Life and Death

John 5:24

Life and Death         

 

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father…has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.” John 5:24 The Message

 

You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s a matter of life and death,” right? Meaning, it’s all on the line, or that it is a very serious situation.

 

Have you ever given it much thought?

 

We don’t face a lot of “life and death” situations in our lives. Certainly, in health, medicine, military or emergency personnel – that’s everyday.

 

My Dad was an EMT for many years and he used to say, “No one dies on my rig.” And he meant it. Sadly, some died. But he gave his all to keep people from crossing from life into death, if he had anything to do about it. And many, many lives were saved.  

 

Do we think of faith as a “life and death” matter? Do we think of salvation – our own or for others – with this same intensity – as a matter of life and death?

 

I mean, we often do when we think about the end – end of life.  

 

But what is really a matter of life and death? Work? Relationships? Well, maybe one relationship…

 

In this above passage, Jesus was saying that something momentous happens when someone believes what he said about himself being the Son of God and the Savior and thereby enters into a relationship with Him through faith.

 

At the moment of belief – calling on the name of Jesus as Lord and Savior – “has at this very moment (accessed) the real, lasting life (eternal life) and is no longer condemned to be an outsider (of the Kingdom of God).”

 

A brief note about “outsider.” See, God is holy. We are not. We are sinful by nature, which means that on our own – no matter how good we may or may not be – we start as outsiders in relation to God. But God didn’t like that. He wanted for us to be reconciled with Him. But the sinfulness had to be dealt with – it had to be atoned for because God is merciful and just at the same time. So Jesus paid for all of our sins for all time on the cross – opening the door to a living, life-giving relationship with God.

 

And so to believe that Jesus was God’s son and that He died on the cross for our sins, acknowledging that we needed the Savior to forgive our sins, and that we open our hearts and our lives to His rule and ways – is to become and insider in the Kingdom. It’s that simple and not that simple, if you know what I mean.

 

Then it says, “This person (who puts their faith in Christ) has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.” Another translation has it as, “crossed over from death to life.”

 

We are dead in our sins – eternally and in daily life. When we live by our desires, our ways, our pride, our wills – they all lead to death – but also a life that is not really alive. But when we “cross over” through faith from death to life – everything starts to change. We awaken. We become truly alive as God designed it to be…

 

Where are you today?

 

Have you crossed over from death to life yet? Do you have a heartbeat but feel dead inside? Do you feel like the power of sin is holding you down – keeping you in the “realm” of death?

 

That power of sin and death were crushed at the cross and left behind in the empty tomb. They are still at work, but they no longer have the last word.

 

Do you feel like an “outsider” to the Kingdom? The door is open.

 

Do you feel like you are unworthy and unforgivable? A total lie.

 

Crossing from death to life, entering the Kingdom, living a life that is truly alive – all of this – is just one step away…

 

The classic hymn sings, “The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”

 

Often, when we think of faith today, we think of church and religion – maybe sermons, music and Sunday School, coffee hour and things like that – nothing very urgent. Maybe that is what it is for you.

 

But it is so much more. It is about a saving, living relationship with God through Jesus Christ. But not just any relationship…

 

It is after all, a matter of life and death.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever heard salvation described in this way before? How does it sound?
2. Are you a religious person but not in a relationship with God through Jesus? What do you think after reading this?
3. What do you think when it says, “sinful by nature?” Agree or disagree?
4. Do you need a savior? Why or why not?

Fear Factor

It’s a tale of two houses.

 

Some see it as “God’s House.” Some see it as a Haunted House.

 

Many see it and think “home.” Many see it and think, “You’re not welcome.”

 

A lot of people see it as a place of acceptance. A lot of people see it as a place of intolerance and hypocrisy.

 

Church.

 

“You know, Christopher, church is a scary place,” Karen said last week with all seriousness. 

 

And she goes to church nearly every week.

 

So, what can make church be a scary place?

 

Judgment and condemnation are part of the equation. Being told with words and/or nonverbal communication that you are not worthy of God’s love would drive anyone away. Sometimes the judgment is subtle, and sometimes it’s overt. Christians often fall into the trap of judging external things like: job, wealth, the car, the school the kids attend, clothing, appearance, education – even by the church one attends. And this judgment keeps people at a distance by design. It basically says, “I have already decided about you, so don’t come any closer.” Judgment is the religious method of excluding. 

 

Another component is the fact that many Christians lead a kind of “double life,” or are unable to freely reveal who they really are – faults, wounds and all. As a result, there is the religious person and then the “regular” person. The Sunday morning “me” and the rest of the week “me.” I am the first to admit that following Christ is not easy. But when Christians play this game of pretending, it is easily seen through. It’s discouraging, it’s an ineffective witness, and it doesn’t build trust. So, you can see that when someone is thinking about coming to church for the first time, or returning to church, the idea of going to a place where the people are acting in ways that don’t build trust – as a way of operating – it’s kind of scary.

 

Church is also made scary by the expectation that you need to be holy, perfect and whole when you arrive. There is a myth that life as a Christian is problem-free. And it is truly mythical – God does not promise an easy road – He promises a purposeful road lined with sanctification, comfort and hope that ultimately leads to Him. Yet we seem to want to perpetuate this myth. It is getting dressed up or putting on a good face – that is what many do. Not only that – before you enter, you better know the Bible really well, sing in key, don’t have tattoos, and look like you have it all together. In many churches, sadly, there is little room for brokenness or being at the end of your rope and really needing the Lord. So, I can imagine how scary it would be to worry about whether your brokenness is showing.  

 

Can we be honest? We are all broken. No one is whole or perfect. Some are healthier than others. Some people have just learned how to hide the brokenness better than others.

 

Finally, it doesn’t dispel fears when churches often become a home of division, criticism and conflict. Many people live in some form or degree of conflict and are looking for…peace. Churches were meant to be safe places – sanctuaries, right? But whether we read it in the media or hear about from others, churches can be very scary places in the way Christians treat fellow Christians. Pastors and leaders are relentlessly criticized and often left undefended; factions within churches wage “wars” to protect “their” church; grudges and hard feelings overwhelm efforts at reconciliation; people leave if they aren’t getting what they want. “That’s no different than the rest of the world,” many seeking peace conclude.  

 

Some good news?

 

Often, the people in churches who are judging, faking it, imposing outrageous expectations, and being divisive are usually just hurting people who are in need of grace, too. They are in need of being lovingly confronted and taught – which often doesn’t happen because the rest of the Christians who are earnestly trying are either too polite or afraid to do that.

 

In my experience, most of the people I have come to know and love in churches are extraordinary and faithful people, who love the Lord and want to share that love and grace with others.

 

Here’s the thing: Jesus said and demonstrated, “and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37).” And since we are His body here on earth until He returns, we need to be imitating Him. And one of the main ways we can do that is to treat people as He would have us do, including those who are earnestly seeking Him.

 

That is the way church started out in the beginning. They were known as the “People of the Way” with room for anyone seeking Him. And then somewhere along that “way,” it became “for us” meaning whoever was already there, rather than “for them.” And thereafter, even today, many of the doors either closed or needed “keys.” 

 

And yet, I know this – that churches are the places through which God has chosen to begin to put the broken pieces of our lives, as well as the pieces of His kingdom, together. So, how do we transform the image of church from appearing like a Haunted House to many into an Open House filled with love and grace and the life-changing power of God’s Word and Spirit? How are we going to stop playing into the fears? How are we going to build trust?

 

Well, as with any new start…it begins with prayer. And in this case, a prayer of confession.

 

Let us pray…

Now What?

Life is about moments.

 

And there are certain kinds of moments.

 

There are the moments when we are facing unknown territory – whether by choice or by circumstances. Moments like graduations, marriages, new jobs or promotions, birth of children. Other moments like losing jobs, a devastating diagnosis, loss of financial resources, divorce or loss of relationship, loss of a loved one. Other moments like when we realize we have been comfortable for too long and need to step out in faith. Other moments like when we start to think about coming back to God or trying church again. Any moment that requires faith for the next step – in other words – a step that isn’t easily visible.

 

There is a point in one of these moments when the reality has set in and we face it and we are left with one key question – “Now what?”

 

Now what do I do? Now what can I do? Now what do I say? Now who do I turn to? Now what do I stand on? Now what do I believe?

 

Now what?

 

One of my main “Now what” moments was after my parents and I said a tearful goodbye on move-in day at college. I solemnly walked back up the hill into the residence hall and passed the drawing room and quickly locked myself in my room. And I sat there for a while thinking, “Now what?” I thought, “Do I stay in this room where it seemed relatively safe and hide in here or do I walk down the hall and introduce myself to the two crazy guys playing indoor soccer in the narrow space down the hall.” And I realized that I couldn’t stay in that room forever. That I was at college to grow and transform and do things differently. I was on my own now and I couldn’t hide in a shell. So I built up my courage, opened the door, walked down the hall, facing the fears of what they might think of me, thinking this was crazy and then introduced myself to Anthony and Chris who would become very treasured friends that year. For me, that walk down the hall changed a lot. It was a breakthrough moment because I learned how to overcome fears and thinking that held me back previously. And I learned that there was something promising on the other side of the fear.  

 

In the above Scripture, Joshua faced the question of “Now what?” The hero of the Israelites, Moses, has died. And while Joshua has been an “aide” to Moses for many years, now it is up to Joshua to lead these people into the promised land. And it wouldn’t be easy, the 40 years in the wilderness had been very difficult, there were many challenges awaiting the people to even acquire the promised land.

 

Joshua was facing the biggest challenge of his life. And while it doesn’t say it, I think we can imagine and identify with how he might have felt. “Now what.”  

 

But…

 

But Joshua receives a strong, clear message from the Lord. He reminds Joshua of His Word – and that it would guide him in all that he did. He pointed out to Joshua that within the Word are many promises. God, after all, is a God of promises. Out of the more than 30,000 verses in the Bible, more than 8,000 or roughly 25 percent are about God’s promises. Finally, God commands Joshua to be strong, let go of fears, and take forward steps.

 

“I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9),” the Lord tells Joshua and it speaks to us today too.  

 

Let me ask you this. If I told you that everything you needed to know to enjoy true “success” in life was found in one book, would you believe me? Would you read it night and day? Would you “meditate” on the words as the Lord tells Joshua too? I know you know this “book” – but we don’t delve into it enough. Why?

 

Why do we keep operating on the world’s definition of success? Confidence, money, fame, stuff all go away and will mean nothing when we come before the Lord at the end of this earthly existence. Yet, we keep chasing after them. God’s definition of success is faithfulness – meaning did we fight the things of this world to love Him above all and love our neighbors as ourselves. See the difference?

 

Let me ask you this. Do you trust the chair you are sitting in will remain intact while you are sitting in it? Of course, you believe the promise of the manufacturer that a chair will not break. Ok. Then why do we have such trouble trusting in the promises of Almighty God?!! The God who created this world and us. The God who promises eternal life through faith in His Son Jesus (nothing in this world can take it away (Romans 8:38-39). The God who promises to dwell inside of us through His Holy Spirit – and never leave us. His promises are many and they are true. I can testify to you that He has kept all His promises to me. I may not have all liked the ways He has made them happen – but He is God and I am most certainly not.

 

So when the Lord says to Joshua that through His Word and Promises, he is commanded to trust and be fearless in the face of this great challenge – it may not be easy, it may be uncomfortable, but he is compelled to listen and obey – and not like a robot – but as a person of faith in a relationship with a purposeful, promising, providential God.

 

And so it is for us today.

 

Whatever great challenge you are facing in your life right now, these words, promises and commands are for you too. To whatever you are saying, “Now what?” – I know it is scary. I know it looks impossible right now. Maybe it feels lonely and hopeless.

 

But for Joshua and for us today, on the other side of the challenge, fear, and impossibility is a promised land – a wonderful, promised place of abundance. And between us and that promised place – is a God that goes before us, alongside us and behind us – leading, providing, encouraging.

 

If the question is “Now what?” The answer is…”Now I am going to take that first step…in faith.”

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Are there some situations in your life that cause you to ask “Now What?”
2. What are you afraid of? Why? What is holding you back?
3. Do you believe God is a God of promises? Why or why not?
4. What does a “promised land” look like for you? Is it peace, is it a place, is it a new definition of success, is it a God-honoring goal?

The Difference – For the Class of 2009

You have picked an extraordinary time to graduate – war, economy, jobs, and the extraordinary cost of college. Maybe I would be worried in other years – but you are one of the most spiritual, resourceful, and socially conscious generations in history.

 

Still you have to be thinking, “What will make the difference? What will give you an edge…what will help you succeed?”

 

What will make the difference in life? A life of significance…

 

We are told that what really matters is having – confidence, money, material things, and fame.

 

But I think you and I know each of those only go so far.

 

The apostle Paul said, “For I have learned to be to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstance I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him (Christ) who strengthens me (Philippians 4:12-13).” 

 

This secret, or the difference has three parts – Faith, Purpose and Serving Others.

 

Faith is something to believe in – it’s innate to want to believe in something larger than ourselves – God planted that inside of us for him. Sometimes it gets warped into other things – sports teams, a band, or an idea. Faith gives order to chaos – order to the chaos of life – meaning – make sense of this craziness. When the whole world seems to crumbling – something that is solid on which to stand.

 

But for me, faith is more than this. For me, personally, it is the absolute assurance that because Jesus is my Lord and Savior, I will, without a doubt, be with Him eternally in Heaven. I don’t have any evidence for it – I can’t tell you where it is – but through faith, I know this. But also, I have come to know unconditional love and learned how to love others in this way. I have known grace and mercy and have learned to share these with others. Thanks to my faith, my fears have diminished and I find purpose. I want you to have these things via faith in Christ too. I want you to know that you can contact me if you have questions about this or want to talk more about it.

 

Speaking of purpose. This difference is also about a sense of purpose. It is the one thing that can cut through all the masks and pretense and games we play. We spend so much time and effort trying to please or impress others. With a purpose, all of that evaporates. Life with a purpose is something you never have to explain or apologize for. Once you find it – it’s you. Purpose gives drive and focus. And what follows with a purpose is passion – the difference between good and great in this world. Each of you has a God-given purpose – Jeremiah 29:11 – The Lord says, “I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and to give you a future with hope.” I implore you to use the next few months or years finding it – it is there – you may have to dig, it may surprise you, but it is there.

 

And when you combine faith, purpose, passion – in any situation, it will enable you to risk. And you and I know that all great things accomplished in this world required risk. Risk based on faith, purpose and passion will enable anyone, in any situation to go beyond survive – to thrive!

 

Finally, the third part of this difference is taking faith and purpose to serve others. You have heard, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” You understand that. I want you to know that this world needs you. We adults don’t do a very good job of opening doors for you to serve in our churches and communities. We have to improve on that. We need your energy, your passion, your ideas, and your resourcefulness.

 

Have you ever heard the Ralph Waldo Emerson poem called “Success”? My favorite part is, “To know that even one life has breathed easier – this is to have succeeded.” Each of you is capable of this. Each of you as a person of faith, as a citizen, son or daughter, brother or sister, friend, student, parent, mentor, leader – you will be called on to make a difference – it is in God’s plan. Many of you have already. Will you be ready? Talk about significance. The opportunity to help “a life breathe easier.” I know I have found it to be one of the most fulfilling moments of life.   

 

With faith in God, with a purpose, and through sharing your blessings with others – you will have this “difference” in your life – and you will make a difference. It is the life of significance for which so many people yearn.  

 

Class of 2009 you have all that you need to make a difference in this world – we are counting on you, we are waiting on you with hope for the difference you will make in your community, state, nation and world.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Are you longing for this “difference” in your life? What can you do about it?
2. What is your purpose? How can you figure it out?
3. Have you ever made a difference in someone’s life? How did it happen?
4. When was the last time you risked in reaching out to serve someone? Has it been too long?

Voices

 

 

 

“He (the Devil) was a killer from the very start. He couldn’t stand the truth because there wasn’t a shred of truth in him. When the Liar speaks he makes it up out of his lying nature and fills the world with lies.” John 8:44 (The Message)

 

 

Ever wonder where the worst thoughts in your mind come from?

 

There is no doubt that our own sinfulness, experience and all the things we read, watch and view affect it. But we also have to be aware of the one who is working overtime to keep us from God. Satan’s main goal is to keep us far from God. It’s what he is all about. (For a more in-depth exploration of this – please read C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters).

 

And one of the evil one’s main weapons is lying. It’s a persistent, patient effort to chip away at our faith and replace it with destructive lies. He uses all sorts of voices – to ensure his lies take root in our souls. He’ll sound authoritative in our minds – making us wonder – “it sounds true, it makes sense, could it be true?” He uses unwitting or even willing accomplices to give voice to lies – sometimes parents, spouses, friends and coworkers.

 

I have given some thought to ones either I have heard myself or ones that others have shared. I encourage you to write back to me with ones you have heard. Here they are:

 

• You are not worthy or worth it – just give up
• God isn’t good – He doesn’t care about you
• You are unlovable – nobody cares about you
• You’re ugly on the outside and inside
• There is no heaven and no consequences – live it up
• Don’t love or trust anyone – they will only let you down
• Be afraid – be very afraid
• Too sinful, too lost, too guilty
• It’s all about you and what you want – put yourself first

 

 

Whether you have heard these or ones like them, you know how powerful and destructive they can be. If we listen to them long enough they can start to sound true. And when these become true for us – it alters our thinking, our decision making and our worldview. But most of all it corrodes and corrupts our relationship with God. It makes us believe lies about the God who is the truth.

 

Sounds awful right? Well, it is definitely awful. But hold on, there are a few things we can do about it…

 

The first thing we have to do is name the lies. Naming the lies in our lives takes away their power. So like the above list, maybe you can make a list of the lies you have heard. And by naming them, they are no longer as menacing – part of their power lies in being undefined.

 

Once we have the lies named, the next thing we can do is start to provide God’s answers to the lies – found in His Word. For example, when we hear that we are not worthy or worth it, God’s Word says, “You (God) knit me together in my mother’s womb – I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14).” Or when we hear that God isn’t good, His Word says, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him…(Romans 8:28).”

 

I promise you – for every lie, for every falsehood that the evil one attempts to sell us, there is a more powerful, faithful truth from God. We can learn to know the difference between the two – to learn to separate the truth from lies in all the static.

 

You know, in these times, there are so many voices and noise coming at us – distracting, disturbing and discouraging us. It can be very easy to believe stories that are lies and live our lives around them.

 

And like the song from Casting Crowns goes, ““But the voice of truth, tells me a different story…out of all the voices calling out to me…I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”

 

My prayer for you today is that you desire to, and fight to be able to hear the voice of truth above or through or around the lies and noise – to hear and believe that you are loved, treasured, watched over, forgiven – that you have a purpose and your fears can be overcome and that you can live in the light and truth of God’s plan for your life.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. What are some of the lies that you have heard? What impact have they had on your life?
2. Do you have trouble telling the difference between the lies and the truth? What can you do about that?
3. Are you an unwitting or willing accomplice in perpetrating lies to others through your words? What can you do about that?
4. Do you want to hear the voice of truth in your life? Ask Him to speak clearly to you.

The Best Way

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love…Love one another the way I Ioved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.” The Message, John 15:9, 12-13

 

 

I think we have all asked ourselves this question at some point…

 

It goes something like, “Am I really loved for who I am?”

 

Love has become so distorted today – to the point that real, healthy love is almost unrecognizable.

 

One of my favorite new songs is by a Christian band called Addison Road and it is titled, “Hope Now.” And in the song the refrain repeats, “Your (God) love sets me free, your love sets me free.”

 

And I just keep thinking about love, God’s love and a kind of love that can set free.

 

See, so much of the way we love is about control and about maintenance and about fear. And as you know, control, maintenance and fear are not liberating. They are the opposite. They enslave and capture and bind.

 

We see this play out in all the places of our lives. In homes – we see controlling love between spouses as well as between parents and young people. In churches – we see maintenance kind of love – a love that says it’s okay to stay the same and not grow in Christ. In all kinds of relationships – we see fear keeping people apart and scaring people from loving and receiving love.  

 

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  

 

God’s love as fully demonstrated in Jesus has three main characteristics – unconditional, sacrificial, and bold.

 

It’s unconditional because it isn’t earned. It is just given. There is nothing we can do to stop it or change it or weaken it. It’s not based on who we are or what we achieve or own. It’s a love that we don’t deserve and can’t earn but is worth more than anything else we have.

 

Through faith in Jesus, we don’t have to be good enough for God to receive His love – we are “made” good enough in Christ.

 

It’s sacrificial because He gave himself up for us. He put our lives above his. It’s a love that isn’t seeking something. It’s a love that just gives and will never get what it deserves in return. It’s a love that loses but somehow still wins.

 

There is no way we can pay Jesus back for what He did for us. The Word of life died so that we could live. His loss was our gain.

 

It’s bold to the point of being absurd. It’s a love that loves the unlovable. It’s a love that reaches and stretches out to the rejects and losers and the broken. It’s a love that overcomes hate and walls and the past and the deepest wounds. It’s a love that doesn’t make any sense and yet makes all the sense in the world.

 

Jesus told this story that a son took his inheritance and wasted on worldly stuff and then when he hit rock bottom he came back to his father. And the father didn’t scold him or punish him – he embraced him and threw a party. Crazy, right? Not to God, that is how He loves.

 

It is this combination of unconditional, sacrificial and bold that offers a freedom unlike anything we know. “This is very best way to love,” as Jesus said.

 

Imagine waking up and knowing with absolute confidence that you are loved so completely that no matter what happens today, you will be loved, there is nothing that can take it away, there is nothing you have to do to keep it, it heals you, it transforms you and its source is unending. Can you see how our outlook on life would be totally different if we lived like that?

 

We are asked to love one another like this – at the cost of ourselves, putting our lives on the line; to love without any condition or pretext; to love boldly and foolishly – when it doesn’t make sense.

 

I can’t tell you how many times I have loved others boldly and foolishly. And sometimes it has worked and sometimes it hasn’t. These Living Waters are mostly inspired by trying to love some people in my life boldly and foolishly – trying to write “letters” to some people to show them that they are loved for who they are. And I keep doing it because of this verse and in part because I know that I have been loved boldly and foolishly by God and by others.

 

When we love like this, we are obeying Christ’s command, but we also help in setting others free.

 

I want to love people in a way that sets them free. I have at times and it has been the highlight of my life and ministry. But it is also the most challenging thing I have ever done. I want to be loved in a way that is freeing. I am in many ways.

 

I don’t know how you have experienced love in your life. Maybe you have never felt loved for who you are. Maybe you feel trapped by love rather than set free. But I want to tell you today that God created you and loves you uniquely and He wants to set you free from sin and death and misery through his love.

 

Are you really loved for who you are?

 

Yes. You are loved with the very best love. And that very best love is given for you and me to share with one another.

 

Amen.

 

 

Discussion Questions

1. How do experience love? Is it working for you?
2. Is there something in your life that God’s kind of love could set you free?
3. Do you love unconditionally, sacrificially, and or boldly? How has that happened?
4. Do you feel God’s love for you in your life? What does it look like?
5. What are some ways you can love others in “the best way?”

No Separation

Romans 8:38-39

No Separation  

38 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

 

The word “separation” has a lot of meaning. As you know it carries the connotation for marriage of a husband and wife no longer living together. There is “separation anxiety,” a state in which children and adults suffer severe emotional reactions to be being apart from loved ones. It is also the subject of a lot of songs and literature.

 

When I think of separation, real separation, it has an uncomfortable quiet to it. The voices we miss. The faces it hurts to not see as we once did. At the same it has a desire to it. You want to be with certain people or places but can’t. To be separated from love (from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (39)) though is something else. Phone calls and emails in the end aren’t enough. There is no substitute for presence and love and affection and care. I think of widows and widowers who lose their loved one after 40 to 50 years of marriage and they can’t feel that love anymore. Not only them, anytime there is separation of a cherished relationship. This is the heartbreak of separation. We can barely feel the love anymore.

 

 

In other words, it is on our minds a lot.

 

In a spiritual sense there is separation as well. Listen to this list from Paul in the letter to the Romans, of all the things that could conceivably keep us from God: death, life, other spiritual powers, time (present or future), distance, and then “anything else in all creation (38-39).”

 

What is it about these? They are all things that we as humans could either find as separating from God or use as excuses for remaining separate from God. Sometimes it seems easy for us to say, “I am so far away from God, and I can’t get back (spiritual distance).” Or we say, “It has been too long or I am too busy (time).”

 

The one thing they all have in common is all of them are created. Nothing that is created can have power over its creator. So that “anything else in all creation (39)” does not compare to and has no power over the Creator, God. No other person, no institution, no amount of time, no distance can, “separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (39).”

 

And this is what Jesus accomplishes through His life, death and resurrection. Through and thanks to Him, the separation was bridged – eternally. The love of God in Christ Jesus can be ours – ours to experience and to be healed through and to share with others. It only takes faith in Jesus as Savior. That is the confidence on which Paul stands with his claim of “nothing…will be able to separate us…” (39-39). It is the confidence we can also stand on today.

 

And when Jesus bridges our separation from God’s love, it can give us the ability to close the distance, years and history between others and us in this life and the life to come.

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. What are some ways we can feel separated from God?
2. What are some things you are allowing to separate yourself from God?
3. How are you experiencing separation in your life and faith?
4. Today’s passage is a bold claim. Can you believe it? Do you see Paul’s logic?
5.  What does it mean for our lives, if there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?

Reaching, Finding, Healing

 

 

 

“My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering from God.” James 5:19-20 The Message

 

 

I want to tell you about an important scene from one of my favorite movies, Seabiscuit (2003). It is one of my favorite movies because it so beautifully illustrates grace. Charles Howard is a man haunted by loss and death, looking to buy a horse and he goes through all the regular channels. But out of the corner of his eye he notices something different. He notices a “crackpot” horse trainer named Tom Smith. Later on, under the cover of night (like Nicodemus) Charles comes to find Tom. He notices that Tom is treating an older horse that no one else wanted and asks why he is “fixing” the horse. Tom explains that every horse is good for something. And then Tom says a line that I always remember – it is at the heart of the grace of Jesus Christ and the heart of my ministry, “You know, you don’t throw a whole life away just ‘cause he’s banged up a little.”

 

Banged up a little. That’s all of us – whether we are open about it or not. Whether it is visible or not. Whether it was by our choice (sin) or by circumstances and events. That is one of things I was reminded of yesterday about why Youth Sunday always stands out. The brave young people who shared their testimonies poignantly reminded us that we are all banged up a little. The difference – each year, several of our wonderful young people speak bravely and openly about it. No pretense, no apologies –

just authenticity, some tears and hope – a lot of hope.

 

Speaking of hope. “We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him (Jesus) (Isaiah 53:6).” It is by this fact that we are people of grace – received, undeserved, unearned grace as in forgiveness.

 

See, God didn’t write us off, when he could have. Sometimes Christians and churches get so good at celebrating God’s grace that we forget that God could have written us off. And we lose sight of what it was/is to be without grace and a kind of blindness develops to those who are “banged up” and who have wandered away from God.

 

That is why, when we are tempted to think people are less than perfect and don’t belong and to think that lives can be written off, we need to stop and listen…

 

“My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering from God (James 5:19-20).” 

 

Do you know someone who has wandered off from God’s truth? Do you know some people who are “banged up a little” or worse? I know I do. And I have been going after them for most of my life. I do because first I know that I am “banged up a little” and I know the grace by which I am saved – for which I am eternally thankful. And I do this because I believe every life is precious to God, even if they are “banged up a little.”

 

It is hard to precisely put into words how amazing it feels when God has allowed me to be a part of “getting them back and rescuing precious lives…” It is a peace beyond words and it feels sacred; it is the true definition of fulfillment for me. I know that I experience healing when I am a part of others’ healing. God is the initiator of grace, but if we are faithful, the grace we receive can be shared and multiplied – and really that was God’s design – for the grace to be shared. And how “wonderful and marvelous” it is to play a lead role or even to be an “extra”   in stories of grace and redemption. And though I may not get it right every time, it is at the core of my soul.   

 

As many of you know, the partnership of Charles Howard and Tom Smith led to finding the rider Red Pollard and the horse Seabiscuit. It is story of winning despite lost causes; it is story of finding and sharing grace and healing in the midst of brokenness; it’s about redemption. At the end of the film, during the last race, the sound of hoofs and cheers recedes to the musical theme played softly and to Red’s voice, who explains, “You know, everybody thinks we found this broken down horse and fixed him. But we didn’t. He fixed us. Every one of us (as the camera shows each of the main characters). And I guess in a way, we kinda fixed each other too.”

 

See, when it comes to people, according to God – and therefore to us, there is no such thing as a lost cause. And to believe this – to live this – is to be in the palm of Jesus’ outstretched hand.

 

We can’t prevent or stop all the wandering and the dents that we get in life – self-inflicted or the ones that just happen. But we can experience and be a part of the reaching, finding and healing.

 

That is where I want to be.

 

Will you join me?

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. What is your own redemption story? Have you ever shared it with anyone? Would you like to share it with me?
2. Have you ever been a part of someone else’s healing and grace? What did that feel like?
3. Can you think of someone for whom you can be a part of reaching, finding and healing? What will you do about it?
4. How you can share some grace today?

The Right Relationship

 

 

 

“The Word of God became flesh and dwelled among us.” John 1:14

 

In many ways, our lives are defined by our relationships. Certainly we are all individuals. But our times, the substance of our lives can be seen through our connections or lack thereof with others. Relationships at their best can literally be life-giving; relationships at their worst can be heartbreaking or worse.

 

For me, I have been shaped and influenced by so many relationships. Loving others, being loved, sharing the highs and lows of life, learning together. Obviously, my parents and brother Ryan to aunts, uncles and cousins; friends, teachers and coaches. All the people I have worked with at many different jobs. From my first girlfriend (second grade) Christina (who is a faithful Living Water reader today) to all the people I’ve had the privilege to serve as their pastor in a church or from a distance. And, of course, my wife and my children. And that is just in nearly 40 years. I have been very blessed with these key human relationships. Bu there is one relationship above them all…

 

See, so much of our time revolves around relationships – building them, protecting them, putting them back together, enjoying them, and figuring them out. We are frequently wondering how are relationships are doing or seeking the “right” one. Most of the joys of life flow through relationships – life enjoyed through and with others. We are relational by design – by God’s design.

 

Which is why, with the sending of Jesus into this world – God got personal.

 

The whole idea of the Word became flesh and dwelled among us was that God became fully relational with human beings by becoming a human being. No more pillar of fire, no more voice from the mountain, not speaking through prophets, but in the flesh…

 

From his birth, the child in the manger – to his personal encounters with people – healings, teachings and attending weddings – to the last supper, where he asked his friends (and us to this day) to remember him – to the crucifixion and his death and then his bodily resurrection. All lived out by a person who was God and human.

 

I keep thinking about how he was sitting at the Passover meal with his disciples and transforms that sacred meal from a remembrance of the saving power of God during the Exodus into this simple but powerful and personal, “Remember me.” God getting personal.

 

Or I think of this liturgy I use at funerals that includes, “Through his death, Jesus sanctified the graves of the saints (those who believe).” Despite the sadness, it is a beautiful thought and only possible by God becoming flesh and living and dying among us. God getting personal and enduring all things human.

 

Not a theology, not an idea, not a theory, not a hypothetical, not a building, not a tradition or denomination, not a doctrine; but a person. All the things we have made God and religion often make us miss the point that God became flesh and dwelled among us to invite us into a saving and sustaining relationship with him.

 

He came in the flesh for two main purposes – he assumed flesh to assume the sin of the world so by going to the cross and dying – the power of death and sin – that which separated us from God – would be destroyed and the door to a relationship with God could be restored. “It is accomplished,” as he said.

 

And when we think of relationships, it is the most important one. I mean, if you we don’t have this relationship right, then what do we have? Whether you liked or agreed with the book The Shack, one clear message that came from readers was a reminder that God desires a living relationship with us.

 

Relationship involves unconditional love, trust, communication, sharing, serving, encouragement, authenticity, presence. Jesus was and is God to us in all of these ways.  

 

But there was another purpose to his coming “in the flesh.” And it was demonstrate how to be Christ to one another and to the world.   

 

Think about that for a moment. To be Christ to someone. What does that mean?

 

Because he lived in the flesh among us…we can live…because he was divine as well as human, we can see what it was to be human in the best terms as well as to be Christ to one another.

 

To love others sacrificially, to serve them, to open ourselves fearlessly, to see the best in others, to want the best for others, to be instruments of God’s healing and grace – this is to be Christ to one another.

 

But it all starts with a relationship. A few years ago Chase Bank’s slogan went something like this, “The right relationship is everything.”

 

And so it is for us. God got personal with us through Jesus – he initiated the relationship. And it’s about having the “right” relationship with God by believing in his son Jesus, and from that saving and sustaining, primary relationship, all of our other relationships can be “right” by being Christ to others – to embody him to others, from his flesh through ours.

 

Amen.

 

Discussions Questions

1. How is your relationship with God? Is it healthy or dysfunctional? Is it through Jesus? Would you like to know more about this?
2. How are you relationships with others? How do you evaluate relationships? What is that based on?
3. What do you think of being Christ to others? How can we do this?
4. How has God been personal with you in your life? If you feel like he hasn’t, how would that look if he did?

All Things New

 

“Behold, I am making all things new.” Revelation 21:5

 

 

If you have ever stood and wondered, in the quiet of a cemetery, at the grave of a loved one – you have thought about it.

 

If you have ever held the shattered pieces of your life in your hands and thought, “How do I put this back together?” – it has crossed your mind.

 

If you have ever had a significant relationship that seemed or was broken beyond repair – you have been there.

 

If you have ever felt like you were beyond redemption or forgiveness, well, then you know the feeling…

 

The desire for all things to be made new – the desire for Easter morning in real time.

 

Maybe you didn’t call it that, maybe you didn’t have words for it; but that’s what it is…

 

It’s the same way the disciples felt after they watched they beloved friend and teacher die horribly on the cross. It is what drove some of them to hide and some of them to run and some of them to return to the tomb.

 

But as you know, to their “terror and amazement” (because new things are always scary), their beloved friend and teacher had come back alive. The stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty.

 

And unfortunately, many of us, too many of us, still live like it is a Good Friday world rather than living in the reality of this Easter Sunday world. We live afraid, we live as if death and disease has the last word, we live as if there is no grace or at least not for us, we live as if we can’t be reconciled with God, we live in hiding and on the run.

 

But as my daughter Madelyn’s Jesus Storybook Bible puts it, “Was God really making everything sad come untrue? Was he making even death come untrue?” Yes, he was and is.

 

This is the God who repeatedly promises in the Bible to make all things new and to wipe away all the tears – and then on that Easter morning delivered the resounding, definitive, decisive down payment and first installment on all those promises.

 

See, of all the miracles in the Bible, this is most important one because it made life come from death and “crushed death to death”; because it had eternal consequences; and because it was incarnate – in other words it could be lived out. Just take some of Jesus’ miracles – blindness turned to sight, feeding thousands, even bringing dead people back to life – all very cool – but the people who were raised would die again, the feeding lasted one meal and the restored sight was specifically for one person. The miracle of the resurrection goes beyond one person or one meal, opened eternal life for all who believe and offers a new way of thinking and living.

 

Easter morning is not just a holy day! It is the day that everything about life on this planet as human beings changed. And each year, it is the day or time or season in which everything can still change – even when it seems impossible.  

 

So, maybe you, or someone you care about, are there today – grieving, everything falling apart, alienated, unforgivable. Maybe you have desired or dreamed of a new start. I can’t tell you how or when because I just don’t know.

 

But I do know this, we just celebrated the day that makes it possible for any or all of those to be reversed by a new start through the risen Jesus. And just the fact that it is possible makes all the difference. That it is possible to enjoy a personal and eternal relationship with God through Jesus; possible to see loved ones again in Heaven; possible to have our tears wiped away; possible to be forgiven and forgive others; possible to reconcile; possible to live – abundantly, without the fear of death.   

 

So much so that it has to change the way we live – because the resurrection shattered all the things that hold us down in this life – that trick us into believing that all is lost.

 

Writer Louis L’Amour captures what happened on Easter and what is possible for our lives because of it, in two sentences, “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That is the beginning.”

 

Are you ready for that new start?

 

Amen.

 

Discussion Questions

1. Is there a part of your life that you are hoping for a new start?
2. What keeps you from believing that a new start is possible?
3. Have you ever thought of Easter like this? Why or why not?
4. How would living a “resurrection life” be different from your life today?