This week I’m praising God for:

 

1). The 2 1/2 days I got to spend with my sister and her family. Love you guys!

2). Teachers who hold my kids accountable and push for excellence

3). Jehovah Jireh, my Provider.

4). The fact that He continually pursues me despite my pigheadedness (which you will be able to read about in my next post).

5). Finding someone that has a clue as to how a Mac works. I think I’ve hit the jackpot on this one!

6). Budgetbytes.com as I’m hoping it will revolutionize my horrible cooking. So far so good! You have to visit this site. Her opening line is “I am broke, and I love to eat.” How I can relate.

7). A partner to do the hardest job on the planet with-parenting.

 

What are you praising God for this week? What big things and little things has He done for you? I’d love to know. Have a great week.

This week I’m praising God for the following:

1). Grocery stores that still sell food at a reasonable price! (Thank you, Aldi)

2). The sun b/c it gives me hope for spring.

3). The fact that it isn’t getting dark before 5:00! Again, spring is coming!!!

4). Being part of a church that is 100% committed to reaching the community it is a part of. Thank you, Riverside!

5). The freedom we have in my city to openly proclaim Christ. A big sign reading “Jesus Is” greets everyone coming into this city from I-74.

6). Finally decoding the mystery to a 44-year old health issue.

7). Free shoes! With sparkles!

 

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a woman at church and casually asked her how she’d been. Her response, though simple and common, struck a chord with me. “Can’t complain,” she said smiling. I’ve heard this answer often so why did it haunt me for days this time around?

When I look at a painting very often I see the negative space first before the actual picture. In my bedroom hangs a large picture depicting a tropical scene. At the front of the scene is a boardwalk lined with palm trees leading out to the water. At night when the lights are out and I lay there staring at it trying to sleep, I don’t see the palm trees or the sky or the boardwalk. Instead, the palm fronds resemble the feathers of a fancy calligraphy pen which are the hair of a female figure hovering above the water. Quite frankly, it creeps me out. I literally have to sit there and concentrate on picking out the various aspects of the picture that I know are there but can’t see as clearly.

This is how life is for those of us who see everything through a half-empty glass. Never mind what’s left in the glass. All we see is what’s gone! One of the things that God really challenged me with last month was to pick out the good in my life despite my situation. It sounds elementary, but hey some of us are so simple-minded. What choice does He have but to start with the simple things? So with that in mind, I’m starting what I’m calling The Praise Project: 365 Days of Praise.

Here are the details:

1). Every week, starting with this one, you will get seven things I’m praising God for all on one day. Originally, I thought I would post one thing everyday, but for those of you who are subscribers. Getting a post from me everyday in your inbox, even if it is only one sentence, is akin to getting a notice from the local grocery store everyday about a different item that’s on sale . It’s great information, but for heaven’s sake, can’t they just put it all in one ad? Then, if you’re not interested in reading you can push delete once a week instead of every day of the week. You can thank me later.

2). While being thankful is great, praising God is better. What do I mean? “I’m thankful for…” concentrates more on the object of thanks rather than the One who provided that which you’re thankful for. “I’m praising God for…” forces me to recognize who it is that is the giver of all good gifts, and that He is good no matter what I’m going through. This is a big one for me as I tend to run down the rabbit trail leading to thoughts that God is out to get me and make my life miserable.

3). These posts will be short sweet and to the point and will not take the place of my usual (albeit sporadic) posts.

4). If you saved a dollar a day everyday for a year, you’d have $365. Not a lot of money, but you’d be shocked at what I could do with $365! In the same way, praising God for something different everyday for a year is like setting up a spiritual savings account. At the end, you can go back and see the faithfulness of God, the goodness of God and recognize just how rich you are because of what He has given you.

5). There will be no repeats. Some of the things I list will be big, some small. But they will all be different.

6). I really hope you will join me. Leave a comment of what you’re praising God for, or don’t. At least write it down and tell someone everyday what God has done. Let’s be like the Wave at a football game that ripples around the stadium in one beautiful synchronized movement. If ever we needed to be more in tune to the goodness of God and His active involvement in our lives, it’s now!

This week I’m praising God for:

 

1. Time off from the daily grind
2. A furnace that works
3. Living close to the local hospital/ER department
4. My daughter’s recovery from being so sick
5. My job
6. The freedom I have to share Christ on the internet via social media.
7. A husband who is willing to drive me to and from work on his snow day because he “wants to be in charge of my safety.”

 

There you have it. Week one of The Praise Project. Look back over your week. What are you praising God for?

“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name” (Hebrews 13:15, NIV).

I have to admit right now that Christmas is my least favorite time of the year. I’m a bit of a Grinch, not wanting to steal Christmas, but rather bypassing it altogether if it’s all the same to you. It’s not that I’m not grateful for the birth of Christ, but for me when I think of Christmas I see dollar signs and expectations. Grim I know, but let’s be honest. Many of us feel this way.

This year has proven to be no different ,and in many ways, it’s been much worse than in years past. At the beginning of the month, we got behind financially. Unexpected medical bills, broken cars and just general financial chaos ensued leaving no money for Christmas presents. So I did what any good journalism major does and began an investigative reporting of sorts, writing the story of my plight and submitting it to the One I knew could fix it.

I followed the inverted pyramid of journalistic reporting, asking the who, what, when, where, why and how of the situation, attempting to get to the bottom of this predicament. In journalism we are taught to say as much as possible in as few words as possible, so I wasn’t looking for long lengthy answers from my Source. I just needed some quick answers followed by equally quick solutions that would get me out of this situation and back into the world of sliver bells, roasting chestnuts, and packages tied up with string. That’s all I wanted.

Of course, any editor worth their salt keeps a tight reign on the writer, never crowding the voice or style of the writer but always steering the story in the direction they want it to go. In college this used to annoy the snot out of me. I thought I’d written a great piece on the school play only to have it returned with so many red pen markings it was nearly impossible to see what I’d actually written. Most of the time the editor felt I was asking the wrong questions. It seems old habits die hard because this time was no different. The following are the questions I was attempting to answer in this particular “story”:

1). Why are you doing this to me, God? Why don’t you want me to have Christmas for my kids?

2). What in the world are you doing, God?

3). How are you going to get us out of this, God?

4). When will this madness be over, God?

5). Who will You send to fix this, God?

6). Where in the world are you, God?

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Short, sweet, to the point, and highly confrontational. The other thing about editors is that they’re used to writers throwing fits and disagreeing with them. They’re tough as nails and not easily shaken. Ignoring my tantrum, the Editor sent my story back with some suggested rewrites. Apparently, I was asking the wrong questions…again. Here are the questions, edited so as to move the story in the direction He wanted:

1). Why are you so angry?

2). What is at the core of this anger, resentment, anxiety?

3). How do your children view Christmas in light of your behavior?

4). When will you finally resign yourself to the idea that I’m not out to get you?

5). Who are you to question my provision?

6). Where are you going for answers?

Hmmph! Not what I was hoping for. So I did what any egocentric writer does and shelved the story for a few days and sulked. It wasn’t pretty. However, despite every effort to squelch the answers I was getting, they flooded in bringing to a close the story I’d set out to write.

Here’s what I learned:

1).  In my post-debt lifestyle, there are rules my husband and I follow to maintain that lifestyle. But at Christmas we throw all the rules out the window because it’s Christmas. We deserve to have one time of the year where the rules don’t apply. Entitlement is a ruthless master.  Besides feeding the already inflated it’s-all-about-me attitude, it drives an otherwise sane human being to make illogical decisions.  Things like taking out loans to pay for Christmas (I have not done this but know of people who have), indulging in a pity party when things don’t work out according to plan, questioning God’s provision and comparing it to what we think provision should look like and a myriad of other insane behaviors become the Christmas norm.

2).  Despite my feelings, I need a little Christmas. I need the baby in the manger in the stinky stall surrounded by bleating sheep and mooing cows. I need it because without it all I’m left with are Christmas trees, shiny packages and a bunch of carols about a non-existent guy in a red suit. And while all of this looks beautiful and desirable on the outside, none of it can even begin to penetrate my deepest need which is peace and hope.

3).  Once again I’ve come face-to-face with mankind’s uncanny ability to turn the holiest of days, a day that would usher in world peace forever, into something ugly and enslaving. Christmas is Christmas in its truest meaning no matter what the external circumstances. One of the best ways I’ve found this month to deal with the less than desirable circumstances is to embrace them for what they are, change my thinking and mentally allow myself the joy of what this season is.

4).  You can’t outthink God. I gave Him several suggestions on how He might remedy my situation-things like bigger-than-normal bonuses from my clients, checks for thousands of dollars in my mail box, a stranger stopping me on the street and offering me money, etc. They all sounded pretty good to me. But nothing happened until I took a deep breath and surrendered my warped view of Christmas to God. I am not kidding you when I tell you that within two days of an attitude change the coffers were opened and Christmas came to our house from the most unexpected people and in the most unexpected ways. God has given us over and above what we asked for, and most of it did not come from our pockets. Our kids are getting about a third of their usual Christmas gifts, and they have been brilliant about it. At one point my daughter actually said that we all needed a heart change in the area of Christmas. Hmmm. She did not learn that from me.

So I don’t know what Christmas looks like for you or what baggage you bring into this season. What I do know is that to embrace it for what it is, is to finally begin to experience why it is.

May the peace of God that transcends all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus this season.

Merry Christmas

 

 

Six weeks ago we started a series I like to call Church is Not a Red-Carpet Event. I began by giving you my background and my past hangups with church as well as what I believe is missing in church based on my study of Acts. In the five weeks that followed we looked at engaging our culture with the message of Jesus, just another term for making disciples. Let’s review:

Embrace your identity. Though my beliefs are in stark contrast to that of a radical Islamist, the fervor with which followers of this religion live is noticeably missing from the average Christian. One of the reasons Islamists experience success in their endeavors is that they have completely embraced who they believe themselves to be-followers of Mohammed with the goal of eradicating the infidels. Until we live as if our existence depends on Jesus, we will be hard -pressed to persuade others of their need for Him.

No is always a choice. God is a God of freedom, freedom to follow Him and freedom to reject Him. He could have created a world full of robots but instead He gave us the freewill to choose Him or not choose Him. Upon coming to Him for salvation, we have opportunities everyday to say no to one thing so we can say yes to God, thereby enabling us to live the calling He has placed on our lives.

Gift of the Holy Spirit came next. Attempting to drive a car on fumes and no gas is senseless and will get you nowhere. The same holds true for a believer attempting to engage her culture without tapping into the power that is hers through the Holy Spirit. Why do we attempt to live out God’s purpose for our lives without His help?

Assess the damage and assess the need. We don’t have to look long and hard to see the damage sin has caused, nor do we have to wonder at the solution.

             “’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me 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.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (Luke 4:18-21, NIV)

Get up. This involves actually giving ourselves away-our time, our money, our attention. Getting up involves obedience, delayed gratification and total abandonment to the will of God no matter how we’re feeling at the moment. And finally, the last letter, “E.”

Eternal perspective. This is the nuts and bolts of it all, the nitty gritty, where the rubber meets the road. Perspective is what will free you from the distractions of the world and set your sights on the task at hand. Eternal perspective gives us the will to embrace our identity, the courage to say no to things that hinder the working of God in our lives, the ability to see who the Holy Spirit is in light of our calling, the eyes to see the urgent needs of  our culture, the ability to get up and give away with purpose beyond morals and ethics.

Eternal perspective is what I’m desperately trying to pass on to a friend of mine who is entrenched in feelings of hopelessness and questioning. It’s the one thing that her religion with all of its rules and regulations has failed to give her. Without it she is left wondering if God is really there and if He really cares and if all her work is meaningless.

Eternal perspective gives man a reason to live. It’s the natural mindset of a redeemed sinner, the hope of what’s to come, the knowledge that the worst experience we have on this earth is the worst experience we will ever have if we know Jesus.

Eternal perspective is the message of the Bible. It’s the meaning of “seek ye first the kingdom of God,” of the promise “I am going to prepare a place for you.” It’s the shadow cast over our lives, the sieve through which all we believe and do and say and are is filtered. It is this:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of thins has passed away.’ He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son’” (Rev. 21:1-7).

Perspective is everything. I wonder how we would engage our world with the message of Jesus if we saw each person in light of what is waiting for them if they only believe?

When my nearly perfect firstborn turned two, she was stricken with a rather worrisome condition. Though never officially diagnosed by a doctor, at our house it became known as “noodle legs.” Noodle legs occur when one person, usually a parent, attempts to coerce another person, typically a toddler, into moving in a direction they aren’t wanting to go.

This is both annoying and dangerous. It’s annoying because my toddler had spent the last year showing off her glorious appendages that afforded her newfound freedom outside the confines of her crib and my arms. Suddenly, she was rendered completely lame by virtue of her will turning her legs into a pile of limp pasta.

It’s dangerous because noodle legs happen in dangerous spots like parking lots and crosswalks. It’s not as if the parent can do much about it since the other hand is occupied with either bags of stuff or, more likely, a ten pound baby carrier with a ten pound baby in it.

This week we address the “G” in ENGAGE, a natural next step to last week’s assessment stage. I’ve titled it “Get up and move!” We see the damage, we see the need. Now it’s time to get up and do what it is that God is calling you to do. I will admit that getting up and obeying is scary. What will He ask me to do? What if it’s completely out of my comfort zone? What if I fail?

As I look back at the times in my life that God has called me to something specific, very often my initial reaction involved spiritual noodle legs-a plopping down in a pile of rebellion, if you will, refusing to move in the direction He was attempting to move me in. We all do this in one form or another. Jonah, rather than doing nothing,  ran the complete opposite direction and ended up in the belly of a whale. Some of us run, some of us sit and refuse to move. Either way, it’s rebellion.

Last year my husband and I were totally unhappy in our current state. We hated our city, the weather, the traffic, the politics, the taxes. We weren’t jumping for joy over our jobs either. Our kids hated school. We were generally unhappy so we did what any reasonable person would do and started readying our house to put it up for sale and sent out resumes all over the country. We dreamed of moving to a warmer climate like Texas where the grass is greener and you can still spank your kids in public and not have them taken away. It’s the Bible belt, for heaven’s sake. Surely God could use us there. We needed a fresh start.

But a fresh start is not what we got, not outside of our city limits, that is. Instead, every job that my husband seemed perfect for ended up being given to someone else. It didn’t take long, and we got the message. The doors were slammed shut. Not even a crack for air was left. We were here, and I was mad. What in the world was God thinking leaving us in this place? We’d spent 20 years here. Surely, that was enough.

At first I responded like the defiant toddler in the parking lot. I plopped myself down mentally and physically refusing to engage in the life that God had given me.  Initially, my “I’ll show you” attitude felt victorious. Fine. I’ll live here in this crime-infested city and go about my life, trying to carve out the most painless existence I can and hope for a future move. However, those feelings quickly caved into misery and guilt which in turn left me feeling far from God. It’s one thing to be a non-christian and know something isn’t right but not know what that something is. It’s quite another to know that your own defiance has caused a gaping hole in your relationship with the Lord. This is what I’ve learned about getting up and moving and sharing the gospel with other people:

1).  As pitiful as it is, sometimes you actually have to ask God for the desire to do His will. I remember finally waving the white flag of surrender and asking God if He was going to keep us here to please place a supernatural love for this city in our hearts. I can honestly say, He has more than done that. There is no place I’d rather be.

2).  Ask God for opportunities to share Him with others in unique ways. The one thing I’ve learned over the years is that His timetable couldn’t be any more different than ours. If you look back at where you’ve been spiritually to where you are now, I’m sure you will see a steady but slow progression. He moves us to the areas of ministry He wants us in, but slowly and with marked intention.

For example, I’ve mentioned before how much I disliked the semester in college that I had to be on the radio. So it will surprise most of you when I tell you that about a month ago I was a caller into a local radio program. They were discussing salvation, of all things and some idea that an Ohio politician had that revolved around helping the poor because someday we would answer to St. Peter. The radio hosts put out the question: “so how does one become saved?’ Without thinking, I dialed the number desperate to get the truth to anyone who was listening. It was only after the phone started ringing and the screener answered that panic set in. I had about a millisecond to freak out and then I heard the words, “Kathryn, you’re on the air. What are your thoughts?” I’ve been out of college for 20 years. My 60 second moment of engaging was a 20-year process!

3).  Getting up involves giving yourself away. It requires our time and sometimes our money. Sometimes it means mowing your neighbor’s lawn, paying for groceries for the person behind you that doesn’t have enough money, being a listening ear when your life is already filled to the brim.

In order to get up and give away our attitude is one of delayed gratification. Of everything I’ve learned about engaging my culture, sacrifice is the consistent requirement whether it’s a moment of ministering or a lifetime calling. But the sacrifice it takes to look different and be different is worth what is waiting for us in heaven. Delayed gratification is a tough sell in a culture where waiting for anything causes us physical pain. It requires supernatural strength, but it is so worth it.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Corinthians 2:9, NIV).

So what is God calling you to do? Are you giving Him noodle legs or getting up and moving?

When my daughter was two years old and my son was two months old, my husband and I sold our house and moved back to Chicago so he could pursue his Master’s of Divinity. We went back to the school where we met and moved back into the same building I was living in while waiting for him to graduate the first time around.

Part of the master’s program requirements was to attend weekend retreats a couple of times a year. Students were required to go, and families were encouraged to. So we did. The kids and I participated in everything offered for families of grad students.

One weekend in February 2001 we were in a camp in Wisconsin on one of these retreats. We spent the last morning in the camp dining hall eating breakfast. The place was filled with about 300 grad students, their families and faculty. Nick was ten months old at the time. I have to stop here and mention how different my two kids have always been. Abby didn’t crawl until she was 9 months old. She kept her hands to herself, could sit in church on my lap quietly reading, and never showed any interest in anything outside of her immediate reach.

Nick was not like this. Not even a little. His interest piqued over shiny silverware, pieces of fuzz, his sister’s pigtails, anything. He was on the move months earlier than Abby. I frequently dressed him in overalls so that in a moment I could grab him by the straps from the jaws of disaster. Everyone should have a child like this. It’s only fair.

Why I didn’t have this in mind that morning I will never know. Maybe because I hadn’t had my coffee, and the gray matter was still fuzzy. I was attempting to remedy that very thing as I set the cup of scalding hot brain juice in front of me and turned my head for 3 seconds to grab the creamer. Within those three seconds Nick’s busy marshmallow fingers grabbed the cup, and he was wearing it.

His screams drowned out the noise of those 300 people. My husband jumped in, grabbed him from his seat and ordered whoever would listen to rip his clothes off and get him to cold water. When I saw the layers of skin literally peeling back from his stomach, I froze. I didn’t know what to do.

Suddenly, there were about 5 people with nursing degrees, some students some spouses of students, that went into emergency mode and started doing things to help. They asked me questions I should have known the answers to. They handed Nick to me so I could comfort him while waiting for the ambulance. I handed him back. I didn’t know how to comfort a baby writhing in pain who was experiencing this because of my oversight. I couldn’t answer any of their simple questions. I shut down.

This week we take the “A” in ENGAGE. Assess the damage. Assess the need.

I love this quote by musician Kathleen Casey Thiesen:

“Acceptance is not submission; it is acknowledgement of the facts of a situation. Then deciding what you’re going to do about it.”

In the example I gave, protocol demanded that the situation be assessed by those with the correct skills and abilities and then determine what needed to happen next. Not only did I not have any medical training or knowledge, I had nothing mentally to contribute to the situation. Left to my own devices I would have sunk into a pit of despair with the cries of my injured baby somewhere in the distance.

Sounds bleak, but that is exactly where our culture is. If we’ve decided to engage it with the message of Jesus then we’ve taken the first step toward in being a light in the darkness-not burying our heads in the sand and trying to live around it. What comes next is an honest assessment of the damage and then assessing the need.

We see the damage broadcast all over the news, on our college campuses and behind the doors of abortion clinics. We see it on our streets where the homeless wander, at the food banks where the starving wait for a meal. We see it in our courtrooms and on Capitol Hill; some decisions made to undermine righteousness others made in an attempt to “fix” things. And if you look closely you can see the damage on the faces of friends and coworkers who muddle through life wondering “what went wrong with society.” The damage is sin. The need is Jesus.

For those of us who know Him personally, we have the solution to every one of those issues.

In Luke 4:18-21 Jesus stood up in the synagogue and read these words from the prophet Isaiah:

“’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me 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.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’” (NIV).

Jesus just declared Himself the solution to every problem that plagues humanity. Just like I didn’t have it in me to deal with the situation that day, those in our culture  don’t  have what they need to deal with the situations they find themselves in. I needed clearheaded medical professionals to jump in and help Nick and me. The world needs those of us who have access to the Expert. They need what we know.

I can’t imagine how I would have felt to be in a room full of people that, not only couldn’t figure out what needed to be done, but worse, didn’t even get up and assess the situation. To respond that way would have drifted into the area of malpractice for those with medical degrees. How devastating to be in trouble with no acknowledgement of that trouble from those who have the solution.

We’ve heard the saying that “nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something.”

So what are you doing? What are the needs in your family, your neighborhood, your circle of friends, your corner of the world? Who do you know that needs freedom proclaimed to them, good news preached to them, and a release from oppression? You can’t do everything, but you can do something. Assess the damage around you, and assess the need. Then do it.

Nine years ago a very generous family member purchased a brand new van for my husband and me right off the lot. It had everything. Great stereo system, DVD player, electric windows, keyless entry. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven. It wasn’t long, however, that our dream vehicle turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment.

From the very beginning the paint started to peel in different places all over the van. Since there was a recall on that particular color of paint on that year’s model, it was covered. No big deal. I’ll admit it was a bit of an inconvenience having to take it in every few months to have another part of it repainted. At one point I even suggested that maybe they should just repaint the entire thing once and for all and be done with it. It would save me the trouble of coming in all the time and them the unpleasantness of seeing me.  That, of course, is not how they do things.

The real difficulty started once the recall was up. All of a sudden, they weren’t nearly as accommodating. In an effort to get them to take care of this issue I’ve sent 13 letters to all 13 members of this company’s Board of Directors with pictures. It cost me a small fortune. I’ve been on the phone with headquarters several times trying to get them to understand what it means to stand behind a product. I’ve searched high and low for paperwork they insist I have to have in order for them to even start to address the problem. Apparently they purge their files every 18 months if you haven’t been in to see them.

I asked if maybe my information was somewhere in cyberspace and that they would need to dig a little deeper. They assured me that, despite the fact that this is indeed the computer age, all of my information was on paper documents that would take days even weeks to locate.

I got of the phone and cried out of sheer frustration. There is nothing worse than feeling like you’ve been given the runaround, like the powers that be think you’re stupid and will buy just any story you’re given, like if they frustrate you enough you’ll just give in and trade up. They haven’t met me. This van has 140,000 miles. I plan on driving it at least to 200,000. That’s three more years for me, that is, unless the rust on the roof is not addressed in which case, I’ll be driving around town with a sunken roof and snow on my head in the middle of winter! I really can’t take it.

Up to this point when I’ve thought about engaging my culture my understanding of the concept has been limited to situations in which I am intentionally witnessing or trying to lead someone to Christ. I don’t think about the way I respond to the bank teller that tells me to have a nice day when she’s taken about ten minutes too long to process a check or the person at AT&T who just can’t figure out why I don’t have internet service and happily tells me they’ll send someone out in a few days to look at it, or the guy at the dealership that tells me there’s really nothing that he can do for me until I find the paperwork he needs.

There were so many things I wanted to say to the dealership like how it’s their job to fix their product, like this is the 21^st century, the age of computers, and how it’s not my fault if they can’t get it together, how they should be embarrassed to have their product driving around town looking as bad as it looks, how a $1,000 paint job is a drop in the bucket to a multi-billion dollar company, like how the customer is always right, etc.  Yes, I know. I had an adult-sized temper tantrum in my head until the Holy Spirit reminded me that engaging our culture is something we do every time we leave our house and enter society. If you’re alive and functioning you’re engaging whether you want to or not. How you do it is really dependent on how much you buy into the idea of the role of the Holy Spirit in your life.

So this week, we take the “G” in engage. Gift of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 1 before Jesus ascended into heaven he was eating with His apostles and said this:

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:4,5,8, NIV).

Yes, the Holy Spirit is given to believers as a gift to help carry on the message of Jesus, but He’s the gift that keeps on giving.

He’s the Counselor, John 16:7

He’s the Spirit of truth, John 16:13.

He’s the Comforter John 14:26.

And the piece de resistance: He is the same power living in us that raised Christ from the dead, Romans 8:11.

During this whole process I’ve become acutely aware of my need for help from the Holy Spirit, not just in my feeble attempts at evangelizing the human race, but also in my day-to-day interaction with them. On my own I simply do not have what it takes to interact with the outside world in a manner pleasing to God. But I have this promise:

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 2:3, NIV).

 

Every year when my kids were in elementary school they participated in field day. It’s a morning spent participating with friends and classmates in everything from the long jump to the 50-yard dash to wheelbarrow races. Basically, it’s an excuse for kids to get out of the classroom in the early spring after being cooped up all winter and for parents to dream Olympic dreams for their kids.

Nick liked sports of all kinds and was pretty good at most everything he tried. At the time, he was an especially fast runner. That was all I needed to harbor the hope of him contending for a spot on the U.S. Olympic track team. As he lined up with six other five-year olds to run the 200-yard dash, my heart started racing, and I worried about the wet grass possibly tripping him up.

The whistle blew, and the boys were off. With wild abandon my fingers pounded the shutter release snapping pictures of my sweet little cherub-cheeked boy running for all he was worth past me toward the finish line. But then something happened. He fell. Stupid grass. Why did it have to rain the night before a big race?

That moment was like every moment in a sports movie where the crowd is still yelling, but it’s silent except for the heartbeat of the athlete as he stands at the pitcher’s mound plotting his last chance at greatness. Or when the underdog makes the last shot of the basketball game. The room is silent as the ball sails to the basket, the only sound being that of the ball hitting the backboard before swooshing into the basket scoring the team the winning 2 points.

Nick was only five, but he might as well have been rounding the last corner of an Olympic trial. He stopped and looked at me, and I could see the wheels spinning crazily in his little brain. Do I give in or get up? In middle school I was a cheerleader, and my cheerleading prowess kicked in full gear. I started jumping up and down like a crazy person, camera flying furiously around my neck as I yelled “Get up! Get up!”

That was all he needed. He pulled his wet grass-covered self up and not only finished the race but won it, which in my mind sealed the deal on heading to the Olympics. Only a true Olympian could fall on wet grass, get up and win. Plus, he was only five at the time!

We are in a series looking at engaging our culture with the gospel of Jesus. Last week we took the “E” and talked about embracing our identity in Christ, understanding that we can’t engage anyone for the cause of Christ if we haven’t even embraced who we are in Christ.

This week we take the “N.” No is always a choice. All of us at one time have had to overcome something so that we can be used by God. We’ve had to say “no” to something so that we could say “yes” to God. “No” always has such negative connotations. No, I will not buy you an iPhone. No, we aren’t eating out tonight. No, you cannot go see that movie. But “no” isn’t always negative. In order to say “yes” to God we have to make the choice to say “no” to whatever is holding us back whether it’s fear, feelings of inadequacy, Satan’s lies, whatever. The Bible is full of examples of people choosing to say “no” to one thing so they could say “yes” to God.

What would have happened if Joseph had said “no” to the angel who told him not to divorce Mary and “yes” to the culture which demanded it? What would have happened if Moses’ mother hadn’t quietly told Pharaoh “no” by hiding her child in the bulrushes rather than obeying and throwing him into the Nile? What would have happened if Esther had chosen to say “no” to Mordecai’s request to speak to the king on behalf of her people knowing that it could cost her her life? What if Paul had told God “no” on the road to Damascas? What if Peter had said, “No, I’m not really interested in being part of building your worldwide church?” What if Jesus had said “no” to God in the Garden because the sacrifice was too great?

There is an endless list of people in scripture who, had they not been willing to say “no” to cultural norms, physical limitations, personal fears and doubts, the spread of gospel would look significantly different.  If we are going to engage our culture in a way that is significant, it will require a radical decision.

My son’s decision to get up and keep running may not have been earth altering, but it’s a great example of saying “no” to a feeling of defeat and “yes” to getting up and continuing on.  He could’ve chosen to let the other guys win, running only to get to the finish line but not to win. The choice was his, and no one could make it for him.

In John 6 Jesus is teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum to a group of people who considered themselves His disciples, people who followed him around regularly listening to His teachings day in and day out. For some reason, His declaration as the  Bread of Life that came down from heaven was insulting to them. After much questioning and refusing to believe He was who He said He was, many of them walked away.

What came next I find striking:

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God’” (John 6:66-69, NIV).

There it is. Are you staying or going? In this particular exchange the line was drawn. The true colors of both sides came out. Those who really didn’t believe from the very beginning were finally honest enough to admit it and walk away. Those who chose to believe were solidified in their belief. They were all in. They chose “no” to the culture and their own feelings and “yes” to God. Whatever their choice had been, it was theirs to make. We have the same freedom-yes or no. It’s our choice.

 

 

 

 

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel” (Romans 1).

“Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (I Corinthians 1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (II Corinthians 1).

“Paul, an apostle sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father” (Gal. 1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (Eph.1).

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God” (Col. 1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope” (I Tim. 1).

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 1).

I used to gloss over these verses sometimes not even reading them because they seemed insignificant compared to the “good stuff,” the real meat of the text. But in my study of Acts over the last several weeks, God has shown me that embracing my identity is the difference between living haphazardly and living with purpose.

Last week I said it’s time for believers to get over their identity crisis. Deciding who we are is the first step. The second is embracing it, the “E” in ENGAGE. Embracing our identity requires willful submission to a cause greater than ourselves. It’s no coincidence that in Paul’s introductions in these N.T. books he identified who he was. His identity explained his actions. He not only identified with Christ, He embraced the cause of Christ taking whatever came with that cause. If he had written Acts 1, he could have opened with something like this: “Paul, an enemy of the gospel and persecutor of Christians.” That would have made complete sense and backed up his approval of the stoning of Steven and others like him.

But as a new creation in Christ, he identified with Christ, embraced that identity and lived it to the fullest. In Bonhoeffer’s book The Cost of Discipleship, he has this to say about being a disciple:

“’Whom He foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren’ (Rom. 8:29). Here is a promise which passes all understanding. Those who follow Christ are destined to bear his image, and to be the brethren of the first-born Son of God. Their goal is to become “as Christ.” Christ’s followers always have his image before their eyes, and in its light all other images are screened from their sight. It penetrates into the depths of their being, fills them, and makes them more and more like their Master. The image of Jesus Christ impresses itself in daily communion on the image of the disciple. No follower of Jesus can contemplate his image in a spirit of cold detachment. That image has the power to transform our lives, and if we surrender ourselves utterly to him, we cannot help bearing his image ourselves. We become the sons of God, we stand side by side with Christ, our unseen Brother, bearing like him the image of God” (page 298).

So what does embracing who we are in Christ look like in the day-to-day? I think it requires two things: first, perspective. Unless we’ve bought in to the idea of the cross and what Jesus did on it for us, we will never effectively be able to convince others of their need for it. The best way to keep our perspective is to constantly stand in the shadow of the cross remembering that every person we meet is loved because of it, and every situation in life is redeemable by it.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2, NIV).

Second, I have found that embracing who I am in Christ usually requires a stepping out of my comfort zone.

One morning a couple of weeks ago my family and I awoke to a scene outside our windows that looked very much like a scene from CSI. In the night there was a shooting six doors down resulting in what was eventually called a triple homicide as one of the victims was pregnant.

My initial reaction was to call my realtor and throw a sign in the front yard, pull the shades and ignore all of it. But I couldn’t, and I knew it. Instead, my husband and I went outside and started praying with people from our street and others who had gathered. In the days that followed, I began the process of starting a neighborhood watch. Not because I’m all that and a bag of chips and not because I  believe that the big blue sign with the eyeball on it will deter criminals. What I do believe is that God has handed me a perfect situation to engage my little corner of the world with the message of the cross through something like a neighborhood watch, something already in place where all of the work has been done for me!

In walking up and down the street getting signatures, I have just now met some of my neighbors who are only 7 houses away from me, but they might as well be on Mars. Some of these people have been my neighbors for five years! I’m ashamed that it has taken tragedy to get me to engage.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:10, NIV).

So what would your life look like if you embraced who you are in Christ?  What is the calling He has placed on your life? Have you asked Him? What would you do differently if you embraced this calling? What would you let go of?