Grace and Truth

This morning I begin my study through the Gospel of John. In doing so John 1:14 surfaces, "We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." Being that people in my church are seeking to become more like Jesus, this is a conversation that comes up quite often:

"How can we find a balance between grace and truth?"

But this morning as I read, I wondered if we have been asking the right question. "Balance?" This gives the impression that grace and truth are at odds, almost like a tug of war . . . You go too far with grace you lose truth, you go too far with truth you lose grace. This is how I have always seen it, but I wonder if I have always seen it wrong.

As I read John 1:14 it seems like Jesus embodied the fullness of Grace, and the fullness of truth. Not that he was trying to keep them in balance, but that he took both of them to the highest point. Think about it. Can you think of a person who was more gracious than Jesus, or a person who embodied truth more than Jesus?

It makes we wonder if we need to change the one question from "How can we balance grace and truth?" into two questions, "How can we extend grace to the fullest possible scenario?" and after we answer that question ask, "How can we embody truth in the fullest way possible without taking grace back?" If we can find answers in a way that grace and truth aren't competing but complementing, maybe we will be on to something. Maybe we will take a huge step in becoming more like Jesus.

Grace has to be shocking. It always was in Jesus ministry. And the fullness of truth when we deeply understand it is that we need grace.

Last Sentence

The last sentence of the book of Acts. "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

There is so much in that sentence:
"Boldly and without hindrance . . . "
Paul never complained about his circumstances, but he used all of it for the Gospel. When he was in prison he saw that as an opportunity, when he was shipwrecked he saw that as an opportunity. Nothing seemed to derail or hinder him.

" . . . He preached the kingdom of God . . . "
The kingdom of God was his message . . . I believe this is the central theme of the bible, yet it is one that most Christians know little about. If you asked 10 different Christians, "What is the kingdom of God?," I'll bet you would get a couple puzzled looks, some vague answers, some aspects of the kingdom, but very few who deeply understand it. In my own life, I grew up in the church, I went to seminary, got my Masters in Divinity, but it is only in the last year, that I feel I am beginning to grasp it. Why did it take so long? It was never really taught . . . I never really studied it . . . I only looked up close at individual verses, never really step backed and looked at the big picture (thanks to the influence on "modernism" on my life . . . the metephor was out dated and hard for the 21 century mind to understand . . . maybe a combination of all of that and more.

" . . . and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus was the focus of his teaching. We need to stay true to this. If we make Paul the focus, we loose Paul's message. Pastor Steve said in his sermon Sunday the more our church (and individuals) focus' on Jesus the healthier we become. I tend to agree with him. Let's teach and focus on Jesus.

And the last three words. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord, he is the King of the kingdom, he is God!

Progression

As I read Acts 27 I notice a progression. Paul is a prisioner, the soldiers guarding him are taking him to Rome, and when they first leave Paul gives advise that isn't listened to. Basically don't sail. Well, as the journey continues, Paul's captures begin to listen to Paul. They begin to take his advice. There is a progression in how they see Paul and their interactions with him.

I guess reading this chapter helps me remember there is a process to life. I have always wanted to see immediate results, or I begin to get discouraged. But in living consistently, continuing in relationships, you can actually begin to make a difference over a period of time. We should not be always looking for the quick results, but to sow, and give time for a harvest to grow.

Falsely Accused

The last couple chapters in acts I have been reading, Paul has been falsely accused. The Jews were mad at him, so they made up stuff they could not prove. Kind of like they did against Jesus.

I think being falsely accused is something that comes when you are truly a follower of Jesus. Some people may not understand what you are doing, for others it may threaten their way of life (even in the church), some people may just end up hating you.
This is why it is so important to live a blameless life, so that when people go after you (as they did Paul in Acts 25-26) none of the charges stick.

I guess any time you really believe deeply in something, have conviction, and act on it, it is going to make someone mad. But what is life without passion?

The Promises of God and Easter

This was a picture I took this Easter weekend standing on my back deck. I love rainbows. Rainbows always remind me of the promises of God. The promises of God remind me that there is something to hope for, something to trust in a world that is falling apart at so many levels. So rainbows calm me.

I have faith that Jesus is alive, that God will set things right in this world. That there is goodness, and kindness, and love, because we have a God who created those things in accordance with his character. I hope my picture can remind you of those things as well. (oh, and I always new there was a pot of gold in the barn behind my house.

On Easter we had Lynsey's family over. Just thought I would post some pictures.

Adult table:

Half the China we used was Lynsey's Grandma's, the other half was my great grandparents china they got at their wedding.









Kids Table:













The center piece:

hmmm . . .

This morning I read Acts 23, in my quest to better understand the kingdom of Jesus. The chapter revolves around Paul. 40 Jews took an oath to neither eat nor drink until they killed Paul.

Wow, could you imagine what it would be like if 40 people said they would not eat or drink until they killed you? They are putting there own lives on the line.

I think this shows how volatile the situation was in the first century around the spread of the gospel. We begin to see why all the disciples were killed for their faith (save one).

To preach the gospel in the first century was putting your life in danger, yet this is the context in which the gospel spread throughout the world. The disciples of Jesus believed in the cause enough to put their lives behind it, and no matter what threats came that never stopped them from telling of the good news of Jesus.

hmmm. What is stopping you, what is stopping me?

Testimony

As I read through Acts, I am amazed at how many different ways the gospel is presented. Here in Acts 22 as Paul speaks he is doing a couple things. 1) He speaks to defend himself, 2) but he does so in way where he is trying to present the gospel.

This time Paul uses his own personal testimony to talk about what Jesus has done.

When Christians today talk about testimonies, they are usually referring to only one day of their lives. The day they prayed the sinners prayer. Any maybe they will talk about what their lives were like before or after that day. If there is a dramatic change you will hear wow, "You have a great testimony." But if "that day" was when they were young, or there wasn't a dramatic change revolving around "that day," that person will usually say, "I don't have a very good testimony."

What? Are we living in that much disobedience to Christ, and blindness?!

A friend of mine who has been coming to Bridgetown ministries with me to care for the homeless recently told me. "I finally have a testimony to share with people." And he is. For him, his testimony does not revolve around "that day," but it revolves around what God is doing because his is living in the Way of Jesus! It is exciting.

If we actually live in the Way of Jesus, we will have testimonies that are being written daily, and will have something to share about our faith, because it is actually part of our lives!

Courage part 2

In the next chapter of Acts (21) God sends a prophet to Paul. The prophet takes Paul's belt, bind himself and says, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of the belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'" Upon hearing this, those with Paul tried to talk him out of going to Jerusalem.

Paul's response, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

He went to Jerusalem and was bound by the Jews . . .

I am touched by Paul's passion and courage. I think of areas in my life that I have been less than courageous, and it makes me want to push through my fears when I am confronted with a choice that I believe in.

In my study on the gospel and the kingdom of God, I am coming to see courage and an essential attribute.

Courage

I have been thinking a lot about courage recently. A book I read a couple weeks ago talked about it, my friend Steve Pringle recently blogged about it, and last night as the college group was over at my house, my friend AJ Geist answered a question about courage.

Today as I am reading in Acts 20, Paul was telling the elders, "I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me." Imagine that, each place Paul is about it go, the Spirit tells him of all the troubles that await him, and yet that does not deter him.

Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the ability to not let fear paralyze or deter you, but to do what is right in the midst of fear.

I am leading a mission trip to Honduras this summer . . . I was thinking if I knew that prison, or hardships awaited me would I let that stop me from going, or would I be like Paul and press on?

Power

It's seems to me that power is an enemy of the Gospel (human power). As I was reading today in Acts 19, when Paul was in Ephesus, the power of the people behind the goddess Artemis was being threatened by the Gospel so they got the whole city to riot.

It makes me think of Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus was killed because he was threatening the power base of the Pharisees, and they were not about to let that happen.

The way of Jesus seems to be to not be caught up in power, but to glory in weakness. To find peace not through ruling and forcing unity, but to find peace through loving our enemies, and serving those are not easy to love.

All of us have a measure of power and we must be careful to not let it corrupt our souls, least we become an enemy to the gospel.

Review: Good News About Injustice

Since I just finished reading this book, I thought I would give a quick review of it.

I believe that this is one book that everybody who is seeking to understand and live the kingdom of God should read. Not that this book communicates the whole message of the kingdom, but this book reveals in depth one aspect of the kingdom of God. To release the oppressed, to free the prisoner, to advocate for those who can't speak for themselves. In other words to help bring justice in a hurting world.

In one sense the book is an easy read, in another sense it is a very painful and difficult read. He walks you through story after story all over the world of people whose lives have been shattered. From children labor practices, to forced prostitution, to murder, and all the realities in the world that we try to shelter ourselves from. But they are real, they are true, and we are called to do something about it.

Jesus sees all that is in the world, is near to those who are being abused, and grieves for them. To follow Jesus means to no longer be in the dark, but to educate ourselves with what is going on, to have our hearts break as Jesus' does, and to avail ourselves to be used to bring the love and freedom of Jesus.

Reading this book has changed the way I see the world. It is like putting on glasses . . . Being able to see clearly where things were blurry before. It is scary to see better.

The Good News about injustice . . . It's for the oppressed . . . God wants to free them through you and me.

A Must Bookmark . . .

Ok friends, if you haven't heard of this, you are in for a real treat. I am going to give you a must bookmark site if you are interested in "alternative" Christian websites. zoecarnate.com I think I could spend the rest of my life there. Better just use it as a resource.

I could use some help . . .

In Acts 18 the gospel comes back to a Jewish audience that holds the scriptures as from God. So the Old Testament becomes the central focus of the conversation of who Jesus is. Those preaching the Gospel are trying to show from scripture that Jesus was the Christ (the Messiah, the promised one).

I think the contrast in these two chapters (Acts 17 -- see previous post) shows that though the good news is the same for everybody, how you communicate it might be different for each person.

So here is my question, which I would love input on:

1) Who are the authorities for the emerging generations today? (Musicians, authors, actors, etc.)
2) And what are they saying that accurately communicates the message of God, or shows that they are seeking after God?

One song that pops into my head from John Mayer's "Something's Missing." The song resonates with the truth of God, and shows him seeking (even if he has not found God yet).

Any thoughts?

The Gospel Changes - Acts 17

In my study through the Gospels and Acts looking to better understand what the Gospel is, we come to a profound moment in Acts 17. Paul is preaching the Gospel to the Greeks in Athens. Much of the message is the same. He is preaching about the same God, appealing to faith, calling people to turn to God, but everything else about his message is different. He isn't appealing to scripture, he is appealing to their poets (vs. 28). Even though they have many gods, he also commends their spiritual quests, and uses them (the altar to the unknown god) to have an avenue to start talking about God. Here are a few conclusions of mine from this passage.

1) God is already working in the "unsaved" world. In the make up of the culture God is bringing good, and trying to draw them to Himself.
2) As stewards of the Gospel, we need to find what God is doing in others, and explain it to them using their language. If they don't hold scripture in high regard, maybe we ought not appeal to it. Find who their authorities are (like musicians, actors, etc), and appeal to them. Still telling the message of scripture but in their language rather than ours.
3) Don't come in condemning, but affirming, as Paul does here.
4) We must lay to rest our training of presenting the Gospel in one way (four spiritual laws, or Romans road, or the salvation prayer, etc) and be retrained to understand the gospel more deeply so that we can present it in thousands of creative ways that resonate with the culture we are talking to.
5) Finally leave the results to God. Some believed Paul, others didn't.