What Christianity is all about...

I am in the process of reading N.T. Wright's Simply Christian for the 3rd time. I have this quote from the book up in my office (my office is becoming filled with stuff like this) from Wright that I enjoy re-reading from time to time. The quote can be found on page 92; for those who do not have this book, I cannot recommend it enough.  

“Christianity is all about the belief that the living God, in fulfillment of his promises and as the climax of the story of Israel, has accomplished all this—the finding, the saving, the giving of new life—in Jesus. He has done it. With Jesus, God’s rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all. A great door has swung open in the cosmos which can never again be shut. It’s the door to the prison where we’ve been kept chained up. We are offered freedom: freedom to experience God’s rescue for ourselves, to go through the open door and explore the new world to which we now have access. In particular, we are all invited—summoned, actually—to discover, through following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and that we are not only to enjoy it as such but to work at bringing it to birth on earth as in heaven.”

Life is all about choices

I received this last year from Richard Jones and I have kept it up in my office ever since. It is worth reading every single day. I hope the message challenges and blesses you the way it has me.

Life is all about choices

It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love:

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy:

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace:

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live. I will live in deep assurance that I am in right relationship with God because of Jesus, not my own doing.

I choose patience:

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness:

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness:

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness:

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I choose gentleness:

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it only be in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only to myself.

I choose self-control:

I am a spiritual being…I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Jesus. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day.  

Isaiah 58

I am preaching this upcoming Sunday morning and while preparing I came across this section in Isaiah that really convicted me. The prophets have a way of making me challenge the way I approach anything and everything I do as a believer. Isaiah 58 accomplished this for me this week. Isaiah 58:6-7: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen; to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from  your own flesh and blood?" Context shows that this deals with a form of worship (fasting) towards God. And while the people of God in this particular place and time kept fasting they have obviously lost sight of what God wants to see out of His people...taking care of those who are being or who are easily taken advantage of, which is something God has always desired His people to be aware of and do something about (Deut. 15).

Now if we pay close attention there are some lines in here that are familiar to us. Jesus echoes the latter part of verse 6 in His inauguration speech in Luke 4..."The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, TO SET THE OPPRESSED FREE, (caps by me) to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Jesus then reflects these words in all He does and says. Jesus again echoes Isaiah 58 in Matthew 25:31-46 which is Jesus' clearest teaching on end time (eschaton) judgment.

How should this impact followers of Jesus when there is so much injustice and apathy towards the downtrodden in our own cities and towns? "Am I in the habit of blaming poverty on laziness, immorality, and addiction rather than on greed, exploitation, and indifference?" (Guy Vanderpool, The Christian as Revolutionary,  Leaven 2002).   

Announcement of Sonship

Our Sunday morning youth class here at 43rd is about to begin a study through the gospel of Mark. The unique way Mark begins his (along with Peter, possibly) story concerning Jesus is remarkable. No birth narratives of John the Baptizer or Jesus, no "In the beginning", simply "the beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah." Mark then moves into a desription of John's appearance and diet and a short version of his mission and message...and then we get to the part I want to write about today. Baptism.

Baptism is a beautiful and life altering act and experience. Baptism is a beautiful and life altering act and experience. I wrote it twice on purpose...no reduncancy problems here. The way in which Jesus' baptism is described is quite beautiful. The heavens were being torn open as he assended out of the water (foreshadow to resurrection and resurrection life? Paul though so in Romans 6), the Spirit descending on him like a dove at his baptism (Isaiah 11 and 42 language), and the announcement of Sonship from above, "You  are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased" (2 Samuel 7, Psalm 2, Isaiah 42 language). Jesus' baptism is a beautiful event with powerful experiences taking place, and life changing announcements being made.

Should it not be the same today? Baptism is a dangerous act. It is an announcement and act that is in complete rebellion to the ways of this world. It is an announcement and act of complete dependency towards God. It is an announcement and act of honesty that I (we) are messed up humans who cannot be fixed on our own. Jesus needed no baptism, he needed no grace, in fact he is grace, but what is remarakable to me is his baptism shows us what baptism is all about.     

Announcement of sonship/daughtership...In our baptism did we hear the announcement of sonship and daughtership? The heavens were torn open, the Spirit came down, and the announcement that this is my son, this is my daughter whom I love and whom I am well pleased was made. Jesus' baptism has helped my understanding of baptism as a whole. It is a beautiful event filled with life changing/resurrected life announcements.

Wonderful Inspiring Story

This is a refreshing story in the midst of world and country filled with hate and animosity. I hope you are indeed blessed by reading it. www.preachermike.com/2010/09/22/praying-for-my-friend

Driving for Jesus

Driving for Jesus...I know silly title and this might seem like such a ridiculous topic but I find it to be extremely important for followers of Jesus. I drove around Nashville for 14+ years and the saying was always "those Nashvillians are a bunch of idiots, they drive with no concern for others who are on the road." (this included me for 10 of those 14+ years). Since moving to Bradenton I have found that it isn't just Nashvillians that have driving issues, it is all around us, no matter where we go. And if the stats are correct about the Christian population in America (70-76% depending on where you get your info) the vast majority of drivers in Nashville and Bradenton and all of America for that matter claim Jesus as Lord, yet do we drive like it? This sounds absurd, it types absurd as well, but if Christians are going make an impact in the world it has to start with our day to day activities, which includes how we drive.

The old Alabama song which includes this phrase "I'm in a hurry to get things done I rush and rush until life is no fun" fits drivers in America perfectly, it fits Christian drivers in America perfectly. We are all guilty of it, staring someone down when they do something on the road we consider foolish. We stare them down as if we are going to jump out of our car rush over and attack them, knowing that we will in no way do something that stupid, but we stare them down anyways and think such lovely thoughts about them. And all for what? Someone got in front of you? Someone ALMOST hit you, supposedly? Someone did something intentional or by mistake and you are going to release your wrath on them. And if the Christian population is close 70-76% we are more than likely acting this way/ thinking this way towards another brother or sister in Christ.

Think about that...not all Christians have the fish symbol or any type of Christian symbol on their car...but some do and we all have seen them  (and we are at times them) do something on the road that is out of character for a Christian or even act out while driving that is out of character for a Christian...and people do notice these things. Non-believers notice how church going folk act in the world and it is safe to say they have at times more negative examples of us to tell than positive.

No doubt there are some not to intelligent drivers out there on the road and some days those people are us. We all make silly mistakes while driving and we want people to be compassionate towards us when we make those mistakes, why do we not extend that compassion towards others?

Last point...Jesus calls his followers to live out a radical type of love (agape) that includes loving those who mistreat us and loving (agaping) those we consider to be our so called enemies (Sermon on the Mount stuff)...how will we ever get to that point when we struggle to simply be kind and compassionate towards others driving along beside us?

Hipster Faith | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Hipster Faith Christianity Today A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction

Interesting article I received from one of my professors. This movement has as many good and relevant attributes about it as it has negative and non-Christ like.

Difficult but worth it read

I read this article from a blog I frequent. This topic is not so cut and dry and is extrememly difficult and painful to not only experience but to discuss as well. Read the comments that follow as well.
http://www.patheos.com/community/jesuscreed. Article is Dads in Divorce Court.

Break the Doors Down

If you have not read anything from Will Campbell I strongly recommend reading him. A book of his I am currently reading is titled Up To Our Steeples In Politics. With this book in mind I offer the following:

 I am currently and have been for quite some time struggling with the apparent disease of mixing politics and Christianity (or any faith for that matter). My fear is that this tension has been highly overlooked by many followers of Jesus, but I now begin to ask why? Why has love for a particular political party overshadowed one's love for neighbor (especially a neighbor who thinks differently)? Why and how has political allegiance intermarried with allegiance to our Lord? Why has one particular political party been considered pro-Christian and the other(s) anti-Christian? Why have we as the people of God living in this country sold ourselves to Americanism? Can this be changed? Should it be changed? And if so, where do we begin?

The more I come to understand more and more about Jesus (I know the song more and more about Jesus just came to your mind) the more I see a tension between what ALL political parties say is right and true and what our Lord says is right and true. Is it enough in this day and age to pay our taxes, obey the driving laws, take care of your loved ones AND others as well (I think Jesus meant what he said in Matt. 5:46-47) as best you can, and with all that commit ourselves to the life and teachings of Jesus without selling ourselves to a particular political party? Is this oversimplifying life here in America? Or am I missing something?

Measure of a man/woman

I have a quote in my office by Martin Luther King that reads..."The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." I read this every day and I wonder if I could live this out. There have been moments where I can say yes to that and there are moments where I can honestly say no.

Underneath the quote I have copied a picture of a cross. At the cross Jesus experienced much controversy and the challenge of a lifetime, yet on the cross he lived out what he taught. He held on to what he believed. His character of who He was and is can be seen most clearly on the day when it looked like all was lost, yet it was only the beginning. Jesus says it so eloquently in John 16:33, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." The cross was not the end, but the beginning. May we all take courage in the fact that if we are His disciples and follow in His Way we will face controversy, we will face challenges. But take heart, He has overcome the world! 

This should be interesting...

Well I never would have imagined that I would ever create a blog, but low and behold here we go. This should be interesting. To my friends back in Nashville Carrie and I miss and love each one of you. Bradenton is a beautiful small city that has everything (except the GOO) one could ask for in a city. The people here at 43rd have welcomed us and really made this transition easy. Dylon is doing great and will start school soon. We hope he will do well at his new school. Our God is faithful and we are excited about the opportunities that await us here. Blessings to all.