One-on-One with Magic

Years ago I watched a sport-channel special on Magic Johnson. A neighborhood kid, probably about 13, came by Magic’s house and challenged him to play a little one-on-one. Magic agreed.

But it wasn’t exactly a Hallmark moment. Magic didn’t play blindfolded, or with both arms tied behind his back. He didn’t give the kid a break at all. He played him straight up, and it went like you’d imagine. Like an NBA superstar effortlessly smoking a seventh grader from the neighborhood.

Do you ever think what it was like when Jesus’ enemies tried to take Him down on points of the Law? Or when they tried to embarrass Him publicly? It was like Magic playing a toddler. Like Roger Federer serving against a scarecrow.  

What if I Had Never Been Born?

Everybody knows, and most people love, the 1946 Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a young family man who owns a Building and Loan Company in his small town of Bedford Falls. Bailey is an admirable guy, but circumstances in his life begin to implode. He reaches a point of despair and cries out that he wishes he had never been born.

The movie shows exactly what life would have been like without him. The ripple effects of his life, no longer touching so many others for good, are played out in stark detail. At the end of the film George prays to have his life back because he now knows it is a wonderful life.

So the movie asks and answers the question, what if I had never been born?

The other day in prayer I thought of George Bailey and started meditating on a slight variation of that question: what if I had never been born again?

Reading to His Glory

I've mentioned previously that Dionne and I are reading John Frame’s massive Systematic Theology. (Did the Raindrop Fall From His Hand?) We discovered early in our marriage that we like reading aloud to one another. When we were newlyweds we read the Narnia Chronicles for the first time and then Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. This was all back in the dark ages, before we had kids.

Then when our boys were little, we read to them, and now, when we get the chance, we read to grandkids. But we had lost touch with the companionable practice of reading to one another.

Because He Was There

Sometimes you forget who your Savior is, or at least I do. I guess it’s a little like having a friend who just happens to be the President or the King. You’re used to being around him, having access to him, and you don’t always remember he’s also the most powerful person in the world.

I remember seeing President George W. Bush’s daughter Jenna on a talk show while her dad was still in office. The talk show host said something like, “So you could just call him up right now?” And the daughter took out her cell phone, punched a number, and started talking to the President of the United States. Pretty amazing.

What Do You Value Most? Losing Temporal Trash to Gain Eternal Treasure

My friend was dying of cancer and so we talked about what mattered most to us. He had always wanted to own a Bentley, he told me. But now, facing eternity, his values had shifted. Even a Bentley won’t last forever, and there are no garages on the other side.

What do you value most?

Jesus told a little parable about a merchant who found a pearl of such exquisite worth that he was willing to liquidate all his assets to raise the money to try to buy it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13:44-46).

                       

What is your “pearl of great price”?

Thirty years after Jesus told that parable, the Apostle Paul spoke of how his own values had shifted. At one time his treasures were all about his heritage and his accomplishments.

But like my friend, his values underwent a radical change. As he sat in chains in Rome, regarded as an enemy of the state, he had good reason to believe he might be executed. And so he told his friends back in Philippi what his value system had become.

Paul's life had been like a financial ledger, and over the years he had been posting all the treasures he thought would get him closer to God in the “gains” column.

These included his pride in being Jewish, from the tribe of Benjamin, and being a native Hebrew speaker. And he rejoiced in his life’s accomplishments: being a Pharisee, the “special forces” of the religious community. His compliance with the external rules of the law was another source of pride. His “gains” column was full of his own works, and they were what gave him meaning and hope and self-importance.

But by the time he wrote from prison, he had moved all his treasures, so carefully collected and hoarded over the years, from the “gains” column to the “losses” column. And he made this stunning re-assessment of his life and values:

He Can Save Anybody: What I Love About Jesus (Part Four of Four)

“I’m going to see if she’s conscious tomorrow. Then I’ll return to the ICU and tell her about Jesus.”

Yesterday my friend Mark told me about the young woman who had been rushed to the E.R., self-destructive and hopeless. And it reminded me of what I love about Jesus. It’s what He, and only He, can do, and what He does and has done over and over for thousands of years – save people from sin-dominated, hell-bound, despairing misery.

If you’re out of hope, sick of living, if you've tried everything and failed every time, Jesus can save you.

He is mighty to save. His blood is so precious and so valuable and His life is so infinitely worthy that He can save the worst sinner, the most hopeless mess of a human being. Jesus can and does, regularly. When He died on the cross, His perfect obedience and infinitely precious life paid the penalty for all God's chosen ones. And when He rose from the dead, He won the victory for all of us who believe in Him.

This truth comes back to me over and over whenever I hear someone’s story of grace and faith and forgiveness. This past week the elder board of our church met for a prayer and planning retreat. During our evening session the seven of us each shared his “testimony” – how we heard and believed the gospel, and how Jesus saved us.

Mysterious Stranger: Christ's True Identity (What I Love About Jesus - Part Three of Four)

In the first book of J. R. R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings, you meet Strider, a dark, grim, hooded man who is identified as a “ranger.” You can’t tell whether he is good or bad, but he is definitely an intriguing and dangerous character. By the end of the last book, you know he is Aragorn II, heir to the throne, and you get to see him crowned the king.

First impressions don’t always pan out. What will the person you admire from a distance be like when you get closer? Two scenarios are possible.

The first is that “familiarity breeds contempt.” The closer you get, the more you discover things that shatter your initial attraction. The handsome and confident suitor turns out to be an unemployed narcissist with a history of denigrating women. Or you discover that the witty, engaging professor is actually very shallow, relies on old research, and hasn’t had an original thought in decades.

The second scenario is much happier, and very rare. You find the person you admire is far nobler and more praiseworthy the closer you get. The handsome and confident suitor turns out to be the crown prince of a small country who rules with wisdom and kindness. The professor is working on a new book and invites you to be her research assistant.

Okay, you get the point. With Jesus, it is the second scenario, but much more.

The Heart of the Master: What I Love About Jesus (Part Two of Four)

They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." John 12:21, NIV

If you accept, as I do, that the Bible presents a true record of Jesus, then you have not only a testament to His teaching but a portrait of His nature. I came to love Christ because of His words, but if you spend any time reading His words, you discover His character.

Many people have noble qualities when they’re operating at their best, under optimum conditions. But none of us could stand up to the scrutiny the Scriptures give Jesus. We are allowed to witness His temptations, when He was all alone except for Satan. We see how He responds under stress, when people interrupt Him or try to bully Him or twist His words or attempt to make Him back down.

We watch how He treats little children, an immoral woman, desperately ill outcasts, frantic parents, and a conflicted religious leader. We see His heart at His loneliest moments when His closest friends were either asleep or in the very act of betraying Him.

What you have is a consistent portrayal of the finest Man who will ever live. He is a Man of perfect integrity – integrated and whole. Even though He is both God and Man, He is undivided within Himself, balanced and harmonious.

All of us know that stress, pain, change, and fear bring our worst faults to the surface. All these assault Jesus, and worse, but nothing immature or ungodly emerges. He has no rough edges. He never needs to go back and ask for forgiveness because He acted rashly or unkindly or thoughtlessly under pressure.

Here are just a few of the perfections that are obvious as we follow Jesus in the Gospels: assertiveness, bravery, compassion, decisiveness, endurance, friendliness, generosity, honesty, innocence, joy, kindness, love, mercy, obedience, patience, responsibility, selflessness, trustworthiness, understanding, vigilance, wisdom, zeal. And a whole lot more.

This love of Christ is exceedingly sweet and satisfying; it is better than life because it is the love of a person of such dignity and excellency (Jonathan Edwards, Altogether Lovely, p. 100).

What I Love About Jesus: "You Have the Words of Eternal Life" (Part One of Four)

A while back I wrote Why I Love Being a Christian, and I ended with “the main reason I love being a Christian is Jesus.”

So this is my attempt at a follow-up on what I love about Jesus. To be honest, writing this feels a little presumptuous. Christ is infinitely deserving of love, worship, and obedience regardless of what I might say about Him. But since the purpose of my blog is to “admire Christ,” I record these thoughts while admitting that they aren't even close to doing Him justice.

I love Christ for many reasons, and among them are: His words; His character; His identity; and His impact. I’ll take one of these at a time for the next few posts.

I first came to love Christ because of His words.

When I became a Christian at age 15, all I knew about Christianity was that I was miserable, lonely, and lost, and that Jesus had come to die for my sins. I knew that by trusting Him, God would forgive me and give me a new life. That was my starting point as a Christian. The next steps in my journey came from reading Jesus’ words.

Walking Among the Giants

I’ve been re-reading Altogether Lovely, a book of sermons by Jonathan Edwards. Edwards, who lived in Colonial America, was perhaps the greatest theological mind since Augustine. But beyond a brilliant intellect, he had a warm heart toward Christ. R.C. Sproul, who compiled the book, said “Edwards’ pursuit of the knowledge of God was never an end in itself. It always served a higher purpose: to move the soul to adoration and the heart to obedient faith.”

Jonathan Edwards’ sermons are a challenge; they are long and thought-provoking. They wouldn’t find a place in most pulpits today, where humor, bullet points, video clips, and “four steps to success” are the order of the day.

The message I’m reading now is called “The Excellency of Christ.” Here’s a quote: His wonderful and miraculous works plainly showed Him to be the God of nature in that it appeared by them that He had all nature in His hands, and could lay an arrest upon it, and stop and change its course as He pleased. In healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, and healing the lame, He showed that He was the God who framed the eye, created the ear, and was the author of the frame of man’s body. By the dead’s rising at His command, it appeared that He was the author and fountain of life, and that He was God the Lord, to whom belong the issues from death. By His walking on the sea in a storm, when the waves were raised, He showed Himself to be that God spoken of in Job 9:8 that treadeth “on the waves of the sea.” By his stilling the storm and calming the rage of the sea by His powerful command, saying, “Peace, be still,” He showed that He has the command of the universe, and that He is that God who brings things to pass by the word of His power; who speaks and it is done; who commands and it stands fast (pp. 32-33).

I remember the first time my family and I camped in the redwoods. We parked at the ranger station, paid for a campsite, and then wandered through a little museum. We saw a diorama of tiny plastic redwood trees and watched a slide show about the history of the park. It was interesting.

But the real wonder came when we left the museum and set up camp in a grove of old growth redwoods. And then we started hiking trails that wound through 200-foot giants, sunlight streaming through a forest sprouting huckleberry bushes, azaleas, manzanita, and madrone, a primordial woodland carpeted with redwood sorrel, ferns and wild orchids.

How sad if we had thought the redwood forest was all about the museum, with its miniature forest, cheesy slideshow, and stuffed bobcat.

Edwards gets me out of the museum and causes me to look up, into the trees. I wonder how many Christians know only the Jesus of the museum. Because just beyond the parking lot is another world full of breathtaking beauty. But you may have to hike.

Where is Pikes Peak?

My wife grew up in Colorado Springs, and the stately presence of Pikes Peak to the west helped her to orient herself in the city and to keep her directions straight. If you want to know where you are and where you’re going, just find Pikes Peak.

Sometimes life can be a confusing blur of pressures and opportunities, a swirl of daily routines and appointments, a collage of images and events and people. What am I doing here, and where am I going?

The other night I felt that vague sense of disorientation that comes from fatigue and stress. Not a crisis, but a sure sign that I needed to look again to the mountain.

I wrote in my journal: “What I know for sure.” Then I turned to Colossians 1, and starting at v. 13, I listed the following. Not particularly insightful, I admit, but a good reminder of who I am, where I'm going, and who I serve.

1. Jesus has a kingdom – 1:13.
2. He is beloved to the Father – 1:13.
3. He is the Son – 1:13.
4. In Him is redemption – 1:14.
5. In Him is forgiveness of sins – 1:14.
6. He is the image of the invincible God – 1:15
7. He is the firstborn of all creation – 1:15.
8. He is the agent of creation – 1:16.
9. He is the goal of all creation – 1:16.
10. He is eternal – 1:17.
11. He holds all things together – 1:17.
12. He is the head of the church – 1:18.
13. He is the beginning – 1:18
14. He is the firstborn from the dead – 1:18.
15. He deserves first place in everything – 1:18.
16. He is fully God – 1:19.
17. He reconciled all things to Himself – 1:20.
18. He makes peace by His blood – 1:20.
19. He reconciles sinners – 1:22.
20. He plans to perfect us and get us safely home – 1:22.
21. He is worthy suffering for – 1:24.
22. He is the great mystery revealed 1:27.
23. He is the subject of our preaching – 1:28.

We all need to look again at Christ. Though I believe the whole Bible is about Him, certain passages provide an immediate, rich, and detailed focus. I continually return to Isaiah 53, John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1. They're even better than gazing at a mountain.

Stop Me if You've Heard This One Before

I was talking with my wife about a popular Christian author, and she commented that his last several books have been recycled from earlier ones. I heard another writer, a favorite of mine, joke that all his many books are about the same basic truth.

In music you might call this a “one-hit wonder”  - somebody who made a career singing variations of one great song.

I know there are a few wonderfully imaginative, endlessly brilliant people out there whose creativity bubbles up like a fountain all their lives. They seem always to be able to share new ideas, different plots and characters, diverse themes and insights. But most of us aren’t that creative. We may have one or two good ideas in our whole life, and so if you’re a teacher or writer or composer (or blogger), you might eventually sound like a broken record.

 

We’ve all had friends or loved ones who launch into the same story over and over again. "Stop me if you've heard this one before," they might say. Sometimes we listen politely and laugh in the right spots. Or we may get impatient and interrupt: "Yeah, Grandpa, you already told that one…”

Maybe I am approaching the broken record stage in my own life. Maybe I’ve run out of ideas. But I think it makes all the difference what story you keep telling.

When the Lord takes me home, and I’m no longer writing or telling stories, I would be pleased if what people remembered is that the story I kept telling, the song I kept singing, was how wonderful my Savior is. Actually, I don't mind at all if they've heard it before. I intend to kept telling it.

I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.

O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

What the Mountain Says

The single most beautiful sight I have ever seen in the natural world was a view of the Himalayas as I flew out of Kathmandu a little over ten years ago.

I have always loved mountains and the capital city of Nepal lies in a valley bordered on the north by the greatest mountain range on the planet. The Himalayas include over a hundred peaks exceeding 23,600 feet in height. 

I came to Kathmandu to help train Nepali pastors in church planting. It was thrilling and humbling to have a small part in equipping these godly leaders. The mountain vista came at the very end, an unexpected treasure, as we flew out of the city en route to India.

We left the city in the middle of the morning, and because our flight was almost empty, I had perfect views from either side of the aircraft. I soon found myself awestruck as the plane rose above the city.

Kathmandu lies in a valley of about 4600 feet in elevation. As the aircraft slowly climbed, I could see terraced farmland beyond the city, and then rolling hills, rising higher and higher, crisscrossed with narrow footpaths. Those high green steppes alone, so serene and inviting, would have stayed in my memory. But there was more.

The hills, high enough to be called mountains in many parts of the world, kept pointing further upward. And suddenly, appearing in the thinning air with almost symphonic crescendo, the Himalayas shouldered themselves above the clouds. Towering twice as high as my beloved Rockies, they were jagged and blue, ribbed with permanent snow, majestic and beautiful and terrible. I could not tear my eyes away.

Many people, plenty who are not Christians, are stirred by the mountains. They seem indomitable, timeless, unyielding, even holy. And at the same time mountains offer shelter and protection. Run to the mountains.

But let's be clear: there is no generic Higher Power at work, no unknown God of the mountains. It's Jesus Christ. He's the Mountain Maker, and it's His glory we feel. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17

The same One who nursed at Mary's breast, who wept at Lazarus' tomb, sculpted the Himalayas. And one day when they are ground to dust and remade in a new earth, Jesus will do that, too.

As I've been trying to write about Him, the Mountain Maker, I kept hearing in my head part of the Hillsong chorus: Savior, He can move the mountains, My God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save.

He is indomitable, timeless, unyielding, and holy. And He is our only shelter and protection. Run to Him.

Why I Love Being a Christian

I just watched part of Tim Keller’s DVD series, The Reason for God, based on his book. He sat down with six people who have objections to the Christian faith, to dialogue with them. The session was unscripted, insightful and fascinating.

The best moment for me was when one of the skeptics asked Dr. Keller if he was open to the possibility he might be wrong about Christianity. He responded that he has two basic reasons for his faith: rational and existential. He said that though he was confident in the rational arguments, it was possible they might be shaken. But for him the existential reasons– his experiences of the presence and power of God over the years since he has been a Christian – were unassailable.

Our experiences need to be rooted in the truth of Scripture. But Keller is right – obeying the gospel truth leads us into life experiences that are powerful and unassailably wonderful. To tell an unbeliever about these is like trying to describe a sunset to someone born without sight.

Still, Dr. Keller’s video made me want to write down some of the “experiences” that make me love being a Christian. This post is longer than I prefer, even though I tried for just the highlights. There’s so much I love about being a Christian!

• Experiences of forgiveness and cleansing. I have come to know what the Scriptures say: Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered (Psalm 32:1). Can there be anything more wonderful than knowing your sins – past, present, and future – have been forgiven by Almighty God!

I Wouldn't Trade

The other night my son and I saw a science fiction movie starring one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. We went to a late showing, and I noticed that most of the theater audience were young men 

 

It was really a good movie, filled with mind-boggling special effects, stunning vistas of a future earth, and whiplash plot twists. But without question what made the film work was the star's heroism, athleticism, and believability.

Most of the young men in the audience would probably love to trade places with this guy. He is handsome, poised, does most of his own stunts, and has more money than the king of a small country. In his movies he is loved by gorgeous women, and in his real life he seems to be surrounded with stunning young females. I suppose it’s no wonder that many men think they would prefer his life over their own.

I reflected on all that as the IMAX sound system blew back what’s left of my hair. While I really enjoyed the movie, I wouldn't trade the movie star's life for the one I've been living all these years. 

Despite his toned muscles and killer smile, the star will grow old and die. His money won't save him, and the legacy of being a movie star won't matter in the end. None of his relationships with beautiful women has gone the distance. He may die alone. Saddest of all, he is a committed member of a cult religion. 

The things that are most admirable about him are ego-driven, self-gratifying, and pride-inflating. Jesus told a parable about a guy like him, who seemed to have it all, and then one day God demanded his soul. And the divine assessment of the man was abrupt and final: You fool! (see Luke 12:16-21). What does that say about those who wished his life could be theirs?

For me, a two-hour movie is entertainment.  But the best thing is, I get to go back to my real life. Because the Person I really admire has already traded His life for mine. The life He gave me lasts forever, and so do the the relationships and the riches.

An Exceptional Man

On Palm Sunday morning, March 24, our friend Rick Wells died at home at the age of 65. We’re all comforted to know that he went immediately into the presence of Christ.

Dionne and I got to know Rick and his wife Jeanne by marriage: their daughter Cheryl married our son Andy. So it was our privilege to be in a family circle with Rick over the last ten years or so. He was one of the finest men I’ve ever known.

Rick was a man of many gifts and accomplishments, but what stood out to me was his gentle way with his family and friends. He was great with kids of all ages. He could instantly organize and lead a crew of little ones, racing them through the house on a treasure hunt. His enthusiasm and energy made it hard for anybody to keep pace with him.

Words like kindness, hospitality, and generosity weren’t just occasional descriptions of Rick. They were true every time I saw him, including just a few weeks ago when he was very sick.

A wonderful husband and father, he treated my son like a son, and was a great “poppy” to our shared grandchildren.

Rick makes me admire Jesus more. I think he would deflect any of the countless tributes he’ll receive in his passing, and point to Christ. That’s the true measure of an exceptional man.

Heaven seems a little closer now, knowing he's there.