NUTS about Jesus!

Lately I have been captivated with a book by Leonard Sweet called, Jesus Drives Me Crazy. The premise of the book is that the Gospel presents a life-changing wisdom that lives in conflict with the normal ways of making sense. Leonard challenges us to live our lives not in the “world according to normal” mode, but in the “world according to NUTS mode” in which nuts is an acronym for Never Underestimate the Spirit.

Sweet has reminded me that living for Jesus should make us vastly different than “normal” and challenges Christians to fall so crazy-in-love with Christ that it turns our world upside down and inspires us to live extraordinary lives that do not “conform” but instead “transforms” our lives and the world around us. His challenge to be NUTS for Jesus has hastened my desire to make my life count and to make a difference.

Anyone can do adapt themselves to the world around them. It takes courage to make the world you are a part of adapt to you and the impact that Christ has made. The following is a quote from the book written by Frederick Bruechner, a man who served as both a member of the clergy and a novelist:

“If the world is sane, then Jesus is mad as a hatter and the Last Supper is the Mad Tea Party. The world says, Mind your own business, and Jesus says, There is no such thing as your own business. The world says, Follow the wisest course and be a success, and Jesus says, Follow me and be crucified. The world says, Drive carefully…the life you save may be your own…and Jesus says, Whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. The world says, Law and Order, and Jesus says, Love. The world says, Get, and Jesus says, Give. In terms of the world’s sanity, Jesus is crazy as a coot, and anybody who thinks he can follow Him without being a little crazy too is laboring less under a cross than under a delusion.”

Sweet goes on in the book to point out that some of the greatest saints were high-octane sinners before they came to Christ and holy lunatics afterwards.

God, help me to become NUTS for Christ, a person who lives outside of the boundaries of “normal” to become outrageously crazy for Christ.

“A leader is a fellow who refuses to be crazy the way everybody else is crazy and tries to be crazy in his own crazy way.” Peter Maurin

Everyone Needs a Good Soap!

I recently ran across a great journaling plan for Bible Study by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro of New Hope Church in Oahu, Hawaii. Wayne has made journaling quite easy by developing the following system using the word SOAP as an acronym. If you don’t already journal, I would whole-heartedly courage you to give it a try using this very practical method.

S

S = Scripture

Open your Bible to the reading found under today's date of your Bible bookmark. Take time reading and allow God to speak to you. When you are done, look for a verse that particularly spoke to you that day, and write it in your journal.

O

O = Observation

What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words, in your journal.

A

A = Application

Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of your life. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.

P

P = Prayer

This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two-way conversation, so be sure to listen to what God has to say! Now, write it out.

I couldn’t stand to go without my shower every morning, including a good scrubbing with soap. Once you start your morning with this other type SOAP you will find that your desire for the Spiritual SOAP will be just a compelling. Give it a try. I think you’ll like it.

The Bow and the Arrow

Nothing in the world reminds me of God’s love for me, than the events in the lives of my own children. This past Saturday night my middle son, Devin, married his long time girl friend (since eighth grade) and started his new life apart from his mother and I. As a father, it is a bittersweet moment. I am happy as he moves into this new place; yet somewhat sad that from this point forward he will “leave his mother and father and cleave to his wife.” It is as God designed it. And if I my wife and I have done our job well, while we will continue to be part of his life, his primary focus will be on his new wife and someday soon, perhaps, a family. As long as we are alive, we will be there for him. But his focus must now shift to his new family. It is the way that God intended. It still doesn’t make it easy for a parent to let go.

One of my favorite writers is the mystic poet Kahil Gibran who wrote in the early 1900’s. He penned the following regarding children:

You are the bows from which your children


as living arrows are sent forth.


The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 


and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.


Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 


so He loves also the bow that is stable.

The arrow has been launched. Hopefully it will go swift and far. Hopefully as parents we have allowed the Master Archer to use us as the bow to launch him onto the infinite path of the purposes of God for his life. As Mr. Gibran so creatively states, God loves both the parents who with tenderness provide the stability of the bow, and also the child who flies from the bow toward the horizon of limitless potential. Congrats Devin and Kendell….fly far!