Israel Update

It is amazing how life just seems to move along. One moment I am thinking about how incredible the experience of going and studying for three weeks in Israel will be and the next I am trying to recall all the incredible things that happened almost a month ago! With so much going on this summer I decided it was time, finally, to sit down and write my update on Israel to let all of you (our friends, family and supporters) see a little picture of my time there.

As most of you know, I have as a part of this next season begun to slowly work away at a Masters degree. In light of all the teaching opportunities God has and is providing I have felt a strong conviction to become better equipped in bible, theology and practice. This fall an amazing opportunity presented itself in the form of a three week intensive class in Israel. With the help of a very special donor, a scholarship and approval from my family and boss I was able to make this amazing opportunity a reality. One of the goals of the geo-historical bible class was to help lift the stories from the scriptures "off the page"... and that is exactly what it did!

Standing where Jesus would have taught in the synagogue at Capernaum

In the field with my Bible, textbook and map... three key tools for the class

Dr. Wright in the "other" classroom!

Dorm life... living with nine other guys

To say the experience was incredible does not do it justice. It was profound, overwhelming, beautiful, challenging, tiring, motivating, formative, interesting, encouraging and expanding... just to mention a few descriptors. Part of the reason it was all these things is because it was SO busy. Imagine doing a three week country wide tour while taking a credited course (with exams and papers) all the while jet lagging and dealing with culture shock... and that is what we did!

Standing on Mt. Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal

Our boat ride on the sea of Galilee was amazing!

We were able to spend time on the ancient Tel of Jericho... couldn't find the walls though

Siege "machine" used by the Romans on the fortress of Masada (in the background)

Ancient desert fathers retreat... now the home to goats!

Probably my single biggest take away was seeing the reality of God's story in a particular place and time. So much of what we read (especially in the Old Testament) can become a distant story... almost myth like. Yeah, we know that it all really happened but we don't have a sense of its reality in our own world - it reads more like a fairy tale. That is until you walk on the mountain side that fire fell from heaven upon... you float across the lake that Jesus walked on... you see the Praetorium that Paul was held in before he gave his defense to Felix, Festus and Agrippa... you climb the path to the springs of En Gedi where David hid in the wilderness... and stand in the Jordan, in Nazareth, on the temple steps, in the Dead Sea, etc, etc. And then, one day a few weeks after the trip, somebody reads a passage from the Scriptures talking about a specific place and all of a sudden its not just an empty name. All of a sudden you have a picture of that place in your mind... the feeling of the heat on the back of your neck, the dirt under your feet... and the taste of the dust in your mouth... and it all feels so real!

THAT was the gift of this class.

Standing in the Jordan river!

The wilderness of Zin... where the children of Israel wandered for 40 years!

An example of a stone carved tomb

Roman ruins... which we saw A LOT of... :)

Celebrating the Torah for Pentecost!

I cannot tell you how thankful I am for this experience - it was not only empowering educationally, it was rewarding spiritually. I have experienced a renewing of my love for God's Scriptures (both in daily reading and in meditation) and for it's teaching (both formally and informally). I am excited to see how God is going to use this for His work.

Thank you so much for your prayers for me and my family while I was gone... they were definitely felt (we didn't even have a house fire this time)!

intermittent...

As these next several weeks unfold (packing, moving, unpacking, etc.) and it becomes harder and harder to stop and take time to update I thought this might be a good time to repost my first entry... the beginning of the story of this BLOG... why it exists... really, why I exist... awaken us.

awaken us… Lord

awaken us from our slumber

too long have we slept.
too long have we looked upon a darkened, dieing, hopeless world and lazily looked to the horizon for Your coming… or was that our T.V. set?

Awaken us Lord to the hunger that is within.

Stir your children of light from their comfortable seats… that we would know the feeling of Your armor again… the feeling of your sword.

Fan the fire of passion for Your Name… Your Fame… that we might feel the coursing fire flooding through our souls… like rivers… like springs of life.

Let us sleep no longer!
Let us waken from the night in search of our Beloved.
Let us throw ourselves against the gates of injustice… the gates of poverty… the gates of darkness… the gates of hell. Until we can no longer stand AND YET we stand!

AWAKEN US LORD!

Move us to the edges… gather us to the corners… take us OUTSIDE THE CAMP…

AWAKEN US LORD!

Awaken hearts that are broken for the broken hearted. Lives that are lived for the lost.

AWAKEN US LORD!

The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

Even so. Amen.

timothy mark mcdonald

The latest!

^{Matthew 28:5-10}

...the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell...

Where does the time go?

It seems like it was only yesterday that we were enjoying Christmas with a house full of family and yet here we are with Easter now officially behind us! Because we enjoyed our service with our community on Good Friday and The Rock on Saturday night, we were able to spend Sunday as a family hiking in the hills around San Diego... we spent time praying and imagining that the hills we were walking were just like those Jesus and His followers walked those many centuries ago. I pray you all had a AMAZING Easter together with those you love!

The passage in Matthew is an amazing (if not confusing) piece of scripture. Earthquakes, angelic beings rolling away stones, terrified guards passed out on the ground and... misinformation?! Have you ever wondered why the angels (messengers from God) would tell the women that Jesus would meet them with the disciples when Jesus himself KNEW that He would see them on the path? Did the angels have the wrong update in their iphones?

I have a theory... Jesus couldn't wait.

So excited to see those that he cared about... those He knew were afraid and confused... he rewrote the plan. Does that effect God's sovereignty? No, not if He knew he was going to do it in the first place. But isn't that missleading... Once again, No, because God loves to grab each and every moment to teach us how love works.

Britany and I have been in a season of Jesus rewriting plans. It has been difficult and confusing AND just like the women in the story we have experienced some fear... and joy. BUT, that IS the process of life and understanding the mission that Jesus calls us to.

Would you PLEASE be praying for us as we walk through big questions. It is our goal in the next week to give more details... but for now, pray for wisdom, the Spirits guidance and increased faith.

Thank you all!

kids + Passion story = great questions!

Matthew 27:32-54

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, they offered him wine to drink, mixed with "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, of God!" "Truly this was the Son of God!"

Questions from today's reading:

Why was Jesus so tired?

Why didn't Jesus drink? How would he have drank from a stick?

What was Jesus a King over? What did He conquer? What does "conquer" mean?

How dark was it? Like night? What could they see?

Was Jesus allowed to say "My God"? Why did he feel alone? Why was he sad? Where did God go? How did God turn away?

Was the curtain as big as our house? Did God use scissors?

Was John there? Did the disciples die too? Was Moses there? (Not sure where this one came from... there was also some chatter about cutting peoples ears off.)

daily...

Luke 9:23

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me...

I am not sure if it is because I have been struggling to find a good rhythm this last while OR if it is just a new step in my faith journey BUT I have been thinking a lot lately about daily "followership". Having grown up in a tradition that encouraged "daily devotions" I know of the deep value of the "blessed man" from Psalm 1 who delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night... whose life yields fruit in season AND whose leaves never wither. I have experienced the transformative power of personal prayer AND watched in amazement as God as moved mountains in the lives people. And, as time has gone on, I have begun to see how the mission of God is more than just an idea... but a lifestyle... more than just words... but power.

BUT

In the midst of all of this it can still be tough to simply get up each day and lay my old self down, pick up my cross and follow Jesus. Yet it is SO essential.

It seems as if each day I am given a choice again
...to center on Jesus OR to center on me!
...to die to myself OR live for myself!
...to follow my Savior OR lead my own little personal rebellion.

The truth is, what we do daily defines who we are... and who we are becoming.

"I am ready!"

Matthew 10:13-15

And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

No matter what you think about children becoming Christians or even what the process of becoming a follower of Jesus actually looks like, there is something deep inside that erupts (for a lack of a better word) when your child looks you in the eyes and says, "I am ready!"

Friday morning during our family devotional time we had one of those moments.

McKenzie (completely out of the blue) simply said, "I am ready!" Having walked through this before with the boys I was a little more prepared BUT I still found my eyes watering and my thoughts scattered. After we were done the devotional I talked with her about what she meant by that and she said she was ready to listen to Jesus and follow Him... so we all prayed with her and she asked Him to be her Lord (or boss) and said that she wanted to obey what He said. She said that she was sorry for all the bad things she had done and she thanked Him for paying the price for and forgiving those things. It was a very precious time. We have talked about it a number of times as a family and yet she has never shown any interest till today... today it clicked!

Now, I do have a little skeptic sitting on my shoulder nay saying... can a child really understand... is this because her brothers did it (same skeptic was there with them as well)... is she trying to impress Britany and I... BUT, for the most part, this skeptics voice is drowned out by another voice. It is the voice of scripture that paints a picture of a God who shames the wise by using the foolish... who calls those who follow Him His children... who tells us to come to Him the way of the child... who calls the children to Himself. And I find myself wanting to say McKenzie's words to my Father in heaven...

"I am ready!"

In His eyes...

Matthew 6:22

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

In His eyes...

His battered brow to early seen the evil of this darkened dream

It's in his eyes...

Innocence and painted lips in gruesome love they co-exist

It's in her eyes...

Shattered bones and broken hearts, loves embrace too soon departs

It's in their eyes...

It's in their eyes that He can see the possibilities of what could be

It's in His eyes...

timothy mark mcdonald

spiritual beauty (3)

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

...the glory of God in the face of Jesus...

As an aside to the last couple of posts...

I have often wondered, as a dad, if Jesus' Father in heaven looked down with the same fatherly pride in His eyes as Jesus, a 1 year old (God) child, stumbled across the humble shack of Joesph and Mary?

Did He looked at the boy sitting in the temple asking just the right questions to educated scholars and shake His head in encouraging agreement?

Did He smile as the young man grew in wisdom and stature, turned water to wine, raised the dead, walked on water, with the weary... towards the cross?

I wonder if God the Father, moments before He would turn His eyes away from His beloved Son, gasped at the beauty of the work (of art) that was about to be completed?

And when Jesus arose...

I wonder if the Father stopped all that He was doing...

If He stood with His fiery eyes focused on His only begotten Son...

And clapped His mighty hands in honor, praise and applause at the glory of the masterpiece before Him that was now completed...

And could we hear, if we had been listening, the roars of the oceans and lions saying...

"That's my Son!"

"In HIM I AM is WELL PLEASED!"

so that all creation could hear and see the beauty of the man of sorrows... Jesus... the Son of God.

I know that's what I would do if it were my kids.

spiritual beauty (2)

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

Isaiah 53:1-3

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

I find the picture above quite striking - dismal chunks of gray asphalt covered in beautiful shapes and scribbles of vibrant colorful chalk. Red, green, blue and yellow applied by the hands of children to the most humble of canvases. This mosaic of color, design and childlike passion is common place for those of us with kids. When she is not chatting, my 5 year old daughter (McKenzie) is one such artist. She is so careful, thoughtful and intentional... often with some of the most random of images and colors - a true creative. If an art teacher or critic were to look at these "masterpieces" they would probably point out their immaturity and simplicity... not me - I think they are amazing. They are beautiful, eclectic, random, colorful and fun BUT, what makes them most valuable to me is the hand that prepared them. You see, I love the hand that prepared them because it is connected to a beautiful little girl whom I think the world of AND would do anything for. She is my little gracie.

I wonder if that isn't where we sometimes get confused with Jesus? As amazing as the works (of art) of Jesus were and the life that He lived was, (like all great masters) does real spiritual beauty come when we start prizing the works because of the artist and not the artist because of his works. Is there a place where beauty becomes defined by the hand of the artist... and we love the works because of the hand it is connected too (whether painful or powerful, majestic or ignoble)? I wonder, is that what it means to REALLY behold "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6)... the work of art in the life of the despised and rejected man of sorrows?

spiritual beauty

2 Corinthians 4:5-6

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I don't normally take so long to get through books but, as of late, I have been reading way too many books at once! I think this may be the result of having been on a bit of a book-buying "fast" - after Christmas I just started reading everything at once... not a good idea. That being said, I am really enjoying this little book by John Piper called God Is The Gospel. It has had some fantastic quotes in it that I have not been able to stop thinking about. One such quote is from chapter 4. Here Piper is reflecting on the verse from 2 Corinthians when he says (sorry for it's length):

The spiritual beauty of Christ is Christ-in-action - Christ loving, and Christ touching lepers, and Christ blessing children, and healing the crippled, and raising the dead, and commanding demons, and teaching with unrivaled authority, and silencing the skeptics, and rebuking his disciples, and predicting the details of his death, and setting his face like flint toward Jerusalem, and weeping over the city, and silent before accusers, and meekly sovereign over Pilate (... John 19:11), and crucified, and praying for his enemies, and forgiving a thief, and caring for his mother while in agony, and giving up his spirit in death, and rising from the dead - ...(John 10:18). Such is the glory of Christ. (pg 66)

I have recently been struck anew by the difference between a knowledge of the "spiritual beauty" of Jesus and knowing about God. I seldom think about the beauty of God as seen in the face (or life) of Jesus. It seems so much easier to think of God's beauty as I look to His creation and His mighty works but to see it in the life of Christ seems... different. It is not that I don't see Christ's works as amazing, triumphant, powerful, transformational, revolutionary... even breath taking, I just don't often think of them as beautiful. But as I have reflected (and read Piper's reflections) on this passage as it talks about this light shining into our hearts and giving the "light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus" I begin to see the life of Christ with a different set of eyes again... the eyes of the heart (Ephesians 1:18) I guess... glory eyes.

And then I realize why Jesus is at the center of so much art, literature and creative revolutions... His life was beautiful. Horrifically, amazingly, tragically, exceptionally... beautiful.

spiritual beauty (2)

for Him (2)

2 Corinthians 5:15

…he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

"for him"… it is like the words are tucked in between all these big complicated theological and philosophical ideas and yet… they are so simple. So complete. So concrete.

Two Words:

For… intended FOR… used FOR… designated FOR… meant FOR…

Him… Jesus!

He died for us, not just to save us from ourselves, not just to get us into heaven and not even just to empower us to make the world a better place! No, above and beyond all these things, He died that we might live FOR HIM.

In a previous post I asked the question that John Piper posed in his book about being in a heaven without God... maybe the better question for us is; who do we believe we are living this life for right now? Is it for us? Is it for our loved ones? Is it for some amazing cause; world peace, climate change... personal comfort? It isn't that these things are all bad (though we definitely have some of them WAY out of whack) – no, I think these things/relationships ARE life… they are what we mean by living. The question I find myself asking is; what am I doing with them? Am I hoarding them for my own personal glory and gain (and what these things/relationships can do/get for me)? OR am I living and loving for the sake of One who deserves them more than any other… am I living and loving for the One who did not let death stop Him from purchasing our true freedom. Does my life point, like a clearly marked path, in one direction… to One person… One Savior.

I pray that it does.

for Him

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

What can I say... my friend (Pastor) Brian is on a bit of a role. As I mentioned a week or so ago we are doing a study through the life of David (the true warrior poet) at RE:hope. Once again, I would encourage you to take a listen because the messages have been both challenging and encouraging - which is a good thing when you are preaching! Anyhow, the bulk of the message was dealing with God, priorities and relationships... in about that order, when he moved his focus into keeping the main thing the main thing - similar to my post the other day. He then shared the verse above from 2 Corinthians 5... wow.

Now, I know I have heard/read this verse dozens of times before but I can honestly say that it has never hit me before with the power that it hit me this morning. I think I may have found a new favorite verse... or at least in the top 10. Why you ask? It seems like such an obvious, small, common passage (read over dozens of times) with all this talk about death and a very awkward sentence structure... what makes it so special?

It is in these two simple words...

"for him".

for Him (2)

awaken us again!

As a reminder to myself and those who may occasionally come across my ideas, I thought I might take this opportunity to return to the beginning of the story of this BLOG... why it exists... really, why I exist. And so I resubmit my poem (and my first entry)... awaken us.

awaken us… Lord

awaken us from our slumber

too long have we slept.
too long have we looked upon a darkened, dieing, hopeless world and lazily looked to the horizon for Your coming… or was that our T.V. set?

Awaken us Lord to the hunger that is within.

Stir your children of light from their comfortable seats… that we would know the feeling of Your armor again… the feeling of your sword.

Fan the fire of passion for Your Name… Your Fame… that we might feel the coursing fire flooding through our souls… like rivers… like springs of life.

Let us sleep no longer!
Let us waken from the night in search of our Beloved.
Let us throw ourselves against the gates of injustice… the gates of poverty… the gates of darkness… the gates of hell. Until we can no longer stand AND YET we stand!

AWAKEN US LORD!

Move us to the edges… gather us to the corners… take us OUTSIDE THE CAMP…

AWAKEN US LORD!

Awaken hearts that are broken for the broken hearted. Lives that are lived for the lost.

AWAKEN US LORD!

The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

Even so. Amen.

timothy mark mcdonald

rock and sand

Luke 6:46

Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

I love the way Jesus talks! Sometimes He is so mysterious, illusive and down right confusing. Other times He has the subtly of a 2x4! Why do you call me teacher and not learn? Why do you call me boss and not do your job? Why do you call me master and not obey? It is a bold REAL statement about the nature of those who follow Him AND who He is.

How often I pray/say, "Lord" without even thinking about what I am saying or how I am living. What's my issue? Have I forgotten who it is I am calling Lord? OR, have I forgotten how amazing His words and commandments really are? I think there is a clue given to these questions in the next verses.

Luke 6:47-49

Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.

Read alone this story is a beautiful picture of the power of standing on God's words and promises... but when connected to the preceding comment you see a fuller picture. Jesus' words are not just pretty stories, they are the essential foundations to our lives. What we choose to do with them can make the difference between unshaken-ness and ruin!

I wonder if I really live like I believe that?

Lord, give me the courage to believe that which is often unseen. I believe You alone hold the keys to life and there is nowhere else that I would desire to go... You are my Rock. Thank you for Your faithfulness to us... command what You will and will what You command. Amen.

believing...

Mark 9:23-24

And Jesus said to him, "'If you can! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"

What does it mean to really believe?

Jesus' statement seems so unreal... almost unbelievable (ironically). It is a tension that seems to follow all those who want to pursue a life chasing hard after Christ. Is it REALLY true - are ALL things possible for those who believe? In Christ? In what He can do?

Too often I find myself in the shoes of the father of the child... desperate, I want to believe that Jesus can do all that He has said He can do... No, I DO believe that Jesus can do all that He has said... Help me Lord to believe!

It feels like a battle between what we see all around us and what we know to be true about our God... because, after all, sick children die everyday around this cruel globe to God believing parents BUT we know God is good, in control and searches the world for hearts fully committed to Him... Help me believe Lord!

It becomes even more complicated when we find ourselves dealing with the divine will of God vs. our small version of the story. Our perspectives are so small compared to Gods... I do believe Lord, help me!

This man's response is so honest and yet filled with desperate intent. It is perhaps one of the shortest most powerful prayers in the whole Bible. It allows for a tension that is foreign to our ears... a sort of both-and. The result is a cry from a despairing father on behalf of his broken child to an all powerful Savior. Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

Everything (3)

Matthew 13:44

...in his joy...

Which makes me wonder... where does that kind of joy come from?

It must come from a VERY deep place… a place where what I have (really what I am) is eclipsed by something VERY other, VERY extraordinary, VERY wonderful.

It seems like so often we approach passages like this from the wrong angle. All we see is what Christ is asking us to give (as if He needed anything) NOT what He is giving, completing, fulfilling, transforming, redeeming, awakening, confounding, bleeding for, remaking, restoring, beautifying, breathing life into, refocusing, recreating, healing… loving.

There is only one reason Christ calls us to give everything for Him and His Kingdom… so that He can be our everything.

Tim Hughes puts it well in his song:

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping
God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting
God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

Yes Lord, may it be as he has said.

Everything (2)

Matthew 13:44

...in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The question is; what is everything...

This is a tough question for us today. Clearly in this parable Jesus is talking about all of the man's possessions and "stuff"... very reminiscent of His conversation with the rich young ruler. But as He continues with the young ruler He seems to "raise the bar", so to speak, to include family, friends and lands (Mark 10:17-31). Everything. When I think about my "everything" I can't stop with stuff (it's all shadows and dust anyway isn't it). No, everything means much more than that... it means the patter of four sets of beautiful feet... little voices that call for "daddy" in the night... hugs, kisses and indistinguishable pictures "just for me". Everything means 13 years of marriage... over 20 years of relationship with the love of my life (and my best friend on earth)... tears, struggles, joys and life. No, everything is huge - worth more than gold, land or MacBook - which only makes the act of laying it down that much more special.

AND what would you be willing to sell everything for?

Now this is an especially tough question for us today. In this parable we see a man sell everything he has (filled with joy) for the treasure he discovers in the field... and Jesus says that this is what the Kingdom of God is like. When I read words like this it challenges me to my very human core. Oh how hard it is to let go of what I have... of what is "mine"... "my own, my precious." To sell it all for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom come (His movement & His purposes on earth)... seems like such a huge sacrifice. And yet, we sell them all the time for everything else around us. We sell our children for our jobs. We sell our marriages for our cravings. We sell our callings for our ambitions... our gifts for fame. And then we lay them all down before the gods of money, fame and power. But for Jesus... that seems like such a leap of faith (or is it trust)... let alone to do it because of shear joy.

Which makes me wonder... where does that kind of joy come from?

Everything (3)

Everything

Matthew 13:44-46

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

These two kingdom parables are some of my favorite verses in the Bible. I often find myself coming back to them in meditation as reminders and sources of encouragement, strength and joy. They are very similar to each other yet with some interesting differences. It seems that sometimes Christ draws attention to certain key ideas by telling two similar stories that have a few striking differences.

In the first story we see a man who stumbles over a treasure in a field. He was probably not looking for it (searching a farmers field for a buried treasure would be an impossible task) but the response of finding the treasure is amazing; with JOY, he sells all that he has to buy the field. Let us not lose sight of what this treasure is representing; this is Christ… His kingdom… His life lived.

Yet, in the second we see a merchant who is searching. With all probability searching his whole life to find this one pearl that would be the crowning symbol of all that he was. Once again, let us not lose sight of what this pearl is representing; this is Jesus. Here Jesus is saying that His kingdom is like a merchant who is searching for something…no, THE thing. The merchant’s response is equally amazing; he sells all that he has and buys it!

Two different stories. Two different people. Two very different journeys. Yet one response; they both sold everything and bought Christ and His Kingdom. It would seem that passion (in its simplest form) is selling all that you have so that you can gain Christ… as a stumbler or as a searcher… as a man on a journey or as a “man on a mission”.

The question is; what is everything AND what would you be willing to sell everything for?

Everything (2)

How then do we fight?

Matthew 4:3

And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God..."

So how then do we fight the good fight for faith in a faithless age? In a soaked age?

It gives me great peace to know that we follow a Man (and God) that was tempted in all the ways we have been... but without getting soaked to the bone. And It seems, as we read, we must fight as our Lord fought while He walked in our shoes by fighting it on the inside (in our hearts and minds) and on the outside (with our lives and words).

For me... I have found that fighting on the inside is an act of clinging to God’s Words, His great and precious promises. I cling (sometimes unsuccessfully) to what I know about God and His provision when what I know does not make sense with what I am currently seeing OR what people around me are telling me to think and feel. Basically I preach to myself. That sounds pretty unpopular today I know. But Jesus Himself did this as He faced these same challenges and He tells us that as His followers we should expect to live the same way He did… to be treated the same way he was treated BECAUSE we are following behind Him in His very footsteps. He faced the temptations… we will face the temptations. He faced the world… we will face the world. It is a part of what it means to be human.

As the fight moves from inside to the outside I find myself speaking the truth about who God is and living out the realities of His (oftentimes counter) Kingdom. The life He created us to live filled with love, humility and compassion. It can feel foreign to my own skin sometimes... but I fight to hold to what I know about God when what I know does not make sense with what I am currently experiencing OR what people around me are telling me to do and how to live. This is very unpopular today. But what I have learned is that these temptations are not primarily about getting me to "mess up"... no, they are an assault on who I REALLY am... just as satan's temptation was an assault on who Jesus REALLY was. It is like our enemy is asking, "If you really are children of God..."

But I am!

And as a child of God... as a servant of the King... I must live as a representative of the new Kingdom. I must fight against lording it over others and the systems that destroy the hearts and lives of my fellow humans. I must fight against the idolatrous self-absorbed kingdoms of me and my comfort-at-all-costs. I must fight against the consumerist plague of profit-at-all-costs...

And I must fight to win!

Inside and outside!

Make it so Lord.

Soaked

Matthew 18:7

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin!

Yesterday I received an email from a friend and co-laborer in India. He has been planning and preparing for an equipping and encouraging event that will be taking place in the mountains for rural pastors in India. The event will take place in February (please be praying for us as we prepare to go and teach God’s word to these faithful followers in the hard places). As he has been planning the event he has had some difficulties in finding available coordinators. In his words, “…cooperation was very poor in Andipatti. They are soaked with the World.”

I was struck by his words.

When you live in a place where rain can come upon you at any moment – prepared or unprepared – you understand the meaning of the word soaked. Saturated. Immersed. Permeated. Absorbed. Soaked.

In India there are few Christians (compared to the West). In the south the numbers are greater, around 3%. As you spend time with those believers (particularly these remote village pastors) you cannot help but be struck by how much more difficult it is to follow Christ there. Almost every village pastor I met was very skinny and quite poor. Most serving their small fellowships scattered over a few villages by themselves with little or no formal education… just the Word of God. They face a lot of opposition. Their fight seems strong compared to so many I see in the West. But still… some are soaked.

Soaked by a world-like desire for authority and power.

Soaked by a world-like desire for importance and fame.

But mostly, soaked by the desire for money and security

…sound familiar?

Our Lord faced this in the wilderness.

His followers have faced it throughout all of history.

We face it in the West… and my friend faces it in the East.

So how then do we fight the good fight for faith in a faithless age?