Wisdom of Shanes

Shane Claiborne spoke at my home church this weekend.  I didn't make the trek across the snow and ice covered prairie, but I was able to watch the live streams online and catch all of his sermons.  I've heard him speak before, and his messages were consistent with what I've heard before.  Something I appreciate about his messages is that he just sounds like a fellow Christian who is earnestly trying to live out the Gospel of Christ.  He's not doing it in a boastful or showy way, he's just doing it.  It's refreshing.

I didn't take notes this time, probably because while I was listening I was drinking coffee and eating a bagel, or carrying my ipad around my apartment so that I could get ready for church or just whatever.  Something I did write down, was, "You have to believe in miracles because we live in a world where God is at work."  This isn't even a direct quote from him, but I'm not sure who he was quoting.  Something that I've heard before that he said this morning was that in North America we don't think that miracles happen anymore because we don't need them, so we're not looking for them.  But in war-torn third world countries, there are other Christians who depend on miracles day to day.  We all rely on God for our survival, but in our first world luxury of technology and available healthcare we think we don't.  He also told a story of a clinic that would remain open even if they didn't have medicine.  One day was particularly bad, they only had a single bottle of Pepto Bismol.  But they opened the clinic anyway and prayed with people and treated them with a dose of Pepto Bismol no matter if they had a hernia or a skin laceration.  Patients left the clinic with alleviated symptoms and even though the line of people was out the door consistently throughout the day, the bottle of medicine never ran out.  Miracle? You have to believe in miracles because we live in a world where God is at work.

I did go to church at Sublette Southern Baptist this morning to hear Pastor Shane Lester preach.  Shane Claiborne spoke out of John 14 this morning and Shane Lester spoke out of Galatians 1. But I'll try to make somewhat of a connection for you that I heard while sitting in the sanctuary this morning.

God is not concerned with legalism and license.  God is concerned with our souls.  "God's pleasure in you is not based on your performance for Him."  Nothing we do or don't do affects how much God delights in us.  We are only saved through Grace.  It is Grace, it is free, unmerited.  But yet it is offered up for us.  The Gospel of Christ is for everyone, uncircumcised and circumcised alike; for Jew and Gentile alike.  Anything that we add to or remove from Grace is a perversion of it.  The Grace of Christ alone can save us.  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."  John 3:17  When Christ came He fulfilled the prophesies of the Old Testament but did not add to the lengthy laws imposed by the Pharisees.  He did not add to that yoke or even change it, He REPLACED it.  He replaced it, with Wonderful, Matchless Grace.  Ok now I'm sounding cliche`.  "His yoke is easy and His burden it light."  I tried to find the exact link in Isaiah 40 this morning, but I came up short.  So here is a link for Chorus 21 of the Messiah.  I was thinking about all of the legalistic things that mankind has tried to accomplish in this world in the name of Christ and come up short.  Old Testament Law, new laws of the Pharisees, even Luther's 95 Theses, church work that we do today.  All of that was covered by Grace.  Aren't you glad that Jesus came to save sinners?  Alright I can't even take credit for this, I heard it on the radio on the way to church.  Pastor Shane again, "Your acceptance before God is based solely on what Jesus did on the Cross."

Ok now for my main musings.  Jesus is not Play-Dough.  He is a rigid puzzle piece that fits into the God-shaped hole in our hearts.  We cannot mold Him to fit our lives how we want.  Yet at the same time, He is exactly what each person needs.  Every person was created differently and has a different perception of the world.  Yet everyone was created equal in their need for God in their life.  God does not change.  He has been the same since the beginning of time.  It is our perception of Him that has changed.  Human need for God has not changed, human awareness of our need for God has changed.  It is something humankind has been continually learning and re-learning since Adam and Eve walked this earth.

Now for an un-related note, based on a doodle on my sermon notes.  Have you ever thought that we can see God's majesty and royalty in the world around us?  Think about how the mountains are majestic.  Have you ever looked at the mountains and thought you could see the crown of Christ?  Each peak of a mountain range is an arch to the King's crown.  Each tree and stream and animal is a jewel on the crown with sunbeams gleaming off of it.  Honestly I have never thought this before in my life until I looked at my sketch of a mountain range at the top of my notes this morning.

Thanks for reading, I know this was long.  Have a great week!

-Becca