The Jesus Show

Friends who are staying with me like to watch “The Voice,” a competition that looks for people who are talented, who have the potential to make it as an entertainer.  Drawn in, I watch with interest as men and women take the stage to sing.  The ones that do best are not just able to hit the high notes or hold the pitch.  There is an added component to their performance in which they seem to internalize the song and draw the audience into it. The best among them can take the music of another and make you feel the story.  And, then the judges deconstruct the performance and the magic evaporates as we come back to reality. It’s all a show!

Are you doing a ‘Jesus Show,’ using the words and emotions of another, without taking your own spiritual journey? 
Is your faith walk your own or a borrowed one?
Do you demand that your pastor, your favorite Christian worship leader, the author that you read bring a great performance so you can feel something?

Christianity must not become the “Jesus Show,” a weekly program where we tune in and critique the performers. The true richness of knowing Christ is available to those who trust Him, who wrestle with the implications of His truth, who engage themselves to love and serve.  Jesus said, “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock." (Matthew 7:24, The Message)

Let me illustrate what I am trying to say from my own life experience.  I have heard love songs that actually can make me cry.  Momentarily I can ‘feel’ the song, carried by the intensity of the performer.  Or, I may watch a movie and get caught up in the drama of the plot, momentarily almost feeling like I know the character on the screen. Then, it’s over. Nothing in me has actually changed. I was just entertained.  Loving my wife through 4 decades was a real adventure. There were gritty moments of conflicts and glorious moments when we became one of heart!  In her final journey here, I was able to love her in ways that are unforgettable, holding her near, sharing her tears and fears, until the moment her last breath brushed my cheek lightly and she went on home to Heaven.  The lived-out love story is incomparably better than any performance that moves me.

Live your faith.  We are invited to ‘keep step with the Spirit.’ (Galatians 5:25)  Love deeply. Serve wholeheartedly. Worship intensely. Take God seriously. Leaving the Jesus Show behind for a real life experience of faith complicates things for us. Instead of having an inspired moment here and there, we have to wrestle with temptation, give ourselves away in true service, and love God and others with the messiness that comes with it.  But, our lives take on a depth that cannot be found in any other way.

Here is a word from the Word.  Lord, help us to hear Your invitation to a real, living experience.  “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? … When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don’t make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won’t make you a saint. If you ‘go into training’ inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face." (Matthew 6:5,16-17, The Message)

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Knowing You

All I once held dear, built my life upon,

All this world reveres and wars to own.

All I once thought gain, I have counted loss

Spent and worthless now compared to this;

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You,

There is no greater thing!

You're my all, You're the best,

You're my joy, my righteousness,

And I love You Lord, love You Lord.

Now my heart's desire is to know You more,

To be found in You and known as Yours;

To possess by faith what I could not earn,

All surpassing gift of righteousness.

Oh to know the pow'r of Your risen life

And to know You in Your sufferings;

To become like You in Your death, my Lord

So with You to live and never die.

Graham Kendrick

© 1993 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

“Classified! Top Secret!”

National security depends on closely held information that is entrusted to a relatively small number of people in the government.  Those who work at high levels are granted ‘clearance’ after background checks that determine their trustworthiness.  I am sure that in some cases the classified material is of little value and that some of it is absolutely critical in the ongoing war with terrorism.  There are some ‘secrets’ that have nothing to do with security but that are closely held for economic reasons.  Coca-cola™ protects their flavor for carbonated sugar water.  KFC™ does not publish the Colonel's recipe for making chicken taste good.

So is there a secret formula, an insider’s access in the Christian life, enjoyed only by a privileged few?  No!

Jesus came to make the announcement for all would believe and receive. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15, NLT)

We, because of His invitation and the life of the Spirit, have access to the secrets of the Kingdom of God! God has revealed Himself and His ways to us. We don’t have to make a pilgrimage to some far off place, chase down some spiritual teacher, or endure some painful initiation.  We have only to accept the invitation!  Jesus said, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you." (Mark 4:11, NIV)

Those who are alive in Spirit through faith are given the ‘eyes’ that see the realities of God's rule while those without the Spirit see nothing at all! When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor was puzzled by the accusation made against him that he was a king inciting rebellion. He asked, "Where is your kingdom?" Jesus answered him with these words, cryptic to those without faith, "“My kingdom doesn’t consist of what you see around you. If it did, my followers would fight so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But I’m not that kind of king, not the world’s kind of king.” (John 18:36, The Message) Some say Jesus was delusional? What an accusation. In fact, He was a King who came to reveal a kingdom and those who desire to enter into it can know the Presence of God in this world, too. We, Christians, are not deluded, though we are often accused of being 'out of touch' by those who cannot understand the ways of the Holy Spirit. We see the unseen and live by a wisdom that transcends the knowledge of this world. God, the Spirit, gives us the secrets of the Kingdom!

Living in the Kingdom lets us understand the riddles that puzzle unbelievers -"Die to live. Give to gain. Serve to rule. Turn the other cheek. Forgive those who mistreat you."

Matthew 5 begins with the Beatitudes- statements that turn life upside down, words that nonsensical to those who are not in the Kingdom!

"Blessed are the poor in spirit... blessed are those who mourn... blessed are the meek." Such words invite ridicule in a world where the rich, the happy, and the powerful are envied and emulated, yet they make sense to those who know the secret Kingdom, who organize their lives by the laws of Heaven.

We can live in the natural realm of life – doing our best by our wits, filling our stomachs, trying to find some relief from the tedium of life. Or, we can enter into the Kingdom of God and live by the wisdom of Heaven, enjoying abundant life that leads us to the Home prepared in eternity for those who love the King.  Which wisdom, dear friend, shapes your decisions? Are you living by the conventional wisdom that teaches you to go for the gusto as you reach for your potential? Are you living to die, your only hope being what you can enjoy in these fleeting days of your earthly existence? There is a “secret” Kingdom that is not really secret at all.  You are invited in. Believe Him and begin to see through eyes of faith, God’s truth made plain by the Spirit revelation. Jesus told a man of power and prominence - “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God...The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit." (John 3:3, 5 NLT)

Here is a word from the Word about the Kingdom I love. May they captivate your mind and heart and cause you to enter His reign, too.  "I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world, and not the kind that appeals to the rulers of this world, who are being brought to nothing. No, the wisdom we speak of is the secret wisdom of God, which was hidden in former times, though he made it for our benefit before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But we know these things because God has revealed them to us by his Spirit, and his Spirit searches out everything and shows us even God’s deep secrets." (1 Corinthians 2:6-10, NLT)

Receive Christ today! Let the Spirit cause you to be born anew, a living child of God, in on the secret of eternal life, heavenly life right here and now!

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Build Your Kingdom Here  (worship and listen at this link)

Come set Your rule and reign

In our hearts again

Increase in us we pray

Unveil why we're made

Come set our hearts ablaze with hope

Like wildfire in our very souls

Holy Spirit come invade us now

We are Your church

We need Your pow'r in us

We seek Your kingdom first

We hunger and we thirst

Refuse to waste our lives

For You're our joy and prize

To see the captives' hearts released

The hurt the sick the poor at peace

We lay down our lives for heaven's cause

We are Your church

We pray revive this earth

Build Your kingdom here

Let the darkness fear

Show Your mighty hand

Heal our streets and land

Set Your church on fire

Win this nation back

Change the atmosphere

Build Your kingdom here we pray

Unleash Your kingdom's pow'r

Reaching the near and far

No force of hell can stop

Your beauty changing hearts

You made us for much more than this

Awake the kingdom seed in us

Fill us with the strength and love of Christ

We are Your church

We are the hope on earth

Rend Collective

© 2011 Thankyou Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Anger - Outrage - Destruction

Outrage is the way we do our public dialogue these days. Right, Left, Conservative, Progressive … we are all shouting, offended, taking no prisoners!   The national election was a reaction of outrage.  The backlash to that primal scream is more outrage.  We all are being hurt because the moderate voices are drowned by the screams of those who want it all.  Every decision is painted as being ‘the end of the world.’ The cable news stations feed us a steady diet of people who talk over each other loudly and angrily. I confess that I think some of that ‘outrage’ is staged to make better entertainment.

Christian, this is a spiritual matter and we cannot be full of the Spirit, walking in the likeness of Jesus, while screaming about the things that offend us, that we see as sin!

Anger is like dynamite; a little accomplishes a lot! Given a leash that is a little too long, it will become a raging fire, the Bible calls that kind of anger 'wrath,' that burns up everything in its path! The Holy Spirit commands those who walk in the Spirit to self-control. Yes, the ability to regulate our emotions is evidence (fruit) of His Presence in us.  Paul warns us not to “sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27, NLT) The Proverbs remind us of this common sense wisdom:  “Hot tempers start fights; a calm, cool spirit keeps the peace.” (Proverbs 15:18, The Message)

Anger is a normal human emotion. Rage is a sinful use of that emotion.  An examination of the whole of Scripture will not cause us to discard anger, but it will lead us to taking control of it. A person who is incapable of anger will be run over, pushed aside, used, and manipulated. Not many injustices would be righted if people were unwilling to allow themselves feel deep and passionate desire for change. It took some angry people to confront 19th century America with the sinfulness of slavery. It took some angry people to force society to deal with child labor and abuse of women. Personally, many of us will not deal with sinful habits until we get angry enough at ourselves or our situation to go through the difficult experience of change!

Anger is voluntary!  To hear some speak you would think that anger blows over us like the wind, beyond our control. Truthfully, no one "makes me mad." (Interesting, isn’t it, that we use a word about losing the rational mind to colloquially describe the state of anger.)  We choose to become angry. Situations and people irritate us, but we still have a choice in our response. A traffic jam, an irrational politician, a stubborn child, or a lazy retail clerk cannot be blamed for our choice to slip into outrage. “Anger management” is not just a phrase.  If we walk near to the heart of God, He will change our heart so that we weep for our broken world more readily than raging at it!

Anger is addictive. When we get angry, our bodies are designed to release a flood of chemicals that change our brains, our blood flow, and our muscles! It is called “fight or flight.”  There is a kind of natural high that accompanies rage.  We can become addicted to that rush of adrenaline, the sense of power.  That addiction requires more stimulation over time to bring on the same ‘rush’ and so our threshold for anger drops. Those things that once caused mild aggravation can then bring on a violent outburst of anger.  Christians who are filled with the Spirit can no more walk with Christ and glorify Him if they are addicted to anger than they can if they are enslaved by alcohol.  

My appeal is not for apathy.  Passion is a good thing and we need convictions (yes, that is a whole subject on its own) that go deep, that motivate us to sacrifice for Christ and those things that are part of following Him. But, outrage is divisive- productive in the short-term perhaps, but ultimately destructive. We cannot demonize those who are different and then hope to create communities that enrich all of our lives.

Next time you're angry - ask a couple questions:

Is this situation worth the cost of anger, worthy of allowing the dangerous emotion some release?

What are we really angry about? What should we do about it?

Use your anger. Don't let anger use you!

Our word from the Word is truth that transforms. "Slowness to anger makes for deep understanding; a quick-tempered person stockpiles stupidity." (Proverbs 14:29, The Message)

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