I'm a guy trying to follow Jesus. I believe that he said, "follow me" to many people when he was alive in the flesh and that his desire is still for all people to "follow" him. Here's the deal. There seems to be something lost in translation from what he meant by "follow me" then to what he means now.
For instance, to follow Jesus then mean to be physically with him as a student, apprentice, disciple learning to do what he did and become the kind of person that he was. It meant leaving all else that stood in opposition to the new purpose in life. Many times that was family, comforts and jobs.
For a guy today that wants to follow Jesus it doesn't make sense when someone tells me that your just supposed to believe that Jesus was who he said he is. That doesn't sound like following him. So just what does that mean for me today? I guess I have an answer in my head and am trying to live it out. But I guess I wonder more if we all think that Jesus is still speaking the invitation to us today. "Follow me"?
Monday, August 28, 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
the earthly "society of Jesus"
This is a subtitle in chapter 8 of Willard's Divine Conspiracy. I tell you this book is rich with wisdom and understanding. I'm going to start with quoting from this chapter.
"The assumption of Jesus' program for his people on earth was that they would live their lives as his students and co-laborers. They would find him so admirable in every respect-wise, beautiful, powerful, and good-that they would constantly seek to be in his presence and be guided, instructed, and helped by him in every aspect of their lives. For he is indeed the living head of the community of prayerful love across all time and space."- does anybody see Jesus this way? Is he seen as the treasure in the field or the pearl of great cost? Or is he seen as, and what he offers, look more like an outhouse on the beach?
"On that assumption, his promise to his people was that he would be with them every moment, until this particular "age" is over and the universe enters a new phase (Matt. 28:20 the great commission). More generally, the provisions he made for his people during this period in which we now live are provisions made for those who are, precisely, apprentices to him in kingdom living. Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person's account. At best, it succeeds only sporadically."-so Jesus wants students, followers, disciples, apprentices (people who leave the significance of their previous way of life to live with and be like Jesus). And in the assumption that this would happen he made promises like being with us at all times found in the Bible. So why would he be with me at all times if I have not committed to being his student?
"The effect of such continuous study under Jesus would naturally be that we learn how to do everything we do "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17); that is , on his behalf or in his place; that is, once again, as if he himself were doing it. And of course that means we would learn "to conform to everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20 great commission). In his presence our inner life will be transformed, and we will become the kind of people for whom his course of action is the natural (and supernatural) course of action."-so the goal then, we see, is the transformation of our inner life so that the natural course of our actions would be what Jesus would do if he were us. But again, if we don't want to be like Jesus and live according to the Kingdom ethics then we should not expect the benefits of being a student of Jesus, namely his protection and unfailing presence.
"The assumption of Jesus' program for his people on earth was that they would live their lives as his students and co-laborers. They would find him so admirable in every respect-wise, beautiful, powerful, and good-that they would constantly seek to be in his presence and be guided, instructed, and helped by him in every aspect of their lives. For he is indeed the living head of the community of prayerful love across all time and space."- does anybody see Jesus this way? Is he seen as the treasure in the field or the pearl of great cost? Or is he seen as, and what he offers, look more like an outhouse on the beach?
"On that assumption, his promise to his people was that he would be with them every moment, until this particular "age" is over and the universe enters a new phase (Matt. 28:20 the great commission). More generally, the provisions he made for his people during this period in which we now live are provisions made for those who are, precisely, apprentices to him in kingdom living. Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person's account. At best, it succeeds only sporadically."-so Jesus wants students, followers, disciples, apprentices (people who leave the significance of their previous way of life to live with and be like Jesus). And in the assumption that this would happen he made promises like being with us at all times found in the Bible. So why would he be with me at all times if I have not committed to being his student?
"The effect of such continuous study under Jesus would naturally be that we learn how to do everything we do "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col 3:17); that is , on his behalf or in his place; that is, once again, as if he himself were doing it. And of course that means we would learn "to conform to everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:20 great commission). In his presence our inner life will be transformed, and we will become the kind of people for whom his course of action is the natural (and supernatural) course of action."-so the goal then, we see, is the transformation of our inner life so that the natural course of our actions would be what Jesus would do if he were us. But again, if we don't want to be like Jesus and live according to the Kingdom ethics then we should not expect the benefits of being a student of Jesus, namely his protection and unfailing presence.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
the biggerblog
I'm reading an amazing book by Dallas Willard called Divine Conspiracy. Willard says, "Jesus' basic message is 'Rethink your life in the light of the fact that the Kingdom of the Heavens is now available to all'"
With this message from Jesus we should naturally be led to become his students whereby we learn to rutinely obey his way of love. And in doing so will we find ourselves living into the present Kingdom of the Heavens and the salvation that we all hope for.
It's not about doing a few great things for God or even having the right doctorine whereby you can talk like you're in Gods family(Mt 7:21-23). It's about treating your neighbor as yourself in love on a regular basis. Mother Teresah said, "we can do not any great things, only little things with great love" remember (below).
Maybe the desire to do great things paralyzes us from doing anything at all because we realize we really can't do anything great. But if we can know that God's desire is for us to live a day-to-day life filled with little things of great love we would be set free to act.
Those of us who believe Salvation is entirely about life after death won't understand anything I'm saying. Only when we see that this life today is part of our salvation will we begin to understand why Jesus wants us to be his students, disciples, apprentice.
Quit waiting for heaven! Jesus said it's here today. To experience it we must apprentice ourselves to him. And in following his way of love toward God and others, from a heart that's been transformed with his indwelling presence, we will live into the eternal kind of life that we were originally created for.
With this message from Jesus we should naturally be led to become his students whereby we learn to rutinely obey his way of love. And in doing so will we find ourselves living into the present Kingdom of the Heavens and the salvation that we all hope for.
It's not about doing a few great things for God or even having the right doctorine whereby you can talk like you're in Gods family(Mt 7:21-23). It's about treating your neighbor as yourself in love on a regular basis. Mother Teresah said, "we can do not any great things, only little things with great love" remember (below).
Maybe the desire to do great things paralyzes us from doing anything at all because we realize we really can't do anything great. But if we can know that God's desire is for us to live a day-to-day life filled with little things of great love we would be set free to act.
Those of us who believe Salvation is entirely about life after death won't understand anything I'm saying. Only when we see that this life today is part of our salvation will we begin to understand why Jesus wants us to be his students, disciples, apprentice.
Quit waiting for heaven! Jesus said it's here today. To experience it we must apprentice ourselves to him. And in following his way of love toward God and others, from a heart that's been transformed with his indwelling presence, we will live into the eternal kind of life that we were originally created for.
Monday, July 31, 2006
after xterra thoughts
- it was the hardest competition I've ever done.
- i'm not as sore as I thought, at all.
- i'm going to train harder for the swim and run on this next tri.
- having a screaming wife and mom really help.
- i'm gonna try a new bike-to-run transition technique next time where you undo your shoes while on the bike and slip them off leaving them attached to the peddals.
It was a ton of fun. I wanted to quit on the first lap of the bike but pushed on. My body got used to the hurt and I continued on. It's funny. The fastest portions of the race were the end of the swim, the beginning of the 2nd lap of the bike leg and the end of the run. All of them were when the crowd was yelling, especially Jen. She's definately my biggest fan. But she would scream, "GO BEN!! GO!" and that just fired me up and I would hammer on the peddals.
God knows it's not just the case with sports but also with the journey we are on with Him. He says we should encourage eachother while it is still called "today". That means every day. My best man Matt just encouraged me on the phone. He didn't say anything profound but just in calling it showed me he cared and that I'm not alone in the world today. What a difference it would make in this journey if we made it a practice to encourage one another!
- i'm not as sore as I thought, at all.
- i'm going to train harder for the swim and run on this next tri.
- having a screaming wife and mom really help.
- i'm gonna try a new bike-to-run transition technique next time where you undo your shoes while on the bike and slip them off leaving them attached to the peddals.
It was a ton of fun. I wanted to quit on the first lap of the bike but pushed on. My body got used to the hurt and I continued on. It's funny. The fastest portions of the race were the end of the swim, the beginning of the 2nd lap of the bike leg and the end of the run. All of them were when the crowd was yelling, especially Jen. She's definately my biggest fan. But she would scream, "GO BEN!! GO!" and that just fired me up and I would hammer on the peddals.
God knows it's not just the case with sports but also with the journey we are on with Him. He says we should encourage eachother while it is still called "today". That means every day. My best man Matt just encouraged me on the phone. He didn't say anything profound but just in calling it showed me he cared and that I'm not alone in the world today. What a difference it would make in this journey if we made it a practice to encourage one another!
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Lookin' good
This is Jenny posting for Ben. Today was the Logansport Xterra Triathlon. So much fun! This was Ben right after crossing the finish line. He was 7th in his age group...finishing with a time of 1:56. What a stud! Next up...New Castle
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
mustardseed revolution
Again, inspired from Irresistible Revolution:
So Jesus tells a story of a mustard seed being planted in the garden. He does this in Matt 13. Here's the thing, mustard was not supposed to be planted in gardens and the jews who he told the story to knew that. But he goes on to say that the seed grows and become the largest in the garden, so large fowl of the air perch in its branches.
Now I'm picturing a big oak tree with an eagle in it over shadowing the rest of the garden, that's how I preached it earlier this month. That's the kind of kingdom imagery the Jews had in mind as well. But after doing some reading I see that a mustard tree (bush) isn't large in stature at all but it speads like wild fire! Similar to yeast in a batch of dough! It would take over all the plants in the garden so all you would have is mustard.
Those listening would have either laughed our been ticked because they knew Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God. They thought it would come as something large like the Cedars of Lebanon. But Jesus says its coming as something small! If that were'nt enough, Jesus add's the "fowl" part. He's not talking about mighty eagles here, he's saying the detestible birds of the air (the undesireables in the world) find refuge in its branches. I love it! God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He has a divine conspiracy to take over the world subtly through small pockets of people who love others and love God. Are you a part of it?
So Jesus tells a story of a mustard seed being planted in the garden. He does this in Matt 13. Here's the thing, mustard was not supposed to be planted in gardens and the jews who he told the story to knew that. But he goes on to say that the seed grows and become the largest in the garden, so large fowl of the air perch in its branches.
Now I'm picturing a big oak tree with an eagle in it over shadowing the rest of the garden, that's how I preached it earlier this month. That's the kind of kingdom imagery the Jews had in mind as well. But after doing some reading I see that a mustard tree (bush) isn't large in stature at all but it speads like wild fire! Similar to yeast in a batch of dough! It would take over all the plants in the garden so all you would have is mustard.
Those listening would have either laughed our been ticked because they knew Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God. They thought it would come as something large like the Cedars of Lebanon. But Jesus says its coming as something small! If that were'nt enough, Jesus add's the "fowl" part. He's not talking about mighty eagles here, he's saying the detestible birds of the air (the undesireables in the world) find refuge in its branches. I love it! God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He has a divine conspiracy to take over the world subtly through small pockets of people who love others and love God. Are you a part of it?
Monday, July 24, 2006
God of little things
I'm still reading Irresistible Revolution by Claiborne and he quotes Mother Teresa this way, "We can do not great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." Claiborne, inspired by this, put a sign above his front door that reads, "Today... small things with great love (or don't open the door)." What if I put that sign inside my door and abided by it? What if multitudes put up that sign and followed it? Hmmm...
Thursday, July 20, 2006
redemptive violence?
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If we get bombed we bomb back harder to teach them not to bomb. That's what redemptive violence is. I'm beginning to ask some questions about how this is working for the world. I'm beginning to wonder if its right; if its best; if its what Jesus would do.
It seems he does the exact opposite and teaches others to do the same. I know the question is, "what if we get hit on the cheek (bombed) do we just let 'em keep coming?" Well, I would argue if we loved the hitters well in the first place we would'nt have to deal with getting slapped so much. Now I'm just thinking outloud but honestly. Doesn't it make sense that if poverty is in some relation to crime that if followers of The Way would love the poor rightly that we would see much less crime?
I think we've compartmentalized the power of The Way. I heard a story of an elderly woman who had two men break into her home to steal whatever they could find. She walked out and one held her at gun point or knife point while the other grabbed her stuff. The woman began to pray. She prayed outloud for the men who were stealing her stuff. She moved out of love for them. One yelled to the other, "Hey this lady is a follower of Jesus, we can't take her stuff.", and they put it back and took off.
I'm not saying its easy but I want to give it a shot. Trading sin is definately not working. Thoughts?
It seems he does the exact opposite and teaches others to do the same. I know the question is, "what if we get hit on the cheek (bombed) do we just let 'em keep coming?" Well, I would argue if we loved the hitters well in the first place we would'nt have to deal with getting slapped so much. Now I'm just thinking outloud but honestly. Doesn't it make sense that if poverty is in some relation to crime that if followers of The Way would love the poor rightly that we would see much less crime?
I think we've compartmentalized the power of The Way. I heard a story of an elderly woman who had two men break into her home to steal whatever they could find. She walked out and one held her at gun point or knife point while the other grabbed her stuff. The woman began to pray. She prayed outloud for the men who were stealing her stuff. She moved out of love for them. One yelled to the other, "Hey this lady is a follower of Jesus, we can't take her stuff.", and they put it back and took off.
I'm not saying its easy but I want to give it a shot. Trading sin is definately not working. Thoughts?
xterra tri
In the next 4 weeks I'm competing in two Xterra offroad triathlons. It consists of a .5 mile swim, 10 mile mountain bike, 4 mile trail run. Why in the world do people do that? Good question. It's fun. It keeps me in shape. And most people won't be this honest but it makes me feel like a stud! It does.
The issue if you have to train. Biking and running aren't a problem. It's swimming. Most can't open thier back door to a 50 meter pool but can ride from home and run from home. So I have only practiced swimming two times the last few months. Not good. But it should be ok. They have lifegaurds out there.
The issue if you have to train. Biking and running aren't a problem. It's swimming. Most can't open thier back door to a 50 meter pool but can ride from home and run from home. So I have only practiced swimming two times the last few months. Not good. But it should be ok. They have lifegaurds out there.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
eyes to see
What would happen if I stopped looking AT people? Black, White, Rich, Poor, Dirty, Pretty... and started looking INTO them? What if I didn't see a poor, dirty, homeless man or a rich egotistical businessman but saw something sacred? A child of God? What if I saw something of myself in that person? What if I saw my selfishness in the rich man? What if I saw my brokeness in the poor man? What if I saw my love for justice in the poor man and love for family in the rich man? I have to believe that I would be set free to love and serve them more than ever before...
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
the biggerblog
the biggerblog
Could one of the worst things for me be getting what I want when I want? I know that's what we've been taught freedom means. But could that culminate into an accumulation of stuff that insulates me from reality, from God? Then in the small instances I do see Him, do see reality, could it keep me from responding appropriately because I have all this stuff to protect and or deal with? Could it actually mean slavery for me? Being bound to the care and preservation of all my stuff does not sound like the life that I've always dreamed of.
I want to start somewhere. What in my life have I collected because I thought it would bring freedom but now has resulted in slavery? It's crazy. Part of me doesn't want to answer the question because of what I know the result will be. Part of me says, "can't it just be redeemed and used for the kingdom? You don't have to get rid of it do you?". Maybe not, but in large, probably so.
Could one of the worst things for me be getting what I want when I want? I know that's what we've been taught freedom means. But could that culminate into an accumulation of stuff that insulates me from reality, from God? Then in the small instances I do see Him, do see reality, could it keep me from responding appropriately because I have all this stuff to protect and or deal with? Could it actually mean slavery for me? Being bound to the care and preservation of all my stuff does not sound like the life that I've always dreamed of.
I want to start somewhere. What in my life have I collected because I thought it would bring freedom but now has resulted in slavery? It's crazy. Part of me doesn't want to answer the question because of what I know the result will be. Part of me says, "can't it just be redeemed and used for the kingdom? You don't have to get rid of it do you?". Maybe not, but in large, probably so.
Monday, July 17, 2006
Adventures in Blogging
What role will the blog play in the adventures in following the Way? We'll see. Thanks for visiting.
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