Brian Castelli – With His Heart

Jesus Christ is the public speaker I would have loved to hear in person. We are blessed by having many of his words–both public and private–recorded in the Bible. In my reading this morning I was reminded of just how radical his message was to the Jews he ministered to.

In Matthew chapter 8, a Roman Centurion came to Jesus to ask Him to heal his servant. Upon seeing the faith of this man, a non-Jew and a member of the people who were oppressing the Jews, Jesus says these words:

I assure you: I have not found anyone in Israel with so great a faith! I tell you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Let’s remember who Jesus was speaking to. This was a people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. These were God’s Chosen People. They thought their birthright was a passage to heaven and that Gentiles (non-Jews) were lost. In this passage Jesus says clearly that salvation has come for the whole world–and that birthright will not be enough! This was a radical message to his audience, no doubt one that did not earn him favor with some of His hearers.

In Acts 10, Peter is preaching to a Gentile household. As he witnesses to them, the Holy Spirit fills his listeners. They become believers in Jesus Christ even though they are not Jews. Verse 45 proves what a radical idea this is:

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

The “circumcised believers” here refers to Jews who had come to faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Radical. He wasn’t afraid to Speak up!

I spend a lot of time commuting to and from work. For years all I did was complain about the time. With the advent of MP3 players, however, my commute time has been reclaimed! I now sport a cell phone that can hold hundreds of MP3’s that I use to fill my mind with truth and encouragement as I drive. More often than not, you’ll catch me on the road listening to some pastor’s sermon…

Recently, I’ve been listening to MP3’s from Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church near Dallas. I have found them to be both helpful and encouraging. Very recently–Thanksgiving time–Pastor Matt was diagnosed with brain cancer. He’s 35, has a wife and three really small kiddos. Here is the location of the 4.5-minute video message he recorded for his congregation prior to surgery:

http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/?p=363

After watching the video, I went back and re-read Hebrews 11. I believe the words there are an encouragement to us as we face trials of every kind. Some, by faith, were able to shut the mouths of lions and quench fire. Others endured suffering–sometimes to their deaths. In either case, the scripture says that the world was not worthy of them. Pastor Matt’s spin on this is that suffering means that God has counted us worthy. I buy that. I pray that someone will remind me of that when I’m in the middle of some trial that has me on my back. I also buy into the notion that even though we love our families God cares more about us and our families than we do. This translates into us being called to follow God’s revealed will (to not lie, to be honest in business–using proper scales and so on…) regardless of the consequences.

I hope that you find this encouraging. I know that I did. I also hope that I will have the courage to live according to the words I have written when the time comes.

We are Christians. We had to forgive them because they asked for forgiveness.

These are the words of an unidentified Rwandan woman referring to those guilty of genocide in her country–even against her own relatives. She had just heard the confession of one of the killers. Some of his words:

Every Tutsi, you would go to their house and loot everything and then kill them. After killing them, you stripped them naked.

How is such forgiveness possible?

As I wrestled with that question, I read 1 Peter 2:4-5:

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

“We are Christians,” she said. She and others like her are the “living stones” that make up the church, God’s spiritual house. By coming to him (Jesus Christ), Christians are being built up (strengthened) to offer spiritual sacrifices (such as forgiveness) through Jesus Christ. Repeat: Through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is how such forgiveness is possible. Of our own strength, we desire revenge. Empowered by Jesus, we offer forgiveness.

(http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1667689.html)

My commute to work stretched out in front of me like a scroll. I didn’t feel like listening to the teaching mp3’s I had loaded in my player–too heavy. I’d had a bad night and a worse morning. I felt overwhelmed. It seemed like nothing was going right. I felt alone, like no one else could really understand. I reached into the center console and pulled out a Mark Shultz CD. I hoped that a bit of music would lift my spirits.

I inserted the CD into the dash-mounted player. Track 1 played for a moment. No. Skip to track 2. Then 3. Then 4. Ah! That was the one. I Have Been There. One of the choruses reads this way:

Oh I have been there
I know what fear is all about
Yes, I have been there
And I am standing with you now
I have been there
And I came to build a bridge oh so this road could
Lead you home
Oh I have been there

God has been there. He does understand my situation. He understands, not in some abstract, aloof way, but as God-made-man in Christ Jesus. Even when I feel alone, like there’s no one who has been in my shoes before, I can know that He has been there.

I brushed a tear from my eye as I drove. Thank you, Jesus.

A friend lent me her already-borrowed copy of the audio book, “same kind of different as me.” It’s the true story of the ministry of Debra Hall and her husband, Ron, and how they reached out to befriend a homeless man named Denver Moore. Denver, as he’s referred to in the book, came out of a life of virtual slavery. The Hall’s reached out to him as part of their weekly work with the homeless in Fort Worth, TX.

Some insights from the book that apply to outreach:

• That the Hall’s kept coming back week after week set them apart from the “seasonal” volunteers that the homeless saw at the Mission. Denver said that the folks who only show up on holidays come because they feel guilty for all that they have. Once the guilt is assuaged, they return home and let the guilt start building up again. Since the Hall’s kept coming week after week, folks began to get the idea that they really cared. (And they did!) This tells me something that I guess I already knew from my trip to San Diego a couple of summers ago: Drive by help is not always appreciated. The kind of help that makes a difference is the kind of help that builds relationships.
• Denver’s tough exterior was his shield. He’d been hurt enough times to not want to let anyone get too close again. When he appeared dangerous, people left him alone. Because of this exterior, Ron didn’t want to be friends with him at first. Debra, who looked through the exterior, kept insisting. It took time, but Ron and Denver eventually became good friends. Denver became part of the family. In fact, he moved into the family home after Debra passed. The lessons here: The tough exterior we see is sometimes an act, and it takes a while to break through layers of defense. Patience and perseverance are required.
• Even though the Hall’s had no common background or experience to help them understand the plight of Denver and other homeless folks, they did what they could–they loved. Ron didn’t have to spend the night in a cardboard box to show love and compassion to Denver. He didn’t have to sell all of his possessions and give the proceeds away to become Denver’s friend. The lesson here is that even people of diverse backgrounds have something to share. This isn’t always comfortable. In fact, it is decidedly UNCOMFORTABLE. And that, my friend, is just what we need sometimes.
• When the visits to the homeless Mission began, Ron felt sorry for the men and women he met there. He admits, however, that he also felt somehow superior to them. He was there to help them, but what he found, in the end, that he was in many ways INFERIOR to Denver. That is, as the relationship progressed, Ron found that it was *Denver* who poured his life into Ron, not necessarily the other way around. The lesson here is that humility helps us understand our role as we work to become better friends.
• God is in control of all things. Although there was terrible pain for Ron when Debra passed–why did He take her when she was doing so much good for so many people?!!?–Denver took up the torch she laid down. He became an advocate for the homeless and has made a difference in that community that Debra by herself could not have achieved. Even her horrible, painful death yielded evidence that God works all things together for good.

I highly recommend the book. I also highly recommend that we endeavor to find uncomfortable situations in which we can minister. Speak life into people!

During the recent political campaign season, we were deluged by uncounted political advertisements. If you are anything like me you found it hard to get facts and clarity about the candidates, especially about the presidential candidates. The talking heads on the news channels seemed to care more about who said the right thing to which group and whether they handled the debate well. The uproar of the campaign caused my internal defense mechanisms to kick in. I focused hard on just a few issues in an attempt to maintain my sanity. It mostly worked.

One down side to my focus, however, is that I totally missed an issue. When I saw the Obama’s standing together at the inauguration–Barak, Michelle, Malia and Sasha–it hit me: We have a role-model family in the White House.

It’s been since the 1960’s that we’ve had small children in the White House. At this time in our history when the nation is reeling from divorce, single parenthood, and children growing up in poverty, we have an intact family with small children to identify with.

I hope and pray that the family of the Obama presidency will be a source of inspiration to millions of Americans to get married, stay married, and raise well-loved, well-adjusted children.

A weird little thing happened this week.

I was browsing at the local game shop on Sunday evening. I found a used copy of Madden 2008, last year’s version of the football franchise game I’ve heard very good things about. $10. I bought it. Of course, the game container I brought to the counter was empty. I guess it’s far too easy to steal a DVD. They keep the DVD’s in a drawer behind the counter. The young man took the container, removed a disk from the drawer, inserted into the container, and handed the container back to me. I paid and went home.

The game sat on the shelf until Tuesday. I loaded the game in my console without giving the disk even a second glance. The logo for Madden 2009 filled my TV screen. Woo-hoo! A $50+ game for only $10! My daughter and I played through one game – Bears (my daughter) vs. Panthers. She crushed me 36-12.

As that first game wore on, I grew increasingly uneasy. I was upset about being beaten, of course, but I was even more upset by my conscience. I didn’t pay for Madden ‘09. I paid for Madden ‘08. The more I thought about it, the less I had to think about it. There was one clearly right path. There were other paths I could have taken, but each of them required some kind of justification or excuse. I took the game back to the store last night.

The guy at the store was impressed. He was clearly surprised by my action. I would have gotten away with it. No one would have blamed me for keeping it. But it wasn’t right. What kind of example should I be for my daughter? The guy who did the right thing or the guy who got away with it?

I didn’t write this post to build myself up or to make you think I’m all righteous and everything. I wrote this post because of my initial reaction. When I discovered the error in my favor, I was all about keeping it. My first, strongest and most natural reaction was to, of course, keep it! Duh! What else would I do? What would you do? In the end, though, it wasn’t *me* who decided to return it. It was really the Holy Spirit of God working through my conscience that drove me to do the right thing. This is yet another example of how following Jesus Christ makes a difference. Not by my power, but by His!

(Originally published May 2007)

This week I was on hand during the youth meeting at church, and the youth pastor did a great job talking about Romans 7 and 8. This is the passage where Paul writes about his struggles – how even though he’s been following Jesus for years he does what he doesn’t want to do [what he knows is wrong] and doesn’t do what he wants to do [what he knows is right]. Our pastor talked about the struggle we have between doing right and doing wrong. The most compelling part of the talk to me was when he started talking about alternatives to nasty behavior and music. He said that instead of dumping a lot of garbage into our brains through what we do, what we listen to, and who we hang around with, we should pour on the good stuff. If we fill ourselves with God’s word, good Christian music, and good Christian friends, we will displace those things that draw us away from God.

I must admit that it’s those times when I’m studying to teach a Bible class that I tend to do better. When I’m filling myself with God’s word, I am much less likely to struggle with temptation and sin. It’s like putting on armor.

(Originally published May 2007)

I recently watched the new Drew Barrymore movie, Fever Pitch. I enjoyed the movie, but most impressive to me was the main message delivered by the movie:

Sometimes you sacrifice what you love for the one you love!

Fever Pitch is a sappy romance that brings together two people who were previously unwilling to compromise their goals and desires for anyone. In their own ways, each was immersed in something very important to them with no room for anyone else. By the end of the movie, however, in a scene reminiscent of O. Henry’s classic The Gift of the Magi, both are willing to give up something dear to them for the other’s sake. (Okay. It falls well short of O. Henry’s work, but there might be a hint of it!)

In this day of selfish pursuits, it’s nice to see a movie with a positive message.

( I just wish they could have restrained themselves from adding the strong undercurrent of sexuality!)

If you’d like to read a public-domain copy of The Gift of the Magi, try Project Gutenberg at this location:

http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/magi10h.htm

Enjoy!

(Originally published May 2007)

I have been solwly working my way through The Pursuit of God, a book written in the 1940’s by A. W. Tozer. Today I came across a very interesting section that I will quote here:

“The Bible will never be a living Book to us until we are convinced that God is articulate in His universe. To jump from a dead, impersonal world to a dogmatic Bible is too much for most people.”

The point Tozer is trying to make is that unless we believe that God is active in the world around us, speaking to us from his very creation, that the Bible cannot be more than a book of moral principles for us. Tozer goes on to write:

“A silent God suddenly began to speak in a book and when the book was finished lapsed back into silence again forever. He was for a brief time in a speaking mood. With notions like that in our heads how can we believe? The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the very nature of God to speak.”

Tozer has hit upon the answer to a problem I routinely run into when talking to people about faith. They don’t want to accept the Bible as God’s word because they don’t perceive God as active in the world around them. And they find it difficult to believe that God, if he exists, would only speak through this one book. The answer, of course, is that God is speaking all the time through the world around us. The Bible is only one of the ways God reveals himself.