Another Weapon for the War

So last post I broke the disappointing news that Jesus is not going to extract us out of the combat zone that is our lives here on planet earth. I also said that weapon one for this battle is joy. I got all this from Jesus' prayer for his disciples in John 17. After praying about joy, he then moves on to another topic - that of holiness.

This seems to be a very important issue for a people who are supposed to be holy while living in an unholy place. So what would you expect Jesus to say? I know what I would expect. That He would pray about his people being protected from those bad ole nonchristians on planet earth. That they would stay pure and listen only to Christian music and only see G movies. Things like that. But that's not what he prays at all. Here's what He says:

^"17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth." John 17:17

Notice the word "sanctify" popping up quite a bit. It's a word that means to make holy, to set apart for the purposes of God. In Jesus' prayer, He prays that this process would come about by exposure to truth and not a reduction in exposure to bad influences. Now don't get me wrong, there is a place for limiting the negative things (including some people) that influence us but listen to what Jesus is praying here.

He's saying that more important than isolationism is the regular exposure to truth and that through the power of God's Spirit, that truth makes us holy. It's another weapon in the war. Part of why truth is so important in this battle is that our enemy (not people but the evil one) has only one weapon and it's the lie. Hear Jesus describe the enemy's strategy:

"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44b

Because the enemy is lobbing lies at every possible opportunity, we must be constantly reminded of the truth. The obvious source of this truth is the Bible. It is our storehouse for God's truth and is essential in the fighting off of a myriad of destructive influences that surround us every day.

It is this truth driven santification that then gives us the holiness to enter back into the war zone and keep ourselves in the fight as holy soldiers in an unholy world.

Weapon one for the war - JOY

So we're in a war zone. Now what? How do we go about fighting, even winning, in this war? Take a look at a portion of a prayer of Jesus from John 17:

¹³"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."

Weapon one: Joy

Notice that Jesus explains what he hopes his training and prayers will lead to for the disciples - Joy. Not just any Joy, but the full measure of Jesus' joy within them. At first glance, we might be thinking that this must mean that Jesus is going to shield us from all of the blows of the battle. Maybe even evacuate us out of the combat zone. Not so. Read the next part:

^"14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶They are not of the world, even as I am not of it."

He makes it clear that the disciples are going to be hated and that there is a real enemy (the evil one) who is waging a war against them. He also makes it clear that He is not asking the Father to extract them out of harms way. So where's the joy in that?

Notice that Jesus says that the disciples are not of the world any more than Jesus is of the world. Now I can certainly understand how Jesus is not really at home on ole planet earth - but the disciples? Come on. These guys are about as "down to earth" as you can get.

Jesus is speaking of their citizenship. Even though the disciples have never hung out in heaven (like Jesus has) heaven is their home. They are no longer citizens of Israel or Rome or any other earthly designation. Their home is heaven. Now that is cause for Joy.

It's also a very needed concept for people living in a war zone. The fact that this earth is not our home, frees us up from being crushed every time it doesn't live up to our expectations - which is often. This helps us keep our heads up and our hearts full of courage as we meet the onslaught experienced in the battle.

It also helps us enjoy the abundant life that Christ is offering in the here and now. Knowing that we will always be hungry for deeper relationships, more rest, absence of pain . . . (aka heaven), we can see the good in life as glimpses of the eternal life to come. This way our soaring expectations can come down to earth and we can experience the Joy of knowing God through his good, through fallen, creation.

So here's to Joy in our eternal future. Relish in it often and do not lose heart in the fight for your life and the lives of those around you.

Welcome to the War Zone

I've been chewing on a portion of the Bible known as the "Upper Room Discourse" from the Gospel of John from the last year. One of the things I've noticed is that Jesus if getting his disciples ready to live in a spiritual war zone. Listen to this from John 15:

¹⁸"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. ²²If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. ²³He who hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

Doesn't this sound like fun? I think that if most of us were asked why we became a Christian, we wouldn't say because we get to fight in a war where we'll be hated and attacked. Yet this is exactly what Jesus is preparing them for. He even reminds them that if they had stayed "in the world" as in a member of the community that is made up of those who are not citizens of God's kingdom, they would be loved by the world - aka nobody is shooting at you.

I asked my kids in family devotions how that sounded? They looked at me with bewildered eyes. Why would anyone choose to put themselves in harms way like that? Worse than that - why would Jesus choose us to be placed in harms way like that (verse 19)?

Perhaps there is another way to look at this. I described a scenario where a person goes to boot camp for 6 weeks. They're ridiculed, yelled at, sleep deprived, pushed to their limits. At the end of the camp, the drill instructor walks over and informs you that you have shown yourself to be a soldier with enormous promise and they are recommending you for special operations. You then go to a school where you train in the most recent techniques in modern warfare.

The day comes when you are being dropped in enemy territory for your first special operations mission. Sure, it's a battle, but you find yourself honored to be given such an opportunity to serve.

The Thursday night that Jesus delivers this discourse he can hear the missiles being fired by the enemy. Satan has entered Judas, Satan has asked to sift Peter like wheat (see John 13). Jesus even states that the prince of this world (Satan) is coming (see John 14). The battle rages all around and is just going to get hotter. The disciples initially will run like little children in only a few hours from this discourse when the angry mob comes to arrest Jesus.

Yet, not soon after, they will stand and deliver the truth of the Gospel in the face of enormous opposition. All of them except one will be martyred for the cause. Judging from the spiritual battle raging around Jesus that night, I'm certain that they sustained spiritual wounds as well. At some point, they realized that it was worth it. That, in fact, they had been specially chosen to endure the hardships that they would face for the purpose of battling for their King.

If you are a Christian and find yourself wondering why you are having to fight so many battles. Maybe even wondering if your doing something wrong in the way that you are carrying out your Christian life. Take heart, you have been especially chosen for special operations here on planet earth.

We'll talk more about the ways of this war in the following post . . .

High Octane Obedience

I was recently looking at a quote from Jesus in the Gospel of John chapter 14:

"If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14 verse 15)

I think most Christians have a knee jerk reaction to this verse. It's a reaction of guilt. It goes something like this - "I don't do everything that Jesus commands therefore I don't love Jesus and therefore I am a bad Christian or worse than that, I'm not a Christian at all." We then go about "applying" the verse by trying really hard to obey the commands of Jesus to prove to him that we love him. Does that sound the least bit Christian?

Jesus is teaching his disciples about a new, high octane, fuel for obedience. It's called love. Look at all the times he mentions it in chapter 14 alone:

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (verse 21)

"Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴He who does not love me will not obey my teaching." (verse 23,24a)

"but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me...." (verse 31)

I'd say Jesus is trying to get something across. That the motivation, the fuel if you will, of obedience is love and not fear or guilt or duty. Notice how he frames this concept in verse 31. He compares our loving obedience to his obedience to his Father. Jesus let's us know that what he is about to do the very next day on Good Friday is an act of love toward his Father.

It's here that we know for sure Jesus it not trying to induce guilt with his statement of "if you love me you will obey". Can you imagine Jesus obeying the Father through the gritted teeth of guilt and obligation? I think not.

So how are we supposed to apply these verses? Certainly Jesus is calling us to obey his teachings, but how can we "decide" to be fueled by love in our obedience? In a nut shell, receive what Christ has done for us. John writes in 1 John 4:19, "We love because He first loved us." This fuel that Christ speaks of is not something we can muster up but something that is the by product of drinking deeply of the gospel.

It's pictured beautifully in our experience of communion (Lord's supper, Eucharist). The food and drink is offered and we can do nothing but receive it. As it's received, the food and drink are taken into our body as nutrition which gives us physical strength. It's a symbolic experience that reminds us of our acceptance of the Gospel. A spiritual nourishment that fuels us into a life of loving obedience.

Thankful for Sex

It's been a while since I've blogged so I thought I'd try to catch your attention. Jonah Goldshlag sent me this article about a church in Dallas who took the "Sex Challenge". Great Stuff. Have a Happy (maybe even sexy) Thanksgiving!

Little Foxes

This week, I preached the second sermon of the Song of Solomon series. Part of that sermon was giving a list of the "little foxes" that couples should be looking out for. Here's the list:

• Insecurity
• Addictions
• Anger
• Inability to manage money
• Sexual past
• Sexual abuse
• Depression or other mental issues
• Communication
• Conflict (Cowboys or Eskimos)
• Conflict within families
• Faith

These are also issues to be aware of in general. Looking back at the sermon, I think I would have added this one caveat - whether you end up getting married or not you want to be cooperating with God's Spirit as He moves in you to transform these and other areas. All humans have little foxes that eat away at the root systems of our lives and need to be paid attention to. You don't want singleness or youthfulness to be an excuse to let things go until you get older and decide to deal later. The longer these issues are around, the more they sink their roots into our lives.

Not all Heroes Wear Capes - Bryan Hall

I was in the Apple Store this week with my 13 year old son having his Ipod serviced. We were being waited on by a very helpful technician at the Genius Bar when I notice a message on one of the genius's shirts. It said "not all heroes wear capes". It got me thinking - "You know what? They're right!"

I've had a lot of heroes in my life so I thought that periodically I'd share about some of them. The first one that came to mind for some reason was Bryan Hall. Bryan was the youth minister at Woodlawn Baptist Church in Austin, TX when I was just starting out on my own journey in the church world. He's still there after serving over 20 years. Bryan isn't your typical youth dude. I noticed that most of the guys doing youth ministry were trying to be really cool so they could impress the kids which they thought would then lead to the kids wanting to listen to what they had to say.

Not Bryan. He is just comfortable being himself. For example, his main source of humor is punnery. This guy can make a pun out of anything and once on a roll he just can't be stopped. While the jokes are corny beyond compare, they stand as a symbol of his unique personality that God has shaped and used to bless a whole lot people in his church and beyond.

He has much more to offer than puns. He also has a really unique gift of administration. He can juggle a million and one details and make it look like he is having fun - I'm fairly certain it is because he is. While served as a youth minister at a church in Austin, he directed our yearly summer camp of 500 kids/chaperones and our yearly Mania Marathon event which was a New Years Celebration for teens that was attended by 2000 plus people and a yearly retreat for youth workers. All of this on top of his other duties at his local church.

While all of this admin looks like leaping tall buildings in a single bound - the most impressive part of his ministry is his relationships with his youth. He and I were assigned a Jr. High Boys cabin one year at camp. It was late at night. I had about had it with my little band of testostrone driven teeny boppers. They had finally gotten showered and in bed and I was settling in to my squeeky bunk for a moment to myself. As I lie there, I catch Bryan out of the corner of my eye.

He's working his way around the room to have an end of the day chat with every one of his junior high boys. With some, he had a laugh. With others, he had a serious conversation. With others, he said a quick prayer for whatever it was that was a pressing need. This man who had somehow got his sizable youth group through a day at camp, directed the whole camp, was now tending to God's flock that was under his care.

I don't think I said anything to Bryan that week but that moment sticks in my mind as a model for what ministry looks like. It's one life at a time. It's personal. It's delivered according to the needs of the person with whom you are working. It's done with a sacrificial love that can only come from Jesus.

Thanks Bryan - You're my hero.