Open Our Eyes, Lord

We have just returned from a week in inner-city Memphis for a mission trip. It was an eye-opening experience, to say the least. All week long, I was reminded of that old praise and worship song Open Our Eyes, Lord.

Open our eyes, Lord

We want to see Jesus,

To reach out and touch Him,

And say that we love Him.

The words to this song have always haunted me. On more than one occasion, I have found myself near tears and wanting to stand up in the middle of a worship service and ask if we really meant the words we were singing. Do we really want to see Jesus? A lot of times He is dirty, cold, hungry, and thirsty. Is that the Jesus we are looking for these days?

That is certainly the Jesus we look for when we are on a mission trip. On those trips, we see Him everywhere. We see Him in the 24-year old woman we worked for who is struggling to raise her four children and many of her own siblings. We see Him in the hundreds of families who have made the commitment to live in inner-city Memphis and love their brothers and sisters who are broken because they are broken, too. We see Him in the older man who lives in an abandoned car wash that smells of urine and beer. He wakes up each day shaking violently, desperate for a drink. We saw Him everywhere.

We are home now. Are our eyes still open? This is where it counts. It is not enough to go out and serve one or two times a year. It has to translate into the everyday. This is not to diminish the work done last week (and throughout the year through Service Over Self). But it is fleeting if it only lasts for a week or so here and there.

Jesus is all around us - always hungry, thirsty, dirty, cold, and broken. Sometimes in the most unlikely places. He is in that woman you see everyday at work who seems to have it all together. Or maybe in the man who holds it all together each day for his family, but is dying inside because of some secret addiction. That child who feels isolated and unloved at home and at school. Sometimes he looks like a friend or family member who is just having a bad day and stands in need of extra encouragement. And yes, sometimes He looks just like what we saw last week in inner-city Memphis.

There are times when the hunger is physical. There are just as many times when it is a spiritual hunger. There are times when the best thing we can do is offer a cup of water. Then there are times when the thirst can only be satisfied by Living Water. Sometimes the dirt is noticeable and real. Other times it is hidden in the recesses of our hearts. There are days when the need is for a coat to bring warmth. Many days the need is for listening ears and the warmth of a smile and a hug at just the right time. We encounter Jesus in our everyday. Will we recognize Him? Sometimes the task is like the one we tackled last week - a mission project. Most days it takes the form of the mundane - hospitality, encouragement, listening, courtesy, availability.

There's this old quote that I love. I wrote it out for my mom years ago and she still has it on her bulletin board at home. I wrote it in a fun sort of font because that is the way I understood it then. It carries new meaning today. The quote reads, "People see God everyday, they just don't recognize Him..." (Pearl Bailey). Oh, that we would open our eyes and see Him, reach out and touch Him, and say that we love Him...everyday.

This is Jesus

I have always loved the excitement that surrounds Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. I remember waving my palm branch with everything I had as a child. In the church where I grew up, our Associate Pastor "looked" like Jesus (keep in mind that I was no more than 8 years old!) and always rode on a real donkey through our makeshift Jerusalem. We would shout "Hosanna!" as we waved our palm branches at the coming King. I - along with all my little friends - always got caught up in it all. I am pretty sure I thought our Associate Pastor was Jesus for at least part of my childhood!

I imagine the scene at that first Palm Sunday was not unlike the ones I remember so vividly from my childhood. The background was different, as Jerusalem undoubtedly looked and looks nothing like North Little Rock, Arkansas! But the reaction of the people to Jesus' entry wasn't much different than that of the children and adults who gathered each year at my home church to celebrate together.

In Matthew 21:1-11, we see Jesus received as a King as he enters into Jerusalem. He comes riding in like royalty and the people spread their coats ahead of Jesus, waved palm branches, and the crowds were shouting praises at Him.

"Hosanna to the Son of David!"

"Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Hosanna in the highest!"

Matthew tells us that the "entire city of Jerusalem was stirred as he entered" (v. 10).

"Who is this?" they asked.

"This is Jesus..." the crowds replied.

This is Jesus. That phrase jumps right of the page for me every time I read this passage. A powerful statement made by a crowd of people who knew not what they were saying. Sure, they greeted him with a response fit for a King and all the fanfare that implies. They "understood" that he was King, but they did not really understand what kind of King. They missed it...and we often do, too.

The paradox of the Kingship of Jesus Christ is that he is the humble king. Royalty, yes...but not the kind the people expected. This King was born to die a death not fit for a king. His was to be an everlasting Kingdom, ushered in by the most surprising and shameful of means. Death on a Cross. This first Triumphal Entry is but a prelude to the Passion of Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection accomplishing the unimaginable for the people of Jerusalem and countless generations to come: eternal life.

Yes, this is Jesus. Humble King. Obedient Son. Lord and Savior.

Indeed, "Hosanna!" is what we should cry with the crowds. For this phrase literally means, "God save us!" And this is what He has done for us.

So, as you approach this Palm Sunday, ask God to open your eyes to see this Jesus in a new light. Experience Palm Sunday as one who knows the rest of the story. The story of redemption, restoration, and new life that awaits on the other side of the Passion.
But stay a while at Palm Sunday and let the experience of that first one and this one really register. This is Jesus. Behold, your King and Savior!

A Lenten Prayer

Almighty God, merciful Father, and my good Lord,

give me heart-piercing goodness and humility...

Help me to love You and pray to You,

praise You, and meditate upon You.

May I act and think in all things according to Your will,

purely, soberly, devoutly, and with a true and effective mind.

Let me know Your commandments, and love them,

carry them out readily, and bring them into effect.

Lord, let me go on with humility to better things

and never grow slack.

- St. Anselm, Prayers and Meditations

This prayer appeared in a Lenten Reader I received last year. I thought it was a beautiful prayer and worth passing along to you. Make this your prayer during this Lenten journey...

Faith and Facebook

It seems that I, a thirty-three year old woman, am mildly addicted to Facebook. At first, this realization freaked me out a little. Then I realized that my love for this social utility is rooted in my desire for deep and abiding fellowship with others. This is a good thing.

Please don't get me wrong. Facebook has its flaws. Some people use it to keep tabs on others or stalk someone. These things disturb me. But at its core, it is really a fantastic tool. I am connected to people from every major period in my life because of it. It keeps me connected to people I would struggle to stay in touch with otherwise. And it provides me with a space where I can send quick notes to people I love to encourage them or let them know I am thinking of them.

I get very excited when I get a message or someone posts on my wall. I like seeing the faces of those I only have the luxury of seeing every once-in-a-while...it makes them seem closer. I especially love to read the "About Me" section of my friends. It is insightful and often funny.

One such friend is my buddy Rob. Random. Adventurous. Loyal. Deep. Lover of Jesus. All of these things make me appreciate what he states are his "religious views" on Facebook.

"It is not God that I don't like, it is just His fan club that annoys me."

This makes me smile...and think. It makes me smile because it is just like Rob to say something so pointed/funny/profound. It makes me think because it is the truth. Our reputation in the world - especially the Western World - is not the best.

What are you doing to change that?

Passion 2008 // Dallas, TX

A handful of us attended the 2008 Regional Passion Conference in Dallas, TX this past weekend. I speak for all of us when I say that it was a powerful experience from start to finish. The music was incredible (and loud!), the messages were inspiring/challenging, and the movementof the Spirit was felt through it all.

I am not going to lie. The volume of the music made me feel a little old. A lot of bass. A lot of sound effects. A lot of intensity. I am officially old. :) Noise level aside, it was incredible. Just watching people like the David Crowder Band, the Chris Tomlin Band, Kristian Stanfill, and Christy Nockels is a sight to behold. Music done with excellence to the glory of God. Not to mention the fact that all around us were 6000+ college students being energized, inspired, and humbled by it all. It was a beautiful experience just to watch it all happen.

The messages were Spirit-filled and unbelievably convicting, encouraging, inspiring, and challenging. Yes, all of those things. Louie Giglio did not disappoint. He is such a gifted storyteller with a heart for The Story. He is passionate about our Overcoming God and in his belief that one life can make a difference for The Kingdom. Francis Chan was also awesome. He was funny and deep. A rare combination that blessed us all. I would love to hear him again and again, soon.

I am not sure that I've processed our weekend at Passion just yet. Every piece of it (including the unbelievable hospitality of our host family!) inspired me. All I know right now is that God is powerful and can do mighty things through each of us...individually and corporately. I knew that before, but Passion just reminded me of that. It is my prayer that we all take more seriously our part in The Story and that we seek to point out Christ daily for a world that is desperate to know Him.

The new Passion album is called "God of This City." The title track was written by Chris Tomlin. The entire song is a beautiful prayer we can pray for our campuses and for our world. The refrain really resonated with our group and I offer it to you today.

"Greater things have yet to come

and greater things are still to be done in this city."

May you begin to see and to play your part in the "greater things" still to be done on your campus, in your life, and in this world to the glory of God.

Our Great and Only Delight

"The great and firm foundation of the spiritual life is the offering of ourselves to God and being subject to his will in all things. We must completely forget ourselves, so that we regard ourselves as an object which has been sold and over which we no longer have any rights. We find all our joy in fulfilling God's pleasure - his happiness, his glory and the fact that he is our great and only delight. Once we have this foundation, all we need to do is spend our lives rejoicing that God is God and being so wholly abandoned to his will that we are quite indifferent as to what we do and equally indifferent as to what use he makes of our activities."
~ Jean-Pierre De Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence

Walking Together

(Map of the Christian Year by John David Walt)

Just a few short hours ago, we began our Lenten journey for the year. Lent is the 40+ days leading up to Easter. It is meant to be a season of reflection, fasting, and self-denial. During these days we do whatever it takes to follow Jesus into the valley of the cross. To really make the journey with Jesus, we have to renounce ourselves. This usually gets translated into "giving up" something for the season of Lent. This is a great idea...but only if it causes deeper reflection and identification with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection.

To be perfectly honest, for the better part of my life Lent has been more about me than it has been about Jesus. I spent many years giving up the same things and getting the same results. I'd succeed (most of the time) at staying away from whatever I gave up, but fail miserably at really focusing on Christ during the season. Year after year I would reach Easter, heart unprepared, frustrated.

The past few years have been a different story. I haven't given anything up...I've added some things instead. More time in the Word, specifically the Gospel accounts of the crucifixion. More time in prayer. Specifically about the things that bind me and keep me from God. More time reflecting on Christ and His sacrifice and what He is calling me to do in response. It has made all the difference in the world.

If you've already decided to give something up during this season (chocolate, Facebook, etc.), please don't take this post as an encouragement not to do so. Go for it. Self-sacrifice is a good thing. But in the midst of it (whether you're giving something up, adding some things, or whatever), be present these 40 days. Ready your heart for what is to come in the days ahead.

Walk.

Listen.

Watch.

Reflect.

Learn.

Sacrifice.

Pray.

Renew.

Fast.

Feast.

Worship.

Surrender.

Transform.

Take the journey with Jesus down to the valley of death. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him (Matthew 16:24). All the way. You will never be the same.