Jesus the Solution?

I've been doing some thinking and reading and think that I have come up with one reason that so many people accept Christ and then do nothing else with their lives. I think it may, in part, be due to the manner in which we present the Gospel. We have, historically, just presented Jesus as the Solution to our 'problem' as humans. So people accept Christ and then their 'problem' is solved and He is filed away in some box. Please don't get me wrong, I believe that Christ did come to earth to die for our salvation. But is Christ not so much more than that? He desires to live with us on a daily basis...to hear our worries and desires...to hold us when are upset or celebrate when we achieve success. I heard someone recently speak about how when the church first began it was not known as Christianity, it was simply The Way. Christ came to show us the way to live.

When the woman in Scripture with the bleeding problem touched the edge of Jesus' robe, she was healed. But Jesus was not content to stop there. He told her to, "Go in peace." But the Hebrew understanding of peace was not just the absence of strife or conflict. It was a filling of God's presence. So not only did Jesus heal her, He told her to be filled with the presence of God and live that way. How would the world look differently if every Christ follower were to live as if filled with the presence of God? In my last post, I rethought the meaning of the Ten Commandments that God gave Moses and it seems to me that they echo what Christ taught...love God and love people. If we follow these two goals, I believe that it is impossible for us to disobey God.

The Ten Commandments?

I think oftentimes we struggle with aligning our lives to Christ because all we typically see is a big list of don'ts. But what if we examine Scripture in a slightly different way and try to see what God was really saying to us through those 'rules'?

1. Love God with your thoughts.
2. Love God with your eyes.
3. Love God with your words.
4. Love God with your time.
5. Love your parents.
6. Love other people and cherish life.
7. Love your spouse and cherish them.
8. Respect OPP.
9. Love your neighbor.
10. Respect your neighbor.

I mean, honestly, is that such an exhaustive list of things that we need to do? But therein lies the beauty of it. We don't have to. It's a choice. All God is trying to do, it seems like to me, is show us how best to live together with Him and others. Just my thoughts.

I wonder...

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:30

When Jesus refers to his yoke being easy and his burden light, he was referring to the things that he did not permit.

During the Old Testament a Jewish rabbi's list of rules and his interpretation of how to live out the Torah were called his yoke.

So Jesus' list of rules is easy? Love God and love people. Period.

I wonder sometimes if we aren't more in love with the Bible and the idea of being a 'perfect' Christian than we are living out the call to love people. I wonder what this world would look like if we would begin to walk the road that Christ did and become servants to those around us. How the world react if it saw us like that? I remember when I was in high school and so fanatical in my beliefs that I would seek out arguments to 'prove' my point and 'prove' that Christ was who he said he was rather than show others the love that I had been shown. I wonder if that would not have gotten my point across more clearly. I wonder if its odd that we never see Christ get mad at 'sinners'. It's only the religious leaders that try to oppress the 'sinners' and use their faith to benefit themselves that we see Christ show true anger. I wonder why so many Christians in the church fear questions and don't attempt to figure out their faith. After all, scripture is, for the most part, open ended and free to our interpretation. It is when we look at the whole of scripture as being concrete that we begin to brow beat our brothers and sisters that have not yet been redeemed. I wonder if we should not ask God to see them as he does and give us the compassion to love them as he does. I wonder what that would look like?

Unfair Love

All the persons of faith I know are sinners, doubters, uneven performers. We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.

"...I know Christ loves me, but I'm not sure he likes me..."

God's love and grace is not fair...so our love and grace should not be fair. Right? God loved us while we were still sinners (Rom 5:8). Christ continued to pray for those who were hanging him even while they jeered at and spit on him. I have lived much of my life surrounded by the walls of my pain and never allowing anyone inside. It took the best man I know to tear those walls down and help me to live completely open to the storms, but I was also open to the sun and the beauty that surrounds us.

It pains me to see so many people in this world living behind their walls because they are afraid of being hurt again. I don't know what it would take to tear those walls down except for them to see someone living the life unhindered and free. Authentic lives as E put it. Because we all are hurt in some way, it doesn't matter how or to what extreme. The simple fact that we all hurt places us all on equal footing. We all are broken and we all need each other. I hope that I can continue to live my life free with arms wide open no matter what may come.

The Christian Life?

And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 2:44-45

Why is it that in America Socialism seems to be a blacklisted word? I'm not talking about government owning everything. I'm talking we each have what we have and freely give it to one another. I wonder if sometimes we don't give to one another because we don't think that person/group deserves it. Or do we worry that if we give freely that we'll be taken advantage of? We were talking in our small group tonight about this passage of Scripture and just reflecting on the fact that it's so rare to see true community anymore. I wonder if it's because we are so caught up on our own importance that we fail to see the needs of our brothers and sisters surrounding us. What if we were to look at each other from the perspective that we are all undeserving anyway? Could we not then freely give to one another without a single thought of what we can get out of it or if they will ever repay us? What if we were to give without reservation to one another? How much would the love of Christ be displayed in our day to day lives?

I wish that our lives were not so dependent on financial ties and that we could be free to just live our lives in love and freedom. That we could experience the wonder of who God is on a daily basis without having to live with the stresses of this world. Chad spoke this morning about whether or not we were ready for Christ to come. I have many things that I would like to do (be the father I never had, climb a mountain, love again) but my heart still yearns to be with God for eternity with no other purpose than to live in His glory and worship the One. I wonder what is keeping each of us from being ready? If Christ were to come tonight, would your heart be filled with joy or sadness?

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:16

Faithfulness, Not Success

"The spiritual life is not a life of success, it is a life of faithfulness, and it's not easy."

We are talking about temptation at REMIX for our ending series and we touched on the fact last night that temptation is unavoidable. And the messy truth is that we ARE going to fail sometimes. But this does not mean that we should just give up because we are going to fail. Spiritual growth happens when we fail and continue trying to live the life we are called by Christ to live. Jesus didn't live among the successful to heal them. He got down with the normal people in society to call them up. They still failed throughout their lifetimes, but their general direction was pointed to Christ. I think so many times, we as Christians, put the majority of the burden on ourselves or on others (to make ourselves feel better) rather than accepting that we are FREE in Christ...to sin or not to sin. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free." What an awesome statement to know that we are free to live our lives HOWEVER we want. We are free to choose the life of service and worship. We are free to choose the life of messing up and stumbling. I know the life that I want, but I am not forced into it. I can choose it even when it seems like I have nothing else to give.

God, I think, lets us fail because it is in these times that we give up and turn to Him. It is in these moments that we realize our own insignificance and can sit in wonder at how awesome our God is. I wonder, when is the last time that you took the time to just rest? I think that the greatest hindrance to spiritual growth is busyness. Sure you're involved in every ministry that your church has to offer, but when was the last time that you just stepped back and let God wash over you?

Awesome Day

I am so glad it rained today!!! I woke up this morning and laid in bed thinking about the people that I had hurt and wondering why it is often harder to forgive yourself than someone else (at least I think it is). I got up and set on with my day and while at church it started pouring down rain. I went out and starting helping people inside with my umbrella and got soaked. As I was walking into the service a few songs came to mind (Imagine Me, Washed by the Water), and I began to think how often we look at a rainy day as dreary and depressing. Yet I think that we forget that the water is there to wash away the junk on the earth. That God can use the storms in our lives to wash away our false selves and help us to see who we are underneath, loved and cherished children of the God in heaven.

I was speaking with a good friend of mine over the weekend at Rivers & Spires and he asked me how I was. Not the kind that you make to people in passing and don't really want a true answer. He was genuinely interested in how I was doing. Praise God that I could answer fantastic. I truly have been washed by the water of the last year and I can see now that I have been able to come out clean on the other side and have a hunger and passion for God that I have not felt in a very, very long time.

Think about it the next time that it rains, think about what you need washed away and praise God that He is giving us the opportunity to be cleansed everyday.

How You Live

2 Corinthians 5:15-17

At REMIX last night, Bayne used this Scripture as part of the night. I like the focus of v. 16 "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer." If Christ came to save us from death and our lives never change after accepting Him, are we truly alive or just going through the motions of 'Christianity'? Michael hit on an excellent point, so often we put our focus on the death of Christ during the Easter holidays and not that life that he has promised us here on this earth (John 10:10). If this is the case, is it so far fetched that we often times lead lives that look no more alive than before we accepted Christ as our RISEN Savior?

Fear and Worry

You know, I am for the most part a pretty mellow guy, I think. For the past couple of years, a person that I allowed to speak into my heart made the comment that I was emotionless and like a robot because I didn't respond in an "emotional" manner when things went south. I've been doing some thinking about this recently and have realized why I have the outlook on life that I do. Even in the midst of most of the junk in my childhood, I was calm, cool and collective. Most of the people in my church had no idea what I was going through. For whatever reason, God has placed a lack of fear and a sense of calm in my heart that allows me to just flow through life with the understanding that He is in control and worrying about really won't amount to much anyway (Phil 4:6-7). I just hope that I am able to continue living my life totally dependent on Christ.

I've been facing what most would consider financial hardships for the last eight months, but as I've continued to examine my life and the lives of those around me, I've realized that even though I've had to watch how my money is spent, I've always had enough to sustain me. Do we really need anymore than that? Why do we save and follow sound financial counsel? It's all gonna burn eventually anyway, right? I had originally planned to be saving for the next four years and purchase a house once I've been able to rectify my credit situation and save up enough money for a sizable down payment. But I wonder now if I should not just be content with where I am and take that money, with which I've been blessed, and pour it back out to someone else that needs it more than I.

I've been listening to a series on the end times by Francis Chan the past couple of weeks. It amazes me how most 'Christians' are afraid when they read Revelation or study the end times. Should it not bring us joy and confidence? Should we not focus our minds on the lives we have coming and allow our hearts to give freely to those around us now so that they may see the love of Christ displayed to them?

I'm not perfect in remaining at peace during troubled times. I probably went through some of the hardest four months from June to September of last year. I think that it was completely ok and natural for me to experience the emotion and pain that I did. Thankfully, I am blessed with two of the best friends in the world and I can honestly say that if it were not for Eric and Beth Wehmeyer, I would not be sitting here writing this note right now. Thank you guys and I love the two of you with all that I am. I hope that I am able to display the love of Christ to others even a minuscule amount compared to the love the two of you have poured out on me over the last year.

For a final note, I will leave with a scripture that motivates the way in which I TRY to live:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind."
--2 Timothy 1:7

FearNot217

God Loves You! We often hear this phrase, but do we truly understand the implications of it? The God and Creator of the universe is IN LOVE with us. I think that we, as a body of Christ, have lost sight of how amazingly awesome it is to have a God that desires us. Have you ever seen an extremely beautiful sunset? Did you stop to think that God may have just stuck it up in the sky for you. For no other reason than He wanted to give you a gift and remind you that He is there and He loves you.

I'm amazed when I stop to think that God gives us one more breath and wakes us up each morning just so that He could love us one more day. And yet how often do we go through our days without spending a single thought on the greatest love of all time? Annie Dillard wrote, "How we live our days...is how we live our lives." So if we can go through our days without reflecting on eternity, is that a reflection of our lives? I know that I can often get caught up in work or the gym or just life in general and get to the end of my day and realize I haven't stopped to worship. I want to consciously make the decision to live each moment as an act of worship.

"Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God for this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform to the pattern of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." --Romans 12:1-2

F. Chan Tearin me up

In this universe, there is God, people and things. We should worship God, love people, and use things. When we worship ourselves, we ignore God, use people, and love things. We can get to a point where we are more consumed with our own standard of living than we are about other people living.

Something I found

So I found this note I scribbled one day while I was riding down the road:

God's Word is Living. Many times you'll see people put the ashes of a person on the mantle in their homes. Those people are dead, but often that's where our Bible's remain while they collect dust. We don't allow His Living Word to come down on our lives and change us because if we get in the Word we'll never leave the same. Christ will always show us something new and influential that will feed us and fill us. Because He sends none away empty except for those who are full of themselves.

Crazy Love

You'll have to excuse the randomness in the first part of this as it's random pieces from Chap 6 of Crazy Love by Francis Chan.

John Piper once asked that if we could have heaven without sickness or poverty and all your friends and family with all the greatest activities and pleasures, but no Jesus, could you be satisfied? Why do so few people genuinely find joy and pleasure in their relationship with God? Why do most people feel they have to either pay God back for all He's done (buy His love) or somehow keep making up for all their inadequacies and failures (prove their love)? "Jesus didn't die only to save us from hell; He also died to save us from our bondage to sin." When we love, we're free. We don't have to worry about a burdensome load of commandments, because when we're loving, we can't sin. When Christ said in John 10:10 that He desired us to have "life to the full," He didn't mean the future. He meant NOW! We need God to help us truly love Him, how much more to love each other? God needs nothing from us, and yet He still desires us.

It makes me feel guilty deep inside when I think about my answer to that first question. Because if I am truly honest with myself, my answer would be probably. I think the answer lies in the next two questions. Recently, I haven't found joy in my relationship with Christ, and it's felt more like a chore to do the right thing. But I think this all stems from a skewed perspective on my part. I tend to look at what I'm no supposed to do rather than the one thing that I was called to do: love.

Daddy, give me a love for You again. I'm sorry that my heart has hardened to You. I need You to change me. I don't want to try to earn this back anymore. Show me what it means to just run after You. I don't understand why some things have happened the way that they have, but give me the strength to keep living life because sometimes it feels like too much. I love you.

Your Son,
J

Your life?

I'd never really thought about the parable of soils and the thorny soil not speaking about Christians. Or that Jesus spitting out the lukewarm "Christians" signified that they weren't really followers. Have we just taught the opposite so that we don't feel so bad about ourselves when we don't measure up to the standard of Christ? Being a Christian, after all, does mean that you are a 'little Christ.' The interesting thing is that the early church didn't call themselves Christians. They were called Christians by the rest of the world because the lives that they lived. I'm not pushing legalism, far from it. Fruit on a tree does not give the tree life, but a dead tree will not produce fruit. Just like the act of baptism does not save us, it is merely "an outward symbol of an inward change." So to are our actions a symbol of the life within us.

Does this mean that we are always going to act as Christ did? I don't think so, or there would be no purpose to Christ's death. I do think, however, there should be a general direction pointing to Christ. How many of us live lives that are too important to sacrifice for our relationship with Christ? How would we react if He showed up on our doorstep and said, "Follow me." No explanation. No directions.

Do we really love God?

Do we? Do we truly love Him for the simple fact that He is God? Or is our love for God limited to when things are going well? i don't know if I'm weird but I always seem to find myself closer to God when things are going downhill. It seems like I only turn to God when I can do nothing else and I've lost the illusion of being in control. I'm afraid sometimes of things going well because I tend to assume that I had something do with the turn around and somehow something within me was responsible.

I think this may stem from the fact that when all I have left is God, it seems like a necessity to be with Him. When things are going well, I've been trained that it's obligatory to study the Word and pray. Yet when I fail to maintain consistency, I feel guilty. And I don't know if you're any different than me, but I when I repeatedly feel guilty and see no way out, I just stop entirely. So often, my answer in recent years to to just not bother with it.

I mean, I am saved after all...but I remember how I use to chase after God and no one could keep me out of Scripture.

I wonder sometimes if I don't have amnesia and all my head/theoretical knowledge has replaced the heart that I had for God so long ago. What will it take to get back to living in the presence of God with the unchanging and undying knowledge that I am His and He truly longs for my presence, too? I think that I need to get back to a true understanding of God as the only Father I've ever known. The same God that rocked me to sleep in His arms after I was beat by my step dad. The same God that held my hand and gave me strength when I faced brain surgery. I want to love God for no other reason than He is God and to understand that He loves me for no reason other than I am me and I am His.

Who is God?

Worry and stress. Two words that I would guess could describe most people’s lives. As Christians though, have we really thought about what this means to our view of God? “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what’s happening in our lives. Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.” We’re basically telling God that it’s ok to sin because our circumstances are more exceptional than Him. I can remember all the junk that I’ve been through in my life and the surprising thing is this: during my most troubling times was the times that I was closest to God and I had peace that I didn’t quite understand. As my life started to mellow out, I slowly drifted away from my relationship with God. I was still a follower but I was not as passionate. I’ve noticed since then that stress and worry have been a constant in my life. Over the past few months, I’ve slowly taken steps back toward the passion I once had and I’ve experienced a peace in my life that I can’t explain. While I probably have every human right in the world to be angry with Sarah, I’m not. I hope that she finds what she needs in God and is able to mend her heart.

An excitement for life has been reawakened within me. Just six months ago I was struggling with depression and fatigue, to the point that I sought medical help. But I’ve surrounded myself with godly men who have spoken Truth into my life and I’ve found that the depression was centered around a selfish core of hurt and pain. I don’t think that sadness and pain are bad things, but when they consume our thoughts and lives to the exclusion of all else, they become self-destructive.

I think part of what has helped me to see past a great deal of myself was a renewed realization that life really is short. I’m reading through Crazy Love and Francis Chan spoke about a concept that I’d lost. Eternity exists outside of time and it’s something that is extremely hard for our human minds to fathom. Solomon compared our lives to a vapor, something that is here one moment and gone the next. Tim McGraw wrote a song entitled, “Live Like You were Dying.” Do we truly live our lives in that way? Or do we try to cushion ourselves against future failures?

Again, I think this comes back to how we view God. Can we accept that sometimes the trouble in our lives is God’s plan? And that maybe He’s wanting us to show other people the peace that can exist in the midst of it. And that other people, or us, having good times is God wanting us to show them how, as followers, we can be selfless. Do we see God as the Creator of the universe and whose will is final? Or do we see Him as some pushover that exists to make us happy and do what we want?

Back

So I've been relatively quiet on here, but I've been posting sporadically on my Facebook notes section and I've decided to go ahead and bring those notes over here, so over the next week or so I intend to get the two synced up and then post on both when I feel like writing. The first one was titled Simple Things:

Simplicity...why is this such a complex thing to achieve these days? My community group is going through a series called Simple. It covers the concept of Christianity as a simple thing. And it really is when you get down to it, but we as people like to complicate things. I was reading C.S. Lewis last night and he was comparing the Law of Human Nature (or morality) to mathematics and that 2+2=4. But in my brain, I immediately went to the fact that 2+2 can equal 5 for large values of 2. This got me to thinking, is our pursuit of academic knowledge simply a way for us to make ourselves feel more important because we 'understand' something in a more complex fashion? Yet the basest truths in life are often so simple.

I am a relatively intelligent person and I struggle sometimes with just accepting things for what they are. My brain wants to complicate things with knowledge that I've gained through reading philosophers and theologians. Why can I not just enjoy the simplicity of the Gospel and be secure in that? Why do I feel the need to become more intelligent for the simple fact of being more intelligent when I know all it will do is complicate my thinking? Sometimes I wish I could erase this thirst and the knowledge I've gained and just start fresh...be like a child again.