Tuesday, April 30, 2013

My Favorite Shape is a Circle

Wow!  Last night my favorite shape became a circle.  The men's accountability group that I get to be a part of donated the money for and served the meal for Circles Reentry last night. (I want to thank Adam Dagley, Chris Hobbs, Randy Kirkland, Keith Tracy, Greg Whitehead, Randy Hartsel, Rich Lee, Jeff Tracy, Tim Duerr, Craig Taylor, Ben Grauman, Scott Durbin, David Arvin, Dan Cummins, Gary Michael and Bill Matheney for not only the meal at Circles this but for being a group that is real, connected, transformed and poured out and for letting me be a part of it!)

As I watched the 60 or so male and female returning citizens file into the teen room, I thought to my self, "I wonder how many people in our community and perhaps even in our church family have a wrong impression of this group?" 

I wonder how many people think that the returning citizen is rough, scary, inconsiderate, distant, walking around with a chip on the shoulder or even having good amount of entitlement.  I can tell you from first-hand experience that is anything but the truth.  Last night, every person I met was considerate, humble, respectful and down right warm and friendly.  The returning citizens that attend Circles Reentry are not there because they have to be, but because they want to be...they want to be among people who will refuse to give them a hand out, but are ready to give them a hand up.

As we went around the Circle and I heard each person share one thing that was new and good in their lives, I had to fight back tears the entire time.  I did not hear one complaint or woe-is me.  Instead, I heard:

One person share how she is another step closer to being debt-free.

I saw one man proudly introducing his mother to the group who he is no longer estranged from. 

I heard a man share his dream to own a farm and raise organic food and animals. 

I heard another woman share that she had just gotten out of prison and how she was so thankful to have a group like Circles so she would not have to return to old ways of thinking and living.

I heard the group sing happy Birthday to two people. 

I heard a woman,who is now a business professional, married and with kids, share about how 7 years ago she was coming out prison and now that she is on the other side.  She wanted to encourage others to stay honest "because people are willing to help people who are honest, but not liars." 

I heard another woman share that because she had been in the hospital she lost her job, but she believed God had something better.

I watched with tears as people from our church family were treated like family by the Returning Citizens, becuase of the way our brothers and sisters had reached out to the Returning Citizens like they were family.
 

And then...You got to hear this...if you read nothing else, LH, please read this...I listened as about ten men shared these words in one way or another, "On Sunday, I got to come to Living Hope...it was the first time I had been in church for a long time and the message was good and the people made me feel at home."  

I about jumped out of my seat!  Yes! Yes! Yes!  That is why we are here!  This is why I love you so much!  You truly get it!  You get that it is not about what we want, need or prefer as Followers of Jesus, but what God wants and what others need to know that God loves them! 

I plan to attend Circles more often.  I want to encourage you...serve a meal...this is a great way of showing God's love in a tangible way.  Or just go and check it out...if you don't leave their encouraged, then you need serious help.  Because that Circle in the teen room on Monday night is one of the clearest pictures of Jesus I have seen in a very long time. 

As we talked about Sunday, may be Reentry Circles is your calling?  Why not send a email to  circles@elivinghope.com and learn more.  Who knows may be you too will discover that your favorite shape is a circle!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Can You Hold Me?

Yesterday, late afternoon, Kimberly called. I could hear Seth (5yrs.old) crying in the back ground. I figured he had gotten hurt again (he just had to have stitches last Friday).  But then Kimberly said, "Chandler (our pet bunny) is dead." 

I jumped in the car and drove home.  I walked in the door, Seth took one look at me and started balling. I don't know if Kimberly and I cried with him or for him, but the poor guy's heart was broken. "Its OK to cry," I said, "You loved Chandler and so did we."  As I reached down to hug him, he asked, "Can you hold me?"

No wonder Jesus said that if we want to enter heaven we have to be like a child.   As we grow up, I suppose we are given the message in many ways that we ought to take care of ourselves or we should suck it up and get over it or we should be strong or we should never let anyone see us cry or dozen more lies that keep us locked up in pain. 

Jesus came to teach us that when we have our own "Chandler is dead moments" it is OK to cry or express your hurt.  You know, Jesus wept at the grave side of his friend Lazarus and that was right before he raised him from the dead.  He knew the Father was gong to give his friend new life but that did not stop him from weeping the reality of sin's worst expression in our world-death.

But Jesus teaches us more than to cry, he teaches us to turn and run to him.  Jesus said, "Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened I will give you rest."  Right now, whatever you are going through, Jesus is there.  His arms are outstretched to you.  He is just waiting for you to cry out, "Can you hold me?"  That is all the invitation he needs.  And when you experience the arms of God wrap around you, it does not mean all the pain will go away, but it does mean you will experience hope in the midst of pain.

A little bit later Anna came home from school.  Seth cried again.  But this time he said, "Anna, when Jesus comes back, Chandler will come back to life."  And right there, in that measly moment in the great scheme of things, I knew Jesus was standing with us next to a dead bunny.  I know that because it was not me, who reminded that little boy of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. 

You see, that is what Jesus does...You cry out, "Can you hold me?"  And when he does (and he will hold you) he whispers hope into your pain.  Are you hurting today?  Are you angry today?  Why not try it with me...come on...what do you have to loose?  I'll do it with you, "Jesus, can you hold me?"


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Forgiveness & Boundaries




This week I have had some very meaningful conversations with multiple people regarding last Sunday’s talk from Ephesians 2.  We talked about how forgiveness removes the dividing wall of hostility.  Just as God has forgiven us, the Bible says, so we ought to forgive others.  When we forgive, as the old saying goes, "The prisoner that is set free is me!"  However, while forgiveness tears down dividing walls of hostility (if even only on our side) it does not tear down the need for healthy, biblical boundaries. 

(Before I go any farther, let me recommend the book I have found most helpful on this subject. I have read it twice and try to apply it daily.  "Boundaries: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, To Take Control of your Life," go to www.cloudtownsend.com to learn more). 

For instance, you recall the account in John 8.  A woman is caught in the act of adultery (of course, we do not know why the Jewish religious leaders did not bring the man who they caught in the act of adultery with her).  She was thrown before Jesus and they said, "The law of Moses says we should stone this woman for her sin.  What do you say, Jesus?"  Jesus kneels as they picked up stones.  Jesus draws in the dirt.  Then, without looking up he says, "Let he who has no sin be the first to cast a stone."  One by one the stones fall to the ground until no one is left but Jesus and the woman.  Jesus asks, "Woman has no one stayed to condemn you?"  "No," she says as she trembles.  "Then", get what Jesus says--he could have cast a stone for he had no sin, "Neither do I condemn you.   Now go and sin no more." 

Did you hear that?  Jesus forgives the woman.  Even before she asks, he gives her forgiveness.  He does the same for us.  Before we asked, he died on the cross and overcame the grave to forgive us.  We are forgiven.  The question is will we receive it?

But Jesus did not just forgive her; he set a boundary so that she could live in on-going freedom in his forgiveness.  Did you catch the boundary?  He said, "Now go and sin no more." 

If Jesus sets boundaries, why would we think that our forgiveness should be any different?  To forgive--to let go of the weight we could hold against someone, does not mean we open the door for the person to sin against us again.  It means we forgive them with healthy boundaries so that they and we can live in the freedom of that forgiveness.

It is not forgiveness or boundaries, it is forgiveness and boundaries. 


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Always Something

"Its always something." "When it rains it pours."  "Murphy's law."   These are just a few of the phrases we use to sum up what life is like in this life.

And yet, the Bible says, "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose."  "For nothing is impossible with God." "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

And right there between the circumstances of life and the promises of the Bible is the tension Jesus says we are called to shine for him in.  It is the tension between the now and the not yet.  Jesus death and resurrection has already defeated hell and is yet defeating hell.  Jesus has already made all wrongs right and yet is in the process of fulfilling all wrongs being made right. 

In the past two years I have been learning to live (and I am still learning) in this tension between the now and not yet. Here are a few examples:

  • Jesus said in the church you will have wheat (genuine Followers of Christ) and weeds (Those looking for what they can get from the Church, but not interested in giving to the Church, let alone interested in growing in Christ).  Jesus said that we must resist the temptation to pull the weeds.  Interesting.  Why would we want weeds among the wheat?  Jesus must know what we don't. Even the weeds serves a purpose.  It is not that God wants weeds or that he planted them, but that God can and will use all things to bring about good for his glory. In the past two years, Jesus has really been challenging me to accept the tension that even at LH there will always be both wheat and weeds.  This is not a personal reflection on me or anyone else, but the reality of what it means to live in this time of the now and not yet.
  • Jesus said Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy, but that He has come to give life and life abundant. God allows evil choices to be made that bring death, loss and destruction into our lives and world--even into the lives of good people trying to do the right thing.  However, Jesus promises life not just in the absence of evil, but even in the presence of evil.  One day he will remove evil once and for all.  But for now, he invites us to receive life from him that is independent of the circumstances evil's effect brings into our lives.
  • Jesus said blessed are you when you are persecuted for my name's sake.  What a strange blessing?  I am tempted to say, "No thanks, Lord, I will let you bless someone else with persecution, I'll take whatever else you got."  But Jesus is helping us to accept the tension of the now and not yet in that beatitude.  In this world, before his return, even doing the right thing with the right intentions, speaking the truth in love, giving to others, being real, transformed, connected and poured out will not always be met with open arms.  Christ's way of living and loving is counter cultural.  His light reveals the darkness and those living the dark don't always want to see.  In fact, the light even hurts their eyes.  And so Jesus is letting you know that attack and ridicule does not mean you are doing something wrong, it means you're right on track.  So, be blessed with that assurance!
I am not saying it is easy to accept the tension between the now and the not yet.  But what I am saying is that when we understand it for what it is, while it may not make anything easier, it does make a whole lot more sense of things.  And, at least for me, when things make a little more sense, they really do in some way make things a little more meaningful and even a little easier to swallow.  So, thank God for what he has done and thank him that he is not done yet because, "Its always something!"

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

YES!

I love how the Message paraphrase of the Bible interprets the word, "Amen," with "Yes!"  That is a great translation actually.  Amen means, "I agree wholeheartedly.  That is the truth.  Yes, yes, make it so God!"

Today, that is my word, "Yes!" or if you prefer, "Amen!"

You see, I like many others, are now breaking through to the other side of seasonal depression.  I can honestly say that this year, was best year yet in walking through the dark gray days of Ohio winters.  Each year, God gives me something new that better helps me.  This year, he helped me receive the value of walking through the valley.  That is why this year I have not talked about it unless asked about it (By the way, I appreciate those of you who did ask and prayed for me).  Each gray day, I was asking God to use that time to teach and grow me in my dependence on him.  And he did. Yes!

But, God says in Psalm 23 that we walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He does not say we must pitch a tent there and call it home.  And so today I am saying "Yes!" to the other side of darkness.  I am saying yes to the other side of winter. I am saying yes to the other side where the sun does shine again.  Yes! Yes! Yes!

I don't know what your valley is, but I do want to encourage you.  Keep on waking through it. Whatever you do, don't stop in the valley. The only thing worst than walking trough the valley is to stay in the valley.  Jesus' resurrection is your way to the other side!  Stop doubting and believe!

Need some more encouragement?  Take a moment to slowly read through and meditate on Psalm 23 today.  It is full of God's promise for you!