shock 'n' awe

Ever since I was a little boy, I have had an artistic bent to me. It can be argued as to the quality of the work produced, but nonetheless, I was inclined to creativity. I would sit at my older sibling’s various sporting events or other such extracurricular activities all the while oblivious to the surroundings because I would be feverishly at work on some series of drawings or sometimes crafting my own illustrated book. My mother even recalls me sitting in front of the TV on Saturday afternoons fixated upon the workings of the painter named Bob Ross. You may recall this longtime PBS favorite with his white dude’s Afro and his desire to paint “happy little bushes.” Other kids are practicing their perfect spiral and I’m watching a guy paint “sprightly clouds over a lake.” (This explains a lot doesn’t it?!) But this interest in art carried through into High School and then into college where it was my major for some time. I’ve just always had an interest in art history. Why was this painted? Who sculpted that? What on earth is that supposed to mean... or be?! Who were these guys that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were named after? Anyway, inevitably, as you study art history enough, you come across some of the same masterpieces and artists time and time again.

My favorite painting is “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” by Georges Seurat. He was a French neo-impressionist painter in the late 19th century. I think I was drawn to him because he’s not your typical artist. He was distinctly scientific in his methods of producing artwork. He was a pioneer as he worked in a style broadly known as pointillism. Seurat spent two years meticulously painting tiny dots in layer after layer to obtain the coloring and effects that he so eagerly desired. Now, the amazing thing is that this painting measures 81"x120" in total. That is 6ft. 9in. by 10ft. Consisting entirely of tiny colored dots of oil paint. I studied this very painting in my text books for years. I could rattle of nearly every fact about it if necessary, but then one day I came face-to-face with this massive work on a trip to the Chicago Art Institute. But you know how you can know everything there is to know about something, but it doesn’t ever quite prepare you to encounter it? Here I am just feet away from this great work of art that I have so long admired. I could hardly move, but then I couldn’t stop moving. I got as close as I could, then moved back as far as I could. I looked at that painting from every angle I could. I was giddy. I was dumbfounded! I couldn’t believe it! Here in front of my eyes was one of the great masterworks of all-time. I could scarcely take it all in!

Have you ever experienced a moment like this? Well? Think about it. Have you? Have you ever seen something, met someone, done something that simply left you breathless? Sometimes when we are really wowed by something, it almost makes us feel like a kid again, right?

What is it that compels us to stand out in a warm spring rain when we know we ought to head inside for cover? Or maybe you’re one who relishes the opportunity to bask in the sun... or take a walk in the brisk autumn air to view the changing colors... or watch a flurry of fluffy flakes floating down from the winter sky. There are so many things can warm your heart and at the same time give you goose bumps. Much like I felt that day in the museum.

You see, each of us... we were hard-wired with a desire for the transcendent in our hearts. That is, we long for that which inspires and fills us with awe. It is in fact, quite important for us to experience awe within our lives. Now, before I go any further, I’m not saying that our lives are going to ever be spent in one awe-inspiring moment strung along to another on this side of glory, but nevertheless we must understand the role of wonder in our own life.

When we engage in the practice of esteeming God and allowing ourselves to be filled with awe by Him, we then are compelled to worship Him. The principle of cause and effect goes into play here. Have you ever had a toy, a tool, an appliance, or who knows what and you found yourself engrossed in the examination of it? Have you ever known the sort of person will take something apart and study it in such a way as to eventually be able to likely fix it and put it back together again? Take, for instance this pocket watch... As they dissect the project they explore its depths and admire the ingenuity of the inventor. Flannery O'Connor, and American author, wrote,

“A work of art is good in itself. What is good in itself glorifies God because
it reflects God.”

When we are found in awe of God, the effect is worship and praise of Him. Do you see how that happens? We admire the creation and can’t help but give praise to its Creator. One listens to a song and applauds the musician. Another views a piece of art and becomes curious about the painter. Still another peers into the mechanism of a watch and marvels at the fine and intricate craftsmanship. Whether it is deliberate or not, we can not help but give recognition to the master behind the masterpiece. Admiration is the foundation of praise.

Jacob encountered God at Jabbok, he was awed by Him and then raised an altar there in worship. Moses was time and time again shown the signs and wonders of God and, in result, lived a life of worshipful devotion to him. David was consistently marveling at God’s being and his deeds, thus writing a great number of psalms and hymns of exaltation. Josiah, the boy-king of Israel, rediscovered the book of the Law of God, was struck in awe of it... it cut him to the heart, and thus renewed the covenant between God and his people. And it goes on and on... Those who encountered Jesus were frequently filled with awe. As it says in Luke 5:26, after Jesus healed a paralyzed man,

“Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said,
‘We have seen remarkable things today.’”

But awe can not stand alone. Awe is only a basis for something more. Many who were awe-struck by the miracles of Jesus never let it change them and urge them into worship of him. Reverence of God should prompt us to declare the praises of the our King.
A term denoting awe that would be more commonly used in the Bible is reverence. Reverence is a proper sense of awe, respect and wonder that is inspired and, in truth, demanded by an encounter with the character and activity of God.

Reverence unto God is necessary for continued spiritual growth. Malachi makes this clear in his prophecy as he recounts the Lord’s rebuke of the priestly order. Look at Malachi’s second chapter. Here God brings charge against the priests, he warns them that,

“If (they) do not listen... and set (their) hearts to honor (His) name, (He)
will send a curse upon (them).”

So, what did these guys do wrong that we can learn from? God says that he had established a covenant with Levi (the head of the lineage of priests in Israel). In verse 5 He says,

“My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, I gave them to him;
this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True
instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked
with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.”

The covenant required reverence and awe. The priests that God is admonishing here have neglected the practice of revering God and thus they have

“turned from the way and by (their) teaching have caused many to stumble; (they)
violated the covenant with Levi.” (v. 8)

These priests were bringing defiled food and blemished animals to God as offerings... they were cheating God and blaming it on Him! This is a dreadful thing! And God will not stand for such behavior. We can’t make this same mistake because it is a terrible offense to our great God.
This same basic notion is what Malachi was talking about regarding the priests. He said that, if they were in reverence and were in awe of his name, that true instruction would be on their lips and they would walk with him in peace and uprightness. That is a cause and effect principle in action. Just like the curious tinkerer admires the handiwork of the watchmaker and than gives approval of the product, so too, the priest that reveres God will worship Him. It is that simple. God causes awe and his people live out worship. This was true of the priesthood of Israel and, as described by Paul, is to be true of us now. After all, 1 Peter 2:9 says we are a

“chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,
that (we) may declare the praises of him who called (us) out of darkness and
into his wonderful light.”

Awe is followed by worship.
In light of all of this, we must recall that the Biblical language of awe and reverence most often refers to it in the term of fear. I Samuel says in chapter 12 verse 23,

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart;
consider what great things he has done for you.”

Fear, reverence, awe, wonder, inspiration, and so on... all are absolute necessity in our daily walk with the Lord. He who is infinitely able to give every good gift and blessing is also equally able to take them away or to bring curse. Scripture says that no one has ever seen God for to do so, he would surely die (Ex. 33:20). Now, that alone should bring a fearful wonder to a person. This is the God who brought the wonder of the Red Sea parting so the Israelites could escape their Egyptian captors on dry land, but also the God who brought the wondrous tragedy of a global flood. The God who inspired awe in the upper room after his resurrection is the one who also nullified the existence of Sodom and Gomorrah. It is not a shameful thing to fear God. It is commanded, required, and thoroughly appropriate as we live out the life of a Christian. In fact, it is distinctly wise to fear God. Proverbs 1:7 states that

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom
and discipline.”

If we really know God, it is impossible for us to not be in awe of Him. It is impossible for us to not fear Him. It is impossible for us to not be inspired by His deeds, His majesty, His very being.

This brings me to a major issue... because if you’re paying attention to what’s going on up here, you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, I don’t fear God” or “Well, I mean... I love God, but I’m not awestruck by Him.” Pay attention! This is important! God might be talking to you!

Let me go down a bit of a sidetrack for a little bit. Do you remember your first love? Maybe your first love miraculously resulted in a happy marriage, maybe it ended in a broken heart, perhaps you look back and realize that your first love was nothing more than a childhood crush. You start out a relationship with intensity and passion. You get flabbergasted at the sight of that special someone. Your cheeks get flushed, your mind gets flustered, and you find yourself tongue-tied in conversation. You’re simply in awe of that person. In fact, it is likely that there’s scarcely anything that can budge the thought of that person from the forefront of your mind. Maybe you even save every note, doodle, or scrap from that person just because it will help you feel somehow nearer to that person when you’re apart.

But what a dreadful thing occurs when that person no longer captivates the heart. He or she doesn’t inspire the chivalry, nor the poetry of the young love. Perhaps the person even becomes less attractive somehow. Every nuance and annoyance eats at you and you’re always on edge. Then anger starts to come more quickly and sometimes it develops in to a painful apathy. What love is this? This is the very essence of the exhortation brought to the Ephesian church in Revelation 2,

“You have forsaken your first love."

In essence, you’re not in awe of your lover anymore. You no longer pine after your beloved one.

This is something every believer deals with from time to time. The reason I’m sharing with you today about this is because I too recently realized that I’d been suffering immensely from a lack of awe in God! Yes... suffering. When we lose our amazement in God, when we neglect any facet of His character, we lose sight of who He is. We associate Him, practically, as a non-present and non-intrusive buddy. We decrease our worship of Him. We tailor back our prayer times because we feel like we’re just talking to the walls... no voice responding, maybe it’s not even there. We strip down our devotional readings from the Word because we call it the Word of God, but it’s just a book. Now, you may not be actually thinking those things. No! You wouldn’t dream of it! But don’t you remember what mom and dad taught you? Actions speak louder than words. You may not say that the Bible is just another book, but if you don’t revere it and seek after it in belief you deny its divinity in your action! If you don’t fear God whatsoever, why obey Him? Would you obey Him just because He’s nice? Maybe, but it won’t last for long. What stops a person from disobeying when there is no fear of punishment? It’s natural for us to just keep on pushing the boundaries. This isn’t love of God. This isn’t a true picture of the character of God. This isn’t awe... isn’t wonder... isn’t reverence of our gracious Savior.

Think about this! Really think on it. What does your life say about your belief in God?
If we realize the magnitude of the God described in these pages we WILL be fearfully in awe of Him. We will be shocked to find that He is not a God who simply coddles and cuddles, but also condemns. This isn’t something that we like to think about. We love to embrace the fatherly facet of the character of God , but we neglect the dimension of His lovingly righteous and holy judgement... and so become lax and complacent in faith. We wouldn’t want to have to actually change when we are born again! You see, we increase in factual knowledge, but don’t let it penetrate the heart and so inspire us. We think that knowledge and awe contradict one another when it is an awe-inspired knowledge that produces the desired “faith as of a child” that will open the heavenly gates. Or, most often we just don’t know God because we don’t spend any time with Him and thus have a diminished view of Him. Open your eyes and see! He who has ears let him hear!

What are you waiting for? Are you waiting to see something that will truly inspire awe in you... something that you’ll see and just know that it’s of God?

Think on this as I describe some things to you...

If you’re an adult of average weight, this is what you accomplish in 24 hours: Your heart beats 103,689 times. Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles. You breathe 23,040 times. You inhale 438 cubic feet of air. You eat 3¼ pounds of food. You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids. You lose 7/8 pound of waste. (Okay, I probably could have left that part out.) You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones. You move 750 muscles. You exercise 7,000,000 brain cells. …feel tired? To the heart that longs after God, every additional detail and bit of scientific data only increases the awe of God to a greater extent. The enormity and complexity of everything points right back to He who created and sustains all things for all time.
Even though your brain will forget more than 90 percent of what you learn during your lifetime, it may still store up as much as 10 times more information than there is in the Library of Congress, with its 17 million volumes.

We could take days and just talk about the intricacies and marvels of the human body, but I hope you are starting to get the picture. God is doing wondrous things around us every second of every day. Some things appear to be more miraculous than others. You may never see a man walk on water. You may never see the dead rise. You may never see a blind man regain sight. Yet, regardless of this, we dare not take for granted the “everyday miracles” that surround us. This would strip God of His rightfully deserved... indeed required, reverent worship.

If you ever want to see something truly awe-inspiring take a look at a newborn.
Each time I see a baby I can’t help myself... I must give thanks to God. He did a great job creating them. No doubt about it. I know that there are a number of parents out there. You know even better than I how amazing these creations are. Everyone of you were fearfully made by the One Creator God. You know, find someone today and tell him or her, “You are and amazing creation of an awesome God!”

When you slow down enough to embrace a heart of gratitude and look at this world with open eyes in order to truly see it for what it is, you will begin to see the wonder that surrounds you each and every day. The question is, what are you going to do with it? Will you ignore Him? Will you stand in awe, but let it die like a middle school crush? Or will you marvel at God and let it move you to worship in reverence of the Most Holy One? Don’t take God for granted, He’s just too awesome to miss. Allow yourself to be inspired by Him; let Him capture your heart. Renew the flame of first love.

new way to be human: the secret of strength

Here we are again… looking at Philippians. We’ve been learning about a “New Way to Be Human,” which includes being people with a soul obsession- our souls are focused on God and our desire is for sharing His love with others, being people of unity, losing ourselves for the sake of gaining Christ, being people of grace- not judging others, but embracing each other in our differences, and being people who let the peace of God move in and through us. This sounds like a great way to live, right?

Philippians 4:10-23

I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your
concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to
show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and
every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in
want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover,
as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel,
when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of
giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you
sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a
gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received
full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from
Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable
sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his
glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be
glory for ever and ever. Amen. Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The
brothers who are with me send greetings. All the saints send you greetings,
especially those who belong to Caesar's household.
The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

There is a really key verse in this passage. It is one that I memorized early on in the development of my faith. It is both simple and profound. We must remember this in all circumstances. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Everything can find its completion, its fulfillment by the strength of God. Wow!
Now, we need to be careful as we look at this verse to not take it out of context. You will hear this from me over and over and over again. Context! We need to make sure that we never just pull a verse out at random without understanding what it’s truly saying. When we make that mistake we find people rationalizing any conceivable action or thought. This is how the bible has been used to defend everything from spousal abuse and slavery to drug abuse and murder. NO! The Word of God must be carefully used. As a side-note here and speaking of slavery, I want to just mention a film that is coming out this upcoming weekend called “Amazing Grace.” It tells the compelling story of William Wilberforce who risked all he had to press parliament to end slave trade in the British Empire. It also shares of the relationship between Wilberforce and John Newton, who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace.” It looks compelling.
Anyway, back on track now… context. Some people have tried to use the verse stating “I can do everything…” as reasoning for being permitted to commit sinful actions. They misinterpret this verse as permission to do whatever we want because God’s grace will ultimately cover our sins. This is a grave error in interpretation! This verse does not give us license to do whatever we please! When understood in the context with which it was written, we see that Paul is stating that he can overcome all circumstances and trials by the strength of Christ because he does all things in him and through him. Paul speaks of this elsewhere when he is describing some of the difficulties he has faced. In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 he says,

He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so
that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I
am weak, then I am strong.”

This runs so contrary to everything we’ve been raised to believe, doesn’t it? I remember being taught to not let my weaknesses be known. We’re told to do everything for ourselves. When we are self-sufficient, we get more accolades, we’re at the front of the line for a raise or a promotion, we are more admired, we’re perceived as more reliable and more valuable, which all means that we’re less expendable. “Don’t let your weaknesses show! You’ll get fired because you’ll show that you’re inadequate!” Isn’t this what we’re taught in this culture? Maybe this will make my point for me... Listen to Simon & Garfunkel's "I am a Rock." What does that make you think of? There's a lot of despair, isolation, and loneliness in that song,right? Whether you like Simon & Garfunkel or not, I think most of us experience the way those lyrics resonate within us.
"I am a rock. I am an island. A rock feels no pain and an island never cries." "Don’t talk of love… If I’d never loved I never would have cried." What happens when we play only to our strengths? What happens when we live a life of total self-sufficiency? We exalt ourselves. We may even receive the awards and praises of peers. Maybe we’ll be able to make a lot of money even! But it will be hollow. We will build walls and find ourselves isolated.
God’s grace is sufficient for us. Through all trials and circumstances God provides. When we rely on our own strength to get us through we find ourselves wrapped up in fear, anxiety, and pain. We struggle through alone and we don’t know how to reach out for help. It is when we realize our weakness, our powerlessness, our feebleness that we know that we can and must turn to God. This is what it means when it says that we are strong when we are weak.
A few weeks ago we had a guest who shared with us about ministry in Burkina Faso. Lorinda shared about some of the miraculous ways that God has been moving in Africa. At Route 66 the following Wednesday there were questions about why we don’t see God move like that here. My belief is that we are too darned self-sufficient. We look to the sufficiency of our own strength instead of looking to the providence of God’s strength which is the sufficiency of His grace. But wait… before I move on from here, I want to do something. “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” When have you experienced God's strength to carry you beyond an obstacle... when you didn't think you could make it?
Perhaps we haven’t seen angels in white sitting on our garden gates like they did in Burkina, but we can see here that God works miraculously in our midst when we turn to him. When we can admit our weakness and rely on God to provide, we actually see Him do what He has promised to. It’s just that we often shut God out by pulling up our bootstraps and trying to muddle through on our own.
Let’s look at another aspect to this matter. It’s what is described throughout the rest of our passage from today. Paul writes to the Philippians and thanks them for the ways they have “renewed their concern for him” by sending him gifts. It would be reasonable to believe that the gifts sent were necessary supplies, and finances, but they also sent him Epaphroditus for a while. This Philippians messenger worked along-side of Paul for a period of time and aided him in his work.
We’ve talked about how we cut ourselves off from God by trying to do everything on our own. We’ve talked about the way we become isolated and depressed as we build walls to maintain our image of self-sufficiency. Look, we were created to be in community. We are all relational beings- in need of each other. Paul talks about how he has learned to be content in all circumstances. He can overcome all obstacles by the strength of God. But he does also recognize that God often uses His followers to be the conduit for His providence.
I suspect you have heard the following story of what happened to a man in a springtime flood.

“It seems that there was this fellow, who had lived all his life in the house his
grandfather had built, and never left it, even in floods. Well, this year the
flood was particularly bad. The State police were dispatched to remove him from
his home. They drove out, and drove away, after the man waved a shotgun and said
that God had promised to protect him. The floods rose, and the man moved to the
second story of his house, as he had several times before. A boat was sent to
rescue him, but he waved the shotgun again, insisting that God promised to take
care of him.The waters rose again, and when the news helicopter spotted him
and tried to pluck him off his roof, he shot at them, and they flew off. The
waters rose yet again, and the man perished in the flood.He got to heaven, made
his way through the pearly gates, and walked straight up to the throne of grace.
Hands on his hips, he addressed God:"I thought you were going to take care of
me!?"God smiled and said, "Son, I sent a car, a boat, and a helicopter. What more
do you want?!”

Sometimes God uses ordinary means to help us. He isn’t always going to speak through a burning bush. He isn’t always going rain down manna from the heavens to get our attention. Most times God uses the most mundane ways to provide. One of those ways is through the correct working of the body of Christ- his followers. When we live as a body, we see the miracles of God take place in each others lives. We see the hand of God provide through our needs as we confess our weakness to each other and we support each other. In Acts the earliest followers of Jesus lived in this way.

Acts 2:44-47

All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their
possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes
and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the
favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were
being saved.

And it wasn’t just the believers in Jerusalem, but this is the type of giving that the Philippians showed to Paul. They loved him and knew of his need, so they provided for him. In doing so, they also provided for and supported the advancement of the gospel to non-believers. Did you notice that people gave of their time, gave of their talents, and gave of their possessions? Paul is glad that the people of Philippi sent gifts for him. Why? Not because he needed them to… God takes care of Paul. He was delighted in their generosity because it is pleasing to God that they would remember a brother and worker in the gospel. Paul said that he wasn’t looking for gifts, but he was happy that their acts would be credited to them by God. God isn’t some cosmic accountant keeping a ledger of credits and debits. Where, if we have more in our credit column at the end of our life, we will go to heaven. No, that’s not the way it works… That’s not what Paul is saying. Remember, context. He referred to their gifts as a “fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” God loves it when we give. He loves it. Not because he needs our money.
Psalm 50:7-13 says,

"Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O
Israel, and I will testify against you: I
am God, your God. I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or your burnt offerings, which are ever
before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
for every animal of the forest is mine, and
the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine. If
I were hungry I would not tell you, for the
world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?”

God is saying that he doesn’t want our sacrifices because he needs them. He didn’t require his followers in the Old Testament to sacrifice animals because He was hungry. What he wants from us is a heart that loves Him, is devoted to Him, and willing to give back to Him out of obedience and gratitude. God doesn’t even need us to serve him or to speak his gospel. He doesn’t need us, but desires us to do this out of our love for him.
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is entering into Jerusalem and crowds of people filled the streets in celebration. They were praising him and delighting in his presence. Check this out. Luke 19 says,

“When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the
whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the
miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the
name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest!"
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to
Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
"I tell you," he replied, "if they
keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Acts 17:24-25 says,

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth
and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human
hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and
breath and everything else.”

God can make the rocks cry out to share his message. He can make the mountains shout of his glory. He is God and He is in need of nothing. But we have needs. In every way and on every day we have needs. When we live in community and admit our weakness, we let the God who is sufficient provide for our needs. When we share with one another and support those who are carrying His gospel, He is pleased and we experience the blessings that come with filling each other’s needs as a body.
This is what it looks like when we transfer our love for God and for others into action. This is what life looks like when we’re “Helping people journey toward God through loving relationships.” We admit weakness. We help each other. We come to the aid of one another. We give of our time. We give of our talents. Yes, we even give of our finances. Peter puts it in this way…

1 Peter 4:8-11

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever
gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in
its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very
words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides,
so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the
glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Look around you. Look at the people next to you. You don’t have to go far to find someone in need. Is there a way you can help that person? Is there any ways you can help your church? There is a constant need for volunteers in our churches and in our communities. If you are willing, I guarantee someone can find a way to help you serve the body. What ways can you support your neighbor? What ways can you support the work of God in this community? And overseas?

augustine-isms

"Love the sinner and hate the sin."

"Heart speaks to heart."

"To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation."

"Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love."

what is in a name

So... I think I'm going to get a puppy!
Yes, I'm stinkin' excited about it. I don't want to tell much about him because I want to share pictures after I get him. But I want to start the process of picking out a name for the little guy.
Here are the current front-runners... please write in and let me know what you think.

MacGreggor
Carson
Finaly
Duff
Brodie
Barclay
Rory

contemplative

Sometimes it's nice to just sit and think.





"I am a thing that thinks, that is to say, a thing that doubts, affirms, denies, understands a few things, is ignorant of many things, wills, refrains from willing, and also imagines and senses."

-Rene Descartes

the misfits

My new favorite shoes.
The Misfits rock and so do my shoes.
Thanks Draven.

the relativity of "cold"

60 above zero:
Floridians turn on the heat.
People in Wisconsin plant gardens.

50 above zero:
Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Madison sunbathe.

40 above zero:
Italian & English cars won't start.
People in Wisconsin drive with the windows down.

32 above zero:
Distilled water freezes.
The water in Superior gets thicker

20 above zero:
Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, wool hats.
People in Wisconsin throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above zero:
New York landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Wisconsin have the last cookout before it gets cold.

Zero:
People in Miami all die.
Wisconsin close the windows.

10 below zero:
Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Wisconsin get out their winter coats.

25 below zero:
Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Wisconsin are selling cookies door to door.

40 below zero:
Washington DC runs out of hot air. (Quite a feat!)
People in Wisconsin let the dogs sleep indoors.

100 below zero:
Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Wisconsinites get upset because they can't start the Mini-Van.

460 below zero (-459.67 F):
ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero, zero on the Kelvin scale.)
People in Wisconsin start saying..."Cold 'nuff fer ya?"

500 below zero:
Hell freezes over.
Wisconsin public schools will open 2 hours late.

oh what a circus, oh what a show

My life has been a circus as of late. My mind and my heart are topsy-turvy. It seems as if my whole being has become a carnival. Three rings, contortionists, clowns, and so on... All of it.

A delicate composure is maintained as the elephants perform their stunts, the dancing bears wait in the wings, and the tamer prays for the grace of another day as he checks the backside of a massive feline's canines. Anything could grow dramatically wrong at any time turning delight into horror. The trapeze artists anxiously act out their aerial acrobatics while the high-wire ballet of balance begins- beneath there's only the bottom of the big top. Lungs remain full as the audience looks on aghast, waiting for failure, but never admitting to it. On a trampoline elsewhere an exhibition of bouncing bodies are twisted and flung around with seemingly the greatest ease. Each performer looks flawless. They must look flawless.

At center-stage feats of strength are displayed for all to see while in the next ring over a man is lowered into the deep, dark tunnel of despair and is helplessly thrust through the air with only a hope and a prayer. The juggler performs perfectly and sets the stage for the fantastic feats of the flame-eater... then the sword-swallower. People point, and laugh, and applaud. They watch wide-eyed and mystified as the procession of performers wow them. Cue the plate spinner who does all he can to keep everything up, but botches the act as one piece falls, and then another. Perhaps he's better suited for the sideshow with the other failures and freaks. The ringmaster, dressed to the nines in his top hat and tails, soaks up the limelight and the applause while doing nothing to deserve any of it. He runs his mouth and diverts the fickle audience's attention from the failure taking place before their eyes.

The lights are turned out, the audience ushered away, and the curtain falls at the end of the night. A hush falls over the grounds. Artists lie awake in the deafening silence of loneliness until the sun breaks through to declare the dawning day. Sunrise-to-sunset, time marches on- the pageantry is perpetuated with only the hollowest of fanfare.

lover of my soul

So Valentine's Day has come and passed once again. I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of the holiday at this moment. Likely, this has something to do with my persistent state of singleness. Yet, I will not be that guy who vents disdain for this holiday. When I'm half of a couple, I love the day! No, I will not be spiteful, but will instead take the higher road. Instead, I direct my thoughts to the love my God has for me. His love is the sort that not even the greatest myths or fairy tales could come close to describing. The most sweeping romantic epics and the most moving lyrics could never capture the pure passion displayed by my God. Sure, there are stories of men... even women... who would go to great lengths for love, but not one story is filled with such heart-wrenching betrayal by the bride, such filth in the sinfulness of the beloved, such grace shown by her lover, such love without condition as the story of the romance of Christ and his bride. There are even stories of men... even women... willing to lay their life on the line for the sake of love, but none hold the truth of a lover so devoted as to descend from heaven in order to pay the penalty of his beloved's crimes... tasting the fullness of death, then returning from the very pit of Hell to be joined in eternal union with his freed bride. What other story describes a lover who swallows the filth of sin in order to restore the virginal purity to his loved one?
No, I won't despise Valentine's Day. There's no reason for that. Instead I will delight in the love of my Lord and Savior. And I will wait. I will wait for the day that He permits me to pass along the love that He has lavished upon me to the one I will unified with.

new way to be human: chill out

How ya’ll doin’?

Today we’re going to continue our look at Philippians. Since the start of the year we’ve been digging in to see that there is a New Way to Be Human. When we are found in a new life with Christ, the old is laid to rest and we learn to live in an entirely new way. Our passage today is the fourth chapter of Philippians.

1Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that
is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Exhortations
2I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree
with each other in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these
women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with
Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:
Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be
anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is
noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it
into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Do you know someone that just seems "stable?"

Let me explain what I mean by that. Do you know someone that just never seems to be fazed by the circumstances that surround him or her? There was this man I had met while I was working at a book store in Green Bay. His name was Ralph. Now, Ralph was an older guy and had spent the entirety of his life as a single man. He loved God and just enjoyed being around people. Ralph would come into the store at least once a week and would be there for hours at a time as he went person to person talking, encouraging, and praying. Very seldom did I ever see Ralph without a smile on his face. The best way I could describe him is to say that he was a man of great peace. Do you know someone like Ralph? Do you know someone that always seems to have peace? Someone who is seldom over-stressed? Someone who is always happy? Sometimes this can be almost a bad thing, right? Do you know someone that is always way too over-perky? But what I’m really talking about are the sort of people that we have in our life that just seems well-adjusted and serene. Not only do they appear to be peaceful, but they are somehow a source of peace to anyone around them as well.

Have you realized over the past few weeks how many times Paul talks about joy in Philippians? It’s joy this and rejoice that and a quick be joyful over there… It just bubbles up and out of him. Rejoice! Rejoice always! Now, remember, Paul wasn’t really living a great life. He was going town to town in threat of persecution. He was receiving beatings, getting shipwrecked, and bitten by snakes… People were stoning him and tossing him in prison… not the sort of life you’d be expecting by the way he is writing here, right? Paul models a life of joy because he knows what’s important in life. He has the Spirit of God working inside of him to bring about this joy. This is the same expectation he has for other followers of Jesus. He not only expects us to be people of joy, but also of gentleness, and peace.

Okay, so I love this passage because it is one I remind myself of frequently.

I’m a worrier.

Anybody else a worrier? More than anything else I struggle with, worry is the worst. I love being around peaceful people because they help me calm down. I see things pile up in my life and I get overwhelmed. I’m the sort of guy that lies down at night and spend the next 5 hours trying to get my mind to stop thinking about the things I need to get done. You know what I mean? What is Paul’s response to this? He says, “Do not be anxious to anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

Okay… so, pray about it.

Pray about it.

Now, I don’t know about you, but there are times when I’m wrestling with things that really weigh on me and I sometimes get to a point where, if I hear one more person tell me to “Let go and let God,” I swear I’m gonna’ smack ‘em up-side their noggin’!

Seriously! There are times when the most holy thing I can think of is how to get away from that person so I don’t do something that I’ll have to repent for! Y’know what I mean?

But regardless of my feelings, despite my grandiose ideas of how massive my problems are, there is always one who is greater than the problems of this world. For me, I have to understand why I should pray for that prayer to make sense to me. Let’s look at the teachings of Jesus.
In Matthew 6 Jesus said this:

Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than
they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies
of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even
Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God
clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into
the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not
worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we
wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry
about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough
trouble of its own.

Can you agree with that? Each day has enough trouble of its own. Why carry the worries of yesterday into tomorrow when there is plenty of worries already waiting for me?!

Pause.

You may have noticed that this passage started with the word “therefore.” Whenever we read the Bible we must ask a question when we come to this word.

What is the 'therefore' there for?

If we start with “therefore,” we know that we are starting in the middle of a thought. Just before this passage, Jesus was talking about storing up our treasures in heaven and knowing that our heart will be found where our treasure is kept. Meaning, if we keep a focus on storing up treasures here on earth by accumulating the stuff of earth, our heart will be tied up in the things of this world, but if we focus our heart heavenward and find our treasure in the love and blessing of God, we will find our heart there with Him. When we invest in our belongings... the trappings of this world, we store up treasures in the here and now. When we invest in the work of God and the lives of others, we store up our treasures in heaven. Plain and simple, just the way Jesus intended!

Jesus then goes on by saying, “Therefore…” don’t worry about your life. Don’t worry about food or shelter or clothing or anything else. Why? Jesus makes a few points here. The first is that God takes care of all of the animals and all of the plants- we are more important to Him than they are. God’s really got it under control. Secondly, Jesus appeals to us to use our heads… “Who of you can add a single hour to your life by worrying?” Most often, worrying is the least productive thing we can do in the situation. When you’re lying in bed at night giving yourself an ulcer over your finances, what good are you doing? Are you making any money by worrying? Or are you losing sleep that will in turn hurt your productivity? Not to mention the extra money you’ll waste because you have to buy Tums now! There’s just no sense in being anxious. Finally, Jesus tells us this last thing… it’s implied. When he says that we shouldn’t be freaking out over the little things he also says that our heavenly Father knows what we need. What is implied is that God has our best interest in mind. He really does know what we need and will provide it. What do we have to do? Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. He’s saying that if we do our job, God will do his. God always holds up his part of the deal.

So, back to our passage for today. “Do not be anxious… instead, pray.”

Isn’t it a great feeling to not have to worry about something?

I think of how relieved my mom was when she found out that my aunt was hosting the family for last Thanksgiving. She was able to just show up and enjoy. No stress, no worry. She brought her vegetable dish, but when she had her job done, she knew that everything was going to be taken care of. The same thing happens in our lives when we just trust God and let Him be God. When we set our sights on Him and let Him be our focus, He will do his part as a provider and caretaker. We don’t have to be anxious because God knows what is best for us and He wants to provide that for us.

When we get this understanding through our thick skulls, we will see how everything else in this passage just falls into place. When we stop worrying and we permit God to be the focus of our mind and heart, we will experience peace. Now, the peace he’s talking about isn’t like “Peace in the Middle East” sort of stuff, but rather it is a peace that is a divine gift that permits us to keep our cool in the midst of struggle. Remember we were talking about those peaceful people. Think about the way our passage started for today in talking about Euodia and Syntyche. These women were embroiled in a feud. Evidently this must have been significant if Paul was able to be notified of it by messenger, then feels he must write regarding it. Remember, this is the true snail mail. No e-mail here. These are evidently women who were influential and very capable leaders who worked with Paul in Philippi. But yet they are in a bit of a disagreement. He appeals to the women to make peace, to seek unity. He also pleads with the people to be peacemakers. The Christ-followers of Philippi are to assist in the matter. Paul then goes on to describe being joyful, gentle, peaceful and prayerful. This isn’t coincidence. He didn’t just happen to write about these things after talking about the dispute. The people you want around in a tough time are people who exemplify peace, love, and prayer.

Isn’t it great to have someone around that can have and share peace in times of turmoil? This is what is meant by a peace that transcends all understanding. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to have peace, but we find it and can share it with others because of the knowledge we have in the fact that Jesus is still the Savior and God is still keeping His eye on things. This peace of God is described as being able to guard our hearts and minds. That makes sense, right? Do you ever find that as you worry, you find more and more and more things to worry about? All of a sudden things are flooding at you and it isn’t long before you’re looking for ways to cope. You get bombarded by the anxieties that you face and then you start thinking about how great a stiff drink would be, or how much you long for the touch of a lover, or you desire a piece of cake… and a couple Twinkies… and a bag of Doritos… and a wheel of cheese. Do you see where I’m going with that? When we permit God to be God, He will give us peace and protect our minds from the temptations that follow being caught up in this world. We also become part of the solution as opposed to being a part of the problem.

Earlier we were talking about the way that peaceful and joyful people have a tendency to share that with others. Do you realize that this goes both ways? Emotions are a two-way track. Just as pleasant people can share their joy… anxious people, and angry people, and bitter people… can spread that as well. On Saturday Night Live, Rachel Dratch plays this character named Debbie Downer. She has this uncanny ability to turn every joyful and delightful event into anguish. I can only imagine what she would be like in a crisis situation!

Obviously her characterization is an exaggeration, but haven’t we all experienced something like this before? That foul tempered person can turn all of our joy into misery. Now imagine being in a crisis situation and think of someone who sees only pain and darkness coming into the situation… he/she only makes everything worse! We get further insight about this as we look at what Paul wrote to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 4:22-29 Paul writes,

22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old
self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the
attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in
true righteousness and holiness.
25Therefore each of you
must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all
members of one body. 26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down
while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has
been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with
his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your
mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their
needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Put off the old self, put anger to rest, build each other up. We’ve all heard, “You are what you eat.” Have you ever heard the phrase “Garbage in, garbage out?” this is what we’re talking about today. What you let take place in your heart and mind, or what you let in to take residency there is what will eventually come out of you. We must be very careful about what we take in and how we live. In Proverbs 4:22-27 it says,

Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away
perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Make level
paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right
or the left; keep your foot from evil.

See? What we have in our heart is what will flow out of us as it is the wellspring of our life. What we hear, what we say, what we read, what we experience all seeps into us. The passage today says, “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.” When you are thinking and experiencing what is right, true, noble, pure, and so on… that’s what is going to take root in your heart and what is going to be the overflow of your life. When you let God be God and when you let His peace dwell within you, you will experience peace, you will share peace, and you will be a peacemaker. You will “let your gentleness be evident to all.” Then, when we are in critical situations, we will be a source of peace to others because Christ is the source of our peace.

What kind of person are you? Do you make situations better or worse? Are you experiencing joy and peace? Do you share that with others? Or are you spreading the anxiety, fear, and anger that you carry with you? What is inside of you... inside your wellspring... that is waiting to come out?

new way to be human: what a loser

I think that my next comment is starting to become a real trend here…

I have a confession to make.

You know that I like to try to live my life as an open book. I don’t hold much back. Some might say that I try to be transparent. What you see is what you get. In keeping with that, I have this confession today. It’s a bit embarrassing. I really don’t know what you will think of me after I tell you. But… enough beating around the bush. This is going to be easier if I just come straight out and tell you.

I watch “Beauty & the Geek.” In fact, I’ve watched every season of it. I get together each week with friends… we mark out time in our schedule so we can watch it. It’s kind of sick… But I watch it and I enjoy it. That’s that!

Seriously though, this show “Beauty & the Geek” is pretty interesting. They take 8 geeks and partner them up with 8 model-like beauties and then put them through challenges that are supposed to help them to work together and develop them into something more than just a beautiful face or an over sized IQ. It’s so interesting because as the weeks progress you can watch the people change and you can watch the walls come down. Hopefully they will leave as more well-adjusted and well-rounded people. This show, as much of a novelty as it is, confronts one of our society’s most foundational truths. “People ARE exactly as they are SEEN.” Remember, this is what our culture says. What you see is what you get. If I wear this, I must be that. Let me give an example. I was watching a TV show about some people trying to break into the rap music industry. One of the participants on this show is a white guy from Texas that has a Mohawk, piercings, and a variety of Waylon Jennings or “Don’t Mess with Texas”-themed t-shirts. There is no way I would have guessed that he was a fan of rap music. Why? He didn’t look like he would. He didn’t dress like he would. This goes for everyone and everywhere for nearly everything. We pigeon-hole people based on the way they look all the time! If you think you can honestly say that you don’t ever buy into stereotypes, well… Good for you! I would just be concerned about the increasing length of your nose.

The saddest thing is that this happens in our churches as well. Followers of Jesus also make judgments of people based on meaningless criteria. I’ll speak about this more in just a little bit, but first, let’s look into the Bible passage for this week.

1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write
the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those
mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship
by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in
the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put
confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the
people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to
the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic
righteousness, faultless.
7But whatever was to my profit
I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything
a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain
Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes
from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that
comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him
in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of
me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I
press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus.
15All of us who are mature should take
such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God
will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17Join with others in following my example, brothers, and
take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. 18For, as I
have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as
enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their destiny is destruction, their god is
their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly
things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from
there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring
everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will
be like his glorious body.

Can you hear the passion that Paul conveys here? We’ve talked a bit about Paul and his soul obsession. He is consumed with love for God and love for others. So much so that he even writes with tears that there are many enemies of the cross of Christ. It disturbs him so much that these people hate Christ and will not receive the blessed salvation through him that he weeps over the fact. This is living out the heart of the Scriptures that tell us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” These people that Paul was weeping for would have likely sought to kill him in a moment’s notice because of the love he had for Jesus. I’ll tell you that I struggle to have a heart like this. It’s difficult to love people that much. Can you agree with that? But that’s what we really need to strive for.

What we see here is an example of seeing past the façade and focusing in on the heart of a matter. Let’s jump back to the start of our passage and look at what were talking about earlier. Paul starts giving a warning about these men that he calls “dogs” and “mutilators of the flesh.” This isn’t a pleasant picture he’s painting is it? He isn’t really dancing around this subject. These guys are worthy of Paul’s disdain apparently. Why? They are going around and forcing new converts to Christianity to be circumcised. This was in holding up a traditional Law given to the people of the nation of Israel. (Genesis 17:1-11)

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I
am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. 2 I will confirm my covenant
between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers."
3 Abram fell face down, and God said to him, 4 "As for me,
this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No
longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you
a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations
of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an
everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the
generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8
The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an
everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be
their God."
9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you
must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to
come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the
covenant you are to keep:
(Imagine Abram waiting for God to reveal the sign
of the covenant... and then…)
Every male among you shall be
circumcised. 11 You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you.

In the Old Testament, God instructed that his people would be circumcised; in fact, it was the sign of a covenant that God made with Abraham that God would be his God and the God of his descendants forever. These guys were basing things off of an understanding that a person’s faith wasn’t valid unless the man was circumcised. These were Jewish Christians that believed that Gentiles (non-Jewish believers) had to follow the rules set down for the Jews in specific thousands of years prior. Paul says that they were missing the heart of what God was getting at. The point is that we obtain salvation through the grace, the free gift, of Jesus Christ… not by performing ritualistic acts.

Let’s hit pause for a second here and let me explain something briefly. There is a lot of debate about how we, as followers of Jesus, should handle the Old Testament. There are a lot of people who say that because Jesus came and fulfilled the Old Testament laws, we don’t have to pay any attention to them any more. Read the New Testament and go from there. No. That’s just not the truth. Jesus did come to fulfill the law. But he also said,

17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not
come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven
and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to
do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For
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 5:17-20)

Jesus didn’t wipe out the Old Testament. He fulfilled the Law by living a perfect life. And he fulfilled the Prophets through the way that he lived that life. The fact is just as Paul writes to his disciple Timothy.

16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The heart of the scriptures never changes and the whole Bible is useful for leading our lives because the whole Bible was “God-breathed” or “inspired by God.”

Back on track now… The “mutilators of the flesh” were following Paul around and trying to “enhance” his work by giving people faulty information. They said that you have to look this way and wear this thing and do this or that and… ultimately, be circumcised. What’s Paul’s response? WRONG! Paul says that if anybody should have confidence in the flesh, it should be him. He rattles off a resume that would be impressive to any God-fearing Jew in his day. Then he calls it all, what? Rubbish! The word used in the original Greek language actually meant: rubbish, trash, decaying refuse, and even dung. The fact that Paul had this amazing resume meant nothing when compared to knowing Christ. He knows what matters.

Now think about this, we started off talking about the way we judge people on external appearances. We label people geeks, or beauties, or punks, or jocks, or whatever, right? Don’t some people judge, by appearance, whether a person loves Jesus or not? For the people Paul was writing about, they said, “They can’t love God. They’re not circumcised!” What do people say now? “How can that man be a follower of Jesus? He has tattoos!” “She was smoking outside the church.” “He didn’t take his hat off to pray.” What about the reversal? Have you ever seen someone just get rude when they were dealing with a cashier and then you follow them out to their car and they have a little Jesus fish on their bumper? Or have someone praising Jesus on a Sunday morning… and using his name in vain on a Sunday afternoon?

Now, let me just say that I am glad to be in a church that this is not that big of an issue. I’m not saying that we don’t deal with this issue, but I don’t see it as much here as I have in other churches I’ve been at.

You see, appearance isn’t everything. It doesn’t matter what you look like, or where you’ve come from. It doesn’t matter who your mama or your daddy are. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been lovin’ Jesus since you were 3 or since you were 43. What matters is knowing Jesus.
This is what Paul is saying when he says,

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I
consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith
in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to
know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in
his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to
the resurrection from the dead.

What does Paul say is important? He says it’s about knowing Jesus and being found in Him. Am I saying that our actions aren’t important? They absolutely are… we talked about this over the last two weeks. We need to show love for God and for one another. We need to live in a way that is consistent with what we believe. But does that mean I need to wear a cross around my neck? No. Does that mean I have to have a certain Bible? No. Does that mean I have to listen to only Christian music? No. Does that mean that I can only wear shirts that have Jesus’ face on them? I sure hope not! I’d really be up a creek! Do you get the point?

Love, love, love, love, Love, people! The message behind this text is that God meets us where we’re at. We come from a hundred different backgrounds. We all have different stories and are in all in different places along this journey with God. It can be so easy for us to buy into the worldy mentality that we can pull rank on people and judge them as based upon their appearances. Not so. God meets people where they are at and so must we. As followers of Jesus we seek to imitate Him. Sometimes we need a reference we can see. Paul says it’s okay to imitate someone mature in their faith. Maybe you’ve experienced some unconditional love from someone that has a strong relationship with God. Learn from him or her. Just don’t put that person on a pedestal. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

We need to accept people in and heap love on them. It’s this sort of heart that Paul is displaying when he is weeping over the enemies of the cross. We need to let love into or heart and let it change the ways we think and the ways we see people and the ways we behave.
Now, along with this “meeting people where they’re at” concept, this applies to the process of developing faith. What we should be looking for, in brothers and sisters in Christ, is progress, not perfection. Paul himself says that he hasn’t achieved all these things. He doesn’t live out his faith perfectly. But he is trying to get better. I love the way he words this process. He says,

13“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Do you get that? He says, I’m not there yet, but I give everything I’ve got in order to make my way there in the end. I want to know Christ in every possible way. I want to love people as He wants me to. I want to join Him through anything. And I’m not going to let anything get in my way. He says that he’s going to forget what is behind and press on. He’ll put aside anything from the past… good or bad. Then, he will strain forward in order to gain Christ.

Let’s call this a “Loser” mentality. Last week we talked about the “Me” mentality and how it’s devastating to unity. Today, I want to tell you it’s good to be a loser. Through all of this, Paul explains that he has learned a “New Way to Be Human” by letting go of his accolades, letting go of his awards, and letting go of his pride. To some measure, he says that he has let go of his whole identity because he has found a new one in Christ. Let’s take this a step farther, it’s not a stretch to believe that he’s also talking about letting go of resentment, guilt, hurt, addictions, fear, anxiety, and so on… He counts EVERYTHING a loss when compared to knowing Christ. He lets loose EVERYTHING go so he can obtain that goal. Paul is a “Loser.” He loses his baggage and gains Christ. What an exchange!

What could you stand losing in your life? What is on your resume that you’re holding high? What are you hiding? What hurt do you have in your heart that holds you back from moving forward? What resentment is crippling you? Do you have fears about people finding out what you’ve done in your past? Do you think that what you’ve done is who you really are? Are you still judging people based on their outward appearance? Do you judge based on their past? Are you living up to the judgments that people have heaped on you all your life?
It’s time to lose the baggage. It’s time to cut loose the chains and strain forward toward God.