Receive and Apply

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Receive and Apply

par-a-ble -

noun

1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy or the like.

Jesus lays on the parables thick in Matthew 13, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a farmer planting seeds, a single mustard seed, leaven that refines flour, a hidden treasure, a merchant and a fishing net. Each of these comparisons accurately describes heaven, each also delivered to connect with a specific mind. When Jesus spoke, he was speaking to common citizens, farmers, bakers, and fishermen; his words were strategically directed to those lifestyles. While using a language that most of his audience would understand, Jesus also utilized a catch phrase familiar to the modern professional educator,  he inspired “higher order thinking”. By using analogies and symbolism, the listener has to discern what each character and detail represents in order to apply to the kingdom of heaven and in their daily lives. Making the situation familiar while also making the listener think results in the person actually hearing the message and downloading it into their long-term memory.

I have to make confession, I’m a nerd. I love watching all the brainy, educational shows on Discovery channel and National Geographic. I caught a show on NatGeo recently that was all about how our brains operate. One segment caught my attention in particular, the one about memory. During this portion of the show, the producers interviewed a man who competes in memory competitions professionally. They tested his abilities by sending his to a bar and assigning him the task of learning and remembering a set of twenty people’s names throughout the night. At the end of the evening, he flawlessly recalled the names of each stranger, along with some additional details about their lives and character traits. Then the producers had him reveal his secret to super-memory. As each person introduced themselves, this guy would focus on something specific about the person; a facial feature, scent of their cologne or perfume, anything that makes that individual unique. In his mind, he would then take that detail and assign it an object (an apple, for instance). He would then take the object and place it in a specific place in his intellectual living room. Every face has a name, each name would be associated with an object, each object a story behind it’s placement in the room. This recipe of association ultimately ensured the person’s name was locked into the memory of this “professional recollector”. Sounds a whole lot like a parable, doesn’t it?

That show really served as affirmation for what I do, spontaneously translating the auditory into visual. I essentially am fostering the same process of memory  by associating the day’s message with a visual image, then recording the back-story of the image by explaining the symbolism on the blog.

Today’s drawing is a lounge chair sitting in the middle of a plowed field with an apple resting on the seat. I planted my tomatoes yesterday and checked over the rest of our crop sprouting for this year before rain moved in today, so I already had gardening on the brain. The plowed field is a reference to the parables Jesus used with the audience in Matthew 13, the homesteaders of that day. I then added my own familiar association with the ancient parables, placing a lounge chair in the middle of the field. I am a furniture engineer by day, so upholstered seating is my life and leisure! Last, I added the apple. The purpose of parables is to convey knowledge. Among the associations of the apple is education, the apple on the teacher’s desk. Whatever knowledge you are aiming to grasp is encompassed by this apple, resting in the cultivated field.

Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

 

Outside Your Window

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Outside Your Window

 

Today started a new series entitled ‘Multiply’ as we continue in our study of Matthew.  The text for today is Matthew 9:35 through 10:42; the meat o these verses being Jesus commissioning his twelve disciples to expand his ministry by serving people following the example he’s given them.

To start today’s message in context, we took a detailed look at Matthew 9:35-38. The word ‘compassion’ being used here is more than just feeling sorry for another. When we look at the original language, this word is describing an emotional and physical reaction Jesus has to seeing the lost state of the people around him as they grope for something to complete their spiritual selves. This is a gut-wrenching sorrow for humanity.

Second is the word ‘harvest’. As an amateur vegetable gardener, I understand too well the urgency or harvesting your crop before (1) another mammal does or (2) it over-ripens and is ruined. The harvest is ripe, the harvest is urgent.

Our main emphasis as  a church was a prayer that I have prayed many times; Abba, let me see people through your eyes. Brandon Heath recorded a song in 2009 that accurately captures this desire, “Give Me Your Eyes”.

Jesus approached the unapproachable, touched the untouchable, and embraced every sector of society without hesitation or remorse. He broke down walls with complete disregard for his own safety. Now he’s turning to his inner circle and telling them, “It’s your turn.” As followers of Jesus, we are included in that call. Go and make disciples of the people right outside our windows. Jesus does not warn the disciples away from adversity, he tells them to expect it and embrace it. “Do not fear those who can kill your body but cannot kill your soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell. (Matthew 10:28).

The theme of today’s message and resulting drawing brought back an image created for our ‘Bold’ series last year. A figure, representing you as an individual and the church as a whole, being faced with a decision; step out in faith or play it safe? In both images, the figure has taken down the warning labels members of society (many who are inside church walls) set in place to keep themselves safe and is stepping out into the perceived danger in faith. It is important to note the figure walks alone. Stepping out in faith is not a movement, it’s a decision we make as individuals that risks no one following.

Who do you see outside your own window who needs someone reach out to them? Take a bold step, introduce yourself then introduce them to Jesus.

A Prayer for Boldness

Prayer for Boldness

 

Unpack

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Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes?   Matthew 6:25

3-10-13, City on a Hill 7, Unpack

 

I will do what God wants me to do.

I will give God what I cannot do.

I will trust him no matter what.

Like a well used suitcase, covered with pictures and scars from a lifetime of travel, everyone has a story that longs to be told. Each trip added a little for weight to the luggage, each destination another mark on the case. The material and dimensions of a piece of luggage determines how much that item will hold before breaking. Airlines limit the weight of each bag of luggage because they know the limits of their aircraft, too heavy and the plane will plummet. The human spirit is weight-rated as well, we are not designed to carry all the baggage life piles upon us alone. God gives us each other to share the load. This weekend magnified the importance of telling our story, regardless of how insignificant it may seem to the storyteller.

Unpack your bags, tell your story, because we’re living together on the other side of done.

 

Extinguished

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1-27-13, City on a Hill 2, ExtingsuishedToday we reach the salt and light verses, familiar in most religious circles but applied in all too few.

Matthew 5:13-15

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. (just like the sewage)

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

These words were spoken by Jesus to people who followed him, some by action others only by words. Obviously, Jesus is using the analogy of ‘salt’ and ‘light’ and their environmental impact to describe a real Christ follower and their cultural impact. Due to the explicit description of living a “Christian” life, these same words are recited at many baptisms (mine included), but in these modern times, are they anything more than just words?

Salt enhances flavor and preserves meats. It can also be used as a landscaping tool, destroying plants’ (or weeds’) ability to grow in dirt where it is mixed. Even the slightest pinch of the mineral cannot pass our taste buds unnoticed. The presence of salt is felt, seen, tasted, and smelt; not because it forces you to see but because it simply cannot be disguised. If you claim to follow Jesus, does your spiritual presence command such attention?

Light infiltrates every possible crevasse without putting forth any additional effort. Carry a burning candle into a dark room, no surface in the room can escape its touch. Any light source, regardless of intensity, is supremely dominant in darkness. Interesting thing is, the same principle does not work in reverse. Bring light into a dark room and the darkness flees, dark cannot overtake any space without first removing the source of the light.

Modern Christianity has experienced a spiritual devolution which is cutting off any cultural impact or even social relevance “being a Christian” once had at the knees. The statistics for divorce, debt slavery, and physical dependencies are hardly “set apart” by spiritual affiliations. Modern Christians are just as likely to succumb to any of these vices as the modern heathen. Yet these are all situations the Christian faith explicitly addresses and leads its followers to avoid. Has time stripped Christ of His power, resulting in His followers having no better leadership to live a better life? Absolutely not. Jesus has not changed, His followers have.

Around 500 years ago (by what I’ve been able to find), the “rules for becoming a Christian” changed from Jesus’ command to “Follow Me.” (which we discussed in the previous series) to a scripted prayer one must say, insipidusly dubbed “the sinner’s prayer”. The concept of having to pray as a precursor to embracing salvation cannot be located in any biblical text and, borrowing the words of C. S. Lewis, is “a great cataract of nonsense”. Christianity is a faith that results in a relationship and leads to action. As Paul described it, faith without action is dead. Mark Gungor, a lead pastor in Green Bay, WI and marriage guru, describes this largely American phenomenon better than I ever could.  He compares the “sinner’s prayer” to spiritual pixie dust. Just say these few magic words and the salvation fairy will sprinkle forgiveness dust on your head, then you’re in the club. A very comical, but unfortunately accurate depiction of what many claim as their “Christian faith”. This method of promoting “easy salvation”, which one can only assume was a numbers game, has survived long enough now that its shallow nature has trickled up to our church leaders. What if new Christ followers today aren’t searching any deeper than a few magic words because the very people set in place to lead them deeper have never gone deeper themselves? It’s up to the salt and light to lead.

Toady’s drawing is a literal depiction of the lamp, the bowl, and the salt Jesus speaks of. A shadowy winged creature retreats away from the smoldering lamp wick, having extinguished its flame in a trail of pixie dust.

 

Blessed

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1-20-13, City on a Hill 1, Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12

Blessed is the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Blessed – ultimate well-being and distinctive spiritual joy.

Notice the word ‘happy’ does not appear anywhere in the definition of ‘blessed’ above. Derived from the word ‘happenstance’, happiness is contingent upon extrinsic variables. Our circumstance determines our level of happiness, so if our circumstances are dire, then we cannot be happy (or so we’ve conditioned ourselves to believe). Blessedness is intrinsically motivated. Our level of blessedness is reflected in our gratitude for life (ultimate well-being) and the ability to be joyful in any circumstance. Followers of Jesus learn the secret to joy is not to hoard it, but to give it. Leading another soul to experience joy is an inescapably joyful experience for the one leading! The joy you experience is a direct measure of the joy you bring into the lives of others. Let’s break down these declarations of blessedness from Jesus’s most famous oration into real-world situations:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Pride is a characteristic unbecoming to all who wear it. Pride is often the attitude the bible references when you read of someone being ‘rich’. To enter heaven, one must replace pride with humility.

Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted.

Human nature defaults to sympathy in the presence of sadness. Those who are sad are blessed through empathy from others.

Blessed are those who are meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Meekness is strength under control, another reference to humility. When the prideful have fallen from their pedestals, the strong who controlled themselves are who the people look to for leadership.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

God will not withhold righteousness from anyone who desires to embrace it.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Pit this statement against the ‘judge not lest you be judged’ verse we’d much prefer to regurgitate. People will be as merciful to you as you are to them.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

No one is entirely pure in their heart. Everyone carries with them a sinful nature that is manifested through selfish motivation. Through humility, we can begin to purify our hearts. This principle echos the first, reminding us of the importance of humility and self-control.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be sons of God.

This line if often reduced to a political statement. Political activism is not a form of peacemaking. Can activism inspire peace in tense political situations, sure. The peacemaker Jesus is referring to is one who creates peace at a more personal level, leading other souls to peace with themselves and peace with God. The only way to lead someone to peace with God is through proclaiming the gospel. Peacemakers of this caliber are sons of God because they literally reflect the very mind of God; peace.

As followers of Jesus, Christians are literal agents of reconciliation within their communities. Wielding mercy and the gospel as our weapons of choice, we fight for peace in our circle of influence by taking advantage of opportunities to show others mercy and taking time to personally share the gospel. Mercy and the gospel must be used in conjunction with each other. Sharing the gospel without showing mercy leads to bigotry, counter-productive to inspiring peace and the antithesis to the gospel of Jesus. Mercy without the gospel is the root of  modern-day social justice. What’s wrong with social justice you may ask? In theory, social justice is at the root of Jesus’s ministry; peace and equality among his people. In action (at least in modern terms) social justice is a band-aid that enables irresponsibility and conditions people to dependency.  One cannot follow the gospel of Christ without also taking full responsibility for every decision. Social justice paired with the gospel requires those being justified (and those doing the justifying) to accept responsibility to sustain their justified state.

Now for the last two, I’ll clump them together.

Blessed are those (you) who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake for their’s (your’s) is the kingdom of heaven.

Back the truck up here. I’m bless for being slandered (insignificant in comparison to other forms of persecution) and should accept it with joy?! Pride. Once again, pride is juxtaposed with humility. If you truly are humble, it won’t matter what people say about you because you understand your spiritually broken state. On some level, even outright lies could be conceivably accurate. Pride responds to persecution with defense, humility finds joy in celebrating God’s love for us despite our nature.

Proclaiming the gospel opens the door for persecution, but a blessed heart cannot contain the mercy it’s been given.

May you be blessed.

Boiling Frogs

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Continuing on with our Project Relaunch focus on changing the world, we’re keeping our attention on Nehemiah, the expendable cup-bearer who re-shaped his civilization. As Nehemiah made his proposition for rebuilding the temple to the king, he presented his plan with confidence because his mission was clear and his planning research was thorough. The first characteristic essential to loosing the world changer in you is clearly defining your mission. What aspect of the world are you changing? Once your mission is defined, choosing your methods is next. World changers make their plans wisely and execute them with confidence. Finally, the people who change the face of history inspire people passionately by their work. The efforts of world changers work themselves out of a job by inspiring their successors.

Today’s drawing is a narrative that presents the ideals for what it takes to release the world changer inside you. As we studied Nehemiah’s situation, the attitude of his peers first grabbed my attention. The king gave him permission to carry out his mission to rebuild the temple and collaborated with surrounding kingdoms to support Nehemiah’s efforts. The majority of the push-back and criticism Nehemiah received came from the community where he lived. The resistance to the temple being rebuilt was not the result of controversial public policy or disputes over property values, it was a simple question of why. The temple existed in its ragged state for so long, it’s purpose for existence faded. People viewed Nehemiah’s efforts as futile. Despite sustaining blows to his esteem, Nehemiah’s passion drove him forward.

The apathy of the community toward the temple reminded me of a familiar object lesson. How does one boil a frog? Place the frog in a pot of cool water then slowly apply heat until the water boils and the frog cooks. By raising the temperature slowly, the frog adapts to its surroundings without sensing any danger and will remain submerged as the water reaches it’s boiling point. One frog in the drawing is rebelling against its amphibian peers, stepping out onto the stove. Having realized his narrow escape from the impending doom the others still face, this frog returns against the odds to free his friends. Using the suction quality of its hands, the enlightened frog turns off the heat. Though safe from a boiling demise, the remaining frogs still lack the motivation to escape their pots. Making good use of the strength of his tongue, the passionate frog strikes the handles of the pots confining his friends, wraps the handle in a strangle-hold, then leverages himself to overturn each one.

Freed from his watery prison, one bull-looking frog sits on the floor. From his vantage point, he can see what he’s been freed from, others that are still confined, and the one working to free them. Inspiration to participate with the change is sure to follow.

World changers inspire people passionately, even if the object of their passion is unpopular at the time.