Hope

I’ve heard it said that hope is the eager and confident expectation of something good.  I like that definition.  However, for many of us, hope seems more related to chance than a sure thing.  “I sure hope I get that raise, I hope my kids do well in school, I hope I have enough money for retirement”, these statements don’t sound like I’m eagerly expecting something good.  I think the problem lies in our definition of the word hope.  Hope isn’t related to chance.  In Hebrew’s 6:19 it says that we have hope as an anchor for the soul.  Hope is meant to keep us focused on the big picture.  In the Old Testament Israel’s hope was in God’s promises.  Those promises became anchors for them in difficult times and helped them to overcome the obstacles they faced.  Even when they were in captivity they would hang on to the promises of deliverance and those promises were, no doubt, a huge part of how they were able to make it out of such difficult times.  In the New Testament our hope isn’t primarily found in the promises as much as it is found in the Person.  Our hope is Jesus.  Too often we place our anchor in the hope that our circumstances will change and when they don’t change or seemingly will never change, we get discouraged.  We live in what the Bible calls hope deferred.  That verse goes on to say that a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.  The word desire can be broken up to mean “of the father”, de meaning of and sire meaning father.  Our hope is found in Him.  He really is Christ in us the hope of glory.  Even in the Old Testament model, the promise was really meant to lead people to the presence.  No matter what we are going through or what we have been through His presence will always be an anchor for our soul.  It is the one true hope that we have. 

That's the View From Here...

Lost and Found

I was lost, not knowing where I was going or where I was coming from.  He found me, I'm pretty sure at least, some have told me that I found him but that doesn't feel true because I wasn't really looking for Him.  He loved me, He loved me, He loved me, He loves me, He loves me, He loves me and it has and will forever change me.  There has never been a greater motivating force in my life.  His love is so great it transformed from a sinner to saint, from a slave to a son, from someone who judged everyone and everything to someone who sees that reconciliation is not counting other's trespasses against them.  He welcomed me with grace, I can't reject others by their works.  He gave me a reason to live.  He showed me the way, in fact He demonstrated it for me.  He became like me so I could become like Him.  It has marked me deeply.  I feel indebted to Him but not because I feel like I owe him some grand gesture of sacrifice, I couldn't repay what He did for me if I lived a thousand lifetimes.  What I do owe is an expression of the love that He invested in me.  The world that He died for deserves the revelation of the love that motivated Him to die for them.  Yes, He died for them.  He died for sinners.  He died for those who didn't deserve this amazing, awe inspiring, incredibly sacrificial love.  He died for all of us, and when he rose He did so with a purpose.  He released love to conquer every fear, He released freedom to destroy everything that keeps us bound.  What amazing news.  It feels so free to be in the business of reconciliation, love inspires people to greatness while fear paralyzes people to insanity (doing things over and over again and expecting different results.)  You can threaten people with judgment but you can't threaten them with Love.

Thank you Jesus for finding me, thank you for choosing me.  It is my honor to see your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

That's the view from Here...

Metonymy

About 10 years ago I had a dream.  In the dream a word was repeated over and over and over again.  Metonymy, metonymy, metonymy kept going through my mind in the dream.  I don't remember anything else about the dream other than I just kept repeating this word.  Then as if to reinforce this word even more it began to be spelled for me M-E-T-O-N-Y-M-Y.  I know I'm slow sometimes, but the Lord really was trying to get me to see something here.  I woke up thinking I need to find out what this word means.  I went straight for the dictionary and discovered that a Metonymy is basically a figure of speech where something is described through an association or connection with that something.  For example when we watch the news and someone says "the white house issued a statement today" we know that the white house itself can't issue a statement; it represents something it is associated with.  The White House represents the President and his government.  So what's the point?  What does this have to do with me or the church?  The beginning of the answer came on a walk later that day.  I was walking to the church, where I pastored, and I was meditating on 2 Corinthians 5.  Specifically, I was meditating on being a minister of reconciliation.  Not only did Jesus become a minister of reconciliation; He became reconciliation for us.  He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.  He didn't just do something for us He became it for us.

Jesus was a metonymy of the Kingdom.  To use the name Jesus is to talk about the kingdom.  This is why John's message was so important.  Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand.  The kingdom is within arm's reach.  The Kingdom has arrived.  It was even more significant than we might realize. It was an invitation into a new way of life.  A new creation reality.  Being "born again" means that I too become a metonymy for the kingdom.  We who know and have relationship with him all become a metonymy for the kingdom.  When people meet us they meet the kingdom.  We become like what we are associated with.  We issue a statement with our lives.  We are the letter known and read by all men.  We represent the reality of another world.

and that's the view from here...

Selling Jesus

Have you ever tried to sell a product you didn't believe in?  I have.  When I was going to University I tried to find jobs that would make me the most amount while requiring the least amount of effort.  Seemed logical to me.  The only problem was it never worked.  I would get all excited about these multilevel marketing schemes, after all I was great with people, had lots of friends.  Here's the thing your friends aren't interested in buying the stuff your selling if it doesn't work or it doesn't benefit their lives.  They aren't friends with you so you can sell them stuff, they are friends with you because they like you.  Evangelism has become a lot like this.  Selling a product that we know about but don't always believe in.  If we did believe it we wouldn't have to sell people on it.  No salesman in the world is going to have to sell me on a product that works and will improve my quality of life.  That product just sells itself.  What if we actually lived what we believed?  What if instead of emphasizing getting "the word" out we became the word known and read by all men?  What if the way we lived actually caused people to want what we have?

The great commission in Matthew 28 has been championed as our marching orders.  This commission was given to disciples that had walked in relationship with Jesus for 3 years.  He had been pouring His life in to them, investing in them, preparing them.  Am I saying we have to walk with God for a certain amount of years before we pursue this commission?  No, i'm saying that evangelism flows best through relationship.  Jesus said that the greatest commandments where to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Then he taught us that eternal life was to know the Father and the One whom he sent in John 17:3.  These pivotal statements promote one very important thing; relationship.  The point of christianity, in my humble opinion, isn't evangelism it's relationship.  Christianity is defined by our love, which without God, is at best conditional.  Conditional love requires some selling; unconditional love sells itself.  God so loved the world that He gave His Son.  Why did he give his son? Because he so loved the world that he desired a relationship with His creation.  God, the creator of the universe and all supreme being, wanted to get to know you.  That's amazing!  That motivates me to tell other people the opportunity they have in front of them.  It works, it's changing my life and without a doubt it will change yours.  I don't have to sell things I believe in.  I talk about them all the time.  Leadership is influence and when we believe in what God has invested in us we will see the greatest evangelism the world has ever seen.  We'll see believing believers whose love for God compels the nations to follow suit.  They will know us by our love, not our ability to sell something that's free.

Measureless Christianity

I read another article yesterday about how so many in the church are overly focused on love and that we aren't accurately representing the judgment of God.  It made me sick to my stomach.  Maybe its because, for thousands of years it seems, we have been preaching judgment that the love message is so appealing.  Maybe we have swung the pendulum in the other direction, but I believe it was about time.  The Bible is a love story.  It's a manifestation of the Love of God.  Its a message of redemption that can only be made possible through an incomprehensible love.  The Bible says that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  We weren't qualified for His redemption.  Jesus died for us because he loves us, not because we were good enough.  Without a sacrifice, Old or New Testament, we would have all died in our sins.  Jesus, the innocent one, said I'll fulfill the covenant.  I'll be the sacrificial lamb.  If Jesus loved us so much to die for us when we were in our sin, how could our message be anything but love.  Love melts the hearts of men; judgment hardens their resolve.  We sin because we don't know who we are.  Sin is the ultimate identity crisis.  When we tell people where they're failing it only reinforces that identity crisis.  I'm not saying that we don't need to introduce the need for change, I'm simply saying that love is a better motivator than fear.

It's also important for another reason.  Jesus didn't just die for our sin, He gave us the Kingdom.  When we don't realize our value it's hard to receive the Kingdom.  The level of sacrifice reveals the value of the prize.  Jesus paid it all.  He thought you were worth it.  Makes religious people cringe because religion tries to create it's own redemption.  You're not an orphan you're part of the family; a son or daughter of the king.  You have access to the kingdom realm as heir of the King.  If I know that, then I can receive all that comes with that inheritance.  We have been given His Spirit as a downpayment to that inheritance and that also comes with a promise.  In John 3:34 it says that Jesus gives us the Spirit without measure.  I've heard many people say that this scripture is about Jesus and that it isn't for us.  I would beg to differ.  He whom God has sent (Jesus) speaks the words of God; For He (Jesus) gives the spirit without measure.  If it was just for Jesus then who does He give the Spirit to?  I think we need to stop thinking we are pathetic, barely worthy, hardly going to make it sinners and realize that available to us is the glorious inheritance of the saints.  Then we will know what it's like to experience His Spirit without measure.

Permission to Be Yourself

Permission to Be Yourself

There seems to be a lot of emphasis on self-improvement these days.  We’re always trying to be a better person.  I guess it’s a good thing, there’s nothing wrong with wanting a better version of yourself.  So off we go in search of who we should be.  There’s all kinds of resources out there.  You can analyze your personality in 100 different ways.  It’s all rather exciting!  I get to categorize myself with other people that share similar personality types.  I get to celebrate agreeing with what I already know about myself.  If you’ve picked up on a hint of sarcasm then you are very intuitive.  While these tools can be helpful (and no I won’t mention any of them by name, I’m sure you can figure it out) No test or quiz can accurately assess the real you.  You are unique in all of creation.  There has never been a you and when you are gone there will never be another you. 

I think it’s important that we improve ourselves; physical, emotional, and spiritual growth is important.  If we aren’t growing we’re dying; I get all that.  However, sometimes our efforts to become better seem to take away from who we really are.  We adjust our personalities to make them more palatable to the people around us.  If you’re too opinionated, dial it down.  Which in many cases means I don’t want to hear your opinion and if you could change and be like me, that would be great.  Truth is, the quirkiness of the people we are in relationship with is often what drew us into the relationship in the first place.  We love and hate those qualities in others, but if we remove that quirkiness we also remove an important part of their personalities.  It’s like saying I really love hot sauce but could you remove all the hot stuff from it.  I hate to tell but you really don’t love hot sauce then.  Celebrate people for who they are, be honest with them when they hurt your feelings or say something to you that offends you, but don’t try to create a watered down version of who they are.  Give others around you permission to be themselves and maybe others will be able to celebrate you in all your quirkiness as well.

That’s the View from Here….   

Determining Your Value

For a long time being in a room with people that seemed more powerful than me would produce a reaction inside me that I didn't like.  I would feel really small, like I didn't belong in that room.  I would typically be very quiet and only speak when spoken to.  Usually I would try to avoid eye contact with people and would be very glad when the meeting was over.  I'm not exactly sure when this changed for me, but I find myself in a different place now.  I don't feel intimidated in this circumstance anymore because I'm finally beginning to discover who I am.  Instead of acting out of who I thought I should be, I started just focusing on being myself.  Maybe Stuart Smalley (of Saturday Night Live fame) was right "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and gosh darn it people like me!"  Seriously, it's amazing how much the value we place on ourselves is determined by the value people have for us.  This is so backwards.  Your value is found in you.   I see so many people that are so concerned about who they are to others that they never really discover who they really are.  Even when they are so gifted and talented they don't see it.  On my way to church last night I felt the presence of the Lord so strongly in my car.  I heard him say "You are the pearl of great price, I sold everything to buy you!  Your worth isn't determined by the people around you; it's determined by the price it cost to buy you back!"  I was absolutely floored!  I have have always looked at the story of the pearl of great price in Matthew 13 as our responsibility in the Kingdom.  If we want to have the Kingdom we have to sell all that we have to get this most precious pearl.  I've never looked at it from God's perspective.  He literally bankrupted Heaven by giving us Jesus, so that he could purchase our freedom.  This story is about what the Kingdom looks like.  He really wants us to know how valuable we are.  So many of us determine our value by our failures.  By who we aren't instead of by who we are.  God looks at us and says even in your most rebellious state I choose you!  You are so precious that I would give everything to get you back.  That should change the way we see ourselves.  You may need to remind yourself of this a few times.  You are the pearl of great price because God saw your potential and it was worth it to give His son for you!

That's the View from Here...