A grace covering

We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God, so it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not. But I would be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace. If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die. (Galations 2:17-21)

I know there is a lot of commotion in the world right now about what religion one practices.  As strongly as I feel about the faith I have in Christ Jesus, I cannot see the need for this type of response to the beliefs of others.  It is indeed a tragedy for some to follow beliefs which encourage the destruction of property and life.  I don't believe we should focus so much on the "sin" of the "radicals", but on the "sinner" in each of us which begs for the intervention of a Savior to redeem us from our sin.

Anyone who finds "faith" in any religious pursuit leaves some old way of living behind and takes up with new choices and purposes.  They may be totally misguided on occasion, but nonetheless, this "exchange" of purpose and practice takes place. The point is we all "leave" something to "embrace" something else.  As Christians, we have chosen to leave a life which was lived by self-directed means with a focus clearly not on others, but ourselves.  We chose to embrace a new way of seeing things and others around us - through the eyes of grace and not the eyes of judgment.  

We "came to Christ to be made right with God". Did you ever stop for a moment to consider what you "gave up" when you "came to Christ"?  If we examine our hearts and minds a little, we will begin to realize we think we gave up a whole lot of stuff, but in fact, we didn't give up that much.  Our faith brings us into a new plane of living and making choices - we just left the old way of doing things behind.  If we go back to the old way of making choices, expecting to live on this new plane with those practices from the old way of living, we will live confused and misguided lives.

We die to the messed up belief that we could keep all the rules included in any set of religious rules and come to Christ.  We live for God as a result of letting go of those set of rules.  As long as we are more focused on the "practices of religion" rather than our relationship in Christ Jesus, we will continue to mix the methods of the old life with the new.  As long as we focus on the rules of the law, we destroy the power of grace.  I don't know about you, but any time I have tried to keep the rules perfectly, I see how imperfect I really am!  I am not the best at keeping all the rules - sometimes I just need to break out into some rebellion and do things my own way!  We cannot bind together in unity apart from grace helping us to live at peace with each other.  

We are told to not compromise our trust in God.  To do so is to clearly operate outside of the boundaries of safety he has placed in our lives.  We are told to not engage in sins which violate our body because the body is the temple of God's Spirit - therefore any compromise to this is clearly outside of the boundaries of safety in our lives.  The "rules" we adhere to as Christians are essentially to protect us from the destructiveness of our own sin nature - something for which grace provides a barrier or covering.  Whenever we keep trying to do things in our own strength or power, we are outside the boundaries of grace - for grace is essentially rooted in trust and reliance.  Mixing the old with the new just muddies the waters and doesn't help us to embrace or live in grace.  Just sayin!

A change of heart

I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:14-19)

God's people will continue to struggle with the influence of those 'religious individuals' around them who seek to 'bind' them with rules and regulations. In Paul's epistle to the Galatian church, he recounted the purpose for the Law of Moses - to point out the need for a Savior - but he also reminded them how impossible it is to ever keep ALL of the Law. In fact, he goes so far as to say the Law was meant to be kept in its entirety, but no one was actually able to do that, so depending on those rules and regulations as your means of being made right with God was quite foolish. Grace came to us through the sacrificial offering of Christ dying on the cross. Grace differs from the system of works in the Law - one is God doing it all for us, the other is us trying to do it all for God!

In our passage today, we observe Paul's earnest desire for each of us to understand the unlimited resources available to those who enter into this relationship with God through faith in the finished work of Christ. His Holy Spirit comes to empower us to live right - something we find very difficult without his presence guiding us out of 'slavery' to the way of living by 'rules and regulations'. There is something powerful that happens when we stop 'trying to work our way to God' and we begin to trust that God has already worked his way into our hearts. We begin to find rest and a sense of peace that permeates our every fiber. Is sin still a constant temptation to us? Yes, as long as we live on this earth, sin will tempt us, but with God's Spirit within, sin need not win.

The 'inner strength' that comes from being empowered by the Holy Spirit is more than our 'internal willpower'. Our own willpower is quite ineffectual in changing our motives. Our motives are changed when God's Spirit energizes our thought life, moves upon our emotions, and settles into our heart. The desire to 'live right' or 'upright' is not something we can 'will' ourselves into - it is a condition of the heart that is accomplished when God's love begins to permeate the mind, emotions, and spirit of man. Religion keeps us bound to 'doing' and 'redoing'. Relationship with God sets us free to realize a change of heart we can never accomplish on our own. Just sayin!

Not where, but who

It isn't where we worship - it is who we worship. It isn't about a place - it is about the heart. This Samaritan woman came to draw water from a well, but I doubt she expected this encounter with Jesus. She knew the prophets had predicted the Messiah to come, but did she know she'd encounter him at the side of the well? She just went there daily to draw the water and return to her duties back in the village. Today, she would not only be challenged by someone who knew her past, but she was being challenged to have her future changed for the better. That is how it is when we encounter Jesus - our past might have been a challenge for us, but our future doesn't have to be!

“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?” Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:19-24)

Here or there? This way or that way? These have been questions we focus on so much at times, but Jesus merely focuses on the heart. He got right to the truth with this woman. She needed 'living water' - eternal life. He offered it. Yet, she questioned him a bit more - not really recognizing him as the Messiah, but feeling he must be a prophet because he could tell her things about herself that he could not know otherwise. As the story goes on, his disciples join him and find him talking with a Samaritan woman. In their 'theology' that was not acceptable because the Samaritans 'worshipped' differently, accepted 'mixed marriages' between Jews and the 'people of the land', and adopted the ways of 'unholy' worship that were common in the culture of the kings ruling the land. 

We don't see this woman's 'conversion', but we know something happened that day because she ran back into town, told everyone what happened to her at the well, and as a result, many Samaritans welcomed him into their lives. We may come from different backgrounds, look a bit different from each other, and even have different perspectives on 'how things should be', but the truth is that when Jesus is welcomed into our lives, none of that matters. He asks us to believe in him, accept his gift of eternal life, and then begin to follow him. Will our 'worship' change when we do? Perhaps it will, for some more radically than others. What changes is our heart. We aren't the same after Jesus exposes our heart and begins the actions of changing our heart, so our 'method' or 'place' or worship might not be the same either! 

Whatever stands in the way of us following Jesus will begin to matter very little when grace does its work within us. We may not know how radically Jesus will change our lives, but when we welcome him in, we will be changed. Just sayin!

Are you getting the most out of it?

I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love. (Galatians 5:4-6)

I bet no one will be surprised to know that I spent a great deal of time trying to be holy by completing various religious 'plans' and 'projects'. I'd fast for a day, not really knowing why I was doing it, but someone told me it would 'make me closer to God'. I'd read a certain number of chapters in the Bible every day, not really getting much out of it, all because someone told me I needed to make a 'plan' for reading through the Bible every year. I'd go to church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night - not because I always felt like it, but because it was 'expected'. How many of us have been in the same boat - going about 'doing the plan', but not really getting much out of it?

Truth be told, as I have grown a bit wiser, I find myself happy to simply 'ingest' a few verses every day, thinking upon them, seeing what God wants to tell me about how to make wise decisions, find peace, or get my life in order somehow. I attend church, listen online, or just celebrate God out in nature while out of town, not out of obligation, but because I enjoy being taught as much as I enjoy teaching others. What made the difference? I guess it was listening to God's 'small voice' deep inside asking why I did these things - what purpose were they serving in my life. When I really stopped to consider the 'exercises' in faith, I realized they were simply 'religious exercises' that weren't really accomplishing the intended purpose!

Once I asked God to help me be less 'religious' and 'pious', do you know what happened? I fell in love with him! I enjoyed my time that I regularly set aside for the two of us. I found he spoke to me very clearly and that I actually listened to what he told me. It wasn't a magic formula that brought me closer to God - it was a yielded and obedient heart. Did the change happen overnight? Nope, but it happened! Did it change the way I acted? Yes, now the actions are genuine and without second thought. They are purposeful and life-giving. Do I still find myself in kind of 'mulligrub' spiritual moments where it doesn't seem like I am getting much from the time I am spending with him? Yup, but they are usually because I need a little attitude adjustment, not that I need to engage in anymore 'spiritual rituals'. 

How about you? Have you been going through the motions, but not really connecting with him? Have you settled into a place of 'activity', but not really 'pursuit'? Is your heart in it? If not, maybe it is time to ask yourself the 'w' questions. Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for? What is the purpose behind this action? When I 'perform' this activity, what is the outcome? Answering those tough questions honestly could just give each of us a little bit of insight into how committed our heart is to getting the most from our relationship with him. Just sayin!

Begin, Spread, Maintain

 They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (I Peter 2:8-9)

Obedience is a hard topic to discuss, but a much harder lifestyle to maintain. We WANT to be obedient at ALL times, but we honestly do well to be obedient MOST of the time. How do we get from MOST to ALL? This is the question that has plagued mankind since the Garden of Eden. God's Word seems to be central in what it is we are to use as a 'guide' for our actions, but how is it that we actually get the Word of God to produce the right actions within us when our human nature wants something entirely different?

If we look closely, maybe even read between the lines of these verses, we can probably begin to pick up it isn't about what we know, but about who we are in relationship with at ALL times. While the Word of God is our 'manual' of instruction toward obedient actions, the real obedience begins in taking time to get to know the God we serve. Relationship vs. Religion - the two seem similar, but there is a huge difference. Religion demands obedience to the rules. Relationship shows us how to actually incorporate the rules into our lives, so they become 'first nature' to us and our human nature becomes 'second nature'.

Relationship isn't attained through casual contact - it may be attained in a moment, but it is maintained in many moments, each day, without fail. This is where we get a little 'off course' in our lives - we take a moment 'here and there' thinking all will be well in our lives. While any moment with Jesus is going to strengthen our lives, it is the repetitiveness of being together that actually helps us get to know him and understand his ways. It is as we get to know him deeper and get to know his ways better that we find obedience easier and more frequent in our lives. 

We are God's holy people, called out of darkness and into light - not just to enjoy the light, but to have that light reflected into the lives of others. In order to do that, we need to allow the relationship we build moment by moment with Jesus to be built into the lives of those we touch moment by moment. Just think how many 'need' light, but who have no idea where to find it - then you come along, and they begin to see something in you that is different from every other relationship they have experienced. Light began with relationship - it is spread by relationship - it is maintained within relationship. Just sayin!

Is this the right direction?

Are you one of those folks who need to "have it all together" in order to "do life"? I bet you have been pretty disappointed with just how much you find yourself struggling to even get it together in the first place - let alone keeping it together! We constantly limit our potential whenever we think "perfection" is the goal and WE are the ones to actually accomplish this goal! My friends, perfection IS the goal (Christ), but WE are not the ones going to accomplish the goal (salvation and all the "clean up" that comes with it). All we can do is head toward it - Christ is actually the one beckoning us on and he will be the one who gets us over the finish line!

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. (Philippians 3:12-14)

All Christ expects of us is to get "underway". In nautical terms, when the ship is said to be "under way", it has begun to move. It may not be traveling under its own power or at lightning speed! In fact, in the old days, before we saw the advent of diesel turbines, ships were powered by the elements of nature such as the wind and the flow of the current. It was an external power of wind and current they had to tap into in order to move. It really isn't much different for us - we need an external power to affect us in order to get us "underway". Once that "external" power becomes something we allow to move us, we find we begin to embrace this power as the means by which we make progress in our lives.

It is not the power of suggestion, or even the independence of will-power, getting us across the finish line. It is the external power of Christ brought inward within our lives until it affects us, moving us little by little in the right direction. If you have ever seen a baby learning to walk, it is important for them to have things they can reach out to as they take the next step. If there isn't anything near enough, they won't venture away from what they have in their reach. They toddle back and forth on the object they hold onto, but as soon as they reach the end, they just don't go further. They need the stability of whatever gives them the sense of "standing strong". We need the stability of whatever we think will give us strength and help us to stand strong. As soon as we reach the end of whatever it is we are holding onto, we just freeze. What we often fail to see is the hand reaching out to us to beckon us forward - to take the step of faith we need to take in order to reach the next phase in our lives. As long as we hold tightly to what gives us "anchor" we won't ever be able to "get underway". This is why it is important to look at what might be anchoring us in the present position we occupy. It could be fear - or even pride. Either way, neither of these will help us reach our destination.

These religious pursuits some of us have only anchored us into a life of futility - walking back and forth across the same path, unwilling to let go of what gives us anchor. Religion is just like that - it gives us anchor, but to the wrong stuff! It anchors us to what we can do ourselves and doesn't stretch us beyond our capacity, nor does it build our faith. It isn't until we are willing to let go of our hold on religion and enter into the freedom of relationship that we recognize we are finally "underway". Nothing puts more "wind in our sail" than relationship - nothing anchors us right where we are more than religion. All religion can do is keep us focused on the rules and develop frustration inwardly each time we don't adhere to those rules the way we should. What relationship can do is to begin to lighten the load - so we can finally get underway! Religion is us working our way TO God; relationship is God working his way TO us. If we are to make any positive movement, we have to let go of the things we have held so tightly to and stretch for the hand just in front of us. It isn't the lack of movement on our part which gets us bogged down - it is the lack of movement in the right direction! Just sayin!

Do I need this?

“The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.” (John 14:21 MSG)

Some might think there are a whole lot of different gods in this world and they'd be correct in their assumption! There are a lot of 'different gods' in this world, all of them man-made gods. Even men who have risen to places of 'adored exaltation' are not really all that exalted. There are a few reasons why Christianity is different from every other world religion in which someone or something has been exalted as the god they worship. We observe the first difference in respect to 'how' one is able to be made 'righteous'. In all other world religions one must 'earn' their way to some placement or position. It is a system of 'works' to become more 'enlightened', 'fulfilled', or 'empowered'. As my pastor so aptly puts it - all other religions require us to work our way to their god, but Christianity is clearly about God working his way to us. Think for a moment on what we find recorded for us in Romans 5:8 about how Christ died for us. If we truly understand that passage, we notice one very clear thing - before we did anything for him, he did it all for us! The truth is that God doesn't wait on us to get things right in our lives - to achieve some place or position with him. He takes the first step and then does the rest to boot!

While almost every 'religion' has some set of very specific rules that must be followed, from observing various days or seasons to very specific rituals, Christianity is a bit different. You see, God reminded us these might be good things to help us remember we serve a great big God, but they don't get us any 'stature' or 'special attention' from God. He finds one thing very attractive - relationship. He wants us to be in relationship with him - intimate, growing, and free relationship. Rules and rituals pretty much keep us bound to the need to 'perform' in order to attain something - bringing us right back to 'earning' our way into heaven once again. In Christ Jesus, God showed us there was no 'earning' through ritual or religious pursuit - relationship was established and maintained by the actions of Christ and nothing else. Some may find great joy in keeping certain 'seasons' of celebration in their churches, but if they become the focus and not the relationship, we are drifting outside of what God desires of his children. 

As we are nearing the Easter celebration - the remembrance of the empty tomb of Christ and all that was accomplished in his death, burial, and resurrection - let us never lose sight of the fact the tomb is a reminder of all he accomplished. The tomb never held him captive and it shall not hold his followers captive, either. There was no system of works, or rule-keeping service-based rituals that accomplished his release from the tomb. It was relationship with his Father - something he provides to all who enter into relationship with him. Christ is the difference between all other world religions and Christianity. His sacrifice on our behalf was what created that 'bridge' between our 'rule-keeping' existence and that which is opened into intimate relationship with the One True God. We might not fully recognize our need for Christ, nor our desire for relationship with God, but both are provided even before we do! Just sayin!

Educator or Communicator?

"Educators take something simple and make it complicated. Communicators take something complicated and make it simple."  (John C. Maxwell) 

In which "camp" do you see yourself - as an educator or as a communicator? I grew up in the sixties and seventies, receiving most of schooling before the age of "common core" education dawned on the scene. Honestly, I think it is quite possible educators may have taken "simple math" and made it a whole lot harder than it needs to be!  My grandsons come home from school trying to figure out some problem today and I have to read a journal of articles on the internet to figure out why adding two numbers requires you splitting them apart, adding up their numbers separately, and reaching the same answer I always got when I learned to add the "old way". I have even met some educators today who say the new "common core" has made things way more complicated than they need to be, but they cannot veer from the curriculum because it is "what needs to be taught" per school standards. Sometimes what has become "common" to many remains a little less than understandable to most!

27 “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:17-30 NLT)

Jesus didn't make the gospel message complicated - he was a communicator of truth - first in his life, then in his words. We'd do well to remember his example! The "simplicity" of the gospel is often what trips people up, though. I think they want to make relationship with Jesus so complicated that they turn it into a religion and then they lose sight of what the true focus is to be in the first place! As Jesus said - to know God, we get to know Jesus - because he is the one who has actually seen God the Father and he reveals all there is to know about him to us. Jesus invites us into his rest - herein we find him waiting to teach us - not to dictate our lives, but to turn us toward right choices and in turn, a heart that truly understands and knows rest.

By definition, we might think of a burden as something that is carried, but it is also a responsibility that one has to fulfill something. In entering into relationship with Jesus, he takes upon himself the "burden" (that which has been carried by us) of our sin. In turn, he gives us the "responsibility" of obedience - of learning how it is we make right choices and allow those choices to influence our actions. He doesn't do this through the keeping of religious rituals such as regular church attendance, giving into the offering, volunteering at the local food bank, or helping out the old lady next door with her household chores. All of these are worthy expressions of what many will do when they are in right relationship with Jesus, but when we think these "duties" will get us into right relationship with God, they are a burden we weren't designed to carry! 

As my pastor so frequently says, religion is all about us working our way to God; relationship is all about God working his way to us through his Son, Jesus. We make it way more complicated than it needs to be - making it harder and harder for some to actually meet, know, and follow Jesus. The path to "finding God" isn't so much about us "doing", it is about what God has already done! He has cleared that path through the blood of Jesus shed on Calvary's hill so long ago. Plain and simple - it isn't that we "do", it is that we "rest". We don't need to complicate relationship with Jesus - it really is quite a beautifully simple thing. We say "yes" to him, he takes upon himself the "burden" of our sin. The penalty owed for such a heavy burden has already been paid at the cross. There is now no condemning force that can accuse us of our "unworthy" state any longer. In Christ, we are new creations - all sense of unworthiness is left at the cross. 

Plain and simple - we don't need new educators of religion. We need new communicators of truth! Just sayin!

What is the "religion" you adhere to....

Religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a super human agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Now, that is a mouthful!  Yet, if I read it again and again, it really says nothing to me to define what Paul might have been thinking about when he reminded Timothy of the importance of "religion" as guiding one's life, keeping one on track, and giving purpose to all of life's actions. There is a closer definition which is also listed in the dictionary which really indicates "religion" as something which "alters" our way of living.  I think this is probably what Paul had in mind - a set of values and beliefs which alter our way of living - affecting choices repeatedly until they come into alignment with one believes.  

As the saying goes, “Exercise is good for your body, but religion helps you in every way. It promises life now and forever.” These words are worthwhile and should not be forgotten. (I Timothy 4:8-9 CEV)

Just as exercise is good for the body, the set of values (morals) and beliefs (standards) we choose to hold onto in life determine how we will respond to life's challenges.  For example, if one of the values we adhere to is honesty, then when it comes time to do our taxes, we will likely read through the instruction booklet and adhere closely to what it says we are allowed to claim as deductions. If we accidentally claim something without knowledge of the error, we won't feel any conviction in doing so until the claim is rejected or our inaccuracy is discovered.  The morals which guide us (honesty) will cause us to amend our return - accepting a lesser return or even paying a tax based on the error.  Why?  We have a set of values which guide our actions - any deviation from that set of values will cause us something we refer to as guilt.

Physical exercise helps the body stay in shape - giving our body form and endurance which will help us in many ways.  Yet, a "toned" body does very little to help us be honest on our taxes!  It doesn't keep us respectful of one another's feelings.  It cannot give us the integrity to remain faithful to vows we have made to God or one another.  It is simply a way of ensuring our physical body is in the best shape it can be in to respond to life everyday.  The challenges of the mind, heart, and will are something we need this thing called "religion" to help us sort out.  These set of beliefs are what give us the minimum set of "standards" by which we respond to these tests of the will, unease of the heart, and stubbornness of the will.

If this holds true, then we need to ensure the set of values we adhere to are very closely aligned with what scripture reveals. Any deviation from the scriptural truths will produce a flawed set of values and has the capacity of influencing our choices in a negative manner.  This is why it is dangerous to have a "religion" which is based on personal opinion or a man's (woman's) "personal revelation" of "truth".  Man's "personal revelation" or "opinion" is dangerously flawed by how it is we see each other, ourselves, and even our appreciation of the holiness of God.  For example, if we see our "revelation" as superior to the holy scriptures, we will be "adding to" scripture teachings which are based on some "personal experience" we have had.  As scripture plainly points out, it is unacceptable to add to or take away from scripture - the man/woman who does so is going to be judged very severely. "Everything God says is true—and it’s a shield for all who come to him for safety. Don’t change what God has said!  He will correct you and show that you are a liar." (Proverbs 30:5-6 CEV)

Be cautious about the set of values you adhere to - for they matter more than you know. It is more than a "denomination" which makes the difference.  It is the entirety of what we believe which settles the truth within our hearts and minds, guiding our actions. Just sayin!

Step on up

This life would be made a whole lot easier at times if Jesus just came right out and said, "Let me ask you something..." - wouldn't it?  We wouldn't have to ask if the little voice we hear "mulling things over" in our minds was just us or if it was his Spirit speaking with us.  We wouldn't have to ask, "Is that really you, Lord?"  We might just take steps forward with more confidence, step back when danger is imminent, and be so in tune with God's next steps that we never are out of touch with what he is doing.  There are probably more times when we are found asking if God is really speaking to us, if we can trust what we are hearing or sensing, and if this really applies to us in our present circumstances!  Why?  Maybe it is because our minds just have a hard time wrapping themselves around this idea of God talking with mortal man; or maybe we just don't quite "buy into" what he is saying and doing in our lives, so we stand there finding a way to "discount" it.  Either way, we often miss out on the best he has for us because we don't act upon what we hear!

“Let me ask you something: What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”  (Luke 6:9 MSG)

There are times we come to God quite expectantly; at others, we find ourselves in the place where we might discover his awesome power if we will just stop long enough to pay attention.  As we unwrap our scripture passage today, it is important to recognize that the man being touched by Jesus is not there by accident.  It was the Sabbath - the day for church.  He was going about his normal routine - because it was the day to gather in the local church house.  Most of the time, God speaks to us in the everyday stuff we do. There is a time and reason for fasting, attending retreats, or taking a time away to discover what God has to say to us about something more "significant" than or everyday routine.  Most of the time, the discoveries we make about Jesus and his faithfulness in our lives are in the "everyday" stuff we walk through with him.

Both the man with the crippled hand and the Pharisees (religious leaders) were going about the "regular" stuff they do on the Sabbath.  No one was really there for a retreat, or because it was declared to be a "Feast Day" with solemn fasting and sacrifices being offered.  It was a regular church day.  In the moments we take pause to listen to the voice of Jesus, we have the potential of seeing the "regular" become the moments of "supernatural" connection with him.  The religious leaders may have been looking for a way to make Jesus lose credibility in the eyes of the congregation, but the man with the crippled hand wasn't about to pass up what could be a very special moment for him.  In the "regular", he was about to experience the "supernatural" and he wasn't' going to miss out!

Even in the "regular", we sometimes need to act a little "irregularly".  It would not have been customary for the crippled man to approach the teacher at church.  In fact, the withered hand made this man "less than perfect", so he would possibly have been in a group of "other unfortunates" who also suffered from diseases of their bodies or deformities of sorts.  He would have come to church because it was the customary thing to do, but on this day, I wonder if he really knew what would become of his faithfulness.  We probably don't know what will become of our faithfulness, either.  It isn't that we go to church regularly - it is that we are faithful to the things we know God wants of us on a consistent basis.  When we find ourselves consistent in our walk, perhaps we will also find ourselves in these moments when the "regular" becomes the "supernatural" in our day!

We never know when we will be the "called out" in the crowd.  In that moment, the way we respond makes all the difference.  I know I have faltered on occasion - how about you?  In those moments, we need to learn to just step out - for in the regular we find our opportunity to experience what we could only imagine apart from his power displayed on our behalf.  God doesn't need our religious piety - he needs our heartfelt sincerity.  He doesn't speak to our religious performance - he meets us in our deepest moments of need. He speaks in ways we may not notice because we are so intent on what might believe will be the way he will act, but if we just listen closely, we will hear his call to come forward.  In that moment, his faithfulness on our behalf is made alive in our need.  Just sayin!

You "underway"?

If you have a tendency to think you need to "have it all together" in order to "do life", you probably have been pretty disappointed with just how much you find yourself struggling to even get it together in the first place - let alone keeping it together!  We limit our potential whenever we think "perfection" is the goal and WE are the ones to actually accomplish this goal!  My friends, perfection IS the goal (Christ), but WE are not the ones going to accomplish the goal (salvation and all the "clean up" which comes with it). All we can do is head toward it - Christ is actually the one beckoning us on and he will be the one who gets us over the finish line!  

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.  (Philippians 3:12-14 MSG)

All Christ expects of us is to get "well underway".  In nautical terms, when the ship is said t the "under way", it carries the idea of having begun to move - not necessarily the idea of traveling under its own power or at lightning speed!  In fact, in the old days, before we saw the advent of diesel turbines, ships were powered by the elements of nature such as the wind and the flow of the current.  It was an external power which they had to tap into in order to "get under way".  It really isn't much different for us - we need an external power to affect us in order to get us "underway".  Once that "external" power becomes something we allow to move us, we find we begin to embrace this power as the means by which we make progress in our lives. 

It is not the power of suggestion, or even the independence of will-power, which gets us across the finish line.  It is the external power of Christ brought inward within our lives until it affects us, moving us little by little in the right direction.  If you have ever seen an baby learning to walk, you know how important it is for them to have things they can reach out to as they take the next step.  In fact, if there isn't anything near enough, they won't venture away from what they have in their reach.  They toddle back and forth on the object they hold so dearly to, but as soon as they reach the end, they just don't go further.  They need the stability of whatever gives the sense of "standing strong".  

I don't think we are very dissimilar.  We need the stability of whatever we think will give us strength and help us to stand strong.  As soon as we reach the end of whatever it is we are holding onto, we just freeze.  What we often fail to see is the hand reaching out to us to beckon us forward - to take the step of faith we need to take in order to reach the next phase in our lives. As long as we hold tightly to what gives us "anchor" we won't ever be able to "get underway".  This is why it is important to look at what might be anchoring us in the present position we occupy.  It could be fear - or even pride.  Either way, neither of these will help us reach our destination.

In this passage, Paul has just stated a long laundry list of things which he had previously believed lent important to his life and credibility to his relationship with God.  In the end, he found these religious pursuits only anchored him into a life of futility - walking back and forth across the same path, unwilling to let go of what gave him anchor.  Religion is like that - it gives us anchor, but to the wrong stuff!  It anchors us to what we can do ourselves and doesn't stretch us beyond our capacity, nor does it build our faith.  It wasn't until Paul was willing to let go of his hold on religion and enter into the freedom of relationship that he recognized his life as being finally "underway".

The same is true with us - we have to let go of this "religious" stuff we get so anchored to and begin to reach out to the hand beckoning us onward.  Nothing puts more "wind in our sail" than relationship - nothing anchors us right where we are more than religion.  All religion can do is keep us focused on the rules and develop more frustration inwardly each time we don't adhere to those rules the way we believe we should.  What relationship can do is to begin to lighten the load - so we can finally get underway!  

I like what my pastor says: "Religion is us working our way TO God; relationship is God working his way TO us."  If we are to make any positive movement, we have to let go of the things we have held so tightly to and stretch for the hand just in front of us. It isn't the lack of movement on our part which gets us bogged down - it is the lack of movement in the right direction!  Just sayin!

What's in your "heart-vault"?

Crowds have a way of pressing in on us, being a little unwieldy, and just plain rude, don't they?  Give people enough to "gawk" at and they will congregate quicker than ants on honey.  I call them "looky-loos" - they are they for the "show", not for much else.  They come to see, certainly not to participate. They come interested in what they might get, not in what they might give away.  What draws a crowd?  Isn't it the spectacular, the unexpected, and the unusual?  Jesus was all of these things.  Spectacular - dramatically daring as he went against the Pharisees and dared to challenge their "religious-ness". Unexpected - surprising those who least expected his touch or care with the deepest expressions of his love.  Unusual - shocking them with the extraordinary and the uncommon display of power, grace, and wisdom.  He was a crowd "gatherer", but he was also a crowd "divider".  The same things which drew many to him also set many against him.  It was these spectacular, unexpected, and unusual things Jesus said and did which got the dander of the Pharisees up.  On the other hand, his disciples may have been drawn in by the same things, but in time, they came to understand him as those in the crowd did not and this was Jesus' greatest joy - someone looking past the spectacular, unexpected and unusual to connect with his heart.

By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other’s toes, numbered into the thousands. But Jesus’ primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, “Watch yourselves carefully so you don’t get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness. You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.  (Luke 12:1-3 MSG)

Although the Pharisees were ever-present in the crowd, their intent was not to find the truth in what Jesus was saying, or to support the work he was doing. Their intent was to discredit, taking the attention away from the "good" he was doing and bringing some type of dishonor to him.  Their main concern was the amount of attention he was getting and the little bit of attention they themselves were now attracting.  To this end, Jesus calls the attention of his disciples to their actions - not so much because they were a real hindrance to his work, but because he wanted to protect the disciples from their "phoniness".  The Pharisees saw themselves as so spiritually mature - above the crowd in their pursuit of all things holy.  Jesus knew the shallowness of their "holiness" and his point in calling attention to them on this day was to simply point out the foolishness of trying to "appear" mature when you really are anything but mature.

I guess we could all kind of admit we have done this on occasion - trying to make ourselves look a little more "all together" and "spiritually mature" than we really are on the inside.  It is best done by putting forward some type of "rule-keeping" facade.  Yet, this type of "religious phoniness" is not going to get us anywhere in God's kingdom.  I think this is why Jesus had such great concern for his disciples recognizing this up front.  It would have been easy for them to get a little confused - seeing the example of the Pharisees as the "ultimate" experience when it comes to religion.  Indeed, it is just that - the ultimate experience when it comes to "religion", but not as it applies to relationship.  Jesus' primary concern was, and always will be, for our relationship with him and his heavenly Father.  

In looking closely, we might just find there are those who actually practice as modern day "Pharisees" - their lives are pretty shallow under the facades of religion they sport with such pride.  You can watch hours and hours of every teacher and preacher on the Christian television stations, but still be shallow. You can read author after author, ingesting all kinds of spiritual self-help books, but be devoid of any real learning.  You can speak with all kinds of eloquence and still say nothing.  The image is there, but the heart vault is empty.  Relationship is the only thing which fills the heart vault!

If we really examine what scripture warns about the Pharisees, we see pretty much the same things over and over again.  The warning is against the preoccupation with title, regulations, rules, and rituals.  Sometimes we "sport" the title of "Christian" as though it gave us some special privilege or "import" to the world around us, all the while with empty "heart vaults".  The heart vault is only filled through deep, lasting, and intimate relationship with the one who helps us move beyond the rules, focusing less on the rituals and more on the genuine sharing of heart with him.  You have probably heard the term "legalism" used in modern day churches.  If so, what is being described is the modern day practice of Phariseeism.  The pursuit of all the rules, but the lack of focus on the heart.

The crowds are drawn by the "show".  The Pharisee delights in putting on the "show".  The disciple delights in the "connection" created when you get past the "show".  Jesus warns against being more concerned with the "show" and what you "know" than in what it is you "experience" while nuzzled right up to his heart.  Our heart vault is only filled when we nuzzle!  You know what it means to "nuzzle"?  Animals "nuzzle" while rooting for food.  They have to push through a whole lot of inedible stuff before they get to the sweetness of what lies just beneath the surface.  I think Jesus had this in mind when he was speaking with his disciples - getting past the stuff which hides the sweetness he desires for us to experience.  I don't know about you, but I am think I'd rather engage in a little nuzzling to find the sweetness he has prepared than spend a whole lot of time protecting the image I "prepare" for the world.  I am in pursuit of that which fills the vault of my heart.  Maybe we'd all do a little better if we "nuzzled" more and "masked" less.  Just sayin!

Salvation 101 - Part VI - Freedom

^4-8Once people have seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit, once they've personally experienced the sheer goodness of God's Word and the powers breaking in on us—if then they turn their backs on it, washing their hands of the whole thing, well, they can't start over as if nothing happened. That's impossible. Why, they've re-crucified Jesus! They've repudiated him in public! Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God's "Well done!" But if it produces weeds and thistles, it's more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.

(Hebrews 6:4-8)

There are several passages in Hebrews that speak to us about "drifting" away from our position in Christ - some call this leaving the faith - still others call this backsliding.  The Book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians - those who believed in Christ as their Messiah.  These were "converts" to the Christian faith.  Paul is most concerned because they are drifting back into their former ways of belief - a system of works.  They were actually being chastised a little by Paul because they had come to a place of freedom in Christ and now were returning to the bondage of the Law (trying to mix Law with Grace).  Just like oil and water, these just don't mix.  

First, let me just say this:  Drifting is gradual - it is a result of us being inattentive to the relationship we have with our Lord.  In order to be growing, we must pay attention to what it is that brings growth to a relationship.  If we don't spend time together, we drift apart.  If we don't share our hearts in communication with each other, we soon find we have very little in common.  Whenever we neglect our growth, we are simply turning away from that which gives us the greatest freedom.  We lose the closeness of relationship with Christ and the blessing that brings - but do we lose our salvation?   

If "drifting" is caused by inattention, then why do we do it?  It is simple - it requires our attention and there are tons of competing voices that demand our attention!  We have to be attentive to our relationship with Christ - it is an active pursuit, not a casual occurrence.  Nothing suggests that we have drifted away from a position of growth than to become "legalistic" in our worship and service.  Whenever we are doing things just for the sake of doing them, we are in a place of "drifting".  The problem with being in a place where we are just legalistic in our religion is that we rarely see any need for repentance when all we are doing is going through the motions.

Here this:  GRACE is not part of legalism!  In a place of legalism, mercy is something we have to EARN.  In a place of relationship, mercy is something we are given unconditionally and enjoy freely.  Paul was dealing with this fact as he wrote to the Hebrew converts.  He observed firsthand, had heard reports, and now he is taking the lead to counter their insensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit in their lives.  That is the first thing we will miss in our walk whenever we start to drift into legalism - the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We will be so focused on "doing" that we miss who it is we are doing it for.  Whenever we are growing, we look forward to our time with Jesus - knowing it will be a time of daily renewal.  When we drift into legalistic ways, we really are choosing to NOT be renewed - we miss out on the transforming power of Christ in our lives.

Whenever we fail to recognize the value of grace, we drift into legalism.  We begin to "miss the mark" on what grace can really do in our lives.  Legalism is going through the motions - religion is another term for this.  Grace has the potential to produce awesome life transformation when it is given free rein!  

There is a similar message in the 10th chapter of this book (10:26-30) - it deals with the attitude of heart that results in a person engaging in sin repeatedly.  Paul says that if we deliberately keep on sinning after we received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.  Many use this passage to point the finger at those who struggle with sin after they enter into relationship with Christ and say that this means that if a person were to die with "sin in their hearts", then they would not go to heaven.  

In order to really understand this passage, you have to read the whole chapter.  In the 22nd verse, Paul has laid out that they need to draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.  Then he goes on in the 23rd verse to outline that they need to hold fast to the confession of faith without wavering.  If that  weren't enough, he adds that they need to stir each other up to love and good works.  When he begins to talk about engaging in sin repeatedly, he is talking to them about what happens when we don't draw near, hold fast, and stir each other up.  There were two groups of Jewish people he encountered - those that rejected the Messiah and those who accepted him as Savior.  If they would not accept him as Messiah, there was no hope for them - they would assuredly see him as their Judge!

Paul is dealing with the idea of returning to the "traditions of man" and  the "rules of the Law" as a form of religious works - they were actually inviting the anger of God by trampling on the grace God had so freely offered them in the gift of his Son's life.  This entire book deals with the rewards of serving the King of Kings, the Messiah!  If anything else took the place of serving him, the benefits of grace would be lost.  If we were looking at the stock market, we might say we could lose what we invested.  Jesus did the investing here, not us.  What Paul focuses on is that the provision of Christ's sacrifice for our sins is not something we lose - it is something we reject!  We did not "take the risks" of dying on the cross to make atonement for sin - Jesus did.  So we don't lose our salvation, we reject it.

There is a difference between drifting away into staleness of relationship and never being in relationship at all.  In our natural relationships, we periodically experience staleness because we have not made any investment of self into that relationship.  Paul's entire focus here is that they not substitute anything for the grace of Christ in their lives and that they remain intent on following Jesus.  To not do so is to drift away from the freedom of grace into the staleness of a system of works (religion).  Tomorrow, we will build upon this to look at what some call the "unpardonable sin"

Affected, but not always accepted

^37-39On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says." (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)   ^40-44Those in the crowd who heard these words were saying, "This has to be the Prophet." Others said, "He is the Messiah!" But others were saying, "The Messiah doesn't come from Galilee, does he? Don't the Scriptures tell us that the Messiah comes from David's line and from Bethlehem, David's village?" So there was a split in the crowd over him.
(John 7:37-44)

The crowds were growing as Jesus walked the streets with his disciples, healing the sick, setting bound free, and opening blind eyes.  More and more gathered around each day, just hoping for a glimpse of some miracle, maybe a word for themselves.  Yet, the biggest struggle in the crowd this day was not who would get the next miracle, the next touch from Jesus.  It was "who is this Jesus"?  There was a mixture of beliefs in the streets - he's a prophet, a teacher, a carpenter from Galilee.  No one really could agree about who this "Jesus" was.

The truth is that Jesus seldom fits the "mold" we try to put him in.  We often "see" him one way - trying hard to make him "fit" the perception we have of him.  Our perceptions are often not correct because they have been "warped" by our past experience, the present sensations we are experiencing, or the future hopes we have formulated in our imaginations.  Just as there was a lot of speculation in the streets as to the Messiah's "roots", there is often a lot of speculation in our own perceptions of how Jesus will move in our midst.

I am of the belief that this is why we have so doggone many denominations and world religions today.  No one can make Jesus fit a mold!  Yet we keep trying to pigeon-hole him into some belief system that is not always correct!  We cannot agree with ourselves, much less each other!  So, we split over the silliest of things and another church is formed, another denomination, or even another "world religion" that gets into some form of worship outside of the worship of Christ!

The crowds were divided that day as Jesus was walking amongst them.  They had all kinds of "opinions" about who he was.  These "opinions" would ultimately be the force that kept them from unifying in their beliefs.  Here's the truth:  Jesus is a crowd breaker!  He will never be accepted by all, but he definitely affects all!  

Isn't it about time that we stop "splitting hairs" over little matters of disagreement in the church and begin to unite behind the one who really is the center of the church - Jesus Christ?  No one possesses all knowledge.  No church has the ONLY revelation.  The truth is that if Jesus is preached as the Son of God, the Word of God is the foundation for living without adding to it or taking away from it, and lives are being drawn out of darkness into light...the church is actively doing what God calls them to do.  

Jesus is a crowd breaker - even those who won't accept him will ultimately be affected by him!