Faith « lukemundy.com

Faith

Through Him And For Him

Some thoughts this morning.

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through Him and for Him. (Colossians 1:16)

On history: I find it interesting that God chose to work as a carpenter during His time on earth. In the midst of the overwhelming task of providing salvation and eternal life, He spent time and effort creating simple goods that regular people used everyday. He built houses, chairs, tables, bowls, and farming equipment. I’m sure He did this with skill and I’d like to think He found great joy and pride in His work.

On the macro scale: God is powerful enough to have spoken the universe into being, yet detailed enough to design the complexities of DNA and the human eye. He works in the commonplace and the unfathomable and finds joy and pride in both.

On application: Because God is an all-powerful master craftsman, He has this same sovereign concern over the details of our lives–where we live, where we work, and how we spend our money. Concern, in that these details are of importance to Him. Sovereign, in that He orders them by His power for His glory.

On response: I’m pretty self-centered. I like to think about the concern part. I like to hear that God cares for us and provides for us. I can trust Him and rest in that. But I tend not to think about the sovereign part. His care doesn’t exist for my comfort or benefit. It exists for His glory. Hearing this ought to change the way I pray, worship, and make decisions. It ought to fill me with reverence and fear.

All things. Through Him. For Him.

Faith — 2 Comments
11
Aug 09

The Things Of Earth

My drive to work this morning found me thinking about the constant faithfulness of God in contrast to the gods that the world serves. Money, Pleasure, Fame, and other pursuits are so fickle. They come and go. But God is unchanging. He keeps His promises and never fails.

I’ve always loved the refrain of “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

Let’s live for the unchanging glory of God.

Faith — 5 Comments
31
Jul 09

What Happened In Vegas

Disclaimer: this is a long post written in an airport after a week with little sleep. Bear with me.

I can’t stand Vegas. Everything it stands for repulses me. From the moment you get off the plane you’re bombarded with sensuality and materialism. My first reaction is disdain. I scoffed at the guys next to me headed out to their bachelor party. The overweight Midwesterners getting ready to hit the slots at 11pm made me chuckle in pity. Self righteousness took over. I acted as if I was above all the sins of Sin City.

After a few hours of shuttles and hotel lines, God began to get through to me. What I realized is that I was projecting my own struggles and sinfulness on those around me. I’m no stranger to sensuality and materialism. They are the sin nature that tugs at my heart each day. Instead of rejoicing in the freedom and forgiveness I’ve found in Jesus Christ, I was bitter and annoyed by the debauchery around me. Meanwhile, they weren’t thinking about these things, they were having a good time. Their attitude certainly doesn’t change the definition of sin, but my attitude didn’t make me any more holy.

Really, my attitude made me an angry indignant Christian–just the kind of person people would love to be around, right? Contrast that with Jesus: He hung out with the prostitutes, drunks, and tax collectors. Homeless and broken people. People indebted and caught in a system of exploitation.

Jesus loves Las Vegas. He loves every stripper, every wasted coed, every debt-laden parent, every adulterous business traveler. And thankfully for me, every broken Pharisee.

So I’m sitting in the airport this morning, taking another step closer to being like Jesus. He’s moving me from indignation to compassion.

I don’t think that means I should be spending much time here, but I’m so thankful for ministries like The Strip Church that are actively loving this city. I don’t think I could do it, but I know that Jesus does.

“God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” – John 3:17

Faith — 2 Comments
27
Jul 09

To Be Grateful

Those of you following me on Twitter know that I’m traveling to Ft Wayne IN on my first business trip (I feel so grown up all of the sudden…). I haven’t done much air travel in my lifetime and when I have it’s generally been with church groups so any hiccups were handled by a team leader. This trip has been a bit trying as my flight from Fresno to San Francisco was delayed, forcing me to travel standby and spend the night in Chicago. Fun.

For the most part my Twitter updates have been pretty negative–stressed updates on flight statuses, sarcastic comments about airport quirks, etc. Honestly, a lot of that negativity is overstated–it’s cool to be a cynical twentysomething, right?–but as I read back through my updates I’ve realized that it’s been a lot of unnecessary complaining.

This morning I sat down to enjoy a preflight americano and banana at gate F11, God gave me a good reminder: I’m safe, I’m well rested, I have food, I have coffee, I have a home to return to, I have a wife waiting there, I have a phone that connects me to everyone I love, I have an awesome blog, He is good, and I don’t deserve any of it.

So I’ve decided to be grateful.

Faith — No Comments
9
Apr 09

I’ve Never Really Liked Easter

Confession: I’ve never really liked Easter.

It’s not that I don’t like the idea of Easter. I’m totally excited that Jesus died and rose again. But, as far as holidays go, I never really got anything out of it. As a kid I never really enjoyed hardboiled eggs, jelly beans, or milk chocolate and as an adult I’ve always felt like it’s just another Sunday.

Really, when it comes down to it, Easter is just messy. It’s a celebration of death and atonement and resurrection. And those are all really big words that require a lot of prayer and reflection to fully grasp and appreciate. They’re things that aren’t easily covered by a 30 minute Passion drama or a special song before the offering. It’s complicated.

Today, I read a great post from Jon Volez that clarified a lot of the things I’ve been feeling lately. You should read the whole post, but here’s an excerpt.

Yes – Easter is about something that happened. Jesus of Nazareth really was an historical person who really was executed by the Roman Empire for sedition and whose followers really did proclaim that he had been resurrected into a new body and who founded the Church on the basis of that belief.

Yes – Easter is about something that is still happening. Christ’s followers are still proclaiming that there is a force stronger than Death, more powerful than the grave, and that force – that resurrection power – is at work in the world through God the Holy Spirit.

Yes – Easter is about something that will happen. It is about the future hope of Christ-followers who understand that there will come a time when every wrong is put back to rights, when God’s Kingdom will permeate and transform this world into a new one and that we will also received new bodies just as Christ did.

This year, I’ve made a greater effort to prepare myself for this upcoming Sunday. I’ve tried to intentionally focus my thoughts on those deeper themes… to truly grasp what Easter means.

Earlier this year I heard someone talk about how they felt that a liturgical calendar helped them feel a greater appreciation and focus towards the major events recorded in the gospels. With this in mind, I’ve adopted some Lenten practices this year. I’m not holding them as a rigid religious burden or as a way to be holier, but just as a practice of focusing my attention on Christ, His life, and His work on the cross. It’s helped point my heart in the direction of Easter and it’s kindled my anticipation for that moment of celebration–and ultimately that final celebration as all things are made new.

Anyway, this has been a rambling post. I’ll end with letting you all know that I’m really excited for Easter this year.

Faith — 8 Comments
26
Feb 09

Do You Lent?

I grew up thinking that Lent–the 40-day period of fasting and reflection leading up to Easter–was an empty, unbiblical ritual that was to be avoided. This was taught in my home, implied in my church, and confirmed in the experiences of friends. I remember the typical lunchtime conversation during high school:

Lenten Friend: Oh $@%#! I’m not supposed to be drinking soda today!

Me: Why’s that?

Lenten Friend: Ummmm… because, it’s… you know… Lint.

They’d then finish downing their Surge and McFish Sandwich.

So I get the negative aspects of Lent. I understand that any religious practice done with religious motives is nothing but law leading to death and leaves only guilt and burden. However, since then I’ve had the privilege of knowing a few individuals who have practiced Lent of their own free will and found it to be a wonderful experience for deepening their relationship with the Savior.

I think of friends in college who gave up time and money sucking activities and spent their renewed resources on justice and compassion. I think of the young woman I met in China who fasted from solid food the entire 40 days so she could pray for her unsaved family and nation (I was with her on Easter morning and it was glorious!)

I’m curious about these experiences. The ones that aren’t based on “my pastor/priest told me to”, “everybody’s doing it”, or “if I give up Pepsi I’ll lose weight.” I want to know more about people who felt lead to deepen their commitment to Jesus during this season and fast in a Spirit-led way.

So here’s what I want to know:

Do you (or have you) practice(d) Lent?
If so, why? and how?
What was the experience like?

UPDATE: apparently, Brody and I blogged about the same thing. Be sure to join in on the conversation going on at his blog.

Faith — No Comments
14
Oct 08

A Sermon on Mark 4:35-41

My friend Eric posted a sermon from Mark 4 on his blog yesterday:

“May this always and ever be the gospel you preach. For if we are to get any hearing with the whats of life it can only be through the Who of life. For in order, to really bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, peace to the afflicted, is to bring them Jesus, the Son of God, the one to whom even wind and sea are obedient. Amen.”

Go read the rest here.

Faith — 2 Comments
22
Apr 08

Abstract Questions

Ugh. I hate making big decisions.

Maybe it’s just that I hate change.

Either way, I’m facing both in the next few weeks.

Our sudden shift in circumstances here at the Mundy household has ushered in a time of reflection. We’re spending some time evaluating our goals, our purpose, and our sense of calling. More specifically, we’re taking a look at who we want to be 10, 15, 20 years from now, and what steps seem necessary to get there.

The trouble is, we’re not finding easy answers. The questions that would typically give easy answers (what pays the most? what gives the best chances of promotion? what fits best with your experience) don’t seem to matter much right now. Instead they’re all abstract (who are we? what defines success? what are you passionate about?) and subjective.

I’m having a hard time answering those things.

Later I’ll tell you about one answer I’m getting…

Faith — No Comments
4
Mar 08

Seeking Significance

I struggle with the thought of significance. I continually feel like I’m wasting time or that I’m not ambitious enough. Maybe that’s true. But I have the suspicion that a great deal of that feeling is just pressure I put on myself–pressure to be something great.

I randomly read this article from Relevant Magazine today. It fits with much of what I’ve been thinking about the last few days.

I do believe that God has a great plan (a perfect plan) for each of our lives. I just don’t think it’s always the plan we dream about. May we always be content with our lives!

Faith — No Comments
28
Feb 08

Are We Good People?

By now you’ve probably heard about the Moment of Truth episode that aired last Monday. If you aren’t aware, The Moment of Truth is a game show where contestants are asked probing personal questions while strapped to a polygraph machine and are awarded cash for answering honestly.

Last week’s episode has drawn a lot of attention and controversy because viewers nationwide watched as a young marriage was destroyed in front of a studio audience. Lauren Cleary was asked questions like “were you convinced you were in love with an ex-boyfriend on your wedding day?” and “have you had sexual relations with someone other than your husband since being married?”–both of which elicited positive answers.

As sad as it was to see this poor woman’s shame exposed and her family’s shock and despair flaunted on national television, what really caught my attention was the final question she was asked:

“Do you think you’re a good person?”

After thinking for a second, Lauren–who has already admitted to stealing from work and marital infidelity–answered yes, she did think she was a good person. Unfortunately for Lauren, all her self-disclosure didn’t win her any money because the polygraph said that this statement was false. Host Mark Walberg had this to say:

“It came back as a lie, which means that somewhere in you, you haven’t forgiven yourself and that somewhere your truth is that you don’t think you’re a good person at all.”

This just brings to mind a couple of insights. First, it seems that most people truly believe that they are good. I’m sure that we, like Lauren, have convinced ourselves that we are mostly good or that we’ve learned from our mistakes. Second, I believe that deep down inside we all have an understand that we are inherently not good. We all know that we have broken an absolute moral code in some way.

And this means that people are really broken deep down inside. I’m sure Lauren and her family have gone through a lot of pain since that episode was filmed and I’m sure there’s more to come. I’m also sure that there are people we see every day–friends, family, neighbors, baristas–who are hurting inside. They may act like they’ve got life together. They may act uninterested. But at their core they are broken and in need of a Savior.

Let’s be a light to those people today! My prayers are with Lauren and her family and with you today as you seek to show God’s love to a desperately needy world.

lukemundy.com