I did it again.I went forty years without ever doing it once and now I have erred twice in nine days in this ridiculous manner.Thinking it would be a onetime novelty I even wrote a blog about it on the 20th of this month and turned my little faux paus into a conduit of spiritual insight.Now I've gone and done it again.I got dressed in the dark this morning and put on two completely different shoes - AGAIN!
Beyond the obvious need to turn on the closet light before getting dressed I wonder what the Lord might want to teach me through this repeated failure today.I considered the metaphor of "an unbalanced walk with God" or "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways" or even "how beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news".Yet in the end, I have chosen to welcome this lesson from my new addiction to mismatched footwear:
Luke 17:3-4 - "Take heed to yourselves: If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turns again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him."
Putting on different shoes certainly does not rise to the level of committing sin (unless you are a disciple of the Fashion Channel), but my repetition of this error does remind me of a comforting truth of God's character.Jesus was teaching His disciples of the command to forgive those who sin against you but who also come in repentance and ask you to forgive them.To heighten the importance of this, Jesus teaches that if someone has the audacity to sin against us seven times in one single day we are to forgive them each time they humbly request it.Here is the lesson:repetitious failure requires repetitious forgiveness.Now this is such a difficult thing for us to achieve that the disciples spoke on our behalf as soon as Jesus taught them this by declaring, "Lord, increase our faith." (Luke 17:5).This command for our relationships may be one of the hardest of all to perpetually fulfill - keep on forgiving no matter what.Today, my thought is focusing on something I deduce from this command of Jesus rather than examining the command itself.This conclusion from His command is what should bring us comfort.
Because Jesus commands us to forgive on a repeated level, we can be fully assured that He also forgives in this manner.
Some in the body of Christ have some serious and constant struggles.Some have besetting sins that are not yet laid aside.The reality of strongholds in the lives of believers gives occasion for God's word to teach us to wage war against the world, the flesh and the devil.Observably, the flesh is the final frontier for most of us to conquer.The flesh doesn't want you to forgive that one who wronged you;the flesh requires that you not to forgive once, much less the demanding notion of seven times in a 24 hour period.The flesh keeps leading you back to gossip, back to covetousness, back to lust.Sure we blame the devil for a lot of it but, in reality, it's likely not something he needs to be involved with.Failing to walk in the Spirit always results in fulfilling the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).Satan need not drop by when our flesh can create an equally distressing break in our fellowship with God.Let's be honest, we tend to put on two different spiritual shoes before beginning our daily journey more often than we like to admit.We don't have a balanced walk.We start our day in the dark sometimes and never get to step into the light.I'm going to say it: on some days we're a bunch of stinkin' sinners.
But, alas, I smell the aroma of grace!
Jesus will forgive you seven times today.Jesus can forgive you 7,000 times today if that is required.His forgiveness is not to be equated with dismissiveness.No, we are to come to Him in full heartbroken repentance every time we look down and see mismatched spiritual cleats.We should hate our trespasses as much as our Lord does.Sin brings the believer grief and when she is grieved she runs to the One who brings her the solace she needs.We know that the Lord is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, enduring, faithful and rejoices when a poorly-shoed saint comes back to the Father's house.As intensely as God hates sin, to the same degree, He loves to forgive.None of us want to have to experience that forgiveness because, in doing so, we are acutely aware that we have dishonored the Lord.Having said that I must also add that none of us wants not to experience that forgiveness because if that is the case then we have forfeited the gold of life's journey.We don't wish to need His forgiveness but we are so incredibly grateful for its availability.
I'm committed to putting on two brown shoes tomorrow.It is in my power to do so;I may need to plan better, slow down a little, wait on some light to fall before beginning my day...but I am confident that I will not do tomorrow what I've done today.Having said that, if I happen to blog for a third time concerning this failure I will likely remember what God taught me today:for every misstep of mine, there was a perfect step by Jesus.I am forgiven for it all through His precious blood.He has forgiven me for eternity and the reality is that every individual sin along the way is already atoned for.May I so treasure Him and the blessed grace that He gives that I find myself walking in his sandals every day.
An email arrived in my inbox today that served to remind me of the world we are living in.A portion of the email referenced a military chaplain who was dismissed for refusing to cease praying in the name of Jesus Christ.Now, mind you, this is a Christian chaplain serving in the United States military who was being forced to choose between his role in serving his country and his citizenship in God’s Kingdom.Of course, this is nothing new as stories like this are now popping up regularly.The Washington Post (not a Christian-friendly periodical) shared a related story in May of this year concerning legislation that would serve to permit Christian chaplains to continue to invoke the name of Jesus Christ as they serve in the Armed Forces.Welcome to America where abortion is legal, prostitution is legal in some places, marijuana use is legal in some places, pornography, gambling, sodomy, adultery, and fornication are all tolerated. . . but the mention of the name of Jesus requires us to stop all activity and discern if this is tolerable.The sound you hear is the rumble of Heaven’s thunder.
Let me get a little hell-fire and brimstone on you for a minute.I’m going to address my words to people who profess to believe in Jesus Christ as Supreme Lord over all.Do we really think that God is turning a blind eye to the reality that the name of His only begotten Son is being treated like a disease?What do we really think the response of God is going to be to a nation that not only has forgotten Him but has virtually given Him the finger for the last 45 years (forgive the crudeness)?God immensely chastised Old Testament Israel, His covenant people, for their continual rejection of Him.The Almighty wore them out time and time again! I hate to be the bearer of bad news but God hasn’t made any covenants with America and we should probably throw on the brakes before we plunge headlong over the cliff of presumption into a bottomless pit of regret. He owes us nothing. I look to the mockery of Washington DC and hang my head when I realize that Americans were dumb enough to populate Congress with so many foolish people.The rampant humanism, pride and apostate godlessness mingled with the politics of socialism will certainly be the downfall of this once mighty nation if something doesn't change. Please don’t dismiss my words as empty Christian fanaticism – I’m speaking to believers – but I’m looking for one of two things to happen: Revival or Wrath.
Revival rescues us.Wrath finishes us.Do you know why America has been so abundantly blessed and protected during the last 234 years?God!We believed in God.We bowed before God.Jesus Christ was the passion of so many Americans and this provided a manifestation of the blessed presence of God upon the landscape of our nation.We preached His Gospel, sang His anthems, exalted His word, bowed before His throne, sought His face, depended upon His provision, obediently received His definition of morality, and blessed the mighty name of His Son without hesitation.Extract your head from the sand of deception, rub the grains from your blurry eyes and face the facts: we were a Christian nation.We no longer are and my heart is breaking.
My children will be among the first generation of Americans to live in a culture where Jesus Christ is viewed in hostility.He’s an intruder in the USA.As Ahab asked godly Elijah, ‘Are you the one who troubles Israel?’ we now gaze suspiciously upon Jesus Christ and refuse Him the opportunity to "mess with the new America".My words are not describing a political ideology; I’ve never looked to the government to provide anything more than some restraint to evil.Government can’t change hearts.Government can’t enlighten souls.Government can’t usher in paradise.When it comes to manifesting lasting spiritual power, human government is as effective as bullfrog teaching physics to graduate students.Christians should probably stop focusing so much on Washington DC and start looking in our own hearts.The problem began there and the solution still resides there.While we are blaming our elected officials for the erosion of our nation very few Christians are pausing to question how it ever got to this point.How did wholesale foolishness become the characteristic of our government?My opinion is that successive generations of believers in Christ held hands in the shadows while the wolf set up shop in the sunlight.We failed to season our country with salt.We dimmed our lights.We ran crying when someone shot a glaring look in our direction.We received hostile ideologies with handshakes instead of doubled up fists. We maximized kindness and tolerance until they fused into a gigantic altar upon which we sacrificed reason and truth. Behind closed doors, we prayed for Jesus to come back instead of walking through those doors to face the Goliaths defying God in the valley.We turned the other cheek to the extent that our cheeks (not the ones on your face) got blistered by forces that should have bowed to the One we represent.We quit on God’s plan. When we should have been marching we shuffled our feet. When we could have wielded the Sword of the Spirit we used our hands to wave the white flag of compromised surrender. The enemy didn't win - we conceded the fight.
Yes, I’m ticked off.I’m mad at me.I’m mad at you.I’m mad at US this morning.What in the world have we done?
Rather than giving a tidy wrap up to today’s blog I’m just going to let it hang in the air.You’ve read my sanctified rant today.Why don’t you take five minutes of your time and hit the comments button below and supplement my words with some of your own.Consider it your digital Amen if you agree with me today.
“And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up…” 1 Kings 17:7
The life of Elijah has long since been a favorite of mine.He’s a throwback – a type of man that is rarely seen in our generation.We know little of his background beyond the place he was born and raised.He drops into scripture like a lead anvil from a hot air balloon and later leaves the pages of our Bible like a feather caught up in a tornado.He blows in, blows up and then blows out.My kind of guy.
After preaching highly confrontational message from God to the apostate King Ahab, Elijah is tucked away by God in the school of seclusion.The echo of Elijah’s voice in the palace of Ahab had barely faded before God took him from the limelight to the lowlights.God hid the spokesman of a generation in a little place where nobody would hear him.God silenced Elijah’s ministerial voice and taught him how to listen, wait on God and survive the plateau of nothingness.Each day and evening the sovereign God of heaven would send sustenance by way of ravens acting as waiters.Each day by the brook Cherith was marked with little beyond Elijah's daily bread.He was getting by as God weaned him from any and all perks of prophethood.Elijah himself had pronounced the drought that was searing the land and it soon became apparent that these would be long days of deprivation for Israel.
But Elijah had his own little brook.
God saw fit to allow the faithful prophet to awake each day to the sound of running water.In a drought this would be the sound of hope.Each day the ravens would bring the meal and God Himself would serve the water.Elijah’s thirst would not be denied and he was able to have the double pleasure of being in God’s drought which sapped away all the unprofitable parts of his life while, at the very same time, he was refreshed at any time he chose by the faithful waters from his own personal stream of sufficiency.God was so good to give the prophet this privilege.Elijah could wait it out - the drought would end, the ravens would feed him and the brook would be his daily assurance that God would continue to be faithful.
“And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up…” 1 Kings 17:7
Elijah went to the serving stream just like he had before for many days prior.His gourd was empty as he felt it bounce lightly against his thigh as he made the short trip to the stream.The ravens had made their deposit a little earlier and Elijah made his way to the little brook to find what he needed for the day.He noticed as he approached a strange silence.He heard no running water.Nervously, he approached the place where he always dipped his empty gourd to fill it with the fresh water.On this day there was nothing more than some moist dirt.His brook had dried up.His source of survival had evaporated while he slept.He wasn’t even there to watch the last of it trickle away.God had said that Elijah would drink of the brook.God said it would be there.The brook was no longer there and, suddenly, it seemed like God wasn’t either.
In times of drought we measure our water levels.In times of life's drought, God measures our faith level.We can tell the intensity of the drought by lake levels dropping.God can tell the intensity of our faith by how we respond to the diminishing of our resources.God had taught Elijah how to trust in His provision, now God would teach Elijah how to trust in God Himself.There is certainly a difference between the two.Some of you who are reading are still standing in the dry gully of a brook which once was.God dried it up.You find yourself, empty gourd in hand, wondering when this same brook will babble again.You stand motionless and frightened that your reality is changing.You are listening for the moving of water and it’s just not happening here.When the water was flowing you gave God the glory.When the sustaining stream met your needs you were careful to praise Him.That stream was clearly God’s and you never took an ounce of credit for being sustained by it.Hey, wait a minute ... you did it all by the book and exalted God as He met all of your needs.You are wise enough to know that the ravens who brought your daily food are not equipped to bring you water.God is doing something and you weren’t necessarily anticipating any changes like this.The brook is dry and you don’t know what to do.
Trust in His character.He never needed that particular brook to meet your needs – it was simply his choice of sustenance for a season gone by in your life.He has something new for you now.You passed the test at the Brook Cherith and now He is prompting toward your own Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24).You see, there is more to the chapter and He had to dry up your brook to get you to read further in the story of His sovereign work.He has already prepared your next verses and there is much more that He has for you to learn.This trial of the dry creek bed is not about provisions as much as it is about the Provider.He is more interested in you learning the satisfaction of His presence and providence than He is interested in you mastering survival techniques.He’s deepening you and preparing to fill you with some unprecedented treasure.You’ve been full of raven food and creek water but He dried it up so you could experience the bottomless barrel of meal and the continual cruse of oil.Simply put, He is turning your page for you so you can read on.Leave the dry creek bed, drop your gourd and listen for His voice.It’s not an issue as to whether or not you have done something amiss to cause the brook to dry up.You’ve forgotten that the brook has always been His, not yours.He slaked your daily thirst through it but He never titled it in your name.His brook, His blessing, His breakthrough.Now He has something else ahead of you.Listen to how the next scene in your life is described:
“The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.” (1 Kings 17:14).
The promise of the brook dried up so the promise of the barrel can begin.Be there when it happens.
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will give them over to you…” - Deuteronomy 7:21b-23a {ESV}
Good morning, fellow sinners! Let us begin our day by some confession, some grace received and some commitments to the Lord. If there is a habitual sin that is common in the modern church it is the sin of impatience.We don’t think of our reluctance to wait upon God, His provision, His timing, and His deliverance as sinful.We see this type of behavior as a personality quirk more than anything.God sees it as mistrust and therefore I think we can appropriately label it as sin.So I’m giving a public confession today that I’m a repeat offender.Yes, I struggle with this sin.
Most of you who are reading this are honest enough to say that you are also a violator in this area.You have a set of desires which course through your veins.These wishes/wants/hopes/dreams/plans/prayers are established as parts of your life and they are not bad in and of themselves.You have even placed them regularly before the Lord in submissive prayer at times.You ask, you seek, and you knock.The door remains airtight.You ask a little louder, seek a little more closely, and knock a little harder.Still no response?You demand, you presume and you develop bruises on your hands from pounding on the closed door.Eventually you bring God a certified list of your rights, you begin to try to lead Him to what you want and you start looking for an open window to climb in through since He obviously is not interested in opening the unyielding door.One way or another you’re going to have your request fulfilled.Even if you have to do it yourself.
Welcome to the 21st Century brand of faith.
As I have been pondering some delays that God has determined for my life I have been made painfully aware of this potential in me.Bottom line?Results are important to Jeff Lyle and are usually necessary due to the demands upon me.God is not interested in entering into my stress.He refuses to rush through life with me.He never changes lanes without signaling and won’t show up early for appointments.God seems to meander at times; He really does stop and smell the roses that He made and I’m learning that I’m not the guy who can instruct Him otherwise.It really is His timetable that I have to conform to – imagine that!
So this week, in the midst of a lighter than normal schedule, I have become reacquainted with slowing down.I’ve sipped my coffee instead of hypodermically injecting it.I’ve meditated on a handful of Scriptures instead of ingesting passages and the mass quantity of study aids piled on my desk.He has enabled me to praise Him at length before petitioning Him.Lo and behold, I found myself listening to Him without getting fidgety for several days in a row.Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still allowed my voice to be heard in heaven as I’ve obeyed the command to let my requests be made known unto God.It’s just that I received some pretty personal instruction form the verses at the top of the blog and God has gained my attention by the three familiar words “little by little”.How God-like that He would ordain that methodology (little by little progression) with a Christian who usually finds himself sprinting through the day.He’s not merely patient, He’s powerful enough to cause be to me become the same.
May bosses be patient with employees today.May the sick patiently and expectantly wait on God’s reversal of circumstances.Let worried parents appreciate the progress which comes in their children little-by-little.The Holy Spirit is going to empower some wives to employ patience with difficult husbands.Husbands will gain mercy as they wait on God to bring endurance to the hearts of emotional wives.God will intimately encourage single men and women as He prepares their future mate…little-by-little -you don't want to get that mate before they have been made ready for you, do you?Closed doors may remain sealed as God allows some of His children growth opportunity in this area.Jesus said in Luke 21:19, “By your endurance you will gain your lives.”God is looking us right in the eyes with an infinitely reassuring smile upon His radiant face and telling us (not for the first time) that He has it perfectly in control.He’s got this one. His delays are not His denials.
I’m going to have some more coffee and encourage you to find something to slowly enjoy before bursting onto the landscape of today. For me, coffee is a morning pleasure. It tastes so much better when sipped.
For quite some time God’s primary use of personal instruction in my life has been my children.Please know that my intention is not to dismiss the inestimable and exalted value of Scripture in the life of all believers, but sometimes God tattoos our hearts with scriptural truth via practical elements of everyday life.I’ve learned so much about His fatherhood through my own relationship with Alicia and Landon.Yesterday was another classroom session wherein God taught me some things through my beautiful little girl.
She was having a rough afternoon and I probably didn’t help much.I came home a little frustrated from some stresses from the workday.There was a stack of bills waiting on me that the postman had the gall to deliver to my home.The kids had lost a couple of the Blockbuster videos that were due back and we were unable to locate them for a while (Amy, our resident Indiana Jones, located the missing treasure on the floor behind the kitchen trashcan).The final straw was when I learned that Alicia had delegated some of her chores to her five-year-old brother for a prorated portion of her weekly allowance.It is probably commendable in that she showed some entrepreneurial instincts but kindergarteners don’t do a good job of cleaning downstairs bathrooms.She got a short lesson from me on the importance of being responsible and thorough in her duties and to never blame another (Landon) when she was accountable to see that her job was complete.
This set the table for what followed.My precious little girl fell apart in my arms about twenty minutes later.Somehow, correction over cat litter and dirty bathroom floors led to an hour of soul searching and the need for assurance that she belonged to God.
I think we have all wrestled with the question “How good is good enough for God?”Theologically we understand that the only good which is good enough for God is that which is perfectly good.No sin.No stain.No streak.Perfect holiness requires perfect holiness from all.We immediately know then that we don’t qualify as “good enough” for God and find an appropriate sense of guilt.This conviction of falling short of God’s glory is what ultimately awakens us to our need for His grace.Helplessness requires a rescue.God, as the only One who is perfectly good, knows that He must rescue and has had His plan since before the foundation of the world.He would impart His perfection to us through the life, death, burial and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.When an imperfect sinner exercises faith in a perfect Savior, His perfection is placed upon the believing sinner's account as our sin has been placed upon Him on the cross.It is a staggering transaction which was accomplished historically on Calvary’s cross and is actualized individually when we believe.That is a simple summary of what it means to be made acceptable to God.In Jesus Christ we are perfectly accepted for all eternity.Outside of Jesus Christ we are absolutely rejected for all of eternity because we are still in our sins.Jesus paid it all.You can pay for nothing.
So then, why do we struggle with the assurance of our salvation as Christians?Why does kitty litter on the bathroom floor of our lives cause us to feel like God could not possibly accept us?Alicia is only ten years old and she let me know that her failure in one area was powerfully defining her sense of security and well-being.She did not see, in that moment, her relationship to me and her mother.She did not remember our unconditional love shown to her every day of her life.She got amnesia concerning every validating word she ever heard from us, every affirming expression of our joy in her, each celebration of who she is and, ultimately, each occasion where we exalted some great thing she had done.No, she only remembered the crunch of kitty litter beneath her feet.To her, it was the sound of failing her earthly father.
Here is where I gained God’s perspective (forgive the boldness) on our struggles with His love for us.How it must break His infinite heart to lavish such astounding grace and mercy upon us through the blood of His Son, only to have us wonder if it is effective unto the end.Could such an astounding price be prepared in eternity past, paid in time, endure for eternity…only to have us shuffle our feet and wonder if we might be the only one to whom its effectiveness has no enduring power?A friend of mine once saw a Christian psychologist because of a paralyzing lack of salvation assurance.He was a seminary student, intellectually gifted, biblically informed and theologically astute.He just couldn’t believe he was secure in God’s grace.After interrogating him for an hour about the theology of salvation she discerned that my friend knew all the truth needed to be known.When he still persisted that he just couldn’t believe that it could apply to him the counselor asked, “What makes you so special?”KABOOM! She wisely traced his persistent refusal of assurance as being rooted in pride rather than humility. If God's securing of salvation is true for all others, then why do you refuse to rest in Him?
Let us never forget in our hunger for practical righteousness that the whole reason we needed a rescuing Savior is because that we are sinners to the core.Redemption remedies much of the fallout of that curse but it does not remove the imprint of our flesh during this life.Yes, proud saint, you still sin.And might I add that the blood of Jesus Christ is still the agent whereby you are pardoned from that sin.His blood is still needed in your practical life;He has certainly removed the penalty of your sin once and for all of time upon your exercising of faith, but that same blood is your sole defense against a weak conscience, an accusing enemy and a scarred horizontal life.It is not that you received Christ and the benefits of His shed blood so that you can now move forward and handle your justification through a determined righteousness.No, dear friend, I must declare reverently that the blood of Jesus has a perpetual reverberation which echoes through the ages as the only hope of your assured standing before God.Even unto the last chapters of God’s Word we find the established truth which heralds, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…” {Rev. 12:11}. Face it, friend, He justified you completely forever. You can never be condemned again. Like it or lump it, your sins have been obliterated from the record for all eternity...even the ones you haven't committed yet. You are so secure it is pitiful.
Back to my troubled baby girl: I spoke with Alicia as she held my hand, put her head in her daddy’s lap and choked on some cleansing tears.It was so vital that I affirmed how much I love her and that nothing she would ever do could change that.My love for her is not something that is in her power.I love her because I cannot do otherwise; it is woven into my soul.I instructed her about the issues she was struggling with.Her ears soaked in my counsel from the Word concerning what it is to be forgiven and how we can rest in what Jesus has accomplished.Her tears eventually stopped streaking and her voice was no longer choked.She never let go of my hand and when I prayed with her she put her other hand over mine.She was holding onto her father.What she could not possibly fathom was how passionately her father was holding on to her.She let go and went to her little room to read her bible.She let go.I’m still holding her this very moment.
Your God is holding you.He has.He will forever.Your security is never in your grip on Him.Assurance is found in the gentleness of His omnipotent hand enclosed around your soul forever.
In a shameless display of promoting access to the wisdom in my wife's bloodline, I herein encourage you to read the bold declaration of a very meek and mild woman named Deborah. She has a strong word for the willing heart today.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” – Colossians 3:23 {ESV}
There are disadvantages to getting dressed in the dark.My day begins very early and I typically silence the alarm clock and hop out of bed with varying levels of enthusiasm depending on what I know the day holds for me.In order to avoid interrupting Amy’s continued sleep, I have mastered the ability to get dressed in the dark – or at least I thought.I set out my clothes each night before going to bed so I can slip them on without awaking Sleeping Beauty;last night I set out a pair of shoes that I needed to wear and placed them next to the shoes I had worn earlier that day.I got dressed this morning, got into my truck and ambled down to the office as I digested a portion of a great John Piper sermon on Anxiety.I was feeling great.It was going to be a good day.
I arrived safely at the office and after reading emails and shoring up some leftover things from yesterday I happened to look down and noticed that I was shod with two individually unique shoes.They were both great shoes – don’t get me wrong – it was just a little awkward that they were not from the same pair. Apparently they had become friends during the night and wanted to go to work with me this morning, leaving their individual partners back in the dark by my closet door. With penetrating spiritual conviction I realized that my feet were in clear violation of scripture by being unequally yoked with one another.Immediately I began to remember other occasions when I had accomplished something halfway and suffered for it...
As a senior in high school I shaved one half of my face one morning, took an urgent phone call from a fellow student, and never went back to shave the other half of my face.It was 1987 and I was only seventeen during the Miami Vice era but I appeared to be a halfhearted Don Johnson wannabe with ½ of a five-o-clock shadow.I felt like an idiot at school but my classmates felt entertained. My first Valentine’s Day as a married man I failed to make reservations for dinner.Filled with confidence I declared to my new wife, Amy Lou, that I would find us a great place to celebrate our wedded bliss on Cupid’s holiday.We went from venue to venue only to discover that all our favorite and potentially romantic spots were either filled or that the Friday crowds called for a one hour wait.Determined to do something to show my bride the level of my love, I refused to give up until we found a place to share a Valentine dinner.Alas, through my tireless resolve we arrived at the pinnacle of all secluded dining and romantic settings when we walked through the doors of Corky’s Barbeque.Dressed to the nines for an evening of oneness, we had no competition for securing a table and, my oh my, how that all-you-can-eat beef, slaw and beans set the mood for the remainder of the evening.I had taken my wife out for Valentine’s Day…and have never been allowed to forget that I did it halfway.
I’ve preached halfway messages, given halfway counsel, shown halfhearted interest in my kids request to play hide and go seek, written half-baked blogs (this entry among them?) and loved sinners with less than half a heart.I’ve never been blessed in doing anything halfway.God has made us to be wholehearted children of His and nothing else suffices our soul.For me “getting by” is the same as “going under”.Status quo surviving is for unbelievers, not for children of a King.I’m asking God to purge my heart of all traces of mundane and mediocre aspirations.Why settle for being a mosquito when God made you to be an eagle?Who would want to live as a solitary poached egg when God has afforded you the opportunity to experience the life of a Santa Fe omelet chunked full of ham, cheese and peppers (I’ve not eaten breakfast yet today)?The illustrations might sound goofy but my point is this:have you settled for the half-life?Has your spirit gone tepid on you?Does the concept of a surge of the soul sound like Christian Fiction to you?
I’m going to wear two different shoes this morning.I’ve got a meeting with two missionaries at 7:30 and I’m going to see if anyone notices.If they don’t notice, I’m going to wear them around the office.If nobody around here notices then I’m going to lunch in them.Why, you ask?I want to see if the object lesson of my shoes draws anyone’s correction.I hope they do.What concerns me more is that the half-hearted lives of Christians should draw attention.It simply doesn’t fit:God Almighty indwelling each believer in the potential fullness of the Holy Spirit and yet too many of us are living like mosquitoes atop poached eggs.And nobody notices.
Go out today, Christian, and do something about that.Make a difference, give your self a self-exam for a lump of languid living. Blow the dust off the fervency gauge and risk a diagnostic of your heart. Cease from putting your finger to the wind to determine the latest winds of commitment. Bend your knees instead and welcome God to fill your sails. You were created to make a difference, a real difference and you are fully capable of doing so. There's a world out there looking for someone real. Go be that person. Check your shoes before you leave.
"Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it." - Psalm 90:16-17
What a pitiful thing it could be to awake today and to believe that the success of God's Kingdom was contingent upon us.Tarrying before Him this morning I could do little else but express my utter dependence upon Him to be fruitful in that which He has ordained for today.I must preach according to His glory but I am not able to do so.We must sing with hearts and voices unfettered in authentic worship of His Majesty but we are not perfectly clean.Souls hang in the balance and we are wholly disabled in bringing them to life.There are robust needs for funding of the work that He entrusts to us and yet there are meager supplies.What is one to do?
We call out to God as the Psalmist did and ask God to continue His work through His servants today that it might endure in revealing His glory to our children and their children. His ongoing work has never rested solely upon His childrens ability. If this was the case then the work would have long since turned to dust. We lift up empty hands and ask God to fill them with power.We prepare our hearts to sing but succeed in this only when He fills them with authentic praise.Our sermons can be sharpened to precision with any and all human skill, yet we have been made wise enough to know that they must be saturated with the fuel of prayer so that when He ignites His sovereign spark they will flame before the eyes and ears of those who listen.Our calling is to prepare the altar and sacrifice but His alone is the work of sending the consuming flame.
We must earnestly desire for His beauty to rest upon us.We do still find Him altogether lovely, do we not?Is there anything that we could rightfully crave more so than to behold Him in some dynamic of faith which increases our love for Him?Elizabeth Prentiss wrote over 150 years ago the words that find us when nothing else can:
More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Then the Psalmist speaks for us as he and we recognize that God must bless the work of our hands if our hands are ever to work.He must take what we offer.He must affirm it.He must cleanse it.He must empower it.He must cause it to endure.He must bear the fruit from it.He alone must and can protect it from the devouring enemy.God Almighty will validate and bless the work of our hands that it may be established for His glory.The work is His alone and always has been.He is gracious to invite us to partake of the process.Remember with me today, industrious saints of God, that we are not wise to bear the false belief that so much depends on us.If we believe that so much depends on our doing, then we rob Him of His glory and place the weight upon ourselves, the most inappropriate of places.We also become fixated on something other than Him - be it the work, the time, the need, the resources, the obstacles or the achievement - when our gaze looks around it cannot look up.Look up and call to the One who has decreed that He alone is worthy of our fixation.Your delight is there.
For the better part of a week I’ve been desiring to write some humorous anecdotes in the blog.I’ve rolled snake-eyes each time I’ve sat down to do so.My life is usually flavored with a pretty consistent stream of humor-I laugh at me, I laugh at my kids, I laugh at the quips of the people I pastor, I laugh with Amy…laughter usually plays a fairly significant role in my day to day life.
Who turned off the tap?My Bible tells me something that I need to consider:
Prov 15:13 – “A glad heart makes a cheerful face…” {ESV}
Prov 15:15 – “…the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.” {ESV}
Prov 17:22 – “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” {ESV}
Though none of these verses mentions laughter specifically, there is the context of gladness, cheer and joy which is often the wellspring of holy laughter.These are days for many where the spring has dried up and, therefore, so has the flow.I’m determined to remain one of those who fights the frown and markets mirth.I want to go out smiling if today is my last day above ground.
Let’s consider the following as important things that might help us chuckle in a world that is choking.
Nothing here is permanent.All that is good here pales in comparison to that which is deemed least in Heaven.Keep your perspective today because God reserves the right to overhaul your present by ushering you into your future.
People are precious.Appreciate them to the fullest extent of your ability.Ask God to empower you with the ability to see everyone through His eyes.We are all weak and flawed and don’t need your extra effort to post those realities upon us with the pinprick of judgment.Give yourself permission to exhale and don’t feel like a compromiser when you choose to laugh over our struggles instead of categorizing them as apocalyptic.
These economic times require me to mention this:money isn’t everything; it’s not even the best thing.If you are watching it slip out of your life please don’t allow your joy to get caught in the riptide.I have a sneaking suspicion that a lessening of our estimation of the importance of money might serve to loosen our lips a little, widen our arteries, clear up our skin and reintroduce us to the fleeting aspect of life called lightheartedness.If diminishing funds are fueling your frowns then consider whether or not God so misses your smile that He has taken some clear efforts to reproduce it.Laughter has a longer shelf-life than greenbacks.
Look for humor – it’s out there.One of the Proverbs above mentions that the cheerful person feels like life is a feast.Feed yourself with a banquet by purposing in your heart to pursue laughter.Get around some children and ask them questions to let you into their little world.My kids keep their parents in stitches without even trying.They remind me not to take the underbelly of life so seriously.
I once heard a sourpuss in the pulpit instruct his intimidated audience that the Bible never reveals Jesus as one who laughed (one might note that scripture also never indicates that He sneezed).The bully with the Bible intended to teach us that the supremely spiritual will wait until they get to Heaven before laughter will be tolerated. I was a young believer when I heard that evangelist make that remark and I bought it hook-line-and-sinker for a few years.I smothered my sense of humor in the name of presumed holiness.All jokes (even clean ones) were of the enemy and every ounce of breath spent in laughter was an ounce of breath which could have been used for witnessing to the damned of their potential deliverance through Christ.My conclusion was basically that my potential laughter in life was wholly unscriptural and likely was going to enlarge the population of hell.So I chose a stern life over a joyful life.Everyone knew I was one serious Christian…very few of them were impressed.
Let’s remember that laughter sounds the same in every language and it conveys the universal hunger for well situated hope.Laughter reminds us that all is not as bad as it may seem.Laughter lightens the load of the person next to you.In my humble opinion, laughter is going to be a precious commodity in these last days.So reach down real deep today, let your will scoop up a handful of hope, season it with some optimism, open up your mouth and let some delicious, delightful laughter spill out into the lives of those around you.If you do so you will discover that regret, worry, pessimism and fear begin to feel like unwelcome guests and will politely excuse themselves one by one.Faith, Joy, Hope and Love will remain as you fellowship with Jesus.
Scripture may not indicate that Jesus ever laughed but I have a holy expectation that it will be one of the precious treasures of Heaven that we all delight in when we hear Him for the very first time.In the meantime, I want Him to be blessed with hearing some laughter of my own.
“The wrath of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” – James 1:20
What angers you?Do you still get mad at certain things?I’ve observed that people don’t know what to do with their anger when they become aware of its presence.Many Christians believe it is always sinful for someone to be angry or demonstrate it.They believe that they need to turn the other cheek in such an extreme manner that their head eventually twists off and their all sound reason spills out.Friends, anger is a fact of life and it is absolutely essential that we experience a certain level of it if we are going to live lives which honor God.There is an anger which cooperates with God’s character and will…and there is another type of anger which delights the diabolical soul of old Slewfoot himself.
Selfish anger cannot please the Lord.Here’s how it works:somebody disregards you; they invalidate you, oppose you or hurt you in some way that seems to exalt them and their desires above you and yours.It could be that they cut you off in traffic or failed to thank you for a job well done.Perhaps they took credit for something you achieved or blamed you for a mistake you did not commit.The scenario can play out in a million different ways but it boils down to this: somebody got over on you and you now find yourself indignantly upset.How dare they!
Righteous anger occurs when a principle of truth has been violated.The negative emotion is justified when something outside of yourself has been portrayed, performed or perceived as something other than it truly is.God’s Word is denied.Harm is being done to one who is vulnerable.Lies are being communicated.Injustice is occurring.This is where righteous anger is not only appropriate but wholly necessary.Be careful here – it is a precarious task to separate righteous anger from unholy human wrath if you happen to be the object of the injustice, harm or lies.You can be angry when this happens to you but only in an incidental sense on your own behalf.It can't be centrally abut you but, rather, more so about the violation of a higher principle. When Jesus overturned the tables of the thieves in the temple it was not because they were blatantly disregarding His own mission and holiness (which they indeed were); it was because they were sullying the purpose of His Father’s house.
When anger is about you, your rights, your wants…it will fail to produce righteousness.
I’m only going to mention bitterness as a brief footnote here.Some of you who read are in the black-as-night prison of bitterness.You’ve been angry so long you don’t even remember what it feels like to not be so.It has become a blemish that you have simply accepted.You manage it at an acceptable level and carry on in life as if it doesn’t exist.I point you to the profound teaching from Jesus in Matthew 18:21-35 and challenge you to study how perilous bitterness is.Jesus indicates that the punishment for living in bitterness and unforgiveness is the reality of a tormented life.Wow!Not only has the one you are mad with deeply hurt you…you’re hurting yourself by choosing not to forgive.Don’t live angry, it will eat you alive.
I’d like some feedback from you.What makes you mad?What have some of you been able to do to overcome personal injustice?Anybody courageous enough to ask for prayer because they are struggling with these issues?Comment below and let me hear from you about this issue of righteous and unrighteous anger.
I’m going to tell on somebody to day.Yep, I admit candidly that I’m committed to wholesale tattling on somebody that I deem to be an absolute loser.He angers me just about every time I think about him and I become perturbed when I encounter anyone who remotely resembles him.Amazingly, God used this idiot to breed deeper faith into one of my hero’s life, but that does not take away the bad taste in my mouth when I think of him.He’s a jerk – a real punk with a big mouth and small mind.
By the way, he’s been dead for 3,000 years.His name was Shimei and I discover his pitiful life in 2nd Samuel 16.
Why all the Monday morning vitriol, Jeff?Lemmee tell ya since you asked:Shimei was one of those scandalous opportunists who had nothing legitimate to say and remained silent until King David, God’s man, began to encounter some of the darkest days of his life.King David had failed morally in an adulterous encounter with Bathsheba; this was an awful move that scarred his life from that point forward.The fallout from that one-night-stand was an unwanted pregnancy, the covert assassination of the woman’s husband; David’s covering of his sin for the better part of a year, his inner torment over his collapse (read Psalms 32 & 51) and, eventually, chaos in his home among his adult children.David was tasting the bitter reality of reaping what he had sown.He had repented before God, received pardon for his iniquity, accepted his punishment with a broken heart and resolute faith, and had begun to live again.
Then a loud-mouthed loser named Shimei slithered out from under his rock and began to offer David a piece of his mind that he really couldn’t afford to part with.
The Bible tells us that Shimei reminded David of his sin in the midst of a public gathering.The dude called the king of Israel out in front of everyone!He threw rocks at him and continually cursed him.Everything that God had cleaned up in David’s sensitive conscience, Shimei unearthed and hurled at David, spattering his testimony in the presence of all.Without knowing it, Shimei was playing the role of the devil who is described in Scripture as the accuser of the people of God (Rev. 12:10).King David was flanked by a couple of loyal men who also possessed indignant hearts that this chump would be allowed to curse their king.Listen to this exchange that took place that day:
“Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head." (subtle, huh?)But the king said, "What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord has said to him, 'Curse David,' who then shall say, 'Why have you done so?'" And David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look on the wrong done to me, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing today." So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.And the king, and all the people who were with him, arrived weary at the Jordan.” - 2 Samuel 16:9-14 {ESV}
Shimei gave David venom and vice; David offered Shimei grace and mercy.Shimei presumed to judge David in the place of God.David bowed before the God who would ultimately judge both himself and Shimei.Shimei cursed, David yielded.Shimei took the low road of a scoundrel while David took the high road of a man with bigger issues to deal with.Abishai had to put his sword back in its sheath.Shimei deserved to die that day but was afforded grace by the very one he was attacking.Yeah, I’ve calmed down a little since beginning this post but I still think Shimei is a vivid display of one of the worst character traits a person can posses.
Here’s the point this morning:what is your response to people when their life implodes because of their own failures?Does your compassion dry up at the point of another person’s fault?Does your love run deep enough to associate with them in their dust of their collapse?I’ve been in vocational local church ministry for almost 14 years and I have found that a common dagger in the hearts of wounded brethren is that they often sense that everyone abandoned them at the moment of their failure.My thought is that this is when they need us the most.Shimei-saints are comfortable standing on a hill of elevation and casting down disparagement and stones at those in the lower valley.They get off in some devilish way as they pronounce the reality of the failure that they have observed.They are unaware that, if God chose to reveal their darkest moments to the whole world, that they too would be subject of other people’s pellets.Shimei had obviously been waiting for this moment for quite some time as Scripture tells us that he was a close relative of the former king of Israel, Saul, whom God put down as David was exalted.Hmmmm, a little bitter are we, Shimei? How long have you had those rocks in your hand, mister?
In closing let me just encourage some of you who have people in your past and present who are there for the sole purpose of reminding you of how unworthy you are.They are record keepers and would be miserable if you ever experienced a breakthrough of grace.They are very unhappy and are threatened by the possibility that you might ever be happy so they bring forth the content of their heart in one septic-tank rupture after another.They belch forth your historical failures.They remind you how you failed them.They ignore your requests for forgiveness and tell you all that you reasonably wish to put behind you.Moving on is not an option for them because that would mean that they would have to become Christlike and they treasure the activity of accusation of condemnation more than the employment of grace and forgiveness.Shimei lives on today…but you don’t have to listen to him.Shimei had the facts on his side but not the wisdom of God in his heart. God’s voice of justification rings louder if you will discipline your ear to listen.You have a choice to make: allow your own personal Shimei to conduct your life or allow the Savior to do so.Don’t cut off their head like Abishai suggested, rather, cut off the legitimacy of what they are saying.Pigs oink.Snakes bite. Dogs vomit.Shimei people have nothing else to offer. Those with a Shimei spirit simply need to taste of God’s amazing grace and it will purge them of their own unique brand of sin.
David went down in history as the greatest of all the kings of Israel.God did that.Shimei went down under the sword of execution many years later.God did that too.On both sides of the issue, God had the final say.We should welcome Him to have that same right in our lives and the lives of others today.
“As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” – Proverbs 25:25
Have you ever noticed God intentionally seeking to get something across to you?Every now and then it is good for us to take an objective look at what is going on in our lives and try to see if the Lord is utilizing repetitive circumstances to instill something valuable in us.Whether it be chastisement for sin, abundant provision for urgent needs, the counsel of independent parties giving the same consensus about a decision we must make or the continual closing of a door which we have been pounding to open, God often reveals His will through the things going on around us.
If I’m being honest, I’ve been battling the encroachment of discouragement for a little bit.I know that many believe that spiritual leaders should not be subject to weaknesses like this but I reckon I’m in good company (Moses, Elijah, David, Jeremiah, Paul, Spurgeon, etc.).I will acknowledge that God’s grace has kept me from losing this current battle but it seeks to ruin me every day before I’m even out of shower.Negative thoughts, disappointments with Christians, a weary body and mind…all of these things plus others want to saturate my outlook with the aroma of old shoes.Yesterday and early this morning I realized God was “going out of His way” to cheer me.
Charles Stanley has an international ministry which has helped innumerable people.His TV broadcast yesterday was focusing on 1 Samuel 30 where David encouraged himself in the Lord amidst disastrous circumstances.Interestingly enough, I’ve been planning to share this passage with the Meadow family so my interest was immediately piqued.Having only about 20 minutes of exposure to what Dr. Stanley said, I found my inner burden a little lightened before I went to bed.I recalled that, just the day before, a dear couple here at Meadow shot me an email and shared that they had been holding a slight burden for me in the last few days.They told me how God had blessed them in the year that they had been at Meadow and instructed me to keep doing what is right so that they and others might continue to be drawn near to the King through the ministry entrusted to my care.When I arose early this morning to prepare for the Lord’s Day I found two separate emails from Australia (coincidence?) from two men who had become familiar with our internet ministry.It just so happened that they met at a wedding and engaged in conversation about an American preacher who shot straight from the Word and had helped their families through Bible preaching.When they discovered that they were speaking of the same man they began to talk about getting him to Australia to preach (jetlag, anyone?); long story, short:they both sent an email to let me know of God’s good work through the ministry here. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I was clearly able to realize the activity of God in seeking to help His weary child.
“Jeff, be strong and of good courage.Don’t be afraid.I’m with you wherever you go.”
“Little one, your Heavenly Father knows what you have need of even before you ask Me.”
“Precious child, I didn’t spare My own Son for you.How shall I not, with Him, freely give you all things which you stand in need of?Ask and I will give it.Seek for Me and it and you will certainly find your heart's desire.Knock and you will see Me on the other side of the door when I open it.”
Good news from a far country!I realize that many of you are also looking around you at giants of Gath and walls of Jericho.The Red Sea is in front of you and Pharaoh’s army is motoring down on your heels.You might be the widow whose oil and meal has run dry.It may be that you are the willing employee who just lost his ability to continue working – your axe head has sunk and you can’t get it back (2 Kings 6:1-6).Satan may have bared claw and fang to dice up your home.The evening news bringing you down?Oil spills, wars, terrorism, government corruption, oppression, child abuse, drug wars and a diseased economy…it is understandable why we might struggle for a moment with these things.
Oh yeah: And then there was God.
I resist the urge to launch into a “But God” sermon.I’m just going to tell you that it is not His desire for us to be discouraged. When we allow discouragement to dictate our day we are not operating in truth. What is truth? Well, I’m blessed to be able to celebrate the Resurrection of His Son today (that’s not for Easter Sunday only).I’m blessed in that the entirety of my sinful record has been expunged from Heaven’s record room.I’m blessed to have an able body to walk me up to my family – a beautiful wife and two amazing children - when they get here in four hours and to give them a kiss.I have been fed, clothed and sheltered my whole life.I have this amazing treasure called the Bible that radiates hope into a world which offers me none.I’m not without friendship.Laughter comes from forth from me more often than groans.God is purifying me from sinfulness that I would not have known existed in me had it not been for the flame of intensity which He has recently ordained.Of all the improbable choices, God has chosen me to serve people as a pastor which is a regular fuel to my heart-fire.All around me today will be brothers and sisters who share not only my eternal hope, but also my temporary struggles.You see, if we will take fifteen minutes and rehearse for ourselves the goodness of God as expressed through our life experiences then we will see the evidence of His grace, compassion, mercy and love.It is in these elements that we take great encouragement.
When I arose this Sunday morning God had sent me word from two men in Australia – cold waters to a thirsty soul which, appropriately translated, simply said, ‘Keep your chin up, mate.’
I’m not really given to becoming a “current events” blogger.The political scene is certainly of interest in me but I’m not politicophile in the truest sense.I’ve watched about nine combined minutes of the World Cup and find soccer excruciatingly boring.Hollywood and its ridiculous vanity hold about as much appeal for me as the hairball that our cat, Coco, left on the kitchen floor the other day.This is a great time for me to confess, however, that I’m a closet Judge Judy fan and would likely vote for her as the next President of the United States if she declared her candidacy today.Frankly, this world is insane and I find myself increasingly desiring to be tucked away somewhere that is free from the buzzing that never seems to cease with life in America.
Case in point:the whole of American news was for nearly ten days focused upon where a twenty-five year old American basketball star would sign his next contract.Lebron James is a freak of nature and perhaps one of the most gifted and talented athletes we will ever see. I'm a sports fan, and I enjoy watching him employ his craft and think that he has earned the respect given to him in the world of American athletics.What is embarrassing to me is that soooooooo many people in this country placed an out-of-bounds significance on what jersey this man would wear for the next few years.For a moment there, I’m fairly certain that Osama Bin Laden laid down his assault rifle and tuned into a live stream of ESPN News Afghanistan to see where King James would do his next windmill dunk.Even our President got involved and reportedly made seven different public statements intending to direct Lebron to consider signing with the Chicago Bulls; something tells me that Mr. Obama might have more important things to think upon other than NBA players’ arena of choice (there’s my political moment for any who were looking for it).I’m a supporter of the American ideal of individual rights and I enthusiastically applaud anyone who has honed a skill which provides them the life they have desired.While not necessarily spiritual, I do believe this component of American philosophy is healthy as it promotes the opportunity for each individual to embrace the life that they choose - this is a freedom that I note that God allows to some degree for all human beings.Lebron makes more money than anyone reading this blog ever will and ,if that is his chief aim in life, then I submit that he should be allowed to pursue it.What gives me caution is that so many others are living out their lives envying him while missing the purpose that has been afforded them.
I blush to mention this but think that it warrants a word or two:these NBA contracts are being signed for hundreds of millions of dollars.Think about that – HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.I have a friend who walked away from the Fortune 500 lifestyle in late 1980’s, sold all that he owned and moved to the Philippines to start churches.He lives by faith and has been blessed of God to begin more churches there than I can count.He has started a Bible college and was graced of God to establish an orphanage to take care of discarded babies and children.Sonny and Debbie have adopted some of these children on their own and have made an eternal difference in more lives than we will ever know down here.They are givers in the fullest sense of the word.Do you know what they are praying for right now?A building that will serve to allow for further education of these young people with whom they have been entrusted.They are waiting on the Lord to provide about $50,000.00 for this to be accomplished.A gifted American athlete will receive hundreds of millions of dollars for running, jumping, throwing, catching and slam dunking.He will fill arenas but will be unable to fill hearts.He will receive endorsements but not necessarily a lasting reward.He will make America’s news but may wind up becoming an eternal footnote unless he lays up treasure in Heaven.This may begin to sound a little whiny or even like I’m hating on the wealthy.I’m not.I’m hating on the foolishness that is American vanity.Empty hearts running on empty tanks chasing empty dreams.It’s quiet out there…can I get a witness?
Let me close by saying that there is nothing new under the sun.Mankind has always been vain apart from the substantial life given in and through Jesus Christ.May God so move in your heart that envy is no longer the lemon in your sweet tea.Some of you are making a difference for Jesus and the enemy is tempting you to believe that it is inconsequential.Some of you are broke and wondering what you will do in months to come.Mothers and grandmothers might wonder if their little stream of influence will season that child against the torrent of this world’s lures.I wonder how many among us remember what they prayed last week.You see, we often forget but God never can.He is working in and through His children in ways that we may not discern; there are no lights and cameras indicating a great occurrence.No reporters are interested in the in-workings of our spiritual commitments and tested faith.God has not descended in a flash of neon to let the world know that He is validating our life work.Jesus indicated that some people receive their reward in this life (and only in this life) while others will seemingly be denied this privilege until He rewards them personally in glory.Oh, that the children of God would discern this age for what it is!That our eyes would be opened that we might appreciate the passing fancy of the temporary state of all that we see here.This is a transient reality which will give way to the lasting reality.When Christ returns and all becomes as it was ever meant to be It is going to blow our minds.
Faith lets the Christian’s mind be blown already.It’s a slam-dunk of an altogether different nature.
In one amazing moment life became substantially deeper for me than ever before.It was ten years ago today in Lawrenceville, Georgia in a room full of several people I had not known a few hours before.My wife was also there (she was the star of the show), my mother in law was there and several staff members of the Women's Pavilion at Gwinnett Medical Center were also gathered.Amy had been in intense pain for several hours but I was watching before my very eyes that pain now turn into joy.With one final push my favorite woman in the world brought forth my favorite little girl in the world.I had just become a daddy for the first time.
Alicia turns ten today and she is such a source of joy to her daddy.I could not have imagined what deep things God would teach me through fatherhood;Alicia is such an incredible gift from Heaven and her daddy loves her more than a million of his words could express.We know that God shapes and forms children through the influence of parents but I hope we will also acknowledge that He fashions parents through the little lives of their children. If you have children and haven't learned anything about the heart of God through them, then you aren't paying attention in class. I've learned much through my daughter and son and I'm so thankful for the joys they bring to their parents' hearts.
I remember one time when Alicia had gotten a paper cut on her middle finger.Her cute little four year old self wanted everyone's sympathy so she spent the better part of a day displaying that middle finger (stuck up straight while she instinctively folded the other fingers down) to everyone she could. She would put that middle finger right in our faces and demand our inspection of it through her gap-toothed smile. If any hearing impaired people were around that day and were able only to see the action without her explanation, they would have thought her to be a very disrespectful child.We thought she was hilarious as she gave more people the middle finger in that one afternoon than I have in my entire life.She taught me about innocence that day.
God gave Alicia the same temperament as her MaMa (for our European readers and friends from the northern USA, that's Amy's mom, pronounced in a Southern accent as Maw-Maw).They both like things done precisely and would have easy fellowship with Goldilocks and her "just right" mentality.When Alicia was learning to ride a bike she became incensed that she couldn't perfect it immediately.More than once she threw the bike down in tears of frustration.She wanted to give up but never did and it all became worth it when she made that first lap around the driveway and yard all on her own.I'll never forget her pride as she called out , "Look Daddy, I'm doing it!"My little girl taught me about perseverance that day.
There are no children in our neighborhood for my kids to play with;we've regretted this on their behalf and we are thankful for the children at school and church who have befriended our two.More than once I've watched Alicia take her curious and active self out into the yard to go exploring when there were no others around to play with.The little girl hates to sit still and do nothing.She's not been aware of the times when I've watched from the window as she walks around our little pond, picks up a stick and holds it to the sky to peer closely upon it.I've seen her try to become friends with squirrels that don't share her desire to get acquainted. The stray neighborhood cats are her current humanitarian project. Alicia has a microscope and loves to bring in pond sludge and put it on a slide to see what's going on the world of fungus.An avid reader, she devours books and regularly requests to go to the local bookstore to get some more.On days like these, my little girl teaches me the importance of retaining wonder.
Lest we think that my precious is perfect, she taught me something else the other day in the wake of some trouble she got into.The details aren't important but suffice it to say that she failed to live up to what she knows is right.Her sensitive spirit pumped a torrent of tears from her little heart as she confessed herself to be "the worst person in the world".I listened to her as we sat on the bed and she shared her grief over what she had done.I reluctantly cooperated with the Holy Spirit's work in her life at that moment by not soothing her sting of conviction.If the Apostle Paul could say that he was the chief of sinners then I reckon that little Alicia could be benefited by that same sense for a short while.We talked together, then I prayed with her and we got off the bed and went into the den.She didn't want to leave my side, and when we sat on the couch she put her head on my lap and stretched out her legs to rest.She isn't my new baby anymore.She's no longer my tussled toddler running around and ignorantly giving people the finger.Yep, she turns ten today and she is growing up so much more quickly than I'd ever hoped.As she lay there with her head on my lap with the tear streaks still visible on her cheeks, she taught me something else: unconditional love.My love for her, her love for me and God's love for us both.
Thanks Alicia.You're a treasure to us.Happy birthday.
For my Christian friend who is following God to the best of his/her ability, through inward longings not yet satisfied, with awareness of weakness and fear, in and out of ups and downs, overcoming desperation while fearing its return and wondering where God might be today…I lend the following thoughts.
God’s leadership in our lives involves some necessary troubles.This is an elementary thought but one that is more easily acknowledged than personally experienced.We all recognize the validity that the Christian life can be difficult but when this truth settles upon us we discover that out theology is often more stable than our ability.Questions arise during this journey, don’t they?The silence of God.The advancement of perplexity.The blueness of life’s bruisings.The failure of our trials to depart in a timely fashion.These things and more serve to steal our bravado, reduce our vocality, and cause us to desire to listen a little longer before we next speak.Can the good life – the life with God in Christ – be regularly subject to these kinds of distasteful elements?
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” - Matthew 4:1-3
God’s own Son was not allowed by His Father to be immune from this reality of human life on earth.After living in anonymity until He was thirty years old, Jesus embarked upon public ministry at His baptism by John the baptizer.The Father’s voice from Heaven affirmed Jesus before all who were there that day as God declared His perfect pleasure in His only begotten.It was immediately after this that the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for a season of deprivation and testing.We would like to think that after God’s thunderous affirmation of His Son that there would have been a joyful reception of the people.Angels should have descended in holy praise and exaltation!Satan should have scurried.The scribes and Pharisees should have gathered their followers to a collective worship service where Jesus of Nazareth was heralded as the Messiah of Israel.Interestingly enough, the exact opposite happened.The angels were silent, the scribes and Pharisees began plotting against Jesus and Satan lingered a few slithering steps behind God’s Son as He headed into His own testing in the Judean wilderness. Please don't miss this: Jesus was in the perfect will of His Father and His circumstances were about to become excruciating. God was with Him...but so was trouble and pain.
Please don’t misunderstand me when I say that, outside of the account in Gethsemane, we probably have no clearer description of Jesus in human vulnerability.I recognize that He is the omnipotent Son of God but the account we are looking upon is not given for any other reason than to show how even God the Son had to live in moment by moment dependence upon the strength of His Father.He was alone.He was weary.He was hungry as He had been without food for nearly six weeks (don’t miss that).Beyond all of this was the fact that the most powerful angel ever created took this opportunity to tempt Jesus in ways that we cannot comprehend.What strikes me more than anything is that He was all by Himself.The way of faith is often solitary, weakening, assaulted and reducing.There is a strength that all the followers of Christ have that is nothing but dead weight in this pilgrimage; this strength of the flesh is a 200 pound boulder which rests upon our back, making us appear bigger than we really are.For some of you, God is currently knocking off the boulder one hammer-strike at a time.
I think of biblical Esther a lot these days.Here was a woman who was forced into a life that she never requested.She went from being an unknown orphan to the queen of the Persians.Through a series of events her life was handed to her until such a time that the fate of her own people rested upon her willingness to follow her God into a potential deadly situation.Her life was literally on the line and when she might have considered taking the easy way out, Mordecai told her to consider whether or not she might have been placed in the kingdom for this particular purpose at this particular time.This woman of God turned her eyes toward Heaven, embraced her situation, and strode forth into her destiny.It was certainly painful for her…but, oh, how profitable.
Old Testament Joseph followed God and the first quarter of his life was nothing but a series of abandonments and accusations.Misunderstood by all, maligned by others and forgotten by some who promised to assist him, Joseph somehow just kept doing what he could when he was denied the ability to do what he wanted.Ultimately he was able to experience a reversal of fortune hand-signed by the Almighty Himself.Joseph knew the wilderness of circumstance and, once endured, that wilderness became a paradise.
If God was writing a new Bible today and He chose a book bearing your own name, detailing your own story, highlighting your own testing wilderness…what would the reader learn?How would they be encouraged as you faced another barrage of attacks from the enemy?Your example -would it leave them with wind in their sails or lead in their boots?I believe that each of God’s children is created to bring Him great pleasure as we trust Him.Pleasing God, pleasing God, pleasing God – this is our chief aim.We do not seek this in order to curry favor with Him but, rather, because He has lavished us already with favor.Our desire to please Him is the unquenchable response of a grateful heart. He has smiled upon us and we so delight in that smile that we wish for it also to fall upon our choices.You can endure, my friend.You can overcome when He so decrees.You have been entrusted with a season in the wilderness but let us remember that Joseph received a throne.Esther received a throne.And, of course, Jesus sits this very moment enthroned for all eternity.Wildernesses are only a vanishing vapor – thrones endure forever (Rev. 20:4).
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.” – Psalm 119:45
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay Fast bound in sin and nature's night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”- Charles Wesley; ‘And Can it Be'
Those of us who have lived in the USA for our entire lives have only and always known freedom.Certainly, we take it for granted that we may come and go as we please, whenever we please.Church buildings will be full of people all across this land doing today what Christians love to do - our brothers and sisters in other countries meet in similar fashion around the world...but under the threat of persecution and death.We can write songs in America, speak freely of things we cherish and things we detest, work as long or as short of hours as we deem best to create the lifestyle of our choosing…simply put, within the bounds of the law, we can do as we please.Our country was established for the principle of personal and religious freedom and we have reaped where others have sown. I've never known anything different.
For the first twenty-four years of my life I enjoyed a perversion of this principle.Perhaps the word enjoyed is not the best; let us say that I chose a perversion of this principle.I did what I wanted to do and thought that the pinnacle of my existence was the casting off of all restraint and indulging the “voracious me”.In those days I thought that freedom was more akin to anarchy.The laws of God, the laws of man, the principles of decent living taught to me in my childhood all evaporated into a combined mist under the heat of my own personal desire to consume.Whether it was the pursuit of alcohol, drugs or any of the countless vices that accompany that lifestyle, I really thought that I was free.I could not have been more mistaken.
Sixteen years ago on a hot summer morning I discovered myself to be in the deepest prison.All that I had pursued had either fled me or turned upon me and bitten me.My version of personal liberty had become a tightly bricked-in cell with no windows to look out.My freedom had alienated my family, layered me with guilt, exposed me to demonic strategies and hollowed my soul.Freedom?Not in the least.With the most pathetic of cries I called out to the God I had long spurned.The last time He had heard me mention His name it was most certainly in some form of a curse, but on that morning it was a cry of desperation from a prisoner longing to breathe freedom's air.I confessed that my liberty had become chains, my independence had been nothing more than indulgence and that my pursuit of happiness had led me to a dungeon of hopelessness.I sobbed that August morning in 1994.I cried my soul out and crawled off my apartment bedroom floor where I had been agonizing over my sin and fell immediately asleep on an old mattress set upon the floor .Somehow, as I slept that morning and into the afternoon, God carried me out of my dungeon and awakened me on the Mount of Salvation.When I awoke, I knew that my life would be different.I tasted in the deepest recesses of my heart something that had eluded me up to that point: freedom through Christ's forgiveness.
The story goes longer but I will withhold further details today.America is celebrating her independence this afternoon.There will be picnics and patriotism -fireworks and baseball games and anthems of gratitude and glory.I, myself, will enjoy this day as one of freedom as I gather with the saints at Meadow and we place our sole (soul?) emphasis on the greatest and only enduring freedom that humans can know: the liberation of God through Jesus Christ.My plan is to enjoy some time with my wife and children tonight after church and turn our eyes to the sky to watch the brilliant display of color and noise as the Independence Day fireworks fill the night sky.Somewhere in my heart, I predict, will be a gnawing curiosity at the state of the people around me.I will wonder if any of them bit into the apple of faux-freedom that I once chewed.I will wonder if they are celebrating America’s freedom while knowing nothing of Christ’s greater liberty.There will be a question in my heart if they are today as empty and longing as I was before meeting Him.I cannot save them.There is nothing I can do to fill their dungeon with light.I can only speculate about what goes on in their hearts and minds.Perhaps in the midst of all the fanfare I will lower my eyes for a moment and allow the swell of gratitude to fill me completely and cherish this one thought:
I’m not simply free today.I’ve been liberated for eternity.
I’ve heard voices my whole life.Female voices.Before you think I’ve been hitting the sauce again for the first time since my conversion, let me explain.I was born to a mother.I later received a step mother when my dad remarried.I had three sisters.God gave me the greatest wife a man could ever hope for.My precious daughter has the uncanny ability to pose questions even in the deepest stages of REM sleep.I’m a pastor of a Baptist church which carries with it the prerequisite of a large volume of female voices coming forth as mighty waters…
…and then there is Marie.
My wife introduced me to Marie a few years back on a long road trip out of town.Marie has a very pleasant voice, never inflecting away from the calm, soothing tones that she mastered somewhere long ago.Every single time she speaks it is some form of command.As she gives orders in a staccato stream (she's never, ever wrong) , somehow it doesn’t bother me.She has never asked me a question nor sought to make small talk.Marie always has an agenda and the other day I realized finally that there was something to be learned from this voice from nowhere. Marie is the voice of my GPS system in my truck.She’s always right and never loses her temper.Because God is obviously seeking to humble me in these days of testings, He turned it up a notch by making my latest professor a non-human without a soul.It can’t get much more humbling than that.Let me share the lesson so that you too will never view your GPS the same way.
Stress tends to have different effects on different people.Christians are certainly not immune from stress fractures; we might eat too much, shop more than we should, or get a little snappy with those around us.Stress is nothing more than pressure and pressure inevitably seeks an escape route.When I’m under the gun and not managing it like I should, I tend to bark long before there is a justifiable reason.Short answers, the little wrinkle that appears above my nose between my eyes that let’s my wife know that stress has joined us for a spell – all of these indicators reveal that Jeff’s not handling things well at the moment.This is where Marie comes into the picture.Follow me here.
Amy and I were heading for a dinner at the home of a lovely couple from Egypt who attend the church I pastor.The sitter arrived and we were eager to get out the door.We had 45 minutes to arrive at their home and I, stressed and hurried, got us out of the driveway to make the drive to their home.I failed to mention that they only lived ten minutes away so that gave us way too much time.I had previously entered their address into my GPS and Marie's voice welcomed us into the vehicle and started giving undebatable orders in an annoyingly reasonable tone with which she might have well been asking if I’d like cream with that coffee she had just poured.Ignoring her, I set out in the general direction of our friends’ home.Recognizing that I would arrive irresponsibly early I started driving around our city on some back roads that would allow us to meander and listen to some tunes while the clock inched us closer to the proper arrival time.
The only problem is that Marie was clueless as to why I was doing what I was doing.
She began to tell me to make turns.She suggested more than once that I simply must do a U-turn.Without a hint of irritation at my blatant disobedience she mentioned that she was “Recalculating”.Unmoved by my rebellion as I ignored a fresh round of instructions, she then shared a brand new set of directions based on our new location.It was then that I started realizing that this soulless woman had more restraint than I.Here’s how I would have responded if I were the voice inside the GPS:
“Turn left in 100 yards.Turn left. I said 'turn left', moron.Since you obviously don’t trust my judgment I suppose I will recalculate.Okay, do a U-turn and then turn right.I said turn right.You just missed your turn, you baboon.Look, if you’re not going to listen to me then you’re wasting my time.Do you want my directions or not?That’s the only thing I’m here for and I don’t like being ignored.You’re either going to listen to me or I’m going to shut up completely and then what will you do, huh?NOW TURN! TURN, I SAY!Do you speak English? Nobody ever listens to me.”
Yeah, that’s how I roll - pre-programmed to spark off when my digital directions are denied.Marie might be gentle and submissive but I’m the guy who can get a point across like few others when I’m ticked.Interestingly, I realized that in doing so I would also miss my purpose which is to help people get where they need to be.Who cares what point is made when the purpose is missed?While I was pondering this I astonishingly heard Marie say in a buttery smooth voice:“The anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.That’s James 1:20, Jeff.Now turn left.”
Okay, so it wasn’t Marie that was quoting Scripture to me but it was her leading class on Thursday night.No matter what I did to invalidate what she was saying, she just kept telling me the truth I needed to here.She knew exactly how to get me where I was going and stuck with me as I made all sorts of unregulated turns and stops.She just kept seeking to get me on the right path and never became unnerved and certainly not unglued.Marie was the quintessential voice of reason in my misdirected path.Who are you trying to lead?For some of you it is your children and they have a determined route of their own. Sin pre-programmed them to want the wrong way. They need Marie to help them, not Gordon Ramsay.Some are married to spouses to believe the best way to Albuquerque is to head north from Atlanta and keep leaning to the right.Don't shove a map in their face - GPS the fire out of them with the silky-smooth voice of Marie. Dost thou work with an idiot eight hours per day?Parchance he or she hath heard thee bark one too many times to consider thee a voice of wisdom.I see you spiritual leaders quietly backing out of the room!Nay, dear friend, you too need the restraint of Marie in your ministry.You see, there is no reason why the programmed circuit board of Marie should restrain her from mouthing off any more than the harness of God the Spirit should be able to bridle our mouths.Marie may be circuit filled…but aren’t we Spirit filled?We should clearly be able to keep our eyes on the proper destination and keep our commitments to help others arrive safely.It’s not about them listening to us – that may be the means but it is certainly not the goal.The aim is for you and me to help others arrive at the places which require our involvement.It’s about them arriving, not us leading.They need our bridle as much as we think they need our bark.What they ultimately need is our patient commitment to helping them find the place where the Host is feeding them. There's a meal to be offered and your job is to get them there so God can serve it to them just right.
We had a great time on Thursday night and arrived right on time at Zack and Sam’s house.The time with them and the others was great as we got reacquainted with old friends and met some new ones.As I got back home that night (we had put Marie to sleep before we left for our house) I realized that there was a lot to the very last words that she said to Amy and me when we pulled up in Zack’s driveway for supper.She shared some words in that same calm tone that I want my children to hear from me.I want the people of Meadow to hear it one day.Truth be told, I want it to be spoken in a calm and reassuring tone without a hint of any struggle I might have had along the way as I lead them. What are those words?
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