Questions Jesus Asked - Salt (1)

[Note: I want to pick up on a series I began in January 2007 called Questions Jesus Asked. I only made four posts back then, so, to get going again, I'm going to repost those posts and then continue the series /D]

As I begin this series of questions Jesus asked, I want to be clear that this does not make up the full teachings of Christ. However, I do think we can learn a lot from His questions & I’m really curious to see where this takes us.

I just started in Matthew – and the first questions Jesus asks is recorded in Matthew 5:13 where He asks – “What good is salt if it has lost its saltiness? Can you make it salty again?”

Okay, I could totally understand a, “Yeah, that’s helpful – what in the world is He talking about” thought to this question. And while I don’t want to make this a book – I think a little background would be real helpful.

A good starting point is to remember the culture and time frame in which Jesus was teaching – they did not have freezers and microwaves. They had not figured out how to stuff food with so many preservatives that their shelf life is longer than our average life span. So, one use for salt was to preserve foods. Part of what we can learn from this question is Jesus was talking to His followers saying, I want you to do good things and preserve goodness. I want you to be a positive influence on those around you.

Another use for salt was for cleaning. Have you ever rubbed salt in a wound? I don’t recommend it – but the truth is it will clean out a wound. So, another potential teaching here is – bring healing to those you come in contact with. While sometimes the truth stings a little, the cleansing is worth it and will bring healing – and that’s a good thing.

I’m sure there are more analogies we could make, but I’ll make just one more. Have you ever heard, “That guy or girl is worth their salt”? It’s kind of an old saying, but it came from the fact that soldiers use to be paid in salt. So, someone who was doing well was, “worth their salt.” Today, our society has changed, so a similar statement we may hear is, “That girl is worth her weight in gold.” Same idea. So, what could we learn from this aspect of being “salt”? I think its fair to say that Jesus would want His followers to make a positive difference. To have relationships that others say, “I’m glad you’re my friend. We don’t always see eye to eye, but your friendship is worth it.”

So, a couple of things from this first question that we can learn – Jesus wants us to be a positive influence, a healer, and be someone worth having a relationship with. Cool stuff! But if we really look at the way He asked the question – He’s saying if were not all of these things – what good are we?

I think I need to look at how I interact with those around me and make sure I’m “worth my salt.” How about you?

/D

Easter Reflection

What a great day! It’s Monday, the day after Easter, and I’ve been thinking about the time I got to spend with the church that gathered at our house yesterday. Many friends we don’t get to worship with every week were able to join us for Easter dinner, and we had a great time just sharing life together.

Dinner was awesome, followed by the Lord’s Supper, and then many of us stayed for a couple more hours just talking and catching up.

To me, this is an element of worship we often miss when we just come together in a large group for “Easter Service”. We miss the “church family” element. The personal time together, catching up on the things that really matter to the people we gather with for worship.

Shifting gears a bit, there’s a song I’ve heard often, but when I heard it on the radio Easter morning it really struck me. You can listen to it at this link. It’s Fee’s “It’s All Because of Jesus”. The resurrection of Jesus (His returning to life) is what has truly given me life! I hope you also have this “real life”!

/D

New House

So, we moved into a new house a couple of months ago. It’s weird how I’m always assuming the worst whenever I hear a strange sound. I want this place to be so awesome, but if I hear something, I immediately begin to fear that a pipe is leaking, or the siding is coming loose, or whatever. It’s like I cannot fully enjoy the place because I keep thinking something really bad is going to happen.

Do you ever feel this way about things?

I think we often approach our spiritual lives this way, too - especially when it’s all new to us. We keep thinking, “I want this to be really great,” but we also keep thinking we’re going to do something (or something is just going to happen) and mess the whole deal up. You know, it can’t really be this good – can it?

Unfortunately, when something does happen, we quickly revert back to the I-knew-it-was-too-good-to-be-true attitude. I want you to know that it’s actually the times when we blow it that can help strengthen our faith the most. Face it, if we were perfect we wouldn’t need God. It’s because we’re not perfect that makes what God offers sooo perfect. Our relationship with God is based on His unfailing love for us – not on how well we perform. In fact, the Bible clearly teaches that we cannot work our way into heaven (Ephesians 2:8-10) and we cannot work our way into a better relationship with God (Galatians 3:3). It’s already pegged the “awesome!” meter – and when we mess up – God’s love for us doesn’t change a bit.

I hope you’ll allow the tough times (whether you created them or not) to mature your relationship with God. Don’t worry, He’s not gonna pull a fast one on you and leave you hangin’.

/D

Poll Results - Who do you trust most?

Who do you trust most?

70% said - A Friend
30% said - A Parent
0% said - A Grown Child
0% said - A Church Leader

I did receive some scolding for not having "Spouse" as an option. [Get ready for the brownie points...here they come...] Since my spouse is my best friend, my answer was Friend. :-)

I'm not sure I can make an accurate inference from what people did not say, but I'm surprised "Church Leader" got 0%. What (if anyting) does that reveal?


/D

Church Structure

I'm currently doing a lot of study on "the church". Specifically, on church structure (or organization). I'm sorting and praying through a great deal of information on this topic and don't have any specific points to make just yet. The reason for this post is to get your input.

How do you feel about church structure (I'd also be interested to know your church background)?

What do you believe the Bible teaches about church structure (specific verses would be great)?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[Note: You can leave a comment without having a Blogger account. Simply use the "Anonymous" option in the comments section. Of course, you can still put your name directly into your comments if you like.]

/D

Theology of the Gas Pump

Why do so many gas stations strip out that little do-hickey that will let you pump gas without having to squeeze the handle the whole time? You know, that little metal piece that you can lock down that holds the handle up. I’m sure there’s some safety reason, but I always get annoyed when I have to stand there and squeeze the handle (see I’m just another lazy American :-0).

Anyway, yesterday I was getting gas and I just automatically reached down and pushed down that top metal piece down that will hold the handle in place. It “locked” and I let go of the pump. As I was waiting for the tank to fill I looked down and noticed that this pump had also been stripped of that bottom piece that is supposed to hold the handle up – yet, the top piece had in fact found a little notch in the plastic and was staying in place.

I don’t know why my brain goes to places like this, but my thought was – huh, that’s just like my life. So, many times I never even attempt things because they “look” like they won’t work. If I had looked at the pump handle I would have never even tried to see if the top piece would still hold the handle in place. I would have assumed it was another stripped pump and I would just have to stand there and hold the handle – without ever trying.

I do this in life, too. I allow the circumstances to keep me from even trying things sometimes. Now, I’m not encouraging reckless abandon and foolishness (okay, maybe I am). It’s just when it comes to doing things in this life, I think we often make assumptions about what will or won’t work and that keeps us just going along with the crowd. Sometimes, we just need to step out and try something we think we should be doing without worrying about what the circumstances look like.

And there you have it – my theology of the gas pump.

/D

In Christ

The author of the book I’m currently reading made a really interesting point. As Christ followers we often talk about having a “relationship with” Jesus. Antonucci (the author) points out that Jesus wants much more than this. He gives the example of having a best friend who moves away – we miss them, we wish they were still close by but all in all their leaving doesn’t really change our lives in a significant way.

The same can be true in our relationship with Jesus. When we don’t spend time in prayer or in the Bible – we miss him, we may wish we were closer to him, but all in all our time away doesn’t really change our lives – if all we have is a relationship with Jesus.

What Jesus describes in John 15 is much deeper than just a relationship. He talks about us being “in him”. Antonucci uses the analogy of a baby still in his/her mother’s womb. You could say they have a “relationship”, but it’s really much more. That baby is fully dependent on mom for everything.

This is how Jesus wants us to be - in him – fully dependent on him for life itself.

I’m far from living this way, but it’s a great encouragement to know that that is where Jesus wants me and each day I learn a little better how to rely on God for real life.

/D

Poll Results

The results from our last poll:

Is church relevant in you life?

54% - Oh yeah - a lot
34% - A littel - sometimes
9% - Nope - not at all

My new poll question is now up on the right sidebar.

American Idol

An interesting thing hit me the other night as my wife and kids were watching American Idol. I do catch bits and pieces (especially if I like the song they’re singing), but I cannot say I’m an avid fan.

Anyway, what I was thinking about is which of the “judges” is the most credible?

While Randy can be pretty up front, he usually sugar coats his critique a bit. I’m convinced Paula’s up there just to make everyone feel better (even those who can’t sing at all). And the man everyone loves to hate – Simon – is probably also the one whose opinion matters the most. Why?

Because he tells it like it is. I think he can be over the top and doesn’t always know when enough is enough, but the bottom line is, what Simon says (ha, that’s punny) really does carry the most weight.

So, what’s my point? Those who just lay it out there will usually have the most influence. As per my last post, I think we can “lay it out there” in a loving way, but lay it out there we must (if we want people to truly hear us).

I’d much rather deal with a few barbs from someone who I know will shoot straight with me, then be with someone who I never really know what they’re thinking (that gets really frustrating). Personally, I need to find the courage to just speak the truth and make sure my motives are pure so I can do it in love.

/D

Speaking the Truth in Love

So, what does it mean to speak the truth in love? I thought I knew what this meant, but now I’m not so sure. We use terms like “tough love” to explain when we have to say or do difficult things that we know others won’t like. Of course, we do them because we truly care. If we didn’t care, we certainly wouldn’t do things to cause “trouble” (at least people like me who avoid conflict wouldn’t do it).

But what happens when we’re struck with a realization that something’s wrong? Do we stand up and say so? Do we beat around the bush and hope others figure out what we really mean? Do we only say the nice things in hopes the errors will correct themselves?

Or does real love call us to point out what we see and let the chips fall where they may? Who knows, we may come to realize we misunderstood or did not have the full picture – and then we can correct our view. Or, we may be the catalyst that was needed to really get things going in the right direction.

Okay, people, let me hear from you! [Post your thoughts by clicking the comments area below - you can use the Anonymous options to post without a Blogger account]

/D

Did God Create His Own Religion - Discussion

Well, we only got one comment on the “Did God Create His Own Religion” question – I was hoping for a little more interaction. Here are my thoughts…

God gave us the 10 Commandments, so if “religion” is following a set of rules and/or beliefs, then God did provide us with a religion.

We also recognized that none of us has kept the 10 Commandments; so, their purpose must be more than just God giving us rules to follow. These rules reveal to us that we are not perfect (darn!).

So, let’s jump to the New Testament to see how we should apply God’s “religion” to our lives. I’m reminded of three things:

One, 1 John 4 tells us that God is love.

Two, James 1:27 tells us the religion that is good in God’s sight is the one that takes care of the widows and orphans (note how these are people who have lost a personal relationship in their lives and God wants us to help restore relationships in their lives).

And, three, in Matthew 22 Jesus boils it all down to love God with everything you are and love others.

So, did God create His own religion? Yes! His religion is LOVE (love we return to Him and show to others).

Critical question: How well are you loving God and others? If you’re not feeling too good about that answer – what will you do about it this week?

For me, it seems so simple – just love the God who has provided everything in my life and love the others He has created. But, it’s not that simple. I do love God, but I often take Him for granted. I need to work on spending quality time with Him where I slow down enough to allow Him to “speak” to me. I had been blocking out a day a week for this (call it a Sabbath if you like), but I’ve become very inconsistent with this and I know my relationship with God has suffered. And, the whole loving people part… well, that will have to wait for another day. Let’s just say, for me, that’s the tougher of the two.

Pray for me that I will take time this week to just be with God.

/D

Say what you mean and mean what you say

I have a friend who likes that saying “say what you mean and mean what you say,” but what if the words we use have two opposite meanings? A couple of years ago a friend corrected me when I stated that I perused something quickly. He told me the word means to study thoroughly; therefore, I could not peruse something quickly. I’ve shared that with others since then and was about to do this with my seminary professor when I decided I would confirm this definition. Here’s what I found in the Encarta Dictionary: English (North American) – this is the one that comes with Microsoft Word so you can look it up for yourself:

Peruse [pe·ruse]

1. Read something carefully - to read or examine something, usually in a careful and thorough way or taking time to do it

2. Read something quickly - to read through or scan something quickly

What?? Is this like eating your cake and having it to?

So, next time someone tells you to mean what you say and say what you mean – you can now have a meaningful discussion about the nuances of (read “how messed up is”) the English language.

/D

"40"

Holy crap! [said in Jeff Dunham's Dead Terrorist voice]

My profile says I'm 40. This was always a great song by U2, but I never thought I'd be it. Okay, I guess I thought I'd be it, I just didn't think about it often.

Wow, this was random, but it shocked me when I saw it in print :-).

By the way, check out the lyrics to that U2 song - http://www.atu2.com/lyrics/lyrics.src?VID=13&SID=82.

/D

Living in the "Now"

A friend gave me the movie The Peaceful Warrior to watch. It’s a good movie. Whenever people start talking about finding the truth “inside you” I always get leery of New Age thinking. And while there is a hint of this, for the most part there is a lot of truth in the movie’s point.
Essentially, the focus is on living in the “now”. The Bible confirms this thinking. Two verses jump out at me:

Paul writes in Philippians 3:13 – “…one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”

Jesus says in Matthew 6:43 – “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

There you have it! Yesterday is done – learn what you need to learn and move on. Tomorrow isn’t here yet – so deal with what you have to deal with today and don’t worry about the future. Of course, this is much easier said then done, but I believe we spend way too much time and energy thinking about things that are totally out of our control. This has no benefit to our lives whatsoever.

Live in the “now”. Enjoy the journey – or as another friend’s t-shirt for a white-water rafting company says – “The journey is the destination!”

By the way, we have one comment on the last post regarding God's religion. I'm waiting for a couple more before I respond, so post your thoughts.

/D

Did God create His own religion?

That was the question that came up at our house church this weekend. I have some thoughts, but I'd like to read your thoughts first. So, reply on the "Comments" below.

Remember you can use the Anonymous button to reply without having a Blogger account.

Super Tuesday

Well, Super Tuesday has come and gone. I’m not nearly as political as I used to be. I do care and I am thankful that I live in a country that allows us to pick our leaders. I do believe that everyone who is allowed to vote has a responsibility to do so – it’s a privilege that many do not enjoy.

Yet, I do not believe we can legislate morality. I get a bit annoyed with those who believe if we just elect the right candidate our country will be saved. I just don’t see that in the Bible. In fact, throughout the Bible I see many political leaders creating more problems than good. And yet, God’s truth and love marches on.

So, should we vote? Of course. Should we expect our country to be “saved” by a candidate? That’s crazy. If we want to see real change, towards good and caring, the answer is very simple (and yet apparently very difficult to accomplish). We simply need to follow the Golden rule – treat others the way you want to be treated. It starts with each of us choosing to put other’s needs above our own.

Too simplistic? Maybe, but why not give it a try and see what happens? After all, it is what Jesus said the whole Bible was about.

Let’s make every day super – by finding ways to improve someone else’s day.


/D

How About those Giants?!

As a Cowboys fan, I have to admit rooting for the Giants was like kissing my sister (I don't have a sister, but let's not let details get in the way of a good cliché), but I had to pull for the NFC East.

It really was a great game. What I found interesting was how many people were not so much cheering for the Giants, but against the Patriots (I must admit I felt a bit of this). Why?

Is it that we don’t like to see others reach "perfection" because we know we are so far from it? Do we not like to see others succeed? Or was it that we did not like some of the personalities on that team – the coaches or some of the players?

I’m not sure why I felt this way. I’m not a big fan of their coach – he seems gruff and short with people – not a real “people person”. But it does bother me that I had this negative reason to cheer for someone else. Of course, I feel this every time the Redskins play, but as a Cowboys fan that just comes with the territory. :-)


/D

True Friends?

I was reading Proverbs and verse 18 in chapter 18 caught my attention; it reads “It’s harder to make amends with an offended friend than to capture a fortified city.”

The first thing that popped into my mind was some strained relationships I have in my life and I thought, “Yeah, that’s true.” I think the reason it’s hard is because with friends we develop a bond, a closeness – trust. And when things fall apart, well, we have that much farther to fall and feel the hurt that much deeper.

But then I had another thought; “Wait a minute; if we’re friends shouldn’t we be able to work through the difficult times? Shouldn’t the closeness and the trust be an asset to resolving our differences?”

As I think about the times I have failed others I now must wonder; were we really friends or were we just going through the motions?

If you’ve been hurt by a friend (and maybe that friend was me) may I encourage you to NOT be a “fortified city”. Relationships are so fragile; and they take so much effort to form to begin with; let’s not just throw them away like yesterdays trash. After all – aren’t we supposed to be loving God and loving people?

/D

Great Thoughts

While I've been blogging for a while, these latest posts seem to have finally generated some "conversations". I invite you all to take some time and go back to the old posts and read the additional comments & join the conversations.

Remember, if you type your comments and then click on the "Anonymous" cirlce below where you put your comments you do not have to have a Blogger account to comment. And, you're welcome to put your name in the post (or not) - don't you just love choices!

/D

Define "Church"

Okay – here’s a question for all of you – what’s “church”?

Over the past year my definition of church has changed significantly. I think most people’s definition of church would include some or all of the following elements:

1) A building where people meet;
2) There must be a decent number of people;
3) Some music, a sermon and a passing of the plate.

Honestly, I don’t think any of these things are bad, but I also don’t think any of these are “church.” I believe all you need for church is two or three people and Jesus. Isn’t that what Jesus said in Matthew 18:20?

The church is believers (those who believe Jesus came to restore our relationship with God) gathered together. No mention of buildings, crowds, music, sermons or offerings. Again, none of these things are bad – UNLESS they get in the way of people helping people and people spending time with Jesus together.

In fact, Jesus told the church leaders they needed to figure out what God meant when He said, “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13 & 12:7). Mercy is what we show towards each other; Sacrifice is a ritual we perform. Another time Jesus taught that if we are bringing our offering to God and remember that someone has something against us we are to leave the offering and go work thing out with the other person. Then come back and worship God (Matthew 5:23-24).

It appears God values relationships over rituals.

Okay, that’s enough stirring of the pot for one day. Let me know what you think.

/D