summer chill

summer chill
Originally uploaded by batluck

summer fun in the pool

a picture she will regret someday...

a picture she will regret someday...
Originally uploaded by batluck

being young is so much fun.....

trust + heart = community (living out Philippians 2:4)

This morning I was sitting at a coffee shop with my 5 year old son Ethan on my lap. He was sipping his hot chocolate and we were playing hangman on his superman computer when I observed something that totally blew me away. An middle aged woman walks in and is standing in line and one of shop's employees who knows her from her daily visits walks by and asks her how she was doing. It was evident very quickly that the woman had been having a very rough week. A few hugs & words were exchanged and the next thing I knew, the shop employee was offering to deliver coffee to her house and asking the customer to call her if there was anything she could do. To be honest, i almost fell out of my seat. Here were two virtual strangers, known only to each other due to multiple 30 second conversations while waiting for a coffee cup to fill and yet there was trust, there was heart, there was a better living example of Philippians 2:4 than I often see between people who label themselves Christians. As I left the coffee shop, i found myself wishing for that kind of relationship among the Body of Christ... that kind of trust, that kind of heart so there might be that kind of community. But the reality is trust is not a very easy commodity to come by. While it should be our default, it typically is replaced by suspicion... everyone for themselves right? Why can't we trust more easily? Why are untrustworthy until we prove ourselves trustful. Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying we should be stupid and trust everyone as Proverbs 25:19 says "Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips." But can't we do better? When someone walks into a church can we not do better than a coffee shop in extending our hearts and extending our trust? Can't we do better at really caring about someone? Not just the casual, "hey how are you?" which has replaced "hi" as the common greeting on the street, but actually stopping someone and truly asking them, "how are you really? what's been hard about your week? what's been great about your week?" But it takes time. It takes heart to care about someone enough to think of them before yourself, to give of your time, to actually listen. Maybe then we can actually live out Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." If that can happen between a coffee shop employee and a customer, certainly it could happen between people who share one faith, one love and one God.

Seriously…
I often take myself too much sometimes
Thinking I am much when I am not
Thinking I am a difference
When all I am is a symptom
Seriously…
I don’t take God enough
Thinking he isn’t much
Thinking he isn’t a difference
Seriously…
Does it really matter?
Do I count for something?
Its not that I don’t know who I am
Or have no confidence in what He can do
I am not an idiot
Seriously…
But I know he can do anything with me or without
I know that his plan doesn’t depend on me
Nor is it hinged on me, I mean come on,
Seriously…
Like I matter that much
Why not someone else, why not someone more able
More capable, more righteous than me
I know they are out there, I walk by them everyday
And its just a constant reminder to not take myself too
Seriously…

its not just coffee...

Starbucks. The great american addiction. Every place I have every traveled, in the States or Europe or Asia, there is a Starbucks within reach. The city of Denton was for a long time deprived of a free-standing Starbucks, forced to rely on the small stands you found in Kroger or Barnes and Nobles that simply "brewed" Starbucks, but were in the end just imposters. After all, what makes Starbucks such an addiction isn't that unique intentionally burnt caffinated gold they serve. What makes Starbucks the great American fly paper is the fact that no matter what state you are in, the color of your skin, the piercings you might have or the clothing you may wear, you are treated exactly the same, and not just by the people behind the counter. When you walk through the doors of a Starbucks, some magical mumbo jumbo happens and the playing field is leved. Social status, economic status, racial status... there is simply no status at all. Funny thing is, Starbucks acts more like a church than most churches I know... not the four walls mind you, but the living, breathing, body of Christ. Maybe we should take notes.

Its not about the facts of the gospel...

It's amazing how easy it is to lose sight of the main thing. We get so lost in the sea of details that we take our eyes of the target. Suddenly, we find ourselves consumed by all the little things that were never intended to dominate our thoughts and discussions. Saddly, such is often the case when it comes to the Gospel. We lose sight of the fact that the Gospel is simply and soley about God. But is it is more than just mental agreeing with facts about Jesus, it is about a true and genuine treasuring of Christ. I was reading a chapter in a book by John Piper, the Teaching Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. (Copyright 2006 by Desiring God Foundation) What follows below is an excerpt from Chapter 22, "To Bring Us To God." (p. 62) that stated what had been floating around in my head for the past weeks.

"When all is said and done, God is the gospel. Gospel means "good news." Christianity is not first theology, but news. It is like prisoners of war hearing by hidden radio that the allies have landed and rescue is only a matter of time. The guards wonder why all the rejoicing. But what is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God himself. All the words of the gospel lead to him or they are not gospel. For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God. Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn't open the way to God. Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn't bring fellowship with God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn't bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father's family but not in his arms. This is crucial. Many people seem to embarce the good news without embracing God. There is no sure evidence that we have a new heart just becuase we want to escape hell. That's a perfectly natural desire, not a supernatural one. It doesn't take a new heart to want the psychological relief of forgiveness, or the removal of God's wrath, or the inheritance of God's world. All these things are understandable without any spiritual change. You don't need to be born again to want these things. The devils want them."

May we never deceive ourselves into thinking that the gospel is just a mental acknowledgement of facts about Jesus. But may we realize that it is about a treasuring of God and a desire for the joy that can be found as we are brought to Him through the blood of Christ.

stop playing around

When I was in first grade, my family was living in Germany (dad was a chaplain in the army). We had some good family friends who had a daughter my age. Her name was Kimberly. Our families would get together often and Kimberly loved to play "house." Me, being the smart kid that I was at the age of 7, realized the brownie points I could earn with a good looking, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl my own age and so of course I said yes. Here is typically what our version of "playing house" entailed: a wedding ceremony of some sort, the creation of a some kind of house, and taking care of imaginary kids. That was it. It lasted about 20 minutes or until we got distracted by something more fun, which as a 7 year old happened often.

My four year old son Ethan has entered into the world of "playing." This morning as he and I sat at the coffee shop, he engaged me in "playing" coffee shop. We were sitting on a couch in the coffee shop and so he went to the other side of the coffee table in front of us and proceeded to take my order which happened to be filled vicariously through some unsuspecting chess pieces laying near by.

Its funny how often we get caught up in the world of "playing" as kids. After all, playing never invovles the whole picture, just the highlights. You never see any kids playing, "lets do the taxes," or "lets pay the bills." You never see anyone play, "lets get into an argument and figure out how to resolve it." When you play something, you get the advantage of never having to do any of the hard things, just the easy things. You never have to do anything that costs... its all free. As we get older we begin to realize that things are a little different. Playing things are not the same as Living things.

The sad thing is, many of us often never leave the world of playing when it comes to us and Jesus. In fact, we become masters at playing church and playing Christian. We know how to exactly play the part in order to please people around us, our friends, parents, teachers, coaches. But the truth is, all we do is play and we never really live. We know some facts to regurgitate when we get asked certain questions. We drag our bibles across the pavement to make them look used and us look wise. We throw in the occasional good deed just in case anyone is looking our directio. But we never really live. We sit on our fences with one foot in the world and one foot in heaven and just play. Private Christian schools are notorious for students who walk the halls playing Christian. To impress their parents who have fooled themselves into environmental security, to impress their coaches, their teachers, but its all just playing. At least at public schools, students are not afraid to be real. They are not afraid to let you know exactly where they stand. There is a whole lot less playing that goes on.

In Acts 2, Jesus has just returned to Heaven, the Holy Spirit has just descended and filled the believers and Peter gives a sermon that blows away the crowd of thousands that is listening to the point that their hearts were "pierced" (v.37) Literally, it means that they were "cut to the heart." This crowd realized for the first time how bad their situation was. They had missed the Messiah. He had come, he had left, and not just left, but had been driven away... killed like a criminal. The blinders suddenly had been removed from their hearts and they stood there like they had all the wind knocked out of them and said, "What do we do?" They realized they had been playing in their relationship with God. And the emotional anguish they were feeling had cut them to their heart. What Peter said next wasn't earth shattering, but it was heart shattering... "Each of you must repent of your sins, turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ to show that you have received forgiveness for your sins. then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (v. 38) Now don't mistake this. This isn't a four part process. This is all one process with four differnt aspects. There is no second tier blessing of the Holy Spirit, this all happens at once. Also keep in mind that this isn't just about the absence of the bad. Its about the presence of God. Its about the death of Jesus Christ and his blood shed for you and me. You turn from the bad and take a step toward God. Its not just about being sorry for the sin in your life its about a change in your life. A change that involves you moving from a position of being self-centered, to God-centered.

Living Christian is not about some checklist. Its about true repentence. Its about faith in Jesus Christ. It about being publically identified with Him and filled by Him. Has the Gospel ever hit you upside the head and pierced your heart to the point where you admited that you suck and God saves and said, "What do I do?" Or are you too busy "playing" Christian... pridefully thinking you have it all figured out, arrogantly not seeing how this Bible story you have heard 300 times has anything you can use. Are you living Christian or playing it? Life is too short to just play Christian. I mean, if that is all it is for you, just something to pretend, something to play, why not just jump off the fence and plant both feet on the sin side and at least enjoy the pressure of not having to act like something you are not? If you are just playing the part of a Christian to make someone happy, mom, dad, boyfriend, girlfriend, and you have no desire to live Christian then at least enjoy the sin if you are going to reap the rewards of it when you die. But if you are willing to stop playing Christian and start living Christian, then do it, stop playing around. But know that if you do, it will cost you. It may cost you your pride. It may cost you your family, your friends, your status... but its worth it all. He is worth it all. There is no greater treasure than Jesus. So if you want to stop playing and starting living, just do what Peter says,"...repent of your sins, turn to God, be baptized, ... receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." and start to Live. You may fool many with your playing, but there is One whom you have no chance of fooling. And in the end, His is the only opinion that counts. Stop playing around and Live Christian.

its simple... love God, love people.

“…speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” Eph 4:15-16 (NLT)


Talking. We all do it. As leaders it is part of our ministry, as people it is how we relate and fellowship. We usually have no problem accomplishing the first part of this verse, “speak[ing] the truth.” We all love to speak truth, to dispense our wisdom and knowledge on each other. But its amazing how easy it is to lose sight of what truly matters when the carrot of wisdom and knowledge is dangled out in front of us on the stick of pride instead of the stick of love. Don’t mistake what I am saying. Wisdom and knowledge are not bad. As the writer of proverbs reminds us, wisdom enters our hearts and saves us from a multitude of things that Satan would desire us to be ensnared by and knowledge, which comes from God, fills us with joy. (Proverbs 2) But we often forget the qualifier that Paul mentions, “speak the truth in love.” Wanting to boost our image of ourselves, our pride takes control of our tongue and instead of being a community of people who are focused on loving each other, growing each other, being healthy and full of love, we simply stop at speaking the truth, dispensing knowledge and wisdom on each other. While the Truth is an indispensably foundation in what we do, it must be done in love or it will be done in hate, jealousy, greed, envy… pride. In your conversations with people, in your conversations with your friends and family, in your conversations with other believers are you speaking the truth in love with the goal and intent of all of us (the body) becoming more and more like Christ? Or do you speak the truth to make yourself look smart and righteous? The church should be a place where the truth is spoken in love. The question is, ‘how does this happen?”


The first part of speaking the truth in love is a commitment to Christ-centeredness. A pastor by the name of John Piper put it this way: Is our goal and aim to see the glory of God through Christ proclaimed to this world? Often times we are willing to be Christ-centered as long as he is willing to be man-centered. A litmus test to offer: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the recreational activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there? The implications of any answer but a hugely resounding “NO” is directly connected to our commitment to a Christ-centered mentality. ("God is the Gospel" p. 47)

If Christ is not the center of our lives and motives, then when we speak the truth, it will not be with love, but a self-centered pride from which we speak. If we offer wisdom and knowledge without a Christ-centered motive, we offer it with a prideful, self-centered aim.

The second part of speaking the truth in love is a commitment to community. Paul reminds us that it is Christ who fits the whole body together “perfectly.” It is not lacking, it is not wanting, when it is functioning together. And yet our individualistic mindset would rather believe that we can and should do it alone, without any help. Our pride prevents us from seeking assistance for fear of admitting a weakness or insufficiency. But love says we can and should ask for help and when help is requested, we should extended it without keeping record of favors or assistance you have provided. Even more, when we are working together as one body, we help each other grow which results in the entire body being healthy, growing and full of love. Yet it takes community. It takes a commitment to build relationships. It takes a willingness to call and see how someone is doing, or if you pass another Christian on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning and notice that things are not quite right, stopping and asking them, genuinely, “how are you doing?” Community involves taking time outside of normal meeting times to get together, fellowship, pray, lift each other up and support each other. Community involves being willing to step outside your comfort zone and welcome in new members into our circle. The extent to which community is healthy and present among us as leaders is the extent to which this ministry will be healthy and growing. There is a direct connection. Community is vital.


Christ-centeredness and community. When these two things take place, the body works as it should, we love each other, we help each other, we grow, we are healthy. And as this happens, we become more and more like Christ. And this is our aim and goal, for in our likeness to Christ, the world might see Christ. That is what we are about. Displaying and declaring Him to this world in need of Savior. So will you do this? Will you commit yourself with me to being God-centered; to setting aside personal ambitions, dreams and hopes in exchange for the ambitions, dreams and hopes of Christ. Will you teach the people in such a way that their desire is first for Christ instead of all his blessings to the point that if heaven were void of everything except Christ, we would be content and satisfied? Will you intentionally pursue community with other leaders? Will you seek out and build relationships with other Chrisitans you don’t know. Will you open your hearts to each other, love each other, grow each other? Speak the truth to each other in love. Don’t allow your church to be a place where you simply come, serve and leave. Allow it to be a place where genuine fellowship happens, where hearts are opened, where truth, wrapped in love, is spoken openly and freely.


Christ-centeredness and community.

Love God, love people.

are you listening to God or doing all the talking?

Proverbs 2:1 “My child, listen to what I say and treasure my commands."

So often it is easy to get caught up in the pursuit of knowledge to the point that we feel more spiritual simply because we are memorizing more, reading our Bibles more and we can trade banter on various theological issues. Yet the writer of this proverb reminds us that there is a goal that is higher than the simple ascertainment of facts, figures and theories. We see first the admonishment to listen. There is no doubt nor argument that the primary way God speaks to us today is through His Word. We have become masters at reading and not listening. Each and every day the amount of homework, work, or whatever, that dumped on us has groomed us into non-listeners. We simply read for the purpose of regurgitating information which is only stored long enough to find its way onto the page of a quiz, exam or paper, or long enough for whatever presentation we have to give. The coveted grade of “A” may be achieved, the slaps on the back may happen, but a short while later we forget what we read and listening has not truly occurred.

Many approach the Word of God the same way. They read, possibly well enough to regurgitate when a question is thrown their way, but they don’t truly listen. The Hebrew word used here “leqah” means to take, seize or grasp. When you take or seize something, there would be no doubt that you have possession and mastery over that item. In the same way, to listen to the Word of God is not simply to fumble around with it or flirting with something in a superficial manner. Listening involves diving wholly and completely in with all we have and wrestling with all the capacity God has given us. That is listening.

While listening is first, it is not enough. We must also treasure His Word. Treasuring what God tells us involves more than just the mind, it involves the heart. It involves being willing to allow silence to envelop you as you let something simmer in your brain and heart for a while. Treasure indicates the idea of value, worth, esteem. Treasure is something you long for and seek after, something that is precious to you. If it is precious to you, you will look after it, care for it, see that it is kept up and tended to. Is the Word of God a treasure to you or is it simply an instrument of mental sharpening.

There are times when I find myself reading the Word and not treasuring. As a result, I am hearing but not truly listening… the Word is making no dent on my heart, only my brain and when that happens, treasuring cannot begin. We have got to learn to listen and treasure. What does it look like in your life? Do you have a time where you simply seek to listen to God? I not advocating any of the emotionally charged and out-of-balance junk that you hear some folks convince people of but I am saying that we need to stop sometimes and listen… just be quiet and listen. Then, when you begin to listen, when you begin to seize and grasp the Word of God in your hearts, you can begin to treasure it in your lives.

why?

Motivation is everything. Without motivation, things become a task, a chore, something we must do instead of something we want to do. Without motivation, the flame of passion can dwindle to a mere flicker that the smallest amount of doubt can quickly extinguish. Yet motivation for the sake of motivation is not enough. It must be true motivation, pure motivation, for wrong motivation, the kind that springs from a love of self, is even more deadly and damaging than no motivation at all. What is your motivation? Where does it spring from? From where does your motivation come from as a student… as a son or daughter… as a husband or wife, mom or dad… as an employee… as a friend… as someone who is involved in ministry… as a Christian? You know, as I think about it, even people who claim they lack motivation are still motivated… they are simply motivated by the selfish desire for inactivity, laziness, and passivity. Everyone has motivation… the question is, what is yours? Paul turns on a few lights for us regarding the question of motivation. In his first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica he writes “… our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts. Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money! As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.” (2:4-6) Obviously, Paul’s motivation for his ministry was being called into question. Some thought Paul’s motivation was personal glory, that his goal in ministry was for people to tell him how amazing he was. Others thought his motivation was financial gain, that he befriend the people with the deep pockets just so his pockets might be more sufficiently lined. Yet Paul was clear, his actions were not done so he might be declared as great and mighty, he ministry was not about his own financial well-being. He was motivated by one thing and one thing alone… the pleasure of God. Any other motivation is simply selfish. No matter how noble the motivation may seem on the outside, God knows the true motivation within our hearts and is not fooled by the false pretenses that we so creatively erect. What is your motivation? What is it that fuels the flame of your passion? If you are invovled in something simply for the "thank you" or the pat on the back or so youc an check off the box that says "Christian Servant" on your "I wanna be a good Christian" checklist, then your motivation is off. True motivation when it comes to this ministry or any other aspect of your life is about one thing and one thing only: the pleasure of God. If God’s pleasure is the true motivation that fuels the passion within your heart then things cease to become about the checklist and begin to be about joy. They cease to be a duty and begin to be an act of love. If God’s pleasure is your true motivation then when you commit to something, you commit with everything that you have and everything that you are. Yet if God’s pleasure isn’t your true motivation, if your reasons have to do with anything else besides God, they are ultimately selfish. Acts of love and service become a burden. Speaking the truth in love becomes an annoying waste of time. Engaging people in genuine community becomes uncomfortable and feels forced. Discipling begins to be something you used to do when you had more free time. What is your motivation? It is far more honorable to be genuine and true to yourself than it is to be fake and simply a pretender. If you find that your motivation is not true, maybe its time to take a step break and rekindle a true, pure motivation. And if your motivation is right and true and pure, then jump in, with everything you have and everything that you are… not for the praise of man but for the pleasure of God!