Addiction, disease, and life among the swine (Mark 5)

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Heroin has a new face, and it’s a profoundly ordinary one.  While heroin abuse has been on the rise, nationally, the crisis becomes all the more public when given a recognizable face.  In 2013, Cory Monteith—one of the stars of TV’s “Glee”—“died of mixed drug toxicity, involving intravenous heroin,” according to CNN. [1]

Indeed, as is reported by the Journal of the American Medical Association, heroin abuse has migrated out of the inner city and into suburban America. [2]  After dealing with the heroin addiction of his own son, David Scheff wrote a pair of books to help others understand addiction.  “Addicts come from broken and intact homes,” he writes.  “They are longtime losers and great successes. We often heard in lectures or Al-Anon meetings or AA meetings of the bright and charming men and women who bewilder those around them when they wind up in the gutter.”[3]

Why take drugs?  For many, drugs become a means of coping with deep, psychological pain.  “Alcohol and drugs are not the problems;” writes Chris Prentiss. “[T]hey are what people are using to help themselves cope with the problems.  Those problems always have both physical and psychological components.”[4]

For still others, heroin abuse begins with prescription painkillers.  Once hooked, it becomes extraordinarily difficult to get “clean.”  And while obtaining more prescription meds proves challenging, heroin is cheaply available—imported to our area from Baltimore.

THE DISEASE TAKES HOLD

The writers of the Bible had no real category for “addiction” as we know it today.  But they were no stranger to deep pain.  In Mark’s biography of Jesus, we see the Savior encountering pain in the context of supernatural conflict.  In Mark 5, Jesus encounters a man deeply afflicted by demon possession:

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.  11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:1-13)

I realize that such supernatural stories strain credulity.  But put aside your skepticism for a moment and consider that Jesus’ biographers endeavored to record actual history.  These weren’t the primitive ramblings of a pre-scientific age; these were men seeking to relate Jesus’ story as accurately as possible.  To say that the supernatural didn’t happen because it can’t happen is not reason; it’s prejudice.

The addicts we see today may look fine on the outside, but underneath they are experiencing turmoil not dissimilar from what this man endured.  Addiction, as we now understand it, has many markings of an actual disease.  I realize some may object to this.  After all, no one chooses cancer the way people choose drugs.  And there’s surely truth to this, it’s just that once an addict becomes hooked, his or her choices take on a life of their own.  It’s like Gollum from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, speaking of his enslaving devotion to the ring of power: “Once it takes hold of us,” he hisses, “it never lets go.”

THE REAL POWER TO CHANGE

Jesus, as we’ve seen, brings about an incredible change in this man’s life.  But others aren’t so thrilled about this man’s turnaround:

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5:14-20)

The community had grown disturbingly accustomed to this man’s condition.  They were less concerned about his wellbeing than they were the local economy.  In fact, they were so fearful of what had just happened that we learn that “they began to beg Jesus to depart” (v. 17).  Sometimes the status quo seems safer, or more natural, than trusting in the miraculous work of Jesus.

We need a miracle, really, if we’re going to see addiction truly addressed in the lives of those we care about.  Addiction is so enslaving—at both the biological as well as psychological level—that only the fresh power of God’s Spirit seems to offer any real hope for escape.

In his book Clean, David Scheff begins by pointing out the wrong-headed idea that addicts are to blame for their ongoing condition:

“The view that drug use is a moral choice is pervasive, pernicious, and wrong.  So are the corresponding beliefs about the addicted—that they’re weak, selfish, and dissolute; if they weren’t when their drug taking and drinking began to harm them, they’d stop.  The reality is far different.  Using drugs or not isn’t about willpower or character.  Most problematic drug use is related to stress, trauma, genetic predisposition, mild or series mental illness, use at an early age, or some combination of those.  Even in their relentless destruction and self-destruction, the addicted aren’t bad people.  They’re gravely ill, afflicted with a chronic, progressive, and often terminal disease.”[5]

Again, we mustn’t ignore the moral choices involved in addiction.  But we also mustn’t ignore the confining entanglements that addictions bring on.  The roots of addiction run very deep indeed; God’s love runs deeper still.

 

If there is an addict in your life—or even in your mirror—take heart.  God’s grace is sufficient to penetrate every infirmity, whether it’s the supernatural pain Jesus assuaged in Mark, or the natural enslavements of drug dependence.  The cross offers forgiveness, but it also offers a beckoning call to come to him—come to Jesus—who is the satisfaction to our every desire.

[1] Wynn Westmoreland, “‘Glee’ star Cory Monteith’s death due to heroin, alcohol ruled accidental.”  CNN.com, October 3, 2013.  Available online at http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/02/showbiz/cory-monteith-death-accidental/

[2] Theodore J. Cicero, Matthew S. Ellis, Hilary L. Surratt, and Steven P. Kurtz.  “The Changing Face of Heroin Use in the United States: A Retrospective Analysis of the Past 50 Years,” JAMA Psychiatry, May 2014.

[3] David Sheff, Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey Through His Son’s Addiction.  (United States: Mariner, 2009), 14

[4] Chris Prentiss, The Alcoholism and Addiction Cure: A Holistic Approach to Total Recovery.  (United States: Power Press, 2005)

[5] David Sheff, Clean: Overcoming Adduction and Ending American’s Greatest Tragedy. (New York: Houghton Mfflin Harcourt, 2013), xi.

Don’t waste your Sunday (Nehemiah 7:73-8:10)

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Humans are celebrating creatures by nature.  Weddings, birthdays, graduations—the larger the event in our lives, the greater the milestone, the more we crave the presence of family, friends, music, and all the other elements that turn a gathering into a blowout.

We’ve emphasized this facet of human nature throughout our series, really.  We are, after all, “better together.”  Emile Durkheim, the French social analyst, made his life’s work out of trying to explain the nature of humans in groups.  “The very act of congregating,” he writes, “is an exceptionally powerful stimulant.  Once the individuals are gathered together, a sort of electricity is generated from their closeness and quickly launches them to an extraordinary height of exaltation.” [1]

Now that the both the Temple and the city walls had been completed, what did Ezra and Nehemiah do?  They had a revival service:

73 So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the temple servants, and all Israel, lived in their towns.

And when the seventh month had come, the people of Israel were in their towns. And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. (Nehemiah 7:73-8:1)

Indeed, this was a revival service, an experience magnified by the electricity between the people gathered “as one man.”  What we’re about to witness, you and I, is something known as a “covenant renewal service.”  In the coming chapters, the people of Israel would revisit the relationship between God and his people, they would confess their sins, and they would reaffirm their devotion to God.

THE READING OF THE LAW

Here’s how Nehemiah describes this ancient church service:

2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. (Nehemiah 8:1-8)

In verse 8 we read that “they read from the book…and they gave the sense.”  Gave the sense?  That means that didn’t just read the Bible; they took time to explain what it meant.

Why would the Bible occupy such a prominent place in this whole ceremony?  Allen Ross writes that “they wanted to make sure their worship was right:”

“It appears that the believing community was trying to recapture the spirit and form of worship as it was legislated by Moses, developed by David, and reformed by Hezekiah and Josiah.  In fact, we know that 1 and 2 Chronicles were written about this time for this very purpose—to inform the Jewish people of what was supposed to be by reminding them of the history of the faith and especially temple worship, and to show them what it would take to restore it.”[2]

HOLINESS IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH GLOOM

But what we should also notice is that this was meant to be a revival service in the truest sense.  Nehemiah even emphasized that their devotion to God didn’t have to lead to sorrow.  There’s joy to be found in the presence of God:

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:9-10)

The word “Holy” means to be set apart for God’s purposes.  To behold God’s purposes—to reflect on them at specific times or occasions—this promotes in us a sense of joy, a joy that springs from the confidence we have in God’s enduring character.

DON’T WASTE YOUR SUNDAY

Our Sunday mornings don’t necessarily resemble the exhilarating revival preaching from the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

As a matter of fact, more often than not, our Sunday mornings are positively…ordinary.

So much so that if you walk into a church service expecting something extraordinary to happen to you, you may walk out of the building disappointed.  If that’s the case, it’s tempting to find something better to do on a Sunday than occupy a seat.

But we may have missed something crucial.  The word “Church” doesn’t refer to a Sunday service; it refers to a community of Christ’s followers.  We gather at a weekly service because it is there that—like Nehemiah—we remind one another of the relationship we have with God, this time mediated through the work of Christ.  For centuries, communion—the taking of the bread and cup—has served as the climax of the service, for it is in these elements that we recite and rehearse the gospel with one another.

So essential are these gatherings that in the ancient world, the writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers this way:

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Church community really does transform you—so long as that community is infused with the supernatural power of God’s presence in the Spirit.  Church services have a place in that transformative process.  But while we might expect this to take place on any given Sunday, the truth is it might well take a lifetime of Sundays.

 

Don’t waste your Sunday.  Make time for one another.  The joy of the Lord is our strength.

[1] Emile Durkheim, quoted in Jonathan Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided By Politics and Religion.  (New York: Vintage Books, 2012), 262.

[2] Allen Ross, Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation. (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2005), 353.

Think Like God for a Minute (Matthew 18:15-35)

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I am that grandfather who is very willing to spoil his grandkids and sugar them up with abundant treats. So one day when I was in sole charge of watching them, I loaded them into the car and took them all for ice cream. Well, along with slopping it all over themselves and each other, they began to fight and argue about who had the larger or better cone given to them. I seriously considered grabbing the cones and smashing them one by one on top of their heads, except that someone might see that and call the cops for abuse; and I’d have to clean them up in any event. But it did annoy me that I was so nice to them and that they could not in turn get along with one another.

God must often feel this way about us. And if we are going to be truly better together in service (our theme this past week), we need to be able to work well together in spite of our failures, idiosyncrasies, or whatever else may tend to divide us. And this includes being restored to one another where sin damages a relationship, and being willing to confess, forgive and restore each other.

Jesus spoke to this by saying …

18:15 – “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

The debt of sin that we have been forgiven is huge. God had no obligation whatsoever to redeem the lost race of mankind who rebelled against him and his word. But in grace he made the payment of greatest cost — that of his own son. Through this mechanism he has made forgiveness possible and extends it to us by his gracious revelation of the gospel. And for us to have received this gift but then not forgive one another and thus inhibit the work of the Kingdom together … well … that’s rather outrageous. Don’t be that way. Don’t make God want to dump an ice cream cone on your head!  Settle scores and broken relationships; work together for the Lord and #ForOurCity.

You’re Kind of a Big Deal! (2 Corinthians 5:11-21)

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Every so often at my Rotary club, we have an ambassador from another country come as a guest speaker. There are only a few categories of guest speakers that are afforded a standing applause welcome. Ambassadors are one of them. An ambassador is an important person. He stands in representation of the sovereign in his country, and represents all that his native kingdom values and promotes.

The Scriptures say that we are ambassadors for the King of Kings. I have always been so impressed with this concept and honored that God should so regard us in such a light as to give us this incredible title and responsibility.crown-pic

The Apostle Paul understood that he was an ambassador, and not just when he was preaching in a synagogue or proclaiming Christ in the marketplace. Paul remembered his role even when he was in jail chained to a huge Roman guard. He knew his position of service was a 24/7 kind of thing…

EPH 6:19 – Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Being vitally related to God changes our viewpoint of both ourselves and those around us. In today’s passage, Paul is saying that the Christian has a new way of looking at people around him. It is not the same way people of the world look at each other. We see others with Kingdom glasses. We see them either as brothers and sisters in Christ, or we see them as enslaved by an alien kingdom – in need of our services as an ambassador of the Kingdom of Light.

So there is no reason for the Christian to be insecure. You are not just an engineer, a nurse, a teacher, a mom or dad… you are an ambassador for the Creator, the One who holds it all together, the great Storyteller. That sure beats anything your unsaved neighbor is able to say he or she has membership within. You represent the sovereign of the universe as an agent of reconciliation and peace. So you’re kind of a big deal (to pull a silly quote from The Anchorman), although you’re only a big deal because of God’s grace and calling – it’s good to remember that!  (insert smiley face)

How well do you serve in this assignment?  Ask God to make you aware and effective as His chosen representative – it is part of your role in The Story that God is writing, along with the adventure and journey of walking in relationship with Him. And it is your way of serving as well #ForOurCity.

5:11 – Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Open Table, Opens Doors

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As we work through this “For Our City” series, we are talking about having new and different attitudes toward those around us who struggle or who have fallen into misfortune or poverty, even homelessness. We know that many in our city are generationally impoverished, often never having had the background to learn or experience life-skills that yield success. It can become a cycle.

How do we as God’s people do something specific and positive to break these cycles and move people beyond a current life status? We can meet their immediate needs for a few meals or a few nights of housing. We might even subsidize some bills for food, housing or medical care. But how can we help to move them toward categorical change and sustained, self-supporting success?

REACH Director Jodie Ostoich considered these sorts of questions and found a ministry called “Open Table” that seeks to do this very thing. It is not merely about getting a person through a short window of time of immediate crises, but is rather also resourcing an individual to a new and sustainable way of live … truly moving them out of poverty.

The common need for people who are impoverished and even homeless is that they lack a network of relationships and connections to make positive change. Many social service organizations provide a piece of the pie for meeting needs, but what is needed is something to bring it all together. In the business world, this would be called a business plan or strategic initiatives.

A Christian businessman put together such a model in a real-life experience, and this has been modified into a repeatable ministry model for others to use particularly to help a person move from homelessness to self-sustainable operation. The idea is to bring a “table” of 8-10 individuals together to do what is needed to help a person with connections, assisting them to get beyond the speed bumps that will invariably inhibit progress toward what is a very large goal and mountain to climb.

For those of us who have never been in an impoverished condition of this sort, it is difficult to imagine the complications. Most of us would have family, friends, business and other connections (including lifelong skills) to bail us out of a disastrous downfall in life. But that is not the situation for many in homelessness or deep poverty.

At a recent “Open Table” meeting we had at Tri-State Fellowship, those who have done “a table” to help a client met in a circle with others interested in perhaps joining such a venture. The client helped over the past year was also in attendance. Impacting me in this discussion was a description of the complications that arise in this grand scenario for an individual. For every two steps forward, there might be three steps backward. As an individual becomes more self-sustaining, they may lose other resources such as government assistance. And now, after being highly responsible with a couple of part-time jobs, they no longer qualify for assistance programs and are suddenly actually further behind. And then there is the challenge of finding affordable housing, riding public transportation, getting to a couple of jobs, yet also meeting for a variety of appointments in varied locations to wrestle through remaining issues.

In all of these matters the folks who have come to be the “table” participants can provide assistance to get things accomplished. The “table” meets once a week with the client, providing a variety of items of practical assistance (connections, transportation, etc.) and advice.

Many who entered this process a year ago said that they really did not know how to do this or by what means they might assist, but all said that God used them in wonderful ways as the process moved along. They also commented that once you get to know someone individually who is in poverty, it changes and challenges the prejudices you may have had about the poor collectively.

Between REACH and a couple of churches (including TSF this past year), a total of six “tables” have been successfully completed. This is a ministry that can grow, and in fact it could serve other than homeless individuals – for example, those aging out of foster care or those re-entering society after prison, etc.

For those from TSF reading this, we are going to enter this again in the new year with one or more individuals. For those from other churches seeing this in our devotional series, for more information you may contact Kelli Tencer at REACH by calling 301-733-2371 x107.  There is a training program of three sessions of two hours each, along with all sorts of resources to make this a success.

As churches and Christians, we can’t just relegate these situations to the government to fix them. True and lasting changes can be actually better delivered by a group of God’s people who will set their love upon a hurting individual, thereby changing their lives (including the gospel) and thus being #ForOurCity in a most practical way.

Better Together (Acts 2:42-47)

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We are made to be in community with others and to be people who are interdependent upon one another. Practically from DAY ONE, it was so … as God said it was not good for man to be alone, and thus Eve was created for Adam, toward the end also that they might multiply others who would be together, work together, and serve one another. So it is programmed inside us to be together and do together, finding joy and success in cooperative venture.

“Better Together” – This has become an attractive political slogan used by many over the years, not just recently. And this idea has merit. Great movements and great accomplishments involve masses of people working together, compelled by the vision of a leader to go in one direction.

At the same time, there needs to be a common bond of truth and purpose that unites people together to accomplish great things. So there is merit in finding the common bonds that unite people, beyond the things that make folks different from one another, and to coalesce around that truth to get past small-mindedness toward accomplishment together.crowd-of-people

This idea of being better together and moving beyond small-mindedness is the major theme of week four of the #ForOurCity series. The entire concept of the body of Christ – with all of its varied parts and diversity – is that we need one another. None of alone have everything that we need; none of us is an island unto ourselves. We were made to be interdependent, and that is the way the early church functioned from the very beginning …

Acts 2:42 – They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

All of us who love the church of Jesus Christ and have given our lives to serving and leading it especially love this passage of Scripture. We long for our local congregations to have this sort of mutual affection and relationships. The word “together” is even included three times in these verses – being together, meeting together and fellowshipping together.

Often in sports we hear about the “locker room / clubhouse atmosphere.”  Some teams have it, other don’t. Just this past weekend a football team that lost a game they probably should have won had players calling out one another in the press. Not good. On the other hand, the team that pulled together to beat them is universally praised this year for the great atmosphere of older and younger players all pulling together and contributing to their success.

There is every reason for the church of Christ to have a great “locker room.”  It is the ultimate winning team with the greatest coach ever. There will be tough times, as Jesus said it would be so in this world. Like the legendary coach Vince Lombardi would say, “Sometimes the clock runs out, but we never lose in the end.”

In this Acts 2 passage, we often talk about the constituent elements we see listed here that comprise the well-rounded church: teaching, worship, fellowship, mutual service, public proclamation, etc.  But for today’s theme, notice the emphasis that all of these elements were being done together. And this is what was so attractive about it in the eyes of a watching world. The healthy church (and larger church community) that serves each other well in a genuine community of love by living out their faith is that family that outsiders often respect and may even want to know how you become a part of such a place.  #BetterTogether

“It is finished” (Nehemiah 6:10-19)

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Another great post from Curt Snyder:

Have you ever found yourself completing a project you were involved in, feeling pretty good about yourself, only to have someone else criticize or condemn your work? If so, you probably can identify with Nehemiah. He had been given a burden by God to rebuild the destroyed walls of Jerusalem. He had assessed the situation, rallied a divided people and in just fifty-two days accomplished a feat that should have taken several years to complete. I’m fairly sure he was feeling pretty good about what had just happened.

10 One day I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home. He said, “Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the temple doors, because men are coming to kill you—by night they are coming to kill you.” 11 But I said, “Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” 12 I realized that God had not sent him, but that he had prophesied against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. 13 He had been hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this, and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.

14 Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, my God, because of what they have done; remember also the prophet Noadiah and how she and the rest of the prophets have been trying to intimidate me. 15 So the wall was completed on the twenty-fifth of Elul, in fifty-two days.

There will be times in your life when God will be asking you to take a bold step of faith, to do something that is far outside your normal routine. With every one of those bold steps there will be those who hold a differing opinion or viewpoint. There may be those who will tell you that you cannot accomplish it or even stand in stark opposition to what you are doing.  Sometimes they are even those who should be most for you, just like the people of Judah who would have benefited most from the completion of the wall.

17 Also, in those days the nobles of Judah were sending many letters to Tobiah, and replies from Tobiah kept coming to them. 18 For many in Judah were under oath to him, since he was son-in-law to Shekaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. 19 Moreover, they kept reporting to me his good deeds and then telling him what I said. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

The reality is there is an enemy out there, an enemy of God and of all those who follow Him, who does not want you to succeed or even attempt to take that step of faith. And he will do everything and use every trick to keep you from doing so.

Nehemiah could have thrown up his hands and said, “What’s the use? Even the people who live here don’t want this to happen.” But he knew what God had spoken to him and he was convinced and determined that he would see it through.

So let’s back up and see in verse 16 how the enemies of Nehemiah responded to the completion of the wall.

16 When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God.

God is for you! There is nothing that he speaks into your heart that He cannot and will not see through to completion if you will simply obey. He may not be asking you to physically rebuild a city, but maybe He is asking you to repair a broken relationship, or to reconnect with a neighbor. Maybe He is asking you to serve at your local school or to become a foster family. Maybe He is even asking you to become a missionary, to plant a church or to become a pastor. Regardless of what God is asking of you He can give you the strength to accomplish it; and when those who would oppose you attempt to do so, He will help you so that just like Nehemiah’s enemies: “When all our enemies heard about this, all the surrounding nations were afraid and lost their self-confidence, because they realized that this work had been done with the help of our God”

Dealing with False Accusations (Nehemiah 6:1-9)

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Have you ever done some genuinely good deed only to be accused of having a self-serving motivation? That is, at a minimum, annoying in the extreme!  It is enough to make you ponder if it is worth the effort of attempting to serve someone else or accomplish an honorable task.

Nehemiah was faced with such a problem as he neared the completion of the wall around Jerusalem. In chapter six the old enemies appear again, first of all with a false premise …

6:1 – When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it—though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: “Come, let us meet together in one of the villages on the plain of Ono.”

But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?” 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer.

Nehemiah was able to see through the pretext of this request as meaning to do harm, not to just have a nice peace-pipe conversation and reconciliation. The place they wanted him to come was about 25 miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. And there was no reason to meet with these men, as the wall was nearing completion with just the gates remaining to be completed. Clearly this was an 11th-hour attempt to stop the project by stopping the leader of the entire effort.

The deplorable trio next took on a different and more insidious approach and attack …

5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written:

“It is reported among the nations—and Geshem says it is true—that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: ‘There is a king in Judah!’ Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together.”

Have we not just lived through such a season of similar political maneuvering? The bag of dirty tricks is old and … well, dirty … because it is old! It is the way of the world that if you can’t beat your political rival by the truth, make up a host of lies that are at least marginally believable. Throw enough mud against the wall and some of it has to stick.

The accusation was that “rumor had it” that Nehemiah was building this wall for the purpose of announcing himself as king. This would have had repercussions miles away in Persia in the palace of Artaxerxes. The unholy trio of enemies reasoned that this innuendo might frighten Nehemiah into abandoning the work to save his own neck. He answered …

8 I sent him this reply: “Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out of your head.”

9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, “Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.”

But I prayed, “Now strengthen my hands.”

Nehemiah called out the ruse, simply denying it while turning to God to be strengthened for the work. He sought out the Lord on seven distinct occasions in this book of the written record of his work and life. And there is a lesson in that for all of us.

False accusation is simply a part of life when attempting to do great things for God. We need to remember that the ultimate enemy we have is not flesh and blood, but rather it involves principalities and powers in high places in the spiritual realm. Satan and his horde of demonic helpers are against our seeking to serve God by serving others, and we can expect that lies and false accusations will come against us. It is par for the course.

We would do well also to remember the words of Paul to the Galatians …

6:8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

As we work to be #ForOurCity, we can confidently remain steadfast and pray like Nehemiah, “Lord, strengthen our hands and remember our work.”

The Silliness of Worry (Matthew 6:25-34)

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On my recent trip to the West Coast to visit relatives, including attending at their church, the pastor preached on this sixth chapter of Matthew. And he told the story that he had earlier preached in a previous ministry on this topic of not over-valuing material possessions, and after church he went out to the parking lot to discover that his car had been stolen!

If you enjoy worrying, you are living at the right time. There is plenty to worry about right now in a world that is terribly damaged. If corporate worry could be measured, the nation right now would weigh in at a rather high number. New president, global terror, fragile world economics, ecological debates about natural resources … just to name a few.

But as a nation we have gone through even more difficult times. I think of my parents’ generation that lived through The Great Depression and the Second World War.  My father told me about the scant income that he had during those years, having a new and young family along with his in-laws to provide for. But he told me that even with nothing to spare, he determined he was going to be faithful to give to God and therefore chose to tithe faithfully. His summary statement about his life was that, “From the day I chose to be faithful to give to God, I have never failed to thrive and have always had even more than enough.”  He put the Kingdom of God as his top priority with his material assets and life skills, and he was totally taken care of as a result.

This should not be a surprise, for this is what Christ said would happen and would be the experience of those who rest in the Lord by prioritizing the eternal reality of God’s kingdom …

6:25 – “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?bird-and-flowers

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Worrying is easy to do. Remember the insurance company commercial a few years ago that featured the Ray LaMontagne song “Trouble” … that had a dog who had nightmare worries about his bone and all that could happen for him to lose it?  It was a great commercial. The original LaMontagne words say…

Trouble...

Trouble, trouble, trouble, trouble

Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born

Worry...

Worry, worry, worry, worry

Worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone

The song would have had a better theological ring if it did not go on to say, “We’ll I’ve been… saved by a woman …”  I think being saved by God would be better, but you get the idea.

Worry accomplishes little, and it is an action that is merely what people of the world do. Those who have no connection with God and eternal perspectives actually have nothing beyond this world. So worrying makes sense in many ways when there is no overarching authority of a God of provision. But to claim an alleged faith in God without actually trusting in it and in Him is to act as if there really is no faith at all.

So we can be generous and trust God, even if we don’t have guaranteed resources for more than the immediate future. We can do more than worry about self, we can think about how to be God’s agents to serve others #ForOurCity.

Counterintuitive Investing (Matthew 6:1-4, 19-24)

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Does anyone really know what to do these days with investments? There is trouble in any direction you look. Just a decade or two ago it was rather easy to manage resources. Interest rates on certificates of deposit were decent and you could even make some money on mere savings interest, now paying only a fraction of a percent. The stock market had not yet crashed and real estate was a guaranteed winner. What can you do now that rather surely promises a yield and reward?

Well, we can help you out. Here today is a plan with payouts that are, literally, out of this world! The challenge is that doing this is very counterintuitive.

When we make investments in an account, we expect to get a monthly statement to follow its progress. When investing in stocks and bonds, the brokerage agency sends a quarterly report of the performance of your positions. As well now in this modern era, you can check online 24/7 to see the status of your funds.

All of this is in the world of the visible – the intuitive. Your investments are fully in sight. That seems eminently wise. We might even call it astute management. And we are not going to slam prudent investment and management of God-given and God-blessed assets that are invested toward the end of meeting our basic needs. But there is a stewardship principle of using the abundance of resources in a way that is generous toward God and his kingdom work, along with blessing others who have insufficient assets for sustaining life.

Jesus spoke to this in Matthew 6, saying …

6:1 – “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

So there is a way to give that represents a genuine heart and motive. Jesus often encountered the religious element in Judaism who lived their “righteousness” in a very public way. It was all about making themselves feel good by showing others that they were clearly and obviously better and more advanced. They even did this with the way they gave their money.

God is a very good accountant. Credit is not necessary on earth, and giving merely to receive it now rather invalidates the reward. God can be counted upon to honor generosity in a place and time where it really matters most.

Christ picked up a similar theme just a few verses later …

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

So much of the Christian life is counterintuitive – just the opposite of the way it seems things should be. Like prayer – trusting an unseen hand, power and authority to help us rather than merely working harder to solve problem ourselves … that seems wrong. And likewise with material assets. Conventional wisdom is to accumulate and hang onto things for security, rather than to risk security by generously giving away what we might someday need for ourselves.rusty-shed

But the real world and true life is the eternal kingdom. What is given toward and invested in this endeavor can never be lost. Unlike the material world it will never fade and rust away or be stolen by someone else. Investments of this sort can never be lost, and these commitments demonstrate the nature of our hearts and what master has authority over our lives. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t horde riches on earth to the neglect of God’s Kingdom and the needs around us, while expecting also to see those riches be eternally a reward for the life beyond.

Accumulated material assets are a burden. One has to spend a great deal of time, energy and care to ensure that they are maintained and secure from theft. The safest thing to do is use them wisely and well to meet our genuine needs and beyond that to share them in a way that also secures them for eternal reward and productive investment.

Being a pastor and biblical instructor is sort of like being a certified financial planner or having a wealth management consulting business. Maybe a good name for this would be “Counterintuitive Wealth Management Consultants.”  Just helping you out.