The arrival of Jesus began a new era of humanity! A humnaity to which God Himself had joined. He entered into human history! He became human and yet remained God!  In this very personal way He made it unmistakably clear that He is with us…ALWAYS!   Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus His Love is presented to us in such a way that we can no longer ignore Him or what He has said.

This very reality of LIVING LOVE, though hard to grasp is too good to ignore. The Life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus,  now requires us to realize that His Words have changed everything associated with humanity. Everything must be re-centered, re-imagined, and re-thought.

His Words are quite literally,  ”LIFE”!!! (John 6:63).  According to the story that Jesus told, in MATTHEW 7:24-27; we must then build are lives upon His words. “We are designed to listen, He is the only ONE who truly has the right to speak.” Because of the resurrection we must listen to His words with a new sense of respect!

In the Lords closing prayer of His earthly ministry, He prays; “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent Me. I have given them the glory that you  gave me, that they may be one as we are one; I in them, and you in me. May they be brought into complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23).

His prayer for us in unity! Unity that results in the world knowing of Him, and of His Love. The purpose of Him sharing His “glory” with us is that we might be united with He and the Father. Oh that we would grasp that the outworking of the HOLY SPIRIT is our coming into such agreement with Him and each other that the world would  be truly evangelized.

Paul admonish us to  ”But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:5). Evangelism is the results of our be united by the work of the Holy Spirit.

May we all become “Evangelists”!!!

“…but the greatest of these is love.”

The Apostle Paul said the greatest thing is love. True love never fails. All the other things that people focus lots of energy on will fail, but love, will never fail. If we really believed that we would spend a lot less time on other things and focus our attention on the greatest thing, Love.

The very first thing we must grasp is the kind of love that Paul is speaking about. The Apostle John says, “ …God is love.” It seems to me that if we are to know love we must know God. Or you could say to know God is to know love.

God does not simply have love He is love. He always has been and always will be love. He is he same yesterday, today and forever. He never changes. He will always love.

Worldly love is stimulated by the senses of the flesh. Worldly love is dependent upon the sensations of the flesh. It is subject to change all the time. If someone or something stimulates us in the right way then we think that is love. But that is not the God-Kind of love that Paul and John are speaking about.

The God-kind of love is not created or released because of the beauty of a person, but rather the nature of God, love, is freely given to every person, therefore the person is beautiful. It is God’s love for us that make us beautiful and glorious.

God loves us, you and me. He has never not loved us. That is why Paul said, “…the greatest of these is love.”

His love, once conceived and received will begin a transformation that will ultimately re-create us, restore us back into the original intent that God had for us in the beginning.

I have had the pleasure in my life to watch love absolutely transform a person. Once an individual begins to realize the fullness of God’s commitment to them their lives go through a metamorphosis that is awesome. Rules and regulations will never change a person, but the understanding of God’s Love will slowly but surely change a person.

Over the last thirty years I have watched as the American church has focused primarily on two things. First of all many within the body of Christ are centered on their doctrine and their by-laws. In other words they are consumed with making sure that everyone adheres to the standard that they have determined qualifies a person as a Christian. This part of the church spends and inordinate amount of time evaluating one another.

Secondly, there is that segment of the church that has become infatuated with the gifts of God.  They’re unspoken suggestion is that if you are truly a Christian you will operate in these gifts. Though they infatically reject any sense of order  in the church as hiarchy, they have certainly developed a peaking order around who has the most gifts.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I believe that we need to understand what we believe. And I believe that there are certain things that are absolutely essential to the Christian faith. And over the course of my life I have enjoyed the Lord’s presence working through me in many wonderful ways. I have been overwhelmed as He operated His gifts in my life. But those charismatic gifts are merely the by-product of His Love. They were never meant to become the focus of my life nor anyone else’s.

In the New Testament we are given over sixty directives about how we are to relate to “one another.” Love, forgive, comfort, exhort, consider, forgive, pray, speak, sing, submit, forgive, be hospitable, have compassion, forgive, affection, admonish, wait on, care for, forgive, serve, bear, be kind to, be tender hearted, be gentle, have fellowship with, be at peace with, greet with a kiss and oh yea, forgive.

You see the reality is that what distinguishes Christians from every other person on the planet is the way they relate to “one another.” We are to be people who have received the Unconditional Love of God and now love others, especially our own, with that same God kind of Love.

This Love is free; it believes the best, looks for the good

It is absolutely impossible to love others if you yourself do not know that you are freely loved. So many Christians are still trying to earn God’s approval and many have simply given up and have turned away from God. They have gotten so beaten down by not being able to live up to the religious standards that they have walked away.

To each of those I want to say God loves you without conditions and with out restrictions….!!!

So it’s Good Friday!

Here we are remembering the great offering that Christ gave for us! Here we are celebrating the “forgiveness” that adopted us into the very family of our Heavenly Father. I am always moved in my heart to reach out to every person that I have known in my life and be restored to them relationally as I approach Resurrection Sunday.

I have come to understand that none of us have lived without sin, we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory. “Missed the Mark” so to speak.

I’ve learned that all human conflict especially in relationships is generally the result of unrealized expectations! The problem , however, often times this is caused by having unrealistic expectations which inevitably led to disappointment.

It is far too common that lifelong relationships are unnecessarily severed or destroyed; never to be useful to the Kingdom of God jointly again, simply because we never learn how to resolve our disapointments with each other.

Jesus offers this advice;   in Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

I wish I could tell you that it as simple as that!  But it has never been! It is just not true with brothers who are disappointed with you — unrealized, unrealistic, unresolved, expectations!

On Passover 2000 years ago He came to us…. and somewhere in your life He came into the midst of your disappointment and He reconciled you to Him….

Wow! I wish I could do what He did.  Oh, but wait, I don’t have too… I merely believe that He did. For me and … Oh yeah… for my brother too.

Much like death and divorce people go through the five steps of grief in dealing with dissappointment. When we are dealing with death or divorce or disappointment it can be done quickly and maturely — in minutes — in hours or — in days — or painfully, over — weeks, months, and years!

I have had to help many people deal with grief. And I stumbled upon what psychology calls …. DABDA. These are those fives steps that I mentioned earlier.

1. Denial – believing the conflict or action even divorce or death is nothing. That it is really not going to happen.  ”This Is not happening to me” … in this stage people create a “false reality” to protect themselves from hurt and facing the truth and the possible consequences of their actions or someone else’s or the event or circumstances that they are really faced with.  All that denial or false reality eventually comes crumbling done.
2. Anger – how could this really be  happening to me?  How could they do this to me? I am a victim, everyone is against me, nobody loves me. They just want to take advantage of me or hurt me. I must defend myself from those who, betrayed me, hurt me, took advantage of me etc, ….this is a dangerous stage than can lead to further issues….
3. Bargaining –  if only they would do this — I would be willing to do that! God get me out of this one and I’ll serve you forever!  The whole point of bargaining is to try to avoid the consequences. Rarely does this step produce positive results. When people finally face the fact realistically…  they must repent of their own role in the dissappointment. This generally leads to people into a depressed state.
4. Depression – can last a few moments if it is true heart felt repentance with a resolve to improve and restore. Reconciliation is the goal! Reunion of the relationship! Depression is broken the moment we turn towards God for grace. It is after all God whom we are called to trust, not people. We are commanded to love people. Everyone will dissappoint us at some point in our lives. Depression is broken when we realized that we have been living with “unrealistic expectations” towards people. People can never fulfill everything that we expect them to .. all the time, they are human beings, not Jesus. This breaks depression and this Grace opens the possibility, for future restoration.
5. Acceptance -- true conflict resolution, whether it is grief processing, oranizational schisms, marriage disputes, pastoral issues, dissappointments, etc…. can never be resolved until there is acceptance!  Acceptance from all those concerned that we are mere “dust.” That no one among us is “perfect.” Acceptance of the reality that we will all sin, we will all dissappoint one another, we all need to repent and to forgive. With or without repentance from not only the offending party, but from every person; requires everyone to look at: What really happened — why did it happen — what sins should be acknowledged and repented of and need to be forgiven of and of course what is God’s ultimate plan. God has an ultimate goal or plan behind this entire situation.  ”All things work together for the good…”

May we truly experience reconciliation this Resurrection Season!!!

I prayed in Gethsemane, Annunciation, Upper Room, West Wall, Galillee, Holy Sepulcher, and many other great Holy Land sites! But I was not prepared for this little stop, this site was not on any of the tourist papers. We turned and walked up two flights of stairs, unlocked the door of a little apartment it was just above the street.

You could hear the sounds coming from the street in fact, it was very busy, talking, laughing, the occasional horn sounded! But inside this little converted apartment a handful of people gathered to share their hearts and to pray with and for each other. They each told me how this place was an answer to their prayer.

All over this city there are houses of worship, holy sites, synoguages, and temples. But they are all busy with tourist and assorted groups. Here in this little converted living room they shared their burdens, sang songs and prayed for each other.

Here in this little insignificant room, with ordinary people, the Presence of God came with a raw, sweet, intimacy that I had not experienced anywhere else. Here, where a few gathered not to remember or mark a spot of land or history, but to meet with the Lord, here He was.

Face to Face! Opening all He is to each of us! His Presence comforted, exhorted, uplifted each one of us. It was as if we were transcended above all that was around and for a few moments there was nothing but Him.

This unmarked, forgotten place, was where I did not want to leave. I walked away with my little group, turned left, then right, and then left again. I would never be able to find that little place again. Tears ran down my face, I wanted to run back…. yes, back and well mark the spot, build a ‘booth’…. !!!!

Thank you Father! Thank you, for reminding me! “Where two or three are gathered in Your Name, there You are….” Unveiled, Open handed, Reaching out to greet us in our time of need!

Prayer!!!! It is our highest calling! It is taking place here! In little unknown places, by unknown people, who grope to discover each other and search for places to pray… there, right there, the King of Glory manifests!

Pray… Pray…Pray… for the Peace of Jerusalem!

There is no better day for Palm Sunday to fall upon than April Fool’s Day.

Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is a classic “April Fool” experience.

Yes, I’m in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday…. I feel a bit foolish …! I thought everyone would understand why I’m here. April Fool!

Jesus instructs his disciples to go and commit the first-century equivalent of “grand theft auto.” Go get me a donkey. “Borrowing” a valuable animal, was frowned upon and punished in first century Palestine as seriously as horse-thieving was in the Old West. Just say, “The Lord needs it.”

Then watch what happenes,… they strip down and look undignified and under-dressed, in order to honor a scriptural image of the messiah. They knew the significance of their master riding a young colt into Jerusalem. This was a statement of kingship, of deliverance, of prophetic fulfillment.

Other Passover pilgrims traveling into Jerusalem got into the spirit of Jesus’ procession. Some of them also peeled off their cloaks and dared to bare their backs in a state of crowd enthusiasm. Others chanted “hosanna” and lay down branches for their combined procession into the city. For everyone in this crowd — Jesus, his disciples, the mixed multitude of travelers — the destination is the same, the spiritual center of Judaism, the Temple. Obviously something wonderful is about to happen.

April Fool.

How willing are you to become an “April Fool” for Christ? Are you willing to admit that you are part of a truly “foolish” family?

It is not without the “foolish factor” that Jesus Christ is also known as the “Son of David.” King David is the backbone of Judaism, the patriarch of Israel’ identity, the lineage for the Messiah.

King David is also the one who stripped naked so he could dance for joy before the Lord. David happily divested himself of all his “kingly” attributes and attire, of everything and anything that might have distinguished him as royal or special or unique.

David danced unhampered and unadorned by any human attachments.

David danced naked before the Lord so that he could be fully present before God’s presence.

God’s prophets routinely made “fools” of themselves.

Isaiah stomped around naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah 20:1-6);

Jeremiah wore a ruined loincloth (ewh!!) (Jeremiah 13:1-11); wore an oxen yoke around his neck (Jeremiah 28:1-17), and bought land occupied by the enemy (a truly BAD investment) (Jeremiah 32:1-15);

Ezekiel ate up scrolls of written words — not a low carb diet (Ezekiel 2:1-3:3);

Hosea married a prostitute and named their children after God’s judgments (Hosea 1:2-2:1).

The Pharisee Saul of Taurus became Paul the Apostle.

If we get all “dressed up” on Easter Sunday, then Palm Sunday should be the time we get “dressed down,” the time we “get naked.” Wave palm fronds in the parking lot — even when cars are driving by.

Take a risk at caring about someone who is truly risky. Go out on a limb. Take the path usually not taken.  Don’t’ be afraid to be naked. To be on parade. To be different.

To be a follower of the One who never flinched when it came to being a fool for God, is to be an April Fool for Christ. Will you be just that? An April Fool for Christ?

Yes, I’m in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday! Why? To stand with Israel! To be Present! To say “I believe in you and in God”! “To pray for the Peace of Jerusalem”!!! To dress down and draw attention to HIM!

Whose “fool” am I ….. His!

I hope you have a great day… “undressing for the Lord.” Dance, and waving palm leaves, just being a fool for Him.

Shalom