Not my Mess...Or is it?

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us 

(1 Thessalonians 2:8)

There is a saying out there that goes something like this; “Everyone likes to make babies, but few like to take care of them.” This saying holds true today amongst many evangelical churches, who love making converts but have neglected the very call to make disciples. Paul would write against this kind of “baby-making” Christianity, his very life and ministry stood opposed to this kind of methodology.

We are a culture with more health precautions then ever before, we even have inventions like hand sanitizer so that we can stay clean on the go. Making disciples does not work that way, we cannot run into a dirty situation, share the gospel, then apply our spiritual hand sanitizer and walk away, free from any aftermath the gospel might have just had on its recipient.

If there is one thing I am learning in my short time of being a disciple it is that ministry is messy. Making disciples requires one to get dirty with other peoples problems. It requires a willingness not only to share the gospel of God but also our own selves. To share the gospel and yourself looks like living out the message you just preached. How can we share about a God who so loved the world that He came down and gave of himself, and then not do the same? The gospel is more then a message, it is a life poured out, and those who share it must be willing to pour themselves out on behalf of it.

I believe; help my unbelief

Mark 9:14-29

“I believe; help my unbelief” 

      No doubt a remarkable verse. One might argue this verse as the central theme of our text and perhaps a central focal point of the Christian life. This twofold confession is one that has moved me from reading to meditating. On one hand we have a statement of belief. On the other hand, from the same mouth, in the same sentence, we have a confession of unbelief. I think now is when we are suppose to ask, “is that even possible?” “Can somebody believe and not believe at the same time?” As literal as this confession is, I think it holds deeper meaning for the born again reader. My hope is in a few short paragraphs to unveil some of that meaning.

      The underlying matter in the text at hand is the battle to believe. I have often asked myself; “Am I believing?” and “What does it mean to believe?” As Christians, eternal life is accessed by our believing. There is one link, one way to eternal life, and that is to believe. Believe in what? “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Believing is a central component to our faith. Maybe the question we must ask ourselves is not; Am I believing?…but How am I believing?

      Here we have the disciples of Jesus, who by now had been following Him for some time. As they would witness miracle after miracle it would be impossible for them not to believe. The problem with this kind of sideline belief is it had created a mentality of spectator rather then a reality of participator. They were quick to defend their faith (vs14), but apparently not able to act on it (vs18). As Jesus came on the scene in verse 14 they were arguing with the scribes. The text does not tell us what they were arguing about so we will leave it at that.

      What I do know is that it is easy to defend the faith when the defense requires nothing of us. It isnt until our belief demands action that true colors begin to shine. It is in the moment we are found "not able" that our unbelief manifests. It says when they saw Jesus they were “greatly amazed and ran up to him.” It is interesting to note how they later came, the text tells us, “privately” to Jesus. Why the change in approach?

      They would watch Jesus heal this boy because of the belief of a dad in the crowd. Not because this man was a disciple or a follower, but because he believed. How did he believe? "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief.’" I see three things in the way this man believed; honor, honesty and humility. This is not  a do these three things and have life message. This is simply an outworking of genuine belief in the life of a man that was desperate for a miracle.

      Honor was shown as “immediately the father of the child cried out.” We honor the Lord in our belief when we hear His word and immediately respond in a manner worthy. Honesty was shown by way of confession, “help my unbelief.” The Lord is looking for us to be honest about where we are so that He can get us where He wants us to be. Humility was shown as he cried out “help.” The problem is not within the confession of unbelief. For doubt will arise. The problem is are we willing to admit the unbelief. In that moment we must be honest and humbly ask Jesus to help us. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

      Believer, what obstacle stands before you and Jesus this day? Fear not, nor be dismayed. The remedy consists of one thing, a simple thing. A thing all men are capable of doing. It is not prejudice to ethnicity nor education. It does not require of you a prerequisite. No title or tool will be necessary, only that you believe. That is the link! You must believe!  That is do you believe? I ask you how are you believing? Have you come before the Lord and honored His word. Believing in it and esteeming it higher then life’s current troubles. Have you been honest about your current condition; Doubt? Worry? Fear? Bitterness? Anger? Pride? Lust? Would you be willing to reach out for a touch today? To cry out to your Savior with a sincere heart…“help!” 

      Let us now remember what the Lord said himself: 

"this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

The Real Deal

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV)

To be found in human form can in and of itself be an altogether humiliating thing. Now when we think of the birth of Jesus, we think nativity scene. We think glorious things; a glowing child, washed clean, clothed in baby gap with a stylish comb over, laying gracefully in a tempurpedic crib. Before we buy into the pathetic reenactment of our day, lets look to the real happenings of that day via the Scriptures. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manager, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

Last time I checked, when a child comes out of its mothers womb, he is a bloody mess. One must assume this to be true of this day as well. A bloody mess, assumedly cleaned then wrapped in swaddling cloths; which literally just meant strips of cloth. More degrading then this He was laid in a manager. This does not mean a crib for babies rather a crib for eating. Our Savior upon His birth, found in human form, bloody, wrapped in strips of cloth was then to be laid in a feeding trough, a place most commonly known to the foul mouth of an animal. His place of birth did not look like your local neighborhood Macys. Nor was it accompanied with the sweet smell of hot cider and gingerbread cookies, while soothing tunes of “may your days be merry” play in the background. This was the real deal, smelly, dark and musty, the lowest of lows, the place our Savior was born.

This verse in Luke ends in saying there was no place for Him in the inn. This would not only be an underlying theme throughout the rest of His lowly life, but it is the theme of every generation. People want nothing to do with Jesus and therefore have said there is no place for Him in their life. Today we have gone so far as to ban Him from whole countries, our educational systems, our media sources and even the pledge of our own Nation. His birth would mark a humiliating trend that will continue on until the day of his second coming.

Enough of His birth, let us talk a little bit of His death. When I say a little, I mean just that. I am convinced there a parts of the upcoming events we will never grasp. Crowned in thorns, spat upon, mocked, clubbed, beaten, no longer possessing human semblance or form of mankind, it was then He bore His own cross. Now on the subject of the cross. A death more humiliating then most. Hung for all to see though not guilty. The mystery of it all, is though he bore physical pains unbearable to most, he bore the wrath of God. “That is he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

That God would will for His Gospel to be written in human form, to me is that God would will an intimate relationship. For we do not have a lofty High Priest, rather we have a lowly High Priest. One who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, that we may look to Him, a very present help in a time of need.

Sloth? I think Slave!

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? (ESV)

I want to pose a question…is the slave who presents himself disobedient even a slave at all? In order to answer this question we have to define a slave in the context of this verse. In the Greek, slave translates into bond slave, or to put it in modern terms “love slave.” It carries the idea of one who has willingly given themselves over to the service of another. With this in mind, we draw a clear divide in the verse at hand. On one hand we have one who has willingly given themselves to the world, and on the other hand we have one who has willingly given themselves to Christ.

I feel like this is a lost art, both in the world and in the church. Few people today have willingly presented themselves to anything. Many grow up following the ways of this world, never asking questions or challenging why we do what we do. Same concept stands true for the Christian of today. We go to church not knowing why we do what we do, but nevertheless we follow the monotony of a 45/45 structure. Forty-five minutes of worship and forty-five minutes of a message, not a minute earlier nor a minute later. This going through the motions has produced, both in the world and in the church, a kind of lifeless breed. Not a slave but rather a sloth, both physically and spiritually.

You see for me, I don’t see it any other way. Although I have not always been a Christian, I have always been all in for what I believed in. For most of my life I presented myself as an obedient slave to my worldly master, drugs and money. That is I willingly pursued these things no matter what the cost. So why wouldn’t I do the same as a Christian? Why wouldn’t I present myself as an obedient slave to my heavenly master? Why wouldn’t I willingly pursue him no matter what the cost?

To answer my initial question…is the slave who presents himself disobedient even a slave at all? My answer to that would be absolutely not. A slave has already decided what it believes and of that belief they are sold out. If I was willing to let drugs control my every waking moment, then so it shall it be with Christ. For the one who is unfamiliar with this lost art form, may it be said of them; “I will spit you out of my mouth.” What good is the belief of a man, if all it creates is a lukewarm man?

We have not been set free to roam in aimless freedom. Rather we have been set free from, that we might be enslaved to. One may say freed from sin and enslaved to righteousness, but another might say freed from death and enslaved to life. What a beautiful thought, to give up my life that I might find life.

The Supernatural Gospel

1 Timothy 6:6-8 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (ESV)

I don’t know that this text would be so real if it had not been for my time in Kenya. It was the last sentence of verse five that irked me to the core as I read it; “imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” Timothy was not telling bed time stories here, rather he was addressing a very real and prominent issue that has plagued most impoverished nations of our day. When I think of the gospel being used as a means for gain I am deeply pained, but what pains me even more is to know that the recipients of that message have been left; “deprived in mind and deprived in truth.”

It began on a Saturday, as we pulled into our first kids club in Kenya. At the first sight of the kids I was overwhelmed, yet eagerly awaiting the start of what could be an eternal relationship. Or so I thought. It didn’t take long before I realized these kids had a very different agenda in mind; they wanted what we had, be it candy or money…but they weren’t looking for a relationship. I was deeply bothered by this and found myself before the Lord wondering how this could be? It didn’t take more then a few weeks of being in Kenya to realize we were riding on the wake of those who had brought a gutted gospel message. Those previously who had come with the gospel had come with goods and not with Jesus. They promised a better life through natural possessions and not through supernatural peace.

As I mentioned day one we were approached by all of the children asking us for candy, sweets and money (no joke). Money and sweets we did not bring them, but in those six months we brought them what we had, the gospel of Jesus Christ. What I am about to share next is nothing short of the supernatural power of the gospel working in and through broken lives. By the end of our six months we were to be approached by these same kids, who no longer were calling us for candy but rather calling us by our names. We would then be greeted with a piece of candy by one of these little ones, who most likely spent their only allowance for the week on this candy that they might gift it to us in sign of appreciation for the friendship.

It took awhile for us to brake down the misconceptions of the prosperity gospel so prevalent throughout impoverished nations today. The hardest thing was not that I had to believe Jesus was enough for me, but rather to believe He was enough for them. Weekly telling them Jesus was all they needed, when I knew they didn’t have a means to much more, really challenged my own belief in what I claimed to be true. Could He be enough?

I witnessed first hand the destruction of a perverted message, but also Gods blessing on the only Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. Lives were transformed right before my eyes, not by money nor things of the physical. This was a supernatural working of the gospel, being poured out through loving channels for the purpose of meeting human needs. We brought them Jesus and of that it was enough. Our relationships grew far deeper through matters of the spiritual then they ever would have through the physical.

Giving Up or Fueling Up?

Colossians 1:11 may you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy (ESV)

If there was ever a man aside from our Lord that knew where his strength came from it was Paul. A man of prayer and of that a mighty man of strength. Paul was a man with one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. Living in two realms, he endured hardships in both. He was a man with great responsibility, he was looked up to as co-founder and leader of the early church. The more Paul was looked up to the more he found himself looking up. As for the natural man; his eyes are fixed fast on the things of this world, but for the spiritual man his eyes ought to be fixed on the things above. For one looking up might feel like giving up, but for another looking up is fueling up.

We should not be afraid to pause throughout our day and take an extra minute to seek the one with all power. To look up is to abide in the shadow of the almighty, it is there he will deliver us from the snare of the fowler. Fowler literally meaning the bait-layer. The fowler is deceptive and at first glance is good to look at, a second look could be dangerous and a third look guarantees a sure catch. Believer my question to you is where have you been looking?

Paul would pray for the saints and faithful brethren of Colossae in hopes that they too might find all power and all endurance. He knew this was no right of his own, rather he would give thanks to the Father, who alone qualified us to share in this inheritance. We have been delivered from the domain of darkness. No longer should we fear the way of the fowler, for the light has made known his ways. Not only have we been drawn from but we have been drawn to. What a beautiful exchange that has taken place for the one that would surrender his might to the One with all might. We have been transferred into the kingdom of Christ, who can make the things that are not as though they were. Believer no longer settle for anxious toil and depression when ours is the kingdom of peace and joy.

Who but James!

James 3:13-18

What was it that compelled James to write these verses? Surely we can all agree that it was the Holy Spirit. Why James though? Why didn’t God choose another means to deliver this message? God had a specific purpose in using James and I think a deeper look into his life and one would agree in saying, who but James! We see drawn here a clear distinction between the wisdom of this world and the wisdom from above. We would be hard pressed to find a man more experienced in this matter. One could almost conclude that as James was writing this passage he had a specific people group in mind.

What we know about James is that he grew up in a culture infiltrated with Pharisees. This was a popular religious group of his day, that was zealous for their beliefs and went to extremes to make their passion known. They had great power and loved to demonstrate it by Lording their authority over those underneath them. They were well educated and to the natural man appeared to be full of wisdom.

When the Pharisees came into a room they loved to be noticed and make themselves known. They would go to great lengths to impress upon their followers, but there was One who would not be impressed. Rather he would reveal the their true colors and the selfish ambitions of their hearts. This One was Jesus, who they hated with a deep passion. Their jealousy towards Him would result in His death. The Pharisees did not have wisdom from above; rather theirs was earthly, unspiritual and demonic. Where the Pharisees were, disorder and every vile practice was sure to follow.

What we also know about James was that He was the half brother of Jesus. No doubt as he was writing these passage there was One on the forefront of his mind. James was humbled by the ministry of his own brother as he would choose to call himself a bondservant thereof. He witnessed first hand our Lord walking out the wisdom from above. James would be given the nick name “camel knees” because of the amount of time he spent on his knees, undoubtedly seeking out the once so tangible presence of his brother and confessed Lord.

James must have remembered the pureness of his brother, never uttering out a corrupt thought in the midst of a crooked people. The peace that must have radiated off of his brother as he handled all situations with meekness and gentleness. How many times must he have found his brother engaged in open face discussion, always operating in the fullness of mercy. James must have seen the sincerity of Jesus as He would pour out His life on behalf of twelve. James would previously write in chapter 2 on the subject of partiality, and surely our impartial Lord impacted him greatly as James must have watched him reach out to the poor, the crippled and the socially awkward of their day.

One thing we can know for sure about James is that he recognized this wisdom Jesus operated in was not of his own. James had seen enough worldly men to know there was something different about this one. His source must have been from outside of himself. It must have come from above, that is from the Father.

Maybe your like me and you realize you know all to well of the wisdom of this world. We would do well to turn from that evil as James turned from his. There was a day when James would have been ashamed to call Jesus his brother. But today he would say, if you lack in wisdom, come talk with my brother, cause His Father will give generously to all who ask of Him.