Seek what He Desires to Give

And do not seek what you are to eat
and what you are to drink,
nor be worried.
For the nations of the world seek after these things,
and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom,
and these things will be added to you.
Fear not, little flock,
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:29-32

Father,

You are my king. You are our king. I love that you are both my Father and the King. But I am fearful and worried. So much depends on you...more than I know...and I feel as if you will not be a giver and give to us all of the good things we need. Is it really your "good pleasure" to give us the goodness of your kingdom? If I understood that, then it would drive my fear and anxiety out.

So, Father in Heaven, I ask you to open our hearts to know that you are a loving and giving Father. Would you please take us to the depths of that truth? Help us not only to understand it but rest in who you are.

So many of my friends need to know you as Father and it seems that so much gets in the way of that. They are carrying way too much. I carry their burdens too. It is all too much.

I admit to you that we need to repent. We are trying to be in control of our lives when you offer the promise of rest in your love and care. You are kind and we don't believe that whole heartedly.

I read in your word just how much you want to pursue and redeem people and your world...how much you love the world. Will you please give us the joy of that love for the world too? Would you also please give us the joy of trusting that you are loving and powerful?

You are a promise keeping Father. Here is my heart. I want to trust you in that with all of my heart.

In Jesus' name. For Jesus' name's sake.

In this Way, the Father Loves

For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him
should not perish
but have eternal life.
For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world,
but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him is not condemned,
but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is judgment:
the light has come into the world,
and people loved the darkness rather than the light
because their deeds were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds be exposed.
But whoever does what is true comes to the light,
so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God.
(John 3:16-21)

In this the love of God was made manifest among us,
that God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.

In this is love,
not that we have loved God
but that he loved us
and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
(1 John 4:9-10)

Humble Subversion, Loving Rebellion

The cross was a full scale rebellion against the deranged ways of the world. Those words seem strange as I type them.

Along with so many others, I love a good film about rebelling against an oppressive system. Those movies glamorize the courage that it would take to stand up to a corrupt system that governs the world and the movies show (to some degree) that a cost is always paid to express that courage. I can enjoy the "rebellion" from a safe seat in my living room.

The real "rebellion" is never safe and never trendy. There is sweat (and blood) that is spent in real change that brings lasting hope.

What was it in Jesus where he knew he was subverting the desires (however twisted) and power structures of the people he lived among, but was not arrogant? In fact, Jesus' "rebellion" was an overflow of his humility... his "made himself nothing"-ness. (see Philippians 2)

To really, truly love is to subvert in a way that pierces the heart of sin and points to a better Way. It has to start with my own treasured selfishness.

Jesus' life and his death subvert the world's selfish, destructive, and ignorant desires that become actions that become institutionalized. The world hated him, misunderstood him and forgot about the authentic "him." We still do. But his subversion was never selfish. He was never trying to be a "hero" in order to gain the affections of mankind by his power to have courage. His "rebellion" was never, even for a moment, an attempt to make his life worth living in his own mind. His defiance was filed by humility. His courage to stand up to injustice found its source in untainted love.

It was an act of love to his Father and an act of love to a world that wants to hate him. The love that led Jesus to the cross humbly subverts my puny, self absorbed desires and awakens in me that same kind of loving rebellion that drives me to fight against the oppressive system built by my own sin...even if that system (for now) is just inside me.

[Father, teach us to grieve. Teach us too love with so much depth that we want better for the people around us than the selfish desires that we all cling to. Please break our hearts and open our eyes. Please give us such an overwhelming amount of your grace that we have the courage to turn our back on world ways and trust you...even if it means to lovingly and humbly, reject the ways that seem so much like "common sense."]

God Makes "Dead" Past Tense

[Praise the Lord that I am not the last person he will do this for:]

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
     following the course of this world,
     following the prince of the power of the air,
          the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-
               among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
               carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God,
     being rich in mercy,
     because of the great love with which he loved us,
          even when we were dead in our trespasses,
made us alive together with Christ-
     by grace you have been saved-
     and raised us up with him
and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved
through faith.
And this is not your own doing;
     it is the gift of God,
     not a result of works,
          so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
     which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them. 

Ephesians 2:1-10

Colossians 1:15-23

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether  thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-
all things were created through him
and for him.
And he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.

And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death,
in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
if indeed you continue in the faith,
stable and steadfast,
not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard,
which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven,
and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Father,
Your word says that I am not going to be heard because I use a lot of words or the right words. I want to tell you that I am yours. All of my heart, all of my mind. You are welcome in all of my life. But, I also want to welcome you into my friend's lives. For your name's sake, we would love it if you would have your way with us today. I ask these things that our joy in you would be full.

Sign of the Kingdom: A Fool's Kingdom

Would you let me (Wes) do something that feels foolish to me and share something very personal? (If you keep reading, I will take that as a “yes”)

Picture a long beach with plenty of moldable sand. Not a dirty beach or a rocky beach but one in which a person can get creative building a sand castle. Now picture a large sand sculpture that looks similar to thrones in those British period movies. Big. So big that you wonder how all of that sand is still sticking together.

Now comes the absurd part: I built that sand sculpture so that I could sit on it. Its my throne. I have made myself comfortable on that sand chair. 

Then my Father sends a wave. Actually, its wave after wave. Each wave hits the “throne” until it becomes a sandy mess that doesn’t resemble the sculpture I built at all. I am left clutching the sand in tightened fists until, little by little, all that is left is a flat beach…and a humbled man resting on it.

My Father is washing my self-reliance out from under me and it hurts. It wounds.

I told some friends earlier this week that I feel like I could cry at any moment. That’s true though not obvious.  I mentioned that I am weary of praying, planning and acting on conviction with little (obvious) fruit for my labor. On top of that, the evil one takes advantage of my weariness and adds: “Your God wants you to be shamed…to teach you a lesson.”

I question why and I question where the pain comes from.

Then I read this passage earlier:

My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline

or be weary of his reproof,

for the LORD reproves him whom he loves,

as a father the son in whom he delights.

(Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV)

Discipline. Reproof. Son. Delights.

This lingering pain is not my Father’s lingering punishment, it is his lavished delight.

When I try to do things in Jesus’ name to satisfy a desire to please others, he sends a loving wave by not empowering my selfish plan.

He sends a wave of grace to confront my sense of safety. I look for security in life through formulas and plans that I can come up with. I think “If I could just plan and work enough, everything will be easy.” The wave comes to remind me to plan, but plan abiding in Christ.

Our Father has a way of wounding me, not to hurt me, but to dig down deep to the sin that I fiercely guard… to get to my deep seated desire (often hidden from even me) to be in control of all aspects of my life.

I treasure my sand throne. My sand throne is killing me. 

So, as I type, I am weary. Spent. Planning to take a day next week to get away and pray. Just me and my Father…and the refreshing silence that a hiking trail affords. My “spentness” is not from the discipline, but my fight against it. Trying to shore up the throne and build it back up as my Father’s waves gently- but definitely- wash it away.

This is the manner of the Kingdom of God: to erode my self-reliance and lead me to the King who beckons me to come to him…learn from him…take His yoke…and find rest for my soul. Though he could roar, He gently whispers, “let me be the King of your life.”

The King of the Kingdom shows his lavish love by washing down my crumbling throne. He washes away my self-reliance and gives me a deep, joyful God-reliance.

And, though I sit humbled in the wreckage of my own, private sand Tower of Babel, I am learning just a little bit more to trust my Gentle King rather than the sand I am clutching. He is creating a Kingdom of people who delight in relying on their King.

Philippians 1:3-11

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all
making my prayer with joy,
because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
And I am sure of this,
that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
It is right for me to feel this way about you all,
because I hold you in my heart,
for you are all partakers with me of grace,
both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
For God is my witness,
how I yearn for you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, 
with knowledge and all discernment,
so that you may approve what is excellent,
and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ,
to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:3-11


Father,
this morning my anxiety clouds my judgment. I feel like I need to say all of the right words (and enough words) to get you to work. Will you remind us that you are at work in us today? Will you cause our souls to rest in believing that you don't take a day off or turn your back on us? Will you please help us to understand the affection of Christ Jesus...and to long for people's good with the same affection? Please do this for your name's sake...to show your love to a world that doesn't trust you.

The Good News is Not Shallow

Today is a day in which I long to know that the gospel is not merely story telling to make someone religious, but good news to the souls of people who do not even want the good news today.

It seems to me that I have such a narrow, law based view of the gospel, trying to "simplify" it down to a formula to use "on people." What if the gospel really is the heart of God and the power of God expressed to people for them to accept or reject?

In his book, Creating a Missional Culture, JR Woodword asks some interesting questions about the heart and the nature of being a gospel story-teller... (or an evangelist, whichever you prefer):

• What does it mean to be the church that lives under the reign of God?

• If God's reign were to be perfectly realized in this neighborhood, what would be different?

• What are the kinds of idols in our neighborhood that need to be unmasked? (This makes me think of Acts 17: 16-17; 1 Corinthians 14:25)

• What rhythms of life and what community happenings might challenge these idols and express the kingdom?

• How do we call others to receive and enter into the kingdom of God so that they might join us in representing God's reign in our neighborhood?

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. (Luke 4:42-44 ESV)

Kindness

I spoke with a friend on the phone this morning who shared with me how he believed God was pursuing him out on a hike yesterday. He said that he "almost" put his faith in Jesus out there because he was so overwhelmed with an experience of God's goodness through nature.

My first response was to think that God does not work that way...he confronts sin. That is completely true, but not the way I was thinking it. Maybe God is showing kindness to a man who longs for kindness. Maybe the kindness will open the door of his heart to deal with the darkness...so that when the light of Jesus' holiness shines into his heart my friend will not run from the pain but know that the work being done is an act of love.

Maybe my God is more kind than I believe him to be.

"Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?"
     Romans 2:4

"...so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus."
     Ephesians 2:7

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness...; against such things there is no law."
     Galatians 5:22-23

"And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals
when she burned offerings to them
and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,
and went after her lovers
and forgot me, declares the Lord.

Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her."
     Hosea 2:13-14

In some ways, I think I still believe that I was saved reluctantly. In some ways I think that my Father kind of just puts up with me.

Who is this God of grace that seeks after stubborn, heard hearted people in a flood of kindness that would lead me to turn my eyes away from stupid things to treasure him because of his kindness?

Find Rest My Soul in God Alone

I have asked for myself, my family and for so many we are connected with for the Father to open our hearts to receive his love. 

I have never felt the need to know his love deeply and affectionately as I do know.

What I seem to receive is silence.

I plead with him…"please Father, I need the waves of your love to wash over me…wash away my anxiety and fear. I am empty and need to be filled with a love that will overflow to my neighbors”

And still, silence.

I strive and feel like I cannot let go. Somewhere deep in my soul the lie resonates within me “If you ‘let go’ it will all unravel.” It is a lie, but it feels like the truth.

My uncle once told me cease striving and let God be God. My response inside was “Yes! But how?”

In the silence, in the barrenness of soul, the Spirit is quietly searching through the hidden places of my soul and pointing out the places where I believe lies:

“Yes you are saved by a simple trust in Jesus, but now you have to make everything else happen.”

“The Father has left you alone and wants to see if you are man enough for this.”

“He brought you here to fail.” (I would have fit in well with the wandering Israelites)

“Your ever-present sin shows you are not worthy of this…and the Fathers going to hold back giving to you until you get it right!” There is always a little truth in the lies that stick.

Why does this matter? This should be a story of how we have seen the King bring his kingdom. 

But that is exactly it: he is bringing his kingdom in a 1,000 different ways in people…most of which are hidden to us most of the time. There are volcanoes that seem dormant (Mt. Rainier is beautiful but too close), but the movements underneath the ground are real and they are preparing the molten mountain to show its beauty in an eruption. 

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32 ESV)

"I will make a way..."

Thus says the LORD,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

"Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honor me,
the jackals and the ostriches,
for I give water in the wilderness
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
that they might declare my praise.

Isaiah 43:16-21

Sign of the Kingdom: A Gospel Community

“People want to belong before they will believe.” 

A few weeks ago, the people of Dwelling Place Church in Seattle said “goodbye, for now” to David as he moved his life to Arizona. David is an intelligent skeptic, a cautious truster, a great asker of questions, and a devoted friend. I (Wes) will miss our weekly in-person discussions about faith in Jesus. Thankfully, our phones work well over the distance.

On the last Sunday evening that we were able to gather with David, I got to see the gospel lived out in community like I had never noticed before. We ate dinner together. We prayed together. We laughed together. We opened up God’s word together. Each of these things was a beautiful expression of how God shows his power among us. 

Except for some unforced laughter, these things were planned, but something I didn’t expect happened.  This was not on my agenda for the evening. While walking around cleaning up the mess we made of our host’s home, I heard people sharing the gospel with David in the natural course of conversation. Four different people, in fact. Four different, unplanned, conversations that were authentic expressions of love for our friend…and love for our King.

To see very imperfect (but transformed!) people lingering with each other over a meal, to share the same limited space week after week, and to show vulnerability without (much) fear communicates a message: something is profoundly different about these people.

Its not that there aren’t disagreements. Its not that we don’t sin against each other and hurt each other. Its that the gospel of God’s grace so saturates his people that when all of those things happen we still draw near to each other in love.

In this was one more expression of the gospel that I almost missed: the community of Jesus gathered together in love. The message that was so loud and pervasive that I almost missed it is this: the community that the Spirit of God creates through the proclamation of the gospel! 

To say that a person must belong before they believe does not mean we do not actively share our faith. We absolutely should communicate with our words about how God demonstrates his love in the crucifixion and resurrection of His Son.  No, what I mean is that people need to see and experience just how that message transforms all of our lives.  When a bunch of messy, selfish, and yet beloved people come together to worship and love each other in Jesus’ name and when they welcome people into their lives who were once considered “outsiders,” then what people experience is a visible expression of the authenticity of the gospel. The authenticity of individual lives changed. The King of grace gives us a deeper experience of his grace while we are together.

I have seen a sign of the Kingdom of God in how a group of people growing in faith in their King welcome one another with a love that is otherworldly…which can only happen if our Welcoming King welcomes us to himself.

May it be that more and more people are so affected by the gospel heard and the gospel seen that our lives overflow to those near us with the joy of that message. The people who know that they belong with us will better be able to understand why we believe in King of grace. 

May that be true of my good friend David. 

Musings at the Meyer

It has been too long since I have added anything to this blog. That is mostly because most of what I would like to say seems to come out as jumbled words and I don't have the time to reshape those thoughts into some thing someone else might read.

Also, I started writing this blog for myself and then I started writing it for others. Though that sounds selfless, it was most definitely not. It was very subtly self absorbed.

But now I write again as if no one will read this. If you are reading it, I hope that God's Spirit encourages you with it. But, from now on, I will write it as if no one else is lurking around.

I write today because I am overwhelmed. Up on the second floor of Fred Meyer watching people as I prepare for future sermons, I am overwhelmed with how powerless I feel to transform someone's life.

People from different neighborhoods, different worldviews, and each sporting different hairstyles all come to find the best prices on their tomatoes. There is a leveling effect.

Here the wealthy and influential mingle (silently) with the marginalized. Some walked determinedly through the produce section to get the freshest organics while others sneak in shyly, hoping not to be noticed as they buy their craft beer. Deep arrogance shares the same space with resigned hopelessness.

In brief moments I feel the compassion that Jesus felt when he saw the crowds, how they were weary and scattered like sheep without a shepherd. Some of those people are around me now, eating a microwave warmed Stouffers lasagna.

One way or another, though, I think there is a depth to that compassion that I will not truly take in until I come to an end of myself...the end of my own desire to wield the power to save. I am too afraid to take it all in (to express the heart of my King) until I understand that I really am an earthen vessel. What all of these people need is not my striving to "fix" them, but a real experience of the loving, authoritative power of God.

And, when it comes down to it, that is true for me too. I will only cease striving, cease worrying when I experience the same power and know that the power is from God and not from us.

I will go back to studying now and wait for the Spirit of God to do what only He can do.