Teaching through “Major Transition”

You know something that has become increasingly clear about my life and the season that I find myself in is the reality that seasons are tough. Sometimes they really stretch you and it easy to see how God is teaching you. Other times they stretch you and it seems like it is near to impossible to see how any of this makes sense. No matter what, we clearly go through different seasons in life and when those seasons change they create transitions. My current one is called “Major Transition.”

Since we made things public knowledge a few weeks ago that I would be leaving NMC soon, it has been an interesting ride. But, I’m learning that maybe that is a good thing. I’m also learning that sometimes, when we embrace that change, and all of the emotions and feelings that come with it, as a given reality, we can come to grips with how to deal with reality. So, rather than try and sugarcoat this part of my life and try and make light of the life that I have been given, I am working to step up and do what I do, and have found myself doing all of my life, lead.

I have noticed, in the middle of this transition is the need for me to still function and function well. I’m leaving, but I’m not dying (at least I don’t think I am) and if I believe what I say I believe, my goal is to see people come into a life-changing relationship with Jesus, not me. Yet, it is our lives and the stories that God continues to write that tell others of how much he loves and cherishes us, and takes care of us in light of these transitions. I think every story is worth sharing.

I say all of that to say this: I sense God pushing me to share in my experience; to allow this blog to become a place of relating the ways that I am processing through different situations. Obviously, there are certain things that will remain in my journal, but I sense Him wanting me to write about this transition. So, write I will. I want my life to bring Him glory; every aspect. Not just the nice things that I say, but how I struggle through different decisions; different situations. So, with that, the next few months will be good. I’m excited. I hope that you will come along on this journey as well.

Lessons from Holy Week #5: What He Did Speaks to What I Must Do

If you are like me and watched the two hours of Passion of the Christ, there were many times that you had to turn away because of the recognition of what it meant for you. I mean seriously, Jim Caviezel is a representation, but the pain that Jesus clearly had to experience in those moments of torture and ultimately on the cross is something that I could never even imagine going through. And as if the physical pain wasn’t enough, there was the spiritual and emotional side of this whole experience.

At the end of this whole process, Jesus has to take on the separation of his connection to his Father. AND he took on the weight of the world’s sin and defeated death. All very much inside His ability, but a huge deal nonetheless.What a completely incomprehensible event that took place here. But the fact of the matter is this:

Jesus had to go through the incomprehensible so that I could join Him in the pain.

You’re probably saying, “What?” Listen, I can’t stand pain. Nothing about pain or discomfort is at all attractive to me. But the idea of being spiritually cut off from your father AND bearing the burden of taking on my sin, makes no sense to me. Thankfully, Jesus doesn’t ask me to do those things. Jesus doesn’t require me to defeat death (Praise the Lord!), or take on the sin of the world (cause that would just be bad.). Jesus does those things because if He doesn’t, I would never know about what suffering looks like.

To pick up your cross, each day, seems like something that we could never do. Especially for some of us, some of the things that Christ calls us to lay down can be very painful to lay down. Forgiveness of an incredibly difficult hurt, the pride of our own self-sufficiency, our history and the life that we have made of it, just to name a few. My point is, it can be painful, extremely painful to surrender our lives to Christ. And unless Jesus does the incomprehensible we won’t know to what extent Jesus is calling us to sacrifice for His name.

We will never be able to take on the weight of sin, nor are we expected to. But Jesus went that far. So instead of asking, “Just how much are you asking for me to sacrifice, Lord?” we should approach Jesus knowing that it costs us everything to follow Him and nothing less. So, what is He asking of you today? What is it that you think you will never be able to give up? I wonder what it looks like to give that thing up. I think it looks like the suffering Christ for His people. Beautifully incomprehensible.

Lessons from Holy Week #4: Jesus Prepped Himself & His Team

The reality of this week in history is that Jesus knew exactly what was coming on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He knew that He would die, how He would die, and how He would rise. So, there weren’t any surprises coming Jesus’ way this week. But that didn’t stop Him from preparing for the events that were about to take place.

It’s fascinating to watch Jesus prepare His team. He even so bluntly tells the Twelve what is going to happen, all the way down to betrayal and the emotions that they were going to feel in that time. The Last Supper is the ultimate in describing servant leadership. I am so amazed at how Jesus treated and personified His character in how He cared and led the Twelve. But He’s not done yet.

Jesus then takes the time to prepare Himself in the Garden. He isn’t just sitting there, listing off all the ways that He doesn’t want to suffer so that God can take that into account. He isn’t praying to God to make the suffering that He is about to go through be easy and not very painful. He’s praying for His Church. He’s praying for himself. He’s reminding the people why He’s doing what He’s doing, and it is powerful.

The lesson for me today is this:

You can’t imagine sending troops or going into battle without prepping with the most obviously effective exercise available to Christians.

Listen, I need to be about prayer. I need to prepare myself, every single time I go to battle, I need to start in prayer. Why would I not come into the presence of the Almighty and prepare myself to give Him glory? So, I’m learning and I’m trying to apply.

What about you? What battles are coming up that you need to prep well for?

It’s Rarely Easy, But It Is Simple

This past weekend, I went with a bunch of Senior Highers on a thing we called “Retreaternighter.” Appropriately named with the motto: “If a Retreat and an Overnighter had a baby.” It was so much fun and we had a total blast. Many kudos to all the adults that came with us!

While we were there, I preached a message on Saturday Night that I don’t think I have ever preached before, but afterwards, God really made something clear that sparked something new in me regarding the things that He has for us. It relates so specifically to a post that I wrote last week concerning the Crazy Thing in your Head. 

God’s Will is rarely easy, but it is Simple.

I think it has to be the most asked question for Christians in America and it has the most paralyzing response so many times that it makes me sick. But often, the question, “What is God’s Will for my life?” comes up time and time again. And the reality that I have been coming around to understanding is this: If you can’t answer that question for the future, then the answer is: “Right Now.”

Now the person that is saying that there is no way that can be true is probably the person that continues to ask the question, over and over and over again. Look, how many times are you going to ask about what’s next before you realize that what’s next is actually what is right in front of you, right now? The reason that you “aren’t sure about it” is because you aren’t comfortable with it or it “seems impossible” or “you’re not good enough for that” or whatever excuse born in a lie we decide to use.

The reality is, His “yoke is easy” because it fits. It fits because He created you to fit that yoke. And for too long, we have equated easy with comfortable; easy with a lack of struggle or suffering. The English term is “easy” but the American definition is probably more accurately described as “lazy.” Look, I’m not saying that we have misinterpreted the Scripture. I think we have misapplied it. His burden is light because he gives us everything we are going to need in order to accomplish everything He sends our way. But if we refuse to simply take on His yoke and simply walk in the things that He has for us, it won’t be easy and you can bet it will be complicated.

This is convicting to me. I want so desperately to “do the right thing.” Mainly because I don’t want to screw it up. But, many times when I try to figure out what the right thing is, I tend to make things much more complicated and less dependent upon Him. I think that there is a better way:

Pray, Trust, and Obey.

I think the song might say, “For there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus…” You get the point.