How’m I doin’?

March 25th, 2009 Tim

(Nancy) Is it just me or do you, consciously or subconsciously, ask yourself “how am I doing?” nearly constantly?

About a year ago my home team did a short study on the book of Philippians: Running the Race. In the discussion questions of the first week there was a choice about our primary concern. One of the choices was something like “am I doing OK? Is anything I’m doing making a difference?” That really resonated with me. The corollary of that is the “fear of man”, choosing and acting based on how others would react.

In contrast to that is Jesus’ life. Especially in the book of John, he repeatedly says he does only what the Father tells him to do and says what the Father tells him to say.  In the book of Acts [Acts 4:19], Peter and John respond to the officials who tell them to quit preaching in the name of Jesus with something like “you tell me which is right, to obey God or you?”

I recently finished Keller’s The Reason for God. Many parts of it made an impression on me but the biggest was about the knowledge of God. I think it was chapter 2. Basically his point is that, deep down, everyone knows that there is a God, based on the fact that everyone accepts that there is a moral code that is not based just on what is beneficial for oneself or even one’s country. Everyone knows and behaves as if there are things that are objectively right or wrong. 

I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I have, in one sense or another, for over 30 years. But still, somewhere in my sub sub consciousness there was something of a belief that “this is really true for me but I’m not sure about all the other 5 billion people in the world.” Keller really broke through that. There is a God, He created the world, He created people in his image, he demands moral perfection, we all messed up and deserve condemnation. God, in unspeakably amazing love sent His own Son to become human, to take responsibility for all our moral failures and to reconcile us to God. That is the gospel, the good news. And it is true for me and you and the other 5 (is it 6 now?) billion people in the world. Jesus is the only way to the Father. No attempt at making ourselves morally, intellectually, or spiritually right works. [That discussion is fleshed out in the first two chapters of Sprituality of the Cross by Gene Veith.] As Keller says, any one who does not believe based on not feeling the need for God is “betting his or her life that no God exists who would hold you accountable for your beliefs and behavior if you didn’t feel the need for him. ”

As the Bible says, “what will become of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Peter 4:17, 2 Thessalonians 1:8)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Freedom and Constraint

March 17th, 2009 Tim

Pastor Dan recently lent The Reason for God by Tim Keller to my husband Tim.  It’s very appropriate for the current life lesson series on doubt. I’m only in chapter three but it answers questions like “how can there be just one true religion?”, “how could a good God allow suffering?”, “isn’t Christianity a straitjacket from freedom?”, “hasn’t science disproved Christianity?” and more. There are people very close to me who say they do not believe based on some of these questions. But the main reason they express for not believing in Christ is clearly stated in Keller’s introduction:

“I have no beliefs about God one way or another. I simply feel no need for God and I am not interested in thinking about it.” But hidden beneath this feeling is the very modern American belief that the existence of God is a matter of indifference unless it intersects with my emotional needs. The speaker is betting his or her life that no God exists who would hold you accountable for your beliefs and behavior if you didn’t feel the need for him. That may be true or it may not be true, but, again, it is quite a leap of faith.”

I believe that Christianity is the only truly consistent belief system. Judaism and Islam teach that Jesus was a great teacher but ignore that he said that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” and “the only way to the Father.” Atheistic evolution says that we are all here due to accidents unguided by any intelligent outside force. The “god” of evolution is survival of the fittest. Millions profess to belive this yet inconsistently root for the underdog, contribute to charities to cure diseases and complain about evil in the world.

Keller concludes chapter three, “Christianity is a Straitjacket”, with “at first sight, then, a relationship with God seems inherently dehumanizing, surely it will have to be “one way,” God’s way. God, the divine being, has all the power. I must adjust to God–there is no way that God could adjust to and serve me. While this may be true in other forms of religion and belief in God, it is not true in Christianity. In the most radical way, God has adjusted to us–in his incarnation and atonement”…”If he has done this for us, we can and should say the same to God and others. St. Paul writes, “the love of Christ constrains us” (2 Corinthians 5:14)”….”Once you realize how Jesus changed for you and gave himself for you, you aren’t afraid of giving up your freedom and therefore finding your freedom in him.”

Two days ago I watched the movie Confessions of a Shopaholic which I actually really liked. It was fun and had a good message without beating you over the head with it. The main character acknowledges sin in a realistic and refreshingly honest way: When her secret shame was revealed she said “I shop because when I do, the world gets better. And then it isn’t anymore. And I have to do it again.” That hit a cord for me in the area of emotional eating. There is a verse I love that speaks to freedom within constraint. It is John 4:34 which in the English Standard Version says “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” Finding sustenance in doing the will of God sounds like true freedom to me. (Nancy)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Why ask why?

March 12th, 2009 Tim

(Nancy) The main point I saw in the life lesson Pastor Dan preached this past Sunday at CrossPoint SevenLakes was to leave the “why” with God and focus on the “what” of whatever situations and relationships God has placed us. A Scripture he shared has stayed with me all week:

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29 NIV)

I once heard that we should “walk in the light that we have” before expecting God to give us more and more light.

This morning I came across:

[Jesus said] “…rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:20b-24 NIV)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Some call him Tim

March 8th, 2009 Tim

(by Nancy) What do you say about a man you meet under a moose? Someone who freely quotes Monty Pythons’ Holy Grail and Life of Brian (and no, I don’t approve of the latter movie’s ending)? A husband who grocery shops and cooks. Who regularly embarrasses his 13 year-old daughter on the way to Shift at CrossPoint SevenLakes with “success!” (She might slap him if he said the Klingon translation “Kupla!”).  He spent Labor Day weekend building a coop for her quail (but facetiously complains about those “noisy dawgs”).  When our HomeTeam had a birthday party for my 43rd, he put 19 candles on the cake because that’s how old I was when we met (under the taxidermied moose)…and everybody said “aww!” He brews his own beer (he makes a mean porter and IPA!) and taught our son how to fish. Right now Tim’s helping him pick music for his elementary school talent show audition.

This June will mark 25 years since we met and 20 years of marriage. We’ve been through ups and downs but he’s still my favorite person to spend time with and the main one who can make me laugh. I think it’s fitting that February 8th we participated in “officiating” vow renewals for other couples and then renewed our own vows with the Chessers leading us. Tim summed up that morning by saying “that’s the most fun I’ve ever had in church.”

A couple of years ago he picked out our adopted dog online from http://www.cap4pets.org/ : a part staffordshire terrier, part greyhound with handsome brindle markings. She’s protective, affectionate, energetic, fun-loving and a little quirky. They have a lot in common.

When he proposed marriage I threw him by responding “I think so!” but he married me anyway. I knew I’d been greatly blessed when he took care of me in the hospital for a week during our engagement (when I was sick with a viral illness). Someone who sticks by you while you’re throwing up and getting an IV put in is a definite keeper. He has taught me what it means to be loved.

When we married he was 27 and quite self-sufficient. One of my top regrets in life is that, one of the few times he really needed me, after his dad died, I wasn’t really there for him. He has taught me what it means to be forgiven.

Occasionally he’ll laugh so hard during his dreams that he’ll wake both of us up laughing. During and after high school he worked nights as a janitor to raise money to go to college, worked as a radio DJ during and after college, waited tables in a German restaurant (lederhosen and all) to live near me in Austin while I finished at UT, was a radio ad copywriter and producer, had a brief stint as a secretary (when the rest of the radio station staff was laid off, about a week after our honeymoon), became a small-town TV news producer, then went back to school to become a teacher. Except for brief stints as a telemarketer and financial planner, he’s taught high school English and Journalism for 17 years.

During a recent trial I wrote that my only two anchors were Tim and Jesus. Certainly I have no guarantee that we will grow old together but, if God allows, that is my wish.  This morning Nathan Huse led us in Matt Redman’s “Nothing But the Blood” and this line really stuck with me: “Your blood speaks a better word than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth”.  Jesus is certainly my greatest treasure but, after Christ and His forgiveness, Tim and our children are God’s greatest gifts to me, much greater than “all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth.”

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Greed

February 26th, 2009 Tim

“Greed is good, greed works.” (Michael Douglas in Wall Street movie, 1987)

“Is it true, would you do what I want you to, if I show up with the right amount of bling? You’re just a puppet on a monetary string.” (Switchfoot, American Dream song)

I’m a school nurse at a public elementary school. When students are having behavior problems, one method used is a chart with rewards for good behaviors. According to an assistant principal from another school, a problem with that is other “good” students find out and are motivated to do whatever infraction is necessary to get a “chart” to earn stickers or Gameboy time.  The deeper problem is that the motivation to “do right” is greed. However, in a public elementary school, we can’t exactly preach the gospel and teach repentance and faith in Jesus.

I fall in the trap myself. I find myself saying things like “bring the clothes (or “completed form” or “signed note”) back tomorrow and I’ll give you a Husky buck” (money for the school store). I hear that students in some high schools are even “paid” (with things like Ipod raffle tickets) for attendance on TAKS test days.

We end up scrambling to find out what the “right amount of bling” is to make them do what we want. The problem is, that keeps escalating.  And it’s not just “them”.  Ever get fliers from Best Buy? ”You deserve a break today.” Ever wonder why our nation is so fat and debt-ridden and yet still unsatisfied and depressed?

My home team is watching a DVD series called “Shepherding a Child’s Heart” which seeks to bring Biblical sanity to parenting instead of manipulation by greed.  And I have to admit, the application of the gospel to daily life is embarrasingly foreign to me. 

But still, “I want out of this machine, it doesn’t feel like freedom, this ain’t my American dream, I wanna live and die for bigger things, I’m tired of fighting for just me, this ain’t my American dream.” (Switchfoot, American Dream)

(post by Nancy)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Every day with…

February 1st, 2009 Tim

(Nancy) If there’s anyone out there who reads this regularly you know that Tim and I are in our 40’s. At this age some people gets sportscars or change careers or become disillusioned with their mates. I have no clue why, maybe because “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27), Tim and I are on a journey with the Lord. That sounds kind of lofty. It’s more like a toddler being pulled, kicking and screaming. One of my favorite prayers right now is “thank you that our lives are in your hands.” One of my favorite verses right now is Job 5:17-18: “Blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up, he injures but his hands also heal.” [Someone might point out that this was said by one of Job’s good-for-nothing friends who was wrongly trying to convince Job that his suffering was punishment for sin. That is true but I know that God does discipline those he loves (Hebrew 12:5-7) and does prune Jesus’ followers to live more closely in Him (John 15:1-3).]

One reason why I like that verse is that it juxtaposes the omnipotent power of God (Almighty) with the loving, personal care of his hands to lovingly correct and lovingly bind up and heal. It’s kind of a picture of the gospel. We are foolish kids playing with the deadly mercury of sin and our Father picks us up, shows us our folly and supplies us with the cure, namely Jesus.

 Who would have thought a self-centered, hot-tempered, skeptical, procrastinating perfectionist could start to change? Who would have thought I’d need to re-evaluate whether it’s really necessary to scan every single receipt into Quicken and whether our culture’s treatment of animals (we idolize food and mistreat food stock, some idolize pets and overspend on them) has any bearing on my family’s life?  I fully believe that one of the holiest things I did yesterday was play foosball with my son. Religion’s easy: “don’t do this, do do this.” Life with Jesus is hard: “day by day, moment by moment trust and obey. You’ll fail, I’ll show you. Just when you think you’ve got it all together, I’ll disillusion you. Just when you think you’re hopeless, I’ll show you how far we’ve come.” And life with Jesus is a lot more…LIFE. I laugh more, I cry more, I hurt more, I love a little more. And right now I think I need to go eat some pancakes.

Enjoy church, sing to Jesus. Enjoy the Superbowl and its commercials. Love your children and your God. And pray for me, I have a LONG way to go.

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Jesus

January 26th, 2009 Tim

It’s all about Jesus. It’s always about Jesus. It’s only about Jesus. That’s how one pastor describes the Bible and the Church and all of history.

Do you know that Jesus loves you? Do you love Jesus?  These are questions simple enough to ask a two year-old and profound enough for the most seasoned Christian to examine daily.

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel…for what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1a, 3-4 NIV, emphasis mine)

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. (1 John 3:16a NIV)

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands (1 John 2:3 NIV)

And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:21 NIV)

The writer of the above three lines refers to himself in the gospel of John as “the one Jesus loved”.  He may have been Jesus’ closest friend on earth; from the cross Jesus asked John to take care of his mother Mary. But I think the most essential part of John’s identity of himself as “the one Jesus loved” is that John realized that Jesus died for John’s sins. Do you know that Jesus loves you?

I once heard a pastor quoted as saying that the hard part of leading people to Christ is not getting them “saved”, it’s getting them “lost”.

In Luke 7:36-50 we read the beautiful story of a woman who comes, broken by guilt, to weep at Jesus’ feet, in the home of a religious leader who has no recognition of or respect for who Jesus is. It culminates with this: ” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves. “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Do you know that Jesus loves you? Do you know that you need the love of Jesus? Do you love Jesus?

Nathan Huse was the guest worship leader at CrossPoint SevenLakes yesterday. He has a great voice and great energy but the best part was his obvious love for Jesus. And I loved how Pastor Dan introduced him, “he and I go way back, when I was a youth pastor…” I turned to Tim and said “all his stories start that way”. What a great privilege to see someone you loved in Christ pass that love along (”for what I received I passed on to you as of first importance…”).

Tim and I were at a meeting last night where Pastor Matt of CrossPoint Westgreen was talking about how great the growth of CrossPoint has been and that they aren’t doing anything especially new, just talking about and being blessed by Jesus. [I once heard Pastor Mark Driscoll say that someone once complained to him that Driscoll always preached about the same thing: sin (you need Jesus) and Jesus (Jesus loves you).  Driscoll said the guy meant it as a criticism but Driscoll took it as a compliment.] CrossPoint has a great preschool, a great sports ministry, great pastors, cool bands, and much more but I love that the focus is always Jesus. It’s all about Jesus, it’s always about Jesus, it’s only about Jesus. (by Nancy)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Mom

January 16th, 2009 Tim

(by Nancy) Ever known someone who doesn’t accept service well? That’s my mom. She’s always taking care of someone else. Growing up she did the usual cooking, cleaning, and laundry but she also used her gifts of fashion, decorating and connecting people. She’s the middle child of seven girls who were very close to each other.  She’s the only one of the seven who didn’t stay in Mexico to marry and raise a family (I have 25 first cousins on my mom’s side) but she was one of the main ones who planned the get togethers and parties. Some of my best childhood memories are Christmases in Mexico, watching her laugh with her mother and sisters. She frequently reminded my sister and me to send cards to extended family members (on both sides of the family). One October when I was little she sewed full length curtains so my sister and friends and I could run a haunted house in our garage.

My mom also has a special talent with words. Even though Spanish is her native language, she’s a deadly Scrabble player in English, even beating people with multiple graduate degrees. Before she married she was an elementary school teacher for 5 years and she taught my sister and me to read before we started school.

Her birthday is January 21st. It’s a statement of her service (and my lack) that, after all these years, I don’t really know what foods she likes. For once we are hosting her birthday party instead of my mom hosting it herself (I confess, it was my dad’s idea).  She got wind of it and made a point of calling me this morning to tell me not to go to any trouble or expense. I love you, Mom, enjoy your day!

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” (John 13:6-8 ESV)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Engedi

January 15th, 2009 Tim

(by Nancy) CrossPoint Community Church is in a life lesson series called Red Hot Monogamy. The initial Sunday of the series Pastor Dan Hauser told us to listen primarily for our own roles: in my case, being a wife.  Last Sunday Tim and I sent the kids off for Jammin’ Hour, enjoyed a song by Joey and the band, cuddled up and settled in for a “date”.  Dan talked about God’s plan for men and women, stressing that men are wired to be primarily outwardly focused, engaged in the world of providing, performing and protecting their families (or future families) while women are wired to be primarily inwardly focused, engaged in the home of caring, closeness and connectedness.

It brought two memories to mind. One from the first day of our marriage and one from the very recent past. Tim and I separately wrote our own wedding vows. Mine was an eclectic mix of modern Maslow and traditional Christian.  Tim’s was a heartfelt mix of traditional vows and joyous improvisation.  One phrase from his vows repeated in my mind last Sunday. He vowed to make our marriage “a haven from the sometimes hostile world we live in.” It occured to me on Sunday that this is a big part of my role.

Pastor Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church recently said that for a wife a home is a place but for a husband a home is a wife. He also encouraged married couples to provide “En Gedi” [”Engedi” in the English Standard Version]: places and times of refreshing for their marriage. The term and concept comes from the Song of Solomon 1:14 and 7:11-12. This certainly includes dates and vacations but should most often be a daily place of reconnection. Driscoll and his wife have a small living room off their bedroom where their 5 children are not allowed to go that is strictly for “En Gedi” for them.

Over Christmas vacation I mentioned this to Tim and he took it upon himself to carry an extra loveseat and table downstairs from our game room to our bedroom. So now we have our own Engedi to talk and cuddle and pray, away from the stresses of work and house and children.

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death. (Song of Solomon 8:6a ESV)

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.  (Song of Solomon 8:7 ESV)

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:10-11 NIV)

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »

Celebrate!

January 10th, 2009 Tim

Humans have a funny way of marking time based on major events.  The calendar we follow marks our years from the birth of Jesus.  We live in the ”Post 9/11 Era.”    Did you know that the Greeks counted their years from 776 BC?  That was the year the Olympic Games started.   

Individually, we have personal time markers like the day of our weddings, the day the kids were born, or the day a loved one died. 

My big time markers are  June 17, 1989, my anniversary; my wife Nancy and I lost our DINK status (double-income/no kids) on October 9, 1995; and I often measure the events in my life by June 21, 2003, the day my dad died. 

Another day I mark my life by is January 7, 2007, the day CrossPoint SevenLakes opened.  This past Wednesday was the official two-year anniversary of our church, and we’ll have have a huge party on January 18 at SevenLakes High School to celebrate.  Whether you’re a CrossPoint member or just somebody who happened upon this blog and this is your first encounter with CrossPoint, you’re invited to come and join us.  I guarantee there will be great food, and you don’t have to pay a thing!!  Our celebration starts at 10:30 at SevenLakes High School.

There are many things about CrossPoint that I like, one of the biggest things is that we love to celebrate.  I had been going to church most of my life, and I’d been told that church is a celebration, but I’d never had the impression that I was doing that.  I figured it was a nice theory, but in practice, church was a bland mix of some music, some talking, and then we all went home.  

I had been to more than forty Easter Sunday services in my life, but I never felt like it was a celebration until I went to CrossPoint on Easter.  There’s just a very strong love of God at this church that permeates everything that happens.  It’s very unreligious and very relational.  I mean, we don’t do what we do out of obligation but out of a true love of God and all He has done for us.  And it’s not just on Sunday morning.  One of the first things I learned here is that worship continues for the rest of the week.  It’s not just for Sunday mornings.  We also have HomeTeams, various studies, a great youth program, sports ministry.  It’s all done as a celebration of our awesome God.

The fact is, God has wired us to celebrate.  The Old Testament is a great place to go to see how this plays itself out.  God arranged the lives of His people around various feasts and other sacred days.  From the once a week Sabbath to the once every seven years Year of Jubilee, the lives of God’s people were filled with designated times to remember God’s blessings, rest, help the poor, and cleanse themselves from their sins.  There were twelve Old Testament feasts in all in addition to other observances like the festival of lights and new moon feasts.  The Feast of Tabernacles lasted an entire week!  That’s a lot of celebrating!  Underlying all of these observances though was a spirit of joy and thanksgiving. 

God hates sin.  So much so that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice.  That’s the bottom line of our faith.  But He also wants us to celebrate, to feel secure in His unfailing love.  After all, Jesus rose from the dead, and He’s coming back to restore everything He made! 

Even in the midst of economic stress, kids making bad decisions, Houston traffic, and the annoyances of daily life, we can and should celebrate.  It’s how we’re made! 

Posted in SevenLakes Info | No Comments »