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  • Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    Monday Musing: Redeemed. Believe it.

    One of my phone apps offers new music that I can redeem from the app. Recently I went to download a song and this message came up.

    Already redeemed.

    I had already acquired the song. There was no need for further redemption. It was mine. How I wish I could trust that for my relationship with God.

    A song by Big Daddy Weave called “Redeemed” sums up my struggle and encourages me to know that I am not alone in this battle.

    Seems like all I can see was the struggle
    Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past

    Bound up in shackles of all my failures
    Wondering how long is this gonna last

    Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
    stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”

    That is the truth I have to remind myself just about every day. The fight has already been won. Yet I too often live as if my self-effort is required to make up for past struggles and efforts. That I need to earn the grace that is already mine. I need to remind myself everyday what the lyricist proclaims next.

    I am redeemed, You set me free
    So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
    Wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
    I am redeemed

    I am redeemed. Paul had to remind the Ephesians in the first chapter that they already could count on these three facts being true. They already were:

    • Adopted
    • Redeemed
    • Sealed

    Makes me feel a little better that folks who were mentored by Paul needed a refresher course in who they were. It makes me feel a lot better that Paul understood that the first thing on the list was to remind them of who they were and then address their wrong behavior. We too often reverse that order. One more line from this wonderful song by Big Daddy Weave…

    I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet.

    Praise God for that! And praise God for His amazing grace and amazing patience.

     

  • Where Is My Treasure?

    Where Is My Treasure?

    I have been doing this church thing for a lot of years. I have sung hundreds of songs over the four decades or so that I have been a follower of Jesus. Some lyrics moved me to deep worship of God. Some times I really meant what I was singing. Other times I was singing through the motions while thinking about when the kick off was going to happen.

    One song has always made me uncomfortable. The song was put to music by the legendary George Beverly Shea in 1932. The words were a poem written by Mrs.Rhea Miller in 1922.

    I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;
    I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
    I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,
    I’d rather be led by His nail pierced hand.

    Can I really say that I would rather have Jesus than silver or gold? Maybe my retirement fund will make that decision for me. Do I mean it when I sing that I’d rather be led by his nail pierced hand? Am I prepared to make Jesus more than an “activity” in my busy life? What would I have said if I was the young rich man described in Matthew? Here is the text from The Message.

    Another day, a man stopped Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”  Jesus said, “Why do you question me about what’s good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you.”

     The man asked, “What in particular?”

     Jesus said, “Don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself.” The young man said, “I’ve done all that. What’s left?”

    His response has always surprised me. I think I would have begged for mercy after Jesus detailed that list. But the young man thought he was doing just fine. And then Jesus exposed his heart.

     “If you want to give it all you’ve got,” Jesus replied, “go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me.”

    That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, crest-fallen, he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn’t bear to let go.

    I have held on tight to a lot of things. As I get older I wonder why.

     As he watched him go, Jesus told his disciples, “Do you have any idea how difficult it is for the rich to enter God’s kingdom? Let me tell you, it’s easier to gallop a camel through a needle’s eye than for the rich to enter God’s kingdom.”

     The disciples were staggered. “Then who has any chance at all?”

     Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

    I can do that. I can trust God. I have no choice because I have a long and spectacular track record of not being able to live this journey on my own ability. The song continues.

    I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;
    I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;
    I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,
    I’d rather be true to His holy name.

    Given the sales of my books I am pretty safe from the world-wide fame snare. But I do crave applause if I am not careful.

    He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,
    I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

    Perhaps the uncertainty in the world will cause all of us to evaluate our dependence on Christ. I hope that I will continue to grow in my desire to echo Paul and his words to the Phillipians.

    “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

    So can I sing the words of this classic hymn and mean it? I am slowly, slowly, slowly getting closer.

  • Hump Day Hope – You’ve Got A Friend

    Hump Day Hope – You’ve Got A Friend

    A song by James Taylor called “You’ve Got a Friend”  has been on my heart this week. Life can be really hard. Good friends are a big part of making it to the finish line successfully. Taylor’s lyrics resonated with me after returning from seeing friends in California.

    Ain’t it good to know you’ve got a friend.

    Ain’t it? Real friends are a treasure. We spend so much time acquiring stuff. We spend so much time acquiring titles and power. We often spend far too little developing real friends. When the world comes crashing in what you really need is a not a Ferrari. You need a friend.

    True friends fill your bucket with affirmation and love. True friends tell you the truth about yourself in a way that you can stand to hear it.

    This past weekend Joni and I were incredibly blessed to spend the weekend with friends like that. We go back a long way with Ed and Judy Underwood. Ed is now a pastor at Church of the Open Door in Glendora, California. If you live in that area and don’t have a church home please check them out.

    Ed has written a wonderful book called The Trail.

    The-Trail Ed Underwood

    It is an allegory about finding God’s will based solidly on Biblical principles and told through an engaging story. If you are anything like me you have wrestled with how to find and/or remain in God’s will for your life. The Trail cleared up a lot of the misconceptions I had held on this vital topic.

    I used to sing “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” in my little hometown church. Jesus is indeed a friend that will never desert me. Jesus also knew that we needed earthly friends to help navigate this often difficult journey. This journey needs to be live in community.

    I love the New Testament story of the man who was paralyzed and his friends were trying to get him in front of Jesus. They cared. When they couldn’t get in the door they cut a hole in the roof and lowered him down to Jesus. The Lord was moved by the man’s faith (and the faith of his friends) and He had mercy on him. What strikes me is how Jesus addressed the man.

    He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.”  (Luke 5, NASB)

    Jesus still calls men friend when they simply humble themselves in faith.  James Taylor summarizes the importance of friends on earth and in Higher Places.

    Hey, ain’t it good to know that you’ve got a friend?
    People can be so cold.
    They’ll hurt you and desert you.
    Well they’ll take your soul if you let them.
    Oh yeah, but don’t you let them.

    Satan would like nothing more than to use the hurts and difficult people in life to take our very soul. Don’t you let them. Lean on Jesus. Pray for friends. Most importantly, be a friend. You will likely be disappointed and even hurt along the way. But finding that small number of real friends is worth it. All friends are a blessing. Real friends are a treasure. I will wrap this up with a quote from one of my sentimental favorites, the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life”.

    Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.

    This weekend Joni and I felt like we were very successful indeed. And blessed beyond measure.

  • Weekend Wildcard – We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are

    Weekend Wildcard – We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are

    I miss Rich Mullins. Hard to believe that it is approaching twenty years ago that Mullins was killed in a car accident in Illinois. His music is still all over my iPod and one of his songs is the subject of the Weekend Wildcard. The song is called “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” and it opens with this stanza.

    Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
    To part the waters of the sea
    But it only took one little lie
    To separate you and me
    Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are.

    If only we could acknowledge that we are not as strong as we think we are and then live accordingly I believe we would see an amazing difference. Yet pride tells me that I am able to handle the situation. Fear tells me that telling the truth in love will only make it worse. So one little lie or misunderstanding dealt with in my own strength negates the strength of a God who could part the waters of the seas. What is wrong with me?

    A few years ago a major food company recalled thousands of cans of chili that were tainted with deadly toxins. The story reported that cans of chili exploded as the pressure built up inside the containers.

    That seemed like a messy and disgusting but apt metaphor for how we deal with the toxins of gossip, slander and hurt. We seal them up and store them away. But the toxins of gossip and slander have not been killed, only compartmentalized. The pain continues to grow, slowly and inexorably. Finally the pressure builds to the point of explosion. But there is a better way.

    James wrote these words to the early church:

    It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (James 3:6, The Message)

    James doesn’t pull any punches, does he? Gossip is a parasite that requires a host organism to survive; don’t give gossip a place to live. Think of how many times you have believed something to be true only to find out the information was mostly or even totally wrong. The threat of a libel or slander lawsuit causes some us to be cautious in our written remarks about others. But we’re not so careful about our discussing our brothers and sisters in Christ. Are we really more concerned about the People’s Court than the Kingdom’s Court?

    God is serious about how we communicate about others in the flock. Peter writes:

    Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9, The Message)

    So there is an added bonus for your godly communication: a blessing at no extra charge. Rich Mullins wrote this in the chorus of the song.

    We are frail
    We are fearfully and wonderfully made
    Forged in the fires of human passion
    Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
    And with these our hells and our heavens
    So few inches apart
    We must be awfully small
    And not as strong as we think we are.

    We need to acknowledge that He is God and we are not and leave our pride at the altar. Because we are not as strong as we think we are.

  • Hump Day Hope: Quit Tryin’ So Stinkin’ Hard

    Hump Day Hope: Quit Tryin’ So Stinkin’ Hard

    One of my favorite speakers/authors is Steve Brown. He speaks from his heart and with an honesty that only comes from a man who knows how desperately he needs Jesus to cover his considerable sins (his words). I recently started his new book “When Being Good Isn’t Good Enough” and I am loving it.

    He correctly states that all of us on this journey with Jesus desire to be holy and righteous. How to get there is where so many of us get derailed. Steve Brown says that we are killing ourselves to achieve what we already have. That holiness and righteousness have already been achieved for us by Christ at the Cross. Here is a snippet of Steve Brown’s book.

    “That is a cold hard fact; you don’t have to try so much anymore to be holy and righteous. You are now free to fail and, more importantly, free to allow Him to love you and to love Him back. You enter a relationship, not between a criminal and a policeman, but between a loving Father and His child. When you enjoy that relationship something wonderful happens: you find holiness and righteous come tagging along behind. You find that you, almost without knowing it, are in a process that makes you increasingly more holy and righteous.

    This is the message. Obedience doesn’t lead to freedom. Freedom leads to obedience. If that is backwards you lose both your freedom and your obedience.”

    It is not about me. It is all about Jesus and He wants us to be free.

    “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”(John 8:36)

    I hope you feel that freedom in 2015. I recommend Steve Brown’s books and podcasts. He will make you laugh and think. That is a pretty good combo plate to get you through the week.

  • Done

    Done

    One of my favorite songs from Tenth Avenue North popped up in the rotation recently. The song “You Are More” talks about a young woman lost in fear and shame.

    She says, “How did I get here?
    I’m not who I once was.
    And I’m crippled by the fear
    That I’ve fallen too far to love”

    That is a lie from the very pit of hell. The lyrics beautifully convey that no one has gone too far to experience God’s amazing Grace.

    But don’t you know who you are,
    What’s been done for you?
    Yeah don’t you know who you are?

    You are more than the choices that you’ve made,
    You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
    You are more than the problems you create,
    You’ve been remade.

    Most of us have heard the passage from 2nd Corinthians preached over and over.

    So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5, NLT)

    I am ashamed to admit that I too often glazed over and thought about lunch when that verse came up again. I know that already! Give me something deep. Should we go for brisket or Tex-Mex?

    The truth is that I forgot or didn’t trust the truth of that passage. I once wore a WWJD bracelet. I quit wearing it because the bracelet only reminded me of how often and spectacularly I failed to do what Jesus would do.

    The truth is the bracelet should read W.H.J.D. anyway. What Has Jesus DONE? Here is a partial list of what He has DONE for you. Finished. Completed. Finis.

    • You have been changed.
    • You are a new creation.
    • Your sins are forgiven. Past, present and future.
    • Jesus loves you just as you are
    • You are righteous because of your relationship with Christ and not by your disciplined attempt to do right things.
    • You have the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you so you don’t have to be a slave to sin.

    In short, you have been remade.

    This same God that created the heavens and earth has changed this creature named Dave Burchett into something I never thought possible. Godly. A saint. Righteous. Are you kidding me? But that is what God says is true about me. And can be true about you if you put your full trust in Christ. It is DONE. The chorus of the song reaffirms that truth.

    ‘Cause this is not about what you’ve done,
    But what’s been done for you.

    This is not about where you’ve been,
    But where your brokenness brings you to

    Paul finished his letter to the Galatians with this thought.

    Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. (Galatians 6, NLT)

    Trust that truth and see what a difference it can make in the New Year.

  • God’s Weight Loss Plan for 2015

    God’s Weight Loss Plan for 2015

    Most of us see New Years Day as a fresh start. We make steadfast resolutions of how we are going to do better next year. The reality is that January 1st is just another day. We could just as easily resolve on May 18th or August 3rd that we are going to change how we live. But there is something psychologically powerful about a New Year.

    The most cited resolutions generally include things like exercising more, saving more money, getting out of debt, and reading the Bible all the way through without getting bogged down in Leviticus and skipping directly to the Psalms. The most popular resolution year after year is losing weight.

    I thought I would be doing a real service if I gave you God’s Weight Loss Plan to take into 2015. This weight loss plan will make you healthier, reduce stress, give you more joy and cause you to grow in your relationship with the Lord. By following this no subscription, no monthly dues plan you can lose the weight of bitterness and anger caused from lack of forgiveness. If you are carrying around an unforgiving spirit it is weighing you down spiritually and emotionally.

    This is from a chapter on forgiveness I wrote in “Bring’em Back Alive – A Healing Plan for those Wounded by the Church”.

    • Forgiveness is not condoning or diminishing the offense. Forgiving a person who has wronged you does not mean they are “off the hook” for any consequences or judgment that may result from their actions. Forgiveness is a personal act of your will that releases the other person from your condemnation. At that point you have been obedient to what Jesus asks of you, the other person is responsible to God for their response as you trust God to see that justice is dispensed according to His Holy judgment and timing.
    • Forgiveness is not forgetting. The old forgive and forget admonition was one of the biggest barriers I faced in my journey to learn how to forgive. You know the old mental challenge to not picture an elephant in the room. You can’t do it. Instantly the image pops into your mind. The more I tried to be spiritually mature and try to forgive and forget the more my offender became the “elephant in the room.” That person or event was all I could think of. Over time you will think less and less of the hurt and/or the one who administered same.Trying to achieve a state of instantaneous forgetfulness is setting yourself up for failure and frustration.
    • Forgiveness does not require reconciliation. Certainly it is a worthy goal to have the gift of forgiveness lead to a restoration of a damaged relationship. But it takes two people to reconcile and you have no control over anyone’s response except your own. The other person may not respond graciously. They may not be ready to accept forgiveness or acknowledge their part or even desire to be reconciled. Reconciliation is not required to be obedient to the command of Jesus.
    • Forgiveness is an act of the will and is not a response to feelings. We must choose to forgive and trust the Jesus who forgave us to eventually change our feelings. We may not “feel” like forgiveness has transpired. If you decide to wait until you “feel” like forgiving or that the other person must make the first move you will remain spiritually stuck. We have to make the choice and then wait for God to honor the choice. We make a choice to forgive and then we have faith that the Holy Spirit will reshape our feelings over the course of time.
    • Forgiveness is not ignoring or excusing the offense. There is nothing to forgive if we have not been wronged. Jesus is not asking us to ignore reality. He is asking us to acknowledge how much we have been forgiven and to extend that gift of grace. It may well be undeserved. So was my forgiveness Jesus bought for me at the Cross. Forgiveness is acknowledging the offense without cover-up or excuse and still choosing to forgive.
    • Forgiveness is not denial of the hurt. Pride will often cause us to “not allow the person who hurt us the satisfaction” of knowing we are wounded. That is absurd. Acknowledge the reality of the injury but make the choice to be healed.
    • Forgiveness is eliminating revenge as an option. Lewis Smedes makes a brilliant point about revenge. No matter how much we try “we cannot get even; this is the inner fatality of revenge.” When you start trying to get even you have already lost. How many times must I gossip about you to get “even” for the hurt you caused me? When is the scale even? The truth proclaimed by Josh Billings is “there is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”
    • Forgiveness means understanding that hurt is part of the faith tour contract that we signed when we decided to follow Jesus. Author David Stoop notes that, “People choose the Path of Bitterness when they get caught up in trying to understand the reasons for the offense. They think, if only they could understand why the other person did what he or she did, they could get over it and let it go.” I have three words for that approach. Does not work.

    The late author Lewis Smedes wrote that only forgiveness can “release us from the grip of our history.” We cannot change an abusive upbringing. We cannot alter dysfunctional theological training that denied grace. We cannot simply deny the hurts that have been visited upon us and be spiritually free. Only forgiveness can release us from the grip of these real and historical events.

    Forgiveness is not the cop out of weak people. The reason you need to forgive is that our Designer knew that is the only way for you to be fully healed. You have a Savior who understands the pain of betrayal. That is why Jesus gave up His glory in Heaven to take on flesh.

    Is forgiving easy? Of course not. I believe that forgiveness is the single hardest thing that Jesus asks us to do. But He knows how important forgiveness is for own growth. But why would you want to live in anger and carry the extra weight of an unforgiving spirit when Jesus has something better for you? The Apostle Paul’s wrote these words in Colossians.

    Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3, NIV)

    That can lighten your load in the New Year.