Desperate

Written by on May 14, 2010 in Uncategorized, Unusual Encounters - 3 Comments
tbird-white


Desperate. 

As I ran down Las Vegas Boulevard at 6:30 AM, my feet beat out the rhythm: desperatedesperatedesperate. When my tennis shoe stomped down on a glossy card tantalizing any stray eye to the “best adult entertainment”, as I passed the stooped-over Asian woman picking trash out of the bushes to keep the city “clean”, as I passed the bum with a sign, “Let’s Be Honest, I need a beer”…and still the beat, desperatedesperatedesperate. 

I headed back toward my hotel. I couldn’t take in anymore. But when I entered, the beat continued, louder over the roar of the slot machines. I was struck by how desperate the machines were arranged, lights blinking and bright, beckoning any stray eye to the next big win, to the promise of something more. 

I passed small groups clustered around tables, dollars disappearing like the smoke that swirled around their cards. Except the smoke stayed, the smell permeating the air, the carpet, the elevator. All this before 7AM. 

I was struck by the idea of cheap imitations, desperate for attention, to draw the stray eye with the promise of escape from the drudgery and reality of life. And that is sad to me, that escape would be so tantalizing. Jeremiah 17:9 says “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick, who can understand it?” 

I love this verse. I love the idea that our hearts are deceitful and desperate, and that is still true today– I know because I saw it, when the pretty stuff was stripped away in Vegas. (Literally). An entire city devoted to escape. Desperate for escape. It’s easy in my comfortable suburban life to believe that my heart is actually A-OK, thank you very much. But the city of Vegas taught me that the prophet Jeremiah was certainly onto something, and that very little has changed since he wrote that verse. 

Is there something more? I believe there is, that when the man Jesus showed up and promised that believing in more, believing in him, was a promise of real life, “life to the full,” that he gave the antidote to the desperate condition of our hearts.
He is real.
He brings life.
There is more than this.

Jesus Forgives

Written by on October 25, 2008 in Unusual Encounters - No Comments

The crime: adultery
The punishment: stoning to death
The savior: Jesus.

The undeserved, inexplicable, miraculous work of Jesus is found in his total deliverance and forgiveness of the woman caught in adultery in John 8.

In one statement, Jesus offers grace and truth to a woman whose life was literally laid at his feet. The trap was set for Jesus. What would he do with this woman caught in adultery? If he agreed to Moses’ punishment for her, he would be condemning her to death, an act forbidden by the Roman authorities. If he said let her go, he would be in defiance of the Jewish law and subject to punishment himself. So he stooped to the ground and began to write…and the trap so cunningly laid was sprung upon the accusers.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

They slowly went away, one by one. Perhaps the searing conviction of their own discretions, their own “spiritual adultery” that Marji taught about at Thrive, made them drop the stones they had so willingly taken up.

As we left Thrive this Thursday, we were handed one shiny black stone as a reminder of Jesus’ words:
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

My stone lies on my kitchen counter, directly in front of my sink. As I stand at the sink, interacting with my children, husband, and those in my home, I glance upon the stone and hear Jesus’ words ringing in my soul
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Every thought, every action, every inclination toward judgment is an opportunity to throw my own stone. As I look at the stone on my counter, I imagine these words and thoughts as stones themselves, thrown in the direction of my accused, stinging them, flung with accuracy and force. I cringe myself as I picture how many stones I throw. And then I am reminded once again:
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

I look upon my black stone and I lay my judgments down with it, with a heart that prays,

Thank you Jesus! For the amazing grace you have offered me for my own abundant sins, and the undeserved work you do in my heart. May my judgments be replaced with compassion and my accusations with mercy.

Next week, we will be interacting with Jesus in John 6, learning how the bread he offers complete satisfies our deepest needs. See you then!

Jesus Bids Us to Believe

Written by on October 5, 2008 in Unusual Encounters - No Comments

A father, desperately searching for healing for his son.
Frustrated disciples, defending their teacher and justifying their failure.
A crowd of onlookers, hungry for the next thrill.

Enter Jesus. His words display his deep care for those who will follow him. “Oh Unbelieving Generation!” he exclaims to the onlookers. He cares passionately that people would understand His message of love, first received from God and then spread out to our dark world.

Jesus cares very much that we understand him, and that we receive his message: Believe. Believe that He is the One who can heal. Believe that he is the One who can forgive. Believe that He is the One who is the light of this world.

Later, when Jesus has removed himself from the crowds (notice he never again addresses the crowds or the teachers of the law after his first exclamation!), his disciples ask him, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” Jesus uses this opportunity to show them, once again, why he cares: He cares that we believe because he knows that apart from his love, from his Father’s love, we can do nothing.
“This kind comes out only by prayer…” says Jesus and echoes David’s heart in Psalm 16 when he says “You are my God! Apart from you I have no good thing.”

Jesus knows that living apart from him, not remaining in his love, won’t bring us to the new life he offers. To know him, to love him, to spread his love to the world requires total dependence and full immersion in his love, all the time. Sunday morning David shared homework for this week: Observe those around you. Remain in Jesus’ love by praying, “Lord, how can I love the ones you love? Help me to know you so that I might know them better.”

My Personal Obsession

Written by on September 28, 2008 in Girl-Life; God-Life, Unusual Encounters - No Comments

I am obsessed with teaching. It is unbelievable. Just like this post talks about mixed motives in our heart, I struggle with how much I like the spotlight or feeling like I know something. But I really think those struggles have becomes easier as I’ve continued to have the chance to speak about God’s word. First of all, it’s hard to deceive yourself into knowing something when you are scared as anything to stand up in front of people and try to teach God’s truth. I mean, we are talking about God here. Undefinable. Mysterious. Omnipotent. Not exactly the easiest to stand up and act like an expert about. So that helps keep me humble. And I really do love to stand in front of people. I hope it’s mostly because I want to share what God is teaching me, and not because I need an ego boost. Plus, if you need an ego boost, don’t speak. I hear people criticize speakers all the time. If it’s not one thing, it’s their big hair. Meanwhile, I’m thinking to myself, wow, that person has poured their heart and soul, forsaking sleep, burning their eyes at the computer screen and wrestling through difficult matters of heart and theology in order to communicate something, and the listener cares about their hair and voice inflection? So it doesn’t take long to leave the ego-boost idea behind. But there is no ministry for me like hearing that someone has heard something I’ve said or written that positively affected their spiritual life. Lord, if I died tomorrow, i would be a happy girl, because you’ve given me the priviledge of sharing your Word. Amazing.
So here’s my post from Thrive this week. Enjoy!

He Knows, He Loves

Right before Nicodemus comes to Jesus under the cover of night to question him, John drops this provocative thought: Jesus did not entrust himself to the men believing in him, because he knew what was in the heart of a man.

When we come to Jesus for relationship, that is exactly what it is: relationship. Sometimes I think of Jesus as a vending machine God. I put in what I think he requires and then he will give me what I want. But scripture tells us that God is relational, not transactional. Jesus didn’t entrust himself to men who just wanted something out of him.

When Nicodemus shows up to talk with Christ, it appears he is genuinely interested in finding out about Christ. But the questions Nicodemus had for Jesus were quickly replaced with questions Jesus had for him : “you are Israel’s teacher and you don’t understand these things?” Jesus knows us. He knows that we sometimes come to him with mixed motives and reluctant heart. Yet he loves us through it to truth, just like he did with Nicodemus.

We don’t know much about Nicodemus, but we know that he was changed by this very unusual encounter with the living Christ. In John 7, Nicodemus defends Jesus against his own “team”, the Jewish leaders. And then after Jesus’ death, he comes and provides a rich quantity of spices for Jesus’ burial, bucking his own system for what he knew to be true life.

All it took was a bit of curiosity and an honest conversation to change Nicodemus. Jesus knows your heart and he still wants you! As David said this morning in the Hope service, God wants honesty, not because he wants to punish you but because he wants to know you, and for you to know him.

This Thursday, we will look at Mark 9:14-31 together. As you read it this week, circle all the characters represented in these verses. And then ask yourself: who in this story struggles with unbelief? See you Thursday!

Called, Named, Claimed

Written by on September 20, 2008 in Daily Life With Jesus, Unusual Encounters - No Comments

hello my blogging friends,
over the next few weeks I’ll be posting my thoughts from our bible study series “Unusual Encounters: Conversations with Jesus” over on www.hopewomen.com. I’m leaving my first post here, so for the two of you :) who read both blogs, I’m sorry for the overlap. Hope you enjoy it and find these conversations as intriguing as I do.
-Nicole

Three Men.
An unusual encounter.
Lives changed forever.

He Calls.
When John and Andrew, followers of John the Baptist, approached Jesus near the shores of the Jordan, the first thing he asked them was “What do you want?” Isn’t this the question of all our hearts? What do you want? Do you know? Do you find yourself pursuing pleasure, peace or purpose but always coming up wanting? If the answer is yes, then Jesus’ response to these two men is his same response to you: “come and see.”

Jesus invites us to come and see who He is and what he can offer to our lives. It probably isn’t the answer as you envisioned. But it will be richer, fuller and more life-giving than you can imagine.

He Names.
We don’t know what happened with Andrew, John and Jesus that first evening they spent together. But we do know that they were changed, and willing to go wherever He would lead.
The next morning, Andrew rushes off to share the news with his brother Simon. When Jesus sees Simon, he renames him. He says to him, “You are Simon…but you will be called Peter.” The history of these names is like comparing a hurricane and a mountain. One is an unpredictable tempest. The other is a strong fortress. I wonder if Simon’s brother Andrew snickered when he thought of what Jesus was really saying. “I’d like to see that,” he may have thought. Or maybe Andrew had already realized that the path his and Simon’s was taking—this man they were following—really could change them, mold them, and transform them into something worth living—and dying—for.

He Claims.
When Jesus claims us, He knows just who we are today, full of pride and fear, worries and weakness. But he also knows who we can be for Him. Who does Jesus know you as? And who is he making you to be? The whisper of the spirit for me is this: You are Nicole. But you will be called patient. What’s the Lord saying to you this week?

This week we’ll be listening in on a very peculiar conversation between Nicodemus and Jesus from John 3. We’ll meet you there on Thursday!