In the spring of 1968, Dennis Wilson was driving through Malibu when he noticed two female hitchhikers. He picked them up and dropped them off at their destination. Not long after, Dennis noticed the same two girls hitchhiking again. This time, he took them to his home on Sunset Boulevard. Dennis then went to a recording session. When he returned at around three o’clock in the morning, he was met in his driveway by someone he did not know. And when he walked into his home, there were about a dozen people occupying the premises, most of them female.

That person he did not know was Charles Manson.

Dennis became fascinated by Manson and his followers, and the “Manson Family” then lived with Dennis for a period of time, at Dennis’s expense. Initially impressed by Manson’s songwriting talent, Dennis introduced him to a few friends in the music business, including Terry Melcher, whose home on Cielo Drive would later be rented by director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate. More on that below.

In September of 1968, Dennis’s band, the Beach Boys, recorded “Never Learn Not to Love.” The original song, titled “Cease to Exist,” was written by Charles Manson.  Dennis Wilson, however, took the original, changed some of the lyrics, and re-wrote the music to the song.

Shortly after midnight, on August 9, 1969, in a mansion located on Cielo Drive within the exclusive Benedict Canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles five people were murdered. Among those dead were actress Sharon Tate and coffee heiress Abigail Folger. The next night, another multiple murder shook LA. Rosemary and Leno LaBianca were stabbed to death in their home near Hollywood. Three months later, Charles Manson and members of his “Mansion Family” were arrested and charged with the Tate-LaBianca Murders.

Around 30 AD, Jesus Christ invited Simon and his brother Andrew, along with James, son of Zebedee, and his brother John to follow Him. Jesus would eventually invite eight more men and these twelve men would ignite a movement that changed the world.

SO, what is the common denominator in these two stories? OR, maybe a better question is –

What would cause ordinary people to do such bizarre things, such out-of-the-ordinary things? How about loneliness? How about vulnerability? How about a very charismatic leader? Maybe no place else to turn?

Let me start by defining discipleship. What is a disciple? The dictionary defines a disciple as a pupil or follower of any teacher or school or learning, religion, art, etc. and/or one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. 

A disciple of Jesus is someone who is obedient to Jesus. It is someone who seeks God’s guidance, and His purposes and Plans, in everything by praying, listening, seeking wise counsel, and here is a biggie… responding even when it might not make sense.

Let’s look at one of my favorite verses in the whole of the Bible. The story goes like this – It is morning and Jesus had just finished up teaching, both from the shore and from a boat. The disciples had been out all night fishing. The men, these fishermen, had been throwing in the net all night, pulling it back in, and coming up empty. They are exhausted from having worked all night. In the morning they are standing on the shore, their necks are aching, their back is hurting, and they are washing their nets out. Jesus comes along and we pick up the story. Before continuing, click here to read.

So, do you want discipleship in one simple phrase? – Because you Jesus say so, I will.

I wouldn’t do it for anything else, anybody else. Lord, you know that I have been rowing all night, I have been trying, I keep throwing out the net, I’m coming up empty. My inclination is to row to shore, chop my boat up into firewood, throw the net on top, pour gasoline on the whole pile and burn it all … Because you Jesus say so, I will.

I’m coming up empty in my marriage, we’ve gone to counseling over and over again, I’ve had a hundred conversations with my husband or my wife. Nothing is changing. Oh God, I wouldn’t try to reconcile for anyone else … But because you say so, I will. 

I wouldn’t give up drugs or alcohol or stop having sex outside of marriage or invite my neighbor out for coffee and or reconcile my broken relationship for anyone else … But because you say so, I will.

Lord, you know I am shy, and I hate to go public with my faith and it is just so uncomfortable for me to talk about spiritual things … But because you say so, I will.

Lord, I wouldn’t quit my job, sell my lovely house with a nice yard and a swimming pool, leave behind all that is familiar, and move 450 miles away for anyone else … But because you say so, I will.

Or maybe, it is being called to take that first step and become a Jesus-follower.

What is it that you hear the Lord calling you to? What is holding you back from saying … But because you say so, I will.

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Today is the official first day of summer. Some forty-nine years ago, in the summer of 1975, the movie Jaws was released, and that movie is still in the minds of many Americans. This movie is a classic motion picture in the thriller genre. Who can forget the movie trailer showing the shark’s jaws coming toward you out of the water or the movie theme suspense music composed by John Williams? When filmmaker Steven initially heard the “dun dun, dun dun, dun dun,” he thought that Williams joking. That simple alternating pattern of two notes has become synonymous with impending danger. Maybe the scariest two notes in music history.

You know the movie story line. A young woman is killed by a man-eating great white shark while skinny-dipping near the fictional resort town of Amity Island, located somewhere in New England. Police chief Martin Brody wants to close the beaches, but the town’s mayor Larry Vaughn overrules him, fearing the loss of tourist revenue will cripple the city. What follows for the remainder of the movie is an epic battle between man vs. beast as oceanographer Matt Hooper and ship captain Quint help the police chief track down and eventually kill the shark.

Sharks can be dangerous and deadly. Just the sight of dorsal fins instills fear in our hearts. Most often in the battle between human versus shark, the shark wins. Even with the knowledge that sharks are dangerous and often deadly, shark biologists make a career out of studying and interacting with sharks, and not just from afar, but usually up close and in person.

These biologists don scuba gear and swim alongside less threatening sharks while for the most dangerous of sharks they often are inside a shark proof metal cage. This cage is lowered into the water and is made of extremely strong metal. The cages are built to withstand being rammed at high velocities by angry sharks.

What gives these shark biologists assurance that they are safe in the underwater cage with deadly shark swimming only inches from them? They have tested out the cages and they know the strength of the cage. We can say a cage not tested is a cage not trusted whereas a cage tested is a cage trusted.

Life can at times be challenging and frightening. We often need a “cage” to keep us safe. While the shark proof cages at times fail, we have a God who never fails and never lets us down. We have a God who keeps His promises; a God who can always be trusted. Hebrews 10:23 says this, “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise” (NLT).

God is ever-faithful, and regardless of the size of, or how many, sharks are swirling around you right now, you can rest assured that you are safe in the Arms Of My Father. And this hope that you can have in God is not fleeting. A few chapters earlier in Hebrews we read this in 6:19, “This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for your souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary” (NLT).

So, today, and every day, ask God for an ever-increasing, ever-securing, ever-steadying faith in Him. And not just faith when Jaws is swimming near you, but a faith that is ever-present, regardless of your circumstances or surroundings. Just as with those shark proof cages… a faith not tested is a faith not trusted. But with God, a faith tested is a faith trusted!    

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The Paris Summer Olympic Games are just over one month away. Imagine for a minute that you are an Olympic athlete and you have just won your first gold medal. Years and years of training and sacrifice have finally paid off. Congratulations! But wait.

Upon further review, you really won yourself a silver medal with gold plating. Both gold and silver medals awarded to the first and second place finishers at the Olympic Games are made of 92.5% silver, with the gold medal being plated with at least 6 grams of pure gold, thus making the gold medal less than 2% gold. The last gold medals actually made of gold were awarded at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.  So then, what about the third-place bronze medal? Is it really bronze? You be the judge – bronze is an alloy, meaning it is made by melting copper and tin together.

Maybe you are wondering, why gold, silver, and bronze? The three metals used in Olympic medals are in the same column of the periodic table. This means they share many of the same characteristics with each other. The most important property these metals share is that they can be found naturally in their elemental native (pure) form. Most other metals are only found in their mineral form, comprised of several elements. Copper (Cu) is at the top of the column, thus the least rare, so it is used for third place. Silver (Ag) is one level down, rarer than copper, so it represents second place. And gold (Au) is found one level below silver in the column, thus the rarest of the three, so naturally, first place.

We can agree that gold – whether some sort of medal awarded, coins, jewelry, or a wedding ring – is of great value. The Bible tells us that maintaining our faith in the face of difficulties and trials is worth far more than gold. In the first few verses of 1 Peter (1:3-9) we are told God’s plan of redemption and restoration meets our every need, and this blessing is so great that we can pass through times of trouble by holding onto a faith in a living Jesus that we have not yet seen.

Today I want to highlight vv. 6-7 – “Be glad about this (glad about what?: vv.3-5), even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed” (GNT).

The purest form of gold is 24-karat. It comes through refining by fire. Gold ore is put to heat so the impurities, known as dross, can be burned away. Like gold, God refines us the same way. The trials we all face from time to time, some that truly shake us to our very core, help to sift out that which is pure and genuine in our faith from that which is impure.

Right now, ask God for a faith that is of greater value that gold.  

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Our lives are guided by what is and is not acceptable behavior. These cultural norms are the standards we live by. They are the shared expectations that guide the behavior of people within social groups. These norms are shaped and changed over time by the beliefs and behaviors of society.

Did the Me Too Movement change in any way how we view and understand sexual violence? Consider how quickly the rules of communication have changed with email, text messaging, social media. For years, the plural form of “guy,” when used as a vocative (word or phrase used to address directly), as in, “Hey guys, what are you doing tonight?” was viewed as being appropriate and gender inclusive. But with gender identity and expression being what it is today, in some circles, that same “Hey guys” is deemed inappropriate.

In the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus lays out what is expected of those who follow Him; the recipe if you will for Christian behavior. At the beginning of this discourse, Jesus offers eight blessings, known as the Beatitudes. Each one contains both a condition and a result. Let me just say, unlike ever-shifting cultural norms, this expectation of His followers has not changed over time.

The theological concept of being blessed goes back to the beginning. God created us to be blessed, to be the recipients of His favor and steadfast love, and to live in that attitude as we participate in the care and cultivation of His creation. We know from the creation story that after God created mankind in His own image, He blessed them. (see Genesis 1:27-28). But in the Fall, mankind forfeited this blessing. The storyline of redemption involves the re-establishment of God’s blessing upon those who put their faith in Him, through His son Jesus.

Let’s look at the first beatitude: “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

In my opinion, being “poor in spirit” is a fundamental condition for being a follower of Jesus. Those who are poor in terms of material wealth are deeply aware of what they are lacking. Poor people know they are poor. Similarly, those who are truly poor in spirit are aware of what they are lacking spiritually. The poor in spirit are aware of their utter need for God. And once we are aware, and acknowledge our need for God, we are willing to open ourselves up to Him.  

The “kingdom of heaven” means God’s sovereignty, or in other words, His reign and rule on earth. So, the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit. It is they who enjoy Messiah’s reign and His blessings when they accept His rule and participate in the life of the kingdom. 

We need to admit that it is more of God we need, not more of us. We need to empty our cup filled of us and re-fill it with God. As my very wise wife likes to say – “We must continually empty ourselves, of ourselves, in order to be filled with God.”

So, I ask you – Who is your cup filled with?  

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I am not very good at building or assembling things. I just don’t have that DNA. I need clear step-by-step instructions, and even then, it is sometimes still a challenge. In those moments I find myself frustrated and feeling not too good about my competence in following instructions and putting things together. Have you ever been there?

We tend to live life by that same method. We want rules, formulas, systems, and step-by-step instructions. We want a plan, a manual, something that tells us what to expect. We want two plus two to always equal four. However, we sometimes fail to follow the instructions that will give us our desired outcome. Think of the mess you would have if you ignored the directions when baking a cake. Builders use blueprints when building a house for a reason. Last year I had two atrial flutter ablations to treat my arrhythmia. Imagine what might have happened if when doing the procedure, the cardiologist had not used the proper surgical protocols, techniques, or instruments, instead had simply “went with the flow.”  

Conversely, I do art therapy, and when I paint, I do “go with the flow,” simply allowing my brain to guide my brush strokes. Art therapy is a tool I use to allow my brain to interpret, express, and resolve its chaotic state. It is self-expression through artistic creation. For me, it is free flow and not following some step-by-step procedure. Art therapy is about the process and not the product and it is in and through the free flow of paint on the canvas that I find healing and peace.

In my opinion, religion is often nothing more than checking off boxes, following a prescribed plan, a system of beliefs and practices. It is works-based, sometimes creating do’s and don’ts not even found in scripture. While religion is about rules, faith, seeking and following Jesus, is about a relationship. It is about a Person and not a plan; it is grace-based. Following God is about freely allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, guide, and direct your steps, no matter how unpredictable or out of compliance with your well laid out step-by-step instructions it might seem. It may help to have plans, but when following God, you cannot hold onto those plans too tightly. Here is what we read in Proverbs 16:9 – “A person’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.”

The fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians ends by contrasting works of the flesh with fruit of the Spirit. The second to last verse reads this way – “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (v.25). To experience true Kingdom living, you cannot turn your faith into a formula. You need to be responsive to where the Spirit might be leading you. When Jesus called his first disciples, He did not give them a list of rules or step-by-step instructions of what to do beforehand, He simply said “Come, follow me.” (Mattew 4:19).

So today, will you commit, or re-commit, to allowing the Spirit to guide your path (Galatians 5:16; in context, vv.16-25)? Will you freely flow wherever His brush strokes lead you. Doing so will take you places that rules, formulas, systems, or step-by-step instructions never will!

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We are often labeled by things we do or the groups we are associated with. You know, sort of like the labels, often handwritten, on home-canned goods found at farmer’s markets. That label simply states the contents of the jar, and nothing more. Or how about the label inside your shirt. It probably tells the brand, size, where the garment was made, and sometimes other information relating to the shirt itself. But it says nothing about the quality or condition of the shirt.   

If you are an avid fan of a certain sports team, let’s say you follow The Ohio State Buckeyes, then you are part of Buckeye Nation. If you were born between 1946 and 1964, you are considered a Baby Boomer. The devotees to Charles Manson were known as the Manson Family and the women in that “family” often referred to themselves as Charlie’s Girls. The young people of the 1960s counterculture were called hippies. Many of those same hippies joined the Jesus Movement and became known as Jesus freaks.

Someone who has been convicted of a serious crime is labeled as a felon. If you have a particular interest in food, you are called a foodie. Or if your nose is always in a book, and you are devoted to reading, you might be a bookworm. How about jock, political junkie, addict, deadbeat dad, soccer mom, gay, nerd, liberal; again, all words used to label people. And lastly, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are called a Christian, or in some circles you are simply known as a Jesus-follower.

We tend to find identity in our labels. And that identity can be positive, neutral, or negative. If your boss calls you innovative, you probably tend to be motivated by that, feeling free to allow your creative juices to flow. On the flipside, maybe as a child someone called you a loser and that crippling label has stuck with you into adulthood. But the truth of the gospel is that we are not our labels. We read this in Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Paul is saying when Jesus died and rose again that nothing in his (Paul) past – he was a self-righteous persecutor of anyone who associated with the name of Jesus – mattered in the eyes of God any longer. And that is true for you and me today, no label, good or bad, can keep us from the love of Christ (see Romans 8:31-39). Those earthly labels placed upon us do not define us in the eyes of God. We may still have or be whatever has labeled us, but those labels no longer define our identity.  We are more than just labels.

I also want to extend a warning. Just like any other label, the word Christian is just that, a label. It does not define who you are or what you do; it is only a category you fit in, only a box to check off. And it defines you no more than any of the labels referenced above. We read these convicting words found in 1 John 2:6 – “Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

So, labels do not define us, rather, it is who we are in Christ that defines each one of us. If you have given your life to Jesus, then your label is in fact “Christian.” But today I don’t ask whether or not you are a Christian, but instead, I ask you (and me) these questions – Do you walk out your life believing that Christ lives in you? Do you walk out your life considering who you truly are? When people see you, do they see the character of God being reflected in you?

You are more than just a label.   

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