Sunday, February 28, 2010

You Have To Say Goodbye Before You Say Hello

Imagine attending a wedding. You are there to celebrate the love between the bride and groom. You bought the gift. You’re looking forward to the cake and punch. You’re hoping for mixed nuts – you love mixed nuts, which you won’t buy because they’re too salty, but you will eat them freely at a reception with no guilt. And maybe those buttery mints that melt in your mouth. You got all dressed up. The sanctuary is adorned with flowers. There is excitement in the air. Everything goes off without a hitch. Even the pastor isn’t too dull in his homily. Now, it’s time for the vows – a hush takes over as sacred words are about to be affirmed. The pastor moves through the traditional words that vow faithfulness and fidelity no matter what may come. He asks for an “I do” from the groom. There is a pause. The groom shuffles a bit, looks around, looks at his bride, at his parents, and then at the pastor. Instead of “I do,” he has a few questions.
“Exactly what do you mean by fidelity? I’m only human, you know. What if we’re in a rocky period, or she’s in a twenty year coma or something – I have needs that need to be met. And how about faithfulness – when is it okay to say I’ve had enough. I’m definitely interested in marriage, but could you clarify the terms for me?”

If that really happened, the bride would hopefully run away. The groomsmen would hopefully give the groom an unforgettable wedgie. And you’d hopefully still get to enjoy the mixed nuts.

This sort of transaction happens all the time, however, in the life of faith.

The Proposal  Matthew was a tax collector. He was rich, and not because God rewarded him for his honesty. Most people knew – but could not prove – that he was ripping off everybody he could, and with legal authority. He lived in Brown’s Valley. His camel was an Audi, which is the new BMW, which was the new Mercedes before that. His kids went to private school. He enjoyed regular mani’s and pedi’s. Most honorable people couldn’t stand him, which was no big deal, because none of the other rich people with whom he partied were honorable, either. His friends were fellow cheats and thieves, staying just above the law to work the system. By all appearances, most people would think he had it all, and, even though they hated him, they also secretly envied his lifestyle. Appearances can be misleading, however.

The only reason we know that his riches weren’t satisfying was because of what happened when he met Jesus (Matthew 9:9-13). Jesus was doing his thing around the edges of the Sea of Galilee when he came upon Matthew, sitting at his tax booth where he collected customs taxes.

“Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus called.

Matthew got up and followed.

If his life was complete, Matthew would have laughed and just sat there. But it wasn’t, and he didn’t. In fact, in order to follow Jesus, it meant that he had to stop being an unethical tax collector. He had to say goodbye to the cheating, dishonesty, hording, excesses, and self-centeredness if he was going to say hello to Jesus’ invitation.

Goodbye Before Hello  Matthew’s story is not a proof-text for having to get our lives right before we embrace Jesus. That’s just silly. But it is a great example of the truth that if we want all that Jesus offers, we have to let some things go – we have to make changes. We have to say goodbye to some attitudes and behaviors before we can say hello to those Jesus has to replace them. There are things in Matthew’s life that were incongruent with the life Jesus was offering. Jesus was proposing, and he was asking for fidelity.

In order to experience all God has for you throughout all of your life and every aspect of your life requires that we hear the invitation for every facet of our life, saying goodbye to that which is incongruent with Christ in favor of that which is aligned.

This is not rocket science.

If you want to be physically healthy, you need to say goodbye to a poor diet and lethargy and hello to healthier eating habits and a more active lifestyle. This is a biblical idea, by the way – taking care of the temple (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

If you want a healthy marriage, you need to say goodbye to self-serving roles and hello to selfless, mutual submission noted in Ephesians 5:21.

If you want to experience emotional maturity, you have to say goodbye to elementary and adolescent ideologies and say hello to mature ways of understanding love (1 Corinthians 13:11).

If you want to experience more than a silo relationship with God, you’ve got to say goodbye to not growing your faith, and say hello to working out the salvation you’ve been afforded (Philippians 2:12).

If you want a more bold faith, then you need to say goodbye to the fear and timidity which is not of God and say hello to the power, love, and self-discipline which is of God (2 Timothy 1:7).

If you want to feel good about how you are managing your finances, you need to say goodbye to our Western “me” mindset, and hello to an ancient, God-centered mindset that keeps the Kingdom of God central in budgeting (Micah 3:6-12; Matthew 6:31-33).

If you want to be free of hatred and the destruction is brings, you have to say goodbye to being judgmental, and hello to forgiveness and grace (Matthew 7:1-5; 18:21-35).

If you want to be fed spiritually, you have to say goodbye to the “sit and soak” method so common in the West, and say hello to being Jesus to those in your path. You will find your spiritual hunger satisfied (John 4:34).

Ask the Question  If we’ve never asked the question about what we need to say goodbye to in order to say hello to Jesus and the life he brings, it probably means we’ve got some discrepancies to deal with. If we’ve never asked the question, we have very likely compartmentalized God to such a small portion of ourselves that the Almighty is rendered powerless in our lives.

When Matthew was approached by Jesus, he knew that many questions were being asked in that one invitation. It all boiled down to one ultimate question: are we all in for Jesus? Are we willing to make Christ the central motivation and purpose for our lives? Do we trust him enough to say goodbye to lesser things and hello to the life we’ve been created to live?

Matthew’s first response after saying yes was to throw a party, inviting all of his friends, so that he could let them know of his new direction, and honor the one who gave it to him. Implicitly, he invited his friends to consider Christ, too. How are you inviting others to consider Christ?

Think…
  1. What would you think if you went to a wedding ceremony like the one described above? What would you think about the groom’s level of maturity? How do you suppose the bride would feel?
  2. Matthew appeared to have it. What do you think he was lacking? Is it possible to know of our emptiness before we pursue every other thing? In other words, do we have to learn the hard way?
  3. What concerns do you suppose went through Matthew’s mind when he heard the invitation from Jesus to be his disciple? What hopeful expectations do you think went through his mind?
  4. Matthew said yes. Would you? Why or why not? What would go into your decision?
  5. Because God wants us to experience the best life has to offer, God wants to bring every aspect of our lives into alignment with him and his ways. What aspects of your life have you already considered – where have you already said goodbye to a former way and hello to Christ’s? What was your experience? What aspects of your life do you sense God calling you to examine now? What are your next steps?
  6. Matthew threw a party to celebrate his new life direction, which automatically clued in his friends and implicitly invited them to do the same. How are you celebrating the new life you have in Christ is ways that inform others? How are you inviting people into the invitation dialogue with Christ? How are you being Jesus to those in your path?
May you experience the love of God, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God! – Ephesians 3:19

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Alive to Life: For the Sake of the Joy

Who is or has been on the list of your top role models?

When you’re a kid, it’s your parents or grandparents. Maybe even a brother or sister. When you grow a little older, it may be someone that seems larger than life: a movie star or a sports figure or a rock star. As we mature into adulthood, our gaze gives up on stardom, and our role models sometimes become those who have helped shape our adult thinking – teachers, professors, mentors, authors. The longer we live, the more we value those who have made a significant impact on our world for good, and they become the ones we admire and emulate. What about Jesus? Has he shown up on your role model radar?

Jesus’ Primary Modus Operandi: Make disciples. If we come to the conclusion that Jesus is our best choice for our role model, we need to get a handle on what he was all about. Without question, his number one priority in life was to make disciples. What’s a disciple? A disciple is one who follows in the footsteps of his or her Master. Boiled down, Jesus was all about helping people find a growing relationship with God, where they would begin to experience life in a whole new way. He wanted people to walk with God. The way he helped people learn how to walk with God was in community. Do you know why the disciples had authority when Jesus left them? Because they had been with him, together, in community. Jesus invested three solid years with them, 24/7, because he knew that’s where they would really come to know him. And just before he left, he gave them a command: go make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Do what I did. Go be me. This is starting to sound strangely familiar: His purpose in life was rooted in helping people Walk with God. He pulled it off by helping the disciples Walk with Others. And then he told them to be like him – Go Be Jesus.

Jesus walked the talk…  In the early days of Jesus’ ministry, he had already gained quick renown as a tremendous teacher and healer. He had market buzz, to say the least. He journeyed around, preaching in local synagogues in Northern Israel, and eventually made his way back to his home town of Nazareth. He chose to read a Messianic prophecy from Isaiah which foretold the coming Christ’s bringing Good News to the poor, release of captives, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed (Is. 61:1-2 & Luke 4:14-30). Jesus then announced that the prophecy was being fulfilled in him that very day. Everybody was pretty excited, for a moment.

Then Jesus had to stir the pot. He started to allude to the larger meaning of the prophecy – that God’s vision for Jesus’ life and ministry was bigger than Nazareth, and bigger than Israel. The Good News Jesus came to preach was for the entire world. Jews. Gentiles. Samaritans. Romans. Even Napans. “Not Napans!” they proclaimed.

This proclamation completely ticked off the audience that day. So upset were they that they formed a mob and pushed Jesus right to the edge of a cliff, ready to throw him over. God was bigger than the mob, however, and Jesus marched right through them like a knife, and went on with his ministry.

What happened? Why would people get so upset about the prospect of more people experiencing the good things of God instead of less? Seems like good news, so why did they take it as bad?

In order to understand why they took this as bad news, we first need to understand what the news meant to them. Jesus was dismantling some inadequate theology running rampant in his day that basically said the God was only interested in Jewish people. Non-Jews were pretty much out of luck in the minds of many. Disgust, disdain, and even hatred were common feelings some Jews had toward the non-Jews around them. Jesus was taking the basis of their hatred away in saying that God was good news for everybody. This wasn’t new material, either. Jesus was echoing the prophets that clearly told of God’s redemptive work he wanted to do through his people Israel. This was old news that was simply ignored.

To make matters worse, Jesus took it another step. If people were to embrace him as Messiah, they had to follow him. To follow him meant to walk right into the very people groups they couldn’t stomach. Hands and feet dirtied with the dust of those they hated.

Others in the synagogue simply liked things just the way they were, and Jesus’ sermon required change on their part. And everybody knows that nobody likes change. Good enough reason to run a man out of town; maybe kill him.

Jesus sermon hasn’t changed – has our response?  The call of Christ hasn’t changed. As Christ-followers, we are called to bring the Good News to the whole world, which includes all the people we love to hate. The response to this message in churches is varied.

Some people are new to this idea, and love it. To them, it’s very exciting: how many people can we help get back into relationship with God? How many lives can we help improve? How much better can the world be?

Some people are vampires, and hate it. They were born from the pit of hell. They’re not much for God, and don’t really want to see anything of God succeed. They like death, and like to suck life out of living things.

Beyond these two extremes lies everybody else.

Some people really thrive on their hatred of others. Having an enemy makes the world simpler. Got a problem? They can help direct your blame. And, if we believe God hates who we hate, our hatred becomes justified and even sanctified. Look out, abortion doctors, here we come! Unfortunately, they have missed the whole point, and are clearly missing a healthy relationship with God themselves.

Finally, some people, just like in Nazareth, are happy with things as they are. If people will simply become just like them, liking the things they like, listening to the same music they like, believing the same things they believe before they become part of their church, they are certainly welcome! But they really don’t want you here if it means changing what they like and do. Push them on this, and they might force you to the edge of a cliff.

Why did Jesus bother?  Hebrews 12:2 gives us insight into the mind of Jesus as to his motivation. For the joy set before him, he endured… He endured the mob, the alienation, the isolation, the ridicule, the bad press, the politics, the betrayal, the denial, and even the cross. Lots of bad stuff. What joy set before him made it all worthwhile? Redemption. Connecting people back up to their Creator. Helping people walk with God. Teaching and modeling how to Walk with Others. Empowering them to change the world. All of this is redemption. His work on the cross was the climax – the greatest example of his love for God and humanity. For the sake of helping people find restoration in God, he endured it all. That work was worth everything. That work gave him life. Following him means doing that work which is worth everything and yields life.

Rock/Sand; Passion/Pulse.  Coming full circle, let’s enter the story. Jesus’ calling and command hasn’t changed. He still promises life, but it’s found in actually doing what he says. Following in his footsteps provides a life built on a solid foundation instead of sand (Matthew 7:24-29). But following is tough. Enduring is tougher. What keeps us going is the joy set before us – knowing we’re actually doing something of tremendous value that will impact the cosmos. And, as we walk with Jesus, we come to know him a whole lot better because we are with him, not just reading about him.

Steps to Take.  The greatest act of love we can offer anyone is prayer. Prayer invites God’s presence into the object of our petition. What better thing to hope for someone than God’s breaking into their life? So, pray for the people God has already put around you. Really pray that God would bless them in God’s way. Pray for their wellbeing, their wholeness, their joy. Prayer for an opportunity to be Jesus to them. Pray for a willingness to respond when the opportunity arises. Pray for guidance with words and actions when the opportunity arises. Do you know what will happen when you do? God will do something in them, but God will probably do a bigger something in you. When you start asking God to do “God things” in someone’s life, more of God begins to form and take root in you. You become increasingly like the Master, which means you experience more and more life from the Source.

Think…
  1. Who have been genuine role models in your life that you have actually, consciously emulated? Family? Friends? Teachers? Sports figures? Celebrities?
  2. Honestly – no guilt inducement attempted here – where did Jesus rank as far as role models went for you growing up? Was he even on the radar? Why or why not?
  3. Was experiencing greater life part of your reason for seeking out Christ, or was your drive more about securing heaven?
  4. Do you really think Jesus can be trusted to deliver the best direction for our lives?
  5. How do we decide who gets to be a role model in our lives?
  6. What would validate Jesus as a good role model? In other words, apart from feeling like we’re supposed to say Jesus is our role model, why would we?
  7. What kept the people in Nazareth from making Jesus their role model in Luke 4:14-30?
  8. What causes us to remove Jesus from our role model list?
  9. Who are we pretty sure we don’t want to love? Why? What do you think it means to love them?
  10. How will you begin to be Jesus to the people around you this week?

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Alive to Live: Loved You First

Today kicks of the first in the Alive to Live: Masterful Steps to Meaningful Living series.  The root of experiencing the life we were created to live is the love that we have from God.  Walking with God is not inherently difficult.  The difficulty in walking with God is due to the fact that our ways of walking are often far different in pace and direction than God's.  So, the first step in this series is to get reacquainted with God's motive for everything: love.  And on Valentine's Day to boot!  Enjoy!


I love you.

I have always loved you.

I loved you when your mother first knew of your coming.

I loved you as you kicked and turned within her as you developed.

I loved you when you left the womb and felt cold for the first time.

I loved you when you drew your first breath – I was there – I gave it to you.

I loved you when you screamed as loud as you could in protest of your new surroundings.

I loved you when you recognized voices and found comfort in them, including mine.

I loved you when everything was brand new and exciting – long before your familiarity overtook your curiosity.

I loved you when you simply knew and believed in my presence, my love, my joy over you.

I loved you when you started to forget my voice and my face.

I loved you when other things crowded our relationship – other people, grades, lovers, friends, toys, hobbies, TV, surfing the net, did I mention TV?, and the drive to succeed.

I loved you when you questioned whether or not I ever existed.

I loved you when you knowingly and at times unwittingly thought things, said things, did things that were destructive to yourself and to other people whom I love.

I loved you when you knowingly and at times unwittingly walk over, kicked down and stomped the sandcastle I was building – my Kingdom in this world that improves everything for everyone.

I loved you when you made it personal, blaming me for stuff I wasn’t for, stuff I didn’t do, maligning my character, questioning my motives, damaging my reputation among others.

I loved you when you sold me out to save yourself.

I loved you when our relationship was dead.

I loved you when you finally grieved our estrangement.

I loved you when I sought you out.

I loved you when you heard my voice again, as if for the first time.

I loved you when you recognized me again, and returned in my direction.

I loved you when you fell in love with me all over again.

I loved you when we went from walking together, to running together, to dancing together.

I loved you when you proclaimed your love for me loudly, boldly, unashamedly, joyfully, confidently, uninhibitedly, carelessly, giddily, with blushed cheeks, with firmly planted feet, with raised hands, on your knees.

I loved you when you loved others and found me there.

I loved you when you gave all of yourself away only to find more of me where you thought there would be void.

I loved you when all you had left was me, and you found it more than enough.

I loved you when you drew your last breath of cold air that welcomed you so long ago.

I loved when you drew your first warm breath - I was there, am there, will be there – I gave it to you.

No matter how much you grow to love me (or not), know that I loved you, loved you first, and will love you ‘til (and through) the last.

Think…
  1. Do you believe God loves you? Why or why not?
  2. How did your parents or grandparents shape your understanding of God’s love? Did they say much about it?
  3. How did you experience love from your parents or grandparents?
  4. How did their expression of love toward you affect your understanding of God’s love for you?
  5. How is God’s love the same as the love your parents have for you? How is it different?
  6. How much does God love you? How do you know?
  7. Read John 3:16-17. How does this express God’s love for us?
  8. How have you learned to express God’s love to others?
  9. Read 1 John 3:11-24; 4:7-21. What does this say about how we are to love? Why are we to love in these ways?
  10. Read Hebrews 12:1-2. What motivated and sustained Jesus as he endured his torturous death on the cross? How does that make any sense?
  11. Read Philippians 2:5-18. What example did Jesus offer us regarding the look and feel of love? What instruction did Paul give regarding the look and feel of love we are to pursue?
  12. How is the love of God described in these passages different from the love you’ve been exposed to in your life?
  13. How will you love differently in light of the way you have been loved by God?
  14. Who is in your sphere that you get to love in the ways of God? Think of both the people you want to love and the people you struggle to love. What affect do you think it will have on them? What affect do you think loving them in the way God loves will have on you?

May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:19 (NLT)



Sunday, February 7, 2010

Week Six: The King Has One More Move

From January 3 through February 7, we will be getting the teaching from John Ortberg's When The Game Is Over, It All Goes Back In The Box. Due to copyright issues, a recording is not available. So, I guess you'll have to show up! Each week, however, I will provide some questions from the discussion guide to help you process Ortberg's key points. Enjoy!



1. What kind of trophies do people pursue in the game of life? How about you? What happens to most of the trophies we pursue?


2. Check out the following biblical passages, and note what they say about the hope we have in spite of the inescapable reality of death. 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Titus 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3-6; 1 John 5:11.

3. In which of the following areas of regret are you currently struggling: I would have loved more deeply; I would have laughed more often; I would have given more generously; I would have lived more boldly.

4. In light of your response to the last question, what changes in your life do you need to make right now?

5. Check out the following biblical passages on priorities and what they instruct. Psalm 1:1-2; Mark 1:35; Matthew 8:1-7; 9:27-30; 14:13-14; Luke 14:13; John 4:7-26; 1 Timothy 4:14; Psalm 5:11-12; 28:7; 95:1-3; John 15:9-11; Philippians 4:4.

6. Consider the life commitments you have made or are facing now: dramatic (choosing a college, career, changing jobs), routine (volunteering, assumed responsibilities), unspoken (learning, leisure, addictions), and spiritual (knowing God). How are the commitments you have made in those areas going to affect how you play the game? What do you need to change in your commitment so that you will play the game in such a way that will provide the result God wants for your life?

7. What do the following passages reveal about you, God, and eternal hope? Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Acts 4:11-12.

Note: Questions above are adapted from Rothberg’s Participation Guide.