Yesterday I took my two little ones to the park. They have gotten into this thing where they will stand on the highest place in the park and then say “Get Me.” They will quickly get down and start running. As they run their little hearts out with me after them, they are giggling and watching everything I am doing. However, as soon as I begin to get a little too close this panic comes to their eyes and they quickly declare the closest thing as base. I have to admit that this game is fun until I see the panic in their eyes. I know that when I catch them what will come from it will be even more fun and tickles and laughter, but to them it is all about the chase and not getting caught. Yesterday, as Eliana and I were doing this I felt like God clearly spoke to me and said “Aren’t you all this way?” That got me thinking.

As I pondered this it really hit me. God is always in pursuit of us. He is in pursuit of our hearts, our desires, our weaknesses and our strengths. He takes joy in the chase and in knowing that when he catches us He will bring us joy, healing, restoration and fulfillment. So, then why do we so quickly panic and run to the whatever safety zone we have set when he gets close?

We would all love to say that we are seeking after God and the good things He has to give us. We want to believe that when he draws us close we always submit, but the fact of the matter is that we have a first reaction to take control ourselves and to try to create a place of safety within our own boundaries. For some this is food, others spending money, for others it may be medication and the list goes on and on. If we would actually trust our Father and truly believe and understand that what he has for us in the end is so much better than the safety we create then we could be so much better off.

Isn’t it amazing that the God of the universe would choose to pursue us! That He would choose to love us enough to fix our brokenness? I for one stand amazed. My prayer is that I would learn to give him true control of the chase. That I would give over my boundaries and let him have full control. I know for certain that I would be better off!

This video is a little bit long, but it’s my prayer for my life! (Sorry for the really cheesy pics…)

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By the way I hear some preachers talk, you’d think Jesus is disinterested completely in the fate of the world that He came to save as though He’s a petulant child.    Still others make Him seem powerless and worried.  All of them 2-dimensional.

How many times have we reduced Him to a sound-bite at the end of a meeting or only displayed a 2-dimensional version of Him to our friends?  Perhaps that’s, at least in part, the reason why so many people simply fizzle out into mediocrity.  And maybe that’s why we so often find it impossible to trust Him.

Toss your plastic Jesus in the trash can and seek out the real one.  See Him healing the sick, touching the leaper, calling the Pharisees dogs, displaying His glory at the Mount of Transfiguration, dying in humility and victory at the cross.  Imagine Him returning for His spotless Bride at the end of days.  See Him as the hero of this great story of the gospel.

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Come to find out, I do care what people think.  I want people to like me, I like how it makes me feel.

Nobody sets out to care more about what people think than what God thinks.  Nobody wakes up one morning and says, “Hey, I think I’ll let other people define me today.”  Yet, one of the most difficult things to avoid in life is the gaping pitfall of living for the approval of others instead of the approval of Jesus.  It’s deeply satisfying to be appreciated.  It’s also deeply painful being misunderstood.  It touches a need in all of us to be known.  Not only to be known, but to be known and approved of.

The problem is, this need is bottomless.  Fathomless.  You can plumb the depths of it all your life and still never feel as though you’ve been filled.  You can please everyone, perform impeccably, never let anyone down, yet still you will feel the need to gather just one more enamored fan to yourself.

Recently I’ve lost some fans.  In the process of trying to please God, I displeased others.  Amazingly enough, I’ve survived it.

This need in all of us is a bottomless pit that only Jesus can fill.  Only your Creator can tell you what you’re worth.  No one else gets to vote.  Not you.  Not anyone.  The One that made you, determined your shape and your future, also determines your value.  Your value is dependent on Him, not on you.

I think once we see this, once we learn to love Him and fear Him , we can begin to live freely.  Only then can we cut away the shackles of futile attempts to fill the bottomless pit.

We can take risks without fearing the mess it always makes.

We can speak without fearing the inevitable pain of being misunderstood.

We can commit to change without fearing the blowback.

We can be both humble and confident at the same time.

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A lot of things have changed since then, but one thing has not.

The Clap Offering.

When the worship band finishes a song it never feels like it should end.  We never know quite what to do with our hands during that moment.  If we were attending a performance, we would clap for the band during that awkward dead air.  It’s what we do at rock shows.  We congratulate the band on a good performance by clapping.  Or, alternatively, we clap for the performers to make them feel better about a bad performance, as is the case at your daughter’s dance recitals.

But at church we aren’t supposed to be performing.  Yet, we feel this compulsion to clap.  We can’t help it.  We find ourselves clapping, then realize we can’t clap for the band so someone will shout “Let’s give a clap offering to the Lord! Hurray!”

Uhhh… whah?  I’m no Jesus, but I don’t know how impressed He’ll be by my sacrificial slapping of skin together.  Or does Jesus really appreciate a good clap?  Does it make Him feel better about Himself when I say, “Way to go, Jesus.  Nice job.”?

And, I’m confused.  What makes a good clap offering?  What’s the difference between one that may be “acceptible to the Lord only because of grace” and one that He really likes?  How would the apostle Paul clap?  Is there a clap offering technique to be practiced?  What if I do the cheerleader clap with both palms cupped and hitting together?

Do I get extra “points” for the over-the-head, rock-n-roll front man clap while bobbing my head?  What if I turn to the audience and start waving my hands up and down, palms up saying “give it up!  give it up!  A clap offering.  give it up!  give it up!”  I may not be clapping myself, but I am releasing others into their clap callings per Ephesians 4:11-12.

What about the slow, yet building faster and louder clap?  It’s more dramatic, does that make it better?  You can combine this one with a standing ovation and a knowing nod to your neighbors too.  Very versatile.

Or the famous golf clap?  It’s soft, yet respectful.

What if I lost both my palms in a terrible handball accident and all I can do is snap my fingers?  Is the “snap offering” a reasonable, if inferior, substitute for the clap offering?  They say that when you lose one sense, the others intensify.  I bet there are some palmless people out there that can really snap like the dickens.  Should they be excluded?

This gets really confusing when someone does a “special”.  Even if the special involves a mime, silver spandex, inflated gold balloons, and Twila Paris’ “God Is in Control”; we still feel the need to clap.  But now we are really confused because this seemed like more of a performance because everyone was sitting down and the mime is the pastor, but we still don’t think we are really allowed to clap for someone other than Jesus.  So we clap, but maybe we gaze up at heaven thoughtfully or season our clapping with a few “Amens” and “Hallelujahs” to perhaps deflect some of the clapping toward heaven nonetheless.

Or maybe it’s not the clap, but the heart behind the clap that matters.

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In these kinds of situations I tend to begin with thinking through the pros and cons, analyzing the situation from a logical perspective and going with the decision that will cause me (or the one I’m advising) the least amount of pain.  The problem with this way of making decisions is that it assumes that the best decision is always the least painful one.  We all know that this is a really poor assumption.  Read the story of Joseph, Abraham, David, even Jesus.

I think the real and better question is “what is faith?” and “how do I have it in this situation?”.  I think it’s easy to just analyze the situation, anticipate all the variables, stick a wet finger in the wind and then timidly proceed hoping you made the right call.  I think this is the way most of us live.

What really ends up happening is, in our silly pride, we try to take control of our universe and end up frozen in indecision.  We freeze because it never takes us long to find out that we are incapable of making a perfect decision, and if the results depend on the perfection of the decision and the perfection of the execution then it’s a lost cause.  We get paralyzed by our own inability to foresee and control the future.  So we do nothing, or wait for life to decide for us which always takes us down the path of least resistance.  The path of least resistance leads to mediocrity at best and at worst utter misery.

I see a different way in the Bible.  I see God calling people to take action, swiftly, decisively, and confidently.  I see faith being defined in terms of action not in terms of the quality of the decision or the emotion of the moment.  Not to be mistaken for impulsiveness, but rather a clear response to the outrageous promises of God.  I see God using people that never bunt at the ball, but rather swing for the fences every time the ball comes their way.

I have discovered from personal experience that this creates some messes.  Sometimes serious ones.  It’s not that we do not learn from our messes, and the next time around try to make a better swing.  Humble people learn from their missed swings.  However, I’m more convinced now than ever that staying in the dugout is the worst mistake any of us can make. (pardon me while I beat this baseball analogy to death…)

So, take this as an encouragement.  Whatever you do, swing for the fence.  Humbly learn from your mistakes, but never mistake humility for an unwillingness to take risks and make messes.  Never allow yourself to become paralyzed with indecision because both paths appear too risky or the cost of failure is too great.

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This has to change.

I’ve struggled with gluttony for years.  I say it that way intentionally.  It’s not a weight problem.  It’s not that my Momma didn’t teach me how to eat.  It’s not that I was spanked when I was little (or wasn’t spanked).  It’s not that I don’t know how to eat healthy.  I’m fat because I’m a sinner that would rather eat until I’m in pain than worship Jesus.  Would I really eat like a pig if I was “walking in the Spirit”?  Galatians 5:16-17 tells me I wouldn’t.  This means that I have to tell God to take 5 while I pig out.  He can come back when I’m done and ready to repent.

The difficult thing about gluttony is that, with this particular sin, you wear its effects around your waist for everyone to see.

So I’ve decided to do something about it, and not the normal something.  You know what I mean.  The “something” where you get up the nerve to go to the gym and eat carrots for a day.  And then quit.

I’m taking a different tack this time.  I’m asking the question, “If the gospel is the power of God, then can I apply the gospel even to how I eat?  Can I find a way to worship Jesus with the way I eat?”  I’ve started a group in our church where we are exploring this idea.  Instead of recipe tips, the scale, weight, and self-image being at the center of what we are doing we will put God, His glory, worship and the gospel at the center.  We will be asking the Holy Spirit to so deeply convict us of our sin and so overwhelm us with His glory that we begin to worship Him with fork in hand.

We’ve been meeting now for 2 weeks and so far it’s been powerful, at least for me.  It’s a powerful thing when a small group of people decide to really take the mask off and tackle the big issues of living for Jesus.

I’ll keep you posted.

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