Godgrown

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  Mark 10:24 am on January 24, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Piles of Money 

  Isaiah 60 is all about the economic development of Jerusalem as they begin to return from exile.  The promises of vast, global wealth are almost unbelievable for a pitiful, beaten nation who doesn’t even have a wall of protection built around its perimeter…and at least for the rest of Biblical history, there was never any major comeback for the Jews; they were more or less passed from one roaring empire to the next.

  So what’s with all the predictions on incredible influence and wealth? Did God “over promise and under deliver?”

  There are hints of this prophecy fulfilled; specifically when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. (Matthew 2:11) Somehow I don’t think that the exiled Jews of the 5th Century BCE were satisfied with this interpretation – they wanted piles of money! They wanted the honor and recognition of the nations!  ”The flocks of Kedar!  The rams of Nebaioth!  The camels!  Where are my camels?!”

  I wonder if this is how Christians understand their relationship with God.  They sense that there is a pile of blessings, maybe even actual money, waiting on the other side of a “right relationship with God.”  They think that if they love God hard enough, if they believe the right things, if they just do it all right, then they’ll have life right where they want it.

  Trouble is, life is never quiet as we want it – but its right where God has it. He has sprinkled the fulfillment of his promises to bring blessings to his people from the far corners of the earth – he does it in the birth of Jesus; secretly, and its just enough money to keep a family of three out of the cold and filthy stables and enough to get them down to Egypt, where they can safely escape disaster.

  THAT is the blessing of God…the wealth of heaven.

  Yes, wealth seen in the light of God’s nature is not something that we can put in a bank account, but something that gives us another chance to dive deeper into him – knowing that we may not have enough to survive on our own, but plenty to keep following…for one more day.

  But why would God make all these promises of very specific assets that exiles would gain from as they returned to the holy land of Jerusalem?  I think its important to remember that each of us come to God for personal, selfish reasons.  God knows this, he loves you for it – and he wants you to know that the things you care about are important to him too – even if he sees how short-sighted they are.

  So he’ll help you get out of debt if that is something you see as important – and then he’ll remind you that you’ll always be in debt to him.  He’ll help you with as much worldly wealth as he’s called you to…then he’ll call on you to give it all back to him…

  In other words, our tangible gifts are only whispers of the real gifts he hopes to give us. The question is, can we let go of the tangibles in order to receive what truly matters…?

  
   

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  Mark 10:41 am on January 17, 2011 Permalink | Reply  

  Covert Ops: A Short Story 

  A soldier goes undercover, “dark” as they say – a covert operation that no one, not even his own government can track.  His mission is dire and will impact the livelihood of the entire planet.  He makes strategic engagements with the locals, interacting delicately, and coaxing those he helps not to tell anyone about him – “this never  happened,” “you didn’t see anything…”

  This undercover agent is smuggled into the capital city – where his mission is to take place.  A few have noticed his handiwork, and think they know what is about to go down.  But they have no idea.  No one has access to him now.  He has gone dark.  He is alone in his mission.  And the higher-ups are hoping against hope that this works.

  He is discovered.  A rat points him out.  He is accused of treason by his own government, his own people.  The misunderstandings and threats are unbelievable, and yet they continue.  He is beaten, tortured – they demand to know who he is working for.  They want to know his mission – they want him to talk.  Yet he keeps his cool, he remains silent.  So they put him to further agony, sensing now that he is hiding something…something big.  Could this be an insurrectionist on our hands?  Might there be others?  Was he planning an attack against our people, our leaders, our security?  Working on him by any means necessary to extract this information now becomes the central concern.

  More people are beginning to hear about the national security threat posed by this exposed terrorist.  The media is getting involved.  It was becoming too much for the leaders to handle.  They had to stop this man from carrying out his aims.  And so they killed him, like the criminal he was… he died a traitors death, even as his mission was to remain loyal to the end to the people he worked for…all of us.

  —

  What they didn’t calculate for was that his death was a part of the plan.  It was the sneak attack they never saw coming.  And that’s exactly what happened.  They played right into his  hand, even as they believed they had finally squelched the rebellion, his subversion was only beginning!  It remained quiet for sometime.  His name left the headlines, people went back to work.  But rumors persisted.  People were claiming to have seen him moving about the city unnoticed by local authorities – some others began falling off the grid, entering into their own covert ops…it seems this rebel starfish-organization could not be squashed, it only multiplied.

  Little pockets of a new society flashed onto the scene and like Whack-a-Mole the leaders sent strike teams out to dismantle the communes.  But even as they neutralized one, two more popped up across town.  It was as if they were themselves stoking the flames of revolution.

  And then strange things began to happen.  It  happened slowly at first.  A rank-and-file officer went missing.  His family too.  They simply were not heard from again.  Then another, and another.  Before long white-collars were turning coat too.  This virus was spreading beyond a few fringe-groups – it was impacting the entire society.  It was unbelievable.  The plan had worked.  What was once misunderstood by all was now finding complete saturation – and the plan of the once-misunderstood soldier was now taking over the world…and folks couldn’t be happier about it!

  Isaiah 53:8-12

  
   
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  Mark 9:28 am on May 21, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: future perfect, John White, Kent Smith, LK10 Community ( 3 )   

  The 9:11 Question 

  “Since we have invested in you spiritually, isn’t it right for you to invest in us financially?”

  So many churches invest in things other than apostolic church planters – some even working off unfathomable debts for things like parking lots and new foyers.  One church in a major U.S. city purchased a parking lot for 80 million dollars!?!!?  Sounds like a scene out of an Austin Powers movie!  These are not inherently bad things – they are just not given much precedent in the earliest Church.

  Many missionaries are left barely holding their bills together, while others enjoy lavish upgrades to this or that wing of their giant building.
  
  But what would it take to see a vibrant family of Jesus in close reach of every person…geographically and culturally… on the planet…and in our context in Chicago?

  What if this ACTUALLY happened?  This is our “future perfect” – our miracle we’re waiting for and working toward.

  It would truly take a new mindset toward budgeting.  It would take a re-orientation toward how a church invests their money.  It would take asking the “9:11 Question.”  (1 Cor 9:11)  “Since we have invested in you spiritually, isn’t it right for you to invest in us financially?” It would take a spirit of generosity toward those who truly were called to do mission work, coaching, and church planting.  It would take putting the interest of others over my own interests.

  I think it is happening.  I see green-shoots of hope appearing across the landscape.  Churches willing to put aside their traditional budget-line items and think again about what is most important for the sake of the Kingdom.