Trees and Streams

Psalms 1 describes a certain kind of person. A person who is...

…like a TREE planted by STREAMS of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

Wisdom literature (e.g. psalms and proverbs) often use a 'tree' as an image for wisdom. You'll also see the combination of 'wisdom' and 'tree of life' used to describe someone who is life-giving or restorative (e.g. Proverbs 3:18; 11:30; 15:4).

Imagine if part of our vision for life would be to become this kind of person:

Life-Giving-Restorative Person.

A person who...
...Blesses others
...Injects life into people around us
...Nurtures people
...Gives hope
...Contributes to the well being of those in his/her life

Does your spouse feel this about you? Are your friends better off because of you or thankful for you? Is your community getting an injection of life because you live there? Have you contributed to the well being of someone in your church recently?

This person doesn't happen by accident. Like the tree, they are intentionally located near streams.

Fruit trees don't grow by accident. They grow naturally, but only if they are nourished. This tree was located near an irrigation canal that constantly fed it.

E.G. Eccl. 2:5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶ I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.

If you want to become this Life-Giving-Restorative Person, what kind of streams have you included in your life to help you grow into this?

To be honest, the GOAL is BECOMING, the means are the STREAMS.
The goal of a fruit tree is fruit, but the means aren't fruit, it's the streams.

STREAMS GROW THE TREES
TREES YIELD FRUIT

STREAM SUGGESTIONS:

...Communion with God.
...Spiritual Community with Christ followers.
...Rest.
...Reflection.
...Practicing Generosity and Servanthood.

As you're reflecting on what kind of 2012 you'd like to have, and more importantly, what kind of person you'd like to become, consider the following.

DO I WANT TO BECOME A LIFE-GIVING-RESTORATIVE-PERSON?

ARE THERE STREAMS IN MY LIFE THAT WILL NURTURE ME TOWARDS THIS?

WHAT STREAMS MUST I PUT IN PLACE TO NURTURE ME TOWARDS THIS?
(are there things in my schedule prohibiting me from including a healthy stream?)

* you can use this idea with other goals in your life (go ahead, it's helpful), however the psalm writer seems to believe that one of the more important visions for life the vision in 1:3

Contentment through the Gospel

I'm not sure if any message in scripture can be this simple, but after teaching through Philippians 4:10-19 this past Sunday at Westside, this infographic is stuck in my mind. So here's a crack at it.


Is is helpful? Any thing to add or comment on?

Stand Firm

"Stand Firm in the Lord in this way" (Phil. 3:21)

In what Way?

As Citizens of Heaven who know Jesus will one day return and transform our bodies into a glorious body like his.

In the way that ANTICIPATES RESTORATION.
...that waits for NEW CREATION

BUT, in the mean time live like we are an OUTPOST of Heaven.
...reflecting heaven on earth
...demonstrate the values of God's Kingdom through our lives
...answering Jesus' prayer that God's kingdom would come on earth

Stand Firm?

It's not easy to live this way in a culture that ranges anywhere from uninterested in Jesus to enemies of the cross (Phil. 3:18)

Sometimes it feels like Moses and the Israelites in front of the Red Sea with the Egyptians behind them.

A friend of mine after Westside's gathering yesterday reminded me of Moses' words to them:

Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. (Ex. 14:13, The Message)

What great inspiration to live as Citizens of Heaven.

Stand firm - as Citizens of Heaven - in our world - regardless of what's behind us or ahead of us - anticipating God's work of salvation for you today, and into eternity.

Is the End Near... Jesus couldn't tell you.

All this talk about the end of the world.

Predictions. I can remember when some preacher in 1988 was claiming he had 88 reasons why Jesus would come back in 1988. Sounds funny now, but of course their were people who believed him.

I'm not sure why we want to figure all this stuff out with numbers and history and futuristic predictions.

I'm fine with what the Bible says:
One day there will be no more tears and pain
One day God will create a NEW earth and heaven and Jerusalem
One day God will restore all things
One day he will make all things right
One day there will be Life and Life after Death (NT Wright's term)

Jesus didn't even know when all this would happen:
...about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. (Matt.24:36)

I won't make predictions.
I will live submitted to fulfilling Jesus' prayer in the Lord's prayer - that his kingdom will come on earth as it is in heaven.
Let's be busy fulfilling this prayer.
Let's be busy with his Kingdom work and values until the new creation.

Let's love one another, tell others about Jesus, be God's living and local presence until the fullness of his presence is revealed

As for those who make predictions, I'll let them deal with the complications they bring to all those they've persuaded.

Check this video out on ABC about this whole thing: The End...

Gospel Shaped Life = contrast??

Currently walking through Philippians at Westside, we arrived at 1:27 that says: Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.

This speaks of ORDERING YOUR LIFE AROUND THE GOSPEL - living in such a way that your life reflects, expresses, communicates, breathes out the gospel of Jesus.

Paul later highlights that this kind of life can bring on suffering (as he and the Philippian church was experiencing). They were suffering b/c of their faith in Jesus. Some aspects of their life as Christ followers became a contrast to their culture and therefore created hostility towards them. (They thought of themselves more as heavenly citizens in their city than Roman citizens in Philippi)

1:29 is a tough verse: For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,...

It's a privilege not only to believe in Jesus, but to suffer for him. Following Christ includes the gift of belief and suffering.

I've been stuck in thinking of ways we in North America suffer for Christ. For the most part, we don't lose our jobs or purchasing power, we don't lose friends or family (some might). Of course honoring Christ might create less financial success in some areas or less popularity among some crowds.

The rest of Philippians gives us examples of the kind of contrast a gospel life might demonstrate in our culture. For now, maybe we can start here - with Jesus words in Matthew 5 - of how to SHAPE/ORDER our lives around the gospel. Maybe this kind of life is more of a contrast in our Western context. What do you think?

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

start searching with what your interested in...

This interview with Jim Dunn caught my interest - mainly b/c he's a great NT scholar. I love the Q&A below b/c it reflects how someone can go deeper with the scriptures.

What advice would you give to someone looking to follow a path towards becoming a New Testament scholar?

Ask questions which are important to you, questions which you want answers for. That way study of the text will always be fascinating, with questions opening new perspectives and posing further questions. I assume a good knowledge of the biblical languages, of course, and easy familiarity with original source material.

Too often when we encourage people to read the Bible we say something like start from the beginning or start with the gospels, etc. What if said, start with what you're searching for and take it from there. I wonder if more people would read the scriptures, and then keep looking around them until their search takes through the whole thing.

What motivates you to dig deeper into the bible?

gospel summary

Here's a great line that summarizes the gospel in a broad yet determined manner:

The gospel is about the society where God's people do God's reigning will and embody his will in a redemptive way,... the gospel is all about Jesus, the one from Nazareth; that Jesus is the Messiah, which sums up the entire plan of God through Israel's Story; and that Messiah Jesus is now the crucified and resurrected and ruling Lord...

It's from a series of posts that Scot McKnight is doing through the book of Acts

the God beyond us...

Last week at Westside I spoke out of Isaiah 6:1-8 and focused on our deep need to experience the holy presence of God if we want to be able to respond authentically, like Isaiah did, to God's invitation to "Go on his behalf." Isaiah's response was, "Here I am. Send me."

There was a deep sense in Isaiah's experience that God is a holy God, 'other' than ourselves. And in many ways we must be willing to surrender our preconceptions of a goody, goody God, if we want to experience the Good and Holy God.

God is powerful, holy, just, righteous, majestic. Heavenly beings sing of him, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty."

Isaiah's response to his presence was "I'm wrecked... I have unclean lips, and by nation is unclean too." (my paraphrase)

So how do we view a God like this?
How do we relate to him?
Is he good even though he's Almighty?

I quoted C.S. Lewis' words in the Narnia tales, and recently found Tim Keller referring to them... so I'll let you read it for yourself.

C.S. Lewis was always at pains to maintain the Biblical tension between the divine love and his overwhelming holiness and splendor. In the introduction to his book The Problem of Pain, Lewis cited the example from the children’s text The Wind in the Willows where two characters, Rat and Mole, approach divinity.

“Afraid?” murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. “Afraid? of Him? O, never, never. And yet — and yet — O Mole, I am afraid.”

Lewis sought to get this across at many places through his Narnia tales. One of the most memorable is the description of Aslan.

“Safe?…Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Wow. What an amazing God we serve. He's so very Good. But he's not so safe that he can be tamed by our boundaries.

God's Servant (Isaiah 42:1-9)

This was an amazing word for me at the beginning of my day. At the end of it, the thought that came to mind was, "THAT'S MY JESUS"

Isaiah 42:1-9
The Servant of the Lord

1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."

5 This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 "I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you."

(read The Message version here if you'd like)

(This book brought my attention to it this morning - highly recommend it as a one year devotional; gets you through the whole theme of the Bible in one year, with short summaries and 1 optional added reading)

A million miles... (book)

I'll have to blog more about this book - Don Miller's, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. 1. b/c a publisher sent to me in hopes that I would review it, and 2. b/c wow, I loved it.

YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.

Not sure who you are - reading this that is - but seriously, it relates to anyone, or I think it will. The CEO or stay-at-home-mom (or dad), a student, or professional, young or older, etc.

It's about STORIES, but more importantly about YOUR STORY, the story you're writing with your life.

The last few months have converged for me into 1 big theme: STORY.

I've been reflecting on summarizing God's grand narrative with my church. This has been a wonderful experience for me - just seeing the whole story of God, his rescue mission - through out the whole bible, from creation to new creation. What a great story, a true story, a resonating story, a story that envelops me.

I've also been reflecting on my story. How my story fits into God's story. How God's story is all around me and beyond me, yet invites my participation. There's so much that his story is telling and doing... and if I just get caught up with it... WOW, that would be a great mini-story (me) in this one big story (Him). So his story has been making me think about my story. I want my life to tell a better story.

So...

at the very least, ask yourself: what story am I living?
but to go deeper, you might want to read Miller's last book
yet to really dive in - get to know God's story - eat it up, let it shape you, so much you start seeing it all around you... and then, live WITHIN it, UNDER it, WITH it, FOR it... and you'll discover a better story for your own life.

ok? cool.

Engaging the Bible

Last night I taught Westside's first Engaging the Bible class.

It's the 1st of several environments I/we hope to see exist within our church community to come alongside people's spiritual formation.

I was excited.

I love to teach, so this environment was fun for me. Lots of prep, a little overwhelming at times trying to put so much info into a small time frame. But it seemed to work.
I loved the interaction and dialogue - what you hope for in a learning setting
I loved the fact that people who signed up really came as learners, anxious to grow
For Westside, this kind of environment is long overdue; people need it, future Christ followers will need it, present Christ-followers need it (as expressed in a few from the class who've been Christians for a while)

People engaged and learned and actually practiced reading the Bible.

Here's a rough outline of the class.

History:
- how did the Bible actually get written down
- from oral tradition to written text to canon to the modern translation
- chronological time-line of both testaments

How to Read:
- we split this into 2: understanding & transformation
- understanding is reading wide and systematic to help you get into the Bible's world, words, stories, teachings, etc.
- the tools & process for this was more systematic in method
- transformation is reading slow and prayerful to help the Bible (ultimately God's words and the teachings of Jesus) get into you
- the tools & process for this was more prayerful (i.e. lectio divina)

Exercise:
- we ended with a 20 minute exercise in reading for transformation
- read, think, pray, live (a modern approach that resembles lectio divina)
- people shared what they discovered through it

Westside hopes to offer a class like this 1-2x per year. Other environments will be coming soon, things like - The Story, Biblical Financial Management, Character Development, Leadership Development, Missional Living, Spiritual Disciplines. We hope to see all these available within a few years - added one at a time. Our goal for 2009-2010 will see the following: Engaging the Bible, The Story (groups/gatherings); Finances; 1-2 more)

THE STORY (new series)

Starting a new teaching series in 2 weeks called THE STORY.

We're going to walk through the whole biblical story in 6 weeks. It will be like a DRAMA with 6 acts. Chapter by chapter, we hope to retell the old old story!!

I have been growing into this theme for about 2 years now. I still don't feel prepared though. The books I've read boast 10-15 years of reflection on this and usually their focused work, so it will be my best shot given the time I have.

STORIES have a way of captivating you, drawing you in, inviting you to enter. I love this about the Bible. It's not just propositions, or doctrine, or principles. It's a beautiful, adventurous, authentic story - filled with real people and real experiences - all contributing to God's GRAND NARRATIVE.

Some books that have influenced me in the last 2 years have been:
The Divine Embrace (Robert Webber)
Embracing Grace (Scot McKnight)
Simply Christian (NT Wright)
Eat this Book (Eugene Peterson)

We start on November 1!! It will last 6 weeks. AND our small groups will be unpacking it further during the week. MORE INFO: www.thewestsidegathering.com

If you're reading this and always wanted an intro to Christianity or the story of the Bible, why not consider joining us. Regardless of where you or on a spiritual journey, or even if you're not on one, you're welcome to come and explore with us.

God's Words

God's message and purpose was not meant for (or to stay on) tablets or paper, but to be impressed on the human heart and expressed in he human life.

I thought about this recently and had to write it down. God's message wasn't meant to be on paper... but too often we leave it there. It initially got etched into stone tablets, but was always meant for our heart.

HEART
- Duet 6 - impress these words on your hearts - get in you and your children

LIVES
- Jesus said in Matthew 7 - live out what I've just told you, don't let it remain a teaching, but allow it become a life

IMPRESSED ON OUR HEARTS
EXPRESSED THROUGH OUR LIVES

That would look pretty different than we often see in us and others and in our churches.

Let it be so...!

Soaking in the right stuff (as Christian leaders)

An important point here made by Scot McKnight about what pastors and church leaders are reading, and reading alot of.

Are Christian leaders reading and soaking in the newest trends or the old story of the gospel? Are we (me included) absorbing the right stuff? I have failed many times over in this area.

Dallas Willard once said that the most important thing he ever did in life was at a young age spend enormous amounts of time in the scriptures - sometimes days. He said it is what most influenced his life! (read The Great Omission for more on this)

Recently reading Eugene Peterson's The Jesus Way as he slowly walks through the life of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, and others. He gives you the sense he's lived and walked with them. The focus on a word, and event, a phrase, their character. Makes you wonder if you even know any character in the Scriptures well. But Peterson spent the better part of his life - before he or The Message became popular - soaking in the Bible (in story, words, phrases, culture, language). Was a refreshing reminder how much joy and meaning there is in the scriptures.

book transitions

Just finished BLUE PARAKEET - a great push to read the Bible better, more like a story - learning to listen to it, live it, and discern it for our times. Some minor critique, but in general a good read.

Now starting Good News and Good Works - a reminder of a wholistic gospel that moves to us to being God's living and local presence with our words and works.

Presently reading through Acts with my journal in hand. What a conviction to read that the church spread the gospel when they got scattered (i.e. persecuted out of their homes into other towns and cities). WOW... I thought: why don't I feel scatted in my own city... why don't I feel like God has put me here for a purpose. Do I need to be scattered - don't think so... I'm already scattered, I just need to spread it.

1600 year old bible manuscript now digital

One of the oldest manuscripts of the Bible has been pieced together digitally. 1600 year old Greek version available for view. READ HERE.

www.codexsinaiticus.org

change, a few words at a time

GREAT STORY about how the Bible changes us.

HT: Jesus Creed

Good Friday recap

Last night I contemplated the death of Jesus with my church community, guests, and friends.

I say contemplate b/c you don't really celebrate that moment.

We intentionally stopped, pressed pause, and made sure we didn't get to Easter Sunday without first making an intentional pit stop on Good Friday.

The theme was GAVE, the greek word - paradidomi - which means handed over, given up, delivered into, betrayed. This word is used in lots of references throughout the passion narratives and later NT texts referring back the cross.

We talked about 3 main ways Jesus was given up:

1. The people gave Jesus up to die: Judas, the priests, Pilot, the crowds
2. God gave Jesus up to die for all of us
3. Jesus gave himself up to die for the church, the world, you and me

GAVE, GAVE, GAVE... all so we could LIVE, LIVE, LIVE.

A few more things I really liked about last night:
- great variety of people, people out who were seeking or friends of ours
- a full crowd
- it was a short gathering, only 60 min., but every element connected
- we sat around tables and not in rows
- we hung out for over an hour after just talking (this is rare for some of us b/c we're always tearing down stuff - we're in a rental situation)
- the kids had a great time reenacting the Last Supper
- an original spoken word piece was performed

Ceasar and Christ?

A question has been lingering for me since the week-end talk I gave at Westside on Matthew 22:15-22.

There's a tension b/w giving to Caesar and God. Somehow if we get too caught up with Caesar (i.e. our own culture, worldviews, philosophies), what do we really have left for God?

If Caesar reflects worldviews and world systems in our day (like political ideologies or philosophies like consumerism and individualism), here's my question:

Is there other ways we can get so caught up with a certain system where become so tied to it (or intertwined with it) it becomes difficult to really serve God?

Are some of us so tied up in consumerism we can't even see how this is an obstacle for us in our service to God and the world?

Are some of us so tied to a political system we think it's unbiblical or immoral to agree with the other side?

Are some of us so caught up with certain lifestyles we justify our actions when the teachings of Jesus challenge our view or actions?

What do you think? Do you have any examples?

Campolo on Politics, plus power vs. authority

Read this article (Q&A) with Tony Campolo about how he's a Christian in the Democratic Party. Very interesting.

This line jumped out at me as he explained why him and other non-republican Christians are getting more attention then right-wing ones.

...word of that gets out and “people in the media” want to hear what you have to say, not because you have power, but because you have authority.

I've been teaching through Matthew and most recently through chapters 21-23. The Religious leaders of the day are bothered by Jesus' authority. It's actually an issue through the gospel b/w these 2 groups.

Notice: Jesus doesn't have political power. He doesn't have wealth. He doesn't have the influential network. BUT he does have authority. He is who he is - inside and out. He walks the talk. He teaches AND DEMONSTRATES God's kingdom, visibly. This is what gives him authority (not forgetting he is also the Christ).

What would the reaction of people in our city be to Christ followers if they didn't worry about power and influence, but lived and spoke with authority because they are actually God's living and local presence - visibly God's kingdom among us?

How have you seen that in your life or others?