For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. (Philippians 1)

Believe and suffer.

Doesn’t sound very like a very good tagline for a consumer does it? And in this day and age of consumerism the Church has often changed our tagline for the sake of communicating to the culture in a way that is relevant.

Believe and you will be saved from Hell.

Believe and you get eternal life.

Believe and you will become God’s son or daughter.

Believe and God will fix your spouse, or your kids, or your parents, or your boss.

Believe and God will make you wealthy.

Believe and God will make you well.

When our belief is focused upon us…when your belief is focused upon you, and is for the sake of you, then we will always view Jesus through the eyes of the consumer. There is plenty of evidence that any one of these belief statements may be true for you, but in the end if our belief is built on any one of them we may be setting ourselves up for disaster. In the end if our belief is built upon our willingness to do believe and suffer for the sake of Jesus, then suffering can bring joy and a new depth of our worth becomes evident.

But to be willing to believe and suffer for the sake of Jesus requires that we become familiar with the depth of our own fallen state, our own hopelessness without Jesus, our own desperate need of Jesus, and that can be a humiliating experience…but one worthy of enduring.

What suffering might you be avoiding for the sake of your comfort?

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. (Ezekiel 36)

We often confuse God’s love for us with His motivation for acting on our behalf when we find ourselves at the ground zero of our sin. We have been willingly disobedient, and after experiencing the pain that comes with that we attempt to turn back to God looking for some kind of restoration to our previous glory. But for those of us who have been redeemed by Jesus and have been adopted as God’s kids He is most likely to act on our behalf in order to prove that He is who He says He is. As He did for Israel, God will continually restore us for His Glory because it is His greatness that needs to shine into the lives of the lost.

So, while it might be a little depressive to think that God isn’t primarily motivated by His love for us we should be all the more encouraged that He will NEVER forsake us because His reputation is at stake.

I think anyone with a Western Worldview could finish the following maxim, “Finders Keepers…”

I have always been a guy that gets his money’s worth. I used to eat at buffets because I made sure I ate more than I paid for, and then I entered my mid thirties and that practice caught up with me requiring a lot of exercise. I always look for the best price on the best stuff. If I can pay a dollar less I’ll buy it from an e-tailer I have never done business with. I have been known to lick candy bar wrappers, and yogurt containers, and I have stuck my hand in a urinal to save change. (You just judged me didn’t you.) I’ve seldom left a penny on the ground for another to find and certainly never money in value over a nickel.

I have left little in my life for the gleaners. I have never seen money on the ground and thought, “I don’t need that. I’ll let someone else find it.”

While the culture is different from the agricultural days of Leviticus I wonder what I could leave behind for the less fortunate, and who are the less fortunate for whom I am supposed to provide. I work for a company and my check is direct deposited. I don’t produce anything, but maybe I should.

Maybe I should find a way to produce something so I can leave some behind.

The question is what and for whom?

Or maybe the answer to that question is that I can start to live my life by a new maxim, “Finders Leavers, Losers Gleaners.”

9 “‘When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest.

10 You must not pick your vineyard bare, and you must not gather up the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19)

Why do you work?

It may seem like a simple question, but there are multiple layers to the answers we give.

Answer 1: Because I can. I work because I can work. Somehow someone saw me as valuable and they hired me to do a job that was worth doing.

Answer 2: Because I should. God interpreted man’s existence quite simply in Genesis 2:15. He was to work and care for creation. A few thousand years go by and God commands a nation of former slaves, who undoubtedly worked long days every day, to work six days and rest on the seventh (Exodus 34:21). And in Thessalonica Paul instructs the church that he who does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10). I earn a living and this should be a testimony to the redemption that has taken place in my life.

Answer 3: Because I am. I am an ambassador of Jesus Christ. I am an adopted son of the Most High God. I am bought by the blood of Jesus to do good. I have been reconciled with God to do what God originally intended. So, in the use of my skills, gifts, and talents I glorify Him who gave His life for my sake. Creating, serving, working are acts of worship because I am Redeemed.

Thoughts inspired by Ann Voskamp’s Do You Feel Broken And Fragmented?

I heard the other day that someone tried to excuse their life choices by using the “my sin is no worse than your sin” excuse. Hypothetically speaking, when people use this excuse they tend to compare their adultery with my speeding.

All Sin is Created Equal, Right?

The reality is that all sins are the same in that they are a rebellious act against God and are punishable by death (Romans 6:23); however, not all sin, in the context of our lives, carry the same mortal consequences. The damage a sin does in the lives of the perpetrators and the victims can be different by orders of magnitude. Even within the context of the Ten Commandments there were different maximum penalties a community could impose upon an offender. In other words, Jews didn’t sentence someone to death by stoning or any other method for stealing and killing an Ox (Exodus 22:1). Death was reserved for the sorcerers (Exodus 22:18), adulterers (Leviticus 20:10), murderers (Numbers 35), idol worshipers (Exodus 22:20) and those that curse their parents (Leviticus 20:9).

We even see differentiation of sin in the New Testament. Sexual sin ranks as one of the most destructive sins because of the injury to others and to self. In 1 Corinthians 6 we see Paul single out sexual sin as being different than any other type of sin in that it destroys us on the outside and inside.

When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans he directly rebukes this idea that sin is justifiable. He spends the majority of the letter addressing the relationship a Christian now has with the law. It’s worth reading Romans in one sitting because of the progressive nature of defining the life in Christ against a life under the law.

Just because Christians are no longer held to the specific standards of the law does not mean that we should go and do anything that we please even if it means that God can be glorified in redeeming us from the most detestable life we could live. While we cannot be made righteous by keeping the law it does not mean that the law should not be kept. The reality is that for those of us in whom the Spirit of Jesus lives we will be led to do right things by the Spirit, and the power of Sin will lead us to do the wrong things. So, while the penalty for sinning has been taken care of…the power of sin remains our enemy and when we side with the enemy we fail to be ministers of reconciliation. Instead we become ministers of destruction.

Reading through Proverbs I ran across this verse in the ESV.
Proverbs 14: 4 “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”

Immediately I imagined myself in the manger shoveling crap, spreading straw, and replenishing hay. I had two pictures in my head at the same time. The first was one with a scowl on my face, cursing the ox “How could so much come out of one animal?” I would work all day and fail to appreciate, not only the ox, but anything else. The second picture is me working with a smile on my face glad that the ox is healthy enough to produce so much crap so that I would not only have something to do, but the energy to do it because that ox helped plow the ground that produced the crop.

The circumstances of the job remained the same, but the attitude of the worker, me, made the job seem worth doing.

The more we are able to appreciate the benefits of our work the better job we do and the more fun we have doing it. This concept actually applies to every circumstance.

Too often we make changes in our lives based upon circumstances when in reality the change that needs to happen is within. We change jobs, neighborhoods, even spouses because we think the environment is to blame. The unwillingness to look deep within leads to death.Failing to make those heart changes will eventually lead to a dead ox and a dead manger manager.

As I was preparing a homily for the Maundy Thursday service I was led to reflect upon the one who betrayed Jesus. We typically reflect upon the “Last Supper” and the events that follow seemingly quickly after that last intimate moment that Jesus has with His 12 disciples. For some reason I was drawn to reflect on Judas. Even in my own mind it seemed too controversial to share with a congregation that would consist mainly of people who, in my mind, could be easily offended. On Wednesday, I was convinced that Judas was exactly who I needed to analyze in the light of Jesus.

In a brilliant marketing move Lady Gaga released her second single from her forthcoming album “Born This Way,” entitled “Judas,” in the middle of Holy Week. It has catapulted her into competing with Rhianna for the number one spot on the pop charts Roman Catholics were immediately outraged as the former Catholic school girl turned bad girl made the move. In the lyrics Lady Gaga professes her love, not for Jesus, but for Judas. To turn it up a notch the shock-pop princess portrays Mary Magdalene in the music video as the one professing her love for the one who betrayed Jesus. I think Madonna might be a little envious of the antics. The director, Laurieann Gibson, even confesses that God somehow inspired and worked on the hearts of the people who worked on the video.

While, at first, it seems like a valid thing to be upset about I am more upset at the fact that those who the media choose to represent Christians act so upset.

The reality is that we should expect nothing else. The lost, those whose hearts have chosen the affection of self rather than God, should behave no other way if they are to be true to who they really are.

The fact is that Lady Gaga, by being honest about how the culture feels about Jesus, is closer to being transformed by Christ than if she continued to promote a lie that she really liked Jesus. In essence it is a confession of just how wicked the hearts of mankind are in light of the goodness of God. The reality is that the world loves Judas…the world is Judas.

Why is it that we would expect someone in the world to profess anything but love for the one in whom Satan entered?

In my study here are four somewhat sobering things I think we can learn through the life of Judas.
1. It is possible to experience God and still betray Him. While we do not hear much about Judas we can assume that he was present for miracles from feeding to resurrection. We can assume that he was one of the 12 sent out to perform miraculous deeds and preach as recorded in Luke. It is sobering to note that a miracle worker and a preacher also became a betrayer condemned to Hell.

2. It is possible to seem as though we follow Jesus and yet be alienated from other followers and thus isolated from receiving or giving the love He commands. It’s interesting in John 13 that Jesus gives his new command to “love one another” after Judas leaves the meal. Jesus knew the command would have fallen on deaf ears with Judas in the room, and by excusing him prior to giving the command makes complete sense. Judas was in the presence of Jesus, is noted as an apostle, and one of the 12 most intimately instructed by Jesus and yet no one knows Judas. No one could put their finger on who it might be to betray. Judas refused to share his struggle within the context of the fellowship of men he was hanging out with for three years, and it eventually leads to his ultimate destruction.

3. The Holy Spirit is far better than the physical Jesus when it comes to following Jesus. Jesus knew it, the Father knew it, the disciples knew it, but I’m not so sure that we know it. We often make the excuse that it would be easier to follow Jesus if He were still here. If we just got the face to face commands it would be easier for us to follow. In our use of that excuse we come very close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit. If we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then how much more intimate could we be with Christ?

4. Our physical presence in church is not a guarantee of our eternal destination. This might be a no brainer for most of us, but the reality is that while many say with their mouth that they love Jesus their actions betray them. Their heart is, in reality, far from God and remains in an untransformed and rebellious state. Their unwillingness to admit the truth or even to try to discover it may eventually lead them to a fate similar to that of Judas.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; Revelation 7:16 ESV

I often find myself confronted with desires for something else.

We live in the age of instant gratification and entitlement and so it should be no surprise to be bombarded by messages of how life should be.

Just as often; however, I find myself confronted with desires for the status quo.

Neither of those desires are inherently bad, nor inherently good.

What makes those desires bad or good is the seed from which they come, but what blinds us from discovering the seed is the soil, or context, that initiates the growth of those desires.

Often we pursue a change or status quo born out of a wicked seed.

For instance, I may desire a different job, or even just one job. The context that would tend to cloud things for me would include six children, salary, standard of living, free time, pride and location just to name a few.

I might express a desire to get paid more money or to have more free time to spend with my family, but before legitimizing these seemingly good desires I must always realize that I am a sinful and fallen individual. If I am to be like Christ I must sift through the answers I give to the question, “Why?” Most often seeking the counsel of another Christian should be a part of the process of discovering the answer.

When we discover the seed we’ll know if we should proceed.

The next challenge will be discovering the courage to embark.

Where are you feeling this tension? Why are you feeling it? With whom are you sharing it?

We are wired to be connected to others. The story of creation in Genesis is a story of a God who is connected with people and people who are supposed to be connected with one another. Sin breaks connection. Our response to sin, whether it be what we have done or what others have done to us or to others, can either be to embrace and accept it and admit it hurts or we can try to ignore, grow callous toward, hide from and attempt to separate it from us. Just as Adam and Eve did we hide, use blame, and we tell lies. We may even go to war in order to not accept our own fallibleness as Cain did against Abel thinking that killing those that know our imperfection might mysteriously remove it from reality. In an effort to be perceived as whole, complete, and strong we utilize force, either physical or psychological as in making rules, to protect our image. This sad thing is that the image we protect is, in fact, a false image.

God, on the other hand, is vulnerable. The fact that he places the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in the first place is evidence of God’s willingness to be vulnerable. God loves Adam and Eve and then gives them the opportunity to reject, rebel, and injure Him. This vulnerability extends to Jesus and the Cross and beyond in the invitation He gives us to believe.

God’s example of vulnerability is extremely vital for us because the lie we tend to live is that we need to protect ourselves from allowing the truth about who we really are to be exposed. To allow others to see us as the abuser, the abused, the fornicator, the addict, the murderer, the adulterer, the gossip…the broken is seen by the vast majority of people as weakness. Yet if God is God, and He is the epitomy of strength, then being vulnerable and actually inviting the experience of pain and loss should be seen as experiences that lead to strength.

Just think of things that make you feel vulnerable. For me, asking anything of anyone makes me feel vulnerable. As a kid inviting someone to come over used to cripple me with anxiety and when rejection came I would dive deeply into a sea of self pity. I hate it yet I know from God’s example in the Bible that I must be vulnerable. The Church, then in my opinion, should be a gathering of people that doesn’t just allow vulnerability, but demands it. It requires it’s people to invite others to be connected to them and to be confident in the fact that Christ is enough.

In this 20 minute talk, while she doesn’t mention God or the Church, Brene Brown does reveal some biblical truths about what it means to be healthy people. I strongly encourage you to take the time to watch it. Her conclusion falls a little short in my mind as it should be “Jesus is enough,” but everything leading up to her conclusion is an accurate portrayal of our plight as people. For those who have taken the Redemption class her words should ring true. For those who haven’t – this is the kind of stuff we will explore.

Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ words in Luke 14:34, “Salt is good, but if salt loses its flavor, how can its flavor be restored?” But until today I have never understood what in the world that meant.

I won’t bore you with chemistry, but as a chemist I know that sodium chloride will be salty unless one of two things happen; either the consumer loses the ability to taste or sodium chloride becomes something else and ceases to be sodium chloride.

What made reading this verse today different from the numerous other times is circumstance combined with context. The circumstance is that I happened to be reading The Great Omission by Dallas Willard, and more importantly Chapter 2 entitled, “Why Bother With Discipleship?” while at the same time I read Luke chapter 14.

In essence Dr. Willard says that being a disciple of Jesus is not something a Christian aspires to be, but being a disciple of Jesus is what a Christian is supposed to be. People, saved by grace through faith, will not excuse their unwillingness to participate in the life of a disciple of Jesus, but repent of that unwillingness. People, covered in the supernatural shed blood of the Lamb of God, are not called to some life that is less than a completely devoted, eternally convinced, supernaturally inspired student of the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth.

Simply, if you are not enabled to and compelled to live your life in deed, thought, action and speech after the life of Jesus as exposed in the Bible and led by the Holy Spirit, then you really are not…dare I say it, a Christian. If you are trying to be a good person, or trying to earn God’s favor by studying your Bible or praying or going to a worship service and you are not compelled to do those things then we need to talk.

Back to the Luke 14:34 passage. In the context of all of Jesus’ teaching there is no “almost salt.” You can’t be an “almost adopted” child of God. There is no such thing as an “almost disciple.” What are you or have you been excusing in your life because “almost” has been enough for you?