Simple human things

If you have a copy of 'My Utmost For His Highest' by Oswald Chambers, I encourage you to read the entry for Feb 21 entitled, 'Have you ever been carried away for Him?' If you don't have a copy, check it out online at http://www.myutmost.org/ and go to that date. Here are a couple of highlights: 'Have I ever been carried away to do something for God not because it was my duty, nor because it was useful, nor because there was anything in it at all beyond the fact that I love Him?...Not Divine, colossal things which could be recorded as marvelous, but ordinary, simple human things which will give evidence to God that I am abandoned to Him?...Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. ...When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time.'

What are those 'simple human things' that Chambers talks about that serve as tokens of love to God? One form they can take is compassion and comfort for others in need (Matthew 25:40). However, we often undercut our very attempts at compassionate service because we have a greater desire to be in the spotlight than to abandon ourselves to the work God will do through us, and the sentiment interpreted by the world is, "Here, let me help you, not because I care, but because I'm better than you are and it's what I'm supposed to do." Compassion gets lost in the wake of our drive to appear compassionate. I think if we will slow down for a second and truly evaluate the compassion we have been shown by God, the authenticity of our outreach will never again be in doubt.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 that God is the 'Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.' I don't think any of us have to think very hard in order to bring to mind someone who is struggling through troubles. Perhaps you don't have to think very long because it is you who are feeling weighted down by troubles. If that's the case, I pray you will receive this time as an opportunity (albeit a hard one) to understand just how deeply God cares for you. Grasp the boundless extremes of God's love and allow His comfort to overwhelm you even in this darkness. In order for us to know the expanse of His faithfulness, we have to journey to places we can't believe (yet!) that God can reach. God comforts us in all our troubles.

However if that's not the case right now, we will eventually find ourselves in that place where we can compassionately serve our neighbor, and it is there that we have to be very careful to acknowledge what (more accurately Who) is the source of our comfort. Somebody in this world is experiencing trouble right now, and the source of their comfort is God. But the delivery of that comfort is you and me. Don't mix those roles up! Believe me, I can do remarkably little to comfort a brother or sister in trouble when I draw from my own compassion stores. But when I allow the comfort God has bathed me with to overflow into another person's life, true compassion is both given and received. Most importantly, all parties involved recognize that God is the Father of ALL compassion, and glory is given to him alone.

Now, notice two small words in the passage from 2 Corinthians above: all and any. God comforts us in all our troubles. We have never pulled ourselves out of any holes of despair. We have never encouraged ourselves to endure through the midnight of heartache because we would bring the dawn of healing. We have never been in any trouble that God was not there actively applying comfort and healing to our wounded hearts. Not once. Not ever. Big. Small. In ALL our troubles, God has been and will continue to be our comfort.

Also, we have been given the capacity to comfort our neighbor through any trouble they are facing. How many times have we passed over a stranger in trouble (or worse a friend) rationalizing, "I can't do anything to help them."? That's absolutely right! But we shy away because we fail to recognize the true source of all compassion and comfort. It's not us, it is God. This is where we have to get it out of our heads that we are anything but vessels of God's compassion and comfort. We must get to that place of abandon that Chambers talks about, and find God working through us. Only He can comfort ANY trouble, and he will do so through you and through me.

Shine the spotlight on me, and you'll find a wounded, weak, patched up pot that isn't worth a second look. But look inside me and find the inestimable treasure that is God's mercy when He sought me, found me, and healed my wounds. Discover the brilliant Glory of Love that covers over every sin I ever perpetrated against Him and those around me. Let me show you the marvelous purpose and destiny that he has graciously placed within me. And then let me tell you that neither He nor His love ever changes. The same comfort that I've been given is for you, too. And all that treasure, all that goodness inside, all that love is for you as well!

So those 'simple human things' that we do out of abandon to God are passing along all the comfort that we have received from God to any other who finds themselves in trouble, and simply, honestly, and humbly revealing the glorious treasure of Who God is and what He has done in our hearts.

God, I now realize that it has always been You comforting and caring for me when my world, my life, and my heart were broken. You poured out love beyond measure and life without end into my heart, and now You allow those radiant riches to shine through and overflow out of my cracks into the hurts and wounds of my neighbors in this world. I pray that today I would offer back to you some simple human thing that expresses how carried away I am by Your Love! In the Name of Jesus, my Comfort in all troubles, Amen.

under-loving, under-worshiping

The channel for the river of our worship of God is cut by the current of our understanding of His love for us.

We love and know what love is because God first loved us (1 John 4), and our worship of God is the expression of our love for Him (Luke 7). True and right worship is dependent upon a deep realization and true understanding of God's mercy and forgiveness (Romans 11:32-12:1). Paul prays for the church at Ephesus '...to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...' In his first letter to Timothy, Paul would testify as to how he had come to grasp (and be grasped by!) the wonder that is the love of God in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1). How do we grasp love? What does my worship tell me about my understanding of God's love for me?

In Luke 7 we have the story, not a parable, of a supper that Jesus was invited to at the house of a Pharisee named Simon. What transpires there gives us an illustration of the ties that exist between mercy, forgiveness, love, and worship.

As Jesus reclines at the table of Simon, a woman enters the room and begins to weep, wash Jesus's feet, and pour sweet perfume onto Him. She doesn't say a word, but everything she has just done is an expression of how much she loves Jesus. In short, she has worshiped Him.

Now, this woman is described in the text as having 'lived a sinful life in that town', and apparently her sins are common knowledge to everyone, including Simon the Pharisee. In his supposed righteousness, he says to himself, "Some 'prophet' this Jesus is. If he only knew who this woman is and what she's done....she is a sinner!"

Jesus enters into Simon's one-man conversation and says, 'Simon, I have something to tell you.' Simon welcomes this word from Jesus perhaps assuming that Jesus will highlight the differences between a sinful life and a righteous one using this woman and Simon as prime examples. Simon isn't far off the mark, but he will be shocked to see that his role is the exact opposite of what he expects. Jesus proceeds to tell him a parable about two men who owe a man money, and the connection between forgiveness and love begins to come to light.

The summary of the parable (and of the happenings that night) is found in verse 47: '[This woman] loves much because her many sins have been forgiven, but he who has been forgiven little, loves little.' I can imagine the incredulity that ensued. Here was Simon, a Pharisee, a teacher of the Law, a man known for his 'righteousness' being outdone in the love of God by a woman known for her sinful life.

Perhaps we can cast Simon for the role of the self-righteous Pharisee praying at the temple in another of Jesus's parables in Luke 18. There we find a Pharisee standing and loudly 'praying to himself' (another one-man dialogue!) as he recounts why he is so good, especially compared to the despised tax collector who is also praying in the temple. The tax collector, however, is huddled off to the side, undone by the weight of his sinfulness, begging for mercy from God. It is he, not the Pharisee, who is held up as the righteous one in that parable.

So it seems that Simon was misunderstanding both the nature of sin and from where true righteousness comes. Simon assumed he was 'okay' because of the life he had lived, but he was unaware that it isn't the number of sins you commit that is important, it's understanding the true nature of sin.

In James we are told that anyone guilty of breaking even one part of the Law is guilty of breaking it ALL (James 2). Even self-righteous Simon, if he was honest, would admit that he was guilty of missing the mark at least once, but his misguided concept of righteousness would probably lead him to the conclusion that it was no big deal.

I recently heard John Piper relate a saying his Dad had told him: 'It's not hard to get people saved, but it's really hard to get people lost.' Ponder that for a second and you'll realize that that is precisely what Jesus was saying to Simon. Jesus is moving Simon's paradigm from self-centered to God-centered. Focusing not on what Simon did or did not do, but recognizing Who God is.

The sinful woman's actions sprang from her grateful response to Who Jesus is and the undeserved Love she needed; however, Simon viewed his actions as the basis for his righteousness and the reason God should love him. See, Simon had over-estimated his righteousness, thereby under-realizing God's mercy and forgiveness and under-loving God when He came and reclined at his dinner table.

This post is a call to honestly recognize the depths to which we have fallen. However, that is only the beginning, not the end. What should then follow is a heart-freeing, God-glorifying 'Hallelujah!' with a new, truer recognition of the length to which God goes to reach us and save us.

Remember, there is now NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8). The point of more deeply grasping the truth of our sin is to subsequently grasp more deeply the forgiveness of our sin trough Jesus. The intensity of our salvation will be dependent upon our view of ourselves before the Cross. In other words (according to Jesus), our love for God is limited by our estimation of our forgiveness. Those without an honest recognition of sin or those with much comfort will fatally under-appreciate the Task of Christ, under-realize the Love of God, and under-worship Him.

Take comfort in the 'trustworthy saying' of Paul as related to Timothy. Paul's testimony to Timothy is that he was the worst sinner of all, but Christ came into the world to save even Him in order that the infinite extent of God's patience and love would be displayed as an example for all who believe. Paul recognized the truth of his sin, but didn't stop there. Christ had so manifested the love and forgiveness of God in his life that he would spend the rest of his life proclaiming the gospel to those who felt like they were the worst sinners in the world. Paul ends his testimony worshiping out of the love welling up within him on account of Christ's forgiveness: 'Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the Only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever!'

My sincerest aim in pointing us to an honest evaluation of our sin, is that we would RE-evaluate the grandness of the mercy and forgiveness of God, RE-grasp the infinite dimensions of His love for us, RE-discover the indescribably Glorious character of God, and be so filled with love for Him in return that our hearts would overflow in worship.

O Lord, I am undone by my sin, but I am even more undone by Your love and forgiveness. Remove the limits of my love and worship for You as I grasp the limitless Love You have for me. I echo the words of John by saying: how great is the love that the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! That is what I am! Now I worship You, the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God. To You alone be glory both now and forevermore. Amen!

The C.o.r.e. of Christianity

There's a saying in strength training that you're only as strong as your core. Without a good connection between lower body and upper body, you won't function very efficiently or effectively. In other words, you're limited in applying whatever peripheral strengths you may have. With that in mind, what's the core of Christianity? What is it that must be built upon in order for everything else we do to be effective?

C - the Cross of Christ

The Cross of Jesus Christ is a capital C. Apart from an understanding of the Cross, every effort towards righteousness, love, faith, hope, etc. is foundationless. We are limited if we believe that we can do anything of significance apart from an embracing of the Cross and what it means. The Cross speaks of the core of our problems: sin, and it reveals the core of the only lasting solution: resurrection. If we vainly attempt to apply salves and bandages to our own or our neighbors' wounds we ultimately accomplish no healing at all. It's not until the root problem of sin is addressed and overcome by the Cross that any newness of life can be experienced. It's also a capital C because while the remaining three core fundamentals may be shared by other worldviews, the Cross of Christ is exclusive to Christianity. It stands alone and unrivaled throughout history. Nowhere else do we see the roads of God, man, meekness, and conquering cross paths except in the life and gospel of Jesus.

0 - outreach

This hearkens back to the 'extending God's love' from a previous post (My 5 Exes, Part 1). Christianity is a life of outreach. There must be a missional mindset among believers if we are to truly represent the core of our faith. All through scripture we see this outreach of God to mankind. In the garden of Eden, God calls to Adam and Eve, 'Where are you?' after they had made the choice to disobey by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The prophets record God's pleading words with Israel as He declares not only His knowledge of their sin, but His complete forgiveness and deep desire to be reconciled completely with them forever. Jesus is the appearance of God in human flesh as He reaches out to a people ' without hope and without God in the world' (Ephesians 2). Jesus said that He came to 'seek and to save' those who are lost. Clearly at the core of who we are (or must be) is being people who do not turn blind eyes or deaf ears to the world around us, but rather we are the hands that reach out in love and the feet that carry good news to the ends of the earth joyfully.

r - relationship

At the core of Christianity, we find relationships are more cherished than all other things. The indescribable Triune God, Three in One. There is relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The scripture 'God is love' in 1 John 3 can't be understood apart from how highly God values relationships. He expresses His Nature through them. Marriage. Parenting. The church. Our bodies. The miracle of diverse things being connected together for a unified purpose of love, activity, and joy serves as a clear highlight that relationships are fundamental to understanding God and the life we receive from Him. Consider the relational focus of Paul's writings in the New Testament. Again and again he is greeting or warning or encouraging or reminding or praising or rebuking or boasting about another individual or group of people - all for the sake of relationship. He loved the people God had placed in His care. Relationships were everything to him. Jesus' teachings can clearly be understood as the truest approach to relating rightly to God and other people. From the sermon on the mount to the instruction to John concerning Mary from the cross, we see and hear Jesus showing and telling us what love for God, love for our neighbor, love for one another, and love for our enemies looks like. Relationships, forming and maintaining them, must be at the core of who we are as a people of faith.

e - eternal life

This is the gift of God to us: eternal life in Jesus our Lord (Romans 6). The foundation for our thinking and our living must be an understanding that all this creation around us is temporary. We, however, are not. This gives a new perspective to our priorities. That Lexus in the garage is temporary; the hitchhiker in the rain is not. That new huge-screen TV is temporary; that baby playing with the knobs and buttons on it is not. That new blog you started working on every week is temporary; your wife is not. People and relationships take on greater worth when viewed through the lens of eternity. Consider the sheep and the goats parable as taught by Jesus in Matthew 25. The actions and attitudes of the two groups of people were revealed by how they lived and who they loved. The core of the goats was self, outer appearance and social status. The core of the sheep's hearts was outreach, relationship, and love for God and neighbor. They valued eternal things and therefore entered into the enjoyment of eternal life. As Christians, we must fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12) and set our hearts on things above (Colossians 3). If we are swayed by the sights and times in which we live, our strength and function as believers will be limited and diminished.

The beauty of the Core of Christianity is that all the parts work together, rely on one another, and complement each other. The Cross is the culmination God's outreach to the world in the attempt to restore relationship between Himself and mankind - a relationship that will last for eternity. These are the heart of what we believe. They are our core. Weakness or neglect in any/all of these will seriously hinder any other strength we have or effort we make.

Father God, Your strength and power are unmatched, and I know how desperately weak I am, all because of sin. Thank you for overcoming my weakness with Your strength through the Cross of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank You for showing me how to be and live strong. Work me over again and again until my core is the strongest part of who I am. I repent of focusing on less important gifts that make me look good while turning away from the harder work of relationships and outreach. Give me the perspective of eternity so that I will value that which lasts. You, O God are the strength of my heart and my portion forever! Amen.

What Is Really Important?

The apostle Paul is a man few can compare to when it comes to knowing the extremes of the spectrum of life. He was a persecutor of Jesus and His followers, until he became a proclaimer of Jesus and His worthiness to be followed by all men. He was an amateur in the matters of the Gospel, until he became the author of the majority of the New Testament. He was loved. He was hated. He was worshiped by foreigners as a god, and he was stoned, beaten, and whipped by his own countrymen for proclaiming the gospel of the One True God (see 2 Corinthians 11 for more details about Paul's journey through life as a Christ-follower; you'll never mistake your troubles for 'persecution' again). So when Paul begins his letter to the Philippians (written 'in chains' during his imprisonment) by giving insight into what is really important in any and every situation, we would be wise to take a closer look. In Philippians 1:12-26, I see (at least) three phrases that give us a solid framework for determining what our focus should be during those times in life when we aren't sure which way to go.

1.) '...Christ is preached.' - Paul tells the Philippians that while he has been imprisoned God has been at work stirring up 'most of the brothers' to proclaim the gospel boldly and unashamedly. Now, some, out of 'love' and 'goodwill', were sincerely inspired to take up the banner of Jesus and to continue the defense of the gospel for which Paul was thrown in jail. Others, however, saw an opening for gaining some notoriety for themselves with Paul conveniently out of the way. Paul recognized their motivation for what it truly was: 'envy', 'rivalry', and 'selfish ambition'. So, where can we find a foothold in situations like this when our circumstances are being maliciously used by others for their good and our trouble? The secret, Paul would say, is to forget about ourselves and focus on Christ being preached. Think about it this way. If an opportunistic glory-seeker began to preach the gospel in an attempt to steal a bigger share of the market at Paul's expense, and Paul lashed back in order to defend his ground and reputation, who is the center of attention? It's Paul. So, recognizing that trap, Paul gets opportunistic himself by saying, 'Jesus is the One Who matters here. Not me!' Following Paul, with an honest helping of humility and a true heart for the name of Jesus (even at the expense of ours) we see the first key to knowing what is truly important in any and every situation. Whether it be from goodwill or slander in regards to us, see that Christ is preached.

2.) '...Christ will be exalted in my body...' - This is a big one. And therefore it needs a big platform to rest upon which Paul gives us in verse 21: 'For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.' The dilemma here, for Paul, is choosing how to face death. Rome was not a friendly place for Christians in Paul's day, and as Paul contemplates the near future, death (likely a gruesome, torturous death) is a very present reality. So he falls back on how he has chosen to live in order to guide him through how he will die. He says that he will now die, as he has always lived; exalting Christ. Exalt means to raise up or elevate in rank, power, or character. Paul is showing us here the placing of Christ above himself, his life, and his death. Paul has ceased to be the center of his universe. That is Christ's place now, and the important thing is not whether Paul lives or dies, it's whether Christ is shown to truly be more important, more powerful, and more impressive than all others. Also notice the confidence and the willfulness of Paul's statement. 'Christ will be exalted...' Paul made up his mind long before that Christ would be the substance of his life and the purpose beyond his death. Christ was exalted above all for which Paul would both live and die. Paul is living out his preaching here. In the next chapter, Paul will proclaim Jesus Christ as being exalted by God to the highest place (2:9). He has shown the world what that means in his life, and he is ready to show them what it looks like in death. So our key here is to rest upon Christ for our life, so that no matter what happens, even death, Christ will be exalted in our bodies.

3.) Others' needs are served - After Paul has considered that this might be the end of him, he begins to ponder what each outcome will hold. On one side: Life = continued service and fruitful labor in the Lord. On the other: Death = leaving this world and being with Christ. He even tips his hand as to what he would prefer saying that the latter is 'better by far'. But which way should he go? He throws up his hands and cries, 'I don't know!' We now find the third key for choosing what is most important when we're torn between two things and don't know what to do. Paul determines that it is 'more necessary' for him to remain alive and meet the needs of the Philippians for their '...progress and joy in the faith...' This is something we can see in Paul in other places as well. In Romans 9, Paul actually wishes that he could be 'cut off from Christ' for the sake of his brothers, the Jews, in regards to their acceptance of God's salvation. And here he does the same thing. He would deny himself heaven for the sake of others finding faith and joy in Jesus Christ. Would we say that of ourselves? We must if, according to Paul, we would choose those things that are most important.

A word here about joy. Joy will prove to be a theme throughout the book of Philippians. It is the goal of so much of Paul's ministry. These defining choices we make (Christ being preached, Christ being exalted, others being served) are to be choices filled with joy. They are the right answers! They are the best choices we can make! Paul is encouraging us to relish the wonderful truth of the gospel and to live the life that is overflowing with all the love, joy, and peace that Christ has come to give. Preach Christ. Exalt Christ. Serve others. All in joy!

Exalted God! My heart is singing because of the joy You give! I pray that it would be a loud song for all the world to hear. A song exalting Your Name - Jesus! Give me the courage and ability to live so deeply for Christ today that when I face death it will truly be gain. Free me from fighting for my name, reputation, and comfort. I pray that my life on earth will result in overflowing joy in Christ Jesus for all those You would place around me. Glory to Your Name!