The Phil Files

I ran out to the country yesterday evening, got some work done, and the rain began to fall. Not a light shower, the sky had spit and spurted off an on while I was there, but as I was driving out of property down in a low spot the rain began to crescendo. By the time I got back to my friends’ house, it was really raining. Then it went to full downpour.

We had planned to spend a lot more time out in the country, but it was clear that negotiating pasture roads was going to be impossible — the clay and gravel road were barely passable in 2 wheel drive Tahoe, there was no way we could navigate pasture trails! I headed home and as I did, it was incredibly beautiful. The wide vistas of west Texas, clouds hanging low in the sky, rain, and then a seam developed in the middle of the clouds. Light began to shine through the seam in the clouds. It was like the skies parted and heaven’s glory shined through. No picture can do it justice!

As I took in this sight with Casting Crowns blasting away in truck CD player, I couldn’t help but think of the sky as a visual image of what church is supposed to be: the people and place God’s Kingdom breaks through and touches earth! And isn’t that what Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer?

Absolutely!

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

For yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Ah, that’s the rub, isn’t it. Wanting the will of God to come into our lives. Waiting for the will of God to be seen in our relationships. Hoping for the Kingdom of God to be real in our families.

It’s the rub because waiting is not a passive, couch potato plop on the sofa killing time till God does something otherworldly to shake us out of the doldrums. No, it’s the “submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ” in our daily our relationships (Ephesians 5:21). It’s the recognition that God’s Kingdom coming into our lives and our families is about my willingness to seek God’s will in my life and live it out in service to others — that ol’ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength … love your neighbor as yourself” thing!

Here’s a powerful music video presentation of this idea from Worship House Media using scenes from the movie Fireproof. I hope you watch it, then pray the Lord’s Prayer with me — and let’s help each other live it in our real worlds:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

Jesus taught us to pray:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

For or yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.”

If there are any two messages that have been my passion over the years, it would be these two things:

• We are called to live both the character (holy & righteous) and the compassion (love & social-justice) of God
• We are called to follow Jesus, so the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) should be the most worn parts of our Bible

Today, as I shared a message centered around the book of Ruth in the Old Testament, I was reminded again of how important the faithfulness of one person matters. Without Naomi refusing to give up, without the loyalty of Ruth and her desire to follow the One True God, and without the social concern of Boaz, Jesus would have come from a different set of ancestors. These people, each in their own way and own situation — Naomi a broken Jewish widow, Ruth a widowed foreigner trying to be faithful to Naomi, and Boaz a farmer/businessman who followed God’s law and provided for the poor — proved faithful. And using their faithfulness, God wove together a display of His Kingdom on earth.

Our choices, our faithfulness, our character & compassion matter and are part of God’s Kingdom coming “on earth as it is heaven.”

“I only appear to be dead.”

Today is the birthday of Hans Christian Andersen — you already know that if you are a fan of The Writer’s Almanac from which this thought comes. Having lived a hard life, losing his father at only 11 years of age, Andersen had some unusual quirks that made his short stories and fairy tales interesting. They also made for some interesting twists in his life.

One of the quirky twists involved Andersen’s fear of being buried alive. To settle his nerves and reassure himself in the face of his fears, he left a note beside his bed each evening that read, “I only appear to be dead.”

As I looked over the responses to my last two posts, and as I wrestled with the harsh difficulties of some of my friends to whom I have tried to minister, I realized how deep the hurt and how grievous the wounds of many ordinary people. Now I know some of you are thinking, “There is no such thing as an ordinary person. We are all special in God’s sight! Jesus died for ALL of us and EACH of us at the same time.”

Who can quarrel with such a statement? So then, how to do explain to ordinary folks who are broken why they are neglected in their hurt, forgotten with their wounds, and even avoided because of their brokenness? They don’t feel like the extraordinary person who has fallen from grace in a public way. so why should they be shunned? They don’t feel weird or out of the ordinary, so why should their struggles be somehow more odd than others.? My only answer is that God’s people, the folks who are called to be living the good news of the Kingdom, only appear to be dead. We’re not dead, we’re just sleeping.

An old line from Graham Green’s challenging little novel called The Power and The Glory comes to mind at a time like this: “The church sat there like a block of ice melting away in the heat.”

Some of the criticisms pointed at Jesus’ followers are overly harsh and unfair. Even Jesus himself acknowledged that only 1 out of 4 seeds would be focused and fruitful. The Lord said that in the fields where God’s good seed grows there are also those who look the part, but are really only weeds. Our Savior reminded his closest friends that while he cast his net of grace wide and far, that net came back with some fish that needed to be thrown back because they were false. (See each of these stories in Matthew 13). So we should not be surprised when we face — and sometimes when we are reason for — the criticism of those who see our imperfections and contradictions.

However, if we were not the habitat of hypocrites, where could flawed people go? If we didn’t have folks who were weak and sometimes slipped back into their old and broken ways, where could broken people find companionship for the journey of transformation?

Seems to be the test is pretty simple. Do we love God and love people? If we love God, we are dissatisfied with our lack of our own progress and turn with renewed commitment to Jesus for grace AND power. Transformation doesn’t happen without both. In addition, we love others. So we do not pretend to them that we are something that we are not — we are honest about ourselves and our struggles — and we invite them to share our journey. Redemption in real life doesn’t happen for us or others if we do not.

Sounds so simple. Unfortunately, it seems, we fall asleep. So maybe we need to add a line to Andersen’s adapted statement: “We only appear to be dead. So please pray that the Holy Spirit will rouse us to live with the heart of Jesus.”

No wonder the apostle Paul reminded church folks a long time ago about the words of one of their hyms:

Wake up, you who are sleeping! Rise from death, and Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:14)

Some things are very simple and don’t need a lot elaboration. (My daily Bible reading recently was from Luke 12.)

//Inspiration: Luke 12:34
For where your treasure is, there yur heart will be also.

//Incarnation:
There are two crucial issues for me concerning these verses. First, I’ve got to be honest with myself before God abut WHAT my treasure is. Second, I need to determine where I’ve invested that treasure.
Are my treasures Kingdom-focused? Are they people-focused? Are they about fulfilling and blessing me or are they about honoring Christ and blessing others? When I look in my heart, what is it pursuing with passion, focus, and purpose?

//Invitation:
O LORD God, you know my heart and can test my motives. Please purify my heart and help me desire the things you want and to love the things you cherish. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

I remember going fishing years ago with a friend who took his three year old grandson. We didn’t have children yet, so I wasn’t personally experienced with the tenacity of a three year old bombarding an adult with “Why?” questions. In four hours of traveling and fishing, this little guy had to ask “Why?” at least 200 times! (I promise, this is no exaggeration.) We would give an age appropriate answer, then the little guy would respond with, “Why?”

About two thirds of the way through the afternoon, I began to say, “Because God created the world round.” I know this is not a great theological insight, nor is it a great parental out, but it worked for awhile. It kept the follow up questions at bay. Until we got in the truck to go home. I gave my little answer and then he responded quizzically, “But Phil, why did God make the world round?”

Good question! And some questions are better than others. But the most important question of all is the one Jesus asks His closest followers in Luke 9, our reading for today:

//Inspiration: Luke 9:20
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

//Incarnation:
Who do I say Jesus is? This question is much more than a verbal question that I need to answer; this is a must question that I have to answer with the living of my daily life. Jesus stresses all the way through this chapter the importance of following Him for the sake of the Kingdom. So the question is about who I let rule my life and who do I trust with the meaning, significance, and ultimate destination of my life. So who is Jesus? He is God’s Messiah. He is the Promised One proclaimed by the prophets and feared by the demons. He is the misunderstood Son of Man and He is the one who notices the marginalized. He is the One who made the world!
So how does my life reflect his identity? How am I living up to the confession that fills my heart and flows from my mouth?

//Invitaiton:
O God, Father and Almighty, I thank you for revealing yourself in Jesus. I praise you for having a plan to redeem and bless all peoples in your Messiah, Jesus Christ. Now I ask that you help me demonstrate Jesus in my own life. And I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and my Lord. Aemn.