Leaky Buckets

I read a story in this week's paper about a local girl who built her own inexpensive rain barrel for her family’s use in this time of drought and water restrictions. She bought a rubber/plastic trash can and attached a ½ inch spigot a few inches from the bottom. She cut off the down spout from a rain gutter at just the right height to fit inside a hole she cut in the can lid. So all of the rain water than normally would have come down that spout filled the barrel. She could attach the garden host to the spigot and water outside plants. What a great way to capture and reuse rain water – if only it would RAIN!

There was a similar resource used in Old Testament Bible times; it was called a cistern. Basically a cistern was a deep crevice cut into the rocky hills of Palestine. Rain water and run off water would pool in these reservoirs be available when needed for various agricultural and domestic needs.

Through the prophet Jeremiah, God made a spiritual application from this practical hydro-technology of their day. We read about it in Jeremiah 2:13:

For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.

As God said, this was a double no-no. First of all, the people had chosen to hold in reserve their past experience of God’s blessing in their lives. They were content remembering all that God HAD done rather than realizing that God was a continual flowing Artesian well of blessing ready and willing to provide a daily fresh touch of His presence and power in their lives.

The second sin involved their self-reliance and a certain hubris which led them to believe that their own effort could sustain any good whatsoever. They thought their well crafted cisterns would hold God’s blessing in reserve and that whenever they wanted they could tap into the blessing and use it – provided they were good stewards of the resource and didn’t use it all up.

We commit this double whammy when we think that God’s current blessing may be the only blessing we get, so we hoard it, use it sparingly, and even consider ourselves good stewards in the process. However, the walk of faith to which God has called us requires that we empty out all God gives us so that we are left to TRUST that He will come through again with a fresh blessing.

What are you holding onto for a false sense of security? Are you willing to take risks for God so that He can show His glory and power in your life, or are you satisfied with your leaky memory reliving all the things God DID in your life? Let me challenge you to receive God fresh grace for you daily. Live with a longing for a fresh encounter with God and expect something new from Him today.

My Own Personal Cheerleader

I have always had a thing for cheerleaders. I played baseball and I am still a huge fan of the game, but I think the one thing baseball has always needed is cheerleaders. Now before you get the wrong idea, let me assure you my fascination with cheerleaders is wholesome! Cheerleaders always seem to think the best of their team, they never get down on them, give up on them, or disparage them in any way. In fact, it is the nature of the cheerleader to keep a positive outlook. THAT is why I love cheerleaders.

I am blessed to have my own personal cheerleader. Tomorrow, I will celebrate sixteen years of marriage to my best friend and my own personal cheerleader. Yes, tomorrow is mine and Andrea’s anniversary. And just like a cheerleader, she never gives up on me, never gets down on me, and never disparages me in any way.

There have been many times I have given up on myself, but she has always come to my rescue. The biggest thing of all is that she believes in me. The competitive nature in every man creates a need for him to feel as though he is accomplishing something – winning battles, conquering enemies. We need to feel a sense of validation and worth. In those times when I question myself, Andrea has always been my strongest supporter. She fulfills the Scripture that says

A good woman is hard to find,
and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long. Proverbs 31:10-12 (The Message)

Thank you, Sweetie, for sixteen wonderful years. Thank you for propping me up and keeping me going. I cannot imagine (nor do I even want to try) what life would be like without you. You are the one constant shining light when life gets cloudy. I love you.

"Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all!" (vs. 29)

I am eager to stay in the game, largely because my cheerleader keeps cheering me on! It’s not even half-time yet, we have a lot of time to go, but as long as I have my cheerleader, I'll keep on keepin’ on.

The Treatment

NOTE: If you missed my previous three posts, this one may not make sense. So if you haven’t read “Soul Pain,” “The Cure,” and “Why Bother” then I encourage you to click on the links and read them first – in that order. There are links to them in right hand column.

Peter asked Jesus a question we all would ask at some time:

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” – Matthew 18:21-22

Peter was looking for a bottom line, but Jesus instead commanded him to extend forgiveness indefinitely. That is the meaning of the word play Peter and Jesus used. To do something seven times was to do it to completion, to fulfill the obligation, but when Jesus said seventy-seven (or as some translations read seventy times seven) times, He was speaking idiomatically about an indefinite number of times.

You can look at Peter’s request in two similar yet different ways. He could have been talking about how many offenses a person would commit before he was not longer under obligation to forgive. That is the way I have understood it most of my life.

But there is another way to look at it. Maybe the offending brother only did one thing to offend Peter, but Peter had to repeat his forgiveness every time he saw him. We all know how difficult that is. Someone does something so painful, that we just can’t seem to get past it. We claim to forgive, but then the next time we see the person, our memory opens the wound again and we have to renew our decision to forgive.

Whatever the case, the net effect is the same. There is no ceiling to our forgiveness. We can never say that we have met our obligation and are no longer liable to extend forgiveness to someone. Imagine if God put us on a sin maximum. “Jim, I am sorry to inform you that you have exceeded your need quota for October and God will not be able to forgive the rest of your sins for the month. Unfortunately we are forced to revoke your salvation privileges.” Sounds ridiculous (and heretical had it not been hypothetical), doesn’t it? So we cannot expect God to allow us to impose a quota on people who need our forgiveness.

I now have a treatment plan for my Soul Pain. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I now have a FORGIVE LIST - a group of people who have hurt me and who I am choosing to forgive. I don’t now how this is going to work, but I encourage you to try it with me.

My treatment plan will begin with prayer. I am going to pray DAILY for those who have hurt me. Every time see one of them, or am reminded of them in anyway I will whisper a prayer. I will pray that they will see the real me and no longer feel the need to be mean or hurtful. I will pray that God will replace my pain with love – His love. He loves me in spite of all of the pain I cause Him, and I am asking Him to help me do the same to others.

“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you . . .”

– Matthew 5:44

My treatment plan will also include a different perspective. I am choosing to see the people on my FORGIVE LIST as God sees them . . . and me - fallen, sinful souls desperately in need of His grace and perpetual works in progress. I heard a quote a long time ago that is so true: hurt people hurt people. People hurt others because things aren’t right in their life. So I will try and be compassionate toward them and pray that God will heal what is hurting them.

I know me too well. I will not stick to the treatment plan meticulously, but with God’s help and by His grace I will be healed of my Soul Pain. I want to be clean before Him and blameless before my fellow man.

Why Bother?

NOTE: If you missed my previous two posts, this one may not make sense. So if you haven’t read “Soul Pain” and “The Cure” then I encourage you to click on the links and read them first – in that order. There are links to them in right hand column.

So why forgive? Why bother? Why do I always have to be the “bigger person” and forgive the jerks who think they have the right to “fire at will” on my heart? Even though I don’t want to, I can think of some pretty compelling reasons to forgive.

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. – Colossians 3:13

First of all, we are commanded to forgive. Our Heavenly Father desires a peaceful “family life.” He tells us to work it out, and get beyond it. Those first two clauses in the above verse are not suggestions, they are commands. This should be reason enough – God told us so. But, there are other reasons to forgive.

We also should forgive because we have been forgiven. When we fail to forgive others, it is as if we assume we are better than them. With our selective memory we forget that God had – and still has – so much for which He forgave us. Maybe we think we are worthy of forgiving, but those who hurt us are not. Whatever the case, as the above verse from Colossians reminds us, we are forgiven people, and forgiven people should be forgiving people. We have not right to withhold forgiveness from those who offend us when the One who we offended by our sin so freely forgave us.

Also, we should forgive those who hurt us because refusing to forgive actually hurts us worse. Short term, it feels better to not forgive someone. Holding a grudge gives us a false sense of retribution. Yet, long term, unforgiveness destroys us.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. – Hebrews 12:15

When we harbor those ill feelings, they eventually ferment into a bitter spirit which in turn spews out and contaminates those around us. We can become cranky, bitter, negative people when we hold on to the hurts inflicted by others.

There is one other compelling reason to forgive. Consider that in the Model Prayer, Jesus taught us to pray this:

“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” – Matthew 6:12

See the word I highlighted? AS. Jesus taught us to ask God to forgive us in the same manner we forgive others. If I am not willing to forgive those who have sinned against me, why should God be willing to forgive me when I sin against Him?

So you see, forgiveness is vital to me – physically, emotionally, spiritually. I can only begin to heal from Soul Pain when I am willing to forgive. It may be one of the most difficult things I will ever have to do, but the quality of my spiritual life depends on it.

The Cure

In my last post, I wrote about Soul Pain (link in right hand column). Apparently, I am not alone . . . several of you responded – some through the blog comment option, but even more through email, or in person. We all experience the hurts of life.

Ever since that blog, I have been contemplating how we can heal from our Soul Pain; specifically, how can we get over the hurt that others inflict on us. Good news/bad news. I believe God has shown me the remedy for those hurts, but the treatment plan is extremely difficult to say the very least. God’s remedy? Forgiveness.

“ . . . be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:32

I think I am still trying to understand all God is telling me about forgiveness, and what I am already dealing with would be too much for one post, so I think I am going to spread this one out over at least two posts, maybe three.

For now, let’s think a little about what forgiveness is. When I forgive someone, does that mean I am supposed to live as though the hurt never happened? Does the person I am forgiving get a free pass, a mulligan? Am I supposed to pretend as though a wrong was never done and just let things go back to being like they were before the hurt?

Not only is this a misunderstanding of what forgiveness means, it is also completely impossible. It amazes me how easily I can forget some things, but how a soul pain can stick indelibly in my memory for a long time. It is neither possible nor prudent to equate forgiveness with denial.

At its core, the Greek word which is rendered forgiveness means “to untie, unloose, or release.” So you see, forgiveness is not a denial that something happened, it is not to sweep something under the rug, but quite the contrary. When we forgive, we face head on the reality of what caused us pain, but we choose to release the person from the debt of indignation which we hold against them. No, we don’t just give a free pass . . . it is not free at all, but rather it is as if we say, “You hurt me really bad, and I should hold a grudge against you because of it, but instead I am choosing to refuse to be bitter.”

That is one of the reasons forgiveness is so difficult for us. Our natural inclination is to hold those who hurt is accountable. It is our nature to see to it that the pain is reciprocated. In fact, if we are honest, we don’t want to get even, we want to get ahead. But forgiveness says, “Yes, you hurt me, but instead of holding on the hurt, I am choosing to let it pass by me.”

Another fallacy is that forgiveness also means forgetfulness. We have been told we should “forgive and forget.” To forget that someone hurt us is to endanger ourselves. We can learn from our hurts not to put ourselves in a position to have the situation repeated. We can release someone from a hurtful act in the past without opening ourselves up to be hurt by them again in the future.

I guess what I am trying to say is that true forgiveness is the constant choice, when a hurtful situation is brought to our remembrance, to refuse to dwell on the pain the situation caused and instead dwell on the grace of God that enabled us to survive the situation.

So . . . are you willing to forgive those who hurt you? We have to try, and honestly, I think we will only be able to do it through God’s power working in us. I am making a “FORGIVE LIST.” I don’t want to forgive these people – they have been very mean. But I must forgive them, not for their sake, but for God’s sake. It is what He has told me to do, and somehow (I sure don’t understand how) He will enable me to do what He has told me to do.

Next time . . . why forgive?

Soul Pain

One of the things I have noticed as I have grown older is that my body tends to ache and pain more than it used to. Just little stuff here and there. Imagine that! Thanks to diabetes, I am actually in better shape than I have been in a long time, but still I have these occasional tweaks – muscle spasms, joint pains, bone aches. Just a reminder that God created our bodies to be temporary.

But I have also noticed another pain as I have grown older, a “soul pain.” I think I have become more sensitive to the things that hurt me spiritually, and I am more aware of soul pain in others. I would gladly choose any physical pain over the ache that I sometimes have in my spirit.

Various things cause these soul pains: an awareness of my own humanity, the fickleness of those on whom I sometimes depend, the nitpickiness of others of whom I have higher expectations. Negativity has a painful effect on me these days too. Maybe it is just me, but it seems we live in a world in which so many people feel like they have to “get it off their chest.” Unfortunately I seem to give others permission to hurt me and that hurt burns deep into my soul. And of course, unpleasant circumstances and the stress of everyday life can weigh on anyone.

I get the feeling I am not alone in feeling soul pain. Can you feel my pain?

So where do we turn for healing? God has drawn my attention quite a bit lately to Psalm 42. In a refreshing display of transparency, one of the songwriting sons of Korah penned these words:

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

Downcast. Disturbed. Describe you? Does me, sometimes, I am sorry to say. But look at the remedy: put your hope in God. In the Bible “hope” is not the subjunctive wish or desire that it is in our contemporary English language. When we say “hope so” we are expressing a desire but not a confidence that something will happen. When the Bible uses the word “hope” however, it speaks to a confident and quieting assurance that the object of our hope – in this case, God – is a sure bet.

We can claim the promise of verse 5: I WILL YET PRAISE HIM. Things may not look like it right now, I may not feel like it right now, circumstances may seem to indicate otherwise, but the fact (not feeling) of the matter is that God will come through and I will break out into a praising hissy fit eventually. In those moments of despair, the songwriter said he “remembered” God; he reminded himself of God’s past faithfulness and used that memory to give him the strength to take things one day (or one hour even) at a time.

Hang in there, friend. Stick it out. And in the meantime know that God will bring us through. He has great things in store for us and we will yet praise Him.

Don’t Quit!

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

—Anonymous

Do You Need GPS?

I don’t have a GPS in my truck – I wish I did, but I don’t. I have some friends who have them in their vehicles, but I haven’t gotten one . . . yet. Sure would make a nice Christmas present (HINT HINT!!!!!). But the GPS is a cool tool, you can actually see a moving road map on the display as you drive down the road. One of the good things about a GPS is that if you take a wrong turn or venture off course, it will alert you and suggest how you can get back on course. Before the advent of GPS, drivers who took wrong turns often got into worse trouble trying to correct their error. Getting lost has taken me through some pretty scary places.

Life can be like that sometimes. We drift off course. Unwittingly we take a wrong turn and realize our life is not going the way we thought it would. But rather than recognizing that we are off track, we keep driving experimenting with road after road, turn after turn, always thinking (and hoping) that the right path is just beyond the next “intersection” of our life.

Maybe it was in your teen years, God spoke to you about something you wanted to do with your life. You tried it for awhile, but for some reason, you turned off of God’s path and tried a little “off-roading” for fun. Low and behold, here you are several years later wondering where to go next . . . disappointed . . . confused . . . actually, lost. You think if you could just get another job, another relationship, catch a break, things will finally start going your way. You try every explanation except recognizing you turned off of God’s road.

Maybe it is in your adulthood, life just got too busy, too complicated. Family, job, finances, health all started piling up and you needed to find a short-cut to get you around these bumps in the road. You figured you could take a little detour and actually reach your destination more quickly and more peacefully. You spent time with God until life got a little crowded. The road of life seemed jammed with so many responsibilities, you just didn’t have time anymore. You moved over into the HOV lane of life; your life is just so rush-rush.

However it began, you are honest enough now to realize that you are on the wrong road. But how to get back? How do you correct course and get things back the way they should be? Let’s take a quick peek at God’s GPS for our lives, the Bible and see if we can find a way back to God’s main road.

Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first . . .
– Revelation 2:5a

Three simple steps will get you back to where God wants you. First REMEMBER. Think back to better times. Think back to those times when you felt like you were on God’s road following His course for your life. So where did you make the wrong turn? Remember where it started going awry.

Second REPENT. Decide that you can no longer keep going where you are going and still get where God wants you to be. At the core of repentance is change . . . a change of direction. Repentance is a settled decision of the heart, mind, and will to make a 180^o turn and start going God’s direction.

Then, finally, RETURN. Think back to where you went off course and get back there. What was it God asked you to do that you ignored? Do it. What did you start doing that caused you to drift from God? Stop doing it. What did you choose over God’s plan for your life? Abandon it and run . . . don’t walk . . . back to where God wants you to be.

Sure it won’t be easy, but why would you keep driving around your life just hoping to accidentally find the right path? God’s GPS, His Word, will guide you.

Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. – Psalm 119:105

Is God Hard to Please?

Have you ever met someone who was hard to please? Their expectations change from day to day or their mood varies dependent on their perception of their circumstances. Some people are hard to please because they don’t WANT to be pleased. It’s as if they are only happy if they have something about which to be unhappy. And the saddest part of it all is how much time and energy we spend trying to please such as these!

But what about God? Is He hard to please? Could a mere human being actually bring pleasure to God? Absolutely . . . and it is not nearly as complicated as one might think. Let’s compare a couple of Bible verses and I will show you what I mean.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. – Hebrews 11:6

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!” – Matthew 25:21

Two words connect these two verse – faith and faithfulness. In the Hebrews passage we see a principle simply stated: without faith it is impossible to please God. God is not impressed with our accomplishments, His breath is not taken away by our abilities, He is not rendered speechless by our songs, worship, or offerings. No, only one thing gets God’s attention – our faith.

The parable from Matthew gives us a glimpse of how such faith is demonstrated. Jesus told the story of a master who entrusted some of his fortune to his slaves and asked them to invest them. When the master called the slaves to account for what they had done, he was most impressed with those slaves who had grown his investment in them. In commending them, he called them “faithful” – full of faith. What set these slaves apart from the one who failed? They were willing to take some risks, while the wicked lazy slave was afraid and played it safe. I wrote about this parable almost a year ago. You can click here to read it.

Faith is what pleases God, and faith is living our lives in such a way that we take risks for Him. A life on cruise control may be safe and comfortable, but it does not please God. We please God when we move out or our comfort zone and tackle God-sized tasks. We please God when we move beyond the status quo and spend our lives on pursuits that matter for eternity. We please God when our own resources, skills, abilities, and ingenuity are insufficient to meet the need of the hour, but when we radically trust God to show off His work in our life. THAT is what pleases God . . . when HE gets the opportunity to show off in our lives.

Yes, God can be pleased, God wants to be pleased, God should be pleased. Will it be business as usual for you, or will you step out in faith and invest your life in HIS kingdom?

Pleasing?

I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who said, “You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” He wasn’t a Baptist pastor. A Baptist pastor would have said it this way: “you can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people NONE of the time, and some of the people, well… even Jesus can’t please them anytime.”

That being said, everyone – pastor or not – lives to please someone, sometimes many people. Maybe it’s a family member, a boss, a neighbor, or friend – at times all of us get caught up in the trap of trying to gratify someone else. But some people are hard to please. And the way group dynamics work, when you please one set of people you are assured of upsetting another group. Yet other times, we are concerned with only pleasing ourselves. But the irony of that is that in pleasing ourselves we usually offend so many others that we cannot even enjoy the pleasure we had hoped to bring to ourselves.

So we have to make a choice . . . who are we going to please? There is only one worthy of our pleasing effort, only one whose pleasure ultimately matters. Consider this prayer from the apostle Paul:

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. - Colossians 1:9-10

People are fickle. We can please someone one day and for no apparent reason fall out of their favor the next day. People are also demanding. We can do lots of things to please them and then do one thing that negates all of that and puts us out of favor with them.

Yet God is neither fickle nor demanding. He is ultimately consistent and He is full of grace. While they are not necessarily mutually exclusive pursuits, we usually cannot make pleasing God and pleasing others equal priorities. If we are going to be God pleasers then He has to be the PRIMARY PURSUIT of our lives. At the end of the day, who do we most want to be pleased with us? Are you ready for this journey? Are you ready for God to be pleased with you?

So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

– 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

COMING THURSDAY: How can I please God?