a few thoughts i don't want to stop wrestling with

Just pondering Luke 15 a bit... we touched on it this past week, including its famous story of the loving Father, the prodigal son, and the blind brother. Check it out HERE.

• The Father is really who the Story is about - even though his rebellious offspring usually gets the headline. Without the Father's love there would be no return home, and without Father's standard there could be no rebellion (this is more than a "grace" passage - it's a holiness passage, too). In fact, without the Father there could be no sons.
  
  I wonder how often you and I forget that.
  
  
• The rebellious son squandered what he thought was freedom until he realized he was not free... quite the opposite - he was now stuck.
  
  I wonder how often you and I mistake the two.
  
  
• The blind brother couldn't see past his own story, and since no one was throwing him a party he made a little pity party all on his own.
  
  I wonder how often you and I live in small stories full of pity parties instead of larger stories full of parties we throw for other people.

So what might happen if you and I...

• Kept the Father first?
• Didn't confuse freedom with rebellion?
• Stopped letting our lives be about small stories?

Now, if you're like me you may have just read those questions and moved on to read this sentence. So I'd like to ask you instead to go back and let those questions sink into the deeper places of your mind, heart, and soul. Don't be quick to answer them with the usual reply... rather, consider what an answer to those questions might look like if you:

1. Took those questions seriously, and...
2. Let those questions take you to serious places without you getting to decide what it looks like.

a motivational speech, or two, or three

We almost shared this in service yesterday... a combination of many inspirational speeches from popular movies, all mashed together into one mega-speech.

Enjoy whatever inspiration you find.

And may you find a group of people and make a powerful challenge today yourself.

stealing a few thoughts back

This past week in our service we looked at one of the shortest yet most complex of the Tender Commandments - "You shall not steal."

The cool part was how we wrestled this out in community.

The bummer part was I forgot to ask a very important question.

Rather than me tell people on my own what this Bible verse meant, we let the Word of God guide our community. Starting simple, we asked the question if (according to this passage) taking a piece of candy from a store was wrong. Everyone agreed, bonding over how most of us have at some point been scolded for that by our parents. Here were the reasons:

• It costs something you didn't spend.
• Without paying it requires another's permission who spent the original money on it.
• It doesn't belong to you.

Agreed? If so, good. If not, why not? (Really, consider "why" you think "what" you think)

On that note, we wrestled over the following possible things that could be considered stealing - what is your spin?

• Grabbing more than one sample when the sign says only one sample
• Siphoning gas from someone’s vehicle without their permission
• Using a neighbor's wireless internet signal
• Using someone else's idea without credit (i.e. intellectual property)
• Not returning a book from the library
• Taking home a ream of paper from work and using it for other things
• Going one minute past your allotted break time
• Standing by the clock and waiting to punch out until it clicks one more time
• Using your neighbor's basketball net w/o permission when they're on vacation
• Sneaking food from a fast food or restaurant person you know who works there
• Copying or downloading music you haven't paid for and keeping it
• Eating a fry off someone else's plate when they go to get ketchup
• Sneaking into a movie theater to see something you haven’t paid for
• Stealing signals from an opposing Little League team
• When a web site you visit puts a little program on your computer that steals your surfing information
• Not tipping a waitress well (as a side question - if you work hourly or by salary and have a down day, should they pay you less?)
• Writing down the wrong amount on your taxes on purpose
• Using your expense account for non expenses
• Helping yourself to change out of a cash register
• Getting to the car and you realize they didn't charge you for something and not going back
• Taking someone's purse or the stuff in it
• Selling a car and not disclosing what's wrong with it so you can get more money than what it's worth
• Buying a song on iTunes, then giving a copy to a friend
• Buying a pirated movie
• When you say your child is younger than he really is to get a cheaper price
• Patting your pockets when the bill comes as if you forgot your wallet to get out of contributing
• Being creatively less than truthful on your tax return
• Spending work time making personal calls or checking your personal email (Side note: This is called time theft and it costs American employers about $70 billion a year)
• Taking a pen home from work
• Not correcting a waiter/waitress when they forget to charge you for something
• Letting a friend use your personal employee discount
• Bringing a used cup back to a restaurant to get a free refill

How easy was that list? Did you wrestle with any of those?

Personally, I found I've committed about 95% of them at some point in my life.

"But everybody does it."

Right?

Here were a few of the trickier ones:

• Exposing a child to something in a movie/TV show they "can handle," but probably shouldn't "handle."

Matthew 18:5: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

• Taking food to feed your family when you can’t buy it.

Proverbs 6:30-31: Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house.

• Bad mouthing the reputation of somewhere you work or once worked (or perhaps a church you once attended)

Ephesians 4:29: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

• Not tithing.

Malachi 3:8-12: Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours
will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.

Ouch... again.

Now... I feel faithful about what I shared on Sunday, but if I could go back and add one more thing, here's the question of challenge I would ask.

All of your answers? Don't look so much at what you decided, but rather ask yourself why you decided them.

In other words, what in you does not want to call any or all of those items stealing?

Because I think if you can let God help you figure that out, you're several leaps away from feeding a destructive beast called "entitlement" in your life and one step closer to becoming an empathetic, generous Christ-follower.

Sometimes the question isn't what we think...

but why we choose to think it...

and the voluntary blindfold we can wear.

Do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (Ephesians 4:27-28)

leftovers: harry potter

Yesterday I shared a message that used the Harry Potter craze as a metaphor and reference point for the Big Picture of God. On that note (and in light of the news events referenced below), this is a pretty amazing passage...

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people.

The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

- Acts 11:19-26

A little background... according to the common understanding of their faith, the Jews didn’t associate themselves with any non-Jews. This crept into the early church, and for a while they struggled with who they were supposed to reach out to.

So picture this if you can– there was a time when it seemed as though Jesus just came to give a message to the Jews and only the Jews.

This line of thinking isn’t just a first century ideal, though… just this past Tuesday Pope Benedict of the Catholic Church issued a statement that asserts that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true church and that anything else is not a true denomination.


In other words, non-Catholics are not the proper church.


Well... not trying to argue with the Pope (especially if you're Catholic), but... um... John 1:12:

Yet to all who received [Jesus], to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

Apparently, God is into building bridges and He did just that as Jesus Christ. Maybe that’s why when the church decided to reach for people who it normally avoided the culture called them Christians or little Christs.


Because the image of God shows up in the most unexpected places and it often requires us to look beneath the surface... even in groups of people who are into things that we don't get.

Maybe because it can be hard to track our growth in Jesus Christ… and so we sometimes make up some rules to make us feel better that we’re not like “those people” over there. So we train each other that there are people we’re supposed to stay away from – and we build fences instead of bridges.


Which is why Jesus Christ totally messes with our world as He demonstrates what compassion looks like in real life.


It would have been shocking for people in the first century to do what Jesus did, not to mention His followers. It would be like Osama Bin Laden sending George Bush a birthday card... or LeBron James stopping his game to bring a drink of Gatorade over to Shaquille O’Neill... and so on.

Restoration of the world and people to their original image can come from the most unlikely sources... including us. If we are originally made in the image of God, then each one of us have a value beneath the surface. We need to look for this in others instead of quickly jumping to an “us” versus “them” mentality.


For instance, why are some families so into a book like Harry Potter? Maybe because it gives them something to talk about. Maybe because this book (like other epics and movies) gives a broken glimpse to the fact that we are a part of a great story.


Author J.K. Rowling put it this way about the "source" of her stuff...

''Yes, I am [a Christian]. Which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books.”

Then again... a lot of people say they're Christians these days and aren't. Maybe the difference is when things happen like they did in Antioch... and the world can't help but recognize when we're like Jesus Christ.


If we are originally made in the image of God, then it stands to reason that whatever stories we get swept up into it is because deep down we know there is more to us than we’re even in tune with. It’s why boys often pretend to be superheroes or knights… why girls often pretend to be princesses. We are looking for ways to reconnect with our Creator and our God-given image without even knowing it... even through broken pathways.


Aren’t you glad that God didn’t ban us from Him? Instead He chose to use a broken opportunity to bring healing. I don’t believe God has called us to ban Hollywood or other things in this world in as much as He desires us to point to Him through the language of lost people.


Make no mistake – God has called us to be separate... but He hasn’t called us to stop building bridges in any way we can.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6)

leftovers: remembering...

Sharing with you what I shared when our church gathered today... may this be nothing about personal politics and instead inspiration to pray for those who serve us and protect the freedom we take for granted.

leftovers: raising the bar in your family

Hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day - whether you've actually given birth or are the offspring of someone who has.

Admittedly, Mother's Day is one of those days when a lot of moms get a sense of their worth from the gifts they do or do not receive. Maybe you're a mom and buy into this, or perhaps this isn't true of you but something else in your life is. Isn't it odd how simple things like positive feedback or the absence of a phone call can cause us to feel all sorts of insecurities, no matter who you are or what your situation in life is?

Yesterday when our church gathered we looked at the situation in Genesis 31 when Rachel, one of Jacob's wives, steals her father's "household gods." Tracking back a couple of chapters, we see in Genesis 29 and 30 how she and her sister Leah tried to be the one Jacob loved more... simply by giving birth to the most kids. Even further back, we looked at Genesis 2-3 and how this kind of stuff is simply the product of people looking for their security in something other than God.

Good stuff, right? Except due to a whole lot of factors happening in the room, not to mention stuff that had occurred the week leading up to Sunday, I felt way out of groove with my message. Consequently, I left out some key points I'd hope to hit, including this little joke:

A census taker went up to the door of a home and a woman answered. "How many children do you have?" he asked.

"Four," the woman replied.

The census taker wrote that down and asked, "May I have their names, please?"

The woman answered, "Eenee, Meenee, Minee and George."

That seemed a bit curious to the census taker, so he asked, "Okay, that's fine. But may I ask why you named your fourth child George?"

The woman answered, "Because we didn't want any Moe."

Just a joke... no big loss. But then there were those other points I missed or felt all over the map on.

So here's the irony... I spent the day kicking myself for being out of sync on a message that was to remind us to be sure we get our worth in Christ and not in our accomplishments or even what our family things of us. Imagine that.


Two weeks ago I spoke on how we need to raise the bar in the workplace... and then all of sudden I had to deal with many, many, many issues related to our working relationship with people around town.


Last week I spoke about raising the bar in our finances, and we faced financial increases with our rent, low tithing, and some expenses in my own family.


Yesterday I hit on how we raise the bar in our family and how our sense of worth can affect the whole family at large... and then this.


So if the trend is that God makes me deal with whatever I preach on, I think this Sunday I'll be talking about how we all need five million dollars to arrive anonymously in he mail, be given classic DeLorean cars to drive, have a Gino's East pizza place move next door, and win a winter home in Hawaii.

leftovers: the super hero

This isn't really a leftover... rather, it's something I did end up sharing this morning that I wanted to share with you. It's one of my favorite videos I've put together over the years because it reminds me who my superhero really is.

And just to be clear... it isn't superman.

leftovers: the unexpected hero

Yesterday we looked through David's part of God's Story, including the Palm Sunday chapter of Jesus' time on earth. Finally, we ended at the cross and the purpose behind Jesus quoting the first line of Psalm 22 as a way to show us the unexpected way He became our hero.



As a bridge between the two, we took a look at the Rocky movie franchise and how we are drawn to this idea of someone like us who gets the chance to stand toe-to-toe with destiny and go the distance after putting everything on the line in a forward direction. Maybe we identify with it because every one of us has a God-given potential to become a significant part of history and eternity. We know this deep down inside, which is why when we feel we’ve been denied an opportunity in that area it is frustrating and keeps us up late at night.

I showed this video in our service yesterday after emailing the guy who put it on YouTube and asking for a copy for our church. His comment? "That's an odd church group you must have there." Yes... yes we are!



We are all a "million to one shot" - and yet if we realize who we really are created to be and keep plugging away toward our true identity we just might become one of God’s unexpected heroes in a world that has lost its way. When that legitimate need to cannot be met in a legitimate way, we begin to try to meet it in an illegitimate way. Instead of following God’s plan, we become deviant… sinful. One compromise here… then another… then another…

And so we end up in places we don’t want to end up…

• We end up expressing our anger in a way that has ripples.
  
  
• We end up seeking affection in a way that is half-empty.
  
  
• We end up on a psychiatrist’s couch in a way that is lost.
  
  
• We end up in legal issues in a way that is ironic.

Our true, God-given humanity is blurred when we have no mission bigger than ourselves and God-driven (see Ephesians 2:10).

What is your mission this week?

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

leftovers: the tragic hero

Sometimes it helps to see one of the slices of God's story through fresh eyes. In this case, the tragic hero Samson comes to life through some classic friends. I liked this representation I found on the web, but thought a few of the pics might have distracted us from the flow of the story. In any event, enjoy.

The Tragic Hero: Samson
(Judges 13-16)

Story Summary:

Samson's mom heard from an angel of the Lord
that she was to raise her son a certain way -
to set him apart for God....

Unfortunately, Samson had a weakness for women
and took for himself a foreign wife... because she was hot.

Most of the people knew him for his day job, though,
fighting and battling the evil Turtlestines who took over
his homeland. Samson used his God-given super
strength to defeat them on a regular basis.

Frustrated, a leader of the Turtlstines hired a gal named Delilah
to seduce Samson and discover the secret of his strength.


After many failed attempts, she tried whining... and it worked.
Samson traded his special thing with God to have a special
fling with a woman... and the Lord left him.

While he slept, Samson got a buzz cut.

Waking up to see his Michael Landon locks on
the cutting room floor, the mighty Samson realized
the Lord had left Him because of his choice.
Suddenly weak, he was quickly defeated.

A little later he called on the Lord for one last
burst of strength... and the temple of a false
God came down destroying everyone in it.

Only I don't have a picture of toys for that.

leftovers: the action hero

I'm starting a new thread... one that you can track each week if you'd like. At least, as often as I speak in a church service (which is 6 weeks on and 1 week off - that whole rhythm of Sabbath works in more ways than one). In any event, there are often cool stories, quotes, or ideas for my my messages that I don't get to or put in because of time or context.

"Leftovers," if you will.

In the case below, I liked the illustration since we spoke about "The Action Hero" today and the things that move us to bring change to our world. While the story makes a humorous point about how the world tends to work, something about it didn't gel with me as I prayed over its appropriateness. So I kept it out... for whatever reason.

But this blog is no-holds barred, so enjoy.

---------------------------

A man named George was going up to bed when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?" and he said no. Then they said that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available.

George said, "Okay," hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now cause I shot them all." Then he hung up.

Within five minutes three police cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up at George's residence. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, "I thought you said that you'd shot them!"

George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"