God's Hyper Attractive Followers

MY TIE Value: Trust in the Lord and Do Good (Psalm 37:3a)

While I had many family members who could catch a good fish, my grandma was the only true fishing champion.  What I remember most about fishing with grandma was her “hyper attractive” worms. Whether the worms were of the small earth worm or the large night crawler varieties, they seemed to have super natural abilities to squirm, hop, and twist more than any other fishing worms I have ever seen.  

 

As I would hold these active worms in my hand, I would imagine magnificent worm stories. One is the classic cartoon where the worm forcibly agrees to go on the hook after have a gun pointed at it. Another was a Worm Olympics where these worms would set world records in such events as the high jump, 100 inch squirm, and shot-put.  And my most common imaginative thoughts were that the bouncy, squirmy worm was teasing the fish to get them to eat the hook while the worm dodged being eaten by the fish.

Then at some point in my elementary years, I learned the secret to grandma’s worms. She mixed coffee grounds into the dirt. These worms were on PEDs (Performance Enhanced Dirt)!

MY TIE Reflection

The Bible has its share of fishing stories. One of the famous stories was about a prophet named Jonah who became the bait. That is not the direction I want to go for this week. Rather, I want to focus on the initial calling of Jesus’s first disciples where He stated, “Come follow me. And I will make you Fishers of Men.” In keeping in the My TIE theme of Psalms 37:3-8, I see a parallel with the words in verse 3, “Trust in the Lord AND do good.” Or as my Bible verse mash up would state, “Trust in the Lord as we follow Jesus AND He will ATTRACT people to Him through His good works that are ATTRACTIVE in our lives.” 

What Kind of Interesting Fish do Hyper Attractive Followers of Christ Attract?

(Matthew 4:23-25)

1. Sick Fish

As news about Jesus spread, the sick people came to Jesus. He responded to them by “Healing them all” (v.24). It did not matter how the people received their brokenness. It only mattered that they came to Jesus for their the healing that only Jesus can give. Just like in Jesus’ day, the broken are still attracted to Jesus.  We are all called to bring relief to the broken so they can come near to God.

2. Dangerous Fish

Included with the sick people where those who were suffering under the tyranny of demons. These evil beings are the foot soldiers of Satan’s army (v.24). They had taken possession of people’s bodies. No doubt the demons were making the possessed people very scary people that could intimidate the populace.

There were also other dangerous fish who sought to destroy the mission of Jesus. One was the religious leaders who were at odds with Jesus. They were trying to preserve their own system and culture that they had developed outside of God’s Holy calling upon their nation. And another dangerous fish was included within the 12 disciples. This person was Judas who would become the famous betrayer of Jesus.

3. Curious Fish

 The final fish that active followers of Jesus will attract are the curious fish. In the New International Version (NIV) translation of the Bible, the word “amazed” is used at least 30 times to describe people’s response to either the Jesus’ works or His teachings. The crowds were amazed about Jesus’ revelation that God’s Kingdom confronted the sins of heart like anger, adultery and revenge is subject to God’s judgement along with their outward sins. Jesus also revealed that in God’s Kingdom that one who is near God’s heart will respond to their persecutors by love, prayer and good or kind works.

These revelations are counter intuitive to the way we process why people are attracted to Jesus. Yet as the story of the Gospel unfolds, Jesus allowed room for all people to discover who He is as the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Whether one was in the crowd of people, the religious, or the disciples; the Gospels allowed each group the opportunity to discover WHO Jesus is.

Becoming “Hyper Attractive” Christians

The ultimate goal for the fish (people) that are attracted to Jesus is to become a “Hyper Attractive” Followers of Jesus who are given a second chance at life. Fish are normally caught for the purposes of consumption for food or entertainment. However, the people who are caught into His nets find themselves moving to life saved from certain destruction. God desires to shape His children in such a way that they can discover their abilities, spiritual gift and passions in such a way that they can be “Hyper Attractive” as a display of God’s glory in places where God remains unknown or misunderstood.

How Can We Be Hyper Attractive in Attracting People to God?

-          For the Broken people, we can bring relief to their suffering AND walk with them on their way in being reconciled to God (1 Cor. 5:18-20).

-          For the  Dangerous People, we can trust that God’s full armor will neutralize their attacks and advance His Kingdom despite their destructive efforts (Eph 6:12-13).

-          For the Curious People, we can create environments where people ask questions about topics or why we choose God’s way for life in such a way that they can discover the power of the Risen Lord (Acts 28:21-22).

We all can better trust that God will bring out His good works to attract the broken, dangerous, and curious through His “Hyper Attractive” children.

Do We Need a Spiritual Descaling?

 My TIE value: Be Still in the Presence of the Lord – Psalm 37:7a

When I started as pastor at Hosanna, the congregation quickly learned that I really enjoy coffee.  They know that I am a discerning coffee drinker. Great beans are best enjoyed black and deserve no cream. A robust espresso bean’s flavor can penetrate through streamed milk. And coffee is not fresh after 12 minutes. Maybe I am a bit quirky but all in good fun. I will never refuse a cup of hot joe no matter the bean.

One of our good leaders finished off the décor in my office with a new Tassimo machine. I have really enjoyed having fresh coffee during study hours, lattes during pastoral meetings, and sharing a cup over conversations. I have enjoyed the Tassimo so much that it became a fixture on our worship’s hospitality table.

 

However recently after worship, a strange red warning light appeared as I was making a cup of coffee. It looked like a three pronged something that I could not figure out the meaning. Was there a problem with the steaming mechanism?   Could there be a blockage in the machine? Was it broken? All I know from my limited mechanic experience that the color “Red” usually served as a warning that something is not right even though the machine continued to make coffee.

I learned that the machine needed have maintenance called “descaling.” This meant that there was a need to remove deposits left by the water. I wondered why I needed to do this since I only used bottled water. But knowing that my machine needed to be descaled, I bought the proper formula and followed the procedures to descale the Tassimo machine. It took an hour to run through the program. Though it was not at a “gross” level, I was amazed the deposits that did come out of the machine.

Even more amazing was my first cup of coffee after the descaling on a Monday morning. My cup of dark roast was smooth and robust. This coffee reminded me of the days that we would draw fresh river water from the Colorado Rockies for our morning coffee and hot coco.

While I was in full coffee meditation another thought came to me. How could a coffee lover like me not realize that I was not drinking coffee tasting this good for such a lengthy period of time?

My TIE Moment

James 1:21 states, “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls.” (New Living Translation - NLT)

For all of us who have come to the cross, Jesus has purified and cleansed us from all of our sins through His death, burial, and resurrection. We hopefully value God’s saving grace that we say “NO!” to sin and “YES!” to living as a His holy people.  Even staying away from the big naughties, and embracing His Word in how we live life does not totally keep small sin deposits from building up in our lives over a period of time.

Sin deposits come into our lives through:

-          Being favorable towards the people we like. While showing discrimination towards those outside our trusted circle.

-          Being departmental by only recognizing God when we are in church, then selecting how much He has access and authority throughout the other places we go in our week.

-          Being accommodating to people through our silence about our living faith and even participating in addictive sinful lifestyles in attempt to be a “cool witness” for Jesus.

-          Being judgmental about people’s shortcomings and sins without giving a moment’s thought that God’s transformation can come upon them in a single moment of time.

But perhaps the sneakiest way that sin deposits build up in our lives is through the neglect of being alone with God for a time of “Spiritual Descaling.”  We live in a world that is sinfully selfish. The attitudes, language, and values of this world do deposit in our lives as we interact with people. We also worship in churches that are comprised with sinful people who in varying degrees struggle in being righteous. At times we all are hypocrites who put on the face of the victorious Christian to cover our defeats caused by sin’s brokenness. 

As slight as these sin deposits can be, they do accumulate over time that causes the purity of God’s work in our hearts not to be as fresh for giving life as it could be. Therefore, James exhorts that we all need to “Get rid of all filth and sin” no matter how slight it might be. Jesus even responded to Peter’s eagerness to receive complete bathing over just having his feet washed by saying, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet.” (Jn. 13:10a  NLT)

When do we take time to spiritual descale?

For some descaling might occur around the seasons of Advent, Lent, or the start of a New Year. For others it might be when our lifestyle choices have gone out of bounds as a follower of Jesus. Unfortunately, I have had too many conversations with Christians who never take time to be still in God’s presence long enough to get rid of their sin deposits that have built up over the years.

Why should we go through spiritual descaling if we have not committed major sins? The one Scripture that comes to my mind is from Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (NIV)

If a cup of coffee taste fresher after a descaling, then how much fresher will God’s vision for our lives taste through spiritually descaled Christians? 

Praising the Lord in the Storms by Lorraine

I am blessed so much to have another blog by Lorraine. God is not only transforming her life but also the lives around her. Enjoy hearing about God's work in her unfolding story.

Making Me Fireproof: Praising the Lord and Blessing Others in Extreme Conditions

My Story Continues – Praising the Lord in the Storms

 

     You may recall from the March 28, 2014 My TIE posting that my transformation began when I lost a job that I had loved in 2011 and God placed me in my current position in an extremely dark work environment that is filled with brokenness and sadness. I am so glad I did not wait until God has delivered me out of this storm to start writing my testimony, as these storms seem to keep coming. 

     Since the introduction of my story, I have been hit with a more severe storm.  I was told by the doctor at a hospital emergency a few weeks ago that my mom has a serious health condition. Given her advanced dementia, the family made a tough decision to not proceed with surgery.  Although mom is now at home and has forgotten all about it (a blessing of being demented), this means I could be losing her any time between now and up to a few years at the most. With many family members yet to give their lives to Christ, this news has turned an emergency situation into a crisis that is filled with emotions and panic. At the same time, we also have another family member admitted into the intensive care unit for another serious health condition, on top of a few other unforeseen situations. Needless to say, our lives have been turned upside down.

     God won’t give us more than we can handle.  When this most recent family crisis hit me in the middle of the night with no warnings of any kind, my first reaction was that God must think I am strong enough to handle the “double-trouble”– the storm from work during the day and during the week that shows no sign of calming, and one from home that is consuming my energy for the rest of the time in a 24-hour day and 7-day week.  One day I did ask myself, “what have I done wrong to deserve this?” The answer is of course, I have done nothing wrong; in fact I am just letting God stretch me and transform me.  As the storms get more severe each time, I know there is only one way to pray, not for miracles to happen, but for ways to find Jesus.

     Praising the Lord in the storms is not easy and I am exhausted and drained.  This has been going on for almost three years now and the storms just keep coming.  There were times when I just wanted to give up. I had even thought of stop writing my story altogether.  Thankfully I did not do that as I know God is using my story to bless others.  Continuing to share my painful journey with God is one way He is strengthening me.

     I remember a message delivered by a pastor from a church in a neighbourhood of Toronto that houses socially and ethnically diverse people groups. The vision of this church is that members will be God’s mercy and live out His Gospel where they live, work and be members of the community they serve.  This message has kept me going: expressing the fruit of the spirit during hard times make the fruit taste sweeter:

v  Patience is about long suffering, it is a quality to allow people to endure;

v  Disciple means carrying the cross daily, by committing to God during hard times and put Him first;

v  Showing joy during hardship is not normal, but through Jesus Christ we will gain the strength we need to endure;

v  We must always remain in Jesus Christ, this is when the fruit will remain sweet during hard times, and the purpose is to expand the Kingdom of God.

     Praising God is our way to victory: God is moved by our faith and not by our problems.  A few years ago I came across this phrase on a candle: “Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace within the storm.”  This candle is now a permanent décor in my living room.  Many people say there may be an underlying blessing for the hardship God put us through, but I would argue that the reason behind why God put us through hardship is because He wanted to bless us so that we have no choice but to rely on Him to get through it, thus bringing us closer to Him.  

     A year ago when my colleague was sharing a devotion piece with me, I came across a spiritual power tool known as sacrificial praise.  It means a discipline of praying when you don’t feel like it. This greatly honors God because He already knows that we don’t feel like it so when we do it, it honors Him more. I guess this relates to my ability to sense and abide with our Father when I praise during hardship. I learned that the more I praise, the closer I am to Him and the more strength I am able to get to continue to endure.

     When we see how God truly work through us during difficult times, it is truly rewarding and we become hungrier for more of Him – something I hope to share in future segments of my story.  I have noticed in my weekly spiritual journal in the past year that I have turned from pleading for help to praising God. People who read my journal may think I had an awesome week but in fact, it was the opposite. I guess this is when God turns a trial into triumph and a victim into a victory.  Here are a few things I have learned to-date throughout my journey with God:

1.            Outcomes of our faith do not always mean things will get better. 

2.            God is using the situation to grow us; He is transforming us every time we surrender to Him.

3.            *God does not always remove us from the fire, but to make us fireproof.  There is a difference between a “delivering faith” and a “sustaining faith”:

•     Delivering faith will keep us out of adversity – this is victory; while

•     Sustaining faith is where God takes us through the storm – this is greater victory.

     Bad things do not happen to good people, they happen for good people, those who are ready and wanting to be transformed. Only trusting God will push us to our limits.  I know until God opens the next door for me, I just need to praise Him in the hallway.  Blessed people are those who can rejoice and be glad daily.  Blessed people worship Jesus daily, even in extreme conditions.

     I would like to end this part of my story with the same Bible verse, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” James 1:12 (NIV).  May God bless you today and always.

Lorraine

April 27, 2014

*Taken from a Joel Osteen sermon on being “Fireproof.”