Warning to the rich

Warning:  If you are rich, you might not inherit eternal life.

I feel like I have to say this, because Jesus says it quite clearly.

The rich young ruler
A wealthy young man came running to Jesus.  "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" he asked.

"You know the law," Jesus replied.  "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal or lie, and honour your parents." 

"Easy!" the man replied.  "I have done all these things since I was young."

"One more thing," Jesus added.  

His first list is familiar to all of us:  This is a list from the 10 commandments.  Do these, and live.

But in particular, this was the second half of the 10 commandments.  
There are two halves:  The last 6 deal with how people relate to each other.  These the man had done.
But Jesus didn't mention the first 4, the ones that deal with his relationship with God.  Were these not important?  Worship only God?  Do not keep idols? Keep the Sabbath? 

"One more thing," Jesus added.
"Sell everything you have and give it to the poor."

The hammer hit.  Here's what Jesus was saying:
"Your money is your god.  You worship your money.  You have an idol in your hands."  Jesus looked at him with love.  "Get rid of it."

If you are wealthy, it's harder for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than you go enter the kingdom of God.

The disciples understood this.  "How can anyone be saved?"
We minimize it.  "It can't be that hard.  Jesus wasn't serious."
Be careful.

Now, it's not impossible. Jesus' next words were, "With God all things are possible."
And Zacchaeus, the next story in Luke, "was very rich", and salvation came to his house.

But it wasn't with some spiritual-sounding words; Zacchaeus gave half his possessions away, and returned money to anyone he cheated with a 400% voluntary disclosure penalty.  It was clear: Money was no longer his object of worship.

Here are some other verses:

• The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment. James 5.3
• They will fade away like a little flower in the field.  The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.  James 1.10-11
• Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.  Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.  By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.  1 Timothy 6.17-19

So what do you do?
It's slippery and hard to know if money has your heart.  The Bible never condemns having riches, it just warns against it being your idol of worship.

The test seems to be, "Give it away." 
How much?  Lots.  

• Start with a tithe.  Give 10% to your church.  That's a beginning.
• Then give away more to people you can help.  We think in terms of percent of income.  Want a suggestion?  Give away another 10%.  If you hit 15%, then 1/4 of your money will be given away.
• Then  consider your net assets: house, car, savings account.  Give away 10% of the value of this, on top of your income. 

"What?  Are you serious?  I can't afford that!" you say.
That's the point.  If you have to hold on to it, it's your idol.  
Give it away, and you know it's no longer your god.  It has been sacrificed for God.

It should cost you.  It should be difficult.  It should make you give up something.  That's the point of the test.

Hey - I could have said, "Sell everything you have and give it to the poor" instead.  If I was Jesus talking to you, I might.

Alberta Politics, the Sky is Falling, and the Kingdom of God

The only government more stable than an Alberta Conservative government is a Cuban one.  
One party has been in power for even longer than 43 years.  55 years, one government, and only the second leader (who is the brother of the first one).

Cuba is a communist society where the government fingers - and sometimes eyes - are everywhere.  Yet talk to pastors and Christians to hear what they think of politics.  Mostly they ignore it.  Never mention it.  It's everywhere, and they're very aware, but it's never the focus.

There's an unstated relationship between the government and the church:

• Government:  "If you don't interfere with the government then you can do whatever you want with God."
• Church:  "If you let us do the work of Jesus then we won't interfere with the government."

Christians focus their energy and work on doing the work of Jesus.
And the government does the work of the government.

Alberta Politics
It is interesting to see the reaction in Alberta - and surrounding provinces - after the NDP majority government win.  There has been an overwhelming "the sky is falling" sentiment, followed by the reactive "stop complaining and fear-mongering, we still live in an incredible place."  Many Christians, I suspect, are wary and anxious about days ahead.  Acorns are everywhere.

We're preoccupied with the wrong things
We need to be concerned about the kingdom of God, not the rulers of this world.  Governments have come, and governments have gone - even if they last for 43 years.  But that is not the primary work of God.  Nor should it be of followers of Jesus.

The more time we spend worrying about the kingdoms of this world the less effect we have for the Kingdom of God.  How many people learned something about Jesus last week? How many people experienced God's goodness?  How many people in darkness found hope?  Were lonely people loved?  Hungry fed?  People in prison given light?  None of these were affected by an election.

Jesus was surrounded by government.  Herods and Caesars were all about legacy and power and strength.  There were government-sponsored edifices, soldiers marching in formation, taxes being imposed.  Government was everywhere.

Yet how much did Jesus even mention them?  Never.  Only once does he speak of Herod.  People warn Jesus, "Be careful! Herod is after you!"  The Master simply replies, "So?  Do you expect me to stop God's work just because of Herod?"  That was it.  His focus was wholly on the work of God.

As ours should be.  There is a greater Kingdom in the world than any that can be elected or seated in a royal chamber.  This Kingdom brings light, love, life, and salvation.  No electoral candidate would dare promise these things.  The world will continue on.  It was never our enemy, or our ally.  We ought to pray for those in authority.

God is forever.

Seeing God in Making Friends in Cuba

One of the main reasons we went to Cuba was so that our kids could make friends and have a good experience.  We all wanted to make friends and deepen friendships, sometimes with people we knew and sometimes with people we were going to meet.

I had a girl in mind for Terra to get to know.  She is a year older than Terra.  Her older sister is married and we really enjoyed her and her husband.  Before we came we found out that it was going to be her Quince (15^th) birthday the week that we were in Cuba.  The girl is quiet and reads a lot and very nice, kind of like Terra.  We bought a present for her, and we were able to go to her house and see her 15^th Birthday pictures.  She doesn't speak much English, but it was nice to make that connection with somebody here. 

There is another girl who is 12 years old and I recognized from before as being at the church regularly.  I was praying for somebody for Trinity to get to know, even though Trinity tends to get to know people easily.  Our church had help them to buy a house to use as a church building, so one of our main goals was to go and see the house and to take pictures or it so we can share them with our church in Edmonton.  There was a family living in it of course, so we didn't just tour a future church building, we toured somebody's home. Guess which family lives in that house?  It’s the same girl I had noticed before and was praying about.  So we got a tour of her house and saw her chickens and rabbits and pig in the backyard too. 

That night we went to a camp to the service.  The church rented a bus to take anybody who wanted to go.  Who shows up?  The same girl and her parents came. She doesn't speak much English - maybe less than Terra and Trinity speak Spanish - but while the adults were doing church they ran around and played.   The girl talked incessantly, even though Terra and Trinity couldn’t understand anything.  Another friendship was made.

For Darcia and I there were a few people who we wanted to spend time with.  One of our translators, Yusnan, and his wife Elizabeth, were our friends.  We went to their house and visited with them.  They were an incredible blessing to us.   We’re much richer for knowing them. 

There were other encounters too, the kind that you can't ever plan or anticipate.  We had this crazy idea of getting into a school to see what it might be like.  One day while walking down the street I heard “Where are you from?”  I turned around and there was an 11 year old boy smiling.  I waved him over and we talked for a bit.  He ran back to his class, and I waved at his teacher.  Then we talked with his teacher and the kids in his class. Then I asked if we could bring our children in to see his classroom.  We went in and talked for a few minutes before the school principal came and told us we had to leave.   

Many other friends.  A man who asked for a Spanish cookbook next time we come, and said next time we’re invited to their house for dinner.  A family with two great boys.  A family that hosts a mission church in their house, the missionary of that church and his family, the host of the Casa Particular where we stayed.  The pastor and his family are so warm, so generous, so hospitable, so caring, so friendly.  They really are a dream to us.  Such wonderful people, the kind of that you can never plan for or expect meeting.

God has been good to us, and God answered my prayer, that we would be able to come and make friends for the four of us, to enjoy this place in this family, and deepen the love we have for these people and this place.

The slow pace of growing

I'm doing my Bible reading in Spanish.  Having to translate word by word makes me slow down and think about it a lot more.

Today I read Philippians 3.7-14.

First I read "I have lost everything to the end of knowing Christ, experiencing the power that is manifested in his resurrection, participate in his suffering and to get to be similar to him in his death."  

After that I journalled a bit - somewhat depressingly.  

"Maybe the Bible was written for older men who see life differently, because I don't get this yet.  I want to live in the power of the resurrection - that part is good.  But I'm really not interested in the suffering and death part, and the joy of knowing Christ seems weak at times."  Sometimes I'm afraid that I will never get it.

Then I translated the next few verses.

"Not that I have acquired all this yet, or that I am perfect.  However I continue forward hoping to obtain this, that for which Christ has obtained me."

Of course we're not there yet.  Like Paul, we can simply keep moving toward the goal, to one day win the prize.

So keep going, and good job.

On our way to Cuba, God in the airport

We're in the airport on our way to Cuba.
A few days ago I started praying that we would meet special people - people we don't necessarily know we will meet, but people and encounters that we will remember the most. Magical ones.

I'm a little afraid that we won't make real, deep friendships with anyone. So I started to pray that we would.

It was slow when we checked in our bags. The service lady asked where we were going in Cuba.  We answered slowly, not knowing if she wanted to hear the whole story, especially the religious part. But she kept asking. How did we make the connections? What were we going? Bit by bit the story came out.

Then we found out that her husband is/was a pastor. At a church my brother went to. "When I saw Hoover on your ticket I wondered if you were related to Jason." Then she asked God to bless us, and we were on our way.

Can God create divine moments of friendship?

Power, love, and self discipline

The first sermon I ever preached was from 2 Timothy 1.7. "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power love and self discipline." It was at a youth retreat when I was 21.  

Power, or the being able to do things, love, and self discipline. I guess in the 20 years since then I've come to believe that these three things are even more important.

Power. Not power as in control of something, but power in the ability to do things, to affect change, to accomplish things. What person doesn't ask the question, "Can I do that? I don't know if I have the ability. I don't think I can." Yet Jesus doesn't call us to things without a means to do them. We don't have unlimited abilities, but we are able to do what God asks us to do, in the way that he intends.  We are much more capable than we feel. The exact word is dynamite.

Love. Isn't this the best thing that's before everything? The person who grows in love is the person who is mature, and wise, and godly, and spiritual. We think that we can be all these things without growing in love, but this is foolishness. Love is the goal, and the measuring stick, of how human we are.

Self discipline. No one becomes who they want to be or who God wants them to be without self discipline. This is the ability to make yourself do what you need to do. Instead we are too often pushed around by the expectations of others, distracted by the meaninglessness of Google and gaming, lazy and weak-spirited. And then we become frustrated either with ourselves or with the situation around us because we are unable to make ourselves and do what we want to do. We become like the little ball in a Pong game. Self discipline is the ability to control your abilities.

Continue on. I am convinced that this faith lives in you.

God watches Facebook

My family goes to Cuba in a week to visit a church that we've made friends with. I asked them if there's anything specific they would like us to bring. The pastor said he needs a suit for official church occasions like weddings and funerals and anniversaries. He gave me his size - 34 inch waist, 5'10" tall. It's not my size, and I don't have any suits to give him anyway.

I posted the request on Facebook to see if there was anybody with an old suit of the same size. Within a couple hours I had a response.

My friend Jin is a snappy dressed Korean guy. He's friendly and generous. If there is anybody who would be dream donor, it would be Jin. And he just happened to be the same size as my pastor friend in Cuba.

I stopped by Jim's house to pick up a suit last night. He had not one, but two suits for me to take. The pastor will say thank you to me, but I'm not the giver, I'm only the delivery boy. God is the giver, in partnership with my friend Jin.

Praying for someone

I woke up at 545 this morning, wide awake.

A week ago a friend told me a story about lounging on the beach in Hawaii. All of a sudden he and his wife felt I need to pray for a friend. They didn't know it at the time, but the friend was actually in the hospital having serious surgery on his leg. They felt that their desire to pray was led by God, to aid their friend.

I didn't know what to think when I woke up so early without my alarm. But I wondered if it was a call to pray for somebody. I wasn't sure who to pray for. I thought of one friend who is having some difficulty. So I started to pray for them. And then I fell back asleep.

Was this God? I don't know. But, I suppose anytime you pray for somebody, you're interacting with, working with, experiencing God.

Learning language/conduct

1st Timothy says "Be diligent in these issues. Surrender fully to these things so that others can see that you are progressing. Watch out for your conduct and teaching. Persevere in these things, because this is salvation for both you and those that hear you." 4.15-16

I'm not very good at diligence and perseverance. I like to read something, understand it in my head, and then run off and do something else. In some ways I'm like the person that looks at himself in the mirror, realizes he forgot to shave, and then goes to work anyway. I don't consistently and persistently work on my conduct and teaching, not in a way that everybody can see my growth.

I'm reading these verses in my Spanish Bible this morning. In my attempt to learn Spanish I'm having my time with God with my Spanish Bible, & I have to translate it as I go. Learning a language is terrible work. It takes so much effort, so much time, and diligence and persistence. The only way to learn a language is to do it consistently, every day, throughout the year, and into the next year. If you try to shortcut and not put in the effort, you will learn a few words and phrases but never master the language. 

I take my spiritual growth and development the same way. I can't say that I work at it persistently and consistently, in a way that everybody can see how I am progressing. If I worked diligently at my conduct and my teaching, what a different person I would be.

Expenses for Cuba

Darcia and I were making our preparations to go to Cuba in 3 weeks. We were looking at hotel rooms and finding out how much it would cost to stay everywhere. When we originally made plans, we thought the hotel rooms would be cheaper and they are. But because they're not quite as cheap as we hoped, and because they often don't allow four people to stay in the same room, it's more expensive than we had budgeted.

So of course we were a little discouraged and stressed about how much the trip is going to cost.

The next morning I woke up I'm still thinking about it. And then I remembered when we bought the plane tickets. At Christmas WestJet had a sale of 20% off all flights. So we actually paid $150 less per ticket can we had planned. We were thankful and grateful to God that we were able to save that.

Now that we're looking at the other end, that hotels might cost more than we thought, we get stressed. However, when we accept God's grace at one end, then we need to continue to believe that God is looking after us, that were following his plan, and that we can still trust him, even if we hit a speed bump.

Serving and maturity

The biggest leap in my understanding of God, and in understanding what it means to follow Jesus, trust God, and be human, is that God serves, and this our heart, our life, is to serve others. Maturity is in serving others. Growing in godliness is by serving others. True humanity is in serving others. Forget yourself, deny yourself, and serve others. This is the heart of everything.

Yet this is where I struggle. With my family - Do I do everything to serve them? My church - Do I do everything to serve them? People I work with, mentor - Do I do everything to serve them?

In my head I know this is the way it must be. I seek to know God, spiritual maturity.  The way to this is by serving others.

I want great things to be done through my life. To do this I fear I try to get others to serve me. It's backwards. I perpetually fight this. Get my family to fit my schedule. Bring others into my plans. Fight in the tension between doing what I want, and begrudging others when I have to do things for them.

God & The Magic Flute

A friend phoned to give me tickets to see The Magic Flute tomorrow.  I've never seen the opera, but I have long been curious.  This would have been perfect!

Except I was busy.  Terra is in her first year of violin lessons, and they have their first concert recital tomorrow.  Imagine, 90 minutes of concert of classes of kids and I don't know screeching on rented instruments.  Magic Flute.  Screeching violins.  Such a difficult decision.

Of course we decided to honour Terra bt choosing her.  I bought my earplugs weeks ago, and I can't return them.

So I called another pastor friend and asked if he was interested.

"My wife loves the opera," he told me.  "And yesterday was her birthday."

Things like this often happen with God.

God speaking, Jan 30

Sometimes God you can hear speak and you're not really sure what he's saying. Darcia and Ihad an experience like that today. We went and listened to KP Yohannan at Breakforth for the day.

Ap nose. Much more deeply then we do. So I'm challenged and humbled by how deeply he knows God, and the humility and lateness that he has about himself.

I've been intrigued by the idea of how we are continually saved from ourselves. We are saved for eternity when we accept Christ faith and ask him into our lives. But as we go along in the Christian life God continually opens our and reveals things to ourselves, things that we must die to each day. In this respect we are continually saved from ourselves. We are self centered, self serving, and we all want what we want. Denying ourselves and following Christ means to become aware these things that we hold onto as dear to ourselves. We have to learn to become humble and, forgetting about ourselves, put others first. We must to learn to serve others above our selves. We learn to serve Jesus through serving others, when it doesn't meet own agenda, and goals, and ambitions. But we die to these things, and we are continually being saved from all that we want, from ourselves.

The North American ethos is very self centered. We all have the right to health and happiness and success. It's a culture where you deserve to get what you want, and the greatest ambition you can have is self serving and selfish.

It's easy to understand and turn away from things like lying and murder and sexual immorality and drunkenness. These are simple. They are easy to understand. They make a great breasts, and there not a problem, not for me.

But denying myself, that's something else entirely. I've spent my whole life with ambition, and its full of people and books and insights that says go and do what you want. And it's all wrong. This isn't really the way of Jesus, not for me. Maybe I'm doing a lot of the right things, but there's something me-ish still about how I do them all.

Too busy to listen, I need quiet to see

We live in a busy world and lives are filled with activities. It seems like there's always something else to do, or something we don't have to do that distracts us and keeps us busy.

We miss so much of what God wants to show us and say to us because of this. We always ask the question how do I know God's will? How do I see what God is doing? What is God saying to me? But then we run off and busy ourselves without ever taking this space and time to listen and hear and to watch and see.

I forget most of what God showed me this week. Often my eyes and ears aren't even tuned to hear and see, but even if I did hear, I forget, and it hit me like water on duck feathers, just sliding off without ever really impacting me.

How can we know God without ever taking time to listen? And how can God settle inside of us if we fill our lives with busyness?

I do a lot better when I have a project to work on. So here's my project to help me with this exercise: I want to try and journal online here, and each day write down something that God said, something God did, or some way that I encountered God.

As a little brother

One of my jobs as a pastor is to develop people who are interested and involved in ministry. Sometimes it goes great. But I'm not the most natural at mentoring and developing young leaders. So I find it hard sometimes. It is easy to look at people and measure them in terms of how they grow, how they mature, what they learn, and what they produce in ministry. It's an easy way to become frustrated.

I read Timothy and Titus in the Bible. Twice Paul says to consider older men as you would an older family member, and young men as younger brothers. God spoke to me about how I interact and see younger people in our church.

I thought of how I interact with my younger brother. It's really not based on what he does or our mistakes and successes. We have a bond and an appreciation for each other. That supersedes anything that he or I would do, really.

So how am I different if I see people in my church as members of my family? I believe in them, I want the best for them, I'm for them. That's what supersedes what they do, or even how they're doing.

In the first verses of Timothy Paul call Timothy busy dear son. Here is how God wants me to see others in church.