sticks and stones

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

That old adage may bring some comfort to a little boy who has just gotten his feelings hurt at school, but it doesn’t hold a whole lot of water in the real world does it?

Words are powerful.  They are powerful.  And among all of God’s created, human beings are the only ones who communicate with words.

Trevor Hudson articulates well, “Our words, whether spoken or written, enable us to reveal or hide ourselves, to build or to break community, to help or to hurt our neighbor.  When used carefully, words facilitate self-disclosure, foster communion, and release healing.  When used carelessly, they create confusion, generate conflict, and cultivate chaos.  Well aware of this immense potential that inhabits our words, the writer of the Proverbs exclaims without exaggeration: ‘Death and life are in the power of our words (Proverbs 18:21).”

I wonder how acutely aware you are of the power of your words?  I wonder if you are intently cognizant that enveloped within the things you say lies the power of “death and life”?

How many relationships have been devastated by the speaking of hurtful words?  How many loved ones have been injured, wounded deeply, distanced, through selfish, harsh, or uncaring words?

On the other hand, how many lives have been forever wonderfully impacted through encouraging words?  How many have been healed through the kind words of a friend?  How many believers has God empowered to accomplish great things for the Kingdom through the comforting, assuring words of a God-sent encourager?

The power to speak death.  The power to speak life.

“Out of the overflow of the heart,” our Savior affirms, “the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

And so consider the words that you speak, and the words that you have spoken.

What do your words say about your heart?

Are there any fences that need to be mended?  Or relationships that need to healed?

Glory to God!

Jason

giving up our rights

“Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).

“He must become greater, I must become less,” John the Baptist (John 3:30).

“Paul, a servant of God….” (Titus 1:1).

Humility is elusive, because just when you think you’ve got it… you don’t!

For some humility is a gift.  It comes extremely naturally.  To very few humility is second nature (my grandmother is like this).  However, for most, humility is a daily choice that runs contrary to our nature.  A decision that is willfully made.  Day after day.  Moment by moment.  To humble ourselves and be ever so willing to become obedient to death, even death on a cross (connect Philippians 2:8 with Luke 9:23) whether that cross is physical or metaphorical.  To give up our rights and die to ourselves so that Christ might be lifted up and exalted through us.

When someone is being questioned in regard to a crime by a governmental official they will first be advised of their rights before any questioning begins.  The Miranda warning reads, “You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to have an attorney present prior to and during any questioning.  If you cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one to you.  Should you choose to begin answering questions, you have the right to terminate the interview at any time.  Do you understand you’re rights?”  When the answer comes back, “Yes,” the next question asked is, “Will you voluntarily waive your rights and answer some questions?”

In Christ, humility demands that we give up our rights.  We give up our rights to be first.  We give up our rights to be center stage.  We give up our rights to be heard.  To be proven right.  To be exalted.  In order that He might be first.  Center stage.  Heard.  Proven right.  And exalted.  The cross of Jesus requires that we give up our rights, take up our cross daily, and follow Him.  That we would willfully empty ourselves of self.  And that in turn, we would be filled by Him.

I wonder how this God-ordained approach my impact some of our struggling relationships?

Glory to God!

Jason

the fullness of obedience

As I write this article I have eight commentaries, four Bibles, and two hermeneutical texts on my desk to help with one particular verse that I’d like for us to consider today.  I seldom refer to quite so many, and generally choose for us to be less technical during our “time” here, but in this case I wanted to unpack one specific verse of Hebrews a bit, only to begin to initiate our thoughts in this direction.

First the context: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.  Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him and designated by God to be High Priest in the order of Melchizedek” (Hebrews 5:7-10).

Jesus’ submissiveness and faith is certainly at the center of the Hebrew writer’s thesis.  The Messiah willfully chooses the cross so that we might be saved.  He is our High Priest, interceding on our behalf as both priest and king, without beginning and without end (“in the order of Melchizedek” – see Genesis14 – Melchizedek means “King of Righteousness”).

But the one idea I’d like for us to focus upon is that our Savior “learned obedience” from what He suffered (v8).  I understand the author’s impetus in that Christ is “made perfect.”  He is made whole/complete/glorified as He is resurrected by the power of God.  Atonement for sin is achieved.  Eternity secured.  But what does it mean that He “learned obedience”?

Are we to deduce that Christ had not “learned obedience” until the cross?!  Absolutely not.  So what then does it mean?

What if we were to read verse 8 like this: “Christ experienced obedience from what He suffered”?  Does that help us in our understanding of what is being communicated?  Or, “Christ learned by experiencing the fullness of His obedience”?  Does that change our perspective?

Christ’s entire life and existence defines discipline and fidelity to the Father.  Obedience characterizes the whole of our Savior’s existence.  We are called to imitate His obedience and discipline as we strive to live called lives (Philippians 2:1-11).  And yet what is being communicated to us here in Hebrews 5:8 is Christ’s experience of the fullness of His obedience.  The Apostle John shares something similar as he describes the Upper Room scene where Jesus washes His disciples’ feet, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love” (John 13:1).  It’s not as if He had not revealed His love prior to the moment.  And certainly His love will be made manifest the follow morning!  But through the servanthood of the Lord in the Upper Room, the Apostle describes the revelation of the Savior’s love as it is experienced by His disciples as He washes their feet.

The culmination of the life of Christ, a life lived in complete and total surrender to the Father’s will, is revealed as He “humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).  As Christ experienced the fullness of His obedience.

Therefore when Jesus calls us as His disciples to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23) experiencing the fullness of obedience, each and every day, is what He is after!

Glory to God!

Jason

acknowledging our brokenness

Last week our focus Sunday evening was upon the Bread of God.  We began with the manna from heaven in Israel’s wilderness experience (Ex 16).  We then transitioned to the call of the Ezekiel, as the Prophet eats the scroll of the Word of the Lord (Ez 2:8-3:4).  The scroll tasted sweet as honey, like manna.  Our next stop along the way together was the Psalms, where we read from Psalm 19:7-10 and connected to David’s praise that “the Law of the Lord” and “the precepts of the Lord” are “sweeter than honey.”  Our final text came from John 6 where Jesus explains that He is the Bread of God, that gives life to the world.

Our emphasis was upon being sustained by God.  Being filled by God.  Being satisfied by God.  In every way.  Recognizing and receiving the daily bread of the Lord (His Word, His Spirit, our experiences, the simple joys of life).  Our call was to filled by Him.  Spiritually.  And we acknowledged that we are only filled to the extent that we hunger for Him (ref. Mt 5:6).

But I want to flesh this out (pun intended, see Jn 6) and take it a step further (and if this finds its way into a sermon later on just act like you’re hearing it then for the first time)….  As we come to the table each week and commune with our Savior and commune with one another and commune with the body of Christ the world over, we break the bread in remembrance of the Messiah (Lk 22:19).  Jesus says, “This is my body given for you.”

And as we accept the Lordship of Christ we become a part of the body of Christ.  When in Christ we are the body of Christ (1 Co 12:27).  As we commune with our Lord each week, we celebrate the Good News of Jesus.  And we refocus ourselves upon who the Gospel calls us each to be.  But I wonder, do we see ourselves in the bread?  (Stay with me for a second….)  Because only when we are broken, can God do in us and with us and through us what only He can do.  Only when we take ownership of our brokenness can our Father begin to create within us that which is Christ-like.  When we accept the Lordship of Christ, as we are baptized into Christ, we acknowledge our brokenness and we come to Him to make us whole.  As we break the bread each week, do we recognize our brokenness?  As those who are the body of Christ, are we in that moment consciously aware that only in Him we are made whole?

Glory to God!

Jason

victorious in our salvation

In Luke chapter 4 we are given insight into the human and divine nature of our Savior as Jesus is led into the desert by the Spirit.  During forty days of fasting (or at the conclusion of them depending upon your understanding of the text) Jesus is tempted by Satan.  “‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.’  Jesus answered, ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’  The devil then led Him up to a high place and showed Him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to Him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.  So if you worship me, it will all be yours.’  Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’  The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple.  ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down from here.  For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’  Jesus answered, ‘It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’  When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:3-13).

Much could be said about this event in Jesus’ life and ministry.  The fact that it occurred (when you consider Matthew’s account) immediately following the baptism of Jesus is significant.  Jesus’ discipline and complete and total reliance upon God in fasting during this time powerfully speaks to us.  Jesus’ response to each test while abiding in God’s Word is crucial.  Certainly Satan’s distortion of Scripture in Jesus’ testing is something that should be emphasized.  But what I’d like for us to consider are the reasons behind the specific ways in which Jesus is tempted/tested.

“If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”  Notice Satan’s condescension: “If….”  Did Satan know that Jesus was God’s Son?  Absolutely.  Did Jesus know?  You better believe it!  Was there anyone else present for this conversation besides the two of them?  No.  So why begin with question?  He’s testing Jesus’ character!  And why bread?  Because of Jesus’ hunger?  Yes.  But even more so, if ever there was going to be a moment where Jesus was susceptible and fragile in His humanity this would have been it.  Our Lord, however, stood firm.  And why the temptation of the kingdoms of the world?  Power.  Prestige.  Authority.  Ego.  The temptation of salvation while falling from the pinnacle of the temple?  Along those same lines: Pride.  Arrogance.  Ability.  Worth.  The writer of Hebrews acknowledges that Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  And we see this reality clearly lived out in our Lord’s life in His testing.  But in doing so, do we to see our own humanness as we are tempted by Satan every day as well?

John the Apostle writes, “For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:16).  Precisely the three areas in which our Savior was tempted.

We are in such dire need of salvation.  So God sent us Jesus.  But He sent Christ not only to save us, but to show us.  To show us how to live victorious in our salvation.

Glory to God!

Jason

consistently overwhelmed

I wonder how consistent we are in our relationship with the Father?  No one knows us more intimately than God.  I wonder how He would answer the question?  How consistent would He say we really are?

Isn’t consistency crucial in a relationship in order for the relationship to be strong?  Certainly there will be moments of struggle.  Times of failure.  But isn’t consistency paramount in any relationship?  And doesn’t the same principle apply to our relationship with God through Christ?

As a whole, are we consistent?  Are we growing spiritually?  Are we more and more faithful?  To our King?  To His Kingdom?  To His will?  Or is there somehow a disconnect?  In life and faith?  Between us and God?

“Compartmentalization” is the practice of separating life into individual compartments.  A dichotomy of life.  Dividing, separating life into compartments like you’d box up last night’s Ming’s Chinese take-out.  Being one person when around other Christians and another when around non-Christians.  A different person at home and with the family than at work or with friends or when all alone.  In compartmentalization the context dictates who we are in the moment.

The compartmentalization of life is the antithesis of discipleship.  The equivalent of hypocrisy.  A far cry from living a life formed and shaped by Jesus.  When we attempt to compartmentalize life it is impossible to be consistent in our relationship with God.  Because we have no core sense of self.  We’ve lost who we are.  Because who we are fails to be definitively defined by Jesus.

In chapter 7 of the Gospel of Luke, the good doctor describes an event in Jesus’ ministry where our Savior is anointed by a woman who has lived a sinful life.  The woman is so grateful just to be in the Messiah’s presence that she is overwhelmed.  Christ looks within the heart.  Motives and willingness are evident to Jesus, no matter how things may appear to others.  The religiously pious and those with prideful hearts question Jesus.  But the woman is overwhelmed.  “Her many sins have been forgiven,” Jesus says, “Because she loved much.”  “But the one who has been forgiven little, loves little.”  The question out of this moment in Jesus’ life is not: “Have we been forgiven little or much?”  We’ve all been forgiven much.  The question is: “Are we overwhelmed that we live in the Savior’s presence?”

Only when we are defined by Christ will we see life with clarity.  Rather than the compartmentalization of life (allowing the context and situation to determine who we are and what we are about) we are called to assimilate life through a Christological lens, a Christ-focused lens.  Defined by and purposed by Jesus.  Striving toward faithfulness.  When we are and when we do, we will find that we are more and more consistent in our relationship with the One we call Lord.

Glory to God!

Jason

who do you say that i am?

“Once when Jesus was praying in private and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’  They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.’  ‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’  Peter answered, ‘The Christ of God.’  Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.  And He said, ‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.’  Then He said to them all: ‘If anyone would come after me, they must deny themself and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” (Luke 9:18-23)

This is one of my favorite passages.  For so many reasons….  When Jesus asks the disciples who the crowds understand Him to be, to be honest, I don’t think He’s really concerned with their answers.  Certainly He knows what their responses will be, the generalizations of the masses.  The presuppositions of those who have heard of His ministry.  And so the disciples respond with the understanding of others.  “John the Baptist?”  “Elijah?”  “Maybe a prophet from long ago who’s come back to life?”  Jesus wanted them to say it.  He wanted them to mentally process it.  He wanted them to verbalize it.  But then He asks the question to which He truly wants an answer.  “What about you?  Who do you say that I am?”  Of course it’s Peter who responds with the belief of those who are closest to Him: “You are the Christ of God.”  “You are the Messiah.”  “You are God, in humanity, who’s come to redeem the world!”

You see what Jesus truly wants an answer to is personal.  “What about you?  Who do you say that I am?”  I think we’re tempted to think that this is a verbal acknowledgement.  And although included, I think it’s much deeper than that.  Who we believe Jesus to be is profoundly revealed in our fidelity to Him.  In our commitment to the cause of our Savior.  In our beliefs.  In our faith.  In our priorities: How do I spend my time, my energy, my money, my life?  Am I faithful in every way?  To my Lord?  To my spouse?  To my family?  Am I kind to my children?  Do I cultivate faith in them?  Am I a trustworthy friend?  When others look to me are they convinced that I believe Jesus to be the “Christ of God”?

It is for this reason that Jesus calls for His disciples then and now to deny ourselves.  To die to ourselves and take up our crosses of sacrifice daily.  Then and only then will we be capable of fully following Him.  Fully following.

To be a disciple of Jesus is to fully belong to Him and to be fully committed to Him.  Half-hearted Christianity is not Christianity.  Is it possible to be a Christian, but not a disciple?  Who do you say Jesus is?  Does your life confess what your lips acknowledge?

Glory to God!

Jason

gnats, camels, and following Jesus

“These people honor me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.  They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” – Matthew 15:8-9 (Jesus quoting from Isaiah 29:13)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!  You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill, and cumin.  But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  You blind guides!  You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.” – Matthew 23:23-24 (Jesus telling the Pharisees what’s up!)

There is a point where religion gives way to faith.  In order for this to occur there must come a point in time where God becomes real.  To us.  Where His kingdom begins to break in all around us.  It is a pivotal moment.  A crucial moment.

Maybe it comes about in a moment of victory.  Maybe it’s in a moment of defeat.   Maybe it comes about through the words of God in Scripture.  Maybe through the words of a friend.  Certainly the Spirit is involved, softening our hearts.  Whatever it is that brings it about, we must come to a point in our lives and in our faith when a decision is made.  God is either God, or He is not.  Jesus is either Lord, or He is not.  The life-saving work of Christ is either everything to us, or it is nothing to us.  Relationship with God is either a get out of jail free card at the end of this physical life, or it is the transformative covenant that it is intended to be here and now.

Somehow, too often, discipleship is divorced from faith.  As if that’s possible.  As if that’s biblical.  As if that’s acceptable!  The call is to follow Jesus (faith).  Not simply a system of belief (religion).  And too often we find ourselves straining out the gnat but swallowing the camel.

What is discipleship?  Taking up our cross daily and following Jesus (Luke 9:23).  Where does religion end and faith begin?  Only, only, when we follow Him.

If we understand anything from the cross, anything from the resurrection, anything from the design of the Gospel, it is that half-hearted Christianity is a hollow shell of existence, and nothing compared to the overwhelming greatness that comes from living a life defined by Jesus.

Only when we willingly, intentionally give our whole selves over to Him will we begin to live into the fullness of the Kingdom.  And only when we are defined by Christ, will we begin see life with the clarity that only He provides.

Until then we swallow the camel one suffocating chunk at a time….

Glory to God!

Jason

a radical change of mind

“You’ve heard it said….  But I say….” we hear our Lord proclaim over and over in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus reinterprets.  He reforms.  He reprioritizes.  “I know that you’ve heard it this way….”  “I know that human nature says to respond like this….”  “I know that you bring your own presuppositions to the table….”  “I know this is the way that you once thought of things… but now, things are different.”

Jesus steps into our world and transforms our thinking, our ideologies, our worldviews, our way of life.

Here’s a tough one He tackles: “Love your enemies.”  “You’ve heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43-44).

Love your enemies!?  I have a hard enough time getting along with my friends!  Pray (bless) those who persecute you!?  Are you serious?

And it’s an active love for our enemies.  And it’s a very tall order!  More than just a passive bearing of persecution or hatred.  Loving them.  Blessing them.  Doing good to them.  For them.  Regardless of who they are or what they’ve done.

In this and in countless other ways Jesus calls for a radical paradigm shift.  A radical change of mind.  A change of perspective.  A change of heart.

We see Jesus exemplify His own teaching as He prays for God to forgive those who are responsible for His death (Luke 23:34).  But what about we who are ultimately those who are responsible because of our sin?

The Apostle Paul connects the dots for us: “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!  For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:8-11).

You see while we were still enemies of God, Christ died on our behalf.

“Love your enemies.”  It’s one of those areas of the Gospel and one of those areas of our life and faith that we would just as soon ignore.  It’s about a radical change of mind.  From a mindset that is worldly to one that is of the Kingdom.  It’s about seeing the potential for the magnificent impact of the Gospel of Jesus in the most unlikeliest of places.  Just like God saw it in you, and in me.

Glory to God!

Jason

prodigal God

I love the story of the Prodigal Son.  In Luke 15 the good doctor records for us three brilliant parables of Christ. Three which were lost.  The Lost Sheep.  The Lost Coin. And the Lost Son. Three beautiful stories of that which was once lost and, in the end, is found. What follows when that which lost becomes found? Rejoicing! Overwhelming rejoicing! Awesome!

The culmination of the three parables is the third and final: the Lost Son. The Prodigal Son. The Wasteful Son.  The one who threw it all away. The most profound moment in the parable comes about halfway through. It’s the moment that the son “comes to his senses.” How amazing! Isn’t that what our Father wants? For us to come to our senses? And then as the son returns home, the father runs to meet him and redeems him from himself, from his sin. It’s a powerful portrait of the cross!

And so last week I read Timothy Keller’s The Prodigal God. So powerful! Keller’s thesis is that it’s not the son who’s the prodigal…. It’s God! He defines prodigal as: recklessly extravagant; having spent everything. The Prodigal Son is a story of the Prodigal God. A God who is recklessly extravagant with His love.  With His grace. The very definition of the Gospel story is of a God who has spent everything.

Our God is a Prodigal God!

How amazing!

Glory to God!

Jason