Life Structure Meat Bones

"Life precedes structure. Structure is for supporting life."

I'm not sure where I got the quote for today, but it's been in my quote rack for several years. I haven't studied much about how God puts together the human body in the womb, but it would probably be a good guess that the skeleton is not the first part created. The skeleton probably comes along when it has something to form and support. The same is true in the church or any other organization. Structures, systems, organization or whatever you would like to call them are there to support life and movement. I once heard someone ask the question, "Would you rather try to organize an unorganized movement or try to get a dead organization moving?" In other words, the choice in the question is between life without structure or structure without life. Choices aren't always this cut and dry, but if I had to chose I would go with the first.

We have been talking a lot about systems at Creekside Church, and I'm quite excited about it. There is a common understanding that there is life and health, that we have a movement that needs structure. I have learned that trying to bring structure where there is no movement seems to frustrate people. But systems where there is life enhance, facilitate and give shape to the life that God has given.

The Action Bible

If you are looking for a great book of Bible stories for your child, especially a son, The Action Bible would be a great choice. The Action Bible does not contain the actual text of the Bible, but Bible stories. At over 750 pages there are a lot of stories! We got Karsten The Action Bible for Christmas, and he did what the kid in the video does on The Action Bible website!  He is already halfway through the book.

The Action Bible is illustrated by Sergio Cariello, who has been an illustrator for Marvel and DC Comics. The illustrations have that sort of feel. His work is amazing. Old stories that you've heard or read a hundred times take on new life. Under the "Meet the Artist" tab there are several interesting videos in which Cariello explains his approach to illustrating. He talks about bringing the action to life like he would in a regular comic, only these are "stories with eternal value".

Ephesians Extra: Repeating the Same Prayer

Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:17-19 begins with the words "I keep asking". Paul made the same requests of God on behalf of the people he loved and was thankful for, and he prayed those prayers repeatedly.  He apparently felt no pressure to be "original" in his prayers. In this, he followed the lead of His Savior who was not "original" on the cross when He prayed the Psalms.

Why pray the same prayer over and over? Some prayers will never be answered fully on this side of heaven. We will grow in our understanding of the prayer as we pray it and we will see growth in the answer. Paul prayed that they would grow in knowledge of God, hope, His inheritance and His incomparably great power. I will never come to a place in my life when I will be able to cross those items off my list of completely answered prayers! The prayer at the top of the list, knowing God, easily gets crowded out by other requests. But Jesus said in John 17:3 that knowing God is the very essence of eternal life, so I would do well to keep that prayer at the top of my prayer priorities.

Find some Scripture to pray for yourself and the people you love. Pray it repeatedly. Let them know you're praying it. And watch yourself and them grow in the answer!

Ephesians Extra - Redemption Future

I spent an entire Sunday morning talking about redemption from Ephesians 1:7.  The redemption story is that I was on the blocks in the slave market of sin. I was living out my slavery to sin every day. I was a captive to this master. I was owned by sin. Jesus Christ came to the slave market and paid to set me free. The price paid was His blood! The One who never sinned died to purchase me out of sin. I have a new Master.

But what about verses like Ephesians 1:14, where Paul writes of the Holy Spirit being a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession"? Ephesians 4:30 also speaks of being sealed "for the day of redemption". In both instances redemption is a future event. What gives? One of the best clues is found in Romans 8:23. Paul tells of how we "who have the "firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." We talk about salvation past, present and future. I have been saved (justification), I am being saved (sanctification) and I will be saved (glorification). We can speak of redemption in the same way. The day will come when redemption will be completed with our release from the captivity of our earthly bodies. Our glorification will include a new suit of clothes! (See 1 Corinthians 15:35-55)

Every time the Holy Spirit bears fruit in your life He is not only making you more like Jesus now, He is promising you that one day His work will be completed! Every time you are amazed by the life-giving work of the Spirit in your life, remember that it's only a deposit. The full inheritance is yet to come! The Holy Spirit is God's down payment or "earnest money" to guarantee that He WILL finish His work. He is the engagement ring that tells us the wedding is coming. The Holy Spirit bears the fruits of joy and peace, but He also helps us to groan with waiting and anticipation.

A Supernatural Faith Worth Believing

"The world will never believe in a religion in which there is no supernatural power. A rationalized faith, a socialized church and a moralized gospel may gain applause, but they awaken no conviction and win no converts."  Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932)

I may be mistaken by what the world wants to see in God's people, but I think Chadwick was on to something. I think the world really wants to see a people who are different - awake, alive, full of sacrificial love. This is far more than just being naturally good or nice.  This is a supernatural, life-transforming work of God. Look at the three things Chadwick says might gain applause:

"Rationalized faith": There is a difference between explaining the faith away and explaining it to death. It is in the latter sense that Chadwick means rationalized. Christians may decry postmodernism with its tendency to relativize the faith. But the answer is not a modernism that has every apologetic 'i' dotted and every doctrinal 't' crossed. The answer is a faith that is both rational and real, making sense and changing hearts.

"Socialized church": By this I take him to mean a church whose identity is based in its involvement in solving social ills - feeding the hungry, stopping human trafficking, political reform, etc. All of these are good if they are a fruit of the gospel and not a root of the gospel. Help an unemployed man get a job and you have done a good thing and the world might applaud. Help him get a job as you help him encounter Jesus and the applause may not be so loud.

"Moralized gospel": The gospel is not just Jesus helping you keep the rules.  Jesus did not live, die and live again just so you could do five things to be a better spouse and know five secrets to better time management.

Much more could be said, but maybe Chadwick was just explaining 2 Timothy 3. There we read of people who love self and love stuff and who have a form of godliness but deny its power. These people want a godliness that is enough to get them the approval of others but not enough to make them do anything too crazy.  Take a moment to pray for the church you are a part of and the churches in your community. Pray that they would be places where people are encountering Jesus and His grace and truth are transforming lives. Pray for preachers who will do more than get people to their sermons and its points. Pray for preachers who will get people to the Bible and its Author who convicts and converts. Pray for a church full of lives that can only be explained by supernatural intervention.

Full of Life Application & Pleasant Surprises

Seeing as how there are currently 180 reviews of Eric Metaxas' Bonhoeffer on Amazon, I would like to simply share a few of the many applications and pleasant surprises I received from Eric Metaxas' "Bonhoeffer".

• When Bonhoeffer is described, one of the first words most often used is ‘scholar’.  That is an appropriate label. The pleasant surprise was learning how much he loved teaching and mentoring kids. One of his first paid ministry positions was working with children. He started with a small handful of kids and the group grew quite large.  Years later he mentored a group of underprivileged teenage boys, even taking them away for weekends to his family’s country home.
• There is a lot of fascinating German history in this book.  For example, I knew Martin Luther's influence in Germany was deep and long-lasting.  I had no idea just how much so!  For example, with his translation of the bible into German, Luther united a nation with many dialects into a people with one language.
• It seems there was always somebody in his life whom he was showing and telling the truth.  And someone seems to have always been doing the same with him.  He was always both a Paul and a Timothy.
• Truth must not be just defended and proclaimed.  It should be loved and meditated upon.  It was Bonhoeffer’s practice to spend extended time every morning simply meditating on one or two verses of Scripture.  As a teacher he required his students to do the same.  This created a deep well of truth in his   life from which he would often draw in the spur of the moment and in demanding situations.  His love for Scripture and his belief in its relevance came out in his advice to his students: “A truly evangelical sermon must be like offering a child a fine red apple or offering a thirsty man a cool glass of wather and then saying, “Do you want it?””
• Bonhoeffer’s relevance for today cannot be understated.  Metaxas writes of Bonhoeffer’s second trip to America: “Reflecting on the American church scene, he was fascinated that tolerance trumped truth.”  Bonhoeffer wrote in one of his letters from the states: “Hence the American tolerance, or rather, indifference in dogmatic questions.  A warlike encounter is excluded, but so too is the true passionate longing for unity in faith.” A casual look at the American church scene would surely reveal a similar attitude today.
• I knew that Hitler was a wicked man, but I did not know the extent of his wickedness.  I also did not know that he had been planning his atrocities for many years before he came to power.  Bonhoeffer saw Hitler’s evil early on and was a courageous voice in opposition.  Oftentimes he was nearly alone in his courage.
• Lastly, Metaxas describes Bonhoeffer’s understanding of guilt and freedom in the life of a Christian.  “Bonhoeffer knew that to live in fear of incurring “guilt” was itself sinful. God wanted His beloved children to operate out of freedom and joy to do what was right and good, not out of fear of making a mistake. To live in fear and guilt was to be “religious” in the pejorative sense.”

Reading to Finish or Reading to Be Changed?

I love to read.  I love that my kids love to read.  This blog is really just me sharing what I read.  This is the second year of my effort to read my age in books every year.  Last year I made it, but this year is looking doubtful.  Lately I've noticed a bothersome tendency in my reading: I'm reading to get finished instead of reading to get changed.  (I was introduced to this idea by Jeremy Kingsley, with whom I went to college.  I didn't know Jeremy that well, but I've listened to several of his messages through the Columbia International University podcast.)  Now obviously everything I read isn't going to result in earth-shaking life transformation.  Sometimes I read just for fun.  But I usually read to learn and in learning to be changed.  Yet I have found myself reading to get done instead.

• I often look to see what percentage read number on my Kindle
• I delight in checking off the boxes on my Bible Reading Plan
• I often scan to see how many chapters I have left, even of a book I'm enjoying.
• Every time I add a book to my 2010 Books Read document I count to see how many I've read

I'm wondering why I do this because I'm a bit frustrated with myself!  At heart it probably comes from my sinful desire to depend on my works to satisfy God and justify myself before Him and people.  I want to check lists in order to feel like I have done my spiritual, intellectual and social duty.  Other than preach the gospel to myself, I'm wondering what I need to do.

• Do I need to slow down, meditate more and not worry about quantity?
• Do I need to regularly remind myself that Bible is about relationship, which cannot be "checked off"?
• Do I need to get rid of the plan and the list?
• Do I need to put a piece of tape over the percentage read number on my Kindle?

A friend of mine once told me, "Next year you will be the same person you are now except for the places you go, the people you meet and the books you read."  That's not the whole story, but there's some wisdom to that.  I'm praying that I'll not start putting people and places in check boxes and on lists too!