Category: Uncategorized

I am a Christian.

Unfortunately, that sentence does not have the clarity it once had.

Each time I hear a news or talkshow host say the word “Christian” I cringe, even if I didn’t hear the context. I cringe because my next thought is “Oh no, what kind of Christian are they going to be talking about?”

A Christian used to be… a Christian, but now there is a long parade of stereotyped targets that our world loves to set up on a pedestal so they have something nice and clear at which to lob their ridicule.  

 Will it be the Bible thumper? Usually dressed in a freshly pressed $150 suit with a Bible so thick you might mistake it for an Oxford Unabridged Dictionary. You might think they look uncomfortable in front of the camera, but that’s not the case… it’s just how they look. No matter what the question or conversation is about, there’s a predetermined set of scriptures that they will use their Bible to pound into the conversation even if it’s a round peg into a square hole.

Will it be the hypercritical sidewalk protester? The one carrying offensive signs with a Bible verse squeezed in giving the impression they are on some God sanctioned holy crusade, single-handedly bringing righteousness back. They have everything in play the Bible talks about, except that bit on love.

Will it be the khaki Christian? You know the guy, so “not of this world” that everything about him screams he is countercultural, in a completely non-offensive, I’m a good neighbor kind of way. He’s the consummate family guy, with a “Real men love Jesus” bumper sticker on the family truckster that’s blazing out whatever’s on the heavy play cycle for KLOVE of this week. He’s a good guy, just so unplugged from the world, he really can’t nudge it from where he is… oh yeah, and he wears khakis. It’s their uniform.

The stereotypes could go on and on with different labels: hypocritical, judgmental, ignorant, backward, superficial…

Here’s the trouble, no one’s perfect (especially me), and at different moments in my life you could probably stick each and every one of those labels directly on my forehead. But, when I am, or when any of us are, hypocritical, rude, backward or just wrong, those are not the moments that define our faith, they are the ones that illustrate our frailty, brokenness and deep need.

I wish the world could see what a Christian really is, and what those of us who in the midst of our brokenness aspire to be.

The thief on the cross I think is the model example of what a Christian actually is. Probably because he didn’t live long enough to mess it up.

While Jesus was being crucified between two thieves, one thief was hurling insults at him… the other became a Christian.

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  – LUKE 23

What is a true Christian? You just saw one there…

A Christian knows how broken they are. This criminal cried out admitting that he was “justly” receiving a punishment for who he was. I believe the most distinguishing mark of the Christian is not how righteous they become, or how behaviorally modified they can live, but how honest they are with themselves and others when it comes to the fact that they are simply broken people. You cannot even become a Christian unless you come to grips with the reality that Jesus died as a sacrifice in your place and it was needed because you, I and all of us are broken and lost from the very beginning.

A Christian correctly identifies Jesus. The same thief after condemning himself by his own words, described Jesus by saying, “But this man has done nothing wrong.” What makes Jesus death on a cross so valuable is that it was a willing sacrifice of an innocent for the sake of the guilty. No human could have paid that price, we don’t have enough in the bank to cover that bill. Every single one of us are flawed, but a perfect God taking our place, paying our debt and offering it to us freely is the only answer.

A Christian cries out. The same thief then publicly plead, “Jesus remember me.” The context of this is important. It wasn’t a private moment that happened on the inside. It was a public display of affection. It was definitive, it was undeniable and it was just what he needed. In front of any family or friends who had gathered, in front of his tormentors, and most importantly in front of his God he admitted he had no hope unless he cried out to Jesus.

The story ends with Jesus responding… “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me…”

And that’s what a Christian is. Someone who knows how broken they are, someone who knows how amazing Jesus is, and someone who is so willing to become completely dependent on rescue from a Savior that they do not care who knows.

I am still sad that so many Christian stereotypes are being elevated on a daily basis. I’m even more sad that I fit those models every now and then.

But, for anyone taking the time to read this, my prayer is that you would look past the veneer of what we see in someone’s flawed actions or words, through the clouded glass of human imperfection and go beyond the surface to see what a Christian really is.

Broken, but forgiven.

Dependent, on a Savior.

Identified, with Jesus.

We just completed a series at CrossPoint Church called ROOMS, and the finally room we looked at was “the office.”

It was one of those weekends where there was not enough service time and too much message, so, we’re adding on to the house.

Here is a bit more contest from the rooms series, right out of “the office.” If you’d like to catch the rest of this series, just click here: ROOMS

If the embedded video does not load for you, go here.

The words Beyond Expectations on a ruler to illustrate great results, good grades or other measurements met or surpassed in school, career or life goals

“Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.” – John 19:38

On this holy week leading up to Easter Sunday, I  consider Saturday a secret day. This is the day Jesus is laid in the tomb, the disciples were hiding, while fear and confusion abounded.

The scenario plays out because a new character on the gospel scene, Joseph of Arimathea, enters to do something miraculous. The Scriptures indicated that he would be buried in a borrowed tomb, but of course they weren’t thinking about any of these things at a time of crisis. Still, Joseph stepped up and took Jesus from the Romans and laid him in a borrowed tomb.

Actually, I think two miracles occurred here. Not only the miracle of prophecy being fulfilled, but the second miracle was that Joseph was forever changed.

How do we know this? The Scriptures describe him in the verse above as a secret admirer of Jesus. He was afraid of what others would think, say, or do if they knew what he really believed.

But, if you were still a secret admirer it would’ve been hard for him to have been included in this passage of scripture, right?

You see, he HAD BEEN a secret admirer, but the death of the One that he had admired from the shadows was moving enough to him that he stepped out and took a risk.

This secret admirer, in front of the more than difficult Jewish authorities and the more than dangerous Roman authorities asked boldly for permission to honor the One whom they had  publicly displayed their hatred for.

It was a bold move, it was an eternity defining move for Joseph, and it was a point in history that can never be ignored as the secret admirer became known in God’s eternal word as the one who would honor of his Lord even in death.

Let me encourage you to make this Easter a time to leave secret ways behind. In this world Jesus doesn’t need secret admirers, He’s looking for the bold and the brazen. The ones who will stand up in the crowd and take the shots if they have to for the sake of Him.

Let me invite you to Easter services this weekend at any church, but if you don’t know where to go please know that you would find a home at CrossPoint. We’d love to join hands with you around the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…

For we are not secret admirers.

We believe, we love, we serve… and, we are here.

You better stay in bed, close the windows and lock the doors! It’s Friday the 13th… beware.

What a nightmare, this year there will be three separate Friday the 13ths on the 2015 calendar… man, are we in trouble.

Friday 13th on 3d calendarI wish there was a specific font you could use to indicate sarcasm, but just in case you missed it… the above paragraphs are dripping with it.

• If you were concerned with the calendar turning to Friday the 13th, let me take a stab at some other things you might be a little wary of:
  Black cats crossing just in front of you
  Walking under ladders
  Breaking a mirror
  Spilling salt
  Opening an umbrella in the house
  Something about broken spots in the sidewalk and your mamas’s spinal health

Okay, out-of-the-box an apology… my wife says I have a tendency to be snarky at times. This must be one of those, since I’ve noticed it without any help.

I do sincerely apologize if these things are truly concerns to you. Yet, I hope that you’ll take a minute to read the rest of this because I believe today maybe the day you get set free.

Let’s begin with a statement: superstitions are not for your benefit, they are for your imprisonment.

Three things regarding this and the first is understanding the origins of superstitions.

Where superstitions originate…

Let us just look at a couple of examples, starting with how it became “bad luck” to open an umbrella in the house.

In an article called “Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things” (Harper, 1989),Charles Panati wrote: “In eighteenth-century London, when metal-spoked waterproof umbrellas began to become a common rainy-day sight, their stiff, clumsy spring mechanism made them veritable hazards to open indoors. A rigidly spoked umbrella, opening suddenly in a small room, could seriously injure an adult or a child, or shatter a fragile object. Even a minor accident could provoke unpleasant words or a minor quarrel, themselves strokes of bad luck in a family or among friends. Thus, the superstition arose as a deterrent to opening an umbrella indoors.”

Or, consider the superstition of walking under ladders. This particular superstition dates back to ancient Egypt where walking under a ladder desecrated the Egyptian gods, and could get you in a mess of trouble. You remember Egypt, the land of pyramids, those people like their triangles. And, triangles were a symbol of the gods to them.

A ladder leaning upon a wall formed a triangle, and when you walked under it you broke the plane of that triangle thus angering the gods.

So, looking at the origins of the superstations is a bit revealing. Opening an umbrella in the house isn’t about bad luck it’s about using common sense. And, walking under a ladder is no big deal because I’m not really afraid of made-up gods.

Superstitions have their origin in myth, misunderstanding and mix ups. Not really a combination of elements to live your life by, eh?

Supernatural versus superstitious…

Second, while I am not superstitious I am spiritual. I believe there is a God and I believe there is a devil. I believe in the supernatural, not just whimsical happenstance of superstition.

I believe that God knows the future, from the foundations of the earth knowing every moment of everyday. And, I believe the devil who is jealous of Him, really doesn’t know diddly squat.

But, if the devil can get you to believe in a set of principles that has a predictable set of responses, then he can manipulate your course of action and even appear to shape your destiny.

Yes, I’m actually saying that superstitions have the ability to manipulate you and become self fulfilling prophecies; sometimes used by the devil himself in a way to control you because you bought into his system.

Remember what the Bible teaches in Colossians:

Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Don’t get stuck in the prison of superstition.

A new kind of superstition…

Third, for those of you who are believers, don’t exchange one set of chains for another. There is a form of spiritual superstition that is just as damaging, probably even worse, than the simple fears we’ve been talking about here.

Dallas Willard, seminary professor and theologian, said in his book Hearing God, “Legalism is superstition. The legalistic tendencies found throughout our religious and cultural life also thrust us toward superstition. Legalism claims that overt action in conforming to rules for explicit behavior is what makes us right and pleasing to God and worthy of blessing.”

In a nutshell, becoming legalistic in our belief system creates a religious culture that says if I behave in a certain way certain things will happen. If I do it right then I pull the arm on the slot machine of Heaven and God must produce. If I do it wrong, I must go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

This is one of the problems in the New Testament referred to by Paul again and again and again. You have already been set free by Jesus, why then would you return again to law and become enslaved by it (Check out Galatians).

Jesus not only died to set us free for eternity, he has allowed you to take the chains off here and now! You do not need to be enslaved by silly rules and superstitions in this culture, and you don’t need to return to religious rigmarole that are made up schemes by human teachers.

You have the opportunity to be free because Jesus has already done the work of setting you free. May Friday the 13th become one of your favorite days of the year… a day we celebrate that Jesus set us free!

Happy Friday freedom day. You can do this, knock on wood… just kidding.

I was never a Boy Scout, but for some reason I remember getting Boy’s Life magazine during my growing up years. I’d thumb through the articles, ignoring most since I was not in the running for any merit badges, but pausing on some that talked about making a weapon or surviving in the desert… both necessary skills for a 9 year old boy, right?

Without a doubt, my favorite part of the magazine were the advertisements in the back. They were amazing items, and I was dumbfounded that you could only find them in that publication.

There were the x-ray glasses that allowed you to see through almost anything, with just a few exceptions; you know, just like Superman.

Then there was the amazing invisible skin frog that made it possible to see the inner workings of an amphibian without having to dissect the poor creature.

Or, maybe you checked out the Joe Weider Body Building program guaranteed to put you on the path to a Mr. Universe frame in just six short weeks. It didn’t work, or so I’ve been told.

What still amazes me is how expectant I was for those mail-order treasures to be real. I would save the money, get my mom to write a check, and wait ever so impatiently at the mailbox for weeks until that little package would arrive!

But, now we are all adults and we don’t fall for such deceiving literature, and our skepticism is a mark of our maturity and intelligence.

Good for us…?

Maybe we have lost something. Maybe there is a piece of our childhood that wasn’t so immature. Maybe as adults we are hampered by our loss of… expectancy.

A lack of expectancy is most clearly seen, I believe, in the prayer life of the church.

We offer blanket prayers, trying to cover everything in just a few words. We have formulaic responses that fall from our lips without thought or effort. And, our requests are vague and wishy washy, usually tagged with an “if it be Your will”.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a request and supplication in the biblical text? A supplication is a passionate, urgent plea!

Don’t forget Jesus’ amazing teaching on prayer from Matthew 7.

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

We have an amazingly good Father who wants us to want the right things, and when we do He desires to give us those things.

Let’s make 2015 a year marked by passionate, powerful prayer. Let’s ask God specifically for what we know is on His heart and then live expectantly.

Let’s pray for God to move specifically and boldly.

• Would you pray that your church would experience revival and that you would reach 10% of your community?
• Would you pray that your church would double its number of baptisms this year?
• Would you pray for the opportunity to share your testimony with (insert name here) this week?

Let’s pray some bold, specific prayers and then live in the expectancy that we have a great Father who wants to give us His good things in life!

 

_________________________________

 

An article of mine printed in the Baptist Digest Jan/Feb 2015 edition

That may not make sense to you, but it’s a battle cry for me. I’ve always been a techie, so I love gadgets and anything that plugs in.

 

It means I really enjoy a good set of headphones to plug into whatever smart phone, MP3 player or laptop that I have at my disposal.

Several years ago I asked my wife for a good set of Bose over the ear headphones for Christmas. It was a big gift and I really appreciated it. I have been using them consistently since then and give them two thumbs up.

However, endorsing the product is not my point here…

I remember getting them and my preteen children kind of rolling their eyes at me. They’re always respectful, but it’s hard for them when they think their dad is a dork, I know, I remember being in their shoes.

After a little prodding I finally got my eldest to admit what he was thinking. I convinced him that they sounded great, that they were high-quality, and that they were really good stuff. However, he couldn’t get over the fact that they just looked ‘stupid.’

He was absolutely convinced that the only headphones you should wear in public were the little earbuds you stick in your ears, because everything else was ‘just dumb.’

Fast forward a couple of years, as an early teen I remember him asking for a pair of “Beats” headphones. I quietly noticed that they were over the ear headphones, but didn’t say anything as he extolled the virtues of their amazing sound quality, their craftsmanship, and their elegant style.

I’m picking my own adjectives here, just FYI.

We were able to find a good Black Friday deal, and that was his ‘big gift’ that year at Christmas.

Fast forward to today… Headphones have once again evolved. Not just into over the ear, but into gargantuan cinnamon roll looking muffins on the side of your head.

Often blinged out with gold or chrome trim, and bulky enough to house a satellite dish on its surface should you choose to install one. They even come with designer motifs with elements like spinners on the side, Darth Vader’s face, or a variety of movie themed implements…

When I first saw these coming into Vogue, I thought they were a joke… Seriously, thought someone was kidding and creating a line of gag gifts.

They look similar to headphones that were around when I was a preteen myself… But those headphones had a built-in FM radio with an antenna that stuck up about 2 feet and were usually connected to a guy wearing jean shorts and rollerskating backwards.

Now I see teenagers with ever decreasing in size devices connecting to ever enlarging headphones. I even see guys and gals walking around the gym with these face-sized, pancake style headphones that you know sop up sweat like a sponge rubberbanded to your face during your workout.

So how did all this happen… my over the ear headphones which are tiny in comparison to today’s standards that have served me well for the last six years are now almost normal looking, nearly sleek.

I don’t get that ‘what a dork’ look from teenagers anymore when I wear them… In fact, they’re hardly noticeable.

It reminds me once again, stuff that doesn’t matter changes a lot, but what matters the most never changes.

Isaiah 40:8 – “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Hebrews 14:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Matthew 28:29 – And Jesus promised those of us on His mission, He would be with us “always.”

As we stumble into this new year, make sure your life isn’t directed by fads, your judgment isn’t clouded by social media’s opinions, and that you do have your feet firmly grounded on what matters most.

May this year be the year of the headphones!

Listen to His voice, chase after His holiness, be burdened by what burdens Him and worship Him whenever you get a chance.

Even if your headphones do make you look like a dork

Christmas is less than a week away, are you ready? I’m not asking if you’ve got all the gifts, been to all the parties, or seen all the movies. I know we all have a list of what needs to get done, or “it’s just not Christmas.”

For me the “Big 3” Christmas movies that have to happen are Elf, The Bishop’s Wife and The Charlie Brown Christmas Special. Two down, one to go!

It’s no secret I love the season and even though I am the preacher type, I don’t demand the ‘sacred’ perspective on every element.

I love jingle bells, cheesy Christmas shoes songs, ‘only 6 shopping days left’ announcements, and talking about the pretend Santa Claus (though I prefer the story of the real guy from Turkey… if I just dropped a bomb on you and ruined Christmas, my bad).

When I ask if you’re ready for Christmas, I’m not asking you to check your list, your calendar, or your energy level. I am asking you something that goes a bit deeper.

Christmas is the season for celebrating the coming of our Savior. The God of the universe descending not to earth, but into humanity. The incarnation of God in human flesh.