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“Living the Life is NOT Enough”

“Every once in a while, I meet someone who says something like, ‘I don’t think you have to go around telling people about Jesus. I think all you have to do is live the life that Jesus wants you to live so others can see that life and want to become Christians themselves. That’s what I do.’

“What arrogance! Stop and think about it. These persons are saying, ‘I don’t have to explain Jesus to anybody. I am so righteous that all I have to do is let people take a good look at me and they will fall over converted.

“I don’t know about you, but there are enough flaws and  shortcomings in my life for me not to want people to look too closely lest they be disillusioned in a big way. I don’t preach myself; I preach Christ. I do not hold myself up; I hold Him up. I have to tell people about Jesus because only He embodies the goodness that is worthy of emulation. All the rest of us fall short of the glory of God. It is through hearing the gospel story that others gain the opportunity to enter into a transforming relationship with God – and transformed people are the instruments of love and justice who can transform the world (see Romans 10:15).”

– Tony Campolo

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The Dream Has Come True!

Today, after months and months of prayer and hard work, our daughter Natalia’s dream of starting the first-ever Christian Club at Roslyn Middle School came true! They had 11 students there for their first meeting, and they all left saying they had a good time. We are very thankful to the school administration for their support, to Mrs. Marx for supporting the club as their advisor, and to Emma Rucci and Long Island Youth For Christ for their guidance in walking Natalia through the process of getting the club started. We are SOOOO proud of our daughter who is such a courageous leader. Yeah God! Way to go Natalia! You are making an impact and leaving a legacy!

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“Invest It All” (Matthew 25)

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We’re A Long Way Off

I have been listening to this song for over a year now and contemplating it very regularly. It is my favorite song from Gungor’s album I am Mountain. For me it is such a call to humility and grace. May it encourage, challenge, and bless you as well.

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Practicing what we Preach vs. Preaching what we Practice – A Thoughtful Insight

failure-michael-jordanFrancis Schaeffer was away at college when he was experiencing a sense of failure over doing something wrong, then being chastised by other students for not “practicing what he preached.” In a letter to Francis his soon-to-be wife Edith wrote him something insightful:

“Franz dear –

We humans fall so short of our ideals at times that it is discouraging. But we wouldn’t want to preach that side of it – I mean we wouldn’t want to say – ‘Well, once a month it’s a fine thing to break through and do something entirely opposite to what you believe is right’ – just because all of us do do things like that. We don’t want to sanction it – just for the sake of preaching what you practice? We want to really preach the Christian life – and then we want to live it so far as is possible, but because we are human – we can’t be perfect. That’s where forgiveness comes into the picture – forgiveness for our mistakes. I don’t know whether you can read into this what I am trying to say or not. Anyway – I think the fellows are all wrong in picking on one small slip – when there is so much more in your life that is parallel to your ‘preaching.’ In fact, I think it might help your influence for them to know that a Christian is just as human as anyone else – the difference is that he has someone to go to with his mistakes – and difficulties – to get them smoothed out – that that instead of pulling him down … he goes on again – a bit more prayerfully – and a bit stronger for having found his feet and climbed up the hill he slid down. See???” (Francis and Edith Schaeffer, pp. 63-64)

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“When Obedience Leads You Into a Storm” Guest Post by James Dodzweit

boatinstormThis past weekend our Worship Pastor Christopher Dobson mentioned this story before a specific song and it has been churning in me all week. In a meeting today the buzzer went off on the crock pot of my heart and I had some thoughts that I hope are as helpful to you as they are to me.

Setting: This story in the book of Matthew immediately follows the feeding of the 5000. Read below.

“Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid’” (Matthew 14:22-27 NKJV).

So the story is pretty clear and the point that Christopher made on Sunday was that the disciples obeyed Jesus … and by obeying they landed themselves in the middle of a storm.

It could be that you are in the middle of a storm right now and not because there is any big mistake that you have made or sin that you can pinpoint.

Realize this … Jesus knew when he sent the disciples into the boat that he was sending them into a storm. He also sent them without his immediate presence in the boat. They waved goodbye and didn’t think anything until the wind picked up. When the wind and waves reached a certain strength, they began to doubt, fear and question what Jesus had done. “Why isn’t he here?” “Why would he send us into this?” “Has he forgotten about us?” “Are we going to die?” Then Jesus comes to them walking on the water. At first they thought he was a ghost and were all the more afraid. Eventually they reconized him and then Peter asks Jesus to call to him so he can walk on the water too.

2 things stand out in this for me:

#1. Jesus didn’t immediately calm the storm when he approached the boat. The disciples would probably have recognized him a lot easier if there weren’t waves, wind, spray tossing everywhere. If they didn’t have to fear for their lives, it would be much easier to focus on Jesus.

This tells me that Jesus’s priority isn’t our comfort. He is even ok with us not being able to see him clearly. I believe the reason Jesus didn’t immediately calm the storm is ….

#2. He wanted to meet the disciples in the storm. This was the same Jesus that hours earlier they had seen on the shore, waved goodbye to and glanced back at as they drifted into the sea. When they said goodbye, there was no urgency, no fear of death, no questioning or doubting. I can only imagine how much Jesus loved being himself in that storm environment. He always cared. Always loved. Always rescued. But in a storm the disciples could finally see him for all he really is.

All that to say this …

If you are in a storm and Jesus isn’t calming it as fast as you want … it’s probably because there are parts of his nature, care and love that he can’t show you on glassy seas. Only in the storm do you see him for who he loves to be. Let him be that to you today in your storm and maybe just maybe … one day you will thank him for the storm you in right now.

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Keith Green … Still Influencing the World 32 Years After His Death

I remember hearing about his untimely death when I was a young boy just 6 years old. I remember listening to his vinyl records in our home as I was growing up. I remember listening to certain songs over and over again, allowing the words to penetrate my heart. Keith Green had a profound impact on my young life. Later, as an adult, I read his life story in the book No Compromise by his wife Melody. Just a couple of weeks ago, we sang one of his songs in church, and I turned to my wife and said, “Keith Green’s songs are as powerful today as they were when he sang them live.” Tonight we watched the DVD version of his story with our small group of senior high students, and had a conversation afterward. Almost 32 years after his death, Keith Green continues to have an impact in the world.

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Dying for Christ vs. Living for Christ

“It’s easy to die for Christ. (My Insert: And, as my friend Duffy Robbins adds, You can only do that once, and it usually occurs right before the end of your life.) It’s hard to live for Him. Dying takes only an hour or two, but to live for Christ means to die daily. Only during the few years of this life are we given the privilege of serving each other and Christ … therefore we must not waste the opportunity.” – Sadhu Sundar Singh

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Disturbing Compassion

“Jesus’ compassion is characterized by a downward pull. That is what disturbs us. We cannot even think of ourselves in terms other than those of an upward pull, an upward mobility in which we strive for better lives, higher salaries, and more prestigious positions. Thus, we are deeply disturbed by a God who embodies a downward movement. Instead of striving for a higher position, more power, and more influence, Jesus moves, as Karl Barth says, from ‘the heights to the depth, from victory to defeat, from riches to poverty, from triumph to suffering, from life to death.’ Jesus’ whole life and mission involve accepting powerlessness and revealing in this powerlessness the limitlessness of God’s love. Here we see what compassion means. It is not a bending toward the underprivileged from a privileged position; it is not reaching out from on high to those who are less fortunate below; it is not a gesture of sympathy or pity for those who fail to make it in the upward pull. On the contrary, compassion means going directly to those people and places where suffering is most acute and building a home there. God’s compassion is total, absolute, unconditional without reservation. It is the compassion of the one who keeps going to the most forgotten corners of the world, and who cannot rest as long as there are still human beings with tears in their eyes. It is the compassion of a God who does not merely act as a servant, but who expresses the divinity of God through servanthood” (pp. 24-25).

“… Nobody finds anything wrong or strange with attempting to help people who are visibly lacking the basic necessities of life, and it appears quite reasonable to try to alleviate suffering when this is possible. But to leave a successful position and enter freely, consciously, and intentionally into a position of servanthood seems unhealthy. It is a violation of the most basic human instincts. To try to lift others up to our own privileged position is honorable and perhaps even an expression of generosity, but to attempt to put ourselves in a position of disrepute and to become dependent and vulnerable seems to be a form of masochism that defies the best of our aspirations.

“Something of this attitude appears in the expression ‘helping the less fortunate,’ which frequently can be heard from the mouths of those who ask or offer aid. This expression has an elitist ring to it because it assumes that we have made it and have gotten it together while they simply have not been able to keep up with us and need to be helped. It is the attitude which says: ‘Fate is on our side and not on theirs. But since we are Christians we have to lift them up and give them a share of our good fortune. The undeniable fact is that the world is divided between the “fortunate,” and the “unfortunate” ones. So let us not feel guilty about it, but reach out as good people to those who happen to be on the other side of the fence.’ In this way of thinking compassion remains part of competition, and is a far cry from radical servanthood” (pp. 28-29). (emphasis mine)

Compassion by Henri Nouwen, Donald P. Mcneill and Douglas A. Morrison

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