Proverbs 3:18

“She is a tree of life to all those who lay hold of her
Those who hold her fast are called blessed.” (Proverbs 3:18)

I bring nothing Lord, but a foolish heart
And ask for hunger and the yearning
To wrap tight my arms around the trunk
To smell and blossoms bursting around my head
To hear the sounds of spring-time life; the warble
Of birds and buzzing bees and wind, and freshness
Oh the life of wisdom that you hold out
To fools like me,
When you wrapped your arms around another tree
and cried out
In abandon

All Things

Many of us in the church are recovering “older brother.” At least I am. For these types, the subtle sins of envy and jealous are often more pervasive than out-and-out raw rebellion. Many of us have never “blown up” at someone, and sometimes I wonder what it would be like it I did. But I have certainly coolly nurse grudges and judgments against others; which, if I put myself in others shoes, is much worse of an offense.

Envy is in this category. It rejoices in the deserved loss of others, and it threatened by their undeserving success. The good news is that in the gospel we have one of the most amazing strategies for fighting envy: sinners that we are, God has promised more good to us than we could possible envy from others. This is how Paul attacks the problem in Corinth. They church is bickering over preachers; some like Paul, others Apollos, others Cephas. Strife is stirred up; divisions bring to sprout. How does Paul respond?

He shows them that they are giving too much credit to their preachers, and too little credit to the vast stores of God’s grace. He ends this way:

So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. 1 Corinthians 3:21-22

His point: don’t envy, because everything belongs to you. And he is not veering off into a version of the prosperity-gospel in which “all things” means that you will have a Mercedes, a Lake Forest home, and a perfect family. He means you belong to Christ, the true king of this world. You are his, and to be his is far better than aligning yourself with a particular church group. This is not less than a Mercedes, it is more, and it is ours. Everything! The world, life, death, all things to come…

So let’s kill subtle mold of envy by opening your heart up to this good news. Let the sunshine in, let the spring breeze blow, and live under the bright future of belonging to Christ.

29

Today marks 29 years of life. When I was younger I never thought I would make it this far, now that I am here, I realize I will probably live into my seventies. Despite internal protestations, life is a long plod in the same direction and not a dramatic sprint with a pole-vaulting fling in the middle.

Birthdays are a good time to pause and reflect on life and set up an Ebenezer moment that recognizes God’s unfailing grace. Here are a few reflections.

1. Life is unexpected. I did not anticipate becoming a pastor in a post-Vineyard church in a middle-to-upper class suburb of Chicago. I didn’t even plan on going to seminary, and much less getting a ThM. Two years ago I would not have dreamed of being the Lead Pastor of the church I am at. Be careful if you have a rigid agenda for your life.
   
   
2. God hears prayer. I remember in college praying for a strong community of guys to be a part of who are engaged in front-line ministry. It never really happened and I graduated, left the dorms, and went back to CA to look for a ministry position and my request rolled down below the drivers seat. Now, three years later, due to circumstances I never could have controlled, I find myself living in North Chicago, trying to engage this community in a house of guys who are committed to ministry and love Jesus Christ. It dawned on my the other day: "God, you heard me."
   
   
3. My guess is that finding a life of joy, influence and usefulness to God is less about the big decisions concerning what career we take or where we live or what degrees we have and a lot more about the little decisions that determine who we are becoming. A Christ-like person in a generic suburb with a boring day job will have a much more exciting and full life than the wild adventurous types whose outlook is essential self-absorbed and petty.
   
   
4. The Christian life is a life of hope in what we do not see. Our job is not to rationalize or justify that “we have a better life as Christians” before the very end. The Christian life is a life of sacrifice, cross-bearing, dying to self, and living to be forgotten. All the good things of our life here don’t weigh enough to balance out the scales of the sacrifices that are required. But there is a weight that does balance it out; in fact, it is so much heavier that it makes all the sacrifice and pain of this life seem trivial, “not worthy to be compared.” That weight, the weight of glory, is not for sale in storefront windows downtown nor can it be shown on a four minute video clip at church. It must be apprehended by one of the strangest and most wonderful abilities of the human heart: hope.
   

Ruth

“When the judges judged”
Israel spinning out of control
Faithlessness sprouting like weeds
Devouring, leaving a concubine
Hacked, packed, and shipped
In a dozen pieces

In those days, in Moab—
enemy territory, a young woman
lost husband, father-in-law
yet wouldn’t give up
on the one who called herself “bitter”
“my people will be your people
My God, your God,
Where you die, there
I will die too.”

Destitute, empty, hungry
They return to town
and Ruth begins to glean,
the lowest occupation in town

And God turns the tables
And the hesed Ruth showed
Comes back to meet her
And in the field she meets a man
And finds a family
And becomes
the great-great-grandmother
Of Israel’s greatest king.

Flowers and Chocolate on the way to Apostasy

Judges 17 is about the plunge of Israel into religious sin. It is followed by the inevitable fall into moral sin in chapters 19-20. As verse 6 tells us, it is what ultimately happens without a king, when everyone can be a religious and moral relativist, “doing what is right in their own eyes.”

What is remarkable is how much virtue there is to the whole story.

• A son restores stolen silver to his mother
• His mother goes from giving a curse to blessing the Lord
• The mother dedicates the restored money to the Lord
• The son and mother work together in cooperation
• The son welcomes a traveling Levite and shows sacrificial hospitality
• The son has confidence in his obedience: “Now I know that the Lord will prosper me, because I have a Levite as a priest.”

So much that is good and positive, yet it is all so twisted at the core. They make a carved image, a metal image, and a household god, breaking the first and second commandment. And they set up a satellite campus for Jerusalem worship, strictly prohibited in the law. It’s like a husband bringing home flowers, chocolate and smiles after sleeping with the secretary.

This is what happens without a good king. Good kings bring truth and grace, they don’t compromise like Micah. This is why the fact that the Kingdom of God has come near is such good news; without the Holy Spirit and the authority of Christ, we all start to wander down the road of Judges 17. And we can all be very nice as we wander. Then, "there was no king in Israel." Now, there is a King. And his name is Jesus.

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation.”

Samson and Jesus

1. Samson demanded his parents, against their will, to get him a foreign woman, Jesus submitted to the will of his Father in everything.
2. Samson was tempted by woman and exploited them, Jesus served and redeemed women
3. Samson’s love for a woman made him fall to her deceit, Jesus’ love for women lead him to speak only the truth to them.
4. Samson used his miraculous strength to solve personal problems in his life, Jesus used his miraculous strength to get him into personal problems (rejection and the cross) for the good of others.
5. Samson died with a prayer of vindication on his lips, Jesus died with a prayer of forgiveness and trust on his lips.
6. God used Samson to bring temporary deliverance to Israel, God used Jesus to bring everlasting deliverance to his people.

“Hallelujah, what a savior.”

The gift is not yet opened

The salvation Christ brings is a gift to sinners--"thank God for his indescribable gift." Eventually, the analogy breaks down. One difference between the gift of salvation and Christmas gifts is that they are fairly irrelevant until we open them, and then we immediately see the full extend of what they are.

The New Testament describes salvation-- not exclusively, but many, many times-- as a future event. Thus, to receive Christ is like receiving a gift and not like receiving a gift. We do not see the full extent of his gift, in fact, we don't even see a tiny fraction: "for who hopes for what he sees?" In the meantime, our hope grows not by shaking boxes and wondering what lies beneath colored paper, but in learning to believed in words and promises that God has given. The gift of God comes wrapped in promises; promises that are both radical and true, promises given not to fuel the anticipation of curiosity and anticipation, but the holy anticipation of hope, joy, and love.

Merry Christmas!