Bricks

My pastor just finished a series on faith and science. Fascinating stuff. One of those sermons was about technology. It referenced the amazing innovation in Genesis we know as the "brick."

We learned it was this magic building block that made the Tower of Babel possible. Tim taught us that God destroyed the famous tower because the builders were creating something for themselves, not for their God. You may remember that the mandate given Adam and Eve was to "fill the earth." But the motivation of the tower builders was to "keep us from being scattered." It was an act of defiance. You can hear their selfishness: "Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves."

For ourselves.

And that's when I knew... God has sometimes destroyed the tower of my making because I did it for myself, not for Him.

Ever happen to you?

How about in your family life? My wife and I find ourselves digging out of debt because we defied the teaching of God and, without even asking His opinion, spent money we didn't yet have. (Have I mentioned that having your tower destroyed can be painful? Our debt qualifies.)

How about in the worship ministry you lead? Or other ministry? Are you doing what Christ's love compels you to do or what your opinion compels you to do. One approach will endure. The other will be shattered by our great God.

What about in the church as a whole? Do you seek the face of God, the word of God, and the counsel of God? Or do you contribute from a position of personal preference, even in defiance to the wisdom of the scriptures? Do you have people around you who will tell you the difference?

Self-centered towers keep us from the staggering blessings of God that accompany obedience.

Has God sometimes destroyed your "tower" because you built it for yourself--even those around you--but you didn't build it for Him?

If not, hallelujah! Learn from my sinful heart and don't let it happen. If so, confess and receive grace. Let's do better in the future than we've done in the past.

One more thing from the story. God will get his way. He's God. He does that. The end of the story (Genesis 11:9) says, "In this way he scattered them all over the world." Our sin, our defiance, our stubbornness, and our selfishness will not thwart the plan of God. He's too big. Too wise.

Maybe this is why we should think about how to scatter all over the world more than how to build a kingdom in our own town.

Maybe.

Answered prayer... really?

Like many who spend time on stage, I have long admitted (confessed, too) my struggle with the sin of arrogance. In fact, for more than a decade now I have been praying for God to "crucify the pride out of me." This plea was inspired by Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Looking back now, the fact that I would pray that in public was probably--almost certainly, really--an act of arrogance itself. I'm confident I said these things in the presence of other folks so they would think more highly of me. Sheesh! It's like pride on steroids!

Anyway... when I prayed that prayer, I didn't consider something. Crucifixion is to put to death. I sort of got that; it was really the point. I wanted--and still want--God to put to death all sin that's in my life. 

But crucifixion is also painful. Very painful.

How did I not see that coming? 

You see, God has been answering my prayer request. And for about four years my life was painful. My ego was not just bruised, it was tossed in a giant dryer tumbler and bounced around, colliding with the circumstances of life over and over and over.

In the fall of 2010, I was asked to leave a church because they couldn't afford to pay me anymore. I was humiliated. I imagine God was using that experience to answer my prayer.

In the summer of 2011, the church plant/relocation I was serving decided to close. I can see God used (not caused, but used) that experience to answer my prayer.

In the spring of 2012, the large, flagship church I was serving as interim decided that I shouldn't stay permanently. Again, God was crucifying the pride out of me.

Here's the surprise: it really hurt. The experiences of leaving those churches hurt, sure. In fact they hurt my family as deeply as they hurt me. Maybe more.

I'm just not sure why that didn't occur to me when I asked. I've read about, been moved to tears by, taught and preached about, just how painful crucifixion is.

And God has been crucifying the pride out of me.

Even as I write this, share this, I'm aware that I hope you'll read it and admire me. I almost didn't post it.

But I want my story to serve you more than I'm worried about whether you admire me, think me puffed up like a peacock, or think I'm just being goofy.

Consider what you pray for. Discern ahead of time what the answer might mean. And then pray with all of your heart for what God and you want.

While there's a lot of pride left in my heart, I also want you to know that God has been answering my prayer, my quest. In recent months the lessons have been far less painful. Indeed, this season of my life and ministry is one of unprecedented joy.

I can't help but wonder if there are little shadows of another verse of scripture in this season: "For the joy set before him he endured the cross." There's no comparison, seriously. But on the other side of crucifixion there always seems to be joy. After death, life. 

One more verse to wrap up: 

Crying may last for a night,
    but joy comes in the morning.

          --Psalm 30:5b

Ultimately, our God is a God of hope.

Shalom

One of my favorite things about reading familiar passages in the scriptures is how they grow deeper as we grow into Christ. We learn one thing, or maybe a handful of things, and then the scriptures open up all over again.

That happened for me this Easter. 

One of the things I've learned in the last few years is a fuller meaning of the word Shalom. Of course we know it means peace, and we know it is a traditional greeting among Jews. It has been for millenia.

But as the Jews in Jesus day understood it, Shalom was much deeper than peace. It was to bless someone with the peace of God, to wish upon them that they would find their steps, their very heartbeat, in rhythm with God's. Shalom is not the absence of conflict, but the fullness of God's presence. It is the world of humans before the fall, before sin entered the world. It is--at the same time--a vision of what heaven will be. 

Shalom is the peace that comes when all is right with your world.

And that's why, as our pastor read the story from John 20--casually mentioning that Jesus said "Shalom" to the disciples, I found myself so astounded.

Read it for yourself: "Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said.."

You guessed it. Shalom.

The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ has made possible the Shalom the Jews had been anticipating for centuries. He didn't simply greet them in the traditional manner, He blessed them with "the way God wants things to be for you" with that single word.

The same Shalom that Jesus gave Thomas and the other disciples is available to us. What an incredible gift of the resurrection. 

Shalom, my friends.