Give Me “De” Motivation

I have a couple projects in the works at home that need to be finished and honestly they have been in the works for quite some time. Honestly, I have no interest in doing them, just don't feel like it. And to be honest, I haven't felt like doing them for a long time. Generally, that's the way I am with stuff that I don't necessarily care to do. I don't feel like doing it, so I don't.

 

We had recently prayed for God to motivate our daughter to take care of some things she needed to do and she took care of them. Answer to prayer! So knowing that I have stuff that needs to get done, I thought maybe God would be a good place to turn for motivation, right? "In everything, through prayer and petition…" right? (Phil 4:6) So I began asking God for motivation to start taking care of some things I know need to be done. And of course I was hoping God would make me "feel" like getting to work!

 

Well the answer was not even close to what I wanted to hear. Sometimes motivation means taking care of business because you know it's the right thing to do. You may not feel like doing it, but it needs done and you know it!

 

The truth be told, now I'm feeling a bit more de-motivated! But nevertheless, I better get to it.

 

A Spiritual Foot-Washing?

The movie "The Second Chance", produced by Provident Films (Facing the Giants, Fireproof), is about Ethan Jenkins (played by Michael W. Smith), a musician-turned-pastor who's rocking the pulpit and his well-to-do suburban flock. When the church board sends him on sabbatical, Ethan decides to help Second Chance Community Church, an inner-city fellowship. But the church's Pastor Jake resents Ethan's arrival and their prejudices cause a bit of discord between them.

There is a scene in the movie where the character named Sonny washes the feet of his friend Tony. The point of this scene did not really click with me until today. In an earlier scene, Sonny, a mentally challenged church custodian admonishes his friend Tony for using the word "hell." Tony had been beat up for refusing to join a gang. Sonny washes Tony's feet after reading his bible and apparently being convicted. I'm assuming from the scene that he had read John 13:1-20 where Jesus washes his disciples' feet At the end of the scene, you will see that Ethan appears visually humbled (convicted) by the demonstration and gets up to follow suit and wash the feet of Pastor Jake. Until this moment, Ethan, a popular musician, had considered himself somewhat above the task of helping a struggling inner city church, as if his popularity somehow gave him the power to do so.

Here's where I'm going with this:

I initially wrote this post a few weeks ago and actually posted it; but then for some reason, felt compelled to delete it. I think the reason came to me today. I've been angry with my son for his seemingly lack of appreciation for all the help we've given him and his wife over the last few months in letting them live with us until they could both become gainfully employed and get into their own residence. I admonished him for what looked to me like a lack of appreciation based on my own attitude that I was some sort of "savior" for helping them. I arrogantly placed myself on a pedestal above them, somehow thinking that I deserved a display of appreciation from them.

Jesus did not consider himself above anyone despite the fact that in reality, he is above all; He is God. (See Philippians 2:1-11) In John 13:16, Jesus says: I tell you for certain that servants are not greater than their master, and messengers are not greater than the one who sent them. I think this is the point of the foot washing scene in the movie, and in the passage.

None of us—followers of Christ—are greater than the messenger. Jesus' act of loving servitude demonstrates to me that it's more honorable to be at the bottom of the hierarchy than the top. No matter what my station in life is, Prince or Pauper, King or Jester, President or Page, Master or Slave, Helper or Helped, I am not above anyone. Jesus—God—demonstrated that even he was no greater than anyone, even Judas who was about to betray him. Who am I to consider myself any greater than that?

To my son and his wife (Father and Mother to be): please accept my humble apology for placing myself in some sort of savior role. I am no greater than anyone and certainly no greater than you. You both have busted your butts to find jobs and take the step towards independence. It was rather arrogant for me to believe it was because of something I did. I humbly beg your forgiveness. I love you both and am proud you. Keep up the good work.

The Pain of Denial

I was listening to an older song by Third Day called “Can’t Take the Pain” (lyrics below). This song is about Peter’s denial of Christ (Matthew 26:69-75) and the pain he felt afterward; and how that pain doesn’t compare to the pain Jesus suffered for him. I think God used this song to speak to my heart. I can’t escape it. Here’s what he said: “Every time you sin, you deny my Son. Every time you get full of yourself, you deny my Son. Every time you think you’re doing fine without me, you deny my Son. Every minute you don’t cry out to me, you deny my Son.”

The last verse strikes me particularly hard. I can’t even fathom why Jesus would suffer for me or for all. I am so completely unworthy of it, yet He suffered scourge and crucifixion anyway. “But God showed how much he loved us by having Christ die for us, even though we were sinful” (Romans 5:8, Contemporary English Version). It grieves my heart to imagine that every time I sin I’m denying Him.

In an earlier post (Bound & Broken, March 9, 2009) I mentioned that my prayer was for a broken and contrite heart. Hmm…

No, I didn't see this one coming
It suddenly snuck up on me
I can't say you didn't tell me so
I can't say you didn't warn me

I can't take the pain of knowing that I left You
I can't bear the shame of knowing I was wrong
But I'll take the blame for everything that I've done
I can't take the pain of leaving you alone
Of leaving you alone

I was there when they accused you
but I guess I was too afraid
Not just once and not just twice
But three times I denied your name

I never thought I'd get even a second chance
But you've given that and so much more
And then for every time I ever did deny
You ask me if I love you, You know I do, Lord

So I'm off to follow in your steps
it won't be easy, it's safe to say
There are only tow roads I can walk on down
The road less traveled is the one you paved

Lord, You took the pain even though I left You
And You took the shame and You made it all Your own
Why'd you take the blame for everything that I've done?
Lord, You took the pain
You and You alone, You and You alone

Authors: Brad Avery, David Carr, Mac Powell, Mark Lee, Tai Anderson
Copyright 1999 New Spring (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)
Vandura 2500 Songs (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Broken & Bound (revised)

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
Because the LORD has anointed me
To preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim freedom for the captives
And release from darkness for the prisoners

I was reminded of this passage this morning. The one part that really struck me was “...He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted...” This of course brought to mind other passages that talk about being brokenhearted.

Isaiah 57:15
For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Psalm 34:17-18
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 51:16-17
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

The thought that really struck me was this: What does it take? There are so many who are suffering egregiously. Just listen to or read news headlines on any given day and you will see for yourself. What does it take to be so brokenhearted that we have no choice but to follow God? One definition of brokenhearted I found was “broken to pieces.” How many pieces does my heart have to be broken into before I surrender everything to God?

Was Blind, But Now I See

My wife and I have been looking at John 9 this week in preparation for our small group bible study. This is early in Jesus ministry where He heals the blind man near the pool of Siloam. A question that came to mind was: why didn’t Jesus just heal the blind man physically and spiritually at the same time? Why did he allow the blind man to go through all the trouble of being interrogated by the fellow townspeople and the Pharisees?

Having been blind from birth, the blind man knew nothing but darkness, both physically and spiritually. It seems apparent in later verses (18-23) that his parents never provided any spiritual teaching to their son other than Jewish law and tradition. In their fear of being expelled from the synagogue they punted right back to their son when confronted about his healing. Jesus had to allow the man to go through a barrage of interrogation in order that all the skepticism could be quashed. The blind man finally got there in verses 25, 30-33.

25 The man replied, "I don't know if he is a sinner or not. All I know is that I used to be blind, but now I can see!"
30 "How strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from.
31 We know that God listens only to people who love and obey him. God doesn't listen to sinners.
32 And this is the first time in history that anyone has ever given sight to someone born blind.
33 Jesus could not do anything unless he came from God."
(Contemporary English Version)

Even the Pharisees came to a point when they could no longer deny that a miraculous healing had occurred, which is why they resorted to attacking the blind man personally. They had no intention of extending any grace to the blind man, so they accused him of hypocrisy and threw him out of the temple (v. 34). I think the man’s heart was finally changed in this moment. Jesus’ grace went beyond just the physical healing and He came back to the man later; after the man’s heart became ready to receive Him; and extended to him the grace of salvation. The blind man was finally healed of his spiritual blindness.

The light bulb lit up for me today, or to quote Chef Emeril Lagasse, “Bam!!! The Lord hit me hard with these questions today:
How often do I refuse to extend the same kind of grace?
How often to I refuse to be “spiritually enlightened” because I’m to pig headed and self-absorbed to look beyond my own view and see the grace of God?

I was blind, but now I see! Thank you Jesus!!

Forgiveness Revisited?

One day a few years ago, I was listening to a talk radio program similar to Focus on the Family, where they have a guest who had written a book or had some amazing testimony. The guest was a woman (Sonia Jacobs?) who years ago, along with her husband had been convicted of a murder they didn’t commit and they were subsequently sentenced to death. As I recall the story (and I could me misremembering some facts) both of them went through years of appeals to no avail and eventually the husband was executed. After this some facts that would exonerate both of them were uncovered. At this point the woman’s death sentence was commuted, but she remained in prison. Some years later the evidence was looked at and she won her appeal and release from prison, fully exonerated. However, the damage had already been done; her husband executed and the prime years of her life wasted away in prison. After telling her story and answering some questions about it, she was asked by the radio host asked how she was able to find it in her heart to forgive.

Good question! How could one possibly find a way to forgive anyone, let alone God for such a terrible and extreme injustice? Though I don’t recall everything she said I do recall one thing. She said she found that she has to revisit forgiveness.” I was intrigued by her answer and I’ve often thought about it, but I’ve never really analyzed the idea until recently. The question that comes to my mind is: if you forgive those who wrong you in some way, why would you have to revisit forgiveness? When God forgave us, did he not cast our sin into the depths of the sea? Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

Again, I’ve never had something as horrific as the above example happen to me, but like anyone, I’ve had my share of injustices, including a mean and abusive Dad. After spending the majority of my adult life hating him for his mistreatment of me, I made a trip home to Ohio in June 2000 for the purpose of forgiving him. The only hitch was that my Dad was in the final stage of Alzheimer’s disease and would have no clue that I was even there. I went to the nursing home and spoke the words of forgiveness out loud. However, I don’t think that in my heart I truly forgave him and here’s why I say that.

Over the next few years, each time I had thoughts about my Dad and my childhood I would become angry. I continued to blame my current difficulties on my mistreatment by him. It wasn’t until spring of 2004 during a one on one talk with God that I let it go. He reminded me that His forgiveness of me was neither conditional nor temporary. Christ went to the cross so that we might all be forgiven permanently. God doesn’t “revisit” forgiveness nor does he ever remind us of our old sins. It’s just done and over with!

So the lesson for me is that if I find myself “revisiting” forgiveness, then I need to examine my heart and ask God to help me forgive permanently just as He does. I can now have memories of my Dad with a heart of total forgiveness. I no longer “rehash” the mistreatment. God gave me His eyes through which to see my Dad. Too bad it was well after my Dad was gone.

Skeptics... am I among them?

Today I was studying John 6:30-7:13. This passage talks about skeptics. In John 6:60, many of the disciples began to complain about Jesus’ teaching. It was too hard for them to swallow. The only reason they hung around up to this point was because they saw a miracle and got a free meal. (Of fish and bread, Yummo!) Jesus has been telling them that the bread of life comes from heaven and that this bread is his flesh, which he would eventually “give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) He goes on to tell them in verse 62, “So what if you see me ascend back up to heaven to be with God? All this I’m telling you is of the Sprit, which gives life, which came from the Father. You think you might believe then? Not likely!” (Very loose paraphrase!) Of course Jesus already knew who would believe and who wouldn’t.

Then a little later, as Jesus went around Galilee—perhaps teaching here and there, but avoiding the ones who wanted him killed—even his own brothers began to show their skepticism. They sarcastically tell him he should go to Judea and do some miracles. “If you want to become a public figure, don’t you think you should start putting on a show?” (Loose paraphrase of John 7:4) They wanted him to draw attention to himself and start being the Savior they thought he should be.

In both cases, the “offenders” were half-hearted believers who couldn’t buy into the idea that Jesus is the bread of life or that he is the Savior on God’s terms and not theirs. This is my conviction!
How often do I choose to not obey because God’s Word is too hard to swallow?
How often do I become a little sarcastic about what Jesus is trying to teach me!
How often do I half-heartedly seek God not really expecting that He’ll be there to meet me?
How often do I skeptically pray, not really expecting to receive an answer?


What do you come up with if you ask yourself these questions?

The Wellspring of Life

I’ve been listening to Podcasts called John Eldredge and Ransomed Heart. John Eldredge is the creator of Ransomed Heart Ministries and author of the book “Wild at Heart.” In his book as well as during many of his Podcasts, John quotes Proverbs 4:23 which says, “Above all else, guard you heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” I don’t think that ever clicked with me until today.

I was studying John 6:34-40 today and the light bulb went on.

34"Sir," they said, "from now on give us this bread." 35Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty, 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me: that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day."

Look at verse 35. When we think of going hungry or thirsty, we immediately think in the physical sense, as did the people whom Jesus was addressing. In considering what Christ is saying about our fulfillment of life and personality in this passage, I got this picture in my mind the heart being our “spiritual stomach.”

When we’re hungry we go to the fridge and grab a snack and when we’re thirsty we grab a bottle of water; which in turn satisfies our needs for sustenance. In the same way, when our spiritual stomach—a.k.a. the heart—is empty, we can go to the Lord to fill it. We do that first by believing in Him who was sent (v 37). He will never turn us away. And then we eat the bread of life daily, just as the Israelites did in the desert when they were starving and God fed them with manna.

The only way to guard our hearts from the enemy’s attacks is to surrender them to Christ and eat of the bread of life! I’m such a fool for thinking I could find my food to fill my starving heart!

Have a good day.

So how do we find joy in all this?

Below is my ever-so-wise wife's response to my last posting "What the Heck is Going On?"

So how do I find joy in all this?

We would do our selves a good service if we did not expect to find joy in the circumstances of life but rather in the relationship we have with Christ. James said to count it all joy when we meet trials, not in the trials themselves. Without trials we would never fully understand how great our need for God is and how great God is to meet us at the place of our need. If we spend our time seeking to find Godly validation for worldly thinking then our trials will quickly consume us and we will be ineffective, joyless Christians. But if we chose to walk in obedience to God no matter what the situation we will be strong, effective, joy filled Christians. Remember – “As long as I say my problem (or sin) is caused by somebody else, I will never confess my shortcomings and receive God’s forgiveness.”

“You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11

(Man she's good. I should just have her write this blog.)

What the heck is goin' on?

Okay, I’m pretty sure that I know what the heck the deal is, but I have to vent! What the heck is going on? The last couple of months have been weird.

First, with all the recent snow and then the immediate melting, which occurred twice I’ve discovered many leaks in my house. I have two foundation leaks, on opposite sides of the house. Not on the same side, but opposite sides. And in order to fix one of the leaks, I’ll more than likely have to demo the concrete walkway that runs along the front of my house to get to it. In addition to that, I have at least one leak, possibly two, in my one year old roof and I’ve not had luck locating the person who did the roof for me to fix it.

Next, I was “temporarily” laid off from my job last week, so these maintenance issues are not going to be immediately fixed until my income returns to the previous amount. Who knows when that will be?

Next, my new daughter- in- law had a falling out with her mother, with whom she lived while going to culinary school. After informing her mother she and my son were married, a conflict erupted that turned a little physical. Needless to say, our son and daughter-in-law are here with us for the time being. And of course this will effect her grade.

Rewind a little bit to last month. My daughter who lives in Southeast Idaho was recently cited for leaving the scene of an accident and driving without privileges after she accidently and unknowingly hit a car in her apartment parking lot. Her suspended driver’s license stems from a no seat belt ticket that she received in WASHINGTON, not Idaho, yet the state of Idaho suspended her license in IDAHO, because she had not yet paid the seat belt ticket in WASHINGTON. Figure that one out! To add insult to injury, today she was fired from her job at the Idaho State Hospital after the police officer show up at her work to confront her about leaving the scene of an accident.

Now as you read this, you may think to yourselves that worse has happened to other folks and its true. Worse has happened to other folks, i.e. my brother whose wife was diagnosed with brain cancer before Thanksgiving of 2007 and then passed away 2 months later. That’s a bad thing to have happen and these things seem pale in comparison. However that doesn’t diminish the impact these things are having on me, my wife, and my family.

To top things all off, my wife and I have not been getting along very well due to many things, but mainly because of selfishness on my part.

I know why these things happen. First, choices we make every day have an impact on our lives, whether good or bad. This is why we must think and pray before we make major decisions, and even small decisions. And second, John 10:10a says, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy;” The enemy is around us all the time attempting to spur us to anger and self-destruction. If he can destroy the family, he can destroy the church; and if he destroys the church, he destroys God’s testimony; thereby taking many people down with him.

The real test here is how we handle the trials. Remember James said in chapter 1:2-3 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

So how do I find joy in all this?

Ignorance...or disregard?

We've all heard the saying, "Ignorance is bliss." The other day I discovered that I often misuse that phrase and I would bet this is the case with most of us. Here's what I mean.

I went to a local grocery store the other day and pulled into a parking spot near the cart island. There was an empty cart sitting next to, but OUTSIDE, the cart island! Ignorance or disregard?

In the same parking lot (and on the same trip) as I sat in my pick-up truck waiting for my wife, a man driving another pick-up pulled into the spot next to mine, leaving only about 2 feet between our vehicles. As the man exited his truck, he swung his door open, hitting my truck. Fortunately his door had one of those plastic trim pieces that actually made contact with my vehicle, so it didn’t leave a mark. However, it did hit hard enough to make an audible noise that I heard from inside my truck, over the music playing loudly. The man then closed his door and went into the store as if nothing happened. Was this ignorance or disregard?

Whenever I go to any of the large stores that provide “cart islands” I always try to park next to or near the cart island, so I don’t have to go far to get rid of the cart once I’m done with it. So the other day, I parked next to a cart island at Wal-Mart. As Joan and I returned to our vehicle with our purchases, I noticed a woman unloading her cart into her vehicle that was parked next to the cart island opposite of us. After we unloaded our cart and placed the cart inside the cart island, we got into the truck and sat there for a minute watching this woman. I kid you not, she finished unloading her cart, got into her vehicle, and pulled away leaving the cart she had used set exactly where she finished with it; 4 FEET AWAY FROM THE CART ISLAND! Yes this really happened! Was this ignorance or disregard?

I have one more thing to mention. I was caught speeding the other day, an offence for which I was cited. Afterward I thought about my response to the officer when he asked if I knew why I was pulled over. I was convicted of my response and the truth is that I was blatantly speeding. Was this ignorance or disregard?

Conclusion: the dictionary defines ignorance as the condition of being ignorant; the want of knowledge in general, or in relation to a particular subject; the state of being uneducated or uninformed. In all the cases mentioned none of us were uneducated or uninformed, so therefore we cannot plead ignorance. The truth is that in each of these situations the offender completely disregarded anything or anyone around them. The man that hit my pick-up knew full well that he did it, but chose to continue on like nothing had happened. The woman parked next to the cart island knew full well where she was parked, but disregarded this fact and proceeded complete disregard for others. And yes, I completely disregarded the law being fully aware of the speed limit!

Ignorance? Absolutely not!

The words of my Son...

I found this poem in my office while rifling through some papers. My son, Billy, wrote this several years ago. I find hope in these words. I hope you will too.

Lord, I've run out of places to turn
I guess I've run out of excuses
To make it feel okay
Running out of time
My life feels like it's going nowhere
I'm lost and blind
Oh but now I realize
I know I can hear you say:

I've already been there
I know what its like
To feel so broken
That you think there's nowhere left to go
But I'll always be there
To catch you

(written by William Howard II)

Jesus said: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

My son's words remind me of this. He's there, waiting for us to turn (return?) to Him. We want to find rest for our soul, yet we turn to things of this world. My wife and I went to Las Vegas this past week for a little R & R, but our souls were not fulfulled. It was good to hang with some old friends, but it was not fulfilling.

Lord forgive me for turning to the world to find rest, comfort and fulfillment. You are the only One who can provide the kind of deep rest our souls long for. Your word says that you dwell in him who is contrite and lowly in spirit; to revive the the lowly in spirit and revive the heart of the contrite. My prayer today is that you would make me contrite and lowly in spirit to the point of desperation; so desperate that THE only place I can turn is upward!

What were you thinking?

I had resigned myself a couple weeks ago to the fact that Barrack Obama was more than likely going to win the election, but I still have to say this. I pose this question to those of you who voted for Obama: What were you thinking? Barack Obama has very little executive experience, having only served 7 years in the Illinois State Senate, and 2 years in the U.S. Senate. This fact alone should have kept him out of the Whitehouse.

Obviously Obama was not my choice. In fact, McCain was not my preferred candidate. I would have preferred to see Mike Huckabee in the Whitehouse. But, like it or not, Barack Obama will be our president and we as American citizens must unite behind him. We may not like decisions made during his term as our president and we have the right to express this, but we must not turn into some disgruntled citizen. Remember the Dixie Chicks derogatory statements toward President Bush? We weren't to happy about that. Were we to make similar comments about President Obama, we'd be stooping to that same level.

My son used to where a tee shirt with an imprint of the statement, "He's not my president," referring of course to President Bush. This is far from the truth. If you are an American Citizen, the President of the United States of America--regarless of how you voted--is your president. You're welcome to express your displeasure with policy, but you can't go around saying he's not your president, because it's not true.

I'm not happy that Obama was elected, but I'll get over it. God knew what He was doing in allowing this and I have to trust that God will carry out his plan, whatever it is.

Oh, one more thing. If you didn't vote in this election, then I urge you to hold your complaints about the new president. You really don't have any right to complain if you didn't participate in the process.

The "Tradition Idol"

I recently read a novel called “Outcasts of Skagary” by Andrew Clarke, which by the way is a very good read! As in most novels, the first couple chapters are spent setting the story line and characters. The first theme I picked up on was that the people of Skagary were in effect, worshipers of tradition. “Skagars” were subject to scorn or outcast if they did not adhere to traditions handed down through the generations.

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about tradition and how we in the church tend to “worship” tradition. How often, especially in church, do something a particular way because that’s the way it’s always been done? At many evangelical churches, we have a particular way in which we conduct our worship services. Many of the things we do during the services are things that have been done a particular way for very many years. The music taken from a hymnal and was accompanied by either organ or piano. Hymn singing was followed by a sermon preached from behind a pulpit. After the sermon there might have been a closing hymn, such as “the Doxology.” And most people showed up for church wearing their “Sunday best.”

Now we fast forward a few years. Someone, usually a Pastor, welcomes members and guests. After a couple announcements, the Pastor prays as the ushers prepare to pass the offering plates. Then after a few minutes of “meet and greet” time, the Worship Team comes up to the stage and we begin leading the congregation in singing. The music is either original worship songs, or new arrangements of old hymns. Either way, the music is lead by a band consisting of guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, piano and some vocalists. When the music is finished, the Pastor comes up for some teaching from God’s Word. As the Pastor teaches, he often moves around the stage. After the teaching (preaching) time, the pastor often does an “alter call” in which he invites people to come forward to pray or to be prayed for. Sometimes the Worship Team leads in a closing song.

Though I can’t speak for all churches, I can attest to a certain amount of resistance to this newer, more modern way of conducting worship services. I’ve heard complaints about the music style or the preaching style and I’ve also heard of complaints about the way people are dressed. One Sunday, after doing some southern gospel style music, an elderly woman in the congregation shouted, “Now that’s the way church is supposed to be.” I would call this an attitude of “tradition worship.”

Whenever we begin to see attitudes that say the old way is the right way; or the way we’ve always done it is the right way; or the old fashioned organ playing, hymn singing music is the right way; and all other ways are wrong, I think we're crossing over into tradition worship. I think we need to be careful that we do not become so hung up on tradition that we would consider any other way would be wrong. Remember, Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Look, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t honor certain traditions. Tradition has its place in the church. For instance, the observance of Communion is one tradition that should remain unchanged because it is commanded by Jesus Christ himself. What I am saying is that when tradition becomes an “idol” we need to search our heart and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any hard-heartedness in our attitude and to change our heart if we are indeed worshiping tradition.

In the land of “Skagary” the elders were so adamant about following the traditions established in past generations that they were willing to even kill the outcasts to avoid losing their power and to keep the old traditions from being abolished. I do not mean to say that we’d be willing to do the same, but I do wonder how far we’d be willing to go to keep old traditions alive. Interesting to think about is it not?

Where do we go from here?

Today I wrote an email to my brother Brian with the purpose of encouragement. You see, about 19 months ago, his beloved wife of 17 years Cathy passed away due to brain cancer. She was diagnosed with the cancer in November of 2006 and passed away February of 2007. He’s still in shock and is really having a hard time moving on. I wrote these words hoping to encourage him and after reading it, thought that other might also be encouraged. Read on.

I was thinking about Steven Curtis Chapman and the recent tragedy in his family, in which their youngest adopted daughter Maria was accidentally struck and killed in the drive way at their home. I don't think there could be anything worse than that. Check out this link to their blog pages and check them out. I thought maybe reading the blogs or viewing Steven's video blogs might help you some. I know it encourages me. I think God wants us to be about his work, but when we're so caught up in ourselves that everything around us is (not purposely) ignored, that can't happen. Here's something that I'm pretty sure the Holy Spirit laid on my heart the other day:

God allows trials in our lives to grow us and he gives us the tools to handle them. How we handle trials depends on the whether we are internally or externally focused. When we're self-focused, trials begin to resemble a personal assault from God (How dare he make me go through this!) and we get angry and in turn become ineffective Christians. When we're externally focused, that is focused on God (and his work), those trials become a chance to
glorify God and advance his kingdom, and we become more spiritually mature in the process.

I've been struggling with anger at myself and at God for the way my life has turned out. I didn't really do anything I really wanted to do. I've always lived in the current moment, but lived for myself. I've never had anything to look forward to because I've always been so caught up in myself that I couldn't see beyond the end of my own nose. I've wasted so much time doing stupid unproductive stuff and being angry at the world and God because it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to. Mid-life crisis? Probably. And for you, the mid-life crisis is exacerbated by the untimely and unfair passing of your wife.

Oh how I wish I would have had the faith 30 years ago to believe the God-breathed words written by Paul in Romans 5:1-5. "Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts
with his love."

A very wise friend and counselor told me that mid-life regret is very real, but the key thing is how we respond to it. We can choose to throw up our hands and say, "what's the use" and turn back to our old ways of doing things. Or we can allow God to change us for the better and follow Him into the future.

So where do we go from here? I'm sure the answer is pretty clear by now. I hope this has encouraged you. Thanks for reading. Blessings.

Lines in the Sand

I was perusing my high school yearbooks the other day for a photo of a former classmate who recently posted a message on my Classmates page. I remember his name, but don’t remember much else about him. But it got me wondering about all the people I could have known but didn't. Why is that?

You probably recall what it was like in high school. In my school there were three types of kids. I gave them these names: the “haves,” the “could haves”, and the “have-nots.”

The “haves” were the jocks, cheerleaders, and other kids whose parents were pretty well-to-do. These were the “popular” kids and most of the time they were cruel and unkind to the “could haves” and the “have-nots.” Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. However most all of them were popular merely because they’re parents were in the higher income bracket.

The “have-nots” were the kids who came from the other side of the tracks and in my small home town of Willard, Ohio this was a literal term. I think we called it the “East side”; although I don’t know why, because the part of town that most of the have-nots lived in was actually north of the main railroad line that ran through town. Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. But most were “unpopular” merely because they’re parents were much less well-to-do than others.

Then there were what I have termed the “could-haves.” These were kids who sort of teetered between the haves and the have-nots. Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. Their parents were in the middle income bracket and lived in the areas of town that were between the Eastside and the newer homes. None of them had any particular advantage over others.

I’m not sure why we drew lines in the sand except to say that we all tended to gravitate towards others in similar situations. We were all above average in some ways and below average in other ways; but most were average (see the italicized descriptions above). We all wanted to have some degree of popularity. None of us liked others looking down their noses at us as it made us feel less than important. What was it that makes us want to be better than others?

As I looked through my old year books I couldn’t help but wonder who people were; but not merely because I of the 30 year time span between then and now. I wondered what it might have been like if we hadn’t drawn lines in the sand. I think we all wanted desperately to belong in some way. How different might it have been if we all realized that we were all God’s children and made in his image: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27) This is the one thing that we all had in common and still do to this day.

In the Distance

Today I was flipping through an old accordion file folder that had a bunch of guitar chord charts I had hand written over the years, looking for a particular song and I ran across some poetry I had written quite a few years ago. I wrote in this one March of 1991. I was at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, living in a tent. We were there in support of Operation Desert Storm. As I read the verses, I was trying to remember exactly what I was thinking at the time. I guess the poem gives a pretty good idea. At the time I didn't title the poem, but I think "In the Distance" works.


In the distance I hear a heart beat
I wonder what life force it will bring
Will it be that of hope
Only the life bringer knows

In the distance I hear the thunder
I wonder what storm it will bring
Will it be a storm of hope
Only the storm maker knows

In the distance I hear the rain
I wonder what gift it will bring
Will it be a gift of hope
Only the rain maker knows

In the distance I hear the cries
I wonder what message they bring
Will they be cries of hope
Only the maker of those who cry will know

In the distance I feel there is hope
It is there for those who seek it
In this life there is always hope
It is there in the distant heart beat


When I wrote this my English writing and editing skills were not what they are now, but I think it's a good poem nonetheless. I only changed one line (Line 4, verse 4) because the original line didn't seem to fit the theme. As a read and re-read the verses, I think the underlying theme is obvious. I would be interested to know if you see it as well. Please post a response if you have times. Thanks.

Waiting...argh....why does it take so long?!

My wife read my last post entitled "Pen Pals...do you remember" all the while expecting a "spiritual lesson" somewhere near the end of it. I hadn't originally planned on this, but then the spiritual lesson came to me while praying last night. A few weeks ago, our pastor taught from Acts 1, where Jesus appeared to the disciples after his death and resurrection. "In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with[a] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 1:1-5) He goes on to tell then in verse 7 & 8 that they must wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit saying, "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The disciples were required to pray and wait "a few days" for the Holy Spirit to come, as Jesus had promised. We can compare their waiting and praying to waiting on a letter to arrive in the mail. Every day, we faithfully go to the mail box with anticipation that the letter will be there. And on those days that the letter was not there, we are disappointed. After a few days of the letter not being there, we stop running to the mail box. We start walking to the mail box, with doubt that the letter will arrive. Eventually we just stop going to the mail box.

Isn't it the same scenario with waiting on God? We start out praying faithfully every day that God will answer. When He doesn't answer in what we think is a reasonable amount of time, we begin to pray with doubt that God will answer. Eventually we give up praying about it altogether, because God doesn't answer in what we think is a reasonable amount of time. Lest we forget that God's time is not like ours: "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night." (Psalm 90:4)

So I guess the point is do not give up. God will answer. When we quit checking the mail for the letter, we've essentially given up belief in the person from whom we're expecting to hear. It's the same with waiting on God. The Pastor of my church prayed for his Dad's salvation for 30 years before his Dad came to know Jesus personally. Talk about a lesson in faithfulness!

Pen Pals...do you remember?

I remember having a "pen pal" when I was a kid although I never kept in touch with her after elementary school. I no longer recall her name or what kind of things we wrote about. I just remember that we were learning letter writing in English class and we were given the names of potential pen pals from another school. It required hand writing a letter, hand writing the address on the envelope, licking the envelope and the postage stamp and then actually taking the letter to the postal mail box on the corner; and finally waiting sometimes weeks for a response. Do you remember what that is like?

I can remember the anxiousness that used to accompany waiting for a return letter from the pen pal. It would drive you nuts. Remember going to the front door and peering through the window, wondering where the letter carrier is? Why is he taking so long to bring the mail? And then suddenly, I'd see him coming around the corner and heading up the street, going from house to house, sometimes stopping to chat with one or two people on the way. Oh man I hated that. Didn't he know that I was waiting for him to deliver a letter? Why would he stop to talk to someone else when I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the letter from my pen pal?

And then finally he approaches our house and walks up the front steps. As he steps onto the porch I nearly bowl him over as I come running out the screen door. He would flip through the pile of mail in his hand or dig into his leather mail carrier's pouch and finally hand me a pile of mail. After hastily thanking him, I'd run in to the house as I'm flipping through the pile of mail, tossing aside anything that doesn't concern me. If you'd follow the trail of mail into the house you'd see one of two things: either me reading the letter I may have received, or me ranting about why it's taking so long to get a return letter.

Ah, I remember it well, as if it were yesterday. But times have changed somewhat. Isn't it interesting how we can now almost effortlessly keep in touch with "pen pals" from across the globe? It merely requires finding one or two minutes to sit down at your computer and stroking a few keys and hitting send! The circumstances are a little different, but the anticipation of waiting for the response is much the same. You know what I mean, you come in the door and head straight for the computer, hoping to find a response your pals.

I love communicating with people. Thanks writing tools such as email and blogs, we can keep in touch in so many more ways. I do however miss the anticipation of waiting for the mail carrier as it was back in the day!

E.G.R

In the small group videos that are part of the "40 Days of Purpose," Rick Warren talks about persons who sometimes try to be the center of attention and can be a little overbearing. He refers to these persons as ones who require a little extra grace or EGR people, Extra Grace Required.

I know many people like that and I would bet that you do as well. We don't always like the personal habits or mannerisms of others. You may have a sibling, friend, coworker or fellow church member who could be described as an EGR person. You know what I mean, that person who just grates at your nerves. The person who once you're conversing with them, you feel as though you've been sucked into a vortex. Or the person who wants to know everything thing about every minute of your life. Why do we go out of our way to avoid contact with an EGR person or if we do come in contact with an EGR person, why do we patronize them, or treat them with disrespect, or even lie to "get away" from them?

The short answer is that it makes us uncomfortable to deal with them and so it's easier to avoid them. Or if you do happen to be in their presence we pretend like they aren't there. I recently had a conversation with someone who treats my son in this very way. They "bad-mouth" him when he's not in their presence and do what they can to avoid contact and they ignore him when he is in their presense.

There will always be EGR people in this world. That's just the way it is. Some require more grace than others. EGR people deserve the same, if not better treatment than others. That's why it's refered to as EXTRA grace required. The truth of the matter is that we are to love all people, whether or not they are hard to love. This was commanded by the Savior himself in Matthew 5:43-47. "You have heard people say, "Love your neighbors and hate your enemies." But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people. And he sends rain for the ones who do right and for the ones who do wrong. If you love only those people who love you, will God reward you for that? Even tax collectors love their friends. If you greet only your friends, what's so great about that? Don't even unbelievers do that?

I'm speaking to followers of Christ here: Jesus told us to love everyone. Sometimes we just have to extend a little--or a lot--of extra grace to do that! We don't get to pick and choose who we love. God didn't. "For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16). God loved the world, all the world, not just a few.