Category Archives: Blog

Matthew—We Can Stop Inviting Jesus

“‘Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'” 

“‘Lord,” another of His disciples said, “first let me go bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” – Matthew 8:19-22

narrow

Jesus was clear that following Him would not be a journey of 5-star hotels, but a narrow gate to a narrow road and most of what we clutch in our hands and our hearts will not fit.

He was equally clear that there is an urgency in the Gospel and no other perceived obligation can come first. To the man’s request that Jesus wait until he tied up his loose ends, Jesus’ answer was no.

But what really caught my eye was the missing invitation.

Neither of the men invited Jesus to be their Lord and Savior. Instead, they each said they would be His follower.

And for some reason, that became meat on a bone for me. A bone that I need to pick with us, the ambassadors for Christ, the disciple-makers, the carriers of the Gospel. So many of us present people with the same message, in varying forms:

“Invite Jesus into your heart/life to be your Lord and Savior, and you will be saved.”

We need to stop presenting the Gospel as though it is our invitation to God.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah!” Acts 2:36

Our invitation does not make Him what God has already made Him.

I think the real reason that our invitation to Jesus has become a point of contention for me, is that it feels too much like we are standing on a level playing field with Jesus. Like we have the power over whether or not He is Lord.

“…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:10-11)

It’s not that the Christians have a Lord, and everyone else doesn’t. Jesus is Lord of all. The question will never be, is He Lord and Savior?, but did we obey the Gospel and receive life? Faith is an act of obedience, not an invitation. (Romans 1:5, 16:26; Romans 10:15-17)

I know what you’re thinking. The invitation gives them a starting point, a way of expressing verbally what is happening in their heart. It’s semantics, really.

Except it isn’t. I cannot find even a theological principle that implies our ability to extend an invitation to the Creator of heaven and earth, for anything. Even our opening the door that He is knocking on is not our invitation to Him, it is our yes to Him. He’s already at the door. No invitation needed. (Revelation 3:20)

Gospel means good news. The good part is not that we can invite Jesus in. It is that He can make us stop being dead.

 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world… But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses.

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift. (Ephesians 2:1,4, 8 – emphasis mine)

Lazarus comes to mind as a physical picture of a spiritual event. He was very dead. Jesus neither gave an invitation nor waited for one. He gave a command — “Lazarus, come forth”. Disobedience would have kept him in the grave. Obedience brought him out.

Invitations are nice, polite. Unintrusive. Friendly. I think maybe that’s what we want the Gospel to be.

But it isn’t. The keys to death and hell were not politely handed over, they were taken with earth-shaking force. There was nothing friendly about the atonement for our sin.

The Gospel is bloody and real and hell shattering and it is not about making bad people good, or hurt people better, but about making dead people live.

passionofchristqi4

This was not to make us better but to put an end to our death. 

It leaves me a little wrecked with wonder as I look back through this lens and see what really happened in April of 1989 when I thought I was inviting Jesus to come into my life to be my Lord and Savior.

In reality, He stood at my tomb and commanded me to come forth. And in His love, goodness, and mercy, He took my invitation as obedience and removed my grave clothes.

Oh. How I love Him.

faithful, loving, co-laboring in 2017

Dear friend, you are showing faithfulness by whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers. They have testified to your love in front of the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God, since they set out for the sake of the Name, accepting nothing from pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such men so that we can be co-workers with the truth. – 3 John 5-8

Just a few observations from this passage:

When we give our financial support to those who are “setting out for the sake of the Name” (or those doing ministry/missionary work, as we would call it), God’s Word calls that faithfulness.

So when I hoard my money and let others do all the giving, refusing to support those I don’t know…am I being unfaithful?

Gaius’ faithfulness in supporting fellow Christians resulted in a testimony of love before the church.

When I do give, am I giving from a place of love, or a place of grudging obligation? Even if others’ were to testify to it as love, would I know that my giving was prompted by love? Would God?

My giving to the work of ministry makes me a co-worker of those who are laboring with the truth.

Do I want to co-labor with others who are doing the work of God? Or do I prefer to show up on Sunday and no more? Am I content giving only my weekly participation during the church service, spending the rest of my time and money on myself/my family?

I think that’s really what it comes down to, don’t you? At what level do we want to live Christianity? Unfortunately, for many, it really does funnel down to the money factor.

At the same time, I think all of us want to be considered faithful. And I really do think we want to be loving. But we must be willing to look at why we are not. What hinders our giving? Fear? Greed? Jealousy? Pride? Whatever it is, it will not go away until we bring it to God and deal with it.

May this year find you and me to be faithful, loving, co-laborers in the truth, having allowed God to confront the things that have kept us from it, and give us a new perspective on our money, time, and motives.

what has to happen for His word to be true

typing-on-keyboardAll the writer people are doing it, and something in me that wants to be counted among the writer people set out to do it too. Put fingers to keys and let flow something profound about the birth of Jesus. So I flipped over to Luke chapter 2 and got ready. But I never got past the first seven verses.

Because I saw this —

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” (Luke 2:4)

And then I remembered this prophecy — 

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2)

And then I went back to verse one and my mind blew up just a little.

“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.”

In that year, that month, Caesar Augustus had to call for a census.

But before that a man named Joseph had to love a girl named Mary and ask for her hand in marriage (or offer her dad six goats and a really nice rug).

And Joseph had to come from the line of David so that he would have to travel to his hometown of Bethlehem, the city of David, to register for the census.

But before that, Mary had to become with child by the Holy Spirit at just the right time so that she was almost due to give birth when the census was ordered, so that once in Bethlehem, our Savior was born.

And all I can think is nothing is random.

There is order and strategy and purpose in everything God does to bring about His word.

And then my mind does a mad dash.

And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory… (2 Corinthians 3:18)

What has to happen for this to be true?

Every mountaintop and every valley.

refiners-fire3Every crucible, deep water and wilderness wandering.

Every moment spent at His feet and every single one spent with my face to the hard ground of Gethsemane whispering “not my will but Yours be done”.

Every green pasture and still waters and invitation to the table with Him. Every stumble and every victory dance.

And every single trial.

Nothing is random and nothing is wasted. Everything is leading from glory to glory.

We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

What comes to me comes for me. Because God keeps His word. Always.

The Savior was born in Bethlehem, and I will be transformed into His image.

Chloe

Dear Chloe,

Someday, you will read about these events, but can I just give you my account of what took place? You will read about it in far more historical detail, I’m sure, but these are my observations, for the record.

So it came to pass that it was time for a new president. To be honest, it felt like our nation was coming apart at the seams. Depending on which side you took, we were either spiraling into the depths of complete moral decay, or we were on the brink of change that would make us better than ever. But there is no denying that we were not a united nation, by any stretch of the imagination. And since this is my accounting, I will just say that it felt like we were a country on the verge of imploding, and I knew better than to hope that a new president would change that regardless of who they were or what party they represented.  Chloe, never put your hope in a president, a political party, or any other world system. Your hope will only be unshakable when it rests firmly on God, who is never, ever shaken.

campaign-2016Anyway, it was time for a changing of the guard, and the race was on. First, who would run? The blue party held no surprise, nor was it even a contest. But the red party, oh my. Out of the pack of twelve shiny choices, emerged the “least likely to ever be nominated for President”. And that’s when everything started shaking, Chloe. That’s when this race for the White House went from an event in history to a historical event.

Democrats were horrified then humored, confident that this thing was now in the bag. Republicans seemed to be somewhat dumbfounded in a ‘what just happened?‘ kind of way, but finally said ‘we meant to do that‘ to the watching world, and the dogfight race was on.

Oh, Chloe, this was a grievous, vicious time, the likes of which I personally had not witnessed in my lifetime. From both sides, the character assassinations were in big, bold headlining script, while digging-at-nightthe issues were sent to the small print area. And the country took their cues and jumped in, holding their own excavations, and the deeper they dug, the more sins they found. But that isn’t the saddest part. The world’s actions are not what grieved me so deeply.

It’s the Church, Chloe. It’s how we responded that broke my heart. It’s the picture of the people of God giving way to headlines, to all of the ‘what if’s’. Giving way to fear. Frantically turning to human reasoning, to our own wisdom. It’s the sound of brothers and sisters name calling and belittling one another. Pointing fingers. Using words like “what kind of Christian…” which is a polite way of calling into question someone’s sincere faith in Jesus. Judgment and anger and fear were all over the face of the Bride, Chloe, and that frightened me far more than either candidate did.

And I just kept thinking, what if this election isn’t really about either of the candidates? What if God is doing something that seems inconceivable to us? What if God has not entrusted the nations to humanity, but has retained His sovereignty, His right to outvote us? What if we, His Church, asked Him who to vote for, and then simply obeyed, regardless of what we thought about His choice?

What if His ways really are higher than ours? What if His thoughts aren’t our thoughts at all?

And this…both sobering and comforting…what if God isn’t using these times and these events to change a nation, but to change the Church so that the nation can change? What if we are what this election is all about?

What if judgment really does start in the house of God?

Here’s what I want to leave you with, Chloe. Hope. Hope and even joy. Because we are the Church. His chosen vessel to light up the world. His beloved to whom He is forever committed. His faithfulness is for us. We are His people and we have been lavished with His love and His grace, set apart for Him, to be holy and blameless in His sight. We are cared for, provided for and fought for by our mighty God and loving Father. We are His hands and feet, His ambassadors to a dying world. We know Him and are known by Him. We are the joy set before Him as He gave His life on the cross. We are His body, and we have been given everything we need for life and godliness (regardless of who is president). We have every reason to hope, to rejoice, to trust, because we belong to and serve the Creator and Ruler of every nation, including this one. We, you, have nothing to fear.

Chloe, you will live with the future fallout of this election, no matter which way it goes. But know this, God never let go. He never turned away and left us to our own devices, our own ability to choose a leader. He is far too faithful for that. The person who became the 45th president was by God’s choosing. If I don’t believe that, then I cannot believe that He is, as He claims, the sovereign ruler of the nations. But the most important lesson I hope you take from this time in history is this…

The throne of God is in Heaven, not the White House. And He will never give it up. 

…and he said, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

~ 2Chronicles 20:6

*Chloe is my imaginary friend from the future. It happens.

this is me now

“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11

Hidden it. Treasured it. Stored it up in deep places.

Years ago God whispered this into my soul…

Theology will not keep you from sinning.

My theology on submission in marriage was good, but I was not submitting.

My theology on loving my neighbor was good, but I was not loving.

My theology on the faithfulness of God was good, but I was not trusting.

Believing the right things about God is not the same as believing God, and there is a difference between knowing what the Bible says, and having His Word hidden in your heart.

Night and day. Darkness and light. Freedom and bondage. That’s the difference.

So I learned to hide Truth in deep places where lies had been living, and submission became something to protect me instead of something meant to break me and everyone is my neighbor and God is more than worthy of my trust.

That was then, but this is me now and a fight has been brewing and no, I’m not ready to rumble.

But God is whispering to my soul again.

Theology is not your sword.

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…~ Ephesians 6:14-17

take-up-the-swordWhen the devil picks a fight, it’s best to be holding something besides what I know about God. A sharp theology will not take him down.

So this is me now. This is where I am. God is good, but what is that to me? God heals, but what is that to me? God loves, but what is that to me? Is it my theology, or is it my sword? I am convinced that we do not live out of what we know, but what we truly believe, and if that is true, then I need to determine if I know God is good, or if I trust Him to be good. I’ve been turning Words over and over and asking my heart the hard questions, while God has been near, waiting and whispering.

And this is me now. Like a dog with a bone, I am hiding truth. Storing things deep. Choosing to believe. Choosing to trust. Finding my sword.

“He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.'” Mark 5:34

“And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.'” Matthew 8:17

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.“ Isaiah 41:10

warrior

The whisper of God is louder than the shouts of fear in my soul. I am done beating the air. I am done wondering. This is me now.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?'” ~ John 11:40

what’s on the inside

“He is not impressed by the strength of a horse;
He does not value the power of a man.
The Lord values those who fear Him,
those who put their hope in His faithful love.– Psalm 147:10-11

strength-1Our outer world is not what is most delightful to God. Our displays of strength and fortitude do not move Him. Our positions of leadership, how hard we worked to get where we are, how much our shoulders can carry, how many times we get knocked down and get right back up. None of that impresses God.

stand-in-aweIt is our inner world that catches His eye. A heart that obeys Him out of reverence, that goes to its knees in awe and worship of His greatness and His power. A heart that trusts God’s love, no matter how big the storm, how desperate the times, how bleak the outlook. When our hope is firmly anchored in His mercy and loving-kindness, in a love that is faithful to His promises, our inner world will stand strong through anything that comes.

And that is where the delight of God is found.

this uterus and the hard parts of the story

On Friday, September 30th I had some tests done, including a biopsy. On October 5th I was told I had complex endometrial hypoplasia, which is a thickening of the uterine wall. The complex part means it is abnormal and “suspicious” of cancer, even though the biopsy did not show any cancer cells. So, on October 25th I will meet with an oncologist, who is likely to highly recommend a hysterectomy. So be it. Goodbye, uterus.

So I’ve been processing all the thoughts and all the feels. At first, fear hit and made it hard to breathe. I thought of the people I know who have succumbed to cancer in the last year, including my older sister. But since then, I’ve talked to a couple of other women, including my younger sister, who had this complex endometrial hypoplasia and are fine. No cancer. So my fear has subsided considerably. But through all of the processing, talking and crying to God, I’ve learned a few new things…

okay

I can be afraid and still trust God. At first, I felt ashamed of being scared of this thing. My faith should be stronger than this, what will people think if they see fear in me, what kind of witness would that be, I need to be an example. But trying not to be afraid didn’t make me less afraid, it just kept my mind focused on the fear instead of on God. So I went to my favorite place in scripture, the Psalms, and discovered that often, David was afraid while he trusted God.

“Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being is shaken with terror…Turn, Lord! Rescue me; save me because of Your faithful love.” – Psalm 6:2-4

“How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day?…But I have trusted in Your faithful love; my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.” Psalm 13:2,5

God, not fear, was always David’s final answer to his circumstances. Being afraid doesn’t mean fear gets to occupy the biggest place in my heart. It means that when I am afraid, I turn to the One I trust the most and I remember Him. I remember that Jesus holds my days, every single one.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. – Psalm 56:3   

created-for-his-glory

“Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—  everyone who is called by My name, whom I created for My glory, whom I formed and made.”     Isaiah 43:6-7

This has to be my bottom line, otherwise, my bottom line will be me, and that never turns out well. But if I allow this to be more about God than it is about me, my perspective shifts and I stop projecting this thing out to the worst possible outcome. Instead, I whisper to God, and pray that my whole heart believes it…“whatever this is, whatever comes, my life is Yours and You get to decide how You will be glorified through it.”  The greatest desire of my heart right now is that whatever comes, God will be seen for who He is in the midst of it.

{Honesty check:} Actually, that’s not quite true. My greatest desire is that my uterus would stop being suspicious, and all of this would magically go away. Barring that, then by all means…let God be seen and may great be His glory.

change

Whether this turns out to be a simple deal or the worst case scenario, one thing is absolutely certain.

It will change me, but it will not change God.

God will remain exactly who He was before October 5th. Before my uterus became such a big deal. He remains trustworthy and good. He will do what is right, what is good, what pleases Him. His love for me has not wavered, His plans for me have not been derailed. Fear will try to tell me otherwise, but I have determined in advance where I will stand. My legs may shake, but I will stand on the unchanging goodness of God.

“ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.“   James 1:17

The problem with God speaking truth to us is that He doesn’t speak it to just make us feel good.

Truth must be lived out if it’s going to change us. 

This life is my journey to walk out, but it is not my story to write. If it were, I would write out all the hard parts, the painful parts, the parts that scare me. But those are the very parts that bring me to the place of surrender, that force me to choose faith again and again, that bring me back to the reality that I am not in control, but I belong to the One who is. As difficult as it is to walk in those places, I have become convinced that He casts His shadow deep and wide over the hardest parts of our story.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!
    People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. (Ps. 36:7)