Text Me

I recently heard about a teen having a total of 3,000 text messages in one month. That's 3,000 texts either sent or received.

Last night I preached to a roomful of teenagers at Central Church of God. In the middle of my sermon, I laid this line on them:

"God will not text you His plan for your life."

Pretty good, huh?

Mercy!

I've been kind of lazy lately as my number of blog posts would indicate. But honestly, I either haven't been able to find the time to post, or I haven't had anything to say. I think I'm through posting just for the sake of posting. But I wanted to share a thought today:

"He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
~ Psalm 103:10

This single verse of Scripture changes everything, doesn't it?

God has not dealt with us according to our sins. That's mercy. I deserve punishment. Death should be my just reward. I am like the woman brought before Jesus in John 8 .... "caught in the act of adultery." I'm guilty. Caught in the act. Can't hide it. Can't talk my way out of it. He's got me dead to rights.

But like that woman in John 8, He didn't deal with me according to my sins. He didn't reward me according to my iniquities. He extended mercy to a woman caught in the very act of sin. Mercy!

This is not new, is it? We all know about mercy. It's all around us. It's throughout the pages of our Bibles. In fact, maybe we know a little too much of God's mercy. Maybe it's so familiar, we tend to take it for granted. That's an easy place to get to. But it's a dangerous place to be.

When you read the words of Psalm 103:10, what do you do? Do you wanna shout? Fall on your face in praise and thanksgiving? Or is it just another verse in the Bible to you? "Ho hum. That's nice. Now let's move on to something else. Let's get to the good stuff, okay chaplain?"

We need to be in awe of the mercy of God.

Beautiful!

Alisha Burger became Mrs. James McGinn
June 20, 2009

What a beautiful bride, huh?

We Must be 'In Him'

"Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in Him."
~ Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine

The W-H-A-T in the Sand?!

A new twist on a worn-out poem. Enjoy.

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord they are too big for feet."

"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."

"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
So I got tired, I got fed up,
and there I dropped you on your butt."

"Because in life, there comes a time,
when one must fight, and one must climb.
When one must rise and take a stand,
or leave their butt prints in the sand."

~ author unknown

Happy Odd Day

Today is May 7, 2009 ..... or 05/07/09.

Happy Odd Day! A day made especially for guys like me.

The Vitality of Love

"The day we stop burning with love, people will die of the cold."
~ Unknown

The Constant Call of God

This is one of my absolute favorite passages of Scripture:

1In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
2Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory."
4And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
5Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs.
7He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
~ Isaiah 6:1-8

Imagine walking into your church on a Sunday morning and finding the scene Isaiah depicted here. It wasn't just good music or an inspiring sermon Isaiah saw and heard. It was the Lord! It was a scene straight out of the throne room of heaven. What would you do?
I'm guessing we'd all do just what Isaiah did: We'd fall on our faces and cry out, "Woe is me!"

After his sins were purged, Isaiah heard the voice of God, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"
Most scholars say that this was the of Isaiah's call to ministry. I disagree.

Read it again. This wasn't God calling a man named Isaiah. It was a man named Isaiah hearing the call of God. So what's the difference?
It's simple. This call of God goes forth from His throne all the time. God is constantly calling out for a response from a man willing to go. Isaiah heard it and responded with, "Here am I. Send me!"

Have you heard His constant call? How will you respond?

Obituary of Common Sense !

Today, we mourn the passing of an old friend by the name of Common Sense.

Common Sense lived a long life, but died from heart failure at the brink of the Millennium. No one really knows how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He selflessly devoted his life to service in schools; hospitals, homes, factories and offices, helping folks get jobs done without fanfare and foolishness.
For decades, petty rules, silly laws and frivolous lawsuits held no power over Common Sense. He was credited with cultivating such valued lessons as to know when to come in from rain, the early bird gets the worm and life isn't always fair.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn), reliable parenting strategies (the adults are in charge, not the kids), and it's okay to come in second.
A veteran of the Industrial Revolution, the Great Depression, and the Technological Revolution, Common Sense survived cultural and educational trends including feminism, body piercing, whole language and new math.

But his health declined when he became infected with the "if-it-only-helps-one-person-it's-worth-it" virus. In recent decades, his waning strength proved no match for the ravages of overbearing federal legislation.
He watched in pain as good people became ruled by self-seeking lawyers and enlightened auditors. His health rapidly deteriorated when schools endlessly implemented zero tolerance policies; when reports were heard of six year old boys charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; when a teen was suspended for taking a swig of mouthwash after lunch; when a teacher was fired for reprimanding an unruly student. It declined even further when schools had to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student but couldn't inform the parent when a female student is pregnant or wants an abortion.

Finally, Common Sense lost his will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband, churches became businesses, criminals received better treatment than victims, and federal judges stuck their noses in everything from Boy Scouts to professional sports.
As the end neared, Common Sense drifted in and out of logic but was kept informed of developments, regarding questionable regulations for asbestos, low-flow toilets, smart guns, the nurturing of Prohibition Laws and mandatory air bags.
Finally, when told that the homeowners association restricted exterior furniture only to that which enhanced property values, he breathed his last.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son Reason. His three stepbrothers survive him: Rights, Tolerance and Whiner.
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Refusing Fear

Have you turned on the news yet this morning? If so, you know there is a new panic sweeping the world: Swine Flu! That and salmonella from eating raw alfalfa sprouts (although I'm not sure why anyone would eat raw alfalfa sprouts to begin with.) But the big concern, the one that has governments issuing travel advisaries and warnings of epidemics and pandemics, is swine flu.

I'm not quite sure quite how we ought to react to the dire warnings I'm hearing this morning. After all, these are the same people who were absolutely certain a few years ago that bird flu was about to ravage the world's population. And do you remember the Y2K panic, and all of the other public scares that have failed to materialize?
It seems to me that we have numerous governmental and other various public agencies and organizations, including the media, who work to keep the public in a state of fear, or at least elevated concern about something all the time. Maybe it's all about headlines, or public funding, or ratings. I don't know.
But I'm making a choice this morning. I'm choosing not to participate in the "Great Swine Flu Panic of 2009". I'm choosing the promise of God that has stood the test of time longer than any of these public fear frenzies.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
Or of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not approach you.
~ Psalm 91:5-7

My Earthday Tribute

It's 'Earthday'.

There's a lot of hype these days concerning the earth and how we can and should maintain it. But there is a danger we tend to fall into. As human beings, we don't seem to be able to keep things in their proper perspectives. In the case of today's "enviro-hysteria", we have fallen into that trap once again. The Apostle Paul described it like this in Romans 1: "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and creeping things."

The creation should never be our priority. The Creator should. That's the way it was intended to be. The creation is intended to glorify the Creator, God. As God's agents on this earth, we do have a responsibility to care for it. After all, God did give us charge over it all. The Bible says: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." (Genesis 1:26)

It's simply a matter of proper perspective. We must keep in mind what the Scripture says in Pslam 24:1, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." It's all His. Not ours.

So here's what I believe Earthday ought to be all about (of course, from God's Word in Genesis 1):

1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light day, and the darkness He called night And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6Then God said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
7God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9Then God said, "Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.
10God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them"; and it was so.
12The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.
16God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20Then God said, "Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens."
21God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind"; and it was so.
25God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.

Learning To Be ...

"... you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

~ 1 Peter 2:5

"Living stones ... being built up as a spiritual house." How are you fitting in?

What a Week!

Easter Sunday morning worship service at Charlotte Correctional Center was beyond words. Attendance blew my mind. I've never seen that many inmates on a Sunday morning. Never!
The praise band rocked and I preached as hard as I ever have. What a thrill.

Last night we graduated the current class of inmates in our Father Accountability Program. I'm proud of every one of them. I think they "get it."

We've got Olivia with us this week (Sunday - Thursday.) We're having a ball with her. She's so sweet and an incredibly smart little almost-two-year-old.

My life is better than I could have ever imagined.

Sunday's Coming!

What if ...?

Holy Week and here's what's on my mind:

"And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."
~1 Corinthians 15:17

Gonna be quite an Easter message.

How to Get a God-Sized Job Done

I have many favorite characters in Scripture. Actually, I'm not sure you can have more than one "favorite" anything, can you? So there are many that I admire greatly and find inspiration from. But there is one guy who captures my imagination maybe more than any other. His name was Bezalel. We don't know much about him at all. But what the Bible does tell us, I like.

After Moses had led the people of Israel out of Egypt, they camped at the base of Mount Sinai. That's where God called Moses to come up and receive from Him ordinances and laws for the people of God to obey. And it's where God gave Moses instructions for building the Tabernacle, the place where God Himself would dwell among the people. God's instructions were intricate and required precision workmanship. It was a huge undertaking for people who had only known hard labor as slaves for four hundred thirty years. Frankly, they didn't have the skills or the know-how to accomplish the task God had given to them. They'd been making bricks in Egypt their whole lives. But brick-making wasn't going to be part of this job. What were they to do?

That's where my guy, Bezalel, comes in. Exodus 31 says: Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying, "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship.

God gave His people a job to do. Then He gave a man the wisdom, and the skills and ability to do the job. They didn't know how to do it. And God knew that. But that didn't stop the plan of God. God just took an old brickmaker and turned him into a skilled craftsman able to produce the beautifully intricate work that He wanted done.

He'll do the same in us.

"And for this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me." ~ Colossians 1:29

Holiness

"Every man is as holy as he really wants to be."
~ A.W. Tozer

The Measure of Greatness - Part 2

Another thought on the perceived greatness of "great men":

"The cemeteries of the world are filled with indispensible men"
~ Charles DeGaulle

Heaven Smiled Sunday

One of the things I enjoy most in my ministry is a class I facilitate each Monday evening in the prison called Father Accountability. Father Accountability is a 13-week class designed to enhance parenting skills and to encourage men to step up and be the dads God designed them to be. Because the majority of the inmates in the class have never had a dad in their own lives, it can be a challenging endeavor to simply get them to see that fatherlessness is not the norm and that being a good father to their children is not 'mission impossible' for them.

Week 8 of our 13-week journey together is always special and a lot of fun for all of us. On week 8, we move our class meeting to Sunday afternoon and invite the children of the inmates in the class to come and spend the afternoon with their dads. We call it "PlayDay", and that's exactly what we do: We play. From board games to cards to reading to our children, for one afternoon the surroundings are pushed into the background and its just families enjoying time with one another.

This past Sunday was PlayDay for the current group of dads in the class. As the families arrived there were the typical hugs and kisses as some greeted children they hadn't seen in up to two years. As the families settled in for the afternoon together there were smiling faces all around.
But I noticed one inmate, Derrick, seemed a bit reticent. He was worried his teenage son may not come. Maybe no one would bother to bring him. Or maybe he wouldn't even want to come. While others laughed and played, Derrick waited.

Thankfully, Derrick's son did come. An hour late. As they shared time together I found myself wondering what Derrick was thinking. I hoped the visit was going well.
When our time ended and the visitors filed out, the inmates thanked me repeatedly for arranging the afternoon for them. A few said it was the best time they could remember having with their children. Ever.

Last evening in class, Derrick shared a little bit about his visit with his son. It was hard at first. Awkward. But it went well. So well that his son has asked to be included on Derrick's regular visiting list.
Then Derrick said that as our PlayDay came to an end, he did something he'd never done before: He hugged his boy. He reached out and drew his son close, and hugged him. He said that was awkward, too. But it felt good. He felt like a father.

Something powerful happened here this past Sunday. A father hugged his son for the very first time. A son experienced the loving embrace of a dad who has missed most of his life.
And I think I know God well enough to say He smiled Sunday.

The Measure of Greatness

As everything in our society is seemingly shaken to its core, we are finding out the truth about many who were believed to be "great men." From powerful politicians to well-to-do financiers, from the financial titans of Wall Street to the titans of the auto industry in Detroit the measure of all men is being taken. They're being exposed. And they are being found lacking.

Abimelech was one of Israel's leaders during the time of the judges. The Bible says he ruled over Israel for three years. During his reign, it looked like Abimelech was a great success. He maneuvered his way to power and defended his throne with stunning success. He exhibited strong leadership characteristics. Everything seemed to go his way. Despite his success, there was one thing that was always against him: God.

God was against Abimelech because of the way he achieved his successes. He used and abused, and even murdered to get where he was. He schemed to gain power, and schemed even harder to keep it. And God was not pleased. In fact, God brought about the end of Abimelech in a shocking way. The Bible says a woman dropped a millstone from the top of a roof onto his head and crushed his skull.
He wasn't killed by a mighty warrior or a skilled soldier in the line of duty. He was killed by a woman with a millstone and an attitude. Indeed, it was God who repaid the wickedness of this seemingly great man.

The story has always been the same. If God is not pleased, if He does not approve of our lives, all of our "success" is destined to fail. We may have the approval of those around us. We may even have some proclaiming us to be great.
But the only opinion that matters is God's.

Doing Your Best

In Mark 14, just a few days before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus sat at dinner at the home of a man named Simon in the town of Bethany. As they reclined at the table, the Bible says a woman entered carrying a bottle of costly perfume. Without a word, she approached the Lord, broke the bottle opened, and poured the fragrant oils over Jesus' head.

To some gathered there, it seemed such a waste. "It could have been sold for almost a year's wages, and the money could have benefitted the poor." (How often we find ourselves surrounded by a crowd that always finds fault in what's done for the Lord. People haven't changed.)

When Jesus heard their criticism, He told them to leave the woman alone. She'd done something for the Lord. Her heart was right. Her motivations were pure. The poor weren't going anywhere; they should have been taking care of them anyways.
Then Jesus said: "She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial."

"She has done what she could." What a wonderful thing to have Jesus say. She gave it all she had. She did her best. She held nothing back.
It seemed like such a small thing. A little act of kindness. She hadn't preached a great sermon, or laid healing hands on the sick. She hadn't performed mighty miracles. She hadn't called down fire like Elijah, or stood up to the injustices around her as the prophets had. But she'd done what she could.

That's all the Lord ever asks of any of us. Just do what you can. If you can't preach, then don't. If you're not a great Bible teacher, that's okay. Just do what you can. Give it your all. Do your best for Him. And one day, when you stand before Him, you'll hear Him say of you, "Well done! You did what you could."

He Sighed

This is a re-post, but it's been on my mind again. Enjoy.

They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him. Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!" And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.
~ Mark 7:32-35

I have a very vivid imagination that tends to work overtime as I read the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus. I like to put myself right there where the action is. I'm in the crowd, right up near the front so I won't miss anything. I try to imagine the scene, see the looks of the faces, and hear the words being spoken and the murmur of the crowds. Sometimes I can even feel the mood of the people around Jesus - wonder, awe, excitement, hurt, despair, and yes, even anger.

I've put myself on the scene in Mark 7 before. I've been there as they brought the man who was deaf and struggled to speak with any clarity. I've felt that man's trepidation and the deep desire of those who brought him to Jesus to see him healed. They knew Jesus could. It was His season of miracles.
When Jesus took the man by the arm and led him away from the crowd, in my mind, I went with them. Jesus put His fingers in the man's ears (Without washing his hands?) and then spit and touched the man's tongue with the saliva (Oooo! Gross, huh?) I'd seen this scene all before.
But there is something here that I had never seen until today.
"... and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, ..." With a deep sigh? I'd missed that before. Jesus let out a deep sigh, then He prayed and healed the man.

Now I know what it usually means when I sigh deeply. Usually it means I'm angry and beginning to lose patience with something or someone. Sometimes a deep, exaggerated sigh let's everyone know how superior I am to everyone else and how gracious I'm being to even give the little people the time of day. I sigh when I don't like something, don't agree with something, or decide to dig in my heels and be stubborn about something.

But I don't think Jesus' sigh was anything like my sighs. His was the sigh of a Creator who's creation was broken. It was a somewhat sad, maybe a bit mournful, even a little frustrated kind of sigh. A sigh that said, "It's not supposed to be like this. This isn't what My creation is supposed to look like."

I wonder how often Jesus looks at our lives and sighs that same kind of sigh. Even as He makes intercession with the Father for us, I can almost hear it. How often He must look at us with all of our issues, and the baggage we drag around with us, and say, "It's not supposed to be like that. I didn't make him like that."People in the midst of the pain of separation and divorce. Lonely people. Sick people. Addicted. Homeless. Helpless. Prisoners. People hurting and causing so much hurt for others. It wasn't supposed to be like that.
I think we all illicit a sigh from our Savior every now and again.

But then He prays ...

Caution: God At Work

When God begins to deconstruct all that you've come to believe a life in Christ must look like (and trust me, He will) - it is maddeningly exciting and frustratingly beautiful ... all at once.

March .... In Like a Lion

Snow falling in Charlotte ....
(one of us is way too excited)

Ridding Ourselves of Rules

"Remember when you said yes to Jesus the first time? You didn't know all the rules, but you knew Jesus. Sadly, the church immediately stepped in and told us we needed to know more than Jesus; we needed to know the rules of the Christian faith, otherwise we might end up in confusion and spiritual anarchy. The church is always worried we might make a mistake!"

"Every time the disciples started establishing rules - no children near Jesus; Don't let the crowd touch Jesus; Don't talk to Samaritan women; Don't let people waste expensive perfumes - Jesus told them to knock it off, and His rebuke was usually followed by a lecture that said, 'You still don't get it! We are not substituting religious rules with our rules. We are substituting religious rules with Me!' Jesus kept saying 'Follow Me,' not 'Follow My rules.'

"So most of us have spent our Christian lives learning what we can't do instead of celebrating what we can do in Jesus"

~ Mike Yaconelli, Dangerous Wonder

How Spoiled Are We?

This is great ... and makes an awesome point.

If you're under 30, you might not have a clue what this guy is talking about.

Fiscal (Ir)Responsibility

I just heard on the radio that there is a meeting being convened in the White House today. The subject: Fiscal Responsibility.

This from the people who just spent $800 billion dollars (the largest spending bill in the nation's history.) It's kind of like Rosie O'Donnell holding a meeting on diet and weight loss.

Would Jesus Recognize Our Christianity?

The most critical issue facing Christians is not abortion, pornography, the disintegration of the family, moral absolutes, MTV, drugs, racism, sexuality, or school prayer. The critical issue today is dullness. We've lost our astonishment.

The Good News is no longer good news, it's okay news. Christianity is no longer life changing, it's life enhancing. Jesus doesn't change people into wild-eyed radicals anymore, He changes them into "nice people."
~Mike Yaconelli - Dangerous Wonder

Is It Really That Easy, Paul?

"Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
~ Romans 6:11

Our home Bible study group now knows somewhat the despair this verse has brought me over the years. I have struggled with these words for about nine years. It's not that I don't believe them to be true. I do.

We've been studying Romans together and last evening we were in Romans 6 when I shared my frustration. If the power of sin has been broken (and it has - see Romans 6:1-10), why do I struggle to do what this verse so clearly tells me to do? Why do I have such a hard time considering myself to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus?
Is it as easy as the Apostle Paul here makes it seem?

After a lively discussion (I hope I didn't hurt any feelings) my struggle continues. I really do believe I'm dead to sin. (After all, that's what the Scriptures say. That's what Romans 6 is all about.)
But it seems I keep returning to the carcass.

The Key to Forgiveness

Some things I seem to have to learn the hard way. Maybe that's so I learn it well enough to share with others.
Learning the key to real forgiveness has been one of those things.

We know the Scriptures teach us to forgive those who wrong us. And I believe that, most of the time, when we feel we've been wronged we really do desire to forgive. We may be angry for awhile, and we may struggle with some emotional hurdles for a time. But we come to the place (hopefully sooner than later) that we really want to live in obedience to God. So we want to forgive.
Yet so often forgiveness is a monumental struggle, isn't it?

Our problem isn't a lack of desire. And we don't lack the capacity for forgiveness. After all, we have the Spirit of God residing inside of us.
Our problem is that, often without even realizing it, we feel as if we are owed something when we've been wronged. We want some kind of justice; an apology perhaps, or some other kind of emotional repayment that will give us a sense of satisfaction. And when the apology doesn't come we end up harboring unforgiveness.

We say we want to forgive; we say we'd like to move forward. Yet there's always that underlying sense that we need something in order to grant forgiveness.

The truth is that, in most instances, those who have wronged us either don't see that they have, or they lack the capacity to give us what we're holding out for. So what do you do?

Here are three simple steps to true forgiveness:

1. Make up your mind that the one who wronged you owes you nothing.
2. Realize this: The apology isn't coming. There will be no justice in this situation.
3. Forgive anyhow. Without any kind of retribution being exacted, choose to forgive.

If you're struggling with unforgiveness today, ask yourself honestly: What is it that I want in this situation? What am I expecting from that individual? What do I hope happens to give me some satisfaction?

Now realize: It ain't happening! Choose to forgive anyhow.

"Are You Kidding Me?"

Upon arriving at the prison facility today I found the whole place in an uproar. It seems an inmate leaving the Bible study last evening was so happy he skipped down the hallway leaving black marks on the floor from his state-issued boots.

That's right.
Charlotte Correctional Center is going crazy, threatening lock-downs and all kinds of disciplinary actions, over black scuff marks on the hallway floor leading away from the chapel.

One of the sergeants asked me what I thought we ought to do about it.
My response: "Sarge, if the Bible study is so good it makes a man want to skip all the way back to his block, I think we ought to have more Bible studies."

The Jesus Style

Do you have a favorite book? One that grabbed you and shook you and ultimately changed the way you live life? (Okay. Besides the Bible.)

Somewhere around the same time I began my ministry at Charlotte Correctional Center, I read a book called The Jesus Style by Gayle Erwin. That book had a profound effect on me. In fact, it helped to shaped the way I do ministry. I've reread it a few times in the years since.
I've also recommended the book to many others over the years, lent my copy to more than a few, and even once began facilitating a class at church based on its content. (We never finished the class. It was interrupted by the events of 9-11.)

The book is, at its core all about servanthood. Jesus came "not to be served, but to serve." He came in such a way as to be accessible to all people. There was nothing intimidating or threatening about Him. He was totally 'others-centered'. These are characteristics very unlike the way we operate today. Even in ministry we often manipulate others to get them to do what we want or to respond the way we want them to. We're very often 'me-centered'.

Well, I've decided its time for a refresher of The Jesus Style in my life and in my ministry. It's time to shake-off complacency, and wrong expectations, and manipulative game playing. It's time to get back to really stretching myself to be living in the style of Christ - unselfish, unintimidating, and accesible to others.
It's time.

PS: The Jesus Style is currently out of print. You can probably find a few copies through Amazon if you're interested.

My Favorite Title of All

Just to the right of this post is a list of titles, all of which I am known by: "Husband, Father, Grandfather, Preacher, Teacher, Chaplain ...."

Now, I've got a new one: "Papa"

"Papa" is what Olivia has taken to calling me. And I love it!

"Papa" makes me smile. It makes me stand a bit taller and puff my chest out a bit. It gives me a warm, happy feeling all over. "Papa" makes me glad to be alive. It can chase away a month's worth of frustration and aggravation. It makes me want to shout and run and dance and sing - all at once.

When I hear my beautiful little granddaughter say, "Papa," I feel like I could climb the highest mountain peak or swim the widest ocean. But she's not looking for me to do anything like that. She just wants Papa to sit on the floor and play with her. Or to play hide-and-seek. Or chase her around the house. Or read her a book.

Life is good.

What an Opportunity!

Do we believe God?

That's the measure of all who call themselves 'Christian', isn't it? We're saved "by grace through faith." The just are called to "live by faith." And without faith, the Bible says "it is impossible to please God."
So, do we believe God?

If we truly believe Him, we'll have an entirely different take on the current economic situation facing us. Instead of joining the rest of the world bemoaning how bad things are, we'll begin to see this as our greatest opportunity in decades.

• In this economy, we have an opportunity to reach the poor, and those left hurting by the recession that we cannot miss.
• With the state cutting prison chaplains positions (announced just this morning), the church has an opportunity to put more godly men and women inside of prisons to be the light of Christ and to minister to the needs of the incarcerated.
• With government worried more about bailing out big banks and Wall Street, we have an opportunity to minister to people and help meet their most basic needs.
• We have an opportunity to show the world that our God is more than able to provide; and to give us peace and joy in the midst of trying times.
• We have the opportunity to be what Jesus called us to be: Salt and Light

Do we really believe God? If so, what an opportunity we have before us.

Working for God

"If God gives you a watch, are you honoring Him more by asking Him what time it is or by simply consulting the watch?"
~ A.W. Tozer

Not Quite Sure What to Say

After twelve years ministering to prisoners, I thought I'd seen and heard everything. But here's a new one:

I just received a request from an inmate serving a life sentence. He's been in prison for twenty years. He wants to get engaged (not sure to whom he wants to propose) and is asking me to help him get an engagement ring.
According to his request, he was "told" (I don't know who tells these inmates all this stuff) that I would help out with everything he needs to do.

Hmmm. What's a chaplain to do? I'm not even sure how to answer this one.

Grace A-N-D Truth

"And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
~ John 1:14

As Christians, we are called to model our lives after Jesus Christ. And the gospel teaches us that He was full of both grace and truth. That is a balance that, if we're honest, we struggle mightily to achieve.

I've known some who pride themselves on being 'full of truth.' They wield it like a sledge hammer. Hurt feelings and crushed spirits don't matter to them. Their concern is for "the truth." I've seen their preaching drive some away from the church, and away from the caring arms of the Savior. But their attitude seems to reflect the famous Jack Nicholson line in A Few Good Men: "You can't handle the truth!"

I've known others who's tilt toward grace is such that they're willing to throw out standards and doctrine and priniciples, all in the name of 'grace.' Afterall, they reason, doesn't God's grace extended to us save us? If grace was sufficient for the Apostle Paul, even in his affliction, shouldn't we be careful to cover everything and everyone in such grace?
But grace at the expense of everything else becomes what Bonhoffer called "cheap grace." It's empty and invalid because it lacks any measure of truth to support it.

'Grace and truth' is not an either-or proposition. As followers of Christ, we're called to be filled with both.

Core Values and Principles? Not Mine

In his first week in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order effectively banning all torture of enemy combatants taken as prisoners. The order clamps down on any and all harsh interrogation techniques. At the signing, the President said, "Government must adhere to core values and principles."

Two days later, the President signed another executive order. This one lifted the ban on federal funding for international non-governmental agencies that offer abortion services.

I'm wondering about those core values and principles.

Now comes word that the President's $800 billion + economic stimulus proposal includes millions to provide contraceptives. When asked about this rather odd expediture in an economic stimulus bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi replied, "Well, contraception will help the economy." She went on to say that states are struggling with the costs of children's health care, education and other expenses. So by distributing contraceptives, therby reducing the number of births, the cost to government is reduced. (In other words, our government now sees children as a burden to the state rather than a blessing.)
Anybody want to hazard a guess as to which ethnic or socio-economic groups they plan to distribute these contraceptives to?

Core values and principles?

“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.” ~Proverbs 16:12 (The Message)

A Radically Different Idea

This is Pastor Francis Chan at the Catalyst Conference. It's as challenging a message as I've heard in some time.

Faith

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6

This verse of Scripture, which most of us can quote, is far from passive. Yet, very often, our interpretation is just that: Passive. Too often, we talk about trusting God with a sense of resignation. It's as if trusting God is like buying lottery tickets. A risky gambit.

But this verse of Scripture, along with the entire Bible, advocates an active trust in God. Obedience and striving and believing and acting on what God's Word says are all part of "Trust in the Lord with all your heart ..."

It's like exercise. (I'm only guessing here. I'm not a big fitness geek.) Wishing and hoping, and even hanging around the fitness equipment doesn't help me get in shape or lose weight. Only when I actively engage in an exercise regimen can I expect the desired result. And only when I actively engage in what thus sayeth the Lord can I expect to see Him truly directing my paths.

When I'm actively trusting Him and He's directing my paths, I'm usually amazed at where I end up.

Ice Fishing

28 1/2" Northern Pike
Speared while ice fishing
1/19/09
Lake Stella, MN

S-N-O-W!

In His questioning of Job, the Lord asked specifically: "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow ... which I have reserved for the time of distress, for the day of war and battle?" (Job 38:22-23)

Well, this week I'll do just that. Sharon and I are flying to Minnesota to visit her folks. I know. You're probably asking yourself: Who flys to Minnesota in January?

This morning I looked at the weather forecast for our arrival: It's going to be -6. -6!

Take Your Pick

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a mad man, or something worse"
~ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

A New Way?

I'm revisiting a subject that I've posted about in the past.

I saw a sign along the road the other day advertising a new church in Charlotte. There are currently somewhere around 750 churches in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm not convinced that we need another one. But the sign said that this new church is "doing church in a brand new way."

I'm not sure what that means. The weekly gathering of the saints that we call church (a misnomer in itself) is supposed to be centered around the Lord Jesus Christ. The body of believers comes together to worship Him, to give Him the praise and glory due His Name, and for the preaching of His Word which helps to conform us to the image of Christ.
It's all about Him.

"Doing church a brand new way" would seem to intimate that coming together to worship and to hear His Word preached isn't quite good enough. People desiring church "in a brand new way" would seem to have an agenda different than worship and Word.

Could it be that "doing church in a brand new way" really means church centered around us rather than Him?

New Stuff We Can Use

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness."
~ Lamentations 3:22-23

What if God's mercy was a one time thing? What if the compassion of the Lord was only good in our lives for a limited time? Have you ever thought about that? I have.

We all like new stuff. Christmas morning is evidence enough of that. But how much of what we got just a few weeks ago is already forgotten? How many things end up in the bottom of a dresser drawer, or in a closet waiting to be dusted off for next spring's yard sale? The 'new' tends to wear off pretty quickly, doesn't it?

Not so with God's lovingkindness. The Bible teaches that His compassion and mercy toward us are "new every morning." Think about that. God gives me (and you) a fresh dose of the thing we need most in our lives each and every day when our feet hit the floor.
You can't wear it out, because it's brand new the very next day. It won't get old; it's always new. There's not an expiration date or a warranty that runs out. Each day, His mercy is new in our lives; new to face the new challenges life will bring our way each day.

Now that's new stuff we can really use.

Discombobulated

I love the holidays. I really do. I enjoy everything about the season. From Thanksgiving through Christmas and right into the new year you'll find me eating it all up (both literally and figuratively.) But I'm glad it's over, too.

There's something about the regular routine that I miss when we get busy with holiday activities. Both in ministry and home life, nothing is routine about the season. Our work at the prison is amped up to reach as many as possible with the message of Christ at Christmas. And, of course, there are all of the family activities and gatherings with friends and loved ones. I tend to get quite discombobulated through it all. I'm pretty easily distrtacted anyways, so the variation from my regular routine for a month throws me into a mad nasty funk.

But it's over! I'm back in my routine. Back in the office today. Regular schedule. Back to our Bible study group meeting on Wednesday. Back in the pulpit on Thursday. Back to inmates asking all kinds of crazy stuff and looking to me for answers.

Bring on the boring routine!