dismantling my claymation christmas mentality.

When we take away the festal racket of the Advent Story, put down our eggnog, set down our sugar cookies, and peel back the pine-scented veneer of one “holy infant so tender and mild,” we are faced with a very different nativity. A nativity without hand soap or a space heater. Medicate with enough gingerbread or peppermint truffles and you may forget the ugly truth altogether. Thousands of years of expectation trudged its way “South along the flatlands of the Jordan River, and then West over the hills surrounding Jerusalem.” After tramping 80 miles a very tired, dirty, and pregnant teenage couple found themselves marginalized from society, delivering their firstborn child in some dimly lit shed. No doctor, no pain medication, no epidural. The night our King entered the world was bloody and tear-filled. Mary’s shrill cries pierced a quiet Bethlehemian night. Welcomed in with tidings of infanticide, the Prince of Peace was the newest member of a refugee family. It was not a silent night. Not in David’s town.

I think it’s a good year for throwing my classic-Claymation-nativity-mindset back on the potter’s wheel of history... a good year for allowing scripture to flavor my advent-routine. If it means taking smaller doses of holiday cheer in order to savor the mystery of Jesus' birth, then I think I’m okay with that. God forbid Santa load me up with a little more coal this year.

This. Is. Advent... 

That God gave His Son to become subjected, dejected, and rejected as a human for the sins of humanity. His heart groaned with bittersweet paradox as the Treasure of Heaven met the Tragedy of Earth. It was tenacious and resolute. It was wild and lion-like. It was simple and profound love for humanity that compelled Jesus Christ off His throne and into a manger.

In leaving all the divine laurels of Godhood in Heaven, He managed in one fell swoop to drag His Kingdom to Earth. The manger-lain, cloth-wrapped, carpenter-raised refugee began walking the streets proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God is here!”

As I think of the adversity into which Jesus Christ entered that night, I think of the little boys and girls that have come into the care of Children Of The Nations. They identify with the birth of Christ in a way that most of us will probably never know. Marginalized. Impoverished. Refugees. Targets of genocide. Subjected to every misery of the Fall. But as children adopted out of the wreckage of human depravity how much more can they identify with the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in a way few can fathom! They have experienced the full spectrum of the capacity of the human soul. On the one hand a capacity for the fear and loneliness that comes from belonging to no one, yet on the other a capacity for the most immense joy that comes from belonging both to a family and to God.

Into the depravity of mankind’s darkness God unleashed the Light of Heaven. He released His Son and therein His Kingdom. A Kingdom in which Creation belongs to Creator. A Kingdom in which the misery of the Fall has become subjected to the glory of Jesus Christ.

He spent His life reversing the Curse of sin and the misery of the Fall, and He bids you and I to join Him in entering the brokenness of humanity to declare with joy the liberating fact that “The Kingdom of God has come!” You are an agent of His Kingdom – so enter into humanity’s brokenness, help reverse the mess, and intertwine your life with those who have not yet heard of the proclamation that rang out that night in David’s Town, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy…”

Let me show you what this whole thing looks like…

Rebecca was orphaned as a baby in the country of Malawi. She remembers the day that Children Of The Nations gave her a family. Today she has graduated from High School and is looking towards College. “God has consumed my life,” she said. “And so I hope to transform Malawi. That is what God has given me to do.” The person who filmed this short video recently asked Rebecca to share her favorite Bible Verse… who knew she’d bust out an entire chapter? 

Shadow Sons, Desert Daughters

Here's an excerpt from a recent guest post to another blog:

The most furious longing, the most ravenous jealousy, the most tenacious pursuit is that of God’s longing, jealousy, and pursuit for lost sheep. Put your hand to God’s chest, soon you will discover how His heart beats. In thunderous palpitations His heart screams so loud it breaks: boom boom “Seek and save the lost… seek and save the lost…” Come close enough to the fire of God’s heart and all at once He may consume you with the same ravenous desire. Soon the blood transfusion you had with Jesus takes its toll on your desires and priorities – His sense of urgency overwhelms you, His mission consumes you, His passion melts you. And then, in booming rejoinder the palpitations of your heart begin to march to the same beat: “Seek and save the lost… Seek and save the lost.”

I’ve seen it happen to the most unsuspecting hearts. It happened to me.

My heart began to break. I got a little too close to God and His longing for the lost hit my heart like a branding iron. Red-hot jealousy on once-calloused-now-raw flesh. The call of The Great Commission became as urgent as the clarion calls of air-raid sirens at midnight. Time to wake up.

Sometimes it twists in my stomach, my spirit lurches and heaves over the task. So much to do, so little time. How is it that after 2,000 years of active evangelism over 2.5 billion still haven't heard the Name Jesus? These are the hard-to-reach peoples of the world. Children of the 10/40 window. Daughters of the desert. Sons of the shadow. Living under an iron curtain of spiritual darkness and estranged in a far-off country with none to rescue.

I suppose it's time I circle back to the question: "What will I do with Jesus?" Suffocate Him under the weight of cultural normality? Muzzle Him so that I won't offend anyone? Perhaps I will listen to Him when it suits me. Or perhaps I will just leave Him be. I don't pet Lions and I don't gallivant into foreign wars. It's much safer if I leave Jesus at the dinner table - that way He'll bless my food... a spiritual butler with no commanding force upon my life. God forbid He ask me to serve Him. 

The truth is that any response other than "Here am I, send me" is unworthy of Him. I heard it once said that this is the language fit for the King: "Yes Your Majesty, King Jesus." That's it. Nothing less will do. To do anything with Jesus other than bow to His Lordship and advance His Kingdom is to make His cross no cross at all... a valueless relic, a powerless symbol of some nice idea.  

What will you do with Jesus?  

We can exaggerate many things, but we can never exaggerate our obligation to Jesus.
- A.W. Tozer

short-term christianity

Lord, please don't let this be a two-week thing...

Mid-summer Christianity is an odd bird.

Sometimes its stunning to think of.

Sometimes you wanna rip your hair out.

The world is flooded for a few months with a swell of Gospel-carriers. Youth groups in slums you never knew existed. College students, absolutely nuts about Christ, backpacking through Europe and nomadic steppes. Right now there are Christians sharing the Gospel for the first time with someone who is receiving it with joy! Yes, so many haven't heard the name of Christ... and YES, we really blow it in short-term missions... often... but for a few months the American Church hikes up her long jean skirt, gives up Her time and resources, and takes a jab at it. Somewhere between Jesus saying "Go" and Revelation's multi-ethnic worship service, people are going. Albeit clumsily as we go, the Bride walks into the harvest fields and, with shaking knees, obeys.
Yes... I said "jean skirt"... 

Mid-summer Christianity is more than over-seas missions work... ya know? On the outside it looks like Bible camps, men's retreats, church camp-outs, women's conferences, and CREATION FEST. But on the inside it's about taking some serious steps deeper into the heart of God, cozying up to Him, and staying there. It's about experiencing God first-hand and not just learning more about Him.

There are some who will go seeking God in summer events and return broken, beat-up, and alone... sometimes because of sin but often because The Holy Spirit is doing a distinct work on the heart - bidding one to a spiritual intimacy deeper than a tingling of the senses can attain. But most, however seem to experience some new and profound dimension of God's heart that grips and captivates them. We blow off the dust from our Bibles, stick our noses deep in the recesses of forgotten scriptures, and remember how to pray. 

And then...
We come back from our Mid-Summer experience with God, get on our knees and through tears and clenched teeth we scream something like:

Oh God, PLEASE don't let this just be a summer thing!

All the while there's this lump in the back of our throat tossing with fear, "I'm terrified that in a couple weeks my life will not have changed one bit." We pray that prayer hoping in the off-chance that if we scream it loud enough and mean it hard enough God might keep the ball rolling.

I want to press hard on that lump in our throats until we remember that we have unlimited, unconditional, unrestrained, inexplicable access into the presence of God Almighty through Jesus Christ. Any time, any day, any where. 
 
A steady, rhythmic, even-paced, daily walk with God in devotion trumps summer "highs" every time. For the one who walks steadily with their God, the mentality shifts to: All the time, every day, everywhere.

You're not in India anymore... SO? The Lord of The Nations goes with you - walk with Him and the flame in your heart for the lost will grow. You don't have a charismatic preacher letting loose on you for 3 sessions a day... SO WHAT? The God who spoke stars into the sky and breathed your first breath deep into your lungs has something to say to you and will speak if you'll listen!

Your mid-summer event was short term, your faith doesn't need to be.


So push back the lump in your throats my friends. 

Today is a good day to be in the presence of God.
Tomorrow is a good day to burn brighter for the King of Kings. 

Cling to Him. Tightly. 
Cozy up to Him, and never leave.