Elevate dec 12

Elevate this past week,

We ended up at a story involving Jesus during his last week here on earth. I admit it's kind of a weird place to be during the Christmas celebration, but a good story is good to let her what time of year.

We were in Matthew chapter 21. In that chapter Jesus enters into the city of Jerusalem with great fanfare and excitement.
Then he goes to the temple where he forcibly removes all of the lying and deceitful light changers.
Then he proceeds to heal the blind and the lame in front of all of the religious teachers, high priest, and leading priests of the day. Their response of course was to complain that the children were singing praises to Jesus. They couldn't explained the miracles, so because they couldn't explain as typical religious people they ignored it completely.

Jesus leaves the city spends a night in a town called Bethel, and that's where we picked up the story for this week.

On his way back to Jerusalem he stops by a fig tree. The tree looked good because it had plenty of big fig leafs.when Jesus looked for something to eat on the tree there was nothing there, and no evidence of any future harvest.
(I know what time of year was, and that a full-fledged fig was not available, but they should have been something there for him to eat even though would not have been fully ripened, and definitely should've been evidence of other flowers that would eventually become the figs.)

Jesus cursed the fig tree and it died. That looked really weird to the disciples. I'm sure the leaves curled up quickly and began to fall like rain all around the tree. But they expressed how odd it was Jesus's response was one of encouragement. Jesus said if they had faith did not doubt they would be able to do things like this and much more. The "much more" was they could say to God moved this mountain and throw it into the sea and God would do it. He then continued with if you believe you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

This response to the disciples made many of my conservative/Baptist background pastor friends very nervous. Most of them like to emphasize the curse of the fig tree not the encouragement of Jesus.
Because of my past in those conservative Baptist backgrounds I had no category for faith in which God would do whatever I asked. I did have a category to be cursed for not producing fruit when Jesus came to inspect me.
The fruit that I grew up believing to be the only thing that mattered was the fruit of people accepting Christ as their personal savior. I also grew up believing that if I did not lead to other people to a saving knowledge of Christ I was of no use to God it would be cursed to continue to be useless to him in the future.
I think I was supposed to be motivated to get out and tell people that they needed a savior.

What I have come to believe it realize is that the fruit that God is looking for comes in a wide variety of options. The end result is still that of producing aspects of God's kingdom, but the growth that occurs prior to the ripening of the fruit is many and varied.
In producing food for God's kingdom we need to be able to hear God's voice. Hearing God's voice is more than what I grew up believing it to be. Hearing God's voice used to make me very nervous. Because I was told that God spoke through his Word/the Bible and I spoke to God through prayer. It is important that I understand that until I did everything God had Re: spoken to me there was no need for him to speak anything more to me.
Not having a category for God to continue to communicate to me cause me to develop a separate category in which I took credit for the things I was doing for God's kingdom. When I worked on of the strengths that God had naturally gifted me with It was my job to turn the credit back to him. If God was not speaking to me in giving me the ideas and opportunities that I was coming up with, then it was me and God was overseeing/judging me based on my response to whether or not he was getting enough credit for what I was doing.

I believe that God speaks.
we need to recognize our ability to hear God.
If we have category except the written Word of God for God to communicate with us, we need to develop more categories.
Here are some basic ways that God speaks.
Invitation, you see clearly in Scripture that it is Gods voice that speaks to our heart and invites us to be a part of the family of God.
Scripture, not just what is written about what we hear God say to us while we are reading.
Teachers, only here a lesson or a message that seems to have been presented as though we were the only people in the room. (Some preachers want to take credit when he passage that they speak on means so much to you,stay away from those preachers)
worship, the songs lyrics, phrases,music,any one of those things and many others God can use to speak specifically to you.
Conviction.guilt is not a part of Gods tools in bring about conviction of sin,He speaks with Love and kindness in the desire to have you clean is because it allows His voice to be heard more clearly ...and He love to tell you He Love you.
Burdens, people he brings to your mind to lift up in prayer and to share the burdens of.
Promptings, these are words whether written or spoken and encourage other people, or acts of service and kindness that allow other people to know that God cares for them.

One of the main things God loves to tell us and all of his creation is how much he loves them.
Many times the words I hear from God to share to others are just that simple. There are different ways that God wants to and let his love be shown and heard.

Don't be afraid to let God speak.
in hearing God speak we will participate in producing fruit for the kingdom, having faith without doubt to do great things, and prayers are answered no matter what we ask.

I'm comfortable with that.

Elevate Nov 28

this week we were in the book of Luke chapter 14.
I know technically the events of chapter 14 and the story that Jesus told is not a parable but,...... it had to do with eating a big meal, and had a good point.

In the opening lines of Luke chapter 14 we see that Jesus was invited to dinner. This dinner included a guest list of rich people, political leaders, religious leaders, and intellectual relatives of the host.
The host was the leader of the synagogue, who was also wealthy , politically influential, and religiously exulted by many.
Given the culture of the day I sincerely doubt that Jesus was invited haphazardly. There is a good chance that Jesus had been in the synagogue at lease for the last week and possibly even longer. Jesus had developed a relationship with the political leaders and the synagogue leaders, and although he was not in trouble they definitely wanted to keep an eye on him.

It says in the early verses that they were watching Jesus closely because of a lame/sick man that was also at the party. The poor and needy and sick people would often be allowed to wait around the outside of the courtyard for the important people to finish dinner, and then the leftovers would be brought to those poor needy people. During the meal there would be multiple topics covered and the host would have the final say in the answering of a question, or rendering an opinion. This was done out of courtesy to the host and in recognition of his position within the political realm, and religious realm.

Jesus asked the question "is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath" we see in the verses that ultimately they had no answer for his question. That doesn't mean they didn't discuss it for quite some time around the table, it just means that the host ultimately decided not to answer the question probably because of fear.
Jesus then leaned over and healed a man who was sitting near him.
Then Jesus challenged everyone at the table with this observation, that they would work on the Sabbath if it meant being helpful to someone or something that they cared about. This also in essence rendered the host and his guests speechless.

Jesus then went to the observations that he had made prior to dinner. He had observed people entering the house and jockeying for the most prominent position around the table. Some were moved to lower positions by the host, some were moved to higher positions by the host ,and I imagine Jesus ended up with the lowest spot at the table.
Jesus exposed the selfish nature of those who tried to exalt themselves, he exposed the false humility of those who sat in lower positions so that they would be exalted by the host, and he exposed the heart of God who exults those who are truly humble.
Jesus then spoke directly to the host and exposed his motive for having the dinner. The host wanted to be exalted and repaid by all those who were in attendance. Jesus took a host to task for not inviting all of the poor and needy who were waiting for leftovers to the banquet table. He pointed out that the host needed to provide dinner for people who could not pay him back or exalt him by repaying him with a more lavish dinner.

From there someone made the comment that it would be good enough for them just to have a small piece of the kingdom of God.
Jesus then went on to give the story of the man who planned a banquet, sent out invitations, and then was rejected by everyone who was invited when the banquet was ready. This rejection led the rich man to invite anyone who was available in the city to the dinner, and when that wasn't enough people he went out into the countryside and drag every person he can find into the banquet hall. This filled is banquet hall with guests who appreciated the meal, and left out everyone who was originally intended for.

I know the story can't have theological implications, but I wanted to stay with a more practical thread.
I believe Jesus has a banquet prepared for all of us. This banquet indicates the fullness of the Kingdom of God in our lives. I believe many people in some form of religious arrogance, selfish pride, or doctrinal tradition have turned their back on Jesus and said in essence all I want is a crust of bread and some water. We wrap this arrogance in some sort of concept that we don't want to bother God to give us everything ,we don't need everything, just give us a little piece of heaven.
I think Jesus is quite amazed at our choice not to eat the banquet that he has prepared. He wants to give us more and were asking for less, and we think were doing him a favor by not eating everything he has prepared.

I think we need to enter the banquet that God is prepared for us regarding every aspect of our Christian walk. We need the full banquet when it comes to worship, prayer, teaching, reading God's Word, hearing his voice, reaching out to others, and a host of other things. Why do we limit God by demanding he only give us a piece of the Kingdom, instead of the whole banquet.

I don't think God is going to run out of food at the banquet hall. I think a lot of us need to turn around, step up to the buffet table, and start filling our plate with a banquet of food that will change our lives, and the lives of the communities around us.

elevate update November 14

A simple and profound parable in prayer.

Luke chapter 18. Jesus is telling a story, and he lets the disciples no point of the story before he even begins.
Which is more than I can say for a lot of people that I talk to, but that's another story.... and I'm not sure what the point would be anyways.

Jesus spoke of a judge, in a certain city, who had great contempt for everyone.
We need to take a moment to understand how the disciples would have immediately understood what he was talking about.
The city could've been one of hundreds that they would've been familiar with.These cities built around agriculture with a main street crowded on either side with the marketplace.everyone in the city would have been familiar with each other in a good chance in some way related to one another. (Not with inbreeding, but just the culture of the day).
The judge would have been selected so that commerce and family business could be officially taken care of in town. He was probably someone everyone knew including the other main character in the story.The widow.

The widow had probably lived in the city since marriage at a young age. Her husband was probably a life long city member. This is something we infer because usually in that culture the men would stay in their family units, and the wife would be chosen from a neighboring city or family unit.
She had been wronged, and is my guess it has something to do with inheritance, land, or some form of provision that her husband had left behind so she could survive. There's a good chance that whoever wronged her did so by being aware of her weakness because he knew her, or was related to her in some way.

Justice was all she had left, and the only person who can give it to her was the judge.
This judge had one major personal characteristic, he had contempt for everyone. It's a nice way of saying that he was a prideful arrogant prick. His arrogance and pride probably became a part of his life when he was chosen to be judge. I sincerely doubt that he would then given that position by his friends and relatives had he been someone who showed that sort of arrogant contempt for everyone prior to the position.
This judge ignored, laughed at, belittled, and disrespected the widow. The widow continued to make her request known. This request would have had to been done in person at the city gate. I'm guessing she was down there almost daily,and if not daily then definitely regularly.
The judge lasted as long as he possibly could (which I'm guessing must of been several months) and then he gave in. He not only gave in and heard her case he gave her justice, which is exactly what she was asking for. He gave in because he said that he was going to drive him crazy if he ignored her anymore.

Jesus said at the beginning point of the story was to show the need to be consistent in prayer.
That if an unrighteous arrogant prideful judge would eventually give a ruling consistent with the Kingdom of God, how much more would a righteous just God give a ruling consistent with His kingdom.
That if an unrighteous judge could eventually be broken down, how much easier through consistent prayer would a loving judge/God also give us what we ask for.

Some other side notes that we picked up were these.
The widow was asking for something that was consistent with God's will. The Bible does make it clear that only ask anything according to Gods will he will give it to us.
The request was made personally and vocally. I believe it is important that whenever possible we pray out loud. That allows us to affect the atmosphere around us. Through consistent verbal requests the atmosphere of the city changed around the judge and even he was moved in compassion. If she had written a letter, or had only gone once or twice, I don't think she would've changed the atmosphere around the judge.
The right for God to rule is based on His righteousness and justice. Not on His power or knowledge. We here especially in the western culture often look to gain knowledge and power in order to feel justified and righteous in judging others. With God it's because He is righteous and just that His power and knowledge are used as they should be.
Praying for judgment on others is not praying the will of God. The will of God is justice, the will of God is love, the will of God is to bring His kingdom and its characteristics here on earth. We need to be careful that we don't try to control God's knowledge and power. We need to pray the will of God, and let Him answer as He wills.

It's a fun little story and we had a lot of fun kicking it around

eating fruit

I was challenged by a thought the other day and so wanted to expand on it.
The thought was this, trees do not eat their own fruit, fruit is meant to be shared.

My personal challenge was this. When it comes to "the fruit of the Spirit" I think many times I want the aspects of that spiritual fruit to be true of my life. I think many times I stopped there. That the list of things that should be generated in my life because of my relationship with God, are there not for me it for others.

I was corrected a long time ago over the thought that the fruit of the Spirit are multiple fruits. The Spirit is one fruit with multiple aspects or characteristics.the characteristics of God's fruit in my life are there because of the seeds that he plants to my spirit.over time those seeds bear the fruit of the spirit which involve a variety of wonderful and positive things.

I must admit my picture of that is usually stuck on that concept that the fruit is mine. All those characteristics are things that should be in me. And when I stop there .....in reality I am saying all those characteristics are also for me.
I need to correct my vision regarding the fruit of the Spirit.

The fruit that I produce as a result of my relationship with God the seed that he is planting, or planted within me. That fruit should be able to be enjoyed by anyone who comes by my tree. It should not matter who they are or they came from or what their belief system is. When they walk by my tree they should be attracted to the fruit that hangs there.When somebody picks that fruit and has the opportunity to taste that fruit they should be overwhelmed with the variety of positive aspects/characteristics that the fruit possesses.
And like any good fruit, they should want more. I know for me that is true when I run into people who bear the fruit of the Spirit in their lives. I like being around them . I want to be around them as much as I can. They produce a fruit that I enjoy eating. That should be true of any one who tastes my fruit as well.

I think God makes it pretty clear that we are to grow and produce wonderful fruit in the same place or all along side those who are producing ugly fruit. By ugly I don't necessarily mean those who don't have a relationship with God. Because many of those who know God still produce ugly nasty tasting fruit.
But if we can, as we should produce excellent fruit filled with the characteristics that God wants, right alongside nasty fruit, then I believe not only are we producing what God wants but we are where God wants us as well.

I think that makes sense, at least it does to me,

for now.

elevate update November 31

.This week at elevates we took a look at two very similar passages found in the book of Luke.
Luke chapter 8:16-18 Luke chapter 11:33-36.

Both passages start out the idea that a lamp is designed to be placed on a lampstand and not to be hidden. By being placed where it's supposed to be is a benefit to everyone that walks into the house/room. By combining both passages we understand that the house/room is our life. In chapter 11 the light that we are to shine out specifically comes from our body. The word "body" is our physical being.

The light comes from God's teaching/voice. His voice can be heard in a variety of ways. By listening to his voice pure light enters through our eyes and shines forth through our bodies. This light grows based on our willingness to listen to God's voice.The Passages make it clear that the more you stay open to Gods voice the more understanding you will receive and the more light your body will produce.

An interesting twist in both passages is this. There is an evil light that looks like the pure light but the differences are pretty clear. The evil light does not push away the shadows in the corners of your house. The evil light hides itself and is not a benefit to everyone that enters into the room. The evil light does not bring about more understanding, or clarify the voice of God.

You can tell the difference in your own life based on the results of what you see and hear. If what you see and hear of God whether through his Word, dreams, prayers that are spoken over you, or the spirits encouragement within you make your life more radiant then you are working with a pure light.
If you are reading God's Word and you are able to keep portions of your life separated from the effects of God's Word, or you are only a benefit to those that you deem worthy of your biblical knowledge, or your body does not radiate God's light then the light you're working with is evil.

An added aspect of working with the evil light is this. In the chapter 8 portion of our study we see that not only will God not give you more light/understanding, but He will actually take away the light you think you have.

In my personal life I could see how my biblical knowledge had stopped radiating God's light and had become a source of ungodly characteristics. I become prideful about my "light". I'd become argumentative, defensive, inpatient, and divisive. All of these things were tied into my knowledge of God's "light". I know that I had stopped seeing new things and gaining new understandings from God's Word.I convinced myself that by creatively and enthusiastically regurgitating the same knowledge over and over again I was filled with God's light. I was not encouraging people to grow in knowledge of God's Word, I was encouraging people to become more committed to building walls in defense of our traditions. Those walls became the bushels in which our light was hidden, those walls became the barrier to keep more understanding and light coming in. I stopped hearing God's voice and had become useless in a dark room.


In the last four years I have gained an understanding. Life and light have been added to my knowledge of God's Word. And in the last year and a half God's voice has become clear both within my spirit, and in my dreams.

I love the promise in these passages that if we walk in God's light more understanding/more light will be given.

Joseph's secret plan

so I've been teaching through the book of Genesis with our high school students.
Which inevitably lead to the life of Joseph. I'm sure this concept is not new because I agree with Solomon that there is nothing new under the sun. It's a concept that made something that seemed inconsistent in the story flow a lot easier.

In chapters 42,43 and 44 it looks like Joseph uses deception in order to "pay back" his brothers for what they did to him. It looks like he came up with a plan to watch them squirm and sweat for the lies that they had perpetuated over the last 20 or more years.
As I work through the story as a story there was nothing within Joseph's character seem to indicate that he would do such a thing. There seems to be plenty of opportunities within his story for him to be vengeful, retaliatory, bitter, but there is no indication that any of that ever occurred. So going with what I could clearly see
this is what I came up with. (I'm sure I did come up with it I read an awful lot of stuff and I have a feeling or brain just kind of put it together in a way that made sense to me)

I don't think Joseph saw his brothers and specifically accuse them of spying in order to get back at them. I know that he gets credit for it and I believe because he was the man in charge. Jewish writings indicate that the brothers were accused of spying by Egyptians who had observed all of them coming in to the country and spreading out into the various cities looking for food.
These writings seem to indicate it was their behavior in the cities that made them appear to be spies and brought before Joseph in order to be judged.
If that is true then Joseph showed amazing/God-given creativity. He not only was able to save his brothers but also rescue the family. He needed a way that the brothers could come and go out of Egypt and obtain food without being suspected. He also wanted proof that the ones who had sold him into slavery had done the same thing to his youngest brother.
His plan allowed the Egyptians to be satisfied that justice would be done, and the brothers could be proved innocent.

I have no doubt Joseph expected a quick return for two reasons, one to prove their innocence, and two to retrieve Simon who was imprisoned while they were gone.
dysfunctional family dynamics kept that from happening or probably close to a year.

When they returned he was able to see that his "real" brother Benjamin was fine, and that his father was still alive. He was able to provide both grain and money to the family. And creatively brought about a situation that would give him another opportunity to have them return and see him specifically so that he could continue to get news of the family.

I don't think he needed to reveal himself and I'm not completely convinced he ever planned on it.

So when the brothers returned after being accused of stealing the cup from Joseph's table his plan was broken down by the impassioned plea from Judah. Judah had been the one that pulled him up out of the hole/dry well in the desert and had sold Joseph into slavery.
Emotions were so intense Joseph broke down and revealed who he was. Then he called for all those connected to his brothers, their families, and his father to return so he could provide what God had clearly designed him to provide.

In the end forgiveness ruled and God was glorified.
It fits better in my mind than retribution and payback from Joseph.

Just a thought

tension in balance

While talking with a wise old man the other day, okay he's about five years older than I am so that makes two old men talking together.

The idea of balance was being discussed and defined. Within the conversation it became obvious to me for the first time that to keep things in balance is to live with a certain level of tension.
This is not the first time I've understood tension in a relationship or circumstance to be necessary. I've never been one to run away from tension or confrontation. I understand that it is a part of life and a part of any relational connection that is going to continue to grow. I guess I never looked at tension is a necessary part of balance.
If you have a scale and on either side are equal parts thereby perfectly balanced, you also have a natural tension that each side wants to pull down the other but can't. That balance is maintained because of tension. And although the scale may rock gently from one side to the other the only way to alleviate the tension is to be completely out of balance.

I think a lot of people try to approach life in balance but what they really are trying to do is alleviate tension and you can't do both.
When people say that their life is out of balance and they're under a lot of stress, I think what they're saying is true because when there's no tension holding their life steady all the weight is on one side of the scale, and causing stress.

As I have kicked around this concept in the last couple of weeks it seems to fit just about every example I pass through its filter.
Walking in balance means living with an appreciating the tension that balance brings.

So enjoy the day stay balanced, enjoying the tension

worship dialogue

the other day I was able to listen as several visitors sat around my dining room table having lunch. These were for gentlemen that attend college with my oldest son. They'd come down to visit for a weekend and were able to participate and two of our church services. At both these services worship was engaged in several ways but the dialogue seem to center around the idea of behavior during the musical portion.

Seems most were observing such freedom during worship for the first time. One of them from a more charismatic church enjoyed the freedom, because it reminded him of home. The other three had a varying opinion as to what they should do with what they saw and experienced.
One of them found it interesting to see people so comfortable to move as individuals in a corporate setting. One of the three admitted he did not see anything wrong but was uncomfortable just because he wasn't used to it. He also acknowledged that because he was unfamiliar, he was distracted by hand raising,swaying, and flag-waving by some.
the third one brought up an interesting point. This point lead to a fun dialogue around the table, and is why I am mentioning it in a blog.
His point was that he thought about 98% of those who worship with such passion are only that way on Sunday and they do not worship the rest of the week. His point was that if you saw these people at a local store they would not be raising their hands or waving flags and singing songs that Jesus, so these people are being inconsistent in their worship of God. He believes that we should always be in a state of worship of God and his worship should be consistent.
I have admit I wanted to get crazy all up in his face, the logic of the statement was so flawed but God gave me grace and I sat and listened. I listened as his friends tried to understand what point he was trying to make. they could not understand why he thought the way he did. In the name of consistency he refused to act any different in a corporate body worshiping God that he would walking down the aisles of Wal-Mart.
As I listened I heard many a flawed logical statement and yet I also heard my own voice using the same logic years ago. I smiled as I thought of the journey that God has allowed me to walk in the area of worship. I appreciated his grace and mercy in allowing me to have opportunity to grow in freedom both for myself and the grace to allow others to grow as well.
Before we were wonderfully interrupted by more visitors, and homemade apple pie I think the young man was beginning to see that it is possible to expand his definition of being consistent in worship. I believe he began to understand that a gathering of believers celebrating and honoring a God that they love can look different then that same believer honoring and celebrating a God that they love as they walk down the aisle of Wal-Mart.

It was fun, and I hope they come again if not for the conversation at least for the apple pie. :-)

April 10 Elevate

And elevate this week we took a look at some Four short parables found in Matthew 13..

We took a look at the mustard seed in verse 31. We took a look at the bread verse 33
the hidden treasure in verse 44. The big Perl verse 45.

We took the first two together to try and see what aspects of the Kingdom of God was Jesus referring to, or trying to illustrate. One of the assistant insights was at the idea of the Kingdom of Heaven is more about the sanctification of people in the world than it is about the salvation. We do understand that sanctification does not take place without salvation of people but to limit God's kingdom to only the act of receiving Christ as your savior is just, that very limiting.

The idea of a mustard seed illustrates the point of the Gospel of salvation containing far more than just a guarantee of Heaven. Within this mustard seed of faith there is all that is needed for a very large tree to be produced. This tree takes a long time to complete, and is not something that can be rushed. The tree when completed brings benefit to many people, and is clearly seen by anyone who is passing by.
This concept is also pretty clear in the idea of yeast affecting the flour of bread. For just a little bit of the yeast a whole lot of flour is affected and grows. The idea of God's kingdom being something that starts small again affects a large portion of those around it was pretty clear.
The Kingdom of God is also something that evidently is very easily seen and its effects on those around someone who contains the Kingdom of God . This little beauty beast or this mustard seed allows positive benefits to the world because he is in and amongst the world.
We see in these two illustrations that there is not a large pile of yeast separated from the flower. There is not a large bag of mustard seeds separated from the garden. What we see in these illustrations as well as the other illustrations of Matthew 13 is that we are to be right along side of those who do not have the Kingdom of God in their lives.
We need to challenge the concept of building walls to protect all the seeds or Eastern of God's kingdom and instead figure out ways to plant and spread about all the garden or flower of the world. We as individuals need to grow, or infiltrate with the positive effects of what has been built into us when we accepted the salvation of Christ into our hearts.
We can tell how the kingdom is doing based on the effect that we have on those around us. Are they drawn to us because we give them nourishment, filling them with the aspects of the kingdom like hope peace and love. Are they drawn to us because we give them a place to rest, have shade, and refreshment.
These are the aspects of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus was trying to allow his people to understand. The kingdom of heaven is not about politics and power or military conquering its about affecting the world in such a way that they desire to have more of it.

Second two illustrations that of a treasure in the field, and that of a pearl that is worth a lot carry would it a similar theme with a different picture. In both cases people who had possessions got rid of them all in order to obtain what the parable used to illustrate the kingdom. In both illustrations we see that what they obtained gave them great satisfaction and contentment because what they gave up was nowhere near the value over the long term of what they now possess.
We acknowledge that this probably looked very strange to those around them .This is true often of Christians experience in the world.Many times what we give up makes no sense to those who are observing us. What we seem to walk away from versus what we obtained for it doesn't look like a good deal to those who don't understand. The values of the kingdom of God are something that might not make a lot of sense to those outside of the kingdom.
Once again it goes against the concept of an earthly kingdom. The earthly kingdoms are constantly seeking more and instead of selling everything to gain something of great value .They look for ways to gain everything because they do not understand the long-term investments that God's Kingdom makes it people.

Many of those present on Saturday night were encouraged by God's Holy Spirit to see that what they had given up was worth it. That the kingdom that they are investing their time and energies into is the better deal even though it might not make much sense to those who do them now. They need to continue to be reminded that this is a long-term growth concept of God, and in the end many will be the blessed.

A rebel spirit

This past week I had a brief encounter with parents of a rebellious teenager. They took the path of least resistance which was "he's a good kid just going through a phase" I disagreed and then tried to encourage them with these words.

A rebellious spirit is a good thing when it is turned toward the side of righteousness. You see someone who has a rebellious spirit in concept has a strength to stand against what they believe to be the norm. They have the strength to stand against those whom they see as authority figures. They have the strength to go against the flow and not be told what to do, or believe. This strength is a good strength and not one to be destroyed.
What you want to do with a rebellious spirit is guide it toward righteousness. When someone is righteously rebellious they use their strength to stand against unrighteousness. They have the strength to stand alone when seemingly everyone else is going the other direction. They have the strength to stand up to ungodly authority that tries to force them to behave in a worldly way.

Righteous rebellion is probably the closest thing to describe what Christ was like. We ourselves are called to be like Christ and in essence he rebelled against much of his culture's authority, expected norms, traditions, and I'm sure as a teenager was not "like everyone else"
I encouraged these parents not to seek to break their teenagers rebellious spirit, but to guide it or shepherd it in such a way that allows the team to remain strong but rebel with blessing.
I've often said there is nothing more powerful on this planet than a teenager with purpose and direction.

Teenagers in general have great strength of character, but have often been corralled in a tight space or released to too much freedom. Guidance and growth of character is not an easy task for any parent or authority figure and a teenager's life but the reward is amazingly beneficial both to the family, their community, and ultimately a culture in which they engage.

elevate update September 26

We continue to look at Matthew 13. Specifically the parables found in Matthew 13 even more specifically the parable of the weeds being planted right next to the wheat.

These parables that Jesus spoke were designed to give all those who are listening an idea of what the "kingdom of God" was like.
One reason why they needed to understand what the kingdom of God was like was because they had a very different idea of what a kingdom was. Kingdome's went to those with great power, great armies, influence, riches,intended to take over geographic locations.
The illustrations that Jesus used constantly pointed to the Kingdom of God being a place of individual growth. This growing Kingdom seemed to depend on individuals being representations of the King, and producing characteristics of the King on this earth. The king whom the growing individuals represented would not necessarily be present on the earth during this growth period. So this concept was very hard for the people who heard Jesus to understand and I think it is a concept that even now is difficult for many Christians to live out.

When Jesus gives this illustration/parable the disciples listened intensely. We get the idea that later on that day after they could not come up with a satisfactory explanation they asked Jesus to please interpret the parable of the weeds and the wheat for them.
So Jesus makes it clear that he plants a good seed. The evil/Satan plants the bad seed right next to the seed Jesus planted.Both seeds are planted on the earth and represent individuals who are growing up as representatives of the one who planted them.
The workers of the farm are the angels. The angels tell Jesus what the evil one has done and want to pull all of the bad seed/weeds out of the field. Jesus as no let them both grow together. Jesus knows that to pull out the bad weeds will only destroy the growth of the good wheat. He tells the angels to wait until the harvest at that time the weeds can be thrown into the burn pile, and the wheat can be thrown into the barn .
a couple of the general concepts we can understand about the kingdom of God are these.
There is an enemy who wants to destroy a good crop of God. We are not to try and pull out the weeds ourselves. Our job is to grow up right next to the weeds and produce a crop that will benefit the one who pointed us. At the same time we are growing the evil one is growing his crop as well. Both crops will be harvested by the angels of God. One crop will be burned the other crop will be taken to where they belong.
In a general sense I think God is making it clear that those who grow the fruit of his kingdom do not seek to destroy the evil ones that are next to them but rather seek to produce aspects of the kingdom right along side of evil ones. The aspects of the kingdom involved love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, hospitality, miracles, prayer,the Gospel of salvation, and many other positive characteristics of the kingdom of God. In producing the fruit of the kingdom we trust that the farmer and his workers will harvest those who need to be harvested at the appropriate time. Constantly praying for God's judgment/harvest of the evil one must be balanced with a life that represents him while we're here on earth. We cannot spend our time on this planet looking forward to being harvested when we are producing no fruit to which the farmer is going to be pleased with.

So we encourage each other not to just hope for the harvest but to live a life in which we produced a fruit at the farmer will be pleased with.

We were also encouraged to realize that the fruit of the kingdom is far more than just handing out tracks and telling people that they're going to hell if they don't receive Christ. The kingdom involves every aspect of our life and will involve living right alongside of those who do not know our King.

elevate review September 12

It has been awhile since I spoke at elevate. I missed it. It's very cool to be part of a group of people that so encourage each other and enjoy each other's presence.

We took a look at Matthew Chapter 13, the parable of the sower and the seed.
We saw that Jesus told a lot of stories like this one. But he was somebody who attracted large crowds not only because of the miracles he did it because he spoke in such a way that people could understand what and who God is.

This particular parable took a very familiar tone with a farmer/sower out planting seeds. Jesus described four places that the seeds would fall. One of the places no growth occurred. Two of the places showed growth, but ultimately died off before any fruit showed up. The final place showed growth and 30, 60, 100 times seed to fruit ratio.
After the story Jesus was questioned by his disciples.
The questions seemed to indicate that the disciples did not understand the meaning of these stories, and didn't quite understand why Jesus wouldn't want everyone to know the meaning of the stories.
Jesus responded by letting the disciples know that they did understand the meaning of the stories. They had the ability to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God I think the verses indicate the disciples did not seem that convinced.
Jesus then quoted the book of Isaiah and indicated that not everyone would understand the mysteries of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. That those who did not understand were not meant to understand. Jesus also indicated that the disciples were hearing things and seeing things that many prophets and followers of God in the Old Testament desperately wanted to see and hear but never had the opportunity.

Jesus ultimately had to interpret the parable for the disciples.
The seeds were the gospel of the kingdom of God. The ground was the hearts and minds of those who are given/received the seeds. The results of the seeds being planted were based on the soil on which they fell.
Jesus said some people are so hard of heart that they do not even here about the life of God's kingdom and the seeds never produce anything. The ideas of the Kingdom of God are actually stolen by the evil one.
Jesus said some people started out great grow up quickly and then do not allow their roots to go deep. Deep roots include worship, prayer, fellowship, community, and a host of other things that allow us to grow deeper in our knowledge of God. Without deep roots the heat of the day arrives and the plants whither before producing fruit.
Jesus said that some received the seed of God's and they grow up. Alongside this nice growth are weeds. These weeds are the cares of the world and the desire for money.over time to the cares of the world/weeds choke out the plant before any fruit could be produced.
Jesus shows the final place that the seeds land would be the good soil. These plants produce growth and also allow the farmer to reap a harvest many times that number of seeds that were planted.

The fruit that Jesus is talking about talking about would be aspects of the kingdom that he calls his people to produce in this world. Things like love, joy, patience, gentleness, weakness, and the like. Things like community, healing, prayer, service to others, and sharing the Gospel.
we all have the opportunity to produce fruit like this in the name of Jesus.

I do not believe that this is a one time offer from God. I don't think that this parable is talking purely/only about those who hear the gospel message. I think this passage is about those who already have the gospel and are given the opportunity by God to produce fruit for the kingdom. I don't think the farmer/God in this case only plants one seed in each person but instead seeks multiple harvests, and therefore plants and re-plants in the soil of people's lives.
I think we need to evaluate what our response is to the seeds that God is trying to plant in our lives.
Do we even hear what God is trying to say or do we let the seeds be stolen.
Have we grown quickly but tend to wilt when pressure come as it never actually produce anything of God's kingdom.
Have we grown in our walk with God but have been choked out because life has gotten complicated so we have decided that other things are more important right now then producing God's kingdom around us.
Have we taken in God's kingdom and begone to see the fruit of that kingdom all around us.

Regardless of where we are right now I believe God has more seeds to plant and we need to make sure that our heart is ready to receive and grow in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

elevate review Aug 8

from Pastor Mike

If you made it to Elevate this last week, you had to listen to Mike (zzz) instead of Bob, who was out gallivanting in Guatemala. I'm eager to hear about his trip and all that God did in and through him and the youth. When you see him, ask him.

On Saturday night we walked our way through John 14:12-14, in which Jesus tells his disciples that they will do the same sorts of things he was doing and, indeed, even greater things than he did. Let's list the highlights of the conversation:

1. To believe in Jesus (John 14:12) is to trust that his way is the best way, that it leads to life. Accordingly, the one who believes in Jesus conducts her life in a manner that resembles Jesus'. That's why Jesus could say that the one who believes in him will do what he did.

2. What did Jesus do? All sorts of things. My favorite summaries of Jesus' work and mission are three. In Matthew 11:5, Jesus tells John the Baptist's disciples that he is bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk to the lame, healing to the lepers, good news to the poor, and life to the dead. Luke 4:18-19 says that Jesus came "to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (NIV). That's similar to what Matthew wrote, but more thematic. Then, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5 that God was reconciling the world back to Himself through Jesus. So Jesus was doing the specific things that Matthew and Luke mentioned, but by doing those things he was putting the world back into a right relationship with God, the way it was before Adam and Eve did their thing (Gen 3).

3. So that must mean that as Christians, we ought to be doing the same things. In fact, Jesus suggests that we'll do even greater things than those. I challenge you to read through the gospels and think of yourself doing greater things than Jesus did. That's what you're meant for. (Side note: for those who think Christianity is just about being a really nice person, well, I think it may be WAY bigger than that.)

4. This is possible for us only because Jesus' Spirit lives in us. So the same Spirit by which Jesus did those things is now alive in you and me. Cool.

5. Jesus assures us, then, that he will grant whatever we ask in his name. This is not to say that you can tack "In Jesus' name, amen" at the end of a prayer and it's done (that's called magic). No, this is about asking for what you know Jesus would want if he were standing right next to you in the moment. To do something in someone's name is to do what they would do if they were there.

To my mind, all of this is way challenging and way encouraging. It means that my life ought to be filled with power to affect great change in the world - change that can't happen except by God's power. Wow. But it also means I can't just sit still and wait for the end. It means I can't be satisfied with just being good.

All this led to a very good question from one of our fellow elevators: What do you do when you ask for something that you know Jesus would do, but it doesn't happen? This is a great question that is, as all great questions are, super complex. I'll offer just a few quick thoughts.

First, the question raised is called theodicy in theological circles. There are loads of books on the subject, but my favorite (so far) is Satan and the Problem of Evil by Gregory Boyd. It is, as you might expect, thick, but it's the only one I've come across so far that does justice to the notion that God is a free being and we are free beings and Satan (and his minions) is a free being. The point in bringing this up is simply to say that there are other forces in this world that are actively working against God's will. Some of these are hidden forces, like Satan, and some are seen, like people who have not aligned themselves with the Lord. So it doesn't surprise me to find that there are things that God wants to do in this world that don't get done simply because he's given much of his creation the freedom to work for or against him. That's not to say that they're stronger than God, just that for now they prevail in some battles.

Second, I don't think Jesus was lying when he said this. I think he really wants us all to strive to attain this measure of faith and effectiveness where we look more and more like him in word and action. But like all things worth striving for, I imagine the journey down a life filled with miraculous events, is one that starts slowly and is filled with a lot of hard work. No one becomes a great baseball player just because they decide it will be so, even if they've got the raw talent. Rather, it takes years and years of fine tuning those raw skills to become the best. Why should it be any different in the realm of faith?

Those are my very brief thoughts. It's all part of a huge conversation that I hope continues at Elevate and beyond. The key thing, however, is this: continue to dig into the Scriptures and embrace its truth; continue to dig into God and embrace His love and power. If you neglect the Lord's trustworthiness in asking these questions, you'll soon reject Him. But if you trust what you know of Him - His love and faithfulness - He will bring you, eventually, into more and more right understanding of some of these problems. Let's keep at it!

Blessings,

Mike

elevate review July 25

Continued the concept that Sampson was not a hero but rather someone who ultimately failed to carry out the call that God had on his life.

The two main verses that illustrate for me this sad truth of Sampson's life are these chapter 15 verse 20 in which it says that"Sampson judged Israel for 20 years but the Philistines still ruled the land". And chapter 16 verse 20 in which Sampson wakes up in the Philistines are holding them down and it says that" he didn't know that the Lord had left him".


Although the stories regarding Sampson have been told many times I believe they portray an accurate picture of the life that Sampson led.
Most of the Sunday school stories tell us what a great hero Sampson was because he killed so many of God's enemies. And yet in those two verses mentioned earlier we see that Sampson didn't live a life that was dedicated to God. Samson was used by God on five different occasions to exact judgment on God's enemies, but Sampson was not someone that was followed as an example by God's people.


We see that Sampson violated his vow that he took with God. He looked to enter into a covenant relationship we gods enemies through marriage.after leaving the wedding ceremony he looked to re-enter into that covenant relationships sometime later. He used the actions of his father-in-law as an excuse to burn down all of the cash producing crops of the Philistine. Then he used the actions of the Philistines to excuse his behavior of killing a bunch of them. Sansone then went into solitary confinement. He was turned in by God's people and then turned over to God's enemies because God's people didn't want anything to do with him. After killing a thousand Philistines to the power of God's Spirit his prayer to God was selfishly motivated. He spends 20 years judging a nation but made no difference whatsoever in the behavior of the people. he is sexually promiscuous and I sincerely doubt that was the first prostitute he'd ever been with. Samson is the only liar in the story of Samson and Delilah. And in his final prayer he does recognize that his strength comes from God but he wants the strength to exact revenge for personal reasons not for God's glory.

This is not the life of a man who walked with God.

We need to use Samsons life as an example of what not to do. We need to be walking with God on a daily basis answering the call of God to change our world. The call of God to release people from the bondage of sin which in the story of Samson took on the personification of the Philistines. We need to be life givers not event performers. We need to look out for the needs of others not for selfish revenge or pleasure.

I would personally like to rewrite every Sunday school book I ever went through as a child, I think we have sorely missed the lessons of the life of Sampson.

definitions get bigger

In my transition/journey from a very conservative fundamental background to where I am today. Which is actually kind of hard to explain but a lot of fun to experience. One of the consistencies I'm finding in my life is this.

The definitions for words are getting more complicated/bigger.

This is true for me because I am aware of and embrace the postmodern mindset of allowing words and their meaning to have movement.I know that concept is very hard for a modern epistemology to understand. But it is far more honest to admit words change meaning, or continue to grow in meaning as our world/experiences also grow.
the word" gospel" is one was severely limited to one specific verse, or a series of verses found pretty much in the book of Romans. This "gospel" was to be shared everywhere and if rejected then we could happily go on understanding that we did all that God required of us in the sharing of the Gospel.
Now the Gospel has gotten a little bigger. Sharing the Gospel involve sharing God's love which is far more complicated and intricate than one key verse or several verses from a particular book. The gospel now involves kindness, relationships, sharing, hospitality, encouragement, words of wisdom, counseling, healing, visiting, and telling people about what Christ did on the cross.

I do understand that many in the modern world wanted to boil every word down to its lowest common denominator, that is what many modern people spend their lives attempt. It was the unity through common facts concept. I know that many people that are from a modern philosophy say that these new young people all want to get along, They want everyone to agree, They will work with any one know matter what church or denomination there from.
The truth is the modern world was seeking the same thing only they wanted to do it through undeniable basic facts and definitions. They wanted to lay a foundation in which everyone would agree. And then we can all work together. The unity of God would be seen by the world.

Well that didn't work out so well, we divided over facts and definition.

My definitions keep getting more complicated my conversations keep getting longer and new relationships are harder and harder to find time to develop because of the old ones require my time and effort to be maintained at a level at which I have the opportunity to dialogue over things that really matter. I think dialoguing over things like definitions that are complicated is a good way to bring unity, at least I know it can't get any worse than it did trying to make everyone agree on a definition that was boiled down to such a low common denominator that everyone disagreed.

I imagine half the words I used in this blog now need new definitions, or maybe more complicated ones.

how far should I go

Is anal sex..... sex?

That was a question posed to me and a couple other leaders here at church.
I smiled when I heard it because I thought of how far we had come from when I was a teenager and how short a time it took. It wasn't a smile of contentment it was a smile of amazement.

The question really when I was growing up was "how far should I go" how much physical contact can I have with a girl before it becomes "wrong".
I guess you could also come from a girl's perspective with a boy ...But I was quoting my mind not some else's.

I started out with some understanding where this was coming from. I understand that there are cultures overseas in which anal sex is not considered sex. I read stories of fathers to allow their daughters to be used in the sex trade business but only for anal sex so that they can marry them off as virgins. I know this tends to mostly come from the Middle Eastern cultures, at least the stories I've read have come from those cultures.
I know was also shown to be a rather as acceptable discipline of servants and the Afghanistan culture in the movie "the kite Runner"
and a pretty large hullabaloo was made over a movie "broke back Mountain"several years ago regarding the same activity.

So with that in mind I began to try and formulate an answer to the question because although 20 years ago it would have been considered an absurd question to ask in a church let alone to several of the church leaders this person was being sincere and really wanted to know.

I ended up landing on this concept.
Would you allow your spouse to engage in anal sex and still consider them being faithful?

This particular person was quick to respond. Their response was "no". And then they smiled and I smiled back and I asked the question how far would you allow your spouse to go before you would consider them being unfaithful.?

This person turned out to be fairly conservative in their opinion regarding physical activity of faithful married people, and then I asked is it fair to engage in those activities before you are married and still consider yourself pure and faithful to the one whom you may marry in the future.?

I did not spend the time to push the point home, I did not spend the time making sure they understood where Gods view was coming from. I did not spend any time making sure that they were feeling guilty.
Could I have said more ..Yes but

I smiled, and told them to have a nice day, and let them know that was a very good question.

elevate review June 11

we started a two-part look at the life of Sampson.

We started by looking at how strenuously his parents objected to his marriage proposal. Sampson wanted to marry a Philistine woman.
and what Samson wanted he got. All he had to do was tell his parents that this woman looked really good and he wanted her.

I propose that this little argument was a picture of Samson's life. He had been set apart by God from birth to be a ruler/deliver of Israel. His job was announced and determined by God. I believe that because of his parents desire not to mess things up they basically gave him anything he wanted throughout life. I think those in the cities and towns around Sansone as well as the nation of Israel in general also conceded in allowing Sampson to have whatever he wanted.

I understand why the parents objected. Since it was supposed to deliver them for the Philistines not intermarry into their culture and ultimately bring about more judgment from God.
(We saw in the earlier story line that the Philistines oppression of Israel was a result of God's judgment on Israel, because they chose to worship the Philistine idol instead of God)
but in the end they gave in, and my experience in life makes me want to imagine that the parents in general and the nation in general typically would give in to Sampson's desires.

On his way down to officially meet his fiancée Samson was attacked by a Lion.a story that many people became very familiar with Sunday school. This was the first great thing that Sampson did with his amazing strength. I have a few problems with that general description.
First of all Sampson was on his way to do something that was not pleasing to God.
(I'm not saying that intermarrying by race, color, or ethnic background is wrong or I'm pleasing to God)
Samson was on his way to both politically, religiously, and physically connect the nation of Israel with a nation that worshiped idols. This was something that as the leader of Israel guide would have not allowed.
On his way there Samson was attacked, and just at the moment that he needed to be strong, the Spirit of God Came upon Him. With the function of the Holy Spirit upon him he had the strength to tear the Lions head in two,, by ripping the jaws apart.
He then took the dead animal and dragged it into the woods where no one would see and he refused to tell anyone what happened. Specifically the Bible said he refused to disclose the story to his parents.

I believe that God sent the lion as a warning.
I think the Spirit of God is the only reason why Sansone had strength he was not some musclebound freak in the nation of Israel as many pictures that we see in Sunday schooldraw him up to be.
I believe the Spirit of God's empowerment was meant to show Samson what he could be if he chose to walk with God rather than make deals with God's enemy.
I believe The incident quiet both to his parents and to anyone else who heard about it, that God was looking to stop what he was trying to do.

I think Sampson's arrogance about being "needed by God" in order for God to accomplish whatever God was looking to do was first and foremost in his mind.
I think he used this opportunity to further deceive himself into believing that God would always protect them, and always allow him to do whatever he wanted. I think he thought God would be a lot like his parents and all the other members of God's nation of which he was the de facto and anointed leader.

When Sampson returned about a year later to get married to his fiancée, he couldn't help but run into the woods and see what had happened to the carcass. He saw that a hive of of bees had created something sweet and delicious within the skeletal structure of the loin.
He took chunks of the honeycomb and brought it to his parents. Samson would've used this opportunity to bless his parents and to further his self-deception that it was okay for him to touch a dead body(something God had commanded him not to do) because honey was such a commodity. It would've been seen as a blessing by his parents to have the opportunity to eat honey straight from the honeycomb.
I think he also would have used it to continue his self deception that it was okay for him to go through with the marriage because something ugly or nasty could have happened to the dead Lion but instead there was a honey, and in his mind this would've been a positive sign from God.

From this part of the story I take a couple basic lessons.
The Spirit of God will go upon you to accomplish God's plan regardless of what you may be doing.
It is not a good idea to think that getting away with something as a sign from God that it's okay for you to get away with it/and to do it.
Just because someone has a call on their life does not substitute the need for character development and for self-discipline. Development of Godly character is a priority in God's kingdom, and it takes precedent over following the call of God.

always changing always the same

Let me get this right, I think I have this right.
God never changes, the big word is He is immutable, always the same.

But

Our God is clearly all about relationships.
Relationships by definition continue developing throughout time.
Developing in a relationship involves change.
So on at least one perspective God is always changing.

Before anybody panics I am not aligning myself with several mainline denominations that say that we (humans) decide who God is based on our interpretation of him therefore God is whoever we think he is at the time that we are thinking of him.
I'm also not advocating that with the proper interpretation we can know God absolutely. We can know enough of every aspect of who he is that we can be absolutely right regarding what everyone else should be told and therefore I can become a dictator of truth.
I do believe that God is everything we will ever need in our relationship with him therefore in concept he doesn't ever change, in that nothing is ever added to him to make him greater nothing can ever be taken away from him to make him lesser.
But he does change from our perspective.this idea to make some people very nervous, because if God doesn't change and why have I changed my opinion of him/definition of who he is the longer I know him.

Our perspective of God should in essence always be changing. If we are in a proper relationship with an almighty God than we should constantly be learning more about him.
I believe that by definition relationship is an ever-changing/growing point of contact in our life. A relationship that does not grow will eventually die and become a memory. That memory can be recalled for the sake of the story, reviewed by your self or others, or renewed sometime in the future by both parties.
I do believe there are multiple layers/levels of relationship but all of them involve some point of contact between individuals.
Those layers/levels of relationship are moved based on our growth within the relationship which is usually tied into various threads of time, experiences, emotions, physical connection, and proximity.
All of those aspects are also a part of our relationship with God. And so if we are developing our relationship with God Then our God keeps changing. It is one of the reasons why verses in the Bible "change" their meaning throughout our life as we reread them over time. The words have not changed, God has not changed, but our relationship to the God who wrote the words has changed. And the definitions of those words may have been adjusted based on many factors within our life and experiences.
When your relationship with God grows many times you find that words can not contain what you want to say when describing your relationship with God. Because over time we discovered just how Big He is, we just don't have the words to describe Him any more.

I think the results of this can be scary on two levels.

On one level people see God as unchanging. They believe theologically they have been taught the only right things regarding God's Word and the proper interpretation. Then they no longer have any need to go deeper with God, they only have to seek out others who are wrong and show them the right way.

On the second level people see God changing in their minds and being described differently throughout time, and make the decision that God is whomever they believe him to be. So in essence they become the definer of God and God is ever changing.

One takes away the desire for growth. Because either God is already known and there's no need to keep studying, or God is so great there's no way to ever know him so I will just do what I'm told by those around me.
The other takes away the desire for growth. Because God is whoever I want Him to be whenever I decide to think about Him, so I'm in charge and there's no need for me to grow in the knowledge of something out there when I'm in charge of it anyways.

I am of the opinion that God is way beyond what my little brain could ever contain. I like that about Him . I also believe passionately that God wants us to maintain a connection that is ever-growing not so that I know more about him but so that I love him deeper. And that the love motivates me to be effected in every area of my life by a relationship with the God of truth.
a relationship that is always changing with a God that is always the same.

elevate review June 13

Let's talk about sex.... that was one of the intro songs that was sampled before we spoke this week. I say we because if you were not there you missed a tagteam approach between Mike and myself.

We approach the subject of sex because it was the overwhelming topic that those who attend elevate wanted to talk about. We thought it was a subject that would be best handled in a discussion or a dialogue in which Mike and I openly debated/dialogue around the concept of sexuality that most traditional churches tend to ignore. We got to that concept in a roundabout way in my office one afternoon and it turned into a very positive opportunity here at elevate.

We looked at the Law of Moses/God from the book of Exodus. If a man seduced a virgin he was supposed to do at that point go to her father and make arrangements for marriage, and if the father refused he was still supposed to pay the appropriate monetary price for her as though they would've been married.

With this in mind Mike made the statement that in God's view there is no premarital sex. That in God's view when you have sexual relations you are married and the responsible thing to do is to go make it legal in the eyes of society as soon as possible.
With this in mind it seems as though the reason for staying out of each other's pants is because of the value that God places on sex because of the covenant commitment that it represents.

We spent some of our time also reviewing the very guilt ridden, manipulative, traditional,approaches to convincing people to save sex until after they were married. We saw that most of their reasoning had little to do with the value that God places on sex and more to do with the emotional, physical, spiritual damage that premarital sexual partners will incur should you choose to engage in sexual intercourse or some variation of sexual activity prior to marriage.
We noted that it is far easier to dwell on the negative than it is to express what seems to be the positive and valuable view that God has on sex.

In the Bible we saw several examples in which men had sexual relations with a woman and in one case attempted to make things right and marry the woman (Genesis 34) and in the other case the man that did something even worse than rape by locking the woman out of his house (second Samuel 13)
now both of these examples are ugly stories, but we see within them the principle that God seems to have laid out in his law.overall neither of the women involved got married to the man who raped/had sexual relations with them before marriage. But one of the men seemed to make the attempt to make things right even if it was a little backwards.
This seems to be Gods principle in the law laid out in Exodus.
God values sex and what it represents so much that he says if you do it then you need to make things right and commit to a lifetime together.
So rather than tell kids and young adults about the negative effects that pre-marriage sex may develop. We should be telling them that God expects them to marry the person that they have sex with.

in the New Testament we noted that regarding the discussion between Jesus, the disciples, on the topic of divorce. Jesus indicates that if a person gets a divorce and either one of them remarry his they are committing adultery with their new spouse when they enter into sexual relations. This seems to illustrate that when you come together within a sexual contacts it represents a bond between two people that cannot be separated in God's view. This bond will continue even if the couple decides to get a divorce.
when we view this conversation in light of the principle that God laid out in Exodus it seems as though there is a "sex equals marriage" in the way that God looks at it.

This open us up to a lot of very good questions regarding people's sex life, and the cultural expectations regarding it. I will deal with solos questions in the comments section of this blog. We will also continue the overall subject at the next elevate. So if you are only following my blog it will be a couple more weeks before you see the continuation.

networking an army

Out of speaking today with a wonderful young lady and spiritual leader in our church. And during the conversation she spoke of a encouraging activity that has been taking place across denominational lines. Pastors and churches are beginning to network with each other, and although the reasoning for this has many threads the bottom line is encouraging to the overall body of Christ.

I began to think of my past and how in my past in the church/denomination was viewed more as an Army that needed to focus on accomplishing and a winning a battle.
I believe the unbalanced approach to that concept illustrates another difference between the modern and postmodern mindset. An Army is unified to accomplish one goal. An Army takes its orders without question and follows the strategic plan. An Army gives their individual life for the goal and does so with pleasure and honor.
In the modern era as long as the goal was single the church/Army would be so large it would eventually become unstoppable.
But the Christian walk is more complicated than that and the illustration of an army was divided into two many pieces and eventually every pastor wanted to command their own army. Churches became recruiting zones where we recruited based on what you were going to attack and how good our commanding officer was. As the army grew it was used as evidence that our commanding officer was more appreciated by our commander in chief/God therefore more worthy of being followed and sacrificed for.over the long haul we ended up beating up each other, and losing the battle.

In the post modern era we are beginning to see that building relationships forms a much stronger bond than just seeking to attack something together. That if one has built a relationship with multiple churches or multiple denominations you can accomplish victory and a localized battle without losing unity when the battle is over.
The encouragement of the body/army of God is seen by the conversation and dialogue takes place when the time of battle is over. these encouraging times of networking, of unity is what I believe to be causing the positive atmosphere surrounding the postmodern churches. Many of us middle agers understand the pain and negativity that can be caused when every church has its own little battle to fight and his children when the battle is lost for not recruiting better. Many of us are now enjoying a beauty of being part of something larger, of something that affects our local community but it's part of something from another world or kingdom.

Networking an Army is something that has been taking place for many years, but more recently has been positively affecting the larger church in all it's doing.I believe more recently the Army of God has been centering more on who their commander in chief is rather than who they want to be attacking. I see the Army of God following their leader rather than looking for a fight. I think the Army of God is becoming more aware of the journey that takes place between battles is often much longer it takes much more time than the battle itself.

This should be fun..... I think anyways.

complicated is good

My life involves a journey that flows from a very conservative/fundamentalist background. In my childhood and through my college training I was exposed to very sound theological teachings. The theological approach of fundamentalism, and quite frankly liberalism was about the same.
keep it simple.
Boiled theology down to its lowest common denominator. Build upon that foundation a theological house.
For the fundamentalists it was based on Biblical facts. For the liberal it was based on experience. But for both it was a foundation that involve being right. If we are right then all those who disagree must be wrong, and if they're wrong and we have a responsibility to show them the right way.

Over time and specifically in the last 10 years my journey has moved me away from this simplistic approach to theology.yes I would say it's far more complicated and that is good.

let me illustrate by using this simple concept.
When I was growing up the idea of being good was illustrated by not doing anything wrong. Not being wrong was being good.
As this translated into adulthood and infiltrated my theology being good meant making sure I wasn't doing anything wrong. Then helping others be good was showing them where they were wrong so they could be good like me. :-)
being good then also meant I had to be right because by definition I couldn't be wrong about what was good, which meant I had to be right. I was right because I knew what was wrong and anybody who didn't know that they were wrong had to be bad and it was my job to help them be good and right.
So I used my gifts and talents to help others understand where they were wrong, both practically and spiritually. This activity of course made me good and right in my simple little mind.

But being good is not just removing what is wrong it's also doing what is right/good and often that means taking risks and being willing to fail. And the concept of failure is not wrong because in doing good, taking risks, there is no failure only a continuing opportunity. So when I would see people fail I would assume that meant that they were wrong because God would not allow anyone to fail if what they were truly doing was good.
Now I understand that failure is just part of the journey so in reality, a more complicated reality, there is no failure, failure as I understood it before is not wrong, or a judgment of God upon someone but rather the opportunity to walk with God down the path that he is leading. It's the opportunity to continue to take the risk, or go against the odds.

Telling people that they're wrong in order to make myself good only points to my ignorance and arrogance. Not that there is no right or wrong it's just more complicated.
And complicated is good.

back from vacation

It's always nice to take off for a few days, well maybe more than a few days but the concept is the same.
What I enjoyed most about my vacation is what I also miss the most while I was on vacation.
Community.
Yeah it was community. I enjoyed being in community while on vacation. My community was much smaller than what I experienced every day in my normal life, but it was a community nonetheless. I interacted and make decisions regarding my time, money, and activity based on my relationship with three other people.
As always the most important person in my local community is my wife. I know that for some that may sound corny but for me it has always been true that my wife and before that as my girlfriend she has always been my best friend. Last year we were married longer than either one of us had been single, and we have been together more than half of our lives. The other two people on this vacation where another couple that enjoy being with. It's kind of weird because we actually don't see them very often (maybe once a year) and yet we seem to work very well as two couples on vacation.
So I enjoyed the community I was a part of, but I missed the community I left behind.

The community I left behind while on vacation is a much larger group. Of course still the most important person is my wife, but she was with me. I left behind my sons and daughter which involve a community within my house of interactions, reactions, occasional drama, and ample opportunity for awesome communication.
I also left community of my neighborhood, which involves my next-door neighbors, a single guy across the street, a very sweet old couple on the other side, and a general awareness of children and families all around.
I also left the community that meets where I work at my church. This is a huge community that involves dozens of students, a large number of families and are connected to the students, the volunteers that help me work with the students, a large number of people that meet for worship on Sunday morning, the pastor and my coworkers.
So while I was gone on vacation I joined a small community but I greatly missed the larger community that I get to interact with a daily basis. It's probably one of the reasons why I enjoy networking on the web. Even if I do not comment and interact with everyone, just being aware of people's movements gives me a sense of connection, of social networking and it brings a level of enjoyment to my day.

I do believe we were all made for community. I also think as I've stated before in other blogs that within our Western culture we disturbed community and emphasized individualism. I believe individualism made an awful lot of people rich but I believe that community is what makes an awful lot of people happy.

As I know many of you probably have plans to travel over the next few months. Whether it's for weddings, vacation, or some sort of combination of events that allows you to be out of your normal routine and places. I hope that while you're gone you get the opportunity to live in community, but I also hope you missed the community that you are not with.

. May 9 elevate review

This week, we took a look at the 10 Commandments/covenant that God made with the Hebrews in the wilderness.

Exodus chapter 18 we have Moses being visited by his father-in-law. This brief interlude brought good advice/wisdom from an older man. We took a moment to understand that there is value and wisdom in communicating with old people. That even though information is available at our fingertips 24 hours a day there is value in entering into dialogue with the previous generations.

In chapter 19 God prepares his people for his arrival. We see that there was some value in understanding that a visit from God is something to prepare yourself for. But even within a relationship understanding the greatness of who God is allows us to hold the a relationship with the proper value.
The people agreed that they would enter into whatever God called them to do.
When God arrived it was intense and terrible and amazing all at once. There was smoke, fire, thunder and lightning in a lot of very nervous slightly freaked out people.
Moses stepped into/walked up this smoke covered mountain filled with thunders and lightning. And listened directly to the voice of God called his people to a new society/culture. God's voice could also be heard by all of the people surrounding the mountain. God wanted the people to know that what Moses was going to tell them was exactly what he had told Moses. When God was done with the first part (the 10 Commandments) Moses exited the mountain and the people pulled back even more.
it seems that to actually hear God's voice was so overwhelming that the people decided it was much better to have Moses deal with God and they would just listen to Moses.
As Moses entered back into the mountain,and we see that there are 11 chapters of this new covenant that were written by the finger of God onto the tablets of stone. This point is often missed by moviemakers and Sunday school curriculums which only want to emphasize the 10 Commandments.

We broke the 10 Commandments into three basic sections.
Section 1 contain the first three commands. These three commands carry with it the basic concept that God is not available to be co-opted into our plans . The concept of using God's name in vain has very little to do with cursing and much more to do with dragging his name into our agenda.
(At this point I got a little animated regarding the behavior of many preachers, teachers, and authors regarding their ability to sell Jesus or God as a part of their plan)
understanding the greatness that God holds is key to breaking/rebelling against the worldly... or Egyptian philosophy of consumption and production.God is beyond our plans and using him to manipulate results even if those results might look like something God would be happy with is inappropriate, and against a society that God wants his people to form.This use of Gods name is vain and is a command that is broken in many churches every day.

Second section would be the commands of 5 to 10.
This section basically calls people to be neighbors. The idea or of taking care of one another by looking out for the other's best interests and not desiring to obtain what the others have or more than what the others have, and also the honoring of those in authority. All of these concepts are not in the part of the selfish society that they came from in Egypt. These thoughts of being neighborly of living in community with one another were strange and not just them as Hebrews but to the world in general around them.
God knew that by being neighborly and being observed by all the other cultures they would example to the world of who he is. By being in covenant with a God who is greater than any idol man can create, By being in covenant with a God who is greater than any manipulative tool we might come up with (manipulating idols was not a hard thing to do and actually a regular part of their mythology) the Hebrews would picture for the world what God envisioned when he created the world.

The third section covered the forth command.
The idea of remembering the Sabbath day and keep it holy.
Rest is something the world knows nothing about especially a world that is living by the production and consumption philosophy. God wants his people and in this case the Hebrews to take day in which they are not trying to obtain more of anything. God allow this to even be the way they obtained food in the wilderness. Every day they got just what they needed and no more except on the day before the Sabbath they can gather enough for two days. This was so that one day a week they showed themselves and the world around them that God will supply what they need and there was no need for them to try and provide/store up for themselves.

The wilderness is a vital part of the overall story because the wilderness constitutes a place in which every day needs are not available for everyone to get for themselves. The wilderness is a place in which unless God does supply in a miraculous ways everyone would die. The wilderness is a place that God takes us when he needs us to learn a new pattern on how to live.
So many times for the Hebrews and for us the call of Egyptian society is seductive. To get involved in the production and consumption concepts of supplying for ourselves, storing up for ourselves, building warehouses in which our needs will be met even during tough times, only continues to inslave us. God calls us to live beyond that worldly philosophy and God's call allows us to reap great benefits from the wilderness while learning that there is "bread" in heaven that he can bring down in places where there is no bread to be seen.

We need to continue to learn to live in community as God is called us. We need to learn not to drag him into our manipulative plans no matter how good we think the end results might be. We need to understand that rest is an act of worship and trust. And we need to learn to appreciate the wilderness where there is beauty, rest, and nourishment available from God.

See you in a couple weeks

current favorite?

It probably started three years ago, a question that began to infiltrate my mental vocabulary (if someone can have a mental vocabulary), if you limit one's mental capacities to only be known through verbal communication, but I'm getting distracted.

The question has helped my overview of situations and relationships. Over the last couple years it's a question that became a regular part of my evaluation of life. Now I would say the question shows up mentally and verbally numerous times throughout the day. It is.

"If this life is a journey".......

Yeah, that's about it. I find myself asking this question all the time. The first thing that this question does for me is help me remember my presuppositions. I believe that there is a "Good Shepherd" that is guiding me on a journey through life. This allows me to relax regarding where were going in one were going to get there. It allows me to remember that I may hang out with others for a while, and we may be split up for awhile and both events are being orchestrated by the Shepherd.
This question for me allows me to enjoy the arrivals as well as the departures of people and places. Although sometimes I may wonder about a arrival or a departure,and desire a little more insight as to why, I am comforted to know that I don't have to know in order to trust the one who is leading the journey.
Keeping the idea of a journey allows me to transfer any anxiety for the path I am on or the path my friends may be on to the great Shepherd. Trusting in the Shepherd allows me to be more encouraging to those around me because I don't have to have an answer to all of their questions, but together we can observe the Shepherd to see where we may be traveling.

Applying this question to average everyday things(like red lights, traffic, conversations that interrupt my plans) helps me be a little more even keel. I will admit it's a question that exposes how uneven I can be in everyday things, but it does allow me to smile and understand that what I'm tripping on is but a small stone, or root on a much larger path that involves far more people than myself.

This question frees me up from the philosophy of finding a "defining moment" of my life. That constant chasing that so many people in the world are trapped in as they tried to gain significance or meaning through some sort of event, activity, or relationship.
Coming in with the presupposition that there is a good Shepherd overseeing the journey also allows me the freedom of not having to know everything. I know when all you have to trust in his yourself it is a very precarious position to be in. You trusting in you means you better be perfect or you are in trouble, because you may have made a bad choice and you have nowhere else to go but to yourself. :-)

I'm not saying this question is the questioned everyone should answer in order to get through life, but it sure has helped me over the last three years and continues to help me today.
I also know that there are different ways to ask the question and still cover the same concept, this one just works for me and maybe it will work for you.

I do hope you enjoy your journey.

April 25 elevate review

This week we took an overview of three points of crisis for Moses and the Hebrews.

The first crisis occurred about three days after the celebration of getting through the Red Sea.
They had traveled and were thirsty, and came up over a hill to see a beautiful lake filled with gorgeous looking water. As they ran down to drink they discovered it was bitter, it was un-drinkable and so another opportunity for them to develop their relationship with God was given.

The main thread that we wanted to pull out of these stories is that a relationship with God involves individuals communicating with him and in that communication developing a relationship of trust. This is not unlike any relationship that we develop with each other. The more we know each other the more we trust each other, and during times of crisis based on what we know we can ask for specific help.

In this particular crisis but people turned to Moses. Well to be more specific they turned against Moses and demanded that he find them water.
This is the first of many "lies" at the Hebrew people were going to have to learn to overcome. The lie that they believed was that authorities must provide for the people.
The lesson they needed to learn was that God would supply their need in his timing and in his way and they needed to go to him not to Moses.

Moses was given a plan by God whereby he actually threw a branch into the water and the water became sweet. One of the lessons I think God was trying to get through was that he does listen, and in this case he specifically listened to Moses.
In the next chapter we see that they have been traveling about a month, and now were running out of food.
This is a normal event in traveling with that many people for that amount of time in a desert. This opportunity was for them to turn to God and ask him to supply what they would need in order to continue on the journey that he was leading them on.
Don't forget they saw a cloud of God leading them by day and a cloud of fire keeping them warm at night to remind them that God was with them and was available.
The Hebrew people turned to Moses and complained. They complained that they were taken out of Egypt so that God could kill them in desert. They remembered that he didn't although they worked very hard at least they had food and a place to sleep every night.

This is not unusual for any one of us when we believe God needs to do more on our behalf. This is where God becomes "the great needs meeter" and whatever needs I have God better meet them.After several meetings Moses and Aaron told the people that God would supply quail every night and a soft breadlike substance every morning.
They were not to take more than what they needed for each day except on the day before the Sabbath. This day they can take twice what they needed because the Sabbath was to be a day of rest.

The concept of"rest" was foreign to slaves. They were used to producing seven days a week 24 hours a day. They were used to a philosophy that said the more you work the more you get the more you get the happier you will be.
God was trying to break them of this production consumption philosophy that is so prevalent even in today's world. By allowing millions of people in the desert to sit still and not have to produce one day every week he would show the world that was watching they were trusting their God to take care of them.
I have no doubt this was a very weird concept and for some very difficult to participate in. The Bible says that some one out on the Sabbath to pick up their food and there was none there. God was and is serious about being trustworthy within our relationship with him.

The next opportunity came with the lack of water again. This time the people turned against Moses.
Even with the pillar of fire at night keeping them warm,the cloud during the day giving them shade, manna every morning, and quail at every night, they still had trouble believing that God would take care of them.
They went after Moses because Moses was their leader, and leaders are supposed to take care of the people. They grew up in a culture in which a leader was in charge of everything. A pharaoh was not only the political leader but also a god to supply whatever he wanted to supply the people with. The Hebrews were used to being told by a godlike figure that it was their job to produce so the Egyptians could consume and it returned the Egyptians would allow them to live eat and drink the supplies they gave them.
Over the years they stopped going to God and began trusting in human leaders. Even when daily evidence of God's presence they still had trouble believing and trusting God enough to speak to him directly.
They went to Moses more than once because after the first complaint Moses did not produce water instead he challenged the Hebrews asking them why they would test the Lord.several days later still very thirsty Moses under threat of death asked God (some would say accused God of not supplying water) but either way he got a plan from God. He took his staff and walked up to the cliff and struck the rock. The clip split wide open and a huge river of water poured out. His river flowed down the desert allowing tens of thousands of people to fill their bottles water their livestock, and be restored to life.

Our challenge is much like there's. Are we going to develop a relationship with God in which we trust him to provide. Or are we going to demand of God that he meet our every need.

The difference can be very subtle, as it is with most Lies.

my past is the past

Putting the past behind you, it was a concept my mom was very good at repeating to me.

I agree there are things once they have been forgiven and worked through they should be put behind you and not constantly distracting you from moving forward.
I also know that my past experiences, relationships, successes, and failures are a part of who I am now and will continue to help propel me in the future.

There are many in my life that know of the conservative, fundamentalists, almost cultlike beginning that I had to my faith walk in Christ. I do not need to get specific as to the churches and ministries that affected and shaped my beginnings, and are now a part of my past.
I do need to say that although I have moved in what I would consider a positive direction away from their myopic ideologies, and bondage of rules I couldn't be here without them.
Okay I do agree it could be here without them, I mean God can move/journey with anyone toward more Christ likeness regardless of where they start. I look back at my past and I do not hold bitterness even though at times it may rail against what those specific churches and ministries continue to do to people and their walk with Christ.

I have seen people who have made attacking their past what their future is all about. They tend to be rather angry and bitter. They often hold up specific people and ridicule them. They will be little and beat up ministries for churches in public ways to try and keep anyone else from repeating what they went through. I know this because I was one of those people. I wanted to see the ministries that held me back from walking freedom, and enjoying a living dialogue with God from ever tying up in bondage anyone ever again. I knew the ins and outs of the way they thought the way they talked and it was only going to be a matter of time before I could expose them and destroy who they are, of course this would all be done In the Name of God.
I am so glad I am not that person anymore.

I believe that God has the ability to judge far better than I can. (I know that should be obvious to most but I really liked helping him out) I believe God can and does give and take away the effectiveness of ministries and churches. I trust that those institutions that shaped my past will not be in existence one day longer than God would want them to be there.
On the flip side
I also trust God to exalt and use ministries in greater ways as He sees fit. I know that there are some that have touched my life more recently that I think God should turn into worldwide outreaches, and then I laugh at myself. For I have become a judge again and try to help God out, to help him know who should be great and who should not be as great. I laugh and then I trust, and the transition is only a matter of moments rather than months.

My past is the past, and it is a part of who I am now. It gives me the opportunity to speak life to those that have been affected by similar ministries and teachings.
My past is the past, and it allows me the ability to be thankful for how far I've come and with God's help will continue to walk the path Alongside Him.
Putting the past behind me, is a good thing because with it behind me I am propelled forward.