More Than a Decoration

“But far be it from me to boast

except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

by which the world is crucified to me,

and I to the world.”

Galatians 6:14

We wear them as necklaces.  We give them as gifts.  We hang them on the walls of our homes.  We place them at the center of our churches.  Has it ever occurred to you that there is something strange about the fact that we use the cross as a decoration?  Think about it.  How many of you would wear hangman’s noose on a necklace?  Would you decorate your home or your church with a guillotine?  Of course you wouldn’t.  Those were instruments of death.  They were used to execute the worst kinds of criminals.  So was the cross.  I wonder how someone from the first century… someone who witnessed a crucifixion would react seeing a cross on the wall of your home.  After all the crucifixion was a cruel, painful way to put someone to death.  The Romans would order the victim flogged just to prepare him for the agony.  Then they would nail his hands and feet to the cross and leave him there to die a slow, agonizing death.  I am told it’s a lot like drowning, only this can take up to three days.   

Why would we use such an instrument of death as a decoration?  Well my hope is that the cross is more than a decoration for you.  I am getting ready to hang this cross on the wall of our home here in Germany.  This was made and given to me by the youth and their adult leaders at Lamb of God.  This was their going away present to me when we left Lamb of God to follow God’s call to Germany..  Each nail was pounded into this cross by one of the students or adults from the youth ministry at Lamb of God. 

To me this cross is more than decoration.  There is so much meaning here.  Yes, each nail represents someone special to me, but that’s not all.  The sheer number of these nails reminds us of how serious and costly sin is.  The price of our sinfulness is high.  God had to give His own Son to pay that price for the sins of the world.  Jesus had to give His own life for the world.  Yet it’s more personal than that.  This is what my sin cost Him!

This cross was given by those students and their leaders to show how much they love me and how much I love them.  Yet this cross is so much more than that.  This cross is a daily reminder to Linda and me that this is how much God loves us…  This is how much Jesus loves us.  “In this is love,” the Bible says, “not that we loved God but that He loved us and gave His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  God is so madly in love with this world… so madly in love with me… so madly in love with you that this is the price He willingly paid so that He might have our company for all eternity! 

That’s my prayer for you as Good Friday approaches this week – that you would look at the crosses in your church, on your walls and around your neck… and that you would see more than a decoration.  I pray you would look and be reminded that this is the price Jesus paid to make you His sister or brother… that this is how much God loves you… that you and I would say with St. Paul, “Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Lenses for the Heart

Ephesians 1:16–19a

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…"

Well one of our first major tasks in settling into Germany is almost done.  We have registered Molly and gotten her a German dog license.  We have opened a German bank account. A little over a month ago we received our two year German residency card.  Thanks Marion Waidlein.  The next step is getting our German Driver’s license.  This should have been the simplest part.  Yet this is where ran into a problem. I flunked the eye exam.   Where Linda saw everything clearly I saw only a blurr.   I need new glasses.  It’s amazing what a good set of lenses makes. Life goes from slightly blurred to crystal clear. 

It strikes me that in the same way a good set of spiritual lenses can make big difference in how we see life. That’s why Paul in Ephesians 1 prays that the Father would give the Ephesians “the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know the hope to which He has called you…” 

Let me give you one example of the difference a good set of spiritual lenses can make.  There was man sitting at the bedside of his wife as she dies of cancer.  Their son sat on the other side of the bed.  As she died there were tears and silence from both of them Suddenly however, the husband raised in his fist in triumph and said, “The cancer didn't win.”  The son was incredulous.  He was furious.  “What do you mean the cancer didn't win?  Of course the cancer won.  Mom is dead.  How can you say that?”  But the father was undeterred   “No it didn't son. The cancer didn't win.  Because of Jesus the cancer couldn't win.” The father was looking through the lenses of faith in Jesus Christ.  Looking at his wife’s death through the death and resurrection of Jesus the father could see clearly that he, his wife and his son were more than conquerors even at the moment of death.  By faith the father was able to clearly see the day his wife, the mother of his son would be raised to life again in Christ… and they would all stand victorious before His throne. 

You know I have known for a while that these glasses needed replacing.  I was just too cheap to admit it.  Think about that and then ask yourself, what is it that keeps you from admitting you need new spiritual lenses for your heart?  Is it the pride that can’t admit your wrong?  Is it some desire like greed or lust that simply doesn't want to let go of some sinful behavior?  I remember one woman for whom it was fear.  She was so afraid of life in this world without her husband that even 2 years after his death she refused take off the lenses of grief.  While grief is very normal, her grief had begun to blurr how she saw everything.  Do you know what finally healed her?  Jesus gently replaced her glasses… His Spirit, the one Paul prayed for, went to work in her heart… helped her once again to see life through the lenses of faith … opened her heart to see that the hope Christ won on Easter morning is one even death cannot take away.  What a difference it makes when we can finally admit we’ve been wearing the wrong glasses and start seeing life clearly through the lenses of faith… of grace, forgiveness and hope in Christ.  Life suddenly becomes clear again!  

The Z Room

Philippians 3:12–14 (ESV)

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Today I want to show you part of our facilities here at Trinity. I want to show you the “Z” room.  I know that is a strange name but let me assure you there is a good reason.  The “Z” is from the German word “Zwischen”  which translates into English as “in between.”  In other words this is “the in between” room. This is the room that connects one portion of our facility to the other.  It sits “zwischen” the Sanctuary and the classrooms.  People stand in here and visit “between” Sunday School and worship.  They have coffee, tea, snacks and fellowship in here “between” the end of worship and when they head home.  The “Z” room is one of the most important rooms at Trinity.

That got me to thinking. We live our lives in the “Z” room.  As Christians we live “between” the old life of sin and the new life of eternity.  We are already saved but not yet in heaven. We are already forgiven but not yet made perfect.  Jesus has already won the victory over temptation but we are not yet done with the daily struggle with sin.  We are no longer dead in our trespasses and sins, but we do not yet have the resurrected bodies God has promised. Through faith in Jesus we are already God’s adopted sons and daughters but we have not yet seen our heavenly Father face to face. 

We are like Israel after leaving Egypt.  We no longer slaves to sin but we have not yet reached the promised land.  We are in between. Like them we live life in the wilderness. Like them we still have struggles to face, obstacles that will stand in our way as we journey to the world to come.

Knowing that is so, how does one live in the “Z” room?  St. Paul answers that question in Philippians 3.  “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  There is only one way to live in this in between time – trusting in God’s grace in Christ.

Think of what Paul means here.  Leaving the past behind is not easy.  When you have made a habit out of certain sins, we have a hard time stopping.  Sin enslaves.  When you’ve done and said and thought some terrible things… when you have hurt others (and we all have) – it’s hard to leave that behind.  It’s hard to believe that you are forgiven and hard to forgive yourself.  When I coached baseball and a kid made an error, I would tell him to shake it off and get back in the game.  Otherwise, he would get really down on himself and not play well the rest of the game.  The sin in our lives can do the same to us.  It’s easy to get down and think, “What kind of a Christian am I?  Why would God want anything to do with me?”  How can you leave your past life of sin behind when every day that old life seems to still be your life?  There is only one way to shake it off – God’s grace in Jesus Christ.  He has paid for you sin in full.  He has washed you clean, erased the past – forgiven you all Your sin.  “If any man is in Christ Jesus, He is a new creation. The old has passed away.  Behold the new has come.”  Because of God’s grace, as you live in the Z room you can live everyday “forgetting what lies behind.”

The other part of  side of that is living every day in hope .  But how do you that in the midst of a life that still faces many struggles.  People die.  Marriages fail.  Cancer strikes.  Bad things happen.  How do you live with hope in the midst of such a life?  You can only live with hope by faith in God’s grace in Christ.  There is the hope that never disappoints – won for us by Jesus, who though He was dead, on the third day conquered death and rose again.  Through Him and in Him we are more than conquerors. 

How do you live life in the Z room… how do you keep straining towards all that God has promised?  You “fix your eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of your faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, that you may not grow weary or lose heart.”  That’s how you live your life in the in between.  

Doors that Swing Both Ways

"Jesus said, "Come unto Me..."  Matthew 11

Jesus said, "Go and make disciples..." Matthew 28

I have had the hardest time getting out of buildings since coming to Germany.  Typically, I go to the door, turn the handle, push and walk right into the door.  Then I fiddle with it for a while trying to figure out why it won’t open.  Only then, usually with people staring at me, do I remember that in Germany outside doors open inward, not outward as they do in the US.  This makes getting into a building fairly easy but for door impaired people like me, it means getting out of a building is a problem.    

That got me to thinking.  Which ways should the doors swing on the church and in our lives as Christians?  In other words, “Which should be easier – going out from the church or coming in?”  On the one hand, people should have an easy time coming into the fellowship of God’s people… people should feel invited, welcomes and included.  There is nothing worse to hear than statements like these, “I came to your church but no one spoke to me.  Or “At first everyone was so friendly, but after a couple of Sundays I felt like old news.  No one spoke to me.”   Or “I missed church for a couple of Sundays and no one noticed” “I volunteered.  I signed up but no one ever called me. I hear arguments in the church over how much we should cater to those who are new to the church.  Some say we should not expect people to learn a “new Christian language” when they come into a church. Words like “justification, Kyrie, and Sanctus” are like a foreign language to those new to the church.  Others say, “If new people want to come to church then we should teach them the language.”  To both, I say yes.  Coming to Germany Linda and I are trying to learn the language. We want to know this country, its culture and its people.  The language is key.  At the same time, I also love that people here have been more than patients and spoken our foreign language to help us feel welcomed here.  The church needs to be the same.  Yes we want people to learn and grow.  But first we want to welcome them.  We want to invite them in, remember their names, include them in activities, make friends and speak their language.   We want outside doors that swing inward.  After all, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all who are weary and burdened…”  “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…”  You and I, our congregations should reflect His warm, welcoming heart.

But then there is the other question.  Should the doors of the church swing outward?   Again the answer is yes.  It’s too easy for us to sit in church like its some kind of private club… as if its mission is only to be a place where people are protected from the world…  to have the attitude that everyone ought to come to us. The problem is Jesus didn’t say “Wait here and make disciples…”  He said, “Go and make Disciples.”  Most unbelievers aren’t waking up on Sunday wondering what church they should go to.   For the most part they aren’t thinking about church at all.  If they are to know Jesus then we have to go to them… be genuine friends and neighbors to them… love and care for them… go out and introduce them to Jesus in our words and deeds.   Our call is reflect our savior… As He came looking for us through the parents and pastors, friends and neighbors, so He sends us out into our neighborhoods and workplaces, homes and schools.  He is the shepherd who leaves the 99 in the open country and goes in search of the one who is lost… We are His search party. Which way should the church doors swing?  Both ways!  

The Little Things

“And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because

He is a disciple,

Truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward”

Matthew 10:42

What I am showing you here I am sure looks to you like nothing more than a simple three ring binder.  For me it is so much more.   To me this is my folder for leading worship.  Every week part of my preparation for worship involves getting this folder ready.  I put a printed out, full copy of the worship service in this folder.  I write out the prayers and place them in here.  I put a typed out copy of my sermon in here.  Any announcements I want to make, I type out and put in here.  Normally, this is all I have to have with me to lead worship.  I have used this folder for leading worship for almost 13 years.   Where did it come from?  Well the leader of Vacation Bible School at Lamb of God gave it to me as a thank you gift at the end of VBS, 13 years ago  To her I am sure this was a small gift she has long forgotten about.  Yet God has used this small gift to help me lead God’s people in worship almost every Sunday. 

This is a pen.   To you that’s all this is.  To me it’s the one pen I have never lost.  The reason I have never lost it is simple.  It sits, or should I say stands on my desk in this pen holder.  When I am gone using I put it right back in its holder.  Thus, whenever I have needed a pen in my work as a pastor, for the past 13 years this pen has been right there on my desk.   Where did I get it?  Thirteen years ago someone gave it to me as a gift.  I am sure this was a small gift that the giver has long forgotten about, but God has used this little pen in His service ever since.

I am sharing this as a way of saying, “Don’t underestimate the little things that God gives you the chance to do.”  Too often in life and ministry we are focused on the big things, the large events – the Easter or Christmas service… singing a solo… building a big building… taking on a huge task… the big project at work that will make lots of money…  that we miss the little opportunities God gives us to help or serve someone.   We run right over people in order to get our important work done.  I remember early in ministry, that I was so caught in my “important work” that I would often not notice or ignore when a little child wanted my attention.   It shames me that too often people had to get my attention and point out the little one following me around.  What was wrong with me that I thought I was too busy, or too important to notice?   Jesus wasn’t like that.  There is one incident that sticks out in my mind.  Jesus is on his way through Jericho to Jerusalem.  He is going to do His most important work of all – dying and rising again for the salvation of the world.  As he walks by a blind beggar named Bartimaeus cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, Have mercy upon me.”  Everyone tries to silence Bartimaeus.  The believe that Jesus doesn’t have time for such a trivial person.  Well the text says, “Jesus stopped!”  He took time for Bartimaeus.  He healed him. 

Too often we are like the Priest and the Levite in the parable, to busy or focused on our big important task we have to do for Jesus, that we go out of our way to avoid helping or even seeing the man who was just robbed and left by the side of the road.    Sometimes the thing God wants us to do is to put off our supposedly important work, to take time to do something that may seem small and unimportant to us.    Who knows how our God will use the little things.

I heard a story about a salvation army volunteer who years ago went out of his way for a widowed mom anher two daughters.  Once a week, on his way home, he would drop off a bag of groceries and play with those two little girls who so missed their daddy.  I am sure he thought nothing of that little time he gave to those girls each week.  Well 70 or 80 years later one of those two little girls remembered that small act of kindness.  In her will this lady left something like a billion dollars to the ministry of the Salvation Army.   Don’t underestimate the importance of the little things.  You may never know how God will use them, but use them H e will.  Jesus said it, “And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple.  Truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward”