Come Let Us Adore Him

Is your Christmas as crazy as mine?  My wife and I have to send out a bunch of Christmas cards, go to a bunch of Christmas parties, travel to a bunch of relatives’ houses, buy gifts for a bunch of people- a conversation that goes something like “Did we get our (Insert random relative) anything last year?  Well how much did we spend?  Well I guess we need to get something again this year?  But what?”  Yeah…it’s Christmastime.

I know…you’re thinking “what a downer!”  I’m really not that pessimistic and in fact I look forward to Christmas every year.  But sometimes I wonder what Jesus must think of my (and probably your) Christian American celebration of his birth. 

Recently I was reading through Matthew and I was struck by the story of the Magi (you know, the whole “gold, frankincense and myrrh” guys?).  2:1-2 says, “Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east, and have come to ADORE Him.”  Here we have astrologists, most likely from Asia, traveling incredible distances to ADORE the the king of another people group and give him incredibly expensive gifts!

Although I’ve known this story virtually my whole life, when I read it recently I was hit with great conviction.  While the Magi gave up so much to worship Jesus Christ and celebrate his birth, I’ve given so little of my time, focus and passion on worshipping and celebrating the birth of my Savior this year. 

Yes, I still have to do all the things on my Christmas list but I have decided to really focus my devotional time on adoring and worshipping Jesus Christ this week before Christmas. 

We all have a choice of how we will focus our time and attention this Christmas, how will you choose?

After Man Up

Man Up went off without a hitch after prayerful planning and intentional discussion with volunteers and staff!  I count this as a huge success and a momentous occasion for the men of Frontline.  I’ve been a little annoyed at the lack of REAL men that I’ve encountered over the years at Frontline if I’m honest.  This is really what they need to hear.  They don’t need to be coddled or told that they are justified for being “too busy” for their spiritual lives and ministry.  NOTHING COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT!!!

 

Anyway, I could tell right after we ended Man Up it was making an immediate impact on the men of Frontline because they weren’t going anywhere!  Work, dinner, girl friends, plans, tiredness, sleep…any one of these things could be reason to take off a little early.  After all, out of a room of over 300 dudes, no one would have really noticed.  But there they were:

·         Huddled with 5-8 other guys in sincere prayer

·         Engaging in very real and raw conversations about purity, identity and commitment

·         Asking each other for accountability

Justin, Mike and I stood watching and praising God for what I can only describe as a manly awakening from a boyhood slumber.  Yeah, that’s right I used the word slumber!  I pray that God would continue to place our ear to the ground as we move forward with this calling.

Never Looking Back

It was 1 year ago this week that I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life-to go into vocational ministry at MBC full-time.   Sure, I had always planned on it at some point but I was thinking as a second career.  There was so much I HAD to accomplish before I devoted my life and career to Christ  I wanted to be financially successful, finish my schooling, buy some property and live the “American Dream” I kept hearing about.  But God had different plans….

I was applying to be a couples small group leader at Frontline (because I felt guilty about having a Bible degree and not leading) and Jim Supp was interviewing my wife, Shannan, and I.  Everything was going smoothly until about halfway through when Jim said to me, “I could really use a guy like you on my team.  What would you think about coming on staff?”  Ha!  Jim’s a funny guy isn’t he?  Ummm…it turned out he was serious!  ”Crap!”  Yeah that’s unfortunately what I was thinking at the time.  I just started a lucritive career in finance and I was headed up the corporate latter.  But, his words kept ringing in my ears.  I couldn’t get rid of the small voice telling me, “Now’s the time, not later.  Be the man you know God has called you to be!”  I knew what God had called me to and after some hard praying and Godly advice I decided to go for it.  I now understood a little bit about what Jeremiah must have felt like when God called him out as a young man.  It was the the most difficult decision I had ever made.

People ask me if I ever regret it but I have never looked back.  There is no better place to be then right in the center of God’s will and that is exactly where we plan to be as a family.  Now I’m looking forward to what God has in store for me as the Director of Small Groups at Frontline!  Keep checking back because I’ll be updating this blog much more frequently now.

On the road of life there are highways and dirt roads, choose wisely!

Nate

…So I Married a Prost*tute- Finale

I’ve been blogging about the insane life of Hosea. A story that makes Paris Hilton look like Mother Theresa! But we know that there is an incredible meaning in this story that goes way deeper than what you see on the outside. We see that God’s Love is Unconventional- It goes against the grain of society. God’s Love is Uncompromising- It’s tough but just. Lastly, we see that

3) God’s Love is Unconditional

How many of you have been betrayed or treated poorly by someone you loved? It’s much easier to give up on people when they don’t treat you right or betray you isn’t it?

In chapter 3 Gomer is at the bottom of herself, she was stripped naked, had nothing, and was being sold at a slave auction. Hosea goes and buys her back for basically a discount, 1/2 price according to the historical price of a female slave during those times.

V. 3.1
Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel.”

This is exactly how God feels about us! No matter what you have done, no matter where you have been, he wants you and sees you as his beloved bride. While that blows your mind, I hope it is also incredibly comforting to you. It’s not just comforting to me. It allows me to rest in Christ, knowing that there is nothing I can do to gain more or less of his love. His love is not conditioned upon my achievements and failures. Thank God! I think most of you are in the same boat with me that if it was conditioned on our success, we’d be in rough shape!

Scenario: Let’s just pretend for a moment that God DID indeed use a scale system to way our good verses our bad to determine His Love for us and hence our ability to make it to heaven. Do you REALLY think that you’d pass the test? I mean, think about how much selfish stuff you do all the time, think about the amount of time you waste. If we REALLY were going to do more good than bad, wouldn’t we all move to Africa caring for the sick, poor, and dying? (That’s another topic for another day)

Obviously I’m using some hyperbole here to make a point. No more, no less than the unconditional love God already has for us! Yeah, I think I’m okay with that:)

So What? (In the words of Lon Solomon). What difference does this make? How should this change our lives? What should I do differently because of God’s love for me?

If you get nothing else from this blog, please walk away asking this question: What would happen if we loved like God loves? I know exactly what would happen because Jesus made this point to his disciples in John 13: 34-35,

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Did you catch that? ALL would know that you are Christ Followers. Why? Because who else would love like this other than someone who follows a leader who loves like this! Is your love radical? Is it unconventional? Is it uncompromising? Is it unconditional? Follow your leader. Show the love you have received.

…So I Married a Prost!tute- Part 3

I’ve been writing about the crazy life of Hosea and the radical love God called him to obey. The first principle from this story was that God’s Love is Unconventional and is counter to our human condition. Let’s look at the second principle.

2) God’s Love is Uncompromising
God’s love is tough. Hosea never minimized the nature of the wrong Gomer had done to him. The pain was real and raw. He had been betrayed. And when Gomer insisted on being unfaithful to him, he let her go. He understood it was to her own destruction. She was on her own.
And so God did not compromise on how he would discipline Israel.

Hosea 2.9-ff Therefore I will take back My grain at harvest time, and my new wine in its season. I will also take away my wool and my flax…11. I will also put an end to all her luxuries, feasts…12. I will destroy her vines and fig trees.”

One of the most telling verses in this book is Hosea 8:7
They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind.

So what does this mean? If you know anything about farming, the seed that you plant always produces a more abundant harvest. So it is with Gomer, when she sowed the life of a prostitute, she produced destruction in her own life.

And we’re no different! If you are sowing things of the flesh- lust, greed, envy, rebellion, deceit, pride….you name it, make no mistake about it… that is exactly what you will reap later in life and it will have a much greater result.

When I was a teenager I was in rebellion and I was living according to my own desires. I always thought to myself, when I’m older I’ll follow Christ but right now is MY time. What I didn’t realize is that the patterns and habits that I sowed in my life reaped an abundant crop that I didn’t expect.

6 years later I’m daily having to deal with the crop from my teenage years. The thoughts, habits, reactions, guilt, memories and pain are still very real for me. I have to daily make choice to say no and turn away-every moment.

In these 6 years I have gradually started making choices to sow a new crop, to sow the spirit not the flesh: righteousness, justice, mercy, humility, love, peace, self-control, etc. True to the principle, the more I sow these seeds, the greater the Godly harvest I will receive later in my life and that of my family, friends and those that I daily influence.

So the question is: What are you sowing that you will reap more abundantly later? Is it the flesh or is it the spirit? You have a choice to make but make no mistake about it: If you sow the wind you WILL reap the whirlwind.

Next time I’ll close out this blog with the last principle, stay tuned!!

…So I Married a Prost!tute Part 2

If you’re reading this for the first time, check out last week’s post first to get the background of Hosea. Long Story Short- God tells a prophet to marry a prost!tute to demonstrate his radical love for his people. There are three principles that I pull out of this story.

1) God’s Love is Unconventional

What does our culture- the media and social influence tell us about love?
G
od’s love goes against the grain of society. In fact, in this case it’s illogical. What God asked Hosea to do doesn’t make sense. And God’s forgiveness of Israel doesn’t make sense either. The question of the book is not why God would ask Hosea to marry Gomer, but why God would marry Israel when he knew they would be unfaithful? See conventional wisdom tells us to look for someone we think would be faithful to us. But God chose the cast of the Jerry Springer show!

2 Tim. 2:13 “If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”

When God entered into a covenant of love with us, the covenant does not depend on our faithfulness, but on the faithfulness of God. It’s easy to look at Israel and Gomer and say, how pathetic and unlovable they are, but God says the same thing about us in

Rom. 3:10-12 There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Listen to what God did for Israel in Hosea 2.14-ff

“Therefore, behold I will pursue her, bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her…15. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth… 19. And I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion.”

And guess what? Jesus did the same thing by pursuing us when we didn’t deserve it.

Luke 19:10And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.

Romans 5:6-86For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

See, we love lovely things and lovely people. That’s logical. But there is another kind of love that doesn’t look for value in what it loves, but that creates value in what it loves.

I had stuffed animal growing up that had been passed down from my brothers to me. This thing was missing a eye, was nauled on by our dog, was stiched up about 10 times and was missing stuffing and body parts! But I loved that stuffed animal more than any other. Now looking at this logically, it made no sense for me to love that stuffed animal and from a human eye, it had no value. There were plenty of other stuffed animals that would have “deserved” more affection. I created value in something that had no human value.

This is how Christ shows his love to us! What is your love like? Is it unconventional like God’s love? Are we being an example of this love to each other? How do you value others? I hope you are challenged like I’m challenged to explore this kind of love. Next time we’ll look at two other points based on Hosea.

…So I Married a Prost!tute- Hosea

Imagine with me that God was still in the business of audibly speaking to his followers and he said to you, “Okay, I know you want to get married so here’s what I want you to do, go downtown in DC to the red light district, find a prost!tute and marry her. Also, I want you to have 3 children with her. Oh, by the way, she’s not going to stop her prost!tution business while you’re married. Now don’t keep this a secret, in fact I want you to create a MySpace page and log everything that’s happening. She’s going to leave you, but will eventually want to come back, and when she does, I want you to take her back and love her. Now I’m doing this to prove a point to Christians about what my love is all about.”

What would your reaction be? What would you do?

The crazy thing about this is that it’s not far from the truth! This is a modern example of what God called Hosea to do around 700 B.C.

I want to challenge your thinking when it comes to how we love, and not just in the context of a dating or marriage relationship, but how we love each other. We’re going to explore the radical love God calls us to pursue.

Let’s look at this unique story of Hosea’s life and draw out some principles.

Hosea 1:2-3
When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go take for yourself a wife of harlotry, and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the Lord.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

God says, “Okay you are going to be a true life example of my relationship with my people, Israel. So you play the part of me. And Gomer will be Israel.” Now this isn’t the first time God used his prophets to act out a message he was communicating- Isaiah had to walk around the street in his underwear, Ezekial laid on his side and had to eat a a starvation diet and cooked it over animal dung. Sometimes God had to use real illustrations to get his message across.

So they have 3 children together and God tells Hosea to name them horrific names to exemplify what has happened.

Can you imagine going to church with your family, “Here’s my wife the prost!tute and our three children- God’s Going to Punish You, God Won’t Pity You and our darling little baby You are not my people!

Eventually Gomer goes back to her life of prost!tution, v. 2.3

For their mother has played the harlot; She who has conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, “I will go after my lovers, who give me my bread and my water.

But at some point, business is not doing very well, she’s destitute, naked, hungry and homeless and she is wants to return to Hosea, v. 2.7

And she will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; and she will seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, “I will go back to my first husband, for it was better for me then than now.”

So what does God tell Hosea to do? She deserves what she got right? Why would anyone take her back? Listen to what God tells Hosea to do.

V. 3.1-2

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress…” So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley (modern day $12.50).

So that’s the basic story of Hosea and Homer. Crazy huh? Well this is an incredible story, packed full of deep meaning and principles of what Love is all about. Next time, we’ll start unpacking this and I’ll share with you 3 principles about God’s love that come out of this story.

The Nomadic Life at its Most Tragic: Cho Seung-Hui

What happen at VT was not the only tragic part of this story, the hidden life of Cho Seung-Hui was also tragic. The gunman in the VT Tragedy, Cho, may be the epitomy of the most horrific and depraved outcome of living a life in relational isolation …the life of a Nomad. The more we find out about Cho, we realize just how isolated he was. Everyone who described him said that he was lonely, walked with his head down and rarely spoke. One comment I read said that if you tried to look him in the eye, he would stare back blankly, as if he was looking right past you. One of his roommates said, “When I saw that he had no friends after an entire semester living with him, I would have definitely tried harder to be his friend or know him a little bit better.” From what has unfolded so far, we know that he lived the definitive life of a Nomad. Of course all the therapists and psychiatrists are lining up to make a clinical diagnosis for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or something else to blame other than the depravity of man and the reality of evil. Now I’m not dismissing the fact that there are real disorders but sin tendancies such as isolation when coupled with poor peer experiences can greatly magnify depravity if left to fester.
So what does the tragic life of Cho teach us? We were created as relational beings by our Creator. The effects of relational isolation can vary depending on the extent of God’s Grace and our experiences. Obviously this example is probably the most extreme case but don’t fool yourself into thinking that you, under different circumstances could have potentially had the capacity for a life as equally tragic.
This is why all throughout the Bible it talks about being connected in community. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves, uphold one another, spur one another towards love and good deeds, serve one another, forgive one another, have fellowship with one another, etc. God is serious about avoiding the consequences of the Nomadic Life. As Christ followers we are in fact commanded to do so. Not because God wants to make our lives miserable (although you may feel that way sometimes) but because He knows what is best for us. Relationships are one of the primary methods God uses to mold us into the image of Christ and teach us. But it’s also how God will use you to serve, mentor, and shape others as well. I’m convinced that I would not be in ministry or following God nearly has closely unless it wasn’t for Todd Johnson, Pastor Bob, Don Cheyney, Tom Allen, Jim Supp, Pete Lackey and other key people in my life that have shaped me over the years.
I can’t help but think, what if Cho was befriended by a committed Christian on the campus of VT, maybe someone who was involved in Campus Crusade? What would have happened if someone took the time to build a relationship with a broken, isolated, sinful young student? I don’t have the answer to that and it hurts to look back and ask “What ifs” because it didn’t. But that is the biggest gut check that I’ve experienced from this tragedy.
How connected are you? Who are you ministering to in this way? Keep praying for opportunities. Nate

Confessions of a Former Christian Nomad Part II

Last blog I wrote about my contentment in journeying through my Christian life without “strings attached” as a Christian Nomad. Strings to me were real friendships, accountability, and serious relationships with the opposite sex that in my view would keep me from going anywhere for God.
As noble of an aspiration as I thought it was, being alone relationally takes it’s toll. A this point I had recently rededicated my life to Christ and was journeying down a road towards submitting my own agenda to Christ to replace them with HIS agenda for my life. Even though I did this in my heart and mind, I kept struggling with the same sins and couldn’t seem to kick the patterns I developed over several years on my own path. I didn’t know what the problem was… I prayed, read my Bible, was being trained in theology and ministry and served at a local church. But yet I kept tripping up no matter how many times I resolved to “NEVER DO THAT AGAIN” and I felt so far away from God. What I didn’t realize at the time was that my nomadic philosophy of never sharing my real struggles, sin, aspirations and joy with others as well as a lack of accountability was keeping me far away from God.
At this time in my life I was working out quite a bit at my college gym (Philadelphia Biblical University) and I met a guy named Todd Johnson. Todd is a pretty opinionate guy, knows what he believes, and has no problem telling you. I started working out together often and would frequently get into arguments about almost everything, sometimes he would annoy me so much that I would work out at a different time to avoid him! But there was something so genuine about Todd, so transparent that no matter how annoyed I was with him, we’d still stay friends.
Soon we were hanging out often enough that he picked up on some sin patterns and other issues I was struggling with. It started when he found out that I would regularly visit my former girlfriend who wasn’t a Christian. I originally broke up with her right after I rededicated my life but I was struggling with giving up an unhealthy relationship that no one knew about. Todd being the kind of guy that he is confronted me about my sin and offered to hold me accountable. This was one of the first times that I had another Christian who knew my flaws and was speaking truth into my life.
I didn’t like it. It was uncomfortable. It forced me to look deeper in my life and I didn’t like what I found. I hated it actually and I tried to avoid Todd for most of that semester. It was much easier to sweep my sin under the rug when I was the only one who knew about it. Sure, maybe I felt bad about it for a little while, but I could get over it by getting busy with something else or justifying it in my own head. But a third party in my life? Well that would change everything.
I knew God wanted me to build this relationship with Todd because as much as I tried to avoid him, I would see him everywhere- in the cafe, gym, classes and even off campus! I started to listen to God’s voice and opened up to Todd about things I was dealing with and the hidden sin that I kept sweeping under the rug.
This painful, uncomfortable but REAL community with Todd changed my life. True growth as a believer REQUIRES deep community with other Christ followers. Check back in a week to hear the rest of the story that changed me from a Christian Nomad into an advocate for life in community at all costs.

Confessions of a Former Christian Nomad

For former posts and more info visit www.mychurch.org/youngcouples.

If you would have told me a few years ago that I would be married and a marriage pastor at Frontline, I would have laughed. If you would have told me that I’d also be a dad before the spring of 07, I would have fainted! But sometime around April 18, my wife and I will be having a baby boy. You may be surprised to know that while I was in college I never even planned on getting married until i was in my mid-30s. See, I had so many things I wanted to accomplish, places I wanted to see and people I wanted to meet that the thought of “settling down” was very scary to me! I was a classic Christian Nomad. The book Wild at Heart by John Elderidge was the story of my life. Adventure was my highest value. My mantra was “Fly by the seat of your pants.” The lighter I traveled relationally, the easier it was to stay nimble and achieve my goals. Get what I’m saying?
We talk alot about getting “Connected in Biblical Community” around Frontline and it is one of our core disciplines along with Grow, Serve and Share. I didn’t truly understand this value and discipline as a Christian Nomad. My idea of connection was a buddy to come along on a hiking trip with me. It’s not that I was a loner, didn’t like to talk to people, and didn’t have friends. Quite the opposite was true actually. I was a socialite! I loved meeting strangers, hanging out, having lots of friends, being in crowds. Everyone who met me would tell you that I was the life of the party. The Bible might say “Spur one another towards love” but my interpretation was more like, “Spur one another towards fun!” I didn’t even mind dating, as long as it didn’t get serious. Yes, I was your prototypical Christian Nomad. Some of you who are reading this may relate with my former point of view.
At the heart of being a Christian Nomad is a fear of letting anyone inside to see who you REALLY are. I avoided a heart-to-heart with a friend like the plague! I would crack jokes, change the subject and even leave the room if I started to feel like someone was trying to get too close to uncovering who I really was. I was perfectly happy and content in my Nomadic world.
One guy who I couldn’t stand at some points in my life changed my whole outlook on Biblical Community.
Over the next few weeks, I’m going to talk about how God had to break me to be able to really use me for His glory. Be sure to check back in a week.
Nate