Alyssa's Beatitudes - Matthew Five from the Eyes of My Wife

These are the beatitudes, looked up in Greek and put into plain words by my beautiful wife. I read these and thought that her translation and commentary underneath was so beautiful, it should be put out for other's to see. Enjoy and be edified as I was:

1. Happy and well off are those who are begging and helpless for the life giving Spirit, for they are the ones that will have riches of the everlasting kingdom and the sonship of royalty and kingship dominion.
2. Well off are those that grieve and wail, for they will be called to be near to God.
3. Blessed are the gentle and mild in spirit, for they shall be a royal heir to good fertile land.
4. Happy are those who crave and suffer after a right standing with God, for they will be satisfied and refreshed.
5. Well off are those who are compassionate towards those who are undeserving, for they too shall receive help in times they are afflicted and destitute.
6. Blessed are those who are purified by fire -  clean and blameless - for they shall gaze upon God.
7. Happy are those who love peace and are pacifists for they will be named the offspring of God.
8. Well off are those who are run after and pursued and despised because they long after a right standing with God, for theirs is the royal power and authority and right to rule over the kingdom.

Compassion and passion. When the gospel is simple there's no reason not to follow it. You either do it or you don't. Love jesus.. love others. The poor don't have back up plans. They cant do it themselves. If you want to know the heart of God looks like... stop and love them. We have complicated the gospel. God said “sit and love.” I wanted to understand the gospel and Jesus brought me to the poor and they taught me about the kingdom of God. Will you stop, will you care? Will you be Christ's hand extended?

The Rock and the Sand

Jesus told a story in Matthew seven about a wise man who built his house upon a rock and a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. In this story, a rain storm came upon both homes - the house on the rock stood, while the house in the sand collapsed.

Over the years, I have heard many descriptions of being the "wise or foolish man" in which wise people build their lives around Jesus, go to church every sunday, and make sure to plan out their futures. But what did Jesus actually say?

In Matthew 7:24, Jesus prefaces this story by saying, "Everyone who hears these words that I am speaking and does them will be like this wise man..." What Jesus is telling this story for is to emphasize the entire teaching and instructions that he gives his followers in Matthew 5-7, commonly called "The Sermon on the Mount." But if we really examine what Jesus tells us to do in these chapters, are any of us living lives of wisdom that is "built upon the rock" that Jesus laid for us?

Let's examine some of these harder teachings, Jesus told his followers:

• Rejoice when you are persecuted and men say evil things about you.
• We are salt and light to this world, and we are of no good to it unless our good works cause others to glorify God in Heaven.
• Anyone who becomes and stays angry with another is in danger of judgement and punishment from the Kingdom.
• Do not offer an offering or gift to Jesus without being reconciled with others.
• Cut off things in life that cause you to stumble in your walk - especially those concerning fleshly lusts.
• Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
• Do not resist someone who is doing evil to you.
• Do good in secret; pray in secret; give in secret. 
• Do not lay up treasures in this world.
• Do not become obsessive about planning for the future and taking care of yourself.
• Do not judge others without first being set free.
• Ask God, and he will give.
• A person following Jesus will bear fruit according to that relationship with Jesus.

Honestly, these teachings are the rock Jesus advises men to build their lives around!  But let's be completely honest, our culture does not teach these kind of things. We find excuse after excuse to embrace things that are easy and reject things that Jesus taught that are hard.

• "Our society complains, files lawsuits, and becomes afraid when the Church begins to suffer "persecution."
• Rarely do our "good works" result in men praising God - so it could be assumed that our good works are coming from our flesh.
• "How often do we stay angry and harbor bitterness over the smallest, meaningless things! "They didn't cook my food right, he cut me off in traffic." Especially when we have expectations of receiving service, "That church didn't preach the way I liked, the waitress was rude, or I had this client that....". The list goes on and on.
• How often do we go before the Lord BECAUSE we are angry with someone - his directions are clear! Be reconciled and then come to him! He will forgive as we forgive!
• Many men in women would admit that they have struggled in their faith because of things on the internet, television, or various other forms of things in the entertainment world. But how often do we freely surrender these things for the sake of walking rightly with Jesus?
• How much time do we spend praying for those who dislike us?
• How often do we seek to retaliate, seek justice, or "protect ours?"
• When you do good things, do you seek recognition from God or men?
• Do not store up treasures on this earth! But how often do we upgrade to more and more things we don't need or don't use! Jesus DOES care about what you have! I would venture to say often he wants us to have less of stuff and more of him! 
• 401K's, retirements, school-planning, insurances for everyone and their cats - we obsess over the "could-be's" of tomorrow instead of walking in the confidence of God's provision and supernatural love.
• Can we even go a day without talking or thinking about someone and all the things that could be wrong with them? How often is our prayer, "Search ME, oh Lord!"
• How often do we seek to provide for ourselves? Our wants? Our desires? Even our needs? Jesus promises to provide for us - do we often seek him when we want or need something? Maybe Jesus will actually tell us that we should not be seeking those things? Maybe he will give out of his love and abundance anyway! But maybe we should at least ask more because Jesus told us to!
• Honestly, if we are doing these things according to what the Lord says - we will bear fruit of them. In our lives, our joy, in making more disciples of Jesus... we should seek all these things and pray that the result of following would be tangible fruit! God's Word  bring increase!

I say all these things so that we may more rightly seek to build our homes and lives upon the rock that is the teachings and truth of Jesus. No amount of man's wisdom, planning, or will can negate the truth of the words Jesus actually said! So let us lay aside our agendas, our pride, and our comfort and embrace the Jesus that we claim to follow! Let us construct our homes in a manner worthy of hearing, "Well done my good and faithful servant!"

Faith - Where Rubber Meets the Road

                Now, faith is the substance of things unseen – being certain of things we cannot see. Faith is where the knowledge of God’s truth in our inner man actually rules over the rebellious nature of our flesh and pushes us to make decisions based on faith in the Word of God. Faith chooses to follow God into the unknown, not pre-determining fleshly issues God has promised to take care of for those who love him. Faith prays for miracles with an understanding that God desires to heal, not relying on a back-up plan of medicine. Faith causes you to chase down gangbangers to share the love of Jesus, believing that God supernaturally protects those who follow him. Faith releases loved ones to follow God into dangerous situations, having a greater care for the Heavenly Kingdom we are promised than the earthly life we have stewardship over. Faith compels us to live like Jesus – subjecting ourselves to necessary hardships – because we are compelled that the God we serve is greater than the fleeting pleasures of this world. Faith is not easy, faith is not fun. But the burden of faith is easy, and faith produces joy.

                Faith, in a sense, is where rubber meets the road. It’s where the convictions of the word of God meet the experientially realm of this natural world. The members of Hebrews 11 did crazy things by a worldly standard. But God does not call this unnatural, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” If this insane living is faith, and without this insane living, it is impossible to please God – there’s probably a significant leap that many Christians barely consider. Truly, I tell you that this living is normal in the Kingdom of Heaven. The forerunners of faith before us do not form some great “hall-of-faith” we all pray and hope to join someday; they actually set a standard of living for following Jesus, they are our “cloud of witnesses!”

                From the foundation of the world, the enemy has attacked man’s faith in God. “Did God really say…?” Brothers and sisters: Did God really say he would heal you? Did God really say he would protect you? Did God really say that the poor of this world would be rich in faith? Did God really say he would pour out his Spirit on all flesh? Did God really say he loves you? Did God really say to follow Him you must die to your flesh and soulish lusts? Did God really say that we must seek first his kingdom above everything? Did God really say that He would physically and emotionally take care of us if we subject ourselves to hardships while following Him?

                Search the scriptures! It is God’s desire to do these things! The Word of God is not filled with questions such as: Did God really say? Listen and meditate on the Words of Jesus. Did anyone know God better than Jesus Christ? Is there any doubt in his words when he promises God’s protection and provision over his disciples?

                Dearly Beloved, I am a man that is subject to passions and lusts as we all are. When I moved into a bad part of town, I feared for my family’s safety. When I choose to do what I believed God was calling me to by not going to college, getting married, and moving to a new city, I was afraid that my family may not have the provision that we need. When I or loved ones have fallen sick, I have been tempted to believe God may not be able to heal – that I may need doctors. Or maybe that He didn’t want to heal. Beloved, if God didn’t want to heal you, why would it be within His Will that you seek out an alternative that only brings glory to man? I say these things to recognize that these feelings and fears are legitimate – and they will come up – but that you can choose to walk in obedience to the Word and Will of God anyway.

                Truly, this is a hard word for me to swallow. I struggle with my doubts and with my “did God really say?” questions. But the Lord has not let me down yet, and I don’t believe he will in the future! I have found that when I come to him with a genuine, child-like faith he responds with loving care and gifts from heaven! Let us walk in confidence, God did say; so obey.

Streams and Rivers: Encouragement to live like a Believer

                “Father, I thank you that you have heard me – and I know that you hear me always: but because of the people which stand here, I say this that they may believe that you have sent me.” –John 11:41-42

                “Truly, truly, I say this to you: The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for whatsoever he does these things I do also. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all the things he is doing…” John 5:19-20

                “Truly, truly, I say this: He that believes on me, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these will he do; because I go unto my father.” John 14:12

                This is not just a good book. These are not just good words. This is the Bible. These are the Words of Jesus; the living Word; spoken by the Word of God. This is Jesus. This is the Church. This is your destiny.

                I have been astounded lately with the number of things God does through those that will read the Word, believe it in faith, and then die to themselves and follow Jesus! I may share some of my recent experiences in the near future; but for now I just want to share a dream and some encouragement to seek these things in your own life. This was my dream last night:

                I dreamt that I was walking before the presence of the Lord, when he spoke to me and said, “Josh, why do you doubt me? Why do you question my desire to perform miracles? To save those who do not know me? Go, obey, and see me.” So I went down to a creek bed that I thought was empty; imagine my surprise when I found some water in it! I jumped down into the water that came up to about my ankle and rejoiced in the Lord! He brought water where I did not expect it! But the Lord said again, “Wait, and see.” Suddenly, I heard a sound like thunder; far down the creek bed, water began to build and flow towards me like a tidal wave. I scampered. I tried to run back up the creek bed, but I couldn’t climb up the bed no matter how hard I tried to get away. Then the Lord said, “This is what I intended. Don’t be content with a creek, when my Will is like a River!” The river then hit me, but it did not hurt – it actually felt good!

                I am convinced that Jesus desires to release an exponential amount of blessing to those believers who will listen and obey his voice! More than they could even expect! I heard a word a while back that a sister gave me in which she said, “So many sons and daughters of God are content in eating crumbs from the table of the Lord when Jesus has a whole refrigerator of blessings he DESIRES to give them!” Don’t be so quick to settle for crumbs from Jesus – in Spiritual reality, we learn that EVEN the crumbs from the table of the Lord result in supernatural miracles (Matthew 15:25-28). Instead, believe that when Jesus said that his disciples would perform miracles actually MEANS his disciples will perform miracles! Let us die to ourselves, die to our soulish doubts, and believe in the Jesus of the Gospel!

                I am a normal man that simply started praying through these truths. It is no magic formula, no perfect combination of prayer and obedience, it is simply reading and believing the truth of the Gospel in your own life. However, as I have started to believe these truths, I have SEEN and EXPERIENCED Jesus showing up miraculously! When my wife and I ministered out of a heart to serve in our neighborhood, the Lord actually MULTIPLIED our food to feed all the kids that came to our front porch! When a gang fight broke out in front of our house, the Lord provided FAVOR for me to chase down and share love with the twelve-year-old leader of the gang! When a co-worker approached me with the sadness she felt about a dear friend committing suicide the night before, the Lord actually RAISED HER FROM THE DEAD and HEALED HER to show the depth of his love!

                Dearly Beloved, this is only the beginning. This is only the shallow stream waters that Jesus says not to be content with! Jesus wants to seek and save those which are lost. To break into the poor, the broken, the hurting communities and families of people; to supernaturally encounter them with His love; and to reproduce the same fruit in the lives of those that come to faith in Jesus!

                Jesus desires to use you, today. Jesus desires to speak his love to you; to give fresh revelation into your inner man. He LOVES IT when you ask for more! He does not think you are greedy; he does not think your requests are foolish. Seek to know and understand the Will and Timing of the Lord; but DO NOT be afraid to ask! Ask in faith! Ask in love! Ask according to what the Word of God has written in it! Church, let us realize our destiny is not to present a good, righteous standard by which we condemn the world; but to actually present the Will of the Father manifesting through the Kingdom of God in the midst of a broken and perverse people who will then turn to the love of Jesus. Let’s believe we are actually sent by Jesus to do what he did, what he wants, and what he is going to do.

Why I Left the Church

                I come from a lineage of men whom have had incredible vision for the church of God – men who have sought to take the gospel to the unreached of America, the un-churched men that are so often written off by the church. They have sacrificed pride, jobs, and their own emotional states to try to see the things the Lord laid on their hearts come to pass; but the dreams and visions they held to have often been rejected. When my grandfather brought the town drunk into the church and began to disciple him, the church rejected this act of evangelism – my grandfather rejected the church. Similarly, my father has often offered great tools, teachings, and discipleship to churches that have instead held to centrality, popularity, and legalism over the true, gospel living my father proposed. I have watched the church reject these men, and these men fight to follow Jesus despite the opposition they recieved. From a young age, I figured I would fight a similar battle in my own life.

                Surely enough, this pain began knocking on my door. When I talked about doing missions among the poor and unreached, I was often discouraged by church leaders who told me I was “too passionate” and need to “slow down.” When I started doing ministry with my un-churched peers, I was told I needed to “submit to the local church” and “bring in a qualified adult to teach.” When miraculous signs began taking place in the midst of broken teenagers, religious leaders of the local mega-churches rejected the signs, wrote me off as a cult-leader, and instructed me to repent and stop preaching lies. Don’t even get me started on what I was told after I baptized someone! I saw what my fathers who walked before me saw, and began to feel what they felt – betrayal, control, pain. I desired so much to be qualified before these esteemed men so that I may have a commendable ministry, but I could never sacrifice my convictions and submit to a church program I deemed the Lord had called me away from! I was tired of fighting, tired of attempting to qualify gospel living to the church! So simply put, I quit the church.   

                I had a vision once in which the Lord began calling me out of the church: I found myself sitting among non-believers – they were cussing, gambling, drinking, and doing all those things which a “good Christian” would not participate in. My spirit was stirred – I began to share the gospel with them, and they listened. I sat among them, I ate with them, I even participated in their conversations – but this opened a door for the glory of Jesus’ salvation to be revealed in their life. The scenario started over. I again found myself among unbelievers, but this time not a table, a whole room. I was sitting alone – but my spirit felt compelled to share the gospel with this group of unbelievers. This time, instead of sharing a story, I pulled out my Bible, jumped on my table, and started preaching the Word. A few came near, and listened to my story – but most continued with their lives – the harvest was smaller than that of the first scenario. Finally, the scenario again started over. I saw all those same unbelievers which I had previously seen – but this time, they were below me. I was up on a stage, looking down upon this large, sin-ridden group of people. Someone walked over and handed me a diploma, I stepped up towards the ledge, and dutifully preached a pathetic message of repentance. Not one head turned. The only response I got was the occasional jeer to shut-up and go home. The vision ended and the Lord left me with this thought – what kind of impact do you want to make?

                Every step I have taken further and further away from a spotlight on the celebrity church show has compelled me to take further steps into the surrounding darkness of what appears to be kingdom anarchy. I have not found many believers in this place, though I have found I am not alone, but I have found Jesus – and I don’t plan to go back towards that spotlight. The further away I get, the clearer the truth of the gospel becomes – and the more I feel the need for its centrality.

                But my original move away from the church was not wholly pure. Although most of my motives were to see the kingdom of Jesus come and follow my Bridegroom, my decision had fragments and sections of bitterness, anger, and rejection. Although I was doing house churches and foreign missions and encountering Jesus in a very real way, often even driving by a church building would stir up emotions that any wise man would deem unhealthy! I had not compromised, I had stuck to the mission that the Lord gave me – but I still felt the sting of betrayal and the ever-lurking presence of bitterness.

                Jesus, set me free.

                “Why should ye be stricken anymore? Ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” –Isaiah 1:5-6

                This is how I feel – stricken – watching the body of Christ rebel against Jesus. I feel that our fruit makes Jesus sick – much like the church of Laodicea from Revelation three. The whole head is sick! The heart, the very mission of God that should compel us to do Church, is growing faint! And this body… there is no soundness in it! It is broken, full of sores and wounds that have not been closed! I feel like one of these sores. I have dedicated my life to follow the head, help move the body, and help repair breaches that have been made – but this church bitterness and brokenness has left me feeling like a sore upon the Body of Christ! This game of bitterness and brokenness seemed never ending.

                But hope was offered: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” –Isaiah 1:18. I believe that this is a promise for the church, but only for those of us who will recognize our sin, repent, and follow Jesus. Jesus wants to heal the church; he also wants to mobilize the church! The things that were joined with this promise were the conditions to give up a pursuit of riches, repent for our sin, and start dealing justly with the widows, orphans, and poor!

                From first glance, this seems to take me back to where I started – seeing what I feel like needs to be done, striving to follow Jesus, and yet running into resistance with those who should most support me. But I came across a beautiful, liberating passage the other day – John 15, “I AM the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Jesus is the TRUE VINE! He is the one who we all report to, without him, there is no life. And for all of us who dwell in him, if we are not following him, he just removes us. For some of us, that is a terrifying call to repentance. For others, it liberates us from having to prove ourselves before men, believing that we do not report to the hand or the foot, but to the head. And that the head will sever anything that prevents his mission from moving forward! We’re not called to flow in synch with the Body, but with Jesus, the Spirit, and the Head!

                I’ve got this issue. I feel I have this commission from Jesus; but for so long, I have tried to get that commission recognized from men instead of confirmed in the heavens. Jesus was rejected before men, but confirmed in heaven, and he accomplished the task he was given to complete! That really is all that I want – just to do the thing that God wants me to do and somehow not care about what men say about that! And the amazing part? Jesus did this without bitterness, without giving in to a spirit of rejection – he did it in purity, love, and grace! I’m no longer surprised that when I lay down my life to make a sacrifice for a ministry that is not highly esteemed in the church, many people are more excited about my death than my sacrifice! But glory to God, vengeance belongs to him! He resurrected my Lord, and he will resurrect me! I can be free from trying to qualify myself before men so that I can pursue following Jesus, but I don’t even have to feel bitter when they insult me! For once, I feel like I can move the way Jesus intended simply due to the fact that He is enough.

                I’ll finish with one final thought – sand. Sand is simply tiny rocks, hundreds of them, crushed and bunched together. Jesus told a simple parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount about a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and a wise man who built upon the rock. Truly, I say this to you – the modern church will often require you to build a ministry on many foundations that are not the gospel. You will be asked to build upon education, doctrines, age, experience, amount of people, number of books published, popularity, amount of souls won…etc. These, beloved, are sand. They are tiny, ground up pieces of truth that resemble the larger truth of the gospel but result in a foundation that is far from stable. Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor as yourself – and that everything else will be fulfilled if we could just do these two things. For so long, I have built a foundation that has been laid partly on the gospel, and partly on my individuality, my acceptance, my popularity, and my success. I’m tired of trying to build a church on tiny rocks, I want the real thing! I want Jesus! The Gospel! The love that forms this solid rock I can surely stand on! Let us beware of these subtle qualifications, these whispers of bitterness or rejection, these desires to please man – let’s stop playing church, and let’s follow Jesus.

                I’m in the process of being set free. Free from bitterness, shame, guilt, people-pleasing, rejection, and free to follow the convictions the Lord has laid on my heart. I’m free to follow Jesus, free to love God and love man, and free to quit the “church game” for good. May these realizations only serve in liberating the reader to serve Jesus without feeling like they must find a man-made avenue to do so – there is but one advocate between God and man, one avenue by which we receive our qualification, our anointing, and our voice – and that is Jesus – our Lord, our Savior, our King. Jesus is enough.              

               

The Pharisee Anarchist Debate

“The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men; and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men.” -1 Corinthians 1:25

                Pharisees and anarchists – these, are what I deem to be the two major sub-groups of Christian leaders in the modern-day church. One puts emphasis on education, one on relationships; one seeks to qualify individuals, the other believes all are qualified; one believes in apologetics, the other in emotions. You’ll find most of your Pharisees at your local seminary; while anarchists tend to start house churches and small groups – and although these two are brothers and sisters in Christ, there is, at times, so much tension between the two viewpoints that it seems as if this Heavenly family may split!

                Now, for the most part, house church anarchists and mega-church Pharisees get along pretty well – so long as they stay separate and don’t talk about their view points. Most people involved in the anarchist church movement are only slightly abandoned to the idea of traditional church education, leadership development, and organized Sunday-services. And most traditional church Pharisees are only slightly legalistic – believing in essential doctrines, program-development, and seminary training. Each side points out the flaws in the other – when one says, “You’re too man-organized and mind-driven to allow the Spirit of God to reign!” The other replies by saying, “You’re too emotional and ‘spirit-lead’ to have any foundational truth upon the Word of God!”

                Now, the argument is just a big game until the leadership gets questioned – then emotional wounds start to go deep. The house-church movement often accuses the traditional church leadership of being manipulative, controlling, mind-driven, and ultimately unfit to practice biblical Christianity. Even if these accusations are not spoken, they are often implied and thought – how worse of an attack can one brother wish upon another than that they would be unable to live out biblical Christianity? But the fault is not just on the brothers who have separated themselves from the traditional church, many leaders that have gone through seminary, organized discipleships, and other leadership-qualifying Christian education accuse house church leaders of being ill-prepared, under qualified, rebellious and unfit to teach and share the gospel message! Another damning attack that tells any uneducated Christian they will be unable to fulfill the great commission.

                Now, this argument often strikes chords within most people who have been at all involved in Christian leadership – and I’ve been on both sides of this argument – far left, and far right. Once upon a time, I was the guy that wrote papers on Baptist history, read KJV only, and disqualified anyone who believed differently than I had been taught in discipleship lessons. However, I migrated to the side that started disqualifying anyone who did believe in Baptist only heritage, KJV only Bibles, and thought that discipleship was necessary for church leadership. And I’m not even trying to say I’ve figured out the perfect way to go in this blog post, I’m just trying to resolve some of the conflict within my own head!

                Due to my fickleness in church crowds, I have found that both sides have a lot to offer the church. There are often a number of great resources produced from each side regarding church development, there are great spiritual truths that are grasped more fully in some circles than in others, there are usually movements to reach certain unreached people groups, and almost every church I have been to that isn’t practicing heresy is striving to accomplish the great commission! What more could you ask for? Truly, it is not the desire for truth and biblical Christianity that causes us to lash out against one another, but fleshly pride that believes we have found a more perfect thing. Beloved, did not Jesus say that there is only one good – the Father in heaven? Our ways are not, cannot be good! We should spend our time edifying, and qualifying one another! There are people who cannot be reached but for a house church, and there are those who cannot be reached but through the institutional church. God has destined each one of us for a purpose to accomplish, he has set us apart for good works, and he has qualified all of us as heirs with Jesus! Who are we, who am I, to tell a co-heir with Jesus that they are not qualified to work in the harvest field?

                Brothers and sisters, the foolishness of God is wiser than men; His weakness is stronger than man. Truly, if the Word of God tells us that the things we do in our flesh is nothing compared to the weakness and the foolishness of God – why do we spend so much time exalting our agendas instead of the cross of Jesus? Let us remember, in the areas we are weak and foolish together, but rely on the Lord, He will receive his due glory. Please, let us strive to encourage, love, and spur one another on toward love. Follow your convictions, listen to Jesus, but let us respect one another.

                Beloved, you are qualified to fulfill the great commission. It is not my job to tell you by what means you need to do so – please, follow Jesus and do what he says. If you are striving for something that does not work, seek the Lord in prayer, search the scriptures – Jesus has qualified you through his death and resurrection, surely He will also guide his church.

                Thank you, Jesus, that you love us enough to see past our exalted, pride-filled flesh. Help us to love one another the way that you have loved us, to die to ourselves, and to fulfill the commission you gave your Bride while you continued with us on earth.

Please, Don't Lock Me Out!

                Most of us have been here before: I remember riding with my parents as a little kid down into some of the worst parts of Kansas City – or should I say, through some of the worst parts of Kansas City. We would be driving along some road, coming up to some stop sign, when I would hear the all-too-familiar click of the car doors locking. My father would go on to explain how we were in a “bad part of town” around people who “do bad things.” I would then typically look out the window to see cold, stoned, drunk, poor, disabled, and different people standing at a bus stop – just living their lives. They looked scary. They looked weird. Some even looked like they might hurt me or take advantage of me if they had the chance.  Naturally, it made sense to lock the doors – I felt safer. I didn’t make eye-contact, didn’t play my music too loud – nothing to draw attention to myself from these strange, ghetto people.

                That was then… and through most of my life growing up. Every once in a while, I’d feel a tug of sympathy in some deep place in my heart - a little voice whispering, “That’s me.” But before I could follow the voice to its source, I was driving away, moving on, and those ghetto people would again be forgotten.  

                I haven’t given any of this much thought. I’ve moved on with my life – growing up, growing older, and growing in my faith. Jesus eventually called me to live among some of these ghetto people, to feel what they feel, and experience the troubles they experience. My wife and I don’t have much: we do our laundry at a laundry mat; I ride the bus to work; there's the occasional fights in our neighborhood; the occassional sighting of a drug-deal; and there’s quite a bit of foot-traffic – we’re part of it! Needless to say, it’s a different lifestyle. Living this way has been a new, interesting experience – but it reached a new height the other day as I was taken back to that childhood experience of mine.

                I ride the bus – I’m that man that stands at the bus stop looking poor and cold. And I was standing outside waiting for my bus the other morning, as a sweet, little family drove by – reminding me a bit of my homeschooled family of the past. I thought about them – I bet they were Christians, they had that spirit about them, they looked well-dressed, their kids well-taken-care-of – I bet they even homeschooled. These thoughts were spinning through my head as this family pulled up to the stop-sign next to my bus stop. I wanted to give them a smile, maybe even wave – but my excited eyes were met with cold, judgmental stares. The children gawked at me as if I were some creature; the mother seemed too frightened to even look my direction! And finally, the father of this well-meaning family met my eyes with a cold stare that said, “Stay away from my family, you creep,” and then he did the inevitable – click – locked doors.

                I was shocked. Hurt, even. They drove off leaving a trail of judgment that made me ashamed to be a Christian! I knew who I was! I certainly had no intentions of harming them. I know that the father of this little family was just trying to protect his wife and kids, but he, in this process, brought what I would deem an unnecessary act of separation between his safe, Christian world and me! Did I really look that frightening? Was it just because I stand at a bus stop in the ghetto? I don’t even think my part of town is that bad… If I didn’t have confidence in who I was in Jesus, I would even be tempted to feel ashamed of myself, my neighborhood – to feel undeserving of anyone who lives a lifestyle that is nicer than the lifestyle that I live! Or maybe just to feel that they don’t want to have anything to do with me – they don’t care about my own world, my own struggles. What if I ran into them in a church building? Could I introduce myself as “the guy you locked out of your car” – would I be less scary in their safe, church environment? Would I even want to stay at such a place? Yes, this small, insignificant action made me feel this way…

                I don’t deem to accomplish anything profound through this blog post. I don’t even mean to condemn those who lock their doors in the ghetto. I just want us to remember our perspectives may not always be right. Jesus told his disciples they would be blessed when the “clothed him when he was naked, fed him when he was hungry, and gave him drink when he was thirsty,” they were dumbfounded, “when have we seen you, Jesus, in any of these states of desperation!?” “Surely,” Jesus said, “Even as you have done it unto the least of these brethren, you have done it unto me.”

                Let us remember we constantly carry the presence of Jesus and the church with us wherever we go. Locking out a poor, hungry person from our car may as well be locking them out of our lives, the life of the church, and maybe even the life of Jesus. I’m not beseeching you to do something crazy, but I’m asking you to remember that those people on the side of the road may actually be Jesus… or me! And the actions and attitudes you show and have towards them may not only impact their eternity, but the blessing you receive from Jesus as well.

                And please, don’t lock me out.   

Glorious Death

“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”  -2 Corinthians 4:7

I hardly know where to begin this thought – the beauty of death. The glory of what is revealed into our spirits should we put to death that which is of our flesh. There is so much talk of this concept in Christianity, but so little amount of people that applicably display such a lifestyle as Paul described when he wrote that he was, “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

Paul wrote again and again to the Corinthian church about a very touchy subject within the church: Carnal Christians. These are those of us who have been born again, but live in their old man; those who have received the Spirit of God, but walk according to their own mind, will, and emotions. The Word of God was given to us that it may “divide soul and spirit,” that there may be no confusion in what is of God and what is of our Flesh (that is our mind, emotions, soul, and body).

I do not deem that it is necessary to explain the concept of “dying to self” that has been so exalted within the teachings of most of the Church. Denying self is a concept that thousands of people accept – Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and even Agnostics understand the importance of the death of our own desires that life may be given to another area. If there is some confusion around this concept, I would encourage reading Paul’s letters to the Corinthians – and listen for his rebukes against self and his exhortations to pursue spiritual life.

Having said this, my desire is to bring up those areas in which I was ignorant of my own self-destruction prior to the enlightening of the Holy Spirit. Let us not be deceived – self cannot serve God. The Almighty Creator of the Universe, although All-Powerful, has no desire of empowering your flesh to serve God! Jesus died on the cross, and with Him, our flesh also died! In the resurrection, the Father did not give life to our dead souls; God forbid lest we be forever trapped in this body of sin! Rather, God gave life to our spirits inside of us, that our souls would submit to the direction of His Spirit so that we could actually follow God!

Something the Lord recently enlightened me of was my own inability to serve Him. How often have I caught myself teaching because I have the ability in my flesh to explain concepts, reasoning over scripture because I’m good at analytical thinking, ministering to a certain type of people group because I relate well to them, leading worship because I’m good at guitar! Woe is me! How often do I teach in the flesh instead of imparting the life-giving Word of God through the power of the Spirit under his control? How often do I read the Bible without begging for the Spirit to bring interpretation to me? How often do I witness or refuse to speak because of my own feelings of comfort and fear? How often do I praise God out of my emotions or my logic instead of worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth!

We attempt to process so much of what is spiritual through the means of that which is carnal; and although many of us may experience good things, we fail to experience God things! We go on throughout our daily lives and instead of bearing about the death of Jesus to our souls, we live, move, eat, and breathe according to our souls, not according to our Spirits! And yet, even as I write this – many believers will feel convicted in their spirits, yet conduct numerous scenarios in their minds of how they may overcome carnality! How truly wicked are we! How deep and indebted in our sin have we become! Let us humble ourselves, let us submit to the Spirit of promise, let us be free from the captivity of carnality and experience the free life of the Spirit!

Shall we reach a lost world for Christ? Shall we impart life to those who are dying? Shall we lead lives of holiness and righteousness before God? Let us die to our emotions, and live according to the truth of God! Let us lay down our logic and reasoning and experience the intimacy with the Spirit in our decision making! Let us place aside our self, our people-pleasing, and our comforts and embrace the death and life of Jesus that we impart the same life we have received! For them that will hear, let them hear the good news of Jesus.

Violent Missionaries

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." -Matthew 11:12

This passage, these words, spoken by the Son of God, were not a call to violent arms, but violent living; not offensive strategy, but unrelenting love. John the Baptist, who gained this 'violent' title, was a man who violently opposed his fleshly lusts and violently loved the Lord. He opposed that dreaded nature of man that so often drags humans down, choosing instead to take affliction towards his body and soul that he would be worthy of being a forerunner for the coming Kingdom.

Jesus said of John, "Truly, there is none that are born of women that are greater than John the Baptist; however, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Since this time, many monks, preachers, pastors, apostles, priests and thousands of believers have pondered what exactly it means to live in this way that John lived - how to be least in the kingdom of heaven. Some have forsaken all to dedicate their lives to fasting and prayer; others to the ministry of the poor and hungry; still others have gone off and started great movements of the gospel that has transcended generations. However, there is a countless majority that had a desire, whether soulish or spiritual, and never quite made the connection to see God move in such a way that it deeply impacted this world for Christ. For some, the issue was simply their lack of motivation and perseverance, or maybe it was due to selfish motivations from which their ministries arose - but there are those of us who have not actually realized the applicable truth of Jesus' promises.

I do not claim to have obtained understanding of full reality of Jesus' promises; however, I do want to share what I have learned in this journey of learning what it means to be "least" in the kingdom of heaven and to live "violently" for Christ. I would beg of you - do not attempt to mimic those things which have worked for me - test my words. "Wisdom is justified of her children," Matthew 11:19. The kingdom of heaven is not a list of to-do's, though it does require obedience. It is a spiritual kingdom requiring a spiritual life guided by the truth of the Word of God. It requires submission of our mind, will, and emotions to a governing Spirit - God's Holy Spirit.

This being said - how does what Jesus said about the kingdom suffering violence relate to missional living?

Reaching the lost is never easy, although it is much simpler a task than we, as Christians, tend to make it. However, one key that is required to be make a large impact in the kingdom is humility. Humility to actually submit ourselves to lost people. My wife and I have begun trying different strategies in order to reach the lost based on living violently in submission to the Spirit and to others. These tactics are not so much "to-do's" as they are attitude changes within us.

I will start with this statement: How difficult it is to reach out to lost people when we separate ourselves from the world in pride! The very act of church has turned into more of a social club for "better" people that often intimidates, humiliates, and even attacks many of the lost people Jesus died for! "Christian" music, "Christian" friends, "Christian" neighborhoods - all of these have the intent of glorifying God, but actually have a harmful affect on His Kingdom. The Lord never intended to take us out of the junk of this world - that's why we're here! He said in John 17 that he "would not take us out of the world." Why has Christian society attempted to do that which Jesus intended not to do? To separate ourselves? To form what we believe are little slices of heaven where sin is cast away and children can grow up uncorrupted? Jesus prayed that God would keep us from evil in the midst of the world - do we so much doubt God's ability to protect his children that we must homeschool, private school, and churchify our families? These tactics of protecting ourselves from evil are not biblical, nor are they good, they are based out of human knowledge and tactics based in fear and pride that actually demonstrate a lack of trust in the truth of God's Word.

Let us be careful that we do not misinterpret what the Word says – there is only one interpretation, that is that of the Holy Spirit. Our intellect cannot interpret or form strategies based out of scripture no matter how hard we try – to experience what God intended for us in this life, we actually need to place our full faith in what the Word of God says. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, it was not because they ate of the fruit that gave them a knowledge of evil, it was because it gave them knowledge of the capability of their soul. It cut off dependence from God, exalted their souls – their mind and emotions – above their spirits and cut off precious fellowship with the Lord! It is the pride of believing we can provide what God has promised outside of God's timing, Will, and Word when we sin. Do not be deceived, when the flesh, that is your soul, is attempting to serve God and do His Will, sin is magnified. You cannot serve God with your un-regenerated self, you need to live into the new life in the new man given by his quickening Spirit and the new identity that this reality brings. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for calling him good, “Only the Father is good,” he replied. Jesus understood that his spirit must be dependent and submissive the that which is good, for there is “nothing good” in our souls – our hearts are deceitfully wicked and must be put to death so that our Spirits may be quickened to experience that reality of what Jesus promised us!

This is the violent part. This is the dying to self and the humility that must be realized in our hearts to live out faith in Jesus. It is this – and it is so much more. It is walking in new life in the Spirit and following Jesus in faith! Our identities in Jesus are a required realization that must take place if we are to experience the reality of what God intended for our lives on mission. It is the relationship with Jesus based out of death to self, violent faith, and humble submission that starts the engine that moves the vehicle of the kingdom.

Humility is required to understand our identity, and our identity is key to reaching out with the gospel of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Jesus told his followers in Matthew 5, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” This was not a suggestion. Nor was this a “work and obtain this title” type of word. This was, this is, a “you are” statement! Your identity in Jesus states that you are the light of the world! This truth can only be a reality in our spirits, though. Our old, dead self cannot receive the new truth of our identity promised to our quickened spirits! In humility, we must embrace this truth and walk in the communion of the Holy Spirit and listen to the quiet direction He brings to allow this identity truth to come out.

Practically speaking, a major part of humility is faith. Two separate verses that talk about pleasing God say these things “without faith it is impossible to please God” and a “broken and contrite heart, Oh God, thou wilt not despise.” In order to receive in humility what God says about my new man positionally requires that I place myself in situations where His promises must be true!

If we truly are the light of the world, we must receive this truth in humility and place ourselves in a position where we can, by faith, experience this reality! Separation from the world will not allow you to receive the promise of being the light of the world. Missionally speaking, a light is only light in a dark place – a city sat on a hill is only noticeable in a pit. To reach a dying world, you must continually jump into it in faith, believing God can protect you from evil and draw the lost to His son by His promises spoken over your spirit!

Strategy will not reach a dying world – maybe a person or two – but to actually transmit the life-giving love of Jesus, we must actually be dependent on this life through the Holy Spirit. Any dependency on our human flesh, our knowledge, our own soul's good will actually fail and fall short of God's perfect Will. God wants to reach the lost, and he wants to reach them through you – but He wants you to do so through submission to His Spirit and faith in His promises.

Practically, my wife and I are trying to jump into this truth. We fall short. We depend on our soul when we should lean on the Spirit. But we are trying to place ourselves in a place where God's truth needs to be true, where our souls are uncomfortable, where only dependency on the Spirit can bring about the results we desire – more importantly, that God desires. This journey is new for us, and the fruit is still young – but we are actually engaging God in our spirits, and even engaging lost people we previously questioned if we could reach simply by placing ourselves in “dark” places and letting the promise of God's light shine through our dependency on Him! How amazing it is when the reality of God's promises transcend into the natural!

Let us be careful to heed the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.”

When one chooses to afflict to soul, to seek after the Spirit, and to live as a light in the midst of the darkness of the world, the religious will oppose you – your own religious spirit inside of you may oppose you! But true violent living and missional living contains a blessing from Jesus – and the fruit of what is done in the Will of God will last forever. Wisdom is indeed justified of her children – the wisdom of this world in failure, the wisdom of God in success. Consider this exhortation, and pray that the Spirit of God will enlighten your heart to understand His intentions. May all that we do be guided by the Spirit and done in humility. And may the eyes of every reader be blessed to see destiny, their ears to hear direction, and their hearts to experience the truth of God's Word. Amen.