. The son was restored back to who he was, and who he was intended to be. He ws put back where he was originally designed to be. 

The father-son relationship is a tool of transformation, because it speaks to and molds the heart. It is our hearts that have first importance. It is the core that produces all thoughts, all words, and all deeds. It is there that God does his deepest works. It is there he speaks the greats truths. It is there he is trying to communicate his love and acceptance. 

Many people work long and hard to earn God's love and acceptance. They try to earn his love before they are saved. Scripture says loud and clear, people cannot earn the grace that leads to salvation. Many finally hear that message. But then they try to glorify his name, and impact the world for him. And, then, they fail. 

I think people spend way too much time worrying about their sin. Does God want people to sin? Goodness no. Does God want obedience? Oh, yes. Does God want righteousness to reign in people's hearts? Oh, double-yes. 

Does God want people to flagellate themselves for days when they fail? Does God want re-dedication after re-dedication? 

It was God's grace that saved us when we were helpless, enemies of God. What makes us think that we don't need God's grace to totally disassemble and reassemble our spiritual DNA? Can any of us reach into our hearts and change our motivations and our want-to's?

Only God is stronger than our hearts. He can reach into our hearts. He can alter our DNA. 

I am beginning to think that God's message to us, intended to bring about our transformation is not "Your life needs to glorify me. You need to live in a way that portrays me in a positive manner. You need to get you act together." I think the message might be "You are my child. I love you. I accept you. And I want what's best for you."

Salt - IV

In the last post, we talked about a certain group of people, regarding their "saltiness."

If "salt" is a metaphor of what attracts people to Jesus, part of that "salt" is Jesus' love. And one of the traits of love is not focusing on faults and failures.

There is an aspect of confronting failure, but the motivation the confronter should have is healing. Removing a blockage between the Father and his children. Removing an impedance towards redemption and restoration. Toward living out God's original design.

I can look at these people and find many practices that many people outside of God's family find offensive. But I can't see the heart\motivation of these people. Because of the definitions of success, efficiency and effectiveness that many people have, some of these may honestly and genuinely believe that their goals and tactics are God's best.

There are some practices that I am offended by. There are some just consider un-wise and ineffective. But, unlike the Father, I don't know hearts. And I am to walk in love like Jesus. That's my salt.

There is a strong tension between being loving and being discerning, between acting with grace and acting with wisdom. And God wants us to act with all of these. And it would be a lot easier if the world weren't broke.

Salt - III

I tend to look at salt as a metaphor for the attractive qualities of Jesus and his family. The things that make people want to be with Jesus. The things that make people to chose Jesus as their first allegiance and follow him.

Several of us got together for a birthday celebration this past week. As always, conversations spanned a large spectrum of subjects: sports, politics, family, etc.

A few of us got talking about different "things" involving people who chose to follow Jesus, but have gone onto build big "things" for Jesus. Big churches. Big organizations. Big budgets. Big programs.

Often, when people describe what is bad about Christianity, people like this are mentioned. They are:

• Judgmental.
• Intolerant.
• Only interested in money.
• Only interested in themselves. 

If it is "salt" that makes us want to be with Jesus, many would consider that these people seem to have lost theirs. They do seem to like large crowds. But the crowds are not like Jesus' crowds. The rejects of society are not sitting in the front row. Moreover, Jesus did not seem to need crowds.

So, have these lost their "salt", because they chose to not follow Jesus? Or have they lost their "salt", because of contaminants? Maybe ideas about success\failure, what is valuable, what is important that are not Jesus' ideas about these things have gotten planted (to do a quick switch in metaphors) and the fruit is an urgent need to maintain their status, and not an urgent need to be truly "salt."

Salt - II

So, what is "saltiness" or "flavor"? The word for "loses its flavor" in the original language means "to become foolish." If you are like me, your first reation to that is "huh?" Is Jesus saying tht losing flavor is becoming foolish, or going through a process of making wrong decisions? Or, in other words, being salty is growing in wisdom, or going through a process of making wise decisions?

Maybe.

Growing in wisdom is learning how to make right decisions. One might say that decisions that are profitable, minimize failure, and enhance relationships are wise.

Decisions are the buildings blocks of charactor. Old decisions provide the basis for new decisions. They are drawn from our values and priorities. Successful decisions confirm those values and priorities. Thus, making it more likely that we will make similar decisions in similar circumstances in the future. Unsuccessful decisions send us back to the drwing board.

Scripture throws one huge wrinkle into the mix. It takes into consideration a fundamental decision that becomes the bedrock for all other decisions. What do you do with God?

Scripture says that the most important, most fundamental decision is to choose allegiance with the Creator of All. When that decision is made, a group of values and priorities are introduced into the person's life, and in a progressive fashion, introduced into his contexts and environments.

And, as the person lives in agreement and congruence with these values and priorities, he impacts the enivronment and the people in the environment.

Saltiness is the effect of living a life that is based on its relationship with God, living in agreement with God's original design for people, and its redemptive, restorative impact. Such a life loses its "saltiness" when the person does not take this first relationship into account, or makes decisions without the influences of this relationship.