Laying Asphalt

I have heard the old saying all my life, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The gist of the saying is that merely intending to do something does not actually get it done – or I guess I should say “git ‘r dun.” Sadly, I must admit I have worked on the road crew and laid my share of asphalt for sure.

We all make promises we intend to keep about things we know are important to do, but sometimes we find the actual doing part of the exercise another matter all together. I have a friend who used to hand out these round “wooden nickels” that had his business logo on one side and on the flip side the letters TUIT. He would tell people as he gave them the trinket that they no longer had the excuse “when I get around to it,” because he had just given them a round TUIT.

Jesus told an interesting parable in Matthew 21:28-32 that deal with just such issue as this. A man had two sons and asked them both to go work out on the farm. One son said he would but never did, the other rebelled at first, but later repented and went out and worked. Jesus pointed out that the son that produced results rather than the one that provided lip service was the one who pleased his father.

The challenge to me is that I not fall into the trap of just making promises of service to God or statements of my devotion to him, but that I let my walk match my talk. You see, it is not enough for us to SAY we love Jesus – or even “honk” if we love Him. The proof of our love and devotion to Him is found in the evidence of our obedience to His commands.

If you love me, you will obey what I command. – John 14:15

So the question arises: what are we doing to demonstrate our love and devotion to Jesus? The proof is not in confession or profession but rather in action.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18

The road to hell may be paved with good intentions, but the road to heaven, the straight and narrow way, not travelled by the majority (Matthew 7:13-15) is paved by the obedient activity of faithful and devoted followers. We may balk at first, but eventually we are about the Lord’s business. May He find us so occupied when He returns.

Just in case you have the “when I get a round to it” excuse, feel free to print the picture below and cut out the TUIT. It may come in handy.

Spit In My Eye

Time has a way of changing our perspective. We fail to fully grasp the significance of the events of life when they are happening. Only after some time has passed and we have the opportunity to view those events in their context of related events in our life do we come to fully appreciate the role those circumstances play in shaping who we are.

Andrea and I were recently discussing how differently we now view certain painful things that have happened to us now that we can relate them to our life context. What at one point may have seemed pointless and painful proved instead to be necessary and beneficial. God has a way of revealing things to us in stages, illustrated in the way in which He healed the blind man of Bethsaida:

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man's eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, "Do you see anything?"

He looked up and said, "I see people; they look like trees walking around."

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:22-25)

In a couple of different ways, Jesus put off the man’s healing, creating drama in the story. He led the man out of town, away from the crowd, no chance of using the man and his condition to promote Himself. His first touch (a gross one at that) only partially did the job; the man did not fully regain his vision until after Jesus touched him the second time.

He works that way in our lives sometimes too. We ask for His help, His deliverance, His provision and He seems to delay the answer, separating us from our request by the distance of time. Then we wonder if what we see is really an answer to our prayer. After all, He is perfectly capable of fixing our problem in one fell swoop, so apparently what we see is either our imagination, rationalization, or just blind chance and coincidence. What we are really seeing is our own circumstantial equivalent of men who look like trees walking around.

All the while, God is revealing Himself to us, bit by bit, stage by stage, so as to build drama and test our faith and our resolve. Eventually He places His final touch on our need and we are able to see more clearly. We see that the difficulty that we went through was instrumental in teaching us about God and His purposes and ways in our lives.

Don’t be so quick to curse your hardships and suffering. Don’t be hasty in assuming God has not our will not answer your prayer and meet your need. Hang in there. Give God time and space to work. You will marvel at what He accomplishes in your life.

Saying Thanks

I was reading over some of my blogs from this year, recognizing how thankful I am for what God has done this year. Amazing! Just a few words tonight to express my thanks.

First of all I want to thank you, my readers. I am humbled when I look at the site tracker and see the number of people who come and read my mental meandering. I would continue to write even if no one read, because writing is therapeutic to me: it helps me organize and formulate my thoughts. But that so many of you take time out of your day to stop in and see what I wrote humbles me. Thank you all so much for giving me a sense of purpose through my writing. I pray that what I write as I sort out my personal relationship with God is of benefit and blessing to you. My only hope for the future is that more of you will take the time to leave comments, and that we could use the blogs as a means of discussing and interaction.

I want to thank my church family for your support and encouragement. Many of you sent a note, an email, a card, or in person expressed a word of encouragement and you could not have known just how timely it was. God nudged you and you responded. Over the course of this year, we have let God work some amazing things through us. We have helped people in need, we have seen several people come to faith in Jesus, follow Him in baptism and become part of our church. Several others have been saved as a result of the food ministry. God has also brought people who were already believers to our church, ready to serve. What a year!

Also, I want to thank some very good friends of mine – they will remain anonymous, but you know who you are! – who have encouraged me to remain steadfast over the course of this year. This probably has been one the most challenging year of my life. The enemy has tempted me to give up, give in, quit trying, stop caring . . . he has thrown every dart at me you could imagine. But to those special friends who on more than one occasion have “talked me down off the bridge” so to speak, THANK YOU. I see God’s hand at work now, more than I ever have, and I fear that had you not encouraged me to stick with it, I might be missing something special.

I also want to thank Andrea and Bekah for sticking with me through some thick and thin stuff. Mean times and lean times have come our way, yet you two are the brightest rays of joy in my life. You remind me often what is REALLY important. I love you more than you can imagine and I am so blessed to be husband and daddy.

Finally, I want to thank our blessed Lord for all His graces and mercies in my life. He has sustained me physically through a surprise health diagnosis (diabetes), He held me up emotionally and spiritually when I had grown weak and was ready to give in. He sustained me and brought me through when some wished I would go away. Thank you, Father, for never giving up on me. Thank you for EVERY blessing in life, thank you for the hard times, thank you for the sweet times. You alone are most worthy to receive my thanks and my praise. I love You, YOU ARE MY LIFE.

I pray that all of you have a most blessed thanksgiving. I pray that just as the turkey and trimmings fill your stomach, so also the knowledge of the goodness of God in your life will fill your soul.

My Garage Is A Mess

Garages are nice things. I wish we could park in ours. We have a nice 2 car garage, but our cars remain parked outside, because our garage actually serves as a 20x20 storage shed. There are boxes, tubs, and bag of, well, …stuff. Some of that stuff has been boxed and stored since we moved to North Carolina in 1996. I guess if we haven’t needed it thus far, we probably will not miss it. I am declaring my intentions publically here to go through as much of that stuff and dispose of what I can before Christmas . . .2008.

I read some statistics the other day that blew my mind. If you have a yearly salary of $37,000 you are in the top 4% of wage earners in the world. If you have a yearly salary of $45,000, you are in the top 1%. I am rich and didn’t even know it! Consumers in America will spend over $400 billion (yes, with a B) on Christmas purchases this year, yet the core issues of global poverty could be alleviate for about $80 billion.

My messy garage and those statistics are stark reminders that we are very blessed. Even the poorest among us can find someone worse off than we are. You would think that we would be so appreciative of our affluence that we would be generous, but another statistic tell us otherwise – less than 4% of American Christians tithe. That is really sad, those of us who have been blessed not just financially, but also spiritually, cannot even find it in our hearts to sacrifice 10% of that blessing.

I am sure there are several excuses for not tithing – honestly, in my past, I have used a few to justify my own unwillingness to tithe. “I didn’t like what was being done with the money,” “I thought there were causes more worthy,” “I needed to take care of some personal things first,” “I just couldn’t afford it.”

I am not necessarily writing to motivate you to tithe – unless of course you go to my church (nod, nod, wink, wink)! But an unwillingness to be generous with blessings we have received is an indicator of a more serious heart issue: arrogance. When I fail to share the blessings God has given me, I make myself an “end” rather than a “means” - a messy, cluttered garage rather than a channel through which God blesses others.

So let me challenge you during this season of Thanksgiving and Giving at Christmas to take inventory of your heart. Now is a good time to quit being arrogantly self-centered and keeping what God has given you, and to recommit yourself to being part of God’s blessings to others. You will be amazed how God will make sure you always have enough to be even more of a blessing than you could ever imagine.

We are so blessed, and God can use us to be a blessing to others. BE THAT BLESSING.

Re-Creating God

Chris sent me a video yesterday that was truly amazing and led to one of those WOW moments. The video features a young lady challenging her audience to not be guilty of remaking Jesus into a more comfortable image for them. She really eloquently reinforced the truth I wrote about on Monday’s blog about Substitution. I will include a link to her video at the end of this blog.

The second commandment warns us:

No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God . . . (Exodus 20:4-5 – The Message)

When God created us in His image, he placed in us the desire for creativity. Unfortunately, our creativy goes awry sometimes and we even try to re-create God. The “image” we create, while not a statue carved into wood or chiseled into stone, is a masterpiece of rationalization and license.

The image of God that we create is gracious enough to overlook our faults while coming down hard on the faults of others.

The image of God that we create is small enough that we can understand Him and explain His ways. If something happens beyond our comprehension, then apparently God made a mistake, since in no way could our perception or understanding be lacking.

The image of God that we create likes the things we like and likes for us to like them a lot! He never challenges our traditions, conventions, or preferences.

The image of God described above, however, bears no resemblance to the One True God we read about in God’s Word.

While God does extend grace, His grace serves to transform us into HIS likeness rather than reducing Him to our likeness. (Romans 8:29)

While God often reveals to us truths about Himself, and gives us glimpses of His ways and plans, God cannot be figured out by our finite minds. The creature is never superior to the creator. His ways and thoughts are far beyond ours (Isaiah 55:8).

God certainly takes delight in us, but He also tells us that if we make Him the delight of our lives, then He will transform our heart and our mind to make us more like Jesus. (Psalm 37:4, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:17)

How do you approach God? Do you recognize that He is the Sovereign of this world He created? Do you acknowledge that He is all-knowing and all-powerful? Do you accept that He never changes, yet He desires to change us?

What shapes your understanding of God? Do you lean on your own understanding, wisdom, and life experience to define and describe who God is, or do you let Him speak for Himself in His Word?

Click here to view the video I referenced earlier, then come back and comment. Let’s exchange some thought and ideas with this blog?

What are some ways that people fashion God into their own self-styled mold?

What are the dangers of having a God we can describe and explain?

How have you seen people rationalize their lives by watering down their explanation of God?

Let me hear from you.

Substitution

Being diabetic, I have become accustomed to sugar substitutes. There’s the yellow (Splenda®), the blue (Equal®), and the pink (Sweet and Low®). The pink, in case you didn’t know it, is mentioned in The Baptist Hymnal – there’s a song that says, “Jesus whispers sweet and low . . .”

For my tastes, I prefer the yellow but others have their preferences and that is fine, whatever floats their boat, or, er, sweetens their tea, or whatever. I have heard some others who prefer the yellow say that it is just as good as sugar – WRONG! Nothing is as good as sugar. The substitute is NEVER better than the original.

Substitutions happen spiritually too, and have since Bible times; so much so that God’s first commandment was to “have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) We normally think of this commandment as applying to those who worship other gods – you know, the Muslims, Hindi, Buddhists, etc. But remember God wrote that commandment to HIS people, and as His people today, we would do well to heed the warning too.

Sadly, we sometimes substitute religious activity for active faith. Week after week we go through the motions, sing the songs, pray the prayers, read the Scriptures, drop the dollar in the plate, all as nothing more than an intellectual exercise. We do what we have always done for no other reason that we have always done it. While these religious practices should be outer activities that lead to an internal connection, they instead serve as something in the order of “paying our dues” and hoping God will be satisfied that we at least put forth some effort.

But God doesn’t necessarily want our religious practice, He wants our heart, and He wants it in broken condition so He can put it back together properly.

Going through the motions doesn't please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don't for a moment escape God's notice. Psalm 51:16-17 (The Message)

There is no substitute for a relationship with God in which we come to Him humbly and honestly, allowing Him to have access to every thought, attitude, behavior, dream, and priority so that He can assemble the parts of our lives into what He wants us to be. True worship is not found in our performance during a Sunday morning gathering of likeminded people, but it is found in a quiet, broken heart of a man or woman who comes to God recognizing that He is all that is really needed.

The substitute is NEVER better than the original. God is not impressed with those content going through the motions, substituting “religion” for a “relationship” with Him. The rituals that we call religion can never replace the benefit of a personal life-changing walk with God. Come to God broken, admitting you are where you ought to be, not where you want to be, but wanting Him to make you who He wants you to be. How sweet it is!

To the Veterans

“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys” was the title of a popular country song during my teen years, but now in my adult years I can honestly say my heroes are soldiers – men and women who selflessly serve past and present in the various branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. These brave souls devote their lives to the cause of preserving the freedoms that we enjoy in our country. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to them and we honor them as we approach Veterans Day.

The qualities that make our soldiers so special are characteristics we would all do well to emulate in our Christian walk as well. Consider, for instance, COURAGE. Courage is not the lack of fear, but instead the resolve to forge ahead in spite of fear. In the Christian life, we are not immune to fear, we feel the emotion just as readily as anyone else and we are tempted to detour or desist in its face. Paul reminds us that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and sound judgement (2 Timothy 1:7). When we are tempted to be halted by fear, we can remember God’s promise of his power, love, wisdom that gives us victory over our fears.

Our soldiers also demonstrate TENACITY. When a U.S. soldier is given an assignment, you can rest assured the assignment will be completed – the mission will succeed, failure is not an option. In like manner, the Christian is challenged to “…stand firm, let nothing move you, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord because you know your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) When we grow weary of doing right, we need to be reminded to stand firm in the knowledge that the cause is worth the effort, the destination worth the journey.

Another quality we would do well to emulate is DISCIPLINE. One of the most remarkable characteristics of a soldier is the order in which he or she lives life. A soldier develops a tremendous ability to stay focused in the task at hand and to not be distracted by things that detract from the mission. In like manner, the Bible tells us that a good soldier in God’s army does not get entangled with civilian affairs, but rather lives to please his commanding officer. As Christians, our focus should be on Jesus and pleasing him. We order our lives around what he wants from us. (2 Timothy 2:4)

That’s a good start. If we can imitate these three characteristics we will be well on our way to a successful life as a soldier in God’s army. Once again, thank you to all the courageous men and women who have served our country. We appreciate your sacrifices. To those who currently serve, we pledge our prayers and support. We will honor you by learning from you and showing you the sincerest form of flattery: imitation.

Great Expectations

“Expect nothing and you will never be disappointed.” So goes contemporary philosophy. If you expect something and it doesn’t come to pass, you are disappointed, but if you expect little or nothing and more comes to pass, then you get a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps someone has found disappointment in you because of your failure to live up to the expectations she had for you. Similarly, we all know what it is like to have expectations of our own – whether of a person or of circumstances. And we know the disappointment we feel when our expectations are not met.

But what about our expectation of God and His work around us? As I am writing this, it is Sunday night, so let me ask you . . . when you went to church today, did you expect to see God move in a mighty and different way than the “norm” or did you expect “business as usual”? Were your expectations met or were you surprised?

I have discovered that God will always live up to our expectations. If we expect little to nothing of Him at any given time, then little to nothing is what we will get. If we expect – and long for – a fresh new revelation of the glory of God, then fresh and new is what we will get. I like to say it this way: “God will fill up whatever size box we bring.” Sometimes we bring a matchbox, sometimes a shipping crate, but God fills whichever we present to Him.

A woman who had recently become widowed when her husband – a member of the “sons of the prophets” (akin to an Old Testament version of seminary) – had died came to Elisha for help when creditors threatened to take her two sons into slavery. You can read about this story in 2 Kings 4:1-7.

Elisha instructed the woman to borrow as many empty jars as she could, go into her house with her sons, and begin pouring oil from the one small container she already had into the other containers she had collected. Miraculously, that one small container of oil filled every jar the woman collected. The supply of oil did not stop until she ran out of empty containers. She sold the oil and had enough to pay the creditors with plenty left over to support herself and her sons.

She did not limit the miracle of God with low expectations. What about us? Do we limit what God does in our lives because we expect so little of Him? Do we always experience the same old same old with God because we do not expect something fresh and new to come down from heaven and enrich our lives? Get as many empty jars (faith) as you can find and expect God to fill them all. Find the biggest expectation box you can, bring it God, and watch Him overfill it with His glory.

Scary Book?

Why are people afraid of the Bible? I’m not talking about people who claim no relationship with Jesus – they aren’t afraid of the Bible, they just hold it in little regard. No, I’m talking about church going supposedly God-fearing folks: preachers and teachers who read a text of Scripture as a starting point, but use their platform as a “bully pulpit” to try and win others to their opinions.

You see, when we are given the opportunity to share the Word of God, we are entrusted with an awesome responsibility; and with that responsibility comes a serious accountability.

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment. – James 3:1

I think some people are afraid of God’s Word because it has such power to penetrate our souls and to expose who we really are and what we are really about.

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow; it is a judge of the ideas and thoughts of the heart. – Hebrews 4:12

Some teachers seem to get things a little askew. They tend to form their opinions and then shape Scripture to say what they want it to in order to support their opinions. In reality, through the Bible, God has spoken and His Word should shape us in order for us to be who He created us to be.

So let me encourage you whether you stand before a church congregation as a pastor to preach or you sit before a Bible study class as a teacher – take God’s Word seriously. That book is GOD’S WORD to us; IT is the only authority to speak. Our opinions and agendas mean nothing, less than nothing, compared to what God has to say to His people.

As a class member or church member, hold your preachers and teachers accountable to teach God’s Word. If they will not, find some one who will. The Bible is the most important ingredient in building a strong faith. Notice what Paul says about growing our faith:

So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ. – Romans 10:17

Our faith is not built by hearing the religious opinions of good and nice people. Our faith is built on hearing the teaching about Jesus and His plan for our lives. Church is not a social club that meets to discuss current events and what to do about them. Church, rather, is a soul filling station where the only fuel on which our faith can exist is the Word of God. Preach HIM, preacher. Teach HIM, teacher. And church members, accept NO SUBSTITUES. Your spiritual development depends on those you allow to teach you.

I leave you with two verses from Paul that for years have been the foundation for my ministry motivation. I recite these verses often as a reminder to myself of why God has called me to preach and teach. They are my Personal Mission Statement.

We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me. – Colossians 1:28-29