stop Knowing, start Loving - Genesis 3:1-10

Genesis 3:1-10

I find myself seeking to know more.  It's one of my habits I guess.  Sometimes its a great thing and sometimes it causes more problems than it solves.  It's a desire to know and be informed and a belief that by knowing more I can make better decisions, know people better, be a better person, be a better Christian.  I want to know more about myself, about people in general, about God, about life, and more recently why people are walking away from and sometimes running away from the church.  Or if they aren't running why they won't truly buy-in to the Church.

But that right there is the real problem I think...we talk about the church as if it is a thing.  We speak of the church as a destination, as a building, as a place, as a club that we are members of.  But the truth is that church is actually none of those things.  The church is a living breathing organism.  The church was intended to be a very fluid, portable, adaptable gathering.  This multifaceted question that keeps coming back to me lately is, "What if knowledge isn't what matters? What if 'doing' church wasn't even a part of God's great plan? What if 'Church' wasn't meant to be a thing we 'do', rather an 'existence' we become a part of? What would that look like?"

That kind of community would be all about RELATIONSHIPS.  It would be about doing life together.  It wouldn't be about rules; "don't do this and don't do that".  It would be about loving one another with no limits or reasons except only that Jesus loved us first and he calls us to "Remain in His love"; to exist within that love so that it becomes a part of all that we think, speak, and do.  A community that takes that seriously won't need the rules, they will simply need more people to love because they have so much overflowing love that their current numbers aren't enough.  

A Lesson From Disney

Last week my wife, Janae, and I took our 2 boys, Joshua(4) & Reid(1), to Disneyworld and we had an amazing time.  We know a number of people who had been in the past, but this was the first time for us as a family.  Based on what we had been told we had very high expectations in terms of guest service (especially in terms of doing anything possible to accommodate guests when needs/concerns/problems arise), the attitude of employees while doing their job, and a general desire of all employees to create an enjoyable stay for all guests.  We did the full service stay: we stayed in a Disney resort, used the meal plan, and went to all the parks; so, during our stay we came into direct contact with at least a couple hundred employees and cast members, probably even more than that.  Of all the hundreds of people we came into contact with during the week we only had two people that didn’t meet up with the expectations we had for our experience.  To only have 2 sub-par encounters out of so many excellent encounters is a testament to the way Disney trains and values their employees.  It is also testament to the level of belief in the product that 99.9% of Disney employees seem to have and actually, even more than all of that, it is a testament to the level of ownership that exists in the hearts of the employees of this monster company known as Disney…and its all for a Mouse?

The reason I am writing about our experience in Disneyworld is because as I was driving the long drive home to Northeast Georgia I couldn’t help but wonder: “If people will believe, buy-in, and take ownership in a company with that level of commitment day-in and day-out…with such a tiny number of sub-par employees (who probably don’t last very long anyway)…for what all comes down to a paycheck; why do we as Christians find it so hard to give that kind of commitment to our Lord and God and the Mission and Vision of His Church?  Why is it that the Church and Christians as a whole have acquired a reputation that turns people away, that is labeled as hypocritical, and in some cases that even repulses people?  If people at Disney who are simply working for a paycheck can have that kind of belief and ownership in a temporary company that will one day cease to exist; why is it that those of us who believe ourselves to be saved from an eternity of pain and torment in hell and saved to an eternity in heaven with the one who sacrificed himself on our behalf can’t have at least that same level of belief and ownership?  Truthfully, we should be outdoing Disney!!  We have something far greater than wishing upon a star!!  We don’t have to wish for our dreams to come true; we know THE REAL TRUTH!!  If we believe in Jesus as Savior and are continually being transformed in all areas of our lives to be more like Him our eternity is set.  We don’t need to wish, we know our eternity is secure!! 

Please don’t misunderstand; I loved every minute of my time at Disneyworld with my family.  They do an amazing job there.  Our boys had a BLAST and Janae and I had a BLAST watching them.  We will go back…we will return to that magical land in central Florida.  But my prayer is that all of us who call ourselves Christians can come to realize that if we are to fulfill the mission given to us by God we need to buy-in, we need to believe, we need to take OWNERSHIP that as Christians we exist to “lead others to a life-changing connection with Jesus” and “we are a church that is on a relentless pursuit of people where they are.” 

Come to your senses!!!! Use your CASE!!!!

Like many of you reading this…I have a “Smart” Phone.  The store that I bought this phone from has a protection plan that I pay for monthly and if anything ever goes wrong no matter what the problem or whose fault it is I can take my phone back to them and they will order a new one at no cost to me (technically it is a refurbished phone, but I can’t tell the difference).  Also like many of you, I bought a case for this phone to protect it from drops, children, myself, and anything else that might happen.  The brand name of this case is “Ballistic”.  With a name like that you would assume it can take just about anything and it can short of being submerged in water for more than a few seconds.  Now as great as this case is, it turns my thin little phone into a brick I carry around in my shorts.  But as long as I have the case on my phone nothing should happen to it.  However, just in case something does go wrong I have the protection plan to back that up. 

Back in the fall I was getting ready to go with the 12^th Man Ministry at the church where I’m on staff in order to serve our local high school’s football team and I decided to take the case off my phone so I could move a little better on the sidelines without this brick flopping around in my cargo pocket.  You can probably figure out where this is going.  While there, I dropped the phone and cracked the screen.  After that, over the next few months I intermittently used the case and eventually the cracking got worse from more drops and the phone started to act like it had been dropped a lot; so, I took it to the store and I get a new one.  I neglected to put the case on the new one and the very next day I dropped the phone one time in a parking lot and by the end of the day my screen was completely black from the liquid crystal oozing all over the inside of the screen.  Long story short I have replaced the phone a total of 3 times now; once because of defect or something, but mostly because I wouldn’t use the case. 

Some of you are probably thinking, “You’re an idiot,” and maybe I am, but this morning I became okay with that because this morning it hit me; isn’t this how most of us Christians live out our faith?  We have the protection plan for our eternity in place called GRACE; this grace wipes away all our sins (past, present, and future) and assures us a new body and eternal life with God in heaven.  Whether you realize it or not, as Christians, we also have a “ballistic” case which is made up of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, and the Holy Church, which when used properly can help us live a life that is as sin free as possible and it also keeps us from experiencing too much damage when we do sin.   

The problem is we often neglect to use the case properly…or AT ALL for that matter.  But we still have the protection plan right?  That’s all we need right?  WRONG!!!  Without the case in tact we will be less likely to resist temptation, we will fall into sin more and more frequently, and we will not be able to withstand the damage sustained from the falls because it will destroy our lives and our ability to serve our function which is to glorify the name of God.

         Paul in Romans chapter 6 talks about dying to sin because of our commitment to a new life in Christ.  I know it is more than a simple scripture reference or a few verses, but I think this larger passage is appropriate.  Here is Romans 6:1-18:
¹ “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

¹⁵ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶ Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸ You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Just because we have the protection plan of Grace doesn’t give us the right to go on sinning.  We must have changed lives, a new focus; living for the glory of God and not ourselves.  If there is no change in our lives then apparently there was no change of heart and that would lead me to say, you have not fully become a servant of Christ.  You may have intended to, but you have not began to be obedient and that is a dangerous place to be.  James 2:17 says “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

The “ballistic” case, otherwise known as, the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, and the Holy Church is required equipment for an active Christian life.  We MUST use it properly to protect our ability to function as ambassadors of salvation to the world in the name of Jesus Christ.

  A few weeks ago I got my most recent replacement phone… this morning I finally came to my senses and put the case on the phone.  As I walked into the office this morning feeling the weight of the brick back in my pocket…God gave me the inspiration to write this post and give you this encouragement…

COME TO YOUR SENSES!!!!! USE THE CASE!!!!!

Being Offended vs. Casting Judgement

This article is about a subject that is very real for me and I’m guessing to some extent will be very real for many who read it.  Too often, we as Christians are extremely quick to cast judgment on people based on what WE believe to be truth and holiness.  We forget that many people out there do not believe what we believe.  Many people out there have not accepted that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of the world and so what they see as good and acceptable is not the same as what we (Christians) see as good and acceptable. 

Though we often forget or don’t realize that we are doing this, I do believe this is where the problem starts concerning the topic of “being offended verses casting judgment.”  When we go from being offended (which is not a bad thing on its own) to casting judgment on the offender (which is not our job) we have now placed ourselves on the throne of God, because only he has the right to judge all humanity. 

A few recent events have really spurred me to write this; specifically and most recently the Grammy’s.  As I set there watching the popular award’s show I could not help but get upset, angry, even disgusted at many of the things I saw.  I felt like my personal belief system was being publicly trashed and insulted by people who didn’t even know me.  So, the next thing that happened was I started mentally cutting the people on the T.V. down.  I mentally started judging them, calling them sinners, heathens; the list could go on.  As I set there silently getting more and more angry, and honestly more and more ugly towards them with my thoughts and inner monologue; it occurred to me that I should not be thinking this way.  It occurred to me that it wasn’t my place to cast judgment on these people; partly because I don’t know them and can’t confront them about their actions, but the main reason is because the majority of them do not hold to the same beliefs that I do. 

The Apostle Paul talks in Romans and other places about loving instead of judging; specifically, when those you feel like judging have not chosen to follow Jesus.  The only one who has the right to judge is the one who has been sinned against, namely GOD.  As a follower, I can be offended and I think I have the right to be offended at the actions of the world and those who do not follow my King, BUT I DO NOT have the right to cast judgment on those who don’t claim my King as their own.

Now on the other hand, if I see or hear about a fellow Christian doing things or saying things that are sinful, that are outside the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus, then Biblically it is my duty to confront, rebuke, disciple, and redeem my brother or possibly find someone who can do so more appropriately than I…and do it all “IN LOVE.”  Now even then, even with our brothers and sisters in Christ, I think we should refrain from passing judgment upon them, because we do not hold that power, but confronting and redeeming is commanded of us by Jesus. 

In conclusion I’ll say this: We cannot expect those who do not follow Jesus to act the way we think they should and we cannot hold them accountable to a standard they have not accepted as truth, BUT we can be offended and with love pray for them and try to be Christ to them.  We can seek to be agents of reconciliation as Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 5.  We are ambassadors of Love for the name and glory of Jesus Christ and so we should try to think, speak, and act with love as the driver.   Fellow Christians, do not Judge; rather, let the offense you feel be healed by love through the Holy Spirit. Forgive the offense, because it was your offenses that were forgiven first by Jesus on the Cross.  Then be compelled by that same love to be Christ to the one who offended you.

What are you saying from your platform?

I recently shared a video on Facebook of an interview with Jase Robertson, who is one of the stars from the A&E TV reality show “Duck Dynasty.”  During this interview Jase said something to the affect of “What you do is the platform for your faith.”  This was a simple yet profound statement describing how everything we do in life is a statement about what we believe.  ALL of our thoughts, speech, and actions say something about what we believe about God, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit or anything else that we hold beliefs about.  They speak to our belief in the salvation offered by Jesus’ death on the Cross and His victory over death through the resurrection on the 3^rd day. 

This comment by Jase reminded me of a couple passages from the Bible: the first is James 2:14-17

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?  Can such faith save him?  Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, WHAT GOOD IS IT?  In the same way, FAITH by itself, if it is NOT accompanied by ACTION, is DEAD.

             Faith is not just a decision to believe in a statement or a cause or, in this case, God.  Faith is a way of life.  Faith demands Action!!  If there is no action as a result of one’s faith, then their really is no faith.   That so-called faith is dead; in fact, there is a good chance it never even existed in the first place. I need to note that the true state of one’s heart upon acknowledgment of Jesus as Savior is not a judgment for me or any other man or woman to make, BUT the grace bestowed upon us, if our hearts are truly submitted to Christ, prompts us to action.  And “actions speak louder than words.”  The Apostle Paul says it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:14 “For Christ’s love compels us [to action], because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died”. [my emphasis]

             The second passage I’m reminded of is John 13:34-35:

Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this ALL MEN will know that you are MY disciples, if you LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

             My point is this; if “what you do is a platform for your faith”, then what exactly are you saying from your platform?  Are you saying, “Jesus is the King of my life”?  Or are you saying, “I’m the King and what I say goes”?  I can guarantee that you say one of these two things by your actions everyday.  Your words might claim Jesus as Lord, but what do your actions claim?  What are you preaching from your platform with your actions?

Old Testament & Law of Moses: Out-dated or Ever-Authoritative

“Be Holy because I, the Lord your God am Holy.”
-Leviticus 19:2b-

This morning I was reading in Leviticus chapters 19-22 (very interesting reading).  As I was reading through one of the lists of Do’s & Don’ts, I was struck with a thought about how this applies to us today, post-crucifixion and post-resurrection. 

One of the arguments that takes place in the church of today is the Old Testament Law doesn’t apply to us so there is no need to really pay much attention to it.  “Oh sure,” some might say, “by all means read it, because there is stuff there that carries a good value for living a Godly life, but we are under the New Covenant of Christ so the Old Covenant doesn't really mean anything to us.”  The problem with that argument is that in Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus speaks specifically about the importance of upholding the Law until the end of time.  That tells me Jesus, knowing that he came to create the “New Covenant”, still felt  the OT Law (the Old Covenant) was just as important now as it was back when it was written. 

I would really like you to indulge me and participate in an experiment: pull out your Bible and read Leviticus 19 (the whole chapter).  By my count, there are 36 laws or decrees that God gives Moses to give to the people to follow.  Now that you’ve read the chapter, go back and count how many of those laws/decrees you think should still be followed today as a post-crucifixion/resurrection Christian who is not bound to the “Law of Moses”……For me there are 7 maybe 8 of those 36 laws that I would say don’t apply or are unnecessary for me to keep today.  I won’t say which ones here, but feel free to ask me next time you see me, that might strike up some interesting conversation.  What’s your number?

Here’s my point with all this; NO, we are not bound to the Old Testament Law, because Jesus’ death and resurrection frees us from that.  HOWEVER, we ARE still bound to the God of the Old Testament and therefore we are still bound to the desires of that God.  The coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 brought with it the actual Spirit of God to dwell with us (how that physically/spiritually works is beyond me, but it works) and the Holy Spirit gives us the knowledge and wisdom to decide what is a law or decree of God that still applies to us today.  It is my belief that we are to continue following and upholding a large portion of the 600 and some-odd laws of the Old Testament because they are good ,moral, ethical, Godly, CHRIST-like laws.  A large number of the 36 laws you just read fit that description.

Simply put, as Christians we must ascribe allegiance to the God of the Old Testament because he is the very same God who is the God of the New Testament; God the Father who sent Jesus to die to saves us from our sins.  Therefore, if we bow to that ONE God, who is the God of the Old and the New, why would we not follow a great many of the laws he instructed the Jews to follow in the Old Testament?  Why would we not strive to follow the laws and decrees that God spoke to Moses and his people?  Since he is the same God, it only makes sense that we would, right? 

Think it over, read Leviticus 19 again; then try to tell God that you will not strive to live out those laws that makes sense for us to follow today and see how the Holy Spirit moves in you.  I’m willing to bet he will bring sense of correction upon you causing you to think twice about that intention. 

Wrestling with God

         In Genesis 32, Jacob is on his way to meet his brother Esau and beg forgiveness for all the tricks that he pulled when they were younger; specifically, stealing the birth-right and the blessing of the first-born.  After sending everything that he had including his family on their way, Jacob stayed back and spent the night by himself.  During the night a “man” comes and wrestles with Jacob till dawn.  This man turns out to be God in flesh…whether this was an angel, God himself, or maybe Jesus (my choice) we can’t really know.  But this passage and story made me think about how I often wonder what God is going to do in my life over the next few years, maybe even 5-10.  I wonder this because I really would like to have an idea of what God plans for me so I can start now getting ready to do whatever it is he has for me in the future; as if I could get myself ready for God’s plans.

          We all are like this…we want to know what’s coming down the road so we can “prepare” and be ready.  Like Jacob, we wrestle with God seeking his blessing, seeking his name, seeking information that he may not want to give to us yet or at all.  This wrestling with God can prove to be painful because sometimes we won’t give in; like Jacob we won’t let go of our wants and sometimes our stubbornness hurts us like Jacob’s dislocated hip that God gave him in order to get him to release.  I constantly have to remind myself that God has me where I am for a reason.  God has me where I am right now for a purpose, for a plan, for a season of joy, for a season of growth, for a season of pain, for a season of learning…whatever this season may be for and however long this season is I must learn to be okay with the NOW; for the will of God has me here. 

          One of my biggest fears is…what if God was trying to tell me something and I missed it?  What if I missed his voice that was speaking to me about some new facet of his will and plan for me?  What if I didn’t hear him when he was trying to show me something?  Maybe I did miss something…in fact I probably have missed many things God has tried to tell me over the course of my life.  And it wasn’t because I wasn’t looking for a sign or word from God, maybe it was because I was holding on too tightly to what I was hoping to hear from him.  Maybe like Jacob I was holding on too tightly…holding on to MY vision of MY future that I wanted God to bless and give ME the “green light”.  Maybe it was my own stubbornness thinking that I knew better than God what was best for me, but how stupid of me to think that way.  How could I ever think that I; a flawed and arrogant (what a ironic combination isn’t it) human being, could ever know better than the God who made me, the God who loves me, and the God who redeemed me.  How could I ever assume such idiocy? 

Because I am broken…because I am just like my 2 year old son who thinks he can do this or that and gets mad at me when I try and help him.  I, Darrell Asche, am but a child who has no idea what is best, yet I constantly tell God to bless what I am doing instead of seeking what he is already blessing and joining in.  This is what we are called to do: “Seek God First!!”  

Seek God first…stop…listen…and his voice will be there whispering in the silence, “Follow me…don’t ask where we are going…just follow…Stay with me step for step…don’t get ahead and don’t lag behind…this isn’t about you…this is about my plans and my ways…Stay with me step for step and I will lead you to where I want you...For, I know the plans I have for you…to teach you…to prosper you…to use you for my glory…my plans are not your plans and my timing is not your timing…Stay with me step for step…I’ll catch you when you fall and love you despite your desire to run ahead of me and get lost…Stay with me…walk with me…talk with me…live with me…