It’s awesome how inspiration and clarity can hit you every now and again.  It feels like that first breathe of fresh air after you’ve been holding your breathe for a long time.

I think it’s so important to be looking for places to grow and develop ourselves, to fight against that creeping sense that things are ‘okay for now’.  When we start to believe this, our passion fades, energy levels drop, and pessimism, procrastination, and a bad attitude start peeking at us from around the corner.

Whether it’s church service, podcasts, TED talks, school, books, articles, the Bible, or some other avenue of stimulation, look for these, and treasure the times when you are challenged to change, or think differently, or that moment of clarity and understanding crashes over you.

If you haven’t guessed already, this happened to me recently.  I was attending a seminar on a Saturday morning (talk about sacrifice for learning) with Dr. Marv Penner, a professor and youth worker, who was teaching us about at risk youth.  During this seminar, which was phenomenal overall, he threw out a phrase in passing that sent me on a wonderful tangent.

“…this passage is basically the calling of every Christian.”

I immediately jotted down, “The Christian Job Description”, and then went to work analyzing the passage with this in mind.

The results as I’ve foreshadowed already, brought clarity and new vision to both my role as a pastor, but also to our job as Christians.

Interested in what that passage might be yet?

It is the famous passage from Isaiah, that Jesus read when He began His ministry among the people.  What better place to look for our purpose, our job description, as we are all called to be Christ-like, Christ-followers, little-Christs.  Here is that passage; I’ll break it down after you read it.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:1-3

Notice all the phrases that I bolded, taken together it reveals what our purpose is as followers of Christ.  This is what Christ did, and this is what we are to do.

Proclaim Good News
Bind up
Proclaim Freedom
Release from darkness
Proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor (note it doesn’t say proclaim judgement and doom)
Comfort
Provide for
Bestow a
crown of beauty
oil of joy
garment of praise.

Obviously each of these need to be unpacked…I smell a sermon series here, but there is enough just in those words to get an idea of the type of thing we are being asked to do as Christians.

We are in the healing, freeing, telling great things business.  How fulfilling it is to be called to such an amazing job in our world.

If you’re starting to look at that list and get worried because it seems way too hard…GOOD.
That’s exactly what you should feel, because at the end of the day this is God’s work too.

It is in partnership with the Holy Spirit that we can begin to fulfill such a lofty job description, without the Spirit we’re just people trying to behave, and failing I might add.

With the Spirit we are brought into a UNITY of purpose with Jesus and are EMPOWERED to carry out these elements.

May we ask God to send His Spirit more into our daily lives, empowering us to live as He lived.
For His Glory, Amen.

He was talking about prayer as being a language that we learn as we respond to God, and that the Psalms are the human response to the Word of God.  The psalms are organized into 5 books, and each book ends with the same conclusion, some derivative of this:

“Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen, and Amen”

The books are divided like this, Book 1: Ps 1-41, Book 2: 42-72, Book 3:73-89, Book 4:90-106, and Book 5:107-150.

They are said to relate to the first 5 books of the bible, the Pentateuch, which is widely regarded as God’s full Word to us.  The rest of the word of God is a working out of what was already said in the first 5 books. 

Psalms, seen with this perspective, then becomes for us the complete human answer to the Word of God.  

Prayer is never the first word, it is always the response to God’s word.  

So, if you’re struggling in your prayer life, take heart.  That might actually be a good thing.

Prayer was never meant to be something to begin our day with, or to ‘get things going’ at a meeting, it is meant to be our response to what God is already at work doing in our lives and in the world.  

If you’d like to improve your prayer language, read the psalms.

If you’d like to improve your prayer life, become attentive to God’s Word and respond honestly.

Thought that might be an interesting to think about. 

May we allow God to speak first, and may we respond with language that is honest.  

There were lots of reasons that were given for why this is the case.  The church doesn’t really focus on the necessity, we haven’t seen God face to face, nothing life threatening has ever happened to us that would make us terrified of His power, and many others.  There were a lot of honest points raised, and one of the most telling in my opinion was when a group said that in church we often go through the motions instead of the emotions.

To see Mr. Bean illustrate this for me, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bm9mhX1q4o

That’s catchy, the motions not the emotions.
Beyond it’s obvious preachable quality, this sticks with me because it might actually be a huge barrier to fearing God.

If we can create a church experience where most of the people can come and worship God without ever encountering Him, without ever feeling His presence or seeing Him move; then we are in danger of replacing the curtain that Jesus Christ died to tear apart.  

In Moses’ day, the people were so terrified of God that they didn’t even want to look at Moses’ face after he had been on the mountain speaking with God.  Moses’ face had a glow that frightened the people, so they told him to put a bag on his head.  Later this bag on Moses’ head was replaced with a huge veil that ‘protected’ the worshipers from the Holy of Holies, the most sacred place of the temple where God’s presence was.  Only the chief priest was ever allowed to enter, and only once a year to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Jesus’ main mission was to restore humans relationship with God, and as a symbol of this, when he died the Temple Veil was torn in two.  The veil that had separated the people from God’s glory and power had been removed on purpose.  It was time for God’s people to encounter Him directly.   (Matthew 27:51)

Let’s be honest, encountering God can still be frightening even when Jesus is in our corner.  Our sins are lay bear before Him, the expectations on us increase dramatically when the Holy Spirit enters our lives, and we gain access to a new world of supernatural power through the gifts of the Spirit.  
I think that’s why we create services where our people can go through the motions instead of the emotions.  In our cowardess, we would rather have the Temple veil separating us from God, we like the Israelites before us would rather God put a bag on his head, because then we wouldn’t have to deal with the fact that God is terrifyingly powerful and that He has a purpose for our lives that asks more of us than we think we can give.  

I encourage you to be people of courage, to be brave.

^“16Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it].”  Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified version).

Pam & Jim on an Awkward Double Date

Feeling awkward seems to be the reigning champion of humour these days.  Shows like ‘The Office’, ‘Parks & Recreation’, and movies like ‘Meet the Parents’, and ‘Anchorman’ are all about this type of humour.  Put a character in the most awkward situations imaginable and watch their reactions.

I think we love it on the screen because we hate it in real life.  It’s such an immersive experience for us, the audience, as we feel the silent tension, and share the looks of horror on the actors faces.

Let’s face it, no one likes to feel uncomfortable.  Whether it’s having to respond to an inappropriate comment, having to wriggle our way out of an awkward situation, or having our own shortcomings exposed; feeling uncomfortable is something most of us avoid like shaking hands with people in public bathrooms.

I have a feeling, this is why people killed Jesus.
It’s probably also why people killed all the prophets before Jesus.  And maybe why thousands of Christians have died throughout history.

Throughout the Bible in both old and new testaments there are strong challenges levied against the people of God.  Chastisements that would make even the most easy going person writhe in awkward agony.  God seems to be perfectly willing to make us feel uncomfortable from time to time.  This tends to make people respond in strange ways.

Here is one such uncomfortable saying pointed at a very comfortable church:
“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.  You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Revelation 3:15-18

Ugh, that is uncomfortable.  This is to the church of Laodicea, which was described as being lukewarm.  What else is lukewarm?  Maybe a nice swimming pool in the summertime that’s been heated by the sun?  Room temperature would probably be considered lukewarm, as would the bowl of porridge that Goldie-Locks finally decided on.  Not too hot, not too cold, just right.  A perfect synonym for comfort.
Now imagine you are having a nice meal with your church friends, talking about the newest thing you bought to make your life easier and more exciting, your laughing and enjoying your nice peaceful Sunday, and then one of the church leaders stands up and reads this letter.  You are ‘wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’  Those words might make you feel a little uncomfortable.  Your first response would probably be to get rid of that feeling at all costs…either laugh it off as a joke with those beside you, or dismiss it as speaking of someone else or some other situation.  That would be a big mistake.

Sometimes those moments when we feel completely uncomfortable, fully exposed, and at a loss, are exactly the moments we need to be paying attention to.  I’m not saying every awkward feeling is from God, we all know that not everything on The Office is praise-worthy, but only that we shouldn’t be too quick to laugh off our uncomfortable feelings.  What might our creator, our former and shaper, the one who’s job it is to transform us, be trying to say?

To the church in Laodicea the message was plain, change or be spit out.  Do we take anything God says this literally, or this authoritatively in our lives?  Being uncomfortable in the presence of God and His word is not something to laugh off or avoid, it is to be poured over and understood.

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to whom I have given authority over my life.  Unsettle me as You do to all those You love.  Keep me from complacency and religious comfort.  Don’t give up on me, I want to change, I want to be rich, to see, and to be clothed.  Amen.

Write this email, fill out that report, mail this, make these phone calls.
I came in to my office ready to go.  I set up my laptop, shifted my papers on my desk, and picked up the first piece of mail on my desk…

…’knock, knock.’

“Come in.”

Around a half hour later that drop in left, just in time for my ’scheduled’ meeting guest to arrive. 
An hour after that, it was time for our office staff meeting.
That meeting went longer than usual so that I was actually late for my final meeting of the day, a meeting that I wasn’t expecting until it was rescheduled earlier that day, during the first meeting, because of a time conflict.
My final meeting of the day took me to about the time when I leave to go see my wife after work.

At times during each of those meetings, especially the unscheduled ones, I found my mind wandering to the work I had planned to do that just wasn’t getting done.  I wondered when I would do it, I even imagined myself getting some of it done. 
“What are you doing?” I would say to myself, “be present.”
I would catch myself in the middle of these imaginings and remind myself that’s it’s okay, that these interruptions are my work.  That practicing the discipline of presence was more important than my to-do list.  After these helpful reminders, I would settled down and re-enter the conversations, able to listen actively and be present. 

One of the thoughts that brought me back from spaced-out-land was one I’ve remembered, and been reminded of, from time to time by author Henri Nouwen: ”My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I discovered that my interruptions are my work.” 

“My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I discovered that my interruptions are my work.”    -Henry Nouwen

I have to remind myself that my interruptions are my work.  They are the part of my day that is not my own, that I haven’t planned, and didn’t foresee.  It is both humbling and amazing to look at our interruptions in this way, and to exercise our faith in order to believe that these interruptions might just be ordained by our Father who sees all and knows what is best for us. 

Indeed, my to do list isn’t done, but a couple of my Father’s important items were, and that’s just an outstanding day. 

Father, You are sovereign.  You have ordained creation and all that is in it.  You are in control and we are not.  Thank You for caring about our work.  Thanks for interrupting us, and reminding us that we are not the agenda, that Your plans and purposes are higher than ours.  I ask that You would open our eyes to see where You are at work in our days.  May we look in unsuspecting places and find You.  Amen.

Did you do any goal setting for 2010? 

I did, I made a resolution to get better at the guitar. 
Many people make these types of goals around December 31st, as they look back on the previous year and desire a change for themselves in the future.  So many people do this in fact that it has a very familiar term, ‘New Year’s Resolutions’.

The practice of goal setting is a very important one, as a quick study of successful businesses, organizations, and people will easily demonstrate.  Aim at nothing and you’ll hit it every time is a popular euphemism which speaks to the importance of thinking ahead and plotting a course.   

Unfortunately though, on average, New Year’s Resolutions end around February 14.

On average, New Year’s Resolutions end around February 14.

Why is this? 

If you’re thinking romantically, you might conclude that the love symbolized around Valentines day replaces the law of resolutions.  Love replacing the law.  Maybe this is a good thing, especially if you’re one who tends to make goals and then forget about them quickly.  Maybe though, this is just a powerfully convincing excuse to not follow through with our goals. 

There are a couple of other reasons that I can think of to answer why resolutions end so soon.  
The first is poor resolution setting, and the second is the most obvious, a lack of discipline.

Resolution or goal setting is a skill in itself and many people who set resolutions are not proficient in it. 
For example, if you did make a resolution, was it about something that you deeply care about or was it something that you passively wish was better?

The key word in the phrase New Years Resolution is resolution, which is from the root word resolve. 

To get a better understanding of this word, take a look at this visual thesaurus:

Resolving to do something requires firmness, a settling within us that this is the right decision and it must be carried out.  Does your resolution contain this much purpose and passion?  Is it something that you HAVE to change in your life?     

Was your resolution measurable, so that you can see marked progress as you go, or was it more like ‘I want to be nicer this year’?

I mentioned that my resolution was to get better at the guitar.  If that wasn’t something that I really cared about, something that I could visualize the benefits, something that I could be passionate about, then it is a poor resolution.  Likewise, if that was my entire goal, to ‘get better’ then it would be a poor resolution.   That is why I tacked on this phrase to the idea of getting better: “I resolve to get better at the guitar, learning all of the scales of the guitar and memorizing the fret board.” 

When we add a measurable element to our resolutions that much needed motivation is there for us when we feel like quitting.  Looking back we see how far we’ve come, the growth is tangible, and we find the strength to push through the difficult time.

The other reason that resolutions fail so quickly is a lack of discipline.

Even if we have well crafted resolutions that we are passionate about and that are measurable, a lack of discipline can ruin everything.  Here’s the bad news, discipline is something we can only attained through practice.  There is no switch or new bullet point that will give you discipline.  The good news is that practice is exactly what a resolution invites us to, so there is no better time to get practicing. 

When making your resolution for 2010 include the aspect of discipline.  What will you have to practice in order to achieve your resolution?  Name something practical, and something that you can realistically commit to.

For me it is actually sitting down and playing the guitar on a regular basis.  When I incorporate this into my resolution it reads like this:  “I resolve to get better at the guitar, learning all of the scales of the guitar and memorizing the fret board, by practicing for at least an hour 5 days per week.” 

Are you going to do what it takes to keep your resolution alive this year? 

Father, as we begin a new decade and look back on the past, we recognize our need to continually grow and change, to be brought from glory to glory.  You see beyond our present to our potential and are working to bring it out by the sanctifying work of Your Holy Spirit.  We offer you praise for the great things that are in store for us this year, and for the full life that is ours through Jesus Christ.  May we submit to Your work in our lives this year.  Amen.

How do we understand this time?  What are our attitudes towards this ‘down time’ in our day, when we are forced to do nothing overtly productive?

Is it a necessary evil, a burden getting in the way of what we’re supposed to be doing?
Is it a chance to write a text and add to the frantic pace, or find some way to be entertained?

What if that down time is actually a gift?
A gift to those of us who have forgotten to schedule peace, reflection, prayer and waiting into our days to do list.

What if that down time is actually a gift?
A gift to those of us who have forgotten to schedule peace, reflection, prayer and waiting into our days to do list.

The apostle Paul speaks of this in his letters using the phrase, ‘make the most of every opportunity.’

^{1414for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:  ”Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15}Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  Ephesians 5:14b-16

^“5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity” Colossians 4:5

In these passages I hear an encouragement to use every chance we get to see God’s Kingdom come in our lives.
I hear the call to take advantage of downtime.

If we have some extra time in the car, make the most of it, by downloading some podcasts from challenging and gifted preachers.  If we have a long wait for coffee, make the most of it by praying for others.  If we have 10 or 15 minutes before an appointment, make the most of it by pulling out a book that builds you up in the faith.  Make the most of  every opportunity, redeem the down time in your life.

What happens to this first burst?

This week I’m heading up north to plan a couple of conferences with my Epiphaneia friends.  I’m excited to go and hang out with my friends, I’m excited to think about the Kingdom with them, but I certainly don’t feel that first burst that I felt during the initial weeks when we stayed up in the wee hours of the morning discussing our dreams and visions for the company.  In the same way, a couple of months will pass and the same children, who couldn’t wait to dig into a fresh year of school, will be begging for Christmas holidays to begin even a day earlier. 

“God builds our faith by putting it to the test, by trying it” – Rick Warren

The first burst inevitably gives way to pattern, structure, habit, discipline, and commitment.  You could look at that and say that it is a bad thing, kind of like the way we can be quick to blanket tradition as a bad thing.  It certainly doesn’t feel as good as that first burst.  However, it is amidst the discipline and the commitment that we show our character, that we are pushed toward maturity.  I wouldn’t consider that a bad thing. 

I think that the first burst we feel as we begin a new adventure or challenge is incredibly important to the process of growth because it gives us the courage to start.  Starting can feel overwhelming, as we think of all the assignments still left to hand in, all the hours of class to go in the year, all the uncertainty of a new venture, or even how incredibly dirty that room we have to clean up is.  That first burst of energy gets us beyond the debilitating power of procrastination, and is therefore; incredibly useful. 

As long as we see it for what it is…a burst.  All bursts will fade and if we do not replace it with something like determination, discipline, and responsibility, the task itself will fade along with it. 

But do not lose heart, because through difficult times, when the energy and passion just don’t seem to be there, we excercise our faith.  We are forced to look to and lean on the Father and this builds our trust in Him.  We are made more and more into the likeness of Christ.  Our Father who sees us is well pleased with this type of faith. 

Here are some words from pastor and author Rick Warren on the issue: 

“God builds our faith by putting it to the test, by trying it. Faith is like a muscle and when it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. When you test your muscles against weights then your muscles develop. And your faith develops as it is tested.  You don’t develop your faith just sitting on your blessed assurance in church. James 1:3 says this ‘The testing of your faith develops perseverance so that you may be mature and complete.’ He says the purpose of these tests is that our faith, our perseverance will grow and we will become mature and complete.”

May we enjoy the high of the first burst, and stick it out when it fades.  Father, grow our faith through testing, and be our strength when passion and energy weaken.  We long to be mature and complete, we long for Your smile.  Amen.

“⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Gal 5:6b

Wow, a strong and gutsy statement for someone representing a faith spawned from Judaism.  Words that would be critized and scourned by faithful and law loving Jews.  Why make such a controversial statement?  Paul is making this statement because the Christians he was speaking to were caught up in the wrong head space.  They were arguing about the law of God, what is right and what isn’t right, what laws they still were under and which they were free from…and in the debate inadvertantly reverting to everything wrong with the religion Christ came to save the world from.  The argument is between those who wanted strict adherence to the law (circumcision), and those who wanted complete freedom from the law (uncircumcision) which was leading to an indulgence in sin.  Paul’s words are an attempt to end the discussion entirely, to change the church’s focus, to simplify it, to take the Christian life out of the theological sphere and onto the street.  And so he says, ‘the only thing that counts is faith expressed through love.’ 

That’s it, stop arguing, stop trying to get it right, stop trying to figure everything out, and stop trying to create a formula.  Christ’s way is faith expressed through love.  2 words, faith & love, to explain things that intentionally cannot be regulated, measured, or figured out completely in our minds.  They must be lived ‘through’. 

That phrase, ‘faith expressed through love’, is key to a life lived walking in the Spirit.  The NASB bible has it as, “faith working through love.”  And The Message has it as, “faith expressed in love.”  Our faith in Christ counts when it is working or expressing itself, and the result, the test, is always ‘does it produce love?’  

 Walking in the Spirit is Paul’s solution to the human problem of slipping too far in either direction between circumcision and uncircumcision.  From either going back to the old ways of the rules for loving God, or slipping into complete freedom and indulging in the sinful nature.  In verse 16 he lays out the Christian way…

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

If you are led by the Spirit you will neither gratify the sinful nature, or be under the law.  A holy freedom. 
This is Paul’s short answer for the question, ‘how do we now live?’
After becoming a Christian, that question is always in front of us.  
How do I now live? 
The journey from salvations first light onward is primarily about learning how to be led by the Spirit and unlearning being led by our own will and desires.  The journey takes time (a lifetime in fact), effort, grace, and lots of help.
As we look in our churches we may find that some people have been sidetracked from this journey, but that does not make it okay for us to do the same.  On the contrary, how much more does the church need believers who are actively and passionately following this prime directive, therein providing an example for others to follow. 

How does this all work, how exactly does the Spirit lead?
1) First of all, by the Spirit’s revelation, the New Testament (I Cor. 2: 13, Jn. 14: 26, 16: 13)
2) The Spirit teaches the Christian regarding the “fruit of the Spirit,” the antithesis of the works of the flesh
3) The Spirit inspires specific tasks or acts of faithfulness in the mind of the believer

What part do we play, is this the Spirit’s job entirely?
No, otherwise Paul would not have to encourage us to live this way.  We have a part to play in being led.
1) Learn the revealed desires of God in His word 
2) Commit to growing the fruit of the Spirit in your life
3) Ask to be led in this way, prepare your heart for obedience
4) Obey when the opportunity comes to express your faith in love

What are some of the common things that sidetrack us from walking in the Spirit?
1) Committing Sin: sin will block our desire to listen to the Spirit, because we focus of ourselves instead of God
2) Distractions: the trivial things that change our focus from God’s Kingdom to anything else
3) Setbacks or seeming failures when we do step out in faith.  These work to discourage us and allow doubt to creep into our faith life. 

While on the journey, we will get tired, sidetracked, distracted, and even dissillusioned.  At those times, and at this time it is important to remember that the journey takes time (a lifetime in fact), effort, grace, and lots of help.  We cannot live the Spirit led life on our own, nor does God want us to, be are a body all being led by the Spirit together. 

May we be those believers who take up the call to walk in the Spirit.  Let us pray for this, and practice this as the highest Spiritual Practice of our lives.  Higher than any other religious act we can conceive of.  May we do it together, and for the glory of God.  Amen.

This is a surprisingly common thought pattern not only in those who have no religious background, in fact, I’m afraid those with some religious training often propagate these beliefs.  They remember learning about heaven and hell, and if you’re good enough you get into heaven, because that’s where the saints are and they’re good, and if you’ve been a really awful person (and who would admit to this) you end up in hell.  If your on the fence,  like you helped an old lady with her groceries last week, but then yesterday you got into a swearing match with the guy who cut you off, it’s some strange place called purgatory.  It’s all pretty fuzzy and you’re not really sure you believe it all but if it is all true and you had to say where you think you’d end up, it would probably be heaven…just barely squeeking in though. 

In the Bible a prophet named Isaiah looked at the world he lived in, at the people that he lived among, a people who were thinking along these same lines and prayed the following words to God:

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
       and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
       we all shrivel up like a leaf,
       and like the wind our sins sweep us away.    Isaiah 64:6

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean,
       and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
       we all shrivel up like a leaf,
       and like the wind our sins sweep us away.    Isaiah 64:6

Our righteous acts are like filthy rags…that image is visceral.  I imagine a painter who is painting a beautiful landscape, he’s getting close to finished but then his paintbrush slips and black paint gets all over a tree.  He grabs the rag he’s been using and frantically tries to clean the black off.  It smudges, it smears, it begins to change the colour of the tree behind it turning it a tainted grey.  The more he moves the rag around the larger the smear.  The black spots appear to be gone, but the result is such a mess and the black colouring has done it’s damage regardless of the clean up attempt. 

The problem is not doing good things, or having manners.  The problem is that the vessels we use to do good are filthy.  Human kind is infected with a disease so debilitating that it infects our best attempts at righteousness.  We help someone out and wonder when its going to come back to us, we give generously so that we might be given to even more generously,  we help our neighbor and hope that the neighbor tells to friends and they tell their friends, we do our decent things in public so that others might know that we are nice people, good people.  The problem is not the acts themselves, but the vessel.  The rags are dirty.  

 ¹⁷As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 
 ¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ¹⁹You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]“ 
 ²⁰“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.” 
 ²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 
 ²²At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.   Mark 10:17-22.

“No one is good—except God alone.” -Jesus

No one is good-except God alone.  No one.  Jesus begins his conversation with this guy by revolutionizing the way he thinks about the word ‘Good’.  No one but God is good, that’s a new standard isn’t it. 
But this guy isn’t fazed.
He takes a crack at justifying himself, basically saying ‘I think I’m good enough for heaven Jesus, I’ve done enough good things and stayed away from enough bad things’.
Jesus again revolutionizes this guys world.  He changes the rules of the game.  He asks for the one thing that Jesus could see this guy loved more than anything else.  He asked for the guys heart, his idol, his worship, his all in all. 

And not because Jesus was trying to keep the guy out.  It says Jesus looked at him and loved him.  Jesus was actually giving this guy, who was as far away as you could get from heaven, the way in.  I say he was as far as you can get because he didn’t even understand what the rules were. 

This is how most of us live our lives.  It may not be what we believe, but it is how we live. 
Jesus loved this guy, even though he was lost.  Even though he was spending his life frantically wiping the mess of his life with a rag that was hopelessly filthy.  Jesus gave him a chance.  Give yourself up, give up the rags, give up the effort, give up your beliefs, give up your money, your heart, your passion, your love.  Give it up and follow me. 
And then Jesus takes the offer to the next level.  He tells this guy that everything he gives up in this life will be counted for him in heaven…what an incredible offer!  Not only will he get in, which is assumably all he was asking for, but he’ll have his treasure there too!

But not even all of this, the love, the truth, and the deal are enough for him to give up. 
I pray that this would not be my story, as I’m sure you do, and yet I am afraid it is an all too common story. 

Merciful Jesus, who looks on us with love in your heart and truth on your lips, grant us the faith to see Your promises.  Help us to see how filthy our rags are, and how often we still try and use them.  Bring us to a place where we have an opportunity to choose You and Your righteousness.  In the power of Your Spirit, Amen.

I do hope that you prayed that prayer.  Know that the good things you do in Jesus’ name and for Jesus’ name by Jesus’ Spirit will be counted for you as treasure in heaven; everything else, whether good or not, will not remain.