130630 Barbequed Ox

When Elijah anointed Elisha to be his protégé and successor (1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21), Elisha first asked to take care of some family affairs.  Elijah granted the request, but told the young disciple to carefully consider what Elijah had done.  Then Elisha responded by, of course, slaughtering his oxen.  Which is exactly what I did when I sensed God calling me to be a pastor when I was fifteen years old…

Many moons later, Jesus was shifting his movement directly toward Jerusalem – with all that that meant – and the number of devotees tapered off a bit (Luke 9:51-62).  Some of those invited to follow Jesus said they would love to, but probably not if it meant giving up creature comforts that we become very accustomed to. Another invitee asked if he could first bury his father.  Sounds reasonable until you read up on it and discover that the father was in good health.  The person declining the invitation was basically saying, I will follow you some day in the distant future, but not now.  It can wait until much later.  Yet another person invited by Jesus to follow him asked if he could say goodbye to his family.  No harm in that, right?  Right, until you do some homework and uncover what was really being said: let me have one last hoorah, one last moment of the good life before I let it all go and follow you into untold misery…

Jesus was shining a spotlight on a critical question: is Jesus worth our utmost devotion, our primary allegiance, above all other concerns?  Is Jesus a step up toward life at its best or a sacrifice of the good life for a much-less-than-desirable existence?

Apparently for Jesus, this was really the central question.  Does Jesus warrant the first place in our lives?
One thing I find interesting is that by our standards, what the people back in Jesus’ day were giving up doesn’t seem like much.  We would qualify their daily life as roughing it at best, and more likely envision an example of extreme poverty.  It’s not like they were giving up what we would have to give up.  If they had to give up what we are called to give up, Jesus would have had far fewer followers, right?  After all, we tell ourselves, the world has changed, and Jesus certainly would not require the same level of allegiance or commitment or sacrifice today as he did then.  The reality, however, is that nothing has changed.  The call to follow Christ is no less costly or compelling than ever before.  If we really push ourselves into the historical context, their “yes” to Jesus was far more costly because they lived under Roman authority that did not tolerate insurrection-sounding people of faith.  We struggle to appreciate this from our country where we are free to express our beliefs without fear of the sword.

What, then, does this look like in daily life?  The Apostle Paul had a thing or two to say about this in his letter to the conflict-laden church in Galatia (Gal. 5:1, 13-25).  The situation there was very relevant to our own.  There was a group of new gung-ho Jesus followers who were being indoctrinated by well-meaning but off-base Jewish Christians.  These Judaizers, as we identify them now, basically told these new, non-Jewish Christians that if they really wanted to follow Christ, they basically had to be devoted Jews as well.  This meant keeping the Law, which for the Judaizers actually meant embracing a form of legalism.  Paul saw this legalistic rule following as incongruent with what Jesus taught.  His instruction was to let the Holy Spirit guide their lives.  But this came at a price!  Letting God significantly influence our lifestyle is tough, because our personal hard-drives have been seriously compromised and bogged down by all manner of malware, bots, and viruses we’ve picked up from the world around us.  Paul instructs them (and us) to become intimately aware of what is happening in our lives that is contrary to the Way of Jesus.  He urges his readers to let go of destructive behaviors like sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and the list goes on and on.  Instead, he says that when we give those things up and follow the Way of Jesus (which is the Way the Holy Spirit guides), fruit will be produced in our lives: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  These fruits come as a byproduct of allowing the Spirit to lead us.  That is where our choice and commitment make the difference.  And it requires more than a generalized yes – it requires a strategic, costly yes as well.

Elisha fully understood that to follow Elijah meant he was no longer going to need his oxen.  Jesus was calling his followers to the same thing – leave behind what you thought was the way to life and invest yourself into my Way – God’s Way – fully.  Like Cortes burning his ships after landing on the Yucatan peninsula – no turning back – Jesus was calling for the same: all in.

Some of you today are there – ready to say yes.  But it is more than a generalized, emotional affirmation.  The yes is a dedication to a different way of life.  To be guided by the Holy Spirit requires new skills and new patterns that enable you to hear the Spirit and respond.  Your initial yes needs to be followed up by some other logical yeses.

• Yes to a new order of life.  Time to read the Bible and books that help you think through the Way of Jesus means you are departing from other things that you would normally be doing.  Time to pray and listen beyond what you do while driving or showering or kickboxing or marshmallow toasting or nail clipping, or…  If you don’t say yes to personal time devoted to fostering your relationship with God, which requires burning a boat or oxen or two, you simply will not know when the Holy Spirit speaks.
• Yes to consistent refueling.  Something happens when we gather together for worship that simply cannot happen all by ourselves.  There is a Presence that shows up in the gathered community that TV church cannot provide.  We need this regularly and consistently.  When this becomes a low-priority on our calendar, so does God.  Say yes to regular worship, which means saying no to less important things.
• Yes to community.  We are blind when we are alone.  We cannot see our biases, our prejudices, our ugly sides.  We don’t see our beautiful sides, either.  We need community to help us grow, to encourage us where God is moving us, and to give us the opportunity to love others.  But saying yes to community means saying no to lesser things.
• Yes to serving.  Serving is spiritual.  Serving is a conduit the Holy Spirit uses to shape us fast and deep.  When we enter into a service opportunity with the attitude of how can I follow you here and how can I grow in this, amazing things happen.  But, again, to say yes to serving in any capacity means saying no to lesser commitments.
• Yes to sacrifice.  Communion is one of two sacred acts Jesus commanded us to repeat over and over again (the other is baptism).  Communion is a reminder of what baptism represents: commitment to Christ.  When we take communion, we say once again to God, we’re all in.  We say yes knowing that personal sacrifice is required and critical in our walk with God and in seeing through what God wants done in the world.

When we say yes, it impacts the world around us.  When Elisha cooked his oxen, the village got a rare treat – meat!  This was not a normal part of their diet. and would only be served on special occasions.  His yes made a statement to the villagers, and no doubt caused them to consider how much of their lives were in line with God, too.

May you say yes to the invitation to follow Christ, with all of its subsequent yeses that follow, so that you may have a life that produces incredible fruit for you and all you touch.

Think about this…
To commit to following Jesus is to commit myself to a lifelong journey of being led where Jesus wants me to go and not necessarily where I want to go.  This situation often causes opposition within myself.  Jesus may call me to do what I do not normally and easily do.  Jesus may ask me to wait or remain silent when I wish to speak or move on.  In each of these cases I experience opposition within to what Jesus calls me to do and to be.  Reuben P. Job

How has this been true of your experience with God?

But it is realistic to expect God’s help in living an authentic and joyful life as a Christian.  To daily declare our love for God and neighbor, to give ourselves as fully as we can to God, and to ask for God’s help in living an authentic life of faith is to be prepared to meet any and all opposition.  Once we have given all of life to God, we have nothing to lose.  We have everything because God has us. – Reuben P. Job

How do we have everything because God has us?  What are you sensing God calling you to give over to God so that you might gain more of the life you are called to live?


Check out this video (click here) featuring Matthew West’ song, My Own Little World.  How do you relate to it?

130623 Wen God Seems Absent

What are you doing here?

Seriously.  Why are you reading this right now?

Have you ever felt like God was distant or even absent?  Sometimes we don’t say yes to this question out loud (or even to ourselves) because, on an intellectual side of things, we have heard and might believe that God is everywhere all the time.  So to say we’ve experienced distance or absence penetrates us.

Feeling God’s absence is normal.  There are a wide range of reasons and seasons in life that have an impact on our “closeness quotient” in our relationship with God.  Here is a sampling of factors that impact that feeling of intimacy…

• When we aren’t engaged in the relationship.
• When we are mad at God.
• When we have it all figured out.
• When we’ve reached a level of satisfaction in our lives – we’re comfortable.
• When we are no longer curious.
• When we have outgrown spiritual practices that worked for a season, but no longer satisfy as they once did.
• When we are afraid – our fear drowns out our faith.
• When we are discouraged.
• When we feel guilty or unworthy of God’s presence.
• When we’re sad.
• When we’re lonely.
• When we are in the middle of major changes in life.
• When we are working through some new ideas about God, life, or faith that are very new for us.
• When we are mainly serving ourselves.
• What would you add?

Judaism’s most beloved prophet, Elijah, was very familiar with this phenomenon, and the story found in 1 Kings 19 where Elijah seeks God’s presence is well known and often referenced.  Because it is an add story.

Remember, Elijah had very recently witnessed a showdown between God and the prophets of Baal where God came through in big ways.  Elijah was bold and unstoppable.  Then Queen Jezebel caught wind of what happened, and tweeted that she was going to have Elijah killed.  So, what do you do after God has worked through you powerfully when you face the next threat?  Run and ultra marathon across the length of the country.  It would be like starting in Napa and running to the grapevine (not the ones in everybody’s backyard, but the stretch of Interstate 5 that winds you up and over the pass to drop you in LA).  He was that afraid of his life.  He knew he would find God in LA.  I mean Mt. Sinai – where God appeared to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments.  Elijah’s decision was to get really close to God when he
knew he was in trouble.  Where could be closer than that holy mountain?

Atop the famous mountain God did show up for Elijah, asking him an interesting question: What are you doing here, Elijah?

I thought God knew everything.  Why, then, was he asking Elijah why he was there if he knew what was up the whole time?

The questions aren’t for God, they are for us, that’s why.  Asking the question made Elijah notice what he was doing up there on that mountain.  Asking the question implies that there may be something wrong with the picture.

I think God wanted Elijah to come to grips with his expectations of what God showing up might look like, and realize that his expectations might actually limit his experience of God more than help.

How have you expected god to show up in the future based on your past experiences?

I also think God wanted Elijah to rethink his passion for jogging.  Over 300 miles to meet up with God?  Seriously?  Did he already forget God had shown up on Mount Carmel?  It would turn out that Elijah’s fears and assumptions were wrong regarding his loneliness.  His fears caused him to exaggerate his false expectations which led him to despair.  Elijah learned an important lesson in answering that question.

So, how is your closeness quotient with God right now?  Are you running to your assumptions and expectations, or are you open to God really, truly being present where you are right now on your journey?

What are you doing here?

To Process…
Describe a time in your life when you felt most closely connected to God. How did it feel? Who did you tell about it?

Describe a time in your life when God seemed distant or even absent. How did it feel? Who did you tell about it?

Respond to this quote:
Today people still look for evidence of God’s transforming presence in the church and in the world. When they find that evidence, they often turn toward it, seeking to be close to the God who is obviously at work changing lives in such dramatic ways. They are drawn because they want to be close to God, and often they seek their own transformation and salvation. The congregations where signs and wonders are evident in the congregation that finds new people coming to be touched by that transforming presence of God. In Acts we read of transformation that leads from sinfulness to holiness of life. The kind of transformation that leads from selfishness to sharing, from uselessness to usefulness, from sickness to health, and from death to life is the transformation many seek. This transformation is promised in the Gospels by the One who came that all might have life and have it abundantly. – Rueben P. Job

Respond to this quote:
To think that God could put an idea into someone’s mind and that person could comprehend that idea and immediately act upon it with unquestioning determination is the most remarkable wonder of all! A second wonder is that God has given all of us this capacity. God communicates with all of us! We get little nudges – feelings that this or that should be done or note done; we get hunches and leadings, signs and signals, and sometimes direct messages. – From Yearning to Know God’s Will by Danny E. Morris



How do you interpret God’s absence and presence in your life right now?  What do you sense God asking you?  If God asked you – What are you doing here? – how would you respond?

130609 Super

In just a few days, Superman will visit communities all around the nation and world.  Again.  For the umpteenth time.  This one promises to deliver a more relatable super hero.  So we can feel closer to the alien from Krypton, of course.

I’ll probably go see it anyway.

What will come in the next weeks are talk show interviews and bloggers talking about how this iteration of the man of steel compares to its predecessors.  Some will even wax eloquent about why we as a society are driven to various super hero stories, and what does this tell us about ourselves?  Why do we create a man of steel from another planet?  Or a Dark Knight?  Or a Spiderman?  Or Ironman?  What is your favorite super hero, by the way?  Why?  What does it say about you, you freak?

We like heroes because they save the day.  In the Bible’s 1 Kings 17:8-24, we find one of Israel’s favorite “super heroes” – a prophet named Elijah.  In this particular story, there is a drought in the land, and people are dying.  God instructs Elijah to spend a season in a village called Zarephath, near the city of Sidon.  He goes, and finds a widow who God has instructed to feed him.  Unfortunately, he is apparently late, because she only has one meal left for her and her only child, a son, and then they would wait to starve to death.  Enter the super hero…  Elijah assures her that God will provide.  And God does!  The widow never runs out of food for the three of them, and they survive the drought.

Some time later, the widow’s son became gravely ill and died.  The widow complained to Elijah, and he quickly changed into his superhero costume, prayed to God, and the boy came back to life!  And all the people rejoiced because their hero really was super.

Hundreds of years later a guy named Jesus was walking through a little village called Nain where he saw the funeral procession of a young man – a widow’s only son (Luke 7:11-17).  Jesus changed into his superhero costume, walked up to the coffin, touched it, and told the young man inside to get up, and he did!  The crowd was thrilled, of course.  A superhero was among them.

We might be tempted, all these years removed from the story, to focus on the fact that two boys were raised from the dead.  That Elijah, and then Jesus, restored life to two boys who were dead.

If you’ve studied some, you may also know that for a widow, a son is her hope for a decent life.  Widows relied on the generosity of others, which sometimes meant they experienced neglect.  But if you’ve got a son to take care of you, you can live know you are going to be taken care of.  So, we can see that it wasn’t just the boys who were given life, but the women as well.

Elijah’s account gets mentioned by Jesus as he was teaching.  As he was preparing to launch into his ministry, he noted an interesting fact about that widow: she was living in Zarephath, which was not exactly a central location for ancient Judaism.  Jesus used the story to tell his audience that God shows favor to all, not just Israelites.  This infuriated those in attendance at the synagogue that day.  They were pretty set on their belief in a God who clearly favored his Chosen People.  Remember as well that people were pretty sure God handed out justice in real time.  The fact that the woman lost her husband, and now her son – what must she have done to warrant such wrath?

Yawn.  Primitive people!  Get over it, right?  Why get so frustrated that God would love these women?

Did you know that these women were lesbian?

Were you aware that they both had multiple, late-term abortions before they decided to keep the pregnancy that produced the sons?

How about that these women had been divorced a few times along the way?

Does the fact that they were radical Islamists bother you – that they were considering becoming a suicide bomber?

What else?  Well, they were known to hoard their resources, had had a lot of “work” done to keep themselves looking young, were obsessed with the social crowd, and were known to text while driving.

And God showed up for them, not just restoring life, but renewing their living.  Their labels didn’t matter to God, apparently, and they still don’t for you and me.  So why not drop them today?  How about not giving any more allegiance to titles and labels that really don’t matter when compared to our identity found in Christ: we are loved.

Rabbis believe that Elijah was sent to Zarephath so that he could see firsthand the suffering of the oppressed in the land.  He couldn’t live in denial any longer.  He did something about it.  He shared his food and himself with those who were desperate.  Will you?

You and I are called to be supers.  We are called to go where people struggle and be present.  To let them know they are seen, they are loved, they are not alone, and that God doesn’t give a rip about their title or labels.  When we act with compassion, we support resurrection, because we give life where there may not be life.  And when we act as Jesus, we support living, because we promote a Way that subverts all systems that estrange, isolate, pigeon-hole, politicize – and kill us.

Where do you need to be super?  Who are you being directed to be super toward?