The simple things

Sometimes the most difficult things in life are the most simple as well.  Like when your parents tell you not to take a cookie, but the cookie jar is right there and your parents aren’t.  Or when you need to be studying, but your favorite show is on TV. Or if you want to forgive someone, but you want even more to hold a grudge.  There are many examples of this in our life when it comes to following God.  We know simply that if we want to grow in our relationship with him we should read the Bible and pray, yet sometimes it seems overwhelmingly hard to live the Christian life.  I came across this simple reminder by Paul this morning that encouraged me.  It is from I Corinthians 11:1  ¹ Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

So simple, so true and yet not easy.  Paul is saying a lot in those few words.  Firstly he is saying that as Christians we are called to imitate Christ.  This is a common theme for Paul, he says it again in Ephesians 5:1

¹ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Just like any good imitation we need to be very familiar with Christ in order to do that well.  In order to do this we need to spend time with Him, in His word and talking to Him in prayer.  The more time we spend, the better our imitation will become.

Secondly Paul is saying that he, as an ordinary man, is striving for this and doing it.  Not perfectly, but he is doing it.  That means that we can too.  Often we have a tendency to think of people like Paul as super-christians able to accomplish amazing things for God.  The reality is that God did use Paul in amazing ways, but He can do the same through us!  We should follow his example as he follows the example of Christ.

Finally Paul is encouraging us into action.  He is giving us an active command and reminding us that follow Christ requires work on our part.  It is not simply knowing something to be true.  It is a lifestyle which says, “I want to know God more and more, and become like Him, more and more.”  This is the simple thing which Paul is telling us.  Simple, but not easy.

Upsets and Underdogs

For some reason we all tend to like upsets and underdogs.  We love to cheer for the little guy.  We love it when the Northern Iowa’s of the world win. (unless of course you happened to have Kansas going all the way in your pool)  It is interesting to me to see that God is the same way.  He loves to work through the underdogs of this world to get His work done.  God chose Mary, a young teenaged virgin to bring His son into the world.  He used David, the shepherd boy to kill Goliath and rule Israel, instead of Saul the strong, handsome, well spoken king.  He used Jacob the second son momma’s boy instead of Esau the first born, strong, brave hunter.  He worked through Rahab, the prostitute, Noah, the drunkard, and Abraham, the pagan idol worshiper.  The list goes on and on.  It is clear that God often works through the underdog.  Look with me at I Corinthians 1:26-31.

²⁶Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

God loves to work through the underdog so that we can’t help but to see His strength, His glory.  So for me the lesson to learn is simple.  I want to have the heart of an underdog.  I want to rely on God’s strength and not my own, so that He can use me to do great things.  I truly believe that this is what He means when He says that if we humble ourselves before Him He will lift us up.  God wants to use you and I to do His work in amazing ways.  He just wants us to have the heart of an underdog first!

March Madness

Well today it begins.  Of course the play in game doesn’t count to me!  I love March madness.  The upsets, three games at once, checking on your brackets it is all great stuff.  This time of year stokes the fire of my inner sports nut.  Today I plan to spend lunch in the youth room watching multiple games on a giant screen.  (lunch may be slightly extended today)  Anyone who wants is welcome to come by but I am not responsible for my behavior if my bracket gets busted this early in the tournament.  This time of year I always find myself thinking about what I get passionate about in life.  Am I as excited about my relationship with God as I am about a silly basketball tournament.  Sadly the answer is sometimes no.  I need to remind myself and rekindle my passion for Christ regularly.  One way is through seeing other’s passion.  Listen to Paul’s passion for Christ come out in Philippians 3

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee;⁶as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. ⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul wanted nothing more than to know Christ intimately.  This March as I get all excited about basketball madness, I am going to use it as a reminder to be even more excited about knowing Christ.  How about you?  What do you get fired up about?  What gets you excited in life?  Allow that to help serve you as a reminder of your passion for God.  Interestingly enough, this year the Final Four falls on Easter weekend.  What a great reminder of what we have to celebrate and get excited about – that our savior died and rose again so we could have life with Him forever!  That’s better than any basketball game!

St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday.  Wearing green, people who don’t, talking like the Lucky Charms guy all day, shamrocks, etc..  It is funny how the holiday has changed so much over the years.  For example the original color associated with St. Patrick’s day was blue.  Originally it was a holiday only celebrated by Christians – primarily in Ireland and England.  A little history …  Little is known about Patrick’s early life until he is kidnapped at age 16 and taken into Ireland as a slave.  He eventually escapes and returns to England.  He then returns to Ireland as an adult to be a missionary primarily to the aristocracy of Ireland.  By all accounts he is highly successful and leads many Irishmen and women to Christ.  He often uses the shamrock as an illustration to explain the trinity to people.  He sounds like a great guy whose life is worth celebrating!  Learning this led me to think of how often we party instead of celebrate.  A party to me is just an excuse to try and live it up, to have a good time.  To celebrate may look similar but there is a different goal.  You are remembering, honoring, or celebrating a person’s life.  It is a party with a goal, a purpose.  To bring honor to the person you are celebrating.  So whether it is St. Patrick’s Day, a birthday, a wedding, a funeral, or just a remembrance of God’s incredible blessings, lets become a people who don’t just party.  We celebrate!

The Source of Joy

Do you ever think about Joy?  We all have a tendency in life to strive to make ourselves happy, but how do we find joy?  Happiness is based on our situation or our circumstances.  Did my favorite team win?  Did I enjoy the show, or a delicious meal?  Is the person I love treating me well?  Am I experiencing success at work?  Happiness is routed in those types of things but not joy.  Joy is deeper and not dependent on circumstance.  Joy comes from the very character and nature of God.  Psalms 47 says,

Clap your hands, all you nations;
shout to God with cries of joy.

² How awesome is the LORD Most High,
the great King over all the earth!

³ He subdued nations under us,
peoples under our feet.

⁴ He chose our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
Selah

⁵ God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

⁶ Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷ For God is the King of all the earth;
sing to him a psalm of praise.

⁸ God reigns over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.

⁹ The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings  of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.

If you notice in this passage our joy comes, not because of what God does for us, but simply because God is awesome.  The source of joy in our lives is the awesomeness of God.  The fact that the supreme being loves us intimately creates in us a joy that should never fade.  When we grab hold of how incredible God truly is and combine that knowledge with His amazing love for us, nothing can keep the joy away.  Our circumstances in life begin to pale in comparison.  This is the challenge! We need to remind ourselves of these truths.  I have times when I am there and others when I become distracted by life and get robbed of my joy.  I always find that it is not a change in my circumstances that restores my joy but a reminder of God’s nature and love that does.  Spend time this week in prayer and study reminding yourself of God’s awesomeness and His unconditional love for you!

What you can learn from kids

Today I was in my daughter’s class at school talking to them about what I do.  They had some interesting perspectives on what a pastor does.  I think it is very telling to see the perspectives of children.  They believe what they perceive to be true as reality and probably show us the messages we are sending out more clearly than anything else.  Here are some of the things that her class said about the role of pastors.  ”They speak into the microphone ALOT”  ”They have to be nice to people” “They read the Bible to the people who can’t understand it” “They are always at the church” and a variety of other things that were variations of teaching the Bible.  I think that what they came up with was pretty good but I also found it very interesting the things they left out.  Even when I gave lots of hints, they didn’t come up with any answers about shepherding/discipling people, counseling, or walking through life with people at all.  To these kids the role of pastor was very “hands off” teaching and preaching and, oh yeah, doing weddings, but there was nothing about really investing your life into the lives of others.  Certainly these are the most public and visible roles of the pastor and the ones that would seem most obvious.  It can be argued however that the most important things we do as pastors are the “behind the scenes” work of discipling, equipping the saints, and shepherding the flock.   It is easy for me to fall into a pattern of investing my time and efforts most heavily into the more visible roles of preaching and teaching.  I am more and more convinced that while this IS a crucial part of my role, I need to invest most of my time in shepherding, discipling, and equipping people.  I can only reach so many people for God but, if I can raise up and train another generation to do God’s work and they do the same that means exponential growth for the kingdom!  Today, whether you are a pastor or not, think about the impact you can have by investing your life into others today.

The Gospel in single verses

Last night I began thinking about the gospel, about how it is so complex and yet so simple.  I thought today I would share single verses that bring to light the message of the gospel and allow you to comment on them.  Here we go:

I Peter 3:18

¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

Romans 5:8

⁸but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3:16

¹⁶“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I Corinthians 15:3-4 (I know it’s 2 verses – cheating)

³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,

I John 3:16a

¹⁶By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,

Romans 6:23

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 2:8

⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God

John 10:9-11 (I know cheating again but I had to get in a shepherd reference

⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ¹¹ I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Isaiah 53:5-6

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

Colossians 1:20

²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

This is not a complete list by any stretch, just 10 of my favorites to use when sharing my faith.  These are great verses to commit to memory.  Not all of them tell the whole story of the gospel but they tell enough to start a conversation with.  I would love some feedback on your favorite “gospel” verses.