Romans – Page 3 – Salvaged Faith

The Long Hurt

Posted on September 11, 2011Leave a comment

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The second most difficult thing in the world to do is to harbor anger and pain.

This week, I read the story of a woman who had refused to forgive. As John van de Laar tells the story:

Whenever a visitor came for a cup of tea or coffee, she would pour the drinks and then reach for an old and battered plastic sugar bowl. Then, apologetically, she would tell her story of the beautiful bone china bowl that her mother had owned, but that her sister had taken when her mother died and they divided up her possessions. She had never forgiven her sister, and had turned her bitterness into a daily routine that kept it fresh and growing.

Every single time she reached for that plastic sugar bowl, she rekindled the anger.

She had never forgiven her sister.

Van de Laar goes on to say that we sometimes let “our lives be defined by our wounds.” We spend all of our days looking backwards at what was and refusing to see the possibilities of healing and hope and forgiveness in our lives.

And while on the surface, it may not seem to take much energy or thought, the truth is that refusing to forgive is exhausting. It is a burden that you carry with you every moment. It is bitterness that never leaves your mouth.

As Nelson Mandela once said – “Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die.”

And the only person that it hurts, is yourself.

September 11th, 2001 is a terribly sad and painful day in our history. And on this day, exactly 10 years later, we have a question to answer: How are we going to let that day define our lives?

Is it a wound, perpetually reopened, refusing to let us move forward?

Is it a source of anger and bitterness that causes us to lash out in fear?

Or in the midst of our grief and pain, can we also remember the tremendous acts of courage and love from that day? And can we look not only backwards but also look forward to as David Lose puts it, “a future that is not defined by the calamity of that day but instead is shaped by hope, possibility, and the grace of God.”

That is what forgiveness is after all. It is letting go of the pain. It is releasing the anger. It is refusing to allow what has happened in the past define your future.

Photo By: Alex Bruda

And while hanging on to old wounds might be the second most difficult thing in the world, the act of forgiving is the first.

Forgiving goes against our nature. We want revenge. We want answers. We want apologies. We want justice. We want someone in this world to pay. We want to hold guilt over another person. Overcome by sadness, anger, and pain, we do not want to move on.

As I have talked about many times in these messages – my own extended family is trapped in a pattern of unforgiveness. I, myself, find it extremely difficult to let go of that pain and imagine a future of mercy and love. Even when I find myself getting close to the point where I can, something else happens, another wrench thrown in, that makes saying, I’m sorry and I forgive you, that much harder.

And yet, over and over again, I find these words in the scriptures that say: Forgive.

Proverbs 17:9 – He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or haprs on a matter separates even close friends.

Matthew 6:14 – If you forgive people their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Mark 11:25 – And when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgiven him and let it go, in order that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive your own failings and shortcomings and let them go.

Luke 6:37 – Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

from Romans this morning: Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

Or the even more difficult passage from Matthew: “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.

Forgiveness is the most difficult thing in the world to do, and yet over and over and over again, the scriptures command us to forgive.

Why?

Because without forgiveness, there is no life.

Without forgiveness, there is no hope.

Without forgiveness, there is no future.

And we are not talking about the people who hurt us here… we are talking about ourselves.

You see, if debts always have to be paid and sins must always be punished, then there is no hope for us.

And there is no hope for our communities.

You see, a family does not work without forgiveness.

A marriage falls apart without forgiveness.

A church cannot survive without forgiveness.

Even a nation will find itself spinning out of control if revenge and justice are the only goals that it seeks… if it cannot find ways to compromise and show mercy and yes, even forgive.

Left to our own devices, we do not have the strength to do the hard task of forgiveness.

But in the midst of remembering the events of September 11th… in the midst of grieving the destruction and loss caused by four hijacked airplanes and grieving the death and destruction cause by the cycle of revenge that came afterwards… we also take time to remember the events of 2000 years ago.

You see, that is when our ability to truly forgive was realized.

On the cross, looking out on a world of brokenness and destruction, facing his tormenters in the eye, Jesus Christ called down forgiveness and not vengeance. “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”

Our future was forever changed through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The wounds that we caused were forgotten. The sins we committed were forgiven. The debts of the past were canceled.

The future of Christ is one of mercy and not judgment, hope and not despair, healing and not violence, abundance and not scarcity, love and not hate, new life instead of death. (from David Lose, paraphrased)

That is the power of forgiveness.

Life, love, hope, healing, mercy.

The most powerful stories that I have heard in recent days are the ones in which loved ones recounted the conversations they had with loved ones who were trapped high above the ground in towers one and two of the World Trade Center.

They are stories full of tears and goodbyes and I love yous. I was driving down the road, listening to a woman tell of the last time she spoke with her husband and I had to pull over, because the tears just overwhelmed me.

But what I realized in the midst of those stories is that not once did those courageous people who died tell their loved ones to seek revenge.

They spent the few precious moments they had saying I love you.

They said, I’m proud of you.

They said, I’m sorry.

They said, All is forgiven.

They said, remember I love you.

And as we remember those who perished. As we grieve… and we must… we also need to look to our futures. We need to put away the wounds.

I we keep pulling out that old beat-up plastic sugar bowl and refuse to seek peace or forgiveness, then evil has already won and we are truly defeated. (van de Laar paraphrased)

It is hard and painful to forgive… and we cannot do it alone.

But the good news is that through the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we can find the strength and courage we need to let go. To admit when we have caused pain. To say, “I forgive you.”

Today, as we remember, let us forgive… and let us imagine together a future in which God’s peace truly reigns.

Loving Your Neighbor…Now

Posted on September 4, 2011Leave a comment

(Community Worship in the Park)

It is so beautiful out, and all of you look so wonderful gathered here in community.

Although it takes some work to get this service together, this community worship in the park is one of my favorite services of the year.

Just look around – these are our friends and family and neighbors and brothers and sisters in Christ!

And getting together like this, without caring about what church we belong to, without worrying about who is welcome and who isn’t… well, this is an awful lot of what I think the holy banquet of God will be like on Resurrection Day.

On that great gettin’ up morning, we will just pull up a chair and find our place around the table.

Soon and very soon, we’ll be in the presence of the King, in the place of no more dying and no more crying.

Heavenly music will ring out, the sounds of violence will cease, tears will be wiped from every face, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, enemies will learn to love, and peace shall be fulfilled.

All of those images take us to the city of God, the new creation, the heaven that awaits us. We read about them in scriptures, we sing about them in hymns, our hearts are full of hopes and dreams about that reality.

And this community gathered to worship our Lord and to share around his table this morning is a glimpse of that future. It is like the taste that you sneak from the pot simmering on the stove an hour before dinner is ready.

As Paul reminds us here in chapter 13… our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.

That heavenly reality is just. Around. The. corner…

So I want you to close your eyes for a moment.

Imagine walking around through the City of God.

How will you greet your neighbors?

How will you treat the people that on earth were your enemies?

Do you hear anger and shouting? Or joy and laughter?

Ae you spending your days trying to get what is yours? Or sharing in the abundant gifts of God?

In everything that we do, here on earth today, we should live and love in anticipation of this reality.

We are called to live as if that Kingdom of God in which Jesus reigns IS the reality we find ourselves in.

As we open our eyes, yes, we find ourselves back in Marengo, Iowa. We find ourselves in the twenty-first century. We find ourselves in a world that is full of anger and violence, a culture that glorifies partying and licentiousness, a society that says “me-first, and screw the rest.”

But that doesn’t mean that we have to join them.

No, as Christians, we are called to a better way.

We are children of God.

And we are called to love.

But what do we mean by love? It is such a commonly used word that it has lost almost all significance for the Christian faith.

When Paul uses the word love here in Romans, he uses the greek word: agape. Agape is completely self-less love. It is love directed towards others. It has no pre-requisites, no conditions. Agape love doesn’t depend upon any loveable qualities the person you are loving possesses. It is love that expects nothing back in return.

Love is not a feeling.

Love is a choice.

Love is an action. Love is what we do… or do not do… to and for other people.

And Paul reminds us that all of those commandments – like don’t commit adultery, and don’t steal, and don’t be jealous of your neighbors possessions – all of them can be summed up with five words: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love is what we were created to do. All of the law, all of those commands, are just put in place to help us remember – Oh, yeah, I’m supposed to love you.

The big question is… Why? Why should I love my neighbor when he borrowed my lawnmower last month and broke it? Why should I love that person who always cuts me off as I drive to work? Why should I have any love towards people who seek to do harm to me and my loved ones? Why should I love someone who has done damage beyond repair in my life?

It is a good question.

And Paul responds with one word: salvation.

You have been saved.

Which means the Lord of the Universe took one good look at you – with all of your faults and sins and mistakes and imperfections – and said, “I love you anyways.”

That holy, unconditional act of love that we call the cross, was freely given to anyone who would receive it. Whether we deserved it or not.

We love… because he first loved us.

Our love is an outpouring of the love that we ourselves have received in our salvation.

AND… as Paul reminds us, the fulfillment of that salvation is near. The time is coming when the night will end and the day will dawn. This world will pass away and the reign of Christ will come.

That holy, awesome, heavenly reality that we closed our eyes and imagined is just around the corner.

So why would we want to live in darkness? Why would we ever want to sink down to the ways of this world when right now, we can live in the light.

Right now, we can join together with other believers.

Right now, we can sing the heavenly songs.

Right now, we can laugh together instead of bicker.

Right now, we can seek peace with our enemies.

Right now, we can wipe tears from the eyes of the hurting and the grieving.

Right now, we can care for the sick and feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

Right now, we can love.

As The Message translates our final verse for this morning… get out of bed and get dressed! Don’t loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

Right now, put on Jesus Christ.

That means that we spend time each morning in prayer – asking for God to guide us in our actions.

It means that we spend time in the scriptures – seeking wisdom for our daily lives.

It means that we break bread with fellow believers in order to remember the unconditional love of Jesus Christ in our lives.

It means that we don’t just wear a cross or wear a t-shirt that says we are Christian, or wear a bracelet that proclaims our faith – but we actually ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” in the situations of our day… and then we do it.

When we put on Christ, when we intentionally “wear” Jesus Christ throughout our day, people can see it.

We become light, shining out in the darkness, reminding people that a new day is coming.

We are the people of God, gathered together in this public place this morning, to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we want to follow him.

So when you leave this place… will you slip back into the darkness and go back to the ways of this world,

Or will you love your neighbors, like Jesus loved you, and will you be his witness?

Who, Me?

Posted on August 21, 2011Leave a comment

As we start off this morning, I want you to find a blank corner of your bulletin or the hymn sheet and scriptures, and I want you to write on that corner one thing that you are personally good at. What is one thing that you know how to do and do fairly well.

Turn to one other person and share what that one thing is that you are good at doing and sometime recently when you got to use that skill or talent.

Thank you all for sharing! We will turn back to those slips of paper in just a moment, but for now, will you pray with me?

This past Wednesday night during our weekly communion service, we wrestled a bit with our gospel lesson from this morning. Who do YOU say Jesus is? How would you describe him to friends or neighbors?

We talked about our various answers, we had communion and sang and headed home… but one lingering thought has been stuck with me ever since.

This question – “Who do you say that I am?” comes up in two different gospels. Here and in Mark. In Mark, Peter gets the answer right, but is almost immediately berated because he challenges Jesus – he doesn’t want Jesus to suffer and die.

But here, Peter is praised. God bless you, Simon bar Jonah! You are my rock, petra, Peter and on you I will build my church.

The difference between these two is striking. The two gospel passages recount the exact same event, but with very different outcomes. So there is something deeper going on here… the passage is not just telling us about a conversation that took place. It wants to teach US something about how we respond.

In Mark, Peter hears about the plans of God and immediately rejects them. He wants to do it his way, with his idea of success. He already has it all figured out in his mind, and Jesus is getting in the way.

But in Matthew’s gospel, Peter doesn’t even get that chance. Jesus immediately turns to him and says – yep, you are right, that is who I am…. Now let me tell you who you are… really are.

What Matthew does here is share with us a timeless truth… when we meet Jesus face to face – when we recognize who he truly is… then we understand who we are and what we have to offer at the same time. We begin to see how everything we have and everything we are fits into God’s plans.

Last week, in Romans, we talked some about the vine and the branches. The branches have no identity outside of their core, their roots. So as soon as we know who we are connected to, Jesus Christ – we know what we are supposed to do.

I want you to find that piece of paper that you wrote on this morning. It might describe some kind of talent or skill, something you trained long and hard to learn, a gift that came naturally for you. Whatever it is, it is something you see within yourself.

Hanging on to that word or phrase, I want you to hear what Paul writes to us from Romans chapter 12.

You see… he continues his message from last week about what it means to be connected to Jesus Christ.

Hear these words from the Message translation:

Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

This slip of paper does not represent something that you own or possess or even have control of. It represents something that God has given to you. It represents a part of God’s plan for this world. It represents one way in which the Body of Christ, the church, is called to share the love of God.

Have you ever thought about what is written on your slip of paper that way?

Have you ever thought about how your cooking or knitting or carpentry was a part of God’s plan for this world? Or how your mechanical skills or photography or singing could bring the love of God to your neighbors? Or how your laughter or negotiating skills or sense of direction could be used to share the gospel? How your mathematical sensibility or your hard work or your ability to listen is an integral and important part of the church?

Or is your first response whenever the call of Jesus Christ comes to look around and say, “who, me?”

When I was in junior high and high school I loved speaking in front of people. I was always the first with my hand up when it came time to read out lout in class. I tried out for every play and musical. I signed up for speech contests. I competed, I practiced, I simply loved doing it.

Speaking in front of people came easily to me. It was never something I had to think twice about. I knew that in whatever field of work I chose, this skill would be useful. It was something in the background, something I could fall back on, something I never had to think that much about.

But one day in college, I was asked to prepare a sermon for our campus worship. Easy-peasy… I had written speeches before. And I had preached before as a part of my youth group. I didn’t worry too much about it. In the midst of the preparation however, in the midst of my wrestling with the text and really trying to find God in the middle, something in my clicked.

I realized that I wasn’t just writing a speech. I was sharing God’s love with people. I wasn’t just talking about something I knew… I was talking about something that I had experienced. I wasn’t up there acting or putting on a persona… this was real. This is what I was made for. God wanted me to share his good news with people. God created me to do this!

As Paul tells the people of Rome and by extension us… we are like the parts of a body. We get our meaning from the body as a whole – our gifts and skills find their purpose only in relation to these other people and parts of God’s family.

I want you to think for just a second about what this church would be like if I refused to get up and preach on Sunday mornings. If I decided to keep my gifts to myself, instead of sharing them.

Take a good hard look at what is written on your slip of paper. You have something unique and beautiful and powerful to offer. You are called by God to do amazing things. Yes, YOU.

So… Do you share that gift with the church? Have you let Jesus show you how you can make a difference?

This whole room is filled with amazing skills and functions and talents. With each of those gifts offered back to God, this church would be absolutely unstoppable.

As Paul writes: since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ’s body, lets just go ahead and be what we were made to be.

In everything you do, in everything that you offer, from the moment you wake up until the moment your head hits your pillow at night – ask how God can use you. Take those gifts you have and share God’s love through every goodbye you make in the morning and every meal you deliver to the elderly in our community and in every car your fix and in every meeting you have at work. Share the good news through every post you make on facebook and every class you have at school and in every game you play.

You don’t have to wear Christian t-shirts or go around saying “Jesus Loves You” to every person… just do what you do with integrity, with love, with compassion. Paul breaks it down like this:

If you help, just help, don’t take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don’t get bossy; if you’re put in charge, don’t manipulate; if you’re called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don’t let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

We are the body of Christ. We are his living, breathing, hands and feet in this world. In everything you do… let God’s will shine through.

Hand-me-down Faith

Posted on August 14, 2011Leave a comment

How many of you had to wear hand me down clothes as you were growing up?

One of my favorite mental images of hand me down clothes comes from my brothers. They are three years apart in age and both of them have school pictures from second grade in the exact same gray and blue sweater. It had been stored up until Darren could wear it, and on picture day, he went to school in the exact same outfit that Tony had years before. We might not have noticed, but my grandma keeps all of our school pictures on the wall in her kitchen and there Tony and Darren are in the exact same outfit right next to each other.

Now, even though I was an oldest child, the only girl in my family, and I might add, the oldest granddaughter on either side of my family, I still had to wear hand me down clothes.

My dad had an aunt and uncle that lived a few miles away and due to some age differences, their seven children – my dad’s cousins – were about my age.

Four of those children were girls. All of them were older than me. And every now and then, we got this great big sack of clothes from the Benesh girls.

I don’t think I ever really minded having hand me down clothes. It was normal for me. They had pretty good taste. The clothes were gently used and fit me just fine.

But I knew enough to know that you didn’t go to school and brag about the clothes that your cousins just gave you.

The virtue of handme down clothing is that it teaches you humility and modesty.

Well in Paul’s letter to the church in Rome, that is a lesson that he is trying to teach to the Christians.

He wants them to know that the gift of salvation is nothing to boast or brag about.

He reminds them that they did nothing to earn it and it belonged to someone else first. It’s a hand-me-down… and the only reason we have it is because the people who got it first rejected it.

It’s almost as if Paul is comparing our gift of salvation to a garbage bag full of clothes delivered to your house. Doesn’t that make you feel great? (sarcastic)

The problem was, however, is that this gift of salvation HAD made people feel great. Superior.

Remember, Paul is writing to the community of Christians in Rome.

The Jews had been a protected group of people under Roman law, but they were kicked out of Rome. As the ban was lifted and they began to trickle back in, the Christians who remained began to treat them poorly. They had a “better than thou” attitude.

In fact, some believed that they as Christians had in fact replaced the Jews as God’s chosen people.

That view continues today in some circles – supersessionism – that the old covenant God made with the Jews is thrown out and now the new Israel is the Christian Church. This view has led to some terrible acts of injustice hatred and violence against our Jewish brothers and sisters throughout history.

But in his words to the church of Rome, Paul negates that type of attitude. He asks: “Does this mean that God is so fed up with Israel that he’ll have nothing more to do with them? No! Has Israel stumbled so far as to fall permanently from God’s grace? Are they out for good? No!

In fact, Paul starts to wonder if this disobedience, if this hard-heartedness on the part of Israel isn’t entirely God designed.

As the Message translation puts it:

This hardness on the part of insider Israel toward God is temporary. Its effect is to open things up to all the outsiders so that we end up with a full house…. There was a time not so long ago when you were on the outs with God. But then the Jews slammed the door on him and things opened up for you. Now they are on the outs. But with the door held wide open for you, they have a way back in.

To go back to our hand-me-down clothing analogy… it’s almost as if God planned for the Jews to give their faith away like old clothing. And those of us who received that faith are now lucky enough to receive it. It’s nothing to brag about… just wear the clothes and be grateful.

However, when your friends the Jews start seeing you walking around in those clothes, walking around in that faith that they gave away… when they see you full of joy and at peace and free from the grips of sin and grace… then they are going to start to wonder what they have lost… and you just might be the vehicle God uses to help them get back in.

The important thing to remember is that it’s God’s work… not ours. You didn’t earn your salvation, and this is not a gift that you can give to others. It is God’s doing.

That is a reminder that we need to hear over and over and over again.

This is God’s work, God’s salvation, God’s plan for our lives.

We need to hear this message just as much today as the Christians in Rome needed to hear it 2000 years ago.

Because sometimes we get a little prideful. Sometimes we get a little superior when we think about our brothers and our sisters out in the world.

Sometimes we gossip about Susie Q down the street who stopped going to church, or about John Doe across town who has never graced the door of a church in his life, or about Ms. Smith’s grandson who grew up in the church and then went off to college and became a wild child.

And when we do so, it kind of makes us feel good. It kind of makes us feel important and proud and arrogant…. I go to church every Sunday. I put money in the offering plate every week. God loves me… and not those other people.

Paul’s response to that kind of attitude?

La-de-dah.

So what?

He turns to the image of a tree to drive this point home. We, as latecomers to the faith, are merely wild shoots that have been grafted in to the ancient family of faith.

In fact… there is only room for us, because some branches have been pruned. They were dead in their faith and they were cut off, and now there is room for us.

We have hand-me-down places in this family tree. They only reason we are growing is because we finally got connected to the source of life – Jesus Christ.

And that is nothing to brag about. It’s nothing we did. Its nothing we earned. And we have no reason to be cocky about it.

In fact… Paul warns us – God didn’t think twice about pruning the natural branches on the tree, so why would he hesitate to trim you off of this tree of salvation if you stop producing fruit.

We get arrogant, because what we see as we look on your Jewish brothers and sisters or Susie Q or John Doe are branches that have been pruned from a tree. People who rejected God’s love in their life. They are broken and alone, withering apart from the source of true life. And we are so glad that they are not us…

But in God’s eyes, they are just branches waiting to be grafted back in. They are beloved children that our Master loves.

No matter what we do to reject the love of God, He will never reject us. He is always looking for a way to bring his lost children back into the fold.

That should be a reassurance to us. Because we are merely recipients of extravagant, generous, hand-me-down faith.

Hand me downs can sometimes be precious gifts. And our salvation is not a gift that we should take lightly. Because a gift like this, well, it could be taken away just as easily as it was given.

Knowing how undeserving we are of such generosity, we might walk around always worrying about doing the wrong thing, anxious about losing the love of god.

But Paul reminds us in Romans – God’s gifts are never taken back. His gifts are irrevocable.

We have all disobeyed… and he has mercy on all of us.

That is why we trust in God’s love. It is steadfast. It is eternal. It is unconditional.

It is just as enduring for us who have tasted the sweet beauty of salvation as it is for those who have walked away. God loves us and will not rest until each and every single one of us knows that love.

As Paul concludes this chapter – Everything comes from God; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in Him.

Thanks be to God that his ways are not my ways. And that his love is not my love.

Amen.

Making the Congregation Cry

Posted on August 12, 2011Leave a comment

This has been an insanely busy summer… vacation, a new nephew, mission trips, fundraisers, cleaning at the church…

So I have tried to make my summer a bit easier by working through Romans with the congregation.

Ha.

In some ways, it hasn’t been that bad. Each piece kind of follows on the one before it, so I am continuing a train of thought about grace and mercy for us and others all summer long.

But last week, I combined chapters 9 and 10 and talked about how Paul was just aching in his bones with grief for his brothers and sisters who had rejected Jesus Christ.

I asked the church to think of their friends or family members who were resistant to the gospel or had left the church or had never been told about the good news of Jesus Christ. I asked them to think about the people their own hearts ache for.

I know that there are many who have personally expressed to me concern about a loved one. I have commiserated, having a husbad who isn’t really into God himself(see “Lost My Religion“).

But there was something about what the Holy Spirit did in that sermon that really moved people. Everywhere I looked, people were wiping their eyes, trying not to tear up, or digging out a tissue.

I think there are so many people in this world who really want to share their faith and share the love of God and they just don’t know how. They are afraid of rejection, they are unsure of their own story, and they “know” their family too well.

Just watching those tears come last Sunday opened my eyes to the real need for a group who is interested in learning about faith sharing. In practicing faith sharing. In having a community who is just as genuinely heartsick as they are to tell others about the love of God they have found.

I have one lesson plan that I have written about evangelism and the gospel of Mark, but it is more of a thinking sort of study, than a heart/practical look. Any suggestions of places to start?

Breaking Your Heart

Posted on August 7, 2011Leave a comment

For the last month or so, we have been reading Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. In prison, sick, struggling, shipwrecked, he just hasn’t had the time or resources to make it to Rome personally, so this letter contains everything that he thinks those people of faith in Rome need to know.

He wants them to take this letter and not only be strengthened in their own faith, but to carry this letter to their friends and neighbors and everyone they meet in Rome… and to offer to them the grace and love of Jesus Christ.

Everything we need to know about the road to salvation is right here in this letter. We’ve talked about much of it in these past weeks. All of us – no matter who we are – are under the power and control of sin. There is nothing we can do to escape it – not ritual, not the law, not ignorance, nothing.

Nothing, except Jesus Christ.

Paul writes that his faithfulness makes us righteous. His faithfulness makes us worthy of salvation. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and by his blood we have been reconciled to God.

And so, faith and trust in Jesus Christ helps us to die to that old power of sin and now live under the power of grace. Faith and trust in Jesus Christ helps us to say no to sin and yes to God’s ways. It’s not a magic fix, and it is not an easy journey, but through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, the victory is ours already. Now we wait… but always knowing that no matter what happens, the love of God in Christ Jesus is ours.

That’s it… That’s the “Romans Road” as some people refer to it. Believe and trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and salvation is yours.

But what happens in this next part of the letter, Romans 9 and 10 is that Paul shifts directions.

He starts writing to the Romans about a deep sorrow that he feels over a particular group of people who have not been able to trust in these words about Jesus:

In selected verses from 9 and 10:

At the same time, you need to know that I carry with me at all times a huge sorrow. It’s an enormous pain deep within me, and I’m never free of it. I’m not exaggerating—Christ and the Holy Spirit are my witnesses. It’s the Israelites…If there were any way I could be cursed by the Messiah so they could be blessed by him, I’d do it in a minute. They’re my family. I grew up with them. They had everything going for them—family, glory, covenants, revelation, worship, promises….

Believe me, friends, all I want for Israel is what’s best for Israel: salvation, nothing less. I want it with all my heart and pray to God for it all the time. I readily admit that the Jews are impressively energetic regarding God—but they are doing everything exactly backward… After all these years of refusing to really deal with God on his terms, insisting instead on making their own deals, they have nothing to show for it.

Paul’s heart is breaking for his brothers and sisters, his neighbors, and even those people he has never met, who think that they have to earn their way to salvation. His heart is breaking for all of the people who think they are unworthy of God’s love. His heart is breaking for those people who believe that because they have done good in this world that salvation is theirs…

I know that each of us in this room this morning, has someone in our lives that our heart breaks for.

I want you to take just a moment and think about that person.

Maybe it is a spouse or a child that wants to do it their own way, and not God’s way.

A brother or sister who has always had it rough in this life and just can’t accept that God would love them after everything that has happened.

A dear friend who has left the church and left the community of believers and now is disconnected and alone in their faith struggles.

We could probably spend hours today naming those people in our lives who are separated from the love and grace of God that is in Christ Jesus.

I’ll admit it myself. My heart breaks for my own husband who is this jumbled mix of pride and doubt all at the same time. And I know that I can’t make that decision for him. I know that I can’t let it all go for him. And so I pray. And I love him even more.

We feel this way… this aching in our hearts for our brothers and sisters in this world… because we know how amazing it is to experience Christ’s love.

So, when was the last time you actually told that person how you felt? When was the last time you laid your own fears of rejection aside and asked them to just look at your heart and see the deep love and compassion and genuine concern that you have for them?

Here’s the thing. You could lay out the Roman Road for them. You could give them a lecture or hand them a tract or read to them from the bible… but when was the last time you looked that person in the eye and said –

Whether or not you are ready
Whether or not you want to let God in your life…
I need you to know that I love you and that my heart breaks sometimes because you have not yet experienced the joy and the freedom that comes from letting God in.
That love I have for you will never go away.
And God’s love for you will never go away.
Whenever, if you are ever, ready to experience it too, I’m here.

We have to actually speak the words. We have to carry that message of love and salvation to our friends.

As we heard this morning in the scripture that Colette read, “ If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raise him from the dead, you will be saved.”

So when is the last time that you carried that message to someone you loved?

When was the last time you sat and wrestled with someone who was unsure of God’s love in their life? Or helped them to see that they could chose to let Christ rule their hearts rather than money or status or culture?

As his heart is breaking for the people he loves… Paul writes in verse 14 (and I invite you to follow along):

But how can they call for help if they don’t know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?

Maybe our hearts are aching for these brothers and sisters because we have not been active enough in our faith.

Photo by: Jesse Therrien

Christ says that we need to be hearers and doers of the word. Someone, somewhere once shared the good news with us… and we heard that word of joy and believed in our own hearts. But not only do we need to believe in our hearts but we also need to confess with our mouths so that others may in turn hear.

But some of us have become “pew potatoes.” Some of us are “occasional Christians.” Some of us are afraid to be sent into the world. Some of us are hanging on to the good news instead of sharing it with others.

(Play “I’m just sitting on the dock of the bay wasting time.” )

Are we just sitting here wasting time? Are we just watching people come in and out of our lives like the ships rolling in and out of the bay?

It’s a good song… but it’s not a good motto to live by.

We are called to go. We are called to share. We are called to take leaps of faith and risks. We are called to speak and to listen. We are called to love.

Every person, in every place, including our own families and circles of friends, needs to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. Will you let Christ send you?

LIFE in the Spirit

Posted on July 10, 2011Leave a comment

I woke up this morning, and literally, almost, could not physically get out of bed!

Yesterday, my husband and I cleaned the exterior of our cars. No… cleaned isn’t quite the right word. We scrubbed and polished and waxed and buffed our cars.

And let me tell you… my car needed it. As we started the project, I realized that I had not actually washed my car since I purchased it last spring.

I thought this might be an hour long little project. Brandon had other plans 😉

So five hours later, my arms feel like they are going to fall off from polishing out scratches and buffing on a shiny coat of wax… and then I decide there is still time left in the day to pull the weeds that have been accumulating in my flower beds.

This morning, I can barely move my fingers, much less hang on to anything… my back is stiff, my shoulders ache… man, this getting old stuff is for the birds! 😉
Sometimes we like to think about our bodies as a physical container. That the real “me” is somewhere inside all of this skin and bone.

In fact, this morning, I was ready to throw out the container all together if it would stop aching so much…. Bring on the robot bodies, or the heavenly places where I could float around without any join pain.

But you know what? That way of thinking is not true. Our bodies are incredibly important.

Our bodies are an integral part of who God created us to be. Our flesh and blood are not earthly things that we have to slough off and deny before we get into heaven…. No, according to scripture, these bodies go there with us…. In one form or another!

Our sloppy thinking around bodies comes from passages like the one we have this morning.

The Apostle Paul uses a Greek word that is often translated as “flesh” – sarx. So we get translations that say things like – “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the spirit.”

…and…

“those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
To our modern day ears, we think we know what that means at first hearing.

We know what flesh is… skin and bones… these things that ache and touch and feel and move around.

We know what spirit is… our souls, our minds, that of God that dwells within us.

So we think, bodies = bad, not pleasing to God…. Spirit=God, very pleasing to God.

BUT… sarx has more than one meaning.

While it can mean these skin and bones… it also is used to describe the lesser parts of ourselves…. Our animal nature, our cravings, the wretched parts of ourselves that keep grasping on to sin, no matter how many times we try to choose the right thing.

We talked about some of these last week: the craving for more, for status, for money, for food… all of those things that sometimes get the better of us and lead us down the pathways to sin.

THAT is what Paul is talking about here… not these good old, but sometimes achy bodies of ours.

In fact… our whole passage for this morning is about how we can have abundant life right here and right now in these very bodies!

How these bodies can be filled with strength and power and holiness…

How these bodies, these selves, can be Christ-like.

This passage for this morning, far from being a diatribe against our physical nature is a challenge to live up to the potential of what we can in fact DO.

Last week, the question was asked: What do we do when we joyfully accept the love and grace of God… but sin is right there next to us like the walls of a prison fence?
Our answer came at the very end… and it’s the answer to almost every single children’s sermon question… Jesus Christ. Trust in Jesus, Live in Jesus, Look to Jesus. He is the one who has set us free and if we remember that, if we celebrate that, if we hang on to that, then sin doesn’t have the power to touch us anymore.

Now, that was a quick and easy answer. The kind of quick and easy answer that we might go home and stick on our fridge and forget about.

So we are going to unpack that answer a bit. We are going to look at all of it’s parts and pieces and explore, using this week’s passage from Romans explains HOW and WHY Jesus Christ frees us from sin and death. And we are going to do it through a simple little acronymn… LIFE.

First, we have the letter L – and L stands for LOVE. You see, God doesn’t just tell us not to sin…. He sends his own Son to deal with the problem of Sin.

As John 3:16 reminds us: For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his son to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 8:3 translated by the Message: In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.

No one enters another person’s messy life unless they love them. And when Christ died for us, he took all the sins of the world with him on that cross. And the powers of sin and death thought they had won…

And here is why I think the resurrection means far more than the crucifixion. Because when Christ rose up, sin and death were defeated. They were conquered once and for all. They no longer have any power over Christ….

Which brings us to our second letter – I. And I stands for INCARNATION. Incarnation means living inside, taking on flesh. We often use it to describe the birth of Christ – when God came and dwelt among us. But it also applies here. Because you see, Jesus Christ didn’t just wipe his hands of the matter. He didn’t just defeat sin and death… no, he sends his Spirit to live in us, so that we, too, have his power and strength and righteousness.

Yes, Jesus Christ wants to share that power with you. He wants to live inside of you.

When the Spirit of God dwells within us, then life and peace and righteousness and power dwell within us. And that is an amazing thing.

Over and over again in scripture, we are reminded of how we access this resurrection power…. We have to believe in Jesus Christ.

So our third letter is F, for FAITH. Belief seems like a simple thing. A thought. A statement. “I believe in Jesus Christ,” isn’t such a difficult thing to say.

But this third letter reminds us that belief is a choice. Belief is an action. Belief is a lifestyle.

Belief in Jesus Christ means letting his spirit rule our hearts, instead of our lesser animal nature. It means choosing the Spirit of God rather than Sarx – our human desires.

Let’s think about this another way. When we live according to the flesh, sarx, we are selfish and self-centered people. Any decision we make is based on our whims, our desires, and sin easily creeps into that life. Living only according to our desires leads us down the paths of gluttony and pride, anger, greed, and death.

But when we believe in Jesus Christ, we are making the decision to live according to his Spirit. We exchange our desires for his. We exchange our self-centeredness for Christ-centeredness. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we make him the Lord of our life… rather than ourselves.

And you know what? The Spirit of Christ makes much better choices than my gut does. The Spirit of Christ has much more power than my own selfish will. And the Spirit of Christ is the only spirit that has the power to defeat the death that will eventually overcome this body.

Our last letter is E. And E stands for EMPOWERED. When we know about God’s love… when we let the Spirit be incarnate in our lives… when we have faith in the way of Jesus Christ… then we are empowered to be different.

We are set free from sin and death.

>We are set free to love God more than ourselves

We are set free to participate in God’s saving work in this world.

Because you know what? God so loved the world… not just you, not just me, not just this church, but the world.

And what we know from the life of Jesus and the testimony of scripture is that God seeks to save this whole world. God seeks to transform this whole world.

That seems like a mighty and daunting task. We are barely keeping sin at bay in our lives… how could we possibly help God to change the world?

Perhaps it’s not so much that we are helping God, but that we get out of the way enough for God to help us. When Christ dwells within us, we not only find the grace and strength and power to resist sin, but also the love and peace and power to do God’s will. When we let the Spirit of God in, the transformation of the world begins… in your life, in your family, in this community and from there it spreads to the world.

All of this is God, working in you. God loving you. God dwelling in you. God’s acts and words that we have faith in. God’s power filling you up.

In the Spirit, there is LIFE.

It is SUPPOSED to be Hard

Posted on July 3, 2011Leave a comment

“Late in World War II a large number of American and British soldiers were languishing in a war camp deep inside Germany. Some had been there for many months. A high barbed-wire fence ran across the center of the camp, isolating the two sets of prisoners. They were not allowed to go near the fence or communicate with each other. But once a day at noon the British and American chaplains could go to the fence and exchange greetings, always in the company of the guards.

“The Americans had put together a crude wireless radio and were getting some news from the outside world. Since nothing is more important to prisoners than news, the American chaplain would try to share a headline or two with his British counterpart in the few moments they had at the fence.

“One day the news came over the little radio that the German high command had surrendered and the war was over. None of the Germans knew this, since their communications system had broken down. The American chaplain took the headline to the fence, and then lingered to hear the thunderous roar of celebration in the British barracks.” (illustration from Bill O’Brien, Christian Century article, June 28, 2005)

But you know what? Even though they knew in their hearts they had been set free, there were still prison walls around them. There were still barriers between them and their fellow brothers. And even worse, the captors who held them did not have such a radio, and had no way of knowing this news.

So what do you do when you have been set free by Jesus Christ… but sin doesn’t know it yet? What do you do when you joyfully accept the love and grace of God… but sin is right there next to you like the walls of a prison fence?

Today, we are going to explore this difficult question together as we look at Romans chapter 7. Will you pray with me?

Yes, the prison of sin just doesn’t know when to leave us alone. It is always lurking right there around the corner.

How many of you have seen those commercials for depression medication where this black cloud continues to follow a woman around? That dark cloud, always nearby, always lurking, never far from reach, is a very good picture of what sin in our lives. Try as we might to shake it… it doesn’t go away.

Like the walls of the prison those POW’s were surrounded by, sin is an ever present reality in our lives.

What I think pastors and Sunday school teachers have done for far too long is pretend like sin doesn’t exist.

Oh, sure, we talk about sin in our lives before Jesus, but it is as if faith in Jesus Christ is a magical cure that puts us in a happy little bubble where no sin or temptation can ever touch us again.

Sin is always in the past.

I absolutely love Vacation Bible School. Those five year olds and I had an awesome time this past week learning about the love of God and how he helps us when we are afraid and how he is merciful and forgiving.

But I got to thinking as I wrote this message… did we ever tell those children that sin doesn’t go away, just because Jesus is in our hearts?

Have you ever heard that?

In your two… ten… forty… eighty years of being a Christian, did someone ever tell you that even as a faithful disciple you are still going to struggle with sin?

I hope so… but I worry that hasn’t always been the case.

You see, our world likes to shove problems under neath the carpet. We like to hide them in dark closets. We don’t talk about our struggles. We don’t talk about our problems. And we certainly don’t talk about our sins.

Instead, we walk around with smiles on our faces, dressed up in our Sunday best, and pretend like now that Jesus is in the world all of our problems have disappeared.

That, my friends, is called a delusion. Or hypocrisy. Or any number of any other not so nice words.

What I wish someone had told me and my peers a long time ago is that sin will always be there… lurking just around the corner. Temptation is always a struggle. Mistakes, bad decisions, failure, backsliding… it comes with the territory of discipleship.

This faith journey is SUPPOSED to be hard. It is ALWAYS going to be a struggle.

That is why I am so grateful for pastors and teachers like the apostle Paul.

Because once again, he lays the truth bare and hits me in the gut…

Paul… the Pharisee among Pharisee… the rule-follower par excellence… the guy who always seems to have it together and who has such strength and such faith… all of a sudden he starts confessing…

I too, have spent a long time in sin’s prison. And I decide to do one thing, but then I act another, and I find myself doing things I absolutely hate to do…. I need help! I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it… Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time… The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. (The Message translation, paraphrased)

Last week, I confessed some of my own struggles with sin… in part, inspired by what Paul says right here.

As a reminder that we are ALL human, and that this Christian life is not easy.

Just because we may have accepted Jesus Christ, does not mean that life will be a piece of cake from here on out.

In fact, just the opposite is true.

The moment we accept the freedom and love and grace of Jesus Christ, we immediately discover that we have enemies.

No longer is sin the friend that keeps us company… now it is the dark shadow that seeks to bring us back into its clutches.

And it does so any way that it can.

Paul talks here in this passage about how parts of himself feel like they are at war with one another… he can think good thoughts and make good decision, but then his sarx, his flesh or lesser self, those parts of his life he just can’t control… well, that steps in and messes it all up.

You see, try as we might, sometimes sin finds a way to wrap around parts of our lives. Maybe when you are tired or stressed out. Maybe when you have had a couple of drinks. Maybe when you are with certain friends or coworkers. Maybe what leads you down that wrong path is sex, or food, or money…

Whatever it is, we all have those parts of our lives that just don’t seem to want to let go of sin.

And so sin grabs hold, and hangs on right there…. And we find ourselves stuck in a civil war between the self that wants to do good and the self that wants to go back to old ways.

Throughout Christian history… faithful people have struggled in this way.

But as Bill O’Brien reminds us, “ Christianity and Western civilization do not fight an isolated curse.”

He talks about other faiths who also describe this struggle, including “Islam which identifies this struggle as jihad. The Arabic root for jihad means “strive, effort, labor.” Lesser jihad defines the kind of struggle justified in defense of oneself, for example, in military action. But greater jihad is the fighting of evil in one’s own heart. This is an inward reformation — a spiritual and moral struggle that leads to victory over ego.”

Every person shares this struggle between what we know is right and what we actually find ourselves doing. Sin lurks around the corner for all of us.

I want to take you back to that story of the prisoners of war in Germany. Remember that they heard the good news that the German commanders had surrendered and that the war was over?

Let me ask the question again… what do you do when you have been set free by Jesus Christ… but sin doesn’t know it yet? What do you do when you joyfully accept the love and grace of God… but sin is right there next to you like the walls of a prison fence?

Well, as O’Brien tells it, “An amazing thing happened. For the next three days the prisoners celebrated, waving at the guards — who still did not know the news — and smiling at the vicious dogs

“Then, when they awoke on the fourth day, there were no guards. Apparently they had fled into the forest, leaving the gate unlocked behind them.

“That day the prisoners walked out as “freed men.” But they had really been set free four days earlier by the news that the war was over.” (Bill O’Brien, Christian Century article, June 28, 2005)

We too, know that we have been set free from the power of sin by Jesus Christ. And so we find ourselves like those POW’s living in the prison camp still, waiting for our official release.

We know and we trust that it is coming. We know that someday the grace of God and the power of Jesus Christ will perfectly transform our lives and sin will no longer have any power whatsoever over us.

But while we remain within these walls… we can sit and sulk and lament our struggles –OR –

We can join with one another, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and celebrate the victory we know is ours already.

You have been set free. The struggle is still ongoing, but it no longer has to consume you.

Fix your eyes on Jesus… pray for his help… and know that the victory is already yours.