(Part 2 a series of posts)

So there is major construction on Chicago Avenue near our house.  There are “Road Closed” and “Detour” signs everywhere.  Despite the clear signage, many people still blast on by the signs and ignore the detour signs.  All day long there are cars lost in our little neighborhood.

This really highlighted the obvious signs God has given us to point to Himself.  Most of us blow on by them, as if they did not mean anything.  But obeying these signs is important.  Our life depends on it.

A very clear sign in the road. This truck blew right by it. But look what's around the corner...

Around the corner... indeed the road IS actually closed! Wow, what a surprise! And there's a van turning around because he ignored the sign.

Sign 2:  Our Conscience

Isn’t it amazing that almost every culture in the world agrees upon the basic morals?  They happen to coincide with the interpersonal laws in the 10 commandments:  honor your parents, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, and do not covet what is not yours.

The Bible tells us that God put His law in our hearts as a sign.  We see that in Romans 2:

14 For when Gentiles (non-Jews), who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them (Romans 2:14-15)

Here, the Apostle Paul is telling us that every person has an inherent sense of right and wrong, what we often call our conscience.  This conscience is meant to “accuse” us, telling us of our sin and helping us repent and seek Jesus.  Not all people obey the law, but everyone knows when they break it.  I have a friend who is a compulsive liar.  He feels no shame about lying.  However, he does know when he lies and he also knows that lying is wrong.  He has chosen to “excuse” himself from that, ignoring the clear sign God has put in his heart showing his sin.  Doing so leads to death, as we see in James:

4 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:4-5)

So right now we just see the sign, which is our conscience telling us of our sin.  But around the corner is death.

(Part 1 a series of posts)

There is major construction on Chicago Avenue near our house.  There are “Road Closed” and “Detour” signs everywhere.  Despite the clear signage, many people still blast on by the Road Closed signs and ignore the detour signs.  All day long there are cars lost in our little neighborhood.

It started to make me think of the obvious signs God has given us to point to Himself.  Most of us blow on by them, as if they did not mean anything.  But God has given them to us to tell us about who He is and to show us how the road of sin we’re traveling down leads to death.  If we ignore these clear signs, we get lost and possibly… stay that way.

On the right: road closed sign. In the middle: a car and a truck with a trailer, both of which had to turn around when they reached the actual closed road just a block ahead of the sign.

Sign 1:  Creation

Creation itself shows off who God is.  As the Bible says:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

For what can be known about God is plain to them (those who reject God), because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20)

Creation shows off both the fact that God is creator and also tells us clearly who He is!  Romans 1 tells us that from creation, we should clearly know that God is God and that we should not worship other things.  But we do worship other things and slap God in the face in rejection, which is why God’s wrath is upon us sinners (Romans 1:18).

There are many parts of creation that are clear signs pointing to who God is, including:

1. Order – The natural laws are unchanging and reliable.
2. Beauty – I love the beach.  I love the mountains.  God created beautiful things and gave us the ability to recognize beauty!
3. Balance – The laws and the elements are perfectly balanced to allow the existence of solid things and even life!
4. Life – Life is awesome.
5. Goodness – There’s a lot of really good things in creation.  Like strawberries.

There are whole books arguing about how creation started.  But that is not really the issue.  Creation obviously points to a creator.  Why do so many people deny it?  They don’t lack information, but it is obvious.  Rather, they have chosen to deny the clear evidence because they choose to make other things their gods – putting their hope, joy, purpose, life in something in creation rather than the creator.  That’s sin.  As it says in Romans:

21 For although they knew God (through creation), they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:21-23)

(I wrote this for a paper.  I thought I would share this.  I want to point out that I am a hopeless, often inept sinner who is merely trying to pursue Christ.  I strive to be disciplined because of my great love for God and my hatred of sin.  I hope these inspire you in seeking to deepen your relationship with Jesus!)

Like any relationship, our relationship with God requires constant disciplined effort.  Since our relationship with God is seen through eyes of faith rather than by sight, it often requires more effort than our human relationship.  There are many disciplines that we can pursue in our relationship with God, all of which stem out of communicating and communing with God to love Him more (Matt. 23:37).  Below I will list various “disciplines” and my personal practice of them.

1)  Prayer - Depending on how you define prayer, all the disciplines could be defined under the category of prayer.  Our continued communication with God is essential and is something Jesus modeled (Luke 11:1-13, John 17).  In my life I have four ways I practice prayer.  The first is continuous prayer: I talk to God through the day, invite Him to guide me in my daily efforts, and thank Him for His continuous grace.  This is a practice of continually experiencing the presence of God.  The second is intercessory prayer: we have a weekly prayer schedule that guides our family intercession for our church, relationships, neighborhood, and family.  I also routinely prayer walk our church and neighborhood to intercede for the people there.  The third is liturgical prayer: these are things we do regularly as a family that are often repeated, such as the Lord’s prayer before bed or a prayer of thanksgiving before a meal.  The fourth is concerted prayer:  at least once a week I spend time in concerted prayer for guidance or for God to bring my heart back to His truth.

2)  Bible Intake – I see Bible intake as another extension of prayer, because it is essentially listening to God through His Word.  Intake of the Word is vitally important for the growth of any Christian (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  This intake could be through reading it in the Bible, reading about it in Christian books or commentaries, memorizing, speaking/sharing it to one another, singing it, or hearing it proclaimed or preached.  I do a read-the-Bible-in-a-year routine which I try to keep up daily (Here’s the one I am using now, its chronological.).  I also spend time each week looking up scripture or reading through an entire book of the Bible.  We also have scripture on cards on my desk and hanging up around the house.  On our Sabbath nights, my wife and I regularly watch sermons.  I also read a bunch of other books, often Christian books expounding on the truths of scripture.

3)  Journaling – Journaling is also another extension of prayer that helps focus our thoughts through the process of writing.  I regularly journal in a paper journal with my daily Bible reading.  I do a routine of copying down a couple verses that hit me (repeat), writing out a prayer in response (respond), and then listing my concerns to God (release).  I also keep an online journal of thoughts, inspirations, and ideas.

4)  Sharing God’s Word - One of the best ways to absorb God’s Word is to share it with others.  I regularly share the Gospel with people, both strangers and friends.  I write in my blog and our monthly letter, using the stories of our lives to highlight the truths of scripture.  I also regularly counsel people on the phone or e-mail, sharing God’s truth and how it impacts their life.

5)  Fasting – Fasting is not about self-denial but is rather about providing better focus for prayer.  The regularity of my fasting depends on what is going on at home, etc, but rarely exceeds once a month.  I usually have a couple-day fast once a year.

6)  Worship - All of life should be worship; however, there are times when we have concerted times of focus upon God.  For me, that kind of worship is just prayer usually set to music.  I worship congregationally every week and worship through singing multiple times throughout the week.

7)  Fellowship and Discipleship – We must continually meet with each other to encourage each other in the faith (Heb. 3:1).  I regularly get together with a couple of guys one on one, some for mentoring, others accountability, and others to be mentored.  We also partake in a couple of small group fellowships.

8)  Service – Christ took upon the form of a servant by coming to earth (Phil 2:7); likewise, we are to practice service to others (Phil. 2:3-4, Luke 22:24-27).  I regularly serve my neighborhood, serve in other ministries, and serve at the church.

9)  Giving – God gave everything to us, including our ability to make wealth (Dt. 8:17-18).  In response we are to be generous (1 Tim. 6:18, 2 Cor. 8:7-15).  10% is a good starting point.  We regularly give to our church, individual missionaries, and ministries.  We also strive to be generous through practicing hospitality and giving away things we no longer use.

10)  Confession - God calls us to confess our sins, both to Him and one another (Jas. 5:16, 1 John 1:9).  I regularly confess sins to God and to other Christians – both my wife or my peers.

I am by no means a model saint.  I am a sinner and continue to fall short.  But I praise God for His continued grace in my life!  So don’t follow me… follow Christ!  I hope these bless your seeking after Him!

Whenever Luke starts getting stinkery and rebellious, chances are that he’s got a fresh one in his diaper.  For whatever reason, rather than telling us about it he just starts getting demanding and angry and quickly runs into sin.

As I was thinking about it, I realized I do this as well.  Just last week I was feeling agitated and realize I’m just kind of thirsty.  Or are times I’m hungry, hot, tired, full, sick, horny, over-caffeinated, or sore and it makes me angry, combative, worrisome, or abrasive.  It is so amazing how such physical feelings, even ones that are not really that strong, can overpower my whole disposition and cause me to do things I would not want to do otherwise.

This is a clear demonstration of the battle of living by the Spirit and living by the flesh, which Paul talks about in many of his letters.  Paul tells us:

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:16-17)

Often our flesh starts out with these small desires, but it builds on those small bodily urges to incite us into deeper sin.  And Paul tells us what the result of indulging in those feelings is:

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. (Galatians 5:19)

Paul tells us that we are to walk by the Spirit rather than the flesh.  This means our whole self – body, mind, soul – is not “resting” on our physical or emotional state but is resting on the Rock that is Christ.  Paul tells us what the result of that is:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:22)

But note the solution:  crucifying the flesh with its passions.  This is not simply recognizing “oh, I get angry when I am hungry, so I’ll just be sure I eat before that happens”.  That might seem to work, but the flesh will just pop out in another way.  Instead, it means we do not allow these fleshy desires control us, change our mood, or incite us to sin but rather let their control over us die.  In this way, we continue to be satisfied in God in everything rather than finding our satisfaction in something else.

Awhile back I drove to the University of Minnesota to meet with some dudes I mentor.  I parked on the street in a 1 hour zone.  I came back 1 hour and 15 minutes later, worried that I would get a ticket since the traffic enforcers are very diligent around the campus.  As I skated up on my longboard, I saw a ticket on the car in front of mine.  That car had not been there when I parked, so this person was parked for less time than me and still got a ticket.  I thought for sure I would have one.  But low and behold:  I did not get a ticket!  I have no idea why not, but Praise the Lord!

This week I’ve been learning something from Luke.  Luke often talks about the lack of something.  He says things like “the baby is not crying” and “the dog is not barking”.  At first I did not take notice.  But just recently I have taken notice at what Luke is really pointing out.  He recognizes the goodness from something not being there.  The baby not crying is a good thing!  It is something worth pointing out and celebrating!

So this week I’ve been thinking of all those hidden blessings from God that I might not have recognized because it was something God prevented or stopped.  I know there are many times I did not get in a car accident when in all honesty it seemed like it was going to happen.  And how about all the times I did not get sick, our water heater did not break, our car did not break down, I did not fall on my skateboard, Luke did not fall down the stairs, we did not get food poisoning from the take-out, we did not forget to pay a bill, we did not get into an argument, I did not lose my wallet, I did not step in dog poop, etc.

Lots of times I lament the things God has not given me, the blessing I prayed for and have not yet received.  But I should be praising God for the things He has not given me!  I am sure he has protected us from much!  That’s Grace!

Yesterday we took a family trip to the graveyard.  As we walked around, we noticed some massive spire monuments and large family mausoleums.  We saw one large family mausoleum that was completely made of marble that likely cost well over a million dollars.  All it had on the outside was a name, a name that will one day be forgotten.  Even in death, people strive to glorify their own name with their wealth.  Yet it is all in vain.

Otto's Tomb

Now, I am not against elegant burials.  It is a fine thing to honor the dead.  They do look nice and they provide some great jobs.  Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb.  Many venerated saints have decorated tombs are still destinations today.

What I am really trying to get at is the heart of the people here.  It is one thing to be honored in death.  It is quite another to be facing death and to yearn to honor yourself.  That is what many of these monuments are.  Looking at the dates on the tombs, many of these people were old and were probably making their own plans for their burial.  Confronted with death, they decided the best thing to do was to spend large sums of money to make sure that at least their name stuck around.

As we walked around I saw one particularly well built mausoleum with a gorgeous stained glass window inside.  What stood out to me is that instead of a last name, it had a full name:  Otto W. ___  MD.  (I censored the last name).  What was interesting is that this was one of the only tombs that explicitly declared an accomplishment in life.  Sure, some say “beloved mother” or “husband”, but I did not see any that mentioned professional achievement.  By putting on the “MD”, Otto wanted to explicitly declare “I was a successful doctor”.  With a wonderfully landscaped yard and a beautiful building, here lies Otto and his wife Edna.  A couple hundred thousand dollars will do that.  But in only a few years the trees will die, the tomb will fall apart, and the name of Otto will be lost.  Up close, you can see how already thousands of bugs are nesting in the stone, showing its slow but steady decay.

Bug nests on Otto's tomb

I really hope this was not the only legacy Otto left.  But for most of Americans, this is our legacy.  We work hard, build wealth, glorify ourselves, and ignore God.  When facing death, the best we got it to turn to our stuff and make a last ditch effort to make our name live on when our body won’t.  I know a guy who has the license plate:  ”He who dies with the most toys wins”.  (It was interesting given he definitely was not going to win if that was the barometer.)  I like the license plate:  ”he who dies with the most toys… still dies”.  Our stuff is fleeting!  We can’t bring it with us!  It is NOT what we live for.

We talked about how even today we are similar to the pharaohs of Egypt.  They tried to live forever by building grand monuments to themselves.  They even packed their tombs full of actual money in order to buy off whoever was on the other side.  And today, many of us are working as if our stuff will somehow give us the eternal life our heart desires.

But that stuff is fleeting.  It will rot and be gone.  This is why Jesus tells us

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  (Matt. 6:19-21, emphasis mine)

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.  In their last days, these people put their hearts in these tombs… which will one day be gone.  Where is your heart?

Today we were at a lake playing with some awesome water play-structure things they have there.  A woman and her son walk up and start playing alongside us.  She was asking me about Luke and we got to chatting.  She shared some big hardships in her life and struggles they were going through.

I eventually shared that we were there because of a baptism.  She seemed kind of shifty at that remark.  As our conversation continued, I felt God nudging me to ask her about Jesus.  Now, I’ve done this many a times… but I am always nervous at this point.  I almost always have a little argument with God like “are you sure I should ask that??”.

We ended up having a conversation that I have literally had dozens of times in similar ways.  We’ll call the woman Tanya for this example.

Me: “So… do you know the Lord Jesus?”
Tanya:  ”Well… I volunteer at a church ya know.”
Me: (I continue looking at her for more explanation)
Tanya:  ”I serve at the Salvation Army.”
Me: “That’s wonderful, but I didn’t ask you that.  I asked about your relationship with Jesus Christ.  How is that going?”
Tanya: “Well… I haven’t been going to church regularly…. but I do pray…”
Me: “That’s great, prayer is a great way to talk to God.  But I didn’t ask you about that either.  So, do you know about your condition and why you need Jesus?”
Tanya:  ”Umm… what?”
Me: “Why do you need Jesus?”
Tanya:  ”I need God for everything.”
Me:  ”True.  But why do you specifically need Jesus.  Why did Jesus have to die for you?”
Tanya:  ”I dunno… why?”
Me:  ”Because, you’re a sinner.”
Tanya:  ”Me?!?” (looked surprised and possibly offended)
Me:  ”Yes.  You’re a sinner and I’m a sinner.  We are all sinners.  As it says in the Bible:  All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.  And it also says that: ‘No one is righteous, not even one.’  We’re sinners, which is why we need Jesus’ salvation.  We receive that by faith, it’s not about the things we “do” but in the relationship with have with Jesus.  So… how is your relationship with Jesus?  Did you come to a realization of the depth of your sin?”
Tanya:  ”Um, yeah.  I did.  My relationship is good.  Well kind of.  Well maybe not.  I dunno…. (trailed off).”

At that point Luke decided to run off, so I told her about a good nearby church, said a blessing for her family, invited her to come over and join us at our BBQ, and said good-bye.  It appears that something was going on, I only pray that God is using that to bring her to Himself!

I’ve had this same conversation SO many times.  People turn to religiosity rather than Jesus.  They see going to church, prayer, or service as “works” that please God.  Ultimately this is an attempt to buy off God’s favor rather than be humbled by our sin and seek the glorious grace that is freely offered to us (praise be to God for that!).

Check out Justin Taylor’s summary of Tim Keller’s analysis of what love is.  I really like this breakdown and simply Bible references!

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2010/07/24/how-to-love-one-another-affirm-share-and-serve/

Here’s a sermon I preached at Oasis Church in Rochester, titled “Community Clothed in Christ”.  I share my testimony and then preach on Colossians 3:9-14.  This is the first sermon I’ve preached at a church.  It is not video, it is the audio and slides sync’d together.

I missed a piece of my intro.  I am an Urban Missionary and Church Planting Candidate with the EFCA at Hope Community Church.  I think I hit my stride at about 12 minutes in.  I was a little flustered at the beginning since Luke kept trying to run on stage and screamed when he couldn’t.  I guess that makes sense considering how he acted when I practiced at Hope:

Luke on stage with a duster while I practice my sermon at Hope.

Here’ s the sermon:

So I was reading this article in Wired magazine:  ”Stress doesn’t kill us, but it makes everything that does kill us much worse.  Inside the search for a cure” by Jonah Lehrer (Aug 2010).

The article begins with a story about Robert Sapolsky, who studied baboons in Africa.  He is a devote Atheist and accordingly gave the baboons all names from the Old Testament to mock the Bible and Hebrew school, which he saw as anti-Darwinian.  He said “I couldn’t wait for the day that I could record in my notebook that Nebuchanezzar and Naomi were off screwing in the bushes… It felt like a pleasing revenge”.

Through his study of baboon social status, Sapolsky came to “discover” that stress is related to physical health.  Baboons with lower status were less healthy and lived shorter lives due to the constant “stress” of being in a lower status and not having control of their life.  He became a “revolutionary” that linked stress to physical ailments, like bone-loss.

As I read the article, I thought it was funny that Sapolsky’s whole life work simply proved a truth he could have learned if he had paid attention to the Old Testament!  As King Solomon wrote almost 3,000 years ago:

“A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Pv. 17:22)

So now Sapolsky is trying to invent a “cure” to stress using gene therapy and other drugs.  Now, I’m skeptical when anyone tells me drugs are an answer to stress… I’ve been down that road and that sure doesn’t work!  Hey Sapolsky, maybe you should read your Bible some more, because the answer is right there! God tells us that if we trust in Him rather than focus on this World, we won’t have a need for stress!

The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:4-7)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears. (Ps. 34:4)

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:6-7)

18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul. (Ps. 94:18-19)

Peace comes from knowing that God will make all things work for good (Romans 8:28).  God cares for us more than we can imagine, which He demonstrated by giving His own son to die for our sins.  He is the answer to stress, not chemicals.