the story we are telling

Much has been said and continues to be said about the influence of the church in the world.  It’s not the need to reach out to the world that’s at issue; we not only easily recognize the biblical principle but readily acknowledge the urgency of our mission as believers to share the message of Jesus.  We know there are those who are spiritually lost and dying without Him.  We look within ourselves and testify to the very real need we each have for the Gospel to be spoken into our lives as well.

The question therefore becomes: How?  How do we share?  How do we connect?  How do we influence?

Because the question of many outside of Christ is: Why?  Why is relationship with Christ important?  Why should I seek to be faithful to Christ?  Why concern myself with salvation when the odds are that eternity is decades away?

The answer is quickly found in the story of the Gospel.  But the greatest need that we have in sharing Christ with others is helping them to see themselves in the story.

Maybe you’ve heard the name “Billy Sunday.”  Sunday was a circuit preacher during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  He preached a “hell fire and brimstone” message.  The sermon was not complete until Sunday had sweated and screamed himself into exhaustion.  Thousands responded.  One of the things Sunday preached was that the ideal life, and ideal end, was to be baptized and then to immediately walk out of the church doors and be hit by a truck!

What do you think?  Is that the perfect life?

I believe Jesus was after more than that when He said “I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly,” don’t you?

What we quickly learn when we peer into the ministry of Jesus is that He walked right along side of people in their journey as he ministered to them.  He was constant in who He was.  And He helped others to see where they fit into what God was doing.

I think Jesus talked more than He preached.  He lived in such a way that God was undeniable.  Certainly the response to openness to God was left completely up to the individual.  But I believe that so many in Jesus’ ministry left a conversation with Him open to the Kingdom simply because they wanted to be a part of the story He was telling.

What I want to convey in all of this is that you have the ability to minister to people that I will never meet.  That only you can minister to.  God crafts us each to be who we are.  Our task is to bring them into the story we are telling.  To help them to see where they fit into what God is doing today.

Glory to God!

Jason

kacey

My beautiful, wonderful, creative, soon-to-be-driving daughter turns 15 today!

My sweet girl, who still lets me call her “Muffin Mouse” when none of her friends are around.

Kacey, I love you with all my heart.

I love who you are, and the fact that you know who you are!

You have such a heart for God and for your family and for others (and yes, for animals too).

I am so blessed to be your dad!

Thank you for being you!

Love, Dad

————

The picture was taken this afternoon at the Round Rock Express AA Baseball game.  We are vacationing this week in Austin.

Kacey just so happened to be sitting in seat 15!

the avenues of God

Anytime a Christian struggles with faithfulness to God, the avenues of God, readily available to the believer, are intrinsically granted in the covenant that Almighty God has given us in His Son Jesus.

Paul speaks of the Armor of God in Ephesians 6 by which we “take our stand against the devil’s schemes” (v11).  The belt of truth.  The breastplate of righteousness.  The shield of faith.  The helmet of salvation.  The sword of the Spirit, God’s Word (His spoken, written, and Living Word).  These implements are defensive in nature.  Protective by design.

In Roman armor the belt is secured first.  The breastplate, once in place, is then connected to the belt with leather straps.  The helmet was often also, once in place, connected to the breastplate in a similar manner.  There are two swords that were at the Roman soldier’s disposal.  One was long.  An offensive weapon.  The other was short.  More easily maneuvered.  In battle the shorter sword was often held in the soldier’s off hand because it was utilized primarily as a defensive weapon.  Paul’s description here is of the shorter, defensive sword.  It further depicts God’s covenantal, protective nature and the avenues relationship with God though the Gospel of Jesus provide us as His disciples.  But, do we devote ourselves to them?

What are the avenues God has given us to draw nearer to Him during times of temptation?  To protect us during times of attack from Satan?  In order that we might prove faithful to Him?  I believe four primary avenues He has granted us are: His Spirit, His Word, prayer, and each other.

However, do we truly invest ourselves in these pivotal facets of our faith?  How in tune are we with His Spirit that resides within us?  Are we aware of the Spirit’s direction, counsel, and the spiritual strength He provides?  Do we read Scripture?  Do we hide His Word in our hearts?  How much time do we spend with God in His Word?  And in prayer?  Do we intentionally pray?  Do we set aside intentional time to pray to our Father?  Do we commune with Him every moment of life?  Do we strengthen one another?  Hold one another accountable?  Do we have the relationship with committed disciples of Jesus as faithful participants in the Kingdom that covenant provides and faithfulness requires?

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3)

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful.  He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13)

“Everything we need,” Peter assures.  “A way out,” Paul affirms.

But do we pursue the avenues of God?

Glory to God!

Jason

effective communication

The way information is processed and is passed on evolves over time.  From word of mouth and letters carried by the Pony Express to the latest multi-media blurb found on the internet, the way information is effectively shared and received continues to develop day by day, year after year.

In the early days of newspapers, when newspapers were the primary method of delivering the news, when something big had occurred, the publisher would not only publish the usual daily paper, but would also publish an “Extra.” The extra newspapers were sold on the street corners, often by newsboys, who had a stack of papers and would sell them to those who passed by. When an Extra was published, the newsboys would call out “Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” to call attention to the fact that something big had happened, and an extra bit of pressing news had been published.

How do we go about sharing the Good News of Christ?  How do we go about communicating Christ in a post-modern and, some would advocate, a post-Christian, culture?  What is effective?  What is not?  What was once effective but no longer is?  How do we adapt?  It has been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over believing a different outcome will be the result.  The message of the Gospel remains the same.  But how do we go about carrying out the mission of Christ in the contemporary world we find ourselves?  Sound discussion has taken the place of fierce argumentation.  However many today ask the question: “Is there really anything that’s worth discussing?”

Christianity has always existed as a culture within a culture.  Being a mission-minded people and effectively carrying out the mission of Christ entails both a striving after the Kingdom and an understanding of the environments in which we find ourselves a part.

The Apostle Paul affirms, “I have become all things to all mankind, so that by all means possible, I might save some.”  Same message.  Differing methods.  No one has all the answers.  But I believe asking the questions is a step in the right direction.

Glory to God!

Jason

a chosen people

But you are a chosen people,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

a people belonging to God,

that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;

once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy….

- 1 Peter 2:9-10

Glory to God!

Jason

evidence of our commitment

To what degree are we committed to the Kingdom of God?  For many the answer resonates quickly.  Commitment is readily affirmed.  But I’m talking specifically about what is revealed in our actions.  Do our actions demonstrate a commitment to the Kingdom?  Or, do they demonstrate something wholly different than perhaps we even feel within?

Christianity is, by design, relational.  Our relationship with God.  Our relationship with others.  With His church.  With the world.  As in any relationship, what is within must be expressed in order for it to be truly valid.  Too often in many personal relationships the goodness that is within is scarcely expressed.  At least it isn’t conveyed well enough.  What I mean is this… sometimes a husband and father may in his heart love his family.  He truly believes he loves them.  And in his heart of hearts, he does.  But somehow that love stays inside.  He may within himself feel that he loves his family.  And the family may witness glimpses of that love.  But primarily what they experience is a dad who is tired all the time, complains a lot, never seems satisfied, and for the most part wants little to do with the interworking of the home and gives a sense that he just wants to be left alone.

As the old saying goes, “Actions speak louder than words.”

The same can be said of faith.  The evidence of our commitment to the Kingdom is revealed not by what is within, but rather by what is expressed through intentional action in our lives.

In Galatians 5:22 the Apostle Paul writes, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Paul says to us, “This is what it looks like when the Spirit of God resides within you.  Love is revealed.  Joy is made evident.  Peace sooths from within.  Patience is a constant.  Kindness is our natural response.  Goodness is pursued.  Faithfulness is what we are about.  Gentleness is the norm.  Self-control is a given.”  And if we think things through, as God orchestrates the design of Scripture, it is the Spirit Himself, guiding Paul’s pen, saying to us, “This is what it looks like when I live within you.”

Second Century Apologist, Irenaeus, writes: “The glory of God is man fully alive.”  I cannot help but think our being “fully alive” is conditioned by our relationship with God through Christ, an acute awareness of God, and by our commitment to the Kingdom.

Glory to God!

Jason