The risk is worth the reward

This morning my oldest daughter and several of her classmates left for a mission trip to Senegal, which is a small country on the west African coast. Their mission is to take care of the poor, share the gospel, dig water wells, and and be a blessing to the full time missionaries that live there in Senegal.

I am so glad she has this opportunity. Early in life she is putting her comfort and convenience on the shelf in order to take Jesus at His word:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done." Matthew 16:24-27 NIV

Recently, Felix Baumgartner, a thrill seeking daredevil, broke the record for the highest free fall ever. Through some sort of balloon contraption, he went 28 miles upwards into the stratosphere of the earth. He then jumped and free fell for over 4 minutes traveling at times at a speed up to 729 miles. He broke the sound barrier. You can watch his entire fall as it happened.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOk7MO99ETI

Risk is doing something in spite of the possibility of suffering and harm. Felix Baumgartner obviously felt that the risk was worth the reward of his thrill and fame of his world record jump. My question is: what did he feel right before he jumped? Was he like a kid on the high dive who had worked up the courage to jump only to find himself climbing back down the ladder, did he think to himself; "how can I get down from here and call this off"?

But he jumped. He faced his fears and he jumped. My daughter has faced her fears along with her classmates and answered Jesus' call into unknown territory.

The major enemy of following Jesus into the unknown is fear. Fear is a funny thing. It can either paralyze you or it can motivate you. There are many recorded instances where people were able to perform superhuman feats because of fear. For example, people have picked up cars that were turned over to rescue a loved one trapped inside. However, we all know too well the paralyzing power of fear.

Spiders are amazing little creatures. Their method of killing their prey is to bite and inject venom that renders their prey paralyzed. Then, they save them for a later meal. Fear does the same thing to our spiritual lives. It bites us and renders us paralyzed. You will not follow God into the unknown if fear dominates your faith.

Your fear will tell you where you are not walking in faith. In his book If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat, John Ortberg asks, “What is it that produces fear in me—especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith?” Ortberg does a great job of teaching on what it means to step out in faith by using the story of Peter getting out of the boat and walking on water with Jesus (Matthew 14:25-32). Ortberg equates the boat the disciples were in with this: Whatever represents safety and security to you apart from God himself…Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don’t want to give it up even if it is keeping you from joining Jesus on the waves. Your boat is whatever pulls you away from the high adventure of extreme discipleship…What is your boat? In what area of your life are you shrinking back from fully and courageously trusting God? Fear will tell you what your boat is.

Like the kids in this picture, I imagine there is some fear and uneasiness associated with whatever it is that God is calling you to, and that is to be expected. My challenge for you is to fight those fears with faith in God’s promises. The risk is worth the reward!

PS. Do not let the stuffed animals fool you. These kids are tough!

The upside of guilt

Perspective is everything...

Most people are guilt ridden. We do not know what to do with it. So we try to cover it up with religion or self improvement. Maybe you are dealing with guilt over your past or maybe even guilt about something in the present.

If you are a Christ follower, think for a moment about the things that you have felt guilt over or are feeling guilt over right now...Bad choices, selfishness, addictions, pornography, adultery, lust, lying, cheating, angry outbursts....etc etc...

Not fun or pleasant to look at those old home movies...

But think about it for a minute. Your sin and your guilt brought you to Jesus. If there is no sin or guilt then there is no need for a Savior. However, the realization of guilt brought you to the feet of the only true merciful Savior. In the present tense guilt does the same. Guilt brings me closer to Jesus if I cooperate with it.

Do the math....

Jesus loves sinners. Jesus died for sinners. Because I am a guilty sinner Jesus loves me and died for me.


"When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son." (Romans 5:6-10 NLT)

Our good deeds, our righteousness, cannot add to the righteousness of Christ. Our goodness can never add to His finished work on the cross and His resurrection from the dead that put an end to sin and death for the believer. However, it is equally important to remember that my sin does not take away from His righteousness and finished work either!

The Church Reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter to a fellow minister:

    "If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but 
   the true mercy.  If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the 
    true, not an imaginary sin.  God does not save those who are only 
    imaginary sinners.  Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let 
    your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the 
    victor over sin, death, and the world.  We will commit sins while we 
    are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides.  We, 
    however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new 
    heaven and a new earth where justice will reign.  It suffices that 
    through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the 
    sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to 
    kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day.  Do you think 
    such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager 
    sacrifice for our sins?..."     

Luther is not encouraging us to sin, but to recognize the enormity of the gospel and the greatness of Christ. He is encouraging us to be more focused on Jesus and His finished work than on our failures. Let your failures drive you closer to the Savior. The more you recognize your need of Him the closer to Him you will be. That is the upside of guilt.

Luther concluded his letter to the minister tongue and cheek:

"Pray hard for you are quite a sinner."   
    
If you are not a Christ follower what are you going to do with your guilt?

Self help? Self improvement? Self atonement? Self righteousness?

Has that ever really worked?

My encouragement is for you to turn your life and guilt over to the One who gave His life for yours. He promises forgiveness and eternal life to those who trust Him.



“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 NLT


He died for sinners. Will you admit that you are a sinner and that He is the Savior and come to Him today?

Existing or living?

None of us know how long we have on this earth. None of us control when our time is up, But we do have a say in how we use the time we have been given. We have a say in how we choose to live. Let's then ask ourselves: Am I living the life God intended for me, or am I just existing and going through the motions? Am I living for my self or something or Someone greater? Where would I have regret if this were my last day on earth? What am I going to do today to stop existing and start living? Real life, real living is found in knowing the One who created me and redeemed me. Find it in Him today.
"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." 1 John 5:11-12 NIV

Check out this short video on finding life...

http://www.juststopandthink.com/stopthink-the-movie/

Moving from "want to" to "will do"

Psalm 101
I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life —
when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
³ I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it.
⁴ The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

 ⁵ Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.
 ⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.
 ⁷ No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
⁸ Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the Lord. NIV

The first thing I noticed as I read this Psalm was David's resolve. Ten times he uses the phrase "I will." Saying "I will" is resolve to actually do something not just talk about it, or a wish for something to happen.

If your like me, there is much you would like to see change in your life and in your heart. You realize that you are not living the full life that God intended for you. You catch yourself saying "I want to change" or "I wish I could change", but find yourself stuck in the habits and hangups.

People change because of inspiration or desperation. Most of the time it takes desperation for real change to take place. Desperate people move from “want to” to “will do.”

Eric LeGrand was a football player for Rutgers University. He was paralyzed while making a tackle last season. He has been told he will never walk again. As he received the ESPN ESPY award for courage he said he was desperate to walk again. He did not say he "wanted" to walk again, he said "I will walk again."

(Click here to read more about Eric LeGrand) http://goo.gl/R9gP6

Do I really want to change? If so, I need repentance to become a way of life. Repentance is when I was going in one direction, turn around and go in a new one. Repentance both a one time experience when I put my faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes to live in me. I turn from sin and self and turn to Christ. However it is on ongoing experience as well. It is daily praying as David prayed:

 

 

Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. NIV

Psalm 51:10,17
Create in me a new, clean heart, O God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires…It is a broken spirit you want-remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore. TLB

 

Its moving from want to, to will do. Will you resolve with me?

Today through the power of the gospel and the Holy Spirit...

I will stop making excuses and blaming others for what is wrong and I will take responsibility for my life. (Psalm 51:3-6)

I will stop justifying my sin and I will call out to God and affirm my hope in the gospel. (Psalm 51:1-2)

I will stop looking to other sources for direction and I will take God at His word. (Psalm 119:6)

I will stop worrying about things that are out of my control and I will bring every thought under the Lordship of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

I will stop letting discouragement rule my emotions and I will bring my emotions under the Lordship of Christ. (1 Samuel 30:6, Proverbs 4:23)

I will stop letting selfishness run my life & I will use my life to serve others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

I will stop trying to please everyone & I will find my worth in Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

I will not let bitterness and un-forgiveness rule my heart. I will forgive as Christ forgave me. (Hebrews 12:15, Colossians 3:13)

I will stop cowering down to fear and I will remind myself that God is my defender and my strength in whom shall I fear. (Romans 8:31, Psalm 27)

I will stop apathetic in my relationship with God and with others. I will make it the priority of my life.

Lessons from the garden

Suppose you could change anything about yourself. Where would you start? Most people would start with things on the outside. They would be skinnier, taller, have different hair, or teeth. Their main concern would be on their appearance. I recently read a statistic that there is over $10 billion dollars a year spent on plastic surgery in the US alone. People will do anything to try and feel better about themselves.




Anyone who has ever tried to change their outward appearance and get physically fit knows that it is hard work. Ask those who actually had success at the P90X! As hard as it is to change outwardly it might be harder to change inwardly, which according to God is more important:




"...The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV




The bad news is we can't change!




Can you ever change and do what’s right? Can people change the color of their skin, or can a leopard remove its spots? If so, then maybe you can change and learn to do right. Jeremiah 13:23 CEV




The good news is we can be changed.




“Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God." John 3:6 CEV




Change is internal:

Recently my daughter planted her first garden. She prepared the soil then planted some seeds. Carrots, beans, and a raspberry bush.


Change began to happen underground. We could not see it happen, but the seed began to grow. Change for us happens first and foremost when we put faith in Jesus. It is the seed that begins to grow inside of us through the power of the Spirit.


“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. Titus 3:4-8 NLT




Change is intentional:

After my daughter planted the seeds she both fertilized and watered those seeds. If we are to really change we need to make a choice to cooperate with God to change. How do we do that? How do we water and fertilize the seed if you will?

Peter teaches us how:




“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:3-8 NIV


Change is gradual:

When we become Christians we should not look for perfection but look for growth.




What should I be looking for to know whether I am growing and changing or not? The fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25
Godward fruit...love, joy, and peace
Outward fruit...patience, kindness, and goodness
Inward fruit...faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control



Author John Ortberg teaches us to ask yourself the following questions:


Am I growing more easily discouraged these days?

Am I growing more easily irritated these days?

These are great indicators of what is going inside of our hearts.




Change is inevitable:

If I am a Christ follower and if I am abiding in Christ change will happen. I will bear fruit. Jesus said:




"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” John 15:1-4 NIV




As of today the beans and carrots are growing. We are looking forward to harvesting our little crop. The raspberry bush produced one little raspberry as well.




My prayer for all of us is that we through the power of the Spirit and the promise of the word would change and and become the people God intended us to be.




http://novationchurch.org/our-current-sermon-series/

More is less or less is more, more or less

I am in my 20th year of following Jesus and every year my faith seems to get simpler. The longer I walk with Christ the more I realize how simple Jesus made it for us. I guess what I am trying to say is the more I know about God, Scripture, and theology the more I realize I do not know.

I remember taking a philosophy class where the instructor shared an illustration about the point I am making. He drew a small dot on the white board and said: "this person has this much knowledge and thinks he knows everything." Then he proceeded to draw a large circle around the the small dot and said: "this person has this much more knowledge and because of their knowledge they realize how much they really do not know."

Karl Barth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Barth) was a brilliant theologian from last century. He authored many deep and profound books that are read in most college and seminaries. He was asked once to sum up his theology in a short sentence and he said: "Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so." This man who knew the deep things of God and Scripture, realized the more he knew the less he really knew

I by no means am claiming to be Karl Barth or to be someone who you would say was the big circle on the white board, but I have been journeying with Jesus for a while and the longer I do the simpler it gets.

Often, we get stuck on the unanswerable questions about God and life. For example, the question of pain and suffering tends to be one of the biggest obstacles for people in believing in a loving all powerful God. Why does God not step in and fix everything? (if your interested in knowing more about this particular question we did a message at church on this recently. www.novationchurch.org/media/

Why? Why? Why? We ask. But God does not ask us to answer the unanswerable questions of life. I am not saying that we should never wrestle with questions, but their is a limit to how far we will get in our understanding because we our limited in our capacity to understand. Sometimes we just have to say "I don't know".

When you read Scripture you will not find God asking you to answer unanswerable questions, but you will find Jesus in the Gospels asking you to answer two questions. How you and I respond to his questions determine how we will live now and where we will spend eternity.

Question #1 Who do you say I am?

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Matthew 16:13-15

Question #2 Will you follow me?

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Matthew 16:24

If Jesus is who he says he is, then why would I not follow him? Why would anyone not follow him?

Jesus claimed to be God. He claimed to be the only way to find God. He claimed to be the truth. He claimed to be the one who created us. He claimed to be the one who could give our lives significance. He claimed to be the purpose of life. He claimed to forgive sins. He claimed that by believing in him he would give us eternal life. He overcome death, the devil, and hell. He did amazing miracles. He died for us. He rose from the grave. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The list could go on and on!

Peter summarized the list in one simple statement when he answered Jesus' question: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Matthew 16:16

If we agree with Peter, then the only right response is to follow him. Over twenty times in the Gospels Jesus asked people to follow him. That is still what he asks today. WILL YOU FOLLOW ME? Following Jesus today means he is the leader of our lives. He calls the shots. We allow him to shape our lives. His practices and priorities become the priorities and practices of our lives. We learn how to live from him.

Less is more. The less I try to figure everything out and learn to keep answering the questions Jesus asked me to answer, the more I will get to know him. The more I will get to know myself and his purpose for me. The more he can use me to help others find him.

A simple prayer by Martin Luther

Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in the faith; strengthen me. I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.    In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have. I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; you are upright. With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness. Therefore I will will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen.