"when you love, you do."

Every year the CCO, whom i work for (the Coalition for Christian Outreach), hosts a conference called "Jubilee." this year's theme was "In Him all things hold together." Jubilee always has this wonderful message that Christ can be, and should be exalted and worshiped through all things. Especially in our majors, vocations, and callings.

One of the main speakers was Bob Goff, a mentor of a favorite author of many young adults, Donald Miller. And his one quote, which i will do my best to represent, was the highlight of the conference to me.

Bob mentioned the movie "Groundhog Day." The movie is based on Bill Murray's character, Phil (a great name), reliving the same day (Groundhog Day, a mediocre holiday. Seriously, no matter what the rodent does, there's more winter. We might as well call it "Bad or worse news day.") over and over and over again. There are some obvious comedic points as a result. But one of the things he does is memorize all this information about a girl so as to woo her. The girl catches on a little and asks, "Are you trying to memorize me?"

After telling that reference, Bob then shared this incredible quote, "When you love, you do."

There are two things i recall being taught about Christianity. Never in just one lesson. But simply over time.

A) Don't __________ (fill-in-the-blank with your typical cardinal sins of drinking, sexual activity, cussing, etc.)

and

2) Memorize __________ (insert Bible verse, typically taken out of context that helps us with letter A above)

This isn't any one person's fault, or even any one of the church's i attended fault. It's more likely a systemic fault. We as the church often leave out the conversation on love. And therefore, we don't do.

God doesn't want to be memorized just like Phil's lady friend didn't want to be memorized.

And people don't want a God they have to remember everything about. They want a God that loves them. And we reveal God in the way that we act every day. No one that needs His love really sees what we memorize about Him. And they likely don't care if they haven't witnessed any sense of His love from us to them.

What if every week we focused not so much on our "devotions" (which are very important, and the backbone to our "doings" and worthy of a blog here in the future) and our "memorizations" but we dedicated ourselves to at least one out of the ordinary act of love a week? A day, even.

Now, Bob told some ridiculous stories of his involving his kids, how he became a consul to Uganda, flipping Jeeps and giving the person at fault a bouquet of flowers, etc.

But the only thing that makes him the speaker on the stage and us the listener in the seats is...

he acted.

"When you love, you do."

Sin, part II (a.k.a. Excellence OR Sin)

The Great Commandment "is this: ... Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:31, NIV, emphasis mine)

Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

This idea to love God with all ya got is not only for God's sake. I think we often look at it this way: "i better love God with everything, or He sure will be mad." Or, "that didn't look like i did that 'in Jesus' name.' i better go back and do it again."

I think we miss a little bit of this command to love Him with all we got. It's not only to please God, but so that we are kept from sin! Look at this verse,

"And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." Genesis 4:7, ESV.

When we cut a corner, or do something half-heartedly, that opens the door to sin. And the character of sin is not very polite, is it? Sin is crouching at the door, ready to push the door down, tackle, and get into the rest of your business.

When you are looking out on your day, do things excellently! Make a good name for Jesus, love Him through anything you do (i.e. doing the dishes for my wife is a LOT different than doing them for my former roommates, no offense guys), and avoid sin in the process.

Sin, part I (a.k.a. God does not want us to stop listening to our wives)

Bible knowledge quiz:

In Genesis 3, God lays curses on the serpent, Eve, and Adam. What were the two reasons God gives for laying a curse on Adam?

...

Here's what Genesis 3:17 says in the NIV:

"Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you..."

We often remember that it was because Adam ate from that infamous tree but forget the "listened to your wife" part. Now, before you start assuming some sort of chauvinistic, over-patriarchal view here, let's look at the ESV of the same verse:

"Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you..." (emphasis my own)

This one little word, which is in the original Hebrew, is so huge.

For Adam, he knew what the command was, but he lost track of what God was saying in that very moment. Eve could have been the mouthpiece of the Lord, cautioning Adam that a crafty serpent was giving this advice. But instead was speaking on behalf of satan in that moment, offering up the forbidden fruit to Adam. And frankly all of us live in that constant reality as well: who do you speak for? Moving on though...

I think a major flaw in our teachings, especially to our youth, is that we often only teach them the commands, i.e. the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the Gospel (of which i think is often well undershot as well), etc. But what we need to teach is a two-fold understanding of God's words: those that are given to us in Scripture and those that continue to come out of His mouth.

Interestingly enough, when satan tempts Adam he is cursed for eating of the tree (breaking the command) and listening to the wrong voice (not adhering to God's voice, again God is NOT trying to tell you to not listen to your wives, i promise). Jesus encounters satan in a very similar way!

When Jesus is tempted by satan in Matthew 4:2-4, the encounter looks like this:

And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" (NASB)

Oh, after forty days he became hungry? Thank you Captain Obvious! Anyway...

Jesus quotes a command (the first part to knowing how to not sin) that points us to live on "every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (The second part.) Not proceeded but proceeds. Obviously we need to know the commands, but we also need to realize that life comes from having a very present relationship with Him where i feed off of every word that proceeds from Him continually, every day, even right now.

And we learn this way back in Genesis 3 with Adam.

Know His commands AND gain an ear for His every-moment voice. Not only to avoid sin, but to live fully. Even to live life violently!

Coming posts on sin: how our view on our identity helps us to not sin, and why we should do all things excellently.

true freedom and violent life, part II

i just changed the subtitle above, and i meant to say "insights" not "incites." But ya know? i kinda like it better that way! And for now i'm going to keep it!

violent life

Most Christians hold a pro-life stance. And when Jesus talks about life we have to, we must understand what He implies by life. It is not simply being born.

In John 10:10 (ESV) Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." I looked up the Greek for the word "abundantly" here are three of the meanings that were expected: superabundant, superior, and excessive. These alone should force us to look in the mirror. "Does my life with Christ look like i have life and life superabundantly?" "Excessively?" "A life superior to others?"

It gets better, or worse depending on your view. The Greek also means "violently."

Does the life of the Holy Spirit have such great influence in you that your love tackles others? What about joy that strangles others? Can you shoot someone right in the chest... with hope? How about a swift kick to the... the face with compassion? The question is simple. Does life come out of you violently?

You see, the reason why so many people do not affirm the choice of life is because we do not, as Christians, give them a reason to. Our lives look just like theirs in so many ways.

"Among young outsiders, 84 percent say they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet just 15 percent thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm. This gap speaks volumes." (p.48, unChristian, Kinnaman)

We accept the life of Christ, and are impregnated by His Spirit. But before the life of His Spirit matures in us, changing us from the inside-out, we cut Him off. We choose to abort His life in us! (i must admit, i originally read this in a Rick Joyner writing but can not find it to properly credit him.)

So if you are a Christian, and you are pro-life, do not sneer at people who have a pro-choice stance or have had an abortion. Poke them in the eye with compassion, trip them up with comfort, and assault them (peaceably, of course) with a hope that there is reason well beyond birthing a child that you are "pro-life."

Be pro-life by constantly pursuing a life that violently comes forth from you.

true freedom and violent life, part I

true freedom

(I know i'm tackling a big one hear on just my second post, but i ask that you read through this one and my next post which will come as soon as i can get it posted. Reading both will give you the full picture. Thank you new and hopefully faithful reader!)

I spoke tonight at a service called "Remembering the Unborn" on campus. I was requested to speak a message meeting the goal of an "Affirmation of Life," of which i am grateful for such an opportunity. I was very excited to be able to publicly, and for the first time, support a pro-life organziation by speaking at "Remembering the Unborn."

I decided to address two camps in my speech. The one camp: those that were in the audience that were pro-choice or wanted to convey truth to friends that were not pro-life. The other camp: the pro-life camp that i chose to assume was mostly Christian.

Many of the arguments that come from the pro-choice crowd are about their right to freedom. In most of the testimonies that i've heard or read from people who have aborted their babies, i see nothing but bondage - the exact opposite of freedom. These chains of bondage come in the form of shame, guilt, resentment and a life filled with secrets, and all are the results of going through with an abortion. To me, that sounds like nothing but enslavement. Nothing but bondage. True freedom does not, and never will come from doing whatever you please. Nor will it come from doing what is best for you.

I liken freedom to a train.

If you were to see a train engine in your front yard, how far do you think it would make it? Not being on its tracks and all, how far would that train get? Not very far at all, right? It would run into something and crash. It would go down a curb and not be able to get back up. It would encounter a hill and fall over. Mud? Bogged.

You see, the train is designed to be free, but only when it is on its tracks. Because the train is designed with wheels that match its tracks perfectly, it requires those tracks so that it can function, and function fully! And when a train is on its tracks, it's truly such an amazing sight to see that i am pretty sure we all take it for granted way too easily! When you consider the tons and tons of materials that are toted at such incredible velocities, the train is free. Free to truly be a train.

Humans are the same way, and hopefully you see that even if you do not believe in God - that humans and freedom both have an ultimate-ness about them.

"We are free to choose, but our choices don't always free us," my wife Lindsay stated in response to my speech.

If i ran around blindfolded, scissors in one hand, a knife in the other, i might be doing whatever i want, but i am not free. I am dangerous, wild, and placing myself and others in harm's way. True freedom frees one's self and frees others all in one free swoop. When taking the freedom to abort a baby's life, another's freedom is permanently stripped, and at the cost of your own freedom as well. Why? Because freedom does not taste like guilt. It never smells like angst. Is never clothed in regret. Yet, these are all what an abortion causes. That endless wonder of "my child would be __ years old today," does not ever go away.

But "it is for freedom Christ sets us free," says Galatians 5:1. Doesn't this sound repetitive? "It's for pancake's sake i give you pancakes." I think God, through the apostle Paul, is really trying to drive home an important point here. He is being repetitive not so Paul can feel good about sharing such a message. Not to be cutesy wootsy. And, not even for the express purpose for God to get the glory (which i believe He still does get the glory but...). But for you and i to be free, and for freedom's sake! Free because free is what you were designed to be. Freely free. Freed.

So i recognize your quest for freedom and i believe you are onto something. But please pursue the truest, realest freedom you can find! And if the freedom you are pursuing doesn't taste like true freedom, or smell like freedom to everyone else, i would challenge your thinking on what freedom really is. And please, i would love to be in that conversation with you on what real freedom is. Please contact me.

And the greatest part is, if you are suffering these chains from having had an abortion, Christ wants to set you free as well. He doesn't scoff at your decision or hold it against you. "It is for freedom He sets you free." You just need to trust in His ability to do so.

Freedom: It's free. It sets you free. Your freedom spawns freedom in others.

That, is true freedom. And it only comes from Christ.

+++++++++++ +++++++++++

Part II, violent life coming soon: how Jesus promotes a "violent" life (you'll just have to read to find out!), and why i believe that we as Christians are mainly at fault for the abortion pandemic.