Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

Forgiveness adapted by James Littell from the Bible [Matthew 18:21 – 35]

Forgiveness adapted by James Littell
from the Bible [Matthew 18:21 – 35]

Peter came to Jesus and asked, “How many times should I forgive a friend who does me wrong? One time, two times?” Jesus shakes his head and Peter continued, “three times, five times...as many as seven times?”

Jesus replied. “God, Peter! How many times are you gonna ask me? And, if you are gonna keep these kind of friends, then I guess you ought to be prepared to be extremely forgiving. So, I guess more like seventy seven times!!!” Peter shockingly threw his hands in the air and said, “What the fuck, Jesus?”

Jesus yelled and began a story. “Peter! Listen! The Kingdom of Heaven, (which y'all think is in a 'galaxy far, far, away' exists in the 'here and now' on planet earth, ...but I don't have time to bring you up to speed with 'Emerging Church' theology), is kind of like Bob DeNiro's character, Sam “Ace” Rothstein from the Martin Scorsese film, Casino.”

“Rothstein had plenty of money, power and the ability to kill and have you buried in the Nevada desert when crossed. He also had some friends, clients and employees that had taken gambling markers from the Tangier's Casino and never repaid. Both Sam and the casino were interested in getting these debts off the books. So, Frankie Blue Eyes was escorted by Rothstein's personal detail into the director's office and was unable to payback the $750,000 he lost gambling six months prior. Since he couldn't pay, Sam ordered that Frankie and his wife and his three children and his entire estate be sold on the black market to repay the debt.”

“Frankie, filled with panic and fear, fell to his knees and grabbing hold of Rothstein's pant leg begged, 'Don't fuckin' do this!! I swear I can find the money! Shit man, really? Don't hurt my children!! Fuck my life! I will do anything. I can pay it back! Please just give me more time! Please?' So, the Tangier's Casino having granted Rothstein the authority to cancel debts took pity on old Blue Eyes and erased everything he owed from the books.”

At that moment, Peter gasped and reached for his sword out of sheer habit! Jesus reacted, “What the hell are you doing? It is just the two of us and I Am telling the story. Relax, I Am not done yet. Geesh!” Peter holstered his sword and muttered, “O.K. Jesus”, as he bashfully kicked a stone with his left foot.

Jesus continued. “Frankie, who had been earning his living as a landlord, returned to his family and hugged and kissed his wife and children. Then he went out to visit a tenant who owed him $6,000 in back rent. Blue Eyes screamed at the tenant and while having him pinned by the neck up against the wall he yelled, 'You are gonna pay me that $6,000 you owe me you Jew fuck! You fuckin' momo! You are gonna pay me back every last Goddamn cent, so help me God and Mary mother and Joseph!! Do you hear me? I promise if you don't pay me, you will not live to see your daughter's birth!'”

“After that outburst, the tenant grabbed Frankie's ankle and pleaded, 'Don't fuckin' do this!! I swear I can find the money! Shit man, really? Fuck my life! I will do anything. I can pay it back! Please just give me more time! Please?' So, old Blue Eyes, being a real son of a bitch, had his minions evict the tenant and taken to the desert to be buried alive.”

Peter again whipped out his sword impulsively and wanted to attack Frankie Blue Eyes. Jesus laughed so hard he wept. “Peter, put your sword back in its sleeve. Frankie is a character and I am just using this story to illustrate one of the ways you can recognize what the present Kingdom of Heaven looks like.” Peter laughed as he explained, “ I know, I know! I just get so excited and I am kind of impulsive, I guess.”

Jesus finished the story. “When word got around that Blue Eyes was forgiven his debt and had his tenant whacked for just $6,000 of back rent, everyone and their brother was really pissed so they began texting and emailing Rothstein about the situation. When Frankie Blue Eyes was brought back in to see Rothstein, it was all over.”

“Sam looked at him and said very matter of factually, 'You fuckin' fuck! I erase your debt because you begged me to and you immediately go muscle some guy over a measly six grand? Shouldn't you have also shown the same type of mercy upon your tenant? Don't you even think about apologies right now you mudda fuckka! You see that hammer over there? You see that fuckin' saw? Well, we are gonna break your fuckin' skull with that hammer and saw off every last one of your toes and fingers with that saw because to whom much is forgiven, much love and forgiveness towards others is expected! Now you just got three-quarter of a fuckin' million dollars wiped clean from your record and the first thing you do is have somebody whacked for $6000? Let me tell you somethin'. You done fucked up the last time! We are gonna lock you up underneath this casino with nothing but cheerios and water to eat. Then, we are gonna keep you alive and torture you every day until you are able to repay the $750,000. You know why? Because we don't fuck around with forgiveness. It is a serious principle! Now get him outta here!'”

…..................................................................................................................

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

- Matthew 18:35 (NIV)

Rick Warren on "Life"

This is kind of funny......I typically don't get all excited about Rick Warren, but I do like this interview....check it out.  Tell me what you think.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:

People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal.  God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.

Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do.

That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD.

Chasing Relevant

Jason Clark has written an article for on of the more recent Circle 6 magazines.  It is rather interesting.  Read the excerpt, and click below for the entire article.

"The crossroads for today's leader/believer, is whether we choose to chase relevant, or risk it all and chase obedience in whatever form it comes.  The true definition of relevant is found in the heartbeat of God.  And with every heartbeat, relevant is redefined.  Only those whose heads rest upon the breast of the Master will experience relevance.  It is always those who are practiced in the why, that God wants to use in defining the how."

- Jason Clark (www.surrenderedanduntamed.org)

Download and read the entire article below:

Download chasing_relevant_jason_clark_1205.pdf

The Forest for the Trees

 

 

The Forest for the Trees by James Littell
(taken from a teaching by Rob Wondergem)

John 5:30-40

"I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he?

"But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.

"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want."

The verses that stood out to people include the first phrase in the passage: "I can't do a solitary thing on my own".  It was recognized that we really do need to draw our strength from God and rely on Jesus. Phil. 4:3 - "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength".

Also, the highlighted portion above.  The idea is that sometimes we spend so much time filling our heads with bible knowledge and religious information and miss the whole boat.  Jesus says, " I am right here standing right before you and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want."  The scripture is the word of God, but Jesus is right......He is still right here, all around us.....in the poor, the broken, the downtrodden, the defenseless, the orphan, the widow, the mentally unstable.  And isn't it easy to bury our heads in the scripture and miss Jesus all together.

John 8:31-32 - Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."

We have always heard it said, "The truth will set you free".  Look at what Jesus says here.  It is an (if, then) statement.  He says, " if you stick with what I am telling you, then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."

The truth does not free us because we study it, or because someone crams it down our throats and says "the truth will set you free".  The truth frees us when we know it, or experience it.  And that happens when we live it out, or stick to what Jesus is telling his disciples to do.

I believe we will live it out, or strive to live it out more and more because we have faith in this (if, then) statement.  Everytime we taste the freedom that comes from living it out, our faith is increased.  And, of course, if or when we are in a situation ourselves that gives someone else the opportunity to "live it out", our faith is increased then as well.

Where does living it out begin?

I believe it begins with Mark 12:29-31, which says: "Jesus said, "The first in importance is, "Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: "Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

And it continues with James 1:25-27, which says: "But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God--the free life!-even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless, loveless, and defenseless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

The Forest for the Trees

 

 

Sunday December 11, 2006:  The Forest for the Trees

We read tonight from John 5:30-40.

"I can't do a solitary thing on my own: I listen, then I decide. You can trust my decision because I'm not out to get my own way but only to carry out orders. If I were simply speaking on my own account, it would be an empty, self-serving witness. But an independent witness confirms me, the most reliable Witness of all. Furthermore, you all saw and heard John, and he gave expert and reliable testimony about me, didn't he?

"But my purpose is not to get your vote, and not to appeal to mere human testimony. I'm speaking to you this way so that you will be saved. John was a torch, blazing and bright, and you were glad enough to dance for an hour or so in his bright light. But the witness that really confirms me far exceeds John's witness. It's the work the Father gave me to complete. These very tasks, as I go about completing them, confirm that the Father, in fact, sent me. The Father who sent me, confirmed me. And you missed it. You never heard his voice, you never saw his appearance. There is nothing left in your memory of his Message because you do not take his Messenger seriously.

"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want."

The verses that stood out to people include the first phrase in the passage: "I can't do a solitary thing on my own".  It was recognized that we really do need to draw our strength from God and rely on Jesus. Phil. 4:3 - "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength".

Also, the highlighted portion above.  The idea is that sometimes we spend so much time filling our heads with bible knowledge and religious information and miss the whole boat.  Jesus says, " I am right here standing right before you and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want."  The scripture is the word of God, but Jesus is right......He is still right here, all around us.....in the poor, the broken, the downtrodden, the defenseless, the orphan, the widow, the mentally unstable.  And isn't it easy to bury our heads in the scripture and miss Jesus all together.

John 8:31-32 - Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."

We have always heard it said, "The truth will set you free".  Look at what Jesus says here.  It is an (if, then) statement.  He says, " if you stick with what I am telling you, then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you."

The truth does not free us because we study it, or because someone crams it down our throats and says "the truth will set you free".  The truth frees us when we know it, or experience it.  And that happens when we live it out, or stick to what Jesus is telling his disciples to do.

I believe we will live it out, or strive to live it out more and more because we have faith in this (if, then) statement.  Everytime we taste the freedom that comes from living it out, our faith is increased.  And, of course, if or when we are in a situation ourselves that gives someone else the opportunity to "live it out", our faith is increased then as well.

Where does living it out begin?

I believe it begins with Mark 12:29-31, which says: "Jesus said, "The first in importance is, "Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: "Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

And it continues with James 1:25-27, which says: "But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God--the free life!-even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless, loveless, and defenseless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

- James Littell

Rob Bell Sermons (Teachings)

Rob Bell, Mars Hill:  Sermons, Teachings, Messages, Noomas, Links

I have received much traffic on this blog from people looking for Rob Bell sermons, teachings, messages, Noomas, etc.  Below are the links to where you will find all of this stuff.  Hope it helps.

- James Littell

Rob Bell Links:

Mars Hill: Rob Bell Teachings (download the last 12 weeks of Mars Hill)
Nooma
Mars Hill Grand Rapids, MI
Downloadable PDF of Velvet Elvis (Amazon)
Buy Velvet Elvis Hardcover (Amazon)
Buy Velvet Elvis Audio CD (Amazon)

Suggested Reading:

Walking The Bible : A Journey By Land Through The Five Books Of Moses ( Bruce Feiler )

Jewish Spirituality, A Brief Introduction For Christians ( Lawrence Kushner )

The Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume To The Jewish New Testament( David Stern )

Excavating Jesus : Beneath The Stones, Behind The Texts ( Crossan and Reed )

Biblical Literacy : The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas Of The Hebrew Bible ( Joseph Telushkin )

Understanding The Difficult Words Of Jesus : New Insights From A Hebraic Perspective( Bivin and Blizzard )

Desire Of The Everlasting Hills : The World Before And After Jesus ( Thomas Cahill )

Everyman's Talmud : The Major Teaching Of The Rabbinic Sages ( Abraham Cohen )

Sketches Of Jewish Social Life ( Alfred Edersheim )

Jewish Sources In Early Christianity ( David Fleusser )

The Five Books Of Moses : Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy ( The Schocken Bible Volume 1 ) ( Everett Fox )

The Women's Torah Commentary : New Insights From Women Rabbis On The 54 Weekly Torah Portions ( Elyse Goldstein )

God In Search Of Man : A Philosophy Of Judaism ( Abraham Joshua Herschel )

The Bible As It Was ( James L. Kugel )

The Source ( James Michner )

The Science Of God : The Convergence Of Scientific And Biblical Wisdom ( Gerald L. Schroeder )

Slaves, Women And Homosexuals : Exploring The Hermeneutics Of Culture Analysis
( William J. Webb )

The Divine Conspiracy : Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God ( Dallas Willard )

Our Father Abraham : Jewish Roots Of The Christian Faith ( Marvin Wilson )

Following Jesus : Biblical Reflections On Discipleship ( N.T. Wright )

For All God's Worth : True Worship And The Calling Of The Church ( N.T. Wright )

The Jews In The Time Of Jesus : An Introduction ( Stephen Wylen )

Jesus The Jewish Theologian ( Brad Young )

They'll Know we are Christians

BY OUR LOVE.......by James Littell

"We will work with each other, we will work side by side.  We'll save each man's dignity and save each man's pride.....and they'll know we are christians by our love."

So are the lyrics to an old campfire song.  God has been teaching me much about Love, Grace, and Forgiveness lately.  I have certainly been forgiven much and I have experienced God's love and grace in my life.  Now I must give that love and grace away freely and generously.

When we think of ourselves as christians, do we think of ourselves in this way (guarding each man's dignity and saving each man's pride)? When we think of our western christian culture is this the picture that one sees in their mind?  I don't.

I see arguing, debate, taking a stand for your "right beliefs", and pompus attitudes.  I see this from myself sometimes. Jesus said there are no other commands that rank with these:

Mark 12:29-31
Jesus said, "The first in importance is, "Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.  And here is the second: "Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

I read a letter recently, it was written in 1st century A.D. about christians.  The letter was written by someone who would not describe themselves as a follower of Christ.  This writer described christains in a very different context than how I believe we represent ourselves today.  He described christians as people that were a joy to be around because they were full of love, grace, and compassion.  They lived in this world and enjoyed participating in the culturally social events of the day.  People recognized there was something different and it was contagious.  What happened?

A couple of verses struck me this week:

I Cor 10:23-24   Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.

Romans 8: 1-2  Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

John 15:5  "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

Paul wrote that "Everything is permissable for me, not everything is beneficial."  In Romans, he suggests that there is no, absolutely no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

John in chapter 15 quotes Jesus as saying, "If a man remains in me, and I in him, he will bear much fruit.

• Don't you want to be the christian that people see Jesus in? 
• Don't you want the Love of God that flows through and out of your life to be contagious? 
• Don't you want people to see that you are different, not because of your own merit, or because you can brag about all the things you don't do that the world participates in, but because Jesus love is just oozing out of your pores like strong garlic from the Indian dinner you ate the night before?  You know how it is when you eat Indian food.....everyone can smell the garlic coming out of your pores except you.  Isn't that it?

Remember, we have been saved by grace, forgiven much, and commissioned to give it away freely and generously.  There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  We are to live well, and when we screw up, reclaim the forgiveness that is already ours.  Finally, remain in Christ and let His love flow freely.

May you experience God's grace, love, and acceptance this week. Amen!

Download 1st_century_letter.doc

Creation

The following ideas are from Rob's recent teaching on Creation.....it is the first part in "Creation, Fall, and Redemption.  If you have ideas on the text, or the notes...please feel free to share!!!  -  James

To Be Human – Pt 1 - Creation

Genesis 1:26-31
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Words We Should Know More About:

Blessed: 

This Hebrew word barak which has been translated "blessed", holds the idea of the deep adoration, the intense love and favor which God has bestowed  upon mankind.

Subdue:

NIV: Subdue.    
New Living: Master.   Be masters over the fish and birds and all the animals."

The Message: Be responsible. God blessed them:  "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

The Hebrew  word kadash which we read in English as "subdue" can  be clearly understood when we read the same Hebrew concept translated this way in Micah 7:19, "You will again have compassion on us; you will  tread our sins underfoot (kadash our sins) and hurl all our  iniquities into the depths of the sea."  Just as Christ holds all  the power and authority over sin, so we hold the authority over the rest of creation.

“God has bestowed distinctively godlike capacities on people, such as our higher intellect, free will, conscience, and ability for logic and language. These capacities remain active even in fallen people, unbelievers as well as Christians, which is why Scripture suggests that the image of God survives the destruction of sin…God has given our godlike capacities for language and reflection so that we we might enter into three distinct relationships.
It is these three relationships that are damaged by sin and restored in salvation ”

--Michael Wittmer

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Relationship #1: fellowship with God

“So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

Male and female he created him.” Genesis 1:27

-         This means that humans are properly related to: God

-          Because of this humans are: religious beings

-          These aspects of human life should produce: worship of God

Relationship #2: fellowship with others

“Male and female he created him.” Genesis 1:27

-         This means that humans are properly related to: other humans

-          Because of this humans are: social beings

-          These aspects of human life should produce: love for others

Relationship #3: A right relationship with the rest of creation

“Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule….” Genesis 1:28

-         This means that humans are properly related to: the world

-          Because of this humans are: cultural beings

-          These aspects of human life should produce: joyful work in the world

Q’s

How healthy are your relationships with:
God? Do you find yourself worshipping Him often?
Others? Do you find yourself contributing and receiving from people or neglecting and only taking?
Creation? Do you generally perceive it as good and therefore regularly enjoy participating in it?