rest for the weary

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Jesus

My guess is that if you were to survey a group of Christians to see if this passage accurately represented the way they feel as a result of their faith in Christ and involvement in their local church, the results would be less than favorable. In fact if I were a gambler I would lay fat wad of cash that this is the case.

Why is it that so often the things that Jesus speaks of, promises, and personally exemplifies and represents, end up foreign to our modern day Christian experience? Could it be that Jesus' life and teachings are so radical and counter cultural that often his own followers and the very institution that claims to represent him, find it hard to believe and teach such radical claims? Has Christianity become more about us and our agenda rather than about Him and His mission? As a result who is it that benefits and who is it that suffers?

When we water down, change or alter the message of Jesus in any way, everyone loses. The Church has done a great job of telling people what their responsibilities are and what it means to be "radical" for Christ. We are reminded that the "faithful" are those who are at Church every time the doors are open and who serve in 12 different ministries.

As a result we have become a very religious people and religion makes you tired and sometimes bitter and mean as well. Jesus confronted religion and the one's who taught such things and put such heavy loads on people in the process. Look at what he said about them...

"They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'"

So what am I saying, what should we do? How about we begin by following Jesus and His Word? Let's be sure that our focus is His focus. If this is the case, then we should experience joy, freedom, fullness of life and rest for our souls.

If you are spiritually tired I would suggest you ask yourself a few questions.
-Why are you doing the things you are doing? Out of passion or obligation?
-Who are you trying to please? Jesus or someone else?
-Are you doing too much? If so, prayerfully consider what should go.
-Jesus is gentle and humble in heart, is that represented by those in leadership of the fellowship you attend? If not, find somewhere else to go.
-Lastly, are you motivated by love?

We love Him because He first loved us. His love is unconditional. For those of us who know Him, we should know that we are accepted and loved, not because of what we do or don't do but because we belong to Him.

May His love motivate us to do what we do and may His love allow us to accept ourselves just as He accepts us. Find rest in Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden in light.

Oh and sorry for the month between posts...I needed rest.

Grace and peace.

Jesus, Rob Bell and the Pharisees

Lately I have been personally challenged to rethink much of what goes on in "church" today. For too long I, like many others, had taken many things at face value rather than weighing them against the only anchor that we have for Truth, the Bible. As a result of my journey, I believe that there is a lot being done in the name of Jesus that He probably would not want His name associated with. I could go into a long explanation here, but quite frankly I am a bit tired and that is not the purpose of this post.

What I want to say is that I am not surprised in the least bit that many people today are walking away from the institutionalized "church". Religion has done a lot of damage in our day and there are many people, pastors and ministries that have given Christ and His Church a bad name. As a result there are scores of people who have become disillusioned with the organized "church".

That being said, I am not one who has lost hope. In fact I believe that there are those of us who God has called to help renew hope in our day. Not hope in religion or hope in the institutionalized church, but hope in Christ and His Church. When I say "His Church", I mean His people, those who are His followers and who live out the very example of love that He set before us. It is our responsibility to represent Him and we should represent Him well.

A little over a year ago I had the opportunity to sit down with Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church, and ask him a few questions. Although I may not agree with everything he says, writes or preaches, I must admit that I am in agreement with his answer to my question below...

As a pastor what would you say to someone who has become disillusioned with organized church or what they have seen of Christianity?

I would wager that the things that most turn them off are the things that most turn Jesus off. There is not one instance in Jesus’ teachings where he gets angry with somebody who isn’t a follower of his or someone who doesn’t love God. His anger is always for religious people who claim to speak for God but live in another way.

So if you find hypocrisy absolutely revolting so did Jesus. If you find people who think they are the moral police of culture repulsive, so did Jesus. If you find people who are ready to throw stones at the next sinner very hard to take, so did Jesus. And if you think that people who use Jesus to accumulate political power, to coerce people to live according to their laws, well Jesus had a problem with such things as well. I would say that your anger is shared by Jesus. He’s angered by all the same things.

Maybe it's hard for you to think of Jesus being angered by these things. I have been reading through the gospel of Mark recently and I found it interesting that on more than one occasion, Jesus did get angry at the stubborn, hypocritical religious people of His day. Read Mark 3:1-6 and you will see Jesus frustrated and angry with these people.

It is important for us to realize that Jesus was angry but never sinned. It's O.K. if legalistic people frustrate you. There is nothing wrong with being angry when people represent Jesus in ways that would not be true to His character or teaching. The key is to heed the words of Paul in Eph. 4:26, "...In your anger do not sin."

So when we meet people who have written off Christianity or have given up on the church we must be very slow to judge. They may be frustrated by some of the very things that frustrated Jesus. For this reason I would suggest that we follow His example. He showed unconditional love to all people and never once compromised the Truth. Truth expressed in love makes all the difference.

May we be people who hold fast to the Truth and love those who are desperately in need of it!

Codename Jesus

I know very well the Bible verses that talk about the opportunity that we have to represent Jesus to people around us. The Apostle Paul says that we are ambassadors (representatives) of Christ. Jesus' followers were even referred to as Christians, which literally meant "little Christ". Then there are people who will say things like "you may be the only Jesus that those people will ever see..."

I believe all of this to be true but even so, I must admit that there are times that I forget the deep reality of this. Do you know what I mean? You believe something to be true, try to live it out, and maybe even teach it to others but somehow you lose the depth of the reality of that particular truth. Then God does something to remind you in a powerful way just how real it is.

That is what happened to me today. I had the opportunity to sit and listen to testimonies of How God had used regular people to show Himself to others in the midst of difficulty, pain and struggle. One woman shared the names of those who had really been a blessing to her and went on to say that they were really just codenames for Jesus. In other words it was Jesus who met her in her time of need and He did it through these individuals.

Wow! Now that brings the reality of this truth home in a powerful way. When you hear something like that and see a person who has experienced the love of God expressed through His people, you cannot help but be both encouraged and challenged.

It is true that God still uses people today to accomplish His purposes! He often reaches out through regular, everyday people just like me and you. That being said, I can't think of anything more challenging. Not only do we have an opportunity to make an impact but we have a responsibility to do so. As those who know and follow Christ, we must consider the importance of how we use our time, gifts and talents.

Are we available to be used by Him? Do we make a point of purposely building relationships with those God has put around us? Lastly, is there anyone we know who might say that _______ _______ (fill in your name) is really just a codename for Jesus in my life? I am challenged to pray and strive to be this kind of person.

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words!

There are people all around us who are in desperate need. Please watch this video and consider what part you would have in showing Christ's love to "the least of these".

Meet Freddie Wright...

Ready For Freddie

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Can it be that we really have the opportunity to do things for Jesus as we serve and help those marginalized by our society? How incredible is it to think that if I take the time to minister to or simply serve someone who is in need that I am doing that for Jesus. I think if we were to orient our lives to a more biblical perspective we would find ourselves less burdened by the needs of those around us and more encouraged by the opportunities.

Our spiritual community has made a commitment to doing things for "the least of these", since that is one way specifically that we know that we are doing something for Jesus. There are a lot of things that we do in "church" today that make me wonder who or what we are actually doing them for. However when we do something for those in deep need there seems to be no question that this is done unto Jesus.

With all of this said I must admit that it is still easy to walk by, overlook and forget about the many needs all around us. For this reason we have decided to be sure to at least do one large project each year that engages our whole community in this type of service. This year we will take two weekends to help a man that we have been introduced to through a great ministry here in Jacksonville called Builder's Care.

Last week I had the privilege of meeting Freddie, the man we will be helping. Freddie has cerebral palsy and spends much of his time in a wheel chair. He lives in the house that he grew up in here in Jacksonville which now is basically coming down around him. I can't tell you how humbling it was to stand in his living area looking up at the large hole in his ceiling where water had recently been running through and thinking, "I don't know many people who would live like this or let someone they love live like this". That thought was followed by "this is someone that Jesus loves and surely He doesn't want him to live like this."

There is no way in a brief post to explain what it was like to meet Freddie and to know that I am a part of a community of people who are going to be helping to make a life changing difference for him. I know there are people who will say things like "but what good is it to help someone physically if you aren't preaching the gospel to them?" I would begin by suggesting that these people ask Jesus that question, since He told us to do it. Secondly, I would be sure to remind them that there are many ways to preach the gospel and words do not always have to be the first part of the equation.

Freddie actually already knows and loves Jesus, which makes his situation all the more humbling. Here is a struggling brother in Christ living with holes in his roof, no AC, sewage backing up into his tub...need I go on? Nothing needed to be said to him in order for the gift of our service to evoke genuine praise from his heart to God. We haven't even done anything yet and I have seen first hand the fruit of our offering.

I believe the impact this project will have on us as a community can be as powerful as the impact it will have on Freddie. I hope and pray that it becomes a catalyst in each of our lives to make us more sensitive to the needs that are all around us, that we often overlook. I have begun to see this already in my own life and it is both exciting and very challenging.

There is nothing like being on mission with God, especially when you know that the things you are doing are pleasing to Him. To some that may sound arrogant but I am just referring to the biblical truth mentioned above "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me."

Together, let's do more for Him...

(If you are interested in being involved in this project, it will be on Sat. June 14&21. Just check out www.jcjax.com for details)

Simple Reminder

In a world where so many people make so many claims and do so many things in the name of Jesus, I thought it would be wise for us to be reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John:

Galatians 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle-- sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead-- and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

1 Thessalonians 5:19-22
19 Do not put out the Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt.21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil.

1 John 4:1
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.


May Christ always be the center of our lives, our ministries and our churches. May His Word, love and character be that by which we measure the fruit of all that would represent Him and bear His name.

Just a simple reminder...

Paul

Paul is a man who experiences joy even in the midst of deep suffering. He also is a man who asked God to take away his "thorn in the flesh" but God said His grace was sufficient for him. Paul is a real encouragement to me and he challenges me in my walk with God and the way I choose to live life. Paul is a man I met at Starbucks today...

Today I met some guys at Starbucks to talk about a few things, one of which was the current state of the church in America. As we were engaged in a lively discussion about where the American church is and where it is headed, we were interrupted a few times by an amen and a little encouragement from a guy sitting alone behind us. He was one of those guys you look at and you don't know what to think. Sitting alone, drinking his coffee and smoking a cigarette. Cowboy hat laid on the table revealing his bald head, complemented by his scraggly santa like beard. Anyhow, we had some brief interaction and then carried on our conversation for another half hour or so.

When we got up to leave I decided to go and introduce myself to the man sitting alone, his name was Paul. As I got close to him I noticed that his bald head revealed a large scar stretching from ear to ear over the top of his skull. I also noticed that on the front of his cowboy hat he had sketched three crosses, a large one in the middle and a smaller one on each side. He began by telling me that he heard us talking and that he agreed that God is everywhere waiting for people to come to Him. He said they called Jesus a wine bibber just because He went where the people who needed Him most hung out.

Then Paul started to tell me his story. How he retired from the Navy, became a truck driver and is now retired from that as well. However his recent retirement was not voluntary. He shared with me that about a year ago he started doing some strange things and his friends and family became concerned about him and urged him to go to the doctor, which he reluctantly did after some time. After a CT scan the doctor realized what was wrong, he had a tumor about half the size of my fist on his brain. In November of 2007 the doctors removed as much of the tumor as possible. He learned that untreated this type of cancer is usually fatal within three months.

Paul looked me in they eye and said "Most days I'm ok with it, today is one of those days". He went on to share that although he doesn't understand why, and he still has many questions, the Lord has given him a sense of peace through it all. He also said that they recently discovered that the tumor is growing again. I asked him if they could do any more surgery and he said that it depends on what direction it grows. "If it grows to one side they can go back in and trim some of it away. If it grows to the other side, it's up the Lord how long I have."

Paul got a little emotional as he talked but it was amazing to me the sense of peace that this man had. It was obvious that he had a real relationship with Christ, but he was the kind of guy that most Christians would walk by and not say a word to, let alone think that he might be a brother who they would one day spend eternity with.

I asked Paul about his relationship with God and he said "Do you have some time, let me buy you a cup of coffee." I didn't accept the coffee offer but I had some time, so I sat and listened to his story. He told me that his brother was a pastor and that he visited his church one time about twenty years ago and he has never been back. "Those are some of the most judgmental people I have ever met" he told me. Then he went on to share how in the course of conversation with a friend he expressed his faith in God, although he didn't attend church or know that much about Him. This friend gave him a Bible and said well if you believe in Him then you really should read this because it's His Word written to us. So Paul did just that. H read the Bible in about three months and one night about four AM alone in his truck, he cried out for Jesus to save him.

At some point in the conversation Paul asked me what I did and I told him that I was a pastor. I shared with him how we have this small community of believers who are just trying our best to love God and show that love to others. I told him that we want to experience a sense of connectedness with God and one another, kind of like family, to which Paul said "I'm still looking for mine". I invited him to come sometime and just check out the community of believers at Journey, to which he responded very positively. I hope Paul comes, I hope experiences the love of Christ and maybe he will find acceptance among brothers and sisters who can lift him up and encourage him in his journey.

I don't know how to explain what God did in me today during this brief encounter. I just know that He was there and through Paul, God revealed things to me about His love and His nature. Before I left Paul said to me "Can I pray for you?" I thought "that's the pastor's line" but I simply said, "please do and let me to pray for you as well". So we prayed for each other, wiped our eyes, shook hands and departed.

Paul has learned something about life that I have yet to learn. It seems that he understands on a deep level the words written by another Paul "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."

God give me the faith of my brother Paul...