Easter Happened!

As a pastor, the Monday after Easter is a time of recovery for me. Resurrection Sunday is filled with high energy, excitement, stress, and incredible spiritual investment that often leaves me tired and exhausted. I need the Monday after Easter to allow my physical body to recuperate. It is an exciting time of the year, but there is a let down when it is all over.

I wonder if that is the challenge for other Christians as well. Through Lent we prepare our lives and our spirits to receive the power of the resurrection. Through Lent we repent of our sins and we invite God to restore us to a new relationship with Him. Easter is a celebration of this new life that only Jesus Christ can bring! But, when the day of celebration is over, there is a let down in spirit and focus and intentional living. The power of Easter comes in the way we live our lives after the resurrection, not just on Easter Sunday!

Luke 24:35-48 gives us a glimpse into the challenge that faced the disciples after the resurrection. They had met Jesus on the road to Emmaus. They actually saw the risen Christ!!! As they spoke of the Emmaus experience, Jesus came to them again. Remember, they had already seen Christ, yet they were frightened upon seeing Him again. They thought He was a ghost. Jesus challenged the doubts in their hearts and showed them His hands and feet again and proved His bodily resurrection when He ate some food they gave Him.

These disciples had witnessed the resurrection of Jesus first hand and still had doubts. They still had an Easter let down and did not fully understand and embrace what the resurrection meant for their lives. Then, Jesus opened their hearts and their understanding that they may come to know the Scriptures. After doing so, Jesus reminds them that they were witnesses to the life and purpose of Jesus.

Being a witness held certain responsibilities...to testify and continue to witness to the fact that Jesus was to suffer, rise from the dead, call others to repentance and remission of sins, and to share it with all nations. There is no let down to Easter. Easter gears us up, lifts us up, and strengthens us to share the good news of Jesus' life and message! It restores in us hope and courage to live our lives in such a way that we proclaim the power of Jesus' resurrection.

We can walk away from Easter with renewed peace, joy, hope and a firm sense of mission, which can affect our entire outlook on life. We become purpose-driven to win our world for Christ. Our whole image, how we appear and talk, our outlook and reaction to life will all be different and when people ask what's happened to us, we can answer: "Easter happened, that's what!"

Holy God, in the days after Easter, reveal Yourself to me. Embolden me to live my life with the power of resurrection flowing through my heart and manifesting itself in the way I serve You. May my life be a testimony, a witness, to the way You have raised my life to live in a hope, peace, and grace that is beyond compare. In the name of Jesus, the risen Christ! Amen.

At Jesus' Feet

Hello Holy Week journeyers,

I hope this week is truly set apart from any other week you take part in the rest of the year. This week is one of those special weeks that provide us the opportunity to get back on track and be reminded of the importance of our faith in Jesus and the transformation He can truly make in our lives. I know how difficult our day in and day out journeys can be. Our bodies get tired and our feet get achy and worn. Our spirit becomes weary and we try to find a place to rest. This Holy Week we are reminded of where we can lay our burdens down and how the journey before us can be renewed and restored with hope and vitality.

My morning devotion from the book Experiencing God Day-By-Day, shared the following:

Mary seemed drawn to the feet of Jesus. It is not surprising that of all those who followed Jesus, Mary was the one to anoint His feet. The disciples would have their opportunity to show the same love, but pride would prevent them (John 13:12-13). Marth, too, was prone toward acts of service, but she had developed a different kind of relationship with Jesus than Mary had. While Martha had labored on Jesus' behalf in the kitchen, Mary had joyfully sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him teach (Luke 10:38-42). Because Mary had come to know and love Jesus in this way, she was ready to humble herself and offer this poignant expression of love to Him. Such depth and sincerity of love comes only through spending time in close fellowship with Jesus.

The way we express our love for Jesus depends on the kind of relationship we have developed with Him. Our love for Him will not grow unless we spend time with him, listen to his voice, and experience His love for us. If we find that our love for Jesus has waned or that we struggle to serve Him, it is a clear sign that we must take time to sit at His feet. We may have been involved in Christian activity on His behalf and yet neglected our relationship with him. After we have spent time in intimate fellowship with our Lord, and after we have heard His voice and received His love, we will be prepared to serve Him, even laying down our life for Him if that is what He asks.

If your journey in life has taken you on a different path, set this Holy Week apart from any other by sitting at the feet of your Lord. Listen to His words for you. Receive His grace. Get back on track by walking in His footsteps.

Allow this week to call you back to the central message of your faith. May this week help you out of your ruts and lead you back into vibrant, life-giving practices that strengthen and embolden your faith. Sit at the feet of Jesus. Sit at the foot of the cross. Sit by the stone of an occupied tomb....and wait.

Dear Lord, I want to sit at Your feet, listen for Your voice, and be led by Your hand. I want this week to be set apart for You so that the rest of my week will be made holy by my fellowship with You. In Your holy name I pray. Amen.

Who am I?

At the end of a day, have you ever looked upon the events of that day and noticed that there was a common theme? That the most memorable moments of your day could be boiled down to one common idea or experience? Well, today was one of those days for me.

In this season of Lent we have been on a very intentional journey with Jesus to the cross. One of the main questions I have challenged you to ask yourself in this journey is, "Who is Jesus?" Your answer to this question is critical to the life you will experience...not just in the heavenly realm upon your departure from this earth, but even in the worldly realm as you live and breathe within the context of relationships and community.

Does Jesus bring power into your life as the Son of God? Does He liberate you from the oppressive power of sin, discouragement, and hopelessness as your Messiah and Savior? Does this Jesus have the power to overcome the darkness in your life as the Light of your world? How we answer these questions is important if we are to become faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

However, that leads me to another important question that has been nagging at me today. While I believe Jesus to be the Son of God and the Savior of the world, I am left pondering, "Who am I?" In relation to Jesus and my belief in Him, "Who am I?" I understand that the answer to this question is very complex. I am a child of God. I am a son, a brother, a husband, a father, an uncle, a grandson, a friend, a pastor, etc. But, this is not where I am going. The totality of who we are is a complex layering of different roles, labels, and experiences. I want to know who I am with Jesus in my life.

Today reminded me that Christians (of which I am one) and the Church (of which I am a part) have lost their identity. We have lost our way. We have wandered from our center. The focus of our faith is more on ourselves than it is on the One who came, lived, died, rose, and will come back again...Jesus. I don't believe this has been intentional, but it has become the reality in many areas of our lives. We have forgotten what it means to be disciples of Jesus Christ. We have forgotten that being a disciple is costly - we are asked to give up our lives, to allow Jesus to lead, to live in deep faithful community with others in which there is accountability, and to live lives that make a profound impact within the neighborhoods in which we live and work.

Instead, we want cheap discipleship. We want worship they way we like it. We want programs that interest us and at times that are most convenient. We want others to do the work of God because we have over-scheduled our lives and can't seem to find ways to fit God into it. We are okay with relegating the work of faith to those who have the time or are paid to do it...thinking that we can be carried into the joys of heaven on the backs of others. We don't want to make any major changes to our lives. We'd like to fit God in where it is convenient, instead of fitting our lives into God's plan.

I believe most people in the church want to live in and experience the power of Jesus in their lives. Most want the Holy Spirit to reside on their shoulders and never leave them. Most want to catch a glimpse of God moving in their lives and know of the full, deep love of Christ. We want to experience the realization of God's promises being fulfilled in our lives. But...there is always a but...we struggle with putting in the work that will help us experience that kind of life. We struggle with our own identity.

For the faithfulness of Christ to be fully experienced in our lives, we need to come back to a faithful understanding of who we are in relation to Jesus. Not just knowing who He is, but allowing who He is to define who we are. We need to change our focus and get it off ourselves and put it back on our Lord. My friend, Bob Kaylor, said in a recent blog, "The only way to change is through the transforming power of Christ. You want to make disciples? You have to be one first."

Are you willing to recommit your life to being a disciple? To getting back to the basics of studying the Scriptures, living in accountable relationships with other Christians, of walking closely behind Jesus, and allowing God to use YOU to change your part of the world? If we, as the church, want to see a world transformed, we must first experience that transformation. We won't be able to do that if we don't know who Jesus is and if we aren't willing to be who Jesus wants us to be...faithful, growing, and transformed disciples of Christ.

Lord Jesus, I have lost my focus...turn my eyes back on You. I have desired cheap discipleship...give me a heart to live a life of sacrifice for You. I want my faith to be easy...remind me that Your way is through the narrow gate. I desire the benefits without the cost...remind me again of what You did for me on the cross. Create in me a new heart that desires true transformation and a willingness to be a disciple that honors You. Remove from me any distractions of the heart, mind, and soul so that my walk with You may bring forth fruit in my life and through my life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Fools for Christ

Good morning! Today, it feels like God is playing an April Fools joke on us because there is no way that we are in the month of April already! We are already a quarter of the way through 2011 and heading into a new season of Spring and Opening Day for Major League Baseball in the Rockies! A great time of year, for sure, but it doesn't seem possible how quickly time has flown.

April Fool's Day is a fun day and sometimes the tomfoolery starts early. Earlier this week, I found a naked Barbie Doll in my work bag...obviously something my 12 year-old son thought was funny. Of course, I got a laugh out of it and I'm now planning where I can hide it in response to my surprise earlier in the week (this is an ongoing occurrence in our family). Last night, my daughter told us that she wanted to play an April Fool's joke on her brother by having us wake her up after Ethan fell asleep so that she could place his hand in a glass of warm water! We all know what is "supposed" to happen. She was finding joy in the fact that her brother would be made a fool of if the experiment was successful. What kind of delinquent children am I raising?

Of course, all of this is in fun. But, on this 1st day of April, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:10 where Paul says, "We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!" Paul was challenging the Christians in the church in Corinth. They had become complacent in their faith, their leadership, and their understanding of what it meant to be Christ in their world. These words from Paul were sarcastic in tone, and challenging in meaning.

Being fools for Christ means that what we believe, what we do, how we live will often be seen as foolish in the eyes of the world and even within the context of societal norms. When you follow Christ, your decisions, the love your share, the way you forgive, the jokes you laugh at, the priorities you set in your life, the words you write on Facebook, your blog, or your tweets, are different and not what others may expect. In some peoples' eyes, it may even appear foolish.

In his book, Holy Sweat, Tim Hansel tells the story of Clarence Jordan. He was a man of unusual abilities and commitment. He had two Ph.D.s, one in agriculture and the other in Greek and Hebrew. He was so gifted he could have chosen to do anything he wanted. He chose to serve the poor. In the 1940s, he founded a farm in Americus, Georgia, and called it Koinonia Farm. It was a community for poor whites and poor blacks.

As you might guess, the idea did not go over well in the Deep South of the 1940s. The town people tried everything to stop Clarence. They tried boycotting him, and slashing the workers’ tires when they came to town. Over and over, for fourteen years, they tried to stop him. Finally, in 1954, the Ku Klux Klan had enough of Clarence Jordan, so they decided to get rid of him once and for all. They came one night with guns and torches and set fire to every building on Koinonia Farm but Clarence’s home, which they riddled with bullets. They chased off all the families but one black family that refused to leave. Clarence recognized the voices of the Klansmen, some of who were church people. One Klansman was a local newspaper reporter.

The next day, the reporter came out to see what remained of the farm. The rubble was smoldering, but he found Clarence in the field, hoeing and planting. “I heard the awful news,” he called to Clarence, “and I came out to do a story on the tragedy of your farm closing.” Clarence just kept on hoeing and planting. The reporter kept poking trying to get this quietly determined man to get angry. Instead of packing, Clarence was planting. Finally, the reporter said in a haughty voice, “Well, Dr. Jordan, you got two of them Ph.D.s and you've got fourteen years into this farm, and there’s nothing left of it at all. Just how successful do you think you've been?” Clarence stopped hoeing, turned toward the reporter with his penetrating blue eyes, and said quietly but firmly, “About as successful as the cross. Sir, I don’t think you understand us. What we are about is not success but faithfulness. We’re staying. Good day.” Beginning that day, Clarence and his companions rebuilt Koinonia and the farm is going strong today.

On this April Fool's Day in which we do foolish things to make others look foolish and take delight in it, may be recommit our lives and our faith to be fools for Christ. To act, live, and be foolish in the eyes of the world so that we may be found faithful in the eyes of Christ.

Holy God, You are set apart. You are full of grace. Your ways are not the ways of the world. I admit that I have often looked foolish in Your eyes, God, so that I may be found worthy in the eyes of the world. Help me to get right my priorities and seek Your ways for my life - even if I may be deemed foolish by those around me. I desire to be faithful to You, and You alone. Thank you for reminding me that if I am going to be a fool for anything, it is best to be a fool for You. In Jesus' holy name I pray. Amen.