A Spiritual MRI

I recently had an MRI done on my shoulder.  You know, the MRI is that large tube that they slide you into and they can get an image of the soft tissue.   If you’re claustrophobic, it would probably be a stressor since the machine is within inches of your nose and they strap you in pretty tight so you don’t move.  The part that was surprising to me was how long it took – about 40 minutes.  Imagine being strapped into a narrow table and slid into a tight tube and just lie there for 40 minutes with nothing to do.  They give you headphones because the machine is so loud and the technician can talk to you.  Anyway, I’m lying in this machine with nothing to do.  So first, I start focusing on my breathing.  That was kind of weird.  Then I thought I could take a nap, but it was pretty loud in there.  So I did something pretty dangerous.  I asked God to show me anything He wanted to deal with in my life.  Yikes!  Well, He did.  We had a really deep, intense conversation about my life, even going back to when I was 7 or 8 years old.  He showed me things that I had believed to be true but turned out not to be true.  He showed me decisions I had made based on bad information.  He totally and radically re-oriented some areas of my life.  It was one of the best experiences I’ve had with Him in a long time, all in a hospital MRI machine.

So why am I telling you this?  Because I think we are often afraid to really open up our lives to God.  We are afraid He will be angry with us and giving Him that opportunity will only confirm to us what terrible people we really are.  We don’t really want to know what He thinks of us, because we think it won’t be good.  But we would be wrong.  You see, we have to start with the basic premise that He wants good for us.  He knows us better than we know ourselves and He knows the junk better than we do, but He wants to clean us up.  He wants us to be healed and whole.   He doesn’t want us to have to live with all the junk in our hearts.

King David expressed the same idea in the Psalms.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24,  ESV)

There is great freedom in simply sitting in His presence and genuinely asking Him to search us.  I think you would be surprised at how loving He is.  He will to do a spiritual MRI and reveal the areas that aren’t working well, but He will then perform the necessary surgery to remove or repair the damage.  You will be delighted at how free and light you will feel when you give Him the chance to look inside and lead you “in the way everlasting” – in the way of freedom, in the way of wholeness, in the way of love.  I will take an MRI any day, especially when it’s the Lord doing it.

Copy Cat Christians

Normally we don’t think of being a “copycat” as a good thing.  For me the image of a bratty kid, copying everything I say or do with a mocking, derisive attitude is what comes to mind.  Worse yet, is the idea of a copycat criminal.  In fact, there are very few, if any, ways of having a positive viewpoint of a copycat…until you read the Bible!  How is that possible, you ask?  Well listen to the following Scripture verses.

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. (Hebrews 13:7, ESV)

I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (1 Cor 4:16, ESV)

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ… (1 Cor 11:16, ESV)

 And the one that really blows me away:

 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Ephesians 5:1, ESV)

 So Paul is encouraging, even commanding, the folks in those churches to imitate him and more importantly that they – and us – should be imitating God Himself!  Paul wants us to be copycat Christians!

 Let me start with the “imitating” God idea.  Clearly there are some characteristics of God that we cannot imitate.  As highly as we may think of ourselves, we are not all-knowing.  Nor are we all-powerful or eternal or uncreated.  There are some ways in which we can never imitate or be like Him.  But just as importantly, because we were created in His image, we can very much be like Him.  We can copy cat His mercy, His grace, His patience, His kindness, His delight, His love.  Just think about how He has acted in your life and do the same in someone else’s.  If we are children who love Him, then let’s try to be like our Daddy.  Let’s walk and talk and dress like He does.

 Sometimes though, God seems so abstract and it’s hard to get a concrete image of what He is like.  That is why I think Paul says, “be imitators of me.”  Sometimes we need to see the Father in a flesh and blood person.  I think He understands that and so He gave us each other to fill that need.  There are folks I have met throughout my life who have been a model to me of God’s characteristics.  I can point to one person I have known and say, “That is what grace looks like in action.”  I have known believers who have demonstrated patience, who have shown me mercy, who radiate joy.  I can look at those people, or remember them, and want to imitate them as they imitated Christ.  I have even read stories of believers from ages past who have inspired me and challenged my life today.  We have a great cloud of witnesses encouraging us in our walk with God.  There is a great gallery of saints who we can look to.

 But what really made me think was this: Is my life worth imitating?  Can I, like Paul, tell others to imitate me?  Am I imitating Christ to such an extent that others would want to be more like me?  Now don’t get me wrong, this is not an ego trip for me or some type of personality cult, but think about it, my life should reflect Christ.  It is both encouraging and humbling – mostly humbling.  It drives me to Him.  It pushes me to draw closer to me.  So here’s the plan.  Let’s be copycat Christians.  Let’s copy everything we see the Father doing and says, then let’s copycat the lives of those who have also copied the Father.  Finally, let’s live lives that others could imitate, not so we can be proud of ourselves, but so that we all might look more and more like Him.

God’s Delight

I recently starting reading a book written in the 1600’s by a man named Francis Fenelon.  Fenelon was a Catholic priest but very much concerned with personal piety and the pursuit of a genuine relationship with Christ.  He was quite extraordinary in a time characterized by cold, formal and ritualistic religious practice.  He starts describing what he calls a state of “holy indifference,” by which he means indifference to pursuing our own desires and pursuing God.  In his Maxims of the Saints, Article 5, he continues,

“We no longer desire our own salvation merely as an eternal deliverance, or merely as involving the greatest amount of personal happiness.  Instead, we desire it [our salvation] chiefly as the fulfillment of God’s pleasure and as resulting in His glory, and because He himself desires and wills that we should so desire and will it.”

Basically he is saying that some people become Christians to escape hell.  Others do so because it makes us happy.  But what caught my attention and caused me to reconsider my approach to the Christian walk was the way he re-defined our pursuit of God as a means to fulfill God’s pleasure.  He essentially says, “We should seek to grow in our faith, not because it is simply a good thing for us and will make us happy, but we should pursue salvation, holiness, faith because it makes GOD happy and brings Him glory.”  I had never considered that my spiritual growth is a source of pleasure to Him.  It never occurred to me that by maturing in faith, I could actually increase the amount of glory that God receives here on earth. 

It also finally makes sense of this statement Paul makes in his letter to the Philippian church:

…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)

I had always focused on either the “work out” or the “God who works in you” parts of that verse, but in neither case was I completely encouraged.  It always felt like it was a battle I had to wage to prove myself and God would help me along the way.  But when I finally focused on the last phrase – “for his good pleasure” – it transformed by understanding.  It wasn’t a battle to validate the genuineness of my commitment to Him, but God’s work in my life was solely driven by His pleasure in me.  It made Him happy.

It changes our motivation doesn’t it?  It takes our focus off us and plants it firmly in God.  Instead of asking ourselves, “how am I doing?” We ask our Father, “How can I delight you?”  And as we seek the fulfillment of God’s pleasure, our lives start to reflect Him more and more.  People will see us as living for something – or someone – other than ourselves.  That will bring Him more and more glory.  To me this is the next step in our maturity as one of His kids.  We say to Him, “Father, be delighted in me.”

Prayer Priorities

It was actually a shocking question that the disciples asked of Jesus – “teach us to pray” (Luke 11:2). These guys had been around prayer all their lives.  They sat every week in synagogue hearing prayers offered.  But there was something about the way Jesus prayed that was compelling.  There was something that went beyond the robotic recitation of words that stirred them to ask such a question.  Jesus’ prayers seemed personal and intimate.  They wanted to know that same kind of intimacy.  So they asked.  Jesus’ answer has come to be known as “The Lord’s Prayer,” recited weekly in many churches throughout the world for centuries.  But I don’t believe that is what Jesus intended – another rote memorization of words – when He told His disciples:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.   (Matthew 6:9-10, ESV)

 Yes, I know there is more but I wanted to focus on this first part of the prayer because it provides for us a glimpse into Jesus’ prayer priorities and serves as a model for ours.

 There are three significant aspects to the way Jesus begins this prayer.  First, He starts by addressing “our Father.”  It was a relationship name.  It was a way of connecting personally and intimately with this great God we worship.  It makes Him approachable and welcoming.  Jesus does not call Him “God”, “Almighty” or “Big Guy in the sky.”  Jesus speaks to the one He knows as Father and in that moment transforms what could be a formal and cold prayer into a conversation with a loved one.   So also for us, do we consider our prayers as addressing a cold deity, an impersonal wish giver or a loving parent who loves to converse with us?

 And yet in the same breath, Jesus says, “hallowed.”  This word means “separate.”  It comes from the root word for holy.  While Jesus invokes a close, intimate relationship with the Father, He also acknowledges that He is addressing someone who is totally separate from the world and us.  He is, in fact, beyond us, different from us, exalted above…  He is both a God who is close at hand and yet a God who lofty and glorious.  While we approach Him as little children, we also approach Him with reverence and awe.   We should not be so cozy with Him that we become discourteous or impolite.

 Finally, before He asks for any needs,  He asks that the Father’s will be done.  He shifts the focus from us to the Father and to His priorities.  Jesus said that He only does what He sees the Father doing.  So here is where we start our petition.  “Father, what are you doing,  what do want to do with me?”  “What is happening in heaven right now that You want to bring down to earth?”  This line of thinking could radically change the scope of our prayers from a laundry list of needs to a powerful fulfillment of God’s will in our lives and the lives of those around us.  Jesus was encouraging us to actively participate in the establishment of God’s supremacy here on earth to the same extent it exists in heaven.  His kingship revealed in our lives.

 So, I have two simple suggestions.  First, the next time you are asked to recite the “Lord’s Prayer,” stop and think about what you are really saying and who you are addressing.  Second, when you consider your own prayer life, start the same way Jesus did – with His priorities, not just the words.  Remember you are talking to a real, caring, close person – some who wants to have a conversation with you, not someone who wants to hear you rattle off a list.  Remember that He is still God and approach Him with awe.  And that sets us up to spend some time focusing on what He wants to do, what is He saying to you, what is His will.  Instead of a one way monologue, we are actually calling down heaven – His sovereignty – to show up here in our lives.  These three priorities – intimacy, reverence and kingdom-focus form the basis of Jesus’ prayer model for us.  As we center our prayer life on these same priorities, our Christian walk will be transformed and our relationship with our Father will be enriched.

Is the End Near?

I’ve been thinking about the “end of the world” lately, or, more precisely, the return of Christ.  The topic has been in the news lately and I’ve been given a few books on the subject over the last 6 months or so.  I have felt that I have always been out of step with the traditional stream of thinking on the end times, so let me share some of my thoughts.  No doubt I may offend some of my readers, and I would welcome differing opinions.

The expectation of Christ’s imminent return has been common since New Testament times.  Indeed, even Paul expected Christ to return within his lifetime.  It was not to be.  From my reading it seems that Christians in every place and every century have predicted His return within their lifetimes, that the signs of the times clearly pointed to the right conditions for the coming Judgment Day.  Still we wait – expectantly – but wait we must.  Genuine and sincere believers postulate various models of the end time events and timelines.  We marshal our favorite passages from Revelation or Daniel or the other prophets to bolster our eschatology, while simultaneously dismissing, or worse, rejecting others who hold differing beliefs.  We are more concerned about building our model than building each other up.  Many live in the shadow of His coming and yet don’t live any differently than the world around them.

Yet in all the discussion about the end time events and all the predictions about its proximity and the required activities that the Church should be engaged in to hasten its arrival, it seems to me we miss one very important condition that Christ declared must be met before He comes.  In the middle of His end time teaching found in the Gospel of Mathew He says,

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Mathew 24:14, ESV)

Regardless of the timing of the rapture, tribulation, millennial reign, abomination of desolation, or any other favorite concept, one thing must happen – all nations must hear the gospel.  The word “nation” here does not mean political boundaries but people groups.  All the tribes and peoples in the world must hear the gospel.  This is an absolute condition.  In fact, it is clear from the picture John paints of heaven that this must happen.  Listen:

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Rev 5:9-10, ESV)

There will be representatives from all people groups of the earth worshipping Christ.  So fulfilling this condition is a must.  The end will not and cannot come until this realized.

And yet do we believe this?  How many of us or our churches are focused on ensuring this happens?  How many among those who analyze prophecies and correlate them to current events actively pursue proclaiming the Kingdom to every nation? Are we so enamored with His Second Coming that we forget the reason for His First Coming – to save the world?  Yes it’s true that we long for Him.  We groan for the restoration of the world.  The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come Lord Jesus.”  Yet the need is great and the Bride needs to stop planning her wedding feast and instead start inviting the guests.

So what does this mean practically?  At the very least, we must be praying, praying for the unreached people groups.  To that end I would recommend the website www.OperationWorld.org.   Pray for any missionaries or mission organizations working to reach these groups.  Pray for what else God may be calling you to do to hasten Christ’s return.  Finally, pray that our hearts would resonate with His heart for the people He loves and for whom Christ gave His life.  Can we do any less?  Yes, Christ will return, but not until we obey His call.  The rest of the details pale in comparison.

Break the Alabaster Jar

The alabaster jar hung around her neck like a trophy for all to see.  And well they should because it costs nearly a year’s income.  Perhaps she used it to gain some of the respect she had lost from the townspeople.  She had a reputation – and it wasn’t good.  Perhaps the alabaster jar – and the sweet aromatic oil it contained – was like a shield to keep the hurtful barbs at bay.  Nevertheless, today would be different.  Today the alabaster jar would be broken…

This is how I imagine the situation leading up to the story I will look at today – a story of brokenness, love and forgiveness.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50, ESV)

 This woman loved much because she knew she had been forgiven much.  The only way to pour the oil out of the alabaster jar was to break its narrow neck.  It could not be reused.  Yet her love for Jesus was so great that she would risk further alienation, further disdain and the cost of that oil.  Nothing counted more to her that day than expressing her love for Jesus and she would spare no expense.

Contrast that to the attitude expressed by Simon, Jesus’ host for the supper.  Not only did he feel himself superior to THAT woman, but clearly he sat in judgment over Christ Himself.  “This man is no prophet!” he reasoned in his heart.  He was evaluating and judging Jesus against his own (Simon’s) expectations and values.  The woman was nothing, Jesus was a fraud, therefore Simon was self-justified.  He loved little and showed little love, even little common courtesy, for his guest.   He knew nothing of forgiveness, either giving it or receiving it.  He likely didn’t feel he needed much, if any, forgiveness.  He loved little.

The parable Jesus tells Simon beautifully illustrates grace.  In the story one debtor owed ~$3000, the other ~$30,000 in current currency.  Neither of them could pay – both were bankrupt.  Isn’t that the condition we are all in?  We are all sinners. We all are in debt.  It doesn’t matter what we think of our own status or how good we think we are, we must admit that we can never repay God. And yet the creditor (The Father) forgives both – it is grace alone.  Neither one of them earned forgiveness.  What Jesus emphasizes here is the heart response to God’s offer of grace and forgiveness – it is about the relationship established, not the performance of a good life.

 For me the most breathtaking part of this story is the words Jesus speaks to the woman, “Go in peace.”  Think of it.  It is possible to be at peace, to look deeply into our hearts and spirits and know the calmness, serenity and peace – spiritual, emotional, mental, physical – that comes from knowing the forgiveness that Christ offers.

 We love because He first loved us.  The woman understood just how much she had been forgiven and as a result loved much.  But Simon who was self-justified and self-righteous loved little because he did not understand the extent of his own sin and need for forgiveness.  The question we must ask ourselves is – Do I love little or do I love much?  Have I truly grasped the fullness of my brokenness and sin and the extent of his forgiveness towards me?  Am I willing to break the alabaster jar of my life – to withhold nothing from Him – to express the greatness of my love towards Him because of the greatness of His love towards me?

Satisfaction – I can’t get none (repost)

(Repost of yesterday’s post because of technical issues)

OK, so I made a shameless reference to the classic rock and roll song. It’s a good way to get your attention, but it also leads me to look more deeply at a very familiar Bible story. I have even written about it here previously (See Pirates, Loaves and Fishes). It’s the great story of Jesus feeding 5000 men (plus women and children – but who’s counting?)  with a couple of fish and some loaves of bread. Let’s look at that story again as found in the Gospel of Luke:

On their return the apostles told him all that they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of God and cured those who had need of healing. Now the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” And they did so, and had them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. (Luke 9:10-17, ESV)

What struck me personally and powerfully this time was the little phrase, “And they all ate and were satisfied.” They were satisfied! That means that they ate enough – not just to get by until they got to town or they ate enough not to grumble or they ate a few morsels. Jesus did not provide just an appetizer. No, they ate enough to be satisfied! They were full and content. Here are some other words for satisfied: content, pleased, fulfilled, gratified, happy.

To me that says something about the way Jesus provides for our needs. He is not stingy or minimalist. He provides to satisfaction. So I had to ask myself, “Am I satisfied with everything Christ has provided in my life?” Sadly, I had to answer, “No”. So I went on to ask, “If Jesus really does provide enough, then why am I grumbling about some things? Why am I not satisfied?” I realized that the problem certainly isn’t Him, so what’s up with me? If this is the life He’s given me, the job He’s given me, the church He’s put me in, the ministry He’s assigned to me, the friends and colleagues He’s surrounded me with, then that must be enough to satisfy and it’s time to stop whining and start appreciating. So I did – start appreciating, that is – and it completely changed my outlook on my life. It truly is possible to be satisfied with everything that Jesus has provided up to this point in my life. I was astonished.

Now let me quickly add a disclaimer or two. First, I am not talking about staying in an abusive or unhealthy relationship or situation. That is never ok. Second, I think there is a holy dissatisfaction that comes from wanting more of God in our lives. No matter how close we get, we will always want more. I’m not talking about that either. Instead, I want us to get to the point where we can see and acknowledge all that God has provided and say – truly say – “It’s all good.” If we can’t, then we must ask ourselves what is causing the dissatisfaction. Do we have unrealistic expectations of what a Christian life should “look like?” Is it because I’m not getting my way or things aren’t going according to my plan? Am I seeking my satisfaction in stuff or in other people instead of Him? Am I simply unwilling to actually accept that this is my life? Will I not acknowledge that everything comes from Him? Do I not trust Him to be good to me?

Some pretty tough questions. All of which I had to ask of myself. But in the end, I had to go back to that story in Luke. They all ate and were satisfied! Jesus provides abundance not meagerness. Jesus provides full-of-joy-ness not sparseness. So I looked at my life again. I looked at all that surrounded me and the people populating my life and I found myself contented, gratified – satisfied, because I finally realized that He provided enough.