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!

Where Are You?

Last Sunday we continued our new message series, Questions God Asks Us. In week one, we explored the three reasons God asks us questions: (1) to be in relationship with us on God's terms; (2) to give us dignity in the relationship by allowing us to hear and be heard; and (3) to make us like Jesus. In continuing our series, we looked at the question found in Genesis 3:9, "Where are you?"

This question was asked by God of Adam and Eve at the Fall. After eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve's eyes were opened and they realized they were naked, causing them to make clothes out of fig leaves and go into hiding. God, of course, knew right where they were, but looking at our three reasons, He asked the question to remain relational (even though their sin created a schism); give them dignity by allowing them to answer (like a parent who asks a child what he/she did, even knowing what the answer should be); and to focus back on God's character of honesty to truly make them more like Him (not as the way they were tempted by Satan). 

I think it is interesting to look at the idea that Adam and Eve felt naked. I think this means they felt exposed. We know how this can feel, don't we? Being exposed causes us to feel vulnerable, so we run into hiding. These days we don't do too much sewing of fig leaves, but we certainly know how to hide...perhaps we hide in our jobs, relationships, technology, entertainment, video games, and other forms of escape. Often the things in which we hide are positive and can be quite meaningful, but when we use them to hide from God or others, then we distort their purpose and continue in the schism created by Adam and Eve.

There is good news, though, and that is we have a God who pursues us! Like the Lord walking through the garden to hunt for Adam and Eve essentially saying, "come out, come out, wherever you are...", God speaks into our lives and nudges us to come out of hiding and enter into the relationship for which we were created. Sure, this can make us feel vulnerable when we have to face the questions we don't want to answer, but our relational God, who wants to give us dignity in the relationship so we can be more like Him, wants the most out of us and for us. 

So like God walking through to the Garden of Eden on that fateful day, I ask you the same question, "Where are you?" Are you hiding from God or someone else? Are you pouring your life into good things in a way that distorts purpose? Are you being called out of hiding to face life's vulnerabilities? Come out of hiding and receive the offer of relationship that is being offered to you...the very same relationship for which you were created in the first place!

I hope you will come and join us on Sunday as we continue our series exploring God's question to Cain after Abel's murder: "Where is your brother?" (Genesis 4:9) This week's message will help us consider touchy subjects like forgiveness and reconciliation. Hope to see you then!

From the Eye of the Storm

This past Sunday we began our new message series entitled, Questions GOD Asks Us, which will take us all the way up to Easter morning. The series is an exploration of ten questions asked by GOD to people in the Scriptures – five in the Old Testament and five in the New Testament – that hold relevance for us even today. These questions, as Pastor Mark taught on Sunday, have a three-fold purpose:

1. To help us reset our relational boundaries with GOD, coming to Him on His terms as opposed to ours (Exodus 19:5).
2. To give us dignity in the relationship, so we can work out our salvation with GOD’s help (Philippians 2:12-13).
3. To mold and shape us into the likeness of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

When we think about GOD and questions, we probably gravitate toward the questions we have for Him. Since GOD wants to be in relationship with us, we need to pause and allow GOD the time and space to respond, acknowledging that He will often ask questions of us in return. We need to ponder GOD’s replies (even in the form of more questions!), so we can grow in relationship with Him and be made more like Jesus.

In our introductory message (which you can watch by clicking here: http://youtu.be/JR-g2lwxgko), Pastor Mark used Job 38:1-18 to illustrate how GOD used questions in a conversation with Job to reset the boundaries of their relationship. Framing this Scripture passage, we read these words that GOD spoke to Job: “I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers.... Tell me, since you know so much! Speak up if you have even the beginning of an answer.” The questions that GOD asked Job worked to reset the boundaries of their relationship so Job could learn from, and be comforted by, GOD. As powerful as that concept is, there was a verse in that reading that did not really strike me until after the services were completed. In Job 38:1 – after Job had arrogantly and ignorantly peppered GOD with questions – we see the shift in the narrative: “And now, finally, God answered Job from the eye of a violent storm.”

There is no doubt that Job was going through the proverbial storms of life. He had been inundated with loss, struggle, and calamity, and he wanted to know why. So Job 38:1 tells us that GOD replied, but it started while Job was in the eye of the storm. If you think about a hurricane, you will recall that the leading edge of the storm first hits, and then the eye, which is calm compared to the rest of the storm. Once the eye passes, however, the second part of the storm hits. In this case, the first part of the storm was Job’s calamity and second part of that storm is GOD’s reply to Job. This GOD-driven part of the conversation starts in chapter 38 and goes all the way through chapter 41. Then, as chapter 42 begins, we read Job’s reply to GOD:

“[GOD] asked, ‘Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?’ I (Job) admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head. [GOD] told me, ‘Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers.’ I (Job) admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!”

So often we take our questions to GOD and dump them at His feet without providing GOD the time and space to reply. When we allow GOD time to reply, however, even in the form of more questions, we can discover the answers that we seek firsthand – with our own eyes and ears – from the very One who spun the universe into motion.

Up next in our series we will explore the first question in our series: Where Are You? GOD asked this question of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden right after the Fall (Genesis 3:1-13). GOD knew exactly where they were, but asked that question not just to probe Adam and Eve for their physical location, but their relational proximity to GOD as well.

Just as Adam and Eve were hiding, we have the tendency to hide from GOD and others when enduring the storms of life. As we hear GOD ask the question, “Where Are You?” you must consider if you are physically or figuratively hiding from GOD. Then, you can emerge from your hiding and meet the One who is relentlessly pursuing your heart for the salvation of your soul.

Have a great rest of the week and I hope to see you Sunday as we explore GOD’s question: “Where are you?”

The Heart of the Matter

This past weekend I had the privilege of serving in a retreat for students that’s prime purpose is to show and share the love of God with others. After coming home, I find myself humbly returning to the core concept of the weekend message – God loves you! It seems like such a simple concept, but it can take a lifetime to comprehend.

As I reflect over my life and how God has revealed His love to me, it is obvious just how much I still have to learn. Living life with such a powerful and loving God inspires me, empowers me, and encourages me, but it also has the ability to intimidate me, convict me, and challenge me. I hear Jesus say that I am to love God with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, AND my neighbor as myself. The truth is the moment I think I have it down, something happens that shows me just how far I have to go.

Rock-n-roll singer, Don Henley, had a line in his hit song, The Heart of the Matter, which says, “The more I know, the less I understand, and all the things I thought I’d figured out, I have to learn again. I’ve been trying to get down to the heart of the matter, but my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter; but I think it’s about forgiveness…” This represents something known as The Island Theory which states that the more we know, the more we realize how much we do not know. For me, just when I think I have it all figured out, God does, says, reveals, withholds, inspires, convicts, or challenges me with something new that stretches my faith and helps me grow.

Over the past month in worship, we have been exploring the power of God and how it changes the human heart. The Bible teaches that our faith is to rest on God’s power. This is the power that first brought life to our barren planet and the same power that brings new life to our barren lives. Theologian, Søren Kierkegaard once wrote, God creates out of nothing. Wonderful, you say. Yes, to be sure, but He does what is still more wonderful: He makes saints out of sinners."

I am a sinner. I am no saint. After a time of being confronted with God’s relentless pursuit of my heart, I am being called to consider what that means and to commit my life anew to knowing and showing the love of God. It is true that the more I know, the less I understand, but the best news is that God is still revealing His heart and molding me into the person I am called to be. The trick for me, though, is to acknowledge my powerlessness (something we human beings are reluctant to do) and accept God’s gift of grace. As Romans 5.6&8 says, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

I suppose this is the heart of the matter: we are all sinners and powerless to save ourselves. God’s relentless pursuit of us shows us that even though we are powerless, we are loved! God’s forgiveness – the same power that makes saints out of sinners – is the mobilized love that empowers us for the sake of sharing His love with the world. It might be harder to understand at certain times than others, but it doesn’t change the fact that God loves you with a powerful love to bring you into His eternal family. Saints out of sinners sinners. Powerful, isn’t it?