Shawshanked!

Joseph was Rachel's oldest son, and the favorite of Jacob's 13 kids. By all accounts, he was a good kid. Hard working, honest, and dedicated. But he didn't seem to understand that his older brothers were jealous that he was the favorite. And he also didn't seem to understand that announcing his dreams (whereas everyone in the family bowed down to him) wasn't exactly tactful. And boy, did he ever pay a steep price for infuriating his brothers! You'll have to check out the latter part of Genesis to get the whole story, but here's the summary: One day, Jacob sent his son Joseph out to check on his other sons shepherding sheep at Shechem, some 50 miles from home. As I said, they didn't like him much, and they hated how their father spoiled him... and (apparently) how Jacob sent Joseph to spy on them. So they did what any gang of jealous older brothers would do in that situation: they shawshanked him. In other words, they sold him to Ishmaelite traders, who in turn sold him as a slave in Egypt. Hmmm, No sibling rivalry in that household!


Anyway, God was with Joseph, even as he underwent an incredible amount of suffering the next several years. Joseph never seemed to lose his faith in God. First he was sold as a slave to Potiphar, captain of the palace guard of Pharaoh. Even though Joseph worked hard, was extremely gifted by God, and completely loyal to his Potiphar... his boss's wife liked the looks of her new slave boy, and wanted him to uh... sleep with her. But he never gave in to her lustful attempts, and always found a way to avoid her advances. But eventually, she decided to get even - she wrongly accused (shawshanked) him... and he went to prison for a crime he didn't commit. In prison, Joseph was put in charge of the jailer's household affairs... and there must have been times when he asked himself, "am I ever going to be a free man?" Wow, that poor guy couldn't catch a break!


The details of their stories may differ, but in the movie "The Shawshank Redemption", Andy Dufresne had a similar kind of fate, in that he was wrongly accused of murdering his wife, and sent to Shawshank Prison in 1947. Like Joseph, Andy was extremely gifted. Like Joseph, Andy's gifts were fully utilized by his captor. And like Joseph, I'm sure Andy must've wondered to himself, "am I ever going to be a free man?"


But Joseph patiently endured his captivity, and trusted that God would deliver him someday. Andy Defresne had a different plan of getting free - one that didn't have anything to do with God.


Both stories are pretty remarkable... Joseph eventually became the second in command in all of Egypt, and Andy escaped an "escape proof" prison, and moved to a Mexican village on the Pacific ocean. Joseph waited, and worked, and prayed that God would deliver him from his captivity, while Andy plotted and schemed (and dug) his way out of prison all on his own.


Joseph was released and (because of his gifts) put in charge of all the administration of food in the whole land of Egypt... and Andy escaped (and because of his gifts) got the guards arrested for their crimes against the prisoners... and tricked the warden so badly that he decided to commit suicide rather than facing prison time. The best part is that he got to reunite with his friend, Red at the end of the movie.


Both stories are awesome... but I love how Joseph's story is more than about merely escaping oppression... it's a story of redemption brought about by faith (in God) and forgiveness (of his brothers). Listen to what Joseph says to his brothers when they are afraid he'll kill them at the end of Genesis (50:19-21):

¹⁹ But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. ²¹ No, don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.

Man that guy has faith, huh? Faith to believe in his dreams, even in the face of ridicule and jealousy. Faith to stay pure, even in the face of seduction. Faith to trust God, even in an Egyptian prison. Faith to interpret other people's dreams, even when they don't end well for the dreamer (ch. 40). And faith to forgive his own brothers who betrayed him... not just forgiving, but caring for them completely - and seeing their violent actions against him as good, in that it "saved the lives of many people." All this when he was in a position to kill them or enslave them forever if he wanted to get revenge. But nope, not Joseph. Wow... I want to live with that kind of grace and peace (and forgiveness in my heart). Don't you?

The Body of Christ

Text related to this week's sermon/discussion at The River: 1 Corinthians 12:4-27

For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 

So... if you've ever read Paul's epistles (letters to the churches) in the New Testament, it soon becomes apparent that he really believes that everyone in the body of Christ has a role in serving God's kingdom. No one is a spectator in church... if they have been baptized into the family, then God pours out His Spirit to empower them for service. And it's not an option to hesitate or contemplate... all believers are expected to participate in building up the church.


After 17+ years as a Christian, and a decade in pastoral ministry, I can say without hesitation that it simply don't work that way in good ole' America. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave... and quite frankly, the place of arm-folding unwillingness to get involved or become overextended. I don't think Paul would be able to relate to our time-honored rule of 80/20... do you?


Anyway, I don't know how many churches existed in the city of Corinth when Paul wrote this letter - probably just the one - but in our world churches are pretty numerous to say the least. With so many choices I suppose, combined with a society that is radically-individualistic and consumeristic... churches don't really tend toward diversity in our country. Oh sure, there is some level of diversity in church congregations... but for the most part, we've kind of divided ourselves into various groups of people with shared interests, beliefs, and socioeconomic lifestyles. Me, in all my idealistic beliefs... hmmm,  I just think that's a sad commentary on God's people. I think Paul might agree.


In a somewhat related manner... I guess because of the more-or-less market driven economics of churches today, many if not most people do quite a lot of "shopping around" (in a Goldilocks kind of way) for the church that seems "just right". And, when they find that perfect church that doesn't seem to small, or too big, or too political, or too liberal, or too charismatic, or too doctrinal, or too whatever... they also tend to dip their toes in the water for a very, very long time before they decide to dive in to the community - and therefore find a place to serve God within His body. Unfortunately though, some folks never really come to that place of trust (and obedience)... so instead of getting involved and finding a place to serve... in all practical terms they function as nothing more than permanent visitors over the weeks, months, and years. I don't think they intend to come across with a "serve me" attitude, but that's exactly what they convey when they habitually come late, listen, nod (or shake their head), enjoy a bit of fellowship, throw a few bucks into the offering... and then leave as soon as the service is over... without another thought about church (or kingdom work) until the following Sunday.


That's not participation - especially over time - it's mere observation.... and it's not what Christ wants for His children. Everywhere you go in the New Testament, you hear the same message over and over: When you give your heart to God through Jesus Christ, He transforms your mind and - if you're willing to receive it - gives you an unyielding passion for participation in His glorious kingdom. In fact... in order to demonstrate that He sets our soul on fire and equips us to jump in to this awesome (if not wholly dangerous) new adventure, God generously pours out His Spirit on us and gives us a whole new meaning and purpose - one freed from this world and made fit for His kingdom. And He does not just do this for the beautiful people either... or the rich people... or the popular people... or the brilliant people. Nope, God freely gives His Spirit to anyone and everyone who cries out to Jesus and proclaims Him to be Lord and Savior... to anyone and everyone who has the faith of even a mustard seed!


So imagine how God feels when He gives this precious, heavenly gift to His new creation... only to see them waste it by never even attempting to unwrap it. Instead, it just gets placed in a religious closet and never taken seriously.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Hmmmm... so here are my questions, Christian believer: What gift has God given you? What is your role in building up the body of Christ? Are you using it for His glory?

Bring the Fire

Over the next two weeks at The River, we'll focus on a portion of the prophet Elijah's story found in 1 Kings 17-18 (TM).  Elijah was a man of extreme faith, and he walked with God in an incredibly powerful way.

The moment Ahab saw Elijah he said, "So it's you, old troublemaker!" "It's not I who has caused trouble in Israel," said Elijah, "but you and your government—you've dumped God's ways and commands and run off after the local gods, the Baals."    -1 Kings 18:17-18

Okay, here's the deal: Ahab was an evil king... a very evil king in the northern kingdom of Israel who led his people into worshipping Ba'al, representing the false gods of the people who previously dwelled in Israel's promised land. Ahab also supported worship of the "whore goddess" Asherah, yet another false deity, glibly and stubbornly embraced by the Israelite people.


The sin of Ahab and the whole Israelite community was so bad that Elijah, as God's messenger, confronted Ahab and told him there was going to be a severe drought in the land for the next several years. Then, being the smart man that he was, Elijah hightailed it out of Ahab's presence, and hid a cave until God told him to come out.  :-)


Eventually, Elijah confronted Ahab again... prompting the quote referred to above in 18:17-18. By this time, it had been 3 1/2 years since it had rained on the land, and people were desperate for water - both for themselves and for their livestock. So, in a bold act of faith, Elijah challenged Ahab to see who was the true god of Israel, Ba'al, or Yahweh. He told the king to assemble the people of Israel, especially the 450 prophets of Ba'al, and the 400 prophets of Asherah - and challenged them meet him on top of Mt. Carmel for a dramatic contest between deities.


I particularly love what Elijah had to say to the Israelite people just before the contest began... he definitely wasn't a man who minced his words!

How long are you going to sit on the fence? If God is the real God, follow him; if it's Baal, follow him. Make up your minds!

How long indeed! If you want to know the details of what happens in the contest, you'll have to read about it in 1 Kings 18... but suffice to say Yahweh rather graphically demonstrates that He alone is the One True God in Israel!


Wow... it's a good thing we're not like the Israelites, huh? I mean, how stupid could they be bowing down to objects they had made with their own hands. How primitive to erect a pole on their property dedicated to a supposedly fertile goddess named Asherah! How stupid that God had done so much for them... had proven Himself over and over again, and yet they turned away from Him at the drop of a hat! How crazy is that? Why in the world would people not worship the One who made them... the One who gave them the gift breath and life... the One who watched over them... the One who rescued them from their enemies... the One who fed them, and kept them clothed, and gave them water to drink (that is, except when Elijah prayed for the drought)??? How could anyone... ANY group of people be that hard-hearted and stubborn in rejecting their Father in heaven? Utterly insane, huh? Geez, I'm glad we're not so dumb.


Anyway... gotta go now. ABC's Wipeout will be on in awhile, and I absolutely can't miss an episode! Then, after that I have to update my Twitter account, and check on my friends' activities on Facebook... after that I need to get to the store to buy a lotto ticket... then, oh, I gotta check out the latest Castle eipsode on Hulu, then finish the night off by watching Hawaii Five-O on our DVR then playing a few hands of poker on my smart phone. Busy, busy, busy...! (Hmmm, what book in the Bible were we supposed to be reading this week again?)

Advent 1: Anticipation

This week's reading focus is the book of ISAIAH, chapters 40-49 (NLT)

Text related to the sermon/discussion at The River:   40:1-15 & 49:1-7

(Heard spoken by a first century Jew): 

The Lord is going to return... right? But how do we know he's really coming back to rescue and redeem us from all the evil forces in this world? Hasn't he said that before? Weren't we Israelites stuck in Egypt for 400 years as slaves? And when Moses led us out of Egypt, weren't we stuck in the desert for 40 years? And now we're in the "promised" land of Canaan, but everyone from the Medes to the Persians to the Greeks to the Romans have held the nation of Israel under their collective thumbs for hundreds and hundreds of years! God even allowed us to be taken from our homeland to be stuck for 70 years in Babylon to rot away as we awaited God's "rescue." Hmmmmph, that never happened... at least not in the way we had hoped... but at least we were eventually allowed to return to Israel. Nevertheless, I have a question: if Yaweh is so darn willing to rescue his people from oppression, how come we constantly keep getting oppressed by each and every superpower that emerges in the world?! If our God so good and powerful and gracious... then why doesn't he DO something already? If we're really his chosen people... why doesn't he treat us better? Doesn't he care?

Have you ever asked a question like that? "Don't you care, Lord"? "Why won't you  just return already... and rescue us from this evil world?"

Long before we came along... heck, for that matter, long before Jesus came along, Jews had been asking those kinds of questions for many centuries. I don't even pretend to have the answers... but contemplating this whole idea as to why God waits to return to this world in the fullness of his power and glory has brought to light a few things for me:

1. Like it or not... we (all humans) are an active part of the "evil" in the world. Perhaps it's not easy to swallow, but we have all fallen short of the glory of God... and therefore deserve death according to his law. Perhaps he's waiting to return as destroyer of evil because he loves us and wants to give us more time to repent?

2. God has returned - through the promised Messiah Jesus Christ. Though surprising and not exactly what we were hoping for... God gave us a new revelation of Himself by directly participating in humanity. Perhaps he's waiting to return as a warrior because we first needed to understand that God is willing to fully identify with us in our frail humanity?

3. Since we Christians have been called into relationship with God through Christ - and since we have been forgiven and redeemed - we are now His ambassadors commanded to share the good news of God's willingness to renew and restore everyone who humbles themselves and embraces His gracious authority. Perhaps he's waiting to return in full revelation to give us time to take His commandments seriously?

4. Though completely forgiven... many Christ-followers nevertheless chase after a multitude of false gods, and have grown weary in their wait for His return. Living in a wealthy, busy, and godless culture tend to take their toll on well-meaning Christians who believe in Christ... and yet find themselves giving in to all kinds of temptations that do not honor Christ. Perhaps he's waiting to return to give his followers time to decide whether or not they are willing to discipline themselves to constantly listen for the voice of God in their lives?

Hmmmmm.... I dunno why God keeps us waiting, but in some ways I'm glad he does. Though often frustrating... I like my life here on earth. I love my job, my family, and my friends. I love living near the mountains and beautiful bodies of water in this part of the world. But mostly, I love that God "comes" to those of us who will tune our ears to hear him... and adjust our eyes to see him. He is subtle... but nevertheless, he is powerful. He is unpredictable and impossible to control... but nevertheless, he is good and kind and gracious.

He is the Lord... and he is returning someday. Not as a babe in Bethlehem, but as a conquering king... the King of all Kings. Quick... everyone look busy!

May your Christmas season be filled with wonder and beauty... and the joy of knowing and following Christ our king.

Serious Faith

This week's Bible Focus: Paul's Epistle to the ROMANS


Text related to the sermon/discussion at The River: Romans 5:6-11 (NLT)


"Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners" (vv. 7-8).


Hmmmm... so, what would you do?


If someone broke into your home this very evening, put a gun to your head, and threatened to kill you if you didn't deny that Jesus Christ is Lord... what would you say to that person?


Recently, I read about two Catholic martyrs from the middle ages: Jan Hus (1372-1415), and Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556). You can read about both of them at Wikipedia.com.


Here is an excerpt about the death of Jan (John) Hus:

...He was enrobed in priestly vestments and again asked to recant; again he refused. With curses his ornaments were taken from him, his priestly tonsure was destroyed, and the sentence was pronounced that the Church had deprived him of all rights and delivered him to the secular powers. Then a high paper hat was put upon his head, with the inscription "Haeresiarcha" (meaning the leader of a heretical movement). Hus was led away to the stake under a strong guard of armed men. At the place of execution he knelt down, spread out his hands, and prayed aloud.

Wild, huh? This guy was burnt at the stake for has stand against the (at the time) thoroughly corrupt and wholly unbiblical doctrines of the Catholic Church. But did he recant his beliefs when the going got rough? No way, Jose. Here's how life on this earth ended for Mr. Hus:

At the last moment, the imperial marshal, Von Pappenheim, in the presence of the Count Palatine, asked him to recant and thus save his own life, but Hus declined with the words "God is my witness that the things charged against me I never preached. In the same truth of the Gospel which I have written, taught, and preached, drawing upon the sayings and positions of the holy doctors, I am ready to die today." He was then burned at the stake.

Can you identify with Jan Hus? Man, I want to... I really do. But quite honestly, I wonder if I wouldn't more likely respond like Thomas Cranmer when the heat of the fire - and the threat of death - was causing me to sweat profusely:

In his final days Cranmer's circumstances changed, which led to several recantations. On 11 December, Cranmer was taken out of Bocardo and placed in the house of the Dean of Christ Church. This new environment was very different from that of his two years in prison. He was in an academic community and treated as a guest. Approached by a Dominican friar, Juan de Villagarcia, he debated the issues of papal supremacy and purgatory. In his first four recantations, produced between the end of January and mid-February, Cranmer submitted himself to the authority of the king and queen and recognised the pope as head of the church.

Now, please keep in mind... Thomas Cranmer, like Jan Hus, was caught in a huge, ugly and violent web of corruption that defined the Catholic Church in those dark years. And like Hus, Cranmer (mostly) stood for the truth of God's sovereign grace in the face of all this persecution. However, it also seems clear that when the chips were down, he changed teams pretty decisively! 


Frankly, I hope never to know for certain what I would do if faced with that kind of challenge to my faith. But nevertheless, it is a good question for self-reflection and discussion, don't you think? Assuming we're a disciple of Jesus... do we love him as much as he loved us? Would we be willing to die for what we believe? Or... as Cole challenged us last Sunday in his sermon about the book of Acts, would we be willing to live for that same reason?


Okay... history lesson almost over. There is good news and bad news from Mr. Cranmer's story. The bad news? He did indeed die a horrible death in spite of his heavy-duty backtracking. The good news? In a prepared last speech, he sort of went off script, which really ticked off the religious authorities:

He renounced the recantations that he had written or signed with his own hand since his degradation and as such he stated his hand would be punished by being burnt first. He then said, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." He was pulled from the pulpit and taken to where Latimer and Ridley had been burnt six months before. As the flames drew around him, he fulfilled his promise by placing his right hand into the heart of the fire and his dying words were, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... I see the heavens open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God."

Wow... now that is an awesome last minute save! What kind of faith stands up to that kind of torture so powerfully... so confidently? Whatever kind of pressure we're facing today... I'm pretty sure it's not as intense as what these men faced. Perhaps God can get us through our difficulties too, huh?


Anyway, hope to see some of you Ellensburgers this Sunday!

All In

This week, we're focusing on - and trying to get everyone at The River reading and discussing - the entire book of MATTHEW. The specific text relating to the sermon is 12:22-37 (The Message).


"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse."


I admit it. I am a professional procrastinator. That is, more often than not, when presented with two equally sensible and/or logical choices, I have a strong tendency to do nothing rather than make a decision that could turn out to be wrong. It's humorous, really. For example, my email inbox is currently littered with hundreds of messages - most of them of no lasting value - only because I'm never sure whether to delete them (whereas they'd be gone forever), file them (but then I'd have to decide under which  category)... or just let them sit there and take up tons of space in my inbox. Sadly, it's usually the latter option by default. Anyway, as a result, it takes me forever to find a message when I have to hunt for something specific. True, my system (or non-system) eats up precious memory on my hard drive... but on the positive side, I'm sure to have practically every message I've ever received in the past six months... even the stupid ones that promise to bless me if I forward it to 10 contacts! Hmmmm, not sure that's really worth celebrating though... Besides, I'd never be able to choose which 10 to forward it to!!


Anyway, it seems to me that Jesus makes it pretty clear to his disciples that he doesn't want them to procrastinate about whether or not to follow him. In fact, when they do ponder it for very long, he usually leaves them in the dust (e.g., Matthew 8:22). So to me, this passage in Matthew 12 indicates that Jesus is definitely not interested in wishy-washy disciples... there's a spiritual war going on, and there's no time for us to sit around and decide whether or not we're willing to risk getting shot. Jesus' words challenge us: either you're in... or you're out - you decide, but don't sit around and make lame excuses. Just decide to give God everything you've got (i.e., heart, soul, mind, strength) - or at least have the guts to tell him to pound sand. Hmmm... I honestly believe atheists will have a better experience standing before Him on judgment day than indecisive believers who couldn't quite put their so-called faith into reasonably discernible kingdom action. In Revelation 3, the Risen Jesus makes a troubling statement to the "luke-warm" (halfway, partially sold-out, almost-loyal) Christians from Laodicea - that they were utterly sickening to Him, making Him want to puke because of their limp and stagnant devotion to God.


It's war, Baby... and in this battle, there is no Switzerland. In God's army, if you're not actively and passionately marching in step with His Spirit... engaging the enemy with Him (and submitting yourself fully to His authority), then frankly, you're wearing the wrong uniform. It may not seem entirely fair, or humane, or comfortable, but nevertheless, it's true. He demands all of us, all of the time - at least, according to this passage, right?


Okay.. okay. But really, what does it mean to fight in His army? How are we supposed to march in step with His Spirit? How do mere men (and women) engage the enemy of God without losing our soul? What does it mean to follow Christ with all of who we are? It's not by works that we're saved, right...? So then why all the active verbs to describe such a passive-sounding thing as living by faith? How do we know if Christ sees us as hot, or cold, or lukewarm? And why is He so bloody demanding of His followers anyway?


Legitimate questions soldier. Got any answers?

Prison Break

Text for this Sunday's sermon/discussion at The River: Philippians 4:4-9

I'm not in prison, but sometimes I feel like a prisoner. Only my jail cell does not have steel bars and an extremely large roommate. The prison I spend so much time in is called fear. In the book of Philippians, Paul tells me that Christ wants us to live with confidence leading to joy regardless of any and all circumstances... yet far too often I instead live with worry leading to frustration (and his ugly twin brother, anger).

But when Paul wrote this amazing little, four chapter letter - he was in an actual prison. And we're not talking Folsom Prison either... we're likely talking about a dark, dank horrendous place where prisoners had their ankles in heavy chains. There was no television, no outside time, no education program... from what I can gather, it was a terrifying and utterly depressing place to be held against your will.

Yet Paul told us to be joyful... not only did he tell us... he WAS joyful even though his immediate circumstances seemed rather hopeless. How could he be so lighthearted... so full of life and vitality... so joyful while sitting in a place of such pain and anguish?

Because - even though he was physically in that dark prison cell, he was spiritually in the presence of God Almighty. Somehow, Paul was so caught up in the reality of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior... his passionate love of God overwhelmed the very suffering of his body. Paul had faith that was so utterly real and powerful, he was no longer capable of worrying or being fearful. Prayer had become more than a simple "conversation with God"... somehow, it lifted Paul out of that prison cell and transported him into the presence of Jesus - and joy bubbled out of him like he was the guest of honor in a plush palace suite!

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

Oh, God... teach me how to pray like Paul. Help me to trust you even to the point of experiencing pure joy in the midst of life's challenges, frustrations and downright scary moments. Help your children offer up prayers of praise and worship that mysteriously, yet powerfully raises our mind and spirit out of the evil of this place, and opens our eyes to the reality and beauty of your glorious kingdom come. Make us whole again, Jesus... even if for a mere moment to connect with your holy love. Please, I pray, come in your fullness and displace worry at the center of our lives. Amen.