Do We Really Count the Cost?

Started the book of James with my 6th graders today.  I’m really excited about this book.  Very practical, yet deep, too.  I’m sure we’ll have some great conversations on this one!

Today, we started with the background of the book.  Thinking about James growing up in the shadow of Jesus, the only really perfect elder sibling, made an impact, I think!  We talked about how James didn’t even identify himself as Jesus’ brother, but rather as a servant, a doulos (slave by choice for life).  But when I got to James’ martyrdom, I think I hit a nerve.   For all of us.

Tradition has it that James was thrown from the Temple in Jerusalem, and then beaten to death.  The brother of Christ killed in a very violent manner, all for his faith in his Savior.  James was no dummy.  He was a Jew who saw his brother get crucified for going against the status-quo in Jerusalem.  He was the leader of the church in Jerusalem, so he might as well have had a target on his chest.  Yet he didn’t leave Jerusalem.  He continued to bring the Gospel to his countrymen and women.  I’m sure that was why he was at the temple the day he was killed.

I asked how many of us would be willing die for our faith.  One girl actually was honest and said she didn’t know if she could.  It’s a heavy question.  How many of us in the U.S. really have to worry about anything like that?  How many of us go through any type of persecution at all?  What?  We might be the brunt of jokes, but, right now, do we really face any real dangers?

James did.  And Peter.  And Paul.  And Matthew.  And John.   And the modern saints in China, and Africa, and Iran, and India.

As I drove home, I couldn’t help but think “It’s time to rise up and quit hiding.”  The church needs to quit trying to be friends with the world, and start acting like we really care about the dying souls in it.  We need to be brave enough to be made fun of, because who knows?  Perhaps the jokester on the other side might be reacting that way because the Holy Spirit is at work in his life?  Are you willing to risk it?

Rise.

That Pesky Faith and Works Thing…

If you can read the book of James and not feel a bit uneasy, I don’t think you’re paying attention.  If you spend a lot of time in the writings of Paul and then go to James, you’ll probably have to watch yourself so you don’t react to it like Luther did, calling it an “epistle of straw” and tearing it out of your Bible.  Don’t know what I’m talking about?  Well, try this:

“You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”  (James 2:24)

Huh?!!!

Isn’t that whole “faith alone” thing a pillar of the Reformation?  Did not Paul write that we are saved by grace through faith, and that NOT of works?  (See Eph. 2:8-9)

Trouble abounds for us in these areas…if we don’t take the WHOLE counsel of Scripture together.  If we follow the words of James and exclude Paul, then we’ll wind up in a legalistic moralism that the Reformers were trying to fix.  On the other hand, if we ignore the words of James, we can become “cheap grace” Christians that reduce the Gospel to fire insurance and do nothing at all after “walking the aisle.”

So, YES, we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone!  Praise God for that!  As the old hymn goes “nothing in my hand I bring.”  There’s nothing I can do to make myself look any more attractive and holy in God’s eyes.  As another hymn puts it:  ”Jesus paid it all…all to Him I owe.”  When it comes to salvation, it’s all grace, all the time.

BUT, that grace must lead to fruit in our lives (see Matthew 7).  It has to produce more than pew-warming pseudo-Christians.  It has to “sprout wings” and take form in something concrete in our lives, or else it’s not real faith.  It’s not a part of our salvation, but it is evidence of it.

So, what’s your experience with this issue?  You struggle on one side or the other?

Perfect Timing

God is amazing.  That alone could sum this post up, but if you’re interested, keep reading.

It’s been rough lately.  Financially, we, like many people in these times, have really been stretched to the max.  If you know me, you know we don’t live extravagantly:  we’ve trimmed the fat from the fat, so to speak.  But no matter what, there always seems to be one more bill, one more need, one more thing that has to get done.  As the old saying goes, lately, there’s been way too much month left at the end of the money.  Amanda and I both have been doing everything we can to try and make extra cash, only to have it seemingly disappear into the ether.

As you know, that takes a toll after a while.  I believe I’ve read that finances are the #1 strain on marriages today.  It’s been especially tough on me when, as the man, I see it as my duty to provide for my family.  My wife encourages me greatly in my job, which we both see as a ministry, but sometimes, it’s just hard.  Like this past week.  It was just one of those “everything that can go wrong…will” weeks.

Yesterday, at church, our pastor spoke on the hope that we have in Christ.  Teaching from Luke 8, he reminded us of the hope that Jairus and the woman with the “issue of blood” had to put all their trust and hope in Jesus, because there was no where else to put it.  And Jesus never fails.  Never.  As my pastor said, His timing is always perfect.  He’s never late, and he’s never surprised by anything.  Duh! He’s God!  But oh how often I forget that!

Well, we went home a bit more encouraged, but still pretty beat up.  I left for work this morning, and just prayed that my wife would have a better day (she did).  Now, I told you all that to tell you this part, so listen up.

When I got home tonight, I opened the garage door and made my way into the house.  As I stepped inside the garage, I noticed an envelope on the ground near the door.  I figured Amanda had dropped some mail after getting it out of the box.  I bent down and picked it up, turned it over and read “May God richly bless you.”  That’s it.

Inside:  $200.  Which just happens to be enough to cover a medical bill that came in the mail.  Today.

Coincidence?  I think not.

God

Is

Good!!!!

As Amanda and I stood in the kitchen dumbfounded, she was crying, and I couldn’t stop laughing!  God is SO good!  And like PR said, His timing is always perfect.  Always.  So, if you’re doubting, struggling, hurting, or looking for something to hope in, trust in Jesus!  He loves you, cares for you, and has promised to meet all our needs according to HIS riches, not ours.

To God alone be the glory! Great things He IS doing!

Emerging from the Mire

The latest issue of Christianity Today has a very interesting article about “Emerging Adulthood” in  Americans that are 18-29.  It’s a brief interview with the author of a book on the subject, Christian Smith, and his findings on this age groups beliefs (or lack thereof).  I found the following two excerpts interesting.

When asked “What are the traits of religious American teenagers who retain a high faith commitment as emerging adults?” Smith replied that the answer was undoubtedly parents “not just in telling kids about faith but also in modeling it.”  Now, as a parent, this shouldn’t be shocking to any of us.  However, to see it in print was, for me, newly humbling.  It’s a reminder that the way I live my faith is supremely important in how my two girls will one day live theirs.  Deuteronomy 6 comes to mind:  ”You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (ESV)  It’s a charge I’ve written/thought/prayed about often.

But not often enough.  Not nearly enough.

Ok, the second thing that struck me was:  ”We think that emerging adults are also structurally disconnected from older adults who could be their mentors. The emerging adult world is self-enclosed. Older adults tend to be bosses with whom you have limited interaction, or professors with whom you are on performance terms. Even in some of the best churches, if an emerging adult happens to stay for Sunday school, it’s very likely to be in a post-college-age group. It’s hard for them to meet somebody who is 39 or 62 to get to know them and say, “Here’s what I’ve learned in life.”

For me, I’ve had  a few very key people in my life, other than family, that shepherded me and guided me on my way:  a former pastor, leaders in men’s ministry at church, a God-sent friend at work.  In every case, they had one common denominator:  they were older than me.  I have repeatedly been blessed by the wisdom these men have gleaned from life, and been grateful that they shared it with me and helped me in my walk.  The fact that there is a generation that is (gulp) just younger than me that does not, on average, seek/value/have that…that’s frightening, and sad.

When I was a teenager, I thought I knew everything.  Even as a young adult, I felt the same.  However, once I got married…that all changed.  Part of the problem with this group (and I’m no sociologist) is that they are extending their adolescence on into years where most of us were already married and starting families.  The delay in growing up is a contributor to this, no doubt.  But when I was 16-17, I wasn’t making decisions in politics, jobs, or community that affected anybody but me.  There is an entire group of people out there, growing into adulthood, with no mentors.  They need them, just like I did.  And do.

Thoughts?

Giving vs. Receiving

We’ve all heard it.  We’ve all said it, right?  I can remember hearing it as a little kid at someone else’s birthday party, and I know I’ve said it to my own daughter.  Everybody say it with me:  ”It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”

While I know it’s true, this is not a post about that.  No, I don’t doubt the accuracy of the statement, or the heart behind it.  After all, Jesus said it, according to Acts 20, so I’m most definitely NOT going to argue about it!

But I have been thinking about it a lot lately, and I’ve come to this conclusion.  It is easier to give than to receive, at least in certain instances.  Before you think I’m nuts, let me explain.

My family is in a season of receiving right now.  As anyone who is remotely familiar with us knows, I’m a teacher at a private Christian school, and lets just say that while my colleagues and I are hopefully storing up large eternal rewards, lets just say the earthly ones aren’t as grand.  (I’m not complaining, it just comes with the territory.  As my buddy K-max says, no one gets into teacher to get rich).  My wife and I made a decision several years ago that she would stay home with our kids, at least until they are school-age.  We both do extra things on the side to try and supplement our income, as time permits, but from the above two facts you can quickly gather that there’s not a lot of extra cash around each month.

Again, not complaining.  Bear with me.

Each month, when I get paid, we go through the same cycle of fear and doubt.  ”What are we going to do?!!”  ”How can we pay these bills?”  ”Do I need to look for another job?”  And each month, the Lord provides.  Faithfully.  A dinner here, a check in the mail there, an unexpected gift.  Without fail.  And sometimes, we get something really crazy, like tickets to a U2 concert that we’d never have been able to afford outright!

And every time, I have the same reaction inside my head.  Every time, I feel humbled and unworthy.  Then I feel guilty.  Guilty that I’m not providing these things on my own.  Guilty that I’m not earning more to take care of my family.  Guilty that I have to depend on the generosity of others, instead of my own “might.”

Oh, don’t get me wrong!  I’m so very thankful for it all!  I truly am!  However, men, you can attest to this:  as a man, it is very, VERY hard to be in this position.  I want to “pull myself up by my own bootstraps” and show what I can do.  I want to think that I have some control over all this.  But in reality, and this is the clincher for me, I don’t.

And I struggle.  I struggle because I know the Lord is humbling me.  I struggle because I want to have a part in this, just as I want to think I have a part in my salvation, yet God is showing me that I have no part, only to receive.  I don’t want to receive.  I want to give.  I want to take part.  I want to have a hand in it all.  And it’s hard to have to continually receive.  I don’t like it.  I feel worthless.

But maybe that’s a good thing.

Send Out the Clowns

This past weekend, our tiny little town had its annual bit of carnival-esque insanity.  While I’m tempted to write on some of the more ridiculous aspects of it, I’ll abstain.  And let me tell you, that’s not easy to do.

No, instead, I’ve been thinking about clowns.  Yes, clowns.  The makeup wearing, big shoe stomping, flower squirting, horn-honking clowns.  Clowns are integral to every parade and carnival.  They are, in effect, the thread that holds the whole thing together, bringing comic relief to us when the endless stream of pageant queens in convertibles threaten to exhaust us.

Clowns.

How many do you know?  Are you one? Am I?

Do you paint on a smile for everyone, while underneath you’re crying?  Do you play the fool so as not to have to deal with anything of weight in your life?  Do you hide behind a virtual costume, always keeping people at arms length with jokes, gimmicks, and disguises?

Are we any different than Adam and Eve trying to use fig leaves to fool God?  Are we fooling anyone other than ourselves?

I think this is a real problem in the church today.  I think true authenticity and honesty must begin with the removal of the makeup, stripping it down to the reality of who we are in Christ, and just how far we are from being where we should be.

Let’s send out the clowns, and send in the real, hurting, grace-hungry people.

God’s Goodness

” For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45, ESV)

Familiar with that one?  We don’t tend to think about it much, do we?  As I was driving into church early yesterday, I caught a glimpse of that sun rise, and the goodness of God within it.

Everybody that was driving I-40 with me that morning was blessed by the grace of God: the sun came up.  The day began, and we all got to go about our business.  I went to church, some went to the park, some went to the bar to watch football…but we were all blessed.

In a drought, we all suffer.  When the rain comes, we all get blessed.  The junkie and the preacher.  The single mom and the corporate workaholic.  The saved, and the lost.  We all get to enjoy the benefits.

But you know what should be different?  Our reaction.  When I saw that sunrise, I couldn’t help but praise the God that would paint such a beautiful picture on the sky for all to enjoy, worshipper or blasphemer.  I couldn’t help but rejoice that He would let me, sinful as I am, to enjoy it.  I couldn’t help but be thankful that I woke up that morning and saw what I got to see, and for the fact that He’d give me another day to serve Him in some way down here.

So what do we do with that?

We tell them what they’re enjoying and why.

Are We Missing It?

I attend a church that would be classified as “contemporary” by “churchy” standards.  We meet in an office park-turned mega church.  There is no steeple and no stained glass.  Our pastor wears jeans often times, and I regularly play guitar in sandals.  I’ve been accused of being at least somewhat metrosexual.  I’ve been a part of “modern worship” for close to 15 years now.

There are many aspects of it that I love.  First of all, there is a freedom to worship at our church, and in many modern churches, that I truly believe pleases God.  Just as David became undignified before the Lord, I think a little loss of dignity is needed for many churchgoers today.  I mean that too many of us are more concerned with what the guy in seat 23 thinks of us than what God in heaven above thinks.

I also believe that there’s nothing wrong with songs that fit the day and age, as long as they are good songs.  By that I mean they are theologically sound and not just trite little love songs that happen to say “Jesus” instead of “baby.”  And believe me, there are plenty of those out there.  If you’re unsure, just turn on most Christian radio stations and wait a sec.

But here’s the thing:  if someone from the first, second, third, or even 18th century church walked through the doors of my church, would they find anything that remotely resembles what they did?  Call it liturgy.  Call it tradition.  Call it old school, whatever.  My fear is that the modern Protestant church has thrown the baby out with the bathwater.  We have become so hung up on being “relevant” that we have no roots.

Think about these things:  how does your church approach the Lord’s Supper?  How often?  With what degree of solemnity and sincerity?  What about baptisms?  What about discipleship?  What about conversion?  Folks, does your church in any way shape or form have any ties to the historical church?  I’m worried that, in our effort to be cool, we’ve forgotten our foundation.  I’m afraid we’re missing it.  I’m afraid we’ve lost some of the ties that bind us all together.

I have these thoughts on the tip of my brain right now, but can’t quite flush them out.  More to follow…

Faith and Trust and All that Stuff

Trust and  Faith.

Both are things that I, as a Christian, am supposed to have.  Not in myself, mind you, but in the God Who created me, called me, saved me, and is molding me into His image every day.  They are words that depict the childlike and confidence I should have in Jesus.

But if I’m honest, I’m really squeezing the mustard seed most days.  And it’s a tiny seed.

If I’m honest, I bandied about the words “trust” and “faith” rather easily when I was making fairly good money in the sales game.  I was often heard talking about the “goodness of God” and how God had “blessed me” (not denying those facts…just read on), and how if we just trust Him, He will provide all our needs.  Yeah, I probably irked the mess out of many friends and acquaintances who weren’t quite as “blessed” as me.

So, fast forward to today.  Major career change, into a job that I love deeply (most of the time) and really enjoy, yet get paid a far less amount that I once earned in sales.  Gone are the days of my boasting of the goodness of God and His blessings.  If I’m honest, at least the frequency of those claims have been greatly reduced, if not their outright absence.  They’ve been replaced by periods of financial tightening and prayer.  Lots of prayer.  Lots and lots and lots of prayer.

But as I sit and type this, I realize that my old boasting was not in my Lord.  It was not in the Cross.  It was not in what God had done for me.  No.  I was boasting in me.  I was boasting in wealth and riches.  I was boasting in success in the business world, instead of boasting in my utter dependence on the One Who carries me each and every day.  You see, it’s easy to claim faith and blessing when everything is going smooth.  Anybody can do that.  But what do you do when the rubber meets the road, when you have to “give faith wings” as Rich Mullins once sang?

To be honest, I’ve wilted a lot the past year or so during this transition.  On the one hand, I can so clearly see God’s hand and guidance in everything.  And believe me, He has blessed us!  A house to live in, a bonus here, a gift there, an unexpected refund, an invitation to dinner, a free movie, and so many other things.  I can truly say “I’ve been blessed.”

But, if I’m even more honest, I don’t always feel that way.  Deep within, there is a smidge of “name it and claim it, blab it and grab it” prosperity gospel that keeps rearing its ugly head.  I don’t want to admit it, but it’s true.  I must admit that I very often wonder why God hasn’t blessed me MORE than He has.  As if I deserve anything anyway.  Why isn’t there more money at the end of the month?  Why can’t we do the things others get to do?  Why this?  Why that?  You get the picture.

Bottom line:  is He God or not?  Has He suddenly forgotten me or my family?  Has He given up on me?

No.  He hasn’t.

So I’m going to try to keep trusting.  I’m going to try and keep squeezing my little mustard seed of faith.  And I’m going to believe His promises are all yes and amen.

Good Subjects

I was reading yesterday in Romans 13, and the following verses really jumped out at me:

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” (ESV)

I hear a LOT of very negative comments about our current President. From Christians. Myself included. Which is why this verse really hit me. When Bush was in office, I’m sure many an evangelical pastor used it to encourage support of the Pres. How many are preaching it now? And in the liberal church, I’m sure the opposite is true.

I’m sure we can argue around it, using the rationale that a President that doesn’t value life at all stages doesn’t deserve our respect, but think about the government Paul was writing under! He was going to be executed for his beliefs! He was writing to Christians that were enduring intense persecution at the hand of the government. If he could say it, surely we can do it too.

So how about instead of blasting the President with every ridiculous claim, and basically considering him anathema, how about we pray for him? How about we pray for his administration and the decisions they will make. We’re in a mess, folks. As people that believe in a God who is sovereign over all, let’s seek his will for our nation and our leaders. After all, there is no authority, except from God.