The Fundamentals of a Jesus Honoring Life

When I was 10 to 12 years old, I would show up at our Jr. High gymnasium every Saturday during the winter to take part in the YMCA basketball program. I loved every minute we were on the court! Whether we were running lines, learning the correct way to throw different passes, learning how to dribble the ball without looking, shooting layups, pivoting, screening out…I loved every drill!

The coach, Mr. Rhodes, was big on fundamentals. His philosophy was if you learn the fundamentals, you don’t need to “think” about them in a game situation. The fundamentals become part of who you are, second nature, natural actions and reactions. Mr. Rhodes’ philosophy was like the former, unmatched, UCLA coach John Wooden. These great coaches were not hoping their players would know about the fundamentals. Their goal was that the fundamentals would become a part of who a player was.

I see parallels between basketball fundamentals and living a Jesus honoring life. If a disciple learns the fundamentals of a Jesus honoring life and practices them, the fundamentals become part of who they are, second nature, natural actions and reactions. The goal of a disciples’ experience is not “knowing the fundamentals” of living a Jesus honoring life. The goal is doing and living the fundamentals like forgiveness, love, telling the truth, generosity, praying, and learning everything Jesus taught.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 ESV

Serious Times Require God's Wisdom

In July 1813, John Adams, the 2nd President of the nation, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the nation, wrote, “My Friend! You and I have passed our Lives, in Serious Times. I know not whether We have ever Seen any moments more Serious than the present .” [sic]

Two phrases in that statement caught my attention. “Serious times” and “any moments more serious than the present” could easily describe the tumultuous times we are in. Conflict and division abound. Natural calamities and significant challenges face our country and the world. There are no simple answers to the challenges mankind faces. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.”

I’m reminded of words written by King David in Psalm 20, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalms 20:7 (NIV) These are times to trust in the Lord and not chariots and horses. God gives creative solutions and the wisdom needed to solve the problems of the world. Serious times require serious wisdom and serious solutions!

Another great leader, Abraham Lincoln, said; “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”

We live by faith, not by sight.

The longer I walk with Jesus the more interesting, and at times perplexing, I find this life of faith. Why is it that there are clear ‘God moments’ and then extended periods of time can go by without any visible ‘God moments’? Why is the next step clearly seen sometimes and at other times it feels like stumbling in the light of dusk? Why is it easy at times to trust and at other times worry seems to overtake us and jump on us?

Why can’t everything be clear? Why can’t there be ‘God moments’ every day? Why can’t the next step be clearly marked out and outlined with fancy lighting? Why can’t every situation be met with an obvious void of worry?

I’ve had a handful of instances in the last few weeks where the moments were clearly guided and aided by God. Some of the situations turned out in the way that I think God wanted them to turn out. A couple situations didn’t turn out so good. It is always strange how situations can clearly have Jesus’ hand upon them and yet not turn out in a way that seems like they should.

I wish that I could figure out why some of life’s steps are so clear and other steps are not easily seen. I wish I could figure out why certain moments clearly have the visible hand of God on them and other moments things are not that clear.

I bet you are the same way. I bet there are times that you have been able to clearly see the visible work of God and other times that you’ve wondered, at least to yourself, where in the world is God. I bet there have been times when you’ve known exactly what the next step was and other times where you too have sensed that you were stumbling without clear direction.

One of the conclusions I’ve come to is that if I always knew, if the path was always clear, if the voice was always clearly discernible and if life’s steps were always filled with peace, life wouldn’t be called a journey of faith. But a journey of faith is what life is. Sometimes the journey has dark and endless valleys. Other times there are incredible vistas. Unfortunately, or maybe not, we aren’t the ones who control the valleys or the vistas.

We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Jesus, Change the default charge of my heart

God revealed to the prophets of the Old Testament and the writers of the New Testament letters that the condition of the heart of man is bent towards selfishness. The propensity to be selfish is referred to as ‘sin nature.’ In Paul’s letter to the church in the city of Galatia he wrote: “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature …”

I have been thinking about this idea and the picture that came to my mind was magnets. Magnets have two poles. One pole has a ‘+’ (positive) charge and the other pole has a ‘-‘ (negative) charge. The poles of a magnet are referred to as either ‘north’ or ‘south.’

When two magnets are brought into close proximity, the magnets are either attracted to each other or repelled against each other. This depends on which charge the side of each magnet is facing. Opposite poles attract. Similar poles repel.

I imagine that my heart is like a magnet that is ‘attracted’ to the giant magnet of selfishness. By default, my heart is attracted to selfish thinking, selfish feeling and selfish prioritizing. When my heart is left without any external restraint or pressure, it will always turn towards and be attracted to ‘selfishness.’ That is a deadly condition. Paul said that my default attraction to sin and selfishness leads to death. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … (Romans 3:23 TNIV)

This is where Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures come into play. Jesus came so that over time the default mode of my heart would cease to be ‘attracted’ to selfishness. Jesus came so that over time the default mode of my heart would be to ‘repel’ against selfishness and instead be ‘attracted’ to selflessness. Surrendering my life initially and then regularly does a work to change my default ‘charge.’

The Holy Spirit and reading, studying, memorizing and meditating on the Scripture is the means by which the default charge is changed and pressure is put upon my heart, so that I am ‘attracted’ to selflessness and ‘repelled’ against selfishness. This is why I continually talk about Jesus, about continual surrender to Him, about the work of the Holy Spirit and the need for the discipline of spending time in the Scriptures. The only hope for our condition is Jesus, the work of the Spirit and the work of the Scriptures in our heart.

What is your heart ‘attracted’ to and ‘repelled’ against? Jesus’ plan and purpose is that your heart would be repelled against selfishness and attracted to selflessness.

Jesus, change the default charge of my heart. Cause me to repel against selfishness and be attracted to selflessness. Amen!

God will always be faithful because He is faithful!

It is not uncommon for me to talk to people who comment in one way or another about the inconsistency in their faith journey. I guess that is to be expected since I am a pastor. People make comments about their inconsistency because they are afraid that their inconsistency will impact whether God will still 'come through for them' in some area of need. The thought is 'I've not been very consistent, so I'm not sure that God will be consistent' or 'Since I've been unfaithful, God will probably also be unfaithful.'

2000 years ago, the Apostle Paul wrote to the pastor of the church in the city of Ephesus about that same fear.

The saying is trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.

Notice that last line ... If we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself.

God is faithful, therefore He can't be anything but faithful. When we think that He is not being faithful, it is because we don't understand the situation in the same way that He understands it.

As a parent, I don't base my decision to be faithful or consistent on my kids faithfulness. I'm not going to leave them at school at the end of the day just because they didn't finish cleaning their room. I'm not going to make them miss dinner because they didn't eat their dinner the night before. I'm not going to fail to take them to the doctor if needed because they didn't wear their coat. As a parent, those actions would be unnatural.

There may be times when, as a parent, I say 'no' to them for something they want or for something they want me to do for them. My response of 'no' may even be hinged on their behavior or misbehavior, but this would only be in the area of their wants not in the area of needs.

God may say ‘no’ to us in the area of wants, but He doesn't say ‘no’ in the area of needs. This doesn't make Him unfaithful. This reveals His wisdom.

Jesus walked on water, raised dead people, changed water into wine, calmed the storm, healed the blind and paralyzed, yet He didn't stop bad from happening, even when the bad to be stopped was against Him. He could have stopped Judas from betraying Him. He could have stopped Pilate from sentencing Him to death. He could have 'crucified' the soldiers who crucified Him.

His failure to stop 'bad' didn't make Him unfaithful. His failure to stop bad that was happening doesn't diminish the reality of His power or love. Instead, it reveals there are things He knows that we don't know. He can and does stop 'bad', but He does it when it is best.

When God acts or doesn't act, it is because He 'knows' and not because He is capriciously choosing to be faithful or not.

God will always be faithful because He is faithful!

Are you wearing Jesus clothes?

Recently, I heard someone describe the attire of different world religious systems. I had never thought about how the adherents of the various belief systems could often be recognized by their attire. For instance a Buddhist Monk, a Muslim, a practicing Jew, a Sikh, a Hare Krishna or a Hindu would be fairly recognizable by their unique dress.

A Buddhist Monk is known by a shaved head and a colored robe. A Muslim woman is recognized by a ‘burqa’ or other sort of covering. A practicing Jew might be recognized by the traditional ‘skull cap' called a ‘kippa.’ A Sikh could be recognized by their traditional headdress. A devotee of the Hare Krishna life could be recognized by their ‘dhotis’ or robe. A Hindu can often be recognized by the spot on their forehead known as a ‘bindi.’

Followers of Jesus don't have a traditional dress code or recognizable clothing. This doesn't mean though that followers of Jesus can wear anything they want. The Scriptures do speak of clothes that a follower is expected to wear.

The Apostle Paul wrote these words:

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:12-14 NLT)

The clothing that a follower of Jesus is to put on, DAILY, is: tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love.

What would life look like - if every Jesus follower walked around their house in those clothes, if every student who is a follower of Jesus would wear those clothes to school every day, if everyday interactions were colored by these clothes and if every follower of Jesus would wear these clothes when they went to work each day?

Marriages would be different, families would be different, work places would be different, schools would be different and whole communities would be different. It might just be that the nation, and even eventually the world, would be different if each Jesus follower put on Jesus clothes.

Jesus clothes? Tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness and love.

Are you wearing your Jesus clothes today?

What will you do with Jesus?

What will you do with Jesus?

Often when interacting with people who are uncertain about the existence of God or who have fully made up their mind that there is no such thing as God, I push back by asking the question – What will you do with Jesus? They give a puzzled look that asks the question: What are you talking about?

This gives me a great opportunity then to talk to them about Jesus. The dialogue between myself and another person might go something like this:
Me …
“You are not sure what you believe about the existence of God and I can understand that, but you still have to do something with Jesus.”

Them…
“What do you mean?”

Me …
“If God doesn’t exist how do you explain Jesus? He was born to a woman who claimed to be a virgin and lived the first 30 years of His life in a little village in the obscure northern region of Israel. He didn’t have any formal education and was not from the upper crust of society.

Yet … we know more about Jesus than almost anyone else from antiquity. There were letters written about Him and His followers within a few years of His death and there were accounts written within the lifetime of people who were close followers of Jesus.

This little band of believers quickly grew to be a significant percentage of the population around Jerusalem, and within a short time began to impact all of the Roman Empire which had existed for hundreds of years and that would continue for a few hundred years more.

The impact was so significant, that the movement continued to grow and expand and grow and expand until it was adopted as the official faith of the Roman Empire.

2000 years later there is no slowing down its growth and influence around the world. There is no other movement in human history that has even begun to scratch the surface of the impact on the world the way Jesus and his followers have.

How can that be explained in natural terms? What possible ‘human’ explanation is there?”

This doesn’t end the dialogue. Instead, the dialogue takes of in countless directions as people try and explain the unexplainable.

If you don’t believe … this might give you something to think about. If you do believe … this will give you a great conversation that can last for hours, days and weeks!

If this could become part of my fabric

I have been reading through the letter from the Apostle Paul to the Colossians. I have been reading it very slowly taking in as much as I can. There is so much rich ‘soul’ food in the letter. Over the last week, I have been reading again and again three verses. I thought so many times that if these truths could be woven into the fabric of my inner life it would have such a huge and lasting impact on the lives of those I come into contact with. Here’s what Paul wrote:

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:12-14 NLT)

God chose me to be a holy person that He loves … therefore I MUST clothe myself with mercy … and not just mercy but tenderhearted mercy… I MUST clothe myself with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience … that is not the normal way of the American male! I am to make allowance for each person’s faults that I come into contact with. Not just make allowance for my family or my friends or people who I can get something from … but for EACH person’s faults. Make allowance … don’t make a big deal out of it … let it go … and if someone intentionally offends me, I am to forgive!

I must keep in the forefront of my life … written on the windshield and on the rearview mirror … that the Lord forgave me and forgave me and forgave me and forgives me and will forgive me and because of that I MUST forgive others.

The inner layers of clothing are to be tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. My outer coat is to be LOVE … real love binds people together … their lives working and flowing together are like perfect harmony in the symphony of life that God is playing out through us.

Can you see how if this were flowing out of every part of me that those around me would be better off? Chewing and chewing on these verses is feeding my soul and making me more and more aware of what Jesus is trying to do in me, so that it comes out of me.

Maybe these thoughts will encourage you!

What's being written in your book?

Recently in some reading I was doing I came across a statement by J.M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan that caught my attention. He wrote: The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another.

That line got me thinking about the ‘book’ that I’m writing. Is it the ‘book’ that I want written or is the book just being written? There is no way that any of us can control every aspect of our life. As a matter of fact there are huge portions of life that are really out of our control. We can’t control those things but we can control the parts of life that we can control.

For instance, I can’t control the unexpected health conditions that might arise but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t aspects of my health that I can control and that I better control or else there will be many more unexpected health conditions. People can’t control everything about a job or work. They can be ‘let go’ in an instant because of something that was not in their control. There are many things about work though that is in person’s control. Are they the best possible employee? Are they responsible? Do they honor the people they work with?

This same idea is true regarding school. A student can’t control everything about school or everyone in a school environment but they can control themselves in the environment and the situation. An athlete can’t control everything about the sport or the team that they are a part of but they can control themselves as a team member and as an athlete.

Am I ‘writing’, by controlling and being responsible, the story that I want written or am I just letting life write the story? The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in the city of Corinth about the believers in that gathering being a ‘letter of Christ’ that people read. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:3 NLT)

What is written in the story of your life is not totally up to you but it is not up to chance either. What does the chapter about you as a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a student, an employee or a community member say about you? Is what you want to be written being written?

I Matter, You Matter, Relationships Matter

I have spent a lot of time this week thinking about the complexity of relationships and communication. There is so much at stake in relationships that we want to get them ‘right’, but they can be so complicated that things don’t always go ‘right’ but instead they go ‘left.’

There is a built-in complexity because each of us naturally assume, expect, have varying value systems, interpret differently, only partially hear and only partially communicate … just to name a few layers of complexity. To complicate the complexity, we each have a level of fear that is manifested in the various layers of complexity.

Added to the mix is a person’s depth of ‘really care’ or ‘don’t care.’ There is, in the gamut of relationships, the fact that every person has a continuum of depth of ‘care.’ On one end of the continuum is the response - I really care, this is so important. On the other end of the continuum is the response - I don’t really care. In each relationship there is always the possibility that two people are on the extreme opposite ends of the continuum. One person cares very deeply. The other person does not care at all.

Is it any wonder that relationships can create such joy and fulfillment? On the other hand, is it any wonder that relationships can create such heartburn and sleepless nights? There’s no wonder as to why one of Jesus’ loudest messages was about ‘forgiveness.’

I have come to some conclusions that I try and allow to serve as guardrails in relationships. Maybe the thoughts will help you. When I bump up against one guardrail, I’m often shot across the road to the other and ultimately bump up against the third thought.

I matter to God, you matter to God and relationships matter to God.

These thoughts serve as a sort of filter through which I try to evaluate my attitudes, words, actions and responses.

Maybe those three thoughts will help you as you navigate the complexities of your relationships.

Relationships matter to God.