I (Kevin) watched the movie Bella last night and was reminded of an important and neglected truth in most churches today. The world is hurting and needs hope. And, they will have no place for the hope we offer if it is only for the life to come.

Bella is a movie about two people dealing with past experiences that threaten to keep them from living life now. The cinematography was great which made the movie quite enjoyable. I liked the movie, but you can like the movie or not. The point I wanted to bring out is that the experiences of the main characters are not far from the experiences of the world we are trying to reach. Bad things happen. The innocent are hurt or even killed. Walls are erected for protection.

What are we going to offer these people to transform their lives? Too many followers of Jesus are content with having their sins forgiven and have laid their own pain and questions to rest deep in hidden areas of their hearts. Sure there are sins that need forgiven and there are people living under the weight of guilt. But, if we cannot answer these questions, what are we offering the world besides medication before death takes us home. Whether they admit it or not, many people (Christians included) are angry with God. It is hard to love and follow God if you are angry with Him.

I believe this is one of the reasons for the success of the book, The Shack. People feel the loss of innocence in their own lives and feel that maybe God cannot be trusted. He could have stopped my daughter from dying. He could have protected my brother from the drunk driver. He could have put me in a family that wasn't abusive. He could have made me less beautiful so I would not have been raped. He could have. We think He should have. But, He didn't.

What are we as the Church going to offer those people?

Here is some insight that I have noticed from people... when they ask you, "if God is so good, why is there evil in the world?", most of them are not asking for an intellectual answer. They want healing from the pain they are carrying around.

O Lord, help us to move away from the formulaic to trust in the Holy Spirit's guidance. We don't know why all of those things happened, but we know that You are good. You love us with never-ending love. And, we know you are a redeemer. The enemy may have meant it for evil, but somehow You, O Lord, can make all things beautiful. We do not have those kind of answers, but we can bring these broken people to You for you are mighty to save. And You want them to know that yes You are good and You have a good answer to their questions.

image of Fakarava dock courtesy of Rotoava

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28

For many the Christian life is anything but rest. We are encouraged each Sunday with spending daily time with God in prayer AND Bible study. We have two or three meetings a week at church. Of course there are prayer meetings, men/women's groups, accountability times, etc. Then we have our day jobs. And, don't forget to spend time with the family. Where are we to squeeze in the promised rest?

Jesus' example doesn't give us much hope either. He spends long hours ministering to people then pulls away for extended prayer. He seems constantly busy.

He also seems to lead the disciples into the same busyness. Look at Mark 6. Jesus sends out the twelve for them to try some ministry on their own. They see success, but when they come back to share their success stories, they hear news that John the Baptist is beheaded. Unfortunately there were too many people around for the disciples to get time with Jesus, so Jesus promises them some time alone and rest. As they go to separate themselves from the crowd, the crowd followed them and Jesus gave a day long sermon. The disciples try to encourage Jesus to send the crowd away, but Jesus gets them to feed the crowd. After this miracle, Jesus tells the disciples to go across the lake. The simple act of rowing was even difficult because of a storm that Jesus knew was coming. Battered, tired, and confused the disciples get to the other side to be rushed again by the crowds bringing the sick to Jesus. Where is the rest?

The problem with rest is that we have the definition wrong. When we think of rest, we see ourselves on a hammock at the beach sipping a drink with an umbrella. We think rest is doing nothing.

Jesus' definition of rest is different. He says come to me and I will give you rest. At the very least we have to have motion towards Jesus. It is not the absence of doing anything. Rest redefines work, not replaces it.

• Work has been our striving to accomplish tasks.
• Rest is allowing Jesus to lead us into the work He wants to accomplish through us.

Jesus exemplified this rest by doing only what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19).

None of the items at the beginning of the post are bad. In fact it is good to to spend time with God in prayer and Bible study. It is good to do your day job well and spend time with your family.

The problem arises when you see these things as tasks to check off in hopes of getting to your rest. Invite Jesus into your tasks. Look for Him. When you find Him, your tasks will no longer be a burden but will be a source of life.

John 4 starts with Jesus tired from His journey (ever think of Jesus being tired?). The disciples are off trying to find him some food. Jesus starts to minister to a lady by the well. Revival starts. And, Jesus is refreshed. Jesus says our food is in the spiritual not the just the natural. O Lord, open our eyes that we may see the work you are doing around us. Help us to do only what we see You doing and not strive to do things in order to find you. You are a good Father. We believe You will take care of us as we follow You.

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I came across this video today and wanted to share it. It seems to come from the Ministry of Education and Science in the Republic of Macedonia. Hope you enjoy.

Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, recently posted his regiment of daily prayer. It is great to see what leaders in the church do regurlarly to maintain their connection with God. There was a lot to like about his short post, but a couple things did stand out to me.

1. I appreciated how he dealt with not keeping to his plan. He just laid it out there. It happens, but he strives to maintain the routine because he know he is effected by it.
2. He has a commitment to pray daily with his wife. I strongly believe in this practice but hear very little on it. It was refreshing. I also liked his presentation. This is what I do. This is why I do it. We are glad we are committed to it. There is a strong call to follow his example as a man who is a respected Christian leader believes in it stongly. But, at the same time, there is no hint of condemnation for those who don't do it.

Thank you, Tim Keller, for sharing your thoughts and practices on daily prayer. May God continue to bless your life and ministry.

image courtesy of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Episode 2 of Star Wars shows the Anakin and Amidala relationship develop. Many times in their interactions you see Anakin struggling to say, “Sorry, my lady.” While this was painful for many to watch, it does show something very important. Swallowing pride and saying your sorry is not easy.

The idea of this series came to me this weekend as my wife and I noticed a strain in our relationship. As we discussed what we were seeing, one thing I noticed was I wanted to keep the discussion in theory. I was not hearing my wife’s feelings and not willing to say I was sorry. Part 1 of this series spoke to the fear of death from outside circumstances; part 2 will discuss the fear of dying to yourself.

Christians give plenty of talk to “dying to yourself.” We have been told we should do it, and we joke about how hard it is. But, I think many of us do not understand why it is hard or why it is important.

First of all, “dying to yourself” that we as Christians talk about is really the process of transforming our minds. Galatians 2:20 says I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 1 Corinthians 5:17 says therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (Thank you Navigators for your Bible memorization plan.)

If we are a new creation, then there is nothing bad in us we need to die to. What we do have is patterns of living that are not in congruence with our new nature. These patterns have been formed by years of life experiences that we have mis-interpreted or mis-applied. But, those life experiences feel so real that changing our thinking regarding them feels like little deaths. This why much of our spiritual warfare takes place in our minds and why we need to take every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5).

The promise of God is that these little deaths generate true life in us. It frees our minds to agree with God and allows His truths to come forth in our behaviors.

This weekend I was not willing to say I was sorry to my wife. Somewhere in my subconscious I was feeling that if I did then I was denying my right to be heard or my desires to be fulfilled. In short, I believed that both God and my wife did not care about my desires. This is a lie. Both God and my wife care about me and my desires. God has placed desires and passion within me that He wants to fulfill. He is a loving Father who delights in the success of His children. He has also shown me that my wife also cares deeply for me. The lie though was birthed in my fear of abandonment which was formed in me from a young age.

I can remember as a kid instances where I felt the fear of abandonment enter me. I remember waiting after sport practices well after the other kid’s parents had come. I remembered the lights of cars going past as I stood on the dark field alone wondering if I was ever going to be picked up. I remember another time being in the car at a rest area on some trip. My dad was trying to get my brother in the car by saying he was going to leave him there if he didn’t hurry up. I remember thinking that if they were willing to leave my brother, then they would definitely be willing to leave me. In other instances, I remember getting lost at the State Fair year after year for hours at a time and wondering if my parents would realize I was gone or if they even cared. My young mind interpreted these events as I was the only one who would take care of me. I could not fully trust anybody, even God.

The problem is that unless I “die to myself” and reject this lie I was holding onto I will slowly distance myself from my wife and my God. When I do “die to myself” and choose to believe that God and my wife are for me, then I will naturally move closer to them and enjoy the blessings of intimacy with both. And, we are told that intimacy with God is a prerequisite for fruit (John 15:5).

Why is “dying to self” important? For me in this example, by choosing not to say I’m sorry, I created separation that was not intended and distanced myself from the fruit God wants to display in my life.

Why are Christians afraid to die in this way? It goes against how they have lived their lives. Choosing death may promise life, but it also guarantees a change to our understanding of life works that some of us are not willing for God to reinterpret.

For we who are alive are always given over to death for Jesus sake,
so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. - (2 Corinthians 4:11)

image courtesy of Star Wars: A New Hope

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. – Tertullian

The original Star Wars movie has Obi-Wan Kenobi addressing Darth Vader with the famous words, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.” While this is a fanciful story, the idea has basis in church history. The quote from Tertullian above was an observation he made as he witnessed the early church. The Roman persecution was harsh and gruesome, but the early church did prosper. This is similar to the response of the current Chinese church. They requested that the universal church to stop praying for persecution in China to end, for it is through persecution that the church has grown.

God has not called the many Christians to the life of martyrdom. Most of us will never face the question of choosing physical death or life with Christ. But all of us will be asked to do something that feels as close to death for us. Maybe it is working in the soup kitchen downtown where you are fearful to park your car. Maybe it is taking in a troubled child as a foster parent not knowing if your valuables will be there in the morning. Maybe it is picking up that hitchhiker and taking them to their next stop. Each of these scenarios ask us to share the love of Christ in situations that may put us in danger. What do you do?

Being foolish is no answer to how to live the Christian life. But as we listen to the Spirit’s promptings we may feel we need to do something that is not “safe.” Fear is a great obstacle in the Christian walk. Jesus applauds great faith, and great faith often asks us to walk on water. Perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). And whether we like it or not anything done or not done because of fear is sin. Because you can be motivated by fear and walk in faith and everything that does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).

The only way to overcome fear is to be willing to die – to value following Christ more than saving your life.

This is not to say that you are to be reckless. But your life may look reckless to those who have not heard the Spirit directing your life. God may have you quit your job without having a backup plan. He may have you give a substantial amount of money to someone when you had planned on it for groceries. The point is God’s wisdom is not man’s. When we rely on what we think is right, we are limiting what God may what to do through us. We cannot live an extraordinary life if we are limiting ourselves to only what we think is possible. God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20).

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep
to gain what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliot

This is a lovely video for the hymn, My Hope is Built on Nothing Less. You can purchase it for your church at Worship House Media.

Here is another thought sequence from Sunday worship. We were singing Phil Wickham's Always Forever. It was the first I had heard the song but was loving it. I'm not a musician, but it sounds like a waltz. We had a girl up front dancing to the song, and I just imagined Jesus coming and dancing with her. It was sweet and beautiful at the same time. The thing that really got me was the chorus. As I had this mental image of the Jesus and the girl dancing, I thought that as I sung the chorus, Jesus was singing it back to me.

Jesus is so in love with us. We are His bride. We are His helpmate. We are His companion. He loves us.

At the end of the song, the words go into a repetition of hallelujahs. My heart just wanted to sing out, "How He loves us, How He loves us, How He loves us, forever." We don't earn God's love. We receive it.

As we later came back to the hallelujahs, my heart was ready to respond with, "How I love Him, How I love Him, How I love Him, forever." Once we get a hold of how we are loved, then we freely give back to Him. And, once we get a hold of how we are loved, we come before the throne with confidence because we know that as Jesus sees us coming His heart says there's the one I love. Why would we ever hide our desires from the One who loves us so much?

Always Forever
Phil Wickham

You are the hand that catches my fall
You are the friend that answers my call
You are my day, You are my night
You are my love and all of my life

CHORUS:
You are the love I need
You are the air I breathe
You are my love my life always forever
I would lay down my life
Just to be by Your side
You are my love my life always forever

You are the grace that covers my sin
You’re everything the beginning and end
You have my soul, my heart and my mind
You have my love and all of my life

Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, forever

Always Forever video

image courtesy of Beverly & Pack

Our Heavenly Dwelling

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:1-7

I have been stuck on this passage the last couple days enjoying things I was getting from it. For instance, the line about longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked brought up some interesting thoughts. Were Adam and Eve clothed with a heavenly dwelling before the fall? Later the verse says that the Holy Spirit is a deposit of this clothing of heavenly dwelling. So were Adam and Eve clothed with the Holy Spirit as a deposit or did they have the full thing?

While I find this line of thinking interesting, I am inspired by the phrase that we were made for this very purpose. This gets us beyond theological musing into the intent of God for our lives. We were made to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling and the Holy Spirit is a partial deposit of what is to come. So what does this mean? If we were made for this, I want to know what it is.

I think Paul follows with a practical explanation of what it means. He uses two analogies of contrast to bring light to this concept.

1. Home in the body; away from the Lord
2. Live by faith, not by sight

This second phrase is something I have heard throughout my Christian experience with varying levels of understanding to what it means. At times it has had the mystical weight that is often put on the phrase, "faith as big as a mustard seed". Is this faith in whatever we want to happen? How much is enough faith? Should we ignore the things I see because it is all about whatever I am imagining in my mind?

Obviously those questions do not lead into what God has for us and often takes us off track in our Christian walk. I think that following the flow of the entire passage brings clarity to what Paul/God is trying to communicate.

Being at home in the body is equal to being away from the Lord. Being home with the Lord is being clothed in our heavenly dwelling. Therefore it is important to know what being at home in the body looks like. This is allowing the things of our physical lives to take precedence over the things of heaven. Or, to put it another way, it is allowing our understanding of how the world operates take precedence over what God says is true. It is trusting in our five senses instead of the leading of the Holy Spirit... that deposit of the heavenly dwelling.

Our five senses are not only sight, but hear, smell, taste, and FEEL. I know that the fifth sense is touch, but calling it feel opens it up to more. Touch tells you stepped on something sharp; feel is the pain mixed with worry of how bad it is cut. I have highlighted feel because this is the level that fear resides.

These five senses are based and controlled by the circumstances of life and our past experiences that define those circumstances. For instance, when you touch a hot stove, you learn not to do it again. Therefore if you have tried something in the past that has caused you pain or embarrassment, you are not likely to try it again. If a circumstance in your life comes up that feels like a past experience that caused pain, you will approach it with caution. If you have had a friend betray you in the past, you are not as likely to open up to someone else. Similarly if you have done something in the past that has made you feel good, you are likely to go back to do it again (e.g. addictions).

God is saying that basing our lives off our five senses keeps us away from Him.

Isn't that irresponsible? Isn't that the definition of futility, to try the same thing over again and expecting a different result? There is something different here. If Peter had trusted in his five senses, he would not have gotten out of the boat to walk on water. The difference of faith is God calls us to something different, and as soon as He calls us to it, that is to be our new reality. And, since He has called us to it, we can and should expect different results.

So faith is not in whatever we want to get. Faith is living by what God says is true, not what we have experienced as true based on the past.

As long as we believe sight as our true perspective, our prayers will be limited. When we operate on sight we think:

• that person will never come to Christ
• we can't afford to take time off work to spend time with my family
• I'll never overcome my sin
• the doctor said she only has 6 months to live

God may just have a different reality. Do not be limited by sight, but ask God for His will and pray accordingly.

What situation in your life are you trusting in sight and not even asking God His perspective?

While in college I read a booklet by Robert Boyd Munger called My Heart - Christ's Home. It had you imagine taking Jesus through different rooms of your heart. Jesus would ask about certain rooms or closets to show His interests were all of you. He never pushed His way in, but you knew His desires.

I was reminded of this in worship the other day. There was this song that had an invitation for the Holy Spirit to make His home in us. As I sang I thought about the house guest that my wife and I have staying with us. I thought about how different it would be if they not only guests but if our house was truely their home.

• They would be able to trash it if they wanted.
• they could invite people over they wanted to have.
• They could empty the fridge eating whatever and then fill it with things they liked.
• They could hang pictures up of things they were interested in.

Then I thought, does the Holy Spirit have this open invitation in my heart? Can He invite the people over He wants to be with? Sure He would invite Jesus and God the Father over some, but He would probably also invite over some who are needy and emotionally draining.

Can He spend the resources of my heart on the plans He has? Or, do I tell Him what I have time and energy for? What if He schedules something over the big game? What if I was saving something for myself?

My mental dialogue with this idea ended with me thinking of the Holy Spirit hanging up pictures in the "living room" of my heart. And, in the focal point of the room, He hung up an 8x10 picture of Jesus. I laughed and then the worship team transitioned to another song.