Could it be that Jesus knew exactly what they were getting themselves into? He knew the endings were not pretty, and even promises it to them in Matthew 5:12. It would seem that we are not only saved unto a full life, but possibly a painful life if the gospel is truly permeating us at every point. Jesus didn’t die for our comforts or vacations. He didn’t die for us to simply have a good life washed free from troubles. However, he promises to sustain us in the troubles and carry us through the storms that are inevitable because of a pursuit of the gospel. He promises his presence because he knows that when we live committed to the gospel and its spreading throughout our neighborhoods and communities even to the rest of the world that bad things will happen.

It worries me for those who seek to exchange this full life that is to be marked with pain for the ease of comfort and religion on the sleeve. I pray that we would be grounded on the gospel of Christ, assured by the promise that he is with us, and daily making disciples for the spread of the kingdom for it is at hand and is coming. For my friends in Spokane, Pullman, Murfreesboro, Nashville, Asia, and other parts of the world, walk in the assurance that Jesus is with us to the end of this age! COntinue to work for the kingdom.

Grace and Peace

This all seems elementary as I sit here and type, yet I have started to wonder how many people grasp this or simply ignore it. I wonder if this a product of the quick and convenient lifestyle or does it go much deeper than that. Quick and convenient in the way of saying our five minute prayer when we have the time and expecting that to carry throughout the day. It is easy to point fingers and reprimand groups for bad teaching (and I believe some is needed), however, does it come back to the understanding of the Gospel, and possibly more than that, the glory of God being displayed in His character and nature. If there is a proper understanding of who God claims to be then do we trust it enough to allow it change how we might live? I believe this is Paul’s argument within his letter to the Colossians. He builds this wonderful understanding of Christ in chapter, displays the work of Christ in chapter 2, and applies both in chapter three to the transformation of the believer. This transformation takes place as one seeks out the character and nature of God in the daily life (Col 3:1-4). (To hear me ramble about this visit this site:  http://gracepointfellowship.org/resources/sermons/2011/3/24/life-transformation-colossians-31-4) Paul understands that a true understanding of who God is and the work accomplished in Christ, will lead one to a place of communing with the Father resulting in the transformation of life from sin to glory. This transformation will one day be fulfilled in the coming of Christ when we will be made like Him.

Yet this is one aspect of the need for prayer within the life of the believer, it is the next one that has challenged me as of late. While sitting in class, discussion of different revivals came out. The name of Evan Roberts was mentioned. Not knowing much about him, I looked him up, and became impressed by his desire to see God work within his community. Roberts as well as others during different movements devoted themselves to prayer that was centered around the glory of God being displayed in their community and throughout the nations. These times of intense prayer and focus on the character and nature of God became pivotal moments of change as people came to know Christ.

It has always been easy for me to pray for myself, but over the past few weeks, I have been asking God to grow me in how I pray for others and my community. It is my desire that my communion with the Father will reach beyond what I see as my needs and reach out to the needs of others. Not just physical needs either. I want to desire change within the community that I live and serve, beginning with the church. During this time of thinking through prayer, I have also been reading the Gospel of John. Throughout John, Jesus constantly speaks of believing in Him, remaining, and being obedient. He teaches of the oneness between Him and the Father, and how we should desire the same with Him and with one another as believers. Jesus teaches that if we remain in Him as the vine then we will produce fruit. Based on the context, I don’t think He is simply leaving it at fruits within ourselves (i.e. fruits of the Spirit), yet extending it out to others coming to know Christ (Jn. 15:16). This is powerful to me! It tells me that if I desire to see change within the lives of those surrounding me, I must pray seeking to remain with Christ and the oneness promised by Him.

The challenge comes in devoting ourselves to a praying life rather than just having a prayer life. This is something that I am still working out in explanation, but it comes when viewing the everyday life through a lens of prayer seeking the Spirit to work. I have seen how it changes my approach to the mundane tasks, yet have yet to experience the fullness of it. But this is where I end as it is where I am at in my journey… In the end, I believe that proper view of God’s glory being displayed in His character and nature (i.e. His faithfulness, mercy, compassion, and grace) will sustain a praying life that will live to see the God desired change one is praying for.

Grace and Peace.

I believe it should be told that as a Christian, I should live in a way that promotes peace among, I do not have to shrink back in my message of the Gospel of Peace that comes through Jesus Christ. When tolerance supersedes, my ability or desire to proclaim the message of the Gospel, I have faltered in my following of Chris and fulfilling of His commission. I see these bumper stickers as doing just that within the Christian community. It under minds the message of the Gospel by telling us to place acceptance above proclamation. While we do not think that as a Christian, we have to be abusive to others in our treatment of them, there is a need to be bold in a message of who Christ is and His offer of salvation that goes out to all men. If Christians truly believe the message of Christ then there will not be a complete acceptance of other religions as alternative ways to know God. To do so, would deny Christ as the One between man and God.

This message of coexistence also falters in another way. It tells us that man can bring about peace and despite having very different ideas of who God is, we can create our own peace and brotherhood. This idea dethrones Christ as the Prince of Peace by denying him as the only way to peace. It denies him of his power to proclaim peace and offer it to others throughout the Gospels. John’s first letter would also be wrong in saying that the only way of fellowship is through Christ. (1 John 1:3-4)

In the end, I don’t really know why other religions would want to come together and mix and mingle in proclaiming one message of God. In doing so, do we not rob ourselves of true belief? Each faith has their idea of who God is, and if we were all honest with one another we have to think one is right and the others are wrong. If not, belief is void of meaning. If there is no action upon our believing that too makes our belief void. I think we do justice to ourselves intellectually and spiritually to disagree rather than simply coexisting. While the surface of this message may have some value, it does falter at least in lining up with a Christian worldview.

Grace and Peace

Anyways, the past couple of months have left me tired and yearning for refreshment. My last post consisted of recounting the struggled endured at the new year mark which was a pinnacle of pain felt in a long time. However, a month or so after that experience, I feel myself recovering emotionally and spiritually. My faith and view of God had been tested like no other time and my view of His church was redeemed a little more. I’m a cynic at best when it comes to the church and myself more frustrated by its structures and disconnect than refreshed or encouraged. The past few weeks have consisted of some of the best conversations and involvement coming from people that I hardly know yet serve alongside of within this organized body. I’ve started to see how this broken sometimes over institutionalized group of people can come together and represent Christ. I’m coming to love the body in a new way beginning to accept refreshment from a source I had written off a long time ago.

The last thing I want to write is this: I’ve seen the goodness of God in so many ways over the 6 weeks. And I would be failing to proclaim His glory without telling of His wonderful works. I have seen Him use the situation with Nicole and the loss of our fist child to restore my dad’s faith. God has taken care of all our medical bills leaving us without a penny to worry about. God has gone above and beyond my expectations in taking care of us and bringing those around us into His glorifying presence. Paul says it like this, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable are his ways!”

A few hours later as I sat emailing my final statement to my professor, I received a phone call from Nicole telling me she was sick. We took her to an urgent care (lack of health insurance) and was instructed to take her straight to the E.R. The E.R. experience was like none other in the fact that it was efficient. Nicole was rushed to the back and tests were started. No one knew what was happening except their was major pain, and her blood pressure dropped dramatically within 20 minutes. As tests came back, we were given the wonderful knews that she was pregnant. Minutes later, that news was overshadowed with the fact that it was a tubal pregnancy and had ruptured. At 10:30pm, she was rushed into surgery having one of her tubes removed. Things went well in surgery more than 2 liters of blood were removed from her stomache. When she came out, she was more distraught over the loss of our first baby than the physical pain she felt. I broke at that point.

As I type, I sit overlooking her hospital bed watching her sleep and wishing I could take her pain. I was meditating this past week on suffering and how I might show Christ through it. Now, here Iam. Some might question my suffering, but I would say to them, “You know nothing of it until you watch one you love deeply writhe in pain physically then emotionally.” But I say all this for one purpose: God is good! God is love! And I believe that the hurt will bring good.

First, let me set a premise for such a conversation. I think that the current model of mainstream churches is wrong when it comes to discipleship. Now, this may come from my frustration with church in general that I constantly battle through or I may be wrong. Also, this is from my experience or people that I’ve talked with in regards to what is available to them. So I’m not saying no one out there is doing anything right. With all that stated, I wonder what a good model of 21st century church discipleship looks like. From personal experience, it seems that most think that Sunday Schools meet this need or book studies to address certain topical issues are expected to address different needs at different times. Not that these are necessarily bad or wrong (it may depend on the teachers), but I’ve found them inadequate for what they are trying to do.

So as a ministry leader or even someone looking for discipleship/ Christian growth, what is ideal? Or how do we adapt to the current situation? Do we ignore it and allow those that truly want to pursue Chris do it and all others sit back? And in doing so, do we neglect the teachings of Christ that speak of the cost of discipleship? And is this affirming a false hope in people and there salvation? I’m not accusing anyone as I wrestle with these questions personally and within a ministry context.

I saw a quote that said, “All disciples are Christians, but not all Christians are disciples.” I disagree with this quote because I don’t think the intention of God’s redemptive plan was to allow people claim the power of Christ while not sacrificing themselves for it. I also believe that such a distinction allows people to be apathetic in their walk and be ok with it. It reinforces the idea of a “good” Christian and “bad” Christian while not addressing the issues of the heart that either push us toward Christ or keep us from Him. So how do we change this? Or do we ignore it and wash our hands of it all together? And what can discipleship look like this day and age?

I’ve read this countless times each time thinking I had a handle on it. I saw it as the ability to fast without makinga big deal about it to others because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite. But then I read it in light of Isaiah 58 where God offers his definition of fasting. It begins by discussing how God doesn’t want Israel’s fast and how they mean nothing because their heart and motivation are completely wrong. They were fasting yet neglecting the poor and widows and placing a “yoke” upon the broken in which they couldn’t bear. God then goes on to say what a true  fast would look like. I encourage you to read this. It’s discouraging of all that I’ve thought to be right.

But here’s the implication for me. It seems that denying myself of food or any other material thing doesn’t constitute a fast. Or it might but that wouldn’t make it pure. But maybe fasting involves not only denying ourselves as much as it means inviting others to eat with us, stay in our house, or investing in lives that normally get looked over. Isaiah 58 tells us that a true fast would be inviting in the broken and poor. And this does not mean taking them to McDonald’s, but inviting them into our homes. This speaks to me because I don’t want to extend myself in these ways. But this is what brings God glory. Not eating seems quite easy to me in light of Isaiah 58.

So maybe a call to fast in Matthew 6 is really a call to feast from Isaiah 58. What if it is? What if we have missed the point for so long and fasting has lost it’s value? Most of the people that I’ve talked to about fasting seem to view it as something dead that holds very little value. It seems that if it was used to engage the broken within the church and society, value and enrichment could be brought back to it. It may become more than a dead ritual to some. (Not saying that fasting is completely dead, but it seems to be how some if not most within the church view it.)

Jesus definitely fasted in a traditional way and there is value in it that I can speak to personally. I think there may be more to it than we really recognize.

grace and peace

But here’s the thing. I ask God to search my heart and reveal the darkness of it and He will. In fact, I haven’t slept the past few nights because of such requests. He has begun to drudge up the things that haunt me that I don’t like to address. At the forefront comes my disobedience in different areas that He has speaking to for some time now. And then I realize that all the recent rants reflect the same thing just on the larger scale. I hope God continues to break me of such self absorved thoughts thinking that I’m better than the rest of the church and on the track when everyone else is off.

So that’s where I’ve been the past few days. I’m sitting and trying to figure out where I got off track. Where I’ve been disobedient or simply ignoring the moving of the Spirit. All pointing fingers does is that it leaves one tired without addressing any real needs or problems. And maybe if I see the issues within my own life and start following God where He is leading me, I’ll stop yelling at the failures of others.

There were all sorts of people. More nationalities were represented than I thought possible. It was a United Nations of Poverty if you will. They were broken and tired looking for someone to help or speak their language. I began talking to a man from Belarus, moving next to a lady from Mexico, getting passed to a Chinese, and continuing for sometime trying to help. The next time I would see all of them again would be as they passed through a line for food again trying to scrounge anything they could and taking more than they could ever eat. They were told to take one milk, but as they passed they begged for two, drinking two or three cups of clean drinking water in line.

The night seemed to have very little redeeming qualities, dignity, or much hope. Then I met the organizer of it all. Gary appeared to be in his late thirties to early forties. He told me his story which began with an alcohol addiction and progressed to drugs. Both took there toll and left him homeless, but didn’t relent. After years of the streets, Jesus rescued him through the use of shelter and someone willing to feed him and take interest in his life. To hear Gary talk about the love of Christ is an amazing experience. And for the past seven years, every Friday night Gary has been feeding the hungry and trying to offer hope to the hopeless through Christ. He talks as if there is no other choice; the only purpose Christ rescued him was for this. So each week the volunteers and himself will go to the nations, the slums, and broken hearted beckoning them to come in to feast. And each week he proclaims the gospel and serves the people. Gary loves much because he’s been forgiven much.

I can’t help but wonder at what might happen if the rest of the church could get on board here. I’m not advocating a purely social gospel. But the fact is the gospel is social and reaches out to those parts of society that seem ugly and smell bad. Jesus walked with the poor, ignorant, sinners, prostitutes, and the socially unacceptable. So let’s imitate our Savior and Lord.

I’ll end this post with a quote from Bono. Some will criticize and acknowledge that it lacks in ways and I agree. But I think there is more truth than we may give credit.

“Love is on the move. Mercy is on the move. God is on the move….. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house…. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.”

During the conversation, he asked what I was doing in Washington so willing to be displaced from family and friends by 3,000 miles. I explained seminary and how I wasn’t going to be a priest, but not really sure what I wanted to do. The first conversation took us quickly through the gospel and ended with his 2 questions of, “How does a good God allow suffering,” and “How do we erase the memories of so many wrongs?” We talked briefly about Paul and his former life before Christ, but I could tell this were some deep things in his soul that still stung.

The second conversation which happened yesterday took a similar turn. He once again began by thrashing the government and discussed the struggles of so many people throughout the world, I listened and tried to make a few points. But then he started discussing different religions and how I was different and what made me think what I believed was better than others. I offered a differences between what I believe about God and his offer of love throguh Christ and other major religions. We discussed how the God of the Bible is the only One who offers to right the wrong without us trying to fulfill a laundry list of moral duties. He then went into how can he constantly keep track of all the sin that he may commit from day to day and what if he forgets one and dies, is that it for him? We were able to discuss the one time forgiveness of God that is good for all eternity. And that it’s not a matter of trying to keep track of everything or having to constantly ask forgiveness, but that we worship for the forgiveness and sacrifice that’s been offered for us. And we have hope in the security that God offers through His grace and mercy. The conversation ended soon after and it seemed that the Spirit was working within him.

I mention all this because of the impact the conversations have had on myself. I’m more like Dennis in my beliefs than I ever want to admit. I want to earn my grace and question God sometimes as to what I need to do to prove myself to Him. But I never think that it’s not a matter of proving myself to God rather than proving myself to me. Not only this but I can’t help but think of how many more people are out there like Dennis? They don’t know what to believe, don’t know what to do, and feel so helpless that they stop caring. And how many of them that I ignore each day? So my prayer is that I would truly die to myself and be willing to be a vessel of the gospel.

walk in peace