Judas, Baptism, & Discipleship

The story of Judas is a cautionary tale of discipleship gone wrong. Judas was a disciple; he followed Jesus everywhere. Discipleship is all about our relationship with Jesus; it is about our desire to be with Him every moment of life. Judas at some point disconnected from Jesus, and when the guilt of his betrayal grew too great, he again acted independently and took Jesus’ place as judge and found himself guilty. Judas did not have the power forgive himself; so he carried out his own punishment. What makes this story sad was that Jesus took Judas’ place on the cross so that Judas wouldn’t have to die. Judas’ story is symbolic of what happens when we try to be independent from Jesus. I call it death by independence.
Baptism is a symbolic event that is relational in nature. Baptism enters us into a relationship with the Gospel story of Jesus. It is our relationship with Jesus that saves us, He took our place, He took our sin, and he connects our prayers to the Father. When we are baptized into His name we are baptized into a relationship that offers the forgiveness of sins and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. I’m leery of anyone who tries to narrow the point at which salvation occurs to one single activity, they remind me of the rich young ruler who was willing to be religious but he was not willing to follow Jesus. Salvation is found in an active relationship with Jesus. Baptism by faith in Jesus is a relational event with Jesus; it is a salvation marker in that we now belong to Him. Now that we belong to Jesus, we are to walk with Him as His disciples always following His will. When we read passages like Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-6, and Colossians 2:9-15 we see that baptism is a participation in the Gospel story of Jesus, therefore when one is baptized they do it for the purpose of connecting with God and His will. That is why Paul often reminded Christians about their baptism, reminding them that they left worldliness behind in order to follow Jesus. If we stop following Jesus, if we live independently from His story we no longer enjoy the benefits of forgiveness and relationship with the Holy Spirit. So today I remind you of your baptism, that you are an important part of the Gospel story found in the Bible, Jesus took our place on the cross so that we could have a life with Him. Now that we are with Him, we live with purpose and joy.

Inception (part 2)

When Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was released as a movie I decided that I would take the middle school portion of our youth group to see it on opening weekend. It had been scheduled in our youth group calendar for a few weeks, I didn’t think it would bring a large group, and it didn’t, we only had about six kids come out that Saturday morning. As we were about to leave, another car pulled into the parking lot, it was a visitor named Mary. She was a 16 year old who had visited us with a friend at the previous Wednesday Night Bible Study. When I saw her I told her that I was impressed that she wanted to watch a movie with six middle school boys. Without hesitation she said “I love Harry Potter, and you’re the only church in town that hasn’t made me feel like I’m evil because I’m a Harry Potter fan.” Mary was searching; she came from a Buddhist / New Age background, she had been visiting different youth groups in town, she was looking for a place that would be patient with her as she was searching for a spiritual identity. I told her that we as Christians do not practice witchcraft yet we can identify with qualities such as love and friendship that are found in the Harry Potter series. Mary liked being with our group and she kept coming. It took a year, but eventually she gave her life to Jesus, her mother made the same decision the following year.


Inception of an idea is a like a seed that is planted in the ground, eventually it grows up to be a fruit bearing tree. God used our willingness to find common ground in a Harry Potter movie to plant the seed in Mary’s mind that the love and acceptance she had been looking for was found in Jesus.

As Christians we are often known for what we are against rather than what we believe. We of course oppose witchcraft, but we can find a bond with unbelievers on the strongest elements of each Harry Potter book; elements such as love, friendship, and loyalty. The apostle Paul did the same thing in Athens when he complimented the Athenians for their desire to be religious; in doing so he was able to convert many to Jesus. What I am saying is that God’s people have an opportunity to bring people to Jesus, simply by finding common ground with them, showing them that maybe they already have Jesus working in their lives. When unbelievers witness Christians living with God’s love and righteousness, a seed is planted in their minds, it can grow into an idea, and possibly into the belief that life with Jesus is the best life there is.

Worship Never Stops

In Acts chapter 17 the Apostle Paul spoke to the people of Athens, declaring to them that the true God does not live in temples made by man, that He is not limited to objects, buildings, or anything else man could build with his hands. Paul went on to say that God is never far from us, that He is there with them ready to be worshipped and glorified in their lives.  I don’t think Paul was just saying that just to the Athenians, I think he was also talking to me, reminding me that God is at work wherever I am, waiting for me to acknowledge His presence, and to join Him in whatever He is doing. Worship is an activity in which we connect with God, submitting to His will.
Worship isn’t just something that happens in a church building, worship can happen anywhere. It can happen at home, at work, or even in the car. Read what Paul says about worship in Romans 12.

“1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2 NIV
True worship comes from people who have been transformed by the grace and love of God. Transformed people worship with honesty, mercy, integrity, and with a desire to give their best. There is not a lot of Bible that says what we are to do in a church building, but there is a whole lot of Bible that says how we are to worship out in the world. Worship never stops, because true love never ends. When do we stop loving our children, when do we stop loving our spouse? We never stop; we would never want to. In the same way, we are called to love and worship God every moment of life; living transformed lives giving Him our best in all that we do.

Inception part 1

Inception was a great movie. I give it 4 Stars. It is not the best movie all time, it is not even in my top 20. (Hummm, That would be a great Blog.) Inception is a corporate espionage thriller that focuses on a team of tech thieves who are able to invade peoples dreams and steal their ideas. The hero (Dom Cobb, played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is given one more job before he retires. However this job is not about stealing an idea, but planting one; thus the movie is called Inception. Inception of an idea begins with a seed (thought) that becomes an idea, that leads to a belief, which will eventually become a reality. No spoilers here, go see the movie.


Inception got me to thinking about the concept of planting ideas. We have seeds of ideas everyday planted in our minds. While watching a football game on TV I find myself wanting more pizza, hot wings, better car insurance, and something to drink. There are so many commercials during a game that plant ideas in my mind; I don’t drink beer, but the beer commercials make me thirsty.

Christian writers and preachers warn us of spiritual inception, of people planting false ideas in our minds in order to turn us the wrong direction. I’m not going there either, however this movie got me to thinking; how can I be more effective at planting ideas into the minds of the people around me? Think about it, if I could plant positive ideas into the minds of my kids, my life could be so much simpler. I could plant ideas in my wife’s mind; I could get her to think that I am the most amazing man ever. As a minister I could plant positive ideas into the minds of both believers and nonbelievers. In 1 Corinthians 3 the Apostle Paul was addressing the fighting and division within the church. His focus was on how the world plants selfish and sinful ideas into the minds of Godly people, to make the problem worse, Godly people allowed worldly ideas to become a reality in their lives. Paul went on to explain that godliness and faith originate from God and His fellow workers.

“5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.” 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 NIV

As God’s people we have been given a simple job, which is to plant the idea of God into people’s minds. Let’s call it spiritual inception. Paul planted the idea through preaching, teaching, encouragement, and through his example. We will talk about Apollos and God’s role later this week. Idea planting doesn’t require great ability or experience, but it does require consistency. There will be people we come in contact with everyday, they will hear our words and they will see our actions. In those moments we plant ideas into their minds. The more we are around them the more influence we have over them. So what ideas are we planting upon the minds of our children, what ideas are beginning to take root in the minds of our friends and coworkers? Inception happens everyday; the world is filled with negative seed planters who help people grow worried, depressed, and self-centered. We are called to do the opposite, to plant ideas that are Holy Spirit led; ideas that help people discover faith, hope, and love.

To be continued …

Patience

Patience is defined as the ability to wait. Not only to wait, but to do it calmly without appearing annoyed.  My 5 year old when he has to wait will sit quietly for about 5 seconds and then he will start making noises like "hahummmmm" which is heavy breathing followed by that weird sound we make when we are annoyed, sounding like a hydrolic hose when gets unhooked “hahuuu”. That is cute for maybe 10 seconds when a 5 year old does it, but it is never cute when an adult does it.  That is the point. We all have to wait for things, we wait at red lights, traffic jams, the school pick up line, and at the Dr.s office.  We have to wait to get our table at Chili’s, to vote, ... I think you get the point. Through out scripture we are called to be patient, but what does than mean because everyone has to wait.  Waiting and patience are not the same thing.  Patience is the ability to wait like Jesus would.  The ability to be calm and not agitated when we are having to spend more time than we would like somewhere. Patience gives us the ability to be productive in the will of God wherever we are waiting. To see the wait as opportunity to bring glory to Him.

I love it when my kids love me!

 I love it when my kids love me.  Yesterday I was sick, I either had food poisoning or a virus.  Whatever it was, it was awful.  As I was laid up in bed my son would come in about every 10 minutes asking me if I needed anything (he was kind of bugging me, but I knew he was there simply because he loves me).  My daughter asked if I needed her favorite pillow (it always makes her feel better), and then they both made me get well cards.  Bottom line, they just wouldn't leave me alone; and I loved it.  I think that is what God wants from us.  He wants to be loved by His children.  The joy that we give Him when we wont leave Him alone, when we bug him every ten minutes goes beyond our understanding.  Yesterday my children taught me a little bit more about the relational joy that children can give to their parents.  God loves it when when His children love Him.  If you haven't already, you should bug Him a little bit, He loves it.

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17 NIV

Church Dress Code / What Not To Wear

What a stunning
picture of me!

“12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

Have you ever been to a church that had a dress code? Suits for men, dresses for ladies, fru fru one piece outfits for baby boys (mom why did you do that to me?). Paul says here in Colossians 3:12 that as God’s people, we have a dress code.

When it’s cold, I wear a coat, when I go on a date with Stacy I brush my teeth and put on a clean shirt for a change, when it is hot I wear lighter and thinner clothes. When I run I wear running shoes and shorts. We must dress appropriately for the conditions.
God wants His people to dress accordingly, appropriate to the conditions of this world. That is why Paul said that we are to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Our world needs people who are dressed with the spirit of Jesus. The world is full of poorly dressed people. I’m not talking about men who still wear parachute pants, I’m not talking about the man who saw wearing a shirt that said “Baby on Board” with arrow pointing to his stomach, and I’m not even talking about mullets. The world is poorly dressed in that many people put on the clothing of anger, selfishness, greed, lust, and rudeness.
Paul said those things are out of style. You know that show “What not wear”? Paul gives us a list of things that we should never wear in verses 5-8, they are not fashionable to God. He does not want us to dress like the world, He wants us to dress like Jesus.
When we clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience we are simply acting the way Jesus would act if he was us in our daily lives. We do these things because we have been forgiven, we do these things because we have been transformed by the love of God. May you be blessed each day by His love and grace.

Wizards, Vampires, & Jesus

We saw the new movie "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" today. It was pretty good (I give it 2 1/2 stars). I guess it is hard to ignore all of the wizard and witch movies, books, an TV shows that are out these days. If it isn't about wizards it probably is about vampires (for some reason those are more exhausting to me). The one thing that many of these stories have in common is that most of them have a "chosen one". What I mean by chosen one is that early in the story there is a prophecy of a hero (a messiah) who will save all of humanity. This hero just so happens to be a vampire, witch, or wizard. Maybe the reason so many stories follow the same formula is that we all have a basic need to have a savior who will be there to save us.

I think we all have this spiritual side that needs to be part of something that is bigger than ourselves that connects all of us into a community that is filled with acceptance and love. As cool as wizards and vampires are they seem to have a need to be hidden, disconnected from the rest of humanity.

Jesus does not desire to be hidden like a wizard; he has no desire to be disconnected from humanity like a vampire. In fact did He not die for our sin so that we could connect with Him? Jesus is superior to these man made messiahs in that He wants to connect with humanity not hide from it.

"6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." 2 Corinthians 4:6-12 NIV

Our savior desires to strike down evil and has more power than any wizard we could ever imagine. Our savior is eternal, He has no need of our blood to offer us eternal life, because He offers His. Our world is looking for a savior, we have a real one to offer them. He has no desire to hide from humanity, in fact He partners with us every day to show the world that He loves them and that He has the power to save them.