Mike’s 3 Cents

subtle penance

Mar 5, 2010 2 Comments

most of us actually prefer punishment. we prefer a bit of penance. a gentle self-flogging actually feels good in some twisted sort of way. to fail and not have to bear the consequences feels cheap…weak. it feels out of balance – like we owe somebody something. i slap you; you slap me and we’re all square. i say an unkind word to my spouse; i vacuum the house…all square. i promise God I’ll have a quiet time every day this week…i fail…so i spend 3 hours on Friday making up all the reading…all square. AND, i feel better…about me. that’s law. an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But that’s not where Jesus lives. If we want to follow Jesus, we have to live where he lives.

we need to humbly embrace grace. Jesus says, “I bear/ed the burden for your failure…your sin…so you don’t have to. you can’t do enough anyway. when (not if) you fail, come to Jesus. The alternative is penance. You can’t do both. We say, “Jesus, i hope you love me now…i beat myself for my failures, issues and sins.”  To which you might imagine Jesus saying (for the sake of this metaphor), “Oh, well then, you don’t need me. You took care of it yourself.”

But if we choose Jesus/grace over penance, I feel indebted to him…like I owe him. Right!  But we want to feel “all-square.” Sure we do. Especially if you want Jesus to love you because your awesome, instead of Jesus loving you because…well, because…he loves you.

Beware of practicing subtle penance, it subtly leads you away from Jesus. Have you fallen behind in your 40 Days agenda…or in anything? So? Remember, we’re pursuing Jesus, not a successful execution of our 40 Days plan. The plan is to meet with Him…where HE lives. Thank Jesus for his love and grace in your life…and just pick up where you left off. And enjoy him in the rich moments of grace and faith.

confess what?

Mar 2, 2010 4 Comments

First, an administrative note: if you’re following along the Old Testament readings during our Inward Journey you’ll discover both Joshua and Job lack a chapter reference. Use Joshua 24 and Job 42. Otherwise plan a little extra quite time to read those entire books!

Back to confession. This weeks message Closing the Distance engaged the discipline of confession. In short, we talked about how a lack of forgiveness in our life impedes our relationship with God and others – in potentially very significant ways. It’s worth a listen if you didn’t catch it. One of the questions that arises is, “What are the sorts of things for which I need to confess and seek (or offer) forgiveness?” It’s very difficult to answer this for another person. But if, as we have suggested, we suffer from having redefined sin (as not sin) and from a lack of awareness (ignored or forgotten), how do we proceed??  Well, herein lies a central rationale for the Inward Journey…the point of many of the spiritual disciplines we hope to introduce…  Come near to God, and he will come near to you (James 4:8). The Spirit of God is our counselor, comforter, guide and the convictions within our soul. When we earnestly draw nearer to God, he is gracious (yes, gracious) to show us the error in our way, the blockades in our life, the sin we need to deal with, the forgiveness we’ve failed to receive…in the order and time and magnitude that is best for you. As you read your devotional book…listen. As you read scripture…listen. As you pray…listen. He speaks. You’ll hear and know what to do. And then, again, you will need the Spirit…to strengthen you for the task. Never fear,  “…I am with you always…(Matt 28:20),” in the hearing and the doing. What’s Jesus saying to you today? What’s he compelling you to do?

anybody else read Leviticus today?

Feb 26, 2010 Leave a comment

Leviticus 19. Yikes, right? Can’t cut my skin or the hair on the side of my head or tattoo my skin. Gulp.What’s God saying? Well, what WAS he saying when he said it? Essentially, he was saying, “Don’t practice the sorts of things that align you with other gods. Don’t cut your hair like the guys who worship a pagan god by shaping their heads to resemble the celestial globe!”  Don’t cut yourself and tattoo yourself – it associates you with those that think it pacifies the gods of the dead.” God is making practical his commandments from Exodus 20 and Lev 19 namely, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Remember when Jesus healed (worked) on the Sabbath? His explanation (paraphrased by me) was, “Hey, the point is to honor God. Is it honoring to God to let a man suffer on the Sabbath, if you can honor God by helping?” God’s direction doesn’t exist just to give us rules to live by. Godly practices and laws are rooted in meaning. When our practices betray God and honor a false god – whatever it is – it should be stopped. Not stopped so I can say, “Wow, look at me I stop stuff!” But instead to say, “God deserves my full devotion, I want to do nothing that dishonors him. Nor will i do anything that honors or is perceived to honor a false god.” What “marks” your life as one that pays honor to Jesus? What “marks” it otherwise?