Death

Upside-down

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Listen to this Puritan prayer by Arthur Bennett:

Let me learn by paradox
that the way up is the way down
that to be low is to be high
that the broken heart is the healed heart
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul
that to have nothing is possessing all
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown
that to give is to receive
that the valley is the place of vision.

And I’ll add: Where death brings life.

God’s upside-down Kingdom. Good thoughts to ponder today.

Peculiar (adj.) – Strange or odd. Unusual.

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It’s the morning after.

I’ve had a few of those in my unsavory, wasteful, selfish days B.C. – before Christ. And those evenings that I had before I gave my life to God are a topic for another day. But what I’m talking about here is that this is the morning after… Easter Sunday.

There are millions of people who came to church, heard the Gospel message, realized that they were living selfishly, and made a commitment to accept the sacrifice Jesus paid at the Cross. They accepted the fact that Jesus is raised from the dead and because of this, they now have eternal life– everlasting life for the world to come and eternal living in the here and now.

But this is Day #1 of this new way of life. They will be looking for examples of what a Christ-follower looks like. They will be looking at you and me. Do I look like the rest of the world or is there something peculiar about me? That’s the question I’m asking myself this morning: Am I different? Do the people around me at home, at work, in traffic, and yes, even in Wal-Mart, see something different? Am I attractively peculiar?

In our men’s group last week, we talked about this and Pastor Brandon repeated something I had read somewhere. He said, “Christians are known more for what they’re against than what they’re for.” They’re known more by the things they won’t do than by the behaviors, attitudes, and words which actually characterize Christ and His early followers.

The behavior, attitudes, and words that a hurting world wants to see in the followers of Jesus is the same behavior, attitude, and words that they heard all about yesterday: a life filled with selfless love and service for others. That’s the kind of life they heard about yesterday. That’s the life of Jesus Christ while He walked this earth in flesh. And that kind of life is very different from the kind of life they see every day in the workplace, on the streets, in stores, and in traffic. That kind of life is peculiar.

It’s the morning after. I want to be peculiar today.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:12-13)

No Chains On Me

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I love music. I always have. During my teen and young adult years, I listened and loved everything from Bluegrass to New Wave… my love of music was eclectic as well as passionate. The funny thing is: I am passionate about music but I’m not musical. I can’t play an instrument and I can’t really sing. I can sing in my car or the shower like everyone else, but that’s about it. But music is always on at home, in my workspace, or in my car.

After I came to know the Lord in 1996, my taste in music immediately changed. For years, I listened to nothing but Praise and Worship and Contemporary Christian music. I didn’t really have a desire to listen to anything else. (That has changed and I listen to all types now)

There’s a few songs that I link with certain times in my life. I’m sure you do the same. When you hear a song, it takes you back to a place and time. And there are certain songs you link with certain events like your wedding or a holiday. For me, a lot of the time, it’s obscure songs… music that no one else is listening to.

Such it is with Easter. While I’m sure you have your favorite Easter song, mine is a song by Chris Tomlin called “No Chains On Me”. I’m not sure it’s really an Easter song, but it is a song of celebration. Easter is a time of celebration.

It sums up what’s been done for you and me

You can listen to it here (with lyrics):

This is the dream, a dream for the world to see You
A dream for the world to know You, to love Your name
Lift up a shout, lift up a cry to shake the ground
Shout and the walls are coming down
Yeah, we’re running after You

Like a rolling stone, like a runaway train
No turning back, no more yesterdays
My heart is free, no chains on me
God, You raise me up, up from the grave
The cross before, I’m on my way
My heart is free, no chains on me

Now is the time, now is the time for freedom
Abandoned by cold religion, my heart on fire
We hear the sound, the sound of revival coming
The sound of Your people rising
Yeah, we’re running after You

The walls are coming down

Have a great Resurrection Day!

Today Changes Everything

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Today is Good Friday. To me, this is the most meaningful day of the year. Although I really love the reborn exuberance of Easter Sunday and the peace of the Christmas season, this day is where everything changes for me.

This morning as I re-read the account of what happened on this day about 2000 years ago, I was struck at the sacrificial love of Jesus. I recalled the images of “The Passion of the Christ” as I read again about Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, and the Crucifixion. What could possibly drive a man to do that?!?

Simply said, LOVE. A new kind of love. A sacrificial love. A love that gave up all His rights and privileges. A love that laid down His life for the sake of others.

That is how we are called to love. That’s how we’re called to live.

Today is the day where the slate is wiped clean, where everything is forgiven, and a fresh start begins. Today is the day when you love those around you with the same, lay-it-all-down kind of love.

3 Minutes

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At men’s group last night we talked about hope. Pastor Brandon challenged us to put this Scripture in action:

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15b)

Yes, he challenged us to take our hope to a world that needs to hear about our hope and see it in action. But he asked us each to give a reason for the hope we have – in three minutes or less – right there in our group.

A couple of guys spoke up and spoke of eternal life and knowing that they will be with Jesus in heaven. When my turn came, I thought of the blessed hope, the hope of heaven, but instead, I just had to talk about freedom.

First, knowing who you are IN CHRIST is key for me. As I’ve repeated so many times, I am a child of God with Christ dwelling in me, and I live in the unshakeable Kingdom of God. As a child of God, God has adopted me into His family, He has chosen me (and you), and He loves me with an unchanging, unrelenting love. He is forever thinking of me, and, unbelievably, sings over me. There is nothing I can do to make God turn away from me or to love me any less, and thankfully, there is nothing I have to do to make God love me, or to love me more.

Secondly, Jesus lives in me. I don’t have to ask Him to come to me. He’s in me! Little by little, as I allow, He is taking over my life. And because I can rely on Him always working for my good, I can relax and let Him take charge. I can’t tell you the freedom that brings!

It’s my identity in Christ that allows me to fully trust Him moment by moment, no matter what comes my way. I realize that God’s intentions toward me are nothing but good. He wants to grow me and He knows what’s best for me. I know that in the end, God wins. He gets the final word. Justice will prevail, although probably not here on earth. But in the end, justice will prevail.

In the end, I win. I may suffer. My world may fall apart. I may get sick. I will die. But in the end, because of all that Jesus has done, I win. That makes me IN CHRIST (and ONLY in Christ) unshakeable.

Plain and simple, that gives me hope.

Are my three minutes up?

“In all things…”

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My friend, Cindy, is a prolific poster on Facebook. 99% of all her posts are about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and her love for God. She is a tremendous example of God’s grace and mercy. She exudes a strong and bold faith lived out for all to see.

She posted something yesterday that we should be reminded of everyday. Here’s what she wrote:

“Happy Sunday morning everyone!

“I know several of my friends are going through hard times, so I just want to remind you that whatever it is you are going through, it is not the end. It is only a small part of your story. The difficulty will pass and better days will soon come. God is working everything out for your good and His glory.”

As she continued, this is the part that stood out to me:

“And remember this: had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are in, divine love would have put you there.

“Keep your thought on things above and your eyes on Jesus. He is our very great reward, and He is always enough.”

I have to repeat that one sentence:

Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are in, divine love would have put you there.

Wow. That is having an eternal perspective. That is living in the unshakeable Kingdom of God. That is living the words:

And we know that IN ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, my emphasis)

IN ALL THINGS, including (of course):

… that pink slip
… that bad test result
… that unplanned pregnancy
… that miscarriage
… that dead-end job
… that lonely house
… that “Dear John” letter.

No, these things aren’t good and God didn’t cause them to happen. But God wants to work, as Cindy said, “for your good and His glory.” He loves you so much that He wants to make your character like the character of Christ.

Of course, ALL THINGS doesn’t end with just the major, life-altering events. They include small things, because small thing are included in ALL things. Things like:

… the traffic jam on I-81 that is making you late for work
… the flat tire that is making you late for work
… the talkative old lady at the grocery story line with too many items that is making you late for (you fill in the blank)
… the co-worker that won’t stop telling you about American Idol while you are trying to get your work done
… you get the point. IN ALL THINGS.

Remember who this came from yesterday. About 16 months ago, Cindy lost her beloved mom to cancer. It was crushing to Cindy and her family. To Cindy, her mom was everything. She still is. Her mom was (and is) a tremendous example of a follower of Jesus (and that is an understatement). And I understate how much Cindy misses her mom.

But as Cindy will tell you, in ALL THINGS, including her mom’s death, God was (and is) working to draw Cindy closer to Himself. And now I see a trophy of God’s grace. I see someone who is an awesome example of Jesus, like her mom. I see someone who lives in the unshakeable Kingdom of God.

If I could just live with that perspective everyday. If I could just remember that God wants to use what I’m going through right now to make me more like Jesus.

Kingdom perspective. Like Cindy. Like her mom. Like Jesus.

It changes everything.

Separated? Never!

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I recently betrayed the confidence of a friend. I may be doing it again by posting this. My friend told me something… and then I repeated it. I screwed up. I apologized but now I feel that what I did has separated us. I can just feel it. I’m sure you know what I mean.

Although we say God’s love is unconditional, we don’t really live like we believe it.

If I screw up and sin against God, I feel separated from Him. I feel like I need to run and hide. I don’t want to approach Him. In a more practical sense, I don’t feel like going to church. I don’t feel like listening to Christian music. I don’t feel like hanging out with folks that seem to have their Christian life all-together.

Does sin really separate us from God? Most would say “Yes, absolutely.” And they’d point to a Bible passage like this in the Old Testament:

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. (Isaiah 59:2-3)

But I’m not so sure that sin separates us from God AT ALL. Let me try to explain.

First, a few caveats: God is holy. He cannot and does not tolerate sinfulness in His Presence. And those who haven’t been cleansed of their sins are not, cannot, and will not be able to stand, kneel, or sit in His Presence. (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) Secondly, God is just. He has demanded justice for sinfulness. (See the same verses) I get that. I understand that. I’m not diminishing His holiness or His requirement of justice.

But in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, those requirements have been fulfilled. By the blood of Jesus, our sins have been cleansed once and for all. All our past sins, all our present sins, and all our future sins have been cleansed and paid for by the crucifixion which we remember this Friday.

Yet when we sin… when we rebel… when we “do our own thing”… we think God turns His back on us… we think He frowns on us… we feel as if our actions and behavior has affected the way God feels about us. And instead of running toward God, we run away from Him. We run and hide (like Adam and Eve in the garden – see Genesis 3:8). We think God will punish us if we come clean. So we continue to stay away. We act as if God’s love is conditional instead of unconditional. We behave as if He loves us differently based on what we do or don’t do.

That is simply not true. That is not the God who loved us so much that sent His one and only Son to die for us… to fulfill His requirements of holiness and justice. Out of the love He has for us, He has fulfilled the passage in Isaiah above. He has fulfilled the requirements of the Old Testament. We can draw near to God and be assurred that He will draw near to us. This is the Father who looks longingly, waiting for the prodigal son to come home — not to punish him but to have a party and celebrate!

Lastly, this does not give us a license to sin. Those who truly get a revelation of the love God has for them are filled with such gratitude and have such amazing liberty that the old way of life is not given a second thought. It is a wonderful life of freedom — not a freedom to live as they please, but to live as God pleases. It is a (super)natural outflow of an inward transformation.

Unlike our fragile human relationships, the relationship we have with God is unchanging, steadfast, and unconditional. Just read these beautiful words:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Separated? Never!

Hoping…

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My friend, Bruce Catlett passed away last Sunday, and in his last few months, he had grown especially close to a few friends. One of them texted me last night, and I asked him how he was handling the death of his close friend. He answered that he was doing fine… he was just longing to be where Bruce now is, in heaven with Jesus.

Ultimately, that is what gives him hope. That is what gave Bruce hope. That’s all Bruce could talk about, especially in his last days.

That is what gives me hope and is what gives you hope as well, I’m sure.

Hope is what sets us apart, as Jesus-followers. Hope is what gets us through terrible days. Hope is what gets someone like Bruce and Donna through the sickness which results from chemo treatments. Hope is what makes us victorious, both in the “here and now” and for eternity. And according to the apostle Paul, faith and love are birthed from hope. Hear the words of Paul:

We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. (Colossians1:3-5, NLT)

Faith and love come from hope. There it is. In this case, it was music to Paul’s ears. He had heard that the church he had planted in Colosse was making an impact. They were spreading the love of Jesus Christ, most certainly by just living their lives in front of the folks around them. They were different from the culture. They had hope. And news travels fast… especially good news. It made it all the way to Paul’s prison cell in Rome.

We have that very same hope. And our good news – the hope that we have in Christ Jesus and the work He has done for us – shows itself in faith and love. It shows itself in very much the same way as it’s done for centuries: by just living it authentically (not perfectly) in front of a watching world. It’s not easy and I am embarassed by my behavior in so many ways on so many occasions. But because of Jesus’ love for me (and you), I know that I live in the unshakeable Kingdom of God. I am a Kingdom-dweller. I am a follower of Jesus. My hope is borne out of my identity (which is permanent) and not my behavior (with is temporary). That is where my hope comes from.

And although I, too, would love to be with Bruce and Jesus, I know that as long as I’m still here, there’s still the Good News of hope to be spread.

Formation for Mission

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I’ve mentioned the three books our church is working its way through many times. I only do so because God used these books to change me: the way I look at myself, the way I look at the things happening around me and my role, and the purpose you I have in the Kingdom.

The church has been on a nine-month journey through…

The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows
The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ
The Good and Beautiful Community: Following the Spirit, Extending Grace, Showing Love

The books are designed to help each person focus on spiritual formation, growing in grace, and living out their faith to make an impact on the world around them, even if that world is just their family and the families in their cul-de-sac.

They are not just Bible-studies. They are spiritual formation with a mission.

This should really be the point of growing in Christ. We don’t do it for ourselves. We don’t even do it for God. We do it for the world around us… to be Jesus to the folks around us and bring more into this Unshakeable Kingdom.

Take the next 3:30 to watch this video. It sums it up nicely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd8cb4XLBak

Time is shorter than we think…

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Our friend, Bruce

Our friend, Bruce

As I posted yesterday, my friend, Bruce died early yesterday morning. He was buried yesterday, too, in a natural cemetery in Penn Laird. It was a beautiful graveside service on a beautiful day at a beautiful place. He was honored by his family and a large throng of friends.

I didn’t know Bruce as long as virtually everyone else there. I’ve only known him since his illness. He was invited to our men’s group by his friend, Wayne, and he was quickly welcomed with open arms. He shared in that first meeting his diagnosis of stomach cancer and was ready to begin with the treatments. This was nearly two years ago.

In the journey he and his family have been on the past two-plus years, his steadfast faith and resolve were an inspiration to us all. His perspective was always eternal.

A group of us went to see him two weeks ago. He thought his time was short. He looked good when we saw him: good energy, good color to his skin and face, and he was alert and engaging as ever. That was the last time I saw him.

In the past two years, since his diagnosis, relationships became more and more important to Bruce. It seemed as if his marriage relationship drew even closer than before. His relationships with his children were even more important than before and he placed a special emphasis on getting to know his numerous grandchildren. He loved his friends, both the men in his churches (as Pastor Kerry Willis said, one church couldn’t hold Bruce) and those outside the church. Relationships were of the utmost importance to Bruce.

I regret not going to see him at some point in the past two weeks. He knew his time was short. I knew his time was short. Hospice had been called in to help. I just thought he had more time.

I say all this not to make you feel sorry for me, but to remind us all how important relationships are. They were of growing importance to Bruce as his time here grew shorter. They should be of growing importance to us as our days here grow shorter.

You’re still teaching me lessons, Bruce.