Theology Thursday 26 - 700 Miles of Effort

I went on a blind date once and I had to drive about 20 miles in order to pick her up. 20 miles is about the maximum distance I’d travel to meet someone I don’t know. Had my blind date lived 25 or 30 miles away, I might have just said no; the date didn’t go that well so maybe I should have.

I don’t want to travel that far to see people I know, much less someone I don’t know. Yet every Christmas I’m reminded of how far the magi travelled in order to see Jesus. The magi were most likely from Babylon and they would have made a 700 mile journey to Bethlehem in order to see Jesus.

Seven hundred miles.

That puts me to shame.

Sometimes I don’t want to drive 10 minutes to church.

Sometimes I don’t want to wake up 15 minutes early in order to spend some time in the word.

Sometimes I don’t want to disconnect from Facebook and pray.

If I had been one of the magi (I am “Oriental”) I would have set the cap at about 40 or 50 miles. If the newly born king was 50 miles away I would have gone, but anything more than that and I would have stayed at home and done all sorts of hood rat things with my magi buddies.

We can learn something from the magi. They were so intentional about seeing Jesus; no distance was too great to keep them from worshiping the newborn Lord. Their effort begs the question: how much effort am I putting into spending time with Jesus? We don’t have to travel 700 miles to spend time with Jesus, but even today it still takes effort and intention. And if we want to really spend time with Jesus, if we want to sit at his feet and worship him just as the magi did, we have to make the effort.

Theology Thursday 25 - The Little Drummer Boy

Alycia and I were listening to Christmas music and "The Little Drummer Boy" came on. Alycia told me that she thought "The Little Drummer Boy" was the most theologically correct Christmas carol. I told her she was ridiculous because there is no record of there being a drummer boy in the stable with Joseph, Mary and Jesus. I also told her that a song with the word “ass” in it can’t be theologically sound. Then she gave me the look that makes me feel like a little kid who just got in trouble.

Alycia was right, though; "The Little Drummer Boy" is a simple song full of some of the most basic theology. The song is about a little boy who stands before the newborn Lord and plays his drum. He doesn’t have any other gifts to bring, just the desire to play his best for Jesus. And when we look at what we can bring for Jesus, that’s all he wants from us.

We’ve all been gifted and created with specific talents and abilities. God knit us together and gave us those talents; he just asks that we use them to the best of our ability for his purpose and his glory. I love the image of a timid boy worshipping Jesus by playing his little heart out. It’s a reminder that worshipping Jesus can be just a simple act of offering what we have to our Lord.

What Christmas carol inspires you to reflect on Jesus and your life with him?

Theology Thursday 24 - A Theology of Thanksgiving

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift comes from God.

Thanksgiving is a day to reflect on the many things for which we’re thankful. Thankfulness is incomplete, though, if we don’t show gratitude to the ultimate source of everything good in our lives. We can appreciate the good things in our lives and enjoy them and revel in them, but that appreciation, enjoyment and revelry should always lead back to their source: the Father of heavenly lights.

I’m thankful for my wife, but God is the one who orchestrated our meeting and marriage.

I’m thankful for my family, but God is the one who placed me there at the beginning of my life.

I’m thankful for my friends, but God is the one who gives them enough grace and patience to put up with me.

I’m thankful for my job, but God is the one who called me from one place to another at the right time.

I’m thankful for the roof over my head, but God is the one who provides for all my needs.

So in the end, anything for which we’re thankful ultimately leads back to God. He is the source and we should humbly offer our gratitude to him. If we take time to think about what we have, we’ll most likely see that we’re blessed beyond measure. The blessings we receive have nothing to do with us or our intrinsic goodness; they are rooted in God’s grace and his intrinsic goodness.

Every good gift comes from God so all of our thanksgiving should be offered to him.

What are you most thankful for this year?

Theology Thursday 23 - 10%/90%

In Acts 4 we see the early church surrendering what they own to God, selling what they have in order to give to the church and meet the needs of others. As I was reading through this chapter I began to think of my own generosity to God and whether or not my possessions are surrendered to him.

By the grace of God I have been faithfully tithing for almost two years. It’s a good feeling to read through a passage like Acts 4 and realize that I have been faithful to God in my finances; he asks for 10% and he gets 10%. When it comes to tithing, I’ve always viewed that first 10% as God’s and then the other 90% as mine. Recently, though, I began to see that none of it is mine; the 10% or the 90%.

If I want to be faithful to God with my possessions and finances I can’t give him 10% and spend the other 90% on hookers. I can’t write my tithe check and then cash out everything else and hit the bar for one wild night. Everything I have belongs to God and I need to make sure that I’m spending and budgeting in a way that honors him, with the 10% and the 90%.

The 10% is easy; that automatically goes to God. It’s more challenging to look at the remaining 90% and see how God could be glorified through what remains of his provision. It may be more challenging, but it’s also has the potential to be 9 times more rewarding.

How do you strive to honor God with the remaining 90%?

Theology Thursday 22 - Average Expressions of Love

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” – John 12:1-8

I preached a sermon on this passage and suggested that Jesus was worthy of extravagant expressions of love. Just like Mary extravagantly expressed her love for Jesus by washing his feet with expensive perfume, we should be willing to extravagantly express our love for Jesus in any way we can. This isn’t so much a reflection of us, but a response to who Jesus is and everything he has done for us. He came to the earth, ushered in the kingdom of God and made reconciliation with God possible through his death and resurrection. Jesus has done everything for us and he is definitely worthy of extravagant expressions of love.

As I reread this passage, though, I began to realize that often times I’m not ready to give Jesus extravagant expressions of love because I’m not giving him average expressions of love. Looking at Mary’s sacrifice it’s easy to think that we should go out and do something completely extravagant and over the top for Jesus like donating a large sum of money to World Vision or signing up for a long-term mission trip. But how can I think about giving Jesus extravagant expressions of love when I’m not even giving him average expressions of love?

Reading the Bible.

Spending time in prayer.

Obedience.

These are some average expressions of love, the things that we should do on a regular basis to show Jesus that we love him. If my life has been less than obedient then how can I expect to really offer an extravagant expression of love to Jesus? What’s worse, is that if my life has been lacking average expressions of love then I might try to cover up that fact with some extravagant expressions of love.

Jesus deserves our everything because he gave his everything. Sometimes, though, we get so focused on giving him the big, extraordinary things, that we miss giving him the small, pedestrian things. Average expressions of love should be the prerequisite for extravagant expressions; if I can’t spend time in prayer on a daily basis then I should figure that out before moving onto something bigger. Something bigger only happens a few times a year, like an anniversary or Valentine’s Day in a marriage. We shouldn’t simply hold out for the extravagant expressions of love for Jesus, but should strive for average expressions of love for Jesus on a daily basis.

Topical Tuesday 27 - Creating Space

This evening at Endeavor I gave a message out of 1 Kings 19.

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” – 1 Kings 19:11-13

In my message I suggested that in order to truly hear the voice of God and build into our relationship with him, we needed to create space in our lives. When God spoke to Elijah he wasn’t in the noisy things, he was in the silence. If our lives are so filled with noise then it makes it almost impossible to hear the voice of God. (A lot of these thoughts have been influenced by Rob Bell’s Nooma video Noise)

So there needs to be space in our lives for God to speak; there needs to be margin in which God can work. A relationship with God simply means that we have a connection, involvement or association with him and we can’t connect, involve or associate ourselves with God on a daily basis if he is drown out by all the noise.

As I was telling the students that they needed to create space in their lives, God convicted me and showed me areas where I could create a little more space in my life. I love Twitter and Facebook; I am constantly checking them. In all honesty, most of my day is spent connected to Twitter, either through my computer or phone. While I don’t feel it’s pulling me away from God, I know it creates a lot of noise in my life. So, for 24 hours beginning Wednesday, October 6, at midnight, I’m going to create some space by abstaining from Twitter and Facebook. I don’t have any huge expectations for God to speak to me, but if he’s going to, at least he’ll have the opportunity.

What noise can you cut out from your life to create some space for God?

Theology Thursday 21 - Take Comfort In Rituals

rit▪u▪al: an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite.

Starbucks’ fall marketing campaign revolves around the phrase “Take comfort in rituals.” There are standees, like the one pictured, and signs all over Starbucks telling people to take comfort in rituals like pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. It’s an ingenious marketing campaign that elevates Starbucks’ food and beverages to the level of religious rites.

I’m all for clever marketing and I do enjoy a nice pumpkin spice latte once in a while, but it feels like we’ve lost something when the rhythm of our rituals is defined by Starbucks instead of God. God commanded his people to fall in line with a rhythm of ritual.

Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks and the Festival of Tabernacles. – Deuteronomy 16:16

God commanded his people to participate in three rituals of celebration throughout the year; he understood that it was necessary for humans to celebrate and reflect on the goodness of God. Without carving out the time necessary to reflect on God’s goodness, humanity could easily forget the source of all goodness and even claim responsibility for it themselves. Rituals allow us to create the space we need to acknowledge God’s provision and celebrate his goodness.

That’s all Starbucks is asking us to do, to reflect on the goodness of a pumpkin spice latte and the feelings of warmth that come from the autumnal season. If we are followers of Christ, though, we have much more to celebrate than a latte or warm fuzzy feelings. The God of the universe loves us, brought us back into relationship with him and now allows us to participate in his redemptive work in this world. And if we took the time to build in some rituals, to find some rhythms of celebration, then we’d be better able to recognize the goodness of that God and celebrate it with every breath we take.

In what rituals do you participate and why do they hold value?

Theology Thursday 20 - In Visa We Trust

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Each one had gathered just as much as they needed. – Exodus 16:15-18

God gives us exactly what we need.

For 40 years the Israelites wandered through the desert and God always provided for them. As we see in the passage above, God’s provision of manna was never too much and never too little; he always gave the Israelites exactly what they needed. God may not rain down bread from heaven for us today but we should still trust in his provision.

As I was sitting through the last session of the Financial Peace University class I led through the summer, I began to think about how God’s provision related to credit cards. A large portion of the class focuses on eliminating credit card debt, which is gained by overspending and not preparing for emergencies. And even though God’s provision is everything we need, we often think we need more and turn to credit cards. God promises to give us everything we need but when we place our trust in credit cards we’re saying one of two things: either we don’t trust that God will take care of us or we think we need more than God is willing to provide.

When we turn to credit cards for provision, we’re a lot like the Israelites when they turned to Egypt and Assyria for protection. God had promised to be their God and care for his people yet, instead of trusting in his provision, the Israelites went wandering off. They either didn’t trust that God would care for them or that the provision he was willing to provide wasn’t good enough.

Credit cards are a practical way for us to say, “God, I don’t trust you” or “God, I don’t believe you’re going to give me everything I need.” Do we really want to say that to God? And further on down the road, when the debt stacks up and we finally decide to pay it back, how much of God’s provision is going to be spent paying for our lack of trust?

“The one who gathered too much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” God gives us everything we need. How can you live that out today?

Theology Thursday 15 - Easter Afterglow

I’m still feeling the effects of Easter. I wish I meant that in a super spiritual way, but at this point it’s an issue of practical life. I still feel like I’m trying to recover from this past weekend, which was very busy, and a lot of conversations at the church have revolved around Easter and all our services. At this point I feel like our church’s celebration of Easter is having a longer lasting impact than the reason for which we celebrated.

I remember saying in my sunrise sermon how much I love Easter and how much I love Jesus. Preaching on Easter Sunday those feelings are natural, that’s how I should have felt. Yet, in the days since Easter, I don’t know if those feelings have welled up within me. I want to be excited and passionate about the resurrection and its universe-altering impact every day, not just Easter Sunday. Just because we’re not having four services in two different venues doesn’t mean the resurrection doesn’t hold just as much value for me today.

Easter Sunday is significant in the life of a church, but its significance shouldn’t overshadow the resurrection or Jesus’ love the rest of the year.

I need the resurrection today as much as I did Sunday.

I need to know that Jesus loves me today as much as I did Sunday.

I need to be as willing to live my life for Jesus today as I was on Sunday.

Easter is wonderful; it’s a perfect day to celebrate the resurrection of our loving Lord. But so is every other day.

How can you celebrate the resurrection today?