Look Harder

John 7:41 "Others said, " This is the Christ". But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"

John 7:46 The officers (who were sent to arrest him) answered, "No one ever spoke like this man!"

"I can't find my shoes dad", moans my tired oldest son Cal about every other morning as we are border line late leaving for carpool. "Well, have you looked for them son" comes my reply. "Yes, but I can't find them" is the reply. About 50 % of the time the shoes that are seemingly impossible for him to locate are within about ten feet of his position as he firmly concludes they are lost. The other half of the time they are by his bed or by the couch downstairs where he took them off the night before. After the upteenth speech about looking hard, logically backtracking your steps and making sure that your conclusions are solid before you announce that your shoes are lost, I hand them to him and we pile into the car and head for school and work.

As Jesus hits the scene, there were conflicting opinions of who he was; the Christ? John the Baptist? A Demon possessed man? Elijah? The words of the Jews in John 7:41 above reveal a lack of desire to discover the Truth of who Jesus was. Like my son who is just to tired to really look, they state two scriptural facts that point to and confirm Christ as Messiah yet don't dive into the facts of his life so they assume wrongly that Jesus is not the Messiah. In reading it I often wonder in disbelief that when they saw these acts and miracles that they didn't even send someone to interview the family, or check a temple registration, or census or something, to try and see if the facts of Christ matched the prophecy spoken of Him. Laziness and a lack of desire to know the Truths of God that were unfolding in front of their eyes kept them in the dark, quite literally.

Compare that to the officers who were sent to arrest Christ, we see five verses later the words of men who actually looked and listened deeper to Jesus who ws trying to help men answer the question of the day, " Is Jesus the Messiah?" When these guys returned to the Pharisees who sent them they were asked' "Where is He , Why did you not arrest Him?". There response is one of awe,"No one ever spoke like this man". You can hear their awe of Christ in their words. Once they saw and felt His power and glory they were certainly not going to make an attempt to arrest Him. Why would they? He was pouring out love, truth and life with every breath, action and move. There was simply no grounds to arrest Him except the cowardly jealousy of the religious establishment. As they heard His witness, something moved them to understand Jesus was unique and amazing.

Now look at the contrast between these two groups. The first group is lazy and content to make conclusions based on apparent face value and prevailing thoughts of the culture. The officers actually investigated Christ and were awed by Him. The first group pulled up shy of truly looking harder into the prophecies and facts that were unfolding that would reshape human history. The officers actually bumped into the creator and sustainer of the universe and were amazed at Christ.

These two types of groups still exist today. One group too lazy or blinded to look into the complex fulfillment of prophecies in Christ, and the other group looking deep into Christians being awed by Him at every turn. History confirms prophecy foretold 500+ years before Christ walked the face of the Earth. He is neither a good teacher nor a fairy tell, He is a fact. Fully man, fully God crucified and raised in victory.

Go look for yourself, look hard, look deep, and be amazed.

The Hammer Posse

John 6:54 "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life , and I will raise him up on the last day "55 For my Flesh is true food and my blood true drink 56"Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
John 6:66 After this many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.

M.C. Hammer was one of my favorites back in my college days. Hits like "Hammer time, Turn this mutha out, 2 legit 2 quit, Pray and You can't touch this" still reside on my Ipod 20 years later. As Hammer rose in popularity, there was a group of folks simply known as the Hammer Posse. The Hammer Posse was a group of friends and followers that just hung out with him wherever he went. Hammer provided for the Posse's needs, and they all deeply enjoyed the ride as Hammer toured the world as his fame spread. Of course when Hammer ran out of hits and the funding ran low, the Posse disbanded.

Throughout the history of mankind, you can find people wanting to be casually and temporarily attached to people who are famous, special and powerful. It is the way we are built, in need of guidance and shepherding. Unfortunately, evil men like Jim Jones, Adolf Hitler and the like have abused this relational needing throughout the centuries. There are many today, some under the banner of "church", who lead men astray down paths of unrighteousness that glorify men, rather than God.

Stop and look at what Jesus is saying in the above verses. He is saying, "this ain't no casual deal, I am not some cool guru to just rub up against casually". He further tells the listeners -"Your flesh is no Help at all, it is your ability to appropriate mine that imparts life into you. This is a spiritual battle for your soul, not a posse that hangs out together until the cool signs and funding subside." Jesus offers life, but only if the listeners will give Him theirs in submission to His sacrificial work.

The result? Many walked away. What? How could they hear the Gospel from the original source, and just turn and leave? I mean, many times the Gospel is now preached as -Jesus died only for your sins, wants to empower you so that you can have the best life imaginable, right now so say " I accept Him" and just continue on your self indulgent path with some "hellfire" insurance. Well, there are many half truths being preached, but it is suffice to say that Jesus came down to restore us so that we can bring Glory to God, not ourselves. Our flesh driven agendas, even if they are in a church setting, have no power or value in the cosmic battle of life or death, even if they make us feel good about ourselves.

This may sound crazy, but take a second and ask yourself what does your following of Christ most resemble? Do you look more like a member of the Hammer posse, selfishly sponging his work for your glory and comfort, or do you look like men of faith in the bible who understand that sacrifice, submission and the Spirit's leading must mark our intentions and lives. Do you live to exhalt Christ, or do you think he lived and died to exhalt you?

The Work of God

John 5:41 "I do not receive glory from people"
John 6:27-29 " Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the son of man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal". 28 Then they said to Him, What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29 Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom he has sent".

Word like self starter, proactive, initiative taker and disciplined are all words that describe myself and probably many of you as that seems to be the demand of our culture if you want to thrive in America in 2010. All of those traits are admirable, but we must put a check on them when it comes to the things of God. I can not tell you how many times my pro-activeness launched and initiative without consulting God and it ends up being a burden. This gets even trickier as Church involvement gets deeper and we sign up for duties reflexively, without asking for God's lead, evaluating our giftings, calling and purpose. We can find ourselves doing our own work and you can tell when that happens because it becomes a dull burden. When it is the work of God you will have hard attacks as head winds, but you will have deep victories in communion with Christ as to His work through you.

Think about the words of Jesus above..He does not receive glory from people...our work is to believe in Him...so what does that mean? Are we supposed to sit in a corner 24/7 and praise Christ? Sounds crazy but if God calls you to then absolutely yes. he called Ezekiel to lay on His side for months. Why did he do that? To bring Glory to Himself as he worked through Ezekiel. It is the same with us. only God led actions can bring Him Glory. The spirit with us desires to plug us into the work of God as His kingdom reigns. Our human thoughts and actions produce fruitless time killers. A spirit led work fueled by the Spirit by one who is abiding in Christ produces eternal rewards from the God of the universe.

Which are you doing? Your own man made works trying in vain to bring Him Glory? Do you feel like God needs your help in bringing Himself glory so you kind of make your own plans, instead of simply being grafted into His plan and work?

We all need to be careful that our self starting understands that intense communion and praise for Christ is the work to be done. The overflow of love that arises from time with Him will be a divine work of His Kingdom.

How sweet it is

Zechariah 9:16 On that day, the Lord their God will save them, as the flock of His people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on His land. 17 For how great is His goodness and how great His Beauty! Grain shall make the young men flourish,and new wine the women.

Many times I am stopped in my tracks unexpectedly and reminded by the beauty of Christ. Yesterday I was captivated by the lyrics of James Taylor's "How sweet it is to be loved by you" as I drove home. As you read the lyrics below, take time to think through and examine if the words of the song describe your soul's longing for Christ.


I needed the shelter of some one's arms, there you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs, there you were
With sweet love and devotion
Deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you baby
I want to stop and thank you baby (yes I do)

How sweet it is to be loved by you (feel so fine)
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I close my eyes at night
Wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore
Everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before
But you brighten up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby (woah, yeah)

How sweet it is to be loved by you (it's just like sugar sometimes)
How sweet it is to be loved by you

You were better to me than I was to myself
For me, there's you and there ain't nobody else
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby (woah, yes)

Now obviously I pull up way short of calling Christ baby, so please don't let your mind run down that path as that would be a severe lack of appropriate fear and respect for the God of this universe. What I want to hone in on is the intimacy, longing and completeness of a heart that has finally found a love worth praising.

Look at the scripture from Zechariah above and add to it what you know about Christ's redeeming work in your life, and then compare that to the joyous lyrics made in this love song. In the love expressed by JT in this song, He has found:

> A shelter of someone's arms
> Someone to understand my ups and downs with sweet love and devotion
> A love worth pondering "where would I be without you?"
> A love taht is te richness of life itself
> The lover was better to Him than He was to Himself
> The Love is exclusive and He has love for no other

While there are many other parallels, I hope that the big picture is clear by now. I love how Zechariah says that the Lord's redeemed will shine like jewels in a crown. Amigos, we will only shine if we have truly received and live to worship Christ as the only source of perfect truth and complete Love. For so many years my relationship was a dark and stingy list of things to do and avoid. When the beauty of Christ touches your heart, and you respond with worship of Him shining is the natural state. Just like JT, we are left to sing in an intoxicated love "How sweet it is to be loved by You!".

When is the last time you have done that? Have you ever done that?

Please take time in this dark age we live in to express the Love you have for your redeemer and then shine on friends......Just like honey to the bee, it is what we were created to do!

Espanol and Jesus

Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

I am in a continuing process of learning Spanish, so that God can use me as a more effective witness in Honduras. Six years ago, at first glance, learning Spanish seemed like an easy thing to accomplish. I reasoned with myself that there are millions of uneducated and impoverished people speaking Spanish around the globe so how hard can it be? Well, its more complicated to those of us who naturally speak English as many times we have to unlearn rules in our language as they are exclusive to English. I also did not realize how many verb tenses there are, and how many stem changing irregular conjugations that required intimate attention to learn in order to be effective. As my understanding of the language has increased, so has awareness of the depth and width of rules that must be understood and followed in the Spanish language if you desire to be fluent. I am determined though, and by God's grace I will be able to deliver the Gospel of Christ in Espanol!

Now I want to be really careful here, as the work of Christ in our lives is a divine work that he starts, nurtures and finishes, but as to our daily choice and pursuit of Christ, Paul's exhortation above somewhat parallels my pursuit of Spanish. As we learn divine Love through Christ, we become extremely aware of the vastness and complexities of His majesty that we will never fully grasp. As our hearts are enlightened by the deep Love of Christ, we realize that our natural thoughts and actions must be unlearned and sanctfied by God,if we want to walk and speak Jesus' language of Love. We also realize that Christ's ways are appropriated in our lives as we work out our faith in fear in trembling before the Lord (Phil 2:12). It is a daily digging into the rich LOve of God.

I know that in my own walk, I am amazed at how close I feel to Christ, yet am baffled by the Titanic size of His Love, Beauty and Glory that I can not fully digest. I believe that is Paul's encouragement to the Church, "Be Awed at the Divine nature of Christ and Constantly dive into His Love". It is when we are satisfied with the intimate Love of Christ that we are useful in the Kingdom of God. As we learn to speak and walk in the divine language of Christ's love, we fall deeper into love with Him, and those he has given us to love in our lives.

So search your heart and pray for a deep, rich understanding of God's love. Just like an American in Honduras who is satisfied knowing only "Como se llama?", a shallow dive into the vast pool of Christ's love ensures that there will be a lid on your efforts to reproduce Love in those around you.

Fan the Flame

2 Timothy 1:5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Practice makes perfect right? I don't know about perfect, but it definitely yields improvement if done with right motives and a right mind. Take my son Cal for instance, his 3rd grade fottball team practices four days a week for about 2 hours a day. While there are many times when I may think that is too much practice, there is no doubt in my mind that both Cal and his team have improved dramatically. If you watch a game from last year and comapre it to this year, you would think it was a different team altogether. Good coaching, hard work and a desire to improve is yielding fruit on the gridiron.

While Paul is not speaking of football, but rather of the more important topic of Faith, He has a similar charge to Timothy. He tells Him to fan the flames of the Gift Of God that were entrusted to Him to preach the Gospel. What is Paul talking about? Well He is speaking generally about the gift of Christ, salvation and the Holy Spirit in Timothy and specifically about His gift of preaching the Word. Paul's charge to fan the flames must be understood in a spiritual sense though, not in a checklist fashion. I belive that Paul is challenging Timothy to intensify His reliance on God through praise, prayer and a yielding to Preach the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul is keenly aware of the challenges and opposition that will arise against Timothy, and he is also aware of the obvious purpose and Gifting of Timothy as a preacher. His advice to Timothy about intensifying His worship of Christ and therefore His love for Christ further empowers both Timothy's walk with God, and his role and mission for God's Kingdom. The power for this lies solely with God and required Timothy to grow in intimacy with Christ so as to be able to accomplish the mission of Christ more intently.

While not all of us are preachers in a church setting. If we are saved, we are all lovingly posessed by Jesus and therefore should be communicators of the Gospel. God prepares each one of us with different giftings and roles as He has a plan to make His grace known to teh world through his Church.

Are you aware of your role? Are you aware of your giftings?

Those questions will be no if you have no intimacy with God and no passion for Him. If you approach bible reading as a checklist as opposed to sifting through a treasure chest of riches, your motives and mindset will limit your improved intimacy with Christ. When praying, if you approach God as a routine with a memorized script of words that is not from deep within a heart of praise, you should not expect that the flames of the Holy Spirit will be flamed within you.

If we truly want to Honor Christ, it starts and ends for us with passionate praise and pursuit of Him. Only after this happens will we be walk in His Power and not our own. When we walk in His power, the world changes as teh Glory of the Lord is revealed.

How will you fan the flames of what God has entrusted in You today?