He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

We live in a world filled with injustice. It has been here since the Fall of Man. It can often seem overwhelming and leave people paralyzed into thinking they can’t make a difference. But, people who follow Jesus are called to make a difference - not just in the spiritual realm of peoples lives but in the physical realms where there is much injustice. “What does the Lord require?” asks Micah, “justice, mercy, and humility.” This is only one place in Scripture that we see the clear call for those that desire to please God. Consider also Hosea 6:6 “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” (which Jesus echoes in Matthew 12:7) or Deuteronomy 15:4,7-11. There is no doubt in Scripture that God has a deep heart of love for the poor and that he desires his people to not neglect the poor but to help those in need.

There are many examples of injustice in our world today. Global poverty is one that is being focused on right now in the Blog Action Day campaign. As a part of that campaign, I’d like to take the opportunity to encourage Christians to be engaged in the work of justice and compassion toward the poor. I believe that Christians should be leading the way here. We need to be transformed with God’s heart for the poor and broken. As it has been said, we need to have soft hearts and hard feet, not the other way around. As I mentioned earlier, the magnitude of injustice in the world can be overwhelming, but let it not paralyze us. Just as Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a small mustard seed, the work of justice and mercy starts small. We can’t save the world overnight, but we can reach out and begin touching lives one by one. We can give of our abundant resources and of ourselves. This is one way that we can follow Jesus on the downward path of becoming a servant - by the giving of ourselves for the needs of others. Consider Acts 2:45

Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.

The early church understood here that the needs of others were just as important, if not more, as their own. We also see this is in Philippians 2:3-4 when we are told to consider others better than ourselves and to not only look to our own interests but to the needs of others. That is the Jesus way!

There are too many people in this world that are living in poverty and suffering injustice. Let those of us who follow Christ, become like him and have his heart of compassion. Let us not serve out of guilt or obligation, but out of the Love of God and our desire to please Him and to be his hands and feet in this world.

So get creative! What are some ways YOU can begin to get involved and make a difference?

Some Suggested Reading:

A short story entitled: The Man Who Planted Trees

Plus these books:

Consider the story of Jesus with Mary and Martha:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42

Jesus said that Mary chose the the better thing. While Martha was busy doing and trying to be productive, Mary was simply being with Jesus. This story might frustrate some of us. “How can Mary just sit there and be told that she is doing the better thing?” we may wonder. Here Jesus is teaching us about the difference between doing and being; contemplation and action.

Because of the values of the world around us, we are often tempted to take the part of Martha. Go, go, go! Busy, busy, busy! Often we exclaim, “I’m so busy!” as if it is something to brag about! But, Jesus is showing us a different way here; a better way. When we follow the lead of Mary, we learn to simply be with God. When we do this, and make it a regular part of the rhythm of our life, we will begin to be transformed by the presence of God. Jesus is not teaching here that there is no place for action. What he is teaching here has to do with priority.

Being with God enables us to effectively do the things we need to do in the world. This is more than simply going to God just so we can rush out into our busyness. Rather, by being with God and discovering our identity in Him and in His love we become freed from the bondage of having our identity wrapped up in what we can do. We are freed to love and to act and to serve because we now know that these things are not the determination of our self-worth, but that God’s love determines our self-worth. It is now out of this Love that we “do”.

This is a life long journey that we go through. We are constantly pulled back, which is why we need to spend much time at the feet of Jesus in solitude and silence, simply being wrapped in His arms and enveloped in His love. I know first hand the difficulty of this. I am a “people pleaser” and I often find myself connecting my worth with what I can produce, by my usefullness.  But, only when my actions come out of my identity with God will any of them be of any real value.

What about you? Do you identify with Mary or Martha? Do you often find yourself connecting your self-worth with your “doing”? How often to you simply sit with God?

Putting it into Practice:

In our prayer times we often come to God with a list of things we want him to do or help us to do. Try spending some time in prayer when you set aside that list and you simply be with God. Maybe read a Scripture (Psalms are good for this) that just describes God’s greatness and just echo it in your own words. Try to not say anything at all even. Simply sit silent before God and ask Him to wrap you in His loving presence. This can be hard at first, so try just sitting for 5 or 10 minutes (use a timer if it helps). When a thought comes into your mind, dismiss it just as fast. When you feel tempted to “do” something, rest in His presence. Don’t try to impress God, allow Him to impress you with His presence. As you begin, simply ask God to be with you and to help you discover your identity as his child.

If we will make this a regular part of the rhythm of life, we will begin to have a renewed strength in the world and will become free to love, serve, and do the work of God.

Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Most Christians believe that the Bible is the word of God. Most Christians also believe that the Bible is a source of wisdom, knowledge and inspiration. For them, the Bible not only records the beginning of creation, but the end of time as well. All Christians, regardless of their beliefs, generally agree that the Bible is a special book.

I think that Richard Foster would agree with this assessment. The first sentence of his book, Life With God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation, reads:” God has given us a written revelation of who God is and what God’s purposes are for humanity.”

People read the Bible for various reasons. Some people read the Bible to increase their knowledge of God. Other people read the Bible to support their particular point of view. Still others read the Bible like they read the latest self-help book, to feel better about themselves.

Certainly there is a place for reading the Bible in the ways listed above, but it does not produce the lasting fruit and growth that Richard Foster emphasizes. Foster wants Christians to read the Bible for transformation, not just information. He wants reading the Bible to cause change in our lives and keep us humble before God.

Foster points out the importance in reading the Bible from cover to cover. Reading the Bible from beginning to end allows the believer to encounter the Bible in its full context. When we read the Bible from start to finish, we fully enter into the stories of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Paul and others. We feel the agony of Abraham when called to sacrifice Isaac; stand in awe with Moses when he went to the mountain to meet God; and feel the agony of Jesus when He went to the cross.

Foster also points out that the Bible should be read with both our mind and our heart. When we read the Bible with our mind, we appreciate the different genres it presents. We read about the law, history, poetry, the major prophets, the minor prophets, the gospels, the epistles and Revelation and see how great God is. When we read the Bible with our hearts, we meditate on its contents and ask the Holy Spirit to change what needs to be changed in our lives.

Richard Foster has written several books on spiritual life and formation. His heart and passion is for Christians to grow closer to God and develop the mind of Christ. Life With God encourages Christians to read the Bible for spiritual growth and become more like Jesus.

He certainly would agree with Jerome, who wrote several centuries ago:”Make knowledge of the Scriptures your love. Live with them, meditate on them, make them the sole object of your knowledge and inquiries.”

I encourage everyone to read Life With God. More important than that, I encourage Christians to approach the Bible with a humble heart and encounter the God of creation and loves us beyond measure.

But to live Christ centered is to truly find Life the way it was meant to be lived. This is the life in which Christ (note not religion - but relationship with God through Christ by the Holy Spirit) is the center around which all of lifes activities revolve. When our relationship with Christ is the center, it will impact every area of life and that is what it was meant to be like!

So, how do we do it? How do we live Christ centered?

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Paul gives us a hint at how we can go about living with Christ as the center. He makes it pretty clear - whatever you do….word or deed…do it all. In other words, EVERYTHING YOU DO! Paul doesn’t just limit it to certain activities or parts of life, but all of life. And what he says next is the key: in the name of the Lord Jesus.

To do something in the name of Jesus means to do it as he would do it. How would Jesus wake up in the morning? How would Jesus treat his family? How would Jesus drive to work? How would Jesus interact with his boss and coworkers? How would Jesus treat his neighbors (even the annoying ones)? To do these things, the everyday life things, the way that Jesus would do them if He were you is how you “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus”. And even though Jesus did not specifically do some of the things that we encounter (driving for example) we have a pretty clear record of how Jesus conducted his daily life in the Gospels. Spend some time reading Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John and take note of how Jesus lived among friends, family, neighbors, even enemies. His life shows the way for our life.

To live Christ centered is to truly Live. It is the way to find wholeness and to experience the power of God in every aspect of life. So, study the life of Jesus and look at your life and ask him to help you do everything in His name.

In Wild Goose Chase, it seems that Mark’s primary goal is to inspire readers to break out of boring, status quo Christianity and embrace an adventurous life of following the Holy Spirit (i.e. the Wild Goose - based on the Celtic term An Geadh-Glas). This is something I think a lot of need a healthy dose of!

Throughout the book, he identifies the different cages that we get stuck in that hinder us from living the life that God desires for us and fulfilling the purposes he has planned. These cages are: responsibility, routine, assumption, guilt, failure, and fear. Not only does he identify the cages, but he offers some practical (and often challenging) advice for how to break out of them.

Mark does a great job of writing in an engaging and conversational style.  I could often sense his excitement as I read - and it is a contagious excitement! Part of what made the book such an easy and interesting read for me was the way he weaved the stories of his own experiences, the adventures of his friends, and the stories of several characters from Scripture together in a way that gave life to topics.

Overall, this was a great book. When my wife asked me to rate it on a scale of 1 - 10, I gave it a 8. It’s a solid book, an engaging and exciting read, and I really want to put into practice the things I read. The idea of having a “life goal list” is one thing that I will be implementing. Yeah, I have some goals that are in my mind, but to prayerfully dream together with God and write down the visions for my life is something I feel inspired to do. Thankfully Mark feels so strongly about this practice that when you purchase the book you can receive the free download “10 Steps to Setting Life Goals” from the website chasethegoose.com

If you’ve felt like your faith has gotten dull or boring, or if you are ready to experience the adventure of life with God, than I highly recommend this book. It would also be a great book to read along with your friends.

Final Note: The mail has been slow, but I should be receiving an additional copy to give away, so be the first to comment and once it comes in its yours!

Everyone else can purchase the book now at Amazon - Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God

Summary:

Most of us have no idea where we’re going most of the time. Perfect.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” –from the introduction.

Author Bio:

Mark Batterson is the lead pastor of Washington, DC’s National Community Church, widely recognized as one of America’s most innovative churches. NCC meets in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the city, as well as in a church-owned coffee house near Union Station. More than seventy percent of NCC’ers are single twentysomethings who live or work on Capitol Hill. Mark is the author of the best-selling In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and a widely read blogger (www.markbatterson.com). He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Lora, and their three children.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Paul encourages us here to live and train as the Olympic athletes do, but with a different goal in mind.

If an athlete has any hope of winning the coveted gold medal, he or she must put in the dedication & training necessary. This often entails sacrifice, suffering, and even pain. But, the reward is far greater than the sacrifice.

May we be reminded, during these games, that, if we are to have any hope of being awarded the “crown that will last forever” we too must put in the necessary dedication & ”strict training.”

…train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. - 1 Timothy 4:7-8

Related: pray for the persecuted Christian church in China

Part 1 - Metamorpha: A New Way of Seeing

Chapter 1 - Our Need: A New Way of Seeing

Kyle begins by presenting the need for a new vision, a new way of seeing, a new worldview. We all have a worldview whether or not we know what it is. This vision shapes how we live, what we believe and what we accept. He writes, “The story we are telling has everything to do with the worldview we have, and redeeming this worldview should be central to our lives as disciples.”

The problem is that many of us get stuck in our worldview and unfortunately that worldview is not completely Biblical. However, “the Christian life is a life of increasing sight”. In other words, the Christian life is one of constant growth and change. “The enemy of a health faith is a worldview that is static and “complete”.”

Discussion (from the downloadable study guide)

Write down the first three attributes that come to your mind when you think about God, and then spend some time meditating and praying about why those three came to mind. Afterwards, discuss these questions:
• What do these three attributes tell you about what you think of God?
• Do these attributes say more about you, God, or your church/family background, etc.?

List three things you do (or think you should do) to make sure your worldview does not become static. How often do you really make these things a priority in your life?

Chapter 2 - Our Hope: Embracing Metamorpha

In this next chaper, Kyle discusses the difference between the “metamorpha” life and the static life. He also presents what he believes are the primary worldview informers for the Christian: Bible, Spirit, Community.  I like how he presents conversion as a “passport”. A passport is needed if you want to travel the world, but it is just a piece of paper until you use it. When we see the Christian life as a journey then our conversion becomes like a passport, rather than the destination itself. This reminds me of Gordon Smith’s book Beginning Well: Christian Conversion and Authentic Transformation in which he says that conversion must lead to transformation.

When we think in these terms, our ideas of what a “healthy” Christian life changes as well. “The healthy Christian life is not understood as complete or having arrived but in terms of journeying well, guided by the three worldview informers.” This reminds me of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12-14.

This concept of the Metamorpha life is the basis on which we can begin to journey forward into transformation.

Discussion

Have my life and worldview led me simply to do “religious” things, or to come to a deeper knowledge and love of Jesus? Am I in a place in my life where I can expect to answer this question honestly, or could I be deceiving myself? Why or why not? What are some of the teachings in the New Testament that talk
about what the Christian life should look like?

When confronted with the reality that your worldview may be maligned or naïve, how are you tempted to respond? Are you tempted to ignore that possibility, to lose faith, to be angry or overwhelmed? What does that say about you and your worldview?

Chapter 3 - Our Reality: A Tale of Two Visions

Chapter 3 wraps up Part 1 of the book which serves as a foundation on which the rest of the book will build upon.  The reality of what our worldview is can easily be seen in the way we live our life. We can say we believe certain things, but how we live is the true test of our beliefs.

In this chapter Kyle presents two types of churchs (or Christians for that matter): solidified/static and developmental/metamorpha. This builds on the last two chapters but now address how these two visions (worldviews) determine the way we live and “do” church. He has some stinging but often true remarks:

• We have found it easier to make churches that are exciting than to make disciples who are holy
• The underlying problem with these churches is that they are in the business not of disciple making but of church growing

For me, the vision of a developmental/metamorpha church is exciting and got me energized! This is, I believe, what Jesus has in mind for His Bride.

Discussion

Do your solutions to your problems deal with the fruit that is appearing in your life, or with the roots?

In what way do you “take your spiritual temperature?”

So, whether or not you’ve read Part 1, feel free to join in on the conversation! Leave your thoughts, comments, questions, whatever in the comments section.

Now, when I say joy I don’t mean a surface level joy that is all giddy, but a deeper joy. The kind of joy that is expressed in Hebrews 12:2

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Obviously, Jesus faced a great deal of stress and turmoil as he approached the cross, however we see here that it was ultimately joy that moved him forward. The joy of knowing that by his sacrifice we could have a restored relationship with the Trinity was enough to carry him through the pain. Joy gives us strength.

So if joy was at the core of Jesus sacrifice, should it also be a part of our remembrance? As we take the bread and cup perhaps we can experience God’s joy - the Joy that comes from His heart in the hope of having relationship with us. The joy of knowing that it was only by the cross that we can experience forgiveness and renewal. Through death comes life.

What do you think? What are the emotions that you feel when you take communion? Have you ever been overwhelmed with joy as you participate in the Lord’s Supper?

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