God is Not a Child

It seems to me that in the church we put far too much stock in ourselves. We depend on marketing campaigns and programs, new buildings and strategies, gifted speakers and musicians, sinless lives and perfect commitment to Bible study. Growing up in the church, I heard much about the evils of secular universities, how they attempted to question God and lead students away from the church. We also heard of “bad influences” who we should stay away from lest we be pulled astray. 

To me, this is an extraordinarily silly picture. A helpless God in heaven who can’t seem to keep up with the world. If only God was more wise than humans we wouldn’t have to fear knowledge. If only the call of God was more powerful then that of friends and peers perhaps we could stand strong. Unfortunately, God is just sitting in heaven biting his finger nails hoping that we won’t leave him all alone.

The preceding paragraph is certainly not meant to be disrespectful to the Lord of heaven and earth. It is merely meant to illustrate the picture we often paint with our actions and thoughts. 

As Christians, we say that we believe God to be “a solid rock” where we find refuge (Matthew 7:24, 2 Samuel 22:3), a “good shepherd” who watches after his sheep (John 10:11, Luke 15:1-7, Psalm 23:1-6), a “mighty warrior” who defends his people (Exodus 15:3, Isaiah 42:13), and the only one who saves us (Matthew 19:26, Ephesians 2:8-9). Despite all these huge claims about God, we often treat him as if he is a small child who needs our help. 

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 

- 2 Timothy 1:7

“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

                                                                                    - Romans 8:31, 35, 37-39

If we truly serve this God, the God who created the universe, then what can possibly overcome us? If we actually believe that it is God alone who saves us, then what can our programs, advertising campaigns, and multimillion dollar building projects possibly hope to accomplish? God does not need us. His existence is in no way tied to ours. Our stories are in no way essential to his.

God has chosen to use people. He has chosen to love us, and he has chosen to save us. God saves people who, in our human understanding are beyond saving, and we are shocked to see that those we think, in some way “deserve” God, or “should” be saved are perhaps the furthest from him of all.

This is in no way a call to apathy or spiritual laziness. In fact, when we realize that the power, wisdom and expanse of God is truly beyond human comprehension, and that this God is within us in the form of the Holy Spirit, I believe that our lives will explode with fruit. 

“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

- Galatians 5:16-24

Instead, this blog hopes to encourage faith and boldness in the God we claim to believe in. I would like to close with the words of the Psalmist found in Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

"The rambling thoughts of one attempting to follow Christ in the Cluttered subculture commonly referred to as American Christianity" (or "It is Finished")

To often we equate Christianity with a set of tasks, behavioral traits, events and beliefs. “Christianity” has become a label which can be prescribed when a person, or even more shockingly, a thing fulfills a given set of requirements. These requirements for people can include things such as church attendance, Bible knowledge, the abstinence from certain “no-no” words and activities, and whether or not one shared that “share for heaven; ignore for hell” picture on facebook. Even more ridiculous then our labeling of humans is our labeling of media. In the case of music, for example, many in our society label music as “Christian” if it meets a list of criteria including the religious beliefs of the musicians involved, the record label, and whether or not alcohol is sold at their shows.

For a group of people claiming to be “saved” not by any work of their own, this labeling seems extraordinarily peculiar. In a sense, the modern church has created a highly complex subculture. Often, it seems that in order for one to fit into this culture one must conform to a set of rules or be judged as someone in need of converting or, at very least, a “bad Christian” in need of prayer. 

Looking at the words of Jesus Christ, who, for those of you who seem to have forgotten, is the figure on whom the entire religion of Christianity is based, one notices a surprising, from the standpoint of one living in modern church culture, lack of lists and criteria for defining Christ’s followers. It is almost as if Jesus didn’t want his disciples (those who follow him) to validate or earn their own salvation or membership in his body. 

Perhaps we should examine the wisdom of the teacher himself as found in the writings of some of his earliest followers. 

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” - John 3:17-21

“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” - Mark 10:17-27

Reading these verses it becomes very hard to judge the others based on outside observation. In fact, in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, the writer records God’s words to Samuel forbidding this very thing.

“But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

Granted, Jesus does provide an image of how a follower should live, but that picture looks a lot different then the subculture we have created in our heads and churches.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” - Matthew 5:3-10

This blog isn’t meant to be a probing finger into the eye of another (check out Matthew 7:3 for that reference). Instead this blog is a passionate plea for rest. Jesus Christ did not call us to a demanding subculture with a daily checklist of duties and a mission statement. Instead, he called us to rest in him because salvation is impossible. Only through God can it be and has it been accomplished. Being a Christian does not require the approval of God or man. It simply requires Christ.

So stop measuring the “Christianity” of yourself and others. Believing (which results in following) in Christ is the only standard by which we are judged.

Abide

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” - John 15:5

First of all, I would just like to point out that sometimes the ESV reads as if it was written by Yoda... or maybe that’s just me.

The key word I want to highlight in this passage is “abides”.

Abide: To remain stable or fixed in a state (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

I feel like so often in my life I have done nothing. I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’ve tried again. I’ve failed again. It’s a constant cycle of guilt and frustration. Growing up in the church, we are often overwhelmed with lists of things we should and should not do. We are told that we need to help the poor, reach the lost, and love our neighbors. We’re not allowed to drink, lust, or hate. We’re told that were supposed to by Christ’s ambassadors to the earth, which isn’t exactly an easy standard to meet.

And so we try, but continue to fail because there’s always a higher goal.

Sure, forgiveness is by grace through faith and not through works (because if it was by works we could boast and boasting is a sin which is the whole problem in the first place), but if faith produces works and we don’t have works then what if we don’t have faith?

That last “sentence” may have been confusing... Allow me to rephrase: We know that the Bible teaches we can’t earn salvation. Salvation is a gift from God that we could never earn. But we are also taught that faith produces works. We are told that “good Christians” don’t do certain things. We are also told that we must do other things. If we fail we need to try harder and pray and read our Bibles everyday.

In my experience, walking through life with this perspective only leads to emptiness and exhaustion. We are essentially placing a standard upon ourselves which only the God of the universe ever lived up to. Are high aspirations a bad thing? No, of course not, but if I was to go for a swim right now and expect myself to swim as fast as Michael Phelps that would be slightly unrealistic wouldn’t it?

So what? We just don’t try? We just get to do whatever we want?

“Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We see in this verse that it is through living in Christ that we bear fruit. Without him we can do NOTHING. We must seek him first. We have to develop a thirst for Christ.

King David is a beautiful example of thirsting for God. Despite all his flaws, he was truly in love with God. I believe that he knew he would fail. He accepted the fact that he wasn’t God; that God was greater than anything he could ever hope to become. But through David’s love and devotion, God was able to use him for amazing things.

Let’s fall in love with God. Let’s pray that he would give us hearts that yearn for him. And when we fail, lets accept that he forgives us and loves us unconditionally. When we are focused on him it frees us from guilt and shame because we are full of so much grace.

Lets ABIDE in him. Stay in him. Long for him. Thirst for him. Hunger for him. Live for him. For apart from him, we can do nothing.

Soil- momentum day 1

Soil

In Matthew 13 Jesus tells the story of a farmer who was planting seeds. This farmer scattered seeds throughout the field, but not all the seeds had the same affect. Some of the seeds fell on the path and the birds ate them. Some of the seeds fell on shallow soil with rock underneath and were unable to put down adequate roots. Some seeds got caught in thorns and the plants were choked as they tried to grow. But finally, some seeds fell on good soil and produced a huge crop. 

Why do I bring up this simple story?

Because as I am writing this I am in my dorm at Momentum Youth Conference which brings thousands of students together for a time where tons of seeds are being thrown by speakers such as David Nasser and Jeff Bouge, worship leaders like Jeremy Byng and Aaron Keyes, as well as our own youth pastors and fellow students.

What kind of soil are we going to be? Will we be unchanged and uncareing? Will we experience a "camp high" where we suddenly grow but then die out a week later? Will we grow but in the end be brought down by negative influences? Or will we truly be changed? Will we choose to become brand new and truly realize what our lives are meant to be about?

Only time will tell.

But I pray we won't waste our time.

And that the seed won't go to waste. 

What if?

What if...

What if I took the Bible literally?
What if I took the words of Jesus seriously?
What if I rejected apathy and turned to action?
What if I rejected indifference and turned to passion?
What if glorifying God became the greatest goal of my life?
What if instead of focusing on me I focused on you?
What if instead of being judgmental I was forgiving?
What if I cared more about salvation then judgment?
What if I cared more about what Christ had done for you then what you’ve done wrong?
What if I realized that the only reason I’m worth anything is because of God?
What if I turned hate to love?
What if I died to myself?
What if I lived as Christ?

What if....

We're supposed to be CRAZY

If you've read the book of Acts you'll probably start to realize that the members of the early church were freaking CRAZY. I mean this group of people would stop at nothing to spread the gospel and share the love of Christ. People like Peter, and Paul, and Stephen. People who were killed, tortured, and willingly sold everything they owned for the cause of Christ and the encouragement of fellow believers. How on earth did the early church pull this off? During the years of Acts the church was spreading with a ferocity that is certainly not present in the United States today, nor was it, in my opinion, present in the last thousand years. 

So what made these people so special? What did the early church have that we lack? What's the problem? Is God the problem? Or is it simply OUR problem. I think it's foolish to believe that what the early church accomplished is impossible in today's world. If we truly believe that God can do anything then why would we even suggest this? Now I'm not saying there aren't exceptions to this trend. There certainly are and have been people who have taken following Christ seriously, but it seems there is a definite lack of mass enthusiasm for living for Christ.

 God didn't send his only son to earth so that we could just chill out here until he came back. "Oh, thanks, God, for the sacrifice and everything. I'll go watch tv now and then Sunday I'll go to church." I feel like we've so oversimplified "being a Christian" that anyone truly seeking "followers of Christ" would be truly lost in America.

Now I don't want to just sit here with a high-and-mighty attitude banging on the American church and acting as if I have the answers to all of life's questions. Nothing could be further from the truth. Instead I want to encourage the reader to take a serious look at the early church in Acts and in the writings of Paul and James and others, and ask yourself "Am I living even remotely as a should? By these standards would others recognize me as a Christian?" I don't mean to sound legalistic, and I am fully confident that we are saved by God's grace alone and there is nothing we can do to achieve that, but f we truly believe the things we say we believe, why don't our lives show it? Why do we simply fade into the crowd instead of boldly proclaiming the name of Christ? No wonder we are called hypocrites!

Crappy Situations

Recently I was talking to a friend, and they said something to the affect of “I almost feel like I can’t trust God at times, I feel as if every time I get super close to him something bad happens” This statement seriously took me aback. Firstly, because I really had no idea how to respond, and secondly, because I wondered how I would feel when placed in a similar situation. Is my faith in God based simply on my stable existence?

Today while on twitter i saw a blog post on twitter and decided to check it out (shout-out to @Hollenbach at http://takingtheyoke.blogspot.com/). The blogger was commenting on the latter part of Philippians 4 where paul is thanking the church for supporting him while he is in prison.

Suddenly the connection hit me. Paul, formally Saul spent his life murdering Christians. Jesus essentially knocks some sense into him and he begins preaching the gospel in an incredible way. Everyone knows the impact Paul had on the early Church. I mean, he wrote most of the New Testament! Paul’s life has been revolutionized and he is “on fire” for the Lord, but how does God repay him? He lets him get thrown in jail. This wan’t a nice cute little Mayberry jail cell either. I’m sure it was dark, dirty, and food wan’t provided. Paul was completely at the mercy of others to bring him food.

Let’s just be honest. This is a CRAPPY situation. Fortunately for Paul the Philippian Church had been providing for him. Paul writes, "How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:10-13 (NLT)

Paul basically says, “Look, it doesn't matter if i have food or not because I have christ, it doesn't matter if I have clothes because I have Christ, it doesn't matter if I'm in prison because I have Christ...” That’s a pretty incredible state of mind to be in! NOTHING ELSE MATTERS, because, through Christ, I can do this.

But where does that leave me? Where does that leave my friend? It’s one thing to see an example in the Bible and a completely different one for me, as a human, living in the twenty-first century to truly see it as something that could be parallel to my life. However, the hard reality is that crappy situations are going to happen and the even harder reality is that waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the way to deal with them because sometimes, there is no light.

Is Jesus enough for me? He should be. God desires for us to be SO dependent on him that WE DON’T NEED ANYTHING ELSE. He desires that when we experience loss or hurt that we have the faith to say “I got this, because God has me.” That’s defiantly something that I pray will become more true of my life.