Known

Luke 13:24-30 (The Message)

A lot of you are going to assume that you'll sit down to God's salvation banquet just because you've been hanging around the neighborhood all your lives.

Well, one day you're going to be banging on the door, wanting to get in, but you'll find the door locked and the Master saying, 'Sorry, you're not on my guest list.'

"You'll protest, 'But we've known you all our lives!' only to be interrupted with his abrupt, 'Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'

"That's when you'll find yourselves out in the cold, strangers to grace. You'll watch Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets march into God's kingdom. You'll watch outsiders stream in from east, west, north, and south and sit down at the table of God's kingdom. And all the time you'll be outside looking in—and wondering what happened.

This is the Great Reversal: the last in line put at the head of the line, and the so-called first ending up last."

Did that get your attention?

It got mine.

Most of the folks who read this blog go to church somewhere. We are people who hang out "in the neighborhood." Most of us would call ourselves Christians.

We probably feel that we're "in." And, assurance of God's grace is a wonderful thing. It is real and right, but it has to be based on more than "knowledge."

It's about experience. It's about "knowing" God.

Listen again to what Jesus says in this translation: 'Your kind of knowing can hardly be called knowing. You don't know the first thing about me.'

What did he mean? It surely seems important to find out.

In Jesus' time he encountered many people who had Biblical knowledge. They had studied the law, inside and out. They spent time in the temple. They performed the right sacrifices and ate the right diet.

They knew the letter of the law, but often didn't know much about its spirit. Or, the spirit of the God behind it.

Let me put it this way...how well do you "know" Abraham Lincoln?

Have you read about him? Do you know what he looked like? Have you read his speeches? Do you know his biography? Do you know his historical significance?

Do you know him?

Well...it's probably more correct to say that we know "about" him.

To actually "know" him, in an experiential way, we we need a more special kind of insight. We would know his sense of humor. We would be able to read his mannerisms and expressions. We would know his private hurts and his greatest aspirations. We would have awareness of his feelings

Abraham Lincoln is a significant figure in the history of our country. We can study him and know "about" him. But we can't really know him. He's dead and buried. He's in the past. He's lost to history.

That's good enough for our knowledge of Lincoln.

But not good enough when it comes to Jesus.

Our faith teaches that he's not dead and buried. He's not lost to the past. There is a different kind of experience that's possible.

That is the realm of God's grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit. All kinds of folks...north, south, east and west...have that kind of relationship with Him.

Some are pastors...and some have never seen the inside of a church building.

We don't know and can't judge. We can simply know that when "The Great Reversal" day comes, we want to be on Jesus' side.

Let's ask God to give us that real kind of relationship.

Prayer: Father, we pray to know and to be fully known. May our relationship with you in Jesus Christ be so much more than a historical study.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Attention

Luke 13:18-25 (The Message)

Then he said, "How can I picture God's kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use?

It's like a pine nut that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it."

He tried again. "How can I picture God's kingdom? It's like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises."

He went on teaching from town to village, village to town, but keeping on a steady course toward Jerusalem.

A bystander said, "Master, will only a few be saved?"

He said, "Whether few or many is none of your business. Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention.


What gets your "total attention?"

Does anything really get our total attention?

If you've ever had little children, you know that a lot of their bad behavior, often goes back to not having the full attention of the important adults in their lives.

Even as I write this, my pet bulldog is constantly nudging my right hand, "tusking" me with the teeth that stick out of the front of her face.

She wants my attention.

So does our life.

So does God.

And as soon as we learn to put the right attention in the right places, things seem to open up into more space and time than we had before.

So, how do we pay attention to our lives...to God...to the Kingdom?

Prayer, meaning quiet time that's focused on listening more than talking.

Scripture, by letting God's words sit in our hearts and minds until they soften us and open up.

Worship, coming together with other believers and seekers to praise the God who is so much bigger than any one of us.

Relationships, because we need each other and we need to learn how to be healthy together.

Giving, it teaches us that we really don't have to cling with white knuckles to all that we have.

Serving, shows us the lives of other people and makes it more possible for us to receive grace and help from God and others.

Tonight, a group of believers from Shepherd of the Hills will go out into our community to deepen friendships with people who need some attention. We're going from house to house, visiting and meeting people, with no agenda...other than a time of focused attention.

It's like a pine cone falling into the ground. Slowly, but surely, the Kingdom grows into a mighty and towering forest. With a little attention to the things that matter most.

Prayer: Father God, we pray that today you could show us the way of focus and attention on the things that really matter most.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Bound

Luke 13:10-17 (The Message)

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.

When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath."

The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?

Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"

When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Imagine, a woman who had been physically crippled for eighteen years, healed on the spot.

Now imagine someone complaining about that healing.

That's the picture of the Pharisees that we get from this scripture. They are just so obviously wrong, it's hard for us to do anything but condemn them.

But, somehow, they felt justified in their opinion.

How can someone get that confused...and do so in the name of God?

We should ask ourselves that question. There might be a log in our own lie that need to be removed before we go looking for specks in the eyes of others...even the Pharisees who attacked Jesus.

I have known Christian people who could miss the point. And each of us certainly has that ability for ourselves.

After all, in their own minds, the Pharisees were doing the right things. They were defending the true faith from this threatening agent of change named Jesus.

They were enforcing God's law.

The problem, of course, is that they don't allow space for God to do new things. They aren't willing to open themselves to the possibility that God might teach them new and expansive ways of understanding.

They overlook a healing in favor of the letter of Sabbath law.

All of this makes me think about what Jay Baaker's church (Yes, that's former televangelist Jim Baaker's son) did around Atlanta, a few years ago. They plastered the city with flyers advertising the start of the very "alternative" Revolution Church.

The tag line?

"Dear World: As Christians, we're sorry for being self-righteous, judgmental @#$%!#'s."

Not bad.

Years ago, when I was a child, I learned a lesson about how confused our own "Christian" thinking can become.

Members of the church where my father was the pastor came to him, upset because the children's ministry leaders were sticking push-pins directly into the walls of the church's classrooms.

"They're making holes, and damaging the building," they said.

They were also doing the only ministry with children that the church offered.

Ultimately, the hole-making stopped...and so did the ministry.

My prayer is that God will always inspire us to messy, rule-breaking, hole-making ministry that honors the first and most important law: Love of God and love of people.

Prayer: We pray that you would teach us to see real goodness, wherever it may be found. May we honor that goodness, protect it and seek to see it grow larger in our world. Forgive us for hair-splitting and help us when we're confused about what is really right.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Why

Luke 13:1-9 (The Message)

About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar.

Jesus responded, "Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans?

Not at all.

Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die.

And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites?

Not at all.

Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die."

Then he told them a story: "A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, 'What's going on here? For three years now I've come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found.

Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?'

"The gardener said, 'Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down.'"

This passage from Luke is amazing because it's about as close as we'll ever get to hearing Jesus directly answer the question, "Why?"

It's a question that we ask very often.

"Why me, Lord?" "Why them, Lord?" "Why do bad things happen to good people, Lord?"

The people in Jesus' time were sure that they had the answer. If something bad happens to you, it must be because of some secret sin. It must be because you're a bad person.

Jesus' answer changes all of that.

The "tower of Siloam" that killed those 18 people? Those people were no worse than any others.

Jesus' point? Time is short for all of us. We do live in a world that is broken, and sometimes tragedy happens.

What does that mean?

Put simply, it means that we need to get right with God while it's still called "today."

Jesus followed this plain but difficult teaching with a story about an apple tree. If it wouldn't produce fruit, the apple tree owner thinks, "cut it down."

Common sense.

Except that the gardener sees another way. "Let me fertilize it." I love the King James Version of this passage, because the gardener actually says, "let me dung it."

Dung. In the bible.

We know what that is, right? And Jesus' story tells us that it's the stuff that makes things grow.

Sometimes in our lives, towers will fall. There will be tragedy and injustice that we just can't quite understand.

Those things are opportunities. They are reminders that we're called to repentance. And they are the fertilizer that can bring green shoots of new growth after the storm.

Prayer: We pray to learn the lessons of this scripture. Father, we ask in Jesus' name that you will teach us how to appreciate opportunities, no matter how difficult the times may seem.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Fire

Luke 12:49-59 (The Message)

I've come to start a fire on this earth—how I wish it were blazing right now!

I've come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it to be finished!

Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice?

Not so.

I've come to disrupt and confront! From now on, when you find five in a house, it will be—

Three against two,
and two against three;
Father against son,
and son against father;
Mother against daughter,
and daughter against mother;
Mother-in-law against bride,
and bride against mother-in-law."

Then he turned to the crowd: "When you see clouds coming in from the west, you say, 'Storm's coming'—and you're right. And when the wind comes out of the south, you say, 'This'll be a hot one'—and you're right.

Frauds!

You know how to tell a change in the weather, so don't tell me you can't tell a change in the season, the God-season we're in right now.

"You don't have to be a genius to understand these things.

Just use your common sense, the kind you'd use if, while being taken to court, you decided to settle up with your accuser on the way, knowing that if the case went to the judge you'd probably go to jail and pay every last penny of the fine.

That's the kind of decision I'm asking you to make."

This is not an image of Jesus that we get too often, or that we're terribly comfortable with.

This is the Jesus of division, and decision.

This is not, "think about it." This is, "act on it."

It's hard for us to understand Jesus' seeming lack of patience on this passage, and hard for us to get a grip on his frustration.

But have you ever tried to start a fire? I mean, a real fire. A campfire, without matches or a flint?

Have you ever tried to start a good old fashioned boy scout kind of fire? I'm talking bow-and-spindle, friction-based kind of fire?

It's an incredible amount of work.

You have to have good tinder. You'll need the right kindling. You're going to get blisters.

The wind has to be right, and it takes incredible determination.

Now imagine that someone in your camping party had a high-powered butane lighter the whole time.

Imagine that they produced that lighter, and then sat by your side as you worked away...but wouldn't pull the trigger to start the fire.

They just let you work, and work, and work. How would that make you feel?

Jesus had been preaching and proclaiming and healing. And now, at the conclusion of Luke 12, he's bringing all of his hard work to a clear point.

Decide.

And yes, your decision may make you stand apart...or alone...at times.

But it's really common sense.

If you have a lighter, now is the time to strike it.

Perhaps it's that time in our lives as well. All in. The fire is prepared. He hands us the matches of decision. Let's go in His grace.

Prayer: Teach us the lessons of Luke 12, and invite us for another day into the fire of your kingdom.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Responsibility

Luke 12:35-48 (The Message)

"Keep your shirts on; keep the lights on!

Be like house servants waiting for their master to come back from his honeymoon, awake and ready to open the door when he arrives and knocks.

Lucky the servants whom the master finds on watch!

He'll put on an apron, sit them at the table, and serve them a meal, sharing his wedding feast with them. It doesn't matter what time of the night he arrives; they're awake—and so blessed!

"You know that if the house owner had known what night the burglar was coming, he wouldn't have stayed out late and left the place unlocked. So don't you be slovenly and careless.

Just when you don't expect him, the Son of Man will show up."

Peter said, "Master, are you telling this story just for us? Or is it for everybody?"

The Master said, "Let me ask you: Who is the dependable manager, full of common sense, that the master puts in charge of his staff to feed them well and on time?

He is a blessed man if when the master shows up he's doing his job.

But if he says to himself, 'The master is certainly taking his time,' begins maltreating the servants and maids, throws parties for his friends, and gets drunk, the master will walk in when he least expects it, give him the thrashing of his life, and put him back in the kitchen peeling potatoes.

"The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he'll get off with a slap on the hand.

Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!

A couple of nights ago, my ball team played its worst game of the year. I don't mean my softball team...I mean my team, the heart and soul of baseball for me since I was 7 years old...the Braves.

And this year, they've played more than a few bad games.

But this one was the worst.

It wasn't the worst because of the physical errors that they made. It wasn't just that they didn't hit or pitch well. It was worse.

They looked like they didn't care. They weren't paying attention.

The leftfielder didn't know how many outs there were. He thought the ball he caught was the third out, and didn't throw it back in.

It was the second out, and a run scored from third base.

The catcher didn't know the ball he caught was ball four. He tried to throw out a runner stealing third, and the ball went into the outfield. He didn't have to throw the ball, and would have kown that if he was paying attention.

But he wasn't paying attention.

And why should he? After all, the season is lost. It's the worst the team has played in 18 years.

Count 'em, e-i-g-h-t-e-e-n.

But there's still a lot to play for. In fact, for the Braves' catcher, there are a few million reasons.

That's what he gets paid to play ball. Much has been invested in him, and much is expected in return. No matter how long they play bad...no matter how little it "matters."

What about us?

It's really easy for us to get "slovenly and careless" about our lives, sometimes. This is especially true when it comes to our spiritual growth and relationship with God.

There are so many other things to do. We don't expect the master's imminent return. Why do we need to remain vigilant?

Peter asked Jesus that very question. The answer?

Much has been invested in us. "Greater gifts, greater responsibilities!"

What gift do we believe that we have received?

God loves us so much (even while we were yet sinners) that he gave his only son for us, that whoever will believe, will inherit eternal life.

What a great gift, and what an opportunity to live every day like it really, really, really matters.

Prayer: Father God, may we know and experience your gift of love first-hand today. May that great gift inspire great responsibility, and may we live this day with the respect that it deserves.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Bank

Luke 12:29-34 (The Message)

"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving.

People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.

Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out.

You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

"Be generous. Give to the poor.

Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on.

It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Where do we put our treasure? Only in FDIC insured savings institutions, right?

We pay attention to our treasure, and where we place it. We put it in things we trust, right?

Well, if you looked at your check register (or 21st century version, you're online checking account activity), where does your treasure really go?

Wal-mart? Gas station? Kroger?

Where else?

Lottery tickets?

Cell phone?

Cable?

Restaurants?

Entertainment?

Cigarettes?

Car payments?

Alcohol?

The poor?

Generosity?

Look, I'm not meddling...just asking. Asking you to consider asking yourself.

I'm saying that we should consider where we do our banking...our investing.

Not just with the material possessions that we have, but where we bank our trust. Where do we "bank" relationship and faith? Where do we "bank" our giving?

I'm asking us to consider our preoccupations. And how those preoccupations keep us from really living our lives to the fullest.

Generosity and positive investment gets harder as times get tighter. $4 gas hasn't helped anybody's disposable income flow.

But that's really exactly the point that Jesus makes.

How much might we be able to "relax," if we really believed that he would always provide?

That kind of faith makes it easier to make deposits in life's faith "bank." And right investment has the effect of increasing our faith.

It's a wonderful, spiraling circle, moving us further and further into a life of faith and giving.

Let's take a second to check the ledger, and see how our faith deposits are growing.

Prayer: We need your help, Father, if we are to trust and gain generosity. We pray that you would teach us to really know that our needs will be met, so that we can put our treasure in the right places.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Relax

Luke 12:21-29 (Message)

He continued this subject with his disciples.

"Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion.

There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God.

And you count far more.

"Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?

If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all?

Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?

The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving.


The scripture says, "Jesus continued this subject..."

The subject? Stuff. He's not quite finished yet.

Yesterday, we heard Jesus tell us that we should gain freedom from our stuff...knowing that we don't take it with us, and it's not the "stuff" that lasts.

Today, he shows us how beautiful that kind of freedom in God could be.

We experience countless instances of the very thing that Jesus is teaching. We see things come and go...we watch fashions change...houses that age...technology advances.

That which is the best today, will be old and out of style before too long.

So, why do we fuss?

Last night I watched a pretty amazing documentary. Imagine, for whatever reason, the total disappearance of all human life on earth. What would become of our buildings and culture? What would last?

Virtually nothing.

Through computer animation, they showed Times Square in New York City, crumbling away. In 500 years time, trees had grown in the middle of the street, and almost all the buildings had fallen.

In 1000 years, nature had completely re-taken the land. There was no trace of humanity remaining.

Scientists believe that Hoover Dam would last longer than any other human-built structure. Maybe even 10,000 years. But one day, it, too, would collapse and the waters would overcome it.

How does that make you feel?

Sad? Afraid? Awestruck? Peaceful?

Maybe we should follow Jesus' advice: "Walk out into a field of wildflowers," and look around.

What you see there is the sign and substance of God's love for his creation.

And then remember the point of the lesson: "What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving."

Relax. God made this world. He will last forever. And so will we, within his care.

Prayer: God our Father, we pray for the gift of relaxation today. That we would have perspective on our problems. That we would stop fussing. That we would care more about the heart than the stomach. More about our lives, than the clothes that hang on our bodies. All things are passing away, except for your love and care that sustain us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Greed

Luke 12:13-21 (The Message)

Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."

He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?"

Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."

Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop.

He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.'

Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'

"Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?'

"That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."

One day, this life will be over.

Usually, if you say something like that, you'll get "shushed."

Such thoughts are considered morbid, taboo, depressing. Don't talk about "the end."

Please don't get me wrong...I'm not encouraging anyone to fixate on their own demise. But, I am encouraging you to spend some time in this life making peace with your own mortality.

Because knowing that all things are passing away...that's a big part of the path to freedom.

What do we really need? What is Jesus trying to teach us about our relationship to "grain and goods?"

What will we take with us from this life and what will we leave behind?

We'll take our souls. We can take God's grace. We will leave our relationships, and a trail of decisions.

This teaching isn't easy, is it? Most of us have retirement funds, or wish we did. Most of us put some portion of our incomes away for retirement, or wish that we could put more.

Is that wrong? Wouldn't it be worse to saddle our children with the financial burden of caring for us when we're older? What is Jesus asking us to do?

Look closely at the scripture: "protect yourself against the least bit of greed."

There's the answer.

Where are we greedy? Where are we tempted to build bigger barns? Where are we more full of self than God?

Prayer: We invite you to shine your searchlight into our souls. Show us those places where we could empty ourselves, to be filled with you. Show us our greed, and teach us how you can take it away.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Stand

Luke 12:9-12 (The Message)

Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God's angels.

But if you pretend you don't know me, do you think I'll defend you before God's angels?

If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you're knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won't be overlooked.

When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don't worry about defending yourselves—what you'll say or how you'll say it.

The right words will be there.

The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes.

Do you know how the word "evangelism" has gotten a bad name?

I think I do.

It's been commandeered by folks who need to feel good about themselves by showing God and the world how really useful they can be.

I'll always remember the gruff, shoe-polish haired, pastor who almost yelled at me during my ordination interviews: "How many people have you brought to Jesus!"

"None," I wanted to say. "I'm fairly sure it's the Holy Spirit who brings people to Jesus. Sometimes I get to be there for part of the trip."

Of course, that's not what he wanted to hear.

He had a good motivation...the care of people's souls.

But there's a problem in the presentation, and how we can be perceived.

Experiences of spiritual arrogance have driven people away from evangelistic faith sharing. And it's a shame.

The bigger shame is that scriptures like the one above have been used as the bludgeon of those who want to knock sinners in the head and drag them back to the church cave.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Tonight, a pretty wonderful thing is going to happen at SOTH.

We will send out visitation teams.

Regular, humble folks, in pairs or threes, will head out into the subdivisions that surround our church. They'll knock on doors, and meet the people.

What will we say? What is our goal? What will the response be?

Well...so far, the response has been wonderful.

Almost 50 visits have been made in our first two sessions. Our hearts are changing, and we're looking outward as a church.

Luke 12 is being fulfilled. When those doors open, the Holy Spirit provides the right words.

No pamphlets. No big Bibles to thump. Just presence and friendship in the name of Jesus Christ.

As we stand up together, through the power of the Spirit, he stands up beside us. What a wonderful thing to experience!

Prayer: God our Father, we pray that we would know the presence of Christ, standing beside us. We pray for the leading of the Spirit, and the right words at the right time. And we pray for our LRE Teams, going into the community tonight.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Worth

Luke 12:4-7 (The Message)

"I'm speaking to you as dear friends. Don't be bluffed into silence or insincerity by the threats of religious bullies. True, they can kill you, but then what can they do?

There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands.

"What's the price of two or three pet canaries? Some loose change, right?

But God never overlooks a single one.

And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk.

You're worth more than a million canaries.

So, how much are you worth?

I've often heard a good old down-home phrase used by my grandparents for someone with an inflated ego:

"If you could buy him for what he's worth, but sell him for what he thinks he's worth...you'd make a million dollars."

I've also heard scientists say that the basic physical elements and chemicals in a human body can all be purchased easily for a few dollars. I don't know if that's true, but it certainly brings into clear focus what "value" is all about.

Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

We tend to worry a lot about whether our kids will have a positive self-image. We worry about whether they will be confident and sure of their talents and abilities.

What I've learned over the years is that a person's sense of self-worth is not nearly as important as an unshakable faith in their God-worth.

Our worth is assigned by the one who made us. God's love, which cannot be earned, and is absolutely infinite.

What would change in your life, if you truly, totally, believed that the maker of heaven and earth knows the very number of hairs on your head? (And mine changes from hour to hour!)

How much confidence would you have? How could you respond to adversity? What would be possible?

It's true.

Prayer: Help our unbelief. Teach us to trust you, to know you as Father, and to believe that you love us unconditionally. Give us a sense of God-confidence, God-worth.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Exposed

Luke 12:1-3 (The Message)

By this time the crowd, unwieldy and stepping on each other's toes, numbered into the thousands.

But Jesus' primary concern was his disciples. He said to them, "Watch yourselves carefully so you don't get contaminated with Pharisee yeast, Pharisee phoniness.

You can't keep your true self hidden forever; before long you'll be exposed.

You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known.

You can't whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day's coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.

Last week saw the demise of another famous politician.

The National Enquirer exposed former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards in an extra-marital affair.

In a fascinating moment of authenticity, he said that his "poor decision-making" was related to huge "narcissism and egoism." Basically, he started to believe his press.

He was insulated from reality, he stood in front of cheering crowds and saw his face all over TV, the internet and magazines. He thought he was untouchable, and that he would get away with it.

It wasn't so different with the Pharisees.

They were important. The people put them on pedestals. They were untouchable.

Jesus' disciples were starting to become susceptible to the very same problems. The crowds following them were huge. They were insiders with the celebrity.

Jesus wanted to burst his disciples' bubble...before it could ever form. "Don't get contaminated with Pharisee phoniness...you'll be exposed."

What about us?

Former Vice-Presidential candidates, ancient Pharisees, Jesus' disciples...you and me.

We all have a capacity to temporarily fool ourselves. We all have egos that are susceptible to praise and glory. We all have narcissistic streaks.

What can save us?

Perhaps a new identity...as redeemed Jesus followers. Followers of a man who loved us enough to lay his life down for us. Knowledge and memory of the great sacrifice made on our behalf...and relationship with the one who sacrificed, has the power to keep us humble in the best of ways.

Almost without exception, when I talk with church members who assist in serving communion...they come back to the same word over and over: "I was humbled."
May Jesus burst our bubbles every single day.

Prayer: Remind us of your love...sacrificial, and unconditional. Remove any pedestals and show us the path of Christ.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Insult

Luke 11:42-54 (The Message)

"I've had it with you! You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds!

You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God's love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required.

"You're hopeless, you Pharisees! Frauds! You love sitting at the head table at church dinners, love preening yourselves in the radiance of public flattery. Frauds! You're just like unmarked graves: People walk over that nice, grassy surface, never suspecting the rot and corruption that is six feet under."

One of the religion scholars spoke up: "Teacher, do you realize that in saying these things you're insulting us?"

He said, "Yes, and I can be even more explicit. You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You load people down with rules and regulations, nearly breaking their backs, but never lift even a finger to help.

"You're hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed. The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets.

That accounts for God's Wisdom saying, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, but they'll kill them and run them off.'

What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it's on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.

"You're hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won't go in yourself, and won't let anyone else in either."

As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said, plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.

"Do you realize you're insulting us?"

That question hung heavy in the air.

The "gauntlet" had just been thrown down in a pretty violent way. There wouldn't be any turning back.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Jesus seems to say.

How do you take insult? Most of us don't take insults very well. We're taught not to take such things "lying down."

But I have a theory about insults. The ones that make us most angry are usually grounded, at least partially, in truth.

If someone insults me in a way that I know is absolutely false, I can usually shake it off.

But when someone starts "meddling," poking me in the tender spots of my pride...pushing me to come out of the deep woods of denial...well that can get my dander up.

Jesus pressed the disciples in all of their most vulnerable places. He challenged their self-deception, self-importance and self-righteousness.

They reacted with rage. What about us?

Which teachings of Jesus challenge you the most? When does he make you feel insulted?

We can remember that his love never changes. But sometimes he will say what we need to hear, whether we're ready or not.

Prayer: Father God, we pray that we will never lock the door so others can't go in...while also standing outside ourselves. If we need to hear corrective teaching, from you or from others, help us not to be insulted and defensive. Give us hearts that can learn.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Inside

Luke 11:37-41 (The Message)

When he finished that talk, a Pharisee asked him to dinner. He entered his house and sat right down at the table.

The Pharisee was shocked and somewhat offended when he saw that Jesus didn't wash up before the meal.

But the Master said to him, "I know you Pharisees burnish the surface of your cups and plates so they sparkle in the sun, but I also know your insides are maggoty with greed and secret evil.

Stupid Pharisees!

Didn't the One who made the outside also make the inside? Turn both your pockets and your hearts inside out and give generously to the poor; then your lives will be clean, not just your dishes and your hands.

What kind of dinner guest is this man Jesus?

Not a very good one, apparently.

He refuses to observe the custom, that he certainly was aware of, of ceremonial handwashing before the meal.

He walks right in and sits down at the table, in what would be a very highly offensive way.

When his host objects, Jesus calls him "stupid." He states pretty directly that his insides are "maggoty with greed."

Alright. Welcome to dinner.

Obviously, Jesus needed to make a point. And, as good readers of the Gospel, we have to realize that he might be talking down through the millenia to a wider audience than his dinner host.

We've got to listen as though he's sitting at our own tables.

The message? The inside matters much more than the outside. Cups and plates that sparkle in the sun can be beautiful...but the secrets of the heart are not hidden from God.

The great good news is that God stands ready to forgive, and to clean the inside when we can't do it by ourselves.

"Just a Vehicle" by David Wilcox

The warm water beads as it runs down the curves
Of the beautiful surface so tan
She's polishing the Jaguar again

Hasn't run in a year or two
Nice car but the wheels don't move, anymore
Maybe she remembers
Maybe something's got her scared
It's too precious to be careless
And it's finally been repaired

So you never see her drive it
She won't risk it any more
It's too easy to collide it
And it hurt so much before

Could it be
That it's really just a vehicle
Standing like a statue all this time
Could it be
Its just a vehicle
She shines

Looks good but she still feels blue
Great shape but she's not so new, anymore
She's always got her work out
Every day when she gets home
She can see her own reflection
In the mirror on the chrome

When she's feeling empty
Hollow at the core
She sees it's going nowhere
And she knows there must be more

The warm water beads as it runs down the curves
Of the beautiful surface so tan
She's polishing the Jaguar again

Prayer: Give us the courage to show you the inside that you already know. May we learn to spend time in the right places today.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Proof

Luke 11:29-31 (The Message)

As the crowd swelled, he took a fresh tack:

"The mood of this age is all wrong. Everybody's looking for proof, but you're looking for the wrong kind. All you're looking for is something to titillate your curiosity, satisfy your lust for miracles.

But the only proof you're going to get is the Jonah-proof given to the Ninevites, which looks like no proof at all. What Jonah was to Nineveh, the Son of Man is to this age.

"On Judgment Day the Ninevites will stand up and give evidence that will condemn this generation, because when Jonah preached to them they changed their lives. A far greater preacher than Jonah is here, and you squabble about 'proofs.'

On Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will come forward and bring evidence that condemns this generation, because she traveled from a far corner of the earth to listen to wise Solomon.

Wisdom far greater than Solomon's is right in front of you, and you quibble over 'evidence.'

What miracles do we demand from God, as "proof" that He is real?

I can remember with total clarity an evening from my childhood that I spent lying in the front porch swing at the house my family lived in at that time.

I lay there, as the summer sun set in the background, looking up at the bare lightbulb that hung from the porch's ceiling.

"If you're real, God..." I thought to myself, and Him, "...make that lightbulb come on right now."

It didn't come on.

What did I learn from that little "miracle proof" experiement? I certainly didn't come away thinking that God isn't real. I came away smiling, knowing that God wasn't interested in doing my tricks, like a well-trained dog.

But still, it would be nice to have "proof" sometimes, wouldn't it?

We have it.

Jesus told the crowd that they (and we) have all the proof we need, but that we look for the wrong kind, to "satisfy our lust for miracles."

The "lust for miracles" is played out every night on religious tv broadcasts. It's played out in every movie and show that we watch, the books and magazines that we consume, the marketing and advertising that shapes our choices.

What Jesus offers is different, and more lasting, and much more real.

And he says that it's right in front of us.

The Ninevites saw that proof through Jonah and believed. The Queen of Sheba even believed, through the teachings and wisdom of Solomon.

Now, Jesus says, there is a greater teacher than these.

We have his words in scripture, and we can experience his truth in our lives.

Do you need proof of God? Walk outside. Right now...or at your very first opportunity. Look up. Blue sky and amazing clouds. Look down. Blades of grass, each intricately and beautifully formed. Insects, roaming and working. Air, breathed by us all. A star blazing in the sky, keeping us warmed at exactly the right temperature. A season of growth, just beginning to pass its apex, into harvest and decline.

Not three weeks ago, my middle son and I dug a deep new flower bed in our backyard. We ammended the soil with earthy additions. We gently planted seeds and watered them in faith.

Today, sunflowers and a mixture of all kinds of beautiful plants, are already higher than his head.

We've had very little to do with that. The God of the Harvest has done it all.

Look around.

Love. Grace. Friendship. Courage to go forward. Smiling faces. Laughter. Grass. Bugs. Clouds.

It's all there. "And you squabble about 'proofs.'"

Prayer: May we see signs of your grace all around us today, with new eyes to see what you are doing in this world.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

Vacant

Luke 11:23-28 (The Message)

"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

"When a corrupting spirit is expelled from someone, it drifts along through the desert looking for an oasis, some unsuspecting soul it can bedevil.

When it doesn't find anyone, it says, 'I'll go back to my old haunt.'

On return, it finds the person swept and dusted, but vacant. It then runs out and rounds up seven other spirits dirtier than itself and they all move in, whooping it up. That person ends up far worse than if he'd never gotten cleaned up in the first place."

While he was saying these things, some woman lifted her voice above the murmur of the crowd: "Blessed the womb that carried you, and the breasts at which you nursed!"

Jesus commented, "Even more blessed are those who hear God's Word and guard it with their lives!"

On the surface, and at first reading, this passage of scripture is fairly shocking.

How can this be right?

Jesus says that a person, newly freed from an evil spirit, can be "re-haunted," only this time, with seven other, dirtier friends along for the ride.

What?

How does this work, and what can it mean? Maybe it's not so complicated after all.

Watching the news recently, I saw a segment about crime in empty, foreclosed houses.

In some Atlanta neighborhoods, police departments have developed entire new details that just patrol foreclosures and empty houses within subdivisions.

It seems that thieves have been coming in at night, and stealing everything that could be of any value. Wiring, appliances, lighting fixtures, sometimes even the kitchen cabinetry.

See...those houses were probably "swept and clean," but they were still empty. They were very vulnerable to those who wanted to invade them and do bad things.

Maybe we people work the same way.

I've known people...and can remember experiences from my own youth...when I know that God has swept the house, but nothing then came to fill it.

What I mean is, prayer-rail conversions at the close of worship services...mountain top spiritual experiences of all kinds...they're to be celebrated...but they can't be the total story.

What happens when the "amen" is said, and life must be lived?

What we need is to be filled. What we need is a path of discipleship, and trusted guides who will show us the way.

Jesus said that the "truly blessed" are those who hear God's word and then "guard it with their lives." We can't do that alone. And that's my vision of "church."

A place where you won't be left vacant and vulnerable...a place where there are pastors, disciples, teachers, mentors, friends, helpers, support...and a place where you can meet the Holy Spirit.

A place where you can be filled.

Prayer: Teach us the message of this difficult scripture. If our hearts are swept clean by forgiveness, but left vacant and vulnerable...we pray that you would fill them by the power of your Spirit, and the witness of the friends with whom you surround us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

War

Luke 11:14-23 (The Message)

Jesus delivered a man from a demon that had kept him speechless.

The demon gone, the man started talking a blue streak, taking the crowd by complete surprise.

But some from the crowd were cynical. "Black magic," they said. "Some devil trick he's pulled from his sleeve." Others were skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself with a spectacular miracle.

Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, "Any country in civil war for very long is wasted. A constantly squabbling family falls to pieces.

If Satan cancels Satan, is there any Satan left? You accuse me of ganging up with the Devil, the prince of demons, to cast out demons, but if you're slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks out devils, doesn't the same mud stick to your own exorcists?

But if it's God's finger I'm pointing that sends the demons on their way, then God's kingdom is here for sure.

"When a strong man, armed to the teeth, stands guard in his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten at his own game, the arsenal that gave him such confidence hauled off, and his precious possessions plundered.

"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse.

It's amazing to me what Christian people can find to squabble about. Absolutely amazing.

I've been to too many church meetings where the topic was how to best arrange the chairs on the deck of the Titanic. Nobody seemed to notice that the water level was quickly rising and the ship was on the way to the bottom of the ocean.

Imagine soldiers engaged in mortal combat. As one strikes a massive blow to the enemy that could save both of their lives...would the other begin complaining about whether that act of heroism had been committed at the right time, in the right style, or at the right cost?

Of course not.

If it's war, you work together, at all costs, to defeat the enemy.

Hushed whispers behind the backs of fellow Christians...daggers pulled...'round the clock politics so that someone's own "side" can "win." These are not the actions of folks who realize that they're in a war with evil.

"Black magic," someone in the crowd murmured against Jesus.

Jesus response could not have been more clear.

This is war. There is no room for "neutral" fence sitters who plan simply to sit back, grumble and criticize both sides.

If you're not for us, you're the enemy.

The interesting thing about Jesus, of course, is that he loves even his enemies.

But "enemy of Jesus" just isn't the camp in which I want to find myself. I'd much rather be on his side.

Prayer: God, we ask that you would give us eyes to truly see. Help us to lay down our borders, to quit protecting our pride and egos, and to simply embrace your work, wherever we may find it. Show us your way.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.