One day last week, I was deciding what music to listen to on the way home from work and realized that it had been a while since I listened to Charlie Hall. A few touches on the old iPhone and voila, On the Road to Beautiful was playing!
Track one – I Will Overcome – always gets me; and that day I hit the repeat button a few times…
The lyrics so reflect my heart lately. No I’m not a basket case – I’m just someone who realizes that there is absolutely no way I can make it on my own. I love and so appreciate the support and encouragement of my wife, family, and friends; but that really pales in comparison to the comfort and true strength I enjoy, cherish, and rely on from my amazing Savior and friend: Jesus. (BTW, that last sentence is not a slight on my wife, family, and friends – they know my heart and the truth of that statement.)
It’s an interesting word. Like many words, when you say it, it sounds kinda funny. Look in the dictionary and it’s even phonetically spelled funny: “kruhch” – I mean, why bother with the”h” in the middle! (OK, it would be “crooch” if you left it out.)
When we see or hear “crutch”, we generally think of someone who is hurt or needs something to assist them or support them as they walk. One definition of crutch is: A staff or support used by the physically injured or disabled as an aid in walking.
Anyway, “CRUTCH” popped in my mind this morning as I was getting ready for work.
You see, there’s some “stuff” going on in my family’s life – the specifics are not germane to this post – and our response to that “stuff” may seem like we are relying on a “crutch.” (BTW, isn’t “germane” another interesting word also?)
“We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.”
Psalm 33:20-22
Amazing Hope Giver,
You are all knowing, all powerful, all sufficient,…You are perfect.
I love the Genius setting on iTunes. I never know what’s coming next…
Yesterday a song I forgot I had came on and really capped some time I’d spent in Isaiah 58 (more on that later).
You see, if we are honest with ourselves, at times we read John 3:16 as, “For God so loved those we deem lovely and likable, that He sent His Son…” instead of “For God so loved the world [read: everyone], that He sent His Son…”.
We love those who:
look like us,
agree with our opinions,
are kind and don’t hurt or hate,
you know…the people who meet the standards that we set for “acceptable behavior” (even though in our hearts, we often don’t meet them).
We forget that God – the One who loved and loves perfectly and with purity – sets the standard for love: ALL ARE LOVED.
Last night, Karen and I went on a dinner/mall date! We had a great time at Valley Fair – Rubio’s for dinner and we hit two of the newer stores in our lives: Lego Store and Gymboree!
One the way home as we were sitting the Starbucks drive-thru (appropriately capping off the evening), we were talking about stuff and Karen made the comment, “Well, at least Jesus is my friend!”
I think most of us would agree that there is a song that applies to most of the situations we go through…OK, maybe it just a musicians thing.
Anyway, being of that mind, I quickly drew my iPhone from its holster and played the song below…twice.
We had a great laugh – just thought I would share!
Jesus is a friend of mine
Jesus is my friend
Jesus is a friend of mine
I have a friend in Jesus
Jesus is a friend of mine
Jesus is my friend
Jesus is a friend of mine
He taught me how to live my life as it should be
He taught me how to turn my cheek when people laugh at me
I’ve had friends before and I can tell you that
He’s one who will never leave you flat!
He taught me how to pray and how to save my soul
He taught me how to praise my god and still play rock and roll
The music may sound different but the message is the same
It’s just an instrumental praise his name
Once I tried to run, I tried to run and hide
But Jesus came and found me and he touched me down inside
He is like a mountie, he always gets his man
And he’ll zap you any way he can. Zap!
He loves me when I’m right, He loves me when I’m wrong
He loves me when I waste my time by writing silly songs
He loves me when I’m quiet and I have nothing to say
He’ll love me when I’m perfect if I ever get that way
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:5-11
So my thoughts this week have been pretty much dominated by this passage – which was the passage Pastor Jason Helveston preached from last Sunday at church.
This passage is pretty marked up in my bible (as is much of the book of Philippians), but the reality that has been hitting me anew this week has been the profound truth of Jesus’ greatness and humility…and my view of that.
The one word that really hit me square in the forehead was: NOTHING
Jesus made Himself NOTHING.
The “NOTHING” He became was man.
Compared to Jesus, I AM NOTHING
though i act to the contrary at times, grasping at a perceived equality with God. (Oh, i’d never say that out loud, but actions speak louder…)
I think we concentrate on the fact that Jesus came to earth, became like us, and went through all the stuff we go through (except living/responding in a perfect way), often at the expense of our remembering He was/is GOD.
As Jason put it:
We must see Jesus on the throne before we see Him in sandals.
x
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I, like most, am thankful for many things – especially this year, with our adoption story finally becoming a reality.
But most especially, I’m thankful that Jesus became nothing. Thankful for the humility of Jesus. I’m thankful for the cross. Thankful for God’s amazing and radical love.
Two weeks ago, I saw Hillsong United’s movie (THE I HEART REVOLUTION: WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER) while I was on a business trip. It was a profound experience that really prodded me on things God was already working on in my life.
There were a ton of one-liner take ways, but one of the biggies that struck me was:
Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something.
That statement is a truth to what is often a stifling thought – “I can’t make a difference.” We figure that any contribution we make in addressing the social injustices and profound needs in our world is so insignificant that we end up not bothering at all.
We’re not a celebrity who can commit thousands of dollars or the proceeds from out latest “work.”
We wonder if a $20 gift actually provide water for a person for 20 years as Charity: Water claims? (I believe it can!)
Hey, times are tight, many are out of work often just scraping by.
And yet, as Christ Followers, how do we reconcile:
Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” –Proverbs 31:8-9
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress..” –James 1:27
One cool organization/program that offers a way for virtually anyone to help is Mocha Club. For the price of two mochas each month ($7), you can help with a number of relief projects in Africa: Clean Water, Education, Child Mothers + Women At Risk, Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children, and HIV/AIDS + Health care.
Mocha Club’s Vision:
“Our vision is to provide a way for people who don’t have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa. Our community-based website allows members to start a team and invite friends to join them in giving up the cost of 2 mochas a month to support their chosen project. We know that today’s tech-savvy generation can have a huge impact by using the viral nature of the web. So we decided to equip Mocha Club members themselves to grow awareness and support for Africa by inviting friends.
We’re aware of people’s general lack of trust that their money is being effective, and we address that by providing regular updates. Each month, we update our Mocha Club members on how their $7 is helping the people of Africa through videos and blogs of the specific projects they are supporting.”
Pretty cool!
So come one! Join me in giving up two mochas each month for the great need that exists in Africa. I’m supporting Orphan Care + Vulnerable Children projects. (BTW, I’m not alone in this – check out some of the other sponsors.)
This past Sunday, one of the missionaries our church supports (Rick Berry) mentioned Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler during Sunday School.
OK, full disclosure… I was convicted by the remembrance of Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-23.
[Gee thanks Rick!]
You can read the story for yourself, but the upshot is that this rich guy asked Jesus what must be done to receive eternal life. Jesus recites a partial list of the 10 commandments, to which the guy responds, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” (BTW, in my mind, I see the guy saying this with arms crossed and nodding his head in self-righteous confidence. I guess I imagine this because it’s probably what we’d all do if someone challenged us in an area of our life. GULP!) Anyway, Jesus responds – and don’t miss this part – IN LOVE and tells him to sell everything, give all the proceeds to the poor, and then he’d have eternal life. Needless to say, the guy couldn’t do it and went away sad. Christ was calling him to a sacrificial life – not just a checklist-based or costless one…and that was more than he was willing to commit to.
Certainly, one typical application of this passage is the idolatry of money or “stuff” over relationship with Jesus – the whole “camel through the eye of the needle” thing in verse 25.
The thing that convicted me was the “…all these things I have kept…” phrase. How often we simply reduce living for Christ to a 10-item-checklist mentality. Sure, we’d never admit this checklist-based-living-for-Christ belief out loud; but, in our heart (which is where God looks at us), it’s easy to have it. There is comfort and often anonymity in this type of Christ-Follower life – the “it’s between me & God” – “what is the minimum I must do” mentality.
The truth is, Jesus (while He recognized and affirmed the “checklist” items in this and other passages) calls His followers (then, now, and to come) to so much more. He knew if the ruler had kept those “things” (God knows the heart of all); but, Jesus also knew that a life that followed Him was characterized by SO MUCH MORE. A life that costs something – and that “something” is more than money.
As a Christ Follower, I have got to be more than just a list follower/checkeroffer (if that’s a word). That is what Rick is challenging the people he and Myla work with in the Philippines…and what he reminded/challenged me on last Sunday…
In fact, the average American uses 150 gallons of water a day.
Yep, it’s basic.
But:
1.1 billion people on the planet don’t have access to safe, clean drinking water. (That’s 1 in 6 people in the world).
Those people often walk more than three hours each day to get water that is likely to make them sick.
The average person in a developing nation struggles to find 5 gallons of water.
That’s flat out wrong.
One organization trying to address this is Charity: Water – a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations:
OK, so if that doesn’t bring it home, this should:
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Consider supporting Charity: Water. 100% of all contributions go to projects, not administrative costs.
It’s mind blowing, but $20 can give one person clean, safe drinking water for 20 years.
You may have heard of WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) or the lesser known HWJD (How Would Jesus Drive), but have you ever wondered: How would Jesus tell the Christmas story…the story of His birth?
It’s an interesting question. There’s no book in the Bible that was written by Jesus (at least in the sense that He was the human author); thus, we don’t have that to go by. The Gospels were written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that somewhat qualifies, but it really isn’t a telling of the Christmas story by Jesus Himself.
So, How Would Jesus Tell The Christmas Story?
Well, we actually do have some idea about how Christ would tell His story from the Bible. It’s in a passage that jumped out at me while we were doing the Bible in 90 Days program at church this past summer. I’m certain I’ve read the passage many times before, but this time it stuck – and in the context of reading the whole Bible in three months…it was HUGE.
You see, in Luke 24:13-27, Christ tells two of His disciples His story…His whole story. (They were kept by God from recognizing Him until later that day – certainly God’s plan to ensure that they knew without a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was the Messiah – the fulfillment of God’s promise and the prophecies they had been taught for many years.) In this passage, we read about a conversation Jesus had with them over the course of the seven mile trek between Jerusalem and the village of Emmaus. Verse 27 says that, “…beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, [Christ] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.”
That’s a TON of info in the space of about 2 hours and 20 minutes!
So, we do have a Bible-based idea on how Jesus would tell the Christmas Story! As we read in Luke, Jesus would have included the BIG picture of His story…not just the “manger scene”; which is, of course, crucial. That OVERALL PICTURE is MASSIVE when you think about the fractional story we tell, think, and sing about each year (at a time that gets earlier and earlier).
[Whoa, Dennis! It’s only November 10th…aren’t you buying in to that
“earlier and earlier” thing? Where are you going with this?]
OK. I do have two points here:
First, let’s not settle for the condensed or partial Christmas story. Why not enjoy, remember, and tell the Christmas story the way Christ told it to those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. That’s a challenge to myself as well as anyone who gets this far in reading this longer-than-usual post!
Second, about this time of year, many of us get out our favorite Christmas albums or start to look for new ones for our Christmas Season listening pleasure. In order to enable my first point, I want to plug a Christmas album that has quickly become one of my favorites. It’s an album that tells the Christmas story as Christ told it (a la Luke 24:27). The album is Andrew Peterson‘s, Behold the Lamb Of God – The TRUE Tall Tale of the Coming of CHRIST – which is actually celebrating it’s 10th anniversary with a 2-disc anniversary edition being released tomorrow (11/11).
The album tells the Christmas story beginning with Moses, moving to the prophets, to Christ’s birth, to John the Baptist’s “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” statement – all pointing to Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as the Lamb of God, our Savior…all through lyrically-deep*, folk-style songs.
Some background:
If you are not familiar with this album, it is different – but in a good way. Like so many “familiar” things, we risk becoming numb to the words and message without a fresh look…or listen. Specifically in this case, I think we cheat ourselves if we don’t recall and cherish the complete and utterly amazing story of Christ and Christmas. The story of God who, long before Mary, Joseph, and the manger, had an amazing plan of redemption – that really places the manger in the middle of the complete story. If you’re familiar with this album, hopefully you know what I’m talking about.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this album. I get no creds for this; in fact, I don’t consider this a “review”, simply a recommend or plug. If you’d like an actual “review”, here is an informative one. Also, if you don’t want to get the 2-disc set, at least get the single CD.
So again, this year let’s not settle for the partial Christmas story. Let’s enjoy and remember this amazing, TRUE story the way Christ told it. (BTW, the album is only about 45 minutes long and you can listen to it sitting in a comfortable chair – hiking is not required!)
Merry Christmas!
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JANUARY 8, 2010 UPDATE: Listen to the album for free, via an online payer at this link.
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*OK, there is one lyric that I have an issue with. On the first song, the line “He reigns with the angels” bugs me theologically. I may be taking Peterson’s “with the angels” out of his original context though. Don’t let this stop you from enjoying – singing “Father” place of “angels” works well if it bugs you!
Crutch.
This past Sunday, one of the missionaries our church supports (
I’s basic: Water.
You may have heard of 
Second, about this time of year, many of us get out our favorite Christmas albums or start to look for new ones for our Christmas Season listening pleasure. In order to enable my first point, I want to plug a Christmas album that has quickly become one of my favorites. It’s an album that tells the Christmas story as Christ told it (a la Luke 24:27). The album is 
DENNARR(dot)COM 