Blessed Be His Name: When He Gives and When He Takes Away

A few years ago Matt Redman wrote a song entitled, Blessed Be the Name. The chorus of that song says, “He gives and takes away but blessed be his name.” That chorus reflects a foundational theology of the church, that God is good, but that we do not always understand why he does what he does. It also reflects that life is bitter-sweet, that the good and the bad are always right there together. I have been reflecting on that truth recently as I have been in the middle of getting this new church up and running.

This has been one of the most exciting church starts I have ever been a part of, and I really love all the people who are part of it. Every morning I awake with a sense of expectation and excitement about pastoring this church plant. In the midst of this excitement and joy, I have also been choking on a bitter pill, the demise of a church I planted about 15 years ago in Michigan. That Michigan church was once an exciting and vibrant church, it made the news paper many times for innovative outreaches, it was known in the community as an outward focused church, and it employed three full time pastors and several part time staff. Today, there are only 30-40 people, no staff, and the little group that remains want nothing to do with the vision that they began with. It is so sad . . .

As I look at both churches I am grateful for both of them. The lesson learned at the church in Michigan have shaped the church I am now planting in Florida. Many times I saw the Lord intervene on our behalf and I think of the faces, the names, and the events that led many people to salvation, to deeper walk with Christ, and the many healings, deliverances, and life changes that came through that ministry. The Lord gave those blessings full well knowing that one day that church would be in the state of health that it is now. Even now he is blessing this new church plant, and only he knows if it will be here in two years, fifteen years, or 100 years. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but blessed be the name of the Lord. In the midst of both the success and the failure of two churches I have questioned what might I have done different, did I leave the one church too early, should I have intervened more after I left. No, I am certain that God told me whom to leave in charge, when to leave there and go to Mexico, and to come here to Florida rather than return to Michigan. I am certain he knows what he is doing. I am certain he gave me and my family to the church in Michigan, and it was him that led us away, even though it was very hard to leave. He gives and takes away, but blessed be his name.

Even so, I must admit that as I think about what has happened in Michigan I cannot help but be concerned for the other churches I have planted, or worked with, and even this plant now. I want to build with silver and gold, not hay, wood and stubble (1 Corinthians 3.12). How do I reconcile it all? I must own that which is my doing, but more over I must trust God in what he is doing. That he loves all those involved even more than I.

Advent 2011: Christmas and the Magi

On Christmas Eve we celebrate one of the biggest events in history, the day God came to earth to make his dwelling place among us, so that one day we might dwell with him. In most manger scenes on church lawns and court houses the Magi are present at the birth of Jesus, but in the Bible these wise men do not show up until nearly two years later. They were following the star that announced Jesus’ birth, and when they saw his star in the East they could only follow it and travel at night. Such a journey would take a long time, and require a great deal of planning since there was not an interstate, or a Walmart, or a Motel 6 to leave a light-on along the way. The purpose in saying that is not to burst anyone's bubble. Please enjoy your manger scene. The truth, is however, better than Drummer Boy Legend.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Luke 2.1-12, NIV)

The quote is from the NIV because it uses the more accurate rendering Magi rather than the more generic wise men. Do you know what a Magi is? A Magi is a person who is kind of a combination astronomer, scientists, doctor and philosopher all rolled into one– That’s why we call them wise men. They were well educated and they were also very wealthy. It also says in Matthew, that they came from the east, meaning they could have come from Persia, or India, or from China. We don’t really know. We do know that they had to cross the Middle Eastern desert and that trip probably took them about four to six months to make in order to get to Israel.

Isn’t it ironic that Jesus was born just thirteen miles away from the epicenter of Judaism in Jerusalem, where all of the Jewish scholarship in the world at that time was concentrated, but not one of the Jewish religious leaders went to search for the messiah? These wise men that did go to see Jesus weren’t necessarily even believers in Yahweh God, they were “pagans” yet they came from a far away land to worship him and give him gifts. The Magi stand out because they did not rest on the laurels of what they already knew, nor did they speculate about God as if they were somehow experts on God, but when these guys saw the change in the sky they knew it was significant and they set out on a quest to know what it meant.

Sadly, there are far more speculators in the world than there are wise men. Speculators are people who say, “Well, I think … My idea is like…. I really imagine ….” Honestly, Who cares? Who set them up to be an authority? Just because you think something doesn’t make it true or even a reality. Speculators just guess, they conjecture, and your guess is as good as mine what is true. Those who are wise are the people who diligently search for the truth, they search what is real, not just opinions that please them. They take the time and effort to find the answers to life’s questions. That’s what these Magi did.

The problem with many of people today is that we all want to know what’s real but they don’t want to take the time to find it out. Few of people even have enough gumption to Google it, let alone do any real study, or search out any real answers. The Magi saw this star come down low over the earth like no other star and they knew that this had to mean something. They knew enough to know that stars don’t just hover above the earth. This was no ordinary light in the sky, and they went to see what it was.

The second thing to love about these guys is that unlike Herod they were not threatened by the truth. Instead they sought to ally themselves with the truth. Herod felt threatened by it and sought to destroy it, but the Magi were people of character and integrity. They wanted truth to triumph, no matter how much their lives had to change because of it. So much so, that they spent more than two years and many of their resources on pursuing

You also have to love these guys humility. When they realized who Jesus was they worshiped him, not their religion, not their past, they let him become their future, they even put their lives at risk after they met Jesus, and they went home another route to avoid Herod. It was a dangerous decision to defy a king on his own territory. These guys changed their religion, their loyalty, and their lives because of what they found. There willingness to act is what separates wise men from plain old wise guys.

That first night when the star appeared it burned bright in the darkness to tell the whole world that God’s Son had been born in the world. And all who followed the light whether shepherds or wise men eventually came to bow before the son of God, and worship him. Others saw the light and ignored it.People still respond the same way today. Most see the light and speculate, filling the air with their haughty and empty presumptions. Others simply ignore it. A few, out of fear, try to stamp it out, but some like the Magi, in wisdom seek understanding, and for them Christmas is not only the birth of a child, but the promise of better things to come. May you be the later.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Advent 2011: Week Four, Peace on Earth

I remember being in first grade, my family had just moved back to El Paso, Texas from Vancouver, BC Canada and I was playing outside with my neighbors when my Mom put some small cereal box cutout in the window with scotch tape. There were ornaments, and manger personalities. I stopped playing and pointed to my Mormon neighbors, and I was excited by the colorful window dressings. Then a long banner that was made to look like a red ribbon with gold letters. It red, “Peace on Earth, Good will to men.” I remember how it hit me. My thoughts about it did not penetrate my neighbors. It was just Christmas stuff, but I went in and spoke to my Mom. I asked her, what that meant and I got the usual answers, its peace because Jesus came, its peace because we can go to heaven now or (my personal warm fuzzy) its peace because he was a baby sleeping in a manger. At seven I knew that none of that made much sense. It was warm and sentimental but it did not fit, why would the birth of Jesus mean peace for humankind. The Little Drummer Boy implies that it was the radiant presence of the child that made everyone feel at peace. I still wondered why would Jesus’ birth mean peace for humanity?

Every year we hear Linus quote the KJV of the passage, to tell us of the night that Jesus was born. That Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem for a government census, and that while they were there she went into labor, and gave birth to a son, and had to lay the child in a manger because they had no place to stay but a stable. At that very moment, shepherds in the field saw a group of angles praising God, who then announced the birth of the Christ child to them and invited them to come and see that it was true, but in the KJV account there is a misnomer, “peace on earth goodwill toward men.” Let’s look at the verse afresh, along with Luke’s entire account of the birth of Christ:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2.1-21)

In Romans 5.1-11, and again in Ephesians 2.14-18 the thought is expressed that since the fall of Adam in the garden humanity has not been at peace with God. From that moment on, sin separated humanity from God. It was not just because they ate fruit, and not just because they disobeyed a rule, but because the betrayal was an attempted to overthrow God as King of kings and Lord of lords. The serpent’s temptation was, “You will be like God.” Actually, Adam and Eve were already like God, but the serpent sowed distrust, and doubt in us toward God. He implied that God was withholding something from them that was better than what they had now. “Eat and you will be your own God,” was the implied message he was selling. Furthermore Adam’s decision was not out of deception, Eve it says was deceived, but Adam’s sin was the greater sin because he knew what he was doing, and he committed a treasonous act against God willfully. Romans chapter seven squarely places the blame on Adam, not Eve. From that time onward humankind has lived as an enemy of God. However, through Christ, mankind can choose to return to God. Jesus, the Prince of Peace, is the peace accord between humankind and God. When we surrender to the Prince of Peace, the terms of surrender are, let God be God, and put your heart, your will, your strength, your possessions under his control, and in return he will give eternal life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. That is the message of Jesus’ birth.

When you pull back all the sentimental imagery of the manger and Christmas, it is about the birth of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This is about dominion, the change of the global order, and life and death. That is why King Herod sent out soldiers to murder every child under the age of two when he found out about the Christ child being born. That is why the three Magi came from the east in the first place. (More about them on Christmas Eve), but the coming of Jesus Christ was a powerful watershed event, the clash of kingdoms, and it was ultimately the reestablishment of the Kingdom of God on earth under the leadership of the Prince of Peace, who reconciled humanity to God, and gave the gentle terms of surrender. For those who surrender to God’s goodwill there is peace.

The central question for us today is, are we surrendered to Jesus Christ? Are we at war or at peace with God? This promise of peace is not a gift of warm-fuzzy peaceful feelings, or inner tranquility; this is the peace that comes to those who are no longer struggling to be god of their own life. This is the peace of not being the enemy of God. This is the peace, of knowing that when judgment comes, that according to the terms of surrender you will not be tried for high treason. Because one day, Philippians 2.9-11 tells us, the whole world will be subdued, and every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I believe that is why we read that the ordinary Joes, and the humble parents of Jesus, were the first to receive this good news. The three magi don’t come until almost two years later. That first night it was Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds along with a few animals. Not because God is opposed to either wealth or power, he has both. If however, we are honest, there are few poor people in the world who believe them selves to be invincible, or in charge, or self-sufficient. It is easier for those who are poor or powerless to accept the gospel of Peace, the terms of surrender to Jesus are much more palatable than the terms of surrender that have been shoved down their throats repeatedly by the harsh realities of life, by government, and everything else that they perceive as oppressing them.

For those with power and wealth, the terms of surrender are the same, but as Proverbs 10 & 18 point out many perceive their wealth or power as a strong tower, as a shield, as impenetrable. Many with wealth or power perceive themselves as not in need of rescue. They do not see the need for surrender. Its not that God opposes people because of wealth or power, but that God opposes those who are proud. Often the rich and powerful are never humble enough to surrender. As lords, as kings, of their own destiny, there is nothing more difficult for a king to do then become the vassal of another king.

There is a scene in the movie Brave Heart, where a group of British lords is coming out to greet the Scottish King and nobility. So oppressed are the Scotts that the British King no longer comes to greet the King of Scotland, he just sends an English lord to receive the annual payment and pledge of loyalty to avoid destruction. At that point the English lord makes sport of the Scottish King and tells the other lords in his company that they will watch a King kiss their behinds. To their surprise the Scotts rebel, and a war begins, but the attitude of both in the movie reflects the lack of humility of Kings and Lords everywhere, and the general refusal of those in power to surrender their power, even if its costs them everything. The famous missionary, Jim Elliot, once said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." The inverse is also true, if you fight to keep what you cannot take with you, rather than surrender to gain what you cannot loose, that makes you a great fool.

Thinking about those ordinary Joes working the late shift that night, those shepherds, (despite Christmas lore), were the low men on the social ladder. Working all night, watching a bunch of stupid stinking sheep, their own lives potentially in danger for a bunch of cattle. As ordinary as they were, they got to see the glory of God, they got to see angels, and they saw the Christ child. Likewise, when you and I humble ourselves, when we surrender to the kingdom of God, we too can see the glory of God displayed. We get to see God work, not because we are powerful, rich, or something special in our own right, but because we have recognized that we are not. We have seen our need for God, we have humbled ourselves, let God be God, let God be King and Lord of our lives, and in that process we too get to experience the works of God.

Have you ever wondered why people see greater miracles in Africa, or Latin America or China? I believe that it has to do with oppression. The people in those places are so crushed by oppression that without God they have no hope. Therefore they are completely dependent on God. Especially if following God has come at a price of social exclusion or some kind of additional oppression by worldly rulers and authorities. I would submit to us that Advent is a time for us to renew our commitment, to review the terms of surrender. It is a time of putting God in charge, of believing that God’s governance is better than our own, and of believing that just as God sent angles, and demonstrated his love for those humble shepherds and Jesus’ earthly parents, that God also desires to show his glory to us who surrender themselves today, as we await his soon return.

To go back to my childhood question, peace on earth is something that belongs to those who have surrendered to God’s will. Making peace with God is the way for us to prepare not only for Christmas, but also for Jesus’ imminent return.