Category Archives: Bible Study

God Uses the Craziest People to Do Amazing Things

Magi Cartoon

 

Here I am on Good Friday, the day the ordeal begins for Jesus, and in my reading for the day, I’m in Matthew 2, the story of the Magi coming to visit him.  I had never thought much about God’s interaction with the Magi in this story.  They’ve always been characters of convenience, men who show up, deliver some gifts, and disappear.  But there is much more going on in the story than that, obviously.

They come because the star of the King appears.  At the time of Jesus birth.  These guys are astronomers, and they believe in astrology.  God meets them where they are.  In their whole story in Matthew 2, the Magi never speak of God or of seeking for God.  They saw a star, it pointed to a new king, and they came to worship a new king.  A human king.  They believed the stars led them to a man worthy of worship.  They are far from God in their story, in their search.  They are diligently chasing the wrong thing, with all of their might, and God meets them in their broken beliefs, and still draws them to Jesus.

As I read this, and was trying to figure out how to apply this story, I realized that I often believe, even though I know better, that God only works in people in one way.  I know it’s not true, but I default back to that so often.  If a person isn’t coming to Jesus directly, through a church and a pastor, then not much is happening.  But that is not true.  These guys are chasing a star to a human king.  In doing so, God introduces them to Jesus, and uses them to provide for Mary and Joseph.  The Magi bring the gifts that fund the flight to Egypt.  They are of a different religion, a different belief system, and God blesses them.

Herod is partly Jewish, and knows the places to seek truth in the Scriptures, and yet He misses it all.

God simply does not work the way I work.  I have to hold fast to truth, and be willing to take hits for my beliefs, and AT THE SAME TIME make a lot more room for God to work in people who disagree with me in every way.  This is such a challenge, but it is what God is calling us to.  If He can use the Magi, and work in their hearts, He can and will use and work in anyone.  My default methods don’t hem God in.

So, this Easter, how is God working around us, who is He working in and through, that we are quick to dismiss?  Where is He moving, and we are refusing to believe it, because it doesn’t fit in our values or methods?  I hope that we can model a firm commitment to an unchanging truth while we follow a God who specializes in unorthodox methods.

Christ is risen.  Do we need more proof than that?

Parent Cue for the Middle and SrHi

XP3 Students: The Invisibles Parent Cue

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The Invisibles: Parent Cue

1. Be a Student of What They are Learning

We are surrounded by the invisibles. These are people who simply want to know someone cares, someone notices—people who want to know God cares. Some of us would even say we feel that way—invisible to an entire world, daily passing us by. Whether that feeling is a familiar one or not, the reality is that each one of us has felt invisible at one point or another. But we didn’t stay that way. God saw us. He sees the invisibles. And because God took notice of us, we are able to open our eyes to see those around us.

2. Be a Student of Your Student

Spiritual leader—two words people use a lot at church, and ones that they often direct right at you as a parent. Those words can be pretty intimidating. Leading our kids spiritually is one of those things we know we should do, maybe even want to do, but we’re just not sure how.

But when it comes to the influence you have on your kids spiritually, it is something we rarely learn how to do until we simply make the decision to do it. We can read books. We can listen to guidance. We can observe the pros. But we can’t really make any strides until we simply take the plunge and make the first move.

For a lot of us, there is nothing more scary than endeavoring to navigate our own spirituality, let alone talk with our kids about their spirituality. But we can’t be non-participants in this. We can’t watch from the sidelines and allow the youth pastor, the small group leader or the church as a whole take over a role designed and purposed for you as parents—as tempting, appealing and easy as that might be.

Your kids need you—more than they need a coolly dressed youth pastor. Your kids need you—more than they need a culturally relevant small group leader. Your kids need you—more than they need a spiritually impressive church. All of those can play an important role, but they don’t lessen your role. Your kids need you, because your kids are watching you, observing you, taking note of you and the value you place on what is going on with them spiritually. So fading into the background isn’t really an option.

Make yourself available. Don’t allow yourself to become invisible in your own teenager’s life. Kids notice your willingness to simply be there—whether they acknowledge it now or years later. Your presence alone is communicating a valuable message: “I care about you. You matter to me. So, I am going to make sure you have my attention. You have my time. You have me.” This could mean you make the effort to drop off or pick up your student from the student program or it could mean you are simply tuned into what is happening in the student ministry. Doing this communicates to both the youth pastor and to your student that what they are doing has validity, is important and matters enough to you for you to know what is going on.

3. Action Point

So how do you even begin to engage your kids when it comes to their spiritual well being? For one, you start by asking questions. I remember hearing years ago that people can easily determine what I value and what matters to me by the questions I ask them. When I first got married, my dad would ask me if my new husband and I were “doing okay financially.” He asked this one question often enough that I knew, to him, it mattered that we were managing our money wisely. In the same way, the questions we ask our kids reveal what means the most to us. Are we only concerned with their grades, their whereabouts and their messy rooms? Or do we take the time to ask about their time at church? What did they most enjoy about their time there? Was there something that stuck out that they heard or talked about? Was there anything that challenged them or confused them? Begin a conversation, a dialogue, an ongoing connection that happens because you made the effort to care about what is happening at church.

And to help you do this, we have created some conversation starters to get past “what” your student is doing at church and get to “how” your student is being affected by their time at church. But to make it a bit more fun (and to avoid forcing a conversation) you are going to play a game of “pass the note” with your student. This week, choose the conversation starter below that corresponds to each day of the week and write your student a quick note, being sure to include the given question. You can tuck this note in your student’s lunch or backpack or tape it to the bathroom mirror, but be sure to include this line at the bottom of your note: “Tag, you’re it! Answer this question and pass the note back to me before you leave for school tomorrow.”

Here are five conversation starters for the week to get you engaged in your student’s spiritual life:

Sunday: What was your favorite thing about church today? The message? The worship? The small group time?

Monday: What did you hear/learn in church yesterday that stuck out or inspired you?

 

Tuesday: Did anything from Sunday’s time at church leave you feeling confused? If so, what was it?

Wednesday: Was there anything that you heard or did in church on Sunday that helped you today? What was it?

Thursday: Are you looking forward to going to church this weekend? Why or why not?

As you and your student pass notes back and forth throughout the week, take time to use these notes as further conversation starters while driving in the car or during those unexpected conversations before bedtime or during family meal times. We know that as parents we have to check on the mundane things—is their homework done and did they clean their room—but let’s not forgot to notice “how” they are doing, hopefully more often than “what” they are doing. 

 

 

 

Get connected to a wider community of parents at www.orangeparents.org. 

Temper Tantrums, Heart Issues, and Flying Cell Phones

james1_19

Each week, I’m meeting with one of the senior high guys in our group, and we’re reading the book of James together.  I love James, because its so practical, and hits on so many issues that I deal with, and that so many other people deal with.

Today’s reading covers James 1:19-21 as part of what we are looking at this week.  You’ve likely heard this passage before.  It says:

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because our anger does not produce the righeousness that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”

I know these verses well, I memorized them years ago, and have taught them dozens of times.  Knowing about being slow to speak and get angry, it makes perfect sense that yesterday in the car, I got incredibly mad at a conversation I was having, and threw my phone on the floor when I hung up.  All in front of my fourteen year old daughter.

Oh yeah, I’m the world’s best dad, for sure.

So, I apologi
I read these verses, and know the sequence I’m supposed to do.  I need to listen first, and listen for a long time.  I need to stop and measure my words before I speak.  I need to be patient, and not let anger run.  That’s what I need to do.  Sometimes it’s even what I actually do.  Other times….not so much.zed as we pulled up to school to drop her off.  But it had already messed up her morning.  I texted later, and asked for her forgiveness again.  She forgave me, but the damage was done.  I had blown it.  I hate it when I do that.  But I did anyway, and have to own it.

So verse 21 is hitting home.  Right now, I need to keep working to get rid of moral filth in my life.  I need to fight for purity in my thoughts, patience in my actions, humility in my heart, generosity in my possessions, and gratitude in my desires.  So many of those areas are the places I struggle to keep filth out, and because of that I become a person who believes they are being cheated, slighted, ignored, and unjustly accused.  Of course my anger runs the day when I believe and act on those values.  Which leads to me having to apologize…alot.

If you believe James has it right, then it would make sense to ask what is the “filth” that is lying to you, and causing you to react in anger?  What lies are you holding onto that bite you when you’re not looking?  Lust, greed, self-importance, hoping to find joy in other people or things, all of this stuff is just lies.  Lies that lead to a quick temper, a quick tongue, and a very slow ear.

And maybe a broken cell phone.

Jesus’ Last Words and Sticky Faith Prayers

Sticky Faith Prayers

John 17 has Jesus’ last prayer on earth before the crucifixion.  It’s His “last words”, if you will, and I am always fascinated by it.  I’ve noted before how Jesus prays for the 11, talking about how they are the ones He was sent for, and how He delivered all of them to the end.  That amazes me, that Jesus grand plan was primarily for 11 people.  Not quite a mega-church model, in and of itself.

I’ve also written before about how Jesus prays for us, you and me, in the prayer.  He prays for us specifically, and that continues to break me down and remind me of how loved I am.  It was as I was reading that passage of the chapter today, that a new thought hit me.

Jesus says this:  ”20″My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”  Jesus prays for us, through the disciples.  What I mean is, Jesus prays for the ones He had taught, and then prays for the ones they would teach, generation after generation.

I do ok praying for my students and families.  But what about the people they will teach?  For some reason, it’s hitting me that I don’t pray for them.  My students will have varying level of “success” in growing in their faith.  I’m spending a lot of time right now in the Sticky Faith co-hort discussing it, thinking about it, planning for it, and re-working ministry for it.  But here, in John 17, Jesus prays a sticky prayer, if you will.  He prays for His students, and then prays for their students.  When I consider this, and apply it to my kids, it reminds me of the impact that God is planning down the road.  My investment isn’t just in them.  It’s in men and women I will never meet who they will impact.  It’s in future students who aren’t born yet, that one day my students will grow and pass their faith onto.  This is a side of Sticky Faith that I simply haven’t given much thought to.  I’ve given even less prayer to it.

But Jesus did.

At the end of His life, with the clock ticking, this is what He prays for.  He prays for those He loved and taught, and He prays for the ones they would one day love and teach.  And their spiritual grandchildren, great-grandchildren, all the way down to me.  And you.

It seems that this might be one of the most fundamental elements of Sticky Faith for us to engage in.  If Jesus knew its value, at this time and place, it’s surely worth our daily investment.

The only question is: will we?

I Am a Wanted Man

Pray to be together

I am reading through the prayers of Jesus again today, and I read his amazing prayer in the Garden in John 17.  If you’ve never taken the time to read it, and think about it, I highly encourage you to do it today.  Every time I read through that prayer, it changes me and I understand Jesus just a little bit better.  It is such an open door into how He thought, what was important, and how He wants us to live.  He prays specifically for you in there as well.  I’m not kidding at all, he prays for you.

So, today I’m reading it again, and this is what hit me:

24 ”Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

It’s the phrase “I want those you have given me to be with me…” that jumped into my soul.  He wants us.  I know Jesus loves me (I mean, the Bible tells me so, right?) but to hear him say it like this, that he wants me to be with Him, is just somehow earth shattering.  He….wants….me.  I don’t know about you, but there is a part of who I am, a part of how I’m wired, that is designed to do nothing other than crave that love, to jump at these words, to push me to tears and joy at hearing him say it.  It’s hardwired in me to need this.

So hearing it today brought that flood of hope to the surface.  He wants me to be with Him.

It’s hard to imagine sweeter words than that.

And He wants you.

He…

Wants…

You…

May it be so today.

Being A Loner for Jesus

prayer

I am reading through a five-day devotional on the Prayers of Jesus.  Most of them are just short verses referencing the fact that He prayed.  Today, one of the verses stood out to me so clearly:

Luke 5:16 But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

I had to go look up the chapter to see what the story was leading up to the verse.  Anytime a verse begins with “But…”, it’s tied to the verses and the story before it.  In this case, Jesus has become famous, people want to hang out with Him, He is healing people and doing amazing ministry, and everything is moving forward at 1000 mile an hour.

BUT he prayed.  In the busyness, success, and running; He prayed.

The third word hit me as well.  But Jesus OFTEN prayed.  He made it a habit.  I am so weak in this area, and I know it.  When I do stop and pray consistently, it changes me.  I can literally feel it.  But Jason doesn’t often pray.  I talk to God all day, but I don’t often stop and pray.  You see, the fourth and sixth words matter greatly here.  He WITHDREW to LONELY places.  He stopped the success, the ministry, the healing, the running, the being in demand, the great things and left it behind to pray.  Often.  Alone.

He quit doing the work of God to be with God.  This is the one I struggle with.  I am with God in the work.  I talk to Him WHILE I’m busy.  But I don’t often, on a regular basis, stop the work to just go away and pray.

So I am, right now.  As soon as I post this, I am leaving my desk to go off and pray.  I have a thousand things to do today, and ALL of them are urgent and important.  That’s why I am walking away.

What about you?

Stand

ephesians 6 10-20

I am reading through Ephesians 6 today, and it’s a fairly common set of verses.  We talk about it, teach on it, make up entire vacation Bible school weeks around it, and sell plastic warrior toys in Christian book stores based on them.  They go like this:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I love Paul’s description and his call for us to be strong and understand we are in a battle.  But each time I read this passage, one word stands out to me … “stand”.  It appears, as a command, four times in the passage.  Stand.  It’s not exactly our understanding of battle, is it.  We like words like Charge!, Attack!, Conquer!, Destroy!  We like the thought of charging hell with a water pistol, kicking butts and taking names, in the name of Jesus.  We want to be little Christian Rambo’s blowing up everything in sight.

But Paul calls for us to stand.  To dress for battle, to arm ourselves, and stand our ground.  Why?

Jesus is the one who attacked.  He won.  He fought the battle, swinging the cross, and He alone conquered.  He is the king, the victor, the winner, the man, the bomb, the One.  He alone is the one with all power, honor, and glory.  He already has won.  The battle is, for all intents and purposes, over.  There are still skirmishes and fights to wage.  So what do we do?

We stand our ground.  Don’t give up anything that Jesus gives us to the enemy in their desperate bids to go down with a fight.  We have to prepare ourselves for the fight, that will come to us.  We need to be ready to stand the attack.  But it is not up to us to defeat the enemy.  Jesus has that one covered.  So, as we put on the helmet of salvation, we will be in battle.  But we don’t need to be afraid, we don’t need to freak out, we don’t need to worry.  We are peacekeepers after the battle is over.

So, what does this mean?  We do have an enemy, and it’s not that person who drives you nuts.  It’s a spiritual army that can’t win.  We don’t need to live in fear as followers of the King.  We don’t need to worry.  We can rise above the mess of the day-to-day lies we live in, and follow a Jesus who is strong, vibrant, alive, and powerful.  When we move closer to Him, we will be attacked, but it’s not something that can overwhelm us, IF we use our armor.  But notice, all of our armor is based on our connection to Jesus.  As soon as we disconnect from Him, we will be overrun, and the enemy will take back ground that is ours to defend.

So, stand strong.  Trust your King, follow His plan today, and live in His strength.  He is a force to be reckoned with.

Just stand.

When He Stands Next to You

Sometimes we obey God, knowing we are doing exactly what He is calling us to do.  And it stinks.  Everything around us seems to crumble out from under our feet, and the more obedient we are, the more mess seems to come from it.  It’s so easy to give up, to wonder why God does this to us, to wonder where He is in all of this.  We can feel so alone, like it’s been years since we heard from Him.

I was reading through Acts 22 and 23 today, and Paul is in one of those spots.  He knows he has to go to Jerusalem.  He also knows he’s going to be arrested there.  He walks obediently into the fire, and chaos blows up around him.  A mob wants him killed, 40 men plot to murder him, the government bungles his case, his own former friends slap him and want to see him suffer.  All because he is obeying.  He stays faithfully on course, but I know humanly, he had to wonder, to doubt a little, to ask why.

Then in Acts 23, you hit verse 11.  It says “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ”Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”  Paul is locked into the barracks with Roman soldiers for his own safety, fairly alone.  Jesus shows up.  How do I know that the amazing, brave Paul was struggling?  Jesus’ first words are “Take courage.”  Jesus only tells us that when we need to…well…take courage.  As I read that, the little phrase “the Lord stood near Paul and said” made me cry.  Once again, Jesus shows up just when all is lost, when doubt settles in, in the night time where Satan always seems to come and whisper in our ear about doubt and failure.  Jesus is there, standing close, encouraging Paul.

So many times this is exactly what I need.  Only I give up an hour too soon.  I quit being faithful and take off on my own plan to try and fix the chaos.  I don’t wait quite long enough for Jesus to show up, stand by me, and give me courage.  Today, if you are in the dark, wondering why your faithfulness has you in such a mess, please hang on.  He is coming.  He will not let you down.  All it will take is for Him to remind you to “take courage”.

Don’t quit.

Time Travel, the Skull, and the Man I Want to Be Like

jesus-on-the-cross

Today I read John 18 and 19 as part of my daily reading.  It’s where John tells the story of the cruicifixion.  It strikes me how broken John is about the story.  Remember, he is writing this a couple of decades later, and most importantly, he knows how the story ends.  He knows the crucifixion is not the final act.  But when he tells the story, you can feel the pain flowing through his pen.  He travels back to Golgotha, standing and watching his Lord and friend die.  He hears the soldiers voices, relives the uncertainty of it all, the fear that coursed through him.  The agony of wanting to save Jesus, and being unable to do anything to save Him or save himself.  The brokeness, the heartbreak, the desolate fear of it all comes back and washes over him.  You can hear it, feel it, see it in how John tells his story.

I want to love Jesus like that.  I want to break every time I retell the story of how my King died for me.  I want to be so tuned in to His suffering and sacrifice that I can’ t help but be moved by revisiting Golgotha.  I want to love my Lord so deeply that even the end of the story is not enough to wash out the pain of the middle.  I want to be like John, the one Jesus loved.

Instead I let it become a story in my past.  It takes on a mythological feel, an oft told story that has become well worn and over rehearsed.  I can run through it as an explanation more than an event.  It was never meant to be a proof in and of itself.  It is Jesus’ story, the reality of what He chose for me.  When I forget that, when I become numb to the exorbitant cost and pain, I do well to travel.  I must travel back, stand on the hillside over Jerusalem and look up into His eyes.  Those eyes who saw it all, and loved us all, and called us as deep calls to deep.  The eyes of love that day were bloodshot, swollen, bruised, and tired.  Yet they were full of love.  When I stand again on that hill, and look up, I remember.  I am transfixed, transformed, and translated to another time and place.  The place where love laid itself down and died, for me.

May I never forget how to go back there.

What Happened to Judas?

I am reading in Matthew 27 today, and it is the story of the crucifixion of Jesus.  At the beginning of the chapter, we see the end of Judas’ life.  The story flows like this:

3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders.

4 ”I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

 

I am always fascinated with how Judas can have spent so much time with Jesus and still missed it.  I always have a hope that I will find some place in the story where Judas turns.  I just don’t want him to miss out on a chance at joy.  But I still haven’t found that part of the story.  It just doesn’t seem to be there.  When I read in verse three that he is filled with remorse, that is as close as I can find.

Unfortunately, there is huge gap between us being sorry for making a mistake and us trusting Jesus as our savior.  If Judas had turned his heart at this point, he would have trusted Jesus, not committed suicide.  He was just a few hours from the resurrection, and he took his own life.  He never made it.

Just a few hours from the resurrection.

So close.

It just breaks my heart to read this story.  But it pushes me to constantly evaluate what is driving me in my decisions.  When I make decisions based on guilt and regret, usually it works out poorly.  They are decisions without hope; desperate and grasping.

When I make decisions based on Jesus being my living King, it’s a whole different type of decision.  It’s one based on an impossible hope created by the loving, powerful son of God.

What message are we sending those we lead and love?  It’s more than remorse.  It’s faith.  It’s more than being sorry for sin.  It’s trusting in the living one.

I’m so glad.  Hope is the best way to live by far.