The Messy Love of a Father

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"Your Heavenly Father is not afraid of your mess! He wants to wrap you up in His arms and tell you that He loves you in spite of your mess" - Zane Black (Dare2Share Speaker). The profound love of our Heavenly Father in the face of our sinfulness is overwhelming! Have you stopped lately to think about how much you are loved by God? Consider Romans 5:8 "God demonstrated His love for us while we were still sinning against Him, Jesus died for us!"

As Zane spoke this truth, it reverberated across the auditorium with great power. He had just described the birth of his new baby daughter, his first child. As his wife held the newly born child for the first time, the baby pooped all over her. The nurse calmed them down and said they will get her all cleaned up, with the baby did it again, making a bigger mess. Before the nurse was able to get the baby, a third movement took place causing mom and new baby to be a filthy mess. The nurse removed the baby to a crib while they made preparations to clean them up.

Zane, a new dad, couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to do. Comfort his wife? Or comfort his new baby girl? All of a sudden his daughter burst out in screaming tears! He ran over to her and just spoke to her “It’s okay baby, daddy is here and he loves you!” That instant his daughter stopped crying. He was amazed that she recognized his voice and was soothed by it. He moved over to check on his wife and his daughter started crying again. He couldn’t help it this time, compelled by his love for his daughter, he picked her up, in all her mess, held her close and said “It’s okay baby, daddy loves you!” She stopped crying, but she was a mess, daddy was a mess, mommy was a mess.

It was in this moment that he looked out to the crowd and said “Your Heavenly Father is not afraid of your mess! He wants to wrap you up in His arms and tell you that He loves you in spite of your mess!" I was brought to tears imagining my Heavenly Father reaching down into the stinking mess that I made and drawing me close and saying, “Son it will be okay, your heavenly Father is here, and He loves you!”

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1 ESV).

With a tremendous start, the conference was underway. A powerful weekend that began a journey for all of our teens. One placed her faith fully in Jesus for the first time, truly surrendering and going “all in” for Jesus! All of our teens gave me names of their friends who they want to tell about Jesus! Some even started texting their friend during the weekend about the Gospel!

I hope you talk to the teens who went, I hope you listen to their stories. Challenge them to continue sharing. Be challenged by them and share your faith with someone this week.

It can be as easy as this: “How would you describe life in 6 words?” See what their response is, identify with the response. Point them to the Bible by saying “Here is one way to summarize the Bible in 6 words: God Our Sin Paying Everyone Life. If you would like an explanation of these words, take 5 minutes and watch this video (www.lifein6words.com).” I dare you to try it! I just did this simple conversation with a friend of mine. He watched the video and was moved to tears. I am praying that it will lead to more conversations and ultimately to him trusting Christ fully!

Are you willing to go “all in” for Jesus? Will you Dare to Share Christ with someone this week?

Lead With A Towel

The coming of Jesus was a rupture in time! It was a disruption that the world has still has not come to terms with, nor will it until He returns. Why? Because He flipped everything upside down, because His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Jesus has called us into a love relationship with Him, to be part of His family and calls us kings and priests unto Him. Yet He calls us to serve others as well.

In college I heard one of my profs share the title phrase “Lead With A Towel!” At first it didn’t make sense, but as he began teaching on the example of Jesus it became clear.  Jesus the King of the Universe stooped down and washed the feet of the disciples (John 13:1-20). Jesus exemplified servant leadership, a way of leading that first values those whom you are leading.

In the New Testament we are instructed to consider others better then our selves, to not be selfish, to love our neighbor as ourselves. The problem is we have too much pride. We think we are too important to humble ourselves. We think jobs are below us.

In youth ministry I see many teens who think they are above getting a job at McDonalds or Taco Bell. Instead they sit at home playing video games hoping for a career job with no experience. Bill Gates stated one time “flipping burgers is not beneath anyone!” No job is too small for you, but in this category we are talking about something you get paid to do, servanthood is something you do for free.

Leading with a towel isn’t necessarily literally taking a towel and washing other peoples feet. That just is not a necessary part of our culture. However, looking to help others through their needs. Spiritually this is taking our brothers and sisters in Christ to God to pray on behalf of them. To keep them accountable and help them throw off the bondage of sin. It is being willing to humble yourself to put others before you. The interesting thing is this, when you begin to follow Jesus’ example, others see your life as attractive and want what you have. They want to follow your example. It is here that you can say as Paul says “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

How can you lead with a towel today?

DOULOS

Have you seen those quotes with the sarcastic responses? They are often hilarious and revealing. One I recently read that made me laugh went like this, “See that clean shaven man, isn’t he so masculine?” said no one ever. Or “You used too much butter on this” said no one ever. One more, “Do you want my leftover bacon?” said no one ever. These sarcastic and humorous statements are all over Facebook and Pinterest. Each one conveys an element of truth about the one who has stated them and their perception of what others think. Dare I be so bold as to coin one that I think is very common?

“I want to be a servant when I grow up!” said no one ever. Right? Have you ever heard anyone say something like that? No way, there is no room for that in the American Dream. More like, “I want to have servants someday.” The perceived meaning of “The Pursuit of Happiness” means a well paying job, a family and white picket fence.

However, as a Christ follower I am challenged in a different direction. When Jesus entered the world, He came to completely revolutionize the way we think and live. He did not come to be served, but to serve others and give His life away (Matthew 20:28). Paul challenges us to:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”(Philippians 2:3-4 ESV).

If we truly want a joyful life, we will learn to live the way Jesus lived. I heard it put this way: Joy is Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last. That author figured out the key ingredients to a fulfilling life is learning to serve others. Jesus promised when we trust Him and follow Him we will have abundant life (John 10:10).

We are studying “Serventhood” on Wednesday nights over the next couple of weeks and I am being challenged all the more on giving of myself to benefit others. That is what the early church figured out in Acts 4:32-37. Joy comes from meeting the needs of others.

In preparations for this series, a friend of mine introduced me to a story of a young lady who has become a genuine picture of Christ-like servanthood. Her name is Katie Davis and her story can be found in the book “Kisses from Katie.” I really encourage you to watch this video and then go get the book. I promise you will be blessed and challenged by her story and how glorious her life makes Jesus look. 

Listening In?

What do you listen to? A very common question and we all have different answers. Mostly it is directed at our music selection, or radio programs. We choose what to listen to for a variety of reasons: entertainment, relaxation, instruction, etc. What we listen to has influence over our feelings and our decision making process.

Don’t worry; this is not a blog about the evils of music or why you shouldn’t listen to this or that. This is a reflection on John 10, where we have been spending time in our Quiet Time, if you are following the Word of Life Quiet Time Journal.

            “But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

(John 10:2-5 ESV)

I am drawn to this passage as I see such a beautiful imagery of Jesus love for us here, and what our reaction should be for it. It begins with the picture of a shepherd caring for his sheep. First century shepherds where known to talk to their sheep and sing to them to calm them down. As he would do this, they would learn his unique voice and respond only to him. If his sheep were to mingle with other sheep belonging to other shepherds, they would know it was time to go when their shepherd spoke them.

Notice in John 10 that it says that Jesus, or Good Shepherd, calls to his own sheep! Jesus is calling out to us daily. He calls to us by name! Think about this, we are intimately known by the Creator of the Universe! This helps us to see the intimate, personal nature of His communication with us. His voice leads us and guides us in life. As Peter tells us, He shares with us “everything we need for life and godliness.” So our Shepherd calls us by name and leads us.

Here we see the description of the sheep, they know His voice and respond to it. Again, I ask, “what are you listening to”? Do you hear the voice of Jesus daily? Are you in the Word of God listening to His voice regularly? Are you asking the Holy Spirit to give you ears to hear? Do you know His voice?

We choose to listen to all kinds of things according to our preference. It’s time to choose to listen to the Shepherd of our Souls. It’s time to follow Jesus where His song leads us (Zephaniah 3:17). Knowing His promise that He has come to bring life to the full (John 10:10). Are you listening to the Shepherd?