Tag / Jesus

by Greg

Pondering

There are a few things that I am currently pondering regarding life with God and his church. I thought I’d just jot them down here, in a sort of short hand way. Perhaps you are pondering them as well and might add to my ponderings, but really I am putting them down here to look back later and see what I was pondering in 2008. 🙂

  • Worship:
    Do we need to publicly and corporately set God apart from all else, with or without musical aid?
  • Evangelism:
    Should I have more of an urgent desire to help people know they are loved by their Father?
  • Praying:
    With other people, I mean. How do I make an ongoing conversation with God easily flow into conversation with other believers – and my family.
  • Communion:
    It’s important to some people. Really important. But to me, just meaningless. Does it matter? How?

The things I am beginning to understand more: (and usually write about here)

  • Freedom:
    For me, and giving freedom to others.
  • Grace:
    For me, and treating other people with grace.
  • God’s love:
    Again, for me, and learning to give that to others.
  • Reality of God’s presence:
    Learning to live with Jesus every day.
  • Who Jesus is:
    The Word of God, my brother, God in flesh, “watching” him interact with people in the stories of the gospels

When I look at those lists, the first one mostly just seems silly, but to many people – including me for much of my life perhaps? – they are not silly but almost essential. Funny how perspective changes. Who knows the lists might change again after a while. They might be completely different. We’ll see.

by Greg

Hear The Angels Sing

We have heard a LOT of Christmas music lately. I’m sure you are feeling the same way. I do still love it, but it’s definitely getting close to time to shelve it for another eleven months or so.

It’s not all bad, though. One song off of Steven Curtis Chapman’s second Christmas album, All I Want For Christmas, caught my attention this week.

It wasn’t so much a lyric, as the way it was sung.

I believe the song was It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It was sung with a nice gentle feel to it. And, at one point, Steven sings just lightly, “Hear the angels sing Hallelujah, Christ the Savior is born.” Those are words you usually associate with giant booming voices and big, majestic fanfare. But in this song, the words were sung almost at a whisper, almost as a lullaby for the newborn baby.

It got me thinking. Maybe that’s how it was? We think it should be fanfare and trumpets and “kingly”. But if you’ll recall, the King of the universe stepped into our lives as a baby, born to ordinary folk, in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. He was born in a stable. He was… born, period. He didn’t have to go through that, either.

But he did.

The simplicity of the first Christmas is a clue that God does not do things the way we think he should. And we’re (way) better off for it.

Enjoy your gifts today, giving and receiving. Enjoy time with family and friends. Enjoy the great food. Enjoy the Christmas cookies! But most of all, enjoy knowing that you are so completely loved by the One who has everything. He didn’t just become a man so he could die the death of a criminal… he wanted to live like us, so he could know us even better. All the way from birth. As a commoner.

That’s what you mean to him. That first Christmas day, and this one.

Merry Christmas. 🙂

by Greg

Jesus Is Staying at MY House!

The boys and I are reading through the book of John now, and this morning we read the story of when Andrew met Jesus, and introduced his brother (Simon Peter) to the Messiah! He was very eager to let his brother know that he had found the Messiah. Not sure if he could have understood how Jesus thought of such a term, but he was certainly excited about it!

The part I thought was a bit different today was the strange question asked of Jesus. The new followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, where do you live?” So, he showed them. They came over to his house.

Ian thought that was as odd as I did, and reasoned that perhaps Jesus was staying with some friends. (Jesus said somewhere else that he had no “place to rest his head”, and we know that he’s on the road at this point, too.

The interesting thing was not that he was staying with friends, the interesting thing to me is how there’s no star power to Jesus. We have no account of him staying with the most important people of the day. We don’t know much about it. But to me, that’s what stands out.

When we talked about that, I thought in my head, “How cool would it be if Jesus stayed in our house??” But then I realized I was succumbing to “star power”.

Jesus is not concerned with popularity. He never sought the limelight, nor did he have “too little time” for people not on his agenda for the day. That’s so backwards from what we do today. Often elevating people to levels they should not have to maintain on their own.

It seems like having Jesus stay with you was an instant free ticket to heaven. Seems like someone housing him would have mentioned Jesus’ temporary place of residence. But, they don’t. And Jesus continues to be a transient.

It’s amazing how differently we all can see Jesus, and who he was, what he was doing here. That’s something I hope to get from reading through John again. I want to see Jesus for who he is, and learn more about him that I don’t already know. I want to see stuff that I have never seen before.

And I am confident that I will. I’ll try and share some of those nuggets with you here.

by Greg

They Killed God

Kirstie joined us for the morning Bible read today. She’s three, and says some really cute things. Perhaps the following is both cute, and insightful? 🙂

After reading the story of the first part of the night Jesus was arrested and taken before the Jewish leaders, then Pilate, and then Herod, we were talking about how crazy it was that they just blatantly lied about such well-known things. Jesus was a very public figure, but his accusers were at best twisting the truth, or just flat out lying about what he said and did. And it eventually got him killed.

And I guess Kirstie knows that, because without reading that today, she said, “They killed God.”

I smiled at her simplicity and replied, “Yep. Well, he let them kill him.” I continued, “Because somehow, when they did, he was able to beat the things that kills us, that destroy us.” (I meant sin and death, but didn’t figure a three year old would grasp such a thing.)

She responded without hesitation, “Yeah, then they don’t destroy us!” She even said it with a finality and even joy at the resolution of it. Then they don’t destroy us. What some people take 1000 pages to say in some theological treatise, my three year old understood, and summed up in two simple phrases.

They killed God. Then they don’t destroy us.

Perfect. 🙂

by Greg

Enough of That

So, today we read a little further in Luke (which is just a little later the same night that Jesus said “Enough sword talk!“) and would you believe that Jesus said it again? One of the disciples pulls out a sword when the mob comes to arrest Jesus (which, makes sense from what Jesus had just told them a little bit ago…) and he cuts off the ear of one of the dudes. That prompts and “Enough of that!” from Jesus, and it prompted this little dittie that I sang for the boys after we noticed a theme in what Jesus was saying…

Enjoy 🙂

Enough of That
Jesus said, “Get your sword”
Sell some stuff, if you must
The disciples said, “We’ve got two!”
But he said “Enough of that,
Yeah, Enought of that!”

What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that

Late that night they came to get him
His disciples, well, they were listening
Drew their swords, chopped off an ear
He said enough of that
Yeah enough of that

What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that
Enough of that

What do we learn from this little story?
Jesus does not like swords
Maybe he shouldn’t have used that example
He should have said buy a dog
Or a donkey

Enough of that
Enough of that
What did he mean?
Oh what did he mean?
Enough of that
Enough of that

Words & Music by Greg Campbell (and Jesus)
Copyright © 2007

by Greg

Didn’t He Just Say … ?

Jesus asked his disciples, “When I sent you out without a moneybag or a traveling bag or sandals, did you need anything?”

“No!” they answered.

Jesus told them, “But now, if you have a moneybag, take it with you. Also take a traveling bag, and if you don’t have a sword, sell some of your clothes and buy one. Do this because the Scriptures say, ‘He was considered a criminal.’ This was written about me, and it will soon come true.” The disciples said, “Lord, here are two swords!”

“Enough of that!” Jesus replied.

Luke 22:35-38

Didn’t he just say they should get a sword, even if they have to sell stuff to get one? And then, when they say, “Look! We have two!” he basically tells them they’re totally off track?

This one definitely perplexed me and the boys today. 🙂

by Greg

Bread & Wine

Bread and Wine
Today we were reading Luke 22 where Jesus is having the Passover meal with his closest friends, just before he will be killed. He knows it, and he’s told them… but I’m pretty sure they still don’t get it.

It’s cool enough how they got into this room (Jesus sent two guys ahead, told them exactly what they would find without having been there, and they did) but there are also a couple cool lines that stood out to me today.

When the time came for Jesus and the apostles to eat, he said to them, “I have very much wanted to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer.”

I thought it was so cool to read the excitement in Jesus’ words. Even though he knew what was coming, he was still excited about what the suffering would bring. The end result. Very cool. Ephesians says it was his plan from before he created anything, and that it “gave him great pleasure”. Very cool.

As the evening went along, we read the following accounts of the events that took place:

Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and gave thanks to God. Then he told the apostles, “Take this wine and share it with each other. I tell you that I will not drink any more wine until God’s kingdom comes.”

Jesus took some bread in his hands and gave thanks for it. He broke the bread and handed it to his apostles. Then he said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this as a way of remembering me!

After the meal he took another cup of wine in his hands. Then he said, “This is my blood. It is poured out for you, and with it God makes his new agreement.

First of all, don’t you think they thought it was weird that he said “remembering me”? We know now what happened next, but they didn’t. It is obvious from everything they do. So he’s already talking about being gone, and they’re probably very confused.

Did you also notice there were two cups of wine? Jesus took one cup and told them to share it. Then he shared the bread with them. Then he took another cup of wine after they had finished eating and said this is my blood. The new agreement God makes with you. Again, they were probably a bit weirded out, but I just thought it was interesting that it wasn’t that much like what we observe today, supposedly “instituted” by Jesus himself on that very night.

I don’t pretend to have a clue what “the Lord’s Supper” really is, or any significance of it at all. I really have no idea what Jesus intended for it, if anything. He didn’t seem to be a big ritual guy. And really, when I read this… he wasn’t here either. They were observing the Passover feast – something Isreal had done for a VERY long time – and those were parts of that. He didn’t say, “And make sure you do this exact same thing from now until forever!” I actually don’t hear him saying to ever repeat it again. Just… for that moment. Interesting.

NOTE: I don’t really want a big theological debate. Just some observations from reading the Bible today. Your comments are welcome, but please know that I won’t be engaged in any endless hermeneutical discussions of Scripture and the historical and cultural significance. I’ll certainly read/entertain shorter versions… but doctrinal discussions are definitely not my cup of tea… 🙂

by Greg

Jesus Said

… we should be like children.
I think about that phrase quite often, since there are many children around me at any given moment. What part of being a child does Jesus want for us? Does he want us to be disrespectful, selfish, whiny, impatient, messy, crazies with little to no self-control? Uh… I guess… maybe? Probably not. But the innocent, trusting, fun-loving, joyful qualities of a child are easy to understand as qualities of the Kingdom. These are things that, though they might seem a bit unorthodox for the Kingdom ruled by the Creator himself, would seem appropriate.

The other day, my three-year-old daughter was shouting from the top of the stairs, “I neeeed hellllllp… Will somebody pleeeeeeease helllllllp meeee????” She had obediently gone up to the bathroom, done what she needed to do, and now she needed some assistance from an adult – again, obeying her Mom who had previously told her to wait for Mom’s assistance after she goes “number two”. My first thought was, “Man! That is so annoying!” But quickly, I was reminded of Jesus saying that we needed to be like little children. Could this be one of the ways?

I still maintain that Jesus was NOT talking about whining when he said that.

What I saw was a little girl who needed help, and wasn’t afraid to ask for it. Most adults I know are not good at asking for help, maybe they are just plain awful at it. We’re taught to be “adults” and take care of stuff on our own. But maybe a way we can be like a child – a way we can see the Kingdom of God – is to realize we need help, and to ask for it. Not necessarily from other people, but definitely from God. Our Father can, and wants to help us. One way we can know the greatness of the Kingdom is to let him help us, allow him to work in us, instead of trying to be an “adult” and get it done ourselves.

A cool lesson from my whiny three-year-old… who may know a bit more about the Kingdom that I have forgotten over my passage into adulthood.

… you will be persecuted because of me …
Tonight we watched a debate on the existence of God. A friend had sent me the link earlier in the day, and tonight I was intrigued enough to watch it through with Jen. The debate was mostly silly… neither side was really listening to the other. They were to a degree, but neither was going to convince the other of their points, or sway their beliefs in any way. Some of it was sarcastic and mean-spirited… a little annoying actually. 🙂 I don’t think I’m a big fan of debates.

But the thing that I noticed was actually part of the lead-up to the debate. The footage they chose to show to introduce the Christian guys (Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron of The Way of the Master) was of them sharing “the gospel” in the streets, and the hostile reactions of some unbelievers. While that may be common footage, and perhaps an expected response (at least by Christians) … I was immediately reminded of where Jesus said that his followers would be persecuted because of him.

“Exactly!” misters Comfort and Cameron might say. However, as I recall from Scripture, the people who hated Jesus – who wanted to hurt and/or kill him – were the religious leaders of the day. The leaders of the religious establishment. They were the upstanding, moral, “religious right”. We think the people who will persecute Christians, who will hate us because of our message, are the hardened sinners who reject God with passionate fervor. But every example I can think of in the Bible of “sinners” is almost completely the opposite. Those “hardened sinners” flocked to Jesus. It was the self-righteous, cleaned-up, religious folk who persecuted Jesus and his followers.

Just a couple things to think about from what Jesus said.

by Greg

Mormons, Catholics, Santeras… Oh my!

Catholicism and Santeria

So, the other night I was going through our video podcasts, getting caught up on the ones I hadn’t yet seen. There’s a little blue dot next to the new ones, it’s really cool. (We use FrontRow on our Mac Mini, hooked up to our TV in our living room.) We watch probably 8-10 different ones, including a couple tech-related ones, a NASA podcast, and a couple more from National Geographic.

Well, one of the National Geographic ones was called “Santeria“. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, so I clicked and watched. It was about people in Cuba, celebrating the Feast Day of St. Lazarus. (Or something like that.) It is a Catholic tradition, and in Cuba they go all out. They crawl on their hands and knees (or even bellies) for miles, with pain being a tribute to this “saint”.

The interesting part – and the reason for the little podcast – was a lady who is both Catholic, and a Santera. Santeria is a religion which worships many gods, who they believe correlate exactly with the saints of the Catholic church. So, St. Lazarus day also belongs to Babalu Aye, his “twin” African spirit.

I really don’t intend to put anyone down here, or start an argument at all… I’m really not sure why or how religious feelings go down so deeply, causing things like what Al Qaeda wants to do to “the infidels”, and all the similar events throughout history… but, when I saw this, it just reminded me that all religion is very strange. Even Catholics.

Now, you can say that the strange ones are the Santeras, who “made up” the African spirits that match the Catholic saints. And I know, the saints were at one time just ordinary, historical people. But… at least some Catholics pray to saints, and have these very ritualistic practices on the saints’ special days. It’s really just as religious as the Santeria religion. (Minus the animal sacrifices…) 🙂

Why do most Christians think Mormons are worshipping demons, and have strange religious ceremonies (temple proceedings, baptisms for the dead, etc) when Catholics pray to Mary, various other “saints”, and have very religious rituals that are commonly practiced? There are tons of Catholic dotrines that are way outside of what you read in the Bible, and now the Pope (who himself is “outside of what you read in the Bible”) is saying that Catholics are the only real Christians.

I’m not bashing Catholics. Or Mormons. Or Santeras. (Ok, they’re the strangest of the bunch to me, but…) My point is, religion is so crazy. What is it in us that feels the need to appease a higher power so that life will go well for us. And don’t think I’m giving “mainstream” Christianity a pass, either. There are plenty of “appeasement” rituals there, too.

The whole idea that by doing some ritual, or saying some set of words a certain number of times, or anything like that is so foreign to what Jesus taught and lived. Actually, he ridiculed the religious leaders who tried to make others follow meaningless rituals and religious rites. He just loved people, and wanted them to know that God loves them. Sin hurts us, and Jesus came to defeat sin and death for us, cause we can’t. And he did.

Religion is a feeble attempt at the reality of life with God that Jesus showed us is possible. And is made possible through him. Not some incantations or rituals we do once a year, or more. But life lived everyday in companionship with our Father who loves us, and Jesus our brother, and his Spirit who lives in us and teaches us everything we need to know.

You can keep trying to make God like you, with your religious rituals – no matter how big or small. Or, you can just accept that he does. And that’s that.

[Related reading: He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen]

by Greg

Spirit-led Praying

I have trouble with prayer a lot of times. Especially when I call it prayer. I very much enjoy a steady dialogue with God throughout my day, but when it comes to “praying for someone” or even just asking for myself… I’m still not certain how best to do that.

See, it seems to me that many of my asks are from my perspective. I see something a certain way, and have a certain desired outcome, and so, I ask God for that. I don’t think that’s wrong in general, but often I feel under qualified to make such decisions. I mean, why am I asking God for something specific when clearly he knows the best thing for me and/or those around me for whom I am asking, right?

Right.

But does that mean we can’t pray? Certainly not. God asks us to ask him. (I still don’t get that, but he does.) So I continue to ask, and I continue to struggle with the asking.

As I was chatting with a good friend tonight, (who leaves in the morning for a 10-day trip to the Dominican Republic with his entire family, including a one-year-old!) I wanted to let him know we’d be praying for them. But then all of these thoughts came up. I mean, once I start asking for something, I usually find a way out of asking. It’s very strange. But I know there is value in asking God for stuff… so I just began trying to say what I wanted to say in other words.

I told him we’d be thinking of them often. That is very true. We’ll miss them, and I’m sure they’ll come to mind quite often. We do a lot of life together. So, then I said, “…asking God whatever he might put on our hearts as we [think of you].” As I hit return in iChat, I thought, “That’s it. That’s how I want to ask. I want God, Holy Spirit, Jesus… any of them… to tell me what to ask!”

And that was it. That was my answer. That relieves the burden from me. I can not know what they need. I was going to say I would pray for protection, but perhaps that is not the best thing. I was going to pray for a “fruitful” trip, but that word is so subjective there are not two people who would completely agree on how that word is defined. What I really want to do is, as I think of them… I want Spirit to lead me in my askings.

Isn’t that how we should pray? Doesn’t he know all of us best? He is right with all of us who are his Church. He is in our midst, and right with each of us. And, he is building his church, so he knows best what we need to do, and ask for.

Perhaps that was a little piece toward opening up my conversations with God. Not really opening up more words, just opening up the freedom of “praying” for people, as the Spirit leads me to. That’s a crazy phrase, and perhaps some of you reading this just cringed a bit. But, if we really believe that Jesus is building his church, then maybe we need to let him prompt our askings, rather than coming to him with an agenda already planned out.

What if he doesn’t “prompt” me? What if I don’t feel “led” in any specific direction??? Chill out. If I think of something… good. If not, then just relax. Trust that if God wanted me to ask something specific, he would have led me… since he is the one who’s leading. That has been a recurring theme in my life of late. Really trust God to lead. Lead me, lead you, and lead his church.

Of course, since he is so good at leading his church.. I could just be hearing what he wants for me, and not at all what he wants for you. 🙂 So, listen to him… let him lead you where he wants to.

Follow the Leader.