Lent 2020 | Day 20: “Able”

God is able to do what he has promised.

As we enter another day trying to make sense of things in the time of Coronavirus, the focus for today made me think of a song. It is a song based on Psalm 121, one of the Songs of Ascents.

A song of ascent was a Psalm sung by the Hebrew people as they went up to Jerusalem for worship. As they traveled they would sing and remind themselves of who God was, what he had done, and what he had promised. This psalm, in particular, reminds us that regardless of what may be happening around us, God is able to do what he has promised. This psalm is written in the language of covenant and promise. God is active in this psalm. He is doing stuff. And the stuff he is doing should be a comfort and a reminder to us.

¹I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. ²My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. ³He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. ⁴Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. ⁵The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. ⁶The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. ⁸The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. (KJV)

Take a couple of minutes and reflect on the beautiful promises of God in this Psalm.

Do We Look More American than Christian? Part 4

We typically stake our faith in God on His ability to move quickly. We don’t typically look for how He moves over longer periods of time.

Part 4: Missionaries to America

I once heard someone tell a story about a Messianic Jewish Rabbi and a Christian Pastor. The Rabbi asked the Pastor: “Do you believe in a fast God or a slow God?” The Pastor didn’t understand the question. The Rabbi went on to explain that for the Messianic Jewish people, God was always at work but just usually over a long period of time (references: Egyptian slaves for 400 years before being rescued, in exile for just as long before the Messiah came, etc.). The Pastor then responded: “Well, then I guess I do believe in a fast God.”

I think most Christians in America would echo that pastor’s sentiment.

We typically stake our faith in God on His ability to move quickly. We don’t typically look for how He moves over longer periods of time. And I would argue this has far more to do with our being Americans than it does being Christians.

We look more American than Christian when we act as if God only moves fast (and typically on our timetable).

America is not a Christian Nation

So why does this matter? Because it shapes everything about how we think about and plan to reach the “unreached people groups” in our very own country.

Why do we support foreign missionaries in long-term strategies to reach “unreached people groups” but not our own country’s missionaries? It is interesting that both our standards and expectations are so vastly different for people we call “foreign missionaries” and people we call “church planters.”

In one breath we tell someone sensing a call to new work: “Go reach the unreached!” And if they are a foreign missionary we give them all kinds of grace to learn those unreached people in their context, build relationships over time, and ultimately make disciples in such a way that it produces a local expression of the Church. But if you are a church planter in America, while you will be affirmed in your goal, you will not find as much affirmation in using the same process as your counterparts going into foreign mission fields.

Instead, the expectations will be very American: we want results that are fast, big, and quickly scalable. This is fascinating considering the work to reach unreached people is not any different no matter where you go in the world. But for some reason in America we somehow think reaching people should be inherently easier and quicker than anywhere else in the world. Do you find this mindset as fascinating as I do?

We look more American than we do Christian when we think God’s kingdom functions like customer acquisition in the business world.

Putting our Money where our Mission is…

We see this most easily in how and where we spend our money internally as existing local churches and how we distribute our financial support as sending organizations.

We can easily justify large expenses on the kids areas of church buildings that get used once a week (I mean I’m talking 10’s and 100’s of thousands of dollars), but can’t justify spending that money (or even a small percentage of it) on models of the church that would interact with those families daily? It’s odd to me that just because a ministry doesn’t fit the brick and mortar model the church has sanctified since the Roman Empire it somehow doesn’t justify as a significant venture worthy of financial backing.

Shouldn’t we be saddened that the models which follow most closely the call for us to be incarnate in our world are seemingly the least supported financially? Why can we more easily justify spending $100,000 on a sound system for our building but not $10,000 on a ministry that doesn’t look like the “big box” model of church? Why can we justify spending 10’s of thousands of dollars on foreign mission-cations that we will never get back but not that same money on microloans for people trying to make it in our communities (because we’re afraid they may not pay the loan back)?

I had a friend recently lament how much easier it is for many American churches to successfully launch building programs (where they will construct a facility and try to convince people to use it) than it is for them to financially support building the kingdom of God in the midst of their community.

We look more American than Christian when we will fund raise and invest significant amounts of money into buildings and technology but not in supporting missionaries to the very people groups we claim to want to reach in our own country.

You are a Missionary

We are called to be missionaries to our own unreached people right here in America (or at least to support people who feel called to be). So why don’t we act like that? Unfortunately, the answer is because we look far more like Americans than we do Christians.

Maybe during Lent God can remind us that His work in our country is no different than His work around the world. It takes time. It takes intentionality. And it takes prioritizing the mission and letting God take care of the results:

“I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6

Read the Rest of Series

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7

Lent 2020 | Day 19: “Sent”

What I find most interesting about this moment in history for the church, is that it is redefining what it means to be sent.

The focus for today’s devotion is “sent.”

I find today’s focus a little ironic considering the fact that mass population quarantines are being recommended or enforced. And yet, in the world we live in, we can still find ways to live as people on mission.

What I find most interesting about this moment in history for the church, is that it is redefining (not in the sense of a new meaning, but in that of returning to the original sense) what it means to be sent. Being sent is not about location. It is about mindset.

Because of our new birth, we have been made Ambassadors for Christ. We have been given a mission to which we must all submit. Our jobs are not an impediment to being sent, it is the place we have been sent to. Our recreation is not a distraction to being sent, it is an opportunity to demonstrate the normalcy of our “sent-ness.” Our families are not hindrances to being sent, they are the first recipients of who we have become in Christ.

What the pandemic has done, what it is doing is reacquainting us with who we, those who claim membership in Christ’s body, were always bent to be and what we were always meant to be doing. This is quite remarkable.

I don’t know why we must live thru these days. I don’t know what life in this world will look like after it’s all over. But, I am growing in my sense of this, we will not be able to look at ourselves the same. We will have changed. My hope is that it will be for the better. I pray that we will take advantage of the time we are being given.

The urgency of the situation requires an equally urgent response. The world needs to know that God has spoken and when we who have responded to his call respond, we will respond like Jesus who was sent into the world. We will say, “I am ready. Send me.”

Lent 2020 | Day 18: “Light”

Even when the darkness seems great, a small flicker can become a beacon of hope.

This is what I have felt in the last few days as the world has had to face the Coronavirus pandemic.

Even when the darkness seems great, a small flicker can become a beacon of hope.

This is what I have felt in the last few days as the world has had to face the Coronavirus pandemic.

There are so many questions and not enough answers. There are seem to be an insurmountable number of obstacles and not enough avenues of escape. If we are not careful, we can turn our backs on the only source of hope available to us because there seems to be so much darkness around.

I have often wondered what it means that Jesus is the light of the world. And by extension, that we are the Church, a city on a hill. These metaphors are related. They share the same purpose but have different functions. As the city, we reflect the light that emanates from the source, Jesus the Messiah. We do not possess light of our own. It is a borrowed splendor. Something that we should never confuse, but many times end up doing.

The apostle Paul offered one of the most remarkable descriptions of Jesus every captured in the Scripture. He said to the Corinthians, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Two questions emerge here. When did God say this? He said it when the earth was formless and void. In the beginning, there was nothing in all of creation that reflected his goodness, but he said, “Let there be light,” and out of himself, light shone forth.

But the wondrous mystery is this. What was the nature of that light? It was Jesus himself. Jesus is the light that God sent into the world at creation. And he is the light that entered into the world at his incarnation. This is what light does. It changes the very definitions we use to describe the work of God. God sends forth light and we look upon Jesus’ face.

In this light, there is the knowledge that transforms our minds and glory that inspires worship. But in order to see both of these there needed to be light.

Light is what reminds us that darkness is not a thing with its own substance. It is merely the absence of something. For when the light shines, darkness flees.

In this season of Lent, let us look toward the light. Let us remember that the darkness does not linger when the light shines. Let hold fast to the promise that in God, “the Father of light,” there is no shadow of turning, and from Son shines a light that removes the fear of the night.

Lent 2020 | Day 17: “Revealed”

The prestige of every trick is the part of the trick that the audience is anticipating but has doubts of its achievement.

Our focus for today is the “revealed.”

One of my favorite moved is “The Prestige.” It is an interesting movie about two magicians who are vying to become the best in the world. What makes the movie compelling is that you don’t quite know what is going on. You see what they want you to see, but the “trick” that is being played against us (the audience) is not easy to pick up on.

In one of the early scenes, we are given a hint at what the movie is really about. The three acts of a magic trick are explained.

“Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called “The Pledge”. The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course… it probably isn’t. The second act is called “The Turn”. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you’re looking for the secret… but you won’t find it, because of course you’re not really looking. You don’t really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn’t clap yet. Because making something disappear isn’t enough; you have to bring it back. That’s why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call “The Prestige”.” [Source]

The prestige of every trick is the part of the trick that the audience is anticipating but has doubts of its achievement. This is the part that causes the awe in those watching.

I don’t want to conflate a movie with the Word of God. I do want to say that when I think about the miracle of Jesus being born and dying for the redemption of the world is like the prestige of a trick. The reason being that when we consider what the Scriptures claim Jesus actually did, not merely pretended to do, we all struggle to believe our eyes.

But that is exactly what we are called to do.

There are two passages of scripture that point to truthfulness of this revelation: Romans 5:6 and Galatians 4:4a.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son…”

Both of these passages speak of a moment in time. A point in history when God exploded through the veil of eternity and made himself known in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. God had to wait for the right time to make his entrance. Why? Because God was working something out that required perfect time.

In Jesus, the fullness of God was revealed to the world (Colossian 2:9).

In Jesus, the power of God’s grace was finally demonstrated.

In Jesus, the wonder of God’s mercy was finally made available.

In Jesus, the God of the universe was revealed.

As we continue our steady march toward Resurrection Sunday, we must ask ourselves: have we seen what God has revealed? If so, can others see it in us?

Lent 2020 | 3rd Sunday in Lent: “Celebrate”

Let us celebrate today, for He is good and in all things he is faithful to us.

Today’s the 2nd Sunday in Lent. Every Sunday in Lent is not technically a part of the season of Lent. It serves as a reminder of the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ because every Sunday is a celebration of what the gospel proclaims. So this Sunday, and every Sunday in the season of Lent, we will celebrate what it means to have been saved. So, rather than an extended devotion, I would like to offer you a song that can help us to focus our attention and to give worship to God for the sacrifice, ministry, mission, and purpose of His Son our Savior, Jesus Christ, as we celebrate the renewed life that we have in him. Let us celebrate today, for He is good and in all things he is faithful to us.

Lent 2020 | Day 16: “Ripe”

One of the great challenges that we have in the church today is that we have not learned how to distinguish between that which is ripe with that which is not yet ready.

When I consider the word ripe, I think of that which is ready, that which has reached its point of maturity. One of the great challenges that we have in the church today is that we have not learned how to distinguish between that which is ripe with that which is not yet ready.

I didn’t grow up on a farm, I didn’t grow up learning how to tend to a field of crops. And because of this, I feel that I am a little bit unprepared for the reality of what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. Our pastor, Bishop Luis R. Scott, tells us that we live in an agricultural system. We live in a world where the principles of seedtime and harvest are in operation. Where seasons come and go.

Jesus even told His disciples after his encounter with the woman at the well, that God is looking for laborers who will go into the field. Why? Because the fields are ripe unto harvest. Jesus was revealing to his disciples that there was something in them (and us!) that has a difficult time seeing when something, spiritually speaking, has finally come to maturity. We would like to think that we know how to help others become what Jesus wants. But the reality is not so easy.

We all could be more effective in connecting and interacting with this world. In determining when someone is ready to go from attendance and participate in discipleship and fellowship. And from these into ministry of some form. not necessarily formally, but within the context of who God has made them to be.

If we cannot tell when something is ripe, how will we know when we must act? I think the challenge of the season of Lent is we are challenged to look back and to see if have we truly been growing ourselves? Are we ready? Are we ready to become laborers in this field? Ready to bring in the harvest that Jesus said is right in front of us.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be a better laborer in the vineyard.

Lent 2020 | Day 15: “Work”

Our focus for today is “work.”

One of the more confusing passages and Paul’s letters is found in Philippians 2:12. In that passage Paul says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”

Now, it could be easy for us to read a verse like that and think that Paul is saying something about what we must do in order to make salvation a reality in us. However, the emphasis of what Paul is saying is not that there is something missing in salvation without our activity. He is saying that now that we have been saved, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, there is something that this reality will force us to do. Now that we have been saved, we must begin to implement this reality throughout our lives. We must begin to apply the implications of our salvation to every facet of our being.

The working out of salvation, I consider sometimes to be like working out a cramp. A cramp is not supposed to be there. And in order for me to get relief, I must apply pressure and remove that which is causing the problem. Our sin is a problem, and even though it has been forgiven, we have to deal with it. Paul, in another place, said, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15b). The war we have to fight against sin remains with us and within us. But, we are not fighting alone.

What is Paul trying to tell us? He is saying that even Paul, the apostle, who wrote much of the New Testament, was still working out his salvation. And he was doing it in fear and trembling. Not afraid that he would lose what he had been given. But because he recognized that the one who gave salvation to him, the Father, the one who purchased his salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the one who secured his salvation in heaven, the Holy Spirit, required his greatest efforts in this life.

God has never made a mistake in saving anyone who repents, but we have made mistakes in not seeking to become who Christ died for us to be. In this season of Lent, let us work out our salvation by doing everything we can to make every aspect of our lives come into conformity and obedience to Jesus.

Lent 2020 | Day 14: “Seeks”

We are to seek first the kingdom. And God says that he will take care of the needs of our lives.

Our focus for today will be that of “Seeks.”

It’s an interesting word. And when I considered it, I was reminded of something Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:7, we find these words, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

What I find interesting about these two verses is that many times we take it to mean something it doesn’t. Our asking is of a particular kind of asking. Our seeking, which is the emphasis for today, is of a particular kind of seeking. And that which will be opened, Or that that door upon which we knock upon is a particular door.

Now it may seem arbitrary to make this distinction, but Jesus himself in the previous chapter, in Chapter 6, makes an interesting claim. In Matthew 6:31-32, he says, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What will we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” And then he makes this very famous, very well known statement, Jesus says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (v. 33).

What does this all mean? It means that what we must be seeking is not that which satisfies our own pleasures or that which we long for. What we must seek, first and above all else, is the kingdom of God. That which brings to life what God has been speaking of and declaring since the foundations of the world. Our seeking is not to be selfish. Our seeking is not to be self-centered. Our seeking should not be to make ourselves bigger. Our seeking should be in bringing to pass or bringing to bear that which God has said is his highest aim. And that is to bring the light into a place that is dark. To come and bring peace in a world that is turbulent. To bring joy to those who are weary and heavy-laden.

We are to seek first the kingdom. And God says that he will take care of the needs of our lives. Too often we make something we want into a need, and this is a very dangerous and unfortunate decision. So this Lent, as we move forward towards Resurrection Sunday, I encourage you and I remind myself that what I must seek, God has already stated, seek His kingdom and then you will find what you need is already supplied.

Do We Look More American than Christian? Part 3

The more comfortable and insulated a pastor becomes, the more comfort seeking and insulated the congregation will be.

Part 3: The Church Bubble

In America, we mostly believe that Christianity is about our comfort. You may ask: How do I know?

Because we’ve made salvation, in various subtle ways, more about “getting into Heaven one day” than about dying to yourself to follow Jesus.

Because we’ve made being the church about a once-a-week large group “experience” and not about serving and sacrificing for others.

Because we’ve made the Christian life about what Jesus can do for me and not our obedience to what Jesus taught us to do in faith.

Because we’ve created a bunker mentality where we are afraid to expose our kids to the world instead of modeling for them how to live as missionaries in it.

Follow the leader

Whether we want to admit it or not, this mentality starts with leadership. The more comfortable and insulated a pastor becomes, the more comfort seeking and insulated the congregation will be.

Here’s a question that ultimately gets to the heart of the issue for me [for those who are pastors especially]: Are you in intentional relationships with those who would never come to your church? Or any church for that matter.

This is a question of utmost importance because it gets to the heart of what it means to be Christian – or “little Christs.” If we are only in relationships that are reciprocally beneficial to us, then we aren’t being like Christ (Romans 5:10; 1 Peter 2:24-25).

It is interesting how Jesus spent his time on earth. Have you ever thought about it really? Especially when you compare it to the routines, schedules, and expectations we have, and even set, for most modern American pastors and church people.

Jesus was consistent in 3 things: (1) His own personal time with God, (2) His highly-relational time with those closest to Him, and (3) His time among the people of His day. You know what He literally never seemed to spend time doing? Preparing for large gatherings of followers [read: “church people”].

Bubble People

This last thought is particularly interesting to me considering how the entire “life of the church” today, in your typical church, is centered solely upon gatherings of “church people” (usually in a “church building”).

When did such a shift happen? And why are American Christians seemingly so obsessed with large gatherings of people in buildings that they own? (You could argue it started with the commandeering of Christianity by the Romans – but that’s another post for another day…)

“The Church Bubble” is a real thing. And a real problem.

Pastors find themselves in it.

Church people find themselves perpetuating it.

And ultimately it works against the spread of God’s Kingdom on earth because it funnels everything not thru the model of Jesus, but thru the model of western (Americanized) organizational structures – which are widely based on human governments or businesses.

I believe the reason the priorities of the leaders of a church community are so important is that they ultimately determine the direction that community will take in fulfilling the Great Commission.

If the leaders are: (1) following Jesus’ priorities of spending time on their own relationship with God, (2) creating highly-relational contexts with those closest to them, and (3) then living in intentional relationships with those in the community who do not themselves know Jesus (yet) – I think we could reasonably expect the entire church community is more likely to follow that lead.

Why? Because they are seeing it consistently modeled and taught.

This Lent, and moving forward, may we seek to change these behaviors so that we might actually reach the most “unchurched” & “dechurched” generation in the history of America so far.

I will close with this corporate confession:
Merciful God,
we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart.
We have failed to be an obedient church.
We have not done your will,
we have broken your law,
we have rebelled against your love,
we have not loved our neighbors,
and we have not heard the cry of the needy.
Forgive us, we pray.
Free us for joyful obedience,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read the Rest of Series

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7