Kites. Marionettes. Guitars. Good deeds.
What do they all have in common? Well, most of the time, each of these has some strings attached. We understand the need for the string on the kite because we don’t want it flying off without us. And when it comes to the marionette – it would only be a doll if it didn’t have the strings necessary to make it dance. And a guitar – well, I guess that without its strings it could double as a sorry excuse for a drum, but it certainly would lose a lot of its capacity for creating beautiful music. But then there are those ‘good deeds’. I’m pretty sure we would all get along just fine if there were no strings attached to those.
I think about Christ and how he healed people, preached the Good News and even fed 5,000 starving followers. Did He expect anything out of them in return? Well, sure, He wanted his good works to point them towards the Father, but did He expect them to return the favor or pay Him back for the good? No way! He gave those precious gifts out of the overflow of his heart. They were stringless - like free kites, porcelain dolls and rhythmic drums.
When Jesus gave – his gifts were priceless, yet they were absolutely free.
When he gave you a bite to eat, He did not expect an invitation to lunch. When he provided a salmon sandwich, he did not require a hunk of fish & a chunk of bread to be paid back to him at a later date. You had no obligation to follow Him after He touched you with those healing hands. He didn’t guilt you into anything. You could love Him or leave Him. The choice was yours. Even today, Jesus still carries out the same no-strings-attached ministry that He practiced while on this earth.
Do we operate in the same way? Or are our good deeds laced with reciprocal expectations? Do we give & serve for the mere joy of the act? Or do we wait around for a pat on the back, a word of praise, a plaque in our honor? I long to be in that place where my gifts and good deeds are free and clear. I ache for God to do a work in me so that all that I do is truly for Him and for nothing or no one else! I want my acts of kindness to be just that – without any disclaimers or hidden agendas buried within the fine print.
I am asking God for a consuming fire to rage through my heart. What would happen if each of us would minister – like Jesus – with no strings attached?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The Only Antidote
There it is – pulsing with its evil rhythm and staring up at you with those beady, black eyes. Breathing in the beauty of life and exhaling darkness & death. The parasite eats, devours and destroys all that is good. It taints your thoughts. It warps your mind. It slowly consumes every ounce of life in you and then licks its insatiable lips - wanting more.
Sin is an ugly cancer – a wicked destroyer. It permeates all of God’s creation leaving its toxic trail of destruction behind. And try as we might with weapons & medicines, philosophies & technologies – we will never be able to cure its vicious ills. Its parasitic nature drives it ever onward screeching, “More! More! More!”
It bites and chases. It stalks and preys. Its grip is too strong. Its hold is too firm. Sin has infested the sacred cells of each and every soul. It has invaded the secret chambers of each and every heart. There are none immune to its ravening appetite. There are none that will not ultimately succumb to the chronic ravaging of its gnawing, grinding teeth.
No matter how hard you try to resist, the disease will overcome you. You can push it down into remission at times but it always – always – awakes from its dormant state. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6a) We leave the way that the Lord has laid out for us. And when we do, the sickness of sin sets in like a dark wetness in our bones.
We can’t go on like this! Our bodies are wasting away. It is only a matter of time. The consumption has overtaken us and we are very near the point of an infinite, irreversible death. If only there was a cure – an antidote! Our strength is dwindling. Our resolve is breaking. We are in desperate need of a miraculous elixir that can eradicate this dreaded disease that has invaded our bodies and souls. Desperate.
There is one antidote – but only one. It is found in the purest of all blood. And what a potent antidote it is!
“…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
There is only one cure for the fatal disease of sin. You don’t drink it in by accident. You can’t just sip it in one drop at a time. You’ve either been cured or you’re still wasting away with a slow-moving death. When that precious blood touches your soul, it cleanses it once and for all. The sickness is gone. The healing begins. But, you must accept the cure.
Sin is an ugly cancer – a wicked destroyer. It permeates all of God’s creation leaving its toxic trail of destruction behind. And try as we might with weapons & medicines, philosophies & technologies – we will never be able to cure its vicious ills. Its parasitic nature drives it ever onward screeching, “More! More! More!”
It bites and chases. It stalks and preys. Its grip is too strong. Its hold is too firm. Sin has infested the sacred cells of each and every soul. It has invaded the secret chambers of each and every heart. There are none immune to its ravening appetite. There are none that will not ultimately succumb to the chronic ravaging of its gnawing, grinding teeth.
No matter how hard you try to resist, the disease will overcome you. You can push it down into remission at times but it always – always – awakes from its dormant state. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way…” (Isaiah 53:6a) We leave the way that the Lord has laid out for us. And when we do, the sickness of sin sets in like a dark wetness in our bones.
We can’t go on like this! Our bodies are wasting away. It is only a matter of time. The consumption has overtaken us and we are very near the point of an infinite, irreversible death. If only there was a cure – an antidote! Our strength is dwindling. Our resolve is breaking. We are in desperate need of a miraculous elixir that can eradicate this dreaded disease that has invaded our bodies and souls. Desperate.
There is one antidote – but only one. It is found in the purest of all blood. And what a potent antidote it is!
“…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)
There is only one cure for the fatal disease of sin. You don’t drink it in by accident. You can’t just sip it in one drop at a time. You’ve either been cured or you’re still wasting away with a slow-moving death. When that precious blood touches your soul, it cleanses it once and for all. The sickness is gone. The healing begins. But, you must accept the cure.
The One Thing
As her mother headed out the door, she gave Evangela one solitary task to perform before she returned – wash the dishes. So Evangela turned on the faucet, squeezed in the dishsoap and placed the glasses and silverware into the water. She dutifully watched until the sink was filled to the top. Then her stomach grumbled.
Feeling a little hungry, she made herself a scrumptious turkey sandwich. Since she couldn’t eat it with wet hands, she decided to sit and watch a little TV while the dishes soaked. Just as she took the last bite, her friend called to make sure their early afternoon shopping trip was still on…
We know how the story ends, don’t we? Mom returns home to find the dishes still soaking in the sink – unwashed. The one task Evangela had been given was left undone. She had started it, but had gotten distracted. The church has been given one solitary task as well. That one thing is to make more and better followers of Jesus. How are we doing?
There is a concept that – if we could just see the great need to engage it – can revitalize our church and help us stay focused on getting that one job done. The term used to describe that concept is “Missional”. What does it mean? Simply put, it means that the local church functions as a missionary to the community in which God has planted it.
As a missionary, the church should do all within its God-given power to make more and better disciples. As a missionary, we should evaluate every task we perform, every dollar we spend, every change we consider and every decision we make based on the Great Commission. If it will help us make more and better disciples, then we should do it. If it will not help us complete this one task, then we should leave it alone!
Are we, as a church, washing the dishes? Or have we just thrown them in the sink and forgotten about them? Are we doing the one thing we have been commanded to do? Or have we gotten off-track with tasty food, entertaining distractions, chatting with our friends and going on shopping sprees? If we’re going to be the church at all, let’s be the real thing! Daddy’s coming home soon… We need to be about the Father’s business and stay focused on that one thing He has told us to do.
Feeling a little hungry, she made herself a scrumptious turkey sandwich. Since she couldn’t eat it with wet hands, she decided to sit and watch a little TV while the dishes soaked. Just as she took the last bite, her friend called to make sure their early afternoon shopping trip was still on…
We know how the story ends, don’t we? Mom returns home to find the dishes still soaking in the sink – unwashed. The one task Evangela had been given was left undone. She had started it, but had gotten distracted. The church has been given one solitary task as well. That one thing is to make more and better followers of Jesus. How are we doing?
There is a concept that – if we could just see the great need to engage it – can revitalize our church and help us stay focused on getting that one job done. The term used to describe that concept is “Missional”. What does it mean? Simply put, it means that the local church functions as a missionary to the community in which God has planted it.
As a missionary, the church should do all within its God-given power to make more and better disciples. As a missionary, we should evaluate every task we perform, every dollar we spend, every change we consider and every decision we make based on the Great Commission. If it will help us make more and better disciples, then we should do it. If it will not help us complete this one task, then we should leave it alone!
Are we, as a church, washing the dishes? Or have we just thrown them in the sink and forgotten about them? Are we doing the one thing we have been commanded to do? Or have we gotten off-track with tasty food, entertaining distractions, chatting with our friends and going on shopping sprees? If we’re going to be the church at all, let’s be the real thing! Daddy’s coming home soon… We need to be about the Father’s business and stay focused on that one thing He has told us to do.
The Wild Blue Yonder
My feet had fallen asleep due to the awkward, cramped position. I was 10,000 feet in the air - strapped tightly to a virtual stranger. My adrenaline was pumping. My heart was racing. And that was before the airplane door even flew open. The fear probably would have paralyzed me if I wasn't too frightened to realize that I ought to be scared! And with one simple roll to the right, we were plummeting towards the earth.
The wind rushed by. The clouds swirled around us. We flipped, rolled and spun as we hurtled through the sky. The ice crystals in the clouds ripped away at my face. I could barely hear my instructor above the roar of our descent, "Arch! Arch!"
I thrust my arms and legs out and arched my back just like I had been trained. We stopped flipping end-over-end and leveled out. Our freefall slowed to a mere 120 mph as we broke through the clouds. There was no sense of falling, just a steady rush of wind as the ground moved closer and closer. My instructor yanked the cord and our chute deployed. We suddenly jerked to a slow drift and found ourselves in an immediate, peaceful silence. We floated there in the beautiful stillness between the earth and the clouds.
Some people have called me crazy for jumping out of a perfectly good plane. Others have expressed a deep-seated fear that would hinder them from ever skydiving themselves. Even though I was scared at the time, my determination and desire to go through with the jump were even greater than the fear.
God often calls us to do crazy things that bring us face-to-face with our fears. He may call us to take on a new ministry role. He may nudge us to share His good news with a complete stranger. (Or maybe even scarier - our closest friend...) He may even call us to go against the grain, to fight for a deeper sense of right, irregardless of what all others think. These are definitely scary challenges to take on.
"You're afraid? So what! Everybody's afraid. Fear is the common ground of humanity. The question you must wrestle to the ground is 'Will I allow my fear to bind me to mediocrity.'" Andy Stanley, The Next Generation Leader
We can all look back on times in our lives when we let fear keep us from jumping out of the plane, trying something new or speaking up when we knew we should. Hopefully, we can also remember even more times when we wrestled that fear to the ground and let God use us inspite of our fright.
"...so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong." Zechariah 8:13 (NIV)
It may seem a lot safer to sit on the ground and watch the chutes of others flare open above you. But the ground is where the dirty fog of mediocrity settles in. At some point very early in my Christian walk, God moved me to quit watching and start jumping. Has it been scary? You better believe it! At times it has even been almost-pee-in-your-pants scary! Yet still, I have found that it is far better to strive for a trust in God's faithfulness than to suffer the regret of staying on the ground when I knew I should have jumped.
The challenge that God places before us is to strap in, push through the fear and lunge out into the wild blue yonder. And if the chute doesn't open and you hit the ground - oh well! At least you went out with a bang instead of slowly choking to death on that dirty fog of mediocrity. The chances are in your favor that God's faithfulness will flare open like the millions of times before. And when it does, you'll get to experience that beautiful stillness that's only found in the wild blue yonder.
The wind rushed by. The clouds swirled around us. We flipped, rolled and spun as we hurtled through the sky. The ice crystals in the clouds ripped away at my face. I could barely hear my instructor above the roar of our descent, "Arch! Arch!"
I thrust my arms and legs out and arched my back just like I had been trained. We stopped flipping end-over-end and leveled out. Our freefall slowed to a mere 120 mph as we broke through the clouds. There was no sense of falling, just a steady rush of wind as the ground moved closer and closer. My instructor yanked the cord and our chute deployed. We suddenly jerked to a slow drift and found ourselves in an immediate, peaceful silence. We floated there in the beautiful stillness between the earth and the clouds.
Some people have called me crazy for jumping out of a perfectly good plane. Others have expressed a deep-seated fear that would hinder them from ever skydiving themselves. Even though I was scared at the time, my determination and desire to go through with the jump were even greater than the fear.
God often calls us to do crazy things that bring us face-to-face with our fears. He may call us to take on a new ministry role. He may nudge us to share His good news with a complete stranger. (Or maybe even scarier - our closest friend...) He may even call us to go against the grain, to fight for a deeper sense of right, irregardless of what all others think. These are definitely scary challenges to take on.
"You're afraid? So what! Everybody's afraid. Fear is the common ground of humanity. The question you must wrestle to the ground is 'Will I allow my fear to bind me to mediocrity.'" Andy Stanley, The Next Generation Leader
We can all look back on times in our lives when we let fear keep us from jumping out of the plane, trying something new or speaking up when we knew we should. Hopefully, we can also remember even more times when we wrestled that fear to the ground and let God use us inspite of our fright.
"...so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong." Zechariah 8:13 (NIV)
It may seem a lot safer to sit on the ground and watch the chutes of others flare open above you. But the ground is where the dirty fog of mediocrity settles in. At some point very early in my Christian walk, God moved me to quit watching and start jumping. Has it been scary? You better believe it! At times it has even been almost-pee-in-your-pants scary! Yet still, I have found that it is far better to strive for a trust in God's faithfulness than to suffer the regret of staying on the ground when I knew I should have jumped.
The challenge that God places before us is to strap in, push through the fear and lunge out into the wild blue yonder. And if the chute doesn't open and you hit the ground - oh well! At least you went out with a bang instead of slowly choking to death on that dirty fog of mediocrity. The chances are in your favor that God's faithfulness will flare open like the millions of times before. And when it does, you'll get to experience that beautiful stillness that's only found in the wild blue yonder.
What’s The Difference?
It’s amazing to me that two people can experience the exact same thing and come away with two completely different reactions. My wife loves mushrooms. I would rather chew off my own ear than let a chunk of the nasty fungus anywhere near my lips! Two people can sit down at the same football game and each of them can fervently root against the other one’s favorite team.
A difference of opinion such as these was amplified recently. A trusted friend from an older generation responded to Hillsong’s “From the Inside Out” with an “I didn’t like it at all.”
Did my jaw really drop open and land in my lap or was that just an internal response?
At youth camp last week, the lyrics and desperation in that song left me completely undone. As I worshiped and lifted up the words to my Savior, my heart was as “totaled” as a car flipped end-over-end off a cliff.
In my heart, In my soul
Lord, I give you control
Consume me.
From the inside out.
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring you praise
From the inside out
Lord, my soul cries out.
So the same song that resounded so clearly within my own heart, left my friend’s heart untouched. The same lyrics and driving beat that rippled through me to the point that I was sobbing and could no longer stand, had no effect on him whatsoever.
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.” – Romans 10:12
I suspect that believers will continue to have preferential differences until Christ returns. Until then, we all must strive to call on Him out of a sincere heart. Just remember: the mushrooms you love may make me sick to my stomach. And I’ll try to remember the team I’m rooting for might be your mortal enemy!
A difference of opinion such as these was amplified recently. A trusted friend from an older generation responded to Hillsong’s “From the Inside Out” with an “I didn’t like it at all.”
Did my jaw really drop open and land in my lap or was that just an internal response?
At youth camp last week, the lyrics and desperation in that song left me completely undone. As I worshiped and lifted up the words to my Savior, my heart was as “totaled” as a car flipped end-over-end off a cliff.
In my heart, In my soul
Lord, I give you control
Consume me.
From the inside out.
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring you praise
From the inside out
Lord, my soul cries out.
So the same song that resounded so clearly within my own heart, left my friend’s heart untouched. The same lyrics and driving beat that rippled through me to the point that I was sobbing and could no longer stand, had no effect on him whatsoever.
“For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him.” – Romans 10:12
I suspect that believers will continue to have preferential differences until Christ returns. Until then, we all must strive to call on Him out of a sincere heart. Just remember: the mushrooms you love may make me sick to my stomach. And I’ll try to remember the team I’m rooting for might be your mortal enemy!
What Really Matters
What Really Matters…
…what his hair looks like or how much he loves the Lord that saved him?
…the kind of clothes she wears or her deep need to be selflessly loved?
…how big an offering he can make or his obedience to God’s will?
…how well she can sing or how earnestly she longs for the Lord?
What Really Matters…
…that everyone has a soft seat to sit on or that all the seats are filled?
…that the music is what I like or my worship connects me to my God?
…that there were visitors this week or that people started following Jesus?
…that the messages are ‘good’ or that lives are forever changed?
It’s so easy for us to get off track, care about nonessentials and forget why we were created. Yet God calls us to focus on those things that really matter. Each of us must ask ourselves, “Are the things that matter to me and the things that matter to God really the same things?” What really matters to God is what I want to be all about.
…what his hair looks like or how much he loves the Lord that saved him?
…the kind of clothes she wears or her deep need to be selflessly loved?
…how big an offering he can make or his obedience to God’s will?
…how well she can sing or how earnestly she longs for the Lord?
What Really Matters…
…that everyone has a soft seat to sit on or that all the seats are filled?
…that the music is what I like or my worship connects me to my God?
…that there were visitors this week or that people started following Jesus?
…that the messages are ‘good’ or that lives are forever changed?
It’s so easy for us to get off track, care about nonessentials and forget why we were created. Yet God calls us to focus on those things that really matter. Each of us must ask ourselves, “Are the things that matter to me and the things that matter to God really the same things?” What really matters to God is what I want to be all about.
The Crumbs
Just a crumb.
A little bit.
One tiny morsel.
That’s all she was asking Him for.
Her daughter was in great need and she knew He had the answer.
But she came, knelt before Him, and said, ‘Lord, help me!’
He answered, ‘It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their dogs.’
‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table!’
Then Jesus replied to her, ‘Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.’
And from that moment her daughter was cured. Matt 15:25-28 (HCSB)
This woman was not allowed to sit at the table. So, she crouched beneath it. She was an outsider. A stranger. A foreigner. Yet in her desperation she cried out to the one she knew could meet her needs. She cried out to Jesus. And, at first, He rejected her begging. He pointed out that she was not one of the children of God – but just an outsider – a dog.
As she looked up at him with those puppy-dog eyes, He realized that her faith was no runt of the litter. It was strong and voracious. It refused to tuck its tail between its legs because of one little kick. She continued to paw at Him. She let out another bark. She didn’t want the whole steak. In fact, she didn’t even have to have the bone. She only wanted a tiny lick, a small taste of what Jesus had to offer. She didn’t need all He had to give. She only wanted a crumb.
We often forget that, with God, crumbs are enough. We don’t have to have a mouthful of His revealed will. We don’t have to have a smorgasbord of delicacies laid out before us. That is what the world teaches us to desire. But, it is not what the Lord would have us chase after. He can bless us with even the scraps.
If faith like a tiny seed is strong enough to move mountains, then surely a few crumbs are enough to satisfy our deep hunger. Let us be content with the crumbs He gives us, knowing that the power doesn’t come from the food – but from the hands that created it. We tend to howl and whine when we don’t get the whole cake, the whole steak, the whole bone. But with the smallest amount of faith in the Master, even the tiniest crumbs are enough.
A little bit.
One tiny morsel.
That’s all she was asking Him for.
Her daughter was in great need and she knew He had the answer.
But she came, knelt before Him, and said, ‘Lord, help me!’
He answered, ‘It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to their dogs.’
‘Yes, Lord,’ she said, ‘yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table!’
Then Jesus replied to her, ‘Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.’
And from that moment her daughter was cured. Matt 15:25-28 (HCSB)
This woman was not allowed to sit at the table. So, she crouched beneath it. She was an outsider. A stranger. A foreigner. Yet in her desperation she cried out to the one she knew could meet her needs. She cried out to Jesus. And, at first, He rejected her begging. He pointed out that she was not one of the children of God – but just an outsider – a dog.
As she looked up at him with those puppy-dog eyes, He realized that her faith was no runt of the litter. It was strong and voracious. It refused to tuck its tail between its legs because of one little kick. She continued to paw at Him. She let out another bark. She didn’t want the whole steak. In fact, she didn’t even have to have the bone. She only wanted a tiny lick, a small taste of what Jesus had to offer. She didn’t need all He had to give. She only wanted a crumb.
We often forget that, with God, crumbs are enough. We don’t have to have a mouthful of His revealed will. We don’t have to have a smorgasbord of delicacies laid out before us. That is what the world teaches us to desire. But, it is not what the Lord would have us chase after. He can bless us with even the scraps.
If faith like a tiny seed is strong enough to move mountains, then surely a few crumbs are enough to satisfy our deep hunger. Let us be content with the crumbs He gives us, knowing that the power doesn’t come from the food – but from the hands that created it. We tend to howl and whine when we don’t get the whole cake, the whole steak, the whole bone. But with the smallest amount of faith in the Master, even the tiniest crumbs are enough.
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