Power to the People

Right from the get go, God wanted Israel to be different. He wanted a "kingdom of priests and a Holy nation." As soon as he delivered them from Egypt (as soon as they found freedom) he gave the proclamation that this was what they would be. After this invitation, he challenged them with a frightening show of lightning and clouds.

We see the people of Israel move away from this position. The priesthood rises and becomes more powerful, until Jesus arrives. And Jesus once again tells the people that they can be the priests, they can be holy. Yet, the priesthood rose again.

What is keeping you from connecting to God on your own? What is keeping you from reading the Bible for yourself? Why don't we learn to feed ourselves? Why don't we become what God has repeatedly call us to be?

Weapons and Warfare

"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have the divine power to destroy strongholds."

What's a stronghold?

It is those things that hold us back, that keep us from being who we were created to be. A stronghold is a lie that we believe - a lie with some supernatural support. Picture this...

A young girl from a broken family eagerly awaits her next birthday. It is one of the few times she sees her father, one of the only times she sees her parents in the same room anymore, one of the only moments she feels normal. Leading up to the big day she gets a call from her dad and he asks what she would like for her birthday. She tells him she would love a new pair of jeans. She tells him her size and says it doesn't matter what brand or shade, just that they were from him. She tells him how excited she is, how much she misses him and how she can't wait to be a year older.

Finally the day arrives, the party is a success, everyone is there. There is cake and ice cream and balloons and dresses and toys and laughter. There are no jeans. When the party is over and the crowd has passed, she looks back on the day. She smiles at the fun and friends, she remembers the balloons and the cake. She realizes there were no jeans.

Soon, the other memories fade and all she can think about are the missing jeans. Why? Why didn't he buy me the jeans? Doesn't he love me enough? The days go by and the questions persist. What did I do wrong? What is wrong with me? How can I be so worthless that my own father won't even get me a pair of jeans for my birthday? Over time, the questions grow and become stronger. If he can't love me, how could anyone love me? I must not deserve to be loved. How could anyone love me? I must not be lovable.

When Jesus was on the scene, demons were apparent. His very presence brought them to light and flushed them out. We don't see that today. In fact, we've got scientific explanations for some of those demons. Epilepsy. Disease. Schizophrenia. Even if we can't explain their expulsion, we can reason away the causes of the demons we see in the Bible. Can we do the same with how a small slight becomes a life-changing belief?

Satan is the father of lies, that is his native language. When he works in the world today, he works with these lies. He uses the fallen world we live in, the broken homes, the broken relationships, the diseases and disasters we face. He uses our flesh, the clothing we need, the stuff we desire and the people we admire. And he uses lies. He speaks into them and makes them grow. He puts them in front of us, knowing we'll fixate on them, knowing we'll feed into his plan by feeding the lie. He helps us jump to the next conclusion, the next assumption and he makes our landing there seem safe and secure.

If you want to see demons today, look at the lies you believe. That's where you'll find them.

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

Good Grief

As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

I wonder if this is what Charlie Brown was talking about.

Mysterious Ways

But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up for three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Namaan the Syrian.

God loves how God loves. God shows himself how he shows himself. We can't understand why one widow gets overflowing jars and another doesn't. We can point to her faith, but that doesn't mean there wasn't another widow down the block with the same faith. Why was Namaan cleansed when so many others weren't? His faith saved him, but that doesn't mean that someone else's lack of faith condemned him. He moves in mysterious ways - ways we can't understand, can't comprehend - Godly ways.

Straight Talk

Sometimes rules are nice. They are simple and clean-cut. They provide clear direction. Here is John the Baptist laying out some straightforward rules:

And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?" And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none and whoever has food is to do likewise." Tax collectors also came to him and said, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do." Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone with threats or false accusation, and be content with your wages."

To the point and challenging as all get out. Why do we make things so difficult?

If you've got it, share it.

Don't cheat.

Be content.

Teachers & Fathers

For though you have countless guides (guardians, tutors, teachers, instructors) in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you then, be imitators of me. - 1 Cor 4:15-16

Did you ever get something stuck in your teeth? Of course you have. Let's say it's a piece of popcorn and there is no floss to be found. What do you do? You play with it. You tongue it absent-mindedly. You try to dig it out with your fingernail when no one is around. It keeps bugging you and bugging you. That's what this verse has done to me the last two days.

There are a lot of people who would love to be your teacher in Christ. Turn on the TV or the radio or the newspaper, go to the bookstore. There are a ton of teachers out there. Heck, I'll try to be your teacher.

Everybody has an opinion, everybody has a view, everybody has an understanding. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are intriguing. Some are disgusting. Some make you want more. Some make you want to run away. Some make you think. Some make you feel. Some are right. Some are wrong. Some are milk. Some are meat. Some are attractive. Some are destructive. Some help you. Some hurt you.

None of them can fully satisfy what we really need.

There are so many teachers, because teaching is easy. Observe, interpret and deliver. In a nutshell, that's what teaching is. Observation of the scriptures or the world plus some thoughtful interpretation of how those different parts interact with one another and with the audience, coupled with a memorable, thought or emotion evoking delivery is teaching.

That's something anyone can do. That is something everyone should do. It isn't something we should depend on others for.

I don't have a spiritual father. I've had a ton of spiritual teachers. I've had some spiritual leaders. I think I had a spiritual uncle once. I've had some spiritual temporary-custody situations. I may have had a spiritual step-dad or two. But, I've never had a spiritual father.

This is part of the popcorn-in-the-teeth situation. I've been going over what that means. I've never had a spiritual father. What does that mean? Am I a runaway? Were there potential fathers out there that I ran away from? Am I unlovable? Were there people who tried that just couldn't handle it (couldn't handle me)? Was it a situational thing? Did I just come from the wrong place, where people didn't deal with this wishy-washy feelings junk? How am I supposed to be a spiritual father if I've never had one?

I might not have a spiritual father, but I have a fantastic dad. I've got the kind of dad who supported me in everything I did. I've got the kind of dad who sacrificed for me. I've got the kind of dad who let me try and fail. I've got the kind of dad who coached a team for half a little league season without his son on the team so I could get called up to the majors. I've got the kind of dad who taught me the hard lessons. I've got the kind of dad who cried the first time I flew away from home alone. I've got the kind of dad who still calls to see how I'm doing. I've got the kind of dad who gets excited about what's going on in my life. I've got the kind of dad who asks me for advice. I've got the kind of dad who taught me what it means to be a man. I've got the kind of dad who loves my mom. I've got the ind of dad who loves me and lets me know. I've got the kind of dad that all of you should be jealous of.

That's that kind of spiritual father we all need. We all need someone who will dedicate themselves to us, who will make their life about helping us to live as spiritual fathers too. Jesus called them disciples fishing for men. He called them shepherds feeding his lambs. It's all the same, it is people loving other people more than themselves.

That's the kind of spiritual father I've been called to be.

There are plenty of teachers out there. Teaching is easy.

Teachers say, "Be good." "Be brave." "Be honest." "Be free." "Be encouraged."

Fathers say, "Be like me as I follow Christ."

That's hard.

Nowhere to Run and Nowhere to Hide

My wife and I belong to one of those members-only 24 hour gyms. The only reason for this is because we can walk there from our house. We figured it was worth spending a little more money for a gym we would actually go to. The front of gym is all glass and from the front windows you can actually see the roof of our house.

This morning I was on the treadmill, right in front of the windows. Headphones on, listening to Rick McKinley, I was doing my best to escape - to get away from the stresses of going to drop off our taxes later this afternoon, from the stresses of things at work, from all those pressures of life.

It didn't work. About 2/3 of the way through my run, as Rick was hitting his stride in what Christian justice looks like, two guys appeared at the corner of the building. They were walking slowly by the gym, looking through the front windows, their breath fogging the glass as they went.

When I saw them, my mind froze. I instantly recognized them as two of our guests from Outreach, we'll call them S & K. They are there constantly, especially in the winter, because it is warm and it gets them off the street. They are regularly intoxicated, and frequently make reference to getting more so with their next stop of the morning. They are salt of the earth guys, hit hard by life and still staggering. I froze because I was afraid they would see me.

You know how little kids think that if they cover their eyes you can't see them? I did the grown-up version of that. The top of the horizon suddenly became very interesting. Nothing could draw my gaze down to their eye level. Nothing except them pulling on the door handle... which, of course, was locked. This is a private gym to keep certain people out, after all. By the time they walked by again, I was done with my run and stretching - safely in the very back of the gym.

Did you ever see one of your teachers outside of school? It was weird. All of a sudden they weren't just a teacher - they were a real person with a whole life before 8 and after 3. You always knew that was the case, but you never had to see it. I knew these guys walked the streets in my neighborhood, but there were places I didn't expect to see it - and I didn't know how to respond.

I couldn't let them in the gym without forfeiting my membership. I didn't have any money to buy them a bagel. I wasn't going to take them back to my house - "Good morning, honey! We have company..." I was completely unprepared and confused. Two parts of my life came crashing together and I didn't know what to do. So, I did nothing.

When Jesus was on earth he fought to have his time of solace and peace. I can say this was that time. But, Jesus also dedicated his entire life to the service of others. He didn't have times when he was on duty and off duty. His mission was a full-time, 24-7 gig. We're called to follow him full-time too; not during business hours, not when its convenient, not when it fits into MY schedule. This is the life I signed up for and I'm still learning what that means.