Friday, July 31, 2015

Thoroughly Equipped

If you were assigned a new job and your boss gave you a manual, which he said would "thoroughly equip" you for the work you had to do; what other book of instructions or words of direction would you need?  I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count: None!

"None" is the correct answer if you have received a manual that "thoroughly equips" you.  Whatever you needed to accomplish and the manner in which it was to be accomplished would be in that manual.  You wouldn't be calling your boss, asking for directions because you would have them.  If you did, his first question would likely be, "Have you read the manual?"

You might call him to ask for clarification of something the manual directed - not because the manual did not cover it but because you were having a little difficulty understanding precisely what was written.  You would need to study the manual thoroughly in order to be thoroughly equipped by it but you wouldn't need another manual or another set of instructions hand-delivered, unless the author of the manual made mistakes.  You might need a co-worker to help you better understand an application or even a point.  But you wouldn't need a new manual or an addendum to it as long as its author actually did his job in writing the manual.

In the Bible, we read, "All Scripture is God- breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God a may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim 3:16-17).  So why do so many Christians lament, "I wish God would speak to me and tell me my purpose"?  God has spoken, he has told you what and how to do his will - have you read his Manual?

Why are Christians looking for a new word of prophecy when His original Word "thoroughly equips?"  Why are there groups with Christian labels offering additional books that are said to provide additional truth to the Bible, which "thoroughly equips?"  Why do so many clamor to one who purports to speak for God when God has spoken for himself in his word?

Why, as Christians, are we not "thoroughly equipped," since we have the Bible, which "thoroughly equips?"  Perhaps it's time to stop asking God to send us a word and start "religiously" studying the word he has provided.  Perhaps it's time to stop looking for a new word of prophecy and read the Word we already have.  Perhaps it's time to stop waiting for someone to tell us what God has to say and start studying together to understand what He has said.

May I suggest daily quiet time reading your Bible and weekly study time with other disciples to better come to grips with what you have read?  May I suggest that we take the Bible as seriously as we take a training manual at work or textbook at school?  May I suggest that coming to know your Bible is foundational to coming to know it Author?  May I also suggest that its Author did not err in writing it - it actually does "thoroughly equip."  Jus' Say'n.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

If I Had...

Have you ever thought, "If I had a million dollars, I'd help so and so or do such and such?"  If I had more time, I would ...  If I had better health...  If I had...  Really?  If you had more, would that change who you are and what you do with what you have?

The story was once told of a man who said to his friend, "If I had a million dollars, I'd give you half!"  The friend replied, "Really?"  The man assured him, "Of course I would."  "You mean," the friend asked, "if you had twenty dollars, you''d give me ten?"  "No," came the response.  "Why not?" the friend inquired.  "Because I have twenty dollars," he retorted.

The Lord gives you what you have with which to serve Him and bless others.  The amount you have to share has nothing to do with God's desire that you do share.  He is not impressed with the size of the gift but rather the act of the giver: "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward" (Matt 10:42).

God's desire is not particularly that we have so much that we can give without missing it.  Rather, it is that we generously give what we have to give, regardless of the amount: "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7).  And when we give that way, God not only blesses others through us but he blesses us through the giving: "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (v. 8).

The "If I had," waiting for a windfall attitude of giving reflects a reluctance to trust in God to use what you have and a resistance to share something you would miss.  It borders on, if not lives in, a land of "me first," which is counter to the kingdom of God, who "gave his one and only Son" (Jn 3:16).  The God-factor, the Christ-attitude and the Spirit-leaning of a disciple leads to giving according to another's need rather than our over-abundance.

Apart from God's gift of his only Son, the gold standard of giving is seen in Paul's description of the Macedonian churches: "In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people" (2 Cor 8:2-4).

Do you see it?  The deeply held desire to be a channel of blessing, giving what God has placed in your hands to offer a hand to others.  There is a clear turn from "If I had" to "What I have" as the determining factor for sharing God's blessings.  The focus is on others and what God can do through me,  rather than on what I can afford to do.  Jus' Say'n.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Holy Not Happy

There was a particular minister in California, back in the 90s, who left his wife of 25 years to marry a woman of 25 years.  Apparently, he confused the meaning of Proverbs 5:18, which says, "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth," thinking he would find a fountain of blessing by rejoicing over a youthful wife.

In his own defense, he had this landmark theological defense: "God just wants me to be happy!"  There you have it.  As long as he was happy with his new, youthful wife, God didn't care how many oaths he shattered, how many hearts he broke or how many faiths he shook.  God, apparenttly, doesn't care which path you take as long as you are deliriously happy as you skip down  that path.  Really?  Not really!

Do you want your children to be happy?  Sure!  But, do you want them to pursue happiness in a way that threatens their safety?  Do you want them to pursue happiness that injures everyone else in the family?  Do you wantt them to pursue happiness in a way that lands them in prison?  Do you just want them to be happy regardless of the consequences to them and others?  Not!

I believe God wants us to be happy.  He tells us to "rejoice always and again I will say rejoice! (Phil 4:4).  However, that is not his primary goal for us. That goal is holiness: "For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Eph 1:4).

Care for a little math this morning?  The word "holy" is used 546 times in the Bible.  The word happy is used 20.  Which is the bigger number?  (I didn't say it would be difficult math)  Why would this be?  Why is holiness so much more important that happiness?  Because holiness leads to godliness but happiness does not.

Seeking holiness is a selfless act of being set apart from worldliness and to godliness.  Seeking happiness is a selfish act of fullness.  When a person is striving after holiness, he is "seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these [other] things [that which fulfills] will be added as well" (Matt 6:33).  But striving after happiness may instead land one in jail, in poverty or worse.

Gamblers enjoy gambling but not always the results.  Drunks enjoy drinking but not so much losing their jobs, their family, their health....  Adulterers enjoy sex outside of marriage but not particularly the destruction of their marriage or the pain caused to their children.

At the end of The Day, personal happiness on earth may well be the foundation for the words "away from me you evildoers" (Matt 7:23), while holiness will consummate in the ultimate happiness as you "receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet 1:11).

God does want you to be happy.  But of first  importance is holy not happy because holiness is the source of eternal happiness.  Happiness, on the other hand, has no guarantee of holiness or of eternal blessing - in fact, it nay end in eternal sorrow.  Jus' Say'n.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Stirred Not Shaken

In the days of Sean Connery's 007, somewhere in the movie, just a bit past him introducing himself as "Bond - James Bond," he would be at a bar ordering a martini with the instruction, "shaken not stirred."  Well, that line worded well for the imaginary, macho, self-confident British secret agent, but I have a  better tag-line for you and me: "Stirred not shaken."

We live in a world rife with insecurity.  Our security has been shaken by a near-depression followed by the slowest recovery from a recession since WWII.  Terrorists have taken up shop on our soil and strike without warning.  Iran is securing a deal in which it will have access to $150 billion to continue waging war and sponsoring terror while only a pause, at best, in its nuclear ambition.  Russia is flexing it's muscle again and China is building islands in the China Sea, claiming sovereign rights over international waters.  Israel seems poised to strike at Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

Job security is a thing of the past.  Your chances of developing cancer during your lifetime is about 1 in 3.  Our national debt has reached about $18 trillion if you don't count the unfunded liabilities that push us beyond $100 trillion.  Most American have little to no retirement income beyond Social Security, which has been raided and underfunded so long it is doubtful it will be available for many. Our southern border is about as secure as a screen door on a submarine.  Along with the unfortunate Hispanics looking for someway to survive, are violent gang members, convicts and God-only-knows who else.

Feeling shaky yet?  You might and you probably should unless you refuse to place you security in your circumstances.  Your circumstances will change.  You will get stronger or weaker, richer or poorer, healthier or sicker, etc.  Whatever you are experiencing now will not last - change is coming.  If you place your hope, stake your security on circumstance, you will be moved, shaken perhaps to your core.

However, if you do not rely on what you see and feel but instead rest on faith in God, who is not seen, you can be stirred in your spirit to face life unafraid instead of shaken by life to fear.  Knowing that you have the ultimate victory and that "God works all things for the good of them that love him" (Rom 8:28) offers the ultimate security that transcends everything, which time and circumstance puts on your plate.

As promised of God through the prophet Isaiah: "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you" (Isa 54:10).  Let us be stirred by God's promises not shaken by the world's circumstances.  Jus' Say'n.



Monday, July 27, 2015

Addinng To

If you were going to add to something, what is the first thing you would neeed?  Something!  If you were going to increase something, what would have to exist?  Again, something.  You cannot add to, increase or multiply when there is nothing to begin with.

An interesting aside to consider is whether Eve had children in the Garden of Eden before the Fall.  Notice what God said her punishment would be: "I will increase your pain of childbirth" (Gen 3:16).  What pains?  The ones that existed already.  Something to chew on sometime.

More to the point of today's thought, consider the words of the prophet Malachi: "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it'" (3:10).

What was the beginning point of God's multiplying of Israel's blessings?  That they present the tithe of their current blessings to God.  God then would reciprocate by an exponential multiplying response to their offering.

Lest we think this is just an Old Testament phenomenon, having to do with the tithe of the Temple, listen to he words of Jesus: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Lk 6:38).  The multiplying effect or the "adding to" principle is clearly in the mind of Jesus, apart from Mosaical Law.

This principle is not a "tit for tat" or "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" theology.  It is an encouragement in spiritual growth.  Or, if you will, an applause of heaven.  When we are doing the right thing, heading in the right direction, giving in the proper spirit; God encourages those positive spiritual steps by increasing their effect.  It is a little bit like a matching funds savings or retirement account, where someone adds to what you invest to encourage your investment, not to gain from you.

This is whay our attempts at giving, serving, honoring, caring, etc., are so important to our personal development.  Not because we will be rewarded for our efforts but because our efforts are taking us in the right direction and God will bless the direction of our walk when it leads us home.

Perhaps one of the best verses to help explain this phenomenon is found in Hebrews: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (12:1).   Can you envision the crowd of saints and heavenly hosts applauding as you make the turn toward home and its increase as you press in toward thee goal?

We can't earn, merit or ahieve our salavation, which comes only by grace.  But God will bless our efforts to grow in grace and become more like Christ.  God will increase, multiply or add to the grace of our walk when we are walking in grace.  Jus' Say'n.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

The Roar of Two Lions

While you often read of the contrast in God and Satan, you don't often read of any comarison.  The Lord and The Liar are so far removed as to be polar opposites with nothing in agreemment.  Nonetheless, there is at least one instance in which they are compared: Both are referred to has lions.  But there is where the comparison ends.

Satan's roar is made in his effort to catch and destroy: "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8).  His roar is like that of a lion who is about to pounce, his roar is meant to paralyze, causing the intended prey to freeze in its tracks, making it an easy mark.

God, however, roars not with destructtion but with deliverance in mind.  He roars not  to capture his pray but to call his people, warning them of coming destruction that he might provide for them: "They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves. I will settle them in their homes" (Hos 11:10-11).

Satan has only one aim: To reduce us to ashes.  God, conversely, seeks to save us fromt judgment and rise us up out of the ashes.  Therefore do not fear Satan's roaring, do not become paralyzed in inactivity when threats to your survival arrrive  Instead, listen for God's call, his roar from on high, calliing us to Glory, warning us of Satans traps.  Jus' Say'n.

Saturday, July 25, 2015

Unforgiveable Forgiven

In the Book of Hosea we read where God tells his prophet to marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, which he did.  She repaid his faithfulness by running after other men and even selling herself as a prostitute.

The Lord then tells Hosea to go buy her back and embrace her as his wife again.  Again he obeys the Lord, pays 15 shekels and brings her home to once again be his wife.  No repentance, no asking for forgiveness, nothing to suggest that she has changed.

And yet, as unforgivable as the actions of Gomer were, Hosea is called upon to forgive her.  Why?  Why would God ask Hosea to do such a thing and forgive the unforgivable?  Why?  Because this is the way of God: "Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes" (Hos 3:1).

God is the God of second chances despite the fact that we do not deserve another chance as we have turned again and again away from the Lord, choosing pridefully to go our own way, be our own god.  Why should He forgive us time after time, knowing we will choose to sin again?  Because that is the way of God.

It is not only His way, it is the only way.  Without forgiveness of the unforgivable, there is no hope.  And, unless we practice this same forgiveness, God is not predisposed to extend it to us: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (Matt 6:14-15).

Forgiveness was not meant to be easy or Jesus would never have had to go to the cross.  But forgiveness is Godly and to be a disciple of Jesus and a child of God means that we choose to be Godly not choose the easy or prideful path.  Jus' Say'n.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Circumstantial Faith

I was talking to a particular elderly woman, living in a nursing home, the other day.  We were chatting about first one thing and then another, and then nothing in particular.  It seemed obvious that she was trying hard not to talk about what was really on her mind.  So, I just asked her, "Is there something on your mind?"

She stumbled a bit at first and then she blurted out, "Everything has gone wrong and my prayers don't do any good!"  She went on saying that her health had failed, her husband had left her and her step-daughter was getting control of and taking all of her possessions.  She said that she prayed to God but he wasn't answering her prayers.

This woman was experiencing a crisis of faith.  A crisis that was precipitated by a radical change in circumstance, which gave rise to a growing doubt of God's goodness, his power, his presence.  Her circumstances had been ravaged and, in the process, her faith had been ransacked.  Her faith began to collapse as the foundation of her faith, her circumstances, began to crumble.

She is not alone and this phenomenon is not new.  From ancient times, people have believed in God's presence when their present circumstances were favorable and began to doubt when their circumstances began to spiral downward.  This theology maintains that if God is good and powerful, and I am in his graces, he will hear my prayers and good things will come my way.

This is the cry of Psalm 22:1, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?"  But is this the truth of God's presence?  Is God only God, is God only good, is God only God when circumstances are favorable?

Listen to what Paul had to say on this subject: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength? (Phil 4:12-13).  Did you noticed what changed and what stayed the same?

Paul said that his circumstance (situation) changed from good to bad or vice-verse but his attitude did not because the source of his faith, "him who gives me strength," never changed.  Paul's faith was not fonded on circumstance but on Christ.  He knew Christ was with him and that the victory was already won regardless of how the battle was going in the moment.

Here's what Paul knew to be true, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who i have been called according to his purpose" (Rom 8:28).  Not every thing or every moment is good in the Christian's earthly journey.  But, everything is used to bring about our ultimate good.  A faith founded on God's goodness instead of our good fortune allows us to be joyful and content, even when our circumstances would insist otherwise.  Jus' Say'n.

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Minor Chords

I can sing a bit.  If fact, I sing throughout the day to my hospice patients and I'm pretty sure that most of them leave their hearing aides turned on for the entire visit.  However, with the exception of a Kazoo, the only instrument I can play is the radio.  And, even then, I often get static.

Despite the fact I am not a musician and cannot play the chords on a piano beyond a pathetic rendition of "Chop Sticks," I know that the fullness of the major chords would be lost if not for the contrast of the minor chords.

It is the chill of the winter air that draws us to a fire place, where we experience that warm and toasty feeling.  It is the heat of the day that causes us to so welcome the cool of the night.  And how very welcome is a soft bed after a hard day at work.  Major chords are given fullness when following minor chords.

What if you were offered a lifetime supply of your favorite ice cream with the single requirement that you eat nothing else, would you be interested?  If you were told that your new job would be to sit in the most comfortable recliner known to man, reviewing  movies on the finest television ever created and provided a CEO's benefit package for life with only the caveat that you could do nothing else, would you accept offer?

Our ups have little meaning if there are never any downs.  Sweet tastes lose their distinction  if there are no sour or salty ones.  How do you even take time off if you never have any time on?  What would be the point in a rest if you never got tired?

Jesus' call to "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt 11:29-30) finds its full meaning in his plea, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened..." (vs. 28).  The minor chord gives fullness to the major chord.

The point is that even "when you face trials of many kinds" you can "count it all joy" for the minor chords of affliction work to create major chords that are "mature and complete" (Js 1:2-4).  The fullness of God's blessings are brought into being following the challenges of life's  curses.  So, do not fret or worry for "in all things, God works for the good of those that love him" (Rom 8:28).  As you embrace the minor chords of life, listen for the major chords of heaven to ring out.  Jus' Say'n.


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Faith In

I have faith but I would not say I have great faith.  I still have doubts at times, I sill have fears at times, I sill have worries at times - my faith is far from perfect.  Thank God it is not my faith that saves me or I would have no confidence at all in my salvation.

What?  Are you saying that we are not saved by faith?  Doesn't the Bible clearly say that it is by faith and not works that we are saved?  I'm glad you asked.  No, the Bible does not say that we are saved by faith, which is why Jesus said,"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith" (Lk 12:28).  Even though we worry and our faith is weak, God provides.

But doesn't Paul, in Ephesians 2:8,9, say that we are saved by faith and not by works?  Doesn't he also say that we "live by faith" in Romans 1?  I'm glad you asked.  No and yes with a disclaimer.  Huh?  First, no, Paul did not say we are saved by faith in Ephesians 2:8,9.  He said, "We are saved by grace through faith"  Did you see that?  Saved by grace!  It is not our faith but God's grace.  Our faith is the portal through which we receive the gift of God that saves.  It is the object of our faith, not the quality of our faith that saves: Jesus Christ saves us!

Secondly, we do "live by faith and not by sight" (Rom 1:17), but that does not suggest that it is our faith that produces life but rather that it is what we believe in instead of what we see that produces the life in which we exist.  It is not what we do, even if we do believe, that saves us.  It is in Whom we believe that salvation comes.

It is not enough to have faith, not even great faith - we must have faith in Christ, even "mustard seed" (see Mt 17:20) faith in Christ, that saves.  This is absolutely vital to know.  A great faith in anyone or anything other than Jesus will not save for "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Ax 4:12).  Jus' Say'n.

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Fleeced

"Gideon said to God, 'If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said'" (Jdgs 6:36-37).

Gideon had faith but it was imperfect.  He wanted to believe God but needed something tangible, something he could feel, that would allow his less than perfect faith to scale the mountain of doubt prompted by his feelings of inadequacy.  As you read further in the text abover, you will find that he needed another fleecing to get him all the way over.

Gideon is not alone in this need to feel something.  For him it was a wet fleece one day and a dry one the next.  For others it is the desire to speak in tongues, hear a small still voice, see something taking place to provide assurance, a feeling somehow that God is definitely present and in charge.

I talked to an elderly woman in a nursing home yesterday who said, "My prayers are not working."  When I probed for more information and understanding, she went on to say, "I pray but nothing changes.  My prayers aren't being answered."  She couldn't see, hear, smell, taste or touch anything in response to her faith requests.  And so, she doubted.

I asked her if she ever told her children no, to which she replied, "Yes."  "Wasn't that an answer?" I asked.  I asked her if she ever gave her children something completely different that whay they asked and she replied, "Yes," again.  I asked her if her children always saw the benefit of her choices.  She replied, "No."  The question begged was, "Did you children always feel you were listening and answering their requests?"  The answer for her, for you and for me is "No!"

Just becasue we do not feel, hear or see God acting on our behalf, doesn't mean he isn't.  Just because we don't get what we ask for doesn't mean we aren't getting what we need.  Just becasue we aren't allowed to see or feel something tangible doesn't mean that something real isn't happening.  Ever been to a surprize party, received an unexpected gift or get a bonus you thought for sure wasn't coming?  Do things happen in our favor even when we don't see, hear or feel them happening?

God may choose to "fleece" you.  He may give you a tangible sign to bolster your faith.  But, he may not.  He may challenge you to believe even when the evidence is not apparent.  Faith is real, even when it needs a "fleecing," but mature faith that does not require a sighting ought to be our goal.  "Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'" (Jn 20:29).  Jus' Say'n.

Monday, July 20, 2015

Turning Back

So, finally you got on track.  You emptied your house of junk food, started exercising regularly and began to eat according to a plan instead of always planning to eat.  You turned your back on a life of compulsive eating and set your face toward a life more controlled and thoughtful of what you ate and how much.  You found your stride, setting aside regular periods of exercise and adequate time for sleep.  Your out of control life is back under control and you are feeling better than you have for years.

And then, you're invited to a birthday party and you reason, "I can cut loose just for this one time."  And perhaps you could but it wasn't the last time.  There was a graduation party, a retirement party, a date-night, that day someone brought in your favorite donuts to work nd the beast is released.  And then, despite how good you were feeling about yourself and how well your body was feeling, you turn your back on the disciplined lifestyle as your taste buds overturn your will power.

Ex-smokers, ex-alcoholics, ex-drug users, ex-criminals, ex-adulterers, ex-whatever's find themselves recovering from their recovery and turning their backs on life, choosing instead to re-enter the path that had been stealing their health, their families, their jobs, their opportunity to be their best selves.  Crazy isn't it?  Actually, the words of Forrest Gump come to mind, "Stupid is as stupid does."  And one has to admit, choosing to turn from life to death is stupid.

This phenomenon is not something new.  Paul had this to say to Christians in the first century, "But now that you know God—or rather are known by God —how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces?" (Gal 4:9).  Stupid was as stupid did!

It is a common weakness of mankind that we all struggle with, even the apostle Paul himself, "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing" (Rom 7:18b-19).  Paul, like us, was caught in a struggle between his desire for good and the desires of the flesh: "but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me" (v. 23).

What is the answer to our problem?  The same as was true for the apostle Paul: "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (vv. 24-25).  Jus' Say'n.



Sunday, July 19, 2015

Making a Difference

While I was reading my Bible text for this morning, I caught a few words of a short video my wife was watching in which a lawyer, feeling very superior to a teacher asks him, "So what do you make anyway?"  The teacher's passionate answer highlighting what happens in the kids he teaches summed up by saying, "What do I make?  I make a difference!  What about you?"

The real need in this world is people making a difference.  The question is "Do you?" and secondarily, if so, "What kind of difference?"  One could sit back and what the world "go to hell in a hand basket."  And that is bad.  But worse yet is one who sets fire to the basket, sending it on its way with dispatch.  Is is sad when people do nothing good but worse when they are always up to nothing good.

The world doesn't need more people who are only concerned with themselves, whether that is to insulate themselves from the problems of society or to inject their selfishness, causing more problems to society.  What the world needs is people who, filled with the Spirit of Christ, are thrusting themselves selflessly into the middle of the world's problems, seeking to make a positive difference.

The biblical warning and encouragement is clear: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal 6:7-10).

Don't be deceived.  You can do or not do as you wish.  But there are consequences.  We will either be a part of the solution or a part of the problem.  We will either sow and reap life, or we will sow and reap destruction.  Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No man comes to the Father except by me" (Jn 14:6).  

To follow Jesus is to avoid the path of least resistance, which leads to death and to join him on the narrow path, which leads to life (cf. Matt 7:13-14).  And, on this path, making a positive difference is intrical to the journey because, as disciples, we are called to "Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal 6:2).

So, tell me, "Are you making a difference?  And, what would that be?"  On second thought, don't tell me - talk to God about the difference you are making.  Jus' Say'n.


Saturday, July 18, 2015

What's Your Plan?

Back when my hair was thick and my eyes were keen, I planned to become a hospital administrator by enlisting into the Air Force in the medical admin field, take classes offered by the Air Force and colleges near the base, get accept into Officer's Training School (OTS), serve in the AF Medical Corp until I retired at 38 and then go to work as a Hospital Administrator in whatever institution fortunate enough to secure my services.

Yeah, that is exactly what happened - not!  I got into the Air Force, into the medical corps, into business classes with an emphasis on medical administration, and then I got out of the Air Force, into a preacher training course, in to full-time ministry and continued going to college, university and seminary until I received a Doctor of Ministry in Homiletics (Art of Preaching), which I no longer am but rather a chaplain who after completing all the require CPE's (Clinical Pastoral Education) at Baptist Medical is now moving into the realm of veteran benefit agent with Arkansas Hospice with whom I have been employed my entire chaplain career.

Here's what I've seen clearly in my life and what my patients tell me daily, "Life doesn't turn out the way you thought it would."  It really doesn't.  If yours is all mapped out, I'm afraid you will find that your plan A will give way to a plan B or C or D...  Life isn't about a successfully completed plan A but rather successfully navigating a series of plan B's, which were not what you had in mind at all.

Why?  Why is it that hardly anyone has a plan that they can follow all the way to it's conclusion in life?  Because most don't have God's will in mind but rather their desires.  And, it is God, no man, who is in control of time and circumstance: "Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails" (Prov 19:21).

I had my plans but God has His Plan and it will be worked out in the lives of his servants.  If we choose not to be disciples of the Lord, he will still work our his plan but simply without you or over your protests.  I am not doing what I had planned or living where I had planned but I know that God is leading my life and I want his will to prevail in my life.

I am striving to give up my type A personality with my plan A determination.  I am happy to give up my planning to God's plan.  So, today I plan to listen to my Lord and follow His leading.  What I do or where I go is not important but rather that God is directing my life.  I plan to follow Jesus - daily.  What's your plan?  Jus' Ask'n.

Friday, July 17, 2015

Plumb Good

Although I didn't particularly use the phrase, "plumb good," I grew up hearing it from the generation before me.  The word I chose to express the same notion was "really cool."  When my son was a teenager at home, he would say "that's really bad!"  All three generations were expressing, pretty much, the same thing using completely different words.  However, there was something lost in the meaning in my and my son's generation.

To say something is really cool is to say it is really good,   Paradoxically, to say that something is really bad is to say that it is really good.  But to say something was plumb  good not only conveyed that it was really good but it offered a standard for the goodness.

For most in this generation, "plumb" is a fruit or they may imagine it to be something to do with toilets as plumber work on those all the time.  The full meaning, however, conveyed by the phrase "plumb good," is lost on even the few in this generation who know it means really good.

The reason I know the full meaning of the word is because my dad, a retired Sergeant Major from the US Army Corps of Engineers, used a plumb when he was putting up a wall.  He had a solid brass plumb attached to a sturdy line that I actually used a time or two myself, attaching the string to the top and letting the plumb hang toward the ground.  "Plumb" meant that the wall was an equal distance from the sting from top to bottom. In this day of laser levelers and such, I doubt you'd ever see one used unless you went to a third-world country.

Another source for my understanding of what a plumb is comes from the book of Amos: "This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, 'What do you see, Amos? ' 'A plumb line, ' I replied. Then the Lord said, 'Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer'" (7:7-8).  God was measuring the orthodoxy or "straightness" of his people compared to the plumb line of his Word - the standard by which we are judged plumb or off-plumb.

Here's the notion from the phrase "plumb good" that is lost: Really good is not just a subjective evaluation but rather an objective one, which is obtained by using an accepted standard of measurement.  Something was really good because it was judged against that standard.  Today, we live in a "you can't judge me" world.  Good for us today is what feels good.  Whether it runs true with the Word of God or not doesn't figure in much these days - even in many churches.

The Supreme Court rulings and general acceptance of both abortion and same-sex marriage are examples of things judged good based on a feeling or notion rather than on God's Word, which clearly rebuffs both.  Today the right for both is established but neither one is right and while they are both viewed as good, neither one is "plumb good."  Jus' Say'n.



Thursday, July 16, 2015

Reality Worship

Reality TV has taken a huge market share of the television industry because we hunger for something real.  While the attraction to fantasy will always be there as we sometimes need the amusement (the not thinking) element of some broadcasts to take our minds off our problems and to an alternate world where the improbable and even the impossible are common place, there exists an undertow seeking to find something real in a world where poser and liars and hypocrites abound.

I'm not suggesting that reality TV is really real.  Some of it is scripted and much of it lies on the cutting floor of editing.  I am saying that we hunger for real and reality TV has tapped into that hunger with the promise of being real.  And, should we discover that a program has been pulling the wool over our eyes, we will pull the rug out from under them by switching to another channel.

We desire in our lives, in our relationships, in our work and to some degree, in our television programming is some authenticity.  We want something genuine.  Something to believe in.  Something real.  We seek that because we are made in the image of God (cf. Gen 1:27).

God too wants authentic, genuine and real.  He is not impressed with our gestures of worship but with our genuine worship.  He does not desire the rituals of religion but rather the reality of relationship.  He does not desire that we attend church but that we be the authentic church.  Listen to the heart song of our Lord, calling out to his people:

“I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!" (Amos 5:21-24).

Being at church every time the doors are open pales to having your hands open to the poor.  Dropping money in a plate that is passed around on Sunday is not nearly as real as filling a plate with food at a homeless shelter.  Praying the Lord's Prayer to "forgive those who sin against us" is a good start but God in more interested in the grace of finishing by going to the one who has offended you and actually forgiving him.  Singing his praises falls flat unless we our sharing his glory.

God seeks something real in us.  Listen to the divinely inspired words of the apostle Paul: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God---this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is---his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Rom 12:1-2).

The transformation God desires in us cannot happen on Sundays by following a pattern of worship when we conform to the worldly pattern throughout the week.  Real isn't something we put on and take off - real is what we are 24/7.  Paul refers to authentic worship as "a living sacrifice" because a sacrifice never gets down off the altar,  the sacrifice stands forever.  A living sacrifice does not get on and off the altar either.  A living sacrifice exists on the altar of discipleship - following Jesus daily.  This is what God seeks.  Nothing less will do.  Jus' Say'n.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Possessed

The first exposure to demon possession for many people  in my generation was the 1973 movie, The Exorcist," starring Linda Blair.  I feel "possessed" at this moment to say it was a real "head turner."  If you saw the movie, you will know exactly what I mean and are probably groaning at my pathetic "turn" on words.

Nonetheless, I had never given much thought about possession before that movie as I was raised up believing that such things passed with the apostles - that "biblical possessions" no longer occurred any more than biblical raising of the dead.  I just saw people as good or evil  based on their choices.

Looking back to those days, I am confronted not with the images of the actress, Linda Blair, but of the anarchist, Charlie Manson, whom,  it was believed, that his 1969 murder of Sharon Tate was a part of his efforts to bring about "Helter Skelter."  Helter Skelter, referencing to the music of The Beatles, especially the album, "The Beatles" (AKA "The White Album") and the New Testament "Book of Revelation," was a call to an apocalyptic war arising from the tensions between whites and blacks in this country.

Charlie seemed to be possessed with the notion of initiating this end times war.  Considering the horrific kinds of things he did, listening to his rantings over the decades from prison and just one look into his eyes that seem to dance with evil - I have to wonder if he is not possessed with more than an idea.  I have to wonder if he has not literally "sold his soul to the devil."

While I do not believe that Satan has the ability to take possession of individuals against their will as he seemed to exercise in the New Testament times, I do think it possible for him to possess "by invitation only."  My reason for believing this is firmly rooted in biblical text:

"Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey---whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Rom 6:16).

Just as we can invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts to take up residence and have rule over us, I believe one can invite Satan to do the same.  To say there can be no demon possession calls into question that there can be an indwelling of the Spirit and the spiritual dimension of our struggle.

Consider the apostle words in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."   Still think it's not possible?

Can one filled with the Holy Spirit be taken possession of by Satan?  No.  The Spirit cannot not be overpowered by Satan and/or his minions.  However, if one is void of the Holy Spirit, if there is a vacant sign over his soul, there is room for tenants.  And, just as we can invite the Spirit of God into our live, I believe we can invite evil spirits to take up residence.

There is no doubt, for me, that possession happens.  The only question is, what spirit will have possession of you?  The choice is yours.  You are making that choice by the things you believe, think, say and do.  Say, who are you choosing to have possession of you?  Jus' Ask'n.



Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Pain-Free Living?

I can't say that I remember my first spanking but I can tell you that I didn't like it.  I am certain of that because the spanking that I do remember all involved one specific feature: Pain!  And pain is something I don't care for anymore than Sam likes "green eggs and ham" (Dr Zeus).

None of likes pain.  In fact, we are hard-wired to recoil from it and avoid it whenever possible.  And, that recoil reflex can be a life saver.  We recoil when we touch something hot, saving us from being burned.  We pull back when feeling a prick of the skin saving us from a puncture or worse.  We learn, early on, that pain equals danger and withdrawal is called for.

From this association, we begin to believe that pain is evil and to be avoided at all costs.  We even begin to doubt God's presence or his goodness or his power.  If God is all we believe him to be, why is their pain?  Shouldn't we, as his children, experience pain-free living?  Isn't that what all parents want for their children?  Isn't it?  No!  No?  Yes!

Let me ask the parents.  Have you ever allowed your child to experience pain?  Have you not sit back and watched them bump their bottom when learning to walk?  Have you not allowed them to dump their bicycle as they were mastering balance?  Why?  The pain they experienced was not evil but instructive and developmental.

Going further: Have you not ever inflicted pain on your child?  Perhaps a swat to the bottom or the isolation of a time out or the agony of "No!"  Why would you do that?  Why do you inflict the pain of discipline on the child you love?  Because you know it is for their benefit, that it will save them from harm later on or will better equip them for the challenges of life coming down the pike.

Listen to what the writer of the Book of Hebrews has to say on the subject: "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" (12:11).

So, the pain of discipline comes not of of hate but of love: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness" (Heb 12:7-10)..

Pain-free living in a fallen world would not be evidence of a loving God but of a disinterested one or a God who disliked us.  God allows pain to educate us about potential death and disaster.  He even brings on pain to warn us against the snares of Satan.  We live in a dangerous, fallen world that is ruled by an Evil Despot (Satan): "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Pet 5:8).

Don't look for a pain-free life.  Instead, look to pain to help you live a life of freedom.  Learn from pain.  Don't just recoil from pain.  Recoil from the danger on the other side of pain. Allow pain to be your teacher: "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).  Jus' Say'n.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Orientation to Sin

Ever since Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, man has had an orientation to sin.  In particular, an orientation to pride that prompts him to want his will over God's.  The original sin was that of pride, which led Eve to take of the fruit from the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil, believing it would "make her like God" (Gen 3:5-6).

An orientation to pride, however, is not sin.  Giving in to pride and acting on it is.  It is not the temptation or desire that is sinful, it is carrying out the act.  Jesus "tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin" (Heb 4:15).

So, to have an orientation toward something God says is sin, is not sin unless one follows that orientation rather than following the expressed will of God.  For instance, I can pridefully desire to be seen as right in every situation but choose to humble myself and admit when I am wrong.  I can desire to overeat, but I can choose to push myself away from the table instead.  A bank teller once handed me an extra $100 bill.  I desired to keep it but I corrected her and handed it back.  My desire to accept what was not rightfully mine was not sin, it was part of my sin orientation that I rejected.

The orientation towards homosexuality is not sin, it is, however, part of the fallen orientation of mankind that becomes sin when one chooses to practices it.  Let me be clear here: Being oriented to homosexuality is not sin, practicing homosexuality is.  Why do I say that?  Because the Bible says it very plainly.  Read it, without comment, for yourself:

"We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers---and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine" (1 Tim 1:9-10).

For those who say that Paul speaking against same-sex relationship does not really count because Jesus did not - I have two things to share:

1) "If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command" (Apostle Paul in 1 Cor 14:37).

2) Jesus did speak against same-sex marriage: "… at the beginning the Creator made them male and female. 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 19:4-5).

Paul spoke with the authority of Christ and Jesus revealed the Father's divine plan from the beginning, which was for "male and female" to become one.

The New Testament is clear on this subject and the Old Testament words of God through Moses are even more direct.  The practice of homosexuality is sin.  Same-sex marriage is sin.  To be oriented toward homosexuality or to desire same-sex marriage is not sin but rather an orientation toward the fallen nature.  You may be born with that orientation, but you choose what you practice.

But God loves everyone!  True!  God loves sinners as well as saint but he calls sinners to leave their sinful lives, which lead to destruction.  Loving a child does not mean loving everything they do.  And even a child you love with all your heart can choose to reject you and your will.  A child you would die for can choose to turn his/her back on you.

God loves you enough to die for you.  Do you love him enough to live for him?  Or will you choose to follow your fallen orientation instead.  Will you follow the way of pride, greed, perversion, hatred, deceit, etc. or will you follow God's Word?  Jus' Ask'n.


Sunday, July 12, 2015

Til Debt Do Us Part

I grew up believing that one needed to establish credit early on.  I accepted the notion that it was better to buy something on payments even when you could pay for it outright in order to establish credit.  I embraced the American philosophy of credit as king in all things financial.  I bought into a lie.  Credit is not king, it is a trap that places us in the clutches of the tyrant debt just as soon as we actually use the credit to borrow: "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender" (Pr 22:7).

Funny how nice of a ring credit has - it almost rolls off the tongue.  It sounds like such a nice thing to "extend" someone credit.  However, it suddenly loses it's allure when you discover that the extending of credit was really letting out enough rope for you to be hung by the noose of debt.

Debt sounds so much different than credit, doesn't it?  Credit sounds like your friend inviting you out on his boat, while debt sounds more like a pirate forcing you to walk the plank.  Credit is only a positive in the ledger of life until the moment you use it, then it becomes a negative.  In bookkeeping and in life, there are debits and credits.  Credits are good, debits are bad.

I bought into the myth (or should I say I borrowed into the myth) of gaining credit by losing in debt until  I was buried in debt many years ago and had to dig my way out with an austerity program I signed up with through a debt management agency.  I should give their number to Greece and our Congress.  It was a difficult time and unfortunately, I still believed in the credit myth only that I had over used it.  So, once out of debt, I started rebuilding my credit, which led to re-digging my money pit of debt.

Since that time, I came across a radical name "Dave Ramsey," who advocates being debt free and has helped millions reach that place.  He believes that the only debt you should have is your mortgage as it is an investment.  But, even then, he challenges people  to pay it off "with gazelle intensity."

Why?  Why so hard on credit?  Because credit is the #1 cause of debt.  And debt is the #1 cause of financial failure.  And financial failure is the #1 contributing factor to divorce. Oh, did I mention that 100% of bankruptcy is caused by debt?   Do you see a pattern here - a pattern of destruction?

The apostle Paul said, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another" (Rom 13:8).  Why do you suppose he said that?  I believe it is because God is love and that debt is and ought to be eternal, while financial debt results in slavery, which is contrary to why Jesus came: "He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor" (Lk 4:18-19).

Credit may be needed at times.  In fact, we are charged to "lend to them without expecting to get anything back" (Lk 6:35).  However, to choose to be in debt when you could live without it is patently foolish and contrary to God's will for us.  Jesus came to set us free and freedom is our companion "Til debt do us part."  Jus' Say'n.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Mid-Life Crazies

When someone says, "I'm having a mid-life crisis," my first thought is, "What took so long?"  Mid-life crisis is not something that only comes to the maladjusted or the unprepared.  Mid-life crisis comes to everyone who reaches that point in life where they review their dreams, comparing them to their reality.  What I can tell you is this, "It ain't what you thought it would be."

I deal with people on the late side of life every day.  One of the constant and consistent things they they tell me is that their life did not end up the way they thought it would - it never does.  Life really isn't about a successfully executed plan A but rather a well executed regrouping, following a plan B or C or D or...

A midlife crisis is not a cause for alarm, it is a reason to retool and redirect.  It is that moment in time you rethink your plans and your dreams, coming up with new ideas, new directions - a new you.  This crisis we all share if we live long enough is simply the clashing of our dreams with our realities.  It is not the end but simply a turn in the road.  Don't fear it or run from it, instead embrace it and run with it.

Why do you think the Spirit determined that older men who were married with children were to be the leaders of the church (i.e. 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1)?  And why else would he tell the older women to teach the younger women how live before God (Titus 2:3-5)?  Older men and older women, especially those who have been married with children, have seen that life is not what you thought it would be when you were young.  Somewhere, when enough fantasies have collided with realities, you have a crisis of life that allows you to redirect, calm down and settle in.

Some people, however, the gold chain and red convertible with gray hair type, side-step a midlife crisis and step into the midlife crazies.  They quit their jobs, they leave their wives, they have their faces lifted and their morals lowered as they seek to be sought by someone younger.  Rather than adjust to life as it really is, they double down and try to create the fantasy they feel they somehow missed.  They didn't miss it, it was never their.

The perfect life you imagined cannot exist on a fallen planet.  As long as sin and death rule, the reality will always come to a point of death and decay.  It isn't a pretty picture but it is the truth.  We are going to grow older, get frailer and be buried.  It is appointed man "once to die" (Eph 4:29).  It is not a possibility, it is an appointment.  Sorry to be the one to tell you.

And yet, we are called to "rejoice always" (Phil 4:4).  Why?  Because sin and death only rule now.  This world will pass away and we will experience the new heaven and earth of Revelation.  The "old" order will pass away and the new will be established.  The dream, more than that, an existence beyond our ability to imagine will be ours: Heaven!

So, have your crisis as you adjust to life as it really is but do not go crazy thinking that you must create a new and better life.  God has already got that covered better than you can even begin to imagine.  Let go and let God.  Jus' Say'n.

Friday, July 10, 2015

Delayed Not Denied

When I brought him up out of the water, his wife's joy was impossible to miss.  Her tears of joy ran down her cheeks stretched wide by the smile that spread across her face.  For thirty years she had been praying that he would accept Christ Jesus as his Lord - today was the day.

Though delayed for three decades, her prayer had not been denied.  The why behind the delay is hard to say but that the prayer was answered is clear.  As Solomon once wrote, "There is a time and a season for everything" (Eccl 3:1).  We may not know the time or the season but God does.  And he can be trusted to act in due season.

Behind the scenes, it could be as simple as allowing someone the time to be ready for the blessing.  As Dr. Dobson once said, "It takes a steady hand to hold a full cup."  You wouldn't give your three-year old a shotgun or your ten-year old a car, regardless of how much they plead or how often they present their case.  You are waiting until you know they are ready, not when they think they are.

It can also be that factors beyond your knowledge are in play, which prevent a more rapid response to your request, such as with Daniel: "Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days" (Dan 10:12-13).

We need to understand that we live live in a war zone, behind enemy lines.  And that our battle is not carried out in the physical and seeable realm "but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph 6:12).  While we may think our prayer is unheard or denied, God may be moving heaven and earth to bring about our blessing.

I am not suggesting that He will never deny our prayers as some requests are ill-conceived.  And, certainly God's will cannot be set aside for our desires.  Rather, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears.  And if we know that he hears us---whatever we ask---we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 Jn 5:14-15).

My point: When we bring our requests to God, he is faithful.  We do not have to fear that God will fail to do the right and good thing.  He will act in our best interests because "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8; 18).  Our best interests may mean a rapid response but just as easily a delay could be what we truly need in order to prepare us or increase our faith.

A delay is not a denial although a denial may be God's choice as his desire to truly bless us overrides our desire to receive what we ask.  Jus' Say'n.


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Afraid But Not Fearful

Being afraind and being fearful are different only by degree.  But that degree makes all the difference.  Everyone is afraid of something.  Spiders, snakes, bears, sharks, germs, heights, attention, public speaking, death, financial failure, aging...have I spoke to yours yet?

Being afraid is part of the human condition.  Fear is like a nose in that everybody has one and one who didn't would really stand out in a crowd.  Try as we might, dismissing fear is impossible.  Even the most courageous among us experience fear.  In fact, courage is not the absence of fear, it is forward motion in the face of fear.

I think perhaps the best quote I've heard correlating fear and courage is one by Ambrose Redmoon, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear."  For instance,  Diwalinen Vankar of India was and is afraid of crocodiles.  But when her 19 y/o daughter was grabbed by one on the bank of the Vishwamitri River, she struggled with it to pull her free.  When she was unable, she attacked the crocodile with her washing paddle until the crocodile released Kanta who survived, suffering only minor injuries.

Having fear is instinctual, it serves to help prevent the extinction of a species.  It keeps us from walking into a lion's den to pet the big kitty.  It causes us to give a growling dog a wide berth.  It causes heightened senses when we have to walk in the dark.  It puts us on alert but does not paralyze us the way being fearful does.

Being fearful keeps us from taking a walk in the woods.  It stops us from seeking a promotion.  It prevents us from going back to school.  It stands in the way of serving our Lord.  Being fearful, holds us down, pushes us back, stops us from doing what we would otherwise love to do or feel we ought to do.

Peter said that as a women you are daughters of Sarah "if you do right and do not give way to fear" (1 Pet 3:6).  He didn't say you are to be fearless but rather you are not to be ruled by fear (I can't imagine he would require less of sons of Abraham).  Knowing that Jesus is with me doesn't mean that I will register no fear, instead it allows me to walk confidently into the "valley of shadows" (Ps 23) even though it is a dark and scary place.

We don't need to deny that we experience fear in order to be faithful disciples of Christ.  Rather, we need to deny our experience of fear the power to keep us from faithfully following Christ.  Jus' Say'n.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Good on The Go

He hadn't planned on helping this poor soul on the road that day.  He didn't know he would be there so badly in need.  He didn't even know that this person existed until the moment he encountered him as he was traveling down that road on that day.  But he was prepared to help him because he was prepared to do good on the go.

We call him "The Good Samaritan" but God called him "a Samaritan" (Lk 10:33a).  Our label suggests that he acted above and beyond the call of duty, God's designation suggests that he did what anyone ought to do.  The passage reads, "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him" (Lk 10:33).

The "but" in the verse calls us to look back and take note that a priest and a Levite, a man of God and a temple worker, had also been on the go, but kept on going.  They saw the man but he wasn't on their agenda, so they passed on the other side of the road (vv. 31-32).  The difference in them and the Samaritan was just that, they kept on their previously determined agenda while the Samaritan recognized the overriding agenda of God in his path and "took the road less traveled."

Perhaps you recall the closing line of Robert Frost's classic poem from 1920 "The Road Not Taken": "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I---I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."  I am taking it somewhat out of context, but the larger meaning holds that we are faced with going the well traveled way or allowing the opportunity God has put before us to redirect our  day and perhaps even our life.

Are you intent to only do what you have on your agenda today?  Or are you willing for God to interrupt your plans with something good, something better?  Will you advert your eyes, move to he other side of the street or will you stop and help the one others have passed by?  Will you do good on the go, or will you just keep going?  Jus' Ask'n.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Rolling Stones

You've no doubt heard it said, "A rolling stone gathers no moss."  The idea behind that tidbit of wisdom is that motion prevents the dulling effect of accumulated add-ons.  However, motion by itself does little to alter the stone itself.  It remains pretty much unchanged if it rolls unimpeded and unchallenged.

On the other hand, if a stone is rolled against other stones, the stone itself undergoes a transition.  Located on the Monterey Peninsula of California is a world-renown golf course called Pebble Beach.  It is so called due to the naturally polished pebbles on the beaches.  The constant motion of the waves, causing the pebbles to roll against one another changes them from little rocks you  can find at any point along the coast to a highly polished treasure that people take home to sit on their mantles on on their desks.

The rolling against one another, doesn't just mitigate the dulling effect of outward parasites,it changes the very shape and texture of the rock.  The resulting friction caused by the alternate movement against one another doesn't cause the damage one might expect, but rather improvement: "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" (Pr 27:17).

This is true when their is the friction caused by alternate motion unless their is direct clashing against each principle.  In other words, if we discuss and debate different ideas, we can fine-tune our thinking.  If, on the other hand, we butt heads, we are likely to only produce headaches and prevent positive change.  The rolling stones become a dam, which stops up any flow past the jam.

Always moving together allows forward motion and progress along the path one is traveling.  However, rubbing against each other, causing a bit of friction, allows for change and growth.  Confrontation, carried out in a productive way, causes productive change.  Just rolling along together, doing what you've always done may be comfortable but it will not allow for growth.

Let's be rolling stones keeping the dullness of lethargy from setting in but let us also roll in contrasting ways, looking to cause increase in one another rather then blocking passage.  In the words of the 1974 Rolling Stones release, "It's only rock and roll but I like it."  Jus' Say'n.


Monday, July 6, 2015

He Rules

When I lived in California, I would often take my family to the ocean.  We weren't surfers, we we more splashers and beach loungers.  I did swim a time or two and even braved a boogie board once.  But by and large, I enjoyed the ocean from the beach.

From by vantage point on the beach, I would watch the wave roll in and back out again.  Surfers would wait patiently to catch one and ride it back to the shore.  Sometimes they rode it, sometimes it wiped them out.  But every time, the waves made it to the shore and back out again.   There was nothing the surfers could do to control the waves, only wait and ride the waves or be covered up by one in their attempt to ride it.

I could pick my spot on the beach, spread a blanket and settle in for a restful and refreshing day.  But the tide cared not for my choice of lounging spots.  As it began to rise, I could move further in or get covered up by the advancing waters.  I could not stop the tide from rising or even slow it down a bit.

God has a plan and a purpose working out in this world.  We can choose to join in with his purpose, like riding the wave of an ocean, or fail to embrace it and be wiped out in the process.  We can even try to sit it out.  However, the tide of his will continues to rise and will overcome you eventually.  "...my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Isa 55:11).

God has a plan of redemption for this world, which will be carried out.  We can either be a part of the plan or seek after our own will but his plan will not be stopped or come back empty.  His Will shall prevail.  We will either be a part of it or we will be washed away by it.

If you're wondering what his will is, if, as so many I talk to, you are waiting for God to reveal it to you - wonder and wait no more.  His will has been revealed, even his will for you.  It is found in the pages of the Bible and made plain by the inner working of the Spirit.  

If you have been waiting to serve, listening for a word from God; wait no more.  Sit at His feet in prayer and study of his word, and the mystery will be made known to you.  Listen to the encouragement of the apostle Paul: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15).

God is sovereign, he rules.  You can be a part of that rule or be swept away by it.  The choice is yours and the His Will has been handed down to you in the pages of the Bible.  Take time daily to seek aftter Him in prayer and submersion in that word.  Jus' Say'n.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Epitaph

One of the saddest epitaph I've ever read is found in 2 Chronicles 21:20, "Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret."  He lived, he died, who cares?

How sad is that to have been anointed as king, to have been in a position to have changed the landscape of society, leaving a footprint that would have been talked about for generations to come but instead to have came and gone and nobody even cares.  Wow!

I remember the ending of the movie, "Saving Private Ryan," where the private, now an old man, goes to the grave site of the captain who saved him and asking his wife this haunting question: "Have I been a good man?"  He wanted to know if his life made a difference, if it was worth the sacrifice the captain and others paid for it.

Do you wonder?  Do you think about the next generation and whether your life will have made a difference for them?  Have you thought about what you want to be said of you, to be your epitaph?  What will you leave your children and grandchildren?

I don't mean the monetary delineations of your codicil or will for money is of little lasting value and might even be to their ruin: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Tim 6:10).

What, of lasting value, will you leave the next generation and perhaps the one after that?  What will your legacy be?  Will your children and grandchildren have memories of your character, your ethics, your faith and your love to give them a foundation upon which to stand and the moral  strength to allow them to rise above?

Listen to the prayer of King David, "Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come" (Ps 71:18).  This is the duty of each generation - to leave a legacy of faith to the next.  Is your life a testament of faith or faithlessness?  It will be one or the other:

    "You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,
    By the things that you do and the things that you say.
    People will read your gospel whether faithless or true,
    Say, what is the Gospel, according to you?

What will be your legacy?  What will be the epitaph that is stamped into the soul of your heirs and others for whom you have been a model?  Everyone is being watched by someone(s), making an impression of one kind or another.  What is yours?  Will your passing be marked by tears of those who will miss your presence among them or will it be to no one's regret?  Jus' Ask'n.


Saturday, July 4, 2015

Independence Day

While most just call it The Fourth of July, that is simply the date of Independence Day.  Today is the date set aside to celebrate our independence.  But independence from what?  Well, speciically, it was from the rule of Greatt Brittian, what we call England today.  However, in the larger sense, it was independence from the rule of man.

Listen to what they wrote in The Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are creatted equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Did you notice from where these "Rights" were derived?  Not from the government, not from a king, not from the rule of man, but from "their Creator."  Our Forefather declared that we were independent from the rule of man, dependent instead on the Sovereignty of God, who has not made us subject to man's wisdom or desires but to His own perfect rule.

The right of self-determination is not something given by the government, it is given by God.  The government is not in the position to give us the right of life, liberty or the prusuit of Happiness, these are our rights afforded to us by our Creator, God himself.  Our government was establihed, not to give us rights, but to protect our rights from the attempts of man to subvert them.

Interestingly, today our government is trying to tell us whether we have the right to eat transfat, smoke tobacco or drink extra-large sodas (none of which are good ideas, but all of which are part of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness).  Our freedom of speech, far from being protected, is being subverted by the Politically Correct Police.  I don't like some of the awful things people say, but it is not man's right to determine what we are allowed to say, that is a right of a free people.

We are not allowed to lie or slander or incite riot, based not on infringement of speech but on the rightful protection of others' God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  We have the Divine Right of freedom of thought and the expression of that thought, and especially the right to follow and express our faith in God, without government interference.

My disagreement with the Gay Activist Movement has nothing to do with homophobia, it has to do with my understanding of what I believe God's Word to clearly express.  I have the right to that belief and the right to express that belief.  I do not have the right to dictate that others agree with me or follow he biblical principles in the same manner as I do.  Practicing LGBTs have the right to their belief, expression of that belief and a lifestyle based on that belief.  But neither they nor the government, has the right to demand that I accept, condone or endorse it, only that I do not infringe upon it.

They have the right to "Gay Pride" and I have the right to "Straight Pride."  These rights are endowed by our Creator.  Having a right does not mean that you are right, it only means you are allowed.  We still must answer to God as to whether we sought after his will or our own.  Despite our rights, God will sit in judgment as to whether we were righteous or not.  That is His sovereign right.

Today we celebrate our Independence from the rule of man.  Let us therefore seek to embrace our dependence on the will of God - the God who seeks to bless us beyond our comprehension in heaven and who establishes our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness here on earth.  Jus' Say'n.

Friday, July 3, 2015

A Sanctuary for Satan

The recent Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage has many churches in an uproar as if this somehow cancels God's rule in this land.  The absence of prayer in schools and the removal of the Ten Commandments from government property add to the consensus that God has been ejected from the American landscape.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.

When Jesus was asked by the religious leaders of his day, when the kingdom (rule) of God would come, he replied,“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is ,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst" (Lk 17:20-21). In other words, God's rule is not established when the landscape of a country is dotted with relics of religion, it is established in the relationship of our hearts.  God's presence is not seen in the government buildings or political rulings, he lives is in our hearts.

Of much greater concern to me than Supreme Court rulings or government removal of icons is the absence of God's rule in the churches.  As lamentable as the breakdown of the traditional family may be, the breakdown of the family of God is far more dire.  When one considers that the six out of ten affairs in the unchurched marriage is mirrored by six out of ten in the church, that is of far greater impact than same-sex marriage allowed by the state.

The level  of hypocrisy, the degree of judgment, the amount of greed, the impurity of spirit, the demand for comfort over commitment, the lack of concern for lost souls - the Americanization of the Kingdom of God that is evident in so many churches - that is the real scourge I see.  The fact that Satan has such a foothold in the secular society does not particularly concern me for he is "the god of this age" (2 Cor 4:4) and that is nothing new.

What concerns me is that the god of this age, Satan, might be so comfortable in so many of our churches as to find sanctuary there.  In society around us, I expect Satan to be dong well but in the sanctuary of the church, I would expect him to be totally unwelcome by our devotion to God, adherence to the Word and love of mankind.  Instead, far too many of our churches have actually become a sanctuary for Satan - a place where his deceiving ways are allowed to go nearly unchallenged.

We decry the breakdown of the family caused by a same-sex ruling while we directly destroying the family with a divorce rate that equals society at large.  We lament Supreme Court Rulings and then we defy God by standing in judgment rather than reaching out in love.  We concern ourselves over the Bible and prayer removed from our schools while we find no time for prayer and study in our homes.  Can I ask just one question?  "What's up with that?"  What on earth are we doing, for heaven's sake?

How about, instead of worrying ourselves over the direction of the nation,we concern ourselves with the direction of the church?  How about we knock the devil out of our sanctuaries?  How about we forget the notion of establishing God in the American landscape and work on establishing His Kingdom in our own hearts?  How about we "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness" (Matt 6:33)?  Jus' Ask'n.

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Burning Your Plow

We are warned not to "burn our bridges," as we may want or need to travel back over them again. If we burn our bridges and then discover we've made a mistake, we won't be able to retreat back over them.  It makes perfect sense.  Why cut off your path back to where you started, knowing that things may not work out and that you'll need to return home again?  Why indeed.

How about because you did not want the possibility of retreat?  How about making sure you were going to move forward regardless of what obstacles are in the way?  When you get married, do you think you should put you "little black book" in a place of safe keeping or burn it?  Should you enter marriage with thoughts of what you'll do if it doesn't work out?  Should you ask your parents to keep your bedroom in tact in case you might want to move home?  Or should you encourage them to convert it into a den or sewing room?

Would you ask your boss to keep your current position open just in case you don't do so well in th new position that came with your promotion?  Would you ask your employer to leave your spot at the mill open so you can come back in case you don't keep your grades up in college?  Should you get the number of an adoption agency just in case you don't want to parent the child your bring into the world?  Are their not times when we should burn our bridges?

Elisha was invited to be discipled by Elijah as recorded in 1 Kings 19.  His response was, "let me kiss my father and mother goodbye" and then he went to his home, "took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant" (vs. 21).  Elisha was leaving no room for turning back, he burnt his bridges (plow).

Using  the plowing imagery, Jesus said, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God" (Lk 9:62).  In other words, making a decision for God is an all out, no holds barred decision.  Regardless of what our decision brings us to or brings into our lives, we keep our eyes forward, moving toward the prize.  As the apostle Paul put it, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14).

Instead of hedging your bets and keeping your bridges in tact, God calls us to commit ourselves to faithful following of Christ. When it comes to living a life for God, a life of purpose, a life of love, we need to determine to have no retreat, no reserve and no regrets.  Burn that plow of the past and move forward in faith and commitment.  Jus' Say'n.


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Mistake Proof

I sometimes tell folks that "people who think they are perfect are very annoying...to those of us who actually are perfect."  I, of course, do not believe that to be a true statement, but I do like to use a good pause and turn in jest.  The truth of the matter is that "there is no one righteous (perfect), not even one" (Rom 3:10).  We "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23).  There is no one who is mistake proof.

There are people who think they are mistake proof.  At least they refuse to admit their mistakes, choosing instead to cover them up or lay the blame on someone else.  Politicians are perhaps the worst of the lot when it comes to owning up to their mistakes.  I've noticed that President Obama's policy choices are never wrong - they don't often work, but they are never wrong.  He is quick to lay the blame for poor performance at the feet of President Bush, who, no doubt shares part of the blame for those problems, but is not responsible for President Obama's choices to deal with the problems.

All of us, from the President on down, would be better served if we admitted to ourselves and to others that we are not mistake proof, and that we owned up to our mistakes so that we could benefit from the mistake proof.  Wait a minute.  Did I just make a mistake?  No, not really.  I just made a little turn on words.  There is proof in a mistake of what does not work.  If we take that mistake proof and apply it to our future decisions in that area, we will be exercising the wisdom that came from seeing the proof our mistake pointed out.

In other words, wisdom comes when we refuse to hide our mistakes or pass the buck on to someone else.  Wisdom comes when we admit our poor choice and determine to avoid it going forward.  The reason young people, however intelligent, are not overly wise is that they haven't had the time to make enough mistakes to have learned much wisdom.  Wisdom comes from experience, mostly from the experience of making mistakes, and experience comes with age.

Ever wonder why God choose older, married men with children to be the leaders of the local churches (See 1 Tim 3:1-13)?  They have the proof of their mistakes having gone through years of marriage and parenting to share with others and to make better decisions than when they were younger, prior to marriage and family.  Do you remember all those "my kids will never..." and "my wife/husband will never..."?  Yeah, we know all about it and how to keep it all together right up to the point it is dropped in our laps.  And then, the lessons and hopefully the learning begins.

Don fall into the trap of believing you are or trying to appear mistake proof.  Nobody buys it anyway.  They know its just your arrogance and immaturity at work.  Instead don't let the proof of a mistake slip past you or get buried by your attempts to hide it or shift the blame to another.  Own your mistakes, admit them humbly and "the Lord will lift you up" (Jas 4:10), trading you wisdom for your mistakes.  For the Lord "gives [wisdom] generously to all without finding fault" (Jas 1:5).  Jus' Say'n.