Actors
Bumped into some friends this morning at Starbucks that I haven't seen in a while. Great to catch up and God is doing some pretty neat stuff in their lives. One thing that was said over the conversation is we are not in control of things, but God orchestrates things.
Reminded me of something I recently read that said God is the director and producer of this cosmic stage we're on and we are simply actors. The point the author was making is too often we reverse the roles where we become the director and God has a cameo scene every so often.
Rather than try to mold God into the scripts of our lives we must come under his direction.
Just a thought.
Stairway to Heaven
"God does not simply create the gift (The Gospel) and offer it to us, if we will only climb the stairway to heaven to get it; he brings it down to us, uncurls our ungrateful fingers, and places it in our hands." p. 108, The Gospel-Driven Life, Horton
To get something for nothing doesn't make sense to us. We are wired from an early age that if we do good things, we get good things. We carry this mindset into adulthood.
But the Gospel turns everything upside down. The Gospel says we get what we don't deserve. We get good (grace) even when we don't do good (sin). This idea violates every sense of justice in me. Good people should get good things, bad people shouldn't.
Through faith in Jesus Christ, grace is extended to us not because we are good people. We cannot stand on our own goodness, or our righteousness. No matter how good we are we cannot climb the stairway of heaven to access God's grace.
God lovingly stoops down to us. Pays the price for our sin and does for us what we could not do for ourselves: makes us righteous before God.
So, we must repent of our badness, but we also must repent of our goodness.
And rather than climb the stairs, we must simply receive the gift by faith.
Costly Grace
God's grace is free but it wasn't cheap. It's freely given to those who have faith in Jesus, but it cost God everything. I cheapen grace when I think it's a license to sin. "I can do whatever I want, God will forgive me." That's cheap grace. I also cheapen grace when I think grace is extended to me because of my discipline, morality, good deeds, etc. "Because I live a good life God will show me grace." More cheap grace.
To cheapen grace is to deny the deadliness of sin. If I live however I want (license to sin) I'm really saying that sin has no consequence or effect. If I live a moral, upright life in order to attain grace I'm really saying that I can control and conquer sin on my own merit.
It's when we truly understand sin's deadliness that we understand the amazing grace of God. We understand that grace doesn't move us toward wayward living, nor does it move us toward moralism; Grace moves us toward a Savior. Unrighteous living doesn't save, and righteous living doesn't save. Jesus saves.
Cry Baby
I think I cried more yesterday at church than I have in my entire life.
Yesterday we held one very scaled-down service. We met at 10am except we had no children's church, signs, banners, coffee, hospitality area, or connection table. There was a small worship team, minimal media, and metal chairs. We minimized our set-up to give our volunteers a break. It was one of my favorite services we did all year.
OK, back to the crying. It started during the last song of worship. Sometimes the presence of God brings me to tears; this was one of those times. Then I got up to preach. The message was mainly about how in 2009 GBCK lived out our core mission which is to develop our faith, deepen our connections, and devote our lives to God's mission.
I got choked up at different times during the sermon as I retraced GBCK's 2009 faith journey. As I reflect back on yesterday, I think certain things trigger emotion in me:
• Change lives: I believe every person sitting in those chairs represents a miracle. Each person is a testimony to God's power to change lives. Each life tells the story of God's crazy love for his people.
• Pride: I'm proud of GBCK, and it has nothing to do with me. I'm proud of how the GBCK community is trying to live out their relationship with God. I know their struggles, I know their pain, yet they are faithful. It's a privilege to serve as their pastor.
• The Gospel: Jesus made it possible again to have a relationship with the Heavenly Father, and I want to help others to do the same. The amazing grace of God is overwhelming at times.
The crying isn't melodrama, it's genuine. I get embarrassed by it and wish it wouldn't happen at times.
But, at the same time I'm believing for many more opportunities to cry in 2010 if it means more changed lives and the Gospel of Christ spreads.
How to have a meaningful Christmas
Here's quick recap of GBCK's Christmas Conspiracy series that looked at four keys to keeping the true meaning of Christmas alive.
1. Remember the Reason: It all starts with Jesus; no Jesus, no Christmas. Remembering the birth of Jesus isn't merely a historical exercise. It's remembering that the King of the Universe radically broke into humanity in order to redeem his creation back to himself. Jesus came so we can know God.
2. Give Presence: Presence cannot be given in a box with a bow. Presence is simply the gift of relationships; it's being near to those whom you love, and to those who are far from God. You can't buy presence in a store, it's given with your life.
3. Mind Your Margins: We can lose the meaning of Christmas under an avalanche of busyness. By making sure we have extra space (margins) in our lives we allow refreshment for our souls. We clear our minds for a moment for reflection and gratitude.
4. Live with Hope: Sin is hopeless. Jesus came because we were in a hopeless situation. Jesus came so that we can believe that tomorrow will be better than today. We can rely on the One from whom all hope and comfort comes. Jesus is the anchor of hope for our souls. (Hebrews 6:19)
Latest tweets
- Lunch date with Julie, maybe some shopping after. twitter.com/mikeohara808
- @danetokushige preaching this am: when faced with uncertainty we must remember who Jesus is. twitter.com/mikeohara808
- @parris50 emphasis "very slightly" ;-) only keeeeding twitter.com/mikeohara808