The Tragic Result of Self-Reliance

S - "Some people brought their children to Jesus so he could bless them by placing his hands on them. But his followers told the people to stop bothering him. When Jesus saw this, he became angry and said, “Let the children come to me! Don’t try to stop them. People who are like these little children belong to the kingdom of God. I promise you that you cannot get into God’s kingdom, unless you accept it the way a child does.” Then Jesus took the children in his arms and blessed them by placing his hands on them."  Mark 10:13-16 TJB

 

O - In this rather famous event in the life of Jesus, he identifies those who belong to God's kingdom and also how that kingdom is entered.  It is the same for both entry and belonging. Childlikeness is the only way.  In fact, we are promised by Jesus that without this reality actively working in our lives we "cannot get into God's kingdom"; and we cannot and will not belong. Those people (regardless of age, station in life, religion and ethnicity) who enter and belong are childlike. Any who try to stop or prevent childlike entry and belonging anger him.  He says "Don't try to stop them."   

 

A - Jesus is the most childlike human being to live on earth and he insists we join him in childlikeness. Religion and the "grown-up world" in which we live do not believe him about this reality. It thinks that accurate theology and right religious practice are the keys to entering and belonging.  The result is the conflict which angers Jesus.  The world tries to stop all childlike thinking and living.  It insists on worldly wisdom and maturity.  God insists on the opposite.  If I am going to enter and belong I must accept, pursue and engage childlike living in all circumstances. Grownups are taught to rely on themselves; what they know, what they have and what they can do. Children rely on another for direction, protection and provision.  Childlikeness is not naiveté, that is childish. Rather it is consistent reliance on another, on God and not ourselves.  In my thinking and living am I childlike?  Am I living a self-reliant life or one relying on Him? In my interface with others am I hindering their childlikeness by words and actions of "maturity"? Jesus says: "Blessed are those people who rely only on God.  They belong to his kingdom."

 

P - Our Father in heaven,

Your kingdom is near and you give all people the dignity of choice.  I accept the instruction and assignment Jesus gives regarding your kingdom.  It is in my heart to enter and to belong and so I choose to learn the ways of childlike living.  Thank you for sending Jesus to clarify your person and purposes. 

Steve

Christmas Forest or Christmas Trees

This time of year, Christmas trees (which we love and should love) are everywhere. They can lift our spirits, recalibrate our thoughts and have enamored countless generations of children in anticipation and joy. Add a carol or two, a few angels on high with some lowly shepherds and the combination is fantastic! 

 

For those who wish to look a little deeper into the events inspiring this much-loved holiday, heaven's interface with earth becomes increasingly apparent. Magi and a star from the East; angelic visits, dreams and songs; instructions and miracles for unlikely people who become the lead characters in a story that never grows old. Wow!

 

Still, there's more to the story and the celebration.  From ancient times and sacred texts predictions and descriptions of these events abound.  Studied by scholars and proclaimed by clerics for centuries, the amazing convergence of history, scriptures, culture and hope all congeal. To even a casual observer, a plan so brilliant and well-ordered emerges arresting one's imaginative and analytical powers.  Joy to the world … God actually has, and is working, a plan! 

 

It's still a common expression in our day … you can't see the forest for the trees. Nothing could be more applicable in this season of celebration. The Christmas plan, like the Christmas tree, is inspiring and alluring. It is captivating. However, the plan is not the focus heaven is inviting the world to see.  Heaven's point is not the plan nor its components.  Heaven's only point is a person.  Jesus of Nazareth is the Christmas Forest; everything else is just Christmas trees.  

In or Out?

S - "Once again Jesus used stories to teach the people: The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a king gave a wedding banquet for his son. The king sent some servants to tell the invited guests to come to the banquet, but the guests refused. … Then he said to the servants, 'It is time for the wedding banquet, and the invited guests don’t deserve to come.'" According to Matthew 22:1-3, 8 TJB 

 

O - Jesus is sent by God to clarify his person and his purposes. According to Jesus (who is the expert), the dynamics of this story are what God’s kingdom is like. The guests don’t get excluded from the wedding banquet because they missed their opportunity. There’s no misunderstanding, accidental lapse or unintended miscue.  They decide to refuse the invitation and exclude themselves. 

 

A - Religion inspires people to live in the fear of missing God’s person and purpose; that somehow, we’ll miss by mere distraction or by a misunderstood dynamic with unintended consequences.  Numerous religious teachings encourage this thinking and the tragic paranoias it produces. Again and again Jesus lives, demonstrates and teaches that God and his kingdom are not like that. We can in fact be excluded but not by mistake or misunderstanding. If I’m excluded it will never be by an unintended miss but only by an intentional choice.  Jesus’ invitation remains in force day by day: "follow me". Since I’m with him, choosing to follow him each day, I can’t miss and won’t be excluded. 

 

P - God Almighty,

Thank you for sending Jesus to the world (now 7.7 billion people).  Thank you for inviting us to meet and follow a person not join a religion, commit to a principle or work a plan. Thank you for the great dignity of choice … am very glad to be choosing day by day.

Intentionally following Jesus, 

Steve 

About the American Dream …

The American Dream inspired, captivated and propelled our Nation's Founders and Citizens to a way of thinking which was unheard of in their day: we the people … created equal … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights … life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. The right to vote based on citizenship rather than financial holdings, religious freedom, a free press and the right to assemble all flow from this Dream.  To this very day it is unequalled and unparalleled in our world.  

 

The Dream came to imperfect people in an imperfect world.  A look back confirms that it was engaged by three basic types of individuals. Revolutionaries, patriots and those looking only to advance themselves.  The distinction is not necessarily apparent in one's speech but becomes very clear in one's living. Consider the following: While George Washington was leading the revolutionary army, a patriot named Martha Washington was living out her life in essential and sacrificial support. Paul Revere and his female counterpart in Connecticut, Sybil Ludington, sounded alarms at critical points in the conflict.  John Adams had the revolutionary task of obtaining a loan from the Dutch while the patriot Abigail Adams gave herself tirelessly to activities which kept them all alive. Esther DeBerdt Reed established “The Ladies of Philadelphia” raising an enormous amount of money to fund American troops. When Benedict Arnold wasn't being advanced as quickly under Washington as he thought he deserved he had no trouble going to the British to advance himself and his military career.  

 

Along with the Dream, these three types are with us to this very day. In this election year the phrase "the American Dream" is being touted.  The issue is that what many refer to as the Dream isn't the Dream at all. The beginning of the American Experiment came when 56 individuals started with the Dream and, as a result, pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honors to each other under the protection of Providence.  The change of thinking and living that followed is providing the world (not just Americans) with so many opportunities and blessings to this very day.  But the opportunities and blessings are not the dream, they are the result of those who embraced it.  The Dream cannot be embraced for me.  It calls me to decide my own response.  My thinking and my living will be the final arbiters as to which of the three types I become.  

The American Dream - a Change in Thinking

 

During the last few decades of the 18th century on the eastern seaboard of the North American continent 56 men had changed their thinking.  While the world had embraced the divine right of kings they were thinking "we the people". When the world had accepted the "reality" of two races, two classes of people, royalty and commoner, they were thinking "we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights"… all the way to "liberty and justice for all." 

 

This change of thinking was so deep in them that these 56 individuals pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honors to each other under the protection of Providence.  This Dream informed, inspired, directed their lives and the actions they would take.  The result of this Dream was what most people at the time considered to be impossible; the beginning of the American Experiment. 

 

The American Dream is not owning your own home, establishing your own company, choosing your career path, religious beliefs or your mate for life. These are all the results of the Dream. It is the Dream which inspired and conceived the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It led to the three branches of government America is known for; these institutions did not and cannot produce the Dream. 

 

The Dream is to dictate the actions and functions of its proponents not the other way around.   Once anyone starts qualifying the dream by refusing or manipulating its universal application to all -- the Dream dies in that person or institution. To embrace and keep the Dream alive requires a life continuously inspired and directed by liberty and justice for all. The Dream requires an ongoing change of thinking and living for all who would inherit, enjoy and preserve its beauty, freedoms, power and light. 

 

In these currently not so United States, there is no group, party, occupation, ethnicity or person exempt from the need to change their thinking and living according to this Dream.  Injustice, greed, bigotry, lust for power, intoxication of rights and refusal of responsibilities to the Dream have polarized our nation from one end to the other.  The remedy is not in a political process or ideology but in a personal, individual, revitalization and transformation of thinking and living.  While those on each side of an issue are waiting for and demanding that the other side shift their position the Dream calls us all to a change of thinking and living: we the people … created equal … endowed by their Creator … liberty and justice for all. 

Agreement and Asking for Anything

 

S - "Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing." Philippians 2:1-4 (NLT)

O - Much is said about agreement when seeking God's help and answers to our prayers/needs.  This focus comes to us directly from the mouth of Jesus who said (Matthew 18:19-20 NLT): "I also tell you this: If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together because they are mine, I am there among them." A miscue often happens at this point which Philippians 2 helps us overcome and avoid.  The agreement is not so much about a goal desired or an accomplishment completed.  The agreement is not merely about what we want but more about how we live.  According to the Scripture, the attributes of agreement include (require):

1.     Loving each other.

2.     Working together (interdependent never independent).

3.     Refusing to be selfish even about "good causes".

4.     Not living to make a good impression on others.

5.     Humility by considering others better (more important) than yourself.

6.     A genuine interest and involvement in others and what they are doing.

I think this is the agreement Jesus is referencing and this is the agreement that welcomes heaven to earth--deepening encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness and sympathetic hearts … O yes, and awesome answers to anything.

 

A - There is not much in this list of attributes which seems to be working even when churches, ministries and believers "agree".  We tend to tolerate each other at best, invite in only those who have stuff we want, insist on maintaining control, put ourselves forward to make a good impression, look down on all who don't think we're really "hitting the ball" and only pretend to listen and care so that others will listen to us as we make our pitch.  This is how we're groomed by our culture (secular and religious) and this is exactly what Jesus wants to crucify in me. He doesn't want me to network he wants me to love.  If I do not love I am nothing (not even one thing). It's interesting that Jesus never told the disciples to work harder.  He did tell them to love more.  I'm going to work/live Jesus' list via Paul rather than the list via culture.  I'll keep my heart and life open to any who will agree.  

 

P - Lord who is Awesome,

I praise you for this day and this assignment concerning agreement.  Thank you for always letting us ask anything because nothing is impossible, too difficult or too wonderful for you.  Thank you for insisting that your children live like your children.  Lord, I'm sorry for merely networking when I clearly should have loved.  I'm sorry for accepting the deception concerning agreement and the pressure my culture exudes to perform above all else.  You will outperform any and all, but you will do so your way.  Lord, engage me, enable me, to work with you rather than for you so that agreement will be the way I live with those you have given me. Lord, lead on.

Steve

Jesusists* and the Scriptures - Part Three of Three

Jesus of Nazareth is sent to earth to clarify the person and purposes of God. His singular instruction, invitation and call is expressed in just two words “follow me” … and herein lies the concern. The difference between following and claiming to follow is nowhere more apparent than in the purpose, place and use of the Scriptures. Religion taught me that if I prayed and read the Scriptures every day I’d be kept safe and spiritually attuned.  Then, as I read in the Scriptures, I found that among those who read and prayed every day were the ones who hated Jesus and demanded his death. So, what are to make of this sad historic reality and our own interface with Scripture?  What can we find in the thinking, teaching and conclusions of Jesus?

 

Did Jesus think the Scriptures are inspired by God?  Even a cursory look at the record of his life renders an unwavering affirmative. With the Scriptures inspired by God, did he think that all Scriptures are of equal weight or importance?  Like the conclusion to the first question, the answer is equally clear. He did not. This is where the separating begins with those who will actually follow Jesus and those who choose another course. Jesus did believe the Scriptures to be inspired but he did not believe that they are all of equal significance. 

 

When asked “What is the greatest (the superlative) commandment?” He didn’t respond by saying there are so many good ones it’s hard to say.  His answer was immediate and direct.  He identified the superlative command and the one second to it.  Then, went on to say that all Scriptures depend or hang on these two. He also told the religious experts and elites of his day they had neglected the more important or weightier matters of the Scriptures. 

 

Think about it this way.  Everything my wife says to me is 100 percent inspired by her.  So, when she requests that I take out the garbage it is completely, fully inspired by her and I should even do it.  However, when she tells me that she loves me the inspiration is the same as the previous communication but the significance of what is being said is astronomically different.  There are many houses in my city where the garbage kept going out but the love stopped. 

It was never Jesus' practice to “flatline” the Scriptures, making them all the same. Consistently through the four accounts a theme regarding the relationship Jesus has to Scriptures (and everything else on earth) is presented. In the person of Jesus something greater is here.  Something greater than Solomon, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jonah, David, the Sabbath, the Temple, the prophets and the Twelve is here. In fact, in the presence of Moses (the law) and Elijah (the prophets) God, referring to Jesus, tells Peter, James and John: “This is my dearly loved son with whom I am well pleased.  Listen to him.” He did not say listen to them but listen to him. Jesus is the author and perfecter/finisher of faith, the beginning and the end, the alpha and omega. All Scripture is profitable and useful … but all Scriptures do not share the same significance. His followers are not supposed to synthesize or flatline the Scriptures because he didn't.  

 

Those who are actually following accept that the intended use of the Scriptures is to always begin and end with Jesus because something greater is here (his person, presence and words - the four accounts). Religion wants people to believe all Scriptures are the same so they will believe its opinions.  Heaven wants people to meet Jesus and follow him; then the Scriptures can have their proper place in a person’s life.  Jesus invites us to himself, not to historic and scriptural glimpses inspiring us to "make up in our heads" what he must be like.  We get to know him, not just know about him. Accepting his universal invitation to follow does not mean that those who do will become more and more like the Scriptures.  They will become more and more like him. 

 

*not the Urban Dictionary Term