How To Live a Real Life in Jesus

Here's a sermon I worked up on the Beatitudes...Mathew 5: 1-12.  Forgive the formatting.  These are my thoughts on how we can live a true and real life with God.

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Sermon on the Mount, Part 1

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	Thu, Jul 4, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Jesus came to give us life.  Life with him.  Life with peace and joy and love.  To the extent we understand and participate in the Sermon on the Mount will be the level at which we are blessed with those things. What is Life? Cereal?  John Gilchrist, who played "Mikey' in that Life commercial is now 44. A Game?  Some people treat it like a game.  Those that do tend to lose. A criminal sentence?  Some people treat life as if it were a criminal sentence. At the Univ. of Wash., the 4 columns in its logo are named "Loyalty, Industry, Faith, Efficiency," which spell "LIFE."  (I know that looks like "liffey" to you Cougars, but you'll just have to trust me here.) Life is what Jesus came to bring us                                                               i.      Opposite of life is...not death...but "separation"...separation of the soul from the body.  Death is separation.  In the garden, "If you eat of this tree, you will surely die."  What died?  Not Adam and Eve.  But they were separated spiritually from God and that connection died.   But it can be "born again."   How much untold misery over thousands of years has that separation cost the human race?                                                             ii.      Life is joining soul with body.  True life (when you're born again) is joining God with your soul.  This combination is meant for eternity.                                                           iii.      John 10:10 says the "thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I come so that they might have life abundantly."  Translation, Satan wants to separate (death) you from God so that he can steal your joy, kill you and destroy your eternal future, but I (Jesus) have come to this world to bring you to me and God so that you will enjoy the life I've given you to the full. 1.      Some say Jesus is some kind of cosmic killjoy.  How completely wrong they are.  Jesus is all about giving us pure, complete, wall to wall joy. What kind of life did we have before Jesus? As the sage prophet Crocodile Dundee told the mugger waving a switchblade at him, "That's not a knife...this is a KNIFE."  Translated:                                                               i.      Your knife is small,                                                             ii.      ineffective,                                                           iii.      likely to get you injured,                                                           iv.      not at all what a real knife should be about. Likewise, Jesus in the Sermon On The Mount (SOTM) is telling his disciples who've been living in the world's culture, "What you've been told about living...is not a life...this is a LIFE."  Life without Jesus is:                                                               i.      small/selfish/shallow/empty/unfulfilling                                                             ii.      ineffective/misguided/materialistic                                                           iii.      Likely to get you hurt, and others                                                           iv.      Prone to failure, collapse and sorrow Three of Jesus' main purposes in the SOTM Showing us who he is, and what he values                                                               i.      He then lived them out perfectly to show he "walked the talk" Showing us who God is and what God values                                                               i.      John 14:7.  If you really know me, you'll know my father as well Showing us how to live life                                                               i.      "I have come to give you life and life abundantly "(more than plenty) 1.      Full of peace 2.      Full of joy 3.      Full of meaning and goodness 4.      Full of hope 5.      Full of substance 6.      Full of adventure 7.      Full of closeness and friendship with God 8.      Satisfying and ultimately victorious in the end a.       (News flash:  God's team wins in the end) Problems people have with the Beattitudes They think they teach you need to be broke, wimpy and sad                                                               i.      If God says we should be broke wimpy and sad, we should be broke wimpy and sad.  He's God, after all.                                                             ii.      But that's not God's message at all, as we'll see They don't make a whole lot of sense                                                               i.      They are counter-intuitive to how people naturally act.  On first reading they don't make sense 1.      Yet they provide super--natural wisdom to strengthen and heal relationships a.       The most important things we have on earth are our relationships.                                                                                                                                       i.      Our relationships define who we are more than any other thing. b.      Money, status, talents are often curses in disguise, keeping us from focusing on relationships c.       God is the inventor of relationships.  He knows how they work best...much more than us.  We would be wise to take his advice on relationships. 2.      The beatitudes put us in God's will, in harmony with how we're wired, and the resulting fruit is joy and peace a.       God knows how we're wired and this is our wiring diagram.  If we want the life God wants for us, this is a guide how to accomplish that. b.      It's like putting an apple tree in Eastern Wash with good soil, water, etc.  It can't help but bear fruit. c.       When we live life with God, in God's way, because he wired us, we can't help but bear fruit. Verse 3:  Blessed Are the Poor In Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Of all the things he could have said, Jesus starts with this                                                               i.      Crucial, critical, first point. Poor In Spirit "Ptochos", opposite of "Proud in Spirit"                                                               i.      Means "bankrupt in Spirit," a beggar, helpless to change his situation. 1.      God's vision of living for us...his key, crucial, most important thing for us is an intimate, loving, pure, free-flowing relationship with him.  That's it ("I am the vine, you are the branches").  Nothing else in life comes close to this priority or ever will. a.       Not money b.      Not earthly status or position c.       Not works d.      Christianity...                                                                                                                                       i.      Is not reading and following the rules of God                                                                                                                                     ii.      Is not reading and following the rules of Jesus                                                                                                                                   iii.      Is acknowledging we're bankrupt and helpless inviting the spirit of the living God to dwell in our hearts to change us FTISO (From the Inside Out) 2.      Three types of people a.       Those that don't want a relationship with God.  They will not enter his Kingdom b.      Those that want a relationship with God on their own terms, not God's.  They will not enter his Kingdom c.       Those that want a relationship with God on God's terms.  They will enter his Kingdom.                                                             ii.      First point...this is where we meet God.  If you want to meet God, you need to meet him at the intersection of Hopeless Street  and Helpless Avenue.  He is found nowhere else.  Our adventure starts here.  It continues here.  And we will journey far if we just stay here. 1.      This is a "salvation" operation, not a joint You & Him self-improvement plan. Your sorry backside needs saving and he needs to save it.  a.       If you don't think your sorry backside needs saving, then you're on "I'm Doing OK Street" and you'll never bump in to him and you're on your own. b.      If you think you can help partially, then you're on "I Can Do It Street" and you'll never meet him and you're on your own.  2.      If you think you can help him save you, you're not at the intersection of Hopeless and Helpless. a.       Interesting another word for "intersection" is "cross."  It's where we cross paths with God.  And we decide the course of the life we live on this planet, Our Way or God's Way. b.      There's a word for those who don't want to be bankrupt and helpless:  proud.                                                                                                                                       i.      Essentially claiming Jesus is wrong 1.      He is not all-knowing 2.      He is not God 3.      He is not savior a.       Don't like his salvation b.      Don't need his salvation c.       Don't care about his salvation 4.      They know "better than God" 5.      Want to alter his New Testament a.       Jesus' New Testament is a "take it or leave it" deal b.      It is not open to alterations c.       Pride is a terrible terrible thing because it is a separator.  It is both subtle and brutal.  It is stealthy and deadly.  It is the enemy's chief tool to rip you off and rip you up.  You want to see your life turn bad...take a healthy dose of pride and watch your life head down the toilet.                                                                                                                                       i.      Pride says, "I'm better than you.  So, I don't need to treat you well.  I don't need to serve you.  I can take from you....or simply ignore you or make your life miserable." Pride is the seed of hatred, amongst other things.  Rather than joining, it separates.  As we saw earlier, what's a synonym for separation?  Death. Death to relationships.                                                                                                                                     ii.      Pride separated Lucifer from God                                                                                                                                   iii.      It is totally how the natural man wired. 1.      Natural man is looking for self-justification, a purpose and identity a.       God has given a purpose and identity...                                                                                                                                                                                                               i.      love relationship as a child of God (identity)                                                                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Work, with gifts God gave (purpose)                                                                                                                                                                                                           iii.      Results in harmony with God, peace, joy, satisfaction, etc. b.      Without God, we cope by looking inside for purpose and identity which will always cause problems.                                                                                                                                                                                                               i.      Causes unhealthy, unbalanced relationships (based on self-satisfaction and taking)                                                                                                                                                                                                             ii.      Self-justification causes need to be better than others (pride)                                                                                                                                                                                                           iii.      Or, if they don't measure up, self-condemnation, withdrawl                                                                                                                                                                                                           iv.      Self-medication tends to result from these unhealthy states c.       Reason for existence                                                                                                                                                                                                               i.      self-actualization, want to be who I'm supposed to be.  If you look internally for who you should be, they probably don't match God's plans for who you should be. 3.      If you look for him at the corner of Spiritual Blvd and Good Works Parkway, you might be able to fake others out into thinking you've got a good relationship with God.  You'll have company.  That's where the Pharisees hang out.                                                           iii.      If we miss this point, we're going to miss God and his kingdom. 1.      God says we need to be "connected," not just "in the vicinity."  Vine and branches.  If the branches are simply "near" the vine they die. 2.      Imagine interviewing anyone now in heaven, or a seasoned saint who's been walking with God and ask them if it was worth the trip to the corner of Hopeless & Helpless.  Every single one will tell you what a blessing it has been. Verse 4:  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted Though it applies to all who are saddened by struggles in life, used a lot at funerals... Greek word "Pentheo" seems to indicate it really means those who are remorseful and mourn over our spiritual state (see: Bankrupt and Helpless above)                                                               i.      Recognizing the price God had to pay to rescue us from our unsaved condition. No one likes to mourn, but in this fallen world, it has a purpose                                                               i.      Causes us to look to God for comfort                                                             ii.      Reminds us we are not yet home, where there will be no mourning                                                           iii.      Recognizing our bankrupt spiritual state keeps pride at bay 1.      Some Christians seem to think that spiritual people always look like they just ate a lemon.  Joy and laughter are frowned upon. 2.      While we acknowledge and glance at our sinfulness, we quickly turn and focus on Jesus, who has forgiven our sins, cleansed us, adopted us and fellowships with us. a.       So Christians live in a state of spiritual tension...recognizing our sins, but agreeing with God they are forgiven and our relationship is perfectly restored.  This "pull" keeps us from getting proud (since I'm a sinner)...or overly depressed (since God sees me as pure) and brings us to a place in between, blessed, peaceful dependence on  and loved by God. Verse 5:  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. When we realize we are bankrupt (verse 3) and still can enter God's kingdom and are comforted (verse 4), the spirit moves us to want to follow after God and not our flesh anymore.  We become "meek." Many Christians don't like this verse because they are misinformed and think that "meek" means "milquetoast" or "timid and week" or "pushover." Not at all.  The Greek word is "praus."  This is an equestrian term for a wild horse which is now tame enough to ride.  All the strength, all the power, all the toughness.  Just obedient to authority. Other examples:                                                               i.      Jesus himself was described as meek.  Unfathomable power completely yielded to the father.                                                             ii.      If you remember Reggie White of the Eagles and Packers.  Aggressive when it was right to be aggressive, calm when it was right to be calm.  Strength under control.                                                           iii.      A Navy Seal or Army Ranger might be a good example if they're under control of their commander and God.                                                           iv.      Another example would be a seeing eye dog.  1.      It's totally focused on its master, it's working every moment to please its master.  It's on the lookout to aid the master in every way. 2.      Doesn't run off to play or provoke any incidents 3.      If the master is accosted, it will defend ferociously 4.      Completely loyal, affectionate 5.      Valuable commodity...a well-trained guide dog can run $50,000. 6.      (NOTE: While the dog is a great example of meekness (power under control), don't think that God needs us to watch over him and protect or defend him.  The analogy does not apply there.  It is he who is watching over and protecting us.) The meek will inherit the earth                                                               i.      An inheritance is something you didn't earn, which is being given to you as a gift                                                             ii.      We don't earn salvation.  It's given to us.  Our response to this gift is gratitude and an invitation to the Holy Spirit to change us, and he comes into our heart and changes us into his image by his grace, so that we conform to his image and begin more and more acting like Jesus. 1.      If we, for one moment, believe anything we're doing is helping us earn or increase his love, acceptance, or our salvation (which we already have in full and cannot be increased), then we are working to approach God via the Law.  In which case the whole law applies and you must to bear the burden of perfection to enter his kingdom.  Good luck with that.  Tell me how that works out for you. a.       This is where I got hung up for years.  I didn't believe I was truly loved, so I worked to get love from God and others.   It made for an unhealthy, works relationship with God, and unhealthy, needy relationship with others. Verse 6:   Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Follow the flow of the beatitudes.  We come to God bankrupt and are taken in.  We mourn for our sin and are comforted, we give ourselves to him and come under his control, the result of which we begin a hunger and thirst for righteousness. As we walk with him and fellowship with him (roots), we develop a new kind of spiritual craving as this new life inside of us begins to grow.                                                               i.      Hunger/thirst, bodily craving...one that grows until the craving is met.                                                             ii.      Presently I hunger and thirst for Twinkies and Pepsi and fill in spare time with God stuff.                                                           iii.      I can't wait till my primary hunger and thirst is for God's righteousness and fill in the spare time with Twinkies and Pepsi.                                                           iv.      You cannot create a hunger.  Hunger happens as a result of a need from the body.  Same with the soul.  God will create the hunger. ...and he will fill it.  So he creates the need, fills the need and we are blessed in the process. The two verbs are in a "constant" tense...so the proper translation is "Blessed are those who are constantly hungering and thirsting for righteousness, for they are constantly being filled. Verse 7.  Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Next step of God's process...We've met God on his terms and he's taken us in, we've mourned over our sins, and he has us under control.  We're continually hungering and thirsting for righteousness and we're being continually filled. As we have trusted in him and not ourselves to cleanse us, we begin to experience more and more of his mercy and find ourselves sharing it with others. Church people seem to fail this test                                                               i.      Come across as angry and bitter at sinners                                                             ii.      As if we were any better                                                           iii.      Mature people will pray for others and focus on what's best for non-Christians...                                                           iv.      Too often Christians play the "judgment card" and it's not nearly as effective as the "love and mercy" card Mercy is one of Jesus' major traits. Matthew 7.  Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Mercy is a froot.  You cannot make yourself merciful.  This comes as a froot of the relationship, so don't strive for mercy.                                                               i.      An apple farmer can wander through his orchard and grimace and moan and hop up and down when he doesn't see mature apples.  But it won't help grow fruit.                                                             ii.      The farmer can't "grow" fruit                                                           iii.      He doesn't even know "why" fruit grows, but God does.                                                           iv.      He doesn't know "how" fruit grows, but God does.                                                             v.      But if he focuses on things like soil, water, pesticides, temperature, etc...apple trees wired as they are...will produce fruit                                                           vi.      Likewise, we should not worry about froot.  We should not grimace and moan and hop up and down about lack of good froot.                                                         vii.      Instead, we concentrate on meeting Jesus.  Where?  Intersection of Hopeless Street and Helpless Avenue.  You meet him there and you....wired as you are...will produce froot.                                                       viii.      God says his yoke is easy and his burden is light.  He does the heavy lifting.  We just abide and let him grow the froots.                                                           ix.      In Germany, they call this "rootzenfrootzen."                                                             x.      No, they don't.                                                           xi.      But they should. Verse 8: Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Translated: "Blessed are those who are becoming more pure in heart, as they will be seeing God more clearly."  As an added benefit of allowing Jesus to work in our hearts, we'll have a better and better vision of God. What a blessing to be able to see God more clearly each day...until the day we will look God in the face as he welcomes us to eternity with him and join the multitudes who live in the unrestrained joy, love and peace of his presence. It's important to note that Jesus did not say "Blessed are those who keep the rules", or "blessed are those who strive to look good." All throughout this discourse Jesus is not speaking of outward actions,  but inward attitudes.  Jesus is primarily concerned with the heart.                                                               i.      Unlike the Law, which is primarily concerned with outward righteousness, Jesus is concerned with inward righteousness 1.      All spiritual changes are FTISO, not FTOSI (from the outside in) 2.      There is a great temptation for us to minister to others FTOSI.   "Get a haircut."  "Get a job."  "Stop being an idiot."  But these are all ineffective because they are not FTISO. 3.      This requires we look at Jesus as we minister.                                                             ii.      If the inward attitudes are solved, you'll have no problem with the outside ones.                                                           iii.      Jesus/God are both internally   pure...this, like all the other beatitudes, describes who Jesus and God are                                                           iv.      Heaven is not filled with people who led good lives.  Heaven is filled with sinful people who trusted in Jesus to constantly clean up their sin. How do we break out from this spiritual acting out and have God purify our hearts.  See verse 3.  We recognize we're spiritually bankrupt and destitute and meet God at the corner of Helpless and Hopeless.  That's where the journey on this yellow brick road starts... and continues...all the way to heaven.  Any advances we make are made by him as we cling to him. Verse 9:  Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.  Right there!  There!  God is calling us to be his beloved children.  It's the whole point of our ride on This Big Blue Ball.  He wants us to enter the relationship where he's our loving daddy. As we progress in our walk with God (v. 3-8), we will begin to show an outward focus.  The love he has for us begins to move outward as unselfish serving of others.  This is a fruit of spiritual maturity confirming God's work in our hearts. The word "peacemaker" here seems to be a progressive word.  It implies:                                                               i.      We have God's peace in our hearts                                                             ii.      We minister God's peace in our sphere of influence                                                           iii.      We maintain God's peace as we move forward The result is that we will be his children                                                               i.      We are in an intimate relationship with him                                                             ii.      We act like he acts (A "chip off the old block")                                                           iii.      We minister his peace, even where others do not want his peace 1.      We will find ourselves walking with God, experiencing resistance from those opposed to God's peace. Verses 10 & 11:  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.  Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. It's important to know that this does not mean everyone who is persecuted for taking a Godly stance is blessed.                                                               i.      Many Christians take godly stances, but defend them with fleshly acts...accusations, judgmentalism, self-righteousness, etc.  They think they are being persecuted for God's sake, when they're really being persecuted because they are foolish and rude.                                                             ii.      They are not humbled in spirit (verse 3)                                                           iii.      They are not mourning over their own sins verse 4)                                                           iv.      They are not meek...under God's control (verse 5)                                                             v.      They are not hungering for God's righteousness (verse 6)                                                           vi.      They are not merciful (verse 7)                                                         vii.      They are not seeing God (verse 8)                                                       viii.      They are not bringing God's peace (verse 9)                                                           ix.      They jump right to flesh-led action instead of spirit-induced action and the results are both tragic and expected.  They "minister" FTOSI while condemning others and leave spiritual carnage in their wake.  Then they go home at night, proud of themselves for suffering for God's sake when in fact they've been nothing more than Pharisaical fools.  God loves them but now needs to go pick up after the mess they caused.                                                             x.      How church people love to jump to verse 10 without considering verses 1-9.  How long will I be such a fool? This is the final spiritual "fruit" that Jesus speaks of in the beatitudes.  It doesn't seem like a fruit we'd enjoy, but it's the mark of maturity.  It's the proof of a healthy, mature Christian life.  It's the sign of approval from God on a man or woman fully under God's righteous influence.                                                               i.      A man or woman who so prizes their relationship with God that they will gladly lay down comfort, status, position, ownership in the world for his sake.                                                             ii.      And if you asked them if it was worth it, they would say, "Of course.  What I lost matters little to what I gain each day with Christ."                                                           iii.      They do not groan or complain because the spirit is so full in their lives that they see God (verse 8) and they see they're another step closer to that final untethered relationship with God.                                                           iv.      And if you were to ask them how they achieved this level of purity...how they attained the status of a spiritual giant...how they grew to be a mighty oak standing strong against the battering elements...what would they say?  1.      Would you hear their secret strategy? 2.      Would they share with you their inside tricks 3.      Would they tell you how they could be strong when others were not? 4.      No.  They would sit you down, shake their heads and say, "You know, I don't really know if I've done anything so great at all.  In fact I can't take credit for any of it.  God kept growing me, and the circumstances sort of happened.  But let me tell you something.  I remember one day, long ago, when I realized what a total worthless bankrupt person I was, and how I had no power to change it.  Then, or now.  I realized I was getting worse and not better.  But my life changed one day when  I heard a little voice from inside...my soul, or whatever you call it...and it said, 'take this next left on Hopeless Street.  Stop the car when you get to Helpless Avenue.  There's someone there waiting for you.  Right now.  And he wants to be your Dad." End

Manifesto

"This is great," a coworker joked while I was handing him some paperwork a few weeks ago.  "I've known you seven years and I've never seen your manifesto."

 

I smiled and continued on.  But the seed worked its way deep.  A manifesto?  Isn't that what serial felons mail to newspapers to explain their psychotic crime sprees?  An explanation of why they do what they do? 

 

Maybe everyone has a manifesto.  Some probably have an internal one  and might even be surprised if they were to write it down.   So why not?  It's boring, but here's mine:

 

If you had to boil life down to one concept...one word...the word would be "relationships."

 

This planet is only about relationships...our relationship with Jesus, our relationship with others, our relationships as individuals and our relationship in groups who relate to other individuals and groups.  That's the purpose of life.  If you have a better one, tell me now so I can tear this up and get it right.

 

In his unsearchable wisdom, God has provided for us uncountable numbers of relationships...good and bad... that we can observe and learn from.

 

God is perfect and has the relationship thing down pat.  As the one who invented them, it stands to reason that his relationships are perfect and would be worth looking at. 

 

Most relationships seem to be cyclical.  One member initiates and another responds, and so begins the cycle.

 

Look at the beautiful relationship in the oxygen cycle.  Animals breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide.  Plants take in the carbon dioxide and emit oxygen.  This relationship is a perfect cycle.

 

Look at the water cycle.  Water in the clouds falls to earth, allowing for fertile ground and rivers which transform the land.   The water is lifted back into the heavens and the cycle repeats perfectly (unless you're a farmer in South Dakota, where it's always too much or too little.)

 

We can see the extremely complex relationships in the human body, with the thousands and thousands of parts having needs, then having them met from other organs, and then providing for the good of the others.  (How anyone can look at this incredible and miraculous interrelationship of organs and conclude it was all per chance absolutely staggers me, but that's a topic for another time.)

 

I don't mean to wrongly over-simplify interpersonal relationships, but you can see a healthy pattern in many marriage relationships.  The husband shows sacrificial love to his wife.  His wife receives it and this allows her to respond with sacrificial respect to her husband, which frees him to love his wife more sacrificially and we can see how this relationship can be a perfect cycle of love and respect.

 

In a healthy relationship between a parent and infant, the parent initiates vital imparting of things like love, protection, nurturing and care.  This allows the child to respond with increasing trust, love and respect.

 

In these relationships we can see glimpses of our relationship with God, who will always relate to us perfectly because God loves each one of us perfectly.  His love for each one of us is deeper, and more secure, than any of us could begin to conceive.

 

Perfect relationships between people or between people and God have these in common:

 

1.  Appropriate giving and taking based on the strengths, gifts and weaknesses of the parties.

2.  The relationship is healthy to both parties.

3.  Both parties experience satisfaction in the relationship.

4.  The relationship is sustainable for the long term. (No one burns out.)

5.  The parties focus on the relationship over themselves. (This is obviously not the case in parent/child relationships, where the child has not matured enough to consider others.)

 

The most important part of life is growing relationships and the most important relationship is the one we have with God.  God has promised to do some things and therefore we can say this is God's Responsibility for His Relationship With Me

 

1.  He initiates the relationship.  I can respond or refuse.

2.  He loves, protects and guides me.  He loves me more than I love myself, and cares about the details of my life more than I care about them.

3.  He nurtures and nourishes me and produces acceptable spiritual fruit in me.

 

This of course requires my response.  Matthew 18:3 says "Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God."  My responsibilities in this relationship:

 

1.  Yield all control...like a little child...to my loving father.  (This struggle for control is a HUGE issue...maybe THE issue.  When I demand control, it turns out I lose control.  When I give him control, the ride becomes controlled.)

2.  His love allows me to respond with respect.

3.  Agree with him when I've done wrong

4.  The quicker the better.

 

Imagine one of those old New England water mills...where the river pours over the huge wheel, which turns and grinds the grain inside.  This is an excellent analogy of our relationship with God.

 

Our job is simply to be an open valve and allow the water to flow over the wheel.  This is simply our opening up to the Holy Spirit.  It's the water's (Spirit's) job to do the work, not mine.  As the Holy Spirit flows through us, you can expect these things to happen:

 

1.  We are transformed into his image as we see in Romans 12:2

2.  We will see the results of his work called "fruits of the spirit."

3.  Maturity

4.  Meaningful and abundant life

5.  Peace with God.

6.  Harmony with other believers

 

 

 

 

Weights and Skates

I completely get why non-Christians think Christians are bizarre. All the time we Christians talk about trusting in something/someone we can't see, hear, touch, smell (thank goodness) or taste. And yet we talk to each other like it's perfectly natural and normal. "Of course. Do it all the time."
 

Fact is, I don't do it very well. Fact is...I don't think many of us do it that well. Fact is, I doubt if any of us do it that well. Remember that video of the NY cop this past winter buying shoes for that homeless man? Why did it go viral? Because it was so stinkin' unusual. If all of us Christians lived like this, it wouldn't have gone viral. It would have been, (Yawn) "Oh it's another one of those Christians being massively sacrificial again. What-ever. What's on TV?"
 

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the preacher said something I'd heard before, but this time it clicked in different. It had to do with where people put their weight.
 

When I sit on a chair, I transfer my weight onto it because I trust it will hold me. When I drive across a bridge, I trust it will support my car. I judge if it will hold (not all chairs hold me anymore) and if my understanding tells me that it is more structurally sound than I am heavy, I trust it and I put weight on it. If I'm right, I don't fall.
 

CS Lewis calls us spiritual amphibians because we live partially in the spiritual world and partially in the physical world. Another way we can say that...is we're on skates (we'll make them ice skates for now)...one foot is in the "Jesus" skate and the other foot is in the "self" skate. And we skate through life adjusting our weight on these two skates.
 

You already know where I'm headed. I adjust my weight on my skates based on...my understanding of what will support me best. Remember that proverb that's sung to the calypso beat "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on...your own understanding." Hell! (If anyone calls me on that, I'm sayin' I meant "hello" and mistyped it) I'm doing it ALL wrong!

 

 

So I'm using my judgment, and figuring out which skate I should lean on...where I'm putting my weight...based upon my brain's best understanding. There's a word for that: sin. Here's the bad news. If I had to guess how much I lean into the "self" skate, it's about 99%. Here's the good news. If God can coax me into leaning just another percent into the "Jesus" skate, that's a spiritual pay raise of 100%!
 

You can always tell which skate you're leaning on...if it gets kicked out from under you, right? If the "self" skate gets kicked out from under you, and you fall...then you had most of your weight on the "self" skate. If someone cuts you off in the car, insults you at work, makes fun of you at the gym (that never happens to me because I never go to the gym), and you fall over...you know you're leaning on the "self" skate. On the other hand if someone ridicules you or calls you a name and you're with the Spirit on the Jesus skate, you just keep skating and really don't even mind.
 

Interestingly enough, the Jesus skate never gets kicked out from under you though sometimes it "seems" that it does. Ironic, isn't it, that the invisible rock of Jesus offers more support for my skates (now we're on roller blades) than the most stable pavement the world offers. And yet...
 

There a word for for Christians who put most of their weight on the "self skate." Perfectly normal people. (Some of you noted that was actually 3 words, but this was one of those places where you needed to work with me.) It's completely normal to put weight on the self skate. It's natural. It's what we all do. And it's foolish because it gets kicked out all the time by really hard and difficult things.
 

And while Jesus says "Be perfect as my heavenly father is perfect," I don't see any way how I can lift my self-skate up and glide along on the Jesus skate even though sometimes I want to. I mean, I am not equipped to even get to 5%, much less 100%. So while I fail completely and miserably at this, my only option is the most amazing and fabulous one: I trust in Jesus to skate for me. And I am so thankful that his self-skate has never even once touched the ice...or pavement.
 

I don't expect to see a lot of improvement in my skating. I'll continue to pray and love him and be transparent so that he and I can have the deepest relationship possible for me. I find this keeps me from conforming to the world, and transforms my mind, to allow me to know his perfect will...and I think my skating will continue to improve a little.
 

This also give me compassion for people who are also struggling to lean into the Jesus skate even if they might not be able to lean there as much as my feeble efforts. We'll both fall short, but we can encourage each other and enjoy each others' company along the way.


 

Prodigal Son Part II

You've no doubt read the story of the prodigal son where the son gets his inheritance from his father (while dad's alive), and squanders it.  He returns home expecting to live as a servant, but his father fetches him a robe and gold ring, calls for a fatted calf to be butchered and celebrates his son's return.  Here's how I believe that story could have continued:


A few days after the prodigal son came home, he sneaks out of his father's house, runs down to the local pawn shop, pawns the robe and his new gold ring, takes the money and spends it on drugs and women. Once the money's gone (evidently it was a pretty nice robe and ring)...and the son (I'll call him Steve, you can call him Whoever You Want) wakes up hung-over in the streets, he realizes what a fool he's been and wanders back to his father's house, only to have it play out exactly as the first time...the father comes running out no less enthused than the first time, gives him a new robe, a new ring, has another fatted calf killed, and the father celebrates that his son is back.

 

A couple of weeks later, the same scenario plays out, the son sneaks out, sells his ring and robe, and shoots up, only to return home naked a few days later. And his father runs out to greet him, gets him a new robe, new ring, shouts for the fatted calf, and another celebration ensues.

 

The story repeats so that you'd think you're living Groundhog Day. The son keeps leaving, failing, and returning, gets new clothes and a celebration.

 

So one time after being accepted back home yet again, the son asks the father, "How many times will you take me back? When's your patience with me going to end?" And the father leads the son by the arm through his mansion to a long series of doors with names on them. He opens the one with my name on it and it's a walk-in closet. Inside is rack after rack after rack, all with hangers holding thousands and thousands of robes. All are my size.

 

On the wall is a huge dresser with dozens of large drawers. He opens a couple of drawers. They are filled with gold rings. My size.

 

He leads me to a window where I look out over his ranch and I see a part of his herd of livestock. He says, "Look at me. Why do you think I own the cattle on a thousand hills?" 
 

"You ask how many times I'll take you back. Here's my answer: How many do you need?"



 

Daddy, I Broke It

It went high and outside.  I watched the tennis ball which I'd aimed at the front steps veer terribly off course and head for the one place it was not supposed to go...an 80 year old leaded glass window.  It hit the window.  Of course.  It broke the window.  Of course.

What makes it more fun is that the previous week my dad told me...clearly...to NOT throw the tennis ball at the front steps, as an errant throw could hit and break the leaded glass window.  In my 14-year old mind, I knew my control and mastery over that ball and there was no way I'd allow that to happen.  And there I stood looking at a broken window. 

Where does your brain go in that situation?  Repentance?  Anger?  Despair?  Well, my  teenage mind clicked immediately into damage control mode.  I quickly reasoned that no outcome would end well for me.  (This is my public school-trained brain at work).  Immediately I considered my options to select the least painful.

If I could just fix it...even half-way... maybe no one would notice?   No, I didn't take Mastering Antique Window Repair in shop class.  Running away from home seemed like a bad long-term idea and was quickly discarded.   Apparently no one inside heard the window break, so I could try ignoring it and play stupid (which, by the way, is one of my spiritual gifts).  But with no other suspects, I'd be convicted on the circumstantial evidence, and sentenced to extra time for the cover-up.  Alas, my weekly allowance did not allow for hiring a high-profile lawyer to provide a vigorous legal (by reason of insanity?) defense.

It occurred to me my best option was to suck it up and self-report before anyone else noticed.   Understand that had I any other option beside self-confession, I'd have taken it.  It wasn't like I was looking for the holiest choice, but the least painful choice.  It's just that honesty with my dad seemed to be my best long-term option. 

After a deep breath, I ran inside the house, found my dad and confessed I had done the very thing he had told me not to do.  And I broke the thing he'd asked me not to break.  And I apologized for not obeying him.

He was so stunned at my forthrightness that he just looked at me and told me not to do it again and that was that.  Our home was a government-owned house, so the next day he picked up the phone and called the maintenance staff which sent out a fellow who fixed it.  (If you're a US taxpayer, that was on you.  Thanks for your support.)

Who knew that a broken window 40 years ago could transform my life today?  I find myself repeating those same words over and over to my heavenly father:  "Daddy, I broke it."  And his response is always the same to me..."Come here, sit on my lap.  I'll fix it."

You ever broke a toy and took it to an adult who said, "It's OK, sit here on my lap and I'll fix it."  That's the voice of God.  That's what he does.  

Jesus told me to be perfect as his heavenly father is perfect.  That's the standard.   And I am not displaying false humility...I am being as honest as the day is long when I say that I am completely on the opposite side of the spectrum.  

I was born selfish.  As a child, I practiced the art of selfishness through much trial and error.  As a teenager, I refined it.  As an adult, I perfected it.  My thoughts are selfish.  My motivations are selfish.  Writing this blog is probably selfish.  Using Jesus as the standard, I am so selfish, I can't even tell when I'm not being selfish.  Honestly, if the high bar of perfection is set at ten feet, I can't even clear a quarter-inch.

I'm sorry to use a graphic illustration here, but I believe it to be 100% accurate.  Imagine you're a high jumper and you've been told that you need to leap over the ten foot high bar, or you'll face eternal death.  Oh, one more important item.  Every bone in your body is severely broken.

Leap the bar?  You can't even crawl to the bar.  That's the impossible situation we're in.

Thank God I don't have to clear the bar.  Thank God, I can rely on Jesus who has cleared it for me.

So my desire is rightfully turned away from trying to fulfill an impossible task, and instead turned to a relationship with Jesus who cleared it for me.  But my selfish heart wanders back to that bar.

Bar leaping is simply law keeping.  The allure of the law is that I think it allows me save myself and justify myself.  And even if I could keep the Ten Commandments as written (I can't),  I'd still fail because as Jesus pointed out, they demand not only perfect physical compliance, but perfect spiritual motivation.  I'm at Game Over before I can even press Start.

So, what in hell am I doing trying to justify myself through works?  (I mean that literally.)

Oh, and there's more bad news.  Not only are we selfish and prone to wandering the wrong ways, we are also set up to completely fail.  There's a world out there looking to entice us away from God.  (If you don't believe me, pick up any newspaper).  And there's a sneaky, lying bunch of demons who know our weaknesses and are using those to lure us away from God.

Our flesh and the world and the enemies of God all offer us a tempting path called "sin."  Sin is simply a way of doing something that God would disagree with.  Not because God is a killjoy, but because sin is harmful to us.  Like any good parent, God is looking out for my best interest.   

Yet I'm still lured in sin's direction because it promises freedom.  It promises life, excitement and a thrill.  Today it's badass.  Tomorrow, it's B.A.D.A.S.S.   Though it promises much, sin always delivers Bondage And Death And Suffering Sorrow.

Though my mind knows this, that alone won't stop me from chasing sin.  Isn't that weird?  I know before I start that it's both harmful for me and for others and I do it anyway because I'm too selfish to care. I don't need awareness of sin.  I have that and that doesn't help.  I need someone to pull me away and free me from it.  

I need someone who sees through my facade and into my core...who can detect when I'm wavering or when I've already run away...who can shake me and break through my wall of selfishness and point me to help.  And I need...after I've disobeyed and broken the window...someone to run to...who'll tell me, "It's OK.  Sit here on my lap.  I'll fix it."

I have that now.  I have the spirit of God tapping me on the shoulder many times daily, telling me I'm wandered off course and something's broken.  And I turn, and there's my heavenly father reaching down for me.  And he's not angry.  He's serene.  He's smiling.  He understands my situation better than I do.  He knows I was born rebellious and waits for me to agree with him about my shortcomings and turn his way because he loves me and wants a real and intimate relationship with me.  He's looking for closeness as the best father would want with his child.

And again it's decision time.  Like the boy who just broke the window, I consider my options. Run away?  Ignore it?  Justify it?  Try to fix it (as if I could)?  Not this time.

I look into God's eyes and say the same thing that that I've told him a hundred times this last week.  Something so completely obvious, it doesn't need to be said.  But it must be said, because even though he doesn't need to hear it, I do.  "Daddy, I broke it."  And he sweeps me up in his arms and looks it over. And in my heart I hear it again.  

"It's OK.  You just sit here on my lap.  I'll fix it."

 

 

 

 

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.