Breaking Boundaries

"You have heard it said, An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. But I say, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. (Matthew 5:38)

   Signs, Signs, Everywhere there's signs.
Blocking out the scenery. Breaking my mind.
Do this! Don't do that! Can't you read the signs? (5 Man Electric band)

   This song, from the early 70's, was your typical, don't tell me what to do protest song. It came from a young generation saying to the world, "Don't tell Me What To DO." "Don't set Your  limits on me."  Which sounds great when you are 17 or 18.  (No insult to the 17-18 year old out there.  None of us likes to be told what we can and can't do when we were your age.) It sounds great,  I mean how can anyone set boundaries for me to live by?

  Of course at some point we mature and we begin to appreciate, perhaps even cherish, our boundaries.  I wonder how many  Teens from 1971, sang this at the top of their lungs driving their Chevelle are now in their early sixties with "Keep Off The Grass" signs in their yard, and "No Solicitors" stickers on their front door.? Maturity and irony often walk hand in hand.

   The truth of the matter is we all like boundaries, at least when we set them.  It allows us to keep people from getting too invasive in our lives.  It helps us set limits.  We live in an odd time where we on one hand are losing privacy due to the Internet and social media, yet because of the exact same things are having less and less face to face interaction with other people.  Those boundaries we set help us  find a measure of control over lie. Our boundaries keep us sane.

   What are your boundaries? Your private life? Your work? Are your politics not subject to conversation?  Is it simply that you don't answer your home phone during dinner or after 9:00 at night? What ever your boundaries are they are important aren't they? How often have we heard it said, "I just wish they would they would respect my privacy, or respect my boundaries"?

  This past week, I went to a mandated meeting for clergy in our conference looking at, you guessed it boundaries.  Not just the normal "Be careful about inappropriate physical contact" boundaries.  We looked at all sorts of boundaries. Boundaries when we meet, preach, Boundaries of self care and awareness.  While there was some good natured griping at having to come to a mandatory meeting, I didn't hear anyone disagree with the topic. Everyone agreed boundaries are important and we need to do a better job of keeping them.

  I wonder though if our love of boundaries, and the demand that they be respected, is pen of the things that hampers our discipleship. Or at the very least hampers the end goal of our discipleship? What is the end goal of following Jesus? Isn't it that we become like Christ?  We are called to allow Jesus to make us like Him.  To fill us with His Spirit and share Him with the world.

  But in order to to do that Jesus must begin to break the boundaries in our lives. If one takes the time to read though any of the Gospels it doesn't take long to see Jesus is no respecter of boundaries. In fact He delights to break them down.  Not because he is running through Galilee singing "Signs, Signs" (although He might.), but because Jesus is determined to redeem the world.

  Jesus breaks the barrier of what we consider sin. The Scripture at the top of the page is from the Sermon on eh Mount. Jesus says our sin is NOT just what we do but what we think. He even goes so far as to say our good intentions aren't good enough. have you let Jesus break the boundary and define sin in your life?

 Jesus breaks the boundary of the power of sin in our lives.  Most of us would love to be able to rely on the idea that "We just couldn't help ourselves." or "everyone does it."  or even "I'm powerless."  Jesus says I can free you from the boundaries sin has placed on your life will you let me?

  He breaks the boundaries of our tendency to hold grudges and not forgive. He breaks the boundaries of class and racism.  He breaks the boundaries of rich vs. poor.  He even breaks the boundaries of  how we define true wealth.

  He even breaks the boundaries we have set up in the dark places of our souls. Most of us have a No Trespassing sign up somewhere in our lives. It might be how we feel about our parents. Or a sin we cherish. It might be our ethics at work or how we treat our spouse. It might be a wrong we did, or a wrong done to us.

  Whatever that No Trespassing zone is in your life, Jesus wants to break the boundary. He says to you you will never be truly free to become all I want you to be until I do.  I can break the boundaries and free you of so much hurt and pain in life.  I can break the  boundaries that are holding you back form enjoying life and being filled with my Spirit.

  Jesus wants to break the boundaries in your life today.  Will you let Him? Will you simply pray "Jesus, I've tired to keep you out of this place in my life or heart. But today I invite you in. i ask that you take it over and free me of everything that is holding me back." If you pray, Jesus will answer. And he will set you free.  Just think, losing your No Trespassing sign, and replacing it with a sign that simply says "Set Free by Jesus."  That's a sign we all can live with.

In Christ,

Rev. Dr. Brian Jones

Shake It Off

³ “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money,or even a change of clothes. ⁴ Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. ⁵ And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” (Luke 9:3-5)

We all know that different generations view things, well, differently. Or at least they will have different meanings. For instance, the power vocals of Roger Daltry and the guitar work of Pete Townsend to those from the sixties can only mean the work of  The Who.  Play them today and and many younger generations would say "Oh those are the guys who do the opening songs to CSI."  Whether you are bothered by that might very well be an indicator of the generation you are from.

But not necessarily. I admit that when I hear those opening lines I think more of the show than the group.  Perhaps that's because we have seen a barrage of these shows for over a decade.  CSI, CSI: MIAMI, CSI:NEW YORK ( and of course the lesser known CSI: SIOUX CITY IOWA).  These shows, along with many others, have proven incredibly popular all over the world. 

Why have they proven so popular? I can't answer for everyone, but for me it's the forensics. Each show is built around the idea that there is no perfect crime. The criminal always leaves a little bit of themselves behind. Or they take a little bit of the crime scene with them. And of course this always ends up leading to their downfall.

Of course crime solving isn't that simple.  But there is a lot of truth to the idea that one can't go through somewhere, or someone's life, and not leave a bit of themselves there. And we also have the tendency to take just a bit of others with us when we go. And that can be good as we look back at the wonderful people God has blessed us with in life. It's good to take a bit of them with us. But what about the people who have caused us pain or hurt us? What happens when we take them with us?

I believe this is a part of what Jesus is saying to the disciples (and to us) in the Scripture above. Of course, as with everything Jesus says, there are multiple layers. He is speaking to the urgent nature of sharing the Gospel. Don't waste time! He reminds the disciples that not everyone will be receptive to the Gospel. You can do your best and still be rejected.   

But Jesus also speaks of the importance of not taking the hurt and pain with you. "Wipe The Dust From Your Feet."  Leave it there and go on. Sound harsh? Does it sound as if Jesus is saying "Turn Your back on them.?"  Not really.  It's not so much a course as it is a promise that you need not take the dust of rejection and hurt with you for the rest of your life.

I see a lot of "dusty" people in the world. Maybe their parents rejected them or failed them. They went through a messy divorce and they carry the dust from their broken relationships. They were bullied as a young person and that dust covers them. They are the failed, the hurt, the broken and bruised. They are the people of the dust. They are us. None of us goes through life without some dust. This is a fallen world and people, even those with the best of intentions, can fail us. And we can let the dust follow us and dirty up our self esteem, our relationships, our past, present and future.

Or we can go to Jesus. Do you remember what Jesus does before the "Last Supper?" He kneels down and washes His disciples feet. He cleans off the dust and dirt.  He takes it away in an act of extravagant love. When He stands, the dust is gone. The disciples can walk away clean.

Jesus is still in the business of helping us shake the dust from our feet. He is still washing away the dirt. Have you been carrying the dust and dirt of hurt with you? Has it covered, or at least tainted, everything else in your life? It doesn't have to. If you invite Him, Jesus will come and wash your feet. He will help you shake the dust and dirt away so it doesn't have to follow you any longer.Why not ask Him to come and wash your feet today? Isn't it time you begin to shake off the dust?

In Christ,

Rev. Dr. Brian Jones <><

Truth? What's That?

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32)

One of the game shows I can remember my parents watching when I was a very young was "Truth Or Consequences."  The idea was the host, Bob Barker, would ask a question. If you couldn't answer it (truth) then you had to do some sort of challenge (The Consequences).   It was sort of our early version of YouTube.

While doing silly challenges for everyone to see is more popular to day than ever, I doubt this show could be made today. Not because people are unwilling to embarrass themselves. We threw that filter out a long time ago. No, it's simply we could never get past that first part of the game. Remember they had to tell the truth.  And there in lies the difficulty. We as a culture have lost any type of understanding of what truth is. If we can't agree on what truth is, how can we play the game?

Truth today is defined by many as whatever they want it to be. Your truth may not be the same as my truth,  but that's okay. Even if they are diametrically opposed to one another. Complete opposites.  Doesn't mater. You believe what you wish to believe.  Truth today, for many, is whatever the majority of people wish it to be  As long as the majority agree, it must be the truth. Or, as long as the attractive or famous believe it, it must be the truth.  As long as the most powerful or popular demographic of the day agrees it must be true, than it's true. Anyone see a problem with it yet?

When we define truth in such ever-changing terms, then truth is no longer truth. It really has nothing to offer us.  It can't change us or really help us. A part of the problem is that we we've confused truth with opinion.  Diet Coke is a soft Drink. That's a truth. In order for it to be anything else, it must change who it is. This is a truth.  I prefer Diet Coke to Diet Pepsi. That's an opinion. You can disagree and that's fine. Or different opinions do not change the truth both are soft drinks. 

Truth also has nothing to do with popularity.  At one time is was "popular" to believe the sun rotated around the earth. or that the earth was flat. When people began to uncover the real truth, i.e., fact, life became very difficult for them. Their lack of popularity or the backing of their culture did not change the truth.

And so we come to the Scripture above. Jesus says, the truth will set you free.  But how can this be so if truth is defined as it is by many today? If truth is what  many believe today, but may change tomorrow, how can that change me? Or my life? Or anything?  If truth for you and I can be complete opposites, how does that set me free? It's not real. Certainly it must be more than opinion, because one's opinions, even ones we hold to dearly, have never offered freedom to anyone. And it can't be merely what's popular. Going along with the crowd tends to enslave much more than it does free.

No, Jesus is talking about real truth. Undeniable, unchangeable truth. A truth that has nothing to do with whether or not the world agrees with it or likes it. What is this truth? That Jesus is the Son of God. That He has defeated sin and death. And that if we truly follow Him, He will make us like Him in how we love and think and act. The truth is that He is Lord, does rule, and will redeem the world in His time.

When I am broken, experience loss, am living with the guilt and consequences of my sins, or when I see evil in the world, I don't need opinion or popularity or changing ideas.  I need the One who is the Truth to come and set me free. So do you. Let us hold on to the One who is the Truth, and let us experience true freedom.

In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Brian Jones <><