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“Would you still follow Jesus?” (1 Corinthians 15:12-20)

29 Nov

Dear God, I was listened to the Holy Post Podcast yesterday that interviewed a friend of Tony Campolo’s, Shane Claiborne. They were discussing Tony’s recent passing, and there were several good parts of it. I expect to listen to it again, but as I sat down this morning and thought about it, I think this is my favorite part. Claiborne mentioned this as one of Tony’s core messages when he would speak to groups, and it is something I trace back in my own life to when I used to say the same things to kids at camp when I was a counselor 35 years ago.

I remember a couple of years later when I was sharing that philosophy (theology?) with a Christian friend who was older than me, and he scolded me for it. He pointed to Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” This caught me flat-footed and I remember not having much to say in return. That conversation was 32 years ago, and it’s amazing how much it still haunts me now.

If I were to have another shot at that conversation, I would want to point out the context of that verse:

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

In my opinion, and perhaps my friend would still have disagreed, for Paul, the idea of afterlife with you is part of the argument for Jesus’s resurrection. You can’t separate them. If no afterlife, no resurrection. If no resurrection, no afterlife. As I sit and think o this now, I just had a thought that takes what Paul taught one step further. If no afterlife, then no reason for us to even care about you. No reason for the incarnation in the first place. No reason, honestly for you to care about us any more than we care for our pets. Our lives would be so unbelievably insignificant in your presence as specks of dust that are here and gone (Psalm 103:14-15), then what would be the point. No, afterlife is truly the lynch pin to everything I believe in about you.

With that said, following Jesus and what he taught us is not about picking the lesser of two evils: It’s a pain to follow you, but it’s better than hell! It’s about the opportunity to follow you and live a victorious, sacrificial life here on earth that grows the fruit of your Holy Spirit within me regardless of what it physically costs me. It’s about the peace I get here. The love. The joy. The patience. The goodness. The kindness. The gentleness. The faithfulness. The self-control. Knowing you. Loving you. Serving you by serving others. That’s what it all is about. That’s what I’m offering others when I talk to them about you. It’s not a guillotine over their head and a threat that they better follow you or else. It’s an invitation into true life.

Father, I have got to be better about offering this life to others! I am sorry that I’m not. I’m sorry to you, but I’m sorry to them as well. Help me to really get this concept and compel me to live it out. Thank you that you taught it to me. Help me to teach it to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 29, 2024 in 1 Corinthians

 

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John 9 – Certainty

28 Jul

9 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

John 9

Dear God, I was just listening to a podcast from the Holy Post. Skye Jethani was talking about the story from John 9 (and half of 10) about Jesus healing the blind man and the Pharisees refusing to allow themselves to believe Jesus was from you. Jesus was you. They just couldn’t believe it. It would deconstruct (It’s funny I used that word. I didn’t mean to, but that word and concept has become a battleground in the American Evangelical church) their world and faith to think that Jesus might not only be the Messiah, but also that if he was and he was violating their laws then everything the believed would have to be reconsidered.

Skye Jethani called this certainty. They couldn’t or wouldn’t allow themselves to get past their certainty. He used examples of Christians from the past who were certain that lightning was demons and the fact that churches–often the tallest structures in towns–were struck more often than other buildings was an attack by Satan. They rejected Benjamin Franklin’s lightning rod as an affront to their faith when he first invented it divided the church. Some installed them and the churches were safe. Some rejected the lightning rods and a portion of those churches continued to be struck. They were certain.

Skye’s real thesis was that the modern American Evangelical church has picked some things that it is certain about–politics, LGBTQ+, guns, COVID conspiracies, etc.–and is acting like the Pharisees when something challenged their assumptions. We aren’t willing to discuss and explore, perhaps even arriving back at the same conclusion we currently have. Instead we just say no to something that flies in the face of what we were taught to believe. The real danger is that, as our children grow and question, when they see us being unreasonable in our beliefs, we could lose an entire generation and they will just walk away from faith. I was talking with a friend at lunch this week about his concern about the LGBTQ+ agenda is going to be damaging to his kids. My encouragement to him was to figure out his persuasive arguments on the issues and be prepare to discuss them with his children beyond “it’s wrong,” because the world is very good right now with its persuasive argument in favor of it. He will have to make it a dialogue with his children, not a closed-minded mandate against.

Isn’t it funny that there really isn’t one person in the New Testament pre-resurrection who was right about Jesus and what his purpose on earth was. Not one. Mary and Joseph didn’t understand it. Elizabeth, Zechariah and their son John didn’t understand it. I’m not really sure when Jesus fully understood it. But after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had to go hide because he knew the people were going to try to make him king. They were trying to make him king all of the way up to Passion week. He was the only one who comprehended what was going on. But everyone else was sure they were right about him, whether they were against him or for him. But every single one of them was wrong. And the commands of the Sermon on the Mount flew in the face of what everyone expected of him and what he would call them to do.

Father, I know I am blind. I know I have some preconceived theologies that are errant but are so baked into me that I cannot see them. I know I don’t know what you would have me do at any given moment. I guess the best thing I can say for myself is that I know that I don’t know. Please teach me, Holy Spirit. Please guide me. Help me to lead with humility. As I get ready to teach this Sunday school class this morning, make this a journey that we are all on together to simply hear from you. You are our God. We want you to teach us. Break us. Melt us. Mold Us. Fill us.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 28, 2024 in John

 

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The Gospel According to Derwin Gray

11 Jul

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post Podcast yesterday when one of the hosts, Dr. Derwin Gray, made a remarkable, clear, concise presentation of the Gospel message. Here is an excerpt from it:

Most American pulpits are not communicating the greatest story there is. And the greatest story there is is not simply, “Jesus died so we can go to heaven when we die.” The story is, “There is a good and loving Father who wants his children to be his copartners in turning earth into a mini version of Israel called heaven. That story was disrupted, but God, who is the ultimate, decides to enter the story himself like a painter enters his own painting. So Jesus himself comes to do what? To live a sinless, beautiful life that we could never live–all of our hopes, all of our dreams, all of our sin, all of our failures are eclipsed by the sinless life he lives–he dies a substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross to forever forgive us. To reconcile us to his father, and then he raises from the dead so the tyranny of death is forever destroyed. And when he comes out of that tomb, we come out of that tomb with him now to walk and embody his grace, his mission, his mind, his heart, his love for the world.

There is more, but that’s the gist. To see it someone could go to this YouTube video at about the 28-minute mark. It made me think of growing up. So much of my upbringing was about getting my “fire insurance.” If I didn’t want to go to hell then I needed to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I was rarely pitched the beauty of relationship with you. I was rarely pitched reconciliation with you and how that would impact the life I live here. Yes, I would get a little of that. But mostly I was purchasing a service. My life now for rescuing me from hell and getting to go to heaven. As if I could bargain with you. As if I could use you like that. As if I could manipulate you into letting me get into heaven with you.

No, I am here because of this amazing opportunity to know you. You make me better. You make my life better. It’s like my relationship with my wife. I’m here because I want to be here. Joy is here. You are here.

I like P!nk’s music. I was listening to a song of hers this morning called “All I Know So Far.” It reminded me of the kind of song I would have leaned into 10 or 11 years ago. And it’s the kind of song I might need to lean into again one day. It’s a song about shaking off what is challenging you and facing it head on. That’s great. It’s missing something, though. It’s missing you. It’s missing the power Dr. Gray mentions in his soliloquy. Yes, I have been in tragic times in the past. You know that I have mentioned the constant source of sorrow that follows me around every moment. And I know things will be tragic again one day. I know that. But I will have you not only in relatively peaceful times like now, but in those moments too. But I don’t just use you for those moments. You are just my crutch. You are my joy and strength, even now.

Father, I guess all of this is just to say thank you. Thank you for making all of this possible. Thank you for showing Peter and the apostles they were wrong about Gentiles in Acts 10 and 11. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for wanting me. Thank you for making your life available in me. Help me to make great room for your Holy Spirit. Oh, Holy Spirit, guide me today. Protect me from Satan’s plans for me. Jesus, thank you for who you are and that you loved me, love me, and showed me how to love. Help me to live into that opportunity.

I offer all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 11, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“What gives you hope?”

29 May

Dear God, I was just listening to this week’s Holy Post podcast, and they were talking about Pope Francis’s recent 60 Minutes interview in which he was asked, “What gives you hope?” I’ve got nothing but love for Pope Francis, and I would probably do very poorly in a 60 Minutes interview, so I’m not going to throw any shade at his answer, but it did stir up some controversy. I think it’s a fair summary to say he said the basis goodness in people gives him hope. Taking his answer off of the table, and knowing that I have a chance to thoughtfully consider, think about, and edit my typed-out answer, what would be my response to that question? “What gives [me] hope?”

I’ve thought about this a little, and I think it comes down to the innate hunger for you that is in all of us. There is a conscience that gives us guilt. There is a dissatisfaction that comes from self-indulgence. There is an emptiness that accompanies selfishness. It is this existence of the innate hunger we have for you that gives me hope. And it might not happen in this generation. The pendulum might take a while to swing back. This isn’t measured in days, weeks, or months, but years, decades and centuries. From Abraham until now, one can read history and watch the pendulum swing. At some point, we all get disillusioned with all of the idols we chase that we think will give us the peace that only you can give.

It makes me think about the part of the movie Jesus Revolution in which the hippie evangelist tells the established pastor about the hippies and all of the drugs, sex, and self-indulgence they are pursuing. He says (paraphrasing): “They are looking for God. The don’t know they are looking for God, but they are looking for God. And when they find him they are amazed.”

Thinking about the Pope mentioning the innate goodness in people as giving him hope made me wonder what I think sin nature is. What is it in me, and what will make it different on the other side of death and in your new earth? What will be different about me then that is sinful now? I think at least part of it is the fight for survival that exists now that, I think, won’t exist then. The need for resources like food and structure to survive. The need for things of pleasure to give me pleasure. But if my spiritual self does not know a struggle to survive, but just a timeless existence with you in this other realm of earth then will that be the difference?

Father, I heard someone in the Holy Post Podcast say, “Before Genesis 3 there was Genesis 1.” We were created good. But sin entered in. And I have it. Boy, do I have it. But I lay it before you continually–even now, and ask that you please be with me as I learn to consider my life worth nothing to me. If only I may finish the race and complete the task you have given me. The task of testifying to the gospel of your grace. (Acts 20:24)

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 29, 2024 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Acts 11:19-26

09 May

Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.

When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)
Acts 11:19-26

Dear God, I was listening to the Holy Post podcast this morning, and one of the hosts was talking about a recent medical emergency in his family. This host likes to take stories that others tell from their lives and ask if they can make a sermon illustration out of it, so someone asked him if he could do that. He said something to the effect of, “I need some more distance from it before I can do that.” In other words, “Too soon.”

I mention this because the new, young, soon-to-be-named “Christian” church had no idea what was going on in the moment. The Holy Spirit was leading them step by step, keeping them on a need-to-know basis, and there was very little they needed to know. In fact, had the Spirit revealed everything to them at once they might have goofed it up somehow. No, they needed to struggle through it.

So why should I be any different? Why should I get to understand what you are doing in my life, my community, my country, and my world? You are so much bigger than me. I mean, even that sentence is a laughable understatement. You are timeless. You are all-knowing. I am just here doing what is in front of me. Help me to be okay with that. Give me your peace.

Father, I give you my heart today. I give you my work. I give you my love. I give you my inconvenience. Help me to be a blessing to your world. Help me to love others on your behalf today. Help me to call others to you. Help me to draw closer to you myself. I’m about to write over 100 letters to people who attended our event the other night. Help me to say what you want me to say for their sake, not mine. For your sake, not mine. For your glory, not mine. Quickly, I pray also for the father of a coworker who is having heart issues. I pray for the heart issues of a loved one in my own family. I pray for the family that is burying a woman today who suffered greatly, and now they are suffering even more. Oh, Father, in each of these situations, make this pain count. Heal bodies. Heal souls. Heal hearts. Heal wounds. And use all of this to draw each person involved closer to you.

I offer all of this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2024 in Acts

 

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Christmas Spirit

21 Dec

Dear God, I was listening to The Holy Post podcast this week, and they were kind of deep diving the “war on Christmas” and what Christians mean by defending and saving Christmas. Has it become empty rhetoric, but they really are only saving the Christian veneer of something that is already secular?

For example, they talked about how polling shows that most Christians find it more important to be with family Christmas day than to be at church worshipping you. This year, Christmas Eve is on a Sunday, and a lot of people go to Christmas Eve services, but Christmas Day often has very little to do with Jesus’s incarnation. And I’m not really any different. This year, my wife is singing in our church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I will be there for both, but if not for her involvement, I wouldn’t be going to church on Christmas Day.

I think Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol is probably the biggest driver of how modern Christians view Christmas. You take the ideals of family importance and reaching out to the poor, and you just kind of gloss over the Jesus incarnation part. I’ve actually been grateful for the time I’ve been able to spend this year kind of exploring all of these things. The community church-to-church walk Christmas service we did a week ago was great, including the illustration of “God and the Planet of Vicious Dogs.” Then working on the project for my coworker and her young daughter covering Luke 1 and Luke 2 really blessed me as well as I tried to empathize in a new way with the characters I’ve read about hundreds of times.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, of course, I don’t want to not think about Christmas and the incarnation throughout the year, but I am grateful for the extra emphasis on it during Christmas that I might then carry with me throughout the rest of the year. Help what I’m going to call the remnant of the discipling church (as opposed to those who have only claimed the label Christian for cultural and political reasons) to be found faithful in our worship of you and our love for our neighbors. Help me to be found faithful in my worship of you and my love for my neighbors.

I offer all of this to you through the power of the incarnate Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 21, 2023 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Parable of the Faithful and Wicked Servant (Matthew 24:45-51)

12 Oct

45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 46 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 48 But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ 49 and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 50 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, 51 and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 24:45-51

Dear God, there isn’t much way around the idea that Jesus was clear about there being a separation from you for wicked people. I don’t know the exact definition of wicked. I don’t know where the line is. Somewhere between John the Baptist and Hitler (the two most extreme ends of the spectrum my mind can currently conjure up right now), I suppose. But it’s definitely there.

I heard an interesting discussion yesterday about heaven on The Holy Post. One of the things they made pretty clear is that it won’t be all just singing, but you will have work for us to do. Just as you didn’t create Adam and Eve to just worship you, but to work, you will have the same for us to do. And this parable of Jesus supports that when it says of the good and faithful servant after the master returns, “the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.” So there will be work to do, and I like that. I like that I won’t only just be worshipping you in voice, but I will also get to worship you in my work for you. It will be more than lip service, but serving you with my full existence.

But looking at this from you angle and seeing what I can learn about you and who you are through what Jesus is telling me about you here, it seems that if you are going to use me in the after life you need me to be somewhat useful now. I need to be the kind of person who can die to myself and be your servant in the realm to come. If I am not that person now–or even trying to be that person now–how could I possibly be that person in the next life.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I know you understand my limitations now. I know you know what I’m capable of doing, even on my best day, and what I can’t do. I know you know my heart. Right now, I have some pains in my life. I have some sorrows. I have some people about whom I am very concerned. Some are relatives. Some are friends. Some are hurting emotionally. Some are hurting physically. Some are hurting spiritually. Please move and help them. Please love them. Please help them to be found good and faithful servants when you return. And help me to be your good and faithful servant too. And the interesting thing is that I would be here and doing this without the promise of a life to come. I’m just happy living this life serving the God of the universe. You are where true peace and happiness are found.

I pray all of this with the knowledge that I only have the right to be here through the life, death, and resurrection mercy of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 12, 2023 in Jesus's Parables, Matthew, Parables of the Bible

 

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Parable of the Tenant Farmers (Matthew 21:33-46)

09 Oct

33 “Now listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.

40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”

42 Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?

‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
    and it is wonderful to see.’

43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.

Matthew 21:33-46

Dear God, once again, it is important to read this parable in context. It all starts with the “triumphant entry” at the beginning of the chapter (and the Pharisees being jealous and also fearful that this could cause problems with Rome), the clearing of the Temple (which made them indignant and defensive), Jesus spending the night in Bethany, and then coming back in the morning to experience the Pharisees’ indignation and “by what authority do you do this?!?” questions. Then he tells the “Parable of the Two Sons,” followed immediately with, “Now listen to another story.”

As I think about you and who you are in this story and try to do my best to see what I can learn about you and your nature, it makes me think about an interview I listened to this morning The Holy Post did with Jemar Tisby. Here’s a link:

I thought about the Christian leaders, university administrators, etc. who were afraid of his message about race in America and the Christian church, and they started to definitely look like Pharisees to me. The thing about you in the person of Jesus and also the person of the Holy Spirit is that you have incredible empathy for us. You have empathy because you came down here and you lived it. You lived in poverty. You lived as a minority immigrant as a small child. You lived an oppressed life without political freedom. You lived with people you might have grown up admiring letting you down and turning on you. You lived with rejection. You lived with betrayal. You have empathy for the human experience that, frankly, I don’t have because I have lived a pretty privileged life.

Father, I have a song going in my head right now by Brandon Heath called “Give Me Your Eyes.” The words I’m thinking about are, “Give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes so I can see everything I’ve been missing. Give me your eyes for humanity. Give me your arms for the broken-hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me your heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see.” That is my prayer this morning. I’m as majority in America as it gets. I’m a big, tall, white male. There is so much about the American experience I don’t understand. Give me your eyes, and give me the humility to see what you need me to see.

I pray all of this under the power of Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 9, 2023 in Jesus's Parables, Matthew, Parables of the Bible

 

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How Would Jesus Fight the Culture War – Revisted

31 Aug

Dear God, I was in a culture war situation yesterday, so I thought it would be important for me to come back and look at the Holy Post Podcast Episode 532: How Would Jesus Fight the Culture War? I did a prayer journal on it last November, and I want to go back and be reminded of the things I learned then and see if there maybe isn’t something else you want to teach me this morning.

I just read through a lot of the prayer journal I did, and the thing you pointed out to me that I might have glossed over before is praying for those who concern me. Who worry me. Who I think are causing damage, maybe even in your name.

So Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I pray for the people who are on my heart this morning. I pray for their peace. I pray that they might find their peace in you. I pray that you will raise up voices in their lives that are from you that they can hear. That will speak with your authority to them. I pray that they might see the limits you placed on us as your ambassadors in the world: prayer, service, persuasion, and suffering. I pray that you will inspire them to take you into the world in a spirit of love. I pray that the fruits of your Holy Spirit will flow through them and out of them. I pray that you will create soil in their hearts that will help them to give your Spirit space to flourish. And lest I be self-righteous about this, I pray each of these things for myself too. I need your peace. I need to hear your voice through people around me. I need people who are from you to speak with authority into my life. I need to devote myself to prayer, service persuasion and suffering. I need to weed out the soil of my heart and give room for your Holy Spirit to grow your fruit in me. Jesus, thank you for your power and your example. Father, thank you for your ultimate love. And Holy Spirit, thank you for being with me now.

I pray all of this submitted to your authority in my life,

Amen

 
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Posted by on August 31, 2023 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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“How Would Jesus Fight the Culture War?” Mike Erre

06 Nov

Dear God, I listened to this interview a week ago on The Holy Post podcast. I was driving while it played so there were some things I wanted to go back to and spend some time with. It was with Mike Erre, who is a pastor at Journey Church in Nashville and has a podcast called The Voxology. I’ve been wanting to sit down with it and take notes, so I thought I would use my extra “fall back” hour this morning to do just that. So as I turn on the podcast here in a second, Holy Spirit, please speak to me. Show me what is on your heart for me as you make me consider my role in your world. [Note: if you go to the podcast, the interview starts at the 50-minute mark].

Here are my notes on the interview:

Should Christians engage in the Culture War?

Cancel culture is something your side always does and my side never does.

Phil Vischer question to Mike: How do you define culture wars? Answer: I don’t define culture war but ask the question, “What is the role of the church in the world?” The answer to that question answers the first question. Is the role of the church to transform society or is it to be transformed into the image of Jesus? The answer to that first question is clearly the latter.

Paul said, “Who am I to judge those outside the church? I judge those inside.”

There are 59 statements Paul makes that says the role of the church is to be transformed in community rather than be the agent of change for everyone else.

Rule & subdue command in Genesis is actually serving words (not standing over) to bring out the earth’s potential in ways that honor God and serving all.

We are ambassadors of a sovereignty that is greater than ours. We are property managers, not owners.

Making disciples of the nations is different than making nations disciples. (This one really struck me the other day)

There is something marvelous and fulfilling about following Jesus, and it is the best way to be human. I would highly recommend it.

Jesus invited people to be Christian, it wasn’t through guilt, shame, coercion or manipulation. It was simply love, service, and invitation. Loving the sinner before the sinner repents. The other is in direct contradiction to the way of Jesus.

We’ve gotten in our heads that the agenda of Jesus is more important than manifesting Jesus’s Spirit. We cease acting Christian in order to accomplish Christian goals. The way Jesus acts is manifested in his crucifixion.

Vischer (somewhat sarcastically): No, it’s manifested through flipping over tables and getting mad at Pharisees. Erre: Notice that he’s cleaning his own house, not the house of the Romans. He only engaged superficially with Herod and Pilate.

When the church looks out at the word from a posture of fear, anger, and threat we’ve ceased seeing the world the way the New Testament invites us to. Even in Revelation, the army of God is an army of martyrs. Even in Revelation, Jesus conquers by the sacrifice of himself and the manifestation that he is King of kings and Lord of lords.

The role of the church is to be transformed into the image of Jesus, thereby providing a counterculture of life in a culture that manifests the worship of death.

Vischer: Was William Wilberforce culture warring? Erre: It’s possible to be politically engaged in a way that is “cruciform” and Christ-like.

The kingdom of God does not operate on the “conservative-progressive” spectrum that the discussions come out of. The kingdom of God calls the entire spectrum into question.

Vischer: What is your posture toward people who are propagating evil against their fellow image-bearers? Erre: They are to be called out. They are to be resisted. They are to be loved, served, prayed for, and blessed. But we are to provide a counter community to demonstrate Jesus’s way. Jesus created an alternative and didn’t just critique.

People don’t come to church to have their assumptions challenged by the Bible. They come to have their assumptions affirmed. Good teaching should show that the discipleship we receive from culture, media, friends, etc., isn’t as beautiful as what the Gospel offers as an alternative. Church needs to be a place where we are working to embody the alternative.

The culture war we should be fighting is the culture of the church. That’s what Jesus was fighting.

There is real evil and injustice in the world that is to be resisted. There are reasons to be politically involved. But the available postures for us to take are defined by the actions of Jesus himself. Vischer (sarcastically): But what if that’s not as effective as showing up at a school board meeting and yelling and flamethrowing and doesn’t save my child from “drag queen story hour” at the library? Erre: I just want to say, read the New Testament. The invitation is to be faithful, not effective. Nowhere is the church called to do great things for God, and nowhere are people called to do great things for God. God does great things for God. We are blessed if He invites us into those great things. Apostle Paul: “Make it your ambition to be at peace with everyone, live a quiet life, and work with your hands.” We ignore the direct teachings of Jesus in order to remind ourselves of our importance. Jesus invites us into ruthless self-examination and repentance. When you do that well there isn’t much room for trying to control someone else.

When I approach the New Testament, I don’t approach it with anyone else in mind but me. It’s about my repentance and transformation.

People try to help the church thrive and unify by creating common enemies and fears. Group cohesion needs a struggle. But that cohesion limits our effectiveness in the world. It’s a violation of anything Jesus-like.

There is no biblical case for this tweet from a Christian nationalist author: “Yes, we are Christian nationalists. Yes, we are taking over the Republican party and the country. Yes, we are indoctrinating the next generation to follow in our footsteps. All for the glory of God. We can’t be stopped. Enjoy the show.” Jesus would critique that way of seeing the world as something anti-Christ. There is nothing more blasphemous or damaging in our world than that kind of thinking.

Vischer: Our children are in danger. People are coming for our children. I need to defend my kids. When do I abandon the way of Jesus for the sake of others? Erre: I live by three principles [I really like this when I heard it the first time. It’s what made me want to listen to this again and take notes]. 1.) Unless it acts like Jesus, it’s not Christian. 2.) It’s more important to be faithful than effective. 3.) There is nothing so urgent that I have to get off of my cross to make sure it happens.

Evangelism used to be pitched this way: Souls are at stake. If you don’t tell them, no one is going to, and they are going to burn in hell. That justified all kinds of Christian behavior around manipulation, guilt, etc.

What the New Testament seems to advocate is this joyful, gracious nonconformity that is willing to be persecuted, but does not have a martyrs complex. That simply rests in the fact that God is good and that I’m under not pressure to bring about the righteous ends for everybody else other than for me. For example, if there were a law made that children with Down’s Syndrome must be aborted, then I would agitate against that, but my agitation would be constricted by the way of Christ. If I think I have to disobey the command of Jesus to love my enemies in order to accomplish what I think the agenda of Jesus is then I have missed the agenda of Jesus altogether.

Vischer: What is your definition of culture war? Erre: It is a way of seeing the role of the church in the world that sees the gospel as under threat and any power over is legitimatized to keep the gospel safe, and given it’s rightful place in culture.

Vischer: How do you define the way of Jesus? Erre: The self-giving enemy love that does not use (Phil 2) rights and privileges to be exploited for more, but rather uses rights and privileges to be poured out for the sake of others. That’s cruciformity.

Father, please make me more and more in your image today.

I pray this through Jesus’s name,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2022 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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