Leadership Training participants and leaders are finishing up their time.
Internships and Co-ops are in their final weeks.
Students that have been home are planning their returns to campus.
New students have been through orientation and are now starting to get their stuff packed.
Grads are starting to feel the reality that they won’t be returning this time.
Those of us in the New River Valley are seeing people start to pour into the area, stores are getting busier, school supply list emails are going out and houses and apartments are changing hands as some leave and some arrive.

It has even dropped into the low eighties in the evenings a couple of times!

And this is the last Diaspora post for the summer.

As I reflect back on the summer and what God has spoken to me about, I keep coming back to his sovereinty. The fact that he is God and is ultimately in charge. He is the one that has most earned the right to guide my thinking, my soul. He is the one that is most in love with me and has the most fulfilling use of my short time here on earth in his mind.

He is the one that challenged me early in the summer to consider who is really blessed as compared to who I can feel is blessed.
He is the one that challenged me to really look at how much I actually take Jesus’ command seriously. Am I willing to be sent into the world as Jesus went, or am I just going to busy myself with the business of putting on a weekly church gathering?
He is the one that challenged me to really consider where my faith stops and my fear takes over. To consider what my definition of success and failure are.

And all through it, he has just been with me. There have been some amazing moments where I clearly felt his presence.

It has been a great summer and I have so enjoyed walking through it together with you all.

Peace, Jim

One of the greatest parts of being able to regularly teach the scriptures is that I take a few months (usually) before I teach on a book or a topic to try to immerse myself in it.  I was once challenged to never teach on scripture that I hadn’t read fifty times, the idea being that the more you dive into the scriptrues the more you can grab what was going on.  The Holy Spirit seems to really draw me into interactions that have really blessed me; and hopefully those that hear me!

I have been excited about us teaching on Amos for well over a year now, volunteered to teach the three weeks we will be dealing with it, and even am leaving our staff retreat early to get back August 8th to finish the series up.  But my excitement has been due to the sense that God wanted us to talk about it, not about the book itself.

Amos is the third of the minor prophets.  A section of short accounts of seasons in Isreal and Judah’s history when God is saying Enough! The minor prophets writings are full of God’s judgement, unpleasant verses, and involve a tough task of understanding what was going on then that led God to say what he did and how that connects with our experience today and what he is intending us to take from it.  It is not a very highly read book, tucked into the back of the Old Testament and full of tough stuff.

Honestly, it isn’t easy.

But I have been surprised.

As I have read Amos more times than I can count in various translations, relfected on how specific writers and the church has looked it over the centuries and spent a great deal of time asking God what he would want to say to us… I have started to see something that I had missed.  A great deal of love and hope.  An incredible example of how God blends the fact that he is fully in charge of everything he has created and that we as humanity seem to have genuine freedom in the choices me make within that creation.

In light of that, this week’s challenge is fairly straightforward.

Read Amos a couple of times.  You need to read it a couple of times to get through the initial feelings you will have when you do read it.  The language is strong, God is upset.  That is clear.  If you would like some of the context of why, you can listen to my talk from last Sunday.

As you are reading, ask God to help you look past how you feel about what he is saying, so that you can start to get to how he feels about what he is saying.  Then pose the question, am I doing what the Israelites were doing?

Pray that God will give you a heart that is more tender to both your weaknesses, but also to the love that God so clearly feels for you.  Remember, in God’s eyes, if you have accepted Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and call to follow him, you are part of the family of Israel.  Keep that in mind as you read.

Finally, share what you are seeing with someone else.  I would love if you would share it here so we can all be encouraged, but the most important point is that you share.

Last thing, if the website is a bit tough to get around, give us some grace, a totally new and revamped one is coming in the next couple of weeks!  Long overdue!

Peace, Jim

I realize that I am not only being cliche, but redundant as I express my shock that so much of the summer has gone by already! So, there it is. Again.

I doubt it will be the last time either.

This season of the year is always a bit of a unique one. A key group that [nlcf] reaches out to are college students, so the start of the fall semester is always a very busy one for us. But busyness isn’t the issue.

The start of fall signals the start of a season where we have very specific goals. Goals that we need God to step into and enable, or we simply won’t hit them. This fall is no different. And that is why this time of the year feels so unique.

This time of the year begs the question, “What if God doesn’t do his part in the way we are expecting him to?” Yes, we have a part to do in all this, but unless God shows up and does the heavy lifting, then we are stuck.

That question then leads to others, “Why didn’t he do his part? Did we misunderstand? Is he trying to show us that we are on the wrong track? Are our hearts wrong?” And a litany of questions like them.

What do we do when God doesn’t do what we thought he was going to do?

This question, like so many we have reflected on this summer, have so many levels to them, so many nuances, that we simply cannot reflect on them all. So, let’s try to go after what we can. There is one that I hear lurking underneath so many of the others in my own heart, but also in the hearts of those that ask similar questions. What does it say about God’s love for me when he doesn’t show up and do what I ask him to?

Not surprisingly, this one runs very deep, so let’s take a look. And let’s start in the chapter that many people — and commentaries — call the Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11.

I would strongly encourage you to read the whole chapter, as I am going to pick it up in verse thirty-two. And away we go…

32 “And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.” Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated– 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

Start out great, eh? The first of the chapter is a list of those that trusted God, and in return, God did amazing things through them. In verse thirty-two the author of Hebrews starts picking up speed and lists a number of people together.

Then we get to the close of the chapter.

It starts with another amazing list. Things that probably all of us would want. “…who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.”

Who would argue with those results?! Amazing things done that only God could do. Powerful expressions of God’s love, power, and attentiveness; enacted at just the right time. These are the results we all would love to be able to count on.

But the chapter continues on. “Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated– 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”

Now these? These people had it rough. Tortured, flogged, mocked. Some were homeless. The sheepskins and goatskins they were talking about would have been the castoffs, the pieces that anyone that could afford to would toss out. Most of us would take one look at them and, after we got over our pity, would consider their faith overall a failure. These people would have likely been like us and would have asked for God to remove their situation from them, would have asked him for help in a very palpable way.

Wouldn’t we?

And clearly he didn’t.

But then look at this amazing couple of sentences. 39 “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”

They were commended for their faith. God was doing something bigger. I love the very tender line in there, the world was not worthy of them.

Here is what this section of verses helps me to understand. God honors my faith. Very simple, eh? But true. He honors, he appreciates, he loves, he even in some manner rewards the faith I show in him. My trust of him matters. Not just my trust that he will do what I think he should. Not just my trust that I will get what I ask for. It’s bigger than that.

I think what he values most in our trust is that we have it in him. That just like in those few tough to read verses, even if we don’t get what we want, that he is weaving our short lives into his unfolding story. That, as much as he does love us, if we must go through difficulty, it is important in ways we don’t understand.

Jesus seemed to be clear on that with the disciples. He told them they would be kicked out of the synagogues — something that had many more implications than we would think — they would be hunted, he even told them that some would be killed. Not because they were letting God down, not because they were always doing it wrong.

Primarily because the world is broken, and we are broken in it. And as God is involving us in his plan to bring us back to what he originally created us to be, sometimes he would need to do things that would won’t get. Sometimes things will happen in ways we won’t get.

Our faith, mostly simply put, is our trust in God that he has got it under control.

So, our faith won’t make everything predictable, even though there clearly will be times that God will honor our requests down to the very word. Our faith won’t always happen the way we think it should or on a timeline that we agree with.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use it! Far from it, God is telling us to use it in every occasion; to ask one another what we are using our faith for, to encourage and challenge one another to use it all the time. To see our faith as the most precious thing we have. Our faith isn’t about playing it safe, only attempting the things that we can handle on our own. Or even that are private enough that, should they not work out our way, we can avoid embarrassment.

Our faith is going to get banged up by our world, it’s going to happen. But it will also allow God to use us in ways we could never imagine on our own. This week, let’s really reflect on our faith.

Reflection
What are you believing God for, this week?
What are you doing that requires God to show up or it will fail?
How have you handled those unavoidable occasions where God hasn’t done it your way or according to your timeline?

Prayer
This week, get together with a few other followers of Jesus, and take a few moments to share how what you are trusting God for in your life right now. Then take maybe thirty minutes and pray. Pray for those things, pray for each other’s faith — that it might be stronger and more used. Please also pray for [nlcf], that we would be a church that individually and collectively trusts God.

Share
Then respond back and let us know what we can be praying for you. If God has been doing anything wild to honor your faith, share that with us too.

Loving this journey with you all!

Faith!
Jim

So here we are.

We are on the verge of July, and while I know this is very cliché, I feel like I am always in disbelief that we have already come through this much of summer.

My family and I are visiting our Virginia Beach Leadership Training program for about a week and a half. I had the honor of speaking to a great group of emerging leaders last evening, very early this morning and then I will do so again tonight. This weekend I will be speaking at all five gathering of Coastal Community Church and also at Fuse. It is a great church and I always enjoy seeing them.

This week I would like to ask a very simple to state but tough to fully answer question.

Ready? Hang on, its coming in just a minute.

“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach the new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28.18-20 NLT

Likely, everyone that is reading this post has heard this one before. Go and make disciples. And yes, that is the jist of it. But let’s unpack this a bit.

When Jesus spoke to his followers, his learners (that is what disciple means) he had lived his life here on earth without sin, had laid his life down and submitted to one of the most gruesome death processes that world knew, had taken the entirety of the weight of our human rebellion (past, present and future) upon himself and finally, had physically risen from the dead.

As a result, God the Father had given God the Son authority over everything. Jesus had access to all the power of the trinity and had reign over everything.

So when Jesus said,“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth,” he meant it. It would be like your boss getting a huge promotion at work and they tell you, “I have the power to bring you up with me, and I am going to do it.” They have been given power and they are telling you how they intend to use it.

Jesus is very much doing that. But not to give us a higher salary and a nicer office. If our life right now were all that we will live, then yes, that would be a great thing. If prestige were all that mattered, then great. But Jesus is constantly calling us to realize that our lives are worth more than just as a means of acquiring for ourselves, and our life now extends eternally after death. This life is just the start of what we will experience. James refers to it as a “puff of wind” or a “breath.” We are here just a moment. But even that moment can be filled with incredible meaning.

So, what Jesus is doing is much better than using his pull to just get us better jobs that allow us to drive around in better cars. He is telling us that because of the love he has shown to us through his life, death and resurrection, he is drawing us into what his mission was. Jesus is saying, “I am giving you the chance (really the challenge) to continue what I started.” He is giving us the chance to have more meaning pour out of our lives than we could ever produce on our own.

We already know he has equipped us, because anyone who asks Jesus to guide them through there life and reconnect them with the Father has received God the Holy Spirit. Jesus actually said it was better for him to physically leave earth so that the Holy Spirit could come. Jesus said he will guide us into all truth and strengthen us for the challenges we will face.

So, Jesus laid the groundwork. He showed us what our mission is – by living it. He made it possible for us to join him on his mission – by dying in our place and coming back to life. He has guided us in life to where we can care enough about humanity and the rest of creation to where we would want to live for others – by showing us how it is done and carefully speaking into our souls. And he gave us the ability to accomplish our part of it – by sending God the Holy Spirit into our souls as a strengthener and a guide.

So… the hard work is done. Now Jesus says something very simple. He says that we have the job of living out Jesus’ mission in our world today. To make the mission of Jesus our mission.

And that is the first question. Is Jesus’ mission yours?

Are you living your life according to the Matthew 28 set of verses that were listed before? It was Jesus’ challenge to his learners then and it is his challenge to those of us that follow him now.

Are you approaching your faith in God as a hobby? Maybe even an elaborate one? Something that takes time but really isn’t central to who you are. It is better described as one of the things that you do. Or is it more?

Jesus was focused on accomplishing his part of God’s redemptive plan for our world. And he is calling on us to have the same focus.

The first part is simple. Do you have anyone who is a learner of yours? Do you have any disciples? People that you are guiding in their relationships with Christ and people that you are guiding into a relationship with Christ.
Jesus said, I have been given the authority and I am passing some on to you. Love people enough to help them see that they are loved by the Father and are able to live a life guided by me. Jesus told us to go.

It is a simple question that is hard to answer…. Have you gone?

You don’t necessarily go anywhere different from where you are, it is more your purpose when you are wherever you are. It doesn’t mean that you go up to everyone you see and offer to tell them about Jesus’ love for them, but that as you go wherever you go, you are willing to go to anyone and do that. It isn’t that you you do everything that needs doing in the church, but that you are actively pursuing God about what part of Jesus’ mission you are responsible for.

So, this week. Let’s reflect on Jesus’ challenge to all of us. I would suggest committing it to memory if you don’t already have it in there. It is just a great reminder of what we are really here to do.
Then let’s reflect on the question of what our role in Jesus’ mission is. Now, I am not asking you to know for certainty what it will always be, but rather for the next six months to a year, how are you going to make disciples?  If you aren’t sure, start talking to God about it.

If you still aren’t sure, comment that or email me and let’s chat about how that can happen. If you are more sure, definitely comment or email that back as well so we can see what God is calling you to do.

Every single one of us that has asked Jesus to guide our lives has been given both the challenge and the ability to do our part in his mission. Let’s help one another do it.

That being said, what I am also hearing is that there are a number of people who are starting to feel like they are behind on some aspect of the weekly focus, prayer or action step(s).

Cool. Let’s do this, let’s say that this is one of two things: a catch up week or a continuation of what you have already been doing.

If you are on it and rolling, then continue to roll. Continue to ask God for ways to demonstrate the God-flavoring that we are all called to be. Pray expectantly for opportunities (be they big or small) to chat with people about how you view God interacting in the world. Now remember, this isn’t just helping people understand their need for Jesus’ forgiveness and guidance. It certainly involves that, but it isn’t just that. Salt simply takes what it is on and brings out the flavor. Trust God to place you in situations and simply talk about what you notice.

This past week I was at a wedding and about half of one of the families was from Utah and were Mormon. At one point during the reception, I was talking with a couple of friends and the grandfather of the groom came up to me and asked me what I thought about marriage in heaven. I referred to a situation where some Pharisees were attempting to trick Jesus. In his answer, Jesus seems to pretty clearly say that in heaven we won’t have marriages. As hard as that seems to me to grasp, it seems like when we are fully present with God, we won’t be lacking for connection (either with Him or one another) and so marriage won’t be an issue. This is just one issue that Mormonism views differently from Christianity.

We then went on to discuss my views on who Jesus was and what our role is with him and what his role is with us. I asked the grandfather some questions and that was that.

Even though I feel strongly that Mormonism is missing the key component of our need of Christ, it wasn’t the time for that discussion and so we didn’t have it. I tried to bring out the work of God as I understand the scriptures communicate it, and that was that.

There have definitely been times where I have debated those points and tried to communicate where I see Mormonism coming up short.

All that to say, remember, salt brings out the flavors it is put on. Allow God to guide you to share what seems right. Don’t assume you always need to argue with people about God to show you are bold, and don’t assume you should never discuss specifics of your faith out of fear you won’t have all the answers right then.

Simply ask God to, more and more, allow you to bring out the his flavor. Just talk about him, see where it all goes.

For those that need a catch up week, enjoy! We can all use them from time to time. I would encourage you to really try to walk through what we have been talking about and then post to share your experiences with us all. One of the things I have also heard about this group is that a number of people are more encouraged by what the group shares than what I do. Cool by me.

I will leave you with the Message’s translation of the section we looked at last week (and now this week.)

“You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world?”

Very simple thought, yet very powerful. May peace be with you all this week. Jim

So, this week. Let’s take a closer look at the Sermon on the Mount. Now, this may not be the area that we spend the entire summer in. In fact, I doubt it will be. Overall, I am trying to take what I hear from you, add in what God is speaking to my heart and see where he wants to lead us. So, I would say that none of us in this group fully knows where it is all going.

Let’s look at Matthew 5.13.
13 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?

Now, when I read this, and this version is from the Message, I think a couple of things. I love the very start of this passage, “Let me tell you why you are here…” It is just very simple and straitforward. The stuff that we often wish was more frequent in the Bible. Jesus would have been sitting on the big hill, looking at those who had come to hear him, and probably they would have been pressing in close to hear.

And he says, “Let me tell you why you are here.” Obviously he wasn’t talking about why they were there listening to him, he was speaking about why they are on earth.

He is speaking to us as well. So, we would do well to slow down for a minute, lean in a bit, and listen to the answer that God the Son, Jesus, is about to give to the statement he just made.

We are here to be salt. The seasoning that brings out the God flavors of the earth. We are to take the things that God has done and continues to do, and make them more easily seen, more easily noticed.

Jesus gives two very basic statements. He offers to tell them why they are here, what their purpose is. Then he gives them a very simple explanation. We are to bring up and discuss the fingerprints that God has left and continues to leave, all over the world, in our lives, everywhere.

Clarity about our purpose. To make God more fully known, both to those who are followers of his and to those who are not. We are to talk about what God is up to.

If God is in charge, then he has the right to ask that of us. The question is, are we doing it? Are we talking about what we have seen God do? Do we talk about God to those who agree with us about him, but never to those who don’t?

There is certainly much more we could discuss about this short passage. In fact, I think the Sermon on the Mount has layers to it that we will spend our entire lives exploring. I suspect even after that, when we stand with God in heaven and he shows us the fullness of what he was up to, we will still be amazed by how little of it we actually got.

But let’s not worry about that for now. For now, let’s let it be very simple. Jesus said we are here to make God more well known. That we are here to allow the “God-flavors” of this earth to be more detectable.

Let’s make what we do be very simple as well.

Let’s memorize that set of scripture. You can take the first two sentences or you can tackle the three verse section. Whichever you prefer.

This week, at least once, but as often as possible, be the salt that you are. Talk about what God is doing, what he has done in your life. Do that however you feel led to, if you would like some help with that, email me and let me know.

Comment back in and tell us what happened. This way, the rest of us can be encouraged by what you have done. Also, many others are reading this as well. So, by sharing what you shared, you are continuing to be salt. However, if you feel it would be best to keep it private, you can either email our list serve or me personally. But lets share some stories. Even if nothing seems to happen.

Pray that those around you would be the salt they are, or would sense God’s flavoring of the world through you. Pray that the rest of us would do the same and pray that [nlcf] would be a place where that could happen on a broad scale.

I cannot wait to hear back and know I am praying for you all!

Peace, Jim

“One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down.  His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.”  Matt 5.1,2

In words that follow, just 112 of them, he shows us just how innacuractely we can look at our world.

Those 112 words, called the beatitudes (Matt 5.3-10) were so named because the Latin word we derive blessing from is beatus.  While not very lengthly, they give us some of the most straightforward descriptions of who is blessed in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Eight phrases that show us how God says things should be.  Other biblical writers use the term Kingdom of God, but Matthew, as he was tasked to write to the Jews, wouldn’t have used God’s name like that, hence, Kingdom of Heaven.

So, this week, let’s mediate on the Beatitudes.  I would suggest this;  take two each day and meditate on them.  Ask yourself some questions: does this describe how I feel?  Do I believe that those phrases are more accurate of what truly is a blessing than what the world around me says is one?  Where is my thinking off? You might also want to consider using a different translation that what you are accustomed to using.  The slightly different phrasing might help you to engage the verses in a fresh way.  Crosswalk has a great list of translations you can choose from… and an interesting interview of a guy I know.

A couple of easy pitfalls to avoid.  When Matthew writes blessed, he doesn’t necessarily mean material blessing.  Blessing from God certainly includes that, but it involves so much more.  We are blessed when we are adopted into God’s family, when we are aware of his presence, when we are more able to see our world, as well as God’s kingdom, more clearly.  Cool?

So…  take this week and each day, focus on two.  Write them where you will see them, (I will put them up on my googlecal.) Take a bit of time, even as little as ten to fifteen minutes daily and reflect on those questions I listed above.  You may find that God leads you to others, if that is what happens, dump mine and follow God’s lead.

Then pray.

At least once this week, take about 30-ish minutes and pray for your heart to more clearly reflect God’s explanation of beatus.  Pray for those around you, wherever you are to understand it as well, pray for [nlcf] overall to do the same.  Finally, pray that when you return to [nlcf], that God would show you how to be beatus to those you will be around.  If you can do that with others that are in your area, please do.

If you are in the Blacksburg area, how about we meet Monday, June 14th, at Jackson St.  Say 7am?  Can everyone here make it? If you are at LT, in the 757, Richmond, Northern VA or elsewhere, email around and see if you can link up as well.  If not, either becuase you cannot find a time or you are in Portland , maybe ask some people around you or you and God do this alone.

Last thing… at least once before next Tuesday, comment in about what God shows you through this week.  I will be praying that he speaks to us all.

So…

1. read the first part of the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5.3-10
2. reflect on two phrases each day and ask yourself the questions
3. pray once this week for 30-ish mins
4. comment in so we can hear what you are learning and be encouraged by it as well.

So… let’s go get em!

Peace, Jim