I'm looking out the living room window into the backyard. The grass is green and has already been cut once. All of the bushes sport bright green leaves. Of course, the evergreens are green. The Bradford Pears have bloomed and the petals have blown across the yard and stuck on the windshield of our vehicles. The hardwoods are last to the Spring party.
One of my best friends through school was a late bloomer physically. Let's just say that his 18th year was a good one. He went from being about my size (5'8" since 8th grade) to towering over me. When a person blooms isn't nearly as important as who they are after they bloom. Same with the trees; in a month nobody will remember what they looked like today.
Spiritually, we might be late bloomers, too. I was saved when I was 8 years old. I have no doubt that it was a genuine conversion experience. My teenage years were typical but during the Summer after graduation I knew God was calling me to Christian ministry and I began to chart my path in that direction. I would say I was a late bloomer because God probably was calling me to ministry for years before I surrendered.
I've known men and women who have felt God's call on their lives to be involved in vocational ministry from very early ages. And they were obedient to serve and have for decades. That's not my story but I like theirs.
And I've known men and women who have felt God's call later in life. Some left successful careers to start a new career of ministry. That's not my story, either, but I like theirs.
I'm not just talking about vocational ministry. Doesn't it seem like the church has portrayed ministry as vocational only? Recently, we've done better at emphasizing the calling of every Christian into ministry. Christians who accept the mission of God as theirs too take the Good News home with them and to work with them and to school with them and to their times and places of play with them.
The transforming power of the Gospel does this to anyone who yields to God's will: any Christian - every Christian - can be an effective witness of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
That you may not have accepted that central role in your walk of faith doesn't have to define the rest of your life. Start now. Bloom now. To borrow a phrase from Vance Havner, let him be "the Lord of what's left" of your life.
It seems like in the few minutes I've been writing this post that the trees outside the window are a little greener. Once blooming starts you can't stop it. Imagine who will be eternally impacted if you agree with God and his mission and bloom today.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Carnival Mirrors
Deana and I have been reading a book on parenting teenagers. It was a gift from a friend. She must have met our son. Really, she gave the book to several of her son's friends' moms. She must have met all of the boys!
The book is Age of Opportunity by Paul David Tripp. We are nearing the end of the book after a slow, thoughtful pace. Hopefully, we've learned something that will help us help Riley. Throughout the book the author reminds us that our teenage son is really no different from us and that what we expect of him must also be expected of ourselves.
Even with all the heavy-handed brow-beating, we've continued to read.
The chapter we are reading now gives us strategies for implementing the goals discussed in earlier chapters. In applying Psalm 36:1-4 to parenting, the author said teenagers (and parents, too) tend to flatter themselves too much. They think they are smarter than they are, more mature than they are, more capable than they are. Then he said this.
When they look at themselves, they don't use the perfect mirror of the Word of God, but the carnival mirrors of peer opinion, personal evaluation, and cultural norm. In those mirrors you do see yourself, but what you see is distorted, so that your legs look fat and stubby or your neck looks three feet long.
God's Word says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. The carnival mirrors say you aren't worth anything.
God's Word says he has a plan for your life. The carnival mirrors say you'll never amount to anything.
God's Word says purpose and meaning are found in relationship with Jesus Christ. The carnival mirrors say you better chase what everyone else is chasing.
As we read today I could clearly see these truths in my son, other people, and even in my wife. And it dawned on me that I am just the same when I don't focus on the Lord. That's the key for each of us: focus on the Lord, use his Word as the mirror by which we view ourselves, and seek to point to his glory rather than seek our own.
A carnival-mirror-mentality causes one person in the office to arrogantly command the others. A carnival-mirror-mentality causes one family member to be short and harsh toward the others. A carnival-mirror-mentality causes one Christian to be judgmental toward the others. A carnival-mirror-mentality causes a Christian to simply overlook the lost.
A God's-Word-mentality causes me to love the Lord with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love others as myself.
Wednesday, March 09, 2016
Smile
The football team had been practicing on a hot Arkansas August afternoon. It was the second practice that day. I had worked in between practices. Most of us wanted to sit on the cool concrete walkway in the shade and drink from the water hose. We dreaded when Coach would call us back to the practice field.
The practice field was the elementary school playground. It was three blocks from the field house. It was mostly a dust bowl. But it was better than the lot right across from the field house. We had a nickname for that place. The Sticker Bowl. Coach didn't care about the stickers. We still ran our drills on the ground. Linemen could hardly put their hands down in the pre-snap position without landing on the stickers. It would have been comical if it had not been painful.
So that day during the break Coach starts to get on us about being so down and blue and sad. "Come on, guys, smile!" It didn't work. We were tired. It would take more than that to make us smile. Maybe if our girlfriends drove by…then we might smile. If there was some reason to call off practice early…then we might smile.
"Do you know how many muscles it takes to frown?" "Forty-seven," I said quickly.
Sometimes my wit is tempered with wisdom. Sometimes it's not.
"That's right!" he said. I have no idea how many muscles it takes to frown. He probably doesn't either. Maybe his wit was a tad sharper than mine. Then he said it only took X number of muscles to smile. Frowning took more effort than smiling, he said.
Who knows? I don't but I learned an important lesson that day. A couple actually.
One is, don't try to outsmart the coach. As I've aged and especially as I've had teenagers I've learned that age is an advantage in many aspects.
The other lesson I learned is that attitude trumps almost anything. If you have a good attitude about even a mundane task you will be much happier. And the task won't seem so bad.
I guess we've discovered that there are too many germs in a water hose so we can't drink from them anymore. We especially can't pass it around to forty other guys. But when I'm out mowing on a hot summer day I'll slip over to the water hose and take a drink. And I almost always think of that day of practice on the elementary school playground.
The practice field was the elementary school playground. It was three blocks from the field house. It was mostly a dust bowl. But it was better than the lot right across from the field house. We had a nickname for that place. The Sticker Bowl. Coach didn't care about the stickers. We still ran our drills on the ground. Linemen could hardly put their hands down in the pre-snap position without landing on the stickers. It would have been comical if it had not been painful.
So that day during the break Coach starts to get on us about being so down and blue and sad. "Come on, guys, smile!" It didn't work. We were tired. It would take more than that to make us smile. Maybe if our girlfriends drove by…then we might smile. If there was some reason to call off practice early…then we might smile.
"Do you know how many muscles it takes to frown?" "Forty-seven," I said quickly.
Sometimes my wit is tempered with wisdom. Sometimes it's not.
"That's right!" he said. I have no idea how many muscles it takes to frown. He probably doesn't either. Maybe his wit was a tad sharper than mine. Then he said it only took X number of muscles to smile. Frowning took more effort than smiling, he said.
Who knows? I don't but I learned an important lesson that day. A couple actually.
One is, don't try to outsmart the coach. As I've aged and especially as I've had teenagers I've learned that age is an advantage in many aspects.
The other lesson I learned is that attitude trumps almost anything. If you have a good attitude about even a mundane task you will be much happier. And the task won't seem so bad.
I guess we've discovered that there are too many germs in a water hose so we can't drink from them anymore. We especially can't pass it around to forty other guys. But when I'm out mowing on a hot summer day I'll slip over to the water hose and take a drink. And I almost always think of that day of practice on the elementary school playground.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
That's a Good Choice
I just sat down at the coffee shop to get in some reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. Wait! I don't have to do that anymore! So just some reading and writing.
I ordered an oatmeal-raisin cookie and a small cup of brewed coffee. "Oh, that's a good choice! Those go so good together." The barista is probably trained to say something like that no matter what I order. But it made me feel good about my order.
"That will be $4.22, please."
I looked at my app and I had $4.34 on it. Turns out I did have to do some math. Let's see…$4.22 is greater than or less than $4.34?
Somebody needs to give me a gift card!
I wonder how often a person who makes a decision in our churches gets the kind of enthusiastic encouragement I got at the coffee shop today. Or do we just shake their hands, hug their necks, and let them drift along.
I bought a truck six weeks ago. It's not new. It's not exactly what I was looking for except for the price. But John made me feel like I had just made a great decision. So there has been no buyer's remorse.
So do the people who make decisions about their relationship with Jesus and following him feel buyer's remorse? They shouldn't because those are decisions that are the best in the world. Nothing can top that!
But if we don't help them along in their journey of following Jesus then problems can set it. If we do little or nothing to help them they may decide to just quit the church or quit Jesus.
Do you have an arm around a new believer helping them walk with Jesus? What are you doing to help them? You should realize that helping a new believer may be one of the greatest things you can do today.
Monday, February 01, 2016
Be Encouraged
I guy I know bought a new, nice truck. A big truck. It doesn't have an alarm and he would like to have one for this new, nice, big truck. He posted a picture the other day of the truck with two big, mean-looking dogs tied to it. That's his alarm until he can get one installed.
Figuring out how to do something in a new or different way is a good trait to have. Sometimes bailing wire, duct tape, and WD-40 aren't the fix your situation needs.
Serving a church is like that, sort of.
We have a tendency to do things like we've always done them. And if something goes wrong the fix is the same old fix. More of the same stuff that often brought you to your current situation.
Even the "new" fixes are often just duct tape with a new design. It looks new, different. But it accomplishes nothing different.
Then there are those folks that take a big swing at it. Like the baseball player that isn't hitting well so he just swings harder. Or kicks his leg higher. Or waggles his bat more. Or revamps the whole swing. Church leaders like to do that, too.
Paul wrote a letter to Timothy. Two of them, in fact. The aging apostle was preparing his young protege for ministry on his own. In 2 Timothy 4:2-5 Paul gives this advice that was good then and is still good today. The warning applies today, too.
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
No matter what, preach the Word. When the people respond, preach the Word. When the people don't, preach the Word. When ministry is noticeably effective, preach the Word. When you can't tell, preach the Word. When the message is welcomed, preach the Word. When the message is rejected, preach the Word.
I don't have answers to all the questions a church leader may have. But I do know this: preaching the Word is always right.
So be encouraged, Pastor! Even when you don't know what to do you can be sure that faithfully preaching the Word will help.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Time and Time
Just a thought running through my head after preaching Sunday about time and hearing a sermon about time yesterday.
The New Testament has a couple of Greek words that are often translated "time." One is chronos - as in chronology. This is the word for minutes, hours, etc. It's the word used in "What time is it?"
The other is kairos. It means a special moment, an opportunity, a. It's the word used in "We live in an interesting time."
My question is this: Does every chronos have a kairos? Does every second afford an opportunity. Does every minute have a moment?
Paul uses the phrase "make the most of every opportunity" twice in his letters. Once in Ephesians and once in Colossians. The word there is kairos so opportunity is a good translation.
If God is sovereign - and he is - and if God has a master plan - and he does - then doesn't every chronos have a kairos?
Each day has 86,400 seconds. We all get the same. Nobody gets more than you. What we do with our time is of ultimate importance is we believe every chronos has a kairos - and I do.
The New Testament has a couple of Greek words that are often translated "time." One is chronos - as in chronology. This is the word for minutes, hours, etc. It's the word used in "What time is it?"
The other is kairos. It means a special moment, an opportunity, a. It's the word used in "We live in an interesting time."
My question is this: Does every chronos have a kairos? Does every second afford an opportunity. Does every minute have a moment?
Paul uses the phrase "make the most of every opportunity" twice in his letters. Once in Ephesians and once in Colossians. The word there is kairos so opportunity is a good translation.
If God is sovereign - and he is - and if God has a master plan - and he does - then doesn't every chronos have a kairos?
Each day has 86,400 seconds. We all get the same. Nobody gets more than you. What we do with our time is of ultimate importance is we believe every chronos has a kairos - and I do.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Some Important Questions
Our Bible study last night at Cross Road was in the twelfth chapter of the New Testament book of Hebrews. (I started to say Hebrews 12 but given that Donald Trump stumbled over familiar-to-Christian biblical recitations I thought I should just spell it out; but is that really how you spell 12th? Spell check says so.) The previous chapter documents many Old Testament saints' faithfulness. None of them were perfect and that's not what made them perfect. Their faith led to obedience which led to the commendation.
They weren't perfect nor was their faithfulness perfect. But they were listed in the Faith Hall of Fame anyway. That encourages me.
Then as you read chapter twelve you'll find an emphasis on endurance. Why? Because the life of faithfulness is not easy. It's like a race (as Paul says in a letter to Christians in Philippi) and you must prepare for it. We have to keep our focus on Jesus because so many things can keep us from living faithfully.
I asked our study group last night what might keep us from living faithfully. Their answers included pride, selfishness, and a bunch of other attitudes. So we can focus on the temptations and pressures around us or we can focus on Jesus. I wonder which is best?
To stay focused on Jesus we need to spend time in prayer each day. We need to read and study the Bible regularly. We need to share our lives with others who are also trying to live faithfully. We need to avoid clear pitfalls full of temptation; like the media we access or people we hang out with. And we need to share with others that we follow Jesus as our Savior and Lord. Some of those people we need to share with will probably be some of the same people who have gone along with us falling for temptation. So it's all the more important to keep our eyes focused on Jesus.
All the Old Testament saints listed form a "great cloud of witnesses" so I can know what it means to be faithful. They are joined by New Testament saints and even faithful saints who have lived (and died) over the last 20 centuries.
Even some of my heroes of the faith - men and women who have made a direct impact on my Christian walk - are part of that crowd.
Are you aware that you have a responsibility to be in that crowd for others? You should have people ahead of you in this Christian race that you look to and you should have people behind you that look to you for help and encouragement.
Paul told believers in Corinth to follow his example as he followed Christ. And he told Timothy to pass along to others what Paul had taught him.
This great cloud of witnesses is made up of people who have gone before us to whom we look for help and encouragement, and people journeying with us that we team with to carry out faithful living, and people coming behind us who look to us for help and encouragement.
Are you focused on Jesus so you can be found faithful? Do you have mentors that help and encourage you? Are you partnered with other believers in a local church? Who are you mentoring so they can also live faithfully?
I think these are some of the most important questions we can consider today.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
An Honest Word
We like to play our cards close to the vest. Keep our emotions in check. Don't let the others see you sweat. Fake it until you make it.
Side note: I can't stand that last one. I heard it in a previous job from a person who was in leadership.
These statements indicating our nature to not disclose everything is true of many of us. But then there are the folks on the other side who have absolutely no poker face at all. They are a "what you see is what you get" person. You immediately can tell what they are thinking and they quickly tell you, too.
I tend to be the first person. Not trying to hide anything just trying to display confidence. In my days as a trainer for a call center I told my classes, "If you say anything confidently enough, people will believe you." I followed that with, "Now, you have to tell the truth. Tell the truth confidently!"
Confidence is a good trait for a leader even when the future is uncertain. Honesty is a good trait, too. The Bible says that Jesus is the truth and that truth will set you free. So as a believer I am free and that breeds confidence. I'm confident in Jesus, the truth.
I wish life was that easy…just be faithful based on the confidence we have in Jesus. And it can be but times come along when you sort of know what to do but are not sure how to proceed. What do you do?
I have friends who say we just live by faith without any regard for planning and just let God handle the details. I also have friends who say walking by faith does not negate personal responsibility to care for yourself and your family. I think they are both right, but it's hard to find balance.
Today is one of those days when I know I've heard from God but circumstances loom large. Like Peter, I want to get out of the boat. Like Peter, I'm prone to watch the waves instead of the Master of the sea.
So do I want to experience Jesus holding my hand during uncertainties or do I want to watch from my seat in the boat?
How does faith grow? By being faithful. Exercise what faith you have and your faith will be stronger. Exercise that faith and it will be stronger still. As I trust God I can trust him more.
And let me be clear, acting in faith or having a believing faith does not presume God will do what I want. Faith is putting my desires aside and longing for what God wants.
I've been a Christian for more than 43 years and I'm still working on this.
Side note: I can't stand that last one. I heard it in a previous job from a person who was in leadership.
These statements indicating our nature to not disclose everything is true of many of us. But then there are the folks on the other side who have absolutely no poker face at all. They are a "what you see is what you get" person. You immediately can tell what they are thinking and they quickly tell you, too.
I tend to be the first person. Not trying to hide anything just trying to display confidence. In my days as a trainer for a call center I told my classes, "If you say anything confidently enough, people will believe you." I followed that with, "Now, you have to tell the truth. Tell the truth confidently!"
Confidence is a good trait for a leader even when the future is uncertain. Honesty is a good trait, too. The Bible says that Jesus is the truth and that truth will set you free. So as a believer I am free and that breeds confidence. I'm confident in Jesus, the truth.
I wish life was that easy…just be faithful based on the confidence we have in Jesus. And it can be but times come along when you sort of know what to do but are not sure how to proceed. What do you do?
I have friends who say we just live by faith without any regard for planning and just let God handle the details. I also have friends who say walking by faith does not negate personal responsibility to care for yourself and your family. I think they are both right, but it's hard to find balance.
Today is one of those days when I know I've heard from God but circumstances loom large. Like Peter, I want to get out of the boat. Like Peter, I'm prone to watch the waves instead of the Master of the sea.
So do I want to experience Jesus holding my hand during uncertainties or do I want to watch from my seat in the boat?
How does faith grow? By being faithful. Exercise what faith you have and your faith will be stronger. Exercise that faith and it will be stronger still. As I trust God I can trust him more.
And let me be clear, acting in faith or having a believing faith does not presume God will do what I want. Faith is putting my desires aside and longing for what God wants.
I've been a Christian for more than 43 years and I'm still working on this.
Monday, January 11, 2016
Missed
The Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks played a NFL Wildcard game yesterday. The weather was…interesting. Sunny skies with sub-zero temperatures. The game was more interesting. The over/under for total score was 20. With just a few seconds left on the clock, Minnesota had a chance to push the score over and also win the game with a 27 yard field goal. The kicker missed the game-winning field goal, Seattle ran out the clock, gamblers who picked under were ecstatic.
Have you ever done something that brought on a disaster? Well, to some people it was a disaster. To others it secured victory. Some booed you and others cheered.
At the time I thought, "This was the only 27 yard field goal the kicker has ever missed in his NFL career." With a recent rule change, extra points are now longer than that. I looked up his stats and for field goals 29 yards and shorter, he has missed one. It was Sunday's potential game winner.
It would be easy and natural to focus on the negatives. Missed short field goal. Laces out! End of season.
Or we could focus on the positives. Three field goals and nine points in the game. All of Minnesota's points. For the season, he was 34 of 39 and for his four-year career he is 121 of 142. That's an 85% success rate. But it isn't all the made field goals or the 21 missed in his career or the 5 misses this season that are the focus. It's the one miss Sunday.
You probably don't like it when people focus on your negatives. I don't. But people do it. We even do it to ourselves. And often the result is an attitude that we can't do anything good. We feel like losers because we lost once.
The Bible says you are created in God's image. God knew you before you were born and has a plan for your life. God has plans for you to thrive. Your sins don't have to disrupt all this because Jesus died for your sins and God offers you salvation from the destructive result of sin.
Sure, you can live your life with little or no hope, with little or no purpose. Or you can live as God intended with great hope and purpose. Even in the wake of failure.
Have you ever done something that brought on a disaster? Well, to some people it was a disaster. To others it secured victory. Some booed you and others cheered.
At the time I thought, "This was the only 27 yard field goal the kicker has ever missed in his NFL career." With a recent rule change, extra points are now longer than that. I looked up his stats and for field goals 29 yards and shorter, he has missed one. It was Sunday's potential game winner.
It would be easy and natural to focus on the negatives. Missed short field goal. Laces out! End of season.
Or we could focus on the positives. Three field goals and nine points in the game. All of Minnesota's points. For the season, he was 34 of 39 and for his four-year career he is 121 of 142. That's an 85% success rate. But it isn't all the made field goals or the 21 missed in his career or the 5 misses this season that are the focus. It's the one miss Sunday.
You probably don't like it when people focus on your negatives. I don't. But people do it. We even do it to ourselves. And often the result is an attitude that we can't do anything good. We feel like losers because we lost once.
The Bible says you are created in God's image. God knew you before you were born and has a plan for your life. God has plans for you to thrive. Your sins don't have to disrupt all this because Jesus died for your sins and God offers you salvation from the destructive result of sin.
Sure, you can live your life with little or no hope, with little or no purpose. Or you can live as God intended with great hope and purpose. Even in the wake of failure.
Thursday, January 07, 2016
Memories
A friend having a birthday quipped that he's old enough to forget what he's doing at the moment but he can remember the past very well. I understand how that works! I can walk down the hall - which takes all of 5 seconds - and forget what I'm going for.
I remember getting hit in the face and in the head by baseballs. I remember being so proud to draw a walk instead of striking out that I was almost picked off first base. (I didn't get there much.) I remember both times I got whippings in school. I remember some of the great decisions I've made. I remember all the bad ones.
As I turn the page on the calendar each day I am often face to face with a memory. Friends and family surround my mind's eye when I see a date on the calendar. I am grateful for that even though not all the memories are good ones.
I use to say this: I am where I am because of where I've been. I am today a composite of all those memories, even the ones I forgot. How I view the world and react to situations have developed over time. Just like my shirt size is a result of what I eat, my life today is a result of my having lived.
The world we live in is broken by sin. Each one of us is a sinner. What the world needs and what we need is redemption and restoration. The Bible promises that a day will come when all of creation will be redeemed or restored to the perfection of God's original work. The Bible also says that I am already being restored by the transforming work of God's Spirit in my life.
It's the same for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin. We are being changed. Although my memories of my mistakes are some of my most vivid ones, I'm not who I was. Those mistakes do warp my life but Jesus makes it right. I'm not perfect - you can find plenty of witnesses to that fact! - but I'm being perfected. And like the Apostle Paul I will press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12).
If you see me wandering around Walmart would you please speak to me and remind me how to get home?
I remember getting hit in the face and in the head by baseballs. I remember being so proud to draw a walk instead of striking out that I was almost picked off first base. (I didn't get there much.) I remember both times I got whippings in school. I remember some of the great decisions I've made. I remember all the bad ones.
As I turn the page on the calendar each day I am often face to face with a memory. Friends and family surround my mind's eye when I see a date on the calendar. I am grateful for that even though not all the memories are good ones.
I use to say this: I am where I am because of where I've been. I am today a composite of all those memories, even the ones I forgot. How I view the world and react to situations have developed over time. Just like my shirt size is a result of what I eat, my life today is a result of my having lived.
The world we live in is broken by sin. Each one of us is a sinner. What the world needs and what we need is redemption and restoration. The Bible promises that a day will come when all of creation will be redeemed or restored to the perfection of God's original work. The Bible also says that I am already being restored by the transforming work of God's Spirit in my life.
It's the same for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ for salvation from sin. We are being changed. Although my memories of my mistakes are some of my most vivid ones, I'm not who I was. Those mistakes do warp my life but Jesus makes it right. I'm not perfect - you can find plenty of witnesses to that fact! - but I'm being perfected. And like the Apostle Paul I will press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me (Philippians 3:12).
If you see me wandering around Walmart would you please speak to me and remind me how to get home?
Monday, January 04, 2016
Writing Project
So it's 2016 and I've decided to do something big and out of the ordinary (for me). Throughout the year I will write and write and write. If you read this blog regularly you know that I am sporadic with my postings. Not only in the thoughts I write about but the frequency.
This writing project will require and broad range of topics. I'll have to research and think and plot and plan. And I'll have to write more frequently, as much as three days a week.
You'll probably never see the finished product. It won't be published and placed in a library. It won't become an e-book. But a few people will see it, hopefully read it, and be encouraged by it. Don't ask for a copy. When I'm finished I will give it away. I won't have a copy, not even a file on a thumb drive.
I topped the hill several years ago. I'm headed down the slope of life. Don't think I'm morbid and hinting at a diagnosis, that's not the case. It's just that I'm past the halfway mark of the average lifespan of males in the US. Mostly likely, I am past the 2/3 mark, too.
Since life is but a vapor anyway - here today and gone tomorrow - what's left of my life is really short. None of us are promised another day so that could make the rest of my life really, really short. Even our tomorrows may be clouded by dementia so life could get really, really, really short. That makes me think about heritage and legacy. What can I pass along that will last longer than my life on earth? What can I do to impact the lives of those I love and the ones they love?
So I'm writing.
After I publish this post I have to look for my keys.
This writing project will require and broad range of topics. I'll have to research and think and plot and plan. And I'll have to write more frequently, as much as three days a week.
You'll probably never see the finished product. It won't be published and placed in a library. It won't become an e-book. But a few people will see it, hopefully read it, and be encouraged by it. Don't ask for a copy. When I'm finished I will give it away. I won't have a copy, not even a file on a thumb drive.
I topped the hill several years ago. I'm headed down the slope of life. Don't think I'm morbid and hinting at a diagnosis, that's not the case. It's just that I'm past the halfway mark of the average lifespan of males in the US. Mostly likely, I am past the 2/3 mark, too.
Since life is but a vapor anyway - here today and gone tomorrow - what's left of my life is really short. None of us are promised another day so that could make the rest of my life really, really short. Even our tomorrows may be clouded by dementia so life could get really, really, really short. That makes me think about heritage and legacy. What can I pass along that will last longer than my life on earth? What can I do to impact the lives of those I love and the ones they love?
So I'm writing.
After I publish this post I have to look for my keys.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
The Curtain Falls
I've been in four plays. I was Prince Charming in first grade. I was type-cast then and it has followed me throughout my life. I was Johnny Appleseed in another elementary production. I had to dance. Don't tell anyone.
I was Obeey Upschlager in our junior play Hillbilly Weddin'. I had the opening line. "Ain't it soon time ya moved, Pa Belsnickle?" Eddy Tiner replied, "Ain't made up my mind which way t' move yet." And we were off and running.
Then I played the father/coach in our senior play but I can't remember much about it other than I struggled to remember my lines. I now had a job so I could make a truck payment. Thanks to a few offstage prompters, I made it through. Being a senior is much different than being a junior.
I spent a few years singing in a gospel group and the last song was kind of like the last scene of a play. When it was over I would often quote the Apostle Paul before we walked off the stage: "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
When the curtain falls on a performance the performers can have mixed emotions. Relief. It had been weeks or months of preparation. Then the performances. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief when the curtain falls.
Sadness. You've poured so much of your time and effort into something that is now over. How many times have the performers wanted just one more performance?
Memories. The people who work together to create a performance - whether it's on a stage or a playing field - bond in ways unique from other relationships. Not necessarily better, just different.
The end of a play, the end of a performance, the end of a season, the end of a year share these in common. Relief. Sadness. Memories.
All that you might consider to be a negative from 2015, let it impact 2016 only as lessons learned. Don't make the same choices that led to the disappointment or discouragement. Do your best to steer clear of people and situations that harmed you.
Everything positive from 2015 can serve as launching points for the new year. Build upon the successes. Tweak what was good to make it better or best. Find encouragement from what you did well and leverage that to energize new ventures. Your creativity this year is a window into what you can imagine for the future.
Bind all of this in faith. I like to say that faith is letting God be God and do what only God can do. His ways and thoughts are better than ours, so says King Solomon. I believe it's true and have found it to be so over and over again. When I trust my ways and thoughts over God's I get into trouble. Maybe you've found that to be true for you, too.
I want to be faithful. Then I can rest knowing that he is in control. Then I can charge forward knowing he is leading the way. Then I can dare to glorify him knowing the he deserves utmost glory. Then I can get up after I've fallen knowing that he forgives and restores those who love him.
2015 does impact 2016 whether you like it or not. But you have the choice whether or not the impact will be helpful.
I was Obeey Upschlager in our junior play Hillbilly Weddin'. I had the opening line. "Ain't it soon time ya moved, Pa Belsnickle?" Eddy Tiner replied, "Ain't made up my mind which way t' move yet." And we were off and running.
Then I played the father/coach in our senior play but I can't remember much about it other than I struggled to remember my lines. I now had a job so I could make a truck payment. Thanks to a few offstage prompters, I made it through. Being a senior is much different than being a junior.
I spent a few years singing in a gospel group and the last song was kind of like the last scene of a play. When it was over I would often quote the Apostle Paul before we walked off the stage: "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
When the curtain falls on a performance the performers can have mixed emotions. Relief. It had been weeks or months of preparation. Then the performances. Everyone lets out a sigh of relief when the curtain falls.
Sadness. You've poured so much of your time and effort into something that is now over. How many times have the performers wanted just one more performance?
Memories. The people who work together to create a performance - whether it's on a stage or a playing field - bond in ways unique from other relationships. Not necessarily better, just different.
The end of a play, the end of a performance, the end of a season, the end of a year share these in common. Relief. Sadness. Memories.
All that you might consider to be a negative from 2015, let it impact 2016 only as lessons learned. Don't make the same choices that led to the disappointment or discouragement. Do your best to steer clear of people and situations that harmed you.
Everything positive from 2015 can serve as launching points for the new year. Build upon the successes. Tweak what was good to make it better or best. Find encouragement from what you did well and leverage that to energize new ventures. Your creativity this year is a window into what you can imagine for the future.
Bind all of this in faith. I like to say that faith is letting God be God and do what only God can do. His ways and thoughts are better than ours, so says King Solomon. I believe it's true and have found it to be so over and over again. When I trust my ways and thoughts over God's I get into trouble. Maybe you've found that to be true for you, too.
I want to be faithful. Then I can rest knowing that he is in control. Then I can charge forward knowing he is leading the way. Then I can dare to glorify him knowing the he deserves utmost glory. Then I can get up after I've fallen knowing that he forgives and restores those who love him.
2015 does impact 2016 whether you like it or not. But you have the choice whether or not the impact will be helpful.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
It's Christmas Anyway
Yes, I just made a Christmas Eve shopping trip. Went to Walmart and Kroger. Not very busy at either place. Ran the AC in the car. Even wore shorts. It sure doesn't feel like Christmas.
It's a good thing that Christmas isn't based on a feeling. It's Christmas not because of the weather or the people I'm around or not around. It's Christmas because of Immanuel - God with us!
I hope you can look beyond the circumstances and focus on the Savior.
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21
"When the fullness of time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons."
Galatians 4:4
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Finals Week
I have spent years and years as a student. The regular K-12. Four years for a BS in Economics and Finance. A masters degree and most of a doctorate. I will tell you that through high school I didn't have to study. Maybe I had a good memory. But "straight A's" became harder in college.
More distractions with work and family, maybe. It just got harder. I still wanted the perfect test scores but soon settled for A's and B's. Then a professor told the class, "D equals MDiv." That's funny and true but it probably hurt me down the road.
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| http://blogs.luc.edu |
So all that just to say that I understand the pressures of Finals Week. That's where we are around our house this week. Riley is taking finals for his first semester of 9th grade.
My advice to Riley throughout the last few years when finals became part of the experience was to be prepared. If you are prepared then there is nothing to worry about. Anything less than good preparation and you'll likely not recognize some of the test questions.
Panic can set in and blow the whole test. And the whole semester's grade. Nothing beats preparation. If you have prepared for the test then it doesn't matter if the questions are T/F, multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, or essay. Trick questions won't trip you up. So, as the Boy Scouts would say, "Be prepared!"
I worked for a few years leading a training department for a group of call centers. Part of my responsibility was to create training material, including the tests. Some employees complained the tests were too hard. Sure they were hard. But not too hard for those who were prepared. I worked by the motto, "If the training is hard, the job will be easy; if the training is easy, the job will be hard." I guess it worked. I recently heard from a friend that the company still uses some of my material. I've been gone nine years.
Life is like that. It doesn't matter if it's education, job training, athletic competition, or anything else. Preparation makes the difference.
What are you doing to be prepared for the next challenges in your life? Here are some tips.
- Always be learning. Learn more about what you currently do. Learn something new. Some of us know a great deal about one thing but very little about anything else. A broad knowledge base will help you when you face something new. Learners are leaders and leaders are learners.
- Read more. This can be part of learning but it's also part of protecting from the status quo. You can get into a rut regarding work, school, relationships, etc. Reading brings new ideas into your thinking process. Some ideas you will embrace. Others you'll cast away after pondering them. You may even quickly toss an idea you recognize as foolish. But if you aren't reading you aren't considering all the possibilities.
- Begin friendships with people who are different from you. You can choose the differences. And make sure the differences stretch your comfort levels. If you always surround yourself with people just like you, you'll never grow and the challenges may overwhelm you.
- Work or serve outside your area of expertise. Let your interests guide you. I am a pastor but I loved coaching youth baseball. I'm not a hunter but I love photography so I get out into nature with my camera. I'm an introvert but have volunteered to work the concession stand at busy ballgames just to work on interacting with others.
What else can you think of that will prepare you for the next challenges...many will be unexpected.
Wednesday, December 09, 2015
Training Our Children
Just outside my line of sight is a table of three old folks and a toddler. The toddler is a granddaughter to the couple; an uncle (great-uncle) is also with them.
The uncle asked the grandmother when the parents were coming back. "This week. Thank God!" I guess the joys of grandparenting can be tempered only by long sessions of having to do it.
Another part of the conversation caught my ear, too. As they sat down to eat the chicken biscuits they prayed. I don't really agree with the ritualistic way they did it but I appreciate that they prayed. And they made sure the toddler went through the motions with them. From their comments I could tell that the little girl is learning to pray with them.
The Bible tells us to teach our children the truths of scripture and the ways of God.
"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:6-9 NIV)
Years ago, a retired pastor told me, "We've raised a generation who have raised a generation without God." A lot truth rides in those words.
About 15 years ago I led a Bible study that focused on the problems associated with not following the Deuteronomy passage. The example in the center of the study was about King David and his descendants. David was a man after God's own heart. His son Solomon was a wise king but intermarried with pagans, and that diluted the worship of God. Solomon's sons were godless.
If we neglect, even slightly, the command to train our children in biblical principles we are making it easy for them to ignore biblical principles. And harder for them to adhere to them.
What are you doing to impress biblical principles upon your children and grandchildren? Here are some simple things you can do almost every day.
- Pray. Pray with them. Pray for them. Involve them in your prayers. Let them hear you pray for all sorts of issues. In this way they will learn that God cares about and can do something about every situation they will find themselves in later in life.
- Praise. If you are open and free with your praise of Holy God your children will learn that God is good and worthy of worship. So sing with the Christian songs on the radio or MP3. Acknowledge God's activity. Thank him for his goodness.
- Be involved. Going to church gatherings for worship and Bible study teach children that this is important. Going on a mission trip does the same. Regularly volunteering in a local ministry project (and take the kids with you!) tells them that loving God means loving others, too.
- Read the Bible. A teenager slogging through the kitchen at 6:45 each morning needs to see you with a Bible open. Or at least see the Bible open on the table so he'll know you've been reading. If you can involve them in Bible study with you that would be great. If not, at least you can share with them one truth you've learned that day. If you neglect God's word they will, too.
There is no silver bullet to make sure your children grow up to be faithful Christians. Modeling faithfulness is a good start. And it's commanded in scripture. No matter the age of your children or grandchildren, it's not too late to start training them in the ways of the Lord. And it's always too soon to stop.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Considering Retirement
Yesterday Kobe Bryant announced he would retire at the end of this season. David Ortiz said he would play for the Boston Red Sox one more year. We watched Sunday Night Football as the Broncos defeated the Patriots in overtime without Peyton Manning. Manning says he wants to play another year but his health may not allow that.
Sports is an arena for the young, strong, healthy. The person who can compete at a high level for a long time is an anomaly. Most of us never compete past the age of 18. Some sports allow participants to be ultra-competitive longer into life. It's not unusual for a 40 year old golfer to win championships but there aren't many at that age playing baseball, football, or basketball.
The physical nature of sports takes its toll on a body and there is nothing you can do about it. Except retire. So Kobe and Big Papi will run one more lap through their leagues. Peyton may make a comeback but even as amazing as he is it will be unlikely he will return to championship form.
We could list names from all walks of life that we've watched move into and out of the highest levels of success in their fields. One thing remains the same: time marches on.
As a Christian minister I see the same thing happen in churches. Whether it's the stress of serving or the glamour of retiring, each year another person steps away from teaching or serving or leading. "I've done it long enough. It's time for someone younger to take over."
I wonder what Paul (in the Bible) would say about that. His own journey tells me he would not accept the resignation of anybody. As a young man he was a zealous persecutor of the young Christian movement. After conversion he redirected his zeal toward evangelism. He pressed into new regions of the world taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people.
As the pressure against him ratcheted up, he didn't quit. Arrested, chased out of town, beaten, left for dead... Nothing stopped him from sharing Jesus with others. Nothing stopped him from teaching the truths of scripture. Nothing stopped him from mentoring young men to become leaders.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." These are some of the last word Paul wrote. Many of his letters to Christians are part of the New Testament. This letter to Timothy came from a prison cell. Paul would not live much longer but he served until the end.
You may not be able to serve int he same capacity you did when you were younger. You may be considering stepping aside and letting the younger folk take over. I want to encourage you to still be actively involved in ministry. No matter your age or physical ability, you can do something for the church.
Mrs. Margaret was a great example of this. She was elderly and couldn't attend church very often but she still found a way to serve. Every Saturday she would call every family in the church (it was a small church) and ask what their prayer needs were and remind them to come to church the next day. Then she would report her findings. When Mrs. Margaret could attend she would hand me a piece of paper with all the names listed along with their prayer needs and why they would miss church if they were not coming.
Imagine getting a phone call every week from someone asking how they can pray for you. I believe that would transform many churches. I believe that would transform many Christians. And it happened in this church because one woman didn't retire.
You are not an athlete with a multi-million dollar contract. You are worth much more than that. You may not be able to do what you used to do but you can do something. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith.
Sports is an arena for the young, strong, healthy. The person who can compete at a high level for a long time is an anomaly. Most of us never compete past the age of 18. Some sports allow participants to be ultra-competitive longer into life. It's not unusual for a 40 year old golfer to win championships but there aren't many at that age playing baseball, football, or basketball.
The physical nature of sports takes its toll on a body and there is nothing you can do about it. Except retire. So Kobe and Big Papi will run one more lap through their leagues. Peyton may make a comeback but even as amazing as he is it will be unlikely he will return to championship form.
We could list names from all walks of life that we've watched move into and out of the highest levels of success in their fields. One thing remains the same: time marches on.
As a Christian minister I see the same thing happen in churches. Whether it's the stress of serving or the glamour of retiring, each year another person steps away from teaching or serving or leading. "I've done it long enough. It's time for someone younger to take over."
I wonder what Paul (in the Bible) would say about that. His own journey tells me he would not accept the resignation of anybody. As a young man he was a zealous persecutor of the young Christian movement. After conversion he redirected his zeal toward evangelism. He pressed into new regions of the world taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to unreached people.
As the pressure against him ratcheted up, he didn't quit. Arrested, chased out of town, beaten, left for dead... Nothing stopped him from sharing Jesus with others. Nothing stopped him from teaching the truths of scripture. Nothing stopped him from mentoring young men to become leaders.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." These are some of the last word Paul wrote. Many of his letters to Christians are part of the New Testament. This letter to Timothy came from a prison cell. Paul would not live much longer but he served until the end.
You may not be able to serve int he same capacity you did when you were younger. You may be considering stepping aside and letting the younger folk take over. I want to encourage you to still be actively involved in ministry. No matter your age or physical ability, you can do something for the church.
Mrs. Margaret was a great example of this. She was elderly and couldn't attend church very often but she still found a way to serve. Every Saturday she would call every family in the church (it was a small church) and ask what their prayer needs were and remind them to come to church the next day. Then she would report her findings. When Mrs. Margaret could attend she would hand me a piece of paper with all the names listed along with their prayer needs and why they would miss church if they were not coming.
Imagine getting a phone call every week from someone asking how they can pray for you. I believe that would transform many churches. I believe that would transform many Christians. And it happened in this church because one woman didn't retire.
You are not an athlete with a multi-million dollar contract. You are worth much more than that. You may not be able to do what you used to do but you can do something. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Black Friday
I'm not out shopping today. That's not to say I'm not shopping, just not out and about. Not yet anyway.
But social media has lots of good posts about the mess you guys are in out there.
For example, you are more likely to get in a fight on Black Friday in Arkansas than in any other state. So says estately.com and the thousands of us who reposted. Honestly, I think this may apply to any day of the year in Arkansas, not just Black Friday. Just saying'...
Everybody is posting pictures of the food they ate and who they ate with. The variety of the celebrations fascinates me.
And most people post something about being thankful. Sometimes it's just a general statement and other times it's a pretty good list. I wonder if many of us think to thank God for all this rather than just to be thankful in some way that's detached from the giver of all gifts.
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention distributes a weekly email called The Weekly that contains tidbits of information relevant to the week. This week's email came today and the following was the top article. Before getting to the article, let me make a couple of comments. Go to erlc.com/theweekly and sign up to receive The Weekly in your inbox.
Notice that Black Friday was first used to indicate the dark side of bad side of the holiday rush - traffic. What a mess the traffic must have been in the 1950s! Imagine what the Philadelphia PD officers from that time would say if they had to work today. Anyway, while shoppers think of Black Friday as The Day to get great deals, and while businesses see Black Friday as the key to making a profit for the year, the term started as a negative. Isn't it uncanny the way we can turn a negative image into a money-maker?
Here's the article.
But social media has lots of good posts about the mess you guys are in out there.
For example, you are more likely to get in a fight on Black Friday in Arkansas than in any other state. So says estately.com and the thousands of us who reposted. Honestly, I think this may apply to any day of the year in Arkansas, not just Black Friday. Just saying'...
Everybody is posting pictures of the food they ate and who they ate with. The variety of the celebrations fascinates me.
 |
| erlc.com/theweekly |
The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention distributes a weekly email called The Weekly that contains tidbits of information relevant to the week. This week's email came today and the following was the top article. Before getting to the article, let me make a couple of comments. Go to erlc.com/theweekly and sign up to receive The Weekly in your inbox.
Notice that Black Friday was first used to indicate the dark side of bad side of the holiday rush - traffic. What a mess the traffic must have been in the 1950s! Imagine what the Philadelphia PD officers from that time would say if they had to work today. Anyway, while shoppers think of Black Friday as The Day to get great deals, and while businesses see Black Friday as the key to making a profit for the year, the term started as a negative. Isn't it uncanny the way we can turn a negative image into a money-maker?
Here's the article.
5 Facts About Black Friday
Today is the unofficial first day of the holiday shopping season. Here are five facts you should know about “Black Friday.”
1. The term "Black Friday" was coined by the Philadelphia Police Department's traffic squad in the 1950s. According to Philadelphia newspaper reporter Joseph P. Barrett, “It was the day that Santa Claus took his chair in the department stores and every kid in the city wanted to see him. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season.” Barrettt first used the term in the city’s newspaper, the Evening Bulletin, in 1961 to refer to the traffic problems on that day. Local merchants complained to police commissioner Albert N. Brown about the negative association of the term, so Brown released a press release describing the day as “Big Friday.” By then it was too late; the media had already started referring to the day after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday.”
2. Because so few people were aware of the origin of the term Black Friday, an alternative explanation became popular: that it is the day on which retailers finally began to show a profit for the year (in accounting terms, moving from being "in the red" to "in the black"). The earliest use of this meaning, though, dates only to the early 1980s.
3. The predecessor to “Black Friday” was the “Santa Claus parade.” Canadian department store Eaton's held the first Santa Claus parade on December 2, 1905. Santa’s appearance at the end of the parade signaled that the holiday season — and Christmas shopping — had begun. In the U.S., the department store Macy’s adopted the idea and started sponsoring similar parades across the country. The most famous event, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City, began in 1924.
4. For several years in the 1930s, the date of Thanksgiving was moved to increase the Christmas shopping period. At the request of retailers, Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to move his holiday proclamation up one week to the fourth Thursday in November. Of the then-48 states, 32 joined Roosevelt in the “Democratic Thanksgiving” while 16 stuck with the “Republican Thanksgiving” of the traditional date. After critics complained about “Franksgiving,” Roosevelt signed legislation making Thanksgiving a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday in November.
5. In 2009, K-Mart became the first major national retailer to open its stores on Thanksgiving morning. Several other large retailers—including Wal-Mart, Sears, and Toys R Us—also began opening their stores a day early in 2011. Since then, Black Friday has been replaced by what some retailers refer to as “Grey Thursday.”
Monday, November 23, 2015
Persecution
The last few weeks I've been reading about global religious persecution. Christians in Muslim and Communist contexts suffer greatly for their faith. Radical Islam calls for the extinction of the infidels. Communist dogma demands total allegiance to the government leaving no place for religion.
But Christianity is no stranger to persecution. As I prepared for a sermon from Second Thessalonians my study reminded me that the church in Thessalonica was birthed amid persecution (see Acts 17). Jesus told his disciples that they would certainly be hated by the world just as the world hated Christ. The New Testament repeatedly tells of Christians facing persecution.
The American church seems to be immune to it, though. Even in recent years while we have watched the culture and the government move away from biblical morality, persecution hardly describes our plight.
When I think of immunity I think of not being impacted (getting a sickness) by something negative around you. Maybe a person's tolerance is built up against the disease. Maybe they have been inoculated. The best way to avoid the flu is to wash your hands frequently, stay away from those who are sick, and get the shot.
It's that "stay away from those who are sick" that bothers me about the American church and persecution. I've learned in my recent reading that persecution is to be expected - it's natural - when the gospel moves into the darkness of sin. If one Muslim becomes a Christian and is the only believer in his village, he will be persecuted severely. If one house church in a communist country is exposed they will be shut down, jailed, or worse. As the light of the gospel pushes against the darkness, darkness wants to push back.
So why do American Christians not face persecution like so many of our brothers and sisters around the world do? Does it have anything to do with the conflict between the light of the gospel and the darkness of sin? I think so. We make a lot of noise about the gospel but do we make much progress in advancing the gospel.
Let me say it this way: We seem to be more concerned with making sure we are free to share our faith than we are with actually sharing our faith.
Have you had a child learning to play an instrument? Remember what you endured in those early months or years? It was noise more than music. But remember how it one day turned to music as they continued with practice and the tones were more melodic? When Christians sound off about things other than the gospel we sound like a toddler banging on pots and pans. But when we faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ it sounds right.
And what sounds right to the Lord sounds awful to darkness. So persecution is the response. We shouldn't go out looking for persecution. At the same time we ought not let the fear of persecution keep us from going out.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Let us live out our faith and tell others about our Savior even if persecution may come. Let us remember in prayer our brothers and sisters who face persecution today.
But Christianity is no stranger to persecution. As I prepared for a sermon from Second Thessalonians my study reminded me that the church in Thessalonica was birthed amid persecution (see Acts 17). Jesus told his disciples that they would certainly be hated by the world just as the world hated Christ. The New Testament repeatedly tells of Christians facing persecution.
The American church seems to be immune to it, though. Even in recent years while we have watched the culture and the government move away from biblical morality, persecution hardly describes our plight.
When I think of immunity I think of not being impacted (getting a sickness) by something negative around you. Maybe a person's tolerance is built up against the disease. Maybe they have been inoculated. The best way to avoid the flu is to wash your hands frequently, stay away from those who are sick, and get the shot.
It's that "stay away from those who are sick" that bothers me about the American church and persecution. I've learned in my recent reading that persecution is to be expected - it's natural - when the gospel moves into the darkness of sin. If one Muslim becomes a Christian and is the only believer in his village, he will be persecuted severely. If one house church in a communist country is exposed they will be shut down, jailed, or worse. As the light of the gospel pushes against the darkness, darkness wants to push back.
So why do American Christians not face persecution like so many of our brothers and sisters around the world do? Does it have anything to do with the conflict between the light of the gospel and the darkness of sin? I think so. We make a lot of noise about the gospel but do we make much progress in advancing the gospel.
Let me say it this way: We seem to be more concerned with making sure we are free to share our faith than we are with actually sharing our faith.
Have you had a child learning to play an instrument? Remember what you endured in those early months or years? It was noise more than music. But remember how it one day turned to music as they continued with practice and the tones were more melodic? When Christians sound off about things other than the gospel we sound like a toddler banging on pots and pans. But when we faithfully proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ it sounds right.
And what sounds right to the Lord sounds awful to darkness. So persecution is the response. We shouldn't go out looking for persecution. At the same time we ought not let the fear of persecution keep us from going out.
Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Let us live out our faith and tell others about our Savior even if persecution may come. Let us remember in prayer our brothers and sisters who face persecution today.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Troubles All Around
Do you think about the problems other people experience? If I'm not careful I will focus on my problems and pay no attention to what goes on around me. I'm trying to get better at it; it's a daily endeavor.
A social media post I saw yesterday suggested to listen for one hour and then talk for one hour and see which hour was better spent. We spend way too much time inwardly focused and miss the chance to engage in another person's life.
Jesus was great at perceiving the needs of the people he met. He often heard or saw through the smoke screen people put up. You now what I mean - we can be pretty good at projecting an image that's not a true rendering of our lives. Jesus cut through the fiction and spoke to the truth.
Was that because he is God? Yes, but we shouldn't give up on our ability to do the same. As believers we have the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus - within us. The Spirit does much in our lives and one of the things he equips us to do is to see people as Jesus sees them, to hear them as Jesus does.
What might you hear? Longings of person who thinks there is no hope. Cries of a person who is deeply hurt. Questions of a person who is confused by the contradictions of this world. Anger from a person made at everything. Pessimism from a person who has been dealt one blow after another. Each of them needs someone to speak life and hope and joy into their souls.
You may also hear the relief of a person who has sensed the presence of God in their lives. Joy from one who finally let God have control of everything. Celebration that arises from victories only God can engineer. These people also need someone to listen to them and to encourage them.
In wedding ceremonies I will often tell the coupe that in the marriage relationship they will discover some interesting math. Their sorrows will be halved as they share the burdens; their joys will be doubled as they share the good things.
The same can be true for other relationships. People need people. Will you be the person someone needs today?
My friends in gospel music recorded a song many year ago that says, "If you'll move over a little bit I'll help you carry the load." Someone needs you.
Thursday, November 05, 2015
Junk
I also receive email that I intended to get. Some of my favorite speakers and writers have regular posts that I like to see. I get updates from my favorite sports teams. I'll get notices when my favorite blogs have been updated. (You can do that for this blog. Look over there to the right where it says, "Get new posts delivered to your inbox.")
Paying bills online is pretty cool. Make sure you trust the sites you use. But if you do use the online systems you'll get email when a new statement is available, when the bill is due, when the bill is past due, and when a payment is received. You'll get their annual privacy policy reminders they are required by law to send to their customers.
Now days I get fewer and fewer email that I really anticipate getting. When my family emails me…I like that. When a friend checks in…I like that. But I don't get as much email like that as I use to get. Why? Because email is not the most popular or easiest way to communicate. Do you remember when you first got into email - this is really for the 50+ crowd. It was new. We had never seen it before. We had to learn how to use the applications. Then we emailed everyone about everything. And if you are an information/communication packrat like me, you built up a very healthy data file.
The IT guy at the company I worked for when I first got email came to me one day. "You know, you have a pretty big data file for your email account. Don't you ever delete anything." "It's not that I don't delete email, it's that I save a lot of it." A LOT OF IT. Ever had that conversation with a boss that turns out to be "He said vs I said"? Yeah, I save email. Big data file.
So there are a lot of ways we can get information that have pushed email from the pedestal…at least in my circles. Social media and messaging rule!
And what about the information they receive through Bible studies and sermons? Does that just automatically go the the "Junk" folder to be ignored for a while then deleted altogether? Do Christians anticipate receiving the Good News found in the Bible?
I believe a person's attitude about the Word of God is on display in the way they apply its teachings.
Just like my email is full of stuff I don't really look at, my social media accounts are that way, too. I skip over much of it. But there is no page in your Bible you can skip over. None of it is junk. Every word was written on paper by men but inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to us great truths about God, to draw us to him, and to transform our lives.
Every moment spent reading God's word is valuable. Every Bible study you participate in is worthwhile. Every sermon you hear can help you. (I really feel like I should qualify "Bible study" and "sermon" to eliminate those that aren't true to scripture. But isn't it a shame that we feel like we have to differentiate between biblical Bible study and non-biblical Bible study? Between biblical sermons and non-biblical sermons? Like my preaching professor said on the first day of "Biblical Preaching" class, "Is there really any other kind of preaching?")
I should treasure every word from God even more than I treasure the email and messages and calls from my family and friends. So should you. Anticipate hearing from God. Prepare to hear from God. Enjoy hearing from God. Apply what you hear from God.
That will help you deal with a lot of the junk that piles up in your life.
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