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Don’t Be a Pharisee

Posted in Church, Formation, Grace on October 23, 2009| Leave a Comment »

We’ve all known people like this – loud, overly confident, always bragging about accomplishments they have made or how much they know – arrogance is all around us.  To be blunt, I don’t really like being around arrogant people – they annoy me, especially the ones who are arrogant about their faith or their Christian walk.  I have said this before, but if you ever encounter a person who suggests they have everything worked out and can explain all the mysteries of God – you need to run; get as far away from them as you can.

I don’t think God takes delight in arrogance.  In fact, that is what got the Pharisees in trouble.  The fact that they were so sure of what they believed is the very downfall that kept them from recognizing Jesus as the son of God.  I don’t want to be a Pharisee!  I want to remain open to what God is trying to do in and through me.  So this requires humility.

Humility is hard for all of us – more so for some than others.  Our society teaches us that it is ALL ABOUT ME!  I have rights and you can’t tell me what to do.  We are so programed to believe that the world revolves around us that it is sometimes hard to remember that God is in control – not us.

If we are truly going to follow God, we must do so out of a sense of humility – humility that understands God is in charge and others are just as important as us.  We have to remember that we do not have the corner on the market for understanding God.  We have to remain open to the fact that we can really only understand as much about God as God reveals to us.

Remember that God is God and we are not – don’t be a Pharisee.

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Are You Judgmental?

Posted in Church, Formation, Grace on October 14, 2009| 1 Comment »

Are you judgmental?  What a way to start the post today!

The Pray As You Go meditation today is focused on Romans 2:1-4 (you can read it here).  We all judge – the act of comparison of ourselves to others leads us to judge.  But in reality, we are no different than anyone else.  We have all done things we aren’t proud of at some point in our lives.  So Paul tells us that we don’t have an excuse.  We have no right to judge others.

But the real heart of this passage comes in verse 4.  God, who has every right to judge, shows kindness, tolerance and patience to all.  It is this reaction that leads us to a change of heart.

So what can we learn from this passage?  Maybe we should focus more on kindness, tolerance and patience when it comes to relating to others.  I don’t believe that God expects us to turn our backs to injustice, but when it comes to relating to others, the key is to treat them with kindness.  That is how God deals with us, why should we treat others any other way?

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How Will They Ever Hear?

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Missions on October 9, 2009| 1 Comment »

I have been working through the book of Romans for quite some time during my prayer time.  I have been camping out in chapter 10 for weeks.  I think God is trying to tell me something.  Maybe God will use this to tell you something as well.

Romans 10:14 is a very logical illustration of how God’s plan to spread the Good News should work.  You can look at it here.

Paul, in the previous verse, has explained that anyone who cries out to God will be rescued.  Then Paul moves into a very logically explanation of what this should look like by asking some questions.  People can’t cry out to someone they don’t believe in or trust.  And they certainly can’t trust in someone of whom they have never heard.  And they will never hear about God’s love and trustworthiness if no one tells them about God.

All very logical.  We know this is true – but what do we do about it?  How does this verse, this logical explanation of God’s plan, play out in your life everyday?

God could have chosen to redeem the world in any number of ways, but this is the plan chosen.  Be the hands, feet and voice of God today.

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A Code That Opposes

Posted in Church, Formation, Grace, Hope on October 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I have been reading out of Colossians this week while practicing lectio divina (a fancy term for meditative prayer and reading).  Chapter 2 of that book deals with getting at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus – and also points out in the process, what doesn’t lead us to Jesus.

Verses 13 – 15 of chapter 2 talk about the fact that when God saves us, we are freed from the rules that man has put in place (you can read it here).  Verse 14 gives us a very vivid picture of what God thinks of the rules man has set in place to make our way to God.  It says that God canceled those regulations and took that code “that opposed us” and nailed it to the cross along with Jesus.  In other words, all the things man had put into place that were necessary to follow God, to draw near to God – all those things were destroyed.  I don’t know about you but that is a liberating thought for me.

It got me to thinking – what code have we put into place in modern day religion that opposes people?  Or put another way, what hurdles have we placed in our religious systems that make it difficult for people to come to God?

Do we expect people to act a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to talk a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to dress a certain way to come into our churches?  Do we expect people to like what we like to come into our churches?

Reading this passage reminds me that the rules we throw up that make it harder for people to come to Jesus are not of God.

How do you make it hard for people to follow Jesus?

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For Ruben

Posted in Church, Community, Grace on September 25, 2009| 2 Comments »

We buried Ruben yesterday.  He was 51 but looked much older.  I have known Ruben for most of the time I have lived in this town.  He always had a very long and scraggly beard.  He couldn’t work anymore due to disability, but he worked before his accident.  He liked to grow things and he liked people.  He loved to walk around town and visit with people.  He rarely turned down food and on occasion would ask for money.  But when he would ask, he would always commit to pay it back – and he often did.

In the church business, Ruben was considered a “benevolence case.”  We helped him from time to time.  The world might call him one of the “forgotten.”  But standing at that graveside yesterday, I was reminded that Ruben was so much more.  Jesus died for him, just like he died for me – and that fact puts us all on the same playing field.  I was reminded that Ruben was loved absolutely by God.

My mind then began to remember times that Ruben and I talked (looking back, it was not nearly frequent enough).  I also remembered a time or two that I helped Ruben with a little money – again, not often enough.  But in each of those times of interacting with Ruben, I don’t remember thinking, “This is a child of God.”  And for that, I am regretful.

Ruben has taught me that every single person in this world, regardless of status, capacity or any other measure we can apply, is loved by God.  As such, we are called to love them as well.  I don’t have all the answers as to how to go about it, but I believe it starts with caring enough to know their stories.  From there, I believe God will lead.

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Jesus the High Priest

Posted in Church, Formation on September 17, 2009| Leave a Comment »

We have been working through the book of Hebrews on Wednesday nights for Bible study.  Last night we wrapped up chapter two of that book and in the closing verses we see that Jesus came to earth, lived among us – experiencing all the things we experience – and died a physical death.  By doing this he was able to completely relate to us in every way.

The reason that was important was that Jesus had to become our mediator – our high priest.  Up to that point, the religious system called for sacrifices to God.  People would bring things of value and give them sacrificially to God as a way of showing their remorse for things they had done or to show their gratitude for the blessings God had given.  But every ritual had to be performed by a priest.  To the point that once per year the high priest would go in to the holiest of all places in the temple (the area known as the Holy of Holies where the people believed God actually resided).  The weight of all the sins of the nation were carried by that one man as he entered that place to offer a sacrifice.

But when Jesus came, he did away with the need for all of that.  Hebrews 2:14-18 tells us that Jesus became our high priest.  No longer do we need someone else to offer up praise and offerings and repentance.  We now can go directly to God on our own.  That is huge for a number of reasons.  But the one I want you to think about today is this:  Not only are we free to go to God on our own, but now the responsibility for our relationship with God is solely on our own shoulders.  Before, there was no thought of a personal relationship with God, the people related to God through a priest.  But now we can have a relationship with God and we have no one else to blame if we don’t.

So think about this today, are you taking responsibility today for your relationship with God or are you looking for a priest or a minister to serve as a buffer between you and God to give you the answers.  The responsibility lies with you.

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Change Through Love and Grace

Posted in Church, Community, Grace, Leadership on August 28, 2009| 1 Comment »

I have been talking all week about change.  Change is a part of life – we all change and grow.  But even though change is a part of life, not everyone embraces it. All of us like to be comfortable.  We may say that we want change and really mean it – as long as you aren’t changing this or that, whatever is too personal or already “just like I want it.”  Change is often called for by one person or group but it may mean the bulk of the change will have to actually happen with another group.  This is where conflict often occurs.

So what am I saying?  Should we seek change or not?  Absolutely, as I said, change is a part of life.  But we must always remember that Jesus came and changed the world but he did it with love and grace.

If life transforming change is to happen in this community or any other for that matter, it will come from a position of love and grace, not pride and arrogance.

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Walls or Patios

Posted in Church, Community, Grace, Hope on August 27, 2009| 3 Comments »

Yesterday I mentioned that I would be talking about walls today.  I have been thinking a lot about walls (I still have a wall in one of the rooms in our house I built a while back and I’ve never finished – hmm, maybe I’ll do that this weekend).  Walls have one main purpose – to separate or divide.  I can’t imagine living with three boys all in one big room, I don’t care how big the room.

Walls also provide a perceived safety, keeping us safe on the inside from the evils and danger on the outside.

While Jesus was a carpenter, he was not a wall builder in the spiritual sense.  In fact, he was notorious for smashing walls down – walls between organized religion and the common folks of the day.

In our society, much work has been done to build walls in the religious circles – the taller and stronger the better.  But as I stated yesterday, maybe we need to stop focusing on our differences and start concentrating on our similarities.

What would our world be like if we took the bricks we have used to build walls and made patios instead?  A brick wall separates, a brick patio invites.  A brick wall keeps me in and you out, a brick patio provides a place for community and dialogue.

I truly believe that we can hold on to our distinctions and still work together – after all, we are all on the same team.

I don’t know about you but I think I want to live on the patio and not behind a wall.  Come on over and we’ll sit on the patio and share life together – might even throw a few steaks on the grill and really enjoy being together.

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An Unlikely Meeting

Posted in Church, Community, Grace, Missions on August 26, 2009| Leave a Comment »

I had a great conversation yesterday with a gentleman about change – change in the lives of people, change in our community and change in our churches.  The cool thing about it was that the conversation was not between two people who would normally interact on this level.  We have known each other for years but really never had a deep conversation until yesterday.  How did it come about you may ask?  Twitter.  Yep, we connected over the topic of change through Twitter.  A dialogue began there and moved to a face to face meeting.  So here two guys sat, one from the Church of Christ denomination and one from the Baptist denomination, having a conversation about change in peoples’ lives and the need for a fresh movement of God’s Spirit here in our town.

Now for you who may be reading this not familiar with denominational life in a rural town, it has not been too long ago that a meeting like this would not have happened.  But the tone of the conversation and the desire in both hearts were to work together to further God’s kingdom.  It was an amazing thing.

Here’s the deal – followers of Jesus (yes, all of us) are called to take the message of love and hope to a desperate world.  But in case you haven’t noticed, its a big honkin’ world.  We are going to have to work together to accomplish God’s mission.  Walls must come down (more on that subject tomorrow).

Now before you get all flustered, no, I am not a bleeding heart that thinks we should throw away our traditions and beliefs.  Those traditions and beliefs add color and beauty to our world.  I love being a Baptist.  The doctrine I choose to follow is more in line with the Baptist belief system than others, but I do not think for a minute that I have this stuff figured out.  That is why the grace that covers me, and also covers you, is so important.

What I am saying is that there is much to do in order to further the kingdom of God and it is going to take all of us working together to see the changes in lives that only the love of God can bring.

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Are You Willing?

Posted in Church, Formation on August 25, 2009| 3 Comments »

Yesterday I talked about the fact that we often fail to follow God’s leadership because we become so accustomed to God’s word that we fail to see it as relevant and alive – we skim right over what it means for us now.  Today I am thinking about another reason we fail to follow God’s leadership.  Often times we know what God would have us do but we are unwilling.

Ever been there?  Have you ever been faced with the realization that you needed to do something different to be more effective or maybe to be closer to God but you were not willing because it meant giving something up or changing something you like to do?  I have to confess that I know in my head that I need to spend more quality time with God – setting aside time to read and pray.  But on a very practical level, that would mean going to be earlier so that I could get up earlier.  I would have to change my lifestyle to make that happen more regularly.  So what do I do?  I try to get up earlier without going to bed earlier, telling myself that if I was a committed Christian I could do it.  But what happens is that after a few days of that, I am back into the routine of sleeping later and cramming my time with God into a more convenient crevice of my day.

The book of Judges deals with this idea.  You can read an example here.  So many times we do not follow God’s plan for us because we are unwilling to change.

So here is my question for you today:  “What are you doing that you know you need to change to become closer to God and the plan that God has for you?”

The beauty of God’s love is that God’s invitation is always open.  One of the themes throughout the book of Judges is God’s pursuit of us.  God is always open and ready for us.  The question is are you willing to change?

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