I'm Moving!

hey everyone,


I am moving this blog over to Wordpress.


If you're interested, you can find it @ jasonchenoweth.com


Thanks so much!  I really, really appreciate all of you who take time to read the thoughts and ideas I post.  I hope you'll continue.


Jason

What To Do When Jesus Annoys You

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well. 

Today we read Luke 12:35-14:35.

The stories we read today mostly center around Jesus and the religious leaders squaring off.  At this point, the religious leaders want Jesus dead.  They just don't see any other way to stop Him from ruining everything.  They know it, and Jesus knows it.  

What strikes me is the number of times Jesus heals someone, and does it on the Sabbath.  The Sabbath is Saturday, and it's the Holy Day of the week for a Jewish believer.  The religious guys had developed a ton of rules on how you are supposed to rest.  They had effectively turned rest into a full time job.  One of the things they didn't want done was for anyone to be healed on the Sabbath, because that was work.  Remember, God gave us a Sabbath day so we could rest and keep our bodies, minds, and souls healthy.  But if someone tried to heal someone's body, mind, and soul on the Sabbath, that was wrong in their minds.

So, Jesus just goes ahead and does it.  

It doesn't make them happy.

Obviously, we don't have the legalistic issues that the religious leaders had on working on the Sabbath.  But we do have issues with Jesus.  Sometimes He wants me to forgive people, even when they haven't asked for it. (Actually, that's all the time.)  Occasionally He will ask me to be generous with stuff that I want to keep for myself. (Well, He expects that everyday, to be honest).  He can get crazy from time to time and want me to tell myself "no" about some action I want to take, and use self discipline. (That is really an expectation of His all the time.)  I mean, sometimes He annoys me.

Just like He annoyed the Pharisees.

It's all about whose Kingdom we live in.  That is part of the reason you have the Kingdom discussion in the middle of all of these stories.  Who is in charge of my life, of the religious leaders' lives, of your life, anyway?  That is the big question.

Today, right now, take some time to talk with God about what it is that He does, expects, or commands that bugs you.  Be honest, He already knows.  You have nothing to lose.  At least you don't if you admit it.  Act like everything is fine, and you'll find yourself mad at Him for healing people all around you, when you can't seem to be healed.  It's your, and my, choice.

Here Comes the Hoo-Haa!

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well. 

Today we read Luke 1:26-2:52.

As I read through the story in Luke of Jesus' and John's births, a couple of things stood out to me.  The book of Luke was written by, well, a doctor named Luke.  He was not an eyewitness to Jesus' life and stories.  He got them from somewhere else.  Most historians believe Luke interviewed Mary, Jesus' mom, and got most of his info from her.  In a sense, if that's true, this is Mary's version of the story.

So, when we read Luke, we see a lot of things through Mary's eyes that aren't in the other Gospels, or at least not seen in the same way.  Reading it today, it stood out to me about how God made it known about Jesus' birth.  He sent an angel to Mary; alone.  He sent an angel to Zechariah, her uncle; alone.  Mary and Elizabeth speak these beautiful songs to each other, inspired by God, but they are alone when it happens.  Simeon and Anna, the prophets in the Temple, only speak to Mary and Joseph.  Think about it.  Here God has sent His Son into the world, to rule and be King.  He is there to save everyone.  History is split in half with His birth.  The world is being pulled out of complete chaos and destruction.  It is the single biggest event in history.  The King of all kings is here.

No parade.

No press release.

He only speaks to the parents, in order to encourage them for what they will face raising Jesus.

That's it.

The world changes, and no one knows.

Well, no one, except for one group.

There is this huge press release, fanfare, big hoo-haa moment.  The angels show up in a group, appear at night and glow in the dark, and amaze everyone with their royal proclamation.  But they don't show up to the Roman Emperor, the religious leaders in Jerusalem, or on a high place in front of thousands.

They show up to shepherds.

What a waste for God to spend His one big show on a bunch of nobodies like them.  Shepherds were the bottom of the pile.  They were dirty, smelly, and loners.  They lived out in the woods by themselves with a bunch of dumb sheep for company.  It was a bottom feeder job in the world.

And God appeared to them with the big fanfare.  Remember, He could have sent one angel to one shepherd, like He did to Mary, Joseph, and Zechariah.  A junior angel at that.  But He didn't.  He sent a huge group, and they had choreographed dance moves and everything.  Even their wording is this official sounding, royal announcement.  And God wasted it on the shepherds.

He still does.  He loves saving his very best for losers, for nobodies, for the bottom of the barrel.  When people are down and out, God moves up and in to their lives.  He loves the people on the bottom.  The broken, the wasted efforts, the ones who don't amount to anything.  He loves them.

He loves us.

Be encouraged over the coming days.  God sends His best messages and gifts to those who least deserve it.

Which means you and I are in for some things this week.

That Voice in the Dark

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well. 

Today we read Mark 14:53-Luke 1:25

In chapter 14 of Mark, we read about Jesus being drug around during his overnight trial.  Everywhere He goes, Peter follows Him at a distance.  Technically, Peter is still a follower of Jesus at this point.  But, as you read the story, the drama ramps up as Peter is accused of that very thing, three times.  Three times he is called out for knowing Jesus, and three times he denies Him.  Of course, Jesus told him ahead of time that he would do this.  When Peter remembers it, it breaks him.

What kind of horrible person would be warned by Jesus that they would deny Him, only to turn around and do that very thing over the next few hours?  I mean, Peter had told Jesus that no matter what, he would never run or turn his back on Jesus.  Then, he does.  How can Peter even call himself a follower of Jesus?!  He talks a good talk, but then when a little opposition comes his way, he bails on Jesus and just tries to blend in.  What a wimp!

Right?

Isn't that what we are supposed to think?  Maybe not.

Ok, we are not going to be accused by a servant girl standing next to a bonfire at three a.m. anytime soon.  In fact, most of us will never be accused of following Jesus at any point in our lives.

Which is worse?  Being repeatedly accused, and denying it?  Or never even earning the accusation?

Why don't we get lumped in with Jesus by people?  Why don't we make it far enough to earn the right to be called out?

Yeah, I know, that's a little tough.  Let's move on.

So, if we won't get outed by a fire pit, how does this apply to us?  You understand, it wasn't the girl calling Peter out and playing on his fear, it was Satan.  He calls us out all the time.  When things get rough, you hear the voice calling you to run to anything other than Jesus.  It calls you to turn your back on Jesus and run to the internet, Facebook, your friends, your spouse, your garage, that bottle, the TV, whatever.  It calls you to deny that Jesus is the answer, and look elsewhere in the dark for your hope.  Jesus warns us over and over that this will happen.  Yet we keep falling for it.

Peter saw Jesus about to die.  He didn't know about the resurrection.  Jesus had told him, but He didn't believe it quite yet.  His faith could have carried him through that night.  All he had to do was say, "Yes, I follow Jesus".  That's it.  One time, and he would have averted the whole thing.

The same is true for us.  When we are faced with that voice, that call, that push to run from Jesus, we need to stop, and say "No, I will stay here.  I am with Jesus.  He will see me through."

Where is the place you need to stand today?  What is it that you need to refuse to listen to?

Remember, the sun always rises.  Especially on Sundays.

Erasing Hell Book Review

I recently wrote a review of Erasing Hell by Francis Chan for the Youth Worker Journal website.  It's in with a few other panel reviews.  If you'd like to read it, you can find it at the bottom of this page, right after Jen Bradbury's review.  I would love to hear your thoughts if you've read it.

When Jesus Won't Follow the Script

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well. 

Today we read Mark 12:38-14:52.

Jesus keeps moving towards the cross.  He is in Jerusalem, and the religious leaders want to arrest Him.  Think about what is going on in real life terms.  This is a crazy tense time.  His disciples have a sense of what is going on.  They want to keep Jesus quiet, to keep Him safe.  He just keeps going and teaching, putting Himself at risk.  You can imagine the stress and awkwardness that must have been going on with the guys.

What stands out is the contrast between Jesus and the disciples.  They are struggling to see what is going on around them.  Jesus is teaching about the end of time, about His betrayal, about His crucifixion, and they can't comprehend it all.  No wonder they can't.  We wouldn't have either.  They believe Jesus is there to take over the country.  It's the perfect time.  At Passover, the Jewish people celebrated God coming in and saving them from the Egyptians.  They celebrated it every year, and kept praying for God to do the same thing with the Romans.  The Jews wanted to be free.  Passover would be the PERFECT time for Jesus to declare Himself the Messiah, the One who came to save them, and take over from the Romans, setting the nation free.  It was a script already written, just waiting for the right actors.  And they, the disciples, were in on the ground floor.

But Jesus kept talking about the end of things, not the beginning of things.  Even when He is speaking about the end of the world, they think He is talking about His kingdom coming right then.  They miss it, because of their own dreams and plans for God.

In contrast, Jesus is all about God's plans for Him.  He is more in tune with what is going to happen in the future than at any other time in story.  He is clearly moving on a set path, and nothing will stop it.  But with His prayer in the garden, we see that it is His Father's plan, not His.  He is living in obedience to God's authority, at whatever cost, and it gives Him laser vision and focus.

What a difference between the two sides.  As we read today, which are more like?  Are we like the disciples, looking for God to save us from the the things that scare us and worry us?  Do we want Him to be a superman, coming to our rescue, so that we can live our dreams, our way, happily ever after?  Or are we like Jesus, throwing ourselves into His arms, trusting Him to catch us, no matter what it costs?  The second way is much more frightening, but it is the only way to salvation.  The choice is ours today.  Which will it be?

Hold a Kid and Flip a Table, All For Freedom

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well.


Today we read Mark 10:32-12:37.

In the verses we read today, we have the story of Jesus heading up into Jerusalem for a showdown with the religious and political leaders.  It's this really amazing mix of stories, as Jesus is facing off with people of power.  You see Him working amazing miracles, like healing the blind man Bartimaeus, and weird miracles, like cursing the fig tree.  Mixed in with it are these battles of words and authority with the religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Anytime we read the Bible, we not only need to take time to understand each individual story, but we need to ask questions like "Why did Mark put these stories in?  Why did he put these stories in the order he did?"  We know that God inspired him, and ultimately God is the author.  At the same time, Mark is trying to tell a story.  Why this order, this way?

With the stories of the miracles, Mark is proving to us how much authority and power Jesus has.  You've probably noticed as we've read through Mark, how many times he includes those words when we talks about Jesus; "authority" and "power".  It's on purpose.  He wants us to understand that Jesus is in charge, that He can do whatever He wants whenever He wants.

Then, you look at the debates with the religious leaders.  These people want to kill Jesus.  Jesus knows it.  Why doesn't He just make one of them wither like the fig tree?  No, I'm serious.  Why doesn't He simply do some miracle that wipes out a couple of the mouthier, more annoying Pharisees?  That would settle the whole issue.  No one would mess with Him then at all.

Or would they?

Jesus knows us.  He created us to be free.  Anything that forces itself on us can not stand long term.  God has made us to follow Him, hard wired us to choose to love Him, built into us a desire for true freedom that only He can give us.  We have to choose Him.  He could force us to obey, but He is more interested in us choosing to love and worship Him.  That is where freedom begins in our lives.  That is why Jesus won't destroy one of the Pharisees.  He could.  They are a creation of His, just like the fig tree.  But He doesn't.

He values our choice, He wants us to be free in a way we rarely know.

He loves us.

He loves you.

So, He talks.  He listens.  He heals.  He gives hope.  He warns.  He upsets tables and systems of power.  He whispers.  He holds children and blesses them.  He puts up with our selfish requests to sit on His right hand and left hand.  He yells.  All so that we can hear Him, choose to trust Him, and seek forgiveness from Him.

All so we can be free.

Where is Jesus trying to get our attention today?  What is He calling us to?  Are we listening?


I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

All New and Improved!! No, really, it is this time.

Our church is taking part in a study called the Amazing Race, and as a church we are reading through the New Testament together until the end of the year.  I thought I'd post my thoughts on the days readings, and I'd love to hear what you have to say.  If you don't attend SCC, I'd still love to invite you to read with us, and weigh in with what you are learning as well.

Today we read Matthew 28:1 - Mark 3:6.

I think the thing that hit me as I'm reading through Mark is how he tells the story, compared to Matthew, Luke, and John.  Each of the writers are telling the same basic story, but the details show what their goal is in telling these stories.  Mark is out to show that Jesus is doing something new, something unexpected, something that challenges the status quo.  Here's what I mean:

In chapter one, Jesus is introduced by John the Baptist.  John's a freak.  Mark tells us what he wears, what he eats, and where he lives.  None of it is normal.  So, we start there.  When Jesus is baptized, the Holy Spirit comes down on Him, and immediately sends Him out in the wilderness as well.  These guys aren't growing up in the typical church schools of their day.  They are getting trained in the wild, by God Himself.

As Jesus begins His ministry, He begins collecting disciples.  This is an act of a rabbi, or teacher.  But instead of collecting the honor roll students from Jerusalem Faith Academy, He chooses instead to head out and collect guys who are school dropouts.  He picks some fishermen, and then later a tax collector, who was basically a sell-out traitor that everyone hated.  Not the picks you would expect Jesus to spend his first round draft on.

When He goes home to Capernaum, He teaches in the synagogue He had spent time in as a kid.  But now, it's different.  He teaches with authority.  He isn't sharing his thoughts on what God might want us to do, maybe.  He teaches as one who knew God well.  To back it up, a demon possessed guy jumps up in the middle of church (really?!) and Jesus pulls the demon out of him right then and there.

He heals Peter's mom in law.  Putting all of the potential mother in law jokes aside (mainly because I love my mom in law!), this wasn't where a great healer and teacher should spend his time, in the small house of a fisherman's family, taking care of a woman's fever.  Surely there were more important things to do.  But, He did it.

Jesus walks away from a great potential healing ministry in His home town.  He disappears when everyone is wanting Him, so He can pray.  He tells the guys with leprosy to not tell anyone about the miracle, because He doesn't want the fame and attention.

To top it all off, He forgives a guys sins.  Think about that. It's cool that He can heal people, and He's a powerful teacher.  But who does He think He is to tell someone that all of the bad stuff they've done in life is forgiven, when they haven't even asked for forgiveness.  It's not like the paraplegic guy on the mat was at the temple offering the sacrifices God called for.  He was laying on the floor of some one's house.  Without the guy even asking, Jesus just up and tells him "Your sins are forgiven"?  Really?  That's way too far.  Then He heals him, just to prove He has the power to do it all.

In case we don't get the tie in to all of these stories, Mark spells it out for people like me who are pretty dense.  In chapter 2, verses 21 and 22 Jesus explains that you can't take new things and try to tie them into old ways.  You have to start all new.  That is what Jesus' actions are showing.  He is doing something completely new, unheard of, never before seen or thought of.  He isn't playing by the old rules, He isn't interested in how they used to do things.  He is starting fresh, and this fresh start is the Kingdom of God crashing into earth.

So, as we read Mark together this week, look for what is new or different.  Watch for where Jesus points out that He is changing things.  It's a constant theme in the book.

Then, take the next step.  What does God need to do new in your life?  Where are you letting your old ways of living continue to define who you are and how you live?  What friends do you have that keep you anchored in a way of life that is dead?  What religious ideas do you need to let go of that aren't really Jesus? What fears hold you back when Jesus is taking you by the hand and saying "Come on!  Let's go!"?  Jesus is still about the new.  New life.  New hope.  New starts.  New dreams.  New habits.

What is it for you?  Weigh in, and let us know.