Can Jesus Open Our Minds Today? (Daily Reflections on Luke 24:36-49)

As it draws close to Easter time, I believe every Christ Follower should read through the Gospel accounts of the last week of Jesus life on earth and then the resurrection accounts before His ascension. It always stirs up my anger at the injustice Jesus received in all the events leading up to and including His crucifixion. I'm always moved. I start feeling like Peter proclaiming that I'd never deny Jesus, grabbing a sword and cutting of somebody's ear or head or at least taking a swing at somebody. It's unfair what Jesus went through! But that's the point! It was unfair what Jesus had to endure for our sake. Those emotions that are stirred in all of us at Jesus' torture, humiliation and death should bring into clarity the cost that God paid to bring about our reconciliation with Him. It really should move us to get on our knees and cry out to God for forgiveness for insolence. We should be called to strip ourselves of our own ambitions and surrender to His.

There is so much to learn in rereading these potent passages. So many more emotions to experience, insights to gain. questions to ponder. We could spend weeks just pausing over each of the events leading up to those final hours on the cross and then the forty days after His resurrection. Following Peter's life alone during that time could costs us days of reflections. And each of the Gospels has a different perspective and brings a new light on those final days of Jesus life on earth.

As I was reading Luke's account of those days, I was forced to muddle over one of Jesus' encounters with the disciples in Chapter 24. Jesus unexpectedly appears to His disciples and says, "Shalom, homies." They freak out thinking they've seen a ghost. But Jesus calms them down, shows them His hands and feet complete with holes where the nails were driven through and tells them to touch Him to see if He is real. Then he grabs a filet-o-fish sandwich and chows down to prove He is really flesh and blood. 

Now here's where it gets interesting. In verse 44, Jesus tells the disciples that He'd trying to explain to them all along that everything in the Law, Prophets and Psalms had to be fulfilled. Then in verse 45 the text says that He "opened their minds so they could understand scriptures." Whoa. Wait a minute! What does that mean? Did He perform a craniotomy? Crack open their thick skulls and insert something here? 

Jesus had been teaching these guys for three years. What does it mean that He opened their minds? Did He do something magical or mystical here that they suddenly knew things they had never known? What happened? It may simply mean that He did with them what He did with the two men on the road to Emmaus, taught them from the beginning so they finally understood in a new light. The text doesn't really explain. It only says that He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.

Somehow the disciples finally got it. But the question remains how? That raises another question for me, "Can God give instant enlightenment or revelation to us today?" What do you think? 

To be honest, I believe that that is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit. As we read and reread the Bible, the Holy Spirit gives us new insights and new understandings. The disciples had been taught only one interpretation of what the Messiah would do and be. It had been ingrained in them. And even after being with Jesus for three years they continued to hold to those beliefs. It wasn't until the Death, Burial and Resurrection played out before their very eyes that they could understand the truth of the prophesies. Sometimes God's Word is illusive to us because we are blinded by our own preconceived notions. It takes an honest look, a fresh look at His teachings with the aid of the Holy Spirit to clarify His truths. And that is how we should approach reading the Bible, with the goal the Holy Spirit opening our minds.

God, forgive me when I interpret Your Word with my own understanding. Open my mind through Your Holy Spirit so that I might have a right understand of Your truths and teachings.  

Are There Any Answers for All the Mess Today? It's Actually in Your Neighborhood (Daily Reflections on Isa. 32:15-20)

The Black Lives Matter Movement has stirred up a lot of controversy. They have brought to light the injustice felt in the black community. There is no question that the black community faces more scrutiny and suspicion from law enforcement, especially in our inner cities where crime rates tend to be higher. Cell phone videos catch every encounter of police actions, good or bad. The rhetoric of some Black Lives Matter protesters decried war or at least violence against all police officers everywhere, which only make police officers more tense, on the defensive, aggressive, confrontational for their own safety. The turmoil only grows with every encounter and confrontation. The fuse has been lit and the powder keg is close to blowing.

There is frustration everywhere. People are frustrated about life in general. The middle east escalating turmoil keeps people on edge. Fear of another 9/11 catastrophe lurks, as does another mass shooting in some school or mall. Although the government reports numbers of less unemployment and job creation, more and more people can't find work, have dropped off the unemployment rolls or can only find jobs paying just above minimum wage. We are at the highest level of people on food stamps. The middle class is losing ground. The Affordable Health Care act is proving to be unaffordable to individuals and businesses alike as rates climb. Our government is in political grid lock and when they do pass something it seems to make life worse. Polls show that nearly 3/4 of Americans believe our country is heading in the wrong direction. Fear, uncertainty, insecurity, racial tension, political division, class warfare seems to have gripped our country.

Are there any answers? Is there any hope? Where is the security in this world?

As I was reading through Isaiah 32, I felt an overwhelming sense of the anxiety and frustration people are feeling today. Christians, today, are feeling the squeeze even more as they see more and more of their moral values being bashed, ridiculed and legislated away. Their cry, "What's happening to our world?" echoes across the diminishing church landscapes as more and more people leave the pews and join the sweeping post modern wave.

The world is in deep turmoil! Anxiety and hardship is real for everyone. But the corruption of this world flows from the corruption and apathy of our own hearts. Our sin, our complacency, our selfishness, our inward focus is a primary reason for the fear, frustration, anxiety, etc that we all feel. Our inaction, lack of sacrificial commitment to the cause of Christ has exacerbated the deterioration of society around us. It happened to the Israelites and not only did they lose their way, they lost their nation and the blessing of God's hand on them.

The key to a renewal, reassurance, peace comes from a fresh flow from the Holy Spirit, according to Isaiah 32:15 and following. Only through the power of God, poured out onto us and flowing through us will our society, our world, our community, our neighborhood change. World change doesn't start with some governmental power. It starts on our street, in our neighborhood. It starts with us!

Isaiah goes on to talk about how when God's Spirit is poured out into the desert or the wasteland, that it becomes a fertile field and even the fertile fields will become as dense or prolific as a forest. Justice will move into the badland deserts and righteousness will consume the fertile fields. And the fruit of  righteousness will bring peace and the produce of that peace will bring quiet lives and endless trust or confidence. Isaiah assures his readers that God's people will experience peaceful neighborhoods, safe and secure homes and a blessed and bountiful life.

So how is it that neighborhoods, inner cities, communities can see this kind of transformation? In The Message paraphrase of John 1:14 says, "The Word (Jesus) became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." What an incredible word picture. Jesus became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. Brad Brisco and Lance Ford ask the question in their book, Missional Essentials, "What would it look like if Jesus moved into your neighborhood?" How would our neighborhood be different if Jesus actually moved into our neighborhood? Would we see what Isaiah was talking about in Isaiah 32? Would that kind of transformation take place? What if He moved into the darkest of our inner cities? Would gun violence and crime suddenly cease? Would homes without fathers disappear? Would poverty diminish? Would calls for killing police be silenced?

Isaiah said that when God's Spirit is poured out in the desert or wasteland, that it becomes a fertile field. According to Acts 1 and 2, because of the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Spirit has been poured out already on His people. For those of who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, that means us. That means that God's Spirit dwells in us wherever we live, go, play, work, or rest. 

You see, Jesus has already moved into your neighborhood through you. As a Christ Follower, we need to unleash the power of God's Spirit on and into our neighborhoods, communities and inner cities. What does that look like? Let's go back and ask the question again. What do you think it would look like if Jesus moved into your neighborhood? What would He do? The wasteland becomes a fertile field when Jesus pours Himself into the field.

I'm afraid that many of our inner cities have become wastelands because we, as representatives of Christ, have abandoned them. In fact, our own neighborhoods are moving that direction, as is virtually every city, town, community in the US, because we have become complacent and comfortable with satisfying our own needs. When we, even as "committed believers," focus only on showing up at church and doing church duties, we've abandoned the fields. And when the fields get abandoned, the weeds take over and the work becomes ten times harder to work it to produce a bountiful crop of peace again.

The solution to peace and security in the world, in our neighborhood, in our streets is simple. If each of us who professed to be a Christ Follower would get off our couches and out of recliners, wake up and go pour the Spirit of God out into our own neighborhoods, workplaces, gyms, coffee shops and classrooms by investing in people like Jesus did, the world would ultimately be transformed into a righteous field of peace. One person at a time. One neighborhood at a time. That's what Jesus had in mind when He gathered His twelve together and sent them into the world telling them to love God with everything they've got and love their neighbor as themselves.

God, I confess that I get frustrated and even angry as I reflect upon the situation of our country, culture and changing norms. I sometimes wind myself up into a depression over what I perceive in the world around me. Even though I tell myself that your are still in control and we win in the end, I get exasperated by the constant self destruction of our world. Sometimes I feel like the disciples who wanted to call down fire from heaven and destroy all the evil doers and godless people. But I realize that longing for the days of Andy Griffith and Mayberry is pointless and they aren't coming back anytime soon (if they ever really existed). As I read again, Isaiah 32, I feel convicted of my complacency. I'm doing little to pour out my life in Your Spirit into my neighborhood, my wasteland around me. God, I know that if I do it, if other believers would unleash Your Spirit through their lives into the lives of our neighbors, your promise would soon come to fruition and my neighborhood, their neighborhoods would become a fertile field producing peace and righteousness. Thanks for the kick in the pants, the wake up call, Lord. I know I can't change the world, but in Your Power by Your Spirit, I can see my neighborhood change.

God, Why Don't You Just Come Down and Show These Heretics a Thing or Two? (Daily Reflections on Isa. 64)

Sometimes I look at the world around us with its collapsing morals, injustices, political corruption, selfishness and defaming or mocking of God and His principles and I want to cry out like Isaiah "Tear open the skies and come down to earth so that the mountains will tremble before you. Like a fire that burns twigs, like a fire that makes water boil, let your enemies know who you are. Then all nations will shake with fear when they see you." Okay call me James or John who wanted to call down fire on the Samaritan village in Luke 9 for not welcoming Jesus. I know, I know, Jesus rebuked them for that. But sometimes I just want God to show Himself and put those other people in their place.

Just like Isaiah, I want people to see the amazing things of God. There is no one like Him. He is always there to help those who trust in Him and enjoy doing good, who strive to live according to His truths. I get tired and grieved by those, the world, who work against God's principles, who flaunt their sin and declare their own brand of morals. I just want God to show them who's boss, to show His righteousness and power and really let them have it.

In the back of my mind, I keep hearing that rebuke from Jesus to James and John, and probably the rest of the disciples too. I'm sure they all felt the same thing. Jesus, why do you let those punks push you around. You've done so many cool things, amazing things, beneficial things. You're offering hope and life and unconditional love and forgiveness and they are just bashing you. Just take care of them, bring on the fire.

But I can't help but look at my own life. Just as Isaiah said, my acts of righteousness are only filthy rags to God. I have my own sin. I have my own rejection of His truths. I, too, am disobedient. And deep down, I'm selfish, wanting what I want for me and my benefit. Even my so called righteous anger is more about me wanting what I want.

If I really pause and reflect, asking God to come down and burn out all the unrighteous is actually asking Him to burn me up as well. If I'm asking Him to wipe out all who sin against God or have rejected Him in any way by their behavior, I'm really asking Him to take me out as well. 

Perhaps Isaiah's cry is a better one, But you are our father, Lord. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us,  so do not be too angry with us or hold our sins against us forever. We are your people; be merciful to us. Instead of crying out for God to show up in a big way and wipe out or even just intimidate all those who oppose Him, maybe we should be praying that God would mold us into becoming truly what He would want us to be. Maybe if we took seriously His commands of loving Him and loving our neighbors in a real and practical way the world would be different. Maybe if we dedicated our life to announcing and proclaiming the Kingdom the way Jesus did, as Michael Frost suggests, we would see throngs coming to Him. Maybe if we made the Kingdom of God tangible, as Hugh Halter suggests, people would experience the glory, goodness, love, and compassion of Jesus and be consumed by Him. Maybe if we took seriously the commands of Jesus as His people, the world would long for the touch of God.

God, I cry out to you with the prayer of Isaiah. You are my father, Lord. I am just clay. Mold me and shape after your will. Forgive my insolence, my arrogance, my self righteousness and sin. Don't be angry with me. Be merciful, please. Make me an instrument of your peace and message of Good News. Use me as your vessel so that people can see Jesus and experience your grace.

How Should I Deal with Homosexuality, Same Sex Marriage and the Transgendered as a Christian? (Daily Reflections on Mt. 10:16-20)

Fifteen to twenty years ago there was little discussion about same sex marriage and transgendered personalities. Homosexuality was was moving from the view of a chosen lifestyle fraught with the dangers of AIDS to a natural inborn preference. Now the news and media is filled with images of gay married couples and transgendered persons. To be honest, I'm glad my kids are grown, because I don't think I would want to be having to explain transgendered to a six year old. As the old commercial used to say, "What's a mother to do?"

However, I've have been concerned about the many posts by "Christians" regarding the issues of homosexuality, same sex marriage, and the transgendered. I've been concerned by some who embrace these issues wholeheartedly and suggest that all believers should accept gay marriage and the transgendered without hesitation because God does. I've also been concerned by some who have belittled, mocked, etc. homosexual couples/individuals and transgendered persons. Some of the posts/blogs I've read are down right vitriolic. What's baffling is that some of those same "Christian" individuals who bash homosexual behavior are non condemning of heterosexual couples who are engaging in sex outside of marriage or the guys who engage porn. 

It's an issue facing the church today that many never even imagined would have to face. A year ago I approached the elders of my church regarding what our policy would be when same sex marriage became legal in our state. One of my elders emphatically stated, "This is Oklahoma. We won't have to be facing that for a long time." Within months of that encounter, Oklahoma's law prohibiting same sex marriage was struck down by the courts and same sex marriage is now legal in our state. Now I'm wondering how the church is going to deal with transgendered persons, including children who attend our churches and want to go on ladies' or men's retreats, use their transgendered restrooms, or children in our youth programs.

I've often wondered how the Apostle Paul felt when he started preaching in Corinth and Ephesus, communities known for their pagan temple worship involving homosexuality. I heard a speaker one time exclaim that Corinth made San Francisco look like a Sunday School picnic. Sexual immorality of all kinds were prevalent in both cities, yet Paul stayed three years in Ephesus and wrote more than one letter to the church at Corinth. Other than Romans, Ephesians may be the most theological book in the New Testament.

Although there are some clear teachings prohibiting homosexual practice, we have to remember that Jesus also clearly stated in John 3:17 that He didn't come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved. If we are to be like Jesus, then our practice and speech should like that of Jesus. Remember, Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day when criticized for hanging out with publicans and sinners that He came to the sick, those in need of healing.

So how are we, as believers today, supposed to handle the issues of homosexuality, same sex marriage and the transgendered? How do you think Jesus would have handled it? We are aliens to this world. Our citizenship is in heaven. This isn't our world. As the old Negro Spiritual proclaims, "This world is not my home. I'm just a passin' through."

So if this isn't our turf, what should be our approach to these issues? Jesus has some counsel for us in Matthew 10:16-20. He recognizes that He is sending us into the world as sheep among wolves. First of all, remember, HE is doing the sending. We are HIS representatives proclaiming HIS message of love, grace and redemption. When people encounter us, they should be encountering Jesus, and as Jesus said, whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.

Second, He told us to be wise or shrewd as serpents, but harmless/inoffensive as doves. The Message Version says we shouldn't be calling attention to ourselves as we run through the wolf pack. Jesus tells us that some people will impugn our motives and smear our reputation. Some will even try to take legal action against us. He then tells us that we should rejoice because it will give us the perfect opportunity to announce and proclaim the Kingdom and show, demonstrate and share the Good News of Jesus. And in those moments of confrontation, as we align ourselves with Christ, the Holy Spirit will give us what we should say. Isn't that cool? God says that He will give us the right words to say in those critical moments through His Holy Spirit! What a promise! When I don't know what to say or how to react, respond, etc, The Holy Spirit will jump in and show us, tell us, speak for us. That is awesome!

Knowing that causes me to want to go back and read through the Gospels again and again, paying attention to the patterns and practices of Jesus. I want to be ready when the time comes. Not to respond in my theology, but in love and grace and wisdom and mercy and hope of Jesus.

God, sometimes I just don't know what to say or do. I don't know the best way to stand up for Your truths. I know You said that we shouldn't cast our pearls before swine, but it become awkward trying to live and proclaim Your standards in world that is moving in the opposite direction, in fact stand opposed to Your truths. I want to love people the way You do, to see people the way You see them. Pour Your Spirit out on me anew. Flow through me. Allow me to have the wisdom and words and behavior that best represents You. Take away my condemning Spirit and grant me the air of Your presence.

So When Do These Things Become Beautiful? (Daily Reflections on Eccl. 3:11-14)

It's amazing how quick things can change! People change. Circumstances change. Weather changes. It seems like everywhere that I have lived people tell me, "If you don't like the weather, just stick around because it will change in a minute." I've seen it do that many times in all the places I've lived. We've just been through a season of that here in Central Oklahoma. The whole state has been under a drought, but in the month of May this year we've been deluged with rain. When I say deluged, I mean deluged. Towns flooded. Roads and bridges washed away. Unfortunately so have cars, houses, people and live stalk. Several have lost their lives. We had an all time record amount of precipitation for any month in the history of record keeping. The year prior, we had a little more than 3 inches for the whole month. This year over 20 inches. We already have more than two thirds of our annual rainfall totals.

Living in Oklahoma we also are used to dodging tornadoes in the spring. It's can be a sunshiny day and all of the sudden conditions change and a tornado forms. We all know the drill here and you can forget watching your favorite show on any of the main channels, in the month of May especially, because they will be showing nonstop coverage of where the tornadoes are and where they are headed. This May we only had about 70 in the state.

The springtime is a volatile time weather wise here. This year, we only had 7 days in May that were not stormy. All but 7 counties had severe storm/flooding damage. It was wet and cold. But now it's June! Within a week we have gone from cool wet temps to hot and somewhat muggy conditions. It was in the upper 60's/low 70's a couple weeks ago. The last few days it's upper 90's. It even reached 101 on my car thermometer as I pulled into my garage this afternoon. It's amazing how fast things can change.

I've walked with people who went from a picture of perfect health to terminal in a matter of hours. I've sat with people who were gainfully employed with a six figure salary when they went to work in the morning and within a few hours after arriving at work they were laid off by corporate with no severance pay. I've counseled with people who thought they were happily married only to find out that their spouse was leaving them for another person. It's amazing how fast things can change.

The seasons of life can be challenging at best. We never know what is going to strike us or when it's coming. Just like us here in Oklahoma, it's sunny and the skies seem clear one minute, only to be headed for our tornado shelter the next.

I've always be intrigued by Ecclesiastes 3. There is a time for everything under heaven. I've used the passage at both weddings and funerals. There is a time to be born, a time to die, a time to sow, a time to gather in, a time to keep, a time to throw away, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to weep and a time dance, etc., etc. But my favorite part of this passage are verses 11-14. Solomon reassures us with these words, "He has made everything beautiful in its time." Solomon goes on to talk about the fact that it's the changes that God brings about in our life that causes us to long for Heaven and the things of God. He says that we should rejoice in the moments of life and opportunities and challenges and rewards and jobs and people God brings into our lives. 

Most of us would love to control our environment. In fact, we do everything in our power to control our environment. It's when things are not in our control that we get anxious or uncomfortable or worried or depressed. Yet Solomon assures us that things are not in our control. There is nothing we can do to gain control. Jesus has the power to say "Peace be still to the raging storms." But, if I tried that with an oncoming tornado...well let's just say I'm no Pecos Bill. I'd be more like Elijah who was caught up in a whirlwind and ended up in Heaven. The changes of life, including the severe ones, difficult ones and their ultimate resolutions are designed for us to "fear" or more accurately "be in awe of" God. 

God says that HE will make all things beautiful in its time. God is working HIS plan in us. Our job is to cooperate with Him and trust Him. We certainly can't add or take anything away. We can only focus on Him. 

Ok God, I confess I hate not being to see how everything works out in advance. I hate having to struggle through difficult times. I hate facing hardships. I hate the hard lessons I have to endure for you to mold my life. I hate that I don't get a say so in your divine plan. But I trust in you. I can't wait to see how things become beautiful in its time as you mold things toward fruition. I want to be awed by you! I want to see your glorious power and creative spirit unleashed in my life. Give me a glimpse of the land flowing with milk and honey that's awaiting. 

Graduation Counsel (Daily Reflections on Prov. 6:20-23)

Graduation time is always exciting. Donning the cap and gown. Marching down the aisle to "Pomp and Circumstance." Traversing the stage as your name is called to receive THAT diploma. Flipping the tassel or being hooded. Tossing the cap as the ceremony closes. Embracing loved ones who greet you with congratulatory remarks. It's all exciting! You did it!

I can remember all three of my graduations, although I confess it's a little more hazy with age. In high school after everything was over it was a race to get from the football field back to the check in station in the school to turn in our robes and get our actual diplomas. Since I was pretty fast in those days, I was one of the first. There was no hanging around and hugging classmates. It was get in and get out as fast as possible. I was in an out so fast that I beat my parents back to my house for the reception being held in my honor.

At my college graduation, I will never forget that my parents had to leave immediately because my grandmother's house was on fire. I had to finish to packing my things and all my fish and tanks. (I used to raise tropical fish in college.) By the time I got packed and made the 60 mile trip, her house was nothing but a crispy critter. My grandmother at the time was in Tennessee, recouping from a broken hip. We were able to drag a few things from the embers, and I was so grateful that my bass amp, which I had taken over days before graduation was spared any damage.

By the time my Masters graduation came, I was married with children. Having my wife and daughters there is about the only thing I really remember. Hanging out with my parents and family was more meaningful at that time than it was seventeen years prior and getting out of high school.

I couldn't wait to get out of high school. I had moved my senior year and missed my friends with whom I had carved out life from grade school. I moved back to "my" hometown to find work within two weeks of graduating and never lived at home again. 

I remember how weird it was sitting on that plane, waving good-bye to my folks, knowing that I was leaving the nest. I was now on my own. It was a pretty daunting thought. You can't wait to get out, but once you're on your own the reality can be frightening.

Making your own way in the world is a challenge. Even though you've had plenty of counsel growing up, you are bound to make mistakes; sometimes major mistakes. Everyone makes them. I made them. You made them or will make them. It's the hard elements of life. They say we learn from our mistakes. My observation is that some do and some don't. Some of us are prone to keep making the same mistakes over and over again. If only we had the assurance that everything, every decision, every move we made was the right one in advance.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived actually gives us some counsel that will help us in choosing the right path. In Proverbs 6 he advises, My son, obey your father’s commands, and don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. Keep their words always in your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you walk, their counsel will lead you. When you sleep, they will protect you. When you wake up, they will advise you. For their command is a lamp and their instruction a light; their corrective discipline  is the way to life.

Solomon is talking about Godly instruction from your parents that teach you Godly principles for living. He's saying that we need to incorporate those principles into our everyday life. If we do, then more than likely we will be able to choose the right path, the right actions, say and do the right things that will profit us. It's the incorporating of those principles that will form and shape our character. You won't have to question whether something is right or not because  those principles are second nature to you, they are part of you. 

As you set out to conquer your world upon graduation, grabbing hold of God's principles will serve you well. You are free from household rules, but you are not free from consequences of your actions. Many just want to run wild once they leave the safety of the nest. To those I would say, you will soon find out that the principles that God lays out are the most solid, profitable, beneficial ones you could wrap your life around.

God, thanks for sharing your wisdom for living life with us. Thanks for demonstrating it through your son, Jesus. Thanks for granting us Your Word and Your Holy Spirit to guides and instruct us. Thanks also for forgiving us and helping us find our way back to the right path.

Confessions of a Worrier (Daily Reflections on Lk. 12:22-34)

It's easier said than done. "Don't worry," they tell you. Right. That's a lot like telling water, "Don't run down hill." Just like gravity, worry seems to be a natural force of nature over which we have no control. Be assured, worry is a force. It has the power to consume you. It can raise your blood pressure, give you sleepless nights, shape your thoughts, create a variety of other emotions and do incredible damage to your psyche. I know because it does that to me.

I know that Jesus said not to worry. I know that the Father clothes the lilies of the field more elaborately than Solomon. I know that He feeds the birds of the air. I even know that I'm more valuable than birds and that He has the hairs on my head numbered. I believe that. I am trying my best to seek first His Kingdom and His Righteous, and for the most part I believe that He has added things to my life. However, that doesn't seem to stop me from worrying.

Right now, my worries are of a personal nature. I'm worried about finances. I'm worried about if and where God wants to use me. I'm worried for my kids and their recent moves. I'm worried about my granddaughter. I'm worried about my aging mother who lives more than a day's drive from me. I'm worried about my own value and sanity. I'm worried because God seems silent to my prayers for directions.

I'm sure none of you have any such worries. I'm sure that it's easy for you to put aside your worries. I'm sure that your able to trust in God completely and any anxiety is washed away and things are right in your world. Okay, maybe not. Maybe you're like me. You get depressed and frustrated and angry and melancholy. You can't see God working in your situation even though you pray and pray and pray. You read your Bible and go to church, but nothing seems to be resolving the issue of your worry. Then you feel guilty for worrying or worse unworthy of God's attention. You start to wonder if God really cares. Maybe He's punishing you for something in your past. Maybe He really doesn't exist.

I don't know about you, but I find that worry gets the better of me when I realize that I have no control whatsoever. I can't make things happen. I can't make things go away. I can't speed time up to see the future or make it go backward and change things that might correct my predicament. I'm not a very patient person, so waiting for things to resolve or even to give God time to work things out His way only exacerbates my worry.

Another observation I've made when I'm consumed with worry is that I become pretty self absorbed. I can really only see things that deal with me and my situation. It's not that I'm incapacitated completely that is, but my tunnel vision comes back again and again making it hard to relax, enjoy life and other people.

I keep going back and reading this passage out of Luke 12. I hear the words. I memorize the words, but somehow I can't seem to make my worry go away. I ask myself, "Don't you believe that God is big enough to handle your issues?" "Hasn't He handled things for you in the past?" "Aren't you being selfish?" "Don't others have a lot worse things than you?

I realize that this is an exercise in faith. I recognize that I really don't have control of the world or people or events around me. I can't make anyone do what I want or anything happen the way that I want. It forces me to live in a total dependent state. Faith also isn't about getting what I want or living without hardship. It's about living in those uncertain, uncontrollable times when you can't see a positive resolution anytime soon.

God, Help! I feel lost and abandoned. Can't you show me a pillar of fire to follow or open a Red Sea before me? Can't you speak to me from a burning bush or any bush for that matter? Can't you throw a little manna my way? I confess that worry has seized me. Please release me from this worry bout! I'm doing my best to trust you, to rest in you, to seek You and Your Kingdom. I need your reassurance. I need to see your hand move in my behalf. I need to feel your presence upon me and around me. Help me to keep moving toward you and strengthen my belief. Show me the path to take. Open the doors before me and close the ones behind me.

Detours, Directions and Devices (Daily Reflections on Prov. 16:1-9)

GPS devices are life savers. Almost everyone has access to one via a smart phone, a portable unit or now built into their vehicle. What did we do before them? I'm old enough to remember! We used things called maps. You could pick them up in gas stations or rest areas. I used to have my glove boxes in the car full of them from different states. They worked wonderful as long as you knew where you were. But unfolding them out in the car while you were driving could be more dangerous than glancing down at your smart phone while zipping down the highway.

It also helped if you had someone with you who could read a map. I can remember as a kid that my mom would navigate with map in hand as my dad would mostly follow her directions. We usually got to our destination point without any problem. In fact, my parents would give us a map to follow along on our journey. It taught us how to read a map and cause us to quit asking that age ol' annoying question, "how long till we get there?" 

However, if the person with you couldn't read a map, like my wife, things got a little more challenging, frustrating and even led to a few heated exchanges. I confess on more than one occasion I would grab the map away from my wife and try to decipher where we were and how to get to the place we were going. Even though I knew I needed to memorize the route ahead of time, there were always those things that detoured our path and unclear road markings.

Now I don't go anywhere unfamiliar without a navigation device. I prefer the turn by turn voice models/apps. The ones with pictures of the arrows pointing to the lane I need to be in are even more helpful. I love it when my GPS device tells me of traffic delays or unfavorable road conditions ahead and offers an alternative route, or when the road is out or closed and I have to reroute my path. Oh it's true that I occasionally get into an argument with my TOMTOM and question where it's taking me, but normally that's when I know which way I want to go and it's trying to take me a different way. Ok, there have been times when TOMTOM was right and I was, well let's just say, "off course." It's at that point when my wife usually says something like, "If you are going to use that thing, why don't you follow it's direction?" My response to her is...! I hate it when she's right.

Generally before a trip I try to map out my journey using the google maps app on my iPhone or iPad to get an idea of what roads to take and get an idea of how long the trip should take. I usually have a pretty good idea of where I'm going before I ever start. But without the turn by turn navigation of a GPS device, I sometimes get lost and have difficulty recovering my path. It can be pretty frustrating when you have no idea where you are and how to get to where you want to go.

Although Solomon didn't have access to a GPS device, he did have the wisdom to point us to a solid path to follow. In Proverbs 16:1-9 he talks about getting on the right path and staying on the right path. There is a tendency for all of us to choose a path on our own and blindly set out in a direction we think will get us to what we want. We make our plans, carve out where we want to go and then pursue that path only to discover that there are hardship, disasters, detours, rugged conditions and dead ends. Solomon suggests that instead of running off in some direction on our own, that we plan our route out ahead of time with God. That is the safest, most reliable, most profitable, most beneficial path we could take. Following that path doesn't mean we won't run into any hardships. In fact God allows some hardship for us to strengthen us and our faith and to form us into what He wants us to become.

However, many of us, even though we have turn by turn navigation through the Holy Spirit, do exactly what I sometimes do with my navigation device, and ignore the direction being given. We assume we know where we are going only to get lost or "off course" with no idea of how to get back. Solomon says that we can make our own plans, God does give us free choice. But God gives the right answers, he directs our steps.

If you're feeling a little off course, lost, frustrated, confused or disoriented, I suggest plugging in, turning on God's GPS system. Listen in. Open His Word. Seek out His Spirit. Cry out! Focus in on praising Him and drawing close to Him. Soon you will begin to see the right path again and your spirit will be lifted. There is nothing like finding your way back to familiar territory. He's calling you back to His path of righteousness.

God, why am I so independent and so stubborn sometimes? I take off in my own direction without consulting you, listening to you, following you. I am so arrogant sometimes thinking I know where I/we should go on my own. I leave you behind or quite frankly just shut you off completely. God, I want to stay focused on your path. I don't want to wander off it. Keep me aligned with Your Holy Spirit. Direct my steps daily.

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? (Daily Reflections on Prov. 21:21)

It's in our constitution that all men are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There you have it, God has given me the right to live my life anyway that brings me happiness. Well, that's seems to be the interpretation by many, but I'm not sure that that was the intentions of Jefferson and the crafters of the constitution. "It's all about me and what I want" seems to have developed in more recent years. So people argue today that since I have the right to pursue what makes me happy, nothing that brings me happiness should be excluded and you don't have any right to impose your values on me.

Further more happiness or the pursuit of happiness is defined as anything that makes me happy. If it makes me happy, it shouldn't be against the law or immoral or...do you see where this is going? Cultural trends shift rapidly. In less than a generation cultural opinions can tip to polar opposites. Some chalk it up to social evolution or enlightenment. The pursuit of happiness has power.

For many the pursuit of happiness is a way to find real life. So for many the pursuit of happiness is about the pursuit of wealth, power, status, material possessions, pleasure or self gratification. People kill themselves trying to get any or all of those things. We work long hours, overextend our finances, sacrifice family or family priorities, or engage in questionable activities. Charles Swindoll has said, "we have become a generation of people who worship our work...who work at our play...and who play at our worship."

But Solomon gives us some better advice if we really want to find real life. Instead of pursuing what we think will bring us happiness and thus real life, Solomon says, "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor." (Prov. 21:21) If we really want to find real life, real prosperity and real honor, then we should pursue righteousness and unfailing love. It's not about self. It's about pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving. What does that look like?

It means that our energies become centered on understanding God, His principles and practices. Hanging around a church service will help catch a glimpse of God, but we won't really understand Him until we actually dig into His Word on our own, studying and meditating upon it, closely examining His practices and ways. But pursuing righteousness and love also means employing those principles and practices in our own life. Godly living and Godly loving are simply enacting those principles and practices through the investment of our lives into others. Authors Hugh Halter, Michael Frost, Alan Hirsch, Lance Ford and others have suggested that pursuing righteousness and love is really about incarnating Jesus through our lives or in other words following the example of Jesus in serving/blessing people in practical ways. Pursing righteousness is not about trying to live a perfect sinless life. It's about letting Jesus live His life out in us.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs have always intrigued me. How do I get to that final level of self actualization? It isn't focusing on self, self needs, or self gratification ironically. It's actually doing exactly what Solomon says in Proverbs 21, pursuing  righteousness and love and that is spelled in pursuing God, Godly living and Godly loving.

God, I confess I find myself focusing my energies on self fulfillment or self gratification most of the time. I know that that is an empty pursuit. I know that I feel a greater fulfillment, inner peace, joy, rich, etc when I've poured myself out into others in your behalf. I have a greater sense of respect and honor from others when I humbly and genuinely serve others. I want to be more like Jesus. Empower me. Coach me through your Spirit. Keep my eyes focused on Kingdom things and not earthly or selfish things.

KEEP CALM AND... (Daily Reflections on Ex. 14:5-31)

Perhaps you've seen the signs, bumper stickers or T-shirts that depict a crown with the words, "Keep Calm And" then some other statement like, "Carry On" or "Chive On" or "Eat a Cookie". The latter part of the phrase could be almost anything and doesn't even have to make sense. In fact some I've seen border on the ridicules and even profane. Even the Christian paraphernalia marketers have gotten in on this fad. I'm sure to a stressed out world this "Keep Calm" craze is appealing. However, it drives me absolutely nuts. Perhaps because it goes against my charge ahead, Type A personality that I dislike those phrases. I also don't like the phrases, "Chill Out" or "Take a Chill Pill" either. And whoever started the phrase, "Chillax"...well, anyway where was I.

Everyone recognizes the need to stay under control or calm in those heated moments of stress or intensity or high pressure, but very few actually do it. Oh it's easy to stay calm lounging at the beach or viewing the majesty of a serene mountain lake. But staying calm behind the wheel in a driving rainstorm during heavy rush hour traffic in a strange city when you don't really know where you are going is a different story. Under those circumstances you find yourself yelling at the inanimate feminine GPS voice on your navigation device.

We live in a high pressure, high stress world. Time demands, business demands, parenting demands, financial demands, relational demands, personal demands compound upon each other stretching us to our limits. Even getting everyone out the door and on time in the morning can become such an ordeal that we get to work in an already frenzied state of mind. Too often we find ourselves either reaching for a couple extra shots of caffeine to keep us going at a high level of efficiency or reaching for glass of wine or some other alcoholic beverage or our medicine cabinet to calm us down.

Reading through Exodus 14 I was reminded of the stress and oppressive  circumstances facing the children of Israel who were in slavery in Egypt. They were crying out for deliverance, but when it came it seemed to them a much worse fate. I'm sure as they initially headed out of Egypt with the chariots on their tales they felt like they had gone out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire. I don't have to speculate about this because the text says they were screaming at Moses, 10 As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord, 11 and they said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren’t there enough graves for us in Egypt? What have you done to us? Why did you make us leave Egypt? 12 Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’”

We've all been there. Just when we thought things or the pressure couldn't get any worse, something else happens to make our lives or our situation seem hopelessly impossible. That's when we crack, break down, cry out, blurt out in anger or fall into deep depression. Verse 10 says it, "they looked up and panicked." And their response was typical, "can't we just go back to being miserable." That is ultimately what the Israelites were saying to Moses.

If I were one of the Israelites that day, I probably would have found myself on the side that wanted to strangle Moses. As I often said, "Oh ME of little faith." Sometimes even following God seems like you've gone from the frying pan into the fire. And our immediate response is almost always, "how am I going to solve this or get out of this." We start analyzing things from our abilities or resources or perspective. We may cry out, but we do so in panic mode, still trying figure out how to get ourselves out of our difficult situation.

It's in those hopelessly impossible situations that God often does His best work or His glory is best seen anyway. Looking closely again to what happen intrigues me. Moses tells them to stop freaking out. Don't be afraid of this massive, well trained army bearing down on you. I know easier said then done. Fear is a crippling. It refocuses your attention so much on the potential harm that you can't think, act, or often reason properly. It even causes us to take our attention off of God. 

Moses goes on to tell the people to just stand still and watch. Watch what? Watch God begin to do His thing. It must have been weird for the Israelites to watch that pillar of fire that had been before them raise up, drift overhead and then settle in between them and the Egyptian army. The Israelites weren't out of danger but now they had a glimmer of hope.

The New Living Translation says in verse 14 that Moses said, "The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." There it is, "stay calm." I can hear the Israelites now, "Yeah Right." However, the NIV says, "be still" and New American Standard Bible  says "while you keep silent."  I might not have been so diplomatic if I were Moses. I would have more likely said something like, "Shut up and stop your whining." But I confess that Moses was probably more Godly than I am. The point is that when you are in panic mode and just gibbering you really can't see that God is actually working. You have to be still for a moment, cease your striving as Ps. 46:10 says and know that He is God. When we are so freaked out by our circumstance, we have a tendency to squeeze out the voice of God or see Him moving.

So under this extremely tense situation, Moses has said, dump the fear, slow your motor down and watch for God to do His thing. Then God tells both Moses and the people to do something strange. He tells them to get moving! Moving? Where? Away from the Egyptians means moving toward the Red Sea and there are no boats there. Here's the deal, God is telling the people to move away from the trouble and go forward from where they are. God also told Moses to hold up his staff over the water and a way would be provided. 

When I played football my running back coach always told me look for the hole and run to daylight. He was basically saying let your blockers do their job. Don't watch what they're doing or zero in on your opponents. Watch for the open opportunities and run hard and fast toward those. I soon discovered that if I stayed in the backfield and tried to juke the oncoming tacklers I was tackled in the backfield and found myself on the bench. But when I did what the coach told me, I always picked up positive yards.

When the people did just what God told them to do and let Him do His thing, they were not only saved, delivered, rescued, they saw a miracle of God. He totally destroyed the Egyptian army before their very eyes and not a single arrow was flung, spear tossed or sword drawn. In fact, not a single person in the Israelite camp were harmed. Amazing! God smashed the world's most powerful army of its day with simply His breath.

God, I need to feel your breath upon me and around me right now. I seem to get so caught up in all the stressors and pressures of life that I find myself in panic mode all too often. Help me put aside my fears, to slow my motor down long enough to see Your hand at work. I don't want to be a whiner, Lord. I want to simply follow your path. Show me the open path so that I can run to daylight, your daylight. I want to see your glory and bring you glory through my life.

Passing on Values (Daily Reflections on Prov. 23:15-18)

Becoming a grandfather has caused me to do a little reflecting. Images of my girls when they were little pop into my mind frequently. I begin to question how well I did as a parent really investing in my kids and did I portray Godly values consistently before them. I just thank God for their mother that my girls have grown to be Godly women. 

Reading through Proverbs, one gets the sense that Solomon is almost writing to his own kid. He refers often to "young man/men" or even "my son." It's like Solomon tried to write down things that would help his son keep on the right path, do the right things and be an outstanding young man. If only Rehoboam had read and adhered to the writings of his wise father. I wonder if Israel would have split into two kingdoms. I wonder if idol worship would have crept into both kingdoms or even if the people would have had to suffer through captivity. We will never know because apparently either Rehoboam never read or decided not to adhere to his father's teaching.

There is another possibility. It has been said that in parenting, especially regarding values and practices, more is caught than taught. Looking at the lifestyle and practices of Solomon at the end of his life, one will see a quite different Solomon than when he assumed the throne and wrote those words of wisdom. Unfortunately Solomon himself did not adhere to his own words at the end of his life. It is no doubt that Rehoboam simply adopted many of the patterns and practices of his dad's latter life. 

The old adage, "Practice what you preach." has great relevancy when it comes to parenting or even discipling someone. It is true that more is caught than taught. If your lifestyle or daily practices do not match what you proclaim, then you are not just a hypocrite, you proclaim your actual beliefs. Just because you say you belief something, doesn't mean that you actually belief it. Your actions do speak louder than words and reveal the truth about you. 

As a parent, I pass on the values that I live and practice, not what I spout. And just because I show up at church on a somewhat regular basis, does not mean that I'm living the values that Jesus taught and I verbally espouse. Wow! That's a heavy load to think about. It is important to teach your kids Godly principles and truths. But it is also another thing to live them. It is easy to say that we should care for others, the poor, widows and orphans, sick, naked, etc. But if we as a family never spend anytime actually helping people, then we have just told our kids that Jesus didn't mean that we should help people in need. If we spend all our time on us and never spend time giving to others, then we have told our kids that life is all about us. If we never reach out to unchurch, unsaved neighbors in genuine friendship like Jesus did, then we tell our kids that eternal for others and loving our neighbors are unimportant.

Maybe it's time to do a little reflecting on our own. Take a hard look at your life. Are you reflecting the values that you really want to pass on? Are you demonstrating to your kids what it means to live a Godly life? A Godly life not a perfect life. Are you really pursing God with everything you've got and relying on the Holy Spirit to guide you daily?

God, even though my girls are now young women, I want to reflect your glory, your principles, your truths in my life even more. I want them and my son-in-laws and now my grandchild to catch the value of serving you and being faithful until death from me. I am asking your Holy Spirit to continually mold me after your will. Thanks for forgiving my imperfections and tendencies to drift from you. Thanks for continually restoring me. Give me your wisdom as a parent.

The Sneaky Grip of Greed (Daily Reflections on Luke 12:13-21)

As a pastor, sometimes you face some interesting, bizarre challenges in working with people in your congregation. It hasn't been uncommon following a death of a loved, especially a last surviving parent, that the adult children come to me and want me to tell their sibling(s) how to divide their parent's estate. On one occasion I received a call from one such surviving adult child telling me that I should call that person's brother and tell him to return a piece of furniture that rightfully belonged to them, and then proceeded to tell me all the reasons. The mother who passed and both the children were active members in our church. The issue was causing a major rift in the family and had become so divisive that they were no longer speaking to each other.

I don't believe that my response was what that person was looking for when they called me. The mother who had just passed was a godly, fun-loving women who could be very direct when she needed to be. I loved her and loved being around her. She had passed away unexpectedly. She was full of life and very active even though she was well advanced in years. She had a quick wit and a poignant way of getting her point across. So I simply replied, "You both are solid believers in Christ and I'm sure your mother would certainly have something to say to you both. What do you think she would say to you both right now?" That was the end of the conversation and they resolved the issue.

Sometimes the quest for material possessions get the better of us. The Bible word for that is greed. Even people who are mostly generous can get caught in the grip of greed. I'm not talking about envy or jealousy or even selfishness. I'm talking about pure, unadulterated greed; that deep, insatiable desire to have more and more and more.

We adopted a puppy about 8 months ago who has gone through all the puppy growing stages. It is funny to watch him because he is not satisfied having just one toy in his mouth at a time. Often times he has two or even three in his mouth. He will even chase his ball with one or two other toys in his mouth. It get's even funnier when he has two or three in mouth and tries to drag his old sheet around that he has in his bed. He has to get them in the right order or he can't fit them in his mouth.

My wife and I laugh at our dog trying to manipulate his jaws around his toys, but it causes me to wonder what God thinks of us trying grab all the stuff we can into our little mits. Our consumer society in the west plays on those inner desires of wanting more. And even though we don't think of ourselves as greedy, we are captured by it nonetheless. 

In Luke 12:13-21 Jesus gives us a gentle but stern warning about the greed that can creep into our lives, even without us being aware. Notice that Jesus points out how our attitude can shift from just trying to be productive to getting more and more and bigger and bigger; making life about us. 

The antidote for greed is generosity! Jesus clearly states that there is a huge difference in making life about yourself and the emptiness it ultimately brings and a life that He says is rich toward God. Being rich toward God is about investing in His Kingdom, not just financially, but wholeheartedly. The nature of God is give. The nature of man is get. Remember Jesus also says here that it's not about how much a person has, greed can seize us no matter what our income level is, so we should guard our hearts. 

God, I don't want my life to be about me and getting all I can. I want it to resemble You. I want to be a giver. I want to pour myself out before You by pouring my life out to others, especially those in need. I want to be rich toward You, Lord. Help me guard my heart against those inner desires for more material things.

Dilemmas, Dilemmas, Dilemmas (Daily Reflections on Ps. 119:125-128)

The last couple of weeks there's been a lot serious postings and debates among the Christian blogs and social media sites regarding World Visions' announcement that they were going to hire homosexual couples and then within a day or so their reversal of that policy. It created a firestorm of discussion with accusations being tossed at both sides of the issues. Not overlooked in the not-so-friendly dialogue was the fate of the many innocent children who would be affected if support was withdrawn. The moral dilemma began to take on a lesser of two evils scenario. Some argued that the starving and homeless children should be the focus. That to withdraw from them would be an injustice and an abomination before God. Others took the stance that not to uphold the principles of heterosexual marriage was immoral and an abomination before God. Thus the discussion zeroed in on the sin of homosexuality and the legality of gay marriage in God's eyes.

What's a Christ Follower to do? What is he/she supposed to think? What should be our response? Tough questions because there are valid points to each argument. There is also no doubt that our culture and societal influences play into this discussion. 

In my lifetime I have seen divorce go from being a stain on a persons community and social standing, making them a virtual second class citizen to an accepted status where approximately fifty percent of marriages now end in divorce. I have witnessed homosexuality go from an absolute societal taboo, believing that person was a morally depraved degenerate to gay marriage being legal in several states. In my younger days, when a girl got pregnant outside of marriage it was disgraceful and a family shame. Today sex outside of marriage, adultery and living together seems to be the norm and almost expected behavior. It causes me to wonder what the status of pedophilia will be in coming years. It's totally unacceptable today. Yet the rise of the child pornography and teachers having sex with their students should give us an insight into the coming path. Ridiculous you say. That's what they said about homosexuality just a couple of decades ago.

Societal norms and cultural practices should not be the standard by which we measure truth. Since God is truth, His word is truth; His statutes are truth. That means that the practices and patterns of our life should pursue His truth, His statutes or precepts. It really doesn't matter where society goes or what society endorses as acceptable norms of behavior. As a former college professor of mine once said, "Truth is truth whether anyone believes it or not." Generations ago societal truth said that the world was flat and the the sun orbited the earth. Let's be honest, society doesn't always get it right no matter how many people believe and experts testify about it.

Two thirds way through the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119, the writer pens these words about the statutes or precepts of God. He begs God to give him discernment so that he may understand God's statutes. He proclaims his love for the commandments of God and values them more than any amount of monetary gain. There is something refreshing and pure and right about them. And following them brings about a greater fullness and peace and satisfaction in  life. The psalmist acknowledges that the culture has abandoned God's precepts and prays for an intervention by our creator. In comparison to the principles God lays out, the author expresses disdain for the path/paths the world upholds.

So in answer to my previous question "what's a Christ Follower to do?", the answer is simple, pursue the statutes of God, value them first and for most. I have to live my life by God's commands and precepts to the best of my ability relying on the Holy Spirit to give me direction. I cannot base my life on where the world is going or what everyone else is doing. As my mother always challenged me, "If everyone was jumping off a cliff, would you do it to?" It has to be about me and my pursuit of a relationship with God. As a Christ Follower, my life isn't my own any longer any way. Jesus is my commander. I do what He directs me to do. Jesus said, "If you love me you will obey my commandments." Not out of duty but out of love. If I truly love Jesus, I will love His truth. If I don't love His truth, then I don't truly love Jesus.

Should I have sex outside of marriage? What does Jesus say? Should I support the hungry, the poor, the starving children? What does Jesus say? Should I accept homosexual marriage or relationships? What does Jesus say? Questions like these should cause us to dig deeper into His Word with the prayer of this psalmist on our lips, "give me discernment that I may understand your statutes."

God, life is sometimes complicated. We face moral dilemmas all the time. I need your truth to guide my life. I want to understand your statutes and precepts. I want to mold my life around Your Word. I want my decisions to sync with your principles. Give me discernment. I don't want to be a legalist, but I do want to completely follow your path and lift up your truth with love and grace.

The Injustice of Persecution (Daily Reflections on Isa. 50:2-9)

I've been thinking a lot about the persecuted church around the world recently. There are injustices of all kinds that permeate cultures and countries. Hunger, poverty, sex trafficking, physical and sexual abuse, racial, cultural and gender discrimination abound throughout the world. But somehow the persecution of the Church seems to be ignored when we talk about Human Rights. The vast majority of the church in China still must remain underground. People are tortured and killed, church meeting places burned or bombed in places like India, Indonesia and Sudan. There are fewer Christ Followers today in Iraq because of persecution, torture and murder than under Saddam Hussein's regime. It's illegal to be a Christian in many middle eastern countries. Being a Christian in many of those countries is punishable by imprisonment or death.

Although in the west, especially in the United States, Christians do not face that type of persecution, there is a rising tide of discrimination in the media, government and cultural attitudes. Churches have lost their influence and Biblical values are being tossed aside with disgust and disdain. New laws are being in acted which fly in the face Christ's teaching and God's morality. Christianity is mocked openly in the media. Some lawmakers are targeting traditional Biblical standards and values for extinction. 

Jesus said that we could expect it. In John's Gospel, Jesus is quoted as telling His disciples that they would be persecuted. He said that because the world hated Him, we could expect that the world would hate His followers. In fact, most of the Twelve suffered a martyred death. The Apostle Paul found himself in prison for his faith on more than one occasion. He was beaten and stoned and even left for dead. But Paul's mantra, as recorded in Philippians, was "To live is Christ, to die is gain."

Throughout history, God's spokesmen have always been in danger of torture, persecution and death. They were often hated, ridiculed and run out of town on a rail. Many of God's messengers lived isolated lives because of their message. The warnings of the prophets often went unheeded, falling on deaf ears. Some were imprisoned or chained. Some beaten. Some impoverished.

In Isaiah 50, God talks about His displeasure with the Israelite people for rejecting Him. He poses a series of questions through Isaiah which call His people to recognize His power and faithfulness. Then Isaiah proudly proclaims His own stand for God as His messenger. He declares his eagerness to hear and speak the truths of God. But he also asserts his steadfastness of his faith and determination to continue to bring forth boldly the prophecies of God. He announces, "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced."

Isaiah has confidence in God. He knows that although he may be tortured and ridiculed that he will be proven right in the end. God's truth will reign. Isaiah says, "It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up." That's a great picture. The efforts to disavow, ridicule, persecute, torture, silence God's voices will ultimately prove ineffective. God still wins in the end and so do His children, His faithful followers.

As a Christ Follower we can expect mocking, ridicule and even severe persecution for our faith. Jesus promised it would happen. Martyrs throughout the history of the church have gone to the grave with the name of Jesus on their lips. In the last 100 years, probably the last 50 years, there have been more Christians martyred/murdered for their faith than in the previous 1900 years combined. Persecution is growing. Our voices should grow louder in denouncing this injustice. But we should also brace ourselves for what is to come. 

God will ultimately prove victorious. In fact we already have the victory in Christ. So we should cling to the mantras of Paul and Isaiah and hold onto God while proclaiming boldly His Good News. Maranatha!

God, I confess that I don't like persecution. I'm not sure that I'm very strong. I have a hard enough time when people criticize me for my belief or mock me for my faith. I don't like getting left out at times. I can't imagine being beaten, tortured, or imprisoned for my faith. I'm not sure how I would do facing death or watching a family member face death (or worse) for sharing your Good News about Jesus. But I lift up my brothers and sisters around the world who are facing severe persecution daily. Empower them. Stand with them. Protect them. Comfort them. Use their message and stand for you to ring out your truths, your glory even louder. Demonstrate your power through them. Give them justice. 

Fatalism, Determinism or Uniqueness, God's Plan for my Life (Daily Reflections on Prov. 20:24)

I do not consider myself a Calvinist nor an Armenian theologically. But when one reads passages like Proverbs 20:24, "The Lord has determined our path; how then can anyone understand the direction his own life is taking?," it raises questions regarding fatalism, determinism and free will. What is Solomon saying here? That I don't have any choice? That my life is laid out for me? That everything in my life happens because God has already determined or ordained it? And how far does that go? Does that mean that God determines whether or not I get get cancer? Does He determine what job I'm going get or who I'm going to marry? Does that extend to what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? How much I drink? When I go to bed at night? Has God determined absolutely everything for me? Logical questions which raise even more questions. 

However, I think the bigger question has to do with the impact of your life. Have you ever noticed that everyone is different? I know that's a dumb question. Of course we know that everyone is different. Even identical twins are different. Just like every snowflake is unique, so are we. That's God's designed. God crafts each of us with our unique blend of gifts and talents and passions and skills and bents. And with all our uniqueness comes a unique purpose for our life. God's plan for me is totally different than God's plan for you. The people you impact, influence and do life with are different from the ones I impact, influence and do life with.

Notice our paths take us different places. That too is God designed. Our gift mix, personality, passion, experiences are all used by God, when we surrender it to Him, to accomplish His purpose and plan for us. Surrendering it to Him, that's the rub. God has a unique plan for each of our lives. We will only be able to fulfill God's plan for our lives when we are open to His leading and live each day for Him.

The problem is that many of us, okay most of us seek to live our lives for ourselves. We try to make a life for ourselves. We map out plans to take us to where we think we want to go. We read self help books, listen to inspirational or motivational speakers, push ourselves all in an attempt to get something we think we want. I heard one speaker say, "What if we spend all our energy, time and effort climbing the ladder of success only to get to the top of the ladder and find that it's leaning against the wrong wall?" 

I'm not saying that we should never plan or set goals or work hard to achieve success in our field. But, if we are honest with ourselves, this kind of pursuit of life is really all about us. What do I want for myself? It really gives little thought to the eventual impact of our life. It definitely avoids the questions, "Why am I here?" I really don't believe that God put us on this earth just to take up space, breath, use up some of the earth's resources and die. I believe that God has a specific plan for all us.

When Solomon writes these words, he indicates the uniqueness of every one of us. Instead of asking ourselves, "What do I want to accomplish in my life?" We should be asking "What does God want to accomplish through my life?" We don't have the vision to be able to see how our life will impact others not only in our lifetime but in the future. A life we impact today may influence someone else who in the future may impact thousands. We can't see that. We can't even see how our life affects those around us really. Our shortsightedness keeps us from understanding how God could use and is using us.

I struggle all the time with trying to figure out how my life is making a difference to anyone. I don't have visions (or delusions) of grandeur. I know that I'm not a rockstar pastor. But I do want my life to count to the people around me. I do want to impact them, to influence them for Christ. However, I can't even see if I'm really doing that. I really don't understand how God is using me.

And that's Solomon's point. God determines our path. He knows how he wants to use us. We haven't got a clue, really, what the total impact our life is having on others. So instead of killing ourselves trying to accomplish our dreams, why not live to allow God to accomplish His purpose for us. What does that look like? I don't know for you, but I do know that it involves people no matter what profession you hold, gifts you have, place you live, or education you have. When I release myself into the hands of God and let Him use my life fully, every day, then I don't have to worry about climbing a ladder to success or accumulating lots of wealth or being tops in my field. All I have to worry about is focusing on the people God brings around me to serve and care for. If we make serving Him our priority and giving Him our best at work, with friends, with neighbors, with family, in our community, then I believe that God will place us in positions that we can best be used by Him.

I think one the joys of Heaven will be that we get to see how God's plan was worked out through the influence of our lives. People we never met on this planet will be giving testimony of how our lives ultimately influenced them, especially in their relationship with God. I know of an older lady that taught a high school Sunday School class for years in a small town in North East Oklahoma. She loved her kids, had them to her house, always had cookies for them, listened to them, shared her faith with them and encouraged them in their walk with Christ. When they went off to college she would mail them cookies and send them notes. Through her service as the High School Sunday School teacher, she saw over thirty-five of her students become full time ministers and missionaries. Through her influence thousands of people have come to Christ all over the world. 

God, help me to focus on the people in my life today; of being a witness, an encouragement to the people in my life today. God, I want to live for you today. Sometimes chasing after big dreams or future aspirations wear me out and frustrate me and just bring me stress. I want you to handle the big picture, Lord. I know that my measly plans are nothing compared to what you envision. I just want to be used by you, however you want to use me.