Selling Out

Continuing in Matthew 13, Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great value. In both cases the man sells out completely. He cashes out his savings, empties the bank account, the 401K, liquidates his stocks, his baseball card collection, sells the fishing boat on eBay and has a garage sale to scrape together the cash he needs for a single purchase.

How irrational can someone be? Every prudent financial planner would say the man should diversify, spread his money around, don't put all his eggs in one basket.

But those people have never seen THIS pearl. They do not know the value of THIS field. To this man they are worth everything. He doesn't think about what he will miss or future security. He has found what he has sought after his whole life. Somehow he knows the value of the treasure in the field or the pearl will be enough to sustain him.

This is another radical call of Christ. Abandon conventional wisdom and what is prudent. Sell out for His kingdom. Far greater than a field or a pearl Jesus promises us that if we seek His kingdom all the stuff we valued and depended upon before, would be provided, daily.

We lay down our life and pick-up a cross. We follow Him. We seek the welfare of others. We give rather than receive. We lead by serving. The economy of this kingdom operates on far different principles than the kingdoms of this world. I want to live in this kingdom, how about you?

Memo to Weed Pullers

In every generation there are those who feel they have a special calling to root out heresy and expose weak doctrine. These people have it so together they speak for God on every issue and interpret correctly all of scripture.

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives His church instructions in how to handle these issues, do nothing. He makes the point that if we try to pull out the weeds we will inadvertently pull out the wheat as well. He explains to His disciples that at the end of the age His harvesters, the angels will, "weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil."

I don't expect everyone I pastor to believe exactly what I believe or see me as the final authority on every issue. This is just insecurity and arrogance on the the part of leaders who have to have the final word and exercise control over the people they lead.

The Apostle Paul encouraged us to be on guard and watch over the flock as leaders. He told Timothy to make sure his doctrine was sound. Sound doctrine like a boat that is sound will float. It may not be perfect, but it will float.

Too many churches are being built just around beliefs. The New Testament had very little doctrine but they had walked with Christ and walked with one another and the Holy Spirit seemed to orchestrate everything. Thats the model I want to follow.

Lets quit over-examining each other's doctrines and purpose to take Christ's message to a hurting world that needs the doctrines we all agree on, Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

Coming back from captivity

Reading Psalm 126 this morning I meditated on the experience of the Israelites when they were delivered from seventy years of captivity in Babylon. The psalmist is almost beside himself exclaiming their restored joy and freedom because of the goodness of God.

I thought of how I had been captive at times in my life. Dark areas and times that turned me away from God or more recently little things that captivated my time and distracted me from God.

Freedom from captivity meant the same to the Israelites 2,500 years ago as to us in 2008:

• The ability to dream again
• find joyful in worship
• see God at work in our lives
• recognize His blessings

To be free from captivity involves something on our part. The latter verses describes, "sowing in tears" and "going out weeping". This posture of brokenness and hungering for God's presence in every area of our lives. There is also a picture here of serving and giving, "carrying seed to sow". In ministering to others we are doing the work of God.

Three qualities here I want continually in my life: worship, humility, and a servants heart.

Leadership vs. Discipleship

I have been pondering the difference between leadership and discipleship. Leadership has become the in vogue thing for Christians. "Everyone is a leader", "all have a call to lead", these mantras are quoted over and over in Christian books and seminars.
Whatever happened to discipleship. I think it is unpopular because it is based on humility rather than being in-charge. It doesn't have that carrot dangling in front of someone who is looking for power. Disciples don't get to bark order, they are looking to follow.
These principles seem to get lost in leadership training. Of course we mention in passing the need to serve but it seems more of an afterthought than a primary qualification to lead.
When Jesus called His first disciples it began of journey of laying down their lives, their aspirations, their need to lead. As John and Jame's mother lobbied for them a cabinet position in Jesus new administration and Peter assumed the role of number two, Jesus was on His knees washing their feet, carrying their dirt, below them, serving.
I am grateful God has chosen me to lead, Life Church and my family. I am only successful in leading as long as I remember I am first a disciple and here to serve God first, them second, and me last.
I want to be a disciple and make disciples, I'll let God pick the leaders.

Future Me

I love a new website I have found at www.futureme.org. The whole purpose of this website is to create emails that will be mailed back to yourself in the future.
Being the end of a year this may be a good time to set those goals and then list them on an email to send to yourself. No one knows you better than you, and you may be the best coach to encourage or challenge yourself to stay on course with those goals.
Anyway, check it out and see what you think.

Drive-by Majesty

One of the greatest places to live is Colorado. Lori and I lived there for four years and never got tired of seeing the mountains. I remember on a day-off going up to Rocky Mountain National Park and spending the afternoon just staring at the 14,000 ft. Long's Peak. Sitting there in that field gave me a new understanding of the word majesty.

A few years later, living back in the flatlands of the Midwest, we had the opportunity to take family vacation to California. We traveled up the coast from LA to San Francisco and over to Yosemite National Park. I was so looking forward to experience that view of the mountains I now missed. On the the day we went to the park we were accompanied by several thousand other people seeking solitude and a chance to get away from the noise, and traffic and crowds. There we all were, thousands of people and cars snaking their way through the park in one long traffic jam. Every now and then you would stop momentarily to take a quick glance through the exhaust fumes and see part of a mountain. It just wasn't the same.

Majesty is not something you comprehend quickly. You have to take time to take in the view, realize your own size and mortality by comparison to something as ageless as a mountain.

I think it is the same way with God. We cannot just skim the scriptures, drive-through a worship service, or go on autopilot in our prayer time and expect to comprehend the majesty of God.

We have to slow down, sit in God's presence, gaze into the picture of Him in His Word, and meditate on who we are in comparison to the awesome, ageless, majestic God who always delights in revealing more of himself to us.

Jack Hayford wrote these lyrics to the classic song, "Majesty".

Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Unto Jesus, be all glory, honor and praise!
Majesty, kingdom authority, flows from His throne,
Unto His own, His anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus the King.
Majesty, worship His Majesty,
Jesus who died, now glorified,
King of all kings.

I bet Pastor Jack was staring at a mountain.

Serving Up Chicken Soup

I am a chicken when it comes to approaching people I don't know and confront them about spiritual issues. I am not an evangelist. I am like the guy who related working with people to basketball. He said, "I was great playing zone but terrible one-on-one". In other words, it is easier to address a crowd than individuals.
There is within me though a desire to see people meet Jesus for who He really is. Not the religious Jesus many have been presented, but the Jesus I have come to know as my Lord and friend.
In Colossians 4, Paul presents a simple instructions that help me.
First he calls us to pray. Prayer not only changes the world, it changes me. While praying for others I gain insights into God's love for people. My prayer also prepares people for Divine encounters that I believe God sets me up for when I pray.
Now the soup part...
Paul goes on to instruct us in handling these Divine encounters. The essence of our conversations are "full of grace and seasoned with salt" (Col. 4:6).
I was struck as I read this verse a picture of someone making soup.
Soup with no salt is tasteless. Soup with too much salt is bitter and inedible. Good soup is about 99.9% soup and .01% salt.
So it is when I speak to others. If I am full of God's love and grace through my connection with Him in prayer, then this will be the basis of the conversation. That takes the pressure off. I don't have to preach I just have to let God love people through me.
Should the opportunity arise to talk to them about spiritual issues then I can season the conversation with God's truth.
My prayer is that God can take this chicken and make soup to serve to hungry people which is salted properly to each person's need.
Blessings...

Thanks and giving

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving,

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, Luke 24:30-31

The scene is just after Jesus’ death and resurrection. He walks along the road to Emmaus with two disciples who are distraught and discussing these events. Jesus, traveling incognito, comes alongside them and joins their conversation and gives them insight from scripture as to the purpose of His sacrifice. Still they do not recognize Him is their teacher and rabbi they have followed for the last few years. It is only when Jesus takes the bread and gives thanks over His meal they suddenly realize this is Jesus.

What was it about that prayer of thanks? Maybe it was the posture of humility and true thanksgiving that acknowledged God as the one true provider of everything good. It could have been the intimacy with which Jesus spoke to His Father. One thing is for certain, this was no obligatory, little token speech like prayer for just the people around the table. It was a prayer of faith and confidence in a loving God who is good and provides good things to all who will trust in Him.

Today, as we take time to pray, whether over a meal or just a personal conversation with God, let’s start with humbly acknowledging the incredible blessings of freedom, provision, family, a spiritual family at Life Church, and the anticipation of God’s continued mercy and grace and provision in the coming year.

We see Jesus praying over a meal on another occasion. A large crowd of thousands had gathered to hear Him teach and they did not have any food. Jesus takes a very small donation of one meal and offers a prayer of thanksgiving. After He prays God honors this gift and a prayer of thanks and multiplies it to bless thousands. In the same way God honors our small acts of love and giving, and when we do them with a posture of humility and a grateful heart, He can multiply it to bless multitudes.

I appreciate talking to so many of you who are inviting others to share your meal, or serving homeless neighbors, or delivering meals in the community today. To quote Mother Teresa, “it is these small acts of kindness, done with great love, that will change the world.”

Lori and I are thankful for everyone whom God has placed in the spiritual family of Life Church. Our prayer is filled with thanksgiving for you and anticipation of God’s blessing on your home in the coming year. We look forward to joining together for worship with you this Sunday.

With thankful hearts,

Tony & Lori Portell
Life Church

Getting Low to See Higher

I have been studying Matthew this week. I am focusing on Jesus interaction with people, especially the poor. I have also been reading Shane Claiborne's book "The Irresistible Revolution" and it has challenged me to rethink many things in my life and the ministry I lead.

Before I can get to Jesus interaction with people I have been taking a fresh look at the Sermon on the Mount. Whether this was one teaching in one setting or a collection of Jesus teachings arranged together by Matthew doesn't really matter to me.

What I have been challenged by is the Beatitudes. The amazing portrait of a blessed man is so foreign to the way we think today. I know it is to me. There are some people who are just naturally caring and nice and considerate. I know I married one. Most of my life I have succeeded by being strong-willed, hard working, creative, and driven. These are qualities to be admired in today's society. To me they are something I am trying to live away from. In fact, I have a few close friends that help me monitor these unwanted qualities.

I am challenged by this picture Jesus paints of humility, a hunger and thirst for God, to be merciful, pure, a peacemaker, and willing to reflect these attitudes to the point of being persecuted.

By comparison I find myself prideful, arrogant, selfish, uncaring, insensitive, independent, dull toward God, and judgemental.

I am encouraged by the fact God knows this and still loves me, and draws me into His presence. The more I gaze at Him through worship and His Word the more I reflect His image. We really do have this treasure in clay vessels as the Apostle Paul relates in his letter to the Corinthians.

Instead of spending my life trying to polish up this vessel to impress others I desire to be broken that the people may see the treasure that is on the inside. As Paul said, "that they would glorify the Christ in me."

Good Eyes and Bad

Jesus calls the eye the"lamp of the body" in the Beatitudes recorded in Matthew 6. He states, "if the eyes are good the whole body will be full of light." I have been meditating on two applications of this verse. The first of course is my personal life. What I focus on will affect my entire being.

Jesus completes this thought in Matt. 6:23 by saying, "if the eyes are bad the whole body will be full of darkness."

Job 31 describes Job's covenant with his eyes. He made a covenant before God not to let his eyes look at a woman in lust. I think of how many areas this covers today from books, magazines, TV, movies, and the internet. It is also a call to purposefully keep my focus on Christ. As David said in Psalm 141, "my eyes are fixed on you."

Another area of application for church leaders has to do with our vision and how we are leading people. What are putting before them? What are feeding the people in our churches?

If we are casting a compelling vision that is in-line with God's purpose then the whole body will be full of light.

Is the reason many churches are in decline attributed to a lack of vision and focus from the leadership. Where are we leading people? What am I modeling?

The apostle Paul said that we become what we gaze at. As a leader, if my gaze is fixed on Christ then I will reflect this to the people I lead at Life Church.
This makes me ask some introspective questions like:

• Why do I want our church to grow? For my glory or God's?
• Is my desire to build my reputation or to be of no reputation like Christ?
• On the other hand, am I getting too comfortable with a few hundred people?

These are questions that keep me centered.

I want to see the world through God's eyes. When I do I think I will clearly see the same thing Jesus challenged His disciples to see in John 4, "Open your eyes and look at the fields that are ready for harvest." God's vision always involves people.

Without a passionate personal vision we can deceive ourselves in to thinking the latest church growth strategy or marketing campaign will grow a church. True, it may a grow a church but it will never make disciples. John warns of this is Revelation 3:17-21.

Our vision is never neutral, and typically gravitates toward comfort and personal gratification rather than on the face of God.

My prayer is that my eyes would be fixed upon Christ and this will guide me as I seek God in leading His church.

Prayer works

Last night we enjoyed a Night of Worship at Life Church. Its a monthly gathering of about 50-70 people who enjoy coming together for an extended time in God's presence.
I wanted to impress on everyone the idea that prayer gatherings do not have to be laborious with never ending lists of prayer and that worn out feeling at the end that you did your duty and you hoped something "stuck".

I suggested that our time be focused on worshipping God and as He impressed upon us things that were on His heart we would pray these out.

After a time of worship I sensed that we should pray for the people of Jamaica as Hurricane Dean was approaching the island of 3.5 million people. I had visited Jamaica and spent sometime there helping to establish a Bible School with Christ to the World.
I had not planned on praying for anything except our local body and for the needs of those in the group that night.

We prayed for Hurricane Dean to be redirected away from Jamaica and for no life to be lost.
Today it was wonderful to get up and see the reports that the storm took a turn and missed Jamaica leaving little damage and no loss of life reported.

God answered our prayer as it was mingled with the prayers of others who heard His call that night.

The question may arise, "if God did that why don't we just pray that He does away with every storm, and terrorist plot, sickness, and all poverty?" That would be amazing but it is not our call. We are directed to hear from God and pray those things He puts in our heart to bring back to Him.

I believe one of the reasons God answered our prayer was that we laid down our agenda and instead took up His cause.

Let's pray BIG prayers! Lets worship God and trust that He will guide even our prayers back to Him so that He can release His will in the earth.