Luke 18:18-30: High Definition

[This sermon was first preached at Cornerstone Christian Church on May 29, 2016]

High Definition

Luke 18:18-30

Introduction: A Life for the Ages (vs. 18-19)

What do The Ark of the Covenant, R2D2, a jewel encrusted falcon statue, the One Ring and a brief case all have in common? They are all examples of a macguffin.

A macguffin is a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The specific nature of a MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot.[1]

Sometimes the Bible tosses around terms that seem like macguffins: holiness, or kingdom of God or heaven. The good guys want to find it. The bad guys don’t want us to find it. But what is it? All three of his biographers capture Jesus’ encounter with a man who brought an important question about one of those terms: eternal life. Matthew records it. Mark records it. Luke tells it like this (chapter 18, starting in verse 18):

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.”

What do we know about this man? Well:

• He was a ruler. He might even have been one of the 70 members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.
• He was rich. Down just a bit, in verse 23, he is described as wealthy. Lots of property.
• He was young. By our best guess, he was between 21-28 years old. (see Matthew 19:22)
• He was a good man. He wasn’t sleeping with anyone’s wife, wasn’t lying about people, wasn’t knocking people off, he was on good terms with his father and mother and he “loved his neighbor as himself.” (see Matthew 19:19)
• He was polite. The phrase “good teacher” is sort of over-the-top politeness. Like if you went up to your high school teacher and addressed them as Lord Hummel or Lord Pitts or Lady Ryan. Of course, if I was a teacher and you did that to me, I’d be immediately suspicious … and so was Jesus.
• He was loved by Jesus. Mark’s version of this meeting says “Jesus looked at him and loved him.”
• He was spiritually engaged. We’ll talk about this more in a bit, but clearly he wants to know what his part is in God’s bigger plan.

In short, all of the mothers considered him a very eligible match. Somehow, at this young age he had managed his money well, gained a great degree of influence, garnered the good opinion of the latest rabbi/prophet in Galilee, kept his life from going off the rails and had a spiritual component. The first century ideal. What more could you want?

Look at his question for Jesus: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Now let me stop you right there. He is not asking “How do I get to heaven?” What he’s really ask is: how do I get to take part in the big thing that God is about to do next?

Israel is occupied territory. Rome is brutally in control, extracting every bit of wealth it can from the lucrative north-south trade route between Byzantium (Istanbul) and Egypt, the bread basket of the empire. Every Jewish child knew that Israel was in trouble because of disobedience to God, but that one day, God would restore his people from their spiritual exile, return to Jerusalem, and inaugurate a new age (as opposed the current age, which he would abolish) and a new kingdom (as opposed to either the corrupt Herod-filled puppet kings or the Romans, take your pick)

Why do I give you this history lesson? Because the burning question of Jesus’ day was: when God does this--and they were sure that God was up to something, he’d been quiet for far too long—who would be a part of this new age—this new kingdom? Who would inherit? I mean, it was clear that the pagan Romans weren’t going to be in it, right? But what about the collaborators or tax collectors or liberals or men who stared to long at women or women who let you see their ankles? Yes, they might be Jewish but … they would stink up the kingdom.

Now let’s go back to his question: What must I do to inherit eternal life—a part in God’s huge plan that we’ve been waiting for desperately? I think I’ve got what it takes but I want to make sure. Do I pass the sniff test?

Hang with me here: Why does he need to ask the question if he’s so eminently well-qualified for the kingdom of God? Jesus had just said something in this chapter that had rocked this young man’s world. Something that all three biographers of Jesus insist on recording just before this incident (vs. 15):

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Luke 18:15-17

Are babies rich? (no, very dependent) Are babies influential? (only by crying) Are babies good? (no, they are selfish) Are babies polite? (babies, theaters, don’t do it) Are babies young? (ok, we’ll give them that) Now Jesus says that they are the models for the people who will inherit the coming age, who will populate the kingdom of God. Mind blown. World view turned upside down and shaken like a rag doll.

This man who thinks of himself as the perfect candidate suddenly is not so sure. So he asks: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus says: do you want to know? If you’re going to call me ‘good’ (something that really only applies to God) then you’d better be ready to accept what I’m going to tell you. Don’t go to Jesus like he’s Dr. Phil, or Judge Judy; go to Jesus like he’s God. My friends, are you ready for what God is going to tell you?

Is What God Wants What I’m Hoping For? (vs. 20-23)

Here’s what Jesus asked:

“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

“All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

At this point, this guy is feeling good. He didn’t hurt anybody. He was the embodiment of America’s prevailing business ethic, as seen in Google’s motto “do no harm”.  What he really wants Jesus to say is, “You have answered wisely. You’re in. That little child stuff was for those people. In fact, I’d like you to invite you into my inner circle. In fact, I could really use your connections to help spread the good word.”

But that’s not what Jesus said:

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

There’s a lot here in Jesus’ words, so we’ll take a little time to unpack it. Jesus’ words test who you are, not so that God will know, but so that you will know. Here’s what this man found out:

When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.

Was what he claimed he wanted what he really wanted? No. I’m not sure he knew. He thought he loved God; he thought he wanted the kingdom that Jesus talked; but he didn’t.  He wanted status; he wanted priority access; he wanted the perks; he wanted control.

How about you? Is what God wants what you are hoping for?

Those commandments that Jesus listed—they are taken from the second half of the Ten Commandments—that Moses recorded in the 2^nd book of the Bible, Exodus. This guy, he had that second half down. But the first half…that’s where things fall apart. In chapter 20 of Exodus, Moses records Commandment #1:

I am the Lord your God…you shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)

“No other gods”… What does that mean? Well, Commandment #2, we have the answer:

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.” (Exodus 20:4-5)

When we hear “idol” we think of American Idol with thousands of screaming fans, or maybe we think of some Raiders of the Lost Ark statue with bowing, chanting devotees. But really, anything in life (money, sex, power)—anything—can act as an idol, a God-alternative-a counterfeit god.

Pastor Tim Keller describes it this way:

“A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought. It can be:

·         Family and children, or

·         Career and making money, or

·         Achievement and critical acclaim, or

·         ‘saving face’ and social standing.

·         A romantic relationship,

·         Peer approval,

·         Competence and skill,

·         Secure and comfortable circumstances,

·         Your beauty or your brains,

·         A great political or social cause,

·         Your morality and virtue, or even

·         Success in the Christian ministry.

When your meaning in life is to fix someone else’s life, we may call it ‘co-dependency’ but it is really idolatry, have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.” There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.”[2]

Jesus tested him: Give up ruler and be follower. Give up influential and be childlike. Give up rich and become one of the poor. Give up earth and gain heaven. This is how God finds out who our god really is: he tests us.  What are we really hoping for? What God wants? Or something else?

What have the tests in my life told me about what I’m really hoping for?

Is What God Offers What I Really Want? (vs. 24-26)

When Jesus saw this guy’s reaction (vs. 24), Luke records that:

Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Why is Jesus so hard on rich people? Some people have mitigate the strength of Jesus’ language by looking for other explanations about gates or ropes. Let’s be clear: Jesus doesn’t mean that it’s difficult for rich people, he means it is impossible. The disciples are so startled that they blurt out:

Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

And Jesus replies:

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

If you’re like me, counterfeit gods are hard to detect because they are good things—gifts from God. But they have taken a place in our hearts reserved for God. Some of you are still back there at the beginning, wondering if I’m asking you to empty your bank account. Let me ask you: are you willing? Willing to let God empty your bank account, bankrupt your portfolio, spend your capital recklessly, for God’s plans? Are you willing to let God diminish your reputation, kill your personal PR campaign, exhaust all of your influence for God’s plans? How about your retirement plans, your summer plans, this evening’s plans, is the other 24/6 interruptible for God’s plans? Because God wants to know, are you his or are you yours?

God is offering freedom. Freedom from the good things that we promoted to the best thing, only to have it enslave us. God is offering renewal. Renewal of emotions, thoughts, energy…all of who we are. Is what God offers what I really want?

Poker Vs. Blackjack

Some people play their life like poker. You want to win, you have to go through the other players. Basically, you play the hand you’re dealt and you can improve your situation a bit. There’s good strategy, like not drawing to an inside straight. But the real skilled poker players know how to bluff; how to control their emotions; how to optimize their hidden weaknesses or strengths. Other than dispensing the cards, the dealer—God--has nothing to do with it.

Other people play their life like blackjack. You want to win, you have to go through the dealer. The other players have nothing to do with it. Fortunately, the dealer has to play by the rules, and if you know the rules you can work the odds. How good or bad the other players doesn’t affect your winnings, unless you get to involved with them.

What is the problem with these strategies? They try to control the cards. They are risk mitigation strategies. They are percentage plays. But it’s a lie. It’s a lie that keeps us stuck in a gambling addiction—an addiction that the rich (those with discretionary income) are more susceptible to, because we think we can get back to the table and win more or win back what they’ve list. It’s a lie that teaches us to ignore the dealer—God. (52 card pick up)

Some people try to get what they want by going around God. Ignoring him. Dismissing him. Minimizing him.

Some people try to get what they want through God. Find the rules, use them to use God to achieve happiness, a safe family, good health or security. But…

God can be an obstacle to what you want.

God can be the means to what I want.

God can be what I want.

Seek your happiness in the Lord and he will give you your heart’s desire. - Psalm 37:4 (NLT)

Is What God Provides What I’m Longing For? (vs. 28-30)

Now Peter has been following Jesus’ conversation carefully, and he raises the salient point: If following God doesn’t get me the good stuff, what’s the point? Is What God Provides What I’m Longing For?

Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

America is in the process of destroying families. The nuclear family has gone nuclear. Broken apart, we still long for home, we still long for family, we still long to belong.  But, as a nation, we have decided we would rather be orphans.

Jesus was ready. He has created a new family, not based on genealogy or ethnicity or skin color or culture or lineage or ancestry, but based on ties with Jesus himself—ties forged in his own blood, given to purchase us back from the counterfeit gods into whose slavery we have sold ourselves.

For even if there are so-called gods, , whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. – 1 Corinthians 8:5-6

Church is broken. We are broken. But the plans he has for you are tied to his family. You can’t opt out because there are no healthy Christian orphans. He reached out to us, like a good older brother, to gather us in. kuya Jesus, gege Jesoo, oppa Jesu, hermano mayor Jesus, ba->deb hay Jesu. His family is his blessing. Treat his family, the church, as his blessing.

I learned this from my wife Helen's family. After Helen and I were married, I made the decision to go visit her mother--my mother-in-law--by myself in the her home town of Abulug, on the north coast of the largest of the Philippine islands. I had met her mother before, but I had never been there. What I found was the entire neighborhood--barangay--was related to Helen or had gone to school with Helen. Cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas galore! So there I was--I didn't know them and they didn't know me. But because I was related to Helen, I wasn't an outsider! I was in! They welcomed me. They introduced me to everybody. They took me on wild rides delivering rice to some really remote areas where white guys were so rare that they mistook me for the local Catholic priest because that was the only white guy they knew.

There was one time where I was trying to take a shower. If you don't know, you draw water from the well or get it from the tap into a bucket and then you dip a cup into the water and pour it over yourself, cleaning yourself with the water. And Helen's family had a pretty nice setup out behind the house, a little place with leafy walls to give a little privacy. Except that the walls only came up to here (mid-thigh) on me. So I spent the whole time taking showers squatting down and trying to figure out how to get clothes on without standing up. We made it work.

But the thing is, when I came back to visit the second time, Helen's family--my family--had built an indoor bathroom just for me. Not only were they welcoming to me, but because I was on the inside, they were thinking about me and my...unusual requirements.

When I came back the fourth time, this time with Helen, her uncle came up to me one day outside her sister's house and asked me, "So you're a businessman?" "Yes." "You travel a lot?" "Yes." "So when you're traveling you must meet a lot of ladies." "Sure." "Ever take advantage of their...hospitality?" Because of my relationship with Helen, I'm on the inside and so her uncle feels no qualms about checking on me. He had a bit of a checkered past himself, but he cared for Helen and he cared for me enough to be nosy. 

Here's the point: you may be here with a broken family, painful memories, a history of hurt given and received. It's messy. But because of Jesus, it is not what we have lost, it is what we have gained. I grew up knowing a brother, a half-sister, four stepbrothers and two stepsisters.  Home was complicated. But in this room, in his church, I have dozens and dozens of brothers and sisters. And in this town, I have hundreds and hundreds. Tied together by the common blood-bond we have in Jesus.

Conclusion: A Life for the Ages

Probably the most famous macguffin of all time is the Holy Grail. Indiana Jones, King Arthur, Monty Python all on epic quests through mountains, swamps, narrow gorges and ballistic cows to find the secret location of the cup which reportedly held Jesus’ blood as he died on the cross.

But it is a lie. The power of a life for the ages isn’t found in a missing magical mug. It is found in the Jesus whose blood filled that cup to bring us back to God.  Eternal life isn’t a macguffin-a plot device or carrot that God holds out in front of us to manipulate us into being good. It doesn’t start tomorrow or when we die. It is the new life-life for the coming age-that starts the moment you put Jesus in the right place and call him, not good teacher, but the good God. John wrote:

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. – 1 John 5:13

Otherwise we aim too low. C. S. Lewis said:

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”[3]

Take for a moment the following assumptions: 1) our hearts are idol factories and 2) we are particularly blind to our idols. What do we do?  Here are four questions that help me gain a high definition look at these idols:

1.          What do I habitually think about to get joy and comfort in my private thoughts and dreams?
2.          What do I easily spend my money on?
3.          What habitually irritates me?
4.          What frustrations lead me to explosive anger or deep despair?[4]

 If you’re struggling with these, ask your close friend, or your husband or wife. Spend time with a group of friends in your church for a year or two. They can help you.

Then, what do you do if you suspect something? Talk to God. Tell him your answers to these questions, honestly. And tell him that you want him back in 1^st place.

In your bulletin, we’ve provided a little prayer card for this week. Don’t toss it or lose it in your purse. Hang it on the fridge. When you get up in the morning, and you see it, take a moment and pray it (not because these words are magical, but because you need talking before coffee). It says:

PRAYER CARD

Father, thank you for all of the good things you have given me. I want to hope for what you want. I want to take what you offer. I want to long for what you provide. Please don’t let anything take my attention away from you. When I am feeling irritated this week, when I am speaking down about someone, when I am worried, help me to see if the root cause is a counterfeit god buried in my heart. If so, remove it ruthlessly no matter what because I want nothing between us. Thank you for being my father. Thank you for your family that you have placed around me. Thank you for Jesus. Amen.

---

[1] Macguffin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin, retrieved on July 3, 2016

[2] Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, chapter 1, Copyright 2009

[3] C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

[4] Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, Epilogue, Copyright © 2009 Tim Keller

Luke 9:37-50: Avoiding The Epic Fail (Redux)

[This sermon was preached on January 31, 2016 at Cornerstone Christian Church, El Dorado Hills. It is a significant update of a previous sermon from January 2013 that you can find here.]

Avoiding the Epic Fail

Luke 9:37-50

Introduction

A few years ago, when my family and I were riding a bus in Ireland to our destination, a man boarded and sat immediately in front of me, disheveled and smelling of sweat. I remember thinking, “Here is someone in desperate need of the grace of soap.” My mind wandered: soap is readily available, surely he noticed, who goes out in public without an armpit double-check. Then it hit me: we all stink. Stores spend aisle after aisle stocking products designed to conceal this pungent, fundamental fact. Deodorant, anti-perspirant, cologne, perfume, air freshener, etc. In fact, if we weren't all so focused on spraying or wiping or spreading or applying these products every waking 24-hour protection moment, we would probably be used to the fact that we all stink and would be unaware. But once the first person tried to hide it, no one wanted to smell our body odor.

In many ways, we try to apply this strategy of the grace of soap to our spiritual lives, trying to hide the fundamental fact that we all sin--that we all stink. Dallas Willard, in his book The Divine Conspiracy, calls it the gospel of sin management. We ignore it, we hide it, we mitigate its effects, we try to only enter situations where it won't show, we excuse it, we emulate the lifestyle of the stink free. All of the while, denying the fact that we are all stinkers. When we see sin break through, in all of its destructive power, in someone's life, we all think: they should have applied more soap--more forgiveness--more careful rule following.

But the strategy of Christ is fundamentally different. It is the grace of regeneration. As Paul says: "...since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-10)

The problem with the gospel of sin management it that it accepts that sin (stench) is fundamental and that the means of better life is keeping sin under control. But Jesus offers a different strategy: regeneration.

We miss out when we settle for a limited, spiritual life of stink-regulation! God’s plan—his kingdom—involves so much more. Here’s how Paul described it:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen - Ephesians 3:20-21

Got that? Now, if you want the epic fail, do the opposite:

1.    First, you dream small dreams instead of God’s dreams.

2.    Second, power those dreams by yourself instead of with God’s power.

3.    Third, promote yourself instead of God.

Ok. That's it. You can sleep now, you’ve got the main point.

You know I work in computers. One of the most difficult types of failures to debug is called a “priority inversion” It is will a low-priority program grabs ahold of computer resources and then won’t let them go when a high-priority program needs them. Priority inversion has taken down the Mars Rover, it has taken down Windows, it has taken down banking systems, it has taken down my job performance…and let me tell you—priority inversion can take down your life. We let little dreams sabotage God’s dreams for us. We hold so tightly on to our resources that we are not free to grab ahold of God’s resources. We are so worried about our maintaining priority, that we never let God’s priority be promoted in our lives.

It can happen to us. It happened to Jesus’ best friends in the second half of the 9^th chapter of Luke’s biography of Jesus. Four times in fourteen verses, his disciples will fail.  From a Bible point of view that’s not a very good track record. So what happened?

Well, let’s take a look. Turn to Luke, 9^th chapter, starting in verse 37. Jesus is on his way down from the mountain where he was praying, and when he gets down, there is a huge crowd and lot of noise, because of the first of his disciple’s epic fails.

Fail #1: Want To Appear Competent (vs. 37-40)

It says:

³⁷ The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. ³⁸ A man in the crowd called out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. ³⁹ A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. ⁴⁰ I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”

Jesus’ disciples could not cast out a particular demon. Failure #1. The story only makes sense if you look back at the very start of chapter 9, where it says: “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.” (Luke 9:1) Notice the word “all”. Something has happened. Jesus is frustrated by this, and says so, and then heals the boy and restores the family.

Before we look further at this first failure, just a side comment about demons. When we read passages like this, we might wonder whether this young man’s problem was something like epilepsy and those in Jesus’ time just thought it was caused by a demon. Certainly Christians have been guilty of assigning demonic causes to ordinary events. But look carefully at verse 42. Luke (the author) is a doctor and he notes that Jesus “rebuked” the demon and then healed him. That is, there were two problems: a spiritual problem and a physical problem and Jesus recognized them both. Sometimes, in America, we are so fond of ‘natural’ causes, that we miss the spiritual side of things that many other cultures are aware of.

Why is Jesus frustrated? Look what he says:

⁴¹ “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “How long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”

What was the root cause of the disciple's epic fail with the demon? He mentions two keys to their failure: first, the disciples were a part of an unbelieving generation. That is, even though they had all of the power and authority they needed to do this job (see verse 1), and they had practice (see verse 2) and they even had success (verse 6), they had slipped back into not believing—or not trusting—God.  They failed.

Second, they were a part of the perverse generation. This means that their desires—their want-tos—their motives—were off-the-mark. They had switched from “look what Jesus can do” to “look what we can do”—they wanted to appear to be competent. Casting out the demon has become about their competence--their abilities--not God's abilities.

Now before we get too hard the disciples, what about us? Most of us aren’t demon caster-outers. Our version of the Serenity Prayer goes: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the firepower to make the difference.” We want to appear like we’ve got it all together. We don't just want to help someone, but we want to be appreciated as the type of people who help, or the type of people God uses to help. I am a master of hinting at what I’ve done and hiding or excusing what I didn’t, and so are you. Our want-to is broken. Jesus gives us the keys to the kingdom, and we drive off on the victory lap as if it is ours.

Do a little experiment with me: Breathe in. Breathe out. Try it again. Where do you get the power to take that breath? From God, that’s right. Where did you neighbor get the power to take his or her breath? That’s right—same place--from God.

It is not religious, spiritual, church-related, demon-exorcism tasks that require God’s power. It is every task. Taking one breath without God is about as effective as taking one breath without oxygen. Very unfulfilling.

In fact, there's a bit of misinformation floating around among Christians. We often hear: “I tried to do it in my power, and not in God’s power.” It’s all God’s power, start to finish, beginning to end.

Look at this a different way: You have exactly enough strength to do everything God wants you to do tomorrow. You have exactly enough time to do everything God wants you to do tomorrow. Because God gives it to you.

We fail when we want to appear competent, on our terms. We win when we humble ourselves, throw away our plan, follow God's plan and allow God to be competent:

 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5b

Fail #2: Want To Appear Smart (vs. 44-45)

Let’s look at failure #2.

⁴² Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father.  ⁴³ While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁴⁵ But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

Luke tells us that while everyone was excited about the external miracles, Jesus repeats His message to the disciples about His suffering and death, and they still don’t get it. Jesus is trying to prepare them for the time when he is gone, and they must continue the job that he started. Their failure is not so much that they didn’t understand (what’s new?), but that (in verse 45) they were afraid to ask about what they didn’t understand. They looked around, and none of the other disciples were raising their hands, so they didn’t raise theirs. 

What were they afraid of?

·       Maybe they were afraid of Jesus, after he had just chewed them out.

·       Maybe they were afraid to hear the answer, because it might contradict what they wanted. They were afraid of the truth.

·       Maybe they were afraid to look dumb in front of the others.

There are so many things that I don’t understand. There is such a huge gap between God’s understanding and my understanding. But we can ask.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. – James 1:5

How often I have relied on this verse! God is the creator of good ideas. We just discover them. This is true in my job. It is true in my relationships. It is true in this church. Jason LaRock, is an inventor, with a couple of patents to his name. I've got some. I have a friend, Vincent, who has over 300 patents. Was God surprised by what we came up with? Did God go, “Gee, I never thought of that?” No! But when we delight in what we find--what he’s already thought of—he draws us in and say, “Let me show you what else I’ve got.” Why not draw upon the genius of God?

We do not fail for ignorance. We fail for holding on to ignorance and not asking God.

We fail when we want to appear smart. We succeed when realize and rely on God as the smart one.

Fail #3: Want To Appear Important (vs 46-48)

First, we fail when we know what to do but don’t trust God enough do it.

Second, we fail when we don’t know what to do and don’t ask.

Let’s look at the third failure, found in verses 46-48:

⁴⁶ An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. ⁴⁷ Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest.”

The third failure comes when we want to appear important. Jesus just told them he will be betrayed, suffer and die. But the disciples skip right over that because they have their spiritual calculators out, punching in the numbers of converts, demons cast out, sick healed and prayers answered, trying to determine who has the highest score. But that misses the point.  We don’t win. God wins. And those points on the scoreboard? They are God’s. He draws people to himself. He rebukes demons. He cures sickness. He answers prayer. It is God’s grace from start to finish.

But then we ask…who got more grace points? [sound of Jesus smacking his own forehead]

We even see this in the church.

Francis Chan a pastor from Simi Valley exploded onto the evangelical scene a while ago when podcasts of sermons he gave at his flourishing, 4,000-member Southern California church went viral. But then in late 2010, he up and quit, saying, "I just want to disappear for a while." One thing that bothered him, he said, was that "even in my own church I heard the words 'Francis Chan' more than I heard the words, 'Holy Spirit.'[1]

Pastors don’t need to hear “What a great sermon!” They need to hear “What a great God!”

It happens to pastors, it happens to us.  We advertise our virtues on the job, so that others notice us. Only the beautiful pictures end up on FaceBook. You spend time with the cool people, so that you’ll at least look cool, too.

Instead of making the mission about me, we need to make the mission about God.  We don’t need to be important, we want God to be important. Here’s what I want to highlight:  lives changed, books written, relationships healed, communities revived, symphonies performed—by God. Does the stories you tell at work or school—or FaceBook--tell a story where you are the hero, or where God is the hero?

We fail when we want to appear important. We succeed when we want God to appear important.

Fail #4: Want To Appear Special (vs. 49-50)

This same attitude of “making the mission about me” led to the fourth failure, in verses 49-50:

⁴⁹ “Master,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.” ⁵⁰ “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Here is the irony. The disciples notice a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name—the very same thing they failed to do back in verse 38—but he is succeeding and they want to stop him!

Why? “Because he is not one of us.” They seem to say: “if we fail, so should they!”  Spiritual envy.  “If at first we don’t succeed, neither should anyone else.”

They are embarrassed and outdone, so they won’t give any credit. The Bible says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) but the Tim Lewis translation says: “Criticize those who rejoice; make fun of those who mourn.” Some of you have read my translation.

This happens to us. Do you thank God for another church’s growth, another believer’s growing life of faith, another marriage’s closeness or another co-workers promotion? Or does their success immediately cause a critical remark or thought in you?

The disciple’s motto was “Anyone who is not with us is against us.” But Jesus’ motto was “Anyone who is not against you is for you.” Jesus just redefined the win. The win is not what Cornerstone does for God. The win is what Sun Hills and Vintage Grace and Lakeside and Lake Hills and Cornerstone do and beyond, for God. The win is not what Tim does, or Max does or Randy does for God. The win is when God appears uniquely as God.

We fail when we want to appear special or unique. We succeed when we make God appear special and unique.

Conclusion

Imagine an app on your phone that decided that the phone exists for its benefit. That inverts your phone’s mission so that instead of serving you, it serves itself. What do we call an app like that? A virus.

The virus of selfishness and pride always tries to hijack our lives away from God and towards ourselves. The results are destructive. We fail because we take the life that God has given and repurpose it for goals for which it was never intended.  The Bible says:

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. – James 3:16

We know this to be true. The worst and ugliest moments of our lives are the results of our pride. But somehow we return again and again to pride’s destructive influence. It was only the selfless act of Jesus, the innocent son of God, wrecked on the cross which can combat it and restore our broken soul.

Imagine for a moment if we could be genetically re-engineered so that the pores in our skin no longer secreted stench-generating liquids. Not all at once, but gradually. Fundamentally changing who we are and how our body works.

This is exactly what the gospel does. It brings to bear God's life-giving, regenerating Spirit in our lives so that, bit by bit, sin is not the natural product of our lives. Paul said it this way: "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Yes, we still need to wash. But we can cooperate with the Spirit's transformative work, not settling for sin-as-the-new-normal in our lives. 

Here is the win: God love me. It is God’s grace, I can’t take any credit.

·       We don’t need to appear smart, because God loves me.

·       We don’t need to appear important, because God loves me.

·       We don’t need to appear special, because God loves me.

·       We don’t need to appear competent, because God loves me.

“Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” – Romans 10:11b

Maybe you’ve realized that your 2016 new year’s resolutions were your plan, self-powered and self-promoting.  Maybe for 2016 you can ask God

1.    To follow God’s dreams and plans instead of yours.

2.    To power those dreams with God’s power instead of yours.

3.    To promote God’s reputation instead of yours.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen - Ephesians 3:20-21

That is the epic win.

Some material from the sermon “Getting It Wrong” by Steven Simala Grant, http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/getting-it-wrong-steven-simala-grant-sermon-on-faults-137584.asp?Page=1 retrieved on January 8, 2013

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[1] The Relentless Passion of Francis Chan, Mark Galli, Christianity Today, posted January 4, 2013. Retrieved on January 12, 2013

               

Good Friday 2015

This was first used as a series of devotions for Good Friday at Cornerstone Christian Church, April 3, 2015. Each devotion corresponded to a location on the church property. The response card mentioned can be found at the end. The locations were the Mount of Olives, The High Priest's Courtyard, Pilate's Courtyard, The Road to Golgotha and Golgotha

Station #1: The Mount Of Olives

During our short walk, we will visit six stations that represent six scenes from the final 24 hours of Jesus’ life. At each station, we will read a small section from the records of Jesus’ life, and think about the impact of that 24 hour journey towards the cross. We have a chance to come clean with God about the rust that has accumulated from this life, and claim the renovated life He offers. Let us pray.

We come first the Mount of Olives. Jesus and his disciples have just eaten the Passover meal together. Two unexpected things happened: Jesus was more open with them than he had ever been and Jesus had just told them that he was leaving. Luke’s biography of Jesus records what happened next:

Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:39-26)

The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way like we are tempted. Here we see it. There was alternative narrative—another plan--one where Jesus became king without the agony of the cross, the humiliation before his people, the betrayal and desertion of his friends and the blackness of the world’s sin. So compelling was this narrative that the devil used it to tempt Jesus—so forceful that Jesus was in anguish—so intense that he sweat blood. Asking for any alternative within the Father’s will, he nonetheless returned to this simple phrase “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Not my will. Not my agenda. Not my plan. Not my dreams. But your agenda. But your plan. But your dream, oh God. Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10)

Spent any time dreaming this week? For your career, for your kids, for your friends, for your security, for your ministry, for your health? Was there ever a time when you have to give up what you really wanted in order to do the right thing? Write that down on your response card.  

God has a bigger dream for us, but we cannot always welcome it when our hands are full of our own dreams. Perhaps less prominent, less visible, less secure, less comfortable, or less respected—but ultimately bigger, more impactful, more joyful and more satisfying.

If you are able, will you kneel with me here to pray? If you cannot kneel, place your heart in an attitude of kneeling before God. Now, life your closed hands toward heaven. Let us pray (as they pray to open their hands to let go of their dreams, and welcome of the aspirations and dreams of God)

Station #2: The High Priest's Courtyard

We are standing now in the High Priest’s Courtyard. Witnesses after witness, come following Jesus’ nighttime arrest to give their conflicting testimony to the chief priests and temple officials. Nearby, another crowd of servants and temple guards gather around a fire to warm themselves. Peter, Jesus’ disciple, mingles anonymously nearby. Luke’s biography of Jesus records the scene:

Then seizing him [Jesus], they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.” 

But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.

A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”

“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”

Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter’s dreams and aspirations were built around Jesus. Not the actual Jesus. Not the arrested and condemned Jesus. Not the suffering servant, love-thine-enemy Jesus. No, his plans were built around the successful Jesus, the conquering, kick-Roman-butt, iconoclastic, king Jesus. Now, miserable, he came to this courtyard to see what would happen. Knowing Jesus was a sort of liability. As in, he was liable to get arrested himself.

Jesus is an uncomfortable word in our vocabulary. Not because we don’t know who he is, or what he has done. We are free enough within our circle of the friends of Jesus. But, like Peter, we worry how the stigma of his name will carry over to us. Are we weird? Are we pushy? Are we negative? What will people think if they know we are with Jesus? So we mutter our prayers, muffle our thanks and mumble about the source of our strength and guidance. Jesus is a Sunday word, or a swear word, but not the name of a friend mentioned in polite company.

On your card, list one scene in your life, where it was tough to talk about Jesus, even though you knew you should. You were unnaturally quiet about Jesus. Work? Friends? Family? School or after school? Clubs?

Pray (ask them to join you in saying the name Jesus).

Station #3: Pilate's Courtyard

We’re standing in Pilate’s courtyard. While the chief priests could convict Jesus of all sorts of trumped-up charges, only Pilate, the Roman governor, could authorize the death sentence. I’m going to read a portion of Matthew’s biography of Jesus that records the scene, but I need your help. When I come to a certain point in the story, I will raise up my left hand, and you should shout out “Barabbas” and when I raise up my left hand, you should shout out, “Crucify him.” Let’s practice that. etc.

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

“What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.

They all answered, “Crucify him!”

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”

Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

Are we innocent? The funny thing is, everyone in this scene knew one truth: Jesus was innocent. Pilate knew it. The chief priests knew it. The crowd was led away from it. The guards didn’t care. Even Pilate’s wife knew it. But somehow, at the end, despite that innocence, Jesus is led away to be crucified.  Why?

Because they settled. The priests should be the point people for God, but settled for staying atop the garbage heap religiously by pushing Jesus down. Pilate should be governing with an even hand, but he settled for the upper hand by sticking it to the priests. The crowds had been shouting for Jesus Messiah “Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” just the day before, and now they settled for Barabbas. The guards, well, they were bored and, when you don’t believe in anything yourself, you settle for making fun of those who do believe. Jesus was standing right in front of them! But they settled.

Have you settled? Maybe you once were excited about the future, maybe excited about where God was going, maybe excited about this new life of faith in Jesus. The truth burned within you. But then something happened, maybe you couldn’t see how it was going to work out, maybe you got in a relational cold war, maybe you felt threatened, or just tired and burnt out and so you backed off. You settled.

Settling traps you, but:

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

God has shown you great things, but think of one area where you’ve settled, where you knew what was really true, but did nothing about it and settled. Then pray with me. 

Station #4: The Road to Golgotha

We are following the road from the governor’s palace, out of the city of Jerusalem, towards the place of execution, Golgotha, perhaps a mile away. We read in Luke’s biography of Jesus these words.

As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. (Luke 23:11-12)

This is the second time during these last 24 hours that Jesus’ physical strength has failed him. First, it was in Gethsemane when he prayed. Angels came while his disciples slept. Simon Peter has denied Jesus and fled, but now the Roman soldiers escorting Jesus conscript Simon, a spectator, an outsider to carry what was probably the cross-beam, weighing as much as 100 pounds. 

Jesus’ mission was uniquely his own, but it was not his to do alone. When other disciples fell away, others were found to walk behind Jesus.  Why wasn’t Jesus strong enough? Why weren’t more angels dispatched? It was to leave a gap, so that Simon could be a participant in God’s plan, rather than just a spectator. Jesus said:

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

God has left a gap; left something undone—not because he couldn’t arrange to do it for himself, but because he want us to participate, not spectate. Maybe someone else should have done it or could have done it. Not because it is natural or a good fit or convenient for you or me. But because we want so desperately to go where Jesus goes. Will you take up Jesus’ burden and follow after him? He said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Has God left a gap for you-for you to participate? On your response card, list one area where God has left something for you, but it would require a big change. Then, pray with me. 

Station #5: The Cross

Now we come to Golgotha, the place of the skull. Jesus is stripped naked, his arms stretched out and nailed to the crossbeam, the crossbeam lifted and attached to the upright, his legs bent slightly and nailed to the post. Luke records it this way:

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 

Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. (Luke 23:33-34, 44-46)

Why did Jesus go there? Why the cross?

Each of us carries secrets. Memories of things we’d rather forget. Helping hands withheld. Words that we should not have spoken. Things we wish we’d never done.  Thoughts that we can’t unthink. We like to think better of ourselves, but our secrets would tell a different, shameful story. 

That’s why the cross. Jesus knows those secrets. He took the shame, the humiliation, the punishment you deserved for your secrets on that cross.  The Bible says:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

No one can say, “Not good enough” or “Used up” or “Damaged” When we trust him, those secrets no longer control today or tomorrow or forever. The Bible says:

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13b-14)

Maybe you have secrets. Never shared. Will you let God take the shame from you? Write a word on your card, fold that card in half, and with the other words you’ve written this evening, take a nail, take the hammer and agree with God by nailing it to the cross. Take the freedom he offers through that forgiveness.

Response Card
The boxes were for stamps that were present at each station for people to record their progress. They were originally meant for children, but proved as popular with adults.

Ephesians 1:8: Grace Lavished

If you're going to give, go over the top. Yes, they could get by with X and be happy. But why not go the extra mile and give them X + 1 and let them rejoice exceedingly, abundantly (see Matt. 5:40-42)? This isn't about money or stuff. It is about helping and loving, with everything that entails.

Why are we such stingy givers? Here are three reasons I have found in my own life:

First, we gauge our gift based on the perceived worthiness of the recipient. They don't need it. They will waste it or misuse it. There are others who need it more. Even in church (see James 2:2-4). But God doesn't act that way towards us. "Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" (Rom. 8:32) I want my love to look more like grace, not like a transaction based on return-on-investment.

Second, we don't get appreciated for our gift. We do the right thing but no one-including God-seems to notice. We resort to subtle reminders to let others and God know what we've done. No need for trumpets  (Matt. 6:2) when the off-hand comment and self-deprecating remark will do the trick. Down that path is resentment and disappointment. Rick Warren commented, "What you get out of service is joy. You don’t get approval. God approves of you, but it’s not because of what you do. He approves of you because of what Christ did for you already. That’s grace."[1] I want my love to look more like grace, not a barter economy.

Third, we need to ration our giving. We might run out. If I give too much here, there won't be enough there. But this isn't a limited grace universe.  Paul comments, "I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe." We live like the impoverished when, in fact, we have access to God's inexhaustible resources of hope and power. I want to give like I am rich in God's grace.

His grace is lavished upon us. Lavish it on others:



[1] Is Legalism Killing Your Ministry, Rick Warren, http://pastors.com/legalism-in-ministry/, retrieved on 26 February 2015

1 Thessalonians 4: My Godly, Everyday Ambition

I work with my hands. Whether coding, writing specifications, commenting on company events, or managing projects by e-mail, a great deal of my productivity flows through thoughts expressed by the ten fingers God gave me. How is God's handiwork revealed in my hand-iwork?

There are many ways this core question gets worked out in specific job contexts, such as those discussed in the excellent book Faithful Is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim. One of the contributors (Bryan McT. McGraw) notes, "Sometimes, it seems to me, to fulfill one's vocation means working out what we are called to do wherever it is we get planted rather than always figuring out how we can re-plant ourselves elsewhere so as to do what we are 'really supposed to be doing.'"[1]

Nestled in our quest for the job that fits us is the ambition for our professional world to conform to us. When it doesn't, we cultivate the dissatisfaction of our heart rather than seeking God's ambition for us where we are. The Bible says a lot about work and how we do it, but one of my favorite overlooked verses deals with this topic:

Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to ... make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody. - 1 Thessalonians 4:10b-12

These verses set an ambitious course against our selfish tendencies. It is our habit to:

1. Attract attention ("lead a quiet life")
2. Spectate rather than participate ("mind your own business and work with your hands")
3. Do just enough to get by ("win the respect of outsiders") 
4. Repeat this pattern because it's easy ("will not be dependent on others").

These themes are repeated again at the end of both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-14).

Sometimes, this ambition seems too tame. Not grand enough. Not spiritual enough. But I wonder if we are leaving many of God's appointed tasks undone or unappreciated because we consider them spiritual enough. A recent article from Western Seminary's blog said it this way:

Can I ask you, when was the last time you came to the end of your day and paused for just a minute or two, reflected back over the day and said, “That was a good day.”

Or, “That child who came to school today obviously upset, went home with a better attitude because I had a chance to chat with her.”

“That accounting mistake I found will save us thousands of dollars down the line. That was good.”

“That pallet of products I produced will be a blessing to folks as they purchase them and use them in their home. That’s good”.

“That couple who came into the hospital today to face the first of many cancer treatments, seemed comforted by the hope I was able to give them. That was very good.”

“Those new tires I installed on that lady’s car seemed to give her a peace of mind that had been in turmoil. That was good.”

“That kind word I spoke to that grumpy customer as he left brought a smile to his face. That was good.”

Were those really sacred acts? Even those done in a secular environment? Even though it wasn’t “church stuff?” Well, Jesus said they are. In Matthew 5:16 he said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Sounds sacred to me.[2]

My job, software engineering, is a sacred calling, because it puts the genius of God on display. He is shown in the steady, slow, quiet progress of transformation, in me and in my workplace. He is shown in increasing generosity and compassion in all aspects of my life because of God's provision to me. That is my ambition.

[1] Faithful Is Successful: Notes to the Driven Pilgrim, Grills, Lewis, Swamidass, 2014, p.21
[2] "God Is A Worker And I'm Made In His Image", Jim Hislop, 9 June 2014, http://www.westernseminary.edu/transformedblog/2014/06/09/god-is-a-worker-and-im-made-in-his-image , retrieved 15 February 2015