Following By Numbers

Remember those paint by numbers things we all did as kids? You follow the numbers and paint in that small area whatever color is requested. At first it looks crazy...then it all starts to make sense and turn into an impressive picture. Well, the book of Numbers is sort of like that. It contains some boring, historical facts, but when you get farther along and then back off and look at the whole picture, it’s pretty amazing to see the picture take shape.

Over the course of the fall and into December, we will be talking about following God. Our text will be the Exodus narrative and the stories that are found there. We won't stop reading in Exodus, but we'll use it as a way to look at the book of Numbers as God counts those who are found to be his people. Sound boring? Well, I have to admit, the book of Numbers does not usually come to my mind when I think about exciting reading. If so, just wait till we get a few of the numbers painted in and it won’t be.

As Christ-followers, our interest is in following God. We want to be His people, to go where He would have us go, to serve where He would want us to serve. One way to learn about that process is to look at those who have gone before us. If we look at their failures and successes, we can begin to construct a reference database for the future. We can form a lessons learned course for ourselves, a study in best practices. I'm using all this corporate language knowing that most of you sit in jobs all week where such language is the norm. The military in particular loves to construct lessons learned manuals so they can guide future teams who encounter problems and hopefully help them avoid mistakes of the past.

In many ways that’s what we have in Exodus and Numbers: an amazingly detailed history of God's people and their attempts to follow him. It shows the failures and successes of their leaders. It shows the failures and successes of everyday people. It shows those who were counted among the faithful at the end of a very long and trying ordeal.

More than anything, though, it shows the faithfulness of God. And since we have the amazing benefit of being able to read all of it with Christ-colored glasses, we can see God's amazing hand in these stories in a way that the people of Israel could not.

Mark

Is Your Child Ready for School?

You’ve been in the long lines at Staples, WalMart, or Target to get the items on the supply list. Wondered how he could grow so fast over a few months as you renewed his wardrobe at Kohls. You helped her find her room at open house. You’ve gotten the piles of paperwork nearly complete and even now warm up your signing arm for the reams coming in the Friday folder! All this, though, is just a small part of preparing your child to start another school year. There are great teachers, great programs, and wonderful experiences ahead this year in school, but, especially if your child attends public school (as mine will), there is a need for further preparation. How might you and I answer the following questions?

Does your child deeply understand his incredible value as one who is created in the image of God? Does she believe God loves her enough to have given His son?

Can your child discern between fact and fiction when the world says one thing and faith proclaims another?Could your child share why she believes what she believes?

Is he ready and willing to stand firm against peer pressure? Does he understand that being different as he follows Christ, not conforming to the world, is a good thing?

Does your child have ample opportunity to meaningfully read scripture or have it read to her? To pray for teachers, classmates, family, and friends?

Will your child come to you first with his questions no matter what the topic, knowing he will get straight answers?

Can your child count on following you as you follow Christ?

CTL

Show Children The Way

The mall wasn’t that crowded this particular Saturday. Aaron had no problem getting his favorite carousel animal—the zebra. Samuel helped him into the saddle as he had done many times before. The attendant pushed the pedal, the music began, and as the creatures moved up and down and around, my mind traveled back in time. While children’s smiles passed before me, I thought of Aaron’s first ride. Was it on his favorite striped beast even then? Six months old—another world, another time. With every wave to my son, I recalled waving at other times, other stages, other ages. Time is fleeting! Children do grow up so fast. We cannot miss these precious early years to show our children the Way:

So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you . . . so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God . . . Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.~Deuteronomy 5: 32, 33a; 6: 2a, 5-7~

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these . . .” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.~Mark 10: 14b, 16~

CTL

Little Holy Heroes

There is so much hatred in the world. This has always been the case, but it seems that technology, through TV and the internet, exposes the hatred in overwhelming quantities that individuals are not used to seeing. Watching the news for fifteen minutes can really bring you down. Part of the reason we always see sensational news stories is due to the fact that tragedy and shock keep our attention and increase ratings. There are many good things taking place every day that we never learn about simply because they don’t make juicy headlines. Nevertheless, tragedy and trouble are indeed part of our daily routine. Amidst all the bad news we hear each week, how can the Christian person remain hopeful?

Earlier this week I asked the apostle Peter to help me better understand biblical hope. Peter tells us not to despair because hope is closer than we realize. He tells us we have actually been born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In Peter’s eyes there is definitely death and trouble in this world. But there is also resurrection. Christ’s resurrection is the source of all human hope amidst a dying world. Faith in Jesus Christ causes our hope to come alive. This faith he has given us is, according to Peter, “more precious than gold” and “tested by fire” through suffering and trials. But how does this faith in Christ change anything? What are we supposed to do with this “faith”? Peter’s answer is simple: “Be Holy.” After introducing the preciousness of the life of faith in Christ, he writes that we should be holy just as Christ who called us is holy. So the response to all the trouble and the suffering and the trials is “be holy”? These are difficult words. How does holiness accomplish anything?

Peter knew that the transformation God creates in the hearts of believers through the power of his Spirit was the hope of the world. I am hopeful today because I believe the power of the “Christ with us” life can transform you and me. If you are a Christian and you read this, realize your holiness is the hope of world. Holiness doesn’t mean being religious; it means acknowledging you can’t make life work on your own terms and accepting God’s merciful invitation for genuine relationship. He loves you despite everything you’ve done. He loves you, not with a nice puppy love, but with a love that is so holy and deep and wide that, eventually, it cannot help but compel you to change.

In the comic books I read as a kid, the heroes were big and muscular, fast and smart, achieving amazing things. Terrific trouble could only be stopped by a terrific super hero. Because of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, the job description to become a hero or heroine is not like in my old DC comic books. You don’t have to be terrific or smart or muscular to stop terrific trouble. You just have to be humble enough to know you desperately need his help. Your desperate and daily reaching for him slowly transforms you into the little holy hero or heroine the world is literally dying for. Little holy heroes are little because their mistakes are huge, their love seems insignificant, and their lives seem mostly unimportant. They are holy because they reflect the love and service-filled life of Christ. They are heroes because Christ uses them, collectively, to shine the light of love and hopefulness into the darkness of the world.

Don’t expect the media to detect the little holy heroes of Christ. You will not see them on the covers of the magazines in the supermarket checkout line. They do small, weak, and undetectable little things like show kindness to people, pray in closets, weep over the seriousness of sin, and call people who are lonely. Little holy heroes consider others better than themselves, and they don’t believe they deserve anything. The collective actions of little heroes are a lot like the mustard seed Jesus mentioned in the gospel of Mark (4: 30-32):

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Matt

Lake Break

Out and about running errands with a “to do” list repeating in my head, I realized this had to stop, even if just for 10 or 15 minutes. The day was beautiful, with the kind of weather Northern Virginia hasn’t seen for awhile, and the lake beckoned.

On the drive there, I began to consider the tasks I could get done while sitting on the dock: make entries in the checkbook, maybe pay some bills, or even catch up on some reading. Then I realized I would be missing the whole point of the outing. I needed to stop, do nothing, unplug, and be still.

How busy we can get and forget to take time to be quiet, especially to be quiet with God. In the midst of my hectic day (probably self-induced if I am honest), I needed communion with my Heavenly Father.

Getting closer to the marina, I was almost surprisingly excited. Imagine . . . time to do nothing but enjoy the presence of God surrounded by His creation! I parked my car, followed the path through the trees, and walked up the ramp of the dock.

When I was just a few wooden planks beyond the metal ramp, I heard a familiar rustling of leaves overhead and noticed a quickening dance of waves. Almost involuntarily I closed my eyes as the soft wind lifted loose strands of hair from my face. The delightful breeze lifted as well the stress I had been feeling. For a moment, however brief, I understood “peace.” I couldn’t help but give thanks for this much-needed, gentle gift from God.

Opening my eyes, I looked to the tree-lined shore across the lake and then up at the blue sky. Lastly, I let my eyes take in the silver bits of sunlight glistening on the water’s surface. Such awesome beauty in deceptively simple things: earth, air, and water . . .

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature---have been clearly seen, being understood from what was made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

If I had continued my day the way it had begun, I might have accomplished more of my “to-do’s” but I would have missed so much. I hope this week you find opportunities to stop whatever you’re doing, be still, and enjoy being with God.

CTL

Opinion/Belief/Conviction...Can You Put It in the Right Category?

We ended one series last week and begin another in two weeks. Next week Matt Tapie will be preaching. This week I want to speak about something that is important as we grow together as a church.

When someone acts a certain way, we must evaluate. Either they have a mental problem if they, for example, eat from the trash, or they are not crazy if they eat from the trash because they don’t have other food. My point is we assume people behave a certain way for a reason. Unless someone is crazy, their actions or behaviors stem from values and values usually stem from opinions, beliefs, and convictions that are deeply held. We know this is true as Christians because we talk about it all the time. We want people to be centered on God’s view of the world, so such a God-centered world view would produce a belief system that would produce values that in turn would produce good behaviors.

It’s important to see that “values” are generated by beliefs, opinions, and convictions. One of my opinions is I love my Macintosh computer. I think it is great, and I base that opinion on a mix of facts, emotions, and experiences. Yet, sometimes I get so crazy about this opinion that it starts slipping into belief and conviction. This is uncomfortable for my friends who have PC’s because they see what they thought was just a simple machine on their desk is oddly a conviction for me.

As Christians we do this as well. There are some things we have opinions about . . . the color of the carpet, the songs we sing, the order of worship. Those are opinions, driven by a mix of personal preferences and experiences. Then we have beliefs . . . such as whether or not we home school or think Halloween is a good holiday. These are much more than mere opinions; people who feel strongly about these give a strong defense for their belief.

But what are our convictions? What causes us to draw a line and makes Christian armies turn their guns on one another? There are many examples of churches where opinions, beliefs, and convictions get into a confused mix that ends up a mess. In fact, being a part of a group that has too many strong convictions is a sure recipe for strife.

In Philippians chapter 3 Paul addresses this issue. He talks about this mix of opinions, beliefs, and convictions, and he points out what our convictions should be. This week we look at what Paul says about these three things.

Mark