Jesus Really

Stasi and I ran into an old acquaintance this last week. Someone we hadn't seen in what felt like eons. My reaction was somewhat surprising.

I wanted to throw myself on the ground and thank Jesus for delivering us from that view of God. (Now, that would have been a little awkward to do in their presence. So, I waited till I got home.)

By "that view" I mean a view of Jesus and Christianity that is so very widespread in the church. It goes something like this: You can't really know Jesus intimately. He is about more important things. But you must revere God from afar, because he is so high and lifted up and you are nothing. Humility is best expressed as self loathing. Godliness is available apart from intimacy with Jesus. It involves morality, mostly. But more so, holding the correct positions. Knowledge about God is mistaken for knowing God. Righteousness is purely external, behavioral. The heart is never to be looked at. Jesus is never someone you could hear laugh, or who would be concerned with the longings of your soul. In fact, Jesus isn't used much; "God" is the preferred person whom we address. Using Jesus is simply looked upon as too casual.

I once held to that. And I shudder.

As George MacDonald wrote, "Good souls many will one day be horrified at the things they now believe of God."

You understand, I trust, that there are many views of Jesus out there in the church. Some are closer to the truth than others. You also understand, I hope, that a false view of Jesus is worse than no view, because you think you hold the right thing you never go in search for him really.

a dear friend heard a sermon recently that basically went like this: You can't really know Jesus, because he isn't like your friends. He is vastly different from us. I think the attempt was to invoke reverence. But the teaching is from hell. You can know Jesus intimately, better than your friends. Or what in the world was the incarnation for? Jesus came for the very purpose that we might know God. Be intimate with him. Everything else is a sideshow.

And so the very best thing you could ever pray is "Jesus, I ask you for the real you; take away every false Christ and show me the real you."

Burritos

I love a good burrito.

Warm, home-made tortilla, carnitas or barbacoa steeped in their own juices for hours, fresh salsa, rice, beans, guacamole - o man, I'm making myself hungry just talking about it. If you've had a really good burrito, you know what I mean.

Here's the problem: you can get something called burritos at any gas station these days. They typically come frozen and you're supposed to put them in the microwave to resuscitate them. Now, they look like a burrito...kind of. They smell like a burrito...kind of. But they are not even close to the real thing. And yet, they are called "burritos." It says so right on the plastic package. Burrito.

This is where we are with the Gospel now.

You can pull into any church or ministry and be offered something called "the Gospel." And there's just enough Jesus words to make it sound like the Gospel...kind of. It looks like Christianity...kind of. It smells like Christianity...kind of. But it isn't even close to the real thing.

And yet, it is packaged and marketed as Christianity.

So here's a simple test: Does it do what the Scriptures say the Gospel will do? Does it heal the brokenhearted? Set captives free? Does it draw people into a genuine intimacy with God, where experiencing his presence is normal? Really?

If not, dump it like a gas station burrito. Go get the real thing.

I'm Back!

hi gang. I'm back. From my sabbatical. (In case you were wondering "where the heck has he been?" I've been on sabbatical for the past several months.)

It was really good. I was in desperate need of rest and restoration - physically, emotionally, spiritually. And I don't do rest well, so God had me get to the point where I simply had to break away.

A few years ago I was watching a special on the Iditarod and was absolutely intriuged to learn about the sled dogs that can run such a ruthless race. That sled dogs are the most physically fit animal in the world. That they love to run, live to run and the problem with that is...they don't know when to stop.

The men and women who win the Iditarod have calculated down to a science the best way to run their dogs. Now for the part that blew me away: they have discovered that the perfect formula is to rest the dogs more than they run them. (That was completely unnerving o a guy who loves to run, lives to run, and doesn't know best when to stop.) Of course, the dogs won't adopt this formula on their own. They have to have good masters who make them rest. Otherwise, they'd just run themselves ragged.

(Hmmm. I am a sled dog.)

It brought new meaning to the 23rd Psalm: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul. We all want the restored soul part. But it only comes when we accept the lying down part. So, God makes us...if we will cooperate.

Anyhow, that is where I've been. Seeking rest and restoration. 

And, its great to be back. I have SO much to share, I hope to get back into a regular rhythm of blogging.

Meanwhile, where does your soul need restoration? And how are you seeking God's plan for that?