Living by Faith

In multiple states in the US, it is illegal to possess venomous snakes at religious gatherings. These laws arose out of a need to stop a dangerous practice that was taking a lot of lives. In Mark 16, Jesus says that believers would be bitten by poisonous snakes and not be harmed. Well a few churches decided to put God and man to the test and purposefully get themselves bitten by snakes. If you were alright then you had enough faith. If not, you died. A few too many people died while attempting this and it had to be outlawed.

I don't know about you but it sounds a little ridiculous to me. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that God still miraculously saves people from snake bites. Thats not it question. What is in question is the fact that these people went around and obtained poisonous snakes and then got themselves bit just to see if it works.

While many people would say that that is little crazy and unwise, a lot of those people do it with their finances. They quote all the promises from the Bible about living by faith and having God take care of them, and yet never follow the financial principles laid out in the Bible. They believe that God doesn't justt work through the supernatural, He works through the spectacular. Don't get me wrong, he is spectacular, be the God I know works through the subtle and planned as well.

In the gospels there are a few instances of spectacular food multiplication. Twice in feeding thousands with bread and fish, and then a few times with casting the net on the other side. Jesus was in ministry 3 years and alive for 30 before that. I have to believe that for much of that time He simply obtained food and ate it. Perhaps it was so common that they felt they only needed to include a few instances, but I am not leaning that way.

My hope is that we have faith for financial miracles, but lets not get stuck in the thinking that that is the only way He works. God is working through sound principles. In conclusion, don't lose faith in the miraculous, but don't forfeit His principles in the process.

A Message to the church

In my recent reading there have been a lot of messages concerning the church and how it is failing. Many books are being written by, for and about people who love Jesus but not the church. Others make statements that if Jesus were to return he would have some pretty harsh words for the church. Still others relate churches to modern day pharisees and worse.

While I would deny all of those claims, I am writing for a different purpose. It is my understanding that the church is the Bride of Jesus and He isn't planning of giving up on her. At the same time He is purifying her.

With that in mind I was driving the other day and the thought came into my head, what does Jesus have to say about the church? So I asked. And what He said was powerful and I will share it with you real quick.

Jesus responded by saying to me that He has more for the church. He is fighting and interceding for the church. He has great plans for us to share with Him as He courts us into eternity. He recognizes that we are not perfect and that should He come with judgement there will be some scary things but all of that is meant to bring us into fullness. Fullness in God cannot be acheived alone.

I suggest that we all repent for our sins and thoughts about the church (Christs Bride) and continue to ask Him about that fullness. And then we continue to walk with Him and each other towards that.

A legacy

This morning I went to a memorial celebration service for a friends father. I had met this man a few times and had good conversations but that wasn't the only reason I went. I attended this service to to honor this man and the impact that he had indirectly on my life. Many of the people that I am close to were mentored and shaped by this man. The service was interesting and good (if you can say that about a memorial service). He was not old and his death was totally unexpected if not untimely. But the service was bitersweet. There was lots of crying and there will be mourning for sure, but the service was about remembering his incredible life and the fact that he was with God now.

Throughout the service many people came up to the front and told of his impact on them. He would spend hours praying with them, helping them, encouraging them listening to them and walking alongside them. He made many of these people his family. Each one of these testimonies were from people I didn't know but they matched everything I had heard from my close friends. Many of my close friends actually couldn't be there today because they are overseas doing missions work. I couldn't help but think about how he was part of the reason they were over there in the first place.

While I was sitting there celebrating the life while mourning the loss of this hero of the faith, it renewed my resolve to live like he did. He may have died at an age they people may feel was young, he lived life to the full. Its not the quantity of time but rather the quality of the time that we spend here.

His transition may be hard on us down here, but for him it was minor. He lived with Christ here and graduated to the next phase of that. He still lives with Christ (only now he gets to see him face to face).

His life was lived for others and his legacy truly truly lives on. That is said at many memorials but his life was saturated with this legacy. I know this because people talked about it before his death. If you knew this guy and his name came up, you would immediately have to interject the impact he had on your life into the conversation.

Those are just three principles that I learned and reaffirmed my commitment to today. This mans life was more than a few principles though. So much more. Lord, thank you for loaning him to us for a couple decades. We were richly blessed by your gift.

There is no formula

Growing up I was always better at math than other subjects. While math was abstract, it was also formulaic. In both High School and College I took accounting classes and excelled in them. Accounting is largely based on formula. For example, one of the foundations of accounting is

Assets= Liabilities + Equity

It's easy to get caught up in formulas. We somehow think that if we just follow these seven steps whatever we are doing will work. Then reality comes crashing in and causes our formula to evaporate. One church recommends this in order to grow. Another church says such and such is a better way. Still another says that church growth isn't even what we should be going after. Churches will chase practice after practice and get frustrated at their lack of success. "But it worked for so and so," the argument goes. Their church grew to 6,000.

But, they never discover who they are supposed to be. That strategy or formula didn't work because that is not who they are. There is something very healthy in knowing what other churches are finding successful or unsuccessful and were not meant to contain all in wisdom in the world in our little bubble, but we still need to learn in the context of what that means for us. Maybe we employ something but we change some of the variable in the formula. Maybe that strategy doesn't work with our demographic.

I am not saying that we don't glean from one another. I am saying, however, that more important than learning what Pastor Johnny Megachurch is doing, we need to learn what we are supposed to do. And that comes from a multitude of sources.

The Mystery of Miracles

For those of you who don't know me, I am a hopeless analyzer as well as a reader. I like to explore things to death (not literally of course). So lately, I have been reading a lot about miracles, such as healing and visions. I attend a church that not only believes in all that stuff but practices and encourages it as well. As things such as healing have been getting more common, our staff has had much debate over this. In fact, because of these discussions, I have been reading about theological views on healing and listening to different arguments.

I find it fascinating. Perhaps you do as well. The debate on divine healing is a common one. Does God heal today? It is always his will to heal? What happens when someone doesn't get healed? Was is something on my end? Was there sin in my life? Did I not have enough faith? You get the point. I read some of these books and while I like what they say, there are theological holes, on both sides of the coin.

In my studies though I have noticed one common trend. Those who believe in miracles and pursue them see them occur much more often (by the way, miracles aren't just a nice "extra". We are called to pursue them). Those who sit around saying they happen but only by God's sovereignty, or that it is not always His will to heal rarely see miracles. It doesn't make sense to our minds when we believe with everything and have failures, but I would rather at least go for it. Perhaps part of miracles is that they don't fully fit within a theological framework. Or perhaps I am just ignorant (that's quite possible). But regardless, I want to make up my mind in such a way that I see more miracles manifest in my life.

Something Big...

Have you ever pondered the depths and fullness of God? I tried this for the first time last year during a class at work and it has been very powerful. When you first try emotions and thoughts run wild. For me, I was overwhelmed, perplexed and so much more all at the same time. First, the Bible says all over that God is unsearchable. I was overwhelmed because I entered into a realm that is bigger than I can comprehend. Second I was perplexed because I engaged with a task that is impossible. Even in our redeemed sinless bodies it will take eternity to search God out.

And then I calmed down. God whispered to me that He enjoyed me being in this realm and activity. The saints of old and new engage in this. He enjoys us meditating on his fullness and his depths. A peace began to rush over me. Peace seems to be a paradox here but our infinite God is a God of peace. I began to see an ocean. This ocean is a representation of His depths and fullness. I began to see this not because He is literally an ocean, but because this is the only way for my finite mind to grasp even a small part of the task that I am taking on.

This ocean metaphor keeps coming up. A coworker and friend of mine was watching a surfing documentary and began to draw the same parallels as I did. You get in there and begin to surf and you are overwhelmed. There is only water around you. A force that is overpowering and not in the least bit partial to who you are. There is no plan B. But at the same time you are joyous and peaceful. You are out there to have fun, and while it is dangerous it is also good. Everything else in the world falls away. At this point, your unpaid bills, your next meal, the fight you had with a close friend all pass away. You are focused on the task at hand. To enjoy being engulfed in this powerful thing that is so far beyond us.

Here's the difference though. Surfing is enjoyed for a few brief moments. Waves are also impersonal. God is always present, eternal and most of all personal.

Take a few minutes and try this. Its easy. Calm yourself down and think about God. Think about creation and his power. Meditate on His wisdom. Most of all, try to know His love the surpasses knowledge. It will rock your face off.

If you get a little bolder contemplate the fact that that fullness is supposed to dwell within us.

The Wealth of Nations?

Right now I am researching some projects to help try to eradicate poverty. After having seen poverty first hand, I am deeply confused by it but nonetheless passionate about it. You see, while impoverished nations have way less in the way of materialism, they oftentimes lead richer lives. This brings me to my first big set of questions.

1. Can we alleviate poverty and create wealth with out losing the true riches of this life?
2. If so, how do we help them create sustainable life, while continuing to encourage the richness of community, love and relationships?
3. Furthermore, if that is successful how do we bring that back to the western world?

These are big guiding questions underlying the why. Wouldn't it be a shame to create wealth in a country and watch them lose something bigger. (Now you must also understand that I am operating under the premise that western worlds have seen a decline in spirituality, community and deep relationships. I am also claiming that those are far more important than material wealth).

Next comes the question of how. If you believe that you can create wealth without sacrificing the aforementioned, how does that happen. Does it happen with by the big success of a few or by the minor successes of the masses? If it is by the few brilliant entrepreneurial minds who then create jobs, is micro-finance the going to accomplish that? Furthermore is debt even a sustainable way to do it? Our whole country is questioning that right now.

Our world has been trying to eradicate poverty for a long long time. I am not sure there is an end all be all solution but yet were called to care for them. I guess this just means we will have to go deeper.

Our thoughts...On God

Romans says that the carnal mind is at war with God. It is an enemy with God. Paul was talking to believers. He tucks it in right between no condemnation and everlasting love that e cna't be separated from, but nevertheless its in there. He follows that up renewing the mind a few chapters later as well as in other epistles. Furthermore, the apostles (Paul included) warn many times against impure and unsound doctrines. This seems like a big deal to God.

In many Christian circles today there is the claim that we need to worry more about encountering God than we do proper theology. 2 Timothy 3:7 says 5-7 says, "having a form of Godliness but denying its power...always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth." Jesus condemned the Pharisees for knowing the scriptures and missing Him. The thinking goes that He is more concerned with us finding Him than he is about proper thoughts about Him. Perhaps thats true, but I disagree with the mutual exclusivity in that line of thinking.

A.W. Tozer states that "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." I think he was on to something. Our thoughts about something or more importantly about someone create lenses that we see them through. If we believe someone is a liar for example, we will be much less trusting of them. We naturally guard our thoughts and opinions from gossipers for fear of what will spread like wildfires. Our thoughts and lenses guide our encounters. It is the same with Jesus. We can't fully know Him, embrace Him or trust Him without the proper thoughts of Him.

Have you ever met someone who was praying against Gods will and then they wonder why He didn't answer. Don't get me wrong, my thoughts and attitudes towards God aren't perfect, but they aren't an excuse to not pursue proper thoughts and theology either.

The bottom line is our theology is important because in influences our encounters.

A Supernatural God

“I despaired at the thought that my life might pass me by with out God moving greatly on my behalf.” - Jim Cymbala
I have been meditating on this quote for a few days and it has been rocking my world. When I first came across the quote I thought it was a little selfish. I mean, isn’t that what those 'miracle chasers' do? They travel all around just to see something supernatural, yet are never transformed. Someone in the Bible even tried to buy the power of impartation from the apostles (Acts 8). This quote stuck with me however, and as I began to let it sink in I realized this is what the apostles asked for and God was happy grant it. Not for our glory but rather His.

In acts Chapter 4, Peter and John have just been released from prison for healing a cripple and preaching the resurrection of Christ. They got together with the other saints and this was their prayer:

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

And this is what happened:

"After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

They had already spoken boldly. They had already healed and then they asked for more. God not only granted their request to move powerfully through them. He showed His great pleasure by shaking the ground they were on and filling them once again with more of the Holy Spirit. They understood that they needed this. A great commission had to be backed up by great empowering.

The supernatural is not something that God reluctantly does. It is not something He was happy to do for a little while but stopped when He finished those 66 great books we call the Bible. The supernatural is who God is. I don’t believe you can separate that from Him anymore than you can separate Love from Him. Not only that, he oftentimes expresses his love through powerful acts. God loves to show himself powerful on behalf of his beloved children.

2 Chronicles 16:9 states:

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

The Lord is calling us to step into situations that bring Him glory through power. I long to look back on my life and state with confidence that the Lord moved greatly on my behalf because He wants that.

Balance and Wholeness

I have had multiple people pray over me and tell me that I am a very balanced person. I have also heard others say that no where in the Bible did it say that Jesus was balanced. Their argument is that Jesus wasn't a little about serving the poor. He wasn't just a little bit about prayer. And he doesn't call us to be that either.

I would have to agree. However, since when was balance about being just a little bit about something. When I read the gospels, Jesus was all about prayer. He was all about the Kingdom. He was 100 Percent about poor and fully about his fathers business. He was balanced in the sense that he cared about these things equally and he calls us to the same standard. Perhaps balance isn't the vest word. Maybe wholeness fits better and is easier to grasp. Jesus was wholly about each one of these things.

As he calls us to wholeness, be have to examine how Jesus lived this "whole" life. First, each thing that Jesus was about was empowered by one another. Jesus didn't see prayer as one part of his spirituality and serving the poor as another part. They were married together. It was all one for him. The umbrella for all this was that He was all about his fathers business. Whatever He saw his father doing, Jesus did. That is how we should be. We should be "wholly" about our fathers business.

Social Justice and the Church

Social Justice is becoming quite the buzzword in Christian circles and churches today. We invite guest speakers in to talk about issues such and child soldiers, poverty, abuse and human trafficking. There has been a rise in NGO's (religious and non-religious) to combat these problems. People are choosing churches based on the social justice programs that it has and people are starting to come to church because of their support for these things.

First, I want to say that I am all for it. If anything the church needs to step up in a bigger way on these issues (And they are starting to). Micah and Isaiah talk about it in the Old Testament. Jesus, Paul, James, Peter all mention it in the New Testament. I love hearing people talk about their heart for the widows, orphans, homeless, oppressed and tormented. I want to ask a question though. Is our focus on Christ? What I mean is this:

Are we rescuing these people from their situations, but failing to give them something Eternal?

Now I am not suggesting that we force Jesus on people or cram a Bible down their throat. The decision has to be theirs and theirs alone, but are we making it clear that He is the driving force in our lives? Are we communicating that he is our everything and our savior both for now and eternity? The founder of Gospel for Asia makes the statement that we have given them relief, hospitals, water and food, but they have died and gone to hell. That is not the result that we are looking for, but the reality is true. If someone is delivered from their present situation but their eternal destination remains unchanged, we have done a disservice in the long run.

My prayer is that you will take this situation before God and wrestle with it with Him. We need both. We are not called to bring them life that starts in eternity alone, but neither are we called to give them life now without inviting them into eternity.

Invest Deeply

For my first blog post I wanted to start with something that has been on my heart a lot and I want to do a better job at. Many of the people around me have done a very good job at it, even if it hasn't been at the forefront of their mind. Its two words, but for the last fews months they have been very profound. Here it is:

Invest Deeply

We have heard the phrase, "you will get out it whatever you put into." The reality of it though has been rocking my life. Am I living with the intentionality on putting something significant into everything we do, especially relationships.

Invest Deeply with God

Invest Deeply with Family

Invest Deeply with Friends

Invest Deeply in Learning

Invest Deeply in you Dreams

I look at the people I admire in their walk with God and used to wonder what is missing in my walk that they have. Are they better at not sinning? No. Were they blessed with a gift to walk with Him that I wasn't? No. Are they more spiritual and less practical? No. It was the simple fact that they invested deeply into in the God that stole their hearts. It wasn't sheer discipline either. Mike Bickle once said that "Lovers outwork workers everytime."

Friends, in everything, Invest Deeply. The Bible says it this way, "What ever you do, work at it with all you heart..." Col 3:23

Thanks