Day Twelve: Developing Your Friendship with God

What hit home for you in the reading today?

It's often too easy to forget or underestimate the power of our choices. We make a choice, and fail to appreciate what the resulting consequences could be. We waffle on making choices and miss opportunities that may not come back...for awhile. We also sometimes don't realize that we have the ability to choose in more situations than we do. So it is with our relationship with God: You are as close to God as you choose to be.

Are you mad at God? That's a choice you made. Are you disappointed with God? Again, that's a choice. Are you apathetic towards God? Are you uninterested in God? Are you frustrated by God? All choices you make on a regular basis. Wait wait, you tell me: those aren't choices! That's how you feel because of what has happened to you. No, no, I tell you: things happened and you chose to feel a certain way about it. 

Just because you feel a certain way towards something doesn't justify your choice. Things happen in life, and you can either choose to blame God because of how you feel, or you can choose to get more knowledge and understanding despite your feelings of doubt and frustration. Feeling angry or resentful or bitter towards God doesn't have to be the ultimate driver of your choices. When you let your feelings be the most powerful force in making choices, you have surrendered your freewill. 

God wants a friendship with you based on your choices, not just on your feelings. God wants us to talk with him, listen to him, work with him, enjoy his Creation with him, and so on. God wants you to trust him, have faith in his capabilities, believe in his promises, and love him back. God wants you to care about what he cares about, to get angry about what angers him, to delight in what delights him.

God is very interested in you, and he wants you to be interested in him. That's how friendships work. And those are all choices that we can make - not just because of how we feel, but more so because of what we know to be good and right.

What can you do to enjoy your friendship with God? What feelings do you have towards God that are souring your relationship with God? What are some good choices you know God wants you to make even though you don't feel like it?

Day Eleven: Becoming Best Friends with God

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The basics of a friendship are this: someone you enjoy talking to and listening to, and they enjoy talking to you, and listening to you. I suppose a best friend is that person whom you enjoy talking to and listening to more than anyone else.

To be close to God, then, means that he's someone we really enjoy talking to and listening to. To be close also includes having shared experiences together, the memories of which continue to fuel the close relationship. Talking and listening are an experience that helps bring a relationships closer, but going through celebrations and trials, through tasks and assignments together playing and planning together are also key experiences.

Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

To become best friends with God, we need to start on the conversational piece. If we approach God without any desire to build a relationship with him, we'll miss out on much of the conversation. We'll reveal that we just want God to do stuff for us, not really be a friend to him.

Granted, it's a little harder to be friends with someone you can't see, you can't punch in the arm, you can't hear on the phone, you can't sip coffee with. But then God isn't quite like all our other friends. If we just start with talking AND listening with God, we'll make good progress in our friendship.

There were some good reminders for me in this chapter about friendship with God:

You can carry on a continuous, open-ended conversation with him throughout the day, talking with him about whatever you are doing or thinking at that moment. "Praying without ceasing" means conversing with God while shopping, driving, working, or performing any other everyday tasks.

The key to friendship with God, [Brother Lawrence] said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude toward what you do. What you normally do for yourself you begin doing for God, whether it is eating, bathing, working, relaxing, or taking out the trash.

It's helpful to keep the idea of friendship in your mind when talking with God - keep the prayers short, make them to the point, be direct. Some of you don't pray more because you just don't know what to say.  A good place to start is to pray a short piece of Scripture that captures the essence of what you want God to know or do.

For example, you could repeat in your mind (or out loud): "Lord, have mercy"; or "Lord, help me believe"; or "Lord, your will be done"; or "Lord, give us today our daily bread"; or "Lord, thank you" or you can come up with many, many other short prayers.

Here's one of the best suggestions of the chapter - especially for those of you who worry a lot, who are burdened with anxiety and fear:

When you think about a problem over and over in your mind, that's called worry. When you think about God's Word over and over in your mind, that's meditation. If you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate! You just need to switch your attention from your problems to Bible verses. The more you meditate on God's Word, the less you will have to worry about.

Day Ten: The Heart of Worship

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The whole chapter hit home for me today. It's stuff that I already know, stuff I've been doing, but stuff I need to be reminded of, stuff that I need to recommit to. Again. Surrender IS such an unpopular word. I cringe at the thought of surrendering. Yet... when it comes to God, it IS the heart of worship. I needed to remember that to surrender to God is not about turning off my mind, or abandoning the need to choose, or passively awaiting whatever happens next.

Surrender is what opens up my heart to God, to his love, his direction, his plans, his tasks for me. Without surrender I'm guessing at what he's up to, guessing as to what I ought to do next, and guessing as to how best help others. I don't want to guess at how to make the most of my life here on Earth.

C.S. Lewis observed, "The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become - because he made us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be.... It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own."

How do I know when I'm drawing back from a surrendered attitude? Here's some paragraph's that were revealing for me:

A.W. Tozer said, "The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us."

We aren't God and never will be. We are humans. It is when we try to be God that we end up most like Satan, who desired the same thing.

We accept our humanity intellectually, but not emotionally. When faced with our own limitations, we react with irritation, anger, and resentment. We want to be taller (or shorter), smarter, stronger, more talented, more beautiful, and wealthier. We want to have it all and do it all, and we become upset when it doesn't happen. Then when we notice that God gave others characteristics we don't have, we respond with envy, jealousy, and self-pity. 

This stuff is very convicting for me.

Here's a couple of more quotes that I found to be inspiring:

Surrendered to God, you don't have to fear or surrender to anything else. William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, said, "The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender." Surrendered people are the ones God uses." 

Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lusts, or ego. You were designed to worship God - and if you fail to worship him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. You are free to choose what you surrender to, but you are not free from the consequences of that choice.

Sometimes it takes years, but eventually you discover that the greatest hindrance to God's blessing in your life is not others, it is yourself - your self-will, stubborn pride, and personal ambition. You cannot fulfill God's purposes for your life while focusing on your own plans. Jesus said, "If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me."

What about you? What did you find to be convicting or inspiring in the reading today?

Day Nine: What Makes God Smile?

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The Bible says, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it." This runs against the grain of our usual tendencies. Yet when we make it a regular habit of trying to make God smile, we end up making a lot of other people smile to. Including us. At the core of this effort to God make smile is love and trust, which ought to seem kind of obvious - this is at the core of what makes the other people in our life smile.

Trusting is an act of worship. Just as parents are pleased when children trust their love and wisdom, your faith makes God happy. The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."

As a parent, I know how pleasing it is when my children obey my requests without whining or ignoring me. I suppose the same thing goes for God, we make him smile when we do what he asks of us.

God doesn't owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can't. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.

Maybe we underestimate the power of gratitude, but its encouraging to remember that God smiles when we are thankful towards Him. The more we notice the good that God does in us and through us and around us, the more our respect and awe will go up for Him, as well as our words of appreciation and approval. This is the kind of worship that makes God smile and us as well. It's win-win kind of worship!

It's also really cool to think that God smiles when we use our skills and abilities for Him. We often assume that the only things that really make God smile is doing spiritual stuff, but everything we do can be an opportunity to make God smile.

Right now my boys are laying on the kitchen floor coloring with markers. Levi and Isaac are filling in some Toy Story pages, and Eli is coloring his fingernails. It makes me smile, and it makes God smile!

More than just the little things that make God smile, he smiles when we accept who we are and live out of that.

You don't bring glory or pleasure to God by hiding your abilities or by trying to be someone else. You only bring him enjoyment by being you. There are no unspiritual abilities, just misused ones. Start using yours for God's pleasure. 

God even smiles when we enjoy his creation - our smiling at a sunrise or racing clouds or swaying trees or the licks of a puppy - this all is pleasing to Him. It doesn't take much to make God smile in terms of knowledge. It's really mostly about attitude: do we even want to make God smile?

Once we make that choice to please God, we'll find Him giving us even more reasons to clap our hands in glee. Not that this eliminates hardships and trials - but rather the strength and the determination to keep looking up, to keep getting up, to keep trusting and loving God with our hearts opened up.

What about you? What was challenging or encouraging to you in the reading today?

Day Eight: Planned for God's Pleasure

What hit home for you in the reading today?

Isn't it nice to know that God was smiling at your birth? That's probably not an image we consider very often, but maybe we should. We also probably don't dwell on the idea that "we exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight." Our tendency is to stay very very focused on our own existence and our own efforts to be happier. Interestingly, our best shot at happiness may come from seeking to make God happy. What do you think?

Worship has all sorts of boring connotations. There are plenty of places where "worship" is the scheduled event, and it's common for there to not be much "life" there either.  But I'll bet those places don't connect the idea of "worship" with the idea of "pleasure." The Bible says, "The LORD is pleased only with those who worship him and trust his love." I'll bet you know plenty of people who "worship" God but  lack in the love and trust category. This is what gives worship a bad name. God wants us to enjoy life with him, and thus worship is a response of gratitude. Worship out of duty is dull.

And is it even worth discussing the subject of worship and music? By now everybody knows that worship is far more than music. Right?

I think these days the really big issue we ought to deal with is this: Worship is NOT for your benefit! In our consumer culture, we go to church for what we can get out of it. And if we don't get out of it what we think we ought to be getting out of it, then we shop around. But if going to church is mostly about worship of God, then it's not about what you get out of it, but what you put into it. A lot of church-goers are lazy gluttons seeking to gorge themselves on live music that fits their taste, and soak in a sermon that either makes them laugh or feel good about their life. Oh, and don't get me started about programming in the church for kids and youth - talk about competition to attract the most customers!

What would a church have to do to remind its members that they come to worship - so they had better do their own prep work so that they are ready? We don't go to church really even to learn more about the Bible - not as an end in itself. The learning is connected to our lifestyle of worship - what else can we do that fuels gratitude, trust and love with God and others? Learning more interesting Bible facts is what lazy glutton Christians enjoy! A Bible fact is useless if it's not absorbed in an attitude of worship. The Bible says, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are from from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men." 

What is God looking for from people who want to worship him? "Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering." When this is your lifestyle, worship on Sunday is an overflow of the rest of the week. When your everyday life is placed before God as a gift to him, then what makes Sunday unique is not worship, but worship with lots of other worshippers. Sunday is not a day of worship, Everyday is. Sunday, though, is a day of worship with friends and neighbors and family and people who are not like you.

Worship on Sundays has gotten a lot of bad press. Maybe we should just focus on how to help people worship God on all the other days of the week, and then Sunday will take care of itself. If people aren't ever thankful or open to God during the week, forcing it on Sunday will get stale. If we can work to offer up our everyday life to God, and fuel an attitude of thankfulness towards him, and point to him as the giver of good gifts at work and school and home and church, then Sunday worship will have a whole new energy. That would be fun! God would enjoy it, and so would your friends and neighbors and family.

What about you? How has your concept of worship changed? 

Day Seven: The Reason for Everything

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The chapter opens up with this verse:

Everything comes from God alone.
Everything lives by his power,
and everything is for his glory.
Romans 11v36 (LB)

It's a very radical verse to write and believe. Whether you are inclined to believe some form of creationism or some form of evolution, do we believe everything - material stuff and humans - come from God? Do we believe that God sustains the world, that his energy is what breathed life into our existence? And do we believe that everything is to bring glory to God? All three are outrageous beliefs and have their own difficulties and rewards. The last one is what this chapter is about - and it has it's own unique problems.

Some people are suspicious of a God who wants so much glory. They wonder if maybe this God is insecure, that he needs validation, he needs to be praised a lot. Is that what is going on here? Is it wrong for a Creator to desire recognition and appreciation for the created art? What should a Creator feel if what was lovingly and skillfully created gets trashed, maimed, and mocked?

What we believe about God shapes what we do with our life. When we believe that God is the source of our Universe and Humanity - (we have no idea how He did it though...), we begin to better understand where we stand with God. We don't stand as equals with Him. But we do stay thankful for the good gifts he gives us. Even then, is it about what God can do for us, or is it about the One who got everything going? Or is it mutual - a give and take relationship where it's a win-win for both?

It's pretty obvious that in this relationship with God, he's got a better perspective on reality, on what is going on amongst us. We are the ones who have a very difficult time remembering where we stand with God, or remembering that we belong to God, and that the whole Earth is a gift to us. It's a sin to disregard God the way we often do. And the more we disregard God, the more we bring corrosion into our life. If God is the one with the power to make life work for us, and we belittle his contribution, we're cutting ourselves off from some very helpful help.

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."
It's worth spending some time reflecting on this thought, this belief. The idea of God's glory can be kind of abstract, despite this chapter's noble attempt to explain it in practical ways. But God's glory is best experienced in relationship, though it is beautifully displayed in nature. I struggle to understand what it means to give God glory. I struggle to understand what it means to be satisfied in him.

Here's my best understanding of it so far:
When we trust God, when we go along with His prompts and directions, when we are used by Him to accomplish something good, when we are an available instrument for His rescue and restoration work, when we are open to what He wants us to become, and when we accept Him on His terms with peace, we are bringing great delight to Him and affirmation. We are telling God through our actions that he is trustworthy, that he is capable, that he is enjoyable, that he is helpful, that he is brilliant, that he is mercy-full, that he is just, that he is always present.

This is called praise. Or glory. Too many of us give too little praise/glory to people in our life. We crave it for ourselves, but rarely give enough of it out. We flatter too often, but rarely do we make the effort to give authentic praise or appreciation. There is much benefit in giving praise or glory, I always feel better when I do it, and so does the one who received it. Doing so doesn't make all the bad stuff in my life go away, but it does help me refocus.

Wherever you are at in our knowledge of God, or in your attitude towards God, or in your confusion or anger with God, I'd encourage you to at least open yourself up to acknowledge the good that has come your way from God. And thank him for at least that stuff. It's a start.

What about you? What convicted you or inspired you in the reading today?

Day Six: Life Is a Temporary Assignment

What hit home for you in the reading today?

I'm going to be very honest here: I don't think about heaven that much. I don't dwell on eternal life that much. I don't spend much time pondering the temporary nature of life on earth. My friend Don Gentry does, and he has encouraged me to consider the life to come more than I do. So I've been trying. It's not that I don't ever think about heaven, it's just that it's not often a source of motivation for me. Maybe it should be. Is it for you? In what way? I'd be interested to read your answer, to learn from you.

This was a thought-provoking paragraph for me:

In order to keep us from becoming too attached to earth, God allows us to feel a significant amount of discontent and dissatisfaction in life - longings that will never be fulfilled on this side of eternity. We're not completely happy here because we're not supposed to be! Earth is not our final home; we were created for something much better. 

And this one:

The Bible says, "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." It is a fatal mistake to assume that God's goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. 

When we think of the ancient story of Adam and Eve, they were given work to do in the Garden of Eden. It may have been a beautiful and verdant region, but there were still plenty of assignments for each day. We live many years removed from that story, yet it is still the same earth - just with a lot more gashes and bruises. There is still plenty of work to do, and God is still handing out assignments to those that are willing. The temporary nature of the assignments are due to the life-span of you and me. Our work, upon our death, will be picked up by someone else. But what kind of work will we have done with the few years we have here on earth?

What about you? What convicted you or inspired you in the reading today?

Day Five: Seeing Life from God's Point of View

What hit home for you in the reading today?

The initial sentence of the chapter was very helpful: The way you see your life shapes your life. Very true. As complicated as life can be, I suppose there are many life metaphors that fit at different points, but some are probably more helpful than others. Seeing our life as a test and a trust are very helpful, more so than seeing life as a roller-coaster, or seeing life as a series of repeating, ascending circles.

I really liked this paragraph:

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. You are always being tested. God constantly watches your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness, disappointment, and even the weather! He even watches the simplest actions such as when you open the door for others, when you pick up a piece of trash, or when you're polite toward a clerk or waitress.

And this one:

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God. 

And another:

The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, "God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out."

It was helpful to see life as a test, but also as a trust, that we are stewards of what God has given us.

Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, "The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his"

Looking back over the past ten years, it is so clear how the decade was full of test after test after test. On this end of it, God has helped me pass those tests. Many of the tests were grueling, excruciatingly difficult, covering long-stretches of time and uncertainty. But here I am, on this end of them, and I've passed. Not that the tests are done, but rather, they set me up for even more difficult tests. Not because God is a irritable task-master, but because through these tests I've become stronger, wiser, gentler, and loyaler.

And the tests have helped refine the my usage of the gifts God has stewarded to me. The tests and the trusts go hand in hand. My wife is a gift. My daughter is a gift. My sons are a gift. The best gifts. They are often the primary source of my tests, but they are also my most important trust. My life with them is the arena where Jesus brings out the best in me, as well as give out the best through me.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Day Four: Made to Last Forever

What hit home for you in the reading today?

This can be an easy chapter to gloss over, since it seem so theological and religious and not very practical. The topic, though, is pretty important to the whole goal of this project. Here's some ideas in the chapter that I found to be helpful reminders or insights:

This life is not all there is.

Your relationship to God on earth will determine your relationship to him in eternity.

C.S. Lewis said, "There are two kinds of people: those who say to God 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says, "All right then, have it your way.'"

The closer you live to God, the smaller everything else appears.

To make the most of your life, you must keep the vision of eternity continually in your mind and the value of it in your heart.

"For us this is the end of all the stories... But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All of their life in this world... had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever and in which every chapter is better than the one before."

...God offers you an opportunity beyond your lifetime. The Bible says, "[God's] plans endure forever; his purposes last eternally."

You may feel it's morbid to think about death, but actually it's unhealthy to live in denial of death and not consider what is inevitable.

Just as the nine months you spent in your mother's womb were not an end in themselves but preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next.

From my point of view, describing life on earth as a dress rehearsal for life in eternity is not very helpful, well not to me. Life on earth is very important, and so is life in eternity. Both are crucial to life with God.  Life on earth is more than a dress rehearsal. But I get the point being made.

Also, I disagree that if our time on earth is all there is to our life, that we should encourage everyone to start living it up immediately. The Way of Jesus, or even a good and ethical secular life, has much advantage over hedonism and rampant narcism for this life. A party life becomes unsustainable pretty quick. The hope of eternity is beautiful and essential, but it is not the only compulsion we have for being good and loving while alive on earth.

What is heaven like? It's probably fair to reason that Jesus' resurrected body is what our resurrected body will be like. So imagine yourself existing for eternity... kind of scary, isn't it? Except that our resurrected body is "like" the original, recognizable, yet renewed, restored. And our personality, our "essence" is like the original, recognizable, yet renewed, restored. So what will we do for eternity? Probably a lot of what we are doing now, except in a universe void of death and sin. Those two factors profoundly shape life on earth. Imagine if there is no death or sin... it's easy if you try.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Day Three: What Drives Your Life?

What hit home for you in the reading today?

There was much in this chapter that made me think. For example, I'm one of those people that is driven by the need for approval. It's a very annoying situation, and I'm trying to work on it, but it's still there. I'd like to think that the drive isn't as strong as it used to be, since I've been trying to seek God's approval more.

There was also much to think about with the five benefits of living a purpose-driven life. I definitely feel like my life has meaning, and I think my life is simplified, though I can sense the need for even more of it. I'm focused and motivated, yet there is something in me that keeps pushing for more focus and less dabbling, something that desires more passion and less weariness.

The last two questions of the chapter are pretty important. What did you do with Jesus?, and What did you do with my gifts? 

When I say that I believe in Jesus, I'm obviously confessing that I think he is real and exists; but I'm also say that I have confidence in him, I think he's brilliant, capable, reliable, and persistent.

When I reflect on what I'm doing with God's gifts to me, there are moments of paranoia that I'm not doing enough, but most of the time there is a relaxed intentionality - God is always at work, he's the one that bears responsibility for accomplishing his Will and Way on Earth, I just need to be willing to join in on what he started and sustains and will finish.

"God... is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes."

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today? 

Day Two: You Are Not an Accident

What hit home for you in the reading today?

Here was the most helpful part of the chapter for me:

"God formed the earth... He did not create it to be empty but formed it to be inhabited." Why did God do all this? Why did he bother to go to all the trouble of creating a universe for us? Because he is a God of love. This kind of love is difficult to fathom, but it's fundamentally reliable. You were created as a special object of God's love! God made you so he could love you. This is a truth to build your life on.

It's not uncommon for me to beat myself up due to my failures, my weaknesses, my shortcomings. I've got my own list of sins that stir up shame and guilt. Sometimes I pay too much attention to what isn't right in my life. And then I feel powerless to change. Which only makes the despair more heavy. But... if I let myself remember God's perspective on my situation and me... I don't have to stay so glum.

God knows me, he knows everything that has ever happened to me, he knows why it happened, he knows what is going on in my life now because of everything that has shaped me. He knows where this stuff is taking me in the future. But he doesn't just sit there with a knowing smirk. God has got his sleeves rolled up, working in me and with me and through me to bring good out of everything that has ever happened to me and by me. Why does he do this? This is what love does. This is what God does.

God loves me just the way I am, but he loves me too much to leave me this way. I am not an accident in God's eyes, I am someone he can use to fulfill his redemptive and renewing purposes in our world.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

Day One: It All Starts with God

What hit home for you in the reading today?

I could feel myself resisting the truth of this statement:

You were made for God, not vice-versa, and life is about letting God use you for his purposes, not your using him for your own purpose. The Bible says, "Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." 

It can be almost too easy for me to stay focused on what I wish God would do for me or my friends. While there is nothing wrong with dwelling on what I want God to do, if I dwell too long I will miss what God is actually already going for me and my friends.

When I pay too much attention to all the things I'm curious about, all the things I'm interested in, I tend to get very overwhelmed, and then do nothing, or at least I procrastinate. And it's very annoying when I do that. I'm feeling convicted to relax about all the things I want to do in life, and instead of getting anxious become aware of what opportunities God is presenting to me.

If the desires in me come from God, then he'll help me find ways to fulfill them - His way, His time. But the fulfilling of those desires is not about me and my happiness, but about letting God bring out the best in me for what he wants to accomplish in our world. If I insist on always being happy and fulfilled, I'll make a lot of people miserable. If I relax and focus on what God is doing in and through me, the smiles will last longer and mean so much more.

What about you? What convicted or inspired you in the reading today?

A 40 Day Journey with a Purpose

By being part of Anchor, Lent & 40 Days of Purpose, you are giving yourself a daily opportunity to move forward in your life, forward in a bit different direction, with a bit more intention, maybe a bit more hope.


As you walk this journey, make some time in the early morning or early evening, or even on your noon lunchbreak, to do some reading and thinking. Working your way through the Purpose Driven Life won't be hard, but it will be helpful when you work at it, when you chew on the material, focus on what convicts you, and open yourself up to some change. You get out of it what you put into it.


So, for 40 days you get permission to have fifteen or thirty minutes all to yourself. You, a book, a pen, a mug of hot chocolate, and a curious heart. Reflect as you read, no need to race through it. Write as you reflect, it'll help you remember what you read. And pray as you write, make the writing your prayer, your questions to God, or let them be questions from God. Does that make sense?


You may not agree with or understand everything written in this book, but it should prompt some inspired ideas, some thinking that leads you in a renewed direction.

Let God transform you 
into a new person 

by changing the way you think. 

Then you will know 

what God wants you to do.  

(Romans 12v2 TEV)

40 Days of Lent & Desire

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 Days of Lent. Not only is it a season of reflection and repentance, but also of desire.

Maybe you don't feel like you have permission to pursue what you desire, or you feel guilty about it. Maybe you keep your desires secret, for fear of being smirked at. Or because your desires are selfish. Or your just shy.

But reflection and repentance is not about the suppression or rejection of desire, but about renewing desires about what is good and noble and beautiful and true and freeing. It's about unleashing the desire to truly love and be loved, imitating the way God loves us.

What do you desire? Is it good? Is it a win-win-win for you, others, and God? Or is it just about you?

Some of you have such high expectations for everything and everyone that you're usually disappointed most of the time. What if you focused less on all those expectations you cling to, and followed your God-given desires to be more loving, more patient, more kind, more forgiving, more reliable, more humble, more loyal, more generous, more strong?

40 Days of Desire. Interested?

40 Days of Lent & The Purpose Driven Life

The 40 Days of Lent are as good as time as any to make some changes in your life. In order to make lasting change, you need to do it for about forty days. And you need to do something different, something good again and again. Reading through The Purpose Driven Life (again, for some of you...) may be what you need - a helpful book that reorients your perspective onto the Way of Jesus in this world. If you're getting frustrated or bogged down in life, you may need some good reminders on what the Way of Jesus can be like for you.

Starting Ash Wednesday there will be a posting everyday on the reading from The Purpose Driven Life. For forty days, as you read and reflect your way through the book, you can come here for more insights, as well as a place to leave your thoughts and comments.

I encourage you to start making some good changes in your life. One way is to start reading with other Anchor friends The Purpose Driven Life. Do it! Many of you from Anchor have a book already. Find it, pull it out, dust it off and jump in again. If you don't have a book, let me know and I'll get you one.

Cookbooks for a Cause!

Friends,

Anchor is getting creative in how we can increase the support of our favorite causes. We want to partner with you to further these great causes we care about.

Last year Anchor collaborated...
with Habitat for Humanity - helped a family build a new home;

with Wings of Hope - provided kitchen supplies for women transitioning out of prison;

with Grace Presbyterian Church - provided tons of school supplies for their back to school event;

with A Hope Center - raising funds through their walk-a-thon

with Community Harvest Food Bank - giving away many, many, many food vouchers

with NeighborLink - cleaned up an alley, the backyard of a neighbor along with a front window and an oven

with Literacy Alliance - hosting their GED and literacy classes

Our current project to increase our support to our favorite causes is to create a cookbook; if we can sell three-hundred of them we raise $2,100 - which would almost double what we were able to give away last year.

How can you help? First, submit a recipe. By doing this you will also place a pre-order. We'll be selling each cookbook for $10; when you submit your recipe(s) you also put down $5.

Second, come up with one or two or even three friends or family members that you know would enjoy an Anchor Cookbook. Our goal is to have it published and available by Easter. Which means you'll have it in plenty of time for Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Independence Day! :)

Since you are on Facebook, send a message to Cliff Richards or Heidi Richards (search them if you're not a "friend" with them) or hit reply to this message if you are interested.

We need your recipe submitted by Sunday January 24th! Cliff and Heidi will have instructions for you on how to submit it and be able to answer any questions you may have.

This is an exciting project - it's great to have so many people already working to get their recipes in and sharing with us who they'll be giving cookbooks to.

Thanks,

Tim

Jesus and Faith

It is really quite amazing that anybody believes that Jesus was the Messiah, that he was resurrected form the dead, and that he will return someday to rule the world. Considering how difficult it was for the first Eleven disciples to believe Jesus, how much more difficult for us today? Jesus himself shows up to the disciples with holes in his wrists and feet, he talks like Jesus, looks like Jesus, moves like Jesus - and they still think he is a ghost. Even though he told them - and at this point there are eyewitness accounts by others... - that he would return to them - they doubt.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.

He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have."
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet.

And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?"
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, "This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Luke 24v36-45 [TNIV]

Maybe we Christians should go easy on people who don't believe Jesus. Maybe we shouldn't take for granted our own faith. Maybe we should attribute our experience of faith to the category of miracle. And maybe we shouldn't be so hard on ourselves when we lack a stronger faith. Maybe it's no wonder Jesus was hoping for at least mustard-seed sized faith from his followers. Or the man who told Jesus he believed, but then cried out for help with his unbelief. Maybe to believe in Jesus we need Jesus himself to show up.

Jesus' strategy is interesting, upon his departure he promises that the Father will send the Spirit to become at home in each disciple. Follow the reasoning here: if the Same Spirit that was in Jesus is now in some disciples, and if it is this Spirit that helps people believe and serve and love and endure and rescue and heal and feed and clothe and celebrate and share... and if it is this Spirit that made Jesus capable of accomplishing what he did, and if that Same Spirit is in us... then Jesus is among us. It's a miracle that anybody believes Jesus, but Jesus is everywhere these days, and he's opening hearts and eyes in every city, in every country, in every continent.

Maybe it's not helpful to focus on all the people who don't have faith in Jesus. Maybe it's more helpful to notice everyone who does have faith. Maybe we'll be surprised at who does believe. Maybe we'll be surprised at how a "little" faith goes a long ways. Maybe in our work to see Jesus in the world, to see and partner with those who do believe, we'll let Jesus plant more seeds of faith in the least expected places.

Nobody expected the Jewish Messiah to come from Nazareth. Nobody expected the Galilean fisherman Peter to lead a movement. Nobody expected Jesus to be popular with corrupt tax agents and starving prostitutes. And so maybe nobody should be surprised that they have their doubts about Jesus - he doesn't seemed to be deterred by our expectations or assumptions. He just goes about doing his rescue work through the most unlikely of people in the most unlikely of places. Maybe he might just continue his work through you!

Jesus, Death, and Trust

In the last couple weeks I've heard repeatedly that the two number one fears of most people is: dying and public speaking. I'm obviously not afraid of public speaking, but I suppose if I'm honest, I am afraid of dying. Not of dying right now, but I am afraid I'll die before I want to...

Interestingly Jesus does some public speaking while he is dying. Apparently he isn't afraid of either. Rather than taking the lazy way of saying, "Well, he's God!", it's worth poking around a bit as to where he got his courage. Here's the text:

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."
When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23v44-49 [TNIV]

There are quite a few interesting nuggets in this short text, but I'll focus on just one. Note the phrase that Luke records Jesus calling out in a loud voice - it's a quote from Psalm 31. Here's where it gets more interesting - it's common for writers to reference once verse from a section of Scripture as a way to reference the whole section. They intend for the reader to interpret the verse not only by the context he used it, but also from the context he pulled it. If we take the time to read all of Psalm 31 as a way to better understand what Luke means by the one verse (v5), it will help us better understand what he wants us to understand about what Jesus is calling out in a loud voice.

Before Jesus takes his last agonizing breath (that's the only kind you can take while nailed on a Roman cross), he calls out for many to hear: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Now, within the the story that Luke tells, one could draw a couple of conclusions about what Jesus means. First, Jesus is committing his Spirit to his Father - which implies that they are together in this event (as opposed to being against each other). Second, Jesus' death wasn't without spiritual significance to himself - as opposed to the pure hopelessness and rage of most crucified criminals. Third, Jesus isn't cursing anybody at the end of a long and torturous road, he's ready for what is next. Maybe you can pull some other conclusions from this verse on Jesus' lips.

Now, read through Psalm 31, knowing that Luke records Jesus shouting out verse 5; read the verse and the Psalm in the light of Jesus' death on the cross.

What do you think is racing through Jesus' mind as he hangs there by the crude spikes through his wrist? He's working his heart and lips through the Psalms. We know that earlier he was probably mouthing his way through Psalm 22. Not only is Jesus trying to keep his wits about him, but he's also reminding himself of why he is having to go through all of this, he's reminding himself of what God his Father is going to accomplish through all this, he's reminding himself of how his Father is going to see him through all of this to the other side.

What runs through your head and heart when the times are very difficult, marked by anguish and uncertainty, anxiety and fear? Rage? Emptiness? Calculations for greater control or revenge? Withdrawal? What if, in the midst of the angst of life you staked out a position where you trusted God to redeem you and the situation? What if that which caused dread could be the very thing that prompted trust? What if those things that could fuel despair and giving up could also be triggers for perseverance and love? That's what Jesus was singing to himself in the many hours he was stuck to the cross, and it's what he shouted out when he could muster up the strength.

What about you - what will you do when something in you dies? Lay down and give up or commit your spirit, your life (that which you have left to give away...) to the Merciful LORD, our Faithful God?

In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, LORD, my faithful God.

Jesus and Judas, Fear and Betrayal

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.
Luke 22v1-6 [TNIV]

The Temple is the central facility of Israel, within it resides the Presence of God. To be a priest, then, was to be a one of the few men in the nation with an opportunity to serve in that famous building. To be a chief priest was to be one of a small minority of men with great authority and responsibility. Not only do you oversee tens of thousands of priest-servants, but you oversee the administrative duties of the annual feasts which at times must accompany millions of people in the city of the Temple. As a chief priest you also had your hands involved in the banking industry which resided in the safe confines of the Temple. Great religious responsibility and financial prosperity marked the life of a shrewd chief priest.

The Torah was the heart of Israel, the centerpiece of instruction, law, history, biography, and story of their identity. To know Torah was to know God's heart. To love and abide by Torah was the greatest work of a man in Israel. To be a teacher of Torah was one of the greatest vocations then for the people of the Promised Land. To be a Torah-teacher was to be a mouthpiece for God, an interpreter of the laws for the complex culture one lived in, to the storyteller explaining why tragedy happens and how we got to where we are. A Torah-teacher helps define reality.

Jesus directly challenged the corruption of the chief priests and he undermined the authority of the Torah-teachers. And the people loved him for it. The people weren't stupid - they know when the Temple chief priests are taking advantage of others, especially widows. But what can the people do? The people are fully aware of how burdensome the instructions of the Torah-teachers have become - but who are they to object? What if they are wrong and the teachers and priests are right? But what if Jesus is right? What if we could change things around here? What if the Temple really could be a place of prayer again? What if the Torah really could be about love for God and neighbor? If Jesus is right and the priests and teachers are wrong, then everything must change.

People with power are often the biggest proponents of the status quo. They have the most to gain by keeping things the same. But those who propose change aren't to be completely trusted either - they obviously have something to gain by their initiatives. So the one who challenges the status quo and who introduces a new way forward must be one with credibility, one who only gains an advantage if the majority of people who are in need of a change get the brunt of the benefit. Jesus had become trustworthy to many people who were the oppressed, who had been the ones bearing unjust burdens. Jesus showed that he did not come for his own sake, but to serve and lift up others. The change he was fomenting was about shaking up the status quo for the benefit of the whole nation - even if it cost him his life.

The chief priests and teachers of the law had the most to gain by keeping the status quo. Do you also have much to gain by keeping the status quo? Who are the people in your world who need someone to bring change for good? What sacrifice might God be calling you to make so that justice and mercy can prevail? Jesus is the instigator and initiator of change. Jesus did not come to keep things the same, but to radically redefine reality: the Temple of God is about holiness that blesses, the Torah is about love for God and neighbor. Do we use our power and devotion to further a holiness that blesses or one that hoards? Do we use our abilities and aspirations to love more or to play it safe?

Judas, the chief priests, the Torah-teachers didn't like Jesus' way. They had much to lose if his interpretation of reality prevailed. They feared the future if Jesus had his way. What do you fear about following Jesus? What do you fear about losing? What do you fear will happen to you? What do you fear will become of your nation if you go the way of Jesus?

Jesus and Noticing Details

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.
"Truly I tell you," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
Luke 21v1-4 [TNIV]

Depending on what your motives are for doing good, it can be rather unnerving or encouraging that Jesus notices the details of our hearts and actions. Crowds of people are not sufficient distraction for Jesus to miss the significance of your decision. There is nowhere to hide from the observant glance of Jesus - he will notice everything. Again, this can be a refreshing reminder or another cause for guilt.

The Temple served as a bank as well as a worship center. Because it was believed that the Presence of God dwelled in the Holy of Holies - a closed off, small room in the back of the worship area, it was believed that the Temple was also the safest place for valuables - like money. There is only one Temple of YHWH, thus one central bank. So people would go to the Temple to deposit money, or to make an offering to God. It was probably pretty easy for some confusion to ensue about what made the Temple valuable.

Jesus spent a lot of time at the Temple once he arrived in Jerusalem - teaching, healing, being with people. It didn't take long to see patterns emerge - what kind of people showing up at what time of day saying/doing certain kinds of things, depositing/offering various amounts of money. I'm sure Jesus recognized some of the people - many who may have encountered him as he traveled from Galilee south to the Holy City. And in this little story, Jesus reveals that he knows much more than others realize he knows. And that Jesus notices far more than others notice. And so must God...

Don't judge how valuable your gift is to God and others; don't ponder how valuable you think someone else's gift is. Only God knows how generous and sacrificial and significant is each gift, for only God knows our hearts and motives. Don't delay or deny yourself the opportunity to serve, give, offer, be with someone just because you feel like it's not "big" enough. And don't go patting yourself on the back when you make what you think is a big contribution to something... you might be surprised at how overinflated your sense of value is to the project.

Jesus notices the widow - a woman likely enmeshed in a life of harsh survival, daily scraping by, and yet she exudes a trust in the provision of God. Jesus notices a landowner - a man likely pursuing an extravagant life of social-climbing and honor-seeking. And his gift is a calculated one - out of all his wealth he gives in accordance with his strategy to ascend the ladder of power within the city.

His gift is all about him. Her gift is all she had. What about your gifts?

What would Jesus notice about your gifts? What would he say about your motives?
What details would he notice about your choices?

Jesus The Brilliant, Savvy, Wise Teacher

One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.

"Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"

He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?"

They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'
But if we say, 'Of human origin,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."

So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."

Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."
Luke 20v1-8 [TNIV]

Here's the scenario - Jesus is in the Temple Courts, a popular gathering area for people from around the nation, even the world. The Temple is the central religious and banking facility for the whole nation. This, obviously, makes it not only popular but very valuable and important. Jesus, by teaching in the Temple Courts, is in the presence of the priests who run both the religious rituals of the Temple, but also the economic tasks of the Temple. The priests - especially the Chief Priests - are going to pay very careful attention to the teachings of Jesus. No surprise that they are offended by Him.

But not only does Jesus offend the chief priests, he also annoys the Teachers of the Law. Technically they are the ones to be teaching Torah to people, but not many people flock to hear them expound. The message of Jesus as he expounds on Torah is called "good news"; doubt if the traditional Torah-teachers ever got that kind of favorable description. So maybe some jealousy is infusing their opposition of Jesus, but there is also resistance to the new understanding of Torah that Jesus is introducing. Jesus is wrecking the credibility of the teachers of the law, he's tainting their character, he's undermining their career. No wonder they resist Him.

Lastly, the Elders are irritated with Jesus. The Elders of a city, a village, a tribe, a family held authority and responsibility. It was the Elders who were final arbiters dealing with life situations that arose in the local regions. The Elders were the wise ones who helped people move forward in life. And here's Jesus coming along with better wisdom, more compassion, fantastic miracles, and he keeps calling people to follow him - leave their home, their families, their traditional jobs behind to become disciples of the Nazareth-man. Surprise surprise that the Elders - upholders of tradition - were positioned against Jesus.

So when the Chief Priests AND the Teachers of the Law AND the Elders confront Jesus on where he gets his authority from, this is an impressive array of opposition, meant to dismay Jesus and hopefully result in a cessation of "good news" proclamation. But Jesus is way to brilliant, savvy and wise for this weak attempt at confrontation. Jesus returns their grasping question with a very direct and probing question. Jesus isn't trying to trick them, at the deepest level Jesus is trying to rescue them from their folly, their rebellion, their pride.

The response of the Three reveals that they give a calculated answer, it's misleading. They know that Jesus is from God - there is no other way to account for what he has accomplished. But that answer will mess everything up for them. If they give the answer they want to give - that Jesus is not a prophet of God, just a mere man, the people will stone the Three.

Clever Jesus, he asks a question about John the Baptist whom everyone recognized as a prophet - the one Malachai prophesied would come as the Second Elijah (which, if you know anything about the original Elijah, this would be a very cool thing to have happen!). In asking the question about John, Jesus is able to accomplish two things: get them to reveal what they believe about John and what they believe about Jesus.

Jesus wisely distangles himself from the deceitful attempts by the Three to discredit and undermine his proclamations of the good news. His question in response to their question gets to the real heart of the issue, and protects him from their evil intentions. For all the attempts we make to Follow Jesus, we don't consider often enough how He asked questions. Life is about people, it's about relationships, it's about influence, it's about reconciliation, it's about love, it's about power, it's about sacrifice, it's about joy.

Navigating your way through relationships is tricky and often a murky experience - hence the power of questions. Questions allow you to learn, they allow you to clarify, they allow you to reveal, they allow you to teach. When confronted with people who are mean, abusive, unthoughtful, or rude, being able to ask pointed questions is often the only response left outside of violence - verbally, physically, or emotionally.

Jesus also makes it clear that everything he does and says - including his questions - are rooted in his life under God. Jesus is under the authority of God - it's by this authority that he proclaims good news, that he heals and restores, that he teaches with wisdom and truth. The Chief Priests, the Teachers of the Law, the Elders were not willing to be under the authority of God in the same way as Jesus.

How about you - will be like the Three? Resisting truth and grace? Resisting transformation and healing? Resisting the Way of God which brings about reconciliation of All Things? Or will you continually choose to be under the authority of God - so that you can daily live out the Way of Jesus.

Jesus and the Parable of the Coming Kingdom

While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'
"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'
"He was made king, however, and returned home.
Luke 19v11-15a [TNIV]

What kind of difference do you want Jesus to make in the world? Do you have high expectations for Jesus? Do you find yourself a bit confused about the bold claims Jesus declares when you consider the mess the world is in? People had their own expectations for Jesus when he was walking and healing his way towards Jerusalem - and we have our own today as we await his return.

So what did Jesus do with all these expectations? He certainly didn't ignore them. In this case, he tells a somewhat confusing parable to help explain what it will look like when the kingdom appears. People thought that God would appear all at once, his Reign would break in immediately and forcibly, decidedly, instantaneously crush the wicked rulers of the world. That's what they wanted him to do, anyway. Which made for a big problem when Jesus tries to explain to them how God is REALLY going to come to them to begin his reign on earth. Jesus' insistence on his version of reality got him killed.

Jesus was what the kingdom of God looked like, and Jesus' way was how the kingdom was going to appear. Jesus, apparently, was planning for the coming of the kingdom to take a very, very, very long time.

In this story, Jesus seems to be indicating that when the kingdom of God comes completely, a lot of us will be shocked at what comes next. We're to be working hard until the kingdom comes in all it's fullness. We're to stay loyal to the king while he is gone, so that when the king returns he has before him many loyal, productive servants to welcome him. Not only that, but the kingdom is that much more greater for all the work the servants did while the king was gone.

Application: Jesus shows up as the king of Israel, and he doesn't find many loyal servants who acknowledge his authority. He also doesn't find many servants being very productive with their work. The country is rotted with greedy leaders and corrupt officials, it's withering through neglect of the widows and abuse of the orphans, it's a stench in the nostrils of surrounding nations for it's arrogance and stubbornness. This is the kind of country that kills its king when he returns to announce the way of peace.

But the resurrection reminds us that the Way of Peace will prevail. It will overcome violence someday. When the king returns, will he find loyal servants working hard at the productive way of peace, or will we be sucked into the swirling vortex of vengeance and bitterness?

Jesus and Healing...

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."
He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"
"Lord, I want to see," he replied.

Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.
Luke 18v35-43 (TNIV)

There is no doubt that every single healing Jesus did was a goose-bump inducing event. Pure miracle, beautiful, amazing, glorious. But then the next day would come, and that person would still be in stark poverty, still have the same family and friends, still live in the same village, still be under Roman occupation and Herodian corruption. They'd have to maybe learn a new trade as a middle-aged man, relearn a former trade, or hope they didn't get hurt again once Jesus left. The healing was simply remarkable, but reality would eventually settle in. And then what? What to do with your life as a non-cripple, non-disabled person?

We wish that Jesus would show up, heal all our diseases like he used to, cure the sick, restore the crippled, raise the dead. But then what? Will the misery be banished as well? Will our minds and heart be bitter or sweet and supple? Will our attitudes be dark or light? It's very interesting that only people with faith were healed, only people that trusted Jesus of Nazareth, only people that showed belief in his abilities were able to get healed. Apparently untrusting, bitter, dark-hearted people could not be healed...in part because they didn't want, didn't think Jesus could do it, or didn't consider it a worthwhile gift.

It's worth noting that for a lot of the ailments afflicting the crowds, much of it was society induced. Demon-possession/madness would have been expected as a result of the heart-wrenching atrocities repeatedly committed upon the villages and cities by the Greeks and Romans for centuries. Depleted soils and chronic malnutrition due to wrecked harvests, famines, and ravaged lands led to expected birth defects like blindness, deafness, muteness, lameness and other problems. Not to mention the hard labor required of people born healthy, people prone to unending exhaustion and the resulting accidents and maimings.

When Jesus healed people who trusted him, he gave them a new lease on life; apparently they had the kind of heart and mind to re-engage a dark and cruel world with a restored body. These were people willing to start over again in a hard life, but a life touched by God. These weren't people just clamoring for convenience, they were seeing God at work in their land, God had indeed come to visit - and they wanted Him to come to them.

Jesus doesn't walk the land these days like he did in Palestine all those years ago. But the art of healing has come a long way - the availability of it, as well as the excellence of it, would make God proud. And it's still an art and science that brings awe and joy to many people. But getting healed up is not a right - it's the result of a lot of circumstances coming together in the right way. Getting healed is beautiful when it happens - but it's not the best part. The best part is what you do with yourself before you get healed, while you await healing, and what you do with yourself after you get healed. If you are seeking God these days for healing - for you or for someone else - don't overlook the hard work of making the best of life as it is now... otherwise you will be unprepared for making the best of your life after the healing.

Jesus and the Coming of the Kingdom of God

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is in your midst."
Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Luke 17v20-25 (TNIV)

There are nuanced ways of thinking about what is the Kingdom of God. Is it a large tract of land with a castle in the middle of it? Is it a continent guarded by battleships and airbombers? Is it a spiritual place where God sits on a throne with a crown and dispenses commands to the citizens? Interestingly, Jesus seems to indicate that one way of thinking about the Kingdom of God is to think about it as a person: Him!

This nuanced perspective brings out the irony of the passage: the Pharisees, while looking right into Jesus eyes as they ask him yet another question, are looking right at the answer. And Jesus extends this irony to his disciples: everyone thought that they would know what the Son of Man looked like because of natural phenomena or political/military developments... and thus they cannot see/believe Jesus when he claims to be the Son of Man.

Sometimes this text (and the rest of the section) gets used to defend the Rapture and the End of Times stuff. Again, keeping this Scripture in context eliminates those scenarios. Jesus is referring to himself as the Son of Man, the days he is describing are the ones the listeners are living in, and the destruction he is referring to is likely the Roman assault on Jerusalem in 70AD. Jesus came, as the Son of Man, not to bring judgment, but prevent this destruction, to bring salvation from their pending assault. At one level, Jesus was unsuccessful, he failed in his mission to avert Israel's doom and turn their hearts back to God. On another level, he succeeded: he was obedient to God - even unto the cross; he did save some of the Israelites (and others from the region); he brought the Kingdom of God to Earth and showed us what it looks like.

We see the Kingdom of God on Earth when we see Jesus at work in His world. We see it in us, around us, through us when we yield to His Way of working on Earth. It can be easy to miss Jesus/the Kingdom of God because we see what we want to see. To the degree that we want to see Jesus and his Rule/God's Way prevailing in the world, we will see it. But it is not something that we are just supposed to "see", it is a way of life to be lived, a gift of grace to be enjoyed, a promise of hope to believe, a beautiful reality to be shared.

Jesus, The Rich Man and Lazarus the Beggar

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'

"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "
Luke 16v19-31 (TNIV)

This parable gets lots of attention for the supposed details it gives us about heaven and hell. That's unfortunate, because the real value of this parable is found in its broader context - a message to the Pharisees and anybody else obsessed with money.

Jesus had been teaching about money, and he gave us this famous aphorism: You cannot serve both God and Money. Luke records this detail: "The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight." Jesus goes on to provoke them by outlining significant, grievous sins the Pharisees were committing - revealing that they may be able to spout Torah and the Prophets, but they didn't really know it, love it, listen to it.

We can tend to get caught up in certain details of this story: Is Hell the same as Hades? Is it a place of fire-induced agony? Is there a chasm between Hades and Abraham's side? Is Abraham's side the same as Heaven? Can Abraham dialogue with people in Hades/Hell? Can other people shout back and forth? How does that work?

For Christians, anyways, maybe there are some other parts of the text we ought to focus on:
"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."

Christians sometimes think that they can convince people to believe in Jesus because he was raised from the dead, or to believe in Jesus so that they can avoid Hell, or because it is a better way of life. And some of those reasons have probably worked for some people. But Jesus seems to focus on the appeal of God over the agony of Hell. In this life - as hard and bad as it can be - who will you serve? ...not because of wanting to avoid Hell, but because of wanting to know God's heart now. Do we want to value what God values now or not?

The best way to help others consider becoming a Christian is be the kind of Christian they might want to become: one who knows God's heart, one who serves God not money, one who does not justify themselves in others eyes, one who doesn't commit adultery, one who cares for the poor, one who listens to Torah and the Prophets, one who doesn't sneer at Jesus.

Jesus and the Lost Parables

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Then Jesus told them [these] parable[s]:

Luke 15v1-3 (TNIV)

Jesus tells a parable about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons; you might be familiar with these stories. The essential point of these parables is to help explain why Jesus is welcoming and eating with sinners of all types: Jesus comes to people who are lost on the way to God in order to find them and bring them back to the Father.

* God is like a shepherd (which should evoke some Scriptures from the Psalms and Ezekiel...) who goes after straying sheep - and he throws a big party for everyone when he gets back to the fold.

* God is like a woman (which should raise eyebrows...) who loses a days worth of wages, and who searches and searches until she finds it - and then spends that money to celebrate finding it!

* God is like a Father (which is an old and new idea...) who loses both of his sons, and doesn't go after them, but is ready to receive and throw a big party for them when they are willing to return.

God doesn't want humanity to be lost, and he will come to us, where we live, to help us find our way back home to him. Humans are not quite like sheep (though there are some similarities) and we are not quite like coins (though there is some sad similarities), but we are like sons who stray, make our own choices, and then have to live with the consequences. But like the sons in this story, they can always choose to return to God the Father. Or not.

Return, in the Hebrew language, is the same word for Repent. For humans, being lost doesn't always mean we don't know how to get back home; being lost can also mean we walked away from home. To get found often depends on us choosing to return, to repent, to want to be found. God has come close to us in Jesus (Immanuel/God with us); we can get found anytime we want whenever we take the steps towards returning home.

Jesus and the Great Banquet

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed are those who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests.
At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.'
"But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.'
"Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.'
"Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.'
"The servant came back and reported this to his master.
Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'
" 'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.'
"Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.' "
Luke 14v15-24 [TNIV]

What's heaven like?

What's God like?

When you ask questions like those, you tend to think of place and person. Jesus however, wants us to think of an event when we think of heaven and God. What is heaven and God like? A great banquet!

Who doesn't want to get invited to a great banquet - especially when it is for a feast at the home of someone famous, powerful, and wealthy? And what if, upon receiving the important invitation, you instead rejected it and came up with measly excuses that were rather insulting?

When you look at the examples in the text, consider: who would buy a field without first looking at it prior to the purchase? Or who would obtain oxen without first trying them out? Or who, upon getting married, would pass up the opportunity to take his wife to a lavish banquet? These rejections were meant to shame the one who did the inviting.

Amazingly enough, there are people who are quite willing to pass up on the Great Banquet! God is good - which means that heaven is good - and which means the feast will be really really good! Why would anyone pass up on a great banquet, attended by great and good people - even God himself? How do you explain people who don't want God?

It's just as baffling to Jesus as it is to us, so it seems. But rather than try to figure out all the reasons for why it happens, it seems that Jesus just keeps on inviting people to the Banquet. In the meantime, as we await the Great Banquet to begin, we hold our own great banquets here on earth - inviting friends and neighbors, even aliens and enemies to join us for meals, for fellowship, for worship, for life.

We get glimpses of heaven and God now when we open up our table and our hearts to the people around us - disregarding their identities, their ethnicity, their accent, their smell, their status, their manners, their background, their habits. When we invite the "uninvitable" to our table, to our homes, to our lives, we keep our own heart open to God and his invitations to us.

You want God and heaven when you die? Then want great banquets with the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind while you are alive. To follow in the way of Jesus for this life and the next includes actually feasting in the way of Jesus in this life...and the next.