Mercy Triumphs

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In the early church, there was a lot of rejection and relational conflict going on as believers began to transition into the newly forming sub-culture we now know as Christianity.  Ethnic and familiar allegiances were taking second place to a new found devotion to the person of Christ and to the local church.  This was especially true of the church in Rome.  At that time, the climate in the Roman community of believers was often marked by discord and strife and therefore proved to be a fertile breeding ground for the delving out of many overly harsh judgments.  Those who not so long ago were considered friends and family, now were viewed as opposing factions.  In the midst of all the mud slinging, Paul challenges the young church to “Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God” (Rom 11:22)

If we’re honest, most of us are much more in touch with God’s sternness (some translations “severity”) than we are his kindness.  Of course there are many reasons why we might have this kind of imbalanced perspective, but none more suspect than the abundance of legalistic doctrine that has been allowed to freely flow from so many of our pulpits.  And to make matters worse, we’ve unknowingly heaped condemnation on ourselves and others for not adhering to all the dogmatic BS we’ve been subjected to.  As a result, many of us have been led to believe that God is somehow fundamentally disappointed in us.  This is just plain sad.  What we believe about the nature of our Heavenly Father will drastically affect the quality of our life.  If we believe that God is usually mad at us, or that our performance is always falling short of what’s expected, then it will be tough for us to enjoy even the best parts of our life.  On the other hand, when we are hanging on to the revelation that God’s unconditional love and acceptance is based solely on our relationship to his Son, then even our difficulties can be seen to have redeeming eternal purpose.

Receiving and relying on the grace of God is both simple and profoundly necessary. Considering the kindness of God begins with a decision to believe that he is gracious and kind by nature, and not the divine drill sargent that we’ve been led to believe.  Of course, like any good father he has to be stern with his children at times.  He will never wink at our disobedience as if it were cute.  But this is precisely why we must “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” (Heb 12:15)  Can you see the principle here?  If we somehow “miss” God’s grace, then we will become bitter… toward him, others, and even ourselves.  Have you ever felt that God was just waiting for you to fail so that he could smack you back into line?  Trust me on this my friend, maybe your earthly father gave you that impression, or maybe some other authority figure in your life operated that way, but that is not the way God is!  Malice is just not a part of his make-up.

When we struggle with bitterness, it is because we need a deeper revelation of God’s love for us.  If we receive his grace, then we have it to give to ourselves and others.  If we often feel like he’s angry at us, or disappointed in us, then we’ll just as readily pass that negative emotion on to those around us.  If we allow a “bitter root to grow up” within us, it will invariably “cause trouble” for usand in turn “defile many.” Again, we’re only able to give what we’ve already received.  But that blade cuts both ways.  When we begin to truly rely on the kindness and grace of the Lord, then we’ll have an abundance of it to give away.

Let’s face it, our flesh is always going to be prone to weakness.  “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.” (Ro 7:18)  But keep in mind that all that human frailty is there by design.  If you’re spending much time wrestling with feelings of anger, or you know someone who can’t seem to get over their bitterness, it’s time to apply some grace.  Receive the Father’s forgiveness and then release that forgiveness in every possible direction.  Whether we’re feeling the shame of  someone else’s unrighteous judgment, or we’re the one passing it out, the application of this truth is the same.  “See to it that no one misses the grace of God.” Why?  Because we all need it desperately.  No exceptions. “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (Jas 2:13)

Lord, you know we need help with this one.  Please grant us a deeper revelation of how much you love us.  Forgive us for our harsh judgments toward ourselves and others.  Forgive us for believing that you’re mad and disappointed with us.  You are a loving Heavenly Father and want nothing more than to bless us and to grant us favor in all that we do.  You are good and kind and so faithful to us.  Thank you for being such a great Dad.  We love you.

FREE RIDE

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I know for some it might be hard to believe that the Lord could speak through a classic rock song, but it happens to me all the time.  In fact, I believe that there was a very powerful anointing that rested on many of the bands from the 60s and 70s.  Even though most of the artists probably had no idea that the Lord was using them to speak truth, He often did just that with or without their intent or acknowledgment.  Recently, while driving home after a long day of work, I decided to pick up my cell phone and call my friend about a business start up we were working on together.  Knowing that we had both come from a very similar performance oriented background, we were encouraging one another with the truth that many times it’s not about us having to work harder or to strive to make something happen.  Instead, the Lord was teaching us that our forward progress is usually more about being willing to trust in his goodness and sovereignty so that we can enter into His rest.  The Lord was trying to help us get the revelation that when our soul is at rest, and the peace of Christ is ruling in our heart, then we can just sit back and enjoy the ride.  As soon as I hung up the phone, I hit the radio button and the song “Free Ride” by Edgar Winter started up as if perfectly cued. Being the closet rock and roll devote that I am, I cranked it up as loud as it would go.  A very powerful encounter with the Lord ensued.

In the formative stages of my spiritual development, I was internally driven by the belief that, “If it’s gonna be, than it’s up to me.”  Oh sure I could quote any number of scriptures that were contrary to that mindset, but when it came down to how I was actually living… I was just as self motivated and clueless about the Lord’s leadings as I was before I became a believer.  Although lordship starts with making a decision, that is most certainly not where it stops.  In fact, learning how to truly depend on the Lord may involve a long and humiliating process.  At least it has for me, and I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only one who’s had a little trouble practicing this principle.  Most of us, and this is especially true of we American Christians, have been trained from a very early age to be self reliant and self oriented in thought and lifestyle.  Think about it, the very formation of our country was due largely to our unwillingness to submit ourselves to a ruler.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a gun toting republican who thoroughly enjoys his freedoms.  But learning how to be more lead and less driven has not been easy for me.  I don’t know how many times over the course of my Christian journey, my soul has exclaimed, “Stand aside God and watch how much I can DO for you.

It’s taken many years to even begin to comprehend how arrogant that thought pattern must be to the Lord.   Whether we admit it or not, we often live as if our Heavenly Father’s interest in us and/or his approval of us is somehow affected by something we might do or not do “for” Him.  Granted, we all have things we’re called, gifted, and anointed to do.  But believe it or not, he really doesn’t need us to do anything.  “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Prov 19:21) Regardless of our theology, it is shamefully egocentric to deny the fact that His plans and purposes will prevail with or without our human efforts.  This revelation is doubly needful for those of us who’ve committed ourselves to leading and serving in the church.  As one who was once the textbook example of a Messiah Complex, I can tell you from experience that much of our need to “serve” may be improperly motivated.  Remember, “the poor you will always have with you”.   In other words, there’s always more that needs to be done.  Our job is to do only what the Lord himself asks us to do.  Anything beyond that is a yoke we need not wear.  Obedience truly is better than sacrifice, that hasn’t changed.  In fact, I’ve come to believe that one of God’s primary intentions for us is that we simply learn how to relax and enjoy the life He’s given us.

If you’re feeling the burden of a heavy yoke, maybe it’s time to inquire of the Lord about what you’re carrying that’s not really your responsibility.  If you’re an intercessor, maybe you need to stop watching the news for a while.  I’m pretty sure the oil spill in the gulf and that situation in the middle-east that you’re so concerned about will get solved without you losing any sleep over it.  No offense, but sometimes we overestimate the significance of the role we play in the grand scheme of things.  Go for a walk, enjoy a nap, eat a cheeseburger without feeling guilty for the love of God!  It’s gonna be OK.  He’ll keep the universe from imploding on itself.  Our job is to cease from our striving and enter into his rest.  The Lord God Jehovah is on the throne.  He loves us and He’s got this whole thing figured out and under control.  We need only to listen and obey, listen and obey, listen and obey.  Let Him deal with the rest.  Come on and take a free ride.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  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 11:28-30)

The mountain is high   The valley is low
and you’re confused on which way to go
so I’ve come here to give you a hand
and lead you into the promised land so…

come on and take a free ride
come on and sit here by my side
come on and take a free ride

all over the country I’ve seen it the same
nobody’s winning at this kind of game
we’ve got to do better it’s time to begin
you know all the answers must come from within so…
come on and take a free ride
come on and sit here by my side
come on and take a free ride.

Guarding The Gates – The Eye Gate and Ear Gate

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The older I get, the more I appreciate seclusion and solitude.  So much so that I really don’t want to live anywhere near a big city anymore if I can help it.  Even subdivisions make me feel like I have to fight to take in a deep breath.  What happened to me?  I used to love being right in the middle of things.  For years we lived and worked in Chicago and all the hustle and bustle never seemed to phase me.  In fact, at that time I felt like the more people and activity I could be around the better.  For heaven’s sake, I was the consummate extravert for most of my life.  How is it that I now live out in the country on the edge of a thousand acres of woods at the end of a quarter mile gravel driveway and absolutely love it?  The short answer to that question is this; I’ve learned the value of guarding my eye gates and ear gates.

I find it interesting that there are over 300 references to gates in Scripture.  In biblical times, the safety and security of any city of size was determined by the height and thickness of its walls and the strength of its gates.  To hold or take a city it was said that you must “possess the gates.”  In Judges 16:3 Samson mocked the might of the Philistines by tearing the main gate of their city off its hinges and carrying it away on his back.  Gates were the primary access point for either good or evil to enter, so making sure that they were well guarded was accepted by all as a top priority.  At one point, Nehemiah commissioned the Levites to guard the gates of Jerusalem.  But this time the concern was not their foreign enemies, but rather the hoard of godless merchants who were trying to get the Israelites to buy goods from them on the Sabbath.

When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day. Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.  Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. (Neh 13:19-22)

 

You can put a religious white wash on this account if you want to, but basically “I will lay hands on you” meant, “If you losers come back and try this again, I will personally come down there and kick your ass!”  Apparently they took Nehemiah seriously because it says, “From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath.”

In much the same way, if we don’t get a little aggressive about guarding our eye gates, ear gates, the gates of our mind,  heart, and homes, we can lose our place of rest (Sabbath) and quickly become corrupted by the offerings of our increasingly godless environment.

 

Our eyes and ears are the primary gates to our inner man.  But due to our constant over-exposure to evil, we have become numb and thus largely unaware of the assault that is raging against our ability to maintain a soul at rest.  Because of the rapid advancement of our technology, and the pervasiveness of our media consuming devices, we have been subjected to witnessing far more evil and vile human behavior than we were created to handle.  Now, only the most shocking and repulsive of images causes us to turn away in disgust.  Over time, we have developed an unhealthy tolerance of what used to make us cringe.

Guarding the gates is about being intentionally mindful of what we allow ourselves to see, and hear.  Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Mat 6:22-23) If we allow a free flowing stream of worldliness into our eye gate, then we must prepare ourselves for the inevitable.  We will become like that which we behold.  But this does not have to be our destiny.  Like Nehemiah, we can choose to rise above our passivity and go on the offensive.

Guarding our eye gates simply means watching what we watch.  Even a 30 second commercial can defile our mind and cause our thoughts to be misdirected.  I believe it was Bill Gothard who said that “TV is the toleration of great evil in order to attain a little good.”  At the very least, we can choose to screen that which streams into our homes.  God help those of us who are parents to get serious about monitoring our kid’s access to the internet.

Being aware of what we allow in our ear gate is an equally needful discipline.  One crucial strategy is to learn how to be comfortable with silence.  More often than not, the Lord likes to use his still small voice.  Hearing from the Lord will bring peace and rest to our souls quicker than anything else.  If our surroundings are constantly  filled with sounds (radio, noisy neighbors, a droning chorus of leaf blowers and lawn mowers) than our environmentally in-bread A.D.D. will often squash any chance of finding genuine rest for our soul.  We are thoroughly over-stimulated and thus largely unfulfilled.  Just getting somewhere truly quiet on a regular basis can radically alter the level at which we enjoy our lives.  Again, I’ve learned to love things like deer hunting and taking a slow walk through the woods for this very reason.   Inner peace truly is attainable, but it may require us to sacrifice some of the lifestyle choices we’ve grown accustomed to.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:7)

Lastly, we must remember that it is a short trip from our mouth to our ears.  By watching what comes out of our mouth, we can guard our heart.  Whatever we say will, in turn, reinforce what we’re already thinking, be it good or bad.  If we’re prone to speak negatively about ourselves, our situation, or others, then it won’t be long before we reap what our mouth has sown.  I used to laugh at the naivety of the “positive confession” camp until I realized that, for the most part, they we’re living better than I was.  They were happier, healthier, wealthier… say what you will, the principle works!  There is unfathomable power in the spoken word to build up or tear down.  Like the head of a hammer, we choose which side to use.  Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. (Prov 4:23)

Our eye gate, ear gate, and mouth gate are the key access points to our minds and hearts.  Our enemy understands this fact and therefore has mounted a relentless assault against them.  We must decide to transcend our culture’s norms and learn to live above their corrupting influence.  Our homes should be a place of rest and peace.  Our very bodies are God’s dwelling place, and He never leaves the house.  It is our responsibility to become vigilant in guarding the gates for ourselves and our families.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is … to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:27)

Competition, Recognition, and Suspicion

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Several years ago, a friend of mine shared an impression he had received about the spiritual climate of the region in which we were living at the time.  In prayer, he saw a stereotypical church building with a huge three-legged stool sitting on top of it.  On top of the stool sat a bride and groom figurine like the kind that would normally be seen on a wedding cake.  On the legs of the stool there was writing, each leg bearing a different word.  On the first leg the word “competition” was written, on the next “recognition” and on the third “suspicion”.   As he continued praying, the Lord revealed that the figurine represented the union of Jezebel and the religious spirit, and that they were the antithesis of Christ and his bride the Church.  Their position on top of the stool was indication that they had been given much authority in the local church in our area.  The stool represented spiritual authority, and the legs were that authority’s support structure.   The Lord then revealed that if only one of these legs were to be broken, the whole thing would easily topple over.  I believe these three attitudes of the heart: competition, recognition, and suspicion expose some of the enemy’s most common tactics for keeping Christians from working together.  More importantly, they also provide a glimpse into the Lord’s plan for unifying his body and restoring life and vitality to the local church.

Competition: If at any point we feel the need to compete with another believer or ministry, we need to consider where that desire might be coming from. Though I am convinced there is actually a kind of healthy competition that can take place between believers as we “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24) there is also an ungodly form of competition that is most often motivated by our need for validation.   Let’s face it.  We all want to be great and to be a part of something great.  What we may not realize is that this need for greatness is a God given desire.  The scriptures make it clear that every believer was created to take and to hold a place of great heavenly authority.  However, we can often loose sight of this perspective in the midst of our efforts to find our place in the earthly pecking order.  Most believers would acknowledge that our value is not determined by our level of outward “success” or by how we are viewed by others.  And yet, we often have an internal struggle erupt when another brother or sister is openly blessed by the Lord in some significant way.  Why do we sometimes grit our teeth when He makes an obvious display of His favor on a fellow believer or ministry?   In 1 Cor. 12, Paul explains that “if one part is honored” than “every other part should rejoice with it.” We all know that it can be quite difficult to muster up the appropriate response when faced with that situation.   Instead of being genuinely thankful for another’s good fortune or blessing, our first response may be to feel jilted or “gypped” by God.

There are many biblical examples of this form of jealousy.  Cain and Able, Joseph and his brothers, certainly Jesus and the Pharisees, and even the ministry of the Apostle Paul suffered from this kind of ungodly competition.  In Acts 13 we are told that when Paul was teaching in the Synagogue he began to draw large crowds of people.  And “when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and talked abusively against what Paul was saying.”  (vs. 45) If we ever find ourselves wanting to discredit or disparage another ministry or a minister that seems to be having more success than we are, we need to quickly reign in our tongue and ask the Lord to enlighten our thinking.  Even if a given ministry or leader may at times appear to us to be improperly motivated, we need to be mindful of our thoughts, and intentionally gracious with our comments.  Being overly critical of another believer or their ministry is a sure sign of something amiss within us.  And rest assured, if our judgments are truly unrighteous and without repentance, they will inevitably lead to our own humiliation.

In contrast, if we will simply learn to “rejoice with” our brother when he is blessed, this will encourage the Lord to release his favor and blessing to us.  Our Father really does want to pour out all kinds of good things on his children, but he will never reward unbridled sibling rivalry.  When my kids are in strife with each other, I am often compelled to respond quickly with some kind of disciplinary action.  But when they are seemingly intent on tearing one another to pieces, I will let them go at it for a while without my intervention.  The result is remarkably consistent.  In no time, they become truly miserable and then they come crying to me for help.  My response is always the same.  “I don’t want to hear about what your brother did, I’ll deal with him next.  What did you do wrong?”  I am convinced that this is also the Lord’s approach to resolution when we find ourselves in the midst of relational conflict.  In short, the countermeasure for competition is cooperation.

Recognition: If you have ever had the opportunity to attend a meeting where leaders from several different churches or ministries had come together, you might have discovered that these get-togethers seem to have a tendency to be either wonderful or horrible.  There is nothing sweeter than enjoying the heart-felt relationships shared by like minded believers, and nothing more excruciating than having to endure a room filled with posturing pastors or church leaders.  Again, this need for recognition is actually a part of our God-given makeup and is there by design.  The Father wants us not only to know Him, but also to be aware that we are known by Him.  But when we are not in touch with the Lord’s acknowledgment of us, we will invariably resort to drawing attention to ourselves or something we have done in the hopes of getting it from each other.  Jesus devoted a significant portion of the sermon on the mount to this very issue.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.  “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matt 6:1-4)

At one point, I was asked if I would be willing to help clean up our church building after one of our events.  I agreed to volunteer and showed up the next morning ready to work.  Within minutes, I found myself on my hands and knees cleaning toilets and urinals.  Though I immediately recognized that the Lord was closely watching my internal response to this proverbial test, there was still a part of me that really wanted someone to notice my willingness to tackle this particularly humbling assignment.  Thankfully, no one really paid much attention to what I was doing or made any comments about how great I was for lowering myself to such a task.  And rightly so.  Throughout the Gospels, we repeatedly find Jesus trying to enlighten his disciples to the principle of unnoticed obedience.  In Mark 9 he asks them this question, “What were you arguing about on the road?”Instead of responding, “they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.  Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”This statement is truly profound and applies to so many different aspects of our faith.  Clearly the Lord is not as impressed by our “greatness” as we tend to think he is.  But the scriptures seem to indicate that there is actually huge potential for long term honor and recognition in a lifestyle of unassuming self sacrifice.   Therefore, the countermeasure for recognition is servanthood.

Suspicion: Are we prone to give other believers the benefit of the doubt, or do we tend to hold them at arms length until they have somehow proven themselves to us?   Even though we understand that appearances and first impressions are not always reliable, I think we often want to “size up” one another a little prematurely.  If we have been a part of a local church for any length of time, then we have undoubtedly had our trust betrayed by a brother or sister in the Lord at some point.  If we have not yet been thoroughly disappointed or disillusioned by the behavior of another Christian, then we should prepare ourselves for the inevitable.  We should also recognize that to be disillusioned is to have an illusion removed from us.  Many of us still seem to be living under the assumption that no one in the church should be allowed to hurt us.  We should keep in mind that the Lord not only allows us to be wounded by others, but that his deepest desire is for us to die.  Through the example of his crucifixion, Jesus demonstrated that there are times when we must choose to make ourselves dangerously vulnerable, even to those who have the capacity to inflict great harm upon us.

Of course, this is not to say that we should haphazardly throw ourselves at the mercy of anyone with a fish emblem affixed to the bumper of their van.  Proverbs 4:23 says we should “guard our heart” because it is “the wellspring of life.” We should always be mindful of our alliances and discerning of those whom we embrace.  But our pre-programmed misgivings toward other Christians can often end up being entirely unwarranted.   Our enemy is no fool.  He is very aware of the power that is released when dissimilar believers are unified in their goals and purpose.  In 1 Tim 6:4, Paul warns his young disciple about those who have “an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, and evil suspicions.” Have you ever encountered someone who seems to have an unhealthy interest in controversies?  Did they quarrel about words and talk maliciously about others?  Unfortunately, we have all probably all been sucked into these kinds of evil suspicionsat one time or another.  But even worse, if we make it our habit to pre-judge or talk negatively about other believers, than we should expect to reap what we have sown.  Instead, we should learn to ask the Lord to show us those divine relational hook-ups that we might normally overlook because of our own personal biases or insecurities.  We might even be pleasantly surprised by the friendships that would develop as a result.  The countermeasure for suspicion is trust.

It is no secret that the majority of people in this country are no longer attending church.  Even many believers have become disenchanted by the notion of committing themselves to a local congregation in any significant way. I believe the Lord is deeply grieved by this trend.  Though some have vowed to remain estranged, many others are sitting right beside us on Sunday morning wanting desperately to somehow be more connected.  Granted, we probably will not have the same level of affinity or concern for everyone who feels this way.  Some we may not want to be connected to at all, but that is the nature of the body.  Still, we cannot deny that we really do need each other.  So, “as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, but especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”  (Gal 6:10)

“The Three Legged Stool” is used by permission of Don French and Kingdom SEAL Ministries.

Christian Blogs and Christian Articles

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Christian blogs and Christian articles are rapidly becoming the preferred source of spiritual sustenance for many modern believers.  With the advent of the internet, our information gathering habits have changed dramatically.  The dependency we once had on our local family bookstore has diminished as we have learned to surf the waves of the web for various forms of heart and mind nourishment.  Rather than buying a hard cover book for twenty five bucks that we only read once and then end up using as a shelf decoration, we now can visit any number of Christian blogs and find quality Christian articles with the tap of a touch pad.

Although many of us still find some kind of visceral pleasure in feeling the texture of the paper as we turn the page, I’m not convinced that this kind of biblio-nostalgia will have a significant impact on the rate at which we are converting to the splendors of the e-universe.  I for one am seriously considering getting rid of at least some of the hundreds of books we’ve acquired over the years.  My friends all cringe when they find out we’re moving again.  They know the pain of schlepping Uncle Bumpy’s countless book boxes from point A to point B.  My seminary texts alone are cause for a hernia blow out.  Like me, you may be an old dog that often has trouble learning new technology, not to worry.  If I can figure out how to create a word press post, you can learn to track down your favorite speaker or author’s private cache of Christian blogs and Christian articles.

However, we must never forget that we were created to function as a vital part of a much larger organism.  The internet is not a viable substitute for genuine, face to face, relationship.  Though many churches still closely adhere to the “talking head standing in front of a room full of heads” paradigm, there is a notable resurgence of relationship oriented gatherings.  Many believers have wearied of the spectator mentality and have opted for the deeper level of personal interaction provided by more intimate venues.  House churches and ministries with the core value of community building are making a come back.  Personal manna gleaning is one thing, being “rightly joined and fitted together” (Eph 4:16) is another.

Now is the time to master the many nuances of Google.  The research tools available and the opportunities to disseminate Christian truth are truly astounding in their scope.  A few months ago I had no clue what link building, keywords, or SEO had to do with anything.   But with the help and patience of my techno-geek friends, bump on a blog was born.  For the time being, Christian articles have become my primary means of seed sowing.  My hope and prayer is that those with a heart to write Christian blogs and Christian articles would be encouraged to give it a try.  The movie Julie and Julia was inspirational to me.  Julie was a blogger, Julia Childs wrote the quintessential cookbook for the 1950s housewife.  They lived in two very different worlds, very different times, and used their own unique means of communicating the same content.  Great movie if you’re thinking about blogging.  Lord bless our Christian blogs.

The GOOD Life Part 2

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In Part 1  of The Good Life, I briefly shared about a couple of the lessons learned during a five year period of my life in which God seemed to be a million miles away.  After functioning for many years with what I thought was a relatively significant sphere of influence, my faith journey suddenly took an abrupt turn down a treacherous road that led me to a very dry place on the backside of nowhere.   Like most American males, my identity was closely tied to my job and my perceived status in the proverbial pecking order.  I went from overseeing a gifted ministry staff and weekly having the attention and esteem of hundreds of people, to being the lowest man on the totem pole in a dead end job.   Any inflated impressions I may have once had of my self quickly became little more than a distant memory.  Now that I was no longer “The Pastor” I began to question my place in the world and what purpose my life might have apart from my calling and ministry abilities.  More importantly, what value was I to the Lord if I could not even hold onto the position of “full-time” Christian servant?  The answer to that question came as a result of an elongated wrestling match with God that I wouldn’t wish on anybody.  But hopefully, by learning from my boneheaded stubbornness, you can fore go a few of the painful face plants and mat burns that accompany any form of confrontation with an omnipotent being.

OK, so you don’t feel like you’re fulfilling what you know the Lord has called you to do.  Or maybe he’s made promises to you about your future that don’t seem to be getting any closer to being realized.  Perhaps  you’re currently experiencing an unprecedented level of  situational difficulty.  Money problems?  Broken relationship?  Shattered dreams?  Poor health?  For the overcoming Christian, it all eventually leads to the same outcome…  an unconditional surrender of our will, followed by a decision to trust in the kind and gentle nature of our Heavenly Father.  One of the most crucial truths I learned in the wilderness is this; never put your hope in an outcome, instead, put your hope in the Lord. We often hear the fist half of Proverbs 13:12 quoted; “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.”  But that’s not the end of the verse.  It continues with “a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  If we find ourselves sick at heart, it might be because our hope has been misplaced.  Real life begins, and our deepest longings are fulfilled when we can authentically breathe the ultimate prayer of surrender, “Not my will, but yours be done.”

Please trust me on this my friend, God will do what he wants, when he wants, however he wants to do it.   In fact, if experience has taught me anything, the what, when, and how of God’s plan for us often ends up looking completely different from what we might have envisioned or hoped for at first.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  (Isa 55:9) If we can’t be happy unless God does what we want him to, or we somehow withhold our affection unless he does it the way we think he should, then we might as well prepare ourselves for an extended stay in the Heartbreak Hotel because we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.  Simply put, man plans and God laughs.  We might as well get used to it because that’s not gonna change.  Lordship ultimately requires us to give even the good things he’s given us (words, promises, dreams, callings) back to him.  God allows in his wisdom what he could easily prevent by his power.

Now here’s the good news.  Those promises we have from the Lord don’t lose any of their potency or potential with the passing of time.  I don’t care how long it’s been, he will do what he said he would do.  He is completely faithful to his word and worthy of any amount of blind trust we can muster.  Our job is to live in obedience one day at a time.  Each day God will give us the grace to do what he asks us to do.  If we ever find ourselves being anxious about our future, then in essence we’re trying to borrow from tomorrow’s grace.  Learning to live by faith is a lot like collecting manna.  If you try to get enough both for today and tomorrow you’ll end up with something rotten.  “Tomorrow has enough worries of its own.”

After a long wander through the desert, I am slowly learning to enjoy my life in whatever form it takes.  Many times this begins with little more than a quick acknowledgement of the Lord’s goodness.  Sometimes it’s more of a conscious decision to be grateful.  All in all, the quality of our life has everything to do with our demeanor toward God. If we stay mad at him, or question his goodness for too long, we’ll find our selves stuck in the dry places. When we choose to believe that he loves us and wants nothing more than to bless us, then the good things he has for us begin to flow again.  Truth be known, my situation hasn’t changed all that much since I entered the wilderness.  I’m still working the same job for the same pay.  My sphere of influence and ministry remains small in comparison to what it used to be.  I’m not really in a place where I can do some of the things I know I’ll eventually get to do for the kingdom, but for the first time in my life, I’m starting to find peace and fulfillment in a way I’ve never experienced.  Little by little, I’ve been getting the revelation that I don’t really have to do or be anything to earn the Lord’s approval or affection.  I’m his beloved son and he likes me just the way I am.  I like to hunt, collect stuff, hang out with friends and eat really good food.  That’s the way God made me… and that’s enough.

Lord please help us to submit to your will for our lives.  Please forgive us for holding back our affection when things don’t turn out the way we want them to.  You are so kind and patient with us.  Help us to keep our eyes on you and on all the good things you have given us to enjoy.  Forgive us for comparing ourselves to others and help us to accept who you have made us to be.  You are good and your mercies endure forever.  Amen

The GOOD Life Part 1

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After 20 years of serving as a local church pastor, we needed a break.  Vocational ministry tends to create a unique brand of difficulty, and somehow we must have signed up for the deluxe package.  But little did I know that our decision to take a sabbatical would send me out of the frying pan and right into the fire.   After handing over the leadership of our church to my associate pastor, we moved hundreds of miles away from everyone we knew and re-located in a part of the country that seemed more like another planet than another state.  I took an entry level construction job which often required me to spend much of my day digging holes at sewage plants and county landfills.  Within months of moving, a cantaloupe sized growth mysteriously showed up in my abdomen resulting in the need for major surgery and the removal of over half of my liver.  But worst of all, for the first time in my adult life, going to church on a Sunday morning made me feel like I was merely another head in a sea of heads.  I went from being a first string Quarter Back to just another spectator who apparently could only afford tickets in the nose-bleed section.

This was just the beginning of a five year period during which I experienced what some have called “the dark night of the soul.”  During this time, my identity and self worth came under direct assault.   More often than not, my days were marked by a deep depression and an underlying anger toward the Lord for allowing me to go through this kind of mental and emotional torment.  “After all those years of serving your people… this is my reward?  What is going on?  What are you doing to me?  This doesn’t make any sense!  If this is all there is, just go ahead and take me out.”  And so it continued, from anger to apathy, from sadness to despondence.  At times my frustration became so intense that I felt I was literally losing my mind.  Again, this went on for several years.   I now understand that this season was a tailor made time of testing designed to dig up and root out certain mind-sets and thought patterns that I had developed over the course of my life.  And though I’m probably only a year or so out beyond the edge of this desolate spiritual wilderness experience, I’m beginning to feel like maybe I can identify a few of the truths revealed to me over the course of that painful hands and knees crawl through the burning sand.

Somewhere in the midst of all my crying and yelling at the Lord, I began to realize that He’s not really swayed by our fit throwing.  Though most of my overly dramatic cries for help came in the form of seemingly innocent prayer requests, many of them were actually my attempt to get the Lord to do what I thought he should do.  More accurately, I wanted him to do them in the time frame that I thought he should.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that God really does have “all the time in the world” to accomplish his plans and purposes.  What feels like an eternity to us is not even a click on the second hand of his watch.  So for us to require the Lord to respond to our requests, or even to fulfill his promises in our time frame… well it just doesn’t work that way.  Lordship is trusting not only that he’ll get it done, but that it will happen when he’s ready for it to and not a moment sooner, no matter how much we complain or beseech him to do otherwise.

Another key to navigating the wilderness was learning how to stay focused on the right things.  Paul encouraged the early church to practice this principle. “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable– if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– think about such things.” (Phil 4:8) One of our enemy’s oldest tactics is to rob a believer’s enjoyment of life by simply reminding them of what’s not right. But if we spend our days dwelling on what’s not right about ourselves or our situation or that person at work who makes our skin crawl, then we are basically creating our very own self fulfilling prophecy.   Magnifying the negatives and minimizing the positives of our past or present reality will inevitably leave us joyless and oppressed.  We must learn to focus rightly because eventually we will become that which we behold.

This principle is particularly true when applied to our relationship with the Lord.  If our prayers are focused on what he hasn’t done for us rather than what he has, then we’ll slowly be convinced that he really doesn’t love us the way we once thought he did.  This is a powerful deception that literally can ruin our faith, and in turn, spoil our life.  Over time, I have developed an inner resolve to focus on the goodness of God and what he has done and is doing for me.  Listen up believer, we’re going to spend eternity in paradise with the Lord!  We are saved, redeemed, justified, adopted, deeply loved, and accepted just as we are.  We serve a GOOD GOD who wants nothing more than to bless us because we are his children.  He is true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of our praise.  If we choose to believe anything to the contrary, regardless of how dismal our situation may become, then we are walking in a profound foolishness and deception.    We must not allow our flesh and our struggle with our own human weakness to skew the heavenly perspective we were created to maintain.   Often, the discipline of focus begins with a decision to simply “think about”  the “right” things.   We will stay rightly focused as we learn to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:5)

Lord Jesus, help us to get this one.  We know you are good.  We know you love us.  Forgive us for listening to lies about your nature.  Forgive us for our impatience. You are a good Father and you want to bless us and surround our lives with your mercy and favor.  You have provided for us, you have protected us, you brought us out of the darkness and into the light and we give you our praise.  We worship you because you are worthy! Thank you Jesus, we love you.  Help us to stay rightly focused today.  Amen.

To be continued ….