S - "The followers were afraid of the Jews, and on the evening of that same day, the first day of the week, they locked themselves in a room. Suddenly, Jesus appeared in the middle of the group. He greeted them and said, “Peace be with you.” When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. When the followers saw the Lord, they became very happy. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they will be forgiven. But if you don’t forgive their sins, they will not be forgiven.”" According to John 20:19-23

 

O -  Jesus sends his followers the same way his Father sent him: empowered by the Helper to forgive.  All other dynamics of sending, of going, of following are dependent on this one. To fail at this is to fail completely. The refusal to forgive identified here is underscoring the essential nature of our forgiving.  Nine times the four accounts record Jesus saying to any and to all: 'If you forgive others when they sin against you, your Father will forgive you. But if you don't forgive others when they sin against you, your Father will not forgive you.' 

 

A - Religious, theological, organizational, missional thinking does not allow this sending of Jesus to lead the way in their thinking, going and sending.  The issue of God forgiving remains paramount but NOT the forgiving of the  one "going".  The fact of going/sending; the accuracy of the content of the message; the importance of the mission; the reputation of an organization; the money desired to "make it all work" all demands a different priority in their training and teaching; which of course negates Jesus actually sending those claiming to represent him. Jesus offers this strong warning to me and to all:"Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do will get in. On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, “We spoke in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.” But I will tell them, “I never knew you! Get out of my sight, you workers of evil!”" According to Matthew 7:21-23

 

P -  Lord of all and Lord of me,

Am so very grateful for this singular and simple focus: forgive all others as you've been forgiven. This is the following you desire and inspire.  I accept this invitation and assignment as you lead the way and empower the decision to forgive.

Love you back,

Steve

For Heaven's Sake … Seriously!

 idiom

Definition of for heaven's sake

—used to make a statement or question more forceful or to express surprise, anger, etc.

S - "And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? … At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. … To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”" (Acts 26:6-8, 13-15, 22-23 ESV)

 

O - Saul of Tarsus was not converted to a new religion; he was transformed by a person … a person who never even said the word Christian. He was not convinced by theological argument but by an experience of presence. He was not called to a cause or worldview but to a person named Jesus whom God raised from the dead. His entire existence, after his encounter with the resurrected Jesus (Acts 9:1-19), revolved around three key realities; realities which filled his life and even his legal defense in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 22:6-16, 23:6), Caesarea (cf. Acts 25:13-19) and Rome. These realities are the name, person and resurrection of Jesus.

 

A - Religion wants converts made by information. Heaven wants children made by the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. Religion wants its adherents to pursue and follow an "approved" worldview. Heaven wants its citizens to pursue and follow a person. Religion will call the world to a cause and Heaven calls the world to a person … follow me is the call and Jesus is the person. For Heaven's sake and for my own I want to live out loud the realities heaven gives to all people … the name, person and resurrection of Jesus.

 

P - Only True Friend of the Entire World,

Thank you for inviting the whole world to yourself. Thank you for your name, presence and resurrection life made available to all. I welcome you, your presence and irrepressible life to come into me and hope that such will come out of me for your sake and for the sake of all, me included. Thank you that you want us to hold every life in the hope of transformation, especially our own. 

All my love,

Steve

Following? … Verification Specific

S - "I am giving you a new command. You must love each other. Just as I have loved you, you must love each other. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my followers." According to John 13:34-35

 

O - Jesus gives the followers one new commandment.  If engaged, everyone (the world) would be able to validate that they were actually following him. He didn't instruct us to read or memorize Scripture, attend gatherings, pray while assuming a specific posture, commit to certain theological conclusions, fast, wear certain clothing, or follow a specific diet.  None of these activities validate his followers.  The validation comes only, exclusively, if we love each other. 

 

A - The wording of Jesus' new commandment is curious … considering the worldwide impact it carries.  Why didn’t he say if you love everybody the world will know you are my followers?  He wants us to love all but that isn't how he phrased the instruction.  Why not pick up the reality of the second of the two greatest commandments?  After all, he wants us to love our neighbors as ourselves, our equals; but that's not what he said.  Why not really crush it by the assignment to love our enemies?  It's a revolutionary way of thinking and living and he even wants the followers to do it. Yet, that is not the command and not what will validate those who are following him. It is only if we love each other like he's loved us that anyone would know who is actually following Jesus.  

 

P - Well Lord,

The assignment is crystal clear … simple to understand not always easy to engage. Nevertheless, I choose you back, choose to follow and accept your instruction.  

Steve 

Following? … Experiments Required

S - "Jesus replied: I am not teaching something I thought up. What I teach comes from the one who sent me. If you really want to obey God, you will know if what I teach comes from God or from me." According to John 7:16-17

 

O - The way (apparently the only way) to validate the teaching of Jesus as coming from God is by how we live rather than by how we understand scripture. The capacity to recognize the source of his instruction is obtained by doing his words (obey) not just studying them. Following is less about what we’re reading and more about how we’re living. Religion places emphasis on saying words out loud and Jesus invites us to live them out loud. 

 

A - Following consistently inspires and requires me to engage “experiments” in doing the words of Jesus. Since the bulk of his recorded teaching (over 90%) is about life on earth, here and now; there’s a large volume of opportunities to live out experiments on forgiveness, money, neighbors, fruitfulness, stewardship, etc. His instruction is always simple not always easy. For me, these experiments, this doing, not only confirms the source of his teaching but results in a relational beauty he describes as “the light that gives life.” 

 

P - Friend, Shepherd and Teacher,

I welcome you and your words in my life unto ongoing experiments and the light that gives life. Thank you for the invitation to follow, to believe you about earth and not just about heaven; to experiments in living day by day.

Still Amazed,

Steve

Useless Worship

S - "Jesus replied: You are nothing but frauds! The prophet Isaiah was right when he wrote that God had said, “All of you revere me with your words, but your hearts are far from me. It is useless for you to worship me, when you teach rules made up by humans.” You disobey God’s commands in order to obey what humans have taught. … And you ignore God’s commands in order to follow your own teaching. You do many other things just as bad." Mark 7:6-8, 13

 

O - According to Jesus and Isaiah, religion is the leading promoter of useless worship. It inserts itself with attitudes, conclusions and requirements which are polar opposite to God’s person and instruction. The verification of this tragic activity is not found in the method of expressing worship (words, songs, rituals, gatherings etc.) but in the thinking and practice of everyday living. 

 

A - The validation of worship which actually connects with God is not in the words, settings or activities engaged during worship but in the ongoing relational dynamic of daily living. Is my worship useless? Am I giving to the one who asks per the instructions of Jesus or turning away based on the conclusions of human reasoning? Am I learning childlike-living (sheep among wolves) or just trying to be a better version of a wolf?  Am I pursuing the ongoing transformation of my heart or just the calibration of my words in certain settings?  Is my focus on how things look or how they actually are? I am in the hopes to avoid and refuse the practice of useless worship by assessing my daily living and thinking with the help of God’s spirit and my brothers and sisters. 

 

P - Dear God,

Thank you for the gift of worship given to the world for our benefit - not yours. Am so glad to be learning, growing and changing day by day. I want to possess and offer to you a right heart and authentic living - not merely right words. Convinced of your love and help, this is more than possible. I love you back.

Steve

When it comes to God, where do you start?

 

Where we start matters. Jesus comes to enable us to know where to start in our thinking, speaking, living, praying and loving. When it comes to God, he invites and instructs us to start at only one place - Father; more specifically our Father and the focus is love; that we are loved and wanted unconditionally (at our worst).  Religion wants us to start at Creator/Judge and the focus is sin (performance).  Theology wants us to start at Eternal/Almighty and the focus is accurate information (knowing about). Religion calls us to the Courtroom, Theology calls us to the Schoolroom and Heaven is calling us to our own room in our Father's House. "Then Jesus said to the crowds [all the people] and to his followers: … none of you should be called a teacher. You have only one teacher, and all of you are brothers and sisters. Don’t call anyone on earth your father. All of you have the same Father in heaven." According to Matthew 23:1, 8-9

Essential to the Recipe of Life

S - "You are the salt for everyone on earth. But if salt no longer tastes like salt, how can it make food salty? All it is good for is to be thrown out and walked on." Matthew 5:13

 

O - This dynamic described by of Jesus of Nazareth is admitted and admired by people of all ethnicities and cultural backgrounds (religious and nonreligious). In spite of all the diversity in our world, the actual composition of the "salt" is just about universally missed; religion, politics, social sciences, education, business, etc. included. It's not missed because the understanding begins with salt's flavor enhancing and preservative qualities.  It is not in the admission that salt is required for us to live. The miss isn't because the universally accepted observation of "a little goes a long way" is erroneous.  The miss is in identifying salt as anything other than love.  Love universally enhances the flavor of everything it comes in contact with and is a preservative like no other. It really is essential to life.  

 

A - Culture tragically and consistently misses this essential conclusion.  It describes salt in terms of things to not do, of opinions to hold or refuse, of conclusions which promote judgment of others in the harshest terms. Jesus and scriptures are unflinchingly clear on the point that without love it all becomes noise and nothing even it is true.  No love … no longer salty … thrown out and walked on.  Jesus, and according to him God as well, always starts at love. It is the only place he instructs those who follow him to begin every day, every circumstance every person.  In the thinking, living and teaching of Jesus the salt of the earth people are those who love.  If we love we cannot fail and if we do not love failure is certain.  

 

P - God who loves the world (7.8 billion),

I accept the instruction, encouragement and experience of the salt you're looking for us to be.  Love is the only dynamic which offers the hope of life's greatest flavors and a longevity which has no shelf life. I admit that it is not the concept of unconditional love but the activity of it. Yes to salt! Yes to love! Yes to flavorful and vibrant living,

Loving you back,

Steve