Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Practice What You Preach

I've spent years preaching, teaching, and counseling with this truth undergirding it all: You can trust God because he loves you and always does what is best.

Now I'm in some tough times and I have a hard time trusting God.

I've been leading the Sunday Night Bible Study at church for the last few months. We are studying Genesis and just finished a lengthy section on Jacob's life. He is a great example of someone who looks a lot like me. Trusting God one day; panicking the next. Building an altar to Almighty God one day; grasping control of his life the next.

Jacob is unique because God chose him and his family to bring the Messiah into the world. And God chose me and my Christian family to take the Christ to the world.

God never gave up on Jacob even when Jacob was living as if God didn't exist. The promise God gave Abraham (Jacob's grandfather) was for Jacob, too. God would bless his family. God would use his family to bless the world. God would bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse Abraham. That applied to Abrham's grandson, yet Jacob lived a life marked by fear and deceit.

When we take our focus off of God we live like that. But we don't have to. We can live with confidence and assurance because…because you can trust God because he loves you and always does what is best.

God kept speaking to Jacob. He kept guiding Jacob. He chose to use Jacob for the awesome task of bring the Messiah into the world.

So take heart, Bob! God keeps speaking. He keeps guiding. He chose you (and you!) for the awesome task of taking the Christ to the world. In hard times, trust God.

Saturday, August 04, 2018

Live By The Golden Rule

I've been observing, both near and far. It's time I said something. I hope you hear it.

Treat people as you would like to be treated.

You name the realm of life…this applies.

Politics. Do politicians want to be treated the way they treat their colleagues or constituents? Surely not.

Business. Do corporations, business-people, and consumers was to be treated the way they treat other corporations, business-people, and consumers? Surely not.

Work. Do employers and employees really want to be treated the way they treat one another? Co-workers, do you really want to be treated the way you treat your co-workers? Surely not.

Marriage and Family. Do we really want to be treated the way we treat our spouse and family? Surely not.

Must I go on? I can. You can, too, because you see all this going on around you.

The problem is we don't see it going on inside us.

Here's the problem. We are all broken people, broken by our own sinfulness. "Wait a minute," you say, "I'm not a sinner. I've never done anything really bad." Can I just cut through the nonsense and tell you that even you are a sinner. You may not understand what sin really is but that doesn't change the fact that you are a sinner. I am, too.

A big problem with sin is how it impacts our ability or willingness to treat others with kindness. So we are cold, rude, mean, vindictive, hateful, bitter, ugly, hurtful, manipulative, inconsiderate. And we often like it. We like it so much that we don't think about changing.

As I read the Bible I don't find accounts of men and women who realized they needed to change and willed themselves to be better. I see just the opposite. Like you and me, the people in the Bible don't see their sin-fed problems and just continue in them unless something outside of them happens.

In our world, an addict has to hit rock bottom, a family has to fall apart, and business has to go bankrupt, dreams have to come crashing down, etc., before we put much serious thought into changing.

In our world people are valued and praised and rewarded for using people rather than loving people. Listen to the lyrics of popular music. Listen to the chatter in your workplace. Listen to the sounds at the local athletic event. Listen to interviews of pop culture icons. Listen to the speeches and soundbites of the politicians.

Sin impacts how you relate to others and there is nothing you can do about it.

But God can. All the people in the Bible who changed did so by the power of God, not their own. God can do the same for you and me if we'll stop living by our own desires and look to Jesus Christ for help and leadership and change.

We are all sinners and our sin is between us and God creating a gap that we cannot cross. We are separated or alienated from God. But God loves us and demonstrated his love by having his son Jesus Christ die for the penalty and punishment of our sins so we don't have to stay separated from God but can be reconciled to him through the death of Jesus. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved from their sin and its penalty. They will be accepted into God's family.

And each day you can get out of bed with the thought that today you are going to follow Jesus in your thoughts, actions, and attitudes. You can't do it yourself, but God can do it in you.

One of the changes you'll see in your own life will be in how you treat others. When you see the change in your own life you'll realize that Jesus is the answer to other sin-fed issues you have. God can change them, too.

You'll also realize that following Jesus Christ is the answer to the sin-fed problems people around you experience. I'm not saying that by following Jesus Christ nobody will treat you bad, but you won't treat others that way. And a lot of the problems I experience are brought on by the way I treat others.

I hope the right people hear this. Especially me.

"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).

Saturday, May 05, 2018

Breakfast

I'm sitting across the table from Riley. He's eating cereal. I'm drinking coffee. Deana is still in bed.

It's 7:30. AM. I've been awake since 4:00 and up since about 4:45. AM. A!M! In the morning.

We bought melatonin last night. A couple of friends talk about it. Maybe it will help me sleep a little later. I forgot to take it last night.

But really, I wake up at moderate noise and since we now experience apartment life, moderate noise happens a lot. I wake up to moderate light, too. If I wake up and it's fairly daylight, I can't go back to sleep. Our apartment complex is well lit. And a light on a building across the way shines perfectly through the slot in the blinds where the cords go…right into my eyes if I'm sleeping on my left side.

I know, the fix is easy. Don't sleep on my left side and put a pillow over my head and play some white noise and… And I've tried the PM meds but don't want to take acetaminophen or ibuprofen so often. Maybe melatonin is the key. Or getting back to my high school graduation weight. Or even my college graduation weight. Or, hey, my seminary graduation weight would be an improvement. I have a Master of Divinity. Too much candy, I guess.

Riley just refilled his cereal bowl. Maybe he'd eat just one bowl of cereal if he had a Jethro Bodine bowl. Raise your hand if you know what that is.

Deana's still in bed.

I like to grind coffee beans and did this morning before 7:00. It didn't stir anyone. Not that I did it on purpose to stir them, of course.

My breakfast was an English muffin with peach preserves and a banana. And a cup of coffee. Or two. Half a pot, actually. Maybe the caffeine is why I sleep like I do!

Riley's breakfast is fueling him for a baseball game. The Baptist Prep Eagles are playing in their regional tournament today. They have already qualified for the state tournament. Today's game will determine their seeding.

(I've been meaning to look this up. Is "seed" the proper term? Or is it "cede" or something else?)

The Eagles have had a 5-year drought with no appearances in regionals or state. These are exciting times. Worth getting up early for. Worth an extra bowl of cereal. Worth the 2-hour drive.

I don't get to have breakfast with Riley very often but today is special. Because of the baseball but mostly because I get to have breakfast with Riley.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

When Believers Pray

I have to share with you what God did over the last few days. Riley's truck is not new. OK, it's old. But he likes it and it is what we have. He needed front brakes and rotors so we took it to a trusted mechanic who has worked on this vehicle and others of ours.

After doing the brake job the mechanic took it for a spin. It overheated quickly. Pretty good leak in the coolant system. Pretty good bill, too. We had some money saved up so we spent it all on that. We rarely have money saved up so the timing was good.

But that wasn't the end of it. The engine was missing - not gone, but not running right. Cylinder 6 was the culprit. The mechanic discovered this at 6:00 Friday night so we left the truck there (we had come by to pick it up thinking the work was finished) and he would look at it Monday.

Possible solutions ranged from $50 to $1500. And we had just spent all we had.

We spent Friday night through Monday morning praying. We could pay the $50 bill but not much else. We asked others to pray with us. At church Sunday afternoon our pastor and his wife joined Deana and me for a prayer meeting. We needed God to do something.

So Monday comes and I expect a call fairly early giving me the news. No call. Finally, I called just before lunch. He said it wasn't either of the problems he would have guessed so he was still searching.

Monday afternoon I called again. He said he tweaked a thing or two and all is well. As well as a 20 year old truck can be, I guess.

No extra charge.

We needed God to either heal our truck or somehow get the work paid for. I don't know which happened - and I'm OK not knowing. But I do know that we needed God to do something and he did.

I will ever praise him because he met our need, and even more - he loves us enough to do it.

When believers pray...they are blessed.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Things Change

Today I announced to my church family that I have accepted a staff position with another church. That is harder to do that it seems. I have served Cross Road Baptist Church for eleven years. That is 20% of my life, more than half of my married life with Deana, and almost two-thirds of Riley's life. This is the longest job I've ever had. The next closest is six years.

God works in mysterious ways. That means I don't always understand why God does what he does. And I believe this is the work of God in my life, the life of CRBC, and the life of the church I'll soon serve. But I don't really understand it.

God is good all the time. That means that even if I don't understand (even if I don't like) what God is doing, it is good. God can do nothing else. Goodness is his nature so everything he does is good.

My time here is filled with great memories. We've seen many people give their lives to follow Jesus and have baptized them. Those are precious memories. We have travelled the globe engaging in God's work. I have fond memories of those who have gone with me and those who supported us in prayer and resources. We have mobilized to serve our community and almost every member has been a hands-on participant. I won't forget those people and mission moments.

I've worked alongside and prayed with some wonderful Christians. They have helped me mature as a Christian and as a pastor. Whether it was a challenge or a victory, we did it together. I'm glad the Lord works like that.

I've been their pastor as they welcomed babies into the world, married their children, reached milestones, and mourned the loss of loved ones. I've celebrated and mourned with them. Some of the best people I have known are part of the CRBC family.

There is a lot I don't know but this I do know: Following Jesus with others who follow Jesus is worthwhile.

Thank you, CRBC, for letting me be part of your lives. Thank you, Lord, for calling me here and keeping me here for these eleven years.

Monday, January 08, 2018

What Happened?

It must have been the late '80s because I was working for a company traveling from town to town selling industrial safety products to different types of businesses. Highway 80 is a quite road I was on between Waldron and Danville in western Arkansas. There wasn't much going on this late afternoon. Hardly any traffic competing for my space on the road. And hardly any thoughts competed for my brain's attention. I was zoned out headed home.

Then all of a sudden…out of nowhere…I thought my car was about to vibrate off the road. Could it be the Second Coming? Could it be an earthquake? Could it be a nuclear attack? No. It was an airplane.

Not far from where I was toodling along on Highway 80 is the Fort Smith airport which serves as the training facility for the Arkansas Air National Guard 188th Wing. I've read that in 1988 the 188th acquired the F-16. My guess is that a pilot was out with the new ride having a little fun. I might have done the same thing! He spots a lone vehicle on a secluded roadway, drops down to treetop height, and punches it right over my head.

My immediate thought was, "Oh no!" A second later, "What was that." Another second later I looked up in time to see the jet disappear. An hour later my heart rate returned to normal.

The only other experience I've had with something like that was several years ago on the weekend of the air show at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville. Deana, Riley, and I were about 15 miles away from the base, it was an cloudy day, and we were headed to get some lunch. Just toodling along with hardly any traffic around us.

Then the clouds opened up and a black disc swooped down, then right back up. For just a moment we saw what could only be explained as a flying saucer from outer space carrying aliens to attack us and carry us off into an alternate universe. That was the only plausible explanation.

The next day's newspaper carried a story about the new stealth bomber making an appearance at the air show. The pictures in the paper looked a lot like the spaceship we had seen the day before.

Oh.

Add to these two events the time the army helicopter landed in our backyard and you have the three times I've had weird things happen to me involving the United States military. Each time I asked myself, "What happened?"

Many more times in my life have I asked that question when something goes wrong or I'm hit by something unexpected. I just don't understand. Maybe you feel that way, too. A divorce. Losing a child. Getting fired. An expensive repair. Blown up friendships. Repossession. Foreclosure. The diagnosis.

"What happened?" Most often the answer is, "I don't know." But in every situation you can add to that, "But God does."

Have you come to the point where you can trust that if God knows that is good enough? You'd like to know but you don't have to know?

Here are a couple of verses from the Bible that help me when I'm wondering what happened.

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him (2 Chronicles 16:9).

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

The promise of these verses is that God acts in the lives of those who love him to help them when they aren't sure what happened.