It's in the Little Things

Did you ever notice that true quality is always to be found in the little things? That's a bit foreign to our Western mindset. Here it's primarily the "big" stuff that matters. It's the game-winning touchdown pass; the movie where the entire world is saved in two hours; the massive promotion to bigger and better things, etc.

Unfortunately, that's not reality. Quality is not primarily displayed in the game-winning touchdown pass but, rather, in the linemen effectively blocking play after play... in the countless gruelling hours in the gym and on the practice field... in the tedious and eye-straining study of game footage... If a team misses those things, game over!

The point is this: almost everybody is hopeful of living a quality life - One that is full of purpose and meaning. One that is fulfilling and full of joy. But the big secret is that this kind of life is found in the minutiae. It's the day to day. It's in the moment to moment. It's in the decision to decision. And to miss that is to miss even the opportunity for the "big" moments. In fact, your "big" moments will be nothing more than "big" disasters.

Here's a quick example:

Abram and Lot, his nephew, had a problem. There was not enough land for both to raise their flocks and herds so they decided to part. Abram gave Lot the choice of land and he chose the land near Sodom that looked so beautiful. Lot knew the evil that was occurring in Sodom but he chose instantaneous pleasure regardless. Sadly, this one simple decision set his course toward destruction. It was a bad decision based solely on greed and near-sightedness. He paid a terrible price for his decision - he suffered, his family suffered, and he lost everything.

It's in the small decisions. A wise man said, "...once our direction is set, our destination is also determined..."

May we be mindful of the "small" decisions we are making moment to moment. A good life is made up of a bunch of small, good decisions along the way.

To miss that is to miss everything.

Fighting for Life

"Every day in Tennessee an average of 40 unborn children lose their lives to legal abortion."

Sadly, I believe the church shares in some of the responsibility for these all-too-common murders. We sit by and plead ignorance or knowingly keep it in the realm of out-of-sight-out-of mind. We do nothing to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves...to be the voice of those who have no voices...

Last night, around 25 Elevate students headed over to the Crisis Pregnancy Resource Center/Tennessee Right to Life to do whatever we could to engage this battle. We swept, washed windows, cleaned refrigerators, vacuumed carpets, dusted shelves, weeded gardens, and more. We served wherever we could. And it was great! It felt...purposeful. Our group was not just doing church... We were being church.

I could not be more proud of our group. They understand that fighting the battle is not always done in the glory of the spotlight. Many times it is in the humility of cleaning a toilet bowl. But that is reality... that is the fight... that brings the victory... and most importantly, God is glorified.

Praise God for a group of young people who are engaging the battle!

Ancient Future 09 Camp

What words can describe what happened this past week? So instead of writing a 10 page report on it - which still would not do it justice - I will write a few key phrases to summarize:

- WRECKLESS ABANDON

- UNITY

- POWER

- HUNGER

- FREEDOM

- LIFE TRANSFORMATION

We have a group who is HUNGRY for more of God... I look forward to seeing where this hunger leads...

We have been at the gas station... We are full... Now it's time to unleash...

Do the Good People Go To Heaven?

"Does a good & noble person (like Ghandi, Oprah, or Buddha) get damned to hell because he or she isn't a Christian?"

Again, another great and pointed question...

First of all, we have to be careful when we use words like "good" and "noble." We tend to water those down quite a bit. For example, instant jello is "good" but it's not the same "good" as The CheeseCake Factory's classic strawberry cheesecake, is it?! And it's an even bigger distinction when talking about good in an ethical sense. Is someone who lies a good and noble person? What about someone who commits adultery? Or murder? Or steals? Or acts in selfishness? Absolutely not! And if we are honest, we all do those things...and on a relatively frequent basis.

So it is with Oprah, Buddha, Mother Theresa, and everyone else who walks the earth. We cannot be classified as "good" people...

That leaves a big problem for us when trying to relate to a holy and perfect God.

Plus, He is a righteous judge. That means He has to judge fairly. So if a murderer walks before a judge and is found guilty, if the judge is just then the criminal has to be sentenced accordingly. If the judge fails to do this, he/she will probably be removed from their office!

And so it is with God. He is bound to judge us truthfully...as people who are not good because we have, and continue to, defy Him.

So what is our only hope?!

A judge is bound to give out a sentence that is fitting of the crime. And this is where Jesus comes in...! You see, we all deserve a strong punishment for our actions...there is no getting around this. But thankfully, we were condemned but (Jesus) offered to step in and take our place.

What that means is really simple: When the day of judgment comes (and it will), either we will pay our fine or someone else will have paid it for us (Jesus). Only 2 options. And it is the same for Oprah, Buddha, Mother Theresa, you, and me. Those who CHOOSE to pay it themselves will do so...and those who have thrown themselves on the mercy of Christ will go free into eternal life...

How beautiful and easy is that?!!!!

I'm Saved...Now What...?

This is a question I really wished more people wrestled with. I think way too many people think that salvation is the end. The goal is to get saved. Well, that's just wrong. Salvation is only the beginning! It is where real life starts. Consider this self-admittedly crass example:

A youth purchases a video game. In the video game his mission is to save the world from the evil aliens trying to take over. He spends many hours playing until finally he faces the final boss - the king of the aliens. He beats him and saves the planet. Order is restored and the credits begin to roll.

Here is the question: What did he really accomplish?

Right, absolutely nothing.

In reality, he did zero of consequence. But when he sets that controller down and walks away from the game system...that is when he gets back to reality. That is when he has the chance to really do something.

In the same way, life before Christ is doing little to nothing of true value because only that which is done in Christ will ultimately last. So life before Christ is like playing the video game. You do a lot of work... you may have a lot of fun... and you may save the world from aliens... but in reality, you will not have done much.

Putting the controller down...that is like bowing your knee to Christ, i.e. salvation. Life begins. You are now in reality...and in reality there is much to do. You begin to see that aliens aren't the problem, it is the forces of darkness that war against the things of God. It is a new battle...and more real...and more lasting than the one that was being fought pre-salvation.

In the Christian faith, we must never forget that we are at war. Not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual principalities and strongholds. This means that we are at all times seeking to dispel darkness. Any place where the lordship of Christ has not been enforced is where we are supposed to be. Again, not through physical force, as many in the Muslim world hold to, but through giving truth.

So, a Christian should never be bored. We have more battles than we have time for. Pornography, gangs, suicide, drugs, pre-marital sex, depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, broken families, homosexuality, and on and on... We have much to do!

When we get lulled into thinking there is no battle, the kingdom of darkness thrives. A false sense of peace is not peace, it is defeat. We are on a mission to extend the kingdom of Christ to all the earth. And it's only a matter of time...

So the real question is this: will you be a part of it or will you just watch it happen from the safety of the sidelines?

Question: How are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit one Being?

One of the fundamental questions of the faith: How can the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be three yet one? Doesn't the Bible say there is only 1 God? Didn't Jesus pray to the Father? Following the resurrection, doesn't the Son sit at the right hand of the Father? Is not the Holy Spirit sent by the Father and the Son? How does all that work?

It's a great question! Addressing this topic really requires a very large book. I will attempt to just scratch the surface in this blog.

The word "trinity" is a Latin word used to describe the concept of 3 in 1 (tri-unity). The historic definition goes something like this: God is 3 Persons of 1 Essence. This basically means that God exists as a unity of 3 distinct Persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. So the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is not the Father. There is distinction. This is why the Son could pray to the Father, and why the Father and Son could send the Holy Spirit, etc.

Now, "person" is a difficult word because the meaning today has changed quite a bit from its original meaning. Today we think of physical individuals who exist completely separate from other individuals. This is not the idea as pertains to the nature of God. "Person," in its original definition, just means individuality and self-awareness. Maybe another word we could use is "subsistence." This simply means something that has real existence. So we must be careful to define our terms to avoid misunderstandings.

1 God / 3 Subsistences we call Persons

So in this 1 Essence that we call God, exists the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And there is no contradiction here. In fact, this is perfectly logical. A contradiction would be to say there are 3 Gods and only 1 God...or there are 3 Persons and only 1 Person. That is not what historic Christianity holds.

Here are some parallels that are good (I stress good because any finite example of the Divine is still finite).

Consider the following analogies:

- the Universe: composed of time, space and matter, but still 1 universe; and none of these can be separated without destroying the whole

- Time: made up of the past, present, and future; and none of these can exist without the others

- Space: length, depth and width. These can be thought of separately but cannot be actually separated and still have space

- The Triple Point of Water: Pour an amount of water in an empty cylinder and apply 230 mm of gas pressure on it while inside a zero degree environment, water will simultaneously exist as solid, liquid, and gas and yet can be identified as water (H2O) in it's basic nature.

Ultimately, whenever we talk about the infinite God, especially His nature, our understanding will fall somewhat short. If this were not the case, we would be God. To understand every facet of the Divine is to be Divine. Consider the holiness of God. Who fully understands that?! Or what about the fact that He has always existed - the uncaused Cause? Who can wrap their minds around that one?! So when it comes to this issue, the tri-unity within the Godhead, we must adhere to the clear self-revelation that God has given concerning Himself in Scripture.

Question: Why Don't We See Miracles Anymore?

This is a great question and I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about it over the years. Here is what I have come to...

Let me begin by saying that, obviously, we see miracles all the time - the sun rising, a baby being born, waking up in the morning, etc. I know we also see of plenty of miracles that are difficult to substantiate by the naked eye, i.e. healings from relatively non serious sickness, release from an inner turmoil or trauma, etc. These are all definite miracles, but what I am centering more on in this blog are those miracles like the ones seen in biblical times. I am talking about the blind seeing, the crippled walking, the withered limb growing back in front of everyone, someone jumping out of their casket at a funeral... That is what I want to see!

First of all, we must understand the purpose of miracles. If you go through the New Testament and mark everywhere Jesus or the apostles did a miracle you will notice something they all have in common. They all had a greater purpose than just healing the person afflicted. The ultimate purpose was to validate the truth of who Christ was and is to a people who did not believe. Never has there been a miracle done just because. So if this was/is the case, we can expect to see miracles where the Good News of salvation through Christ is being boldly proclaimed to unbelievers.

Another reason might be our lack of expectation and motivation. I often talk a lot about wanting to see God move in amazing ways but my actions pretty much contradict my words. I mean really, most of the miracles I hear about today are the result of God's moving after insane amounts of time and energy are spent seeking Him. So it's a weird place we're in... We say we want desperately to see God move but not desperately enough to persist in prayer, per say. Why would God move where His moving is taken for granted? Jim Cymbala sums it up well when he says, "God will manifest Himself in direct proportion to the passion of the people seeking Him."

Pastor Eric Falk had a theory that I liked. He thought that several giftings given by the Holy Spirit were not being manifested much because of a lack of teaching on them. That is simple and makes good sense. Maybe that's a part of it...

I most often hear of great miracles happening overseas in areas like Africa, China, Afghanistan, etc. And because many of these are 1st hand reports from people in whom I place great trust, I believe them. So this begs the question: what is the difference between us and them? The main answer that pops to mind is the utter desparation for God to move there vs. obvious spiritual apathy that has set in in America. This difference alone is pretty serious. Through Scripture we learn what typically attracts God to intervene and what absolutely repels Him... Apathy and pride are two He does not, and will not, deal with.

In the end, we believe that God is active in His creation. I would be very curious to see what would happen if those who profess the name of Christ had a throw back to the early years of the church...when sharing the good, yet offensive, news of Christ was proclaimed even when it was not culturally accepted or appreciated. I wonder what would happen if we spent more time seeking God and less time being entertained. I bet we might begin to glimpse some amazing things...!

What Do You Believe?

What do you believe? That's a great question... And I think that most people, if asked, do not really know what they believe. Oh sure, we can all spout out some stuff we've been taught, or regurgitate some one else's ideas or stances on an issue. In the church those are known as "Sunday School answers." In fact, one of the youth in our group (a large and personable football player - giving no names) throws out the answer, "Jesus," to every single question I ask - and he's often right! But that doesn't really tell me what he, or anyone, really believes, does it? But we all have a set of beliefs...even if we don't realize it. So how do we know what we believe?

It's really quite simple: our actions reveal our beliefs. So if you want to know what you believe about something, just look at what you do. If I woke up tomorrow and fully believed that I was the Tooth fairy, how would I begin my day? Well, I would wake up and look for my little tutu. I would grab my fairy's wand. I might brush my teeth and eat a little fairy breakfast. And then I would try to fly around to other people's houses looking for teeth under their pillows. I would be laughed at and arrested, but I would do those things because of my firm belief in who I was.

When we realize that actions stem from our beliefs, what does that say about what we believe? How are your grades? What do you believe about school? Is it important or just a waste of time? How do you treat your family and friends? Do you really love them like you say you do? How often do you converse with God about stuff or dig in to His word? What does that say about your beliefs? Who do you really believe you are? Scripture says that those in Christ are kings, priests, joint-heirs with Christ, friends of God, saints, ministers of reconciliation, sons of God...need I go on? What would our lives look like if we really believed this?!

I remember when I was really slammed with this question several months back. I asked myself how much I believed that God listened and answered prayer. I realized that if I really believed what I typically said I did, I probably would be talking to God more...much more, but I wasn't. Do I really want God to protect my wife and daughter? Do I really want my friends and family, who are not submitted to Christ, to have a great awakening? Do I really want Him to use me to do something amazing here and now for the glory of Christ? I would say yes...and yet the only One who could do any of that was not being talked to... It doesn't make sense, does it? Inconsistent.

This is a hard question to wrestle with. It is constantly showing me areas where my vocalized beliefs are not matching up with my actual beliefs.

So that's me...what about you? What do you believe?