Find Your Purpose: Discipleship

What National League MVP played third base for the Atlanta Braves in 1991? Random knowledge such as the answer to the previous question completely fills the minds of many, many people. The topics vary, but the knowledge that people have is often astounding. Whether its sports, pop-culture, history, engines, or just the latest gossip, it is hard to miss the fact that people are willing to fill their heads with all kinds of facts, figures, and philosophies. That is, until it comes to understanding God's Word. When it comes to knowing scripture, much less doing it, far too many people who claim the name of Christ are completely ignorant of what His Word says.

We are IGNORANT, UNLEARNED, AND LAZY WHEN IT COMES TO GOD'S WORD.

Yeah, I said it and I can back it up.

I want you to ask yourself a couple of questions right now:

1. Have I read the entire Bible?
2. Do I have a working knowledge of the individual books of the Bible? (as in, what is the theme of the book of Romans, Ephesians, 1 John, Ezekiel, etc...)

If you cannot answer those questions with a YES, then ask yourself the next logical question:

WHY NOT?

Let me answer the second question for you. Because it hasn't been as important to you as it should. Before you close your browser window and stop reading, I said it hasn't been AS IMPORTANT as it should be. I am not calling your Christian faith, your love of God, or the value God's word has in your life into question. I am merely saying, if knowing and understanding God's Word were more important than knowing who God voted off of American Idol then you would be willing to carry the cross of discipleship and learn the most important words you will ever read.

Instead, most people only touch their Bible on Sunday morning while a few include Sunday night and Wednesday night and then it is normally just to read a verse or two completely out of context.

You see, God's Word is a wonderful thing, but it takes work. You have to want it. You have to want it bad because scripture is going to challenge you on multiple levels. It is going to challenge your values, your assumptions, your intellect and your commitment.

It isn't going to come easily.

It isn't going to come easily!

There is a degree of academic style learning and reading that has to go into learning scripture. You have to read it to know it. You have to know it to understand it and you have to understand it to do it. And so we enjoy quoting James 1:22 (Be not hearers of the word only, but be doers) but we don't quite understand everything that goes into that. If you want to know God, you have to seek Him out with all of your heart and that means seeking Him out through scripture.

But here is the key:

We have to let scripture speak for itself. We can't pick and choose a verse here and there and say "I know God's word." One of the most known and misunderstood verses in all of scripture is Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Most of the time, this verse is used to affirm that God is going to give you abilities and bless you supernaturally to thrive and get ahead. People often use the verse as a way to make up for shortcomings in life and to claim that God is going to give us supernatural abilities outside of ourselves so all we have to do is wait for God to move.

This couldn't be more off base with what Paul is talking about in this passage.

If you look at the surrounding verses, something called "context", you will see that Paul talking about God giving him the strength to be faithful no matter what the circumstances. Whether well fed or hungry, in abundance or in need, Paul had learned to rely on Christ for strength to ENDURE anything. This is a far cry from the way we use this verse today.

Why did we just do that little Bible study? Because it illustrates just how important a working knowledge of an ENTIRE BOOK of the Bible is to understanding it.

Do you want to know God? Know his Word.

Do you want purpose in life? Live God's word.

Do you want God to use you? Train YOURSELF in His Word.

If you start learning scripture, you will also find that the Sunday Morning sermons will probably become more interesting and useful because you will be able to interact with what your pastor is saying. Instead, too many people use the sermon as their only time in God's Word for the week. Do you eat food once a week? Then why would you only read God's Word once a week?

Discipleship is not optional. If you claim the title of Christian and say that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you have a responsibility to learn His Word so you can live by it. So next time you are pondering the deep questions of life and come up with answers like "Terry Pendleton" (he was the MVP who played third base for the Atlanta Braves in 1991) I hope you will reconsider how you are expending your mental energies. Are you filling your mind with God's Word or are you filling it with something else?

Make a commitment to learn and live the scriptures that will take you Above Reality.

Leadership

A little pause from the norm to look at some lighthearted thoughts on leadership. Even though it is humorous, there is wisdom in what is said. Will you be a courageous "first follower" of something Christ is doing in or around your life and so rise Above Reality?

Find Your Purpose: Count the Cost

We have talked about Discovering God through his love and his holiness. Now, it is time to move forward. Hopefully you know God is there and that he is the creator, sustainer of everything. His love is perfect, He IS PERFECT. Why? 

Because even the demons believe, and shudder. 


Just acknowledging that God is there is not enough. We have to exercise faith. We have to have a faith that moves and works. Think of it like this: We do what we believe. We can say we believe something, but our actions truly speak louder than our words. If we really believe something we will do it. Period. 


Jesus put it like this in Luke 9:23-24,


And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)


You see, here's the thing about crosses. They're heavy. They hurt. They are a burden. They lead others to ridicule you. Crosses are not attractive to modern culture. They weren't attractive in Jesus's day either. Yet, here is Jesus saying "You want to follow me? You WILL carry a cross." It is not optional and it isn't going to be easy. End of story. 


I recently heard a story of a Marine recruiter who was supposed to make a presentation to a group of men about why they should join the Marines. He didn't have much time for his presentation after previous speakers had gone over their allotted time so he simply stepped up to the microphone and said something to the effect of "in this group of men, only a few of you are actually strong enough to be a Marine. Come talk to me." Guess what? His booth was swarmed. Why? Because those attending heard the call of a challenge. They wanted to be one of those who are strong enough to make it. 


Jesus basically said the same thing. While his call is universal, there are only a few who will respond. Why? Because it means carrying a cross. It means sacrifice. It means change. It means pain. It means giving up one's life so that Christ can find it. And it isn't easy. In fact, it is so hard that Jesus likened it to travelling a small road with a narrow gate that only a few will find. The rest will take the easy way. 


So which one are you? Are you taking the easy way or the hard way? Are you carrying a cross? Is it heavy? Has it caused  you pain, suffering and separation? If it hasn't then you aren't carrying a cross. You may be carrying a superstition or a discipline. You may even be carrying a religion, but you aren't carrying a cross. You know when you are carrying a cross because it leaves splinters in your back. You know you are carrying a cross because you are dying to yourself with every step taking you closer to crucifixion. 


This is purpose.


This is why you were created. 


Not for happiness. 


Not for pleasure.


Not for success.


But to carry the cross of Jesus Christ and serve God with everything you have. But we must count the cost first. What will it take for you to fully pick up your cross and follow Jesus? 


Jesus said it like this in Luke 14:33 "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." Is following Christ more important than anything else in your life? Are you willing to give up EVERYTHING to follow him? If you are not, then you are not carrying a cross. 


Do not misunderstand this. Jesus is not saying you must be desolate, divorced, homeless and broke to follow him. He is saying that nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, can come between you and Him. If you are not ready to sever a relationship that is coming between you and Him, you are not carrying a cross. If you are not ready to give up a lifestyle that is coming between you and Him, you are not carrying a cross. And if we are not carrying a cross, we are not his disciples. 


If we are not carrying a cross, we are not his disciples. 


This is your purpose as a Christian. As a Christ follower, a believer, your life now belongs to Him and you must pick up your cross and follow Him. Anything less, and you are deceiving yourself. It is only by carrying the cross that Christ commands us to carry that we can rise above reality.

Discover God: God's Holiness

When we think about God we are trying to comprehend the One who goes beyond comprehension.

God. Infinite, loving and Holy. Perfect in every way.

How do we, imperfect, sinful, beings even begin to relate to the One who is absolutely Holy in every way?

This is a paradox that every Christ follower has to engage, and once you do, you will never be the same. Take for instance the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 6:1-4 we read:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

What an awesome sight. Think for a moment about this vision. He SAW THE LORD. Not many Old Testament prophets could boast of a vision like this. The words used to describe the Lord are "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY" And here we are again at this word Holy. What does it mean and what does it mean for us? In this image we have descriptions of majesty and heavenly beings covering their faces in the presence of God. They say that the "whole earth is full of his glory" and at the sound of THEIR voices, not God's, the doorposts and thresholds shook. At the very least, a correct view/image of God will lead to praise and proclamation. Yet there is something more we need to look at.

What was Isaiah's response? Did he leap for joy and join the party? Did he pen the greatest Psalm of praise ever written or write a best selling book about how it led him to lead his best life now? No. Here is Isaiah's response in verse 5:

"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

The first thing that Isaiah was aware of in himself was His own sin. As he was in the presence of God, in the presence of absolute perfection, all Isaiah could do was mourn his own imperfection, and the imperfection of His culture. Which is how it should be. Jesus said in Matthew 5:4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

As a person discovers God, he/she finds more and more just how Holy, perfect, good and loving God is and then, in the process, sees how imperfect, evil, and hateful he/she really is. What was once acceptable becomes repulsive. What once went unnoticed is suddenly at the forefront, and we mourn. We mourn because we realize we have rebelled, offended, and spat in the face of the God who created us and loves us. We mourn because we realize we were created to bring Glory to God and instead we have brought reproach. We mourn because we know there is nothing we can do to fix ourselves.

Then, something wonderful happens. God intervenes. Look at what happens next in Isaiah. Verses 6-7 say:

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

God ordains/creates a way for our guilt to be taken away. What we can't fix, God fixes for us. And how does he do it? By taking from His own Holiness and giving it to us. Isaiah had his lips (the source of his sin) touched by a coal from the heavenly altar. For us, we find our Holiness through Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross and took away our sin. When we believe in Him, God's Spirit comes to reside within us and we are made alive. God takes away our heart of stone (the source of our sin) and gives us a heart of flesh that will be molded to bring glory to God.

But, this only happens when we first get a true sense of God's holiness. When we sense his perfection, it brings our imperfection to light and reveals our need for a savior. Discover God and discover true Holiness. Discover Holiness and you will find a cross, the Son of God, a death and a resurrection three days later. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." When we Discover God's Holiness, we discover that which takes us far Above Reality.

Discover God: God’s Love

God is active. God is near. God is actively loving you right where you are. Right now. He Loves you as much now as He ever will and it is more than you can ever imagine. God's love is real. When we Discover God, we discover more than a powerful being who holds the answers to life. We find more than a way to live our best life now. We find more than we could ever hope or imagine. We find love. Pure, unfiltered, unobstructed, ever flowing love. And it is directed straight at you.

For most, this love is so great that it goes unanswered. God has extended his hand towards them, but they just can’t fathom that a love of this magnitude and nature is pursuing them. For many, this happens because they are confused about what love actually means. Too many regard it as happiness and unquestioning support for anything and everything in life. It has to make me feel good right now and forever.

God however, loves you too much to lie to you that way. You see, He created you. He made you who you are and knows how you have hurt yourself by walking away from Him. Now, in love, God is calling you back to Him, back to the person you were created to be. This means that God loves you enough to tell you when you are wrong, when you are hurting yourself and will even intervene in your life with pain if He has to.

God Loves You enough to do whatever it takes to open your eyes to the truth.

The truth. What is the truth? The truth is that nothing in this world, not money, not entertainment, not sex, not fame, not even trying to be a good person can ever rebuild what is broken inside of you. Only God’s amazing love can rebuild your brokenness. Each of us, when we “do our own thing” separate ourselves from God and lose part of ourselves. God’s love is calling us all back to Him and back to ourselves. God is also calling us back to ourselves.

When we rebel against God and his love, it separates us from God, from ourselves and from each other. We were created “by him, through Him, and for Him.” When we rebel against God we rebel against our reason for existing and become something less than God intended and thus lose our connection to ourselves. We forget who we are and become hateful, judgmental, selfish persons. When we lose our connection to ourselves, we then lose our connection to each other. Instead of seeing one another as bearers of God’s image, we see each other’s faults and begin competing for superiority in a broken system.

God’s love is the answer for this. God’s love, as revealed through Jesus Christ, is the cure all. When Jesus came into our world, he repaired all that was broken. He repaired our connection to God by living a perfect life and offering himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He repaired our connection to ourselves because he showed us what humanity is supposed to be, and he is repairing our connection to each other by sending his Spirit to His church to guide us and teach us corporately.

All of this is because of God’s love. He loves you so much that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to repair your brokenness. Will you accept this love? You see, God isn’t going to force you to Receive this love. Love cannot be forced. Love must be freely given and accepted. If you wish to Discover God, you must Receive His Love as He has offered it. John 3:16 says it all “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.”

Discover God and Rise Above Reality.

Making Disciples

"make disciples of all nations...." These words, spoken by Jesus, are more than a rally cry for the church. It is the reason for our existence. We are to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Our job is to find people. People who are not like us and turn them into disciples of Jesus Christ. Not disciples of us, our denomination, our culture, or our nation, but of Jesus Christ. This, in itself, should lead us to question how and why we do what we do.

Not only that, we also need to think about something else. If we are to make disciples of all nations, then we will have to engage people who do not agree with us. People who do not like us. People who ARE NOT LIKE US. Yet, what I see, over and over again, is that we talk to ourselves. As the church, we typically look for people who are like us, agree with us, and like us. We will happily tell them about Jesus, even though they already know. Why? Why do we have such a hard time breaking out of our shell and sharing the message of Jesus with people, all people?

First, I think we have to look at our common modes of evangelism in this world. We ask them to come to us. We ask them to make a change in their lives, SIMPLY TO HEAR THE MESSAGE. I don't think we realize just how much we ask when we ask people to adapt to our schedule, our culture, and our world simply to hear the message. Now, please, do not hear something I am not saying. I do not believe the church should change the way it worships and functions simply because it makes unbelievers uncomfortable. Church is for the saved. Evangelism is the church reaching out to the unsaved. The problem presents itself in the way we expect unbelievers to alter their thinking simply to hear the message.

I believe our message goes unheard by many who would gladly listen and consider it simply because we ask them to act "Christian" while they hear the message. This is not a good or even a Biblical way of evangelism. Look in the book of Acts. Paul went to the people. He engaged them in their world and told them about another. He told them about a world that was different, better, and needed for everyone. But, he did not expect them to change their ways simply so they could come hear the message. Paul went to them. He did not expect them to come to him. Paul worshiped with and discipled the believers he came in contact with, but he went out to the unbelievers.

Today, we need to rethink how we are doing evangelism. Are we asking people to change their lives simply so they can hear the good news of Christ? Or are we creatively thinking of ways to build relationships with people and sharing the good news in their world? We are called to make disciples of all nations. Everyone we can. People not like us. People who disagree with us, hate us, ridicule us and who will even persecute us. These are the people Christ has told us to go get. Instead, we often huddle up in our buildings, speak only to people who agree with us, and shun those who disagree. This is not evangelism. This is not the church fulfilling its mandate.

Jesus promised power to those who would be witnesses for Him. In Acts 1:8 he said "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and YOU WILL BE MY WITNESSES..." Could it be that our churches have lost power because we have failed to be witnesses in this world to all nations? Could it be that God is withholding his blessing because we have been too busy talking to ourselves rather than witnessing to the Resurrected Christ to a hostile world?

Remember, it is God who changes people, not us. When we ask people to change simply so they can hear the message, we are playing the role of God and the unbelieving world is unimpressed with this god. Instead, we should get back to making disciples of Christ. He is first, we are last. If we will be faithful to our mandate, if we will do our job, then God will raise us all Above Reality.

Conservatism, Legalism and Those Dreaded Liberals...

Does anyone else get tired of the all the name calling? I find it funny and tragic that in the world of religious politics one has to "prove" his conservative credentials in order to be taken seriously. In the Southern Baptist Convention one must sign the "Baptist Faith & Message" in order to serve as a professor or missionary. Now, the SBC has every right to make sure that their representatives aren't teaching heresy. But come on. Baptists have historically prided themselves on being a "non-creedal" group. And yet, here they are, forcing people to bow at the Baptist altar. It isn't enough that people pledge their lives to spread the word of God to unreached people groups halfway across the world, leaving friends and family behind. No. They also have to sign a document created by men. I know some Baptist "elites" who refer more to the Baptist Faith and Message than they do scripture. I know more Baptists who think it is more important to give money to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering than it is to witness to lost friends and neighbors. When things like this happens, something is wrong.

Jesus told us, the church, to be salt and light in the world. We have a mandate from our King to make disciples who follow HIM, not a denomination. Yet, our seminary's and churches are often more concerned with turning out good Baptists than they are committed Christians. They claim their Christianity is expressed in their conservative principles, and yet their conservatism have turned into Pharaseeism. That's right.

In the late 70's and early 80's there was a "conservative resurgence" that happened in the SBC. It started out as a worthy cause and movement that sought to restore Biblical principles and practices to a denomination that was losing its bearing. Now, 30 years later, that same movement is destroying the convention because people do not know when to quit. Now, people must prove they are conservative. When this happens, legalism becomes the order of the day. We will provide a set of rules (Baptist Faith and Message) and you must adhere strictly to these rules and if you disagree at any point, we will call you a LIBERAL. In Jesus' day, those rules were called the "tradition of the elders." And guess what? Jesus broke them. He despised them and he led others to break them. The Pharisees hated him. The people loved him. God the Father, approved of Him.

You see, what I believe is happening today is akin to Jesus' day. God is starting to move in many churches in America today, but it doesn't look like the same stale, dead, lifeless, boring, pew warming, plastic relationship of the past 40 years. People are tired of legalism. People are tired of rules that make no sense, don't bring them any closer to God, and lead people to compare righteousness as though it is something any of us posses. God is moving and the results are real. People are connecting with God and with people, but they are shedding the legalism and the establishment is not happy with it.

Instead of celebrating that God is opening hearts and leading people to himself, they are actually fighting it. They are angry that pastors aren't wearing suits every week. They are angry that we aren't treating the hymn book as a sacred object. They are angry that the church is talking about issues like sex. They are angry that young pastors would rather spend their energy planting new churches than fighting the legalists in dying churches. They are angry that young adults would rather meet in small groups than in Sunday School. They are angry that allegiances are to the Bible to Christ himself and not to denominations. They are angry that we are not playing by their rules anymore.

It seems that the traditional crowd always has a problem with new movements of God because they never quite take us back to the old days. In the 1970's, again, there was a great movement of God. It was the called the "Jesus Movement." Thousands of hippies came to know Christ and they were indeed transformed. They were rejected by the establishment because they didn't cut their hair, smash their guitars, or put on a suit. So, instead of being an influx of new life into the Baptist church, they were rejected and went elsewhere to serve Jesus.

Here is a question I would pose to our friends that are trapped in tradition. If your traditionalism was successful and people were converted and all was right in the world, then where is the fruit today? Why are Baptist churches reporting fewer and fewer baptisms every year? Why, if your traditions were so good, are most "traditional" churches today dying? Why didn't you pass on the legacy of faith? The truth is that man's traditions never accomplish what we think they do.

So, what is the point of this rant? Lets stop for a moment and see if maybe it is time for a serious overhaul. I find it ironic that there is currently a document circulating through the SBC that is calling for a "Great Commission Resurgence." Many are happily signing it not realizing that it means they agree that the SBC failed to fulfill the great commission for at least a generation. I find it sad that there are still people fighting the battles of the late 1970's, not realizing that the world has changed. The culture has changed. If we continue to wonder where the good ole days went, maybe we should stop and ask if they were ever really that good to begin with? If it failed to produce and reproduce disciples of Jesus Christ, then it failed in its mission. Maybe it is time to get back to SCRIPTURE ALONE, FAITH ALONE, AND GRACE ALONE.

Rising Above the Dead Weight of Culture

This is an excellent article on conviction and tolerance. In order to practice Biblical faith, there will come a point that demands a choice between accepting what is forcefed or going against the grain of pop culture to a place above reality.

http://blogs.chron.com/thelist/2009/06/the_collision_of_conviction_an.html