Counter-Intuitive

We know its counter intuitive, but we always feel a need to promote ourselves.  Whether personally or even as a Church.  We feel like we need to put right in the forefront that WE are the ones putting on an event or that WE are involved and should have some of the credit.  The rationale is that if we don’t, nobody will know — that if we don’t, all our efforts will be for nothing.  But we KNOW that’s not true.  And we know how much more authentic and blatant it is to the right people when we DON’T promote ourselves.  Those people know.  They notice.

So what if we started doing the good things we do in the community without announcing from up front who we are and what we’re about?  What if we let the actions stand for themselves?  What if we’re forced to let people know, one at a time, when they ask us, what we’re about and who we are?  What’s the worst that could happen?  What’s the best that could happen?

 

A faith that surpasses…

Mat 5:17-20

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Tonight, our lifegroup talked about this passage  and what it means in the grand scheme of our faith.  Sometimes we don’t like to talk about there being “Rules” because everybody already harps on that “oh, Christians can’t smoke or chew or go with girls that do” “Christians are hypocrites (because we can’t follow our own Rules)” The basic view of most non-Christians and, unfortunately, a good amount of people in our pews is that to be a “Good Christian” you’ve got to DO and NOT DO certain things.

And don’t you just get tired sometimes?  i know in ministry, it is easy to just feel like you’ve got to get things done, “we’ve got to get more volunteers for ____” or “dang, i forgot to call that person AGAIN” or “we need more money for _____”  And in our lives, its the same thing, “i’ve gotta make sure to get to church this week” “ugh, i forgot to read my bible AGAIN” “i’ve gotta find some money in the budget to give because the pastor just gave that big sermon on caring about the needy”

ugh, i get tired just thinking about it.  The Rules can bog us down.  And here’s the thing, the Jews knew rules.  The Pharisees were the ones creating and keeping the bajillion rules.  But you know what?  if following “the Rules” is the highest aim of our faith or checking things off the list is what we live for, we. will. get. exhausted.  We’ll get burnt out.  And we won’t even know why.

The end-all goal can’t be “doing life right” Because, eventually, we lose our drive. we lose our focus.  We’ll lose momentum because we lost sight of our “why”  Why am i running around, day in and day out, trying to get all these things done?  why does this even matter? why is this ministry i’m investing in doing?  is it making any impact at all?  Eventually we discover our passion has run out and we don’t know where to find it again.

The ONLY WAY i know to keep that passion, to not get worn out by “the Rules” is to Put God First.  i know, revolutionary, huh? God’s been teaching me, yet again, that anything i do that is not first rooted in Him, burns me out.  It’s hard to get excited about a mission when the beating Heart of God has lost its place in the center.  Its hard to adhere to a standard of living if there’s not a picture bigger than the Do’s and Don’ts.  It is hard to really find joy in things like giving our money away, serving another person, even going to church if it doesn’t rise above just another task on our list or place we’ve got to be.

See, my hypothesis is if i am pursuing God and what he wants (which we can find a pretty good guideline in the Word he gave), then he’s going to give me the strength and energy and enthusiasm and PASSION to live the way he’s laid out to live.  The rulebook flows from the relationship.  My love and pursuit of God makes me want to do what he loves.

Revelation 2:4 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”

Let’s cultivate this love for God and THEN let that inspire our steps.

Oh to be a Cheerful Giver…

So God’s decided to start his work early in my heart as we at Lifepointe are about to get into our Upside Down Kingdom series.  And if its any indication, i think we’re in for some intense messages and movement in our church; if not only in my own life.

So i got to a place where i’m reading 2 Corinthians 9.  Paul is writing to this Church and reminding them about a commitment they made to give to help believers that were going through some really rough times.  He actually notes that he’s been talkin’ big about their generosity and what they promised to give towards this and now he’s writing them to remind them of that promise and put a little fire under their motivation.

And this is the context in which we get the Oh-so-often quoted, “God loves a cheerful giver.”  And it’s a great statement, but the thing that’s been called to my attention in various ways even today (including in Jonathan Acuff’s Stuff Christians Like) is how often this is used as an excuse NOT to give.  Saying, “well, God loves a cheerful giver, but my heart’s really not in it right now, so i don’t want to insult God by not giving cheerfully… SO I’m not going to give until I really am ecstatic about it.”

But Paul isn’t saying that.  He’s not giving them this ultimatum of “well if your heart’s not in it, you better not give.”  No, its pretty apparent he expected them to be generous.  He wasn’t addressing “whether you should give or not” but the heart-searching question “what’s keeping you from being cheerful about giving?”

God has promised he will provide. He promises that when you sow into his Kingdom, especially, you will be taken care of.  SO WHY AREN’T we CHEERFUL about GIVING?!? Why aren’t we EXCITED about investing into his KINGDOM?? (or so often are we the antithesis of exuberance at simply being a PART of his Kingdom?)

i think (and i’m putting my money on this) that if we give beyond our comfort or “expectations,” its a good step in becoming excited about his Kingdom.

Because.

…The more we invest in something, the more we want to see it succeed.

what, another post?

Its a new year.  It’s taken me a bit to catch up and say that… being nearly February.  there’s so many things to reevaluate and do better and lead better and just… be better about.  So I’m “en-process.”  I would love to keep up with one of my blogs more regularly but I’m deciding which ones.  And with that, deciding what the scope of each should be.  I know, CRAZY interesting for everyone aside from me.  So we’ll see what happens.  I think a goal of mine in 2010 is to be more interesting, ha.  I hope to share my world in more than just facebook and maybe in the mean time tackle exciting, new things in the process. So let’s go for it!

Casting Lots…

this is in Acts 1 when the apostles are deciding who will take the 12th spot after Judas.  They’ve narrowed it to two great candidates…

“You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias…” (Acts 1:24-25)

Ok, so I try so hard to follow God’s leading.  I want him to be the one to guide my life; when I’m making a big decision, I pray tons that he would show me the best course of action so I can take it.  …  YET, does this method of figuring out God’s direction freak anyone else out when they think about using similar means???  Say, you’re going to take a new job and you’ve narrowed it to two good choices, does it make you just a bit nervous to say, “eh, let’s throw some dice and then stick with that one.”

Despite my faith and my knowledge that God is sovereign and is in control and present in every situation of this universe, it’s difficult for me to imagine using something I chock up to pure chance in other circumstances as the final say on a direction I take.  I stop and think about it, and it makes me see how far I really have to go in trusting him to truly and purposefully work with my life when I give up what little control (or perception of control) that I have.  I dunno, what do you think?  Would you be willing to say a similar prayer and then get out some dice to decide your next business partner?  your next big purchase? your next preacher(ha)? your next career move?

prophets

I’m reading Ezekiel and it’s gotten me thinking: Israel had so many prophets that they ignored… do we have prophets like that today?  Where the consequences of our actions are set right in front of our faces through these individuals, yet when bad things happen, we cry out to God, “Why?!?”  I was just thinking about how eccentric Ezekiel was and how, I’m sure, if you walked by him in the streets of Israel building a mini replica of the city and preaching against it, calling down curses and yelling at the mountains, and other such things the book tells us God specifically told him to do, I’m pretty sure we would think him crazy and ignore some of his words also.  “Oh that’s just Ezekiel, he’s always dreaming up some crazy thing and saying its from God.  Don’t worry about him…”

And I could toss around some of the theological ideas in my head around some of this and some of our typical arguments against it sometimes being the case, but it sometimes makes me wonder if God has sanctioned some prophets like that still today.  Men and women that may be eccentric and a little strange to be in company with, yet that have a message sanctioned by God.  People that even those who call themselves God followers ignore or detest because of their ways.  I dunno, just something I’m thinkin about.

Give us today our…

Daily bread.

You know, this concept has been on my mind often the past few months.  I feel as though I’m beginning to learn more and more about just what this means in my life.  God has provided what I need, when I need it.  Sometimes that’s energy to get through a tough week.  Sometimes that’s being reminded of something that must be done before the appropriate time has passed.

There’s an aspect of this trust which is one of my life/faith experiments at the moment.  You can correct me if my logic or theology is skewed, but I think part of this daily bread idea is us focusing on what is right in front of us; that we focus on what we can do/work towards/affect the outcome of as it comes to us.  Jesus spoke about this in several places from his “do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow can worry about itself” speech in which he adds, “today has enough trouble of its own” (Mat 6:34) to when he tells his disciples when bad things come, when they are arrested and asked what they have to say for themselves, to not worry about what to say or how to say it because it will be given to them when its needed (mat 10:19) .  I try to do this.  Yes, I have todo lists and post-it notes and automatic reminders, but I try to practice this idea and focus on what I can control in this moment and anything outside of that, don’t sweat it.

We’re told that God has the future covered.  Most of the worrying we do, anyway, often has no bearing in reality and those imagined alternate realities we dream up rarely are ever the actual outcome.  God knew that about us.  We try to control our situation, map out every which way or possibility so that we can be “prepared for anything” (not that it’s not sometimes pertinent to grab an umbrella on your way out the door).  Yet we cross a line when we try to control the things that are not ours to control or, worse yet, we let these possibilities and worries begin to control us.  I think worry and over-analyzing can be an addiction of sorts like any other.  Common preparations and plans can also fall under Paul’s wise words in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “Everything is permissible – but I will not be mastered by anything.”

So, daily bread.  You know, the thought this evening that brought this post to mind in the first place is that there is this wonderful Christian lady at our church that looks out for me and makes sure I have what I need.  I laughed because, even this week when I didn’t speak with her, she made sure to set aside some leftover Panera bagels and cheesy bread for me.  God through this woman quite literally provides me with bread each week.

SO, what baked goods should you be letting God take care of for YOU this week?

Reflections on the prophet Isaiah…

I was talking to a good friend of mine about songwriting today and whenever I start thinking about inspiration and songwriting, I inevitably think back to Isaiah.  Weird huh?  I was just so impacted back in February when I was reading through the book of Isaiah.  He is one that is undisputed as one of the great prophets of the Bible and the thing that struck me was how poetic his writings are.  I just found it so funny that the great prophet, with all his prophesies passed down through the ages,… was a poet.  He was a songwriter.  Like David.  And it just got me thinking about the power of music and words stated in a right way and gave me a huge respect for Isaiah in a whole new light.

See, Isaiah had some brilliant stuff and ways to describe things and if it comes across in our language, I can only imagine how it was in his own language.  I’ll show you what I’m talking about and add my own commentary possibly too:

Isaiah 57 rocks…

“the One… who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy (v15).”  We often think of eternity as an infinite timeline… Isaiah states it here as a dwelling place for God.

“I (God speaking) dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him with a contrite and lowly spirit (15).”  It’s that awesome contrast of Far off and Near.  Big enough to see all eternity, yet personal enough to be in my toughest, most humbling moments.

“”the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save… but your inequities have made a separation(59).”

“their webs will not serve as clothing; men will not cover themselves with what they make… Justice is turned back… for truth has stumbled in the public squares… Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself prey (talking about how evil the society had become)” (chapter 59)

anyway, thought I’d share.

Isaiah 5

This is my own rendition/interpretation of Isaiah 5 that I wrote out awhile back when I was doing a study in it.  It came around the time when I was reminded of how many of these prophets of the past were poets and songwriters.  That their prophecies passed down to us are in such a lyrical form and we often miss much of this when it’s translated into english, but (obviously) a lot of it still has a lot of power.  So here’s some of the woe’s from Isaiah:

Woes to those who join house to home,
field to field til there is no room
and you build up a place to provide you space
and you are made to dwell alone…

But this space won’t heal broken eyes
Your noise won’t drown out the cries
You think you’re living well, but it’s a sham.

Woes to those who rise up and think
they can ignore the world with a stronger drink
and you party into the night with shouting and bar fights
and you are blinded from the greater things

But this stupor won’t heal broken eyes
Your mugs won’t drown out the cries
You think you’re living well, but its a sham.

Woes to those who’s commerce is king
who string up the weak with their cords of deceit.
You convince others that their stuff is not enough
and you demand proof that there is more than this.

But your sales won’t heal broken eyes
Your cell phones won’t drown out the cries
You think you’re living well, but its a sham

Pride before the fall, the saying goes
Haughty eyes take the plunge and honored men brought low.
While drunken hearts choose to please themselves,
the weak and broken, of never spoken, die in earthly hells.

Do as the kids do…

So, Blake and I are preaching this week as we close out our worship series.  We’re doing a tag team message on how we approach God in worship.  So as I was thinking about worship and also thinking more about my last post, it made me realize another way that we ought to be like children in the kingdom of God.  And, obviously, that would be in our worship.

I think of the little girl who, when a worship song plays, is twirling at the front of the room.  She isn’t thinking about anyone or anything beyond expressing herself in the music and to God.  Or I think of the little boy that gets so excited about something that there is nothing else to do but burst into a spirited jig right on the spot.  See, kids haven’t learned the inhibitions that we master as adults.

As we approach worship, there’s something about letting our outward actions express our inward emotions.  It’s not a matter of us not worshipping, necessarily, but I wonder how we might experience God if we got past formalities, past our egos and concerns for those around us (no matter how noble), past our rows and our curbed responses to God’s incredible grace and love.  Rick McKinley in his book Beautiful Mess pointed out that we, beyond all others, have reason to celebrate and express ourselves with ecstatic joy – the fact that we celebrate the God of the universe having mercy on us and desiring to come near to us even after we have gotten ourselves into such messes.

Anyway, some thoughts…