A Nature Like Ours

I have been so encouraged by this phrase in James 5.17:  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours.

Why is that encouraging?  Because if God can (and did!) do great things through Elijah, maybe it wasn't the "nature like ours" that qualified him...or more pointedly, disqualified me.

John the Baptist doubted from a jail cell.  "Is it you or should we be looking for someone else?"  He wondered if he had bet on the wrong horse, been drafted by the wrong team.  He knew the guy named Jesus.  But did he know Him?

Job wanted to die because he felt like he had done it all right and it all gone so wrong.  It would've been better had he not been born.  He couldn't even get compassion from his wife, who apparently wanted Job's life insurance money since she told him just to go ahead and curse God and die.

Jonah wanted to die because God had shown mercy to people that Jonah didn't like and Jonah hadn't grown past 8th grade spiritually and so was still acting like he was in junior high.  The repentance of the Ninevites was more obedient than the squawking of the prophet of God.

A nature like ours.

Like mine.

I can find myself in the situations above.  And God used every one of them.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Why we want to be busy

My friend and all-grown-up college student from college ministry days, Christina Gibson (whom you can follow here), put this fabulous post together.  I asked for her permission to post it.  And it's powerful...

At the top of my pet peeve list is unproductivity.  I hate it when I’m still wearing my pajamas at noon.  I can’t just talk on the phone with a friend, or hang out on hold with AT&T, I have to start a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher or walk the dog with my cell phone taped to my ear.  The real sign that I’d crossed over into hyper-productivity mode was when I asked for a Fit Desk for Christmas.  It’s essentially a stationary bike with an attached desk, so I don’t have to waste time exercising—I can return emails and update my Facebook status with the funniest one-liners I can think of.  It’s not enough to read a book by Thomas Kelly—I have to be biking 40 miles as I’m reading about the contemplative life.

I think I like being busy.  There’s something about it that gives me purpose when I wake up.  I’m important.  I have things to do.  I have people who expect me to be at a certain place at a certain time.  I do hate the over-commitment or the over-involvement.  I hate the stress that comes from promising things I don’t know how I’ll fulfill.  But I’ve found that what I hate more are the snaky questions that come when I’m not busy.  Why don’t I have something to do today?  Why have I accomplished nothing this morning when I could have been solving world hunger?

Almost three months ago, I had a completely different life.  I was in seminary, I had a wonderful job working as a pastoral associate at Baylor University.  I was a Zumba instructor, a bible study teacher and preparing for the adoption of our third daughter.

Then, Brett took a job in Richardson.  Overnight, I was friendless, unemployed, done with my graduate studies and dealing with the loss of a disrupted adoption.  My overflowing plate was now starkly empty.  And I hated it.  I hated the idea that I wasn’t preparing for another baby.  I hated the idea that I had no one to invite over, no people who would miss me if I didn’t show up, no one who knew that I have an uncanny knack for mixing theology and profanity.

I was alone.  And it was annoying.  Worse, I was no longer busy and that meant I wasn’t productive.  I wasn’t making money.  I wasn’t writing books.  I wasn’t counseling people or even teaching them Latin-inspired dance moves.  I was in my pajamas til noon.  The only people I spent time with were 3 and 5 and often whining that they hated the food I’d just made.

I spoke with my dear friend in Austin, navigating similar waters and she said, “I think God might be asking you if its enough just to be with him.”

What if I am in here just to be with God?  Is that enough?

It wasn’t a question I felt the need to answer.  It was a question I needed to sit in.  And by “sit in” I don’t mean ride my Fit Desk while dying my own hair and knitting blankets for poor kids.  I mean the real sitting.  The kind I’d been afraid of.  The kind of sitting where it’s eerily quiet and you recognize that the shadows in the corner are actually your insecurities you’ve tried to avoid.

Silence and solitude are the agreed upon enemies of those who are busy, because solitude calls our schedule into question.  Silence reveals that we wear busyness like it’s a badge of importance.  Silence asks us why we want to be seen as busy.  It exposes our motives—revealing our deep, insatiable thirst to be noticed, loved, and included.  How much of what we do is done to feel better about ourselves?

Silence strips off the wall paper of our desperate attempts to be important.

And the bare walls are shocking.

Who am I if I don’t belong?  Who am I if I don’t even work?  Who am I if I’m not recognized as busy?

Solitude and silence birth the question we’ve tried to suppress.  Finally. Our souls can breathe enough to say what we’re really most afraid of:  Do we matter if no one else thinks we’re amazing or productive or multi-talented?

Rest, quiet and space are lights on the path to discovering our identity as those loved by God.  Until we can sit in the question, we’ll keep running faster and faster out of fear of the answer.

But in solitude, when there is no one to distract, nothing to demand your attention or your leadership, you can stop running.  And hear the shattering truth that you’re just as loved when you build an orphanage as you are when you’re hibernating for all of winter.

And in this place, we finally see that it isn’t God who despises unproductivity—it’s us.  Maybe we have a completely different value system than the Creator.  And maybe that needs to change.  But you can’t change what you value if you don’t stop long enough to remember who you are.  We’ve gone hoarse screaming through our busyness how important we are.  But God never stops reminding a forgetful creation that it really is enough just to be with him.

Sermon Notes from Sunday, 1.13.12

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 1.13.12, the second in the series I'm preaching on Elijah.  You can get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio at sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also get the sermon audio via our podcast on iTunes.

Elijah

Part 2 – When a Prophet Gets the Blues

1 Kings 19.1-8

Elijah’s Struggle

Why?

• He was exhausted physically (18.42, 46)
• He was exhausted emotionally (19.2) 
• He was under spiritual attack 
• He was exhausted spiritually
• When such a powerful event happens, there’s often an accompanying and equally as powerful energy shift

Elijah’s Condition

• He is relationally depleted (v.3)
• He is emotionally depleted (v.4) 
• He is spiritually depleted (v.4) 
• He is physically depleted (v.5)

Elijah’s Hope

When you’re in this place, how do you respond?

• Know you’re not alone.
• Know you’re not abnormal.
• Look to God for help

o   God gives His Presence

o   God gives Provision

o   God gives Purpose – a reason to live

What do you need most?

•  Do you need a long nap?
•  Do you need a good meal? 
• Do you need a reason to get up?

Snakes are Scary: Next Worship Leader

Well...

She's grateful.  I have no idea if she's doing this for show (e.g. Old McDonald) or if she just had a stream of consciousness worship moment.

But I did LOL (quite literally)...

Is it loving to tell someone what they don't want to hear?

I had this conversation with a friend yesterday about this little gem in Mark 10:

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing:  go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heave; and come, follow Me." (v.21)

He said this to the Rich Young Ruler who wanted to be right but wouldn't surrender his possessions.  Was it hard for him to hear Jesus say that?  Obviously yes, because he walked away sorrowful (v.22).  Was it necessary for him to hear Jesus say that?  Obviously yes, because Jesus wasn't blogging about His thought for the day or tweeting pictures of what He had for dinner the night before - every word was intentional.  But in our day of culturally defined tolerance, telling someone the Truth is unloving if somehow they are victimized by it.  But the Truth is still the path of liberty, and so it still needs to be said.

And that leads me to this conclusion:  sometimes the most loving thing Jesus can do for us is tell us what we don't want to hear but desperately need to, even when it's hard, even when it hurts.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Clarity of the Call

And He called to Him the crowd with His disciples and said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me." (Mark 8.34)

The invitation from Jesus to everyone - the crowd and those who had already committed to Him - is to deny self, die to self, and follow Jesus.

Some people think that discipleship is the second step in a relationship with Christ, as if it is reserved for super-believers in Jesus.  Not according to this text (and many more in the NT).

That is the essence of Christianity, not the add-on.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Dateline Craziness and Adoption as Pro-Life

I love the fact that we have adopted our daughter.  Last week, she turned 6 which is crazy.  She chose to go on a trip rather than have a traditional party, which is an option we give all our kids (and it actually works out in our financial favor!).

We came home to a strange story on Dateline.  It was about a fertility clinic that switched embryos of a couple.  The couple who got pregnant had the other couple's baby and carried it to term.  Crazy story.  As you can imagine, it was devastating to the couple who carried and then gave up the baby.

I immediately thought of my Peanut's mom.  What a sacrifice.

The couple who bore and gave up the child wanted so desperately to have a fourth child.  And everything in me did everything I could not to scream at the TV:  "Then go adopt a kid!"  "There are children who need your love!"  "Going with a high-risk pregnancy and high-cost IVF is not the only option!"

Disclaimer:  I have nothing against people who have kids later in life, use their resources to pursue IVF, and who want a biological child.  Nothing at all.  For any who think my e-screams above betray my true feelings, I hope you'll give me the benefit of the doubt.

What I am is a huge fan of adoption.

And so I encourage you to (a) consider it for yourself if your quiver isn't full and (b) encourage others to consider it if their quiver isn't full, no matter their biological capability.

It is the greatest expression of being pro-life.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Really Great. No. REALLY Great.

It was an incredible gathering with the church yesterday morning, particularly when the gathered saints honked off on How Great Thou Art, the hymn of Stuart K. Hine.  And I do mean honked it off - filling up lungs and vocally getting it done.

What I love about that moment, in particular, was the people who were singing it.  Because I know some of their stories, I know how difficult it is to sing How Great Thou Art for some who are struggling with sickness in their body.  I know how hard it is for a few to sing it when they're wondering about their job situations that might change for the worse this week.  I know some have a hard time singing it when their kids are struggling, when their marriages are hurting, when they are saying goodbye this week to those they love.

I point that out to challenge you (and me!) to not let the circumstances we face this week change our perspective on God's character.  He is who He is, no matter what happens this week.

He really is that great.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...

Sermon Notes from Sunday, 1.6.13

Here are the sermon notes from Sunday, 1.6.13, from a sermon about Elijah.  You can get these notes in PDF and the sermon audio on our website sermons.heritagepark.org.  You can also download the audio via our podcast on iTunes.

Elijah

Part 1 – When a Prophet Talks Trash 

1 Kings 18

Trouble

• Ahab was in trouble for his idolatry, though he saw Elijah as the problem (v.17-18)
• The people were in trouble for their idolatry, though they were keeping God around (v.19-21)
• Sinful Spiral: idolatry leads to immorality, which leads to more idolatry.

Answer

• There is no answer for the people’s idolatry (v.21)
• There is an expected answer in the ritual (v.22-24)
• There is no answer from the people’s idol (v.25-29)
• There is a powerful answer from God (v.30-38)

Sacrifice

• It is amazing that fire fell and the sacrifice was consumed
• It is more amazing that when the fire fell, the people were not consumed with the sacrifice
• There was another sacrifice on another hill that led to repentance and the faith-filled confession of His Lordship 

God is good, right?

I brought this up Sunday in the sermon I preached on prayer.  I don't want to beat a proverbial dead horse, but it might be worth considering again.  

Strike that.  

Yes.  

It is worth considering again.

Like me, you've probably been on Facebook or some other social media (this even happens via that old communication chain called email) when someone will light up your screen, news feed, notifications, or some other icon with this kind of declaration:

God is SO good!  He just answered my prayer by doing X!  God is good!  Amen!

First, let me say that I get the sentiment.  I get the idea.  I'm not opposed to either and the comments I make that follow are not regarding the celebration of answered prayer.  The Bible commands us to rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12.15).  Count me in the "I'd rather be rejoicing than griping" camp.  

But...

And you knew there was a but coming...

But, I cringe a little bit.  It's internal.  And writing it here and saying it this past Sunday make it external, I know.  But the cringe isn't directed at the celebration of answered prayer.  It's directed at the theology that maybe-just-maybe underlies the tweets, posts, blogs, or emails of that ilk.

Here's my one (and only one) question:

If God hadn't done X, in your heart would He still be good (or as good)?

What if He had done Y instead?  Would that make Him something else altogether?  Or what if He had done the exact opposite, a 1/X (and yes, my mother was a math teacher)?  Would that mean He would be the inverse of good to match His inverse of X?

Followers of Jesus, one and all, come and hear:  we do not pray so that God will be good or faithful or merciful.  We pray because He is good and faithful and merciful.

But that's just me thinking thoughts...