Blessed?

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression and exploitation of people
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
And turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

This poem is a Franciscan Benediction found in Phillip Yancey’s book Prayer. I read it and I start burning inside. My heart boils over as I experience a holy anger at the complacence in my own life and in the Christian community. There must be more. This can’t be it…

We seem to easily forget, but Jesus invites us all into uncomfortable places. He invites us into places of pain, suffering and anger. He invites us into frustration and He awakens our heart so that we may begin to feel what He feels for this world.

When this happens, we have a choice; to harden our hearts or to pursue Christ. We can either make it about us again, continuing to chug along with a meaningless self-centred existence, or we can turn off the TV, get off the couch, kick our apathy, and start trying to do something, anything, that will bring about change.

It is in these moments that the baggage that we hold so tightly to and our desires for fame and fortune fade into obscurity. All of a sudden our future, our time, our talents, must be used to make a difference in this world. In one sense we are ruined, on another we have never being more alive.

So I encourage you to re-read the benediction and to make it a prayer. A personal moment with you and God, where you invite Him to bless you with discomfort, anger, tears, and foolishness to believe you can make a difference. That is, not to build our own little empire, but to build the Kingdom of God. Not to build our fame, but to build His.

And be warned, it is a wonderfully dangerous prayer to pray.

DEEP?

My daughter is ten months old…and I am confident that within the next year or so that we will not have to feed her…a part of her growing up and maturing is her being able to feed herself…and if she doesn’t learn to do that then we will have problems. One day…I am confident...she will even feed others!

I’ve heard it…you have too…”Christians” saying, “I just want to be fed!” or “I’m just not being fed” or “I need something deeper”. It blows my mind! This would be equal to you and I going to an all you can eat restaurant and crying because no one would bring us any food. Food is all around in this environment…but if the person is lazy and self centered, wanting to be waited on hand and foot, then they could possibly starve to death when food is merely a few feet away.

Today as Christians we have WAY more information than we could ever apply. However, I think many people use “going deep” or “lack of nourishment” as an excuse as to not actually apply any of the knowledge they claim to be soaking up.

Deep is not what you know–but rather what you do.

DEEP is the college student who refused to give up on her friend, kept inviting her to church, gave her a Bible, was available to her to talk and ask questions…and as a result her friend received Christ.
DEEP are the parents who are watching a child going down a path that is destructive and is breaking their hearts, yet they claim and believe that God is in control.
DEEP is the guy in his 20’s who was diagnosed with cancer and only given a few months to live…and through it all his love for Jesus grew stronger and he told everyone how good God was…right up until the last minute of his life.
DEEP is the dad who is faithful day in and day out for his family. He cares for them, points them to Jesus, and trusts God.

I could go on and on…but DEEP is NOT knowing a lot of information, but rather being able to apply what you do know to your everyday life…and at the end of the day the name of Jesus is lifted up…no matter what!

I just want people to know Christ. I want people to see Scriptures NOT as a textbook–but rather as a letter from God that communicates who Jesus is and what He has done. I want to see people come to Christ. I want to see families healed. I want to see the poor served. I want to see the excluded included. I want to see people get out of debt. I want to see people discover their spiritual gift. I want to see people find God’s purpose. I want to see Jesus Christ lifted up!

Deep is not merely knowing information…because…judging by that standard Satan is actually deeper than most Christians…he KNOWS Scripture, but doesn’t apply it–which is dangerously similar to those in the camp of wanting to know more but not do anything…

13 years ago today...God called me to preach. I had grown up in church. I knew the "stuff". Trust me when I say, I have learned...DEEP is Abide, Apply, and Do!

Just a thought…