Muahahaha

Matthew 2:1-12

Luke records the familiar Christimas story that we all like to read on Christmas Eve. Angels, sheperds, no room at the inn, etc.

Matthew's account has way more drama. Psychopathic evil dictator hears rumor of possible rival, plots in secret to destroy the child; meanwhile, mysterious Eastern sorcerers follow cryptic clues received through astral signs and dreams to outwit the tyrant and anoint the young prince.

Sounds like an Indiana Jones movie.

All the stars were aligned, so to speak, for Jesus' birth. Everybody, including the evil dictator, understood that something momentous was afoot.

I wonder how often our lives intersect with the grand, mysterious plan of the gospel—and we are unaware of it.

The Christmas Story: Luke

Luke 2:1-19

I've read (or had read to me) this story every Christiams eve of my life. It may be the most frequently retold story on earth. Luke keeps us from hyper-spiritualizing the tale by locating it in time and space. It happened here, in this palce on earth, and this time, involving these people.

We add a good deal to Christmas that has more to do with our family or nationality than with any biblical event. Even much of what we do at church is only vaguely connected with the event of Jesus' birth.

I guess it's okay to enjoy Christmas--I certainly do. Yet I like to read this story and be reminded that it's not a national holiday or family gathering that we're remember but the birth of one child to a real woman, at a certain date and time.

What is it that brings Chritmas out of the fairy story, Grinch-and-Rudolph, Miracle on 34th St. realm and makes real for you?

Travelling Light

Mark 6:7-13

The most frequent and experienced travellers travel lightest. The United 1-K Flier, the Northwest Platinum Rewards Customer? They navigate the concourse carrying no more than a suitbag and a laptop. That lug hoisting an 80-lb steamer trunk onto the ticket counter is Uncle Chester on his way to Orlando for the weekend. He brings his entire medicine chest on the road.

Take nothing extra. That was Jesus' advice. Travel light, hit it hard, and move fast.

Limiting your luggage to a one-day supply of food and no extra shirt will force you to do two things: live in the moment and rely on God.

What about you? How much crap are you packing?

Oh That Jesus

Mark 6:1-6

One reason Christianity is so often picked on in Western Culture is that it is homegrown. Well, technically it's an Eastern religion—Jerusalem is in Asia—but Christianity came of age in Europe and then spread to America where, like everything else, it became bigger than life.

Nowadays people act as if Jesus was born in Iowa rather than Palestine.

"Oh, that," people say when you mention Christianity. "Let's talk about something relevant."

Jesus gets the hometown shut out around here, just as he did in Nazareth.

What would the guy have to do to get some street cred? Walk on water? Raise the dead?

Why don't people in our culture take Jesus more seriously?

Beware

Mark 5:21-43

In the M. Night Shyamalan version of Mark, a willowy young woman emerges from the mist, wisps of hair shrouding her ashen face. Her saucer-like eyes are fixed in hollow stare. "The lake," she whispers, tottering forward, arms stretched weakly forward. "Stay away from the lake." She vanishes into the mist.

The lake, in Jesus' ministry, is where all the weird stuff happens. As Jesus crisscrosses the lake with his disciples, he stills a storm, casts out a legion of demons, walks on water, feeds 5,000 people, and, in this instance raises a girl from the dead.

All bets are off when you go down to the lake. Anything can happen and usually does.

Where is the lake in your life? Where is that place or time when you have seen the most awesome and unexpected displays of God's power?

Have you ever visited the lake?
Have you crossed it?
Do you live there?

Why is it that Jesus' power is displayed more often in some places and at some times than others?

Strike Three

Mark 5:1-20

I was privileged to visit the Holy Land this year and for the first time became aware of the political boundaries that Jesus crossed during his ministry. Many of them still exist.

When Jesus crossed to the "other side of the lake," he entered what was then called the Decapolis. It is now part of Jordan. The journey took Jesus all night by boat, his disciples rowing against the wind. Crossing into Jordan took me over two hours of security screenings, interrogations, and passport checks, and just plain waiting. Crossing boundaries is never easy and often frustrating.

Jesus crossed a political boundary when he entered the Gerasenes, a spiritual boundary when he cast out the demons, and an economic boundary when he destroyed a herd of pigs. People liked it just fine when he healed people and cast out demons--but when he meddled with the local economy, he was invited to leave.

Jesus is often invited to leave when he crosses that line.

Who Is This?

Mark 4:35-41

Because we know the entire story about Jesus, it's hard not to mix other details from the life of Jesus into the particular account that you are reading. Try to read Mark without prejudice. What if all you knew about Jesus was all Mark has said so far.

Now put yourself in the boat. The disciples' terror—first at the storm, then at Jesus—is more understandable. Truly, what kind of person can do these things?

There is a stage in every person's spritiual development when learning more about Jesus is not more comfortable but more disturbing. It takes a lot of exposure to begin trusting Jesus with everything.

Try this: Without using the terms lord, savior, master, Son of God, Christ, or Messiah, answer Mark's big question.

Who is this man?

Oh Yeah

Mark 4:30-34

Now this one really is my favorite parable of the Kingdom. Actaully, I love them all. It's like picking your favorite song.

Great things come from small beginnings. However improbable it may seem that one man with a tiny band if ill-qualified followers could bring the beginning of God's Reign to earth, it is true.

However absurd it might seem that ideas like "love your enemies" and "the first shall be last" could prove not only to be true but to change the world, they have.

Where you live—in your family, your community, your region of the world—it may seem improbable that the tiny grain of faith that exists in your heart could grow into a movement of change that will provide shelter for the world, it can.

The future, pal. That's what's in that tiny seed.

You're Not Indispensible

Mark 4:26-29

Ah, my favorite parable of the Kingdom.

Almost everything about my life has a sense of urgency. Americans (North Americans? Westerners in general?) are good at creating the sensation that everything matters.

• If it is to be, it's up to me!
• We can make a difference!
• If my mind can conceive it, I can achieve it!

That's crap, actually. At least when it comes to divine work. It is God, and not you, who gets done what should be done. You and me? We are as a hoe is to a master gardener—a blunt instrument that sometimes comes in handy.

So go ahead, Larry, write those books, race to work everyday, answer those e-mails, hold those meetings, publish, publish, publish! Do whatever you need to to do to make yourself feel as important as you need to feel. It doesn't matter. God's kingdom will move along quite whether you show up for work or not.

Truth be told, friend, you and I could probably get just as much done for God by taking a nap.

What Goes Around ...

Mark 4:21-25

Good and evil both seem to be self-perpetuating. Good disciplines, for example, take on a momentum of their own. So do bad ones, unfortunately. Go to the gym every day for a week, and it'll be nearly impossible to make yourself quit. Miss one day, however, and you'll be lucky to get back for a month.

The rich get richer. The poor get poorer. The good get better, and the evil get worse.

Be careful which "measure" you choose.

Is your spiritual life on an up swing right now, or a downward spiral? If it's the former, how do you keep the momentum going? If the latter, how can you turn it around?

The Devil Made Me Do It

Mark 4:1-20

Okay. So yesterday was a bit rushed. I was too distracted by the worries of this life and desires too other things to really listen to Scripture. Let's take another run at the Parable of the Sower.

The personal question ("Which one represents you") is an important one, yet there are two other thorny issues that pop up in this little metaphor.

1. Can Satan make people quit believing in God?

Notice verse 15: "As soon as they hear it, Stan comes and takes away the wword that was sown in them." How much power over your faith does the devil really have?

2. Does God prevent people from believing in him?

Notice verse 12. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus says the reason he speaks in parables is that "otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!"

Who is "they"? Does God try to keep some people out of the Kingdom?

You go first. I'll answer tomorrow.

In This Scenario . . .

Mark 4:1-20

Which one are you?

Just Plain Crazy?

Mark 3:20-35

C. S. Lewis famously observed that, given the outré cliams Jesus made (outré is French for "over the top"), he must be either a liar, a lunatic, or else Lord of all.

Turns out Lewis was plagiarizing Mark.

Jesus' family thought he was crazy. Other people thought he was demon possessed. If you had been there, what would you have thought?

I'm not certain that our middle-American, middle-of-the-road, I-just-love-him-tonight testimony would hold up in front of a guy who was reinventing religion, redefining truth, and causing us to question our entire way of life—accompanied by a soundtrack of shrieking demons.

Read this and ask yourself "Would a sane person really believe that?"

What keeps you following Jesus, even when there are aspects of this person that you cannot fully understand?

Five Ways to Know Jesus

Mark 3:7-19

So far we've seen five ways that people interact with Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.

1. Curious. Lots of people wondered about who Jesus is and what he might do for them. They came from all over to listen to listen to him, asks for favors, or maybe just catch a glimpse of him. They were curious.

2. Convinced. Some of those who encountered Jesus were convinced he's the Son of God or at least that he's worth their attention. Peter is one. So is the guy who was healed of leprosy. These people don't always say much about it; they just sort of attach themselves to Jesus.

3. Called. Jesus specifically called some people to follow him. Others did so without prompting, but a few, like Peter, James, and John, were specifically invited. It appears that more than the 12 may have been invited in this way, but there's no way to know for sure how many--or whether they all accepted the invitation. A few (we know from other accounts) asked to come along but Jesus told them to go back home.

4. Critical. Jesus angered a lot of people by what he said and did. Presumably, some were merely indifferent to him. But others plotted to take his life.

5. Commissioned. Of those who followed Jesus, Mark names 12 who were commissioned as apostles. (At least seventy-two others were also commissioned, though not called apostles).This is really the opposite of being called--or maybe the flip side of it. They were not only "drawn in" but also "sent out" to go continue the work that Jesus was doing in the world.

Do you think these are accurate descriptions of the ways people interact with Jesus?
Are there others?
Do people today react to Jesus in the same ways?

Which of these positions best represents your own relationship with Jesus?

WWLD?

Mark 2:23-3:6

In case you hadn't noticed, the rock star phase of Jesus' life has come to an end. Or at least entered a new phase. Like 15 minutes ago, everybody thought he was God. Now the critics are ripping him apart.

Reminds me just a little bit of Britney. One day you can do no wrong, the next day they're taking your kids away. (Steady, it's just a metaphor.)

In this case, Jesus' attitude toward the law is ruffling some feathers. People matter more than rules, Jesus said, which sounds reasonable.

But does that go for all rules? What about the Big Ten? Who gets to decide which rules are breakable, which are bendable, and which ones are carved in stone?

Here's my new mantra: What would Larry do?

Out with the Old

Mark 2:18-22

A couple of things.

First, I don't fast either, so I'm with Jesus on this one. Here is where he puts the kibosh on all spiritual disciplines. Am I right?

Second, the wine/wineskins analogy is our carte blanche to pitch everything from church/worship/discipleship/religion/faith that we didn't actually invent.

It's a new day.
A new millennium.
A new generation.

So we need some new ways of being Christian. Whatever John Maxwell or John Wesley or any of those dinosaurs did is way old school. (No disrespect intended.) We need to move on to something new.

That's pretty much what Jesus is saying, right?

God Loves Everybody. Except ...

Mark 2:13-17

The insider/outsider problem goes back a looong way in the church—all the way to here, the day Jesus invited a drug dealer to join his innner circle.

Okay, so Levi (aka Matthew) was a tax collector, but the impact was the same in their culture. He was a creep. Who had notorius friends. And hung in scandalous places.

Frankly, it's difficult to blame the "decent" people for taking offense.

How do you balance your desire to reach the lost with your yearning to be holy?

Nah ... that question is too vague, too churchy. Let's try this.

What if it were your teenage daughter who was trying to save "Levi"?

Wow.

Mark 2:6-12

In the Old Testament, God was pretty free with the miraculous signs. Read Exodus, for example. There was a miracle about every five minutes.

Jesus played it a little closer to the vest. Here's one of the few times that he performed a miracle to validate his authority.

People sometimes complain that God performs few (or no?) miracles these days.

Do you think you would trust God more if you saw more direct evidence of his power? Do you think others would?

Or perhaps you do see evidence of God's power. Have you ever witnessed a miracle?

Please Visit My Online Red Kettle

I've been passing by those Red Kettles all season, but I never pitch in a dime because I never carry change.

That's why Heather and I decided to support the Salvation Army online this year, and we're inviting you to join us.

Click here to visit my online Red Kettle. (You'll never guess who's ringing the bell!)

God has blessed us so much, and I want to be the first to return some of the grace that's been offered to me.

I'll send a free copy of A Different Kind of Crazy to anybody who gives $50 or more.

Any gift is welcome ... please check out the Kettle and toss in some change.

Merry Christmas!

If It's the Last Thing I Do

Mark 2:1-5

My parents carried me to church when I was a baby. They dragged me when I was a teenager. They've been pushing me every since.

My mom and dad really want me to get close to Jesus.

That's a nice thing. These guys did the same for their crippled (mobility-challenged?) buddy, and it was their faith that God rewarded.

Maybe my mother's prayers will pay off one of these days too.

Frankly, I sense a lower level of passion for evangelism in most Christians today.

Who is the person you are leading/carrying/dragging/influencing into the presence of Jesus Christ.