It's not the How; it's the Wow!

March 23, 2007

It's not the How; it's the Wow!
by Jon Walker

"Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 NLT)

Mission — Long ago and far away, there was a teacher who worked painstakingly to teach me how to play the guitar. Every week, we'd climb up and down musical stairs crafted from the pentatonic, hexatonic, heptatonic, and octatonic scales. This emphasis upon technique frustrated me, and I grew to hate it so much that I abandoned the guitar – until playing it became a positive part of my mid-life crisis.

OK, OK ... Yes, I would have been better guitar player today if I'd practiced what my teacher told me (and, kids, eat your spinach too). But somehow I became so buried in the technique of making music that I lost the exhilarating pleasure of the music – with its power to make my heart soar toward the grace-filled face of God.

You might say the How of guitar-ianity muted the Wow of the music.

And in our well-intentioned focus on the How of missions and evangelism, I sometimes wonder if we lose sight of the Wow – that God's Holy Spirit lives within us, and that he is with us always, day after day after day, until the very end of time.

Wow!

Can I get an “Amen?” Say this with me, brothers and sisters:

Wow! The God of the universe is present by his Spirit within me!

Wow! The God who spoke the world into existence lives within me!

Wow! The same God who placed the moon and the stars and the sun into the sky also placed his Spirit within me!

Wow! The God who owns the cattle on 10,000 hills considers me one of his heirs and is pleased to give me a share in his kingdom!

Wow! The God of Creation spoke me into my mother's womb, SHAPEd me as a masterpiece crafted for the mission of proclaiming his Wow throughout the world! (Jeremiah 1:5)

It's not the How; it’s the Wow!

Good God Almighty, he lives, he lives, Christ Jesus lives in me today! (Galatians 2:20) The Wow is with me always and forever, yesterday today and tomorrow, forever and again, amen.

The Good News we proclaim without shame is that the Wow is in our hearts, and the Wow will come into any heart that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord.

So what?

· Relationship over results – God is more interested in you than he is in your methods. Wow! And the Good News we carry is that God is truly interested in the life of each person he placed on the planet. Are there some relationships where you emphasize the How over the Wow?

· Set your heart on the Wow – You must be deliberate in staying focused on the Wow. "… Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:1b-2 NIV)

· No commandment harmed – No commandment was harmed in the making of this devotional. Ha! Staying intimately focused on the Wow does not suggest the How is unimportant or that the How can compromise biblical truth or downgrade "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6 HCSB) But the greatest How is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." The second is "Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37-40 HCSB) The Wow guides the How.

May the WOW guide you, my friend.

© 2007 Jon Walker . All rights reserved.

Doing what God is thinking

March 15, 2007

Doing what God is thinking
by Jon Walker

"… For, "Who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who can give him counsel?" But we can understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT)

Ministry/Service – In a land not so far away and a time not too distant, lived a mighty, yet gentle Master of the Manor. There was a servant who worked for the Master, and this servant was a man of excellent efficiency, incorruptible integrity, and joyful heart.

The Master was pleased with his servant, but he also noticed the servant would do things that were well-intentioned, yet not in line with the Master's wishes.

One day the Master was in his library, and he couldn't find one of his favorite books. Looking closely, the Master realized that his entire library had been re-arranged.

"Good servant," called the Master. "Why have you re-arranged the library?"

"Master," the servant replied, "I wanted to provide you with the most efficient catalog system available."

"But I did not ask you to re-arrange the library," the Master lovingly said. "However, I did ask you to prepare the banquet hall for the guests we will receive tonight, and I see that hasn't been done."

"Yes, Master," said the servant. "But I don't see anyone coming up the road, so I assumed the guest weren't actually coming tonight. And you're library is now cross-referenced and categorized according to Humboldt's hierarchy of human thought."

"So I must think like a human in order to find my books?" said the Master.

"Well, yes," said the servant.

"But what if I want you to do things according to my thoughts?" said the Master, a tone of command coming into his voice. "And what if I want you to begin to think like me, instead of the other way around?

Just then, the doorbell rang. The guests had arrived.

—

You were created to serve God, and one way to serve God is by serving others, offering ministry to others. But it's important that you serve God according to his thoughts and his plans, not your own independent thoughts and plans.

Don't misunderstand: This does not suggest permission to be passive in your service to God. Instead, it's a call to intentionally seek the will of God in our service to him. Rather than making assumptions about where to serve God, you can constantly and consistently talk to him about where he wants you to serve. And in this way, you will develop a mind like Christ's.

We serve at the will of God and not on our fantasies about what Christian service looks like. The service required of me may look very different from the service required of you, because God has shaped us each uniquely and with our own unique purpose in mind. God speaks to you through your shape, your circumstances, your experiences, your friends, and your family.

And he speaks through the Holy Spirit, telling you to prepare for the guests you cannot yet see, instead of rearranging the library that is already organized according to God's design.

So what does this mean to me? If God is in constant conversation with you, are you carefully listening?

· Ask God to help you hear his voice and to tell you how he wants you to serve.

· Ask God to give you discernment so your service always lines up with your will, and not your own human agenda or someone else’s agenda.

· Ask God to fully develop the mind of Christ in you.

© 2007 Jon Walker . All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: Over the past three years, John Fischer has written these devotionals with insight and clarity, both as a ministry to you and as an act of worship to God. His ability to communicate biblical truths in a fresh, unique way has reflected his love for God and his obedience to Christ's commands. We will be forever grateful for the eternal investment John made through these devotionals. You can keep up with his activities at http://www.fischtank.com.

We are teachers of the faith

March 14, 2007

We are teachers of the faith
by Jon Walker

“Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other.” (Colossians 3:16a NLT)

Discipleship – We are all teachers of the faith.

We may be good teachers or we may be bad teachers, but we all are teachers. Everyday, hopefully, we model biblical behaviors and respond with Christ-like attitudes.

Teaching involves more than unpacking Bible stories or giving theological insight; we teach when we help one another know how to love a spouse, make wise decisions, keep our thought-life pure, or get out of debt.

The Apostle Paul says we’re to “counsel each other.” That means we should be learners also – listening to other believers as they tell us about God’s work in their lives, and watching one another to see what “Christ in you” looks like in another human being. (Colossians 1:27 NIV)

He says the power of collective spiritual growth occurs when we:

· Let the words of Christ live in our hearts. We must know God’s Word before we can teach it. As we hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on the words of Christ, we take them into our hearts. This gives us the wisdom we need to help one another grow in godly character. (Romans 15:14b, NCV)

· Use God’s words to teach and counsel each other. The Bible reflects the mind and will of the Father. When you’re carefully stepping along a slippery slope, would you rather consult the wisdom of God, or the wisdom of man?

It’s not enough to merely learn the Word; we must allow it to take root in our hearts so we then can apply it in our lives, holding tight, not relaxing our grip: “Guard it well – your life is at stake!” (Proverbs 4:13, MSG)

So what does this mean to me? Your friends and relations are not an accidental part of your life. (Remember that during the next family reunion!) They are gifts from God. They are the very people God designed to help you grow in Christ-like character. Even if they are not Christians, God can still use them to create Christ-like character in you.

If your life is a lesson to others, what are you teaching them about faith in God?

© 2007 Jon Walker . All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: Over the past three years, John Fischer has written these devotionals with insight and clarity, both as a ministry to you and as an act of worship to God. His ability to communicate biblical truths in a fresh, unique way has reflected his love for God and his obedience to Christ's commands. We will be forever grateful for the eternal investment John made through these devotionals. You can keep up with his activities at http://www.fischtank.com.

'I can't; God can'

March 13, 2007

'I can't; God can'
by Jon Walker

“I can do nothing on My own …" John 5:30 (HCSB)

Fellowship--A common misconception of Christian fellowship is that it simply means spending time with fellow believers: coffee and donuts, a pot-luck supper, a day at the lake. This form of fellowship is a significant part of Christ-like fellowship because God shaped us to need one another.

But the heart and core of Christ-like fellowship starts with the Father. We are to abandon ourselves to his purposes, and declare ourselves totally dependent upon him. Without him, we can do nothing; why, if we believe what we say we believe, would we want to do anything without him?

This intimate fellowship, abandonment, dependence, means we can call upon the Father when we are in distress or when we are tempted, and he will provide more than just a celestial shoulder to cry on.

Now understand this significant sequence: You must confess 'I can't' before you can agree 'God can.' The danger is: If we rush past 'I can't,' we'll never fully embrace the truth that our rescue can only come from God.

Instead we'll continue to think there is still some way we can rescue ourselves. We'll still, wrongly, believe we can do some things -- anything -- apart from God. We'll start to believe that, if we keep all the rules (which is impossible) -- or even some of the rules -- then we've somehow made ourselves into good little Christians.

The irony is that this 'I can' living looks real good. The apostle Paul even says there's a certain glory to it because it's reflective of God's Spirit (2 Corinthians 3).

But these rules we keep are merely a ministry of condemnation (2 Cor. 3:9) designed to get us to finally admit 'I can't' and only 'God can.' They're a school of Christ meant to show us that we're not as strong as we pretend to be, that there is a limit to how well we can carry out the rules apart from God.

Being Spirit-led (abandoned to God) means you recognize that the rules written on stone are outside us and, therefore, inferior to God's full plan -- which is to write the new rules on our hearts with his very own hand. He's placed his Spirit inside us in order to change us from the inside out.

My prayer is that you and I will no longer slow the progress of God's hand-written note upon our hearts because we're so busy keeping rules that were meant to bring us into fellowship with God. In other words, we're so busy pursuing rules that we stop pursuing God.

So what does this mean to me? If there is an area of your life where you still think 'I can,' then it means you are also saying, 'God can't.' This is not a statement of condemnation; rather it is a message of relief. You don't have to do it on your own; your fellowship with God will provide the grace and strength you need for anything. God wants a deep, intimate fellowship with you. In what ways does your independence keep that from happening? Isn't it time to get out of God's way and let him transform your heart?

© 2007 Jon Walker . All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: Over the past three years, John Fischer has written these devotionals with insight and clarity, both as a ministry to you and as an act of worship to God. His ability to communicate biblical truths in a fresh, unique way has reflected his love for God and his obedience to Christ's commands. We will be forever grateful for the eternal investment John made through these devotionals. You can keep up with his activities at http://www.fischtank.com.

Better than who?

March 9, 2007

Better than who?
by John Fischer

One of the more damaging fallacies Christians can fall into is the thought that because they are a Christian, they are better than most people out there who are not. For example, they are a better mom, a better husband, a better child, a better teacher, a better coach, or they have a better marriage, a better family, etc. Though it may appear prideful or self-righteous, that may not necessarily be the case. This kind of thinking can spring from a genuine, though incorrect, assumption that Christianity, in order to be true, must produce better all-around people. In other words, we take on the responsibility to defend the truth through the “better” lives we display.

Now granted, we are all growing in Christ with the ultimate goal of becoming like him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are “better” than other people. It means we are in the process of becoming more loving, more truthful, more peaceful, more patient, and more kind. “Better” is often defined in terms that have little to do with becoming like Christ. The religious leaders of his day would never have described Jesus as being better than anybody. In fact, they thought Jesus was a scoundrel – they called him a drunkard and a glutton (Matthew 11:18,19). So “better” is a relative term.

What’s true is that we should be getting better, but “better” compared to what? Compared to ourselves – what we used to be – which may still be a long way from someone else out there who is perhaps a more healthy person overall. Bottom line: It’s not good to compare yourself with others, whether they are Christians or not. “Better” means better than I was yesterday, not better than you.

Admitting that an atheist has a better marriage, a Mormon has better kids, a Muslim family is more loving, or a Buddhist is healthier need not be a threat to one’s Christianity. The point is, as Christians, we are saved and that’s the most important thing. We are all sinners saved by grace, and rather than making ourselves out to be different from everybody else, we should be focusing more on our similarities. If we need Jesus, so does everybody else, which makes us basically the same as the rest of humanity.

I might think of myself as a good father but you know there are lots of good fathers out there, and when it comes to fathering, I have much to learn. So someone might teach me about fathering, and I might, in turn, be able to share Christ with that person because he may be experiencing a lot of guilt inside, or he may be carrying around a sense of failure, or he may feel alone and distant from God and wondering what his life is all about.

So you see, being a Christian has nothing to do with being better than anybody; it has everything to do with getting better, which is something we could all stand.

Thinking something different

March 8, 2007

Thinking something different
by John Fischer

“Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” — Roger von Oech

I love this quote. I found it in the sign-off of an e-mail from a friend and it has provided a good deal of reflection, some of which I offer to you today.

First is the use of the word “discovery.” You could replace that word with “worship” and the quote would still work. “Worship consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.” I have found a good deal of worship is discovery. As we find out more about who we are and why we are here, we discover that God is more involved than we thought. When you find out the truth about God, it's like discovering what was always there; we just missed it somehow.

C.S. Lewis coined the phrase “of course” to describe the discovery of God's presence in the world and in our lives. Worship is the uncovering of God at work in the world. It's all about discovery. For instance, when you find out you were made for God, it's not like some radical thought that never crossed your mind. It's almost as if you knew it, but you forgot. The phrase “of course” seems to capture this discovery aspect perfectly. A purpose driven life rings true because it confirms something we all knew deep inside; it's just that no one put words to it for our generation until now.

Secondly, I like thinking something different. A follower of Christ looks at things differently. Learning to “see” is a lot of what it means to be a Christian. Christ gives us new eyes, and nothing looks the same to us anymore.

A follower of Christ looks at:
death and thinks life,
losing and thinks winning,
tragedy and thinks opportunity,
brokenness and thinks humility,
accidents and thinks purpose,
coincidence and thinks destiny,
despair and thinks hope,
poverty and thinks wealth,
wealth and thinks poverty,
failure and thinks success,
the seen and thinks about the unseen,
history and thinks God's story,
science and thinks God's laws,
psychology and thinks Christ's wisdom,
anthropology and thinks God's image,
astronomy and thinks God's heavens,
the human body and thinks God's dwelling place,
war and thinks man's rebellion,
the cross and thinks everything made new,
truth and thinks Jesus.

The list is certainly not exhaustive. You can add to it I'm sure. In fact, that would be a good idea – to add to this list your own observations. You might surprise yourself at what you come up with. A lot of what we know, we don't know until we think about it. You might just discover you think something different!

The mission is you

March 7, 2007

The mission is you
by John Fischer

“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

You have a mission in life and this is it: you. Your mission is not only your story, though that is part of it, it is you, because Christ is in you. You were made to be a vessel to carry him and reflect him through your personality as he lives his life through yours. You are the temple, the dwelling place of the most high. You are a carrier of Christ; he lives again in you. Jesus died, rose again, and went to heaven in his new body, but he lives on through his Spirit in us. You could say he never really left; he just took up residence in us.

The Bible calls you lots of things, but they all underline this point. You are a fragrance of Christ wherever you go (2 Corinthians 2:17). You are a letter known and read by everyone (2 Corinthians 3:1-2). You are a vessel carrying around a treasure – “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) And all of us together form the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12). All this to say that you and I are God's greatest statement. It's why he made us.

Wait a minute. “Doesn't that put a lot of pressure on me?” you ask. “How can I possibly be the equivalent of Christ walking around on earth? How can I do justice to this task?” Here's the deal. You aren't Christ all by yourself. We together form the Body of Christ. All of us. Each one with a gift; each one needing the others to show the full character of Jesus.

And we aren't perfect, either; we are in process. And this is OK. Your slip-ups and failures and sins don't negate the presence of Christ in your life. They show why you have him – why you need him. He is still perfectly capable of being all these things in us, in spite of us.

The process, in fact, is the story we tell. Your life makes up the pages on which the story of Christ's redemption of you is told. It's a story in process. If we were complete and perfect, we wouldn't have much to tell and no one could relate to us. As it is, we can tell new parts of the story every day as those around us witness the story unfolding.

All of this means that you are the evidence of the reality of Christ to the world, because God has a mission, and the mission is you.

No shortage of sinners

March 6, 2007

No shortage of sinners
by John Fischer

Eugene Debs, who ran for president of the United States as a third party candidate in 1912, had this to say while campaigning:

“As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.

As long as there is a criminal element, I'm of it.

As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

Obviously he didn’t get elected since none of us has ever heard of him, but I believe there is a lot of truth in thinking this way about our place in the world.

The Apostle Paul had something very similar to say in a letter to a new church:

“When I am with the Jews, I become one of them so that I can bring them to Christ … When I am with the Gentiles who do not have the Jewish law, I fit in with them as much as I can ... When I am with those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring them to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone ...” (1 Corinthians 9:20-22 NLT)

Both these men are talking about relating to people by identifying with them through finding something shared in common.

Christians have traditionally been really good at not thinking this way, and in fact, creating and maintaining quite the opposite – a distance from those around us who aren't Christians. When it comes to dealing with “common sinners” we have a tendency to be more like the Pharisees than like Jesus. A Pharisee once judged Jesus for allowing a woman of the streets to bathe his feet in perfume mixed with the tears of her sorrowful life. The Pharisee had already distanced himself from the woman because of her sin and was shocked that Jesus, as a teacher, did not do the same. He even thought to himself that Jesus wouldn't let her touch him if he knew what kind of woman she was. Jesus, in the meantime, was busy understanding her, including her sins, which were no problem for him since he was to take them to the cross for her, and in doing so, forgive her. (Luke 7:36-50)

Why is it so hard for us to identify with sinners and so easy to judge them when we, too, are guilty? We must stop this distancing of ourselves from sinners and start looking for common ground like Paul and, yes, even like Mr. Debs.

I really do like his campaign slogan. We would all be more compassionate and more merciful if we would take it on.

“As long as there is a lower class, I am in it.

As long as there is a criminal element, I'm of it.

As long as there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”

And I'm adding one more thing:

And as long as there is a sinner, I am one too, bringing good news of Christ’s forgiveness to others like me who need it.

Because of you

March 5, 2007

Because of you
by John Fischer

Your mission is to live your life.

In 1 Corinthians 7, the Apostle Paul addresses believers who are married to unbelievers, and outlines a general rule that if the unbelieving spouse chooses to stay in the marriage, it would be good for the believer to stay, too. He gives two reasons for this: First, the children will have a godly influence through the believing parent, and second, the unbeliever may be converted “because of you.” (1 Corinthians 7:16) (Exceptions to this rule would of course be situations of abuse and endangerment of a spouse or child.)

Just what does he mean by “because of you,” I wonder? Does it mean you are on a personal crusade to save your spouse? Does it mean that you will preach the Gospel to your spouse at every possible opportunity? Does it mean you will turn your house into a religious institution that coerces your spouse to either put up with Christianity or leave? No, it doesn’t mean any of these things.

It means simply what it says: “… because of you” – because of who you are, because of how you live, because of the way your faith affects everything you do, because of the way you carry on your life, because of the reality of Christ in your life. That’s it. No more; but certainly, no less. Paul is suggesting that living your life with a sense of purpose that comes from your faith in God is enough to convert someone.

It occurs to me that this could be applied to all believers in relation to life in the world among people with whom we work and associate who are not believers. General rule: Don’t leave the world. (Where would you go anyway?) Stay in the world – in relationships with unbelievers – for the chance that someone may be converted “because of you.”

We are not on a crusade; we are on a mission to live our lives according to God’s purposes. When we do that, we make possible an environment of change where a person who does not have a meaningful relationship with God might become curious about someone who does. “Because of you” is a statement of subtle influence, not coercion, and in the context of Paul’s advice in 1 Corinthians 7, it is a steady influence over time, as would be implied by a marriage. There’s nothing complex or even premeditated about a “because of you” influence. This is a believer going about the process of believing; and this is an unbeliever going over their life with a microscope, observing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Does not matter if God is there.

Thought for the day: Don’t ever sell short what God can do “because of you.”

The power of a changed life

March 2, 2007

The power of a changed life
by John Fischer

“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35 NIV)

It would appear that Christ’s first convert, other than the disciples he called, was the Samaritan woman he met at the well of Jacob. Up until this time, Jesus had performed some miracles and healed a few people, but this is the story of a woman who was not sick or demon-possessed; she was just an ordinary sinner like any one of us. This is our story as much as it is anyone’s.

The essence of this encounter is that Jesus knows everything about this woman’s past – her five husbands and current illicit relationship – and is offering her the living water of a new life. It’s a wonder that he was talking with her at all, with three strikes against her – a woman, a Samaritan, and a sinner. But Jesus not only talked to her, he gave her life significance. He noticed her, knew who she was, and knew what she needed.

She was so taken by this encounter that she left her water jar – the reason she came to the well in the first place – and ran back to town to tell everyone about this incredible man she just met. But what is equally remarkable was that Jesus appeared to be taken by this encounter as well, for when the disciples returned from the town bringing him food, he responded that he has food to eat that they don’t know anything about (John 4:32). Could it be that Jesus was suddenly overwhelmed over what his love could do for a desperate human being – how it could lift a huge burden of sin and set someone free. It’s one thing to heal a body; it’s another thing to heal a soul.

I think Jesus was overcome with joy and a passion for others who were lost – indeed, for the whole town. That’s why he responded to his disciples’ offer of food with: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. … What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!” (John 4:34-36 NLT)

Jesus was a man on a mission, and I believe he got introduced to the power his message would have on people that day. There’s nothing to equal the power of a changed life, and there’s nothing that will change a life like God’s forgiving love. Once this has happened to you, you can’t sit still. You have to run and get all your friends. And once you experience what it can do for someone else, you’ll be beside yourself, too, just like Jesus.

Lord, open our eyes to those who are ripe for your message today.

Friend or vacuum salesman?

February 28, 2007

Friend or vacuum salesman?
by John Fischer

We’ve all heard the story before, or perhaps it even happened to you.

You receive a visit from a friend you haven’t seen in a long time. You are overjoyed at the reunion and honored that your friend would see the relationship worth cultivating and would actually seek you out. Or it might be a person you are just starting to get to know, and there are encouraging signs of a potential friendship.

In the course of a pleasant conversation, with the talk shifting randomly from one subject to another, you suddenly find you are discussing the virtues of various vacuum cleaners. You friend brightens at the topic because he’s recently had some great results with an amazing new machine that he extols with great pleasure. You are so taken by his excitement that you find yourself wanting to know where you might find one of these amazing vacuum cleaners since your old model has paled in comparison to his vivid description, and you’ve been thinking about looking into a new one anyway. It’s then that your new friend offers to solve all your problems by selling you one on the spot at a “one-time only, low, low price of $69.95.”

Suddenly, you feel an awful knot in the pit of your stomach. It’s not unlike the feeling you had when you came home one day to find your house had been burglarized. You feel violated, used. And you feel stupid for trusting this person and making yourself vulnerable to his schemes. He’s not after a friendship; he’s after a sale.

A believer’s mission to share Christ with people is one of the five great purposes for which we exist. But without the other four to balance it, we can end up peddling Christ with similar results. Even laying hold of a conversation with the intent of steering it in a particular direction can feel manipulative to a person.

If I listen to the other purposes in this light, I remember that God is in control of everyone’s own road to discovery. I don’t make anyone see the truth, I am only witness to what I have seen and heard. My relationship with people is an end in itself, regardless of whether or not they are Christian or Muslim or Jewish or atheists. My purpose is to serve people, not sell them something. And maturity tells me that the Holy Spirit is my guide as to what to say and when, so as to not even worry about this or be overly conscious of my role in someone’s life as providing anything other than love and support.

“We don’t take God’s Word, water it down, and then take it to the streets to sell it cheap. We stand in Christ’s presence when we speak; God looks us in the face. We get what we say straight from God and say it as honestly as we can.” (2 Corinthians 2:17 MSG)

Someone else’s problems

February 27, 2007

Someone else’s problems
by John Fischer

Evangelicals often put being saved and going to heaven in the same sentence, as if heaven were the only goal of our salvation. But the truth is, we are saved to serve. Heaven is important, but heaven can wait. God saves us because he has a job for us to do in his Kingdom here on earth. If heaven is the whole point of our salvation, then what do we do while we wait? Change the channel on our Christian entertainment?

It’s amazing how many of our own problems dissipate when we begin caring about other people’s problems instead of focusing on our own. We’ve picked up some very bad habits from our culture. We have a tendency to be preoccupied with our own needs and constantly trying to fulfill them. Advertising plays into this self-indulgence, promising that one more product will be the thing that will finally satisfy us. The truth of the matter is: Getting will never come close to the satisfaction that giving affords.

Think of someone you know who is truly happy and I venture to guess you will find that someone busy serving others. If, in fact, our troubles will never go away (and I don’t believe they ever will in this life), then to focus on them and try to solve them is going to be nothing but a broken record. Make one problem go away, and watch another one crop up immediately. To give ourselves to the task of attending to the problems of those around us may not make our own problems go away, but it will make them less of a drag. Focusing on our own problems can lead to anxiety, frustration, and even depression. Focusing on other people’s problems leads to usefulness and a greater sense of health.

So today, when we are tempted to look in, to our own needs, let’s look out, instead, to the needs of those around us and see if our own needs diminish by comparison. Who knows, we may even forget about ourselves in the process.

Jesus hung on a cross and thought of those who were putting him there, and even pleaded their case before his Father, because he knew they didn’t realize the full impact of what they were doing. Can you imagine having even a fleeting thought about someone else if you were in that much pain yourself? But that’s just the thing about Jesus: He was always thinking of someone else.

Under new ownership

February 26, 2007

Under new ownership
by John Fischer

“You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

What does it mean to not belong to myself? I can think of a few things.

It means that I should probably do a lot of consulting with my new owner. There is more to consider than just me and what I want to do; there is God and what he wants me to do.

If you’re anything like me, this makes sense until you begin to wonder over what he wants you to do in certain circumstances. It isn’t always clear.

For this we have Scripture and gifted members of the fellowship to consult, but in all instances it is the attitude of the heart that is most important. It is a submissive attitude toward God that he is looking for – what the Old Testament calls a broken and contrite heart. It’s being always open and teachable because I realize my new owner has a different way of looking at things than what comes natural for me. In fact, over time I begin to realize what comes natural for me is often my biggest problem.

Instead of “how much can I get away with here,” God is looking for an attitude that says, “Even if I’m not sure, what do I think God would want me to do here.” God is not going to lead astray a humble person who is seeking to do his will.

Our new ownership also means there will be inner conflict. It used to be just me. Now I have me and the Spirit and we may not always be in sync.

In Roman 7, Paul concludes that an inner battle over right and wrong is a good thing because it proves at least that something good is going on. “But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.” (Romans 7:16) Or in other words, he may have done the wrong thing, but at least he knew it was wrong.

Consider even the Son of God whose joy was always to do the will of his Father in heaven, who in the garden of Gethsemane cried out after sweating blood over it, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Luke 22:42)

It used to be easier. It used to be just me left to the whim of my desires. But all that has changed. I am not my own anymore; I have been bought by God at a high price – the blood of Jesus – and he has a plan and a purpose for me as my new owner.

The fine print

2/22/2007

The fine print
by John Fischer

“We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT)

These verses are what I call the fine print of the Christian life. When you sign up, you sign up for this, but unfortunately, not too many people read that far into the contract, and not enough leaders point it out. So when bad things start happening to us, we think something went wrong with our faith. Not necessarily. In fact, it’s an honor to think that your faith is worthy of being tested.

It’s a reverse spiritual principle that nonetheless is true: We get beaten down so that Christ might rise in us. It’s the whole idea God has of avoiding confusion. See, he doesn’t want people confusing human power and achievement with his power and what he is achieving in and through our lives. If all Christians were super-Christians, people would be impressed with them. As it is, God wants people to be surprised at us, not so much impressed – surprised that we can keep on believing, given what has happened to us. Surprised at us – impressed with God. That’s the way it should go.

It’s important to know this so that the things that happen don’t throw us into a tailspin. Paul wrote in the passage above that troubles, confusions, knock-downs, and drag-outs are all to be expected in a life of faith, and they are not just something to suck it up and endure, they are what will actually release the power of God in our lives. We encounter death-like experiences so that Christ’s life-like nature may clearly be seen in us, despite what is happening.

Let me try and say this again. This is not just endurance training through tough times. This is God’s strategy for ministry through us. There is no other way for it to be done. His strategy is his power and strength through our weakness – his life through our death. This doesn’t just happen to some Christians; it happens to us all if we desire to be effective in our faith.

So don’t forget the fine print today, and allow the troubles you face to springboard you into finding God’s purposes even in this. He had this planned all along. It’s even in the contract!

Communication breakdown

Februaury 21, 2007

Communication breakdown
by John Fischer

Lord Jesus, are we talking?

It seems like it’s been a while. My voice to you feels weak. There’s no doubt about my belief, but I guess believing doesn’t count as communication. (I think I’ve assumed that it does without really thinking about it.) I can believe in my wife and not talk to her for a week. How long has it been since you heard from me – really heard from me? If I have to ask that question, it must have been a while. Somehow I’ve got you doing nothing but waiting around to hear from me while I go about my business oblivious to our lack of communication. Like I’ve got more important things to do than you do. Ouch! That sounds pretty close to blasphemy, making me wonder how often I blaspheme you with my ignorant assumptions.

Is our relationship more important to you than it is to me? If it is, I am grossly overestimating my own importance. The issue is not whether you are on my side; the question is: Am I on yours? And only I can answer that. Am I centering my life on you? The fact that the lines of communication seem rusty right now indicates there is a lot of inequity here.

What do I need to do to get back in touch? What’s that? I’m doing it right now? You just want my attention and you’ll take it any way it comes – through joy, sorrow, confession, pain, or the reestablishment of communication? That seems almost too easy. What’s that you’re saying? “Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:29-30 MSG)

I think I’m getting it now. No matter how far I may have strayed away, it’s always a short trip back. The breakdown in communication was only on my part, never yours. I don’t have to retrace my steps back to the last place I got off before I can hear you again, because you’ve been dogging me the whole way. As soon as I turn my heart and attention toward you, you are there to meet me because you never left.

It seems almost too good to be true. Where did I get the idea it’s supposed to be so hard?

Get up and get out

February 20, 2007

Get up and get out
by John Fischer

Your mission today (should you choose to accept it) is to get yourself up out of bed and throw yourself out into the world. That’s right: Get up and get out.

My, how daring we are! Well, yes, when you consider how dangerous a place the world is, and how inadequate we feel when we try to make a difference in it. But just read this:

“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16 NIV)

Now there is a picture: You and me having a significant effect on people, churning up reactions as varied as life and death by our mere presence. It’s no surprise Paul would wonder, in the next breath, who, if any, might be equal to this task. It’s a rhetorical question that he intends to answer, and he does in the next chapter. “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God who has made us adequate ….” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6 NIV) In other words, we aren’t adequate, but we are. We aren’t adequate in ourselves, but we are in Christ. And we find this out when we jump into the world, believing.

By believing, you are taking the particular characteristics of a believer (a person in whom God’s presence is a factor) out into the world, and by nature of your presence in the world and the presence of Christ in your life, you will make a difference. So, you see, it is all about literally throwing yourself out there and trusting that God shows up when you do, even when you don’t exactly know what’s going to happen next, you just know you’ll be ready when it does by nature of the Spirit of God in you. How about that for living dangerously?

As a friend of mine said once, almost nonchalantly, a true Christian is choosing the most dangerous occupation in the world. I think he’s right, not only because Satan is alive and well on planet earth working to discredit those who believe, but because God likes us living on the edge in believing him. I really don’t think faith is mainstream. I don’t think it gets the popular vote. Real faith does not win mass-market appeal. True faith is a challenge of wits. It’s the mover and shaker of the status quo. Faith kicks us out of our safety net and into the world. If nothing’s on the line, then there’s no faith required. That’s dangerous, but all the more exhilarating when God shows up and shows himself to be true to his promises.

So get up and get out. It’s the only way to truly find out!

Days of our lives

February 19,2007

Days of our lives
by John Fischer

“Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” (Psalm 139:16)

These are the kinds of verses that keep theologians up at night. If God had already recorded every moment of David’s life before he ever lived it, what does that say for his choices? Does that make him a sort of robot? How can he be made responsible for his actions when God already mapped out his life?

I don’t know. To try and find answers to questions like these seems to me an attempt to play God. I go on the assumption that God is operating on a whole different level of engagement than my little pea brain can negotiate. How God can have a person’s life mapped out and still make them responsible for the choices they make is one of those things I have come to just believe even though it doesn’t make sense in my head. There are limitations to being human.

What I can know about this, however, is how significant this makes everything in my life. Nothing is happening to me by accident. My moments were all thought up in the mind of God, and they are all geared toward shaping me for a particular service that no one but I can perform. God uses everything in my life – whatever I’ve experienced, whatever I’ve learned – to make me into a person fit for that which I can do in his Kingdom here on earth. And the same is true for you.

We are not autonomous, isolated individuals – masters of our own fate and servants of no one. We are actually a part of a grand display wherein the lives of billions upon billions are intertwined together. What we do affects those around us, and God has taken all that into account.

Therefore, if my life is that important, and God has already recorded it and mapped it out, doesn’t that make it even more compelling that I find out what it is that he has for me to do? This is not a chore; it’s a privilege and an adventure.

God does not intend to waste anything in my life, or yours. Our talents, gifts, and natural abilities all go together to make someone fit to serve.

Gotta serve somebody

Gotta serve somebody

May be the devil; may be the Lord

But you’re gonna have to serve somebody.

— Bob Dylan

We may be small, but we are by no means insignificant.

What’s normal?

February 16, 2007

What’s normal?
by John Fischer

“Grace must wound before it can heal.” — Flannery O’Conner

There are two schools of thought when it comes to the problem of pain. One says: “Sometimes the going will get tough, and in those times you need to remember that your faith will get you through and something good will come out of hardship. Hang in there, this will soon be over.” The other would be: “Get use to it. Pain, suffering, and hardship are necessary for growth. They will be constant companions to those who desire to know and love God deeply. Get ready for the long haul. If you’re feeling good and life is relatively painless, that’s the abnormal experience, not the norm. Enjoy it, but don’t expect it.”

These perspectives present what appears to be subtle differences, when, in fact, they have huge ramifications for the follower of Christ. One says that suffering is a glitch on the spiritual map, a storm one can weather, a malfunction easily corrected with a certain degree of patience and determination. This perspective believes that there exists a “normal” state for a believer that is relatively comfortable and risk-free. But in reality, this perspective is unbiblical and actually lines up more with a culture that treats discomfort as something we deserve to have alleviated. Multi-billion dollar industries are dedicated to creating and maintaining this myth, and convincing us all that the good life is attainable with, of course, the help of the product being touted. In other words, “normal” is just around the corner.

The other perspective is much more in keeping with reality and the belief that our real purposes go way beyond this life and this present darkness. It is a perspective that expects hardship and pain to be a part of the day-to-day program. If we are waiting for anything, we are waiting for eternity with Christ, not for everything to get better here on earth. We have learned that trials are such an integral part of our growing life in Christ that we even welcome trouble when it comes our way, because we know that by it, our faith is found worthy of being tested and our endurance will have a chance to grow (James 1:2-3).

This is not about being pessimistic. It’s about being realistic and learning how to find joy in the midst of even the most difficult things. Getting “normal” right is half the battle.

“God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith. As a result, I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the resurrection from the dead.” (Philippians 3:10-11 NLT)

An eye-opening encounter

February 15, 2007

An eye-opening encounter
by John Fischer

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to tell anyone who’s interested how you came to know Jesus. It’s all about a personal encounter. Once you know Christ, you introduce him to others through your own story. This notion that so many Christians and non-Christians have that our mission is to dazzle folks with how much better we are is not only ineffective, it is untrue.

This is precisely the kind of wrong thinking that keeps people from telling their story. “Who am I to tell someone about Jesus,” the rationale goes, “when my own life is in such a mess?”

The absurdity in this kind of thinking is the fact that no one, especially Christians, will ever have it all together in this life. The fact that we aren’t good enough should be the whole point of our message. We tell people about Jesus because we know, better than anyone, how much we need him. When people throw our own inconsistencies up in front of our faces, that is just another opportunity to tell our own story of how Christ has forgiven us on the cross and how much we need his salvation every day. So instead of being a threat to our witness, our faults and shortcomings are the very things upon which our witness hangs. If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need Jesus.

When I think of the essence of our statement as Christians to those who haven’t come to know Christ yet, I always think of the blind man that Jesus healed by covering his eyes with mud and telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:1-34). When the religious leaders got wind of it, they started to question the man extensively – wanting to know who healed him, how it happened, where the man who healed him was now, and even asking his parents to verify whether their son was in fact born blind. When they came back to the man and pressed him with questions a second time, accusing Jesus of being a sinner for doing work on the Sabbath, the man replied, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner … But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see.” (John 9:25 NLT)

That’s the essence of the message: “I was blind, and now I can see; I was lost, and now I am found; I was guilty, and now I’m forgiven; I was alone, and now I have a friend.” It doesn’t take a perfect life to spread that message – just someone who has had an eye-opening encounter with the living Christ. Regardless of intellect, position, status, or wealth, the message for everyone will come down to this: “I was blind, and now I can see.”

The greatest among you

February 13, 2007

The greatest among you
by John Fischer

Leaders who don’t lord it over, but serve those they lead, will change the world through the people they serve.

Our democratic, capitalistic society has always rewarded those who rise to the top with money, power, glory, and independence. But the big question is what they do when they get there. Do they drive big cars, have lots of servants, push people around and live to read about it in the paper the next day? This image is so prevalent that we have come to expect it from star athletes, entertainment celebrities, CEOs, and your average everyday lottery winner. We know what to expect.

But leaders like this don’t change anyone, other than to make them jealous or resentful. Consider Jesus – one who could have had the world at his feet, instead, got down on his hands and knees at the feet of those he was leading. He could have had riches and he chose to be poor. He commanded all power, but used it to heal the sick. He could have been known far and wide, but he chose to remain obscure. The only kings he ever entertained visited him when he was but a child, before anyone knew who he was. He could have come down from the cross and brought hell to pay on his accusers, but he chose to stay there and die for us.

And what did he say about leadership? “The greatest among you must be a servant.” (Matthew 23:11) Of course he would say this because this is what he did, and how can anyone be greater than he? If you are filling any kind of leadership position, from assistant soccer coach to CEO, think about how you can serve those you lead.

I once had the privilege of meeting two brothers who own a manufacturing company in the Midwest . These guys walk among their people. They don’t throw their weight around; they throw themselves around, meeting all the needs they can. They are committed to the families of their employees and provide counseling services for those with more serious problems. They rarely fire anyone. If there’s a problem, they try and fix it. They take personal responsibility for the welfare of every family. They go to bed at night wondering how everybody is. Every Christmas, they throw a banquet for their employees and their families, followed by an overnight stay at a local hotel with an indoor swimming pool. (Believe me, in rural Nebraska in December that’s a pretty big deal.) They are following Christ’s model of leadership, and they are making a difference in the lives of the people they serve.

Let’s think about those we’re serving today and how they are doing. How can we make it better for them?

“God, please don’t send me to Africa”

February 9, 2007

“God, please don’t send me to Africa”
by John Fischer

What do you love to do? Chances are that love can be tapped into as service for the Lord. This kind of thinking may seem obvious, but it is radical at least to my Christian upbringing.

I grew up with a kind of warped Christianity that taught that if I was passionate about something, it was probably wrong. God was the great killjoy in the sky. Virtue was painful. The good usually felt bad. The bad (we were told) felt good. Denying yourself meant never doing anything you really wanted to do. Conversely, if you hated doing something, that was most likely what God was calling you to do. “God, please don’t send me to Africa ” was a prayer you’d better not pray, because that was the first place he would probably send you if you prayed that prayer. As you might imagine, this kind of thinking turned out a generation of very dull, boring Christians who were always suspicious of having fun. Where do you think the Church Lady on Saturday Night Live came from, anyway?

Actually, God is one who delights in giving us our heart’s desire. In fact, he’s the one who gave us our desires in the first place, and he gave them to us not to frustrate us but to help us be useful and fulfilled in our service for him.

Think of what you know about King David in the Old Testament. Now here’s a guy who obviously loved music, poetry, women, and war. So he became a warrior/king and all his passions, in their proper places and under the Spirit’s control, drove him to be not only a great king, but a man after God’s own heart. God didn’t give him all these passions and then tell him to spend his life being a scribe in a cave somewhere. (He saved that for me!)

As a child, I had a passion for music. I would spend hours doodling on the piano, and when I got my first guitar, it became the goal of my life to make the same sounds I heard in my favorite songs. When, as a young adult, God put the idea in my head to use all these passions and skills to write and perform music about his Gospel and his truth, I thought I wasn’t hearing correctly at first. That couldn’t be serving God; that would be too much fun! It took an adjustment of my understanding of God and his ways to really believe God was in this. Now I know that this is the way he works. If he wants us to do something, he’ll put a desire in our heart to do it.

God is not in the frustrating business; he is in the fulfilling, joy-filled business. So if you are desirous of serving God, think first about what you can do and what you love to do. Serving God will be along those lines.

Hungry for God

February 8, 2007

Hungry for God
by John Fischer

Our ministry is to serve the needs of believers; our mission is to serve the needs of those who are not presently Christians. The latter can present a problem. You can’t really serve someone if you don’t know them, but being in relationship with those who aren’t Christians can be dangerous. Old habits and old ways of life can come back to haunt us when we are around people who don’t share our desire to follow Christ.

For this reason, it may be necessary to keep only Christian friends for a season, but the goal for us all is to be stronger than this. God didn’t save us and leave us on earth to band together and live nice, safe little Christian lives until he returns or we die, whichever comes first. We are here to share the good news of God’s forgiveness with those who don’t know about it yet, and we can’t do that without getting close to people who need it. We need to be close enough to people to know them, love them, identify with their need, and serve them without judging them or losing our own hold on Christ.

How will we do this? A couple suggestions to think about today: First, don’t ever forget we are all sinners in need of salvation. This will help keep us from a self-righteous and judgmental attitude. We never have a perfect day. We encounter our own need to be saved all the time, because we all sin and fall short of God’s glory. We lead people to Christ, not by reaching down to them from a place of invulnerable perfection, but as one thirsty person bringing another to water.

Second, remember that sin entraps everyone. Your friends who aren’t Christians may very well have a soft heart to God and the truth but it’s covered up by a host of things the enemy uses to blind us like fear, failure, addictions, and all sorts of false coping mechanisms. Success, power, and wealth can blind you as well. We need to ask God for the ability to look past all these distractions to the heart, because at the heart everyone is hungry for God. We were created that way.

Lord, teach us to see people as you see them. May we not give in to the things that once entrapped us. Make us keen to the lie and hungering for the truth today, and help us to find it even in those who don’t know you. Remind us that we are all children when it comes to you, even the toughest among us. Show us how to love everyone and stay true to you.

Blood

February 7, 2007

Blood
by John Fischer

Jesus says in John 17:21, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one …”

What does it mean to be “family”?

First of all, it means blood. Blood relatives trump all other relationships. You don’t get to choose your family; you don’t select your mother or your father, your siblings or your kids. What you have is what you got, and like it or not, it’s your blood. You will not be a healthy person unless you embrace this. Deny your family and you deny yourself in some way.

So what if your family is dysfunctional? Actually, I have yet to meet one that isn’t. I suppose, like all things, this is relative. Some are worse off than others. Some appear perfect by comparison, but time would reveal sores, wounds, and neglect. There are “black sheep” in every family. There are unforgiven sins. There are breeches, walls, and weak links in the family chain, but there is blood nonetheless, and the life is in the blood.

In the movie Parenthood, staring Steve Martin, there is a scene where the wayward son is asking his father to loan him some money. He’s in trouble and he owes someone who will harm him if he doesn’t pay back. He’s also got a new scheme that will make him “millions,” but will take him out of the country, which means he must leave his illegitimate son with his dad, too. And the dad gives him the money and takes the grandson, even though he knows he will probably not see the money or his son again. Why does he do it? Blood. It’s what a father does. God himself was represented in a similar story that Jesus told of the prodigal son, as one who gave his son his inheritance when he asked for it, knowing full well he was going to squander it unwisely. No questions asked. No lecture.

If this is the way it is with our earthly families, how much more with our heavenly one, into which we have been adopted by blood – the precious blood of Jesus? That blood not only paid the price for our sins, it put us in a family with a heavenly father who gives good gifts – who loves, disciplines, and is extremely patient because he has already forgiven. We’ve got a new kind of family with blood relatives for eternity. And even though these “blood of Jesus” relatives will disappoint us on earth, we are still family. We are one with God and each other. We will soon experience this oneness in heaven in its perfection, even as we have glimpses of it now, so we treat each other as family, regardless. We look past our dysfunctions. We embrace our brokenness, because Jesus has done the same for us. We are blood.

We will always be.

CORRECTION: It has come to my attention that the quote I attributed to George Carlin last week in the devotional “What takes our breath away,” was actually written by Dr. Bob Moorehead, former pastor of Overlake Christian Church in Redmond , Wash. , and published in his book Words Aptly Spoken. It has been incorrectly attributed to George Carlin in numerous e-mails, and he has personally condemned its message and his connection to it. That said, I still affirm the content of the piece and even my comments about Mr. Carlin's ability to help us face the inconsistencies of our human condition. Thanks to those who pointed this out to me. On a learning curve about eRumors — John Fischer

Looking out for number 44*

February 2, 2007

Looking out for number 44*
by John Fischer

“Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” (Mark 9:35 NLT)

How hard is this? Plenty hard to do actually, especially when we live in a society in which we are constantly bombarded with messages about being number one. Here Jesus is bumping us down to number 44 (see asterisk below). Take a number, and get to the end of the line, which is hard enough to do, but then he asks us to be a servant to everyone in front of us!

Even Christ’s disciples didn’t get it, so don’t think this message is easy. In fact, when Jesus and his disciples were on the road to Jerusalem for the last time and Jesus was informing them of what lay ahead, the disciples were so embroiled in a debate over who was going to sit closest to Jesus when he rules the Kingdom that they completely missed what he said. He said that the religious leaders were going to hand him over to the Romans and they were going to “mock him, spit on him, beat him with their whips, and kill him.” (Mark 10:34 NLT) How insensitive could they be? Jesus just told them he was facing suffering and death, and they’re arguing over who will get the number one spot in the Kingdom? Hello.

So, Jesus sat them down and gave them something to remember and pass on to us:

“You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:42-45 NLT)

Are these just nice words or are we really going to do this? How do you serve all the people in front of you? Basically, you start to listen and look. Listen to what they say they need, and look for what they might not say but need anyway. Now that takes a lot of mental effort, but you will find that in engaging yourself in the needs of others, you will have less time and energy to put into your own needs, which, at least for me, is usually pretty counterproductive anyway.

*An arbitrary number to represent the number of people in someone’s life they might encounter on somewhat of a regular basis.

Two by two

February 1, 2007

Two by two
by John Fischer

Could there be any stronger statement about the value Jesus places on fellowship than when he sent his disciples out two by two? We don’t know for sure exactly how long these trips took but the bond that developed between these pairs in ministry must have been very strong. Here they were going through brand new experiences and going through them together.

Jesus sent them out with nothing “except a walking stick – no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. He told them to wear sandals but not to take even an extra coat. ‘When you enter each village, be a guest in only one home,’ He said. ‘And if a village won’t welcome you or listen to you, shake off its dust from your feet as you leave.’” (Mark 6:8-11) They were totally dependent on God and each other. I bet they were really thankful for that other person!

God has set up ministry to be a team-oriented enterprise. There are no lone rangers in ministry. I lived for the longest time thinking I was one of those masked men, but as someone has pointed out, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. So in the context of a two-person team, when the ministry appeared to be unsuccessful (like those villages where they would not be welcome) they still had each other and what they were learning together in the process.

That the Lone Ranger wears a mask is a detail that does not go unnoticed by this observer, either. It actually seems quite appropriate because when you minister alone, you can easily get good at being two different people – one in public and one in private – something that having a partner who knows you in both contexts helps to avoid.

This two-by-two thing is definitely a good idea. I’m sure that the pairing of the disciples was not to everyone’s liking. At some point in close proximity, even the best of friends grate on each other. I can imagine someone saying something like: “Do I have to go out with Matthew again? Come on, Jesus, I had him last time.” Maybe he snored, or had very disagreeable body odor, or maybe the two personalities just didn’t match up very well. But learning to tolerate, and even love each other, is an important part of this shared responsibility. It’s what happens to us in the process of what happens to the ministry. And sometimes it’s even more important than “the ministry.”

God came down (but I didn’t!)

January 31, 2007

God came down (but I didn’t!)
by John Fischer

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.” (Philippians 2:3-7)

I have considered these verses before in these writings but just recently I saw something I had never seen before. This observation comes in the form of a confession that is almost too painful to record.

I have suddenly realized that all the while I have been interpreting this verse for myself, I have been identifying with Christ. You can see why it would be easy to do, since it starts out: “Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had,” but the similarities stop there – in attitude, not in the position. My problem is: I assumed the position. I assumed I, like God, had something to give up when I served. When the example went on to show how Christ left his place as God and stooped to take on the form of a human being, I applied that to myself as well. It was somehow important for me to get down off my high and lofty place and become a human being. Well, hello ... what was I before that?

This realization has served to show me how I have thought of myself as somewhere up there with God – with a lot at stake here in this servant thing. God and I … we’ll get down off our thrones here and go to work. OK God, I’m ready. If you can do this, so can I. (Gag me with a spoon!)

When Christ came down, he took on the form of a human being, which is where I start. The only place to come down from is the place I built for myself. And I need to do more than come down off it; I need to kick it over. I need to make sure it doesn’t exist anymore, because it is a lie. There is only one God. That God came down to me in the form of Jesus Christ. I’m the one he stooped to meet.

This may be an obvious thing to most of you, but to me, it’s a revelation of how skewed my thinking has been. I don’t bend down to serve anyone. I am already down. I just need to wake up to my place and the attitude God wants me to have.

Most of all, I need to remember who God is, where he belongs, how far he has gone to reach me, and why he deserves my worship.

Friends first

January 30, 2007

Friends first
by John Fischer

The Great Commission is all about making friends. Now I know Jesus said, “Therefore, go and make disciples …” (Matthew 28:19 NLT), but Jesus himself showed that you can’t make a disciple until you first make a friend. “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” (John 15:15 NLT)

So what Christians have called “witnessing” for some time really should be more like building relationships. It’s what you do over the long haul of a relationship that counts so much more than door-to-door canvassing of the neighborhood.

In the movie The Big Kahuna starring Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey, a young salesman fresh out of Baptist college goes on his first business trip to a convention with a couple seasoned veterans from his company. In an attempt to land a CEO (“The Big Kahuna”) of a very large account as a new client, the young Baptist, played surprisingly close to a real Baptist by Peter Tarrantino, ends up the unlikely one of the three who has the best shot at talking with the CEO.

But instead of talking about the company he represents and setting up his partners with a meeting, the Baptist ends up spending the whole conversation witnessing to the man about Jesus. When his co-workers find out about this, Spacey goes ballistic. A hot-headed argument ensues between Spacey and the rookie salesman over the place of religion in business, and Danny DeVito, the oldest and wisest of the three, tries to calm them both down and provides some very sensible advice. What he says to the young Baptist should be heard and considered by all Christians. It goes something like this:

“The minute you lay hold of a conversation in order to steer it in a certain direction, it ceases to be a conversation, it’s a sales pitch; and you aren’t a human being anymore, you’re a marketing rep. If you really care about the man, ask him about his kids … his wife … his dreams ...”

It’s the difference between pushing an agenda and truly caring for somebody. If you care about somebody, you want to know what he or she is thinking, what is the person’s hopes and dreams, joys and disappointments – in other words, what are the things that make that person human. Friendship is all about finding common ground, and it is out of this common ground that what is shared will have credibility.

How low can you go?

January 29, 2007

How low can you go?
by John Fischer

If you’ve ever wondered how far God would go to show his love, look in the mirror and wonder no more. We need not look any further than ourselves to find the most shocking and amazing displays of God’s grace. If we think otherwise, it is only because we have not seen ourselves as we truly are.

It has been said and sung many times: “There but for the grace of God go I.” At first this sounds grateful, but such sentiment masks a dangerous pride. It is actually not unlike the statement of a religious leader in Jesus’ day as he looked upon a sinner on his knees who was crying out for God’s mercy. “I thank you, God,” said the Pharisee, “that I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there.” (Luke 18:11 NLT) It is a view that focuses on someone else’s misfortune. Someone else is worse than I am. It is much better to be thinking and praying, “Here, because of the grace of God and for no other reason, am I.” I am the only person I truly know about when it comes to sin. I am the authority on the subject.

The Pharisee hasn’t a clue about the sinner – who he is or what he has done. He has no point of reference to judge the man’s life but from his own inflated view of himself. If he had even the slightest clue about his own sin, he would realize he doesn’t have any business making the assumption that the sinner is any worse than he is. The only prayer any of us can pray on the subject of sin is: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” This is the one prayer that sends heaven scurrying.

It is best to steer completely clear of the comparison game. Any attempt to better ourselves at the mercy of someone else’s failure will always bring a twisted view of us and others.

The immensity of God’s mercy is not displayed in what he did for the world, or for someone else. It is not displayed in someone else’s story about how low they were before Christ picked them up (of course, never as low as we would ever go – heaven forbid). Nor is it discovered through some theological understanding or study of the many nuances of his grace. No, the immensity of God’s mercy is revealed finally – and only – in the incredible realization that, lo and behold, it found out the worst of the lot. God’s mercy looked down from heaven and found out me!

The protection of praise

January 26, 2007

The protection of praise
by John Fischer

“If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!” (Proverbs 11:27 NLT)

Praise is a valuable weapon against the enemy. War cries, frontal assaults, or special words of exorcism can’t drive back the forces of evil. Neither can the brandishing of the sword or the charge of the brigade. What keeps the powers of darkness at bay is the simple and true praise of the Savior from a heart set free.

Christians are engaged in a battle, but going on the warpath won’t win this fight. It can even make matters worse. Christians can easily get caught up searching for evil in the world and trying to root it out, but by focusing on evil so much we bring the evil right to us. The best way to go after the enemy is with Christ on our minds and praise for him in our hearts. We do this unconsciously all the time. We sing a little song of praise as we go about our tasks, and unseen demons rush for cover. There are some things we are better off not knowing about.

Like the complicated etchings of the classical German painter Albrecht Durer that depict hosts of angelic beings and demons warring high in the sky over peaceful, tranquil landscapes, we have little knowledge of what is really going on at any given time in the heavenly realms around us. But we need not be conscious of this. We do not require sentries on the watch every hour, fearing attack. We do not have to check behind every door. It's better if we don’t. (“If you search for evil, it will find you!”) We need only be in the presence and the praise of Jesus. The enemy flees at the mere sound of his name.

Jesus is our constant protection. He is our most valuable possession. The best protection against evil is a heart bent toward the good – seeking God in all things. Light does not fight with darkness. There is no wrestling match necessary. Light banishes darkness. They cannot occupy the same place at the same time.

'The Three'

January 25, 2007

'The Three'
by John Fischer

How would you like to have friends like this?

“These are the names of David’s mightiest men. The first was Jashobeam the Hacmonite, who was commander of the Three – the three greatest warriors among David’s men. He once used his spear to kill eight hundred enemy warriors in a single battle.

Next in rank among the Three was Eleazar son of Dodai, a descendent of Ahoah. Once Eleazar and David stood together against the Philistines when the entire Israelite army had fled. He killed Philistines until his hand was too tired to lift his sword …

Next in rank was Shammah son of Agee from Harar. One time the Philistines gathered at Lehi and attacked the Israelites in a field full of lentils. The Israelite army fled, but Shammah held his ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines …

Once during harvesttime, when David was at the cave of Adullam , the Philistine army was camped in the valley of Rephaim . The Three (who were among the Thirty – an elite group among David’s fighting men) went down to meet him there. David was staying in the stronghold at the time, and a Philistine detachment had occupied the town of Bethlehem . David remarked longingly to his men, ‘Oh how I would love some of that good water from the well in Bethlehem , the one by the gate.’ So the Three broke through the Philistine lines, drew some water from the well, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it. Instead, he poured it out before the Lord. ‘The Lord forbid that I should drink this!’ he exclaimed. ‘This water is as precious as the blood of these men who risked their lives to bring it to me.’ So David did not drink it. This is an example of the exploits of the Three.” (2 Samuel 23:8-17 NLT)

OK, so it was a kind of stupid thing to do. Still, wouldn’t you like to be in a group like this with three guys who believed they could pretty much do anything? It’s true that war creates its own camaraderie, but then, we’re at war, too – a spiritual war that is being waged over our souls and our spirits. We cannot make it alone. We need others to stand with us. It might be cool to take on these guys as inspiration for a small group of committed believers. You could call yourselves “the Three,” or “the Two,” or “the Four.” Whatever. Then be careful what you long for around your friends. They might just go out and make it come true!

Your stand-in

January 22, 2007

Your stand-in
by John Fischer

“This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:21-22 NLT)

True believers are constantly in a state of shock. How can this be? How can I stand before a holy God who sees everything and have him unable to find a single fault in me? Is he blind? I know myself. I know the attitudes in my heart. I know the baggage I carry around. I have been a Christian all my life; don’t you think I would have this down by now? Well I don’t, and that makes this blamelessness even harder to believe.

But believe it I do, and believe it I will. It’s my only chance. My only chance of survival before a holy God is that Paul (the writer of Colossians) is right about this, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in His physical body has shielded God from the whole truth about me. Christ is my advocate. He is continually recasting the scenes of my life in another light.

Christ is my shield. I know the Bible says this, and I’ve always thought that was talking about my protection from harm. But I think it also means he is my shield against a holy God who must deal justly with sin. (And if you think about it, you wouldn’t want it any other way. If God isn’t just, there’s no justice anywhere.) That’s why Jesus took it so badly on the cross. That’s what all the blood was about. So God would look at us, looking for sin, and crane his neck trying to look around Jesus, and be unable to see us outside of what Christ has done for us. And Jesus is saying, “Forget trying to find any blame with John. I’ve got him covered. Don’t worry; he’s mine. Remember, I took care of all this on the cross. Your holiness and justice are in good shape – by the way – and John, and all these people here who believe in me, are safe in my arms.”

Too much, huh? Now does that make you want to just go out there and see how much sin you can get away with? That’s the farthest thing from your mind. Once you get this, you know you don’t deserve it, so you want to do everything you can to live a life worthy of what Christ is doing for you right now. He’s your stand-in.

Getting close to God

January 19, 2007

Getting close to God
by John Fischer

“Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you.” (James 4:8 NLT)

It’s been this way since time began. God set it up so we would seek him, and he would respond to us when we did. Is he playing hard to get? Well, he may be, only inasmuch as he wants a relationship with someone who wants one with him, and the way you show that you do is by seeking him. God will not force himself on anyone.

This is an incredible privilege he has given his creation, when you think of it. God joins in the give and take of a relationship with us! That means that if you don’t get close to God, well … you don’t get close to God. In other words, he gives us the integrity of making the first move.

I think this is what was meant in that strange passage in Matthew 6:7-8 when Jesus warns us not to give what is sacred to dogs and not to give pearls to pigs. God doesn’t reveal himself to those who aren’t interested in a relationship with him. And it’s no indictment on them; they simply wouldn’t get it. Dogs don’t know what is sacred. Pigs have no use for pearls. Their only value is what they can eat, so the real value of pearls would be wasted on a pig.

The truth about God is wasted on someone who is not interested in knowing him, so he doesn’t draw near to that person. He draws near to those who come to him. But believe me, once you show any indication of interest, he’s right there.

Actually, we all need God and we all know it. Even those who deny God and run the other way are desperately seeking him from some empty place inside. We just don’t all want to admit it.

But for those who do, God is all over any attempt on our part to get close to him. It makes no difference how you do this. There is no right or wrong way to seek God. You just seek him, and you keep on seeking him. There’s no end to this because there’s no end to God. There’s always more of him to discover and experience. Worship is never static. It keeps opening up more and more of God to us as we worship him and live our lives out according to his purposes.