Following the Real Jesus

"The longer you look at Jesus, the more you will want to serve him in his world.  That is, of course, if it's the real Jesus you're looking at.  Plenty of people in the church and outside it have made up a 'Jesus' for themselves, and have found that this invented character makes few real demands on them.  He makes them feel happy from time to time but doesn't challenge them, doesn't suggest they get up and do something about the plight of the world.  Which is, of course, what the real Jesus had an uncomfortable habit of doing."

This is how N.T. Wright begins his book Following Jesus.  In the book he provides a bird's-eye view of various books of the New Testament to magnify the centrality and supremacy of Jesus.  Here's a quick tour...

Colossians:  Through his life, death, and resurrection Jesus has defeated evil spiritual powers.  The call to follow Jesus is a call to thanksgiving, or thanksliving.

Matthew:  Jesus is the king who will save his people from their sins.  Following Jesus means surrendering to him and obeying his great commission.

John:  Jesus is God and man, Jesus is Word in flesh, Jesus reveals the glory of God.  Following Jesus means believing in Jesus and allowing his love to flow through us to others.

Mark:  Jesus is the humble servant.  The call to follow Jesus is a call to courageous, humble servanthood.

But my favorite chapter is on Hebrews.  Watch this!

Jesus is the Son of God, superior even to the angels (Hebrews 1)
Jesus is totally and truly human (Hebrews 2)
Jesus is the true Joshua, leading his people into the promised land (Hebrews 3-4)
Jesus is the true high priest (Hebrews 5-7)
Jesus is the true sacrifice for sins who inaugurates the new covenant (Hebrews 8-10)
Jesus is the true hero of faith (Hebrews 11-12)
Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13)

This is the Jesus we trust, this is the Jesus we love, this is the Jesus we adore, this is the Jesus we follow, this is the Jesus of the Bible. 

And that's why we're going to Tanzania.  We want the people of Tanzania to be able to enjoy Jesus from the Bible like we do.


N.T. Wright, Following Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994).

my ballerina linguist

Kara claims she wants to be a ballerina when she grows up, but I'm wondering if Linguistics is in her future.  Check out these mad phonetic skills. 

This is her "shopping list."  She wrote this all by herself.  Check out tmadoze for tomatoes (sound it out).  Or makuronee for macaroni.  My personal favorite is spinij for spinach.  I think my little ballerina did a really gud jaub.

A home of shalom (part 4)

Peace in the home is not easy, but it is beautiful.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT)

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

We long for peace, we desire peace, we pray for peace...in our home, church, ministry, marriage and parenting.  So far we've seen that peace only comes after we recognize our identity in Jesus.  In Jesus we are chosen, holy, and dearly loved.  That new identity compels us to imitate Jesus in his compassion and humility.  Then we saw that the next step toward peace is to joyfully grant forgiveness when we are sinned against and humbly seek forgiveness when we sin against others.

Now, "above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

Agape love must be the outer garment which covers and contains all the other Christ-like qualities.  All the other qualities are not "Christian" if they do not find their source in love.  Imagine showing compassion that does not come from a heart of love.  What is it?  Imagine humility and gentleness that aren't compelled by love.  What are they?  Imagine patience that isn't tempered by love.  What is it?  Without love as the source, guide, and goal, these "Christian virtues" dissolve into pride, greed, and anger.  No matter how hard I try to show patience to my kids, if it's not guided by love it's not empowered by the Holy Spirit.  No matter how hard I try to show humility to my wife, if it's not fueled by love, it's not glorifying to God.

Love is a choice to joyfully and sacrificially give what is best for another person.  1 Corinthians 13 describes real love, Galatians 5 gives the fruit or evidence of real love, 1 John 4 says we love because God first loved us.  Love is from God the Father, empowered by the Holy Spirit, following the example of Jesus.

When we allow the beauty and power of God's love to sink into our hearts, we find ourselves filled with God's love.  Romans 5, "God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit."  Out of God's infinite love for us, we find the strength to love others.  And in that love we show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  In that love we grant forgiveness.

"above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony."

Love is the bond, the cement, the outer garment, that unites us in perfect harmony.  Love is the ligaments that keeps the body connected in peace.  Love is the glue that holds us together in peace.  Love is the bond that keeps our family together in peace.

Let's choose to love by the power of the Holy Spirit, after the example of Jesus, for the glory of our Father.

Sixty Percent

God has provided 60% of our necessary monthly financial support!

Thank you for your partnership with us in the gospel, your fellowship with us in taking God's Word to the unreached, your communion with us in the great commission.  Thank you for your friendship and prayers.

Love,

Ben and Jeannette

The Twenty

(from the Wycliffe web site www.wycliffe.org)

Many of the world’s remaining translation needs are located in nations considered “hard to reach.” Often, Wycliffe cannot name these language communities for fear of jeopardizing the safety of translators and their work. But it is these very areas that are most in need of prayer.

Wycliffe’s prayer initiative, The Twenty, encourages U.S. churches to pray for the twenty countries with the greatest remaining translation need. We firmly believe that, by bathing each country in prayer, the Scriptures will be translated and nations will be transformed.

The Twenty

1. Papua New Guinea
2. Nigeria
3. Indonesia
4. China
5. India
6. Democratic Republic of the Congo
7. Cameroon
8. Vanuatu
9. Nepal
10. Chad
11. Vietnam
12. Tanzania
13. Iran
14. Myanmar
15. Mexico
16. Central African Republic
17. Russia
18. Sudan
19. Malaysia
20. Pakistan

A home of shalom (part 3)

God has been challenging us to let peace rule in our home.

Colossians 3:12-17 (NASB)

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

How can we cultivate peace when disciplining our children? How can we preserve peace during marital conflict? How can we enjoy peace when life is crazy?

First, God reminds us of who we are in Jesus. In Jesus we are chosen, holy, and dearly loved. Our identity in Christ then compels us to follow Christ and take on his attributes: compassion, humility, and gentleness by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now God tells us to forgive like Jesus forgave us.
The word translated "forgive" is not the same word as in Mark 2:10, "the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," which means to cancel a debt. While the word in Colossians 3 is similar, it also means to show favor, to demonstrate kindness, to bestow grace, to grant the gift of forgiveness - from the root word GRACE!

Think about the grace Jesus bestowed upon us when he forgave our sins. We were his enemies, we rebelled against him, we trampled his name and stole his glory. And yet, he willingly bore our sins on the cross. When he rose again from the dead, he offers us the gift of forgiveness. We can be pardoned of all our sins, we can have our sins blotted out, we can have our guilt removed, we can be free from the punishment of our sins, we can have relationship restored....because of Jesus.

Now, forgive like Jesus forgave you. Show favor to your enemies like Jesus did. Demonstrate kindness to those who hurt you like Jesus did. Bestow grace on those who sin against you, just like Jesus did to us.

In marriage and parenting and ministry we will be hurt and sinned against. The next step to peace is a choice to forgive. We don't forgive because people deserve it. We forgive because Jesus forgave us. We don't forgive in our own strength. We forgive by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

So...
If we want peace in our home we will confess sin to each other and ask for forgiveness (James 5:16).
If we want peace in our home we will repent of sin and bear fruits worthy of that repentance (Luke 17:3-4, 3:8).
If we want peace in our home we will joyfully grant forgiveness and refuse bitterness (Matthew 18:21-35).
If we want peace in our home we will remember that Jesus has forgiven us MUCH and that reminder will compel us to love MUCH: to love Jesus MUCH and to love our family members MUCH (Luke 7:40-50).