Monday, April 28, 2008

Terror laced with Glory

The woman went to her husband and said, "A man of God came to me. He looked like the angel of God—terror laced with glory! Judges 13:6(The Message)

What an awesome description of the angel of God: terror laced with glory. If we all looked at God that way, what an incredible world it could be. Just think- if seeing, knowing, experiencing God provoked terror in us, we'd be much more likely to listen to Him and obey His commands. But if we could also see His glory in that moment, we'd realize that we listen and obey not out of obligation, but of desire to serve the only One who deserves glory.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Stealing Glory

God said to Gideon, "You have too large an army with you. I can't turn Midian over to them like this—they'll take all the credit, saying, 'I did it all myself,' and forget about me. Make a public announcement: 'Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount Gilead now and go home.'" Twenty-two companies headed for home. Ten companies were left. - Judges 7:2,3

Amazing that so many years ago, people were still in the business of stealing God's glory, isn't it? In this story, Gideon is called by God to go defeat Midian. But God wants to make sure that his army is so small that they couldn't possibly do it on their own. Only by making us small can God show he is large. Only when we are weak can he show his strength.

See, I do this kind of thing all the time. Something happens in my life that is so great, so powerful, I know it had to be God. Yet, I somehow manage to find a way to try and take credit for it. It's happening in my life even as we speak. In his book, Humility: True Greatness, CJ Mahaney explains that he has made a habit of, instead of just confessing a pride issue, saying, "In that moment, I was trying to steal God's glory." What a powerful statement that, when said out loud, sounds ridiculous. But it's really true fairly often, at least for me.

One of my favorite pastors and speakers, Francis Chan writes of ways to stave off pride. He says:
- Humbling comes when you stand before the One who knows everything about you
- Humbling comes when you envision Him as the potter and yourself as clay
- Humbling comes when you compare your age with God who is eternal
- Humbling comes when you remember He can take your life before you read this verse

Many people think being humble means thinking (or at least saying) you're not very good at things. Being humble just means that you recognize and understand that all the great gifts, talents, abilities, and passions you have come from God and from God alone. When you give Him credit, you can't help but be humble. And judging from the story of Gideon, that's what He wants from us.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

God's plan isn't always pretty...

... but it's always perfect. Take a look at two stories from the book of Judges. In the first one, Ehud kills Eglon, king of Moab to rescue Israel from his rule. In this case, Eglon is so fat that the handle of Ehud's dagger disappears in Eglon's belly. In the second story, a woman named Jael kills an army commander named Sisera with a tent stake. Neither of these stories is really how we, as 21st century, civilized Christians, would prefer God's story of salvation to go. But, in both cases, they are answers to prayer. Before each of these stories, the bible tells us, "Israel cried out to The Lord for help." And, in both cases, The Lord helped.

Sure, it's messy. It's ugly. And, worst of all, it's not at all how we would have wanted God to answer our prayers. But then again, we don't get to choose, do we?

God is all-seeing, all-knowing, omni-present. We see only what's in our limited sphere, we know so little about God's plans, and we only live in the here and now. We sometimes just need to trust that God knows the best way to answer our prayers.

People often ask, "When you meet God, what will your first question be." I usually answer, "I won't ask anything. I'll either understand it all then, or it won't matter anymore."

Peace.

Monday, April 21, 2008

What a great weekend!

This weekend started with a Dino 15k Trail Run at Washington Township Park in Avon, Indiana. I ran the 15k in 1:18:40- not quite the Olympic "A" Standard, but it was my best time ever on that course. Gives me hope that I'm in good shape for the Mini in less than two weeks. Plus, the weather was perfect for trail running - 55 degrees and light rain. It made the course just muddy enough to be technical.

Then, a project I thought I was going to spend most of the rest of the weekend on got cancelled. Yes! So, I got to spend the afternoon with my family visiting local garden shops.

On Sunday, I got to talk about sex at church. Well, not sex at church. But the message I gave at church on Sunday was about sex. God really annointed it, and at the end was a very powerful moment set to Chris Tomlin's "Amazing Grace - My Chains are Gone." Then, Sunday afternoon, we mulched in our flower beds (a friend and I). What a great weekend!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Finding good in all the bad

Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove. He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.
But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”

Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.- Joshua 2:1-7

This story talks about two Isrealites going into enemy territory - spies - who are still able to find someone with an interest in helping their cause. In fact, she tells the two men that she supports their cause and wants them to save her family in return for her not telling on them.

It's amazing to me how we can find hope, help, and encouragement even in the darkest places. I remember once being in Taiwan and surrounded by Buddhists and other non-believers. In the midst of all of this, as we're talking about spirituality and some other things, one of the women came up to me after dinner and said, "I just want you to know that I'm a Christian. My husband doesn't know God, but I do. I just wanted to tell you." That conversation changed my whole journey. Even though I was in the country for business, I was feeling the darkness of not knowing people who believed like I did. In her, I felt like I'd found a helper or encourager - someone to talk to while I spent 10 days in a foreign land. We only talked a couple of times, always at dinner and surrounded by others, but we had an unspoken agreement to encourage each other during my trip.

I still have friends in Taiwan. They are still not Christians, at least as far as I know. But I know now that wherever I go, I will find someone willing to help me with my mission - a brother or sister in Christ. It encourages me, at least, to ask.

Maybe you've been afraid to talk to your friends about Christ because of what they might think of you. You might be surprised to know that there's probably your own Rahab in the group.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sex, sex, sex

So, there's this guy Paul. Now, Paul is pretty famous. In fact, he wrote most of the New Testament, so he and God are like this (fingers crossed). At one point in his life, Paul is writing a letter to some folks at a church, maybe a church like ours, and he says something weird... he actually starts to call out one particular type of sin. In fact, what he says is, "No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one...." Hmmm... you mean all sin isn't the same? There are some sins that affect us differently?

Well, of course, Paul is talking about sexual sin. In fact, what he says is, "Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:18-20

See, Paul says run from sexual sin. In other versions, he says flee. Get away from. Turn around from. Do not go near sexual sin. But the mistake most of us make is to draw an imaginary line somewhere and think as long as we stay on this side of the line, we're okay, but when we go over there, we're in trouble and so we inch closer and closer and see how far we can go without going over the line. That's not a new concept, either. In fact, God tried laying down rules about sex but that didn't work. So, now, we try to make our own rules about what's on this side of the line and what's on that side. What that looks like to us may be this... I can look as long as I don't touch. It's okay to watch that/ read that/ go to that website. I'm not hurting anyone. What's it hurt to go to her to get my haircut? What's it hurt to look out the window at the neighbor's daughter who's home from college cutting the grass in her bikini?

But the bible tells us differently. We should flee. Run. "Run away!" There is no line. Sex is great, marvelous, magical, God-sent, and fun. In the right context. Like fire, sex can warm, comfort, entertain, and illuminate. But uncontained, it can burn, scar and even kill.

The great thing is, no matter what you've done, no matter how you've screwed up, you can come to Christ and He will make you new. Anyone. Any man, woman, boy, girl. Anyone can find new life in Him.

Peace

Monday, April 14, 2008

He humiliates because He loves

Here's what will happen if you don't obediently listen to the Voice of God, your God, and diligently keep all the commandments and guidelines that I'm commanding you today. All these curses will come down hard on you....God will lead you and the king you set over you to a country neither you nor your ancestors have heard of; there you'll worship other gods, no-gods of wood and stone. Among all the peoples where God will take you, you'll be treated as a lesson or a proverb—a horror! -Deuteronomy 28:15, 36-7 (The Message)

I love this passage and I hate it. What this basically says is that if we don't do what God commands, we will end up humiliated... we will be used as an example of what not to do. Which reminds me of a picture I saw one time:



So, basically God humiliates those who don't follow his commands. At some point in our lives, we've all done something that we knew we shouldn't do, but the pull of the flesh is so strong or our desire so overpowering that we do it anyway. And all of us, at some point in our lives, have been humiliated by something we've done and only we can take responsibility for. And we end up as a lesson for others.

I think this really strikes at the heart of God. See, most people look at "The Law" laid down in the Old Testament as God being a controlling, wrathful, vengeful God. But really, he put the law there because he loves us, and as the one who created us, he understands the way to live that is best for us, and the way that is less than ideal. When you begin to see God as a loving father who's crazy about you, and only wants what's best for you, it becomes easier to listen to His words and obey His commands.

Yesterday, we announced our lead pastor, Jeff Smith, is leaving to plant a church in southern Missouri, where he's from. From the time I've known Jeff, this has been a calling God laid on his heart. Had he said, "no" to God, he could have ended up humiliated and used as an example by God of what not to do. He could have very easily stayed and enjoyed the fruit of some of the seeds he'd planted, but then, he says, he would have had to answer to God for what he didn't do.

Obediantly listen. Keep His commands. And the only purpose of your life will not be as an example to others.

Friday, April 11, 2008

And how blessed all those in whom you live,
whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
at the last turn—Zion! God in full view! - Psalm 84:5-7 (The Message)

I love this idea that the roads God travels are the lives of those in whom he lives. In an earlier post, I talked about the idea that God resides with us on the earth, but that God lives in us and travels the paths of our lives with us should give great hope.

As we hiked up Camelback mountain in Scottsdale a few days ago, my wife was worn out. She was ready to quit at any moment. And, we got to the bend where I was sure she was done, and we started seeing people coming down... people who had passed us on the way up, and it gave us hope. Look, we each thought silently, they traveled the same trail we have, and they made it and are on their way back. I really think this, more than anything, gave her the strength and encouragement to make it to the top on her own. If we can be encouraged by other people making it to the top of a piddly little hike, how much more encouraged, then, should we be knowing God walks the roads of our lives with us. When we ask God into our hearts, He sends His spirit to come live in us and live our lives with us. I can rest in assurance that anything I go through, anything I do, anything I encounter, I am not alone.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Genesis church featured in print!

My church home... made famous by an article in the Indianapolis Star this morning. Check it out!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The Beauty of Creation

So, yesterday, Benetta and I went hiking in Sedona, Arizona. It has to be the most beautiful place in the US, if not the world.



We had been there before, back in 1998. Then, we hiked Boynton Canyon, which I remember being beautiful, but not like this time. Yesterday, we hiked along the West Fork of Oak Creek, with it's stunning red rock formations and a liquid blue sky.

Part of the fascination yesterday stems from the absolutely perfect weather we had- mid-sixties, a few puffy clouds - ideal for hiking. But, part of it is that I am in a much better place spiritually than I was then. Last time I hiked Sedona, I was "communing with nature." This time, I was communing with God. Throughout the hike, I couldn't help but think of how awesome and powerful and totally artistic our God is. What a wonderful maker! A verse kept coming to mind from the book of Job. If you don't know the story, here's what happens... Job (pronounced Jobe) is a godly man, and satan thinks he can lure him away. So, the deceiver goes to God to get permission to try. God has faith that Job is a good man, so He agrees. Satan takes everything from Job- his family, his possessions, his livestock, his Bentley- everything. Then, after 37 chapters of Job's "friends" trying to figure out what Job must have done wrong to make this happen, and Job's crying out to God for answers, God decides, in chapter 38, to answer. Here's how it goes...

"Where were you when I created the earth?
Tell me, since you know so much!
Who decided on its size? Certainly you'll know that!
Who came up with the blueprints and measurements?
How was its foundation poured,
and who set the cornerstone,
While the morning stars sang in chorus
and all the angels shouted praise?
And who took charge of the ocean
when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb?
That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds,
and tucked it in safely at night.
Then I made a playpen for it,
a strong playpen so it couldn't run loose,
And said, 'Stay here, this is your place.
Your wild tantrums are confined to this place.' "- Job 38:4-11 (the Message)

You can read the whole chapter here. God basically says, "Hey, I got this, don't worry. You don't understand anything, do you?"

Sometimes, I feel just like Job. When I question God about why something's happening in my life, why things aren't going the way I would like, I am really just doubting His soverignty. I think God is not in control. Then, I look around at what he's done... what He's done in my life in the last 10 years, what He's done with the earth, and making everything fit together and work together so perfectly and beautifully, and I'm reminded that I am not the one to question God. After all, where was I when he created the earth?

Monday, April 7, 2008

Of faith and famous people

So, I finally got to meet Rob Bell yesterday. Now, I've gone to a lot of places where Rob was. I've seen him speak at Catalyst. I got tickets to see him in Indianapolis last fall. I've read his books and listened to his sermons, but yesterday was the day I finally got to meet him. We're on vacation in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I saw him (and his wife and boys) in a Borders bookstore. It's weird running into people in places like that. I desperately wanted to tell him how much his teaching has meant to me, how I've used it in our church, but all I could get out is, "Hey man, I just read Sex God on the plane coming out here. Which was true. But I didn't tell him I was using it for sermon prep. I didn't tell him that a lot of us use his stuff for sermon prep. All I could say was, "thanks." Now, I've met a lot of famous people- governors, atheletes, race car drivers, authors (in fact, I saw Reggie Miller formerly of the Pacers at the Indy airport yesterday- but I don't usually get starstruck. For some reason, I was with Rob. So, anyway, if you ever read this, Rob, I really just wanted to say, "thanks."

We got off the plane yesterday and immediately headed for South Mountain Park in Phoenix, where we took a two hour hike from Buena Vista down to Hidden valley. It offered breathtaking views of the whole Phoenix metropolis. About every 100 feet, I'd jump as a lizard ran into the brittlebush and made it sound just like a rattlesnake. But, the amazing things to me were the rocks. Huge boulders, the size of two or three tractor trailers, perched precariously on top of other boulders equally hefty. Benetta and I were pondering, how did they get there, how long have they been there, how long will they be there, once they fall, how long will it take to get to the canyon bottom? Then, a thought occurred to me. Jesus said if we have as little faith as a mustard seed, we could move that rock. So, I said, "Rock, go jump in a lake". Nothing happened. I knew it wouldn't. That's the thing about faith. When we ask for something, knowing it won't happen, that isn't faith. It doesn't take faith to ask - it takes faith to believe. Faith to believe that...

rocks will get up and move

your friend will be healed of her cancer

my kids will grow up to be normal, productive humans

God is bigger than I am

Rob Bell is a nice guy and won't think I'm stalking him if I just say, "hi."


Peace.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Am I courageous?

Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was. “The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” Luke 9:21-22

How many times have you heard someone say, "If I had know what that would be like, I would never have tried it?" So many things in our lives are harder than we ever hoped, but they end up refining us and making us better off for them. There are things that I want to do, things I want to be, places I want to go, but I don't - simply because I know there is a hard path to get there. I wonder if I would have the courage to do what God will call me to do next. Could I possibly be like Jesus and just matter-of-factly think, "Ok, these are the things that need to happen?" Even if I could, would I have the courage to follow through?

A story is told about the verse, Malachai 3:3. This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The silversmith answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed!

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."


Here's the question... do I have the courage to sit through the fire, knowing it will be nearly unbearable, but also knowing that I will be better off on the other side?

Peace

Thursday, April 3, 2008

On quitting...

"I get knocked down
But I get up again
You're never gonna keep me down"- "Tubthumper" by Chumbawamba

Not long after that, Jesus went to the village Nain. His disciples were with him, along with quite a large crowd. As they approached the village gate, they met a funeral procession—a woman's only son was being carried out for burial. And the mother was a widow. When Jesus saw her, his heart broke. He said to her, "Don't cry." Then he went over and touched the coffin. The pallbearers stopped. He said, "Young man, I tell you: Get up." The dead son sat up and began talking. Jesus presented him to his mother. - Luke 7:11-15 (The Message)

"Never, never, never give up" - Winston Churchill

I run a lot of races. Not very many short ones, but lots of medium-distance and longer ones. Frequently, someone will fall down- either from exhaustion or jostling in the pack or just not paying attention. But, I have never seen anyone fall down in a race and get back up and win, especially not in a very short race. Not, that is, until now. The video below is from the Women's Big Ten track and field championships a few weeks ago. Watch as Minnesota's Heather Dorniden falls during the 600, gets back up, and wins her heat.



This is a really rare occurence - think about it. In a field full of elite athletes, a wrong step or a missed breath can be the difference between first place and last. So, to not only pop back up, but come back and win your heat, is really a minor miracle. And it seems like Miss Dorniden recognizes that. In an interview for "Down the Backstretch", Dorniden gives all the glory for her victory to Christ.

Why not? We know he can do it. In the story from Luke, he brought a man back from the dead. If he can use a 600 meter race to bring glory to himself, he can use something in your life or mine. If he can bring a man back from the dead, he can certainly resurrect whatever it is in my life that I think is dead or gone or unforgiveable. No matter where we are in life, no matter how far we've fallen, Christ can bring us back. What a great story of redemption. Never, never, never give up.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

How far would you go to bring a friend to Jesus?

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” Luke 5:18-20

I have friends that have waited in a cold drizzle for 6 hours to meet the Jonas Brothers. I have a friend that camped overnight in front of a Target store in below freezing temperatures to buy a Nintendo Wii. I am always amazed at the determination some people will go through to get what they want. But really, these friends of the paralyzed man were over the top in their zeal to meet Jesus.

In an age where a church service going 10 minutes too long is enough to send people into a tizzy, these guys were "all in." First, they carried their friend to this house on a sleeping mat - not a stretcher, a mat. Have you ever tried to carry a grown man on a mat? Then, when they couldn't get to the house, they carried him up ON THE ROOF! Hello? Then they removed some tiles (which were, hopefully, easily replaced later) and lowered him down in front of Jesus. This was early in the ministry of Jesus, but there was something about him - about the way he taught or lived or loved people - something. Something so powerful that these guys thought, "If only we could get our friend in front of Jesus, I know he'll walk again." And the cool part is, it worked. Now, we don't know if or how they prayed for Jesus to heal him, or if they asked friends to pray, or how that part of the story worked. But what we see is that they brought their friend to Jesus through their own faith and dogged determination. They decided that nothing - not people nor walls nor roofs, not even sheer exhaustion - nothing would keep them from bringing their friend to Jesus.

For me, I'm sometimes embarrassed to even ask if my friends know Jesus. Even people I know need healed, I know need forgiven, I know need loved. I often don't even try to bring them in front of Jesus. So, how far would you go to bring a friend to Jesus?

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Sagging skin and brittle bones

You're all I want in heaven!
You're all I want on earth!
When my skin sags and my bones get brittle,
God is rock-firm and faithful. - Psalm 73:25-26 (The Message)

So, I slept on a heating pad last night. After Saturday's race, it seems my back and neck took the brunt of the abuse, not my legs. Lately, I have had stiff necks, sore backs, and when I get up in the morning, I can only shuffle my feet like Tim Conway's old man on The Carol Burnett Show.



A couple weeks shy of 38, I sometimes feel like I am 60. It's enough to make me look forward to my new body.

But this Psalm is encouraging to me. Even when my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. The King James says, "My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever." What a beautiful idea that even when we are weak, he stands strong. In fact, I find when I am the weakest is when he is best able to show his strength.

A couple of weeks ago, I met with some ladies visiting the US from Ukraine. They run a ministry there that counsels women against having abortions, then helps them acquire skills so they can work and support their children. By God's grace, they acquired a piece of land in their town, and are praying about building a rehabilitation hospital on the plot. The Americans in the room got very excited about helping out with this and were asking questions about how much it would cost, how would they raise the money, what kind of timeline they had, etc. The women got very silent, then one looked across the table, pointed her finger and, with a very serious look, said, "Only God can build this building." Wow! What faith. When we are weak, He is strong.

In America, we have so much, our reliance on God is often secondary to our reliance on ourselves. We go to work, we make money, we buy things, we solve problems, we help people, we try to fix things and people and situations. In the places in the world where they just don't have the resources, they rely on God more. In the U.S., we often rely on God only when we can't do something ourselves.

We work so hard to make ourselves strong. Maybe, we need to take time to make ourselves weak, so He can show His strength. Maybe instead of building ourselves up, we need to tear ourselves down, and let Him rebuild us. Maybe we need to become less so God can become more in our lives.

Don't get me wrong... I don't like having a weak body. But, if it means I trust God more- that He must become the strength of my heart and my portion forever- then go ahead and break my bones.