God Guy

Our speaker for the retreat, Michael DiMarco, wrote in his book, God Guy:

"I believe that the God Guy is the strongest guy on the planet, not because of what he does but because of who he worships.  Everything he does is affected by the fact that he knows and is related to the most powerful being in the universe..." 

What a great way to begin a book, and a great way to go into a retreat with a bunch of God Guys, a Band of Brothers who support and challenge one another.  We are not perfect by any means, but we are moving toward a reality in which we decide that "God's Word alone defines who (we) are and what (we) do" so that we can find "everything (we) need for life, hope and peace."

I am looking forward to this time away.  I am open to becoming whatever God wants me to become, and listening to whatever God needs to tell me.   I desire to be one of the strong ones on the planet.  I can only do that when the One who I worship is allowed full access to me.  That's what this weekend is about for me.

Looking Toward Retreat

I am getting geared up for our Men's Retreat this weekend at Green Lake.  Part of getting ready for me this year is finishing one of Michael DiMarco's (our speaker) books called God Guy.  In writing about idols that we have in our lives he says, "God is more powerful than any other God you could find."  I know this.  I have known this.  But it is a good reminder as we guys head out to spend time with God and each other.

I expect the power of God to be present and that as we meet together. God will do powerful things in the lives of the men who gather there.  This has been proven over and over again.  The anticipation is growing daily as to what I will get a chance to see and experience at Green Lake.  But it is not about the place we meet.

The power of the experience beyond God's power is the Band of Brothers that gathers.  I have found this band of brothers to be essential in my own spiritual life.   They are there for me when I need to express doubt, disappointment, excitement, vision or anything (and I mean anything) that I experience.  They don't judge me they simply listen, care, pray, challenge, admonish and support.  They were there for me through my medical issues at key times, one brother being there at the very darkest of times. They are to laugh with me (and at me). 

This Band of Brothers is part of the power that God works through in our men's gatherings.  I look forward to being with my brothers.  We get to meet with God.  Together.  And see the power of God.

Weird People of Faith

There have been times in my life that I have been called weird.  Of course, those were mostly because of goofy things that I did that girlswould see and say, "You're so immature and weird!"  I never minded because I was enjoying myself too much to try and live up to someone else's definition of normal.

But I have known some people (and heard of people) who lived out their faith in weird (non-normal) ways.

• There is the family that bought donuts for the men who came to pick up the farm equipment that the bank was repossessing.  
• Or the woman who started a clothing exchange so that people could trade clothing they no longer used for clothing they needed. She turned her basement into a place to collect the clothes and washed the clothes that needed cleaning! 
• And the man who gave up a promotion because the money and prestige wasn't important to him.  
• A man who turned garage sales into an helping feed orphans in Haiti instead of new big screen TV for his family.
• Or the countless numbers of individuals who gave up what was important to them in order to serve others.

 In history there are so many - Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr, St. Patrick and many others who decided that living the normal life was not what God would call them to live.  They lived the life of the Kingdom of God because that was what God asked them to do.  Their lives were beyond normal.  They were enjoying themselves to much to try and live up to someone elses standard of normal.  They were weird - in a good way.

Feeling A Little Pharisiacal

Sometimes I am convicted by a word from another person.  Today is was from Pastor Steven Furtick when he wrote in his blog:

Preaching, when done correctly, should unburden people. As preachers, 

our job is to challenge people, yes, but not to burden them. When describing

the Pharisees and what they did to the people through their teaching, Jesus said: 

They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders (Matthew 23:4).

 

This caused me to wonder if I indeed am tying a heavier load on people or not.  Some days I feel like I am challenging people.  Other days I wonder if I am pushing too hard.  The balance can be tricky, especially when dealing with so  many different people who are at so many different places in their Christian walk. I have seen churches in which there was no challenge to go beyond where the church was at and the leaders just patted people on the head told then it will be OK  These churches are dying.  I have also seen leaders who constantly challenge and push their people.  These churches seem tired.

In Moses last instructions to Israel in Deuteronomy he tells them, "What I am commanding you is not too difficult or beyond your reach...the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it."  (Deuteronomy 30:11, 14)  So how we are being told to live as Kingdom of God people is doable and not overly difficult.  I just pray that I present it in such a way that it is not a burden tied to the backs of those I serve, but words of life that help people to serve the Lord joyfully and gladly.

Weird Things About Our Faith

I have been thinking about how weird the Christian Faith is and how some of the things that we do, say or believe seem to be very weird in our culture:

• It is normal to hear God speaking to us as Christians, but weird to other people.  I know they often put people in psychiatric wards if they say the were talking to God, but that is the reality in which we live.  God has given us His Holy Spirit partly to guide, instruct and encourage.  These are things that are done with words.
• It is normal to forgive without asking for anything in return, but weird in our culture.  The true gift of forgiveness is demonstrated by Jesus on the cross, when, in the midst of being crucified he asked that this sin of killing him not be held against his killers!
• It is normal to be more concerned about other people than ourselves, but weird when shown by the media.  For the Christian it is not news when someone sacrifices for the benefit of someone else.  It is so normal that we often think nothing of it or may not even notice it.  Things that are normal don't make the news.  
• It is normal to be generous with what God has given us, but weird to those who seeking the American dream.  Giving away 10% is normal for the Christian.  The sacrifice of more is normal for the Christian.  Choosing to give to mission over buying a new TV is a no-brainer for the Christian but weird to a culture that seeks to accumulate possessions.
• It is normal to desire others to believe in the one truth we know is true, but weird to a pluralistic society that says there are many ways to God.  That's why Christians are tagged as non-tolerant haters.  We just don't fit the normal category in our world.

I am comfortable with being non-normal (weird).  Jesus never calls us to fit in.  He called us to stand out like light.  If being weird helps that light to shine, I'm in.

Called to a Weird Life

When we Christians think of weird Christians, we tend to think of groups of people who pull out of culture and form their own community living, especially those who dress and talk differently.  Some may make fun of the Amish who have a completely different lifestyle than almost anyone on the planet.  Some may look at those who choose not to send their children to public school as strange and give a sideways glance at those who don't watch (or own) TV or who stand out because of their decisions to dress differently.

Unfortunately, these kinds of "weirdness" (defined as not normal) are not what i would talk about in terms of being called to a weird life.  Just look at Jesus teaching.  There are so many things that Jesus teaches that goes beyond what we would call normal.  In fact, obedience to Jesus alone goes beyond the normal in a culture that would say there are many voices we need to listen to, not just one.  Let's just go ahead and admit it, what Jesus teaches us as far as our actions are concerned is not normal for our culture:

• Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you
• If someone hits you on the cheek, turn the other cheek so they can hit it as well
• Lend to your enemies not expecting repayment
• Forgive, be merciful, just as God is merciful
• Pray that we receive forgiveness to the extent that we forgive others
• Do not worry or be anxious

I could go on and on.  Many of these things are seen as weird in our culture AND really don't fit very comfortably.  However, they provide a solid ground for us to live on.  Jesus said the one who hears his word and obeys is like the man who builds his house on the rock.  When the storms come the house can stand.  It is obedience to Jesus' teaching that gives us a solid life.  It may be weird, but it is solid!  

It's A Weird Week

That may seem a little pessimistic to call the coming week a weird week before it has even happened, but my plan this week is to write about different reason the Christian Life is a weird life.  Along with most people I have spent most of my life trying not to be weird, or to not stand out as being that different than the culture.  I think it was a conscious decision by the American Church in the 1960's to the 1980's to show that Christians are not different than other people.  Christians are just forgiven.  Now I find that a shallow understanding of the Christian faith.

These thoughts that I have are stimulated (and informed) by Craig Groeschel's book, Weird, in which he challenges the understanding that Christians are just like other people only forgiven.  If you think about it, normal as defined by our cultural doesn't really work.  Trying to fit in doesn't work because you end up denying at least part of who you really are, and then become someone you are not just to stay "in."

In Deuteronomy, Moses let's the people know that what the other cultures have to offer as far as faith life goes should be totally removed from the land.  Even the names of the gods should be wiped away as they burn and destroy all the physical remains of a different religion.  Israel is also instructed not to copy the ways of the surrounding nations.  In short, God does not want His people trying to fit in with others because they are a Holy people, set apart for a different way of living.  The New Testament calls this the Kingdom of God.

As i read through the Bible this summer I am confronted constantly about a different way to live life that contrasts with what our culture might call normal.  The hard part?  At 50 years old it is hard to change things that have been ingrained in my life.  I said it is hard.  It is not impossible.  So I really have no excuse.  Time to get weird in Kingdom Living!

God Works With Us

At the end of Mark's gospel the Lord Jesus is taken up into heaven after his resurrection and spending time with the disciples.  The disciples went  out and preached everywhere and something marvelous happened: "the Lord worked WITH them and confirmed his works by signs that accompanied it." (Mark 16:20)  I love what follows obedience to the mission Jesus had given them:

1. The Lord worked with them.  I love this!  There is a sense of partnership in Jesus working with us.  It is not us doing all the grunt work and Jesus coming in later to do His thing.  It is not us inviting Jesus to come and do everything.  It is a partnership.  Jesus works WITH us as we work the mission.  In this instance  Jesus is not working with us to grow spiritually and to make it through difficult times.  Jesus can and will do that as well.  But it is in our obedience to the mission we have been given that we see Jesus specifically working WITH the disciples (and us).  Of course, we do need to go out on the mission to experience this.
2. The Word of Jesus is confirmed by signs from Jesus.  I love this!  This isn't just seeing the kindness of the disciples and saying, "These are nice people.  Their message must be good."  or even noticing that their actions were consistent with what they preached.  These are specific supernatural signs provided by Jesus.  We often forget that the miraculous is possible as we obey the mission.  Unfortunately, if the miraculous did happen we end up being shocked and surprised instead of seeing that as normal.  As Jesus works with us in our mission we need to ask for, and expect, the miraculous.
3. We are not the ones in charge!  I love this!  Far too often we make the mission plans and set the parameters for our outreach.  If we partner WITH God we don't dictate TO God how we are to go about HIS mission.  God doesn't work for us but with us!  It is time to open up to do whatever God has in store for us and then to go on His mission WITH Jesus.

 

Beyond The Comfortable Place

Mark describes and early situation in Jesus' ministry in which Jesus healed many people as the whole town gathered outside Simon and Andrew's home.  It was a wonderful time of ministry, and I am sure that for Simon and Andrew it was especially wonderful since this was in their home town.  Everything was perfect. 

The next morning when the disciples woke up they looked around for Jesus and could not find him.  People in town began to come and ask about Jesus.  I can imagine everyone thinking home great this was and how wonderful it would be for today to be like yesterday. 

The Disciples were thinking that it was time to set up shop in this place where they were accepted and where they had a great time of ministry.  What was happening was working and why change a good thing?

But Jesus had other ideas.  When they found Jesus they tried to get him to come back into town (he had gone to a quiet place to pray) but Jesus responded that there are other towns and places that he needed to preach at.  I think that there was a connection between Jesus praying and his decision to leave, because I believe Jesus had to battle with temptations:

• The temptation to have a ministry where he stayed in one place and people came to him. 
• The temptation to stay in the comfortable ministry that seems to be working while neglecting the calling that he had.
• The temptation to draw crowds because of the healing instead of preaching the good news.
• The temptation to see one experience as a repeatable event as a goal, instead of focusing on people.
• The temptation of taking the easy way out.

We have similar temptations.  Our churches and spiritual lives often rise to the place of being comfortable and having great experiences, but then we stop taking risks.  It's like faith is finding that place where we are comfortable and feeling good and having "success."  I don't find that in the scripture. 

We are like the disciples that come to Jesus and say, "Last night was great!  Let's do that again today."  Jesus' responds by saying, there are others to reach out to and we must go to them.  It is too easy for us to stay in those places where things seem to be working instead of reaching out beyond ourselves, and beyond our places of comfort and success.  If we really had FAITH in a big God, we would find Jesus and say, "Last night was great!  What's next?"

When You Are Far Away From God

What do we do when we feel far away from God because of our own choices ( I would also wonder if there is any other reason that we would experience God as far away, but that is for another post)?  For some reason we tend to think that the Old Testament describes God as a distant and judgmental God waiting to cast us into the pits of Hell, and the New Testament comes along to help us to see God as kind, loving and forgiving.   We need to read this a little more carefully.

In Deuteronomy, Moses is giving to the people a history of God's dealings with Israel and passing on instructions for their life together.  Moses describes the possible situation that if the people break these laws and rules they will be removed from the land of their inheritance and be distant from God.  BUT, "if from there you seek the Lord Your God, You will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul (4:29)...for the Lord is a merciful God (4:31)...showing love to a thousand generations (5:10).  God's love and forgiveness have always been available.

When we are far from God it is up to us to SEEK the Lord intensely, with all the energy and focus we can find.  I wonder if we would rather sit back and wait for God's invitation to come back.  I wonder if we would rather feel rejected and live with he consequences of our actions.   I wonder if we would rather just give up and live life without God.  Seeking God takes action on our part.  Seeking God takes energy on our part.  Seeking God takes time on our part.  This is not penance to earn God's favor, but focus to work through the distance WE have created.  On the other side of SEEKING is mercy, love and a renewed relationship with God.

Tomorrow, let's look at how we seek God when we are far away.

Do I Live By Faith...or Doubt?

As I prepare for tomorrow's message I am wondering how often I actually live or act by my faith.  Or better put, how much does my faith actually influence the actions I take moment by moment throughout the day?  I'm not talking about how my beliefs influence my actions because I think that what I believe about Jesus heavily influences my whole life.  I thinking more about faith: the confidence I have that God will do what God has promised whether I see evidence of it or not.

If you are like me, almost everything that we do in our lives is backed up by some sort of security.  Very little of what we do puts us out on a limb.  This is especially true in terms of our relationship with God.  We don't share our faith because we have fears.  We don't change a ministry because of our uncertainty.  We don't take a risk to do a new thing with our faith because we are comfortable.  We don't deviate from our drive home from work to do something God might want us to do because we don't want to be home late.  We don't reach out to someone in need because it will cost us something.

We tend to live more by doubt than by faith. 

Re-Taking Lost Ground

As Israel was preparing to take the promised land, God told them what they had to do in order to gain the land back.  It is what we need to do in our spiritual lives to gain back lost land.  They (we) needed to:

1. Drive out the inhabitants - remove whoever (or whatever) had taken ownership of the land, and drive out those living on land that belongs to Israel.  We often try to take back the land, but we leave someone (something) alive to stay on that land.  We desire to give up coffee, but we still sit in Starbucks to study.  We want to lose weight but we still purchase cookies (for later use).  We want to stop lusting but we still purchase the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.  We need to drive out the inhabitants (which could be the demons who are deceiving) in order to take back the land.  Or else they will be a "barb" in our eyes and a thorn in our side.  They will give us trouble.  WHAT HAVEN'T YOU DRIVEN OUT?
2. Destroy carved images and idols - These are depictions of the "gods" that have taken up residence in the land. We do not always realize what we worship but there are images all around us of things we substitute for God.  When we look at these images they bring us security and they tell us what we need to be doing.  We actually take instruction from inanimate objects!  We must destroy these images so that we can focus on God's direction and worship God alone.
3. Demolish High Places - these are the actual places in which we carry out the worship of other Gods.  We each have our sacred places that help us to draw near to God (the place we pray and read the scriptures and worship God).  We also set up places where we worship those images and idols and receive direction from those things we worship.  DEMOLISH THEM!  Or they will continue to influence your life.
4. Take possession of the land - Once the land is empty, we need to overrun the land and live in it.  Take up residence in the way God would desire us to live.  If we leave it empty, others will come and re-take it.  

How might this look?  Let's say your issue is that at one time in your Christian life you were generous, but that is not part of your life any more.  You begin by driving out the things that have taken the place of generosity : debt, possessions, self-centeredness, etc.   You then destroy the images and idols of prosperity, the lies of what we think we need and the things that have gained more importance in our lives than God.  We then destroy the high places of covetousness and greed that have a place of importance in our lives.  Then we take possession of the land by living there in God's way of living.

It doesn't sound easy, but then again, the Israelites had to go out and actually fight very difficult battles as they took the land.  Why shouldn't we have to do the same?

Grumbling

I continue to read about Moses' leadership in bringing God's people out of Egypt to the Promise Land.  It is almost not understandable how often the people of Israel grumbled, although I am sure if we were in the desert for all that time we would find some things to grumble about.  After all the miraculous things God continued to do, and then the punishments that God placed on his people who grumbled or rebelled, there were still those who thought they needed to vocalize their whining and complaints. 

I know we wouldn't do that, right?  We would never complain about not enough food or water.  Of course we have unlimited amounts of water piped into our homes and so much food that we often waste it.  We would never complain about leadership in the church (or a teacher at school or a government leader).  We would never grumble about how tough our lives are or at what we perceived God was doing.  We would never complain about circumstances or events or irritating people or the heat or the cold or the rain or the loud neighbors...Shall I go on?  For some reason we feel we have the right to grumble and complain about everything that happens contrary to our liking. 

Maybe, just maybe, we need to get a grip on ourselves and learn about contentment.  Paul certainly did.  Paul tells the church in Philippi that he has learned to be content whatever his circumstances.  There is a secret to that kind of life.  The secret is this: "I can do all things through him who gives me strength" (Phil 4:13).  Evidently Paul learned that this was not just a memory verse but the truth behind contentment.  This means when I am hot, God can hep me handle the heat or God can make it cooler.  All things.  That means when we are hungry God can provide food or help us handle the hunger.  All things.  God can heal us or God can walk with us through tough physical times.  All things.  We just tend to demand that God do things our way, or we will teach God a lesson and be miserable.  Not contented. Angry.  Demanding.  Upset. 

That will teach God a lesson.

I Was Thinking...

I have some random thoughts I have been thinking about, begun by things I have read or heard.

• Giving is not what we think it is.  It is an exhilarating expression of trust in God.  Maybe our lack of giving is about a lack of faith in God.
• If Christianity is counter-cultural, why do we think the Amish are so weird?
• Fear of hell has never been a lure for me to draw closer to God.  Neither has the fear of God punishing me kept me from sinning.  It is God's kindness that leads me to repentance (Romans 2:4).  And I think it's been my desire to please God because of all that He's done for me that keeps me from sinning.
• If I am not putting myself in a position to really NEED the Holy Spirit, do I have the right to expect the Holy Spirit to do anything in or through me?
• In the Old Testament, priests served from ages 30-50.  At 50 they priest could help (assist) but could not do the duties of the priest. I have turned 50 this year.  What does this mean?
• Last one - As I am sitting outside by the fire listening to the pond fountain flow and the fireworks exploding all around me I am very grateful for the life I have.  I am thankful for my wife and children.  I am thankful for me church.  Most of all, I am thankful for so many of you who I share life with.  

  Well, that is the randomness with which my mind sometimes works when I get to thinking.  Happy Fourth of July!

Doubt: Another Look

I saw this clip of Dallas Willard talking about doubt and belief and it made so much sense.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiOIyP4VHOk

Why do we put so much belief in what we doubt and so much doubt in what we believe.  Could it be that we need to spend much more time doubting our doubts and believing our beliefs?  Something to think about...