The Connecting Point

The Balance between Community and Solitude

2011-08-31T15:09:00.001-04:00

I'm currently reading a fabulous biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This book, written by Eric Metaxas and simply titled Bonhoeffer, is quickly catapulting him to the top of my list of personal heroes. If you haven't read it, you need to put it on your bucket list--I promise you won't regret it.

Bonhoeffer was a fabulous theologian who was ultimately martyred for his stand against Hitler. Before his death he wrote a number of books. In one of his books, entitled Life Together, he wrote a chapter on "The Day Together" followed by another called "The Day Alone." The idea was that both are absolutely essential to meaningful spirituality.

Bonhoeffer writes, "Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.... Let him who is not in community beware of being alone... Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of word and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self-infatuation, and despair."

More insightful words on the tension between community and solitude may never be written. For the sake of God's kingdom coming within us and through us, we must pursue both.

Steps to Silence

2011-08-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

So what are some steps we can take to enter into the soothing celebration of silence? I've listed a few below. Only a couple of these steps are original with me (see #3); the rest are a conglomeration of steps from different authors. Here's the list. Embrace, employ, and enjoy!

First, identify a time and physical space in which you can be alone on a regular basis. The ideal time would be when you are at your best with the least amount of worries, for me this is early in the day, before I have looked at my calendar. The reason is because God desires and deserves your best. The place? Don’t be afraid to experiment, if one place proves too vulnerable to serve as a fortress of solitude, move on to the next spot.

Second, begin with a modest goal, especially if silence is a new practice for you. At the beginning of my journey, and even now in certain seasons, 10 minutes can be very challenging. But remember you're in training. The more you train yourself in the exercise of silence, the further you will be able to go.

Third, pass through a metal detector on your way in. (I know what you're thinking, of course this sophomoric rule is mine--but hear me out!) If it dings, rings, beeps or buzzes, it’s not allowed. The devices that keep us connected to the world, keep us disconnected from God. Silence demands solitude. Besides, the world can run without you for a little bit--I promise.

Fourth, settle into a comfortable and yet alert position. Don't go to sleep!

Fifth, ask a simple prayer to express your willingness to meet God in the silence. Pray James 4:8, "Lord draw near to me as I draw near to you." Or maybe Psalm 46:10, “Lord help me be still and quiet before you that I may know you are God.” Remember when we pray God's word in humility, we pray God's will.

Sixth, don't be discouraged by distractions; they are inevitable. When distractions come, simply let them go by, like clouds floating across the sky. When they pass, reorient yourself to your purpose by repeating the prayer that you have chosen.

Seventh, let God lead. In my opinion every experience of silence and solitude should include a Word from God as found in scripture, and a prayer with God, speaking and listening. Beyond that, let God lead. Listen, laugh, weep, count your blessings. Whatever God leads you to do, do it expecting that God is going to use this time to reveal himself to you and transform your life.

Eighth, don't give up! Don't ever give up! I know it's cliche, but the benefits of silence before God far outweigh the costs. For the sake of growing in Christ, and maximizing your potential for the Kingdom of God prioritize silence.

Meet our friend Silence

2011-08-22T10:26:00.001-04:00

^{David wrote in Psalm 62:1, "I wait quietly before God for my victory comes from Him."}

^{The journey of faith is essentially a journey of increasing reliance upon God--cultivated in silence. Silence places us in the sometimes awkward, sometimes maddening position of being dependent upon something other than ourselves. Waiting quietly before God is a definitive admission that "I can't do it all." While this may be difficult to accept, it's true. Living in that reality provides sanity for the soul.}

^{So how do we do silence before God? Tomorrow I'll list the steps that we discussed Sunday (with some free bonus material), but today I want you to understand one thing: YOU CAN'T MESS THIS UP!}

^{As long as you prioritize God above all else in these quiet times, you're hitting the mark. Pray and ask God to draw near to you and lead you through those quiet moments. The possibilities are endless:}

^{Meditate on a passage of scripture. For starters try Psalm 1, John 15, or Matthew 5:1-12.}
^{Enter into a season of true prayer where you talk and listen.}
^{Review your notes from a sermon that challenged you and ask God to lead you to live it.}
^{Contemplate an attribute of God: faithfulness, justice, or holiness.}
^{Review the words of a song that inspires you to hope and faithfulness, like Amazing Grace.}
^{Ask God to help you count your blessings.}

^{The only way you can really mess silence up is if you avoid it. Now let's get quiet!}

Do Something

2011-08-16T07:36:00.000-04:00

The sordid tales of the Kings of Israel are heartbreaking.  Evil kings precede evil kings who are succeeded by evil kings and queens. Wave after wave of malfeasance would erode the commitment of the people to God.  Eventually God would find someone willing to do something on his behalf, a leader who was committed to His cause for His people. In 2 Chronicles 23 the Lord finds one such man.

The darkness was settling in through the leadership of Queen Athaliah. She was the mother of Ahaziah a young man who became King in Judah at the age of 22. Under his mother's dark tutelage, Ahaziah led Judah as the evil Ahab led Israel. Not surprisingly, he was rewarded for feats of extreme cowardice by being killed.  Fearing the loss of her power, his mother proceeded to kill off all the royal family to secure her place as queen. For six years Athaliah terrorized the people of Judah until God found someone who would do something.

"In the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, Jehoiada the priest decided to act. He summoned his courage and made a pact...." 2 Chronicles 23:1 (NLT)

Jehoiada the priest believed enough was enough. Someone had to DO SOMETHING! So he decided to act. Digging down deep to summon all the courage he could muster, he and made a pact with a few friends to set things straight. The result? A new king was crowned and a spiritual revolution unleashed.

^"Then Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and the king and the people that they would be the Lord’s people. And all the people went over to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They demolished the altars and smashed the idols, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars." 2 Chronicles 23:16-17 (NLT)

Something needed to be done and Jehoiada "decided to act."  What needs to be done around you? Don't be one of those people who just sounds the alarm. Step up and DO SOMETHING! God honors those who decide to act!

Finding God in Tragedy

2011-08-15T10:00:00.001-04:00

Have you seen the video footage of the stage collapse at the Indiana State Fair?

Here is the link: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2011/08/14/hall.in.state.fair.stage.collapse.cnn?hpt=hp_c1

Unbelievable tragedy!

The question that arises in the wake of such devastation is: "Where is God?!" If you watch the video closely after the collapse I think you can see Him. He's in the people that are running toward the stage not away from it. It's those heroes, created in the image of God, who are manifesting the passion of God for people.

In the second video the Governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels says, "Individual Hoosiers ran to the trouble not from the trouble." Understandably he goes on to say it's the kind of character that is associated with the state of Indiana. While that may or may not be true, what we know for certain is that it's the kind of character that we associate with God.

Human beings are created in the image of God to be like Him in character. Demonstrating His character means that when trouble comes for those around us, for our neighbors, we run into the trouble not away from it. When we run in, in the name of Jesus, God is found in the midst of tragedy.

Clampetts or Cleavers?

2011-05-12T10:02:00.000-04:00

When people visit the church, which family do they find? I’ve come to the conclusion that there are basically only two types of families the world sees – the Clampetts or the Cleavers.

You know the story of the Clampetts, don't you? A poor man named Jed, barely kept his family fed. One day he was shooting at some food and up through the ground come some bubblin’ crude. Oil it was, black gold, Texas tea! The first thing you know old Jed’s a millionaire and all of his kin folk said he ort to move away from there. They advised him that California was the place he ought to be, so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly. Ring a bell? I think there was a documentary on TV.

Every episode featured someone else checking out the Clampetts because of what they had to offer -- money and lots of it. The show always featured someone trying to get close to them. But the closer they got the further they ran. At the end it was the same cast of characters: Jed, Granny, Jethro, Ellie Mae, their gold digging banker Mr. Drysdale and his trusty assistant Miss Hathaway. Everyone else fled back to normalcy having found that the money wasn't worth the dysfunction they would have to endure to get it. Until the advent of reality television, the Clampetts were without a doubt the most dysfunctional family television ever produced.

Then on the other end of the spectrum, there are the Cleavers; you know Ward, June, Wally, and the Beav. They're not the perfect family in the sense that nothing bad ever happens to them. But by the end of every episode what you find is a family that has worked through a perceived crisis and grown closer as a result. Whether it was a C grade on a math test or a birthday party that the Beav forgot to attend, whatever the calamity the Cleavers have grown through the process.

Here's the question: when you are looking for answers, would you rather be a Cleaver or a Clampett? With the exception of the dress code, it would have to be the Cleavers, right? They may not be the most edgy or compelling group in cinematic history from an entertainment perspective, but they really loved each other. They worked through their problems and ultimately avoided the dysfunction and chaos that epitomized the Clampetts.

The scripture teaches us that the church is a family that people watch to determine if they want to be a part. One of the criterion they evaluate is the way we interact with each other. Two questions to consider:

Is your church a Cleaver Church or a Clampett Church?

In your church, do you behave more like a Cleaver or a Clampett?

"Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2:1-4 NLT

Prayer for State and Local Government

2011-05-10T08:34:00.004-04:00

I had the privilege of leading in prayer for State and Local Government at the National Day of prayer at Bright House Field this past Thursday night. God instructs believers to pray for "kings and all who are in authority..." In obedience to God's call today, take some time to pray for our leaders. Perhaps this prayer can serve as a guide.

Gracious God in heaven, we give you praise tonight because you have seen fit to grace us with independence. Our prayer Father is for those at the state and local level who have been entrusted with the administration of the freedoms we enjoy. May they understand that their office is not merely a public trust, but a sacred trust that demands the humility of Moses, the stewardship of Joseph, and the servanthood of Jesus.

We ask that you give our leaders…

Direction to navigate the turbulent waters of our times

Fortitude to resist the urge to expedience

Discernment to withstand the deceptive voice of our enemy

Wisdom to identify the greater good

Strength to resist the pull of public opinion

Resolve to stand on the life giving principles of justice

We pray that they be men and women who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of scoffers. But Lord, we ask that they would delight in your truth that preserves justice for the oppressed, dignity for the shamed, and hope for the hurting.

For our leaders we ask that…

· Righteousness would be their path

· Justice their pursuit

· And liberty would be their pleasure

In the end Lord help us to remember that a house, community, a state or nation divided against itself will not stand. So we ask that by your Spirit our state and local leaders would make every effort toward unity and peace. May their labor produce the unified fruit of one county, one state, one nation, under God, exercising liberty and justice for all!

In unifying name of our Lord Jesus Christ that we pray, Amen.

May God add his blessings to the prayers of His people!

Let's Race

2011-01-28T14:56:00.004-05:00

I have an acquaintance named Tripp who announced to me that his goal was to one day enter the Boston Marathon. As someone who knows very little if anything about running, much less marathons, it seemed strange that the goal was to enter the race. So I revealed my ignorance and challenged him, commenting that it would make more sense if his goal was to finish the race, not just enter it.

Then Tripp graciously went on to explain that entering the race was not as simple as just signing up, paying the money and securing a number to tape on your tank top. Actually, to enter the Boston marathon a runner had to meet a very strict set of qualifications including but not limited to, finishing another marathon within certain period of time. Once that hurdle was completed it became a matter filling out the right paper work and in general jumping over hurdle after hurdle of red tape to enter the race.

As I thought about what my friend Tripp was facing just to enter the Boston Marathon, it occurred to me how grateful I am that the qualifications to enter the race for “the crown that will last forever,” have all been met (1 Cor. 9:25). I don’t have to be in shape to get started, nor do I have to get it all right to run. I have been pre-qualified by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, who marked out the course by running ahead.

Hebrews 12:1-3 says,

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I love these verses because they remind us that Jesus got us in the race by grace, and we honor the opportunity by running wisely with perseverance. As you run, fix your eyes on Jesus who is out in front leading the way!

Free Passes to the Circus

2010-09-22T14:46:00.002-04:00

For the past six weeks I've been studying the rebuilding of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. I love the story of God's gracious discipline of the people of Israel to teach them the importance of radical obedience. In the book of Ezra we learn that God raised up King Cyrus of Persia to release the exiles in Babylon to go back and re-populate and rebuild Jerusalem.

The first two chapters of Ezra talk about the return, and how it was the people God called by his Spirit who chose to take the risk of obedience and journey towards Jerusalem. At the conclusion of Ezra 2, we read about an offering that the remnant offered God upon their safe return.

Ezra 2:68-69 says,
"When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave free will offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments."

While studying this passage of Scripture, I read these comments by Warren Wiersbe: "This was undoubtedly a thank offering to the Lord for giving them a safe journey. The people gave their offerings willingly and according to their ability, which is the way God's people are supposed to give today."

When I read that quote it struck me as odd. As I processed my reaction, I quickly realized that my response was odd, not theirs. Their response was actually ideal.

Why did a group of people giving a thank offering to God make me feel strange? As I mulled over my surprise, I concluded that it was a by-product of Entitlement Christianity. Entitlement Christianity is a frame of mind that expects rewards for obedience. If the Israelites had been afflicted by this entitlement perspective they would have never given a thank offering. Instead they would have paused and waited for God to dole out free passes to the circus because they were assets to his organization.

The Israelites who offered thanks got it right. They understood that the opportunity for obedience demands gratitude. They recognized that the fruit of a successful journey is the by-product of the grace and mercy of God. It was God who gave them the opportunity to go, and it was God's power that enabled them to finish.

God help me understand the sacred privilege of obedience and deliver me from the self aggrandizing sense of entitlement that plagues me.

Is that God I See?

2010-09-04T06:52:00.008-04:00

Periodically I receive some really weird stuff through email. I know you do, too. But I'm not just talking about those forwards from that guy who just popped into your mind. I'm talking about some bizarre stuff--like stuff God told somebody to tell me so I could tell you.

Yesterday I got something from a prophetess. Her name is Linda Somethingoranother and on August 29 she received the following warning "...from our Saviour about a pending apocalyptic event: 'A Methane explosion and tsuami (apparently the prophetess doesn't have spell-check) is going to bring complete devastation to the entire Gulf region. Reports about a pocket of methane the size of Mount Everest near the Macondo well-site are true. Wide speculation about an enormous methane explosion is well founded."

At one point in the correspondence the prophetess goes on to say, “My Lord, these are the words that the Darth Vader look-alike speaks...." Seriously, I couldn't make this stuff up!

While some of this stuff provides entertainment, there is an aspect of it that saddens me. Most of the people I know who are God-fearers would like nothing more than to hear from God, or see God, or somehow experience a breakthrough with God that assures them of His active presence in their circumstances. But because of people who are supposedly hearing from God through Star Wars action figures, we are less than confident of our interpretations of His activity in our spheres or his voice in our ears. Even if it turns out that a giant mountain of methane wipes out the gulf, I am going to struggle to believe that a Darth Vader-like character was the mouthpiece God chose to alert us. The sad part is that since Sister Somethingoranother is out there spreading her good cheer, we lose confidence in seeing and sharing God's work around us because we aren't interested in being associated with anything of the sort.

However, in my quiet time this morning God reminded me that He indeed still demonstrates His whereabouts and His activities to those who are watching. I was studying in the book of Zechariah, and in chapter 11 the prophet told the nation of Israel about a covenant God initiated with all the nations which was being revoked. In verse 11 he wrote, "It was revoked on that day, and so the afflicted of the flock who were watching me knew it was the word of the Lord." I am reminded of two important truths

The afflicted should look for God because he is our hope.
Those who look with the eyes of faith will see God.

Affliction has a way of forcing us to prioritize. When we experience pain or deficiency of the worst kind, we are compelled to eliminate distractions. The wise choice in pain is to prioritize God who is our one true hope. Through the true prophet Zechariah, God reminds us that when we look for Him through the eyes of dependent faith and hope, we will see Him and understand what He is doing.

Whether you are experiencing affliction or have been graced with a season of favor, let me encourage you to "watch" God today. Ask Him to show you exactly what He is up to. When he does, send me a note and tell me about it. As long as Darth Vader is not involved, stories of God's activity in the lives of His people always strengthen my faith.

On the lookout!

Lessons from Lewis

2010-08-10T07:13:00.009-04:00

I don't know where I first heard it, but at some point along the way I heard someone say or sing; "Next verse same as the first." While the significance of that statement was largely lost on me at the time, its profundity continues to gain momentum in my mind. As I watch life lived around me and study the lives of those who have gone before me, I realize that there are essentially two paths that we follow. One path is the way of life and the other leads to destruction. On the path of light and life, the next verse is virtually the same as the first. On the path that leads to destruction, the next verse is the same as the first. The outcome is no respecter of persons. It does not take into account the sum total of good a person did along the way. There is abundance and peace on the narrow road that leads to life and carnage and destruction on the broad road of self indulgence.

That lesson was reaffirmed all over again as I read the concluding pages of the Stephen Ambrose bestseller, Undaunted Courage. It is the gripping story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, told through the eyes of one of the world's greatest explorers, Meriwether Lewis.

I think I picked the book up because another book I was reading quoted Lewis' journal entry on his 31st birthday. The Corps of Discovery was about to tackle the seemingly unconquerable barrier of the Rocky Mountains. The daunting task before him, and the nostalgia of his birthday seems to have compelled Lewis to take inventory of his past and make some corrective resolutions for the future. He wrote:

"This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this Sublunary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the hapiness of the human race, or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now soarly feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they been judiciously expended. but since they are past and cannot be recalled, I dash from me the gloomy thought and resolved in future, to redouble my exertions and at least indeavour to promote those two primary objects of human existance, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestoed on me; or in future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself."

Inspired by that quote and the success of the mission, I secured my copy of Undaunted Courage hoping to gain some leadership insight from this great leader. Though the ultimate lesson was shocking, I was not disappointed.

There were a few lessons I relearned that bear repeating:

The necessity of unwavering hope and optimism in a leader. The day Lewis first laid eyes on the Rocky Mountains provided a bittersweet moment. The headwaters of the Missouri River were within reach, but as Lewis wrote, "When I reflected on the difficulties which the snowey barrier would most probably throw in my way to the Pacific, and the sufferings and harships of myself and party in them, it in some measure counterballanced the joy I had felt in the first moments in which I gazed on them." However sobering, the sight ultimately summoned his ever-present optimism, "As I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils I will believe it a good comfortable road untill I am conpelled to beleive differently."

The importance of building a fantastic team. The lesson began at the top. Thomas Jefferson enlisted Lewis. Lewis enlisted Clark. Together Lewis and Clark enlisted an "A" team of people who made up the Corps of Discovery. Every member of the team was vested with mission critical responsibilities and given the freedom and the trust necessary to perform.

The obligation to fully leverage the resources with which you have been entrusted. The exploration west was a true expression Lewis' best gifts. He was curious, courageous and adventuresome. He loved the outdoors and he loved his country. Leading the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific Ocean was true to his nature as well as his nurture and in doing so he fully leveraged all the lessons life taught him.

There are certainly many other lessons packed in the pages of Undaunted Courage, but the one that is most impressive is the lesson of what happens when good people stay on the broad road of destruction. I am embarrassed to say that I had no idea how his story ended. It may be a by-product of my South Carolina education (just kidding), or more likely not paying attention the day my history teacher went over the tragic ending. Whatever the case, I had no idea that three short years after completing the assignment that would make him a hero to generations, Meriwether Lewis committed suicide.

He was suffering from depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, a staggering debt load and a failing administration as the Governor of the Louisiana Territory. On his way to Washington D.C., to account for questionable decision making, he did the deed. He was staying in a bed and breakfast 72 miles west of Nashville, Tenn. In the early morning hours of Octorber 11, 1809, he shot himself twice. He lived for several hours after the shots, finally found his razor and cut himself from head to foot. His servant found him alive and alert in a pool of blood. Among the last things he said were, "I have done the business my good Servant give me some water. I am no coward; but I am so strong, [it is] so hard to die." And with that Meriwether Lewis went to meet his maker.

Here was a wildly successful man whose hopes were pinned on worldly success, when he attained it in full measure. But in the end his successes left him empty and destitute. His is a sad story told over and over again on the broad road of destruction. Same song, different verse.

Culture Shock

2010-08-03T07:13:00.012-04:00

Processing and then communicating the lessons learned on a mission trip is obviously one of the most important aspects of the journey but also one of the most difficult. Words and stories really don't do justice to the experience. It's not unlike trying to explain a life transforming encounter with God. Any attempt to communicate what really happened seems to diminish the sacred nature of the moment. To try and give speech to experiences that left us speechless seems futile.

But here we are, back from Southeast Asia, desiring to be good stewards of the experience, the stories, and the lessons that we learned in the "Land of Wonders." My plan is to tell some of the stories through our talks on Sunday mornings. God taught our team some wonderful life lessons through the people we met and the things we saw. It was our privilege to partner with some incredible believers. These are people who are in the extreme minority and in many cases have been ostracized by their families because they follow Jesus. Their efforts to reach their friends and family with the good news of Jesus was both inspiring and humbling. So you will hear about them and the things God taught us through their commitment.

However, I do want to try and communicate one lesson that I was reminded of due to the extreme cultural difference we encountered. At times the cultural difference was shocking, and while I don't know if I can say that I experienced culture shock, what I do know is that I was keenly aware of the fact that I was not at home in their culture.

The most pronounced difference I noted was the assault on my personal space. WOW! It felt like there were people all over me all the time. Unless you've been there, I'm not sure that you can actually comprehend what it means to experience such egregious personal space violations. One evening we were having dinner at the retreat center where we were staying for our leadership conference. (Ironically, I was doing leadership training for these Christian leaders who should have been training me.) We were meeting in a Catholic retreat center, so there were lots of people there who were not necessarily affiliated with our conference. One night about 8 p.m. we entered the dining hall to have dinner. There were around 15 to 20 tables, with four to six chairs around each. My five teammates were sitting at two of the tables and, since we were alone, I sat at a table between the two by myself (room to breathe). While we were eating, six men came in, went through the line to get their food and proceeded to select their table. I didn't really notice where they were going to land until I felt a chair bump mine. As I looked up one member of my group was motioning for me to slide my chair in to give them room. If you could have seen the look on my face. There were 12 empty tables in that room and they sat at the one that squeezed me. I wanted to say ... well let's just say that I had some questions that I would've liked to ask at that time.

Why would they do that? The only explanation is that there is no such thing as personal space. From their perspective it wasn't rude, or inconsiderate or intrusive at all. It didn't occur to them that sitting at that table would be an inconvenience to me because they have no concept of the sacred nature of my personal space. Looking back it is still inconceivable to me that they would select that table, but they did because they look at the world through a different set of eyes. It is a cultural difference that doesn't make one of us right and the other one wrong, it just makes us see and think about things differently.

As I have looked back at that night and realized how uncomfortable I felt in their place, I have been reminded of just how important it is to consider how people feel in our place. For many people, church is a culture unto itself. When unchurched people who are seeking truth visit with us, they experience something that is completely foreign to them. Some of the things that are completely normal to us would be discomfiting to them and could cause them to miss the beauty of our community and our CAUSE.

I know good and well that the group of men in the dining hall owed me nothing. They didn't have a problem they needed to fix. I'm the one who needed to make an adjustment. However, when people come into our space looking for the truth, the tables are completely turned. It's our responsibility to try to understand their perspective, and work diligently to put them at ease in our environment. We have to do everything in our power to remove the distractions so they can have a life transforming encounter with the living God.

Divine Design - Winning Communication

2010-05-20T14:52:00.007-04:00

I am loving our series at Skycrest right now. Studying God's Divine Design for the family is extremely informative for me, but it is also inspiring. It never fails that a series like this helps motivate me to open the doors and clean out some neglected, cluttered closet in my life.

Looking at God's word about the family the past three weeks has done just that. I have reevaluated some of the bad habits I have formed and begun to tolerate as just the way it is; or just the way I am; or just the way it's going to be, etc. While it can be, and has been, painful to identify things that need to change, the hope of change keeps me going in spite of the humiliation of having to admit the need.

Last week was particularly difficult. I was studying about communication and in particular LISTENING. Ugggghhhhhh! You know how people say, "Your greatest strength is your greatest weakness." Well I generally agree with that, but as it relates to my listening, my greatest weakness is my greatest weakness.

The pain of this week's study has been somewhat akin to putting iodine on an open wound. It's supposed to burn for a minute and then be all better. But it's a minute that goes on and on like the Energizer bunny. What I'm trying to say is that learning the truth about listening has been painful, but hopefully is has been a good pain that will prove to be productive as I seek to be a better husband and parent.

If you were unable to be there this week, let me just encourage you to go to www.skycrestfamily.org and listen to the podcast called Divine Design: Winning Communication. It will certainly be worth your time because it will no doubt pay dividends for your family.

Let me share a couple of the points I uncovered through study that stuck me and have stuck with me.

The first one that I am still grappling with is the question that John Maxwell poses in his book The Winning Attitude. In his chapter on listening he asks: "Would you rather be interesting and impressive or interested and impressed?" OUCH! Honestly, I've spent my entire life trying to be interesting and impressive. Now I'm wondering if I accomplished anything more than making myself irrelevant.

The second observation that has been so poignant to me was a statement made by the German-American theologian and philosopher Paul Tillich. He wrote, "The first duty of love is to listen." Yikes. I only wish I could disagree, but I can't because I feel important and loved when someone listens to me.

The reason this hurts so much is because the little people in my life who need me to listen talk incessantly and say very little. For instance, they make up plays for basketball teams that wouldn't work in 100 years, and it takes almost that long to explain them. They talk about wanting things that I could never provide, and obtaining things that Bill Gates couldn't afford. These things matter so much to them and so little to me. But these precious little chatterboxes matter to me. While I love them with all my heart, I'm not sure I am fully engaged with the first duty of love. What if they had to fill out some sort of survey? What if someone told them that they could tell if I love them by the way I listen? I don't even want to think about it but I should.

What hit me this week is that if I don't listen to them now while their saying nothing, they probably won't be speaking to me when they're really saying something.

Are you listening?

Words to thrive by...

2010-04-13T06:24:00.008-04:00

If you have listened to me teach much at all, then you know that I love the book of Ecclesiastes. It's so relevant and timely it could have been written at Starbucks by one of our own cultural interpreters. Like the unexpected appearance of an old friend in a season of loneliness, it's truth refreshes the soul and anchors perspective.

This morning I was reading in Ecclesiastes 5, 6 and 7 when two sets of verses leapt off the page to flag me down and remind me of the way to peace and abundance.

Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 says ...

"Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise--why destroy yourself? Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool--why die before your time? It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes."

Ahhh balance! Stay in the middle. Not too high, not too low. REMEMBER: this too, shall pass--whatever "this" is, good or bad, it won't last forever. So don't marginalize yourself or alienate others by dwelling in the extremes of overbearing righteousness or wisdom. Don't kill yourself for pleasure. Keep your wits about you. Remember who you are. Fear God and avoid all extremes. That's a good word!

And in the interests of avoiding extremes and not jumping to conclusions, Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 says ...

"Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you--for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others."

When we are hurting we look to hurt others--it's human nature. So there will be times when we wander into the crosshairs of people who are looking for relief at someone else's expense. Don't pay them any attention! Don't waste your time keeping score or feasting on their poison. They don't mean it anymore than you do when you curse them. Let it go. You'll be happier for it.

Bottom line ...

Avoid extremes!

Fear God!

Don't coddle the curses!

Now those are words to thrive by!

Fashionable Doubt

2010-03-30T07:20:00.005-04:00

I have been rereading the accounts of the crucifixion and the resurrection this morning. I always try to put myself in the sandals of those who were a part of the story. I can't imagine being one of those ladies who went to the tomb on that Sunday morning expecting to find Jesus' body, only to be met by a couple of angels who told them that Jesus walked out of there alive. I suffer momentary panic when I go to retrieve my birthday checks and discover that the place of "safe keeping" is empty. So it's really difficult for me to fathom what it must have been like for them.

And what about Peter and the rest of the disciples? When they got the news that the tomb was empty, they weren't buying it. In Luke 24:11 the scripture reveals their mindsets in no uncertain terms: "But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense." That's about right! It seemed crazy to them that a perfectly dead human could rise from the dead and walk out of a cave.

I get that. It is crazy. But isn't that what Jesus said would happen? The angel reminded the ladies of his words. Luke 24:6-7 captures his reminder, "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'"

With his help the ladies remembered. And I'm sure when they recounted the story to the disciples, the eleven remembered his words, too. But those words were crazy. Surely Jesus didn't mean that he would come back to life: that’s pure "nonsense." You can't take him that literally, it just doesn't make sense.

What the disciples were experiencing was fashionable doubt. No one believed Jesus' words after he died on the cross. Death ushers in the moment when the proverbial "fat lady" sings. The game was over and they had settled into inescapable hopelessness as it related to their dreams with Jesus. But he didn't stay dead. Hope was not lost. He would rise again. He would keep his word for them just as he keeps it for us.

I'm not sure that we’ve really learned our lesson from the disciples because when it comes to taking Jesus at his word, fashionable doubt is still very much in vogue. What can we do about it?

We need to follow Peter and John's lead. John 20:3-4 says, "So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first." Even in doubt they ran to the tomb. They raced towards hope rather than running from it. Obviously doubt was still the fashionable choice because the other nine stayed behind. But they embraced hope and found that Jesus had indeed kept his word.

What about you? When doubt is fashionable which way do you run?

You ask: In the end why does it matter? That is a good question. Jesus was raised from the dead for all of them. He kept his word for those who fashionably doubted and those who fought through it. True enough. So what is the win for those who overcome fashionable doubt and traverse the narrow road of faith?

The reward is the joy that comes at the end of the journey. It is the thrill of victory when you didn't quit, the satisfaction of being able to say, "I knew it," when everyone else was jumping ship. There is great joy in staying the course, going against the fashionable doubt of others.

It was that joy that kept Jesus going and Hebrews 12:2 makes that fact abundantly clear. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus stayed the course by hanging onto the joy that he would experience for finishing faithfully. And in the end he rose from the dead victoriously--just as he said he would.

What areas in your life are you currently experiencing fashionable doubt? Does God have a word for you? Don't miss out on the joy he has set before the faithful!

The Fast

2010-03-23T13:29:00.003-04:00

Skycrest is fasting as a church. We are doing it to ask God to infuse our Easter Outreach Project (the feeding of the 400 families) and our Easter Worship Celebration with his grace. We are doing three, twenty-four hour fasts. It begins on Monday night after dinner and goes until Tuesday night at dinner. As we fast we are praying through Isaiah 58:6-12, a beautiful passage of scripture. Last week was easy. But today, uggghhh!

I'm struggling today. I don't feel good. I don't want to do it. I feel sort of tired and completely over it. Denying myself is just not my cup of tea.

I've been tempted to eat something and I could find a million reasons to eat, but the most understandable, the easiest self-sale is that I don't feel good and I'm having a hard time being productive. So I've been trying to talk myself out of eating by reminding myself that that I made a commitment, that I'm not a quitter because I finish what I start.

As I was going through all the reasons to stay the course, I realized that I was in danger of missing the boat altogether. I'm not doing this to keep myself from eating, I'm doing this to keep myself praying. So I'm not a loser if I eat, I'm a loser if I fail to pray.

So when I'm finished here I'm going to pray. I'm going to tell God how I feel. I am going to confess that usually I eat without gratitude. I am going to tell him how I count on food more than I count on him. Then I'm going to thank him for feeding me in spite of my sense of entitlement.

When I'm finished confessing, I'm going to ask him to help the spiritually and physically needy through me. I'm going to thank him that we are called to do something for the Clearwater Community that we couldn't do without him. I'm going to ask him to show up in an unmistakable fashion on the 1st and the 4th of April. Finally I'm going to ask him to give me success with the people he wants me to invite to church to celebrate Easter.

And then when I'm hungry I'll do it all again (I hope)!!!!

I Have a Question for You

2010-03-04T13:58:00.005-05:00

At Skycrest we have been going through what we are calling a 60/60 experiment. The idea is that every 60 minutes for 60 days we have some sort of alarm, chime, or buzzer sounding that reminds us that we are called to live in the continual presence of God. When the alarm sounds we are to pray, quote a memory verse, or do some sort of assessment about our last hour before God.

That may sound gimmicky to you, but please don't knock it until you've tried it. What I have learned is that I'm not as well connected as I thought I was. The number of times I have been caught completely unawares by that beep and what it stood for is alarming, and the number of times that I've responded inhospitably to the reminder of God's gracious presence is disappointing. But I am grateful for my beeping watch, even though I don't act like it sometimes. Hopefully a habit is forming while I am transforming, but I won't really know until the fruit grows and the inspection is complete.

As we have been going through this experience/experiment, a question has been taking shape within me. It's a question that I have always known the answer to, or at least had an answer for, but now I'm not so sure.

The question: Is God really all I need? Can all of my deficiencies as they relate to living righteously be met by the presence of God? Is it really God and nothing else?

What do you think?

I'm not so sure it is God and nothing else. This may be heresy, but I don't think so. There have been times throughout this experiment when I was conscious of the presence of God and yet I was still hosting thoughts or ideas that were not pleasing to Him. There have been times where I have been sitting in the light and yet savoring the thrilling darkness of vengeance. There have been times when I was praying to God about serving other people, and yet refused the next opportunity to do so.

As I look back over my life with God, I see times where I have been walking in darkness and God was trying to tell me to quit, get out, or let go. However, I refused to do so until someone else flipped the light on for me and let me see the darkness from their perspective. I had God and his still small steady voice. But what I really needed was accountability with skin on.

Is this why when Adam was in the garden before the fall and he had uninterrupted fellowship with God that God described the scene as "not good?" He had God. What else could he possibly want? What else could he possible need? Isn't God all we need, or did he put a human shaped hole in our heart beside the one he fashioned for himself?

Jonah Slept! Could You?

2010-02-09T06:58:00.014-05:00

I have been studying the book of Jonah the past couple of weeks and there is a scene in the beginning of the book that has been bugging me. It takes place right after after God tells Jonah to go and launch an evangelistic campaign the likes of which the world has never seen. The assignment is to go to Nineveh and turn them towards God. Though Jonah was the Billy Graham of his generation, he refuses to go because of his hatred for the Ninevites. They are a despicable group of people who consistently break the unwritten rules of warfare by brutalizing the women and children of their enemies. Jonah's bitterness toward them is rooted in the reality that the Jews have been victimized by their brutality and Jonah wants no part of helping them.

So when God calls Jonah to go and lead the Ninevites to repentance, Jonah runs. He would rather God wipe them from the face of the earth then give them a second chance. So Jonah heads off in the other direction, for Tarshish.

You know the story: Along the way God sends a storm that's so violent that it threatens to break up the ship. The sailors surmise that their only chance of survival is to lighten the load by throwing all the cargo overboard. It was all hands on deck!

But there was one set of hands not on deck - Jonah's. Jonah 1:5 says, "But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep." I don't get that, and apparently I am not alone. The next verse states, "The captain went to him and said, 'How can you sleep?'" That's what I want to know. How could he go down there and sleep? Sleep is supposed to be the by-product of peace, found in the center of God's will. This story messes with my theological constructs and tampers with my formula.

There's a similar story in Luke 8. This time it's Jesus and his disciples in a storm of such power that they are convinced they will die. When the storm is fully raging, Jesus, like Jonah, is asleep. The disciples wake him up presumably to die with them. They can't believe he's asleep. He points out the deficiency of their faith and we are left to assume that Jesus' faith and confidence in the future is what enabled him to sleep peacefully in the midst of the storm.

When I look at those two stories, I can understand how Jesus could sleep. But when it comes to Jonah, I am with the captain. How could he?

When I project myself in that situation I just can't imagine being able to curl up and go to sleep. The disobedience; the running; the storm; the cargo; the lives of the sailors; I assume all of those factors would keep me ill at ease and therefore wide awake. But not Jonah and truth be told maybe not me either.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not really surprised, just a bit self-righteous. The truth is, instead of judging Jonah, I need to secure a set of industrial strength tweezers to pluck the log out of my eye.

We all have the capacity to turn our backs on what God wants us to do, and then somehow "come to a peace" about our decision. I know I have done it and I feel reasonably sure that you have too. The fact is, it is amazing the things that we can "come to a peace" about that are in direct disobedience to God's commands: adultery; refusing to forgive; stealing money from God by not giving; fostering division through gossip; judging others; the list goes on and on just like our sleep.

But don't be fooled eventually storms will wake us up. Neither Jonah nor Jesus were able to sleep all the way through it. They were both awakened because of the storm. The difference was that because Jesus did not cause the storm, he overcame it and sailed right on through while Jonah was consumed by the storm as a consequence of causing it.

The lesson is not to be fooled by sleep. "Coming to a peace" about something is different from enjoying God's peace.

God help us to be honest about our choices. Wake us up before we find a way to justify our behavior and end up consumed/swallowed whole by the storms of our disobedience.

What Might God Do?

2010-01-14T07:45:00.000-05:00

I have a book that a friend gave me called, Letters of a Modern Mystic by Frank C. Laubach. He was a missionary on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, who labored in relative obscurity until he began an experiment with God after his 46th birthday. The book is a compilation of letters written primarily to his earthly father about his desire to live in the continual presence of his Heavenly Father. This desire to transcend the physical and be continually attentive to the spiritual is what led to him being called a Modern Mystic, and literally launched him on the road to world changing significance (check out his bio on wikipedia).

I have been reviewing his book as we get ready for the Revolution. We launch formally on 1.31.10. I can't wait. If you are serious about becoming a fully devoloping follower of Christ then you need to commit to being a part. It is going to be a fabulous experience as we lead people through the same sort of disciplines that Frank Laubach embraced as he sought to fully experience God.

As I was rereading his book the other day, I came across a prayer that he prayed that has challenged me. The heart of the prayer is this:

God, what would you put in my mind today if only I were large enough to handle it?

In other words, what would God give me if my faith was large enough to receive it? What does God see that I could see, if I truly had His perspective? What might God do with me, if I had the faith to fully cooperate?

I challenge you to open your heart to the possibilities. Make Rev. Laubach's prayer your prayer, and follow God's lead.

The Prayer of Examen

2009-12-14T12:17:00.013-05:00

Blah Humbug: Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, is the name of the study we are in at Skycrest. The genesis of the series comes from the recognition that we are all of us prone to drifting away from an impassioned faith. While all followers have designs on a vibrant walk with Jesus, few sustain the passion necessary to completely die to self and live for Christ. The hope for the series is to identify some critical disciplines that should reinvigorate our passion.

Yesterday we examined what Gordon MacDonald calls the remembrance principle. Activating this principle is a key to inflaming spiritual passion because remembering well keeps us grounded in the truth of God's unchanging work on our behalf. When we fail to remember the steadfast truth of God, we invite our fickle, ever-changing circumstances to guide our decision making.

To help us establish a routine of remembrance, God established the Sabbath day, exhorting us to keep it holy or make it different. The idea is that as we rest from our work, we should reflect on and celebrate the good work of God. The fruit of this exercise is increased faith and confidence in the way of God, accompanied by a renewed determination to live for him.

What I've discovered along the way is that I not only need to observe the Sabbath weekly, I need to practice Sabbath moments daily. I have to carve out times in my day where I remember that God is for me. I need to discipline myself to consider the omnipresence of God so I can submit to and enjoy the power of God.

In researching ways to establish the discipline of daily Sabbath moments, I discovered the Prayer of Examen. In the first half of the 16th century, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, taught his disciples to conclude their day with what he called the Prayer of Examen. It's a prayer of examination whereby you recall the events and activities of your day and through the process of remembering, evaluate your relational harmony to God.

St. Ignatius' idea was that participants would take time each night to work through the exercises in an attempt to learn to better facilitate the presence of God in their lives. While there are many renditions of the prayer, we tailored it to present three basic steps to achieve the daily Sabbath discipline:

Confess your place in God. Utilize Psalm 103:1-5 to recount the benefits of being a child of God. As you read through those verses, pause to celebrate the goodness of God and acknowledge your need for God.
Ask yourself two sets of questions:
a. Where did I feel the most alive, most hopeful, most in the presence of God today?
b. Where did I feel the darkest, most despairing, most removed from God today?
Celebrate the mercies of God that are new every morning. Ask for strength and guidance to continually live in the presence of God tomorrow.

All three steps need to be followed to stay anchored in truth and impassioned for God. We have to remember what he did for us. We must be able to identify those times and places when we sensed his presence or even realized our distance. Noting the reasons for each will enable us to more consistently place ourselves in blessable positions. Finally when we fail, we must remember that according to God's grace and mercy, every new day gives us the opportunity to follow him.

Will you join me for the next week in daily praying the Prayer of Examen? I pray as you discipline yourself to enjoy a daily Sabbath, your passion will be renewed like the eagle's.

Can I Change the Past?

2009-11-26T08:28:00.003-05:00

It is a beautiful Thanksgiving morning. I am sitting on the porch of a condo in St. Augustine watching the waves roll in and reading a book that reminds me that I can't change the past. Believe me when I say there are some parts of the past I would change if I could. Some of the closets that I mindlessly frequent have skeletons that pop up and scare me to shame.

As I ponder the possibility of an altered past, it occurs to me that there are other scenes from days gone by that I play over and over again that I would not alter. There are good days, God-centered days that remind me of the possibilities of life with God. Those are the regret free days for which I am offering thanks today.

In the midst of these musings a thought occurs to me: you can change the past if you live for God in the present because TODAY IS TOMORROW'S YESTERDAY.

Happy thanks living!

Our Faith Story in Song

2009-11-04T07:06:00.010-05:00

Last Monday I started studying the Song of Ascent Psalms. These are Psalms 120-134. They were sung as pilgrims journeyed to Jerusalem for festivals. I didn't get very far because I got stuck on Psalm 126. It was like reading a very cryptic biography of my life. I'm still stuck. Like the weather, I have been thinking about it off and on since. Here's what it says.

Psalm 126
1When the LORD brought back the captives to Zion, we were like men who dreamed. 2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them." 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.

When we experience God we are living the dream. Giddy with excitement about stepping into His story, we are morphed into a fountain of praise to God. The sheer force of our exuberance moves mountains of doubt in those around us and causes even the most skeptical to note the work and blessing of God in our lives.

But after the victory parade we move into our next assignment. It's another faith challenge that is likely greater than the one before. Why? Because when we persevere in the little assignments, God gives us greater more demanding assignments--heavier lifting required.

Our fortunes seem to turn and the streams of abundance dry up and are replaced by a steady stream of tears. The presence of tears can trigger the loss of heart which always ends in a wandering from purpose and could lead to a failure to complete the assignment.

But this is not true for those who obediently push through in faith. They go out weeping but they still go, and they are carrying their seed. The impetus to carry on comes from the lessons learned while living the dream. Sowing in tears ends with reaping in joy and a bountiful harvest for those who persevere in faith.

I think this has been the story of my past, and I pray it will be the story of my future. What about you?

In Keeping with Repentance

2009-10-21T09:00:00.014-04:00

I really appreciate Parker Palmer's book, Let Your Life Speak. One of the book's big ideas is this: if you will listen carefully to what you have to say, you might actually learn something. His theory is that we learn valuable lessons in life that go unnoticed. But when tested by our circumstances and challenged in our conversations, these lessons are revealed as we articulate positions and values influenced by our experiences.

As a teacher who is entrusted with--and hopefully empowered for--the sacred chore of exposing the life changing truth of God's love, there are times I find myself listening with interest to what I am saying. There are segments of some talks that are completely unplanned and I choose to trust that the tangent is providing exactly what someone in the room needs to hear from God. At times those detours are for other people and at times they are for me.

This past week I found myself traveling down one of those roads less traveled that I think was for me. I can't get it out of my mind. The topic was repentance and I kept quoting John the Baptist from Matthew 3:8, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." The surprise element that was occurring to me as I verbally processed this truth was the "keeping" portion of the command. I had never consciously thought about keeping with repentance.

In my mind I had relegated repentance to what happened on our own personal road to Damascus. We see the bright light of God's truth and we place our faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins and the eternal justification our souls. It's the one-time turnaround from the broad road whose destiny is destruction, and the subsequent repositioning of our lives on the narrow road which leads to life. Most of my conscious thinking in regards to repentance has been this once-in-a-lifetime turn to the truth of God's love, grace, and mercy.

However, John's teaching at this point is clearly about the repentance of sanctification, not justification. There are times in our lives where we get disoriented on the narrow way and we find ourselves lapsing into what we know best, broad-road living in the flesh. This was the state of our being prior to the moment of our conversion. Broad-road living is all about looking out for number one and when we are stricken with vertigo of the faith, we go back to what we know best and lose our way.

JB's message is that when we struggle with those bouts of vertigo we must examine the expected fruit of our decision-making. Will it be fruit that is in keeping with the narrow road of justifying repentance? Or will it be the rotten, self-destructive fruit of the broad road? The very clear meaning of his exhortation is that there are times in our lives that call for re-repentance; literally turning back around and getting reoriented on the narrow road. This re-turning is in keeping with repentance. As a matter of fact, the re-turning or re-repentance of sanctification, is proof of the life changing repentance of justification.

Paul summed it up this way as he defended his own preaching to King Agrippa in Acts 26:20, "First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds."

Slow down and let your life speak today, or better yet, let your fruit speak. Are your deeds proof of your repentance? In keeping with repentance, do you need to re-turn to the narrow way that leads to life eternal and life abundant?

The Modern Day Pharisee

2009-10-15T18:13:00.002-04:00

For weeks now I have been reading the four gospels, studying about the life of Jesus. Even though this is very familiar territory for me, I have still been consistently amazed by his interaction with the Pharisees. I won't bore you by reintroducing the biblical Pharisee, but suffice it to say that Jesus had them in his cross hairs until they put him on the cross.

Reading about those caustic exchanges spelled out in scripture always makes me wonder if I'm a Pharisee. Would Jesus have the same problems with my spirituality that he did with theirs? What about yours? As followers of Jesus, we need to entertain the notion that we might be modern day Pharisees.

Here's my litmus test for Pharisaism: If your spiritual privilege becomes another's predicament; you're a Pharisee. When my privilege becomes your predicament, I'm doing the work of a Pharisee.

In his diatribe against those do-gooders Jesus said, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matthew 23:4)

The "heavy loads" to which Jesus refers are the rules and rituals of righteousness that the Pharisees lived by. Living up to those standards proved to be a full-time job and yet they placed those same expectations on people who couldn't afford to devote their lives to rule keeping. So instead of helping people connect with God's mercy and love, they were loading them down with guilt and condemnation. So their unique privileges in life were putting the people in a very difficult predicament.

Modern day Pharisees do the same thing. I was in a worship service one evening where the Pastor told the congregation that he spent four hours a day reading and studying scripture. He went on to imply that if we were serious about our relationship with God we would do the same thing! I wanted to stand up and OBJECT in hopes that the statement would be stricken from the records of our minds. Studying the scripture for four hours a day was his job and his privilege; making it my predicament was Pharisaical.

Most people who have substantive walks with God enjoy certain privileges. They have been graced with unique passions, gifts, talents, or resources that are fruitful for their walk. Each of those privileges are wonderful gifts from God that should be explored and celebrated, but never assigned!

When my privilege becomes your assignment and therefore your predicament, I have become a Pharisee by tying a heavy load on your back and doing nothing to remove it.

Say What?

2009-09-29T20:58:00.009-04:00

I began a new series of talks this past week entitled "Say What?" The idea of the series is to wrestle with some of the peculiar statements Jesus made that leave us scratching our heads. Sunday we examined some exchanges that Jesus had with three would-be disciples in Luke 9:57-62. Two of the men came to Jesus offering to follow him and a third was approached by Jesus about possibly joining the burgeoning band of disciples.

Each of the men had a particular hang-up with the concept of total abandonment because they all had something they were hanging on to. The first one was hoping to sign up because he believed Jesus would soon be establishing a political kingdom that would mean peace and prosperity for Jerusalem. This becomes evident when we realize that Jesus answered him with the veiled language of the oppressed Jews, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Jesus was not talking about his homelessness, he was talking about the fact that he had no place to set up shop to live and govern. The fox was Herod (Luke 13:32), the "birds of the air" was an intertestamental apocalyptic reference to Gentile nations. What Jesus was saying is that, while they had established places to govern and call home, the Son of Man (read Servant of Man), did not come to establish a kingdom. He came to embrace political rejection so that he could set up a spiritual kingdom of the heart.

The second man was clinging to the tradition of his day that obligated a son to stay within the confines of the family business until the father was laid to rest. When Jesus approached him and he replied that he needed to go and bury his father, it did not mean that his father was dead but that he wanted to fulfill his expectation and stay with the family until he was. Jesus' response to him was curt: "Let the dead bury their own dead...." In other words, God is calling you to life and don't miss this opportunity to find true spiritual meaning because of the expectations of the dead.

Finally, Jesus was approached by a man who volunteered to follow him on the condition that he could "go back and say good-by to my family." This guy may have heard the exchanges with the first two and thought surely Jesus would take him because he just wanted to go say good-by. At first glance this looks to be the toughest proposal for Jesus to shoot holes in. It seems all this man wants to do is tell his family where he is going, get one last hug and be on his way. But Jesus shuts him down saying, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." Now that just seems wrong! On further inspection we discovered that the Greek word translated "good-by" is translated the four other times it is used in the New Testament as "take leave of." The custom of the day was that those who were leaving needed to seek permission to take leave from those who were staying. In essence what he was saying was, "Let me get the approval of my family and then I will go wherever you go."

If we are honest, when we read about these men, we feel for them. Their contingencies seem reasonable. As a matter of fact, the last two actually seem to be trying to do the biblical thing and honor their families. Yet Jesus says no. What is the real problem?

The real problem is that each of these men made something else their Lord. For the first his Lord was his political expectations. Jesus knew when he found out his expectations would be disappointed, he would bail out. The second made his family traditions his Lord. The third made the approval of his family his Lord.

What Jesus was trying to point out was that "no one can serve two masters." Like the rich young ruler who walked away because Jesus demanded that he give away his god, money, each of these men were asked to make a similar sacrifice. These demands are hard to stomach because of the incredibly heavy price extracted.

We struggle with the message because all of us have someone or some things in our lives that could easily become master: career, children, savings, image, family, friends, etc. These are all things we work to attain that would be virtually impossible to walk away from if required. But the point is not what you have to walk out of, it's what you should walk into.

When we prioritize God and make him Lord of our lives, everything else falls into place. When God is the center of our lives, we have more peace and joy with the other blessings he bestows upon us. With Jesus as Lord we have the capacity to live in gratitude for the good things he has done for us. This is why Jesus said, "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." God is not some killjoy who is looking to steal our lives and our loves. He is the lover of our souls who wants us to trust him with our lives. The invitation to follow him is an invitation to trust him completely. And word teaches us that he will meet that trust with a life more abundant than we could ever dream up for ourselves.

Coincidence or Spiritual Warfare?

2009-09-22T07:08:00.009-04:00

Let me start by saying that one of my goals is not to be seen as some sort of kook when it comes to my spirituality. I know that's shallow, but I can't help myself. I just don't want to be lumped in with that group of "preachers" who appear on TV with poofed-up hair, sensationalizing their experiences so people desperate for meaning will send them their hard-earned money. While I'm not here to talk about them, I am just insecure enough about what I do to feel the need to distance myself from being associated with a group that finds a demon under every rock they trip over. Some are quicker than Flip Wilson to say that the devil made them do it, but that's not me. Right or wrong, I align myself with the personal responsibility camp, a group of committed egotists that gravitate toward accepting blame for the bad and credit for the good.

The reality is that I don't know if I'm right or wrong. I can't really discern if my reluctance to recognize or acknowledge the spiritual interpretation of events is the by-product of cultural materialism, image management, immaturity in my faith or even maturity in my walk with God. So I see what I see and say what I say in hopes that God will do what he says -- demonstrate his strength through my weakness.

The reason it is so difficult to be right in our interpretation of events is because there are always four causal possibilities. First, the laws of sowing and reaping demonstrate that some of the fruit we reap, whether rotten or ripe, comes from the trees that we planted. Second, life happens. Jesus said that good people and bad people will experience rain and sunshine. Third, the Bible teaches us that we experience testing and discipline from God that may not be pleasant at the time but is designed to make us more like Jesus. Fourth, Paul writes in Ephesians that the schemes of the devil are real. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

We can't know for sure why stuff happens and therefore I don't think it's critical to nail down an explanation in every case. However, the events of this past Sunday compelled me to try and figure it out.

For those of you who were not at Skycrest on Sunday, let me explain. Each year we have a celebration of the GLOCAL mission outreach of our church. We hear about local and global ministries we support and, at the conclusion of the week of festivities, we invite people to join the work by pledging money for the upcoming year. The end result is that on this particular Sunday we typically raise about $30,000, or just under a third of our total mission investment for the year.

To wrap up our celebration this past Sunday, I had the privilege of interviewing a couple who have been called to the mission field to serve an unreached people group that number in excess of 13 million. Their story remarkably presents the transformative power of the gospel because they are serving people who are religiously aligned with a group of zealots that took the life of this man's brother. As you might imagine, God was moving powerfully as they shared their story.

At the conclusion of the experience, it was my responsibility to remind the followers in the room that Jesus reached us so we could reach others. We examined the passage of scripture in Romans 10 where Paul writes,"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?"

The logic is clear and the truth powerful: All people can be saved by Jesus if they call to him in faith. However, they can't call to him if they don't know about him. They can't know about him if they aren't told. They can't be told if believers don't go to them. Believers can't go to them if they aren't sent.

We were moving toward the glorious truth that God invites us to significance and global impact by allowing us to pool our resources and fill the role of senders. But we never got there. Just as I was about to lead people to consider God's call for them as senders, just before we were going to take up the offering for the missions that we support around the world ... the fire alarm went off. No kidding! The fire alarm went off and the entire campus had to be evacuated.

We didn't get to finish sharing the gospel. We didn't get to finish explaining the opportunity that we have to join God in the work. We didn't get to give people the privilege of investing their resources in God's kingdom.

Was that coincidence or spiritual warfare? Did the fire alarm just happen to malfunction two minutes before we sacrificially committed to God's agenda? Or did we experience some physical manifestation of the spiritual reality the scripture reveals?

Obviously we can't know for sure (remember the four causal possibilities?). What we do know is that our alarm system identifies the location of any disturbance that triggers an alarm and there was nothing out of the ordinary to set it off. The sensor that tripped was in a locked janitorial closet void of strange odors or machinery that could have mechanically malfunctioned.

Did we experience spiritual warfare? Image management aside, I honestly think we did. But in the end it really doesn't matter. What matters is how we respond. What matters is that we recognize the critical nature of what God has called us to do and the commitment of our foe to generate distraction. We have to understand and prepare for the fact that when we are working to glorify God and advance His kingdom we will attract the attention of our enemy whose M.O. is to "steal, kill, and destroy."

And most importantly we have to remember that we are a part of the winning team. We will overcome because we are more than conquerors through God who gives us strength.

Relative Faith

2009-09-01T06:09:00.012-04:00

My favorite book begins with one of my favorite quotes. The book is If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. The quote is by Theodore Roosevelt from a speech that was given in Paris in 1910. I'm sure you have encountered it somewhere along the way...

"It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena ... who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So that his place will never be with those cold timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

I love the book generally and the quote specifically because they awaken that part of me that desires to seize the day, the part that is afraid of being average and ordinary, the part that needs to be awakened periodically because sometimes the challenges associated with carpe diem are so overwhelming and scary that I want to cop out.

The story behind the book is obviously the biblical story of Peter getting out of the boat the disciples were in and walking on water toward Jesus. When I read the story I fantasize about being Peter and having the faith and courage to walk on water. But I realize I'm probably more like the majority who stayed in the safe confines of the boat and watched -- the "boat potatoes" as Ortberg calls them.

I reread the account in Matthew 14 this morning and, as I did, I felt an unfamiliar frustration with Jesus' treatment of Peter. See, it surprises me that it would even occur to Peter that, for him, walking on water was a possibility. I'm impressed that Peter invited himself to join Jesus on the stroll and it amazes me that he actually got out of the boat. Yet what really boggles my mind is that Jesus called Peter out for his "little faith."

You know the story. As Peter was making his way to Jesus, the wind picked up so much that he could literally see the effects. He got concerned about what he had gotten himself into, he lost his focus, began to sink and cried out to Jesus to save him. Matthew 14:31 says, "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'"

I understand that Jesus made an accurate assessment of Peter's faith as he sank. What I don't understand is why he called him out like that in front of the boys. Why wasn't Peter praised for his risk taking? Why didn't Jesus understand what Roosevelt said, "The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." Why weren't the others chided for their "boat potato" faith which as it relates to water walking is no faith at all? Relative to the rest of the group, Peter is the only one who was flexing faith, yet he received the rebuke!

The answers lie in the fact that faith is not relative to the group but the call. While we get caught up in comparing and contrasting our journey with others, God doesn't. He assesses followers on a call by call basis.

Peter was called to walk on water. In the middle of the journey his faith shrunk and he got that sinking feeling of failure. In that moment, it wasn't about the boys watching from the comfy confines of the boat. It was about maximizing the potential of the one with the courage to get out of the boat. So in the process of saving him, Jesus reminded Peter that the faith that got him out of the boat would be needed to sustain him in the storm.

My frustration with Jesus' response to Peter is ill conceived. Peter's willingness to enter the arena isn't the point. A risk taking adrenaline junkie would have jumped out of the boat without a moment's hesitation. For those who follow Christ, the point of entering the arena is to expand the kingdom by bringing glory and honor to God. We don't take risks for risk's sake, we take them for God's sake. It has to be about God and stay about God.

Herein lies the problem with Peter: He lost his focus on Jesus which caused his faith to wither and doubt to bloom. In that condition it became about Peter's ability to survive, not Peter's call to Jesus. Still in grace Jesus reached out and saved him, reminding Peter that his life was in His capable, trustworthy hands. The message for Peter, and for us is that by faith we should follow the call wherever it leads. In faith we should keep our eyes on the God of the call.

Where Have I Been?

2009-08-25T10:16:00.014-04:00

If you've been looking for my latest musings and have been disappointed, I apologize. I took a bit of a sabbatical. I expected to come back to The Connecting Point refreshed and ready to say something profound. I kept waiting for that that unmistakable "ah ha" moment that I get when I know I have something to say. Other than nothing, I don't know what happened. I realized this morning that if I had to keep waiting for that moment to write something, I might forget my password and never be able to return.

If you have asked where I have been, I have asked where God has been. Usually in these seasons of silence I get back into rhythm pretty quickly. I have a mental list of catalysts that I work through that generally spark what I perceive to be fresh insight about God, myself or others. I worked through the list thoroughly! I took a vacation. I read scripture, books by my favorite authors and the poetry of Billy Collins. I talked to people that inspire me. I asked God for help and confessed the sins that I'm aware of and any that may have occurred off the radar screen of my consciousness. And, in an act of sheer desperation, I even turned off sports talk radio in favor of The Best of Passion {So Far} worship CDs. I've done all of my tricks and the end result is I'm still waiting.

I think maybe it's because I needed to be reminded that streams of abundance are a by-product of God's grace. We can't predict how, when or why God is going to speak and we certainly can't trick him into doing so. If we could, it wouldn't be an act of grace but an act of reciprocity. While I know in my mind God doesn't do reciprocity, I struggle to accept it because the testimonies that I've heard from people who seem to have experienced God in their walk all suggest they did something to earn it.

When I was in seminary virtually all of the chapel times reinforced this notion. Pastors from big churches in the denomination would come and tell us all about how they had led their church into incredible growth because they did stuff right. They preached the Word with the right amount of passion, or they prayed a lot, or accepted the least of these, or knew how to hire and fire, or used the right day timer, or played the right kind of music, or wore the right kind of socks, or combed their hair properly, or convinced everybody to be Republicans ... it was amazing! I took notes and determined that one day I would incorporate all the right stuff into my ministry and God would have to grow my church and eventually I would end up on that stage in chapel talking about how I had earned God's grace.

I remember clearly when God revealed the absurdity of this idea of reciprocal grace. It was early in my ministry at Dayspring and I had a perfect week of ministry. I led three people to Christ. There was a death in a family that was visiting our church and I went and mowed their lawn and then traveled out of town to be at the funeral. I had an incredible week of study and prayer. When Sunday morning came I woke up and had a time of worship that culminated in tears of wonder and gratitude. Upon reviewing the talk that morning, I realized that it was really good and I distinctly remember thinking that revival was sure to break out that morning as the spirit of God fell during the sermon. After all, God had no choice but to show up because I had earned it!

As you might imagine, things didn't go quite as I expected. I got up to do the talk and I literally felt abandoned. It felt as though God was visiting another church that morning and my spirit and my sermon were sinking in quicksand. The void of God's presence was so palpable that one of my friends asked me what happened and, as soon as I was able to pray about it, I asked the same question.

God showed me that if He had shown up after the perfect ministry week, the pressure on me to perform would have never been relieved. If I performed and He showed up I could take the credit. But if I had a bad week and He didn't, then I would have to accept the blame. In essence if the error of the grace of reciprocity had been reinforced it would teach me the lesson that His work and power are dependent upon my strength when in actuality it is dependent upon my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The lesson then and now is the same. Whether we're talking about experiencing God's presence and power, or hearing a message from God, it's all grace. There are no tricks and there is certainly no reciprocity. God dispenses His grace in His perfect timing and according to His good pleasure, not according to our performance.

So I'll wait because I have no choice. However, I wait in freedom because I know experiencing Him is not up to me. I also wait expectantly because I know that God will never leave me or forsake me -- even when he lets me preach by myself.

The Tragic Flaw

2009-07-08T07:49:00.008-04:00

I can't help myself, I really feel the need to explore the notion of The Tragic Flaw. I am sure this is an exaggeration, but it seems to me that about a third of the major news stories have as an undercurrent this notion of the tragic flaw in their subjects. Whether it's in the world of politics, sports, high finance, or follywood, the people making the news are those who have been exposed for the presence of a tragic flaw that has compromised their reputation, ended their careers and in some cases even ended their lives.

Before I wander off too far, I think it's imperative that we get a handle on what I mean by The Tragic Flaw. Humor me here. The word tragic means disastrous, pathetic, or fatal. The word flaw refers to a defect or a crack that mars perfection. Therefore, the concept of The Tragic Flaw refers to the seemingly inexplicable hitch in a person's giddy-up that can cause them to stumble and fall at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place. The fall is typically so disastrous that the person feels that there is little to no hope for recovery.

As I write, I can't help but think of the two men who have dominated the news most recently because of the exposure of their tragic flaws: the governor of my home state, Mark Sanford, and the former quarterback of the Tennessee Titans, Steve McNair. I have been thinking about these men because their family profiles fit mine to a tee--both fairly young, both the father of four boys, both with lots to look forward to.

My initial response to their fall was presumably the same as yours: one (hopefully faint) part schadenfreude, one part judgmental arrogance. If I thought it once I thought it 50 times: How can two men who have so much to live for get caught up in that? How can they be so foolish?

But upon further review, I realize my default response is flawed and potentially tragic. It may sound cliche, but "there but by the grace of God go I." I am fully capable of falling in the same way, or some way similar to McNair and Sanford. And you are, too. The reality is that we are all of us, tragically flawed.

Borrowing from the imagery of Eden, we all have a tree in the middle of our gardens that represents forbidden but tempting fruit. It's a tree whose convenient seemingly flawless fruit promises to fill the void in our soul.

This tree produces soul mates when we are married but unfulfilled.
It provides the fruit of significance and security when we wonder if we are loved.
It offers the fruit of status when we are afraid that our stuff doesn't measure up.
It offers the thrill of adventure when our lives seem drab and monotonous.
It offers the delusion of control when our lives seem unmanageable.

I could go on and on but I don't need to. Suffice it to say we are all tragically flawed because there is a tree in the middle of our gardens. When things aren't going the way we want, or when we are experiencing unmet expectations, we tend to turn to the fruit that promises quick and easy resolution.

So what do we do?

First, respect and acknowledge the flaw. God pointedly told Adam and Eve about the tree and its deadly fruit. He wanted to bring to light the powerful lure of darkness and the deception that lurks in the shadows. The hope was that knowing the truth would set them free to avoid the danger.

Second, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." (Luke 22:40) Being tempted by the tree and entering into that temptation are two different things. Jesus told us that we should daily ask that God would not lead us into temptation and that He would deliver us from evil. It is good to know when danger is near; it is better to avoid it.

Third, be grateful that you are standing and in gracious humility help those who have fallen. Galatians is very clear. "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ."

The presence of the tragic flaw is undeniable. Succumbing to its compelling call is unnecessary.

The Sifting

2009-06-24T09:38:00.009-04:00

I have always been fascinated by the exchange between Peter and Jesus that happened in the upper room after the Last Supper. In the midst of Jesus teaching his disciples about his impending death; infusing the Passover with new meaning; and radically reinterpreting greatness for them; he pulls back the curtain so Peter can see the battle that was raging with the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. In Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:11, Jesus was revealing the “schemes of the devil” against which Peter and the disciples were to stand.

The exchange is found in Luke 22:31-33. "'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death.'"

There are a couple of things that we need to understand that will bring this passage to life.

First, the “you” of Satan’s demand is plural and therefore is applied to all the disciples who would turn their back on Jesus during the battle of the cross. I think Jesus addresses Peter specifically for three reasons:

He is the leader.
While they were all subject to the sifting, Peter would reject Jesus most publicly.
He was the most confident that he wouldn’t fall: “Lord with you I am ready to go both to prison and to death."

Second, there is more than meets the eye in the phrase “demanded permission.” Most translations interpret the Greek word "exaiteo" as ‘asked.’ The KJV renders Jesus revelation, “Satan desires to have you.” But I quoted the NASB because its interpretation gets at the heart of what's really being said.

When you read that “Satan has demanded permission,” the feeling is that Satan is operating with a sense of entitlement. A demand is generally based upon the perception of a legitimate claim and Satan certainly believes he has claim on us.

The word Jesus used, exaiteo, is a word that literally means to claim back for oneself. Satan knows that because of sin human beings are his. He is the Lord of the darkness into which we are born, and therefore we come into the world as children of darkness.

However, when we by faith are enlightened by the light of the world, we are transferred from darkness to light and become children of God by the will of God (John 1:4-12). This is a great loss for Satan and while he can’t take us back, he does work diligently to keep us mired in darkness. This is the sifting to which Jesus referred.

There are times that we endure sifting and while the battle is a spiritual one that transcends flesh and blood, it is waged in the flesh and we are sifted through the desires of our flesh.

Peter would be sifted by his fleshly desire for self-preservation. When he felt threatened physically by his relationship with Christ, he denied his spiritual reality. So Satan sifted him through the flesh because that is where Peter was most susceptible and where Satan could stake his claim most compellingly.

We are vulnerable in the flesh because we have been living in the flesh longer than we have been living in the Spirit. Our yearnings (our physical, psychological, and emotional cravings) find expression in the very flesh that Satan once controlled. He knows our weaknesses and he lays claim on our lives by exploiting them.

James 1:14-15 says, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

We are tempted, or sifted, when Satan baits us into believing that our fleshly desires are our reality. When we fall victim to the lie, we are giving birth to the death of the abundant life we enjoy by faith.

But we don’t have to fall down or stay down. We have an advocate who has defeated our adversary. He has prayed for us in the same way that he prayed for Peter. His prayer is that by faith our spiritual reality would trump the deception of our flesh. When we fall, when we are mired in the darkness of the sifting, he asks us to repent and leverage our lessons for the good of others who are being sifted.

The sifting will come. But we have to remember that in our weakness we find his strength.

Choosing Confidence in Criticism

2009-06-08T11:01:00.020-04:00

Criticism is one of those rare commodities that even the stingiest of people are generous with. While no one likes to receive criticism, it seems the woods are full of people who are more than willing to dish it out. We could ponder the psychological reasons for our propensity to criticize, but that is for another time and hopefully a smaller audience. Today I want to explore how those who are connected to Jesus should receive and respond to criticism.

From my perspective there are really five general responses to criticism.

Attack the messenger - Feeling attacked, we strike back at the person making the observation, slinging mud at every facet of their lives in an attempt to maintain superiority.
Discredit the messenger - This is an indirect attack that undermines the credibility of the criticizer. When engaged in discrediting, we tell anyone who will listen about the personal problems of the one who has leveled the criticism.
Withdraw and sulk - Over-responding to the shame of the criticism, we shut down any interaction with the person who attacked us believing that ostracizing our enemy is a just punishment for their crime.
Blowup and then process - Initially we get really angry and say things that we regret. Then as time goes by we reflect honestly on the issue.
Check our emotions and search for validity - No angry reactions. If appropriate we offer an apology for a perceived offense and express gratitude for their concern. Then, having protected the dignity of our critic, we look for the nuggets of truth that lie within almost every criticism.

Obviously for followers of Jesus the first three responses are totally unacceptable, the fourth is beginning to move in the right direction, but only the last option truly reflects our commitment to Christ. Not surprisingly, the last option is by far the most difficult response to muster -- but it is not impossible.

2 Samuel records the sad story of Absalom's insurrection, stealing the hearts of the people of Israel and then taking the throne from his father, David. In 2 Samuel 16:5-14, there is a play-by-play account of David's exodus from the Promised Land that features a unique critique.

There is a man from the tribe of Benjamin, the family of Saul, named Shimei. You remember that Saul was the king who preceded David, so presumably this man had a bit of an ax to grind. Having heard that David was on the run and coming his way, Shimei took it upon himself to let David know that he was getting exactly what he deserved. The scripture says he cursed David and, if that wasn't enough, he ran alongside the party pelting David, his officials, and his bodyguards with stones and saying, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel! The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. You have come to ruin because you are a man of blood!"

Needless to say, Shimei wasn't the sharpest Benjamite in the box. By pounding the king with pebbles he was taking his life in his own hands. As a matter of fact Abishai, one of David's fiercest warriors, requested permission to go lop Shimei's head off. But David would have none of it. Somehow he found the strength to respond to Shimei with his emotions in check and with an open mind to the validity of his statements. Reading the account of David's response reveals how David was able to choose the noble way in the face of some extremely debilitating and enraging criticism.

First, David knew that he had bigger fish to fry than Shimei. In verse 11 he reminds Abishai, "My son, who is my own flesh, is trying to take my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite!" In other words, why would you expend any unnecessary energy on this person who cannot affect your future, when my own flesh and blood is out to kill me. Let's keep things in perspective here. We are getting what we expect from him, let it go!

Second, David chose to see criticism as a treasure map. David knew that the criticism was going to lead to treasure. The first possibility was that the Lord sent Shimei and there was a truth he had to face up to. In verse 11 he tells Abishai to leave him alone because it is quite possible the Lord instructed him to curse David. In verse 12 he mentions a more plausible possibility that the Lord will see his plight and "repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today." Either way, David believed there was treasure coming if he endured the criticism.

Third David kept moving toward the goal. Verse 13 says, "So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt." What a scene: A grown man pitching an extended fit toward the king. But as entertaining as that would have been to witness, the remarkable part is that David kept on going. The tendency when hurt is to quit. We accept defeat and stop progress by hyper focusing on our wounds. But not David. He had somewhere to go and he stayed the course.

Fourth when he arrived, he acknowledged the pain and sought relief. Verse 14 says, "The king and all the people arrived at their destination exhausted. And there he refreshed himself." David didn't try to convince himself that Shimei was just a bad dream, he didn't try to pretend that it didn't affect him. He was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally and Shimei was a big part of that. So when he got where he was going, he gave himself some time to process. He spent time with God, acknowledging the devastation brought about by Absalom as well as Shimei and no doubt taking some time to find the treasure buried at the end of the hunt.

The Big Squeeze

2009-06-01T06:53:00.008-04:00

I don't buy the notion that there are no dumb questions. I fully believe that people ask dumb questions. I have asked you dumb questions and I have been victimized by yours as well. It is part of getting to know people, it is a part of speech really. I say this because I am about to ask you a series of questions that could easily be interpreted, or misinterpreted, as dumb. Indulge me; I hope these questions prove purposeful.

What do you get when you squeeze an orange?
What do you get when you squeeze a bottle of ketchup?
What do you get when you squeeze a tube of toothpaste?

Obviously we all know the answer to those questions. If there is any doubt in your mind I would suggest avoiding tryouts for Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? The expectation is that when squeezed, you would get out of each vessel what is actually inside. So, when you squeeze a container of ketchup you get ketchup, when pressure is applied to a tube of toothpaste you get toothpaste.

If we extrapolate this out into the absurd, we could even formulate principles that govern our expectations for the squeeze.

When squeezed something is going to come out.
What comes out is what is inside.
What is inside is what has been intentionally placed there.

Silly but true.

Now, with all of that in mind, let me ask you an important question: What do you get when you squeeze a Christian?

Following the principles of the squeeze, the answer should be Christ. When a Christian is squeezed by the pressures of life the result should be that a likeness of Christ comes out. Do you agree?

Believe it or not, Jesus had something to say about all of this. In his Sermon on the Mount he addressed this concept.

You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. Matthew 7:16-20 NLT

Jesus was pointing out was that there are a plethora of people who say they are good and godly; they run with the right people and go to the right churches and have all of the right answers. But all of that stuff doesn't matter because it's surface stuff and can be controlled. To really know what a person is like, you have to wait until they are wedged in the vice of life, when they experience the Big Squeeze. It is during the pressures of life that you can know who a person is and whose they are.

Let me ask a more important question: What do we get when life squeezes you?

Whatever Happened to Peace?

2009-05-26T07:10:00.012-04:00

In the last installment of musings I wrote about the apparent disappearance of sin from our collective conscience not that sin has made itself scarce, but that we have reidentified it as something far more palatable and, therefore, much less offensive.

It has been interesting to listen to people respond to that blog because it was widely interpreted as "out of character" for me. I am generally not that confrontational because I believe grace attracts, edifies and ultimately ends in voluntary self-correction (see Zacchaeus). After all, it is God's amazing grace "that taught my heart to fear, and grace will lead me home."

However, I felt compelled to write that blog about the presence of sin because of the absence of peace. We are not a people at peace, yet we fail to make the inextricable connection between our peacelessness and our sinfulness. When we are at odds with our creator we are at odds with peace. So it is vital that we identify those things that sabotage our serenity.

Since enmity with God is our natural experience and unrest is our typical environment, we may not have a frame of reference that enables us to recognize peace. So we need be able to identify it, too. We need to recognize when we are harmonizing with God's purpose for our lives. Then when we experience life as God intended, we will have a more radical commitment to exterminating the things (sins) that compromise it.

So what is peace? The peace that God desires for us is what the Hebrew prophets called shalom. Dr. Cornelius Plantinga Jr. defines shalom like this in his book, Not the Way it is Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin:

"We call it peace, but it means far more than mere peace of mind or a cease-fire between enemies. In the Bible, shalom means a universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight – a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens doors and welcomes the creatures in whom he delights. Shalom, in other words, is the way things ought to be."

I don't know about you, but my heart yearns for "universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight." And the beauty is that God yearns for me to have it and has made it available. There is a path that we can follow that will ultimately lead to peace.

So whatever happened to peace? It's right where it has always been! It's on a narrow path sitting in the middle of the road less traveled.

Jesus encouraged us to find peace by finding that narrow road. "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)

When Jesus spoke of life he was referring to a life of peace. While the road to peace may be narrow, it is actually easily accessible through Jesus who also said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no man comes to the Father but by me."

Peace is what you want and through the way of with Christ, God has made it available to all who ask.

What Ever Happened to Sin?

2009-05-18T15:03:00.012-04:00

"Whatever happened to sin?" I wish you could hear me ask that question in the quiet of my mind. If you could, then you would understand that I am asking it like sin was an old friend who lived down the hall from me in college, someone that I would expect to bump into on FaceBook. I ask about it like it's someone that I used to spend time with and, because our paths went in different directions, we've simply lost touch.

I ask that question not because I'm too good to sin, I'm not. Much to my chagrin, I am as fully capable of falling today as I ever have been.

For me the question is far more communal than personal. I'm asking you, too! Have you heard about sin? Where did it go? When I was growing up I heard all kinds of sermons on it. I heard as much about sin as I did grace and love. Because I recognized the presence of sin I longed for the presence of grace and love.

Thinking through this, I decided to look at the last five years of my preaching calendar. Of the 250+ sermons I preached, surely I could find some that included "sin" in their titles. Guess what: The search yielded a series of sermons titled, "What's Missing?" Can you believe that? I'll tell you what's missing ....

Sin is missing from our collective conversations. It is politically incorrect and and therefore taboo. If we talk about sin then we are too negative and too narrow. To point out sin is judgmental and arrogant and so we avoid it like the plague. The only problem is that sin is the problem, and it needs to be identified.

Sin is not really missing, it's just hidden in plain sight. Sin is ...

killing babies and calling it choice
blowing up abortion clinics and calling it justice
racking up credit card debt and calling it priceless
living together before marriage and calling it cheaper
looking out for No. 1 and calling it the American dream
having an affair and calling it deserved
eating too much and calling it a celebration
talking bad about people and calling it a prayer request
avoiding home and calling it providing for the family
neglecting worship and calling it time to ourselves

In his book, Not the Way it is Supposed to Be, Neal Plantinga writes, "Sin is the missing of a target, a wandering from the path, a straying from the fold. Sin is a hard heart and a stiff neck. Sin is blindness and deafness. It is both the overstepping of a line and the failure to reach it -- both transgression and shortcoming. Sin is a beast crouching at the door. In sin, people attack or evade or neglect their divine calling. Sin is never normal. Sin is a disruption of created harmony and then resistance to divine restoration of that harmony. Above all, sin disrupts and then resists the vital human relation to God."

Whether we talk about it or not, the evidence of sin is all around us. It is stealing, killing, and destroying life as it was divinely designed. Things are not the way they are supposed to be. The irony is that, instead of blaming men and their sin for the problems and suffering we experience, the world we live in blames the God we believe in. The end result is that because of sin, God and sin have become figments of the imagination.

Understand, I am in no way suggesting that we pick up our rocks of righteousness and begin stoning our neighbors. I don't think we need to return to the days of hell-fire and brimstone preaching. I'm certainly not asking for a revival of judgmental sin-speak that alienates the church from the culture we are called to reach.

What I am asking for is a reduction of sin in the church. Wouldn't it be cool if we had fewer sin addicts? Wouldn't God's kingdom come and his will be done more if we sinned less? Like they say in AA: to solve a problem you have to admit you have one. Can we admit we have a problem?

If we are going to talk about sin, calling it what it is, let's talk about it in-house. Let's get the church that enjoys the forgiveness of sin to begin living victoriously over sin. Then we will see that the compelling story of positive life-change inside the church will lead to transformation outside the church.

The Ingredients of a Life Well-lived

2009-05-12T08:48:00.010-04:00

I missed writing last week because I made a trip to my hometown, Walhalla, South Carolina. While I have heard rumors of Internet access there, I have yet to confirm them so I took the week off. For the four of you that care, my apologies.

I made the trip because after 90 years of unwavering consistency my grandmother went home to be with the Lord. Her name was Mattie Eliza Wilson. She is survived by my grandfather Clayton and 55 others who knew her as mother, grandmother or great-grandmother. If ever there was a group of people who understand the concept of a true matriarch, these 55 people get it.

I've heard that no one is perfect so I guess it's true, but my grandmother made a run at it. She was a wonderfully dependable, perfectly predictable follower of Jesus. Her love language was selflessness. If there was a need she met it. If there was a void she filled it. If there was confusion she cleared it up. If you needed some advice she gave it, whether you asked for it or not.

I think if Jesus had spoken at her funeral he would have described her as great. She fit his description to a tee: "Whoever wants to be great among you, must be your servant." While I am certain that the pursuit of greatness never made it on her to-do list, it was her reality. She was a true servant who never allowed unfavorable circumstances or personal inconvenience to interfere with her pursuit of others' happiness.

At the end of the day my grandmother really cared about two things: living for Jesus and caring for others. By all accounts, these are the ingredients of a life well lived.

"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30).

The Parent Trap

2009-04-27T05:38:00.004-04:00

We've been going through a sermon series at Skycrest titled "Reel Families." The idea is to take titles of well known movies and build the talk around them. Yesterday we explored The Parent Trap. The whole talk was essentially an interview with T. C. and Rebecca Staton who are two of the most effective parents I know anything about. (If you weren't there it is really worth a listen at www.skycrestfamily.org.)

In in preparing this study, I became convinced of an aspect of parenting I had previously thought little about--parental discipline. As I read through the book of Proverbs, I rediscovered the familiar encouragements and benefits of disciplining children for the child's sake.

Proverbs 19:18
Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death.

Proverbs 23:13-14
Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rod, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death.

Reading those verses reminded and even reinspired me about the benefits of discipline for my children. But it wasn't until I read Proverbs 29:17-18 that it all fell into place for me.

Proverbs 29:17-18
Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul. Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.

I would imagine I've heard no less than 15 sermons on Proverbs 29:18. The NAS says, "Where there is no vision the people are unrestrained ...." The talks are always about cultivating vision for the future and then working towards it. But as I read verse 18 in context with verse 17, my understanding about what Solomon was teaching began to change.

At first I saw it as an echo to the other proverbs as it related to my children and discipline: If they are disciplined throughout life they will be blessed. But then I realized this verse was not about the benefits of discipline to my children. This verse was about the benefits of discipline to me!

Look at verse 17 again. Who gets the peace? Whose soul is delighted? The parent's! From that perspective it's clear that verse 18's invitation to cultivate vision as a means to restraint is for the parent. The idea is that parents need to have a vision of the benefits of discipline so they will be disciplined in their parenting. And the promise is that if a parent is disciplined in keeping the law as it relates to training their children, then they will be blessed.

The laws of sowing and reaping apply to raising children. You cannot reap what you do not sow. If you aren't disciplined as a parent, then you will not have discplined children. If you don't consistently honor God and His word in disciplining and discipling your children, then they won't honor God and His word as they respond.

The Parent Trap that we identified yesterday was the trap of being a reactive parent. This is parenting with emotions only, always responding to your children based upon the level of agitation or embarassment they cause. Needless to say, reactive parenting is extremely undisciplined and unpredictable. The boundaries are always moving based on your mood and the result is that the child can't gain any traction or confidence because they never know where they stand.

On the other hand, God's word teaches proactive parenting which has a vision for the value of discipline for both parent and child. It is not easy. It demands prayer, creativity, intentionality, authenticity, and a willingness to make the difficult decision to hold your kids accountable for their actions. Hebrews 12:11 casts a compelling vision for disciplined parenting. "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

It is always a challenge to discipline yourself to be a parent and not just a friend to your children, but in the end disciplined discipline is a gracious act of love that equips the child for God-honoring success in life.

Mulish Disposition

2009-04-14T05:54:00.011-04:00

In my Wednesday night Bible study at Skycrest I have been teaching through the Samuels and have finally come to the soap opera that is David's home life. WOW! If only he had exercised a little vision, a little restraint, a little self-control, if only ....

But as you know, he didn't. When he should have been off leading the troops in Holy War against God's enemies, he was at home waging war against boredom. On that fateful afternoon boredom won and David and Bathsheba, Uriah, the royal family, the nation of Israel, and God's kingdom were all dealt a devastating blow whose repercussions would be felt for generations.

We know that for about a year David went on with business as usual until Nathan the prophet dropped by on God's behalf and told David that the jig was up, the secret was out. Nathan knew and, of course, God knew. David was going to have to pay because, as God put it, "You despised me." God couldn't allow himself to be mocked and David immediately began reaping the rotten fruit of his indiscretion.

Out of this period of devastation emerge two wonderful psalms. We are all familiar with Psalm 51. It is the song that David wrote as he dealt honestly with his sin, begging God to forgive him and restore the joy of his walk with God--the joy of God's salvation. But we may not be as familiar with the psalm that presumably followed this confession, Psalm 32.

Psalm 32 begins with David acknowledging the blessing of God's forgiveness and the fact that God holds no grudges once our sin has been dealt with. Then David describes what his life was like before he acknowledged the elephant in the room of his heart. "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." (Psalm 32:3-4)

The sin between he and God made David a shell of his former self. His unwillingness to acknowledge his sin was sucking the life right out of him because the hand of the Lord against him was suffocating his spirit. While he had convinced himself that he had gotten away with it on the outside, it was killing him on the inside. So God sent Nathan along in the lifeboat of truth to instigate the healing and the health of God's gracious forgiveness.

Now looking back, David teaches us how to avoid the painful lessons of unconfessed sin--don't be like a mule! Seriously, take a look at Psalm 32:9! "Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you." In order for us to avoid the unnecessary pain of unforgiven sin, we have to overcome our stubborn mulish tendencies and choose the self-discipline of confession.

David clearly did not do that. The day Nathan came he put the bit in David's mouth and led him back to the Lord. Now in retrospect, David realizes that this was a grace from God that he didn't deserve and may not even enjoy the next time. David's admonishment to the reader is to avoid that painful scenario by recognizing when God is inviting confession and offering the relief of reconciliation. "Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found ..." (Psalm 32:6)

David understood that the agony of his soul was an invitation from God. It was the healthy guilt that God sends that demands attention, that alerts us to the fact that now is the time that God can be found. When this gracious guilt is present, we must not choose a mulish disposition, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge our shortcomings. Instead, we should humble ourselves and admit to God our need for him so we can enjoy the blessings of his forgiveness.

Commanded to Fail

2009-03-30T07:42:00.013-04:00

Recently I sat down and reread the story of the exodus. In the process I noticed something that caught me a bit off guard. God set Moses up to fail. As a matter of fact, God called, equipped, motivated, and even relocated Moses only to ensure in that his initial attempts would fail.

I am sure you know the story. Moses was the adopted prince of Egypt who was well in touch with his Hebrew heritage. One day as he was out visiting his people he saw an Egyptian abusing a Hebrew and in a fit of rage killed him and ditched the body in the sand. Word got back to Pharaoh who decided that Moses should die. Realizing the danger, Moses fled Egypt and ended up in Midian where he took a job as a shepherd watching the flocks of his eventual father-in-law Jethro. In search of food, Moses led the flock to the Mountain of God, Horeb. While he was there, God showed up in a burning bush and invited Moses to go back to Egypt and deliver his people from Egyptian slavery. There was a bit of a disagreement as to Moses' qualifications. Moses believed that he didn't have the right stuff, and God said, "EXACTLY! That's why you're the man." Eventually God convinced him, showed him some supernatural tricks he could do with his staff to help convince Pharaoh, and Moses and his family were off to Egypt!

Exodus 4:19-21 (NIV)
Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, "Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead." 20 So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand. 21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go."

Now I don't know if Moses thought like I think, but this idea of obeying to fail is not something I naturally gravitate to. As a matter of fact, fearing to fail is a much more apt description of my mindset. On more than one occasion I have uttered the words, "Failure is not an option." Yet when I look at this story I find God instructing Moses to brace himself for failure and rejection.

Why would God instruct us to do something that would ensure, at least initially, failure? There are probably a number of reasons, but I think that two transcend the rest: 1) God wants the glory; 2) There are lessons that we need to learn that only the laboratory of failure can teach us.

First, God wants the glory. Jesus told us that unless we abide in him we can accomplish nothing. And in Isaiah 57:15 we learn who God abides with: "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."

God abides in heaven where He is always glorified. At the same time, He dwells with those who are contrite and lowly in spirit. Why? Because the contrite and lowly in spirit are not glory thieves. They have met with failure and have learned to appreciate success. Uninterrupted success makes a glory thief. The person who succeeds may not want it that way, they don't set out to steal God's glory, but the celebrity of success ultimately diminishes the recognition of God's role in a great work. If a person has never met with failure, people will begin to believe that success is dependent upon the leader and not God.

Second, there are lessons that we need to learn that can only be learned through failure. Robert F. Kennedy said, "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly." Think about it and you will realize that the scripture is chock-full of great leaders who enjoyed colossal failure. However, it was in the crucible of failure that they were equipped to succeed.

Peter was divinely selected to be the leader of the twelve. On one occasion his great faith in Jesus compelled him to hop out of a boat in an attempt to walk on water. He was successful until he he took his eyes off of Jesus and began to sink. Lesson learned: Stay focused on the Lord!

On another occasion Peter was praised for revealing a truth that was clearly sent from God. He immediately followed that up with some unsolicited advice to Jesus, insisting that he NOT give in to dying. Jesus responded, "Get thee behind me Satan!" OUCH!!! Lesson learned: Following Jesus demands self-sacrifice!

Many times the lessons of failure give us the ingredients for success. When it comes to failure we need to amend our perspective: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION, IT IS A NECESSITY!

God Finally Speaks

2009-03-24T21:33:00.012-04:00

As Job's friends insistence that Job was experiencing the judgment of God due to sin crescendos through the book, Job's plea narrows. He stops asking his friends to hear him out and turns his attention to God. In Job 13:22 he articulates his plea challenging God, "Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak and you reply." His idea was that if he could just get an audience with the almighty, if God would just hear him out, he would acknowledge Job's righteousness and then would explain exactly what was going on.

As we wrap up here, we need to be settled on the fact that Job was not wrong. He was a righteous man. Remember when Satan sauntered into God's presence, it was God who called Satan's attention to Job: "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). As I have pointed out before, Job was all that and a bag of chips! He was the bomb! So he knew that he wasn't being punished for some besetting sin. What he really wanted was for God to show up and let his friends know the truth, and, while he was at it, God could explain himself to the group.

While Job was asking for an explanation, God knew that what he needed was a revelation. Job knew some things about God but the problem was that he didn't have a sense of what he didn't know. What he knew was right, but it was woefully incomplete. In Job 38:2 God says, "Who is this that darkens My counsel with words without knowledge?" In other words, "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? Your argument, while trimmed in eloquence, is laced with ignorance. You may know about me but you don't know me, Job."

In chapters 38-41 of the book, God issues 77 questions to Job to help him understand that you don't know what you don't know. In asking His questions, God never answers Job's. But he reveals himself to Job. At the end of the book Job recognizes that God is really all he ever needed. "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you" (Job 42:5). Job still had questions but now he had God. And the bottom line for Job was that he would rather have life with God and questions than life without God and answers.

The Patience of Job?

2009-03-13T09:11:00.007-04:00

When we hear talk of Job, the word that is attached to him is patience. His patience has become proverbial, how this man of impeccable integrity kept his faith in the midst of the most devastating storm imaginable. So tradition tells us that we should celebrate the patience of Job.

Where does that idea come from? I read the book and I'm not sure that what I see in Job is patience! In my home, when my boys are having a problem, any problem, they think they have to talk about it immediately. Without regard to what anyone else is doing or talking about, they interrupt, spewing forth an impassioned plea for relief. Sometimes their issue warrants attention, and sometimes we ask them to wait just a minute. Generally, one of two things happen: They either completely ignore our instruction and tell us the same story LOUDER or they wait about 15 seconds and ask if a minute is up. To this I almost always impatiently respond: Be patient!

The sign of their impatience is the interruption, the need to talk about it immediately. The fact that we make them wait doesn't indicate that they are patient, it indicates that we are in control and they have to wait whether they like it or not.

Job had to wait too. But that doesn't mean he was patient. God was in control. He was going to address Job when He was ready to address him. But any cursory reading of Job's monologues would lead one to conclude that Job was anxious for God's response.

Where does this concept of Job's patience originate? The first and only time that this word is specifically linked to Job in scripture is in James 5:11 (KJV); "Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." See, even James had heard of the patience of Job.

But upon further inspection, the original Greek word that is translated patience is best translated as endurance or perseverance. Point of fact, the word translated "endure" in the first part of the verse is the verb form of the same word that is translated "patience" in the second part.

You may think that I'm splitting hairs here, but to me endurance or perseverance is the way to go because endurance is heroic.

Patience tolerates setbacks with indifference, endurance seeks to redeem them.
Patience says, "Wake me up when it is over." Perseverance says, "I won't quit no matter what happens!"
Patience sits back and waits quietly (without interruption) for the storm to pass while endurance sits up and engages the storm.
Patience believes it will soon be over while endurance believes we will soon be better.

I think the NIV got it right when they chose to interpret James' words this way: "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy."

The heroic example of Job shines through his endurance. He persevered through the unthinkable with his faith intact. He may have begged for his day in court so he could state his case to God, but it was with full faith that he was bringing his case to the one true God. He never wavered on his faith, understanding that if he persevered, he would come out a better man in the end. "When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:10)

A. W. Tozer put it this way in Roots of Righteousness, “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He’s hurt him deeply.” Do you believe that?

James does. Using the same Greek word for perseverance, James writes this about our suffering: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

... But I Don't Know What to Say!?!

2009-02-23T09:21:00.009-05:00

One of the toughest things about being a believer committed to serving the needs of others is knowing what to do or say when a friend is going through a difficult time. Outside of our families, most of our relationships are forged around the best foot. We get to know people on their terms, as they want us to see them, and that is with their best foot forward. So when the storms of life and death are raging, we aren't sure how to relate.

We want to help, but we don't know what to say. We lack confidence in our ability to be a friend and, in the end, we actually fear making things worse for the one who is hurting -- like Job's friends did.

After losing all ten of his children and his good health, Job needed to get some things off of his chest. Faced with the fact that they could do nothing to relieve Job, his friends got angry at him. Since they couldn't explain what was happening to him, they told him it was his fault. They informed him that if he had been righteous this never would have happened. In their anger, they said Job actually was getting what he deserved.

What in the world were they thinking? Why did they feel like they had to explain what was happening? Why couldn't they just listen in silence?

Two things are going on here.

First, they got angry at themselves and took it out on Job. They were angry that they couldn't relieve Job's pain. Friends feel the need to fix things. When questions need to be answered, we want to provide the answers. When there is pain, we want to soothe it. They went there hoping to help but ultimately couldn't. They were frustrated and angry and their response to their own failure multiplied Job's pain.

The second thing that was going on here was that Job's friends were trying to fill a role that was not theirs to fill. In their desire to make things better, they took on God's job, attempting to answer questions that they mistakenly thought needed to be answered. But they misread the need. Job's cries and questions may have been expressed to them, but they were directed to God. So they applied the Band-Aid of bumper sticker theology, thinking that saying the right thing would make it all better. But it didn't because it can't. Knowing what caused a storm doesn't diminsh its damage.

In Job 16, he finally tells his friends that he has had enough of thier heartless babble. They had neither provided comfort nor answered his questions. They missed it altogether!

He didn't need them to play God and provide answers. They didn't have to be theologians and psychologists. He just needed them to be there and provide support. He needed them to listen without responding, to help him secure the daily bread that would sustain him in his time of grief.

And that is exactly what our friends need. When we have friends going through the storms of life we must commit to be there. Then we go, not trying to take the pain away committed to doing our part to relieve the pressure that accompanies the pain. And when we don't know what to say, we choose not to say anything at all. Our presence in a storm answers the one question that must be answered: Does anyone care?

Presumption of Ease

2009-02-21T06:22:00.012-05:00

For those of you who don't really know me, I am not one of those people who is "just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

You know that person right? As soon as something good happens they begin making plans for some negative force to come and steal their candy. I had a pastor friend tell me about a very generous love offering his church gave him on his first anniversary. When I congratulated him, he told me he was "just waiting for the other shoe to drop," and even suggested that his transmission would soon go out in his van. How sad is that? In my opinion, dodging falling shoes is no way to live -- and I don't.

But I'm not one of those "name-it-and-claim-it" people either. I assume you know that group. They believe that if you claim something in JeEEesus name, then it's yours. You merely have to have and maintain the right kind of faith-speak. By faith, you speak your preferred future and you hang on, faithfully speaking it into existence until it comes to pass.

For example, "I'm believing for a new F-150, extended cab with glass packs and a lift kit." I don't even know if such a vehicle exists, but if you want it bad enough and you unleash your faith on it, you can go ahead and make space in your front yard to park it -- it's yours! I could go on and on with the absurdity of this philosophy, but suffice it to say that if your faith system depends on capitalism and a free market economy, then it is at best flawed. The faith that I find presented in the Bible is good whether you live in China or Clearwater.

So what lens am I looking through? My philosophy, for the most part, can be described as a presumption of ease. What does that mean? In my day-to-day affairs I believe that things will come off without a hitch, just as planned. Simply put, I expect things to go my way.

I realized this was one of my core presumptions this past week when life took an unexpected turn. Nikki and I were looking forward to spending a couple of days with two of our closest friends from Oklahoma, the Odoms. They were arriving in Tampa on Tuesday afternoon and then leaving again early Thursday morning. So we planned for a great couple of days. The boys were fired up! It was going to be the best .... What could go wrong? Well, let me tell you ....

Early Tuesday morning at about 3 a.m. I heard the unmistakable sound of sickness, not once but twice! Within 2 minutes of each other, both Landry and Wil had gotten sick. I'm not sure that I will ever forget the questions Nikki asked the moment we realized what was happening, just before we sprung into action: "Can you believe this? What are we going to do with the Odoms?"

The truth is I couldn't believe it. I had not even considered this a possibility. Remember, I live with a presumption of ease. Things like this aren't supposed to happen to me and my family.

Where do I get that idea? Is it a sense of entitlement? I hope not. But in reality, the presumption of anything before God, be it falling shoes, F-150’s, or a life of ease is erroneous. Presuming upon God is elevating our expectations to the place of sovereignty. Our presumption limits God. Then when He blows through our presumptive boundaries, our foundations are shaken and in some cases they crumble.

Job’s three friends lived with a presumption of God. They presumed a quid pro quo reality whereby people get back what they are giving out. If you were good, you received good things. If you were bad, then you would receive bad things.

Bildad epitomizes this philosophy when he says, “Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. But if you will look to God and plead with the Almighty, if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your rightful place .... Surely God does not reject a blameless man or strengthen the hands of evildoers." (Job 8:3-6, 20)

While there is a law of sowing and reaping, you have to allow space in time for good things to happen to bad people, and bad things to good people. God’s primary concern for us is not what happens to us, but what happens in us. He uses the good and the bad to mold us into the men and women he wants us to be. God can and will use everything to teach us, including the unexpected.

So what did I learn when my week didn’t go as I presumed it would? As my preaching professor used to say, “Don’t never assume nothin'!” Instead, “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Uncovered

2009-02-12T09:20:00.016-05:00

One of the things that I have been taught, whether intentionally or unintentionally, is that there is a formula or a combination that unlocks the door to life preferred. When there is a dream that I want to see come true, this teaching says all I have to do is figure out the formula, develop a plan of implementation, work the plan and the plan will work. This concept seems to be rooted in the idea that God is faithful to the faithful. But when I stop to consider his servant Job, the whole notion collapses like a house of cards.

I'm sure you know the story: Job was a really good guy. God called him "blameless and upright." He was a man who understood how to apply the fear of God in his everyday life. This was no more evident than in the way that he served his family as priest. Chapter 1 tells us Job's seven sons took turns holding huge parties. All the kids got together for extended periods of eating and drinking. When the parties were over Job would say to himself, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." So early in the morning, Job would sacrifice a burnt offering for each one of them, purifying them before the Lord. The scripture says, "This was Job's regular custom."

If there was a formula for protecting children, Job was working it faithfully. He did everything he could to ensure that they were in God's protective hands. It's safe to say that Job did his part to see that his kids were covered.

Then one day God uncovered them. He lifted the hedge of protection off of Job's wealth and his family. The chilling report came to Job from a servant who was on the scene: "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" Job 1:18-19

How did this happen? There is no indication in scripture that Job skipped a day of sacrifice. As a matter of fact, the writer takes great pains to say Job feared God so much that he wouldn't miss an opportunity to serve as priest for his family. Job had done everything he could to cover his children, but they were uncovered.

In our context today, we would have to draw one of two conclusions: Either God failed or the formula failed. IT WASN'T GOD! Job's formula failed. He worked his plan faithfully and the plan didn't work. Why?

It's not about us! God's blessing is dependent upon God's grace, not our performance. If we only experienced the blessing of God when we were getting things right then it would be a payment earned, not a blessing received. Payments are tied to performance.

Am I doing enough to be blessed? Am I praying enough? Am I giving enough? Have I read my Bible enough? Those questions put all the focus on us, and take it off of God who wants our undivided attention. God wants us to focus more on Him than our performance.

Paul confronted the Galatians about this very thing saying, "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" You began in grace, proceed in grace!

I think we know this is true: God blesses according to His grace and plan--not our performance. The hard part is to acknowledge the caveat to be true as well. I have a hard time writing this, but we have to say that in His wisdom, goodness, mercy and justice God also witholds blessings. As Job put it, "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away." There is no way around it. For reasons that we still don't understand, Job's kids were uncovered.

The good news and the bad news is this: God can bless us and use us at our best and our worst--a truth that is both liberating and terrifying.

So how do we respond? In all of our decisions, we follow His lead as spelled out in scripture. Our obedience will place us in a BLESSABLE POSITION. Having done our part, we then trust God with the rest.

Jackpot Jesus

2009-02-06T10:19:00.004-05:00

Job is perhaps one of the most fascinating and challenging books in the Bible. To me, the difficulty lies in the fact that God does not offer easily accessed commentary on the philosophies presented by Job's so-called friends. Until the end of the book, we really don't know where God stands on their insensitive humanistic observations and even then we are left wanting, hoping that he would pick them apart one pitifully obtuse point at a time.

However, one thing we do understand from the very beginning is what God and Satan both think about Job. God thinks that Job is special. Indeed he says there is no one like him on the face of the earth, calling him a servant who is "blameless and upright"--pretty high praise from His Holiness.

Satan, on the other hand, is not drinking the Kool-Aid on Job. His belief is that anyone who hit the jackpot with God would be loyal. So he challenged God: "Does Job fear God for nothing?" In other words, anybody would do what Job was doing if they were getting paid. Everyone has their price and, by meeting his price, God ensured that Job would be on his best behavior. Satan hypothesized that if God stopped paying him, Job would go the way of the rest of creation, becoming a self-absorbed malcontent.

What about you?

Do you worship Jackpot Jesus? If things in your world went sour, would you sour on God?

What are we doing here?

2009-02-02T09:21:00.007-05:00

I probably should have explained this before we got started, but I think you need to know what my goal is through The Connecting Point. It is to blog through the entire Bible. Our core conviction here at Skycrest is that the Bible contains the life transforming message of God. Therefore, we should read and heed its message. Each week I hope to write about some of the things that God is teaching me as I read through the Bible.

Early in my committed journey, I read a forgettable book that presented an unforgettable scenario.

The author led the reader to imagine their first discussion with God after moving on to heaven. I think the scene was a walk with God on the beach. In this discussion God asks the question, "What did you think about my book?" We are led through a compendium of possible responses ...

It was always with me--in the back of my car
It provided good decoration for my coffee table
I enjoyed the stories in Sunday School
The red writing was riveting
My mom sure seemed to enjoy it and get something out of it

I think the writer led God's discussion companion to go with, "I loved to hear and read about it from great teachers." God pointedly responds, "I want to know what you thought of it. I wrote it to you. Did you read it all the way through?"

At the time I read that book, my honest answer was no. I had not really read the Bible from cover to cover. I believed that it presented God's truth and wisdom. I believed to the core of my being, that as God's Word, it would be a dependable guide for the kind of life I desperately wanted to live. But the truth was, regardless of what I believed, I had not read His Word to me. So I resolved to read the Bible all the way through.

I chose to follow the plan laid out in the Ryrie Study Bible. It is basically a chronological journey through the Bible that puts events together. For example, when you read about Jesus feeding the 5,000, you read all four corresponding accounts on the same day. So with this plan, you don't read straight through from Genesis to Revelation, you jump around, generally reading the story of God as it occurred in real time.

As I blog through the Bible, I am using this same plan. So if you are following closely and you wonder why I jump from Genesis to Job, that's the reason.

I am already behind on getting through it in a year, but that is not the most important thing. What really matters is that when you read scripture you slow down long enough to hear from God. Life is not a series of to-do lists for God, it is a journey with God.

Tomorrow I hope to begin writing about God's servant Job. I have to admit that Job is one of the books that gives me fits. Not a lot of confidence going in, but a whole lot of dependence upon God for understanding. So I think it is safe to say that I am right where I need to be.

Question for you: Are you prepared for that walk on the beach with God? What would you say to him about his book?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3

"The Softest Pillow is a Clear Conscience"

2009-01-26T08:59:00.009-05:00

I attend a men's small group on Wednesday mornings that has been reading a book by Bill George titled, "True North." It is a book that helps leaders discover who they are and then motivates them to leverage their strengths for their cause. Of the many great lessons in the book, the one that stands out most poignantly to me came from the founder and former CEO of Infosys, Narayana Murthy.

Founding the company in India, the Infosys team was pressed to take shortcuts because of widespread corruption. But their dream was to "demonstrate that you could run a business in India without corruption and create wealth, legally and ethically." So they did it the right way and achieved their dreams.

In explaining what drove them to play by the rules, Murthy said, "We always believed that the softest pillow was a clear conscience." That's great a lesson to learn and an even greater one to live by.

I couldn't help but think of Murthy's observation as I read the account of Jacob's sleeplessness in Genesis 32.

A little background...
Jacob and Esau were twins born to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, the oldest, was a powerful man of the outdoors, a master grill-smith, and the favorite of his father who just happened to love barbecue. Jacob, on the other hand, was more of a momma's boy.

As the oldest, Esau was in line for most of the family's estate as well as his father's blessing. Through a series of events that Jerry Springer wouldn't believe, Jacob ended up with Esau's birthright and his father's blessing. To save his hide, Jacob skipped town and was gone for 20 years.

In Genesis 32, we find Jacob and his guilt-stained conscience coming home to face the music. Needless to say, the night before the confrontation with Esau was a sleepless one. He actually spent the entire night wrestling with God in an effort to secure God's blessing and divine protection from his brother.

The remarkable part of the story is that as Jacob faced death, he got his priorities straight. He made a commitment to God and essentially offered his entire estate to Esau in hopes that he would be forgiven and allowed to live.

The irony is that what Jacob offered in exchange for his life was what he had stolen from his brother years before. All the things that he wanted so desperately, he now despised. He would obviously do anything in his power for an opportunity to start over. He learned what Murthy knew all along, it is better to have a clear conscience and good sleep than to take short cuts to achieve your goals.

Proverbs 3:21-24
21 My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; 22 they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. 23 Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; 24 when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

How soft is your pillow? How sweet is your sleep?

I Went to Bed with a Call & Woke up with a Job

2009-01-20T08:47:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those God moments in your journey where you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you heard from God? Maybe it was ...

the moment you knew God was calling you into a personal relationship with him
the day you realized you were supposed to leave one career for another
the burden to engage a nonbeliever you know for the purpose of connecting them to Christ
the time God asked you to step up and serve Him in a new and challenging ministry through your church

For most people, the day of that call ends with the peace of knowing that they heard from God, as well as an excitement about the prospects of cooperating with God on a world changing project!

On that day, you go to bed with a call and then at some point you wake up with a job!

This is exactly what happened to Laban, Bethuel and Milcah--remember Milcah? Their story is found in Genesis 24. Abraham is about to die and he is concerned that they have not gotten a wife for Isaac. So in a strange ceremony that must have made everyone a bit uncomfortable, Abraham calls in his oldest and most trusted servant Eliezer and tells him to place his hand under his thigh and promise to get Isaac a wife from his family back in Mesopotamia. (When you don' t have a stack of Bibles to swear on, what are you supposed to do?)

Eliezer reluctantly places his hand under his thigh, makes the promise and heads out to the city of Nahor. When he arrives he has an amazing encounter with a woman at the well who turns out to be Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother. He goes to their home and relates the most improbable story of how God answered his prayers through this encounter and then asks that Rebekah return to Canaan with him to be Isaac's wife.

Laban, the big brother, and Bethuel, the dad are shocked at what has happened! Clearly God had orchestrated the events of the day and they were being called into something that was so much bigger than they were. Their response was, "The matter comes from the Lord; so we cannot speak to you bad or good. Here is Rebekah before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has spoken." (Genesis 24:49-50).

They were all so thrilled that God was calling them to the playing field that they had a feast, eating and drinking into the night, celebrating what God was doing with their families. AND THEN MORNING CAME AND WITH IT A WAKE UP CALL ...

When Eliezer asked for permission to take Rebekah and leave for home, Laban and Milcah spit the bit. They realized that the work of obedience was about to begin and it would come at a great and painful sacrifice. When they woke up, they understood that what God was calling them to was was separation from their beloved Rebekah. It would mean a new and different way of life. It would mean letting Rebekah go forever! It turned out to be a sacrifice that they didn't really care to make.

Laban and Milcah initially tried to delay the departure. "Let the girl stay with us a few days, say ten; afterward she may go." (Genesis 24:55).

Eliezer, knowing that delayed obedience was disobedience, rejected the notion. He wanted to get moving while God was moving so he pleaded for permission to leave immediately.

Laban and Milcah had one last card up their sleeves, they asked that Rebekah be given an opportunity to speak for herself. They figured that Rebekah woke up feeling the same way they were, so they suggested that she be brought in and consulted. Rebekah's response, "I will go." (Genesis 50:58).

For Rebekah it was a simple issue of obedience to God's call. She was called into something so much bigger than she was, she wasn't going to let the sacrifice demanded derail her divine moment.

Laban and Milcah went to bed with a call, woke up with a job, and hoped for a recall. Rebekah went to bed with a call, woke up with a job, and followed through embracing the sacrifice demanded.

Have you ever gone to bed with a call and woke up with a job? What happened next?

Trust God - Tell the Truth!

2009-01-12T11:00:00.000-05:00

What causes us to shade the truth? We don't tell the truth when we believe little white lies, or harmless exaggerations offer protection from the buzzards of pain, rejection, rebuke, or the threat of insignificance. When those buzzards are circling our circumstance, we are compelled to hide the truth.

Then when we get caught, the excuse always boils down to a lack of trust in our circumstances, our environment, or the people involved.

Abraham, the father of our faith, twice found himself in a situation where he felt vulnerable because of the beauty of his wife Sarah and both times he felt the need to lie about their relationship.

Remember the first time he went to Egypt? He decided that since she was so good looking, the Egyptians would kill him so that Pharaoh could have her-talk about circling buzzards. So he lied to protect himself. Again in Genesis 20 it is the same song different verse. Abraham moved to Gerar to live in the kingdom of Abimelech. One more time he told Sarah to say that she was his sister instead of his wife. When God told Abimelech not to touch her or he was as good as dead, the King sent for Abraham and asked him, "What are you doing dude? Are you trying to get me killed? What did I ever do to you?"

Abraham's answer is telling, "I said to myself, 'Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.'" (Genesis 20:11). In essence, what Abraham said was that he didn't trust Abimelech's walk with God, so he lied about Sarah to protect himself. And while that must have certainly felt true, Abimelech's walk wasn't the problem!

The issue was Abraham's walk! If Abraham had fully trusted God, then he would have been able to speak the truth and trust that the God would cover him.

The reality is that when we hide, shade, or exaggerate the truth; we aren't protecting our weaknesses, we are exposing them. Lying actually demonstrates that we don't trust God and that our wellbeing is completely dependent upon our ability to control our circumstances and our acquaintances.

The next time your vulnerability compels you to manipulate the truth, remember that the God of truth is our refuge...

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower;the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10)