What Are You Doing Here?

This past Sunday we continued our Questions GOD Asks Us message series (visit www.cokeschapel.org to watch the sermon online). This week’s question was posed by God to Elijah in 1 Kings 19.1-13. Elijah was nearing burnout. He had met an enormous challenge at Mt Carmel and defeated the 450 prophets of Baal. He knew Jezebel was out for his life, so he ran. It wasn’t that he was afraid to die, but he didn’t want to die at Jezebel’s hand; he, therefore, found a tree, prayed for GOD to come get him, and fell asleep. Twice, Elijah was awakened with a meal to help replenish his energy for the task that was ahead of him. 40 days and nights later, Elijah is in a cave on Mount Horeb where he has an encounter with the Lord.

The bible text tells us that Elijah experienced some extreme natural phenomena – hurricane force winds, a major earthquake, and a blazing fire – but GOD was not in those elements. GOD, did, however, appear in a whisper. Whispers are interesting things, aren’t they? Whether we speak softly to keep from being heard or to emphasize a really important point, a whisper requires us to do a couple things: (1) quit rushing around; (2) be quiet; and (3) get closer to the one being spoken to.

In life, and especially in our modern day culture, it is getting harder and harder to hear a whisper. It seems we are in a state of perpetual motion, running hither and yon. It also seems we fill the silence of life with all kinds of noises from televisions, radios, smart phones, et cetera. And the more we live for self, the further away from GOD we move.

In Elijah’s case, his frenetically paced ministry had him on the run. He was constantly moving, preaching, and working to convict Israel of their wayward behavior. But the more he did, he just became more aware of everyone else’s lack of faithfulness. Elijah felt all alone in his struggle. He lost perspective, and this caused him to cry out to GOD, saying, “I’ve been working my heart out for God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I’m the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me.”

GOD then asked Elijah, “What are you doing here?” I really don’t think GOD meant to ask Elijah that question from a proximity point of view, but to find out how he was able to lose GOD’s perspective. Later, in v.18, GOD tells Elijah that there are still 7,000 people who have not bowed their knee to Baal, and Elijah was to go meet up with them and keep proclaiming the goodness of GOD. But to be able to hear that message, Elijah had to slow down, get quiet, and come closer to GOD.

That is a lesson that is important for all of us. We are inclined to think that GOD speaks mainly through violent winds, quaking earth, and blazing flame, but I think most often, when God wants to get our attention, He speaks to us in the silent whisper. In order for us to hear Him, we must get still, get quiet, and get close to the Lord…then, we are better able to hear the voice of GOD speaking into our lives and calling us forward!

Just like in the case of Elijah, there are thousands of people around us who are receptive to an invitation to a relationship with the Lord. If we are constantly running around, flapping our gums, and going in our own way, we will not be able to meet people where they are. As GOD asks us each and every one – What are you doing here? – we must get still, quiet, and close to be able to hear GOD speak so we know what He wants us to do next.

As we get closer to Easter and the celebration of GOD’s victory of evil and death, I want to encourage you to learn from the lesson of Elijah from 1 Kings 19…may you get still, silent, and close to GOD! He has great things in store for you and great things in store for our church! By getting still, silent, and closer to GOD, He will reveal to you the glorious things in store for you!

So, may you get slow, silent, and close to GOD. It will definitely make a difference in your life!

Thawing A Frozen Life

The Disney movie, “Frozen”, has taken the world by storm. It is a beautiful story of love, grace, mercy, and reconciliation.

The Oscar winning song from the film, “Let It Go,” has been belted out by young and old and inspired many – young ladies, in particular – to let go of others' expectations and be themselves in a cold hard world. Despite the inspiring nature of the song, it has drawn some criticism from some, because the character who sings the song, Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, ends up living alone in isolation, thinking it is what is best to protect other people from herself. This leaves her living a life, at least for a period of time, which is truly cold, hard, and frozen. 

Something that strikes me is where the song occurs in the story – it's really pretty early for what we might hear and think of as the heart of the movie. Now as Elsa was singing, her icy creations became beautiful when she was no longer encumbered by others' expectations and attempts at control. The fact that this drove her into isolation is unfortunate, but thankfully there is Anna!

Anna, even after being “wounded” and seemingly betrayed, refused to give up on her sister, Elsa. She gives us a great example of love, forgiveness, and mercy. Her determination to go after and restore her sister is a great allusion to James 5.19-20: “My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.” I think Anna's pursuing of Elsa is a powerful example of how God relentlessly pursues us, even in our frozen waywardness.

The end scene where we see Anna's supposedly final act of love – sacrificing herself for her sister – is extraordinary. Finally we see in a Disney movie that true love isn’t revealed in a first kiss, but in selfless and merciful love. As Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5.6-8)

In the beginning of the film, “letting go” is about narcissistic independence, erroneously thinking that the only way Elsa could be herself is in lonely isolation. The ultimate message of the film, though, (at least in my opinion) is Anna’s willingness to “let go” of her life in order to save her sister. Anna is a Christ figure! Just like Jesus said in John 10.14-18, he is the good shepherd who willingly surrenders his life in order to save his own.

While the movie seems to focus on Elsa’s icy powers, the ultimate power in the story is Anna’s sacrificial love. She took on the “curse” from another, sacrificing her life, and because of that love, Elsa, and everyone in Arendelle, was saved! The winter ended, frozen hearts were thawed, and relationships restored. And if that wasn't enough, the one who caused the problems in the first place – Elsa – was able to use her gifts to bring joy to everyone. Powerful!

One last comment from Scripture: “Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (2 Corinthians 5.16-21)

May the love of God, and the love of others, help thaw our frozen lives so we can see new life burgeon all around us!

What Is Your Name?

Last Sunday we continued our Questions GOD Asks Us message series and we explored the question GOD asked Jacob, “What is your name?” (Genesis 32.27)

The back story is up to that point, Jacob had lived a life of deception. His name literally meant “heel holder” – because when he was born, he emerged holding his brother Esau’s heel – but it had come to mean cheat and deceiver. Jacob became wealthy and prominent through his deceptive actions; he cheated his father, his brother, and his father-in-law. One could wonder how much all this deception burdened Jacob throughout this life, but on the night before he knew he was to reunite with his brother, there is no doubt that burden was heavy.

Jacob was scared. He feared for his life, his family, and his property, evidenced by how he sent them ahead. Jacob then went down to the bank of the Jabbok River where he was engaged in a wrestling match that would change his life. Apparently Jacob was skilled in the ways of wrestling. I am sure he wrestled a lot internally with who he was and what he had done. I am also quite sure he had wrestled with God as he prepared to meet up with Esau. So as he steeled himself to meet back up with his brother, he had some work to do.

The Genesis account tells us that “the man” was not able to get the better of Jacob. Imagine this like a sort of draw. So “the man” wrenched Jacob’s hip, leaving him to walk with a limp the rest of his life. In the midst of his mightiest struggle, the cheater had been cheated. But from God’s point of view, this was not the kind of cheating that evaded defeat, but ensured victory…Jacob’s ultimate victory!

It might seem like God should have the ability to “win” the decision in any match, but maybe a victory in this sense looks a bit different from a standing 10-count. Maybe, just maybe, God wanted Jacob to sort through his feelings, admit his exhaustion in the ongoing struggle, and find a victory that overcame his past. As Jacob’s wrestling match seemed like a draw, Jacob asked for a blessing, and it was then that God asked Jacob his name. At that moment, Jacob had to come face-to-face with who and what he had become. Jacob had to confess his past, his short-comings, his cheating, and his deception. There in that struggle, I get the image that God had Jacob on his knees, giving him the ability to find victory in surrender…not the kind of surrender that assures defeat in the match, but ensures victory in life! God gave Jacob his new name, Israel, and set him on a path that would enable God to keep His promise to Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham. A new identity…a new future…a new name…Jacob, thanks to his wrestling, had a new life!

In God’s ongoing struggle with us to help us become more like Jesus, we will face all kinds of problems, but the promise is they will not undo us. We might end up walking with a limp, but like Jacob, that limp can help remind us with each and every step that God’s love is the ultimate force in creation. (See Romans 8.31-39)

God is working to make us like Jesus, but chances are we are wrestling with Him in that process. When we surrender our worn-out and dead-end lives to God, He fills us with His love and shows us the blessings of the new creation He makes of us (2 Corinthians 5.17). First, you must come face-to-face with what you have become and embrace the hope that the Lord has in store for you. No matter what your name might have come to mean, God wants to give you the blessing of knowing that it is now, beloved child of God. Once you were wayward, but God wants you to experience the blessing of knowing you are His, bought with a price, because of His incredible love. The Father in heaven, claiming you as His own, forgiving you of your past, promising you a new future, and forming a new identity. Praise the Lord!

So, what is your name?

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

(1 John 3:1)

What is that in Your Hand?

This past Sunday we continued our “Questions that GOD Asks Us” message series and I taught from Moses at the burning bush and the questions he was asked by GOD: “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2) You can watch it by clicking here.

GOD was calling Moses to the mighty task of leading His people out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. This calling terrified Moses. He did not feel he was up to the task and began making excuses for why he wasn’t the one best suited for the task.

My guess is we can probably relate to Moses. When GOD asks us to do something, we tend to offer up a whole host of excuses to why we are not the best candidate. Some of the most common excuses are: I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough energy. I don’t know enough about the Bible. I don’t play well with others. I think you catch my drift.

Something to bear in mind, though, as we think about our lives with the Lord, is He is going to call us to a GOD-sized task. Let’s face it…this can be terrifying! It calls us out of our comfort zones and challenges to make an honest assessment of who we are and what we are capable of doing. But if this is where we stop, we are limiting GOD’s power by our lack of faith.

I can hardly imagine how intimidating GOD’s call to Moses must have felt. Moses knew about life in Egypt and he knew he was a marked man for killing the Egyptian taskmaster. Moses knew about shepherding and leading animals while working for his father-in-law, and how difficult that can be at times. And I am sure that while Moses spent time in the fields with the animals, he had an opportunity to spend time with GOD. Looking back in hindsight, it is certainly easy to see why GOD chose Moses; his experience and character made him a unique candidate to go to Pharaoh’s court, proclaim GOD’s message, and lead GOD’s people through the wilderness to the Promised Land. Moses problem, though, was he was too focused on himself and could only sense his limitations.

When GOD asked his question of Moses – “What is that in your hand?” – GOD wanted Moses to make a serious assessment of what it was he carried with him as he went back to Egypt. Sure, it was a simple shepherd’s staff, but GOD illustrated that it was an instrument by which Moses would accomplish GOD’s wonders and liberate an entire nation. The Lord was behind this GOD-sized task and He wanted Moses to be assured that as He went into Egypt, he was under GOD’s power and protection.

In addition to his staff, I taught in our message about three other things that Moses carried with him. These are things that you and I can access as well today. They are: (1) our abilities – those things GOD has created you to do; (2) our experiences – our life history, good and bad, that can help us relate to others; and (3) our inadequacies – this might seem a bit odd, but bear with me. GOD wants us to know that our inadequacies provide the room for GOD to move; otherwise, we would be inclined to think that we complete our GOD-sized task by our own strength, stamina and savvy.

All of us have been called to a GOD-sized task that would be doomed to failure if the Lord wasn’t behind it. We have our abilities, experiences, and inadequacies to help us realize confidence, relate to others, and rely on GOD’s power, protection, and provision. What we must learn to do then is turn our excuses into expressions of faith! This is when we say, “I can’t” while acknowledging “GOD can!”

May you bring your impossible to the One who can make it possible; may you turn your excuses into expressions of faith; and may you know that when you tackle your GOD-sized faith, the Lord is the One who gives you the power and protection of His holy presence!

I look forward to seeing you Sunday when we continue our series exploring our next question, “What is your name?”

Where Is Your Brother?

Last Sunday we continued our Questions GOD Asks Us message series pondering the question GOD asked of Cain in Genesis 4.9: “Where is your brother?” You can read the entire account of Cain, Able, and GOD by clicking here.

This question is asked just after Cain’s murder of Abel. The context is that Cain and Abel both brought offerings to GOD. Cain, who worked the ground, and Abel, who worked with animals, both brought gifts according to their trade. The Bible reports that Cain brought his fruit, but Abel brought his firstlings. GOD preferred Abel’s offering over Cain’s, which infuriated the older brother. Moses is giving us a clue as to what happened here. When we make an offering to GOD, He wants our best, not the rest. So as we read that Cain gave fruit, but Abel gave the firstlings, we see that Abel gave his best, while Cain gave the rest. This is why GOD held Abel’s offering in higher regard than Cain’s.

GOD could see Cain’s attitude shift and this concerned Him, prompting him to give Cain a poignant warning as noted in verse 7: “…sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.”As the Lord saw Cain’s attitude shift, He knew that the enemy was at work in Cain, hence the warning. Satan was looking for a foothold, and Cain gave him two: (1) by not giving GOD his best, and (2) by allowing his anger to burn out of control. As Cain spiraled downward, the devil saw his opening and he took it.

We can certainly identify with this, can’t we? Something bad happens to us and then it seems like all you-know-what breaks loose. This isn’t GOD fault…GOD has given us the warnings, as well as the disciplines (things like prayer, worship, study, etc) to combat the tools of the enemy. Cain didn’t heed GOD’s warning, though, and verse 8 tells us that he led Abel out into the field to commit his remediated malice murder.

Much like with Adam and Eve, GOD gave Cain the opportunity to come clean and confess his sin as He asked our focus question, “Where is your brother?” Personally, I am struck by the arrogance in Cain’s answering GOD’s question with another question: “Am I my brother’s keeper?” In the Biblical language, the word Cain used for “keeper” refers to the work of a shepherd or other husbandry professional. Essentially, as Cain asks GOD his question, he is referring to Abel as an animal, essentially dehumanizing him to help rationalize his sinful and violent behavior.

This is something else to which we can likely relate. When we are hurt or angered with someone, we often times take it out in safer places. Cain was really angry with GOD for not regarding his offering, and he was probably angrier with himself for not giving GOD his best. Cain decided not to act out against GOD or enter into penitent reflection and repentance, but decided to eradicate his rival.

This is a powerful story about sin and our susceptibility to it, and as we read it, we, too, might wonder how much responsibility we have for others. I believe GOD’s question presupposes that we do have responsibility for others. This does not absolve us of personal responsibility for our decisions, actions, and inactions, but we have a responsibility to help support others and hold them account to GOD’s standard. This also becomes a powerful protection against the sin that lurks at the door for us. So as we reflect over GOD’s warning to Cain in verse 7, we also get a model for how we can work with others when we see them entering a downward spiral.

We all have witnessed it – a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, etc who begins spiraling out of control as a result of sin. GOD’s caution to Cain gives an example to follow about warning people not to give in to the power of sin. It also gives us an example to follow in offering grace to people when they do fall.

So as we look back to our focus question for this lesson – Where is your brother?  -- it is prudent for us to not just think in terms of where he/she might be located, but also in proximity to the snare of sin. If you see your brother heading down a dangerous path, hold him to account and help him deal with the problems he is facing. If he still chooses to act badly, that’s on him, but you still have the responsibility to show grace in the face of sin, which leads me to my last point.

This episode did not necessarily change Cain, because when GOD pronounced His judgment on Cain, Cain remained self-centered worrying about himself, but GOD shows grace and promised to protect Cain. This proves the preeminence of grace, which is always greater than all our sin.

Where is your brother? Is there someone in your life who needs to be warned about sin lurking at the door of his or her heart? Has someone you know succumbed to temptation and sinned? Then he or she needs the power of grace to help overcome sin’s treachery. Paul says it this way: “But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can do is threaten us with death, and that’s the end of it. Grace, because God is putting everything together again through the Messiah, invites us into life—a life that goes on and on and on, world without end.” (Romans 5.20-21, The Message)

May this be our strength and comfort in the face of sin. May it be our compulsion to help our neighbor when we see him or her spiraling out of control. And when we fall, because we all will, may we be changed by the power of love and grace.

Have a great rest of the week and I hope you'll join us Sunday as we explore our next question, "What is that in your hand?"

Ash Wednesday

Today, Wednesday March, 5^th is Ash Wednesday; the annual “celebration” in the church that marks the beginning of Lent. Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads as a reminder of human mortality and as a sign of repentance to GOD. Ashes were used in the Bible as a way to show mourning and reliance on GOD; for example, the prophet Daniel said, “I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes (Daniel 9:3).” As we gather for Ash Wednesday worship tonight, we will celebrate with the imposition of ashes as we remember from dust we came and to dust we will return. This recollection of our mortality places us in the correct posture, if you will, by which to prepare for Easter through the season of Lent.

Lent lasts 40 days (six weeks, excluding Sundays) and it is to remind us of the time Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan (see Luke 4.1-11). This is a time when Jesus fasted, prayed, and spent time alone with GOD the Father to help prepare Him for His public ministry. And it was a good thing, too, because according to Luke, as soon as Jesus came out of the wilderness, He faced rejection in His own hometown! It was that time in the wilderness that helped Jesus get His heart and mind aligned with GOD’s so He could follow through faithfully with His holy task.

The season of Lent calls us into a similar time of preparation. Christians are called to prepare primarily by praying, fasting, and giving. Prayer might seem self explanatory, but I think that the prayer Jesus used in the desert is different from the way many of us pray today. We often run to GOD with a wish list of things we would like for Him to do for us, and then we’re quickly on our way. For Jesus, however, prayer was something that was far more about the position and condition of His heart. Jesus spent weeks upon weeks praying for guidance, listening for answers, and just finding His heart centered in GOD. During this year’s Lent, I would like to encourage you to try something a little different in your prayer life – as opposed to just taking a wish list to GOD, spend some time sharing with Him the things going on in your heart, but provide time to listen for the voice of GOD. This can be a challenge, because we don’t do too well sitting still and listening with so many welcomed distractions, so spend this Lent trying something new in your prayer life.

Another aspect of Lenten discipline is fasting. Fasting sounds awful daunting to many, – and it can be – but there are different degrees of fasting you can practice. Instead of doing like Jesus did and fasting from food and water for six-weeks, maybe you could try a practice of abstaining from certain vices or treats like sodas, sweets, alcohol, tobacco, or fast food. The idea is to give up something you would miss, and when you miss it, spend time in prayer with GOD. One other comment about fasting, and that is if you are fasting from something that costs you money, the money saved from these “vices” should be given to the poor.

Speaking of giving to the poor, this is the third primary practice of Lent. GOD is generous and asks us to be generous. GOD knows that we tend to use money as a means of power and/or discrimination. We are called to use our blessings to bring blessings to others, but the reality is we often hold on to them as opposed to being willing to give them solely for the benefit of another. This Lent, as you restructure your prayer life, and focus on giving up something that you will miss, you will likely find that your priorities change and your heart is being softened for others in need. Then give from your blessings to help someone else in need. And to help you with this in the church, we will be serving Communion weekly in both Sunday services (not to mention our Wednesday Communion services at noon) collecting money to help those in our community who are in need. You can make weekly offerings during Communion at the altar in our two Sunday services, as well as our Wednesday noon Communion services.

I hope that you will join us for our annual Ash Wednesday service on March 5^th either at noon or 7pm. As I said earlier, we will commemorate the day with the imposition of ashes as well as the celebration of Holy Communion. It promises to be a powerfully significant evening, and we hope you will join us as we begin our journey to the cross and the empty tomb!