Man am I dense!

I finally got it!  Just this morning after 34 years of saying it, I finally got it!  It's often referred to as the common table prayer and most of us know it as - Come Lord Jesus be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. Some add to the end and that's cool but the first three words have never really had much meaning to me. Honestly the prayer was always about asking God to make the food good enough that I didn't choke to death on it. 

But look again - Come Lord Jesus.  How cool is that!  We're praying in these words for Jesus to come back.  The book of Hebrews (9) is what reminded me of this today.  In 9:26, the writer says - But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Then again at the end of the chapter the writer reminds us that when he comes it won't be to destroy and deal with sin anymore but to bring salvation to those who are waiting. 

So we pray come Lord Jesus.  We want him to return. We pray that Jesus will come back to bring us, to show us, to help us realize that he's done everything necessary to take away our wrongs.  Most Christians would admit that Jesus died and rose to forgive them and give them heaven - blah, blah, blah...but it doesn't seem to sink in!  I know way too many people who say they believe in Jesus but their actions and their words don't really indicate that.  They generally don't go out and live it up. Rather they can't let go of the things they've done wrong. 

How can Jesus forgive our sins if we won't let him forget about them?  How can Jesus remove our sins as far as the east is from the west if we keep running to the east and west to pick them up and beat ourselves up with them?  I'm not saying that we shouldn't be sorry for our wrongs, nor am I saying that there's no need for repentance.  Actually quite the opposite is true.  I believe that we do need to lay these things before God and let him deal with them but we need to leave them there.  God wants us to live our lives with the joy and happiness that comes from knowing that Jesus came once to deal with sin - he forgave it and now because of Jesus' death we are declared innocent before God. 

But he didn't leave us there, forgiven but without a home, no Jesus then rose to give us the promise of heaven to hold onto.  And now Jesus promises to return to give us our salvation, to welcome us home, to bring us back into the family forever.  So we pray...come Lord Jesus!  Some of the last words of the Bible include that very prayer.  Come Lord Jesus! Come Quickly!  So let that prayer be yours today.  Don't hold onto your sins, faults, shortcomings, wrongs, failures, misdeeds, inabilities, and fears - hold onto Jesus.  Hold onto the promise that Jesus is coming back.  Hold onto that common prayer that keeps us ever looking forward - Come Lord Jesus. 

Lord, we pray that you come to us today.  Come to us that we might let go of our pasts and cling to the future that we have in you.  Come Lord Jesus - Come Quickly!  AMEN. 

The right questions...

One of the most challenging things to learn how to do is to ask the right questions.  At least that's my challenge.  I've never been really good at finding just the right thought provoking words to invoke a good discussion, but man Jesus hits the nail on the head!  This morning I spent some time with John (5) and found this really great question: Do you want to get well?

At first glance, this appears to be a pretty stupid question from the Lord.  I mean really, you're asking a man who has been suffering from some kind of deformity for years if he wants to get better.  Of course the answer will be yes.  Seriously, this was his life - get up, have someone get him ready, have someone take him to sit beside the pool, wait for the water to bubble, hope someone would pick him up in time to get him in the water to be healed, never was able to get in the pool in time, then rely on someone to help him back to his home at the end of the day so he could do it all over again tomorrow.  Now that doesn't seem like much of a life to me.  Of course the man wants to be well - what was Jesus up to here?  

Jesus has the power to speak the words and this man's entire life will be flipped upside down!  He won't have to sit on his mat all day long and won't have to rely on people to get him where he needs to go.  He'll be able to take care of himself.  He'll be able to shower himself, get himself dressed, and fix his own meals.  He won't be able to stay home all day like he does now, he'll most likely have to get some sort of job to pay for his stuff.  Jesus knows that getting well means a HUGE change for this man, and wants to make sure he's ready before he does it.  So he asks, Do you want to get well?  

I truly wonder how often he asks us that same question.  How often have we asked God to fix a problem we have or take away some ailment we're suffering from only to not have the prayer answered the way we were hoping for?  It's frustrating!  I believe that Jesus asks us that same question today - do you want to get well?  

The bible tells us that we are to not conform to the ways of this world but through the renewing of our minds we are to be transformed to the likeness of Christ.  Transformation is not for sissies!  Transformation is being made well from the inside - out!  As we renew our minds to the things of God we'll better be able to answer these hard questions of God -  do you want to get well?  When it comes to our forgiveness, Jesus is asking the same question - do  you want to get well?  When we confess our sins before God we're telling him that we seek to live differently than the way we are currently living.  Jesus offers forgiveness freely and fully because of his death and resurrection.  Making us well is what Jesus is all about!  He has no problem healing our illnesses, fixing our problems, forgiving our sins - the challenge is do we really want the new life that lies on the other side?  Are you truly ready to live the new lifestyle that God has in store for you?  If the answer is no - seek the renewal of your mind as you spend more time with God finding out what this whole new life is about.  Read his word regularly to see and hear what forgiveness and healing in Christ look like.  Be in worship and bible study to be challenged by others and to have your faith deepen in ways you never thought possible. 

Then you'll be able to answer the question - do you want to get well?  

Lord - we don't even know what we want sometimes.  That's frustrating!  Guide us in your paths.  Show us what being well looks like. Give us the courage to live with our frailties until we're ready to be well.  In Jesus' name.  AMEN. 

Sow or Reap?

Have you ever wished that Jesus didn't use so many farming analogies?  Are you one of those people who do not have a green thumb?  Are you the type that every time you touch something that's green and alive somehow it mysteriously dies?  Well, today's reading was from John 4 and in this section Jesus talks about gardening a bit - but don't go anywhere!  This is an important word to hear. 

There are some more glorious parts of farming/gardening than others.  Personally, I love the digging and getting dirty part, but that's not very glorious.  Probably the most rewarding aspect of the task comes at harvest time, when you get to see all of the fruits of your labor.  You can see and touch the things that you've worked so hard to achieve.  The hours of tilling, planting, watering, and waiting - and now the harvest!  Oh the joy! 

Jesus uses this image when he's talking with his disciples. He tells them, "One sows and another reaps."  Admittedly Jesus isn't talking about planting a fruit tree or a row of corn; he's referring to planting the seeds of his word in the lives of the people we know.  It's an interesting concept.  In this process of faith sharing, we have the same tendency as in planting - we want to have the glorious job of bringing in the harvest!  We want to convert, change, cash in, transform, bring to faith, see in church, and any other phrase you so choose.  This is not the point!  Jesus reminds us here that when the harvest is ready - someone will be there to bring it in.

There are many steps along the way.  As believers we need to be careful not to push too hard or we could kill the seeds of faith that were planted.  We say some pretty stupid things to people sometimes, like - you just have to come to church.  Well that's like telling a row of corn that it just has to come to the grain tower with you!  That's ridiculous! 

Jesus tells us that some sow.  That means your task might simply be to sow.  Your purpose in the other person's faith life might simply be to share your personal faith with them, answering questions like: when did I realize that Jesus is who he said he is, when did Jesus become more than a character in a story, how has Jesus answered my prayers, and the list can go on and on.  The task of sowing is to show another person, someone you know and have a relationship with, how the message of the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection has meant something to you and has changed you. 

But after the crops are sown we pray.  That's all there is to it.  We can't make it grow. We can't make it rain. We can't do anything but wait!  We pray for the seed that was planted and for the person we shared our faith with.  We pray for nothing more or less than that God would go with them and begin to grow in them.  Then the harvest comes, sometimes sooner and sometimes later - way later.  The disciples were told that just because you sow doesn't mean you will reap!  How cool is that! 

We're not in this alone!  We don't have to have all the answers!  We don't have to make a seed grow!  We just have to share something about how we met God somewhere in life and then let his Spirit do the rest.  Then we just "be there" when they get it!  Just be there when they see and realize that Jesus is their savior too! 

Lord be with us today as we meet many people. Give us the courage to plant seeds of faith today.  Give us the ability to wait for the seeds to grow.  Make us ever ready to catch those who are seeking to know more about you and your word.  AMEN.

Are you ready for this?

Yesterday was a really weird day...my personal prayer yesterday was that God would guide me in how I use my time.  Well, in my morning work time I shuffled some of my schedule around to meet with someone who needed to share some news with me.  So God answered that prayer.  Then later in the day a brother pastor and I were discussing preaching and what the messages look like and what needs to be in them and all that.  We landed on the fact that the message of the gospel is critically important to the content of a Christian's life therefore that has to be present! 

Let's jump to this mornings' time with God.  I didn't deviate from my normal reading schedule at all - it's as if God just led me right to this passage from Hebrews 6:1 though.  It says, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation... 

Now admittedly this passage doesn't tell us how to preach or share our faith with someone - it says to distinguish between who still needs the bottle and who is ready to pick up food from the table and start nibbling at it.  I'm reminded of my daughter.  She is 10 months old and is still on bottles, but more and more she's experimenting with different foods from the table.  We give her foods that she can easily gum down and swallow. 

Is this what God is calling us to do here in this passage as well?  Is God leading us, as believers, to know our friends-coworkers-family members-neighbors-enemies-and fellow parishioners enough to know who is ready for the food from the table and who is ready for a little more and for that matter who needs the bottle still?  I think that might be exactly what the author of the book of Hebrews is getting at here. 

Now let's not take this out of context!  We must remain true to the message of Jesus and clearly communicate his death and resurrection.  We still must remind people that we are all broken and that God alone can put us together again.  We must preach the gospel in all of its truth and purity.  I think the call here is to take the message of Jesus one step further.  We should probably be able to answer a couple of questions about the gospel as we prepare to share its message:

• How has this message changed my life?
• In what ways and places do we see Jesus doing something big in my life? 
• What prayers have I seen Jesus answer?  

As we go through these, among other questions, we're getting closer and closer to moving beyond the milk and getting at the solid foods.  Today I'd like to lay down a bit of a challenge - starting today pick one verse from the bible (I don't care what verse it is) and read it enough times that you know it pretty well.   Write it down on a note card or business card and carry it around with you.  Spend time through your day going back to it.  Re-read it.  When you're driving to work or back home, turn the radio off and use that verse as a starting point for a prayer.  Let the words in that verse be more to you than a bottle of milk - use them as your main source of food, strength, comfort, and wisdom for today.  Then repeat it all over again tomorrow with a different verse.

This doesn't take a HUGE amount of time.  It's actually pretty simple, and before you know it the bible becomes more than a Sunday morning text book - it becomes a part of you.  That's what it means to move beyond the basics and into maturity. And it applies to all of us, not just our pastors or teachers.  God calls all of us to be mature in our spiritual walk.  We all need to be on solid foods sooner rather than later.  Mature people don't wait for someone else to feed them, they know where the food is and go there regularly and on their own.  And what's more - they feed themselves!  As believers we have a lot of choices to make when it comes to our faith.  We have the choice to eat from the message of the bible everyday or we can starve from  Monday through Saturday as we wait for someone to feed us on Sunday morning.  I can't make the choice for you.  No one can!  Each of us, in response to God's work in our hearts, is being called to respond in faith and move beyond our childish ways to a life of maturity in the Spirit. 

Lord - sometimes it's easier to be a child.  Everything was done for us, but it's not ok to stay a child forever.  Help us to grow up in our faith.  Move us from a weak faith to a strong faith.  Move us from milk to solid foods.  Help us to take responsibility for our own spiritual walk.  Lord lead us to the pantry of your word, to the table filled with the things of your love.  AMEN.

REST area!

For anyone who knows me, you'll be nodding your heads rapidly in a second.  I'm not a very good vacationer!  I don't do days off very well at all.  As a matter of fact, I tend to fill my days off with so much work that I'm pretty much non-stop from the time I get up in the morning to the time I go to be at night.  I don't like to "waste" my days off.  This means that I have a big problem with one simple word - REST! 

This fact makes today's verse so difficult and yet very much needed for me to meditate on.  The verse is from Hebrews 4 - There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.  Now think about that for a minute - in order for us to truly find our rest in God, we have to stop doing!  Interesting...

I've read a book recently that really drove home this idea of a Rest-Area, a place where you find your peace and rest in God.  The book was titled, "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality."  I know the book makes it sound kind of psyco-babblish but it's a good book and has a lot of great points.  I believe the premise of this verse from Hebrews 4 isn't that we need to work hard at taking a day off - because that makes our day of rest into a day of work.  This concept of finding our rest in God isn't as much a law as an invitation to experience the truth of the Gospel of Christ! 

The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us - if we are going to enter God's rest, we must put our doing aside and simply BE in the presence of God.  Perhaps a day is too long and torturous for you, as it is for me.  God wants us to take the time to reconnect with him and get filled up by his word and promises.    So here's today's challenge for you...Find some time to stop doing and just be.  You are a human-BEING not a human-DOING!  Take a couple of slow deep breaths and just think about the rest that God wants for you.  Recite in your mind several times your favorite bible verse.  If you're able close your eyes, if not then stare into space somewhere.  Just be with God - you and him and no one else.  Take just the next couple of minutes and rest in him. Then get back to what you're doing.  You'll be happy you did - if in fact you completely block everything out. 

Lord today I pray that you guide me to use my time to please you.  Help me to find rest, not in my doing but rest from all of the doing that I might just be!  AMEN. 

IDK!

I'm not sure but I believe that the hardest words for most Americans to say are, "I don't know."  I'm not exactly sure why.  I think it has to do with the idea that knowledge is power, therefore an admission of a lack of knowledge must mean a lack of power.  But sometimes, we just don't know! 


My favorite commercial on TV recently was for a cell phone company.  It had an elderly lady really getting into the whole text messaging craze.  She was using all of the abbreviations for her words and really having fun with it.  Near the end of the commercial she says - IDK my BFF Jill.  (which for you non-text messaging individuals means "I don't know, my best friend forever - Jill."  Well the part about this commercial that's important for us today is the IDK part. 

There is certain knowledge that we believe we have to know or else we'll be looked down up.  So when someone asks us a question we'll strive to come up with an answer, any answer, even if it's the wrong answer!  We don't want to look like we don't have a clue, do we! 

In the Bible there's a book, Hebrews, and the author of that book reminds us that, "there is a place where someone has said..."  The admission that someone has said this is pretty cool.  The majority of scholars attribute this book to the Apostle Paul - who I might add was a pretty knowledgeable man!  If anyone would know where someone said this, it should be Paul!  But here he says that someone said it somewhere, which is his way of saying - IDK or I don't know! 

I believe that these three words could save the church, and the church's reputation in the world.  You see there's an impression in the world today that the church is full of self-proclaimed know-it-alls.  We give this impression by "always having an answer" for someone else's problems.  The really negative part here is that we have answers for problems: (a) when no one asks for our opinion; and (b) even when we don't really know the answer!

Perhaps we can learn a bit from the author of the letter to the Hebrews and say those three simple words, "I don't know."  It's not up to us to have all the answer and know all the material, Jesus is the perfect one.  He's the one who cleans up our messes in life.  He's the one who's got it all together.  If we had it all together we wouldn't need him!  So today, live the challenge of saying, "I don't know."  Be willing to lower yourself to the point of not knowing all the answers. 

Lord - today I need the strength to not know.  I need your wisdom to fill me with what I should know.  Live in me and I may live through you!  In Jesus' name - AMEN. 

Respond or React?

I've started thinking of something a little differently lately - the difference between responding and reacting.  There may seem to be a minor difference but I believe that there can be an enormously different outcome between the two.  I think this can be seen best in Jesus' response to his crucifixion in Luke 23:34, where Jesus says, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. 

It would have been easy for Jesus to react.  He could have gotten all upset and called down the angels and tore the people apart.  He could have made it rain down fire and hail and cause everyone to regret the actions they were taking against him.  But he didn't! 

Instead he responded.  A response is gentle and well thought out, while a reaction is hasty and doesn't have the other person's best interests at heart.  Jesus responded to the crowds calls for his death, to their mockery, to the pain, to the anguish, to the ridicule with a simple and well thought out response - prayer! 

How much different would our lives be if we responded instead of reacted!  If you're human, then you've probably let your temper get the best of you and you've reacted to a situation in a very unhealthy manner.  But rest assured - Jesus response to you is the same as it was to the men and women of his day - Forgive them for they don't know what they're doing!

It was his death that won our forgiveness.  It was the very event that he was suffering from in that moment that bought our forgiveness.  It was his resurrection that guaranteed us our place in heaven.  Jesus' death and resurrection then were meant to bring us back into a healthy relationship with God the Father.  Jesus loves strong relationships.  He strives to keep us in healthy and vibrant relationships.  When we react - we are not focusing on the relationship or the person but we're focus on the situation.  But when we respond, we are seeing the other person as a child of God - someone for whom Jesus pleaded while on the cross - Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.  

May you know the Father's love for you today.  May you hear Jesus' cry for you and know of his well thought out response your brokenness.  May you feel the embrace of their Holy Spirit welcoming you back into a healthy and life-giving relationship with them.  Lord today we need your help living in peace with those around us.  AMEN. 

Repainted or Renewed?

I've been thinking a lot lately about this idea of renewal.  What does it mean?  What does it look like?  How do I know if I'm renewed or just "repainted"?  Well I think renewal is something bigger than just a paint job.  Paint is a wonderful thing, don't get me wrong.  Paint can make a room "look" brand new, but in reality it's the same room it was before just a different color! 

Renewal goes deeper than a paint job.  It's about  completely changing the structure of something.  Renewing something involves two key steps - taking the old down and putting the new up.  Renewing is more like renovating than painting.  In a big renovation project you generally tear out walls or cabinets or something.  In renewal very similar things happen, our old ways are torn down and something new is built in its place. 

Paul refers to this idea of renewal many times in his letters. He reminds followers of Jesus to be renewed.  The first step in this process of renewal is to remove the old stuff - the old ways of thinking, the old images that cluttered our minds, the old thoughts about people and traditions and work and family and neighbors.  After we get rid of the old thought pictures, it's time to hang some new ones.  Once we tear down the walls that we've built with our own traditions, we can rebuild the walls that the Bible teaches us.  Paul says in Titus 3:5 - He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

One of the keys to salvation is that we should see differently on the other side of knowing our salvation.  If we truly trust in Christ and have faith in what he teaches then we should be going through this renewal process every day.  Day by day, the scriptures tell us that we are to put off the old stuff of this world and put on the new stuff of faith.  Everyday we're to re-clothe ourselves with the truth that comes from knowing who Jesus is!  Everyday Jesus wants to break down the walls of our fears and our failures and then rebuild the new house that he designed us to be. 

My prayer today is that God would begin this work of renewal in you and me.  God is at work in us!  Everything around us is part of God's plan to grow us more and more into his image and likeness.  When we are renewed - we simply see it that way instead of blaming God for the "bad stuff."  Lord, today we need to be renewed!  Break down the walls of our doubts and our fears and renew us into your image that we might be able to better reflect the light of your Son in the world we live.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

Know when to fold 'em!

There's a great (well at least good) song by Kenny Rogers called "The Gambler."  In the song he talks about the best way to play a gambling game, like poker.  One of the lines from the song states, "you gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run."  I love that line in particular, actually I'm now stuck singing it in my head.  If you're not familiar with the song, check it out here.

Paul tells us something pretty similar about our conflicts in 2 Timothy 2:23 - Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  You see these two thoughts intersect nicely when we realize that Paul isn't telling Christians to be push-overs.  He's not saying to give in no matter what.  He's telling us to know when to hold our ground.  Know the firm foundation upon which you stand and never waiver from it even an inch!  But he's also telling us to know when it's OK to fold, walk, and even run from the disagreement. 

Not all arguments are worth having.  Actually, I wager to guess that most arguments fall nicely into the "foolish and stupid" category that Paul created for us here.  So what's the lesson?  What's the take away for us here?  Simple - Know the difference between a petty disagreement and something worth taking to the mat.  Jesus knew the difference and showed it to us quite clearly.  When Jesus was in the desert with Satan being tempted, he didn't fight or give in, he just stood firm on his ground.  He knew that the battle over Satan's twisting words would come to a head later so he disregarded it.  On the other hand, when Jesus went to the cross it was the culmination of a major disagreement.  This disagreement wasn't petty or foolish - it was real, life-changing, and needed to be dealt with right away.  So Jesus stood his ground and engaged the enemy on our behalf. 

Jesus now calls us to follow him.  We're to follow him in faith and belief, but we're also to strive to follow him in action as well.  Today you're probably going to be faced with a problem, an irritating person, or even a situation that tries to suck you in.  Remember the example of Jesus, the encouragement of Paul and the recommendation of the Kenny Rogers - Know when to hold your words close, know when to give in and back down, know when stand your ground and fight for what you believe, and know when you're just dead wrong. 

Live today as if Jesus were living right beside you. Jesus, we need you to walk with us today.  We get caught up in the struggles of life and the arguments that are petty and foolish.  Help us to stay away from such things.  Give us to the wisdom to know when to engage and when to run.  Keep us mindful of the battle you won for us.  Let us live in the peace of forgiveness today.  In Jesus' name - AMEN. 

A U-haul and a Hearse?

My attention this morning really was waning and I didn't connect with much of the reading for today except for a section from 1 Timothy 5-6.  I really found myself focusing on 1 Timothy 6:7 - For we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out of it.

I've heard before that you never see a u-haul following a hearse and you know what - that's pretty true!  I don't think I've ever seen a funeral procession that had a u-haul in the midst of it.  I believe this is for a good reason!  When our bodies die, what we've stored up for ourselves will all be left here.  We came into this world with a body and a soul and that's exactly how we're going to leave it!  As a matter of fact when we leave this world - we're going to leave our bodies too!  The only thing that goes with us is our soul. 

This is a kind of freaky thought for some of us, but to others there's great comfort here.  All of my material stuff means nothing to the overall picture of who I am in Christ.  Jesus promised me something far greater than earthly riches and material blessings.  He promised and won heaven for me.  He promised to gather us together and welcome us into the golden streets of paradise.  It promises to be a place where we won't need storehouses to hold our stuff because the blessings will be never-ending!  How great will that be!  How amazing will it be to live in a place where there is no "want" or "need" or anything of the sort! 

So if we know we can't take it with us when we go, why do we value our stuff so much?  Why do we hold our possessions so high and often our faith so low in priority?  Paul is using these passages not to instill guilt in the followers of Christ, but to encourage them toward lifestyles of generosity.  How are you already living generously with the blessings God has placed in your life?  How can you push yourself to be a little more generous with the people around you?  How can you demonstrate your gratefulness for the many gifts God has given you? 

Take time today to embrace and celebrate the wonderful blessing of knowing that Jesus is your LORD and your Savior.  He's the one who died and rose to guarantee your place in the paradise of God. 

Lord, help us to see the many blessings you surround us with today.  Help us to be more generous in all that we do and say today!  AMEN.