God’s Currency

Has God’s face ever been on a coin? We are the coin that bears the living likeness of God. Giving if ourselves with whatever that may include, is the only legal currency of the kingdom of heaven.
– Gordon and Gladis DePree

Matthew 22
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

—–
They say money makes the world go ’round. And it is true that our economies drive much of our culture and innovation. If there is money to be made then someone will find a way to make it happen. In doing so they move the world forward.

The economy if God’s kingdom does not require money. God doesn’t need our money he wants our hearts. And if we surrender our whole heart to God, to be used by him to move his kingdom forward then we truly are the currency of God. Just like a coin has an image (Caesar, Kings and Queens, presidents) we bear the image of God.

Who decides how to use your money? You do. If you are God’s money will submit to his plan?

What if we actually lived like we were the currency of God’s Kingdom?

Nothing To Say

It’s June 20th, and I haven’t written anything here in nearly 6 months.

It’s not that I haven’t had thoughts and things haven’t been going on.  I just have not had time, or energy, to formulate those ideas.

This is very frustrating.

Even more frustrating is when I think about the time that I have been given by Creekside to think, reflect, refresh, and write.

It is frustrating for someone who writes sermons and presents sermons fairly frequently to not have anything to say outside of that venue.  I’m recognizing that I also have not had much to say at home, with friends, or otherwise.  I’ve been content to sit and think in silence.  I’ve been happy to listen.  But I’ve really had nothing to say.

Or have I been so mentally tired that I have not had energy to say anything?

Whatever the case of what has been, I also feel guilty for not saying anything.  I am feeling a stirring to write again.  But if I don’t I know that it’s ok to have nothing to say.

FINISH LINES

Many of the projects that I have been working on over the last several months are coming up on their finish lines.  I’m excited to be able to put these things out into the world so people can use them.  Of course these finish lines are really just new starting lines.  But isn’t that the case for every finish line?

Think about the Olympic athlete.  They train with that finish line in mind for years.  But once the race is over they are going to have to start something new.  They can start to train for the next race.  They can start to think about life after the olympics.

Think about professional athletes who are facing retirement.  What’s next?  They’ve spent all this time in their sport.  When do they start thinking about life after football?

It would seem that the people who end up being truly successful are those who look at their finish lines and are able to think about what they are going to do after their cross the finish line.

Bonus:

I love this song by Steve Taylor – Finish Line

yeah maybe it’s a little cheesy but the 12 year old me totally dug this tune, and when I got Steve Taylors autograph I was pretty stoked!

Simple Solutions

This week I’ve been working on a project that is more complex than I wanted it to be. I tried to come up with all kinds of solutions that all ended up being more complex.

So what did I do?

I took out a pen and a small journal and wrote down all the next steps that I needed to do to make this huge complex project easier. This is an incredibly simple solution to complexity.

I learned through GTD that my brain is not a reliable place to keep important informant for projects. When I start to feel overwhelmed by the complexity in front of me I were down why I’m so overwhelmed. I wrote down next steps. In doing this it helps me to think of other areas where I’m feeling complexity start to overwhelm me.

It’s so simple but we tend to think that because we are “smart” we don’t need simple solutions. If you are truly smart you will look for the most simple solution possible.

Don’t be too clever for your own food. Seek simplicity.

Read Something New This Year

Every year I start a new Bible reading plan. I try to use a different translation every year. This helps me to read these stories in a new way as each translation is a little different.

This year I am using the New Revised Standard Version. This version is even more different because it includes the Apocrypha. These books are not typically viewed as inspired in the Protestant church so I have not really been exposed to them. I don’t think they are expired either (just so you know).

This got me thinking about how important it is to read things that you may or may not agree with. Doing so helps you to see from other people’s point of view. It can also help you to better understand your own beliefs and world view. If you only read people you agree with then you probably aren’t growing as well as you could be.

My brother in law recommended a Manga book. And I said I would check it out even though Manga has never interested me. So I checked out Vagabond from the library. It has a really compelling story, well drawn art and continually developing characters. I would have missed it all if I didn’t take my Brother in Laws recommendation.

This year I want to read more widely so what would you recommend? Leave a comment.

Grace and Fairness

Read the story of Noah this morning. And in the story it says, “Noah found favor in the sight of the LORD.”

In the middle of all kinds of human depravity and wickedness, Moses somehow found favor, grace, in God’s sight. When reading stories like Noah’s we tend to put in all the reasons that Noah found favor in God’s sight. Somehow he was offering the right sacrifices, he was praying the right way, he wasn’t killing people. These are all good reasons to find favor in the sight of the LORD.

But the Bible doesn’t give us any reasons for the grace that Noah received.

A few chapters before we can read the story of Cain and Abel. The text says that God had regard for Abel’s offerings from his flocks, but not for Cain’s, which were from grains and plants. The Bible doesn’t tell us why God had regard for Abel’s offering. We put in the story well because Abel was offering the right kind of offering, and his heart was better, and so on. The Bible doesn’t tell us that.

When we read stories like this we want to justify God’s grace, favor, or regard. We want to give God a reason for being gracious, because if God has a reason for those people then somehow I can find that reason. Then I can work my way towards justifying why I deserve grace too.

But grace isn’t fair. It’s God’s gift to give. And when we turn the the New Testament, we see that God chooses to give that gift through Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Now this seems entirely unfair.

We want to be able to build a case why we deserve grace for the things that we do. But we don’t deserve grace at all. That’s why it’s grace. It’s God’s gift to give. It doesn’t seem fair to us, but for God to give grace, forgiving our sins at all, that is an incredibly generous gift. It really isn’t fair to God that he should give us any grace.

Grace isn’t fair. If it was fair it wouldn’t be grace.

New Year . . . Biggest year ever

I’m looking forward to several new and exciting things in 2013. This is going to be a big year.

First, we are relaunching Creekside Church. We have grown in significant ways over the last four years and this relaunch is an opportunity for everyone to get on the same page. It’s also an opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to our community. Many exciting projects ahead.

Second, starting Feb 3rd I will be the primary preacher at the 6pm service. I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to preach. This will also open up an opportunity for Pastor Don to lead in an area that he is passionate about as he launches a recovery ministry on Sunday Nights.

Third, I am being granted a sabbatical this year. This is an incredibly gracious and generous gift from Creekside. I’m really looking forward to taking some time to unplug and refresh. I’ll have to opportunity to learn from different churches, read a lot of books that I’ve just not had time for, spend a lot of time with my family, and ride my bike a lot.

Fourth, and personally the thing I’m most looking forward to, We are working really hard to make it possible for Kathy to go to per diem status at Evergreen. This means that she would only have to work a minimum of one day a month. We’ve been working really hard at paying off debts and getting to a place where this could happen and by God’s grace we are really close to making this happen. Hopefully we will be able to make this all possible by May.

Fifth, Judah and Joss are growing and surprising me with the things they are learning and discovering. I’m looking forward to an amazing year watching them be themselves.

That’s just a few of the things I’m looking forward to this year. It’s going to be a great year. There are many adventures ahead. Stay Tuned.

Amazing Spider-Man #700

So I purchased the Amazing Spider-Man finale.  It’s kind of a big deal in nerd-dom.  I’m going to say some things that may spoil the book for you, so be warned.

Here’s the deal.  Peter Parker is probably the comic book nerds greatest hero.  Peter is a nerdy awkward kid who through a freak radioactive spider accident gains super powers.  (Yeah, we know that doesn’t make any sense so stop judging us!” Said every comic book fan ever).

Because of Peter’s early selfishness he loses his Uncle Ben.  But the lesson that Uncle Ben passed on to Peter, that with great power comes great responsibility, is forever etched in Peter’s life.  It becomes his creed.  Peter devotes the rest of his life to sticking up for the powerless.

For little nerds everywhere when we are introduced to Peter we are shown a character we can relate with, and when we imagine what it would be like to be a super hero, Peter Parker is the guy that we want to be.

In Amazing Spider-Man 700 the dying Doctor Octopus has brain swapped Peter Parker.  So Doc Ock is in Peter’s healthy body and Peter Parker is Doc Ock’s dying body.  (Again, we know it doesn’t make any sense.)

Peter tries to reverse what Ock has done but to no avail.  However, is switching brains, Doc Ock somehow has all of Peter’s memories and understands what it means to be Spider-Man and vows to be a Superior Spider-Man.  Conveniently that’s the new title for the Spider-Man Series.

Why would Marvel do this to such a beloved hero?  Money!

Well yeah, of course money.  Marvel is a business and guess what, they are going to do everything for money.  So for all the nerds out there angry about this marketing ploy get over it.

But here is my hope for a second motivation.  My hope is that somehow, the Spider Creed “With great power comes great responsibility” is shown to be the reason that we’ve been reading this book for so long. Because that’s how super heroes are supposed to live.  Even though Doctor Octopus is Spider-Man’s greatest enemy when he fully understands the Spider Creed he can be truly great.

Christmas is here

Tonight we got our Campus ready for our Christmas Sunday Services.  We are going to be doing four services on Sunday the 23rd.  CRAZY!

It’s amazing to think about how much God has done over the last three and a half years since we moved into our Mountlake Terrace Campus.  This is our fourth Christmas in Mountlake Terrace.  Wouldn’t it be amazing if we added another service for every year?  I don’t even know how we could possible make 20 services happen. But that would be pretty amazing. 

All the work for the Christmas service is done.  Now we are eagerly anticipating the day when all kinds of guests will come through our doors to hear about Jesus and his birth and why any of this really matters.  

I’m hoping to meet many new faces.  I’m praying that the people I invited to our services will come.  I’m looking forward to celebrating Jesus on Sunday with my kids in the service.  I’m really excited to see what God is going to do in us and through us.

And I’m really looking forward to the next chapter at Creekside.  Big things are coming for Creekside Church.  You definitely want to be part of it!