I love Christmas! Entering into December, I find myself surrounded by lights, a new tree, decorations, and songs playing over the sound systems of Costco, Home Depot, and a variety of restaurants. Of course, some of these things began just before Halloween, but I digress.
One
One. It could be the loneliest number (I hope I got that stuck in your head), but for the next few minutes, will you let me call to your memory a time when ONE was not lonely? It could be the time when you stood before the church, justice, pastor, and friends and got married - two become one, and one is not lonely.
What if it was a time when your team accomplished what it could not unless the whole team pulled together as one? The big game, the project launch, the deadline that mattered, and the whole team did its part for the success - one, not lonely at all. Maybe it was the time you all came together as a family, to care for someone, to celebrate the life and legacy of someone - one family.
Rewind the history tape and join me in a prayer meeting that took place about 2000 years ago. You might have heard of the leader, his name is Jesus, and he is talking to his Father. His prayer covers his friends, it's loving and kind between his Father and him, and then it shifts. Not in tone but in the subject. He is now praying for you and for me.
"Father, make them one (not the loneliest number kind of one) as we are one."
In this prayer, Jesus identifies something about his relationship with his Father, the nature of people, and the expansion of his mission.
"Just like you and I, Father, are one - will you take that same oneness, that unity, and give it to them?"
How were Jesus and the Father one?
In love - it seems obvious. Jesus and the Father loved each other deeply.
In trust - Jesus trusted the Father with his own life. In the end, he committed his spirit into his Father's hands.
In mission - at his baptism, Jesus was commissioned by his Father. When someone is COM-missioned, they leave with A MISSION. From this point on, Jesus made comments like these:
“I only do what my Father wants done.
I only speak what my Father wants said.
I glorify my Father.
I show you my Father.
Me and my Father, we are one.
Not my will (Father), but yours be done.”
There are more, but you get the point. When Jesus said, "make them one like we are one," I believe he was saying, "Father, we love each other, we trust each other, and we have, TOGETHER AS ONE accomplished a mission."
The copy of a copy degrades. We know this. The original is always better to make copies from if you want crisp and clear copies. It is the nature of copies and the nature of people. Jesus, in his prayer, prays for you and me. The copies of the copies, the disciples of the disciples, spread over 2000 years of history. How do this copy (me) and that copy (you) not fade over time? Say it with me now - ONE! When we live in unity, together with the same love the Father and Jesus had, the same trust the Father and Jesus had, and the same MISSION the Father and Jesus had, we become ONE. (Not the lonely kind.)
The expansion of his mission depends on it, friends. Jesus finished his prayer with, "Father, make them one as we are one - so that the world will know I am sent from you." The immeasurable importance of ONE is the revealing of Jesus to the world.
Today, we can embrace the ONE in the love of Jesus and the Father. We can strive for the trust of Jesus and the Father. But unless we embrace the mission of Jesus and the Father, we will not be ONE like they were ONE.
The world around us only knows that WE are fond of Jesus because we are not one in LOVE, TRUST, and MISSION; when we are - the world will know that HE is the ONE sent from the Father.
One does not have to be the loneliest number - it can be the most powerful number.
If you want to find out more about how to be equipped for the mission of Jesus, the one he and the Father shared, contact us at www.4-gen.net.
The Address
I was driving from my house in Roseville, California, to my friend's house in Idaho. In the old days, I would get out my map, look up the roads, highways, and freeways, and chart my route. Then Thomas' Guide came out, and I could look at the streets and side streets flipping from one page to another. This last trip, I put in an address, and my phone told me distance, time of arrival, alternate routes, and warned me when there was traffic or an accident ahead. If only life were that simple.
DNA of the Church
This was a crazy year for my tomato plants. We got the soil prepped, we picked out our Cherry Tomatoes, our Rainbow Tomatoes, our Big Boy Tomatoes, and placed them in the soil. We planted peppers and watered, waited, weeded, fertilized, protected, and waited and dreamt of the Salsa I would make with the harvest.
The Outcast
May I tell you a story?
Outcast. Banished. Diseased. Unclean. Rotting. A living corpse. Sinner. All of these words could describe this man. What started out as a spot on his skin quickly spread throughout his whole body. Leprosy. With the diagnoses, he was quickly cast out from all society. He lost his family. His friends. His home. His work. Not only was he not allowed within the city, but he could no longer worship God in the Temple.
Interrupted
We were gathered in a room praying when he entered. It was obvious he was escaping the heat. After a few awkwardly pensive moments, he spoke. "My truck is out of gas, it’s just over at the gas station, and I have no money, could you please…" Just then, one of us interrupted with "We would be glad to pray for you? In fact, we were just having a prayer meeting."
Just Like Dad
Sounds of Hope
Let's play a game. What do you hear when I say train? Maybe it is the sound of a whistle blowing in the distance. Or the rumble of a locomotive chugging down the track. Should we try again? What do you hear when I say rooster? I hear the sound of Rodney the Rooster, a chicken we met in Honduras, who daily forgot to sing his rooster song (he soon became roasted Rodney).
God's Faithfulness - a Good Story to Tell!
Several summers ago, my husband had just earned his teaching credential and applied for his first job as a math teacher. This was a midlife career change for him. Our daughters were all little, and the year-long credentialing process was a challenging one. We believed that God had called Mark to make this change, and we did it as a family.
Over the twelve months of his teacher education, our prayer was that Mark would be able to teach at one of the high school or middle schools in our local community. Imagine how excited we were when he was offered a job at the high school near us - our alma mater! He turned another job offer down and accepted this teaching position. A few days later, the principal called back and rescinded the offer. We were confused and so disappointed. I was also afraid; summer was almost over, and my husband needed work. We pleaded with God to help.
Mark continued to hunt for teaching positions and eventually applied to the middle school near us. Two weeks later, that principal hired him! It turns out that this is what God had in mind all along. Mark has taught there ever since.
I remember speaking to my pastor right after Mark got the middle school job. He encouraged me to remember this moment as a time that God took care of us. He said that this would be something that strengthened our trust in Him in the future when we looked back on how God had provided. Such wise advice!
My pastor’s words came to mind this week as I read Psalm 107. These beautiful, poetic words challenge us to recall God’s goodness and faithful love in our lives. Within its verses are four illustrations of people in distress. Some are homeless, hungry, and lost (v. 4-5). Some are suffering from depression and in chains because they refused to listen to God (v. 10-12). Some are sick and dying as a result of their rebellion towards Him (v. 17-18). And some are about to drown at sea during a storm (v. 17-18). In each case, they cry, “Lord, help!” and he rescues them!
Four times in Psalm 107, we read of people struggling, crying out to God, and God actively answering them in their distress. Each time these rescued ones are exhorted to give “thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds” towards them (v. 8, 15,21, 31).
You see how this psalm fits our lives today, right? Life is crazy these days. There is so much uncertainty, struggle, strife, fear, and to use our psalm’s word – distress. Friends, let me challenge you to cry out to God! He is faithful to answer. Also, intentionally recall God’s faithfulness in your life – look back over the last day, week, or years for His “wonderful deeds” – and thank Him for it. Lastly, share these stories of God’s unfailing love with others. Can you imagine the difference it would make if we spoke out not just on current issues but mostly in telling of God’s goodness? People would see Jesus.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe. ”
Faith Simplified.
When I was a kid, I loved the Cliff Notes on books. It wasn't that I didn't like to read, I just wanted to get to the point. One year, my teacher began the first semester with a list of books she expected us to read and then give a report on- I almost cried. Hemingway, Melville, Austen, and Kipling were on the list, and I know now that killing a mockingbird would be important, but the truth is...these people just could not get to the point!