Jesus Can Be Messy

Can Jesus really be messy?  Well, over the past several years the Holy Spirit has really opened my mind to a few things about salvation and following Jesus.  Here’s what I’ve learned:  when people come to Jesus, it’s rarely the result of some formulaic result.  I mean, how can you truly try to tame, explain or box-in the Holy Spirit?  How can you truly measure steps to a major  life change?  For a person like me — who likes to be organized and have a plan — unknowns and anomalies can be a bit tricky.

But, think about the New Testament:  There are so many amazing examples of people who receive Salvation, and/ or the Holy Spirit at times that totally defy a formulaic expression.  I mean, a thief receives salvation in an amazing moment of grace; whole families are welcomed into the Kingdom through the cleansing of baptism; the faith of a friend brings healing and salvation to a paralytic; the laying on of hands brings about the indwelling of the Spirit; we even read of Jesus saying “Salvation has come to your house today” to a crooked tax collector, who took repentant actions to give back to the people he robbed and give to the poor. These kinds of things don’t necessarily fit into a nice formula, tract, brochure or denominational stance.  Thankfully, there is a great mystery to God.  It’s wonderful to know that I live for a God who loves me…yet I am totally unable to wrap my mind around His character, love, actions, creativity etc. etc.  Author Donald Miller expresses some related thoughts in his book, “Searching for God Know What.”

Imagine a pamphlet explaining the gospel of Jesus that said something like this:

You are the bride to the Bridegroom, and the Bridegroom is Jesus Christ.  You must eat of His flesh and drink of His blood to know Him, and your union  with Him will make you one, and your oneness with Him will allow you to be identified with Him, His purity allowing God to interact with you, and because of this you will be with Him in eternity, sitting at His side and enjoying His companionship, which will be more fulfilling than an earthly husband or an earthly bride.  All you must do to engage God is be willing to leave everything behind, be willing to walk away from your identity, and embrace joyfully the trials and tribulations, the torture and perhaps martyrdom that will come upon you for being a child of God in a broken world working out its own redemption in empty pursuits.

I love what Miller has to say here because it’s so true.  Coming to Jesus is messy?  Why?  because it’s always a relational thing…not necessarily a cookie cutter, step by step process.  We are the sheep and He is the Shepherd; He is the Father and we are His children.  The only constant in the pursuit of Jesus is…Jesus, His Grace and the result of an act of faith that screams:  “I love this Jesus.  I want to give my life to Him.  I want to live for Him.”

So may you focus on Immanuel — God with us — this Christmas.  Think upon His relational qualities and thank Him for not being able to be defined by human minds and standards.

 

A Part of Something Bigger Than Myself…

It’s been a rough football week for me…

The team I coach lost their first game of the season last week.  My beloved Buckeyes looked confused, slow,  timid and got embarrassed again on the National Stage (boy, isn’t USC the most arrogant football team ever?).  The Browns dropped passes, made mistakes and were unwilling to take chances against the Steelers.  All of these losses affected my mood.  I found myself going to bed angry last night.  Why?  I don’t know…I mean it’s just football.  I don’t play for the Buckeyes…I don’t coach for the Browns…I need to expect that my team of 7 & 8th graders will make mistakes sometimes.  So, what’s the deal?  Well, if I take a step back and really see why I can get so passionate about sports, and sometimes why a loss can affect my mood, what I really see is this:  I want to be a part of something BIG. I love to be on a mission.  I love to have vision.  I love to lead.  I love to be led by visionaries. There is also a part of me that is looking for something to conquer.  At the surface level, this is not a bad thing, but I need to be reminded of something: I am a part of something BIG!

 

An Expensive Purchase

Think of something valuable or expensive that you purchased and now own. For example, a house, some jewelry, a car or that all-important Nintendo Wii How do you treat this possession? I think back to my first “real purchase” as a young adult — a 2000 Plymouth Neon. Man, I was so careful with that car. I would clean it often and make sure the rims looked good. Now, don’t get me wrong, I certainly was NOT any cooler for driving this car. The Neon didn’t get me any more dates, nor did it inspire me to do any “Fast and Furious” stunts with the hoppin’ 4-cylinder.  But I really took care of this car. Why? Well, for me, it was an expensive purchase. I mean I had just graduated college and spent several thousand dollars on this car (with additional help from my parents.) So I took care of it.

Keep that picture in your mind of a valuable possession that you have purchased at some point in your life.

 

God or Gas? (an encouragement to students)

(this is another post from our Jonah Challenge for Middle and High School Students)

Funny title I know, but a good question to ask — especially when it comes to determining if we truly are experiencing a “calling” from God, or just the result of too much Chipotle. The funny thing about Jonah is that he seems like a real baby at times in the story found in the Bible. Yet, God still called him to something…God still had a specific purpose for his life. Check this out:

Jonah 1:1-2

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

God told Jonah to do something. God had an assignment for Jonah. Maybe it was something Jonah FELT deep in his soul? Maybe Jonah actually HEARD God with his own ears? Whatever happened, we know this: God does give specific callings for people. Is God calling you? How can you tell?

Here are a few things to help you out:

 

He Will Do as He Pleases

Below is a video blog I did for our Jonah Challenge — a blog that goes along with our Jonah series we began last week for our Student Ministries. Honestly, this it the first time I’ve ever done a video blog. I know that our students live in a video world and we’ve got to learn how to use these tools for discipleship, community and communication. Check it out by clicking here:

Check out today’s video blog. This goes along with what we talked about yesterday (the sea represents chaos and the abyss. The word “sea” comes from the Hebrew word “Tehom” which means (Hebrew: תְּהוֹם), literally “deep” or “abyss”)

 

When the Storms Grow Calm

Jonah 1:14-16

14 Then they cried to the LORD, “O LORD, please do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, O LORD, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

Wow, there’s some crazy things going on in this story. The sailors realize that Jonah and his disobedience are the reason for the storm. Jonah tells them to throw him overboard and then the storm would stop. So, what do they do? The cry out to the God of Israel — a God that they do not even worship — and ask Him to not hold them accountable for throwing Jonah overboard.

 

The God of the Seas

Jonah 1:4-10

4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.
But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?”

Reading the story of Jonah can teach us so much. Here we see in Jonah chapter 1 that God sent a huge storm right at the run-away prophet. The storm terrifies the sailors. They are afraid that they are going to die. They cry out to their gods…but nothing happens. Then they find Jonah sleeping. So they wake him up and tell him to cry out to his God to see if He will spare their lives. Little do they know that Jonah worshiped the one, true God…the only One who could truly save them. Later, they asked Jonah, “who are you?” Jonah replies, “I worship the LORD — the one true God — the God who created both land and sea.” We read that the sailors were terrified at this response. Why? Because in the ancient Near East, the God who controlled the seas was the most mighty of all. And Jonah basically said, “I worship the God of the seas — the most powerful of all.”

 

What’s True of Him is True of Me?

I have been studying 1 Corinthians chapter 1 the past several days. Chapter 1 shows us Paul’s thanksgiving and challenge for the church in Corinth. It is extremely well written. However, the end of chapter one paints a beautiful picture of Paul’s encouraging heart for the Followers of Jesus in Corinth. Check out 1 Corinthians 1:26-31:

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”