Blinded by Grace

Listening Too Fast

2009-09-04T11:56:00.001-05:00

I just called a business associate to arrange to pick up some goods. She is from Vietnam and sometimes we “miscommunicate” about pick-up and delivery times, so I always call first. Today, however, her cell phone is answered by (friend/co-worker/family member) someone who doesn’t speak English. Now I don’t know what to do. Shall I drive on over and hope that what I need is ready to be pick-up or do I keep calling back hoping to get someone else on the phone?
I need to know right now so that I can plan the rest of the day.

Have you ever sat around waiting for God because he and you “miscommunicated?” You just aren’t sure if he said to sit still or take off as fast as you can. You aren’t sure if he said to climb on board or to wait for the next bus. Sometimes, it may seem as if he and you are speaking different languages.

Okay, if that last paragraph was written by a pastor/teacher/Christian-who-has-it-all-together-and-knows-everything, then it would have ended with something like: You need to work on your communication skills. God is always speaking the right language and using the right frequency. He is always making his will for you easily known. If you don’t get it, it’s because you aren’t listening.

But sometimes the problem is not with my spiritual ears. I do listen, read, and try to discern his word and his will and I still don’t get it. Perhaps what I need is patience. God will speak to me, in his time. It may not be an immediate response (and that is not because he’s busy with someone else). He just wants me to learn to wait.

Which is exactly what I’m doing on my Vietnamese friend.

Maybe I should blog about waiting, but I don’t have time.

Psalm 27.14

Grace and Gasoline

2009-08-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I had a few extra minutes to kill while and decided to mow the property around a house that my friend owns. I’m not sure who normally does the yard or what equipment they use, but I knew there were several mowers under a tarp in the back. I checked gas and oil in 2 of the mowers and pulled and pulled, but neither started. Then I noticed the third mower was an electric.

Ever since childhood, I’ve understood electric motors better than combustible engines. As a kid, I was fascinated by the neighbor that used an electric mower and I used to tell my dad we needed one of those. It just looked “cooler.” My dad would always point out that the cord gets in the way.

So yesterday was the first chance in my life to try a childhood dream. I found several hundred feet of extension cord in a closet and set out to push this lightweight, quieter, electric mower all over the property.

The lessons learned include:
1) Dad was right (oh how I wish he were here so that I could call him and tell him that once again, he was right!). The cord is always in your way
2) More cord is not better. I thought I should unravel all the cord at one time and thereby have it all available as I worked further from the house. Bad idea. What I should have done is use one cord to mow close to the house, and then add cords as I moved to areas further from the plug.
3) Wear gloves. Since one hand is always holding the cord, you are basically mowing with just one hand. That one hand now has a big old blister from trying to push and steer all by itself.
4) Electric mowers are NOT for yards with trees, bushes, and anything sticking out of the ground that the cord will wrap around. It was quite amusing to see the tangled mess I had made.
5) An electric mower is about being tethered. It’s about slavery. A gas powered mower is about freedom.

The same is true of sin. It may look like a great idea. It may look easier, quieter, save the ozone layer and all that. In reality, however, sin is a great big chain (or bright orange cord) that keeps you from enjoying life. Grace is the combustible engine of life. Start her up and roam the neighborhood looking for things to mow. Grace allows you to mow around trees with ease, change directions effortlessly, and enjoy the experience without keeping a constant eye on the tether (sin).

I’ll take grace and gas anytime!

What Happens to the Guilt?

2009-08-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

An interesting discussion erupts in my mind (thanks to a group discussion with others last night) about guilt and possibility that it can be taken away. It all started with a quote from The Living Bible (anytime someone quotes TLB, my skeptical ears perk up. I will not base theological concepts on the TLB alone!). They read Psalm 32: 1-2:
“What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven. What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.”

The discussion focused on how God removes our guilt. Is this true? My sin is on the bottom of the ocean’s floor, as far as the east is from the west (Micah 7, Ps 103). But has he removed my guilt as well?

To understand this passage in Psalms, I need to remind myself of an important fact: Hebrew poetry is based on parallelism. In other words, say something one way, and then say it again in a different way (The clouds are pretty. The sky is beautiful to look at today.) In this poetic sense, the poet uses three terms for sin. You can see this in the NAS and NLT translations (The NLT -New Living Translation- is always preferable over the TLB, because a team of experts actually reviewed Dr. Taylor’s work against the actual texts, and were much more faithful to word choice than Taylor’s previous solo effort). The three terms are basically transgressions, sin, and iniquity. The NAS renders the passage well:

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity…”

The first word, transgression, is the same term used in Ps 51.1 (“blot out my transgressions”). It is when we rebel against God. This term is used of sin that is directly against God. Okay, you can argue that all sin is against God. But at times it seems that some sin we purposely commit as a rebellious act. Go ahead and fill in your blanks here.

The second word, sin, is the more common Hebrew word for sin. It means that we’ve missed the mark. This is the definition you’ve heard again and again. I bet you’ve got something to fill in this blank too!

The third word, iniquity, means basically “crookedness.” It comes from the root word that means to bend, or twist. It is a good description of how many of us take something good and bend it into something bad. It’s misusing God’s gift of (go ahead and fill in: sex, food, sports, whatever) for selfish purposes. We twisted it.

BTW, all three terms are also used in the first 2 verses of the classic Psalm 51.

So what about the translation (okay, technically, The Living Bible is not a translation, it is a paraphrase. Even Taylor himself admits that) that says God forgives our guilt. Well, I hate to argue with Ken Taylor, but guilt can’t be forgiven. Your transgression (the real word used) can be forgiven. We sinned/transgressed against God and so he forgives us. However, guilt is the consequence here on earth of that sin. If you murder your grandmother, God will forgive you. But you are still guilty. Even if your parents, your aunts and uncles, and the state in which you live all forgive you, you are still guilty. You will always be guilty. Forgiveness will never change your guilty status of being a murderer.

Does God see you as a murderer? I think when he forgives/covers our sin, he is removing the eternal consequences of that sin. We can still spend eternity with him regardless of how many grandmothers we murder (chew on that thought for a moment). However, our guilt remains with us. Even after you become a Christian, complete a study course, lead a church, and become a upstanding pillar of the community, you are still guilty of murder. Forgiven, yes. Redeemed, yes. Rehabilitated, yes. Useful to the Kingdom, yes. But you are still guilty. God and you both still know it.

So enjoy the fact that your intentional transgressions, missing the mark sins, and crooked iniquity can all be forgiven and removed. However, the quilt that lingers is what reminds us of why we need forgiveness is the first place. My awareness of my guilt keeps me humble and dependent on God’s grace.

Merry Christmas

2009-08-25T11:47:00.000-05:00

It’s four months till Christmas!

That sentence may make you panic or roll your eyes. You may think I’m an alarmist, over-planner, or somewhat cynical. Am I seriously worrying about all that I think must be done before December 25 or am I making fun of those who think they have too much to do before the holiday season?

You can’t tell from that simple, written sentence. To understand what I really mean, you would have to hear the inflection in my voice and observe my body language. You would have to know my previous comments on the topic of holiday preparedness (or lack thereof). To judge my written statement, you would have to know me.

Beware of judging people by short sentences in electronic communications. All those IM’s and Tweets may not reveal the truth. Truth comes from face-to-face time.

A Jesus Seminar

2009-08-24T16:16:00.000-05:00

“Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, because he was teaching his disciples.”
Mark 9.30

Imagine if Jesus utilized our methodology for teaching. (We often think he likes our methods!) If he was walking around Earth today and wanted to teach his disciples something, and wanted to do it the way we do it, this verse would say something like:

“Jesus outsourced the design of a really cool logo for the upcoming teaching event. He found enough money in the budget for t-shirts and koozies imprinted with the logo for all the participants. He purchased a web-site for the specific event (ignoring the graphics on godaddy.com) and signed a deal with constantcontact.com to alert everyone in his address book about the upcoming event. Jesus rented a very posh hotel banquet room, complete with complimentary coffee in the mornings and soft drinks in the afternoon. He did have to pay extra for the oversized white board and video projector. He designed a “killer” PowerPoint Presentation to help him communicate with his students. Since it was near the end of the budget year, and he would lose any unspent money, every participant received a leather portfolio with the conference logo embossed on the cover. He also placed ads on 3 different billboards and bought time on 2 different radio stations to help publicize the event. All of this led to a fantastic “teaching moment.” At the end of the day, each disciple was asked to fill out a survey on the event. The next day, the lectures ended up on YouTube. One month later, the outline was released in a book.”

For Jesus, teaching someone something simply meant teaching them something. And what he teaches us from this interesting little footnote in scripture is that content always trumps hype, preparation, and marketing.

The Key to Faith

2009-08-19T14:09:00.001-05:00

I had a key made this morning. I started calculating everywhere I’ve lived and work, and I figure I’ve had about 40 different car/house/office/work keys so far in my life. If I added every other key I’ve been responsible for (auxiliary keys at work, storage facilities, work vehicles, etc) the number would easily double or maybe even triple. Many of those keys I’ve had copies made.

In other words, I’ve made enough copies to know that I need to try out the copy I had made today before I return the original. I’ve been around the block enough times to know that copies don’t always work. They may look the same, but you never know it is a true copy until you insert the key into the lock and it actually does the job.

I am a fool in many ways, but I’m not foolish enough to get locked out again by a bad duplicate key!

The anonymous author of Hebrews concludes his letter with this bit of advice: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (13.7 NIV)

It’s interesting that we are not advised to imitate their life. You can “consider” their life. Study it, learn from it, and more than likely be disappointed by it. You don’t know a leader (if you really know them) whose life should be imitated. Leaders let you down.

Instead, we are told to imitate their faith. Look at their faith and how it gets them through whatever it is they do that will disappoint you. If their faith allows them to walk through that valley of darkness without abandoning their trust in God, then it’s a faith to be imitated and duplicated. Sometimes, of course, that key of faith doesn’t work. It might look genuine, but it is not a good copy.

So if you’re looking for a faith to emulate, you might want to look at those who have seen the worst that life can throw at them. There may be much to learn from how their faith allows them to handle their crisis, addictions, foibles, mistakes, habits, dysfunctional relationships, deteriorating health, and loses. To see if faith works, you’ve got to see it tested.

An Affair in the Fellowship

2009-08-18T09:52:00.001-05:00

James 4.4
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?”

James is not talking to adulterers here. He is not talking to those who cheat on their spouse. No, he’s talking to those within the church who cause “fights and quarrels” among each other because of their own selfish motives (verses 1-3). He is saying that when we disrupt a fellowship in order to get what we want, to get things done our way, then we are simply following the pattern of the world. To do things the way the world does them is to befriend the world, and to be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God. In a sense, you are cheating on God. You are taking the affections that by covenant belong only to him and sharing them with a self-centered, egotistical world. You are an adulterer.

What started out as a harmless (in our opinion) attempt to get “our will done” instead of “thy will done” turns out to be a love affair between you and the world’s way of getting things done. You may not consider your manipulations to be “quarreling and fighting” as mentioned in verse 2, but that’s what it looks like to God. Whatever temporary reward might be yours as a result of the dispute, you end up “spending” on your own selfish desires (verse 3).

Like all kinds of affairs, it’s never about the other person. It’s always about yourself.

Keep reading the chapter. The action required to combat such an affair is humility and submission. The anecdote comes from God himself: Grace.

Lost in the Fog

2009-08-17T10:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Departure Lounge is a new book by Meg Federico about the last two years of her mother’s life. If you’ve ever dealt with a dying person, home-health care, aging parents, dementia, and trying to balance all of the above with the demands of your own middle age existence, you’ll appreciate this book.

A paragraph that resonated with me was a description of Walter, the author’s step-dad who suffers from dementia/Alzheimer’s. Walter had just appeared wearing a jacket and pants from two different suits. The mismatched outfit only highlighted his confusion.

“Slowly the bewildering nature of his experience revealed itself to me. In a nutshell, the fog had rolled in. He couldn’t really see back to where he’d been in his life and he clearly couldn’t see what lay ahead. And where he was right now didn’t quite add up. Sometimes a landmark popped out of the fog, but before he could make a positive identification, it was lost in roiling, gray bewilderment.”

Where’s the grace of God when a person must live out their final years in a fog? Where’s the grace of God for those who must care for them? I don’t have answers. Life is unfair. Things go wrong. Our health can rob us of the joy of doing so many things we once dreamed of doing. But to live in a constant state of confusion seems the cruelest injustice of all. Especially for those around you who still know their spouses name and how to match jackets and pants. For the care-givers, the only confusion is: why is this happening?

Yet, in the midst of a season in which we struggle to find the grace, it’s availability becomes ever more clear.

The Children Are Fighting Again

2009-08-13T09:29:00.002-05:00

www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/sfl-coral-ridge-081009,0,1598115.story

The late D. James Kennedy left quite a legacy at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. A Seminary, radio-TV ministry, and a once-very influential conservative political group.

He also left behind a very opinionated daughter.

Kennedy's replacement (who happens to be a grandson of Billy Graham!) has made lots of changes at the mega-church. Of course, some people don't like changes. Kennedy's daughter is one of them. Now the new pastor has told the daughter and five other members that they and their opinions are no longer welcome. In fact, if they step foot on the property, they will be arrested for trespassing!

Jennifer Kennedy Cassidy is active in her dad's ministry and posts regularly on her dad's ministry website (www.coralridge.org) She just can't attend his old church.

As with any dysfunctional church relationship, there is much we do not know. There's always another side to the story, even when you've already heard both sides. There are always more facts to be told, even when you think you know it all. Truth gets buried underneath emotion. Opinions shout louder than common sense. Compromise and understanding is viewed as defeat. Everyone declares war. The Kingdom loses.

In the classic passage on dealing with disputes (Matthew 18.15-17) the context of the whole chapter is humility. To become like the child, one must humble himself. The owner of one hundred sheep had to swallow pride ("I'll never lose a sheep") and go off looking for one. Perhaps he had to leave the 99 under the care of someone else ("Uh, would you mind looking after my sheep? I messed up and let one get away and now I gotta go look for it."). Then Peter asks how many times we need to forgive someone. The answer is either 77 or 490 times (depends on how you translate). Either number is a lot of forgiveness. To consistently forgive someone requires humility.

If either of the descendants of two of America's greatest evangelical leaders happens to stumble upon this blog, I have one word of advice: Humility.

iPhone, iStop, iMustDecide

2009-08-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

I have a friend who recently lost his iPhone while riding a scooter on a freeway (it’s a big scooter). His iPhone mount “let go” of his phone. In one split second, he had to decide what was more important, his $600 phone or his life (because stopping one’s scooter in the middle of a freeway could certainly cost you your life!). Being 100% male, he decided the phone was more important and decided to stop. There’s no bone in a man’s body that can’t heal or internal organ that can’t be fixed that is more important than your cell phone. In fact, he was probably more worried about damage to the scooter than to himself. Personal electronic communication devices and 2-wheeled transportation machines always come first!

How many times are we faced with a decision that could forever alter our future? The decision to turn left in hopes that the oncoming vehicle is not really moving as fast as it seems to be moving. If your estimate is wrong, you’ve just ruined your day. The decision to resume an addictive behavior with the justification that “just this once won’t hurt” and you can always stop again. I don’t know why we call it “falling off the wagon” when it’s more like throwing yourself “under the bus.” The decision to buy something you don’t need and can’t afford. The plastic card in your wallet makes the decision easy while the statement 30 days later makes it regrettable.

Decisions are what make us vulnerable. Some must be made at 60 MPH. Some provide us with a little more time. Some are plotted weeks in advance (yes, sometimes we plan and plot even bad decisions.)

God never promised his earthly children that our relationship with him guarantees we will always make good decisions. He doesn’t even guarantee that half of our decisions will be the right choice. In fact, some of us would settle for a consistent 33%. What he does promise, however, is that he will be with us in the midst of our bad decisions and their consequences.

The iPhone was not damaged (!!). Neither was the rider or his scooter. An angel, disguised as a motorist in a big Dodge truck stopped and blocked traffic until my friend remounted himself and took off.
I really thought all guardian angels drove Chevys, but I’ve been proved wrong before. Anyway, just be thankful for all the help God sends your way.

The Power of One Illustration

2009-08-03T16:02:00.000-05:00

James 2
If it is true that the 1st Century Roman Empire had no middle class, just very rich folks and very poor folks, then the early church to whom James is writing to would not be anything like the very middle class church you and I attend. The folks in the 1st Century pews (ha!) were either dirt poor or filthy rich (notice how we use the terms “dirt” and “filthy” to refer to both classes?).
This new movement called “The Way” was more than likely the first social institution where people from both ends of the economic spectrum socialized together. It was, in a sociological sense, a big experiment. Naturally, James had to offer some advice to the poor and rich folk who were suddenly members of the same social group.

Historically, the church has done very well integrating these two diverse groups. Throughout history, churches have always allowed poor and rich to worship together. O sure, they were separated by different sections of the building (boxed pews up front for the rich, standing room for the poor in the back), but at least they were always under the same roof. In fact, the local church was the only occasion that the rich elite and the poor commoner would ever be found under the same roof.

But it took the church almost 2 millenniums to discover that integration was needed on more than just economic lines. They are needed among racial lines as well. While rich and poor could worship in the same building at the same time, that has not always been the case with people of different racial groups!

Just imagine how different history would have been if James had used the example of a Roman and a Jew worshipping together instead of a gold-bedecked, well-clothed rich man and a shabbily-dressed poor man. Imagine if the church had shed its racism during its infancy.
The world would have developed much differently.

“But if you are treating one person as if he were more important than another, then you are sinning.” James 2.9 (NCV)

A Local Reformation

2008-10-17T13:46:00.001-05:00

When we talk about the Reformation, we generally refer to that period of history that began when Martin Luther posted a notice on the local church door (and it was not an advertisement for a rummage sale or pot-luck dinner). His list of 95 things wrong with the Catholic Church sparked a movement that forever changed the world spiritually, politically, and socially.

However, it is interesting the Luther himself would have never used the term “reformation” to refer to this movement. Instead, he used the term eschatologically, that is, that reformation refers to what will happen in the end times. For Luther, a reformation is what God will do when he creates a new heaven and a new earth.

For us today, a reformation occurs whenever it’s time to reform, or change something. We talk about reforming education, healthcare, and Wall Street as long as the change doesn’t cost us anything personally. Let’s fix it, but the improvements better make my life easier and richer.

True reformation should indeed bring about an improvement, but there will always be costs. Sacrifices must be made. Change is painful. Traditions and habits must be examined. Authorities and allegiances must be questioned.

And if it is your own life you are trying to “reform,” the authority you start with is you.

Blessed by the Light

2008-10-15T13:50:00.000-05:00

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers,

Every good and perfect gift is from above,

Coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,

Who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:16-17

Have you ever been deceived into thinking that all you’ve been blessed with came from something, or someone, other than heaven?

You have a nice house (car, TV, family, career, health, whatever) because of creative financing, discipline, and hard work.

Of course, it’s from God, whom James describes as the Father of lights and the opposite of “shifting shadows.”

The things we tend to attribute our blessings to are more like those shifting shadows.

The “creative financing” that allowed so many to buy a house they can’t afford is like a shifting shadow. In fact, those “toxic” mortgages shifted so much that the last ones left holding them have had to go out of business. Now the US government will be left holding the bag (and you and I will have to pay for them, again and again.)

The discipline and self-control that you are so proud of can certainly shift. Ask anyone who has ever tried to stick to a diet, budget, or 12 step program. Shadows temporarily shift and self-control is temporarily darkened.

And even your ability to just work hard may someday be in jeopardy. Like the slow moving shadows at the end of the day, your ability to make everything work out your way will slowly set below the horizon.

No, our blessings come from the eternal source of a never changing light. It never burns out, never moves to another position, and never needs to be upgraded to a CFL.

Recognizing the source of your blessings makes you more humble and appreciative.

Been There, Done That

2008-10-13T14:24:00.004-05:00

Jesus knew that Peter was going to have major hiccup on his journey of faith. Peter didn’t want to believe it, but Jesus knew it was going to happen, even before dawn.

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:31-32.

Notice that Jesus didn’t say he had prayed that Peter would be spared from Satan’s test, only that he wouldn’t fail. And of course, Peter did fail. It seems Jesus knew that he would so he gave Peter instructions what to do when he returned from this brief detour on his journey of faith, “strengthen your brothers.”

The New Century Version translates “Help your brothers be stronger when you come back to me.”

Jesus knew that Peter would deny him, run away, then come back, and ultimately strengthen fellow believers. It seems as if Jesus had a plan for Peter’s failure and subsequent ministry.

No, Christ never wants us to fail, but when we do (of our own accord), he wants us to get back up and use that experience to help others. I’m sure Peter would later interact with other fireside chatters that might be tempted to swear and deny their relationship to Christ. The guilt and shame Peter felt from his experience undoubtedly made his encouragement to other believers even more convincing. I’m sure that many times Peter would retell the story about hearing the rooster welcoming a new day and realizing he had really messed up the old day. The hurt in his voice from having broken the heart of his savior would resonate with fellow future deniers of the faith.

Common ground makes ministry possible.

Toxic Residue

2008-10-08T14:25:00.000-05:00

A French newspaper (Liberation) reported last week that some Mac Pros (a desktop computer) are releasing a toxic odor. Apparently a mixture of stuff like styrene and benzene that are used to coat the circuit boards put off an odor when heated. Once the chemicals are “burned in” (you use the computer) the toxic odor goes away.

One headline to this story was “Rotten Apples.”

We’ve all heard tales about people calling in to 24 hour technical support lines thinking their mouse was a footswitch or wanting to know what tool they should use to “hit any key.” So I wonder if there were any calls about “my computer smells?”

Some sins seem rather small and unnoticeable. However, like a bath of toxic chemicals coating a circuit board, they can create some problems when our life gets “heated up.” Their aromas quickly make their presence known, and can even make us sick.

And even when the toxins inside the computer are “burned in”, they are always still there. That’s why you shouldn’t just throw your PC or Mac into the nearest landfill. There’s a good part of it that will contaminate the ground.

And there’s a part of sin that will always be inside you. Years later, there will be toxic resins that you will carry to the grave. The consequences of sin can last a lifetime.

Sin stinks.

When you smell it, turn everything off, re-evaluate, and get rid of the toxins.
And depend on grace to help you handle the long-term effects.

Alone We Are Not

2008-10-03T11:46:00.000-05:00

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

A very familiar passage, committed to memory decades ago, recently explained to me by something written over 300 years ago.

In re-reading Pilgrim’s Progress, the classic allegory by John Bunyan, I find the character named Christian traveling through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He is on a very narrow pathway that stretches for miles through this dark, dismal valley. On one side of the path is the pit where the blind lead the blind, “from which none have ever emerged.” On the other side of the path is a “filthy quagmire” that we fall into because of our lusts. He walks by the mouth of Hell and hears the screams of all kinds of demons and monsters. Needless to say, Christian is very scared.

But then he hears something up ahead, a voice repeating this phrase from the 23rd Psalm. It is comforting because it reminds him that someone else is on the path with him. He is not alone.

The only thing worse than being terrified is to be terrified and alone.

This passage promises us companionship when we need it most.

God will not desert us. He is always there. For some, he manifests his presence through loving parents who are willing to walk through the valley with us. For others, it is a spouse that vows to never leave you even in your darkest days. Sometimes it is a friend who has been through the valley before and can share a few tips on “death valley survival.”

And sometimes, when there doesn’t seem to by anybody around, we find the presence of God in a way that we can’t see or touch or explain. There is not another “body” around to hug and hold us, yet we feel hugged nonetheless. There is not a human voice to comfort us, yet we hear comfort spoken. There is not a physical person pointing the way, yet the way seems so obvious.

The companionship of the Spirit of God. That is the answer to our fears.

Just Looking for Lost Donkeys

2008-09-25T13:05:00.001-05:00

Saul (son of Kish- Old Testament) was simply out looking for his dad’s lost donkeys. He providentially runs into the prophet Samuel and ends up being king. Yet, if you study his reign, it seems that he was always still looking for those donkeys. He’s pretty much clueless most of the time.

Even from the beginning, even as Samuel is trying to introduce Saul to the people, they can’t find him. It seems he’s off hiding among the luggage (1 Samuel 10). When he is officially introduced, everyone yells “long live the king” (I guess we can assume that was the official beginning of the Israelite Monarchy) and then they all go home, including Saul.

The very next thing we hear about the new king is when messengers arrive at his hometown with the news that the Ammonites have captured the Jewish town of Jabesh. The citizens have already surrendered, but the Ammonites also want to remove everyone’s right eye (you know, for some people, a simple victory is never enough. They also want to rub it in, or in this case, poke it out!).

So when the messengers show up with this awful news, the new king is out in the fields, “behind his oxen.” We can only assume he wasn’t giving royal commands to the beasts, but rather, was plowing the fields himself.

Imagine if next January, John or Barack walked onto the grounds of the White House after the Inauguration and grabbed a lawnmower.

Poor Saul. He had never been a king before. His people had never had a king before. There’s a real steep learning curve here and those fields just had to be plowed. But when the moment called for a real king to make a kingly decision, God intervened (1 Samuel 11).

“The Spirit of God came upon him in power.” Saul started to act like a king and vowed to defend his territory and people (okay, his initial response and message was kinda gory and creepy – almost like a mafia movie- but it was a long time ago!)

The point is, when God chooses us, we might rather hide out among the suitcases or run back to the farm and plow. But when he needs us, he needs us, and will empower us to do what he has called us to do.

Oswald Chambers Repeats a Word!

2008-09-24T11:46:00.001-05:00

Perhaps no other Christian writer can say so much with so few words as Oswald Chambers. Perhaps that is why “My Utmost for His Highest” has been continuously in print since 1935 and seems to always be in the top 10 of all religious book lists.

There are updated, revised, and “modern English” versions of this daily devotion book, but if you read his 1935 edition (the one that makes you stop and think about every sentence), you know that Chambers was not one for many words (or at least his wife, who took exact notes of his lectures, did not record many words). Yet, what he has to say with a few words can be elaborated, meditated, and commented on with 100’s of words. You don’t read Chambers quickly and move on. You have to stop and extract the deep meaning he intended.

That is why it struck me as so odd when in today’s reading, Chambers actually repeats a word in a sentence. Very unusual. There must be a reason.

In commenting on Matthew 5.23-24 (leave your offering at the altar and go reconcile with your brother), Chambers says:

“It is easy to imagine that we will get to a place where we are complete and ready, but preparation is not suddenly accomplished, it is a process steadily maintained. It is dangerous to get into a settled state of experience. It is preparation and preparation.”

Wow, he thinks that offering a sacrifice takes a lot of preparation. And just when you think you are ready, it takes even more preparation.

Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, there’s more work to do. Just when you think you’ve given everything there is to give to God, you find more to give. Just when you think you are ready to live that perfect life before God, you need more preparation.

In other words, you can’t be “too prepared” to enter God’s presence. He is holy, we are not. We do not “arrive” at a state of holiness. We are always preparing for it.

I’m just thankful for the grace God affords in the midst of our preparations.

Moving the Mulberry

2008-09-23T11:44:00.000-05:00

In Luke 15, the apostles asked for more faith. Jesus responded with the unbelievable truth that if they had any more faith (not a lot more, just a little more, little as in the size of a mustard seed) then they could command mulberry trees to relocate to the ocean. (5-6)

I’ve never seen anyone do that.

The point is not that we need more faith. He is saying that it doesn’t require that much faith to do incredibly miraculous things. No, what we don’t need is more faith, but more obedience.

While the apostles were still scratching their brains trying to figure out this mulberry tree relocation example, Jesus used another one. He said that if any of them had a servant, they would expect compete obedience from him/her. Even after that servant had been plowing all day, the servant would still be expected to prepare his master’s dinner that night. (7-10)

We don’t need more faith, we need more obedience. We have all we need within us to believe that God can do anything with our lives. What we need is more actions based on that belief. We need less prayers for more faith and more deeds of action.

So, the phrase, “if only I had more faith” is not a valid excuse. What you are really saying is, “if only I had more willpower/gumption/oomph to get up and act on my faith.”

Stop trying to move mulberry’s, just act on what you already know.

The Panic of 2008?

2008-09-18T13:28:00.001-05:00

It was 135 years ago today that the Philadelphia banking firm Jay Cooke and company filed for bankruptcy and began what is known as the Panic of 1873. It seems they were stuck with millions of railroad bonds that they couldn’t sell. Two days later, the stock market closed for 10 days. Soon 89 railroads went bankrupt and within 2 years, 18,000 companies went under.

Fast forward to 2008, and we are about to panic again. Financial panic is just a part of the American cycle. Stability never lasts. Speculators always want more. Regulations may help, (the stock market is not closing down for 10 days) but what goes up will always come down.

Jesus said that where our treasure is, there is our heart. Whereas stocks and futures may be a good place to put your money, it’s a bad place to put your heart. Your money won’t panic, but your heart will.

A heart panic might just turn into a heart attack.

Instead of being an economic indicator, our hearts were created to love and cherish. Our heart motivates us to serve and be faithful. Oh you might argue that money makes it easier to serve, but when has service ever been about ease. Lose all your money and you still have something to share with others – your heart.

So while the news of the day may seem depressing, remember it is just money. If it’s not worthless yet, it will be when Jesus comes back.

Train Rash?

2008-09-16T17:09:00.000-05:00

Here’s a disease I’ve never heard of. No, it’s not something you get from spending too many hours riding on a train (that disease is called boredom). Train rash is something you get from standing too close to a moving train.

It seems that 3 inebriated men visiting Fargo, North Dakota for a conference wanted to take a picture of one of them real close to a moving train. They thought the closer the subject stood to the backdrop, the better the picture. Makes sense, right?

Except the man got so close that the moving train caught his shirt and pants and ripped them off. The local police sergeant, commenting on the man’s slight injuries, said he had “a bad case of train rash.”

This ailment must not be too bad. The nameless victim was released from the hospital.

Have you ever stood too close to something that you knew had the potential to tear you apart?
Sometimes we like to get as close to danger as we can, thinking we are in complete control. Some people did that last week in Galveston, Texas when they chose to “ride out the hurricane.” Now they have “hurricane rash.”

Sometimes we like to get as close to sin as we can, thinking we are in complete control. We can stop and walk away anytime we want to. Wrong. You end up with “sin rash.”

It may sound exciting, energizing, or exhilarating. In reality, you are flirting with something much bigger and faster than you. Just a centimeter closer and our tourist friend in N.D. would be dead. He is not alive because he was strong enough to not move that extra centimeter. He was not in control of that situation.

And he has a “rash” to remind him never to do it again.

Be thankful for the “sin rash” you have. Learn from it. And stay away from moving trains.

Which Way Is Up?

2008-09-12T13:22:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of a house built in Germany that is upside down. No the pictures aren’t upside down, the house is.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080905/lf_nm_life/germany_house_dc_1

Built in Trassenheide, it’s a tourist attraction. It’s supposed to make you think about the way we view things.

Makes me think of the way we use things. Everything in the house is upside down; the artwork, the kitchen table, and even the bathroom. The whole thing is completely useless. If you are gonna live in this house, you’ll have to relearn how to do just about everything.

“Upside down” is the phrase some translations (from KJV to the Amplified) use to describe what the early church had done to the world. “These men who have turned the world upside down…” Upside down is not a good thing. Other translations render “These men who have caused trouble all over the world.” When you turn something upside down, it does more than just give you an alternate view. It makes the old form and function useless.

If God’s people could really turn stuff upside down today, it would “cause trouble” for the status quo. It would upset the current institutions. Our current methodologies and paradigms for politics, education, welfare, and security would be useless. The way we related to fellow Americans and citizens of the world would change. Commerce would be different. Entertainment values would look very different. Our worldview would be the complete opposite. It would all be “upside down.”

Grace will do that for you.

When you abandon revenge, fear, hatred, and gossip and let grace reorient the way you look at life, it turns everything on its head – upside down.

And the great inconvenience to us all is that we have to relearn how to do everything.

But to be known as the people who turned the world on its head, it would be worth it.

Have a Seat...and Make a Joyful Noise

2008-09-10T11:18:00.002-05:00

A long time ago, worship involved only sitting (which, for some, can lead to snoozing).
Then, some churches insisted on “standing for the last verse.” You would sit for the first 2 verses and then stand on the last (any verses between 2 and “last” were basically ignored!)

Of course, some churches have a lot of ritual that demands standing, sitting, and kneeling during certain segments that only the initiated know about. Visitors must pay attention to know what they are supposed to do.

However, many churches today have people standing and sitting and standing and sitting so much that you’re so worn out you need a nap as soon as you get home.

Stand for this chorus, now sit while someone on stage sings a part, now let’s all stand and sing the chorus again. Now sit down to watch this video, now stand up and clap because the video was really moving. Now sit down while we take up an offering to pay for the video. Now stand up while we sing two more songs. Now sit down while we welcome the guests. Now stand up and go hug the guests. Now sit down while we sing “Stand Up For Jesus.” Okay, half-way through the hymn we all collectively realize we got stuck in the wrong position and spontaneously stand up.

If you’re 15 years old, you enjoy all this standing and sitting because every change is a change to turn to your friend and say something. Transitions always require conversation.

If you’re 55, your knees hurt. Tradition said that the Apostle James spent so much time in prayer that his knees “became as the knees of a camel.” Today, our knees swell because of our
hyper-active-worship-posture-changes (bet you can’t say that 5 times real fast!).

There’s a video on 2pointhome.com of how to make an organ chair. Yep, when you sit on the chair, you actually sit on a bellow that forces air through reeds and pipes under the chair and you make music as you sit. I am not making this up. http://2pointhome.com/diys/steps/46129

Imagine if the congregants you worship with all sat in such a chair. Every time we all sat down, we would be making a beautiful noise to the Lord (and put a smile on a lot of faces down here!)

What a great idea. You could please those who complain that the organ was stuffed in a closet 5 years ago, you could involve those who can’t sing in making music, and you could cut down on all those trips to the bathroom during the sermon. Well, they might still leave, but they sure won’t want to come back.

Too Many Boots in the Boot (trunk)

2008-09-09T16:22:00.004-05:00

Uploaded to GodTube a few weeks ago was a video by the ever inspiring TD Jakes. The title: Junk in the Trunk.

note: the search engine within GodTube.com seems to be at times demonically possessed. Try this link:
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=79baa9d1ddb53c556bc4

Although it’s an illustration for a series designed for engaged couples, it’s an appropriate thought for just about any situation in life. The car may look all shiny and new on the outside, yet full of all kinds of trash and unexpected items in the trunk. I know some preachers say they can determine your character by looking at your calendar and checkbook register (if anyone still uses one of those), but perhaps you can also tell just as much about someone by the junk in the trunk of their car, or the back of their desk drawer, or the rarely visited recesses of their handbag.

(Bishop Jakes lives in Dallas, where everyone has a car (or two). This is not the case in some parts of the states. While you may have never had a trunk to stash your stuff in, you’ve got something that needs cleaning out. Outer compartment of a backpack, that “catch-all” kitchen drawer, top shelf of hall closet, in/out box at work, bottom of a toolbox, etc, etc.)

Why do we allow that stuff to collect. Laziness (we don’t want to take the effort), comfort (it’s good stuff and it makes us feel good to keep it), hyper-zealousness (we might need that thingymebob some day) are a few reasons. And just as those reasons apply to the physical items in the physical trunk they also apply to the emotional items kept tucked away in our emotional trunk. Bitterness, hurt, and emotional scars can be just as trashy to carry as empty soda cans, worn out lawn chairs, and wallpaper sample books you were supposed to return 2 months ago.

(By the way, did you read about the Montana woman arrested yesterday when they found her dead toddler’s baby in her trunk? He had apparently been there a while!)

A few months ago, when everyone was talking about how to increase their gas mileage, we were all reminded to stop carrying around excess weight in our vehicles (the same advice the American Heart Association offers for increasing the MPG of our bodies – lose weight!). It’s also good advice for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our spiritual journey. Lose the junk.

Let the Giver of Grace help you clean it out.

"The Reports of My Death..."

2008-09-05T13:03:00.001-05:00

Renehan Delaney, 42, saw his dad on TV. The only problem, they had buried his dad 5 years ago. Cremation even. Now there he is on a TV show about missing people.

Seems John Delaney went missing in 2000. He ended up in a hospital unsure of who he was or where he was from. His memory of those all important facts never returned. His family, clueless as to where John was, just assumed the worst.

In 2003, police in Manchester England found a badly decomposed body and decided it was John’s. The family had the body cremated and was finally able to close this horrible chapter of their lives. That is, until earlier this year when Renehan saw his dad on TV. After some DNA tests, the father and son have been united.

This isn’t the story of the prodigal son, but of the resurrected father. It’s the story of someone prematurely presumed dead. Just like Bloomberg did with Steve Jobs last week.

Just like the New York Times in January of 1966 when God was declared dead.

Wait a minute. Time for a retraction!

Have you ever had a funeral for God? Declared him dead in your life? Closed that chapter and moved on without him?

Then, all of a sudden, he shows back up! Quoting Mark Twain even. “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”

Of course he (God, not Twain) is not dead. Never has been, never will be. We can eulogize and funeralize all we want to. We can kick him out of our lives and tell him to go away, but causing the death of the divine is simply a feat never to be accomplished.

Of course, unlike John Delaney, God never forgets who he is.

Or who we are.

Or what he did for us.

So go ahead and pirouette on that tombstone you erected over his empty grave. When you trip and fall, look around and see who is still alive and ready to pick you up.

Blind Blogging

2008-09-04T11:28:00.000-05:00

Blogging - typing stuff that is available for all to see, but in all probability, no one ever will. A way to put your thoughts in words and your words on a screen. Seeking an audience without ever trying. Making a speech to an empty room without worrying about combing your hair.

Blinded by Grace - exactly what happened to Saul while on a journey to arrest Jews who chose to follow Christ. Many of these Messiah-followers were probably elated to hear that Saul was providently stopped while en route. At last, justice from God against those picking on the new Jewish sect. Undoubtedly, many were disappointed that Saul's punishment was only a 3 day blindness. Couldn't God have cut out a tongue or lopped off a leg or something more permanent?

Grace - God's preferred method of giving those who mess up another chance. Grace is a reminder of how awesome God is. After all, we can't earn/buy/steal/ grace ourselves. It only comes from God. Grace lets you see when you're blind, let's you talk when you've poisoned your words with trash, let's you be loved when you've hurt others, and let's you breathe when you deserve to die.

Prayer - May the grace of God bless anyone who happens to stumble on these words and needs another chance. It's not fun being blind, but if you've been blinded for a reason, then grace brings hope. And hope always has a way of seeing even when you can't see.