Tag Archives: Christianity

Chapter-a-Day

Made for More

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Made for More (CaD Ezk 15) – Wayfarer

“Son of man, how is the wood of a vine different from that of a branch from any of the trees in the forest? Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?”
Ezekiel 15:2-3 (NIV)

I come from a family of carpenters and craftsmen. My father has my great-grandfather’s tool box. My grandfather told us that his father began by making wooden dowels by hand that were used as fasteners before metal nails and screws were widely available. It is believed that he worked his way up to building boats and ships before he came to the States. He worked as a carpenter before starting his own Hardware Store.

For the record, I did not inherit those genes. Though I have spent a lifetime around my father who can still make just about anything out of available scraps of wood that happen to be lying around. And, I’ve watched my brother, a luthier, turn different types of wood into fine handmade guitars.

In today’s chapter, God gives Ezekiel a prophetic metaphor in which God’s people in Jerusalem are compared to a vine. It’s interesting to note that both Isaiah (5:1-6) and Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah (2:21), also use the same vine metaphor. Both Isaiah and Jeremiah describe God’s disappointment with His “vineyard” not producing good fruit. Ezekiel, on the other hand, expresses that the vine is utterly useless. To his point, my father could not use the wood of the vine to craft a frame for his stained-glass, nor could my brother make a guitar out of it. Therefore, if the vine is fruitless it is useless except to be used as fuel on a fire.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, He takes the metaphor of the vine to another level. He tells us that He is “the True Vine” and as His disciple, I am a branch on that Vine. The goal is the same as it ever was: to bear the good fruit of God’s Spirit which is love in all of its facets. Jesus then talks of me being pruned along the life-cycle in order to produce more pure, deep, and abundant love. I only become useless if I produce no fruit and am cut-off from the Vine. Then, Jesus says, the outcome is the same that Zeke proclaims: the burn pile.

The truth on which the vine metaphor is established is that I was made with a purpose, just as God called His people with a purpose. I’m not useless. I’m called to be a life-giving organism producing the fruit of love and bringing God’s Kingdom to earth through that love. When I remain connected to the True Vine, I allow the Living Water from the root structure to flow through my branch and leaves spreading all of the vital nutrients of Word, prayer, relationship, and witness to have its life-giving, fruit-producing effect. The prophetic warning only comes if and when I fail to interact with the Vine. Then I will slowly, day-by-day, decision-by-decision, step-by-step, spiritually dry-up. My leaves wither. There is no joy, or peace, or love.

As I head into a new work week, I am thankful for purpose. I was lovingly made. I am grafted into a True Vine. I am called to produce the fruit of God’s Spirit, and thus bring God’s Kingdom to every one, every day.

Yesterday, Wendy and I spent time in worship with our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. We sang a song that welled up in my head and heart as I meditated on these things. I share it with you as I head into my day. May I always be mindful that I was made for more.

I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Dutch Fronts

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When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”
Ezekiel 13:12 (NIV)

The Iowa town where Wendy and I live is a unique place. Pella was founded by a Dutch pastor and his flock back in 1847. They were fleeing religious persecution back in Netherlands and were intent on creating “a city of refuge” on the Iowa prairie. Visitors from the Netherlands today will often say that Pella is more Dutch than the Netherlands itself. Dutch heritage is so woven into the town that any commercial businesses must include classic Dutch architectural design flourishes on their buildings. Even Walmart and McDonalds comply (see the featured photo on today’s post).

Of course, the architectural flourishes are just that. Behind the doors of that cute looking shop on the square, it’s just a building like any other building. In some cases, that building is 170 years old and in critically major disrepair. This has led to locals using the metaphor of a “Dutch Front.” The front of the building looks cute, quaint, and Dutch, but on the inside it’s a hell-hole. The metaphor is often (and aptly) used to describe people who keep up self-righteous, religious appearances for public consumption, but whose actual lives are filled with greed, anger, slander, hypocrisy, and critical spirits.

In today’s chapter, God has Ezekiel prophesy against false prophets and professional diviners and spiritualists who practiced black magic. I was fascinated that God’s metaphor for false prophets was basically the same metaphor as our Dutch Front. In Zeke’s day, a strong wall around the city protected it from an enemy attack. God tells Zeke that the false prophets of his day were like a “flimsy wall” that had been whitewashed to look good. These prophets would tell people what they wanted to hear, that everything was going to be okay and that they would live in peace, while God was trying to warn them of the impending doom and destruction.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on this metaphor. Even Jesus used a form of it with the hypocritical religious Pharisees of His day:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

There are two truths that I have observed along my life journey that come to mind as I reflect on Jesus’ words.

First, there is no one perfect and even the most sincerely devout individual has blind spots and imperfections. We are all works in progress. I have known critics and non-believers who are quick to paint any and all self-proclaimed believers with the same coat of whitewash in an effort to justify their unbelief and poor life choices. It is a very human thing to generalize an entire subset of humanity as “those people.” It makes easier for us to dismiss them instead of understanding them.

Second, Jesus was most critical of self-righteous, fundamentalist religious-types. Much like the false prophets, they played the religious game, they even thought they were being devoutly sincere, but they were blind to the spiritual reality. Their hearts weren’t seeking after the heart of God, but rather were seeking public approval ratings that made them feel good while ignoring the heart changes inside that desperately needed to be made.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself standing in the tension. Look hard enough and you will find my flaws. My wife, my children, and my inner circle of friends know them very well. As a disciple of Jesus, my first priority is not to seek and point out the flaws and hypocrisies of others. My priority is to be God’s perpetual and faithful cardiac patient. My heart has to perpetually change if I am going to be the disciple God calls me to be: My life, words, and actions increasingly blossoming with the Fruit of the Spirit. There is a time and place for calling out sin and hypocrisy just like Zeke in his day, and Jesus in His. Yet, I’m reminded that His criticism of the religious leaders was a very small part of His story, which was primarily about His healing and restorative sacrificial love for others. May my life increasingly reflect His.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Responding and Reacting

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Responding and Reacting (CaD Rom 12) – Wayfarer

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21 (NIV)

This past weekend, the world was stunned when the opening ceremony of the Olympics featured what appeared to be a parody of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper using drag queens and a large lady with a plunging neckline in place of Jesus. There have been all sorts of reactions to the scene, but it came to mind this morning as I read today’s chapter.

I will admit that my initial reaction was one of shock then offended anger. I scrolled my feed on X to see how people were responding. I ran across one tweet from a young Muslim woman. “As a Muslim, even I am offended by this. Where are you Christians? Why are you so weak?”

As a disciple of Jesus, however, I don’t want to be a slave to my emotional reactions but rather respond in the Spirit. So rather than spew my rage to the masses, I took some time to ponder the French parody and how Jesus would respond. Here are the conclusions I came to.

Jesus would not be surprised at all by it. In fact, He told me that this is exactly the thing I should expect from the world. Here are a couple of key statements:

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.”
Matthew 24:9

“Everyone will hate you because of me.”
Luke 21:17

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”
John 15:18-19

…in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
John 16:2b

“But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”
John 15:25

Jesus asks me to respond differently than the world reacts. Anger, rage, and retribution are the ways of the world. To me, this silly mockery is a metaphorical slap in the face, and a classic opportunity to respond in the very way Jesus taught me.

God does not need me to be His avenger. A few years ago, the offices of Charlie Hebdo in France were attacked and the workers were massacred by Muslim terrorists. They did this because the French satire magazine parodied Mohammed in a comic. I wondered, “Is this what the Muslim young lady thinks Christians should do so as not to be ‘weak?'” Jesus made it very clear that God can handle vengeance on His own without my help, and that my job is to love, bless, and pray for those who mock, hate, and persecute.

The very heart of Jesus’ example and teaching is that real spiritual strength is found in what the world perceives as weakness. Jesus willingly surrendered Himself to be crucified and said that I should take up my own cross and follow His example. Resurrection power does not come from marching in the streets, taking up arms, political leverage, or trending social media outrage. Resurrection power only comes through death. Sometimes that means I have to die to my desire or need for a sense of justice, or revenge, or self-righteous satisfaction.

In the quiet this morning, I’m thinking about an article I read yesterday in the Free Press in which the author commented that the people who should really be angry are not the Christians, but the citizens of France who had a chance to show the world the best they’ve got to offer with regards to art and culture and have to ask themselves “Is this is the best we could come up with?” In the meantime, I’m not too worked up about it. I have people to love, clients to serve, and a bunch of meetings today in which I hope to be an example of Jesus’ loving kindness and self-control.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Big Brother Mentality

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Big Brother Mentality (CaD Rom 11) – Wayfarer

And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
Romans 11:6 (NIV)

Last week, I gave a message to our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. I kicked off the message by stating that I’ve long had the idea for a book about the things that Christians always get wrong. In that message, I talked about God’s presence. My entire life I’ve listened to people pray for God to “be present” or to “Come to us.” If we really believe what we say we believe, that is the most illogical thing to pray for. If you want to know why, I encourage you to listen to the message because that’s not the subject of today’s post.

One of the other chapters of my proposed book is the subject of today’s post. Along my life journey, I’ve observed that while Christians say we believe that salvation is “by grace through faith,” we still act as if there’s a bit of meritocracy mixed in. I like to think of this kind of thinking as “Grace Plus.” “Yes salvation is by grace through faith, plus if you were really “saved” you wouldn’t [fill in the blank with a behavior that, in your mind, a real Christian wouldn’t exhibit].

In today’s chapter, Paul addresses an implied question in his letter’s argument about salvation being for both the non-Jewish Gentiles as well as the Jewish people: “Has God rejected His people?” I am always amazed at how given we human beings are to binary, either-or, thinking. The Jewish people of Paul’s day were so proud of being “God’s chosen people” that they wanted to maintain exclusivity. Rather than perceiving the inclusion of Gentiles as followers of Jesus as God’s merciful generosity flowing from its Jewish roots, they concluded that God’s love of Gentiles must mean rejection of Israel. This attitude, by the way, is the same as the older brother in the parable of Prodigal Son. Like the father in that parable, Paul explains that God loving the “prodigal” Gentiles and celebrating their homecoming into salvation does not negate His love and purposes for “big brother” Israel. It is not an “either-or” but a “yes-and.”

The “Big Brother” thinking that Paul is addressing with his Jewish brothers and sisters is a form of the same problem that exists with those I observe with “Grace Plus” thinking. It’s a form of self-righteousness that mentally assents to God’s love as gracious and merciful, but at the heart of it still clings to the notion that our good works have some merit in making us more worthy than the dirty sinner.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself thinking of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists in his letter to the believers in Galatia. I thought through Big Brother’s reaction to his father’s grace and mercy toward the sinful little brother:

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’“

Then I tried to determine which of the Fruits of the Spirit he displayed in his reaction:

  • Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Goodness
  • Faithfulness
  • Gentleness
  • Self-Control

How about the Prodigal’s father? Yeah, Pops was exemplifying them all.

As a child of God, I want to have my Father’s heart which is gracious, merciful, generous, and truly loving. This means, however, that I have to surrender all of my meritocratic notions. God’s generous and gracious love for others does not diminish His love for me, it just means there’s more love to go around than I ever thought possible.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

God’s Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness

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God's Righteousness vs. Self-Righteousness (CaD Rom 10) – Wayfarer

For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:2-4 (NIV)

I had lunch with a friend this week who is a pastor. As we were catching up they mentioned that they had received a “poisoned pen letter.” I have received my own share of these letters along my spiritual journey. They come from the religious rule-keepers I’ve described in recent posts. “Poisoned pen letters” typically point out one or more rules that the religious rule-keeper considers to be conditional for salvation that you’re not keeping in their eyes. There’s always scripture included, often quoted in the Authorized King James version. A poisoned pen letter always includes the threat that unless you start keeping their prescribed rules you are going to hell, you will be forever damned, you will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, you will burn in hell, or similar. They are almost always sent anonymously.

The poisoned pen letters I know of have dealt with things like not preaching the right things, not using their prescribed version of the Bible (usually the King James Version), not wearing the right clothes, not having the right hairstyle, wearing a hat in church, not having your head covered in church, not keeping the sabbath, being friends with sinful people, drinking alcohol, listening to the wrong kind of music, not using the right kind of music in the church service (e.g. traditional hymns), not being political enough from the pulpit (of their political persuasion, of course), being too political from the pulpit (the side they disagree with), and etc.

In today’s chapter, Paul describes his fellow Jews as zealous for God. Their zeal, he goes on to explain, is misguided. The religious rule-keeping Jews didn’t know the righteousness of God. They only knew self-righteous rule-keeping. The former is sourced only from God through faith. The latter is sourced by keeping prescribed behavioral rules through human effort. The former is a gracious and generous gift from God. The latter is a threatening condemning human demand.

Wendy recently read the story of a person who was raised as a fundamentalist rule-keeper but has since renounced her religious roots. She explains that a religious rule-keeper thinks that they are showing love by pointing out another person’s sins. The condemnation and threat of hell are seen as a loving act that will potentially save the object of their public rebuke or poisoned pen.

How misguided. They ignore the scripture that says it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance. So also do they ignore the scripture that lists the fruit of the Spirit that a believer produces. Nowhere on the list will you find anger, threats, condemnation, yelling, protesting, or sending anonymous letters. The list is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. A poisoned pen letter exemplifies the exact opposite of patience, kindness, and self-control.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself being mindful of Paul’s attitude toward his zealous, self-righteous Jewish brothers and sisters. His heart goes out to them. He prays for them to see the Truth and to know the righteousness from God that can only be received, never earned. Paul’s attitude towards these people reminds me of Jesus on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them. They don’t get it.” I think that’s the attitude and posture that God wants me to have when dealing with rule-keepers when they confront me or write me anonymous letters. It’s easy for me to get angry with them, but how will they repent if I use their own angry, condemning tactics against them? They won’t. But perhaps if I respond to their condemnation and anger with kindness, patience, and loving faithfulness they will see in me that there’s a better way.

I will be taking a week’s vacation next week. I’ll return to our chapter-a-day journey on Monday, July 29!

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

From Rules to Raspberries

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From Rules to Raspberries (CaD Rom 7) – Wayfarer

So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.
Romans 7:4 (NIV)

As a modern reader, I don’t believe I can fully understand just how rabid the Jews of the first century were about keeping the Law of Moses. In a general sense, however, I think we all have at least rubbed shoulders with fundamentalist-type rule-keepers. They aren’t hard to recognize. The emphasis is always on the obsessive-compulsive avoidance of things that are deemed sinful, the condemnation and avoidance of anyone who does them, and the strict upkeep of self-righteous appearances. I have observed that critics of Christianity love to use fundamentalist rule-keepers as being representative of all Jesus’ followers. It’s an easy target.

Over the 18 years I’ve been writing these chapter-a-day posts, I have often referenced the semester of college that I spent among fundamentalist rule-keepers. I have so many stories that are both silly and tragic. When I read Paul’s description of his Jewish brothers and sisters who were essentially fundamentalist rule-keepers (I believe they exist among every religion), I always think of that semester on a fundamentalist rule-keeping campus. It’s a handy point of reference.

I also realized as I was reading today’s chapter that in my mind I often swap out the word “Law” (referencing all of the 613 commands of the Law of Moses) with “Rules.” I have many life experiences with rule-keeping and rule-keepers.

In today’s chapter, Paul argues with his rule-keeping friends that laws don’t matter when you die. He uses the example of marriage. If a woman sleeps with a man while she’s married to another, she is committing adultery. If her husband dies, she is free to marry another man. He then goes back to the previous chapter in which those who are baptized are spiritually and metaphorically buried into Jesus’ death and raised into Jesus’ resurrection. Part of the “death” into which I was buried is becoming dead to rule-keeping. Part of the “new life” into which I was raised is the spiritual fruit production.

Just as the death of a husband frees the wife to pursue a new relationship, Paul says that rule-keeping died on the cross with Jesus. With His resurrection, we now have a new life with a totally new paradigm. We are freed from rule-keeping in order to increasingly bear the fruit of God’s Spirit:

Love that is increasingly evident in my life by my…
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Self-control

If my life is focused on being a disciple of Jesus, walking in His footsteps, following His example, and obeying His teaching, then I will increasingly produce these “fruits” in my life and relationships with every one, every day. I no longer need rules. The fruit of the Spirit in my life is evidence that I and my heart are ruled by Christ.

As I meditate on this contrast in the quiet this morning, I find myself so grateful for the freedom I’ve experienced from rule-keeping. I pray for those who are still bound in rule-keeping to find the live-giving grace of Jesus. I’m motivated to spiritually fertilize, prune, and water my life so that I can produce more love and all its flavors.

By the way, I used “raspberries” in the title of today’s post because when it comes to fruit, I love the flavor of berries. Also, it made for catchy alliteration! 🙂

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Water

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Water (CaD Rom 6) – Wayfarer

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:3-4 (NIV)

Over the past few months, there have been mass baptism events around the world. It’s not the type of thing that mainstream media is going to report, but it’s out there. A reported 12,000 individuals were baptized at Huntington Beach, California on Pentecost Sunday. Another nearly 5,000 were baptized in multiple events in Florida. In New Guinea, 300,000 people were baptized. Just weeks ago, I was honored when a young friend drove a long way in order that I might baptize her. It was a precious event. Just a week before that, our local gathering of Jesus’ followers baptized several people, and the place was packed with witnesses celebrating each one.

Over the years, I have repeatedly stated that God’s base language is metaphor. All of creation is an expression of God’s being and a reflection of His eternal nature. Time and time again, throughout the Great Story, God uses metaphors to communicate spiritual truth. That is what baptism is really all about, but it’s even more than that because metaphors are layered with meaning.

In Genesis 1:1 the Great Story begins with God’s Spirit moving over the “deep” regularly translated as “sea” or “waters.” In his Revelation, John describes Heaven’s throne room as having a sea that looks like crystal. From beginning to end, water plays a major role both physically and spiritually.

God destroys the world with a flood. Noah and his family are saved through the waters. Peter makes the spiritual connection between the Great Flood and the baptism of believers.

God delivers the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and the freed slaves escape through the waters of the Red Sea. In today’s chapter, Paul writes of being freed from our slavery to sin. Spiritually, baptism is a person’s Red Sea moment.

God leads the Hebrews to the Promised Land, and they enter the Promised Land by passing through the River Jordan. Paul speaks today of the spiritual transformation of a believer from the “old life” of slavery to sin and into the “new life” in Jesus. Spiritually, baptism is also a person’s River Jordan moment.

Life for every human being begins in the protective water of the womb, As the “water breaks” it ushers the baby into their earthly journey. Jesus told Nicodemus that salvation is about being “born again” spiritually. The water of baptism metaphorically becomes a sign of the water breaking and ushering a newborn believer into their new life.

Jesus said that He came to bring us “living water,” a spring welling up within a person to eternal life. Baptism is a metaphor for being “buried” in the “living water” just as Jesus was buried in the tomb and raised up out of the “living water” just as Jesus was raised from the dead.

David presciently describes the metaphor of baptism in his lyrics to Psalm 18:

[God] reached down from on high and took hold of me;
    he drew me out of deep waters.

As I meditate on the metaphor of water and baptism in the quiet this morning, I find myself encouraged. That’s what metaphors do. They are physical reminders of spiritual truth. It was a crazy weekend of an assassination attempt and being reminded of the division, violence, and vitriol that is seemingly so prevalent in our current times. But then I think of 12,000 people on a California beach whose lives have spiritually changed for the better. I think of 5,000 people in Florida who experienced a spiritual rebirth. I try to imagine the positive impact that the transformed lives of 300,000 people could have on their nation and world as they follow Jesus into obediently loving God and loving others. I think of the smile and joy of my young friend as she came up out of the baptismal pool and gave me a hug. She was so excited about God’s spiritually transforming work inside her. Death-to-life. Buried-to-risen. Slavery-to-freedom. A new birth in which old things pass away and new things come.

Yes, there’s a lot of chaos out there in the world, but God’s Spirit is still moving over the “deep.” The Good Shepherd is still leading His flock to still waters. This wayfaring stranger is looking forward to crossing Jordan into an eternal Promised Land and seeing the crystal sea.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Rules and Rifts

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Rules and Rifts (CaD Rom 3) – Wayfarer

…and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Romans 3:24 (NIV)

Wendy and I get along remarkably well despite the fact that we have very different temperaments. Wendy is an Enneagram Type Eight (the Challenger) and I am an Enneagram Type Four (the Individualist). The Enneagram Institute calls this relational combination the most “inherently volatile.” Nevertheless, Wendy and I somehow manage to be around one another pretty much 24/7/365. Not only have we not killed one another, but we actually enjoy our perpetual proximity. The Enneagram Institute goes on to describe the Eight/Four coupling: “Both types bring passion, intensity, energy, and deep (often unconscious) feelings to all aspects of the relationship.”

Wendy and I have also found ways in which we are very different. This occasionally creates rifts between us. For example, I was raised in a home where the rule was “the door is always open and everyone is welcome at any time.” My dad would be happy to regale you with countless stories of my friends, and the friends of my siblings, stopping by at all hours unannounced.

Wendy, on the other hand, believes firmly in the rule that the kind thing to do is always let people know in advance that you’d like to stop by. Thus, we had a rift that would regularly present itself in conversation while on our way to Des Moines to visit my parents. It started like this:

Wendy: “Did you call your parents and tell them we’re coming?”

Tom: “No.”

I’ll let you imagine the rest of the conversation.

In today’s chapter, Paul continues to address the rift between Jewish and Gentile believers. The rift was rooted in the Jewish preoccupation with being rule-keepers. They had been given God’s rulebook through Moses, and good religious Jews were obsessed with keeping the rules. This presented a problem, however. It was a historic problem that presented itself almost immediately after the Law had been given. It then continued through the period of the Judges and the period of the Kings and perpetuated itself during Jesus’ ministry. Jesus confronted this problem time and time again.

The problem was relatively simple: People chose which rules they wanted to follow, and which rules they wanted to conveniently ignore. The rules that they chose to follow were the rules that others could clearly see with their own eyes.

Did you keep the sabbath?
Did you make your prescribed offerings?
Did you go to the Temple for the feast?
Did you circumcise your male children?

The rules they ignored were easier to hide and corporately convenient to simply sweep under the rug.

Did you love the foreigner in your midst and honorably treat them as you would want to be treated?
Were you generous, refusing to get rich at another’s expense?
Did you treat others lovingly and with equity?
Did you take care of the poor, the needy, and the outcast?

Jesus spent his entire three-year ministry trying to get His good religious Jewish brothers and sisters to see the problem. They cared more about Jesus keeping the rule about not working on the Sabbath (which is easy to see) and failed to see that the rule was never intended to keep them from doing something good for someone (e.g. healing, helping, lending a hand). Having God’s rulebook didn’t make the Jewish people righteous. It didn’t make them better at anything other than learning to keep up appearances with some rules while clandestinely skirting other rules for their selfish gain.

This cultural obsession with rule-keeping was deeply ingrained in them. Jews who became followers of Jesus and had been raised in this culture had a hard time not demanding that everyone be a rulekeeper. They looked down on those non-Jewish believers who never had the Law of Moses (and didn’t really care). Thus the rift.

In the quiet this morning, my mind drifted back to Wendy and me in the car on our way to Des Moines. One of the things we’ve learned about the rifts that appear in our relationship is that it’s rarely, if ever, an “either-or” issue in which one is right and the other is wrong. It’s often a “both-and.” My parents’ hospitality and generosity were wonderful aspects of a home that blessed countless people. It’s nice to know that they were always open to welcoming someone unexpectedly knocking at the door. Also, it is always a kind thing to call ahead and let people know you’re planning to stop by.

Paul is making a similar “both-and” argument for the rift between the Jew and Gentile believers. Yes, the Jews were blessed to have been given God’s rulebook, AND having the rulebook didn’t make them more righteous than the average Gentile. Both Jew and Gentile have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, AND both Jew and Gentile are justified by God’s grace through faith in Jesus alone. The spiritual realities they share are greater than the differences they experience in the rift about rules.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

The One Thing

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The One Thing (CaD Rom 1) – Wayfarer

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
Romans 1:16 (NIV)

I had a class in college in which the professor assigned us to write a paper of at least 10 pages about a historical figure. One day in class he returned our papers with his corresponding grade written at the top with a bright red Sharpie. One of my classmates was livid that he’d received a failing grade. In front of the entire class, he called out the professor for failing him. As I recall, the professor attempted to help our classmate save face by quietly telling him to read through the notes he’d made and it would explain. The classmate pressed on, insisting that there was no way he should have been given an “F” on the paper.

“The assignment was a ten-page paper. My paper was 35 pages long!” Our classmate yelled.

“Yes,” the professor replied calmly. “You wrote a 35-page paper, but you didn’t say anything.”

Over the past several years, I have had the privilege and honor of mentoring several individuals in our local gathering of Jesus’ followers in the art and craft of preaching. It’s given me great joy. I believe I may have learned more through the process than my protégés.

Among the things I have stressed in my mentoring is that when you have to say something it’s critical to clearly articulate what it is you have to say. I call it “the one thing” and I asked them “If there was one thing you wanted every listener to walk away and remember, what is it?” Among the most common struggles I observed with my charges was having too much content. Often fueled by fear of not being able to fill the allotted time or coming across as lacking knowledge, individuals would pack their outline or message with all sorts of information, references, and illustrations. However, the more content that was packed in, the easier it was for “the one thing” to get lost.

In the rom-com Sabrina, the chauffeur’s daughter says to her billionaire father’s employer, “You know, Linus, more isn’t always better. Sometimes more is just more.”

Today this chapter-a-day journey enters Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome. Paul has a lot to say to his friends. But in his opening words he clearly articulates his “one thing:”

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Roman society of Paul’s day was all about honor and power, shame and weakness. The idea of a suffering, servant-hearted Messiah dying on a cross was antithetical to citizens in the heart of the most powerful, most wealthy, and most worldly of human Empires. Most Romans looked down upon Jesus’ Message as foolishness. Paul is about to explain to the believers in the heart of the Roman Empire, in great detail, what real power and foolishness look like in the Kingdom of God; Power that leads from death to life, from chaos to shalom, from earth to eternity.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on my circumstances relative to the original Roman recipients of Paul’s letter. I live in the “heartland” of an American Empire in what is considered a post-Christian era. Many among the educated elite now consider Jesus’ Message not only foolish but evil. The world, they argue, would have been better off had Jesus and His followers never existed. Meanwhile, affluence affords me the luxury of focusing time, energy, and resources on a host of silly things and foolish notions. As I look back at my life journey, I’ve never felt such a contrast between the direction Jesus’ Message leads and the messages the world tells me I must believe under the threat of social and cultural cancellation.

I think it’s a good time to read the “something” Paul had to say.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

“Young and Old”

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"Young and Old" (CaD 1 Chr 25) – Wayfarer

Young and old alike, teacher as well as student, cast lots for their duties.
1 Chronicles 25:8 (NIV)

This past Sunday, I gave the message among our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. In the message, I shared briefly about my youth pastor, Andy, who was a real mentor to me when I was in high school.

One of the things that Andy impressed upon me and my fellow students in those days was the fact that there was no age minimum when it came to having spiritual gifts and using them for God’s Kingdom. When it came to a two-year discipleship program that Andy wanted to offer for our high school youth, he chose four students to be trained and to lead the class for both students and their parents. Encouraging us to embrace that we had spiritual gifts and that God wanted to use us even though everyone else saw us as “just kids” was transformational.

I continue to beat that same drum today. How many great things could happen if young people stopped zoning out in front of screens, chasing likes, and were given permission to embrace and unleash their spiritual gifts and passions in tangible ways?

I also mentioned in my message that spiritual gifts and using them for God’s Kingdom do not come with an expiration date, either. Just this last week I had a casual conversation with the former CEO of a global corporation who now tries to help individuals and organizations harness the opportunities represented in those who have “retired” from their careers but still have as many as 20 to 30 years of life ahead of them in their “third phase.” Our culture embraces “retirement” but nowhere in the Great Story have I ever found God telling anyone their services are no longer needed. God numbers our days for His purposes, not mine. If I wake up in the morning, there’s a purpose He has for me this day.

I thought about these things as I read another one of the admittedly boring chapters of lists. In today’s list, the Chronicler lists those members of the tribe of Levi who were musicians and assigned to play for worship in the temple. It was fascinating that the ancient Hebrews made a connection between music and spiritual sight. There was a connection between music and prophesy, synonymously referred to as “seer.” I confess that I’ve always envied gifted musicians and singers. Alas, my gifts lie elsewhere.

What struck me the most in today’s chapter was that when it came to assigning the musicians who would be responsible for playing music for worship in the Temple on a rotating basis, they cast lots. “Young and old alike, Teacher as well as student.” In other words, there was no age or educational restriction. God wanted young and old, experienced and inexperienced, both teacher and trainee to play before Him. Even a “joyful noise” is sweet music to God’s ears when it is played with a devoted and aspiring spirit.

In the quiet this morning, I find myself meditating on the difference Andy made to a generation of us back in the day. Andy believed and convinced us there was nothing we couldn’t accomplish for God if we had faith and shrugged off the restrictions society and culture placed on us, even in spiritual matters. You can still find so many of my peers from those years around the globe still focused on ushering God’s Kingdom through everything they do, no matter their vocation or calling.

I also find myself, once again, reflecting on the impending “third phase” of life that sits out there on the horizon. I have no idea exactly what that looks like. I do know, however, that my endeavor is to never retire from God’s callings and purposes for me as long as I have life and breath.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.