The Cost of Discipleship

"I'll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too I may not have a lot to give but what I got I'll give to you I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love "

-Can't Buy Me Love, The Beatles

I have that it is increasing true in life that the best things, the things that matter the most are both free and priceless (Sam Cooke sings about this). We can have all the money, material possessions, and all that goes with it and have a life that is empty and devoid of meaning. Love, happiness, beauty, faith, hope, and joy are the things that matter in life and they cannot be bought, sold, or reproduced.

As a person of faith I believe that not only are the best things in life free, they are gifts from God. It is only through God's amazing love and grace that we can experience the best of life. It is only through God that our life has meaning and purpose. It is only through God that we have the ultimate gift: the gift of salvation. Eternal life and the promise of heaven is a free gift of God's grace given through Jesus Christ. The love of God is free and unconditional and it makes all the difference.

We have been given the gift of life and the promise of eternal life freely from God. But if we want to live life as God intends for us, we must become transformed and live life for God. Discipleship is the human response to God's love and grace. To be a disciple means being in an active relationship with God; it means putting God first by following Jesus Christ. If salvation is a free gift of grace, then discipleship is a labor of love which requires work and effort. Like any relationship, our relationship with God requires time, effort, and energy and comes with a cost.

"Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 16:24-25

As Jesus prepared his disciples to be his followers and eventually become leaders, he wanted to clearly articulate the difficult and sacrificial life following God entails. Jesus tells them and us, that the life of faith is not easy and calls us to deny ourselves in serving the Lord. Self-denial means we no longer put ourselves first, but put God's mission first. In extreme cases throughout history this verse has become literally true as Christians gave their life for their faith. While not many of us we called to be martyrs, we are all called to a life of discipleship.

So what are willing to sacrifice for God? What does self-denial look like in your life? Do you sacrifice time to serve the Lord? Do you sacrifice treasure for God's mission? Are you giving your life to the Lord or are you keeping it for yourself?

These are deep, powerful questions which call us to examine our life, our choices, and our values. Being a faithful follower of Jesus is not easy. Living a life of self-denial is both difficult and counter-cultural; people may not understand, you may lose friends. Becoming a disciple means becoming more and more like Jesus, who gave his whole self for the world. We all have a long way to go, we all have room to grow.

The good news is that our relationship with God is secure through Jesus Christ. We have the free gift of God's grace which makes all the difference. We have a choice how to respond to the gift and while a life of discipleship requires sacrifice and self-denial, it comes with the fruits of the spirit and the presence of God.

As a disciple of Jesus who is on the way and learning more and more what it means to sacrifice for God, I can testify that the more I give to God the blessed I become. As my faith grows and my relationship with the Lord deepens, I have more peace, joy, patience, hope and love. I am a better person and have a growing sense of purpose as I serve the Lord and God's people. I pray the Lord continues to be presence in your life and you find encouragement to grow your faith in a life of discipleship.

Outpouring of the Spirit

In times like these it is easy to become overwhelmed with anxiety and worry. We can get caught up in the day-to-day stresses of life and the uncertain economy that we forget althogether God's abundant blessings and presence in our lives. Perhaps like me, you have also noticed a pattern in life as well. In my experience, there are times when everything seems to fall apart, while other times everything seems to come together positively. The old cliche "when it rains it pours" comes to mind, and can be taken either positively or negatively.

In studying the book of Acts in recent days, I have seen this pattern scripturally. Very often, when there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit (positive) it is soon followed by an attack from Satan(negative). This is a pattern found in Acts and elsewhere in scripture, but my lived experience in faith also fits this pattern. Times of blessing and deep connection to God are followed by times of internal and external attacks which threaten our faith and work for Christ.

As the Christian church began through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostles shared with all who were gathered the Good News of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. When Peter proclaimed the gospel that day, through the power of the Holy Spirit, over 3,000 people were baptized and came to faith. This new community of believers gathered together and "devoted themselves to the apostles; teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (Acts 2:42) On two occassions (2:44, 4:32) the community was said to have had all things in common and were of "one heart and soul." This is a tremendous example of Christian unity and community made possible through the outpouring of the spirit.

It doesn't take long however for Satan to attack the nascent Christian movement. Soon after the community began sharing all things together and forsakening private land ownership, two of the members go their own way, succumbing to the temptation of greed.

But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles' feet. "Ananias," Peter asked, "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!" Acts 5:1-4

Ananias and Sapphira were not required to sell the property and share it with the community, so it isn't that they owned property that was the issue. The issue was their deception. They purported themselves to be examples of generosity for the community when in reality, they only wanted to be seen as generous by others. Peter asks Ananias why Satan has filled his heart, how has he allowed himself to be so easily tempted away from God. The attack of Satan comes soon after a moment of great unity and genuine genorsity within the community of faith.

This is an ongoing pattern in Acts and is one I have seen in my ministry as well. Satan does not want the church to be succesful, Satan does not want individuals to have a strong faith or serve Christ faithfully. Satan will use whatever trick possible to lure and tempt us away from our true purpose and identity. The greatest threats we face will be after we have been most faithful. Put another way, we will be most strongly attacked when we are most faithful to Christ.

The question then shifts to how can we protect or prepare ourselves for such attacks? For me, the knowledge that these attacks are constant and present, that these attacks come both from within and outside the faith community, gives great power. Peter is aware of and on the look-out for Satan. When he sees Satan at work in Ananias he names it and challenges it. We too must keep our eyes and ears opens for the attacks we will face. If we are faithful to God, it is not a matter of if we will be attacked, but when. I pray when the attacks come your way, you will rely upon the power and presence of the crucified and risen Christ.

Prepare the Soil

The transition from spring to summer each year, it seems to me, comes as a surprise. The temperatures seem to jump into the 80s, the trees are full of leaves after being barren the previous day, and our hearts and minds begin to dream of large quantities of vacation and beach time.

In many ways, spring blooms into summer in an exponential, almost explosive way. But as any farmer or gardener can attest, the harvest is the result of meticulous and patient planting and watering. What seems like explosive growth is often the visible result of long unnoticed and invisible work.

Jesus often spoke about matters of planting, farming, and soil. He used the imagery and examples that people would most connect with and relate to. We have many examples of Jesus discussing the Kingdom of God in this way: mustard seed, vineyard, laborers, etc. But the most well known of all Jesus' parables and sayings about farming, is the parable of the sower, seed, and soil.

⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸"Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." Mark 4:3-8

Like all parables, this can be interpreted in different ways depending on where the emphasis is placed. From the perspective of the sower, the parable might suggest that God's love is given to everyone everywhere always. From the perspective of the seed, the parable might suggest that God's word, while given to all and accessible to all, doesn't always take. There are some people who do not respond to the word positively and others who initially respond but lose interest over time. Finally, from the perspective of the soil, this parable might suggest that if we are good soil, God can cause exponential positive growth in our lives. This exponential growth not only makes our life closer to God, but gives us the ability, out of God's bountiful abudance of blessing, to bless others.

It is this final intepretation I find most intriguing. For me, the question becomes: how do I become good soil? How can I keep from becoming rocky, thorny, or shallow? What must I do to prepare myself for exponential spiritual growth?

Our farming analogy is quite helpful in trying to understand how to become good soil. Farmers and gardeners spend a great deal of time cultivating and caring for the soil; tilling, fertilizing, and watering. Successful planters do a lot of prep work to ensure a bountiful harvest. So it is with our spiritual lives. We too must take time to cultivate our relationship with Christ. We must spend time in prayer, time in scripture, time in worship, and time with fellow Christians. We need to work on our relationship with God, we must put in effort and energy, we must be disciplined and focused, if we want expontential spiritual growth.

I pray that God's seed of love, grace, and mercy continue to be sowed generously in your life, and that God might prepare your heart to be good soil, producing a bountiful harvest of love in the world, AMEN.

Calming our Fears and Sending us Out

Read: John 20:19-23

After Jesus' death on the cross the disciples spent a considerable amount of time figuring out what it all meant. So much had taken place over such a short amount of time: Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, Jesus' death, and the empty tomb. On the first Easter Sunday, the disciples gathered in a locked room and were consumed with uncertainty, doubt, and fear. They had no idea what the future held, they had trouble understanding what Jesus' death meant, and even more trouble understanding the empty tomb.

In the midst of their doubt and fear, the risen Jesus appears to the disciples.

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’"When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’" John 20:19-23

Jesus comes to the disciples and shares a word of God's peace. The risen Jesus comes to the disciples to quell their fears, address their doubts, and bring comfort to their hearts. Jesus comes to the disciples in a most powerful and profound way, and he does so that they might understand fully what his life, death, and resurrection is all about. After addressing their fears and doubts, Jesus shares a second word of peace with the disciples. The second "peace" also includes a sending: "as the Father has sent me, so I send you." The peace of Jesus then seems to have a dual purpose: to calm fears, and to send. Jesus wanted the disciples faith and confidence to be strong, but he also wanted them to go out into the world and share the message of forgiveness in Jesus' name.

The sending aspect of peace is vitally important in the life of individual Christians and the life of the church. Jesus comes to us, offers his unconditional love, mercy, and grace. He comes to give us true peace, comfort, and security. But like the disciples, we too are called to move past the locked rooms of our personal faith. Like the disciples we are called to move beyond the comfort and security of the four walls of our church. Like the disciples we are called to share God's love with the world.

The moment we stop looking outward, the moment we stop stepping out of our comfort zones, is the moment the church is no longer the church. When the church no longer reaches beyond itself, when individuals care only for themselves and their own, when we fail to love our neighbors, we are no longer the church of Christ. The story of the risen Christ tells us that we are sent out into the world in Jesus' name, for his sake. We are called to make a difference in the lives of those who are hurting, we are called to make a difference in the lives of people created and loved by God.

So may we receive the peace of the Lord in a new way, may we know with full confidence God's love for us. May our fears and doubts be removed by the peace of the Lord, and may we share God's peace with all we encounter.

Easter: Resurrection Glory

Read: John 20:1-18

Have you ever been so excited you could hardly contain yourself? So filled with joy that it just spilled out of you? At one time or another we have felt this way, but have we felt this way about our Lord? Today is a day of celebration and joy. Today is a day of excitement and energy. Today is the day we proclaim the amazing work God did through Jesus. Today is resurrection day, the day Jesus rose from the grace and conquered sin, death, and evil. Today is a day of celebration!

When Peter and the beloved disciple hear word from Mary Magdalene that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, they ran to see. They ran to see if it was true, they ran filled with fear, doubt, and hopeful expectation. They ran to see the Lord. Do you have this excitement about Jesus? Are you running to meet the Lord?

When the disciples and Mary see the tomb empty, their excitement turns to doubt and fear as they believe Jesus has been taken away. Mary was afraid someone had stolen Jesus' body and that he wouldn't receive a proper burial. The resurrected Jesus then appears to Mary to bring her peace and presence. After mistaking him to be a gardener (I love that), Mary realizes that Jesus had not been moved, he had been raised! Mary's excitement and joy over seeing Jesus is tremendous. Jesus then tells her: "do not hold onto me" because he had to ascend to heaven.

This revelation is vitally important for us, that in the joy and celebration of Easter we realize that we cannot hold onto Jesus. God is on the move in the world and expects us to be moving too. The best way to experience resurrection glory is see and feel presence of God in the world: in the people we meet, those we love and serve, and those who bring us comfort and peace. God is alive and working in the world, thanks be to God!

Holy Week: The Cross of Christ

Read: Romans 6:1-11

Imagine you are one of Jesus' original disciples. One day you are a fisherman learning your trade from your father, the next you are following a most unusual rabbi. For three years you traveled with a group of disciples learning from the rabbi. Jesus was sharing wondrous things about the kingdom of God, healing people of all sorts of maladies, feeding the masses, and transforming lives. At first you had no idea why he picked you, but after awhile you even start helping Jesus perform miracles. At first you weren't sure who Jesus was, but after awhile you and others become convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, the long awaited and promised Messiah. The joy of knowing and following Jesus was tremendous, but just as everything was coming together Jesus was arrested, falsely tried, and crucified. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. What does it all mean?

For the disciples, and the early church, the cross of Christ was difficult to understand. Even though Jesus had predicted his death and resurrection numerous times, the disciples were shocked by his death. For many, Jesus' death on the cross meant he could not be the Messiah. After all, the Messiah was to be a military and political leader who liberated the Jewish people from the occupying forces and restored Jerusalem to the time of king David. And Jesus must not have been the Son of God, for God cannot die, and certainly not a humiliating death on the cross. For many the cross of Christ simply did not make sense.

For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles 1 Cor. 1:22-23

As the early church, and in particular Paul, tried to share the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection they found that many had difficulty understanding. This is just as true for us today as many people try to grasp the full meaning and depth of Jesus' amazing love and grace. As more and more people shared their personal experience of the crucified and risen Christ, as they shared what it meant personally to them, more people came to know the Lord. It was not through logic, or prophesy that people came to faith, it was through ordinary people living and sharing extraordinary lives that people saw the difference Jesus makes. As they began to understand that, through Jesus, we have received the ultimate gift of God's love and grace, that through Jesus we know have access to God, through Jesus we have salvation, they knew the promises of God were fulfilled.

The death and resurrection of Christ unlocks for us, and for the entire world, the fullness of God's love, grace, and mercy. Through Christ we have all we will ever need, and that is Good News indeed!

^67891011 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:5-11

Paul, for the early Christians and for us, makes sense of the cross of Christ and the resurrection. Paul is able to articulate how Jesus' death was not an invalidation of him as Messiah, but confirmation. Paul is able to articulate why Bad Friday is really Good Friday, praise be to God!