Preparing for our Promise

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 12, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Genesis 22:9

Abraham's Sacrifice by Rembrandt

If you are at all like me, and I like to think you are, you can look back over your life and see how God gave you an assignment that necessitated the learning of new skill. As those skills grew, you might have concluded, “Now I know the reason God is doing this in my life.” But as you look back over the years, you see that God had a completely other reason for making you proficient in a certain area.

Scripture records that Abraham built many altars, so he was obviously proficient at gathering stones and arranging wood. So, when God told him to build an altar and sacrifice his only son, Abraham repeated an action he had been practicing for years, only now he did it for a new and challenging reason.  Abraham had built altars for years, but the signature purpose of this skill was now beyond his imagination.

Like Abraham, I too have found myself moving from place to place, sacrificing my hopes and dreams that I built around the location or the job I had. I have never lived in only one town, had only one job, or been a member of only one church or denomination.

Continue Reading

Jesus the Samaritan

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 7, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

The [expert in religious law] wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor” – Luke 10:29 (NLT)

Here I am, reading along and preparing for my Sunday sermon, feeling good about myself because I’m the pastor and a handful of people will get out of bed early and listen to me expound upon the Word of God, when it starts to occur to me I’m not as good as I like to think. In fact, sometimes I’m too religious for my own good, and it took a long-dead lawyer to get me to take a hard look at myself

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), a lawyer challenges Jesus with the question, “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replies, “How do you read it?” And the lawyer goes on to give the acceptable church answer: Love God with all you heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. “Great,” responds Jesus, “do it and live.”

The lawyer should have left well enough alone, but he goes on and tries to justify the way he treats others. Eugene Peterson says, “Looking for a loophole,” the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ answer tells the lawyer he is asking the wrong question. We should not be concerned with writing a short list called, These Folks Are Acceptable Neighbors. Instead, we should ask the question, “What kind of neighbor am I?”

I’d like to think this parable gives the lawyer a tough time, and it does, but it is actually tougher on me than I like to admit. If I’m really honest, I’ll admit that I’m more like the lawyer than the Samaritan. Continue Reading

Telling Yourself the Truth

Posted by Jim Thornber on June 1, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

For four years I was an Assemblies of God minister and a monk with the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, founded by singer/songwriter John Michael Talbot. This is an excerpt from my book Taking Off My Comfortable Clothes: Removing Religion to Find Relationship.

Me and Mom

When you consider yourself a “cool” Southern California kid, you think you can handle anything that comes your way. Move to Arkansas and join a monastery? No problem. Become the world’s only Assemblies of God monk and try to get the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world to accept you? Piece of cake. Joyfully anticipate taking a three-year vow of poverty, chastity and obedience, and even invite your mom to fly out from California to witness the experience? Right up my alley.

Until I noticed a little bump on my upper lip.

At first, I thought I was having an allergic reaction to something. Even though it was January, my mom was having some trouble breathing and we thought it might be a reaction to all the cedar trees. Yeah, that’s it. The bump on my lip is due to allergies. I took some Benadryl, said a little prayer and tried to ignore it.

But the bump grew larger, and eventually I looked like I got in a fight and came out on the losing end of a right hook.  Continue Reading

Knowing My Assignment

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 21, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 7 Comments

“No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.” John 3:27

I was sitting in church the other day when the pastor read this verse from John. Naturally, I respected his sermon by immediately tuning him out and writing my own notes. As most of you know, there are usually two sermons we hear on Sunday—the one the pastor preaches, and the one we preach to ourselves on the way home. For my own rude reasons, I didn’t even wait to get into the car before I was preaching to myself.

For me, the dilemma isn’t that I don’t know my assignment, but how to say no to those things I know are close to my assignment. For example, I know my God-given gift is to teach Scripture, but that’s a very broad canvas, so I’ll focus it. My gift is to teach Scripture to believers. That’s better, but let’s focus it further. My gift is to teach Scripture to adult believers. Ahh, that’s even better. But let’s go a step further. My gift is to teach Scripture to adult believers who have a passion to become sold-out disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.

Because I understand my gifts, I don’t have to say “Yes” to teaching children’s church or the invitation to be a youth minister. I’m not interested in going to China as a missionary, starting an inner-city work, or teaching social studies in the local middle school. Those are all close, but not close enough. Knowing my assignment means I can say “No” to those things that are not my heavenly gifts. Continue Reading

But I Don’t FEEL Like Obeying!

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 11, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

“Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand.” — Mark Twain

When I read the story about about Naaman in 2 Kings 5, two things stand out and cause me pause. First, why is an entire chapter in the Old Testament given over to this one character and his leprosy? And two, why am I so familiar with just how Naaman must have felt when he was told to wash in the Jordan River?

First, I haven’t a clue as to why an entire chapter is given over to this story.  However, I am truly bothered by Naaman’s response to Elijah’s directives to go wash in the Jordan. Here is a highly regarded warrior whom the king of Aram knew to be a great man, “because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram” (vs. 1). Aram, by the way, is also known as Syria, whose capital is Damascus. But I digress.

Here’s the picture: Naaman is a great warrior, esteemed by all, adored by the masses and rich enough to own a slave girl imported from Israel. His only problem seemed to be a small case of leprosy, which is a bit more distressing that acute acne by not as bad terminal cancer.

So Naaman is a great warrior and respected by his peers. He’s a bit like me, if you will – a warrior with words and respected by the dozens of people who know I like to write.

Now comes the crisis (leprosy, or cancer or something tragic in my life like another rejection letter from an editor) and the solution (go bathe in a muddy stream, or bow to God or apologize to your family for being selfish or something equally mundane). “Wait!” I want to shout, “I’m a SOMEBODY. Elisha, you can’t be serious. Don’t just send out your maid and tell me to do something mundane. I’m special and I want special treatment!”

Continue Reading

How To Talk “Christian”

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 7, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

“Mary took . . . an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. . . But Judas Iscariot objected, ‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?’ He said this because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what as put into it.” – John 12:3-6

Reading this passage reminds me of why I hate Christian clichés.

Judas, in his desire to line his pockets with the disciple’s money, says the religiously acceptable thing when he talks about giving the money to the poor. However, in order to hide his true motives, Judas mouths a frequently used yet thoughtless statement that sounds good to the listening ear but betrays the truth.

To the casual observer, Judas’ statement appears to be closest to the mission of Jesus, but in reality, his motive is furthest from the heart of Christ. That, to me, is the definition of a Christian cliché.

I’m confessing to you that I’m bothered by how many “religious” statements appear full of compassion and dedication, but are actually self-serving and furthest from the loving kindness of God. After sharing my crankiness over Christian clichés with some Facebook friends, I’ve compiled a short list of our least favorite Christian sayings. Feel free to add your own, but I warn you; just thinking about some of these can put you in a bad mood.

  • “Bless her heart.” This is the quick follow-up after sharing some bit of gossip about “her.”
  • “I’ll pray for you.” It sounds so religious and spiritual, but we can all count the number of times we’ve said that and failed to follow up on it. When someone asks my wife to pray for them, she stops what she’s doing, looks them in the eye, and prays for their need. I like that, because the person prayed for knows they’ve been prayed for, knows what has been said about them, and knows they’ve been in the presence of someone who means what they say.
  • “He needs Jesus.” This is code for, “That guy’s a real jerk.” Continue Reading

My Chosen Addiction

Posted by Jim Thornber on May 3, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 10 Comments

You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?—James 2:19-21

I’ve been a Christian long enough to know that addictions can be harmful to your spiritual health. I’ve heard preachers rail against different addictions for over thirty years, telling me to keep my mind and body pure from evil, worldly pleasures. But now that I’m middle-aged, I think I’m spiritually wise enough to enjoy an addiction of my own choosing without too much harm. I mean, what’s it going to do? Kill me? Heck, I’m closer to death now than when I first begun.

The question is: What kind of addiction to I want to take up?

How about smoking cigarettes? No, that’s out. I don’t like the smell of stale smoke on other people’s clothes, much less my own. Besides, smoking and being the lead pastor of a church still doesn’t settle well in people’s minds.

Maybe drinking? Then the question arises, “Drinking what?” Most churches still condemn even a glass of wine in the evening, as simple as that is, but have nothing against drinking three liters of Coke a day, as awful as THAT is. However, I’m not a big fan of carbonated drinks, so that’s out. How about milk? I used to like milk. Then I see a gallon of milk is almost as much as a pack of cigarettes, so I figure there has to be a less expensive addiction to get involved in. And my Lord knows I don’t need to put on any more weight.

How about gambling? That’s an easy “No.” Not that I don’t gamble already. Continue Reading

What Do You Want?

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 26, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me…” “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.   The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see” (Mark 10:46-52).

Granddaughter's Eyes

Two things bother me about this passage. The first is that Jesus, upon seeing a blind man, has the audacity to ask him what he wants. Wouldn’t you assume that if a blind beggar has the temerity to shout at the Son of David, “Have mercy on me!” that Jesus would know what the man needed? But that may not be point. Perhaps the point is, “Did Bartimaeus know what Bartimaeus needed?”

The second bothersome question is, “Do I know what I need?” In other words, in what areas of my life am I as blind as poor Bartimaeus? In this way, ‘ol Bart is probably smarter than poor Jim. At least he knew what his greatest need was. Do I? Continue Reading

Surprised by Jesus

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 23, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman.”­ – John 4:27

John 4 is the familiar story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus was on a mission, for verse four says, “Now he had to go through Samaria.” What intrigues me about this passage is the way the disciples seemed bothered by the fact Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman. This woman was the wrong sex and living in the wrong country for them to feel comfortable. In other words, she definitely was not one of them! Apparently, the disciples still did not understand the mission and the purpose of Jesus, so His actions surprised them.

This got me thinking: I wonder how often Jesus might surprise me. I don’t think I’d be surprised if Jesus had a face-to-face conversation with Billy Graham, or maybe Mother Teresa or even the head of my denomination. Those are all people who are acceptable in my sight. However, would I be surprised if I walked into a room and saw Jesus conversing with someone I’m not sure about? You’ll have to use your imagination for this, but what if I came across Jesus talking to President Obama. (I can hear it now: “Jesus had to go through Washington, D.C.”) Continue Reading

Pure As Gold

Posted by Jim Thornber on April 22, 2010
Posted in: Christian Spirituality, Religion. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

“But he knows the way I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold” – Job 23:10

The book of Job bothers most people because it never really addresses the issue of why people suffer. However, Job bothers me because it show us that God is more interested in our faith and the final, gold-like qualities of our life than He is in our comfort and pleasure.

God wants us all to come forth as gold. But why gold? Probably because it is such an interesting metal. 1.02 ounces of gold can be drawn into a wire 62 miles long. It conducts electricity, shields from heat and, because of its ability to reflect infrared light, it is used to control the temperature on satellites. NASA coats the visors of space suits with gold to afford them protection from the rays of the sun.

Gold is non-toxic if consumed, and chefs use it as a food decoration in the form of gold leaf. 1 ounce of gold can be beaten so thin that it covers 300 sq. ft. Gold is described as ductile because it can be drawn out into a fine wire and malleable because it is easily hammered into sheets. A goldsmith can shape it into any desired form, and it is resistant to rust, oxidation and tarnishing.

Gold is a marvelous substance for the countless ways it is shaped and used. However, before it can be used, it must be harvested, melted, purified and tested. Job understood what it took to make pure gold, and even so, he was willing to go through the process.

Contrary to many people’s theology and comfortable lifestyles, Scripture teaches us that God does desires to test us. The word “test” in this passage is a Hebrew word which means to examine, prove, and test (especially metals); to generally and figuratively investigate. What God is investigating is our purity, our faithfulness, Continue Reading