Expectations and Thanksgiving

Yes, I know that Thanksgiving is so yesterday...last week? Two weeks ago! But still, for me, it should be everyday, right?

On a recent trip to Virginia I heard a radio broadcast (what else can you legally do driving anymore??) which presented an article written by John Fischer (singer/songwriter turned philosopher) about the danger of expectations in our lives. I have written on this subject before, as it pertains to our relationships here; however, Mr. Fischer's article discussed our need for examining our expectations in light of our responses to what God does and doesn't do. Any of you who read this blog regularly know dealing with "a God who doesn't behave" is huge topic of pondery for me (not sure "pondery" is a word, but you get the idea).

Here's the bottom line...if we deserve nothing we should be thankful for anything (or everything).

Fast forward to this morning. Negative seven degrees outside and I am laying in bed at 5 AM awake but trying not to be. The thought strikes me that I didn't leave any water running. Heart begins to pick up steam. Then I realize I don't hear the hot tub pump humming (I know, its like asking for prayer because the Beamer is in the shop...a little grace please...really!). At this point I begin to feel anxious so, get out of bed and throw on about 5 layers of clothes. I turn on a faucet and realize that the water in the house is okay. Thankful. Step outside and, sure enough, no life in the tub. Lid frozen down. All not good. I am praying some more negative type prayers at this point and cursing my bent toward procrastination. I force the lid up and, by God's grace, the water is still warm but the level is low and the system had shut down to protect itself. Thankful for both things. All garden hoses frozen. Thankfulness leaves. Again the procrastination of not getting around to moving at least one hose inside renews a heightened level of frustration. Begin to fill the tub using a small trash can. Did I mention it is negative seven degrees?? Get it done. Turn on the tub. All is well.

Now, I am very thankful. But Mr. Fischer is in the back of my mind saying, "If the tub had been destroyed would you still be thankful? Do you realize that this tub is a gift that you didn't deserve in the first place?"

Pretty easy to see a hot tub as something extra and if it had been destroyed I would have eventually gotten around to forgiving myself for that. And what would a hot tub have to do with the grand spiritual scheme of things?? But we can get much more personal, can't we? What about our health? What about our family?

I just saw in the news this morning the report about the young model in Texas who walked into an aircraft propeller by accident. Her mom was at the airport, heard what had happened and ran out to help. All she could do was hold her daughter, pray for her and wait for the emergency team. How helpless we parents are in those situations! As I stood there in our family room tearing up, Mr. Fischer came back into my head. "Are your children yours? Are they not a gift you don't deserve?"

When it comes down to it, the Bible is clear. The very breath we breathe every couple seconds is a gift we don't deserve. Once again I am reduced back to my basal prayer, "Have mercy on me, a sinner!"

Be thankful with me today...and tomorrow...and forever for every thing...as God may bring them to mind.

No Proof is Possible

Stuart Chase, an American economist of the last century, once wrote, "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible" (For those of you who maintain that nothing of value can be learned from television, I first heard this quote on the series, "Criminal Minds"...and, yes, I could have also learned it from reading).

Two things pounce upon me from this insightful quote. First, the foundational principle is "belief"...or we might say, "faith." What we believe to be true is based on something that happened a couple of millennium ago passed down to us through the lives of the faithful and an ancient book which cannot be supported by original documents. Truly this is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Heb 11:1 NIV

Though it would really be convenient for us in "The Way" to be able to point at something and say, "See, this proves we are right!" those kind of proofs just don't exist. And even if "proof" does exist for us internally, through personal experiences or the experiences of others of whom we have heard, that doesn't mean they are convincing for those skeptical of our faith.

That segues us to "pounce" two. The burden of proof does not lie with us. Though we must witness to the Truth (Acts 1:8) which we have experienced, the responsibility for proof of truth lies with someone else. Only God can undo unbelief and reframe it as belief. He IS truth. God must interrupt the contentment of the unbelieving with a longing for himself...a felt need to fill the God-shaped void in the soul. Until that happens, "no proof is possible."

May we recommit ourselves to be relevant people in the lives of those God interrupts!

Life done plain

A recent conversation reminded me of a moment of family history. The conversation had to do with the need for the church to be "salt" for its community. My mind flashed back to a moment over 40 years ago. We were returning to the Philippines after a year of furlough and were doing so via a Norwegian freighter. This freighter happened to have a swimming pool; and though small, it promised to be the hit of the trip...once we got into warm water.

You see, the pool was simply filled with water from the ocean. Finally nearing Hawaii the pool was filled and the three of us boys spent most of the day in it. The salt water was a little surprising, but not daunting. That evening, after dinner with the Captain, my younger brother, Chris, climbed up on the Captain's lap. He was about 5.This happened frequently because my toe-headed brother reminded the Captain of his own young son. Needing to know, Chris looked into the Captain's eyes and asked, "Why do you put salt in your water? I like mine plain." Laughter erupted after a minute of trying to figure out what Chris as referring to.

It seems life done plain can certainly be preferable. Salt, though healing and preserving, brings a sting that is unpleasant and sometimes painful. Most of us spend time, effort and money to avoid pain when possible. But when it comes to our lives together, I pray that we might make a new effort to give and receive "salt" gracefully and in love.

Weeds

As I was mowing the back quarter (of a fifth of an acre) a fundamental axiom of life popped into my mind. Now, why this happens to some of us and not others, I don't know. Maybe because some of us have our minds so filled with useless info that occasionally a couple random thoughts come together and magic happens. No matter what the case, let me share my revelation with you!

Even weeds look better mowed!

I don't think anything needs to be added to that, really.

Enjoy your weekend!

Star Trek and the Paradox of Grace

Yes, I am a little slow in my ability to catch on to things that others probably figured out a couple decades ago! Still, I can't help sharing this ah-hah moment with you. For those of you "fast" people, consider this as a timely reminder!!

Biblical paradox fascinates me. God, as truth, showing up in unexpected places excites me!! An unrelated case in point...to make my point...is the line in "The Santa Claus" spoken to Tim Allen as he is trying to grasp that he is really in the North Pole. He comments that he can't believe what he is seeing. An elf responds, "Seeing is not believing, believing is seeing." Gotta love it~!

At the end of the second Star Trek movie, "The Wrath of Khan," Spock (the obvious "messiah" figure for this story) is sacrificing his life to save his friend, James Kirk and all of the crew of the Enterprise. As Kirk is watching him die he asks Spock why he would do that. Spock's response is the very logical, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one." (John 3:16)

Fast forward to the end of Star Trek III where Spock has been reborn and Kirk has just sacrificed his favorite starship, the Enterprise, and put his crew at risk to rescue Spock. Utterly confused by the illogic of Kirk's actions, Spock asks him why he would do such a thing. Kirk's response is the very biblical, "The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many." (Luke 15)

Both, spiritually, are true. In Christ's crucifixion we see the sacrifice of the One for the needs of the many - you and me who are helpless to save ourselves. In Jesus' parable of the lost sheep (the lost coin and the lost son) we learn that the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. God loves the "many" and the "one!" Our purpose should mirror God's. As his Body we must concern ourselves with the needs of the many and the one. May he give us wisdom, power and grace to do just that!!

Jesus' Unanswered Prayer

In this phase of my walk I am trying to focus more on Jesus. Profound, huh?!

One of my confusions as a believer in the Way has been the verses that refer to God answering our prayers for whatever we desire (John 15:7 comes to mind). I know the apologetic...we must be "abiding" in Christ, or "ask in my name" but it seems that even in those situations...though really only God can judge...many unselfish prayers still go unanswered.

Last week the Holy Spirit reminded me that Jesus had an unanswered prayer. For the rest of Jesus life, as far as we know, his Father's answer to his requests had always been "yes" and certainly he was "abiding" and approaching this request in the way that had always been effective before. In the garden however, the night he was arrested, he prayed earnestly that his Father would take "this cup" from him. His Father had to say "no" and we know that Jesus response was, "not my will, but yours be done."

So, does that realization make the times God says "no" easier. Probably not. What Jesus experienced was horrific and some of the paths his people walk mirror that suffering, at least in part. But, we are not alone. Once again we find that Jesus has given us an example. God sometimes says "no." We, with Jesus, along with not relishing what is ahead, must submit ourselves to God's wisdom and will for us and for those we love.

Let me be honest; this fact of our life in the way I don't particularly like. I, so much, want to be in control and for God to be my genie when I need him. But I know that way does not lead to victory. Victory does not lie in our power or might (or wisdom or getting our way) but in and by God's Spirit.

"Christian" priorities??

One thing we became very aware of while living in another country was just how many things we thought were basic to our "Biblical" belief system but were actually things we valued as North Americans. Things like capitalism, democracy, individualism and egalitarianism (we all have equal rights) come to mind.

Another "Americanism" (but not original to us) that was certainly not part of early middle eastern thinking was the idea of compartmentalization. We tend to separate things into groupings, categorize them and then prioritize them. This is much the result of the Scientific Revolution and very "modern." We have certainly seen a move away from this, in our more "post-modern" culture, to a more holistic, mystical view of life and faith.

Enter a recent conversation concerning the priority of God in our lives. The very "modern" view is that God is first, family is second, ministry is third etc. I am not sure God intended us to have a priority list and, if he did, I might suggest that we have it skewed. Maybe God is all and in all better sums up my thought here.

This plays out in our lives in that loving your spouse and children is loving and worshipping God. Doing all things as if doing them for Christ (Col. 3:23) is loving and worshipping God. Caring for the hurting around us is loving and worshipping God. Enjoying God's creation gift to us is loving and worshipping him. These things are not second to our love and commitment to God. They define and deepen it. This is not to say that time communing with God individually loses value, but is an integral part of a bigger construct...the divine "both/and" so to speak.

Just think of Jesus approach to the Pharisees. They were more committed to holiness than most of us today. Their goal was to do everything exactly as God had commanded. Yet Jesus accused them of missing the point totally. God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath was one of the ways Jesus illustrated this point in Mark 2:27 (Jeff's paraphrase). Who were closer to God in Jesus' eyes? The "publican" who beat his chest saying "Have mercy on me, a sinner."

Crucify Your Expectations

It seems to me that the root of most of my dissatisfaction, with just about anything, is unmet expectations. Now don't go thinking that I walk around in a constant state of dissatisfaction. Just not true. However, it would be nice to experience more of that "abundant life" Jesus tells us is ours and I think, for me at least, the bitter taste of my expectations crashing and burning robs me of that experience.

Expectations are part of our nature. They are part of everything we experience. When my wife sees an outfit on the rack that she likes, she has the expectation that it will look great on her. When we go out for a frozen custard sundae we expect that it will be a time deliciously spent. We have expectations about everything!

Dissatisfaction sets in, though, when those expectations are not met; the outfit doesn't look right or the frozen custard place is closed (because it can never taste bad!!). These are pretty benign experiences but when we broaden our scope to include our relationships, including our relationship with God, things can get cancerous.

When things don't turn out the way I expect they should I blame the perpetrator before ever thinking that, perhaps, my expectation was incorrect. I find that I even treat God this way. When he doesn't act like I think he is supposed to I get upset with him! This is truly a "potter and the clay" issue in me. What do I know of anything?? In my human relationships these unmet expectations can seed roots of bitterness that lead to mistrust and, eventually, dormancy or death.

When we boil it down...selfishness is what it's all about.

So what can we do? We can continually and willfully crucify our expectations. This means letting go our hold on them and releasing them to die at the feet of Jesus. He, then, can return to us his reality of the abundant life! As long as we have our hands full of the rocks we feel are so important, Jesus can't give us the gems of what he has waiting for us.

Go to the cross continually, crucify your selfishness and receive back your true self; your abundant self in Christ.

Missions, in light of "Love Wins"

Since reading “Love Wins” by Rob Bell I have been considering my response as a mobilizer of missionaries. If Pastor Bell is correct in his assertion that death might not end God’s graceful redemptive effort of souls (something also proposed by C.S. Lewis), how would the missionary effort change? Should it change??

Certainly the focus of cross-cultural work could, and probably should, broaden to more fully embrace care for physical and emotional needs along with its effort toward spiritual wellbeing. In fact, if we were to model our efforts more after Jesus’ ministry we would reveal him through lives of care for the hurting, as he did. I see this as a “both/and,” as opposed to an “either/or,” situation.

Certainly, also, the Great Commission still applies to us today. We are to be witnesses, for those we come into contact with, of the power and grace of God in our lives; our encounter with Jesus. Though, with Bell, we may agree that God is not limited to our traditions and understandings of faith in the revelation of himself in Christ to everyone, we are not free from his command to witness to the Christ who captivated us, altering the course of our lives through his mercy. It is obvious that God is still using our understanding of faith to bring tens of thousands to a knowledge of, and a faith in, himself daily around the globe.

I would relate this to the view of missions of a past age in light of Calvin’s premise of “Limited Atonement.” One would think, in a belief system where man’s salvation was totally a work of God’s sovereignty and where salvation only applies to the “elect,” that missions would be a low priority. On the contrary, missionaries from reformed traditions flooded the global scene from the late 1800s through the late 1900s with a great passion for the lost and hurting.

No matter what we believe about “Love Wins,” our response to Jesus command to be his witnesses in our “Jerusalem,” our “Judea,” our “Samaria” and the rest of the world can ONLY be one of obedience. We must answer with Isaiah, “Here am I, send me!”

Between what's Right and what's Best

The more I ponder about how our lives relate to scripture, the more I am certain that we, the church, are best represented by the Pharisees. I am generalizing, of course, but as I listen to and observe ourselves, the things that were important to them are important to us...the way we live, what church we go to, how often we go there, whether we tithe, how pure our doctrine is...basically, we want to be "right" before God. Sadly, this is what Jesus confronted the Pharisees about over and over. Their concern for purity consumed them to the point of missing the point. "White-washed tombs" he called them. All show and no substance. Could this be us ? If Jesus were here today would he be challenging our commitment to a dying world of hurting people while we parade all of the "rightness" of our belief system before him?

"Rightness" may have a place but it can often take the place of what is "best." Martha was consumed with doing what was "right" when Jesus was visiting...making sure that food was prepared and everything was in order...while Mary chose what was "best" by just immersing herself in Jesus presence.

Here is a little self-test for you. When you heard that Magic Johnson, an NBA superstar, had contracted the HIV virus was your first thought, "Serves him right for being so promiscuous." or "I wonder if there is something I can do for him or others whose lives have been dashed by this hellacious disease?" Most often, I find myself on the "judgment" side, instead of the "mercy" side, of that fence. I think we would all agree that Jesus would be, if he is "the same yesterday, today and forever," on the mercy side. Will we continue to hold to what is "right" or will we be willing to let "rightness" go in order to hold on to Jesus in what is "best?"

On Being Dogmatic

It's ironic, but my lot,

To discern the fine line

Between right and right,

And there, on that perfect spot,

To take my stand,

Only then to find...

It's not.



The True Essence of the Gospel

Thank you, Alec! Your art inspires me every day by helping keep the main thing the only thing.

Who needs the Gospel: Me??

This morning I was caught up in a spiritual battle; you know, one I usually lose. Some of the women in our office had just been to a retreat in Portugal and they were giving a report on the wonderful things God had done. He had revealed himself in new and exciting ways to women there from all over the world. I should have been overjoyed, basking in the glory of what God had done. Instead, my head was bowed and I found myself resentful. "Why are they able to do this and not me?" I thought. As I reflect on it now someone else comes to mind who had nearly those exact thoughts. I think his name was Judas Iscariot.

You know, some people have spiritual struggles at high tech levels, but not me. I can't even get past one of those simple commandments, "Don't covet." Just two words in the "Jeff's Paraphrase" are all it takes to put me back in my place, clinging by my fingernails to the cross. My flesh is crucified, I know, but it seems to be rotting somewhere beneath the blood. Who needs the gospel?? Have mercy on ME, a sinner!

Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner!

A dear friend and I were discussing Rob Bell's book, Love Wins, and his question to me was, "If God was not a God of judgment, a God who would judge sin, would he be worthy of worship?" I did not respond because, well, God is the judge. He defines right and wrong. Black and white. Darkness and light. As I have pondered this over the last week, some other thoughts have come to me. All gods judge. That is what makes people fear them and worship them. When they are angry we assume we have done something to displease them, something "wrong," and try to find a sacrifice suitable to appease them. What truly sets our God apart is not that he is a judge, or that we spell his name with a capital "G;" but, that he is a God who forgives. Not only does he forgive, but he offered up the sacrifice for forgiveness himself. Is that not the foundation of our hope? We don't hope in the fact that God is the righteous judge, because if we all got what we deserved, we are all doomed. Our hope is in the faith that God, no matter how unfaithful we are, will have mercy on us and forgive us and accept us as we are. At least, that is my hope! "Have mercy on me, a sinner."

Can You Say...Martyr?

It never ceases to amaze me that, no matter how much we know about another culture or religious tradition, we still act as if they think like we do. The news of bin Laden's death last night brought this to mind again. Did a majority of Americans want him dead? Probably. Do the majority of Americans realize what killing a radical fundamentalist leader will do to his followers? Probably not...though they should. From our cultural grid, based in our mostly European past, we "know" that eliminating the leader of a group should disperse, or at least, severely weaken his followers. However, are we forgetting the last 50 years of history? What kind of people send children among their enemy strapped with explosives (Vietnam) or wipe out all of their educated population (Cambodia) or massacre children at a local school (Afghanistan) or blow themselves up in a crowded market (Iraq)? People that don't think like us. People who make decisions based on a different set of values than us. There is every likelihood that this action will result in a greater resolve by terrorists around the world who saw bin Laden as their leader to commit themselves ever more solidly to our destruction. Will they destroy us? Probably not. Are we at a greater risk of terrorism within our country's borders? Almost certainly. My response: praying for our leaders, our military and our people here and around the globe. Please join me.

Putting out Flaming Arrows

One of the most encouraging God lessons I have had recently came from a rabbit trail my mind took (or maybe where the Holy Spirit led me) during a message a couple Sunday's ago. My apologies to the speaker! For years I have struggled with why God allows horrible things to happen to his people, people that we need in the battle for the advance of the Kingdom. I just couldn't make sense of it. Now, I know that, as the "clay" I am not really in the "need to know" group for the "potter"; but still, making some sense of things would help sometimes! As I listened that day my mind was directed to Ephesians 6:16..."wield the shield of faith with which you can put out the flaming arrows of the evil one." (JP - Jeff's Paraphrase) I think, most of the time, I have thought of this as our shield stopping the arrows before they reach us; but, that is not what the passage says...at least in English. Our faith puts out the fire of the arrows. It nullifies their purpose, which is to burn us up, to destroy us. However we may, at times, still be pierced by them and injured. We are in a battle after all.

Faith changes the intended purpose of evil. Think about it. Doesn't God always turn Satan's best plans on their heads. The prime example? Killing Jesus seemed to be the triumphant victory of the enemy and yet was actually his ultimate doom. To conquer death Jesus had to die and rise again, opening the door for us to follow...Praise Him!

Does this make suffering any easier? Probably not. But, for me, it helps in getting my mind around God's choices at times. Would I prefer that the arrows never reach me? Of course! But, if God allows them to, I know that he is only doing so to put our enemy on his head just one more time. I know that by faith, and faith alone. Our belief that God is in control changes our outlook on what we are experiencing and assures us that the ultimate victory is won!!

Stoning Rob Bell?

I find it interesting that we feel like we can be so sure of ourselves in matters where truth is God and we are but his creation. Whether or not Rob Bell is correct in his musings in Love Wins, for me, is not the issue. Our constant desire to pass judgment on others, as if we were God, is. That sounds very "New Age" to me...something we Evangelicals recoil from with a passion. Yet, we are bent toward it. It was true of the Pharisees and religious rulers of Jesus' day (and it is interesting to note who Jesus is confronting nearly every time he mentions judgment) and it is, sadly, true of us today. We feel it necessary to judge others and place them below us on the spiritual ladder. Is not God the only true Judge? Is not our job to share the gospel with grace and mercy to all realizing that, if it were not for the God's totally unmerited mercy toward us, we would be totally lost? Do we really believe that passing judgment on someone will bring them any closer to the knowledge of God's love for them and his desire to redeem them? Instead of spending our time passing judgment on Rob Bell, maybe we should be considering how we might better reflect Christ to a dying world! I have put my stone down. How about you?

Stand on your head

Seeing reality through Jesus' eyes is putting everything on its head. Last will be first. The poor have the riches of faith. Real living is dying. Stuff like that. What we consider shadow and mystical is the real and what we consider real is, in reality, shadow. So it is with cross-cultural work.

I was certain that going to Guatemala was the end of my dreams to grow my musical side. That, however, ended up being 180% from reality. Opportunities to grow and use my music multiplied beyond belief while there! This is what I think is the reality of the "give to get" theology. "Getting" was not my intention at all. Obedience was and it involved some, of what I considered to be, sacrifice or "giving." But what I gave was nothing compared to what I gained. Sound familiar?

So I am spending my thinking time now trying to re-look at things standing on my head. I figure that if I am seeing something in one way it is likely that God is seeing it in the opposite way. A new way to "let go."