Miracle...

It's been a while since I've written last. In that time, my father went in for his second open heart surgery as a result of a bacteria that ate his heart valve as a result of him being on immune suppressants as a result of him having a donated kidney as a result of kidney failure that was complicated with cancer, a bad heart valve and two strokes...
Thus has been the journey for him in the last seven years. As for me, my wife will be giving birth to our second son this April as a result of a discussion we had about our family being incomplete and us needing to have another child even though our finances were not in good shape as a result of buying too much house as a result of a bad market as a result of moving across the country to be with family as a result of illness and a desire for our kids to know at least one set of grandparents...
Yesterday I was pushing a broken down motorcycle that I borrowed from my dad during his recovery to save gas. I called to check on how he was doing after the recent death of his dog and to let him know that I was stranded. I found out that their fairly new car had an oil leak, and we both sighed together as he said "I hope the first part of 2012 is no indication of how the rest will go..."
So today I wonder about miracles. I have prayed earnestly for them in the past seven years and feel like the answers have all come in the form of half-fixes that other people have enacted, not God. This has been nagging at me for quite some time now, but this morning as I was praying, a thought came to mind.

Let's look at some miracles in the Bible. Elijah ran faster than chariots and had fire come from heaven to consume a water-soaked sacrifice. Jonah's life was spared because he was swallowed by a whale. Jesus brought sight to the blind, healed the lame, cured the sick and brought people back from the dead, and Jesus himself cheated death. Though the list is much longer than that, all of the miracles seem to be done in ways in which people could not do. What if the same situations happened today? Elijah could have jumped on a Harley and gone faster than a chariot, and Jonah could have worn SCUBA gear. The people Jesus healed could have taken pills or had surgeries to heal them and the ones brought back from the dead may have been saved with a defibrillator... I am not discounting these miracles, only suggesting something about the passage of time and the miracles therein.
This morning I wonder if one of the biggest miracles ever was placed in the human brain at the beginning of creation. I wonder if God, in his omniscient wisdom and unlimited power, smiled as he formed the human brain. I wonder if he said to himself "It will take a million years for them to find even half of the miracles I am putting in here..."
So here's my question. Are prayers answered through the God given wisdom of people lesser miracles, or are they in fact miracles so big, that they display His power to many more people than simply the one who is effected? Could it be that the act of gaining wisdom and knowledge is in and of itself a miracle that is ongoing, to constantly remind us of how much He loves us? Is this why man has a never-ending hunger to learn, and is the act of learning itself a miracle?
This month, let's open our eyes. Let's live in the miracles that have been created through us by the miracle giver. Let's remember to be grateful when we climb into our cars, have a cell phone conversation with a loved one,  use a microwave (miracle invention), or swallow the handful of pills that would normally cause us to grimace with distain. Let's live the month of March in continual gratitude for the miracles we take for granted and for the miracle of a Savior who died for the love of us. It's Easter season - - let's stop being greedy, ungrateful children and start celebrating a love, a miracle, a God, who loves us and wants us to have more than we can ever ask or imagine.

I can do nothing...

Romans 8:26,27
Likewise the Spirt helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, and he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

I can do nothing... this seems like such a negative statement that should create some sense of false humility or send us to the mall to buy black clothes so that we can put on dark eye makeup and sit in a corner acting like we suck. But that's not what we are talking about here. Believing that we are children of the King negates the idea of us being piles of suck, and points us to another truth. As "children" we are needy, but okay with it. My son doesn't have a problem asking me to help wipe his rear or help him put his clothes on. Sometimes he even comes to me crying and having no idea why the tears are flowing except that there is something wrong and that Daddy will know what to do to make it better. It is his role to need and my role to care for his needs and love him.

Romans 8:26 says that we don't even know what to pray for... this sounds like a helpless place, and would be such if it were not for the Spirit. Look at the wording here, "He who searches hearts know what is the mind of the Spirit..." So, while God is searching our hearts, he is also looking at the spirit who is living in our hearts and whose mind exists in our hearts. Here is where the helplessness stops! For believers, the Spirit is already in our hearts, interceding for us and guiding us, because this is what God wants the Spirit to do. So the truth is that we can do nothing that God will see as having any merit in His plan for our lives or this world, apart from the Spirit that lives inside us. Therefore, it is exciting not to know what to pray for! It is awesome to go to God the way my son approaches me, full knowing that something needs to happen, but we are not sure what... and it is okay. I know that I am not living up to what the Bible lays out as guidelines for my life, and every time I try to fix it, I just end up reverting to my old ways. Maybe it is because I am not trusting the Spirit that is living in my heart to reveal to me what my prayers should be. Maybe it is because I am trying to fix what isn't broken or to change what doesn't need changing. Maybe a more honest prayer would be for me to ask for what is on my heart and to also be okay with the idea that I could be praying for the wrong thing. Maybe I need to be going to God from a place where my heart is troubled, but I don't know what to do about it, instead of giving him direction. If the spirit is there already, let him do the work!
This week, make part of your prayer time a statement that you don't know what God needs to do, but all you know is that you need him, and let the spirit do the talking.

who are you?

Jonah 1:9
And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land."

I often find myself praying that God would "Ignite my passions" or "work in my life" or numerous other things that are telling God that I need a change to occur. I don't think these are bad things to ask for, but maybe just a bit ungrateful.
Sometimes my son will be at the dinner table eating whatever we have placed in front of him when my wife or I will unwittingly mention yogurt or ice cream or cookies. Immediately, what is on his plate is no longer satisfactory. He may have been devouring it minutes earlier, but now it will take everything short of a crowbar to jam it into his jaw.
I am that way sometimes. I want God to move in one area or another, but haven't given thought to what he has already done and who I am now. Maybe a better prayer would be for me to thank Him for moving already. To thank him that I am His child - - because as such, it is the nature of a Father to lovingly guide and teach a son or daughter. Could it be that He is already "Igniting my passions" or "working in my life"? If I am His child, this must be so.
This week, try thanking God for moving in your life. Thank Him for being your Father and for sending his spirit to reside in you. Try living as who he has made you to be - - may your actions reflect that as your Father, He is already working, even though it may not be the way you would like it to be.

Sandblasted...

One of the things I enjoy most is rebuilding old bicycles. I love to find bikes that have been neglected, but are still repairable, so I can restore them to their original glimmer. The most time consuming part is preparing the frame and parts for paint. The first step is to remove as much paint as possible with sandpaper, wire brushes etc. Next, it's time to dawn protective goggles, gloves and respirator mask to get ready for sandblasting. This is tough work and dirty work as the granules of sand bounce off the metal at high speed and pelt the one using the blaster in every uncovered area. Through squinted eyes, I still love to watch the sand do it's job, like painting in reverse. It is so satisfying to see the rust, neglect and old paint slowly strip away to expose a surface that can be successfully painted into something beautiful.

We started in the book of Jonah this week and something that Johnathan said really struck me.

"God doesn't expose us to beat us up, but to build us up."

Jonah 1:1-3
Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me. But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

Most people have heard the story of the man who was swallowed by a fish and then vomited up on land- almost seems like something from the "Epic of Gilgamesh" or "The Never Ending Story". But in believing that all scripture is true, we move forward with what God is trying to teach us here.
First, I had never thought about who Jonah was. I didn't realize that he had a proven prophetical track record, and had already responded to God's words. In 2 Kings 14:25, we see him giving prophetic counsel to King Jeroboam II. A man who had worked in the kings court and had successfully given prophetic direction and seen it come to fruition. What this means is that I am not immune to ignoring a directive from God. I am not immune to running from Him. No matter how successful I have been in service to Him in the past, I am not immune to screwing up in the future.
This is humbling and unsettling. But did you ever think that maybe the story of the fish and the man inside was something that God intended to use for Jonah's own good? Is it possible that God knew what Jonah's response would be and for that very reason chose Jonah to send His message to Nineveh?

This is where the sandblasting happens. This is where God strips down all the past successes and failures, removing the rust and old paint, so as to replace it better than it was before. Do I really believe that God doesn't expose me to tear me down? If I truly do, then it is in those times when I feel like I'll never be enough, like all I thought I had going for me is useless, and I am totally out of my element, that he may be sandblasting. It's not fun for Him, and not comfortable for me, but the result is a better rendition of myself in the end. Sometimes the paint is bonded better and takes longer to remove, and sometimes the flakes just fly, but if I can endure, and keep my focus on trusting God while he does what needs to be done, then the end result will be better than I could've ever imagined.

This week, when you are feeling the sting of sand on your skin, and you feel like you are in situations where you are unprepared and exposed, start looking at the places where God is at work, and thank him. Make your focus this week to stay continually in a place of gratitude with God, even when you feel like things are unfair, and see if by the end of the week you aren't in a better place - more prepared to become the person God wants you to be.

A Royal Priesthood...

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day who asked me if I was trying to be clergy... Having not grown up catholic, I didn't really know what to do with the word "clergy" but I figured it was something like pastor, so I said yes. But what does that really mean?

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you our of darkness into his marvelous light.

Don't get messed up in false offense with the whole "chosen race" thing here. It is simply referring to those that God has called (anyone who believes) as a separate people group, all sharing the same beliefs.

According to Peter, all believers are a "Royal Priesthood". So I guess by default, if I have said to Jesus, "My life is no longer mine, but yours because of your work for my sake on the cross..." then I have become a "Royal Priest". That feels weird. So what does this rhetoric really mean?

If Christ is the king, and I am now considered one of his children, then there's the royalty part, but what about the priest part? I don't wear robes and sing melancholy gregorian chant in a building surrounded by varnished wood and stained glass. I don't use words like "Bless you my child..." or "In his great manifold wisdom we honor thee and cherish this holy Septuagint..." In fact, I'm not eve sure what a Septuagint is.

I think the "Royal Priesthood" is simply a statement of who we are. We are royalty. We are in awe of the fact that God (the King) loved us enough to send his Son so that we could personally get to know the KING on an intimate level - - that is huge!! This should incite us to be not only grateful, but telling everyone about it and living in such a way that would honor the King - - there is our Priesthood. A priest simply tells others about Christ - and in the same way, our actions and words will be doing the same if we are living up to who we truly are. We are Royalty. We are priests.

This week - ask yourself if you are living as Royalty - as a child of the King? The priesthood part can only come if you have truly internalized how much you are loved by your God and your king. This is a big deal. If you find yourself worried about what others think of you, and often being swayed because of the things around you, then are you really convinced that you are royalty?

Jesus - why bother...

Last weekend, a big group of us worked on my friend's Sarah's house. Sarah has a loving husband, two kids and  - cancer. It would be cliche to say that she never thought it would happen to her, but there is really no other way to say it. We worked tirelessly in her house and yard to get it ready to be sold. They had to move to Baltimore to be close to her family and undergo treatment. This is the stuff that shakes the ground - the earthquake of an unexpected disease and the idea of mortality. It's like everything takes a shift and is seen through different eyes, as the battle for survival takes the forefront and everything else is tertiary.
Does it really matter that they don't know Jesus.
The pat Christian answer would be "Of course it does, because they have no hope of heaven!" While this may be a true statement, is Jesus really just assurance that things will be okay just in case something happens and you get sick or are involved in some sort of accident? This sounds shallow and made-up to me. Simply a way to get comfort in hard and confusing times. If this is the only reason for following Christ, why bother? Christianity is hard, so if all we are waiting for is the "sweet by and by" then I want out!
1 Peter: 2:2-7
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe...

On Sunday, Fred asked us the question,
"Do we understand the Gospel and what it means for our spiritual growth?"

How basic, but how profound this question actually is. Without a proper understanding of the Gospel, there is really no reason for us to venture forward in this thing called Christianity - after all, it all rides on the idea of the Gospel.

Lets look back at the verse - "like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation..." This verse specifically implies that there is more than just an "after death" case for Christ. We are being told to long for spiritual milk - this is a NOW statement. Then it tells us what this "spiritual milk" will produce (again for the present). We are being "built up" so that we can offer "acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ". Here is the work of the Gospel; that through Christ, we are acceptable to God, a god who will in turn build us up! These are all present-tense statements. This is not just a religion by which we can get some sort of assurance for after we die, this is a purpose for life - a cyclical purpose. Verse 1 says "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." Put away these things (things in our human nature) - long for spiritual milk (a thing from God), so that we can grow, and in growing, bring Glory to the one who enabled us to grow through Jesus Christ. We believe in a God who wants us to be at our best, because when we are at our best, he is most glorified!!
So here's the rub.
Fred asked us:
Are you positioning yourself to grow?
Then, in typical teacher style, he gave us the how-to answers in the form of questions;
Are you creating space for God's word?
Are you creating space for community?
If not, why not?

As the year gets underway, and our time gets taken by our classes and busy schedules, let's make it a point to create space to grow this year. It will only happen if we are intentional about it... remember, we may have to sacrifice in some areas to make room for growth, but we have everything to gain from an all powerful God if we do.

Stones are heavy...

My family and I were vacationing in Maine this past summer and spent a lot of time at tidal beaches where the kids could play. With eleven foot tides, the beach is much different than what I am used to. For half the day, the beaches are wet sand and for the other half, they are covered with up to eleven feet of water. Also interesting, is the various sundry of rocks that cover the ocean floor, and are exposed when the tides are out. Maine is a glacial moraine. This means that toward the end of the Ice Age, much of Maine was covered by glaciers that had traveled southward across Canada. As the glacier melted, it left stones, sand and debris, from throughout the northern part of the globe. Many were worn smooth by glaciation, and all were different colors, shapes and sizes. My dad was an earth-science teacher and loves to "read" the stories in the rocks; where they are from, or how they came to look the way they do.
Of particular interest to me were the rocks that contained a large amount of iron in them. Not only were they rust red in color, but they were much heavier than all the other rocks on the beach.
1 Peter 2:4,5 
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  
We are stones. But I think this verse points out that we are not just the smooth stones that make up the majority of the rocky tidal beaches, we are the stones laden with ore - the heaviest stones. We are "chosen and precious". The older I get, the more I need to remember that I carry more weight in my influence of others. High school students carry weight with middle school and elementary, college students carry weight with high, middle and elementary and even begin to carry weight with those older than themselves, and this trend continues until life ends.
My actions are watched by those who see me as a "heavy stone". My opinions are valued in the same way, and my decisions effect more and more people. While this can be exciting, it is also humbling. My choices, and passions must be kept in check, for the benefit of my own spiritual health, as well as those in my sphere of influence. The stone that is my life continues to have more and more weight on other people - their lives, their decisions etc. Am I using that weight to build others up and serve so that in serving, others may do likewise because of my influence? Or am I piling my weight on others as I stay immature in my faith, and always expect those around me to serve my needs. A child has many needs, but they are also "lighter stones". We no longer have that luxury as we get older.
It is also humbling to know that as our weight increases, so does the burden we are continually stacking onto the cornerstone which is Christ. It is what Jesus has told us to do, and we are right in giving him our stones, but we need to remember the price that he had to pay for us to be able to do so.
Today - remember the weight you carry. Recognize the influence you have and embrace it. New students are moving into the dorms, new freshman are walking onto high school campuses for the first time, and all of them need a place to put some of their weight. Go out of your way to serve them, and just see what happens in your own life as you do.