We always have the option to give people the small glass. But I want to hand my friends a great refreshing glass of real friendship every time we are together. I want to surprise them with the best. So what is it about giving a glass of lemonade that resonates with our hearts?

I believe it really has everything to do with who we want to be. In life, you’re either giving or taking. We’re living selflessly or selfishly. When we give less to others than our best, we are changed on the inside by this kind of giving. Giving our best though changes something within us. Something as small as glass of lemonade when given with love does something inside of our hearts. In time, giving out of love transforms us. I think that is why Jesus wants us to give. Not because we have to give someone the large glass of lemonade, but because we want to.

I admire the heart of King David after he had sinned against the Lord in 2 Samuel 24. David knew what he had done was wrong, and he cried out and told God that he would rather be punished than his nation face the Lord’s judgment. When the Lord acted mercifully towards David, he wanted to respond to God by offering thanks to him. David went to buy a threshing floor belonging to a man named, Araunah, to offer the Lord a burnt offering. When Araunah met David, he responded to him in this way.

22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever he wishes and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.23 Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May theLord your God accept you.”

24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

David knew the importance of giving something that costs you something. David had the opportunity to make a sacrifice that would almost be free. Instead, David insisted that he buy the threshing floor. His reason was this.

“I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”

As David chose to sacrifice something costly, he was being transformed more into the Lord’s image. Giving sacrificially from a God-pleasing desire unlocks a new relationship with others.

What do you have to give someone today? Your attention? Your time? A hand written note? What size of glass will you give to others today?

First, let’s take a panoramic shot of the past two thousand years of Christianity. (Don’t expect a lot of detail here. I’m just lightly scanning the horizon of what has transpired in Christianity.)

Jesus went back to heaven. And the disciples prayed for ten days. Then the Holy Spirit came, and they baptized 3000 people in one day. Whammy. Not a bad start for a group of about 120 meeting together. The early church met at different places. They would run into each other at the Temple, they used synagogues, but mainly they would meet up in homes. Acts 2:42-47 says it like this,

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

This is how the church spread. They sent out different people into different regions of the earth. Paul and Barnabas were a few. And the church continued to grow. As the church grew, it was persecuted. In 272 A.D., a man named Constantine came along who became a Christian, and he just happened to be the emperor of the Roman Empire. And he made it so that everybody had to be Christian. But forcing faith on people has an interesting effect. Everyone may wear the name, but that doesn’t mean everyone’s heart is in it. When Christianity was legalized, there were a lot of people then in the Roman Empire who were now Christians. Plus, Rome liked to make things big and beautiful as most empires do. Over time, they built a lot of cathedrals. So people started going to church.

Before this, there wasn’t really a whole lot of going. Just gathering. Because you were only Christian if you really wanted to be. But over time, church attendance became a really big deal. For quite a while, the church that everybody was a part of was the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther came along though, a monk born in the late 1400s, and he read Paul’s letter to the Romans. When he did, Luther began to learn about grace and freedom in Christ. At this time, the way people thought they got forgiveness from their sin was through buying indulgences from the church. Luther, read Romans and saw that Jesus is quite a bit different from that.

So the Reformation began. And in the Reformation were many changes. Over time, a lot of different denominations came about. Yes, this is the beginning of the Episcopalians, Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodist, Lutheran, and the one I’ve had the pleasure to grow up in, the Church of Christ, which is actually an offshoot of the Presbyterian Church when the leaders wouldn’t let Alexandre Campbell take communion because of his absence from church, he got frustrated and he and his dad went to start a new church, the Church of Christ. (It was a longer process than that, but the communion deal was the inciting incident.)

What has happened over the past few hundred years in the Church is interesting, because it has looked a lot of different ways in a lot of different places. For instance, a few hundred years ago, the most influential place in culture was the courtroom. So what happened? Christians predominantly viewed God as a judge, they needed a building to convey it, and it fit their perspective. So the auditoriums started looking like courtrooms. Ever wonder where the pulpit came from? That’s where we got it. Nothing wrong with a good pulpit I might add. Apparently, some Christian preachers over time have used the pulpit to exercise their “right” (that isn’t their right) to be the judge and to say things that they shouldn’t have to people. But that was how church buildings got the pews and the pulpits.

Well, culture shifted again over time. The post-modern, technological era. The measure of success became size, big screens, and the type of worship that people could be a part of. Why is this the medium that is being valued and utilized now? We value big shows, great concerts, and excellence in media in culture today. As a whole, society has traded moral excellence for technological excellence. (Remember when Ricky and Lucy couldn’t be in the same bed together even though they were married? Yeah, me neither. Except in the reruns I saw growing up. Now, anybody sleeps with anybody on TV shows.)

So, this is where we are today. In the midst of cultural change. Every four hundred fifty years or so, there is a massive shift of mind globally. People all over the globe begin to rethink things and question the way things are. In that period, there are incredible shifts that happen within cultures. What happens in culture affects the church, because quite often, the church is shaped more by culture than the church shapes the culture. So, after a little bit of history and culture talk, here is what I want to ask today.

What do you think is the future of Church in America? Twenty-somethings are leaving the local church by the droves. The answers vary as to why twenty-somethings are leaving, but they are. And they’re not the only ones. The church in America in general is in decline. Some people say that they like the institutional church. Some people say they don’t like the institutional church. Some people say they don’t like Christ because Christians hypocrites. Some people say they love Christ because of the Christians they met. Here is what George Barna in the book  Revolution says about the future of the church.

Do you agree or disagree with Barna? Are you a part of a local church, or an alternative faith-based community like a simple church? Do you experience and express your faith primarily through a family context? Or do you see yourself drawn to be engaged through the media, arts, and culture? Or maybe all four. What do you think the future of Church in America is? What do you want to see it become?

Once again, I would love it if you left me a comment on this post, because I am interested in your vantage point. I especially want you to comment if you are in college, your twenties or thirties.

* Life isn’t a game. It can be enjoyed with lots of laughter, joy, and passion…but this thing called life isn’t a game, it isn’t a joke. The Author of Life gives us all a certain number of days to live. At the end, we give an account for what we’ve done in our time here. I have made a lot of really bad decisions in my life, but I want to make less as time goes on. Jesus is the only one who can save me on the day of judgment, but I want to live a life that God would say is full of love, selflessness, pure and blameless. Not so I can be forgiven, but because I appreciate the forgiveness and more importantly, because I love the Lord. If you feel like your life and choices don’t matter, then fast forward a few years to your funeral and ask yourself what kind of legacy do you want to pass on. I hope my legacy is love, faith, courage, authentic, and passionate. Jesus is worth it. So are the people He’a connected me to.

* You have an enemy. You may not feel like you love yourself, but Satan hates you and wants to destroy you, your family, and all those you love. Satan is stronger than you and I, but Jesus who is greater and lives inside the Christian is stronger than Satan. Don’t talk trash to or bout the Devil. Read the book of Jude.Submit to God, and let Him fight the battle for you against Satan. Your enemy, the Devil, wants to kill, steal, and destroy but Jesus has come that you and I have life to the full.

* God loves you relentlessly. For His glory. For your redemption. For the world. Jesus wants all of every single one of us.

* Ever person who asks Jesus to heal or save them gets healed of saved in the gospels. Call out to your Savior.

* God created you beautiful. Powerful. On purpose. With love. Because He likes you. With joy. Complex and simple. For Himself.

* This life matters. The cross is real. The tomb is empty. There is hope all every one of us.

I’ve got some friends, and this doesn’t really seem to apply to them. They are afraid of what seems to be nothing. Heights. Challenges. Whatever it may be, there is no fear in them.

But I do have fears, and I think most of us are afraid in several areas of our lives. So here is something that I have done that helps me with fear. I write the gray area down. For an example, I’m using one that a few people struggle with: meeting new people.

I want to go meet new people, but I’m afraid…

Afraid of what?

1. Rejection. (If they don’t want to hang out with me, I must not be good enough.)

2. Being hurt. (If they do accept me, they might hurt me. This has happened before, I don’t want it to happen again.)

3. They end up knowing me. (I think if they knew the real me, they might not like me. I don’t like me half the time. Once again, this would hurt.)

4. What do I say? (If I don’t know what to say, I might look dumb, and if I look dumb, then I will feel inadequate. Especially if they give me one of those, “You’re really dumb or awkward looks.” That would hurt.)

5. What if these people are murderers. (If they are murderers, they might kill me. That would be the end of me. I’m afraid of being killed by these new people who might end up being my friends.)

Now, there may be more things on your list, but this would be a pretty good starting list. Yes, it might be a little extreme, but I’m really trying to convey the worst case scenarios. The great thing is that once you see what the worst case scenario is,  then the fear of meeting a new person isn’t nearly as bad as it might be otherwise. Often, we are most terrified by the unknown. If you can predict with any accuracy what the worst possible ending will be, then you will likely be less afraid. (Unless it is doing something you shouldn’t do. Such as cheating on your exams, cheating on your wife, or cheating on your taxes. Most things with cheating are things you should be afraid of doing.)

Even if you are just as afraid as you were before you made the list, you now know exactly what you are up against. After writing down all the fear, you might step back and take a second look at those fears. You can also look at your fears, and choose a different outcome for yourself. Such as this.

I want to go meet new people, but I’m afraid…

Afraid of what?

1. Rejection. (If they don’t want to hang out with me, I must not be good enough.) Actually, I am good enough. I know who I am, and I know I belong to God. Their rejection says more about them than it does me.

2. Being hurt. (If they do accept me, they might hurt me. This has happened before, I don’t want it to happen again.) They could hurt me, but not every person in this world is evil. If I don’t meet someone, then trust someone, I know I won’t be able to love someone. Giving love and receiving love are key to me as a human being. It is more important than the fear of being hurt.

3. They end up knowing me. (I think if they knew the real me, they might not like me. I don’t like me half the time. Once again, this would hurt.) Knowing me is a good thing, because I know who I am. I am a son (or daughter) of the Most High. I care about people, and I have something to share that no one else does. My heart. My mind. My life.

4. What do I say? (If I don’t know what to say, I might look dumb, and if I look dumb, then I will feel inadequate. Especially if they give me one of those, “You’re really dumb or awkward looks.” That would hurt.) I don’t have to worry about what to say. The burden of great conversations does not rest on my shoulders. I’ll just be who I am.

5. What if these people are murderers? (If they are murderers, they might kill me. That would be the end of me. I’m afraid of being killed by these new people who might end up being my friends.) Man, if these people kill me, I get to go be with God in heaven. But most people I meet are not killers. I think I’ll be ok.

Writing down your fears makes it a black and white issue. The gray is gone. When you’re not walking in a cloud of fear, you can step forward and live the life you want to live. The command God gives more than any other in the Bible is, “Do not fear.” Why? Because God knows we do. So when you feel fear, give it a name, make it black and white, and then if it is good, do it. Do not let fear control you. Life will not reward your intentions that were thwarted by fear, only your actions that overcome it.

One day, Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Exodus 33:18-20.

Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.” Exodus 34:5-6 

Moses spent a lot of time with God. He stood with God when a lot stood against him. He led people courageously. In the midst of it all, there is this one moment when God and Moses have a different kind of encounter. Moses doesn’t just hear from God, but God passed right in front of him. You and I have something Moses didn’t have. The continual indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God.

Sometimes, you get used to what you have. I hate to say it, but we do. We take for granted that God himself is living inside of us. The question that rises out of all this is, “How much do I desire God?” How much do I want God? Not an experience, but an encounter with the Living God. How much do you want God?

What would you give to have the kind of encounter Moses had with God? How much time would you give? What would you give to know God in this way? I think because I grew up with the understanding that God was with me that I don’t realize how amazing it is. God’s Holy Spirit is inside of me, and wants to guide me and direct me to whatever He wants. Not what everyone else says. Not what everyone else thinks. What God wants. How much do you want God? What would you give to encounter Him like Moses?

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