Being Truly Thankful

I recently heard a pastor friend preach on Luke 23:32-43. This is the story of Jesus being crucified along with the two criminals. Verse 35 says, "And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"

Can you imagine how Jesus must have felt when he was hanging on the cross and the leaders were making fun of him? They were questioning his very identity as the Messiah. Jesus, who lived a perfect, sinless life, and did nothing to deserve this was not only submitting to God's will, but was asking God TO FORGIVE THEM! Put yourself in Jesus' shoes. What would your response be?

I can tell you that mine would probably not be one of submission and forgiveness. My tendency would be to lash out and defend myself. And in doing so, I would fall into the trap of inadvertently ridiculing and judging the other person. I have never had anyone mock or ridicule me like they did Jesus, but there have been people in my like that have said things that are mean and hurtful. What has been my response?

As my pastor friend was preaching, I realized that not only did I need to ask God to forgive these people that have said mean and hurtful things - but I am in need of forgiveness since my response hasn't always been Christ-like. And because Jesus showed his love by asking the Father to forgive, I can press on in my journey with the help of the Holy Spirit and have this same attitude toward others.

Advent Conspiracy

The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy. (watch video)

"Camping in the Hood"

My family and I love to camp. There is something about leaving the confines and comfort of your permanent residence and connecting with nature for a few days. We can always find an adventure when we camp - whether it's going on a bike ride or hiking on a trail. We are away from the hustle and bustle of life in the city and feel closer to God and His creation. I think camping is close to God's heart. In fact, we learn from the Bible that camping is godly. In Exodus 33, God camped out with His people, the Israelites after they left the confines of Egypt for 40 years. Moses would pitch a tent called the "tent of meeting" or "tabernacle" and God would come down to speak with him face to face. This typified God dwelling in their midst. God would "come down" to camp out in their neighborhood.

Jesus did the same thing. Look at John 1:1-4. "In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." Now, check out what verse 14 says."The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us". The Amplified version says, "And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled among us." This means He pitched his tent of flesh and lived awhile among us. The Message says, "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood".

How cool is that? God, in the flesh, came down to camp out with humans for 33 1/2 years. But here is the kicker - we are expected to do the same with others. Because He has chosen to dwell within us, we can give others our presence. We are to camp with others. We are to incarnate and tabernacle in our neighborhoods. May God continue to give us His Spirit to do His will.

How to Measure the Quality of a Religion

This excerpt comes from an article by the same title:

• The quality of a religion is not to be measured by how well it sings the "Hallelujah Chorus (or in 4-part harmony) but in how well it hears and responds to the cry of a dying child in a faraway land.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured in how well dressed its members are at a worship service but in their generosity in clothing the naked.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured in the size and value of the homes in which its members live but in what they are doing to make certain that others are decently housed.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured by how many members tithe of their income but by what they do with their total income.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured in the quality of health care it provides for its pastors but in what it does to provide health care for all.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured by what the church says about poverty but by what the poor say about the Church.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured by the amount of food on the table at a potluck dinner but by who is invited to eat.
• The quality of a religion is not to be measured by the beauty of its sanctuaries and stained glass but by the beauty of its spirit.

Jesus' measuring stick was simply this: "What have you done about the poor, the naked, the lonely, the sick, the hungry and the imprisoned?"

Author Melvin West, Columbia, MO

Repenting from Religion

We all have gifts. I have often said that my gift is judging. I'm so good at it. I can look at someone and tell you whether they have it together or not; if they are a winner or a loser. I find it much easier to pronounce a judgment than to see people as created in the image of God. Maybe you have this gift too.

I believe the reason this comes so naturally to many is because of the division that religion can cause. To some extent we get our sense of worth from attaching or detaching worth from others based on what we see and how people live, rather than trying to enter into a relationship with them.

In Luke 18:9-14, the Pharisee "lived right". He listed all the deeds he had done, which in his mind made him good. Instead of using God as his standard of measurement, he used the "sinful" tax collector. I believe this is what happens when we eat from Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Our eyes are "opened" to be able to pronounce a verdict upon others.

Adam and Eve’s sin and the Pharisee’s fundamental sin came from a need to get life from their own knowledge of who is good and who is evil. Our fundamental sin is that we place ourselves in the position of God and divide the world between who we judge to be good and who we judge to be evil. And this judgment is what primarily keeps us from doing the central thing God created and saved us to do – to love like he loves.

Even Jesus, who was without sin, did not judge. Prostitutes and tax collectors wanted to hang out with him. They were attracted to His kind of holiness. It ascribed unsurpassable worth to people; while the “holiness” of the Pharisees detracted worth from people and repelled them.

I know when I start to judge others, it's usually because of an insecurity I have about myself. We generally tend to not like something in others that deep down we don't like about ourselves. Jesus says I have a beam in my own eye versus a piece of sawdust in others'.It is easy to overlook our own sins yet easier to spot sin in others. And that’s what religion tempts us to do. Religious people feed the hunger of their heart by striving to impress God with the rightness of their beliefs and behaviors – in contrast to the wrongness of others’ beliefs and behaviors. From this we must repent.

Which One Are You?

There is an old saying that predicts there are three kinds of people in every organization:

1. Risk-takers - reach out to new and innovative ideas;
2. Care-takers - status quo;
3. Under-takers - they bury everything, especially every new idea

Can you say, "Heilsgeschichte"?

Great Quote

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why he allows poverty, suffering and injustice when He could do something about it.”

“Well, why don’t you ask him?”

“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.” Anonymous

Ouch!

Learning the Bible in Life-giving Ways

This past weekend was Hesston College's Anabaptist Vision & Discipleship Series (AVDS). Here are some of my thoughts as I review my notes:

Throughout the Bible, we see God's message of grace - yes, even in the Old Testament. Have you ever noticed that the beginning of the Ten Commandments (which are the core of the Old Covenant) starts with God's grace? "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt". The people didn't necessarily deserve this, but God heard their cry and delivered them.

Marion Bontrager said, "legalism is law without prior grace". Grace comes first. I guess I had not thought about that before.

The conference was a great review for me since I had taken Introduction to Biblical Literature while at Hesston. It was good to be reminded that the Bible is God's story of redemption - not just of ourselves, but the whole creation. Many times we define "sin" too narrowly, but if we recognize that its implications are much broader, then we will also see salvation as being much broader as well.

The Bible is still relevant 2,000 years later. We just need to continually tell the story!