Fruit

Today was amazing. We have a gal who has been coming to our church
for more than a yea. Over the year the worship moved her heart away
from Hinduism to Jesus. Today was her day. She had already made an
appointment with us and when she got up she knew... she belonged to
Jesus. So we sat at Starbucks and heard her story and then guided
her to do what she had done in so many levels but now just made
declarative. She turned away from anything else that might "save"
her, anything else that might give her life and put her life fully in
the hands of Jesus. Wow. Passionate, decisive, committed. And she
left with a whole new world opening to her heart. Her story is one
of joy and pain, and moves that seem to be so insignificant that now
are clearly paths that God used to bring her to himself. What a
God! Who can move thru the craziness of decisions, the mess of
heartaches and the dream for a child and orchestrate all of that for
this moment this morning. And now, heaven is overjoyed. And so is
she. And so are we. Maybe we are making a bit of a difference.
Just maybe.

God on the Back End

Talking with a friend today who spoke the question most of us ask.
His friend has been going thru a tough time and asked, "What good did
all of this obedience get me? What use is it when it seems like
those who don't care seem to do better?" Those are questions that
eventually haunt every person. What hit me is that I often want to
find God on the front end, to see immediate response when it seems I
most find God working on the back end, doing just what Romans 8:28-29
says. Psalm 73 is the biblical struggle with the same question. And
the answer is the same, look at the back end, when God's ways and
purposes are fulfilled.

We are front end people, at least I am. It is a strong discipline to
live for the back end, for the future that stretches thru the ages.
Jesus lived on the back end, "For the joy set before him he endured
the cross." Farmers live for the back end. Investors do as well.
But living for the back end is hard. And waiting to find God in the
back end.. calls every ounce of faith. Still, the long view, the
back end may be the only funnel of hope when life gets crazy. "Where
is God when I need him most?" Maybe he is working on the back end,
bringing all things to work for good. And that takes a lot of work
to bring some of the stuff I have to good.

Spiritual Amnesia

The loss of spiritual memory in our generation is an under the radar
but huge loss. With no biblical roots people live from event to
event, from challenge to challenge and from play to play without a
sense of meaning and without an awareness of the Lord. John 2:20-22
Jesus clears the temple and speaks of building a temple in 3 days.
Later, the disciples put the pieces together and it becomes another
platform that strengthens their faith. Although they heard him in
the moment, they apparently missed its full power and implications.
But because they had heard, later it would bring them strength and
faith.

What then happens to a generation who hasn't heard, who has no memory
of scripture, who has no roots that the Spirit can stir and bring
truth to strengthen their faith? What then for the generations that
have no memory of scripture and therefore miss the clear move of God
and cannot even backtrack and see it because they have no roots?
What of a generation who has moved so far from knowing the scripture
that the moments that could be spiritually catalytic are lost?

I have had this experience as the disciples, reading scripture but
not connecting the dots. And then... all of a sudden it all makes
sense. The scripture opens up life and gives an interpretation that
is rich with God's presence, powerful in faith and gushing with
hope. But if we have no roots? If we have no memory? If there is
nothing there from which the Spirit can draw? Sure, God speaks thru
creation and people. Still, what is to be done for generations that
have less and less to do with anything biblical and now live event to
event?

Somehow we must find a way to get the scripture into the memory.
Somehow. But this will certainly be a challenge.

Awareness

Awareness is a big topic and should be. The foundation is self
awareness, knowing what is really going on inside with us. But what
about scoping out? What about seeing beyond what is going on with me
to what might be going on with others? Jesus was a amazing at being
aware beyond the surface. Sure, he was God. But awareness of what
is going on with others is a skill that can be learned and is
essential for other relationships, particularly leadership. Watching
others' responses, non verbal and verbal is one key. Deeper still is
the decision to stay open, to be willing to hold off judgment of what
they might be experiencing and going deeper, choosing to look for
more evidence rather than making a quicker decision.

Awareness is a skill for life, to see the things around us, to see
the people around us, to see their story deeper than the moment when
they said or did... Awareness can put us in a position to connect
others to God's heart. Awareness can grant us an invitation to the
deeper parts of others hearts and minds, to the workings of the
Spirit beyond the surface. Becoming aware of my world is one step.
Becoming aware of the world of others is another. I hope to live
that way, aware of who I am and how I am impacts the worlds of others
whether they choose it or not.

The Push Pull of Evangelism

Talking with a friend today I stumbled across the "push / pull" of
evangelism. A recruiter once told me that for the recruitment
process to match both push and pull is needed. There has to be a
reason for a change, a reason to leave. If not, no matter how hard
the pull, finances or opportunities, the pull is never strong
enough. My friend is a budding evangelist and as we were talking
about connecting people to Jesus I spoke of the push / pull of
evangelism. The push is a reason someone would consider giving their
life to the Lord. That could be regret, desire for a different life,
awareness of sin or fear of death. Whatever, something has to push
the person out of their old life. The bible would describe that as
conviction, an awareness of needing to change, to leave an old
lifestyle for another. Without a push, conviction, a response to the
Lord is likely not deep enough.

The pull is called grace, grace that says life can be more
fulfilling. It is a conviction of John 10:10 that Jesus does offer
life. The pull can be to make a difference, to have peace of heart
and soul or any other benefit of walking with the Lord (the Psalms
speak of remembering the benefits of serving the Lord). Without the
pull, a person is not "pulled" into intimacy and dependency upon the
Lord. Without the pull a person may be leaving their old life but
not walking toward a new one.

If so, then the journey of an evangelist is to stir push / pull
moments, to discern what is needed in the life of another and to
provide either the push or the pull by speaking God's heart about the
appropriate one. Another way is to ask, "What is keeping you from
giving your life to the Lord?" The point of all of this is to be
ambassadors of the Lord, breathing into the moment of push or pull so
that the person continues to move toward the Lord and eventually
gives their life to Jesus.

So, I have a new question as I sit with people and work with them.
Do I stir the push or the pull? Which does this person need to move
toward Jesus?