Survivor

Was Jesus just a spiritual survivalist? Was he a Jewish Bear Grylls, trying to survive the perilous attacks from the religious elite (wolves)? I think we can all agree that that isn't the case, and if it were, he would have done a terrible job.

Jesus wasn't a survivalist, but it seems like many of his followers are. What I mean by that is this: we are just trying to get through the day-to-day, and hopefully not lose our faith by nightfall.

Don't pretend to be the exception; are you just trying to survive?

Jesus says, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10). The original design of man at his genesis was to have abundant life. Surviving wasn't in the vocabulary of Genesis 1 and 2. I think a lot of us don't know what it means to have life abundant.

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all." (John 6:63). Being alive has little to do with breathing, hearts beating, or brain activity. Anberlin says, "there's more to living than being alive." Are you too focused on life in the flesh to see that you have little or no life in the Spirit?

Here are some signs that you may be living as a spiritual survivalist.

Like the lawyer in Luke 10, you ask questions like "Who is my neighbor?" Luke says that the lawyer was "trying to justify himself" and so do we when we ask similar questions. These questions may be "How far is too far with my boyfriend/girlfriend?" or "Is a tithe just 10%?" Perhaps those are innocent questions, but the real question should be "How much can I save for my husband/wife?" and "God, take what you want from me." If you are asking questions to find out the minimum level of commitment/obedience that it takes to make it through, you are simply rationing obedience. You want to make sure you aren't too holy, but just holy enough to survive.

This one is for me just as much as anyone else. If you are worried about money, then you are just a survivor. In Matthew 6 Jesus tells his disciples that tomorrow has enough worries on its own. He asks them if they think they are less valuable than birds and flowers. What we concern ourselves with the most, that thing is likely the lord of our life. What we desire from our money is comfort, but more than that it is control. I don't need to rely on God if my savings are stacked. You need to questions whether money is your god. Want to know how to unchain yourself from money? Jesus provided the answer earlier in the same chapter: "But when you give to the needy..." Money is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. Survivors worry about having enough to provide for themselves.

Here is some news that may hurt your feelings, but Jesus didn't die just for you. He died for his bride, the church, and he died for the redemption of the world. Someone may have lied to you if they preached to you a totally personal faith. People who have a faith that is only personal will make an idol out of their own salvation. What I mean is that you aren't concerned with God's kingdom, with his people, or with his will; instead you are concerned with "staying saved," making yourself feel better, or maybe even personal piety. God's heart is clearly for the community, not for the lone wolves. A mark of someone with a hyper-personalized faith is the desire to make it to heaven. There is nothing wrong with longing for heaven, at all, but if that is your sole desire, then you are missing God's mission for you in the present. If you are most concerned with your salvation, then it it your lord. A survivalist is just trying to make it through without getting their hands too dirty. But let me tell you, if your hands aren't down in the grime, muck, and crap of this world, trying to pull out the lost, then your hands will still be dirty with their blood.

If you feel like you are always being beaten by the same sin, and are always having to fight harder and harder to survive, you are missing the abundant life. I have said something similar before, but we can only fight so hard, do so well, and win so many times before sin will get the better of us. Instead of a heroic fight with sin, in which we want to be the martyr, we should submit to the power of Christ and his sufficient freedom from sin. If I said I fully understand the balance of fighting and surrender, I'd be lying. However, I do know that we must cling closer to Christ than to our own sword. You don't need to hide in the shadows waiting to ambush sin, that is for survivors. You need to cling to the abundant life that Jesus has already given.

The point I want to stress is that too many Christians are thinking that they will barely make it into heaven and feel like they are constantly falling in and out of grace. That is not the kind of life God gives. I am confident in my salvation because I know I can't survive on my own. I am confident in my salvation because of the work of my savior. Because I know my future, I can live life abundantly now. Praise God for that!

We were made to thrive, not just survive.

My Heroes

I need to give thank to some people for where I am today!
At Ozark I heard someone (either Matt Proctor or Bob Russell) mention that they had a list of 10 of their heroes in the faith. I think that is a fantastic idea, and would like to take the time to thank some of the most important people in my life. I haven't been a Christian for too terribly long, nor have I been in one place for that time span, so I will give you my top 5.

Sam Landis-
I met him at another friend's house after third grade was over. We hit it off (it was easy, we live one street from each other) and have been best friends since that day. I had to have been incredibly frustrating because he worked on me for 6 years without ceasing.
He always pushed me to be more like Christ, even before I knew what that meant. He never gave up, and he brought me to Christ. He is the example of long-term faithfulness because of his persistent love and care for me. I literally owe my life to this man.
We have butted heads many a time, but that's what brothers do. I know that he would do anything for me, and I am so grateful that he never gave up.

Eric Semjenow-
We both agree: we don't remember meeting. He was the first friend I made at youth group. We have spent countless hours doing some random, stupid, crazy, fun stuff. But we have also had some of the best conversations on God and his world. I miss him like crazy, and I don't miss many people in my life more.
His faith has been so steady, and his faith truly, deeply inspires me. Unlike Sam and I, who are expected to behave, he is pursuing godliness like a savage. He inspires me more than he will ever know.
For his friendship, his brotherhood, his persistent faith, and for his genuine desire to see God's kingdom come, I am thankful!

Jim Landis-
I was just Sam's chunky friend, but Jim (and the whole Landis family for that matter) adopted me and all my weirdness. Had he not been the presiding minister, he would've been in my wedding party. He has been a spiritual older brother, but he is just brother to me.
He recognized my youthful ignorance and has pushed me to challenge my knowledge. He has made me a better student of the Word, and he is invested in my future. Thank you Jimbo!

Gary Semjenow-
What a guy. He took me in as well. I must have seemed like a street rat to him, always sitting at their dinner table. He was my first small group leader ("The Body Builders" we were called) and he forged a strong group of faithful believers (Sam, Eric, and I). He knew that I didn't have a father to teach me Christ-likeness, so he subtly adopted me as his son. I can see in his eyes that he has a genuine love for me. He has invested in my future like few others, and my heart leaps when I see him again. I'm thankful for a faith father like him.

Bill Westling-
Last, but certainly not least. In fact, I'm sure he would want to be last on this list, because he is one of the most genuinely humble men on earth. He took over as my small group leader and invested countless hours into my brothers and I. He would work hard all day, then come home late and jump immediately into discipling us. Bill and Tracey have genuine love for everyone they discipled and continue to encourage us all. Everyone who knows them has agreed that every church could use more Weslings. I praise God for Bill and the amazing heart that God has molded in him. I'm sure they are blushing as they read this...just accept it Bill, you folks are one of a kind! I am thankful for their care.

I am filled with memories and love when I think about these people. I've been blessed lavishly by these people. The part that stings is that I am in the same place as only 1 of my heroes now. I miss my heroes so incredibly much, and I cherish the times when we re-unite.

I love you all, and I thank you a million times for saving my life. God undoubtedly used you to take me away from a life that would've led to death. I praise God because of you. Thank you also to every person in between that has loved me as their own. I'm eager for the time when we all celebrate in heaven.

With Love, your son.

Just Be Yourself?

If you could explain what "cliche" means, you might use the expression "just be yourself" as an example. It is used for dating advice, making friends, father-daughter talks, dating advice...Just relax and be yourself.

What does that mean, really? If you would ask Freud he might say that yourself is a vicious monster hellbent on sexual conquest. Awkward, yes? If you asked Darwin he would likely say that you are a lucky beast that has basic needs to meet. I don't want to be like that either. Who is "yourself?"

Unfortunately, Scripture says that we are sinful if left to our own devices, and  I'm not going argue with that. So bad luck for those seeking dating advice: being yourself is terrible (horrific, awful, detestable) advice.

"Be yourself" gives lazy people a bull crap excuse to stay in sin by saying, "that's just who I am." Wrong! Don't get me wrong, God has gifted us all uniquely. What I am not saying is that we should ignore what  God has "wired" us for. However, God doesn't "wire" you to be an idiot.

And now, an example: I am naturally disposed to deflecting critique and blame away from myself. Following the advice to "be myself," I just accept my plight and continue to pretend like I am the exception to all critique and rebuke. Where does that put me? That is the nonsense that Lady Gaga promotes (hiding behind a noble cause), and not just her but our philosophy of culture. 

In KB's song "Open Letter" he recieves a letter from a girl struggling with lesbian lust do to loneliness and the line says, "they tell me to accept that I was born this way," and the statement is immediately rejected with the blunt line "that's a lie, this is lust."

"Be yourself" is harmless enough until you make that your life's motto; then it becomes an excuse to be a lazy transient who refuses to acknowledge the sin in your life.

So what should it mean? Perhaps "be yourself" would be better replaced with "be honest." If you are trying to get a date, be honest. Truth is, I'm a huge geek, who can quote a few too many lines from Lord of the Rings, and I'm about as cool as adult braces. Amy was cool with that, and now I'm married. Be honest.

Yet, some people would still use "be honest" as a weapon. I've heard sin be downplayed instantly by 4 words, "At least I'm honest." *clap clap* Bravo, you know you're being foolish and are willing to admit it, but, by George, you won"t do anything about it! Being honest has its limits as well.

The simple solution is this: be holy. Jesus says in Matthew 5 "be perfect." Compare that to the original "be yourself." Our idea sucks. God doesn't want you to come to some state of self-actualization, nor does he need you to be satisfied with your self-image (see Holy Bible for details). God's desire is holiness. self-image and self-worth are inseparably tied with God's view of us, not our view of us. That's the truth.

My goal is to be who God desires me to be, and many times that will involve not being "myself." That isn't being fake, that is the call to holiness and self-surrender. God has called us higher. Praise him that  he has!

Ex Nihilo

I just want to share something cool with you. This isn't an original thought or discovery, nonetheless let me share.

God is very cool. He made the world out of nothing. Everything we see, hear, smell, is all from him. Not only did he simply "speak" the world into being, he did it ex nihilo. Have you ever meditated on that before? We ask questions like "I understand spiders, but ticks? Seriously God?" We think that there are things we would do differently. That's noble, but you can only imagine and "fix" what God has already made!

Try to imagine a new color?
Okay, don't hurt yourself.
Try to create an entirely unique animal?
Good luck.

Anything you imagine will use recycled parts from other animals. The point is that anything we create, no matter how awesome, is only a secondhand image of what God has already made.

God is the only one who truly imagined something, created something. We have simply recycled things in a creative way. I don't have a deep spin to put on this, I am simply amazed. In the words of the great scholar and theologian Ron Burgundy, "Don't act like you're not impressed."

[Grace and peace.]