Tag / God’s Kingdom

by Greg

It’s Just a Long Way Home

Steven Curtis Chapman - re:creationSteven Curtis Chapman has a new album out. It’s called Re:Creation (I think because many of the songs on the album are new versions of old songs, some are really good! Others will take getting used to…)

But for now I’m not talking about the whole album. Just a song (or two). I started listening yesterday to a few songs, and one song in particular kinda caught my ear. Could be the ukelele. That was different. But I think it was the words. Especially this part:

And my heart gets so heavy with the weight of the world sometimes

Then this morning, I woke up singing another song from the album, Morning Has Broken. An old hymn that his son did with him. (That part is neat, too.) But the words from the song, “Praise with elation, praise every morning, God’s recreation of the new day.”

New day. His mercies are new every morning.

No matter the weight (or greatness) of the season, that is true.

The song was an encouragement to me, so I am sharing it here. (I’m probably not supposed to, but hopefully he’ll be OK with me sharing the lyrics below …)

(And if you want to hear it, you can play it at Spotify or buy it at iTunes or Amazon.)

Enjoy.

Long Way Home

Steven Curtis Chapman

I set out on a great adventure
The day my Father started leading me home
He said there’s gonna be some mountains to climb
And some valleys we’re gonna go through
But I had no way of knowing
Just how hard this journey could be
‘Cause the valleys are deeper and the mountains are steeper
Than I ever would have dreamed

But I know we’re gonna make it
And I know we’re gonna get there soon
And I know sometimes it feels like we’re going the wrong way
But it’s just a long way home

I got some rocks in my shoes, fears I wish I could lose
That make the mountains so hard to climb
And my heart gets so heavy with the weight of the world sometimes
And there’s a bag of regrets, my “shouldda beens” and “not yets”
I keep on dragging around
And I can hardly wait for the day I get to lay it all down

Well I know that day is coming
I know it’s gonna be here soon
And I won’t turn back even if the whole world says I’m going the wrong way
‘Cause it’s just a long way home

When we can’t take another step
Our Father will pick us up and carry us in his arms
And even on the best days
He says to remember we’re not home yet
So don’t get too comfortable
‘Cause really all we are is just pilgrims passing through

Well I know we’re gonna make it
And I know we’re gonna get there soon
So I’ll keep from singing and believing what all my songs say

‘Cause our God has made a promise
And I know that everything He says is true
And I know wherever we go he will never leave us
Cause he’s gonna lead us home
Every single step of the long way home

(keep going, we’re gonna make it … I know we’re gonna make it … we’re just taking the long way home…)

by Greg

Live. Now.

More sad news has come this week. Last week we learned of the very sudden, unexpected death of a friend of ours, and have spent the week since praying for and grieving with his family. Today we will join his family as they bury him. Then this week we got a similar call from our very good friends who learned that their cousin had some extremely serious complications during child birth and was in really bad shape. In fact, they were already declaring her “brain dead” and didn’t seem to have much hope to ever revive her.

The next night, we learned that she had in fact passed away.

This was a mom in her early thirties, with a 6-year-old girl, and a newborn baby girl. That’s not supposed to happen. We live in America. We live in the 21st century. We can handle things like a c-section birth, right?

Sadly, we are too often reminded that we are not in control of life.

So today her family is grieving. Her boyfriend, the father of the newborn, is torn apart inside, I’m sure. The joy of your first child is unbelievable, but to lose the woman you love (I am told they had plans to be married after the baby was born) at the same time… excruciating. And her parents. They are now mourning the loss of their daughter, instead of enjoying holding a new granddaughter. (I just can’t imagine…) And there are siblings, cousins (our friends), aunts, uncles, grandparents … all feeling the deep, sudden, tragic sting of this loss.

Later this week I spoke with a friend who traveled half-way around the world to be with her sister who is about to lose her boyfriend to a disease they just discovered he had, and her sister and their infant son are also facing potentially serious health issues. The same day I spoke with some friend who have been dealing with very difficult issues surrounding two teenage boys they brought into their family about four years ago. They’ve been their mom and dad for those years now, giving them a home, a place to be loved… but there’s a lot of rebellion in the boys’ hearts. The oldest of the two has left to be on his own, and the youngest is dealing with some pretty serious issues in life … our friends are tired and weary.

And I feel it all. I feel for all of these friends, some of whom are really more like family, who are dealing directly with hurt or closely surrounded by it. A few thoughts come to mind:

Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. – Matt 5:4 (NIV)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds – James 1:2

I’ve had enough thoughts on both of these short verses lately to fill many pages of writing. In fact, I don’t think I’ll deal with the line from James much right now, other than to say I’ve wondered if James was including sadness and/or loss as a “trial”? I’ve always thought so, but these last two weeks I’ve wondered if he didn’t mean to imply that kind of “trial”…

But mourning. There’s plenty of that going on. And any who’ve read that verse (and the surrounding ones) have wondered at the backward picture that Jesus paints of the way God sees life. We’re blessed if we mourn? If we’re meek? If we’re poor in spirit? If we’re persecuted?? Those don’t fit our definition of “blessed”, do they?

Jen told me that she had been thinking about those words, too, and had seen one way it was a blessing. In the midst of grieving and mourning, all of the unimportant is instantly gone, and the only thing that matters is the real. The true things of life. Generally, that’s only our relationships with those who are close to us, and being with them. Our memories of the one we’ve lost. It’s not (usually) any of the things that just recently before had dominated our daily and weekly schedules. Somehow events which cause us to mourn bring us closer to real life than we usually let ourselves be.

That is not to say that hurt or loss are in themselves good. They are not. (At least in my estimation.) But they are part of real life, much more so (usually) than many of our daily activities.

It’s hard to remain there—and no one would want to remain there, in such a painful place—but somehow I think we can. Time heals the wounds we have, even if there are deep scars remaining. Somehow if we could only capture the connection we have with what is important in these moments, perhaps we could really live.

That’s all I’ve been thinking. I mean, I’ve been thinking of many things, but they all seem to have a central theme. That is to live. And to live now. Be where you are. Remember to enjoy the important things and put off the distractions. Now, we all have things we have to do, but I’d say those should frequently be reevaluated, and measured by what we know in these times to have real value. Not that there can’t be “diversions” at times, but even the word itself implies what they are: diversions from reality.

After all of this sadness—perhaps more descriptively, on top of all this sadness—I am feeling very weary. I’ve heard that in my friends tones as well. (If not specifically in their words.) Yesterday I was really feeling it, and in a moment of clarity I was reminded of the oft-quoted words of Jesus:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” – Matt. 11:28 (NIV)

The really cool part was that it seemed like Jesus himself was saying it to me. So I just took a moment to breathe, and remember that even in all of my caring for my friends I can’t do anything about it really … only he can. So I brought the heaviness to him, and asked him for rest. And then I asked the same for all whom I have been lifting up to him these past couple weeks.

He is life. He said so—”I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life“. Not his teachings or someone else’s interpretations of him. Not anything else. Jesus. He is the life. (John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life: To know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent.”) It’s so simple, but so often missed or forgotten. He is our life source. When we are connected to him (John 15), we can know and live real life.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10

The reminder at these times is to know what matters and find life in that. Jesus made all that is, and all was made for him (Colossians 1) … he is life. Then God made us in his image. There’s nothing more important than the people God has put into your life, and whose lives you’ve been put into. Don’t wait for the moment when they are gone (or you are gone) to live life to its full with them. We have been reminded all too clearly that we really have no guarantee of our next moment.

But we do have now. So please, live. Now.

by Greg

A Few More Thoughts on William Wilberforce

I finally officially completed the book I wrote about previously, Amazing Grace, which tells the story of the life of William Wilberforce. I said it before, but I feel like I can’t say it enough: this man was an incredible human being. His life, so affected by what he called the “Great Change”—his awakening to a real, life-changing relationship with God—was not only completely dedicated to just treatment and equality for all his fellow man (and just and kind treatment of animals, actually) but the effectiveness of that life given to this cause was simply astounding. He was relentless, never tiring of doing the right, good thing… and the world is better for it.

In his lifetime he not only took on and defeated the African slave trade, he also saw slavery abolished altogether, Africans were emancipated and the British citizenry was brought along to view them as fellow men and women (rather than some sub-human species), and he also just in general turned the entire culture of his nation (and likely others) toward a more thoughtful, and in reality, a more Christian people.

The affect of true, life-changing “Christianity” was an interesting thread to follow throughout the narrative. In a time when religion had sullied the name of Jesus and the Kingdom of which he spoke, to the point that anything bearing his name had become completely irrelevant, Wilberforce’s life righted the ship, so to speak, and set Britain’s course for the next century or more on improving (or at least being concerned with) the plight of the oppressed around the world. One of the things he tackled following the victory he’d won for abolition was the condition of life in the British colony of India. He endeavored to bring the truth of the Gospel to that nation, educating her people, and in so doing, hoped to set them free: both spiritually, and socially… and otherwise.

It is a misunderstanding (often brought on by those who would presume to promulgate it) that Christianity is in any way the cause of suffering in our world. There are certainly those (previously mentioned) who would distort the teachings of Jesus, usually to their own gain, but sometimes just out of a sheer ignorance of the grandness of God’s grace. When properly understood, however, there is no greater “force” for change than a true understanding of the Good News that Jesus taught and lived.

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

Sadly, we under the banner of his name, too often judge the world (though even God himself through Jesus did/does not) … and end up pushing our fellow creatures away, and/or elevating ourselves above others, where we should not. The truth is, we are all the same. And when we know that truth, when we see the world in that way, and when we live in the world in that way … the world is a much, much better place.

William Wilberforce did that. And, as much as one man with such a view of his world can change and affect it for the better, he most certainly did.

by Greg

Blessed Are Those Who Want Everyone To Be Treated Right

God blesses those people
who want everyone to be treated right more than to eat or drink.
They will be given what they want!

Our family is reading through the book of Matthew together currently, and we came to chapter five today. Many may know that chapter five is where you find the words Jesus spoke which we commonly call “The Beatitudes.” (The fact that I did not know how to spell the word without the help of the spell checker should be a good clue that I do not refer to those words by that somewhat religious title.)

Many of us have read them a thousand times. “Blessed are the…” for “they will be…” They are upside-down, topsy-turvy, kingdom of God truth. They kind of make sense, and kind of don’t. Those who mourn are “blessed?” Those who are persecuted are blessed? God frequently reveals that truth (and reality) are not what we (in our wisdom) think they are.

But what caught my eye this time was what I quoted above.

First of all, we’re reading from a Bible that is called “The Promise.” It’s the Contemporary English Version, which has been nice in that the wording is closer to the way we would speak than some translations, however, we’ve noticed in the first five chapters that there is a bit of a religion “lean” to some of the words they chose to use. There are frequent “notes” that refer to alternate translation options for a word or a phrase, and often the “alternate” is either more the way we have heard it before, or seems to fit more with the context of the book and of the whole message of the new testament.

Matthew 5:6 is one example. You may have heard this verse before, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” When you hear the word “righteousness,” what comes to mind? My mind is filled with images of personal piety and holiness, law keeping, and obedience to religious obligations and laws. That’s not really in line with the rest of what Jesus said… “Do your best, and if you’re really good—like, you want God’s perfect righteousness more than food or drink—then, and only then, you’ll be satisfied.”

Don’t think that’s on par with the rest of what I read.

However, if you go with the alternate translation, “God blesses those who want everyone to be treated right,” then you are a bit more in line with how Jesus lived and taught. Even old testament scriptures convey a similar message. Jesus summed it up in the words we call the “Golden Rule,” … “Treat other people the way you want to be treated.” (My paraphrase.) Basically, the true meaning of justice. Not revenge, eye-for-an-eye justice. But, wanting everyone to be treated right. Treated fairly.

So then I noticed the context. (It is always about the context!) Starting with the verse before, Jesus says: God blesses the humble, then those who want justice more than anything, then those who are merciful. Huh… sounds familiar…

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, and to love kindness and mercy, and to humble yourself and walk humbly with your God?”—Micah 6:8 (Amplified Version)

Or, in the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, “Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.” (From “The Walk” – Signs of Life – 1996.)

Wow. Look at that! Seems to fit with what God had said centuries earlier through Micah. And really, if you strip away the religious obligation and attempts to please the deity that accompany the word, “Righteousness” just means doing what is “right”, doesn’t it? So, rather than wanting personal, religious “righteousness” more than food or drink, Jesus said that Kingdom people hunger and thirst for justice—especially for others.

Sounds right to me.

Two thousand years of religious interpretation of Jesus’ words can be a tricky thing to get past sometimes. But when you strip it all away, it really is quite simple. And it really is good news.

Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.

by Greg

Freedom To Not Be Free

As I mentioned a while back, I’ve been reading through Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth. (1 Corinthians.) I’m trying to do it in bigger chunks to get a broader perspective of what Paul is talking about in this letter. It’s one that has always slightly baffled me. Paul (a life-long rule keeper) speaks tirelessly of God’s grace in other letters (to the Romans, Ephesians, Galatians…) but in his letters to the Corinthians, he seems to just be laying down rule after rule to “keep… or else.”

I still haven’t found a chunk of time to read it all at once, but I read chapters 1-10 today, and noted a theme running through that section. Paul does indeed speak of the freedom of the believer (via God’s grace through our connection with Jesus) but moreover, he speaks of our freedom to not be free.

Specifically, in what we’ve deemed “chapter eight”, Paul uses the example of eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. We don’t come upon such a circumstance very often these days, but that was a major deal then. He basically says that, of course, the meat is fine to eat (neither it, nor the demons to whom it was offered have any power) but the greater issue is the heart of other believers who think that it does.

In other words, it’s not about what we do… it’s who we do it to, or do it for.

Sure, we have the freedom from religious (and perhaps in particular, superstitious) practices, as we know God is not persuaded by any of those … but if by exercising that freedom we lead another believer to sin against their own conscience (another fascinating concept… that “sin” is arbitrary, relative, or subjective?) then we have done a greater injustice than that person’s “sin.”

I think it all still boils down to, “Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.” (Steven Curtis Chapman‘s paraphrase of Micah 6:8.) 🙂

We do have freedom. Life in Jesus is freedom. Freedom from sin, guilt, shame, and even “religious rules” and obligations. But our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose to not be free—to love—for the benefit of everyone around us.

More thoughts to come from this letter, I’m sure.

by Greg

Significance

It has struck me again recently just how significant Jesus is.

It’s not just that our entire calendar is based roughly on the year of his birth some two thousand years ago now. (Though that’s pretty significant.) It’s not just that there are people all over the entire world who know his name and use it today both to invoke blessing and as a curse word. (Do you know anyone else who has reached such a status?)

It’s not the statues, paintings, songs, building, even entire religions that bear his name that reveal his full significance.

We celebrate the birth of this man every year on December 25th because he is the visible likeness of the invisible God.

Listen to how Paul describes him at the beginning of his letter to the Colossian Christians:

Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the firstborn son, superior to all created things. For by him, God created all things in heaven and on earth, the seen and unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him. He existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place.

Colossians 1:15-17

The book of Hebrews also calls Jesus God’s final and perfect revelation. (Read Hebrews chapter one for more.) In John chapter one it refers to him as the Word (logos) and talks of how all was made through him.

That’s fairly significant.

Let’s read on in Colossians.

He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body’s life; he is the firstborn son who was rasied from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things.

Colossians 1:18

I think we who call ourselves Christians really believe and want to live this out. We want Jesus—not us—to sit on the throne of our hearts. He is the center of all we are and do. He is supreme in all things.

What I see though, suggests otherwise.

I think that—like I referenced a bit at the top—one of our biggest problems is how much we over-signify Jesus, if that were possible. Obviously, that is not really possible, as the descriptions of him from these books would suggest. However, as we further “deify” and remove him from the intimate relationship he chose to have with us, passing through a woman’s birth canal just as all the rest of us have, and living through the subsequent mess that our world and our lives can be … he also experienced all of the joys he created us to know and live. God came to be one of us, to be with us; “Emmanuel.”

So it’s less about what wise, learned people say about him… it’s certainly not about all of the traditions, rituals, ceremonies, and other various observances we have amassed along the way. Those are fine, but the core of the entire universe is Jesus. Just him.

For it was by God’s own decision that the son has in himself the full nature of God. Through the son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his son’s death on the cross, and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.

Colossians 1:19-20

The cross is not just about death. The cross is about life, and peace. Reconciliation. Redemption. (Check out Romans chapter five. Fantastic stuff about what God did through the cross.)

When we reduce the Good News that Jesus came to deliver in person to a set of rules to obey, and a code of ethics, we are totally missing the point. JESUS is the point. We need to watch what he does, hear what he says, follow where he leads. We need him.

[Jesus said,] “And this is eternal life: for men to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”

John 17:3

This Christmas, don’t just remember that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” … get to know him. He is the reason for everything. Knowing him is eternal life. It really, truly is all about him.

Now that’s significant!

by Greg

Suggested Reading: Between Two Kingdoms

Joe Boyd is a friend of ours from college, and today he announced that his book, Between Two Kingdoms is available for pre-order, and I thought I might spread the word for him here at GregsHead.net as well. Joe is currently employed as a teaching pastor at the Vineyard church in Cincinnati. But he also produces movies, and is an actor, and now a published author. (Also, he was the one who inspired this website! I thought I had that written somewhere, but all I found was this.) 🙂

Joe is, under all of that, a great lover and teller of stories. So I’m sure his written story will be more of the same! Click the book to the right to pre-order a copy of his book at Amazon.com, and while you’re at it, click his name at the top of this post to visit his blog and subscribe to his RSS feed, too. 🙂

[NOTE: If you’re reading this on Facebook, rather than on GregsHead.net, click here to get his book at Amazon.com.]

by Greg

The Church Is The Fruit, Not The Cause

I’m catching up on listening to some old podcasts while I work today, and just thought I’d take note of (and share here) something that was “just” said on The God Journey podcast.

“You get the idea that this didn’t begin with management. It began with life. And that life expanded among a group of people. And that’s how I see it now. I think what the church is is the fruit of something, not the cause of something.”

That was from the show titled, “The Wonder of Real Community” posted on Aug 7th. The discussion centers around life together as the church and how many things can get in the way of open, honest relationships with other people living life with Jesus. Good stuff as always.

I think the part that stood out to me was how quickly we took something that came out of real relationship with the real God (in Jesus) and have attempted to build it, manage it, control it, reproduce it, etc. The problem lies not only in the verbs previously used, but in the word “it”. I’ve said before, as soon as whatever we are part of becomes an “it” then “it” starts to become the focus rather than the life that is found in Jesus, and shared with his church.

I’ve been encouraged by reading through the stuff I wrote a few years ago now in my There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church book, and the guys who do The God Journey podcast have also been an encouragement along the way. Check out either of those links, I think you’ll enjoy them.

by Greg

Reposting: "Evangelists"

I’m not usually one to recycle here, but I’ve been reading a good deal more than writing these days, and one of the books I happen to be re-reading is the one I compiled a few years ago, There’s The Steeple, Here’s The Church. I had a chance over the past several months to revisit all my thoughts on the current way we Christians relate to God and his church, and so it’s been neat to re-read some of these chapters and think through the stuff God had me chewing on not that long ago.

The latest chapter I re-read was called Evangelists, originally taken from this post, and then a follow-up post. There was a pretty cool quote midway through the original article:

Life with Jesus is just that. Life. You can’t package it up. You can’t layout the perfect plan to follow so that you can have it. You can’t sell it, promote it, market it, label it, franchise it, brand it, advertise or really even pass it along. Just like I can’t pass along the relationship I have with Jen to anyone else, I can’t do that with Jesus. He and I have a unique relationship that you can’t have with him. Sorry… but it’s true. 🙂 He wants a better one than that with you. If you try to do life with him the way I do, it probably won’t work. It might for a while… but you’re just living a copy. He knows every intimate detail about you, and wants to relate to you personally and intimately. Sharing every bit of life with you, not just a few moments here and there, and a special dress-up occasion on weekends.

There’s more in the original article, but it was a cool reminder that our connection is not to a tradition or an organization or even to a pastor or teacher. We have a direct connection to the Vine. Each one of us. And it’s an everyday reality, not just our “spiritual life”. Jesus knows me, and I know him.

“And this is eternal life: That you know the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent.” – John 17:3

If you don’t have a copy of my book, visit my online bookstore and either purchase or download a copy today. You can get a copy through Amazon.com if you’d prefer, but it’s cheaper through GregsHead.net. (Including a free PDF download if you’re strapped for cash) 😉

There are some good, easy to digest, but make-you-think short writings to read in that book, and I’d love for you to do so. (And I’d love to have a chat with you over anything that intrigues you as well.) So, have a look (go ahead and click right now!) and may you know him more every day.

by Greg

Reposting: "If You Build It…"

I recently re-read this article I wrote way back in 2005! It was included in my book, There’s The Steeple… Here’s The Church!, and was just a cool reminder to me that if we want to be part of something “successful” (really successful) then it’s best to see where God is working and follow his lead. Sometimes we rush ahead, sometimes we hold on too long… but when we find the sweet spot, we see great stuff happen in and around us!

Hope this is encouraging to you, too, this second (or third!) time around 🙂

If You Build It…

How long does our stuff last? Just a thought before I hit the hay tonight.

How long did that fire for studying the Bible in the mornings with God last? How long did you keep praying for those missionaries every day? How long could you keep doing the good you wanted to do, or not doing the bad you didn’t want to do?

In our personal lives, fires come and go. The passion ignites, and drives for a time our desire to build something good. To do something with our lives.

At times, that translates to something outside of ourselves. Sometimes we have a good idea, and we run with it. Say perhaps a Bible study with friends. Every Wednesday night. We gather, we read, we study, we share, we can’t wait till next week. And then, after several good weeks, something else comes up and one person can’t make it, but the meeting goes pretty well. Then, after a few more absences, and an unspoken restlessness … like something’s not quite right… something has “changed”… eventually, the whole thing just falls apart.

This happens with most everything we try and put together. I play basketball with some guys on Wednesday mornings. Started out with me and another friend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We were there each of those days. Every week. But, that changed to Thursdays. In the meantime I added Wednesdays with some other guys. Last year, that was GREAT. We were there all the time. Playing hard. This year? I have been at the gym by myself on quite a few Wednesday mornings. Sometimes the other guys just don’t show up… sometimes they are busy elsewhere. Not really an issue, just a furtherance of my point.

If you build it… it will fall apart.

Whether it’s a basketball schedule, a Bible study, a small group, a church, a program, a sports league, an annual convention… eventually, it will die. Some things maintain their existence a bit longer, but is it really worth it for the church of 10 people to continue to expend time and money to maintain a building for them to meet in every Sunday? Is it really necessary to get a preacher to speak to them every week?

You see, for some reason we don’t understand that things are for a time. Solomon spoke of this in Ecclesiastes. “To everything there is a season…” It’s true. And the grand orchestra conductor is not me. Nor you. It is our Father who guides and directs all things in perfect harmony. Perfect unison. He knows what is next, and for how long.

I feel like I am in a different chapter of life right now. I don’t think that I was building something that crumbled. I think God is changing our circumstances for a new chapter. The old is not thrown away, but built on. The new is still not my idea, but something that He is leading, and providing.

I am not trying to make universal statements of truth tonight… just observations.

When we build it, it will usually – perhaps even always – fail. But, on the contrary, when HE builds it, it is beautiful and freeing and life-giving… and succeeds wildly (even if only for you).

And then we move on.

Life changes. He does not. Help me God to not place my trust in the things I build, but to watch and follow you as you build into and around me the things that you want to.