The Way of the Kingdom

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Isaiah 58:8

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

Somehow in God’s divine structure He has made human cooperation a critical part in the carrying out of His intentions.  He has a plan, He is watching over His plan, and He looks for human cooperation in carrying out that plan.  In the Old Testament God chose the line of Abraham to carry His seed, to show the world who He was and what He is like.  After 430 years of slavery and intense bondage in Egypt, God chose a man to lead an Exodus.  In the book of Judges, during this point in Israel’s history they exhibited a cyclical behavior of seeking and turning from God.  During this period God looked for human cooperation in carrying out His plan.  He responded to the cries of His people and raised up men and women to lead in the charge of deliverance.

In Acts 2:23, it is written that Jesus was handed over to be crucified and put to death by lawless hands under the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God.  God had full knowledge of this day and the kind of death that Jesus would die.

Acts 17:26 says that God has determined our pre-appointed time and the place of our dwelling.

Ephesians 1:5 says that by the good pleasure of His will that we have been predestined to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 3:9 says that God is not willing that any man should perish apart from knowing Him.

If God determined a path of restoration for the good that man was designed for through the death of Jesus, if God has determined the time and place of our dwelling, if we are predestined to be adopted, and if God is not willing that any man should perish – we have a role to play and God is looking for human cooperation.

The structure He has established always includes the element of human cooperation.  He is looking to involve us in what He has predestined.  As followers of Christ we are to show the world who He is and what He is like in how we interact with others.  We are to engage ourselves in prayer, praying for those who are don’t know Him or who have not experienced His kindness and grace.  When the divine will of God is combined with human cooperation – nothing is impossible.

While we don’t always understand how it works, this is the way of the Kingdom of God.  The greatest movement on the face of the earth is dependent upon it.  Now is a great time to cooperate in what Jesus is doing on the face of the earth.  Don’t cave into the temptation to self preserve when there is Kingdom work to be done.

You Know You Have A Big Family When

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You know you have a big family when:

  1. People ask if you are Catholic or Mormon
  2. Your insurance agent asks if the big van parked in front of the church is the church’s
  3. You can see people counting the number of kids you have in their minds
  4. You are asked if the bus your neighbor drives for the school district (big yellow one) is yours
  5. People comment on how you “have your hands full”
  6. People ask if you know the cause

Any suggestions you can help me with?  I would really like to add to my list.

Start With The End in Mind

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A GREAT PARENTING TIP

My wife and I were 23 years old when we welcomed our first baby into the world.  As a father now of seven amazing children, I recognize the value of something we committed to before Malea was born.  Early on we decided what kind of children we wanted to raise.  Whether we realized it at the time or not, starting with the end in mind helped to bring definition and clarity to what kind of parents we would be and what kind of children we would raise.  For us, it set the tone for the kind of atmosphere we would raise our children together in.

The end we had in mind was that of a blessing.  We decided that we wanted to raise children that were a blessing not only in our home and to us, but to others.

Starting with the end in mind is a good idea because it provides an idea of what to parent towards.  Do you have an idea or picture of what you are parenting towards?  If not, ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom and revelation concerning an end.  Is character important to you?  Is work ethic important to you?  Just think, as a parent we have been entrusted with the responsibility of raising our children toward His purposes.  This is definitely something that we should take seriously.

A Little Push

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For my son Jaden’s 6th birthday we got him what all young boys want…a new 16″ bike and helmet. With the prospect of being the youngest Lash child to learn how to ride a big bike – we got after it.  He didn’t know what to think after we took off the training wheels. In his mind he wasn’t ready.  But like all good parents, we knew he could do it…so we were persistent.  And then one day after expressing a bad attitude, I gave him a nice push and he was off and riding all on his own.

Sometimes all we need is  a little push to get us going.  Who is someone you can give a little encouraging push to?

Way to go Jaden!!  In our family at least…Amy is the potty trainer and I am the bike riding trainer.  I like it that way, even though Amy has been trying to convince me otherwise!

To Live or To Exist

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To live or to exist, this is a question we all wrestle with on some level.  Life is not easy, nor is it fair.  Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  We get hurt.  We make bad decisions.  We find ourselves in difficult and sometimes overwhelming circumstances.    The complexities of life are real and thus the pressure to merely exist is real.

The other day I had this revelation concerning story.  We love a good story.  We are drawn into a good and moving story line.  We love action and romance.  We pull for the underdog and feel the bite of injustice.  We love it when we don’t know what is around the corner.  Will the villain die?  Will good ultimately triumph over evil?  We love the element of unpredictability in a good story…but what about in our story?  As much as we like all the elements of a moving story – we like our story to be predictable.

Why?  We get a certain sense of comfort and safety in knowing what we can expect.  We have a sense of control when things are predictable.  We can avoid pain, run from shame and not deal with certain life realities.  When we live this way though, are we really living?  Or have we chosen a form of mere existence?

To exist is to avoid pain.  To exist is to run from relationships.  To exist is to live with no sense of expectation outside of what is predictable and what I can control.  To exist is to run from pressure and remain the victim.

To live, on the other hand, is to take the difficult and much less traveled road of the in Christ life.  It is a road marked by forgiveness.  It is a path carved out by risk and the courage to refuse to stay a victim.  Paul said it best when he said, “To live is Christ.”

With the temptation to exist staring us in the face, refuse to give in.  Truly living doesn’t mean that our lives will be absent of pain, hardship and disappointment.  What it does mean, however, is that Christ is meeting us in those places giving us the energy and grace we need to be what we could not be on our own.

I choose to live!

What about you?

Spirituality Gone Wrong

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Author John Ortberg, in his book titled The Life You’ve Always Wanted, draws an interesting contrast between two individuals.  One was miserable and cranky, seemingly at odds with life.  He was distant and unable to enjoy those closest to him.  Each year, his soul got a little smaller.  Nothing ever changed in Hank’s life.  Mabel, on the other hand, was an extraordinary woman in her eighties.  If someone had reason to be disenchanted with life – she was a prime candidate.  For 25 years she lived in a sterile understaffed convalescent home.  Although she lived in her own little world, confined to a wheelchair and bed, she was different.  Although she was blind, deaf and had facial deformities due to the cancer eating the side of her face – Mabel was a joy to be around.  Those willing to see past her appearance, would encounter a warm, loving, gentle, and giving person.  The difference…?  Mabel had a vibrant relationship with the living Christ.  To Mabel, Jesus was her life and it showed.  She didn’t complain and blame her unusual circumstances.  She was content and made the most of the life she had.

Hank is an example of stagnant religious activity, an example of spirituality gone wrong.  Without the life and reality of Christ, religious activity is empty and has no ability to transform a person.  Spirituality gone wrong is the result of religious activity without the life of God and what it produces is often very ugly and hurtful.  It is judgmental, critical, unforgiving, and hard.  It is repulsive.  It is the antithesis of what Jesus desires to produce in His followers.  This is why Jesus so strongly opposed the religious leaders of His day.  Their religious activity was void of the reality of God and because of that – they were not a true reflection of what it meant to know God.  To know God was to know and practice love.  To know God was to know and practice mercy and justice.  To know God was to be humble and giving – a servant.  And yet this is not what He found among many of the religious leaders.

As you think about your rhythms (religious activity), what are they producing?  Are they producing a true reflection of what it means to know God?  Are you becoming more loving and kind?  More forgiving?  Or are they producing spirituality gone wrong?  One is repulsive and destructive.  The other is contagious.  Which one is your spirituality producing?

Beating Loneliness

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There is a growing movement at large in our culture today called loneliness.  George Gallup was quoted over 20 years ago as saying, “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.”  I recently did a word search on the web and discovered that there are sites solely dedicated to helping people beat loneliness.  It’s both real and prevalent in our culture.

It’s strange to think that we can live in crowded neighborhoods, drive on busy highways, sip coffee in Starbucks, work around a lot of people and still be disconnected from meaningful relationships with others.  We can be around people all the time and still feel isolated and alone.  We may even have a lot of acquaintances, but what about anything of depth?

Excuses?  I have a few, what about you?  Need someone or something to blame?  What about our culture?  We have moved away from big covered front porches to big fenced-in backyards.  What about the internet?  I can escape whenever I want to.  I can engage in a virtual world.  I can be who I want to be and do what I want to do and never interact with another person.  What about my pain?  Hey, don’t touch my pain…you are getting way to personal now.  Some of us have been hurt so much and know so little healing that we shut people out.  What about fear?  What if they know who I really am?  It’s easy to allow excuses such as these to get in the way of us developing meaningful connections with others.

Even though we all deal with these realities on some level, it doesn’t mean that we have to live a life void of community life, void of deep and meaningful connections.  You and I were created to share life with others.  Dig down deep and commit to a counter cultural life – a life that values connections.  Give yourself to the hard work of overcoming fear and taking a risk.  Don’t allow the potential for rejection to get in the way of the together life that you were created for.  Reach out to others.  Get involved in a small group.  Make it a point to be friendly.  You can beat loneliness!  If you find yourself in that place, can I encourage you here.  Don’t stay there.

Merry Christmas

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It’s no surprise that an overdose of bad news is contributing to the hopelessness that seems to be permeating in our culture today.  Violence is out of control.  Depression is rampant.  People aren’t sleeping.  Fear surrounding the economy is at an all time high.

While bad news dominates the evening news and steals the spotlight in our newspapers, we have the opportunity to tell a different story – to offer some good news.  This is what the Christmas season is all about.  It’s about a light that has dawned in the midst of darkness revealing the kind of life that we can have by grace in Christ Jesus.  Jesus is light and He wants to be our life.  May His light and presence impact our Christmas season.  May His good news dominate our thinking, influence our attitudes, and motivate our actions.  Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

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“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds!” Psalm 9:1

As I encouraged everyone in our Sunday gathering, may we make this Thanksgiving celebration more about the fellowship and those around our table, than that of what happens to be on our table.  Our greatest blessings don’t always come in the form of what we have, but rather with whom we get to share them with.  Let me encourage you to share your life and your story this Thanksgiving with someone else.  Don’t be afraid to slow down.  Don’t be afraid to take a break from all the cooking and cleanup to enjoy the rich connections you have with family and friends. Take a risk and intentionally find a way to connect on a level on authenticity this Thanksgiving with the people around your table.  They are a gift.  Enjoy them!

I was blessed just today by a letter I want to share with you, hoping that it will warm your heart as it has warmed mine.

Dear Ones
I must thank all of you who came and painted my home in 2008.  I am more appreciative of your love and efforts as time passes.  Just desire to thank you all again – on a special Thanksgiving Day.  Find with age (now 87) I am not as sharp mentally as I could be, but am certain you all need to hear you’ll always be special in my prayer life and memory.
Ms. Glass

May the God of all peace bless you and protect you.  May He cause His face to shine upon you.

We have much to be thankful for, may we give thanks with our whole hearts!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

My Off Day

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I officially had one of those days today.  You know the kind where everything just seems to be off for whatever reason.  Let’s just say I am still reeling from the affects of feeling frustrated as a result.  I tried to encourage myself to laugh it off…but I really don’t feel like laughing.  So, for now I really don’t have any answers other than a good guy movie (G.I. Joe), a smoothie, and a decent night’s sleep.  There’s always tomorrow!

I am looking forward to a new day tomorrow.  My wife and I will be celebrating our 15th year together as newly weds.  What can I say, Jesus has been good to me.

I must say that I am starting to feel better already as my 4 month old baby girl woos her dad with her charm.  I am thankful for all of my blessings!

Do you ever have any off days?  What do you do?