The Good Stranger (Neighbor)

I like most of Jesus' teachings and stories ("parables" for you sticklers).
I like the story of the lost sheep and prodigal son. Story of people with logs in their eyes trying to get saw dust out of someone else's. I like the lessons learned in hugging lepers and rubbing mud spit in someone's eye to heal it. Jesus was a great visual and experiential teacher.
BUT
There are a few I have trouble with, such as the parable of the Good Neighbor (Luke 10).
The story goes like this. . . kinda.

An American soldier was walking through the rough part of town, on the wrong side of the tracks, which ever side that is. He got beat up, mugged, and left for dead between two dumpsters.
A public elected official walking by, saw the man laying there and quickly moved on, leaving him because he had an important meeting to attend. He said he would call someone when he got back to the office.
A short time later a Pastor and Elder, on their way from lunch, passed by the man, and quickly hurried on thinking the miscreants might still be around and didn't want to end up in the same shape. They decided the best thing to do is pray for him at tomorrow nights prayer meeting.
Finally, a young Muslim man came by, saw the man between the dumpsters and stopped. He slid the soldier out, took off his t-shirt and quickly made a bandage on his head and other places that needed attention. He then picked the soldier up onto his shoulder and carried him 4 blocks to the Emergency room.
At the hospital, the hurt man didn't have a wallet or ID, so the Muslim man put his credit card on file to cover the medical needs of the hurt soldiers. He then came back the next day to check on his recovery, and each day after that until the man went home.  

Then Jesus asks, "Which of those people showed love to the hurt man?" 

You know the answer, right? The third one.one that stopped to help. The one who got his hands dirty, interrupted his day.

So I have to ask myself. Do I walk by hurting people? I know first aid, CPR, emergency preparedness. But, I don't encounter many mugged people.

Or could those be spiritually hurting people?
Could they be spiritually beat up and left for dead?
Could they be eternally dead and I just walk by choosing to only pray for them or get on to something else?

I think the same thing about another teaching of Jesus. (Matthew 25:31-46)
He told them:

• I was hungry and you didn't feed me. 
• I was thirsty and you didn't give me water. 
• I was a stranger and you didn't welcome me.
• I was naked and you didn't cloth me.
• I was in prison and you didn't visit me. 

Is this a list of physical activities the church is suppose to do? In other words, if you do these things, then Jesus will invite you into his kingdom and there will be celebration. Or if we don't do them we will we be thrown into darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. I don't think it is that, because we are saved by grace through the resurrection of Jesus, not works.

Could this be a  list of spiritual concern?

• I was spiritual malnourished and you didn't give the Words of Life.
• I was thirsty for righteousness and you didn't give the Living Water.
• I was a stranger to them and you didn't introduce us.
• I was naked and in shame, you didn't tell about the robes of righteousness.
• I was imprisoned by sin and waiting death, and you didn't release me with the free gift of salvation.

A regular neighbor would do the first list pretty easily; water, food, cloths, etc.

A spiritual neighbor would do the second. To see the spiritual beating people take, the darkness they live in. To understand the shame and fear, the nakedness of the soul. 

These beaten and spiritually mugged neighbors all around us need a Good Neighbor to show the love of Jesus. The Life of Jesus. The Grace of Jesus. The take-the-time-and-don't-give-up-on-me-of Jesus. 

This is my on-going struggle with the church being in the world but not of the world. How do we live these teachings out if we isolate ourselves from the hurting world? We have to have time away from it, of course. We have to have time and opportunity to dig into the world, get spiritually trained and built up. To get our skills sharpened apart from the distractions of everyday life. (read into that be together as the church, for edification, education, correcting, rebuking, worshiping Jesus.)

This is my struggle with Boy Scouts. Do I stay because kids and leaders are spiritually beat up and left for dead? Do we stay and try to feed little bites of the Words of Life? Give a taste of the Living water in their canteen? Help them see there is a uniform of righteousness and armor of faith? That wilderness surviving isn't near as important as spiritual thriving?

By leaving BSA, am I just walking by and onto something else easier? Am I just praying for them, but still leaving them to their own devices?

How do I be a Good Neighbor?

Possible Ramifications of the Supreme Court Decision on Homosexual Marriage

I've been thinking about the new homosexual marriage law handed down by the supreme court for a long time (knowing how our supreme court would rule). This is an especially close matter of concern, due to being a minister of the gospel and having the "privilege" to conduct the ceremony that unites a man and woman in the covenant of matrimony. 

I try to think down the natural progression of decisions, especially since I have made so many bad ones, and a lot of consequences came to mind. Some will begin now, others will be years down the road, but will point to this decision as the turning point.

1. Homosexual/ lesbian sexuality will now become mandatory discussions in sexual education in school. Sodomy and oral sex will be discussed in greater detail as "healthy and normal". 
2. Homosexual activities and interactions will be greatly increased in tv shows and movies with a younger rating attached.
3. Homosexual couples will gradually be more open in public.
4. Lawsuits against churches and religious organizations will sky rocket for "equal treatment".
5. The Church will further split between denominations and a greater divide will open, leading to less fellowship and cooperation between "progressive" and "conservative" interpretations.
6. Churches will spend lots of money protecting themselves and therefore have less to do ministry and less to help for others.
6b. Churches will loose their tax exempt status because they are willfully disobeying the law, therefore have less money to do ministry and help.
6c. People will be told they cannot be helped due to the tax and extra legal insurance, thus society will become less favorable toward the churches "responsibility to help the poor".
7. The Church will experience a "weeding" of people which may result in less attendance and activity.
7b. The Church will grow stronger in unity and devotion to God's word, a revival will occur. 
8. Fewer ministers will perform legal marriage ceremonies where they sign a state legal document/certificate of marriage.
9. Those who hold to the Word of God as authoritative will (are) called hate-filled, hypocritical, unloving, and will be heavily ostracized by the vocal of society.
10. The Church will continue and the Word of God will stand forever.

Through all of this, our number one concern as the church is to point people vertically to Jesus Christ. To hold out the Gospel as the Words of Life. To call people to repentance. Make sure we have our crap together so we are not a hinderance to the Gospel of Jesus. 

"Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life..." Philippians 2:14-15

Until His return, may you be bold and courageous in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. 

My 5 Favorite "Books" of the Bible ;-)

I was thinking the other day, "what are some things I have heard good christian people say that may or may not come from the Bible." You know the statements I'm talking about. You may be in a fairly heavy conversation and they might give a one-liner piece of advice that sounds pretty good at first. Something like, "God helps those who help themselves first" as justification for people taking action on a thought or decision. It sounds good, but what book of the Bible is that from?

Here are some of those quotes so you can mark them in your Bible and have them ready the next time someone asks for advice or help in an especially tough time. 


The Book of Assumptions 

• "God helps those who help themselves."
• "God will never give you more than you can bear."
• "This too shall pass."
• "This is my cross to bear." (In reference to trying to quit caffeine or dealing with stupid people.)
• WWJD?

Book of Annihilations 

• "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
• "What goes around comes around."
• "Our insurance won't allow it."
• "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
• "God just needed an extra special angel, so he took . . . "

1st Opinions

• "Pride goes before the fall." (This is definitely true, especially if you have ever watched a YouTube "fails" compilation
• "The Order of Service is as follows . . . "
• Thou shalt sing the "Doxology" upon the return of the offering plates.
• When communion in not on the Lord's Table, a giant King James Bible opened to the 23rd Psalm should be placed there.

2nd Opinions

• ". . . all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
• Y.O.L.O.!!
• Robert's Rules of Order
• There is an Aaamarcan and Christian flag on the stage.

Letter to the Hypocritians 

• "To thine own self be true."
• "Do unto others as to get the most you can."
• "I love Jesus, but I do drink a little bit."
• "The ends justify the means."

Scroll of the Socialonians 

• "Love the sinner, hate the sin."
• "Treat others the way they want to be treated."
• "Jesus was for social justice and equality."
•  "No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”

I know I don't have all of the writings of the "Good Book" here, because there seems to be a few translations that may not have them all. Maybe you know a few other ones from some of these books. Or maybe you know the other books. 

Let me also say, not all of these are bad quotes, or even unbiblical in idea. Just having fun. Some of the quotes above are from Fredreick Neitzche, Eleanor Roosevelt, William Shakespeare, Aesop, and many others throughout history, including Bubba down the holler. 

On a series note. 

We do have to be careful of making somethings "scripture" when it is not scripture. Jesus said he is the "TRUTH" and life. That out of him only comes truth. His Word can be trusted because it came from God the Father. We also have to remember that the Holy Bible is inerrant as given by God. The Bible is not Opinion for us to decide to agree with or not. It isn't an assumption because it's the best we can come up with based on what we know. The Bible isn't about how to get the most out of this life and others. It isn't even about how to live with people, although a lot of it has to do with social interaction. 

The Bible is really about God. Who he is. How he works. What he thinks and says. The ways he loves us and wants to interact with us. Yes, the Bible says a lot about interacting with our fellow man, but ALWAYS in the context of either how God is acting toward us or how we are to act toward God. I try to love my neighbor because God loves my neighbor and me. I try to sacrificially love my wife because God sacrificially loves her and me. I try to train up my children in the way they should go because God is trying to train me up in the way I should go. 

At the very CORE of the Bible is God interacting with man. At the very heart of that Core is Jesus. Holding out the truth. Gently encouraging us to come to him and find peace. That he is the way to eternal life. He is the light we see everything by. Jesus is the Shepherd who leads us to what is needed. Christ is the resurrection and life, the first to raise from the dead, proving he has the power to raise us from the dead. 

Let's enjoy this crazy life in the light of Jesus. Then he will shed light on what is really sin and the redemption that follows. He will teach us the path of righteousness instead of the road to destruction. He will judge us from the throne of grace and not the toilet of public opinion. 

As believers, lets make sure we speak the TRUTH with GRACE, just as Jesus did.

Still being shaped by His grace, 
Mitch


(For those of you still looking through the Table of Contents for these books, they are right after "Abominations" and before "Democratians" and "Letter of the Republicians") 

One Way to Have Good Understandable Notes

Through this discussion I am using the example of preaching. What I have learned though, applies to all kinds of projects, notes, speeches, preaching, or just getting ideas down on paper. So enjoy my process. I didn't, until the end.

I have tried preaching for a number of years. I do not get a lot of opportunities to preach probably because I'm not good at it.
I love studying the Bible and what was going on in history around the events of the Bible.
I love learning how things were done in the times of the Bible accounts of History as opposed to what we think in our western mind.
I love figuring out what God would have me do with what I learn, or apply it to my life. (Which in reality isn't that difficult, God is pretty clear on most things.)
I love figuring out what is cultural, what is a suggestion and what is a "mandate" from God. (This is mostly so I can play Devil's advocate with people who are hard nosed on non-salvation issues.)

I love compiling these things in my mind and thinking over them, meditating for you churchie peoples.

I do not love writing a sermon.

I feel like it is writing a paper for school or work. I feel life it's pre-programming me to stand up in front of people to be different that I really am. I am purposefully acting outside my character and personality.

I went to Bible college and had excellent men teach me the art and science of preaching. I still use those study notes and format to get myself thinking and processing and compiling in an orderly manner. Thank you Dr. Enyart for your homiletical handbook. The writing of the sermon, that is where I fail myself,and I think God.

What have I taken to the pulpit with me, you may ask. I have tried a full manuscript sermon. Everything is written out word for word. I ended up reading it with my head down, even though I knew it inside and out. I have tried an extremely simple outline, but I would get distracted and not know what I was doing and have to take a second to figure it out. That is embarrassing and does not bring glory to God. I have tried a "heavy" outline, that is somewhere between the two. I have done fairly well, but still get confused or lost, and have a hard time doing it.

I used to drive my wife nuts. When I take notes in a class or church, I draw a lot of my notes. I try not to let people see it, so they don't think I'm just doodling. They are not specific notes. I don't put much detail. I use an ink pen and what I have is what I have. The process does not allow for detail. Key words, images, quotes, and scripture are included in the drawing in one form or another. I spend less time thinking about what the preacher said, thus missing what is said next. I do seem to retain more of the picture, important things.

Along came Paul.

Paul is the Associate Minister at Cornerstone. We were both writing sermons one week and discussing our process. We both hated our outlines and preaching notes. He made mention of a guy that draws his sermon notes. I didn't think too much about it at the time, but the idea stuck, and swirled around until I could see the pictures on the page. After all we think in images. It's completely natural. This sent me to the greatest authority I have at my disposal, Google.

I found a whole world of Sketch-takers.(See how I replaced "notes" with "sketch", oh yeah.)

There is a group called the SketchnoteArmy.com/blog .  Their benevolent holy man and prophet is Mike Rodhe (http://rohdesign.com/) who wrote books called the Sketchnote handbook and Sketchnote workbook. These seem fun and you may have seen Mike Rodhe's commercials on TV, though I forget what they are at the moment. Check them out. (You can get me one of those books for Christmas.)

This got me to thinking. If I like to take notes by drawing. If I think in pictures. If I like drawing. If these other people are doing this, then maybe I can too. So I took my sermon notes and started thinking of them as a Big Picture Diagram.

What I came up with is more like a story board. I printed a comic book page layout I thought would work for me. I put really important notes in red. I wrote scripture stuff in green. I think I used orange and a couple other colors for fun.  I really had to think about what was in the Bible, in order to draw it, and then to describe or make it usable. Again, I kept them simple. I'm not that good of an illustrator, so simple is good.

  

    

So here is what I came up with . This is a sermon on the Apostle Andrew. I was terrified to preach with this method. But the words of the great Yoda returned to me, "Do or Do Not. There is NO TRY." So I went with it.

I was surprised. I didn't get lost in my sermon and scratch the top of my head while I figured it out. I made better eye contact. I told the stories better. I didn't have to think about putting words together, because I just had a BIG word or picture to bounce from. I also believe it made me think of the sermon as something alive. Something that has motion and activity and feelings. It made events take place in time and space, because I had to think about where, when, who, how things were happening in order to draw them. I got all of that from a stick figure with his hands raised standing in the water. I don't know if my sermon was any better, but I seemed to present it better.

Why is this important. I have waited 36 years for someone to tell this is ok. So, if you think this way, IT IS OK. Let yourself draw your notes. I'm not talking about doodling and zoning out. I'm talking about staying engaged and interacting when your brain wants to repel off a cliff, so you can bike down the mountain. If this works for your kid, get them a good mole skin blank paged journal and colored Sharpie pens. If you have to preach or present, try it. Nobody is going to know unless you show them. It may just help you get more out of your topic.

Set your active brain into motion on a direction with a Good Understandable Notes.

JESUS SUFFERED WHAT?!? REALLY?!?

I studied through most of the book of Hebrews this past summer. I've really enjoyed it and learned a lot about it and I have a new appreciation of Jesus being one hundred percent God and one hundred percent man. I don't get it, but it makes him cooler than any other God, so there.

It is also easy to see that Jesus is BETTER than everything else. Even better than butterscotch, coffee, or nocturnal horizontal fellowship. 

I came to a phrase I had heard, but always brushed it off and limited to the one place we see Jesus suffering, on the Mount of Olives praying before his arrest and crucifixion.

Hebrews 2:18 says "For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Ok, not a big deal. Satan tried to tempt Jesus three ways covering the basic three sins all others are built on, right. That's how we limit this and make it out to be a simple matter for Jesus. He didn't really suffer all those times. 

But if you keep reading you come to Hebrews chapter 4. (You get that, it comes after 2 somewhere)

Hebrews 4:15 says. “We do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who was tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin.”

Jesus was tempted in EVERY WAY? You mean he was tempted to steal? He was tempted to kill someone? He was tempted to engage a woman in a "biblical way"? Hold on a second. That can't be right. If we follow this on out we have to say he was tempted to lie. He was tempted to gluttony. He was tempted to have relations with things no one should have relations with.

And then to say he SUFFERED in Temptation. 

I looked at this over and over and thought this canʼt really mean Jesus actually suffered when he was tempted in all of these ways.

So I read a few commentaries and study notes. They all pointed to the same idea. Jesus suffered when he was tempted. The text is plain. That is what it says. "Jesus suffered when he was tempted." Jesus was "tempted in every way." This means is wasn't just at the crucifixion. All temptations. They didn't explain it any further than that. Probably because the Bible doesn't explain it any further than that.

So I put on my holy imagination generator cap and tried to wrap my brain around this idea.

1.Jesus is fully God.

2.Jesus is fully man. 

3.Being a man means he would feel the same physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual experience  as anyone else would. 

4. Being fully God means he would feel the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual experience of everything to the absolute fullest degree. He would have the unbridled ability to experience anything at its highest pinnacle of exstacy without physical limitations or concern. This would be for both good and bad stuff. 

We have to remember a few things about temptation. Temptations are natural and all around us, they present themselves to us and we decide whether to take the next step. We decide to engage or flee. We choose to examine it further or consider it. Temptations lead to sins only when we engage it. Some things are harder to resist. 

Jesus knew the effect and experience he could have. Jesus knew it would be extreme to say the least. To chose not to experience something that amazing, for me and every other living human, would be a struggle. Jesus passed by it without sinning. If he had experienced those sin things, he would have sinned as well, thus not being perfect, and unable to die for our sin. 

Jesus had this knowledge. He understands it when we struggle with temptation. He might have struggled more than we can. He understands the powerful pull of temptation. 

What are temptations that we deal with today. Go ahead and name them off?

The good news does not end there with the fact Jesus was tempted. The next verse in Hebrews 4 says,

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in out time of need.” 

He does not leave us alone in out temptations. He offers us grace and mercy before the temptation. He helps keep us from suffering in sin, when we let him.

That is a GOOD God. 

IN something

Being IN something is always important to us. When we are little kids we want to be "IN a club", so we make them up. We say things like, "I'm IN a band". "I'm IN scouts." "I'm IN A.A." or maybe "I'm IN a relationship." We may say, "I'm IN trouble." "I'm IN debt." Being IN something is kinda important to us as people. We are social beings in search of our identity and someway in which to relay that identity. Lots of the groups we are in even have uniforms or at least T-shirts, so people can see what we are in.  Usually these things take a lot of work to remain IN. If we don't put effort into our girlfriend or husband we may no longer be IN a relationship. If we don't put hours of practice into an instrument, then we will no longer be IN a band and they will get a new kazoo player. If we don't put effort, accountability, and determination into A.A. then we will continue abusing alcohol.

Here lately I have tried to put a lot of effort IN being a Christian. I have tried to make myself feel sorry for sin. I have tried to make myself get up and pray. I have beat myself up over not being good enough, a "fake", and a lazy good-for-nothing jerk when it came to loving Christ. That all gets pretty exhausting and makes for a grumpy Christian.

I read about a nun from the 1500's named Teresa of Avila. She seemed to have the same problems I have at time. She finally got to the point that she stopped praying because she felt too wretched and evil to do something as intimate as prayer.

In Bible college I was taught this amazing Bible reading fact. If something is repeated over and over and over, it might be important, so pay attention to it. (I know, pretty profound, huh.) This happened recently in the Letter to the Ephesians in the Bible by the Apostle Paul. I started noticing a repetition. The words "IN CHRIST" or "IN HIM" just jumped off the page and kinda smacked me upside the head. Here are just a few things that Paul says happens when we are "IN Christ".

Chapter 1
v1 we are saints
v1 we are faithful because of it
v3 we have every spiritual blessing because of it
v4 we are chosen
v5 we are adopted
v6 we are freely given his glorious grace
v7 we have redemption
v9 we will know the mystery of his will
v11 we are chosen and it is God's plan
v12 we have hope
v13 we are included, saved, and marked with the Holy Spirit
v23 we are filled with his fullness

Chapter 2
v7 he will show the incomparable riches of his grace and kindness
v10 we are God's workmanship, created to do good works
v13 we have been brought near to God
v22 "you too are being built together (all believers) to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

There is much more in the Ephesians and the New Testament about being "IN Christ". In fact I did a quick search and found "in Christ" 145 times in the New Testament. This doesn't even count when Jesus said phrases that include "IN me" or Paul said, "IN him" or other variations. So here is something that hit me. The fact that we are "IN CHRIST", might be more important, and powerful, than being "IN myself". That's what it really boils down to, my attitude and thoughts about myself. It's "IN me". What I am doing, what I am reading, and how I am acting. This whole being a Christian may not really be based on how we feel, how we see ourselves, how good we are at the disciplines, or even how wretched or evil we might really be. I think when we do this, we make ourselves out to be God; we think God doesn't really know what he's talking about, or that God can't really do all those things in us.

So from what I gather the Christian life might be easier and much better if I turn this over and live it "IN CHRIST" instead of "IN Mitch". I allow God to do the work in me that he apparently already has planned and predestined me to do. I let God do the saving and the giving of grace and incomparable riches. I allow his Spirit to bring me near to God and adopt me as his kid.

So I guess we need to get into the mindset of "I'm IN Christ" more than in anything else.

Take a pencil, ink pen, crayon, and as you are reading through your Bible mark the "IN Christ" passages along with the blessing or benefit of being there. This is going to become a practice I'm really going to get IN to, and I haven't seen the t-shirt yet.

Remember to Forget

We live in a culture that is always reminding us to do something. My kids are good at this. "Dad, you said we could get Ice cream next time." "Dad, you said we could go hiking when it warms up." "Dad, you said you would take over the world and give me Europe with all it's pretty castles." (Sometimes timing is the hard part for completing what kids want to do, but world domination is still be on the list.) My dad is very forgetful and says he has "part-timers" a younger version of Alzheimer's (which he pronounces "Alls-timers". He's not making fun of it at all, that just how it sounds with his accent.) My wife, Katie, says I have the same thing Dad has. There is also an inner ear problem for both of us, we aren't paying attention to what's going in there. 

BUT, there are a lot of things I can't seem to forget.

We, as humans have the problem that we forget things we should remember, and remember things we should forget. It’s not a new problem. It started in the Garden of Eden when Eve forgot what God actually said, and the serpent twisted God’s words against her. Then the Israelites were accused of “Forgetting God’s Law, word, commands, covenant” which caused God to have to act against them. Even today we forget songs, what our mom told us to do, details of a story. We as humans are in constant need of reminders. Sometimes we even forget to celebrate. We forget our anniversary or wife birthday.  To truly remember the way God remembers, we have to make ourselves do something very difficult. We have to Remember to Forget. 

We do have to remember to FORGET OUR SINS. Forgetting our sins is sometimes one of the most difficult things to do. Between our own sinfulness and ability to remember things we don’t want to, and Satan, called “the accuser of the brothers”, our past sins can pop up in our minds at any time. But we have to remind ourselves that, “If I’ve repented of this sin, it is no longer counted against me.” John wrote 1 John 1:9 “ that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us.” Did you get that? He dishes out Justice when we confess our sins. For the believer, forgiveness is what God says we deserve. Paul quotes Jeremiah in Hebrews 8:12 “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34) 

Not only is there forgiveness, but also forgetfulness. God seems to have a selective amnesia. Katie,  says I have this, but with God it isn’t a random forgetfulness or distraction. His forgetting is intentional. Psalm 103:11 “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

So because of his nature, God is always showing His Love to us, by giving his grace, a gift we don’t deserve, and his faithfulness by forgetting when we sin against him and repent.

Forget Everything But God

Philippians 3:12-14 “12 Not that I have already obtained all this,[becoming like Christ and having first hand knowledge of his own resurrection] or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind [this would be his perfection in the Law and life before Christ] and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is saying he is forgetting everything except God. Everything else is out of his Mind except for what Paul referred to as our predestination, which is to be made into the image of God's Son, Jesus.

So take your post it notes, tie a string around your finger, set an alarm on your smart phone to remind you to forget some stuff. When it pops up in our head, let's remind ourselves it's forgotten. When Satan tries to accuse us of stuff we have repented of, let's remember we  have no idea what he's talking about. When we start beating ourselves up over sins let's remember to have selective amnesia, like God tells us he does in scripture. 

***** Word of Caution**** 
This method of forgetting is also beneficial in marriage and  parenthood. Choosing to forget other's "sins", or not holding things against them, is the best thing we can do for ourselves and our significant other half. 
Forgetting to get the kids ice cream may lead to a rebellion, and being greatly out numbered could prove traumatic and not easily forgotten. 

SOMETIMES IT'S HARD

Let me introduce you to two of the coolest kids in the world. This is Lucas, in yellow, and Caleb, in red for those of you who need it. I cannot remember how this particular story started out. Caleb just crawled up in my lap, saw the pictures and said, "We were fighting over jelly beans and had to hold hands. I cried." At least he remembers. I do remember they were fighting. They had been fighting a lot lately and we had enough of it. We had tried separating them. We tried making them work in different places. We tried "time out". We probably swatted their fanny a couple times (which is a great way to teach a kid not to hit;-)  note my sarcasm.)

I thought about it for a while. What could I do that could possible scar them for life? What would release the sweet sounds of wailing and gnashing of teeth? What could I do that is so heinous and deplorable, I could get my children taken away from me? What would be etched in their little developing brains for all of eternity? Then it hit me. I made them sit together.  . . . nothing happened. I made them give each other a hug. . . no tears. I made them hold hands. . . this is a picture of those beautiful result. They cried and wailed and tears flowed down their faces. It was a beautiful sight. It was then that I realized, as their little cheeks were streaked with sorrow, I was a good parent.

Lucas and Caleb in trouble for fighting.

My wife, Katie, and I have 5 kids. Lucas and Caleb are the youngest two. One of the most important things we desire as parents is the unity of our family. Having just moved back close to family I feel this more and more. Our families are the most important group of people God has designed and given us. It is were we learn love, or hate. It is were we feel absolute safety or fear. Brothers and sisters are more important than anyone. After my wife and I are gone on to Paradise they will be all they have left. Their unity and love will affect generations of Esteps. 

I feel a similar urgency for my kids as Jesus had for the apostles and the church. I pray this for myself and then for our kids. Here is a part of Jesus' prayer for the church. You can read his whole prayer in John chapter 17. 

“My prayer is not for them alone [Apostles]. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message [everyone after the Apostles], 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)

We live in a culture and society where the church is at odds with each other. Denominations and churches not liking, making fun of, and even condemning other churches over non-salvation issues to Hell. Mahatma Ghandi said once that Christians were the reason he was not a Christ follower. (This in not a good excuse, but I can understand where he is coming from.)

I know of a church that has 20 people in it and they think they are the only ones going to heaven. I know of churches that think using instruments during worship is a horrible atrocity. I know of churches that tell their congregations what kind of underwear to use and clothing to sleep in, everyone else is going to hell. I've heard of churches that have divided over whether or not to place a hook at the back of the church for the pastor to hang his hat and coat on. (On a personal note, I think this is a story they tell at Bible colleges just to illustrate how silly a lot of our disagreements are in the church.) 

I have to admit, I am like this as well. I have a  prejudice against prejudice people. I don't want to be around them. I don't like being told I'm not saved because I don't speak in "tongues". I don't like arguing with people. I don't think things like underwear, types of pants, which version of the Bible, or using notes to preach with are really worth the aggravation of being around some people. 

The division of the church is the saddest blight affecting Christians throughout history. It has all but destroyed our witness to the world. We must pray, as Jesus did, for the unity of believers. A wise pastor has said we are to have UNITY not UNIFORMITY, LOVE not LEGALISM, GRACE not GUILT, and RELATIONSHIP (with God) not RELIGION.  

If we were to rewrite Jesus’ prayer so we could pray it, it might go like this. “I pray that all of us who believe in Jesus through the Apostles Teaching and the Bible may be one, just as you are in Jesus and Jesus is in you. May we be in you so that the world may believe that you have sent him. You have given us the glory that you gave him so we can be one with each other: your son in us, and we in him. May we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Jesus and have loved us even as you loved him.”

Let's think of the believers we work with and know. Are there any we need to forgive? Are there any we need to love? Are there any who need grace? Pray for THEIR unity with the Father and the body as we pray for OUR unity with the Father and body. We, followers of Christ, need to repent of the hatred we have for each other. We need to forgive each other, so Christ can forgive us. We need to confess our unity to the Father and the Family. The unity process may look and feel like the one my sons went through. I think the unity of God's kids would be just as beautiful to him as it is to me.

UNshaved faces

While shaving this morning I got to thinking about my reflection. About how people see me differently than I see myself. How so many people look into the mirror and see something horrible, ugly, fat, or mesmerizingly beautiful. If you have seen me more than three times you have probably seen my face in at three different configurations of hairiness. It is either unshaven, gotee, soul patch, petite gotee, or any combination there of.

You see, I hate shaving. I think it is useless and a waste of money. I am proud to say I've had the same disposable (used at minimum of once a week) since the beginning of August. Shaving ranks up there with covering your property with a vegetation you can't eat, but spend a lot of time and money to keep it from growing (grass). Sorry, that is for a different topic. I like to shave my face differently every time as a form of protest. God gave us hair. We all have it. So why do we spend so much time trying to cut it off and make it look like we have none? Just like hair on top of our heads. Why do we spend so much money cutting, coloring, curling, straightening (even though your hair is already straight, honey) and fixing it up in all kinds of weird ways. My favorite, which I have done, is to fix hair so that it looks like you just got out of bed. hahahaha! Yes, it is weird the effort we put into.

The church is probably the weirdest of all when it comes to hair. I have heard of churches that would not hire very good ministers because they have a beard. I have heard of church who wouldn't let ministers speak because they had hair that was too long. (I don't know where that is found in the Bible.) I've regularly heard, "You really need to shave all of your face."

But is it really all that important? I've read the passages in the Bible that say priests are not to shave the sides of their head or trim the edges of their beard (Leviticus 21:5). In Numbers chapter eight God wants the Levites (the priestly family) to be sprinkled with water, shave their entire body,  and wash their cloths so as to be ceremonially clean. I would definitely be upset about that. To take the Nazarite vow, a vow of consecration and fasting before God the individual, even though they began with a shaved head, was not allowed to shave any part of their body.

In Acts chapter 21 we read about the Apostle Paul being confronted by some legalistic gentlemen of the church and then given a "legalistic" way to pacify these ignorant gentlemen. He was to go perform the Nazarite rites at the temple and shave his head. This did nothing for him, because a few guys saw him and then he ended up getting beat by a mob. This is the second time in history when a hair cut got a guy almost killed, the first was Samson.

Then we get to Paul's writings to the corinthian christians. This is where we get a lot of today's legalistic rules about dress, hair, and how to act in worship. Paul goes talks about a woman's place and a man's place. He talks about women having men's hair cuts and men having women's haircuts. He talks about Christ being our head and God being his head. It's all really exciting and you have to read it slow. You also need to know the Corinthians. It was kinda like an ancient Las Vegas. If Paul were to write to the church in Vegas, he may have talked about grease backed hair and not dressing like a show girl. He might say to the guys not to wear girl jeans. An image of Justin Bieber just came into my head. He might say to the girls, take it easy on the make-up.

You see Paul was writing about a CULTURAL PROBLEM. The pagan temples set the fashion standards of the day. Also women's rights and femanatzi-ism was going strong and to prove we were all equal they were all dressing alike or had the same hairdo. Guys were wearing their hair long and women were cutting it to prove a point, fit in with a particular group, or because they thought it was the cool thing to do at the time.

So if there was a band that dishonored God and wore their hair a certain way, or a racist group that shaved their heads, or group of women that colored their hair a certain color to prove a point, then this passage would apply directly to you. His point was not to do this kinda stuff, it doesn't help your christian witness.  Right before all this he says, "Everything is permissible" - (freedom in Christ) but not everything is beneficial . . . not everything is constructive."(1 Corinthians 10:23). Basically how we dress, cut our hair, shave our face, wear tattoos, piercing, or what we eat is allowed by God. Remember God told the prophet Samuel not to look on the outside for the best, God looks on the inside. BUT, Paul says it may not be beneficial, for myself or others who are weaker christians and non believers.

The important thing is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18 "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." So if shaving my face helps me better reflect God's glory to some people then I will do it. I won't like it, and it may be different every time. I will live my life so that it is reflecting of what is on the inside. To be all things to all people so as to save some. The next time I look in the mirror, I will see Jesus, hairy, good looking ;-), and in a constant state of transformation.

image from http://thebeardclub.blogspot.com

How is your underwear

We all have them. They are comfy and secure. We know when we wear them we are not going to have to worry about crawling, wedgies, slipping, and whatever else could happen down there. And then we have that pair we keep in the back of the drawer in case we haven't done our laundry lately. We can all relate to the feeling and excitement of underwear that fits good, comfy, and proper. When your underwear fits good, your more likely to be comfortable and pleasant. When it doesn’t, the day can be really long and we can get really agitated with people.

Our conscience is the same way. When we have a clear conscience there is that deep down comfort. When we don’t have a clear conscience, then we are getting spiritually chaffed. That’s why we need to put on first things first, like our underwear first thing in the morning before any other cloths. Our life on the outside, what everyone can see, must begin inwardly, with what others can’t see. In other words, a clear conscience isn’t just knowing the truth, it’s being true.

A clear conscience gives us freedom and confidence. Confidence happens when people see an “outside of you” that matches the “inside of you”. It all begin with what’s under. Let’s Check the Word: 1Jn 3:19-22 "Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord. But if we have bad consciences and feel that we have done wrong, the Lord will surely feel it even more, for he knows everything we do. But, dearly loved friends, if our consciences are clear, we can come to the Lord with perfect assurance and trust, and get whatever we ask for because we are obeying him and doing the things that please him. And this is what God says we must do: Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another. Those who do what God says--they are living with God and he with them. We know this is true because the Holy Spirit he has given us tells us so."

SO, the Apostle John says that what is on the inside has to come first, he is talking about having the Holy Spirit in us to guide, act, move, and help us. When He is in there first, we are able to stand before God, and others, with a clear unwedgied conscience. If you do not have one then John writes that we are to Confess and Believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ (1 John 3:21, Romans 10:9,10).  Repent of your sins (repent means turn away from the junk and bad fitting underwear of life) (1 John 1:8-10). And finally be  Immersed in the name, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:3-14).

Now I don't care if you wear whitey-tighties, boxers, thongs, or go commando, and I REALLY DO NOT want to know about it. I do care if your conscience is clear. I care more if you have the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you and the promises that come with that. So start your day with what matters on the inside and enjoy the crawling-wedgies-slipping free life.

 Mitch, a lump of clay

The lights are on . . .

Isn't it great to drive around and look at all the houses with Christmas light. (Except for the Pagans, who sneakily hang their lighted Pentagrams in celebration of the Winter Solstice.) We have a practice of criticizing the glistening strings that adorn peoples humble houses. We especially like to make fun of trees. Have you ever noticed the terrifying floating swirling mass of lights people string around the outside of their tree in the front yard with no leaves. They've done it for years and haven't added any strings so the swirl stops halfway up, because the tree kept growing. That drives me nuts. What doesn't drive me nuts is that all of it is an attempt to "Spread the Light of Christmas Joy"

I know, the celebration of lights goes back for thousands of years. The Romans even had a celebration (Dec 25th) to commemorate "The Invincible Sun". The Egyptians, Celts, Norse, and many others all had celebrations to end the long nights and welcome back the sun for longer days, fertility, and agricultural prosperity.

All of this is a great attempt, and shows our need, as fallen people for a new light in our lives. It shows how all people are searching for and have a deep desire to worship God. We realize we live in a dark world and need something greater than us to save us from the darkness. Though it falls extremely short of what is truly needed for us.

The prophet Isaiah, and others, taught about our need and promised a solution, "the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." (Isaiah 9:1-2)  Jesus told Nicodemus, an expert in Jewish religion, "Light has come into the world, but men love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear their deeds will be exposed." (John 3:19-20) A little later Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

So if Jesus is the "Light of the World" lets look back at a few of those verses again, but we are going to replace "light" with "Jesus".

Isaiah 9 The people living in darkness have seen a great [Jesus].
John 3:19-20 [Jesus] has come into the World, but men love darkness instead of [Him] because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates [Jesus], and will not come into [Him] for fear their deeds will be exposed.

This year, since it is the celebration of new beginnings, lets put our faith into the one who is the Light of World. Let's celebrate the true "Invincible Son" who proved it by showing his power over death and still lives today. He isn't scary at all (at least not for those who are in him) and welcomes everyone into his life and light. "But if we walk in the light [God the Father], as he [Jesus] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin." 1 John 1:7

As we see the lights on houses, weird looking trees, and lined driveways with candy canes, remember they are all an attempt to show the True Light of the World that offers life, Jesus.

A “free gift” of coffee

One day I went down to my favorite coffee shop Coffee Xpresso. I usually went  down every other Wednesday, have a cup of coffee, and read, work on lesson or something of that nature. Most people wouldn’t think it possible, but when you have a hard time focusing, it is chaotic enough to get a lot done. As i was going in I stopped to make faces at a kid in the car of a very close friend. When i got inside there were several people in there I usually see and spoke to them. I ordered my coffee and sat down, opened my MacBook and started working. When Andrew, the Barista, finally brought my Pecan Pie Latte, I told him I would pay before I left because I needed some coffee beans. He said, “Somebody already paid for it, so don’t worry about it.” I asked who it was, because the shop had almost cleared out by that time, and he said I knew he wouldn’t tell me. I asked him to thank whoever it was and enjoyed a very delicious latte. It might even have tasted better than if I had paid for it.

Now I don’t accept things very easily. My first thought is out of pride. “Why would someone do that? I can pay for a latte.” “I’ll just go ahead and pay for it myself.” And then, “Am I going to be indebted to this person?” Those kind of things are normal for me when someone does something nice. However I am learning  to accept things, so these questions are not much of an issue issue anymore. This got me thinking, “It would be silly to try and pay for something that was already been paid for, especially from God.”

 Romans 5:15 But God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace from God was much greater; many people received God's gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:23 “The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 4:10 Jesus said, [to the samaritan woman at the well] "If you only knew the free gift of God and who it is that is asking you for water, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Let the one who hears this say, "Come!" Let whoever is thirsty come; whoever wishes may have the water of life as a free gift.

Salvation is free to us. We can’t give enough offering, hug enough babies, pet enough puppies, do enough missions, or teach enough lessons to pay for our sins. We can’t read our Bibles enough, pray, fast, or worship enough to pay for our salvation. IT IS FREE. And we should live like we are not paying God back, but enjoying being in his Grace. 

Like my Latte, how much more could we enjoy life if we just lived it with God. How much better would we enjoy church, if we didn’t feel indebtedness, but worshipped out of freedom and desire. What would our lives look like if we accepted the fact that God’s grace is much greater than our sin.

I couldn’t pay for my latte anymore than I can pay for my salvation.