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I was in a church service yesterday morning with my wife at Westside-A Jesus Church.  At one point, a guy named Greg was sharing about the great love that Jesus displayed as he hung on the cross, and the example He was setting for those of us who would follow in His steps.  I really appreciated what he said…my favorite was,
      “Let’s not save-up love like we’re going to retire on it, but give love away like we’re made of it.”

I loved that!  So often, I think we forget the primacy of love!  It reminded me of several scriptures that challenge and enlighten me today to keep the MAIN THING the main thing:

“If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.” (1 Co 13:1)

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 Jn 3:16-19)

“There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)

‘Nuf said…

I used to believe that being a Christian was all about what I didn’t do.  Maybe that’s because I was such a screwup in my early years, and needed to lay hold of the discipline of Jesus in order to excise self-destructive thought & behavior patterns from my character.  I worked hard to lean into the Spirit, who “teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12).  As I have now been walking with the Lord for 31 years, I’m reaching the stage where I’m understanding that God’s power to repress my carnal passions is only the side-effect of something much larger…much more important and vital…for me, those I love, and the watching world around me.

Indeed, Jesus had much to say against sin, from within and without our own souls.  However, He did & said a lot more about what we should be DOING and BEING in order to OVERCOME AND DESTROY the effect of evil in ourselves and in the world.

So many of the world’s people look at followers of Christ with disdain because we are often withdrawn and self-righteous…just like the Pharisees were during Jesus’ days in the body.  Of course, they’ll talk negatively and riducule anyway, but I’d rather it be because of selfless acts of sacrifice, love for my neighbor, and supernatural stuff they can’t explain but desperately need!  That’s the kind of legacy I want to leave.

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.  He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.  And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14:12-13)

Yes, I realize it’s not a word…but you get it, right?

Feelings of being overwhelmed, for me, are usually associated with either trying to go too fast for too long (aka-sprinting on a long run) or simply trying to do too many things at once (aka-spinning too many plates).  If you know me well, then you know that being overwhelmed is part of a cycle I go through fairly regularly.  It is in these times that my faith in Christ is exercised to the point of exhaustion…then growth.  Just how muscles regenerate themselves to be stronger than they were to begin with, following rigorous strain to the point of failure…..as long as it is followed by rest and nourishment!

I’m in one of those seasons right now.  Today is Day #6 of Catalyst’s Howard volunteer project.  And yes, once again, I am feeling overwhelmed as we’re reaching the final stretch.  These words from today’s “Jesus Calling” devotional were perfect:

“When things seem to be going all wrong, stop and affirm your trust in Me.  Calmly bring these matters to Me, and leave them in My capable hands.  Then, simply do the next thing.  Stay in touch with Me through thankful, trusting prayers, resting in My sovereign control.  Rejoice in Me-exult in the God of your salvation!  As you trust in Me, I make your feet like the feet of a deer.  I enable you to walk and make progress upon your high places of trouble, suffering, or responsibility.” (Job 13:15…Psalm 18:33…Habakkuk 3:17-19).

This is how I keep going…

You see these folks surrounding the older couple in the middle?  They’re heroes.  They patched-up a leaky roof for this elderly couple, volunteering their time on a Friday and Saturday…and their church (Tigard Christian) covered the cost of materials.  Their cause is not to push a political agenda or force a religious view down anyone’s throat.  Their role is to serve, care for, and create common ground; making space for God to work in the hearts of the people they come into contact with…as well as their own.  Allowing people the freedom to come to their own conclusions.  They know the important truth that, as followers of Jesus, it is not our responsibility to convert people, but to love people…and leave the results to God.

Linda is a friend of mine, she’s in the picture with her arms around the other lady.  She was the advocate on this job, and did a fantastic job.  After it was all completed, she said this:

“I was able to visit with the Lowries during rest breaks and discovered that they are a nice couple.  They expressed their gratitude to Catalyst many times, and told me all of the workers were in their prayers.  The next door neighbor was also grateful as he was usually the one called to go up on the roof when yet another place leaked!  I was also able to meet another neighbor out walking her dogs.  She stated that i didn’t live there, and asked what i was doing and why was I doing it.  I explained about how God was using me as His hands to prune the roses to show the Lowries how much He loves them.  She brightened up and asked a bunch more questions.”

1 Peter 3:15: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

REST is becoming much more important to me.  Not just because I’m getting older, but because I am more keenly aware of my prone-ness to error without it.  This weekend proved to be good for me.  I say it like that because I was very fitful in my resting…There’s a lot going on in my world right now, many things that I’m responsible for and worried about.  It was a real effort to let my hands “release the plow”, and I fretted for a while about what I wasn’t doing, and what was waiting for me when I got back to work.  But as time went on, and I continued to pray for God’s peace and love and grace to soak into my soul, I gradually let down and started feeling the effects of His perspective and comfort.  I slept well last night and woke up refreshed…ready to roll, but with less anxiety and more connection with my Master.

This morning I was reading a blog from 3DM, a ministry blog I subscribe to…it said:

“But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” (Luke 5.15-16)

“Jesus lived a regular rhythm: crowds/solitude, preaching/prayer, healing/rest. He was well acquainted with the deserted places in and around Galilee. Regularly he would return to the desert, the place of his 40 day fast, to reconnect with the Father. To listen. To be filled with all the fullness of God.”

“Why would the God-made-flesh spend such a large portion of his 3 years of active ministry ‘taking a break’? Wouldn’t he want to get all he could out of those 36 months? Preach as many sermons, heal as many lepers, perform as many signs as he could? Yes he did, but the man who had such a short time to bless the world also knew that his productivity for the kingdom was directly proportional to his connectivity to the King.”

“If God-made-flesh needed to abide in the midst of 3 years of ministry it would follow that his disciples (those who are ‘with Jesus to learn from Jesus how to live like Jesus’) would need seasons of abiding in the midst of their ministry. Unless, of course, we think we need to be less dependent on God the Father than Jesus.”

I’ve always been hyper-focused and hyper-active – like my whole life – so I consider my dad to be an expert in understanding my ways – both the strengths and the shortfalls.  It’s really important for all of us to have at least one person (if not more) who knows us deeply and truly cares for us anyway, for the long-haul.  I’m very privileged and thankful to have such a great relationship with my dad.

Anyway, I was expressing frustration about some goals I’m working toward that don’t seem to be getting closer…and how it makes me feel alarmed & panicky inside.  He said:

     “Few of us have the patience to let things develop naturally, because we want to make things happen.”

For me this comes back to a deep-seated driver in me that’s good….but it often ends-up taking the reins out of God’s Hands and it becomes an inner slave-master.  Western individualistic society has created the notion that much of our worth as humans comes from our accomplishments.  “I want to make my life count,” and “I want to make a big difference” are mantras I’ve been telling myself since I was doing lame skateboard tricks in my parent’s driveway.  I believed that if I could “do great things” in my future as a man, then that would make me great.  Although my spirit and mind and body have come a long way since those childhood dreams, I think my heart still believes them.  Don’t get me wrong, we were made to be productive and innovative; but not as a means to attain worth.  Rather, our identity is to be found in our relationship with God primarily, and with others in His world   But it’s hard to get away from the barrage of other self-worth messages all around us, which are most-often designed to make us feel like we need to buy something.  We would do well to keep our focus on Master Jesus, set our hearts on faithfulness rather than results, and releasing our grasp on things we cling to in order to feel good about ourselves.

Micah 6:8 says:
     “He has showed you, O man, what is good. 
     And what does the Lord require of you? 
     To act justly and to love mercy 
     and to walk humbly with your God.”

Thanks, dad, for the reminder.

As I continue my journey of discovering God, His world, and my place in it, I’ve come across a strikingly excellent paper written in 2002 by Scott Rodin called “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation.”  There are about a million amazing phrases and truths in there that resonate with me, and one of them is about the difference between being appoint responsibilities and being anointed for them.  This is vitally important for me, and people like me, because I often find myself spending lots of time & energy doing things I shouldn’t be doing….not because they’re not worth doing, but because they’re things that I’m not meant to do.  The word “meant” connotes an origin…and that origin coincides with his use of the word “anointing.”

Anointed is a weird word, I know; but it’s all over the Bible as a key ingredient for how God works through people….so if it sounds too ‘hocus pocus’ and makes you queasy, you might as well get used to it and learn what it is.

This has to do with why and how we become who we are…and do what we do in the world.  An appointment is an obligation/responsibility we put on ourselves or others put on us.  An anointment is a deeper burden/conviction that God plants within us that seems to drive our motivations and values…something we always seem to come back to.  

Here’s what Dictionary.com says:
a·noint  [uh-noint] – verb (used with object)
1. to rub or sprinkle on; apply an unguent, ointment, or oily liquid to.
2. to smear with any liquid.
3. to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes the token applying of oil: “He anointed the new high priest.”
4. to dedicate to the service of God.

These definitions are interesting, because none of them refers to the anointing I’m talking about…these ones all have to do with something WE DO  in order to connect with God.  Although these acts of devotion and sanctification are, indeed, found throughout scripture, they are all based on the common precedent of God’s anointing on individuals….something that HE DOES to those He chooses as His servants. Here are some excerpts from Rodin’s paper:

     “I know of few Christian leaders today who were anointed before they were appointed.  We have employed the business model of doing careful searches looking for Christian leaders whom we can appoint to office.  We check their credentials, put them through rigorous interviews, and even give them psychological tests before we make the critical appointment.  Once in place, we then anoint them and ask God to bless their work.
     “The Biblical evidence seems to indicate that God selects leaders in the opposite order.  Samuel anointed David before he appointing him King.  The selection criterion for leadership was not based on who would most likely get the appointment, but whom God had anointed for this task.  And appointment without anointment always led to disaster…
     “With God’s anointing comes God’s power and presence…without it, we are continually thrown back upon ourselves to make things work.  With it, we have the resources of heaven at our disposal if we will be the faithful servant.”

I find that when I fail, which is often, it’s usually because I’ve been trying to either do something the wrong way (ie. ‘push’ on a door that says ‘pull’), or that I’m trying to do things that are wrong for me to do in the first place….taking on an appointment for which I am not anointed.

What are you anointed for?

I returned to work yesterday, after taking last week off for 7-days of “glamping” at the Rogue River between Grants Pass & Medford.  Our family had a wonderful time together, though we stayed in bathing suits & tank tops most of the time in the heat – it was 108 for two of the days we were there…the trailer’s AC saved us!  BTW McKenzie already told me that my outfit didn’t match, so don’t bother.

Coming back from vacation is always a mixed-bag.  For me, trips away from home are opportunities for much-needed R&R, extended exercise, and uninterrupted family time.  To-do-lists are forgotten, my iPhone is forgotten, and my watch is removed.  It’s wonderful.

That being said, my heart is usually ready to delve into the next challenge upon my return.  This time, it’s a lot of introspection.  First, Marina and I are really convicted that our lives are too busy & complex to maintain sanity.  Generally, we’ve been saying “yes” to too many good things….and consequently not having enough time & energy for the people & activities that are best.  Second, I see that I’ve been straining to do too much in my work. The public service and ministry scope of Catalyst has become quite large in the past year, and I’m realizing more & more how difficult it is for me to adapt in order to stay out of God’s way.  Both of these realizations are recurring themes for me….it’s so frustrating!  Why can’t I just learn a lesson once and then “have it” in me from then on?  Have you ever felt like that?

Sometimes vacation gives us a break so that we can return with renewed strength to work harder…..but this one was about remembering the sanctity and necessity of REST, and the overarching value of keeping first things first.  God, Family, Friends.  As my dad always says: Relationships really are the most important thing in life.  These words of Jesus come to mind:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”  Matthew 11:28-30