Is Easter Really that Important?

It is Thursday and I am sitting in Starbucks watching people. Some are working while others are doing life together. Some are just enjoying their favorite beverage. Music is playing in the background of pots being washed and coffee being ground. It is just another normal day at Starbucks.

As people walk in and out I wonder if they are thinking about what I am thinking about? Easter is three days away. The biggest day for a church, right? Less than two thousand years ago Jesus was spending his last day with his disciples today. He had spent the last couple years with these guys teaching them to make disciples. People who would live like him. Not just for their generation but for generation after generation which brings me back to Starbucks.

Were the people in Jerusalem just going through another day like the people I am watching? Were they facing another religious festival they had to endure again like they do every year whether it is Passover or Easter?

Which leads me to this question, Is Easter just another religious festival only this time Christians claim it as their most important religious holiday. Without sounding sacrilegious is Easter really that important? When I say that, I mean the day, the Sunday once a year where we buy a new outfit, go to a specially designed service and eat a big dinner with family or friends. A Sunday in the spring when there is no Nascar!

I have to believe that when Jesus sat down with his disciples for that last Passover meal there was something more significant to Him than just another religious holiday. It was reflective for him as a human, the day God redeemed a group of people who would one day be the nation that would produce Him--the Messiah. He sat there as the fulfillment of a plan God began when death passed over the Israelites.

It was significant because when he left that room with his disciples it would end with God's will being fulfilled so that we could be redeemed. The disciples just saw it as another Passover meal with Jesus. This was their third with him.

They walked with him in the garden a journey they had taken with Jesus many times. Their friend Judas rejoins them, but this time with a crowd of soldiers and he greeted Jesus with a kiss. The kiss of death which began Jesus' journey to the cross.

It got chaotic for the disciples they scattered not willing to stand with Jesus in this journey that led to the grave. Jesus did not try to stop them because he knew this was not their journey, this was not why he had spent the last couple years with them. They had a different purpose. He groomed them to make disciples and lead the church. He did not expect them to hang around, it was not their time.

Can you imagine seeing your best friend dying an agonizing death thinking maybe you should have done something about it? Have you ever lost a friend to death? A childhood friend of mine died last year. We were close but not best friends. I sat up one night thinking about all the things we had done together. He lived in my neighborhood and was my best friends brother. We had been camping together, gone to movies together, played ball together--I had not seen him in years but started to miss him.

The disciples probably sat in the upper room reflecting back on their friend remembering everything they had done together. They had fished together, eaten meals together, traveled together--can you imagine the stories they were telling as they remembered their friend.

As they were telling these stories Jesus showed up. Their first reaction had to be disbelief. Then as they grasped the reality of what happened joy would be an understatement. Maybe they begged for forgiveness since they did not stand up for Jesus. I am sure he was quick to tell them they couldn't because it was not yet their time.

If someone who was close to me showed up after I had seen them put in the grave I would be beside myself with joy. Even if we were not the best of friends I would be telling everyone with unbridled excitement.

Easter is three days away. What is our normal response? Is it to see this Sunday as just another Easter to get through with little or no thought about what really happened. Some will see it as something they have to endure, others will ignore it all together. What about you? How will you celebrate this Sunday? Will it be just another Easter or will it have significant meaning? Will you see it as the day Jesus slammed the door on death so we could experience His undeserved grace?

I guess Easter really is important if we allow ourselves to experience the importance of Jesus' resurrection. It all depends on how we look at.

Have a great Easter Everyone!

Bake

7 Mile Memory

Growing up in Salem, Va. was special. Not only is it a great place to call home it is close to one of the most scenic places on the Appalachian Trail. Macafee Knob is one of those places that I have had the privilege of seeing several times in my life. Each time it was unforgettable. Not because it is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but each time it was special because of the people I got to experience it with.

I believe it was a Sunday afternoon in the late seventies or early eighty's when I first looked over the Blue Ridge Mountains. My father asked me to going hiking with him. I had no idea where we were going, I just new I was going to be on the Appalachian trail for the first time.

Dad and I drove to the top of Catawba Mountain, parked the car, crossed route 311 and began our journey to Macafee Knob. It is about 3.5 mile walk each way on the trail. I was reminded by my dad recently that I complained a lot of the way to the top and back down. But, it was a place I always remembered. I have often looked up pictures on the Internet and even written about standing on the knob looking out across the Blue Ridge Mountains.

As much as I did not like the hike I never forgot it. I never forgot it for two reasons. First it was a journey my dad and I did together. It was a memory we shared together and as I look back it is something I have never forgotten. Second, it was one of those moments where I got to see what my Heavenly Father created for His Creation to experience. A place that a Psalm could easily be written about explaining the splendor of God.

Two weeks ago I was standing on that same rock protruding out in what seems like midair. I never thought I would be there again.

This time I was not there with my dad but I got to go as a dad. Eli, Cole and Seth all were with me at Macafee Knob. It was special because it reminded me of being there with dad and now I was there with my sons.

I have to say, God is great for many reasons and I have been blessed in so many ways. That day I got to remember spending time with dad knowing that I was raised in a great family. I got to spend that day with my kids duplicating what my dad taught me about being a father. I realized how much my kids are like me--Eli complained all the way up and all the way down.

But most of all I got to see the splendor of God in what he created--my dad, my kids and the rock called Macafee Knob.

Sin, Religion and Grace (part 2)

Here are some more thoughts from Timothy Keller's book, "The Reason for God":

"Religion operates on this principle 'I obey--therefore I am accepted by God.' But the operating principle of the gospel is 'I am accepted by God through what Christ has done--therefore I obey.' Two people living their lives on the basis of these two different principles may sit next to each other in the church pew." - Timothy Keller

"The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me." - Timothy Keller

There is a distinct difference between someone who goes to church because it is their religion and someone who is a part of the church because of grace. The former goes to church because they feel like they have to in order to please God and show everyone they are a Christian. The later participates as a part of the church because they get to as a child of God.

The difference is how we view our relationship with God. Once we get grasp the reality that we are his children and we are accepted by Him despite our flaws we live our lives differently in relation to Him. We obey not out of obligation but because we serve a God who loves and values us because we are His.

Religion crushes the spirit, grace brings life.

Sin, Religion and Grace

Just finished Timothy Keller's book, "The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism." I have to say he does a great job of explaining why God makes sense and why we need him.

Toward the end he gets into some basic theological issues including Sin, Religion and Grace. Here are some quotes and thoughts on sin, religion and grace:

Sin: "Lewis (referring to C.S. Lewis) works from Kierkegaard's definition of sin. Sin is not simply doing bad things, it is putting good things in the place of God. So the only solution is not simply to change our behaviour, but to reorient and center the entire heart and life on God."

"Remember this--if you don't live for Jesus you will live for something else."

"Everybody has to live for something. Whatever that something is becomes the 'Lord of your life,' whether you think of it that way or not."

What Keller is saying is that sin is not just doing bad things. The root of our sin is putting something else before God. If money is your lord it can drive you to do things that are sinful. Someone with the drive to have money may be a workaholic and neglect not just God, but their family. Maybe they will cheat on their taxes or deal unethical with others. Maybe it will cause someone to steal from someone else. All of these actions are just a result of money being in the place of God.

Maybe it is alcohol, drugs or sex that has become your lord and as a result, your actions show what "the" sin is you struggle with most. Jesus taught about the root of our actions in the Sermon on the Mount on several occasions. One place he said, "You have heard that it was said . . . do not murder . . . but I tell you anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement" (Matthew 5:21-22). What Jesus is saying is that murder is the result of a deeper issue--anger. It is at anger you have crossed the line of sin.

When I used to travel for Kentucky Christian University to various camps sometimes I would have to teach on sex to students. The question that was always asked was "How far can you go before it is to far?"

I had always been taught that you can go as far as you can without it leading to the deed (if you know what I mean). But that is not what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. He said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).

So "lust" is the problem. Adultery is just the result of lust. So, what is this person's lord?

Sin is as simple as putting something else before God. In the example of the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve put their independence before God. They wanted to be like God. So they ate from the wrong tree.

Really all sin boils down to Adam and Eves sin--independence from our Lord. Everything other sin is just the result of our desire to be independent from God.

(Religion and Grace continued tomorrow)

Check Engine

We bought a car for Eli in August and the check engine light is on. Just recently Rhonda came in and said a strange warning light is on in the van. Yep, the check engine light. Rhonda came in another day after driving my car, you guessed it--check engine.

I was not feeling well yesterday. My heart was racing so I went to the Doctor. As I was laying there getting an EKG I thought to myself, "My check engine light is on." I'm fine, just have what they are calling "lone atrial fibrillation." It stopped on it's own. I did not have to get shocked to put my heart back into rhythm which was a possibility. I actually thought about doing it myself with a fork and an electrical socket. When I joked with the doctor about it he said it may have worked, but was not in favor of it.

Anyway, with all the check engine lights on in my life it got me thinking. When a check engine light comes on you have to do a diagnostic test to find out what is wrong. What about our spiritual life? Is your walk with God somewhat stalled? Would you say that your check engine light is on? What does a diagnostic test look like for your spiritual walk with God?

Maybe you need to spend some quiet time reflecting on your relationship with God. Maybe you need to sit down with a friend you trust and can share anything with to coach you through your evaluation. Maybe your doing well with your faith.

Here is what Paul tells followers in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test."

Life Change

I was reading an article in Christian Standard a friend of mine wrote about Small Groups. Read it here.

In it Brian Jones talks about the effectiveness of small groups. I agree with the point he was making because small groups for the sake of church growth is a bunch of hoo-hoo. The tension we have at Northwest is trying to create Life Groups where life change happens and having a home Bible Study.

I am all for studying the Bible but if it is not making a difference in your life then all you have obtained is Bible knowledge. I heard Mike Breaux say one time, "There are a lot of people who have marked up their Bibles but have never let their Bibles mark up them." What he is saying is that there are many people who can tell you what the Bible says but do not live what the Bible says.

There were a lot of responses to Brian's article (you can read those at the link above also) because he challenged people to rethink the value of small groups. He wrote a response himself and this quote from his response nailed it:

"Small groups began (and I’m dating myself here) as a church growth tool. They are awesome at making people feel connected. But feeling connected isn’t the point. I’m sick of people who are super-connected in the church having affairs, watching porn, stealing money from work, and treating their kids like they are orphans. No doubt small groups help people feel connected. But do people emerged changed after spending a year or two spending 1.5 hours a week, every other week (excluding holidays and summertime) with other people in these groups?"

Life Change should be the end result of Worship, Sunday School, small groups and any other program in the church designed to get people connected. Being connected does not mean you have a bunch of friends you hang out with occasionally. We can do that at any of the many local clubs in town.

Jesus called it making disciples. In Matthew 28:19-20 we are always quick to say this means we are to evangelize the world. But that is not the whole truth. Jesus said to go make disciples who observe what he taught.

The word "observe" (tereo) in the Greek means, "to attend to carefully." We are to make disciples who carefully follow the ways of Jesus.

A changed life that resembles the life of Jesus is what the church was created to accomplish. It is not a place to gather people, whether in large groups or small groups, who call themselves Christians. It was created to make authentic followers of Jesus.

The Gathering

Sunday Morning "church," what is the purpose for it? Why do we gather on a Sunday morning? Teaching is obviously a reason we come together. Worship is also a reason to gather. But what is the deeper reason for gathering on a Sunday morning.

Some people say you can follow Jesus without going to the gathering. While there is truth in that statement neglecting the gathering is not encouraged in scripture.

Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing . . ." So why is it important to gather?

This passage in Hebrews says so we can "encourage" one another, so we can "spur" one another on in love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25). The word "spur" in the Greek means, "a sudden violent emotion or action." I instantly think of the word "inspire." The gathering should inspire people to be more like Jesus.

We can go to a church any Sunday morning and see singing, teaching, praying, the Lord's supper. Some seem to have a different spirit and feel to them. They do the same things, but they don't have the same impact. The difference is do they inspire people to live more like Jesus.

Those who inspire people to love and good deeds--to be more like Jesus may not even be the larger churches. But they can make a larger impact in the kingdom.

Here is a question for you: why do you go to the gathering? Or maybe you don't so the question for you is: why don't you go to the gathering?