Empty Religion

"Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple.  He looked around at everything, but since it was already late, He went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.  Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to find out if it had any fruit.  When He reached it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.  Then He said to the tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And His disciples heard Him say it."  Mark 11:11-14

"In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.  Peter remembered and said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, look!  The fig tree you cursed has withered."  Mark 11:20-21

Jesus often warns us to beware of empty religion.  In the passage above, Jesus gives a living parable to His disciples about empty religion.  Jesus walked around the temple one day.  The next day He came to a fig tree that had the appearance of having fruit ahead of season but in fact had no fruit, so Jesus cursed the tree and it withered.

Jesus was demonstrating to His disciples what He saw in the temple.  He looked around at everything in the temple and it was just as prescribed in the Torah.  It had all the elements of religious life in it, but it was fruitless.  See, the leaders of the Jewish faith were plotting to kill Him.  The same people that did all the religious things in the temple were going to kill the living temple, the true tabernacle of God, Emanuel.  Also, notice that this episode comes directly after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  Jesus was welcomed with religious fervor by some of the same people that would want Him dead.  Some of those that shouted, "Hosanna!" would shout, "Crucify Him!" days later.

Empty religion is often better than no religion at all.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot.  I wish you were either one or the other!  So, because you are lukewarm... neither hot nor cold... I am about to spit you out of my mouth."  Revelation 3:15-16

Some of us are fig trees that look like we might have fruit, but are empty of produce.  Jesus cursed a tree like that.  Some of us are lukewarm.  Jesus spits lukewarm out.  Beware of empty religion.

Religion is a necessary part of the Christian life.  I'm not one that says Christianity is a relationship not a religion, though I understand that sentiment.  Religion is often simply the way we live out our faith.  So, if your religion is empty what does that say of the faith you're supposedly living out?

Are you bothered by this?  If so, I think that is a good thing.  Christ's stinging words hurt the pride of Pharisees and hurt the soul of followers.  "Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6.  Jesus loves you enough to sting you, to jolt you back to life like a defibrillator.

Is your religion empty?  Are you lukewarm?  If so, heed the warning of Jesus and respond.

"Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.  So be earnest, and repent.  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."  Revelation 3:19-20

Jesus loves you enough to rebuke and discipline you.  Be earnest and repent and open the door of your heart to make your empty religion full today.

A Mighty Fortress

Sundays during Lent I hope to write about some of the songs we sing during church services.  I hope to encourage you to think deeply about the songs we sing and further appreciate their meaning.

This year is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.  On Halloween 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door at Wittenberg and challenged the corrupt church of his day to reform.  He, however, was not met by repentance but by threats and violence.  On May 4, 1521 Luther was given shelter by Elector Fredrerick the Wise at die Wartburg (the Wartburg Castle) in Eisenach, Germany.  While hidden away in Wartburg Castle Martin Luther worked tirelessly to translate the Bible from Latin into the vernacular of the people so the Germans could read the Scriptures for themselves.

It is this man, Luther, who was sheltered in a castle who wrote one of the hymns we sang this morning, "A Mighty Fortress is our God" or in German, "Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott."  In this hymn Luther looked at his circumstances and saw the greater heavenly truths at play.

"A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing."
The mighty fortress was not Wartburg Castle; it was God Himself.

"For still our ancient foe, doth seek to work us woe.  His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate.  On earth is not his equal."
The powerful ancient foe was not the papist trying to kill him; it was Satan himself who has no earthly equal.

"Were not the right Man on our side, a Man of God's own choosing."
The right man was not Elector Frederick the Wise; it was Wisdom incarnate, Jesus Christ.  "Doth ask who that may be, Christ Jesus it is He; Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle."

See, while Martin Luther was protected in Wartburg Castle by the lord of the castle he was protected by the Lord of lords in the Lord Himself who is our strong fortress.

Later on in the hymn Luther writes, "The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him."

And still later, "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever."

Luther realized what we must realize in times of trouble.  Even when we have protection and provision in front of us, we must realize the greater fortress in which we can abide.  And even if the enemy seems to have won, he hasn't.  The body they may kill, but God's truth abideth still.  God will not lose!  He won't lose for Luther and He won't lose for you.

Be encourage by they hymn "A Mighty Fortress is our God" today.

                                          (my photo of Wartburg Castle)

                                          (my photo of Luther's room at Wartburg Castle)

                                          (my photo of Wartburg Castle from a side)

Embracing the Shame

I'm in Minneapolis today visiting my brother Patrick and covering the D-III NCAA Tournament.  My brother recently preached a sermon I want to share with you.  He entitled it "Embracing the Shame of Following Jesus."

Please take time to listen to this today.

Grieving With Hope

Last Sunday my pastor gave a great sermon on Habakkuk chapter 3 and I encourage you listen to it.  Click here and listen to the February 26th sermon.  Also, I encourage you to watch the video below which is a great story about a family living Habakkuk chapter 3.

"I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go to the heights." Habakkuk 3:16-19

Listen to Pastor Jim's sermon and watch the video below and be encouraged today.

You Must Lose Your Self

Sometimes in popular culture I feel as if the understanding is that the church says hard things but Jesus said easy, comforting things.  I'm midway done with the book of Mark after having just read Matthew and when I read what Jesus said I feel the popular sentiment couldn't be more wrong.  Jesus said hard things, very hard things.

As Jesus explains it, much of the process of becoming His follower involves losing yourself.  Christianity is very much about losing your perceived identity.

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.  What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?"  Matthew 16:24-26a

Being a follow of Jesus, a Christian, is to lose yourself.

Many times when Christians explain the Gospel we want to hide this truth.  We try to mask the cost of being a follower of Jesus.  We make Jesus into someone who said easy things to those wanting to follow Him, but He didn't.  We must tell people the cost of being a disciple of Jesus so they can count the cost.

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?"  Luke 14: 28

Jesus made the above statement to illustrate that people must count the cost of being a disciple.  We must not encourage people to come to Jesus blindly.  Just a few sentences later Jesus said:

"In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:33

The cost of discipleship is high, but it is more than worth it.  Consider Jesus' parable of the hidden treasure.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.  When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."  Matthew 13:44

Losing yourself for the sake of Jesus is worth it.  The cost of being a follower of Jesus is high in earthly standards, but it is a steal compared to what we receive from Jesus.

Imagine if you saw someone selling everything they owned.  Wouldn't you think they're a fool?  A man or woman selling everything: the car, the house, the bed, the stocks, grandma's china, the kitchen sink... everything.  We'd think this person is insane.  Now what if they sold all they had to get the riches of Bill Gates?  Now, they don't seem so crazy.  So, it is with the Gospel except that the riches of the Kingdom make Bill Gates a pauper in comparison.

The man in the parable of the hidden treasure was so enamored by the treasure that he went IN HIS JOY and sold all he had.  All he had must have seemed really special until he saw that treasure in the field.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliot

The Apostle Paul says it like this when talking about all of himself that he used to deem valuable:

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him"  Philippians 3:7-9a

So, why do some of us, though we do struggle to daily die to self, find the Gospel an incomparably great treasure and some not see it as worth losing their self for?

"The god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."  2 Corinthians 4:4

Those who haven't seen the Gospel as a gloriously rich possession aren't stupid.  They simply have been blinded and are unable to see it.  But God can change that.  One day I pray that those who don't see the worth of Jesus will have new glasses given to them so they can comprehend the infinite worth of the Gospel and unending love of Christ for them.

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."  2 Corinthians 4:6

So, walk alongside those who are counting the cost of discipleship.  Don't mislead them about what the costs are and always encourage them to see the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ.  And above all pray that they may have new glasses given to them by God to see the vibrant, abundant life giving, treasure that is the Gospel today.

(The below video illustrates this beautifully)

Lent Challenge 2017

Today is Ash Wednesday which marks the beginning of the season of Lent.  Lent is traditionally a season of fasting with 40 days of fasting and 6 Sundays leading up to Easter.

This year I will continue to do what I've done for Lent since 2011, I will write a blog post every day.  I do this because I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind (Romans 12:2).  Each year when I do this I find myself training my mind to look for God's presence and leading daily.  In order to daily write I must have something to write about and since I write almost exclusively about my Christian race I must have had some semblance of a cohesive thought about my God and/or my reaction to Him.

Most people fast during Lent and that is a great thing.  Fasting, whether from food or a food or some other pleasure, fixes our minds on God.  If you are one who will give something up for Lent beginning today I encourage you to do something that isn't simply self-improvement but rather that is worshipful.  When we worship we will experience self-improvement a.k.a. sanctification, but don't make self-improvement be the main goal of your Lenten fast; make knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8) and tasting and seeing that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) be your main goal.

So, keep me accountable during Lent.  I will try to stay faithful in the seventh year of this Lent Challenge.

Also, I hope that these daily writings might encourage you as well.  I won't pretend to write as helpful posts as you could find in a daily devotional, but I do hope that we can mutually encourage one another while it is still called Today (Hebrews 13:3).

Join me in tasting and seeing that the Lord is good this Lenten season beginning today.

I Hope My Son Enjoys Sports

My son is due May 22nd.

From the moment I found out that my child is a boy I've thought about what he'll be like.  I'll be honest, when I saw that penis on the ultrasound I immediately wondered whether I'll coach the little league team.  If I was having a girl I would have thought softball, but I'm having a boy.  I do wonder what my boy will be like.  I wonder if he'll enjoy music like me or art like his Uncle Mike.  I've wondered if he'll enjoy sports; I daydreamed about fighting to stay objective as I do play-by-play for my own boy.

I will love my son regardless of what his hobbies are, but I do hope he likes sports because of the mutual enjoyment and more importantly because of the lessons they can teach.

I was reading Hebrews 12 this week and the writer gives us a sports analogy... running the race.  Obviously by the title of this blog you know I that like this particular analogy.  I want to look at a few reasons and helps the author gives us to run the race.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."  Hebrews 12:1

If you've ever competed you know there's a certain high that comes from a good crowd.  Home field advantage can be the difference between winning and losing some nights.  The energy of a raucous crowd can fuel endurance and adrenaline.  The author of Hebrews says we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  These witnesses are hall of famers at that.  Those from chapter 11, the faith hall of fame, are surrounding us and cheering us on.

Notice also that the race has a fixed course.  Those of you that play sports know that the rules are important, that the boundaries matter.  A cross-country runner who doesn't follow the course is a guaranteed loser.  So, we must know the rules and run the course marked for us.

Solomon says in Proverbs:

"Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
keep your foot from evil."  Proverbs 4:25-27

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."  Hebrews 12:2

When I was in football we would occasionally have "captains runs".  During these runs the captains of the team would run and we all would follow in a grueling follow the leader.  The captains would take us across the field and into a wooded area most of the time.  We didn't always know where we were going, but we knew to follow the captains and we knew that we wouldn't go anywhere the captain didn't already go.  So it is with Jesus.  We set our eyes on Jesus and follow Him who blazes a path before us.  We set our eyes on Jesus whose course went through tough terrain yet He prevailed over it.  We know in this captains run that our Captain won't make it easy but He will make sure it's possible.

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."  Hebrews 12:11

Most athletes will agree that practices often suck.  When I was playing basketball I was not very good, but I loved it.  However, practices, especially the first few practices hurt.  Beau Zaruba was our head JV and assistant coach and he put us through tough conditioning.  It was painful.  But I can tell you that it produced endurance and peace.  When our JV team was down at the half I didn't worry because I knew we were in better shape and could come back.  Now we were not often the tallest or the most talented and we did lose games but we always felt we had a chance because of the painful discipline of practice.  I hated the training in practice, but I loved its results.  The writer of Hebrews agrees that painful discipline and training produces results that are always worth it.

"Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 'Make level paths for your feet,' so that the lame may not be disabled but rather healed."  Hebrews 12:12-13

On almost every team there is that freak.  There's that one guy that just keeps going.  When the conditioning becomes unbearable and you're ready to quit you look over and there's that guy at the line ready to run another sprint.  Whenever you see that guy you at first hate him just a bit, but then you strengthen your own feeble and weak knees and saunter over to the line to run again.  That guy, as much as you want to loathe him, makes you realize that it is humanly possible to keep going, that there is another gear to be hit.

In your Christian race do you run in a way that inspires others to keep going?  Do you run in a way that "the lame may not be disabled but rather healed"?  Do you run in a way that inspires those who are just about to quit to toe the line and get ready to go again?  Every team needs that person and so does every group of believers.

"See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son."  Hebrews 12:16

In sports if you want to win a championship you've got to think about the championship.  People would question the mental health of someone who gave up glory for anything less.

Consider the story of Barret Robbins.  Robbins was the starting center for the 2002-2003 Oakland Raiders.  Just before the 2003 Super Bowl he went missing.  It turns out that Robbins had went partying in Tijuana, Mexico the day before the Super Bowl and thus was left off the roster on the day of the big game.  Now, it turned out that Robbins was suffering from bipolar disorder.  Quickly after he gave up playing in a Super Bowl for a night of drinking people began to be worried about his mental health.

Esau was like Barret Robbins, only without the excuse.  Esau gave up his inheritance for one meal.  Don't be like Esau.  Don't give up your inheritance for anything: sex, money, fame, comfort, etc.  As runners in the race we must keep our eyes on the grand prize.

There is so much to learn from Hebrews 12 and as a sports fan I love that God teaches us here with so many sports metaphors.  Earlier I said that I hope my son enjoys sports, and I do, but what I really hope is that he enters the Christians race and runs with all endurance so that he receives "a kingdom that cannot be shaken."

I encourage you to read Hebrews 12 and run with perseverance the race marked out for you today.