School Is In Session

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!” (John 15:11, NLT)

This time of year always spurs nostalgia for me. I am one of those “wierdos” who really loved school, grammar school, high school, college, graduate school—all of it. I loved the challenge of learning; I loved the smell of books; I loved recess; I loved hanging out and talking about stuff with my classmates and instructors. Every fall when my children go back to school, I deal with the green-eyed monster. I want to go too! One of my dreams is to attain a doctorate so I may trick someone to pay me to go back to school. That would be the ultimate!

One of the great joys of living in America is that even if I can’t do exactly what I want to do, I can at least live vicariously. I teach Junior Achievement at the elementary school. I have an extensive personal library. I can go and play with kids from the Christian Education Centerwhile they are taking their daily break from the classroom. It’s not being back in school, but it is close.

I have lately been challenged to rethink my outlook towards heaven. Several of the books I have recently read (reviews soon to come) remind me that because of Christ this life is a glimpse into eternity. For me school was mostly a positive experience, so I long to repeat the joys of yesterday. What I am called to, however, is a yearning for the completion of present joys, things that are placed in my life to entice me to live with eternity in mind.

When a child’s face brightens when he sees me and he runs to give me a hug: joy. When a favorite meal is placed before me: joy. When a laborious task stands completed: joy. When a sunrise is resplendent in color: joy. When a friend comes alongside to help: joy. When the ocean wave crashes at my feet: joy. When the first spoonful of homemade ice cream is shared: joy. When I witness someone commit themselves to being a life-long follower of Jesus: joy!

All these joys and far more are but a taste of the JOY in store for those who are loved by Christ and indwelled by his Spirit. I am trying to allow God to reorient my mind to not only celebrate the joys in this life, past and present, but to see each joy as a little indication, a short preview, of the uninterrupted bliss that is to be heaven.

Thanks be to God for the foretaste of joy!

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One Duty

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Robert Franklin

So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? “You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. “For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” (John 13:12-17, NASB95)

This passage is one of my favorites in all the gospel accounts. John, who was intent on portraying Jesus as God in the flesh, captures this moment of extreme humiliation of the Christ. Yes, further degradation was very soon to come, but the followers of Jesus had only this present experience to ponder and were unaware of the impending tumult. The Teacher performed the service none of them would stoop to do. Stripped to his “underwear” Jesus cleaned the feet of the fishermen, of the tax collector, of the betrayer.

God’s commitment to service of the unworthy cannot and should not ever be ignored, indeed this is the picture painted of the Sovereign of Israel in the Jewish Testament as well (see especially Ezekiel 16).

As much as the humility of the Savior enthralls my heart, it is what Jesus does after the feet of the disciples have been attended to that is unbelievable. Jesus puts his clothes back on and teaches the twelve as their Master. The dichotomy of experience surely must have caused the ones who experienced this first hand to suffer some sort of mental whiplash: Master of slave; servant to slaves; Teacher of slaves (and now of friends, see John 15.15).

Main Street is considering our fourth purpose for existence this upcoming Sunday: to serve our community and world in Jesus’ name. In our service-driven culture, the idea of being a servant rather than the one served is nearly foreign to us. In our homes we expect someone else to clean up after us, to feed us, to take care of the yard. At our workplaces we walk by full trash cans and dirty coffee pots because that is “someone else’s job.” At our churches we silently thank the faithful few for doing enough so that we don’t have to do anything at all except show up and enjoy the show.

Jesus says to all his disciples, “Be like me!” It is not an option, it is not nice idea like “pay it forward.” It is an obligation, the one duty of the follower of Jesus, no exceptions.

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Moving Mountains

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Robert Franklin

…For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20, ESV)

The home of my childhood years faced east toward the Cascade mountain range. If I stood tiptoed on the ancient, but tall, baseboard in my room I could just get my chin on the windowsill and watch the sun rise over Mount Hood. We were pretty poor and a trip to those snow-covered slopes was out of the question, even if they were only a short forty-five minute drive away. When the wind blew, which it most often did, the mountain was close enough that the discerning nose could detect the scent of pine trees and snow. It was wonderful, but too distant for my purposes.

Sunrise Over Mt Hood 

I heard the preacher read about the faith of the mustard seed. He went on for some time about how small the mustard seed was and how Jesus promised that if we had just that amount of faith, then we could move mountains. Across the street stood Gresham High School, its recreational facilities fully visible from my front porch. The same window that afforded the beauties of Mt. Hood also served as a birds-eye view of Thursday and Friday night football games. I liked football just fine, my brothers and I played regularly in the side yard, but I really wanted to play in the snow. I figured that I could muster mustard seed faith and that the space of the football field and its adjoining parking facilities would serve quite nicely as the new resting place for my beloved distant mountain.

I believed as hard as I could. I prayed for more belief. The mountain remained right where God placed it. I was confused for I was sure that I certainly had attained at least the minimum to get things started. I thought maybe it took a little time for the faith to take effect. I knew mountain moving must be a chore even for God, so I waited and believed and waited and believed. Mt. Hood remained a remote mock to the measure of my belief.

Mt. Hood’s steadfastness caused me to begin to doubt whether or not I had enough faith to even believe in God, Jesus or the Bible. I wrestled against what, in my heart, I knew to be absolute truth and what, in my head, seemed to fall short of adding up. I talked to some Christians I respected and they told me that faith was blind, that I just had to trust. Anger welled up inside me because many mornings I had squeezed my eyes shut so God could do whatever necessary to move the mountain without my peeking. I trusted God, or at least I thought I did. My quandary remained and doubt grew. Maybe it was all just a big lie.

The grace I found in the midst of my struggle settled, once and for all, the issue of faith. Yes, I still have periods of serious doubt and I question the reality and of God, Jesus, and the truth of the Bible even though I now am charged with teaching others about God and Jesus and the truth of the Bible. Yet, in my continued quest to find the answer to why “my mountain” would not budge I came upon the consistent testimony of God’s revelation regarding faith: faith doesn’t equal belief. Jesus had not provided us a tip on how we could tap into the power of the cosmos and recreate our reality, Jesus had not given us the key to get God to do whatever we wanted, Jesus had simply, clearly and concisely confessed that when our heart is God’s heart and our mind is God’s mind not even a mountain is able to stand. When the follower of Jesus understands that a mountain must make way for God to accomplish his purposes on earth, that mountian will be moved. My selfish, howbeit perfectly reasonable, request to move the mountain closer so I could play had nothing to do with the kingdom of my Sovereign, just the kingdom of my own limited soul.

Faith: the appropriate response to God’s revelation of himself. In my life I have seen more than a few “mountains move” even though Mt. Hood is still where it was majestically perched three decades ago and I look forward to seeing many more mountains pick up their whitened skirts and make way for the coming work of God, for I do possess the faith of a mustard seed.

Mt Hood in Daylight

 

For more on the Cascade mountain range:  http://www.gonorthwest.com/Oregon/cascades/cascades_or.htm

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Faith and Doubt Pt. 2

Posted on August 12, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (James 2:17-18, ESV)

James’ faith definition is the subject of consternation and debate. I think much has been made over a simple matter. James is not saying that we may attain right standing with God by the sum of our works. James is clearly stating that faith is not faith if it does not act. What is the matter with that? I may believe an airplane is capable of transporting people and freight through the air from one place to another with all my heart, but I have no faith until I put myself at risk by taking a seat and fastening the safety belt. I may believe that a chair is structurally sound and useful for supporting my body as I recline, but until I have placed my back parts at the mercy of the chair’s struggle against gravity, I have exercised no faith.

Christian faith states that God is God of me without exception. Christian faith states that because God is God I must obey his command and reflect his authority in my life. It is never a static thing and may not be reduced to “belief.” James tells us that faith is, by nature, dynamic. The movement of faith is applied in practical, everyday choices we make to place our own interests and desires in submission to God’s design and direction.

I come to know Jesus as savior by receiving him first as Lord of my heart. My faith is working by the transfer of authority. I follow Jesus by first learning what he expects of me, then doing as he commands. American’s still admit “they believe” but practice nearly no faith whatsoever, even in the church. What often is denoted as “faith” is self-serving belief. “If I just believe hard enough then my mom will get well,” “If I just believe correctly enough I will get a job,” “If I just believe purely enough my relationship with my spouse will be healed,” people think. Faith says, “I know God is the great physician and will heal my mom if that is best.” Faith says, “I know God provides for my every need, so whatever work I find is worthy of my efforts and I will be grateful.” Faith says, “God so loved me that he gave the riches of heaven to express that love, even to the point of death. That love is inside of me and I will pour myself out for the sake of love.”

Faith says…

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Faith and Doubt

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8, NASB95)

The relationship between faith and doubt has long been a fascination of mine. I flatly reject the whole notion of faith being equal to belief, in fact the longer I live the more repugnant the very idea of equality between faith and belief becomes. I know that those who hold to such a position are well-intentioned, yet I cannot escape the fact that faith equaling belief is violence to the Christian ideal and robs belief in Jesus Christ of any connection to reality.

Consider the encouragement at hand. I am perpetually short on wisdom, so I may choose to follow the instruction given to me by James and ask God to generously provide me with wisdom. Faith is required; in fact faith without doubt is required. How can I as a human being call upon a God whom I cannot see or touch or speak to face to face and ask this “invisible” God for the intangible commodity of wisdom and be completely without doubt so I may receive that which I ask for? For rational beings, I think this practically impossible. Here I am on my knees begging God and in order to have any reasonable expectation of an answer the thought, “Why am I speaking to the ceiling?” must never enter my brain. Sometimes that very thought does enter my brain, or perhaps my heart is conflicted and I am asking of God as a result of sheer will and not because I feel right about it. Is there any hope for me?

Yes, I believe there is! Faith is not equal to belief. Faith, in my opinion has never equaled belief. Faith is the appropriate response to God’s revelation of himself. God has revealed himself as generous. God has revealed himself as wise. God has revealed himself as the discerner of the thoughts and intents of my heart. God has revealed himself as seeking the best for this creation we refer to as “human.” If all these things are true then I may boldly approach this God and confidently ask him for wisdom knowing I cannot “hide” my unbelief from him. Without a doubt! (For more on this see 1 John 3.21-22)

Therefore the “for that man ought not to expect…” warning is a clear statement of logical progression. If I think God is revealed as pernicious or inconsistent or unwise, how can I come to him and expect anything at all? Make sense?! James is telling his readers that the character of God is not in question, so we who know him may come to God and receive wisdom from the one who created it in the first place. There is no other true source.

If I chose to reject outright God’s revelation of himself, then I am “cast to the wind and waves” as is the case in our culture today. We have lost God and therefore have lost firm footing regarding anything. Our character is constantly changing and our thoughts are in continual flux and we receive nothing from God. We substitute panic over, or desire for, this or the other thing in exchange for the substantial and sustaining wisdom from God.

May we always be confident in who God is, so we may receive what only God can give!

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One Destination

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Robert Franklin

“Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God… And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:1, 11-12, NASB95)

As a follower of Jesus Christ, I have responsibilities to fulfill. My “checklist” is not accomplished as a result of my own merit and tenacity, but rather as a response to the leadership and motivation of the Holy Spirit within me. My first responsibility is to worship the Most High God. He is worthy of my daily worship, in good times and in bad. My second responsibility is to lead people to a conversion experience with Jesus. In our current culture, “conversion” is a bad word and is assigned much of the same baggage as “terror.” I am not interested, nor shall I ever be interested, in “converting” a person to religious adherence. I am capable of doing such a thing, but such an act would be repulsive to me. I desire with my whole being, however, to see God transform the hearts of people who previously did not know him. In our natural state our hearts were cold and dead to God’s authority, but when God “converts” us we begin living for him and our hearts willingly yield to his direction. Witnessing this is pure joy!

Many people think that once a person becomes a follower of Jesus, then so long as they don’t do anything too horrible, that they are ok and not in need of becoming radical. The Scripture indicates otherwise. For the follower of Jesus, there must be following taking place. When Jesus walked on earth, he set the “followship” pace and his disciples, now referred to as Apostles, understood that Jesus expected us to behave like him (see You Expect Me to Do What? ).

This week at Main Street we will examine the call to maturity in Christ. Simply put, maturity is found in resembling the life, work, words and acts of the one we refer to as “Lord and Savior.” Maturity takes Jesus off the stained glass and makes him imminently dangerous to the living. Maturity considers every aspect of life and makes choices based upon God’s best for us and for others. Maturity is gained by obedient experiences, culminated by an abandon that can only be affected when the Christian really believes in heaven as his or her final and eternal destination. Maturity bears much “fruit” or more simply put, maturity’s outcome is evident by seeing people won to faith in Jesus and working to become just like him.

In September, October and November Main Street will be working through Scripture related to Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. For more information on Crazy Love click here (www.crazylovebook.com) or join us for one of our weekend worship services.

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