Celebrating Life In Every Situation

Celebration was a foundational aspect of the growth of the early church. The second chapter of Acts portrays a group of people who laughed and loved, who shared meals and money; people who took seriously the practice of partying under the direction of God’s Spirit. They would have fully affirmed C. S. Lewis’s claim that “joy is the serious business of heaven.” The result was that “multitudes were added to the church” (Acts 5:14).

A spirit of carefree, lighthearted, God-centered celebration is often conspicuously absent in the lives of most contemporary Christians. When did we begin to take ourselves so seriously? What urgent matters have we allowed to rob us of our playful spirit? We are going to live forever. How important can things really be that won’t even be remembered, let alone matter a hundred years from now? What are we trying to prove by our stress-filled agendas and to whom are we trying to prove it? There’s no doubt about it, most of us need to lighten up.

When we don’t maintain an attitude of internal joy that can’t be touched by external circumstances, the rhythms of grace in our life become discordant. The music soon stops.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Let me say it again, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, emphasis added)! Paul had obviously learned the value of celebrating our Father's loving faithfulness because these words weren’t written from a villa on the Mediterranean sea. They were written from a prison cell where he was being held for preaching the gospel. Paul had learned to dance to the blues as well as to an upbeat, cheerful melody in life.

There is something childlike (not childish) about a man who can celebrate when he is in prison. Normally, a child has an innate sense that no matter what is going on in the world around them, everything is going to be alright. After all, they reason, their parents have everything under control.

I have vague memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis that happened when I was a young child. Some say it was the closest the United States has ever been to nuclear war. One of the main things I remember is that our church family brought canned food and bottled water and put it under a stairway inside the church building. The plan was that we would all would all gather together at church if a missile were to be launched against us.

As I and my young friends explored, we sat under the stairs with the stockpile of food and water and I thought to myself, “This wouldn’t be a bad place to stay for awhile.” I wasn’t worried about the potential danger at hand. I knew something very bad could happen, but reasoned that my parents would take care of me no matter what might happen. So while adults worried and prayed and collected bottles of water and cans of food, I played without a care in the world.

To rejoice in the Lord doesn’t mean we’re oblivious to danger, but it does mean we trust in the protection of our Father. Our security rests in Him, not in the outcome of whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. We celebrate Him, not what is happening at a given moment in time. Wherever we might be, we find what C. S. Lewis called “patches of Godlight in the woods of our experience.” The light of His presence in any circumstance is all the light we need to keep the party going.

Christian Cataracts

Sometimes people with failing vision have been known to pretend to see better than they do. They find it hard to admit that they can't see clearly. That’s what a Christian legalist does. In an effort to keep up appearances, those blinded by legalism profess all the more loudly about how clearly they can see. They go through religious motions, but with each passing day their view of the Divine Lover’s face grows dimmer. Those actions which were once animated by His indwelling life and which were motivated by love now become religious routine. They have traded a Person for performance.

They read the Bible, but it doesn’t read them. They say prayers, but don’t pray. They watch and listen, but no longer see and hear. They are more than willing to tell everybody around them how to walk, but don’t have the vision to know where they are going themselves. They are “blind leaders of the blind.” (Matthew 15:14)

The source of legalists’ behavior is not love for Jesus Christ, but dead, religious duty. They believe they can gain God’s favor because of what they do. The miss the point altogether that it isn’t a certain behavior that brings God pleasure. God is pleased only by faith. (Hebrews 11:6)

Those blinded by legalism typically get hung up on the technicalities of the religious rules they deem obligatory, but have lost sight completely of the things that are really important. They argue over incidentals that have no eternal value. They are missing Jesus!

Jesus spoke to them in Matthew 23, telling them the way it is. Eugene Peterson paraphrases the scene in The Message, when Jesus said to them,

You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment- the absolute basics! – you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?

Much of Matthew 23 is filled with the renouncement of Jesus against the legalism of the Pharisees. Their obsession with rules above relationships was the definitive evidence of their blindness. They were missing the whole point, says Jesus.
Have you become blinded by legalism? Some might argue that a Christian can’t be a legalist. They understand the word to refer only to those who hope to become a Christian by their works. While that certainly is one expression of legalism, it isn’t the only way a person can act as a legalist.

The Apostle Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians because of the threat of legalism in their church. False teachers had come into the fellowship there, teaching these young Christians that, along with Christ, they needed to embrace the law. Paul wrote to them to say, “No! Your life isn’t built around the law! Your life is in Jesus Christ!” He asked them, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” (Galatians 3:2)

Paul wasn’t writing to them because he was concerned that they might misunderstand salvation. He knew they had believed the gospel and received God’s Spirit. How could they become confused about what it takes to become a Christian? They had already become Christians! His concern for them was that, as Christians, they might become ensnared in legalism.

The Pharisees were not believers in Christ. The Galatians were. It’s possible to be a legalist whether a person is a believer or non-believer. Do you want to clearly see the spiritual reality of Christ? Then allow the Great Physician to remove your cataracts of relgious rules and regiment. When you do, you'll find yourself singing with new understanding, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see!"

Interview With Dave Bilbrough

Dave is a dear friend and an outstanding worship leader. I used this video on my "Sunday Preaching" broadcast recently but wanted to post it here for those who haven't seen it. You can learn more about Dave's ministry at www.davebilbrough.com

Is God In A Bad Mood?

“I think God is out to get me!” George Castanza once said to Jerry on the popular Seinfeld television sitcom.
“I thought you didn’t believe in God,” Jerry answered.
“I do for the bad stuff!” George replied.

George’s comical answer reflects a sad attitude common among many people, even many Christians. Legalistic religion often paints a portrayal of a god who is perturbed most of the time, if not downright angry. After all, when you consider that sin runs rampant in the world and if you add to the equation that even Christians can’t seem to get it right much of the time, why wouldn’t God be in a bad mood?

God in a bad mood? That concept carries some serious implications. I’m reminded of a tee shirt I saw in a store which read, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” Transfer that viewpoint onto Deity and we’re all in serious trouble! If God is in a bad mood, then all of creation had better tow the line because if He were angry and if His anger were to be stirred up, it’s no small matter.

Is God short-tempered? Does His patience wear thin when His children don’t act the way they should? The fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. If you believe otherwise, your faulty beliefs are going to be a major hindrance in your enjoyment of Him. After all, who wants to be close to somebody who is scowling at them? Especially if that Person is God.

To experience genuine intimacy with the Father, it may be necessary for your current understanding of His demeanor to be completely dismantled. I’ll state the truth as plainly as possible – God is in a good mood! He isn’t edgy about all that is going on in this world. God doesn’t bite His fingernails or take Maalox for a nervous stomach.

We can know that God is in a good mood because of Jesus. In the incarnation of Christ, God can be seen running out of heaven toward man with a big smile on His face. In fact, the birth of Jesus was surrounded with jubilant celebration in the heavenly realm. One angel, shouting with enthusiasm above the others, was heard to say, “I bring you good news of great joy, which shall come to all people” (Luke 2:10, emphasis added). Good news of great joy – that sounds like a reason for a party!

It’s noteworthy that His first miracle was performed at a wedding party. (John 2:1-11) One of the last things He told His disciples before leaving this world was that He wanted them to continue to be full of the joy they had seen in Him. (John 15:11) Jesus was a fun-loving person.

If your mental picture of Him is that He was a religious sourpuss, you had better take another look. The people who were attracted to Him were dishonest businessmen, vulgar sailors, prostitutes, and the like – none of which you could exactly call “churchy people.” His opponents, on the other hand, came from a hyper-religious crowd who couldn’t crack a smile if their lives depended on it.This uptight, hyper-religious crowd once even challenged Him about his lifestyle. Jesus answered them,

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, “He has a demon!” The Son of Man has come eating and drinking and you say, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Luke 7:33-34)!

You just can’t please the Pharisaical hyper-religious crowd who love rules more than people. Even Jesus couldn’t! Of course we know that Jesus wasn’t a glutton and a drunkard, but the point to be understood here is that He obviously wasn’t so tightly wound that He didn’t enjoy life. He came into this world in the midst of celebration, lived a life of joy (even amidst great sorrow) and on the last night of His life here challenged the disciples to hold on to that same joy.

Since Jesus said that He and His Father are one, we can understand much about the Father by looking at Jesus. Judging from Him, our God isn’t a cranky old Deity who doesn’t enjoy laughter and joy. To the contrary, He is its ultimate source of celebration and pleasure. He is a happy Father who has everything under control. He has already written the ending to this story that is actually His story and it's a good ending. So let's not draw a caricature of Him in our minds by imagining a crotchety old Deity who is in a bad mood. Nothing could be more wrong.

Joe Cocker And Grace?

One time I was speaking at a conference on the subject of hearing our Father express His love to us in nonreligious ways when I asked the group, “Are you able to hear God speak to you if there is no religious tone who what you hear?” The audience waited for me to continue. “Close your eyes and listen to the song I’m about to play, “ I encouraged them. “Perhaps you have heard the song before, but this time, listen for the voice of the Divine Lover in it.”

Then, at a spiritual retreat, in a room filled with Christians, I played a recording by a well known rock singer, Joe Cocker. The words he passionately sang are, “You are so beautiful to me. You are so beautiful to me. Can’t you see? You’re everything I hoped for. You’re everything I need. You are so beautiful to me!”

As the song played, grown men and women began to cry. For the first time, many were hearing their Divine Lover’s voice from a source they had never thought to consider before now. For every person there, this song would never again be the same. God’s love had redeemed it and brought it into the kingdom as a gift for those who listened.

Does this concept seem uncomfortable to you? If so, consider this question: Why should Jesus Christ be restricted to only communicating to you in religious ways? He is Lord over all the earth and can use anything He chooses to express love to those who are His! One unmarried lady I know says that she listens to a radio station that plays nothing but romantic love songs and that she often hears the Lord sing to her through those songs. Who would tell her she is wrong?

I have experienced a sense of transcendent joy that couldn’t possibly find its origin in fallen man at times when I have heard certain non-religious music. I was enthralled as I watched a live performance of the musical The Phantom of the Opera. On another occasion, tears filled my eyes as I attended a concert by the great Italian singer, Andrae Boccelli, despite the fact that not one word was being sung in English.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not suggesting that every time we have a positive feeling, it’s God manifesting Himself to us. I recognize that our emotions can be manipulated by various influences. However, I also believe that Christians are sometimes guilty of dismissing the pervasive presence of Christ in this world by relegating experiences that aren’t directly religious as being “non-spiritual.”

I can almost imagine that when I listened to Andrae Boccelli in concert, Jesus was saying, “Isn’t this great? Steve, I love seeing how you enjoy this concert. I can’t wait until you get Home. I have even better ones waiting for you here.”

The world is our Father's pulpit. Let's learn to open our eyes and ears and listen for His melody of His love being sung to us from unexpected places.

Hearing God Speak

In his book, Without Feathers, Woody Allen offers an essay which spoofs the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac. As Allen tells the story, Abraham is reporting to Sarah and Isaac about how God has instructed him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. While this description contains elements of humor, it isn’t so far removed from the way some Christians think that God must speak to them.

And Abraham awoke in the middle of the night and said to his only son, Isaac,“I have had a dream where the voice of the Lord sayeth that I must sacrifice my only son,so put your pants on.” And Isaac trembled and said, “So what did you say? I mean when He brought this whole thing up?” “What am I going to say?” Abraham said. “I’m standing there at two A.M. in my underwear with the Creator of the Universe. Should I argue?”

“Well, did he say why he wants me sacrificed?” Isaac asked his father. But Abraham said, “The faithful do not question. Now let’s go because I have a heavy day tomorrow.” And Sarah said, “How doth thou know it was the Lord?” . . . And Abraham answered, “Because I know it was the Lord. It was a deep, resonant voice, well modulated, and nobody in the desert can get a rumble in it like that.”

Hearing God's voice necessitates learning to recognize when He speaks. Don’t wait for a deep, resonant, well-modulated voice. The Lord may speak, expressing His love to you in unexpected ways and at unexpected times. Keep your ears open to hear Him at any moment in any situation.

A Jed Clampet Sort of Grace

To practice the discipline of contentment, we must be set free from an all-consuming goal to increasingly achieve and attain. It’s still true that a man can’t serve two masters. (Luke 16:13) Real contentment comes when we begin to focus on spiritual depth instead of the superficial breadth lauded by modern standards.

Contentment never comes to those who are held captive to the eternal lust for success. When John Rockefeller was asked, “How much money is enough?”, his answer was, “A little more.” That will always be the answer to the question, “How much is enough?” Contentment where we are is a great blessing.

A scene from an old TV program illustrates the point well. The following is a conversation between Jed Clampett and Cousin Pearl in the classic 1960's television program The Beverly Hillbillies. The exchange took place right after Jed discovered oil had been struck on his land.

Jed: Pearl, what d’ya think? Think I oughta move?

Pearl: Jed, how can ya even ask? Look around ya. Yore eight miles from yore nearest neighbor. Yore overrun with skunks, possums, coyotes, bobcats. You use kerosene lamps fer light and you cook on a wood stove summer and winter. Yore drinkin’ homemade moonshine and washin’ with homemade lye soap. And yore bathroom is fifty feet from the house and you ask, “Should I move?”

Jed: I reckon yore right. A man’d be a dang fool to leave all this!

It's all a matter of persepective, isn't it? May our Father give us eyes to see His blessings and a heart to be content in whatever place we find ourselves in life.

Looking Beyond The Religious Lens

My wife, Melanie, and I have loved the chance to occasionally vacation in the Carribean. At times I have stood in scenic spots overlooking the ocean, with my camera in hand. I’ve felt overwhelmed by the majestic beauty that surrounds me. Blue, crystal clear water stretches out to the horizon until it becomes impossible to tell where the water stops and the sky begins. White, powdery beaches reach as far in both directions as the eye can see. Picturesque palm trees lean forward with fronds reaching out to the water as if they too desperately want to feel the lapping waves. A gentle breeze that seems to promise to breathe youth into any person who will inhale its ocean fragrance. Do you have the sense of what I’m describing?

Now, imagine at those moments that I lift a fifteen dollar disposable camera to my face so that I can take a picture and capture the beauty that lies before and around me. I don’t want to lose this moment. I love it and I want to seize it on film. I want to pull the total impact of everything I’m experiencing at the moment through that camera’s lens and take it home with me on a 3x5 photograph. I want to go home, look at this picture and feel exactly what I’m feeling as I stand on the beach at that moment.

Do you think it will happen? Of course not. A snapshot could never do justice to the beauty. It’s only a minuscule representation of what I’ve seen, but it just can’t do it justice. It can only remind me of the beauty of the moment, it can’t duplicate it. The beauty is simply bigger than any camera can capture.

That’s how it is when we try to see the beauty of Jesus through a religious lens. He is the personification of God’s love—a love much too big to be contained by religion—consequently He reveals Himself in nonreligious ways. For instance, the Bible says that “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Clouds aren’t religious. The blue sky isn’t religious. So God doesn’t only communicate through church-talk, but also through cloud-talk. These are only two of His many dialects.

The means by which God declares His love and presence are without limit. Many ancient saints understood themselves to be living in a “God-bathed” world. If we want to deeply experience intimacy with Him, it helps immeasurably to view the world in the same way. Our Divine Lover reveals Himself in many ways. Jesus is whispering to you right now, every day, in a thousand ways and many of them aren’t religious. We need only to be watching and aware.

Idleness With Jesus

In Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, there is an intense scene where Captain Ahab’s whaling boat presses through a churning sea in pursuit of the great white whale, Moby Dick. One can almost smell the salt air and feel the ocean spray as Melville describes the chase. For the sailors onboard at that moment, nothing else exists apart from the pounding waves, violent winds and the great sea monster beneath the water.

Bulging muscles are taunt and determined minds are irrevocably resolved to do whatever necessary to triumph in this cosmic battle between good and evil. The swells of the ocean waves lift the whaleboat high above the water’s surface, only to slam it back down again. But the morally outraged Captain Ahab will not give up. Everything that matters is in the balance at this moment. No energy or determination can be spared. The boat may break apart, but to forfeit the fight is out of the question. The demon beneath must be destroyed. As Eugene Peterson notes:

In this boat, however, there is one man who does nothing. He doesn’t hold an oar; he doesn’t perspire; he doesn’t shout. He is languid in the crash and cursing. This man is the harpooner, quiet and poised, waiting. And then this sentence: “To insure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil.”

Nobody would dispute that a cosmic battle exists today between the forces of good and evil. We see this struggle on the sea of humanity in every culture of the world. Pastors and churches urge us to not give up the ship, but to labor on, to fight at all costs to ensure victory. Recruiters appeal to our sense of what is moral and right to enlist us in the struggle.

Every Sunday in churches across the world, sincere Christians rededicate themselves with a renewed determination to become more involved and consistent in the battle against evil. Their hearts are in the right place. They feel the need to do something, but where can they be most effective in the boat?

The majority are determined to become better oarsmen who will work harder. A few are sure they sense the calling of Captain Ahab on their lives. They express their intent to attend a religious naval academy where they can learn to be the skipper of their own boat. They want to lead other sailors and together conquer the demon of the depths. . . thus goes contemporary church life in the world today.

The question that begs an answer is, "Where are the harpooners of the 21st century church?" How are we supposed to overcome the demons of the depths? In many instances, we often don’t even know how to strike a death blow against the carnality of our own behavior, much less admonish others about theirs or lead others like ourselves into battle. Note Melville’s statement again: “To insure the greatest efficiency in the dart, the harpooners of this world must start to their feet out of idleness, and not out of toil.”

Idleness? When a violent storm is raging; when our enemy is so close that our very lives are in danger; when everybody else around us is frantic with hyperactivity; idleness is not a natural response. Yet surely it is indeed to an “idleness” of sorts that we are all called. For the person who wants to know triumph in the struggle, this idleness is indispensable. Those who are weary with fatigue are in no position to strike the fatal blow against the enemy. It is in a certain idleness that we find our strength. Idleness with Jesus Christ is the most active, invigorating, energizing experience of life. Don't allow yourself to become so busy with the demands of life that you forget the value of holy idleness with Him. Doing nothing with Jesus is to do all you can do to do all you need to do in life.

Imagine No Legalism

Grace Walk is reaching across the world to share the Father's love and grace. This video highlights a few of the places our team has served. As of today, we've been able to personally visit many countries on six continents. People are hungry to know the love and grace of our God!