The Sign of Things to Come

Do you ever feel like you are spiritually wallowing in a place that you would love to escape yet feel like you are there by your own doing? Whether by your own action or inaction you find yourself stuck, broke and wondering if it will always be this way. Does it feels like you have wandered into some kind of exile from God, not really knowing how or why but suspecting that you probably deserve to be in this unhappy place?

That description doesn't adequately describe how I have felt often times this last past year but it will suffice for now. I haven't been enjoying the hope and optimism that usually marks my life. I have lacked the compunction that normally exists to serve as a great motivator toward discipline and righteousness. On the outside these traits may still seem evident but I know that inwardly there has been a great departure.

I felt like God grabbed my attention when he said in Jeremiah 31:4, “I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.” Specifically, I was struck by how God referred to Israel. If you are familiar with any of the prophetic books then you quickly recognize that this isn't how God generally refers to the nation. Words like wicked, adulterous, unrighteous and unfaithful are commonplace in his dealings with these people. Theologians place this passage in the “yet to happen” column but the promise of restoration is crystal clear.

Only God can take a people, who by their action and inaction, have exiled themselves from him and ultimately bring them back to a place where all of their filth is treated as if it never appeared. We see the picture from God's perspective which is a big picture indeed. The big picture includes how God oversaw the destruction and exile of His people with the singular purpose of seeing them fully restored beyond any hope or imagination they had.

And that is the essence of the hope that God has placed within me. I know that He is bringing you and me to a place of restoration and fruitfulness that we neither hoped for nor imagined. Bring your restoration Lord!

What's the Big Deal About Mondays?

I know that a lot of people don’t care for Mondays. Returning to the grind of work after a full weekend of excitement, entertainment and/or relaxation can seem pretty discouraging and certainly anticlimactic. As a pastor, I keep a different schedule than most people. I even keep a different schedule than most pastors. Originally I took Mondays off but I found that my emotional exhaustion from Sunday wrecked me and I would only feel like lying around the house all day…not a very productive day off. So now I go into the office on Mondays and I use that day to take care of a lot of my paperwork, administrative and other non-intellectual tasks that need attention. I also use that day to work on church projects…namely yard and facility work.

My wife and others have told me repeatedly that I shouldn’t be spending my time on yard and facility work. Not because those things are below me but because there are so many other things that I should be focusing on. The argument could probably be made that I should be delegating some of these tasks. There is some wisdom in that but what I have working against me is that there is something in my wiring that compels me to focus energy on these areas. The reason is simple enough--seeing things broken, unkempt, or in a general state of disrepair drives me crazy.

Once something starts bothering me or has distracted me…it will continue to bother and distract me until it is addressed. I don’t think that is an entirely bad thing in that eventually those things will finally get done even if it did take away attention from something else that I should be doing. I like the sense of accomplishment and being able to check something off of my mental list.

I was raised with the notion of treating the church building with holy reverence. This would include not running in the building, keeping your feet off the pew in front of you, speaking in hushed voices, and you would NEVER get up to go to the bathroom while the pastor was speaking…as well as contributing to the upkeep and cleanliness of the building itself. The wrath of mom and dad were never far off and I learned the ropes early on. Those things have kind of stayed with me through the years and are probably the last and most difficult to drop vestiges of church protocol that I learned.

If only I had the same anal retentive personality when it came to Christ’s temple—me. The passage in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says that each of us is God’s temple: body, mind, and spirit. I recognize that I don’t seem to be nearly as meticulous and uptight about the upkeep and maintenance of this temple. How am I treating my body? Ouch. What am I feeding my mind? Hmmm. What am I allowing my spirit to be influenced by? God forgive me. Today I purpose to view this temple as sacred because what is sacred to God had better be sacred to me.

ARRRG...My Eyes!!

I am NOT a morning person, yet here it is barely 5 am and I am awake. I am awake because it is finally summer and where it would typically be as dark as the rest of the night at this time of day, not so this time of year. My wife and I keep our room very dark and cool so that we can sleep; however, this morning a faulty shade inexplicably opened itself, exposing this tired, under dressed, unshaven, bed-headed, morning-breathed sluggard to the sun. In other words, what was best left in the dark was exposed to the light of day. When I say that I am not a morning person, I really mean that I am not a morning person. If there is one thing that I don’t handle well, it is someone with too much energy and too much talk first thing in the morning. Just leave me alone and let me adjust please…let’s talk after I shower.  Fortunately, my wife is not a morning person either.

Everybody knows what it is to feel the call of nature in the middle of the night and to blindly stumble into a darkened bathroom and thoughtlessly flip on the light switch.  The eyes reflexively squeeze shut as you curse to yourself while trying to find the light switch again before you are blinded permanently.  If you manage to see yourself in the mirror when this happens, you are reminded once again that some things are better left in the dark, because what you see is surely the stuff that horror movies are made of.

I read in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 that a light is coming. That light is coming in the form of fire. It tells us that all of our work, deeds, thoughts, motives…any action that man is capable of taking…will be tested by fire.  What does that really mean though?  Throughout Scripture, fire is equated with the manifest presence of God. I don’t view this passage as referring to a judgment happening someday in the future at the end of all things. On the contrary, this is much more imminent and certain. Just as certain as the sun will rise again tomorrow, when (not if) the presence of God suddenly shows up in your circumstances then you’ll be known for who and what you are.

It is in that moment where you will have one of two possible reactions.  You can embrace the light of His presence as one who has been hungry for sunshine after a long, long winter, or wish you could reach for a light switch so that you could leave in the dark those things that would have been better left in the dark. One can’t avoid God’s presence any more than one can avoid the light of day.  One can’t prevent the sun from rising any more than one can prevent God from being active within the lives of those He loves.

Taking One For the Team...

We are in the waning days of Little League Baseball for 2010 and my son and I are very excited to be part of this year’s post-season Honors team. Realizing that we are at the end of a six-year stretch with Gresham Little League has generated a strange feeling of melancholy. We can and will likely continue coaching/playing but it just isn’t the same in the upper leagues. The innocence and joy of the game can diminish because of the mounting competition and pressure to excel.

We had a pretty decent season this year and have high hopes for the post-season. I have a great group of dads helping out and each of them has strengths that really complement one another and the team as a whole. One is really good with teaching pitching technique; one is really good with teaching fielding technique, etc. Each of them is genuine in their passion and commitment to the team. They all contribute to the overall health and success of the team.

In baseball, the players that seem to get the most attention from the spectators are those who pitch and those who can make big hits. There are eight other players, though. Even though they might not stand out like the pitcher or the hitter, every baseball fan knows that if you were to remove them from the field you could never succeed at the game. Everybody contributes too much to ignore the team as a whole. The team functions as a unit. Yes, there are moments of individual success, but give me a team player over someone who is just interested in making themselves look good (what professional sport doesn’t have that going on?).

The passage in 1 Corinthians 3:8-11 reminds us of our one purpose in the Kingdom of God—to fit into the team God has assembled so that His ultimate goals may be accomplished. Each of us has a work and it isn’t the one who gets the most attention who gets the reward. The purpose of the Kingdom of God is a team purpose but the reward of the Kingdom of God is an individual reward…based upon our labors with the team in mind.

My Dead Yard...

Today’s passage in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 pains me.  All of the talk about planting and watering is just a reminder that I have a dead front yard waiting for me…well, this passage and the fact that my wife just asked if I was ever going to finish the project I started 8 months ago.  Ouch.  It is currently a large patch of dirt with a lot of wild grass and weeds.  I have a vision of a lush, green and weed-free yard but have had to content myself with the vision at this point because reality is very brown out there.

The current state of my yard started in the fall of last year.  I unexpectedly came into some money and decided to use those funds for a project that I’ve always wanted to do…install an in ground sprinkler system.  I had no idea of the amount of work I was signing up for when I first started tearing up my yard to do this.  The long and short of it: the sprinkler system is in, the area is prepped and now waits for me to plant…and it’s been waiting a long time.  All of that work and I have yet to throw some seed down and see any results.

It is very easy to get discouraged in our faith and/or ministry, isn’t it?  There are times when it feels like we work our tails off for the Kingdom of God and that it seems to have very little impact.  We begin asking questions like, “is it worth it?” and “is there something else I should be doing with my time?”  We might respond a different way that is marked with jealousy and frustration over things that are out of our control.  We find ourselves thinking destructive thoughts.  “If I had all of the resources they have, I could have success too.”  “If the people I lead would just work harder, get a vision, and pray more then God’s favor would show up.”  “Why does that person always get everything handed to him for nothing?”

It begs for a reminder of what Solomon wrote when he said “unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”  We place a lot of emphasis and weight on the work of man.  All we can do is set the stage.  All we can do is plow the soil, plant some seed and create a space where things can grow.  All we can do is work hard.  That work means nothing without God causing it to grow.  We mustn’t dismiss the importance of doing the work though.  We must continue to create an atmosphere where God can work.  As we continue to plant with our words and water with our actions and pull weeds through discipline and correction, we can count on the success that only God can bring.  It doesn’t happen quickly but it does happen.  I plan on lounging around my front yard this summer in a bed of green lush grass.  I also plan on enjoying what God accomplishes when I work and let Him do what only He can do.

A Game of Tag Gone Bad...

When I was in the fourth grade I had three teeth broken in a fight.  Calling it a fight is like saying that the Battle of Little Big Horn was good odds for the U.S. Cavalry.  Saying that I was in a fight would imply that violence went both ways...it was more like a massacre. The evening started off innocently enough playing basketball in the church gym.  I don’t know when things went south, but I recall making a teasing remark toward one of my friends about him liking a certain girl (which he did) and this led to a grand chase around the gym.  I was wily and untouchable up until the point where his ninth grade sister grabbed hold of me as I was running by.  No longer able to defend myself by running in circles, I received several tooth-breaking hits to the face which led to my discovering that he was genuinely out to hurt me…and I just thought it was a game of angry tag.

It is a story full of irony…getting beat up at church over a girl who was the pastor’s daughter.  The greatest irony was that earlier that same day, I had willfully disobeyed my mom and she had given me a choice: get a whipping for my disobedience or not be allowed to go the gym and spend the night with a friend.  I opted for the whipping since mom didn’t spank that hard.  By going to the gym I got broken teeth, made a late night trip to the dentist, and didn’t get to spend the night with my friend anyway.  I chose poorly.

I tell this story with much chagrin.  I can somewhat laugh about it now but it was one of those moments in life where I recognized how a poor choice can have significant, life-altering ramifications.  It is an example of a time where acting like a kid without restraint can have some grown-up consequences.

1 Corinthians 3:1-4 talks about how “mature” adults are suddenly transported back to the fourth grade again.  Paul tells us here that the difference between the spiritual man and the worldly man can be determined by heart attitudes that make their way to the surface.

When was the last time you acted below your spiritual age?  When was the last time you embarrassed yourself by your lack of self-control?  I think we fancy ourselves to be beyond those kinds of conflicts only to have a reaction that reveals the state of our hearts.  We will always have the potential to show off that latent infancy that tries to come to the surface when opportunity rises.  When it does…will broken teeth result?

If I Only had a Brain...

Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain... only straw.

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?

Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?

Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.

Wizard of Oz: Why, anybody can have a brain. That's a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven't got: a diploma.

Yesterday we celebrated the resurrection of our Savior.  What a marvelous day it was.  Having been raised in church, I have heard the account of the resurrection many, many times.  The story doesn’t offend my intellect because I believe it.  I believed it blindly at first, as any child would.  I believe it now because of physical and spiritual evidence.  I often forget that the very idea of the resurrection goes completely against the grain of rationality and intelligence…i.e., the brain.

I regularly wonder if a message that I deliver about resurrection theology has made a lasting impact on the heart of a yet unbeliever/non-follower of Jesus.  I’m so glad it isn’t my responsibility to keep that score because it would probably drive me mad.  All I know is that without the Spirit of God revealing the truth of these “crazy” things to our hearts, those things will remain as foolishness.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 tells us that without the Spirit within us, we can’t accept those kinds of things.  I find that exciting, because the natural conclusion is that a good way to know whether God’s spirit is in me is if I discern those foolish things of God to be true.

I’m all for intellect and logic…but not at the expense of truth.  I’m not going to argue and I’m not a debater.  I’ll leave that up to the Josh McDowells and the C.S. Lewises of our age.  My great proof of the resurrection and other equally foolish things is that God’s Spirit lives within me and reveals those things to me.  I’m the only one who needs to be convinced of this.  More importantly though, I have a transformed heart and it has changed me into something other than what I was.