The Well Church Blog

New Year, New Plan

2012-01-01T08:31:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012, everyone! I hope that your Christmas and New Year celebrations were merry and left you with a greater expectation of God doing wonderfully unexpected things this year.

One thing I'd like to suggest (just as I did at the beginning of 2011) is for you to be intentional about reading the Bible by choosing a reading plan. So, whether it be by yourself or even with a group of friends, push yourself to diligently study the Word with the intentionality of a plan. (For the first part of the year, I'm going to be reading through lives of some Old Testament characters, starting with King David. Feel free to ask me how it's going.)

And while I'm suggesting reading plans, allow me to commend you to Youversion, a web-based Bible app that also has a plethora of plans to suit your needs. There are also mobile apps that sync your reading really well.

So let's take our biblical literacy to the next level as we ask Jesus to enlarge our capacity to love and serve Him in 2012.

Josh

Incarnation

2011-12-09T15:02:00.000-08:00

I had a few requests to repost the quote from Sunday's message. Here it is, from St. Alphonse de Liguori:

When the Son of God became man for our sake, He could have come on earth as an adult man from the first moment of His human existence. But since the sight of little children draws us with an especial attraction to love them, Jesus chose to make His first appearance on earth as a little infant….”God wished to be born as a little baby,” wrote Saint Peter Chrysologus, “in order that He might teach us to love and not to fear Him.” The prophet Isaias had long before foretold that the Son of God was to be born as an infant and thus give Himself to us on account of the love He bore us: “A child is born to us, and a son is given to us.” My Jesus, supreme and true God! What has drawn Thee from heaven to be born in a cold stable, if not the love which Thou bearest us men? What has allured thee from the bosom of Thy Father, to place Thee in a hard manger? What has brought Thee from Thy throne above the stars to lay Thee down on a little straw? What has led Thee from the midst of the nine choirs of angels, to set Thee between two animals? Thou, who inflamest the seraphim with holy fire, are now shivering with cold in this stable! Thou, who settest the stars in the sky in motion, canst not now move unless others carry Thee in their arms! Thou, who givest men and beasts their food, has need now of a little milk to sustain Thy life! Thou, who art the joy of heaven, dost now whimper and cry in suffering! Tell me, who has reduced Thee to such misery? “Love has done it,” says Saint Bernard. The love which Thou bearest us men has brought all this on Thee.

I pray that the Incarnation renews your heart with deep fascination this Advent season.

Stewardship Matters

2011-10-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

On this past Sunday, Mike Ashford spoke a bit on the issue of poverty, and Josh Siders followed it up with some comments about generosity. He also threw out the statement that those of us who live on more than $2 a day are among the wealthiest people in the world. If you have clothes on your back, money in your pocket, and a roof over your head, you are among the top 1% wealthiest people in the world. If you're reading this right now, you are probably near the middle to the top of that 1%. In light of that, I'd like to throw a few figures at you and see where they land.

November is right around the corner. That means that Thanksgiving is well on its way. As many of you might know, with Thanksgiving comes Black Friday. If you don't know, Black Friday has become a retail holiday unto itself. On the friday after Thanksgiving, stores across the country open their doors at 12:00am Friday morning and offer large discounts and special deals that only last for that weekend. During this time, shoppers swarm shopping malls and retail stores. Last year, the average shopper spent $365.34, which isn't an incredible amount, but think about this: Last year there were an estimated 212 million shoppers that participated in Black Friday. That's a lot of folks spending $365.34.

A large portion of the world's population is currently starving because they have no access to food. The estimated cost of fixing this has been quoted at about $30 billion a year. That's a hefty price tag. 1.6 billion people lack access to water and basic sanitation. An estimated cost to fixing this problem is somewhere in the neighborhood of $20 - $30 billion. That also is a hefty price tag.

Here's the kicker. The combined total of all the money spent by American consumers on Black Friday last year – 212 million shoppers spending on average $365 dollars a piece – came to $45 billion. In one day American consumers spent enough money to solve either world hunger or the world water crisis, with enough left over to make a significant dent in the other.

One day.

While it's easy to look at these figures and be filled with a sense of disgust and guilt, it's important to keep in view what is really the issue here. Most likely, you have a significant amount resources at your disposal if you're reading this blog. God has blessed you with these, they are yours to steward. It's not your fault that you were born in the US and someone else wasn't. You have no control over that. What you do have control over is what you do with what you've been given.

Jesus gives a chilling account in Matthew 25. He says at the end of the age He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep He will take with Him and the goats He will not. What separates the sheep from the goats is how these folks treated those less fortunate than themselves.

What you do with what you've been given is important. How do you spend your money? How do you spend your time? How do you spend your energy? Think about it.

For more about the figures above, see:

Big Black Friday weekend results

The Price of Hunger

What Would It Take?

Wanted Children

2011-10-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Sarah Siders recently wrote blog about the deception of unwanted children, and I love how she starts off:

You’ve seen the bumper sticker. And at first, you agreed. “Every child a wanted child.” The words ring pro-life, until you hear the undertone, the statement left unsaid: “And let all unwanted children remain unborn.” This deceiving motto of Planned Parenthood could seduce anyone into agreement at first glance. But the fundamental belief of the Planned Parenthood mentality crashes into a starkly different belief from the life movement, that each child is wanted. Every last one of them.

Wow, that's intense stuff. Read the rest of it here.

Devoted & Disciplined

2011-10-11T16:00:00.000-07:00

During Sunday's message, Devoted, I mentioned four key activities that the disciples made apart of their daily routine: doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. We can assume from the context of Acts 2:42 that early believers in the church sustained their love for Jesus and strengthened their community on these important practices. Not only were they diligent to incorporate them into their everyday lives, but also they made certain that all new believers also did likewise.

As a resource for further spiritual development, I would like to recommend to you the book Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster. It contains may important spiritual disciplines that any follower of Jesus should be developing in his or her life. Grab a copy and a couple of friends and enjoy!

Steve Jobs

2011-10-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

This week, the world of technology mourns the death of Steve Jobs, the founder and former CEO of Apple. We mourn his death not because the position he held, but because of who he was and what he represented. Steve Jobs, through his various entrepreneurial efforts and his unique creative spark, changed the way the world looked at technology, and to a large degree, the very way in which we communicate.

Jobs was a man who had a vision, knew where he was going, and poured everything he had into getting there. He represented the advancement and fusion of technology with art. He brought an acute awareness of beauty and design into an industry that had previously dealt almost exclusively with function and changed the way we thought of and interacted with electronics. He was a man who truly left a mark on the world. Because of Steve Jobs, the world will never be the same.

video platform video management video solutions video player

As we remember Steve Jobs, I think it's important to think about our own lives as well. What kind of mark are we making? What kind of legacy are we leaving behind? While Jobs did his part in creating and advancing a vast kingdom in the world of electronics and entertainment, we must recognize that, even the vast influence that Apple has and the unmistakable mark Jobs has left on the world of technology and entertainment, it will all fade away.

We have been entrusted with a similar charge, to work to advance the Kingdom of God, which will never fade and will continue on into eternity. Steve had a vision and he gave everything to seeing that vision become reality, and we remember and recognize his influence on our world because of it. In light of this, we should ask ourselves, what kind of influence will we have for the Kingdom we're pursuing? What is the vision that we will pour out everything for? What kind of mark will we leave for the Kingdom of Heaven? Who will mourn our passing and how will we be remembered?

The Outlawed Samaritan

2011-10-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

On October 1^st, Alabama House Bill 56, which is a set of laws strictly enforcing anti-illegal immigration measures, went into affect. These new laws do many things to make it very difficult for undocumented immigrants to live in the state of Alabama. Among them are the requirements of schools and employers to ascertain the immigration status of students and employees. It will also “require law enforcement officers “to attempt to determine the immigration status of a person who they suspect is an unauthorized alien of this country.”” But most disturbingly of all the provisions, it also “makes it a criminal offense to transport or house to an illegal immigrant.” This has many far reaching implications.

In Luke 10, Jesus relates a story about helping those (your neighbors) in need. He masterfully illustrated the point that, in the Kingdom of God, cultural, national, or regional differenced don't matter when facing a fellow human in need. He does this by making the “hero” of the story a samaritan, a member of a group of people who is largely and strictly outcast by those who are charged with enforcing the laws of Israel. In Jesus' story, the Samaritan crossed social, regional, and possibly national boundaries that may have existed to help a fellow human being.

In Alabama, according to House Bill 56, to follow this teaching of Jesus, for a citizen to extend a helping hand to a fellow human being in need who happens to be an undocumented immigrant by opening their house, or even simply giving him or her a ride, is now illegal.

This raises an important question. In the instance that following Jesus' teachings leads us to act in violation of the law (state or federal), where should we stand? Which way should we go? This is a question worth exploring, and I encourage you to do so. Knowing where you stand on this point is important.

For more on this Alabama legislation and the context of the quotes above, see this article from CNN concerning this issue.

The First Sermon

2011-10-04T21:45:00.001-07:00

On the Day of Pentecost, a mere fifty days after Jesus had been crucified and buried, a former fisherman and his band of countrymen arose with a newly found boldness to address the crowds that had formed around the day's early morning activities. Peter, who had previously been known for his brash outbursts and cowardly denials, stood up to represent the group and explain what the onlookers were observing. His reasoning was clear and his conclusion was swift: The crowd had willingly participated in the murder of an innocent man who was God in the flesh. Their only recourse was to repent and accept His sacrificial death as the only possible atonement for this and all their sins. They needed to be baptized in response and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Something wonderful then happened as 3,000 people were moved in anguish and conviction and were converted on the spot. The Scripture does not tell us if anyone had been feeling remorseful or guilty at committing such a heinous act. But whatever their states, just fifty short days after the death of Jesus, this proclamation by an anointed messenger brought about an eternal change in the hearts of those who had earlier cried, "Crucify Him!"

And the same happens today as men and women who are empowered by the Spirit of God to speak truth by the Scripture to those who are no less guilty in the death of Jesus. He charges us all with carrying this message: "Therefore le all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

2011-10-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

As a Church - the universal church and the local church - the goal is to come together as one community. This means that each of us, as we're each in our individual seasons of life, need each other. I need you, you need me, we all need each other. As we embark in this journey together to strive for what the early church achieved as they gathered together, we have to keep the mindset of standing by one another. Even when I do something that you might not agree with, or perhaps that may offend you, or you do something that offends or hurts me, even in the midst of all these relational potholes and pitfalls, I will stand by you. Will you stand by me?

Tomato Slavery

2011-09-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

I recently heard a report on the radio talking about “Tomato Slavery” and how the tomatoes we see in most grocery stores have a much higher price than what the cashier rings up at the register. Most of the domestic tomatoes that we buy come from south Florida, where growers often employ illegal immigrants to hand pick tomatoes in vast fields of tomato vines.

The growers that operate “ethically” pay their pickers wages that afford them a living at or below poverty level. Scraping by on a minimal wage, they work long hard days in order send money back to family members in their countries of origin. The growers who are less than upstanding often keep immigrants, who came to earn an honest wage, in slavery conditions, refusing to pay them (or coming up with methods of cheating them out of their money) and threatening them – or worse – when they attempt to leave.

In this article from Gourmet by Barry Estabrook, “Politics of the Plate: The Price of Tomatoes”, Estabrook chronicles briefly an experience of one such immigrant-become-slave and shines some light into the struggles of the pickers that work to provide us with tomatoes year round.

When learning about situations such as these, I think it's important to realize that it's these people, people like the slaves of south Florida, that Jesus talks about near the end of Matthew 25. Though we might not be able to directly interact or affect the lives of the people that find themselves in this bleak situation, we can still play a part in affecting change by being mindful of how we spend our money, or more to the point, where – and to whom – the money we spend goes. The article that's linked above gives some tips on how we can do this. I encourage you to take some time and read it. I know I'll never look at the stand of tomatoes in the grocery store the same again...

Here's an additional article on the subject: "Slavery In The Tomato Fields"

Change Up

2011-09-27T21:50:00.000-07:00

We're going to be doing some different things around these parts, beginning today. In order to increase our effectiveness in reaching out and serving the community at theWELL, we'll be doing regular posts that will tend to follow this pattern:

On Tuesdays we'll post a reflection of the message from the previous Sunday, or a theological reflection for the week.

On Thursdays we'll focus on a topic relating to works of justice that tie in to our faith.

On Saturdays we'll feature a light post for your weekend enjoyment.

We hope to inform and encourage you and your faith journey. Thanks goes out to Henry Bartel and Emma Wheatley for their help and input.

In Defense Of Doctrine

2011-08-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. - Jude 1:3

I'm writing this in response to something I heard come out the mouth of a brother in the faith as he was praying. While the passage above speaks to those who would deny the Lord Jesus completely and lead the saints with them away from the Lord, I'm quoting this passage in response to those who still believe they are seeking the Lord, but are skirting on the very edge of the narrow way Jesus talks about in Matthew 7, ever so slightly out of alignment, that the deviation from the faith is subtle, but grows slowly.

Let me begin by defining some terms. In the above passage, Jude uses the term “the faith”. In his letter, he's addressing the saints: “those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for [or by] Jesus Christ”. He uses this term “the faith” in relation to salvation. This builds off of what James says in his letter, basically the thought that faith without works is not genuine faith, without which there is no salvation if in fact salvation stems from genuine faith as asserted by Paul in his letter to the Romans. Jude takes it a step further, past salvation and into guarding that salvation, making the statement that there is a faith – one – which we are to hold to.

What does that mean? What is meant by the term the faith. It would seem that it goes past the overarching term of faith, which Paul describes Abraham having, a trust in God, and steps into something more refined.

In 1 Corinthians 16:13, paul puts it like this: “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” The Faith is something that we can stand firm in, hold fast to, adhere to. He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” So The Faith is something in which we are either in or out of. And more than that, there is a measure with which to test whether we are in or we are out. There is an observable difference between those who are in the faith, and those who are not.

What is this quantifiable evidence of The Faith? The term implies that there is a specific set of beliefs to be adhered to. If these beliefs are held, we have The Faith, or are in The Faith. If these beliefs are not held, we are not. There's another word describing specific beliefs that are held. That word is Doctrine. When Jude and Paul use the term The Faith, they are referring to specific beliefs or the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 6:3-4a says “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” Doctrines are the test to which Paul refers in 2 Corinthians. If the Doctrines of Jesus Christ are held, we are in The Faith. If we hold doctrines contrary to those spoken by Jesus (or believe doctrines don't matter at all – which, by the way, is still a doctrine), we are not. Doctrines are important, and they are to be held, highly regarded, observed and protected.

In Paul's instruction to the leaders of the Church, he takes this a step further still. In Paul's letter to Titus, Paul tells him what kind of person should be appointed to a leadership position. Among the criteria is a firm grasp of sound doctrine: “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” He goes on to tell Titus how to instruct those not in leadership to live godly lives. Among this admonition is the instruction that they are to “[show] all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.”

There's a popular belief right now that faith trumps doctrine. That a relationship with Jesus is more important than the doctrines of Jesus. Beloved, that is a lie straight from the pit of Hell. Without the doctrines of Jesus Christ, there is no knowledge of Jesus Christ. And without a knowledge of Jesus Christ, there is no relationship with Jesus Christ (you cannot relate to that which you do not know). To know Christ, to be in relationship with Jesus Christ is to hold fast the Doctrines of Jesus Christ as spoken by Christ himself, and by the apostles through the inspired written word of the Scriptures.

To reject the Doctrines of God is to reject God. Some might say that they have a relationship with Christ apart from the Doctrines of Christ (The Faith), apart from the teachings and beliefs of the Church (or with teachings and beliefs different from the Church). To those I would say, you have a relationship to someone, but it's not Jesus.

When the doctrines are left behind or altered, The Faith is left behind and all that is left is an unbridled or heretical spirituality masquerading as Christianity. Jesus comes with His doctrines. To embrace one is to embrace the other. Period.

The Call of Christ and the Nature of Love

2011-07-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

When Christ calls his Church, he calls her to continue His work. This work consists of primarily three specific things. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:9-10), to preach the Kingdom of God (Luke 4:43), and to reveal the Father (John 14:7-10). Here I would like to focus on this last one: To reveal the Father.

To carry out this call, we must understand two fundamental truths. The first of these is that if we embrace Jesus as our Savior and Lord, the Father is in us. In John 14:10, Jesus says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” Then, in John 15:4, Jesus goes on to say, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”

If Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Him, and we are in Jesus, and Jesus is in us, that also means that the Father is in us. Jesus was and is the living embodiment and incarnation of the Father. Simply by looking on and knowing Jesus, the people around Him were looking on and knowing God the Father. When we allow Jesus to shine through us, when people look at us, talk to us, get to know us, they can see the Father in us, because Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in Jesus.

The second is this, when the call on our life is to reveal the Father, our lives are no longer our own. When we embrace the call to reveal the Father, our lives become all about the Father. If our lives continue to point to us, then the people that we encounter will see us. If our lives point to the Father, then the people we encounter will see the Father. It's a very simple concept.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes about this concept as he talks about the nature of love. In 1 Corinthians 13:5, as he's describing love, he says “it is not self-seeking”. This points to an idea that is essential to our call to reveal the Father: to live a life that reveals the Father, we have to love the Father in Jesus. If we have a real, genuine love for Him, we will give our lives to Him. Our lives will point to him because we seek Him and His will first. If we don't have a real, genuine love for him, we can go through the motions, we can know all the scriptures, we can be in the right places and do the right things, but our fallen human nature will always lead us to seek our own first. We can say we put Him first, but our lives will say otherwise.

When we really and truly love God, our lives will show it. We will do anything for Him, we will endure anything for Him, and in all of it we will walk, speak, live in such a way that brings Him to the forefront while allowing ourselves to fade to the background. People will see the Father in us because He will be our all-consuming passion. He will permeate every aspect of our lives, the way we dress, the way interact, the way talk, the way we listen, the way we live will exhibit God.

We have the Father in us through Jesus. He loved us so much that he allowed himself to be literally consumed by His love for us. We can see all throughout scripture that His people, His nation, His bride is His one single passion. We see that in how he interacts with the world, how he talks, how he listens, how he lives with us, and how he died for us. When we do the same, when we allow God to become our all-consuming passion, the world will see the Father through Jesus in us by how we interact with the world, how we talk, how we listen, how we live, and even how we die.

Jesus said it best: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

THE GIFT OF GRACE pt2

2011-07-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

In part 1, we looked at what Grace is and where it comes from. Now, in part 2, we'll take a deeper look into Grace and what our response to it should be. In his letter to the Romans, Paul talks about two different kinds, or works of Grace, both coming from the same source, but having two different functions. These two kinds of Grace are what I'll call Saving Grace and Enabling Grace. We've already seen the basis for Saving Grace in part 1. It's found in Romans 3:23-25. Paraphrased, is says no one is good enough to meet God's standard, and in that condition He has provided for us a way, through Him, to rise to the standard required by Him, that He would be glorified. This is Saving Grace, the Grace by which we obtain the righteousness of God and the right to be adopted into the family of God as sons and daughters.

To see the second work of Grace, Enabling Grace, two passages, one near the beginning of the letter and one near the end, need to be linked together. In Romans 12:3 & 12:6a Paul writes, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” and “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them...”. Paul's use of the word Grace here refers not to a Grace simply by which we are saved, but rather a Grace that enables us to act. In verse 3, he's referencing the Grace he has been given to act, and in verse 6 he's referencing the grace that we've been given to act.

So what does this mean? How does Grace allow us to act? To answer this, Romans 1:1-5, specifically verse 5, needs to be linked with 12:3&6. Romans 1:1-5 says:

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

In verse 5, Paul first talks about his own enabling Grace, and then speaks of our enabling Grace, in the phrase “obedience of faith”.

To unpack this, the reality that Grace has to be claimed must be understood. Grace is a free gift to us from God “to be received” (Romans 3:25). That means that it's ours only if we receive it. How do we receive it? Simple: Believe. “...God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Or, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). With both Saving Grace and Enabling Grace, in order to claim it, to walk in it, we simply must believe it's ours. In the case of Saving Grace, to believe means to trust in Christ's work on the cross. In the case of Enabling Grace, to believe is to trust that God has given us the ability, authority and power to do what he calls us to do. When God calls, he gives the Grace to follow the call. To believe in enabling Grace is to obey what God calls us to do. This is what paul is meaning in Romans 1:5 when he uses the term “obedience of faith”.

Finally, there is a peace to be found in the Grace of God. In both instances of Grace, when we receive it, there comes with it a confidence that God will accomplish what he sets out to do. When we trust in Christ's work on the cross, in his Saving Grace, we can have full confidence that all our sins are forgiven and that we have a place in God's family forever. When we respond to God's calling with the obedience of faith, in his Enabling Grace, we can have full confidence that God will bring about His desired outcome. In both instances, the confidence in God's grace should leave us with the peace that God is firmly in control. All we need to do is believe, show up, and do what he tells us. He'll take care of everything else. Grace. It's that simple.

Independence Day

2011-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday, July 5^th, and I find myself reflecting on the significance of yesterday. Yesterday being, of course, July 4^th, our country's independence day. The forth of July is typically marked with loud explosions, bright burning lights, and the smell of gun powder mixed with savory barbeque wafting through the air.

But there's something more that's not as easy to put a finger on. There's a sense of honor, an atmosphere of veneration for our country, past and present, and a deeply felt gratitude that the country in which we live is built on an honorable, noble, and sacred foundation formed and protected by generations of men and women. It's in this invisible, yet almost tangible air of respect and reverence, that the disciple of Christ must keep a firm footing on the path in front of him or her, marching in and toward a Kingdom that is greater and more majestic than the United States of America could ever hope to be. As disciples of Christ, we've allied ourselves with the Kingdom of God, with King Jesus sitting at the head. Our allegiance is first and foremost to God, The Great I AM.

So we must ask the question, is it ok to celebrate our country's independence day, or does that conflict with the allegiance we've declared to God? Can we, in good conscience, take part in the festivities honoring our country in which we live? To answer these questions, we must turn to scripture. God gives us a very clear word in this regard in the book of 1 Peter. In 1 Peter 2:13-17, the apostle Peter writes:

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Peter says here that by living under the authority of worldly governments, and doing it well for the Lord's sake, we will put to silence those who will accuse you of evil, and through it the “excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light” will be proclaimed (1 Peter 2:9). Further instructing us how to do this, he tells us to Fear God and Honor the Worldly authority under which we have subjected ourselves, that in doing so we might glorify God.

So is it ok to celebrate our country's independence day? It's not only acceptable, we're instructed to do it. Fear God. Honor your government. By all means, have a barbeque and blow something up in honor of our country's independence to the glory of God!

The Gift of Grace Pt 1

2011-06-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Grace is, by far, the simplest doctrinal truth in the life of a Christian. Grace rests at the core of what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and the ability to live out of our inheritance as children of God rests squarely on the reality of Grace. Unfortunately, since it is so breathtakingly simple, Grace is also one of the most over-thought and over-complicated doctrines. In the 16 chapters of Paul's letter to the Romans, the word Grace appears 18 times. A good understanding of Grace can be gained by looking through the words of Paul in this magnum opus of doctrinal revelation centered around Grace

In Romans chapter 3, Paul gives us the essence of Grace, namely the free gift of God from God to us. He starts by making this statement in verse 23: “All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,”. Look closely at this verse. Grace is beautifully evident here, but it's very easy to miss. Notice that this verse does not end with a period, but rather a comma. Paul says no one is good enough to meet the requirements put forward by God, but he doesn't stop there. What follows in verses 24 and 25 gives us the foundation on which our understanding of Grace is built. All together these three verses read.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

If read carefully, a theme emerges from this passage: Grace is from God. All of it. Here, read it again. See if you can pick it up.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Grace is not a result of anything that we did, or even can do. Grace has it's source 100% in God.

Because Grace is a gift, owing it's origins totally and completely to God, we have no claim on it other than it was given to us. This means Grace cannot be earned. Paul makes this point beautifully in Romans 11:6 which says, speaking of being chosen by Grace, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.” Grace is a gift. A gift cannot be earned. Romans 4:4-5 says “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness”. There is a beautiful and breathtaking truth to be found here. Grace is a gift which was freely given, regardless of our worthiness or unworthiness to receive it. Here's the beauty of it. If there is nothing that qualifies us to receive grace, there is also nothing that disqualifies us from receiving grace. Grace is ours, whether we like it or not. What then becomes important is how we respond to it. We have a choice. We can either embrace what God has given to us, or we can leave it behind, choosing instead to rely on our own merit.

In part 2, I'll look at some finer distinctions made about grace, as well as a clearer understanding of what it looks like to receive the gift.

Stay tuned...

Holy Violence Pt. 2

2011-06-09T22:14:00.000-07:00

In Part 1, I introduced the topic of spiritual violence using the life of John the Baptist as our prime example. In this post I'd like to give a few more examples from the pages of Scripture of people who, in their own way and their own time, lived lives that we spiritually violent.

First, let's consider a hero of the faith from the Old Testament. King David was the simple shepherd boy who God referred to as the man after His own heart. As he sought God on those sprawling hills near Bethlehem, he became a diligent worshiper with the early skills of a leader preparing to care for the Lord's nation. He was such a devoted servant that he sought to put comfort and convenience aside in order that God would be glorified. In Psalm 132, David was remembered to have said, “Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house, Or go up to the comfort of my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, Until I find a place for the LORD, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob” (v. 3-5). This posture made David a man who embraced spiritual violence to serve God with all of his being.

Next, let's consider the Apostle Paul. We all know Paul as the man who, after a radical conversion experience, gave up all of his social and religious clout to follow Jesus and spread the Gospel to the nations. If that weren't enough to qualify as violent, you can look at the list of things he endured in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 to take the message abroad. To that list, Paul added a qualifier in Philippians 3:13-14 when he said, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." In other words, all the good work that had been done, as well as all the bad things that occurred (consider again the list), Paul hit delete. He constantly wiped the slate clean to propel himself further into the grace and love of Jesus.

Lastly, we will consider the simple example of Mary of Bethany. In John 12:1-7, the story is told of how Mary anointed Jesus for burial. The oil of spikenard she used was worth an entire year's salary, and she poured it out on Him without hesitation or regard to the disciples' objections. All of her financial security and hope for a future--perhaps even a husband--was represented in the vial.

Unfortunately, we don't have time or space to consider all these heroes of spiritual violence, but you can always turn to Hebrews 11 to learn glean from their examples. And don't forget to consider the life and example of the One who gave it all for us in the most extravagant act of holy violence--Christ Jesus.

The Beauty of the Cross

2011-05-30T19:37:00.000-07:00

In my short experience as a follower of Jesus Christ, I've come across a lot of stumbling blocks, and I've encountered many people whose faith has been challenged or even extinguished by the same issues. One such obstacle that I seem to come across often is the issue of the cross being overly horrific. The thought that God would ordain the death of his Son in such a manner (or even at all) is simply off-putting to many, and to still more it is simply offensive. More often than not, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is expressed as a transaction by which one Man's undeserved suffering is exchanged for a different, undeserving man's pardon. To be clear, this is what happened on the cross. But to be clearer still, the cross itself is only a small part of the story of Jesus Christ. Even the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is only a portion of the Grand Narrative of God's divine romance.

Just like anything else, when the story of the cross is taken out of context, or only in a partial context, it often is misunderstood or not understood at all. Jesus, his life and ministry, and his horrible death is much more than a transaction by which our sins are forgiven. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a manifestation of a furious love that burns with more passion than a thousand suns, and that has been brilliantly ablaze since the dawn of creation. Let me begin at the beginning...

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...” I feel it's important to note here that the creation story is not meant to be taken literally. It's meant to capture the essence of creation. It's a poem. That's what poems do, capture the essence of a truth.

This story begins in Genesis 1, when God, in an overflow of his own creativity, creates all that is. And then, out of an overflow of His love, He forms a creature out of the dirt and endows it with His very Spirit (Genesis 2). In the beginning, man was created in a perfect union, he with God and God with him. But after a time, something went horribly wrong and the objects of God's affection, the focus of His fiery passionate love, began to thumb their noses at Him, rejecting Him both as their God and as their lover (Genesis 3 and onward). Thus, God set in motion the most beautiful love story ever written.

For thousands of years, God patiently walked along side humanity as they ignored and offended Him. Like a husband bound by a sacred vow to his wife, He faithfully never left her side, keeping watch over her and meeting her every need, even in the face of continuous rejection. For thousands of years, he attempted to woo her back to Him, and for thousands of years, she rejected Him again and again and again (Exodus - Esther). Then, in an act of perfect and desperate love, God himself laid down his life in order to bring His beloved back into a perfect communion with Him (Matthew 1 – John 21).

While Jesus was crushed by the Father, the Father, being one with the Son in the trinity, did it with expectant joy (Hebrews 12:2), knowing that with His sacrifice, he would finally win back his bride that he had known at the beginning in the Garden, inseparably joining the two together as one, His Spirit in ours and our spirit in His. Perfect love reunited. ... The only catch is that the bride has to choose to take the gift that the Bridegroom joyfully purchased for her.

It is only the divine power of the burning passion of God's heart that can take history's most potent and brutal instrument of torture and death and transform it into the most astounding and breathtaking instrument of Love. God loves you with more passion and burning desire than you can even begin to imagine. God literally gave up His life to win your heart.

I said at the beginning that the cross, when viewed as a cold transaction is often offensive. likewise, when a proper perspective is gained on what the cross really is, the result is equally and beautifully disturbing. If you understand and comprehend the scope of what you've just read, you will likely find yourself standing face to face with Jesus Christ, Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, and as you meet his gaze, He will gently whisper into your heart “your move”.

Holy Violence Pt. 1

2011-05-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago at theWELL I shared briefly on the topic of spiritual violence. It was just enough to evoke a few questions and comments, so I'd like to elaborate a bit on the topic.

The verse I quoted to begin the discussion was Matthew 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (NKJV). Interesting, don't you think? Here we find Jesus isolating something about John the Baptist that caught Jesus' attention enough to merit His commentary. What was it that Jesus was saying here?

Just before He says what He does in verse 12, He says something that is so incredible that it's hardly imaginable. Jesus says in verse 11, "Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist." In other words, of all the humans that have ever lived (except Himself, of course), John is the greatest of them all.

What made John the Baptist so great? Why did heaven "suffer violence" because of him? What does it mean to suffer violence anyway?

The first thing we can rule out is that heaven can be somehow injured because something humans can do. This isn't suffering that we ordinarily think of. It's more like "undergoes" or "puts up with." Heaven is affected, for sure, but not in a negative way.

Next, the violence done isn't physical violence. We don't have a record of John hurting anyone. In fact, all the hurtin' was put on him, in the end. So, "violence" is referring to a forceful act, but no animals have been harmed in its production.

What we're left with is a picture of John the Baptist in the wilderness, fasting and praying, living a simple lifestyle, waiting on the voice of God. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets whose job it was to proclaim the coming of the Messiah. And, in all that, he got the attention of heaven. John the Baptist was a force to be reckoned with because of his faithful lifestyle and his obedience that ran right up until the end of his life. He said that he was a friend of the Bridegroom and because he heard the voice of the Bridegroom, he was full of joy (John 3:29). And he knew that as Jesus' life and ministry increased, his job would be to fade to the background to put a brighter spotlight on Him (John 3:30). He is a picture of those who are completely sold out to the kingdom and its King and would do anything to bring honor and glory to Him. And that's something that gets heaven's attention.

Next, we'll develop this a bit more and talk about others in Scriptures who embodied this reality along with John the Baptist.

Grace & Love

2011-04-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

There's this story in Scripture of David, while enjoying the peace and security of a king who is faithfully following God, sitting around and he wonders aloud if he can show kindness to one of the family members of a fallen friend.

Before that, some back story.

David grew up ignored and slighted by his seven older brothers. He was forgotten at the family feast when Samuel came to visit. (The prophet Samuel was the #2 most important guy in the country. It's like the VP coming to dinner and your dad forget to call you in from slopping the pigs.) Anointed there as the next king, he gets called into employment by the man he is to replace, Saul. Then his to-be ex-boss tries to kill him. A lot.

David finds a friend in the king's son, Jonathan, who aids and abets him as he runs from hideout to hideout trying to avoid Saul and his not-so-merry men.

Now, along with his time slopping pigs--tending sheep, actually--David has plenty of time to pray. And pray. And clarify some things with God. He has a lot of things to be upset about. Betrayal, family rivalry, being the last one picked for kickball, all that stuff.

But David is different. Instead of spending his time worrying about how to get back at people, he spends his time in worship. In prayer. In adoration of God.

And God does something amazing.

As David is praying and worshiping and adoring, God is changing his emotional chemistry. God, through Samuel in the beginning, calls David a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). He heard God in that secret time affirming and encouraging him.

And David believed God.

David, after messing up big time and almost dying in a mutiny, tells everyone who will listen, "He delivered me because He delighted in me" (Ps. 18:19).

Did you hear that? God rescued David because He liked him. And David even thought that was okay to say out loud. To other people.

And then God does something even more amazing.

The way David knew God felt about him, and the way he was beginning to think about himself, God transferred those feelings to other people. "They are the excellent ones, in whom my heart delights" (Ps. 16:3).

David's heart delighted in others? In the way God's heart delighted in him? (That sort of sounds like Matthew 22 where Jesus says the first and greatest commandment is to love God, and the second is to love others as you love yourself).

So back to the original story, where David is wondering aloud (you can find it in 2 Sam. 9). Because Jonathan was such a good friend, David is wanting to bless someone from his family. Not because there's a law that says he has to. Not because his wife(s) talked him into it. And not because someone said it would be a good idea.

He does it out of the overflow of love he has been given from God. He reaches into his own creative goodness that's been placed there from God's Spirit and comes out with a blessing.

And so a man named Mephibosheth was chosen to be the recipient of David's kindness. He was one of Jonathan's surviving sons who had been injured as a boy, and still couldn't walk completely. And on that day it was declared that, for the rest of his life, he would eat with the king at his table and never been in need of anything ever again.

David is a great of someone receiving the love of God and it moving them so much that they can't help but show that love to others. In tangible ways, and in ways that cost them something.

Love God. Love others. It's just that simple.

Welcome

2011-03-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Thanks for checking out our newly revamped website, along with our new blog. Why start a blog, to add to the endless information glut that finds its home on the interwebs? Our goal is to create a place for dialogue and interaction for theWELL's community, as well as help to get our message out to Manhattan and beyond.

What, exactly, is our message? It's simply Jesus and His Kingdom. And that life in the Kingdom is the best possible life for anyone anywhere to live.

So stay tuned for many beautiful thoughts and dreams from those who find their home at theWELL.

Josh