John 4 & 5

Fresh eyes will be tough on this one… I think that I may have read John 4 more than any other chapter in the entire Bible. But here we go!!  There is something about this chapter that has captivated me…continually.  The hope, the second chance, the Jesus style approach to loving people through truth always captures me.

As you read what are the things that stand out about this part of scripture?  Not what you’ve heard from myself or any other pastor, but ask the Spirit to reveal things to you as you read.  I know for me I am always captured by the reality that Jesus knew about this woman’s life without ever meeting her.  Does that strike anyone other than me as powerful?  He was so in touch with the Spirit that he was instantly aware of what was taking place in this woman’s life.  There’s something here for each of us to digest, He was led by the Spirit, and the Spirit was talking to Him!!!  I know that to some of you that is a crazy idea.  Some of us have known Jesus for a long time and cant actually decide if we have ever heard God, Jesus, or the Spirit ever speak to us.  I can tell you this, He intends to and probably is right now.

I have mentioned this more times than I can remember, but I will ask the question again ‘How loud is your life?’ How much static noise is in the background on a regular basis?  Sometimes when I am home alone I will turn on the TV and for some reason leave it on while I work around the house or do any number of things.  I can’t help but think that spiritually our lives are like this more often than not…perpetual noise invading our space.  Living where we do, in the culture that surrounds us we are more prone to perpetual spatial invading than any other time in history…be it Facebook, Twitter, text, email or all of those things on our cell phones, it never quits.   Simply stated, we have to make time to be alone and quiet with the King and allow the Spirit to lead and guide our days and ultimately our lives.

The last part of chapter 4 contains a powerful statement from Jesus to a royal official, my guess he was a religious leader. Jesus directs this at him, “Unless you people see sign and wonders, you simply will not believe.” Some how I think that we have become the opposite, we are very comfortable living and believing without signs and wonders, to such an end that we don’t expect them to happen…something tells me Jesus still longs to heal the sick and bring sight to the blind.  Just a thought.

John 5

Chapter 5 starts out with Jesus healing a crippled man.  Now there is something very striking about this first part from a historical perspective that you should catch about the pool…make sure you read and reread until you capture Gods heart to heal, even before Jesus heals the crippled man. Enjoy!

Now the second half of this chapter is riveting as Jesus tells over and over of His ability to save.  In His words ‘bring life.’  Like you I am reading this un aided, but I have to think that every time we see life in this context it has to be seen as Zoe life…not just Bios life.  If you have been around WOL very long you are familiar with the two.  But if you haven’t here’s what it looks like.  In the Greek there are two words for life, Zoe and Bios.  Here is the difference; Zoe is the word that represents the vitality of the human soul.  It literally infers the eternal part of our creation.  There is much debate about how humanity is comprised, is the soul, separate, is there a mind, body, and soul… the holistic, dualistic or tri part division of the soul.  And here isn’t the time or the place to discuss that, but to only say that Zoe is the word that from Jesus infers the eternal part of our beings.  While Bios on the other hand is the word the represents the body, heartbeat, brain wave, type life, the stuff that dies for all of us…not the eternal.

As you read think consider the distinction from above…I know I broke my rule of reading with fresh eyes by sharing the Bios/Zoe distinction, but praying through it I felt it was important to share.

I will leave you with this… “³⁰I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Jesus perspective was that He could do nothing outside the will of the Father.  My thought, if we are really going to trade Third Party Passion’ for ‘First Person Experience’ it cant be done without knowing the Father and being under the influence of the Spirit.

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John 3

Without fail this may quite possibly be the most notorious chapter in all of scripture…for one single reason, verse 16.  While there is a powerful statement made in that passage I think the whole of John 3 is captured in verse 36.  “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…” In my own words I think chapter 3 can be embraced as the declaration of new life, second chances, and eternal experience and audience with the King.

There is something really fun about the first few verses here.  Starts off with Jesus talking to a religious powerhouse.  Nicodemus, a Pharisee.  While in modern Christianity the Sadducees and Pharisees have been vilanized there is something to stop and ponder…clearly some were corrupt like some pastors are today.  And like Christianity today no doubt some of them were lost in the sea of religiosity that seems to always give way to legalism and condemnation.  But at the heart of it can you blame them?  I truly believe that they longed to please God and became hyper vigilant in their efforts and lost their way.  While clearly Jesus takes them on with frequency and challenges their way of thinking, they longed to please God, a God in some ways they will always understand in a different light than any non-Hebrew person ever will.  Think about their history with God.  Rough at times yes, but always returning to a pursuit of Him, always aiming to please…Just a thought.

Verse 5 and 6 blow me away…first there’s a requirement here from Jesus to be born of the Spirit.  Something in me says He literally meant that our identity should be found in the Spirit.  While the issue of the ‘Spirit’ is always a controversial topic it wasn’t for Jesus.  Stop for a second and think about that…Jesus didn’t see an ounce of controversy with the Spirit but as we talked about in Matt 4 on Wednesday He walked under the influence of the Spirit.  No question the ‘Spirit’ has been used and abused, and while there may be an inherent fear of Him remember that there was a whole hearted abandon on Jesus part to the Spirit.  An abandon that was understood through experience on Jesus part, no through hearsay.  Jesus knew the Spirit, and was born of the Spirit.  Time to change your thinking on the Spirit? Even if you are open to Him and let Him move through you?  Some of us may need to be more open to what the Spirit may want to do through us, and some of us may need to take a long look at how Jesus functioned with the Spirit.  It wasn’t from thoughtless abandon to emotion.  Likewise it wasn’t buffered and inhibited through cerebral angst and calculation. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

I want to encourage you to stop when you get to verse 16 and take a step back to verse 15.  Quite possibly the most over looked verse in chapter 3…why? Because it’s the one before the ultimate verse.  But in a sense it captures a powerful statement before 16 repeats the same truth.  “Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” When you do get to 16, take a minute and actually read it, don’t recite it like a Sunday school memory verse, read it word by word and then, read it again…and while you do beg the Spirit for revelation.

At PURE we talk about transparency, often.  I think that verses 19-21 capture whole-heartedly the idea of transparency. Verse 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” There is an inherent fear in all of us that what we do will be known…truth be told most of us could relate with anything you’ve done.  Nothing hidden can be healed (James 5:16).  I can’t help but think of king David when I read this and think of him declaring ‘Search me God and find any wicked way in me.’

Some of John the Baptist most prolific words are captured in verses 30-34.  “He must increase, but I must decrease.”  And then verse 34 “For He [Jesus] whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.” The Spirit is here, not for us to use, but for us to be used by, but rather for us to live with abandon to.  You, me…following Jesus lead.

The true gut check here…is it possible to be a Passionate Christian without being under the Spirits influence?  I think that most of us would agree that for passion to not be a simple emotion, for it to be sustained for a lifetime the Spirit is a must.  Trading ‘Third Person Passion for First Person Experience’ demands surrender on our part to the Spirit, the Spirit that we were promised would be given without limits.

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John 2

Reading with a fresh perspective is such a freeing and rewarding thing.  If your like me, you’ve probably read these scriptures before (and if you haven’t then you’re one leg up on the rest of us) then I hope you will reread them with intention and take all the stuff you’ve been told by preachers and books and lay it aside and ask the Holy Spirit for some fresh insight.  Here we go!

There is something very humanizing about the first part of the ‘Miracle at Cana.’  Jesus was real! I know that sounds funny but I think if we are honest we never really think about Jesus as someone who was a normal person.  I think a lot of us still see Him floating on a cloud stuck to a flannel board (if you haven’t, you’re lucky).  Jesus was a social person; in Vs. 1-12 He’s at a wedding, doing normal Hebrew stuff, celebrating…and yes there was wine at the party!

But there is something else here worth mentioning.  When the wine runs out Jesus looks at His mom and tells her ‘Woman, what does that have to do with us? My time has not yet come.’ Ok timeout.  First, Jesus has a mom…that tells Him what to do, and He honors her.  Second, I wish I could have been in the kitchen that day.  Something tells me that Mary knew Jesus had some spiritual power, otherwise I doubt she would have assumed that He could help the cause.  Which means to me, He’s probably already done some stuff that was uh…supernatural, before this moment.

I also think that there is something here for each of us, leaders included.  Jesus recognizes that it isn’t quite time for Him to step onto the stage.  I can’t recite how many times leaders have come to me and asked me ‘How can I make my ministry happen?’ Or ‘I just need to make a way for myself, its my time.’  As a leader of people or a leader in the Kingdom who influences the world around you…know your time.  To say it nicely, if you have to force it there’s a big chance Gods not in it.  I cant tell you how many times I have seen pastors leave a church and start their own thinking that its ‘their time.’  When its time, the doors will open and you will be invited in.  Not to burst your bubble but this life isn’t about you, never has been and never should be…if you are trying to make your own way, don’t.  The only possible outcome is your failure, large or small, and the pain and hurt of those who follow you.  On the flipside that doesn’t mean sit back and take easy street, the waiting and growing process (which never ends) is likely to require more active participation on your part than the launch of your ministry or your service in your spiritual community or movement like PURE.

The second half of chapter 2 is even more telling of Jesus heart, soul, and Messianic awareness.  During Passover Jesus and the disciple’s head to the temple as all Hebrews would have done in Jerusalem.  And the corruption of the temple disturbs Him.  He sees the temple as the Jews did as the Fathers house.  And most of us have read this and know that He drives out all the livestock and makes a stink with the merchants who were profiting from selling animals to be sacrificed.  But then the situation take a turn, He begins to tell people that his authority do this is rooted in His ability to destroy the temple itself and rebuild it in three days.  On this side of the Cross it is easy for us to see that He was referring to himself, but leaves the merchants and temple royalty baffled probably thinking He was insane.

The poignant element here is simple, Jesus understood and knew His calling.  He wasn’t waiting for someone to show him the way or to find inspiration, He went and was alone with the Spirit regularly, investing in His relationship with the Father so He could be aware and certain of all that the Father wanted from him.

How many of us can say we know with certainty what God wants from us?  How many of us are constantly aware the Spirits leading?

Third Party Passion becoming First Person Experience demands that we spend time alone with Him.  A week doesn’t go by without someone telling me they are uncertain in life, school, or relationships.  While uncertainty is a very natural thing it should be the thing that drives us closer, drives us to more frequent intimate moments with Him.  No question this life is a journey and we don’t understand it all, the joys of functioning in a broken world, however if we long to be sustained Passionate Christians, we have to find intimacy with Him at whatever cost…that is the soul of a PC, chasing Him, taking risks, believing for more.

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I’m sitting down right now and reading John with fresh eyes and an excited heart to see where God takes us in this.  We have 21 days until the the ‘Secondhand Jesus’ finale…so conveniently there are 21 Chapters in John…a chapter a day…here we go!

Something Francis Chan said has always stuck with me…hope you will take it to heart ‘I refuse to live the remainder of my life where I am right now, stagnating at this point.’ That is the attitude of someone trading Third Party Passion for First Person Experience.

Here we go…There is something powerful about John 1.  The Christology (Jesus nature and person) and Incarnational (God becoming human) truth held in it are amazing but in a practical and serious manner…John in Vs 1-5 and 14 depicts God becoming man.  Step back and think about that for a second, it sets the stage for this entire Gospel.  God, infinite, Huge, and perfect…became something very imperfect, human, yet lived a perfect life.

Take a quick look at Vs. 6-8…could this be said about your life? John (the Disciple) is referring to John the Baptist here with certainty that his life had changed the world, not because of him but because he came to tell the world or ‘Testify about the Light (Jesus).’ Could someone someday write that about your life…with certainty? Just a thought.

In reality…for us to know God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit…we have to experience them. I adore Vs. 34 because John’s evident affection for Jesus wasn’t born out of reading a book…or even hearing a story…it was born out of a ‘Firsthand Experience.’

“I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Without Hesitation…John knows Jesus, firsthand…has touched Him, spoken to Him and wept with Him.  If we are going to trade in Third Party Passion for Firsthand Experiences there is a requirement…We have to be able to declare that we have encountered the Son of God, no excuses, not just quips and quotes from books and speakers, but an actual experience of us and Him.

The heart of John 1…there is a potential for actual encounters with Jesus.  Not through fun interactive story telling, not a movie, not a cute Facebook comment, but in moments with Him, and actual conversation…and yes conversation includes Him talking back…

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Week in and week out we watch people rise and fall…people we attach massive amounts of value to.  Those under 20, maybe its Miley Cyrus or T-Swifty, and  those even younger Justin Bieber.  Those of us over 20, the list just grows, from Tiger to Brittany, George Clooney to Sandra Bullock and Jesse James to John Mayer or the Dos Equis ‘worlds most interesting man,’ even Kobe and LeBron.  Its been said that people adore stars because they chase their dreams and pursue them with abandon, sometimes to a fault that often ends in a fall from grace.

In some reality these people have become vicarious living for each of us…people willing to take a risk and pursue with abandon something they are both passionate and gifted at.  Much is the same when we look at Passionate Christians and Causes.  Many of us admire the jungle running missionary that cares for refugees or Blake for TOM’s shoes, to some of us they are heros and we hang on every moment, living from story to story or sound bite to sound bite hoping to find inspiriation…inspiration through someone else.

We are a culture of ‘Third Party Passion.’  People who are unaccustomed to doing things and taking a risk upon ourselves, trading them in for a sweet documentary, a Twitter follow, or a 2 hour thrill in front of a movie theater screen.  But…Passionate Christianity, Passionate Christianity has a problem with ‘Third Party Passion’…there is no such thing.

Tonight ‘Secondhand Jesus’ kicks off…and without hesitation I will say this…no more can we be those who hope for intimacy with a HUGE loving God through someone’s Tweets, Facebook posts, sound bites, or movies…This is a call to radical faith, an unafraid pursuit of a living God that called us to intimately know Him unlike anyone else in this world, and then love the lost and the poor.  He preached an unafraid Gospel, that wasn’t safe…Do you want to know Him firsthand? or is ‘Third Party Passion’ sufficient for you?

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While there is nothing ‘spiritual’ about this…but I almost cried laughing…enjoy

By Stuff Christians Like

There are really only two reasons I wanted to write this post:

1. The first post was just an appetizer.

I wrote about bout this subject a few months ago when 12 people were reading the site but I just barely touched on it. I didn’t do it justice and people have reminded me that there is more to be said on this pivotal subject. So this is like the Timbaland Remix.

2. No one has quantified this phenomenon

There are some things in life that are concrete and true. For instance, it is a fact that “You’re all I want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey and “Christmas in Hollis” by Run DMC are fantastic songs. No argument there. But when you tell someone about your church, there’s not a standard system to describe the degree of metrosexuality your worship leader possesses. Wouldn’t it be awesome to say, “You’ll love my church and the music. Our worship leader scored a 78 on the SCL Metro Test.”

Don’t answer that last question. It was rhetorical. As a service to churches around the world, here is an easy rating system by which to analyze to what degree your worship leader is a metrosexual.

1. Has a faux hawk hair style = +1

2. Has more product in his hair than your wife = +1

3. Has Rob Bell, black rimmed glasses = +1

4. They are not prescription, but just for effect = +2

5. Attends the Catalyst Conference = +3

6. Performs at the Catalyst Conference = +10

7. Owns Puma, Vans or Diesel sneakers = +2 per each pair

8. Wears jeans on stage = +1

9. Wears designer jeans on stage = +2

10. Wears Wrangler or Rustler jeans on stage = -3

11. Has a goatee = +2

12. Wears one of those Castro revolution looking hats = +2

13. Drinks coffee on stage = +1

14. Drinks some kind of coffee you did not know existed = +2

15. Brings a French Press on stage and makes his own coffee during service = +5

16. Has a handlebar mustache = -3

17. Good at Frisbee but hates getting all “sweaty” = +1

18. Has a haircut that covers one of his eyes while singing = +1

19. Owns a white belt = +2

20. Owns suspenders = -3

21. Wears a scarf with a t-shirt = +1

22. Wears a winter knit hat even in the summer = +2

23. You think he covered a My Chemical Romance song last week = +3

24. Drives an Audi or VW, silver of course = +2

25. Uses the words, “postmodern, relevant” or “emergent” nonstop = +2

26. Cringes a little when people say the “H word.” (Hymnal) = +3

27. Has ever said some form of the phrase, “That song is so 1990s” = +1

28. Owns a Grizzly Adams red and black flannel shirt = -2

29. Named his kid after a color or a number = +2

30. References Norwegian punk bands you’ve never heard of = +2

31. Wears a tie = -1

32. Wears a tie as a belt = +2

33. Looks as if he might exfoliate = +2

34. Has a man bag or European Carry All = +2

35. Brings said bag on stage with him = +2

36. Has a tattoo = +2

37. Has a visible tattoo = +4

38. Wife accompanies him on stage and plays tambourine = -4

39. Was formerly in a punk new wave band = +2

40. Knows the names of all the people on the scripted MTV show, “the Hills” = +3

41. Refuses to drink anything but Vitamin Water = +2

42. Your wife ever says, “he needs a barrette for his hair.” = +2

43. Has a nickname with “the” in it, as in “the edge,” = +2

44. Owns every Nooma video = +2

45. Has a soul patch = +3

46. Won’t play barefoot on stage until he gets a pedicure = +2

47. Refers to California as “the left coast” = +2

48. Currently subscribes to Dwell or Details magazine = +2

49. Owns a pair of lady jeans = +2

50. Twitters you from his iPhone = +2

51. His toddler dresses cooler than you = +2

52. He wears graphic t-shirts over button down, long sleeve shirts = +2

53. Ever says “we got a hot mic here” = -4

54. Shops at the Gap = 0

55. Shops at Urban Outfitters = +2

I scored one of the worship leaders at North Point and he did pretty well. At some point I will do a lady version, but for right now, I feel like a 55 item list of analyzing worship leaders is enough to earn me a new batch of “you are weird” emails, and at the end of the day, that’s all I can ask for.

What does your worship leader score?

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In Forrest Gump there is a pivotal scene in Vietnam where Forrest stares into the eyes of a dead Bubba and is faced with a decision.  In the midst of his personal sadness and pain he is forced to give up or go on.   And in typical Hollywood fashion Forrest turns back and rescues Lt. Dan.

But what about the pain and the resolution.  Faced with pressure and pain on every front what do you do?  In the moments that arent fun or easy what do you do?  Do you stop and recognize that God is in it?  Its in these moments that we find it so much easier to not recognize God at all.

Truth is theres always a price to be paid when something is gained.  Sometimes the cost is time, sometimes money, sometimes pride, and in this life it is often pain…but theres always a cost.  More and more I am aware of Jesus’ words in Luke 14.  “Whoever does not ​a​carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ “

‘Counting the cost’ has become a Christian phrase, but rarely something we take to heart.  And to be honest its always easier to read these words when life is good and easy.  The real test is taking this to heart when life isnt good or easy.  Is Life tough? Are you Challenged on every front? Whats Jesus want from us?? Truth is sometimes God -given opportunities dont look like opportunity at all, often they look like “man eating lions” (Mark Batterson) that bear the mark of destruction rather than hope.

Forrest was faced with a decision, to protect himself or to take a risk in the midst of pain and uncertainty.  In these moments its hard to remember that ‘Taking no risk is the greatest risk of all.” (Mark Batterson)  Choosing God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit every day isnt always fun or easy, but it is always life giving.

Tonight I want to wrestle with the hard stuff…Its easy to say yes I wanna take up my cross, I want Jesus, I want Him to take my pain, anger, hurt, and failure and give me a 2nd chance…but its time to stop and ask ‘Whats the Cost? What does Jesus want in return?’  Salvation is a gift no question.  But with everything gained…there is a cost.  And the same goes for pursuing Jesus in the hard times…how do we do that when lifes hard and we are challenged on every front?

“How we react when we encounter lions (pain, suffering, challenges) will dertermine our destiny.  We can cower in fear and run away from our greatest Challenges.  Or we can chase our God-ordained destiny by seizing the God-ordained opportunity.” (Mark Batterson) Even when its hard, really hard…that just may be the core of Passionate Christianity.

More tonight

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Coming Soon…

Falling and Staying in Love with Jesus…Coming Wed April 14th!