Spirit and Truth

These are the words of Jesus to the woman at the well. I’d like to understand this better by building a concept under each of these three BIG words.

Deuteronomy is the final book of Moses. It starts with a lengthy speech by the elderly Moses to the gathered nation of Israel. After deliverance from Egypt and wandering in the wilderness, the new generation is ready to say good-bye to Moses and embrace Joshua as leader in the conquest of Canaan. Deuteronomy chapter 6 presents the Shema: “Hear, O Israel, The LORD our God, the LORD is one”; followed by the greatest commandment: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Worship is ascribing greatness to God, adoring Him, loving Him with ALL of our being. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 tell us WHEN to worship. We worship when we are teaching our children, sitting down, going places, when we lie down at night and awaken in the morning, when we do things with our hands and see things with our eyes, when we leave our homes and return to our homes.

When are we to worship? All the time!

How does it look to worship in the Spirit? Transformation and Fruit.

“Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the LORD, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the LORD who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, ESV)

The setting of these verses is a discussion about the veil that was over the face of Moses which shielded the Israelites from the glory of God. Through Christ that veil is removed. Through the Spirit we behold the glory of the LORD and we are transformed. The King James version says we are changed “from glory to glory”; an amazing picture of what it means to worship in the Spirit!

The final ten verses of Galatians chapter 5 describe the results of “keeping in step with the Spirit”. Paul gives us this list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That list is an inspiration and a challenge. I want each item listed to come out of me ALL THE TIME. I want the same for you, the same for every Christ follower. If we walk in the Spirit, worship in the Spirit, we will be people of love, people of joy, people of peace. Do you know how irresistible this is? What a witness!

What about worshiping in Truth? Study!

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV)

Paul gives leadership advice to his younger protégé, recommending a deliberate, workmanlike approach to the inspired Word. In place of “Do your best” the King James version uses the word “study”. This is work. Timothy was instructed to meditate on, understand, memorize the teachings of Jesus, Paul’s letters and the Hebrew scriptures. God’s word is an astounding gift to you, to me! You have this treasure on your tablet, your phone and multiple paper copies. You can worship God in truth by studying the truth. Know it, love it, live it!

Mayim Chayim

Fish Eat Fish (Part 2): Runners

Two are better than one,                                                                                                                    because they have a good reward for their toil.                                                                                       For if they fall One will lift up his fellow                                                                                                       But Woe to him who is alone when he falls                                                                                               And has not another to lift him up!                                                                                                  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (ESV)

Finding Nemo features a clown fish named Marlin swimming from the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney Harbor in search of his lost son. He encounters threats along the way from bigger fish looking for a snack. Life in a Fish-Eat-Fish world is tough if you’re the little guy. Marlin is joined by Dory, a bright blue fish with short term memory loss. Despite her handicap, Dory selflessly helps Marlin to successfully reunite with his only son. Imagine sacrificial love in the world of fish.

Tuesday afternoon, August 16, Rio Olympics, women’s 5,000-meter semifinal heat. This was not a high profile race, not on prime time TV. With 5 laps to go there was a tangle in the pack and two runners fell hard on the blue track. Abbey D’Agostino from the USA was up first, reaching out to Nikki Hamblin of NZ. “Get up. Get up. We have to finish this.”

A few steps later Abbey again fell. This time it was Nikki helping her to her feet. Something bigger than the race was happening.

Abbey had injured cartilage in her right knee and completely torn the ACL. Her knee was unstable and incredibly painful, yet she continued around the track – four more laps. She ran a mile with no ACL!  Nikki was there waiting when Abbey crossed the finish line, wrapping her in a hug.

Without a doubt this is one of the lasting images from the Rio Olympics. Not just gold medals and world records, but a girl with a torn ACL coming in last, finishing the race, someone she barely knew helping her get back on her feet and welcoming her across the line.

I had the privilege to sit in a room with a group of deeply committed Christ followers a few weeks ago. We shared stories of urban church plants with uncertain futures, barely seedlings. A common theme expressed was a sense of inadequacy – the task is too large, too complex. My collection of time, energy and ability falls short.

That sense of inadequacy is crucial. It puts me in a position of dependence on God and my church family. When I am not enough, God is able to accomplish the impossible and receive all the glory. He can change situations and change me. A fundamental means by which God fills my individual gaps is through my brothers and sisters. First Corinthians chapter 12 presents a beautiful picture of the church as the body of Christ. ONE body composed of many members.

In this race, you and I are going to fall. I hope you are part of the Body, that someone will help you to your feet and encourage you to finish the race. You might extend that hand of encouragement to your brother and sister. Look ahead, down the track. There is a crowd at the finish line, some you know, some you’ve never met, waiting to hug and celebrate. May we say with Paul:

I have fought the good fight,

I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4:7 ESV)

Fish Eat Fish (part 1)

The Georgia Aquarium is the biggest in the world. The largest tank contains over 6 million gallons of water and houses over 100,000 sea creatures. You can sit in semi-darkness in front of a massive acrylic wall with symphonic music playing and marvel at the 40,000-pound whale shark and the 25-foot wing span of a giant Manta Ray.

The “Tropical Diver” gallery is a Pacific Reef ecosystem with living coral and thousands of brightly colored and oddly shaped fish made famous by Nemo and Dory. Volunteer divers with large toothbrushes enter this aquarium every day, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, and scrub algae from the rocks and windows.

Let’s go below the surface

Creating an environment in which big and small fish can thrive is challenging. The aquarium has complex systems to constantly filter and maintain optimal temperature in all of the tanks. The “Husbandry Commissary” is an on-site factory with fridge and freezer storage totaling over 25,000 pounds of food, mostly fish. Hundreds of employees and volunteers prepare and deliver meals daily for each aquatic species.

If the fish are not adequately fed, they will eat each other!

It’s a ‘Dog-eat-dog’ world, or so the idiom goes. We should change that to a ‘fish-eat-fish’ world, considering that dogs are not among the most cannibalistic of animals. The fish is not man’s best friend, the dog gets the idiom.

There is no grace in nature.

The secular naturalist has trouble with their worldview. It is impossible to explain, from that viewpoint, why anything exists or why any life exists. This incredibly complex and vibrant world packed with diverse and interrelated lifeforms points toward a creator.

The Apostle Paul tells us as much: “For His invisible attributes, namely, His power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, ESV)

We understand much more about the world around us than inhabitants of Rome in the first century. We are so much more without excuse to perceive the existence of our creator. The Georgia Aquarium offers a front row seat to what God imagined into existence – bioluminescent jellyfish, inflatable poisonous puffers, dolphins that name themselves, communicate and sleep with their blowhole above the surface.

You can learn about God through His creation - but don’t take the red line MARTA to Peachtree Center station and walk 10 minutes to the Aquarium every weekend as worship.

Paul speaks to this: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:24-25, ESV)

Nature gives us only general revelation about God. We must look elsewhere for specific revelation. The inspired word tells us what we would have no other way to know. God created a world of freedom, marred by sin. He entered this sphere in the person of Jesus and completed the perfect atoning sacrifice, embodying grace and forgiveness - concepts which do not exist in the world of fish.

The gathering of those who follow Jesus should dramatically contrast with the ‘fish-eat-fish’ world around us. I’ll flesh this out in the next post.

Refugee Team

Yusra Mardini is 18. She is a Syrian Refugee.

This is a story of violence and upheaval stretching through the past couple millennia. From the Amorites to the Arameans, from the Roman era through the Islamic era, Syria has been a place where violent men struggle for power. Generations pass, national identities change, the violence continues.

Civil war has decimated Syria since 2011. At least five groups are fighting to dominate the country. Thugs and criminals in rusty pickup trucks on dusty roads with automatic weapons and grenade launchers who have come to steal and to kill and to destroy.

The human toll is so much more than numbers – about 400,000 killed, over 11 million displaced with a third of those fleeing the country.

Yusra was born in Damascus, raised in a Christian family. Her home was destroyed and her family separated. She and her sister planned their escape. They traveled by land to Lebanon, on to Turkey, then boarded a small boat to cross the Aegean Sea to reach Greece.

Sit with me on this boat, this little Jon boat, barely acceptable in a pond on a calm day. The boat could comfortably hold a couple campers with their tents and gear, there are 20 of us, packed together, muscles constantly tense to maintain position and keep from falling out as we are tossed by the ocean waves. Then there is silence. It takes a few moments to realize the reason – the motor quit. Feel that fear in the pit of your stomach, dread. You’ll have flashbacks to this moment. There is no harbor patrol, no safety net. No one is coming to rescue us. Our bodies will wash up on shore in 5 days.

Yusra and her sister Sarah and two others jumped out of the boat and started swimming, pulling the boat and the 16 people on board. It took 3½ hours to reach the Greek island of Lesvos – the shores of Europe.

Last month, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach announced an unprecedented group to compete in Rio. “These refugees have no home, no team, no flag, no national anthem”. Ten athletes were selected from the Congo, Iran, South Sudan and Syria (Yusra).

Roman persecution brought violence to Jerusalem a short 30 years after Jesus death and resurrection. James, brother of Jesus, was killed. Believers from Jerusalem scattered across the Roman world, driven away by the violence, planting churches in countless new locations. Peter starts his first epistle: “To those who are Elect Exiles of the Dispersion” (1 Peter 1:1).

“And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jepthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets – who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword, they were sent about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted mistreated – of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:32-38, ESV)

As Christ followers, we should feel an immediate connection with this concept of a Refugee team. We have not experienced war, our homes were not destroyed. Our sons were not recruited as soldiers or our daughters taken as slaves. Yet, we come from a place with a lengthy history of violent men struggling for power. We face an enemy who has come to steal, to kill and to destroy. We are on mission, Elect Exiles, through faith grasping the promise of heaven.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_civil_war, accessed 8/7/16
2. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/yusra-mardini-rio-2016-olympics-womens-swimming-the-syrian-refugee-competing-in-the-olympics-who-a7173546.html, accessed 8/7/16
3. http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/06/sport/rio-2016-refugee-team-olympics-syria/, accessed 8/7/16
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusra_Mardini, accessed 8/7/16

Prodigal Son

“Give Me, Make Me” is a four-word outline of the Prodigal Son parable.  You can read the story in Luke 11. It’s the third “lost item” parable in the chapter. Jesus told a story about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son.

“Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me” (Luke 11:12). Picture a father with two adult sons. The Law dictates after the death of the father everything is split. The firstborn son would receive a double share (birthright). In a family with two sons, that means the younger son would receive a third and he wants it now. Does that mean he wants dad dead? Almost.

“Give Me” is the humanistic part of the story. The younger son did not have everything he wanted. I can relate. For me to be happy give me:

·       Crisp khakis and a killer shirt/tie combo

·       Vacation at an all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas

·       An EHR with a self-populating preventive health module

·       50 members and a church building for Regenerate

·       Happy wife and kids

·       Respect and admiration from my coworkers and patients

You might be assembling a short list in your mind. The concept is that we are unfulfilled because we are missing SOMETHING. Maybe it’s education, opportunity, money, time, health – if we had it, we’d be happy.

Our sinful hearts are deceptively wicked: if I had everything on my list, it wouldn’t make me happy. I would want more. Solomon wrote about this in detail in the book of Ecclesiastes. He had access to EVERYTHING under the sun. His conclusion was there was no joy, only an overwhelming pointlessness, vanity, chasing the wind.

Back to Luke 11. The son wanted to travel, to party, to just have a good time.  Until he ran out of money. Hard times came. He ended up pouring coffee for minimum wage at a smelly truck stop, fighting addictions to alcohol and porn, struggling to pay an overpriced rent in an overrated town, lonely every evening and weekend, barely able to afford off-brand hot dogs and beans at Aldi’s.

“Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants”. (Luke 11:18-19)

There is sadness and strange beauty in the release of reaching the end of myself. The problem is not what I don’t have. The problem is ME. I am what is wrong with the world and what is wrong with my life. Slowly, with trepidation, I approach the Father, knowing that I am not worthy to be called His SON, asking him to forgive my sin, give me a new identity, make me what I am not.

And the father comes running! He’s been watching the road EVERY DAY. He wraps his son in the biggest hug. Tears flow. His reaction communicates volumes. The joy is bigger than words!

“This my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 11:24)

-Jim Metzler gave this basic concept (Give me, Make me) in his sermon last Sunday in Oakwood, MD. Thanks!

Family

A cabin in the woods of eastern Ohio.

10 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, assorted couches.

Three generations, 16 adults, 19 kids.

20 burgers, 40 hot dogs, 10 pounds of blueberries.

13 passenger pontoon, ski boat, 2 jet skis.

2 hot days in July.

 I grew up with these people. We shared home, cultural heritage, church, education. We survived multiple moves and a family split. There was a time when supper was a family reunion almost every night of the week. We sat around the wooden table, complained about mama’s cooking and made fun of each other. John moved to Dayton for medical school. Molly worked on her Masters at Wright State. I had a studio apartment in Toledo, attending the Medical College of Ohio. There were still the weekends when everyone was home. Warm chocolate chip cookies on Sunday evening with conversation and laughter around the kitchen table.

Pages turned, chapters ended and began.

We took our turns getting married, moving away and having kids, scattered across 5 states and the District of Columbia. My mom was the last to leave Elida; she sold the house on Carolyn Drive and moved to south Florida.  By the grace of God, each one of us is blooming where we’ve been planted.

I’m approaching 40, building a life and a church in south Florida. My oldest is in high school. Family reunions are more important than ever!

There are hugs and smiles as each sibling and their family arrives. Conversation starts with superficial questions and answers, but fortunately doesn’t stay there. The cousins are ecstatic to see each other; imaginative play and laughter is immediate. Squabbles will begin within a couple hours. The volume gradually increases along with the size of the group.

We truck to the lake, a veritable parade of minivans, and find the marina on the third stop. Lathered heavily in sunblock, we split into groups for 6 hours of assorted water sports.

We clean up for a performance of the life of Christ at the “Living Word Amphitheater”. The outdoor drama is packed with Jesus exact words as recorded in the gospels.

We put our kids to bed and the conversation continues, long past midnight. This is the good stuff: the memories of shared times in the recent and remote past, current life events, hopes and dreams for the next year or ten.

Sunday morning we worship as a family. We sing, share, read the Word and pray. It’s a deeply meaningful time. We know we won’t sit in a circle like this for many months or a year and when we do, somehow we’ll be different. It is our faith that connects us more than the bonds of shared history and demographics.

At the end of Luke 18 is an incredible story. I’ll summarize it. There is so much more in this story to absorb; it warrants a second, third and fourth reading.  Jesus was approached by a wealthy man and asked the secret of eternal life. Jesus listed a few commandments: no adultery, don’t murder or steal, honor your parents. The man responded that he had been fully obedient every day of his life since he was a teen. Jesus didn’t contradict that bold statement, instead he told the man “sell EVERYTHING, give to the poor and follow me”! The rich man was saddened by this. Jesus saw those emotions “It is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to be saved”.

There was a low murmur in the crowd “then who can be saved?”

“What is impossible with man is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

Peter had an egocentric view of the world. I don’t know if you can relate. He was the guy that heard every story in relation to himself. He had a front row seat for everything that just happened none of which was about him, yet he spoke up: “See, we have left our homes and followed you”.

Jesus response was so reassuring.

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Luke 18:29-30, ESV)

Following Jesus takes priority over everything – homes, wealth, relationships, family. Jesus is clear that as we are willing to give these up, we gain so much more RIGHT NOW, and eternal life in the hereafter. Faith is more than blood. As you accept Jesus and walk with him, you are joined with countless others on the same journey. Every time we gather in the name of Jesus is an amazing family reunion; brothers and sisters, united in purpose and love, supporting and caring for each other! You can be part of a Ginormous family, spanning 2,000 years, circling the globe, expressed in small gatherings, each of which is a tiny preview of the glorious marriage supper of the Lamb!

Hello Simon

The first touchscreen phone the world had ever seen was released by IBM in August, 1994. Simon was not just for making calls. With a novel software platform and apps, it could be used as a calendar, address book and note pad. BellSouth sold about 50,000 units in late ’94 and early ’95.

I bet you’ve never heard of Simon.

John the Baptizer was revolutionary! Everything about this guy was unique – his hair, clothes, diet. People walked miles into the wilderness to check him out; many repented and were baptized. The goal of a leader is to develop a following, mentor his own disciples and build a name for himself, right?

The last 15 verses of John 3 tell a story set in the Judean desert. The disciples of the Baptizer point out to John that they have competition. A guy named Jesus is growing in popularity. His disciples are baptizing. People are turning their backs on John and following Jesus. John’s disciples are worried that the crowds will abandon them. They are afraid of obscurity.

The reason you have never heard of Simon is in 2007 another touchscreen phone was released. It was a tool for communication, entertainment, navigation, social networking and more. The iPhone took what Simon introduced and pushed it ahead a generation. The world was irreversibly changed - how many times a day do you check your smartphone?

We can pull four points out of the response that the Baptizer had to Jesus. First: everything we are and have is a gift from above (John 3:27). 1 Corinthians 4:7 is a parallel passage. We are stewards. Grateful for what we’ve received, we invest our time, talents and treasure for the Kingdom of God.

The second point John makes is that he is SENT (John 3:28). The one who is sent is a representative of the sender. Imagine Pony Express riders in 1861 carrying Lincoln’s inaugural address to the west coast. What an incredible privilege to participate in delivering that message! Young men raced west with the priceless text, passing the Mochila from horse to horse. They were sent. John the Baptizer was sent. You and I are sent. Carry the message!

John identifies himself as a “friend of the groom” (John 3:29). This is something like being the best man. I’m sure we lose context because weddings were a whole different celebration 2,000 years ago. His point is that this special day is all about the bride and groom. Jesus described himself as the groom and the church as his bride. The groom is here; our joy is complete!

“He MUST increase and I MUST decrease” (John 3:30). John the Baptizer lived only to pave the way for Jesus, the Savior of the world. His own reputation was secondary. What if the designers of Simon hoped for every American to have the power of the internet in a pocket sized shape with an all-day battery? Those designers would have rejoiced that they could be a precursor to the iPhone. They would have exulted in its success, regardless of the fact that their device was forgotten.

Humility is being focused on something outside myself, a greater purpose worth living and dying for. There is no greater purpose than serving in this kingdom - participating in the rule and reign of king Jesus.

Exercise

You should exercise. You should exercise more.

Physical inactivity is considered to be one of the leading causes of “preventable” cardiac death. This is a misnomer; it should be “delayable” cardiac death. The typically cited exercise target is 30 minutes per day at least 5 days every week – 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise weekly. According the AAFP Journal (6/1/16) only 5% of American adults achieve recommended exercise levels.

I ask my patients if they exercise. The responses often include:

       “I know I should exercise more” (sheepish grin)

“I used to be really active”

“I’m going to get back into that again”

“I have a membership in a gym, I just need to start going”

“I just don’t have time for that right now”

“With my (insert medical problem) I just can’t”

“I tried that, it didn’t work for me”

I could get almost identical answers by asking: “How is your walk with Jesus?” 

The first three responses hint at guilt. I’m not sure guilt is the best way to motivate change – either to exercise more or to pursue a spiritual walk with more passion.

Comparison with the majority is incredibly common. It is, however, immaterial to determining truth. There is not absolute safety in standing with the 95% just as there is not absolute safety in standing against 95% of the population. What is popular and the path of wisdom are unrelated concepts.

Owning an elliptical trainer or having a membership at LA Fitness does not make you healthy. You have to get on the machine, you have to log gym time. The spiritual parallel is having multiple Bibles in your home and a church affiliation. That’s great! Or not so great if you never open the Bible, rarely attend the church and don’t walk in fellowship and accountability with the family of believers.

The last three responses above hint at lack of motivation to change. Life is busy. It’s hard to pay the bills, maintain the marriage, engage with the kids, participate in community. There are a host of legitimate reasons that exercise is difficult – hot weather, unsafe neighborhood, back pain, foot pain, shortness of breath. People tell me about weeks or months of regular exercise that did not produce weight loss or perceptible improvement in depression or myofascial pain. This leads to discouragement – it didn’t work, it’ll never work.

Busy – you still find time to do what’s important – like eating.

Excuses – you can solve this one. There is a way. I promise.

Futility – I’d like to change your goals, how you define success and failure. You won’t lose weight. Not much. It’ll be slow and after a couple years you’ll be down 10 or 20 pounds. Your back pain won’t improve. Or maybe it improves a little, or maybe you get used to it, or maybe you think more about taking that walk than about how much your back hurts.

The data shows there is benefit in exercising MORE and LESS than 150 minutes per week. If you are not active and you start with 5 minutes per day – that’s beneficial. If you already bike 30 minutes most days of the week, you’ll still benefit from an extra 5 minutes.  If you exercise on a regular basis you will feel better and live longer!

Whatever your level of Spiritual maturity, intentional effort will lead to growth. Pray 5 minutes in the car. Subscribe to a sermon podcast. Read a chapter a day. Get (more) involved in your local body of believers. Exercise your spiritual muscles; invest in eternity.

Universalism

Engage

Let’s say you live in Broward County. You check your SunPass and jump on the turnpike headed south. You loop around Miami and exit at Route 41 west, suburban sprawl disappears in the distance behind you. It’s hard to tell how fast you’re moving because the road stretches to the horizon- a dotted yellow line, a canal on your right, occasional signs for airboat operators.

A half mile before the Miccosukee Indian Village you turn left into Shark Valley. It’s free because 2016 is the hundredth anniversary of our national parks. You find a parking spot and hop out of the car, a little stiff from the 75-minute drive. The heat greets you. It’s seven miles to the end of the path, almost perfectly straight, might as well start walking.

It’s about 100 degrees, very humid, quiet, no breeze. As far as you can see in all directions the landscape is completely flat; sawgrass swamp spotted with occasional trees. Nothing moves. The further you walk the more everything looks the same. You wonder why the Everglades are known around the world, why anyone would travel to see this place, why you traveled to see this place.

Early explorers echoed these sentiments: “My advice is to urge every discontented man to take a trip through the Everglades. If it doesn’t kill him, it will certainly cure him.”

The Everglades first National Park superintendent described his park as “lonely distances, intricate and monotonous waterways, birds, sky and water.” (1)

Why are you here? There is emptiness, nothing to see or do, monotony to the horizon. Or not.

The opposite of boredom is engagement.

Stand still for a minute on that path in Shark Valley, ½ mile from the parking lot. You can feel the slightest breeze stirring the grass, you hear the croak of the frogs, a hawk circles in the distance, a blue heron glides down, lands and starts fishing, a turtle head pokes out of the canal. You notice the grass has been flattened, a narrow path down the bank to the water, you see black at the water’s edge – a motionless alligator!

Truth is, this place is brimming with life! It’s an incredibly unique ecosystem which is found nowhere else on the planet. You could spend years studying plant and animal life, water flow and how this fragile balance has been affected by human encroachment.

There are moments in which it’s hard to tell what direction you’re headed or if you’re moving at all. Engage with your surroundings. You’ll find there is life, activity and excitement beneath the surface. You are right where you are supposed to be. The trip was worth it. The real adventure is beginning!

1. Quotes are both from "The Swamp", Michael Grunwald, Simon and Schuster, 2006

Spirit/Wind

It’s an incredible day in South Florida!

I wrote a post 2 weeks ago: “Born Again”. There are two applications of this concept which are worth repeating. First, prior to being born again we are NOT alive in the kingdom of heaven. Second, this new birth happens TO US, we are not responsible for the process or the results.

That second point was a bit sticky for Nicodemus (Let’s call him ‘Nick’). Nick was afraid of a two repercussions of this concept. We often share those fears.

If we have made good choices, we want to be acknowledged. If I’m a good father, a good husband, a good doctor – does that matter? Nick’s whole life centered around knowing and practicing God’s law. Surely he would get some credit toward entry into the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus helps us understand this with a story in Luke 9. He described two men going to the temple to pray – a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee looks up toward heaven, expresses gratitude for all his good works; he thanks God that he is NOT like the sinful tax collector. This is pride.

One of the first steps in the pathway to relationship with God is recognizing that I am lost, broken and alone. Nothing good has ever come out of me. The tax collector from Luke 9 beat on his chest, bowed his head to the ground and whispered “God be merciful to me, a sinner”.

He went home justified.

Nick had a second concern: could someone claim to be “born again” and yet continue a sinful life? What does it mean to be Regenerate?

Jesus used the same Greek word,“Pneuma”, for both “wind” and “spirit”. To be “born again” is to be born of the Spirit, to be filled with the Spirit/Wind. We cannot control the wind. We cannot deny it’s effect. The flag flutters and the palm tree bends – it’s windy. At 3 in the afternoon, there is a stillness in the 95-degree heat, the flag hangs limp and the palm tree is motionless – there is no wind and reasonable people retreat to the sanctuary of air conditioning.

The flag and the palm do not control the wind; they undeniably show its’ effect. When we are born again the Spirit does a work of regeneration inside us and the effect will be undeniable. Perhaps small, barely perceptible, growing into a hurricane!

Born Again

Do what?!

Nicodemus was shocked!

“Surely you don’t mean I’m supposed to return to the womb?”

The unconventional teacher had answered the question that Nicodemus had not asked, had not thought that he needed to ask.

Let’s backtrack.

Nicodemus was a Jewish ruler, a leader in the temple. He had seen Jesus knocking over tables and driving animals out of the temple courts. He had heard the promise to destroy “this temple” and raise it in 3 days. There were murmurings among the Pharisees about this peculiar threat to the temple system. Some even suggested violence.

Nicodemus was a mixture of curiosity and doubt. He wanted to believe but didn’t know what to believe. He was worried that believing would change EVERYTHING. He took his questions to Jesus. You should too.

We pick up the story in the third chapter of the gospel as recorded by John. Nicodemus came to Jesus under cover of darkness, anonymity. That’s ok, at least he came. Nicodemus addressed Jesus respectfully and stated that he thought Jesus was a really good teacher, sent from God.

There was a pause.

“Unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

I think Nicodemus was shocked because he was basically a professional at doing good. He just about lived in the temple, memorized all the rules, checked every box. He did not fully understand this concept of a Kingdom of Heaven, but he didn’t come to Jesus to gain entrance – he thought he was already in. Do we come to Jesus for self-improvement?  For fine-tuning?

So what about being born again?

Before you are born you don’t exist. Prior to being born spiritually, you are not in the kingdom of heaven. That can sound offensive or exclusive. Truth is exclusive.

In this birth analogy you are a helpless passenger, taking no credit. Nicodemus found it impossible to believe that all of the good deeds he had done, the countless sacrifices, added up to less than the value of a mosquito smeared on a windshield.

Don’t we gain entry to the Kingdom of Heaven by doing what is right?

Nope.

So I’m saved through faith in Jesus Christ and nothing else?

Absolutely!

But what about doing the right thing? What if I’m a profane, hateful, racist, violent man, yet claim to have faith in Christ Jesus?

Let me give you a couple answers. First, Paul clears this up for us in the first ten verses of Ephesians chapter 2. Second, Jesus addressed this with Nicodemus in the next few verses of John chapter 3. Stay tuned, I’ll try to write a post about it next week.

Prayer

What joy to call you “Abba, Father”!  I can boldly stand in your presence, with and because of Jesus who also called you “Father”.

May your name be above all, revered and worshiped.  May your greatness be ever more recognized and praised. We acknowledge you as perfect.  You are the standard of what is right, what is good, what is loving. 

We struggle to grasp your greatness.  Help us to reflect your love, kindness and goodness in each point of contact today.  May our location be a place in which Your name reigns supreme; a small part of your kingdom, realized in vague shadow here on earth, becoming complete and eternal reality in heaven. 

Your will is inevitable, inescapable.  You breathed the Universe into existence. You keep track of every sub-atomic particle. Could we even think to deny You?  Could anything in this time and space thwart Your plans?  And yet, we are grateful to participate as agents of bringing about your will.  We enthusiastically seek to know You and follow. 

We are hungry, always hungry. We have only brief moments during which our appetites are somewhat satiated. May the emptiness in our stomachs point toward the emptiness in our souls.  We ask you to provide what we need this day- bread, clothing, energy, health.  We know that we cannot provide for ourselves and revel in our dependency and Your sufficiency.

We ask that we would walk today in awareness of our sin. We are undeserving, yet through Jesus You have made a way for us to be forgiven, to become spotless. The miraculous flood of grace washes over and through us; it streams outward to others.  We are channels of forgiveness.

There are opponents within and without.  We are depraved from birth.  Every natural impulse is sinful, an act of rebellion against our loving Creator.  The deceiver is without, the destroyer, the enemy of all human flourishing and joy.  His strength is immense but finite.  We ask that you would bring about regeneration, new life within us.  We ask for victory over the wickedness in our hearts and eagerly anticipate the final defeat of the enemy.

Your greatness stands outside of us.  It is not because of our worship that you are great.  The delicate white petals of a cactus bloom, the purple tinged sunset, the grandeur of the ocean – they all point to the reality of Your existence.  The brightness of the sun is but a speck in the immensity of our solar system.  And you, our Father, are infinitely brighter than the billions of galaxies that glitter where you placed them.  You know each of our names, our thoughts and you love us.  It is because of Your greatness that we worship!

Fig Tree

“I saw you under the Fig Tree”

This is not my fig tree, it’s an image retrieved from Google. It’s not my fig tree literally or figuratively, but we’ll get to that.

Jesus looked Nathaniel in the eye, warmly clasped his hand and with a slight smile said “I saw you under the fig tree”.  There doesn’t seem to be anything remarkable in that statement.  It gives context, location, background.  I might meet someone and comment about having seen them walking in the park or playing with their grandkids on our block.

When Jesus met Nathaniel and mentioned the fig tree there was definitely more going on.  We can tell because of Nathaniel’s response.  He dropped to his knees, an awed expression on his face.  Looking up at Jesus he said: “You are the Son of God, you are the King of Israel”!

How did Jesus statement about the fig tree convince Nathaniel of his divinity?  One idea is that the fig tree was the place where Nathaniel worshiped, prayed and studied.  His house was small and hot; he would go outside and sit in the shade to read and pray.  The rhythm of each day, the rhythm of Nathaniel’s life centered around those times under the fig tree.  Jesus was telling Nathaniel: in those moments with the Word – you were looking for me and I saw you.  Nathaniel instantly grasped that standing in front of him, clad in flesh, was the Messiah, the fulfillment of the scriptures.

My phone buzzes at 5:30AM.  There is a little spot where my middle daughter does her home school. It’s a chair, a desk and a lamp.  It’s a place to study the word of God, to think, to learn, to pray.  It’s a place to meet with the risen Christ, to see Jesus.  This is my Fig Tree.

What’s yours?

Cleansing the Temple

He bent over, knotting the cords together, feeling their rough, dirty texture.  The heat from the courts pressed against his skin.  A single drop of sweat spotted the dust.  A cacophony of men and animals washed over him – the shouts and haggling, the clink of money, the bleating and braying of sheep and cattle.

The anger rose in him, a rush of thoughts and feelings that pushed awareness of everything else to the periphery of his existence.  This was his Father’s house; this was His house. It was open to all nations, all peoples. This was a place of worship, a place of peace, a place of prayer.

He straightened up, gripping the tangled cords, overwhelmed by how wrong it all was.  And then he was running, swinging the whip, shouting, lashing the animals and driving them toward the east gate.  A table was in his way and he knocked it over, money clanging to the stones.  He had everyone’s attention now.   There were cries of protest. 

He was breathing heavily when he paused.  A strange silence had descended upon the court.  Three Jewish temple leaders were rapidly invading his personal space, their faces dark with anger.  He could see the rich cloth of their robes and smell the expensive oil they used on their beards.   They disgusted him.

“Upon whose authority do you do this?” Their words were clipped, harsh.

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it”.  His response sounded irrelevant and foolish. 

“Look, it took thousands of men 46 years to build what we see today.  You’re going to rebuild it in three days?”  Preposterous!  Pathetic.  They would have felt sorry for him if they weren’t so angry.

He was talking about his body.   He was talking about himself.  They would kill him. Not today, but they would.  In two years these men would tear apart his body and throw the broken, lifeless flesh in a cave to rot.

And on the third day He would rise.

His Story

The groom had a name.  He was tall, dark haired with a quick smile.  He had worked hard for the past year, built a home, saved money, always looking forward to this day, this week, of celebration. 

His beloved had a name, the slender, demure beauty by his side.  They had been true to each other through the year of betrothal.  She had planned this event – the location, the guests, the food and drink, the entertainment.  They agreed that she had planned it perfectly.

The mother of one of the guests had a name.  She was widowed, approaching 50 with wisps of gray hair and an observant eye.  She noticed the wine was almost gone.  Ending a wedding celebration on the third day would be unheard of - would reflect poorly on the bride and her groom, both of their families, even their whole village.

The servants had names. It was more about a paycheck than a party to them.  They filled the glasses and the plates, moving quickly and quietly.  They knew exactly how much food and drink had been consumed.  They had been hoping to work a full week with this event but clearly the drink wouldn’t last until the end of the day. 

“Do what he says.”  The gray haired widow commanded the servants, she gestured towards her son.  They filled the large pots, each of the three servants making 6 trips to the well, bringing in almost 200 gallons of water.  One of the servants filled a cup and headed for the front of the room.

The Master of the Ceremony had a name.   He was middle aged, bearded, always cheerful.  He was a leader in the synagogue, in the town.   He spoke with the voice of the community.  He took the cup and drank deeply, tipping it up.  There was an authoritative thud as the empty cup landed on the table.  A wide smile creased his lined face.

Jesus has a name.  He enters this story when asked by his mother.  He meets the need, saves the day, almost anonymously.  You know this story.  You know it well. You can read it in John chapter 2. 

You and I have names, we have stories.  We have times of joyful celebration.  We live through seasons in which our best is not enough and we look outward and upward for help.  Each of us naturally sees the story as being about us.  And yet, the question is not how Jesus fits into our story, rather how we fit into His.

Escalator

The escalator is going down.

When I was a kid I thought it was fun to try to go up the down escalator.   I’d wait for the moment that the escalator was empty and pounce! My legs would churn, my siblings would laugh, my mother would cringe.  And yell.   It takes double the effort to ascend a descending escalator.   If you pause for a moment, you’re moving the wrong direction.

Life is the down escalator.  Cultural drift, inertia, media, the evil in your own heart – all are pulling you the wrong direction.  You cannot stand still. If you relax for a moment, you’re losing ground.   It takes double the effort to ascend.

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Tim 3:12-13).

I might have convinced you that this figurative escalator is real.  I don’t know if I can convince you to join me in trying to climb it.  Why the effort?  Why look so silly?  Why go against cultural drift, against our very nature? 

Toward the end of the first chapter of John, Jesus finds Philip and offers him an invitation “Follow Me”.  That same invitation is open to you.  It’s so worth it – come and see.

A Seedling

I watched Matt Damon in “The Martian” on a flight from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale three weeks ago.  Here is the setup – a sudden and violent storm causes a team of astronauts on Mars to abruptly abort their mission and evacuate.  Watney, one of the astronauts, is literally blown away, injured, left behind, presumed dead. 

He regains consciousness some hours later and realizes that he is alone.  After treating his injuries, Watney assesses the immense task of surviving a year or two on Mars.  Survival requires food.  He brings in loads of dirt and spreads it out, fertilizes it, waters it and waits.

One morning Watney enters the greenhouse chamber of the Mars Module and is greeted with little spots of green – seedlings emerging from the dirt!  The scene is an emotional high point, excitement and optimism abound.

A seedling is little more than potential.  It has no fruit.  It is small and fragile.  Yet the seedling is crucial, it is proof that something has happened beneath the surface.  It points forward to production of food which will sustain Watney in a completely alien environment until he can be rescued.

The Regenerate logo has a seedling in the middle of it.   Something has happened deep inside, we have been made into a new creation.  There is external evidence of that internal change.  There might not be much fruit yet.  It will come.  We will water and wait. 

Excitement and optimism abound!