Why Do I Need the Spirit?

Originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

As a staff, we sometimes read books together and discuss them at our staff meetings, this week we began the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan which is about the neglect of the Holy Spirit in many churches today. What struck me the most was thinking about people I have spoken with (from different churches and backgrounds) and the broad spectrum of belief in terms of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Often these beliefs are based on personal experience rather than a study of the Scripture. Think about that for a minute. Why do you believe what you believe about the Spirit? Do you think your beliefs are shaped more by the Scriptures or by what you've come to experience as your normal Christian life? We form our own opinions of what we think a Christian life ought to look like and what our own experience of the Holy Spirit looks like, but do we ever check that with what the Scripture says a Spirit-filled life looks like? Don't just ask other people what they think, or even assume that we already know. Here are some passages about the Spirit, pick a few and compare them to your experience with the Spirit:

• Acts 1:4-8, Acts 2:1-13, Acts 4:31
• Romans 8:1-17, Romans 8:26-27
• 1 Corinthians 2:12-14, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
• Galatians 4:4-7, Galatians 5:16-25

If we disregard our own experiences and just read these passages, what would you expect to happen to us when the Spirit entered our lives? What changes in us when we receive the Spirit? The passage which stands out to me the most is Galatians 5:16-25. The famous "Fruit of the Spirit" passage I have read dozens of times before. After reading it in the context of thinking of what the Spirit produces in us, I notice something:

²² But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

How often do we try to force fruit in our lives because we think that a "good Christian" needs to look like that? We beat ourselves up sometimes if we don't. Sad? I need to make myself more joyful, because that is what the Scripture says. Impatient? Nope, gotta work on that because the Scripture says so. Want people to think I'm a "good Christian"? I can just fake being loving, right? If that is our mindset, where is the Spirit in all that? If we work in our own strength to be more like Jesus we miss the whole point. This translation says that the Spirit produces such fruit in us. Other translations may not use the word "produce" but the important part is that the Spirit is where these things start. Check out the next part of the passage in seeing how we interact with the Spirit:

²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. ²⁵ Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Those are some pretty powerful words: Belong to Christ Jesus. Living by the Spirit. Follow the Spirit's leading. This passage isn't known as "the fruit of Mark" or "the fruit of a good person" or even "the fruit of a good Christian" the passage is known as "the fruit of the Spirit" for a reason. It's about relying on the Holy Spirit to change us. More than just change, He radically transforms our lives. The question is, are you open to being transformed by the Spirit?

The Motivating Factor

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

Getting and staying in shape isn’t easy. Last year I went to a normal physical at the Dr. and was told I was going to face a couple of potential health issues if I didn’t get in better shape. I was motivated and started out fast: running, biking, swimming, gym - something almost every day. By the end of the year I had completed three sprint triathlons, a half-marathon, and lost 40 pounds. I was motivated by fear of poor health, motivated by the time I spent with my wife and friends exercising, motivated by the feeling of being in better shape. But as quickly as it started, it faded, the business of life and a dozen other things got in the way and this year I gained back 20 pounds. I struggled to find the motivation to consistently get back on my bike, or run. I got down and frustrated and was content with the status quo for a while. Of course my wife reminded me that physical health sometimes goes like that, it ebbs and flows, there are times when we are more interested and times when we are not.

This analogy of course applies to our Spiritual lives as well. The Old Testament Hebrews believed that it was all connected: physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health were not separate pieces but rather connected in our personal harmony. There are times when I am reading Scripture and honestly blown away and other times when I am just going through the motions. There are times when I worship that I feel like I am a part of something bigger and there are times when I don’t connect emotionally. In those times, should I only do the things I want to do or the things that make me feel better?

So now I am (hopefully) getting back in shape; I recently joined a “fitness boot camp.” I didn’t want to go at first but my wife encouraged me to try it. I have only been a few times, but have loved working out in this format so far. What is interesting is that there is really nothing physically significant about it: there are no weight machines, no exercise machines, and no abundance of mirrors on the walls. I show up for a specific start time and go through a circuit workout with several other individuals at the same time. There is a leader who tells us what exercises to do and then leaves us to work out with each other. As we work out we give each other a little bit of encouraging small talk (when I can catch my breath enough to talk). The bottom line is, there is very little specialized equipment and most of the workout could be done at home with a video series. And yet, I have already had better workouts here than with any workout video. Why is a workout in this format so effective? It is the motivation. Having a set place away from home, knowing I will be working out, sweating next to others with the same goals. It is all very motivating, it gets me outside of myself, outside of my own concerns, and worries. If I can just take that first step towards working out and embrace it, it is not long before i find myself in a better place than I was before. And sometimes how similar is that to our spiritual lives? There are times when I don’t want to go to my Life Group but still go, and without fail those are the times I am most touched by the words or experiences of others. There are times I am distracted by something on Sunday and yet when I just give up on my own concerns and focus on God, He hits me most deeply.

In today’s culture, the temptation is to be driven by what we “want.” We say yes or no to activities based on whether or not we want to. We train our kids for the same thing by constantly asking them “what do you want to do?” If we fail at a task, we blame it on “not wanting it enough.” Do we ever stop to think about how this overflows into our spiritual lives? Are we so attuned to what we want in a physical sense that it is what motivates us spiritually? Maybe we aren’t alone. In Mark 14:32-36 Jesus struggled with what he wanted as well:

32-34 They came to an area called Gethsemane. Jesus told his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with him. He plunged into a sinkhole of dreadful agony. He told them, “I feel bad enough right now to die. Stay here and keep vigil with me.”

35-36 Going a little ahead, he fell to the ground and prayed for a way out: “Papa, Father, you can—can’t you?—get me out of this. Take this cup away from me. But please, not what I want—what do you want?”

I love that Jesus bases His decisions and actions on His relationship with the Father. He voices what He wants, but ultimately follows God’s will. Not on His own wants.

In our mission statement at Crosswalk, we say we are “a community passionately demonstrating the love of Jesus by…” and one of the points is “choosing sacrifice…” This does not mean that we sacrifice our time or money, but rather sacrifice our own wants and desires for God’s. What is motivating you?

Win or Lose

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

When reading Scripture, do you ever put yourself in the shoes of the writer? Psalm 22 is considered to be one of the Psalms of Lament with it's authorship attributed to King David. What I love about this Psalm is the insight it gives us into the heart of a man whose primary drive was being in a relationship with the LORD. Look how raw and real David is as he starts his prayer:
¹ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
² Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief.

I love that David doesn't hold back; he is frustrated, he is complaining, he doesn't understand. We all feel that way sometimes, don't we? But how often do we go to God with our frustrations? Even more telling, is how David follows up the frustrations with praise even though he is in a dire situation:
³ Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.

And the weaving of frustration and praise continues throughout this and several other Psalms. Frustration, complaint, grief. Praise! Frustration, complaint. Praise! How often does our own prayer reflect that? The intertwining of complaint with praise? It was such an integral piece of worship for Israel, and yet for us, we see it as a negative. We often tell ourselves to praise God in spite of the frustrations and sadness instead of embracing it as part of God's gift.

Part of what stands out in David's incorporation of laments and praise is the openness in his communication with God. I think part of why I personally struggle with some of it is because it does not come across as humble before God. Last week, my own understanding of humility was reshaped by Richard Foster in the book Prayer: "...humility means to live as close to the truth as possible: the truth about ourselves, the truth about others, the truth about the world in which we live... It does not mean groveling or finding the worst possible things to say about ourselves." I used to be one of those people who thought that self-depreciation equaled humility. But that isn't humility at all. Humility is not inflating oneself, but being honest with ourselves and not thinking of ourselves as nothing either. The truth is, we are nothing compared to God, but that doesn't mean that we are worth nothing. God sent His only Son to die for our sins. Our worth must be so great to Him for such a gift. Our complaints and frustrations are part of who we are, and who we are is loved by God. Even in David voicing his frustrations to God, he shows humility while still being honest with how he feels.

In Psalm 22, David is surrounded by his enemies, and he is not concerned about winning or losing the battle. Throughout David's crying out to God, throughout his praise to God, he never pleads with God to get him out of the situation or kill his enemies. He lays out the circumstances as he perceives them, he is truthful with God and himself about how it makes him feel, and his only plea to God is for God to stay near. Throughout it all is praise.

If you are a Bay Area sports fan, there are two major events to be excited about right now. The Warriors are in the NBA finals and are leading in the best of 7 series. And meanwhile in hockey, the San Jose Sharks are in the NHL finals and on the brink of elimination. Last year Stephen Curry posted this quote and to me, it is one of the better quotes I have seen from an athlete, he gets it. "Being a Christian athlete doesn't mean praying for your team to win. God doesn't give an edge to those who pray over those who don't; hard work does that. Being a Christian athlete means competing for Christ, in a way in which you always give your all for Him, & win or lose, you thank Him for the ability & opportunity to play. It means giving all the glory to God, no matter the outcome, because you trust in His plan for your life."

So as you go about your week, good or bad, win or lose, praise Him throughout it.

Show Me Your Faith

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

Do you ever get a specific piece of Scripture stuck in your brain? And once you do, you see challenges and opportunities for it everywhere? This past week James 2:18 (NLT) has been hitting me: Now some may argue, "some people have faith; others have good deeds." But I say, "How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds."  On my initial reading, it seemed so basic I did not think about it too much. But the next few times I read it through I realized it is basic, but it has great depth as well. And it became more of a challenge. First, notice that James is talking about showing faith. Showing does not mean to prove it, but rather to exhibit it. Next, note how James doesn't say "I will show you my faith by attending a church" or "I will show you my faith by avoiding sin." It is good deeds which exhibit faith. Of course attending church and avoiding sin are important, but they are just a part of the response aren't they? Works don't earn us eternal life, but they are important to who we are and who God wants us to be. In his book James: Faith that Works, Kent Hughes notes: "Faith and works are like the wings of a bird. There can be no real life, no flight, with a single wing, whether works or faith. But when the two are pumping together in concert, their owner soars through the heavens."

Here's the thing, James isn't saying anything we don't already know is he? I don't think there are many people living in America, Christian or not, who doesn't think this is a major part of what Christianity is. Or should be. Our faith in Christ reflected in what we do and who we are. And yet are good deeds what Christians are known for in the US? How can we show our faith to the world if it is not? To show someone our faith does not mean to prove it with words. It means to exhibit it through actions. To demonstrate it. Now the media doesn't help a whole lot, you can't turn on the morning news without seeing negativity and Christians seem to generate our fair share if it. But on the other hand, if Christians were better about doing good deeds, perhaps people would think about some Christians they know and dispute the negativity. 

Want an example? Remember a few years back when people decided to boycott Chick-Fil-A because they did not support gay marriage? The big Christian response was to organize nights to eat chicken sandwiches as a show of support. Imagine for a minute if the Christian response was to take all that media attention and organize nights to feed the homeless. Buy THEM a Chick-Fil-A sandwich. To show America that whatever we feel about homosexuality is just a small part of who we are. To show America that what defines us is our love for God, our faith in Him, and what that response looks like. (And what it looks like is much more than spending money to feed ourselves.) To be known for what we stand for, not what we stand against.

So now you are probably asking yourself "well what good deed is Crosswalk doing?" It's simple, we are trying to help create opportunities for the church (all of us together) to do good deeds in ways you may not normally have access to: This Saturday is another Refuge where we will be serving food and holding a worship service for the hungry at Washington Park. E-mail Pastor Gabe if you want to volunteer. Pastor Angel is training people to visit prisons and equip inmates for reentry to society. E-mail Pastor Angel for more information. Our annual Trick or Treat is coming at the end of the month. This is a service to the community to give kids a fun, safe place to trick or treat and have fun. It is something for the entire church to get involved with. This Sunday we will have sign ups in the parlor and bins to collect wrapped candy for the kids. There is a team of Crosswalkers who visit people who can't leave their homes - email John Strole if you would like to be trained for that. Even within the church we have opportunities such as food prep on Wednesday nights and serving coffee on Sundays. E-mail me if you can help there. And with the holidays coming up, there are lots of great opportunities: We will be partnering with Sunnyvale Community Services to provide food and gifts for people in need (more information on that will be coming soon.) Know someone alone for Thanksgiving? Invite them to your house. Have some spare blankets? Go to St. James park in San Jose and give them to someone sleeping outside. There are Crosswalkers who volunteer time with several non-profits in the area. Just this morning I saw someone pray with a crying child. I love it, the opportunities are everywhere!

I have no doubt this Scripture was stuck in my head for a reason. The passage before it, James 2:17 says, So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless. I don't feel challenged about whether I do enough good deeds, but rather if my faith produces good deeds. Neither faith nor its resulting good deeds can be forced. Good deeds should not simply be about attending this event or that event, they should be an outward reflection of our heart for God. Something that is constant in our lives. They aren't for show. They aren't to gain entry to heaven. They aren't out of obligation or duty. They start with faith. Faith in Jesus produces good deeds. What is your faith producing?

Trying to Follow,

Mark

The Heart of Worship

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

What does it mean to choose sacrifice? It is one of the guiding points of our vision statement and probably my favorite of the bunch. But it's also the toughest for me. Choosing sacrifice is not about putting other people before yourself. It is about choosing to follow what God has in store for your life instead of all the things society teaches us to want; to sacrifice our worldly and selfish wills and pursue God's will for us. It is cultivating a mindset that doesn't say "it's all about me and what I want." I don't think many people have that mindset intentionally, but I think it is an underlying thought process which guides many of our decisions.

Take worship for example. Often times I look around when worship starts and think "where is everyone? They are missing the best part!" I think worship is an integral part of what you experience on a Sunday. Why? Because it is about God and not about us. One thing I appreciate about Pastor Dave is that his heart is not to perform for us on Sunday, it is to lead us in our worship of the LORD. Worship is not about us hearing great music, it is about lifting up our voices together in community to celebrate and praise our God and Father. I think of worship as an opportunity to let go of all our concerns, troubles, and distractions in our lives and just focus on God and His greatness.

A few years ago I heard Pastor Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor church speak about worship and his experiences. If you have not heard of Soul Survivor, it is a large church in England where worship leaders/composers such as Matt Redman and Tim Hughes got their start. Pastor Mike spoke of a time where he felt the congregation and the worship band had lost their way. He did something drastic, he eliminated the band and sound system. It was just the worship leader, Matt Redman singing a capella. It was a challenge from the pastor for the congregation to engage with God during the time of worship and to do so with their hearts instead of their eyes. He challenged them to be "participants" in worship instead of "consumers." He asked the congregation “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?” At first the congregation and the leader struggled and there were moments of awkward silence, but eventually they got it and the band was slowly reintroduced.

This experience was not just for the congregation. The worship leader Matt Redman was affected - you can read about his perspective of it all from an article on the Christianity website. From this experience he wrote the song "The Heart of Worship" which illustrates how the "me" thought process can invade our lives, and the importance of worship to be all about Jesus. The importance of choosing to sacrifice oneself.

When the music fades, All is stripped away
And I simply come, Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth, That will bless Your heart
I'll bring You more than a song, For a song in itself
Is not what You have required, You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear, You're looking into my heart
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
and it's all about You, it's all about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it, when it's all about You
it's all about You, Jesus.

What a beautiful illustration of his experience and his heart for God which we can all learn from. Worship has been on my heart a lot lately, especially as we look through the Psalms in our current teaching series. I look forward to the opportunity to worship the LORD along with all of you.

Trying to Follow,

Mark

Pray for Me

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

Prayer can be funny because it messes with your pride. I admit it, I have a hard time asking for help. Asking God to change me is tough enough, asking others to pray for God to change me is something I don't do. I may ask others to pray for my circumstances, but to pray for me to change is tough because that involves admitting to other people I need to change. It is a vulnerability which is tough to face. But last month a group of us Crosswalkers went to a missions conference in San Diego and everything changed for me because of Matthew 9:36-38: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

In this passage, Jesus is traveling around sharing the Good News and there are crowds gathering to hear Him. As it starts in verse 36, it is important to note that Jesus had compassion for the crowds - that is where it starts, He cared about them and wanted to help them. They needed guidance, they needed leadership. He knew His short visit to these lost sheep would not be everything they needed. He wanted to provide them with guidance because He cared for them. He wanted to "send out" workers who could be with the crowds. Important to note that the word used here for "send out" is the Greek ekballo and "send out" is not nearly strong enough. Ekballo is to violently throw, to cast out. This isn't sending out an e-mail. Some translations use "release" - but this is not release as you would a fish. Ekballo is like an athlete releasing a javelin; like a pitcher hurling a pitch. Think of that imagery for a minute and what Jesus was conveying by using ekballo. I don't know about you but I see a missionary being sent like a weapon towards the enemy.

Now, Jesus could have easily stayed with the crowds and been the shepherd they needed. Or He could have told the disciples to do so. But what is interesting is that He told them to ask God for workers to ekballo to the fields. Why does He tell His disciples to pray? Why doesn't He pray Himself? A prayer from the Son of God is certainly more effective than any prayer the disciples could have said. And isn't the Lord of the harvest aware of the need already? If not, isn't it "on God's time"? I don't know the answer to that. But I do know that Jesus knew prayer was needed and would help - and it is not just a request, it is a command.

Author and missionary Andrew Murray says this about the Matthew 9:38 prayer: "Without this prayer, fields ready for reaping will be left to perish. And yet it is so. The Lord has surrendered His work to His Church. He has made Himself dependent on them as His Body, through whom His work must be done. The power which the Lord gives His people to exercise in heaven and earth is real; the number of laborers and the measure of the harvest does actually depend on their prayer." In other words, the number of workers in the field is directly related to our prayers. We must pray in order for the harvest to be plentiful. So the question becomes "are you praying for workers?"

Now this is great but what does it have to do with my pride and prayer? Well, as many of you know, my wife Alise and I are drawn to being missionaries internationally. We have essentially structured our lives towards this future goal. But we also feel like God is holding us back for now, which is fine because we love being here and workers are needed everywhere. In this time of waiting and preparation though, we have not asked many people to pray for us. It's a tough thing to ask for. It's not easy to admit that we need prayer. We all love to pray for other people because often their problems seem more significant than our own. Maybe we even think that we can do it on our own. But that isn't the case - the workers need your prayers. And as followers of Christ we are all workers in His field. So here I am asking that while you pray to God to ekballo workers, please include us in your prayers. The workers of the fields need your prayers.

Trying to Follow,

Mark

Prayer, Fasting, and Intimacy with God

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

To close out the series "The Art of War", we invite everyone to fast and pray on Thursday 11/20. We will cap the day off with a time of prayer in the worship center between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. As excited as I am to fast with all of you, my brothers and sisters, I have to admit it has not always been that way. When I went to school for theology, one of the first books I was assigned to read was "The Spirit of the Disciplines" by Dallas Willard. I remember before that point I had fasted a few times, but really had no clue about what I was doing. I half expected God to impart on me some revelation about my life, as if fasting were some Christian version of peyote. I was excited to read a book about the disciples and get to the bottom of what fasting was about and how to do it right to get the results I wanted. I was sorely disappointed. I remember talking to another student about how unsatisfied I was: we were halfway through the book and it was all about why we should practice the disciplines and where our heart should be instead of how to practice the disciplines. My friend replied with "maybe the author is making a statement about what is really important." And he was so right. I think that is the number one thing to know about disciplines such as fasting and prayer. It is about the condition of your heart. Being closer to God is a process - prayer and fasting can aid us greatly in it. The purpose of fasting in particular is not to get what we want from God. It is to change us and train us to be closer to Him and more like Jesus. Jesus made it a point to fast before he began his ministry. Why? Not because it is some legalistic step he had to take to have a successful ministry, it is because it brought him closer to the Father. That is the first thing to know about disciplines such as fasting - they are about bringing you closer to God. 

Spiritual formation is a process, being more like Jesus is a process. They take practice and consistency over time. This is another reason to fast; it is like being an athlete. Being a great baseball player takes practice and hard work in preparation and training long before a game. Closeness to God is similar. My approach to prayer and fasting has changed over the years and I get so much more out of it now than I used to. Dallas Willard says this about fasting: "it teaches us a lot about ourselves very quickly. It will certainly prove humiliating to us, as it reveals to us how much our peace depends upon the pleasures of eating. ...fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food." In other words, by denying ourselves of what we want, but don't need, we practice self-denial - which is especially rare in this culture. Taking one day off from food, or technology, or whatever it may be that we fast from, shows us how much our bodies and desires drive us - and gives us an opportunity to practice denying those urges.

I have never experienced a time when fasting has been easy. But that is part of the beauty of it. Each time I feel hungry I pray. I pray to God to help me listen to Him rather than my stomach. I try to focus on God instead of myself. This is warfare, the enemy will try to distract you from the one in charge. This is why practicing prayer is so effective in concert with fasting. Food is the traditional item to fast from - but it does not have to be. For example, some people are so into video games that they forget to eat. For them, it would be much more effective to fast from video games for a day. We are asking everyone to fast from something on Thursday - be it technology, food, games, TV, music. Look at fasting in terms of self-denial. Things you think you need in life, but can actually give up for a day to focus on God. But also make sure it is something which you will miss. If you have a peanut allergy and choose to fast from peanuts, it probably won't make you rely on prayer so much. Nor will you have the opportunity to joyfully suffer.

Prayer is powerful, do not doubt that. God changes us through prayer. We can understand God better through prayer. We get closer to God through prayer. This is why we come together to pray Thursday. But don't spend the day telling God everything you want or need. Prayer is conversation. Spend the day asking God what He wants from you. Ask God how to rely on Him. Pray for discernment over the lies of the enemy. Then pray the same for your brothers and sisters in Christ. And the community. Please specifically pray for our governmental leaders. Pray that God will change them too. That God will give them discernment over the enemy. Pray for Liberia - that people will unite to aid them instead of run away in fear. Most of all, pray that all of us grow closer to Jesus, to learn to be like Jesus, and to align our lives with God's will.

Trying to follow,
Mark

What is Love?

Recently I had the opportunity to really study the meaning and concept of the word love. So much of our lives are centered around and/or searching for love. We live in a culture today in which "love" is mainly an emotion or a feeling. "Falling in love" is not seen as a choice you make, but as something that happens to you. Like something which comes and goes as it pleases. 

But love like that, simply emotion, is not what the Bible says love is. There are three Greek words for love used in Scripture and all of them are less emotion and more choice - a way of life rather than a feeling one gets. Which is an especially important point when it comes to marriage. One of the most important parts of a marriage are the vows and promises. But promises cannot be made about feelings; feelings come and go, honestly, there are days when I may not be as emotionally attached to my wife because I am more focused on other things. No, nothing is wrong with our marriage. What I am trying to say is that love in the Bible, love in marriage, love in relationships, is based on actions. The choice to care for and be a blessing to each other even when we don't "feel" like it. Actions are things we can make promises about. (And so does God.) It may not always be what we want or expect, but that is our fault, not God's.

God built within each of us a natural tendency to love - and His desire is for us to show love to each other. In John 13:34-35 (NIV) Jesus flat out says it: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Wow, read that again. According to Jesus (who I like to try to listen to) the defining characteristic of His followers is how much we love. Not how often we go to church, or if we memorize Scripture (which are important, no doubt) but the primary desire of Jesus is that we love one another. There are times I have been struggling with this lately. I admit it, I get caught up in all the things I need to do for Sundays to go well. I let feelings and emotions get the best of me - and as a result, I am not acting out of love. I'm not saying I don't love, I am just saying that other things get the best of me and other things become my goal over love. And for those of you on the wrong end of that I apologize and hope you can forgive me.

I bring this up because right now we are starting a new series: "The Art of War" about Spiritual Warfare. There is no denying that Satan is attacking us constantly. This is a good thing - Satan wouldn't care if we were on the wrong track. But the best defense is a good offense, and in the case of Spiritual Warfare, a good offense is acting in love. This is how we get closer to God. This is how we understand Him best. 1 John 4:7-11 says "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us." Think about that the next time you are upset at or annoyed with one of those people Jesus died for. I'm not saying don't get angry; Jesus got angry. What I am saying is, ask yourself where your actions are coming from. If the answer is anything other than a place of love, you might want to think about that some more. Choose love. Make it your way of life. Let people see that you are a follower of Christ by how much you love.

Trying to Follow,
Mark

A Failure of Nerve

I have certain leadership principles which guide me in life, and in this one I failed. I had a failure of nerve. Let me explain; one the leadership books which guides me is A Failure of Nerve by Edwin H. Friedman. In the book, Friedman compares American society and its leadership to a dysfunctional family (he is a rabbi and family therapist.) Part of what he explains is how leaders have become primarily concerned with safety over adventure, satisfying complaints rather than leading from strength and vision, and looking to procedures and data rather than relationships to solve problems. This happens in families and is happening in society as well. Where I had the breakdown was in safety over adventure.

A few weeks ago my family went with some friends on a day trip to the tide pools near Monterrey. I was with my five year old daughter and my three year old son climbing over rocks and looking at the animals caught by the tide. It was a great opportunity to teach my kids how to be adventurous and let them gain confidence by climbing on the rocks. I told my hesitant daughter that the worst that could happen was to get wet. Then I watched as my daughter gained confidence and became more adventurous as she jumped from rock to rock. My friend and his son (about my daughter's age) did the same. It was this wonderful moment of bonding and adventure. We came to the end of the tide pools where there was a three foot jump over the water to a rock with only a small six inch ledge for the foothold on the other side. I looked and didn't think I could make it, especially not while helping my son. And there was definitely no way my daughter could make it. Then, without hesitation, my friend's son ignored the advice of the adults and took the leap... and made it to the other side. He was determined to make it to the top of a larger rock and this gap over the ocean was not going to stop him. My friend and I were shocked. My daughter immediately told me that she wanted to try it as well, and I said no. At the time I felt it was the correct decision, but on the way home I knew that I made a mistake. Was it really that big of a deal? Not really, but I am trying to help cultivate a spirit of adventure in my kids, so they aren't constantly held back by thoughts of safety. And not letting her at least try the jump was not the mindset I want her to have. Thankfully, my daughter quickly bounced back by telling us that she is going to start training to be an American Ninja Warrior.

Why do I think a sense of adventure is so important? Let me give you an example from Friedman's book: Christopher Columbus. If he were to sail into the unknown today, he would never get past OSHA or congress. Now, I am not saying that Columbus was some great guy with pure intentions. What I am saying is that he is not primarily concerned with safety, and it paid off in ways he did not imagine. We all need to take risks in our lives, and it is something which is cultivated in us.

Having the boldness and courage to take risks allows us to rely on God when our own certainty of the outcome is removed. We become more focused with ways to succeed rather than what could go wrong. We become centered on opportunity instead of avoidance of crisis. Evaluating risk is prudent, being smart instead of careless is good, but the desire for safety, the need for certainty, cannot be what drives our decisions.

One thing Friedman makes clear in his book, the solution to a failure of nerve is not to simply try harder. Rather it starts with internalization. In the case of my daughter jumping over the water the solution is not simply to try harder in seeking adventure, it is to prepare and cultivate within myself the spirit of adventure ahead of time. So when the opportunity comes, I am ready rather than defaulting to safety. What does that look like? In Acts 4 the disciples prayed for boldness after Peter and John were arrested. Jesus prayed at Gethsemane for God's will rather than his own. In my own prayer life I frequently pray for opportunity, but opportunity alone is nothing if it is not taken. What I am going to pray is that I have the boldness to jump at opportunity and that I am on the lookout for ways to cultivate that in my kids. Then I am going to go to the guys in my LTG to make sure they hold me accountable to it. 
 

Trying to Follow,
Mark

Scandal of Grace

"Scandal of Grace" is a worship song by Hillsong that has been stuck in my head for the past few days and the title has got me thinking about how much the message of Jesus is unexpected. God's grace took the form of a scandal - a public disgrace that should have damaged His reputation. But just like so many other things in life, God took what man sees as negative and turned it in to a win. Everything about Jesus' message was and continues to be against conventional wisdom. In the eyes of man, when we commit a crime, we pay the price for it. But the message of Jesus says that we do the crime and He pays the price. His grace has set us free from our sin, not so we can continue to pursue a life of sin, but so we can take a part in His plan for this world.

The message of Jesus is so shocking, so unexpected, that we struggle to really accept it. When Jesus brought the message the Pharisees couldn't accept it. They were so focused on their sin and making it right with God that they couldn't move forward. They were stuck on sin. I think we often continue to do the same thing today with whatever guilt, shame, or scandal we have had in our own lives. Even with our sin conquered we choose let it hold us down. God's grace is so amazing that we can't accept it for ourselves. Even though we hear about it, we struggle to let go of our sin, accept the grace, and move forward with our lives. It happened to me. A few months ago I wrote a post called "Beyond Judgement" where I shared about how the church reacted after my divorce. I felt shame that I had let God down. I held onto that shame for a long time. I chose not to forgive my own role in the divorce. In fact, I think I looked down on myself more than anyone else did. Even though I knew that God forgave me, I still wanted to hold onto it. Think of the prodigal son coming home, practicing what he is going to say, still holding onto the shame of his sin. But the father didn't care, the father was just glad to have him back. In an act of scandalous grace the father showed him how to get past it. That is what it took for me as well. In the midst of my self-imposed shaming God gave me the most significant experience in my life: He called me to missions: I was listening to a sermon here at Crosswalk by a guest speaker and there were images on the screen of children in other countries dying of hunger. While looking at the pictures I felt an overwhelming urge to be there and help those children. Not just to visit, but to make it a part of my life. It was bigger than a simple desire to help people, I knew that in that moment God was reaching out to me and calling me to a specific part of His plan. I came up with every excuse I could and each was shot down. I felt I wasn't worthy to share the Good News with anyone if I was divorced. But, God was calling me to something so it was obvious He was looking past the divorce, why couldn't I? There is so much more to this story and now is not the time to share it. Suffice it to say that after that day my life was changed greatly. I am still waiting on God to show me the when and the where of my missions calling, but I am gaining experience and preparing in the meantime. Working at Crosswalk is a part of that preparation.

The prodigal son held onto his shame but the father's grace shocked and surprised him. I had a hard time letting go of my shame, but God surprised me with His grace. He wants you to move forward too. If there is some shame, guilt, or disgrace in your past that you are holding onto, let it go. God provided us with a scandal of grace so great that we are set free. Jesus died so that we don't have to. God has done something so amazing for us, forgives us, and wants us to be a part of His plan; why waste time holding ourselves back? There are plenty of other obstacles in life to overcome that restraining ourselves is useless. It may not happen right away, and it may take help, but that is one of the things the church is here for. Talk to your LTG, to your Life Group, to one of the pastors here. But take that step in letting it go and move forward. God has given you the strength to do amazing things in this life. Choose to accept it and respond in love towards others.

 

The day and its trouble shall come

I know that Your strength is enough 

The scandal of grace, You died in my place 

So my soul will live
 - Scandal of Grace by Hillsong

 

Trying to Follow,
Mark

Why Do I Even Try?

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

Sometimes people come by the office to talk and tell us about some of their theology. I recently had a discussion with a gentleman who held one Scripture verse higher than the rest. This was the lens through which he interpreted the rest of the Bible. It got me thinking about my own lens. All of us do this somehow, whether we know it or not. For some of us it may not be an actual verse, but more of a theological concept. But it is the primary lens and filter through which we see God, our relationship with Him, and the rest of Scripture.

Here is mine, it is called the Sh'ma: 
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." - Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Just reading it makes it clear how important it was for the Israelite people. But how could I take an Old Testament Scripture as the lens for my relationship with God? Surely Jesus felt there were more important concepts in the Bible right? Here's what He said: 
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:37-40

So often we hear people say that the Bible is an instruction manual for life and we should look to it to see what to do. And I feel like this so perfectly sums up the first and most important thing anyone who loves God should do. It is the basis for our relationship with God, and according to Jesus, our neighbor. Why is that? Because if our actions are not a reflection of love towards God they are empty.

Most of my examples of God's love and grace come from my kids, and it's not just because they wake me up at 2am. But think about this for a second; last Sunday was Father's Day - I heard my daughter get out of bed and immediately run to my bed, to jump on me and say "happy Father's Day Daddy!" It came from her heart, it was genuine, it was passionate, and it was one of the best feelings a father could ever experience. On the other hand, if my wife had to force my daughter to hug me and she only did it because she felt like she had to, it wouldn't mean nearly as much. (And yes, I am well aware that when she becomes a teenager there is a strong possibility that this will become reality...) I'd still accept her hug and appreciate it, but deep inside my desire would be for her to want to hug me, with all or her heart, all of her mind, and all of her strength.

Want Biblical examples? David is the perfect one. Look at his life, he messed up more often and more dramatically than any of us will ever do. And yet God had a special place for him. Why? Because he loved God passionately and let it show. And it guided much of what he did in life. Maybe not perfectly, but it was the starting point. God wants us to give Him our hearts. Look at the rich young ruler and where his heart was; I wrote about it last month, you can read it on the Crosswalk website.

How does it all match up? God reiterates that the most important thing about our relationship with Him is to love him. Not just a passive, "what have you done for me lately" love, but a passionate "I can't hold it back" love. At Crosswalk, our mission is to passionately demonstrate the love of Jesus. Read that again, to passionately demonstrate the love of Jesus. Not because we have to, but we because we want to. As a response to God's love for us. Passion can't be forced or faked and still be genuine. Which is why it begins with God, He is in love with us. He is in love with you. Think about that. The creator of the universe is in love with you. He is so in love with you that He sent His one and only Son to die for you. Respond to that. Love God with everything you are. Loving responses are not passive: They are passionate. They are bold. They are unrestrained. They are unrelenting. They aren't held back by a legalistic view of how things should be. Take a look at your relationship with God, do you love Him passionately? Is that the basis for your relationship with God? Surrender to it and give your heart to God completely.

Trying to follow,
Mark Juanes

PS, if you are having a barrier in your relationship with God, in loving Him with your whole heart, in being passionate; feel free to talk to us. That is what the church leadership is here for. We have a staff of pastors and our primary job is not to get things done, but to work with you in constantly building upon your relationship with God. 

Beyond Judgment

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

This week's message about judgement brought up some bad memories, and it also got me thinking. If you missed it, you can listen to it on Crosswalk's Website. One of the things that hit me was the video of people telling their stories of how they were hurt by the church - which you can watch on YouTube. I think like many of you, I could relate to a lot of what they shared and had my own experience. I loved it, but there is something I wish the video did share: what is going on with those people now? How has God healed them? And how did that come about? There are many things about the Church in general which needs to change, and it is good to be aware of it. But we can't simply focus on the negative. Pastor John spoke about how we can move forward in healing. That is what I want to focus on today, how we can build upon our strengths.

Here is where I am going to be very vulnerable to you today. Some of you may know this but I went through a divorce about ten years ago. I'm not proud of it and I was ashamed of it for a long time. But more than that, being in a failed marriage hurt me badly. I felt like I had failed God, failed in my commitment, and failed my community. The details were irrelevant. I fell into a depression for a while, but I also felt convicted to not give up on my relationship with God even though I felt like I had let Him down. I was attending Crosswalk the entire time; my Life Group knew I was going through struggles in my marriage and they were the first ones I contacted when it ended. Instead of condemning me, they embraced me. They were there for me. One couple just got engaged and yet they were more concerned with making sure I felt ok then of celebrating their engagement with the group. The staff felt horrible for me, counseled me, tried to help me reconcile, and never once did I feel like they were rejecting me. Church friends took me out to lunch to talk about it. Some of you might remember Bill Ray who was a longtime member. Well he was my next door neighbor and had been married for over 70 years. Of everyone, I was the most afraid of telling him about it. And I'll never forget as I sat down and told him, he just put his arm around my shoulder and prayed with me. He knew that going to God could do more than any condemning words could. He knew that my relationship with God was more important.

The problem with judgment is that we look at people's sins and, in our eyes, that is what defines them. So often in this Christian walk we hear about how we are all sinners. And how can we judge others to condemnation and really believe that? I wouldn't want to be defined by one particular part of my life. Not many do. We can't let one aspect of a person's life define who they are. This is a big part of why God healed me at Crosswalk ten years ago: people knew me deeper than a few hours on Sunday. They didn't let "divorced" become a big label on me, or let that become who they saw when they spoke with me. We now live in a postmodern world which values individuals. Getting to know people, building connections and trust with them is what we should be seeking. I wrote about some of my experiences with this on a previous e-mail.

When you build a relationship with someone, the results are twofold: First, you have genuine compassion and caring for them and any conversations about sin come from that place instead of a place of judgement. And second, they know that what you are saying is not in judgement but rather out of genuine love. Kinda like that Jesus guy. He recognized that all of us in general were sinful, and he ate dinner with the worst of the bunch. He got to know them better and didn't let their sins define who they were as individuals. Let's be known as the people who are like that. People who are more concerned with healing and compassion. People who spend the time to get to know others instead of making snap judgments about them.

What Must I Do?

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

There are three things I often think about when I write these articles: listening, changing mindsets, and the Kingdom of God. Why? Well, look at the teachings of the prophets and the parables of Jesus and it is clear those are pretty important things. But they aren't just important to think about. They are important to cultivate and be changed. God doesn't want us to merely be convicted to do something, he wants us to change into people who do good things naturally. In other words, God doesn't want us to DO good things. He wants us to BE good people who do good things. He wants our hearts. 

It is so easy to get caught up in serving and all the things that we think we need to do. And those things are good, but we do them as a response and reflection of who we are as Children of God. Look at the rich young ruler in Luke 18. Along with Abraham, I see it as one of the best illustrations to show that God wants our hearts. When the man asks Him how to inherit eternal life, Jesus responds in a typical Jesus fashion. He mentions the Commandments. Notice how Jesus is not telling him what he needs to do? He just brings up the Commandments. The young man responds with legalism. He has done all these things. That is the way the Pharisees thought. He thinks he has done everything he needs "to do" to get into heaven. Jesus hits him with "sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor..." Is this what Jesus calls all of us to do? No, that would be a new legalism. That would just be saying that the Pharisees were following the wrong set of laws to gain their way to eternal life. The point is not to put those things before God. Following God is the priority. God wants our hearts. 

Look earlier in Luke 18. Luke frequently places stories together based on topic and to accentuate the common meaning. Here he places the "Rich Young Ruler" together with the parable of the "Pharisee and the Tax Collector." That's when the Pharisee brags about how righteous he is, how much he's done. Then the tax collector confesses that he is a sinner and that God is in charge. Which one was justified? Only the tax collector. Only the one who recognized that we are sinners, not law-keepers. The two stories go together. When we do good things, it's not with motives of getting into heaven, it's because we belong to God and that is what He wants. He wants our hearts. 

And here is the tough part. How do we respond? What does it look like when God has our hearts? It's in the Bible. Read Acts, it is my favorite book in the Bible because they were regular guys that God used. Just like you and I can be. God had their hearts. They pursued Him and His will. I'm not talking about a three year old saying she wants to give her heart to Jesus. I'm talking about on your knees bawling, life changing, never-be-the-same again, giving your heart to Jesus. Do you think the rich young ruler's response to Jesus was to say "I was really convicted by your message today, Jesus!" and then go on with his life? Do you think Jesus would have been satisfied with that? Jesus challenged him to give up what he wanted and pursue what God wanted. Because Jesus loved him. And he couldn't do it, and went away sad. He couldn't put God first. 

That is why when I read our vision, to passionately demonstrate the love of Jesus, I see the "choosing sacrifice" part and think "wow, that's tough." Choosing sacrifice is not about helping other people, at least not directly. It's about giving up what we want. Its about bringing it to God and letting God be the leader. It's about giving our hearts to God and not just doing the things He wants us to do. It's being the people He wants us to be, and doing those things because we want to.

Setting Your Roots

originally posted on www.crosswalkchurch.com

I think we all have a verse we often "go to" and find encouraging. Which do you find most encouraging? Mine is not the usual: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:2-3 (NLT) I am drawn to this verse because it doesn't sugar-coat things. We are going to face trials in life. We are going to have struggles. We can't be sheltered, shelter our faith, or shelter our loved ones from trials in life. But there is good news, God gives us strength from our struggles.

You may have already heard the story of the trees in the Arizona Bio-dome. The Bio-dome was a project where scientists tried to produce an isolated and yet self-sustainable environment fully enclosed in a dome. There was a pond, fish, plants, and some trees. What they found however, was that after a few years some of the trees would mysteriously fall down. It turns out that inside the controlled bio-dome environment there was no wind, and without the wind to shake the trees, their roots did not dig in as deep or develop as well to help support the trees. The trees needed to be tested for their endurance to develop. The trees needed the wind to test them and push them to become stronger. The same is true of seeds planted indoors. Gardeners recommend that seeds planted in places where they are sheltered indoors be "hardened" before they are planted outside. Hardening involved placing the sprouting plants outside for an hour or two a day. As the plant is exposed to direct sunlight and wind, it grows stronger. Each day it is left outside for a longer period of time and after a week it will be strong enough to be planted outside.

When I think about some of the things I have gone through in my past I see how God formed me as well: my first job out of college was as a supervisor for a trucking company. I was a scared, shy, kid with little self confidence. Suddenly I was in a situation where I was in charge of 20 angry teamsters who wanted to argue and intimidate me because I was the one giving out job duties. It really challenged me and there were times when I didn't want to be there or dreaded going into work because I knew there was going to be complaining and arguing. But after time, I realized how God used it to make me stronger mentally and able to diffuse angry people.

According to James, this happens with our faith as well. He breaks it down in verses 9-15. Being poor is a blessing because it makes you stronger. Being rich is a blessing because it is an opportunity to test your humility. If you can come through temptation, you will be stronger. Not saying to throw yourself into the path of temptation or trials; James makes it clear that although it is an opportunity to be stronger, that does not mean it is from God. But think of it this way, if we shelter ourselves from trials, will our faith have the opportunity to truly grow? Sometimes holding yourself away may be victory, but sometimes you need to have the confidence to address trials and temptations. When you do, consider it a blessing knowing you will come away stronger.