Calm the Storm…

The world is suffering an unprecedented financial crisis.  The full extent of the damage will not be known for some time to come but many believe that we could be in for some difficult times in the years ahead.  The sheer uncertainty of the potential damage will cause many to suffer anxiety as events unfold.

 

How do we react as members of the body of Christ to this crisis?  Financial woes hit us all very close to home.  It is likely that financial difficulties will call into the open our level of trust in the provision of the Lord.  As many of us have discovered in times of financial problems, we are challenged to trust in the Lord.  We also learn about ourselves.  We learn just how much we have been relying on the Lord as our provision versus relying on ourselves.

 

Our colleagues, friends and family may be suffering from anxiety right now.  They may worry about the future, about their livelihood, about their families—all understandable given the circumstances.  How can we help them?  How can we love them?

 

I can think of two ways to help, materially and spiritually.  When someone is suffering, it does little good to draw up object lessons to correct wayward thinking.  We have to react with compassion assuring others that if we can do so, we will help.  This may mean sharing from our abundance to meet their need.  We can also have faith for them.  If their faith seems lost in the crisis at hand, lend them yours–encourage them, remind them of our Father’s love. 

 

In Christ and as Christ we have the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  We can say as Jesus said in Nazareth, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” and we can be good news to those around us.  We can calm the storm in Christ.

Taking the Risk…in love

By the end of the story, Jesus is condemned by the elders and the chief priests.  His own people condemn Jesus.  The very people he came to save did not just reject him but they condemned him to death.  They would no longer tolerate the threat that his gospel posed to their way of life.  This non-sense was going to end and end badly for the upstart from Nazareth.

 

The people we meet are free to reject us and the gospel and, in fact, we know many will.  I don’t like rejection and have spent most of life calculating how to avoid it but if we are to “be Christ,” we will be rejected.  The likelihood of rejection is so high that we can say that if we have not been rejected then it is likely that we have not been offering Christ to the world.

 

It’s tempting to mitigate the risk by saying something like, “They are not rejecting me, they are rejecting Christ.”  That tactic may help us feel better about rejection but it suggests that we are not really being Christ but that we’re playing the role of Christ and we can just as easily take off the costume of Christ as put it on.

 

Why did Jesus face the rejection and condemnation of the world?  He did it because he loved us.  Love is the motivation for us as well.  Do we love others enough to suffer their rejection?  If we don’t love them, we’ll just leave them to their own devices to sort out life.

 

It’s a radical shift from avoiding rejection at all costs to “being Christ.”  Our flesh will complain loudly.  Rejection hurts.  It hurt Jesus and it will hurt us but if we love as Jesus loved we will not only tolerate rejection but welcome it as a sign that we are making a difference for those who hear our message and come into the kingdom of our loving Father.

 

There are people in our environment who thirst for the Lord and we can join with Jesus is giving them living water.  Attempting to do so will undoubtedly result in rejection but out of love we can endure rejection to share the love of God.

It’s an Honor

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Tim 1:17

 

In our culture the notion of honor is somewhat out of fashion.  We don’t typically talk of honoring others unless it is some kind of special event—like honoring a retiring employee or honoring the recipient of an award.  So what are we to make of the prayer in 1Timothy?

 

Honoring another means drawing attention to their good qualities, reserving for them the best place, and giving them the best you can offer.  When it comes to honoring our Father we do so in the same way.

 

In prayer we call to mind the blessing it is to be one his people.  We call to mind the greatness and goodness of God, the mercy and love of God, the glory of his creation.  This prayer honoring God helps us to recognize ourselves as his men and women working along with him to build his good kingdom.

 

We honor our Father by making our best available to him.  We put his work and his desires at the center of our lives and resist the temptation to push the Lord’s work to the periphery of our lives.  As we take inventory of our lives, it is quite easy to tell if the Lord is being pushed to the periphery.  Do we make time to pray?  Do we make time to study scripture?  Are we available to serve?  Are we willing to risk ridicule by speaking up for him?

 

Honor may be somewhat out of fashion but Timothy suggests that our King is due the honor we pay him and I would suggest that honoring him keeps our focus where it should be–on living our lives in Christ and as Christ.

What to do?

Building the kingdom of God takes a lot of work.  Just organizing and keeping a Challenge Group up and running takes time and planning.  Sometimes we hear the Lord nudging us to do some act of kingdom building like praying with a colleague for healing, or inviting someone to lunch or to the Challenge Group or the Chapter meeting.  Perhaps the Lord has been asking us to do something for a long time? 

What does the Lord want you to do?  You can find out.  Ask him.  The Lord has much to accomplish to be “all in all” on earth as it is in heaven.  We are his arms, his hands, his agents.  He can do things through us.  He accomplishes his mission through us.  There is no Plan B.

What gets in our way?

Procrastination.  We’ve got plenty of time.  We’ll get around to it eventually.

Fear of Consequences.  How will people react if we offer to pray for them on-the-spot?  We risk being ridiculed for our beliefs and therefore fear holds us back.

We’re Busy.  Things get in the way.  The inspiration of the Holy Spirit gets ordered behind everything else we have to do today.

What has the Lord been after you to do?  Ask him to make it plain to you and act in response.  Come Holy Spirit and give us more than good intentions.  Give us the courage to act in your name.  May your kingdom come and your will be done, today.

Me? Love God? Sure but…

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  Deut 6:5

 

OK Lord.  I can love you with all my heart, soul and strength on the following conditions:

 

- Loving you must not hurt my status in the eyes of my friends, family or colleagues.

 

-  Loving you must not cost me an opportunity for a promotion or a raise.

 

-  Loving you should not conflict with me doing things “my own way.”

 

-  Loving you should not cost me any money or at least no more than I can comfortably afford.

 

-  Loving you should not ever cause me to disrupt the things in my life which fill it with ease and comfort.

 

Sounds a little crazy when you make a neat little list like this but we often are tempted to strike just such a bargain with the Lord.  It’s easy to see how our ability to praise, honor and serve the Lord is compromised by setting conditions on loving God.

 

The world urges us to behave within unstated norms when it comes to our faith.  These boundaries can become rigid over time so that we begin to live in a cage of fear.  I have experienced these boundaries in my life.  I have to remind myself that my life is to be all about loving God with all my heart, soul and strength. 

 

My flesh works in perfect harmony with the evil one in this regard and the world speaks to me in clear terms about protecting myself from all risk.  The flesh simply enjoys being along for the easy ride while Satan enjoys my passivity and silence when I should be proclaiming the glory of God.

 

Our disordered loves and unruly desires militate against the coming of the kingdom of God.  We can, however, face them in our lives and take action to counter their neutralizing effect.  The Lord is kind and gentle and slow to anger (isn’t that good news?) and he wants us to build his kingdom so we can count on his help to overcome them.

Hate, Insult, Rejection!

In Luke 19 we find the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.  By this point in his life, he knows he is a marked man.  Earlier in Luke 18, he took the disciples aside and told them that he would be killed in Jerusalem.  In spite of the danger, Jesus enters Jerusalem to the loud shouts of his followers and then, just in case you hadn’t heard he was in town, he goes to the Temple and drives out the merchants calling the Temple his Father’s house.

 

We might have entered Jerusalem a little more quietly.  After all Jesus knew the danger was real.  Everyone in Jerusalem understood how the Romans handled troublemakers.  The faith of Jesus allowed him to act despite the danger and despite the fear that would try to dissuade him from boldly taking action.

 

At the end of Luke 19, it is reported that Jesus went everyday to teach in the Temple and that the chief priests and teachers of the Law wanted to kill him.  Imagine Jesus waking up each day and walking over to the Temple area knowing that there were people there needing to hear the words of deliverance, mercy, healing, and love while also knowing that others were plotting his death.

 

It isn’t quite so dire for us.  We can see those around us who need the words of deliverance, mercy, healing and love.  We don’t face murderous plots against us for teaching people of Christ but we can be intimidated as though we did face such dreadful threats.

 

We face the prospect of ridicule, or losing the respect of colleagues, friends and family.  Some people will call us fools or religious fanatics.  Others will simply laugh at what they see as unsophisticated simplicity.  All unpleasant prospects for being Christ to the world around us. 

 

Love and obedience compelled Jesus to get up everyday and go to the Temple area to teach.  He was totally committed to doing the will of our Father and not even the threat of death would make him quit.  The faith of Jesus overcame the obstacles and we have access to his faith. 

 

We are called blessed or fortunate when people hate, insult and reject us because of belief in the Jesus (Luke 6:22).  It’s unlikely that we’ll enjoy that blessing unless we’re willing to speak the message of deliverance, mercy, healing and love.  We’ll take our share of the cross if we have the faith of Jesus and we can count on that faith to sustain us now and forever.

The Kingdom – Bring it On

What’s a kingdom?  We pray over and again that “thy kingdom come and thy will be done,” so what’s that all about?

 

A kingdom is the domain of the king.  It is a place where the king rules.  It’s a little problematic to pray that the “kingdom come” without recognizing the king.  It is also a bit problematic to consider the idea of “place” when we think of the kingdom of God coming.  What place are we taking about?

 

The King.  Jesus is our king.  Praying that the kingdom would come is praying that our king would reign.  We think of Jesus as the wise ruler of the kingdom whose desire is that all in his kingdom live a life of goodness and justice.  We think of our king as the merciful one who calls us out of darkness and into the light of life forgiving us and welcoming us into his good realm.  We experience the love of our good king and in gratitude and humility we share that love with all others—even those who have yet to recognize the king.  “Come to the kingdom,” we say, “join us in the realm of goodness, justice and mercy.”

 

The Kingdom.  Where is this kingdom?  The kingdom of Jesus Christ has no geographical boundaries so we have to recognize it somehow without seeing a big sign over the interstate saying, “WELCOME TO KINGDOM OF JESUS.”  We recognize the kingdom by observing where the king is honored, praised and served.  The kingship of Jesus is what unites us.  When we gather with our CIC brothers and sisters—the kingdom is there.  When we pray together—the kingdom is there.  When we work together—the kingdom is there.  We bring the king and the kingdom to wherever we are.  How can we be sure?  See goodness, justice and mercy among us and see the kingdom.  You name the occasion—a birthday celebration, a family gathering, a worship service, working, playing—anywhere you see people acknowledging the kingship of Jesus and living under his rule is where you’ll find the kingdom.

 

When we pray, “thy kingdom come,” we recognize our king is Jesus and his kingdom is the place where he is praised, honored and served.  We, therefore, don’t so much sit around and wait for that glorious day when the “kingdom comes” as much as we bring it on by acknowledging our king and gladly joining together to praise, honor and serve him.  The world needs the kingdom to come now as much as it ever needed it and we can make it happen through the love and grace of our king.  Let’s say, “Come to the kingdom,” to the world around us.

Got Room?

 

In John 8 Jesus is contending with the Pharisees who don’t know what to make of him.  Jesus challenged them to think in new ways about how the Father was working in the world.  In verse 37 he tells them:

 

“I know you are Abraham’s descendants.  Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.”

 

What does it mean to have “room” for the word of God?  I think the notion suggests that it is possible to be filled up with activities, ideas, thoughts, beliefs, concepts and what-have-you that keep you from hearing the word of God.

 

We may have to off-load certain things to make more room for the word of the Lord.  The Lord can speak his word to us in many ways.  A beautiful sunset, the face of a newborn baby, the love of family all speak the word of the Lord.  One sure way to hear the word of the Lord is through prayer and scripture.

 

It’s easy enough to take inventory.  Add up the total time dedicated to prayer and scripture each week and compare that to other activities.  It’s easy to get into habits that crowd out the room we need to hear the Lord.  In this political season many of us will spend many hours in front of the TV news or listening to the radio.  And sports—add up the number of hours spent each week watching sports, listening to sports radio, fantasy sports and participating in sports.  And work—most of us have to work to make a living but if we’re not careful work can move beyond making a living and become an obsession.  Unbridled pursuit of material gain will drive us to over-invest in work.

 

Do we have room for the word of God?  Take inventory and ask the Lord to direct your decisions.  Talk to your Challenge Group friends and perhaps spend a few weeks taking inventory and making decisions that give the Lord greater latitude to act in your life.

Go Ahead – Praise God

Among Christians it is easy to think of praising God as something we do at a CIC meeting, a prayer meeting or at church.  We can begin to think that praising God is a specialized behavior reserved for the right time and place.  Let’s think of praising God in a different way for a few moments.

 

When we praise something, we are often recommending that something to others.  For example, when we praise a restaurant’s food, what we are saying is, “I think you would really enjoy that restaurant.”  We might praise a movie and therefore be saying something like, “Go see that movie.  It was really good.”

 

Praise expresses approval or a favorable opinion and we have all experienced the power of praise.  When someone we respect or admire praises a restaurant or a movie, we are strongly influenced to visit that restaurant or to see that movie. 

 

We can use the power of praise to awaken people to the work of our Father.  If we are aware and prepared, we can change the way people around us perceive the world.  It’s subtle but not really difficult.  A good place to start is with the wonder and beauty of creation.  If someone says, “What a beautiful day!” we can respond with “Yes, praise God.  What a great day.” 

 

Our Father can be praised for his mercy, his steadfast love, his willingness to forgive us, his provision for our lives, the beauty of creation, the complexity and grandeur of the universe, our life, our family, the list goes on and on. 

 

Sometimes, people will respond with something like, “So, if God is so wonderful, then why has he allowed war, genocide, and all manner of ugly things to happen in the world?”  We have only to acknowledge the ugliness and remind our listeners and ourselves that it isn’t God’s fault that the world has walked away from his wonderful plan.  We are free.  Free to love and honor the plan of our Father and, yes, free to sin and exploit the beauty and wonder of creation.

 

Go ahead.  Praise God.  Just meditating on all we have to praise God about is a great place to start.

The life of the Son

Christ in you means living the life of the son of God.  The Father calls us into unknown territory when we begin to think about how we can possibly live the life of the Son.  How can we do it?  What would my life be like if I began to live the life of Christ? 

 

In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15), both sons are faced with the same question that faces us today.  How can they enter into the house of the Father and live the life of sons?

 

The younger son discarded his Father’s way of life and exchanged his relationship with the Father for the world.  We, too, are tempted to exchange the life of Christ for the allure of the world.  The temptation is to leave the responsibilities of sonship to gain wealth, pleasure, self-esteem, and the trophies of the world.  We are all tempted to do it our own way—we think life will be great when we can lose the restraints of the Father’s house.  It’s a story as old as Adam and as new as today’s newspaper. 

 

The older son looked to all the world like the good son who shouldered the responsibilities of sonship but it wasn’t so.  He was dutiful but resented, perhaps hated, his brother and his Father’s love.  His pride kept him out of his Father’s house when his brother returned.  We, too, can look good to the entire world but still refuse the responsibility of sonship.  We can easily get along by appearing like the Father’s son while secretly refusing to give our lives to him.

 

The story of these two sons is really the story of a loving Father.  The Father welcomes back the wayward son and gently calls his older brother back into the house.  Christ is the Father’s house.  Like the brothers in the parable, we are called into Christ, called to live the life of sons and daughters of the Father.

 

What, then, shall we do?  There’s no formula.  There’s no law.  We speak to the Father as Christ and when he speaks to us, we’ll know what to do.  Let us enter the house of our Father and live the life of the Son.