Burn Your Bridges

James 1:21
So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
(from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)

I ran across this passage today. It reminded me of a concept that I teach my students: Burn your bridges. Often when we decide to break a bad habit we leave a way back to it. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we leave a way to make it easier to return to it. I say burn the bridge. For instance, if you want to stop smoking, you need to clean tobacco out of every nook and cranny in your house. Don't go to places where people smoke. Avoid going to place tobacco is sold. If you decide to stop smoking, but leave a pack of cigarettes "just in case," you aren't ready to quit. Burn your bridge. Make it impossible (or at least as difficult as possible) to return to that habit.

This concept translates to any sin or habit in your life. We've got to stop making it easy to sin. In the passage above, the word translated "throw ... in the garbage" literally means to "lay it down and push it beyond reach". In Sparkling Gems from the Greek, Rick Renner says that it is the word used in the first century to describe someone removing filthy work clothes and putting them beyond where they can influence sleep in preparation to get into a clean bed. How silly would it be to put muddy, sweaty, stinky, filthy clothes back on and climb between clean sheets!

What bridge do you need to burn? You may need to delete an Internet link. You may need to block a channel on your TV. You may need to throw something out (all the way to the outside garbage can). You may need to delete a phone number from your phone's memory. It's individual to you. Burn your bridge right now.

Romans 13:14
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation ®, copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Friend of God

“What would you do if you really met God?” – Alan Shore
“Probably take Him fishing.” – Denny Crane

I caught this conversation on a commercial for Boston Legal. It jumped out at me as a fantastic answer. What could be greater than taking God with you to do what you love?

God demands our respect and awe. He wants to be our friend. Too often, our devotion to him is compartmentalized and reserved for auditoriums, churches, and “worship centers.” That’s good. Worship him at home, at work, in your favorite restaurant, and while you’re engaged in your favorite hobby by honoring Him by doing your best without reservation. That’s better.

John 15:13-14 says “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Jesus laid down His life for us. We usually consider that to be a reference to His crucifixion. I think it’s more. He laid down His life for us when he became human. He laid His life down for us when He put His life on exhibition. Everything He did was an example of laying His life down.

Do you want to truly love? Start laying your life down in everything you do. It may not require your death, but it will require you to die to yourself.

Your ToBe List

I’m terrible at ToDo lists. I usually start the day with dozens of things on the list and by the end of the day I’ve managed to check off a few, but the next day I have the remainders of yesterday’s list plus enough new ones leave me losing ground.
Sticking to a ToDo list makes me cranky. I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. I may get some stuff done, but the benefit isn’t easily seen. It is very task based. Instead, I’m turning to a ToBe list. Instead of listing things I want to do, I list things I want to be. Today I want to be a good writer. With that goal in mind and the clear benefit in my mind, the tasks necessary to be a good writer (writing) come naturally.
I know that Sunday morning I will want to be a good teacher. Instead of focusing on doing (such as I want to teach a good lesson), focusing on being a good teacher makes me want to study and be better. Teaching a good lesson will then come naturally.
This year you probably started with resolutions. It’s been a few days, so chances are you’ve already broken them. I know I did. Focus this year, on being who you were designed to be. You might want to be a better parent. You might need to be a better son or daughter. You might want to be a better {fill in your occupation here}. We all need to be better role models. Maybe you want to be a better example of Christ. Make a list of the things you want to be and focus on those instead of what you want to do. This year, be all you can be.

Inspired by Chip Ingram.

God Is Into New

Have you ever wondered why God created seasons? What about procreation? Flowers? Our God is into new.
I’ve been working with youth for a long time … a couple of decades now. When the grunge music came on the scene, so did an interesting fashion trend. My youth, even the trendiest and most wealthy – actually especially the trendiest and most wealthy – were intentionally going to thrift stores to buy their clothes. Shortly after, several jeans companies started selling new jeans that were specifically “distressed” to look like old jeans. My affluent teens didn’t think twice about spending a few hundred dollars (no exaggeration) of their hard earned money (actually I mean their parents’ hard earned money) on a single pair of jeans that looked like they had been used as a rag for changing oil in the car, washed in old coffee grounds, splattered with bleach, then dragged behind the car for a few miles. They had holes and stains. The hems were frayed and the buttons and rivets scratched. I witnessed them buy new baseball caps and bend the brim severely and scrape it along the ground to ruin the newness.
I didn’t get it. I like bright, new shiny things. I like opening the new impossible-to-open plastic sealed clamshell packages because I know that the contents have never been used by anyone else. When first cracking one open, I like the smell of the new useless plastic trinkets. That euphoric sensation that almost makes you woozy because it’s the first time the molded plastic has breathed. I like the shine of new metal, smooth with no flaws in its surface. I like the burned ozone smell of brand new electronics when you turn them on for the very first time. It excites me to get something new. It’s embarrassing, but I’ve purchased things that I know I already have enough of, just because I want a new one.
Things with no scratches and that new smell have always held much more attraction for me … unless it’s something I really love. When it’s something I really love, I want it repaired. I want it re-made, recreated into something useful again. When I love something, I don’t want to let it go.
Our God spent only seven days creating a good universe with very good people in it (Genesis 1-2). He said he was finished creating. Then Adam and Eve screwed it up. For the first time, it was broken. He’s been recreating ever since. Flowers bloom, attract insects to spread pollen, then die. Next Spring, they bloom again. Man dies, but his progeny lives on through procreation. Even in the end, when the Earth is destroyed, there is recreation into a new Heaven and a new Earth.
I tell my youth all the time that they are lucky I’m not God. (They are quick to agree.) The day the forbidden fruit was eaten in Eden, I would have destroyed it all and started over from scratch. No witnesses, no foul. He didn’t. He loved man too much. His justice required the penalty he had ascribed for rebellion, but his grace provided the sacrifice in man’s stead. Atheists ask me all the time “how could a loving God callously send people to hell?” My response has always been. “He couldn’t. I believe a loving God would probably try to keep people out of hell. In fact, He would probably do everything He could to keep people out of a place like that. I believe a loving God would make personal sacrifice to help people avoid that. I believe He would even sacrifice His own son to keep people out of hell. That’s what a loving God would do. That’s what a loving God did.”
As our calendar arbitrarily changes to a new year, remember that God has provided newness for you and wants to continually renew you. This is a chance to start new and fresh. It is an opportunity to let Him recreate you a little closer to His image. You may need allow Him to recreate you by eliminating bad habits that just won’t die. You may need to allow him recreate in you good habits that just won’t stay alive. You may need to allow Him to recreate strained relationships to strong ones. You may need to let Him recreate romantic relationships into friendships. Allow God to recreate you this year. He’s into new.

Gehazi's Oops

Passage: 2 Kings 5

Story Synopsis:

Naaman was an important man, captain of the Aram military machine that had been kicking tail all over the Middle East. He was also a leper. An Israelite servant girl said that God would heal him if he visited his prophet Elisha in Samaria. He got permission and headed there. When he arrived, Elisha didn’t even meet him, but gave him instructions to wash seven times in the dirty Jordan River.

Naaman was furious and almost left. He had cleaner rivers at home and had travelled a long way to see a man that sent a servant to meet him. His own servants pointed out that if he had to do something difficult for healing, he would follow instructions carefully, so he humbled himself and washed in the Jordan seven times as instructed … and was healed of a deadly, contagious disease with no cure. Naaman had a complete change of heart and switched from worshipping false gods to confessing the God of Israel as the One True God.

That’s where the story usually ends when it’s told, but let’s go a little further. Naaman offers Elisha a gift. He had brought with him approximately 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothes. Elisha, refused, showing that God operated differently from the false gods that required gifts for their favor. Naaman left pleased and with a better understanding of who God is.

Enter Gehazi, Elisha’s servant. Gehazi secretly chases down Naaman and tells a lie to get about 150 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes. When he returns Elisha confronts him for corrupting Naaman’s view of God and Gehazi and his family are plagued with leprosy.

So where did Gehazi go wrong? Here are a few hints:

James 1:13-15 NIV

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (James)

Proverbs 23:7 ASV

For as he thinks within himself, so is he…. (Solomon)

Matthew 12:34 NIV

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…. (Jesus to Pharisees)

Genesis 4:7 NIV

But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (God to Cain just before Cain killed Abel)

The battle of the spirit isn’t won or lost in the spirit, but in the mind. Gehazi’s first makes his mistake in 2 Kings 5:20, when he thinks to himself that Elisha let Naaman off easy. He missed the point of grace and seeks to get something in return for God’s favor. Naaman, a man who was culturally ingrained with Baal worship, where to get anything required giving something, left Elisha with an understanding of grace. Gehazi, a man who had been around grace in Elisha’s house for much, much longer, completely missed the point. You can see it in his language. Elisha said “as surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve ….” Gehazi said “As surely as the Lord lives …” but conveniently leaves off the “whom I serve” that would indicate that God is really his Lord and master.

Isn’t that just like us? Many sit in church every Sunday, hearing God’s Word, seeing God work, experiencing worship, but completely and utterly missing the point. They’ve experienced church their entire lives, hearing truth and understanding it, but never letting it inside. They believe in who God is, but have never taken the plunge to trusting Him to be their boss. In the end, the reward is spiritual separation from God, the source of everything good. Others, who experience God for the first time, completely turn their lives over to Him and are saved to live everlasting lives.

Romans 10:9-10 NIV

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Belief alone isn’t enough (James 2:19). You must make a confession of Christ as Lord (boss, master, and controller). A true confession means to admit that you’ve done it. If you haven’t really done it, it’s a false confession and holds no merit. When you’ve done this, leave me a comment and I’ll do what I can to help you start your new life!

Revolution 2008 Saturday Quiet Time

The Lion of Judah

"Life is yours to be spent. Not to be saved." -D.H. Lawrence

The modern American church has emasculated Jesus. I know. It sounds sick, and it really is. When Jesus is portrayed, he is usually profoundly Caucasian, has a thin build, speaks in a soft sing-song voice, and turns the other cheek in a wishy-washy milquetoast way at every opportunity.

I’ve read my Bible and it’s not the picture I get. I see a carpenter that has had to manhandle heavy wooden timbers since he was 10. I see an orator who speaks loudly enough to engage the attention of an entire crowd of over 5000 men not including women and children. (For comparison, the Falls Creek tabernacle can seat 7,253 people – and it uses lots of amplification.) I see a man powerful enough to drive businessmen away from their businesses when they were cheating people in the temple. I see someone bold enough to confront the most powerful men in the country and call them “whitewashed tombs”, and a “brood of vipers” when they were hindering people from coming easily to their God. I see the bravery of a man who approached a deranged demon-possessed man when others watched from a distance. I see a man who had the courage to knowingly walk into his own impending torturous doom head-on to save the people he loved.

My Jesus isn’t afraid to confront evil. He’s not afraid to protect the people he loves. Although he won’t squabble over details that aren’t critical, he doesn’t back down from a righteous fight and he isn’t afraid to correct when it’s a major issue. He aggressively spreads the good news of God’s redemption even when it isn’t safe.

This is the last day of camp. Tomorrow you will be home. Tomorrow, the enemy will use everything he has to bring you down and keep you there. Tomorrow, he will try to limit your influence and keep your camp experience at camp. You need a plan and today is the time to make it. Develop a strategy. Make a list of the things you need to do to integrate what you’ve learned into your daily life and to maintain the closeness you’ve developed with God this week. It’s going to take guts, determination and commitment.

My Jesus isn’t a wuss and he’s called me not to be either.

Deut. 31:6 (NIV)

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

John 16:33 (NIV)

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

James 1:22 (Msg)

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear!

Challenge: Develop a plan for when you go home. If you need to eliminate a habit, make a plan. If you need to develop a new one, make a plan. Tell a friend so they can help you stick to it!

Revolution 2008 Friday Quiet Time

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

“There couldn’t possibly be just one way [to God].” --Oprah Winfrey

“All religions are equally false and equally true, depending on how you use them.” --Eckart Tolle (Oprah’s spiritual advisor)

Eckart and Oprah have been saying that there are millions of ways to get to God. They say that every religion is equally right. This creates a problem. This means that any religion that claims to be the only way also must be right. However, if two create they are the only one that is right, you immediately have a paradox and that theology breaks down.

Logically, not everyone can be right. Everyone can be wrong, but not everyone can be right. The trick, then, would be to find the one that is correct. You can start by eliminating anything that has internal contradictions or logical errors. This will immediately rule out several. Then eliminate those that obviously violate reality or have to change as new evidence becomes available. Now eradicate those that have any false, ambiguous, or missed predictions. Finally, purge all those whose leader didn’t do what he said he would and those that lack proof. What remains is a religion that is consistent with its own doctrine, logical, conforms to reality, remains stable throughout history, has a reliable leader, and has reasonable proof. What remains is Christianity.

Yesterday, I exposed Jesus as the Lamb of God, who permanently removes our sin. Today, I want you to see that Jesus is the only way to God. He is the only Truth. He is the only Life. He is the only Way. There is no other method, work, deity, prayer, person or action that can save you. He is the only Truth. Everything said about him by an Old Testament prophet, or recorded that he has said has been proven absolutely correct and true. He is the Life. He was the source of life in the beginning (John 1:1-3), he holds life together now (Colossians 1:15-17), and he is the only way to have life in the future (John 3:16).

John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 1:1-5 (NIV)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Col. 1:15-17 (NIV)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

John 3:16-18 (NIV)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

John 3:36 (NIV)

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Challenge: If you haven’t accepted Jesus as the only way to God, talk with a sponsor. If you have, be sure to tell someone.