Servant of All

Reflecting upon the principle Jesus shared about people who want to be great in God's kingdom, I realized something a little ... uncomfortable. I realize there are some people I don't mind serving. There are others whom I would prefer not to serve. Jesus clearly saw that sometimes we wouldn't mind serving 'important' people. In fact we might readily volunteer to help them. With others, it may be more of a struggle. But Jesus was clear, we must become servants of all. This (and nothing else, I suppose) is greatness in God's kingdom.

(copied from www.davidsouthwick.net)
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Acrostic Poem from my Son Ben

I just wanted to share with you all this Acrostic Poem written by Benjamin last week:

Devoted, never leaving your side
Obeying, listening to your every command
Generous, giving you all they are, no matter what they receive in return
Solicitous, concerned and loving

Cheap, only doing whats best for themselves
Aggravating, so repulsive
Terrible, only looking out for what will benefit them
Sneaky, suspicious


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The Day of Atonement

by George Otis Jr.

It was typical of many families in [ancient Israel], in lieu of dogs and cats, to keep other animals, particularly lambs, as pets. As in our society the young children would grow very attached to these lambs.

One evening as you and your brothers and sisters are running around outside your house, your father arrives to put a halt to the horseplay. After hustling you in for dinner, he snatches your favorite lamb up into his arms and ties it inside the door. On most days Dad’s arrival is a highlight, but today something must have gone wrong. He’s too serious tonight, not like usual when he throws you up on his shoulders and carries you through the door. Tomorrow, you discover, the family is going to the Temple; but what’s really great is that lamb gets to go, too!

Early the next morning your mother wakes you up, ordering you to clean up and put on your best clothes. The fact breakfast was skipped this morning for the Lord wasn’t new, but Dad has never looked so serious . . . so sober. Anyway, your guess is that he’s tying the lamb’s feet together so he won’t get loose in the Temple.

The family is finally on the way; Dad’s in front, with the lamb on his shoulders with Mom and all the siblings in tow. Nearing the Temple you notice some of your friends arriving but Dad won’t let you talk to anybody. Once inside the Temple, all you can see are the backs and legs of a forest of grownups. Nobody’s talking; they’re all just kind of crying and moaning real loud. Every so often a family or group of people press their way through the crowd heading for the door of the Temple. They’re always crying the hardest even the kids. It’s hard to figure out what’s happening. You had never really noticed the people’s faces the other times. This was the first time, too, that Dad had ever let lamb come, even though lot’s of other people brought theirs.

After a very long two hours you have crept near the front. Occasionally you can see the priests’ legs and bare feet around the altar through a crack in the crowd. The wailing and moaning near the front is almost deafening.

Finally, your family is standing in front of the altar. There is blood all over the ground and splattered on the priests’ clothes. While your attention is fixed on all the blood, Dad has handed the lamb over to a priest. After saying something to Dad he lifts his head and speaks again probably praying. His hands are both resting on the lamb when you notice for the first time the menacing, long knife on the side of the altar.

The lamb anticipates its future with a meek struggle but the leather cords hold firm. After the priest finishes praying he picks up the knife and puts his hand under the lamb’s jaw pulling its head back. Horror-struck, you watch the priest plunge the knife into its throat; the blood spills out onto the breast of the lamb, the priest and the altar. After one last spasmodic convulsion the life of your lamb is over.

As the priest spreads the blood around, the reality of the whole gruesome spectacle begins to melt your frozen stupor. Leaving the temple tears flow uncontrollably as you press through other Jewish families awaiting their turn. Nothing was said on the way home but no one noticed anyway.

That evening Father lifted your little frame off your tear-stained pillow and gently explained as he had to your older brothers and sisters in prior years. Explaining how a lamb could die instead of you.

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Thoughts from My Home Schooled Son

Average Home School Day

Get up, start workin', no fun or play,
Looks like this will be the average school day

Sit down at my desk, grab paper and pencil
And seizing my brain, a useful utensil

Working for hours that feel like years
I wish that Saturday soon would be here

Finally finishing, I feel so free,
But I was mistaken, my mom calls me

Now here I'm sitting, feeling no glee,
Lo and behold, I'm folding laundry!


Benjamin Southwick
Age 12, 6th Grade

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Crossing Heaven's Threshold

Christmas is a time of celebrating a simple fact: God crossed heaven's threshold to 'incarnate' himself to the world to rescue it. Have we learned from his example?

In the previous post I referenced Jesus' words to us that we, his church, are the light of the world. (Individuals are not that light!) But he said, does anyone put a light under a basket? Or do they put it out in the open for everyone to see and receive light?

It seems to me that in many ways, we have hidden our light under the basket of the church building. We have expected to reach people by attracting them to church programs. But how many unchurched people do you know who really care about church programs? They have other real and/or felt needs.

Shouldn't we, the church, get the light out of the building and out to the world? Shouldn't the church should be impacting all levels of society and culture as salt, and bringing light and life to all people in need?

As one person said, we should start fishing on the other side of the boat. And another, "Bait the hook with what the fish like, not what the fisherman likes."

Jesus crossed heaven's threshold to 'incarnate' himself to the world. His church, I believe, should cross the building's threshold to 'incarnate' herself to the world.

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You are Not the Salt of the Earth

Last month I was struck with the realization that I am not the salt of the earth, and I am not the light of the world. Probably many of us who grew up in Sunday School had learned that we are the salt and we are the light. I have recently had to 'unlearn' this.

If we could read the Greek, we would realize that Jesus said "You (plural) are the salt, and you (plural) are the light." In fact, he followed up with, "A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." I've begun to wonder if so many of our attempts to bring hope and light to the world have been feeble because we have tried to do it on our own.

Yes, we have measured impact through individual effort. But our impact could be exponentially increased through synergism, two or more working together. Synergy comes from "syn" meaning "together", and "ergo" meaning "to work".

Jesus then said, "Let your (plural) light (singular) shine in such a way that men may see your (plural) good works ("ergov"), and give glory to your Father in heaven." Yep, it's an 'us' thing, and it looks like there is a considerable amount of work to be done.

We won't get much done working alone.

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God is Amazing

I am constantly amazed at God's creativity. You may have already seen some of these pictures that have hit the news in the past week of the new species discovered in the Mekong Valley, but here is a cool slide show some videos and photos.


If this video no longer works, try this link. (The flash will take a few minutes to load.)

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Walking in Someone's Shadow

For most people, the idea of walking in someone else's shadow is not anything to be desired. Some people have walked in the shadow of an older sibling, and may seem to have never measured up to their achievements. Some walk in the shadow of others more skilled, talented, or qualified -- and they never seem to catch a break in life.

Psalm 91, however, suggests that it is an advantage to walk in the shadow of God. The first verse says that whoever "dwells in the secret place of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." The cool thing about walking in His shadow is there are all kinds of benefits: security, safety, health, etc. And when we walk in His shadow, then it really doesn't matter that people are noticing Him instead of us.

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The Average Life of a Super Hero

There was once a SUPER-Super Hero. He created millions of Super Heroes. Not just a few, but millions. He created Superman, Wonderwoman, Flash, Captain America, The Incredibles, Batman, Spiderman, the Invisible Woman, the Bionic Man, the Bionic Woman, the Hulk, Elastic Man, Ironman, Hancock, etc.

Why did this Super-super hero create all these millions of super heroes? Because he saw the human race needed help, needed saving. So he sent these super heroes to the earth to help mankind.

But, as time went by, these super heroes one by one got distracted...

They integrated with "normal" life and the challenges of daily living. They had new relationships to deal with, issues with their children, problems with their jobs and careers. Occasionally they would do something significant to help people out. But they learned to give scientific explanations for their supernatural actions.

Eventually, they forgot altogether their power and their purpose.

The idea for this allegory came from Jesus' words in John 14:12-14. What do you think it means?

Please post any comments you might have below.

Or click here to listen to the message about this allegory shared at Titusville Branch Fellowship on Sunday, November 23, 2008.

Peace and Joy

The Christmas season is soon upon us. Soon there will be well-wishes of peace, joy and similar greetings.

Peace and Joy. A nice greeting, but what does it really mean? What does it really take to have peace and joy?

Peace
Many people think of 'world peace'. Who doesn't want that? But isn't world peace wishful thinking, especially when many of us can't even attain perpetual peace on a personal level? It seems there are always an abundance of relational conflicts. There are also those internal, nagging conflicts that are ever-present. Is it ever possible to arrive at peace (at least internally)?

Joy
Joy might seem like a far away, abstract idea, too. We're more familiar with desiring happiness than joy. And most of the things we pursue bring only short-lived happinesses. I wonder if a better description of joy is, not an excited feeling, but a state of constant contentment, regardless of the ups and downs of life.

Why do Peace and Joy Elude Us?
Perhaps something Paul wrote may give us some insight. He said the kingdom of God is "righteousness, peace and joy." Could it be that these are intricately related to one another? Maybe righteousness is a precursor to peace. And maybe peace is a precursor to joy. We often see these as separate qualities. Perhaps Paul is saying that they go hand-in-hand.

Righteousness simply means to be walking rightly with God and others (at least as it depends on us). Do we try to experience peace without being in proper relationship with God or others? Jesus promises peace, not as the world gives -- temporary, shallow -- but real peace that goes beyond understanding and circumstance. However, it doesn't come separate from living rightly with God and our fellow man.

Lasting happiness or joy, then, is a byproduct of peace, but it is indirectly connected back to being right before God and our neighbor.

Are you struggling with a lack of peace in your life? A lack of joy? Consider that any breach on your part in relationships could be a factor. Jesus wants you to live life to the full. Fullness of peace, fullness of joy. Righteousness is the doorway to a life of peace and joy.

Please post a comment below with your thoughts.

Steps Toward Deception

How do people become deceived?

I was a little surprised earlier this year, while listening to Winkie Pratney's 21CR (21st Century Reformation) podcast, when he said that deception doesn't begin with believing a lie. In fact, according to his teaching on the "I Wills" of Satan in Isaiah 14, he said that intellectual deception was the fourth phase of this process.

So what does Pratney say is the process toward deception? Here is a summary list (you can get the complete notes of the 21CR Seminar here):

1. Independent Spirit
2. Selfish Choices
3. Searing Your Conscience
4. Intellectual Deception

You can also subscribe to the 21CR Podcast here.

My dad used to ask this question: "Do you want something bad enough, you'll deceive yourself to get it?"

Please feel free to share your thoughts on deception by posting a comment below.

Don't Beat Yourself Up

This post is a summary of the message shared at Titusville Branch on October 5, 2008.

Many Christians do not agree with a once common practice in the church: self-flagellation. Throughout Christian history there have been ascetics who promoted severe self-discipline and denial of many sensory pleasures. The term “mortification of the flesh” came from scriptures like, “...those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24, cf. Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:5). This idea and these scriptures were used as a basis for things like self-whipping, extreme fasting, wearing hairshirts, etc.

From the Past to the Present
The following comes from Wikipedia’s article on “mortification of the flesh”:

• Dominic Loricatus is said to have performed 'One Hundred Years Penance' by chanting 20 psalters accompanied by 300,000 lashes over six days.
• Francis of Assisi, is said to have asked pardon to his body for the severe self-afflicted penances he has done: vigils, fasts, frequent flagellations and the use of a hairshirt.
• Catherine of Siena wore sackcloth and scourged herself three times daily in imitation of Dominic.
• At the latter half of the twentieth century, Josemaría Escrivá practiced self-flagellation and used the cilice, a modern-day version of the hairshirt.
• Pio of Pietrelcina, wrote in one of his letters: “Let us now consider what we must do to ensure that the Holy Spirit may dwell in our souls. It can all be summed up in mortification of the flesh with its vices and concupiscences, and in guarding against a selfish spirit... The mortification must be constant and steady, not intermittent, and it must last for one's whole life. Moreover, the perfect Christian must not be satisfied with a kind of mortification which merely appears to be severe. He must make sure that it hurts.”
• Pope John XXIII wrote: “But the faithful must also be encouraged to do outward acts of penance, both to keep their bodies under the strict control of reason and faith, and to make amends for their own and other people's sins... St. Augustine issued the same insistent warning: ‘It is not enough for a man to change his ways for the better and to give up the practice of evil, unless by painful penance, sorrowing humility, the sacrifice of a contrite heart and the giving of alms he makes amends to God for all that he has done wrong.’ ...But besides bearing in a Christian spirit the inescapable annoyances and sufferings of this life, the faithful ought also take the initiative in doing voluntary acts of penance and offering them to God.... Since, therefore, Christ has suffered in the flesh, ‘it is only fitting’ that we be ‘armed with the same intent.’ It is right, too, to seek example and inspiration from the great saints of the Church. Pure as they were, they inflicted such mortifications upon themselves as to leave us almost aghast with admiration. And as we contemplate their saintly heroism, shall not we be moved by God's grace to impose on ourselves some voluntary sufferings and deprivations, we whose consciences are perhaps weighed down by so heavy a burden of guilt?"

Back in 1990 my wife and I visited the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City. Leading up to this large church is a two-mile walkway called ‘Calzada de Guadalupe.’ Every year penitent people crawl on their knees the entire length to plead for mercy and miracles.

No Value Against the Flesh
It is true that Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” However, Paul writes in Colossians 2:23 that these types of activities have “the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” They only have the appearance, the facade, of wisdom. They come from self-made religion. And they have no value against fleshly indulgence.

True, we are not to live according to the flesh, we are to deny ourselves, and we are not to indulge fleshly desires. However, Romans 8:13 makes it clear one way we are to put to death the deeds of the body. Paul says here that “if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Denying ourselves isn’t something we do for the purpose of “self-abasement and severe treatment of the body.” It is more a matter of obedience – obedience to the Spirit. The Holy Spirit may lead us to fast or to deny ourselves some pleasure. But asceticism only has the “appearance of wisdom in self-made religion” and has “no value against fleshly indulgence.”

Few People Practice this Today
I have never met any Christian that actually practices any type of strict asceticism or mortification of the flesh. Many baulk at such a thought. What I find interesting, however, is that there are many of us who practice a type of internal self-flagellation.

Sometimes we cannot get over ourselves when we fail, when we sin, when we make a mistake. We often have to brutally beat ourselves mentally before we can accept the Father’s forgiveness. We berate ourselves with verbal thoughts like: “You idiot. You’re such a loser. You’re such a failure.” And we can’t walk through the corridor of Christ’s mercy until a substantial time of self-flagellation has passed.

This, too, has no value against the flesh. This type of response doesn’t enable us to overcome.

Not only is this a type of false humility, this strips faith from us. Lack of faith hinders God’s work in our lives. Lack of faith displeases Him (Hebrews 10:38, 11:6). And lack of faith prohibits righteous living. Romans 3 says that faith is the very thing needed to be made right with God. Faith, not a self-whipping.

Do we place more confidence in beating ourselves, or in the atoning work of Jesus? Can he justify us without the help of our self-flagellation? I would submit that he cannot justify us when we beat ourselves up because we are placing our confidence in ourselves, in the flesh, rather than in his sacrifice for us.

How Long Does it Take to be Right with God?
How much time does it take to become right again with God when we’ve sinned? How long does it take to trust Jesus for his available mercy and forgiveness? Does it take hours or days of self-punishment? Or do we really have faith in Christ’s work? We can be right with God a split second after failing, if we only believe (see 1 John 1:9-2:2). Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul says that he did not have “a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith” (Philippians 3:9). How long does it take to believe?

Faith to Overcome
It takes more faith to get up and go on, than to beat ourselves up for how we have failed. (It takes more humility, too.) And faith is the only thing that enables us to overcome.

“... my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
Hebrews 10:38-39

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A Modern Day Parable

The four CH-47 helicopters arrived through smoke and fire at the embassy in the capital of this foreign nation. Their mission? To rescue people trapped inside by insurgents’ gunfire and grenades. There were 87 people in the embassy, hanging on for dear life, hoping their own military would arrive before the nationals broke in.

The dissidents had already been pushed back by several AH-64 Apaches that flew by minutes earlier. Now troops were descending from the helicopters to the rooftop of the embassy. They entered the building, hurrying to the rooms where people were gathered.

Fifteen minutes later, the helicopters were lifting their quarry away to flight altitude. Twenty-five minutes later, the nationals broke into the embassy and torched it to the ground. Forty minutes after that, the helicopters landed at their military base nearby, celebrating what they considered a successful mission.

In the next hour, the nations around the globe grumbled at this superpower’s actions. In fact, the UN Secretary-General issued a statement denouncing the mission.

Nobody was condoning the terrorists who attacked the embassy, however. What the world found appalling was that the special forces had rescued less than half of the people in the building. Why, with four Chinooks, each with more than a 30 passenger capacity, did they only rescue 42 people? The nationals had been temporarily pushed back, so the soldiers had plenty of time to save all who were trapped inside.

This was no great rescue. The military had no right to celebrate. Forty-five people had died needlessly that day. And this superpower could have saved them without much effort. But for some strange reason it didn’t.

What is the purpose of this story?

For some, this parable could have begun with the words, “The kingdom of heaven is like...”

According to some traditions, God, the superpower of the universe, is said to demonstrate his glorious mercy by choosing a select group of people to be saved, while leaving countless billions to face the judgment of the lake of fire. Additionally, no one is able to respond favorably to God's grace without him giving them the gift of faith and repentance.

If this view is an accurate portrayal of scripture, then (to me, anyway) it begs a very important question. Why doesn't the infinitely powerful and the infinitely merciful God change everyone's heart and save everyone?

Finally, some theological views might add another element to this parable: that the superpower planned the assault on its own embassy, in order to show how great of a superpower it really was.

Hmmm... I just can't see how this view demonstrates a loving, merciful and just God as the Bible declares him to be.

"...but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight," declares the LORD (Jer 9:24).

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Whose Word Matters?

Adapted from the message given Sunday, September 21, 2008 at Titusville Branch Fellowship.

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” Luke 14:26.

Most would agree that Jesus' words here are telling us that our parents, spouses, siblings and children should not take first place in our hearts and lives. He alone should be first.

I would like to suggest another application of this verse: Sometimes what these people have said to us carries more weight than what Jesus says. Their view of us is more important to us than his view of us. What they think about us rises to a place of supremacy over what he thinks about us. And this usually happens subconsciously.

Walking Wounded
There are wounds in many of our hearts from the past, wounds caused by people most important to us. Real, serious, deep, and untouchable wounds. Intentionally or not, they have been inflicted through words or actions that have berated us. Worst of all, many of us have fallen in line and turned on ourselves, believing a lie that we are worthless.

We protect these hurts by building walls around them: sanctuaries to their existence. We instinctively create these defensive mechanisms to keep people from hurting us again. In the process, we distance Jesus from these untouchable areas. He wants to bring healing and life. But holding onto the pain of the past, we don’t allow him access to these remote places of the heart.

These hurts hinder us and hold us back. They cripple us and keep us from walking in the fullness of who Christ is in us. Instead we walk in insecurity, measuring our worth by what we think others think about us. And we don’t experience life to the full as Jesus wants to give it.

Distant Echoes of the Past
Jesus doesn’t want anyone to displace him in our hearts. But how about their words, their actions, or their views of us? Do they hold sway against Christ’s words, actions, and view? Does his word take second place to what has been spoken about us in the past? Does Christ’s death on the cross speak more to us about our worth than what others have done to us?

Of course, in theory, we would say yes. But what about when we are hard-pressed and caught off-guard? Again and again, we hear in our hearts the distant echoes of those who have betrayed our love and trust. We are boxed in and hindered because of insecurities rooted in past hurts.

A Difficult Cross
Jesus goes on to say that if we don’t carry our cross and follow him we cannot be his disciple. A disciple is one who imitates his master. Jesus was absolutely secure in the Father’s love. And he was unswayed when those closest to him abandoned him. His view of who he was in his Father’s eyes was unswerving. Are we secure in the Father’s love? Do we believe Jesus’ declaration of our worth?

Resting in his view of us can be a difficult cross to carry. Sure, we can deny ourselves in many areas. What about denying ourselves the right to believe we are worthless? We can easily see other people’s worth and yet be blind to our equality with them. When we deny our worth, what are we saying about Christ’s death on the cross for us? Are we putting other people’s words in supremacy over his?

Giving Place to Christ's Word
Can we allow Christ’s words to penetrate into these deep areas of hurt and insecurity? Can we love his words and hate all others’?

Can we grant Jesus access beyond the walls that enshrine the words and wounds of the past? After all, Jesus’ word about us and our worth is what really matters.

His isn’t just the final word, it is the only word.

Litany of Humility

This prayer was shared with some of us in Branch Ministries during a Pastor's Training Course. It really drives home how humility applies in more areas of life than one might expect.

by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

Great Demotivator from Despair.com

Government
If you think the problems we create are bad,
just wait until you see our solutions.

Hope in God

This is a song I felt compelled to write to inspire us to Hope in God. You can listen to a ROUGH recording of the song here (and sorry for the abrupt ending, it didn't convert properly).

The lyrics to the song are:

Hope in God - He is for you
Hope in God - He will answer you
Hope in God - He is with you
Hope in God - He will rescue you

When troubles surround me
Problems press in on me
They whisper into my ear
There’s no way out

Like a ship in the raging sea
Waves of life crash in over me
But I won’t fear the enemy
’Cuz I have a hope – a living hope

Hope in God - He is for you
Hope in God - He will answer you
Hope in God - He is with you
Hope in God - He will rescue you

This hope is the anchor
For the tired and storm-tossed soul
He will lavish His grace upon you
And you will overcome

He’s given His Spirit
A pledge for eternity
To pour out the Father’s love
Into our hearts - our weary hearts