Just a quick word for Christ followers as we walk into Easter weekend.  I am reminded that so much of life is simply perspective.  Paul writes in II Cor 4 that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”.  I was struck that his “light and momentary” troubles is all encompassing for what happens to us in this world.  He gives us the ultimate perspective, that in light of heaven and what waits for us there, nothing on earth compares.  Think about it.  Anything and everything we go through on earth, is simply light and momentary when compared to what waits for Christ followers.

Cancer?  Light and momentary.  Financial struggles?  Light and momentary.  Sickness and disease?  Light and momentary.  Heartbreak and depression?  Light and momentary.

Don’t mishear me.  I’m not making light of pain and suffering.  I’ve walked it, and I have more to walk through on this earth.  We all do.  Paul simply reminds us that we need to keep our perspective when we are in the valley of the shadow of death.  When we are in the middle of pain, God is there.  In fact, Paul says in II Cor 1:3-5 that God comforts us so that we may comfort others.  We have a calling to love and comfort others in their time of heartbreak.  But don’t miss that God is our first comfort in all troubles.

“Therefore we do not lose heart (v 16).”  Going back to Easter, after Christ was crucified, the disciples were broken, scared, and lost.  They lost heart.  And Christ came back to show them His ultimate power over death, and from that point forward the disciples were never the same.  Yes, they suffered, and yes most of them died for their faith.  But they never lost perspective again.  Nothing on earth could change what they knew about the Lord.  In the same way, may we be filled with His power, and while this life is hard, and this life is painful, may we remember that this life is momentary.  And He is not.

Walk in grace and peace, and be filled with the power of the living, resurrected Lord.  Amen.

I’ve done my share of flying through the years, and despite my best efforts to avoid them, I’ve had more than a few  early (5 AM kind of early) flights.  Anytime I’m up at 3:30, it’s not pretty.  Those mornings consist of dressing in the closet to make as little light and as little noise as possible, skipping coffee because it’s just too early, and trying to make sure I have my laptop in my bag.   Hence the Top Button Truth.  The Top Button Truth becomes readily apparent if I mess up on the top button.  Let me explain.  Putting on a dress shirt is pretty simple, put it on, then button it.  You start with the top button and work your way down.  However, when the top button is off, you usually don’t notice it, and you proceed to button all the way down the shirt.  Then you get to the bottom and realize your shirt is  totally, completely, and hopelessly crooked, and can’t be fixed.  You have to unbutton every single button and start over.

The Top Button Truth is exactly like life as a Christ follower.  If we miss getting the first button right (our relationship with Christ) then everything else is simply off.  But too many times we won’t know it until we get to the end.  As a Christ follower, our first, best, and only priority is obedience.  Christ is our Lord, and HIs words are simple – “if you love Me, you will keep my commands” (John 14:15).  If we get that priority right (the top button) then the rest of our life falls neatly into place (Matthew 6:33).  But when we get it wrong, when our priorities are off, even by just one button hole, it’s all wrong.  All wrong.  And the only way to fix it, is to undo everything and start over.  Because so many buttons seem to fall into place, you can button almost every button on the shirt before you realize you’re off.

Word for the day – take a really good look at your top button.  If it’s not right, nothing you do the rest of the way (meaning the rest of your life) will ever be right.  Read Matthew 7:22-23 where Christ said that “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you.”  

Somehow, despite all they did, including miracles, they missed the top button, and they missed it all.

Grace and Peace

How many times have we (as Christ followers) said “Lord” or “Lord Jesus”?  Or the ever popular “Jesus is Lord”?  The problem is that we say it, but we don’t really understand it, and too much of the time we certainly don’t live it.  Paul said that he was a “slave” to the Lord.  A slave.  Meaning, Christ was Lord, Paul was a slave.  No questions, no misunderstanding the hierarchy.  And when the Lord said “go”, Paul went.  Even when it cost him, even when he was beaten and left for dead, even when he know he was going to die.  Because a slave simply obeys.  A slave doesn’t have the right to ask questions.  A slave doesn’t own anything.  Everything a slave has is wrapped up in his master.

Which is exactly what Christ asks of his followers.  When Christ spoke, he didn’t sugar coat the commitment.  He said, it will cost you everything, you must love me so much more than anyone else, you will suffer, you have a mission to go and make disciples, and many other words that fall well short of encouragement.  Christ wanted to be very clear, if you love me, you will obey me.  If you chose Me, then I am Lord and you follow.

So in our own wisdom, we have watered down Christ’s words, and instead of Him being Lord, he our Trusted Advisor.  When Christ is our Trusted Advisor, we get to claim a close relationship with Him, we ensure an association as a follower, and yet, we still retain the ultimate decision making ability.  So we can decide that tithing is a priority only after paying all the bills, we can decide that we should keep the impressive job that is killing our family, and of course, we retain the right to expect life to be the way we want it.  We retain the right to tell the Trusted Advisor no, because He’s just the advisor, we are the ultimate decision maker.  It seems like such a great set up, when we get in trouble, we go to our advisor for help, and of course we expect him to bail us out.  And when life is good, well, that’s the way we expect it to be, and we’ll check in with our advisor when we get around to it.

Here’s the problem.  Christ as Trusted Advisor doesn’t work.  Christ has made it clear that He is the only way, and His authority is the ultimate authority.  One day there will be “many” people who Christ turns away from heaven saying “depart from Me, I never knew you”.  And these “many” people will be stunned and talk about all the work they did for Christ.  And none of it matters because unless the work is done under His direction, it’s in vain.  When we work as anything other than a slave, when we retain the right to make decisions, choose priorities, and be our own boss, all the good works in the world will be burned up on that day.  Only those who willingly give up everything, only those who willingly give up their rights, only those who willingly give up ownership of self, will be welcomed into heaven.  Only those who make no demands on how life is supposed to be will end up winning the prize.  Hard words, and not words we often hear in today’s church.

Grace and peace

For the last few weeks, I have been struck with a growing awareness that I am once again living a life of partial Christianity.  That I am falling back into “cafeteria christianity”, choosing grace and peace and love and baby Jesus while passing on sacrifice, unswerving devotion, and a relentless and passionate pursuit of holiness.

Being a Christ follower is not simply attending church, mealtime prayers, and knowing where your bible is.  It is all consuming.  We are to be radically and wholeheartedly focused on Him and building His kingdom.  We are to love Him to such an extent that all other relationships pale in comparison.

Somehow, we have allowed ourselves to justify our current lives as “good enough”.  To rationalize away thoughts of talking with strangers about Christ, quitting a job that is destroying us or our family, or stepping out in faith to follow our calling when it doesn’t make fiancial sense.

In other words, we settle for a dull, worldly, meaningless existence and wonder why we are not passionate, driven, and fulfilled.  We were meant to be warriors on a crusade, and instead, we are uninvolved bystanders simply watching life’s parade move by.

First New Year’s Resolution –

Matt 22:37     Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  Christ tells the crowd that this is the greatest commandment, so let’s start here.  How do you love God with all your heart?  With all your soul?  With all your mind?  Christ separates them out, why?   I have to think that if Christ followers truly obeyed this command, and lived it out, our lives would look different than they do now.  Will you join me in resolving to love God first, most, and best?  Understanding that in all likelihood, it will require real (and potentially massive) change?

Grace and peace my friends.

Read Matthew 6:33 again.  Christ gives some pretty specific instructions on how to handle ourselves in the world.  We are to first seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and then all these “things” will be given to us as well.  The verses preceding let us know that Christ was talking about what we will eat and drink, and what we will wear.  In other words, the real world life stuff that we spend most of our time on.

Here’s what I want to remind us.  First, there is a kingdom.  That kingdom has a king, Christ.  If we are Christ followers, then we represent the king here on earth.  We are both His ambassadors and we are kingdom builders.  We are to be doing the work that Christ gave us.  And while we are doing that work, all the “things” we need will be provided.  But we almost always go after life in reverse.  We want to get all the “things” we need, then do kingdom work in our spare time.

See, we view our job (a paid position) as more important than our vocation (a main occupation regarded as particularly worthy and requiring great dedication).  What if we actually chose to follow Christ’s command, and pursue our vocation – building the kingdom – with the same fervor that we work to earn money?  What if we truly trusted Christ to provide us with what we need on this earth (not want,  but need) and relentlessly pursued our vocation as His ambassadors?

I’m not advocating quitting your job (although we should have everything before Him as an option), but I’m simply reminding us that our passion for a job should never be even close to our passion for our vocation.  And for most of us, our job should provide a beautiful opportunity to build His kingdom.

Remember, as an ambassador, one day we will all be called home from our temporary assignment here on earth.  The King will meet us and welcome us home to heaven for eternity.

Grace and peace.

So Einstein has cornered the market on the Theory of Relativity, which is beyond my ability to even simply state the general principal.  So needless to say, that’s not what this is about.

Instead, I believe that many (most) Christ followers have a issue with relativity.  My Relativity Theory can be broken down into three main postulates-

1. Christ followers compare their insides and feelings to others outside appearances.  We are the first to say, at the very least in our minds, and more often out loud, that “their marriage is so great” or “that person is so successful” or “they must be great people and parents because look at their kids” or “that person is so beautiful, it’s just not fair”.  You get the idea.  We buy the facade every time.  We know our hurt and pain, and yet we allow ourselves to believe that others have it so much better based on what we see.
2. Christ followers have deeply bought into the prosperity gospel.  It goes something like this, if you are a generally good person, specifically a Christian, and you try really hard to do good things (like go to church, tithe, and greet visitors), then good things will happen to you.  Especially good financial things.  Who wants to believe that Christ may want us to be poor, or He may want us to struggle to pay our bills, or that He may not want us to be able to buy anything we want/need?
3. Christ followers lastly truly seem to struggle with real tragedy and heartbreak.  I have written about this previously, but it falls nicely into my Relativity Theory.  We are so quick to turn to “why God?”.  Instead of breaking us and drawing us closer to Christ, we become bitter and angry (and often go right back to the first postulate and say “no one else is hurting as much as I am”).

In summary, many Christ followers seem to live in a constant state of seeing themselves relative to someone else.  Seeing themselves relative to the situation or adversity they are facing.  And we almost always choosing to compare themselves to what we see in the world.  Rarely do we look at our situation and think, “there are people in the world who literally don’t know how they will feed their kids another meal”.

I wish it was natural to compare ourselves to the countless orphans in the world.  Or look at our homes relative to the homes of Christ followers in India or Africa.  Why isn’t it natural to think about the life of a single parents raising a child with Down’s Syndrome when we have issues with our kids?

See, our biggest problem boils down to gratitude.  We somehow, truly and deeply, believe that life should turn out just fine.  Ask and it will be given.  The prayer of the righteous availeth much.  Here’s the rub, it does turn out fine for Christ followers.  Better than we can even imagine.  So much better!  But not here.  Not now.  All our promises are Christ centered and heaven focused.  We live in a “I want it now” world and too many Christ followers look just like the world.

How we break the Relativity Theory?  The answer is simple.  Not easy, but simple.  Time in the Word.  Every day.  Read about Joseph who was thrown in prison for doing the right thing and running from Potiphar’s wife.  How about John the Baptist, who was in prison while Christ was out teaching.  Don’t you think he wondered if his cousin could make a little time to get him out before Herod cut off his head?  No is the answer if you missed it in Matthew 14.  Life is hard, but we make it so much harder by choosing our warped perspective on relativity.

Instead, choose to compare your life to the plight of orphans around the world.  Choose to compare your life to Christ followers who literally risk their lives and loose their entire family when they become Christ followers.  Accept that life is hard.  Know to your core that life is painful.  There is absolutely no question that we will face heartbreak and tragedy, but remember, we never walk life alone.  Christ has promised to be with us always.  We end up triumphant, when we die.  And we have a mission right here right now to proclaim the King of Kings, to love His people, especially the unlovely, and to find and walk the narrow road.

Grace and Peace.

Ordinary is defined as “no special or distinctive features”.  Now that we established a clear understanding of the word, I want to go on record as saying that I am very, very ordinary.  I’ve never won an olympic medal, played in the Super Bowl, written a best seller, starred in a movie, or done anything that the world would consider exceptional.  There is no danger of my life becoming a new Netflix series.  Honestly, the closest I have come to exceeding ordinary is somehow managing to marry an exceptional woman who inspires me and loves our family passionately.

At this point, let me say that if you are exceptional, skip this and read about Paul, he was an amazing, exceptional overachiever who played an integral part in changing the world.

As for the rest of us plain ordinary people, it’s quite possible that life is filled with a sense of meaninglessness.  Maybe even worthlessness.  The world says there’s no value to being ordinary.  We celebrate the exceptional.  We don’t even notice the ordinary.  For most of us, life hasn’t turned out exactly as we pictured it as a child.  No career in the NFL, no Nicolas Sparks type soul mate who sweeps you off your feet, no lakehouse to spend the weekends in.  It’s just an ordinary life.  It’s full of work, cleaning house, paying bills, raising kids, saving for college and or retirement, going to class, that sort of thing.  

Here’s what I want you to hear.  God takes the ordinary, and makes it extraordinary.  Read 1 Cor 1:26-29 where it says “for you see your calling brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty…”  I love that.  God sees us so differently than the world does.

Take a look at the lives of the disciples.  Christ hand picked 12 men to walk beside Him for 18 months in order to pick up and take over His ministry after He ascended into heaven.  Think about that, God’s plan of salvation for the world is going to be left up to 12 men.  If we were choosing 12, we would look for the best and brightest.  The high performers, those who had a proven track record of success.

Not Christ.  He chose 12 ordinary men.  Really ordinary.  Mostly fishermen, a tax collector, others who were likely simple tradesmen, not one exceptional high performer in the group.   12 ordinary men who are proof that God works in the lives of those who are willing.  Proof that God can, and will, change the world though ordinary men and women.  They never reached any level of extraordinary by the world’s standards.  They never got rich, never retired to a life of ease, in fact, most were martyred.  But though the power of the Holy Spirit, they changed the world.

There’s much more, but let me leave with you a word of encouragement.  Your life can and should be full of meaning, even if the world sees it as ordinary.  Pursuing God with a reckless abandonment simply requires passion, not a master’s degree in theology.  Changing the world begins with a life committed to Christ, not an Oscar or a Swiss bank account.  Instead of striving to be extraordinary, may we strive to passionately and wholeheartedly pursue Christ, and allow Him to achieve His purpose in our lives.  And at our end, we will hear “well done good and faithful servant”, the most extraordinary thing that can ever be said about our lives.

Grace and peace.

It’s back to school season.  And that means for thousands and thousands of young women in college, it’s time for recruitment.   I’ve had the privilege and the pain of closely walking through recruitment with my daughters as well as talking with my wife about it, and while I’ve clearly never been through it, I do have a pretty good sideline view.

A sorority can give you instant access and close proximity to potential friends.  It can give you social opportunities, service opportunities, and even leadership opportunities.  It can make college seem a little smaller and more manageable, and it can be a lot of fun.

What else can a sorority do?  A sorority can give a sense of value.  It can give a sense of importance, it can even begin to define you.  Exactly like a job can, or fame can, or money can, or success can.

In other words, for a Christ follower, a sorority holds all the opportunities, dangers, and distractions of the world.  It can lead to a feeling of superiority, to arrogance, to entitlement, and more.  It can cause ladies to be mean, cruel, and vicious.  And it can bring out inner beauty, love, grace, mercy, and kindness.

As a Christ follower, recruitment is simply another platform to make Him known.  In the midst of so much stress, pressure, emphasis on external beauty, and sometimes pure desperation, what a time for Godly young women to rise up and shine for His glory.  What an opportunity to fully ground yourself in Christ, and let it show.  When girls are hurting in the process, you can love them and build them up.  When girls feel like this is a life defining event and process, you can bring perspective.  When girls are sad or feel lost, you overflow with grace and peace.  When there is darkness, you can bring light.  In other words, it’s simply life.  Everywhere we go and everything we do we have the opportunity to live out His love, mercy, and grace.

Life is full of trials, temptations, and opportunities.  Recruitment is no more and no less than another one.  I believe that Christ followers have an amazing mission in the midst of this process, just like we do in the midst of every other situation in life.  There are women who are hurting and lost all around you, don’t miss them.  You are on mission right here, right now.  Remember, the only bond and sisterhood that has eternal meaning is in Christ.  So love each other well, give of yourself sacrificially, don’t lose kingdom perspective, and be the light that you are called to be.

Walk this road called recruitment with grace and peace.

In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul gives us some strong words to ponder.  He said that we should take the things we saw him teach (or heard him say) and teach those truths to others who can pass them along.

And so begins the basics of following Christ.  We are to model and teach others so that they may model and teach others.  As always, our best example is Christ.  Quick review, He knew He only had a ministry of 3 years, and instead of spending every minute on the preaching and teaching circuit, He investing the majority of His time in twelve men.  He spend almost every waking minute with them.  Walking.  Talking.  Eating.  And yes, preaching and teaching.  They literally followed Him around, walking beside and behind Him, always watching, always listening, and not always understanding.

There is a phrase “the dust of the master” that I heard once to describe these disciples.  It means that they were literally covered in the dust Christ kicked up on the roads as He walked.  They were truly covered in the dust of the master.  They were so close to Him that everything He did rubbed off on them, including the dust and dirt of daily life.

Back to 2 Tim 2:2.  The only way we can take the things we know about Christ and teach the truths of the gospel to someone is in close proximity.  We are to invest our lives in others, we are to be so close to others that all we say, do, and believe is transferred to them.  I don’t know exactly what that looks like for anyone else, but I expect that you know if you think and pray about it.  Christ spoke to the crowd, but He also lived with the few.  I believe we are called to do the same, to serve and love others, but also to be intentional with a few believers that we walk with.

So first, get some of the Master’s dust on you.  Matter of fact, get covered in it.  The closer we are to Christ, the more dust we have on us.  Second, find those that you are called to walk with, and get some dust on them.  Grace and peace.

Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why don’t we get to say “enough” sometimes?  When it all falls apart, and then the bottom falls out, and then it catches fire, when do we get a pass?  When do we say “ok God, stop”?

Short answer is I don’t exactly know.  I do know we live in a fallen world, full of sin.  I also know that Christ gave us an example of suffering that leaves me in awe when I really look at His life.  And I know that there are countless verses letting us know that we will suffer, not that we may, but that we will.  And that we are to count it all joy.  I also know that suffering is a critical, non negotiable way that God works to purify us (as silver is put in the fire and the dross skimmed off), to break our stubborn independence, force us rely on God, to enable us to love and serve others going through trials and tribulations, and in the end to change our perspective.  To change our perspective to an eternal one, not a worldly one.

Romans 5:3 -4  states that “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance produces character; and character produces hope”.  The challenge for most of us is that we are so focused on this world, that we sometimes miss what God has for us through suffering.  If nothing else, suffering should remind us that our hope is in heaven.  Not here.  Suffering is a reminder that our perspective should be eternal.  That everything we can see, hear, touch, and feel will pass away in the blink of an eye.  

I can’t help but think of the story behind the old hymn “It is well with my soul”.  I have sung that song hundreds of times, and only recently learned of the story behind the song.  Horatio Spafford was a wealthy Chicago lawyer married to Anna.  Together they had a son, and four daughters.  He was a devout Christ follower and was friends with Dwight L. Moody.  They suffered the tragic loss of their young son, and shortly afterwards, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed almost every real estate investment they had.  Two years later, he scheduled a boat trip to Europe to give his wife and daughters a vacation and time to recover from the series of tragedies.   The boat had a collusion at sea, and all four of his daughters drowned, only Anna survived.  She sent him a telegram with the news, “rescued, alone”.  On the boat to get her in England, Horatio wrote the lyrics to It is Well with my Soul, including the poignant line “When sorrow like sea billows roll, it is well, it is well with my soul”.  I am humbled by his utter trust and dependence on God.  When almost everything in his world was tragically taken away, God was enough.

II Corinthians 4 is one of my favorite chapters on suffering and perspective.  In short it says that through God’s grace, we have a ministry (purpose) and we do not lose heart.  We set the Word of God and the truth out plainly for people to see.  Satan works to blind unbelievers, because we preach Jesus Christ as Lord.  The treasure of knowing Christ is held in our bodies, which are weak and fragile (jars of clay).  We are hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.  But we are not crushed, not in despair, not abandoned, and not destroyed.  Even though our bodies are wasting away, inside Christ renews and strengthens us daily.  All that we go through, as painful and crushing as it seems, is light and momentary, achieving for us eternal glory that far outweighs the trials.

Think about that.  Paul, who knew about suffering, said all that we go through (ALL that we go through) is “light and momentary” and is “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”.  And all God’s people said amen.

May we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Grace and Peace