HYPE

Hype is a strange and powerful force within our culture. Hype has more influence upon our use of entertainment, technology, fashion and world view than we are often aware of. In every area of life there is a measure of hype that has pushed us to where we are. Those businesses and product makers that have the greatest mastery of using hype are the greatest beneficiaries of its fruit. But hype has great influence at any level where it is used to garner attention, therefore creating interest.  When used well it can create more than interest, it can create chaotic and frenzied responses from those who buy into the hype.

Here are some of the various definitions that are found in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for hype: (these are listed in the exact order that they are found in the online version www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hype )

slang: a narcotics addict

increase

stimulate, enliven —usually used with up

put on, deceive

to promote or publicize extravagantly <hyping this fall’s TV lineup>

promotional publicity of an extravagant or contrived kind <all the hype before the boxing match>

Does anyone else find it interesting that the very first definition of this word is connected to addiction? It might even be said that there is the possibility of being addicted to hype. In much of the marketplace that product or artist or movie or TV show that can generate the most hype often becomes a pattern that others emulate until the “next big thing” come along. Then the hype machine fires up and all the standards and patterns will change again. And even if what is being promoted does not live up to that energy and attention that was developed, hype was still successful simply because it garnered all that attention and energy. And as long as we keep falling for it, hype will continue to be a tool of influence upon the general culture.

In the Body of Christ we are often caught up in trying to use hype and create an interest in our churches, our groups or our programs. It either falls short of the intended response or it creates too narrow a focus on the stuff we can offer rather than on the One we seek to make known. It may be time to stop pursuing the methodology of the market place and return to the methodology of the first century church. Rather than creating slick and appealing and stimulating campaigns, we live out our lives in the freedom of submission to Christ. Rather than being known for our cool we would be known as those who would risk it all to honor Him who alone can save. That we would be known as the ones who love, with absolute abandon, our neighbors because we have been saturated with the eternal love of God. That our lives would bear the reality of the cross and resurrection with a conviction so deep that we humble ourselves in the mighty hand of God; where true freedom is found. In other words not a life of hype but a life that is filled with hope, both for this world and the next.

Hype is rooted in this world’s value systems and only feeds our lusts for more stuff and more thrills. Hope is rooted in the eternal love of the perfect God and feeds our deepest desires to be loved and have purpose in our lives.

I submit the words of the Apostle John in closing:

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the craving of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15 – 17 NIV

 

Rules Can’t Rule, but Love Does

It has been quite a while since I posted on this blog. Not because there has been nothing to say, but because all I wanted to say was angry and hurtful and about how people ought to keep the rules of the Kingdom. In other words I was merely wanting to be heard without being accountable for what I would say. Somehow during that season I managed to completely avoid being on here, God has been using this season of silence to remind me the He rules the Kingdom not the rules of men.

I have always tried to walk some imaginary line between the legalities of the faith and the grace of God which seems to have no end. What is funny is that more and more I have been wanting others to follow the rules while I was hoping for grace. The selfishness of such a position escaped me for such a long time. It is becoming clearer how deceptive self can be when self is being served  and self sure wants everyone to keep the rules that self values most. So the clarity that has been coming into my life is that God is God and He can do whatever He wants. And since that is far better than anything I can devise or implement, self and its love of rules is of no use.

“For I know that God is great and that our God is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in the heaven and in the earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.” (Psalm 135:5 – 6)

Everything God does is pleasing to Him. But His love is so perfect and limitless that what pleases Him benefits us. Yes, He instructs and commands us in how to live and what our lives represent; but when we walk in obedience it is our response to His love and our expression of love back to Him. This does not guarantee easy circumstance or that He will explain Himself to us. That is the perk of being God. However, this one thing we can be confident in – He loves us and that love will rule us and guide us far better than rules of conduct created by men to control men. I never kept the rules in school because of some deep love for the principal, I just didn’t what my rear end to have a meeting with the paddle. As I see the love of God towards me, even in my selfish and arrogant posturing I simply want to please Him and walk in the flow of love that he has promised. Being ruled by love is the lifestyle of those who live in the Kingdom and know that they are known by their King.

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and my father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with Him.” (John 14:23)

When that flow of love is our reality, we will not declare to others a set of rules that they must live by. Instead we will make known His goodness and kindness through the lives we live. I want to live in love not rules. And I am not there yet, but He will take me. I know for a fact he will take any who have wearied themselves in the service of self and it rules, give them rest and show them the rule of love.

The Next Christians – a Helpful Book

Gabe Lyons is doing what he calls others to do and that is refreshing. He is living his life as a redemptive reality in a culutral season that is desperate for redemption. This is not a “how to” manual as much as it provokes the reader to think “I can too.” What a breath of fresh air in a room filled with the stale wind of so many saying the same things.

Seldom would anyone say a single chapter of a book is worth buying the whole book but in the case of The Next Christians, it may well be true. Chapter Ten, “Countercultural,**Not ‘Relevant’* may state some of the sagest wisdom any contemporary author has had the courage to state. *”The next Christians are living in the tension of being prophetic with their lives while serving others and inviting then to a better way.”* In much of the present literature that is designed to “help” christians do a better job being christian, there is some kind of copy and paste pattern to follow. Lyons is giving something different to his readers. Live in a real relationship with God, live in real relationships with people and trust the Holy Spirit to flow with life into all things we are part of.

This is a timely and important work and could prove to one of the most prophetic works for the believers that are coming into their purpose and time.

Abide Friends…. Abide.

“Staying connected to the Lord is hard to do.” – The shared thought of so many.

I want to begin by asking you to ponder a question; Does the branch depend on the vine for life or does the vine depend on the branch for life?

Now before you tell me what a stupid question this is, consider the words of Christ from John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”(ESV) Maybe we have switched the roles of branches in vines. Maybe in our self-serving, self-interested, self glorifying approach to everything including faith we have begun to believe that the vine is the product of the branch. Now you don’t have to take my word for it, ask your friendly neighborhood horticulturist to confirm the next sentence. The existence of the vine always precedes the existence of its branches.

The existence, growth, flow of life, and fruit bearing of any branch is absolutely dependent upon the vine. And for a branch to receive anything the vine must provide it. So when Jesus invites/instructs us to abide it is an invitation to absolute dependence. It is an act of humility and submission to abide. it is the declaration, “I am insufficient apart from Christ to live and bear fruit.”, not in words but in action. And that is where the difficulty is most often centered. to declare this complete dependency on Christ is to bring a death-blow to both our pride and the value of other people’s opinions. But there is no life flowing into us from pride or other people’s opinions, only more and more dryness.

So my friends, I say abide in the Vine and he will abide in you. And in the abiding you will receive from Him all that you need. You will know the flow of life into you that simply gives you the necessary nourishment for growth and in due season, bearing fruit. The fruit you bear will be that which brings glory and honor to the Vine, so that the Vines goodness will be seen in the fruit of its branches. And all the branches do… abide. 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in Him, he is it that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5(ESV)

Abide my friends… Abide.

Great Time for Faith

We are at one of the most interesting times in recent history; changes in national power structures around the world, natural disasters, economic instability that seems to have no real end in sight. There is the growing threat of food shortages, the ever present battle for survivial in many third world nations, and the increasing spirit of lawlessness that seems to pervade cultures at every level. If one were to simply examine the circumstances and base their outlook on the evidence, surely it would seem that gloom would be appropriate.

“I look up to the mountains – does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth!” (Psalm 121:1-2 NLT)

We, who know the Lord, know that our hope will not be a source of disappointment. As this season of challenge and uncertainty continues we who have hope will display the goodness of the Lord as lighthouse over a dark sea. We may be questioned, we may be thought crazy, we may even be treated harshly but still we rejoice for our hope is in the Lord and He is our help. When the strain on governemental structures and economic structures cause idols to fall we will walk in the comfort of relationship with a Father that knows what we need and I convinced that He will not only supply our need but allow us the grace of supplying others so that His goodness would invite others into the fellowship of the redeemed. This is not a time to shrink back and hunker down waiting for the end to come – let us stand in the courage and hope of Christ.

It is a great time for faith. Not faith for a rolex or a jet or a new mansion, those days are passing quickly; if not already gone. It is a great time for faith that is invested fully in a Christ who has oversome the world and bought for Himself a kingdom of priests that make His praise glorious in the earth. We who live in this day are here to make known this great love which redeems. We have something to declare because we are redeemed and through us His grace is displayed so that others can see His goodness. For it is His goodness that brings people to repentance. As this pressure mounts the simple testimony of our peace will be a strong witness. What a glorious time to stay the course and not shrink back.

But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of  your life. And if someone asks about your  hope, always be ready to to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:14 – 15 NLT)

 This is a time for us to be ready and available to the ones who will come asking. This is a great time for faith!!!!!

It is Not Over

“The shaking is not over. It is only just beginning. I am bringing to My people the clear demonstration that what I spoke about the increase of earthquakes, the increase in wars and the increase in lawlessness is not to be ignored but to be received as a sign. When will My people wake up and respond to Me? When will their hearts be filled with compassion for their brothers and sisters? When will they stop serving themselves the choicest fare and the finest meats so that they can give richly to those I have aligned Myself with? How long will they see themselves as the standard of My goodness and hinder those about them from entering into that same relationship?

“I am done with those who claim to speak for Me and yet only line their pockets and give words  from a deceptive spirit. Many who have been called prophets have only been interested in profit. And those who hear the Word of the Lord and share it with humility are being disregarded for speaking truth that does not satisfy itching ears. I am raising up trustworthy watchmen and My people seek out well-trained showmen. Before 2011 is over many who have been given high regard will be no more. And My people will again know that it is the humble and contrite who tremble at My word that I give attention to. It is those who love Me and humble themselves before Me that I see as being able to be trusted with the truth, it is these who when received as Mine will be of great benefit to My people and will speak that which brings life to those who walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

“Do not look upon New Zealand, Japan, Haiti,Libya, Iran, Darfur, Sudan, or the hundreds of other laces in the earth with relief that it has not come upon America. You are not overlooked, your sin is not being hidden; the idols of materialism and comfort are going to fall completely away and their lies of security will be exposed by your tears. And this will no come first to the nation, My people will be the first to face this. Before I can rightly judge a nation I must first confront and purify My people. There will be judgement upon my people in this nation for choosing the gain of wealth and the influence of position title over doing what is right in My eyes. And in the midst of that will be seen those who have been humbly serving their fellow believers, trusting in Me and obeying My word. Many will ask, ‘why do they not suffer as we do?’  and I will say to them, ‘you served yourself in My Name and did not regard Me as holy or worthy of obedience, I was seen as a way to gain, these have seen Me as their Lord and served Me.’ These humble, overlooked, unseen have been seen by Me and will stand as a testimony against those who took My name but ignored My ways.

“Do not expect relief to come through the government, the economy, or the most intelligent of people. The days ahead are going to place so heavy a demand on them that there will be no ability to respond. They will be driven to a standstill by the weight of it all. It is in this moment that those who love Me and long for My return will be heard proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom in the face of great pressure and turmoil. It will be the moment many have been prepared for in hidden places, being rooted and grounded in love, being taught of My Spirit and suffering the indignities of rejection while being misunderstood but oh how precious and necessary they will be in the coming days. And they will not bear a message for their own gain, their own profit, they will bear a message that is proclaimed for salvation of men and for My glory.  And to those who hear it will be healing or it will judgement, but those who proclaim will find it to be their great joy to declare My name to this Nation and the nations.”

God’s Grace is Needed

I love those moments when something becomes clear or makes sense for the first time or the 27th. It is like a little miracle or winning some kind of personal lottery. For lack of a better explanation it just feels like a nice gift received with complete surprise and wonder. Today, I got to have one of those moments and in that moment I was encouraged and corrected by the One who loves me enough to set me aright when I tend to get muddled up in the mire.

What a wonder the Lord has done in His creation! And that over that creation He has given man charge to care for, use and in doing so bring praise to God. Nothing is done or designed by God outside His perfect and beautiful purpose. So our dominion in the earth is for His honor, our living is for His praise to increase in the earth.

There is a wonder that should capture my heart and my imagination when I consider what the Lord has designed us for. But often I dull – too mentally/emotionally disheveled – to be aware of it. Yet as I read Psalm 8 I am deeply struck by the investment of grace made by the father. For He has done what I could not fathom in a thousand lifetimes and then drops humans right in the middle of it saying, “it is yours to tend.”

All the more I am reminded of my need for His grace and His wisdom. Apart from that provision how does one engage with the role of tending and being a benefit on behalf of that which was not one’s own doing? Since we did not make it, we must look to the One who did and trust His lead in all we do. And what is most amazing is that of all He has created we are that which He is most fond of and therefore has made us so that we interact with Him as no other part of creation – relationally. O the wondrous goodness of God.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers – the moon and stars you set in place – what are mere mortals that You should think about them, humans beings that You should care for them?”(Psalm 8:3 – 4)