Story of Stuff

Found this on youtube....stuff

Day #9--Like Honey

In Ezekiel 3, Ezekiel has a word from the Lord. The Lord actually tells him to eat a scroll! He says eat the scroll then go and speak the words to Israel. What is more fascinating about this passage is that Ezekiel says that not only did he eat it, but it tasted as honey on his lips! Of course then Ezekiel is charged with taking that word to Israel, and honestly to me it seems like eating the scroll was easier than taking the word to Israel. At any rate, I have been convicted of something lately as I have fasted and prayed about direction for our church, and guidance for my life in general.

The conviction is that I tend to read more books ABOUT the Bible than the Bible itself. I am not saying that reading outside books is a bad thing. Quite the contrary, we are to learn from those that are wiser in the faith. We are to learn from church historians, and the heroes of the faith that have gone before us. This is how we navigate through life without speaking heretically about our faith.

Still I believe the Holy Spirit can guide the reading of Scripture and my hope is to read through it (Genesis through Revelation) and let the Holy Spirit teach and guide me. Again, not saying I won't read outside sources, my hope is simply that I would love reading Scripture more than I love reading ABOUT Scripture.

As I read my prayer will be that the Lord opens my mind and heart to the Scriptures.

I know I said that I would try to blog everyday, and to both readers who read my blog faithfully :), here is my traveling schedule over this next week just so you know that it might be very sporadic this week:

Today (Tuesday 11/10) Traveling to Shreveport, LA to attend a commissioning service

Thursday (11/12) Going to College Station for a concert, staying the night and returning Friday afternoon

Saturday (11/14) going to Temple, TX for playoff football game

Sunday (11/15) leaving for Houston, TX for BGCT Convention (won't be back until Tuesday, 11/17)

So as you can see we will be driving quite a bit. Keep us in your prayers!

I will try to update as much as possible.

Day #4--Taking off the Headphones

A couple weeks ago I was doing one of my most favorite things to do in terms of winding down after a long day. I was watching a football game on TV! I know this sounds lame, but sometimes after studying all day, I just need an hour or two, (or three) to do something to give my brain a rest. Anyway, during a commercial break I yelled back to my wife who was down the hall in our bedroom doing something. The first time was a nice, polite raised voice "Dear!" No response. Figuring she hadn't heard me because of the TV, I put it on mute and a little louder, yet still polite mind you, I said "Dear!!" Still nothing. Getting a little frustrated, though not frustrated enough to get my fat butt of the couch, I yelled semi-nicely a little louder, "Hey Dear!!!" And...NOTHING!! By this time I was completely upset and yelled loudly "MEREDITH!!" And again I get no response. So finally pulling myself off the couch I get up and walk back to the room and what do I find? My wife, but she has a computer on her lap and headphones in her ears. She was apparently watching "Smallville" and had not heard a word I was saying. So of course my frustration turned into me making fun of her for watching "Smallville." However, that is not the lesson that I took away from that experience.

I honestly do not remember what I asked Mere, the only thing I remember is that it got me to thinking about how God communicates with me. Was he yelling at me and I had "headphones" on? When I read the Scriptures I see a constant reminder of God's concern for the poor, oppressed, and the outcast. Then I think about my day and wonder if I ever came across anyone in need and didn't see or hear them because I had "headphones" on. In other words was I so consumed with the chores I had to do, the things I had to get done that I was oblivious to anyone hurting. Even worse, did I see and consciously make a decision that my "to-do" list was a justified reason for passing by on the other side of the street.

As I have said before I am studying the parable of the Good Samaritan this week and as I study it I have found that the priest and Levite priest who passed by on the side of the road really did have "good" excuses. The first priest had just come from the Temple in Jerusalem and was considered clean. Had he got within 4 cubits (6 feet) of the man on the side of the road he would have been considered unclean and would have to have gone back, purchased a heifer and started the cleansing process all over again. He would have had to spend more money, and further he would have had to spend more time away from his family whom he was responsible for at the time. The Levite priest basically saw (the road was a road that descended for seventeen miles, so visibility 3-4 miles up the road would have been a possibility) the first priest pass by and most likely thought to himself "well that priest didn't help him and he had for more resources than I," hat can I do if he did not do anything? And so we see that both of these men had very logical excuses. Perhaps even ones we have used (time, money, family).

Now we know the rest of the story, the Samaritan shows mercy on the man. Actually putting himself at risk by caring for this person who has been beaten and left for dead.

As much as I pray to become more like the Samaritan, I actually find myself identifying more with the lawyer who tried to justify himself. He was not really interested in helping, rather he was interested in being praised for what he had already done. In reality, he was loving people that he would have loved had Jesus not come to Earth. As I reflect on my life and where I am in the journey I have to confess that I am that lawyer that Jesus confronts with the parable of the Good Samaritan. My prayer is that I would be changed into the Samaritan. That I would be changed so that I might act like a neighbor to all I come in contact with. And most of all I pray that I would take off the "headphones" of me, myself and I. Take off the "headphones" of all the things I think I am entitled to, of all the things I think I "need." And that I would begin to hear the voice of God. That I would begin to hear the cry of the oppressed. That I would hear the hunger pains of the hungry, and that I would feel the loneliness of those who have no friends, family or loved ones to care for them. I pray that not only would I hear these things because I have taken off the "headphones," but that I would respond to them as God as called me to do.

This is what I have learned since I have started fasting. I have learned that although I strive to live simply I have failed. I am distracted by the "bigger and better," and consequently I have become deaf to the cries of the hurting and down trodden. Please God, take off my "headphones."

Day #3--In Tuned

As I continue to fast, and Meredith and I continue to discuss money and how we can better use our money for the Kingdom, I have been blown away by how fasting really brings you better in tuned with God and his creation.

Honestly, the hardest part of the fast is over in terms of the hunger. Usually the first 2 days in a long fas are where the "hunger pains" really get intense. However, since the point of fasting is to do away with those "pains" by talking to God (praying, reading His word, etc.) I have had an overwhelming awareness of the needy in our community. I know that there is an end to this fast. I know that on Thanksgiving day I am going to commit the sin of gluttony! (perhaps I should pray for that temptation to go away too). :) Anyway, the point is I know there is an end, I know that I will eat again, and I know where my next meal is coming from.

But have you ever stopped to think about hunger from the perspective of the beggar outside the grocery store who hits you up for money, or the homeless woman who is sleeping under a bridge with her 3 children? I can't imagine the fear of not knowing, the feeling of wondering what am I going to do for my next meal, or what am I going to do to provide for my kids. I can't imagine the humiliation of having to beg for money and the shame I would feel when someone quickly dismissed me because of what I look like or how bad I smell. I have been thinking a lot about this through my first few days of fasting.

This issue of trying to see things from the perspective of the disadvantaged has really been challenged by a couple of recent things. The first being our book club just got done reading and discussing Same Kind of Different as Me. (If you haven't read it, stop reading this and go read that...it will be more interesting and more beneficial!). I won't tell the whole story but I was blown away by relationship and perspective of Denver (the homeless man). The second thing is that I am studying to preach on the parable of the Good Samaritan. The entire parable is about seeing thing from the perspective of the down beat and trodden man left for dead on the side of the road.

So I have been trying to see things from the perspective of the outcast, the oppressed, and down trodden. I have been meditating on Ephesians 5:1-2 (being imitators of God). God did this very thing. He entered into our story through Jesus Christ and took on our humanity, our perspective and made a way for us to be reconciled to God and to each other.

The reality is this: I will not be able to fully "cross over" and understand what it is like to go hungry and not know where my next meal will come from. I will never understand fully, no matter how much I sympathize with those struggling what it feels like to be completely rejected by someone based on what I look like or feel. However, this cannot be my excuse for not attempting to better understand the perspective of the outcast of society. It cannot serve as an excuse not to engage and serve the homeless. And most of all it cannot serve asn excuse not to love and build relationships with those society has deemed unworthy.

I believe the last is the most important. Relationships. It is only in relationships that I can better understand what they feel and what they are going through. It is only in relationship that I will best know how to serve them. AND it is only in relationship that I will be taught by them things about myself and prejudices I hold (consciously or unconsiously). In relationship there is mutual learning, and this is necessary if we are to truly be converted into Christ's image.

My Sacrifice

As I reflected on the sermon yesterday. I concluded with a list of possible "sacrifices" people could make when it comes to this Christmas season and use that money to take care of the less fortunate.

A couple of things that our church is doing is Operation Christmas Child, and then on November 15th we will have a speaker come and tell us how buying coffee can help us provide for the physical and spiritual needs of farmers in Laos.

My sermon ended by asking people to really seek the Holy Spirit and ask where they could cut back and use that money to help those less fortunate. Some of these suggestions included:

1. asking for less gifts for yourself and asking for some things on your list to go to Operation Christmas Child (this was directed towards the children in the service)

2. Eating out less and putting that money in a jar or something and using that money to buy coffee on the 15th or to use that money and as a family go and fill a shoe box for operation Christmas Child.

3. Sell things you don't need and use that money to buy coffee or fill out a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child.

There were more suggestions but you get the point. Anyway, as I reflected on the sermon and my call for people to sacrifice and use money for others this Christmas rather than hoarding everything for themselves and buying presents for themselves that really won't be used 3 months after Christmas.

Then I started asking what my sacrifice would be (which is always harder than telling others to sacrifice!). And so here it is: I will be fasting until Thanksgiving day starting today. I will use this time to pray for a direction the church should go in at the beginning of next year. I will also pray for our congregation to listen to the Holy Spirit on how they spend their money, as well as ask God to direct Meredith and I on how we should spend our money. As I go through this fast I will try to update daily what is going on with me personally and what is going on with Meredith and I as we truly strive to have every aspect of our lives under the rule of Christ.

Money and the Kingdom of God

Disclaimer: I realize money is a sensitive topic. In this sermon message I began by telling the congregation that I don't think it is a sin to have wealth, nor do I think it is a sin to have nice things and enjoy the blessings God has lavished on us when it comes to wealth. However, I did tell them that there is a responsibility that comes with that and that we are called to help others who don't have as much and that there will be sacrifices and choices we have to make if we are to use our money to influence the Kingdom of God.

This Sunday our church started a series entitled " Money and the Kingdom of God." Basically what prompted this was two reasons. First, I absolutely reject the fact that Jesus taught us to give only 10% of our money to the church, then we can spend the other 90% on whatever we want and be called good stewards of our money. Second, I read so many articles about stewardship when I preached on the Ananias and Saphira passage for last week (out of context in my opinion), that I felt it necessary to explore more what Jesus says about money. Our first stop was the parable of the Rich Fool.

Now I went to a "liberal" seminary. I say "liberal" because honestly it is all relative and if we weren't in Texas, it would not have been labeled liberal at all. Anyway, while in seminary I heard all the time that this passage of the Rich Fool building bigger barns was an indictment against Capitalism. The argument would go, "See this farmer was just being a good Capitalist and God kills him." So, they say, Jesus is pro-Socialism, pro-Communism, but when it comes to Capitalism He sees it as evil. This is utterly ridiculous because in the passage God never condemns the farmer for being rich. He only condemns him for hoarding the riches for himself.

In fact, in the beginning of the passage a man asks Jesus to settle a dispute about an inheritance his brother won't share with him. To which Jesus replies "Who sent me to be a lawyer among you." In other words, Jesus is telling the man not to use Jesus' name to propagate any personal agenda. Jesus is not pro-Socialism, not pro-Communism, and not pro-Capitalism. The Kingdom that Jesus came to establish is so completely other than any man made governmental system. There is no government system that tells you to turn the other cheek, love and pray for your enemy, etc. Further, there is no government system that will change the hearts of humanity. It is only in the bottom-up approach (the mustard seed Kingdom) that the Kingdom of God will be established. So lets stop saying Jesus is pro any sort of man made government. He is in the words of Greg Boyd about "power under" (kingdom established through grassroots, prayer, etc.) not about "power over" (governmental, top-down approach).

I apologize for my soap box, but it really irritates me when we try to make the Bible say things that it is not really saying at all.

Back to the text...

The point of the text is being rich towards God and to answer the question: "What does it mean to be rich towards God?" I chose to look at how God has been rich towards us and then go back and answer the question of what it means for us to be rich towards God.

Basically what I did was trace God's interaction with humanity from Genesis to the giving of the Holy Spirit. God created humanity out of love. This alone makes God an unselfish God. But something went wrong and Adam AND Eve sinned against God. God would have had every right to wash His hands of us and choose to leave us to our fallen state. However, God did not do that. He started laying out a long process by which he would progressively reveal himself to humanity (and I will shorten this for time sake). But basically he gave us the Law, then he spoke through the prophets, and eventually Jesus left his throne to come down and live among us. Took on our hell, and our sin, and walked to Calvary, and died. He then ascended and had this been the end of the story then that would have made God a compassionate God. However, God didn't stop there but he sent his Holy Spirit and gave us EVERY spiritual blessing (Eph. 1). God held nothing back from us. He went all the way. It wasn't just salvation from hell, but a total salvation where we begin to live a new and redeemed life here and now.

So God was rich towards us in that he went all the way with us. Gave us everything, and held back nothing!

Ephesians 5 says that we are to be imitators of God. Meaning as God has entered into us through his Holy Spirit we are in turn to lavish blessings on all those we come in contact with. I continued reading the passage through Jesus telling his disciples not to worry about to wear, what to eat or what to drink because God provides for his children. He then tells the disciples to sell their possessions and give it to the poor.

Notice Jesus doesn't say "give to the poor only if they really deserve it." Or, "give to the poor after you have examined the reason why they are poor and figure out if they will squander what you give them." Or "give to the poor only if you deem them worthy enough of your help."

There were no qualifications. The command was simply give because you know God will take care of you.

The point of this teaching is this: To the extent that we are Rich towards God we look like Jesus. To the point that we aren't we look like the farmer.

If we in America buy into this idea that its ok to give only 10% to the church and then hoard the other 90% for ourselves then we delude ourselves and are not using our money to build the Kingdom.

ALL that we have is a blessing from God and we are called to pour out that blessing on those less fortunate (incidentally there are over 2,000 passages that talk about taking care of the poor in Scripture). And we are called to imitate God in holding nothing back when it comes to taking care of the poor and needy.

This Christmas season we will be blasted with commercial after commercial of the new things we "need." And we will even get Christians telling us that as long as you don't go into debt you can buy as much as you want because "who is it really hurting?" But I think this question is wrongheaded. The question should be "who is it really helping?"

As Christians we are called to put everything under the subjection of Christ. This includes our money--even the 90% that we don't tithe.