Thoughts ............

2012-02-05T13:17:00.001-05:00

This week in our couple's group we were looking a bit into the writings of the prophet Isaiah who spoke during the last days of the kingdom of the northern part of Israel and a resurgence of the spiritual life of the southern part. The open scene in the book of Isaiah is King Uzziah dying. Uzziah was a good king, a king that followed God and led the nation toward God. His son, who reigned for 16 years after him was also good. Then the wheels feel. Ahaz moved the nation to idol worship and made alliances with the Assyrians for protection - bad decision that led them down the path of worshiping idols with him in the lead. This was the beginning of the end for the southern tribes.

Isaiah was a prophet of hope though. I the last part of his writings, he spoke of the coming Messiah, the suffering Savior how was to be the salvation of the world. He also spoke of the restoration of Israel in the future. After recounting the re-establishment of that nation in chapter 49, he makes this statement:

23....Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed.

This is an amazing statement about the character of God. It reminds me about God's challenge about tithing in Malachi 3 - test me on this and see if I am not faithful. Test me. Try me out. See if what I say is not true. See if I am truthful to my word.

As I thought about this, I wondered about what I put my hope in and why. There are times when my hope is displaced - I hope in other things. I put my hope in things or people or position or money - I want them to deliver me happiness, contentment, joy, peace - they never do (at least not for long enough duration). They disappoint. I try them and they disappoint. I try them over and over again and am disappointed over and over again - that's the problem.

My challenge to the group and to myself was - root out those things in my life that I put my hope in (another word for this would be "idol") and put my trust totally in the Lord. Then, and only then, I will not be disappointed.

Growing Up and Out

2012-01-30T07:53:00.001-05:00

We traveled to Iowa last weekend to visit my daughter who is working for a consulting company out there. She has been living in an apartment, come home of holidays, etc. - emotionally it felt like she was still in college.

One of the purposes of this visit was to look at a house she is buying. Emotionally that DIDN'T feel like she was in college. This had and has a feeling of permanence, of "OK, I am staying out here". It didn't hit me too hard during the weekend because we were running around and trying to get a bunch of things done. However, as I settled in last night to my weekly routine, I began to emotionally understand that my daughter has not only moved out, she has grown up.

This did not come as a surprise for me, but it sure sneaked up on me. Part of why this is challenging is that you always wonder if you have done enough as a parent to prepare them to live in the world; to live successfully in the world. Did you show them love enough, did you teach them enough, did you spend enough time with them, did you release them appropriately, did they know that you loved them, did you mess them up too bad, etc.

This is the hard thing about parenting. There is no coasting. Coasting means slowing down and coming to a stop. You never speed up when you are coasting. You never get to your destination if you just coast. You have to drive; intentionally set a direction and put energy toward it.

I hope that I did that enough; I hope that I am doing that enough (I still have three more to go through this phase).

2012-01-17T08:17:00.001-05:00

Does God ever give up? Does He ever just throw up His hands and say "I'm done". At first glance, when I ask myself this question, if feels wrong. Isn't God patient? Doesn't He model the perfection of forbearance? It doesn't feel very loving for God to give up on us.

In one sense, God never gives up. He pursues us, attempts to bring us to Him, invites us, and desires us. His love for us drives Him to pursue us.

Having said that, I do believe that there is a time when God gives up - a better way of saying that would be "lets us go our own way".

In my study of Judges, this section popped up in chapter 2:

²⁰ Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me, ²¹ I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. ²² I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the LORD and walk in it as their forefathers did.” ²³ The LORD had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.

He had promised to drive out the nations that lived in Canaan. He promised that the Israelites would have victory over their enemies. What changed?

These statements were given right after the summary of how the Israelites moved into the Canaanite culture and, instead of conquering it, adopted it. They settled into the towns that they had conquered - they set up house, arranged their furniture in the rooms, put the rugs down, hung curtains and settled in. They didn't move toward removing the nations from among them. They settled in.

The problem of settling instead of conquering was that they adopted the worship practices of the idols of these nations. Judges 2 records that they abandoned God and worshiped the idols. From a 3500 years later perspective, it is hard for me to believe that this only took one generation to happen. They knew the stories of God; how He brought them from Egypt, how He carried them for 40 years in the dessert, how He subdued the enemies in Canaan, but they chose to abandon God.

That is the operative word - they chose to abandon God. God pursued them by allowing nations to conquer them and by giving them judges, but they still chose to abandon him. Pursuit after pursuit after pursuit failed - they chose to move away from God instead of move toward Him. After many attempts to pursue, God allowed them to continue in their path and removed the barriers that were in front of them. He didn't give up, He just allowed them to move in the direction that they wanted to move in: in spite of the consequences. (Also see Romans1.)

Obvious question - when will this happen to us? When will God stop putting up guard rails and let us go our own way (which will never result in a life giving result.....)? You never know. You never know when your rebellion will result in God saying "OK, I will let you go your own way; I will not stop you". Read the rest of Judges and see what happens when He allows us to move in our own direction. (And yet He still was waiting to take them back!)

Light of the World

2012-01-08T19:14:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! The new year is already one week old - hard to believe. Have been reading Judges in preparation for our Wednesday morning men's group. Some pretty interesting history here. The book of the Judges covers a period of history from about 1350 BC to 1000 BC when Saul was anointed the first king.

There are two things that jumped out to me as I began this study. First, how fast the people forsook God. Notice these words in the second chapter of the book of Judges:

⁷The people served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel. ....¹⁰ After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. ¹¹ Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. ¹² They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them.

Although the stories of how God had defeated the Israelites was known, told, retold and told again; even though the nations around Israel trembled when they heard what God had done 400 YEARS BEFORE with Egypt, the generation after Joshua faded. They forgot that it was God that delivered them. They doubted the goodness, testimony and word of God and started worshiping the carved poles and sculpted idols of the nations around them. Instead of being a light to the nations around them, they became like them. Their light went out.

The obvious question that I must ask myself is about my light to the world. Is my candle under a bushel? Is the light within me hidden because I am too much like the world? Am I about showing the world what a life obedient to God can look like or do I just look like everyone else - in every area of my life? Do my finances show that priority? Does the use of my time? Do the things that I put into my mind?

Enough to think about. Will go an to the second thing later.......

2012-01-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

The beginning of a new year - wow! This is always the time of year when you take stock of life and see what changes need to happen. It is funny how God brings things into your life to give you a push in that direction. Had a opportunity to visit a man named Carl yesterday. Carl found out 3 weeks ago that he had a brain tumor - the fastest growing brain tumor this is currently known to man. I visited him in hospice yesterday and took this picture. He is very close to death - the experts give him about a week or so. This is a picture of Carl in his hospice bed.

Carl is a unique man. The most unique thing is that Carl loves Jesus. He has committed his life to pastoring, being a missionary and being a counselor. I have been impressed with his relationship with Christ. The testimony of his life and the words from his lips always speak of Jesus. It seemed as if every other word out of his mouth was about Jesus.

The thing that simply amazed me in my conversation with Carl yesterday was his worship of God. He statement to me was "God is so gracious to me. I could have had this tumor and illness for years; God is being gracious to me by taking me soon." I really was astonished at his statement. Normally I hear complaint and groaning - not from Carl. He gave glory to God and His abundant grace toward him.

I was reminded of the words of Paul in his last letter to his friend and protege Timothy: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me a crown of righteousness (II Tim. 4:7-8). Well done, good and faithful servant (Matt. 25:21).

How does this tie into new years? I want to be like Carl. I want to me a man of God like he is. I want to finish my life well and grace filled. I know what I need to do in order to accomplish this. I know that this is not going to happen automatically; without work and focus on my part. I know that there are things that I have to start doing and things that I have to stop doing. I know that if I am ever going to be the kind of man I have to work at it. That is my charge for this new year.

2011-12-24T04:26:00.001-05:00

Very early on Christmas Eve morning; still trying to adjust to the huge time change from my visit to China. Can't sleep so watched a few WWII documentaries (among other things...). One of the documentaries I watched was on the fall of France in 1940. It took the Germans only five weeks to conquer the country; a country that they were not able to conquer during the whole of WWI.

The documentary presented a few explanations as to the speed of this conquest.

1. Misplaced defenses. The French had spent tons of money and tons of time creating the Maginot line (named after the defense minister who initiated the concept). This was a series of tunnels and pill boxes along the 85 mile French-German border. The problem was, the Germans attacked through the Ardenne Forest and through Belgium - neither of which were protected by the Maginot Line. In addition, the French placed their weakest and least experienced army divisions along the Belgium border and Ardenne forest.
2. Complacency. The French figured that the Maginot Line was impregnable. Although they judiciously maintained and practiced, the feeling was that the Germans could not defeat them.
3. Internal fighting. The French government was in disarray. There was a fight between factions within the cultural that created instability within the leadership of the county.
4. There was an attitude of defeatism within the population. WWI, which had only been over for 20 years, loomed large in the French population's mind. They did not want another long drawn out affair. As soon as it became apparent that the Germans were overwhelming the French army, there was talk of capitulation and armistice.

Does any of this cause you concern as you read it; concerns about the church? Are our defenses misplaced? Are we fighting the right enemy? Do we understand that our adversary is the Devil who is seeking to devour us? Do we understand that the people are held captive by him and do his bidding are not our enemy? Do we gently instruct as Paul taught Timothy (II Tim 2:25; read this verse, it is an incredible verse)? Do we know that our enemy is wise and will attack us on many fronts? Are we looking for our weak spots and moving to reinforce them through study, confession, repentance and reliance on God?

Are we complacent? Are we just trolling along in our spiritual walk, thinking that nothing is going to harm us? Do we understand that the enemy is still active and that he is just waiting for us to put our guard down so he can attack?

Are we putting our energies into fighting among ourselves instead of fighting the enemy? When the world looks at the church, do they see in fighting instead of fighting against the enemy?

Have we given up? Do we have a conqueror attitude (Rom 8:37, I John 4:4)? Have we given up that God will work in us and through us? Have we given up on God?

Lots of questions to think through. Let's not let history repeat itself in the church. I am challenged in a few of these areas, as it is very easy for me to let my guard down, very easy to cost along on the past; forgetting that Satan changes his schemes and I must stay diligent. Think through some of these questions yourself and allow them to challenge you.

2011-12-11T11:24:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for a trip to China to check out a potential ministry partner for our missions team. We are going to a place 2 hours outside of Kunming (if anybody knows where that it) - an ancient Yi Town. As I am mentally preparing for this trip, the thing that has been running over and over in my mind is the number of people that live in China. 1.3 billion people. This is more than four times the size of the United States.

The thing that is striking me about this large number is that their history is not one of a Christian heritage, but of communism and atheism. A history devoid of God and the story of Jesus. A history of worshiping fire and other gods. A history that by design, designed by the government and Satan, is meant to keep them away from discovering THE God of the universe.

Yet out of this is growing a church. A massive amount of people are turning to Jesus. The church is growing in spite of sometimes harsh and brutal treatment of believers. A passion to know God and build his church is infecting the lives of millions of people - regardless of the cost. (In fact, the number of people accepting Christ is outpacing the number of church leaders that are developing, leaving somewhat of a leadership void.)

I am contrasting this with the state of the church in America - a country that has a rich history of Christianity. Church attendance is declining. Christianity is in decline and is tepid at best. We seem to be more concerned about being grace filled and tolerant than standing on truth and we are loosing our effectiveness to be salt and light to a nation because no one sees any difference between those who are committed to Christ and those that aren't.

Another telling thing that is playing into my thoughts: I was asked last week by some friends from Ukraine "why don't people in the American church read their Bibles and seek after God". A very telling question about how, at least a corner of the world, views our form of Christianity. I gave them this answer - we don't understand the value of having a relationship with God, we value other things more than we value God and therefore we don't pursue God. It seems to me like, as a community of believers, we have been lulled into complacency; content to dabble in religion and really denying the power of it (hummmm.... see II Timothy 3 if you want to see what this says about our culture).

Bottom line - we have a job to do. We have been charged by our Lord and Master to go and make disciples; people who are committed to obedience. Pray for revival in our nation. Pray that the church will begin to expand like the church in China is.

Nazi Collaborators

2011-11-28T10:29:00.001-05:00

Have a vacation day today and started it off watching a couple of episodes of "Nazi Collaborators" on the Military Channel (which I only have for two more day and then the free trial goes away - rats). One episode was titled "Beast of the Balkans". It was the recounting of an early "ethnic cleansing" of Serbs in the old Yugoslavia during World War II.

A couple of things jumped out at me as I listened to this episode. First, the magnitude. It was estimated that between 330,000 and 1,000,000 Serbs were killed. No one knows for sure because all the records were destroyed before the Allies recaptured the area from the Germans. Secondly, the brutality. It was reported that even the Germans were a bit queasy about how the Croats were "disposing" of the Serbs. They preferred more brutal methods of killing (slitting throats, shooting to death, etc.) than gassing like the Nazi's did. This upset even the Nazi's "tender sensitivities" (HEAVY sarcasm there). Third, the church was complicit in this cleansing (Orthodox Christians were "forced" to convert to Catholicism or else). The last thing was that one of the prime conspirators in this cleansing, fled Europe at the end of the war and lived "peaceably" in Argentina for 50 years - raising a family and working in a factory - no remorse, no sadness, no "I am sorry" (in fact, he laughed at his trial when evidence was presented against him).

Mind you, this was 1941. This was NOT the dark ages. This was not the Huns hacking and slashing their way across Europe. This was in a "civilized" state. Right...............

Two things strike me and scare me about situations like this. First, the severe hatred it would take to treat someone as subhuman, as a piece of garbage to be thrown away like a used napkin. I cannot fathom how much hatred existed between these two groups (refer to the start of WW I also....) that would drive them to think that it was OK to kill that many people - men, women, children, old people. Second, how defiled their consciences must have been to allow them to do such a thing and not sense, feel or exhibit ANY remorse.

Funny how this happens isn't it. The scriptures speaks of the contrast between living at peace and allowing a root of bitterness to grow up (Hebews 12):

¹⁴ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

The "root of bitterness" that grew up in the Croats defiled their consciences as a nation and allowed them to murder hundreds of thousands of people. Their consciences were seared closed because they did not feel any pain, any remorse, any sorrow in doing what they did.

OK, so why is this important. This will not happen today, will it? Oh yes it will. If we do not take care of those little roots of bitterness, if we do not confess our sin and keep our conscience clean and pure, roots grow and cause us to "dehumanize" people and treat them like objects. If we can look at someone in our life with spite and anger, we are on the road to having our life consumed by the root of bitterness and our consciences seared.

My advice? Take care of these things when they are small. Do NOT let your heart become hardened in the course of your day. Do not allow your conscience to be seared. Root out the roots of bitterness. Keep watch on your soul so this does not happen. Make EVERY effort, as the writer of Hebrews says, to live at peace.

2011-11-22T07:30:00.001-05:00

Wow. There are just certain parts of scriptures that scare me. I was reading Amos last night, a shorter book in the Old Testament that was written by a shepherd from a town near Bethlehem. He starts his letter by telling us this so my expectation is that his writing is going to be on the "pastoral" side of things. Not!

Amos, who was a prophet if only for a short while, wrote about the pending destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel and the destruction of other surrounding kingdoms (Moab, Philistia, Edom). In the first few sentences of his letter, he paints the historical context of when he spoke these words - when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam was king of Israel, two years before an earthquake that hit the land. I did a little research and found that this was 50-70 years before Israel was actually destroyed and taken away into captivity.

In the grand scheme of history, 50-70 years does not seem like a long time to me. However, if you were there, listening to his words, 50-70 years would feel like what he was saying was never going to come true. I believe that this is a tool of the devil in humanity - scoffing at the future, knowing that there is righteous judgement, but saying and really believing that it is never going to happen to us and therefore what we are doing must be OK in God's eyes. We mistake the patience of God for his approval. We mistake his forbearance for lack of judgment.

I love what Peter says about this in his second letter (II Peter 3:9):

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

His heart is bent on our redemption. His heart is set on grace. His heart is set on bring us to himself, not on judgement. He is patient. He is loving. He desire is that EVERYONE comes to him, but he will have to judge or he is a liar.

God gave the nation of Israel men like Amos to warn of impending judgement. God gave them plenty of time to repent, to turn around, to follow him. Through guys like Amos, he gave specific behaviors that they needed to repent from. The unfortunate thing is that they did not repent and eventually all the things that Amos prophesied came true.

So I ask myself this question - what behaviors do I need to change? What areas of my life am I practicing sinful patterns and since things are going OK, I think that I am OK. What are areas that, as a nation, we are practicing and since things seem to be OK, we think that we are OK. What things are we as believers passively tolerating even though God is not. What areas are you practicing that need to be changed?

There is another verse that strikes me as I think of this - Do not be deceived, God will NOT be mocked, whatever a man sows, he will reap. If he sows to the flesh, he will from the flesh reap destruction. If he sows to the Spirit, he will from the Spirit reap life. God will NOT be mocked. He will judge. He desires repentance and redemption, but if that does not happen, he will judge. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will come. Make sure you are on the blessing side and not the judging side; please.

Asking - Part Last

2011-11-13T12:25:00.001-05:00

There are times when I simply do not know what to pray for. When I learn of a death in the family of a close friend, when I hear of a child who has cancer, when there is a tragedy in the community - thees are the situations that I simply so not have words to express a request, a thanksgiving (in everything give thanks - don't really understand how to do that sometimes), or any other kinds of prayer.

I am comforted during these times by what Paul wrote to the church in Rome -

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. (Rom 8:26-27)

The Spirit prays for me when I don't know what to pray. When I don't have the words, He prays for me. He has a direct line into the Father and represents us before Him.

This is one of the most profound truths of scripture - that in the midst of my weakness, in the midst of my inability to comprehend how messed up the world is and how to communicate effectively with God, the Spirit prays FOR me. He understands where my heart is and what my desires are and also understands that I do not have words to express what is going on in my heart. HE goes to the Father and intercedes for me. HE goes to the Father and expresses, requests, thanks for me. HE communicates to the Father for me. What an incredible asset in our prayer life!

Be liberated by this truth as you pray. If you don't know what to pray, ask the Spirit to pray for you. He is doing it anyway, it is just good to give Him credit!

Asking (praying?) Part III

2011-11-06T11:58:00.004-05:00

I am finding that prayer and meditation are related.

Foundational premise (or maybe this is just free information....) - I cannot strictly approach prayer from an asking perspective. I cannot use solely as my mechanism to "get something" from God. If I approach prayer from this perspective, I go right back to "consume it upon my lusts" principle from James. I think that it would be awfully hard to not move into the "my lusts" category if all I ever do is ask for things from God. (In addition, there are plenty of other things that we are to do in prayer - give thanks, pray for others, etc.)

Back to meditation. I find that meditation is listening for me and prayer is talking. This is relationship - listening, talking, understanding, listening, asking, talking, seeking, questioning, listening...... I have to do both - listen and talk. My listening is meditation. My talking is prayer.

What do I meditate on? How my life and my prayers are either in agreement with or in conflict with what God is telling me. Where do I find what God is telling me? The scriptures. (This is why some people teach to pray scripture.) Reading God's word and then asking God about where and what He wants from me and then waiting for an answer from the Holy Spirit, is how I listen to God; this is meditation for me. I have to take this time to slow my mind down, to kind of empty my mind of the "stuff" of life, so I can listen to God speak to me through his Spirit.

Foundational principle #2 - God is out for my best interests and has a deep desire for relationship with me. I know that whatever he says to me, whatever he asks me to do, is for my good and ultimately will be the best thing for me!

Take time to listen and pray today. I am saying that to me. I have to slow down and do the hard work of relationship. I have to spend time with my Lord if I want to have a great relationship with him.

Asking - part II

2011-10-24T20:43:00.001-04:00

Jesus made a pretty bold statement when he was on the planet: "Ask anything in my name and I will do it" (John 14:14). A wide open statement. Ask anything. Anything. Anything at all and He will do it.

What is He trying to tell us? What did he mean? Did He really mean anything?

I really think that He meant what He said - anything. However, that "anything" has a condition on it - in my name, or as another translation puts it, "according to" my name.

One thing Jesus is NOT saying is that if we tack "in Jesus name" on before we end our prayer, He is obligated to answer that prayer. I am not sure where the tradition of adding this phrase on the end of a prayer came from, but I do know that He did not mean us to use this as a "magic" phrase that will get us what we want.

So what did He mean if He didn't mean that? I believe a part of the key is found in James 4:

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

The setting of this section of the letter from James is about fighting, being self centered and trying to get the things that you want. He makes a pretty bold statement at the end of this section: you ask for things but you don't get them because all you want to do is spend it on yourself. The statement is pretty straight forward - when I ask for something that is me centered, that is for my benefit, that is for my pleasure, that fills a worldly longing deep down in my soul - I am not going to get it.

I mean, if I pray that God will use me to serve others, do you think that God will refuse to answer that prayer? If I pray for a new car because I am not content with the one that I have or I am sick of having to repair it all the time, God might think it best to not provide me a new car to "get me out of a jam". If I pray that I will understand what the Spirit is trying to tell me to help me be more obedient, I think that God will grant that request. If I pray that God will give me a different job because I do not like the environment that I am currently working in, God probably will not honor that request.

Here is the problem. It sometimes takes a TON of work to determine the "why" for what I am asking for. Why am I asking for a new car? Why am I asking for the ability to serve? Why do I want a new job? If there is any hint of me in the request, then God is not obligated to answer us; or more appropriately the answer will probably be no. Before I ask, I have to examine my heart. I have to determine if my heart is in the right spot (me or God centered).

If it is, ask for anything!

Two Questions

2011-10-14T08:49:00.001-04:00

I often struggle with my prayer life. The biggest struggle that I have is asking God to do something, asking him to intervene in a situation, asking him to provide something. Perhaps this is because my upbringing focused a ton on the sovereignty of God to the exclusion of asking him for things. I mean, if God is sovereign and he does what he wants, when he wants, why does it matter if I ask for something? I am going to get what I am going to get. Life is going to be what life is going to be.

Mind you, I am not upset by this. I totally believe that God is loving, that he cares for me and that he has my best interests in mind. I know, and believe, that whatever happens in my life is for my good - all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are called by his name (Rom. 8:28). I don't believe God is out to get me in a negative sense, like some cosmic disciplinarian. He wants me to be holy, to experience the kind of life that he designed me to experience and to worship and love him for it and I know that takes work (rooting out my sinful patterns and behaviors). I totally get this and totally believe this.

That is what makes asking God so hard for me. I know he is going to provide what I need - he promised. I know that he will care for me - he promised.

Having said all that (sorry), there is something that happens as a relationship develops that allows one to ask. I haven't really figured this on out yet, but I know something is out there. How? Take a look at Mark 10. There are two vignettes in the life of Jesus that are recorded in this chapter.

Vignette #1 - Two of the apostles come to Jesus to ask him something:

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
   ³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
³⁷ They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

If you read one chapter before this, you see what there was an argument between the disciples regarding who was the greatest. This really weird question seems to be a follow-up to that whole discussion. Notice Jesus response - "What do you want me to do for you?" There response to his question was - give us a prominent place in your kingdom. We want to be the big cheeses - next to you of course. Needless to say, Jesus did not, nor could he, grant this self centered request. Frankly, they should have known better than to make this request because Jesus had just taught them about greatness in the kingdom (the greatest = the servant of all).

Vignette #2 - The blind man on the road from Jericho

⁴⁶ 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. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
   So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” ⁵⁰ Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
   ⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
   The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
   ⁵² “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.

Jesus asks the same question of this man - what do you want me to do for you? Bartimaeus answer to Jesus question is self centered also - I want to see; I want MY eyes opened. Jesus grants his request and heals him. Of note though is Jesus' assessment of the man - he had faith. He had the faith to believe that this Rabbi was the Messiah (indicated by the use of the title Son of David). He had the faith to believe that Jesus could heal him. Jesus didn't say that his request healed him, but that his faith did. Period.

Ponder this for a while and I think that in my next post I will look at James 1 and see what he has to say about this asking thing. Sorry about the long post.

Heaven

2011-10-09T17:39:00.002-04:00

I was driving home from church this morning. I taught a class at another campus, so I had an opportunity to have a longer drive home than usual. I was looking a the many trees that are changing color along the freeway. It was a beautifully sunny day, so the colors were vibrant! The reds seemed to be more red; the yellows more yellow; the oranges - terrific. The creativity of the creator was on display for sure and my soul was moved to worship him for creating this so that I, and the others on the highway, could enjoy it.

I couldn't help but wonder if there are going to be days like this in heaven. I know that every day God's creativity is on display - the Bible speaks that what can be known of God is revealed in His creation (Romans 1:20). I also know that heaven is not going to be black and white. The Bible speaks of heaven having trees that line a river of life, it speaks of jewels and gold, it speaks of bright light of God - it speaks of God's creativity on display for His created beings. Are there going to be fall colors in heaven? I don't know for sure, but after days like today, it wouldn't surprise me!!!

Take some time to stop and enjoy the day that God has created especially for you. Appreciate the beautiful colors that he has painted for you. Thank him for the eyes that can see the trees changing, that can see the beautiful sunsets of fall, the harvest moon that soon will be coming. Worship Him for what He has created for you to enjoy!!!!

Remembering......

2011-10-02T12:38:00.001-04:00

One of the most incredible gifts that God has given us is our memory. Memories can either be good, neutral or bad. Memories can either liberate us and provide us energy to move forward in tough times or they can be boat anchors that weigh us down and prevent us from growing and developing.

For those of us who had great times growing up - playing with our brothers and sisters, visiting grandma who gave cookies, learning to ride a bike, vacations with families, school sports - we look back and have "fond" memories of growing up. For those of us who had tough times growing up - poverty, rough family circumstances, death, strained relationships - we look back and wish that we didn't have these experiences that we had to remember. The experiences of our lives, and the memories of them, shape us as human beings: our response to the current circumstances to life, our response to others, our view of God and our view of others.

Why are memories important? For someone who believes in Jesus, we are called to remember. Throughout the Old Testament, God instructed his followers to remember. He instituted annual feasts and celebrations so that his people would remember what He had done. He asked people to put up standing stones as markers so that when people walked by them they would remember what He had accomplished. Jesus, while He was on this planet, instituted a time of remembrance (we call it communion; the early church celebrated it as a love feast). God was and is BIG into memories.

Why? Why is it important to remember? Why does God want us to return over and over again to what He has done? Two of the reasons that I come up with: good memories will carry us through the bad times. If we believe that God was faithful in the past and we are reminded of that over and over again, we will have the expectation that God will be faithful to us. Understanding the character and nature of God by remembering what He has done will help us understand what our character and actions need to be.

I also believe that, in spite of all the bad memories that we have, God wants us to remember that He is for us, that He is walking with us and that He loves us. I don't know where life finds you right now, but I do know that God wants you to remember who He is, what He has done and therefore what He is going to do in you, through you and to you!

2011-09-18T17:36:00.001-04:00

As we were interacting over Ruth last night, we explored the journey of Naomi a bit. Her family, husband, two sons and her, left their ancestral home in search of food. Two weddings and 10 years later, she finds herself with no blood family and in a foreign land.

Walk through this with her. She leaves her family, her friends, her neighborhood, familiar surroundings and moves to a foreign land - living in a country that really was not "friendly" to Israel. A few years pass. The family has made friends, figured out who lives in the neighborhood, figured out where to buy their meat and vegetables, found new vendors to supply cloth to make clothes, developed credit with the local bank, found out who the good and friendly people were in town - started a new life. The sons found girl friends, dated and met the "fam". They eventually got married. What joyous occasions for Naomi - her sons getting married! The hope of a future. The hope of grandchildren!

And then the unthinkable happens. Someone dies. We are not told who went and when, the only thing we are told is that her husband, her soul mate, died, as did her two sons. Ten years after she left her homeland, she finds herself dealing with three deaths in her family - her blood line is gone. She is alone. No one to provide for her needs (widows needed to be taken care of in that culture; they had limited means to make money). No husband take care of her as she grew old. No sons or grandchildren to take care of her as she grew old. She was alone and in trouble.

She makes the decision to go back home. She has heard that there is food there; the famine is over. At least she can eat; maybe even sell her family's property to raise some funds to take care of her (if she can by it back from those who purchased it in their absence). She is poor and out of options.

Notice what she says about her relationship with God when she gets home. "Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara (bitter), because the Almighty has made my life bitter". Strained at best. She feels as if God has abandoned her; that he has it out for her. Understandable or at least explainable based on what she has gone through.

Jump to the end of the book - joy has returned to her. She has a grandson and is beaming!

What happened? Boaz happened. Actually, the obedience of Boaz happened. Boaz allowed poor to glean in his fields according to the command of God. Boaz, although much older than Ruth, redeemed the land and became the kinsman redeemer. Her joy was restored as God worked and was faithful to her THROUGH the obedience of Boaz.

OK, so here's the question: are you going to be a Boaz? Are you going to be obedient to the commands of God, allow God to work THROUGH you? Who can you be an encouragement to today and bring them hope, hope in a Savior who loves them, hope in the midst of a sin cursed world?

Cycle of Madness

2011-09-15T08:11:00.002-04:00

I have been studying Ruth for our couples Bible Study this weekend. One of the interesting things that I have found is the setting for this book - the book of Judges. Ruth's in-laws (Elimelech and Naomi and their two boys) had fled Israel during a famine. They were from the town of Bethlehem and heard that there was food in Moab so they moved there. As near as historians can figure, their moved happened about 100ish years before Saul become king or about 260 years into the 360 year period of the judges.

A couple of things about Moab. Not a cool place for an Israelite to move. First of all, they were the nation that seduced the Israelites into sin a few centuries before. There was a running feud between Moab and Israel that was in some sort of detente during this period of time.

Another piece of the setting that is important is the "cycle" of sin that happens over and over again in the book of Judges. The nation of Israel put themselves on a cycle of worship-disobedience-judgement by God-cry to God-restoration. The issue becomes this was not a national trend - the WHOLE nation did not follow this cycle, but REGIONS of the nation fell into this cycle; usually only once. If you want a cool map that illustrates this, look at this link: http://biblemapper.com/gallery1_files/JudgesOfIsrael_2_mark.jpg. The nations that God used to judge the Israelites for their unfaithfulness to Him didn't attack the whole nation of Israel, just regions.

OK, so by now you are probably saying, and.......Why is this important? It speaks to me of the failure of Elimelech to spiritually lead his family. I mean, come on, he WATCHED as regions around him fell into sin, were judged by God with raiding parties, foreign government take-overs, slavery, etc. He had 200+ years of history repeating itself to serve as an example of what NOT to do. And yet his response to what God was attempting to do to his region was to run away. Not to worship and fall on his knees in repentance; but to run away to Moab of all places. When Elimelech left the promised land, he was fleeing his heritage, his covering and his relationship with God. There was no temple in Moab. There was no place to worship God there. He removed his family from where God wanted them to be and placed them in a heathen place. Not cool.

OK, so here is the hard part. How often do I make the same choice he did. How often do I ignorantly walk through life and follow the SAME path that generations before me have followed. How often does history repeat itself in my life and leadership of my family. Way to often I am afraid.

I don't write this to condemn, I write this to inform and hopefully open our eyes to our actions. I cannot change the past. I cannot changed what happened in history. However, I can learn from it and not do the SAME sins that my fore-fathers did or I have done in the past.

PS - Take time to look into the fall of the Roman Empire and compare that with America today. We are repeating the sins of the past and we WILL experience the same result. God will NOT be mocked. Start the revival in our country by starting it in you.

2011-08-27T08:40:00.003-04:00

We all know this, but it is amazing how much of what we do affects the lives of others. Encouraging words, looks of love, little gifts of time or thoughtfulness, acts of kindness, spending time listening, words of hatred, looks that kill, placing unrealistic expectations on someone, demanding commands - all affect the lives of those around us.

Jesus took this very seriously - especially how we affect the lives of the believers around us. When he was on the planet he said this: “And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. (Mark 9:42)

This is serious business for Jesus. Drowning with a millstone tied around his neck is the appropriate punishment for the person who leads someone into sin.

Now don't think dastardly sins only: being an accomplice in a murder, snookering someone into driving a get away car for you while you rob a bank. Think things like teaching someone to hate another person by constantly gossiping about them; leading a "revolt" with your co-workers against your boss by griping about a decision that he has made that you didn't like; yelling at your kids so much that they pick up your habit of yelling at their kids - "little" thinks like this that we unconsciously do every day.

The countless things that I do, say and express every day effect people. Whether I believe it or not, it is true. Whether I live like it is true or not, it is true.

What I have to remember to day, and allow the Spirit of God to remind me of, is that I must use my actions, words and facial expressions to lead people toward the Savior and not toward sin. I have no interest in having a millstone around my neck!

2011-08-22T07:46:00.003-04:00

The last time I had opportunity to write was on July 23 while I was on vacation - sad.

Interesting choice of words I just used there - "had opportunity". Like everyone else, I have 24 hours in a day. For a large chunk of those hours, I have the ability to choose what to do. I can chose to read something, I can chose to watch TV, I can chose to serve someone, I can chose to write, etc.

Paul wrote to Timothy: You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance..... (II Tim 3:10; I added the emphasis). Paul lived a purposeful, intentional life. Something that we are supposed to emulate.

How are you "spending your time" is a common expression. Stewardship encompasses stewarding my time. I need to be intentional about how I use my time today; at least my discretionary time. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth - do everything to the glory of God (I Cor 10:31).

Use your time wisely today. Easier said than done.

2011-07-23T09:56:00.002-04:00

You know what happens when I get busy? Things slip. Between extra things to do at work (we are building a new building), trips across the ocean, moving a daughter to Iowa; life has been a bit full. And things slip (like writing, ha!).

I read a book a while ago called “Margin”. The basic thrust of the book was to provide space in your life so that the urgent doesn’t crowd out the important. Notice that I said I read the book - I have found myself over the past three weeks without margin. I guess I still have some learning to do! (Over the years I have come to understand that when I get to the point that I am writing things or wanting to write things, my mind is rested and I have had time to think and meditate about things; I am living with some margin.)

The other problem is that I find that when I live in the urgent, when I live without margin, I have a way of just spiritually “snacking”. I still read the scriptures, I still pray (a bit), I still serve, but as I review my soul during these periods in my life, I am just grazing the surface of spirituality. I am not feasting, I am not drinking deep; I am not filling my soul.

The collateral damage of living in the urgent is that I don't act out of the fulness of my soul; I act out of emptiness. Because we have a deep, deep desire to fill our soul, when I am empty, I look for something to fill me: other people and other things. The problem is that I begin to USE people and these things to fill me, instead of serving them. I become more demanding, more focused on me, more of a sinner.

The other problem I have is that have a propensity toward activity, doing things – maybe it is a guy thing, maybe it is a character thing; not sure. But I like to be busy, to do things, to complete things. This propensity toward filling my life with activity and being busy is a dangerous threat to margin in my life. It robs me of fullness of life because it robs me of the time to connect deep in my soul with my creator. (I probably should not use the word "rob" because it connotes that it was stolen from me; the reality is that I give it away; I am plan the activities; I make the commitment. I am not innocent in this process.) I don’t really live, I just exist. I don’t thrive, I survive. Not that way I want to live.

Watch your schedule. Do you have space in your life where your mind has time to wind down; where you have time to focus on the eternal; where you are not thinking and wondering about the things of life, but a place where you are still, waiting for the Spirit of God to talk to you; a place where your mind has been filled with the thoughts of God (most likely through reading through scripture) and where you can list.

Try it sometime; it really is filling! (By the way, this is the first day of vacation and I had margin this morning.)

2011-06-26T10:38:00.004-04:00

Summer! I CANNOT believe that in a week it is going to be the 4th of July. It is crazy how fast life moves isn't it? Except............

Except if you are in a crisis. Except is someone you love has debilitating illness. Except if you have lost your job. Except if your 2 year old is acting up every 5 minutes. Except if you are waiting for your house to sell. Except if you have a huge stress in a relationship. Except........

Isn't it funny that it seems as if some days time seems to stand still and other days it flies by. When I was waiting to get my license when I was 16, time moved excruciatingly slow; I felt like the day would never come. As I am looking back over my years as a parent, I cannot believe how fast they have flown by.

But time is time. There are always 24 hours in a day. There are always 7 days in one week. I just doesn't feel that way. To a large degree, our emotional response to a situation dictates the perceived speed of time. If most cases it seems as if negative circumstances slow time down and, more importantly, consume an inordinate amount of emotional energy.

I really have no idea why this hit me today. Probably because I am watching my oldest daughter grow up and move to Iowa and I put my youngest daughter on a van for a mission trip (right after she got back from a week away on the east coast). After 21 years of being a parent, I am seeing the end of this phase of my journey and it has gone fast. I know that there are times when it seemed to slow down; seasons of stress and overly busy times of life. Those passed. They always pass. Recognize that in your life. Enjoy the journey. Do what you can to relieve the stresses of life, but when stresses and tough times hit, understand Psalm 30:5 - weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

2011-06-14T06:26:00.003-04:00

Still working my way through Mark with my group. The more I read, the more the pieces seems to be indicating that, at least in chapters 7-8, Jesus is attempting to help the disciples understand who he really is. In Mark 7, the Pharisees come to Jesus with a question - why don't your followers wash their hands like tradition taught us? A legitimate question. We have been doing this for years and why aren't you?

Jesus goes on to announce to crowd that had gathered about what really defiles a man - what comes out of him (vs. what goes into a man). After the crowd clears, the disciples ask him what he meant by the teaching. he then makes this statement: "are you so dull" (v.18).

After hanging out with him, walking with him, listening to his teaching, feeding the 5,000, seeing the healing, casting out demons, talking with him about life, watching the crowds gather - they still do not understand. After going out two by two into the cites and villages of Israel and proclaiming the good news that the Messiah was here, after personally healing people and casting out demons - they still do not comprehend the ways of the kingdom of Jesus. (OK, so here is where I insert myself and ask how much have I been with Jesus - I am worse than the disciples.)

The more I read and thought about this, the more I have to ask myself how dull am I. How many of Jesus' teachings and His ways of living do I just blow over because I am dull. How many areas of my life have I not submitted to Christ because I am dull and lack understanding?

The issue is that I have the tools I need to not be dull. I have the Holy Spirit within me who's job it is to teach me (John 14:26). My job is to be open. I am finding that dullness is really about me: my lack of openness to do the work that I need to do in my soul, a perspective of me that "I am OK", instead of perspective of I need a Savior.

The first step in the process of sharpening is admitting you have a problem. I mean, really admitting it. Not just saying you do, but really owning it; really coming to grips with the fact that you need a Savior to redeem you from you. I think that I am getting here - occasionally (when I think about it, I am there; as life hits me in the face, there are times when I leave that place and go back to where I was in dullness).

The second step is opening your soul to the Spirit of God and asking for Him to change. He is the agent of conviction. He is the agent of change. My part is yielding and allowing God to do His work.

Just keep repeating the phrase - "am I dull?" and listen. Listen to those around you. Listen to the Spirit of God. Listen to the words of God as you read scripture. You will hear where you are dull and where you need to change.

2011-05-31T06:51:00.002-04:00

Was thinking this morning about consequences - unintended, intended, ancillary, etc.

In a conversation with a friend of mine, he stated that his ex-wife wanted to readjust a portion of their divorce settlement because financial circumstances in the real estate market had changed since the time their divorce was final. There are a lot of nuances attached to this that I do not have time to explain in this setting, so you will have to take a bit of a leap with me here. Her statement was that since the value of the home had decreased, that the amount they had settled on several years before was not valid and that he should share in the decreased value.

What struck me about this was her desire to negate one of the consequences of a divorce - an unintended one that was outside of both of their doings, but a consequence none-the-less. If they were still married, if there were still one, then they would mutually share in the decrease in value of the house. A consequence of being married and the real estate market declining - unintended consequence, but a shared consequence. But they weren't married so the consequences of the decision made many years before was hers to bear and hers alone.

This seems to be a universal concept within our culture: we desire the positive consequences of our actions, but don't want the negative consequences. When I write this, it seems to be an intuitively obvious statement intellectually and emotionally. The problem is, we don't get to make this choice.

In my years in working with people, I have found that most people focus on the positive consequences of their actions and forget to consider and weigh the negative consequences. They emotionally move toward the benefits and dismiss the drawbacks. When the negative consequences come, and they will, they attempt to get around them, attempt to push them out, deny them, etc., so they can justify their decision.

Adam and Eve are classic examples of this. They wanted to be like God and so they ate the fruit. They did not want the death that came along with it. The death of innocence, the death of weedless gardens, the death of painless child birth, the death of humanity.

I know that this is not the only factor in decision making, but I know that it is a contributor. Why else would someone start or continue to smoke knowing that it could lead to lung cancer? Why else would someone continue to eat fatty foods knowing that it could affect their cholesterol and increase their odds of a heart attack? Why else would someone continue to carry an angry persona knowing that it will affect the relationships around them?

The Bible speaks of it in these terms - the pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25). It also calls living like this foolishness (read the first few chapters of Proverbs about wisdom vs. foolishness).

Think long term. Think holistically. Think of the positive and negative consequences the next time you think about an action. Weigh them carefully and think through future scenarios. Consequences will come, the idea is to keep as many in the positive arena as possible! You can keep consequences positive by being obedient to God in every decision you make!

2011-05-20T21:24:00.004-04:00

It never ceases to amaze me how some people form their belief system. What they think, what they feel, what culture around them dictates, etc.

Some of the staff at Ada are dealing with a person who does not agree with some of our teaching. A person noted in a recent conversation with a couple of our elders that they really didn't agree with one of our doctrinal positions - didn't give a reason, but didn't agree.

When it really comes right down to it, this is a form of idolatry. Who is the idol? They are. When one has no basis for their beliefs other than what they think or what they feel, they are playing god (note the little "g" - did that on purpose). They have set the way they view the world up as the standard. The way that they view or feel about an issue is the basis that they judge everybody's beliefs. They play God.

It is pretty easy to identify someone who is playing God. Listen for personal pronouns - it really is that simple. Listen for "I" or "my". I think. I believe. As I understand it. My thoughts are. My perspective is. I am God. My opinion is the rule.

Unfortunately, it is pretty easy to fall into this trap - even if we really don't want to be god. Watch your speech and thought patterns. Listen to the words that you say.

What should one do instead? How do I avoid being God? Begin by looking to scripture FIRST. This is our objective standard. These are the words of God. This is where the real God communicates His desires, character and commands to us. What does God say? What does God think? What are His thoughts on the matter. Secondly, look at scripture. Third, examine what the Bible says. Fourth, apply what the Bible talks about or illustrates to the situation at hand. Fifth, if what you read in the scriptures doesn't jive with what you feel or think, refer to step one, two and three and believe it and allow God to be God.

2011-05-10T08:38:00.003-04:00

Just a quick one...in my last post I indicated Mark 6 records the first time Jesus went back to his hometown. Not true. Luke records another time, apparently before the Mark 6 event, where Jesus went back to Nazareth. I have corrected the post to be more accurate!

2011-05-08T12:03:00.004-04:00

Familiarity breeds contempt - a saying from Aesop's fables that comes from a Mark 6 (OK, so that last part is something that I made up; there is no historical evidence that this is the case).

Mark records a snapshot of Jesus returning home to the Nazareth area (Mark 6). This is the second (see Luke 4 for the first one) recorded time that he went back to the town where He grew up. Kind of a family reunion of sorts, except his dad has passed away.

On Saturday, He goes to the local synagogue and teaches. The local religious establishment viewed Him as a teacher, a Rabbi and he was allowed to take the platform and speak. Mark records that the people were "amazed" at his teaching and the fact that he was performing miracles.

As they begin to critically look at the situation, more factors enter their thought process. Isn't this the same dude that we used to play ball with? Isn't this the guy who added that room on to my parents house? Isn't this the construction worker that was a laborer on his dad's crew? How can he be teaching this stuff to us? Isn't he an ordinary guy just like us? Their amazement quickly turns to something else - offense.

The amazement then shifts to Jesus - amazed at their lack of faith. Mark records that he COULD not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith. They stopped him from working in their lives. Their offense at who Jesus was and what he claimed to be prevented him from doing a work of God in their midst.

OK - the big question. Do I stop the Holy Spirit from doing a work in me because of my lack of faith? Is God prevented from changing me because I will not trust Him? When I face the tough times in life, do I walk through them with faith in what God is trying to do in me or do I gripe and complain?

2011-04-25T10:51:00.003-04:00

OK, so I usually don't blog this much, but this whole fear thing and moving toward God instead of away from him is creeping into a lot of areas of my life.

I noticed last night when I was having a discussion with my daughter and wife about a school issue, fear was rising - fear that my wife would not like me (we had differing opinions on the issue) or fear that my daughter would rebel (she didn't like the solution that my wife was proposing). I felt stuck. I felt like it was going to be a lose-lose situation for me: I was going to disappoint someone.

How do you lean into situations like this instead of running away? How do you represent Jesus to the family when faced with dilemmas like this? I had a couple of choices. Choice number one - be a dictator. This is my decision - live with it. Necessary sometimes, but the tact that needs to be reserved for only very special and rare occasions. But easier for sure. Choice number two - lean in emotionally and try and listen to all sides, listen to the words, try to feel the emotions, try and find the heart of the matter and then speak. (OK, I an not very good at choice number two; in fact I stink at it most days.)

If my goal is to build up, to learn about my wife and daughter, to honor them, I have to choose option two. I did, after I had to move through the fear and commit myself to spending the time and working through all the issues.

BTW, we are not done with this one yet. It demands more discussion about some peripheral issues. More leaning in...........

2011-04-24T12:12:00.003-04:00

So, if we are not to respond in fear, if we are not to push Jesus out or simply be amazed at who He is, how are we supposed to respond?

The third in this series of snapshots of Mark (Mark 5) provides us a little insight into how a couple of people faced their fears.

Imagine if you will, a large group of people surrounding Jesus. Pushing him from every side, pressing to hear his words, anxious to walk beside him and share their fears with, desiring of him to heal them - a "star" (in a good way) who every one wanted to be around. This is the setting where a woman with a disease that the doctors could not heal enters into Jesus orbit.

Back story - the woman had tried everything to be healed of this disease. For 12 years she spent time and money trying to be healed. She had traveled mile after mile to visit doctor after doctor. She spent her entire life savings on doctors, potions, medications, salves, oils, etc. and still no healing: in fact, it was getting worse and worse. She was without resources and moving toward no hope.

She enters the scene as the crowd is pressing around Jesus. This is her last hope. This is her last alternative. If I can just touch him. If I can just brush his clothes, I might be healed. I have heard stories....... She presses into the fray and reaches out and touches Jesus clothes, not really sure if it work or not. But she feels something; something had changed. And then she hears it - "Who touched me? Who touched me? I felt something. Who touched me?" Fear swells within her. She has been found out.

What did she do when she was trembling with fear? She moved toward Jesus; she was scared for sure, but she moved toward Jesus. She was scared, but not beyond belief. Jesus statement to her was "your faith has healed you, go in peace and suffer no more". Her faith, her response, her movement toward Jesus, her step.

This is how we need to respond to Jesus - move through our fears and toward him. When we find ourselves without answers; when we are perplexed; when we don't know which way to turn; when we find ourselves without hope - Jesus has the answers if we will move toward him.

2011-04-23T07:54:00.003-04:00

How are you going to respond when Jesus, the creator of the universe, shows up in your life? When he showed up on the boat with the disciples they wondered in amazement at who he was. In the second snap shot we see a different response.

In the first part of Mark 5, Jesus and his disciples enter an area and a freaky thing happens to them: a naked, fully crazed man runs to meet them. Jesus casts out the evil spirits into a herd of pigs (2,000 of them). The guys who are tending the pigs, run into town and tell the townsfolk about what happened. The people from the area come to Jesus, see the and ask him to leave; leave the area; leave them alone.

What surprised me about the response of the people is the contrast between what they had before Jesus showed up and what they had after.

Before: a mad man who they had tried to control by chaining him up, who broke the chains and shackles, who lived in the tombs, cried out so people heard him and cut himself with stones. Basically, someone terrorized the town. I mean, imagine living in the town near this guy. You wouldn't let your kids out to play by themselves for fear something might happen. You hear his eerie cries at night that scare your kids and won't let them sleep. When you want to travel to your friends in the next village you take the long way because you are afraid of seeing "him" and worried about what might happen to you and your family.

After: A "normal" guy, dressed, in his right mind, sitting and talking with Jesus. OK, so you are down a herd of pigs (which is weird considering they are in a region of Jewish population, but hey..), but you have security for your family back. People will once again visit your village because "he" is gone now. The reputation of your village has been restored.

And they want Jesus to leave because they are afraid.........

The burning question that I have is when do I ask Jesus to leave? When am I afraid of what Jesus asks me to do, do I ask him to leave or do I invite him in to change me? Do I ask him to move me to a place where I am more holy, or do I politely ask him to leave? Do I engage the unknown and move toward him or do I move in fear and ask him to move away from me?

Jesus may not show up and cast an evil spirit out, but he may show up and ask me to stop a sin pattern that I hold dear. He may move toward me and ask me to love my wife better than I do myself. He may ask me to commit everything to him and serve him with greater abandonment. I know that he will ask me something - my question is will I move toward him or ask him to leave.

2011-04-17T13:35:00.003-04:00

We are going through "The Story" in our couples small group. We are on the second section where God begins to build a nation through Abram.

The thing that struck me the most about this section of the Story is the that Abram (soon to be called Abraham) was just an ordinary guy. There was nothing significant about him that made him stand out. OK, so he was relatively well off but he was not a leader of a nation; he was not a mighty warrior; he was a simply a man; a simple (and sinful mind you) man that God chose to build a nation from.

What WAS extraordinary is that Abram responded in obedience. God asked him to leave his family and start moving. God didn't tell him where he was going, He just said leave - and he did! Abram responded in faith; walking away from his family and choosing to live as a nomad in obedience to God.

What do we/I learn from this? Simply put - God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. God uses ordinary women and men to execute his plan. That's me......ordinary man; extraordinary in God's eyes when I live in obedience and faith!

(Side note: James teaches us that Elijah was a man just like us, but he prayed and it did not rain. He was trying to say Elijah was just and ordinary man who did extraordinary things when he listened to God and spoke what God told him to do!)

2011-04-09T08:43:00.004-04:00

Without faith it is impossible to please God. The writer of Hebrews makes this bold and pretty exclusive statement. Having theoretical faith is pretty easy. When life is good, it is easy to trust. It is harder to believe when you hit a storm. Am I going to trust when the hard times hit? I am going to be pleasing to God? A question that I have to wrestle with when the stuff of life hits me. Am I going to be afraid or am I going to trust?

Mark poses this same question in one of his snap shots of Jesus. In the latter part of Mark 4, Jesus and his closest disciples conscript a boat to go the other side of the lake so they can be alone for a while. Jesus moves to the back of the boat, lays down and falls asleep. The disciples, some of which were very familiar with the lake because they were fisherman, climb in too.

As they are crossing, a storm arises; a pretty bad storm. The waves are washing over the side of the boat and the disciples start freaking out! Peter, James, John, Andrew - men who made their living on the lake - were of no help in the midst of this storm. Their years of experience on the lake did not help them. (Mind you, I would be freaking out too!)

They wake Jesus up and ask a pretty interesting question: Master, don't you care if we drown? Jesus, you have been healing the masses, you have cast out demons, you healed a guy who could not walk. Do you care about everyone else except us? Are you going to heal them and let us die? Don't you care for us?

Jesus answer was simple: he calmed the storm (ha!!!). He then posed a question back at them: why are you afraid? Do you have no faith?

It is easy to have faith when you are not in the hot seat. Fear is a natural response of being in the hot seat. It is easy to believe when your faith is not being challenged. It is easy to be afraid when you the storms hit.

We all experience this. When it is your child who is going into surgery it is a fundamentally harder than when it is someone elses child. When you have lost your job, it is harder to believe than when someone else looses their job.

The disciples had watched Jesus do miracle after miracle, heal person after person, cast out evil spirit after evil spirit - and they were afraid about the storm. Why? Because it was their storm. It was their boat. It was their fear of drowning.

When Jesus calmed their storm, saved them from their drowning - they understood a new reality about Jesus; they saw him in a new and powerful light. They saw his power at work in their life. And they were afraid. Again.

The question for me is - am I going to trust this Jesus? This Jesus who heals, who redeems, who loves, who rose from the dead. During the storms of my life, during my personal storms - am I going to trust him?

2011-04-04T17:34:00.003-04:00

Have been reading in Mark over the past few days - in particular the last part of chapter 4 and chapter 5. There are three snap shots of Jesus showing up: calming a storm, healing a demon possessed man and raising a dead girl. As I was reading them, a theme appeared - fear. In each of these snap shots, there was a fear response of those around Jesus. In the next series of posts, I want to look at each of these snap shots and explore fear a little bit.

Fear is a powerful emotional motivator. There are several responses - physical and emotional - to fear. My initial response to fear is physical: my stomach knots up, I feel energy drain from me, and, depending on the intensity of the emotion, I begin to feel a bit nauseous. If my emotional tank is a little low, I emotionally run away; trying to avoid the fear, hoping whatever created the situation will just go away (which it never does).

Fear can also make us do some irrational things (like running away from the problem and hoping they will go away). As we look at these snap shots of Jesus ministry, we will see some of responses that, by observation, seem to be irrational. My hope is as we explore these snap shots, we will learn now not to respond to Jesus out of fear, but out of awe and worship.

2011-03-30T07:31:00.002-04:00

We left last Friday evening for Florida for our annual spring break vacation. We spend the first days with someone on the Gulf side of Florida, move to the middle of Florida to spend some time with my mom and dad, and then move to the Atlantic side of Florida - living out of a suitcase at it finest!!!!

We arrived yesterday at my folks place with the intention of spending today packing them up so they can take the trek home. That will start in a couple of hours.

The parents of one of my co-workers live in the same park as my mom and dad. My dad asked if I wanted to meet and talk with them and before I knew it, my wife and I were on our way to their place a few blocks away. We sat and chit-chatted with them, talking about various things. A couple of things that struck me in our conversation was how these folks lauded my dad for his work with my mom. They also praised my mom's attitude through the midst of her trials and paralysis. The woman, who was facing back surgery, said "I need to be more like your mom"; referring to keeping a God centered perspective on life and pain. They also talked about the many people who look at my mom and dad as an inspiration.

I wept inside as God opened a bit of a window to show me, once again, how He redeems the crappy things of life, the things wrought of sin, to bring good into this planet. I know that He is at work and is more powerful that our adversary the devil!!!!

2011-03-22T14:26:00.003-04:00

I was driving into work today and was watching the kids waiting for the bus on the side of the road. Backpacks were on the ground, smiles on their faces, their right hands on a lone fence post, circling round and round and round it. They were having a "happy" conversation - playful banter with each other. It didn't look like they had a care in the world.

My mind immediately jumped to Jesus' sermon on the mount - where he talked about the birds in the air, the flowers in the field - how neither of these toiled or labored or worried. They just go about their work of building nests, feeding their young, just growing. They don't worry about their existence because God takes care of them.

I want to live my life like those kids this morning - not a care in the world; like the flowers and the birds. I want to totally rely on my Father in heaven to provide for my needs. I know that may sound kind of "Polly-anna", but I believe that is how God wants us to live. I want to live care free. And you know what? God wants me to live this way too! (Wasn't it Peter who said to cast all our cares on Jesus because He cares for us? I Pet 5:7)

2011-03-13T19:58:00.003-04:00

My first post for March - wow two weeks and the family (or what is left of it) heads off on our trip to warmer climates!

Have been studying the book of Mark with my guys small group. Mark looks at the life of Jesus through various "snap shots". It seems as if Mark is less concerned about what Jesus taught (via his words at least), that what He does. Mark spends a lot of time describing settings and what others are thinking and saying and doing, verses what Jesus taught.

Chapter 2 and 3 record six events where the established religious leaders of the day confront Jesus on some issue: the ability to forgive sins, eating with "sinners", not fasting, "harvesting" grain kernels to eat on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath and being powered by Satan.

The remarkable thing about these snap shots is the religious leaders of the day showed no concern for people; only for the "rules" of their religion. They were more concerned about trapping Jesus in working on the Sabbath than they were about healing a man. They were more concerned about not "harvesting" on the Sabbath than they were the hunger of men. Their focus was on strict alignment with their agenda; their rules; their way of living.

Mind you, they did not want to repeat the mistakes of the forefathers who sinned against God which ultimately caused the nation to be taken into exile. They wanted the blessing of God and not his curse; obedience to the law brought blessing; disobedience brought cursing.

In their zeal to be obedient, they forgot humanity. In their desire to be in the place of blessing, they forgot to look at the needs of the people around them. In executing their agenda, they forgot that the agenda of God was selflessness.

OK, so here is the hard part: when do I do this? When is my agenda over-ride my need to show grace, mercy and love to humanity. When is my desire to accomplish something cause me to miss the real reason for my existence - to aid people in their pursuit of God.

Something to watch for and correct when I see it..................

2011-02-28T13:05:00.003-05:00

OK, I have to admit I am a nerd (I think that I already admitted it in the past, but it never hurts to re-up). One of my favorite TV shows is NCIS. Why? Because of the science of criminal investigation.

I was watching it the other night and the narrator said this: Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one (a quote from a philosopher Martin Heidegger). The truth of this quote struck me...........life has many paths - some of which are chosen for me (my birth date, my place of birth, who my are parents are, etc.), some of which I choose.

It is the last part that is the most challenging - who I ultimately will become is shaped by the paths that I choose. If I continually choose to respond angrily when life throws a hard circumstance at me, I will become an angry person. If I choose to look at people and care for them instead of looking at how they can serve me, I will become a person with a servants heart.

The quote is stating that to a large part, we are captains of our fate; we can choose who we become. This is not necessarily true in all areas of life, but it surely is true from a character perspective; the true essence of who we are and really what we ultimately want to be defined as by those around us (e.g. I would rather be defined as "kind and poor" vs. "rich and mean").

Our ability to be captain of our fates is true in our eternal destiny too. We have to choose to follow God; we have to choose to understand our need for a Savior and choose to accept Him as Lord of our life everyday. (Note that this is written from a free will perspective, even though I know that God is the one that calls and ordains; I have not, nor will I ever figure out the mechanics of the mystery between our free will and the sovereignty of God!!!!)

The letter that Paul wrote to the Philippians indicates that we are to "choose joy"; even in the midst of trying circumstances. The love of the scriptures is not an emotion, but a cognitive choice to put other's needs on an equal plane with ours. Joshua instructed the nation of Israel to "choose you today who you are going to serve".

Choices, choices, choices - choose those things today that will bring you closer to God and more in line with obedience to Him. Choose who you will become today by choosing to do what is right and holy. Chose today what will ultimately shape your character into one that is Godly and beautiful.

2011-02-20T11:56:00.002-05:00

OK, so you may be get tired of me writing about the desire that God has for us. For some reason, I just can't get it out of my mind. I believe that God wants to do a work deep in my soul, so the Spirit is camping out a lot on this issue in my "thinking" time.

I was listening to a speaker (Andy Stanley filling in for his dad on In Touch) talk about our appetites this morning - our appetite for more, more, more. He pushed beyond the obvious of appetite for food, and moved to our appetite for power, position, sex, things, shoes, acceptance, love, ______, etc. (fill in the blank with a whole bunch of things).

He went on to say that some of these appetites (or desires if you want to call is something else) are God created and Satan distorted. Our distorted appetites never whisper, they always scream. Our appetites never say "wait", they always say "now". Our appetites will make us do crazy and apparently unintelligent things (refer to Esau selling his birthright for a bowl of stew in Genesis 25). I would also say suggest that appetites always promise more that they will deliver.

How true....and troubling. Troubling in that all these appetites draw me away from God instead of to Him.

There is competition for my appetite. The psalmist implored me in Psalm 34 to "taste and see that the Lord is good". He implores me to fill my appetite by tasting Him and His ways. Unfortunately, I fill that appetite in so many other ways that are SO subtle, that often I don't even realize that I am using them to fill me.

How this must grieve the heart of God. How I must grieve the heart of God. His STRONG desire for me, to fill me, to be with me, to love me, to grow me, to perfect me, to be for me; and I use a cheap substitute and trade away what God has for me for a short term pleasure.

I have to set a watch on this area. It is SO easy to be controlled by distorted appetites. Satan desires me to be controlled by them! God desires to have me; He desires to give me fullness of life. I must be diligent in watching for ANYTHING that keeps me from being drawn to him - any attitude, any action, any word, any thought - and root it out of my life so that the Spirit of God can fill me.

2011-02-14T18:01:00.002-05:00

I have been thinking more about my last post - the desire that God has for us.

Isn't that one of the things we want the most? Don't we want someone to accept us for who we are, not what we do, not how we dress, not where we live, not our position in the community, not what we are financially worth, not what our face or body looks like? Don't we? Isn't this what we really want?

Don't we really want someone to look us in the eye and tell us that they love us just the way we are - faults, imperfections and all? Don't we want that kind of unconditional love that says "regardless of where you are, I will still pursue you; I will still love you; there is nothing that can separate you from me?"

The "professionals" tell us that this is a basic human need - the need to be loved. What if that is what God is offering us? What if He really didn't care what car we drove, were we lived, where we worked, how much was in retirement account? What if He really longed to give us all the love He could? What if WE were the ones who were stopping His love from flowing to us? What if our hang-ups, our view of who we are, our small view of what God wants for us is stopping Him from loving us? What if our lack of trust in who He is and what He has in store for us is stopping us from receiving from Him?

Lots of things to think through on this one. I do know this: the creator of the Universe is drawing us to Him. He really, really, really wants us to know Him and enjoy living in the light of Him.

Don't let some hang up in your way stop you from experiencing His longing and love for you......

2011-02-13T16:14:00.005-05:00

I have been studying the life of Moses again for the leadership development gathering that I do each week. We are in the place in the record of events just before God gives the Ten Commandments and other laws to the Israelites. As I was reading last night, this very caught my attention in Exodus 19:

4 You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you fully obey me and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

I absolutely love the words - I brought you to myself......... Isn't that a wonderful picture of God? Drawing the Israelites to himself? Carrying them; bringing them; inviting them into a relationship with Him. He desired them to be His treasured possession.

What a beautiful picture of God and His desires for us! I hope that I never get over the amazement of what God did for me by sending His Son. He calls me His son; He calls me His child. Amazing!

Listen to the heart of God in His words; listen to His heart for you; listen to His longing to know you............

2011-02-06T13:46:00.003-05:00

I was watching Day of Discovery this morning. It was about addressing some of the doubts that people have in believing Jesus. One of the things that struck me was the statement "You have to look at the historical facts about Jesus and wrestle with them - he is a living, breathing, documented human who lived and walked this earth and made some claims that you must consider" (my loose interpretation of what was said....).

Some important issues that were raised in that statement. Did Jesus really live? Is he a myth or a philosophy or simply a good man? How seriously do I have to take his claims? A man named Paul Meier went on to make the statement (my translation): Jesus is not some mythical creation of someone's mind. He is not a "philosophy" or a system of religion. You have to wrestle with the facts of Jesus; the historical documentation of what others have said about Him. By extension, you have to wrestle with his claims and his statements.

One of the cool things about this is that God in his divine plan, scripted history in such a way that His words would have external documentation to affirm its validity. I recently read that there was more known documentation of the scriptures than there was of any other historical text or book.

I don't believe God ever intended us to have blind faith. He gave us creation. He gave us a living, breathing, human who walked this planet. He gave us historical documentation in support of his work. He gave us evidence that makes our faith reasonable.

2011-01-20T09:25:00.002-05:00

I have said this before and will say it again: there are sections of the Bible that I wish where just left out. Why? Because they mess with me and cause me to see how much I need to change in order to be the man I am supposed to be (and really the man I want to be).

One of these sections is found in the letter to the church in Ephesus - the section about how husbands are supposed to love their wives (chapter 5). Take a minute to read this. Here are the highlights......

I am commanded to love my wife like Jesus loved the church. Notice the statements that Paul makes to illustrate what this looks like:

I must give myself up for her; my needs are really secondary to her needs. I have to spend time thinking about her needs, understanding her needs and filling her needs. (Note this means needs not wants. This also is sometimes tough to figure out...)
I need to be about the work of helping her cleanse sin from her life.
I need to be about the work of making her more holy; not just rooting out the sin, but also aiding in replacing it with behaviors that lead her toward Godliness. I need to helping her become "radiant"; holy and blameless.
I need to love her like I love myself, which necessitates that I spend as much time thinking about her as I do myself. It also means that I need to feed her and care for her (physically AND spiritually).

You know what frustrates me even more - my wife is not directed to to any of this. She is not directed to love me like herself. She is not directed to think about me and my physical and spiritual life. She is not directed to aid me in my holiness. Her only directive is to follow: respect and submit (OK, that is hard too...).

I am DIRECTED to be the SPIRITUAL leader in my family. I am directed, and therefore will be held accountable for, leading my wife into Godliness. She still has a choice to make in the matter, but I CANNOT relegate this to someone else or another organization (for example her Bible study leader if she has one or to the church and its programs). I, ME, MYSELF will be responsible for this.

Notice one more thing - there are NO conditions on this directive. Paul puts no caveats or exception clauses in this section. Whether you like your wife or not, whether there are warm fuzzies between you, whether she meets your physical, sexual or emotional needs - no matter how you feel, you still are directed to love her and think of her spiritual well being.

This messed with my mind the past few days. Wrestle with what God is telling husbands in this passage. Put yourself up to the light of this truth and ask: Am I really thinking about my wife and her welfare? Am I leading her in a path toward Godliness? Do I spend more time thinking about me and my needs and expect her to fill them?

Guarantee it will mess with you...........

PS: Wives, you will be held accountable for how you follow. Think about that too!

2011-01-17T08:04:00.002-05:00

A friend of mine from church got some pretty bad news last week - his 8 year old daughter has cancer. Obviously the news came to mom and dad as a total shock and set their world spinning. As I read their emails and updates on the daughter's care page, my heart was broken for this family and for this young girl. The pain of seeing what their daughter has to go through and not really knowing what the future holds is incredible.

Deep down inside, when we see things like cancer, we understand that this is not right; something is wrong with this picture. This is not the way it is supposed to be. Something is messed up.

These emotions spring from our built in understanding that this is not the way that God created the planet to work. He created it with beauty and perfection; not with the ugliness and ravages of imperfect cancer cells. He created it with life; not death and destruction. We don't have to "drum up" these emotions; we intuitively understand the gap between what is and what should be; the gap between the design of beautiful perfection and ugly sin.

The apostle Paul talks about these emotions in his letter to the church in Rome. He says this:

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved....

Nature groans. We groan. We groan while we wait for this sin filled world to be bought back (redeemed) and restored to perfection; to a place where God himself in the incarnate Messiah will dwell Himself. Looking forward to that day, waiting for this world as our bodies to be made new again, give us hope and allows us to be delivered (saved) from the overwhelming pain that these types of situations bring.

Join me today praying for Sydnie and praying "maranatha" - even so Lord Jesus come; come and redeem this sin cursed fallen world and her body. Come and deliver her from the effects of sin - heal her body.

2011-01-10T19:27:00.002-05:00

A new year. Time for a fresh start. Time to assess, analyze, re-prioritize and make some changes. It is always good to think about your life's trajectory, the habits you have formed, the things that bug people around you that you have been too lazy to do anything about, etc.

I find that the beginning of the year is a good time to do this, a good time to take account of the things that I do in my life. I mentally put them in a scale and analyze if they are redemptive, in line with what God would have me do. I find that often there are things that I do that are not redeeming. There are things that I spend my time on that really don't move me forward in my pursuit of fullness of life in Christ. When I identify them, I have to be intentional about confessing them and through the power of the Spirit, open myself up to change.

Join me in my pursuit of this. Make this a year when you identify something in your life and commit to the process of change.

2010-12-26T09:16:00.002-05:00

Had a great Christmas day with the family. We spent all day together - opening presents, playing games and doing a bon-fire. The day ended with watching a movie or basketball. All in all, it was a great day.

My children are older now so they are able to earn their own money and purchase their own gifts for us. It was fun to see them prepare, purchase, wrap and watch as their siblings and parents opened their gifts - the gifts that they had bought with their own money.

I have noticed that, as a family, we seem to enjoy giving gifts and giving to others. Watching the excitement in my kids eyes as I opened the gifts that they had purchased for me, confirmed that the joy of giving gifts is something that is deep in our souls.

On Christmas Eve I was thinking about gifts and giving. I know that a portion of Christmas has been distorted by materialism - by the desire to receive. However, I believe that one of the essences of Christmas is giving. John 3:16 confirms this: for God so loved the world that He gave..... Christmas, at one of its roots, is about giving. God giving. Jesus giving. Mary and Joseph giving. Paul reminds us of the words of Jesus - it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35). He adorned this virtue with His whole life.

The joy of giving is a reflection of God that is written within our souls. We experience joy when we give because we are reflecting His character, His actions, His image. When we give, we feel joy. We pursue that. We earn money, spend time thinking about what someone would like, drive around shopping and getting the gift - because we desire to see the joy of watching our beloved open the gift, seeing the joy in their eyes, experiencing their joyous hug. It is a great feeling!

I think that this is a joy that God feels when we receive his gifts to us. I believe that He wants us to feel this. I believe that He wants us to give us away so that we can feel this. It is part of His nature that He wants to become part of our nature - giving.

PS - It is not his intent that we seek the feeling of joy - it is a by-product of an action, not something that we should seek in an of itself. It is His intent that we give ourselves away and in giving, experience the result: joy.

2010-12-19T12:23:00.004-05:00

Was reflecting this morning on the life of Jesus. Being Christmas, we are focused on his birth; his advent from the presence of God to earth; his beginning as a child of poor parents. All this is definitely worthy of reflection - the wonder of it is beyond comprehension.

What entered my mind as I was thinking of his birth, was his life. He lived thirty years of life before he started his public ministry. He grew up with his brothers and sisters, probably went to the local school (synagogue), helped his dad out with chores around the house, washed dishes with his mom - grew up as a kid. Yes, there is one "breakout" that are recorded about his childhood (his parents leaving him in Jerusalem at a feast and him reasoning with those in the temple), but other than that, we don't have much.

It appears that he was quite a student. He was referred to as "teacher" a few times in his public ministry and was even allowed to read in the synagogue on a Sabbath (usually reserved for traveling rabbis). Not much else is known or recorded about his life - which means to me that it was pretty ordinary as lives go.

Thirty years. Thirty years of growing in favor with God and man. Thirty years of walking in obedience. Thirty years of learning more about his Father in heaven. Thirty years of understanding how to listen to the Spirit of God and follow. Thirty years of dealing with bullies, talking to hurting people, playing with his friends, listening and counseling to his neighbors, teaching the younger kids around him about God - living life.

And then. And then there was a break out. And then he started his public ministry which lasted less than three years. Thirty years of growing up; thirty years of investment and then a few short months of ministry. (Mind you the most important ministry in the world, as humanity hung in the balance.....)

The ordinariness of Jesus life, the obedience year after year, the growing in faith and knowledge - struck me. So often I separate normal life and ministry. So often I look for that "one big thing" that I am to do with my life and I look over the preparation. I believe that I am, that we, are being prepared for ministry (think Esther....). Perhaps it will be a huge "break out", perhaps it will a point in time when someone crosses our path that needs us to minister to them: I don't know what it will be. However, I do know several things:

1. It will happen. We have been commanded to minister and the opportunities will present themselves.
2. It probably will not happen on my time frame (especially mine because I am impatient).
3. I need to be ready when it comes.
4. I need to be watching, no intently looking, for opportunities and seize them when they come.
5. I need to be about the work of preparation - KNOWING that an opportunity to minister is going to come.

2010-12-14T13:15:00.004-05:00

I still am having a hard time getting over some of the language that Paul uses in his letter to the church at Ephesus. A good chunk of chapters 4 and 5 speaks to our relationship with others in the church and our relationship with those outside the church. In this section, he uses pretty emphatic phrases such as "let no" (4:29) "there must not be a hint" (5:3), "be very careful" (5:15; vs. be careful); coupled with a whole lot of "do not"s.

One of the points he is trying to make here is the distinction between those that call themselves children of God and are part of His family, and those that are not. Basically - if you call yourself a son of God, if you have been adopted into the family (chapter 1), then you should behave in a certain way. The behavior of a son of God should be distinct from the world around you.

Potential pitfall: Paul is not saying behave this so that you can be identified as a child of God, he says behave this way BECAUSE you are a child of God. This type of behavior is a natural artifact of being a son of God (see Gal 5:22-25 for the evidences of the Spirit being in us).

Here is my challenge.......... As I look through the instructions of Paul relative to how I am supposed to relate to the world around me (not partner with it; v. 7: expose darkness; v. 11) and how I really relate to the world, I see a disparity. If I am honest, there are times, lots of times, when in some way I "partner" with the world and fall into the deception that it will give me something in return (5:6). It is hard work to ferret out all the ways that I am entangled - even just a little bit - in the ways that the world says to behave vs. the way God wants me to.

The more I am entangled, the more I do not behave as "light". The more I am entangled, the less I look like a son of God. The more I am entangled, the more I look like the everyone else in the world and the luster, the glow, the radiance of God is not evident in my life (which means that others cannot see Jesus in and through me).

Paul is challenging me to do the hard work to see where I am entangled, repent and seek forgiveness from God and seek to change. Join me?

2010-12-03T21:43:00.002-05:00

Christmas shopping at the mall. Need I say more?

Well, maybe I do. I loved watching the people. I loved watching the joy on some peoples faces; hearing the laughter and some of the weird Christmas music at American Eagle.

I am trying to work really hard during this season to keep a proper focus. It is hard for me to not move into being a Scrooge when I see what has happened to the season. Perhaps The Grinch said it best - "oh the greed, the avarice". Trying to buy presents for people who really don't need anything is hard work....arghhhh.

I am going to choose to look beyond that this year. I choose to look at the smiles on people's faces which comes from giving to others. I choose to hear the laughter that comes from the joy in peoples hearts. I will pray that the joy that the season brings will help people to understand that giving is an example that Jesus gave us and joy is the Godly result of giving. I pray that people will not just see the Jesus in a manger, but will see the Jesus that wants to give them.

Choose joy with me!!

2010-12-02T11:52:00.003-05:00

I am an engineer. Sad commentary and statement to some, but true. I think with the left side of my brain, I like things orderly (cue the Monk episode), I love straight lines (why waste time and money on curves), I try and optimize every process in life (try it - it will drive your wife crazy) and I love things symmetrical. OK, it is off my chest.

There is a lady in who attends our church - an artist named Glenna. She is not an engineer. She is right brained and loves curved lines. She talks to me about all kinds of weird stuff like colors and shapes and moods set by environments. It really is crazy talk - my left brain doesn't comprehend!

The beautiful thing about Glenna is that she is persistent in her message. After observing her art work and listening to the stories of those who attend our church (which has a kid friendly atmosphere), I now understand (and value by the way) what she is talking about. I understand that when a kid walks into a place that has trees, park scapes, benches, tastefully bright colors: something will happen in their spirit (as well as their parents). They will intuitively understand that they are valued, that someone is thinking about them, that this just might be a place where they will learn some fun things. It opens the door for them to learn.

The physical atmosphere is only a part of the total package - the relational atmosphere is huge! If you do not have people that care, if you do not have people that are excited, if you do not have people that take the time to develop some sort of safe relationship, the physical atmosphere is all for naught. Kids and people will flow to care and be ready to learn.

I believe that atmosphere is also important for parents. They need to understand that you value them and their children. The parents will understand that you will really care for their kids if you really care for the environment they are in - the two go hand-in-hand.

Think of going to a restaurant that has a great atmosphere and lousy service/food - you don't go back. Think of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has GREAT food but is dirty and greasy - you won't be back.

Environment is important. It is not the message, but is sets the tone for the learner to hear the message. Take it from an engineer.....

2010-11-23T14:19:00.002-05:00

Listened to a talk by Chris Wright from Langham partnership from the Cape Town 2010 Conference (see http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/detail/11556 if you are interested). His basic premise was that one of the greatest inhibitors to the world wide spread of the gospel is the lack of obedience and the idolatry of the church - Jesus body. He reviewed how this happened to Israel in the Old Testament and how we are sliding into idolatry of various forms (my comments: position, building projects, ways of doing church, etc.).

I have been reading and studying in Ephesians 4. The precursor to this section is chapter 2:

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

We, as a collective group called the church, are a dwelling place of God. We are a living, growing vibrant dwelling where God lives through His Spirit! THAT is amazing!

He then comes to chapter 4. I found it interesting that in this chapter he jumps between a couple of main themes - personal issues and living within the community of the church. I think what he is trying to teach me is that the statements relative to personal issues; the charge to change personally and live a life worthy of the calling your have received (4:1), is only useful when placed in the context of the church community. Paul instructs us to personally change so that we can have a positive, building, life giving impact on the community of believers.

Note a couple of examples:

²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

The directive is to stop stealing. Why? He does not say so that you will be a better testimony (although that is true). He does not say stop stealing so that you will not get in trouble with your boss or be arrested (although this might also be true). He says not to steal so that you can contribute to the community; so that you can share with God's people who are in need (see Romans 12).

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

The directive is to not "waste words" (unwholesome talk) but only speak life giving words. Why? To build up, to benefit those that hear you. To strengthen the community around you.

If you read through this chapter, you will see how Paul jumps from personal directives that will help a person be more holy, to the reason for this: building up the community called the church. We are to be holy, so that we can help others. Period. We are not to be holy so that we can gain some advantage; so that we can curry some favor with God: we are to be holy so that we can help others be holy so that the "temple of God"; the dwelling place of the Spirit of God; his church; will be beautiful.

Just think of how attractive that would be to a world who is looking for hope, for love, for grace, for spiritual direction. Just think if we really set our minds to being holy and then intentionally looked to build others up, how drawing that would be!

Again, I find that God is calling me to change my mindset from me, to others. Again I see that the purpose for my holiness is not me, but others. Again I see that the path of blessing is giving and not getting.

You would think that I would have that one down by now.........

2010-11-21T12:23:00.003-05:00

Worked yesterday to install some insulation to keep the cold out and the warmth in - winter is pending and yesterday was a nice day (at least weather wise) to do some of that kind of work. I had to work with some wood to stabilize a floor area, some metal (picking it up) and fiberglass insulation.

In the process of working on this, I some how got a small sliver in my pointer finger. I did not realize that I had it until a few hours later. I could tell that something was there - confirmed by the feeling my pointer finger with my thumb. The sliver just barely stuck out; but I could feel it. I could see the small black spec in my finger, but I could not pull it out with my other fingers or with my teeth (I know - yuk - but I was sitting in the stands at a football game and did not have access to tweezers).

After a while I forgot about it, until it rudely reminded me this morning that it was there. It was kind of red and inflamed and was sore to the touch. My body knew that this was a foreign object and it was working to protect itself.

I asked my wife to pull it out with her tweezers. OUCH, it really hurt when she tried. We picked at it with a needle, I squeezed it hard and she was finally able to pull it out as i was wincing in pain. While she was helping me, she made a statement - it is funny how something so small can produce so much pain. A very interesting statement..........

I immediately thought of an event in the Garden of Eden - a small bite of a piece of fruit which produced cataclysmic results: death to the human race.

I really believe that this is true in our existence. Seemingly small sins can produce a large amount of pain. A harsh word. A wrong touch. A pattern of small indiscretions. A lack of action. These are small things that can result in huge tremors in relationships. The small slivers of life - things that are out of place - can cause much pain if they are not immediately removed.

The question that I have to continually ask myself about my heart, my actions, my speech, my attitudes, my direction: is there anything out of place; any slivers that I need to remove..

2010-11-15T10:48:00.004-05:00

Here we are on the first day of firearms dear hunting season. Wow. Where has the year gone! Soon there will be snow and shoveling of the driveway; the warmth of a fireplace on a cold and windy day - good things to look forward too!

Spent some time with another church last week - talking and working through some issues with them; hopefully helping them see a better way to use the resources God has given them.

I know that this should not surprise me, but it surprised me the resistance to really even think through what a different way of ministry would look like. I know, I know. People don't like change. People like to stay where they are at (or else they would have moved a long time ago). There is comfort in staying the same.

Two things happened in my spirit. First, I was reminded of the Israelites after they left Egypt. They wanted to go back. The journey through the desert and rocky crags of Midian and the Sinai was hard (OK, classic understatement - it was extremely difficult for a people who were not nomadic by upbringing to suddenly become nomadic). Although the desert and rocky crags were a place of blessing; a place where God showed up time after time in a miraculous way; they wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt, just so they could have some food. Never mind that slavery was hard; never mind that Pharaoh had slaughtered their children; never mind that the task masters over them were instructed to treat them harshly. It was a known place and it had some side benefits. They did not want to change; they did not want to walk the journey to a better place that God had for them.

Secondly, how hard it is for me to change. I get into a rhythm of life that I like. I settle into a way of existence that is probably not the best thing for me, but it is comfortable and known and not bad. The last line is the killer - not bad. Not the best, not good for me; just not bad. I find that if I settle too long in places like this, they become rooted in my fabric and I buck against change.

Here's the problem. I kind of like myself. There are always some things that I want to change, but really not bad enough to do anything about it. I think that is why it is so hard to change. Unless the value of change exceeds the amount of pain I will experience if I stay the same, I tend to stay the same.

This is where humans differ from animals. We can choose to change - even if the apparent pain is not greater than the perceived value of change; even if we change for a future return. We have the ability to understand "investment" - paying for change now for a future better state. We can look at a circumstances and decide to and make a plan to change.

And the beauty of it all is that God gives us of His Spirit to help us!!!!

2010-10-31T07:57:00.004-04:00

Hard to believe that October is ending today. Where has the year gone.......

Was surfing through the radio channels this morning and landed temporarily on a program about "happiness". Now normally I would turn it over right away, but I was lured in for a few moments by a guy talking about Jacob and his wrestling with the angel (see Genesis 32):

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

He commented on the last sentence of this section. He said that as he traveled through life, he has learned a perspective of not letting go of a painful circumstance until he learned what the blessing was; he would not let himself mentally move on from a trying situation in his life unless he learned what blessing God wanted him to learn through it. A very mature view of life.

My mind was immediately drawn to James 1 - consider it a joy when you face trials because the testing of your faith is intended to bring completeness, maturity, wholeness (my abbreviated version of James 1 mind you; read it for yourself to see the whole context).

It seems though, the rest of culture is set up for pleasure and pain avoidance. Advertisers proclaim "you deserve a break"; vacations are billed as "escapes", pharmacists dispense drugs to help us avoid pain (not all bad mind you, but when we seek a pill for everything....), etc., setting itself in direct conflict with this perspective.

What if, instead of trying to escape pain and uncomfortable situations, we embraced them as learning experiences? What if we had the perspective of "I will not leave this situation until I have figured out the blessing that God has for me"? I think that we would be a bit more desirous of walking through pain instead of around it, less likely to run away from pain and a bit more like Jesus.

2010-10-27T08:38:00.003-04:00

I know that I am in a dry period in my life when I have nothing to say; when nothing is moving or over flowing from my heart.

This is one of those periods.......

I define dry periods as when I am not personally experiencing fullness of life, which results in the overflow of life to others. It is not that I have nothing to say (because i like to talk!), it is that I have nothing meaningful to say; nothing that comes deep from my heart as an overflow of what I am learning from God. I feel robotic - going through the motions of life; more of a survival mode than a living mode. The dry periods cause me to be emotionally "monotone" - no real ups, no real downs, just -----------.

It is during these time I really don't want to talk to people - not because I don't like them, but because i believe that I have nothing that will actually minister to them.

Before I depress you too much, I know what I need to do. David, the greatest King of Israel, went through these times (read some of his song lyrics in the Psalms). Jeremiah has the title of "the weeping prophet" and recorded a portion of this life in a book called "Lamentations" (not a "upper" book).

It is times like these when I have to plug back into the true power source; when I have to spend some time being and not doing (which is hard for a type A person); where I have to be still and listen for the voice of God through his Word, through the outflow of others people's hearts (songs and readings) and simply to allow the Spirit to minister to my spirit.

People say that ministry is hard - taxing on the spirit because your job is to constantly give yourself away to others. In reality, this is true for every believer.

When you find yourself dry, reconnect with God on a heart level (not just a mind level), weep over the things that Jesus weeps over, rejoice over the things that Jesus rejoices over and be still and listen.

2010-10-21T14:08:00.003-04:00

We have been working through Ephesians as a church over the past few weeks. In his letter to the church, Paul spends about 15% of the letter (OK I am an engineer, cut me some slack on the statistics....) talking about how the Jew and Gentile are now one church. He makes a special point with the Gentile believers about being part of the family vs. aliens, foreigners, separate and excluded.

The amazing part of this section to me is what Paul tells the church about their mission:

His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms..... (3:10)

Instead of Israel being the agent of God, the church, this marvelous amalgamation of those who knew and practiced the law, who were instrumental in God's plan to make Him known to the world (the Jews) and those who were "far off", whose religious practices included temple prostitution, riotous living, adultery, etc. (see II Cor. 6:9), is the agent. The church is now the agent to bring the testimony of God to the world and to those in the heavenlies. To reveal to the universe the grace of God, the love of God and the redeeming nature of God. The church!

An awe inspiring task if you ask me!

Sometimes I look at the church (which includes me by the way) and wonder why God chose it as the agent to adorn Him. Fighting, lack of focus, sectarian, judgmental, petty; are all words that come to mind when you ask people about the church. Not a really good agent sometimes....

The reality is that God has chosen the church. Period. There is not a Plan B. The church. Period. God has NO OTHER PLAN. So instead of getting down about the state of the church, I chose to look forward and say we must improve, we must be the kind of place that is attractive to people who don't know Jesus. Not attractive because of gimmicks or entertainment, but attractive because Jesus is lifted up (remember John 12:32) by obedience to His commands and a passion for people like He had!

As part of the church, I am part of the design of God to represent him to the universe. WOW! I probably ought to move beyond the amazement phase and really start having this impact my life. I need to think, talk, act, go places, etc. that represent whose I am and what I am charged with. Not to look and dress like an idiot, but to be the kind of person that every can see that I am different in my walk, talk, direction of life, finances, etc.

2010-10-15T21:36:00.005-04:00

We were studying Nehemiah in our leadership gathering on Friday. One of the first settings is Hanani, Nehemiah's brother, coming back from a trip to Jerusalem. Nehemiah inquired about the condition of the people there that had returned from exile in other kingdoms. The report from Hanani: they are in trouble and they are disgraced.

Nehemiah's response teaches me something......he wept (in fact it records that it impacted him for several days). His heart was broken over the condition of his homeland. Mind you, a homeland that he most likely had never been to, that his parents and probably his grandparents had probably never been to either. And he still wept - remarkable.

I think this is the first step in change - my heart has to break; I have to weep over the situation; I mean really weep; really be broken. Only then I will really understand, deep down in my soul, that something needs to change. Only then will I be energized to make the change that needs to be made.

I guess the question is what does my heart need to break for? I am reminded of Jesus words as he looked over the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives - O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matt 23:37). How this must have broke his heart - he longed for them to hear him; they were not willing. I think this is where God wants my heart to break. Jesus gave us a command - go into all the world and teach others about him.....

My heart has to break for the world around me; then my behavior will change.

2010-10-11T21:06:00.004-04:00

Attended a funeral today for a man who was the father of a friend of mine. I knew Bernard from the late 70's.

This man had been a soldier, a husband, a father, a grand father and a pastor. What struck me the most is that this man had been ministering to people for 60 years; faithfully serving smaller congregations, families, couples and individuals. He had been there through the good times and the bad times, through times when there was joy - the birth of a new child, a marriage, graduation - and through times when there was sorrow - relational stresses, death of a child, a marriage that dissolves, health issues. He spoke at my high school graduation and was near the Fisk family a few days later when their daughter, who just graduated, drowned at a graduation party.

He saw many things and carried many burdens with people through his 60 years of ministry. Up until the end of his life, he was ministering to people at the assisted living place he was staying. He talked to me a few times about visiting an old neighbor of mine who was living in the same place he was. His desire to care and pastor and to teach the words of life from the scriptures never left him.

Thanks Bernard, for a life example of faithfulness. Thanks for being true to God and holding forth his words as the word of life. Thanks for a job well done. Rest in peace and enjoy walking with your Savior and your God.

2010-10-08T21:09:00.004-04:00

We studied John 13 in our leadership gathering today - the record of Jesus washing the disciples feet. We looked at a few other events in the journey of Jesus with his disciples.

We looked at a few passages in the relationship between Jesus and his 12 closest disciples (apostles): Matthew 16:13-19, 18:1-4, Mark 9:33-37 and 10:35-45. (If you get a chance, take a look at these passages.) They paint a picture of a group of guys, destined to be the leaders of the new movement called the church, who are fighting and arguing about who is the greatest. It seems that their biggest concern was "who is going to be top dog in the pecking order". In our world, there were arguing about who was going to be the vice-president, the secretary of state, head of the senate, etc. You get the picture that they were focused pretty much only on themselves. Jesus teaching and examples did not seem to make a difference in their thought processes.

They enter the last meal that they are going to have with Jesus before he is crucified and they are still thinking about themselves. They aren't thinking about washing the feet of their fellow travelers.They aren't thinking about common courtesy. (It is the job of the host to provide a servant to do this, lowest of low jobs. There was no official host, so it was left up to someone in the room. They weren't going to do it!)

Put yourself in this situation..... If you were arguing and posturing to be the greatest, there is NO WAY that you would be thinking about washing some one's stinking feet. Well surprise, surprise, surprise - not one of them takes a step toward providing even a common courtesy toward their "friends". They were thinking about themselves.....

So Jesus stands up, takes of his outer garment, puts a towel around his waist and starts washing their feet. He wasn't thinking about himself - he was thinking about them. In 40 days or so, he was leaving the kingdom in their hands - he needed to do something so they would understand that their focus as a leader was to be on others. He tells them this - you have seen me do it, now go do it for others. Not wash their feet, but serve them, focus on them, don't use them for your benefit, lead them for their benefit and their growth.

Am I going to follow the way of the towel or the way of me? Am I going to focus on others or on me? Am I going to serve or seek to be served? Good questions to focus on.....

2010-10-02T20:02:00.004-04:00

Was at a marriage conference this weekend - "Love and Respect". It was a great conference, if you ever get a chance to go, it is well worth it. It has been a very busy time over the past weeks, so my wife and I decided that we needed to dedicate this weekend for this conference, even though it meant missing some kid things.

Whenever we go to marriage conferences, we always end up having pretty intense discussions.(Isn't that one of the reasons we are supposed to go?) These discussions usually end up talking about something that I thought was "under control", but really isn't. I guess that I always think that I am farther along than I think I am. it kind of stinks to know that I still have lots of room to improve in my relationship with my wife - how I treat her, how I understand her, how I relate to her.

This really is a reflection on my whole spiritual life. I think that I am farther along than I am; I think that I am more holy than I am; I don't really realize how much I need to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus. It is always good to be humbled. It doesn't feel good, but it is necessary. It keeps me understanding that I need God and I need Him to deliver me from sin every day.

2010-09-23T08:41:00.004-04:00

Had an opportunity to do a wedding last weekend. I love to do weddings; it is one of my favorite things to do as a pastor. People are excited, there is joy on people's faces, old friendships are rekindled, relatives are seen that have not been seen in a while - it is just a time for celebration!

As I was thinking about what to say at the wedding, my mind was drawn to the mystery of relationships and the mystery of marriage. Agur, one of the contributing authors of Proverbs, wrote this:

"There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:

the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a maiden.

How these four all relate together is a bit mysterious to me (especially the snake on the rock one), but I totally understand the last one. Because I meet with the couple for several times before the ceremony, I get to watch their love develop and see the mystery of the way with a man with a maiden. I love it!

I think that God and this author have something to say about the mystery of a committed relationship. There is something that happens in a relationship of marital commitment. Not just a commitment to live together; not just a commitment to share physical intimacy; not just a commitment to share finances - a commitment to a life long, a "I am giving myself totally and only to you" relationship with each other. I watch how the way of a man with a woman and the way of a woman with a man develops as they move toward marriage - they understand, and most take very seriously, that they are committing their lives to one another; that this is an "all in" kind of thing. Watching that deep love of commitment develop is truly a mystery!!!

The second mystery that still amazes me is the "two become one" thing (see Matthew 5). I was always taught that 1 + 1 = 2. The mystery of marriage is that 1 + 1 = 1. Have NO clue how that happens, or frankly even a small understanding of what that means, but I know that it is true because God said it and Jesus confirmed it when he was on the earth.

I have been married for 26+ years and there are times when I don't feel like my wife and I are "1"; I sometimes feel we are two separate people. However, when my heart and her heart are knit together on a topic, when my mind thinks about not what is best for me what is best for us, when our actions, although with different approaches, are unified - then I get a glimpse of the glory of what oneness of soul can be like with someone. And guess what, I like that oneness....Still a mystery to me how this supernaturally is accomplished and I know my mind is too small to figure it out, but I can enjoy the fruits of it!!!!

2010-09-14T10:27:00.002-04:00

I have not written anything about the political realm in this forum - there are plenty of places out there that will address political issues that are there for your reading enjoyment! However, I heard something on the radio this morning about government finances and I felt compelled to write this.

Question: how long can we continue to operate outside of Biblical principles as a nation and stand? How long can we mortgage our future, spend more than we take in, have no savings for a rainy day and rob from one account to spend in another account and still be viable as a nation?

The words from Paul's letter to the church at Galatia ring in my ears: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. he one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Gal 6:6-8 NIV). The answer to my question above - not forever or God is a liar (and I know that is not true).

It boggles my mind that every financial planner, every Biblical concept of money, teaches you to spend less than you make, give some money away to charity and save the rest for times when you need funds. That is NOT the example that our government is setting for us.

What if, from a Democrat Party perspective, instead of trying to tax the rich to give to the poor a vision of what helping others who are less fortunate was painted and celebrated. Remember WWII, Katrina and 9/11 - when there are problems in this nation, people respond. Instead of creating divisiveness and sects, what if the Democrats starting telling story after story after story of life change as a result of helping your brother in need, instead of demanding that you help?

What if, from a Republican Party perspective, instead of trying to push against the Democrats they talked about how a CEO can use the resources he has been given to create more jobs, to create homeless training programs, to aid in job training programs. What if a culture of giving was set forth as a vision and celebrated, instead of a culture of greed and self indulgence.

What if every one started talking about fiscal responsibility - spending only what we have? What if we limited the size of government and government became a cheerleader not an overlord, not trying to have government solve all the problems, but LEADING in a way to paint visions of what responsible living can look like? What if they engaged the creativity and heart of the American people in solving problems and stopped putting roadblocks up?

OK, enough whining. But I truly, truly, truly believe that if we don't begin, once again, to operate on Biblical principles, we will not be around much longer and our influence to speak to a lost and dying world about Jesus will be gone. To use a picture of the churches in the first part of Revelation, God will remove our lamp stand and the light that comes from it.

2010-09-13T09:38:00.005-04:00

OK, this is going to be a long one. I wrote this letter to a pastor in Ukraine. It flows out of my desire to help him focus his energy in leading a church over there. it also challenged me to focus my energies. Here goes...........

I have been thinking about a couple more things that have sharpened my focus at Ada. I have been asking myself the question – what is the purpose of the church as an organization? A lot of answers to that question came to my mind. To help the poor, to feed the hungry, to give praise to God, to worship together, to evangelize, etc. I then began to think about it in these terms: when I stand before God, what is he going to judge me, one of the leaders of His church, on? What are his commands to me as leader of the church? What am I supposed to accomplish so I can hear the words “well done pastor” from my Savior’s lips?

As I have been reviewing the directives in the New Testament, there are tons of commands for individual believers – how they are to relate to God, how they are to relate to other believers and how they are to relate to non-believers. In fact, a vast majority of the commands are given to guide the behavior of individual believers in their relationships with others. There are a few commands that are given to church leaders and most of these are found in the letters to Timothy and Titus.

The more that I think and read scripture about this the more I believe that when I stand before God, I will have to give an account as a pastor for the following things:

Did I teach people how to do the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11)?Also, did I release my congregation to do the work of the ministry.It does no good to train them if I don’t release them to do the work and then celebrate with them what God is doing through them?
Did I teach people how to be mature in their walk with Christ (Eph 4:12); not only the facts about Christian living (knowledge), but also modeling Christ-like behavior in my day-to-day activities, praising someone when they behaved like Christ and teaching people what a practical faith looks like (for example, when someone is not behaving in a Christ-like way, do I sit down with them, help them understand how God would want them to behave by showing them scripture and then teach them what this could/should look like)?
Did I keep them from false teaching (I Tim 1:3; 4:1-11,13) and teach them the Word of God; not my opinion, not my views on life, but the Word of God?
Did I set an example for the believers of what Christ-like behavior was supposed to be (4:12)?
Did I direct the affairs of the church well (5:17)?
Was I impartial in my work and teaching within the church (5:21)?
Have I entrusted the work to faithful men who have entrusted it to faithful men (II Tim 2:2)?
Do I remind and warn those in my care (2:14)?
Do I teach, rebuke, correct and train to equip my congregation (3:16-17; 4:1-2; Titus 2:13)?

Notice what this list does not contain. It talks nothing about feeding the poor. It talks nothing about orphans. It talks nothing about creating community. It talks nothing about gathering the people together to worship. It only talks about discipleship – preparing people to do the work of ministry. That is what we are going to be judged on as leaders of His church – how many people did we equip to do the work of the ministry and what did we teach them.

I realize that this might be a overly simple view of what the church is to be. I understand that in order to equip people to do the work of the ministry that we sometimes have to model certain behaviors such as worship, caring for orphans and feeding the poor; but this is not our core function and never should be. These behaviors SHOULD be a natural reaction to discipleship – the work of the ministry that our congregation members need to be doing IS worshiping, feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, helping the sick, etc. (see Matthew 25:31-46). OUR job is to disciple; their job (and ours as individual believers for that matter; if we don’t model it, then our congregation won’t do it) is to do the work of the ministry.

Sorry about the length of this one. Hope that it helps...

2010-09-10T21:07:00.002-04:00

What a week! The work week ended with a large number of people wearing pink at the Lowell stadium. Great event that took tons of planning and work to get it set up, execute the event and tear it down (that's tomorrow). I am always amazed at what can happen if people put their minds, hearts and hands to it.

Puts me to shame though. I have the greatest command, the greatest God and the greatest gift in the whole world and sometimes I don't put forth the energy that I should to tell others. It is easy to become complacent; easy to let others do it; easy to just write in blogs.....

In Genesis 11, Moses recorded the commentary of God on the Tower of Babel. This was his comment: "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them." The people were bent on evil, so God scattered them so they could not build their tower to the heavens.

A friend of mine uses this for his business seminar - if your employees have one language, one focus and work as one, then there is nothing that cannot be done. This should be true of the church - we have one focus (or more appropriately one command) and one God - there is nothing we should not be able to do.

Unfortunately, it seems like we lose the focus we are supposed to have and focus on other things. I am not sure that when we stand before God to give account of our activities he is going to worry about what our church buildings looked like, what kind of carpet we selected, how many different ministries we had, how many we had attend our services, even how many of the poor we fed. He is going to ask us did we obey his commission to us - did we go and make disciples, did we use all our energy, were we totally focused, did we use our head, heart and hands to make disciples.

Something to think about and work at........

2010-08-29T09:52:00.002-04:00

I was talking to a friend on Friday over lunch. He was relating to me how he drove over the other side of the state to make a hospital visit. It was six hours of driving for a 30 minute conversation. He talked about how he was so glad that he went and how he was able to be with this woman and her husband just before surgery, comforting them, praying with them, being with them in a time of uncertainty.

He asked a question that surprised me. "I wonder how much of that visit was selfish and how much of it was selfless?" He went on to explain that he had been thinking about if going traveling this distance, of meeting with this woman was about making him feel significant and good than it was for her. He confessed that some of that was probably in his motives somewhere.

I began to think about this. How much of what I do, think and feel is really about me and not about God and others? I thought of an experiment that I do not want to do - take a piece of paper and make three columns. One column titled "Selfless Things", the second titled "Selfless/Selfish Mix Things) the last column titled "Selfish Things". My fear if I did this experiment is that I would have a very small list in the first column (if anything), hopefully a longer list in the middle column and probably a very long list in the last column.

The fact that I came to this conclusion troubled me. I have walked with God for many years, I pursue a relationship with him, I try intentionally live a life that is Godly, I try and use my finances to help others, blah, blah, blah. That what it felt like: blah, blah, blah.

I was struck with two things during this mental exercise:

First, the whole sin thing is pervasive IN ME. I mean, it has a huge foothold on me - even though I think that I am a pretty good person. When I really understand my heart and really look at my motives, I really am not a good person. I am selfish a LOT of the time - even in the midst of acting to be selfless, some selfishness creeps in. Someone said it this way - we all draw from a polluted well. Paul said it this way in a letter that he wrote to a church in Rome - the things that I want to do I don't and the things that I don't want to do I do (see Romans 6-8).

Second, God is EXTREMELY gracious. Even when one of his children is not where He wants them to be - even when I act for myself a ton of the time, He still loves me, works with me, cares for me and wants my best. He is NOT waiting for me to sin so that He can whack me. The death of Jesus took care of all the punishment for my sin. He is though, working, moving, trying to help me, through His Spirit, to root out the sin junk in my life.

All the more reason to worship Him....

2010-08-23T19:48:00.003-04:00

It is funny how God uses so much in nature to teach us lessons. Not really that funny I guess; He designed it so He could illustrate how things work. Kind of like living parables.

I was doing some work in my yard tonight. I have some areas in my yard that are more crabgrass than they are grass. It seems almost pandemic this year. I mix weed killer in a tank sprayer so that I can treat only the areas that have weeds.

As I was spraying areas that had crab grass, I noticed something: weeds travel in packs. Around the crab grass there was clover, a random dandelions, a bit of buck horn, etc. Rarely was there just one weed or one type of weed. It seems as if the weeds find the weakest spot in the grass and then get a foot hold. The areas where the grass is thick and full and has a good root system, there doesn't seem to be room for weeds.

I know that this is a generalization and there is no guarantee that weeds will not form in "good" grass, but it seemed to be a pattern in my yard.

As I pondered this, it seemed to be a reflection of sin in our lives - it kind of travels in packs. This may say more about how we let sin into our lives than it does about sin itself. When we open the door and allow a sin in, we don't "close the door". It's as if we are inviting sin in.... With the door open, other sins start to walk in and take residence. They are always outside the door waiting to get in. When they see opportunity, they come in. (The scars of the old nature leave us highly susceptible to the return of sin.)

How do we weed sin out of our lives? First we have to recognize it as a weed. Easier said than done sometimes. Second, we have to do the work of rooting it out. This really is the work of God, but our role in rooting out sin is confession (see I John 1:9). This last step is the where the time is spent. Recognition/confession, recognition/confession, recognition while the weed is growing/confession, recognition of the weed seed/confession: repeat.......

2010-08-16T16:13:00.007-04:00

Read a troubling article this afternoon about youth and the church. The fact that struck me was that in 2007 a study showed that 70% of 18-22 year olds are abandoning the church.

I have been struggling with this with my kids. My oldest is 21 and in her 4th year at college, with an 18 year old not too far behind. I work at a church and have grown up in the church, so this next statement, that I have made to my older kids, has tormented me a bit: "You don't have to go to church, you just need to have a spiritual input into your life".

What I started to realize is that, as a parent, I was "going to church" as a euphemism for "spiritual vitality and growth". By continually pushing going to church, I was missing the real point - you have to connect with God.

This is a fine line to walk as my kids have been developing in their relationship with God. There are things that they must learn - there are facts and knowledge from the scriptures that they have to have. I see no problem with making my 7th (soon to be 8th) grader go to church, go to the Jr High class and attend LifeLine (our church's version of student ministry). However, as my older kids begin to move "out of the nest", I found that I needed to challenge them to begin to make their own spiritual decisions.

After my daughter's first year at college, I recounted how many times I asked her "did you go to church?" I realized that I was nagging her about an activity, not challenging her about where she was getting spiritual input. (I hoped this would be at a church, but it turns out that Campus Crusade for Christ was instrumental in her growth.)

I am thinking that if we want to reach the next generation, we have to be more concerned about guiding them through their spiritual journey PERSONALLY, not relying on an organization called the church to do this. I hope that the church can be a tool in that journey (in fact I am staking a good chunk of my life on it), but what this article tells me that the journey is going to have to start at a different point and take a different path than I and previous generations did. It is going to be a harder path because it is going to take more work, but I think that it will be worth it.

See this link for the article.

2010-08-08T12:16:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago, I removed the sand from the kids sand box with the intent of planting a garden. My youngest daughter and I worked on tilling the garden with a borrowed rototiller. We then planted beans, corn, sunflower, watermelon and squash seeds the week before Memorial Day.

The first thing to pop up were weeds - lots of them. We spent time hoeing and pulling weeds to allow the plants to sprout. After a couple of weeks, the seeds sprouted! It was so cool to watch the expression on my daughter's face as we looked at the sprouts.

Then it was more weeds. Weeds, weeds, weeds. Lots of work to keep the vegetables growing and the weeds down! The sprouts grew, the plants flowered and small beans began to form. It wasn't log before had beans!

The reality is that what I wrote in a a couple of paragraphs took about 60 days of time and many hours of labor. I was reminded of what Paul said to the church in Galatia:

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

We understand this - planting comes first and then harvesting. However, we want the time between harvesting and planting to be measured in minutes, not weeks and months. The reality is that there is a lot of time between the planting and the harvest. Tilling, weeding, hoeing, weeding, keeping the rabbits from eating the plants, thinning the plants, weeding....lots of time and work and THEN there is the harvest.

Paul is enjoining us to believe that we WILL reap a harvest; keep planting, keep weeding, keep the rabbits out - you will reap if you continue to obey. God gave us a garden to illustrate this eternal principle!

(PS Anyone want some tomatoes?)

2010-08-06T20:45:00.003-04:00

Have started studying Joshua. Four times in the first chapter the words "be strong and courageous" are used. Note two of these times....

1:7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

The beginning thought and the end thought of this section are "be strong and courageous". Sandwiched right in the middle is the counsel to be obedient; radically obedient. Be careful to obey ALL the law; do not turn; do not let the law depart from your mouth, do everything written in it.

Remember that 37 years before this command was given, the Israelites had failed to enter the land because of lack of courage. They had wandered for 37 years in the desert until all the men over 20 years old died. God did not want a repeat. They did not want a repeat. They needed courage to be obedient; to move into the land and take it; to be the purveyor of God's justice in a totally evil culture. They needed the strength and the courage to obey; to faithfully obey.

Be strong and courageous: VERY hard to do when the siren song of sin is calling you to move away from God. Radical, 100% of the time, doing everything that God desires obedience is tough. It takes strength of character, it takes sustained courage of conviction - it is just plain hard.

What is God saying to me? What is he asking of me? Do I have the strength to radically obey regardless of the circumstances? Do I have the courage to stand in the face of evil and obey? Do I have the depth of faith to totally obey? Am I strong enough to walk in faith when my emotions tell me to walk another way? Good questions......... Something to pray for and to prepare for - I know that the day that I need to be strong and courageous is coming.

PS Note what the result of radical obedience it: then you will be prosperous and successful. Quite a promise.

2010-08-02T15:21:00.002-04:00

Sorry that it has been while since I have written. Was on vacation for the past two weeks and fully intended to write, but my laptop decided to fritz, so...... (it is fixed now; it was waiting for me when I arrived home).

We traveled to Tennessee to stay for a while in the mountains. We rented a place that was on the side of a foot hill of the Smokies, a few minutes off the main drag.

It was a week of stark contrasts. The place where we were staying was off the beaten path, winding roads, pastoral settings (with the occasional dumpy place thrown in), hills, etc. Not a lot of people around.

It struck me as I drove through the Smoky Mountains, that there is intrinsic beauty in God's creation. Walking through the Smokies and finding waterfalls reminded me that God did us a HUGE favor by creating such a beautiful place. What if He had created everything in black and white? What if He had created everything flat? What a boring place this planet would be.

But He didn't. He created and said that it was good. It is good. It is beautiful. It is amazing to see the creativity of His handiwork and understand that he gave me eyes to see this and a place to experience it!

2010-07-06T11:32:00.002-04:00

Had some sad news a while ago. A guy, who has been married to his wife for 30+ years, bailed: moved away, took his "stuff" and left her here.

A little background.....This family has been in our church for over 10 years; Christians even longer. The guy was active in men's ministry events, was in a small group and organized some social events. Bottom line: not a stranger to church or to God's expectations. THIS is why the whole "moving away from my wife" thing bothered me.

I had a chance to talk to the guy about this decision. My words to him were "You know what you need to do. You know what God wants you to do. It is going to be hard. It is going to take time. You have to live by faith and believe that when God asks you to do something, it will be the best: not the easiest, not the smoothest, but the best. You cannot live by your life solely by what you feel. You have a decision to make either trust God and do the hard work of being a husband or not." His decision was "not".

His decision really troubled me - why would a guy who has been involved in the church and in a relationship with Christ for so long, abandon obedience for what he felt? There are probably a thousand answers to that question (too much for me to pontificate here....).

The bigger question is related to me. How many times to I make decisions, think thoughts, or do things based on what I feel I should do? How often do I act on a gut feeling or an emotion, instead of being obedient to what God commands or desires? I know this happens more than I would like it to.

I KNOW that if I DON'T have a habit of practicing obedience, even in the smallest of things, I will default to my feelings or me in tight spots. I know that if I am not practiced in obedience and self control, I will not be able to "turn it on" at the appropriate time when I really need it.

The charge: live an "aware" life: aware of those around you, aware of yourself, aware of what God wants you to believe and do. Practice awareness and obedience so that when the big things come up, it will be natural for you to do what God asks you to: even if you don't feel like it.

2010-06-28T08:13:00.002-04:00

I have started reading and thinking through the life of Joshua - the guy who was the second leader of the nation of Israel. He got the job after Moses passed away.

In the opening chapter of the book that records his leadership ventures, the phrase "be strong and courageous" comes up several times (four if I count correctly). If you turn back a few pages to Deuteronomy 31, you will see if pop up again when Moses is talking to the people and to Joshua.

I began to wonder if Joshua was a bit of a scardy cat - I mean over and over again he was instructed by Moses and by God to be strong and courageous.

Remember that Joshua was one of the 12 spies who was sent into to check out the land (see the story in Numbers 13). He and Caleb where the only two that reported to the people that, although the people where beg and their cities walled, God could help them take the land that was promised to them. Doesn't sound like someone who is scared.

Fast forward the clock 37 years. A few battles and a lot of wandering in the desert later, God is instructing Joshua to be strong and courageous. Why? Could it be because the last time they were at the threshold of moving into the promised land they were scared? Could it be the last time God was ready to fulfill His promise to them they shirked back and did not operate in faith? Probably.....

OK, now here is the tough part. How often do I do that? How often do I shirk back from faith, start to worry, move away from belief in God and follow my own path that is paved with my fears? How often do I chicken out and NOT believe what God has to say? More than I care to admit I am afraid.

I believe that I need these words everyday -

Joshua 1:7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

Lord, help me to be strong and courageous today as I encounter situations and circumstances and relationships that are going to try to move me to fear; attempt to move me to not have faith; attempt to move away from you.

2010-06-20T20:28:00.002-04:00

Thought that what I sent to my dad would be a good post....Sorry it is kind of long.

On the occasion of Father’s Day 2010

Dad;

Sorry that I didn’t get a card. I have developed this habit of writing my heart instead of trying to buy a card and then writing it by hand in the card!

I have probably said this before, but I want to repeat it because it is more true know than ever – I am so grateful for the testimony of fatherhood that you have set for me throughout the years. You got up every day, went to work, provided for the family, disciplined us, drove many, many miles to your job instead of moving us and loved mom.

My standard of being a dad has been you and how you fathered me. I know that I have made mistakes; I know that you made mistakes. But I always knew that you loved us and were serving us. I just need to say thank you once again for loving me and setting an example for me.

I was reviewing and thinking about the stories that you and mom were telling as you reviewed the places that you lived. Living near your parents and helping them, living near mom’s grandmother and helping her, buying the farm for your folks – you have lived a lifestyle of service to your parents; a lifestyle that has obediently honored them and who they are. I know that this was pleasing to God and was an incredible example to me. I know that, even though I did not know all of this until recently, the fact that we have built our house the way we did, the fact that our hearts are for caring for those around us and our family is a direct reflection of the example that you set for us. The fact that you are caring for mom the way you are is no surprise to me – it is ingrained in your character to care and serve.

Thank you dad for all that you have done for me and all that you are. That you for setting an incredible example of service motivated from a heart of love. Thank you for showing what true love is – not an emotion, but a dedication to put the needs of others on the same plane as your needs.

I love you dad and thanks.

Sam

2010-06-15T08:38:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was my son's graduation open house - the final step in him moving from high school to a new phase of life. The last 9 months have been filled with "lasts" - the last tennis match, the last high school class, the last basketball game, the last sports banquet (for him), the last time we will see all his buddies together in one place, the last time our house will be filled with teenage boys eating our food and playing basketball in our family room: the emotions are sometimes hard to take. This is the bitter part of the last few weeks.

The sweet part is watching him grow - from a little boy with mud on his clothes, to a young man who has a caring heart and a ton of potential. The excitement about what can be and what will be is sweetness to the soul.

As a dad, this is a huge milestone - releasing your son into a tough world, knowing that he is going to make mistakes, knowing that there are things that he needs to learn, knowing that life is going to hit him sometimes and knowing that you cannot be "the parent" anymore: you have to be the coach.

2010-06-06T08:20:00.005-04:00

I was driving home last night from a graduation open house, minding my own business, when a deer jumped out into the road. Living out in the country like I do, this is not an uncommon occurrence, so I know how to react - hit the brakes, slow WAY down and look for another deer - one of the things that I taught my kids (where there is one deer there is usually another).

Sure enough, another deer popped out of the tall grass on the side of the road. Only this one was a bit different - it was a fawn. It stood about 18" tall and looked like it hadn't grown into its legs. As soon as it saw my car, it stopped and then did something wild - it laid down, drew its legs in and put its head down on the road. It looked like it was trying to curl up into a ball and make itself as small as it could so that it could hide (probably pretty effective in tall grass, but not so much on asphalt).

The fawn's reaction was instinctive. Laying down is what it was wired to do when it sensed danger. It's mom did not teach it that; it's dad didn't draw a diagram, paint a picture or make him practice that - he did it naturally.

It made me ask this question - what do I do instinctively when danger comes? Where do I go mentally? Where do I go emotionally? Where do I go spiritually?

God has hard wired some mechanisms into us to deal with danger. Way back in high school, I learned that when danger comes, human instinct is to either fight or run.

The scripture talks about both of these responses. Paul, in one setting, told Timothy to "flee" from the love of money and youthful desires (I Timothy 6:11, II Timothy 2:22). In another, he told the people of Corinth to flee - to run away from sexual immorality and idolatry. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Corinthians 10:14). These are dangerous things that we are to run from. (You probably want to read the context of the references I gave above so you better understand what Paul was driving at.)

There are other times when we are to stand and fight. James, one of the early church leaders, told us to resist the devil. Paul wrote a complete section of a letter to the church in Ephesus about the armor of God that we need to take on so we can resist the attacks of the devil.

Paul placed dangers into two camps - those that we are to run from and those that we are to fight.

The things we are to run away from are, quite frankly, sins. We are not to dabble in them; we are not to become friendly with them; we are to run away from them - get as far away from them as we can. There is a challenge for me - are there areas in my life that I am flirting with sin? Kind of toying with it? Not being in too deep, but not really running away from it (doing WHATEVER I need to do to stay away from it)? Yeah...............somethings I need to work on there. The Psalmist said it this way - Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me... Psalm 139:23-24

The things we are to fight are attacks from the devil. They will come. Satan is like a roaring lion seeking who may he devour (I Pet 5:8). Doubt, fear, guilt, accusation - these are all attacks from the evil one. We are to fight these given the defensive and offensive weapons God has given us. (Spend a little time in Ephesians 6, in particular verses 10-18. Also take a look at Matthew 4:1-11 and see how Jesus faced the attacks of the Devil.)

As you walk through your day, begin to realize the things that you are to run from and the things that you are to fight. Run hard and fight hard today!

2010-06-04T11:33:00.003-04:00

Have you ever had one of those days, or better yet weeks, where you feel you have taken one step forward and three steps back? A week where it seems like everything you do turns to junk? A week where you look at how you spent your time and feel like it was a waste of time because nothing good seemed to happen?

I know that you have been there. I am there this week. Things that I finished last week were destroyed by something and I have to redo them. Areas that I thought I was making good head way in, seem to be falling to pieces. It kind of depressed and frustrates me and makes me feel like giving up ("what's the use" attitude).

What is hard is that I usually am a very positive person. When these times come they hit me kind of hard because it feels like an extreme move (from a pretty positive to low).

What do you do when you find yourself in these periods in your life?

I try and remember some things:

1. My identity is not fixed in what I do or what I accomplish.
2. My identity is not fixed in what other people think about me.
3. My identity if fixed in Christ - God thinks of me as His son because of what Jesus did for me. He cares what kind of week I am having, but it will NEVER change the way He thinks about me.
4. What do I need to learn through this? Is there anything that I can do different in the future to avoid situations like this? Am I not seeing something clearly? Am I doing something sinful that God wants to point out to me?
5. Is there someone I need to talk to that can aid me in #4?
6. Do I have the right perspective? Does it really matter in the grand scheme of eternity? If no, let it go. If yes, then pray about it.

Mind you, it still doesn't change the circumstances of the week. Life still is hard. However, it helps me frame the week in the proper context - the context of "God is at work in me and through me and He loves me".

Have a great week! (Ha Ha).

2010-05-18T08:30:00.003-04:00

In the midst of a teaching on being a shepherd, Jesus makes this statement in John 10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (v.10)

I had a thought about this passage - when Jesus said that he came to give us life, what was there before he came? If his death gave us life, what was there before his death? By the statements of Jesus, we know that it wasn't life - it was something else.

Let's make this a bit more personal. What did I have before Christ? What did I have before I accepted his death, his substitution, his resurrection and his Lordship in my life? Simply stated: death. Kind of a simple answer and yet the difference between what I had and what I have is profound.

For the first time I can experience life as God designed it!

I had to write that as its own paragraph, because I want you to think about that for a moment. Dwell on it. Understand where you came from (death; or as Paul put it "meaningless existence") and where you are now meaningful existence).

My prayer is that this impacts me and you today as you understand who you are and whose you are.

(BTW, from a macro, worldwide view, if you spend some time in Romans and Galatians, you will have a better clue as to what existed before Christ's death - the law of sin and death. That is a good study to further your understanding of who you are now as a believer in Christ.)

2010-05-17T08:10:00.003-04:00

Was listening to a song on the way into work this morning - not even sure who sings it, but the theme of the song was "you are all I need" (the "you" in the song was God). Great thought in principle - very hard to do practically.

I know that it is true that He is all I need; but it sure seems that I run to other things when I am needy. When my emotions are low, I run to my wife, a couple of hours with an old movie, a nap, etc. When I need love, I run to those around me. When I need affirmation, I look to my job, my bank account, my kids, my wife, my fellow employees, my friends (OK, I can keep going here for a while, but you get the point).

Is He all I need? Yes. Is he all I want? Yes. Do I practice this with any degree of success? Well.....

My problem is that in some areas of my life, God is not my default setting. When I face a tough challenge, sure, but in the day to day, grind it out, what is life going to bring to me today world, He is not always my first choice. When life kind of sneaks up on me, when I am not diligent in paying attention to my soul and my relationship with God, I drift to other default positions.

He IS all I need. He IS sufficient to meet my every need. He IS all that I really, really want deep down in my soul. Now if only my hands would follow that all the time............

2010-05-09T20:24:00.003-04:00

Today is mother's day. I believe that this day will forever by etched in my mind because of what my mom went through in 2009. There are some statements and scenes that I cannot get out of my mind.

Perhaps the most poignant is when my sister and I were driving from the airport to the hospital I asked my sister if she was ready for mom to die. She immediately broke down sobbing "no, I'm not; I am not" in a broken canter; trying to breathe in between sobs.

I wasn't ready either.....

The hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my life, I had to do that day: walk into the hospital room and see my mom near death. I remember pleading with God not to take my mom. I have never prayed so hard in my life. God did not take my mom that day. She lost something physical that day, but we didn't lose her: her personality, her memories, her mind, her wisdom, her humor.

Life is a struggle for her physically now and it probably will be for the rest of her life, but I still have my mom.

These things have forever shaped me and my prayer life. I find myself more angry at the affects of sin, more aware that life is short and fragile

2010-05-02T19:45:00.003-04:00

Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

There are times when I hear verses of scripture that need no commentary - this is one of those. Yes, there is context of a disobedient nation that surrounds these verses, but the principles are still the same.

All that I ask is that you pause and worship the Lord for what He has done for us and what He does for us every day. Thank Him today that through the blood of Jesus, we experience His on-going compassions and mercies.

2010-04-26T08:09:00.002-04:00

Foundation #9 - Replace the bad with the good

My family and I were reading in Luke last night and we came across this passage in Luke 11. In verses 24-26 Jesus talks about an evil spirit leaving a man, the man getting cleaned up and in order and the spirit coming back to reside there again - only this time with 7 of his evil friends. Jesus makes the closing comment: the final condition of that man is worse than the first.

This is a foundational truism: you can't just take away the bad and "clean" yourself up. You have to replace the "bad" with the "good". If the house is left unoccupied, the "bad" will come back with a few of his bad friends and really make a mess (sounds like a bad high school party flick doesn't it).

What does this look like in practice? We see this all the time. After school programs that engage kids in sports or learning activities are started to "keep kids off the street". The program is attempting to fill idle time (which, as the proverb says idle hands are the devil's workshop) with positive activities for the mind and body. The hymn I sang when I was younger - Count Your Blessings - was a statement of looking at the good things that God has given you instead of focusing on the seemingly negative circumstances.

As you work on growing yourself, remember this principle. You cannot tell yourself that you are going to stop a certain negative behavior (watching too much TV, eating too much, etc.) without filling it with something good (serving somewhere, reading the scriptures, taking a class, etc.).

As you train your children (for those of you that have them), when you tell them to "stop doing that", you must also pointing them toward a positive behavior pattern: "let's go do _______" or "what if you were to do _________ instead". Notice that this will take some thinking and creativity on your part, as well as some of your time!!!

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick
#4 Forgiveness is a key to unlocking spiritual growth
#5 Love God, love people
#6 The heart is revealed by what someone says or does
#7 Worrying accomplishes nothing
#8 Trials are an essential part of life

2010-04-03T07:44:00.004-04:00

Have been thinking about something over the past few mornings relative to the mission of the church. I have read a lot of mission statements for churches that basically say this: "our mission is to make disciples". Rooted in the Great Commission that Jesus articulated just before he left the earth (Matt. 28), this is a Biblical directive.

The question I have is "Who was this command given to; to the church as an organization or to individuals?"

Most churches have taken this as a directive to them as an organization. Because of this organizational focus of the Great Commission, I have found most people view their mission as "getting people to go to church". Once they have completed this mission or job, they assume that "the church" will make them a disciple. I have heard statements like "if I can just get them to come to church, then......." and "I have invited them to come to church hoping that the church can help them change". As someone who works at a church, that burden is too much to carry because there is no way the pastor is going to understand and participate in the context of each person's life in order to understand how to disciple them.

I believe that the Great Commission was a personal command - it was given to you and to me. It is our job, as individuals, to introduce our friends and the people in our life circle to Christ and, if they accept Him, to help them understand what living a life that is pleasing to Him looks like. We facilitate this by understanding where they are at, bringing God to light in their life situations and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded.

This puts a whole new spin on the church as an organization doesn't it. If the mission of the church is not to make disciples, what is its mission? Why do we as Christians need to gather together? I believe the church's mission is twofold: equip (Eph. 4:11-12) and encourage (Heb 10:25) individual Christians to make disciples. The mission that Jesus gave believers is hard; we need to understand how to do it, we need to understand how certain commandments apply in certain situations, we need encouragement in staying true to our mission because it is hard and we loose focus, etc. That is why we need to gather and why we need pastors, evangelists and teachers.

Maybe a better mission statement for a church would be "to equip and encourage believers to make disciples". Needs some linguistic work, but the focus is that the church as an organization is to support individual believers as they complete their mission of making disciples.

Thoughts?

2010-04-02T08:40:00.004-04:00

Foundation #8 - Trials are an essential part of life

There are few things in my life that I dread - most of them center around trials that I face; the hardships of life that are caused by my sinfulness, the sinfulness of others or just by the sin in the world. I hate them; they are uncomfortable, they are "hard" (hence the title; duh), they cause pain in my life and in the lives of those around me.

James tells us to count it all joy when you fall into the trials of life (James 1:2). I really don't like this verse; in fact I really don't like this verse at all. It violates something that I feel deep down in me. Everything within my being tells me to run away from trials; avoid them at all costs. James tells me to embrace trials when they come. This is TOTALLY counter intuitive to what I think and feel.

Why? Why should I embrace the pain, the hardship, the junk that comes along with trials? James addresses this too: the testing of our faith works patience; the working of patience forms us into a mature, complete person (James 1:4).

There are only two options for me when I face trials: run from them or embrace them.

Running, running away to escape the pain, can take on many forms. My favorites are buying something - usually something related to computers or electronics - which temporarily distracts me from the pain, or watching old movies about WWII. Other, more extreme escapes are drugs or alcohol that temporarily mask the pain in the soul. The problem with all these forms of escape is that they on temporarily remove the pain and, worse yet, they short circuit the process that trials are supposed to work in me. After a while, our escapes don't work anymore and we must practice our escape more and more to get the same affect or move to a new one. (There is a whole lot that can be written about this one.....we have all seen the affects of an escape mechanism gone awry.)

When trials come my way, I MUST embrace them; walk through them, ask God what I am supposed to learn (James 1:5), look for what God is trying to teach me through it. All trials come to teach me something about me that needs to be rooted out (e.g. a sin pattern) or strengthened (e.g. my faith in what God is doing in me).

I HAVE to walk THROUGH trials; not around them.

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick
#4 Forgiveness is a key to unlocking spiritual growth
#5 Love God, love people
#6 The heart is revealed by what someone says or does
#7 Worrying accomplishes nothing

2010-03-28T12:32:00.003-04:00

Foundation #7 - Worrying accomplishes nothing

I have always been a worrier. Mind you, I only worry about certain things (however, there is not enough room in this blog to list them all!!!). My early teen years were occasioned by a trip to the doctor because my stomach had been upset for several days or I had severe abdominal pain (I will spare you the gory details). During the first years of my marriage, I visited the hospital 3 times - two in the middle of the night - because my "inerds" were in a knot. I struggled for years with IBS (irritable bowl syndrome).

After a whole bunch of tests and doctor visits, pokes, prods, "cleansings" (I will leave that to your imagination), one doctor finally told me that he thought it was due to stress and worry because they could find nothing physically wrong with me. Not necessarily the words I wanted to hear, but deep down, I knew that he was right.

This news started my journey toward a "worry free life". One of the principles that I had to work through, and still do, is Jesus' words in Matthew (6:27): "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" This was obviously meant to be a rhetorical statement because the answer is no one can ever do this. (Note that in my case, and I believe in most cases, prolonged worry will actually DECREASE your life, instead of adding to it.)

When I face times of worry, I recite this verse as: "Who by worrying can ________ to his life". I fill in the blank with whatever happens to be troubling me at that time. Who by worrying, can change how someone is thinking about you? Who by worrying can change the results of the blood work that I am having done? Who by worrying can add 10 more points to his test score. I HAVE to remind myself over and over again that worrying accomplishes NOTHING positive.

This is what Jesus was driving at - it does absolutely no good to worry. There are just certain things in life that you have NO control over and worrying is not going to change them. In fact, the things in life that you do have control over will not be changed by worrying about them either!!!

Worry is a thief. It only takes and leaves nothing positive behind. Jesus, who came to give us life, understood this and wanted us to avoid having life taken from us!

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick
#4 Forgiveness is a key to unlocking spiritual growth
#5 Love God, love people
#6 The heart is revealed by what someone says or does

2010-03-23T08:37:00.004-04:00

Foundation #6 - The heart is revealed by what someone says or does

When Jesus was on the earth, He said these words: "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). There are several other places where Jesus talks about how the heart and the mouth and the heart and actions are directly connected. In fact, His ministry was about exposing and changing the heart because He knew that if the heart was changed, everything else would fall in place.

He said some crazy things like if you have lusted after a woman in your heart, you have committed adultery. If you hate your brother you have murdered him. He didn't mean the act of adultery was literally committed or that you literally murder your brother when you hate him, but He was teaching people that the heart and the mouth and the heart and the hands are inextricably connected.

So what. How does this impact me? In a couple of ways.

First, as you watch what you do and what you say, you can find a window into your heart. The bad news: sometimes that window looks into something that is dark and evil. The good news: God wants to meet you here and restore the heart to holiness/health!

Secondly, as you interact with others, they reveal their heart in what they say and do. When jokes are said, satirical comments are made, criticism is given, etc. - people are revealing what they think and feel deep in their heart. Most often, people are smart enough to filter the dark things that come from their heart. In times of stress, in their deeper relationships, when they have had a bit to drink, when they feel very comfortable with you, that filter is removed and you can see into their heart more. As you work with people, you can help them identify dark areas of their heart and hopefully, propel them to allow God to change it. (I find that often, people don't even realize that this is a dark area of their heart.)

Think about this one and listen for what you say and what others around you are saying..... See if this is true!

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick
#4 Forgiveness is a key to unlocking spiritual growth
#5 Love God, love people

2010-03-13T21:57:00.002-05:00

One of the best verses I have ever memorized: Jeremiah 9:23-24

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"

Every time I read this section, it drives home to me how much God really desires me to know him. He wants me to boast that I understand Him and that I know Him. What does He want me to understand and know about Him? That He delights in kindness, justice and righteousness.

Read these verses again; let them sink in. The God of the universe wants us to know who He is; He wants us to boast that we understand Him.

Notice the contrast between what we tend to boast about - being smart, being strong and having money - and what the God of the universe delights in - being kind, being just and doing what is right. Boasting in Him and what He delights in should drive out all the other things that we typically boast about - wisdom, strength and money.

Every time I read these verses, I am moved to worship. It is incomprehensible to me that the Lord wants me to know Him. I hope that as you meditate on these verses, they drive you to worship too.

2010-03-06T19:54:00.002-05:00

I was talking to my folks a couple of weekends ago about their early married life. We talked about where they lived when they were first married (it is wild some of the things you learn when you start asking questions........).

They lived on a farm north of Ensley Center - a crossroads in Newaygo County. My dad's parents rented and farmed this property. Dad and mom moved their mobile home to this farm to help out his parents. One winter's night they were on their way back home when someone crossed the center line and dad and mom hit them head on. The sad part of this story is that dad and mom had their first born son in the car. He was 6 months old.

Mom recounted a few details of this accident. She remembered laying on the floor in the General Store at Ensley Center and hearing someone say "the baby is turning blue". With tears in her eyes, she said "that's all I want to say about that".

I was surprised at her last statement. I really cannot imagine the pain of loosing a child, but the accident was 51 years ago. I would have thought that the pain would have subsided. I was surprised at the intense amount of pain that she still felt. My heart wept as her heart was weeping; my heart was breaking because of her broken heart.

I have experienced this same this phenomena when I talk to men who served in WWII. They really don't want to talk about it. The horrors of war that they experienced 60 years ago still are too painful to talk about.

As I was musing on this, my mind went to the effects of sin in this world. I found myself being angry at sin and the author of sin - Satan. My dad and mom would never had to experience the death of a child if sin was not present. WWII would never have happened if sin was not present. Sin caused this pain; this deep pain that will never go away. My folks will take it to the grave with them. It grieves my heart that sin has affected our world so much and so deeply.

Maranatha - come Lord Jesus, deliver us from the ravages of sin.

2010-02-22T08:11:00.002-05:00

Foundation #5 - Love God, love people

These commandments were elevated to the most important commandments by Jesus when he was on the earth (Matt. 22:36-37). #1 - Love God; #2 - Love people.

There is something conspicuous by its absence here - me. I don't have to love myself; I already do. I feed myself, clothe myself, think about how I am going to get things for myself; I don't have to be commanded to love myself - it is my default setting. Loving God and loving others - well, that is not as easy given my bias toward me.

The expanded version of commandment #1 (found in Duet. 6 also) adds - love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. That is pretty encompassing; not leaving a lot of room for loving of other things.

My first thought should be "am I loving God by doing this?". My second should be "am I loving others by doing this?". If I have to answer "no" to either of those questions, then I probably should not be doing what I am doing. These two commandments are a yardstick to measure my thoughts, words and actions by.

(PS - Note that loving people includes those who are part of the family of God and those who are "not yet believers". We call the second kind of love "evangelism".)

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick
#4 Forgiveness is a key to unlocking spiritual growth

2010-02-14T18:47:00.003-05:00

Going away from foundations for this one..... Went to a funeral today. The father of my best friend growing up passed away of brain cancer. As I sat in the memorial service, it struck me that this man lived an incredible life.

He did not do anything fantastic, he was not famous, he was not a powerful man. He was a faithful man, he was a man that cared for people, he was a truthful man, he was a man of integrity, he was a hard working man, he was a helpful man. In the midst of a "I am going to abandoned my mate when things get hard", a "I am going to take care of myself", a "I have to be significant in the eyes of men" world, this man stood out as a faith filled, God fearing man who lived out his faith in practical ways. He was not Billy Graham, he was not a seminary grad, he did not work at a church - he was man of practical faith; one who lived out his beliefs on a day to day basis with everyone he came in contact with. I could go on, but I am hoping you are catching my drift......

When he met God face to face, I am sure he heard the words that drive me at the core of my being: "well done". Well done, Bob. Well done. Thanks for a life that illustrated what a life of faith looks like.

2010-02-09T08:52:00.002-05:00

Foundation #4 - Forgiveness of others is one key to unlocking my relationship with God.

Jesus said quite a few confusing things while he was on the earth. One of the most poignant statements was given in the sermon on the mount - if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you don't forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive you. (Matt 6:14-15)

An interesting conditional statement regarding our forgiveness - we are only forgiven when we forgive others. Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray. These were committed men who were following him. He was giving a manifesto of kingdom behavior; what it looks like if you are a follower of him.

I do not believe that he was saying that if you don't forgive someone a sin then you are going to be damned. It feels like what he was communicating is what John was communicating to Christians in I John 1:9 - if we confess, he forgives and cleanses. When we sinned, we didn't stop being a child of his, we just intentionally stepped out of relationship with him. (Think of it in these terms - when I sinned against my dad, I didn't stop being his son, but my relationship with him was adversely affected. It took repentance to restore what I broke when I sinned.)

So.......if I don't forgive others, God will not forgive me. If I refuse to forgive someone who has wronged me, I set up a barrier in the growth of my relationship with God. Basically, I will not grow if I do not forgive others. The Psalm writer said it this way - if I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me. (Psalm 66:18)

If you want to stunt or stop your spiritual development, don't forgive others when they sin around you. However, if you want to unlock your growth and move toward intimacy with God, forgive others when they sin against you (even before they know they need forgiveness). Don't harbor a bitter heart; harbor a heart of grace. Forgive!

Principles so far:
#1 You reap what you sow
#2 God is good all the time
#3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick

2010-02-03T08:38:00.002-05:00

Foundation #3 Fruit of the Spirit is the yardstick.

In Galatians 5, Paul gives a couple of lists. The first list is the evidences that one is acting according to the sinful nature. The second is a list of the actions, attitudes and characteristics that are evidences of the Spirit of God's presence in our life.

I use these two lists to see if I am acting according my fleshly desires or if I am following God.

The first list has a bunch of negative characteristics and behaviors. Am I envious of some one? Am I angry about something that someone did to me? Am I worried about my position? Do I have feelings of hate for someone? etc... If I have to answer "yes" to any of these questions, I know that I am operating in my flesh; I am ME centered.

The second list is titled "the fruit of the Spirit". Am I at peace? Am I being gentle with those around me? Do I live with my emotions and other behaviors under control? etc... If the answer to any of these is "yes", then I know that I am operating according to the Spirit of God and acting like Jesus. (One interesting side note: this list describes the life that everyone wants - being at peace, being loving and kind, faithful, self controlled, etc. God designed us so that we would be fulfilled if we allow the Spirit to lead us.)

As I reflect on my behaviors, emotions and thoughts, I use these two lists to help me understand the root of my expressions: ME or the Spirit. These lists help me to understand when I am being obedient or disobedient and when I am reflecting me or Jesus to the world.

Check out Galatians 5:16-25!

2010-01-21T09:44:00.003-05:00

Foundational Principle #2 God is good all the time.

This principle is particularly hard to believe sometimes. Sometimes I let my circumstances and my distorted, me centered, earth bound view of them dictate whether I believe this principle or not. When my mom contracted MRSA, when my kids grades are what they should be, when my job is not going the way I want it to; I have a hard time believing that God is good. When the sin that is in the world rocks my world - it is hard to believe that God is good (the old question why do bad things happen to good people question).

Interesting thing to note: God's goodness does not depend on on whether I believe it or not. He is good. Period. He is always working for my good. He has promised that whatever comes my way He will bring good from it (Rom. 8:28; Psalm 145:9). In understanding this, I find hope in the midst of any life circumstance. In truly believing this, I rest that the God of the universe is for me.

2010-01-17T13:35:00.004-05:00

I think that I am going to start a series of postings on "foundations to live by". Hate the title, but hopefully it will be helpful. These are principles that I remember as I process through life.

Principle #1 - you reap what you sow. The Apostle Paul speaks of this in his letter to the church in Galatia. He phrased it like this - if you so to the Spirit, you will from the Spirit reap life. If you sow to the flesh, you will from the flesh reap destruction.

I have to pay attention to my heart, my words, my actions. I need to not only be intentional about not sowing to my flesh (doing things to please me), but also be intentional about sowing to the Spirit (doing things that please God). I have to be careful about where I spread the seed that I have been given because there will be a harvest.

2010-01-03T11:17:00.003-05:00

Was watching Twilight Zone (1960's version) New Years Day - I like to catch a few episodes when the marathon is on. The episode that I caught was about a guy who had everything that he wanted; if he wanted it, he got it: money, girls, winning every game he played, etc.; kind of a Midas Touch fable revisited. The last scene was him complaining to the "angel" standing next to him that he wanted a challenge - that he didn't want everything to be handed to him that he wanted to check out "the other place" (thumb pointing down) to see what that was like. The "angel" emphatically stated that this was the other place and that he was doomed to spend eternity like this - his every "self centered wish" (my words) coming true. Cue the maniacal laugh and Rod Sterling.

This started me thinking about heaven and hell. Heaven is living in the presence of God; walking in His light, experiencing total goodness. It is a place where we can worship Him in perfection without all the weights of sin that easily drag us down (see the book of Hebrews). It is less about a physical place than it is about the quality of relationships (in particular with our Savior)of the physical place.

What is the opposite of heaven? Hell. If heaven is living in the presence of God what is living without the presence of God going to be like? What would it look like if there was no restraint to our sinfulness? What would it look like if every decision we made and every decision every body else around us made was totally self centered and devoid of good? If we have lived long enough, we have had a taste of what evil run a muck could look like. History is replete with stories of evil taking center stage (think Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, etc.) These situations are often described as a "living hell" - probably a pretty accurate statement. Something to ponder......

Note that God does not send people to hell. The scriptures record that God is not willing that anyone goes to hell (see the letter II Peter 3:9). People choose to go to hell. Instead of choosing to follow God and His ways and therefore be the recipient of life with Him forever, they choose to reject Him and follow there own devices. I believe that this is a big part of what hell is going to be like - everyone following their own devices in an unrestrained, dare I say, "perfect" manner. Not a pretty picture.

OK, not a inspiring post to start the new year....

2009-12-26T09:40:00.002-05:00

After 28 years, it was time for a new tradition to start.

In March 2009, my wife's Aunt Lee passed away. For the last 50+ years, she has had Christmas Eve at her house. It started many years ago when Grandma Hertel was bed ridden. To honor and celebrate with her, they moved the family gathering on Christmas Eve to her house on Baynton Street in Grand Rapids. (Imagine 30-40 adults with children in a 800 square foot home - yeah it was close and the windows were all steamy by the time we left, but it was a fun tradition It was only in the last two years that we could not have it at her house because of her age (she was 93 when she passed into glory).

This year we did not have a tradition, so I hope we started a new one - celebrating communion together, remembering why Jesus was born and watching home movies. This "tradition" probably won't last for 53 years, but it was sure nice spending time together as a family and I hope that we can do it next year too.

Things change....don't mean they have to change for the worse; sometimes they just change because they have to.

2009-12-17T21:08:00.002-05:00

A year to remember...... It is hard to believe all that our family has been through this year. All the issues with my mom's health (near death experience, 6 months of hospitalization, paralysis, modifying the house, modifying life), my father-in-law having a low speed head on collision (because he blacked out, a concussion, physical therapy, modifying life) and now my grand mother dying.

True, she was 89 years old. She had lived a long and fruitful life - a hard life, but a fruitful one. She was ready to go; she had just moved in a nursing home because she could not take care of herself anymore (she was in the home 10 days before she passed away). She is home; home with her Savior. But come on - now?

For a couple of days I felt emotionally numb. I really did not know how to grieve; or maybe I just didn't have any more grief in me. I found myself just resting in the fact that she is with God, that she is at peace and not struggling with the junk of this life anymore. Maybe I am just emotionally wore out to the point that I have to trust in God to carry me.

It has been a hard year; a hard year in my family, a hard year in ministry, a hard year as a leader. A hard year all the way around.

Life is hard; God is good.

2009-12-08T13:34:00.003-05:00

There are a lot of people going through a lot of tough things right now: some are making good choices, some are making poor choices. The differing responses to the adversity started me thinking. I learned in my high school days that we have two responses to conflict: fight or flight. I see these responses in people who are facing adversity: some embrace it and work through it, some run away from it and hide.

Fighting or embracing adversity is what I believe God desires for us. Writers of the New Testament (James, Peter, Paul) teach us that trials work at strengthening our faith. When we embrace adversity and work through it, we are stronger. It is interesting to me that this is THE path that God has selected for making us stronger, more committed, more like Jesus.

What happens to someone who runs away instead of embracing adversity? My experience and observation is their heart hardens and bitterness, anger at God, frustration that is taken out others and/or abandonment of God (and a lot of other negative behaviors) ensue. They carry a deep pain in their soul that affects their attitudes, actions and words. They begin to be physically affected - either in their facial expressions or in their health. They begin to blame others for their adversity. They lash out at people around them. Everything centers around them and their pain. Frankly, they are not very nice people to be around.

The cool thing is that God never stops pursuing them.

My prayer for the folks that I work with who find themselves in the midst of adversity is that they embrace it now, because God will not stop pursuing them until they are completely broken and are willing to embrace it (they have reached the point where they have no other alternative). God patiently waits for them, patiently calls them, patiently continues to work with them. (Examples: Jonah and Moses.)

Embrace and be strengthened; flee and be hardened. Those are the only two alternatives to dealing with adversity.

2009-11-28T12:11:00.003-05:00

My family and I like to watch the TV show "Monk"; a story about a OCD detective who has extraordinary perception skills. It is the shows last season and last night was part 1 of the finale. Monk has been poisoned and is going to die in 2-3 days unless and anecdote can be found. One of the characters is commenting on Monk's life - "I used to think that Monk was less than human; he was missing something. I now understand that he saw a whole lot more than we did; he was fully human." (I can't remember the exact words, but it went something like that.)

I have been thinking about how there are quite a few things that are right below my emotional surface right now. I find myself emotional about my mom, marriages that are in shambles, the future relationship of my kids with God, the friends that I am praying find God, young girls who are cutting themselves to get attention; things like that. I find myself crying out to God for these situations. I see and feel the pain that sin has caused in these relationships. This is not the way God designed it to be - full of pain and brokenness.

I believe that the reason last night's episode of Monk set my mind going was his extra ordinary perception and the realization of one of his co-workers that this caused him pain. I looked at the amount of pain that I feel as I look at the sin racked situations around me and realized that it was puny compared to what God must feel every moment of every day; in its completeness and fullness. I can run and hide from it; I don't think of it all the time. He cannot hide from it; He experiences it in it fullness all the time.

I probably have written about this before. However, understanding this once again causes me to worship Him, causes me to understand how gracious He is toward me and helps me understand what Jesus went through in the Garden of Gethsemane when He was facing the weight of the sin of the world on Him. He did that for me; He did something that I could never do; look into the face of evil and defeat it.

Keep your eyes open today and see the effects of sin around you. I don't ask this so that you can be depressed; I ask this so that you can place your hope FULLY in the one who conquered sin and will worship Him more fully.

2009-11-17T08:29:00.005-05:00

OK, my kids don't like me sometimes. There are times when they ask me for something they want. I tell them it is OK to get it, but they have to use their money to purchase it. As you can imagine, the tone changes and suddenly it is not as important as it was when they asked me to pay for it. When I ask them to pay the cost, they are forced to evaluate whether it is "worth it" or not.

I call this the value scales - is the cost worth what I am going to receive. Picture a scales - one side of the scales is labeled "COST"; the other side of the scale is labeled "PERCEIVED VALUE". We all have the value scales embedded in us - we are constantly evaluating whether what we are doing or buying is "worth it".

If something has no cost, then ANY value will tip the value scales toward the "PERCEIVED VALUE" side of the scale. I will always take something that has no cost but even a minimal perceived value. (Have you ever wondered why people always take free stuff that they just end up throwing away? There is no cost, so even if there is a very, very small value, the value scales tell me that it is worth it so I take it.) If something has a high cost, then we weigh the perceived value of it. If we don't think it will be "worth it", the value scales are tipped toward the "COST" side of the scale. We don't pursue it because we do not believe that the cost "outweighs" the value we will receive from it.

The value scales have large ramifications for our spiritual life. David expressed a part of it this way - I will not offer anything that costs me nothing (2 Sam 24:24). He understood that offering something that cost nothing indicated to God that it had little value to him. Paul said it this way in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 4;17) - our light and momentary troubles is working for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all. He looked at the value scales and said the cost that I am paying now with all the trials I am going through is "worth it" because I will receive some eternal reward that outweighs them. (Note that the only way one can make this statement is by looking at eternity through the eyes of faith.)

A teacher I listened to on the radio said it something like this - if we properly value the heavenly prize, we will sacrifice and endure now so that we will achieve later. We have to look at our behavior today in light of an eternal value scale. What costs we pay today, will provide worth in the future. If we don't believe that our current actions will have eternal consequences (good or bad), we will live like the man in Luke 12:19 who lived his life under the "eat, drink and be merry" philosophy. Consider this today - keep an eternal perspective in your value scales!

PS I have found that it is necessary to teach this scales to my children. If I continually indulge them without having them count the cost, I do them a disservice and train them to be self centered consumers instead of disciplined spenders.

2009-11-09T07:56:00.002-05:00

I visited my mom in the hospital last night (yes she is in the hospital again [H1N1]; she is on the back side of it, but still has some breathing issues). The last time I visited she told me that she felt useless. That statement pierced my soul. Of course she can't move much of her body, she is very weak, she has to rely on people to do most everything for her - by all PHYSICAL accounts she is useless.

My encouragement to her was that in God's economy, she was not useless. While she may feel useless, God was not finished with her yet. The fact that she was alive was enough to prove that God still had a purpose for her - He still had a mission for her to accomplish.

While not really being sure what this mission is, I am convinced that as long as we are on this planet and able to function, the Great Commission in Matthew 28 applies to us. I encouraged my mom by saying that in this phase of her life she may experience her greatest ministry yet - having faith in the midst of very trying life circumstances; of holding onto the truth that God is at work through her even though life circumstances will not allow much physical movement.

This is what walking by faith looks like. Believing that God is at work even when we can see it or feel it. Believing that God is at work IN and THROUGH us, even when we can't "produce". Staying committed to Him and doing, thinking and living like Christ will put us in a position of being used by Him - whether we realize it, whether we feel it, whether we see it or not.

2009-11-02T09:10:00.002-05:00

I have been reading Nehemiah again for a leadership class that I am teaching. We were in chapter 1-2. A couple of leadership principles that struck me:

1. Leadership is initiated by a call - Godly leaders receive that call from God. Leaders see chaos and are called to bring order to it. The call is the initiator and sustainer of their leadership. (Nehemiah spent many days praying, weeping and fasting and then he moved.)

2. Leaders have a plan or develop a plan of attack.

3. People often know what needs to be done in a situation; they just don't/can't do it. Leaders also know what needs to be done; they do something about it or help others do something about it. (The walls laid in rubble for 70 years after the temple was built; it took Nehemiah to catalyze the people to build the wall. After 70 years of rubble, it took 52 days to complete the rebuild).

More to follow......

2009-10-23T09:16:00.003-04:00

Heard a good sermon last weekend at a men's retreat by Tom Harmon (see http://www.tdharmon.com/a-sixty-second-sermon). It is called his 60 second sermon and is three statements. Good things to think about.....

1. Life is short; death is certain
2. Life treats us all differently; death treats us all the same
3. Where are you going to go when you die and what is your hope based on?

Let that sink in for a while....