Monday meditations Heb.12: do the hard work of a disciple

Hebrews 12 (NLT, with alterations)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up.4 After all, you have not yet shed your own blood in your struggle against sin.
  5 And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the LORD’s discipline,
  and don’t give up when he corrects you.
6 For the LORD disciplines those he loves,
  and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

7 As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father?8 If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all.9 Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?
10 For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.
12 So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees.13 Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but be healed.

14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.15 Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.16 Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.17 You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

___________

This is by far the longest passage I have posted as a meditation. I want these to be short enough that you can repeat it back to yourself many times through the week. What I’m hoping this week is that one of the bold sentences will stay with you as the mnemonic device and that the meaning you fill with it will be the call to action we see toward the end (with all the bolded verbs).

What is on my heart right now is how easy we have made it to be a follower of Jesus, not any harder really than making any other selection in our consumer culture (another post for another day right there). We evangelize and work to make converts – just get them in, get them saved, and get them giving and volunteering.

But this is not how Jesus went about things. The Gospels depict him as elusive at times, making hard demands, delivering hard teachings, making meanings harder to understand (the opposite of the typical sermon these days), testing the resolve of his followers, pushing them farther and farther into faith.

We don’t make these demands of ourselves or others often enough. Worse still, those who think they are making these demands of others are often completely off base, demanding religious/cultural conformity, theological uniformity, or pro forma piety. These are not the demands the Gospel makes of its disciples, but are quite literally the work of antichrist.

The key here is that no one can tell you when, how, and why you are being disciplined, except the One doing the disciplining. So I encourage you to meditate this week on these metaphors:

1. shed my own blood in struggle against sin
2. enduring divine disciple as a child of the Father
3. take a new grip with tired hands
4. strengthen weak knees
5. mark out a straight path for lame feet

I am hoping one or more of these resonates with you. Ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you about this with regard to your own situation. I think you will find the Spirit leads you to something specific within these categories the passage gives us:

1. work at living in peace with others
2. work at living a holy life
3. look after each other – so each receives grace
4. watch out that no bitterness grows between you and someone else
5. make sure no one is immoral – selling out their inheritance for a pittance

These are fairly broad and can cover a number of situations, so allow the Spirit to direct your thought to something specific. This includes defining what “a holy life” means to some extent. Let the Spirit lead you to an understanding of this, you’ll be better off than if a religious busybody does so.

In short, do the hard work of a disciple, which is never anything more, less, or other than exactly what your Lord requires you to do.

Monday meditations: Gal 5.1 for freedom

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Gal. 5.1

I just finished grading a batch of papers in which students were asked to describe and reflect on the essential traits of the Christian moral life. This is always an interesting exercise because it comes near the beginning of the course and serves as more of a bellwether for where students are coming in than what they may be taking away from the course. I have taught this particular course a number of times and what I have found over the years is that nearly all the students (most of whom are training for some form of ministry) build their reflection around the Ten Commandments. Rare is the student who begins with the Sermon on the Mount or the new commandment Jesus gives in John 13. No, they almost always begin and end with Moses in describing the essential traits of the Christian moral life.

I have seen this so much I am left with only one conclusion: this sort of thinking is prevalent in the church (at least the American church) today. We see Christians fight to place the Ten Commandments in various public places, but when has anyone fought to put the Beatitudes in those same places? Don’t get me wrong, Moses has his place, the OT has value for us, but Moses’ place is behind Jesus, the value of the OT is that it points to and testifies of Christ. To the extent that we let any other voices – even those within Scripture – take predominance over Jesus and his teachings, we have done just what Paul warned us against here.

I heard a pastor recently explain why the Law was a great safeguard, how it protects us, how those who claim to rely on the Holy Spirit are misguided, but I think this has it exactly backward. Jesus gave us a new commandment and the Holy Spirit precisely because the Law was insufficient either to save us or to make us into Jesus’ disciples. Can the Spirit use the OT? Certainly. Look back through my blog and you will see more than half of these meditations are taken from the OT which is as God-breathed as the NT. But the danger of returning to slavery is an ever present one, especially for those who place all Scripture on equal footing and spend more time trying to build safeguards out of the Law and not enough time learning to live the radical life of a disciple. We were set free to live in freedom and set others free. Don’t turn around and go back to Egypt. The Lord doesn’t have anything for us there.

On a day set aside to celebrate political freedom, I hope you will take time to reflect on the spiritual freedom you have been afforded and whether you are enjoying that spiritual freedom as fully as you might, or if a return to slavery has crept back in upon you. In the passage that follows this verse, Paul reiterates Jesus’ new commandment and encourages us to walk by the Spirit. I echo that encouragement. Walk in the Spirit, then you won’t need to worry about the safeguards. Bear the fruit of the Spirit in your words and actions and enjoy the freedom Jesus has won for you.

Old odd ends

Great tips on staying creative offered in the most concise way:

(29 WAYS TO STAY CREATIVE from TO-FU on Vimeo.)

Another component to creativity is often necessity as this shows:

And finally, two of the most creative people I have encountered in a while:

Hurt by church

I had lunch with a friend today who was recently deeply wounded by his church, by people he had respected, admired, and been faithful to for years. No need for the gory details, but sheesh this is a recurring theme in my life. All the way back in 1985, when I was just a typical 14 year old boy, the church we had been part of my whole life fell apart. Because of things the pastor and his wife were doing. No need for the gory details, but a lot of people were left with serious emotional hurts. It put me into a tailspin spiritually that lasted through one wild year of college before the Lord was able to get through to me again.
This issue has remained close to my heart and Amy and I often find ourselves ministering to those hurt by church. Part of my dissertation is exploring how the Pentecostal movement has perpetrated hurts through the codification of its doctrines and practices (the insistence that everyone speak in tongues being the most prominent, though not only, example). I think it is worth devoting some space here on my blog to this subject too. Hurt by church comes in many forms and there are no easy answers, but we should look at the ecclesiological problems that lie behind the abuse and look for a better way forward.
You can help me with this. If you have been hurt by church post a comment here (or send me an email if you want to keep it private). Be as vague as you like (no need for gory details) and focus more on where you are – where the hurt has left you emotionally and spiritually. I’m not looking for gossip or mudslinging, but a space where hurts can be voiced and addressed.

The Civil Wars

I have been listening to John Paul White and Joy Williams since they posted their first song on Youtube (check out my favorites), but I was still unprepared for how wonderful they were in person. Hearing them and meeting them at the Pourhouse in Raleigh was a very special treat. If you haven’t discovered them yet, you can still get their Live at Eddie’s set for free, you can buy their album Barton Hollow just about everywhere now (going to be the Grammy winner – I called it back in February), and you can probably catch them live since they are touring relentlessly. They also did a wonderful job on NPR’s Tiny Desk recently. Give them a listen. Good people making great music.

Monday meditations: Mark 2.22 new wineskins

“No one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, then the wine will burst the skins and the wine is lost and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.” Mark 2.22

Jesus made this statement in response to John’s disciples who asked why Jesus and his disciples weren’t fasting (perhaps implying acting as religiously serious) as they (and the Pharisees) were. Their question showed (un)healthy doses of judgmentalism, smugness, and rapid rejection of anything new/different from accepted practice – in other words, all the things you would expect to find when members of a religious group encounter others with very different practices. Jesus gave a direct response by pointing out the major difference between the groups – his own presence made his group unlike anything that had come before.

This verse often gets interpreted as marking the difference between Judaism and Christianity, but I think that takes a rather limited view (ignoring both the value Luke’s version puts on the old wine, and Jesus guarantee that later his disciples will indeed fast). I think Jesus had a wider and longer vision in creating this axiom. Whenever God is doing a new thing (as God often does), we cannot expect that new thing to conform to old forms and structures (as we often do). That doesn’t turn out well as both the new content and old structures end up destroyed. The early Christian fellowship didn’t look like Temple worship, even though all the Christians were Jews. The Gentile house churches that grew up next didn’t look like the Jerusalem church. The same has been true ever since. The new wine doesn’t fit in the old skins and bad things happen when we force it. I also think Jesus’ axiom also applies to life in general, not just to churches or ministries.

So if God has put something (examples: ministry, truth, idea, desire to do something for the kingdom, direction – big or small – for your life) on your heart (as God often does), just do it and don’t expect it to look like anything else. In fact, you should ask concerning every part of the new thing if you are doing that because it fits well into your vision (the one God has given you) or because ‘things have always been done that way.’ That is old wineskin thinking right there and chances are those things that resist change are the very things that will kill your vision and spill your new wine.

If God wants to do something new in your life/ministry (as God often does), you should expect that to come with some degree of structural change. Be open to it. Don’t resist it. Don’t try to cram the new wine (can you cram liquid?) God is giving you (as God often does) into those old wineskins/structures/habits/life-patterns that you hold so dear (as we often do). I know it can be hard/scary/scary-hard to let go of things/structures but the new ones will hold the new wine better (like a bowl holds soup better than a colander). We tend to think that certain things are holy/sacred, like John’s disciples did about fasting. But structures/practices/wineskins are always means to an end, to be used when appropriate, but not revered/chosen over the move of God.

Reflect and pray this week about what new wine the Lord has for your life and/or ministry (as God probably does), where you might have old wineskins getting in the way (as we probably do), and how the Spirit might be is nudging you (as in right now through reading this) to introduce new wineskins/structures/ways-of-doing-stuff to hold that new wine. Ask for clear direction about new wineskins. The Spirit will give it to you if you ask, as the Spirit often does.

Monday meditations: 2 Sam. 22.30

“For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.”
(also found in Psalm 18)

My (nearly) two year old son Isaac has a new game he’s been playing a lot with me over the past week. He climbs on the couch, stands up, then hurls himself off, and I catch him. Sometimes he dives right at me, then when he gets bored with that he tries to make it hard for me, jumping sideways, rolling, flipping, faking one way then jumping another, etc. He laughs and cackles the whole time. It’s a lot of fun but also a bit nerve wracking for me – he comes off the couch fast and at bad angles.

Yesterday as we were playing the couch jumping game, Amy drew my attention to the fact he has complete confidence that I am going to catch him. He has no fear, no shadow of a doubt. He believes he can come off that couch in any way he can contrive and I am going to be able to handle however he has thrown himself at me.

As I thought about Isaac’s complete confidence in me this verse came to mind. It is just this sort of reckless confidence in Yahweh that David had. He confronted the giant, ran fearlessly into battle, worshipped, danced, and led his people with unwavering trust that God would not let him or Israel fall. He took risks – often life-endangering ones – because he knew God would always catch him.

Do you have that sort of confidence in the Father? Do I? Reflect on the outrageous claim David is making here and jump off the couch (pun sort of intended) into the arms of the Father. Jump into that dream you’ve been dreaming, jump into the Lord’s calling on your life, jump into what the Spirit has been nudging you to do.

Monday meditations: John. 9.39

John 9.39-41

Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”

Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

“If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. ”But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”

Before you think too harshly of the Pharisees…

remember that they were fired-up religious people who were serious about God and leading others into worshipping God. They also happened to be on the wrong side of every encounter with Jesus in the Gospels, but still, if they were around today, they would be regarded as ideal church members. They tithed. They had the Bible memorized. They obeyed all the commandments. To the letter.

They sound a lot like many Christians…

don’t you think? And here we see that Jesus was not just wailing on them to vent frustration or make them look bad. He was trying to get through to them just how precarious their position was: they were blind to the truth while at the same time being completely convinced that they had full comprehension of the truth.

Jesus loved them enough to confront them…

and not leave them in their self-deception. Jesus loves us that much too and still carries on the work he came to do – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.

We all have blind spots…

especially when it comes to the things of God which are always shrouded in mystery. Revelation by definition is a partial uncovering of truth that is hidden, with the greater part remaining hidden. What God reveals to us of Himself is faithful and true, but never complete, and even in its partiality is often more than we can understand or grasp.

Jesus helps us to see our blindness…

then gives us sight. Think about his statement this week of what he came to do, to give sight and clue people in with regard to their (our) blindness. Let the Spirit of Jesus show you your blind spots and give sight to you as you are able to bear.

Monday meditations: Luke 9.23

And Jesus said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9.23-25)

Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart to grab some hot dogs and buns (we’re having a cookout this afternoon). My daughters went over and looked at the clothes, specifically at the patriotic shirts. This one red shirt had the US flag sewn on the front in sequins. Very pretty. Then I thought about how bitterly sad it must have been for that poor, enslaved child to sit there sewing this symbol of freedom over and over again, when she herself does not (and probably will never) enjoy such freedom.

Then I read this blog post by Peter Rollins which is at the same time the most radical position and the one necessary for Christians if they are going to be serious about following what Jesus taught, how he lived, and what his call in this verse means. Reflect this week on what ways the Spirit is calling you right now to take up your own instrument of self-sacrifice for the benefit of others (i.e., your cross). If you ask, the Spirit will point things out to you. Then you will probably need to ask for strength of will and courage to do those things.

Monday meditations: Psalm 139.14

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Ps. 139.14

As Chris Tomlin sings, “You and I were made to worship.” I think David has two meanings here, a poetic double entendre. First, I praise you because you have made me to be a creature of praise – worship is in keeping with my most fundamental nature.

Second, I recognize how wonderful it is that you have made me and thus I desire to praise you. Either or both is a sufficient argument against total depravity as understood in the TULIP confession (bearing in mind that what TULIP wants is to protect us from thinking along Pelagian lines). I am fallen and sinful, yes I am, but the goodness of my created nature remains. Praise God.

It is likely that you already know this little verse by heart, but remembering the sort of extended meditation we’re doing here, take time with each word this week and really dig into what this statement means – and what it means specifically in your own life (you are quite well made after all). You can even try using the first part of the verse and filling in your own ending: I praise you because ________. See how many ways you can think of to fill in the blank.

I think you will be surprised at how differently your week goes when you fill it with praise to the God who made you a creature of praise.