————————————————————-
Just 1.

Obviously, it’s a huge phrase for us… it’s what we named our ministry, after all. We feel it was clearly God-given (both Nancy and I had the phrase placed solidly in our minds), and we’ve used it many times to try to convey to others what it means to us.

But I’ve been reflecting on it again over the past couple of days.

Out of curiosity, I checked Twitter, and searched for a couple hashtags to see how people use “Just 1″. Man did it ever hit home! Both #JustOne and #Just1 gave some revealing results.

I want to have a real conversation with him, but it never happens. #JustOne

I wish there was at least one person who truly understands how I feel. #JustOne

I just want one thing to go my way today. #JustOne

I want one boy to prove to me that every boy isn’t the same. #JustOne

Let me have a hug. #JustOne

I just want one wish to come true. #JustOne

Just 1 miracle, Lord. #JustOne

You see, “Just 1″ is something people long for. There are so many people with a need for a “Just 1″ story. So many people who have a “Just 1″ story to share.

So many ways each and every person on this planet can make a difference in the life of “Just 1″.

For us, it’s about orphan care. We hope and pray that one day, we’ll be able to adopt “Just 1″. We desperately desire to help others make a difference in the lives of “Just 1″.

But what about you? How can you make a difference in the life of “Just 1″?

You have a “Just 1″ story. There is someone who needs you to touch their life… someone God has planned for you to impact.

Are you willing?

Again, some background on the audience of Paul’s letter.

The church at Galatia is in turmoil. Big-time church conflict between Jewish believers and Gentile believers over adherence to the Law. The Jewish believers are pressuring Gentile believers to undergo circumcision. It’s a big deal for Gentile believers (after all, it’s not a pleasant procedure!), and they’re resisting. The rift is causing major issues.

So they receive Paul’s letter.

He introduces himself to the church once again, lest they have forgotten who he was (not likely):

¹Paul, an apostle — sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — ²and all the brothers with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

³Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

It’s quite an introduction, isn’t it? Would you introduce yourself that way?

Probably not. I know I wouldn’t.

But it sets up what is yet to come.

Raw truth.

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — ⁷which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! ⁹As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Boom!

There’s conflict in the church… Paul addresses it HEAD ON.

He’s ASTONISHED that people are deserting what they know and turning to a false gospel. He writes that those who are preaching a false gospel should be eternally condemened… they’re fit only for the fires of hell.

And Paul doesn’t care if his message of truth offends. “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

Ouch.

Loads of truth there for us to consider. False gospels. False teachers. Unhealthy doctrine. Messed up priorities.

Sound familiar?

Here’s the context of the church of Galatia.

People of Jewish decent, now followers of Christ, pressuring Gentile believers to enact every bit of the law. A false gospel. False teachers. Leading people astray.

It’s the ongoing conflict between law and grace. How should believers live their lives?

Sin is a BIG deal. We should avoid it at all costs.

But what saves us?

Faith. Not perfect obedience to the law. Not physical acts. Certainly not circumcision (as was being taught at the time).

Faith. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ.

So how does this apply today?

Well, think about it. Legalism versus grace. Church conflicts. False gospels taught by false prophets.

Christians being lead astray.

I think Paul would write a similar opening to churches today.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all.

We’ve got to keep a watchful eye. We’ve got to be faithful to the gospel of Christ.

Simply put… it’s EASY to stray, losing focus on the truth we know. Even as a result of good things.

Caring for the poor. Creation care. Social justice. Being “seeker-sensitive”. Caring about our “witness”.

All of these are good.

But they’re not the entirety of the gospel.

The gospel is the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a cause worthy of everything we can give.

When we let anything other than truth be our primary focus as believers, we’re treading dangerous ground.

Any other gospel is simply no gospel at all.

No, not because somebody’s got a cool gadget that I’d like. It’s not about a sweet car or even an awesome piece of property that has everything I could dream of owning. And no, it’s most certainly not over money, a life I’d like to have, or any of that.

Tonight, I’m struggling with jealousy because I’m sitting here in St. Joseph, Missouri, blogging away. Not enjoying sweet reunions with friends in Santa Cruz del Quiche, Guatemala.

You see, tonight, our good friend Jodi Brager and several youth we know and love have just arrived in a city in Guatemala full of people that we’ve grown to love (be praying for them!). They’re preparing for a week of missions work… an opportunity to be part of God’s plan in changing lives. They’re about to reside on the mountaintop of our faith experience with God again, leaving the concerns of home behind, solely focusing on Him and His will for a week.

Me? I’m back here on the plains.

So yeah. It inspires a little jealousy. No… let’s be honest here. A lot of jealousy.

Of course, there’s a reality check.

God is working here every bit as much as He is working in Guatemala. And He wants each and every one of us to open our eyes and see where He’s moving. He wants each of us to join in.

So enough of the pity party.

Let’s roll, God. Help me not to be blind to the obvious things you have for me to do. Show me what and where, and I’m yours.

Several phrases enter my mind when I think of the word, “come”. Strangely, they all revolve around songs.

(Yes, that’s how my mind works. Songs. Well, that and movie quotes.)

Come, now is the time to worship!
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are to worship!
Come, just as you are before your God…
Come!

All who are thirsty
And all who are weak
Come to the fountain
Dip your heart in the stream of life.

Let the pain and the sorrow
Be washed away
In the waves of His mercy
As deep cries out to deep.

We sing

Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Great worship songs, both.

But that’s not all of the lyrics running around in my head.

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant.
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!

Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels!

O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him.
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!

What did you expect? Christmas season is here. And I love Christmas music. Just not whiny hick country versions of Christmas music. (Ask Nancy about that.)

One more song running through my head, and it’s gonna strike you as odd.

Trust me. I’m not sure why it’s in my head either. But it is.

Here’s a version on YouTube. You’ve gotta hear this one, not just read the lyrics.

Yes, that’s “Come and Go with Me”, performed by the Del-Vikings, 1957.

No, I’m not that old. But I do remember hearing it in “Stand by Me”. (Confession… even had the soundtrack as a kid.)

Come and go with me.

You see, of all the songs in my head, a 1957 Doo-Wop classic encapsulates the essence of “come”.

Come is an invitation. It’s personal. It’s, “Hey, check this out.” It’s, “Hey, spend some time with me.”

It’s what Jesus does. He bids us, “Come.”

Jesus never says, “Do this, and I’ll love you.” Never once, “Give this money, and I’ll accept you.” There’s never a, “Straighten up your act and I might associate with you.”

He invites all of us to “Come.”

“Follow me.” “Trust me.” “Believe in me.” “Do as I do.” “Live as I live.”

Come.

And be with me.

Come.

Won’t you?

——————————————————
NOTE: This the second “blog carnival” I’ve participated in, where everyone writes about the same word (obviously this time it was “come”). Check out some of the other posts linked here to read more thoughts triggered by authors writing about this word. Thanks to Peter Pollock for putting this together.

My reaction?

Get real.

No, seriously. Get real.

Perhaps I should explain.

Dr. Moore makes a great point in the article. Research has shown that we human beings have a self-destructive tendency to look at all the great things people share about their lives through social media, and assume our lives simply stink in comparison. You know it’s true. It’s called vanity and jealousy, and we probably didn’t need a fancy study to know those are facts of human behavior, right?

The problem is rampant in the church. Seriously… how many Christians do you know whose lives are ostensibly perfect? Who always have a smile on their face? Who always seem to be doing just great? Who always seem to have joy? Who always seem to be blessed, and never have problems they struggle with?

You know it’s a facade, right?

But those people are just a bunch of hypocrites, right?

Well, not really. The problem lies in what we are taught to believe about Jesus. Contemporary Christianity (at least the kind that’s appealing to a wide audience) tells us that if we just follow Jesus, life will be wonderful. It tells us we can have our best lives now. It tells us that we can have success if we just give enough to the church. It tells us that God is wholly and completely love, and that He’d NEVER let bad befall us. It tells us that every problem of ours just disappears when we love Jesus.

And we wonder why so many Christians try to hold up such false images of themselves, or why so many Christians secretly suffer because their lives don’t measure up?

This kind of “Christianity” (if you can even call it that) is SIMPLY NOT BIBLICAL.

Jesus taught some very hard things:

• That we must count the cost of being one of His disciples.
• That we must be ready to follow Him even if it means we will lose friends and family.
• That we must be willing to give up money, possessions, position, pride… anything that holds us back from Him.
• That we are to love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us.
• That we WILL have trouble in this life because of our faith in Him.
• That we are to find joy in the inevitable suffering that comes as a result, knowing that the rewards of persevering in the faith are worth it in the end.

I could go on and on, but you get the point.

We Christians gotta get real.

If we have authentic faith and trust in Jesus, our lives are ANYTHING but perfect… anything but easy.

And presenting any image other than the truth is a lie that’s leading people astray… people that need to know the hope of Jesus Christ.

So get real. Let people into your life, and help them to see the truth… that following Jesus IS hard… that trusting Him for in every need is a difficult thing… that suffering because you hold firm to what He teaches is the norm, not the exception. And show them how He’s worth it.

Because THAT, my friends, is the reality of faith in Christ.

He is worth everything that we can give to Him in this life… every ounce of obedience we can muster… because the hope He offers for eternity is infinitely better than anything we can imagine here on earth.

Now think about their defining characteristics. Is fear one of them?

I hope not. Fear, though natural, cannot DEFINE the believer’s life. It certainly cannot paralyze us from action.

Consider Scripture.

Matthew 8:23-27
²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Think about this situation. The disciples are with Jesus, and have been for some time. They’ve witnessed Him doing amazing things… healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead… miracles of all kinds. They’ve seen Him preach to thousands, and confront the misguided religious leaders of the day. They should clearly have a sense that this Jesus isn’t any kind of ordinary man.

So they’re in a boat, crossing a lake in the middle of the night, and a storm comes upon them. The waves are high… the boat is rocking… they’re getting cold, wet… and are terrified. But Jesus? Yeah… He’s sleeping.

The disciples are wailing and crying out. “Lord, save us!” “Help us Jesus!” “We’re going to drown!” “I don’t want to die!”

Yep. They wake Jesus from His sleep. He rubs His eyes, looks around at the commotion… and shakes His head in disappointment.

“Oh you of little faith. Why are you so afraid?”

He stands up, rebukes the waves… and everything is calm again. I picture Him lying back down and going right back to sleep.

You see, Jesus isn’t surprised by the storm. He’s not worried about it… in fact, He’s not concerned at all. His power extends beyond all this. And He expects His disciples to know this… not just as fact, but as heart-comforting truth.

Think about this in your life. Are you paralyzed by fear? Has God allowed some sort of storm to enter your life? How have you responded? Has God given you a great task of some sort? Are you hesitant to even start, scared about the difficulty that you might encounter along the way?

Think about things for a second. Have you committed and entrusted your life to Christ? If so, God is not just for you… He’s with you.

You of little faith… why fear?

Check out what Jesus had to say about the matter.

Matthew 6:25-34
²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Shouldn’t this Scripture be an encouragement to us? After all, humanity… you and me… we’re the objects of God’s love. If we have a right relationship with Him, which comes at the great price as the crucifixion of His SON… how can we doubt that His love and care is sufficient to meet the bare necessities we have for life? And further, if we believe God has a purpose for which He wants to use us… how can have such trust without understanding that He’ll meet the needs we have to fulfill those purposes?

You of little faith… why worry?

The question begs of us some serious self-examination.

Last night, though, I was pondering God-sized dreams. As I thought about that concept, it occurred to me that it’s quite likely the reason most of us don’t have God-sized dreams comes back to this central issue… faith (or rather, lack thereof). A common phrase from Scripture came to mind: “You of little faith.”

It’s interesting how often Jesus used that phrase when teaching His disciples. And it’s amazing how many areas of our lives it applies to. When we dare to examine Scripture, will we find that we too would be told, “You of little faith…”?

If you’re interested in taking that trip with me, check back here over the next week or so. If we want to be used by God, perhaps in ways we can’t begin to imagine, “You of little faith” had better not apply consistently in our lives.

If we’re going to pray for God to move and work in and through our lives, shouldn’t we have God-sized dreams?

Seriously. How often do we pray and ask God to use us, with the sole intention of be willing only to take on little tasks for Him? Why are we so hesitant… perhaps so filled with doubt about His ability to work through us… that we’re unwilling to take on big things for God?

Oh we of little faith.

So you’ll understand that I was quite intrigued when I arrived home this evening to find some literature hanging on my door. The cover, facing out at me?

“CHURCH… THE WAY IT SHOULD BE”

Yes, this was a packet of information on another local church. The tagline sucked me right in. I was MOST curious to find out how church SHOULD be done.

Sadly, I was disappointed to find out that my church did just about everything wrong. Oh yeah… we’re practically hell-bound, from what I read:

• Contemporary worship? HOW COULD YOU?
• No suit and tie? HOW CAN YOU DISHONOR GOD THAT WAY?
• No King James Bible? HERETIC!
• No Sunday evening service or Wednesday night service? GET THEE AWAY FROM ME SATAN!

You see, when I read the tagline on that flyer, I erroneously assumed this church’s intent was to reach out to people outside a relationship with Jesus, maybe those who had felt burned by other churches. And it probably was (after all, they did include the plan of salvation and the pastor’s testimony). But the message, as it came across?

“Hey, if you want the good ol’ days of church again… if you’re irritated and just can’t take any more of that contemporary worship in your church… come check us out. We know how you like church. And we would love to have you come join us.”

I truly hope that this church DOES reach someone who needs Jesus. Really. If one person comes to know God as a result… all the time, energy, and dollars they’ve placed into these packets was worth it.

But my prediction of the result of these packets? This church is most likely going to suck in some disgruntled members from other churches seeking a church that offers the old Burger King promise… “Have it your way”. And those people will probably be perfectly happy worshipping God in that community… so long as it continues to do church… “THE WAY IT SHOULD BE”.

Christians? Let’s get about the business God intends. Beating back the darkness…. getting outside the walls of the church… truly making a difference in the lives of those who need Jesus most.

Shuffling of church members over personal preference just isn’t what Jesus died for.