Reading the introduction and already shook up…

Just started reading a book this morning called “Primal” by Mark Batterson, the Lead Pastor at National Community Church in Washington DC. Just wanted to throw you some quotes and confess that  I’m not even done with the introduction and it’s already challenging me and kickin’ my tail. Just sayin’…

Here are some quoted that challenged me so far:

“As we navigated those claustrophobic catacombs, I was overcome by the fact that I was standing in a place where my spiritual ancestors risked everything, even their lives, to worship God. And I felt a profound mixture of gratitude and conviction. I live in a First World country in the twenty-first century. And I’m grateful for the freedoms and blessings I enjoy because of when and where I live. But when you’re standing in an ancient catacomb, the comforts you enjoy make you uncomfortable. The things you complain about are convicting. And some of the sacrifices you’ve made for the cause of Christ might not even qualify under a second-century definition.”

“As I tried to absorb the significance of where I was, I couldn’t help but wonder if our generation has conveniently forgotten how inconvenient it can be to follow in the footsteps of Christ. I couldn’t help but wonder if we have diluted the truths of Christianity and settled for superficialities. I couldn’t help but wonder if we have accepted a form of Christianity that is more educated but less powerful, more civilized but less compassionate, more acceptable but less authentic than that which our spiritual ancestors practiced.”

“And almost like the Roman effect of building things on top of things, I wonder if the accumulated layers of Christian traditions and institutions have unintentionally obscured what lies beneath.”

“My answer is simply this: We’re not great at the Great Commandment. In too many instances, we’re not even good at it. That, I believe, is our primal problem. That is the lost soul of Christianity. If Jesus said that loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength is the most important commandment, then doesn’t it logically follow that we ought to spend an inordinate amount of our time and energy trying to understand it and obey it? We can’t afford to be merely good at the Great Commandment. We’ve got to be great at the Great Commandment.”

Here is what is challenging me the most, already. I have said and I have heard many pastors say that they have just been struggling with spending time with God daily. I admit to saying it myself, but when God brought that thought into my mind this morning it was re-worded like this, “I am just struggling with the Greatest Commandment.” Ouch… the words “just” and “Greatest Commandment” don’t seem to fit to me. And that I said it makes my stomach turn upside down. God please help me to understand, learn, and grow as I continue to read this book. Help me to become better at the Greatest Commandment.

Awesome and Amazing Creator

So here is what I thought I had kinda figured out this morning as I began reading in Genesis 1 this morning. Verse 2 says:

“The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

I was kinda picturing some kind of Van Gogh painting where everything is very dark and there’s land and the waters right there as a haze-like figure floats over the waters. Then, I read verse 6-8:

“And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.”

I don’t  know what “separate the waters from the waters” means. Where’s the second water? Then, it hit me. The start of verse 2 says, “he earth was without form and void.” Therefore, when it says earth, I can’t picture the big round object that I am used to. Which completely blows my visual out of the water. No pun intended…

I love it when God just keeps getting bigger and bigger than I ever thought. And what’s with Him saying, “And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness” in verse 3? He’s God. Of course it’s good. I think he knows that, but I don’t think it was a question if it would be good or not. He is delighting in Himself and His greatness. I think I got a hint of what the word “awesome” really means. Wow…

What I have learned…

It’s been a little over a year since I have been back in Southwest Missouri area, and I have learned how selfish I really am. It’s crazy when you realize that EVERYONE has a soul. I know that sounds weird, but think about it. Everywhere we go, there are souls all around us. Here are the scriptures that have been smacking me in the face all year:

Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

So the 2 GREATEST commandments are to love God and love others as yourself. So, as Christians, how we interact with people seems to be a pretty big deal. These verses make me check my heart and see if I truly want to do these 2 commands. Plus, we can’t choose our neighbors. I feel like everyone is our neighbor.

John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In other words, Jesus just took the “love your neighbor as yourself” command to a new level. That’s why it’s a “new commandment.” Instead of loving everyone as yourself, now we are commanded to love them as Christ loved them. Reality check: He gave His life for them. Wow…

James 1:27
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

The original word “religion” in this verse is only used twice in the new testament. It translates to mean worship. Hmmm… interesting. So true worship is looking after the orphans and widows and to not be polluted by the world. I think that word “world” means anything not of God. Sometimes people think that means the literal world. I don’t think that’s true. So this verse makes me check my heart and see if I really want that. If I am a Christian, then I have submitted to Christ’s teaching and commands and am following Him. If my friends looked at my life, would they say this verse is my life?

Matthew 25:31-40
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

Wow… so we love God by loving others. I guess the 2nd greatest command WAS a big deal. In the book of James, it says if we don’t love others then we aren’t loving God. This is a huge shift of perspective for most of us because we are so conditioned to take care of us and our family alone.

So here’s what I am wrestling with. I say I am a follower of Christ, but if I don’t love others, then I am not really following Him. That’s what scripture says. But, it’s not just the act that bugs me. That seems to be an easy fix to just change something I do. Here’s the kicker. We have to go back to the beginning of it all. We have to go back to the heart. Do I really love God as much as I say I do? This has been a world rocker for me. BUT this is something I have known for a long time. There has been some HUGE conviction and urgency in my life concerning this situation. In John 6, people here the real cost of following of Jesus and they stop following Him. Others in that chapter tell Jesus that there’s not another option but to follow Him. That kills me that people walk away because the cost is “too high.” It also awakens me to the reality that some will not follow.

As believers, we have to look at our heart as we see the real cost of following Him. It costs our lives. I have said in my heart that I don’t want to take care of others. I don’t want to give “my” money. I have to take care of me and mine. I was SO wrong. I have to live open-handed. God has commanded it. We are a team now. The bible says we are “crucified with Christ and I no longer live.” Kevin was crucified and when I gave my life to God and was baptized I became apart of the team. I am making some changes in my life to line up with God’s word. I realize now, as a pastor, that some of it didn’t. I hope these verse challenge you and free you like they did me. I don’t want to just follow the rules, and miss out on God Himself.

Grandma Baxter

Arlene Baxter was such an amazing lady and grandmother. She went to be with the Lord last Wednesday after a battle with breast cancer. I know she gave her heart to the Lord, so because of that, I am so excited that I will see her again someday as we live with and celebrate Christ eternally. We love you Grandma!!!

Maple Leaf…

So our church was in the Maple Leaf Parade again this year. It’s the biggest parade in Southwest Missouri. We had the chance to see over 30,000 people in a city of 13,000… but I can’t get this one interaction out of my head for some reason.

We were walking beside our “float” in the parade handing out business cards advertising our next message series called, “Awakening Compassion,” and also mentioning Trunk-or-Treat on it at all three of our campuses. About half way through, I walked by a lady and her 2 daughters. I think the grandma was sitting next to them all bundled up. I tried to hand the mom and grandma a card and they both declined it, so I kept going down the line. When one of her daughters reached out for a card and I started to hand her one the mom quickly spoke up and said, “no, no, don’t take it. Don’t take it girls.” Wow… it was a business card. No tricks. No strings attached. Just a small advertisement, yet the mom was scared of it. I have to admit that I was a little shocked that she was so insistant that they don’t take one.

If only they could see what was really on the card, maybe they would have taken one. Maybe they would have taken a stack of them for their friends and family. There was nothing magic on that card, but there was a glimpse of the love and hope of the world. At least there was a huge sign that drove by them that they saw. I pray that, somehow, there was a seed that got planted.

A Kick To The Face…

Was looking through Genesis this morning and started reading chapter 6.

Genesis 6:5-7
5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

I read verses 5-7 then came the kick to the face. I thought about what that means for us today when He sees how wicked we ALL are. I am easily included in that “ALL.” Verse 6 says, “the Lord was sorry that He had made man on earth…” wow… The hugeness of that statement continues to smack me…

Cushioned and Candy-coated

I have 3 things running around in my head:

1. I just read John 6 a week or so ago about when people saw the real cost of following Christ and stopped following Him. Which is weird because if we walk away from Christ then where are we heading?

2. Francis Chan talked about Matthew 5:14-16 when it says, “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.” He pointed out that this passage was written in a plural context. When it says You… it actually translates to You plural, like… Ya’ll! The verse should be understood to mean that the church, as a whole is the light of Christ in the world, the world will see OUR good deeds and glorify our Father in Heaven. The Bible points over and over again to God creating a people group working for one purpose and that is to show people the one true God.

3. A friend recently pointed out the translation of the word “witnesses”in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” He said that word is rooted in the word for martyr, those who gave their life for their beliefs.

With those in my head… I saw some news about pastors being beheaded in Nigeria and other severe persecution going on around the world today. I am now trying to be more aware of the REAL cost of following Christ and how my brothers and sisters in Christ are actually being killed because of their belief in Christ. Church for us in the states can become SO cushioned and candy-coated. We have missed the fact that there’s a WAY bigger story that we are blessed to be a part of. That story is God’s story of bringing His people back to Him. Colossians says we were made for Him and by Him. We were made to worship Him. We are FOR Him. When we become a Christian we begin to follow Him and give Him our life. We are HIS witnesses. Do I know for sure if that Acts 1:8 word translates into us all being martyrs for Him. No, but I am not shocked at the thought. I want people to have a relationship with the one thing in the entire world that will never fail or leave them. His name is Jesus Christ.

Renew them in our day!

Habakuk 3:2
LORD, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.

Commentary about verses 1-2:
This chapter is entitled a prayer of Habakkuk. It is a meditation with himself, an intercession for the church. The word prayer seems used here for an act of devotion. The Lord would revive his work among the people in the midst of the years of adversity. This may be applied to every season when the church, or believers, suffer under afflictions and trials. Mercy is what we must flee to for refuge, and rely upon as our only plea. We must not say, Remember our merit, but, Lord, remember Your own mercy

God this is my prayer over our city today. That You would renew Your fame and great deeds in our day in our city. God we don’t want blessing. We want You.

Something that shook me up…

Was drawn to the book of Amos the other day because of a message I was listening to. This section of scripture tore me up:

Amos 5:21-24
21 “I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Wow… Before we jump to any assumptions, we have to know about who he is talking to. He is talking to people whose songs and lives didn’t match up. God was basiclly saying that he was tired of their empty songs and ceremonies because they loved to sing and follow the routine of an offering, but their lives didnt show any evidence that they were truly worshipping Him. To worship God goes way further than just a song and some ceremonies. If we truly love Christ with all our being and if we actually meant half of what we sang, then our lives would be completely different. We would care about the things that God care about. Our heart would progressively be more and more like His. It reminds me of the verse in James 2:8-9 that says, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” If we truly worship God, then we will love our neighbors as ourself. That’s what hit me the most. I worship with my life not just my mouth and heart. The reality is this: Has God radically transformed my life or not?

Some new songs…

Here are three “newer” songs that I am excited to lead in the next month or two:

Glory To God Forever by Fee

Oh You Bring by Hillsong United

Hear Us From Heaven by Jared Anderson