Silence Speaks Volumes

Sometimes our silence says more than out words ever could. In fact, sometimes there are no words at all, and only silence is truly reverent.  Zechariah is a forgotten figure in the landscape of the coming Messiah; but somehow relate to him best of all.

Gabriel appeared to Zechariah.  But Zechariah responded to the news from God with fear and with doubt. And though his words to the angel really seemed to mirror the response Mary had to the same angel, his tone was way different. Why else would he have been left without words until the day his wife would give birth to their long anticipated son.  Zechariah's silence may have appeared to be a curse, or at least a chastisement...and it really was. But as is true with how God deals with many of us, this development had both blessings and punishments woven into it.

He left the temple speechless. He had no one to which he could share his joy. And when his wife Elizabeth learned of her pregnancy, he couldn't express how exited he was....how happy he was for her, for them; that the veil of childlessness was lifted from their line. He couldn't express the gambit of emotions he would have been feeling....but he was silent. And when you are silent, sometimes you listen. And when you listen, you hear words explicitly spoken and words implied.  And often it's when we refrain from speaking, that our Hod speaks to is and fills is with his wonders which are truly indescribable. Maybe we all can benefit from being at a loss for words.

Eventually Zechariah spoke again and had these words to reflect to God on his son who would play a valuable role in Jesus' life as his cousin and baptizer.

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.  And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

The Moment That Changes Everything

I'm reminded of our fragility as people.  Here one day, gone the next.  Which makes each moment....each second of this life full of significance.  We truly don't know which moment will be our last, so we must live each moment on purpose.  Are you floating through life or living on purpose?  I think the Shepherds were floating.  Day in and day out, they took their flocks to their fields and watched- not anticipating anything in particular, just watching.  Watching sheep sounds about as monotonous as it gets.  Sure there are moments when you are forced to leap into action and protect the sheep, but those moments are few and in the mean time silence and boredom to fill the nights. 

In that one moment, everything changed.  The angels entered the horizon quicker than a heartbeat and proclaimed a life changing reality not just for the Shepherds but for all of mankind that moment forward.  LIFE.  SALVATION.  PEACE.  JOY.  LOVE. The answer to all of life's questions had just been born, in a manner so humble that barely anyone noticed.  But heaven met earth...in that moment.  And everything would be different forever.

Do you think the Shepherds ever took their jobs for granted again?  Do you think Joseph ever looked at Mary the same again?  Yet we get stuck in monotony, we get stuck living our lives and floating through; engaging our brains with the temporary in order to avoid the eternal.  I invite you this Christmas season, to be rocked by the news again- perhaps for the first time.  "For a child has been born- for us!  The gift of a son- for us!  His names will be:  Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness.  His ruling Authority will grow and there will be no limits to the wholeness He brings." (Isaiah 9:6 THE MESSAGE)

Because I cannot do it by myself, I need the AMAZING COUNSELOR.  Because i am weak, I need the STRONG GOD.  Because I am an earthly son, I need the ETERNAL FATHER, and because of my short-comings, I need the PRINCE OF WHOLENESS.  And He is here, He was born at Christmas.  So now I must live for Him, every moment on purpose for Him.

Thoughts on losing my other dad

I wanted to attempt to put words together to help me heal; to help my brain and heart intersect at this tragedy that unfortunately is reality.

Jack Fabris is the father of my wife. When I met him six and a half years ago he immediately went into my phone under the contact 'Papa Jack.' We played golf every Friday, I expected that to be awkward, but it wasn't.  He would tell our various golfing companions that I was dating his daughter, later he would tell them that I married his daughter, later still he would tell them that I was the father of his grandchildren.  Eight months ago black mold displaced us from our home and my wife Rachel's health was in bad shape. The cluster if symptoms kept changing and sending her health into a downward spiral and till we discovered the mold. Jack had us move in that very night, an we are still here.

He watched the girls the day my grandfather died, the girls were there for him eleven days later when his dad died.  I joked that I was, "living the dream- every guy secretly wanted to live with his in laws."  But somehow it worked.  Jack did things his way, the way he had always done them, and once I swallowed my pride, I started to learn his ways, his systems of how to do things.  And they worked. His marriage worked: Thirty years plus, he was happy, and he loved those closes to him with no holding back.

He reminded Chloe and Kaydee daily that they were "his girls." He watched them or co-watched them at least for part of the day, every day since we moved in. He would check on Chloe on his way to bed every night and Chloe would always ask for us to "send Pa Pa up" when we tucked her in.  The day before he died, he took Chloe on a date to McDonald's for ice cream, and Fry's for more Christmas lights. 

Earlier that fateful day, we cleaned his pool filters together and straightened up the Livingroom.  Two women and their daughters knocked on the door while I was vacuuming and Jack answered the door. They asked him if he wanted a Bible reading and a tract, he answered, "my son-in-law here is a minister so we're good, we've got it covered." It's unbelievable how much that conversation at the front door has helped me heal. We left for the Tempe Lights parade at 4, around 5 he passed away as a result to head trauma in an accident involving his motorcycle.

I'm often the one on the other side of grief, the one like you, wishing you had the magic words to make the person hurting feel better. I always hated it because I never really knew how it felt, I had never lost anyone tragically, or at all as a matter of fact before these last few years.  And now it has happened.  

And I asked God why?!  Why now, why him? Why does my three year old have to know so well what it means when someone dies. Why does my wife have to be without her daddy?

But quickly, I can't forget to thank God: thank you for his life, thank you for how he loved us, thank you for the memories, thank you that we were able to live our relationships with Christ in front of him day in and day out.

I still don't know why God allows things like this to happen, but I understand one thing a lot better now: peace.  I feel overwhelmed by peace- knowing that it was his time to go home, peace that God still has a plan in all of this, peace that this isn't the end, peace that doesn't make sense, and peace that I can't get away from even when I want to. It really does transcend all understanding. And when the waves of grief and sadness flood over, the peace pushes it away and we remain standing. 

God, I praise you in this storm, and I won't even try to steer through this one. Guide us through to the other side. 

I lost my other dad this week. He loved me like a son, and I him like a father.

Jack Fabris

June 30, 1951- November 24, 2012

Jesus = Life

Read 1 John 5:1-12

The truth is:  no one likes a hypocrite.  No one likes it when somebody says one thing and they do a different thing that contradicts the thing that they initially are saying in the first place!?  Confused, let me explain:

Following Jesus, at least on paper, is quite simple:  If you love Him - you should do what He says.  If you want to overcome the world (and all the junk and terrible things in it), you should trust Him with everything that you've got.  Jesus = victory over death, Jesus = life, Jesus = love, Jesus = the Way.

So why do we make it all about us?  Why do we complicate things with our agendas, our selfish desires, our 15 seconds of fame at the expense of others?  We are sinful.  We are flawed.  But we are not stuck if we simply follow Him.  He is the way.  He is the Truth.  He is the light.  He is the Light.  He is love.

My hope and prayer is that the simplicity of the Gospel will shatter my complicated will and world.  I pray to be overwhelmed by the simple yet overwhelming truth of Grace and Love.  God has rescued me from myself, and I keep crawling back.  I want to live simply, surrounded by the Truth of His overwhelming simple but amazing Love.

The Response to Grace, is Grace

Hey, Thanks!-

I am so thankful for so many things that it is hard to know where to even start.  I am thankful for Grace:  the blood of Christ that has saved me, a sinner, and atoned for those sins and have washed me white as snow.  I guess that is a good place to start.  The Grace of God, sending His Son for me and giving me eternal live by grace through faith....that is the reason I am even typing those words right now.  And of course I am thankful for my wonderful wife, my amazing daughters, a family that loves me, and friends that support me.  And all of those things are amazing, but we live in a country and a culture, where we bring those things we are thankful for to the forefront one day a year on the holiday we call Thanksgiving, and then on the very next morning a mere 10 hours from finishing our feast, we trample Walmart employees and fellow shoppers so that we can get a TV $100 off the retail price!  Am I the only one who is bothered by this little corner of our culture?  Bothered that so close to Thanksgiving, a day that we are to be grateful for all we have, we can be so blatantly greedy!

But the heart of Thanksgiving is not what you are thankful for, but what you are going to do as a response to all the blessings that have been given to you.  Are you going to live a gracious live in response to the grace that has been given to you (so freely and so undeservedly?)

2 Corinthians 9:6-15---- Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.   And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.” 

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.  Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.  And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.   Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

So I want to live out my Thanksgiving this year, by being generous, and blessing others, even when I don't want to or feel like it.  Living a grace-filled life is the only response I should and can have to the grace and love that was so lavished on me in my most desperate and undeserving state.

-Matt 

Stop and Pray

Stop and Pray

I have a bad habit of letting moments pass by. I know what I'm supposed to do or maybe what I ought to do; and I let it slip by without taking action. It's a defect, a shadow of the sin nature that I try to shake daily, but to no avail without the power of Christ. But with every failure, I learn, understand and recognize God's gentle nudging a little bit better. What is the common denominator of all of these failures, of my missed opportunities with God's nudging, you may ask? Prayer. I need to stop and pray. I feel it clearly from the Lord but much of the time I balk; I seize up. Maybe I don't want to inconvenience the person, or maybe I simply don't want to inconvenience me...I have many excuses, none of them good. I am being disobedient! And I can tell them I will pray for them, but let's be honest I forget and I let the moment sail by with my good intentions worth about as much as monopoly money on wall street.

I am my biggest critic, I admit it, but I'm too convicted on this topic not to change. I must stop and pray. You told me your having a ba day, from now on when I hear that, I am stopping what I'm doing and I'm praying. And I hope it blesses you, but it's not so I feel extra spiritual, it's an act of obedience. I'm called to intercede for you, to go into the trenches of spiritual warfare for you and pray. When? Now! I will stop and pray...now! The moment to pray is now. Jesus healed in the moment, he prayed in the moment, he taught in the moment. He didn't tell people he would heal them in a few days, he did it right then. My offensive weapon, my tool to bless others and further his kingdom is prayer. And I will stop and pray, now.    

Divine Wisdom

1 Corinthians 2:6-12

Earthly wisdom, doesn't necessarily equal God's wisdom.  In fact, God's wisdom is foolishness to the world; earthly wisdom is foolish to God.

Sometimes I feel like we don't belong. Like, this is not our permanent home.  WE are on this earth, for only a short while...we are just passing through on our way to our final destination.  So how should that affect how we live our daily lives?  How should that affect our priorities; what we put value and effort into?   How should that affect what we are passionate about?

With the Holy Spirit as our guide, God will reveal the secret,....the majesty of His wisdom to us.  He will reveal his plan a portion at a time; just enough for what we need in the moment.  He guides us in His perfect will, majestically and deliberately adding color and purpose to our life.  When we seek wisdom...when we seek purpose....when we seek fulfillment apart from God and his will...it falls flat:  guaranteed.  Apart from God it's pointless.  We will frustrate ourselves; we will bang our heads against the walls of our world in futility, because without the secret wisdom of God, we are lost.  But the cool thing is that we are all privy to the secret, it is unlocked for all who   will believe, who will let go of the stranglehold they have on their life, and let the God of the Universe be the God of their universe.

When you surrender, you gain a better foothold; when you quit, you win!

Backwards Jesus

Matthew 5:21-48
In the sermon on the mount and his other teachings, Jesus had a habit of taking the normal teachings of the day and completely turning them upside down. He didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it...to show us the heart of why God set up rules in the first place. But I think he also just like to rock people's worlds.

"You've heard it said 'do not murder', but I tell you that anyone who is angry with their brother will be subject to judgment." Jesus is warning about the danger of anger. Anger is dangerous, and when it is left to fester it causes grudges and warps people's ability to see the truth and the things of God. So Jesus says don't be angry. In fact if you are angry, seek reconciliation...don't let it go, don't even let the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26-27).

"You've heard it said 'do not break your oath,' but I tell you do not swear at all: either by heaven or by earth." Jesus is saying here that our yes needs to be yes and our no, no. Do not promise and swear things that you may or may not come through on. Your word is your bond, and you need to do what you say you are going to do.

"You've heard it said, 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth:' but I tell you, do not resist an evil person." Turn the other cheek? Give someone not only your tunic, but your cloak as well? Don't just go one mile, go two miles as well? Does Jesus want us to be wimps? Absolutely not! He is showing the importance to forgive first and not jump to anger and revenge. Forgive...even when its hard; even if they aren't sorry. Don't hold a grudge, don't go down that road to anger.

"You've heard that it was said, 'love your neighbor and hate your enemy:' but I tell you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Love your neighbor...even if that neighbor is actually an enemy. Once again, forgive and put on an attitude of love even in the tough situations of life. Don't let anger, and hatred pull you down the road towards destruction.

Jesus loved to turn the world on its head with his teachings. In this passage he reminds us: love first, forgive first, and be serving.

Salt and Light

Matthew 5:13-16

I am what you might call a "salt-aholic." I love salt. If it's too salty for you, its probably just right for me: popcorn, french fries, soup...I have to have salt on it. This isn't always a good thing, because too much salt can lead to high blood pressure and a number of other health problems down the road. So I have to monitor my salt intake. But Jesus makes a great point about salt....it adds flavor! Without flavor, food is bland and inedible. I have endured many a stale bag of popcorn, just because the salt made it more bearable. But what happens when salt loses it's saltiness? Is it worth anything at all?! Not really, you would just throw that type of salt in the trash can.

Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth. As Christ followers we contain the knowledge of the one thing that will preserve us beyond this life to eternity. We have the love, grace and peace that the world is so desperate for. Our words need to be seasoned with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, because the world is desperate for a life that is full and abundant and not just bland and hallow.

Jesus also says that we are the light of the world. Have you ever been in complete darkness? I mean...you can't see your hand in front of your face from an inch away...complete darkness? In that moment when you strike a match or turn on the back-light of your cell phone, the darkness starts to scatter and you can see more and more. It is like that with Christians in this world. Let you light shine, live a life that reflects the light of Christ.

The world is desperate for light and desperate for salt. Jesus says we are both salt and light. Don't let your light dim and your salt lose its saltiness. Be different, live live righteously and purposefully to make a difference in this world hungry for meaning.

Beatitudes and More

The Beatitudes are the verses of the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5 from vs. 3-12. Jesus mentions a type of person who is blessed (not necessarily happy but filled with the joy of Christ) and then talks about the promise that God has for such a person. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers and blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness (who are insulted or lied to.)

The poor in spirit are blessed. What does that even mean, “The poor in spirit.” I find poor in spirit to mean humility; and selflessness. The world would tell you that you have to look out for yourself in order to get anywhere in life. Jesus says that if you are poor in spirit, the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to you! Blessed are those who mourn, because they will be comforted. The world would tell us to suck it up, life is hard, deal with it, but Jesus is saying here that it is ok to mourn, because your Heavenly Father cares and will comfort you. Blessed are the meek (the gentle and soft-spoken), but the world says that the aggressive and powerful are blessed. The meek person will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right will be blessed according to Jesus, whereas the world will tell you to do whatever it takes to get ahead. Jesus says the righteous will be filled and won’t remain empty and hollow. The pure are also blessed, as well as the peacemakers and the merciful and even those who endure persecution because of their faith in God. The promise to those blessed people: seeing God, being part of God’s family and receiving a reward in heaven. Jesus sees things in a way that seems backwards to the people in society.

They are used to having to be aggressive, even nasty to succeed in life. But Jesus comes

on the scene and speaks with authority about being humble, and being merciful, and peaceful, and pure, and taking persecution as a badge of honor. That wasn’t what they were used to hearing! It was refreshing, it was confusing, but it was good.

Jesus goes on through the rest of chapter 5 to talk about God’s stance on some more specific issues of the day such as the law, anger, divorce, promises, and revenge. In all of His teachings the overwhelming tone is love, peace, grace and mercy. Is it even possible to live in this world and be loving and peaceful and gracious to everyone we meet? Some days it doesn’t seem possible but Jesus shows us that it is. Not only did He teach about it; He lived it out. The words that we speak, need to be filled with love; our thoughts and actions need to be pure; we need to desire to do what is right and point others to the Truth with our actions and with our deeds not just our words.

Covered in Dust: Jesus Was Tempted

Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus was tempted. That fact alone gives me relief when I am going through the ringer day in and day out. There is nothing that I will go through that Jesus didn't go through also, and He did it without sin. We've all been in the desert; in fact we live in the desert (Arizona, get it!?). It's how we respond when our lives are in the desert that shows what we are made of. Jesus was tempted three times by Satan in the desert. He was there for forty days. In Jewish culture the time frame 40 days was symbolic. It meant a really long period of time. Can you imagine not eating, drinking, playing xbox360 for six weeks?! The idea of being denied some of these things we depend on, is too much to bare for some of us. This is where the celebration of Lent comes from; Jesus was tempted and was in the desert for 40 days, so during Lent people are challenged to fast or give something up for those six weeks. What would you give up if you were fasting?

The first temptation involved turning stones into bread. Jesus knew that God provides and He responded by stating that He gets His nourishment from every word that comes from God. The second temptation involved Jesus throwing himself off of the top of the temple and having angels rescue Him. Jesus said, "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." The third temptation of Satan was for Jesus to worship Him, and he would give Him control of everything He could see. But Jesus commanded Satan away because we are to worship the Lord our God alone. Jesus did not cave to temptation for basic human needs such as food and water; Jesus did not cave to temptation to test God and be spectacular; and Jesus did not cave to temptation to have power and glory from worshiping Satan. Jesus knew that our purpose, and our acceptance comes through and by God and God alone.