The Insurgency

Almost a decade ago, I gave up about 6 months of my life to earn some titles and macho bragging rights that I assumed (hoped, actually) would define me for the rest of my life. To say that the pursuit dominated my existence would generate the understatement of, well, the decade. Still now, they're cool I guess. But, the coolness drastically diminishes as I move from one phase of life to the next.

Caught up in the here-and-now, I never considered how quickly those times would become the then-and-there. So, now what? How many exorbitant attachments to the here-and-nows do we have to trade for then-and-theres? Maybe that's all there is to life: one endless string of here-and-nows that will eventually succumb to entropy and leave us hoping that everyone else remembers our then-and-theres.

Maybe.

But, what if it isn't? If this Guy really did decide to die on a Tree, are we responding to That accordingly? Was the whole Point of his Friday afternoon green mile to give us one more badge, tab, title, or club to join? If so, great. Sign me up. I've got some time to kill before my next here-and-now.

Be sure to tell me how to wear the badge though: I don't want to look silly.

If that wasn't the Point, then what? What do we do with the titles we've worked so hard to earn? Where do I put my membership card? My nifty uniform?

If His Intent wasn't to boost my ego, to give me something to do on the weekends, to keep me from cussing, or to tell me how I should vote in next year's election, I'd prefer to know now. Up front. I'd really rather not invest my time in another here-and-now if something better is going to come along. Besides, I already know who I'm voting for.

But, if last decade's cocky pursuit of bragging rights left me with anything of real value, it's probably the realization that I am capable of being radical when I really want to.

So, if His Intent was to give me one last Pursuit, then He's got my attention. But, it better be a good one. I can handle one more here-and-now, but not another then-and-there. This is it. Present me with an all-or-nothing scenario.

I've got time for a Pursuit that retrieves my long-lost inner radical. I've always preferred being surrounded by a bunch of insurgents anyway.

I wonder if there's room beside Him on that Tree?

“Pray Like This...”

“Pray Like This...” –Jesus

January Newsletter

Chances are, many of you (hopefully everyone) are resolving to grow closer to God in 2010. Well, the first step to doing that is telling God himself. Every relationship thrives (or fails) on communication, so maybe we should take a moment to remind ourselves how Jesus wants us to pray.

The model prayer comes from Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Rather than simply repeating those specific words over and over (we know that wasn’t his intent: Matthew 6.7), we should view the Lord’s Prayer as a guide. See how Jesus’ model prayer helps us address every area of our relationship with the Father:

Matthew 6:9–13 (NLT)

⁹ Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

Worship: Glorifying God is the primary reason we are put on earth.

¹⁰ May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

The advancement of God’s work: Notice how Jesus sees the benefits of the Kingdom as available to us right now, here on earth! Proper prayer has us asking (and expecting!) God’s perfect will to become a reality in this life.

Don’t miss how the first half of the prayer completely addresses God, His agenda, and our need to acknowledge Him first. After that, we then move on to addressing our needs.

¹¹ Give us today the food we need,

Physical Needs: Remembering that God already knows what we need (v. 8), the point of this prayer must be to remind us of how much we desperately need Him. Every earthly object, from paychecks to peanuts to purses and everything in between is supplied by God. Our duty in prayer is simply to remain mindful of that. And, we can’t forget that Jesus has us here praying for our daily needs: use need rather than greed to guide your requests (James 4.3).

¹² and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Salvation: Our greatest gift from God is our ticket to Heaven. We have it because we recognize we need it, and that recognition comes from true repentance. What is the greatest mark of true repentance? Perhaps it’s the ability to forgive others, knowing that God has already done that for you. Those who have experienced true forgiveness realize the joy it brings and, in turn, extend it to others.

¹³ And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Spiritual Needs: the fight wages on long after forgiveness. This is a much better translation that those reading “don’t lead us into temptation;” God would never do that (James 1.3). It is better to pray, “Don’t let us give in to temptation” (Mark 14.38). When we do give in to temptations, it’s not because we have no alternative (1 Cor 10.13). So, it must stem from a lack of spiritual preparation.

Using Jesus as our guide (which is always the best idea J). Let’s remember to Pray His Way.

-bill

Radical Jesus

The longer I ponder this "Jesus thing," the move conviction I have that we're just not radical enough for Jesus' liking.

My self-fulfilling prophecy: God will move me to live, write, and speak more radically for Jesus in the coming months.

We'll see...

Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

December Newsletter

Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” –William Wallace

I’ve always been a fan of highly charged movie scenes that have the hero/heroine passionately standing up for something he/she believes in. I don’t even have to agree with their stance to respect their passion. I can (and have) watch Mel Gibson stand up to the evil British or see Batman kick sand in the face of the bad guys over and over. (Incidentally, I think this is why God gave me boys. My poor wife can only take so much of William Wallace yelling, “What are you going to do with that freedom!?!”)

The Bible tells us that God views life the same way. What he requires most is our passion, not our perfection. Being as normal and as limited in my abilities as I am, I smile when I’m reminded of what matters most in God’s economy: He does not scan the earth looking for abilities, aptitude, or academic pedigrees. Affiliation with Jesus is what he’s after:

Acts 4:13 (NIV) — 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Jesus’ strongest pleas were those calling people to whole-heartedly follow him with every muscle in their body:

Matthew 16:24–25 (NIV) — 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

And, some of his strongest criticism went to believers who rode the fence: Christians in name only, who come to church and sleep in Jesus’ name—only to return to their indifferent and restrained routines:

Revelation 3:15 (NLT) — 15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!

It is a true statement that restraint has no place in religion. We can never state enough: Jesus didn’t die on the cross to become a footnote to our day or an afterthought in our agenda. He came to completely consume every inch of you—jealously devouring your whole person while enabling you to achieve your True Purpose: glorifying God.

It is my vision for our church that we be guided by nothing less than a whole life intentionally lived for Jesus. That God’s Word would become a “fire in [our] bones” (Jeremiah 20.9) and the filter for our decision be “that the world may know” (John 17.23).

Show me a church full of believers ready to charge the fields at Bannockburn or follow Peter out of the boat, and I’ll show you a time when “All the nations will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you!” (Habakkuk 1.5)

Ready to Really Live,

-bill