We Love To Put Our Faith Into Things That Crumble

Government, politics, and God...Oh my. That's what I'm going to write about today. Apparently, people with etiquette (obviously not me) would point out that those topics are bad dinner party conversation because they are controversial. Well, I guess I would make a bad dinner guest.

I won't lie, it is tricky to talk about this stuff. It's amazing how sensitive we all are about politics and God. If one of those subjects gets brought up, it seems like we all have some sort of trigger inside of us that goes off and emotions start swirling. I've noticed some Facebook posts recently that have caused this trigger to go off inside of me.

A few days ago, I saw a post on a political leader followed by numerous emotional comments both positive and negative. Just today, I saw a post that was discussing Jesus, God, and the Bible. The viewpoints varied.

Before I dive into some thoughts on politics and God I want to be up front. I try look at this world through a certain lens and that is Jesus and the Bible. Those two things sway every opinion I have. After many years of doubts, questions and study, I truly believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He is the only way to get to God. In the book of John, chapter 14, verse 6, Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father except through me." Jesus said it and I believe it. I'm not saying that with any kind of an arrogant tone. It's just what I put my faith in. I also believe that the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God.

As I look through that lens I just described, there are a couple of things regarding politics and God that I want to share. You may not agree with the lens I view the world through, but I'll bet every person reading this agrees with this statement, "We want a better world to live in. We want less pain and more peace. We want less hate and more love. We want less problems and more solutions." I'll bet we all agree those are our hopes. If you agree with that quote, then read on and take a look at the world through this lens I'm talking about.

Here we go...

Many American people have faith that government (in particular, our government) is the greatest hope to make this world a better place to live. Many people put their faith (and votes) in a certain law, a specific political party, or a great political leader. Our own political leaders believe this. One of our last presidential candidates said this, "America's ideals are the last great hope..."

It's a mistake to put our faith into those things. We can't put our faith into things that crumble. Yet, throughout human history, we continue to make the same mistake of depending on governments, politicians, and laws to make this a better and more hopeful world to live in.

I truly believe this is one of Satan's greatest weapons. He wants us to think that our governments, our leaders, our laws, and ourselves can make this a better world. It's a lie and a trap that many of us fall into.

The word Satan comes from a generic Hebrew word that means, "one who tries to block your way". Satan uses our idolatrous faith in politics and government to keep us (block our way) from making this a better world to live in.

Why is our faith in politics a problem? Because Satan loves us to be ineffective. He knows many people are lazy and apathetic and that's exactly what he wants. But he also knows many of us are driven, motivated, and passionate. If he can help guide that passion we have into something that is ineffective, then he's winning. This is why he is referred to in The Bible as a "deceiver" (Revelation 12:9, 20:3) and "disguises himself as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).

So here's what I'm not saying. I'm not saying, "Don't vote, it's a waste of time." We should use and be grateful for the rights and privileges we have in our country...just don't depend on them. Jesus said, "Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

I'm also saying that I openly put all my eggs in one basket. All my passion, energy, and faith go into Jesus and His church. I truly believe He is the only hope for this world. All my charitable contributions, most of my time, and a ton of my energy go into His church. And church isn't a building. It's a community of people who chase after Jesus and imitate Him with their actions and words.

I've seen more life change and more active hope happen through Jesus, than with any law or political leader. Just today, I heard John Caldwell, the man that baptized me, give his last message as Kingsway Christian Church's pastor and he said something that hit home. I'll paraphrase what he said, "Of all the armies, forces, kings, parliaments, legislatures, and political leaders this world has known, the sum of their influence on this world pales in comparison to Jesus Christ."

Napolean Bonaparte had this to say about Jesus, "Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him." And I'll add to that, their empires crumbled, and Jesus's remains.

If we truly want a better world filled with more peace, hope, and love, then we need to start putting our faith in Jesus. And for you Christians out there, you need to stop splitting your faith.

So what do we do with that? What's a point of action? Here are some questions to ask yourself and some other ideas, think of some on your own as well.

1. What problem or injustice keeps me awake at night?

2. Would Jesus do something about this problem? Since he refers to himself as "the Truth", we should probably figure out what is important to Him and pretty much leave the other stuff alone.

3. Am I putting my faith in a political leader or law to solve this problem, or am I actually doing something about it myself? You want a great example? My brother, Matt and his wife Rene, have adopted 2 handsome boys, Tristan and Desmond. There are 143 million orphans in the world. You think a law is going to solve that problem? Or will it be people like Matt and Rene who have made a commitment to love God and love others.

4. Am I pouring myself into something that is ineffective? Christians - Do you spend most of your time crafting and forwarding emails to "Keep Christmas as a National Holiday", keep "In God We Trust" on our money and license plates? Really, ask yourself if either one of those arguments is truly helping people? Hungry people, sick people, orphans, and others who don't know the love and power of Jesus need people to love them directly, and not depend on others to do it. Signing a petition to "Keep the National Day of Prayer" doesn't help sickness, hunger, orphans, or the lost. Do we really need a government to give us permission to pray? Is that fight truly needed?

Colossians 1: 16-17 "For by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

He is more powerful and more influential than any law.

For some more great thoughts about this kind of stuff, check this article out. Think outside the box!

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of...Obedience?

Warped Continued...

I've never been a grudgeholder, but for the first time in my life, I have some anger that stems from some recent relationships in my life...and it hasn't gone away yet. I actually thought I was past it. Then I witnessed something that stirred up some serious anger in me. It's an unhealthy anger because what I witnessed was a very good thing.

What did I see? I sat in on a meeting between two people I didn't know very well and they were discussing something. It was something minor and they had two differing opinions on the matter. In a very loving and healthy way, they shared their differing opinions with each other and then moved on. It was a good, honest conversation between people who cared for each other.

But it made me very uncomfortable and angry. For a split second, I mentally sided with one guy in the discussion. From my point of view, I was angry because I thought the other guy was wrong for even sharing his opinion and I thought he was being disrespectful. Why did this make me mad? Because I'm warped. I couldn't see this conversation for what it truly was, because I was allowing some past experiences define reality and not God.

What did I experience to make me view this conversation with such a warped perception? I'll just say some unhealthy relationships. Within these relationships, healthy, authentic, loving discussion rarely happened and it left a pretty rotten taste in my mouth. And there are nights I lay awake stewing with anger over those memories. That's not good.

The thing is, I have every right to be angry. However, I need to forgive these people. I'm not saying I need to call them up, talk to them, and try to get them to say "sorry". I need to forgive them because the anger and growing grudge I have is unhealthy for me and anyone I have influence over (my wife, my kids, family, friends, etc.). I need to forgive them for me.

We all do that though. We hang on to stuff from our past and we let it define our present.

I just read the story of Joseph this morning in Genesis. If anyone had a right to be warped, it was him. Here's his story in a nutshell that I took from a book I'm reading called Shepherding a Child's Heart, "His mother died while he was young. He was his father's favorite. His dreams inflamed his brothers' hatred. He was further alienated from them by his father's gift of a coat that set him apart as their authority. His brothers betrayed him and he was thrown in a pit. Slave traders bought him to profit from his resale value. He was double crossed in Potiphar's house despite his honor and intergrity. He was imprisoned. Even there he was forsaken by those whom he had helped. Here was a man you would expect to be bitter, cynical, resentful, and angry. If a man is only the sum total of influences that shape him, that would have been the result."

However, later on, his brothers begged his mercy and Joseph said to them "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children. And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them." (Genesis 50: 19-21)

Great things happened because Joseph let God define his life and not his experiences. I want to get to that point. I'm not there yet. Right now, all I can say is "I intend to forgive" these people.

What is it that you are holding onto that is continually warping reality?

Comments

By the way,

Thanks so much for sharing your "warped stories". I didn't say I was going to pick a favorite but I am. Erin, you take the cake for the best "warped story". Light up shoes, huh? You're awesome and I will pray you can let go of your unhealthy grudge towards technologically advanced shoes.

I Am Warped

Seriously...and I just realized it recently. There are things that have happened to me in my past (most of it recently) that warp my views on things. What I mean by "warp" is I have events in my life that have unhealthily (is that word?) disturbed my present reality. Do you have those things? Up until recently, most of the things that have warped me have been fairly benign and somewhat humorous. Here are some examples of "3 random events/things that have warped my view on reality". These aren't a "top 3". Just some things I've experienced that have caused me to have a chip on my shoulder about something.

1. Vacation Bible School - it's that time of year! There are Vacation Bible School signs everywhere. Every time I drive by one I get a nervous twitch and utter something under my breath that is cynical, judgmental, and totally unfair. I went to VBS one time when I was a kid (parents made me) and hated every second of it. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why the word "Vacation" was included in the same phrase as "Bible School". Seemed like an oxymoron to me...even though I didn't know what "oxymoron" meant at the age of 11. I would have much rather spent my time riding my bike, playing backyard baseball, swimming, playing basketball, having Nerf wars, playing video games, well...you get the picture. As I kid, I felt like I went to jail for a week.

2. Being a Notre Dame football fan and Chicago Cubs baseball fan. When it comes to sports, I'm an eternal pessimist. I never believe my team will win. I expect to lose. Look at who I root for. When the Cubs blew it (Bartman game) in 2002 (I think...maybe 2003 but too lazy to google it and don't want to re-live the pain) I cried. Yes, I shed tears.

3. Burger King - I will never eat there again as long as I live. I worked there 3 days at the tender age of 16 and it has forever warped my view of BK. If you're smart, you would take my word for it and never eat there again as well. See?! I'm warped. If you still insist on eating there, do yourself a favor and avoid the Biscuits N' Gravy at breakfast time. Trust me.

Anyway, those are a little silly, but if you dig a little deeper, it gets serious. Those are 3 things I've experienced that have caused me to view present reality in an unfair way. How many of us are more jaded, cynical, and warped because of life? How many of us are letting our past define our present? Our future? I've had some experiences recently that have warped me. And the thing is, I realize it, but I'm definitely still wrestling with it and catch myself in moments of cynicism, anger, and unhealthy thoughts. So I'm working through it right now.

What's the point? There is danger in letting our lives define us and not God. Recently, I have let my experiences define my perception of myself and my view of the world. It's not good. I need to let God do that.

So before I write about that tomorrow. I want to hear your "I'm warped because of..." stories. Today, only funny ones allowed. Share a quick example of how a past experience has warped you. Looking forward to reading...

Fasting - the end of the story

As I write this, I'm sitting in my "ebenezer" location. I took that term from the song "Come thou fount", at least I think that's the name of it. Here's pretty cool version of the song by David Crowder. While searching on youtube, I noticed Michael Bolton has a version of this song as well. I chose Crowder. When in doubt, go with the guy that doesn't have a balding mullet. "Ebenezer" is a reference to the story in 1st Samuel 7: 12 and it means something like "God helped us". While I was sitting in this seat (at Starbucks by the way), God answered two prayers I had and I'll tell you about the 1st prayer today. I'll probably write about the 2nd prayer sometime next week when the timing is a bit better.

I know God answers prayers, but it's not always a "burning bush" moment so to speak. I mean, when Moses saw a burning bush and heard the voice of God, he got a pretty black and white answer. I have had some major and tough decisions to make and after a period of prayer in which God didn't give me a yes or no answer, I have spent some time yelling at him. You know, out of a selfish frustration. Anyone else ever yell at God?

To answer us, sometimes I think God says, "You decide! I gave you free will!" A lot of times, we pray prayers that are already answered in Scripture. "God, should I help this elderly, 90lb. lady who has a flat tire on the side of the road in a heavy rain storm?" If I were God, I would answer sounding like Ed Rooney from Ferris Buehlers Day Off, "Read the Bible 'you pinhead'. Love your neighbor as yourself! Come on." In other words, God gave us free will so we can decide. Many times, He has already spoken in His Word and we just need to pickup the Bible and read it. There's a great book about God's Will I read recently by Kevin DeYoung called Just Do Something. Check it out if you want. It's a good, quick read.

Anyway, I say all that because this prayer I prayed to God was something I wanted a very clear answer on.

Karrie and I have been talking about church planting for quite some time, and are now really feeling called to do it. I would say our conversations started up about 2 years ago and have progessively been more serious. I recently resigned from my Student Ministry position at Flatirons Community Church and within a week, Karrie and I knew our days of student ministry were over. Not because we don't love student ministry, but because we had this inner gut feeling it was time to explore church planting. So we began praying. And we asked God, over and over, for a "burning bush" moment. I wanted this church plant to be of God and not some selfish desire I had. I needed Him to speak to me with a yes or no answer.

That is what led me to explore fasting. I fasted because my biggest idol is food. I love food. I have relied more on food than I have on God many times. Meaning, when I have a rough day, the first thing I usually reach for is not Scripture, or time with God. I reach for cookies, or the Taco Bell drive-thru, or something else with chocolate in it. For at least one day, I wanted God to have my full attention and dependence. I told God, "I would love for you to answer my prayer today. But more than anything, I want you to know I love you so much, more than food, money, etc. and for at least today, I want you to actually see me live those words." So for about 23 and 1/2 hours I loved God more than food.

Here's the cool part. He answered my prayers and He showed me how He was going to do it before it even happened. My 1st prayer was, "God, do you want me to plant a church?". I started my fast at about 10 pm on a Sunday night about 3 weeks ago. I planned on going to Starbucks for the entire day the next day to read my Bible, journal, and pray. That morning, while I was getting ready, God put a thought in my head. I felt the Holy Spirit telling me that someone I know would walk into Starbucks that day and answer both of my questions. So I spent the morning reading the book of Acts and 1st Timothy and writing prayers down to God.

At about Noon, a guy named Zach walked into Starbucks. I knew Zach when he was a student at Mooresville High School, where I taught for 3 years. Zach is awesome. The best way to describe Zach is a surfer dude who has somehow been born and raised in the Midwest. He uses words like, "chillin" and "trippin" a lot and starts every sentence with "Dude" and ends every sentence with "man" or "bro". He walks in and sees me and immediately yells (not exaggerating...yells", "Dude, Aaron what's up man!"

After a while, Zach sits down with me and asks, "Dude, you thinkin' bout plantin' a church bro?". And I said "Yeah". I had not seen Zach in over 5 years, and that's the first question he asked me. And then he says, "Dude, you should!" And for the next hour or so, Zach did most of the talking but I truly believe it was the Holy Spirit working through him. He talked passionately about a need in our culture for this church. I was just shocked. God NEVER ceases to amaze me. I kept thinking about this quote I heard from a guy named Rich Mullins. He said, "God spoke to Balaam through an ass and he's been speaking through asses every since." Zach's not an ass. It's just that God can speak through anyone and it's usually in unexpected ways.

God blew me away and now Karrie and I are on our mission. We are going to plant a church. We are under assessment with a great church planting organization called Stadia and so far it's going really well. I am interviewing with two churches who want to plant and honestly, we truly hope it's one of these two. But if it's not, we will continue to pursue God's call on us.

That's where we are at. It's a little scary and very exciting at the same time. We know it's going to be REALLY hard. But God has given me a vision and that's a peaceful place to be, no matter what craziness is going on around us. There is such freedom in handing our lives to Jesus.

I have fallen in love with Jesus's church and I can't wait to start our mission and this vision He has layed on my heart.

Fasting

Experiencing something for the very first time is almost always a memorable thing. It's like the Foreigner song, "Feels like the First Time" which you can listen to here and then thank me for that song being stuck in your head the rest of the day. Go back in time with me. Remember your first:

Kiss?

Day you had your license?

Wedding Day?

Birth of 1st child?

1st roller coaster ride?

Sometimes "1st time experiences" are painful/things you wish you could forget: Maybe something like:

Divorce?

Loss of job?

A death of a loved one?

Watching the Sex and the City movie (had to throw a joke in there, was getting sad.)

Recently, my aunt was telling me about this book she read on Fasting. Fasting is a spiritual discipline that is discussed throughout the Bible and it means to go without food for a certain amount of time. I've always been somewhat of a pig when it comes to food. I won't lie, I can put it away with the best of them. In college, I would buy the Pillsbury packages of Break n' Bake cookies (24 cookies choc. chip cookies in a package) and would bake the entire tray of cookies and proceed to eat them all in one sitting. I love food and there is no doubt I truly struggle with gluttony. Food is more than a drug to me, sometimes it's a god. In a bad mood? How about some chips and salsa? Bored? How about rooting through the fridge or pantry to munch on something? Watching a movie? Gotta have popcorn. Going to a baseball game? Gotta have some peanuts and hot dogs. I have done all of those things just in this past week.

So before I continue on with the "Fasting" topic, I need to update you really quick on something. Karrie and I moved back to Indiana about 7 weeks ago. We spent the first month just relaxing and enjoying our family, kids, and each other. It was an incredible time of recovery after a long period of stress. However, we have been chomping at the bit for our next mission in ministry. There's something that has been on our hearts for a couple of years now and we had not spent a ton of time in prayer about it. But in the past 9 months or so, it's been fresh on our minds and just in the past 2 months, we have really been thinking and praying heavily about it. I'll get into more details later about all this, but the main point is we really needed a "burning bush" moment, a clear answer from God on this thing. I'm sure many of you are in the midst or have had similar times with God.

So back to Fasting, this book my aunt recommended is written by this charismatic Pentecostal dude. So immediately, I'm turned off. Like every TV preacher I know, his picture is on every side of the book. He's even got a picture on the side of the book jacket of him with this cheesy serious look on his face staring away from the camera, off into the distance, as if he sees a blonde haired, blue eyed, white robed Jesus walking towards him. But since I'm a recovering cynic (great article in Relevant magazine about Satire vs. Cynicism that every struggling cynic should read), I knew I had to get past my own arrogance and judgment and check this book out. The reason? Like any selfish Christian, sometimes, I would love for God to be more of a "genie in a bottle" than sovereign and discerning. Anyone else?

So in chapter 1 of the book, this guy cites Matthew 6 and Jesus says, "When you pray...when you give...when you fast." The author points out Jesus's focus is on "when", not "if". Christians are expected to do all of those, after all, Jesus did them all. I read that and I'm like, "Well, I give. I pray. But I've never fasted." Not once! Why? Because I'm selfish and I love food. My next stream of thought looked something like this, "Giving? That's easy, it's just a one-time setup of automatic withdrawal. Praying? I can give up some minutes each day to talk to God. Fasting? I love food too much. It's not convenient. I need food." And the excuses kept coming. I know that stream of thought isn't very holy or anything, but that's pretty much what popped into my head. We do that don't we? We have a checklist in our heads that we could run down to mentally defend ourselves. It makes us feel better about ourselves. But that's another topic for some other time.

Here I am, really craving for an answer to this prayer Karrie and I had been praying. There are two questions we have been asking God that required two seperate answers. And after reading what Jesus said in Matthew 6, I thought, "Wow, I need to fast." And it's important I clarify, I didn't want to fast because I thought it was some sort of trick to get God to answer my prayer. Yes, I was hoping He would answer, of course, but it wasn't the main motivation. For me, the motivation for fasting was because Jesus expected me to do it as a leader. I mean, I've given a message on fasting before and I've never done it. How hypocritical is that? If I want to be a Godly leader and disciple, I need to let the Word of God mold me and shape me. I read that from Matthew 6 and couldn't get away from it. It's not like I could pretend I didn't read it. It was like getting caught in a lie. Sometimes, you just have to own up to it and make a change.

So I planned to fast for one full day, at least 24 hours. I did it. Survived without gnawing on my own arm or anything. And God showed up in a crazy way that day. It was a "burning bush" moment for me. And I'll finish the story tomorrow.