Desconstruct/Reconstruct

“Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7

I’ve been doing a study on what God views as wise and what He thinks is foolish. It’s quite study and often leaves me more confused than feeling wise. I do see why Solomon thought it may cost you everything to gain understanding!

Jesus was good at causing confusion to those around Him. He was always tearing down the commonly held beliefs of a righteous life and then rebuilding it to look much different than any would expect. Matt Chandler calls this approach of Jesus the process of "deconstructing religion and reconstructing the Kingdom".

The way Jesus deconstructed and reconstructed commonly held wisdom, shook up the world around Him. It causes the vilest of sinners to turn around and the most righteous of priests to have murderous thoughts toward Him. Here are some of theses topsy-turvy things which have stuck out to me lately:

• You must lose your life to find it. (See Matthew 16:25)
• I came to serve not be served. (See Matthew 20:28)
• You must be the last to be the first. (See Matthew 20:16)
• If you want to be great, you must become a servant. (See Matthew 20:26-27)
• He went to the sick and poor, the tax collector and the prostitute, and the otherwise outcast. His closest disciples were fishermen He picked up right out of the boat (picture a “Deadly Catch” crew.)
• I didn’t come to bring peace... But a sword. (See Matthew 10:24)
• Blessed are the poor, those who hunger now, those who weep, you when men hate you, exclude you, insult you, or reject you because of Jesus.
• YET

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.” (See Luke 6)

• Love your enemy, bless those who persecute you… (See Matthew 5:43-48)
• It is easier for a camel to be thread through a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom. (See Matthew 19:23-24)
• He was born to a virgin in a barn with only shepherds there to sing announce His birth.
• He spoke in parables we still struggle to fully grasp their meaning.
• Why did He walk on water to the boat? Why didn’t He just calm the sea from where He was? (Okay so that one doesn’t quite fit but I still have to ask the question. I think it’s because He wanted to teach them the lesson of faith despite the storm.)
• At the last supper, He wanted to show His disciples the full extent of His love, so He washed their feet (See John 13). He rebuked Peter for trying to stop Him.
• YET, He allowed a very sinful woman to wash His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair as He was rebuking a Pharisee for judging her(See Luke 7). He also allowed another woman to anoint His feet with perfumed oil and rebuked a disciple who suggested the gesture was too extravagant (See John 12).
• He was beaten, mocked, spit at, tortured, lashed almost to the point of death, nailed to a wooden beam, and left to suffocate and/or bleed to death. He knew about it before hand and still allowed them to do it. After this was done to Him, He cried out in their defense, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (that one absolutely blows me away!) Ultimately, He gave up His own life by His own will.
• Everyone thought that was the end and yet again, God makes us think again. After three days in the tomb, God bodily resurrected Jesus.
• God made Jesus authority over everything (See John 17).
• YET,

“He was pierced for our transgressions
Crushed for our sin
The punishment which brought us peace
Was upon Him
And by His wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

I’ve been sitting here for 20 minutes just letting these things soak into my soul. I simply cannot wrap myself around the vastness of this wisdom. It's almost driving me crazy trying to grasp on to something. YET, there is something so deep, so ancient, and so true which compels me to keep trying.

I have nothing to say, no conclusion to draw which encompasses the depth, height, length, and width of God. It would take me a lifetime of writing to even come close. And that my friends, is what I intend to do, Lord willing!

I will leave us with a few other thoughts which are coming from the exploration of my next book, The Tipping Point, From Doing to Being.

DOING the CHRISTIAN THING
I realize how much I need God in my life.

BEING a CHRIST-FOLLOWER
God IS my life.

DOING the CHRISTIAN THING
I’ve asked Jesus to come into my heart.

BEING a CHRIST-FOLLOWER
Jesus owns my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I am nothing without Him.

DOING the CHRISTIAN THING
What would Jesus do in my place?

BEING a CHRIST-FOLLOWER
Jesus already took my place – what IS He doing in and through me right now?

Unplugging

10 years ago I was a successful business woman, quickly climbing up the corporate ladder. I was a “good” mom, daughter, and friend. My financial portfolio was strong for being a 32 year-old single parent. I attended church regularly, tithed faithfully, volunteered, prayed, and studied my Bible as any good Christian should. I’m pretty capable on my own power. I can keep a lot of things going at the same time and do it fairly well from the world’s perspective.

The funny thing is, I wasn’t fulfilled. I kept searching for MORE. I wasn’t sure what I wanted MORE of – but, I just wasn’t filled. I tried doing MORE; more Bible studies, more time with my children, more success at work, and more financial security. I even tried buying more earthly comforts. But, nothing brought the fulfillment which I knew I wanted but had never really experienced.

That was the year God started to “UNPLUG” me. He unplugged me from my corporate career. He unplugged me from financial security. He unplugged me from many of the earthly comforts I had. That was hard.

Then He started unplugging me from my independency and self-reliance. Then came the stripping down of pride and preconceived notions of being “good enough”. Then came more unplugging from my quest to be successful which entailed the ugliness of my pride, envy, and need to control. This type of unplugging has proved to be excruciating.

Don’t hear me say that I have “arrived” and no longer deal with this junk. NOPE – that is definitely not what I saying. However, I have been stripped down many layers in the last ten years. It makes it easier to deal with junk as it comes, but sometimes that makes the junk harder to see.

Deemed Prepared?
As I look back over the unplugging, I realize everything that has gone well for me has prepared me for God’s calling on my life. I also realize how much God has used the things which haven’t gone right, the discomforts, the lack of control, and a lack of success – all of it has gone to strip me of what wasn’t necessary for the journey ahead.

Ten years later, I stand a few months shy of 42 years old and by the world’s standards I’m about as unsuccessful as you can be in America. I’m at the very beginning of the ministry God has called me to do when I am at the weakest by the world’s standards.

It makes no sense, but this is the point when God deems me prepared. Maybe in order to be prepared, you come to the end of what you can do on your own power? Maybe God needs to get us to the point when we have no choice but to let Him take over?

“How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” 1 Corinthians 15:36

Doug Encounter

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 14:19

I was part of a God orchestrated encounter last week. The more I grow to trust God, the more I see how much effort He puts into His orchestrations within the symphony of life. God has purpose in every symbol strike, every pluck from the violins, and each note the woodwinds blow.

I was without internet access at home for a few days (enter the strings softly) so I needed to get somewhere to login to check my messages. Due to some strange circumstances, I happened to be on the far side of town (start a soft tympani roll with a light cymbal strike). Thirsty for some tea, I stopped at a local bookstore to accomplish my work and for refreshment (the strings pluck a lively little jig and tympani rolls again.)

Doug was at the counter getting his hot chocolate (the woodwinds begin to add a little drama to the ensemble). He was an older gentleman who had obviously been someone who was used to getting what he wanted.

He was a bit demanding and a tad irritable to the girl behind the counter (the strings pluck even more vigorously). He couldn’t get logged on to the internet and was wanted her to help him. She brushed him aside to help me. I got my tea and found an empty table to set up my mini office (music slows down again and the oboe plays a soothing melody).

I opened up my computer to dive into work, but I couldn’t get logged in either. By this time, Doug had called for the manager so she could help. I decided to work with them to help figure out what was wrong (all instruments join in to bring a joyful feel to the stanza).

It was a quick change and soon Doug was up and running. He thanked me and introduced himself. We exchanged names and he told me he is a retired lawyer (back to the pleasant, lively beat). “Teri, what do you do?” I said, “I’m a writer.”

“Really?” He replied, “What do you write about?” Oh no – that’s the question of doom (the highly dramatic interlude begins). When I say, “I want others to know more about Jesus Christ”, it’s almost a sure bet to shut down the conversation. This time however, it opened the door. Doug wanted to know more about Jesus.

After an hour and a half of talking with Doug about Jesus, I gave him a copy of my book, which by the way, I had found just that morning in a stack of other books (cymbals crash wildly).

We walked out to the parking lot together, and he asked me to pray for a couple of specific things on his behalf (music becomes soft again.) So, I prayed for him right there and then in the parking lot.

After I said, “Amen”, I thought we would be done, but Doug took over and prayed for me. It was a very touching prayer. I was humbled and grateful (the final stanza is a beautiful mix of melody and harmony which brings the crowd to tears).

I walk away from that experience amazed at God and what lengths He will go to in order to show the full extent of His love. Doug certainly felt the love of Christ that day in miraculous ways and so did I. God will orchestrate even the smallest details of our lives if we allow Him too.

I can see God’s idea of the abundant life is one with many, many “Doug encounters.” My prayer is that I remain open for each and every one He wishes to orchestrate in my life (cymbals crash, strings hold one last note bringing this symphony to finale).

To the Knee I Go

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5

I’ve been exploring the concept that the root of every sin is based in our distrust of God. I’ve come to believe there are two basic reasons which keep us from giving all of ourselves to God; fear and pride. We’ve already looked at fear in the last post. At the very core, we’re afraid we can’t trust God to come through for us as He’s promised.

Pride is the other outward sign of our distrust in God. Pride is when we tell God we know better than He does. We are prideful when we distrust God’s sovereignty.

God lays down only a few “rules” for humans like:

"And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 2:16-17

These rules give us the boundaries of abundant life. God knows exactly what boundaries humans need because He knows what’s best. Why? He’s sovereign; perfect in righteousness and wholly just with ultimately authority.

We know pride is at the core of our sin when we start saying things like, “Hey wait a minute! I don’t agree with that rule. God Himself is going to have to prove that one to me before I believe it.” Or “That one is only meant for those super “Jesus freaks”, not for the normal people.” We may find ourselves making justifications, “Why, that was surely only meant for the culture thousands of years ago. That will never work in today’s society.” Or maybe, “God wants me to be happy, right? This makes me happy!”

Pride causes us to go against the will of God even when we know His will. Pride may also make us neglect to seek His will in case His will may go against what we really want to do. Pride keeps us from the abundant life when we say things like, “I like my life just the way it is, Lord. Don’t go messing around with it.”

It’s a good thing God knows us so well because He has the perfect antidotes to our sin. Just like the antidote for fear is perfect love, I believe the antidote for pride is perfect humility. Humility happens when we learn the hard way God is more than a genie in a bottle meant for our own happiness. I call it the “loving swap on the back side.” It happens when God allows us to take a little fall and we fall into His loving arms.

When we get the proverbial rug pulled out from under us, try going to a knee rather than shaking a fist. You may be surprised at what you’ll find. From my experience, I can tell you - you will find MORE on your knee…

Perfected Love

This is a continuation from the last entry “Extravagance”…

ON FEAR
Even though the abundant life promise can be incredibly exciting, it can also be really scary. Just by the nature of God, we can be assured His plan for our lives will lead us out of our personal comfort zone.

He wants to do immeasurable more in us and through us than we can even imagine and, it will be by HIS power, not our own. This means we won’t be able to control the outcome if God is truly running the show. Drat!

I’m sure the three men Jesus called to on the sea shore that day 2,000 years ago didn’t know what was going to happen when they followed Jesus. What exactly is a “fisher of men?” But, there was something in Jesus’ eyes, something in the way He spoke, something in the way He loved them which compelled them to follow regardless of their fear.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

I’ve spent quite a bit of my life being afraid. Fear is at the foundation of almost all my sin. I can’t tell you how much of my energy has been wasted on worry. I’ve been consumed with fear that my needs won’t get met the way I want. I’ve also spent too much time and effort in seeking approval from others. It’s something which I constantly fight. I like to be liked! I like to prove myself to others. It often makes me weary.

The fear I’ve experienced has been rooted in my distrust of God’s perfect love. If God loves me perfectly, then my needs will be met in perfect ways. If God loves me so intently, then His approval is all I need. That is why experiencing God’s perfect love is essential to growing our trust and dispelling fear.

What God asks of us is very different. He asks us to “fear God” by trusting Him completely. I found these lovely verses yesterday in Psalm 128:1-2 and have been letting them wash over me like a warm bath:

“How happy are those who fear the Lord – all follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How happy you will be! How rich your life!”

He wants us to enjoy the life He has given us! Trusting God’s love completely will free me from worry and fear.

In 2009, my prayer is for God to continue to perfect His love in me and through me so my fearful mind is freed up to focus on giving my life away. That is what God means by a rich and abundant life – freed from fear and enjoying the fruit of the labor as I follow His ways!

Extravagance

I’m still pondering the human need for comfort, control, and power. Here are more thoughts…

WHY THOSE TEMPTATIONS?
Why was Jesus tempted like He was in the desert? Why comfort, control, and power? I think that they are the outward symptoms of a “cancer” we all suffer from. Allow me put on a scientific hat for a moment…

If you look at our human desire for comfort, control, and power under a microscope, you’ll see they are made of cells called fear and pride. If you use a higher powered lens to look closely at the cells, you’ll see that fear and pride are made up of tiny molecules of distrust of God.

In the simplest of terms, we do not trust ourselves completely to God. If you’re human, you can’t avoid this. It was wired into our DNA the moment God gave us free-will. Distrust of God is what drove Eve to put the fruit to her lips. She was tempted by power and control and didn’t rebuke them with her trust in God like Jesus did.

God promises He has the perfect plan and purpose for our lives. He says He will provide every need to do His Will because He loves us beyond our comprehension. He promises us if we trust and follow Him, He will lead us into abundant life.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20

What’s inherent in those promises is that this abundant life will probably look different than what we’re envisioning for ourselves. Chances are, God’s dream for our life won’t like exactly like the “American Dream”. Yet, God promises it will be better and more fulfilling.

What if the abundant life God promises is different from own life goals? What if what God wants to do through us, by HIS power at work within us, is the extravagance God wants to lavish on us? What if our need for comfort, control, and power is actually costing us the abundant life God promises?

“[ Wake Up from Your Sleep ] Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Ephesians 5:1 The Message

(More on fear and pride to come…)

Desert Temptations

I've been reading about the testing of Jesus in the desert. It came to me that Jesus was tempted with these things (see Matthew 4):

Comfort – Jesus could have turned anything into food or water. He could have had any comfort He desired – it was all available to Him. But, for some reason forgoing comfort to rely on God was more important to Him.
Control – I envision Satan giving Jesus a wink, and with a smirk saying, “Jump – come on – You know nothing will happen. The angels will save you.” In essence, if you do this, God will do this – an expected outcome from a controlled input.
Power – Jesus could have had all the power of the world, except power over Satan. The only way Jesus would have power over Satan is if He willingly sacrificed His life.

The Response
Jesus responds with God’s heart on the subject (from the NKJV):

Comfort - Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Control - You shall not tempt the LORD your God.
Power - You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.

Jesus rebuked every temptation with His trust in His Father.

Once Jesus was tempted, tested, and past the test – He was then deemed, “PREPARED” to begin His ministry. Jesus ran into these same temptations during His three year ministry and was prepared to overcome them.

Jesus obviously didn’t live comfortably. Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matthew 8:20

Jesus didn’t have to go to the cross. He could have prayed for His own will to be done in the Garden of Gethsemane. Really, Jesus didn’t have to even stay up on the cross. He could have controlled the outcome anyway He wanted.

Many, many times Jesus was tempted with power, success, and prestige. But over and over again, Jesus chose to serve only God. He is God yet He chose to relinquish His Kingdom, be born in a barn, and serve all mankind.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:45