Faith and the Fatherless

But this time, Jesus, how can I be sure
I will not lose my follow-through
Between the altar and the door?
~Casting Crowns

So simply stated above is the struggle all of us in this walk with Jesus face. Here in the midst of brothers and sisters, we are encouraged, inspired, and motivated. But how can we maintain our faith, more importantly put it in action, beyond the doors of this building?

My mind can’t help but immediately go to the fact that this is National Adoption Month. Surely you’ve seen the poster downstairs and the flyers in the foyer. In James there is no mincing of words: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (1: 27). We are to care for the fatherless.

The most obvious and direct response is to adopt. Prayerfully consider this incredible journey and blessing. The foster care system is in desperate need of stable homes for children who are often described as social orphans. Many of these children are available for adoption as well. Does your heart draw you to this avenue of love?

You may not be called to adopt or provide foster care, but the opportunities to live out such a pure and faultless religion are numerous! Sponsor a child through any of the organizations that care for children around the world. Be a part of a mission team which helps build children’s homes. Get involved in a program such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Have the home that all the neighborhood kids come to for wholesome fun. Walk alongside a young person who may not have the support they need at home. Be a guide for a new Christian who comes from a family of non-believers. Each of us can discover the ways God has prepared us for expressing His love. Just ask Him to show you!

CTL

In the Midst of Darkness, LIGHT!

Having just “fallen back” with our clocks, we can anticipate the earlier onset of darkness in the late afternoon / early evening. Days will continue to get darker until December 22 for us Northern Hemisphere folk. After that shortest day, hours of light will increase for the sun is coming back! My mind relishes the symbolism of this astronomical event . . . Perhaps it’s because my thoughts can’t help but run to darkness and light imagery these days as I prepare with others for the upcoming Super Saturday “Light of the World” which is inspired by Isaiah 9:2a: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light . . .”

A person who is thrilled by making connections, having what I’m studying in one place be reinforced in another, I am delighted to be encountering bible verses and passages concerning light. In our Sunday morning adult class, we read how Jesus told the crowd “You are the light of the world . . .” (Matthew 5: 14). [Sorry, David, but this sent me off on an illuminating search to gather more “light” verses!] One evening recently I walked into the teen classroom and was drawn to what was penned on the dry erase board: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1: 3). In the beginning God’s light had shattered the darkness of the physical world.

John’s gospel speaks of the spiritual: “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (1: 9). We have God’s Word as “a lamp to [our] feet and a light for [our] path[s].” Jesus called himself “the light of the world” and said, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8: 12). Beautifully, in Revelation we discover the New Jerusalem “does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (21: 23).

I’m enjoying my “light load” these days and hope that you, too, will focus on the Light as our days get shorter, physically darker. Also, may we pray to ever more eagerly look forward to the Son coming back . . .

CTL

Joining the Army

There was a movie when I was young called Private Benjamin. Goldie Hawn was a rich girl who joined the Army, and the humor in the film is based around the fact she has no idea what she has gotten herself into. She asks if she can sleep in one day and asks for a uniform in a different color that looks better on her. It is humorous to us because we all know that joining the army is not a picnic. Even those of us who have never served realize good and well that when a person signs his or her name on the line, Uncle Sam has a clear cut set of expectations. The recruiters may talk about the great benefits, but they also tell you clearly that you are turning your life over to a larger cause.

In the latter part of Luke chapter nine, Jesus tells everyone up front what the expectations are for joining his crew. He tells one guy, “Look, we won’t be staying in the best hotels.” Another guy does not ask for much, he says, “I’d like to join as soon as I bury my father.” In his reply Jesus is not trying to be mean; he is just being clear. He tells the guy in no uncertain terms that joining his army means a surrender of personal freedom.

The United States military asks for this surrender of personal freedom because they realize it is required for them to accomplish their mission and be effective. Perhaps Jesus’ warnings are rooted in similar concerns for organizational effectiveness…but in a larger sense they are not sacrifice for the sake of effectiveness in the same way that most organizations and businesses require. Jesus, as the maker and crafter of the human machine, the maker of life, knows what is required for true life, and he has come to put together an organization that allows for people to truly live. He is a good and honest recruiter: he does not soft sell it; he speaks clearly and directly.

Today we look at some tough language from Jesus, and we look at the amazing opportunity for life that comes for those of us willing to listen and submit to his requirements.

Mark

Luke Chapter 9

There is about a 400 (or so)-year time period between the Old and New Testaments. During that time, we know from world history that the Greeks took over the world. One of the most famous Greeks is Plato, and his most famous book is called the Republic. We were assigned to read it in graduate school, and, to be honest, I found it tough going. There was one part of it, however, that was very easy and exciting to read; it was called the “Allegory of the Cave.”

Most of us are familiar to some extent with this story. It presents a group of humans chained in a cave so they can only look ahead at a wall. Behind them a great fire rages, and in front of the fire, slaves carry objects carved of clay and wood and ivory, and the light of the fire projects shadows of those objects upon the wall. The people in the cave, there from birth, think the shadows they are seeing are the only reality there is. They can't see the fire or the slaves, so they assume that the shadows are what is real. Plato then asks his students to consider what it would be like for those people to leave the cave and see something real for the first time. The students reply, "They would say that the reality they saw outside of the cave would make the shadows on the wall look like foolishness."

In Luke chapter nine we have something like that going on with Jesus and his disciples. Peter figures out who Jesus is, and as soon as he does, Jesus takes him and James and John up on a mountain for a transfiguration. They are, in effect, led out of the cave to see the real thing! They are absolutely stunned by his glory and power.

Today we will look at why Jesus did this, and how important it is for those who are his disciples to be "on message" . . . that is, getting the point of what he expects his disciples to relay to the world.

Mark

Spiritual Reading List

Want to dig in deeper on your own? Here's a list of good books to work through. Put your own thoughts about these books in a comment...

The Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible
New Revised Standard Version



Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life
by Darryl Tippens















Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
by Richard Foster















Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home
by Richard Foster




The Practice of the Presence of God
by Brother Lawrence



Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
by N.T. Wright

Luke Chapter 8

There are times when we face the terror of mother nature head on, and we realize that we really have no chance. Maybe it’s a hurricane or maybe a flood... or maybe it’s just when we find ourselves in a bad situation. I had that happen at least once in my life. I jumped off a cliff into the mighty Nile River on a rafting trip one time. We were not in the rapids where the white water churns, we were off to the side in the calm water. It was supposed to be safe so we had taken off our life jackets to dive into the river. I jumped in feet first and plunged deep into the water. Going in was no problem, but coming up was. I found myself stuck in the undertow, first for just a second or two, then longer and longer as I struggled with all my might to get to the surface. I am not sure how long it lasted... 15-20 seconds. But it was long enough that I began to think that I was going to drown that day. I remember thinking, "I can't believe this. This is how I am going to die; I am going to drown." Suddenly I broke free and shot to the surface.

In Luke 8:22 we see that the disciples were in a similar situation. They were in a small boat on a rough sea, and they could see they were not going to make it. They had come face to face with mother nature, and they knew they were about to lose to the mighty forces of the sea. "We are going to drown!" they yelled.

People who doubt our faith in an all powerful God say we are just deluding ourselves. They would say that when humanity comes face to face with nature and needs to believe there is some rhyme or reason to it all, people invent a god, who they can pretend has power over all the scary and terrible things in nature. They say men invent a god who might be sympathetic to them.

Apparently these people have not read Luke chapter 8 because these disciples come face to face with nature, and they are afraid. Yet at the very next moment they come face to face with God himself and rather than feel comfort and peace they are filled with more fear and amazement. If the atheists’ theory about man creating god for a sense of safety is correct, then this little scenario we have is very strange indeed.

Luke 8 has a couple more stories we will look at today that show people who are afraid of Jesus and his power. As we read them, we see that rather than man inventing God to subdue his fears, perhaps man has invented atheism to avoid having to deal with a god who is as powerful and awe inspiring as the Christ we serve.

Mark

Luke Chapter 7

Last week we looked at Jesus and the method he used to select his disciples. We noticed that he spent the entire night in prayer and then showed up the next day and named the twelve. We also noticed that in spite of their resumes, he selected some guys who, though lacking many qualifications, had the qualities he was looking for: they were risk takers, they were seekers, and they were witnesses. This week we will look at the big picture of the plan he gave these new employees.

Now that Jesus has "hired" his guys, he has to give them a plan for what they will be doing. Luke seven tells us a lot about Jesus’ master plan. It begins with a story about a Roman centurion. This little story is no big deal to us because we have heard it before, but shows the reader God's plan of salvation is for everyone. Luke then uses story after story in a section of writing we call "the seventh chapter" to reveal who Jesus is and what his plan is. He shows us some great hearts and some great attitudes in the chapter.

In the middle of that chapter, we find John the Baptist, and he is confused. It appears as if he is in doubt, and he seems to be reaching out to Jesus to get some confirmation in the midst of his doubts. I find strange encouragement in this because it tells me it is okay to doubt and to express our doubts. If it is okay for John to wonder out loud about who Jesus is, then it's okay for me to do so as well.

Jesus answers John by telling a strange little story about bratty kids. Today we will compare the hearts and the attitudes of those we see in the other stories in Luke chapter seven with the self righteous bratty kids in verse 32.

Mark