No whatevs--krateo!

"krateo"--Greek word meaning "have power, be powerful, get possession of, take hold of, keep carefully and faithfully, hold in check"

"whatevs"--American slang meaning "indifference." 

So...the apostle John. Called by Jesus from his fishing nets, he immediately set off on a complete life change. Walked with Jesus three years. Watched Him make the blind see, the lame walk, the dead live. There on the mountain when Jesus transfigured into glory. At the foot of the cross when He died. In the tomb right after He rose. In the upper room when He was suddenly there. On the shore when Jesus told Peter that if He wanted John to live until He came again, that was up to Him. He is known as "the disciple Jesus loved".

John went on to become pastor of the church in Ephesus. Wrote the gospel that bears his name as well as 1, 2 and 3 John. Imprisoned and tortured, he was once boiled in a large vat of boiling oil under the command of the Roman emperor....and didn't die. He was eventually exiled to Patmos, a lonely island in the Mediterranean. It was on this island that he received "the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--things which must shortly take place." The book of Revelation is an adventure story like none other, complete with bizarre creatures, cataclysmic disasters, and the triumphant end to all things here only to have them continue forever in heaven...or in hell. John was the only apostle not martyred for his faith.

John could teach us some stuff.

"I, John, with you all the way in the trial and the Kingdom and the passion of patience in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God's Word, the witness of Jesus. It was Sunday and I was in the Spirit, praying." Revelation 1:9-10, The Message

See, John held on despite all kinds of troubles because he knew Who mattered. Yes, he was exiled...hard things happen when you are a follower of Jesus. It was scary. It was painful. But he kept on. He was doing what he always did on Sunday..praying, deep in conversation with his Lord. He was a "krateo" guy.

We are a "whatevs" people these days. When things get hard, scary, or painful, we stop. Shrug our shoulders. Give up. Tell ourselves and each other that it's no big deal anyway. If we don't achieve something the first time, we don't care to keep after it. So what.

But to be "whatevs" is dangerous, because it is completely opposite of what Jesus called us to be. To the "whatevs" in Laodicea, one of the churches he had John write to in Revelation, He said:

"I know you inside and out, and find little to My liking. You're not cold, you're not hot--far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make Me want to vomit. You brag, "I'm rich, I've got it made. I need nothing from anyone"...Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!...Conquerors will sit alongside Me...Are your ears awake? Listen." Revelation 3: 15-17, 19, 21-22, The Message. 

"Be zealous and repent" is the way the New King James version puts verse 19.

Jesus, who dictated this book to John, uses the word "krateo" 8 times in describing what we as His followers are supposed to do down here. He uses a similar word, "teleo" (which means "attend to carefully, take care of, guard") 10 times. He's clear: to be found standing with Him when everything here is done, we have to hang on tight like it matters. Because it does. "Whatevs" is not a characteristic of those who make it to the end. "Whatevs" people are not conquerors who will sit alongside Him. "Krateos" and "teleos" will.

I'm gonna krateo. I won't do it perfectly. I'll whatevs sometimes. I'll be fearful. I'll give up, for a minute. But I'll get up the next day and krateo again. Can we do it together? Cause I need help.

The cool thing is that the Bible is written for our instruction. Through it, He urges us to turn around, then cheers when we do. He WANTS us to win. He WANTS us beside Him. He died so that we could be! He loves us like crazy and wants us all there when it's all over here. He's on our side :-) and He wants us to win.

It's easy to "whatevs". It's hard to "krateo". But it's worth it. Oh, so worth it. Let's do it.

Imperfect heroes

This summer I've really been thinking a lot about heroes. I did the Priscilla Shirer study on Gideon with my neighbor, and our youth summer camp (which we call "Summer of Camp" because we stretch it over 6 weeks) theme was "Heroes", based on Judges 6:19: "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!". I've prayed and thought and prayed some more, and really what God's shown me is that He uses pretty imperfect people to be heroes. I like that.

This morning, this: "And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens." Hebrews 11: 32-34 NKJV. 

Gideon was a fearful guy who ended up pretty prideful, setting the stage for the people to return to the very idolatry from which he'd delivered them. Barak refused to fight unless someone (a woman) came with him. Samson rage quit pretty much every situation and spent way too many nights with prostitutes. Jephthah made a foolish vow that cost his daughter her life. David murdered and committed adultery. Samuel was a lousy dad. Yet God used every one of them to accomplish heroic things, and every one of them is praised here near the end of the New Testament. God looks back at their lives and sees, not the imperfections, but the Impossibles they did in partnership with Him.

I figure if that's the way God does stuff, I've got a chance :-)  Guess what? So do you.

Jesus' death and resurrection "was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people." Hebrews 10:14, The Message. 

Rather than staying stuck in all your imperfections, believe that God loves you like crazy, that Jesus made you perfect, and that the Holy Spirit is working out all the details. God wants to write a hero story with YOU.

BOOK REVIEW: When We Were on Fire

This is probably one of the most profound books I've read since I started doing reviews on this blog, because it hit closest to home. Raised in church as a poster child for evangelical youth, Addie Zierman loved Jesus with a passion and lived for Him with a burning purpose. She earnestly desired to please Him and stay within the boundary lines the church had taught her were the biblical pathways to blessing. She even had a poster-child-for-missionaries boyfriend who stayed inside the boundary lines with her. But when he broke up with her, telling her she was a stumbling block to the "call of God" on his life, she was left awash in the foam of Christian cliches she'd surrounded herself with all her teenage life. 

Floundering a bit through Christian college, she married young, to a great Christian guy, and they went to China to teach English. While there, Addie realized she no longer fit into the boundary lines. As she began to realize she had nothing in common with the biblically cliche people in the small church they attended, depression began to set in. Who was she in Christ if she didn't fit into the church anymore? Over the next couple of years she struggled mightily to find answers in the church...any church..but couldn't connect. She wanted God answers, but she wasn't getting them through His people. Deep depression and rebellion took hold, until finally God's grace brought her back. 

The part of the book that hit me the most was when she took the women from their home church out to lunch, one at a time, hoping desperately that one of them would notice the terrible depression she was in, would ask her, really meaning it, how she was doing--so she could unload, so someone would listen, so someone would let her be real, so someone would help. Not one woman did. They all missed the huge need right in front of them. Because she looked just like one of them, every woman assumed she was "fine". 

Who are we in the church if we don't truly see, truly hear those who are right in front of us struggling? Cliches are nothing when hurting people in front of us need real talk. People can look like great Christians and say all the right Christian things and yet feel unconnected. 

If you are a Christian reading this review, I challenge you to look around you for people who need you to let them be real with you. Who is right in front of you desperately hoping you will ask in a real way how they are doing? Let them talk real, let them be less than the cliches, and love them. If you are reading this and have been somehow disenfranchised by the church...open your Bible, pray, and keep going to churches on Sundays until you find one that lets you be real. God created us for fellowship in the church body, so He will lead you to one that meets you where you are. 

I received this book for free for review purposes from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. 

For more on Addie Zierman, go here and for her blog, go here.

BOOK REVIEW: So Long, Insecurity: Teen Edition

I have devoured Beth Moore Bible studies for years. Seen her many times in person. Her humble, ravenous, singlehearted devotion to the Word of God always leaves me wanting more of it...more of Jesus. She always, despite a high profile speaking and publishing career, steps out of the limelight pointing to the real and only center of attraction, which is our Savior.

I read So Long, Insecurity when it came out a few years ago. When I was offered a complimentary copy of the Teen Edition by Tyndale House Publishers to review, I had to grab it! I do not have any daughters (nope, God gave me four sons!), but I DO have a fantastic group of "daughters" in the youth ministry at my church where I serve on the prayer team for our kids and leaders. One thing we are always praying for is that our youth girls come to solidly know who they are in Christ, and that this will define their relationship choices, their behaviors, their attitudes, and their life direction. So, I asked one of our youth girls, Asia Barrett, to read this book with me and to offer her review. This is her input:

The book So Long Insecurity: Teen Edition by Beth Moore is a very informative and reassuring book about why teenage girls often get insecure, and how to handle it. It not only explains some of the psychological reasons for behavior, it also shows how to identify the reactions young women make, and how to become a godly young lady.

This book helped me see that I'm not the only person who goes through these struggles, and it reminded me that God made me in His image, and that I'm perfect in His eyes. I got a lot of answers and good advice, and overall I recommend the book to other teenage girls. It's a nice light read that can really make you think about where you stand on each topic, and how you can turn to God for answers.

Arranged to look like a magazine, with glossy pages and brief, cut out blurbs of information, this book covers topics such as fashion, popularity, gifts and talents, and boys. My favorite chapter is the one entitled "tough stuff" which takes an honest look at the very real difficulties that face many teen girls today: death, loss, heartache, family financial stress, parents' divorce, and abuse. Every chapter includes several Scripture passages set brightly in cool printing, statistics creatively graphed on the topic, and brief quizzes to see where you land on the range of possible attitudes regarding the issue. The book concludes with a chapter defining "secure girls", pointing to role models in the Bible, and a short description of what it means to begin a relationship with Jesus if you do not yet have one.

This is a fantastic book for teen girls and I will be recommending it to our female youth leaders and all the "daughters" we get to hang out with!