I Love Her, I Love Her Not

I like stuff.

I know, it seems a spacial waste for me to say it that bluntly, but I do. I think this is the root of what a lot of events in my life stem from. I like guitars. I like guitar pedals. I like good albums by my favorite artists. I like my iPod Touch. I REALLY like chocolate.

I also like a lot of intangible things. For instance, I like respect from others for what I do. I like being recognized as a follower of Christ, albeit, not always for the right reasons. I like a feeling of accomplishment after I've cleaned the house from top to bottom and knowing that Chassta will be pleased when she crosses the threshold. But this leads me to another question: What do I love?

Well, I know a few things/people to start with. I love my wife. I love my family. I love my position as a leader in Elishah, and I love the guys that comprise the band. I love meeting new people and sharing with them what God's given me. I most certainly love Jesus Christ....or do I?

I've been mulling over the latter phrase for about a month now. Every now and again, I think it's good to question my allegiance so I can allow the Holy Spirit to speak to me about who I really am, no matter how painful it gets. And I've gotten a haunting response: with the mess that I've allowed in my heart over the years, how could I possibly say with truth that I really love Christ?

I've found the answer, at least for this time in my life. We all have struggles with each other...we all fall short of our expectations for one another....and this inevitably leads to wounding that takes a perfect Savior to heal, but should never have been there in the first place. Which, in turn, leads to the bad fruits the Bible talks of: envy, malice, pride, bitterness, anger, hatred and so on.

I'm in a catch-22 it seems. I was recently talking with my brother over the direction of ministry and writing our band, Elishah, must take to not only continue on, but to do it in a way that lines up exactly with God's will for this journey. We came to the conclusion that each of us in Elishah has a unique relationship with the Church (the American/global church, which trickles down to the community of local churches we attend). None of us is completely satisfied with the way our generation has viewed or "does" church. We typically find several things that do not line up Scripturally or are not redeemed for Kingdom work that are done in church gatherings. We have, in the past, felt disconnected, disillusioned, and many times, rejected by people who were supposed to be on our side. A verse comes to mind: "For we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:12)

Regrettably, I have fallen before into the trap of believing that my enemies were my brothers and sisters in Christ. Not so, not even a little, according to this verse. And my brothers-in-arms in Elishah believe this truth as well. This is where the turn-around takes place. While we are discontent with the state of the Church, we love the Church.

I heard a quote once that has literally screamed in my mind each time I feel a pull to my fleshly desire to fight my brothers. It says, "You can't love Jesus and hate His wife." It's true. The 2 greatest commandments Christ gave us were to love God first and love your neighbor as yourself, and He made them equal commandments. That means loving God comes with a "proof," if you will. That "proof" is to love our neighbors.

So, back to mine and Mike's conversation. We came to terms that we are leaders in worship, and that almost all of our lyrics are comprised of challenges for those who are already believers in Christ. That said, why would we waste our time on people if we didn't love them? We believe Christ has placed a burning desire in our hearts to see the Church come together again and love one another beyond our faults and failures, to work together for the building of the Kingdom of God, and to fulfill the Great Commission. There's really not enough time to dawdle on anything else, I've come to realize.

My challenge this post, then, is to encourage you to stop finding things in others, especially Christians, that you don't like. Because, indubitably, that kind of criticism leads to thoughts of pride ("I don't do that!"), and hate ("I hate them because they..."). Christ is NOT cool with this kind of thinking. In fact, it's the kind of thinking He warned us to "not be conformed to the image of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

True, it's a dog-eat-dog world, but there does not have to be a dog-eat-dog Church....lift up those who hurt you in prayer...watch God do a miracle. He may not change them (keep in mind that they DO have free will), but He may change your heart toward them because you've been humble enough to let God work in YOU.

Let's see it happen...you know the truth now...don't waste it by doing nothing.

Beggar or Builder?

Ever since I was about 9 years old, I've heard preaching...not the "heard" that means I was in the pew, listening to someone go on and on about whatever they were going on about....(insert soundclip of Charlie Brown's teacher here). What I mean is that around the age of 9, I actually began hearing the words that speakers used to convey messages of conviction, God's hope and peace, and repentance.

I also had the privilege (though, at the time, I got easily bored with it...I was 9 after all) of hearing several of my father's messages over and over and over due to the evangelistic ventures he was often taking during his last year of schooling in seminary. One such message, and the one I want to focus on today, is that of the lame beggar who is healed in Acts 3.

There are several different and great points to make with this passage of the Word, but while I was talking with my wife a couple of days ago, I realized a new one. Try to remember the story with me. This man is lame (not "uncool," but seriously can't walk) and has been so from birth. He is set down each day at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple in Jerusalem to beg for money. Going on, he encounters Peter and John, and in his typical fashion, asks for some financial help from them. They both look at him (in accord, which alludes to the Spirit's simultaneous direction to both men), tell him they have no money, and then Peter grabs his hand, says "...in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk," as he pulls the man to his feet.

Pause.

What I've typed above is what most people think of when they see the passage. It's an awesome miracle, done in the name of Christ and with pure intent, and inevitably spreads His fame even further. There's a lot of really good stuff in that passage, and I encourage you to do an in-depth study (meaning, ask questions, look for answers in Godly commentaries, read it over and over and commit it to memory, etc.). However, I want to look at how that man is us in many ways.

Like the lame beggar, we await a stronger power than we hold to come along and help us out of the crippled state we're in. I think this passage really tells us a lot about prayer. Now, if you're anything like me, you're probably easily-irritated at hearing about it so much. Honestly, if we're Christians who are straying even the tiniest bit, our flesh flares up at the notion of letting God in on our conversation or thoughts. But let's step back a bit...

I told you earlier that I was talking with my wife. We were basically just recounting all the ways that God has been good in our lives, and the issue of prayer and Scripture commitment "came up." You see, we tend to run ourselves in the same circles the ancient Israelites did in the exodus of the desert and the time of the kingdom in Israel. We'll be uber-close to Christ one day, and the next, we're angry at anyone who says even a semi-spiritual thing in our presence because our conviction to be close to God is too strong for comfort. Sound familiar?

Well, on this particular day, Chassta (my wife, and for her sake, the name is pronounced "Shasta," although if I were you, I wouldn't spell it that way and let her find out :-) was telling me about a young women's Bible study she had just become involved with and I was telling her how her prayers had helped me out of one of the unChristlike ruts that I have previously mentioned. We were speaking of God's goodness to meet us if we'll only even express a desire to be better than we are at present, when the Spirit reminded me of the story I'd heard since I was a nine year old boy. And in that moment, I was the lame beggar again, only in a new light.

As a follower who had strayed, I'd chosen to sit beside the gate and wait for Christ to come to me, when all He asked was for me to follow Him. In this instance, my wife was the "apostle" who held out a hand for me to get up and walk again in the name Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Hmm, sounds like what the Church should be doing a lot more of, right? Keep in mind, all of this part of the illustration had already taken place. The next part's the kicker...

I conveyed to her that the first time in weeks that I'd sat down and opened the Word to get closer to God, I heard His voice again...oh, that we wouldn't think it too hard to come back to our Savior! In that very moment, the sensation of relief was like the muscles and ligaments and tendons of the beggar becoming strengthened again. Imagine! I open my Bible, and Christ reaches down to strengthen the parts of my heart, soul and mind that had become atrophied by inactivity.

Here is the challenge...DO NOT SIT BACK DOWN! Christ has strengthened that which had no strength so you and He could commune together and build up His Bride, the Church, right now. Another verse comes to mind: "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed." No more excuses, no more bitterness or anger, no more focusing on things that tear down the Kingdom. We build from here on out. Will you join me?

What Makes This Time Different?

I don't have TV...well, actually, my wife and I DO have a television, but we do not have cable. Nor do we get the daily paper. And you can count home internet access out. So please do not be offended at the next few lines of thought that I'm going to boldly put out here.

I didn't hear about the crisis in Haiti until about 3 or 4 days after it had happened. At first, I thought it was just an earthquake (upon later reflection, I wondered if there was such a thing as "just" an earthquake). To be quite honest, I still don't have all the facts that any other average joe could have picked up within the last 2 weeks. Of course, now, I have some more knowledge of the events that took place there in the recent past, and I have some views to call my own now.

I don't believe that I'm the only one like me who, when first informed of the Haiti crisis, was unfazed. You see, even as a Christ-follower, it can be difficult to process what's real and what's not. I never cared much for the "media debate" until last year or so...you know, the argument that the media taints everything with opinion and less fact than the truth demands? So, it is with a heavy heart that I admit that my first thought was "What makes this so different from other cataclysmic events that cameras haven't caught on film? Why should I give more credence to this one catastrophe than any other that the media hasn't come across yet?" And as the weeks turned, I did my best to live life as usual.

The only problem is that Christ does NOT call us to life as usual...He calls us to a life UN-usual. One that says "me" is less important than "you." That "mine" doesn't exist because "His" is all that matters. And I've known this fact for almost 2 decades now, so why on earth would I be able to turn my back on it now? I realized this as I read what the Lord said in Matthew 6:1-4:

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have nor reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."

Many people like to see the typical lessons that are taught, and are definitely true, in this passage...the ones about not being hypocritical, not exalting yourself before man, and the like. But the thing that got me, the real kicker in this passage, has everything to do with the state that Christ puts us in; He commands us to do these things in secret WHEN we give to the needy. It's not an "if"; rather, it's understood that we will give to the needy...we are to carry it out as He states when it happens.

So back to me for a moment. I read this the other day, absolutely floored by my lack of Christlikeness and asked God that same question I stated earlier, "What makes this time different?" And you know what the answer was? "You know about it."

We're not called to pick and choose which crisis is worth our time in prayer, labor, or money. We're called to help...and we know when to help when we know about the need. So I plead with you as I plead with myself. Don't be idle...let it be said of us, the Church, that we gave away what we had because our love was for Christ and the people He loves and not for our security, things, or comforts.