God's Radical Surgery

On Palm Sunday we will look at the famous triumphal entry passage as we continue on the road toward the cross.  There is much that is misunderstood about this passage: the idea that Jesus “cleansed” the temple (He was picturing its destruction, not its purification), the cursing of the fig tree (people sometimes see Jesus as a bit capricious because they miss what He is trying to say about a dead religious system), the prayer that can move mountains (some still think this is a prayer to fulfill personal wants).  

But, I think we really miss how this whole episode portrays what God wants to do inside each and every one of our hearts.  It seems so harsh, that God wishes to kill the old us and bring to life a “new us”.  And yet, it is the only way.  As I was reading this week,

“This is the wearying power of sin in the believer; it won’t accept a cease-fire, much less a peace treaty.”  

And God’s solution is radical surgery—to kill our old lives and to begin to create new life through Christ.  This is a road that must lead us to the cross, a road that points out our utter sinfulness, our utter helplessness and the utter greatness of God through Jesus Christ in His mercy on display.

Getting It

We begin down the road, so to speak, towards the cross and the empty tomb where our faith finds its duel footholds: the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus.  The gospel we will be following on Sundays is Mark’s gospel, which is in my top four favorite gospels! :-)

What I love about Mark is how he prods us, the reader.  When Jesus stills the storm and the disciples ask, “Who is this man?”, Mark is asking us if we truly get it.  When Jesus feeds the 5,000 and then the 4,000 and the disciples are not understanding plain Aramaic (they didn’t speak “plain English”), Mark asks us, “Yes, but do you understand?”  

This Lenten season is a wonderful time to really, prayerfully concentrate on the meaning of the cross and the resurrection.  I pray you will not yawn at a well-known story, but instead follow the road Mark lays out for us and get to know this story better!!

Everyday Spirituality

In my habits for an everyday spirituality, I try to read something quite unrelated to my sermon preparation.  Sometimes, I get so focused on completing a task that I miss the potential growth opportunities.  So, I try to read something outside of the task just to keep a balance.  This week, I was reading A.W. Tozer’s wonderful little book, “The Knowledge of the Holy” and I was struck by a comment made by the ever-quotable Tozer.  He wrote:

“Because man is born a rebel, he is unaware that he is one.  His constant assertion of self, as far as he thinks of it at all, appears to him a perfectly normal thing.  He is willing to share himself, sometimes even to sacrifice himself for a desired end, but never to dethrone himself.”  

That is, of course, our daily call.  The complement of surrendering to God is the dethroning of ourselves.  If you want a biblical spirituality, that is a great place to start!

The Story

Last week, I was in Dallas and I had an opportunity to speak with the leader of the conference I was attending.  As we chatted, he mentioned another conference that he insisted I needed to go to.  “Wow, it’s that important?”, I asked.  “Yes!  This man is the guru to all the screenplay writers and he specializes in story-telling.  In fact, he is an atheist, but he starts his seminar with these words: ‘God put you on this earth to tell a story’.”  Even an atheist has a hard time getting around the idea that there is a larger story that weaves us together and a God behind that story.  

And he is right!  We are all here to tell the story of God’s love and purposes for humanity.  I hope you are getting ever better at knowing that story, telling that story and praying for opportunities to share that story!

Serving Others

A couple of months back, I was serving at a BREATHE event for the special needs community (which happens every third Friday of the month) and had to serve in a rather unpleasant way.  Someone came to the event and got sick; Rebecca Hamilton and I found ourselves scrubbing the carpet on our hands and knees.  Certainly there was nothing glorious in this ministry!  

True, all ministry that exalts Jesus brings glory to Jesus.  But this seemed like a very distant connection to the Spirit’s empowering presence.  For months I missed it—I was where I belonged before God: on my hands and knees.  I was serving with another, in community.  And I was serving the least of these (at least by this world’s standards).  

Ministry is sometimes behind-the-scenes.  Ministry is sometimes grimy.  But there is no doubt that God saw this small act, and all of the other unnoticed acts that go on inside and outside our building, and it pleased Him.  Serving others, even in the small things, is one more way to worship Christ!

Doctrine

I hear people say things all the time in reaction to abuses or misuses.  One of these reactions is to the issue of doctrine in the church.  Maybe it was because some major argument broke out in the church over a secondary issue and it ended up dividing the church.  Perhaps it is because we have bought into the idea that if it is connected with faith, such knowledge is more one’s preference or belief than it is truth.  

The letter to the Colossians is intent on changing our minds about things that are truly important to know.  And the applications have less to do with how to act and much more to do with how to think!  

Think hard about what Paul says to us in this great letter to the church: think about Christ, think about what it means to connect with God, think about what the ministry truly is!

Everything You Need

I am so excited as we begin this new series on Colossians!  The more I have thought about a healthy church and spiritual formation, the more I have gravitated to this small letter to a church that Paul had not even met yet!

I challenge you to spend the next six weeks working diligently through this all-important letter in the New Testament.  You will find amazing theological truths that allow scholars to ruminate and ponder the mysteries of God.  You will find practical advice for your home life and your life in the community in which you live.  And you will find the heart of a person who is sold out for God, writing from prison in order to bolster the faith of His spiritual family.