Thankfulness

I was going to write about Matthew 16 this week, but life can really get in the way sometimes. In this case, it did so in a wonderful way. Some of my new friends from Slovakia came to town for a youth leadership conference, and I've had the chance to spend more time with them than I could have hoped. This group represents Josiah Venture, and last night they spoke to a group of college students about the work that they're doing in eastern Europe. I was reminded again of the breadth of God's love, that He is as real in the mountains of Europe as he is in the foothills of North America. Our prayer is for Him to be relevant in those places as well.

The team spoke briefly last night about the support they receive from churches here in the States, and read from Colossians 1:3-6, where Paul talks about being thankful for those walking in the faith with him:

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you..."

 What an appropriate passage just a week before Thanksgiving. Mike Sullivan, one of the leaders and a missionary who has lived in Slovakia for nine years, said that many of the students they work with think all Americans are "cool", and that our presence on mission trips is a huge door to presenting the gospel. Then he encouraged us not to feel guilty or trivialized by this fact, but to consider ourselves blessed to be American. That beyond the material comforts that Americans enjoy more than other nations around the world, we should consider it a blessing if our "American-ness" in any way allows us the opportunity to advance the Kingdom. In a world where being American is often grounds for being criticized (and often with just cause), this concept brings a smile to my face.

As Thanksgiving and the Christmas season rapidly approaches, I want to take the time to tell all of you how thankful I am for you. For long-time friends and new ones alike...thank you for your hospitality, support, laughter and inclusion. For my family...thank you for your love and the example that you set for me. For my Christian brothers and sisters...thank you for your courage, humility and steadiness, and for always challenging me in new and exciting ways. For my friends who believe something different, or maybe aren't even sure...thank you for your tolerance and your openness. I pray that these writings will spark continued conversation and discussion about this faith that drives my life.

I'll likely not be writing next week, although I'll try to drop in a holiday greeting or something. Please be safe, and have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

A Calling Is In Order

So I was reading through Matthew 9 a couple of weeks ago, and there is a ton of stuff in there. There are five specific healing stories (including one instance of raising someone from the dead!), a lesson on fasting, and a declaration from Jesus in verse 6 that He has the authority on earth to forgive sins. A huge statement, and one that serves to show that Jesus' work is not one of a snake oil salesman but of the divine. I'm reminded of Gandalf's quote in The Lord of the Rings: "Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks." What is Jesus saying here? "I'm the real deal." Again...a pretty dense chapter.

Lots of people like to say Jesus was "a good teacher." Yet his teachings frequently defy a logical or even rational explanation. Others say he was a healer. While this is certainly true, it's vital to recognize how often Jesus said things like "your faith has made you well." Jesus tied the physical maladies of Judea directly to a corresponding spiritual ailment, a condition that was curable not by any earthly remedy but by a transformation of the spirit, even more dynamic and astounding than the very visible healings taking place wherever Jesus went. Nowhere is this clearer than in verses 9-13 and the closing verses 35-38.

In verse 9, Jesus meets a man named Matthew (sound familiar?) who happens to be a tax collector. Most of you have heard it plenty of times before, but tax collectors in those times were pretty much the most despised people around. They cheated people, had no loyalty and were generally just not to be respected or trusted. But Jesus, as He often did, turns the social order on its head by telling Matthew to follow Him. Which Matthew does. There's not a ton of detail to this story, but I like to think that Matthew followed because he was stunned to see a popular local figure - and a religious one at that - taking the time to interact with him. Nice lesson for churches of today that love to isolate themselves from the community around them. (Calling #1)

Jesus ends up going to Matthew's house for dinner, and Matthew invites all his tax collector friends (because again, who else would hang out with tax collectors except other tax collectors?) and some other characters who are apparently of a less than savory nature. And the religious leaders can't comprehend this. Why would this man who claims to be God be wasting time with the dregs of society? And Jesus answers with one of my favorite lines in Scripture:

It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. (Matt. 9:12)

Jesus knows He doesn't have a long time on the earth. He doesn't need to spend time on those who have their lives together. It's those people who have a lack, a void, a sickness in their lives who need Him. And of course, as verse 13 drives home, He is not talking about physical ailments but the spiritually dying. But the broader point that the modern church can't afford to miss is this:

There are a lot of sick people out there.

At the end of this chapter, we see that Jesus is traveling through "all the towns and villages", and that He is healing "every disease and sickness." And He issues a challenge to His followers: there aren't enough workers to reach all of these people who are hurting and need Him. Jesus, whose vision is always in the present and the future simultaneously, is stating the purpose of the church for years to come. (Calling #2)

So a calling of one kind or the other is in order: For the non-believer, Jesus is calling you to "dine with Him." Recognize Him for who He is. Ask questions, interact, and begin to understand. For the believer, Jesus is calling us to the "harvest." Go out among our family, friends, communities and nations, and let them know that there is someone who longs to heal their brokenness, their hurts, and their bitterness. A calling for each of us - an encouraging thought.

God bless, and have a great weekend!

Fire and smoke

It'll be a shorter post this week, for no particular reason. I think the point is a bit easier to make, but a cool visual I hadn't really considered before. The passage that led me to write this week's piece is Exodus 13:17-22. In it, the Israelites are fleeing their enslavement in Egypt, and God is leading them through the wilderness. Let's take a quick look at verse 17 before we go further:

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land... (Ex. 13:17, NLT)

Now there's almost a whole sermon in that one sentence. God doesn't always lead us by the shortest, most direct, or to us, most logical paths. And when we choose to follow God, we have to understand that this is the case, and not immediately get discouraged or disillusioned when He doesn't seem to be going where we want to go. But like I said...that's a whole separate sermon. The point is that God is leading His people in this passage - and the way He did it must have been visually stunning:

The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. (Ex. 13:21, NLT)

Many of you (if not most or all of you) already know this story. You may be thinking to yourself that this is repetitive and there's no new lesson here. And you might be right. But what if the difference between God's guidance by night and by day is deeper than just a visual one (it's easier to see fire at night and smoke during the day)? I like the idea that while God never changes, His help comes to us in different ways depending on our situation.

A fire at a campsite provides light and keeps away predators; similarly, God steers us through the "night" periods of our lives with clear light and direction. He is a refuge for those wandering and stumbling. In the "daylight" of our lives, however, God may not seem so necessary. Things are going well, or seem more hopeful, and the tendency is to look to our own devices and ignore God's direction. Yet how does smoke affect us? Not seeing smoke from a distance, but when you encounter smoke up close? For me, it is an irritant. I don't mean that to sound irreverent, but I find the "smoke" representation of God to be a perfect one. When things seem to be going well for me, I need that occasional wisp of smoke to hit my eyes, my throat, my lungs, making me at once aware of God's presence, my watering eyes and coughing symbolizing my need to be aware and receptive to Him even when I can steer myself through the light of day.

The next couple of weeks, I'll be focusing on the book of Matthew. Thanks, and have a great week!

The Prayer Liar

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about praying specifically and confidently. Today I want to talk about a different aspect of prayer. Well...perhaps not so much prayer as the nature of the believer and our "prayer promises." This did not come from any specific Scripture, studies or lessons, although I will reference some verses below. Rather, I felt compelled to address what I observe as an unhealthy and common habit among the church, as well as something with which I've frequently struggled - the promise to "pray for you."

I'm obviously not advocating that we not pray for each other; but look at the example Paul and the other writers of the epistles set when they describe their prayers:

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy... (Philippians 1:4)

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you... (Colossians 1:3)

 ...ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16)

 That is some intense intercessory prayer, folks! Every verse resonates with the concept of this being a continuous act. "Always." "Have not stopped." "Remembering you." And here's where I'm afraid we as believers get trapped by our good intentions. See, in my experience, "I'll be praying for you" is the church equivalent of "How ya doing?" We may say it, but we're not interested in the response or the follow-up. Praying for someone essentially becomes a box to be checked on the Good Person To-Do List, along with attending church, or nodding politely at your neighbor.

The thing to remember here is that true prayer for others is a commitment. Even if what that person needs prayer for in the moment is just a short-term thing (like a doctor's appointment or an upcoming exam in school), your prayer should be applied not just to their current condition but their lifelong condition. This is someone who is walking the same faith walk as you are; we should wrap our prayers for someone's situation into their long-term growth in Christ! And if we think of our prayers for others this way, it becomes very difficult to ever really stop praying for them - and I think that's the point.

Now this raises an interesting dilemma for me. The power of prayer is well-documented both biblically and anecdotally. But the Bible also talks about the power of prayers made in agreement with one another. This may sound prideful or even narcissistic, but is it possible that if I neglect to pray for something or someone  that I've committed to that I might negatively impact the outcome? If prayer is powerful, is the absence of prayer necessarily powerless? I have to say - when I think of it this way, it really makes me examine things I may have been neglecting in my prayer life.

A quick side note about this: I'm not really on board with the recent mania among Christians to belittle themselves and/or the church over every little thing. Sure, we're all going to make mistakes, and the church has made plenty over the years, but the reality is we have a peace and victory that should shine through in our lives. My thoughts on this topic are better saved for a full essay, but just know that I think believers don't always give themselves enough credit, and today's post isn't about bashing or some foundational flaw in Christendom. Which leads me my last point...

Prayer for others should be joyful! Look at the quote from Philippians above, then think about what members of the early church were going through. Even in the darkest of times, our prayer for others should be filled with the excitement and hopefulness of our faith in Jesus. And if you think of the idea of prayer for others as a long-term goal, how could it be anything less than joyful? The happy ending has already been written; that fact should weave itself into every prayer we lift to Him.

I would encourage all of you to try this in your prayers over the next couple of weeks. Pray for fellow believers, even if you don't know of anything they're currently "dealing with." And pray for them daily. And like me, try to imagine what our church will look like when everyone who says "I'm praying for you" really means it.

Wisdom - In The Palm Of Our Hands

I've been wanting to talk about wisdom for a while, and a couple of different aspects of what can be considered wisdom. Most importantly, how can we be considered wise, and how can we hold onto that wisdom once we have obtained it? I think we're living in a fascinating time for answering these questions, but first, let's take a look at how the Bible defines wisdom.

The obvious source for any Biblical research on wisdom is Proverbs. The book was written by King Solomon, the leader who famously asked God for wisdom and is well-known for this even in the secular realm. However, it doesn't take long when reading Proverbs to see that the definition of wisdom is quite different from how the world defines it.  Solomon consistently describes a wise person as being ethically grounded, wrapped in integrity, and bound by discipline. Put most simply, a wise person is guided by a moral compass, a compass that has as its focus the Word of God.

One of the great elements of Proverbs, to me, is that it consistently parallels the acts of the foolish man with those of the wise. It provides a stark contrast in behaviors, in essence removing the "grey area" the modern scholar is so fond of. Take the closing verses of Chapter 2, for example:

Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous. For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted. (Pr. 2:20-22, NLT)

There's not much wiggle room there; live a life of integrity and the pursuit of godliness, or be "uprooted" from the land ("land" can be thought of here as "God's favor"). And lest we think of this as antiquated Old Testament theology, James concurs:

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom - it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. (James 3:13-17, MSG)

So by now, some people might be panicking. This isn't a life I can lead! How can I possibly know the godly choice in every situation? Well, not to be overly simplistic, but God has told us that His Word is sufficient for us. Everything we need to guide our steps is included in the Bible! And here's why I said earlier that I find today's world so fascinating: I researched and brought up every verse above from my phone.While many Christians bemoan the "instant" world we live in, and the perils of rapidly emerging technology, I think it instead offers an unparalleled opportunity to keep our guide, our compass, right at our side at all times. Can there be anything more encouraging than having God's Word at our fingertips throughout the day?

If you find yourself struggling to live up to God's definition of wisdom, I hope this post encourages you to begin rediscovering the Bible, and what it can reveal to you. If you're all about convenience, look for a Bible app for your phone so that you can keep it with you always. And maybe we can begin to appreciate anew the Orthodox Jewish tradition, gleaned from Deuteronomy 11:18, that encourages us to "tie (the words) to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders." It's a great visual, and one we would be truly wise to replicate.

Have a great weekend, and God bless!

I recently undertook to read through the entire Bible, preferably in a year. This is of course not a novel idea, and there are books, web sites and apps devoted to helping people achieve this goal. I settled on YouVersion and their iPhone app, and I'd definitely recommend them if you're interested in something similar.

The thing is, I'm always really concerned with motivation. Am I reading the Bible just because I said I would, like my attempts to plow through War and Peace? Or am I trying to learn something while I read through the entire text? Honestly, I think it's a little of both, depending on the content for the day or how far behind I've fallen in my quest. This plan I'm on looks like this: 2-3 chapters of the Old Testament, 1 chapter of the New Testament, 1 Psalm and like half a Proverb every day. Add some milk and sugar, stir occasionally, and voila! the recipe for a holy life, right?

Well, like most modern Christians I know, I think I just assumed that the New Testament would hold all the relevant truth I needed, and I'd just slog through Leviticus and the "begats" as the price I had to pay for completing my noble mission of reading all of God's Word. As opposed to, you know, wanting to read it. But a funny thing happened within the first week of my reading. They say God can take bad situations and work them for good; I say He takes even our good intentions and works them for His good. In my mind, I had perfectly valid motivation for my reading; I couldn't have foreseen how perfectly God could synchronize the text with my life. Let me explain:

Over the summer, as I mentioned previously, I spent two weeks in Slovakia with high school students. Now Slovakia isn't a place where believers are persecuted or hunted or anything, but there's definitely a challenge to being a Christian there. In America, there's a sort of grudging acceptance that church exists in a community, and might even help out its neighbors once in a while, so it's not so bad. In Slovakia, you sense a real effort is needed to keep Christianity relevant. Now imagine how tough that is on a 16- or 17-year-old that may be just learning the basics of the faith while also trying to just be a teenager. Needless to say, faith, confidence, and a need to "hear His voice" are common prayer requests from my friends there.

On "Day 10" of the plan, I found myself in Genesis 24 and Matthew 8. In Genesis, Abraham sends his most trusted servant ("the man in charge of his household") on a quest to find a suitable wife for his son, Isaac. What I like is that the servant prays very specifically for a sign (v. 12-14). When it comes to pass, there is no question that God has answered his prayer. Lesson alert!! Today, we pray so vaguely for things like faith and God's will; of course in our limited wisdom we'll struggle to see that prayer answered! And of course, in the story, Abraham's servant has his faith rewarded, and he finds Rebekah and brings her home to marry Isaac.

But that's not all. In Matthew 8, Jesus is in Capernaum and encounters an officer in the Roman army, who begs Jesus to heal his son. One of my all-time favorite passages because this guy has SO much faith that he essentially challenges Jesus for something bigger. Jesus offers to come to the officer's house and heal his kid, but the Roman tells Jesus that all that is needed is just a word from Him. And Jesus comes through, and even remarks that He has never seen such a great example of faith in action (v. 10).

The consistency of Scripture is such a cool thing, huh? The two stories gave me a great takeaway: that we should pray confidently and specifically. That no matter how far away God may feel, we can trust in His power and ability to provide. And this is my advice and encouragement to my friends in Slovakia, as well to all of you here at home. Give it a try in the next week.

Next week, I tackle the concept of wisdom and accessing God's word in a modern world.

Hello, and welcome to you! This blog - or whatever it eventually becomes - has been a long time coming. It would probably not have arrived at all if not for the encouragement of two dear friends, whose words were both supportive and challenging. Simply stated - if you feel you have a gift, use it. And use it for His glory rather than your own. So to whatever extent you read, enjoy, repost, or comment on this page, know that it exists to honor God and grow His kingdom. Thank you, HB and JK, for helping me reach this place.

The site's name comes from two unique experiences from my summer: a mission trip to Slovakia, and my decision to join a new church after more than 30 years in one place. In Slovakia, we taught English at a camp for high school and college students, and the camp's theme was "Collision." The church I recently joined is called The Midtown Bridge in Atlanta. My interactions with people in Slovakia and at my new church home have been life-altering and refreshing. Yet it wasn't until I began to put together ideas for this site that I realized that these names hold a meaning that for me is much more complex - and beautiful.

You see, I think collisions and bridges are the perfect representation of what the Christian life is all about. As believers, we are constantly colliding with temptation, with challenges to our faith, with a fallen world, and even with trying to comprehend the love and grace we have received. Yet we are also a bridge - a conduit by which those around us can come to know Jesus as we do. In fact, the more I think of these images, the harder it is for me to think of an area of the Christian faith that doesn't involve one or the other. It is in this context that the words in this space will be written.

I hope that you will enjoy the postings here. My prayer is that you will comment, share with your friends, and find encouragement from what I write. At times, it will definitely be more "creative" in nature (as you can tell, I love analogies!). But I can promise it will never be fiction. And you can be confident that, like John the Baptist in Mark 1:7, the goal is to point toward one "who is greater than I am."

Thanks, and God bless!
David