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Scandalized by the Cross –Saved through Christ.

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21Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:21-24 (NLT)

The cross is the central symbol of Christianity. And its really a bit of scandal! We preach that Christ was crucified. We proclaim that God has done something extraordinary for humanity and it involved the most despicable and cursed of objects. It involved the most beloved One, Jesus Christ, coming from the communion of God and passing through a womb and entering the halls of humanity’s history, so we could see for a moment what is our true destiny.

Now we see Christ crucified, God on a cross accomplishing the love and justice of God so we can know and enjoy Him forever.

What wisdom is there in the cross? Wouldn’t faith be better served with a sign from heaven? Wouldn’t faith be better served with a something less weak and scandalous?

“But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Fight Club–The conflictual nature of belonging to Jesus. Authentic Stewardship, Part 3.

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14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. 17Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  Romans 12:14-21

The fight.
We are going to talk about it.

To follow Jesus is to land firmly and fully in a conflict. And yes, it is between good and evil. The battlefield that matters most is in your heart, mind and soul. For from inside of you, you will be called on to love with “the love genuine.” The Gospel is doing its work and you are a participant in your sanctification. (See Romans 12:1-3)

Your mettle will be tested by those who contend against the firmness of your stand with Jesus. They may not even know what they are doing! Paul would write to the Ephesian church that this battle is not against flesh and blood, but against  “the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) People are really not THE enemy. Yet their compliance with evil and our own compliance with evil must be confronted.

Every command of love-in-motion confronts. 

Paul begins this battle-aware list of commands by echoing the words of Jesus. Every command confronts. “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Please go back and read the passage again with this question in mind “How are we going to engage with people in the highs and lows of life?”

Every command urgently requires us to seek the Spirit of God for the deconstructing and constructing work of the Gospel in our lives. Truly its only our fears and the fears of others that disable and negate the creative impulse to overcome evil by doing good.

Do good. Mobilize the stuff of earth.

Why, you may ask is this part of a discussion on authentic stewardship? Because doing good goes beyond words. Doing good requires the requisition of resources and their thoughtful and generous application to business, to governance, to art and culture, to the judicial system, and to community and city infrastructures. Those intent on doing this for the common good and not just for personal gain will always find the conflict. Christians are Jesus’ stewards. We move forward with personal responsibility towards Him for what has been entrusted to us. We are to steward with the posture of genuine love, not acting, but loving with integrity to Jesus. When we miss the mark, we miss it royally!

Spontaneous Worship!
Jesus is the Lord of Heaven and Earth! He comes to us from the communion of God, and the humble ground of the stable, and the refuge of Egypt, and the shores of Galilee, and the halls of Jerusalem’s justice, and the Cross of the cursed, and the tomb of the dead, in order to reign as Lord of all. Having  ascended to Heaven He has given us His Spirit to establish His temple in our very body and in His Church. Glory to God! Let our love be genuine.

Daily refreshment under the mighty hand of God. Authentic Ministry, Part 2

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3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.”  John 13:3-11

Peter was watching Jesus. He saw him get up, take off his outer garments, prepare the water, and then begin washing feet. If it had been at the door. If it had been the lowliest servant. Peter probably would not have minded. He would have welcomed the moment his feet were cleansed. But now to receive this service from his Rabbi, his master, his Lord was too humiliating. Peter refused Jesus.

But Jesus makes it clear. “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Its a harsh answer that clearly pains Peter. So Peter goes all in, “Then, give me a bath!”

Jesus raises the conversation from feet to hearts. The person who has  received Jesus as Lord for the forgiveness of sin is cleansed; such a person only requires refreshment and relief from the daily press of life in a broken world. Yet, it is essential. Summoned into the communion of God, followers of Jesus  need daily refreshment from Him. We need the Holy Spirit to renew us daily for the life and work of Jesus’ kingdom. Peter had to humble himself in order to receive from Jesus.

Later Peter would express what its like to humble yourself under the hand of God as a person in a ministry community. Peter wanted the church to know what’s required in our hearts in order to receive from God. “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7

Will you reframe what’s its like to be “under the mighty hand of God?” Can  you imagine being still, being quiet, being real, being honest before Jesus Christ our Lord as He washes your feet?”

The truth about me & the truth about God. Authentic Worship, Part 3

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19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” John 4:19-26

A Serious Question

Jesus affirms the seriousness of the Samaritan woman’s question even though she is deflecting attention from her soul condition. She brings up the worship wars regarding the geography of worship: Jerusalem or the high places of Samaria. But Jesus highlights a new reality emerging from the Jews: the Messiah has ushered in the age of true worship in which worshippers will worship God in spirit and truth.

Two Truths

First there is the truth about God. Jesus is The Truth and brings people into the Kingdom of God through His messianic work on the cross. He gives His people the Spirit of God and brings them into genuine communion with God. Later Jesus would say, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” John clarifies for the reader: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” See John 7:37-39

Second there is the truth about us. The Gospel almost simultaneously brings us into the reality of our sin and the reality of God’s grace. It may seem outrageous that we can regularly confess our neediness for God’s grace for the forgiveness of sin! But when we do confess we also then set our faith on him again for the grace to obey. That’s what happens in authentic worship. The Spirit of God gives us a new spirit and a new heart with a new “want to” for God. In the disciplines of worship, privately and corporately, the Holy Spirit renews our “want to” by showing us the glory of who Jesus is and the reality of His love for us. I’m not sure the Samaritan woman was yet sure of the incredible worth and place of utmost supremacy she would grant to Jesus, but I believe she was on the way.

Authentic Worship

As some of you know, the worship wars continue and likely will as we have have generational preferences and styles. However, authentic worship is not about how lively or calm the music; nor how dramatic the lights or the preaching. Authentic worship has to do with how engaged we are with truth and the Spirit in response to Jesus and the news of His Gospel. Even in our broken world, authentic worship is possible as we are lead by the Spirit to meet Jesus and delight in the Father’s great love for us.

“The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

Awkward! This strange man knows me too. Authentic Worship, Part 2

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13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  John 4:13-20

To worship in truth is to enter into the truth about God and ourselves. The Samaritan woman likely came for water at Jacob’s well in the heat of the day because too many people in the village knew her story. Surely it was uncomfortable always being treated as an outsider by her own people.  Now this strange man knows the truth about her too.

It was uncomfortable. It was awkward.

Authentic worship before the living, seeing, God will have its moments of discomfort. Conviction of sin and the reality of our brokenness flowing from our independence from God provokes the ancient patters of hiding. So she changes the subject… anything to get the piercing eye of truth off of her. Ironically, she changes the topic to worship.

Just like us.

Watch for it. We can create a little space or we can totally avoid God by raising a debatable matter when the truth is out. But, unless we let the Spirit of God pierce our shiny self-justifying armour we will not enter into the depths of Jesus’ liberating Gospel: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

The discomfort could be the precursor to His joy in your heart.