I have never used another’s blog before, but when I read this I felt like all those who read my blog would truly enjoy this one from the Simple Church Journal.  It is Jesus!  Enjoy and tell us what you think by commenting.

This is a blog about “church,” so-to-speak, but maybe we miss the mark a bit if we don’t keep putting the focus back on the One who precedes the church and everything else. The church is, no doubt, meant to be a much more radical movement than we have understood it to be. How much more important is it for us to see that Jesus, the head of the church, is a far more radical man/God than we can even begin to understand. He is the One we, His church, are designed to imitate. Perhaps if we get Jesus right, and our imitation of Him in keeping with who He is, we will naturally get church right.

Jesus is so… much… more than we can begin to define in a few words, or thoughts, or even a lifetime of both.

He is uncontainable, unpredictable, unorthodox, and unconventional. As soon as someone would try to put Him in a box, He would break the mold. If you thought He was meek, He would pick up a whip. If you thought He was kosher, He would start talking about other people eating his flesh. If you thought He was a paragon of mercy, He would pronounce woes and judgements.

But wait! If you asked Him to condemn a sinful woman, He proclaimed forgiveness and grace. If you told Him a man was a tax-collecting thief, he loved him all the more. If you nailed Him to a cross, He prayed for you.

He was (and is) radically and completely God… living above the expectations of others, the mores of his culture, and the rules of society. Tell Him that the Sabbath was for resting, and He would work. Tell Him not to touch lepers, and He would hold and heal them. Tell him not to socialize with Samaritans, and He would deliberately converse with a Samaritan woman.

He marched to His own drumbeat. He lived with a vision set only on kingdom. He walked out of a perspective that never placed value on temporal things. He was not of this world and every moment that He lived and word that He spoke portrayed this.

Do we really even know who He is, really? How honestly are we willing to look at Him knowing that our calling is to imitate Him and be like Him?

I’m just thinking that if we kept our focus really on Him, every church, house church, simple church, and mega-church would be absolutely, thoroughly, and completely transformed and turned upside down in more ways than we can imagine merely by the irresistible force of the life of Jesus pulsing through His imitators.

– Simple Church Journal

How common is it to attempt to protect yourself from pain and hurt? It seems to be a natural human reaction to back away from something that we interpret as painful or possibly painful in the future. It can block us from making healthy decisions for today and tomorrow. Most of us have an aversion to emotional pain, but avoidance may not be the best method for personal growth. As you and I look back over our lives, we often discover that it is the most painful or emotionally difficult times in our past in which we grew the most. And, to avoid these times or to run from them could actually stunt our personal growth.

How so? In the good and trouble-free times we tend to have less dependence upon God. We may even tend to live more carefree, but when we are anxious or worried about something we can begin to tell ourselves inaccurate scenarios and outcomes, e.g., projected thoughts of possible harm. It is at this point where we make a decision to avoid  pain or determine to face the issue(s), trust God and grow through them. Armed with love, compassion and respect for others and yourself, speaking the truth, as you understand it and not backing away from painful situations, will be a far more mature response and guaranteed to create a greater level of personal depth in character and growth.

I encountered a personal situation several years ago where I had the opportunity to avoid (thinking I would avoid any self-projected pain) a tenuous situation or to confront it. The leader would determine the end result in that he could accept or reject my efforts toward reconciliation. I spoke the truth, as I understood it with plenty of questions and ample opportunity for the other party to respond. Instead, he chose to ignore my reaching out to him and not respond. I gave the situation some time and then tried again and once again there was no response. I felt that I did what God required of me by asking for forgiveness of hurts I caused and then chose to let the situation in God’s hands.  The hurt for me was not completely avoided, but I knew that following through with what God expected of me would certainly decrease the possibility of a deeper wound.

(Note: Sending this out a bit early due to the 4th of July holiday.  Have a wonderful weekend!)

Here in the USA, the military draft ended at the end of the Vietnam War. In some nations around the world, there is a required season of serving in the military for young men and women. I imagine for most it’s not a bad deal, i.e., education, learning discipline, obeying authority and good physical health. I enjoyed much of the process of “becoming a man” in the US military. One of my favorite memories was leading many of the lonely, homesick men into a relationship with Jesus. Evangelism opportunities were everywhere. 

The kingdom of God is a 100% voluntary army. Did you enlist wholeheartedly in this army or are you waiting nervously for the draft? Are you voluntarily and willingly seeking God for your next assignment or are you holding back until you feel pressured? Are you responding to God’s still small voice or do you avoid that voice hoping it will soon become silent? Those who enlist are often ‘all in,’ while those who wait for the draft are frequently and silently hoping they’ll be inconspicuous enough to be overlooked. To them, being overlooked is better than taking a risk and living outside of their security level.

There are also those recruits who say, “Anywhere, Lord, but Africa”? They’re truly not enlisting. If they did go to Africa, their heart would not be with the people of Africa. They’ll be waiting for orders to return to their familiar, secure place. But, I choose to be an enlistee…all in…excited about my next orders from heaven and fully trusting my heavenly Father. He knows what He’s doing with my life. After all, He created me, He placed me on the earth for this brief period of time and I desire to fully follow Him. I owe Him my full cooperation and obedience as my Commander.  Consider these verses: Acts 17:24-28