Facebook, etc.

I get funny reactions from people when I say I'm old. Some of you look at me with disdain because you feel like I'm pointing out that you're older than me. This is never my intention. Actually, I value the wisdom that comes with age. I pretty much always have. Some of you laugh because I'm only 33. Todays blog entry is another admission that I'm old.

I just don't understand these social networking sites. OK, I understand that people like to keep in touch with each other. I'm all for that. I've had a MySpace page for several years and a Facebook page not quite as long. I love it when I get an email that I have a new friend request because it's usually someone I haven't seen in a long, long time. Then, my world is flooded with their pictures and thoughts, and on some level I get to connect with them again. That's great.


Our Ugly Insides
Here's what I don't understand. As a pastor I get to see some pretty ugly sides of people. You've probably noticed that people don't come talk to their pastor until life gets pretty out of hand. Over the past ten years I've had the disturbing opportunity to see what people are really made of. I've seen the clean-cut father come tell me he's struggling with alcoholism--only he can't really even admit it to himself. I've seen the straight A student sit in my office, her dreams falling down around her, because she just found out she's pregnant. I've had the young, successful musician losing hope because he can't get his drug habit under control. And, I've seen the loving husband tell me that even though his wife doesn't know about it, he can't get free from porn.

When people come share these kinds of problems with me, it doesn't usually surprise me. God's very clear about what we are made of at the deepest part of who we are:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
Jeremiah 17:9 NIV

Even the Apostle Paul struggled with being who God wanted him to be:

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Romans 7:15 NIV


God's Beautiful News
We all have a dark side--even the most devoted believers. Sometimes we aren't very honest about it, but we all struggle (like Paul) with wanting and doing the right thing. Thankfully, God offers all of us grace. One time I asked one of the teenagers at our church what grace is. She said, "It's God's love even when we don't deserve it." Wow. That's right. Grace is God choosing to love us even though we rebel against him:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8 NIV

God's grace is so amazing that God doesn't even choose to love us from across the street as we might express care for a homeless person we give a buck or two as we walk by as quickly as we can. God loves us in such a way that he makes us his sons and daughters. All he requires from us is that we believe in Jesus:

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God
John 1:12 NIV

And that's not the end of the good news. It only gets better. When we believe in Jesus, he forgives our sin--all of it. We are declared both completely forgiven and completely righteous before God. He no longer sees us as his enemies who deserve his wrath but righteous children he loves. He also begins to work on us. He begins to change us to be people who desire to follow him:

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13 NLT

The hard part is that we still struggle with that wicked deceitfulness at the deepest part of who we are. We still struggle with bad habits. We still have relationships that encourage us to do things that God is not happy with--things that shame the name of Christ.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Romans 7:24 NIV
(Paul is expressing his frustration with his own sinfulness in this life.)

The good news is that, once we have trusted in Christ, we await the completion of sharing in his resurrection. Then, we won't struggle with sin any longer. Every believer will receive a resurrected body that doesn't possess a deceitfully wicked heart any longer:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 NIV


The Facebook Delima
Here's what I don't understand. Why do so many people--even believers--put the deceitful wickedness of their hearts on display? You know what I'm talking about. Some might say, "Aren't we free in Christ?" Paul already answered this question:

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
Galatians 5:13 NIV

Some people think age is an excuse. Do we dare to look shake our fists at God and say: "Don't tell me what to do, old man!" Paul tells us that even in our youth God's expectations for his children are high:

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 NIV

Brothers and sisters, let's set an example whether we are 14 or 94 because the King of Glory has died for us. He has changed us. All of us who have believed in him are his children. Now, by his grace, let's live like it!

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

Rockstar President

This morning I was catching some of the inauguration coverage. As Mr. and Mrs. Obama entered St. John's Episcopal Church, there was applause as they waved to a gathering crowd. My impression at that moment was that I have never seen people react to a president the way they respond to Mr. Obama. This new President our nation is about to inaugurate really is a rockstar in the best sense of the word. He has a kind of celebrity I haven't seen during my lifetime in a politcal leader. People love Barack Obama

Of course, part of our new President's celebrity is related to race. How many times have we heard people of all ethnic backgrounds say they never thought they would see the day we would have a minority president? This makes today a very exciting day.

I think there is another factor to Mr. Obama's celebrity. Barack Obama is the first President who is not from my parents' generation. He was a kid while I was a kid. A whole new group of Americans are able to relate to the man in our government's highest office in an entirely new way.

Mr. Obama, you are a very popular man on this day of your inauguration. Thank you for taking this responsibility. We ask you to use your office and your popularity to make choices that keep us free and keep us safe. We'll be praying for you.

Heavenly Father, we pray for Mr. Obama. We ask you that you would help our new President fill his responsibilites as the leader of our nation's executive branch. Give him wisdom and courage to lead well. During his time in office, give us peace that we might be able to take the Message of Christ to the ends of the earth.

A few thoughts on Mr. Bush

I really wanted to write this post yesterday after watching the President's final press conference.

First, I have to respect someone who has led a country. As someone who leads people, I thank God regularly that it is not my responsibility to lead all 50 United States of America. After leading a church (with slightly fewer than 305 million people), I'm not looking for the headaches of that kind of leadership.

George W. Bush has made mistakes. I've made a couple myself the past 8 years. As far as I know, none of my mistakes have cost anyone their lives. Probably some of Mr. Bush's mistakes have. That's a really hard reality that he and every president will have to go to bed at night facing.

At times President Bush has not been the best politician in the room. This statement is not meant to be offensive. I think some of Mr. Bush's criticism has come for this very reason. I think many people who voted for Mr. Bush four years ago were tired of being led by career politicians. George W. Bush was a businessman before he was a politician. He was a different kind of choice for president. I think this is part of the reason for the derision Mr. Bush has received related to his speeches and his occasional political incorrectness.

It's time for a new president. That's one reality about our nation. Every eight years it's time for someone new in the Oval Office. We are a nation built on the idea that no single person should have too much input. In just a few days we will have a new Mr. President. I think Mr. Obama shares many good qualities with Mr. Bush. He is a confident man with many good ideas. He loves his family. I believe, like Mr. Bush, he will make the United States a better place. Mr. Obama also has a lot of problems to deal with. He has a war to fight. An economy to work on. And, I think when he leaves office in four or eight years, we'll ask him why he couldn't bring peace in the Middle East, either. (I don't think that headache is going away any time soon. Ask the last several presidents about how well their plans worked.) Mr. Obama will make mistakes that will cost people their lives. Sometimes it's good to be the president. Sometimes it's not. I'm pretty sure it's always a hard job.

I know. Not exactly hard-hitting political commentary. Thank you, Mr. Bush, for working hard for me and my family. Thank you, Mr. Obama, for taking the baton for at least the next four years. I will be praying for you both.

Here are a couple thoughts from our brother, Paul:

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Romans 13:1-7 NIV

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time. 1 Timothy 2:1-6 NIV

2009

Welcome to 2009!

It's Tuesday of the first full week of 2009. Like it or not 2008 is in the record books. As we begin a new year, I want to encourage you to ask a couple questions.

Question 1: Where are you?
One of my favorite metaphors for life is a journey. If your life is a journey, where are you right now. Are you standing in a beautiful garden full of beautiful flowers that bring joy to every moment of your life? Are you standing in the middle of an intersection trying to decide which way to go while hoping that those cars whizzing by won't flatten you? Are you in the middle of a desert with empty pockets and a dry canteen not knowing where your next drink might come from? Maybe you have your own image for the place your life-journey has brought you. Maybe it's as cold and damp as yesterday's rain here in North Texas. Maybe it's as warm as seat on the hearth in front of your family's fire place surrounded by people who care about you.

Question 2: Where are you going in 2009?
One thing I've learned about life is that, good or bad, 2009 won't end where it began. Whether or not you like the journey metaphor, it's pretty easy to see that each of us is going somewhere. What decisions are you making that affect your journey? Are you in control of the next place you will find yourself, or are you spiraling downward, out of control?

The Good News
Here's good news: It's not too late. Your sitting at a computer someplace reading this blog. You're breathing in and out whether you're thinking about it or not. If you hold your fingers on your wrist, you're going to feel a pulse. It's not too late for a course correction. It's not too late for a game changer. It's not too late to grab the controls of your life and decide you're going to come out of the spiral that's sending you straight into the ground! The even better news is that God has plans for you to be in a better place, too. Toward the end of Old Testament God's people had been in a downward spiral for quite some time. They had turned from worshiping the God who created everything to worshiping statues that looked like the things he had created. God didn't put up with it. He sent his people into a nosedive that ended with them at rock bottom as captives in a foreign land. But, even there God told them he had better things in mind for them. He told them that they would live in Babylon for 70 years, but then he would deliver and restore them because he wasn't done with them yet. Through the prophet, Jeremiah, he promised them:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

The better news is that God isn't done with you yet. If your heart is still beating, he still has plans for you. The best news is that God has already done the work to get you ready for his big plans. Over 2000 years ago God sent his Son to free us from his wrath and condemnation. God sent his Son to bear the punishment we deserved for our sin. Now God offers that to you if you will believe in his Son.

Over the next few weeks, our Journey at CrossRoads Church will be guided by our desire to understand this belief in God's Son. We want 2009 to be characterized by happiness--not happiness that is dependent upon our health, finances or circumstances, but happiness that finds its delight in our God. In invite you to come with us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16 NIV