Luke 22 :: A Look of Love

Luke 22

Sorry for my delay yesterday.  Rhonda had big birthday and I got a bit side-tracked.  I'm back today though and there was a lot in the reading this morning.  There is one section that has always stood out to me about the reading today, and it all centers around Peter's denial of Jesus.

It's easy for me to look at Peter and see myself or see others I have know that have gone a different direction with their lives.  I know the feeling of saying one minute, "I'd die for you," and the next minute, "I don't know him."  I have made those commitments and I know the frustration of the inability to follow through.  I have no problem identifying with him.

For the past several weeks, I have worked really hard at trying to learn new things about Jesus in the readings and not necessarily about me.  When I started, I wanted to see him more clearly.  In this section, I want to understand Jesus more clearly.  I locked into verse 33 when Peter responds to Jesus words of warning to them, "Master, I'm ready for anything with you.  I'd go to jail for you.  I'd die for you."  Isn't this what every leader wants to hear?  Don't you know you are a good leader when your followers tell you this?  Jesus does something, I'm not sure I would have done.  He knows that Peter wants to believe what he is saying, but he also knows that Peter cannot follow-through with his promise.  In fact, he knows that before the next day, Peter will break it.  It would be easy to read into Jesus' words a bit of "Yeah, whatever Peter, you won't even make it a day," but that is not what happened.  He starts with this little phrase, "I say to you."  This phrase is a deeper connection to Peter.  The Message translates the phrase as "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," and I believe that gets more to the heart of Jesus' response.  He was disappointed and his love for Peter was no less because he knew what would happen.  I like that...a lot.

Then later in v61, after Peter's three denials, Luke says that Jesus "turned and looked" at Peter.  Not with anger nor with pity.  The little phrase here is also important to understand Jesus better.  The phrase is used metaphorically when someone looks at another with the mind.  In a very real essence, Jesus was looking into Peter, not just at Peter.  Jesus knew what Peter had been through and he knew what Peter would become.  I believe that this "look" had a sense of hope in it for Peter, and that made it even worse for him at that moment.

I want to be this way.  I want to have this sort of love for people around me.  When you screw up, I want to look at you this way - not with disappointment, not with anger, not with I-told-you-so, but with hope.  God has bigger plans for you than your failures yesterday, today or even tomorrow.  His gaze into you is filled with hope and promise for tomorrow.  Maybe you've never seen a look like that.  Maybe you've never been told, "It doesn't matter...I love you anyway."  If that's true, my prayer for you is that Father will show you that through someone today.

Luke 14 :: We Follow Someone

Luke 14

In Chapter 14, Luke recounts 4 stories from Jesus' travels.  Jesus would mix in parables, stories with meaning behind the obvious, as he taught those around him  He would use parables get something through the thick skulls of those who he was teaching.

He starts with his fourth teaching about the importance of people over the Sabbath - the holy day for the Jews, where they were to do no work at all.  He then tells two stories about meals, or banquets.  In the first story, Jesus is actually at a meal, while the second is a parable about a great banquet.  The point is clear in both stories, Jesus holds a special place in his heart for those who are misfits that have been humbled in their lives.  The ones who fight their way to the place of honor have no place in this new kingdom he is inviting us into.  The fourth story is a story of commitment - the story itself contains Jesus' use of two parables.  A man building a house, first counts the cost of the house, or he will not be able to finish it and people will laugh at him.  The same goes for king going into battle, he will first count the cost of the battle before going to war.  Our commitment to the Father, our following Jesus, is not something that we lightly venture into.  We cannot flippantly enter into this life because the life is bigger than just an accoutrement to our own version of our lives.  Following Jesus is a holistic life-change that requires our total attention and total devotion.

What do these stories say about this man, Jesus, whom we are following?  What things do we see are important to him, and therefore should be important to us?  Remember, we are not simply following a system of beliefs, but a person.  First century Christians were not called Christians, but were referred to as "people of the way."  If we are to follow Jesus, we will be known as people who have adopted a certain way of living that is counter-cultural to our me-centered world we live in today.  We follow Someone who valued helping people over observing religious ritual.  Someone who valued humility over prestige or accomplishment.  Someone who cherished the poor over the prominent.  Someone who valued the mission more than the material.  Someone who wants his house full and will stop at nothing to see that happen, even if he has to amend his guest list.  Someone who values giving without getting.  Someone who understands the value of careful consideration, rather than flippant following of others.  Are you listening to this?  Really listening? (34)

We follow Someone.

Luke 11 :: If You Can't Say Something Good...

Luke 11

I was no different than most kids I know.  When I was a kid my mom used to tell me, "If you can't say something good, don't say it at all."  I may have even thought, at one point, that this was one of those "bible verses" that aren't found in the bible.  But Jesus didn't seem to follow this teaching.  At the end of Luke 11, Jesus appears to be fed up with the religious leaders.  His harshest words up to this point are not given to a thief, a prostitute or a murderer.  Nope.  They have been reserved for good, religious people - the Pharisees.  These were the ministers of the day.  As a pastor today, I must look closely at these words that Jesus had for these people.

Check out the list of warnings Jesus gives to these strict, religious people:

• Hypocricy - v39-41
• Inequality - v42
• Pretentiousness - v43
• Impossible Demands - v46
• Intolerance - v47-51
• Exclusiveness - v52

Did you know that Pharisees were originally a group of normal, laymen, who desired to separate themselves from impure things and people?  I believe that their original intent was not much different than the small group of guys who go and meet for breakfast every week to help ensure that each one is living the standard to which Christ calls us.  Eventually these men became leaders in their faith.  Once there they began to impose on people things that Jesus never meant to be imposed.  I am blown away by the intensity in the words of Jesus.

All of us struggle with each of these things, don't we?  We can't really cast stones at the Pharisees because our own behavior often looks very similar.  Underneath the strong language of Jesus, is a man with a very deep connection to the people the Pharisees are offending.  The value that those people have to Jesus is what causes him to be so stern.  I see a bit of a momma-bear image at the protection Jesus has for the poor and the vulnerable.  This has been consistent in the life of Jesus from the very beginning.

How are we to respond?  Are we advocates for the poor and the suffering?  Are we standing up for the rights of people who cannot stand?  Are we creating opportunities for everyone to come to Jesus, in spite of their bondage to sin today?

Remember that Luke is the same man, who in Acts 15, recorded James' speech to the Jerusalem church, where he said “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (19)" 

Romans 14:19-23 :: Eat and Drink Freely

Romans 14:19-23 (The Message and TNIV)

Paul seems to now make a shift to those who do eat and drink freely, without the hindrance of abstinence.  All food and drink is good, but can be turned badly by the way that we partake.  Just as the strict adherents to the dietary laws could cause problems with others by their insistence on not, those who are free can also cause problems with their freedom.

The point:  "When you sit down to a meal, your primary concern should not be to feed your own face but to share the life of Jesus. So be sensitive and courteous to the others who are eating. Don’t eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love." (v21)

When we differ with someone else in our freedoms, whether eating or drinking, our primary concern is how we share the life of Jesus with each other.  No matter what side of the fence we stand, grace (the free exchange of love) should rule the relationship.

Romans 12:17-21 :: But I don't want to love them...

Romans 12:17-21 (The Message and TNIV)

17-19Don't hit back; discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. "I'll do the judging," says God. "I'll take care of it."

 20-21Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he's thirsty, get him a drink. Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good.

Wow, I just had a flashback to my early years and hearing my mother say, "Don't hit back!"  Then I was snapped back into today, when I heard myself say to my kids, "Don't hit back!"  I think that we are wired up by God to treat others the way we want to be treated.  The misfire in our wiring is a result of sin in our world and instead, we often treat others the way they treat us.  When we were kids it was about sharing toys and hitting each other, and as adults it may not be about much different.  When I hear adults talking poorly about someone, I often discover that they were wronged in some way by that person earlier.  We fail to treat people how we want to be treated and fall into treating them the way they have treated us - good and bad.

Think about this in terms of how we live as Christ-followers.  Do we discover beauty in everyone?  It's easy to see beauty in people that are like us or those that treat us well - you know the waiter that is prompt and friendly, not the one who forgets about us and is short with us when she does come to the table.  What about the co-worker who believes different than you when it comes to politics?  Maybe the neighbor down the street who doesn't watch his tongue when kids are around?  It's easy for us to pick up the gavel and be judge of those around us, but it's difficult to let God take care of it, not insist on getting even and seeing the beauty in everyone.

This is a struggle for me.  I do not find it easy to invest in things that do not give me a good return.  Investing soul energy in someone who treats me poorly is hard.  Loving the unlovable is difficult.  That is why I continue to rely on the strength of God to build into me the love he wants to share with others through me.  I can't do it.

I think this is still Paul's point.  It's not about us doing it, but about God reviving our dead hearts and breathing new life of love into us.  What do you think?  Is it easy for you?  If it is, tell us your secret.  If it's not, what helps?

Romans 12:9-13 ::

Romans 12:9-13 (The Message and TNIV)

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. (9-10)

How did we get to this point?  How did followers of a man best known for the way he loved people become the people listed in this video?  These perceptions are simply "unchristian," they are not like Jesus.  If we are going to be Springs of life to those around us, we must be different.

Paul is clear that we ought to be people who love from our core.  It's not that we do loving things, but that everything we do comes from love.  It's the "I want you to want to" debate that spouses have every day.  Just doing loving things does not make us loving people.  Oh, but I wish it did.  Wouldn't it be much easier if just going to a local soup kitchen would make me love.  Activity is not the change-agent of our selfish hearts, though.  God is the changer of our centers.  He is the one who works his love into us so that no matter what we do - pushing papers, cleaning roadsides, performing surgery, working taxes, taking food to a friend, sitting with the elderly, defending the most vulnerable - it is the fruit of love.  Loving actions are the fruit of love, love is not the fruit of loving actions.

Paul then says we are to run for dear life from evil, but hold on for dear life to what is good.  When the Romans heard "evil" from Paul, it likely conjured up images of hard labor and hardships, toil and peril.  The evil is about doing things.  When they heard "good", they understood Paul as referring to their being, their nature.  The good is about being.

Be good friends who love deeply.  Paul is charging the Romans to a mutual, give-recieve, kind of love.  This kind of love stems from a relationship between two people.  In relationship we are given our greatest leadership exhortation - practice playing second fiddle.  Put the needs of others above your needs.  When we have a relationship with someone, that relationship drives us to step aside.  When we fail to lead and love out of relationship, we slip back into activity and it will lead to apathy.

Let's direct a new video.  Let's be a people who follow the one who love greater than any person in history.  Let's let him open up a fountain of love in us, that we may be known as a people who love.

Romans 11:11-15 :: Wrongs Turned Right

Romans 11:11-15

Matthew Henry says, “The gospel is the greatest riches of every place where it is.”  Paul is using the Israelite people to show the Gentiles that God takes even the worst of situations and turns them for good.  There failure was not fatal, and God will use it for even greater good when they return to their first love.

This is a pattern for God throughout history.  What we think should be counted as loss, Father turns to gain.  This picture of the Israelites is really a picture of human history.  The first humans, Adam and Eve, failed, but through them, God brought salvation to all of us.  David chose not to go to battle with his soldiers, saw a man’s wife bathing, had sex with her, then murdered her husband...then denied it even happening.  Can you imagine a world leader doing that today?  Yet, Scripture is clear to point that our Savior comes through the line of this very same David.  Then Christ, steps in and turns our failure around.  He sets everything right, while we are still wrong.  It really is amazing.

Do you still think it’s possible for God to redeem your wrongs, or do you think your mistakes are too big?  Do you have friends that struggle with Christianity, not because of God, but because of things they have done or are doing in their past?  This paralyzation is not from God, but from the enemy who desires nothing more than keep you from being who God wants you to be and living in the freedom of his setting-all-things-right.

I accidentally posted this portion yesterday.  My apology if it seemed to make no sense to you....

Have you ever thought about how the mistakes of some open the door for many other people sometimes?  I have talked to many people who came to a faith-based relationship with God later in their life who looked at another person as an incredible example because they could understand their mistakes because they had made them also.  If you have been prone to bad choices in your life, God can use those bad choices as an open door for others if you let him.  If he can do that with bad choices, imagine what he can do with right choices!

Romans 9:24-29 :: It Was, Is and Will Be About Grace

Romans 9:24-29 (The Message and TNIV)

"In the very place where it was said to them, 

   ‘You are not my people,’ 

   they will be called ‘children of the living God.'"

How good and pleasant it is to hear these words from Paul.  I am not his people, but I get to be called a child of the living God.  Can't you just see this on a decorative piece in the gift section of the local christian bookstore?

Paul quotes from Hosea 1:10 here.  Check out the original context of these words.  Just prior to this, in verse 4, God tells Hosea that he will put an end to the kingdom of Israel...break Israel's bow.  Led by Jehu, Israel had conducted a massacre at Jezreel.  God is definitely not heaping praise when Hosea 1:10 is uttered.  He is removing his blessing from Israel and now including Judah into the family.  This had to blow some minds.

Fast forward to Romans 9.  Paul is planting his argument firmly into the larger story of God's history.  God's inclusion of Gentiles in salvation is not unprecedented.  God has reached out to those who were not loved by him and loved them.  So, if we FF to today, should we expect anything less from God?

I am indebted to God's grace forever because he reached out to me, not in his family, and made me part of his family.  That grace ought to be the same grace that pushes me outside my comfort zone to those who are not yet part of the family.  That grace doesn't produce hospitality in me...it is the hospitality in me.

If you want to get the devotionals for chapter 9, click here for the pdf version of Chapter 9 in the Reading Plan.  Chapters 9 & 10 will be included in the updated pdf and epub files this weekend.

Romans 9:1-5 :: Paul and the Israelites

Romans 9:1-5 (The Message and TNIV)

Chapters 9-11 contain Paul's grand argument for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In the first five verses, he sets the tension that will carry the argument in the following chapters.  Paul unveils the tension in his heart for the Israelite people, of which he is one.  He introduces a question that will carry us through the next several chapters:  What is the status of the Israelites?

Some believe that the Israelites are held to a different standard.  They are saved through their covenant with God in the Old Testament, but Paul does not believe so and thus explains that the rejection of most Israelites for Jesus as the Messiah puts them on the outs with God, no matter what their bloodline is.  This is where Paul finds his greatest sorrow.  His people are his greatest pain.  He would do anything for them to understand and know this Gospel he declares.

Who are your Israelites?  Who is it in your "family" that drives you to this sort of despair because they reject the Gospel that has brought you so much life?  Is it a parent that has confessed their doubt in the God you love?  Maybe it's a sibling that has chosen a different path than you wish for them.  Maybe it's your best friend from years ago that has fallen so far off the path that you aren't sure they will make it back.

Understanding the depth of concern Paul has for the Israelites will help you understand what he is about to tell them.  His harshness comes from a deep place of love for them.  He is not out to beat them up or hammer them for their failures.  His love for them is strong enough to confront them in their disbelief and their failures, even if it's uncomfortable.

(If you are waiting for the Reading Plan for Romans, I should have chapter nine finished by this evening and emailed out to everyone.)

Romans 8:31-39 :: Unconditional means Without Conditions, Right?

Romans 8:31-39 (The Message and TNIV)

I love today's reading.  This is one of those passages in the bible that speaks into the darkest place of my heart.  That place where I feel inadequate to handle what is coming at me.  That part of me that feels like I can't go another day.  That part of me that wants to give up the fight.  If it bothers you that one of your pastors has that place in his heart, then you might want to stop reading now and move to another blog where a pastor doesn't.

For someone like me, the preceding verses about how God knows everything about us could be a little intimidating, considering the things I think in that place. What keeps it from being intimidated is right at the beginning of today's reading.  "With God on our side..."  No matter my failures, my insecurities, my own dysfunctional self, God is still on my side.  He's in my corner.  He has my back.  And no matter who or what stands up against me, he can kick their...yeah that's right, he can!  Nothing can come between his love for me and my lack of love for him.  Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture.  Do you hear that?

This carries some incredible weight in my life for two reasons: First, it impacts the way that I love myself.  Nothing I have done, am doing or will do can drive a wedge between me and his love for me.  Nothing.  Second, it impacts the way that I love others around me.  Nothing they have done, are doing or will do can drive a wedge between them and his love for them.  Nothing.  Therefore it shouldn't for me, either.

Can you imagine the splash we could make in the lives of others if we lived this out?  We live with wedges between us and others because of what they have done, don't we?  Imagine if those were gone.  Imagine not having that twinge of discomfort when Muslim man enters the plane after you've taken your seat, because the wedge is gone.  Imagine not cracking a joke to your friends when a gay man walks in to the restaurant where you are eating, because the wedge is gone.

Imagine opening your home to your neighbors even thought they believe differently than your family, because the wedge is gone.  Imagine spending a weekend serving the less fortunate and most vulnerable, because the wedge is gone.  Imagine speaking the truth in love with your co-workers, because the wedge is gone.

What are you imagining being different because there is no wedge between others and your love for them?  What might be different if you realized that the wedge between you and God is completely gone?

Romans 8:18-30 :: "Easy for you to say..."

Romans 8:18-30 (The Message and TNIV)


There is much more in these verses than I want to cover in a blog post.  Three main topics make up these ten verses:  environmentalism (v19-21), suffering (v22-28) and election (v29-30).  Due to space here, I want to look specifically into the middle section and our response to suffering.  I may hit another one later today, though.

I think we have to back up to the beginning verse of the section to get the umbrella thought Paul lays over his explanation.  I personally like the TNIV better here, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”  It’s easy to get caught viewing the grand story God is writing from a lower perspective.  One that sees life from the underside - the sickness, the sadness and the suffering.  We can be confident that no matter what we are going through now, it pales in comparison to what is coming.  What an incredible testament to hope.

Verse 28 may be one of the most often quoted and misused verses in all of the bible.  If I read it in the TNIV (“We know that in all things God works for the good...”), I have a bit of twitch.  That is the quote that gets thrown out when someone we love has just been diagnosed with cancer, been in a car accident, lost a child or some other instance that a Christian cannot explain.  It feels like a platitude that distances us from the suffering of others and offers an insufficient excuse for bad things happening.

Because of this, I’d much rather read from The Message.  He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our eager condition, and keeps us present before God.  That’s why we can be so sure that in every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good (27-28).  What an amazing hope.  We don’t have to sugar coat the bad things that happen in our lives.  When bad things happen, we can confess that life sometimes sucks and we don’t always have an answer.  We can sit with a friend and mourn with them and let them bear their grief.  In the end, we know that God can take a terrible situation and manipulate it for good in the life of someone who has trusted their life to him.  He always works “every detail” into something good, but we sometimes have to wait to see it.

Is my assessment of verse 28 fair?  Have you found comfort in this verse in times of suffering personally?  Maybe you have offered this verse to someone else in their suffering.  What was their response?  If a person does not have a “love for God,” do you think God is not working the details of their life into something good?

Feel free to focus on another of the sections in this passage.  Maybe God wants you to wrestle and engage with something different today.

Romans 5:18-21 :: Out Of It v. Into It

Romans 5:18-21 in The Message and TNIV

This morning as I read through our text for today, a few things popped out at me.  First, there is the issue of the phrase "many people in the wrong" (MSG) or "many were made sinners" (TNIV).  Why didn't Paul say, through one man "all people were made sinners."  Another thing that stands out is the idea that the law actually increases the number of lawbreakers.  I resonate with this because I have kids, and we parents know that as soon as we declare parent law on some activity, they want to do that activity.  It's just how we seem to be wired up...or messed up based on our previous readings.

But there was one idea that seemed to stand out above both of those to me.  The idea comes from the phrase "But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!"  As I repeated this phrase over and over, I began to think of the times that I have viewed my relationship simply as God getting me out of something.  When I first became a Christian, God was getting me out of hell.  Then he was getting me out of my circle of friends.  Then he was getting me out of bad language.  Then he was getting me out of secular music.  Then he was getting me out of partying.  Then he was getting me out of trouble.  I am not convinced that this is a completely bad thing when you are young in the faith.  Jesus called his disciples away from what they were doing, so he could show them the way in which he would want them to live and love.  For me, I think there is a problem staying in this mode of living.

At some point, we have to move from seeing our relationship with God as getting us out of something and instead getting us into something.  If we don't, we become "No Christians."  You know what this is don't you?  It's the Christian who is always running away from things because they are not "spiritual" enough.  They are the ones who refuse to eat at the best burger joint in town because they serve beer.  They won't let "non-Christian" kids play with their kids because they will "corrupt."  They create fall festivals instead of heaving fun out in the neighborhood with all the people God loves deeply.  You got it right?

Now, if we are going to be people who "get into life", what do you think that will look like?  God infuses life into everything we do.  Maybe we are families who participate in city sports instead of upward sports, and we train our kids how to be Christ-like in difficult situations.  Maybe we trust God enough to let our kids play with the kids down the street who cuss all the time, training them to stand for what they believe and not be swayed by the actions of others.  Maybe we stay in that difficult job because there are people around us who need to hear the life-giving message of Jesus.  Maybe we see Halloween as an incredible opportunity to get to know our neighbors and discover that we actually like them.  Maybe we are a church who stands up for the poor and the unfortunate, rather than knocking down the people and companies that don't do it the way we think they should.  Just maybe...

What are your "maybe's"?  "All sin can do is threaten us with death.  Grace...invites us into life" (v20-21)  What ways can we live as Christ-followers who offer life rather than simply threaten others with death by our actions?  What ways do you see this being fleshed out in your life?

Romans 4:6-8 :: To Whom Much is Given, Much is Given

Romans 4:6-8 (The Message and TNIV)          Reading Plan

Paul isn't teaching something new.  From his perspective, this is how it's always been.  Works have never made us right with God, but rather our believing that "only God sets things right": FAITH.  In verse 6, he uses David to support this.  David was the king of all kings for the Israelites.  When he says David, everyone's ears peak.  David did many great things in his reign as king and was known as "a man after God's own heart."  But...if we think our leaders have made mistakes, take a look at his life.  David made mistakes, most notably a affair covered up with a murder, that many may have seen on TMZ...okay, maybe not.  Nonetheless, David was keenly aware of his inability to set-things-right-with-God on his own, but that only God doing it for him could it happen.

The people I know with "greater sins" in their past seem to be the most in touch with the FAITH Paul speaks of and the grace that wraps it up.  Outside of the church, the people who have made the largest mistakes are often the most compassionate and less judgmental people.  Inside the church, we too often see that the most vocal people against a particular sin, secretly struggle with that sin.  It's not a rule, and thankfully so, but it happens too often.  Of all people, we ought to be people who understand the depth of failure and reach out and into the lives of others who have failed also.  Much grace is given by people who have received much grace.  Judgment and holier-than-thou attitudes arise when we lose touch with our sin or our capability of sin.

The way we respond to shocking news from others says a lot about our view of the grace we've been given.  How would you respond if a good friend opened up and told you they were gay?  How about if someone told you they were tired of being married and were going to leave their family?  How about if someone told you they don't know if they really believe God exists?  How about being addicted to drugs?  Maybe gambling?

Matthew25::Sheep and Goats

Matthew 25

Somewhere around 1988, I was introduced to a singer named Keith Green. Keith was killed in a car accident in 1982 when he was only 28 years old. He is known by many as the godfather of Christian music. I remember a combination of two songs that he wrote that really messed with my teenage mind. The first song, "The Sheep and The Goats" was based on the last story in our chapter today. He always followed that song with a song called "Asleep in the Light." Though the song had a significant impact on me as a teenager, I think my life has not only forgotten the song, but let the message drift as well.

You see this story about the sheep and the goats really is about one word. The word is a small word, but it is the wedge that is driven between the two stories. The word is "DO." I know that my salvation, my relationship with God, is not based on what I do or don't do, but what He did. That's not what is at stake here. The issue here is how we respond to the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the cold and the imprisoned. The people who "do" feed, give drink, provide shelter and visit the imprisoned, do so to Jesus. The ones who don't, don't.

What strikes me today is not how people I know respond or don't respond to the needy around us. What strikes me is how I respond. What I hope strikes you is how you respond. You see, when I see people in these situations, I have a tendency to think:

• What were their bad choices that led them here?
• If I give them something what will they do with it?
• If I make I contact, what will happen?
• If I give, I won't have money for...
• Isn't there a shelter close by?

The brutal fact is that when I see hungry people, I don't see Jesus. When I see thirsty people, I don't see Jesus. When I see homeless or imprisoned people, I don't see Jesus. I've been struck by the conversations we've been having over the past month at how the Jesus we are reading about doesn't match the Jesus we thought we knew. I can tell you that this is definitely not the Jesus I know.

What in the world do we do with this? Do we sell all our stuff and give it away to help others and join in a vow of poverty? How do we reconcile this with our quaint suburban lives? Am I just beating myself up for no reason? Can we really make a difference?

This is going to be a heavy finish to a great 4 weeks. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be good. Today hasn't been easy for me, but it's been good. I hope some of you will wrestle with these words with me.

Matthew10::Instructions for Those Sent

"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

Jesus didn't come to pick a fight, but the fight always seemed to find him.  Even a casual reading of any of the gospels reveals this.  All three years of his ministry were filled with conflict, intrigue, and conspiracy.  His life was in danger from the day he was born.  While many ran to him, there was always someone who felt threatened by him, or who was a stakeholder in the status quo.  The crowds who were drawn to him could turn at any moment, become a mob and attempt to force his hand.  His teachings didn't always agree with those of the local authorities.  And a rumor followed him around, that he was a king of some sort.  Uninvited kings are not welcome in other kings' kingdoms.  So when he sent his disciples out to represent him, his instructions were sobering.

Rescuing people is dangerous business.  In college, I took an advanced lifesaving course to become a lifeguard, and I remember how much time we spent learning how to rescue a drowning person.  I had no idea how dangerous drowning people were.  The most likely scenario was for the drowning person to take the rescuer down with him.  We learned special techniques that enabled us to save another person's life and prevent them from killing us in the process.

Jesus came to a world that was drowning, and he had to train the Sent Ones to save lives without getting pulled down.  By all means go, he said, but understand that the people to whom I am sending you are desperate and afraid.  They can be unpredictable. Sometimes they will attack you.  You have to love so much that you're still willing to go after them, but wily enough to deliver aid without getting pulled under.  And at some point, the Master may ask you to just endure the pain so that someone else may live.  He knows firsthand what that's like.

You and I are the Sent Ones today.  Are we willing to jump into the treacherous waters of our neighborhood, community and family?  By all means, go.  But be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  People desperately need the love of Jesus, but they won't always respond favorably, and you may not always get expressions of gratitude.  THAT DOES NOT MEAN THE RESCUE ISN'T WORTH IT.  While I was writing this post, a member of our church called and shared with me a small "hit" that he had taken in the effort to serve someone else.  So be it.  Be smart, and love anyway.

You may have been the "sent one" in your life, and have the scars to prove it.  Share your story, past or present, with the group.

Matthew05::You Are Light

Matthew 5

Anyone else remember singing that song as a little kid? Or at least singing it to your kids? I remember that my favorite part of that song was getting to yell “No!” when we asked if we were going to hide it under a bushel. I’m not sure I always knew what a bushel was, but I seemed to be a natural at yelling “No!”

In Matthew05, verses 13-16 jumped out at me this morning. I love the translation of The Message here, we are put where we are to be “salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors “ where we are. We are also light that “brings out the God-colors in the world.” What a picture!

Have you ever noticed that the older people get, the less sensitive their taste buds become. I’ve seen elderly people eat with a fork in one hand and salt shaker in the other. There’s a certain rhythm to it. A meal with no salt is still a meal and is still experienced by everyone at the table. Being one of our basic tastes, salt actually enhances the flavor to our taste buds. It’s just better with salt... Darkness hides colors from our sight. When light is shown in darkness, colors are brought out. It doesn’t mean the shirt wasn’t there or that the couch wasn’t brown. Light reveals color that’s already there, much like salt enhances taste that is there. It’s just better with light...

I thought about this in light of our faith this morning. Does our faith bring out the color in the world around us? Does our faith bring out the color in our neighborhoods? In our families? In our kids? Does our faith enhance the workplace where we spend our days? Does our faith bring out the God-flavors in the relationships we have? As much as I want to say yes, the truth is that often times, I’m not sure that it does as much as I think. It’s easy to recall times when someone’s faith has blinded everyone around them, or when a co-worker’s faith made the office taste bitter instead of better. If we are to be the Springs God intends for us to be where we live, work, play and rest, what do you think it means to shine our light where it brings out the God-colors in the world, and share our faith in a way that brings out the God-flavors in others?

You don’t have have salt, you are salt. You don’t have light, you are light.

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to bantering this around today with you.

Core Belief :: COMPASSION

We believe God calls all Christians to show compassion to those in need.

Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

-Psalm 82:3-4

Biblical compassion, like love, is not something you feel, but something you do. The wording of the creed above is important: God calls us to show compassion, not just feel it. Compassion--expressed both locally and globally--should be a regular part of every Christ-follower's life. Do you have an outlet for compassion in our community? In your neighborhood? Are you showing compassion to people in need in other parts of the country or the world?

We are surrounded by opportunity. Ike Victims. AIDS orphans. The single mom who lives down the street, and her latchkey kids. A homeless family in Dickinson for whom a Habitat house is being built. An African village in need of a water well. A fundraiser for cancer research. Your elderly neighbor. How do you choose? Prayerfully, and in community. Ask God, and talk to your table group about how you can SERVE together.

From time to time, opportunities for compassion will arise that we will promote to the whole church. Starfish Kenya is one example, as were our trips to Galveston after Ike. But please don't wait for a church announcement to show compassion! I believe our best efforts in this regard won't be church-wide. They will be on the neighborhood level. You might be surprised how compassion opens up opportunities for you to build relationships in your neighborhood, both through serving people and serving with people.

Compassion is a core belief that sounds a lot like a core practice. If we believe it, we will do it. It's closely tied to the "giving away" core practices, as we'll see in a couple of weeks.

Ask And You Shall Receive

If you missed Sunday, go to the link on the left and listen to the service mp3.

Well, as is the case so often, as we begin to be more intentional about engaging with our neighbors, opportunities start popping up and God definitely lobbed me a softball yesterday. My newest neighbor, came home yesterday and had apparently had some type of procedure done at the doctor or hospital. I saw them drive up and walk slowly into their front door. Then, after dinner, Rhonda made a batch of her incredible chocolate chip cookies and I took them over last night with a post-it note with all of our phone numbers in case he needed some help. It really was that simple.

I didn't spend a lot of time...in fact, I only spoke with his wife on their front porch. I walked back across the street thinking, "Man, I can't wait to get to know them better." Yesterday, we dove a little deeper into loving our neighbors and what that could and should look like for us. Does it surprise you that when asked to describe Christians, twenty-somethings end up using words that seem to be "unChristian." Antihomosexual, judgmental, hypocritical, too political, unloving, uncaring, etc. are some of the words used to describe them. For a detailed look at the Barna Study I referenced visit unChristian.com. I don't know about you, but I want to be part of the change of our friends' perceptions of us.

Our neighborhoods don't need more people who act like good Christians...they need more people who will act like Jesus. People who will reach across racial barriers and make friends. People who will slow down and listen to others. People who sit across the table from neighbors no matter what their religion. People to love when it doesn't look like they should. People to care when it appears no one else does. These are the people we believe God is calling The Springs to become. We can show our neighbors that we are Christ-followers who do not have to be judgmental. We are Christ-followers who will love you in spite of our differences. We are Christ-followers who will admit we don't have it all together, and we don't expect them to, either. We are Christ-followers who aren't just looking to "save" our neighbors, but actually get to know them. We are Christ-followers from both sides of the isle - from red and blue states.

I want to be part of the movement that earns back the right to be called "Christians" because we actually do "act like Christ." Do you believe it is possible? How bad do you want it?