Where Do You Run

I was out for my morning walk the other day when I happened upon a most unique experience. I walk in a subdivision up the road from where I live and the only critters I usually see are Yorkies, Schnauzers, Labradors, and such as those.

This particular morning as I came around a curve, I spotted what appeared to be two medium sized dogs trotting together across the street. As I got closer, however, I realized those were not dogs, they were beautiful fawns. I am used to seeing wild life - from our house we see deer, foxes, coyotes, and the not so wild goats, donkeys, and a horse. But to walk up on these two fawns and to be that close to them . . . for just a moment all three of us stood there in “freeze frame.”

At first one of them came running a few steps toward me, but when they both realized I was not their daddy, they bolted. Interestingly though was that they bolted in opposite directions – one went back from whence it came and the other on across the street.

I thought about those deer as I finished my walk, and I thought about how all of us retreat somewhere when we are threatened. The question is where do you run? For many, when they are challenged they retreat into hiding. They avoid difficult circumstances and people and they avoid challenges at all cost. Still others face those challenges head on, but they retreat to their own wisdom, resources, and abilities as they seek to meet and defeat the challenges that come their way.

The reputedly wisest man that ever lived, however, had THIS to say about running:

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe. – Proverbs 18:10

A name represents character and essence. For instance, there are a few products whose brand names have become synonymous with the product itself: Band-Aid, Kleenex, Coke (at least here in the south), Duck Tape just to name a few. When brand names are mentioned, we automatically recall experiences with the product.

God was called many things in the Bible; names were given Him based on His intervention in the lives of His people. The name Jehovah is the English equivalent of Yahweh. That name reflects the eternal and ever-perpetual existence of God. Jehovah-Rapha refers to God as healer, Jehovah-Jireh to God as provider.

Read through the books of the Old Testament and learn the names of God: see why people called Him those names and recognize His character traits behind those names. Then when you face a challenge in life, refuse to retreat to your own ingenuity. Instead, turn to Him in prayer, give Him control of your circumstances, trust in His character that those names represent. Do what you know to be right by God and watch as He comes through for you.

Impressive

What impresses you? What really gets your attention and causes you to stop and take notice of a person?

I am impressed by athletes who perform in clutch situations – hitters who ignore screaming fans and deliver a hit at just the right, high-pressure moment that scores a winning run.

I am impressed with a courageous quarterback who stands calmly in the pocket while the pass rush is all around him and delivers a perfectly thrown pass to an equally impressive receiver who, with defenders all around him ready to crush every bone in his body, concentrates on the ball and makes a game defining catch.

What about others impresses you? Maybe it’s where they live, how they dress, or what they drive. Maybe it’s looks, possessions, achievements, or station in life. All of us are impressed by certain things; it’s part of our human nature.

But have you ever stopped to think about what impresses God? We would be tempted to think He is impressed by the money we give to the church, the time we spend at the church, the things we do in the church. We would be tempted to think He is impressed with our worship, using our talents and skills for Him. And maybe we are tempted to think He is impressed with our spiritual maturity, our prayers, or the wisdom with which we make decisions in the church. After all it IS His church! (Or is it? . . . another blog for another day.)

But when we read Isaiah 66 our bubble bursts. Just when we think we have finally done some things to merit God’s attention, we find that we have it all wrong. In fact in that chapter, God mentions those who try to impress God with buildings, rituals, and achievements. But none of those things impress Him . . . I would imagine, from reading that chapter, that sometimes God gets quite bored with our constant attempts to appease our own longing for acceptance. Instead, He has this to say in verse 2:

“…This is the one I esteem:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit,
and trembles at my word.”

I really like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased that verse in The Message:

“But there is something I'm looking for:
a person simple and plain,
reverently responsive to what I say.”

God is not impressed with what we build or do for Him. No, God is only impressed with a heart that is surrendered to Him and ready to hear and do what He says. God is not impressed with the one who “has things all figured out” but with the one who realized how desperately he or she needs to hear from Him. In a word, what impresses God is brokenness.

Brothers and sisters, I am calling us a place where we abandon our self-importance, realize how far off base we are, and come back to God, beaten, broken, and ready to hear from Him. Then, God will look around at the angels in heaven and say, “Now, THAT’S impressive.”

Oblivious

It never ceases to amaze me how we can be in such close proximity to Jesus, yet miss Him all together. We can sit through worship services Sunday after Sunday, go through all the motions, say all the right words, smile and look as though everything is grand in our lives, yet never recognize the voice of God, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, or internalize the reality of life given us in Christ - totally oblivious.

Why do we miss the presence of God? Several reasons I guess. Maybe we have the notion that we don’t need what is being said, that it applies to someone else certainly, but not to me. Maybe for some reason we have discounted the carrier of the message. Maybe we are so overwhelmed by our own circumstances that we cannot hear the still small voice of God over the noise of the stresses in our lives. Maybe it’s pride, sin, lack of brokenness, or a myriad of other causes. But the fact remains that God is trying to talk to us and we are not listening.

What can we do to prepare ourselves to hear from God and obey His leading in our lives? Consider this passage:

Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1:21-22)

We start by cleaning out our hearts. When it comes time for you to hear from God, can you honestly say that you have confessed known sins and allowed the blood of Jesus to wash you? Are your attitudes and actions what God wants you to have? God will not pour His blessing into a dirty vessel. If there is a sinful habit or attitude that we cherish in our lives that sin will prevent us from hearing God. Country preacher Vance Havner often said, “This book (the Bible) will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book.” How true. As you come to hear from God, spend a few moments soul searching, letting God “wash the dishes” in your heart.

To prepare ourselves to hear from God we also need to come with a teachable spirit – humbly accepting the Word. I am not so naïve as to believe that there are no people on Sunday morning who think they are better than me and that there is nothing I can tell them. I wish I could say I have never sat in a seat feeling as though the one speaking had nothing for me – but sadly I have. If I think I am OK, then I will never hear what God has to say to me. As you come to hear from God, recognize that EVERY opportunity is an opportunity to draw closer to God. I have not arrived; I NEED to hear this word from God.

Then, to prepare to hear from God, I need a predetermined obedience. It should be as if I am saying to God, “OK, God, I don’t know what you are going to say to me, but whatever it is, I am running out to do it.” If all I ever do is listen to good teaching, and if I never get around to implementing what God teaches me, then I will forfeit future opportunities to hear from Him. The only acceptable attitude to bring to God’s Word is “hear and heed; learn and do.” Sometimes I may miss God’s message to me because I am still calling the shots in my life, but to hear from God, I crucify myself and plan ahead of time that whatever God says I will do.

I am praying that God will break through all the noise in our lives, that He will break up the hardened fallow ground of our heart. I am praying that God will pour out His Spirit in our lives, to convict us and cleanse us, and that one day soon, our church and churches everywhere will see altars full of people hearing from God and prepared to obey.

Preaching My Own Funeral

In the chorus to their hit song “A Good Man,” country band Emerson Drive sings this lyric:

I want to be the one when all is said and done
who lived a good life, loved a good wife
and always helped someone in trouble,
on the day they lay me down I want everyone to gather 'round
and say, "He was a father, a brother, a neighbor, and a friend...
he was a good man."

Have you ever thought about what people will say at your funeral? I know it is a bit of a morbid fact, but let’s face it, one day somebody will be preaching your funeral . . . mine too. I have preached quite a few funerals over the last 21 years. Some of them were easy because I knew the person walked with God. Some were more difficult because either I did not know the person well, or I DID know them and knew that their life did not reflect an intimate walk with God.

In one of the last exchanges Jesus had with two of his most trusted disciples – John and Peter – Jesus prophesied that Peter would meet a painful and ignoble death. Commenting on the prophecy, John wrote:

Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!" – John 21:19

Did you catch that? By what kind of death Peter would glorify God. How often do we think of seeing glory in death? Yet Jesus declared that Peter’s death would glorify God.

Granted, I know my destiny is secure. Because of the grace of God and Christ’s death on my behalf, I know that I have eternal life and that I will spend eternity in heaven with Him. I am not, however, eager to begin that phase of eternity anytime soon. But I do hope when it is time to go, that my death will be cause for glory to go to God.

I think Jesus’ comment included by John holds the key to making death a glorious occasion. He simply told Peter, “Follow me.” You see, our death brings glory to God if our living has brought glory to God.

I am preaching my own funeral – good or bad – every day of my life. When it comes my time to go and some preacher stands over my coffin, I want his words to reflect the marvelous and miraculous touch of God in my life. I want my final testimony to be that I followed Jesus all the days of my life. I want to know that my funeral has already been preached by the way I lived my life.

What will be the preacher say at your funeral? What kind of material are you giving him by the way you are living your life? Do me a favor; make it easy on the preacher. Go ahead and preach your own funeral. Get serious about your relationship with God and walk with Him.

Refreshements Anyone?

I have been Baptist longer than I have been Christian. If there is one thing I have learned about us Baptists, it’s that we LOVE to eat. There is something that is present at almost all church functions – REFRESHMENTS. Baptist refreshments come in many shape and sizes, from pimento and cheese sandwiches cut into little triangles to those little cocktail weenies swimming in that wonderful sweet-sour concoction of melted grape jelly and chili sauce. YUM! We are good at bringing – and especially good at eating – refreshments.

But how good are we at BEING refreshments. Let me illustrate with a New Testament character. Paul wrote to a somewhat wealthy friend of his named Philemon. It’s a really small book (one chapter, 25 verses) nestled between the more popular writings of Titus and Hebrews. Philemon was a Christian brother who had a runaway slave named Onesimus. Somehow Paul encountered Onesimus and led him to faith in Jesus. Paul then wrote his owner, Philemon, encouraging him to forgive and receive again this now new brother in Christ and to allow him to return with impunity.

Paul brags on Philemon’s character a bit and one of these descriptions has stuck with me. Of Philemon, Paul wrote in verse 7, “…because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” What a compliment. You see, not everyone we encounter in the church is a refreshment to us, many are quite the opposite.

Let me suggest some ways we can be a refreshment. First, we can speak words of encouragement. Everyone needs a cheerleader. All of us already have plenty of people in our lives who are more than willing to point out everything that is wrong in our lives. What most of us need is someone who will build us up with positive and encouraging words.

Also, we can be a refreshment to others by coming along side and helping rather than standing on the sidelines sniping. Most of us carry enough of a load in our lives that we could use a friend to step up and share that load with us. The load may be spiritual, emotional, physical, financial. Different loads take different shapes. A truly refreshing person becomes part of the solution in one’s life rather than another critical detracting voice.

We can be a refreshment by speaking well of others in public. “I heard something good about you, today.” Those words are a pick-me-up to anyone. Don’t rag, but BRAG on your brothers and sisters in Christ. Refuse to point out faults but instead become their greatest advocate.

Which are you . . . refreshment or discouragement? Are you more like a cool drink of water to a tired thirsty soul or a blast of cold water on a heart aflame with a passion for God? Will you be someone’s oasis or will you be their wet blanket? Let’s choose to refresh and refuse to discourage.

While you’re at it, pass me a pimento and cheese sandwich and some weenies please.

Experiencing a Miracle

We preacher types like to talk a lot about miracles, but we enjoy even more getting to witness them firsthand. I want to share one of those miracle stories with you.

I started my tenure at First Baptist in October of 2004. The week before starting I vacationed with my family at Myrtle Beach, SC. While on vacation, I was in contact with the church office and with a church member often keeping track of the labor and delivery of one of our church members. On October 11, 2004 Brooks Allen was born. I shared my joy with his grandmother and asked her to please pass on my congratulations to Brook’s parents.

I was shocked to find out the very next day that Brooks was in critical condition and may not make it. Brooks was born with three heart defects and his only hope of survival was open heart surgery. I had never heard of such being performed on a newborn. After a few days Brooks was strong enough for the surgery and my first Monday on the job was spent at Eggleston Children’s Hospital hoping to lend some emotional and spiritual support to the family.

To get right to the miracle, the surgery was very successful and after about a week and a half, Brooks was able to go home. Since that time, he has been a blessing not only to his biological family, but also to his church family. Brooks is a very healthy, happy, and normal almost 3 year old boy, and yes, he is 150% boy! Every time I look at Brooks I am reminded of God’s miracle working ability. There is absolutely nothing beyond God’s abilities, as He told us in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

Brooks is a reminder to us all that there is nothing in our lives so big or desperate that God cannot bring us through it. That is why I am proud to be one of Brook’s Buddies. This year I am joining Brook’s team at the Hall County Heart Walk to help raise money for the American Heart Association. Heart disease runs in my family, my grandparents suffered from it, and both of my parents have had open heart surgery. Heart disease and stroke are the number 1 and 3 killers in America. The blessing that Brooks has been in my life motivates me to do all I can to help prevent, educate, research, and treat people who suffer from this dangerous condition.

If you would like to help our team reach our fund raising goal, you can click on this link to go to my donation page and make an online contribution. Thank you for being willing to help.

Miracles never cease, because the One who does the miracles never ceases or grows weary. We will gladly pray with you that God will send your miracle on its way soon.

Plug Me In

I love my truck . . . really, I do. But it has a couple of problems that are a little aggravating to say the least. First, the AC Compressor is shot, so I have no AC. And I don’t have $800 to get it fixed. So even through the heat of this summer I will be riding with the windows down – wind in my hair, or at least where my hair used to be.

The second problem though is even more aggravating. Something is slowly draining the power from the battery. The alternator works just fine and recharges the battery when the motor is running, but if I go for a day without cranking it up, a dead battery greets me the next day, just like it did yesterday morning when I went to leave for church. I’ve tried searching for the battery drain, but it remains a mystery. So every now and then I have to recharge my battery on the battery charger.

My spiritual life is like that battery. Life seems to sap the juice from my soul and sometimes I can be left absolutely drained. The sources of my soul’s slow drain are not as mysterious as whatever is depleting my truck battery. Stress, responsibility, the negative criticism from others, disappointment all work together to consume my joy and vitality. Just like the battery in my truck, I have to recharge my soul on a regular basis. If I don’t, I find myself in the same predicament described by King David in Psalm 32:3-4:

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.

Have you ever been there? Honesty and transparency compel me to admit I have been there way too many times. I bet you have too. So, how can I plug my soul into a charger? Let me suggest four ways we can over come the slow drains in our lives and recharge our souls.

First, I need to RECONNECT to God by spending time in His presence. Jesus warned in John 15:4-5:

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Nothing restores my soul like spending time talking to God in prayer and listening to God in His word. Connecting to my power source is vitally important to my spiritual wellbeing.

Second, I need to REMEMBER what God has done for me in the past.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. – Psalm 42:5-7

In a moment of desperation and depression, David took the time to remember what God had done for him. He had a cache of good memories from which he could praise God. Counting our blessings and rehearsing God’s goodness to us is a surefire way to put a spark back in our heart.

Third, I need to RECLAIM the precious promises of God to me. Two of my favorites to which I refer often are

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. – Isaiah 41:10

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9

I have learned to take God at His Word, and His Word speaks encouragement to me. His Word reminds me that He is bigger than all my circumstances and more powerful that all of my detractors.

Finally, I need to RECOMMIT my life to Him every day. In Romans 12:1, Paul challenges us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” It has been said that the problem with living sacrifices is they tend to hop off of the altar. Yeah, I do that from time to time. Every day, fresh and new, I have to recommit myself to the Lordship of Christ. I have to reaffirm everyday that my life is not about me, it’s about HIM. Those draining influences have less effect on a life that is already sold out to Jesus.

I have let myself get a little drained lately, but I know where my charger is . . . better yet I know WHO my charger is. I will not crank on my own anymore, I need to plug in everyday. What about you? Are you plugged in?

Loserville

Adam “Pacman” Jones and Terry “Tank” Johnson are reminders to all of us that it is possible to be a success in your chosen field of endeavor but be an utter failure when it comes to what really matters – life. Whether or not they should, kids look up to professional athletes, and Pacman and Tank are setting a tragic example. Both men promised Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL that they would be on their best behavior, that they would become “new” men.

You see, Pacman Jones has had at least 15 brushes with the law in the last year – yes YEAR – and he has been suspended from the NFL for the entire upcoming season. That came after he was implicated in felonious activity in Las Vegas. Then even after his promise to the Commish he once again found himself in the middle of the same type of baggage after an episode at an Atlanta strip club. So much for the NEW MAN.

Tank Johnson just recently got out of jail as a result of a probation violation for weapons possession. The episode included aggravated assault, resisting arrest and ended in Tank being maced in order to be subdued by the arresting officers. Recently, he was taken into custody for speeding and suspicion of DUI. It turns out his blood alcohol content was .072, just below the .080 that would have made him officially a drunk driver. But still he was obviously drinking and driving, while technically not a crime, still a VERY bad example for kids. We in Atlanta are especially sensitive to that since one of our bright young high school stars was recently killed when he – DUI – wrecked the vehicle he was driving.

How many of us as kids dreamed of the opportunity to be a professional athlete? Most kids would have given anything to have the kind of opportunity these two thugs have squandered. Being a professional athlete is an awesome opportunity, but it comes with a profound responsibility to impact the next generation for good. Why do so many of today’s athletes live selfishly only to gratify their own physical desires for the moment? Sad, really sad.

But it is also a reminder to ALL of us that we too can be an unqualified success at our chosen field and still fail miserably at life as well. One doesn’t have to be famous to get this win/loss scenario so backwards. Pastors can preach every Sunday to thousands, have a calendar full of speaking engagements, and everyone in the congregation can think that they are the greatest, yet fail miserably at the congregation that matters the most – the one at their home address. Ladies and men can have successful careers and make tons of money, but fail to invest one single thing in eternity only to die and leave behind everything they accumulated for someone else to enjoy. Parents can raise the brightest kids, live in the nicest homes, drive the classiest automobiles and still fail miserably at LIFE.

Read Paul’s words out loud so you are sure to hear them. Repeat them several times, think about them, apply them to your life. They warn us that we anyone of us can be our own version of Pacman or Tank if we are not careful. These words remind us that it is NOT what we accumulate in earthly currency, possession, or achievement that ultimately matters, but it those things we do that have ETERNAL significance really are what matter:

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
– 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 (NIV)

Every thing we do is either and expense or investment. Quite simply, if the things we do are left behind when we die and matter nothing beyond the daily affairs of earthly life, they are an expense of time. They are like those works that Paul described as being burned up with nothing to show for them when judgment time comes.

However, if the things we do impact our lives and the lives of others in some eternal, spiritual way, they are an investment of time. Their value grows even after we are long gone and they have an effect far beyond just the daily affairs of life.

So I challenge you to do an audit of your life. When it comes to time, resources, and effort do you invest more or spend more? Maybe it’s time to turn down some of that overtime and spend some time with the spouse and/or kids. You only get one change with them. Maybe it’s time you quit running up debt to have more toys and invest your money in worthwhile mission work, even take the time to go on a mission trip yourself.

Pacman, Tank or Investor. Which will you be?

Otis, Mayberry, and the 4th of July

The Fourth of July is my favorite National Holiday. Warm weather, fireworks, watermelon, picnics – what’s not to love! I am especially thankful to be living in the United States of America where we live in a country that began with the dream of desperate hearts, the vision of men and women who wanted a place where they could freely worship, live, and work.

Without a doubt the most important freedom to those who settled in this country was the freedom to individually pursue their faith in God and to live out daily a personal relationship with Him. They understood what it meant to be spiritually free, for Jesus Christ had cleansed their sin and set their hearts free from sin’s dominion. With that taste of sweet freedom they wanted to enjoy a life free on every level.

I have learned a lot of “shade tree” theology – practical theology – from The Andy Griffith Show. One of the recurring characters on the show was Otis Campbell, the town drunk. Every weekend, Otis would get himself plastered and check himself into the Mayberry Jail. He wasn’t arrested, taken into custody, or detained in any way; he would come in voluntarily and lock himself in the cell. I guess he figured he was safer sleeping it off in the Mayberry jail than facing his angry wife at home.

Now let me pull those two thoughts together. Spiritually speaking, all of us are like Otis from time to time. I am not suggesting we get drunk or anything like that, but we do often choose to incarcerate ourselves in sin’s jail cell. We have been declared free in Jesus, we have the ability to rise above sin’s influence in our lives, yet we choose instead to revel in the spiritual drunkenness of sinful attitudes, wayward habits, deceitful motives, and unbridled thoughts. And sometimes before we ever realize it, we are once again in bondage to that which seemed to be a positively pleasurable and, unlike Otis, we do not hold the key so that we can walk out to our freedom any time we choose.

What a shame to have the freedom to pursue this relationship with Jesus Christ, to know freedom in a civic sense, but to miss out on the spiritual freedom made possible through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. As you celebrate our country’s birthday this year, remember the freedom given to us by Jesus Christ – the freedom to enjoy life the way He created us to enjoy it.

The prospect of living out a passionate pursuit of God was the motivation for risking everything to those who founded our country. In that same spirit, let us with reckless abandon rebel against sin and its desire to enslave us and let us walk in the true freedom of a life lived in Jesus Christ.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” – Galatians 5:1