The Little Fractures

"Remarkably, more women die as a consequence of hip fractures than from breast cancer, uterine cancer and ovarian cancer combined." - Jim Loehr

It's easy to point out and maybe even foresee big loud sins in our lives. When someone hits on you when you're in a club. When someone approaches you about drugs or drink. When you have an opportunity to cheat on your tests. Those are all really obvious. They have attention focused on them. The issue is neon. Much like breast cancer awareness has a month dedicated to it, people are widely aware of the consequences of having sex with someone before you're married.

But what about the "little" sins? What about those tiny things we do when no one is looking? What about those harmless white lies or edgy thoughts that don't visibly hurt anyone? What about the tiny cracks in our bones that eventually lead to hip fractures?

Romans 6:23

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.  "

Sometimes we die because of a thousand cuts when it comes to sin. Because if you reread that quote, you'll notice it's not hip fractures that kill people, it's the "consequence of hip fractures." The fractures leave you vulnerable and weak and injured. They don't kill you, but they contribute to an eventual death. Sin works the same way. You might not pay today, the wages might not hit your account instantly, but at some point, consequences always come.

Think about the potential hip fractures in your own life. Seek out and sort out the little things that might hurt you and others down the road. Because in this life, it's the little things that kill.

Jump For Joy

Acts 3:8 

"Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God ."

This is what happens after Peter heals a crippled man. The ex-cripple went “jumping.” I like that. It’s such a childlike, pure reaction to receiving a gift. He doesn’t calmly stretch out his new legs and walk about with hesitation. He jumps. He leaps about, probably in a silly, overjoyed way that drew the stares of the people around him.

I find great conviction for my own life, because I cannot read it without thinking, “Why aren’t I jumping? Why aren’t you jumping?”

I have been healed. I have gained more than my legs, I have gained my soul. The very core of who I am has been healed by the Father. And to be honest, on most days I’m not jumping. I am a cripple that has been healed and is now using her legs to walk around slowly. I may run a little on Sundays and Fridays, but most of the week my legs are just chilling out. I don’t think that’s what Jesus wants.

I think he wants me jumping around and leaping about, on legs that are new, with a heart and soul that is healed. I think he wants us to shout and sing and praise and laugh and cry and be real with the gift he has given us. I think he wants everyone that comes in contact with me to know that something is different, something is new that used to be crippled, that something is true that used to be false. I think he wants everyone that I know to ask questions about why I jump so often, so loudly. And that my life would be praise to his Name.

I Am Judas

There are some great biblical characters I like to identify with and study from time to time.

Jonathan for instance, is a great model of faith and friendship. David, for his failures, yet his heart after God. Joseph, for his endless patience and trust even when his path led through the depths of jail. There is no shortage of heroes in the Bible.

But what about the villains?

Clearly, Satan must be number one villain. Certainly Pharaoh and his enslavement of the Israelites. Baal and the pagan worshipers that prostituted themselves as his cloven feet. There are people that sacrificed their children to different Gods, and our list of enemies in the Bible can grow long. But one that often sticks out is Judas (not Lady Gaga's mate, though).

Luke 22:4-6

And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss. Judas turned Jesus over to his death. Judas sold the Saviour of the world for only 30 pieces of silver. And here in my safe, comfortable little life it's easy to point the finger at Judas, at his depravity. To judge his willingness to sell Jesus for such a small sum.

And it was small, or at least that is what scholars argue. There is debate, but most authors place the value of those 30 pieces of silver at around $15,000. The value doesn't really matter though, because if I'm honest, I've sold Jesus for so much less. And like Judas, I often wait for the opportunity when no crowd is present.

When I choose to watch a movie with dodgy stuff, I am selling Jesus. When I insult someone or get involved in gossip that wounds others, I am selling Jesus. When I lie or exaggerate, I am selling Jesus. When I choose anger instead of forgiveness, worry instead of worship, my own way instead of prayer, I am selling Jesus short.

At the end of the day, I have sold my Saviour for much less than $15,000. I am Judas. I am the one desperate for forgiveness. I am the one tempted. I am the one in need of grace.

Spot The Difference

 1 Samuel 1:12-17

As she kept on praying to the LORD, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." 

"Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief." 

Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." 

Hannah wasn’t doing anything all that odd, especially seeing as she was in the temple of God, and yet, Eli, someone who should have known better, thought she was drunk. Have you ever been praying so fervently that someone thought you were drunk? Have you ever been worshipping in such a way that people stared? Well, why not?

I think on some level, we’re all a little afraid to look weird. We’re all avoiding the fanatic freak tag. But God has called us to more, and maybe we need to be more like Hannah. Maybe we need to be more willing to look different. To sound different. To be different.

If I’m going to follow God, I’m going to be weird and I think that’s okay.

Words

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

We live in a world where words don’t really matter. They don’t have any meaning. Even all the swear words have lost their edge as they’ve quietly seeped into every movie and show. They just don’t matter anymore. They’re just words.

Where does that leave the Bible? Is it just words? Simple words that have been misinterpreted and mistranslated over and over again by flawed humans for thousands of years?

I don’t think so and the reason I don’t is pretty simple. I believe in Jesus and Jesus believed in the Bible.

I love how strongly he makes this point in Matthew 4. When he’s confronted by the devil, when he’s face to face with the prince of darkness, the father of murder and lies and all evil, what does he rely on? The Bible. He quotes the Bible.

It’s really an amazing thing when you think about it. Christ had all of the power of God available. He was gifted with more than we’ll ever really be able to understand. The depth of his power and majesty is unfathomable. And yet, he relied on the same exact thing we have access to. He turned to God’s word. He trusted in something that I often forget about. He called on something that I don’t read nearly enough of. The first place he looked was honestly a place that I often look last.

I don’t know what your relationship with the Bible is. Maybe you read it all the time. Maybe you don’t, but I’ve got a ridiculously easy, new way to look at faith.

If it was good enough for Jesus, it’s more than good enough for me. Read your bible, pray everyday, and you’ll grow more like Jesus.

A Watchman

Ezekiel 33:7-9

"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man to turn from his ways and he does not do so, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved yourself.” 

It’s not just that sharing the truth is important; it’s a matter of life and death. It’s not just someone else’s life at stake either, it’s mine as well. I will be held accountable for the blood spilled. If I have a treasure inside that I do not share, I will be called forward and held accountable. If I see the dark train of death on a track headed to the homes and hearts of the people in my life and I don’t do everything I can to scream out a warning, I will be accountable. If I remain silent, their death becomes mine.

Your words might fail. It might be embarrassing how people feel hurt, shun you and walk away, but that’s not what matters. You are a watchman. You have been given a task. You have been given a message that must be shared. And whether it’s one person or 1000, you must give warning to the people that come into your life.

Inside

1 Chronicles 13:9-10 

When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God. 

When I read 1 Chronicles 13 I realise that I often forget how big and powerful our God is. In that chapter, David is moving the ark of the Lord. One of his men, Uzzah, touches the ark when it starts to slip and God kills him. His hand brushed it and he was struck dead. He came in contact with the living Lord and lost his life.

What was in that box, in that ark, was massive and powerful. It was uncontrollable and deadly and amazing. When Uzzah didn't respect it, he thought he had the power to steady it, and he lost his life. How am I any different?

I have the power of the all mighty God living inside me. Within this temple of a body lives the holy Lord, the Alpha and Omega, majesty personified. And yet, I treat that fact like Uzzah. I treat it casually. I doubt God’s ability to help me or sustain me or protect me. I try and balance out His power, to slow it down and steady it. I act like it's not that important. But it is that important. Important enough to die for.

The other thing these verses showed me was how great a chasm Christ crossed for us. Uzzah died when he touched the ark. But because Christ died for me, the ark dwells within me. It's not that I can now touch it; it's that it touches me. Every second of every day, it invites me in and draws me out, to not just touch, but build my life within that box, within the presence and power of God.

You've got something big inside you too. Don't forget the beauty and power of that.

Not So Mighty Warrior

The thing I like most about Gideon is how poorly equipped he was for the whole adventure of battling the Midianites. When God first comes to recruit him, Gideon was hiding in a winepress threshing wheat because he was afraid of being attacked. If Braveheart started that way you would have thought Mel Gibson was a wuss.

This is the first thing the angel says to the cowering Gideon in Judges 6, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior." Are you kidding me? If an angel found you hiding under your desk from your boss at work, would you deserve the title “mighty warrior?” If an angel found me hiding with my friends because I feel safe and comfortable with them, would it feel right to call me a “mighty warrior?”

No, but the first lesson in this story is that God sees things we don’t. God names our core, not our circumstances. He speaks to who we can become, not who we are in the moment.

Then, as per usual, there is a little complaining, “If the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?” If God is so big, how come this has happened? Why didn’t I get that promotion? Why can’t I find a friend?

And then verse Judges 6:14

The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?”

I love that. God says “Go in the strength you have.” Do you ever feel like there’s some strength you’re waiting on? Some bit of wisdom or power or anointing that’s in the mail and as soon as you get it you’ll go out and do that thing God has been quietly whispering to you? It’s not coming. I promise. It’s not coming because you already have it. Jesus is already in you.

And you have to like the subtle sarcasm in the end of the statement. “Am I not sending you?” You get the sense that God is saying, “What? Are you kidding me? I am God. I mean seriously, this is me sending you. God. Alpha, Omega, Creator of the universe. Come on already. This is me we’re talking about and I said go.”

Some of you have more strength than you know. Some of you are already mighty warriors and today God is simply saying, “Go.”

Outer Mongolia

Matthew 4:19

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus was talking to Simon and Peter when he said that. They were fishermen, therefore that statement made all the sense in the world. But in some interpretations of God, that doesn’t work. Isn’t God supposed to shake our lives up and send us to do far away things in far away places? I mean Andrew and Simon were probably good at fishing, they understood it and maybe even liked it. So why would God ask them to do that? Wouldn't God send them to outer Mongolia?

The truth is that when we turn ourselves over to God, he doesn’t make us into someone else. He makes us into who we have always been, who we were created to be. He amplifies the parts of us that are true, that are of him. He purifies the dreams we’ve always had or the skills we’ve always used. He doesn’t turn poets into mathematicians or scientists into painters. If anything, he gives artists even more colours to create with, and scientists even bigger labs to experiment in.

Come, follow Jesus, and he will make you into you.

Sweet Surrender

Matthew 11:28

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

One of Satan’s most brilliant lies is that if you surrender something to God, you’ll receive something less beautiful in return. If you come to God, he'll take your life away. If you empty your hands, God will place something less amazing in them. You’ll surrender gold and, in return, receive dirt.

This is the lie of chasing your dream: That when you let go of your plans and trust God’s, he will call you into a mission that you will hate. This is the lie of holding on to hurts. That when you let go of your wounds, they’ll be reopened, not healed and redeemed.

Adam and Eve believed this lie when they traded Eden for an apple. Letting go of the things we think are wonderful will force us to receive the mundane, the boring, the safe, from a God who always trades down with us, never up.

The rich young ruler who was afraid to give up his riches believed this when he walked away from Christ disappointed. He had too much good to trade in for so much average from Christ. But it’s a lie.

What father would give us a snake when we asked for a fish?

What father would throw a party when punishment was due?

What father would leave the flock to find the single lost sheep?

When you start to grasp this, a second lie will come and it will tell you, “I shouldn’t come to God just because I’m expecting good things from him.”

He’s no sky ATM, I agree. But the danger of this lie is that it quickly morphs into a joyless experience with God. Did the woman at the well say, “No thank you. I don’t want this living water you speak of. I don’t want to come to you just because I’m expecting good things”? Did the cripple who danced away healed say, “Leave me lame. I don’t want to come to you just because I’m expecting good things”?

No. They came with open hands and expectant hearts. They knew that the gift of his presence, the gift of his grace, would ultimately overwhelm anything and everything they let go of.

Surrender is not a commonly used word, in part because we think it means letting go of something amazing in exchange for something average. But we’re wrong. It’s a lie.

Surrender is not the end of a beautiful life. It is just the beginning.