Consider How You Listen

Jesus told his disciples that they were like lamps.  Lamps, he reminded them were not placed under cover but placed out where they could be seen. And in this analogy, he was suggesting that, as such, they had been placed so that they would be seen, not that they needed to make themselves seen: "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen..." (Lk 8:17-18).

He was clearly saying that their lives would be seen, that their words and deeds would be witnessed.  Therefore, he warned them to "consider carefully how they listened."  Curious, no?  You will be seen so be careful how you listen instead of what you do or say?  What could this mean?

For one thing, he is affirming that we will be receiving conflicting messages, some messages will resonate with the truth our our place as lamps and some messages denying that truth.  Along with the Lord's encouragement that we are made to shine as lights in the world, the enemy comes along saying that we are dim bulbs that no one pays attention to, that our light is not going to make a difference - what we do won't really matter.  Have you heard that voice?

The voices will  continue, either affirming or denying our purpose and our worth.  The Voice of Truth will affirm our role as a light in darkness, while the voice of the enemy will deny that and insist that our life is our own, that we can do and say what we want.  "It's my life, I can do what I want.  I'm not hurting anyone else."  Really?  No one depends on you for direction or support or encouragement?

The Voice of Truth tells us that we live legacies, that everything we do or say registers somewhere, with someone.  The Lord warns us to be careful how we listen.  Do not listen to the false voices that suggest our life is something of individual concern, no one will be observing, no one will depend on the light you were meant to provide.  Those voices lie!  Be careful how you listen.  Lean in and listen to the Voice of Truth, understand how important your example is.  Jus' Say'n.

Unmarked Graves

Years ago, my brother and I went out to our family cemetery, where my mother and another brother were buried.  When we got there, it took some doing to find their graves as the weeds and saplings had grown up and obscured all the markers.  Years later, a new owner of the land encompassing our cemetery, cleared off that spot, removing all the grave markers.  The result was the same, one could not tell where a grave was or was not.

If you went out to that site, you could just as easily be walking on top of a grave as not.  Without the markers in place and clearly visible, all the land looks the same.  Responding to some Pharisees, he knew to by hypocrites, Jesus said, "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it" (Lk 11:44).

The thing about a hypocrite is that he/she is intentionally not clearly marked to be an unbeliever.  He/she might look and act like a responsible religious leader but on the inside a scheming, conniving sinner, filled with self-pride and disregard for others.  They/we could appear to have a living faith but in reality be filled with a decayed corpse of a faith.

In our small group meeting last night, we talked about the need of truly following James' instructions "confess your sins one to another so that you might be healed..." (5:16a).  Although we didn't use this imagery last night, we were talking about clearing away the weeds and setting up clear markers of the sins each of us struggles with, being able to open up to each other, fully self-revealing so that we can pray for and encourage each other to overcome not be overcome by our sins.

We would all agree that those old Pharisees had problems with openness and honesty.  They were hypocrites.  But I wonder if we don't bear a resemblance, if we aren't, in some ways, like unmarked graves?  I'm not judging, just inquiring.  You don't need to attempt to clear the weeds and set up marker in other's lives either.  What we all need to do is to take some moral and spiritual inventory of ourselves, particularly in a small group setting so that we can confess to and pray for each other, "...for the prayers of a righteous man (one who opens his/her heart before the Lord and others) avails much" (Js 5:16b).  Jus' Say'n.

Bright Eyes

When someone is depressed, it is normally projected by what is called a "sad affect."  There face looks sad and, in particular, their eyes look dull.  I have never encountered a depressed person with bright eyes, eye upon which light dances.

The dullness comes from a diminished feeling of hope, a loss of the adventurous spirit, an inability to see wonder and excitement.  The eyes are dimmed by the darkness they see in the world around them, in their personal circumstances, in their daily grind.  Light cannot dance as it is absorbed in the black hole of the depressed spirit.

Too often the patients I see have these dull eyes, framed by a sad affect.  My hope is to help bring some light into them, to inspire a feeling of hope, to awaken the spirit of adventure, pointing out a reason for wonder.

I try to share with each of my patients the vision of Christ - a vision that dismisses the darkness and embraces the light:"Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you" (Lk 11:34-36).

Our Lord tells us that light and darkness abound in the world around us.  We get to choose which we focus our eyes on.  If we focus on the good (light) things, our whole being is brightened.  If we focus on the dark (bad) things, our whole being is dampened.  We get to choose what we fill our spirit with and therefore whether we have bright eyes or a sad affect, whether we have a spirit that rejoices or retreats.

My mother used to say, "If you think you have it bad, just look around.  You'll find others who have it so much worse."  She was trying to help us internalize the message of the hymn "Count Your Many Blessings."  There are always blessings to count, just as there are losses to tally.  Which we choose to focus on and thereby set the tone of our lives, is up to us.

The apostle Paul urged us, "Rejoice always and again, I will say rejoice!" (Phil 4:4).  Abraham Lincoln, in agreement with Paul said, "A man will be just about as happy as he determines to be."  Jesus said to open our eyes to the wonder of God about us - choose to have bright eyes.  He reminds us that truly "This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it!" (Ps 118:24).  Jus' Say'n.

Sins vs Symptoms

The brother of Jesus instructs and encourages us saying, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" (Js 5:16).

The instruction is to confess our sins and pray for each other.  The encouragement is that we will be healed and that we, sinners, are therefore righteous.  Not righteous because we have walked sinlessly but because we have sought the healing of the Sinless One: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 Jn 1:9).

The power we find in confession is indeed great and the ensuing cleansing is amazing.  It is moving to hear someone confess, seeking the healing of the Lord.  But when we witness a Christian, confessing from their heart something they have done, they are rarely revealing a sin, but only a symptom.

I'm not suggesting that the individual is not sincere or that God is not touched by the outpouring of the disciple's heart.  What I am saying is that I wonder if that child of God received healing from a sin for which there was not full awareness.  I am not judging, just wondering.

Let me explain.  If one were to confess taking an extra piece of pie, knowing that each person was only to take one - what was confessed?  In that confession, what would be exposed to be healed?  Nothing!  A symptom was revealed and that could be treated by paying for the extra piece or replacing it.  But, the sin that was only hinted at may continue unabated.

Think with me: Was the piece taken because the individual as greedy?  Was it gluttony?  Was it a faith issue, not trusting God to provide later?  Beneath the obvious symptom, what was the brokenness needing mending so that healing could occur?

If one has headaches, that is not his/her illness - that is the symptom.  Treating the headaches brings some temporary relief but the sickness, the tumor or the ruptured blood vessel or the infection continues to work beneath the surface.  The headaches will return and, in time, death may occur because only the symptom was relieved while the sickness remained.

This is the value of not just confessing, but of confessing "one to another."  If we just own up to what we did, that is good but not particularly healing.  If we confess in a relational way, where we can talk about what is going on, where the struggle is coming from and why it has such a hold on us - then we can begin to focus and pray for the deeper need, the foundation upon which the symptom arises.  Then, healing can happen as we lay this inner, unseen struggle before the Great Physician.  Jus' Say'n.

The Son and The Sabbath

In Jesus' days on earth, the religious leadership had taken the fourth commandment to rest on the Sabbath and created extreme restrictions that would not allow a paralytic, who had just been healed to carry his mat home: "Then Jesus said to him, 'Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.'  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, 'It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat'" (Jn 5:8-10).

In their extra-biblical code of laws, they put restrictions on even how far you could go for a walk on the Sabbath.  The limit was 1,000 feet.  If your elderly parents lived 1,001 feet away, you'd have to pass on checking on them that day.  If you felt like going to a favorite spot down by the creek, which was a 1/4 mile away in order to pray and commune with God by yourself, forget about it - not allowed!

The religious leadership was very serious about these rules.  Jesus, on the other hand, didn't seem to buy in to them: "One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, 'Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?'" (Mk 2:23-24).

Jesus and his disciples were disregarding one and maybe two of their rules.  I can't say for sure they were walking more than 1,000 ft but the context of "going through the grain fields" seems to indicate they were.  But, when they took the picked the heads of grain, they were harvesting, according to the rules.  And if they rolled the heads to release the chaff before eating, they were winnowing.  They were working on the Sabbath, according to the religious leaders.

After giving them a history lesson on how King David and his men ate the consecrated bread when they were hungry, Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27).  In other words, God made the Sabbath to provide a time of rest and devotion, not a time of restriction and denial.  Man was not made to observe the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made to serve man.  And, their rules enslaved man instead of enriching him as God intended.

As we interpret God's Word and decide how to apply it, one sure step in the process is to consider how God intended it to benefit man.  If our rule only binds and restricts us, we probably should take another look, for the Bible plainly says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery" (Gal 5:1).  Jus' Say'n.

Sick Folk

When you begin to look closely at a church, you start noticing that the people who make it up are not quite as righteous as you might have thought.  You find that they have attitudes, that they don't always have the best motives, that many of them lack abundant faith, that they look suspiciously human, that some are downright hypocrites.

When you begin to look closely at a church, chances are you are going to be disappointed with much of what you see.  You are going to be disappointed with how many are in need of change, with how many need an infusion of faith, with how many are so infected with worldly thinking, with how many are spiritually sick folk, in need of healing.

You begin to wonder, "Are these people really called by Jesus?"  These people look so much like what I see in society around me, can they really be the Church?  Can these emotionally, spiritually, financially, relationally sick people really be who Jesus had in mind calling together to establish kingdom?

The religious leaders and the Pharisees wondered the same thing when they saw Jesus socializing "with tax collectors and sinners" (Mk 2:16) and questioned the disciples on his fellowship choices. Jesus, on hearing what they said, did not dispute their qualification of the crowd he ate with, instead he said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (17).

The church is not meant to be a gathering place of the religiously elite, a sort of spiritual social club.  The church is rather to be a hospital for the spiritually sick and the religiously in-firmed, a place where they can come for help, a place where wounds are bound and sick folk are invited to seek healing.  All of us, by the way, are in need of healing, "No one is righteous, not even one" (Rom 3:10).  I may be further along in the healing process, but I am not healed.  Neither are you.

The answer to our infirmities is not to withdraw from other sick people in some sort of spiritual isolation room, separating ourselves from those who are obviously more sick then we, but rather to  engage with each other, openly talk about our weaknesses and our spiritual brokenness, "Confessing our sins to each other and praying for each other so that we might be healed" (Js 5:16a)

Oh, by the way, those directed to pray for each other so they might be healed are promised that "the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective" (16b).  The righteous?  Aren't the sick confessing and praying for each other?  Who are the righteous?  The righteous ones are the sick folk who know they are sick and seek healing from the Lord.  We aren't perfect, just forgiven.

The sick folk are us.  We all stand in need of healing.  We all "sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 6:23).  We all need to be praying for one another so that we might be overcoming our sin condition by the grace of God, who assigns us righteousness based on His Son's perfection, not ours.  Jus' Say'n.

Unbelieving Belief

A certain man's son was demon possessed and often went into fits of seizure.  The disciples tried to heal him but were unable.  When Jesus came on the scene, the boy's father recounted the disciples' failed attempts and then said, "'But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us. [to which Jesus replied] 'If you can?  Everything is possible for one who believes.'Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, 'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mk 922-24).

Sound familiar?  Not necessarily the text but the dichotomy of faith - that in between place we so often stand, believing and doubting at the same time.  We believe God is and that he is able to do anything but we doubt that he really will.  Perhaps you have prayed like a certain woman asked God to remove a dead tree from her back yard.  The next morning, looking out her back window, seeing the tree, exclaimed, "Still there, just like I thought!"

Really?  Her doubt laced prayer wasn't answered?  Imagine that.  Better yet, listen to the Lord's warning about that: "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt....That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord" (Js 1:6-7).  Do we not often find ourselves in that same position?  We pray for someone to live and then set about to make funeral preparations.  We ask God to keep our old jalopy running until we can afford another one and then trade it in upside down, making payments that break the bank.  We pray for rain but grab an umbrella on the way out.

Is it just me?  Am I the only one who turns things over to God and then tries to micro-manage the outcome?  Is is just my faith that needs a "shot in the arm?"  No, to one degree or another, we all share this "dis - ease."  But do we have to accept that weakness of spirit?  Can we not ask in faith and step out trusting the Father to grant our request, even when it is not yet evident how he will answer?

Can we not say no to the paralysis of doubt and yes to the launching pad of faith, even though we struggle with fully embracing God's power and participation in our lives?  Can we not also ask, "Lord I do believe; help me with my unbelief?"  Can we not admit our weakness while leaning in for strength?  Yes we can!  We can take our unbelieving belief, lay it openly at our Father's feet and like the boy's dad in the story above, God can bless our exercise of a weak faith.

If you think about it, how do you address weak muscles?  Do you wait until they are strong enough before you begin to use them?  Do you wait until your legs are back to 100% before you trust them enough to attempt walking on them?  NO!  We use them, testing them, trying them, building them up to the point where we freely use them.  Faith too must be exercised.  We must take our unbelieving belief and begin to exercise it so that it might grow to an unstoppable faith that fears not but trusts fully in God's power to save.  Jus' Say'n.

Questions

It is interesting to listen in on a conversation, where both parties are trying hard to get their points across but are hardly tyring to listen to the other.  Over speak, wherein each try to talk over the other as they try to continue advancing their ideas without having to consider what the other has to say, is a fairly common phenomenon.

At the end of a presentation by someone who is an expert on the subject, when questions are solicited, even though you know everyone did not get everything being said - silence, no one ventures to ask for illumination.  And then one hand goes up, not to truly ask a question but to demonstrate his/her knowledge on the subject queries, "Dont you think that...?"

In an effort not to appear foolish or ignorant, we often insure that we remain ignorant by our foolish reluctance to ask questions.  In stark contrast, Jesus, of whom the Bible says "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man" (Lk 2:52), when left behind at the temple, was later found "sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (Lk 2:42).

Here we have 12 year-old, God incarnate Jesus, the source of wisdom and knowledge, asking questions.  Of course, in human form, he needed to grow and develop, but how many almost-thirteen year-old are in to asking questions?  Do you remember when your kids were becoming teens?  Do you remember when you were that age?  We knew so much more than our parents at that age, what could anyone over 30 have to share with us?

But Jesus, who actually was developing well beyond his years, knew enough to ask questions and quietly listen to his elders.  When he was questioned by them, because he did listen and learn, "Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers" (Lk 2:47).

When I began my journey of formal religious and theological education, I was quick to answer when a professor asked a question.  I had all the answers.  By the time I was working   on my doctorate, I had discovered that I had almost no answers and was eager to ask questions.  At the completion of my formal studies, I walked away with more questions than I had answers.  I had finally learned enough to know how little I actually knew.

I'm not saying that I go dumber (more ignorant) as I advanced in my studies.  What I am saying is that I learned to sit dumber (less talkative) as I listened to what was being said and asked question at the end of lectures to insure I had a grasp of what was being shared in order to pursue further study on the subject.

If couples actually asked questions and then listened closely to the answer instead of formulating a rebuttal, their would be so much less divorce.  If politicians would come to the table, ready to hear the other side before coming to a decision, they would have so much more bi-partisan bills moving forward.  If church members asked questions, listened intently for the answer before adding to the discussion, like our Lord Jesus, would grow in wisdom and stature.

Any questions?  Jus' Ask'n.

Seeing Everything

When someone sees something that is incredible, amazing, shocking or beyond the pale, so to speak, it is common to hear them say, "Now I've seen everything!"  Of course, they haven't seen everything, their ability to accept what they have seen has simply been stretched to the limits of credulity.

There are some exceptions, however.  God, for instance, has seen everything: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb 4:13).  That would be something that we should keep in mind the next time we're about to do something thinking, "No one will ever know."

Of course, you're not surprised to hear that God has seen everything, that should go without saying that the Creator of all things has seen everything.  But there is another, a regular Joe like you or me, referred to in the Bible as simply, "a man named Simeon."  This nondescript individual, incredible as it may seem, actually saw everything.

And when he did, finally see everything, said what many have said, tongue in cheek, when they have witnessed something really awesome, "Now I can die happy."  He didn't say it in exactly those words and he wasn't overstating his case employing hyperbole.  He did see everything and he could now die happy: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations" (Lk 2:29-31).

Simeon was there when Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus at the temple.  His eyes bore witness to what the Spirit had promised him and that for which all of creation had been waiting, the Coming Christ, God incarnate.  Simeon saw the One "Through [whom] all things were made; without [whom] nothing was made that has been made" (Jn 1:3).  Simeon saw everything.

The Bible is very clear that in seeing and accepting Jesus we have everything, while refusing to do so leaves us with nothing for he is "the way, the truth and the life [and] no one comes to the Father without [him]" (Jn 14:6).

Have you seen Jesus?  Have you accepted him?  Jus' Ask'n.

Leaving Room For Mystery

I am a left-brain, linear thinking, 1-2-3, abc, Missouri show me, kind of guy.  Theologically, I was molded from the 19th Century Restoration Movement, which is often referred to as Campbellism after the leading thinker of the movement, Mr Left Brain himself, Alexander Campbell, who was famous for his capacity to logically work through difficult texts and systematically present biblical doctrine and theology.

I have spent my entire adult life seeking to be a thorough-going biblicist, who "correctly handles the Word of Truth" (2 Tim 2:15).  My religious and theological training extends through college, graduate school and seminary, earning enough degrees to become a thermometer.  My left brain went on an  educational journey of a lifetime.

For a time, I knew everything.  I was the answer man.  If you had a question, I probably had an answer.  If I didn't, just give me a few day to search through my 1,000+ volume personal library and I would uncover the answer, deducing it with laser-focused, left-brain accuracy.  Yes indeed, I had all the answers - Not!

I had all the conclusions my doctoral training could conjure up, but, in actuality, I had only begun to scratch the surface of biblical, divine truth.  The problem with me or anyone fully knowing and understanding divine truth is  “...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Is 55:8-9).

God's thoughts and his ways are a mystery to be revealed to us, not simply by study alone but require revelation: "The person without the Spirit...cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit" (1 Cor 2:14).  Despite our best academic efforts, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us..." (Deut 29:29).

So, I don't and won't fully understand the nature of God.  I don't understand why everything is the way it is or even what way everything is.  There are some things that I accept just because God said it.  Somethings I don't understand at all.  Sometimes, I just scratch my head and to pursue the topic further just makes my brain hurt.  Some things are just a mystery.  And that is OK for God is not one I am capable of fully deciphering.  I have no choice but to leave room in my theological and religious constructs for the mystery of the Almighty.  Jus' Say'n.

No Way? Yahweh!

There was a cartoon of Jesus talking to his disciples, telling them of their Divine calling to which they replied, "No way!"  And then Jesus responded, "Yahweh!"  While I don't usually like jokes involving Jesus or the Father, this one is really spot on theologically.  The disciples incredulous, "This can't be done!" is being me with Jesus' affirmation, "Yes in God it can!"  Luke 18:27, "Jesus replied, 'What is impossible with man is possible with God.'"

I was reading from Luke 1 this morning, where Zechariah the priest was being informed by the angel Gabriel that his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son and Zechariah's incredulous response was, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years" (vs. 18).  The angel's response was definitive: “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news" (vs. 19).

How can I be sure?  God said it!  And as the Lord himself says, "...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).  There us to be a bumper sticker that read, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."  I would shorten that slogan to simply, "God said, that settles it."  As we see with Zechariah, it doesn't matter if we believe it or not, God's affirmations are firm and will happen.

So, when God promises, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt 6:33),  why do you "...worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. (vs. 25)?  Why don't you relax about tomorrow and rejoice in the comfort of God's promises?

As you look at your circumstances, you may be saying to yourself, "This is impossible, there is no way I can do this!"  And you may be right about your ability.  With you there may be no way, but then there is Yahweh!  With God, impossible is not a barrier.  The only barrier to his blessings in your life is your unwillingness or inability to "believe and receive" for "...whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mk 11:24).

No way?  Not even close!  Yahweh?  Absolutely!  Jus' Say'n.

Doing The Math

We had our weekend all planned out.  We were going to lower our new portable shed by 6 inches, build a ramp for our motorcycles and wire the out building with receptacles and a light.  With these things completed we could then move our bikes to the shed and finally get my car into our garage.

It was a perfect plan, except for one thing, we didn't do the math.  We decided how big a ramp we wanted and what we wanted wired inside the shed, went to Lowes with our card that had a credit on  it to cover the costs of materials, which we purchased and returned ready to tackle the job.

With the help of a friend who knew how to build a ramp, we decided to get the ramp out of the way first.  However, the first leg of our journey to completing the the shed project, was the last leg we were standing on at the end of the weekend when we collapsed in defeat.  The ramp, which had been laid out by our friend and brought to a point that we could finish it on our own, ran into a snag or two (including burning the motor out of a table saw) but was completed to the dimensions we had decided would be adequate.  Again, however, we didn't do the math.

With the ramp complete, we were ready to take our bikes inside.  Tandie suggested I take mine in first since I she hadn't taken a bike up a ramp in a while, so off I went.  It was smooth sailing until I high-centered on the entrance way due to fact that - What?  Right, I didn't do the math.  Due to the length of my wheel base and the distance of the lowest part of my frame to thee ground, it seemed our ramp was probably about two feet too short to allow clearance.  It was a loud and sudden stop inside the doorway.

The ironic thing about this is that my wife, Tandie, is taking college algebra and knows how to figure slope ratios to allow the needed clearance.  Of course, it would have helped if I had asked her to do the math before I jumped in to build the ramp.  It would have helped if I had spent some time praying and thinking about it before tackling it as I might have been reminded of my Lord's warning to do the math in Luke 14:28, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?

Of course, He wasn't talking about ramps and slopes in particular, he was using an analogy warning us to add up the cost of commitment required to be His disciple before taking that step - do the math. Ha I applied his analogy to my project, I could have spared us a weekend on a project that came to such a disappointing end.  Now, as we do the math, it is looking like it might be be more cost effective to hire someone who  does this kind of thing for a living than spend another weekend tearing up the one we built and trying to build another one.

Sorry Lord, you  warned me to do the math, had supplied me with an algebra-equipped mind but I failed to listen and do the math.  Oh, did I mention I am fighting the urge to jump in and try it again?  How does that even add up?  Will I multiply my losses with another run at it or divide my agony by hiring a professional?  WWJD?  Well, as a carpenter by trade and God of the universe, he would do it right.  What would he have me do?  I believe it would be to use the gifts he has given me, one of which is not ramp-building.  And don't even get me started on possibilities of angst if I were to try to wire this shed.

So, what's the takeaway?  Listen to Jesus.  Whatever you are about to do, take some time to prayerfully and carefully consider the cost.  Do the math before making a mess.  Jus' Say'n.

A Man Like Me

When Nehemiah, who had been given permission and provisions to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem by the king of Persia, had completed the task all but setting the massive gate, he was warned by Shemaiah to go with him and lock themselves in the Temple because men were coming by night to kill him.

His response was epic: "Should a man like me run away? Or should someone like me go into the temple to save his life? I will not go!” (Neh 6:11).  Nehemiah knew the entire time he was building the wall that his life was at risk.  He also knew that Shemaiah was not prophesying for the Lord but for the money he had been paid by Sandballat and Tobiah, who were dead set against the wall being completed.

Regardless of the threat and the traitorous acts of some within his ranks, Nehemiah would not be derailed because he had a one-track mind: The mind of God.  He knew that he was doing the work God had set in his heart and he would not stop the work, even at the threat of his life.  His personal safety was not to be compared with his sacred duty.

That's what he meant when he said, "Shall a man like me run away."  He was not commenting on his status or stature or strength but rather on his servant status before the Living God.  He was saying, in effect, "Shall a man serving God Almighty, turn away from that service and run for cover or safety at the threat of man?"

Should anyone, who is a child of God, doing the work of God turn back because others don't like what he/she is doing?  Should we, as Christians, back off doing what we know to be God's will because discouraging or threatening rebukes from others?  Should we allow our personal safety or financial security determine the degree of our commitment to God?

The answer is a firm and resounding no! “'My righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.'  But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved" (Heb 10:38-39).  As Christians, we do not need to test the winds of public opinion or even the threat level to decide what course we should take, rather, we are to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Mt 6:33).  Jus' Say'n.

The Fathers Face

Too many years ago to remember, I came across the story of a young husband who lost his wife, leaving him with a small boy to raise on his own.  The night after his wife and the boy's mother was laid to rest, the little boy wanted to sleep with his father.

As they lay in the darkness, the child, unable to sleep asked, "Daddy?"  His father responded, "Yes son?"  "Daddy, is your face toward me?"  Through his tears, the young widower replied, "Yes son, my face is toward you.  Why do you ask?"  The reply he heard in the darkness was, "I think I will be OK as long as your face is toward me."

Do you remember those days when just knowing your parents were looking out for you, paying attention to what was going on around you, ready to step in and protect you or provide for your needs?  Do you remember how safe you felt, how worry free?

What if we knew that The Father's face was toward us, that he stood ready to protect and provide.  What if we knew that saw every hurt, heard every cry, knew every danger and was already working out our deliverance, already sending a blessing, already moving to act on our behalf?  What if we really believed that God's face was toward us?

Let me share some Good News: The Father's face is absolutely toward us!  "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil" (1 Pet 3:12).  His eyes are watching over us and his ears are listening for our cries, ready to rush to our side, providing and protecting his children.

Of course, this isn't good news for those who do evil, who take advantage of the weak or ignore the needy.  God is fully aware of those individuals as well, only he turns his face away from them, allowing them to reap the evil they are sowing (Gal 6:7).

But for those of us who turn away from evil, seeking the Father's face, there grace and mercy and love abound - there the Father's face is toward us and his hands uphold us and he "will never leave us as orphans" (Jn 14:18) but always stand by us, watching over us.  Jus' Say'n.

Double Duty

Nehemiah, the cup-bearer of King Artaxerxes, approached his Persian master with a burden from God to return to Jerusalem to rebuild its wall.  The king was pleased to give him permission and provide him provisions to accomplish the task which God had laid upon his heart.

Nehemiah and the Jewish people were pleased to begin the work, which God had laid upon their heart and begun the work with great fervor.  But the Gentile inhabitants of the land were not pleased, instead they were alarmed and sent Sanballat to discourage them with ridicule and threats.

Sanballat and Tobiah chided Nehemiah saying, "Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble,,,even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones" (4:2-3).  But Nehemiah and the Israelites were not listening, they continued to build.

The Arabs and the Ammonites became more alarmed and determined to stop them by force.  Word of their plot came to Nehemiah and the Jews but they did not stop building on the wall.  Instead, "Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked" (17-18).

Rather than back down due to the added pressure and increased threat level, Nehemiah and the Jews doubled down, continuing to work on the wall while carrying weapons and posting guards while they worked.  The burden on their hearts from God was stronger than the burden they felt in the heat of the day facing intense opposition with every brick laid upon the wall.

What the people of God faced in the days of Nehemiah is not essentially different from what we must face today.  When we are burdened from God to do a good thing, Satan is bound and determined to make it more difficult in order to get us to surrender.  We too will have to pull double duty, serving God on one hand and resisting the Devil on the other.  As the apostle warned, "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted" (2 Tim 3:12).

We are called to the double duty of building the kingdom while defending against Satan's attacks but we need not fear for Jesus promises, "I will never leave you as orphans, I will come to you" (Jn 14:18).  The pressure will be on but the Prince of Peace will be at hand.  Jus' Say'n.

Making Room For Yes

My natural inclination is to say yes when asked to help someone, participate in an event or work on a project.  As a rule, I feel good about volunteering and others appreciate my help.  But experience over decades of ministry has taught me that saying yes to everything soon results in having to say no to better things and failing to leave room for Divine appointments and prompting of the Spirit.

As a parent, if your day is filled with the demands of work and your evenings taken up with community volunteerism, just when are you taking time with your children?  As a spouse that is busily going and doing, serving in multiple good and godly venues, how well are you meeting the needs of your spouse?  As a businessman, always busy with business, how well are you meeting the needs of your family, friends, church and community?

As a pastor for three decades, I found myself wanting to be a part of everything.  And, for the first decade, I pretty much was - to the growing determent of my family and my health.  I was heading down the path, which is a major contributor to 60% of pastors dropping out of full-time ministry by the 7th year: Over-commitment.

In one of those personality tests I took somewhere back in the early 90s, I registered as a "Golden Retriever"; One of those individuals who wants to please everyone.  But the fact is, even the best of dogs can only chase one stick at a time.  Every time I say yes to one thing, I must say no to whatever else I could be doing or helping in at that given time.

Even Jesus, who came and died in his quest to "seek and save that which was lost" (Lk 19:10), "often withdrew to lonely places and prayed" (Lk 5:16).  As much as he desired to bless people, he often said no to the opportunity in order to make room for saying yes to quiet time with the Father.  Sometimes, he would retreat with disciples for the specific purpose of resting and recharging their batteries.  Making room for yes means saying no to somethings.

So, the point I've been coming to is the need to make priorities and keep them.  Attending worship is a priority for me.  If something is planned during that time, it will likely happen without my participation.  Work is a priority, I don't just miss work.  If something urgent comes up like a family emergency, my priorities will shift.  If there is something really important planned like an anniversary trip, a mission week or our recent Apostles' Habitat for Humanity work day, I'll schedule time off.

As hard as it is to say no, we have to force it out sometimes, making room for yes when the Spirit prompts, making room for those Divine appointments, making room for higher priorities, making room for rest, making room for family, making room for church, making room for yes when it counts the most for any given moment in time.  No, it isn't easy.  Yes, it is worth it.  Jus' Say'n.

Changes

Will Rogers once quipped, "It's not that I'm afraid to die; it just that I've been alive for as long as I can remember and I don't like change."  As with most things he said, most people can identify.  We really don't like change so much.  We take great comfort in  the fact that the way things worked out yesterday can be counted on to work out today as well.

Of course, there are some changes we do welcome: A promotion, a windfall, losing those extra pounds, getting the leaky faucet fixed, having your braces removed for good.  Change that we look forward to, which benefits us in some way it welcome change.  Welcome change is not the change I'm talking about - I'm talking about the change that happens without our input and without our approval.  I'm talking about most change, the kind of upsetting change written about in the little book entitled, "Who Moved My Cheese?"

I'm not going to try to recap the book or even make a direct reference, it just happened to pop into my mind as I was writing that last paragraph and it is a good illustration taken from the business world, which is constantly in flux, using the illustration of a mouse vexed over his cheese being moved.  It's a pretty good read and doesn''t take long.  You might want to check it out.

The point I'm driving at is that while we resist change in general, in general change is coming, regardless of our resistance.  Change is the vital dynamic in things that are alive and growing.  Growing itself is systematic change.  Living things get bigger, stronger, faster, developing and changing on a cellular level constantly, and in more obvious ways, reaching milestones along the way.

The deal is that change happens.  Sometimes change will be welcome.  Often it will not.  Regardless, it will happen.  We can embrace it, cope with it, lament it, curse it - but we cannot stop it with but one exception: Stop living.  Living things grow and growth is change.  There is no change occurring in a cemetery.  But as long as you are alive, expect change.  Go ahead and enjoy things as they are today but be prepared for those things to change tomorrow.

Paul said, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance" (Phil 4:12), which implies the constant change he lived through.  Solomon said, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens" (Eccl 3:1).  Since every thing has its time, when it's time for something else, there must be change.

There is but one static point in life, one thing that will not move about, one anchor we can hold on to in a sea of constant upheaval: "God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change" (Ps 55:19). Embrace the changes of life, holding on to God who instead of constantly changing is The Constant, yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8).  Jus' Say'n.

Marvelous

I have a particular co-worker, who has an especially sunny disposition.  Each day when you ask her how she is doing, her stock answer is, "I'm marvelous!"  Until she came to work at our office, I don't remember hearing that word since Billy Crystal was using it in his imitation of Fernado Lamas on Saturday Night, "You look marvelous!"

But just today I came across it in my reading of the Book of Zechariah, when the Lord Almighty declared to Israel, “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me ?” (8:6).

Marvelous means "Causing wonder or astonishment; Of the highest or best kind or quality: first-rate."    And certainly, there are times when we feel we have accomplished something or conducted ourselves in a rather marvelous way.

I don't know if any churches would say, "We're really marvelous," but I do know that most feel that they are above average if not first-rate.  But does God feel that way?  An example of this contrast is found in Revelation 3:17  "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

This is a very important question  in our personal and corporate Christian walk, "Am I, are we, marvelous in God's sight?"  While I may think I'm doing pretty good, does God agree?  While the church I attend may feel it is operating above the grade, does God think so?

We know that God loves us (cf. Jn 3:16) but do our lives, our words, thoughts and deeds, honor him? A good test is, "Would anyone be drawn to Christ by my life or the body life of our church?  Am I and are we truly, "Set apart" (sanctified) from the world in how we conduct ourselves?  Or would people say we are like all the rest?

I believe that we should be marvelous, I believe that I should be marvelous.  I believe that every Christian and every Christian Body ought to be sanctified.  But are we?  And how can we know?  Well, we "all sin and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23), so we are not perfectly marvelous, but we could be as marvelous as an imperfect being can manage.

How we can know is by becoming familiar with one who is Perfectly Marvelous: The Lord Jesus Christ who "has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin" (Heb 4:15) is truly marvelous.  And, through prayer, devotional time and study of his life in Scripture, we can come to know him who "left us an example that we should follow in His steps" (1 Pet 2:21).  Jus' Say'n.

Small Things

The prophet Zechariah asks a very pointed question: "“Who dares despise the day of small things" (4:10)?  The answer, of course, is "Most of us."  Especially, I think, in this country.  For us bigger is not only better, bigger is important while smaller is less so.

To feel important, we seek a big job with lots of authority, a big paycheck, a big house and a car in the garage with a big price tag.  As Christians, we want to belong to a big church with a big budget and big influence.  If we teach a Bible class, we want big numbers in attendance.

If we host a seminar or a conference or a gospel meeting, we judge its success by the numbers in attendance.  When we evaluate the success of our churches, we begin to check attendance numbers and the number of dollars in the contribution plate.  Big is good, small is bad.  We dare despise the day of small things.

But the truth is, however, size or amount is not the true measure of worth or value.  The apostle Paul said, "I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue" (1 Cor 14:19).  It is quality, not quantity that gives true value.

Which is of more value, to lecture a class of 1,000 people who forget the message before the day is out or to teach a handful of people who drink it in and determine to apply the principles in their lives?   Which do you believe is more pleasing to God, a mega church in the suburbs, where thousands of members come to hear an eloquent sermon and leave a sizable contribution or a small inner-city church that struggles to pat the rent but is daily reaching out to the helpless and the homeless?

In God sight, which has more worth, $10,000 sitting in a bank account or $10 used to buy food for a hungry child?  What would do the most kingdom good, attending 100 seminars on outreach or 1 week on a mission effort?  The number of steps in a journey is not nearly as important as the direction of those steps.  And in Southern imagery, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog."

Rather than concern ourselves with the number or size or amount, we ought to focus on what is right, what is good, what is helpful.  Consider kingdom worth rather than monetary worth, strive to make a difference instead of a name, take the first step (however small) to doing the right thing.  Do what you can with what you have for, as Jesus said: "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.” (Mt 10:42).  Jus' Say'n.