Green Eggs and Ham and the Great I AM by Eileen Knowles

"There’s massive tension in overseeing a “come and see” ministry in a “go and tell” church." Danny Franks

“Come and see” is actually a training ground for missionaries who “go and tell.” Connect the here to there, and you might find that those still out there will show up in here." Danny Franks

I read the above thoughts recently in an article called "Here" Must Connect to "There" by Danny Franks.

Over the last few days I've been thinking about this tension between here and there. It's a good tension to have.

Of course we want to encourage folks to come and see. Of course we want the guests who walk down our sidewalks and through the doors of Rock Bridge to have a good experience. But, that's certainly not the end goal for "being" the church.

Going and telling should be our heart. We should be moving towards living out the message of Jesus in our lives every day, in every way, and at every opportunity.  Our words and our actions out there have the potential to leave a bigger impact for the Kingdom of God than what we do in here on a Sunday morning.

I love how the author of the article refers to here as training ground. Those being trained and equipped here must also feel compelled to get up and go out there... to the battlefield.

All these here and there thoughts I've been having lately made me think of the children's book Green Eggs and Ham.  Yesterday morning, before church, I went down to our basement and dug this old classic out of a box.  I've held onto a few books my son enjoyed when he was younger so he can eventually pass them down to his kids.

Here's the crazy thought I had as I reread the exchanges between Sam-I-am, the character who was crazy about green eggs and ham, and the unnamed character in the book that wanted nothing to do with green eggs and ham. Sam-I-am was a disciple maker...not for Jesus but for green eggs and ham.

Sam-I-am was on fire for green eggs and ham. He enjoyed them so much that his heart was for this other character in the story to experience, to taste and see, their goodness too  Okay, so maybe Sam-I-am had a thing or two he needed to learn about discipleship etiquette. His approach certainly lacked subtlety and gentleness... but his heart was definitely in the right place.

Things Sam-I-am got right:

• Sam-I-am didn't keep the good news of green eggs and ham all to himself. He connected the here to the there.
• Sam-I-am positioned himself in this other character's life.
• Sam-I-am engaged this man in conversation at every opportunity he got.
• Sam-I-am never gave up on this man or in the hope that one day this individual would taste and see for himself the goodness of green eggs and ham.

And, we all know the wonderful ending to this story. The man Sam-I-am had been "doing life with" eventually becomes a believer in green eggs and ham too!

"Say! I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat...
And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are so good, so good, you see!
So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them anywhere!
I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you, Sam-I-am!"
--  Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss

"Taste and see that the Lord is good.
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him! " Psalm 34:8

"I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
 I will be filled with joy because of you.
 I will sing praises to your name, O Most High." Psalm 9: 1-2

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Do You Want More Faith?

Do You Want More Faith?

We are told in 1 Peter1:7 that our "faith is far more precious than mere gold." Why is our faith so important to us and to God?

My wife said this to me the other day, something we have both been reminding ourselves: Change your thinking, change your life. This is so true...  how we think affects our lives dramatically.

And Faith IS how we think. It is the lens we choose to see through, and affects everything in front of us.  When I get offended with someone or lose trust in them, every future interaction is now tainted with suspicion and an expectation of more hurt. Or what about a product or company? When we lose confidence in it/them it totally affects how we will interact in the future. We may be wrong, but it doesn't matter. Having faith in something affects everything.

It works the same with our faith in God. If our trust and confidence in Him is strong, we can be hopeful and unshakeable. But when our faith wavers, when we "lose faith" in Him and His love for us, we move into a dark place of fear and confusion.

So how do we work on our faith?
How do we get that infectious, positive, rock solid faith that some seem to have?  Let's look at a powerful discourse between Jesus and His Disciples in Luke 17:3-10.
"Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

Do you see what happened? Jesus' disciples were confronted with a radical expectation of forgiveness, and they realized it would take a faith they did not have. I can imagine them thinking: "How can we forgive that much? How can we do that? We don't have that kind of faith!"

Look at Jesus' response:
6 “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7 “Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? 8 Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? 10 In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are worthless servants; we’ve only done our duty.’”

Jesus responded not with how, but with VISION and PERSPECTIVE.

VISION:  We need a vision that faith MAKES A DIFFERENCE.  Jesus is telling us that if we will only trust God, mountains in our life will move! But, if we don't get a vision that life will be better WITH FAITH, we will never pursue it. And I don't think He means a faith or trust that is strong and unshakeable. I believe mustard seed faith is that barely-hanging-on, quaking-in-my-boots, Lord-I-hope-you-show-up faith. Faith that reaches desperately for the love of a good heavenly Father, but has no clue how He is going to respond or come through.  I think that is OK with God!

Jesus wants us to believe that it will be worth it to follow Him in trust. God is not asking us for super-hero faith. Just get a vision that any faith will make things better and will release God's love and grace into our lives.

PERSPECTIVE:  Jesus is telling us to remember that we deserve NOTHING. Our obedience toward God is not something God is ENTITLED to reward.  He so often does so because He loves us.  But we must not move into entitlement and presumption toward God when we begin to trust and obey Him.  If we do, we dangerously box Him into our expectations of reward, and I guarantee you God does not work well within our boxes.

We must remember the CROSS. We are saved by grace, and unworthy. We are saved because of the lavish love of our God and His Son. Every good thing that we trust God for and ask God for must come with a view of His grace to us in Christ. In fact, we are actually guaranteed hard times and trials that are ordained in love for our good.  When I can trust God from His love and with a right view of grace, I can endure the times of trial and suffering, and I can rejoice in them and accept them as a part of His plan for my good as well.

VISION grows our desire for faith, and PERSPECTIVE allows us to persevere in our faith. That's what Jesus' answer was for His disciples. See what God wants for you, and see His great love for you, and your faith will grow!

Do you have a vision of how much better your life would be if you walked in faith?
More peace, more joy, less fear, more love from your Father?  Do you have a perspective of grace and lavish love, that allows God to be God and do things His way, not yours?

Get that vision!  Fan the flame of desire for more faith, and watch your life move onto the path of intention and see God answer you with greater faith!

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Put down the Chainsaw and Pick up the Shovel - by Doug Hunt

So I hate yardwork. Hate it. I consider grass cutting day one that should be avoided even with the lamest of excuses.  I get mad at my neighbors because they have nice riding lawnmowers and I have an old 21 inch push mower.  I don’t like trimming the bushes or pulling weeds. I don’t plant flowers unless I am in the mood to watch something die.  I assume the worst when it comes to my ability to nurture anything in my yard.

I’ve actually thought about paving over my entire front yard just so I wouldn’t have to deal with time consuming “dirty work”.  Flatten it. Kill the grass. Cover it. Move on to something else.  After all, who has time to do the hard, dirty work of growing things when you could move on to more productive things that don’t require patience and attention? Like I said, cut it all down and pave over it.

There is a short and powerful parable Luke 13 that reminds me of my feelings about yardwork. From it there is a HUGE lesson for us as we help connect people from all walks of life to life in Christ.

There is a tree that has been fruitless for quite a while and the man who owns it gets fed up with it and tells the vineyard worker to cut it down.  He says, “I’ve waited three years still no fruit!”  Cut it down!  Move on! Kill it!  “Why should it even waste the soil?” He obviously feels like me when it comes to yardwork.

But then the vineyard worker gives an unexpected response.  He didn’t say, “Where’s the chainsaw?” He didn’t say, “It’s about time we cut this down.”  He says, “Sir, leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.”

Pay attention to what he is saying.  He is saying, even though we’ve seen no results yet, I am willing to get down in the dirt with manure and keep trying.  I am willing to get on my knees with my shovel and keep digging. I will get dirty and smelly but I’m going to keep digging. I am willing to take more time and not just chop it down. I believe fruit is still possible. What a hopeful perspective!

Here is an important thing for us to consider.  As we invest in people, it is often far too easy to be like the man who wants to chop down the fruitless tree.

We will have people in our lives who seem fruitless and as the man in the story says, “a waste of soil”.  They annoy us.  They never seem to “get it”.  They can’t overcome that thing in their life. They seem fruitless, so we quit on them. The “tree” is not doing what I WANT, WHEN I WANT, THE WAY I WANT. 

So we pick up the proverbial chainsaw and cut it down. We give up. We determine, whether we realize it or not, that they are a hopeless cause and waste of time. We judge them as useless and move on. 

I call it being people of the Chainsaw of judgement.

I believe as disciples of Jesus and leaders, we are called to be more like the vineyard worker.

I call it being people of the Shovel of Grace. 

When we pick up the shovel we are saying “I’m going to get down in the mess with you and dig”.  Now, when you pick up the shovel you need to know that it takes work.  It may stink.  It doesn’t ignore the things that don’t line up with God, but gets involved in them with care and love. It will be messy.  It will be hard.  It will be slow.  It will be humbling.  It’s tiring.  No glamour. It’s selfless. But, we dig with hope, faith and love.

Think about it like this.

·      The chainsaw of judgement takes life.

·      The shovel of grace gives life.

·      The chainsaw of judgement can’t see past the past.

·      The shovel of grace digs into the future.

·      The chainsaw of judgement is a selfish act of pride.

·      The shovel of grace is a selfless act of love.

·      The chainsaw of judgement says “God can do no more!”

·      The shovel of grace believes “you can bear much fruit.”

At our church we use the phrase “All walks of life”.  When we truly embrace people from all walks of life, we have plenty of opportunities to choose between the chainsaw and shovel.  I pray we would choose the shovel.

Maybe as you have read this you have thought of someone who needs the shovel of grace in their life.  Maybe you are being called to pick it up and dig awhile.  Perhaps you will see fruit.

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The Teacher, The Learner, and The Classroom - By Eileen Knowles

I drifted off to sleep last night thinking about the word disciple and the words from a devotional I read not too long ago came to mind:

 “The word disciple means ‘learner,’ so a disciple of Jesus is a learner of Jesus...a continual process of absorbing and practicing the teachings of Jesus." Personally, I think I actually prefer the word learner over the word disciple.

For some reason, the word learner has a way of humbling me. In order to be a learner I must be teachable and in order to be teachable I must show up for class (so to speak) with a pliable heart. Learning and knowing and understanding is a life long journey of choosing to be a student. As we learn and as we wrestle, we grow. Yet, we never reach a time where we graduate and stop attending classes or meeting with our teacher.

 From the moment we wake until the moment we sleep again, we are in the classroom where Professor Jesus comes alongside us to help each student make sense of all the material.  And, as we learn, we are given opportunities to encourage others to become learners and to sign up for this life long adventure of learning.

 “Now that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. Together they were discussing everything that had taken place.  And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus Himself came near and began to walk along with them.” Luke 24: 13-15

Here are some thoughts that stood out to me after reading this passage not too long ago: The students were in the “classroom”…together.  They were discussing and arguing over the class work…together. And as they wrestled and questioned, guess who shows up to help them understand the material?  The teacher!   I love how this translation puts it, “And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus Himself came near and began to walk along with them.”

I loved this reminder today: the Teacher, Himself promises to be in the classroom with us. When we make a commitment to show up for class, our teacher will be there to journey with us through all the challenging questions.   

Today, I want to show up for class.  I want to learn from the teacher.  No matter how confusing or how many questions arise, I want to remember that all the answers I am seeking are found in the classroom and near the Teacher.

“The 11 disciples (learners) traveled to Galilee, to the mountain, where Jesus had directed them, When they saw Him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples (learners) of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember,I am with you always to the end of the age.”  Matt 28: 16-20

A few more thoughts about those first 11 learners of Jesus we read about in Scripture:

They were far from perfect after their decision to become life long learners of their teacher Jesus. 

Sometimes they argued. Sometimes they doubted. Sometimes they stuck their foot in their mouths. Sometimes they were confused. Sometimes they were scared. Sometimes they were proud and stubborn.

And then sometimes they trusted. Sometimes they listened. Sometimes they walked on water. Sometimes they had faith that moved mountains, set captives free and prompted the lame to dance again!

Lord, help us to be learners today.  Your desire is to be in the classroom with us. Your desire is to teach us, grow us and love us...even on those days when we get it wrong.

Lord, give us hearts eager to learn from you today!

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BE before DO! - A Cure for Burnout

We hear all the time stories of burnout or breakdown, or people who just give up on something huge in their lives.  They give up on their faith.  They give up on their supposed “mission” or maybe even worse, their marriage or family.  They just give up.

What causes this?  What causes good, faithful people to wear out and give up?  More importantly, what's the cure?

Let’s listen to the story of Mary and Martha, and their encounter with Jesus told in Luke 10:38-42.

While they were traveling, He entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.  She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”  

Doesn’t this happen to all of us?  We have been working hard, being responsible parents or workers, or spouses, etc.  Even responsibly serving in the church.  SERVING, doing the right thing.  And we see others who aren’t carrying near the load we are.  And maybe we even judge them…  “They don’t have a clue how irresponsible they are, and what they could do if they would actually get to work.”  And part of that assessment is true….  Someone needs to serve.  Someone has to get things done.  

But in this case, something else was going on, because Jesus was there, and Jesus was teaching and revealing Himself to the people in the house.

The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”  

You know those airline safety videos that they always show you before flying?  Remember the air mask part: please put your mask on before you help others put theirs on.  Jesus was in effect telling Martha: You need to put your mask on.

BE before DO.

At Rock Bridge we have a saying we try to live by: “Be before Do.”  What does this mean?  It means before I get to the task, I need to be fueled by my King.  I need to BE His Child, BE in love with Him, BE filled with joy and energy and FILLED with the Holy Spirit’s presence and life.  

Lovers out work workers every time.

I recently heard that said, and it is so true.  When a boy falls in love with a girl he does some of the craziest and reckless things ever to win her attention and affection.  And those who love what they do are fueled with energy and passion.  As a father, my love for my children gives me the energy to change diapers and wipe noses.  My love allows me to give comfort at 3 AM for bad dreams, and I will clean up vomit and all sorts of things I would never have done for someone else’s child!  Love FUELS US! 

We are fueled by our hearts.  

Our hearts need to be inspired.  

There is no greater inspiration than LOVE!  

There is no greater inspiration than love, and there is no greater one to love than Jesus our glorious savior and king.  He is worthy of our love and affection.  When I have a clear sense of the love and grace that has been extended to me, when I have a sense of the hope I have in Jesus, and His promise to be WITH me and IN me…  I can’t help but be fueled!

And Mary saw this, and wanted more… And Jesus affirmed that this was the  ONE THING that was necessary, that was needed.  

Are we running on love today?  Are our hearts fueled by the love of our God and the love of Jesus Christ?  Or has that relationship become one of activity and duty and obligation?

Go back to Jesus…  Sit at His feet and listen to His heart FOR YOU.  Do the ONE THING that is needed, and BE His child before you DO anything else!!!

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Yes, you really are a hypocrite. (By Alfred Turley)

The charge is everywhere:  Christians are such hypocrites.  The history of the word itself is rooted in the greek word 'hypokrites', which means "an actor, specifically someone who would act on stage.  Makes sense to me.

I think overall it’s true, at least to some degree in all of us.  Every Christian I know struggles with this tension: they know that Jesus modeled a life with actions and words and deeds that we are called to emulate.  However, we often don’t FEEL like it, or frankly we just can’t do it.  It’s too hard to love that person.  It’s too hard to control my temper.  It’s too hard to endure the pain.  It’s too hard to keep saying “no” to that thing I really want to do.

So then we set up stages to act on.  We will exert our energy and effort on the “Work” stage, and give it our best acting job.  And we will have a “Church” stage presence, where we say, “I’m fine!” or “I’m blessed!”, faking it all the way home.  But at home we often can’t keep it up, and our family sees the real us.

Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”  (John 10:10).  

It often doesn’t feel that way, does it?

So how do we stop faking it?

Listen to what Jesus said in Luke 12

"He began to say to His disciples first: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known. 3 Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Jesus made it clear:

We must intentionally fight hypocrisy.

We must guard against it, and recognize it as a cancer in our lives and something that once it gets there, it is dangerous and will even spread to others.  People are always watching us, and allowing hypocrisy to creep in patterns it for them and even models it as acceptable.  But it is empty and dangerous, and does tremendous damage to the true, life-giving message of Jesus!

The root of hypocrisy is man-pleasing

We care way too much about what people think of us, and putting on a show.  We care about the short-term appearances and pleasing people and trying to fit in.  So we bypass the real work of thought and heart change that bears the lasting fruit we really need.

Jesus continues….

4 “And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren’t five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows!

Why do you care what "they" think?

Fill in the blank on who "they" are in your life.  And then think now about Jesus' stark warning: “they” have no real power over us in the long run.  “They” can make life a little harder, yes.  But there is one who controls our eternal destiny, and we are precious and cherished to Him.  He is the one we need to be living for!

There is only one stage!
If we are Christ-followers, God is literally in us and walking around with us, and He sees it all... And loves us anyway!  There is no hiding, and He even knows what is really going on inside us, things we don’t even know!  I think when we all ponder a day when everything we have ever done or said is made known, then we all freak out a bit.  But it is biblical (what Jesus just said) and also shown in the book of Revelation.

Life out in the open is freedom.

God is not trying to embarrass us by assuring global revelation of all of our lives. He is trying to set us free.  And only when we face the truth and the reality of our hearts will we address the real problems, which are in there, not out on the stage.  When I am able to live out in the open, with my faults and failures out there as well, knowing there is no hiding, I get to walk free

My prayer today is that we walk free, knowing God is with us and loves us no matter what, and that He will help us guard against that trap of man-pleasing and hypocrisy!

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Leaving the Loopholes Behind-- By Eileen Knowles

"Close all loopholes and quit making excuses."

I keep going back to that quote above. It's one of the quotes from the message at church this past weekend.  It resonates with me.  Loopholes and excuses kept me walking down the wrong path for a long time. Loopholes and excuses kept me from fully embracing the truth and fully accepting the healing that was being offered to me.

loopholes-- a means of evasion, a means of avoidance.  For years I turned the volume down on the Holy Spirit. There were signposts all along my path but I would avert my eyes and my heart. I would look only in directions that appealed to my comfort zone and my "if it feels good do it" tendencies. 

excuses--a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.
"You made your bed now you have to lie in it" I have made many excuses in my life but this one, by far, was the most hindering and the most deceptive to my journey towards freedom and healing. I had (for the most part) gotten past blaming others for my circumstances, instead I blamed myself...and I made a great punching bag.  You did this Eileen. It's all on you.

Can I tell you something? That very well might be true...perhaps you are to blame for your current situation but it's also a tool the Enemy loves to use to keep you living in defeat. Because he knows this lie will keep you from pursuing, seeing and accepting the incredible grace that's being offered to you right now...this very moment.

That, folks, is the beautiful truth that we must cling to and not let go of...ever.  Jesus took the blame so you could choose to live and walk in freedom today. 

I am reminded of my favorite Seth Godin quote: “If you think you have no choice but to do what you do now, you've already made a serious error.”

This morning as I was reading through an old blog post from a few years ago, I came across these verses in Acts. It's the Apostle Paul explaining his conversion to King Agrippa.

"Then I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

“And the Lord replied: ‘I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. But get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness of what you have seen and of what I will reveal to you. I will rescue you from the people and from the Gentiles. I now send you to them to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that by faith in Me they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified. Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." -Acts 26: 15-19

Two things came to mind when I read these words. 

As disciples of Jesus, we have been given similar marching orders and a similar purpose: to carry the Good News forward.  We are servants, and although we have not seen the risen Savior with our own eyes like Paul, we have seen and continue to see His power, grace and mercy displayed in our lives and in our stories.  

Second, I love these words Paul offered to King Agrippa of how he embraced this purpose.

“Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." 

Paul didn't look for a loophole, he didn't make any excuses.  He was obedient. He went to work doing what the Lord was asking him to do. He moved forward boldly preaching and relying on the Lord's help and provision to do so.  

Questions to ask ourselves:

Are there any loopholes or excuses that you are embracing that are currently keeping you from moving forward into the life Christ has called you to? 

How are you being called to move forward boldly today? 

Let's take our cue from Paul today.  

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