Deep-End Discipleship

 " And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them,  “If anyone would come after me, let him  deny himself and  take up his cross and follow me.  For  whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake  and the gospel's will save it.     For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?     For  what can a man give in return for his soul? " Mark 8:34-37   (ESV) There is a lot packed in these four verses from Mark. What stands out to me most through all this talk about losing or gaining our lives and our souls, is in verse 34 where we are told to “take up your cross”. This is an instruction I have heard many times through the church, but what does it mean to take up your cross? To me, taking up our cross is choosing to be a Christian everyday. The conscious effort to treat people a certain way, to rely on God, and to think about ...

After John was arrested, Jesus came into Galille announcing God's good news, saying, "Now is the time! Here comes God's kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!" - Mark 1:14-15 (CEB) - I love stories fantasy fiction stories. I love the adventure, the lessons learned, and the incredible creatures. My favorite mythical creature is the Phoenix. The Phoenix is a huge magnificent bird of red, orange, and yellow colors. At the end of their life, they burst into flames and disintegrate into ash. Soon after, the Phoenix is reborn from the ash and begins life again. Even though the Phoenix is mythical, I think it is a symbol that represents a great degree of truth in life. In Mark 1:14-15, we see the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and the end of John the Baptist’s. John prepared the way for Jesus and called people to repent and be baptized. John’s ministry ended by being arrested by Herod and later put to death. Even from this tragic end, t...

“Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow; tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.” - Joel 2:12-13 CEB - I am not sure the statistical probability of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday falling on the same day, but here we are. From the outside it seems as two contrary ideas. One sometimes vaulted as an overly commercialized day where one is expected to express one’s love to his or her loved ones. The other is a day where liturgical church people mark the start of the journey to Easter – a celebration of Christ’s life, death & resurrection – with a time of serious reflection, sacrifice & confession. Yet despite each of the inherent differences, both have a pull to the heart of things quite literally. No one wants a thoughtless Valentine or an insincere ges...

“Don’t you know? Haven’t you heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He doesn’t grow tired or weary. His understanding is beyond human reach, giving power to the tired and reviving the exhausted. Youths will become tired and weary, young men will certainly stumble, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they will fly up on wings like eagles; they will run and not be tired; they will walk and not be weary.” Isaiah 40: 28-31 CEB   You know that moment, when you’re on your phone and all of the sudden you realize that your battery percentage is on 5% or 10%? This stage is fun because it’s not at that urgent state where you have to find a charger, but you go ahead and close all of your apps, or you stop playing a game, or you do whatever it takes so that the battery will last for as long as it can. Sometimes it seems like it stays at 5% forever and is somehow producing its own energy to...

Fear of the Lord is where wisdom begins;  sure knowledge is for all who keep God's laws. God's praise lasts forever! - Psalm 111:10 (CEB)- Let ’s face it, fear probably isn’t anyone’s favorite topic. We prefer to avoid our fears and often face them begrudgingly. Because of this, reading passages which say to “fear the Lord” can sound weird to us. However, often in the Bible, fear refers to something besides simply terror. Fear can also be the idea of being completely amazed at something truly awe-inspiring. When someone is filled with awe at something, there is an idea of amazement which captures their mind and heart. I think of going to a concert with your absolute favorite singer and then getting to meet the person afterwards. There is excitement, awe, and it’s probably the only thing you’re going to think about the week prior or the week after! Our God - the creator, savior, compassionate, just, good God - is much greater than any human musician. Though ce...

“This is what I’m saying, brothers and sisters: The time has drawn short. From now on, those who have wives should be like people who don’t have them. Those who are sad should be like people who aren’t crying. Those who are happy should be like people who aren’t happy. Those who buy something should be like people who don’t have possessions. Those who use the world should be like people who aren’t preoccupied with it, because this world in its present form is passing away.” - 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 CEB - Amidst all the apostle Paul has to say in the Bible, this is not always one of the favorite verses. It doesn’t sound comfortable to have to suddenly act like something you’re not. You might paraphrase what the apostle says as such, “So you were happy – don’t worry about that anymore. So you were sad – stop crying now. So you are really concerned about the people in your life who care to you – don’t focus too much on them.” This is hard for us to hear as a message of Good New...

“Lord, you have examined me. You know me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up. Even from far away, you comprehend my plans. You study my traveling and resting. You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways. There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord, that you don’t already know completely. You surround me—front and back.  You put your hand on me. That kind of knowledge is too much for me; it’s so high above me that I can’t fathom it.” - Psalm 139:1-6 CEB - I am a planner. I function best when I have multiple to-do lists, a detailed calendar, and I know what I need to do months in advance. Part of the reason I do this, is because it seems like there is always a billion things to do and a lot of pressure to succeed. I’m also an obsessive planner because it helps me cope with stress. We have so much pressure to be successful in life and to have our whole future planned out. I get a lot of comfort by being able to list of my 5-year plan to someone who asks. I feel accomp...