Category: God

A Modern Day Parable

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She grew up not far from the botanical garden. She would walk by almost everyday, peering through the wrought iron fence supported by beautiful brick columns. She would think to herself, one day I would love to work there.

29949_closeup_of_lily_flower

As she grew older she fell in love with art. She would spend hours sketching, drawing and painting in the botanical garden. Each season brought new beauty and new color. It was as if every changing of the seasons unveiled a new and glorious world never before seen. Still, she longed for the day she could work there.

Finally the day came. She put in her application and because she had spent so much time there, the director knew who she was. Just by listening to her talk he knew she loved this place. He knew she would be committed to keeping it beautiful. So he felt very confident, that even though she had never had a job, she would work very hard to keep the place she loved beautiful. Her face lit up when he peered over his desk and said, you begin tomorrow. I will see you at 6 am. The next morning she awoke to the alarm on her phone at 4:30. No way would she be late for her first day; Her first new day at the place she loved.

She got ready, ate breakfast and packed her lunch. She headed out the door to simply go and do what she loved. As she got out of her car a sense of satisfaction came over her. This was the very thing she was made for. She walked along the dark grey, crushed, gravel path leading to the maintenance shed to meet her coworkers, and get her instructions for the day. She was so glad to be a part of this team. To be a part of something bigger than herself. To be able to make a difference in the world. To bring beauty and enjoyment to people, especially little girls who like her had a deep sense of wonder for this place. The flowers, majestic. The grass, perfectly cut. The animals, at peace in nature. All she could see was the beauty of the place she loved.

Her supervisor said, I would like you to pick up trash. Keeping the park clean and litter free was one of the most important jobs she felt she could do. She hurried out with her thick, black, plastic trash bag and long spiked pole. So the day began picking up trash. The day was amazing. She got to work in the place she loved and keep the park beautiful and clean just as others had always done for her. Her favorite part of every day was dawn. The very moment, the sun would peek over the edge of the horizon and sunlight would glimmer over the fresh morning dew. So everyday she came to work surrounded by beauty and fully believing this was the reason she existed.

So years went by and the love never seemed to fade. Then one day, she got to work and stepped out of the car as she had done for years. But today was different. Oh, she didn’t know it was different, but it was. As she shut her car door, she saw a candy wrapper right at the edge of the dark grey, crushed, gravel path. The same path she had walked for years. Then she saw an empty bottle and an event flyer ushered in by the wind. What was so different about today? After all, picking up trash and keeping the park clean had been the most significant part of her job. Today was different though because today, for the first time, she failed to see the beauty she was surrounded by because trash had become her focus. The litter she had worked so hard to keep clean was now the only thing she could see.

Friends, today is a new day, a precious gift. A day of resurrection. A day new life is bursting forth all around you. Today, don’t become so focused on all that is wrong with world that you fail to see the beauty of this day. Life is a miracle, each and every breath you take. Each and every moment you have with the people you love. Don’t miss today, you don’t get it back.
HE IS RISEN!

FINDING HOPE IN THE MIDST OF DESPAIR

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This has been a really difficult week.  A CHS student made the decision to end his life.  Knowing a young man chose to end his life is excruciating.  Even worse, is that I knew him.  So it has been a very difficult week.  Talking with students who have so many questions and ministry opportunities that have opened.  Tonight was one of those.  In fact it was a first in my ten years of ministry.

hope

I have never had a group of students, with no connection to our church and not invited by a friend, who just showed up.  Four guys, just randomly picked our church, walked up and said, “is it okay if we start going to church here?”  They had no background in any church.  As I got to talk to the guys one of them was good friends with the student who ended his life.  He was searching for something.  For me that is cool but not the amazing part.

All week I have been debating over whether or not to scrap everything for tonight, message and all and focus on suicide.  Monday, I was going to focus on it.  On Tuesday, I decided to go ahead with the original plan and work suicide into the discussion.  Wednesday, I was thinking the same thing.  One of our parents asked how I was going to handle it tonight?  I told her the plan, but as the day went on I felt I really needed to address it.  So I texted her back and she agreed.  I did not know why, I just felt God wanted me to talked about it.  So at 3:00 I decided to make the change.  I had nothing planned, nothing ready but really felt this is what I needed to do.

When the four guys showed up, I was overwhelmed.  I got to spend some time with the guys but at the end of the night one came up to me and said he was so glad he was here.  He felt like God was speaking to him tonight.  He had to have been, because I could not tell you what I said.

It amazes me how God shows up and works through our life when we simply allow him to be present in our life.  It amazes me how he can take something so unspeakable and use it focus peoples attention on him.

God is at work in our life and the lives of people we come in contact with everyday.  The true question, are we going to have our eyes opened to see him at work?

IRONMAN 70.3 FOCUSING ALONG THE JOURNEY

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Do you ever have a tendency to lose focus?  I do.  It started to become more and more evident during my Ironman training.  One afternoon, I was running by myself, a seven my mile run, very hilly loop in the country.  The first two and half miles include about 350 vertical feet of climbing.  I started out great around an 8:30 pace.  For me it is great and I managed to keep it sub 9-minute miles through the first half of the run.

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The run flattens out nicely for the middle part and finishes off with more climbing.  What was fascinating, was as I was running on the flatter portion of the run, I looked down at my watch and found my pace had gone to around 10:30 a mile for the middle part of the run.  I was not breathing hard.  My heart rate was in the mid 130’s.  I was fine and so I picked my pace back to finish out my run.

So why does it matter?  Do it too often and you aren’t getting better, your just going through the motions to do them.

Is it possible this happens to us from time to time in our walk with Jesus?  We simply lose focus.  Things get easier; we “get the hang of it.”  We start doing things not push our self and grow but simply to do them because we are “suppose to.”

We have to learn to become nearsighted and farsighted at the same time.  I know that makes no sense, but it is important whether you are an athlete, a leader or a follower of Jesus.  I was far sighted.  My mind was set on April 7th.  All I knew was I would step up, well actually swim up, to the starting line of a 70-mile race and if I were not prepared, I would not make it.  A date had become my focus.  The problem was I began just doing all the things needed to get ready for the date, rather than focusing on all of the steps in the journey and getting better along the way.

Toward the end of my training, about 3 weeks away from the race, another swimmer at the pool I train at name Chris put it in perspective for me.  Chris is a great athlete; he is in his mid 50’s probably and has done some amazing endurance events including super marathons and full Ironman’s.  I asked Chris one day what his next big event was going to be.  He looked at me and said, “well I am going to swim the best I can to the other end of the pool and then I am going to swim back.”  I was expecting to hear, I am doing a marathon or an Ironman but his entire focus was on swimming the next 50 yards in the pool.

It occurred to me maybe I had missed the point of my training.  It was not to just do it; it was to get better.  Maybe we do the same in our walk with Jesus.  Focusing so much on the big picture and how the journey ends that we miss out on growing through all the little steps along the way.  The reason we read scripture is not to know the Bible better but to know Christ better.  To understand his will.  To spend time with him simply because you are hungering and thirsting for Him.

God feared this would happen to the Israelites, he feared they would lose focus.

10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

It is amazing how easily we can lose focus as the terrain becomes easier.  It is in the difficult times we cling to the Father, we focus on Him and thirst for Him.   But when things are easier we tend to lose the nearsightedness required to walk with Christ.  It is in the difficult times we focus more on one step at a time.

In the last few weeks we have seen the Boston Marathon bombings, a Fretilizer Plant explosion in West, TX, have good friends who lost a child and others trying to understand the magnitude of a young father suffering with cancer.  It hurts me to see so many others in pain and I rush to say, “God where are you.”  Maybe his response would be the same as it was for Israel.  I am their leading you through this vast dessert.  Notice, God did not take Israel out of the dessert He led them through it.  And there is a huge difference.  He provided for them in the midst of their struggles, but he did not take their struggles away.

This song from Laura Story is such a great reminder of a God who walks with us through the trials…

Blessings

Maybe it is not until God has led us through the pain and heartache of the dessert that we are able to look back and see his finger prints all over canvas of our life.

THE IRONMAN EXPERIENCE – PART 1

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So lots of people have asked me about my experiences from the past weekend at Ironman 70.3 in Galveston.  So I thought I would write a series of blog post about the weekend, the training leading up to the weekend and the things I learned on the journey.

medal

The part that impacted me the most was the ending.  9 months of training, hours upon hours.  In the pool, in the lake, on the road.  In rain, in cold, in wind and some days all three at once.  Pain, injuries, tweaked muscles.  You seem to experience a little of everything when training for something like this.

The weekend was amazing.  If you have never been to an Ironman event I highly recommend the experience, even if just a spectator.  Race day starts early.  4:30 AM breakfast and in the transition area for body marking at 5:30 AM.  Over 2,300 athletes over 2000 volunteers and literally thousands of supports lining the run course, cheering for you and encouraging you to keep moving.

But nothing could have prepared me for what I experienced at mile 13 of the run.  At the mile 13 marker you enter the finish chute to run the last .1 miles to the finish line.  The excitement is unbelievable.  I had tried during my training to visualize the finish, to imagine my name being announced but nothing I dreamed of could have compared to the experience.

At the moment I enter the chute all of the pain seemed to vanish.  It had been a very difficult day, 70.3 miles.  1.2 mile swim.  56 mile bike ride along a very windy coast.  A very hot 13.1 mile half marathon to finish out the day.  Struggles with swimming straight.  A small bike wreck.  Really bad muscle cramps and spasms in the first mile of the run.  But then there was mile 13 and everything I had been through that day to get to that point vanished as thousands of people screamed and yelled for me crossing the finish line.  They place a medal around my neck and give me a finisher hat, which is great, but in know way compares to the experience of crossing the line.

I want to experience it again.  I am hooked to the feeling of crossing the finish line.  It made everything else I experienced on the journey worth it.  So my plan right now is a few months off to do P90X2 to really work on my core and overall strength and then get ready for Ironman 70.3 in Austin, Texas in October.

There are lots of take aways from the finish line experience but the one which stands out the most is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians.

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27

We live for a singular purpose, the purpose of building His kingdom here on earth so that when we cross the finish line the prize is eternal.  In some ways I think it will be much like my mile 13 experience.  I always talk to people who are trying to imagine what it will be like.  I don’t think you can, because I believe the experience will be something so far beyond what we can imagine.  In the race, the finish line was not my focus, it was too far ahead of me most of the time to be my focus.  My focus was simply taking one more stroke in the water.  One more rotation of the pedals on the bike.  One more step on the run.  So if the finish is not the focus, what is our focus then?  Let’s borrow for the Apostle Paul once again.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2

Make Jesus the focus.  Make being more like him the next step of your journey, because at times the finish line can seem so far off.  Our promise though, is that He is never far away.  Focus on Jesus, He is more than enough to sustain you!

THE BEST DATE I NEVER WENT ON – SORT OF…

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Today is my 8th anniversary.  Cami & I met for the first time in June of 2004.  We had a rather awkward first meal together with a family of six, and another single guy at a Chinese buffet.  I can at least say it was memorable.  She was planning on moving to Cleburne to work for a friend (the dad in the family of 6) and handle his accounting.

cami_and_kids

I had been the Youth & Family Minister at Central for a little over a year and had yet to meet anyone in Cleburne I really connected with.  I was discouraged and thinking I needed to find a job at a bigger church with a singles program.  We walked away from lunch that day thinking we would never go out, friends sure, but dating never.  The next time I saw her was July 28th when she was beginning her new job, I remember the date because it was my birthday.

The next week her boss and his wife were heading out of town, she was going to house & baby sit while they were away.  Her boss gave her my number; she got board and gave me a call.  We talked a little and I even went over one evening to hang out with her and the kids.  Later that week we talked on the phone several times, one night for three hours.  The next week, she was getting settled into her house and I decided I wanted to go out on a date.

I had just bought a house and our secretary at the time gave me, as she called it, “a house wetting present.”  A 10 week old black lab puppy I named Kramer.  Knowing no girl in their right mind could resist a puppy, I used Kramer to my advantage.  I called Cami and asked if I could swing by and show her Kramer.  Also, the day before my sister had offered me 2 tickets to see the Rangers and Yankees, second row behind the Rangers dugout.

If you know me, you know I love baseball, especially Rangers baseball.  I said yes and I knew exactly who I was asking, Cami.  After all, I had always told my parents, I will know the girl for me when I ask her what she wants to do and she says, go watch baseball and eat a steak.  So I went to her house, armed with a 10 week old puppy and a pair of tickets to the Rangers game.  It was can’t miss!

So I show up, and trying to get up the nerve to ask her out, and just before I made my move, she says, “My brother-in-law is in town performing in an opera and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me?”  I said sure and she tells me it is the same night as the game.  Oh man, I had to make a choice.  So that night I went home and called my sister to tell her I could not go to the game, I was going to the opera.  Haha  When we hung up the phone she called my dad and said, “I don’t know who he is going to the OPERA with but Gary is going to marry her.”

Now, I love baseball, but I could not tell you what happened between the Rangers and Yankees that night, but I can tell you I went on my first date with my future wife.  We did eat steak that night but no baseball, and I don’t regret it.  The past eight years have been amazing.

We have 3 amazing kids, Gracie who turns 6 this month, Ryan who is 4 and Caleb is 3 months.  We love life, love ministry (most of the time, haha), love our family and church family.  Best of all, I am married to my best friend, a beautiful woman and an amazing mother.  I love you so much Cami and I am so thankful for the past 8 years and look forward to many more to come.

LANCE, TE’O & THE REST OF US – REFLECTIONS FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

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Over the past couple of weeks we have seen some truly, I would say… “interesting?” news.  Last week cycling “great” Lance Armstrong confessed he did in fact use performance enhancing drugs and blood doping in his cancer come back to win an unprecedented 7 Tour De France titles.

The confession came after years of adamantly denying the allegations from many former competitors and teammates.  Even going so far as to take his accusers to court and question their integrity.

Lance_manti

Then we saw a most bizarre story surface.  Manti Te’o, the stand out linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist from Notre Dame came clean on the story of the death of his girlfriend.  If you are somehow unaware of the story, Te’o a senior and team captain allegedly lost both his grandmother and girlfriend during the early part of this season.

The result, a possessed Te’o played the remainder of the season in honor of his grandmother and girlfriend.  It turns out Te’o had never actually met his girlfriend because it was an online relationship.  The problem, he could never meet her because evidently she did not exist, ever.  Te’o apparently was on the losing end of a cruel hoax.

Fair enough, but he sure did not talk about her on national TV as if they had never had met.  The perception I got was one of a long time girlfriend.

In both cases these men, Armstrong more than Te’o misrepresented themselves.  They tried to portray themselves as something they were not.

Funny, we sit back in amazement wondering how they could live such a lie.  Honestly, it is the world we live in.  All of us in some way or another misrepresent ourselves from time to time.  Maybe not to this extent or in the public spotlight, but we do.

It is the reason people live in houses they can’t afford, drive cars they can’t afford and wear clothes they can’t afford.  It is the reason people act differently in different circles.  We want people to look at us favorably.  It is all about perception.  We create the perception we want people to have of us because we want to be seen (it might be helpful to read my first blog on this, Motives Matter).

Jesus warns these disciples gathered around him on a mountainside, BE CAREFUL.  Be careful not to do things to be seen by others.  Specifically, in chapter 6:1-18 be careful not to give, pray and fast to be seen.  When you do, you are portraying a relationship with God which does not exist.  Why does it not exist?  Because, you are more concerned about what others think of you than what God thinks.  Be careful!

So why the warning?  Maybe it is simple, if you misrepresent who you are, it will eventually catch up with you.  Eventually, it will all come out, ask Manti, ask Lance.  When you misrepresent yourself, you deceive people.  However the bigger problem, when you misrepresent yourself spiritually, you ultimately deceive yourself.  You fool yourself into thinking you have a right relationship with God and eventually it will catch up to you.  Jesus, goes on in Matthew 7 to remind us of this several times.

In chapter 6 Jesus tells us the “hypocrites” love to do these righteous acts in the synagogue and on the street corners to be seen by people.  Is it possible Social Media is the street corner we all stand on today?  With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other outlets we have complete control of how we want people to see us.  It is easy to misrepresent our self and deceive others into thinking we are something we are not.  Be careful Jesus would say, because you may just deceive yourself.

Think how much time and energy and money in our society is put into worrying about what others think.  Jesus was confronting a Pharisaical system which was overly concerned with other perception.  Maybe not much has changed.  Maybe it is why we struggle so greatly with confession.  We don’t want people to know who we really are because we are terrified of what they might think.  What if they found out about our struggles with anger?  With alcohol?  With pornography?  With cheating?  With lying?

The righteousness Jesus describes in chapter 5 is not rooted in “look how good I am,” but in a humbled spirit “I know who I am,” and it is far from righteous.  Maybe deep down, to hunger and thirsting for righteousness is a passionate plea to seek Him rather than others opinions.  Simply put, love God, love others because you can control that,  Don’t spend countless hours worried about what others think because you can’t control that, so stop trying to control it by convincing everyone you are something you are not.

MOTIVES MATTER – REFLECTIONS FROM THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

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Growing up baseball was a huge part of my life.  I began playing at the age of 4.  I played in High School and even had the opportunity to play in college.  In High School and College the biggest desire, other than winning, is to be seen.  In high school you want to be seen by a college or pro scout.  Once in college you want to be seen by a pro scout.  Deep inside of most athletes is the desire to be able to perform at the next level.  So when someone notices your ability it is amazing.  Personally, for me, one of the most exciting days was when Coach Fullerton passed along a letter to me from a Chicago White Sox scout.

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It was the first one I received and there was an incredible moment when I realized, someone was watching me.  I began to carry myself differently.  My mindset changed instantly.  I had so much more confidence.

We all have within us a desire to be noticed, to stand out, to be seen.  It is why we spend so much time changing clothes, asking how we look, trying to cover up our imperfections.  We want to be noticed for our looks, our clothes, our athletic ability, our intelligence, our music ability, our leadership, our planning ability, our preaching.  We all want to be noticed.  Even those who are behind the scenes, who would never want to be out front, I believe, want people to take notice of how well they do what they do.  And now with the reach of the internet, through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Instangram, ect. our world revolves around the ability to let people see what we want them to see about us.  Have you seen the new State Farm Commercial?

We have the ability to control other people’s perception of us.  And honestly we love it that way.  Jesus talks about a new righteousness in chapter 5 of Matthew and leads into chapter 6 with a warning.  Be careful not to do acts of righteousness for the purpose of standing out, of being seen, because if you do the only reward you will get will be from the people who praise you for your piety.

Jesus knows us so well.  He understands our nature will be to seek praise for what we do.  If we give, there will be a tendency for us to want people to see how generous we are, or at least how generous we want them to think we are.  If we pray, we will want people to be impressed by the depth of our relationship with Christ.  If we fast, for all to know we are fasting, so they can be impressed by our devotion.  So Jesus says, BE CAREFUL!  This is a dangerous trap.

Jesus tells the first followers, be careful because Your MOTIVES MATTER!  You can say it like this…

WHY you do, WHAT you do, is just as important as what you are doing.  

But why?

The focus of these and other disciplines is to grow closer to Christ.  Period!  If you are doing it to be seen you are merely pretending.  Interestingly enough the word Jesus uses throughout this section, “hypocrite” was not a word that was made up just for the Bible; as in someone who says one thing but really does another.  Hypocrite was actually a secular Greek word that was used in the theater.  In theater a hypocrite was an actor who wears a mask.  So anyone on stage wearing a mask was a hypocrite.  So Jesus uses this word to describe a person who gives, prays or fasts for the purpose of being seen.  He says, if you are just giving so others see how spiritual you are, you are an actor, wearing a mask pretending to be someone else.  There is a danger in fooling others but there is an immense danger that you would fool yourself, that you would deceive yourself and think you are something you are not.

This deception causes two problems.  Some might see you and feel they could never be as close to God as you are, when in fact you’re not that close.  Secondly, it creates a false sense of security.  It becomes easy to look at others and say things like…

Luke 18:11-12 NIV
‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

Jesus is merely reminding his followers, you are not saved because of what you gave, how you prayed or how often you fasted.  You are saved by grace.  Stop deceiving others and yourself, making them think you are saved by your own works.  Life in Christ is not about being perfect, it is about realizing you are not perfect and are desperately in need of a savior!

STAY WITHIN THE LINES

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As I have been working through the Sermon on the Mount, I have been trying to step back and look at the bigger picture.  It is easy to dissect and magnify words and phrases to the point we fail to step back and look at the whole and connections between different sections.  Before reading the remained of this post, it would be helpful to first read ERASING THE LINES OF RELIGIOUS(osity) – SERMON ON THE MOUNT to get a little more perspective on where this post is coming from.  It is kind of a part two, sort of…

diagonal lines

So there was Ryan touching the hot plate he was told not to touch; which I am quite sure each of you has done the same at one time or another.  The very next week there I was, Ryan’s dad, listening to the waitress at Barrera’s say, “the plate is extremely hot, don’t touch it,” as she sat my fish tacos right in front of me.  And of course I touched it.  Not real sure why we do this?  Do we not believe them?  Wanting to see their definition of hot?  Why?

I think the bottom line is, there is a line which has been drawn.  A don’t do this line!  Lines create tension.  Lines ALWAYS (I think) create tension.  Don’t believe me.  Go on YouTube and search Black Friday line jumpers (careful with the language).  Want to see serious tension, cut in line on Black Friday.  Or for a kindergartner trying to learn to color, there is a tension to try to stay inside the lines.

Some lines are visible.  Others invisible.

Don’t touch me or I will _____________!  A line?  Of course.

If you’re a Cowboys fan, you know there is a constant tension for the offensive lineman to control the line of scrimmage and maybe more difficult to stay on the correct side of the line prior to the snap.  Lines create tension because lines create rigidity, boundaries and structure.

Lines create an internal tension.  I can’t do this.  I can do this.  I can touch this.  I cannot look at that.  I can say this but not that.  However, lines can also create external tension.  You can’t do this.  You can’t go there.  This is ok, but not that.

When it comes to religion, there is a tendency for the lines to become even more entrenched because it is something  so important to people.  There is the internal struggle to stay within the lines, as well as the external struggle as to how others have defined the lines and their desire to impose the lines on everyone else.

Matthew 5:21-48 NIV is spoken within the context of a religious system, controlled by the Pharisees and Sadducees ,who were masters at imposing lines and boundaries on others.  Jesus is not drawing new and more difficult lines.  He is introducing a new righteousness, not one built on a system of lines but one dependent on grace.

It is the good news, it is the gospel.

It is hope for those who get angry, for those who lust, those who are divorced, those who break their word, those who seek revenge, and those who struggle to love their enemies.  But why is it hope, when we know we will fail at most of these from time to time?

Because the message is no one will ever measure up to the lines which have been created, so stop trying to.  The new righteousness Jesus is announcing comes from a heart expecting to be transformed by Jesus.  A heart seeking his heart, rather than trying to measure up to the lines.  It is not the lines that are important; it is the condition of our heart.

Maybe we ask the wrong questions?  Where is the line?  How close can I get to the line without going over?  Where there is a line there is tension.

What constitutes anger?

What is meant by “except for marital unfaithfulness.”

As you know people can get very passionate about these lines.

Is it possible Jesus is saying to these first followers, the religious leaders look great.  They follow the laws, sort of, but they are not really righteous; their hearts are messed up.  There worth and value is found in how well they measure up to, or at least look like they measure up to the lines.  Yes they haven’t killed anyone, but they have still allowed their anger to get out of control.  Instead, maybe our focus needs to be, how is this affecting my heart?

Jesus finishes this section with this statement…

Matthew 5:48 NIV

Yes we strive to be like Jesus, but we realize we are perfected by Him, because we will never perfectly measure up to the lines.  So who this is righteous, because unless your righteousness surpassing the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven?

Matthew 5:3-12 NIV
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

IMMANUEL – “GOD WITH US” – EVEN IN THE MIDST OF TRAGEDY

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Following tragic events, like the senseless assault on a Connecticut Elementary School last Friday, the question which always seems to arise is where was God in the midst of this tragedy?  How could God allow this to happen?

nativity-set

When I heard the first news of the shooting on Friday, I was on a field trip with my daughter’s school.  I was part of a group of approximately 60 kindergartners watching the Polar Express at the Omni.  As the movie concluded, I glanced down at my phone and noticed news alerts beginning to pop up on my phone.

Sitting there in the midst of what seemed to me like chaos, I watched these innocent children interacting with each other.  Laughing, talking, and sharing without a care in the world.  Wow!  Purely innocent children.  My daughter and I went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch on the way home.  As she played on the playground I searched for details.  As the story unfolded, it was amazing just how meaningful my day with my daughter had become.

Over the past several days, I have spent time reflecting and asking the question of why.  Then, while driving home one evening, my attention was drawn to a manger.  My attention was drawn to the birth of Christ.  In that moment, Hebrews 4:15 began to take on a new meaning for me…

Hebrews 4:15 NIV
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.

We have a God who did not spare Jesus the heartache and chaos which we experience.  He did not send Him into a comfortable palace to sit on a throne.  He sent Him into a world ruled by a tyrant sitting on a throne, into a world of a King fighting for more power and control.  Following Herod’s failed attempt to have the Magi deliver the baby who would threaten his kingdom, Herod took matters into his own hands.

Matthew 2:16 NIV
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

The question arises, how could God stand by and do nothing.  But, here is the thing, he did do something, He sent his son into the midst of our chaos and suffering.  He sent Jesus into a world where power was so important to a man, he would have thousands upon thousands of babies killed, to preserve his desires.  Where was God, He was in the midst of our pain, our suffering and our grief.  God never promises to pull us out of the suffering but he does promise to walk through it with us.  He asks his followers to be his light in this darkness.

This Christmas, as you see the scene of the manger unfolded, in yards throughout our communities, may we not forget, God is truly with us.  He is here in the midst of our despair.  The manger was an announcement of hope, to a world and a people void of hope.  The manger was an announcement to the world,

Matthew 1:23 NIV
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”

So how is God with us today?  Through the lives of people all around us, who are bringing light into the midst of darkness; who are bringing hope in the midst of despair.   So where have I seen God in the midst of this tragedy?  With teachers, who’s love for their students was greater than the love they had for themselves.  Through Robbie Parker, who lost his precious daughter, and yet someone showed graced to the family of the killer.  Through Monsignor Weiss, sitting with and comforting a grieving community.  Through the people of Newtown who are walking along each other through unspeakable circumstances.

Immanuel – God with Us

ERASING THE LINES OF RELIGIOUS(osity) – SERMON ON THE MOUNT

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Do you remember as a kid going to a restaurant with your parents, the waitress brings your food to the table, sets it in front of you and says, “Be careful, don’t touch the plate it is really hot.”  If you are like me, what did you do?  Touch the plate of course.  But why?  To see if it was really hot?  To see how hot it was?  To prove your independence?  After all she can’t tell me what to do.

Pencil erasing a mistake

It is funny, now that I am on the other side as a parent, I watch my kids testing the same boundaries.  The line is drawn and it is our human nature is to see how close we can get to the line or even if we are capable of crossing over the line without any consequences.

On Sinai God lays out the law for the people of Israel for their good.  The lines are drawn.  For centuries, and even still today, questions still arise, games are played.  Questions of how close can I get?  People trying to police the lines and blow the whistle on anyone who getting to close to the line.  People who want to sneak across the line and sneak back, hoping they are not seen by anyone else.  Make sense?  Let me clarify, God says, 13 “You shall not murder. Exodus 20:13 NIV  There is the line.  However, there is a lot you can do to someone without killing them, stopping just short of death.  Correct?  Or for instance, 14 “You shall not commit adultery.  Exodus 20:14 NIV  Then the question becomes what constitutes adultery?  How far can I go?  Where is the line?  How close can I get to it without crossing the line?  Can I cross the line without anyone else knowing?

For the centuries following Sinai, there is a constant testing of the lines, moving of the lines and times of flat out ignoring of the lines.  The Pharisees were great at this.  Not only did they test the lines, they made the lines even more demanding for everyone else.  They wanted everyone to see their piety and live in envy of how spiritually focused they were.  Now remember, it is in the context of this religious system, Jesus is calling disciples to follow him, who are not the “religious elite” of the society.

20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:20 NIV

Understand, Jesus says, the Pharisees look really pristine on the outside, but they are really messed up on the inside.  They follow “all” the commands, Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself (Taken from Matthew 19).   These are the lines and we have never gone over them.  We may have gotten pretty close, we may have made our own definition but in our eyes and hopefully, everyone else’s, we have never actually crossed the lines.

I have always been taught, Jesus comes along and raises the bar, draws new more difficult lines.  Calls people to a higher standard and he does.  But I wonder if we have missed Jesus point?  Take just a minute and read through the remainder of chapter 5…

Matthew 5:21-48 NIV

If we read those verses the same way we always have, what is one of the first questions we will most likely ask?  What constitutes anger?  What about when it is righteous anger?  Then am I okay?  We immediately hear these words and begin searching for the new line.  Why?  So we know where we stand.  So we know where others stand.  So we have a means to judge.  So I want to pose a few questions and thoughts for you to reflect on.

  1. What if Jesus intent is not to say here is a line, a new higher standard?  One that you cannot even live up to.  Don’t get angry, EVER?  Really?  Never lust?  Ever?  What if the intent is to simply say sin is sin and we all sin.  Whether you murder or you just fly off the handle and lose your temper.  You cannot possibly live good enough to earn salvation by your own righteousness.  What if his intent is not to create a new line to measure our self and everyone else with?  Maybe Jesus intent is to erase the lines, to get us to stop asking am I doing well enough.
  2. Either way you read it, grace becomes essential.  We all sin and the only hope we have is the redeeming love of Christ to cover our life.  The old system is based on the question of how close can I get?  Erasing the lines.  Stop trying to figure out where the line is and start trying to figure out how to get closer to Jesus.  How you can be more like Him.  Stop asking can I do this and start asking would he do this.  Allow His love to transform your heart.
  3. If it is simply about not crossing the line, it is about head knowledge and will power.  The knowledge to know and figure out where the line is and the will power to control yourself, making sure you do not cross the line.  Following Jesus is more about the heart than it is the head.  Lots of people know about Jesus, not as many have surrender their heart to Him.
  4. Whether or not there is a line, there will always be people who feel they need to police everyone else.  There will always be a tendency to compare yourself to everyone else.  To see how you measure up.  The most difficult thing about compassion, you are comparing what you know about you, with what you don’t know about someone else.  Everyone saw the Pharisees as the measuring stick of religious devotion.  Jesus says, they are not the measuring stick, I AM!  You don’t measure up by yourself, but I measure up for you.  It is about you and Jesus not you and everyone else!

Share with me your thoughts.  As you step back and look at the Sermon on the Mount, what is Jesus doing?

P.S.  As I am finishing this post my son who is 4 grabs the potato peeler and is playing with it.  We tell him to stop so he does cut himself.  He says he won’t.  You can’t cut yourself with “this” and proceeds to try to touch the blade to show us it is not sharp…  haha