There are many things in my life where I have been 'stunned by the horror of it all' but nothing more 'appalling' then what Jesus Christ endured on the cross. He was beaten, battered, bruised, mocked, spat upon, humiliated and died in the most excruciating manner possible. Jesus, God in flesh came to us in order to bring us to God and we killed Him! But as I consider the 'horror of it all', its not Jesus on the Cross that is the 'horror of it all', rather its the knowledge that it was my sin that put Him on that cross. Jesus took my place. It should have been me, but He went to do for me what I could not do for myself.
As I am one day away from celebrating the reality that Jesus conquered sin, Satan and death, I am humbled by the truth that unless Jesus died the death He did, I would be without hope of ever having peace with God. "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." (2 Peter 3:18) He died for sin, my sin. Without sin there would be no need for Jesus on a cross, but my rebellion against God caused God to put into motion His plan of redeeming me and a fallen humanity back to Himself. That plan was personal. God entered into His created order so that He could redeem, reconcile and restore the created back to a perfect relationship with the Creator. There was only one man, a God-man who could make that a reality.
What does one say to a God who has done it all? What does one say to a God who has made possible eternal life with Him despite my rebellion against Him? What does one say to a God who driven by love laid down His life so that I might find life? What does one say to a God who endured the 'horror of it all' so that I could enter into the glory of it all?
If you have yet to read through Newsweek's current cover story entitled 'The End of Christian America', I would encourage you to do so. Of all that was said and the discoveries that were made, I was encouraged by the following statement: "While the unaffiliated have historically been concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, the report said, 'this pattern has now changed, and the Northeast emerged in 2008 as the new stronghold of the religiously unidentified.' As Albert Mohler saw it, the historic foundation of America's religious culture was cracking."
Why would I be encouraged by this you may ask? Simple - this is WHY churches need to plant churches that will plant churches. If followers of Jesus Christ (Christians) are going to impact and influence the culture for the gospel, we need to be planting churches where the church sees itself as a missionary to this 'post-Christian culture.' I realize there is debate as to if America is truly 'post-Christian' or not, but the point is simple, there is a NEED to plant churches that will love Jesus and their neighbor!
So thank you Newsweek for doing the research and affirming something that I hope and pray the church will respond to. The church was never meant to escape the world, but we are called to engage the world around as men and women who have been sent. Let us not forget the words of Jesus to his disciple post-resurrection: "As the Father has sent me, I am now sending you." (John 20:21)
To those in the GENESIS community reading these words, God has placed a call on our community to be that church that will not settle for anything but being the very hands and feet of Jesus Christ to this New England culture! Let it be said of us that we did not shrink back from this call, but that we like the Apostle Paul resolved to 'become ALL things to ALL men so that by ALL possible means we might save some.' (1 Corinthians 9:22-23)
Take a few minutes to read through Mark 7. These are just some reflections from that text. To listen to the full message that was preached on this text, go to www.genesisthejourney.com/media - message title ‘He Said What?’
Proverbs 4:23 says this:“Above ALL else, guard your hearts for it is the wellspring of life.”
The condition of our hearts dictates the condition of our lives – your heart is the WELLSPRING!What lives in your heart will reveal itself in how you live!So how do you know what lives in your heart?When you get squeezed, what comes out?When you get tipped over, what comes flowing out of you?
As you read the story of the Mom in Mark 7:24-30, what do her actions reveal about her heart? This mom comes to Jesus in humility (postured at his feet), begging for his help on behalf of someone else and Jesus insults her (calls her a dog) and then seeks to dismiss her!
Jesus is either having an un-christlike moment, or He is making a statement to this mom about His mission.I Love how this woman responds – she is quick, witty, bold, yet humble and she is the only individual to argue w/Jesus and win.Mark 7:28 – "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."
She accepts the priority of Jesus’ mission – meaning she understands that Jesus mission is 1st to the people of Israel, then to the Gentiles.She understands that Israel has preference over the Gentiles.She concedes that the children (Israel) should eat first, but she challenges Jesus to expand His vision that even the dogs (the Gentiles) should get something to eat as well!
She gets it!She does not become embittered by Jesus words!She’s not concerned that someone else has priority over her.AND she does not take NO for an answer!
Jesus was blown away be her response b/c her response revealed what resided in her heart? Question – Anyone ever insulted you?Say something about your personhood?Your character?How did you respond?Humility or fight back defend yourself?Remember, actions reveal the heart!
In this mom’s heart was humility, wisdom, courage, love, and faith!What RESIDES in your HEART will surface in how you react and respond to those around you!
Read the story of the friends that brought their deaf and mute friend to Jesus (Mark 7:31-37).Similar to the story in Mark 2, do you have friends that love you enough to ‘lead you’ to the place you need to go, which might not be the place you want to go?
What was in their hearts is revealed in what they did for their friend.They not only brought him to Jesus, but they ‘Begged’ Jesus to heal him.When’s the last time you begged someone for something on someone else's behalf?Not for you, but for someone else?
What these guys did was revealing of what resided in their hearts:love, humility and compassion.
What RESIDES in your HEART will SURFACE in how you react and respond to the NEEDS of thosearound you!
Now go back and read the story of a group of men whose hearts were at best far from God (Mark 7:1-23)
The Pharisees wanted to know why Jesus and his disciples were not like them – morally pure on the outside – meaning, why didn’t they wash their hands before meal time.
The Pharisees had begun to create a lot of traditions, but the problem with their traditions as with many of ours, is that they were not biblical – they were just man-made!
As you think about your own traditions ask yourself this question:‘Are they shaping you into a person where they really only impact your hands, but never touch your heart?
Jesus responds to the Pharisees by calling them Hypocrites (play actors). What do you do when you realize you’ve become the very thing that you’ve worked so hard to avoid?You that person who said I can’t stand Christians b/c they are so judgmental, selfish and hypocritical but yet what do you do when someone points out to you that you have become that person? Either REPENT of your religiosity, or you can carry on your rituals in order to keep playing the part.
What a tragedy when the WORD of God is ‘let go off’, ‘set aside’ and ‘nullified’ ALL in order to justify a life that’s really all about you and not God! It begs the question of what does God really care about? Exterior performance, or inward moral purity of the heart.We know the answer, but typically live for the former!Why?Its easier to dress ourselves up so we look good to an outside audience, rather then deal with what lies beneath the fancy clothing – SIN!
Jesus message was clear – ‘what goes into you, does not make you unclean, its what comes out of you that makes us impure.Meaning: tThe guy who cut you off is NOT the problem – the issue is the ANGER that resides in your heart that manifests itself in Road Rage. Pornography is not the issue, it’s the LUST in your heart. Gossip & Judging others is not the problem, it’s a heart that’s filled w/pride that says you’re better then everyone that is problem.
‘From out of men's heart comes:evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, folly! Did you notice that ALL of these things impacts our neighbor!The un-holiness of our hearts not only impacts our relationship w/God, but it has a serious impact on those around us!
The reality is ALL of our hearts are inclined towards these things and its only b/c of Jesus that we have a shot at a regenerated heart. How do you get that HEART that is not refurbished, but the heart that is GENUINELY filled with:
Psalm 51:10 – “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” The beauty of this PRAYER is that it acknowledges that God can and will CREATE in us what we cannot CREATE in ourselves.
Remember:what’s in your heart will show up in how you live!
Ask Jesus to create in you a new heart for it will lead you to newness of life!
What do you get when you compose a document with 5,574 words? GENESIS Church! Thanks to 'Wordle' the two most repeated words in the task forces report were 'GENESIS Church.' I praise God for the call that He has placed upon the GENESIS community to become a church in this New England culture that is in such desperate need of a community of people that will Love Jesus, and their neighbor. God's blessings on ALL of us as we step into His call!
P.S. Just thought I would make sure that 'Wordle' was accurate, so I tried it again and it came back with the following image. Pretty cool!
Take a few minutes to read through Mark 6:45-56. These are just some reflections from that text. To listen to the full message that was preached on this text, go to www.genesisthejourney.com/media - message title ‘He Did What?’
Solitude has a way of keeping you focused on what matters most – consider what drove Jesus towards solitude by reading John 6:15 – “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.”
I’ve noticed that the harder you work to get to that space of solitude, the more you’ll value it when your their. ‘He(Jesus) went up on the mountainside (solitude) to pray.'
Why is silence and solitude so difficult? Blasé Pascal once said that “you can trace the SIN of the world back to one thing, man is afraid to sit alone in a room with His God”
Solitude forces us to wrestle with the thought: ‘Am I content w/God, and God alone?’ Will He be enough?
When the wind was hindering the disciples, why didn’t anyone PRAY to rebuke the WIND? I wonder if the reason Jesus waited so long before coming to the disciples on the water was to see if anyone would do what He would of done? Was Jesus thinking, ‘Come on guys, you know what to do, you’ve seen me do it – just try!”
What holds us back from doing what we’ve seen Jesus do? ANSWER: FEAR!
I love that Mark seems to highlight (2x) that Jesus WALKED. He did not run, skip or frolic across the water, HE WALKED – fully confident that He would not sink!
When God comes near, why is our natural response to panic, rather then to have peace?
When God comes near, do we fear that He’s coming to level us, or love us?
When God comes near, do we fear that He’s coming to condemn, rather then to demonstrate just how much He cares?
In the midst of the disciples FEAR – Jesus immediately speaks to them – He does not criticize, but uses His words to comfort them. “Take courage! It is I.Don’t be afraid.”
The reality is that in the presence of Jesus, there is NO need to have fear! Not now, not ever!
Fear causes us to FORGET the activity of God in our lives because our current situation (or problem) seems to cause a sort of spiritual amnesia within us. And when we forget what GOD has done, we error on the side of thinking He’s done nothing! And when we believe that God’s done nothing, our hearts grow hard towards Him!
From the OVERFLOW of a hardened heart comes FEAR.
The main problem with FEAR is not so much what fear causes you to do (panic, scream, freak out), but what FEAR PREVENTS you from doing! TRUSTING JESUS in ALL things!
For those of you who struggle with FEAR, know that this is a condition of the heart, not a condition of your circumstances! The Good News is that God knows how to deal with the human heart. When Divine love is driven into the human heart, ALL fear is driven away! 1 John 4:18 – “perfect love drives out all fear!”s
Jesus is speaking to you – ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’
If I collected a quarter for every time I’ve heard that said to me over the years, it’s a good chance I’d be able to take my bride on her dream vacation by now. I’ve grown accustomed to hearing that said to me from a variety of people I’ve met along the way. I concede that the sandals, ripped jeans, frosted tips, and the minor obsession with the world of MMA is not consistent with the typical pastoral profile, but I’ve never been a huge fan of ‘typical’. It’s no heartbreak for me to hear the surprise in people’s voices when they discover what I do for a living, but it would be tragic if someone said to me ‘You’re a Christian?’ To hear that would mean that my lifestyle is somehow inconsistent with who I claim to be. Meaning, if I claim to be a follower of Jesus, then one should be able to follow the decisions and choices I make on a day to day basis and see a reflection of Jesus not only in ALL I do and say, but in who I am as a person.
So the question I would pose is this: ‘Does the world around you know that you’re a Christian?’ Would one be able to peruse your Facebook profile, observe your entertainment choices, survey your work ethic at your job, listen in on the multiple conversations you have throughout the day, or gaze upon who you are when no one is watching and know that you are a follower of Jesus? A simpler way to put this is – ‘do you stand out, or are you just blending in?’ Jesus stood out! He did not blend! People often think that Jesus only stood out for what He said and what He did, but fail to realize that what set Jesus apart was who He was. His character. His integrity. His purity.
As a follower of Jesus, I am not only commanded to be His hands and feet to the world around me, but to imitate His personhood. On the heels of exhorting Christ followers to have the same attitude of Jesus, the Apostle Paul goes on to say that we are to “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.” (Philippians 2:15) Called to be blameless and pure. In a culture obsessed with beauty, sex and hedonism, who will take a stand to be above reproach (blameless) and holy (pure) in our personhood? Will you? We are called to shine, not blend in with the fading reflection of the world around us. Rather than hearing people say ‘You’re a Christian?’, let the world around us see not only our deeds, but observe our personhood and declare ‘You must be a Christian!’
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