Oneness With Christ Is More Than A Nice Thought

I’ve been contemplating Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and considering the request He made to the Father on behalf of His disciples; to be in complete alignment with Him – even as the Father and the Son are One – perfectly aligned. They are so one in fact, that Jesus says, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” And in Hebrews, the writer says that He (Jesus) is the “exact representation of the Father.” Furthermore, Jesus Himself says that He only does what He sees the Father doing.

I think I am seeing that Jesus is praying a whole lot more than just some kind of wish for His disciples to be in agreement with Him and the Father and for them to get along well with one another; He is praying for much more!

I have always looked at this prayer as a great goal but not as something that Jesus was indeed releasing into which His disciples were meant to experience in all His fullness. I knew He prayed for it, but it seemed that our own imperfections and weaknesses just kept the oneness with Him and the unity with one another in His church from fully being experienced. I thought someday, when we all got done trying to do our own version of ministry, we would finally submit to Him and work together; thereby answering His prayer. But again… I am seeing much more to what Jesus is getting at.

First of all, the “oneness” that Jesus is praying for is the oneness that is between Him and the Father; Jesus representing the Father so explicitly, that He is the exact representation of the Father. He is praying for His disciples (even future disciples) to be exact representations of Him and the Father. Disciples who are so in step and completely submitted to Christ that their lives become a testimony of “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” That is something to not just be agreed with, but to fully invite! The words Jesus said about “Greater things you will do…” take on a whole new level of possibility when I realize that “Jesus in me is the hope of glory” only when I am one with Him.

How does that play out? When I pray then, I want to affirm what Jesus has already prayed. Because I am one with Him, my health will reflect His Lordship and healing power from the inside out. Therefore I will pray for the manifestation of healing based on the quality and power of the One with whom I am joined. Furthermore, when I pray for difficulties at work or with relationships in which I am struggling, I will pray for the oneness I have with Christ to be effectual in how respond in His manifest presence within me. The old “What would Jesus do?” must instead be “What is Jesus doing right now in and through me?” because I am so one with Him, that my thoughts, words and actions show the truth of His presence and Lordship from within me. Jesus in me and living in submission to His life, establishes oneness with Him and His purposes.

In addition, if there are two disciples of Jesus who are manifesting oneness with Christ, then they will live and minister together with a measure of oneness that further magnifies the presence and power of Christ – not them. The ministry will be complimentary not competitive. It won’t be it’s “my way” and cause a tearing down and division within the body of Christ; it will be “His way” and bring edification and wholeness to the body of believers.

On a more personal level, the oneness I have with Christ will also show up in my family relationships, my personal health, and the way I talk. Everything about me is meant to reveal the truth that I am joined with Him.

Bottom line… if Jesus prayed this, I need to receive it! I am one with Him and I am meant to walk in the power of that oneness. That power includes His love, His truth, and the accomplishment of His good purpose and plan being completed in and through this life He has given me to live.

30 Years And Counting

It’s an amazing mind bending thing to marry a lady and wake up 30 years later and realize… “WOW, we’ve been married for 30 years already!” I can’t help but think “How’d we get here so fast?” I know it sounds like a long time… and when I hear of people who have been married for 50+ years I think that sounds like a long time, too; but the fact is, I still tend to relate to that time in my life as not that long ago. Funny how the human mind works.

But when I think of how many marriages end prematurely today, and how many friends who get divorced that I thought were doing okay, it really makes me stop and wonder… what’s so special about us? What’s so special about some of those folks who have been married for 50+ years?

Commitment.

Plain and simple.. it’s love, sure… but it’s commitment in those times when I haven’t “felt” like loving or when I haven’t necessarily been all that lovable. Yep, there’s been plenty of those times, just ask my bride.

But why do so many people consider it okay to quit on something they promised to God and to one another, not to give up on?

I added a line to the weddings I perform several years ago that I think sums up the “why” some people last and others don’t. Here it is… it’s not original and I don’t know who I stole it from… but it’s good.

From this point on you do not stay married because you love. You choose to love because you have made the commitment to be married.

I think the problem is that so many people are looking for the feelings to carry them through; but love is a choice and marriage is a choice, and a commitment, by both parties – first before God and to God, and then to one another.

My wife and I have experienced plenty of difficulties and probably have had our temptations to call it quits, like everyone else; but God’s grace and His strength is what has held us together for 30 years. We choose to love one another because we made the commitment, 30 years ago, to be husband and wife. When we have come up short of what’s needed, we have been able to draw on God’s ability… not because we necessarily FELT like it, but because our commitment and choice to love, DEMANDED it.

I’m not bragging or being prideful here. I don’t have anything to brag or be prideful about. God knows the struggles and He knows it hasn’t been my stellar behavior that has pulled us through; it’s all been Him. My hope is that maybe our testimony may encourage someone who may be struggling in their marriage and maybe they just might make the choice to keep loving because they made the commitment to be married.

For those who have experienced the pain and tragedy of divorce, I pray that God heals your heart and helps you find His strength to remain committed when it feels like the best way out is to quit. May that resolve flow from the example of God’s commitment to you.

By God’s grace, my wife and I are at 30 years of marriage, today. She’s still my friend and I plan to, with God’s grace, keep counting the years with her and growing more into the man God has called me to be. She’s been used by God, probably more than anyone or anything else, to help me develop into the person I am today. Thank you, Connie, for sticking with me in the process and being a willing instrument of God’s choosing to make me more into who He called me to be! I look forward to the time when we will stand before our God and hear Him say, “Well done!” Until then… thank you for your commitment to God and to me, through thick and thin. We’re not “done” yet, goose!

Looking forward to tacos tonight!

Where Am I Missing The Miraculous Because I Am Stuck In My “Normal”?

Scripture	Matthew 4:17-22 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Observation	Jesus preached repentance; His disciples demonstrated repentance; they left their nets – their way of making a living, and followed Him. Repentance isn’t just stopping an action or being sorry for it; it’s turning the opposite direction and pursuing a different path. Sometimes repentance will require such a change, that our family normal may get changed. The disciples’ family normal was changed forever when they met Jesus. They were no longer fishermen (the family business); they were fishers of men. Without repentance the disciples would not have been disciples… consider all the fishing trips they missed for a few measly miracles. Isn’t amazing that they didn’t argue with Jesus about whether they were “qualified” or “good enough” to follow Him? They just followed.
Application	The Kingdom of God is very close to me but what am I missing because I am more dedicated to my “normal” than to repenting and fully following Jesus? Oh, sure… my life is pretty grand… but when I look at what the disciples gained over what they left behind, I think repentance from my preferences and pursuing what Jesus calls me to embrace, is infinitely better. The truth is, I cannot enter into the fullness of what Jesus has prepared for me without repenting from my old ways. This can seem to be a one-time event, but it is a daily choice and practice “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins (*missing the mark of His purpose and plan) may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord…” Acts 3:19 (*my addition) Repentance and conversion brings forth the opportunities for the refreshing of God’s presence. One of the things that saddens me, is how many people I have known over the years, who failed to exercise repentance, and got caught in the nets of their “normal”. I don’t want to be one of those who returns to the comfort of my “normal” and misses the miraculous of Jesus’ leading.
Prayer	Father, just as the disciples exercised faith in Jesus and turned away from their way of making a living to follow Jesus, I want to exercise my faith to obediently respond to Your invitation to follow You in everything I do and say. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to participate in the joy of following You because I am more dedicated to my way than Yours. Help me recognize where I am missing that opportunity, so I can quickly repent and leave my methods behind and enjoy the process of watching You work while also participating with Your work in and through my life.

Great Opportunities In Spite Of The Circumstances

Scripture	1 Corinthians 16:9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
Observation	Paul recognizes that where he is currently ministering (Ephesus), there are great opportunities… and plenty of opposition. It seems to be the opposite of what I would expect… or want in an opportunity; to have great opposition coupled with great opportunities. Paul sees the opportunity because he sees a God-sized need where he is ministering and therefore sees the God-sized opposition as the greatest opportunity.
Application	My mind thinks in terms of great opportunities being circumstances where everything is going easy and falling into place. However, in this portion of Scripture I can see a perspective that Paul has that it would be good for me to embrace; some of the best opportunities I will face will have great opposition.   I may prefer the easy opportunity but the greatest rewards usually come with the greatest risks. I can’t allow the desire for the easy to cause me to miss out on the God-sized opportunities… that is… opportunities where I need God-sized intervention to see His glory in the midst of what the natural mind would say “Better give up… this is hard!”
Prayer	Father, in some of the current opportunities that are before me, there are also difficulties and opposition. Help me to recognize that the presence of difficulty and opposition means there is room for You to show Your strength and manifest Your ability. May I see the opportunity because there is a need for You instead of just an opportunity where I can handle it all myself.

If The Whole Body Were An Eye… SCARY!

Scripture	1 Corinthians 12:17 If the whole body were an eye…
Observation	Paul addresses how the body of Christ-followers is supposed to function… together! He uses several examples but the imagery of one giant eyeball sitting on the ground is not only hideous but is also quite sad. The eye only functions to its best abilities when it is in the rest of the body and functioning with it.   If the whole body were an eye… yep… that might be why the church is often looked upon as hideous and irrelevant by those outside; we are all trying to be the eye, or the ear, or the hand, and attempting to say “We have no need of the rest of the body.” We appear hideously incomplete because we are all holding so tightly to our doctrine that we are missing out on the opportunities for the body of Christ to function together in wholeness and diversity. Those outside miss the beauty of the body because we appear hideous apart from the other members. I know there are problems within the church and there are those who truly are maligning the faith with heresy and are sick with humanism, but why are all of the eyes gathering together and saying we have no need of the hands? For wholeness in the body to occur, we must realize that the giant eyeball body is not an option! If this is true for the Corinthian Christ-followers, shouldn’t it be true today of all professing Christ-followers? Too idealistic? I wonder if this is why there are so many errors and places where erroneous ideas and practices have crept into the church? (remember… the church is not the building… it’s the people) Could it be that we have separated ourselves to the point where the enemy of our souls easily deceives and implants heresy and false doctrine, because we won’t relate with the other portions of our body?
Application	Just last night I heard that earlier this summer, when several congregations came together for a “community worship service” in City Park, that one eyeball said to one of the hands, “What are you doing here?” In the case of the “eyeball Christian” they assumed the “hand Christian” shouldn’t be there (I’m just assigning eyeball and hand identities with no real meaning here except to protect the participant’s denominational ties) because they didn’t act like or look like an eyeball Christian. I was grieved to hear that someone who would likely identify themselves more closely with me had looked upon someone from a different gathering and assumed that they shouldn’t be there… and actually said that.   The ironic thing is, that we “eyeball Christians” are busy looking at the rest of the world and thinking how hideously lost they are and looking at the other parts of the body and thinking how hideously lost they are… but we’re only an eye… how can we have any reasoning ability? (I know… I may be taking the analogy a bit too far… but it is kind of silly to think that an eye can think separate from the brain.) I don’t pretend to have all the answers to this problem, but I believe that we must find ways to appreciate the diversity of the body of Christ; realize that we can only have influence on those other parts of the body when we relate to one another; and also recognize that there are members of our body that are suffering that must have the strength of a body who realizes that when one part suffers the whole body is suffering. The body can only experience wholeness when we are together and the healing can only come to those who are suffering when the parts of the body who function in healing are allowed… even welcomed to minister without being looked down upon or told they can’t be a part of the body. I am not fully functional apart from my brothers and sisters in Christ. I must contend for the body to function together… and for old mindsets and traditions to be eliminated that are keeping the body from the wholeness Jesus intends for His Bride to live within.
Prayer	Father, I pray for Your people to return to You and submit their lives fully to You. I realize that along with my brothers and sisters, I too need You to help me comprehend how we all work together and also for healing to occur in Your body of believers, so that those practices and erroneous beliefs can be eliminated from the body which are causing disease and sickness. As You spoke to me several years ago… it’s not so much unity of the body that You are after; it’s wholeness! May Your people be made whole in these days. Free us from self-centeredness and humanistic agendas.

An Air or Error of Superiority Will Not Build Up His People

Scripture - 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

Observation – Paul addresses a common problem in that day that addresses a common principle in this day… when it comes to Christian liberty, it’s not my knowledge that rules the day and helps me ultimately make MY decisions; it’s the Spirit of God and my love for Him that directs my steps so that edification both in my life and the lives of those I relate with, can be built up.

The temptation is always to have knowledge so that we can feel superior to, or relate with others from a position of authority rather than to serve out of a heart of love for God and being a minister of His love to others.

It’s not that knowledge is bad; it’s that knowledge without love doesn’t accomplish God’s purpose. Paul relates this principle also in 2 Corinthians 13:10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction. Paul recognizes that his authority and his purpose is to build up not to tear down and I believe that is what the point of our actions are supposed to be; to always seek, in love, to build up others and to be an example that builds up.

Application – My freedom in some areas of my faith walk can sometimes cause conflict for others in their walk of faith. I need to be careful that my knowledge doesn’t cause me to be puffed up with pride but instead to be motivated to serve and build others up with a balance of love.

I need that! Lately, because of how God has been leading me, I have gotten frustrated with others (especially fellow pastors and leaders) with my perception of where they are lacking. This is wrong. The knowledge I have must be tempered and/or balanced with love so that I do not give place to an air/error (both words are applicable here) of superiority but instead continue to contend for the building up of the body of Christ in love.

I’m called to serve… not lord over anyone… in thoughts, words, or actions. This does not mean that I cannot correct or be corrected, but that my motive must be love, not my ideas or delusions of superior knowledge.

Prayer – Father, this is a needed word for me today; to understand that You do give instruction and increase me in knowledge as I seek You and read Your word. You do that out of Your love for me, not to show me how miserably low I am. Forgive me for treating others with contempt instead of seeking how You want me to serve and to lovingly encourage and build up my brothers and sisters. I realize that while knowledge increases, my need for Your love in my heart must also increase. To do otherwise is to allow my flesh to seek the glory and Your word says that “No flesh should glory in Your presence.”

Restore a right heart and a renewed mind to do Your will with the knowledge and love You impart.

“A” Fresh Start

The grades have been a little bit lacking in one of my son’s scholastic endeavors. Recently when talking to him about how he did in the 1st quarter and how he needed to work harder in the 2nd quarter, I challenged him to think if he thought in the 2nd quarter he could keep his grades at a “B” or above? He hesitated… and then seemed to reluctantly agree after what seemed like an incredibly long time. I asked him to go think about it for awhile and come back and let me know if he could really commit to that or not. After a few minutes I went and asked him, “What’s so hard about this… I mean… what score do you start the new quarter with?” His answer, “A zero?” I said “NO, you start with an ‘A’, not an ‘F’ “. He thought it was going to be so hard because he was starting out with an “F” and having to work his way up to a “B”. You should have seen his countenance change when he realized he was getting a fresh start!

I wonder if that’s how we view our lives as a Christ follower? Instead of realizing that we get a new start with an “A” we tend to see ourselves as starting with an “F”. Thanks to Jesus we are not starting already behind but quite the opposite; in Christ we have a fresh start and the opportunity to live up to His ability in us… we’re ahead of the curve when we recognize that we are not starting with an “F” but with an “A”.

You and I have “A” fresh start everyday in Him – His mercies are new every morning. Go live it!

Don’t Wait and Don’t Waste…

Tonight I got called to the hospital to visit a man, who I was told over the phone, was “terminal”.  When I arrived, I went into a room of people I did not know and in all the awkwardness of the moment (a family dealing with the imminent death of a loved one and welcoming another stranger into the room), I pressed into the lives of total strangers. I observed much and knew that the Lord had spoken some things to me on the way to the hospital that I needed to share. There are many details I could share about that time and how the Lord moved in that room and in the lives of those there, but what really strikes me as I sit here and contemplate that experience tonight is the overwhelming sense to say this to whomever may read this…

“Don’t wait to do the right thing and don’t waste a moment of the life God has given you on withholding forgiveness or maintaining a grudge against someone else.” We are meant to walk in relationship with the Lord, with His people and utilizing the gifts He has given to us that we might invest those gifts in the lives of others and as a result give glory to Him. Don’t wait for the perfect circumstances and don’t waste your time holding onto things that you will regret. Come to Jesus and allow Him to heal Your heart and then go help others find their way to the Savior. There are things that the enemy is attempting to bind you with, and it’s time to do business with Jesus and let those things go.

If you have a problem with someone, take care of it now… don’t wait. And then… submit to Him and allow Jesus to use your life to help others.

Multiple Soil Disorder

Scripture - Mark 3:5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts… Mark 4:14-20 The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Observation – The refusal of those considered to be the spiritual leaders of that day to respond to the need of a man with a withered hand, angers Jesus, as He perceives their hardness of heart. It strikes me that Jesus is grieved by their hardness of heart.

They are there and watching Jesus closely; but they are there to accuse instead of to plant the word of God and to see its influence in the midst of a fallen world. There are key parables in chapter 4 that reveal Jesus’ intent to confront this hardness of heart and failure of the religious system of that day to confront the strong man of this world, to bind him, and plunder his goods.

Jesus is grieved when His people do not utilize the seeds of His word to spread His word and His kingdom. The seeds of His word are to be sown generously. Some will fall on the wayside, some on the stony ground, some among thorns, and some on good ground that will produce fruit.

It’s not up to me to judge the condition of the soil; just to spread His word and make sure that I myself am receptive to it in every area of my life.

Application – As I read this portion of Scripture this morning, I thought of three things:

1.)   I don’t want to be a leader who allows any hardness of heart so that there are areas where there is no fruitfulness from His word and Lordship in my life;

2.)   I cannot spread what I will not wholly receive and give room to grow and produce fruit in my life;

3.)   I believe there are areas where I may have good soil that is responsive to His word and other places that may be more like the wayside soil, the rocky soil, or the soil among the thorns.

To deal with these issues, I must be careful of what I hear (Mark 4:24-25) and make sure I hear and respond appropriately, so that the soil of my heart is entirely prepared to receive His word and respond to its influence in my life.

I see another aspect of the parable of the soils that shows the potential for one area of my heart to be receptive to the word and fruitful, while another area is hardened or infiltrated by things that inhibit growth and fruitfulness. I have tended to think… “Gee, I am a Christ follower… so I am good soil.” But what I see here is that there is the potential for the soil of my heart to have multiple soil disorder and I must be careful to make sure that every area of my heart is open to the word; to receive it, respond to it, and produce fruit from its influence in my life.

Just as a person with multiple personality disorder needs their mind to be healed and all those fragments to come together, the soil of my heart needs to be brought before God and prepared to receive His seed wherever it may fall.

Prayer – Father, even as I consider this Scripture this morning, I sense Your Holy Spirit speaking to my heart about a particular area in my heart that has been hardened. I ask You to forgive me for attempting to keep You out of that area of my life and I submit all of me to You. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would help me identify those areas that are not conducive to receiving Your word and producing fruit that produces still more fruit and help me remove those hard areas, rocks, and uproot those thorns. Amen

Is Spiritual Pride The Problem?

Last night as several of us gathered to pray, we focused on praying for the church; not just our own gathering, but the body of believers in this area. As several people prayed and the Holy Spirit directed prayers and the sharing of Scriptures, I sensed the Lord prompting me to pray against spiritual pride. The pride that causes people to think their style is better than the others; their doctrine and distinctives are more desirable; or they are right and everyone else is wrong kind of thinking that, sadly, is in the church. I’m not talking about people or groups who have beliefs counter to the gospel of Christ; I’m talking about those who identify with the gospel of Christ and yet do not acknowledge or in some cases, won’t even tolerate other expressions of the body of Christ.

So I got to wondering… if God is opposed to the proud (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5) if that is the problem with the church today? Is there a lack of grace in the church because God cannot bless His people because of a personal stance of spiritual pride?