It’s a great concept, “Two AM friends.” It means having the kind of friends you wouldn’t hesitate to call at two o’clock in the morning because you know they will be there for you. It means having the kind of relationships that even if the two AM need is a consequence of sin or stupidity we would still call and our friends would still show up. A two AM friend is a friend who is a fellow follower of Jesus who really takes Ephesians 4:1-2 seriously:
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…
I have Two AM friends. I want to be, and try to be, a Two AM friend. But I had a recent experience that both convicted me of my pride and caused me to reconsider the kind of friend I want to be. I got a call from a friend but it wasn’t at two AM, it was at two PM.
At two AM there’s nothing going on, at least not for me. At two AM I’m drooling on my pillow. At two PM I have all kinds of things going on. At two PM, I have calls to return, meetings to attend, work to complete, plans to plan, appointments to keep… you get it. At two PM my friend’s need was inconvenient, an interruption. The two PM need revealed the unholy separation between what I do and who I am called to be.
The two PM call scared me. I know there have been many times I have been called but was too busy to hear the call or simply justified not responding because I am so engaged in doing my agenda. My agenda makes everyone that isn’t on it an interruption, a threat, a problem. So does yours.
I repent and ask you to help me repent. I want to be as good a Two PM friend as a Two AM friend. I want my life to be lived on God’s agenda with the humility and gentleness that come from knowing that all these people that “interrupt” my day are brought to me in the will and purpose of sovereign God. And, if I meet them excited to see why he brought them along maybe I will become a good Two PM friend and not just a too busy friend. “Two PM friend,” that’s what I want to be.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Friday, December 18, 2009
Christmas
We were busy-
Surfing the net, mowing grass,
Feeding kids, commuting.
So preoccupied
With credit cards,
Appointments, promotions.
We were busy when
God came.
Like a whisper in the world’s ear,
The creator’s breath,
An infant’s breath,
Stirred the chilly air.
Tears and straw,
A mommy’s fingers
Touched the face of God.
Creation paused
Because it knew.
Still we swept floors,
Changed channels, crowded streets.
Still we went our way
Spending, yearning,
Chasing rest.
Shepherds ran!
Shadows fell
From newborn glory.
The light of God,
The glory of God in the face of Jesus,
Shining.
Heaven cheered,
Angels sang,
A chorus written in our souls.
Good news!
Good news!
“Unto you is born this day a Savior”
Christ the Lord!
Good news!
Great joy for all the people!
And hope, precious hope.
Comfort and joy
And precious hope.
I pray the wonder of the coming of Jesus will grab your heart like it does mine. Merry Christmas.
Surfing the net, mowing grass,
Feeding kids, commuting.
So preoccupied
With credit cards,
Appointments, promotions.
We were busy when
God came.
Like a whisper in the world’s ear,
The creator’s breath,
An infant’s breath,
Stirred the chilly air.
Tears and straw,
A mommy’s fingers
Touched the face of God.
Creation paused
Because it knew.
Still we swept floors,
Changed channels, crowded streets.
Still we went our way
Spending, yearning,
Chasing rest.
Shepherds ran!
Shadows fell
From newborn glory.
The light of God,
The glory of God in the face of Jesus,
Shining.
Heaven cheered,
Angels sang,
A chorus written in our souls.
Good news!
Good news!
“Unto you is born this day a Savior”
Christ the Lord!
Good news!
Great joy for all the people!
And hope, precious hope.
Comfort and joy
And precious hope.
I pray the wonder of the coming of Jesus will grab your heart like it does mine. Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Pilate's Problem
I know Pilate’s problem intimately. If Pilate had given in to the wonder and amazement he experienced in the presence of the power and character of Jesus he would have fallen to his knees, and surely ended up on a cross himself.
I often find myself, after reading John 19, agonizing over Pilate. I can’t escape the feeling that he knew Jesus was special, unlike anyone he ever met, maybe even the Messiah some said he was. I think Jesus’ bloody, swollen eyes burned a hole in Pilate’s soul. I don’t think it an accident he got the sign right, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Pilate knew the pleas of the bloodthirsty mob were a farce. But he just couldn’t bring himself to choose to join Jesus in the suffering, so he handed him over.
Pilate’s problem was that he couldn’t bring himself to respond to Jesus exclusively because of who Jesus is. Pilate couldn’t factor out of the decision his marriage to his position, his wealth and power, his image or his fear of losing it all.
Pilate’s problem is my problem. Before I decide how I will respond to Jesus I have to decide on which criteria I’ll base my decision.
There are a million things that enter our minds when it comes to following Jesus (by following I mean worshipping, glorifying, obeying, enjoying, serving him, loving him.) What are my parents going to think? What is going to happen to me at work? Do I have to get rid of my Jeep? Do I have to actually start giving a real sacrificial offering to the church? Do I have to stop drinking beer or watching movies? The implications are far too great to quantify. But the implications aren’t the question. The question is who is Jesus? If he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God nothing else matters.
Sometimes I get wadded up over my wife, my job, my Jeep, my suburban lifestyle and the next thing you know all those things become a factor in my response to God’s call. And his glory, bloody and humble and holy, gets lost on me because my response to him is filtered by these idols of self preservation and comfort, and not by the singular will and person of the sovereign God of the universe.
I am so grateful for grace. I am desperately in need of it. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. May the Lord grow me up in how I choose and how I choose to live.
I often find myself, after reading John 19, agonizing over Pilate. I can’t escape the feeling that he knew Jesus was special, unlike anyone he ever met, maybe even the Messiah some said he was. I think Jesus’ bloody, swollen eyes burned a hole in Pilate’s soul. I don’t think it an accident he got the sign right, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Pilate knew the pleas of the bloodthirsty mob were a farce. But he just couldn’t bring himself to choose to join Jesus in the suffering, so he handed him over.
Pilate’s problem was that he couldn’t bring himself to respond to Jesus exclusively because of who Jesus is. Pilate couldn’t factor out of the decision his marriage to his position, his wealth and power, his image or his fear of losing it all.
Pilate’s problem is my problem. Before I decide how I will respond to Jesus I have to decide on which criteria I’ll base my decision.
There are a million things that enter our minds when it comes to following Jesus (by following I mean worshipping, glorifying, obeying, enjoying, serving him, loving him.) What are my parents going to think? What is going to happen to me at work? Do I have to get rid of my Jeep? Do I have to actually start giving a real sacrificial offering to the church? Do I have to stop drinking beer or watching movies? The implications are far too great to quantify. But the implications aren’t the question. The question is who is Jesus? If he is the Christ, the Son of the Living God nothing else matters.
Sometimes I get wadded up over my wife, my job, my Jeep, my suburban lifestyle and the next thing you know all those things become a factor in my response to God’s call. And his glory, bloody and humble and holy, gets lost on me because my response to him is filtered by these idols of self preservation and comfort, and not by the singular will and person of the sovereign God of the universe.
I am so grateful for grace. I am desperately in need of it. I believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. May the Lord grow me up in how I choose and how I choose to live.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Acts 29 at CCCC
They are committing to financial struggle and emotional turmoil. They are committing to being betrayed, unappreciated, scoffed at and argued with. They are committing to a life of pouring themselves out only to be accused of being unloving and uncaring and downright evil. They are committing to an unending series of gut wrenching decisions and ambiguity. They are launching themselves, or seeking to launch themselves into a life that no one, with the exception of their few peers, can appreciate. They are gospel centered church planters.
Some of them came to Clear Creek Community Church this week for the Acts 29 Boot Camp and I got to meet them.
I would lie if I said I understand what they are or will go through, I don’t. You can only possibly understand by sharing the experience and I didn’t. I am where I am because one of them made the commitment to endure the misery that only the people of the church can inflict on each other. I shake my head at the stories - but I didn’t live the days when there was no money but plenty of competition for power and no one to share leadership but everyone to criticize the direction. I just marvel that some are desperate to answer the call of God and so endure the furnace of selfish, consuming, idolatrous “Christians” God uses to refine their characters into capable leaders of his church. These church planters are the blood, sweat and tears that transform grace from concept to experience.
I learned a lot in two days, you couldn’t avoid it. But the essential learning is this: the Kingdom of God is alive and growing. The wisdom and faith of seasoned saints is being shared with and rekindled by the faith and passion of a new generation of Christ followers. There is no doubt - the Spirit is moving and the gospel is transforming and the church will prevail until the coming of the Bridegroom. Amen.
Some of them came to Clear Creek Community Church this week for the Acts 29 Boot Camp and I got to meet them.
I would lie if I said I understand what they are or will go through, I don’t. You can only possibly understand by sharing the experience and I didn’t. I am where I am because one of them made the commitment to endure the misery that only the people of the church can inflict on each other. I shake my head at the stories - but I didn’t live the days when there was no money but plenty of competition for power and no one to share leadership but everyone to criticize the direction. I just marvel that some are desperate to answer the call of God and so endure the furnace of selfish, consuming, idolatrous “Christians” God uses to refine their characters into capable leaders of his church. These church planters are the blood, sweat and tears that transform grace from concept to experience.
I learned a lot in two days, you couldn’t avoid it. But the essential learning is this: the Kingdom of God is alive and growing. The wisdom and faith of seasoned saints is being shared with and rekindled by the faith and passion of a new generation of Christ followers. There is no doubt - the Spirit is moving and the gospel is transforming and the church will prevail until the coming of the Bridegroom. Amen.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
When the Space Shuttle Program ends in 2010 it is going to be a trying season in the lives of many people in our community. A lot of people are going to lose high paying jobs. Its probable many people will have to relocate to where the work is - so the trickle down is going to impact everything from housing to local restaurants and even the local church. Thinking about the impact of the change on our area got me thinking…
Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Do this starting today: honor God with your money.
The Bible is filled with wisdom about how we use the resources God has entrusted to us, and yet I encounter one follower of Jesus after another whose financial behavior completely ignores the teaching of the Scripture. Many people who call CCCC home keep their money safely hidden away from God’s word about it – and it is killing them. We profess to follow Jesus but we insist on living above our means; we profess to be Bible believing but we reject its teaching about money in favor of the culture’s credit card and car payment addiction; we know we should live by faith but we pierce ourselves with anxieties, hardships, and turmoil because we live in a financial house of cards. It is time to stop it. Just stop it.
What would you do today if you knew for sure you would lose your job in 18 months? You would either prepare by reducing your spending and storing up for the “winter” like the ant or you would be a fool and keep on keeping on until the bottom falls out. So… which are you?
It is time for you to consider the ant and be wise. Pay off your debt and quit using credit. Know that you have no guarantee that tomorrow you will have the same resources available that you have today – regardless of where you work. Do without some things today so you can prepare and so endure a “winter” season or be prepared to be generous with someone else who is.
It is heart wrenching to me to encounter people in our church who find themselves in a financial “winter” and the People In Need process is impotent to help them because their debt obligations are overwhelming. These are people who should know better – people who sit in the seats at CCCC and in small group for years and somehow manage to never let God convict them about how ridiculously far above their incomes they live. It is tragic because everyone suffers, everyone: the marriage, the kids, the neighbor who needs help, the church, and the mission of the church – the consequences of this sin are pervasive.
Start today. Be and ant and not a sluggard. Be wise and not foolish. Listen to God’s word about your money matters. You’ll be better off and so will your family – and so will your ability to glorify God when winter comes.
Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Do this starting today: honor God with your money.
The Bible is filled with wisdom about how we use the resources God has entrusted to us, and yet I encounter one follower of Jesus after another whose financial behavior completely ignores the teaching of the Scripture. Many people who call CCCC home keep their money safely hidden away from God’s word about it – and it is killing them. We profess to follow Jesus but we insist on living above our means; we profess to be Bible believing but we reject its teaching about money in favor of the culture’s credit card and car payment addiction; we know we should live by faith but we pierce ourselves with anxieties, hardships, and turmoil because we live in a financial house of cards. It is time to stop it. Just stop it.
What would you do today if you knew for sure you would lose your job in 18 months? You would either prepare by reducing your spending and storing up for the “winter” like the ant or you would be a fool and keep on keeping on until the bottom falls out. So… which are you?
It is time for you to consider the ant and be wise. Pay off your debt and quit using credit. Know that you have no guarantee that tomorrow you will have the same resources available that you have today – regardless of where you work. Do without some things today so you can prepare and so endure a “winter” season or be prepared to be generous with someone else who is.
It is heart wrenching to me to encounter people in our church who find themselves in a financial “winter” and the People In Need process is impotent to help them because their debt obligations are overwhelming. These are people who should know better – people who sit in the seats at CCCC and in small group for years and somehow manage to never let God convict them about how ridiculously far above their incomes they live. It is tragic because everyone suffers, everyone: the marriage, the kids, the neighbor who needs help, the church, and the mission of the church – the consequences of this sin are pervasive.
Start today. Be and ant and not a sluggard. Be wise and not foolish. Listen to God’s word about your money matters. You’ll be better off and so will your family – and so will your ability to glorify God when winter comes.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Cubbies Revenge
If you cut the city of St. Louis open it would bleed red feathers. St. Louis loves baseball and loves the Cardinals. If you live there for long, and I did, you just can’t help but become a fan, and I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan. I was sneaking out of school and going to Busch stadium in the 70’s when they were terrible – didn’t matter. I was there when they won the series in ’85. Willie Mc Gee is my favorite baseball player of all time. I cried when Jack Buck died. I have their games dialed in on my I-Phone. I am a Cardinals fan.
One of the most joy producing things that can happen in the life of a Cardinals fan is to beat the Cubs. It’s just satisfying like a good cup of coffee or some toasted ravioli or an Imo’s pizza – you never get tired of it. Another really fun thing to do if you are a Cardinals fan is to go see a game at Wrigley field in Chicago. It’s the best place to watch a baseball game in the world and, if you are a Cards fan, there is a peculiar satisfaction that comes from sitting there in your red hat knowing you’ve won the World Series ten times in the last 85 years and the Cubs, well they’re the Cubs.
That’s what I was doing one night last week. I was sitting at Wrigley field in my Cards hat enjoying my genetic superiority and thinking derogatory Cub fan thoughts like, “If your Meth lab still works in wind chill of 55 below zero, you might be a Cubs fan.” I was enjoying myself because I knew that they knew, no matter what they said about my hat, we’ve got all the rings. It was good fun – for about six innings.
I don’t know if it was something I ate or if it was the poison of my self-satisfied crimson colored smugness that settled in my stomach. But, something ran through me like a heard of disappointed Cubs fans pouring out on to Addison Street. Wrigley field may be the best place to see a baseball game, but it is not the best place to find one’s self staggering around in the latrine, wearing a Cardinals hat, hoping against hope you can make it to one of the luxurious stalls before you disgrace not only yourself but all of Cardinals fandom. Not even Jesus characterized hell with images so startling and terrifying as are lived out in the latrine at Wrigley field in the seventh inning as the locals prepare themselves for last call. It was one of the few times in my life where what was going on outside me was almost identical to what was going on inside me. It was awful. It was the Cubbies revenge.
I think it was the Cubbies revenge. Of course it could have been one of those precious, in hindsight, moments when my spiritual garbage (pride, haughtiness, independence) shows up as physical garbage so I’ll finally notice. It could have been the gracious hand of God reminding me that I am utterly fragile and that a random micro organism can debilitate me. It could have been a reminder that I am utterly dependent on my brothers in Christ without whom I would have never made it out of Wrigley alive. It could have been a reminder to rejoice today because life is fickle and unfair and fun can change to sorrow in a split second. It could have been any or all those things. It could have just been the Cubbies revenge. I may never know.
Pride goes before destruction,and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:8
One of the most joy producing things that can happen in the life of a Cardinals fan is to beat the Cubs. It’s just satisfying like a good cup of coffee or some toasted ravioli or an Imo’s pizza – you never get tired of it. Another really fun thing to do if you are a Cardinals fan is to go see a game at Wrigley field in Chicago. It’s the best place to watch a baseball game in the world and, if you are a Cards fan, there is a peculiar satisfaction that comes from sitting there in your red hat knowing you’ve won the World Series ten times in the last 85 years and the Cubs, well they’re the Cubs.
That’s what I was doing one night last week. I was sitting at Wrigley field in my Cards hat enjoying my genetic superiority and thinking derogatory Cub fan thoughts like, “If your Meth lab still works in wind chill of 55 below zero, you might be a Cubs fan.” I was enjoying myself because I knew that they knew, no matter what they said about my hat, we’ve got all the rings. It was good fun – for about six innings.
I don’t know if it was something I ate or if it was the poison of my self-satisfied crimson colored smugness that settled in my stomach. But, something ran through me like a heard of disappointed Cubs fans pouring out on to Addison Street. Wrigley field may be the best place to see a baseball game, but it is not the best place to find one’s self staggering around in the latrine, wearing a Cardinals hat, hoping against hope you can make it to one of the luxurious stalls before you disgrace not only yourself but all of Cardinals fandom. Not even Jesus characterized hell with images so startling and terrifying as are lived out in the latrine at Wrigley field in the seventh inning as the locals prepare themselves for last call. It was one of the few times in my life where what was going on outside me was almost identical to what was going on inside me. It was awful. It was the Cubbies revenge.
I think it was the Cubbies revenge. Of course it could have been one of those precious, in hindsight, moments when my spiritual garbage (pride, haughtiness, independence) shows up as physical garbage so I’ll finally notice. It could have been the gracious hand of God reminding me that I am utterly fragile and that a random micro organism can debilitate me. It could have been a reminder that I am utterly dependent on my brothers in Christ without whom I would have never made it out of Wrigley alive. It could have been a reminder to rejoice today because life is fickle and unfair and fun can change to sorrow in a split second. It could have been any or all those things. It could have just been the Cubbies revenge. I may never know.
Pride goes before destruction,and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:8
Monday, March 16, 2009
Power To Serve
The last time I saw her she was in intensive care. She had tubes and wires running in and out of her connecting her to monitors and IV poles. She was so sedated she barely responded to her mom’s voice. There was still some uncertainty about how successful the surgery had been – it might be some weeks before we really know. Her mom was worn out from worry, worn out from the agony of waiting and hoping and wishing her baby girl was home safe and sound and healthy; worn out from no sleep and from doting over sips of water and pain medicine and warm covers and the doctor’s next visit. The whole scene was exhausting and heartbreaking.
I was surprised when I saw this mom at church a week later on Wednesday night. “How’s your baby girl?” I asked. Mom said “A little better. She came home yesterday. She’s back in PeeWeeVille tonight.” That blew my mind. PeeWeeVille is what Clear Creek Community Church calls its ministry to pre-kindergarten age children. This teenage girl, fresh off brain surgery, fresh out of intensive care, fresh out of the hospital was serving me, serving us, serving the people of CCCC by caring for and teaching children in PeeWeeVille so the parents, and the rest of us, could gather and focus on Scripture and praising God.
I have wondered since that conversation if I even know how to appreciate that teenager enough. I wonder if I really appreciate how God shows me to my face how much love and generosity and faith he preserves among his people. I wonder if I appreciate how many times and in how many ways other people serve me, serve us, in the church when I have no idea how challenging, distracting, and downright painful their week has been.
It really made me wonder why that young lady was so determined to serve in PeeWeeVille when so many people, the vast majority of people, who attend CCCC don’t serve the church anywhere, ever. Is it because they don’t know their help is needed? Is it because they don’t think they are able? Is it because their weeks are too hard?
I don’t think it is any of that. I think it is because our weeks are so easy, our problems so minor, our physical and material needs so trivial and so well met that our comfort has blinded us to much of anything outside our own little world. We have so insulated ourselves from need we seldom consider or relate to the needs of others. It is the powerful grip of comfort that blinds us to our need for the gospel and the workings of the gospel in our lives.
The powerful thing about serving is its power to free us from our self centeredness and to wake us up to the needs of others. What’s weird is that God often uses the power of need in our lives to do the same thing. I am grateful for a sick teenager whose heart for God, and for us, is bigger than her own need.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
I was surprised when I saw this mom at church a week later on Wednesday night. “How’s your baby girl?” I asked. Mom said “A little better. She came home yesterday. She’s back in PeeWeeVille tonight.” That blew my mind. PeeWeeVille is what Clear Creek Community Church calls its ministry to pre-kindergarten age children. This teenage girl, fresh off brain surgery, fresh out of intensive care, fresh out of the hospital was serving me, serving us, serving the people of CCCC by caring for and teaching children in PeeWeeVille so the parents, and the rest of us, could gather and focus on Scripture and praising God.
I have wondered since that conversation if I even know how to appreciate that teenager enough. I wonder if I really appreciate how God shows me to my face how much love and generosity and faith he preserves among his people. I wonder if I appreciate how many times and in how many ways other people serve me, serve us, in the church when I have no idea how challenging, distracting, and downright painful their week has been.
It really made me wonder why that young lady was so determined to serve in PeeWeeVille when so many people, the vast majority of people, who attend CCCC don’t serve the church anywhere, ever. Is it because they don’t know their help is needed? Is it because they don’t think they are able? Is it because their weeks are too hard?
I don’t think it is any of that. I think it is because our weeks are so easy, our problems so minor, our physical and material needs so trivial and so well met that our comfort has blinded us to much of anything outside our own little world. We have so insulated ourselves from need we seldom consider or relate to the needs of others. It is the powerful grip of comfort that blinds us to our need for the gospel and the workings of the gospel in our lives.
The powerful thing about serving is its power to free us from our self centeredness and to wake us up to the needs of others. What’s weird is that God often uses the power of need in our lives to do the same thing. I am grateful for a sick teenager whose heart for God, and for us, is bigger than her own need.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
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