Tag: Faith (Page 17 of 24)

A Place More Religious Than Church

July 31, 2023 / / 0 Comments

I love audiobooks. I probably like them so much because I spend a lot of time driving to the gym, church, on visits, and back home. I spend well over an hour in my truck daily. So needless to say I get to listen to a lot of books. A couple of years ago I was able to consume nearly 70 books in a year all due to using audiobooks. Another key reason for audio books is that I’m a slow reader and I can change the speed of an audio book whereas I cannot change the speed of my reading.

One of the books I read (listened to) recently had a concept in it that has been rattling around in my head. I cannot for the life of me remember which book it actually was but know this is not my own original content. I’m fairly certain this was from a book by Eugene Peterson however.

The idea is this the most religious places in the world are not churches, but battlefields and mental hospitals.

Wow that one hit me. Not sure why that stuck with me so tightly but I was hurt in my heart to hear that reality. And even more saddened to think it was probably a correct assessment of reality!

But why are mental hospitals and battlefields more religious than churches?

I think it has a lot to do with despair, desperation, and destruction. You see when we live in a world of despair and desperation it’s easy to realize that there’s really only one place to turn. When we’re face with life altering destruction, there’s really only one place that can change our perception of reality.

I really think that the church has it too easy. We have our well decorated buildings and our set structures. We have some nice tax benefits. We have the ability to do much more than we let on. We aren’t forced to do things that go against conscience or faith. It’s actually a pretty nice set up.

But what do you hear when you talk to Christians today? We hear about the trouble and hardships and struggles in the world. We hear people complaining about how challenging life is but what we’re not on a battlefield or in a mental hospital so it’s easy to complain instead of doing something about it.

Perhaps the church needs a few more battlefield moments. We need to come to grips with the challenges we face in moments of despair. The more we have the more comfortable we grow and the more we tend to take the things of God for granted.

We’ve heard the analogy that the church is the hospital for sinners but that’s just not enough. It’s not enough to admit that we need Jesus and that he saved us. Yes it’s essential but when it comes to the driving forward of our faith into real life, it just isn’t enough unfortunately.

It’s not until we’re met with disaster and devastation that we actually buckle our knees in prayer. It’s not until our loved one dies or our marriage is on the rocks that we really see the power of God in our lives. It’s not until our job is ended and our life hits a low point that God becomes God again.

I hate how true the statement is, but the church really could use a life altering moment or two in order for us to realize just how much we need God again.

What are we to do?

March 24, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Yesterday we dealt with the uncomfortable question of what’s going on in the world. The trouble we face in the world is not a change in God’s plan rather it’s stuff that happens while God is doing his main work. That work is the work of building his church.

Today we’re going to get to the issue of what then is the church supposed to be doing during these crazy and, for many, challenging times. The short answer is doing what Jesus would do. But what does that look like?

The Bible clearly states that the church, assembly of God’s people, is known as the body of Christ. So if we, when we function together, are actually the body of Christ, then shouldn’t we be functioning like the body of Christ?

What this does not mean…

Let’s set the stage here a little. Functioning as the body of Christ does not mean that we all have to look and act the same. We don’t have to have the same vocabulary and posture either. We do, however, have to possess the same focus and intent. We must be about the same purpose as Jesus.

We do not have to do it the same way in every context. This might be hard for some to hear, but different cultures have different values and ways of expressing themselves. When we function as the body of Christ, we must take into account the cultural makeup of the group we’re reaching. Neither Jesus nor his disciples made the people all adhere to the same rituals and customs. The matter of circumcision is one that comes to mind here. They didn’t force the people of other cultures go through the rite of circumcision in order for them to be saved.

What then should we do?

Look at what Jesus actually did. He got to know the people around him. Before throwing forgiveness bombs into the crowd, he often healed and fed them and provided for their felt needs. What would happen if the church became known for the types of things Jesus was known for in the community in his day?

We spend a lot of time as churchy people acting anything but like Jesus. We become so adamant on the who, what, where, when and how of the things we do that we often neglect the why. Instead of asking who are the people in our churches, we should be asking who are the people not in our churches?

Take an honest look at your community. Do a quick needs assessment. What are the needs that are present in your community? Where are people hurting? Where are they struggling? What are the things they’re trying to accomplish that they just can’t seem to get done?

Then match that up with your passions, skills, resources and people. Where these overlap, you’ll see how you have been uniquely placed in your region as the church Jesus is building.

There is a bit of an art to this process and can be overwhelming at times because it’s not our natural way to look at life. If you’re struggling with this process and would like some help with focusing your efforts, reach out. I’m part of a team that has this process nailed down pretty tight. We’d love to help you to focus your efforts to do the work of the church that Jesus is building in your midst.

Goodness of God

March 6, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This week we bring back another familiar song. It’s been around for a while but it’s a much needed song some days. We need to take time to just stop every once in a while to see how true this really is. Perhaps your day to pause is today.

Have you ever considered where God has shown up in your life? I don’t mean in the lottery winning, job promotion earning, kids always behaving, marriage filled with all five love languages kind of showing up. I mean in the nasty, dark, cold, lonely, depressing moments of life. This is when we really can see the goodness of God the best, if we only look.

For most of my life, I’ve been pretty blind to the goodness of God. If I’m being honest, it never really was a second thought for me. My life has been filled with many blessings and tons of wonderful memories that I reflect on frequently. This is largely why it is so easy to overlook the goodness of God. When things go well, we don’t really need to think about it. We just live in it to the point we don’t even see His hand moving all around us. Kind of like the whole can’t see the forest through the trees way of thinking.

This week I’d encourage you to just pause. Maybe it’s a few minutes at lunch time or sitting on the front porch or maybe a quick walk around the block. Just stop and listen. No AirPods. No mind filling worries. No stress can come with you in this moment. Just disconnect and listen. Hear the birds chirping. Listen to the wind blow through the trees. Or hear the busyness of the cars flying down the interstate. Just pause and hear the world move around you.

Then think about the goodness of God in that moment. Think about the time he sent that special friend when you were lonely to just check in on you. Think about the unexpected gift when you were stressed about your money. Think about the kind gesture from a neighbor when you just felt down. These are goodness of God moments.

Take a few minutes this week, and every week ideally, and ponder how great – how good – how amazing God’s goodness has been toward you.

Obstacles To Faith

February 14, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Some people won’t read this simply because of the title. Others will read it just for that reason. My hope is that we read this not for the title but for what’s inside.

I have to be totally honest. I’m a pastor. I’ve been one for nearly 21 years. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. But a little known secret that most every follower of Jesus tries to hide…I sometimes struggle with my faith.

Now let me be totally transparent. I’m not saying that I doubt who Jesus was or what he did or any of that. I do believe all of that and am truly grateful for all of the people who have poured into me to get me to where I am today. The issue is that I struggle with my personal understanding of and need for faith.

Let me put it a different way. The biggest obstacle to a life of faith is pride. It’s easy to put the wrong mindset on and go through life thinking we don’t need God or we didn’t do anything wrong in that area. It’s all too tempting to kind of sideline our faith because our lives are really going well.

If you look around and honestly reflect on your life, you probably have moments when things were just cruising on autopilot. Your marriage was fine. Bills were being paid. Kids aren’t in jail. No major illness in your family. Haven’t lost anyone in recent years. Your vacations are wonderful until they end. All the things in life just click along.

It’s in these moments that we don’t really feel the need for God. It’s all too easy in these days when our cup is overflowing to look past our God to all of the things that we have amassed for ourselves. This, not sin, is the greatest obstacle to our faith.

Yes sin, all of it, is wrong and needs to be repented. That’s not what I said. So quit hearing what you want to hear and hear what I actually said. Sin isn’t the greatest obstacle we face when it comes to faith.

The greatest obstacle to saving faith in Jesus is our pride. When we seem to have everything we think we need, then we don’t need Jesus. That’s pride. That’s the greatest obstacle to faith.

What’s worse than this? I’m glad you asked! It’s often in these moments of self righteous pride that we hold our magnifying glass over the apparent failures of others. In our pride we try to magnify someone else’s struggle to make ourselves even bigger. And that’s the pride slide.

No where in the Bible is pride a good thing. Nowhere in the Bible is focusing on my accomplishments over Christ’s sufficiency acceptable. Nowhere is it remotely approved of to highlight someone else’s sins while keep our closet locked securely so that no one, even ourselves, can see what’s inside.

If the church, Christians, pastors want to find a way to reach the people around them, we better start by dealing with our own selfish pride. When we get that part right, the rest will start to make a lot more sense. We can’t love one another if we think we’re better than everyone else. We can’t live God’s story if we think we’re God’s gift to the world.

Remove the obstacle of pride with repentance. Honest admission of where we’ve wronged others followed by changing your lifestyle is what fixes this pride slide. True you can’t change how others see you. Some people will just hold onto the one thing you said or the one thing you did. That’s not what this is about. This is about you.

You, nope not her or him but you! You take time to deal with your pride and you’ll see how much it has hindered your faith. When pride is gone, you’ll see just how effective sharing the gospel story can be because it will line up with life.

A Thousand Hallelujahs

January 31, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Some people have asked why I do what I do. Maybe they’ve asked you similar things about going to church on Sunday or doing this whole thing called worship or following Jesus? If they have, then you know there is something about it that you just can’t describe.

One of the Bible verses that I love says the rocks would cry out. The reference is that if we didn’t worship then the rocks would worship God. Have you thought of that? The rocks? I mean they’re hard, cold, inanimate. They can’t talk or move. They’re not even alive. But here the Bible says that they would cry out in worship if we didn’t do it.

Now who would be worthy of that kind of praise. Who would be able to cause a rock to cry out? This week’s song tells us that only one is worthy of that kind of action. Jesus is his name.

This is why I do what I do. This is why we get up and worship on a Sunday morning. Jesus is his name.

Just take a minute and listen to the lyrics of this song. He died and rose. He gave himself freely for us. He traded places with us not because we asked him to but because he loved us that much.

He’s worthy of our praise. He’s worthy of even the praise of the rocks and trees. He’s worthy of a thousand hallelujahs to say the very least!

Build A Boat

January 23, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This week is about faith. When everything around you seems to be going in one direction, but you see God moving. God calls you to have faith. It’s like building a boat when it’s not even raining.

Can you imagine being Noah from the Bible? Think about it for a minute. No rain. No large body of water near by. No real prediction of a storm in the meteorological forecast. But you’re supposed to build a boat. What do you do?

The passers by all laugh and point and call you names. Your friends look at you like you’re crazy. What in the world is this man doing? What do you do?

When the world is spiraling in fear and hatred seems to be all the world cares about. But you know there’s a different message. You know there’s a message of love and hope and peace. What do you do?

Today’s Music Monday song says that you build a boat! When the sun is shining and everything looks great, build the darn boat already.

I don’t know what God has laid on your heart or the things holding you back from making the first cut on that board. But I want to encourage you to build the boat. The rain will come. The promise will be fulfilled. You have what it takes. And just like Noah, you’re not building alone. You might have to look a little but you’re not alone.

So grab the tools and get your supplies, it’s time to build a boat.

A Lutheran Psalm?

November 22, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Now there really isn’t such a thing and that’s something of which I am fully aware. But if a Lutheran were around in the Old Testament, I’m pretty sure this is something they would have written.

Psalm 46 is pretty well known for many reasons. It has some very familiar parts to it. From the refuge and strength section to the ever famous be still and know that I am God line, this psalm is packed with some pretty powerful hidden gems!

As we start looking at this psalm, we need to start with the stage notes for this psalm. That’s what I call the details given in the heading of a psalm. It starts with some details that help us understand what this psalm is all about. Here are the details: For the choirmaster to the sons of Korah according to the alamoth, a song. So the first and last parts are simple to understand. I mean a song for the choirmaster is pretty self explanatory. But what about this whole sons of Korah and alamoth bit?

If you do a little bible exercise, you’ll see that the sons of Korah were responsible for the music in the temple. It’s like they were the temple musicians or what we today call the praise team. Don’t shoot the messenger here just read the books of Chronicles and you’ll see for yourself. Then there’s this whole alamoth thing.

Here’s where we learn a little bit about how to understand the Bible. It’s something called principles of interpretation. In this case the best rule of thumb is to let the verses we do understand help us with the ones we can’t. So again back in the books of Chronicles there is a reference to the alamoth as being an instrument. Some scholars have said it was probably something stringed. The image I tend to get is of a very early version of a crude guitar of sorts. So there you have it. This psalm is a song that was used in worship by a group of people called the sons of Korah and played on a special instrument, just like our modern praise teams.

Now for the meat of the psalm. There are a couple key thoughts that we should look at. First there’s the idea of refuge and strength. This is super cool because the psalmist tells us of some pretty nasty circumstances. It seems as if he’s pretty much describing what we call tornados, earthquakes and hurricanes. In the face of these horrific catastrophic events, the psalmist says the he knows something that changes how we react to them. He won’t be afraid because he knows that God is always around. He’s right there in the middle of the tornado. He’s riding the waves of the hurricane. He’s holding the ground firm in the shakiness of the earthquake.

As the psalmist continues, we move from devastation to provision. The very things that should have brought fear and peril are now turned to strength and sustenance. Instead of things falling apart and the world crashing to bits, here we see God bringing rest and peace upon the earth. The powers of the world are warring with one another but all God does is open his mouth and the world melts into a situation of pure calm.

As the psalm, aka song for worship, comes to a close we’re reminded of this amazing phrase to be still. But I think we might have heard this phrase with less power than probably should be there. If we look at this verse within the context of the whole psalm, it’s less calming a baby with a quiet lullaby. Rather, this is a direct command to stop. Rest. Calm. Let God be God. It’s a powerful statement. It’s God taking the lead and telling us to sit down and back off. You can hear his voice raise and get stronger.

You see the psalm here is a reminder that God is always with us which means we don’t have to fear. But we still do. We let the world around us dictate how we live and what we think and how we act. So God has to stop us in our tracks. He raises his voice and tells us to knock it off and be still.

There you have it. A praise song from the Old Testament reminding us of God’s power and might and provision. And a strong reminder that God will put us in our place whenever needed to let him do his role as God.

A New World Order

October 5, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Wow that sounds like a Star Wars image or something a bit sci-fi doesn’t it? The idea of a new world order is kind of strange to say the least. It’s scary to some and exciting to others. For most it’s future oriented although in some people’s minds it’s sooner than we might want. But rarely do we consider a new world order a present reality or even an old world reality, but that’s kind of my perspective.

Ok so let’s be a tad less cryptic here. I think the life of the follower of Jesus should be, although often isn’t, an example of a new world order. Jesus peppers the New Testament with references to this new world order. They’re everywhere in the gospel accounts. Admittedly, Jesus doesn’t call it the new world order but that’s what it is. Jesus uses the phrase Kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven. This in many people’s minds is a new world order that one day will be a reality.

Unfortunately this is a short sighted view of what Jesus is actually talking about when he references the Kingdom of God. Jesus doesn’t use the phrase Kingdom of God in the future tense. He doesn’t say that it one day will be here. Instead when Jesus refers to the Kingdom of God, he does so in the present tense, as if it’s already here? How can this be? How can this Kingdom of God thing be here when life looks the way it does? Can this new world order be a present day reality?

It seems that’s the way Jesus was teaching. He was trying to get the people of his day to see the potential to have a different kind of life than they were living. The Jewish nation knew hardship, but Jesus wanted them to see beyond the hardship to the life God desired for them. From captivity to exile to enslavement to living under the thumb of oppressive rulers these people knew what it meant to have a bad day! They wanted out of this way of life pretty much at all costs.

Enter Jesus saying The kingdom of God is at hand. That didn’t mean it was around the corner or coming tomorrow. It meant that it was within reach. And to be honest it still is within reach. The Kingdom of God is ours today just as much as it was theirs when Jesus first uttered the words. But they, and we, have a problem. We don’t believe it, or at best don’t live like it.

The people of Jesus’ day complained more about the bad than they claimed the kingdom realities in their lives. Jesus was telling the Jews of his day that a new kingdom, new world order, had made its way into their lives already. That new world order was far more than a religious approach to life. As a matter of fact, and we’ll address this in a future post, Jesus didn’t enter the scene as a religious leader necessarily. He was addressing far more than mere church membership and attendance. He was driving at the heart of humanity from a political, economic, health care, environmental, friendship, family, society level.

The new world order is here. The kingdom is here. The kingdom was just as present in World War II Germany as it was Jesus’ day. This kingdom was there when the towers fell and when covid rampaged the world. It was there when your political party won or lost. It was there when the hurricane flooded much of Florida. It was there when your loved one fought through their final moments with cancer. It was there when your spouse chose someone/something else over you. It was there when your child rebelled. It was there when your church had to close. It was there when you lost your job.

The kingdom of God, aka new world order, isn’t about getting the good things right now. It’s about living a different way regardless of how things go right now. Jesus was far more concerned about how we treat the poor and disenfranchise than how much is in our bank accounts. He cared more about the orphan and the widow than preserving the freedoms of the Israelites. The kingdom of God is less about you and me and more about the people with whom we interact daily.

You see the long and short is the Kingdom of God is already here. It is a new world order. Not one built with power and prestige and centralized rulers, but with service, love and humility. It’s time that we start living the realities of this New World Order, and there’s no better time to start than today.

I Love Good Jazz

September 5, 2022 / / 0 Comments

If you’ve never listened to jazz music then you’re really missing out. Jazz music isn’t like other forms of music. It’s almost like Jazz music is alive. It’s not bound to a piece of paper. Jazz just has a life of its own.

I remember going to my first jazz club. I was in college, so trying new things was the norm. We left well after dinner time and took the drive into downtown Detroit. It was a neighborhood I probably wouldn’t have normally entered, primarily because it had a bad reputation and I had no real need to go that far into Detroit. But one of my friends was going to play that night so a few of us agreed and off we went. And am I ever glad I went!

Part of my excitement for going was because I’m a trumpet player. Not a great one but I still dabble around with it from time to time. I play music, like the stuff on a piece of paper, with notes that go up and down. It makes sense. There’s a rhythm that’s been predetermined for you. There are a series of notes that rise and fall. There are volume markers to show you when to get louder and when to get softer. These things are there to make sure everyone plays the exact same thing. But that’s not how jazz works. Jazz musicians don’t need this kind of sheet music.

That night that’s exactly what struck me. There wasn’t a sheet of music anywhere in the club. The drummer set a simple rhythmic beat. Discussed a pattern for how they’d approach the piece. Determined the key. Had a few comments about style and flow of the song they were about to play. Then they took off! And man was it the coolest sound I’ve ever heard! It was such a cool jazz sound that it made the room feel like I was floating down a crystal blue river. The whole room was blue like jazz.

Ok so I know this is a weird transition but there’s also a book with the same title as the feeling in that room. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. And I totally get it, if you haven’t read the book, you’ll think this is a weird name for a book. But the story behind the title is pretty amazing. I’ll do my best to summarize the title and its meaning here along with a quote or two from it that struck me as really good.

The title of the book really reflects what I was experiencing in the club that night. The air was a little foggy with cigarette smoke. I could taste the air. The lights were so dim it was almost dark. The atmosphere, while dark just felt wide open. You could see everyone in the room because there were no walls or dividers to separate you from the other patrons. We were there from all walks of life. Race didn’t matter. Gender didn’t matter. Economic status didn’t matter. Everything just fit in that one context on that one night.

It’s kind of like the way faith is supposed to be. No sheet music to tell you exactly what note to play. There’s a key in which we operate. There’s a rhythm that we match, a rhythm that’s not our own. There’s a smooth, almost silky feel to the way this life is supposed to be lived. Blue Like Jazz captures the openness of that club where we can see one another from all angles. That’s the way life in the kingdom is supposed to be. No hiding behind our embarrassment. No fear of judgement. No manmade divisions meant to break one another down.

One of the things Miller says in the book really caught my attention. If you try hard enough, you can get the things you want most in life. But you better be careful because the things you want most in life just might kill you in the end.

There’s immense freedom in the movement of jazz music. Without sheet music you can go where the beat takes you. You just have to listen to the right beat. In this quote, the author is reminding us that just because we have the freedom to play the notes we desire, it doesn’t mean it’s right or beneficial to play them. Some notes don’t match the song at all.

Faith is so often like this. We embed our ideology into the text of the Bible. We make it say something it never was intended to say. We infuse our wishes and personal lives into the words on the page that was never there to start with. But this is not the way it’s supposed to be. This is not how it’s supposed to be done.

We too can experience a faith that’s Blue Like Jazz if we take our beat from the rhythm of God’s Word. Then all we have to do is play the song using the notes he’s given us, following the patterns and flow embedded in our soul by the Spirit.

Kick back. Take it all in for a minute. I hope you can see and experience a faith that’s a little bit blue like jazz.

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

August 30, 2022 / / 0 Comments

The life of the person who claims to follow Jesus should be encompassed by love. Instead we make it about rules, attendance, offerings, and so many other secondary items that are important but not the main thing. Throughout the Bible, we’re told to love. We’re called to love God and love neighbor. So if we’re called to love so often, why do we instead focus so heavily on rules and even in some cases uniformity?

To put it short, it’s way easier. It’s far less messy to just attend, give offerings, and make everyone follow a set pattern for worship than it is to actually practice love for one another. Loving someone isn’t something that’s emotion charged rather it’s relationally bound. We have weakened love to something we can fall into and out of like it’s a boat on the water. We throw love away when it’s challenging and walk away when we just don’t want to put in the hard effort. But love is relationally bound. That means if we’re going to love someone, we’re not there just for the feels. We’re in it because of a bond we have with the other person.

This love is so much more broad than a marriage relationship, but most certainly applies there. The love talked about in the Bible is about all relationships for those who claim to be in Christ. It’s about the marriages, friendship, brotherhoods, coworkers, neighbors, workout partners, colleagues…all of them!

Throughout the book of Hebrews we’re brought face to face with men and women who lived their lives by faith in God. They believed that God was there for them and that he had their best interests at heart. They also lived knowing that the struggles and pains we face in life were there to help us grow in the discipline of following in faith. The men and women of God in Hebrews 11 remind us that even though life was hard and often nearly impossible, they relied on the work that God said he would do for, in and through them.

As the book of Hebrews closes, we see one more phase of the faith life of God’s followers. It’s what faith does to us as we live it out. We’ll call this one through faith. As we navigated through faith, we see that being in Christ means we love those around us. We’re kind to those not like us. We go out of our way to make sure people are connected not just to one another but also to the wonders of the love of God.

What’s love got to do with the life of the Christian? Well for many, unfortunately not all that much. But according to the teaching of the Bible it should be everything! Everything we do should be done out of love for God and love for our neighbor. We don’t love those around us because they’re worthy of our love but because Jesus is worthy of our loving them. It’s a really cool cycle if you think about it. God loves us when we’re unlovable, so that we can love those around us who are essentially unlovable as well.

If you’re into listen to people talk about things like this or watch a message on this very idea, check out the video below. If not, then go love someone because God is worth the love you share with them.

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