Treasure and Truth

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://encounterchurch.org/messages] 

I was recently involved in a production at Spectrum Theater with the following story line: An elderly woman travels to the Middle East and unknowingly brings back a teapot containing a powerful genie. (Yeah…a comedy.) The bad-guy-previous owner will do anything to retrieve this priceless genie—travel to America, break into her apartment, hold a knife to her throat, and threaten murder—all to gain the treasure contained in the teapot. Let’s face it—a genie with unlimited power to fulfill one’s dreams and fantasies is pretty good motivation to seek out a treasure. And who isn’t intrigued by a good treasure hunt story?

The Bible also contains stories about seeking or finding treasure. Jesus’ two parables of people seeking or finding treasure are found in Matthew 13. Looking back at what Jesus had been talking about before this, I discovered that these two parables about the kingdom of God are smack-dab in the middle of a whole bunch of parables about the kingdom of God. Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a farmer and seeds, weeds, mustard seeds, yeast and dough, and the treasure parable is followed by a parable of a net and fish. All these stories begin with “The kingdom of God…” or “The kingdom of heaven…” Seems like a pretty random list of things to describe God’s kingdom.

But in the past, when I was asked to lead a short children’s message on the sermon topic, I would walk about my house looking for ordinary objects to help me make abstract concepts into concrete ideas that children could understand. Okay, I admit, it also helped me understand them better. Cans of Campbell’s soup, a charcoal briquette, a broom, and a tape recorder all made their appearance at one time or another. So I can imagine Jesus walking along trying to think of ways to make real or concrete the very abstract idea of the kingdom of God. Seeds and weeds, yeast and dough……and treasure. I bet the disciple’s ears perked up at that one.

However, the treasure turns out to be us. What a wild and crazy idea! The kingdom of God happens to actually be the people who live in it. All of us---the broken, the messed-up, the dysfunctional, the selfish, the greedy—we are the treasure that Christ bought and redeemed at the highest cost ever. As simple as that is, I often find it hard to wrap my mind around that thought.

Author Anne Lamott relates that when she teaches Sunday School, a favorite ritual of hers to do with the children is called Loved and Chosen.

“I sat on the couch and glanced slowly around in a goofy, menacing way, and then said “Is anyone here wearing a blue sweatshirt with Pokemon on it?” The four-year-old looked down at his chest, astonished to discover that he matched the description—like, what are the odds? He raised his hand. “Come over to the couch,” I said. “You are so loved and chosen.” He clutched at himself like a beauty pageant finalist. Then I asked if anyone that day was wearing green socks with brown shoes, a Giants cap, an argyle vest? Each of them turned out to be loved and chosen, which does not happen so often. Even Neshama—Anyone in red shoes today?—leapt towards the couch with relief.” (from Grace Eventually)

In truth, we are all loved and chosen. The good people, the rotten people, people we respect, and people that, if we are truthful, we wished lived far, far away.  All of us—the treasure chosen, bought and paid for by Jesus.

The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

[Sandy Navis is happily retired and spends her days doing pretty much whatever she wants to do. She is a firm believer in the power of laughter, singing while doing the dishes, crazy dancing while cleaning house, and eating chocolate every day. Sandy has three grandkids, who she loves to talk about even more than breadmaking.]

More Than a Rescue, We Need a Resurrection

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

            Like some of you, I grew up in an old church adorned with stained glass windows and wooden pews. The kind of church you might see in movies or on TV. My childhood church first organized in September of 1879, almost 130 years ago, and we worshiped every Sunday morning and evening with an organ, hymns (songs), and a pastor who wore a long robe. At that church we often sang a song called “It is Well with My Soul,” which has become one of those long-enduring songs of the faith, perhaps because of its haunting beauty, but certainly also because of the history behind the song itself.

            “It is Well with My Soul” was written by Horatio Spafford in 1876, only three years before my childhood church started worshipping. I imagine them singing that song when it was first released, as we might sing a United or Elevation Worship song, standing to sing, perhaps without instrumental accompaniment. The words echo through the wooden church structure in careful harmony.

Spafford, the song-writer, suffered through immense pain in his life, too much pain for most of us to understand. His 2-year-old child died in the mid-1800s, and then he lost his fortune in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Later, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship carrying his wife and four daughters sank, and all four of his daughters drowned at sea. Only his wife survived. It was in that terrible place, as Horatio Spafford crossed the Atlantic by himself, traveling to meet his wife, having five children now deceased and his business in ruins, that Spafford wrote the famous words of “It is Well with my Soul.” Some of the most memorable lines for me are these:

            “And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

            The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

            The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

            Even so, it is well with my soul.”

Legend has it that Spafford wrote the lyrics to the hymn while traveling over the same spot where the ship carrying his wife and daughters sank, and both the original manuscript of the song and Spafford’s personal writings still exist today: “On Thursday last we passed over the spot where she went down in mid-ocean, the water three miles deep. But I do not think of our dear ones there. They are safe, folded, the dear lambs, and there, before long, shall we be too. In the meantime, thanks to God, we have an opportunity to serve and praise him for his love and mercy to us and ours. I will praise him while I have by being. May we each one arise, leave all, and follow him.”

            What I find most remarkable about both the hymn and Spafford’s personal writing is the attention to the need for a resurrection. Perhaps he, more than almost any of us, understood the need not for a rescuer, but for a death and resurrection. After all, Spafford eventually lost 6 of his children, and what could a rescue offer to him? I think about these families living in the late 1800s, before the medical intervention we now enjoy and I think, what good would a rescue be now to families who already buried their children? No, what these Christians realized is that they didn’t need a rescuer, they needed a resurrection.

            Probably one of the most significant differences between Spafford and me is that Spafford clearly attended carefully, every single day, to his faith. It has become too easy for me, in my modern, busy, convenient life, to allow my faith life to cruise on autopilot for a day. Or a week. Or a month. But Stafford calls us to reflect on God’s mercy even in this time of great suffering, invoking biblical language of walking by faith rather than by sight, and of dying to ourselves in order to follow after Christ. I can’t think of too many times that I willingly died to myself in this past week, which probably means that I’m still trying to be the rescuer of my own life, rather than acknowledging my need for a resurrection.

            At bedtimes my kids will sometimes talk about death. They talk about how they don’t want to die, and how they certainly don’t want people they love to die. I don’t want any of us to die, either, but I do understand more clearly now, as an adult, the language of faith becoming sight, and the peace that will come with the true resurrection. There are so many patterns and behaviors that I know I should lay down, and yet, they continue to rule over me. And so my prayer for all of us is Spafford’s prayer: That we may recognize our need for a resurrection, that one day our faith will become sight, and that in the meantime, we will leave behind all and follow after Christ.

God's Best vs. Our Best

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

There are many ways to change the world. Some people do it by becoming a missionary, some people do it by wiping runny noses, some people do it by serving food to those who don’t have enough, some people do it by being a listening ear, some people do it by showing up to the same job every day for forty seven years, or any combination of these and so many more. And each time we say “Yes” to one of these things, we are, even without paying attention, saying “No” to a million other ways to spend our time. How we are uniquely designed and called to serve God will look different for almost every single one of us. At the core though, our mission is the same--to live each day so that we become more and more like Jesus. 

Photo Credit: Martin Wessely

God called Nehemiah to rebuild the wall in Jerusalem. As he carried out this project, many distractions presented themselves. In Nehemiah 6, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem repeatedly tried to lure Nehemiah away from his project, claiming they had important things to discuss with him. Nehemiah saw right through it though. I love what he prays. The way he responds to people talking bad about him is filled with so much more grace and calm than I would be capable of having in the same situation. Instead of getting distracted and praying for God to smite these people talking bad about him, or for them to at least stop spreading these rumors, Nehemiah prays for something directly related to the scope of the project he’s actually working on. It’s simply, “Now strengthen my hands.” The crucial thing that Nehemiah understood was that it didn’t matter what others thought of him or his project, but that he followed God and did that project well. He had to be wise enough to recognize when even seemingly good things were going to get in the way of what his ultimate thing was. 

We see something else very important here--this is the second time Nehemiah prays a very specific prayer about what he’s doing. In Nehemiah 2:4, as he’s asking the king for permission to even begin this project, Nehemiah “prayed to the God of heaven.” All throughout this story, Nehemiah keeps his focus on the one who’s ultimately in charge of its success or failure: God. Nehemiah knew the project wasn’t really his; it belonged to God, so it didn’t matter whether the project succeeded or failed according to human standards, as long as he followed God. The same is true in our own lives. Whatever the size and scope of our project, whether it’s raising children or running the race or being a good employee, if we’re following God, even if by human standards we “fail,” we fail to the glory of God. 

There are many good, worthy projects we can invest our time and energy into, but we can’t let ourselves get distracted by the good things if they detract from our focus on the best things. It doesn’t necessarily mean we have to quit everything we’re involved in, though by stepping away from some opportunities, we may find it benefits both ourselves and creates spaces for others to lean into what could be their great project. Be reallocating our time and energy, we can better reflect what our priorities should be instead of simply what they have become while we took our eyes off the main thing. 


[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]

How to Get Things Done

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

Group projects have never been my favorite. In school it always seemed like a group would be full of people who were full of ideas but not great at execution, or, occasionally, vice versa--lots of people ready to get stuff done, but short on good ideas. I once compared a group to an air balloon--we needed the passion people full of ideas and looking up towards possibility, as well as the planners, tethering us to the ground and to reality where we could actually get things done. Without that balance, we wouldn’t have been able to successfully accomplish our goal.

Photo Credit: Austin Ban

The story of Nehemiah shows us a lot about how to move beyond ourselves and do something more that can benefit the world around us. After he learned about the plight of his people, Nehemiah first mourned, fasted, and prayed. His waiting didn’t diminish his passion, but allowed it to deepen and take the shape it truly needed to. Then, when the time finally came for him to pursue his passion, he had had time to plan and now it just needed to be enacted. Nehemiah strategically waited until the start of a new year, when it was customary for the king to grant a request from his servants--it was the perfect opportunity for Nehemiah to request what he needed in order to set into motion his plan to rebuild the wall for his people. 

If Nehemiah had acted brashly, immediately begging the king for permission to rebuild the wall, it’s rather unlikely the king would have granted his request. It also wouldn’t have given Nehemiah time to think through everything he would really need in order for this to come to be. In addition to his request to be permitted to leave his post as cupbearer to the king, Nehemiah realized there were many other things he needed that he couldn’t accomplish all on his own. There were official documents he needed, tons of supplies, and once he got there, many people to help actually build the wall. No matter how much passion and planning Nehemiah had, he couldn’t have accomplished this on his own. 

In the same way, all the passion and planning in the world will turn out to be worth nothing if we haven’t sought God throughout. As Nehemiah asked the king for what he needed to put his project into motion, he continued to seek God. Nehemiah 2:4 tells us, “Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king.” It’s easy to get caught up in ideas we’re passionate about and to move forward full steam ahead, or to get so caught up in planning every tiny little detail that we lose sight of the reason we’re even doing what we’re doing. 

Even if our project is deemed an earthly success, if we’ve failed to consider the only one whose opinion truly matters, we haven’t really succeeded. Our passion and our plans must always be done in alignment with God’s passion and plans. It doesn’t mean things will always go just like we wanted them to, or that our passion is always directed in the right way, but it puts us in the best possible place for God to do his good work in the world through us. 


[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]

Bringing Heaven to Hell-on-Earth

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

In 2011, author Rob Bell’s theology was launched into the spotlight when he published his book, Love Wins, because it suggested the possibility that hell might not exist, or that hell might be a real place but ultimately empty because everybody might be in heaven. While Bell is comfortable leaving room for “the mystery of God’s love,” some mainstream Christians were ruffled by the suggestion that God’s plan of salvation might be more generous than they understood it. The controversy was so intense, in fact, that Bell’s book and its reception landed the cover of the April 14, 2011 Time Magazine with a headline that read, “What if Hell Doesn’t Exist?” Because of the controversy, some of Bell’s other salient points, like the argument that many people live in hellish circumstances here on earth, faded under the din.

I don’t know much about the theology of hell—whether it’s a physical place, eternal annihilation, or something else entirely—but I do know that too many people do live in a “hell-like” state here on earth. Some people are caught up in the hells inflicted by the selfishness or hatred of others and are subjected to endless war, terror, and abuse. Others construct their own hells through deceit, envy, or destructive patterns or habits. When Christ stepped into this world he came for salvation, to demonstrate how and why Christians should facilitate rescue wherever they can. Another way of thinking about this is that Christians live in this world to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. In other words, we’re here to bring a little bit of heaven to down to earth.

My kids have a children’s Bible called The Jesus Storybook Bible, and every time we read it I appreciate again the language of the “rescuer” who bridges the stories and spans the entire story of the Bible. Things go right or things go wrong, but Jesus rescues his people just the same. And Jesus’ examples of teaching, or feeding a hungry crowd, or calming a storm, or bringing a dead man back to life, demonstrate to us the possibilities for bringing a heaven-like experience to those who are hurting or hungry or terrified or spiritually unwell.

But before we adopt all the orphans or visit all the prisoners or sell our homes to fund World Vision, it’s critically important that we be sure that the rescuing we have in mind comes to us from God. Each of us is called to a rescue mission, but first we need to spend time in prayer asking God what that mission might look like. In the first chapter of Nehemiah, we learn what it looks like to find a mission, and it all starts with a broken heart. Nehemiah hears that people he loves are in chaos, despair, disgrace, and disrepair. Nehemiah’s first response is not to pack his bags or sell his possessions or march in the streets or start a GoFundMe. His first response is to mourn, to weep, to fast, and to sit in prayer with God to think more intentionally about what it might look like to bring a heaven-like experience to hell-on-earth. And when Nehemiah does uncover a plan that he believes is from God, he prays this prayer: “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today…” (Nehemiah 1:11).

If you, like so many, desire to change the world—to bring a little bit of heaven into a hellish place, then the story of Nehemiah shows us one Godly path. Pray for your heart to break for the things that break God’s heart. Sit with God and that broken heart. Pray for a rescue plan. And pray that God will grant the rescue mission success in bringing heaven to earth.

[Kristin vanEyk loves Encounter Church and hopes that you have found a community at Encounter as well. You can find out more about what Kristin is up to here.]

Easter and Our Unanswered Questions

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 


Will I ever get better?

Why did my little sister have to die?

Which college should I choose?

Why do so many other people get to have happy marriages?

When will I finally get a job?

We all come to God with questions. Some of them are big and will seemingly never be answered in this lifetime; some are seemingly smaller, yet frustrating all the same. It’s tempting to approach Easter with its flowers and candy and Easter eggs and simply say, “Jesus rose from the dead! All is well!” And in a cosmic sense, Jesus’ resurrection makes that statement true, but in our day-to-day lives it often doesn’t seem that way. 

Photo Credit: Marko Horvat

Which is why we turn instead to a different resurrection--that of Lazarus. Because to get to a resurrection, first there must be a death. When Lazarus died, his sisters didn’t understand how this had happened. Their friend Jesus was the miracle-working Son of God, yet Lazarus not only fell terribly sick, but died and was buried for four days before Jesus himself finally arrived. It’s not surprising that Martha had a few choice words for Jesus when he arrived, starting out their conversation with, “‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” 

Martha’s actions here are a good example for us--she didn’t run away from Jesus with her questions, she ran to him with them. She was full of both anger and faith, but both of them were pointed in the right direction--directly toward Jesus. So when Jesus told her her brother would rise again, we can almost hear the resignation in her voice as she responded, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus didn’t leave it there though. He went on, telling her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 

Even in the midst of her grief over the death of her beloved brother and the anger at Jesus over his refusal to step in and do something to stop it, Martha’s response was that yes, she believed Jesus is who he said he is--the Son of God. At this point in the story, Martha didn’t know what the ending would be. But whatever happened, she knew who Jesus was. Even her anger and frustration and confusion didn’t remove the true answer from her lips. 

Jesus’ question to Martha is the same one we have to answer today and each day we wake up to the brokenness, pain, and confusion we may face. “Whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus didn’t immediately tell Martha he was about to raise her brother from the dead. Martha had to live in the space of death and heartache for a little while longer, and perhaps we may have to as well--for another day, another month, or another lifetime. Yet, a few verses later, Jesus himself wept at seeing the tomb where Lazarus’ body was. Far from being a God who sees our pain and responds with a condescending pat on the head and “It’s all going to be okay,” our God is one who not only wipes the tears from our eyes but cries alongside us. Resurrection may not happen exactly when we think it should or how we think it should. It’s not always instantaneous and it’s certainly not always pain free. But the words to Elevation Worship’s song Resurrecting are, even in the midst of great difficulty, true: 

By Your spirit I will rise

From the ashes of defeat

The resurrected king

Is resurrecting me

In Your name I come alive

To declare your victory

The resurrected king

Is resurrecting me

The resurrecting in our own lives may not happen once and then never again, because God never promised life would be easy. Each time we end up in the ashes of defeat, the resurrecting can happen afresh. And each time, God is right there with us. 


[Brianna DeWitt believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]

Response of Prayer

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

Photo: A photographer in Sioux Center Iowa took this of my great grandfather, who was a praying man. 

Dear Bread of Life, 

We ask: “Who am I?” 

We ask: “What am I supposed to do with my life?”

We ask: “What is my purpose?”

We ask: “Where shall I live, where shall I work, whom shall I marry, what shall I buy?”

We ask: “How do I endure; how do i recover; how do I practice forgiveness instead of plot revenge; how can I possibly love them?”

I think sometimes we say “Jesus” but really we direct our questions to the wind because after the ask, we try to figure out all our own answers and solutions and control all our own outcomes.  

Forgive us for adding to you.  Forgive us for we add you to our list of possible satisfying or sustaining options. Forgive us when we practice Jesus And.  

“Rabbi, when did you get here?” -John 6:25 

But really we want to know, HOW. How did you get from that side of the lake to this side? How do you do what we cannot understand? Why don’t we ask the real questions we have - the deep question underneath the surface question? Is it because we don’t believe in you? If we did truly believe, then could we talk to you about what we don’t understand, but really want to know?  

“This is the work of God: that you believe [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.” -John 6:29, Amplified Bible

Jesus - whoever you are…we want what you have. Every day we want Bread of Life. 

Please be enough.

You’re enough, right? Right. So you will heal, right? You’ll protect, right? You will give me, get me out of, you will fix this, stop that, answer now, right? You will act the way I want, when I want, how I want, right?  

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” -John 6:35

Again, Jesus, we are so sorry. Even in our want for you to be enough, we are wanting selfishly. We are asking out of pride. We struggle with sin.  

“I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don’t really understand myself, for I want do what is right but I don’t do it. Instead I do what I hate.” “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” “But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord!” -Paul's words found in Romans 7:14-15; 18-19; 23-25, which may reflect our own thoughts

You are enough. You show yourself and tell of your Father and make it clear that you are more than enough.  You are the bread of life with leftovers. You are God of surplus.  

You are necessary to each of us.  

Forgive us for adding to you because of doubt; because we don’t know you well, because we don’t trust, because we spend snippets of time with you rather than make space for long soaks where intimacy grows; because we're afraid, unsure, or new in our knowing you. You understand completely.  

Dear Bread of Life, you are enough. Thank you. Thank you so very much.  

Amen

In Jesus' eyes as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey… 

“Above all, there is love, an endless, deep, and far-reaching love born from an unbreakable intimacy with God and reaching out to all people, wherever they are, wherever they will be. There is nothing he does not fully know. There is nobody whom he does not fully love.

Every time I look at this Christ on the donkey, I am reminded again that I am seen by him with all my sins, guilt, and shame and loved with all his forgiveness, mercy, and compassion.”


-Henri Nouwen, Palm Sunday from Show Me The Way 

[Laura DeGroot likes to laugh out loud, drink good coffee and eat delicious food...with Jesus her family and friends.  She has lived from the West to the East coast but Grand Rapids is home as of one whole year.  As The Caffeinated Woman, she speaks to groups of people about how ordinary life is profoundly better knowing an Extraordinary God, and works at Art Of The Table.  And she loves books.]