Called To Die

Detrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him to die."  It doesn't sound very appealing on the surface.  One has to wonder why anyone would accept such a call.  One might also wonder if Jesus really calls us in the way Bonhoeffer suggests.

Let me first say that Detrich Bonhoeffer not only believed what he said, he did exactly that.  Taking a a stand against the Nazi dictatorship and Hitler's genocide of the Jews led to his imprisonment and finally death by hanging.  He could have pastored a Lutheran church without running aground against  the Nazi machine, but he could not have been faithful to God without raising his voice against the evil of his day.

And Bonhoeffer was not mistaken about what Jesus called us to do.  He did not necessarily call us to the hangman's noose Bonhoeffer experienced or even to die a martyr's death at all.  But he did call us to give up our lives, naming them His own and accepting whatever fate following Jesus might bring us to.  His precise words were, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Mk 8:34).  oooooooo

Jesus calls us to deny what we want in life, taking up the cross He may ask us to bear.  Crosses, by the way, are not designed for discipline or for rehabilitation, they were made to die on.  Once yo take up your cross, there was no going back, death was the only outcome.

Whatever it means, whatever it costs, Jesus calls us to follow after, accepting whatever following him might demand of us.  It means to put Christ's will ahead of our own and be willing to go and to do as He bids.  Jus' Say'n.

Did God Really Say...?

When God told Adam and Eve "you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die" (Gen 2:17),  Satan did not begin by directly challenging God's Word, instead, he placed a seed of doubt in Eve's mind: "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen 2:18.  That was enough to get her to begin to open her mind to question what God had directed and from there rebellion sprang.

He hasn't changed his tatics.  God tells you not to murder but did he really say not to abort the baby growing in your womb?  God said that from the beginnng He made us male and female and "for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Matt 19:5) but did he really say that a man was not to marry a man or a woman marry a woman?  God said "do not get drunk on wine" (Eph 5:18) but did he really say to not get high on Marijuana?

There are any number of ways to insert this seed of doubt so that it grows into fruit of rebellion, tempting us to do what what a simple reading of God's Word would plainly tell us not to do or refusing to do what is plain he asks of you.  God said "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation" (Mk 16:15) but did he really say that I ought to share my faith with friends and family?  He said, "do not forsake the assembly" (Heb 10:25) but did he really say I ought to attend church services?  Take anything God said to do or not do, add "did he really say...?" and the foundation to resist God's will begins to be built.

The foundation of disobedience is doubt - doubt that God really meant what he said or that he really said it with you or your situation in mind.  It begins with our desire to do or not do something and then to revisit God's Word using a lens of personal desire instead of devotion.  Clear communication from the Father becomes muddle messages when we listen through the filter of "I want" instead of "I ought."  We take the light of what we ought and bend it through the prism of what we want, asking "Did God really say...?"

Start with the desire to follow God above self, to make His will your reality.  Then go to His Word and read it with eyes of God's desire rather than your own.  Ask God to make new lenses for you that are free from the discoloraton of personal prejudice and desire, lenses that are clear and able to see his unadulterated Word.  Let us work to bend our will instead of bending His Word.  Jus' Say'n.

Grace Enough

The apostle Paul suffered a "thorn in his flesh," (2 Cor 12:8), given to keep him humble.  While there is no clear biblical statement given as to what it was, my thinking is that it was failing eyesight as Paul wrote to the Galatians, "I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me" (Gal 4:15b).  One can only imagine the difficulty going blind would cause an itinerate preacher in the 1st century.

Regardless of what it was, I do know the answer for his circumstance: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor 12:9).  God's answer was not to take away Paul's difficulty but to remind him that the Lord's gifts  would carry him through - that he need not worry whether his ability was enough for God's ability was more than enough.

The thorn God allowed was an opportunity for Paul to turn away from self-reliance to reliance on God.  He could give up the notion and the concern of whether he was capable and rest in the knowledge that God is more than able to face or accomplish whatever was set before Paul.  This thorn was both God's challenge to Paul's faith and God's power released in Paul's faith.

Here's the thing about the size of one's faith: "Oh, brethren, be great believers!  Little faith will bring our souls to Heaven, but great faith will bring Heaven to our souls" (C.H. Spurgeon).  Salvation is based on just enough faith to put our faith in Jesus but confidence is based on the developing of that faith as we lean on and trust in God to do what we cannot do.

Imagine the confidence and the peace one would have if he/she truly accepted this truth: God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Gal 3:20).  What would you be facing that you wouldn't have the power to overcome?  Jus' Ask'n.

Life Actually

There is the life you imagined, the life you planned for, worked for, hoped for. looked forward to.  And then, there is the life you actually wound up with, the life of daily grind and failed expectation.  The life where everything goes according to plan is replaced with a life requiring a new plan.  You discover that life is seldom about plan A but often about plan B or C.

You planned on a full life with a supportive mate, you  wound up a single parent whose life is filled with struggles and challenges you never dreamed would be yours.  You looked forward to a retirement of travel and adventure but realized one where the only travel you  do is to the doctor's office or the local pharmacy as you struggle with an illness you never saw coming.  You dreamed of owning a house in the country, you live in a rented trailer in the city.  Life actually doesn't look much life life planned.

So what now?  Now that life has turned out to be anything but what you hoped or dreamed, what now?  Well, what's next is totally up to you.  You can become bitter or better.  You can step up to the plate or step deeper into your pity.  You have an opportunity to lean in upon the Lord, look  for the best your life has to offer and go with it, or lament your lot in life and look for things to complain about.

Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" (Matt 6:22-23).  He tells us that we can choose to focus on either the good in our lives or the bad - light or dark.  Our choice does not change our circumstance but rather our outlook and our inner state.  Focusing on the negative darkens our spirit, focusing on the positive brightens it.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
[16] Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. [17] For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. [18] 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. …

Life actually is not actually what our circumstances dictate, it is what we decide, with God's help,  to make of it.  Some of the happiest people I have known have been dealt some of the worst blows in life.  Some of the most miserable I've seen have been given everything on a silver platter.  It isn't what you have but what you perceive that determines your attitude and ultimately your reality.

And, what you perceive is determined on where you are looking: "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Cor 4:16-18).  Jus' Say'n, actually.

Birthdays

There was a comic entertainer/variety show personality named Jack Benny who was popular when I was young and even before I arrived on planet Earth.  Part of his persona was to lay claim to the age of 39 for which he must have celebrated many anniversaries.  Unlike so many in Hollywood (and much of America today), he had no illusion of his advancing years, he simply used it as a sort of calling card.

We dye our hair, lift our faces, tuck our tummies, do whatever we can to make the tide of age seem to be held at bay.  I believe it was the late comedian, Joan Rivers, who quipped, "If I  have one more face lift, my belly button will be on my forehead."  She and so many others pulled out all the stops but the years do not stop and the aging process is not abated.  Birthdays stack up until the last one is reached.

How many of those birthdays we'll have is a mystery to us (actually we only have one birthday, the rest our anniversaries) but not to God.  "A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed" (Job 14:5).  I'm not sure exactly how this works. But I don't subscribed to a specific day of death being determined, rather to a limit of how many days we could reach.

One who lived to be 75 might have reached 80 if he had taken better of himself but would not have seen 85 regardless of cardio sets, nutritional compliance or stress reduction.  Some are born with a propensity to high blood pressure, low sugar levels, enlarged hearts, etc.  Some people do everything right and die young, others eat nothing but junk food and only run to catch the ice cream truck but live to be quite elderly.  The limit has been set.

However, how healthy one is and well he/she feels is more determined by choices.  And, how close to the limit set by God one reaches is also impacted by choices.  "For physical training is of some value" (1 Tim 4:8a).  It does make a difference how well we treat our bodies.

But it doesn't make much difference how long we live if we aren't making a difference.  For while physical training is of some value, "godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come" (1 Tim 4:8b).  How long we live pales in comparison to how well we live, who we serve as we are living and what we are achieving while on this planet.

Birthdays ought to be celebrated as the anniversaries of another year in service to God and our work in his kingdom here on Earth.  Birthdays are gifts from God that are portioned out to us not earned by us or determined by us.  God gives us another birthday in order to allow more opportunity to make a difference in this world.  As such, the two dates on our headstone are not nearly as important as what takes place in the dash (-) between them.  Mine is 1955 - 20??   I don't care so much about the ?? as I do the - which precedes them.  Jus' Say'n.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

On the way to the Emerald City of Oz, Dorothy, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow had to travel through the Haunted Forrest in which they feared they might encounter "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"  They did indeed encounter a lion, the Cowardly Lion, who became an integral player in their success at reaching the Emerald City.  The lion they feared was part of the answer they sought.

King David, was tending his father's sheep when both a "lion and a bear carried off a sheep from the flock" (1 Sam 17:34).  Similarly to Dorothy and crew, both beasts became integral to his success at becoming king.  When Israel was was being taunted by the giant Goliath, backed by the Philistine army, David came forward, volunteering to face him in one-on-one battle saying, "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God" (v. 36).

Because of his experiences with both the lion and the bear, David was confident that "The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me fro the hand of his Philistine" (v. 37).  It was not in being kept in safety that David developed as a warrior king, it was being given strength in adversity that produced the spiritual muscle, which seasoned this shepherd boy into king and commander of the Lord's army.

While we tend to seek peace and safety, it is the risky and unsettled times that produce the most growth in us.  As couples, we look back at the hard, lean years with fondness, realizing how difficult they were and how far we've come, but knowing it was in those years our bond was forged and our faith was increased.

It is the rigors of college, not lazy days of summer, that results in knowledge and life skills to help propel us through life.  It is the pain of weight sets not sitting at the juice bar that produces the muscle growth we desire.  It is the pain of loss not the easy gain of luck that causes us to appreciate and treasure what we have.  It is facing the lions and tigers and bears that make the journey so eventful and character building as to cause us to achieve and become better, stronger and more courageous.

Paul wrote of the Macedonian churches, "In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity...And they exceeded our expectations..." (2 Cor 8:1-5).  You may be facing a difficult time right now, ripe with lions and tigers and bears, but this may be just the opportunity for God to develop the spiritual muscle you will need to propel you through this world as you travel to the True Emerald City - Heaven itself, the City of God.  Jus' Say'n.

'Til Death

So, you stood at the altar before tte preacher and proclaimed your love to each other, proclaimg "'Til death do us part," except you're not dead and you are not together.  The reason?  Someone didn't - someone, maybe both did not continue to love 'til death.

It may not have been your wish, your spouse may have simply left or may have become physically abusive or gotten caught up in an addiction that made life together impossible.  Nonetheless, the 'til death part became a footnote in the marriage obituary.  It doesn't necessarily take two people to end a marriage, one can do that.  But it does take two for a marriage to continue 'til death.

The element missing in a marriage on the rocks or one already on the garbage heap is biblical love in one or both.  This kind of love, the love God intends for us to have for one another, doesn't end when the good times end, it doesn't end when the good looks end, it doesn't end when bad attitude begins, it doesn't end when the bad news begins - this kind of love "always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres" (1 Cor 13:7).  This kind of love continues "in good time and bad, 'til death do us part."

This kind of love is often better illustrated in the way we love our children than how we love our spouses.  Our children can disappoint us, lie to us, steal from us, cause us harm, cause us to weep, turn their backs on us - you name it.  But as parents, when it comes to our children, we tend to persevere in love, we look for ways to work it out, we keep the door open, we continue to love even when they don't love us back.

It's rather amazing, this love that parents tend to have - not always, some people are not very good at being a parent and some children push parents to points beyond the limits of human endurance.  But, so often, it remains.  It remains because it is the love God invests in us and we invest in our children and ought to invest in our mates.  And when couples do, they have marriages lasting a lifetime.  Familial bonds extend to one's last breath when based on this love.

I'm not saying that marriages should continue regardless.  Some people are cruel and dangerous.  Some people do not keep their vows of fidelity.  Some times an individual has no choice but to accept the fact that the marriage is dead, and have, in a sense, been faithful 'til death.  But what I am saying is that couples need to bank on the good times as they struggle through the bad ones; as long as there is any life in the relationship in order to have a marriage that truly lasts 'til death.  Jus' Say'n.

Solitude

Back in the late 70s, I listened to a speaker at the Tulsa Soul-Winning Workshop name Alan Bryan.  I don't remember much about his presentation on prayer beyond a personal illustration from his own life experience.  He spoke of a fairly recent event wherein he had been struggling to find time to write a book he had in mind.

Alan said that one morning before he left his house he prayed to the Lord for an opportunity to write this book.  After praying, he headed out the back door and promptly fell down the steps, breaking both legs.  He was bedfast for six weeks, in which time he wrote his book that is still being sold on Amazon today, "Climb Happiness Hill."  I remember him warning, "Be careful what you pray for."

I am not saying that God pushed him down the stairs or tied his shoelaces.  He might have had a part in it or allowed Satan to assist or just let Alan's natural clumsiness go unchecked.  Whatever, I do know that times of solitude, where distractions are removed, can be times of great focus to grow, learn or accomplish great things for the kingdom.

From a biblical  accounting, Moses was alone on Mt Sinai 40 days and nights before God gave him the 10 Commandments to deliver to Israel.  God kept Israel in the wilderness for 40 years before allowing them to enter the Promise Land.  Elijah had to journey 40 days and nights in the wilderness before God met with him on Mt Horeb to prepare him to anoint kings over Aram and Israel, and to anoint Elisha as his successor.  Jesus was sent into the wilderness 40 days and nights in preparation for his personal ministry.

I'm not really saying that God requires 40  days and nights of solitude from you in order to accomplish his work in you or me.  The amount of solitude or time alone with God may be as long or short as He desires.  But I can say that Alan Bryan's 6 week period was about 40 days and nights in duration.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  Perhaps God allows us to carve out daily time on our own or he may carve out a larger amount of concentrated time when necessary.

What I am certain of is that all of us, even the giants of faith like Moses, even the perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, needed time alone with the Father.  "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mk 1:35).  And, if Jesus needed time alone with the Father, how much more do we need that solitude?

I'm not sure if you or I need to go on a retreat or simply go off by ourselves to pray and commune with the Father for an extended period.  Although, I have no doubt it would be a time of equipping and enrichment.  I am sure that we need to carve out time to be alone with God.  I personally get up early, before the sun is up in order to pray, read and write.  I find this time invaluable.  I hope you will find your time to be alone with God and his Word.  I pray that you can carve out times of solitude to commune with the Father.  Who knows what he might have in mind for you.  Jus' Say'n.

Tattoos and Trimmed Beards

Tattoos are very popular today.  They are also reviled by many in the Christian community as something that God specifically forbids: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.  I am the Lord" (Lev 19:28).  There you have it, "do not put tattoo marks on yourselves."  Or do we?

Notice the context, "for the dead."  Did that only apply to cutting of the body or did it not intimate the rest of the sentence, which included tattoos.  In other words, do not cut your body or put tattoos on it for the dead.  Is it about tattoos or is it about a practice involving the dead such as perhaps necromancy that involves "divination" that was called out two verses prior (v. 26)?

If you look at verses 26-28, you will see that the Lord prohibits "divination, cutting the hair at the sides of one's head, clipping the edges of one's beard, cutting oneself and tattoos."  Interesting that the ones against tattoos have no problems with close hair cuts or trimmed beards.

I'm not advocating for tattoos or suggesting that we should all have scraggly beards (especially women) but I am suggesting that we not cherry-pick a part of a passage and take a stand on it while ignoring its context or the entirety of the verse.  If we are going to use this passage to decry tattoos, ought we not insist that we let our hair grow below our ears and aim for a Duck Commander profile?

Or perhaps, ought we not look to the Law of Christ that was written "not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor 3:3).  Ought we not turn aside from the Law of Moses and to the Law of Christ as Paul says in Galatians 2:21, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law [of Moses], Christ died for nothing."

In other words, how about we try finding out what someone's heart looks like instead of their skin?  What if we pass on deciding one's character by tattoos, hair styles, piercings, beards, etc.?  By the way, what is the difference in piercing one's ears and piercing one's nose?  What's the difference in a tattoo and permanent makeup?  Oh, I don't have tattoos, piercings or permanent makeup but I love some that do.  You might be one of them - got earrings?

I have to admit, I do keep my beard trimmed and my hair cut short.  Although, I've been thinking about that Duck Commander look.  And, I don't think much of it.  However, I'm OK with anyone else, other than my wife, adopting it.  I don't see myself in earrings but I have been thinking about a shoulder patch with a Christian theme (actually I've been thinking about it for years, which I believe to be a good idea when talking about something so permanent).

So, what do you think?  Deny tattoos and require longer hair and scraggly beards or pass on judging such things and get to know another's heart instead?  Jus' Ask'n.

Gratitude

A few decades back, I read the story of a preacher from generations past, whose name I have long forgotten.  It was said of this man that he was robbed of his money bag one day at the point of a knife. When asked how he felt about being robbed, he replied, "Grateful."  He went on to explain: "I am grateful that I had something to steal.  I  am grateful he did no more than steal.  And, I am grateful that I am not a thief."

I am not sure of the veracity of the story above, I am not certain of the exactness of the quotations.  But I positively stand behind the premise of gratitude, which is on display in its presentation.  I know that gratitude in the face of loss is the biblical place upon which to stand.  I am convinced that looking for the good for which to praise God instead of the bad for which to complain is a point of separation from the spirit of the world and the Spirit of Christ.

Jesus reveals that "the eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be filled with light.  But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be filled with darkness" (Matt 6:22-23).  He warned that focusing on the bad, darkens the spirit while focusing on the good brightens it.

The apostle Paul, filled with the Spirit of Christ, said that we are to "rejoice always" (Phil 4:4) and that the "secret o being content in every circumstance" (v.12) is found "in him [Christ] who gives me strength" (v. 13).  And, he instructs us to "sing with gratitude in our hearts to God" (Col 3:16) and "whatever we do to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus with gratitude in our hearts" (v. 17).

Rather than get tied up in knots over the circumstances of life, the Spirit of Christ calls us to relax and "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Phil 4:6).

Having an attitude of gratitude towards God for all  the good he brings into your life shines the light of truth on the darkness of  the moment when life closes in, the truth that, in Christ, we have the victory and that "in all things, God works for the good of those who love him... (Rom 8:28).  So, don't stress.  Instead, "let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near" (Phil 4:5).  Jus' Say'n.

Hope-filled v. Hopeful

Hopeful thinking is generally equated with wishful thinking.  It is seen as an state of mind based on desire rather than reality.  Hopeful thinking is little more than grasping at the straws of what we wish we could have or do that a check with the facts or likelihood of a change in those facts proves to be founded more on fantasy than reality.

When someone expresses a desired outcome that we don't think is possible or likely, we might respond, "Well, that's hopeful thinking."  There is little to no encouragement in our words.  We mean to convey that their hopeful or wishful thinking is off base and not likely to be realized.

Some confuse hopeful thinking with biblical "hope-filled" thinking.  The difference, however is real and profound.  Hope-filled thinking is not based on personal wishes or desires, it is based on the promises of God.  It's coming reality is as real as God himself and his ability to make it so.

An example that will resonate with many of us is our memories of being hope-filled when Grandma made a promise.  If my Grandma said she was going to do something, "it was all over but the shouting."  She would "move heaven and earth" to make it so.  I didn't have to wonder if it were going to happen, I only had to wait until it happened or appeared.  When Grandma said so, it was so in my experience.  My hope-filled response to her promises was based on my belief in who and what she was.

Similarly as with my Grandma, Paul said of hope in God, "But if we hope for what we do not have yet have, we wait for it patiently" (Rom 8:25).  And, "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Cor 3:12).  We can "hold unswervingly to the hope we possess, for he who promised is faithful" (Heb 10:23).

As faithful to her word as a grandma might be, she cannot really insure her promises, try as she  might.  As much as we might trust in her and hold out hope in what she promises, they are not absolute.  But with God, "not one of all the good promises the Lord God gave you has failed.  Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed" (Josh 23:14).

As children of God, regardless of how things may seem to be going at the moment, the victory in Christ is secure, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ.  And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God" (2 Cor 1:20).  Jus' Say'n.

Counting Chickens

My Southern roots have afforded me with a storehouse of old sayings, cliches and country wit.  I'm "fine as frog's hair" when things are going just fine - I might be "fine as frog's hair, split nine ways and sanded, if things are really fine.  I "don't cry over spilt milk," I set the bucket up and keep milking.  When I'm completely out of my elementt, "I'm as nervous as a long-tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs."  And, when it comes to future events, "I don't count my chickens until the eggs are hatched."

On the farm, eggs hold the promise of hatching into chickens but that outcome is not promised.  Say again?  Eggs, if properly fertilized, adequately protected and having no anomolies to prevent hatching, will produce chickens.  But hatching is definitely an if/then reality.  If everything goes right, then the eggs will hatch.  If not, then scramble, fry, boil or poach what might have been.

So, the life lesson on counting chickens before the eggs are hatched is that we cannot know the futrue, that even, as investment firms are required to warn, past performance is not assurance of future outcomes.  Since we cannot control all the variables in life, we cannot control its outcomes.  We can only predict the future we can control, to the degree that we can control it.  And no man, woman or child can control absolutely control it, only impact it.

James puts it this way, "Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow..." (4:13-14).  You may have all kinds of plans for tomorrow, but they may all go south.  You may not even be here tomorrow.  Predicting the future is not in your purview.

However, it is in God's control.  He can count the chickens that are going to hatch because he can control the varibles to make them hatch.  He can predict the future because he can propell the present on any trajectory he wishes, which is why James added, "Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that'" (v. 15).

No, we cannot guarantee or predict the futre with full assurance, but God can.  And while my plans may be thwarted and come to ruin, God's plans will not.  That is why, although I cannot predict even what tomorrow might bring, I can know that God will provide.  I can even know what eternity has in store for me for God's promises are certain.  I cannot know what the future may hold but I know who holds my future.  In God I trust, knowing that the chickens he counts out for me are already hatching. Jus' Say'n.

Passing Through

Growing up there were some difficult times, times when we had no electricity or indoor plumbing, times when we had to accept government commodities and times our whole world was uprooted.  Regardless of the circumstance or the challenge before us, my mother would always assure us, "This too will pass."

Having lived through the Great Depression and so many other personal losses, she knew by experience that God was faithful and we would most certainly come out on the other side of whatever the world through at us. My mother was right. God is faithful and the trials of life are only part of the journey we face traveling through like a stretch of bad road or a patch of rough seas.

For one who is in Christ, having the knowledge of salvation and ultimate victory over sin and sorrow, the struggles of life are given new perspective. As the apostle Paul reveals to us, in light of the Gospel, they don't last long and they don't weigh much. His precise words are: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor 4:17).

You may be going through a lot right now but the operative word is "going."  You are not stuck in anything. Life on earth itself is moving at break-neck speed, how long can a particular circumstance or event last. If it were to last a lifetime, how long is that compared to eternity. If it costs you all you have, how much is that compared to Glory?

In Christ, we are on a journey, passing through this world, heading home. As the writer of Hebrews reveals, we are "foreigners and strangers on earth" (11:13).  You may be on a stretch of bad road, you may be sailing over some rough seas but you are passing through, not living in life on planet Earth.

Jesus' brother, James, put it this way: "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes" (4:14).  It may seem like forever at times but life itself being only a vanishing mist doesn't allow for anything we experience to weigh much or last long in comparison to eternity. Jus' Sayn.

Valentine

Images of a fat little imp with a bow and arrow, piercing the heart to gain affection for another.  Candy and flowers and cards.  Love notes and romantic overtures.  Dressing up and dinner out.  Pledges of love, purchasing gifts, picking out rings.  Valentine's Day is here!

The pledges of undying love...from your Valentine.  Are actually based on a dying proclamation, at least, so the story goes.  The Catholic Saint Valentine was a Roman priest serving during the reign of emperor Claudius who had ordered an edict against marriage of young people based on the belief that single soldiers fought better than married ones who carried the concerns for wives and family with them into battle.

Valentine secretly performed weddings as he believed in the sanctity of marriage and wanted young people to honor God with a Christian marriage, which meant committing to one individual for a lifetime (undying love).  

As the story goes, he was found out and imprisoned.  His final judgment was a death sentence, which included a three-fold execution of beating, stoning and decapitation.  During his judgment period, it is said that one of the men to sit in judgment was named Asterius who had a daughter that was blind.  Valentine prayed for her and she regained her sight, prompting Asterius to become a Christian himself.  It is said that the priest's last note was to Asterius's daughter and ended with the words "...from your Valentine."

I don't know how much is true about Valentine but I do know that the message of promoting marriages, which honor God over and against government edicts is something I can get behind.  God designed marriage to be the matrix of family, which is the foundation for society.  His plan, "from the beginning, making us male and female so that a man would leave his father and mother and be united with his wife" (Matt 19:4-6) was, is and ever will be the pattern we ought to follow, regardless of emperors or federal courts.  

The law of the land tells us what man can do, the law of God tells us what man ought to do.  A man ought to marry a woman for a lifetime.  That is the story behind Valentine's Day and that is the purpose behind God making us "male and female to be fruitful and increase in number" (Gen 1:27-28), which is to say, make babies and build families.  Jus' Say'n.

Plan B

The Tribe of Joseph faced a real challenge in occupying the land Joshua allowed to them: The Canaanites.  The trouble was that the Canaanites had iron chariots, making them virtually impossible to drive out of the most desirable land: the plains (see Josh 17:17ff). So Joshua told them to take the hill country.  They told him the hill country was not enough land so he told them to take the mountain areas as well.

The plains would have been so much better for building towns and planting fields but they were not yet ready to take on the chariot-driving Canaanites. The more challenging hill country was not quite adequate so on to the mountains covered with trees they would have to cut down in order to terrace.

The message found here is that when your first choice isn't doable, don't hang it up, come up with an alternative, move on to plan B. As a biker, I will one day reach an age when keeping two wheels upright will no longer be advisable. I could retire from biking or I could get a trike. If your vocal chords give out and you can no longer preach or teach, how about writing?  If health keeps you from the mission field, how about becoming a prayer warrior for missionaries?  Vision preventing you from driving?  Take a bus. Can't see to read?  Use audio books. Can't jog for miles any more?  Walk for blocks.

The point being that life is often more about creatively pursuing a plan B than successfully executing plan A. In fact, you can count on plan A moving beyond your grasp at some point as you age and are edged out of the big leagues and moved down to the farm league. Our A-Team status will be down graded to a B. And even while we are up to our A game, we can expect some B outcomes from time to time. We can fold up or we roll into a new circumstance or position or season.

Here's what Solomon has to say on the subject, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" (Eccl 9:10).   Do plan A if the Lord allows. But, if not, look for plan B and when you find it, give it your all. What's that old Army motto?  "B the best you can B in the [Lord's] Army!"  I know I've taken liberties with the motto, but I have a class "B" poetic license. Jus' Say'n.

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Eons ago, back when rainbows were in black and white (actually it was in 1984), Tina Turner released a song entitled, "What's Love Got To Do With It?"  The lyrical retort, "it's just a second-hand emotion," was meant to carry the same weight as Edwin Starr's 1970 release, "War," which asked and answered, "...what is it good for?  Absolutely nothing!"  Turner's song asserted love has absolutely nothing to do with the relationships between men and women.

The truth is that the only thing absolute in Tina's song was that she was absolutely wrong as love has everything to do with it and everything else. The apostle Paul revealed the Spirit's word on the subject in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, when he penned, "[1] If I speak in the tongues a of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3]If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, b but do not have love, I gain nothing. …"

The truth of Tina's song seems to be in the twisted, self-love she experienced from Ike, which manifested itself in self-serving and even violent ways. What love had to do with their relationship was that it was worldly instead of godly, directed back to self instead of extending to the other.  Biblical, godly love is more akin to another 70s song, written by Peabo Bryson and sung by Bobby Caldwell, "What I Wouldn't Do For Love," in which he croons, he "would do for love what I would not do."

God so loved the world that he did the unthinkable, something no living father would ever want to do, he "gave his one and only Son" (Jn 3:16) to save a rebellious humanity.   "While we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son" (Rom 5:10).

What's love got to do with it?  It is the foundation upon which the universe was built and mankind was redeemed. Love has everything to do with everything. Without it, nothing has any true and lasting value, only temporary, self-serving, gratification that is eternally empty. Jus' Say'n.

The Next Step

It was time to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. The priests took up the Ark of the Covenant, the entire nation of Israel lined up behind them and they began marching to the water's edge. As they neared the raging waters of the flood swollen river, nothing changed. Each step brought them closer until they were right at the edge of the swirling current.

The priests were in the front of a line that stretched back hundreds of thousands strong, carrying the Ark of God, which could not be dropped. Once their feet hit the water's edge, they were fully committed to entering the river, a swirling, rushing body of water at flood stage that would not be parted until their feet were planted in it.  "As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord--the Lord of all the earth--set foot in the Jordan, it's waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap" (Josh 3:13).

Can you imagine yourself in their sandals?  Each step brings you closer to a river that was unyielding and unchanged until you are right on the edge. The next step would be into the rushing current carrying a gold-covered Ark that they could not let go of, and they would not be able to back up. Instead, the throng behind them would force them deep into the water. As the lead priests, your next step is life-threatening, buoyed only by faith, not at all by sight.

The apostle Paul affirms, "We walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor 5:7) and the priests of Israel walked into the river not seeing God's power backing up the water until after their step of faith. Perhaps you are facing an uncertain opportunity or feel called to make a change that isn't at all clear in its outcome. Are you willing to lay it in God's hands to direct the next step you will take even though you cannot see the outcome?  Jus' Ask'n.

Staying On Task

It is hard to remember your task is to drain the swamp when you are up to your neck in alligators. It can be equally hard to complete the task when you discover the swamp is wider, deeper and more difficult to navigate than you originally thought. Staying on task can be a real challenge as distractions pull us away from the finish line to the road blocks and challenges.

It doesn't necessarily take negative barriers to keep us from staying on task, often it is just the fact that we have so many options and opportunities. When I was young, there were chores to do but there also was hunting, fishing, swimming, horse riding and horsing around in general. It was hard for a boy who might have been diagnosed ADD today. My Dad, by the way, didn't give me Riddalin, he chose an alternate treatment plan called paddling. It was a topical application that had pretty good results for limited periods. He applied it as often and liberally as needed.

Regardless of the barriers or distractions, staying on task is absolutely vital. If we do not stay on task, the job is not done and the results are left to ruin. Getting sidetracked in college means giving away an opportunity to better yourself or advance your career. Getting sidetracked in rearing children can result in children without direction or a moral compass. Getting sidetracked in your marriage can result in divorce. Getting sidetracked in your walk with Christ can result in a walk down the path to destruction (cf Matt 7:13-14).

Solomon admonished, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might" (Eccl 9:10). And Paul instructs, "Now finish the work, so that your eagerness to do it may be matched by your completion of it" (2 Cor,8:11).  The goal is not reach in the intention or the engaging but in the completion.  Therefore, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Gal 6:9).

While the ends do not necessarily justify the means, the means only have value when we stay on task and carry them out to the end. Jus' Say'n.

By The book

Basic training came with a basic manual, a little grey book known as our training bible. We were to study it daily, ready at a moment's notice to be asked a question asst random from its pages. Woe to him who could not answer correctly the TI's question from that book.

The book wasn't just facts and ideas to memorize and catalog, it contained standards of conduct based on the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) as well as the how to, what to, when to of military existence. We were not just to learn the precepts and principles of the book, we were to as one live by them. Understanding why was a plus but not particularly required.

The words were intended to make one a better prepared airman to carry out the mission, understanding the why of each rule was simply not as important as embracing the rule. We were to live by the book because it's words would instill military bearing and knowledge, which would guide us in our development as airmen capable of carrying out the mission.

The Bible is similar in that it is given for us to learn and live by: "They are not just idle words for you---they are your life" (Deut 32:47).  And, the rules themselves are not the point, it is the change they bring to our lives, that we might be "like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind...having the mind of Christ" (Phil2:2&5).

I have devoted most of my adult life to understanding the Bible and understanding why is always intriguing but not particularly necessary. I trust that God's reasons are right and good.  Whether I ever fully understand them has no bearing on whether I should live by them. As Peter affirmed when asked if he too would turn away fro pm the Lord, "Lord, to,whom else,shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6:68).  How else can we live but by the Book?  Jus' Ask'n.

More Than Sparrows

A play on words I sometimes employ just for fun is "Some people have to be paid to be good but I've always been good for nothing," which is a step below the evaluation, "Well, you're better than nothing."  And that valuation seems to bring us to Jesus' words revealing we are "worth many sparrows" (Matt 10:31).  Not good for nothing, not better than nothing but more than a bunch of yard birds.

On the surface, that doesn't seem like much of an endorsement of our value to God. But we know it was used to express the extreme value God places on us because the context is Jesus' reassurance: "Do not be afraid...you are worth more than many sparrows" (vv. 28-31).

The value is assigned by context and contrast. For instance, suppose someone said, "You're worth many pennies."  That wouldn't sound like much unless you knew that the individual collected and highly prized pennies, that pennies were a standard of value. That this individual valued you in contrast to something he/she already valued highly.

God values his creation, all of it, even the sparrows. He values the sparrows so much that "not one of them will fall to the ground outside of your Father's care" (v. 29).  God is intimately concerned about each sparrow but you, in contrast, are worth many or many times more than a sparrow.

As a little boy once mused, "God don't make no junk."  God doesn't indeed. Everything and everyone he has created is of great value - so much so the Bible proclaims, "God so loved the world (you and me) that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). That's a lot of sparrows, right there. Jus' Say'n.

The Bigger Picture

When I was in basic training back in the 70s, I was constantly impressed by what appeared to be complete nonsense as they would assign tasks that were not only foolhardy but impossible. For instance, our TI (training instructor) would have us throw all our shoes and boots into a big pile in the floor, and then give us five minutes to find our own and place them properly under the edge of our bunks. Did I mention that there were 50 airmen, 3 pairs each and every boot and shoe was identical except for a four digit number on the inside.

He allowed that same five minutes for all of us to rise in the morning, get showered, shaved, dressed, bed made and in formation in front of the barracks. Yeah, we never made that time either. His impossible demands and our lack of supernatural speed gave fodder for endless discipline such as KP, force marches and barrack party of scrubbing everything not moving fast enough to get away.

From my perspective, all those endless, impossible tasks were pointless and irritating.m But from our TI's perspective, we were being pushed to our limits, forced to help each other, being molded into a team that reached beyond the routine to ridiculous levels of performance.  In just a few weeks, he took a gaggle of individual boys and turned them into a 50 member team of men able to act unified on one command and accomplish seemingly impossible tasks as one.

Our TI operated from a bigger perspective of breaking down a group of non-synchronized individuals in order to build them up into a well-trained unit of airmen, filled with "military bearing," ready to meet the standards of service and demands of war.

The difficulties of life are not always random and are never without benefit. Sometimes difficulties are from the Lord to instruct or correct us: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children....No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" (Heb 12:7-11).  In every case, there is something to learn or benefit from: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, a whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (Js 1:2-4).

God operates from a bigger picture, bigger than we can rise up to in this life. We are not in a position to see all of what God sees or peer into the future in order to have the 411 on what all is happening or going to happen. But, while we cannot see what the future holds, we can trust in the One who holds our future. He has the whole world in your hands, even yours. Jus' Say'n.

Sabbat Rest

Back in the 90s, an author by the name of Tim Kimmel wrote a book entitled, "Little House on The Freeway."  He spoke of the frantic nature in which we live our busy lives, running here and there, keeping this appointment and that, shuttling kids from one event to another.  He painted the picture of the harried American doing everything but taking time to rest, relax and retreat from the demands of modern life.

When I was a small boy in the 50s, it was assumed that all the labor saving devices being invented would save us so much time and effort that by the end of the century we would be doing very little actual work, saving so much time that we would have trouble finding enough to do.  I heard of the possibility of a 10 hour work week. Of course, if you averaged out the time congress is actually at work, they might have achieved that, but certainly not the working or business class America.

What seems to have happened is that we must work more in order to pay for our labor saving devices. And, wanting so much more for our children, we become indebted taxi drivers, paying for all the extra-curricular activities while shuttling them from one to another. The Little House on The Prairie has indeed become The Little House on The Freeway.

Between our jobs our, families and our community involvement, insuring a day of rest such as the biblical Sabbath just doesn't seem possible. When I was a kid, virtually everything was closed on Sunday. Today it is a major shopping day, so the retail world is busy serving the 9 to 5 workers filling the stores on Sunday, having spent Saturday doing all the things they couldn't get to Mon-Fri.

And yet, our souls long for rest. We are strung out, wrung out and hung out to dry. We need a Sabbath rest, just as God intended. The Lord himself worked six days creating the world and then he rested (Gen 2:1-3). I don't believe he rested because he was tuckered out, I believe he rested in order to reflect on and enjoy the work of his creation, I believe God took some down time in order to lift up his handiwork, allowing it to fill his soul.

Do you ever take the time to rest and reflect on what you have accomplished or are you always on to the next thing?  Do you find time just to enjoy your home and family - you know the reason you work so hard?  Do you take time to rest in the Lord, reflecting on his blessings?  Do you ever find time for a sabbath rest so that your soul can be restored and nourished?  "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, e just as God did from his" (Heb 4:9-10).  Jus' Say'n.

God Has Left The Building

When the show was over, the audience would stay in the concert hall and chant for Elvis to come back out until someone would announce "Elvis has left the building."  Since the 70s, churches have been in decline.  More and more church buildings have been left empty, with contents going on the auction block. In an obvious and dramatic way, God has left the building. Other church building are empty but for a few "faithful" hanging on to a by-gone day.  Few churches are actually growing. 

Interestingly, people are still very spiritual and hungering for God. They simply are not drawn to churches and are often repelled by them. I sat in an community action board meeting yesterday, listening to a young veteran tell how she was drawn to the Baptist service in the military but felt distant and isolated when returning from deployment. Instead of reaching out to her, they expected her to just blend in with them. She left. 

Young people from this generation are voting with their feet to close the churches as they walk away in droves, untouched, unhappy and disconnected with the closed society in most churches. They are not walking away from God, they are walking away from the churches, looking for Him. There is an empty place in their hearts and souls that only God can fill, and it is not being filled in most of our churches. 

When John The Baptist asked if Jesus was the one, Jesus sent this word back to him: "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor" (Matt 11:5).  John wanted to know if the Messiah was here, was God in the building?  Jesus' proof to John was not in regard to doctrine or ritual, it was in ministry - meeting the needs of the people, not getting people to embrace tradition. 

Is your church touching lives, healing hurts, lifting souls, proclaiming good news?  Is God in your building?  Do your church members ever follow God out of the building to go where the lost and hurting are so that you can bring healing and proclaim good news?  Do you suppose that if you did that those people might follow you back to the building in order to commune with you as God ushers you both into fellowship there?  

God always leaves the building in order to reach the people where they are and then invites those healed by his presence to come to the table of fellowship with him and his children: "‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full'" (Luke 14:23).  God has left the building. Are you following him so that you can intersect with those he would reach out to, touch and invite back?  Or has God left your building never to return?  Jus' Ask'n.

Stepping Out

Life has lots of twists and turns. Sometimes we turn a corner and we are caught off guard.  Forward progress seems to have been derailed and we are facing a barrier to big to navigate. Your company is downsizing and you are the one going down. Your spouse is taking a new direction in life that is away from you. Your health goes south while your bills go north.

Whatever it is, life folding in on you bringing you to a halt and leaving you with no clue as to where to turn or what to do. The Israelites had left Egypt with Pharaoh's leave. It appeared they were free to make their way to the Promised Land when they came to the Red Sea and heard the sound of chariots behind them. Life had just taken a turn where the sea boo Jed them going one way and Pharaoh boo Jed them the other.

There was no way out. No vessels to cross the sea and no defense against one of the world's most feared armies. They cried out in fear and desperation. They came to a barrier to in life that afforded no options to continue the journey, or so it appeared. But God was not surprised, he knew the sea would block their way and that Pharaoh would hem them in. And God was providing a way.

Just when all seemed lost and no way could be found, "Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today'" (Ex 14:13).  Moses raised his staff and God parted the waters of the sea, allowing Israel to proceed on dry ground and then causing it to fold back over on the army of Pharaoh. God made a way when there seemed to be no way.

We serve the same God and he will provide a way for us as well. We don't need to anticipate every turn or overcome every obstacle, rather we need only "Seek first His kingdom and all these things (necessities of life) will be added to you as well" (Matt 6:33).   We need to step out in faithfulness as the Israelites stepped out into the sea and let God display his glory. It may be scary and may not be easy but God will make a way when there seems to be no way. Jus' Say'n.

True Lies

The core of God's being is truth. In fact, "it is impossible for God to lie" (Heb 6:18).  With Satan, just the opposite is true, "he is a liar and the father of all lies" (Jn 8:44).  With Satan, however, it is not impossible to tell the truth, he simply chooses not to do so.

It's not that what he says is never true, he often uses true statements for the very purpose of hiding the truth. He is not opposed to factual statements, only statements that illuminate truth repel him. For instance, in tempting Jesus, Satan took Him to the highest point of the temple and said, "throw yourself down, for it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone', (Matt 4:6).

What he said was true, take from Psalm 91:11-12, but it was not truth. The truth was that God did not intend for Jesus to grandstand like that, testing his power to save in order to display the wow factor. Jesus spoke truth to the lie conceal in Satan's true statement, which was that we are not to capriciously "put the Lord your God to the test" (Matt 4:7).

It may be true that "one little drink won't hurt anything" but the truth is that an alcoholic cannot stop at one little drink and would compromise his sobriety as that one little drink became a bender. While it may be true that an innocent lunch with a co-worker of the opposite sex is not wrong, the truth may be that an attraction exists, which prevents it from being innocent. It may be true that we don't need to  go to a church building to worship God but the truth is that God commands (Heb 10:25) and we need to be part of an assembly of saints.

The most effective lies are wrapped in truth. A salesman can tell you nothing but true statements about that house or car or thingamajig, yet hide the truth that it isn't right for you, that while you can make the payments, you shouldn't carry that much debt who hasn't purchased something based on true statements of its merits but blind to the truth of its flaws?  You may even have married someone based on all his/her good points presented in dating but lament the truth revealed in marriage.

It is important that what we say is true but vital that we tell the truth. It is also vital that we listen beyond what is true in order to discern the truth. I have often warned young couples to keep both eyes wide open before marriage so they can see the whole package they are buying into. And then I urge them to close one eye after the wedding as they unwrap what they have bought.

There are true lies that are intended to conceal truth and gain advantage or bring harm to another. They are not truth, which comes only from the Father. They are deceptions that come from the father of lies (Satan). Do your best to discern truth and make every effort to speak to truth as this is holy while true statements alone may be unholy and from the devil. Jus' Say'n.

Regrets

I am truly not much of a golfer. My handicap is the way I play. Nonetheless, I love the game. I particularly enjoy playing a scramble, where you get to play the best shot of your team and you have the opportunity to use a Mulligan (a do over). Wouldn't it be great life were like that, where our mistakes could be mitigated by our team's efforts and in a pinch get a do over?

It would be great but it's not how life works. We can be part of a team like husband and wife or larger family in which we help one another but we still "reap what we sow" (Gal 6:7) and going back for a redo just isn't possible. We may be able to do something over but the original mistake still stands as a part of our history that may forever alter our future. Some things can't be done over at all (i.e.  Lost time with our kids).

In life, we all have things we regret, things we wish we could do over but no Mulligans are give no do overs possible. Our only choices are to live with the regret or live beyond it. What I mean is that we can carry the regret into each new day or we can relegate it to our past, using it as a learning opportunity for making better choices in the future. 

Jesus tells us that "each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt 6:34).  We have enough to deal with each day, taking on the worries of tomorrow or the regrets of the past causes over-load and depresses our spirit, which may lead to spiritual, mental, emotional and/or physical impairment due to excessive stress. 

Here's the deal: While we will reap what we sow, we don't have to keep planting the same thing. We don't have to live continually with past choices and mistakes. While it may not be possible to get forgiveness from everyone, we need to always seek and accept God's forgiveness, which will require we forgive ourselves as well.  The need is to forgive and forget - forgive yourself and forget your regrets. Jus' Say'n. 

Regrets serve no good purpose other than a launching pad to better behavior, better choices and better relationships -especially our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God doesn't give us more than we can handle in a day but we can pile on more by dredging up the past and borrowed wing from the future than we can 

The Staff of God

in Exodus 4, God commissions Moses to return to Egypt and insist that Pharaoh let the Israelites go.  Mose, however, was not feeling it. He had faith in his ability to confront the king of Egypt. He did not believe himself to be equipped for such a task. Why should Pharaoh listen to a nobody like Moses the shepherd?

God asked him, "What is that in your hand?" (v. 2a).  Moses replied, "A staff" (v. 2b). Then God had him throw it to the ground and it became a snake from which Moses ran. God had him grab it by the tail and it became a staff again. He gave him other signs to show that he was sent by the Lord as well. After this Moses "took the staff of God in his hand" (v. 20) and left for Egypt.

Did you notice that "a staff" became "the staff of God?"  What was common was now divine. What was something Moses fashioned was now recreated by the hand of God. What was just a  piece of wood was now the power of God.

Moses' life had been a training ground to be both a leader and a shepherd of God's people. But nothing in his training or experience equipped him to have a face-off with Pharaoh. God did not call Moses because he was equipped for the task, God equipped him so he could carry out the task. Moses was able because he was chosen not chosen because he was able.

If you are feeling the tug of God on your heart but worry you are not adequate, if you feel a call to ministry but don't see how you could pull it off, if you know you should be involved in something for the kingdom but don't believe you are equipped for anything; take your ordinary self and let God divinely equip you. Take the common staff in your hand and let the Lord transform it into the staff of God.

Show up, volunteer, assist someone else in ministry, commit yourself to a mission trip, agree to co-teach a class, ask your preacher to put you to work (be sure he's sitting down fist in case he faints).  Don't wait for a bolt of lightning or a still quiet voice, ask God to send you and then open your eyes to the work all around you. God can take what you have and make it a divine instrument. Jus' Say'n.