Am I Just Leaves

There exists a moment in Scripture where a hungry Jesus spotted a fig tree. However, when he got up close to it the tree had only leaves. It wasn’t the season for fruit but some theologians point out that the tree didn’t even have the edible knobs (called tasqh) that always show up before the figs. (see Mark 11:12-14)

So a hungry Jesus sees a fig tree. Gets up close. He knows it won’t have figs but is hoping for some of those knobs to snack on. Instead He finds nothing. Just leaves.

This is like being hungry and spotting a Chik-fil-a. It’s before 10:30 am so you know they are still serving breakfast? Well imagine you get all the way there and there is a sign that says “Out of Breakfast, Out of Lunch, Out of Chicken, Out of Tator Tots, even out of Lemonade! …. Just out of EVERYTHING!”

Now if you’re pretty hungry and this was the absolute only option you might be pretty upset. How in the world could this Chik-fil-a have all the lights on, the big ole sign in the air and have nothing to eat. Not even Milkshakes or Waffle Fries.

This is that fig tree to a hungry Jesus and this is what we can become to hungry people.

At MHT and in many areas of our lives we have labelled ourselves as Christians. There is something you have done that lets people know you’re a Christian.

Maybe you have a Jesus Fish on your car, wear a “Heavy Freakin Worship” shirt, have invited them to church or they know you volunteer at MHT. You’re marked. You have leaves. Your sign is on.

Now a spiritually hungry, emotionally beaten or friend in need comes to you. They’ve seen your leaves and your sign.

Do you know what you have to offer?

Remember Jesus wasn’t looking for full grown fruit ready to harvest. He was just looking for something edible.

It may not be your season to stand on a milk crate and evangelize but we can always be ready to offer hope.

If with heart and soul you’re doing good, do you think you can be stopped?….Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy… 1 Peter 3:15-18 (The Message)

 

Taking in the View

Chataneys instagram

A mini-MHT reunion happened last week in Chicago.  It turns out the Chastaney (former intern), Robbie (MHT Tech Director) and myself were all in the Windy City at the same time.  We chose to meet up at the top of the John Hancock Building for a 360 degree view of Chicago at night.

At a 1000 feet in the air it was breathtaking.  We gave a collective gasp and then quietly split up to take it all in.  We regrouped at a table, compared notes on all we’d seen and which buildings we’d recognized.  Then a funny thing happened.

We just shot the breeze and got to know each other better.

This is the walk of those following after Christ:

* We accept the breathtaking wonder of a God that cares deeply for each of us.

* We are individually changed as we learn how He speaks to each and everyone of us.

* We gather to share all we’ve learned and learn from each other.

* And we recognize the value in each other and just fellowship together!

What a blessed life we’re all invited to enjoy.

 

A Complete Set of Silverware

Lot of elements of our walk with Christ are described as growth.  We grow in our faith, grow in discernment and grow in knowledge.  Yet as we grow our diet should change as well.

Just like a baby that is breastfed and spoonfed eventually they learn to feed themselves and eat with silverware. So once you were a spiritual baby that needed to be spoonfed the Word of God.  You needed someone to prepare it for you.  Maybe even make fun noises and faces as they fed you the truth.  Maybe even set up a time schedule to make sure you didn’t miss a feeding because you couldn’t identify hunger.  You just cried when something wasn’t right and were happy when your belly got full.

However as you grow you gain access to a full set of silverware.  You’ve learned that God has forgiven you, Jesus did a finished work on the Cross, God is revealing Himself to you and the Scripture is the breathed Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

So when the time is right let’s begin to ween ourselves off the bottle and grab a knife and fork.  There is a time to rightfully divide the Word of God ourselves and in a community of others. So that we can start teaching others. (Hebrews 5:11:14)

Just think a baby doesn’t grow up to be a Bodybuilder by still doing childish things.  They put down the Nintendo Wii fit and actually go out and weight train.

And even if we don’t feel that God has called us to be a Theologian (or spiritual bodybuilder), I sure we’re all very clear that he doesn’t call even of us to forever stay on milk.  Why then we would belong on a TLC show: “The 300 month old baby that still drinks from a bottle”

 

Velvet Rope to Salvation

You want to know how silly people were in the Bible times?  Well, they thought that just because people didn’t change their outward appearance it was IMPOSSIBLE for them to be saved.  Yep, if a person believed they accepted Christ and received the Holy Spirit the old school folks would say “It’s not real because the outside wasn’t changed first”. Crazy, eh?

This argument is documented in Acts 15 when some

 

Every Day in Every Way

Your fellow volunteer Miriam has recently joined the forces at Mary Kay.  She held a party to announce this and introduce her friends to the world of Mary Kay cosmetics.  At the end of it all, while passing out order forms, she gave this illustration.

Miriam said imagine your favorite outfit: dress, shoes, jewelry, bag and so on.  Now count up the cost of that outfit.  Next think of just how many times you have

 

.stop drowning and stand up.

It’s a rainy day but there’s no flood nearby.  I am drowning in the metaphorical sense of feeling overwhelmed.  A lunch with some lovely ladies helped to curb much of that as we prayed for each other.  THEN on the way back in to the office I rear end a car and get a $150 ticket.  There’s never really a good time to have an accident or to endure any of life’s major stressors.

Financial burdens; home and car repairs; deadlines at school or work are black and white matters.  Then there are the delicately gray issues of conflicts in relationships (loved ones, friends or roommates) and hearing from God clearly and discerning

 

it is in you

So, I’m listening to this podcast where this lady* talks about feeling a growth on the back of her leg.  It’s like a hard knot.  She ends up finding one on the back of both legs.  So she panics.  She panics until she realizes that they are actually her own muscles.

See she had just started working out.  Her muscles, which were always there, were now noticeable.  All because she had been

 

hitting the right notes

Tonight is my first practice with the church’s worship band.  I am very nervous because the alto saxophone is not my first instrument.  I have been learning it just for the purpose of becoming part of this band that worships our Creator.  It is an exciting and scary experience.

My first instrument was the clarinet and even though it has been 13 years since I played it my fingers still want to form those notes!  At times it is really confusing because I just KNOW that I’m holding the right note but don’t understand why it sounds wrong.  That when I consult the sax chart an realize what was right for the clarinet is not right for the saxophone.  An F sharp on the clarinet is not the same as an F sharp on the sax.  To make the same sound I must hold my hands differently.

True the old confidence of playing one instrument makes learning another one seem doable but there are differences!

This makes me think of our walk with Christ.   As He draws us closer to Him some things will stay the same and some will change.  Our bodies will need food and clothing; we will seek friends and companionship;  and we will still desire to be good people and live like Christians.  However the way we go about that will change.  Our priorities will change.

When willingly seeking to know and understand more and more of God through our Savior consumes our life we will still hit the right notes.  We will just do it differently … His Way!

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (The Message)

 

 

 

man does not live on music alone

Many of us can easily say “Music is my life”.  Whether we perform on stage, help produce the events, go out of our way to concerts or just constantly love to have music playing …. well, we love music.

Still even in our community of offering up faith-based rock to the masses we must never overlook or take for granted the source.  Seriously, remember the recorded event of people being fed by manna from heaven (see Exodus 16).

It was at this time the people were hungry.  God knew they were hungry so He fed them.  He provided for them in a unique way that they had to trust Him for each and every meal.  It wasn’t just about food it was about relying on God.

Now think of our lovely times at Murray Hill Theatre.

MHT is the longest running Christian club in one location in the entire NATION!  MHT has been a positive alternative to the nightlife that exist. Yet we see that at times the theatre struggles financially.  So you see it is not just about rocking out but also relying on God.

God can give us what we need in a fresh and exciting new way just so we know it is from Him alone.  And that, my friends, should draw us deeper into knowing Him.  We’re told:

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,

which neither you nor your ancestors had known,

to teach you that man does not live on bread alone

but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Deuteronomy 8:3 NIV

Take time to study His Word.  It will be time well spent.

Start with 2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 5:3; or Psalm 105:4

or try a Bible Reading Plan with a friend (or ten) and that way you keep each other encouraged and talk about what you’re learning.

Some friends and I just started a plan we found online at youversion.com.

 

The Princess is in Another Castle

Have you ever played Super Mario Brothers?  Remember how you would have to make thru several levels in each world.  Then the last level, maybe the forth round, was a castle.  There would be a big dinosaur to defeat.  You know what I’m talking about?  Then after you defeat the dinosaur there comes out a little man to tell you: “Oh thank you for investing all this time and thinking that the win was just around the corner but – our princess is in another castle – so, just keep going”

Okay so that’s not an exact quote but I almost remember that exact feeling.

This came to mind last week when I was reading about the wise men.  The ones that saw the star and set out to follow it to Jesus.  It took them some time to make it there on camel back, right?  That wasn’t just a flight away.  They had to give up what they had been doing at home and pretty much focus on getting to Jesus for those 800+ miles.

Then once they finally made it to Jesus and his family not only did they have the ride home but they found out they had to take a new pathway.

Maybe the difference between my Super Nintendo journey and theirs is that my goal was a fleeting meaningless 64 bit princess and their goal was to leave a sacrificial offering to the Prince of Peace.  So even when they left His physical presence to return home and continue on thru the daily trials of living they knew that our Savior lives.

So now when I feel like I have given up some things to make it to a goal that only leads to another path and another it isn’t a sense of despair or angry that travels with me. No, instead it is the knowledge that our God became flesh, lived, died and rose again and now sent a Holy Comforter to show us the way to the next castle.

The Wise Men: Matthew 2:1-11