I remember playing dodgeball in middle school and never being really great because I had the muscle strength of a 3rd grader. I was agile but not a threat which made me get really good at avoiding lots of fast approaching balls at once. This tactic often caused me to get out quickly. Getting out first in dodgeball was like coming in last for a race. Something I would say to myself is that the "last will be first and the first will be last".
As I was reading Matthew's account of Jesus' teaching about the first being last I had a total paradigm shift. Maybe I haven't been reading the passage close enough but I realized that when Jesus says "the last will be first, and the first last" it is a statement of equality. If you grew up like me you always interpretted the scripture as an instruction to be ok with being the last one to get food, or the last one to get a gift. My interpretation of this saying was infused with years of hearing it out of context and so I thought I needed to be ok with finishing last which a lot of times is just an excuse to not strive as hard. Shame on me(can I get a witness or at least someone who is with me). And how was this statement logical? If the last will be first what happens when the last gets to the first position. According to the saying the "first will be last" so there is this tragic cycle of never being able to be first and so it seems first should be avoided.
When Jesus wants to explain what this first last business means he tells a parable about a master of a house who went out early to hire people to work for his vineyard for him. Going through the market place he hired people who needed work and agreed to pay them a days wage. The problem was that this master payed everyone the same wage no matter when He hired them. So at the end of the day, the laborers who worked the whole day were upset that they received the same pay as those who had only worked an hour. The workers who had worked all day approached the master angrily saying "you have made them equal to us ". The reply of the master uncovers a great truth about God's Kingdom that is true today. The master replies:
Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” -Matthew 20
The first will be last is not a trading of positions but a promise of God that no matter when you choose to follow Him and do the everlasting work of laboring in His kingdom, he will give you just as much as he does those who you see as "Jesus Superstars". The first will be last means that the pew is just as sacred as the pulpit, the children's minister is just as critical as the executive pastor, the student leader is just as valued as the campus minister and the faithful neighbor just as important as the civil rights icon. In God's kingdom he rewards us for our faithfulness no matter how long we've been laboring. This is good news for us who have chosen to give our lives as missionaries. And I am talking about the everyday missionaries who have chosen to be intentional at their jobs, in school, in their homes and in their neighborhoods. This is good news for those who are thinking about following the call of Jesus to start something that God has called them to. You may feel that you are "last" in someways. Know that you are first in an eternal way.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Denial, Submission, and the Pursuasion
In order to come after Jesus we have to deny ourselves and take up our cross DAILY and follow him. Not my words. Those are Jesus' words as told by Luke. This scripture is one of the most difficult scriptures I've read. On first read it seems to be the worst recruitment I've ever seen. When I think of asking someone to be like me, I wouldn't think to ask them to forget who they are. But this is Jesus' first request. His second request seems to be an even crazier. Take up a cross. Take up a crude torture device and live with it on your back. Live as if you are willing to die for the one you are walking after at a moments notice.
This is such a pressurized moment. In reading this Jesus asked his disciples to forget themselves and be willing to suffer and die for the one who told them to forget. This is Jesus' persuasion.
And it is this persuasion that has caused a history of disciples to deny themselves and be willing to die for Him. What?
This is a reality that we almost have no way to connect to. It is partially because if we began to let our parents, pastors, friends, mentors, and family know that we are willing to die for God's call on our life to the campus, office, classroom or whatever place we feel called, we would possibly be admitted. To die for Jesus is not the "in" thing anymore. But reality is that, among Christians, it never really was the in thing. It was what came with carrying a cross. To the early church Peter wrote:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
To this community enduring persecution, this would have been hard words to live out. But this is not the full view of Paul's heart. In Acts 4, Peter and John are advised by the rulers, elders and scribes to discontinue teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them,“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
In this case Peter himself denies the religious institution and this causes the rulers, elders, and scribes to look for a way to punish them(even though they couldn't). But there are those who are our ancient predecessors, our spiritual heroes and family, who died because of these kinds of stances. They were persecuted not because they were looking for it, but because they carried a cross on their backs and there were those willing to kill them for it. This is complete self denial; a willingness to take on the burdens, abuse, misunderstanding and suffering that come not because of who they have denied themselves in order to gain Jesus. We can imitate this, whether here in America or in a hostile country.
And if we do, we enter into space where walking on water and calming storms are part of the deal. It is in this space, where we totally deny our hopes, dreams, aspirations and loves, and allow God to give us his hopes, dreams, aspirations and love for us. And when he does this, we find that we were made to serve. We were made to be fully submitted to the needs of others. We find that who we were made to be is eternally intertwined with a historic community of believers and a special group of people Jesus calls us to serve. It is here that we find ourselves and we don't even care as much about finding ourselves as we do for those we are called to. This is the persuasion of Jesus. Joy in knowing who you are while being overwhelmed by how He uses your "broken self" to love those around you. And this can only be found in Him. And when we submit to that truth, we begin to understand that Jesus was right when he said that "there are some who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God" and, while on this earth, we enter this kingdom with a crosses on our back.
This is such a pressurized moment. In reading this Jesus asked his disciples to forget themselves and be willing to suffer and die for the one who told them to forget. This is Jesus' persuasion.
And it is this persuasion that has caused a history of disciples to deny themselves and be willing to die for Him. What?
This is a reality that we almost have no way to connect to. It is partially because if we began to let our parents, pastors, friends, mentors, and family know that we are willing to die for God's call on our life to the campus, office, classroom or whatever place we feel called, we would possibly be admitted. To die for Jesus is not the "in" thing anymore. But reality is that, among Christians, it never really was the in thing. It was what came with carrying a cross. To the early church Peter wrote:
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
To this community enduring persecution, this would have been hard words to live out. But this is not the full view of Paul's heart. In Acts 4, Peter and John are advised by the rulers, elders and scribes to discontinue teaching in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them,“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
In this case Peter himself denies the religious institution and this causes the rulers, elders, and scribes to look for a way to punish them(even though they couldn't). But there are those who are our ancient predecessors, our spiritual heroes and family, who died because of these kinds of stances. They were persecuted not because they were looking for it, but because they carried a cross on their backs and there were those willing to kill them for it. This is complete self denial; a willingness to take on the burdens, abuse, misunderstanding and suffering that come not because of who they have denied themselves in order to gain Jesus. We can imitate this, whether here in America or in a hostile country.
And if we do, we enter into space where walking on water and calming storms are part of the deal. It is in this space, where we totally deny our hopes, dreams, aspirations and loves, and allow God to give us his hopes, dreams, aspirations and love for us. And when he does this, we find that we were made to serve. We were made to be fully submitted to the needs of others. We find that who we were made to be is eternally intertwined with a historic community of believers and a special group of people Jesus calls us to serve. It is here that we find ourselves and we don't even care as much about finding ourselves as we do for those we are called to. This is the persuasion of Jesus. Joy in knowing who you are while being overwhelmed by how He uses your "broken self" to love those around you. And this can only be found in Him. And when we submit to that truth, we begin to understand that Jesus was right when he said that "there are some who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God" and, while on this earth, we enter this kingdom with a crosses on our back.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Steadfast
She approached the throne with a nervousness that had escalated to deep physical stress. She was scared. No one had ever approached the king without being summoned and lived to tell about. And even as the queen she knew it was risky. But she remembered her words to her uncle. She remembered she said, "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast
for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my
attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the
king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
With this heart, Esther approached King Xerxes knowing that she was going on behalf of her people. So that they might have justice. And she found favor with the king and eventually won justice for her people.
Fasting is living with a steadfastness in order to invoke God's closeness and power. When we search scripture we see fasting that causes kings to change their mind, God to respond, and justice to prevail. In the old testament, whenever there is a severe problem, God's people usually engage the discipline of fasting. Going without food or drink, or both, for a certain period of time.
But it is not the discipline of fasting that causes change. When fasting, it has to be sincere, it has to be from a contrite heart, it should come from a life that pursues Jesus-centered justice(not just want it). Isaiah(58) warns about fasting with a insincere heart.
With this heart, Esther approached King Xerxes knowing that she was going on behalf of her people. So that they might have justice. And she found favor with the king and eventually won justice for her people.
Fasting is living with a steadfastness in order to invoke God's closeness and power. When we search scripture we see fasting that causes kings to change their mind, God to respond, and justice to prevail. In the old testament, whenever there is a severe problem, God's people usually engage the discipline of fasting. Going without food or drink, or both, for a certain period of time.
But it is not the discipline of fasting that causes change. When fasting, it has to be sincere, it has to be from a contrite heart, it should come from a life that pursues Jesus-centered justice(not just want it). Isaiah(58) warns about fasting with a insincere heart.
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
In InterVarsity at SPC, we don't claim to be experts on fasting but we do know that it is an ancient discipline that we have seen used as novelty. We want to find the righteous center between the tension of fasting because of tradition and fasting as novelty. And so we invite you to fast and pray for the next 2 weeks for Jesus to move on our campus.
Our King is one whose throne we can approach boldly and freely. We approach like Esther, accept the threat of death is not our greatest hinderance, it is often the idols in our lives, anything that we give more time to God. And so fast from one thing that gets more attention than God and use the extra time to pray that God would move on campus and in our lives. Pray that we are able to reach every campus and every corner of campus with the Gospel of Jesus. Pray and expect God to honor our steadfastness with his steadfast love.
Monday, October 21, 2013
The Wages of Surrender
The wages of sin is death. The payment for sin is death. Meaning if you work for sin you will get payed death. The alternative is to work for righteousness and get payed life.
These are simple interpretations but what does working for the reward of death look like?
This is only one perspective but I've recently learned that usually your job is a small one. Entry level. Barely noticeable. You are the janitor for Enron. You aren't the bad person. You can't be. This is just entry level evil.
This is verbal abuse, received or given.
This is hatred, expressed and internalized.
This is the abuse of a small amount of power.
This is selfishness with a little.
This is ignoring your children just a little.
This is taking small advantage of those who you lead.
This is watching soft porn for only a little while.
This is only entry level stuff.
But before you know it you are appreciating promotions. Getting away with more. In less control. You are climbing the ladder of evil's empire and you don't notice the small parts of you dying.
Until you sit. Quiet. And ask God...where is evil in me and will you cleanse me?
This initiates soul wrenching transformation.
Then you realize the alternative to working for sin is not working for righteousness but it is instead a gift of eternal life. A life where you are able to be free from evil. Not only free but a destroyer of evil. Internally and externally.
This is recieving healing from abuse and offering healing words.
This is love expressed and internalized.
This is the giving away of power whether large or small.
This is selflessness with a little or a lot.
This is loving your child and discipling her in Jesus.
This is honoring those you lead.
This is standing up for justice while alone or when injustice is eminent.
This is eternal level stuff.
The wages of surrender to Jesus is life. A free gift from Him to us.
Thank you, Jesus.
These are simple interpretations but what does working for the reward of death look like?
This is only one perspective but I've recently learned that usually your job is a small one. Entry level. Barely noticeable. You are the janitor for Enron. You aren't the bad person. You can't be. This is just entry level evil.
This is verbal abuse, received or given.
This is hatred, expressed and internalized.
This is the abuse of a small amount of power.
This is selfishness with a little.
This is ignoring your children just a little.
This is taking small advantage of those who you lead.
This is watching soft porn for only a little while.
This is only entry level stuff.
But before you know it you are appreciating promotions. Getting away with more. In less control. You are climbing the ladder of evil's empire and you don't notice the small parts of you dying.
Until you sit. Quiet. And ask God...where is evil in me and will you cleanse me?
This initiates soul wrenching transformation.
Then you realize the alternative to working for sin is not working for righteousness but it is instead a gift of eternal life. A life where you are able to be free from evil. Not only free but a destroyer of evil. Internally and externally.
This is recieving healing from abuse and offering healing words.
This is love expressed and internalized.
This is the giving away of power whether large or small.
This is selflessness with a little or a lot.
This is loving your child and discipling her in Jesus.
This is honoring those you lead.
This is standing up for justice while alone or when injustice is eminent.
This is eternal level stuff.
The wages of surrender to Jesus is life. A free gift from Him to us.
Thank you, Jesus.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Prayer. Life. Learning.
In my life, prayer has always been a rare commodity. In my best thinking, it is valued beyond measure but in practice it's hard to come by. The discipline of prayer is tough for someone like me who wants to work hard, finish tasks and do whatever is necessary to get things done for the sake of the Kingdom. And in some dysfunctional way, prayer doesn't always fit into this. What does prayer accomplish? What ministry task requires prayer? Does prayer help my paperwork get done, does it make a discipleship curriculum, does prayer give a 30 minute talk? You see, rarely have I prayed and the perfect talk just miraculously appeared. Rarely have I prayed and I felt a burst of energy to do administrative work. I am not saying that it's bad to pray about these things or that prayer can't give you the perfect talk. But what I've learned is that prayer is not necessarily meant to complete an earthly task. How narrow minded of me. Our prayers do the work we cannot do. Our prayers complete spiritual tasks that we cannot complete. You see, I cannot produce love in someone's heart, I cannot create Jesus-infused courage, I cannot speak sacrifice into existence in someone's life...but what if my prayers could? I believe they do. Not the prayers themselves but what comes with them. When we pray we admit that, under our own strength, we are powerless to do what is necessary to bring about change. Our prayers for God's intervention is an admission that our efforts are not enough. Our prayers are a cry for God to come quickly.
But when we don't pray, what are we communicating? As we see some success without prayer, how are our souls deceived? I feel like the worst offender. I complete task after task and yet I pay less and less attention to my prayer life.
Over the past couple months I've been working to correct this deficiency. The most recent occurrence in this was with the InterVarsity leaders at SPC where we've been going through Psalm 23 and engaging both prayer and meditation. We've learned that Jesus is so much smarter than us! We looked at Jesus' call for us to pray in Luke 18 and Matthew 6, and we also looked at James' thoughts on prayer in James 5 and we've been convicted to pray more often and more consistently. Knowing that what we want to see at SPC cannot be done through completing a bunch of tasks but only by the power of God, we pray. Our prayers are our admission that we need Jesus. Our prayers are are our hopes whispered into the ears of the Holy Spirit. We pray because we cannot. We pray because God can.
And the more we pray, the more we realize we need to pray...and so we pray.
But when we don't pray, what are we communicating? As we see some success without prayer, how are our souls deceived? I feel like the worst offender. I complete task after task and yet I pay less and less attention to my prayer life.
Over the past couple months I've been working to correct this deficiency. The most recent occurrence in this was with the InterVarsity leaders at SPC where we've been going through Psalm 23 and engaging both prayer and meditation. We've learned that Jesus is so much smarter than us! We looked at Jesus' call for us to pray in Luke 18 and Matthew 6, and we also looked at James' thoughts on prayer in James 5 and we've been convicted to pray more often and more consistently. Knowing that what we want to see at SPC cannot be done through completing a bunch of tasks but only by the power of God, we pray. Our prayers are our admission that we need Jesus. Our prayers are are our hopes whispered into the ears of the Holy Spirit. We pray because we cannot. We pray because God can.
And the more we pray, the more we realize we need to pray...and so we pray.
Monday, September 9, 2013
What Does it Mean to be Part of the InterVarsity Family?
Inner reconciliation: the pursuit of restoring our identity by allowing God to shape who we are.
World changer: someone who establishes the kingdom of God where ever they go and who teaches others to do the same. A world changers is salt and light no matter what career or life pursuit God calls them into.
Have you ever wondered what it means to "be part of" InterVarsity. It has to be more than just showing up to events, right? We all are part of families but being part of a family doesn't mean we just show up to dinner every night. It is more than that. So what does it mean to be part of InterVarsity in St. Pete. This short explanation is meant to help us answer that question. If you are new, this will be helpful to know what you are getting into. And trust me, its a good thing to get into. If you are a core member this can help us explain to others what kind of community they are joining allowing them to see what type of community we are. We are not a sports group or a youth group. Jesus asks His disciples to leave everything and become fishers of men. He is up front with what he is calling these young followers to and I believe it a wise thing to follow His example. So what does it mean to be part of InterVarsity? The heuristic below is a great way to explain this.
Figure 1. Yes! We are on a boat!
Being part of InterVarsity means that you will engage and learn scripture study, prayer, coorperate worship, evangelism, intentional discipleship, and so much more. What does this produce? A community of surrender, reconciliation and sacrificial living.
Surrender
We are first a community that is Surrendered to Jesus. Without surrender you go nowhere or our direction is not God’s direction. Surrender allows God to direct our lives. Being part of InterVarsity means you allow God to direct the sail of your boat.
Reconciliation
Next, being with us on the boat means we you are pursuing reconciliation with others and inner reconciliation. If we try to follow Jesus without pursuing reconciliation with others and inner reconciliation we will sink or it means that you will feel left out and not on board. Though we are reconciled to God we must learn what that fully means and so there is a repeated cycle of exposing our weaknesses, repentance by turning to Jesus, and relentless restoration back to God and community.
Sacrificial Life
Surrender and reconciliation is done within the context of a sacrificial life like that of Jesus. As you learn to live a sacrificial life there will be constant resistance (academics, peer pressure, life tragedies, etc.). Being part of InterVarsity means that you have staff and students who have gone before you and who will walk with you in this and we believe the end result will be a sacrificial life that grows you into a world changer where you will find that, in Jesus, we were made to sail through resistance and hardship.
We are those who surrender totally to Jesus, pursue reconciliation with others and inner healing, and who do it within the context of a sacrificial life that we are both learning and pursuing.
“A ship in a harbour is safe, but this is not what a ship is built for.” –John A. Shedd
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Studying Scripture in With Fresh Eyes
After we studied Mark during our Common Ground core meeting it lead me to reminisce about my journey in studying scripture(still in progress). I've found that the most dangerous thing to do when studying the Bible is to allow it to always affirm or reinforce my values. The problem with this is that if I believe that the Bible is the living, inspired word of God then these words, with the help of the Holy Spirit, should lead me to know more about Him every time I read them because God is always speaking. But, if my own thoughts are never challenged can I say with integrity that God is speaking?
In my few years of studying the Bible I've learned that reinforcement and affirmation are often the outer disguise of pride and immaturity. Pride because if every time I read the Bible I ONLY discover what I already thought about the Bible, it implies that God really just speaks the same thing every time and I already know most of it. Immaturity because if everything I read is just a reinforcement of what I previously knew then I gain nothing knew and my mind, heart and soul are never challenged to grow. I am pretty sure this ain't how God operates.
What does this look like? At a very young age, I remember learning "Jesus loves me" from John 3:16. As a young disciple I needed to know that, I needed to know God himself gave his son for me and saved me from my sin and the sin condition of the world. I needed this to be instilled in my heart and never forget it. It was good.
This verse became toxic in college, where I believed that God loved me and other Christians and everyone else needed to get on board or burn. I never told anyone this or acted on it but it was a pseudo-truth that resided in my heart. It was in an InterVarsity Bible study that I learned how to look at the Bible with fresh eyes. This meant looking at the Bible expecting to learn something new every time. In doing this I finally realized that a key part of John 3:16 is that "God loved the world". He loved the WORLD! I learned that Jesus loves the world and calls me to this same love. How immature and prideful of me to think "everyone else", i.e. the world, needed to just jump on board, excluding myself from the love of Jesus they needed to encounter. I came to realize that not only did Jesus love me, but wants me to follow his example in loving the world exactly like He did. And this left me knowing that I had a lot to learn because loving people who have different values, different beliefs and different ways of living is hard.
This is what scripture study leads us to. It leads us to more awe, more curiosity, more pathways of maturity and ultimately how to love more. Studying the word of God will show us how big he is by showing us how much we don't know. But trust me, you will be eternally grateful for the little you learn.
So the next time you study scripture, confess to God that you don't know everything about him and then ask him to to show you something new.
In my few years of studying the Bible I've learned that reinforcement and affirmation are often the outer disguise of pride and immaturity. Pride because if every time I read the Bible I ONLY discover what I already thought about the Bible, it implies that God really just speaks the same thing every time and I already know most of it. Immaturity because if everything I read is just a reinforcement of what I previously knew then I gain nothing knew and my mind, heart and soul are never challenged to grow. I am pretty sure this ain't how God operates.
What does this look like? At a very young age, I remember learning "Jesus loves me" from John 3:16. As a young disciple I needed to know that, I needed to know God himself gave his son for me and saved me from my sin and the sin condition of the world. I needed this to be instilled in my heart and never forget it. It was good.
This verse became toxic in college, where I believed that God loved me and other Christians and everyone else needed to get on board or burn. I never told anyone this or acted on it but it was a pseudo-truth that resided in my heart. It was in an InterVarsity Bible study that I learned how to look at the Bible with fresh eyes. This meant looking at the Bible expecting to learn something new every time. In doing this I finally realized that a key part of John 3:16 is that "God loved the world". He loved the WORLD! I learned that Jesus loves the world and calls me to this same love. How immature and prideful of me to think "everyone else", i.e. the world, needed to just jump on board, excluding myself from the love of Jesus they needed to encounter. I came to realize that not only did Jesus love me, but wants me to follow his example in loving the world exactly like He did. And this left me knowing that I had a lot to learn because loving people who have different values, different beliefs and different ways of living is hard.
This is what scripture study leads us to. It leads us to more awe, more curiosity, more pathways of maturity and ultimately how to love more. Studying the word of God will show us how big he is by showing us how much we don't know. But trust me, you will be eternally grateful for the little you learn.
So the next time you study scripture, confess to God that you don't know everything about him and then ask him to to show you something new.
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