Tuesdays with Morris

I need something that makes me feel more camaraderie with my fellow humans. And don’t give me Christianity - I need something real. ~Neko Case

Yesterday, while taking care of some business, I read an interview with Neko Case. She is a singer/songwriter mostly known for her role with the Canadian band New Pornographers. I was really struck by the following part of the interview:

“Spin: As a singer inspired by classic country, do you feel the culture with which you most identify is dead?

Case: Well, it’s more that I’m a white girl in America. Is there anything less special that that at this point in time? Probably not. I don’t have faith in motherhood. I don’t have faith in having children. All of the things a woman is supposed to be - I don’t feel like being any of them. In a way, this whole record is about losing faith. In your country. In your culture. In yourself. I need something that makes me feel more camaraderie with my fellow humans. And don’t give me Christianity - I need something real.”

The last two lines really hit me…”I need something that makes me feel more camaraderie with my fellow humans. And don’t give me Christianity - I need something real.” My heart sort of goes out for Case. She’s obviously searching for something more…a deeper connection with reality. And, she wants nothing to do with Christianity. Obviously, she’s had some bad experiences with Christians (haven’t we all?).

I guess it just strikes me that the thing that is most real to me is totally invalid and void of reality to someone else. For me, this reminds me that we have a great call to communicate the reality of Jesus. We need to be sensitive to those that have had bad experiences with the church and Christians. Yet we need to work on how can we help them see the reality of Jesus!

So, how do we do this?

No, I didn’t get fired or quit or any thing like that…

This morning, while filling up my tank at Ricker’s, I ran into an old friend from high school. He was a few years ahead of me. We were on the swim team together…both of us went to Young Life…he’s a pretty intelligent and talented guy.

Anyway, as we caught up, he mentioned that he’s unemployed and looking for work.

Ever since our brief conversation next to the Little Debbie’s snack display, I’ve been wondering what the role of the Church should be in creating and finding quality employment for people in our world. There are so many people that are unemployed or under-employed…it just seems like the church should be doing something about it.

So, if you have any ideas, I’d love to hear them!

By the way, my March 5th sermon is now available on-line. Hopefully my sermon from this coming Sunday will be available on-line next week. Click HERE to go to our audio page.

This morning, while praying, I read the following passage of Scripture:

“…But I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. From the time your forefathers left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their forefathers. When you tell them this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.” (Jeremiah 7:23-27)

As I read this passage, I began to think about what Jesus calls us to do…repent, believe, follow! That’s pretty basic stuff. And, I know this stuff…I know that I need to repent. I know that I need to believe. I know that I need to follow. And, yet, too often, I find myself struggling with being “stiff-necked” and following my “stubborn inclinations” rather than the Truth.

This passage talks about how the people of God were moving backward, not forward. Sometimes I get the feeling that is where the Church finds itself today (notice I’m speaking of big C church here). I know that some great things are happening…but, at the same time…I see so many of us (myself included) forgetting to obey God, to walk in the ways He has commanded us. We get caught up in the pursuit of success and forget our call to repent, believe, and follow.

Anyway, as I was reading this and thinking about what God was trying to say to me, I realized that I have this tendency to focus on what I’m good at and sort of over-look those things that aren’t as easy for me. What do I mean? Well, often times when I think about evangelism I think about how I’m not very good at it. God has given me gifts in preaching, teaching, music, etc…evangelism really isn’t a strength area. Yet, I know that God is calling me to do this. It’s one of those “obey me” areas that I like to be stubborn and stiff-necked with. I justify not being actively engaged in evangelism by saying, “Well, I’m called to preach…I’ll focus on that and let someone else take care of the evangelism.”

And so, this morning, I sit here convicted that I cannot pick and choose how I obey God. When I decided to repent, believe, and follow I didn’t sign a waiver that said, “I will only repent, believe, and follow if I can decided how I will carry out the following part on my own.” And, how can I expect the people that God has called me to teach to be actively involved in evangelism if I try my best to ignore the call.

I struggle with the same fears that many do when it comes to sharing our faith…what if they reject the whole thing…what if this will strain or even ruin my friendship with this person…what if they actually respond positively…what if they ask questions I don’t have the answers to…the list of fears goes on and on. And, instead of realizing that with God, I have nothing to fear, I tend to get flattened by my fear and start talking about music, basketball, or politics instead.

So, I said I sit here convicted…I know that I need to pick up the slack in the areas of following God that I tend to skip over. I wonder what areas of following God you tend to overlook or ignore?

Two people came into my heart as I thought about this whole sharing my faith thing. One is a guy who used to be involved in church, but has since rejected the church and his faith. The other is a guy that loves Jesus, but hasn’t set foot in a church in quite some time. I really feel like I need to invite these guys to come to church. I know, I’m reducing evangelism to inviting someone to church and that it’s so much more than that…But, this is a starting point.

Matthew 9:37-38 says, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Would you join me in heading out to the harvest field? Will you be one of the workers that helps reap the plentiful harvest? Share your faith…invite someone to church or a Bible study…get involved in evangelism…or whatever area of obeying God that you tend to overlook.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know in full, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

This morning, I read this verse as part of my devotions. To me, it’s an incredible verse. Though it’s probably one of the least quoted verses of the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, it’s very powerful and probably needs to be focused on a bit more.

As I read the verse, I was struck by the realization that what we see of God today, as amazing as it may be, is just a poor reflection of what is to come. What we know about God today is just a speck of what we will know when we are with Him. He knows me completely…I know Him incompletely. And, I’m blown away at how awesome He is with just the little knowledge and experience I have of Him!

I thought about the many wonderful, close encounters I’ve had with God…during worship, out in the mountains, on the edge of the resevoir, getting married, being with my wife, enjoying moments with family and friends, in the silence of my bedroom, in an empty sanctuary with the lights off, at Camp Adventure, etc…the list could go on and on. I started thinking about the most incredible of these experiences and realized they are nothing compared to the experience that is to come.

That just gets me excited! While I enjoy my time on this earth, I just can’t wait to be with Him! What a glorious day that will be!

During the season of Lent, we’re doing a sermon series called “Decisions We Make at the Cross Roads.” You can check out the notes, manuscripts, and mp3’s of some of this series on our site. I’ll be preaching in two weeks (April 2nd) and I’m starting to kick around some ideas.

Honestly, I feel like I’ve settled on a direction. I think my sermon will be “Decisions We Make at the Cross Roads: Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.” Fans of Bob Dylan will probably be able to tell the direction I’m going with the sermon based on my subtitle. But, I’m not just going to tell you…You’ll have to do the work on your own if you want to find out what my topic is. I will say this…there will be two main passages of Scripture…taken from the same Gospel.

But, if I don’t go with that…I’ve been thinking about looking at Matthew 14:22-36. This is the passage of Scripture where Jesus walks on water and Peter makes an attempt to join Him. I’d most likely focus on “Are you willing to get out of the boat?”