Smyrnan Wealth

To the Church in Smyrna

“To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death."

Revelation 2:8-11

The most shocking verse in this section to me is this:

"I know your afflictions and your poverty - yet you are rich!"

When was the last time you looked at "your afflictions and your poverty" and said to yourself, "my spiritual wallet is full because of these." "To God, i am rich in this moment of affliction." It's totally like God to look at the poor and afflicted and see them as wealthy. It's totally unlike us to see ourselves in the same way, the way God sees us. 

I'm completely on board with us when we look to God for healing, wholeness, completion, redemption, etc. in any of our situations. But often times, when what we are looking for in our circumstances doesn't happen the way we want or change the way we want, we think we have become "spiritually poor." Or that something's wrong. Or we go as far as thinking that God Himself must be wrong!

But fortunately we have the promise of the "crown of life." I don't necessarily see this as something that is only received when we "get to heaven." I believe that we can wear this crown of life on this side of heaven by persevering through our afflictions that we have now. And by seeing that we become wealthy (crown-wearers if you will) by persevering through the things that seemingly kill us, give us death.

Our first look at Jesus in this passage is one that shows us that He is the one who died and came to life again. If we are to follow Him, we will follow Him all the way to and through death and (back) into life. I once heard a preacher say "You can't have a resurrection without a death." And again, I'm not saying this is a literal death, these are the things that kill little parts of us, greeds, lusts, idolatry, all sorts of evil desires (Colossians 3:5-11). And lastly this is not punishment by any means. If anything it is reward because now we have the opporutnity to see His love in a way that we become zealous and repent (Rev 3:19 ESV). 

We all have at least one story where we can look back and say "I'm glad I went through that really bad thing, because now I'm better for it." What Jesus longs for us to see is that in our moment of affliction we can have a "living hope" (I Peter 1:3) through the things we see as affliction. 

Are you willing to see your afflictions and poverty as a means to your truest wealth?

The Ephesian Slump

Revelation 2:1-7 should be read before reading this post and can be found HERE.

" To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God." -Revelation 2:7

I played organized baseball for 11 years of my life and only once have i ever really suffered "a slump." I remember doing all of the right things that a dedicated baseball player should do while they were in a slump:

*I hated the fact that i was in a slump.
*I took extra batting practice.
*I consulted my coaches and asked them for their advice.
*I made adjustments to my batting stance.

I basically did everything a coach could ask for, except for one thing: I still wasn't hitting the ball!

That was until one day i was about to go up to the plate and bat but i was abruptly stopped by my 6' 5" coach grabbing my shirt right under my throat, staring me in the eyes, and firmly saying "Quit overthinking. See the ball - hit the ball."

He scared the slump right out of me. I went 4 for 5 that day and hit nearly .600 the rest of the season (which for those of you who don't know, is really good). I finally focused on the right thing to do rather than not doing all the things i shouldn't do.

I feel as though the Christians in Ephesus were in a similar slump but probably didn't realize it. They hated the right things. They probably didn't do the wrong things. They did do all the right things that would be asked of them. But the main objective still wasn't being completed! And that objective: love.

They were already praised for enduring harships, so in verse 7, "To him who overcomes" is probably directed at those who are to overcome their own need to be right about what to say and who to "not tolerate" and why to have the reasons you do about anything (how to spend money, who to vote for, what music to like, how and when to baptize, and all the other hot-buttons). Very few people fall in love and ask about what rules to follow and what not to do; they simply act out what's inside them!

Jesus seems to be calling the church in Ephesus, and us, back to acting like we have just fallen in love.

With Him.

With people.

With the creation around us.

Maybe if we spent more time being madly in love, and acting on it, people would respect our opinions on all the hot-buttons more. (Or maybe not!) But the overcomers overcome the need to be right about all the negative things in society and fall in love again. And somehow this grants us access to a Tree of Life in God's paradise.

May we find each other at the Tree eating deeply because we were focused on how to do the right things rather than focused on how to not do the wrong things.

Shortings

"I can't get no satisfaction." -Rolling Stones, Satisfaction

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." -Proverbs 13:12

Over the past several months i shut down blogging for a bunch of reasons that i'm sure i would make sound very poetic if i explained them on here. But one of the reasons, to be perfectly honest, is that i didn't push myself or i didn't set any goals worth achieving.

I'm also very dissatisfied with my writing and blogging as a result.

And yet i also have learned a lot over the summer, particularly from receiving a concussion. How i got my concussion isn't necessary to this blog post, but i suffered it on July 6th. Since then i've had moderate symptoms almost every day. The last week and a half have finally brought relief, but before that i often suffered from headaches, "sea legs," dizziness, light headedness, fatigue, and a sudden onset of a severe lack of focus that would come about at any moment. My recovery has meant the world to me though, not just from the symptoms but through them.

The two months of almost constant symptoms and my constant attention to not pushing myself reminded me that satisfaction never comes quickly. And if it does, then it probably didn't.

Even in the Rolling Stones day, they couldn't "get no satisfaction" from "the guy on the radio" or "the guy on the T.V." because of the quick solutions they offered through "useless information" and squeaky clean clothes. I wonder how the world of the internet and cell phones would affect this song today? Either way, "a longing fulfilled is a tree of life" according to Proverbs.

The problem is we've been satiated by too many shortings. Think about it. How many times do we skip the long and hard work for the thing that comes easily? We settle for fast food when a Thanksgiving dinner is right before us... if we would just long after it long enough.

Technology and simple solutions aren't evil, they simply aren't solutions to our longings. And ever since an angel with a flaming sword was set to guard the Tree of Life at the end of Genesis 3 we have not had access to it. Or have we?

If a longing fulfilled is a tree of life, then maybe a longing fulfilled is one of the few passwords allowing us entrance to this precious fruit. But my guess is that the sentinel in the Garden can see it in our eyes when we want to eat of it too soon. I would even wage a guess that we somehow back ourselves into the garden without knowing it on this one. And the sentinel need not ask us the password when we approach correctly.

Dig deep in your heart for what it truly longs for, and live for those things. Take the daily risks and work hard. Trust in the long haul over the quick fix.

The Coming Flood, Part 2

The passage we worked with last post, and will work with for a few more is this from Luke 6:46-49:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”


The first sentence in this passage says a lot that we may very well overlook if we don't pause on it.


"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?"

For the most part we use the word "Lord" and without realizing it we confuse it for Savior. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but most of the time when people get talking about the Lord and all that He has done and will do, it's typically in the context of Him saving us and providing for us. Granted, Jesus is Savior, and He provides for sure. But calling Him Lord is not so much about what He does but who He is to us, in relation to us. In authority over us. Or i could put it this way...

Calling Jesus Lord isn't so much about what He does but about what we do.

And calling Him Lord means we do what He says. Otherwise one could say we are like a man who builds a house on sand and... well, you know that one by now!

For most of us reading this, calling Him Lord has become synonymous with calling Him Savior, calling Him Jesus or even just plain ol' God. But i want you to evaluate your heart on this matter, and not just in getting the nomenclature correct.

There are some areas, if you will, of my heart that are quick to call Jesus Lord. Most of these areas are as a result of trials in my life i've been given and have overcome (physical illnesses, being single for a long time, divorce in the family, etc.) but all of these areas took time to dig deep and have a solid foundation of one thing: doing what i know Jesus would have me do.

However, there are other areas of my heart where i am not quick to do what Jesus says, and these areas are doomed to experience the storm. I've not dug deep, i continue to use cheap resources, find quick ways out, just get by, trust simply in forgiveness rather than build upon forgiveness with long-term sustained obedience. These areas are often areas that i have fear, doubt, wounds from the past, temptations and greed in. But notice this: all of those areas can also become areas where i can call Jesus "Lord." There's potential laden in all of them. So now it is up to me.

Will you call Jesus "Lord" and reflect to Him a life that shows it to be true?

The Coming Flood, Part 1

Here is the passage from Luke i referred to in the last post. It is Luke 6:46-49


“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”


I will be breaking this down into several themes over the next couple posts, but for today i want to look at the flood that came upon the houses. Notice that the flood comes first to the one who built the house well, not the one who didn't. We as Christians often think in a default manner that judgment first comes to "those sinners over there." But here we see that Jesus first points judgment at those that have built well. Even if this didn't happen chronologically it happened first in Jesus' telling of it. In I Peter 4:17 it says, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God." The Lord brings the flood, judgment and, yes, even sufferings (if you read on in I Peter 4) not to harm the children of God but to exalt them! "He who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 18:14. What is more humble than hearing the word of God, and then obeying that word? 


If you humble yourself and do what God says, most likely you will have some sort of suffering come your way. This is to test the quality of the materials you are using to build your house. ("If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work." I Corinthians 3:12-13) 


If you are suffering, it is time to humble yourself even more. For your exaltation will bring others to knowing God in such a way that they will see how to build their lives on the Rock Himself. No one really wants to suffer, but i believe the mature see that in times of suffering that there is opportunity to see A) what their house is really built on in a certain area of their life and 2) where the Gospel of the Kingdom is really effective in reaching the hearts of others.


Think about it in terms of this really simple example: if i'm in line for lunch and it looks like it's going to be five minutes longer than normal, what is my reaction? Do i complain and moan and make things more miserable for others? If so, the storm has come and revealed that no work of God in the area of my patience has stood. In the area of patience i have built with wood, hay, and straw.


Next, we will talk about this idea of the different areas of our souls going through floods in more detail.

This is My Home

I picked up a brick for at least the fiftieth time. It was the end of a long day, and i was doing something charitable for those who suffered from the worst hurricane in U.S. history, but i couldn't help but not feel like my efforts were being a little wasted. I was picking up bricks from the destruction of a gateway that led to a gigantic ocean side house that withstood Hurricane Katrina and all of her rage. Meanwhile i knew that there were millions suffering from leveled (or even missing) homes, and here i am cleaning up a really rich man's driveway decoration that told everyone around him his (high) economic status.

The owner would come by every now and then and humbly thank us for doing something so mundane. He had a wheelbarrow and was working pretty hard himself but often seemed distracted. This often led me to believe he was lazy. I soon found out i was horribly, incredibly wrong.

As the man smoked a cigarette and called his golden retriever to him i detected a tear in his eye that escaped the shadow of his shaggy sun-bleached hair. A couple of us started asking some of the typical questions, "How long have you lived here?" "What was the hurricane like for you?"

He began to tell us how the only thing he had left was his dog and his FEMA trailor. I asked him "Well, what about your house over there?" as i pointed to the three story mansion. He gave a half hearted chuckle and said, "Oh, sir. That's not my house, this... THIS is my house."

What he pointed to was nothing. Literally, flat ground that revealed a couple cynder blocks, broken bricks and a barely recognizable foundation. The bricks we were picking up weren't to the driveway of the mansion, but of the walls of a small one story house that got swallowed up by the ocean.

I've never felt so shallow in my whole life. I walked away in shame and refused to even make eye contact with the man as i did my best to pick up even pebble sized portions of brick in honor of this man. And his dog.

I did overhear him say one more thing though before we left.

"This is my home. A lot of people are moving north, fleeing to the hills, looking for a new place to live. But Pass Christian is my home whether i have a house or not."

This man's circumstances did not deter his perseverance. My next blog (i'm attempting to blog on Sunday evenings now, but will be gone next Sunday because of Spring break, so the next one will be in two Sundays) i will go into the passage in Luke where one house stands against the flood and one house falls and what that means for us going forward. But until then, know that there are a few things we must place deep in our hearts for this coming season:

*perseverance can only be found in trying times
*there are no accidents, just opportunities
*no matter what structures stand or fail, know where your true home is

What's The Expression on God's Face

If God walked into the room where you are sitting right now, what would the expression on His face be?

Would He be upset with you? Indifferent? Angry?

We typically believe the first thing God would do is lecture us about is His constant displeasure with us. Why is this?

Somewhere along the way we have elevated the concept of and the consequences of our sin above the characteristics of God Himself. We know and trust His anger, judgment and wrath above the idea that "God is love."

I'm not pleading ignorance of His judgement, i'm stating that along the way we have magnified this facet of God's love (yes, His love) over His love itself. For "God is love." (I John 4:8, 16)

When i ask the students i interact with the "expression on His face" question, i rarely ever get the one i've come to know as the true answer. This one is the one where in Luke 15 the father, the God-figure, cuts his son's repentance speech short to honor him as a cherished member of the family after seeing him come over the horizon from "a long way off." This is moments after Jesus colorfully portrayed him as a sinner worthy of the worst of Jewish punishments.This is moments before the son was going to request to be a slave instead of being considered a son.  The father runs and gushes and kisses and clothes and gives jewelry and throws a feast large enough for the entire village because he was in his son's presence.

On to first impressions.

In Genesis 3 we have the first act of rebellion against God, and God's first opportunity to show us that scowl we think we always see on His face in response to our sin. After Adam and Eve both eat of the forbidden fruit, what would you guess God says?

Well, He says, "Where are you?"

What type of person (or God in this case) says something like "Where are you?" (God didn't misplace Adam!) One student responded to this question with, "I would ask 'Where are you?' if i missed someone."

Wow! What if our Gospel to people who don't believe in God became more like that?

"God misses you."