I was reading this morning Matthew 15 and came across a well-known passage of a Canaanite woman whose daughter was oppressed by a demon. Being a Gentile, Jesus directly tells her, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs*.” Talk about Ouch! If it were me, and I was the one receiving such a message from Jesus, I probably would have turned around feeling defeated, demoralized, hurt, rejected, and even angry. For my human tendency would be to feel that I am owed my daughter’s healing—what is the difference between my daughter and I and the others Jesus has healed—I have the right to receive some of the blessings and healings he [Jesus] is dispensing towards Israel.

However, the woman responds, not in an act of pride, arrogance, and demand (like I probably would), but instead responds in an act of humility and faith. She tells Jesus, “Yes, Lord (you are right), yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” This woman, in her pithy response, displays great humility, faith, perspective, gratefulness, and insight. Agreeing with Jesus, she takes the position of the dog and in great perspective she tells him that she (like the dogs) will take whatever falls from his table. Believing in Jesus, she believes that whatever falls from his table would be enough to heal her daughter and satisfy the hungry cravings of a so-called dog. Humbling herself before Jesus, this woman is grateful for whatever good she gets. In right perspective, she knows she is at the mercy of Jesus, and he is her only hope.

This woman is a gentle reminder that great faith, according to Jesus, is accompanied by great humility, perspective, and gratefulness. This does not mean great faith is not bold and persistent, for we see those two characteristics in this woman; great faith remembers the object of the faith and the condition of the one who would receive such blessing from that object. Whatever it is that is in our life we are praying for, or in need for; let us remember the lesson of the Canaanite woman—great faith is accompanied by great humility, perspective, insight and gratefulness.

* Gentiles were referred to as dogs by the Jews.

I have been reading through Numbers and have experienced the insatiable people, Israel. However, I must confess that many times when I read about the wandering of Israel in the desert, I see a mirror image of my own life. I could try and be super-spiritual this morning and express how ungrateful and forgetful Israel was of God’s hand on their life and give a few pointers how we can avoid this danger. But, I will refrain. Thus, I will point out the log in my own eye as I read about the bi-polar spirituality of Israel.

I too have the proclivity to praise God when moments are good, especially when I get what I want, but quickly turn to being frustrated, not necessarily at God, but towards life and even others in my life (family). This frustration could be reacting in anger towards my children, dismissing them, not enjoying spending time with them or failing to enjoy the stage of their life; or the frustration may lead to refraining from giving and displaying [the] love my wife deserves. This frustration is nothing more than self-centeredness and an indictment of the frustration I have towards God because of the season of my life. So, in other words, I am not so much frustrated with those around me, as I am towards God for my life’s situation.

This is similar to the way Israel acted towards God. One minute they extolled him (after a victory or miracle), the next they were frustrated with him and their situation. The situation over the last six months have been very difficult on my wife and I. We had felt earlier this year that God was leading us to resign from the church we were serving, and began the process of discerning God’s new direction. These past six months have felt very much like a wilderness season—waiting on the place God is calling and leading us. In this season I have experienced an insatiable desire, very much like Israel. My devotional life and prayer life is healthy, and overall my family life is healthy; however, in my failure to trust God for the future, I find the desert season spurring frustration and discontent in my life—that unhealthily affects the ones I love.

Thus, what I can learn from Israel is two-fold. First, I must learn that the wilderness is just as much part of God’s plan as the place he has for me. In addition, I must learn that the wilderness is not the destination, but part of the journey. Therefore, the wilderness may make for a better learning environment about the protection, provision, and presence of God, even more so than the place he is taking us. In other words, in seasons of dryness our faith and relationship with God are pretty much all we have, and clinging to him in the wilderness season will leave us embracing him in the next season. Second, life is one big wilderness season, which the bible teaches is temporary. The wilderness seasons that happen within life also represent this greater reality. In addition, what God does with Israel represents and foreshadows this. If God does his work in us, in this life, utilizing victories, miracles, defeats, heartaches, losses and the affects of man’s sin, we will long (while in this wilderness) for the city of God, the holy land, a land of eternal rest. It is the author of Hebrews that paints this picture (Heb 4). Therefore, looking towards the future, both temporally and eternally, helps us live in proper perspective in the present. It helps us to live at peace with God knowing that he is directing and guiding us to where he would have us, as well as, helping us to live at peace with others, especially the ones we love. Now, on to applying this to my life.

This past weekend Joannie and I attended a church—a church that was a medium size, growing in a suburb of a major US city. By all accounts it seemed like a very healthy and effective church. However, I couldn’t help but notice the three large banners that waved from the tall walls in the foyer saying: Worship Jesus, Walk with Jesus, and Work for Jesus. While I love the alliteration and the easy language for memorization, I cannot help but nit-pick at the message it sends to people. The message it sends is that: Worship happens when we all get together, sing songs, and hear preaching. The second half of the message is that the rest of the week is spent walking with Jesus and working for Jesus. The subtle, alarming message, one that is prevalent throughout evangelical churches, is that worship is something we attend and participate in, while the rest of the week is spent doing Christian biblical things. This sublime message also leads to the bifurcation between the sacred and secular; we sacredly worship Jesus when we come to church, but we, during the secular work week, live for and work for Jesus.

Truthfully, all of life, every sphere falls under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and provides believers with the opportunity to worship Jesus through our family, vocation, recreation, hobbies, relationships, etc. In other words living, walking, working, serving, fellowshipping with/for/to Jesus is worship.

Some may dismiss what I am espousing as parsing words or nuancing semantics. But, I would argue that our words matter. Our words carry meaning. In addition, our words communicate and develop the thinking and mentality of people. Therefore, my prayer is that we, as evangelical believers, would begin to disciple, train, teach, and equip our people to understand that all of life, life in every sphere, is to fall under the Lordship of Jesus Christ in humble worship to him. Worship is simply ascribing the utmost worth to Jesus Christ as the supreme ruler, sustainer, L0rd, and God over “all” our life.

I was reading in Numbers this morning and came across the “unauthorized fire” Nadab and Abihu offered before the Lord. Quickly I was reminded of Cain’s offering before the Lord in Genesis 4, which the Lord rejected. In addition, I thought of Saul’s hasty and foolish offering he sacrificed to the Lord in 1 Samuel 13. In each of these situations what was offered to the Lord as an act of worship was rejected by the Lord. All four men failed to provide and give God what he desired and required. Or in Saul’s case, he felt he would perform the sacrifice that was reserved for someone else, namely Samuel. What do we learn from this? these men? We learn that we need to be very careful in our own life not to offer up anything to God or for God that he himself has not authorized or required. In other words, we must let God take the lead and dictate what we do, rather than taking it upon ourselves to give to God what we want to give him, what we want to do for him. 

Many in the church world today are overly-zealous to “do” for God. They give, serve, attend, pray, etc. What happens many times is that our “doing” for God, our sacrificing or worshipping him, turns out to be—us “doing” for ourselves. At the heart, these men (above) worshipped or sacrificed to God as a selfish act. They gave worshipfully to God out of a selfish, self-centered heart. No matter how right our actions or worship are, or look like on the outside, doing them for our own well-being and selfish ambition is unauthorized worship. 

Let me give an imperfect example, but one I think may make the point. Every parent wants good kids, well-behaved, non trouble-making, kids. Many times believing/Christian parents, in their parenting, make strides to make sure that their kids go to church, are moral, treat people nicely, and are obedient to those in authority. What happens [sometimes] is that our attempts, as parents, to raise our children “in the ways of the Lord,” neglect to make all our good actions as worship to and for the Lord; but rather for the protection of our reputation. In other words, many times the goal for good Christian, well-behaved kids, is not for the glory and worship of our great God and King, but for ourselves and household, and the benefactor is God. We should raise our children with the awareness their good actions and behaviors is not for their parent’s well-being, but for the glory and worship of God our Lord and Savior. That is authorized worship. 

Unauthorized worship is good, moral, and even godly behavior and actions that outwardly appear fine, but inwardly are done for wrong, impure, and unauthorized motives. Today, I am challenged that all the good I would do, the godly living I aspire to, is rooted not in a selfish, self-centered heart, but rooted in God’s glory and fame. I know when this happens my worship to him, that is performed in all spheres of life, will be a pleasing acceptable aroma in his nostrils. 

Friday is for Family:

As I sit in Starbucks this morning there is a lot going on in my family. Last night we had a blow out, so one of our cars is waiting on me to put the spare on—so I can go to the tire store and dish out some money to replace the tire. In addition, Joannie and I are preparing to go out of town for the weekend to talk with a church about the possibility of planting a church somewhere in the Chicagoland area. In light of going out of town there are things to do around the house like clean and straighten-up; coupled with having to pack the kids for the weekend to spend at Nani and Papi’s (grandparents). Did I mention that it is the Christmas season; the pressures of shopping, Christmas dinners, and family gatherings. I literally could add a few more things to the list this morning, but hopefully you get the point. Life, as you all know, is busy, hectic, face-paced, pressure-filled, intense, and sometimes frustrating, disturbing and troubling.

The question and challenge that always is at the forefront of family life is: how can I live out the gospel in my family amid the pressures, challenges, and busyness of life? The reason why I ask this question springs up from the desire to live a life that is pleasing to God the Father. However, I have to admit, I ask this question because there are many times I have problems in living the gospel out in my family amid the pressures, challenges, trials, and frantic nature of life. So here are some things that help me to think through this question of how to live out the gospel in my family when experiencing challenges, pressures, and busyness of life:

– Remember that Jesus and what Jesus has done and is doing in you, through the Spirit, is more important than anything else. You are his. You are his vessel. He defines you and controls you, not your challenge, situation, or busyness. The old hymn, “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” would be a good hymn to know. It simply expresses that Jesus is supremely better than anything we could possess, attain, or need.

– Seek to Surrender to Him, and be Possessed by him. Whatever possess you, will come out of you. If you are possessed by frustration, anxiety, bitterness, anger, hurt—those will come out. But, if you are possessed by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and a heart that is just grateful for who God has claimed and deemed you to be, that will come out.

– Remember that this life is temporary and fading. The Bible says that in this life we will have many troubles and trials, but rest assured that God has overcome the world. We are aliens and sojourners nomadically moving through this world to a much better perfect world. Jesus says that he is not of this world. One of these days, at his second coming, Jesus will consummate his kingdom. The consummated kingdom will be one restored that is perfect and undefiled where there will be no more pain, sorrow, suffering, grief, anxiety, or death. Experiencing the challenges and difficulties of this life induces a yearning for the eschatological (future) kingdom that we will one day inhabit.

– Remember that through trials and challenges God is shaping and conforming you more into the image of Christ. Trials, challenges, difficulties, and troubles are ways that God is conforming you into the image of Christ in order for him to display his glory to the world.

Hopefully these help when it comes to living out the gospel in our family as we all experience difficulties and challenges (whether small or great) in life.

A Culture of Judgment:

Yesterday, as I was working out, I watched a fascinating short video featuring Lauren Zalaznick, a TV executive, who outlined a study that tracked attitudes against TV ratings over the last fifty years. In her presentation, she argued that television reflects who we truly are, thereby labeling her talk, ‘The Conscience of Television.’ In other words, the most watched programs reveal something of who Americans are: what they want, what they crave, what makes them feel good, what they are interested in, what they love (worship), etc.

From 2000-present, reality tv has been on the rise. American Idol, (the new) Xfactor, The Voice, The Biggest Loser, Survivor, Jersey Shore, America’s Got Talent, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, Chopped, Hell’s Kitchen, etc are just some of the reality TV shows that people watch. Zalaznick, in her research, shows how the rise of reality TV correlates to the present conscience of judgment in people. In other words, reality TV reveals the conscience of Americans and their desire of and for judgment. In addition to reality TV, I would add the amount of shows focusing on crime and judgment; such as the CSIs, the Law and Orders, the NCISs, the Criminal Minds, 24, Miami Vice, etc. Also, I must mention one of my all-time favorite shows, LOST, which had one of the most bizarre twisted endings somehow depicting death and the afterlife.

This whole crave for judging and judgment reveals something much more profound than what we [like] observing on TV. It reflects a part of God’s image in the life of humanity. God, who is the ultimate Judge, judges mankind and creation on the laws, basis and structures that he has instituted. He decides who is good and who is bad. In the beginning, when God created everything, including humanity, he deemed and declared it good. Shortly, thereafter, his prized creation, humanity, rebelled against him and his laws.

God, in the beginning, judged his creation, and judged it good. He then judged what man had made of his creation and structures and judged it evil. Just like on most of the reality shows, if someone is not good and cannot hack it, they get the axe; axing is what they deserve if they are not good enough. The truth is that we all deserve God’s judgment. No one is good (Rom 3:10). All have sinned and come up short from the standards and laws of God (Rom 3:23).

The great news is that although we all have not lived up to the standards and commands of God, he provided a lifeline. He provided a way for him to look at us, and (once again) deem and declare his creation good. And that way was and is through Jesus. Jesus’ is the gospel (the Good News). Jesus took upon himself the judgment we deserve so that we do not get what was coming to us (2 Cor 5:21). The Gospel reveals two particular things to us: it reveals that our situation is worst than we think it is, and that it can be better than we ever imagined.

Our situation is worst than we think it is because we, every single one of us, is under the judgment and condemnation of a holy God. Simon Cowell and his judgment is not a smidgeon of the judgment God will give and has. That is the simple reality. However, in God’s great love and mercy, he sent his Son, perfect and unblemished, to redeem and pay for our coming judgement. He ransomed us (Mark 10:45). He promises those who believe in Christ for salvation, a reconciliation between us and God, eternal life. He promises us peace, mercy, grace, and forgiveness. In addition, he promises that while we may have many troubles here in this life, the next life will be met with glorious jubilation and joy.

So, while we may crave judgment today; know that we reflect a greater reality. A reality that has the cross-hairs of God ready to judge sinful humanity who have not lived up to his standards. However, he is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish (be judged), but that all will come to the knowledge of him through Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9). In summary, while Zalaznick is right, TV reveals our conscience—it reveals so much more—it reveals the reality that judgment is real.

(the link to Zalzanick’s talk is: http://www.ted.com/talks/lauren_zalaznick.html)