Why ask Why

It is common to ask the question “why” when we have to deal with, or see others deal with suffering that seems random. For me it is the story of a 5 year old girl who was diagnosed with a brain tumor that has held her and her family hostage for over a year now. And it is easy to see what the question “why” is asked. It doesn’t seem fair based on my judgment of fairness. It seems harsh and uncaring on God’s part. Afterall, Aaron (her dad) is a dedicated believer who has sacrificed so much to be obedient to God’s call in his life. And this is his reward? This is a vantage point not totally aligned with God’s.

Obviously, the suffering is real and is an unfortunate side effect of the world that sin corrupted. Like Pastor Matt made clear this past Sunday, this world is not the one that God intended. I don’t think when He created the earth and everything in it, He did so with the hopes of brain tumors that potentially steal the hope, joy and life from a child and her family. And yet, in spite of such a devastating ordeal, the McRae’s press on. The have fought back against the threat of losing hope and have allowed God to contaminate their perspective with His Word, His hope and His joy. Those things are not built on something that will pass away but instead are founded on the immovable Creator of all things.

Isaiah 55 reminds us that God’s perspective is different than ours and that He assigns value differently than us. We make our judgments based on monetary worth, time and even fairness (as we see it). But God is not influenced by those things. God sees a bigger picture that often includes greater outcomes of God-directed focus when we allow Him to saturate our suffering with His character. Our perspective will allow suffering to stifle our momentum and sway our loyalty. But with God help, our suffering can become a tool for deflecting attention to God, the giver of peace and the sustainer of life. The way we view things will change with the injection of God’s point of view and that change will be uncomfortable. But, we are never more like Jesus than when we capture the opportunity to reconcile people to God through our suffering.

When you are compelled to ask “why?” the next time suffering enters your life, instead allow God to help you ask “How?” How can this tragedy be used to bring God glory and honor? How can we become more like Jesus in the face of suffering? The McRae’s have done this by allowing God to carry them through the storm of this brain tumor. Their story (both highs and lows) have strengthened and inspired the faith of people all around the world.

(Read more about Kate McRae at www.prayforkate.com)

You Aren’t Who You Think You Are – pt.2

Just like there are two sides to a coin, there are two implications of not being who you think you are.  The first is obviously that we are not anything apart from God.  There is no good in us and any thought otherwise is produced by a fallen flesh and/or a determined enemy who wants to keep us from being used by God to reach the lost. We are not who we think we are when we think we are worthy on our own.

The second angle to the argument, however, is the thought that we are useless, without value, or unable to be empowered by God to accomplish His purposes.  When the Holy Spirit begins to reveal God’s plan for your life to you, the immediate onset of “nay-saying” begins.  Satan wants you to think that you are unfit for the kingdom work that is being birthed in you.  He wants you to throw in the towel before the fight begins.  The enemy will begin to work to convince you that you don’t have the talent, resources or support to be effective or equipped.  You may constantly struggle in the fight for your self-worth and think that all those encouraging and edifying scriptures in the bible are directed towards everyone else but you.  Instead you are unable, useless, unfit, unclean, unskilled, underachieving and unprepared to be the person that God can call on.  Well, on our own that is true.  But God doesn’t look at our potential without Him; He looks at our potential with Him as our resource. 

Consider Gideon – a great example of God’s perspective versus our own.  In Judges 6 we see Gideon working at staying unseen and hidden from the war being raged around him.  When he is working to stay out of sight, God calls him out to be the man that God sees, a mighty man of valor.  Funny isn’t it?  Fear has Gideon in the bottom of a winepress while God is calling him brave and fearless.  Seems like God wasn’t kidding when, in Isaiah 55 He says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts.”

So here’s the punch line.  You are not who you think you are.  When you think of yourself in anyway apart from God, it is misguided, incorrect and incomplete.  Your opinion of your value or your uselessness, in your own eyes, is empty and wrong.  God sees a vessel ready to do a good work for His glory.  It’s not about you, so take your eyes off of yourself and look at who is waiting to move you into life-changing impact.

You Aren’t Who You Think You Are – Pt.1

When you watch movies, hear stories or imagine circumstances of life and adventure, it is so tempting to gravitate toward the hero in the story line. Although it is sometimes easier to relate to a lesser character, the reality is that somewhere inside, we all imagine ourselves as the character with the potential to overcome the seemingly impossible obstacles. I believe this is also true when we read stories in the bible. It is so enticing to picture myself as the one who stands in front of thousands to face a giant (one that would make any UFC fighter consider a career change) with a sling shot in the place of a broad sword rather than one of the cowering soldiers on the fifth row. I want to be the avenger who comes into the courts of the enemy and yells out “hasta lavista baby!” as I push the columns apart and bring down the roof. The problem with this desire – it is selfish and self-elevating. The bottom line is I am not who I think I am. The Word of God so easily illuminates the reality of our motives and intentions. It is not only a “lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” but it is a floodlight in our hearts. It is a light that quickly illuminates and chases out the darkness. And when we open the gates of our heart to this light, if is often surprising the amount of darkness on the run. Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. This passage about the ability of the Word of God to reveal in us our true motive stands as a testament to the necessity for its presence in our lives at all times. The bible is a spotlight on the border of our heart illuminating the immigration of sin and self that dilute our purpose – to make God known. Why do we need to stay under the throw of its light? Because we are not who we think we are. The reality is that we are more likely to be a corpse in the dessert than a person at rest in the promised land of God (Hebrews 3).

Discipleship at Vintage tagged – ALTAR’d

At Vintage Church, it is our mission to inspire people to live and love like Jesus. This happens through the continual influence of God through the bible, the Holy Spirit and the church. This influence brings about a transformation that spills over into a lifestyle that is different – altered – from the life we knew before. It is the reality of the truth found in the Word.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2nd Cor. 5:17

How is this change maintained? If you notice before, it is the continual influence of God that changes us and that is what keeps us living altered. God’s influence is invited into our lives when we recognize His authority and submit to His leadership. This perspective keeps our hearts at the altar, sacrificing our imperfect will so that His perfect will can be recognized.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

By keeping our hearts at the altar as a living sacrifice our lives remain ALTAR’d.

All Out War

All Out War is the current series at Vintage Church.  You can listen to the podcasts from this series at iTunes by searching for Vintage Church NC. 

Week two of the series ALL OUT WAR drew attention to our hearts and the armor that is given to protect it.  Ephesians tells us that we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness (6:14), the piece of armor that protects our core.  Righteousness, or right-ness, is the guardian of our hearts – not a righteousness that we can produce but a covering of righteousness that will guard against the piercing blows of sin.  Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.  Proverbs 4:23.  Like in sports, if your core is moving in the wrong direction, it is impossible to move the rest of you in the right direction. 

We are born with the desire to sin.  The natural position of our hearts in sinful.  Eph 2:1-3.  Romans 8:12-13.  If we submit to our natural tendencies we will not still somehow live according to God’s word.  Instead, we will accommodate satan and his evil schemes in our lives and, ultimately, we will die because of it.  We have to recognize that our flesh is pulling us away from the things of God and that we must constantly and consistently wage war against it.  

How do we wage war against our own flesh?

We can not make things right ourselves.  No matter how much we want to, we can not cure this sin problem in us.  We will always fail and fall short if we rely on our own efforts to eliminate sin in our lives.  Jesus did not die on the cross to give us an optional treatment plan for sin.  His sacrifice is the cure for our transgressions.  I Peter 3:18-19.  Romans 10:10. 

We must also remember that, at salvation, the war is not over.  We now have the power in us to do right, but it is only through submission and obedience that the crippling effects of sin are extracted and righteousness is ushered in. Romans 6:12-18.   Through obedience, we experience freedom from sin.

 Why are we taught that obedience is better than sacrifice?  What is the hardest thing about obedience?

When we walk in obedience to God’s leading in our lives, we become an unstoppable force.  No weapon formed against us can prosper, not even the schemes of the enemy, satan.  Hebrews 13:20-21.  Proverbs 28:1.  Jesus transforms us into walking H-bombs, righteous through the work of Christ and the grace of God.  We become the lion and satan becomes the prey.  Our hearts are now pumping a new bloodline when we become children of God and His nature becomes apparent in us.

Men, are you in?

Yesterday marked the beginning of a new “session” of our men’s group.  There is no fancy title.  We are not fronting with some cheesy purpose statement.  Just some guys getting together every couple of weeks, committing to each other, not backing out or cowering behind some fake sceduling conflict that really doesn’t matter like washing your dog or changing the filters in your air conditioner.  This is platoon-style brotherhood, ”got your back” kind of committment that helps one man swallow the fear of stepping into the line of fire because he knows there is a guy there with his eye locked to the scope looking for the first sign of an enemy that would try to stop the advance and pick him off with a righteous pull of the trigger.   The objective – transformation.  The kind of transformation that brings genuine change beyond the one who is transformed.  Like Kenny Luck said, “God’s work in a man is not intended to stay there.”  So, here we go again.  Are you in?

The Good Shepherd

This past Sunday at vintagechurch , Matt spoke about Jesus’ proclaimation – “I am the Good Shepherd.”  What an incredible and insightful truth!  Not only did Jesus say that he was the gate through which the sheep would enter into the flock, but he is also the shepherd who would ensure their care under his watch.  John 10:11 tells of the benefit that Jesus, the shepherd is to us, the sheep.  “I am the Good Shepherd.   The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary.” (MSG)  Well, we know it was necessary, and thankfully, so did Jesus.  He put his life where his mouth was, sacrificing himself to save the world from the “sheep rustler.”   Satan exists to corner you in discouragement.  John 10:10a The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; Jesus came to rescue you!  John 10:10b I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.    Jesus compares himself to the thief when speaking in the context of shepherding so that tells us this must be relevent content to the listener.  In a culture where shepherding was a common livelihood, there is value in the sheep themselves.  They are what’s at stake.  That reality is no different here.  We are at stake – our now, our future, and our forever.  There must have been several ways that sheep were stolen away from the flock in that day.  However that may be, the result must have often ended badly for the sheep.  But a good shepherd knows his flock.  He keeps a close eye on them, recognizing danger and eliminating threats before they have the chance to impact the flock.  Not only does he help give them life but he helps that experience to be fulfilling – leading them at the right times to the right places for the right reasons.  This is the life that Jesus is offering as THE good shepherd.    What are some of the methods that the thief has tried to steal you away from the flock?  How has Jesus saved you from those attempts?    Outside the flock, we will be left crippled, malnurished and vulnerable to destruction, wandering around looking for something to satisfy our cravings.  We will have glimers of hope in the face of apparent oases only to get a mouthful of sand and be left empty on the inside.  But Jesus offers us so much more.  With him, we have the chance to have the most fulfilling lives of peace and promise.  Walking through deserts will be easier knowing that our Good Shepherd is leading us to green pastures.    The world offers pain, but God offers freedom. Ephesians 1:7-8 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. The world is conditional, but God is consistent. Romans 8:35-39 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: ”For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. The world offers temporary hapiness, but God brings lasting joy.  John 15:9-11 9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. The world offers despair, but God offers hope.  Romans 15:13  13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Being led by the good shepherd brings freedom, consistency, lasting joy and hope.  Are any of these things missing from your life? Does that signify areas where you are not allowing yourself to be led by Jesus?    Jesus is the GATE and the GUARDIAN of the life that God desires for you.  Satan is vicious and relentless and will stop at nothing to steal you from the flock.  But Jesus is victorious and will continue to keep watch over you protecting you from the schemes that the enemy will employ.  Keeping areas of your life unsurrended to the leadership of Christ is setting yourself up as an easy meal for a devouring lion.

A love that endures

Our final week of the LOVE IS series at Vintage Church (www.vintagechurch.net)  challenged us to go further in our ability to love others, beyond the hurts and faults that we encounter in those relationships.  (Romans 5) illustrates how God himself set this example in His love for us.  When we were at our utter worst God demonstrated His love by allowing His son to die for us.  There is no greater love than to lay down your life for another, and Jesus did it while we were still trapped in our sin.  Despite the pain and disappointment that we brought to the heart of God, He was motivated more by His love for us.  It is that depth of love that has impacted our eternities and that depth of love can continue to impact the eternities of the ones around us.

1 Corinthians 13:7-13 

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. ¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

To have a love that endures all things, we must be transformed and renewed daily by God.  This will produce the “love that never fails.”

LASTING LOVE REQUIRES:

1. A long fuse.

Other people have the ability to light our fuse and set off the chain of events that lead to an explosion.  There are few explosions where someone does not get hurt.  If we can lengthen our fuse it will allow us to disarm before the damaging blast can occur.

James 1:19-20 ¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Proverbs 29:11 ¹¹ A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.

What factors contribute to having a short fuse? (ie, thoughts, pride, selfishness)

What influences are at work in your life?  Are they helping you or hurting you?

2. A short memory.

The ability to forget things with the flip of a switch would benefit us all.  We could erase the hurts that have left scars on our self-esteem and purge bitterness over battles we have fault with others.  It requires God’s strength to forgive and move past the damage that others have done to us. 

Matthew 18:21-22 ²¹Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” ²²Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Colossians 3:13 ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32 ³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

When we see others as God sees them, we are able to accomplish this easier.  Seeing our hurts against the backdrop of a God who forgives so freely changes our perspective and shortens our memory.  

3. A relentless conscience.

Truth is necessary to have an enduring love.  We have to be truthful, not only to others, but to ourselves.  We must be honest and deal with the issues that threaten our love right away.  But, we must approach these situations with kindness and self-control.  We should not use truth to justify bitterness, or as a weapon to tear others down.  Instead we should approach people with a clear purpose and intention – to mend the damage and move forward in the relationship.

Matthew 5:23-24 ²³“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 7:3-5 ³“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Proverbs 16:23 ²³A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.

Why is confrontation hard for you?  What are the dangers of not confronting when it is needed?

Supernatural

In my experience, God seems to use redundancy to get my attention about something.  The same subject will jump out of books, the Word, sermons, people, music, etc.  Lately that subject is supernatural – something that is beyond natural.  In this case, that “beyond natural” is resourced but God Himself.  The supernatural fruit of the Holy Spirit.  The supernatural strength of God.  The supernatural love of Christ. 

As humans we generate some good, (remnants of Christian legacy passed through generations in my opinion) and people see that good and assume we are living a surrendered life.  But in scripture, every completely surrendered life produced supernatural works that could only be explained through the power of God.  Often those supernatural events followed the person being put in a place where they are desperate for God.  They will only make it through if God intervenes. 

Consider Abraham taking the promised son Isaac to the mountain for sacrifice knowing that unless God comes through, he would loose him.  Or, Noah putting his life on hold for over a hundred years to build a boat to be saved from a flood in a region where droughts persisted.   David walks onto an open battlefield without the first piece of armor to faceoff with a biblical sasquatch yielding a broadsword that could split him into vulture food.

These men and others allowed themselves to be desperate, and in desperate situations so that, when God acted, those in the wings could do nothing but glorify Him.  So, I have to ask if I am allowing myself to walk into desperate situations in order to rely totally on God or do I protect myself by just walking up to the edge of the jumping off point and dream about what it would be like to fly.  But like Francis Chan wrote in his book “Forgotten God,” “why remain a caterpillar when you can be a butterfly?  why continue to crawl when you can fly?”

God, I am not sure how You desire to make Yourself known through my life, but I pray you will help me sieze the opportunities that will only glorify YOU!

Entering Christmas

Our new series Advent Conspiracy has begun and the call to serve others sacrificially cannot be ignored.  We can look as close as our streets and homes or as far away as distant shores and we will certainly discover there is ample opportunity to meet needs with God’s love.  The clarity at which we recognize these needs will be enhanced when we look with transformed perspectives.  When we surrender our lives to God the Holy Spirit should quickly begin to bend our hearts toward serving others.  Remember when asked, Jesus said the greatest commandments included loving God and loving others.  Self was not on the list.

 Think of one person that you are close to.  What are some of their likes or dislikes, pet peeves, etc? How do you know this?

 The first step to impacting this world for eternity is to OPEN UP YOUR EYES!  As we engage in an active relationship with God we begin to discover His nature, the things that move His heart and what circumstances provoke Him to act.  As we are exposed to what moves His heart, we should find ourselves sharing the compassion that He often expresses.  We have eyes that see what is going on around us, but do we allow what we see to initiate a compassionate response or do we filter those views to prevent any personal cost to ourselves?  With one of the greatest commands being “love your neighbor as yourself” you can be certain that God desires our hearts to break for humanity.

 What things do you think move the heart of God and motivate a compassionate response?  

 Matthew 25:31-45 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ”Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

 Physical needs, loneliness, tangible necessities, physical afflictions and isolation are all mentioned in the above scripture.  These categories house many different specific circumstances that people face every day – people we rub shoulders with – our neighbors.  We haven’t allowed real transformation to occur in our lives if those things don’t generate a reaction in our spirit. 

 What keeps us from acting on behalf of those we see in need in these ways?  Are our hesitations justifiable? (Jesus assumedly grew up poor based on the following passage.  Although his resources were limited, that did not shape his approach to responding to the needs he saw.

Luke 2:21-24 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

Having our eyes open as a result of an active relationship with God through the Word and the Holy Spirit should not only change how we see the needs around us, but also how we see our ability to respond to those needs. Consider the following reference:

2 Corinthians 9:10-11 For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat.  In the same way, He will give you many opportunities to do good, and He will produce a great harvest of generosity in you.  Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.  And when you we take you gifts to those who need them, they will break out in thanksgiving to God.

The bible says that the poor man will say he is rich in Christ.  Operate in the reality that wealth has already arrived.

Remember:  Being motivated by God’s love and staying connected to Him will keep us from making service and compassion a calendared event and will instead allow it to become a part of our DNA.  As we are transformed, we should be moved to imitate that same nature.