A Kingdom Nugget

"We now live in a time when consumer Christianity has become the accepted norm, and all-out engagement with and in Jesus' kingdom among us is regarded as just one option people may take if it suits them -- but probably 'overdoing it.'"

- Dallas Willard

mathetes

"A disciple is a person who has decided that the most important thing in their life is to learn how to do what Jesus said to do."

- Dallas Willard

The Call

I am 12 chapters in now in my study of Jeremiah. So much good stuff, but it's hard to blog because there is so much detail. However, lately I have been able to relate with Jeremiah's call from God. Through current circumstances in my life I've often found myself praying, "No God, not me..." Yet God has always guided and directed my path, even in directions I didn't want to go. My only responsibility is to humbly and obediently follow. It's not so easy though. At times it seems impossible. I am sure this is how Jeremiah or Moses felt.

In the verses above God calls Jeremiah to a massive task - to be God's ambassador to His people and to the nations. Jeremiah's response? "Not me God! I am too young! I don't speak well!" Have you been there? I sure have - many times. There is hope when I read these callings because I can see that even the heroes of the Bible struggled with confidence and faith. In Exodus 3, Moses is a flat out whinny wimp. I love that! Then you see the journey that God took him through. It's amazing! I can only have faith that the journey God has me on, no matter how treacherous it seems, will be well worthy it.

I think that many times the only obstacle in following God's call is ourselves. Both Moses and Jeremiah wanted to make it about themselves, choosing to focus on their shortcomings. God's emphatic response was that it wasn't about them - it was about Him working through them. How many times has God told me, "Don't be afraid. I am with you!"? Probably too many.

One of my professors in college used to always say a quote that I have kept near to me and used as a constant reminder:

"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

AMEN!

Matthew - The Record of Jesus the Messiah

If you read my previous post you are aware that I have been thinking a lot about the Bible lately. I have realized that it's been too long since I have really dug into the Bible and studied it in depth. Furthermore, through recent discussions I have also came to the conclusion that I need to touch up on my knowledge of Jesus and the gospels. So that is what I'm going to do. I started studying the book of Matthew, verse by verse, a couple of days ago. It has already proven to be a huge refreshment for my soul. If any of you are feeling the same way I am then I invite you to join me as I look in depth at the "record of Jesus the Messiah." I will be posting my thoughts on the gospel weekly and I welcome any comments or insights that I may have missed. Below is my reading plan.



I wanted to get some some context for Matthew so I did a little bit of research first. One of my favorite commentary series for personal Bible reading is "The New Daily Bible Series" by William Barclay. His commentary is both pastoral and scholarly, yet he writes in a way that anyone can understand. If you are interested in any of these just search his name at www.amazon.com and you can find his commentary for every book of the New Testament.

The book of Matthew along with Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, which simply means "seen together." They get this title because they are very similar in their content and structure
while each of them have some unique additions and omissions. Even though they are similar they each have a different audience. For Matthew, his audience is the Jewish community. Barclay says, "It is Matthew’s primary and deliberate purpose to show how the Old Testament prophecies received their fulfillment in Jesus; how every detail of Jesus’ life was foreshadowed in the prophets; and thus to compel the Jews to admit that Jesus was the Messiah."

Throughout Matthew's gospel the Old Testament Law is held in high esteem. This would be huge for a Jew because the Law was everything to them. Jesus says that he did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Mat. 5:17-20).

Matthew is also very interested in the Church. It is the only Synoptic gospel that even uses the word Church at all! Only Matthew says that disputes are to be settled by the Church (18:17). By the time Matthew was written, the Church would have been a very important part of the life of a Christian.

Barclay says that Matthew's dominating idea is that Jesus is King. We see that from the very beginning of the gospel that he demonstrates the royalty of Jesus. In fact the genealogy is simply to prove that Jesus is the Son of David. You have probably heard that title of Jesus before and Matthew uses that name for Jesus more than any other gospel. Matthew's picture of Jesus is of the man born to be King!

Like Honey on my Lips

Psalm 119:97,103,105

97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.


I absolutely love the Bible. It is the most beautiful and confusing book of all time. I believe wholeheartedly that it is God's Word that He inspired through individuals to be a testimony of two things: 1) Who God is, and 2) How to have relationship with Him.

I say it's confusing because there is a lot more to the Bible than we tend to think. It's simply not as cut and dry as many people believe. In fact, it is nearly impossible to just pick up the Bible with the assumption that it will be clearly understandable. Why is this? Why would God not make His word clear? Perhaps it is because God wants us to look to Him, and not only His Word. Maybe just maybe the Bible has the potential of becoming an idol if we aren't careful to handle it properly. Maybe God doesn't want us to have it all figured out, and so somehow not to have any need for Him in our daily lives. I know I am guilty of going straight to the Bible for things instead of praying to the living God who promises to be dwelling in me. I don't know. Just a thought...

The problem I see is that we can twist and skew the Bible to make it say whatever we want it to say - within reason of course. Ultimately, the Bible has caused more divisions, more church splints, and created more denominations and religions than anything else. Wait? Did I say the Bible has done this? Maybe what I mean to say is that people's understanding of the Bible have created these things. It is not the actual Bible that creates any division, but rather it is what people claim the Bible actual says that is the author of such division. It is this fact that makes my heart heavy.

The reality is that we all have certain lenses in which we view the Bible. Each person that picks up the Bible and reads it, interprets it through their own worldview. It has been said that once the Bible is read it ceases to be God's Word and becomes the reader's interpretation of God's Word according to their own values and convictions.

So what's the point? Should we not even attempt to read the Bible because it's impossible to understand? I don't think that's the case at all. I think the important factor to helping us understand the Bible is historical and cultural context. The Bible must be read with the knowledge of who the original audience was. For example, when we read the book of Colossians, we are reading a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Colossian church. This letter and others like it were written to a specific group of people, in a specific point in time. To ignore audience and the historical/cultural context would be pointless. Too often we read it and think it is talking directly to us within our 21st century world. I do believe that God uses the Bible to teach us and guide us, but we must be open to what it is actually saying and who it is saying it to.

There is mystery to the Bible and there is mystery to God - something that our minds can't fully comprehend. But thank God that He doesn't require us to have it all figured out. To me that is the beauty of the journey. Let us jump in and continue to strive towards more understanding of God and His Word. After all, it is honey to our lips.

Kiva

Jeremy showed me the Kiva website yesterday and it is incredible! Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty. It is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.


My first Kiva Loan went to the Christine Namayega Group. It is a group of 10 women who sell clothes in Uganda. Click Here to see my lending page.

Excelling in 2009

A friend asked me the other day if I made any New Year's resolutions and at first I went blank. I have never been big on "New Year's Resolutions" but the more I thought about the question, the more I realized that I do have some goals and aspirations for the big 2009.

I am definitely a visual person and need to "see" my goals in order to keep focused on them. I also like to be neat and organized, although I fully admit that it is difficult at times. If I am messy it means one thing - I'm stressed and overwhelmed. All that is to say, I am choosing to create habits this year that will help me focus on the goals I want to achieve. So meet my new best friend - X.



Excel is a program for my personality. You can make lists, charts, graphs and formulas to serve your purpose, whatever that may be. Right now I'm a novice at best with X, but I'm hoping that will all change this year. As I learn it, I know it will help me focus on what I want to accomplish and EXCEL in life (no pun intended).

To start, I made a simple and somewhat generic list of goals and things I want to do in 2009. This is only the beginning. My plan is to add to this and build more and more "action steps" to help me excel in them. If you have read my blog in the past, you know that DISCIPLINE has been a key word for me. It will continue to be in '09. But I just don't want to be discipline. No, I want to EXCEL in everything I do.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."
- Colossians 3:17

Click image to make bigger

Words of Wisdom

My friend Jeremy Jernigan recently interviewed Jamie Tworkowski, the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms. Jamie is an awesome guy and is doing great things for the Kingdom of God. Here is a quote from the interview that impacted me the most:

"You were created to love and to be loved, to know and to be known."

What more is there to say? That pretty much sums up this life that God has created us to live.

Check out the rest of the interview here.

Discipline - Do You Not Know?

Since reading Lone Survivor, I cannot stop thinking about and wrestling with the concept of discipline. I don't know about you, but the "D" word kind of scares me. Somehow I believe Jesus intended his followers to be a whole lot more disciplined than we realize. I hear much more talk about being blessed by God today than I do about being stretched by God. I mean, think about it for a moment. In today's consumeristic society do we [the Church] focus too much on what we receive as Christians? We want so much to be the recipients of God's love and grace and forgiveness. We want Him to bless our lives and make us prosper. Don't get me wrong. All these things are gracious gifts that God freely gives to us. But what is our response to these amazing gifts? A simple 'thank you very much'? Or is there a responsibility to respond in obedience and commitment? Well duh! We all know the answer to that is a resounding "YES!" Why is it so hard though?

Growing up, sports were my life. I am so thankful that my parents kept me active as a child and taught me the simple disciplines that would later make me successful in life. I did everything as little kid. I remember wrestling at the age of 4 and up. I remember playing competitive golf when I was so young that our tournaments were only 3 holes long! I participated in BMX racing. I was on the Plantation Swim Team (still have my iddy biddy speedo :-). I played soccer, little league baseball, YMCA basketball, and of course Pop Warner football when I was finally old enough! Football was my favorite. I remember as a kid I had it all planned out. I still remember sitting in Skipper's, my favorite seafood restaurant in Boise, Idaho and laying out my future plans to my parents. "I'm going to USC to play for the Trojans and then get drafted to the Buffalo Bills." That was the plan and it was going to take a lot of hard work, dedication, and a lifetime of discipline.

I did continue to play sports in junior high and high school, choosing to focus on football and track. One thing God gifted me with is speed. I didn't really have the size for football (5'9" and a buck thirty), but I had speed. I had the fastest forty yard dash time on the Mountain View football team, my personal best time being 4.43 seconds. Again, if I really wanted to see my NFL dream come true, I would have to be more disciplined than I could possible imagine. If there was a place for discipline, it was at Mountain View High School.

Mountain View had a huge reputation for their sports program. They were the best at everything. It wasn't quite as hardcore as Navy SEAL training, but it sure was close - at least to a 16 year old. I remember getting up at 5:30 and hitting the track and running till some guys would puke their dinners up from the night before. I remember being in the weight room every day, pushing our bodies to the limit. Day after day. It was rough and there were times when I wanted to quit, but I stuck with it. While I was at Mountain View we went 40-1, winning two State Championships. The one loss came in triple overtime of the Semi-finals my senior year. Discipline? I will tell you those few years of my life were the most discipline years I have ever experienced.

God got a hold of me my junior year of high school and convinced me that the NFL wasn't truly my life's dream. Honestly, I never would have made it to the NFL anyway, but you can't fault me and every other young guy for wanting that! Nevertheless, on the spring break mission trip to Mexico building houses, God revealed to me that our world is full of broken and hurting people. He needed some more workers and asked me if I might consider joining His team to bring His Kingdom here on earth. That is when I heard the call. I responded. "Lord, take my life. It's is Yours."

The rest is history.

Sorry for the long explanation, but now that I am a pastor I am sitting here wondering where the discipline went? If there was some sort of spiritual football or Navy SEAL training, would I have what it takes to make it through? Honestly, I think a lot of times my approach to the Christian life is that I have accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior and now it's just time to enjoy life and coast on cruise control. This is not how the Apostle Paul saw the Christian life.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

This speaks to me. I know what it is to run a race. I know what it means to compete in a game. Do I view my life as a disciple this way? Paul did. William Barclay writes,

"Paul was always fascinated by the picture of the athlete. An athlete must train with intensity if he is to win his contest; and Corinth knew how thrilling contests could be, for at Corinth the Isthmian games, second only to the Olympic games, were held. Furthermore, the athlete undergoes this self-discipline and this training to win a crown of laurel leaves that within days will be a withered chaplet. How much more should the Christian discipline himself to win the crown which is eternal life."

I want to wrap this up and I apologize for this going on, but this is where I am at. I can't get this word discipline out of my mind. Part of me hates it because I know it means pain. But we all know the saying, "no pain no gain." Thus, please help me as I seek to live a more disciplined life. Let's help each other as we spur one another on towards living godly lives. Here are five things in my life that I am choosing to be more disciplined in. Pray for me and keep me accountable to the 'strict training' that is being a disciple of Jesus. Thank you in advance!

Five areas I am disciplining myself in:

1) My relationship with God - uninterrupted quality prayer, daily time in the Word, listening to Him speak and guide me

2) My ministry and relationships - taking the time to give myself to people (family, friends, the broken and the hurting)

3) Education - reading and listening to podcasts to learn more and sharpen myself
(I made a goal this year to read 25 books...so far I have read 15)

4) Honing my musical skills - taking voice lessons and working on improving my guitar skills

5) Physical fitness - running 3-5 times per week, working out, and eating healthy

Solitude

In this busy, chaotic, fast-paced world we live in I am reminded of the dire need for the discipline of solitude. Though we find it hard to be alone and away from matters that keep us occupied, it is in that place that God can intimately shape us. Solitude can be the best remedy for the weary soul.

"In solitude I get rid of my scaffolding: no friends to talk with, no telephone calls to make, no meetings to attend, no music to entertain, no books to distract, just naked, vulnerable, weak, sinful, deprived, broken, nothing." - Henri Nouwen

God of Wrath

So I definitely waited in line last Friday morning at 6am for the new iPhone and it was well worth it. Along with the amazing GPS tracking and other really cool 3rd party applications, lifechurch.tv developed a Bible application that gives me 15 different translations at the touch of my fingertips. In the program there are three random chapters selected per day for daily reading. Today as I was waiting for a meeting I decided to read one of them. It was Jeremiah 4 which doesn't happened to be a very positive and uplifting passage. Here is how it starts off:

1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,

2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."

3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
"Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.


This is a plea to RE-TURN. Return to what is true. Return to what is good. Return to the source of love and joy. "Return to me," says the LORD. God is giving Israel a chance to turn around and leave their idols. He is pleading for them to come back to Him. My favorite part of God's plea is for them to circumcise their hearts. Circumcision was a physical sign that Israel belonged to God. Yet, on the inside these people were completely unfaithful to Him. This just reiterates that God is interested in our hearts not our outward appearance.

It is easy to look at Israel and think they were a bunch of idiots, which they were. Time and time again they were unfaithful to their God despite all His patience and forgiveness. Yet, we are just like Israel whether we will admit it or not. Sure we don't have statues of idols displayed in our living room, but we do have idols - things we chose to value over God at times.

We find out that Jeremiah's warning is not heeded by Israel and that God does indeed bring wrath on His people. In 586 b.c. Israel loses everything. God uses a pagan nation, Babylon, to humble His people greatly. It is the consequence of their actions and their lack of trust in Him.

Many people write-off stories like these because it is soooo "Old Testament." I mean, we are living in the New Covenant now right? Jesus has come and conquered sin and death. The cross has given us forgiveness from our sins, so there is no more wrath of God right!? Somehow I don't think it is quite that simple. Jesus says, "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." He also says, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." That sort of sounds like what happened to Israel when they didn't trust God and follow Him. Maybe we too are still held accountable for our actions. Maybe we need to try and understand what Proverbs means when it says that we need to have "The fear of the Lord" in us.

Yes Jesus died for us. Yes He has washed our sins away. However, that does not free us from the responsibility of trusting and obeying Him. That is why Philippians urges us to 'continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' This is not an easy road to travel, but it is well worth it!

Who is the Customer?

I recently went on the Junior High summer camp trip in beautiful Malibu, California. It was so nice and refreshing to be near the beach and feel the cool ocean breeze. I also really loved hanging out with junior high kids again. They are wild, crazy and just fun to be around. Oh, and man can they have fun worshiping God! Jumping, shouting, singing to the top of their lungs....My favorite time was doing Crowder's tune, "We Won't Be Quiet" and having them just shout it out! Like Crowder, I used a megaphone on that song and it was fantastic!

As fun as the trip was, there was one thing that I really wrestled with. I will borrow Bill Hybel's term "holy discontent," to describe the uneasiness that I had through out the week. I came to the realization that sometimes Christian adults can be rather ruthless. Now I am the first to admit that kids (especially Jher's) need discipline. However, what approach do you take with kids who have had no exposure to the church and with Jesus? We are talking about kids who come from broken homes and who have little or no positive influence in their lives at all. Yet, we expect even these kids to be polite and respectful. Maybe just maybe they don't know what that looks like. Maybe we are the only example of that they will ever see. Somehow, yelling at kids and forcing them to behave might not be the best approach.

I think of Jesus with the woman at the well. He had such a marvelous way of exposing her sin yet affirming her at the same time. He even plays dumb a little bit in order not to come across as superior. Jesus found a way to speak the truth in love. I think that we can do the same it just takes a few things to get there. It would require us to slow down and be patient, kind, caring, and altogether interested in the human beings we come in contact with. Jesus wasn't in a hurry, but rather he stopped to sit with this woman. Through His words and actions, He communicated to her that she was the most important thing to Him at that moment. Jesus gave her His full undivided attention. This is what it means to love your neighbor - something I willingly admit that I am not good at.

So who is the customer? Think about when you go into a place like starbucks or a restaurant. We naturally expect to be served. And don't just serve me but, I want service with a smile. Oh and I want my coffee in 12.045 seconds. But when it comes to relationships and more specifically interactions with non-believers, a lot of times this attitude of service is not present. Not that Christianity is a product to be sold, but we have a job to present this hope we have in Christ as something that is freeing, not burdensome. How are junior high kids ever going to know a better life if they are constantly talked down to and told to follow a certain set of rules? After all, they are the customers. People are customers who are looking for something to follow and they will choose whatever option they think is best. What can we offer them? Grace and freedom and hope and peace and rest from the burdens of life through Jesus Christ. I think before we can expect someone to behave like a Christian they must first need to understand the good. They need to first know what we are for, rather than what we are against. Consider what Jesus' says in Matthew 23 to the religious people of His day. May we never fall into this trap!

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.c

15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides!

Following Jesus

I recently read a book by NT Wright (a fantastic author and theologian) called Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship. I am constantly challenged by the concept of discipleship. For some reason I can easily understand my faith in terms of a teacher/student relationship. If there is anyone who I relate with in the Bible it would be the disciples. Though they were slow and didn’t get it most of the time, Jesus still poured His heart and soul into them with confidence that they could be like Him. And they turned out alright. They completely changed and revolutionized the world. There is still hope for you and me after all. :-)

Wright writes this book to help bring a clearer picture of the real biblical Jesus. He admits that many people inside and outside of the church have made up a ‘Jesus’ for themselves, inventing Him to be whatever they wish. Jesus to many Christians makes them feel warm and happy inside, but doesn’t challenge them or suggest them to do something about the plight of the world. However, the real Jesus cared more about the world than our comfortable little feelings. The call of discipleship for us is to do the same.

Something that was incredibly insightful was a chapter about who Jesus is according to the book of Hebrews:

- He is the true Son of God that is higher than the angels (Hebrews 1)
- He was 100% human that ‘lived our life and died our death’ (Hebrews 2)
- He is the true Joshua who leads His people to the promise land (Hebrews 3-4)
- He is the true high priest (mediator between us and God) forever (Hebrews 5-7)
- He is the final sacrifice and the new covenant (Hebrews 8-10)

This leads to the great heroes of the faith in chapter 11. Then chapters 12 and 13 sum everything up. Wright says,

“...it is the Jesus who will guide us through life, the Jesus who meets us today as we feast at His table, the Jesus who summons us gently but clearly to follow Him. And at the heart of this picture we find the cross: the cross which Jesus endured on our behalf, which was the climax of his life of suffering and rejection, which was, as we shall see, the final sacrifice.”


What an amazing and refreshing picture of Jesus!

Wright also wrote about the kingdom of heaven and what that meant to Jesus. He, like many others today, insists that God wants to bring heaven to earth. He points out how so many Christians are sitting around waiting to die and go to heaven. But Jesus wants heaven to be here in this world, NOW! And we, His disciples, are the ones charged to bring it here. This is a scary thought. That is what the disciples must have felt when Jesus gave them the great commission, putting the responsibility of His kingdom in the hands of His students.

If this seems like too daunting of a task, the writer of Hebrews encourages with this:

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."