Is this a week where you can’t wait for Friday to come? You need to do what it takes to get out of the office and get it done! Or, are you calculating what you need to accomplish so you have an easy Monday? Have you planned your vacation for the season? What job will you have in five years? Where will you retire? How are you preparing for retirement? Oooohhhhh long term…..!!! What are you setting up for your children, or your children’s children? That takes some planning! The question I am leading to is this, what are you doing that will influence your family and society for the next 500 or 1000years? We have been programmed to look at our end of life planning as long term planning. The really visionary people have an inheritance set up for their children. How many people have you met that consider the future in terms of millennia?

In the early 1500’s Pope Leo X was looking to raise funds for the renovation of Saint Peter’s Basillica in Rome. Albert, the Archbishop of Mainz in Germany, allowed Priest Johan Tetzel to sell indulgences throughout the German land. Archbishop Albert had gone deeply into debt to buy his position in the church, so he agreed to allow the sale of indulgences in his land  as long as a portion of the sales went to pay off the Archbishop’s debt. Sound like corruption?

Indulgences were much like carbon credits, if you purchased indulgences you were allowed to go sin at will. The larger the purchase price of the indulgence, the larger the sin forgiven!

Now enter Martin Luther and the 95 theses. His blood probably boiled at the thought of Johan Tetzel’s jingle, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory (into heaven) springs.” So Luther wrote 95 theses; one of which stated that only God could remit sins and guilt, not the Pope or any purchased indulgence. On October 31, 1517, he nailed the theses to the door of the The Castle Church in Wittenberg. (He also sent them out to a few bishops and friends.) By 1518 the theses had been translated and published which brought pressure upon Luther; he explained that he only wanted to address a problem and did not intend to “unhinge the papacy with the theses.” In the following years people were attracted to the “Lutheran” theology with it’s direct forgiveness of sin from the Father. They realized they no longer had to “go to confession” with a priest or buy indulgences for sin. This led to the Protestant Reformation.

Why did I go to this length to give you this snap shot in history? 500 years later we are still effected by Luther’s convictions and actions. Does your conviction drive you to action with a view that looks far, far into the future? If it does not, you may want to reconsider your views, beliefs, convictions, and future planning.

The 95 Theses

 [ http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm ]

I knew I was right, my oldest brother had been heavily involved in offroad racing and I knew I had better information than Jesse (true name withheld). It was the early 90’s and I had been to a few races but I lived vicariously through my two eldest brothers’ experiences in off road endeavors. I felt like I had “inside knowledge” and more information than any of my friends. Jesse was an acquaintance, 2 years younger, in my metal shop class and his older brother raced offroad as well. He always spoke of his brother getting offers to drive with large race teams, the amazing opportunities to drive $500k vehicles, and offers of sponsorship through large vendors. I always argued these facts as being impossible due to his brother’s age yet, I tried to maintain the friendship at arm’s length just in case there was some truth to the tales. Two years later Jesse’s brother signed a one season contract to drive for a successful team and a big name sponsor. Two years after that he entered the ranks of NASCAR drivers. Wow, the tales were true.

Since I constantly argued my position with Jesse, figuring he was in err, and held him at arm’s length, a friendship never developed, only an acquaintance. I tried to build a friendship with him by reasoning, convincing his mind. This approach didn’t work too well for me.

Now 20 years down the road I realize the error in my ways, friendship is only entered through the heart with time and love.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. (John 10:1, 2 NASB)

I now realize that I will never win a true friend by “going over the gate”, reasoning and mental wrangling. I will never win a true friend by “sneaking through a window,” showing them what I have. I will never win a true friend by “tunneling under a wall,” telling them what they want to hear. The only way to experience true friendship is through building a voice in their life, through loving them where they are and as God sees them. They will learn to “know your voice” because you sit and listen, you have more concern for the relationship than being right. Then you can “go through the gate” to their heart.

Remember as a child when you jumped down your first set of stairs? Not just one step but you soared over two or three steps? I remember not having 100% success on the first try and 90% never cut it; 90% was always catching my heel on the edge of the last step and either face planting or tearing up my palms pretty good. My “jumping off of things” career did not begin here, I probably got a thrill as a child stepping off of a door sill. After that I most likely jumped off of a book. Then on from that I slid off of a couch, then my parents high bed which, prepared me for the task of jumping off of my first step. I could hear the music from “Chariots of Fire” and the crowd roared . . . . maybe the dogs wagged and my brother’s boom box was playing Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” Either way it was an epic moment and an epic feat I was about to attempt. I soon made my first jump into the record book of 3 year olds. It was common sport, yet unpopular with the old people, to jump off the platform after church. The stairs at the entrance were equally exhilarating and, I think, equally annoying to the aging crowd.

I never moved on to jumping off of houses into pools until I was in my 30’s and my kids were expecting Dad to be just as brave as other men. I never continued into extreme sports and BASE jumping, life took over and pain didn’t seem as rewarding as it once had. I guess I was getting older. Once again I am at a place of jumping off the proverbial door sill . . . . blogging. The reason I am blogging is that about 8 months ago I jumped off a step that previously seemed too large to surmount. I had stuck with jumping off of the safe curb of ministry, leading a home group and praying for a few people. It was a comfortable jump, I knew it well, it was hard to get hurt and low risk. Little did I know this was all about to change.

I invited an itinerant minister to speak to our ministry team as well as help them recognize their giftings. He was one who functioned highly in the prophetic, healing, and teaching. After this meeting, something inspired me to ask this man if I could accompany him and see what was going on outside of Southern California. He said ‘Yes’ and I booked a trip to Dallas, Texas. Uh oh, I had stepped up onto a step that had some risk attached. With some butterflies in my stomach and feeling very inadequate, I made the trip to Texas. I jumped off . . . . and it was very rewarding. I found a new part of the calling God had on my life which made me seek the next step to jump off. I will spare you the details but now I am in a place where I feel as if I have jumped off a few single story buildings ready to face plant but, somehow, landed on my feet.

Just like the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:13-30, I want to be the one who invests and risks for a reward. Or to relate it to David when he took on Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17:36, David declares he has killed a bear and a lion, why should he fear this giant? I’m sure David started by killing rabbits for dinner then snakes, coyotes, wolves and so on, I doubt he just up and killed the bear with no skills.

You have been given a skill set and a gifting, you must invest it. Jump off the next step and see what is in store for your skills and giftings, they will grow to fight larger giants and reap larger rewards.