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I Could Have Got More: Schindlers List

In our conversation at SVA this weekend on the return of Christ, one area we discussed was how followers of Christ are to live and engage the world while waiting for His return. Three key thoughts we discussed were that we needed to:

  • Stay Awake…His return is imminent, He could come back at any moment so we need to be ready. Every person is responsible for their faith and relationship with God. You can’t live on someone else’s faith…You can’t but or work your way into the kingdom…and when Christ returns, there are no more chances. In light of this we need to make sure that our lives are connected to God through Christ. His grace is waiting for everyone…there is nothing you need to do, figure out, or clean up before you come to God…simply come. 


  • Stay Engaged…God has given everyone a purpose and mission to live out. The followers of Jesus are not to “bunker-in” and disengage from life, but rather, we are to invest all that God has given us to make a positive impact for His kingdom with every breath that we have. If you are still breathing, you still have a purpose and mission to fulfill. 


  • Stay Missional…As you read the parables of Christ it quickly becomes apparent that those who follow Jesus live in such a way that mercy, grace, justice and compassion are not just deeds that they do, but rather a lifestyle that they live. When we are tethered to Jesus and when we long for His presence in our lives, there is a transformation that takes place deep within us. This transformation is birthed from God’s love releasing mercy and grace like a burgeoning river breaking through a dike.

For me, the Second Coming of Christ comes down to a question of love… If I truly love Jesus with all that is within me, I will long to be with Him, and in the meantime that love will propel me to live in such a way that other’s long for His return as well. The contagion of love creates a Christ-reality and at the same time waits for a Christ-reality.

Love is a verb…

Love requires expression…

Love is why Jesus is coming back…

Love is the means and the method to reach seekers…

Love is the definitive mark for those who follow Jesus… 

When we allow God to perform a heart transplant within us,  our motivation to share Christ with others moves from religiosity to compassion expressed through love.

This reminds me of the closing scene from Schindler’s List where Oskar Schindler had purchased the lives of 1100+ Jews from concentration camps to work in his factory during WW II. Initially he saw the use of Jewish prisoners as a way to make great profits, but something happend…he changed…his heart changed…those Jewish prisoners became people who mattered and Oskar’s profiteering turned to redemption.

Even though Oskar did so much, spending his income to purchase/redeem those 1100 Jews from a certain death…he knew it wasn’t enough and he could have done more.

When it’s all said and done, and we stand before God I hope we can all know we made a difference.

We are here to help people find their way back to God.

Here’s that final scene from Schindler’s List…

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Jesus and Religion

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“Christianity was never intended to be an “ethical system” with Jesus Christ at the head. Our Lord did not come into the world 2,000 years ago to launch Christianity as a new religion or a new system. He came with eternal purpose. He came as the center of all things. Actually, he came to be our religion. He came in person, in the flesh, to be God’s salvation to the very ends of the earth. He did not come just to delegate powers to others to heal or cure or bless. He came to be the blessings and the full glory of God are to be found in His person.”  ~A.W. Tozer
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I came across this quote by Tozer and I was again reminded of the centrality of Jesus and the decentralizing of religious institutions. It seems the more we succeed in the church, the more we create something that competes with Jesus. Jesus came to be our faith, our religion, not to compete against what we have created.

As churches grow and initiatives progress, we tend to pat ourselves on the back for what we have accomplished. Yet the community of faith is supposed to be something different, the measuring metrics are different, the outcomes are different.

The larger a church grows the more complex the machinery needed to maintain it. Expansion moves towards the ever elusive dollar, and soon a congregation might find itself serving their structures and initiatives and programs rather than the God who inspired the movement.

When the church moves in this fashion, the teachings become more about behavioral modifications and sinning less because we are so busy “doing” religious stuff that we forget that Jesus -is- our religion.

For the follower of the Rabbi, there is no substitute for who He is…There is no to do list that trumps His presence…There is no self-improvement program that transcends His power.

Jesus is the center. Jesus is the personal revelation of the Father. Jesus is our religion. In becoming our religion, He has demolished the machine that has been created in His name yet lacks the power of His presence.

Monty

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God In The Doorway

Each year I re-read “God In The Doorway”, which is found in Annie Dillard’s book, Teaching A Stone To Talk.” The short Christmas story never fails to re-center my soul, and de-scafold my thoughts reminding me that we humans so often miss life’s beauty because we have created an alternate reality formed from ashes of life.

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God In The Doorway

One cold Christmas Eve I was up unnaturally late because we had all gone out to dinner-my parents, my baby sister, and I. We had come home to a warm living room, and Christmas Eve. Our stockings drooped from the mantle; beside them, a special table bore a bottle of ginger ale and a plate of cookies.

I had taken off my fancy winter coat and was standing on the heat register to bake my shoe soles and warm my bare legs. There was a commotion at the front door; it opened, and cold winter blew around my dress.

Everyone was calling me. “Look who’s here! Look who’s here!” I looked. It was Santa Claus. Whom I never-ever-wanted to meet. Santa Claus was looming in the doorway and looking around for me. My mother’s voice was thrilled: “Look who’s here!” I ran upstairs.

Like everyone in his right mind, I feared Santa Claus, thinking he was God. I was still thoughtless and brute, reactive. I knew right from wrong, but had barely tested the possibility of shaping my own behavior, and then only from fear, and not yet from love. Santa Claus was an old man whom you never saw, but who nevertheless saw you; he knew when you’d been bad or good. He knew when you’d been bad or good! And I had been bad.

My mother called and called, enthusiastic, pleading; I wouldn’t come down. My father encouraged me; my sister howled. I wouldn’t come down, but I could bend over the stairwell and see: Santa Claus stood in the doorway with night over his shoulder, letting in all the cold air of the sky. Santa Claus stood in the doorway monstrous and bright, powerless, ringing a loud bell and repeating Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas. I never came down. I don’t know who ate the cookies.

For so many years now I have known that this Santa Claus was actually a rigged-up Miss White, who lived across the street, that I confuse the dramatis personae in my mind, making Santa Claus, God, and Miss White an awesome, vulnerable trinity. This is really a story about Miss White.

Miss White was old; she lived alone in the big house across the street. She liked having me around; she plied me with cookies, taught me things about the world, and tried to interest me in finger painting, in which she herself took great pleasure. She would set up easels in her kitchen, tack enormous slick soaking papers to their frames, and paint undulating undersea scenes: horizontal smears of color sparked by occasional vertical streaks which were understood to be fixed kelp. I liked her. She meant no harm on earth, and yet half a year after her failed visit as Santa Claus, I ran from her again.

That day, a day of the following summer, Miss White and I knelt in her yard while she showed me a magnifying glass. It was a large, strong hand lens. She lifted my hand and, holding it very still, focused a dab of sunshine on my palm. The glowing crescent wobbled, spread, and finally contracted to a point. It burned; I was burned; I ripped my hand away and ran home crying. Miss White called after me, sorry, explaining, but I didn’t look back.

Even now I wonder: if I meet God, will he take and hold my bare hand in his, and focus his eye on my palm, and kindle that spot and let me burn?

But no. It is I who misunderstood everything and let everybody down. Miss White, God, I am sorry I ran from you. I am still running, running from that knowledge, that eye, that love from which there is no refuge. For you meant only love, and love, and I felt only fear, and pain. So once in Israel love came to us incarnate, stood in the doorway between two worlds, and we were all afraid.

*Taken from…”Teaching a Stone to Talk” by Annie Dillard

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Your First Christmas As Husband and Wife:

Making the Holidays Fun, Memorable and Stress-Free

The following great article is written by a colleague of mine (Jason Krafsky). It’s focus is on navigating the first holiday season as a newly married couple, but it also speaks to those who have been married for many years as well! Perhaps it will remind you of some of those first awkward moments you had to navigate through :-)   You can check out Jason and what he has to say on his blog:

www.marriagejunkie.com and check out his marriage website: http://www.fullmarriageexperience.com/

May your Christmas season be simple and filled with love!

~Pastor Monty

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Firstchristmasornament
During marriage prep sessions, I give every engaged couple the same warning when we cover expectations:“when you get married, take control of the holidays or you will feel like the Grinch stole your Christmas!”

The reason? With the first Christmas, too many people have too many competing expectations for the newlyweds.

Both sides of the families want to spend the optimum Christmas Day
time with the couple, brothers and sisters want their now married
sibling to be a part of the family traditions, and the new bride and
groom may even long to take part in many of their own family’s holiday
rituals.

As if the family expectations aren’t enough, couples also have to
juggle the demand of attending special church services, neighborhood
White Elephants, work holiday parties, decorating for Christmas, and of
course, shopping for presents on a limited budget … there is just too
much to do and too little time to do it!

Come December 26th, the new husband and wife can feel as deflated as Frosty the Snowman without his magic hat on a sunny day.

But don’t fret! Every Christmas story has a happy ending (Santa
invites Rudolph to pull his sleigh, the Peanuts gang find the true
meaning of Christmas, and Ralphie gets his Red Ryder BB gun). And your
Christmas story can too. Here are some tips to ensure your first
holiday season is “merry and bright.”

Decide on Your Holiday Season Festivities – As soon
as possible, discuss what each of you would like to do, experience or
attend over the holiday season. Talk about old family traditions you
want to keep and new rituals you want to start. Do you want to go off
and chop down a tree, pick up a live tree at the local store, or get a
fake tree? Are there Christmas shows,
plays or movies you want to see? You may want to make a list (and check
it twice) of everything you and your mate want to do to celebrate the
Christmas season.

Protect Your “Us” Time – Pull out the December
calendar and mark the dates and times of firm activities (such as the
work holiday party) and reserve times for other activities (such as
visiting relatives and friends). In the midst of all the festivities,
be sure to reserve dates for just the two of you to be together as a
couple. While your time together may or may not involve Christmastime
activities, it is important to protect your “us” time.

Make a Christmas Budget –Nothing adds more stress to a relationship then debt. The fun and frolicking of December gift buying can give way to anxiety and stress in January when the bills start arriving. Set a budget based on what you can afford. Keep in mind that gifts are just one part of the equation. Money is spent on decorations, the tree, Christmas clothes, and Nutcracker tickets, etc. Budget for all of it, and best that you can, stick to it!

kriskringleandwinterwarlockPrepare for Someone’s Feelings to Get Hurt–Now that you know what you need and want to do over the holidays …you need to tell those closest to you what your plans are and how it may affect their expectation for you. This is never easy, especially the first time around, but it is a necessary conversation to have. Because change is never easy, be respectful, listen to their concerns and empathize with how they’re feeling. It may take a little time for them to understand that your choices are pragmatic, not personal.

Keep in mind that every classic holiday story involves a conflict that gets confronted (Kris Kringle deals with Burgermeister and the Winter Warlock; Ebenezer Scrooge faces his past, present and future; and Ralphie stands up to Scut Farkus). In the end, the hero, the villain and everyone in-between benefit from a resulting greater good.

Start Your Own Traditions – A marriage is the conceiving of a new family with the continuation of old traditions and the making of new ones. Since you are a new family (that will likely grow in size in the years to come), create traditions that are your own. Whether it’s buying an annual personalized tree ornaments
watching a recent or classic Christmas movie, attending a special Christmas event, or serving the needy during the holidays, this is the time to launch new traditions that are uniquely yours.

grandma-got-run-over-by-reindeer-dvd-cover-artDon’t Try to Cram Too Much Family Into Too Little Time –I’ve seen some post-Christmas newlyweds who look like the grandma who “got run over by a reindeer”. Because everyone wanted to see the newlywed couple “on Christmas Day”, the poor couple shuttled around from her parents place to his dad’s apartment to his mom and stepfather’s house. The couple spends more time in the car then with people. And when it comes time to leave, they get guilt tripped about how little time there was to spend together.

To avoid this chaotic guest appearance schedule, spread out the traveling, the visiting and the various Christmas celebrations over the course of days rather then hours. Each year, swap which side of the family gets you on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve or the day after Christmas. By taking a step towards sanity, everyone will benefit.

Being Santa’s Little Helper Doesn’t Have to Be Stressful–One of the self-inflicted stressers couples put on themselves (not to be sexist here but it is usually the wife) is to find the “perfect” Christmas present. It’s really doesn’t have to be that complicated. Here’s some links to some pretty cool gift ideas. There’s something for everyone on a range of budgets.

Get a gift that…

*Captures memories all year around with a Video or Digital Camera

*Helps you communicate better with a Smart Phone, iPhone or Cell Phone

*Reflects the strength of your love with Special Jewelry and Bling

*Keeps the honeymoon going and going with Christmas Sleepwear for Him and Her

*Makes your house a home with Personalized Home Decorations

*Directs you to the right place every time with Precise and Exact Coordinates

*Allows you to burn some calories with Activities for Both of You

Reflect on Your First Year and Plan for the Year Ahead

Spend some time looking back on your life together since the wedding. What has surprised you the most? What has the transition to married
life been like? How do you think the rest of your first year will go, and why? With Christmas being so close to the start of the New Year, make some resolutions for your relationship. Commit to read a marriage book together, attend a marriage conference, or download a podcast of a
relationship speaker. Do something in the upcoming year to invest in the health and quality of your relationship.

Remember What Christmas is All About

In the midst of the lights, the eggnog lattes and the familiar songs about snow and chestnuts, take some time to read the original Christmas story in the Bible (Luke 2). Read Matthew 1 and 2, and Luke 1 to get a broader perspective before and during the time of Jesus’ birth. Look at the
story from the perspective of a couple and talk about the relationship of Mary and Joseph and what they may have been going through during
this significant moment in history.

jesus-in-the-mangerWhile the holiday season is a jumble of memories, traditions, expectations and experiences, we shouldn’t lose sight that Christmas is about celebrating God’s greatest gift to mankind: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Your first Christmas together as husband and wife should be nothing short of fun, memorable and stress-free. And it can be if you take control of it.

____________________________

K. Jason Krafsky is the author of Before “I Do” – Preparing for the Full Marriage Experience (Turn the Tide Resource Group –www.FullMarriageExperience.com).
As a marriage junkie, Jason supports his habit by training leaders on
marriage issues, writing articles and books on marriage and family
relationships, coaching communities, churches, and ministries on
marriage strengthening strategies, and teaching couples about
relationship issues (check out his blog at www.MarriageJunkie.com).
Jason’s ultimate fix comes from his wife Kelli. They live in the
foothills of Washington’s Cascade Mountains with their four children.
Contact him at kjasonk@fullmarriageexperience.com, MySpace (marriagejunkie), or Facebook.

Copyright © 2008 by K. Jason Krafsky – Permission granted to use and reproduce with proper source citation.