I’m Not Ok With Christians Using Jesus As A Band-Aid

I heard this sermon several months ago, it was amazing. I just found some notes about it in my bible. It was amazing because it was a whole different style not only for the guy preaching, but for the church where it was at. The preacher didn’t get the response I think he wanted, and afterwards I said it was a tough crowd because in 12 + years in this church I have never heard a sermon like that. Here’s my notes:

The question is: What are you not ok with?

I wrote:

I’m not ok with christians using Jesus as a band-aid: When their cut heals they rip Him off and throw him in the trash until they cut themselves again.

I’m not ok with christians not knowing why they are christians.

I better stop, before I say too much, I’m feeling feisty.

So what is it you’re not ok with?

The Story of Redemption // part 3

Where does this leave our story?
If it’s all about redemption, then how does this story affect us, today, in real time.

I have to believe that Jesus is not only interested in the redemption of our spiritual souls, but in our physical lives too.

Redemption isn’t just for the next life, it’s for the now.

He wants to heel us from bad relationships, crushed hearts, and addictions. Redemption isn’t about accepting Christ just you can say “now I’m covered, and I can go back to my business”. Redemption is the ongoing story of mankind, it’s not bits and piece or certain portions, it’s life as a whole.

We all have things in our life that we need Jesus to redeem. Our communication to our spouse, our relationships with our kids, Our life long struggle with alcohol, or pornography, or prescription drugs. Even the messiest places of our souls need redeemed. The way we view our self worth, The anger and indifference we feel towards other people, the way we view different racial groups, The words that come out of our mouths, Our social anxiety’s, our lies.

Our lives are about how we take what God gives us, and what we do with it. Do we spend our lives moaning and groaning about how every things not perfect, or do we do our best to sort out our junk, to put the piece back together. Do you even know that what Jesus did on the cross was about more than just a ticket to heaven, it was the power for you to live this life the way he intended.

If the bible is about redemption it means I don’t have to be perfect, I’m not a finished product, I’m a work in progress.

So it’s ok if I have problems, and don’t have everything worked out.

It’s ok if I have broken ares in my life, I don’t have to walk around with my head down feeling guilty because I don’t measure up. I don’t have to feel like I’m not good enough anymore.

But Jesus is saving me as we speak. My soul is changing all the time, to look more like my creators, to feel more like my saviors.

New Post at reChurched // rethinking faith

The Launch part 2 // rethinking faith

The Story of Redemption // part 2

Jesus spends time with the social outcast of his society, the Tax collects, the poor, the lepers.

In Matthew 8:1-4 Jesus Heals a leper

In Jesus’ time people who had a disease were physically unclean and so were considered also to be spiritually unclean. Being unclean meant they could not participate in prayers or make sacrifices in the temple.

In our time it likes telling someone with cancer that their not aloud to pray or go to church.
People assumed back then that having a disease like leprosy was an outward punishment for a terrible inward sin. Since leprosy shows in the skin, lepers could not hide their illness from the community, so they were shunned and forced to live out side the city, because other people were afraid they could catch their disease from them.

That’s why the night Jesus was born is so important. The angels appeared to the Shepard’s in the field, because they worked with sheep they were considered unclean, and had to stay outside the city. The announcement of a Saviour didn’t come to the rich, or powerful, but the outcast.

In Matthew 8 there is a short, beautifully deep, story about a leper and Jesus. Jesus just got done with the sermon on the mount, and as he’s coming down the mountain a man comes up to him and says “ Lord, if you are willing you can make me clean”. Jesus then touches the man and, heals him, and tells him to tell no one but to go to the priest and show them.

For four verse, there is an entire system on display here. Hundreds of years of background story that go untold to our generation, but to those who were there, it all made sense. If all this was about is Jesus healing a man, then it’s beautiful. But why take 4 verse to tell us another story about a man being healed? Unless, it’s not just about that,

what if it’s really about redemption?

What does that mean for this man?

What does it mean for those people who witnessed it?

And why would Jesus want the priest to see this man?

What does this have to do with me?

To be a leper meant you’ve lost everything you loved, your job, your family, your friends, you’ve become isolated. and the only physical human touch you would feel for the rest of your life could only come from another leper. Leprosy was incurable at this time. So when Jesus heals this man, he not only gives him his health back but his whole life. He can go back in the city, back to his house, back to his job, and back in the temple. Jesus has redeemed this man’s Life.
For the crowds that were watching, This would be one of those events you remember for the rest of your life. The fact that this leper even talked to Jesus was amazing because under the levitical law the only thing a leper could say when he came in contact with another person was “Unclean, Unclean” while they covered their mouths.

The fact that Jesus touched him was amazing because no one would touch a leper, not even their loved ones. and the fact that Jesus healed him was amazing, because I can only think of two people mentioned in the old testament that were healed of leprosy. But then we have to deal with Jesus saying “don’t tell anyone”, uh didn’t a whole crowd just see this, and honestly if you had a death sentence like leprosy and a man healed you, could you shut up about it?

This just proves that Jesus is way smarter then we are. What would happen if a man healed from leprosy showed his body to the same priest that banished him? Theirs a whole routine the priest has to do when a leper becomes clean, I imagine the priest has to go get the training manual for this one, because none of the priest alive had ever done the cleansing ceremony before. The very fact that man had been healed should of been enough proof for the priest that the Messiah was walking among them.

The Story of Redemption // part 1

The story of the gospel is a story about redemption. Man was created, man became broken, Man falls away from God, Jesus was born, Jesus became broken, Jesus provides a way back to God.

Our first introduction to God is when we meet him in Genesis 1:1,

creating

It goes on to tell a story about a God who creates a beautiful environment, blue skies, green grass, clean air, fresh waster.
yet somehow God doesn’t seem to be impressed with his creation, the way say you and I would be after we create something and just stand back and marvel at our creative whit.

Then it says in verse 26
“God made man in his image”. You have to understand we are not an after thought of creation, we are the crown jewel, we are his greatest workmanship. Because we are created in his image, which I was always taught that had to mean God somehow looked like us physically. And if the question was brought up again, it was nicely ignored as if a fifth grader can’t possible understand the real explanation of the verse. When in fact the Sunday school teachers didn’t know either, because there was no note about it in the lesson plan.

I believe created in his image is a reference to the ability to create. We are the only creatures that God gave the creative gene too.

We are the only creatures that admire beauty, the only ones to stop and watch the sun set, to gasp at the sight of colors and shapes.

We are the only creatures who have the ability to make our lives better by creating tools, and systems, and work-flows. Man was created so God could hand off the “creative baton”, saying “ I’ve made everything your ever need, now it’s your turn, go create, build, cultivate”.

I think there is a large portion of God that enjoys watching what his kids create. We create on a lower case “c” level, where God is a upper case “C” creator. For example there are creations that only God holds the copy right too, like oxygen, natural resources, cells, atoms, etc… Man can not create trees, man can use trees to create houses.

So with all the power and authority that God gave us, it didn’t take long for us to out whit ourselves into thinking that we didn’t need God at all. I don’t know about you, but if I’m picking kick ball teams, I want the guy on my team who created all the animals, not the guy who only named them.

But yet man had made his decision and if it wasn’t for Adam and eve it would of been the next “Joe”, and if it wasn’t him it would of been me, because like it or not man is scared to be successful, and we are just waiting for the right time to throw a monkey wrench into the gears, so we can stand there and looked shocked, point our fingers and say “ it wasn’t my fault, it was hers” the way Adam did with eve.

And now we are left with a strained relationship with God, the way relationships in a family get strained over issues like, who’s in charge of the living will, who makes the medical decisions, and who gets the money. We are left hurt, broken, and afraid to trust.

The problem is we have this natural ability to creature, yet the one thing our souls crave, a relationship with our creator, we can’t seem to get our hands around. Maybe that’s why we as humans have created everything else, to fill the hole of the one thing we can’t. But our situation leaves God with a choice, he can either let us “go to hell in a hand basket” or he can intervene. The interesting thing about redemption is it means to restore the honor, worth, or reputation of something. So it implies that before man sinned we had honor, worth, and good reputations with God, we were righteous. Redemption is also about setting something free, rescuing or to ransom something. But the object being rescued is only worth what is being risked to rescue it. Man kind is held captive by sin and the ransom for redemption was the death of Christ. So our valve comes from what it is that redeemed us.

It’s not just man that God wants to redeem it’s everything that God gave man to have dominion over. Everything man has his hands in is tainted, nothing escapes the consequences of sin.

You can read anywhere about the Global fish shortage, You can read about the decline in bird populations because of West Nile and Bird Flu, or about all the endangered species in the world, not to mention issues like Ocean Pollution, Global Warming, and that Natural disasters are on the rise.

As humans we have been giving the Midas touch, everything we touch, becomes infected with sin.

God wants to restore all of his creation to beauty. If you take Genesis and Revelation out of the bible, we are left with our story.

Humankind in search of redemption. we are in motion as we speech. The story of the church is to provide a haven for people to find that redemption. It’s not just a “save them, and let them go” mentality. Because God is a big “C” creator, he can provide redemption on a eternal level, but because man is made in his image, we have the ability to create redemption on a small “c” level. that’s why Jesus says in the gospels who ever helps the poor , has helped me. That’s why Jesus says the greatest commandments are Love God, but then to love others. in loving others we create a small “c” form of redemption. When we feed the poor, clothe the homeless, when we give of ourselves, we are in fact presenting redemption to the lost.

It’s about people, their stories and their journey. If you have a church without stories, you have no gospel there. When the church helps a man recover from his addiction, they have given him redemption, when a church saves a marriage, they have given a family redemption, when the church steps in and walks along side someone in a dark place in life, there is redemption. If we don’t tell our story, then the world will tell it’s. One night of watching the news and you can sum up the state of the world, and who’s story is being told the loudest.

Church Where You Least Expect It

I have to out right apologize…. I was wrong

There’s this group of ladies from a local church that call them selves “Seeds & Deeds”. They basically have a passion for gardening. The whole point of the group is to, “pray and plant” as I heard them say. Well they had offered to fix up my flower beds, which is a pile of dirt, so anything would make it look better. At first I was kind of put off, I get they want to do something nice for people, but I’m already a Christian, I don’t go to their church, and it’s not like I’m physically unable to work on my own house. So I had told my wife that I was uncomfortable with these ladies doing something nice for us, because I just don’t see the point in it. Of course my wife being right said “Your wrong, I want them to do it”.

So they came over last Tuesday, the day Emery had surgery and we were at the hospital all day. When I got home I noticed a ton of cars in my drive way, so many cars on the street I had to park across the street and two houses down. My first thought was I really hope there aren’t a bunch of people at my house waiting for me to get home and talk about the surgery, I just didn’t have the energy. As I walked up to my house I could see the flower beds and I remembered these ladies were coming over tonight. Here’s where I’m wrong, the sight of those flowers almost took my breath away, and I almost cried. Here I had just spent all day at the hospital waiting for my son to get out of surgery, so consumed with only him, all the while a group of ladies saw it fit to show me and my wife God’s love for no reason other than to bless us. It was a reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your soul is let someone else help you. So thank you ladies. In fact the highest compliment I can give is this:

I had church at my house Tuesday night,

but there was no praise and worship,

and there was no sermon,

just a group of ladies sharing the gospel.

 

( there is a before and after photos below)

 

If There Is A Hell On Earth I Am Convinced It’s In A Cubicle.

…I imagine this large office building that’s 10 miles long and a thousand stories high. Filled with row after row of tan, beige, and brown cubicles. It’s a place with poor over head lighting, dirty stained carpet that’s starting to pull away from the floor, and bad coffee, the kind that taste more like dirty water. It’s a place where they are more concerned with what your not allowed to do, instead of what your job is. You know, no talking, you can’t use your cell phone, no chewing gum, you have to stay seated at your desk all day, and don’t even think about smiling. A place where the work is so thrilling you have established a routine 3 o’ clock nap…

I’ve been struggling with work, every since I started having an office job. Feeling guilty about not doing enough, not doing my best, being distracted, zoning out. So I force myself to buckle down, get focused, and stay on track. I repeat this routine every 30 minutes. Because a “good employee” works all day, and accomplish a lot. So I try, to be better, and work harder, and all it does it make me disappointed.

I was not created to work in a cubicle, when I examine who I am at my core, I am creative in nature. I creative an insane number of ideas, things that never even make it to my blog. So do I spend my life doing the “right thing”and the “safe thing”, working in a cubicle getting a pay check, or at some point do I owe it to myself to pursue who God intended for my to be. I have always felt that my greatest strength and ability is the way I think. Doesn’t there have to be a reason for that?

The problem with cubicles is that it’s not about ideas, it’s about how much you can produce, and how fast you do it. And the reward system forces you to become someone who doesn’t dream, to become less human, and more like a machine.

What would happen if I pursued who God made me to be?

 

Would I create more opportunities for myself?

 

What would that look like for my family?

 

How would it change who I am?

Prayer For Emery

Tomorrow is the big day for Emery, He’s having surgery for his Chiari. I’ll probably take a week off from posting stuff here, but I will update his site Emery Updates.

I’ll post some pics after the surgery, they will be graphic so you may not want to see them. Regardless, any prayers for safety and a healthy recovery are welcomed.

My Art

Don’t Let a 6 Year Old Tell a Joke

Sometimes I need someone to remind me not to be so serious, relax, enjoy life. Usually that responsibility falls to one of my kids doing something so silly you can’t help but smile even when your mad. So last night Jack wanted to rough house and I wasn’t in the mood, so I said no, he said ” oh, I’ve got this really funny joke, do you want to hear it” again I said no. Luckly that word means nothing to Jack. so he preceeds in telling his joke.

Why did the poop cross the road …… (wait for it) ……. to get inside your butt.

An instant classic

This is what you have to look forward too.