Irish BBQ Pubs?

We were attending some meetings in Nashville last week, our first time in the Country Music Capital of the World. The weather reminded me of England, rainy and about 40 degrees. There is a point when the temperature is warm enough to enjoy the beauty of a place ("romantic" as some would say). Once it dips below 40 degrees it's no longer romantic unless you're in front of a fireplace...

On Valentine's Day we walked to lunch in between meetings. It was kinda nice with a light rain falling. I turned to my wife June and said "This reminds me of England." She laughed and said "I was going to say the same thing."

So the big question for lunch: would we have BBQ and listen to live music, or would we just have BBQ? On one block alone there were over ten restaurants all with live music. We walked into an Irish BBQ Pub, hmmmm. There weren't many open tables and the host said there were more tables upstairs. So we made our way up the steel and wooden stairway. It seemed to drop a few degrees with every step and by the time we reached the top I was blowing smoke. Wow, we get to eat outside.

It was a rooftop with large plastic covering, zipped up tight to block the wind and rain. And it couldn't have been one degree above 45. Because it was empty, we searched for the table directly under a giant heater (blowing about 25 mph). The seats were metal and that was super comfortable. We looked at each other and I asked about three times if she was okay and wanted to go back downstairs. You know when you're waiting for the other person to state the obvious, "This is miserable. Let's go back downstairs."

Finally, after ordering our drinks I caved in and we started back over toward the stairs with our coke and water. As we walked by the bar we told the gal it was too cold and we were going back down. She laughed and said "Why do you think I wear 3 jackets, it's freeeeezing up here?!!"

As we walked down the stairs I was thinking why in the world are people working upstairs when no one is going to go up there (besides us)?

And it got me thinking about how many things in life are just like that...

We start with a good idea (rooftop dining, cool vibe, lunch deals) and when it starts to rain we wonder why it isn't working. Sadly, we pour time and energy into things that aren't working when a minor adjustment (and common sense) could turn it around.

When Jesus came He said God would not be pouring this "new wine" into "old wineskins" otherwise they would burst. In other words, He wasn't going to invest in repairing the broken and imperfect system, but was going to create a new structure if you will. He was going to pour His Spirit into the people, not into the Temple system and services. He was displacing the authority structure and actually coming to be King. He chose the twelve and reconstituted the people of God. Amazingly, where they gathered in His name was where He was going to hang out in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

My take aways: be willing to look at everything with a fresh perspective and make adjustments where necessary. Turn a new leaf. Sometimes what has been pretty good can be the enemy of the best. And beware of rooftop dining at Irish BBQ Pubs when it is raining outside.

Getting free from bad labels II

(Note: I am so excited by what God is doing during this Joshua series! We are seeing and experiencing some of the same truths as we walk through the book.)

A respected counselor once told me he was frustrated by how many people he saw being touched by God and never changing. He said, “time and time again I saw people impacted by the love of God, saw Him touch and heal them in the depths of their wounding, identify where they needed to forgive and let go, and experience hope for the future. At the same time I kept wondering why some never got out of the same old ruts…”

He kept thinking there must be something deeper that needs to be healed. His “epiphany” came when He discovered the pathway of transformation in Romans 12:1-2. It comes by RENEWAL OF THE MIND.

The mind has to be changed by MORE than an experience of God’s love. It has to receive truth where there were once lies. Love is the context but only part of the story. The mind has to fight off those lies and learn new ways of responding and relating. It has to hold on to truth as “daily bread.”

Yes, we become a new creation in Christ when we repent and surrender to Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17) Old things pass away. But all things are in THE PROCESS of becoming new.

This friend discovered not everyone was excited by the prospect of learning new ways of relating. Not everyone wants to forgive, to think and do the loving thing in relationships. Not everyone is jazzed about learning to walk like Jesus did (1 John 2:6). We prefer immediate and miraculous change. We hold on to certain things we don’t want to let go of. It is like the guy when lowered in the water of baptism keeps his wallet (or anything else for that matter) held outside the water, basically saying “Jesus can have everything except for…”

The encouragement for those who want to change is this: God is willing and able! He has His selected avenues of grace – PATHWAYS where He gives and reinforces our new identity. The primary pathway is through His Word, the Bible. There He teaches, trains and disciplines us in love. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 12:1-11)

He calls us to REMEMBER – to consciously bring to mind and reflect on WHAT He has done, WHO He is, and WHAT He is saying and doing.

And God invites us to keep putting false labels on the cross. We have to quit going back to the cross and taking the labels back. And He promises to come alongside us and lead us forward.

Getting free from bad labels

lā-bəl a brief descriptive phrase or term. a word given to someone based on who they are, what they like, or their appearance.

Labels are powerful. Positive ones can be hard to remember. Negative ones can be hard to shake.

This past week we looked at the story of Rahab in Joshua 2. Rahab had the label "prostitute." She could have carried that label her whole life, but somehow it changed. She went from being on the “outside” to being part of God’s people. She was chosen, rescued from destruction and became a direct ancestor of Jesus. She ended up being listed with the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11. Wow!

It was very impacting to watch people on Sunday put their own past labels on the cross. The room was electric with God’s mercy and our own desperation, always a sweet combination...

Pondering the dynamic of changing labels got me thinking...

Initially responding by seeing the bad label and surrendering to Jesus is the first step. But then a new battle starts.

Labels are typically based on some partial truth. Maybe you failed at something and you were tagged with the label “loser" or worse.

One guy I know carried a label of being the victim. It all started when he was victimized. But it took over his identity. Everything was about how not only one person had wronged him, but how everybody else continued to do so. Anyone who didn’t give him what he wanted was seen as the enemy and he lashed out accordingly. That made healing and healthy relationships impossible.

Our enemy (the devil) is called the father of lies. He takes bits and pieces of truth and makes weapons out of them.

Just look at his strategy in the Garden of Eden, “Didn’t the Lord say…?” throwing in some doubt and questioning God’s motives. And even when trying to tempt Jesus he used partial truths and Bible verses.

It takes God’s love and truth to reveal the lies. It takes courage and grace to walk away from them.

In my next post we’ll look at how to fill the void of those past labels and embrace our new identity.