Upsetting the Status Quo

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. Mark 5:11-17

Throughout the pages of scripture we see Jesus' authority. We see his authority over nature: bread & fish, water & wine, waves & wind. He is savior & king and whatever a king says goes. Jesus' authority is not just over nature but over all, the natural and the supernatural. When Jesus exercises his authority, he upsets the status quo. The people who's e pigs died (in the passage above) asked Jesus to leave. Jesus stood before them, at their shore to cast out demons, to heal the sick, to  announce “the kingdom of God is at hand to be the good news of his announced kingdom, to bring them blessing. And they begged him to leave them alone. “Just leave, w e want things the way they were, you disrupt the status quo."

And he does. The real Jesus in our lives will upset our status quo -- but always for the better. As many of you know, I had surgery to remove cancer from my lower lip this past Monday. Most of my lip was taken away and reconstructed. As I write this, I am in pain, I have a long line of stitches across my new lip -- all the way from left to right, and for the short term I am limited to soft food from a straw or a very small spoon. The surgeons clearly upset my status quo. And they didn't have to, I could have said no. If I had said no, they would have left things the way that they were, and I would be without pain today. But the status quo would have destroyed me. Instead, am in pain and eating only soft foods, but I have been healed. It does not feel like healing right now, but I know that it is -- I trust my surgeons and they have assured my of my healing. 

That is the way it is with Jesus. He desires to upset the status quo in the places that will ultimately kill us, so that we might be healed. These are often the very places we do not want him to go. What if it hurts, what if it seems worse, what if . . . . We can say no and he will respect our wishes. If we say no, however, he will leave us as we are, but those areas that need healing will remain unhealed, the cancers will grow and we will be destroyed. Jesus will upset your status quo, he will challenge your ethics -- sex, possessions, money, greed, selfishness, individualism, self sufficiency -- you can complete the list and add your items that the enemy says will sustain you when in fact he knows that they will rob you like a thief in your sleep.

Jesus says, "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10) What are the areas where you need to have your status quo upset? Ask God to fix it and hold on for an amazing ride to healing -- and invite others to join you on the ride.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

Stepping Out And Finding God Already There

“This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29

When Jesus walked onto the pages of Scripture, he announced it right off:: "The Kingdom of God is at hand." He brought good news, he was good news -- the old ways of doing things are done he announced, the new ways of doing things are here: 

• Light, not darkness 
• Courage, not fear
• Laughter, not tears 
• Hope, not dispair
• Life, not death. 

"The Kingdom of God is here," he declared, "and it's available to anybody who wants to be a part of it." And, this is what it is like -  it is like a treasure that is better than all competing treasures, it is like a pearl of great value, it is like a net that is broadly cast out, it is like yeast that spreads, it is like a small seed that grows big, it is unpredictable and uncontainable, it is organic, beautiful and untamed. It is something that we are caught up into, something that we are not called to be spectators of, but to be participants in -- here and now, and forever when we die. “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message,” (Mark 1:15 MESSAGE) change your life and enter into it with gusto. 

This is good news! Do you believe it is? Not just good news in general or for some people, but for you. Do you believe it? 

Our actions belay our beliefs, the content of our lives convey our convictions. Do you believe it? Maybe you believe it a little bit, but you hesitate to appropriate it in the actual stuff of life -- the letting go of worry, the control over the things you can't control, the change you want to make but don't believe you can, the sharing of your faith, the inviting of people join you as  you live out your faith. Jesus once was asked by a man to heal his son. Jesus asked him if he believed he could. In one of the most honest answers I can imagine, the man said in essence, "well, I believe a little bit, help me to believe more." And that's what Jesus did. 

This Kingdom life is good news, and Jesus is not keeping it to himself. He wants you to know it, to believe and to step out in it in action -- in our own lives, in the service of the least, the lost and the left behind -- and to share it with others. Last Sunday we handed out a tool to help you think this through. "Who are the people I am called to?" To make a plan that starts with prayer and to step out in faith. The E-72 tool is below, and more are available on Sundays. Take a look, step in, step up and see the reality that God will meet you there. Because, he is already at work in the places you are led to go.

Peace, hope and love

Doug

E-72