Christ the Firstfruits

As the Christian world celebrates the resurrection of Christ this Easter Sunday, let us not forget our Jewish brothers and sisters who this same day celebrate Yom Bikkerim (The Feast of Firstfruits).  What is the connection of this Jewish Feast and the Christian celebration of Easter?  Is there something we can learn from this ancient holiday?

We find the command God gave His people to celebrate seven specific feasts or festivals in Leviticus 23.  The third holiday given was the Feast of Firstfruits which was to be held the Sunday after the Sabbath following Passover, which just happens to be today.  So what is the significance of this holiday?

Bringing Life

While I know it may seem odd at first and even a bit sacrilegious to some, this clip made me stop and think.  What does it look like to bring life to our world?  After all, isn’t this what we have been called to do?  Our creative God, created us in His image and called us to partner with him in the ongoing creation of the world.  He has called us to be the ones that bring life to the world.  Both physical and spiritual life.  Maybe the folks at Guiness are on to something.

To learn more about the Guiness company and the way that they have been involved in bringing life I would recommend the book The Search for God and Guiness.  You can read a short review here.

Thankful

As I sit in the stillness of this early Thanksgiving morning, I have been reflecting on  all of the the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for big things like God’s grace and mercy.  For His patience and goodness.  For His holiness and desire to make me holy.  Did I mention His patience.  I am thankful that He loved us enough to join us, to live among us and die for us.

I am thankful for my wife and kids.  For their smiles and laughs, for their love, for knowing that we are in this for the long haul and that we are always there for each other.

I am thankful  for extended family and for friends that are like family.

I am thankful for heath, for jobs that more than provide for our needs and allow us to use our giftings and strengths.

I am thankful for our home.  For our kids to have a place to grow up, and for us to have a place to share life with others.

I am thankful that we live in Colorado.  For sunrises and sunsets, blue skies and powder snow. For mountains and elk.  For the breath taking beauty that God surrounds us with each day and that I shamefully take for granted all too often.

I am thankful for little things – french pressed coffee, smartwool socks and fleece pullovers.  For my iPhone and my Mac.  For bacon & eggs and biscuits & gravy.  For good music and for great podcasts, for high speed internet and all the information available at the click of a button.

And I am thankful you stopped by to read this.

What are you thankful for?

Matthew’s Begats and God’s Big Picture

This morning I picked up the Scriptures and started reading through Matthew’s account of the Gospel.  I didn’t get far before I had to stop.  For those who are familiar with Matthew’s book, you know it starts off with a genealogy, the family tree of Jesus.  Now I wouldn’t recommend that you start writing a book this way.  It is not the most attention grabbing beginning and there is no obvious hook to keep you reading.  However, as I was reading through this list again I was amazed at not just the names, and there are some big names in there, but at how much detail had to happen for this list to come together.  I was left in awe.   Just how big is this picture God is paining in his word?  Just how big is He to arrange all the details to bring about its completion?

As God put together just the right plan to bring about the birth of His Son, so too has God brought about your entrance into the world and the events that shape and make you who you are.  Take a moment to ponder the God who creates and orders and brings His plan to fulfillment this morning.

This is a video of Andrew Peterson singing through Matthew’s words.  May this song get stuck in your head and cause you to reflect on God’s greatness today.

 

 

 

Mass Produced Disciples

Why has the church fallen for the lie that bigger is better, that more is the goal?  The bigger the church congregation, the larger the youth group, the more successful the church.  We are trying to mass produce disciples, which goes against everything we know and believe to be true.  In schools we know that the lower the student/teacher ratio the more effective the teaching is and the better the students are able to understand and put what they are learning into practice.  If the church were to adopt this strategy, perhaps some of our mega-churches would not be held up as examples and church growth talk would not be about numbers, but about actual growth in the people of the church.

After all, Jesus did not try to train thousands at a time, but picked 12 to walk with daily.  His  investment in the few eventually had a real impact on millions, but he didn’t try to do reach tens of thousands at a time.  Discipleship cannot work the way we are trying to do it, and we see the evidence in the stats about the church today.  Perhaps it  is time to look to the past to find the model for the future.

By faith . . .

On Saturday I put up a post about Martin Luther and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Today I want to look at some of the practical implications that this split has had on Protestant church.  One of the major areas of disagreement between those Reformers and the Catholic church was the understanding of grace versus works in the role of salvation.  Protestants believed that Catholic doctrine taught that salvation was achieved by faith and works, thus you had to earn your salvation.  In response, the doctrine of Sola Fide, “by faith alone”, became  one of the cornerstones of Protestant theology.

Unfortunately, over time the practical result has been a separation of “faith” and “works” and the idea that obedience is not a necessary part of salvation.  After all, Ephesians 2:8-9 says:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

But in Chapter 2, James says:

A Historical Day

Today is perhaps one of the most important days in Church history.  It was on this day in 1517 that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenburg protesting some of the practices of the Catholic church and hoping to bring about reform.  As a result, Luther was called before a church council, the Diet of Worms, to be held accountable for his writings and teachings.  It is the act that sparked what came to be known as the Protestant Reformation.

This clip from the movie Luther is of Martin answering the accusations being brought against him and is one of my favorite movie scenes.

Who are some modern day Martin Luthers in the church that are bringing about a new reformation?  What is it that needs reformed?

My Shephelah

Geography is important – it helps one understand the context of where he is, what his surroundings are like and who he may encounter.  In Israel the geography is an important part of the story that God is telling.  Where the story happens gives insights into the characters and the plot.  In ancient Israel we find that the  Hebrews were a mountain people, preferring the relative safety that this region provided from the attack of the enemy.  On the other hand, we find the Philistines resided on the coastal plains along the route that would eventually be known as the Via Maris.  This was the main trade route between Egypt, Europe and Asia, in some ways the center of the world of it’s time.  In between the Judah Mountains and the Costal Plains was a region known as the Shephelah.  This was the place where God’s people could come down from their isolation and have the opportunity to be salt and light to the world that was streaming by on the main highway of the day.  To be in the world but not of the world.

In my work with Christian college students, I often find myself living up in the mountains.  It is so easy to get caught up in the training of young leaders , that I forget to come down into the Shephelah and engage the world.  Sure, I jump on the Via Marris of today, social media sites, and engage the world in that way.  But that is not quite the same as leaving the comfort and security of my mountain and meeting people on their ground.

This week, I am headed out to my Shephelah.  We are taking our students out of their comfort zone or the Christian bubble and putting them right in the middle of one of the biggest sources of conflict in our society today.  We are headed to the University of New Mexico campus to engage those passing by in dialogue about the issue of life.  There will be graphic displays and protestors, pro-life and pro-choice students, and a lot of hurting people who need to hear the Good News of grace and peace.  Our desire is to engage these students where they are, to be the salt and light that God calls us to be , and to share the truth about His love.

As we take our students to this Shephelah, I ask that you join us in praying that we are effective ambassadors for Christ and that as we interact with the campus community they will see and experience the grace and love he is offering to them.

Celebrating 15 Years of Marriage

Today Julie and I celebrate our 15 year anniversary.  As I look back over those 15 years, I am thankful for God’s gift of an amazing wife who loves me despite all of my shortcomings, who loves our kids, and sacrifices for the good of our family.  Most of all I am thankful for a wife who desires to walk with God, to know Him and to live out His plan for her life.

The past 15 years have been the best of my life and I am so excited about what the future holds for us.  Thank you Julie for your love, your friendship and for walking this road with me.

Thoughts on my 40th Birthday

I know – I’m officially old now.  For the past few weeks, I’ve been getting grief from my wife, my kids, and my co-workers about hitting the Big 4 – O.  Honesty, it really doesn’t seem as big a deal to me as it did when I turned 30.  But with all of the harassment and joking, I have spent a little time pondering the significance of this milestone in my life.

For me as I have reflected on the implications of turning 40, my mind keeps going back to the use of the number 40 in the Scriptures.  It seems that 40 is commonly found as a measurement of a substantial amount of time, and often a period of preparation.  Noah was in the ark for 40 days and nights (Gen 7:4,12). Moses was believed to be 40 when he killed the Egyptian and fled (Ex 2:12).  After 40 more years of preparation as a shepherd he saw the Burning Bush (Ex 3:2) and went back to Pharaoh and shepherded the people out of Egypt.  Then he spent 40 more years leading them in the wilderness as God prepared them to enter the Promised Land before he died at the age of 120 (Deut 34:7).  Moses remained on Mt. Sinai for 40 days twice while receiving the ten commandments (Ex 24:18, Deut 10:10).

We also see King David who ruled for 40 years (2 Sam 5:4), as did his son Solomon (1 Kings 11:42). Elijah fasted in the wilderness for 40 days(1Kings 19:8) as did Jesus (Matt 4:2). Jonah’s prophecy was that in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed, thus giving them time to prepare and repent (Jonah 3:4).

In Jewish tradition, the Rabbis considered 40 years a notable length of time to study Torah.  Rabbi Akiva spent 40 years as a shepherd, studied for 40 years, and taught for 40 years. The Mishna states that at age 40, one achieves understanding (Avot 5:21)  and “A man does not comprehend his teacher’s full intention until he is 40″ says Rabbah(Av. Zar. 5b).

So in light of this theme of 40 being a significant time of preparation, I am excited about what lies ahead in this next season of life. Excited that He has given me 40 years of training and preparation for what He is calling me to do.  May I be faithful to obey His call and to use what He has given wisely.