His Indespensibility

Recently I started reading "The Indwelling Life of Christ: All of Him in All of Me," by Major W. Ian Thomas. The book is meant to be read more as a daily devotional rather than a sit down and plow. Being very early in the book, chapter 4, it is quite unreasonable to give any critique of the book.

Being more of a daily devotion, over a theological treatise, the chapters are no more than three pages long. This is great for someone looking for more than the 1/8 page daily bread but not wanting to read something as meaty to chew on as a work from John Piper, or the like.

The basic premise of the book seems to be (have grace I am only in chapter 4) that God created us to be the bearers of His image in the world; however, because of sin that image has been all but lost completely in humanity and when Christ died on the cross an aspect of His mission was to reboot that image within us, His redeemed.

In Chapter 4, "Instinct for Animals, the Holy Spirit for Man," it is suggested that God has created us to be "functional" only when His presence is instructing or minds, controlling our emotions, directings our wills, and governing our lives. I would resound, absolutely! The Great Commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

If God created the entire cosmos, then I believe that it begs the question that he should govern it as well. I believe that it also means that the creation will only "function" appropriately under the design of its Creator.

The good news is that the moment we have received Christ as Lord and Savior we are born again. God sends the Spirit into our hearts that we cry abba, father. These words expressing intimacy and dependence in all of life. The Spirit enables God's image to be reformed in our humanity as we submit to his governance in our lives.

Exposed

During the course of the fall semester I have been teaching out of the gospel of John on Wednesday nights. It has been a great challenge for me to teach out from John as it has forced me to dive into the text. At the beginning of the year I thought it was a great idea for us to take a look at what the Bible says about Jesus and how that then impacts our lives.
As I have been studying (need to do deeper study for own personal growth) to teach I have been impressed with the various ways that Jesus used biblical allusions such as temple, water, bread of life, and the light.
Last night we looked at John 8:12-59. It is in vs 12 that these well known words of Jesus are spoken, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. This is not the first reference to light found in the gospel of John. In the gospel of John this word, "light," is used 16 times. It is used 9 times before it is found in chapter 8.
I believe that this is a climatic point in the book. Tension has been building up since the beginning of Jesus' minitry between he and the pharisees.
I believe John is very intentional in his usage of Jesus' cleansing of the temple in the 2nd chapter immediately following the first of his signs. It is in this cleansing that John is showing the conflict between Jesus and the religious establishment/pharisees.
In chapter 6 Jesus declares his first "I am" statements. The first is actually very subtle and is found in vs. 20. In our english translations it is typically stated as "it is I." The actual greek phrase the "I" probably translates into "I am who I am." Of course the disciples would have known exactly what Jesus was claiming. He was making a bold statement concerning his divinity. He is the very God who revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush. The very God who lead the people of Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of light by night.
Continuing in John 6 Jesus uses the "I am" statement a couple more times but his words are not received as warmly.
Moving into Ch. 8 and why I believe that this is such a climatic point. At the end of the chapter we find Jesus and the pharisees once again squaring off against one another. They have said some awful things about one another. The pharisees have called Jesus an illegitimate child, while Jesus has called the sons of satan. Neither of these are nice things to say or hear so we can see the height of the conflict.
It is in this moment that Jesus makes his stongest claim to divinity. Vs. 58 reads, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am." To their ears this was blasphemy at the highest level. They could not bear to hear His Word (vs. 43).
Jesus as the light of the world had come to reveal the darkness. He had come to show the sin in their hearts. Just like today, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, Jesus continues to come and show the sin that is in our hearts.
It is here that we cling to the cross of Christ. Jesus as our substitute paid the price for our sin. As we see our sin for what it is and confess our need for a Saviour, and turn in true repentence, the Bible tells us that he is faithful and just to forgive our sins.
Jesus not only reveals the sin in our hearts but he purifies us as well. Jesus' ongoing ministry, throught the Holy Spirit, is to sanctify His Church. As we look to Jesus, the light of the world, he teaches us what it means to live in obedience. As we walk in obedience, in accord with the Spirit, he shapes and molds our lives.
Let us be a people who cling to Jesus as the light of the world and then reflect that light to a world that is decaying and needs the light of life.

A Humble Calling

Quite often I am guilty of reading the Scriptures with doctrinal glasses. I am reading in order to strengthen my theological convictions instead of allowing God to simply speak to me about life and ministry. Please, don't get me wrong I am not one to deemphasize the importance of Biblical Theology. As we do Biblical Theology well it grounds us on Christ who is our sure foundation and guides us in the way of righteousness.
Last week I decided to do a study on the book of Romans. While studying I was impressed by the words found in Romans 1:1

"Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God..."

Theologians will often debate the word "apostle." Few will say that the office of the apostle ceased once the church was established and the Scriptures were brought to completion. Others will push for various levels of apostleship. I would fall in this last category, but how many levels I have not determined.

What gets me about this is that I currently serve as a Student Ministries Pastor. In one sense I have been set apart for the gospel of God. A local fellowship has called me to be in a position to be free from working a "normal" 9-5 job. Instead I have been given the honor to focus my energies on teaching and discipling Jr High and High School students in the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. These students are the future leaders of our church.

It is amazing to me that God would choose to set me apart for the Gospel of God. I may not be an apostle in the same sense as Paul, but I have been set apart for this task. This is a serious calling. It is my prayer and hope that as I seek to minister to youth, and train/equip others to do the same, that I would be found worthy of the gospel. That I would constantly be brought to my knees in awe of a holy God who loved me enough to give His only Son as a ransom for my life, that I may share this great news of hope with the younger generation.

Can you see her?

Last week I was gripped by the story often called in our Bibles "A Sinful Woman Forgiven" found in Luke 7:36-50. This is a shocking story, in fact it rattled me as I read it. Most of us know the story so I will merely summarize it.

Jesus has been invited over to Simon the pharisees home for dinner. At the dinner a woman from the town walks in and stands behind Jesus at his feet, as he is reclining at the table. The woman stands there for a moment, bawling. Eventually the woman notices Jesus feet as they are becoming muddied from her tears and the dirt on the floor. In an honoring gesture she wipes his feet with her hair, kissing his feet, and annointing them with oil.
Meanwhile, Simon the pharisee is thinking that Jesus, obviously, can not be all that the people think he is because he is allowing this sinner of a woman to touch and kiss his feet.
Jesus, knowing the thoughts of Simon, grabs his attention and tells him a story of two debtors who have been forgiven debts owed. One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. Jesus proposes the question of which one will love him more. Simon answers reluctantly the one with the larger debt as Jesus affirms his answer.

This is the point in the story that rattled me. Jesus says to Simon, "Do you see this woman?"

I have read and reread this story over and over again for many years. Then all of a sudden, "do you see this woman." Jesus is doing something amazingly beautiful here. I believe he is filled with compassion for both Simon and the woman. He wanted Simon to see this woman as one who is forgiven and loved. In the same moment, Jesus wanted Simon to see himself. He wanted Simon to see that he was himself was a sinner needing to be saved from his own sin.

As one who grew up in the church I have been protected from what many of us call the gross sins. No one would look at me and label me a sinner. I do not have a reputation in the city for being a sinner. Most people would probably think of me as someone with very high moral values. Personally, it is easier for me to identify with Simon than it is for me to see myself as the sinful woman who knew she needed Jesus.

However, I am a wretch. When I look into the face of a holy God my only response is to be like Isaiah and declare that I am lost. Praise Jesus that through His blood I have been found! Apart from the blood of Christ I am truly lost.

It is my hope and prayer that I will not loose the awe of my Jesus who loves me and gave His life for me. May I bow in humble service and strive to live a life of godliness and humility, for I am truly no different than the woman who graciously loved upon my Jesus.

Touch

I have been trying to get my head around what it means to "touch" someones life with the gosepl. This has been a lingering thought for the past few weeks. It seems like Jesus often would get his hands a little dirty and touch those who were need of healing.
A couple of weeks ago the pastor at the Wheaton Evangelical Free Church preached on the "Healing Son of God." This was a fantastic sermon and I encourage you to give it a listen. Below is the link that will take you to a MP3 of the sermon.
http://www.wefc.org/pages.asp?pageid=1582
So when I think about how Jesus touched, it causes me to wonder what it means for me to reach out and touch? An even tougher question is why is it so difficult for me to do this?
A part of it is fear. When we seek to be ministers we are getting into messy territory. We live in a sin tainted world and people's lives are very broken. This messiness may be the result of their own personal sin or it may also be the result of the falleness around them. We live in a corporate world, in which, the falleness/sinfulness of one can affect many. Romans 5:12 says, "just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men (women, too) because all sinned."
A result of the fall is the spread of sin and death. We are all guilty and victim at the same time. Guilty as a result of our own sin and often the victim of the sin of others.
So when we think of reaching into people's lives and touching them with the gospel we enter into their world. We enter into their brokeness. Jesus truly offers forgiveness of sin but we still live in the results. As Jesus entered our world to offer salvation, he came to a broken and messy world to inaugurate His Kingdom.
It is my desire to bring hope into people's lives but I must learn to be like my master. He entered into a sinful world and touched. Through reliance on the Holy Spirit Jesus brought His healing hand to our world. I need to learn to trust God's protection as I seek to get into people's lives. At times it can be scary to hear stories, to give counsel to the questioning, or to gently confront another with God's truth but we have a powerful God who is more than able to sustain and change lives!

Shepherding

As many know, I am Director of Jr High Ministries at a local church in Wheaton, Illinois. Like many ministry leads (I know not all), I believe that I have the greatest group of volunteers.
Unlike many youth leaders, I love having adult volunteers on my team, who for the most part are all 10 years older than I am. Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to work with a few college age volunteers, as well, because they help bring balance and often students are drawn to them very quickly.
This brings me to say that I have the best volunteer staff that I could ask for. They consist of those who can (and enjoy) teach, play guitar, sing, come up with creative games, artists, generious with time and resources, and are just consistent at showing up. Many of them have also served as elders and teachers in many different ministries. This is a great group who want to love upon jr high students and see them grow in Christ.
For me this has led to some tension in how I approach the ministry. With a team like this I would think to find a ministry of 50 plus students; however, we hoover between 12-20.
I often find myself strategizing about creating structures for the ministry that will sustain a much larger group than we have. It is my desire to see more students. I want to see more students loved upon by this great team and more students being exposed to God's Word. I believe that God's Word is powerful and accomplishes what it desires. Therefore, bring on the students. The group remains.
So what is God trying to teach me? I believe that He is trying to teach me to simply love the students that He has given me. To be faithful to that body of students. 1 Corinthians 4:2 states, "that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Yes, I can plan for the possibilities of more ministry and I am convinced that I should. But this should not be what I focus on. My trust is those students that have been given and I must prove faithful to them first. I know that my team would love to see more students, as well, but I must first prove faithfull to love those who we see on Sundays and Wednesdays.
It is my prayer and longing to prove faithful in the ministry that I have been given.

Invitation of a lifetime

It has been a LONG, VERY LONG, time since I have written anything. In fact it would be accurate to say that I have not truly become a blogger at this point. Not that I feel the need to be categorized as a blogger but I do believe in the importance/benefit of jotting down thoughts. Since I am not a big fan of doing so in a paper journal, this seems to be a medium that should work for me.
Maybe I should think of it as taking "baby steps." I can be like Bob, in one of my favorite teenage movies What about Bob, and baby step out of the room, then down the hallway, next into the elevator, and finally baby step out of the building. So, I will try to write shorter more regular posts.
Last night at youth group I touched briefly on 1 John 1:1-4 and ended up meditating on it this morning. This is an incredible passage of Scripture. As you read the passage you can almost hear John's enthusiasm. Listen to it:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life-the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us- that whcih we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so the our joy may be complete.

Now read it again, this time a little more slowly. Can you hear the excitment in his words? His thoughts may seem a little circular to us, may it be excitment and passion.

It is hard for us to think about, in person, hearing, and seeing with our eyes, and touching with our hands the person of Jesus Christ. Touching the eternal God, the creator of all things, to whom all things hold together.

Then we hear John say that he writes so that we may have fellowship with him, and that his fellowship is with the Father and our Lord Jesus. This is an invitation of a lifetime. Is this not an invitation worth accepting? Is this not an invitation worth sharing with other? It is my prayer that I may live my life, every day, in away that brings glory to my Lord Jesus.