R3: radical, revolutionary, different

Another phrase I use is something I recently heard.  A few months ago I heard Harvey Carey (pastor of a church in Detroit) talk about dead people.  Not the “I see dead people” kind, but living as dead people.  Which is entirely different than the living dead.  And yes, I really have no idea what I’m talking about right now.

But moving right along, lets focus back on the dead people.  Carey’s main point was this: there would be very little complaining about the clothes we wear, the people we’re around, or even the places we spend our time.  Because, well, dead people don’t complain.

When I heard him say it, I realized it was simple, short, and most importantly, true. 

The minute someone believes in Jesus they become dead to their sins.  Yet we spend so much time complaining that other Christians “don’t do this” or that they “do do that”?  Dead people don’t care if the band plays with the volume at 11, or if people wear suits and ties to church.  They are too focused on what matters - being dead.

I know I don’t always focus on being dead.  All too often I’m caught up in my preferences for things.  That wouldn’t be too bad if it didn’t completely distract me from living a sacrificial life style.  If I wasn’t so wrapped up in getting new toys to play with, or competing with the Jones’s, I wouldn’t be so hesitant to drop everything and help my friends. 

God’s Kingdom is one that focuses outwardly.  It’s not about collecting the most, or even looking the best.  It’s about allowing our self importance to die, so we can help people who need it (for the record, that would be all of us). 

So when you get right down to it, that’s the advantage of being dead, you can really focus on other people.

“Well life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right”

Those are wise words from (of all people) Alanis Morissette. 

I’ve always admired those characters in books or TV who seem to be one step ahead of everyone else.  I’ve always wanted to be like Sherlock Holmes, anticipating events before they happened.  But I’m not.  Some days I’m barely anticipating events after they happened.  There are just some moments in my life that seem to sneak up on me.

I suspect this is called “life.”

Sometimes these events are so stressful, so overwhelming, that they change everything.  No matter how well prepared I thought I was, it wasn’t enough.  That’s hard to take.  It can shake your faith, your vision, and even your relationships.

There’s an adage in the military that you’re always preparing to fight the last war, not the one coming.  This is true of our lives.  We respond to the dangers, threats, and problems we’ve faced in the past, not the one’s that are to come unexpectedly at 3 AM.  Because then they wouldn’t be, um, unexpected…

If I’m going to make a major mistake in my life, it’s usually in these situations.  I tell myself that I don’t have enough time to think things through.  That I must act immediately.  Sometimes I don’t even think at all, I just go with the flow.

That’s a dangerous place to be.

No matter the excuse the bottom line is simple: I don’t turn to God when my life gets out of control.  Sadly, I usually don’t even think about turning to God.  I’m too busy trying to reduce my stress and fears.

Obviously that’s a problem.

The last few years I’ve worked hard at trying to remember to take a deep breath, say a prayer, and wait just a bit before I plunge into activity.  Sometimes this works, sometimes not so much.  But I’ve learned the hard way (which is apparently my preferred learning style) a simple trick.  I’ve learned that if I say a simple phrase, it’s usually enough to get me at least on the right path.

I have a friend who has trouble talking to girls.  To not look like an idiot he tells himself, “use your words.”  It’s a little goofy, and I don’t know if I really believe him, but it’s the same theory I use.  There’s nothing wrong with reminding yourself of the things you hold dear.

Over the course of the next few days we’re going to take a look at some of the phrases I use.  They are all designed to make  me stop, think about God, and then act in a much better way.  And because I recognize that I don’t know everything, I’d like to hear if you guys have phrases as well.  Consider it a collective project.  Maybe we can all learn a little something from each other.

Phrase 1: The joy of the Lord is my strength
Phrase 2: Are you dead?
Phrase 3: Have you prayed about it?
Phrase 4: What’s the point?

 <comments are open>

Being a Christian means stepping into dangerous situations.  We’re called to care for the sick and needy, and to comfort the hurting.  Unfortunately this doesn’t always come with a hall pass.  Which means, sometimes Christians end up facing hardship, persecution, and death.  But that doesn’t mean we can give up.  In fact, the more we stick to it in the face of danger, the more we show people the power of Christ.

Courage

God - I’m a coward.  I know it.  You know it.  Help me to step into the places you call me to, despite the danger.  Don’t let my fear be the reason the Kingdom doesn’t advance.  Help me to remember that the harder the task, the more I need to rely on you.  And maybe, just maybe, that’s the point.

<comments are open, feel free to add your own prayer for courage>

It’s hard work to maintain a relationship with anyone.  And it’s not any easier to maintain a relationship with God.  Fortunately there are a few things you can do to keep that relationship healthy.  A few weeks ago I talked about the ups and downs of faith.  In that post I mentioned some of the questions I ask myself when I’m feeling distant from God.  (Am I working on being connected to God?  Am I still praying?  Do I read my Bible regularly?  Am I writing down my thoughts as I pray or read?  Am I following through on what I sense God is telling me?)

All of those are important questions, but today I want to take a closer look at some specific actions I take to develop that relationship.  Namely, whether I’m writing down my thoughts as I pray or read.  I’ve found keeping a book filled with random thoughts and notes has been really helpful.  Sometimes those initial thoughts turn into a more fully developed post on R3.  Other times what I wrote influenced my own behaviors or thoughts. But my favorite moments are when I asked God to do something - and he did!

There’s something powerful about writing down a prayer, and seeing (in black and white) that it came true. This is especially true when you’re feeling distant from God.  It’s all too easy to convince ourselves that God has somehow not lived up to his end of the bargain.  Or to forget all those times God miraculously came to our rescue.  We tend to ignore the good things he’s done, and focus on the bad things in our lives.

Not everything I write down is useful, or even relevant.  Some of the stuff doesn’t make any sense.  And I have to wonder what I was thinking.  But that’s not really the point.  My goal is to have a way that God and I can communicate.  Not to have a perfectly written paper!  I figure, if God is telling me something important, it’s probably a good idea to write it down.  Even if that means sometimes I just write down my own cluttered thoughts.

Faith is about maintaining a relationship with God, that keeps you focused and centered on Kingdom goals.  You can’t do that if you’re not willing to carry on a conversation with God.  Plus, in my experience, it’s never God who leaves the conversation.  

Keeping track of my thoughts just makes sure I remember all the awesome things God does for me on a daily basis.

 
I’ve been sitting around all day wondering how I was going to write an introduction to this post. What could I say that would add more impact?  Then it occurred to me, maybe I should just let the comment speak for itself.  So here it is - I received this in response to some of the ideas discussed in the ups and downs of faith.  Naturally these reader comments are more insightful than my own.  Don’t you just hate that?! 

As far as R3 goes.. I can see why you wouldn’t want to write, and I can totally relate to feeling like if you did it’d be a fraud, but I think that writing in times like this is just what R3 is about :o].  I mean, R3 is a blog where people learn how to live out a life of faith.  How else can we learn to live out a life of faith if our faith isn’t tested at times, if we don’t want to just throw in the towel some times, if we don’t want to give up and call our losses?  I think that this time in your life is the perfect time to be writing on R3.  I think that you should talk to your readers about what you’re going through and by telling your readers what you’re going through they may see what it is that they need most - a demonstration of what it looks like to live a life of faith.  And that, in my opinion, is more impactful than hearing someone write when things aren’t hard (not to say that those writings aren’t important - but I’m sure you know what I mean :o]).

A certain cable company (rhymes with “Time Warner”) has been causing me difficulties ever since I decided to downgrade my cable subscription.  Each day it seems to get worse. 

• On Thursday they collected my old digital converter box and reclaimed my cable modem (hence no Friday post).  I have high speed internet through them still, so this was a mistake. 
• Their mistake forced me to sit in my apartment waiting for them to deliver a new modem for 12 hours on Friday.  They never showed up.
• Saturday I didn’t talk to them - so no bad news.
• On Sunday I learned they can’t make it to my apartment until Wednesday. 
• This morning (when I finally had some working internet at work) I learned that they also shut down my e-mail address.  And since I’m looking for a new job, this is a bit of an issue!

Now I find myself with a choice: On the one hand I’m furious.  There’s a big part of me that wants to scream, “I didn’t cause any of this, why do I have to deal with it?!”  On the other hand I just wrote a prayer to God asking for patience.  Apparently God was listening, because there’s no doubt now have the perfect opportunity to work on my patience!

As Christians we’re called to live differently.  We aren’t supposed to respond like someone who doesn’t have that relationship with God.  Our lives are supposed to have a different feel to them.  Or as Jesus says, people will recognize our faith by the “fruit” we produce.  (Matthew 7: 20).  The problem is, at least for me, I don’t always want to live that way. I don’t always want to respond calmly, or patiently, and certainly not lovingly.  Sometimes I just want to get in there and argue to “prove” just how right I am.

But is this how Christians are supposed to act?

The times Jesus lost his temper with people were the times they were dishonoring God.  It was never when they were struggling with their own problems, or their own sins.  Jesus always had love, mercy, and compassion for those people.  And that’s how we have to deal with people as well.

No one at the cable company was trying to ruin my service intentionally.  No one wanted me to have a bad day.  In fact, their whole job involves listening to angry customers yell at them.  What kind of a toll does that take on someone?  So while I was angry I took this as an opportunity to minister to people.  While I never said, “hey I’m a Christian, God loves you!”  I did try to be calm, not raise my voice, and get things handled in a civil way.  It was an opportunity to submit to service, rather than exercise my pride (something I do all too often).

Christians aren’t called to be walked all over, but we’re not called to be jerks either.

Imagine what it must have been like for Israel on the verge of entering the Promised Land.  They had been wondering in the wilderness for 40 years, and now God was just about to fulfill his promise.  But before they could enter the land, Moses had some final thoughts for them.  In that speech Moses laid out where they had come from, why they were there, and where they were going.  He wanted them to understand just how important the next part of their history would be.  It would have been an exciting time to have been an Israelite.

And in that speech Moses told the Israelites was to “Observe [the laws] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4: 6)

In that one sentence Moses really captures a lot about how to live a life of faith.

• Wisdom is not simply knowledge but action - the Israelites not only had to know the law, but live it.
• Talking about living a life of faith is entirely different than living a life of faith.
• Following God is the surest way of “proving” that he exists - when our lives are filled with God, people can’t help but wonder why we’re so different!

People respond to God when they can see him in our lives.  It was true 4,000 years ago, and it’s still true today.

I never know what to do when I meet someone who is homeless.  I find myself torn between two desires.  On the one hand I want to “make a difference.”  I want to help this person, because I recognize their suffering, and no one should have to suffer alone.  But at the same time I don’t think it does any good to give someone money if they are just going to use it on drugs or alcohol.  That’s not help.  Yet the Bible is filled with examples of generous love being given to people who don’t deserve it.  So how do you respond?  How do you walk the razor’s edge?

This weekend I was reminded of my dilemma.  While eating out with some friends we were approached by a homeless man.  He was clearly on drugs, and he admitted as much when he asked for money.  After an awkward pause we refused to help him.

I honestly don’t know if this was the right answer.  Maybe there was something more we could have done.  But this wasn’t our first conversation with this man.  Only a few weeks earlier he had asked us for the same thing (bus money).  Back then it was clear that he was on drugs.  At that time we decided to reach out to him, spend some time with him, and see if we could help.  As we talked to him (and bought him lunch) we offered to get him help that would make a difference.

He admitted he needed to clean up his life, but refused our help.  Insisting that all he “really” needed was some bus money and sleep.  It struck me then, as it did this week, that this is someone who knows he has a problem.  He’s not an idiot.  He doesn’t want to live on the streets.  And yet he keeps making the same decisions.  He keeps turning to the drugs and lifestyle that prevents him from getting the help he knows he needs.

In other words, he sounds just like me.

The only difference is my homelessness isn’t physical, it’s spiritual.  I may look great on the outside, but I know if I don’t guard myself, my soul all too easily becomes corrupted.  If I don’t constantly seek out help I can become angry, resentful, and filled with pride.  When I don’t take the help that’s offered to me my heart becomes hard, and some of the light goes out of my life.

While believing in Jesus is all that is required to be “saved”, that’s not all that God wants for us.  He doesn’t want the bare minimum.  He wants us to grow and to be changed.  Unfortunately we sometimes reject that path.  We sometimes tell God, “yes I understand my life is filled with sin.  But I just don’t want to change.”  And that’s a dangerous place to be.

It’s easy to look at someone less fortunate and feel pity for them.  It’s easy to start feeling superior.  But I think in some ways this homeless man has an easier path - at least he knows he’s homeless.  How often do I think everything is great in my life, when in fact my soul is homeless?

A few weeks back I read an advance copy of Erwin McManus’ new book Wide Awake. Out of this I began to consider my own nonnegotiables. In other words, the things that I’m simply not willing to give up.

As I’ve been thinking about that for the last few weeks I’m convinced one of them is community.

For many years I lived virtually isolated (by choice, circumstance, and distance) from friends and family. Virtually overnight I went from having a vibrant community of friends to having almost no one. To say it was devastating would be an understatement.

But like so many things in life, God took that moment and changed it’s meaning. He took something that was horrible and changed my perspective on it. He showed me how important it is to reach out to people who are suffering, especially those doing it alone. My heart breaks when I hear that someone had to go through a major event by themselves - no one should have to do that.

I think the early church new this instinctively.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2: 42-47)

Usually this passage is discussed in terms of money. (The believers did, of course, sell “their possessions and goods.”) But I think that misses part of the story, the part about community. The believers didn’t simply sell their belongings, they also “continued to meet together” and they “ate together.” They never lost the fact that they were in community with each other.

It’s not a coincidence that God is described as a personal God. It’s not chance that we refer to him as “Father.” We were never designed to live in isolation. We only can reach our full potential when we’re living in community with others.

Of course that’s easier said than done. Sometimes maintaining community comes at a cost. For the early church it cost them many of their possessions. But they weren’t willing to sacrifice their community. They were willing to make that choice. And I think that’s what I should aspire to. Even if I don’t always feel like it.

I admit it -  I definitely prefer to know more about God than to live like God.  I find it fun and exciting to learn about who God is, what he’s done and what that means.  But I find it scary to live a life of sacrifice, and intimidating to love my enemies. 

I prefer knowledge to action.

But that’s not always a good thing.  So today, instead of an interesting post or a good argument, I’m simply going to ask you one question and encourage you to answer it on your own.

What’s the one action you can take this weekend to show someone that God is real?