For the sake of His Name.

God can use anyone. He's God. And I'm grateful for that. Because I know God has used me when in all honesty, in whatever various season I was in, I'm sure I wasn't the best "choice" for being God's hands and feet. But he choose me anyway. And I've learned a lot about God in those situations. A lot about His sovereignty and grace.

A couple weeks back I posted on Facebook:

"The Israelites weren't God's chosen people because of anything they did. They were God's chosen because of God and the faith of a few. In the same way we aren't children of God because of anything we've done. We are children of God because of the obedience of Jesus Christ."

The people of Israel were God's chosen because of God. They were God's chosen people in spite of who they were. 

Near the end of Ezekiel God is talking about reclaiming His people and restoring His Name and holiness. It's a beautiful description of God using us in spite of ourselves. 

“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes." (Ezekiel 36:22, 23 NIV)

I like this reminder on a couple of fronts. First and foremost it's a great reminder that it's not about us. God wasn't bring the people of Israel out of captivity for their sake. It was for the sake of His holy name. When God is moving and doing stuff through us, or in spite of us, it's for His name and His glory. 

Secondly, it's a great reminder that God can still use us and do things in spite of our sinfulness. Again, because it's not about us. It's about Him. And using us to bring Him glory in times when we're at less than our best (which is most the time) should be a reminder to be careful how we judge others and should help serve us on to strive to become more and more who God is calling us to be. 

And lastly, as the theme continues, it's about God. And not people. We accuse people of doing very damning things in the name of Jesus. We don't like so and sos theology. Or their views on x,y, and z. They don't do church the right way, or say the right things publicly, or endorse such and such. We get frustrated with people who make public declarations in the name of God that we disagree with or cringe at. And some of those are worth cringing at. But we need to remember that they're our family. Like them or not, you don't get to choose your family. And if they've accepted Christ and are following Jesus, they're family. And God can use people we think are misguided, just as much as he can use you or I. 

Love. Think. Speak.

It was about two months ago that I watched The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for the first time. I loved it! More importantly, it inspired me to read The Chronicles of Narnia again.

There was a line in The Magician's Nephew that grabbed me. As Aslan is finishing bring Narnia to life, and has just "woken" a group of animals to consciousness he says

“Awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.”

I wrote the line down. It just stuck with me. It made me think. 

Love. Think. Speak. 

Brilliant. 

In that order. Love. Think. Speak. 

I think too often we speak. If we're lucky we think first but more often than not, we speak. It's our reactionary speaking where we do the most damage, when we're the most hurtful. 

But I love the order in which Lewis puts these three. Love. Think. Speak. 

Jesus said the world will know he belong to the Father because of our love for one another. The great commandment is Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, strength and to Love your neighbor as you would love yourself. Love. 

In all things we need to act first with love. Don't rush to judgement, but act in love and compassion (Ya know, like Jesus did). And then think, pray. Take our time to make sure we speak in wisdom and with the truth of Christ. And than, speak. Speak in kindness. Even in discipline and rebuke, come with the love and compassion of Christ to help set the course on the right path and not to damage and hurt. 

Words Not to Take Lightly

Amidst Amos' prophecy to Israel about their upcoming exile and doom and gloom is this passage in Amos 5 which grabbed my attention. It's something to pay attention to. 

"There are those who turn justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground. He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name. With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin. There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court and detest the one who tells the truth. You levy a straw tax on the poor and impose a tax on their grain. Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them; though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine. For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins. There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes and deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times, for the times are evil. Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good, maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says: “There will be wailing in all the streets and cries of anguish in every public square. The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail. There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the Lord. Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you long for the day of the Lord? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light— pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" ~ Amos 5:7-24

God is not impressed with Israel's sacrifices of religiosity. He doesn't want their worship because they have not followed him fully. They have oppressed the poor and innocent. There is no justice in Israel. 

Just something to think on this morning.

We Were Made For You

Amanda and I saw Third Eye Blind on Saturday. It was supposed to be the B-52's but they cancelled and Third Eye Blind stepped in. It was fun to go and see some live music. I'm not a huge fan of Third Eye Blind but I know enough of their material to enjoy myself. Not my favorite live concert experience but glad I got to see some live music.

That's not the point of this blog.

I was struck with a thought while people watching during the show. As a people, we were made for worship. As I watched people sing their hearts out, with arms out raised as they sung along to songs about hurt, pain, depression, getting high, and the best nights of their lives, I was sad. As I watched people around me it was like watching a worship service where there was no hope. People pouring their hearts out in songs of despair.

We were made to worship to the Creator but without knowing the Creator, we worship other things. imagine that passion, energy, and intensity put into the things of God; towards bringing hope, peace, reconciliation, justice, and love. We were made to be in relationship with God and worship him.

Have Mercy

A couple of months back I got this tattoo. It had been an idea of mine for a couple years and I was stoked to finally make this a piece of my arm.

People always talk about being anchored as something to be aware of. Like making sure we're anchored to the right thing. And I get it. "Are you anchored to the word of God?" "Make sure you're anchored to Jesus and not the world."

That's nice but I like the house metaphor better than the sailing metaphor. Christ as your foundation I can get behind. Being anchored to Christ I can also get behind but that's not where my tattoo comes from.

Anchors keep boats in place. But the point of a boat is to go sailing. It's a vehicle for movement and living. Yes there are times when we need to be anchored and not moving but there are times when we need to be moving and taking steps of faith.

The anchor on my arm represents sin, doubt, fear, and anything prevents me from moving forward and becoming who God wants me to be. It's a reminder to not let fear, doubt, and sin cripple my life. It's a reminder that I need God's grace and mercy every single day. Fear, doubt, and sin are going to happen every day. But they can't become anchors that keep me from moving forward and trusting God. His grace and mercy are enough to carry me through the storms and tough times.

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1 says that "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." I've been thinking about this scripture in relation to the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. And how maybe we need to rethink our thoughts on this verse. 


At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:2-11)

This is obviously a great story of God's grace, love, and forgiveness, which in and of itself it beautiful. But it's such a multifaceted passage of scripture. I think for the first time ever I realized that this exchange happens in a large group setting and not just between Jesus and a small group of Pharisees. This is everyone in the temple who came to hear Jesus teach that is turned away from stoning this woman. 

But that's not even the first thing that stands out to me. What really stands out is that the Pharisees just brought the woman to Jesus. The guy involved in this case of adultery... He's sitting naked in a bed somewhere, feeling pretty awkward I imagine. But the Pharisees don't bother with him. They bring the woman. 

This is another story of Jesus valuing all life and changing and redeeming the perspective and value of women. From the woman at the well, to the woman with the issue of blood, to this woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus loved and cared for them all. He didn't view women as the lesser. While they're beautiful stories of God's grace and healing to us now, I feel like we miss the cultural implications these stories had to those who witnessed and heard them back then. It's the shift Paul talks about when he says there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). 

I also wonder what was going through this woman's mind post encounter with Jesus. Jesus says go and leave your life of sin. Did she? An encounter with Jesus will change your life. And one where your life is spared and redeem, that for sure will change your life? But how was she changed? Was she able to find fidelity post her encounter with Jesus? Did she slip back in to old habits eventually? She did ever feel condemned after her encounter where Jesus said he didn't condemn her? Obviously she was convicted in that moment. How can one not be? But did the idea that there was no condemnation for her sin, from the Son of God, change her perspective on life?

While the Pharisees thought they were going to trap Jesus and put this woman to death, actually (potentially) saved and changed her life. She had an encounter with Jesus where her sin was forgiven and she found that there is no condemnation with Christ. But the guy who she was sleeping with... He wasn't given the chance to find forgiveness. This was a very public encounter with Jesus. People knew who this man was. How long did he have to walk around with the shame and guilt and condemnation? Or how long was he blind to his own short-comings?

When he encounter Christ, conviction should lead to repentance, to leaving our life of sin. Not guilt, shame, and condemnation.

I wonder if Paul's claim that there is no condemnation is as much a reminder to himself as it was to the Roman church. Was Paul fighting with feelings of condemnation over his persecution of the church? But Paul says because I have encountered God, there is no condemnation because Christ has sets us free from sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Faithfully Waiting

The story of Caleb is one of my favorites. Caleb was one of the spies who went and checked out the Promise Land. Caleb said Israel would have no issue taking the land because God was on their side. The other spies just saw giants and lost their cool. Caleb had God in his sights and God in his heart. The rest of the spies saw a problem and feared. Their feared cause doubt in Israel and thus, those who feared were going to have to chill in the desert until they died.

But not Caleb. Caleb and Joshua were the only two from that generation that were going to get to live and make it into the Promised Land. Pretty dope, right?

But Israel was in the desert for 40 years. Caleb had a lot of waiting. And one they crossed the Jordan? Well Caleb was still a part of the Israeli army. But Caleb didn't let go of God's promise.

"Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed theLord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’ “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, theLord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance." ~ Joshua 14:6-13

At the age of 85 Caleb just as strongly believed and held to the promises of God. AT 85 Caleb was just as strong and ready to fight with the Lord's help as he was at 40.

This is an extremely encouraging passage of scripture for me. Caleb had to wait 45 years for God's promise to come true in his life. It makes a couple of years not seem so bad. Caleb missed out on the promise land because of the fear of others. Caleb remained faithful but still had to wait. But waiting brought the promise. He remained faithful and trusted that God's word would come true, even 45 years later. It gives me hope and a resolve to keep going and remain faithful.