Burn Baby Burn

I've been insanely busy with the end of the school year, but I really wanted to share some Scripture and a few notes about the church holiday of Pentecost and the gift Jesus sent us on that day, His Holy Spirit (see Acts 2:1-13ff).

Joel 2:28-29 (New International Version)

29 ...I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Before Pentecost, in the Old Testament, you pretty much only see God's Spirit resting upon one or two people at a time, a prophet like Moses,  Elijah, a priest like Aaron or Samuel, or a king like David. One guy served as God's representative, His mouthpiece on Earth. 

But now, we all are called, gathered, and sustained by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and we all are commissioned to serve as His prophets, priests, and kings (or pirates). He can speak though you. You can intercede for others with Him. And we can all lead by example and administer God's work.

John 16:12-15 (NRSV)

12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 "He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 "All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you." 

Here's an awesome thing- the Spirit is there when you need Him. Mind you, He's gentle and you can grieve Him. Why would He want to live in you is you're full of anger and selfishness, lust and greed? And you have to give Him something to work with- sure, God's omnipotent and He can certainly work like magic if/when He wants, but the more time you spend reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, or in Christian fellowship, the more God's Word gets written on your heart so that the Spirit can help you tap into it whenever you're in a situation when you need Him. Big Lutheran perspective- the Holy Spirit never draws attention to Himself or to you, He always directs us to Jesus, His sacrifice and victory and His teachings and examples.

I love to remind people that if there were a proof that you're living a Spirit-filled, or Spirit-led life is not whether or not you can speak in tongues or perform miracles. The evidence is that your character is becoming more Christ-like. Jesus told us Himself that you'll know a tree by it's fruit:

Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version) 

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Now, if you have God Himself living inside you, you have to know that God can use you. It's not about what you can or cannot do, it's about what He will do through you. What does He want to do through you? What did Jesus do in the New Testament? Tell about God's love, announce God's forgiveness, share mercy, accept and love those who others deemed undesirable, heal, feed, serve, sacrifice for others, love.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (New International Version)

6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

And with that He (Jesus) breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." ~ John 20:22

Prayer of confession and contrition

Forgive me God, I realize that I lost my patience,
I said things that probably weren't very kind.
Sometimes I just get so jealous and territorial, if not down right competitive,
As if I even deserve what I'm competing for- what makes me so arrogant and proud?
How rude!
I was just being selfish,
I don't even know what the trigger was that made me so angry.
Why do I seem to always keep score, anyway?
What I should do is to protect the other guy's interests, to trust him
and to keep hoping he'll be okay and that things will turn out right for him.

Help me to be more like You, Jesus.
Help me to be more loving and to live out 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Instead, I was selfish,
instead of finding joy in others, I wanted to be left alone.
In stead of peace, I was irritable
Instead of being patient, I was frustrated
I demanded loyalty, but didn't offer any to others,
I was harsh and overly stern
It was like I was someone else, I completely lost control and became tactless.
Father, crucify my nature-
Help me to be reasonable and selfless
Grow the fruit of Your Spirit in me (Galatians 22-23).

Make me more like You
And forgive me for when I'm not,
don't let me have hurt anyone.

VBS 09 Day 3- God 's Word grows in you and in me

eu·reka:
interjection

1. I have found (it): believed to have been uttered by Archimedes when he discovered a way to determine the purity of gold by applying the principle of specific gravity
2. I've got it; yes; that's it: used to express triumphant achievement, success, or discovery

We've been shouting "Eureka!" as part of our program whenever the leader (Bethany) announces the key idea for each night. I explained to the 5/6 graders how in African American churches there is often a call-and-response interaction between the preacher and the congregation. When he wan't to know that they understand what he is teaching, he asks them to shout "Amen." Amen, is a Hebrew word which means "may it be so, so it is, let it be so, or, this is true." (Lutherans read "this is most certainly true" a lot in the chatechism.)

Both Eureka and Amen might be great ways to say "I GET it!" when you understand what's being talked about. That fit with the night's lesson because it was about whether you "get it" or not.

The Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:1-15) is the one parable that Jesus told which He went so far as to spell out and explain to His diciples peice by peice, which is ironic because the whole point of the story is that a lot of people miss the point.

Steven Corbert is actually a fairly liberal comedian, but he's become famous by satirizing ultra conservative pundits who take themselves too seriously. Ironically, there are tons of far right-wing Republicans and Libertarians who think he's for real. They love him and believe much of what he says... they don't seem to realize that he's making fun of them.

Similarly, British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has had two movies (Borat and Bruno) in which he pretends to be hopelessly clueless stereotypes of characters making a serious as a heart attack doccumentary. He's then able to record ordinary people responding to his characters either with ridicule and intolerance, or by revealing themselves to be just as clueless as his characters are. Some people just don't get it.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus is warning us that sometimes we just don't get it. And sure enough, the original 12 disciples didn't get it so He had to spell it out for them.

The seed is God's Word.

Some of us are trampled down paths (verse 5). We've been walked on and worked over, so no sooner do we hear God's Word than the devil snaches it away and it's as if we never heard it.

Some of us are shallow, rocky dirt (verse 6) (more like the deserts of Phoenix where I grew up than the deep, dark, nutrient rich top soil here in Iowa). We get all excited and seem enthusiastic about this great new thing; "Jesus" or "Faith" or "Christianity" and it sprouts up fast- how exciting, the latest Christian book, some newtrend or self-improvement fad, a TV evangelist, or a great Christian rock band or concert--- woo hoo, aint this great? But, once life get's tough (and it always does) then we abandon the faith, we feel like Jesus must've been just another religion, and it comes to nothing.

Some of us are a wild weed patch, full of buffalo burrs or thisles or maybe, lush banks of kudzu or why not- gorgeous rose bushes--- whichever way you dice it, the seed comes and it make grow, but it's choked by what's already growing in us. We may believe and even try to be like Jesus, but life gets in the way. There are just too many things we don't want to give up. Maybe they're actual things (material posessions) maybe they're bad habits, selfish attitudes, patterns of behavior, sins- maybe they're people, toxic relationships, bad influences- somehow or other, the worries and/or pleasures of this world just don't allow our faith to get the sunlight or nutrients it needs to grow.

Ah, but some of us, are decent worm poop. Soft, turned over, cleared off, composted, damp and ready to recieve the seed. And if we do, God can get a great yield out of His seed. 100 times, Jesus says.

And so what? What yield? Sunflower seeds? Corn kernels? Soybeans? Apple trees? Wheat?

Fruit, Spiritual Fruit. John 15:1-3 says that Jesus is the vine, we are the branches and God the Father is the gardener. Remember yesterday he turned us from water to wine, maybe we're wine grapes. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us the kind of fruit we are to produce, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. THAT is some good fruit.

It almost makes you wonder if in Genesis 1:28, when God told us to "be fruitful and multiply," He wasn't really talking about having babies, at least He wasn't JUST talking about having babies.

It certainly seems to me that having the Holy Spirit produce this kind of fruit in us would lead to doing a lot of good works and following good paths that God prepared for us in advance (Ephesians 2:10).

But, you have to have ears to hear. Amen? You can't just half listen or treat God's Word like it's just more background noise. That's the difference between just hearing and actually listening and paying attention. The only way to be good soil, is to till up the trampled path, to pick out the rocks and pull out the weeds. The only way to produce good fruit is to commit to seting aside time to spend with God, reading His Bible, praying to him, worshiping and listening. If we refuse the seed, how can we expect to produce any fruit? He who has ears, let him hear. Amen?

In light of that important lesson- would you please consider making time to get into God's Word? Plan on coming to HS Bible Study this fall. Our theme's going to be "you, like living stones, are being built into God's house" 1 Peter 2:5

We'll use Room 101 off the Church Lobby instead of the kitchen in the basement. Let's really try to get into Gods Word in a major way before you all go to New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering next summer.

And since it's still a month and a half away, why don't you start praying that all the kids in our congregation will start coming to HS Bible Study on Sundays this Fall too. Nobody wants to be alone. Jesus tells us, where two or more are gathered in His name He is there with them (Matthew 18:20)!

Several Spiritual and Scriptural Satori*

Satori: a flash of sudden awareness, or individual Enlightenment.

I've recently had several Satori concerning Scriptures. Call them epiphanies or revelations if you'd prefer a Judeo-Christian jargon rather than a Hindu/Buddhist one. Point is, I feel like God has opened my eyes to layers of possible meaning in a few things that had never occurred to me before. Let me share some of them:

• "Give us this day our daily bread..." like most people, I've always taken for granted that this portion of the Lord's prayer refers to God's provision for my material needs. But Jesus calls Himself the "bread of life." Surely we should be praying for the true manna from Heaven, which is fellowship with Him and spiritual nutrition from His Word.

• "Whatever is good, whatever is right, whatever is praiseworthy,...(Philippians 4:8)" For years I've assumed this meant to think positive, to try to focus on what you have, not on what you don't have, thereby fostering an attitude of gratitude. But it can mean SO much more than that. If we "fix our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)" then we're REALLY thinking about "whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable." Duh. Why didn't THAT one ever dawn on me before?!

• "Be fruitful and multiply... (Genesis 9:7)" Wouldn't most people just assume that God's telling Noah and his family to get busy repopulating the earth? But what if He's not talking about sex or having babies? What if He's speaking spiritually? What if to be fruitful, means to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)? To "multiply" is to augment, to spread or propagate.- to increase. I don't think you have to have kids to spread love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Which brings me to my next point-

• The fruit of the Spirit is not just something to HAVE, it is something to SHARE. People have said for eons that "love isn't love unless you give it away," but I think that its also true that the more of all the fruit which you offer, the more you have. Kind of like the 5 loaves and 2 fish (Luke 9) miraculously feeding the 5,000. (and sharing Jesus is the same way, after all, He is the bread of life). If you're kind to others, guess what? They're likely to be kind to you. Showing patience? Same deal. Faithfulness, treating people gently? Guess what?

• This last one also has to do with the same Gal 5:22 spiritual fruit- but it will sound pretty "out-of-the box..." A couple of weeks ago my wife and I attended a Christian marriage retreat in Kansas City, during the segment on intimacy, the speaker suggested an idea that most of us probably wouldn't ordinarily consider- (probably because even though we say that God created sex and wants us to enjoy it within marriage, we still tend to think of it as carnal or "naughty," not something to include God in.) The speaker suggested that men touch their wives while focusing on the fruit of the Spirit. Before you clench up and freak out, just consider a massage or caress in which your partner touched you gently, kindly, lovingly, patiently, with faithfulness, joyfully, and... difficult for us guys, with self-control (so that a back rub doesn't have to become more than a back rub, if you catch my drift). Amazing concept, huh? God-touch. Pretty sexy for being so holy, don't you think?

• I haven't started reading 'Love & Respect' yet, but I have been reading a really good book lately. At my brother-in-law's funeral a dear cousin urged me to read 'The Shack' by William Paul Young. I never got around to it until last weekend when another cousin offered to loan her copy to my wife &/or me.
  
  It's really good. One of the parts that struck me today really seemed to encapsulate a lot of that they were teaching us at the "Weekend to Remember" marriage retreat.
  
  It's about the curse in Genesis 3:16-17, how woman's "desire will be for your husband" and how man will have "painful toil" all the days of his life because the ground will be cursed. If I understood the book jacket for 'Love & Respect,' this really says a lot about each of our genders' needs.
  
  In chapter 10 of 'The Shack,' Jesus to the main character, Mack, "Women, in general, will find it difficult to turn from a man and stop demanding that he meets their needs, provides security, and protects their identity, and return to me. Men, in general, find it very hard to turn from the works of their hands, their own quests for power and security and significance, and turn to me."
  
  Young has Jesus go on to explain to Mack that we all need to repent and turn back toward Him and follow the model for relationships that God gives us- in his words, "Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect."

This is a fun website

This website http://www.wordle.net, really is a lot of fun. You enter text and it generates these creative "word balloons." Check it out.

I ran across this at http://www.allaboutgod.com/fruit-of-the-spirit.htm and thought it was cool, I wanted to post it here. Wouldn't everyone want these? I say, start praying and ask God to produce these in you & yours.

Fruit of the Spirit - The Nine Biblical Attributes
Using the King James Version of Galatians 5:22-23, these attributes are: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. The fruit of the Spirit is a physical manifestation of a Christian's transformed life. In order to mature as believers, we should study and understand the attributes of the ninefold fruit:

Love - "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:16). Through Jesus Christ, our greatest goal is to do all things in love. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Joy - "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2).

Peace - "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1). "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13).

Longsuffering (patience) -- We are "strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness" (Colossians 1:11). "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).

Gentleness (kindness) -- We should live "in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left" (2 Corinthians 6:6-7).

Goodness - "Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power" (2 Thessalonians 1:11). "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth" (Ephesians 5:9).

Faith (faithfulness) - "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth" (Isaiah 25:1). "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith" (Ephesians 3:16-17).

Meekness - "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Galatians 6:1). "With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2).

Temperance (self-control) - "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love" (2 Peter 1:5-7).