God's Attitude About Lost Things

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And then, the father arranged for a party.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

God is a Family

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

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

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

But a couple of things are certain:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Place for Each Man in Christ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Growing in Righteousness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transformation is always a four step process:

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

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

The Commission (3)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Commission (2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What if 80 million people:

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

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

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

The Commission

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sin's Power

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

Except we keep sinning.

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

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

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

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

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

Lives of Worship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eternally Present

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

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

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

He is involved with each child, because:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discipleship (4)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Discipleship (3)

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

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

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

Discipleship (2)

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

Many churches and Christian organizations filter discipleship through a series of classes, supported by a series of rules and guidelines.

First, Scripture defines mankind's basic problem as sin, which can be seen as man's inability -- including the lack of willingness, or desire -- to keep God's commands. So, the first thing organizations do is make a "to-do" list, and call it discipleship.

Second, the core of discipleship is founded, and strengthened, on a person's relationship with Jesus. (And where Jesus is, and what he touches, the Father and the Spirit are also there.)

Third, discipleship is not what a person knows, it is who a person is. Discipleship is about identity, lifestyle, values, goals, priorities, and motivations. And if you are a disciple of Jesus, then your identity, lifestyle, values, goals, priorities, and motivations come from him.

Discipleship means that Jesus' purposes become our purposes. And for Jesus, love is job #1. That means that the core of discipleship is: love God, and love people. Love is: reconnecting people to God, meeting needs, and bringing healing.

"Reconnecting people to God" means that people have a correct, and proper, relationship with God. People live in peace with God. People live in an ongoing and growing fellowship with God. Disciples promote this fellowship for themselves and others. Moreover, disciples are assertive in introducing this connection, and this fellowship, to others.

"Meeting needs" involves the physical, spiritual, psychological, emotional, social, and cultural.

"Bring healing" means bodies function as God designed them to, minds function as God designed them to, and hearts function as God designed them to.

Discipleship is taking the heart of Jesus, planting it in the core of people, so they live out the life of Jesus, in the midst of whatever environment, and context, they are currently in.

Discipleship

"Discipleship" is a term Christians use to wrap around the process of people learning to fellowship with God, growing in knowing him, and cooperating with the restoration of his original design in people, and the world, and completing his mission.

Our understanding of discipleship can get fuzzy as time passes. Changes in culteral expectations mix with our understanding of Scripture. We lose a clear vision of what a disciple's lifestyle should look like. Usually, we drift from greater Christ-likeness.

One reason God acts to revive his children is to renew the focus of what discipleship is. God uses his children to bring life into the world. God's life is injected into the world in direct proportion to how much God's children demonstrate God's nature and character. No one child can accomplish this alone. It requires God's family. God's family in one location. God's family in all locations.

God has designed people to be creative. They are permitted to develop new ways to express his life, in keeping with changes in culture. But his children need to preserve the eternal core of his truth, and his spirit.

Sometimes, a new thing is created to help advance God's kingdom. And usually it does. But, then sometimes it becomes "the law" when it really does not belong to God's core of truth.

In God's family, leadership is important, and learning is important. To facilitate growth in leadership, schools were developed. There is nothing wrong with schools, or with training leaders. But, Scripture says that if someone is in God's family, that person is a priest of God Most High. In many situations, training to facilitate the advance of God's kingdom, service to God's people, and service to the world, has actually stifled God's life, because it has hindered people completing their role as priests. People do not act as they are supposed to, because of personal expectations. People do not act as they are supposed to, because of group expectations.

Plans that are intended to help -- and have helped -- have choked life from God's family, because certain expectations and limits are placed on God's people that God never intended.

Sixth Sign

Jesus had some friends, a brother, and two sisters, named: Lazerus, Martha, and Mary. It appears their parents had died, and they were living together. (Perhaps Lazerus was supporting his sisters.) And the three of them appear in a few of Jesus' stories. In one of the stories, Jesus gets word that Lazerus is sick. And Jesus sees an opportunity for God to receive glory. Jesus could have gone to Lazerus, and healed him. But he didn't. He waited.

 

So, a couple of days later, Jesus announces to his disciples, that it is time to return to Judea, and go to Lazerus, because he has died. And, in this case, it was good that he died, because it would provide an opportunity for God to demonstrate his glory.

 

When Jesus arrives in his friends home town, he finds that, not only is Lazerus dead, but he has been buried for four days.

 

Martha comes to Jesus. She is convinced that Jesus has a special relationship with the Father. And Jesus could have saved her borther's life, if he had been there.

 

Jesus assures Martha that Lazerus will live again. And Martha agrees, "Yes, he will rise at the end of time."

 

This is the crux of the matter. Jesus says, "I am the resurrection. I am the life." God's plan and mission center around Jesus. Sin has broken mankind's relationship with the Father. Sin has thrown a monkey wrench into mankind's design. The world is broke. And the first step to fixing it is correcting mankind's realtionship with the Father. Without this step, no social action, no 12-step plan, no therapy, will affect the world's brokenness. People are already dead. Jesus will bring the dead out of the grave. Jesus will install them with new life. Life that opens the door, and begins the process of restoring them to their original design.

 

Then, Martha affirms her confidence in Jesus, and goes to get her sister. Mary comes, and expresses herself in much the same way as Martha did.

 

Jesus asks to go to the grave site. And when they arrive, he asks for someone to remove the stone, and open the crypt.

 

Now, Israel is a hot place, so the body has been rotting for fours days. The crypt would obviously reek. And let's consider the state of the body a little more. Decomposition of the body means a breakdown of the body's parts and functions. Muscle and bone are degrading. Nerves and synapses are collapsing. The body's systems would no long function, even if life would suddenly return to the body.

 

Then, Jesus prays in a loud voice, thanking the Father for his presence, for listening, and for partnering with Jesus. The intent of the prayer is to focus attention on God's involvment and work. Everything about to happen is a work of God. He, only, should receive any glory.

 

Then, Jesus commands Lazerus to come out. And Lazerus, dead for four days, walks out of the crypt. His spirit is reunited with his body. And all of the body functions, that have been disintegrating for four days during the process of decomposition, are restored and renewed.

 

This whole incident was intended to demonstrate that, now or later, life is in, and comes through Jesus. And not just as an escape from death. The quality of life come through Jesus. God designed people. The greatest joy and peace flows through living in agreement with his design.

Thanksgiving

The American holiday of Thanksgiving is this week. Of course, the purpose of the holiday is to get people to slow down, take a deep breath, and remember all the good in their lives. And maybe even to off a prayer, thanking God for those good things.

 

When one reads the Bible, it doesn't take too long to see that God encourages a thankful life. God wants us to see the good in our lives, realize how much comes from him, and have an attitude of thanks, appreciation, which leads to a positive expectation, and courage to forge ahead.

 

But there are a couple of verses that are a little confusing. These verses say: "Be thankful for everything."

 

Really? Everything? Hitler? The bomb? Cancer? Rape and murder? Racism? Arrogance? Studpidity?

 

It is really difficult to see that God, who commands moral perfection, wants people to be thankful for evil in the world.

 

When I was in college, I took a class about aerobics. When a person exercizes (like running), energy and oxygen flow into the person's muscles. These provide the fuel for movement. Eventually, the movement depletes the energy and oxygen. The body keeps shipping, but the muscles cannot efficiently receive. So, the body goes into a state called "oxygen debt."

 

As oxygen debt continues, the runner begins to experience pain in his muscles. Normally, when a person is experiencing pain, he stops whatever it is that is causing the pain. But, for a runner, at the point of pain, the body begins to form new capillaries. The body is creating new channels for energy and oxygen to be transported deep into the muscles, where it is needed most.

 

Trials, the evil in the world, especially where it touches a child of God, is spiritual oxygen debt. God does not create evil, or trials, but God does use them to create channels into a person's heart, allowing God's love, grace, and healing to flow into the broken areas of a person's life.

 

So, we can be thankful in the face of trials, and evil, not because of the evil, but because of the presence of God, moving through the circumstances, bringing blessing and gowth into our lives.

 

When the runner experiences oxygen debt, he receives the benefit, when he acts with courage, and runs through the pain. The child of God in the midst of trial also needs to respond correctly to receive the God's love and grace. And the response varies. Sometimes it is giving forgiveness. Sometimes it is love: patience, kindness, etc.

 

This is part of the process of restoring a person's original design. Scripture describes a lifestyle that cooperates with God building the inner life of his children. So, we can be thankful in all circumstances, because is eternally present in all circumstances, and filling his children with his love, grace, and goodness.

Fifth Sign (3)

Then, Jesus moved onto the second metaphor. He is the good shepherd. The shepherd comes each morning to the sheep pen, and calls his sheep. And the sheep recognize the voice of the shepherd. They follow him out through the gate, and out to find pasture.

It is the shepherd, who provides for the sheep. He guides them to water, and food. He keeps them from danger.

Untended, or poorly tended, sheep can cause tremendous damage to the land by over-grazing, and trampling over, and over, the same ground. Well tended sheep can improve the land. It depends on the skill of the shepherd.

Jesus is the good shepherd, because sacrificed his life for the sheep. The enemy, like a wolf, wants to destroy the sheep. He wants to scatter the flock. He wants to separate them from the shepherd. Jesus gave his life to protect the sheep from the enemy.

Jesus is the good shepherd, because he knows his sheep. He provides for them. He will guide them to live the best way. They will live their truest, best selves. They will benefit the land, when they stay close to the shepherd.

It begins with the shepherd, who loves the sheep. The Father loves thew shepherd, because he sacrifices his life. The Father loves the sheep. The shepherd loves the sheep.

Everything good in the world, everything positive, beneficial, helpful, and edifying, begins with love. Love motivates Father, Son, and Spirit to reach out to people, to provide a permanent solution for sin, to guide people into living as they were designed, and to bring healing and growth.

Fifth Sign (2)

The English word Bible is derived from the Latin word for books. The Bible is a collection of 66 books. When each book was written, it was one continuous narrative. There were no chapters, or verses. Several hundred years ago, someone decided it would be a good idea to facilitate reading to divide the books into chapters. Then, a couple of hundred years later, someone divided the chapters into verses.

And sometimes it causes confusion. 

After Jesus discusses spiritual blindness with the Pharisees, the chapter ends, and in the next chapter, Jesus begins another message, with a completely different metaphor. As it was written, originally, with no breaks, it might be easy to conclude that it is all one message.

~o0o~

A fairly common occupation in Jesus' day was shepherd. Sheep were valuable, because they provided raw material for making cloth, and for provide food.

And, evidently, there was a practice of making a fenced in area, combining multiple flocks overnight. If there was one shepherd for each flock, the shepherd would care for his flock during the day, and he could sleep at night. And the flock would be protected in the sheep pen by a person the shepherds would hire together. Each morning, the shepherd would gather his flock, and lead them out of the gate, and into pasture.

So, the correct way to achieve safety, and pasture, was going through the gate. Not going through the gate meant something was wrong. A predator, or a thief, would try to get into the sheep pen, any other way, but the gate.

Jesus used the gate as the first part of this metaphor. For sheep, there is only one way to get to pasture, safety, and life. And Jesus is that gate.

We have posted before that people need the right kinds of physical fuel to thrive physically, and they need the right kinds of spiritual fuel to thrive spiritually. We can get some spiritual fuel from people, or certain spiritual practices. But other necessary, vital fuels we can only get from the Father of all. To get these fuels, we need to have a relationship with the Father, and be in fellowship with him.

It is the creation of a relationship with the Father, that positions people to receive life from the Father. And like sheep in the sheep pen, there is only one way to get to pasture, and to safety.

Jesus is proclaiming that he is that way. To get to the Father, establish a relationship, and find life, we need to come to Jesus. It is his sacrifice that opens the gate for us.

The ultimate goal is to fellowship with the Father, Son, and Spirit. One of the Son's "jobs" is to open the door, and allow us to come into the Family. It is in the center of the family, that people return to life, as it was designed; it is in the center of the family that peope return to love, grace, and purpose. 

Fifth Sign

There was a common belief among the Jews in Jesus’ day, that personal misfortune (poverty, handicap, or disability) was God’s punishment for a person’s sin. And, in the case of a man born blind, there was the possibility that it was punishment for the parent’s sin. (Apparently, no one read the Scripture where God told one of his prophets that he did not consider the parent’s sin when dealing with children, or the children’s sin when dealing with the parents. He dealt with each person individually, with their behavior alone.)

So, given this belief, when the disciples see a man born blind, they ask a seemingly natural question: Who sinned?

One might think Jesus would quote the prophet I mentioned above. Rather, he approaches the issue from a very different direction. He said the man was blind so God could reveal his glory.

Jesus spat on the ground, mad mud, and dabbed the mud in the man’s eyes. He told the man to wash his face in a particular pool. When the man did, he could see.

So, now we have an interesting situation. If a blind man washes mud from his eyes, and afterward, he can see, that must be an act of God. But, a Jewish teacher had used that exact scenario as an example of not keeping the Sabbath. (When Jesus healed the man, it happened to be on the Sabbath.)

So, according to the Jewish leaders point of view, a miracle was performed, that only God could do, for a man who God was punishing for his sin, through a man who was sinning by doing the miracle on the Sabbath.

No wonder they were confused!

So, the leaders call the man to investigate. They asked the man what happened. They called his parents to confirm he had been born blind.

Then, the man and the leaders have the weirdest debate of recorded history. The leaders insist that God did not work through Jesus, because he broke the Sabbath. And the man points out that only God could heal a man born blind, and God does not listen to sinners. So, if Jesus had sinned, he could not be used by God in this way.

Since, the leaders were the experts, and have all the answers, and the man posed a problem that upset their pre-conceptions, they got mad, and threw the man out.

Later, Jesus found the man, and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man, and then, identified himself as the Son of Man. And the man accepted that, and bowed to Jesus in submission.

And Jesus proclaimed that he came into the world to give sight to the blind – that is, to show people the truth. And to convince the one who think they have it all figured out, that they don’t.

Some Pharisees standing there, asked if he thought they were blind. And Jesus replied that the ignorant were held accountable. But, because they thought they held all the answers, God held them guilty.