Great News

Growing up I always thought that the good news, or gospel message, was that through the blood of Jesus I was saved from hell. While the reality of salvation from hell is good news, I have learned that this is only the starting point. You see, we serve a pro nobis (for us) God. God does not just look down on earth and say well, I guess I have to send my son to save humanity. NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST. God, from before creation to the end of time, is for us! God is actively seeking a relationship with every single human. PRO NOBIS! The reality of a God that is for us unveils a richer message. God not only wants to save us from hell, but save us to the uttermost. God yearns to transform us into His image so that we are truly free, liberated from the bonds of sin and the burdens of the world. Too often we get stuck on John 3:16 and do not see the beauty of the entire story. Here are the verses that follow John 3:16:

 “16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” 

 Jesus came to give us life! God loved us so much that He wanted to give us life!!! So what is this life? In John 10:10 Jesus declares that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” This eternal life is not just for the future, it is for the here and now. Jesus does not merely want to save us from our sins, but rather longs to give us ABUNDANT and OVERFLOWING life. WOW! Now that is GREAT news. So what if we view sin through this lens? I often look at the Bible and say well, I can’t gossip, steal, lie, dress inappropriately etc. It is high time we re-frame our understanding of sin. What if God is saying Erin, I love you so much that I want you to have a relationship with me, and to have the overflowing and free life that comes with that. Therefore, these sins are what steal from that life and introduce darkness into the light. Lust…cheating…judgmental thoughts…envy…all chip away at the overflowing life you are meant to have. Now this approach to sin changes things. God desires holiness not because God wants to take the fun out of life, but because God wants us to have TRUE life! What great news!

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean life will be easy. Too often I hear people proclaim that if one truly knows Jesus they will have money, great friends and a cushy life. Unfortunately, a cursory view of the Bible reveals the glaring inaccuracies of the so called “prosperity gospel.” All but one of the disciples, according to church history, were killed for their message. Jesus himself warned that life is not easy, and that sacrifice is essential to being a Christian. We live in a fallen world. Evil, disorder and injustice are a part of this broken condition. BUT in light of this grave reality we still serve a PRO NOBIS God and the abundant life does not end when bad things happen, but rather it is God who carries us through. Even when we cannot see past our pain, when the burden of the world is to0 heavy to bear, God will carry us through. (Please note that God does not cause evil, but promises to carry us through it.) Therefore, even in the darkest of times we must remember that we serve a PRO NOBIS God.

That is why the Psalmist could cry out in Psalm 13:

"How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, Having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,” And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your loving kindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me."

 Since Paul says it better than I ever could, I will leave you with his words. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31) PRO NOBIS!

"Finding" God's will

So I know, it has definitely been quite a while since my last blog. I have to admit, God has been doing some serious work in my life. I am one of those people that is constantly focused on the future. You see, I know we are supposed to live in the present, but I have always had this nagging fear that I would miss the bus to my future. Somehow, if I made one wrong decision, I would miss God's will for my life. I guess I convinced myself that God's will was one giant mystery, written in invisible ink. If I didn't do the exact right thing I would miss the message all together. Fortunately, I have realized my understanding could not be more incorrect.

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life that you may have it to the fullest." God wants to give us an abundant life - not rob us of joy while we constantly search for God's plan. Now please do not misunderstand me, searching and discerning God's will is of utmost importance, but we must live that will now.

I constantly find myself thinking, "one day - one day I will fulfill my dreams, one day I will arrive at my calling." What I miss out on is the very real fact that I am fulfilling God's call on my life right now. As long as we are seeking God's face, and glorifying God in our actions, we cannot miss the bus. We will always be in the center of God's will if we set God as our focus. It is so easy to miss out on life because we are focused on the future. The truth is, we will never "arrive" or "fulfill" our calling. That is what every day is for. Daily we add one more piece to the puzzle of our lives, so in five - ten - twenty years we look back and see the glorious masterpiece God created all along.

God's ultimate plan is to give us a full life. That does not mean it will be easy, but man is it worth it! God has filled each of us with passions and desires, all we have to do is respond. So, I guess this is my response. I would much rather live every day walking in the glory of God than fretting over what I should do a year from now. What about you? Are you embracing the fullness of life God has planned for you? God's plan is not in invisible ink, it is plainly written in our innermost desires - the longings of our heart. Our response is what matters, and as long as we fearfully and constantly seek God's face, we can never miss that divine plan.

Misguided focus

The story of Saul always takes me by surprise. In the beginning, he is specifically called by God- and his response was to hide fearfully in the baggage. As he grows into the leadership position, he meets his demise in disobedience to God's orders. In 1 Samuel 15 we find God instructing Saul to go fight the Amalekites and to thoroughly destroy everything that belongs to them. As usually, God delivers the Israelites from the hands of their enemies. Everything seems to go according to plans except for one small aspect - Saul decided to not destroy everything. He spared the like of the Amalekite king, Agag, and kept the best of the livestock. As Samuel confronted Saul, rather than admitting his wrongdoing he lied. In verse thirteen he defends himself by asserting, "I have carried out the Lord's instructions." Samuel, being a prophet of God, clearly knew otherwise. Realising the grave mistake Saul pleads in verse 24, "I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions.I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them." Saul feared the people more than he feared God. Not only did Saul not fear God, but he thought the Lord would be okay with his sin since he intended on sacrificing the animals. He somehow thought that sacrifice could outweigh his blatant defiance. This anecdote ends with God mourning the fact that Saul ever even became king.

We see this story time and again in scripture. We read about the Israelites loss in the small town of Ai when they failed to seek God's guidance, and when Achan stole the coveted items which resulted in the death of both him and his family. This same theme rises up again and again. The sad thing is, we still refuse to learn this lesson today. It is a lesson I have to learn over and over again. How many times do we fear people more than we fear God? Often, we worry more about what people will think rather than what God will think. Saul looked around and saw a people that would oust him if he did not please them rather than a God who would deliver them if he obeyed.

Not only do we neglect fearing the Almighty, but we often trade in what is best for what we perceive as good. Saul rationalised his situation - maybe if I sacrifice the things I should have destroyed, God will be happy. He sought to please himself, his constituents, and God. In the end, he failed to do any of the above. As human beings we constantly trade in what is best in a desperate attempt to please ourselves, God, and those around us when in reality we do not even succeed at that. Our sole focus should be fulfilling the demands of our God and the rest will follow.

I cannot help but wonder - who do we fear more, God or people? Who do I fear more? To obey is better than sacrifice, but do I truly apply that to my life? Am I trading in God's perfect will for my life for something less than stellar? Saul neglected these aspects and lost his kingship to a young boy named David. I would hate to miss out because I had a misguided focus.

Lost in the baggage

Lately, as often happens, I have become my own worst enemy. The other day a devout Christian friend of mine uttered a statement that really opened my eyes. He simply said – Satan believes in you. I thought about it for a minute, they seemed like such harsh words to me. Then I realized that those few words are full of truth. If Satan did not believe in the things we could do through God, why would he need to attack us? Why would Satan be threatened if it were not true that we are more than conquerors through Christ? Therefore, it seems that often the biggest opponents to us are us.

We can see this time and again in the Bible We know the story of Moses who begged God to not choose him. In Exodus 3 we see Moses giving a desperate defense to God – but God you know I cannot speak, but God what if they do not believe me, but God I am just Moses. In 1Samuel 10 we find Saul hiding in the baggage because he is afraid to be king. Although Saul failed to follow the tenets of God, God chose him to be king and he desperately fought against the calling. Even in the New Testament we see the disciples run in fear, and Peter denied Jesus three times. We do not grasp the power of God in us and often hide in terror because we know the truth of ourselves; we know our humanity and failings. We forget that it is not our efforts, but Gods. So I have been wondering, what is it we are supposed to do? We are not all called to be pastors, missionaries, evangelists or worship leaders. But we are all called to glorify God in every aspect of our lives.

In Matthew 25 we find the parable of the talents. In this story, a master gives his servants different amounts of money. Two servants invest and double the return while one hides the talents in fear of losing them. Upon return, the master scolds the third and praises the first two. The latter servant receives nothing and the master took his single talent and gave it to those that invested. In Matthew 25: 29-30 we read, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” I just wonder, what has God given you? We do not all have money, but we do have gifts.

Luke 12:48b says, “For everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be required.” Where are you in this parable? Are you investing God’s gifts, taking a stand to make a difference with what you have been given? Are you Moses or Saul, running scared from the call God has on your life? Maybe you are burying your talents in the sand. God has a call on all of our lives. It can be big and small, but it will make an impact. Rather it be crafts, singing, writing, or just listening we cannot hide in the baggage and let someone else stand up. We have all been entrusted with something – your response is demanded.

Are we Jesus Freaks?

In the book Jesus Freaks, there is a humble story of a Russian Captain in Romania during the 1940's. This narrative reads:

"Christianity has become dramatic with us," wrote Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, a leader of the underground church in Communist Romania. "When Christians in free countries win a soul for Christ, the new believer may become a member of a quietly living church. But when those in captive nations win someone, we know that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The joy of having brought someone to Christ is always mixed with this feeling that there is a price that must be paid.

"When I was still living behind the Iron Curtain, I had met a Russian captain. He loved God, he longed after God, but he had never seen a Bible. He had never attended religious services. He had no religious education, but he loved God without the slightest knowledge of Him.

I read to him the Sermon on the Mount and the parables of Jesus. After hearing them, he danced around the room in rapturous joy, proclaiming, 'What a wonderful beauty! How could I love without knowing this Christ?' It was the first time that I saw someone jubilating in Christ.

Then I made a mistake. I read to him the passion and crucifixion of Christ, without having prepared him for this. He had not expected it. When he heard how Christ was beaten, how He was crucified, and that in the end He died, he fell in an armchair and began to weep bitterly. He had believed in a Savior and now his Savior was dead!

I looked at him and was ashamed that I had called myself a Christian and a pastor, a teacher of others. I had never shared the sufferings of Christ as this Russian officer now shared them. Looking at him was, for me, like seeing Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross or at the empty tomb.

Then I read to him the story of the resurrection. When he heard this wonderful news, that the Savior arose form the tomb, he slapped his knees, and shouted for joy: 'He is alive! He is alive!' Again he danced around the room, overwhelmed with happiness!"

As I read this story, I cannot help but remember a day as I was working at Family Christian. As I stacked the new books, I noticed a little boy slumped and crying under a picture that portrayed Jesus on the cross. Although I passed this painting daily, it never moved me in this way. As I lingered, I heard the boy sobbing and telling his mom "look Jesus has a boo boo."

I just wonder - are we numb to that? Why don't we dance with joy upon the hearing of the resurrection, or mourn upon the truth of the crucifixion? Do we wear crosses as mere jewelry, hang nice photos of Jesus, and never really get it? Are we missing the point? The truth is that Jesus is real - and therefore the crucifixion and resurrection are just as real. During this Lenten season we are called to reflect on our sins, and as we do that how can we keep from leaping with joy over the promise of grace offered through the cross? It is easy to grow numb - to read the words for a thousandth time, once again partaking in the Eucharist and forget that our Savior did die for sinners such as us, only to rise again creating the beautiful story that brings salvation to such wretched sinners like me.

Prozac Jesus

As of late I have had an undying infatuation with Philip Yancey. Due to this passion, I have been reading his book The Jesus I Never Knew. In one of the chapters, he aptly states that the American church has successfully created a “Prozac Jesus.” A Jesus that is always calm and level headed – a Jesus that spoke in a monotone voice to a group of tame followers. The problem is, it takes a great deal of deception to create this form of Messiah because the Jesus we view in the New Testament looks nothing like long haired, white, relatively handsome, Prozac Jesus. In reality we see a Jesus that was probably dark skinned, poor, and anything but tame. A Jesus that turned tables and told a man not to bury his dead father because the dead can take care of themselves. He tells a potential follower to sell everything he owned, and had the gull to tell his disciples to stop fishing which was their only form of income.

Now let's align this Biblical representation to that of the present day church. First, we would never turn away a potential follower. Rather than tell them to sell everything, we would probably step on stones in a desperate attempt to not offend them. If a pastor called people to leave their jobs to follow Jesus, it just might result in the pastors termination. We have taken the truth of scriptures and formed an “American Christianity.” A belief system that is safe – it allows us to be Christians yet enjoy the American dream as well. More than anything, it allows us to play it safe.

One year I went with my church choir on a mission trip to Florida. While on the mission trip, many kids suffered from dehydration and a few had to be hospitalized. In a desperate attempt to combat this, my youth pastor created what we aptly named “waterade.” Since they didn’t have the money to buy us each water and Gatorade, they unevenly mixed both to create an awful concoction of half water – half Gatorade. Needless to say, it was terrible. In many senses, this is what we do to the gospel. We mix what we enjoy about the world with what is easy of the scriptures to create a mix that is good for nothing. We have strayed away from the true Christ – the Messiah that loved unconditionally in such a way that he was able to reveal sin while instigating change.

In Revelation 3:15-16 God chides the church of Laodicea by saying, “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Often, we are content with being lukewarm. We fill a seat on Sunday and offer our mandatory ten percent but God demands so much more than that. John Wesley often talked about sanctifying grace. This is a grace that leads you toward holiness. Once we accept Christ, this should be our goal. As a church, we can never grow content or lukewarm. God wants all of us.

It is high time that we as the American church stop being lukewarm. It is imperative for us as Christian to delve into the truth of Christ, a Messiah that was anything but the “Prozac Jesus” we have so masterfully created. We have got to rise up and take a stand – to show the world Christ. God wants nothing to do with lukewarm, “waterade” faith. This is an all or nothing game. Now that is not to say that I am anywhere close to being there, but that should be our goal. If just five people decide to live out loud with an unadulterated passion and zeal for truth, imagine the difference that could make. God has called us to so much and given us so much more, how could we ever settle for “waterade?”

Give me a break!!

During college, I took a class on Christian leadership. One major section of the class was focused on the value of rest and relaxation. Little did I know how vital this was. Throughout the Bible we see evidence of this truth. God instructs the Israelites numerous times to keep the Sabbath day holy. Later, we see Jesus retreating to pray and rest for hours on end. While the theme threads throughout the Bible, I guess I really never internalized the importance...that is until now.

Lately I have been exhausted - I guess you could say burned out. We work with the youth and children at the church and it is thoroughly enjoyable yet overwhelmingly exhausting. Church does not fulfill my spiritual needs because I am focused on the youth - who is sitting by them-self - who seems to need some extra attention. While in my mind this seems easy I go home exhausted. I forget to rest.

I do not know about you, but resting does not come easily for me. I often get depressed because I feel like I am wasting my day away. If I do not fulfill the items on my to-do list, what is the point of the day? It is easy to forget how imperative rest is. How can we serve others and minister to those in need if we do not take care of ourselves? Can a doctor heal the sick if he himself is to sick to show up? We do others a great injustice when we neglect our own well being.

It sounds so easy, and for me it is far from that. We have to make rest and relaxation a priority - it is high time we begin to heed God's commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. For me, my Sabbath is not Sunday. Sundays for me are filled with hyped up kids, obligations, and stress. Definitely anything but rest. For me, I take my Saturdays as a day for me. No cleaning - or to do lists. I do what brings me relaxation - rather that be a picnic, walk, or just some much needed alone time. Not only do we deserve this time, but we are better prepared to be the parent, sibling, spouse, or friend we need to be when we are rested.

I know you and everybody else are overworked, overstressed, and busy all the time. How could we possibly take an entire day to set our to - do lists aside? I often think the same thing, but the work I do when I am burned out is not worth a cent. It is only when I am rested that I can be productive. For our own good, for the good of others, and just to simply obey God's commands we have got to keep the Sabbath holy because every once in a while we need a little break!