NT Wright uses this illustration to explain the setting behind Paul writing to the Galatian church. Imagine that we could go back in time and build a community center in South Africa during the time of Apartheid. There was strict racial segregation then. But imagine that we wanted to build a community center that would be a place for all people. One building where separated people come together. You go through the process of getting the project started and the foundation is layed. But then you have to move on to another project so you leave the community center in the hands of others who have the blueprint for the community center. Not long after you leave, others come in and change the blueprints. Despite the foundation that was layed, they make two front doors, two gathering rooms, two bathrooms. It is still one building but it's now keeping the separation that exists in the world.
That is exactly what Paul feels is going on in the churches he started in Galatia. The foundation that Paul built was one of unity based on grace. Jews and gentiles are equal in Jesus. Because of this Jewish christians began to relax their cultural laws and eat with gentile christians. But something happened. Other Jewish christians began to come in and teach that if the gentiles want to have full access to the Kingdom of God then they must follow all the Jewish rules. And because of this many Jews stopped associating with the gentile christians.
In order to understand the book of Galatians we must understand why Paul is writing it, and the cultural climate he is writing to. The people who first read this letter, and all the people who heard it read in their local gatherings, would have absolutely associated social issues to what Paul is going to say.
In verse 4 of Galatians 1 Paul says clearly that Jesus came to rescue us from this present evil age. It is Jesus that rescues, not us. But what is this present evil age? It's worldly thinking. It's doing what seems natural. It's using the logic of those who don't know God. It's putting trust in anything besides the blood of Jesus and the grace of God the Father.
Let's pretend that we could measure how much grace we each need from God to be forgiven. And since we are pretending let's also pretend that we would only need enough grace to fill a small bucket. We all know we would need much more than that, but we can pretend.
God, out of his grace fills our bucket with grace. We are now saved. It's very exciting. As we experience more and more of God's grace, we are changed. The fancy word would be sanctified. We begin to live differently. Actions that are unhealthy and which damage our relationship with God are stopped. Actions that aid our relationship with the Father are added. Our life genuinely looks different. And we begin to carry around a second bucket. We now have a bucket full of grace and a bucket of our own self righteousness. We are legitimately doing good things. Nothing wrong with that. But there is a danger that we begin to view grace as a means to initial salvation, but view our own good works as the means to continued salvation. We metaphorically begin to pour our good works into the grace bucket, thinking I am saved by grace but I'm also saved because I did this or that. The reality is that when we do that, we displace God's grace in our life.
The temptation to believe that our good deeds merit our salvation is one that every believer has to struggle with. The reality is that we do not ever want to be judged by our own righteousness. If we place our trust in our own works, we will be disappointed. We must completely trust in God's grace. That is what saves. That is what has power. That is the story of the gospel.
At the same time we must understand that grace is not the opposite of rules. Grace is the opposite of legalism because legalism makes our actions the basis of our salvation. The reality that grace is the basis of our salvation does not mean we don't have to follow rules.
Imagine that you were givien a job you were not qualified for. The owner of the company hired you and instructed your supervisor that they could not fire you, but instead, each time you made a mistake you must be instructed and trained so that over time you could be proficient at your job. If you show up for work and don't make any effort, there is going to be a problem. If, instead of taking the direction and training of your supervisor, you remind everyone that you are there by the grace of the owner and they can't do anything about that, eventually the owner is going to fire you himself.
It is the same way in the Kingdom of God. Salvation by grace WILL produce lifestyle changes. It will produce a deeper degree of obedience to God's commands. It will produce a life that is constantly becoming more and more Christ like. Grace and obedience are linked.
If you take your position of grace seriously and learn all you can from your boss, you will one day be good at your job. You may even get promoted and eventually have a very high position. That never changes how you first got hired. No matter what you do, you were unqualified when you were hired, and you were trained under orders of grace.
As Christians we were unqualified, lost people that were saved by grace through the sacrifice of Jesus. We should become better. Out of love we should live to please God. No matter what we accomplish this never changes. If we preach to millions, if we donate millions, if we are instrumental in helping millions, we are saved by grace and grace alone.
Grace is enough. In fact, it is only grace that is enough. Our righteousness will never fill the bucket. But if we are willing to stop counting on our own righteousness, and empty our bucket of our accomplishments, God promises to fill us with his grace.
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
From Death to Life
If you didn't know, this is how your story is going to end...
Have you ever known someone who knew everything? Having mastered the rather simple task of getting their life in order, they moved on to the more difficult task of convincing the rest of the world that they are right. When I was a financial adviser I had a high school history teacher explain exactly what I needed to do to build my career. This wasn't a guy I had ever met. He just knew what I needed. Because obviously High School history teachers know how to build a financial practice. Far too often we get "advice' from well meaning, ignorant people.
The way we react is much different when the words are coming from the mouth of an expert. We all have the family member who diagnoses people with all sorts of medical ailments based on their own internet research. Rarely do those warning cause a loss of sleep at night. However, the same warning coming from a doctor who is pointing at a scan of your body is taken much differently. If you have been in those situations then you know the weight that is felt when certain words are used. There is no death, yet. But it seems inevitable. The sentence is accepted. Processed. Grieved. Internalized. Real.
For some that sentence is later waived. Through the power of a healing God people who should have died are saved miraculously through a sudden change or miraculously through the advancements in medicine that God allows the human race to develop.
On that day, when the good news is recieved, it is worthy of a celebration. You are going to live. Those words are expected, taken for granted, and unworthy of a celebration the day before a diagnosis. However, when faced with the reality of death, a pronouncement of healing is a cause for celebration.
Romans 6:13 says this:
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Sin has sentenced us all to death. Like an untreatable disease that ravages our physical body, we are unable to defend ourselves against the death sentence of our own sin. And just like the joy that comes from hearing a Dr. say "cured", those who have surrendered to Christ are called to celebrate like only those who have been saved can celebrate. Without understanding the reality of our impending, deserved doom, we cannot understand how Jesus is a Savior.
What does it mean to live as someone who has been brouth from death to life? If you talk to people who have lived this out in the physical world, it always means change. Perspective changes. What we value changes.
I had a friend in high school who liked to use and sell drugs. Actually, I had a lot of those friends, but one in particular that I spent a good amount of time with. As I got more serious about my relationship with God, and he got more serious about trying to be the next Scar Face, we spent less and less time together. While I was in college I heard that he had been in a bad car accident. He didn't remember what happened but from what the family was able to piece together from the EMT's who arrived on the scene, he had been thrown through the front windshield of his car and was found barely alive on the side of the road. The next time I came home for a break I called him and we got together. There was a park where we used to play basketball and we got some food and sat at a picknick table. We had to sit in the shade because the doctors had told him that the scars on his face would be permanent if he spent anytime in the sun.
I remember very clearly sitting there that day, wondering what it would take to get him to come back to Jesus. With this in mind I asked him about the accident and what he remembered. He said the only thing he could remember was lying on the side of the road when the emergency crew arrived and hearing them come up to him. "Were you scared?" I asked, hoping that the trauma of that moment would make him more open to talks about eternity. "Yes. I was terrified." In that moment I was filled with hope. Maybe this is what was needed to get him to get his life back in order with Jesus. Then he finished his sentence... "I was scared to death they were going to search the car. I had three pounds of marijuana hidden in the back seat and I have two strikes. If they had found my stash I would be in prison right now."
I had no words. To this day, I don't understand how a person who is that close to stepping into forever, can be so consumed with something so physical. There was no thought about his life. No thought about if he was ready to meet God. No thought about his injuries. The fact that he didn't die that day wasn't even a big deal to him. The fact that he didn't go to prison was. Although he would go to prison later.
There are so many dead people in this world. Dead people, one mistake, one accident away from making that death complete and eternal. So many dead people clinging to dead possesions and dead dreams. So many people living death to the fullest and celebrating what they call life.
That's our reality. That is our death. But by the grace of God we would all be in the same boat. We have been saved. Saved from death. Saved from hopelessness. Saved from meaninglessness. And saved to life. To purpose and hope. To meaning that will last longer than our physical bodies. Saved to a future that we can't earn and don't deserve.
The Bible says that we are saved by Grace. By God's choosing that we are someone He wants to save. God wants to redeem us. In order to understand this grace, we must undersand the depth of spiritual and physical death that exists without Jesus.
We have been brought from death to life in Christ Jesus, by grace. Let's live like that.
Have you ever known someone who knew everything? Having mastered the rather simple task of getting their life in order, they moved on to the more difficult task of convincing the rest of the world that they are right. When I was a financial adviser I had a high school history teacher explain exactly what I needed to do to build my career. This wasn't a guy I had ever met. He just knew what I needed. Because obviously High School history teachers know how to build a financial practice. Far too often we get "advice' from well meaning, ignorant people.
The way we react is much different when the words are coming from the mouth of an expert. We all have the family member who diagnoses people with all sorts of medical ailments based on their own internet research. Rarely do those warning cause a loss of sleep at night. However, the same warning coming from a doctor who is pointing at a scan of your body is taken much differently. If you have been in those situations then you know the weight that is felt when certain words are used. There is no death, yet. But it seems inevitable. The sentence is accepted. Processed. Grieved. Internalized. Real.
For some that sentence is later waived. Through the power of a healing God people who should have died are saved miraculously through a sudden change or miraculously through the advancements in medicine that God allows the human race to develop.
On that day, when the good news is recieved, it is worthy of a celebration. You are going to live. Those words are expected, taken for granted, and unworthy of a celebration the day before a diagnosis. However, when faced with the reality of death, a pronouncement of healing is a cause for celebration.
Romans 6:13 says this:
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
Sin has sentenced us all to death. Like an untreatable disease that ravages our physical body, we are unable to defend ourselves against the death sentence of our own sin. And just like the joy that comes from hearing a Dr. say "cured", those who have surrendered to Christ are called to celebrate like only those who have been saved can celebrate. Without understanding the reality of our impending, deserved doom, we cannot understand how Jesus is a Savior.
What does it mean to live as someone who has been brouth from death to life? If you talk to people who have lived this out in the physical world, it always means change. Perspective changes. What we value changes.
I had a friend in high school who liked to use and sell drugs. Actually, I had a lot of those friends, but one in particular that I spent a good amount of time with. As I got more serious about my relationship with God, and he got more serious about trying to be the next Scar Face, we spent less and less time together. While I was in college I heard that he had been in a bad car accident. He didn't remember what happened but from what the family was able to piece together from the EMT's who arrived on the scene, he had been thrown through the front windshield of his car and was found barely alive on the side of the road. The next time I came home for a break I called him and we got together. There was a park where we used to play basketball and we got some food and sat at a picknick table. We had to sit in the shade because the doctors had told him that the scars on his face would be permanent if he spent anytime in the sun.
I remember very clearly sitting there that day, wondering what it would take to get him to come back to Jesus. With this in mind I asked him about the accident and what he remembered. He said the only thing he could remember was lying on the side of the road when the emergency crew arrived and hearing them come up to him. "Were you scared?" I asked, hoping that the trauma of that moment would make him more open to talks about eternity. "Yes. I was terrified." In that moment I was filled with hope. Maybe this is what was needed to get him to get his life back in order with Jesus. Then he finished his sentence... "I was scared to death they were going to search the car. I had three pounds of marijuana hidden in the back seat and I have two strikes. If they had found my stash I would be in prison right now."
I had no words. To this day, I don't understand how a person who is that close to stepping into forever, can be so consumed with something so physical. There was no thought about his life. No thought about if he was ready to meet God. No thought about his injuries. The fact that he didn't die that day wasn't even a big deal to him. The fact that he didn't go to prison was. Although he would go to prison later.
There are so many dead people in this world. Dead people, one mistake, one accident away from making that death complete and eternal. So many dead people clinging to dead possesions and dead dreams. So many people living death to the fullest and celebrating what they call life.
That's our reality. That is our death. But by the grace of God we would all be in the same boat. We have been saved. Saved from death. Saved from hopelessness. Saved from meaninglessness. And saved to life. To purpose and hope. To meaning that will last longer than our physical bodies. Saved to a future that we can't earn and don't deserve.
The Bible says that we are saved by Grace. By God's choosing that we are someone He wants to save. God wants to redeem us. In order to understand this grace, we must undersand the depth of spiritual and physical death that exists without Jesus.
We have been brought from death to life in Christ Jesus, by grace. Let's live like that.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Our Mission
CITYChurch strives to be a community that demonstrates the power of the gospel in everyday life. The story of Jesus is the story of grace. We understand and teach grace by understanding and teaching Jesus.
Our desire is to demonstrate the power of the gospel by showing the world that the gospel is strong enough to unite people from varying ages, ethnicities, cultures, and socio-economic statuses, through the common faith in Jesus Christ. Because of that belief we strive to bring the diversity that will be present in heaven into our personal lives here on Earth.
Scripture teaches us that Jesus brings ALL PEOPLE together in ONE KINGDOM. All people being brought into One Family, One Faith, One Baptism, and One Father, who is over all and in all and through all. (Ephesians 4:5-6)
In order to be a community that exists despite our differences, we must all be willing to give up some of our own comfort and build community in the common faith in Jesus Christ, which truly makes us brothers and sisters for eternity. We believe that community built on the foundation of Jesus is not only possible, but is a beautiful example of the power of the gospel.
We believe that the gospel makes a difference in real life. The gospel demands that we engage the social problems of our community, the problems in our families, the problems in our own personal struggle with the flesh. A diverse community helps make a bigger difference in all of these struggles.
We believe that life following the Spirit should look different than life following the world, and we are excited about living out that difference, together.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
How to Say Thank You to Derek and Mallory
While Derek and Mallory Koone will not be the only people to ever leave CITYChurch, there may never be anyone who leaves to whom we are so indebted. I have said this and will continue saying that every single meaningful thing that God has done or will do through CITYChurch is built on the sacrifice of Derek and Mallory. It is highly unlikely that we could have hired someone with the passion and ability of Derek, but to get all of Derek's energy while not being able to spend money to hire someone, is truly an example of God's grace to CITYChurch.
Derek could have literally chosen to go other places and make three to five times the amount of money he made at CITYChurch. He could have chosen to work somewhere that actually had an office. He could also have chosen to work for a more prestigious employer. (As of right now, working at CITYChurch does not move the needle when future employers look at your resume) Instead, Derek and Mallory chose to come to CITYChurch. I don't think this is just because they are such awesome people. I think a large part of that decision is tied to the fact that God wanted them to come to CITYChurch and Derek and Mallory are all about following God. Even when it looks like God has lost his mind.
There are many things we could do to show Derek and Mallory our thanks for their faithfulness. We could give them money. (Really we can't because we don't have much) We could give them something. It would have to be cheap. We could convince LeBron James to follow Derek's lead and move to Cleveland. I'm actually working on this one.
All of those are nice. They make us feel good and maybe help ease the emotional blow of Derek and Mallory and Cayden leaving. But I think there is something more significant we can do to show them our appreciation. Live like they lived.
That means following God when it doesn't seem to make sense. Making decisions based on more important and eternal factors than finances. Being passionate. Being emotional. Throwing Rubiks cubes. And always believing that God is working. It means standing firm in our decisions because we know we are where God wants us, even when others in our lives tell us we are making a mistake. It means living a life that makes other people say "You are doing what?".
In their time with usdfsf, Derek and Mallory showed us what it looks like to live by faith. I honestly believe that the opportunity they have in Cleveland happened because they walked faithfully during their time here.
That doesn't mean it was easy. Despite faith there were anxious moments. There were sleepless nights wondering what was going to happen. Faith isn't the absence of doubt, it is action despite doubt. It is risking that which is valuable because you trust God's leading.
Sometimes I think we give gifts at times like this because we want to pay people back for what they endured. The reality is we can't take away the anxiety and stress that Derek and Mallory endured while serving God at CITYChurch. There is no gift we can give that travels back in time and replaces those times of uncertainty with answers. But we can learn from the struggle they invested in CITYChurch and we can commit to live by faith as they did, and as they are.
Those stressful moments are over. They happened. We can't change them. And I think Derek and Mallory would say that their faith was deepened in those moments. But at the same time, the moments of victory that Derek and Mallory were a part of can't be erased. The enemy can't take away the conversations they had with people. He can't erase the times of worship that Derek led us in. Those victories live on as we choose to live the same faith that Derek and Mallory live. The real faith in the real Jesus who really loves us and showed so on the cross. That faith lead Derek and Mallory to CITYChurch. That faith now leads them to Cleveland. Where is that faith leading you?
Derek could have literally chosen to go other places and make three to five times the amount of money he made at CITYChurch. He could have chosen to work somewhere that actually had an office. He could also have chosen to work for a more prestigious employer. (As of right now, working at CITYChurch does not move the needle when future employers look at your resume) Instead, Derek and Mallory chose to come to CITYChurch. I don't think this is just because they are such awesome people. I think a large part of that decision is tied to the fact that God wanted them to come to CITYChurch and Derek and Mallory are all about following God. Even when it looks like God has lost his mind.
There are many things we could do to show Derek and Mallory our thanks for their faithfulness. We could give them money. (Really we can't because we don't have much) We could give them something. It would have to be cheap. We could convince LeBron James to follow Derek's lead and move to Cleveland. I'm actually working on this one.
All of those are nice. They make us feel good and maybe help ease the emotional blow of Derek and Mallory and Cayden leaving. But I think there is something more significant we can do to show them our appreciation. Live like they lived.
That means following God when it doesn't seem to make sense. Making decisions based on more important and eternal factors than finances. Being passionate. Being emotional. Throwing Rubiks cubes. And always believing that God is working. It means standing firm in our decisions because we know we are where God wants us, even when others in our lives tell us we are making a mistake. It means living a life that makes other people say "You are doing what?".
In their time with usdfsf, Derek and Mallory showed us what it looks like to live by faith. I honestly believe that the opportunity they have in Cleveland happened because they walked faithfully during their time here.
That doesn't mean it was easy. Despite faith there were anxious moments. There were sleepless nights wondering what was going to happen. Faith isn't the absence of doubt, it is action despite doubt. It is risking that which is valuable because you trust God's leading.
Sometimes I think we give gifts at times like this because we want to pay people back for what they endured. The reality is we can't take away the anxiety and stress that Derek and Mallory endured while serving God at CITYChurch. There is no gift we can give that travels back in time and replaces those times of uncertainty with answers. But we can learn from the struggle they invested in CITYChurch and we can commit to live by faith as they did, and as they are.
Those stressful moments are over. They happened. We can't change them. And I think Derek and Mallory would say that their faith was deepened in those moments. But at the same time, the moments of victory that Derek and Mallory were a part of can't be erased. The enemy can't take away the conversations they had with people. He can't erase the times of worship that Derek led us in. Those victories live on as we choose to live the same faith that Derek and Mallory live. The real faith in the real Jesus who really loves us and showed so on the cross. That faith lead Derek and Mallory to CITYChurch. That faith now leads them to Cleveland. Where is that faith leading you?
Monday, June 16, 2014
Words About God
The root words from which we get the word THEOLOGY are words for "God' and "Words". It literally means Words About God. We all practice theology. We have ideas about God and actually base our lives on those ideas. We don't always approach theology in any type of organized manner.
This summer we are going to be taking two nights per month to dive a little deeper and more intentionally into our Words About God. We will be discussing different topics from a biblical perspective. The goal is not to completely understand any topic. When talking about God we must understand that God is so infinitely BIG that we can never grasp completely any aspect of His nature. In fact, greater knowledge of God normally leads us to a greater awe of God's greatness and a realization that we can't approach God's majesty.
This Wednesday, June 18, from 7:00 - 8:00 we will be starting our Words About God series at Chris and Jen's home. 4800 Gladwyn Dr. Kids are welcome.
We will be discussing pain and suffering. Some ideas to think through are:
How can a loving God let us suffer?
What do we believe about evil?
Does God cause suffering?
Is everything that happens part of God's plan?
Does everything happen for a reason?
Does suffering mean God is less powerful?
Is God unfair?
Anyone, from any church, from any place is invited. We look forward to your thoughts and questions.
This summer we are going to be taking two nights per month to dive a little deeper and more intentionally into our Words About God. We will be discussing different topics from a biblical perspective. The goal is not to completely understand any topic. When talking about God we must understand that God is so infinitely BIG that we can never grasp completely any aspect of His nature. In fact, greater knowledge of God normally leads us to a greater awe of God's greatness and a realization that we can't approach God's majesty.
This Wednesday, June 18, from 7:00 - 8:00 we will be starting our Words About God series at Chris and Jen's home. 4800 Gladwyn Dr. Kids are welcome.
We will be discussing pain and suffering. Some ideas to think through are:
How can a loving God let us suffer?
What do we believe about evil?
Does God cause suffering?
Is everything that happens part of God's plan?
Does everything happen for a reason?
Does suffering mean God is less powerful?
Is God unfair?
Anyone, from any church, from any place is invited. We look forward to your thoughts and questions.
Monday, January 27, 2014
The Empowering Grace of Esther
I like simple stuff. Plain potato chips. Vanilla Ice Cream. Steak and potatoes. I am glad God is not like me. God is multi-talented. Multi-faceted. Multi-multied. And I think he enjoys revealing himself in various ways.
Because Grace is and expression of who he is, Grace is also multi-faceted. We normally think of grace in relation to our eternal salvation. However, there are many other ways God shows us favor.
If you have not read the story of Esther you should. If you think you know the story, you should read it again. I bet you will find something new. It's an amazing story. Full of conspiracy, spies, ancient enemies, beautiful women, and not so amazing men. Most of the men are flawed in the story. We see men being lead astray by others who want to make them happy. As a side note: don't surround yourself with people whose goal is to make you happy. These types of people will rarely offer good advice and will consistently mask your weaknesses until it's too late. Surround yourself with people who tell you the truth. The hard truth. And they need to be people who will stick around to help you navigate the chaos that the truth can wreck on your world.
The story of Esther is in many ways a story of grace. Not conventional grace maybe. But God's favor is theme that keeps the story moving. And the central reason the story has a happy ending.
God's grace not only saves, it empowers us. As human beings we have a choice as to how to live our lives. We can be safe. We can be dangerous. We can be safe, except when it's dangerous to be safe or we can be dangerous when it's safe to be dangerous. We have choices. If we choose to make decisions based on our ability to achieve, then any success we have as a result will serve to convince us that we can trust ourselves. This is the formula that most of the world embraces. We feel pretty good when our ability leads to success. The feeling is not so good when it leads to failure. And since we all fail at something this way of walking through life eventually leaves us with a strange mix of power and frailty. We often highlight our power and try to hide our frailty, which actually just makes us weaker and leads to more confusion.
We do have another choice, though. We can choose to act beyond our own capacity. This is called faith. Faith is choosing an action that we know will lead us to a position where we can't control the outcome. When we choose to act in faith beyond our capacity to control the outcome, for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom, we get to experience God's grace. Not God saving us from sin, but God coming through for us. Coming through with us. God empowering us to make a difference that is beyond our capacity to make.
This is the story of Esther.
There are two types of grace on display in the story of Esther, and in our own lives. First we have grace that goes ahead of us. This is the type of grace that saves us from our sins. Jesus has already died. He has already paid the price and set everything up for us to be reunited with God the Father. We simply accept that grace. Esther walked into God's grace that was laid out before her. She was born beautiful, by God's grace. She was orphaned but by God's grace had an influential uncle, Mordecai, that took her in. She was chosen to go to the palace of the King of Persia to be considered to replace the disposed Queen Vashti. She was given favor there by the man in charge of the harem. She was chosen by the King to become the queen. It's a fairy tale type story if we stop right there. Orphaned young girl becomes queen of a vast empire. Too many times we stop there. We walk into the grace that has gone ahead of us, and we get comfortable and we stop. We completely miss the second type of grace that God has for us. But not Esther. She experienced more grace because she was willing to live beyond her capacity.
Despite what her uncle Mordecai said, there is a good chance that Esther could have survived the destruction of the Jewish people. No one even knew she was of Israelite descent. However, I believe that Esther knew that Mordecai was right when he told her that maybe God has put you in this royal position for just this time. You may not be royal. But you have a position. You have influence. Whether that influence is over one person or many. We must ask ourselves are we willing to use our influence, our position, our privilege to make a difference in the lives around us? Esther could have easily sat back and not gotten involved while the Kings right hand man, Haman, destroyed her people. But she didn't. She first tells Mordecai that she can't go see the King because it's against the law. She might die. But she eventually agrees to go before the King uninvited saying "If i die, I die". She knows that as she steps into the King's inner court, she is surrendering control. She is putting herself in a position where God must deliver her or she will die. And she experiences grace. God grants her favor in that moment. Her life is spared and now, having started down this path she continues pressing the issue over the next couple of days until her people have been saved. She acted well beyond her capacity. And her steps of faith were rewarded by God as he empowered her faith to change the fate of her people.
When we act based on our own ability, we learn to trust ourselves. But when we act outside of our own capacity in faith, for the glory of God, something entirely different happens. We learn to trust God. We learn to believe that God honors crazy steps of faith. We learn to expect God to come through for us. This doesn't mean we never experience pain or loss. It simply means that we are willing to experience pain and loss because we believe that God is powerful enough to redeem our suffering for His good plans. For me at this stage of life, grace and salvation and purpose are tightly bound together. The way God continuously allows me to have purpose and impact in this life can't be separated from God's grace in salvation. They are all connected.
We may tell ourselves that we would never deny Christ. That if push came to shove, we would never cross that line. But do we let ourselves be quieted for Christ. We don't deny him but we don't speak up either. After all, Jesus wants us to get that promotion right? Jesus doesn't want people to think of us as wacko's. So we don't deny Him. We just retreat to a safe place somewhere between belief and action. Of course we promise ourselves that if anyone every breaks into our cocoon of safety we be sure and stand up for Jesus then. The reality is that a life lived that way is completely useless to God. It makes no impact except to reinforce the idea that Christians are really weak and hypocritical. This happens because we want to walk into grace, but we are not willing to experience the grace that is only found when we are willing to faithfully live beyond our capacity.
You have been graced by God. You have talent, value, ability, and influence. Are you willing to push those things to the middle of the table in a real life game of poker, and risk what the world will tell you is most important? Are you willing to live beyond your capacity because you believe that God will grant you favor and bring power into your faith? That is empowering grace. And that is what God wants all of us to experience.
In 2 Timothy 4:6 the apostle Paul says that he is being poured out like a drink offering. I used to think that sounded awful. But now I think it is beautiful. What more could we ask for our life than for it to be used completely up in an offering to God? I hope that you can experience having your life used by God. Not blessed. Used. I hope you can experience empowering grace like Esther did.
Because Grace is and expression of who he is, Grace is also multi-faceted. We normally think of grace in relation to our eternal salvation. However, there are many other ways God shows us favor.
If you have not read the story of Esther you should. If you think you know the story, you should read it again. I bet you will find something new. It's an amazing story. Full of conspiracy, spies, ancient enemies, beautiful women, and not so amazing men. Most of the men are flawed in the story. We see men being lead astray by others who want to make them happy. As a side note: don't surround yourself with people whose goal is to make you happy. These types of people will rarely offer good advice and will consistently mask your weaknesses until it's too late. Surround yourself with people who tell you the truth. The hard truth. And they need to be people who will stick around to help you navigate the chaos that the truth can wreck on your world.
The story of Esther is in many ways a story of grace. Not conventional grace maybe. But God's favor is theme that keeps the story moving. And the central reason the story has a happy ending.
God's grace not only saves, it empowers us. As human beings we have a choice as to how to live our lives. We can be safe. We can be dangerous. We can be safe, except when it's dangerous to be safe or we can be dangerous when it's safe to be dangerous. We have choices. If we choose to make decisions based on our ability to achieve, then any success we have as a result will serve to convince us that we can trust ourselves. This is the formula that most of the world embraces. We feel pretty good when our ability leads to success. The feeling is not so good when it leads to failure. And since we all fail at something this way of walking through life eventually leaves us with a strange mix of power and frailty. We often highlight our power and try to hide our frailty, which actually just makes us weaker and leads to more confusion.
We do have another choice, though. We can choose to act beyond our own capacity. This is called faith. Faith is choosing an action that we know will lead us to a position where we can't control the outcome. When we choose to act in faith beyond our capacity to control the outcome, for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom, we get to experience God's grace. Not God saving us from sin, but God coming through for us. Coming through with us. God empowering us to make a difference that is beyond our capacity to make.
This is the story of Esther.
There are two types of grace on display in the story of Esther, and in our own lives. First we have grace that goes ahead of us. This is the type of grace that saves us from our sins. Jesus has already died. He has already paid the price and set everything up for us to be reunited with God the Father. We simply accept that grace. Esther walked into God's grace that was laid out before her. She was born beautiful, by God's grace. She was orphaned but by God's grace had an influential uncle, Mordecai, that took her in. She was chosen to go to the palace of the King of Persia to be considered to replace the disposed Queen Vashti. She was given favor there by the man in charge of the harem. She was chosen by the King to become the queen. It's a fairy tale type story if we stop right there. Orphaned young girl becomes queen of a vast empire. Too many times we stop there. We walk into the grace that has gone ahead of us, and we get comfortable and we stop. We completely miss the second type of grace that God has for us. But not Esther. She experienced more grace because she was willing to live beyond her capacity.
Despite what her uncle Mordecai said, there is a good chance that Esther could have survived the destruction of the Jewish people. No one even knew she was of Israelite descent. However, I believe that Esther knew that Mordecai was right when he told her that maybe God has put you in this royal position for just this time. You may not be royal. But you have a position. You have influence. Whether that influence is over one person or many. We must ask ourselves are we willing to use our influence, our position, our privilege to make a difference in the lives around us? Esther could have easily sat back and not gotten involved while the Kings right hand man, Haman, destroyed her people. But she didn't. She first tells Mordecai that she can't go see the King because it's against the law. She might die. But she eventually agrees to go before the King uninvited saying "If i die, I die". She knows that as she steps into the King's inner court, she is surrendering control. She is putting herself in a position where God must deliver her or she will die. And she experiences grace. God grants her favor in that moment. Her life is spared and now, having started down this path she continues pressing the issue over the next couple of days until her people have been saved. She acted well beyond her capacity. And her steps of faith were rewarded by God as he empowered her faith to change the fate of her people.
When we act based on our own ability, we learn to trust ourselves. But when we act outside of our own capacity in faith, for the glory of God, something entirely different happens. We learn to trust God. We learn to believe that God honors crazy steps of faith. We learn to expect God to come through for us. This doesn't mean we never experience pain or loss. It simply means that we are willing to experience pain and loss because we believe that God is powerful enough to redeem our suffering for His good plans. For me at this stage of life, grace and salvation and purpose are tightly bound together. The way God continuously allows me to have purpose and impact in this life can't be separated from God's grace in salvation. They are all connected.
We may tell ourselves that we would never deny Christ. That if push came to shove, we would never cross that line. But do we let ourselves be quieted for Christ. We don't deny him but we don't speak up either. After all, Jesus wants us to get that promotion right? Jesus doesn't want people to think of us as wacko's. So we don't deny Him. We just retreat to a safe place somewhere between belief and action. Of course we promise ourselves that if anyone every breaks into our cocoon of safety we be sure and stand up for Jesus then. The reality is that a life lived that way is completely useless to God. It makes no impact except to reinforce the idea that Christians are really weak and hypocritical. This happens because we want to walk into grace, but we are not willing to experience the grace that is only found when we are willing to faithfully live beyond our capacity.
You have been graced by God. You have talent, value, ability, and influence. Are you willing to push those things to the middle of the table in a real life game of poker, and risk what the world will tell you is most important? Are you willing to live beyond your capacity because you believe that God will grant you favor and bring power into your faith? That is empowering grace. And that is what God wants all of us to experience.
In 2 Timothy 4:6 the apostle Paul says that he is being poured out like a drink offering. I used to think that sounded awful. But now I think it is beautiful. What more could we ask for our life than for it to be used completely up in an offering to God? I hope that you can experience having your life used by God. Not blessed. Used. I hope you can experience empowering grace like Esther did.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Winning
Unfortunately, I can't hear the term "winning" and not think of Charlie Sheen. Not because I think he is "winning" but because you couldn't get away from that story a while back.
Have you ever stopped to think that the idea of success is different depending on your culture. For some people it's stability. For some people it is swag. For some people it is making it out, for others it is staying put. The problem is, almost all of the cultural pictures of success, or winning, are busted. They are based in lies and false promises. There is no gold at the end of the fake rainbow that many of us believe we are chasing to a happy ending. If we let culture define success for us we are assured of losing. In fact, the Bible says that in order for us to win, we have to be willing to be seen as losing.
So how do we win? What is success? How can we know if we are on the right path?
There are answers. Come get some of them this Sunday at Miller Park Rec Center at 10:30 AM.
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