Category: Jesus (Page 59 of 61)

Beware The Shadows

December 5, 2008 / Allan / 3 Comments

We spent a lot of time in San Antonio Tuesday talking with Lynn Anderson about the mission of God’s Church. If we understand the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, Scripture shows us clearly that God’s people are to live their lives in such a way as to be lights of truth and salvation to the world. Our unity, our common love, our sacrifice and service should be so obvious to others they can’t help but wonder about the Savior who empowers us to live so differently from the rest of society. That’s God vision. That’s his purpose for his Church.

And that’s our vision as preachers and teachers and shepherds. Living like Jesus. Acting like the Christ. Being transformed more and more into his image. That’s what we proclaim. That’s what we profess.

But if we’re not careful, especially in moments of crisis, we can become driven by other things. Lynn calls those things our “shadow missions.”

When things get tough or shaky or uncertain, when things aren’t happening the way we planned or as quickly as we’d like—in other words, when Satan attacks—we have a human tendency to fall back on our human plans and human needs to meet our human expectations and defeat our human fears.

We often measure success in human terms. And those needs for numbers and applause and buildings and affirmation and contribution cause us to react in one of two ways: we either go into “success mode” or “survival mode.”

Church decisions made and policies produced in success mode are focused on new programs and perceived excitement and manufactured enthusiasm. Generally it’s done for the sake of the buzz it creates and the accompanying noise and bright lights. We become more “like the nations around us.” That’s not the Jesus Way.

Survival mode decisions and actions focus on the numbers; not offending anyone for fear they’ll leave; not upsetting anyone for fear they’ll stop giving money; not challenging anyone to grow for fear we won’t be able to pay the mortgage or the bills. That’s not the Jesus Way.

Lynn calls those our “shadow missions.” These kinds of things are always there, always lurking in the background, always a temptation. And a crisis will often cause these motives and these goals to overtake God’s vision. Our personal mission becomes a higher priority than God’s vision. It’s actually in contradiction with God’s vision.

We all have these shadow missons. We all have needs and wants that don’t necessarily jive with God’s vision. Close inspection reveals that most of our shadow missions are exactly the opposite of what Jesus teaches it means to be like him. Our Savior never knew success or money or buildings or prestige or applause. He didn’t seek it. He didn’t want it. Our challenge is to determine, in everything we do, that God’s vision for his people will never become second to our own missions for ourselves.

Jesus came to earth with absolutely no desire for success and certainly no intention to survive.

Peace,

Allan

Joyful Imitation

November 24, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” ~Philippians 2:5

So I’m talking about The Fonz during yesterday’s sermon. You remember The Fonz from TV’s “Happy Days” 30 years ago? The leather jacket, the hair, the magic touch, the super cool? “Aaayyyy!”

When I was nine-years-old I wanted to be The Fonz. He was the very definition of cool. And I poured myself into being exactly like him. I did everything a little boy without a motorcycle could to imitate Fonzie. I wore my blue jean jacket with the collar up, even when it was 95-degrees outside. I blew on my fist before hitting the button on the Coke machine at the city rec center. I carried a comb in my back pocket. I called my friend Mike Cunningham’s dad “Mr. C.” When I went to the bathroom I said I was stepping into my office. I called my sister “Shortcake.” I told everybody to “Sit on it!” And I was constantly sticking up both thumbs and declaring a profound, “Aaayyyy!”

It didn’t make anybody’s joy complete.

My parents that year took away the TV, my bicycle, my allowance, and my football trying to break me of those habits.

I told the story yesterday to illustrate what Paul does in Philippians 2. He tells us to be like Jesus, to have his attitude, to have his outlook. And that sounds good. It sounds great. Who could argue with that concept? But what does it look like? What does Jesus say? What does Jesus do? How does Jesus act?

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”

Christ Jesus gives up everything. And dies for others.

How do we consider others better than ourselves? How do we look to the interests of others? Paul says, look at Jesus.

Jesus sacrificed for us, he served us, by giving up completely everything that was his. He poured out his diety. He let go of his equality with God. He sacrificed his eternal power. He gave up his heavenly glory. Our model, the one we follow, willingly traded heaven for earth, glory for shame, a royal scepter for a slave’s water basin, life for death — even death on a cross!

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. You should give up everything and die for others.

When I got home yesterday afternoon there was a message on my phone from Charlie P. Charlie is raising his six-year-old grandson. And he had called to tell me that after lunch, he had found his grandson in the garage wearing a blue jean jacket with the collar up. He had wet his hair and combed it straight back. And he was posing with his thumbs up. “Aaayyy!”

My prayer is that everybody went home yesterday and began to imitate Jesus with the same fervor and energy this little boy used to imitate me imitating The Fonz.

What are you sacrificing to be a Christian? What are you giving up to be a member of your church family? What is it costing you to imitate our Lord? Are you dying to yourself every day to benefit the person who sits behind you at the assembly? What are you giving up to be a Christian?

Aaaaayyyyy,

Allan

Which Is Lawful?

November 13, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

“Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely.” ~Mark 3:2
“(They) were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely.” ~Luke 6:7
“…looking for a reason to accuse Jesus…” ~Matthew 12:10
“…he was being carefully watched.” ~Luke 14:1

The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law, these self-appointed Sheriffs of the Synagogue, were watching Jesus closely so they could pounce on him the second he broke one of their rules. In Luke 13, Jesus heals the woman who’d been crippled for 18 years. In the synagogue. On the Sabbath. In Mark 3, it’s this man with the withered hand. In the synagogue. On the Sabbath. And the Sheriffs didn’t like it. They were indignant. They plotted to kill him.

And Jesus challenges these religious leaders with his question in Mark 3:4 > “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?”

Jesus presents to the synagogue rulers—and to you and me—two ways of doing the religious rules and regulations. He doesn’t throw them away. He says there are two ways of keeping them. One way is good and one way is bad. One way gives life to people and one way takes life away from people. One way frees people from burdens and one way places more burdens on people. One way liberates people from their chains and one way locks people up in prisons.

Jesus gives us two ways of doing religion. Two incompatible outlooks. Two opposite and conflicting views about our God and his Law and his intentions for his Law. And he presents it as a choice between the two. You have to choose. You can’t have it both ways.

“Which is lawful?” he says. For hungry people to eat or for them to remain hungry in order to protect your rules? (Mark 2:23-27) Which is lawful? For this man with the debilitating injury that singles him out as less than whole to be healed and to made whole or to remain withered and less than what he’s meant to be in order to keep your traditions? (Mark 3:1-6) Which is lawful? For this woman who’s been bent over for as long as she can remember, burdened by the weight of the world and her own sins, to be delivered from these burdens and made to walk again or to remain stooped over and burdened even more in order to keep your order? (Luke 13:10-17) Which is lawful?

God’s Law is not about the rules. It’s about people.
God’s Church is not about the institution. It’s about people.

And if we’re partnering with God and with his plan to redeem the world, we take care of people, not rules. So why, sometimes, do we act like Sheriffs of the Synagogue? I’m afraid, sometimes, we get together with God’s people on God’s holy day, the day set aside for us to celebrate salvation from God in the resurrection and reign of Christ, and we’re watching closely. Looking for a reason to accuse.

“Did you see what he’s wearing? Did you hear what she said? He’s raising his hands. She’s closing her eyes. He’s clapping. She’s kneeling. He won’t stand. She won’t sing.

And Jesus asks, “Which is lawful?” To do good or evil? To watch for those who might stray from my tradition and call them on it? Or to praise God with them in the understanding that we’re both redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? Which is lawful? To save life or to kill? To watch closely for someone who might violate my regulation and talk to them about it? Or to encourage them and be thankful that you both share salvation from God in Christ? Which is lawful? To remove the barriers and burdens and hurdles from my brothers and sisters or to weigh them down with my rules and regulations that act as chains and prison bars to those we’ve told have been set free?

Jesus says there are two ways. One way cares about people. One way doesn’t. The synagogue ruler in Luke 13 actually addresses the people after Jesus heals the crippled woman. “Hey! he says. “If you’re looking for freedom, if you’re looking for healing, if you’re looking for relief and rescue, if you’re looking to be delivered from the things that are weighing you down, come back some other day. You’ve got six other days to do stuff like that. Come back tomorrow. We have our rules, you know.”

Nobody—and I don’t care if they’ve been members of the congregation for 45 years or if they’re completely unknown strangers off the street—nobody should ever come into our church buildings to sit with us, worship with us, sing and pray with us, and study the Scriptures with us and feel like somebody’s watching him closely. Or looking for a reason to accuse.

That situation says a whole lot more about the watcher than it does the watch-ee or the rules. Jesus called it hardness of heart.

Aren’t we glad we serve a King who’s much more about mercy than ritual?
Aren’t we glad our God deals with us compassionately with patience and grace instead of Law?
As God’s children and subjects of the King, aren’t we compelled to treat others the same way?

Peace,

Allan

Reality in Jesus

October 24, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

Matthew’s account of Jesus healing the Centurion’s servant gives us a beautiful portrait of the reality in Christ as the Son of God. The reality is that our King is almighty. He is all powerful. He alone has the authority and the desire to heal and forgive and provide and protect. That’s the reality.

But sometimes we don’t see the reality because we’re surrounded by all the temporary unreality. Sickness and sin and death and hunger and poverty and crime and job stress and family struggles are all around. And we have a very human tendency to be weighed down by all that. We’re burdened by it. We carry it around with us until we’re bent over, beaten, on the verge of being defeated.

“I HAVE MADE YOU AND I WILL CARRY YOU;

I WILL SUSTAIN YOU AND I WILL RESCUE YOU.”

~ISAIAH 46:4

God, through Jesus, has already vanquished all these enemies. Sin and sickness and death have no power over us. And great faith takes its eyes off the temporary circumstances, no matter how disconcerting they are, and fixes its eyes on the Lord. It’s not living by sight. It’s living by faith in the realities in Jesus as the Son of God.

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Stephen Jones: “Uh, dad, we’ve got a guy we can sign to take Roy Williams’ place at safety. Guy named Daren Stone.”

Jerry Wayne: “Daren Stone? What do we know about Daren Stone? Never heard of him.”

Stephen: “He’s a sixth-round draft pick out of Maine two years ago.”

Jerry Wayne: “Why would we sign him? What’s he got?”

Stephen: “Well, he made ten total tackles for the Falcons in 12 games last year.”

Jerry Wayne: “That’s nothing. I could go out there right now and do that myself. Are we really gonna spend my money on this guy? What’s he done so far this year?”

Stephen: “Actually Atlanta cut him at the end of training camp. He hasn’t played any football since a couple of preseason games in August.”

Jerry Wayne: “Look, boy. I’m not spending any money on some washed-up never-was who can’t contribute to this team right away. We’re in a crisis here, boy. We’re in trouble. Have you watched any of the past four games? Don’t you know what’s going on here?

Stephen: “I think we need to sign him, dad.”

Jerry Wayne: “Why, boy? Why do we need to sign this Daren Stone? How does Daren Stone fit in with what we’re trying to do as the Dallas Cowboys? How does he contribute? How does he match up with the message we’re trying to send within our organization and to all our ticket-buying and stadium-subsidizing fans? What is it about Daren Stone that makes sense for us?”

Stephen: “He was arrested in downtown Atlanta over the summer and charged with driving under the influence.”

Jerry Wayne (grinning broadly): “Sign him.”

All Things Hold Together

October 9, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

“By him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” ~Colossians 1:16-17

Paul may be talking about tangible powers on earth or spiritual forces in the heavens. He may be talking about good powers and evil powers. He may be talking about our own human systems of power and authority. The point, though, is that Christ has majesty and power over all of them, whatever shape they take. Just like every single thing under the sun, they were created by him and for him.

Jesus is the spiritual gravity that holds all of creation together.

God didn’t create the world and then pull back. He didn’t just hit the “start” button and now he just watches everything from a distance and only intervenes when he feels like he has to. God through Christ sustains the whole universe. He keeps the cosmos from becoming a chaos.

But that “hold together” in verse 17, I think, means even more. Christ is more than just the force that keeps everything spinning and you and me upright. Christ is the meaning of creation. He’s the rationale of creation. He is the rhyme and reason of creation. Creation exists in him. The universe is not self-sufficient. Neither are we. No matter how much we deceive ourselves into thinking we are. We and all of creation are entirely dependent on Christ.

The difficult part is knowing that God’s creation is—and has been for a while—out of harmony. It’s messed up. It’s fallen. Broken. The world is corrupted, distorted. It’s ravaged by sin.

And we worry about the whole thing being blown to bits. We worry more and more about an asteroid smashing through our atmsosphere or a world-wide nuclear war or global warming disentegrating all of it. The way technology is now, we get news instantaneously from around the corner and around the world. Everytime we turn on the TV, everytime we turn on the computer, we see more bombings, more killings, shootings, arson, gangs, violence, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought. This news reinforces our notions that the world is dark and dangerous. All the violence around us reinforces our beliefs that everything in the world is aimless. It becomes harder and harder to believe that God’s creation can somehow be good. That it can ever be saved or redeemed. It’s very easy to give up hope in this world. It looks like evil rules. Not Christ.

And in the middle of all that, Paul gives us this beautiful and powerful poetry in Colossians 1:15-20. It inspires us. It nourishes us. It reminds us that God’s gracious purposes for this planet are being worked out and will be realized in Christ. Our destiny is determined by a merciful and loving Father, not by fate or fluke or chance.

If creation is created by Christ and exists for Christ, then it’s never meaningless or without direction. And if we belong to Christ, we also have a place in the story. And a divine purpose.

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Three observations about this latest incident with Cowboys cornerback PacMan Jones:

1) What’s the point of having a bodyguard you think you can whip? Does it make any sense to employ a bodyguard who’s not even as tough as you are? If you’re being threatened or attacked, why is the one charged with protecting you the guy you just licked?

2) There were no arrests made and no charges filed. It looks like Jones’ bodyguard is the only one who got hurt. But it was nearly 2:00 am. They were all, including Jones, quite drunk. And it was very public. And it was bad enough that hotel officials called 9-1-1. This is the 13th time in a little less than three years that police have been called to respond to a situation involving Jones. Thirteen times in three years! If we’re looking for a pattern…..

3) I’m hearing a few Cowboys fans today say they should cut Jones from the team. They say this is too much. He’s a bad egg. I’m certain these are the same fans who, in the wake of Michael Irvin’s very public troubles with prostitutes and cocaine and aggravated assault (attempted murder?), were calling for mercy and grace. See, I think if PacMan had five interceptions and had returned two punts for TDs already this season, Cowboys fans would be unanimously calling for Jerry Wayne and the NFL to show great leniency. “No arrests were made. No charges were filed. This is all being blown out of proportion.” It’s all about performance on the field. It has very little, if anything, to do with integrity or character. And that’s a shame on many fronts.

Peace,

Allan

Given Much

September 15, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

“From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” ~Luke 12:48

When I see Shaquille O’Neal shoot 35% from the free throw line; when I see Ricky Williams throw away a Hall of Fame career with drug use; when I hear about a record-setting high school quarterback get suspended because he’s flunked Social Studies; I want to scream. All that talent. All those gifts. All that natural ability. All that potential. All those blessings. How in the world can you just throw that away? How can you not see how you’ve been blessed and how you can use those blessings to make yourself and your team better? How does Shaq live with himself, knowing that in a tight playoff game his coach has to sit him on the bench because he might get fouled? How can Williams ever show his face again in the state of Louisiana after what he did to the Saints? How does the high school quarterback walk the halls of his campus knowing how he’s let down his whole community?

We expect much more out of the people who’ve been so richly blessed.

Boy, if I had only been given those same gifts. If only I had those same talents, those same abilities. I’d do everything in my power to use them to their maximum potential. I’d keep my nose clean. I’d work hard. I’d dedicate myself to getting even better. Nothing could ever hold me back or get me down if I had those blessings.

We hate seeing gifts gone to waste. But we drastically change our view when the tables are turned and we become the objects of scrutiny.

Are you blessed? Of course you’re going to say “Yes.” Your wealth is not just measured by your money and your possessions, of which we have more than anyone in history, but also by your options. If you have lots of options, you’re very blessed. For most people in the world, especially if you consider the whole of human history, the main choice of life is, “Will I pick the grain today with my left hand or my right hand?”

In contrast, consider the kinds of questions we ask ourselves today. It’s not, “Will I get to go to college?” It’s “Which college will I go to?” It’s not, “Can I find a job?” It’s “Which job pleases me the most?” We never ask, “Am I going to eat dinner?” It’s always, “What’s for dinner?”

We are wealthy. We are blessed.

And just like us, our God never wants to see all these blessings go to waste. Jesus never wants to see his gifts thrown away.

He expects more.

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Cowboys & Eagles. Monday Night Football. The only thing that could make it any better is if it were being played in Philly (better atmosphere) and if Frank and Howard and Dandy Don were calling the game on ABC.

The Eagles have certainly broken the hearts of the Cowboys many, many times in the past. I vividly remember watching the 1980 NFC Championship Game in Paul Barron’s living room. Tom Landry’s weird Russian fur hat with the earflaps and the collar on his coat up around his neck. Wilbert Montgomery going for 42 yards and a TD on the game’s second play. I remember Paul throwing his not-quite-empty Coke can across his living room after a Danny White sack midway through the third quarter of that 20-7 loss.

Lots of Cowboys misery at the hands of the Eagles. The pickle juice game. The Bounty Bowl. Jaws. Harold Carmichael. McNabb’s 14-second scramble. Andy Reid is 13-5 against the Cowboys. Philly’s beat Dallas in three of the past four meetings. Nobody has a better road record in the NFL over the past seven seasons than the Eagles. McNabb is totally healthy. Westbrook’s one of the four best backs in the league. The Eagles’ defense is menacing. Their blitz is unnerving. Their secondary is excellent. They held Dallas to just six points at Texas Stadium last December.

Eagles 27, Cowboys 20.

Peace,

Allan

Category: Jesus (Page 59 of 61)

Beware The Shadows

Joyful Imitation

Which Is Lawful?

Reality in Jesus

All Things Hold Together

Given Much

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