It’s not what you think…

I have trouble being an American sometimes.  I think we can be too self-sufficient and too selfish.  A trip that I made to Haiti at the end of July has made it even harder for me to be comfortable.  I keep thinking about the words of Jesus and looking at my life and going something’s not right here.  One of the scriptures that I’ve looked to recently is the account of a rich young ruler.  Here’s what I see and what I wholeheartedly believe it teaches us.

In Luke 18 (also an account in Matthew and Mark), Jesus encounters a rich guy that wanted to assert himself as deserving of the kingdom of God.  So, he asks Jesus a question about what he needed to do to be saved.  It got down to Jesus telling him to go get rid of all his stuff, give the proceeds to the poor and to follow him (Jesus).   Jesus wanted him to unload all of the deadweight from his life so that he wouldn’t have any trouble being a worthy disciple.

Well, the young man refused to part ways with his stuff.  And as he walked away sad, Jesus turned to his disciples and said, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!  For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." And then, those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"

So, what’s the confusion about here among the listeners?  Well, you’d have to go back to people like Abraham to see.  Abraham was very wealthy.  His son Isaac was very wealthy.  And his sons were also very wealthy.  And, if you follow the history and even the law of the Jews, it seemed that those who found favor with God had great wealth.  And, now Jesus says it is exceedingly difficult to enter the kingdom of God as a rich man.  Why?

It is because God requires our full allegiance.  If we will trust in him for salvation and not our stuff, then we have to take our eyes off our stuff to truly see what he desires for us.  Jesus makes several comments similar to this.  The whole line of conversations about one guy needing to go bury his father or another wanting to go say goodbye to his family; in all of these Jesus is saying that the kingdom has urgency and if you can’t get on board with the urgency of the kingdom then you’re not worthy of me.

Jesus also says that we must pick up our cross and follow him.  That’s right pick up the very tool that was used to kill Jesus and at least one of his disciples and follow him.  The kingdom of God is counter cultural.  Christ calls us to imitate him in denouncing the ways of this world and trusting him with every aspect of our lives which may mean that we lose our lives; as in we may not be popular with the people that like the world; and as in we may literally lose our lives pursuing what he tells us to pursue.

Jesus said lots of hard stuff.  And, it all makes me ask the question… “Have most “Christians” missed the mark of what it means to follow him, to really really follow him?  

Did something change from the Old Testament to the New?  I think so.  If you look at all the patriarchs and their wealth, they served God with it.  And, one of the primary goals of the Old Testament was to establish a nation and to establish a place where God could be worshipped (i.e. the temple.)  And, now both Christ and his followers are the temple of God.  So, it doesn’t take a lot of money to upkeep a body.  So, we give it away to people who are dying with the hope of saving their lives and saving their souls.

God has called us to himself that we would worship him and then he has commissioned us to go tell others about him that they might worship him.   And sometimes it takes us selling all that we have and giving the proceeds to the poor in order to accomplish that.  The gospel aint ya mama’s prosperity gospel.  

Much love!

Identified with Christ (Make much of him, not yourself)

Lately, I've been reading Paul's letter to the Romans (I'm still in Chapter 1).  I've literally been stuck there for a couple of months and, I don't mean that in a bad way...  I had been wanting to study and memorize parts of Romans for a while now, but since I have been reading it this time through, I keep going back to Paul's introduction in the first six or seven verses.

It's the longest of all of Paul's introductions in his letters to the churches.  And, that is largely because it is to a church that he did not have a part in launching nor had he even visited.  But, he longed to visit and he also appears to want to make Rome a new ministry base for his ministry in the "West".  This eventually happens, but not in a way that you, me or Paul would have drawn it up.  It became his base a few years later as he sat their imprisoned; and there he also eventually died.

But, back to the verses and what I believe they say to me the most...  Paul talks about himself for half a verse and even that is pointed to Jesus and Paul's role as his servant.  As Paul gushes on and on about the gospel and how it was foretold for hundreds and thousands of years by the prophets; and about Jesus and how he's the Son of David and the Son of God; and God's grace towards us via apostleship and the establishment of his kingdom, I lose sight of Paul himself as a man.

As for me; I find my identity in Christ, but if I some days I do find my identity in being a 6 foot 4 inch 240 pound black dude; in being an engineer, in working for the "power company", in being Kimberly's husband, in being Caleb's dad,  in being Jessie's youngest son; in some sort of political allegiance; in a social club; in the house I own; or the car I drive...   You get the picture!  Christ follower, identify with your savior before you identify with anything else.

The gospel is being watered down with the lives we live that are about us, our desires, and our dreams.  Churches have become social clubs and sermons have become about having your best life now and reaching our personal goals.  Instead, we should all pursue what Paul speaks of a little further into Romans Chapter 1...  He was obligated both to Greeks and Barbarians to preach the gospel to them.  Make it your aim to preach the gospel of Jesus' life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and his return.  That's worth living for... When we make much of him; and less of ourselves, our lives then have the most value, they'll ever have.

Much love!!

Two Houses (Be sure you have a good foundation)

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” - Matthew 7:21-27

So, Jesus has talked about roads and trees and now he breaks out telling talking about houses and foundations. But, just before that he‘s telling people they can’t enter a kingdom called heaven unless he knows who they are. And, he renounces them as workers of lawlessness. It’s remarkable to me that Jesus is calling out people that seem to think or maybe even KNOW that they are in good standing with him. He refers to a group of people that call to him maybe even crying out to him saying Lord Lord and he says of that group of people that not all of them will enter the kingdom. He goes on to say that some will even say that they did great works on his behalf (but they won’t necessarily get in). That’s remarkable for this reason; it seems that we make it a lot easier to get to heaven than Jesus does. We’ve taken God’s Amazing Grace and cheapened it such that anybody that labels themselves as a Christian or even just a good person goes to heaven. To paraphrase a statement from a book that I read recently, it is as though we have made heaven the default position when a person dies. But, it seems to me that Jesus is saying quite the opposite. It appears that he’s painting a picture that we’re all bound to spend eternity in a desperate state unless we are given his approval – approval that changes the default from hell.

Getting down to the foundations… Jesus encourages us not to be hearers of his word only but doers. In fact, he sets a clear distinction between those that hear his words and don’t change their actions versus those that do what he says. Jesus is putting the finishing touch on his sermon. I can hear him preparing his closing as he leads us through the progression 1) If you choose the right road, 2) you will bear fruit like a good tree AND 3) you will build your house like a wise man. And, he essentially says that the wise man’s house will last forever. That’s it! Make the right choice. Live the right life (only by God’s grace). And, you’ll have a house that lasts forever, eternal in the heavens. But, if you make the wrong choice (of paths that is) then you’ll be the tree that bears diseased and rotten fruit yielding a life that leads to a house that is destroyed when the true test of houses comes. Jesus is making it ultimate that a storm will come. The rain will fall, and the floods will prevail. Will your house stand the storm?

You see one day, the end will come. We only have one life to live and then the judgment. That bothers me. It bothers me enough that I have to “test [myself] to see whether I am in the faith” because in the end folks, I simply don’t want to be lost. And, if I am lost, as my grandma would say, it’s nobody’s fault but mine. I want to spend eternity celebrating God’s presence and I want you to be there with me.
Much love (and with many tears)!

Two Trees - Which life will you live?

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."

So, it would seem like the easy part is over, right? We make a decision for Christ. And, I would not say that the decision was totally ours -- but I’m not going Calvin versus Arminius on you. What does it look like when a life is yielded to God? Here in the next set of verses after Jesus charges his listeners to enter at the straight gate, and to walk on the narrow path, he turns to a warning about false prophets. Thank you Jesus that you warn us about false prophets. We should always be aware that there are many that are not preaching what is true about God. And, there are also some that are preaching a gospel, but they aren’t living the true gospel.

But, halt (as Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!”), before we go off on a tirade about bad preachers and other “church folk”, what does YOUR life look like? Or mine for that matter? In the fall of 2008, I sat through a sermon series that knocked me for a loop. The title of the series was “Radical: What the Gospel Demands”. And, it was essentially a knock in the head that said we are indeed saved by grace alone through faith alone, but our lives after coming to faith must look radically different. In other words, at that moment we no longer live for ourselves. And, I know this all sounds familiar, but looking at the words of Jesus and saying let’s take him at face value is a lot different than most of us are taught. We MUST live lives that are yielded completely to God and that meet the requirements that Jesus lays out. What do these requirement look like? Well, first we are living lives that are not indulgent. The way you spend your money and your time are barometers that show your spiritual condition. Secondly, we must obey the primary command of Jesus Christ to his followers to teach other people what it means to worship God and baptize them making disciples to the end of the earth. And, as we do that, we care for the poor and those that are on their way to hell with an urgency that shows in our lifestyle. So, in the end there is a change on the inside that is reflected strongly on the outside. In essence I heard and believe that a life that pursues achieving our dreams (even the American dream) more than it pursues living out the Jesus commands (being led and sustained by the Spirit of course) is probably not truly bearing fruit for God.

So, what this has done to my life is to cause me to look inward. It has caused me to literally wrestle with whether or not my life lines up with God’s word. In other words, is the fruit that I am bearing good or bad? And, in the places where my life doesn’t look like God’s word, am I willing to yield to God, repent, and be obedient? And, quite honestly, I have been rebellious in some areas. I have gone through periods of refusing to pray. I have gone through periods of questioning my salvation as result of my disobedience. I have been so wrapped up in trying to figure out where I stand in light of all that I see in God’s word for myself. And, I think this challenge is good, because it is causing me to look at my fruit. Am I a diseased tree that today deserves to be thrown into the fire? Or am I a good tree bearing fruit. We will recognize false prophets by their fruit. We must also recognize whether or not WE as individuals have truly been regenerated (i.e. born again, born of water and Spirit, whether we are bearing fruit in keeping with repentance). Look at your tree and determine what kind of life are you living. Is it one that brings glory to God because God is inside of you helping to glorify him? If not, join me in praying for God to reveal it to you. And, then respond accordingly!!

So, in closing this entry, I know I will probably get some flack for saying that I question my salvation (and suggesting that you question yours) but, I think it is okay and healthy for all of us to question our salvation sometimes. Paul said in one place that we should “work out our salvation with fear and trembling”. And, he also said in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that we should “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” Because on the flip side, I would say it is a dangerous thing to walk in presumption. Being confident in your faith is one thing, but I think many have cheapened grace down to a prayer card form the first grade when they first said they believed in Jesus. And since that time, many have lived as they desire, not choosing to bear fruit, good fruit. Choose life, my friends!

Much love!!

Two Roads (There are really only two choices.)

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.”

This is Jesus’ way of starting to close out his sermon. He has several impossible commands such as loving your enemies, doing good to those that hate you, not putting your good deeds on display that others may love you. And, his purpose in all of it was really mounting an impossible list of to-dos to show that the work that his Father wants from is to believe in the Son. That’s it. That’s how you’ll overcome the world, is by believing in the Son.

My take on this specific command from Jesus that we “Enter through the narrow gate (or straight gate as the translation may read) is that there are two choices that we have. There is one choice to make but only two options. If we are to enter God’s kingdom, the way is narrow and small. There isn’t a lot of room for error. Or the alternative is a broad path that is wide and very roomy.

Hearing this recently mixed with some other things made me think. The broad way includes options like all out rebellion against God. It also includes the proud attitude that “I am really okay because I am a good person.” It also includes the option to say that I am a Christian when there has been no change in your heart. But, to contrast these three options (and there may be more, but these are clear) there is a narrow road and small gate that leads to righteousness – that is right standing before God.

And, as I alluded to in the introduction entry to this series, I’m wrestling mentally, emotionally, and willfully to know whether I am dancing and silly little dance in this wide street or if I am crawling and scratching and moving cautiously in the narrow way. I think if we are to know that we know – or at least for me that is – we must wrestle. In the same way that Jacob wrestled with God until he changed his name, we must wrestle with the truths of God’s word to know that our names are changed and written in his book because in the last day, I don’t want to be found to have made the wrong choice.

20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
        she raises her voice in the public squares;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
        in the gateways of the city she makes her speech:
22 "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?
        How long will mockers delight in mockery
        and fools hate knowledge?
23 If you had responded to my rebuke,
        I would have poured out my heart to you
        and made my thoughts known to you.
24 But since you rejected me when I called
       and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
25 since you ignored all my advice
       and would not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh at your disaster;
       I will mock when calamity overtakes you-
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
       when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
       when distress and trouble overwhelm you. – Proverbs 1:20-27

In dealing with a child that came to stay with us recently, one night when we were against the wire of a deadline. I laid out two choices for him. I offered him an opportunity to do his reading assignment or lose a privilege AND stay up until he read. In his words, he said, “I choose neither.” What followed was a rather short discussion where I said, that is not an option and if you persist in saying that you choose neither (which is not one of your options), the removal of privilege is the default AND we will sit here until you read. And so it is with us by not choosing, we really are choosing to take the broad path. So my friends, I encourage both you and me to choose life, seek life, and cry out to God because he will not deny us. But we must make our choice before it is too late. Remember “only a few will find it.”

Almost forgot!!  (mUcH lUv mY frIeNds!!)

Two Roads. Two Trees. Two Houses. (Two Choices. Two lives to live. Two Rewards.)

Introduction

I’ve wanted to write a series on this blog. Here’s why. I keep complaining that I have complex thoughts, but I keep throwing out softballs that can be handled in a page or so (maybe even three paragraphs when the truth is, I don’t think in three to five paragraph intervals). Long running thoughts are really closer to three to five year intervals before they are actually resolved. And I think this topic is my best shot at getting something out there that is not nerve wracking (to you that is) yet serious enough to cover in a series. I’m thinking Intro, 3 main parts and a conclusion of it all is what we’ve got in store.

I’ve mentioned before that our church is participating in something called the Radical Experiment. As part of that, we are doing a few things that are intended to point our lives toward living for the glory of God by seeking to “make disciples of all nations”. Part of this experiment is to read through the entire word in a year. Accompanying this reading are several things, one of which is a sermon based on the text (or some portion thereof) that was read during a given week. So recently, a pastor from our church preached on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew Chapters 5-7). The best part about this sermon is that it brought the text from these chapters together in a way that I had never seen it. With the division of chapters that have been ascribed in the bible, it’s not always evident how things really were intended. It would be like having me write a paper and then having you come along and reassign the paragraph divisions. It could make for some confusion on what the point is or was.

As I listened, I learned that there were three major sections to this sermon that Jesus preached. He had an introduction (that we call the beatitudes). He had a main point as seen in Matthew 5:17-20 (that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees and scribes). And, he had a time where he described the expected response or goal. And, that (the response) is the basis of this set of blog entries that I’m introducing tonight. Jesus tells us as he’s preparing to close his sermon that there are two roads. He then proposes that there are two kinds of trees. And, lastly, he says there are two ways to lay the foundation of a house.

I do not intend to regurgitate a sermon that I heard, but in keeping with the intent of the “random Jarvis thoughts” blog’s purpose, I will extend to you my thoughts on what he said and the thoughts that I had beyond what he said. And, in keeping with the reality of this blog, I must tell you that sometimes I hear things through the complexity of what I am experiencing. And, I have been engaged in a mental battle for about two years about what it means to be a “follower of Jesus Christ”. And, the reason that battle exists is because I think it can be missed. We can hear what someone else tells us it means to be a Christian, but it really is something you must know for yourself. And, you must know that you know without being presumptuous. Presuming on God will only get you killed. And for no extra cost, I’ll throw out God will allow us to roll along presumptuously if we refuse to acknowledge that he must reveal to us the way of truth… See 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12

Jesus and Morning Care

Like an episode out of "Kids say the Darndest things", as I was riding to work one morning, I had to take a 12 year old friend to school near our house.  I was later than normal because my schedule was changed for that morning.  He asked me a question that I found very interesting. 
    
    He said, "Why aren't you taking me to morning care?"  [Just to give you a little background, "morning care" is a period before school begins where one of the teachers stays with the students that are dropped off super early...6:30 AM ]
     So I responded happily, "We have a different schedule this morning."
     But he whined, "But, I love morning care and I don't want to miss!!"
     So, with a smirk, I asked him why morning care was so important just because I was in one of those moods to have a good debate.  He didn't really give an adequate response.  So, I continued, "Tell me then, do you love Jesus?"
    He responded, "Yes!"
    This was getting good now!  I said, "Well, who do you love most morning care or Jesus?"
    And, now it gets gooder and more interesting because responded that he loved them both the same.  Just when you think you're making a breakthrough, the breakthrough falls through.

The conversation went on mostly with me trying to convince him that as a follower of Christ we must love Jesus above all else.  In comparison to our love for Jesus we must almost hate everything and everybody else.  But, the conversation made me wonder about my own life.  Sure, I'm smart enough to say that I love Jesus supremely.  I'm not a universalist, ya know.  But, in the expression of the way I live, there are things that compete for the adoration that only Jesus deserves. 

Family can be one of those things.  I love Kimberly and Caleb and "my momanem" but I know I must be careful that my love for them is Christ's love and not an idolatrous one.  Work can sometimes be one of those obsessive things as well.  It is easy to look at my job as being the source of my supply, but it isn't my source because it is God who gives me the ability to get wealth.  There again, I must enjoy my work but love the one who gave the ability.  And, I know the list could go on, but I won't persist.  So, what's your morning care?

Much love!!

Is man inherently good or inherently bad?

Here's a post without a lot of fanfare or opinion.  When answering the question of whether man is inhrently good or inherently bad, Jarvis Wright takes the side of scripture that we are all desperately evil and unable to do anything about it.  The more I look inwardly and the more I look around,  the more I look to the following verses for what we are like... 

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.  -- Genesis 6:5-8

Here we see three elements 1)that after the fall of mankind, we are inhrently evil and continually bent on doing wrong and 2)that God is holy and hates sin, and 3)that God is gracious and compassionate toward whom he chooses.  Our only chance is that we would experience the grace of God.  I pray that God is gracious to you and makes his face to shine on you.   Let us turn from our sin, trust him for our salvation, and tell the world. 

Much love!!

Are we the crazy ones?

Better yet, am I the crazy one?

Okay, I don’t shy away from the fact that I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And, I consider myself to be a follower. There’s lots of ways that people describe that. Some say that they are “saved”, “born again”, “a Christian” and there are many other ways to categorize the fact that you’ve trusted in Christ for your salvation. Now the tough part is that there are many world religions all with rather different purposes and different gods. And, today we live in a world where everyone has a voice and right to be heard for who they are and what they believe in. And, there are many in this era that would say of the many world religions and the many gods that there are several “paths” to God. But, with Christianity, it is not so. Those whose hearts are being molded by the savior, Jesus, know that he is the only way to God.  There is no convincing them otherwise.

So, the question I have is this, are those of us who claim to follow Christ (and not only follow him, those of us who claim to follow him correctly), are we the crazy ones?  Lots of people reject Christ out-rightly by saying they don’t believe him. Others reject him though they say they follow him, there is no fruit in their lives to say that they do follow him; because their lives look an awful lot like the lives of those in the world. (See 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 to know why this is rejection). And still others claim to follow him but mainstream Christians reject them because they say they are not following right. Examples include Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, SDAs and others. So again, are we the crazy ones?  And even beyond that people from other religions say that he's a prophet or a good man but not "the" Son of the "the" only true and living God.  But, I believe in absolutes. So somebody in this world is right and someone is wrong.

C.S. Lewis made the following quote about Jesus:

A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.

So here I am.  I am following this Jesus guy as best I can in a corrupt culture and I am really starting to take him at face value when he says stuff like “love your enemies” or “you can’t serve God and money”. But, I really wonder some days if I’m the crazy one. So as you think about the quote above and you wonder if Jesus is lunatic. Whatever category you place him in, you’ve got to move me there too. If he’s the Son of God then he has and is making me a son of God. And, if he’s a lunatic, then label me in the same way. Just know I’m probably still evaluating too!

Much love!

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, Huh?! Say that again!

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism – Not my words… It’s a phrase that I’ve been running across in recent months though. And, it is what most teenagers and young adults in America think about God. Breaking it down, it means the following: 1) Deism – there is a God who made the world and is out there somewhere. 2) Moralistic – All I’ve got to do is be a relatively good person and I deserve the best out of this life and I will go to heaven when I die. 3) When I need God, he should be there to attend to my needs. What I’ve just described is a sad reality if that’s what the young of our society gather about God.

In contrast, here’s what I believe about those three points. God, is the creator of earth and all that is in it. But, he has been intimately involved with his creation since the day he made it. He seeks to be glorified by his creation and he personally made the way of our salvation that we would glorify him with our lives. Secondly, as moral as we can be, outside of accepting the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we are all destined for a terrible end – eternal separation from God – in the form of hell. And, the reasoning behind that is, at our 'moralest', we are still haters of God and rebels that deserve to die because of our rebellion.  And, as for being there when I need him, he is never far from any of us, but that is not his chief aim in the world. Again, God is the creator, he is the one to be worship and adored – not us.

So, the point I’d like to make here is that we must know more about our God – the true and living God. It is important that Christians know what they believe and be able to articulate it. Beyond being able to articulate it, we must articulate it. And, I think in so doing, just by looking into what it is to be a follower of Christ, some of us might find that we haven’t been following him at all. And, in that case, there is an urgent matter of knowing that you know him because without him, we are destined to perish.

Much love!