The Trap

It is a insidious trap built by Satan himself.

He dangles temptation in front of us and fans the smouldering embers of our fallen nature with a sweet hypnotic voice. Like Eve of old, we see the forbidden fruit and it appears pleasant and good. The ancient serpent, having stoked our fallen nature to a brilliant blaze, whispers encouragement and so we partake...again. There is a moment of pleasure followed by searing guilt. The voice that was so sweetly encouraging us to sin becomes the voice of the accuser. "Guilty! Filthy! Failure! You claim to be a Christian but you are not! A Christian would never do that! It's too late...there will be no forgiveness this time!" It all sounds true. You feel so alone. So terribly horribly alone.

Somehow another voice begins to whisper that the pleasure of sin will make the loneliness more tolerable. Another forbidden fruit appears, more tantalising than the last. In your loneliness it seems like an oasis.  And the cycle plunges you ever deeper and feelings of loneliness separated by fleeting moments of pleasure seem to become your way of life. The cycle is a trap all too familiar to the followers of Christ.

How do you move on?

Of course the best was to get out of any trap is to avoid it altogether, but I want to address those who are in the trap. You are in the quicksand. You feel like an athlete who is about to be cut from the team for making too many bad plays. Are you there? I've been there. 

Let me share a secret with you: The ending of the story is glorious.

You think that story began with a decision to follow Christ and is ending with your failure. But the story didn't begin with you. It began with Him. He called you. He picked you. The One who sees the end from the beginning chose you to belong to him. Look at the ground, then look at the sky. He chose you before those things even existed. He knew all about your weaknesses and your failings and he chose you in spite of them. He wants you. He desires you. You feel lonely. The Lord of the Universe loves you. He overwhelmed your defences and you said yes to him. But he did the overwhelming. He knew what you had done and he wanted you. 

He also knew that you would fail. More than once. 

He called you anyway. 

It really is incredible, isn't it?

The story is about him. You are involved, but the hero isn't you. It's him.

Paul tells us in the first chapter of Ephesians that God lavished on you the riches of his grace. Grace is something that you don't deserve, cannot earn, and can never repay. Where you sit right now, feeling alone and guilty, is the exact moment that you need to know his grace. He knows that. He understands that and in his wisdom he gives you his grace.

He isn't a miser who looks at you and tries to figure our just how much grace you need. "Let's see, yesterday he needed 14 millilitres of grace but today he really screwed up so I guess we'll have to give him 27." No, he is lavishing it on you. He is opening the floodgates of heaven and pouring his grace and forgiveness on you. You are standing under the Niagara Falls of his grace. Right now. 

Before the foundation of the world he knew that this moment was coming, and he wants you to know know that your cries for forgiveness have been heard. You have been forgiven. John writes, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). His grace is poured out because of his wisdom and understanding. He knew and knows and he loved you and loves you still. His grace joyously flows over you abundantly.

And the greatness of the grace poured out on you causes angels to worship in awestruck wonder. 

The story ends in a wedding. Remember that. You are the bride of Christ. He has chosen you. In spite of what you feel at the moment, you have an engagement ring on your finger. You are his. You are on your way to a glorious wedding: yours (Eph 1:13-14; 5:25-32). The story is not about how well you perform. It is about his grace. You love him. He knows that. And the story is about his love and his lavish grace. So put the focus back where it belongs: on Jesus.

So what next?

Here are some things that you can do:

• If you are in the depths of despair because of sin, confess your sin to him. Not repenting will only make things worse. So don't just feel guilty, repent!
• Spend some time reading and meditating on Ephesians 1:3-14. Change the pronouns to "me" and "my". Try to rewrite the passage with your own words. Write a prayer in response.
• Find a Christian brother or sister and talk about what you are going through and then pray together. Isolation is one of the strongest weapons in the enemy's arsenal. You don't break the power of isolation alone! Remember, you are experiencing something "common to man" so find a mature believer to pray with you (1 Cor 10:13).
• Watch this video:

The Danger of the Successful Life

Many people are goal-setters. Books are written about how to set and achieve goals. Motivating stories are told about people and companies that set "big, hairy, audacious goals" (BHAG) and then succeeded wildly in meeting them. Some people seem to be born with a talents and determination that allow them to achieve whatever goal they set. Success seems to follow them

wherever they go. Their stories provide illustrations of the principles of whatever book is currently popular.

In almost every society the ability to achieve goals is rewarded monetarily. Managers who hit production targets are promoted. Athletes who surpass statistical goals are given larger contracts. Salesmen who achieve certain standards win luxury vacations. Prestige, power, respect, money follow in the wake of the successful goal-achiever.

But there is a danger in meeting your goals.

Think about that statement for a moment. Isn't meeting goals a good thing? Don't I feel good when I cross things off my to-do list? Isn't that a successful day? Isn't success the opposite of failure? What dangers could lurk there?

I want you to consider the encounter Jesus had with a successful goal-achiever. This man was achieving his goals. It appears that he did it with integrity. His life was exemplary and his talents had brought him great wealth at an early age. I am sure that mother's pointed him out to their children and said, "You can grow up to be like him."

He was wise enough to realise that short-term goals ideally lead toward a long term goal. The long term goal needs to be worthwhile. He picked a good worthwhile goal: eternal life. It was the ultimate goal. And he came to ask Jesus how to achieve it. In asking Jesus he showed a great deal of wisdom.

Jesus's response is fascinating. He tells the young man that he needs to keep the moral law. He shouldn't lie, commit adultery, murder, or break the Sabbath. Many times people will fail at this point. They realise that their lives have not been exemplary. But not this man. "All these I have kept since I was young." Jesus doesn't argue with him. Perhaps he did live a morally upright life. We all know "good" people and he might have been one of them.

Jesus looked at him and smiled. "You only lack one thing. There is only one thing between you and your big, hairy audacious goal of achieving eternal life and I am about to tell you what it is."

The Account of Jesus Talking to
to the Rich Young Man is found in
Mark10:17-27

The young man almost involuntarily leaned closer to make sure he didn't miss a word.

"Go, sell all of your possessions and give the money to the poor. Then come, follow me."

What do you think when you read those words? What was Jesus doing? Was he daring him or making an incredible offer?

It is possible that Jesus looked at all of his success and saw it like a huge spiritual problem. The man's life had been built on the wrong foundation and Jesus was telling him that his life was really messed up and he needed to start over. Or it could be that Jesus saw the earnestness of the young man and offered him the chance of a lifetime. After all, it was the same opportunity he extended to the hard-working fisherman named Peter, "Come follow me and I will make you a fisher of men." What an invitation!

Whether it was a dare or an invitation, the result was the same: an open challenge to obey him. The way to eternal life was to be found in whole-hearted following of Jesus. Nothing less would suffice. The Bible says that the man "went away sad, because he had great wealth." All of the goals that he had achieved had created a prison and he didn't want to tear it down. Jesus didn't run after him. He let the man walk away.

One of the keys to understanding the Bible is putting yourself inside the story. Imagine Jesus sitting at your table. You've just finished dinner and are about to serve dessert when Jesus looks around at the things around him and then looks at you and says, "Leave it all. Come, follow me." How would you respond? I've been asked more times than I can remember if Jesus really means we need to sell everything to follow him. "It's just a heart thing, right?" they always ask.

I'm never sure how to respond. Jesus is after our hearts. He wants whole-hearted obedience, so not everyone needs to literally sell everything that they have. Yet whenever I say this, the person always visibly relaxes as if to say, "whew! that was close! I thought for a moment that I really had to sell my stuff and I don't want to do that!" I am left wondering if I answered the way Jesus would have answered. Even more troubling, I worry that my answer has left them living in their self-built prison of success rather than answering the call.

Jesus had been asked by the young man how to attain eternal life and his response was that he needed to sell everything and follow him. Jesus was looking for 100% sold-out commitment. Jesus was demanding to be the centre of his life. Jesus was upsetting everything this man had been building. He wasn't saying "give 10% to the church, show up on Sundays and squeeze some type of volunteering into your schedule." He was demanding everything be devoted to him. For the successful young man, that was a lot of stuff to walk away from.

What would cause someone to say "yes" to the invitation of Jesus?

In order to say yes to the invitation, you need to see the beauty and magnificence of Jesus. Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven was like finding a pearl of great price. It was like discovering that there was treasure hidden in a field (Mt 13:44-45). Or in modern terms, it is like finding a VanGogh at a flea market. You would sell everything you had to by the pearl, the treasure, or the painting because you realised the incredible value that they held. To sell everything you have to comprehend the incredible value and beauty of Jesus.

It may seem strange, but I am convinced that the simple desire to get into heaven isn't motivation enough to say yes to Christ's invitation. In fact, if you aren't wild about Jesus, heaven isn't the right place for you. Because the main feature in heaven is Jesus. He is everywhere. His presence lights up the place. The worship of him is non-stop 24/7, 365 days a year, year-after-year forever. If you aren't wild about Jesus, heaven isn't the place for you!

There are three problems with achieving your goals and the earthly success that comes along with it. First, all of the glittering success makes it difficult to see the incomparably great beauty of Jesus. Having gorged ourselves on junk food, we have little desire for the bread of life. Second, the more we have the more difficult it becomes to give up everything to follow Christ. Third, we become proud of our ability to conquer obstacles to achieve our goals. We do not realise that we cannot conquer heaven the way we have defeated everything else in our lives. It is sobering to realise that as he watched the young man walk away Jesus said, "How difficult it will be for those who have great wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"

Jesus said, "Follow me and I will make
you fishers of men."
Immediately they left their nets
and followed him. Mk 1:16-17

Two thousand years ago, Jesus called people with the simple words, "Follow me." He called rugged fishermen and government workers. He called the rich and the poor. Whoever they were, the call was the same, "leave everything and follow me." He told people to leave their friends and family. To make himself even more clear, he said that if you wanted to follow him you needed to carry your cross.

He is calling again today.

How will you respond?

Celebrating and Grieving in a Single Day

Trinity Day and...

This Sunday we are having a "Trinity Day" Celebration. It's a time of laughter, love, and creating a sense of belonging to one another in our international church. We'll eat tarte flambée until we cannot eat anymore. We'll laugh and rejoice about what the Lord is doing in our midst. We'll share funny stories about living in a multicultural world. We'll share things with one another. We will learn from one another. It will be a wonderful day.

...The Suffering Church...

We are also going to hear from Michel Varton, the director of Portes Ouvertes, (Open Doors). He will be talking to us about the suffering church around the world. It seems like a strange contrast, but I think it is an important reminder that as a church we are part of something much larger than ourselves. And in many parts of the world our brothers and sisters in Christ are suffering. In fact, there are more martyrs today than in any time in the history of the church. Mr. Varton has travelled extensively in countries that actively oppose the gopsel message. He will share with us what is happening around the world and the lessons that we can learn from those undergoing persecution. Their voice is one which we do not hear often enough.

...Combined

This Trinity Day we are going to allow the flavour of the suffering church to be added to our celebration. And we will be the richer for it.

Think about the book of Philippians for a moment. Many love the book of Philippians because of it joyful nature. Yet Paul wrote it from prison.

There are parts of the book that we don't think about very often. He said things like "For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake"(Phil 1:29). He wrote about the joy of sharing in sufferings of Christ. He recognised that the lessons of suffering were a part of growing in Christ. There are things forged in suffering that cannot be learned any other way. He saw their suffering as in important part of Christ's work being completed in them.

And so we will listen to the voice of our suffering brothers and sisters. It will add depth and flavour to our celebration on Trinity Day. We are called to pursue Christ together. And the pursuit of Christ and the fellowship with one another is a great joy. The spice of the persecuted church will challenge us to be faithful in pursuing Jesus regardless of our circumstances. It will inspire us to count everything a loss for the sake of knowing Christ. It will focus our hearts on being worshippers or witnesses whether we are in the board room, the classroom, or the prison cell. And it will call us to pray for those whose faith is costing them their job, their family, or their lives.

To learn more about the suffering church, check out these websites:

French - Portes Ouvertes - France

English - Open Doors - UK & Ireland

To find the Open Doors affiliate in your country.