How Do You Respond?

Having spent most of the last 2 decades of time in youth, children, and family ministry, I have established a few hard convictions. One of those, is that my primary role as a parent is to teach my children to obey (Ex.20:12; Eph 6:1-2). So, like many parents, I have my own phrases and looks that communicate a certain expectation from my kids that even my almost 3 yr old understands.

One of these comes in the form of a question, "How do you respond?" And at this stage in life their expected response is "yes Daddy/Mommy" and do it. Because of their current maturity level, we do not give them much choice in the matters. Our expectation at this point in life is compliance. Of course, as they age, we will allow for interaction as to the "why," but still expect obedience. Their motivation for obedience right now is extrinsic, but eventually, we desire for the motivation to become intrinsic. As I continue to think about what God is teaching me in what I am reading, one of the things I keep noticing about Ezekiel's response, as well as, the vast majority of God's prophets, to God's commands is, "Yes, LORD" and do it.

Think about some of these things God has asked these people to do: sacrifice an only and long awaited son; lead a couple million people out of Egypt and into a new land filled with hostile people; leave business and family and follow former carpenter turned itinerant preacher. Each one of these were blessed and held in high regard by God (see Hebrews 11 for a Cliff Notes list of these). Jesus Christ is the ultimate example to follow. He, though perfect and blameless, was told to do die a gruesome death and take on the punishment of the sins of the world, and his response, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will" or "Yes, Daddy" and did it.

I find myself asking what is it that God has asked me to do today, and then He asks, How do you respond? "Yes, Father and do it?" My life is not my own, I have been bought with a price.

Jesus Wore a Size 10

I was reminded this morning that the Savior and I share the same shoe size. Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." You see that, he's been in my shoes! Okay, well maybe in a figurative sense.

This morning I walked through another familiar passage in Matthew 4-- the temptation of Christ. The Scriptures record that there were at least three specific temptations that the Devil tested the Savior with:

1. Need for Provision (vs. 2-3)

2. Need for Security (vs. 5-6)

3. Greed for Power at all costs (vs. 8-9)

When we consider the things we ALL struggle with, don't we all want to know our needs are going be taken care of? Right now is especially a trying time for many folks in this area. Also, we all want to know that we are safe from harm and discomfort. And finally, we all want to be masters of our own destinies. These are the same things that Christ faced in this case.

And yet, Christ, using the Word of God correctly (important here because the Enemy also used the Word) in defense against these wiles of the Devil. First, in verse 4, He declares that God and God alone will sustain and provide for us with His Word. Secondly, in verse 7, He reminds the Accuser that God is always there, and we should trust Him and not test Him. Finally, Christ tells the enemy in verse 10, that God and God alone sits on the throne, and He is sovereign.

The world is constantly at odds with God, and these same temptations continue today, each day in our lives. But, we can rest and have victory in these tests, because Christ has been in our shoes and knows what we go through. He has shown us the way. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Crazy Kind of Love

Love has been described over the centuries in many different ways. One of the most recent I have heard and I think it really fits is "Love is crazy." Steven Curtis Chapman recorded a song called "Something Crazy" on his This Moment project. You can click here to hear this song (and CD). Below are the lyrics of the chorus:

"And it's crazy when love gets a hold of you

And it's crazy things that love will make you do

And it's crazy but it's true

You really don't know love at all'

Til it's making you do

Something crazy"

This morning as I finished my reading through the book of Ezra, I was reminded of this crazy kind of love. Ezra was one of the key people who led the Jews back to Israel having spent 70 years in exile under Babylonian and Persian rule. His primary task was to rebuild the temple that had been destroyed in the siege of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Through nothing less than the providence and the promise of God, the people begin the process of returning to Israel.

In chapter 10, I read something that to the average reader may seem extreme, or rather, crazy. Ezra makes this statement to the general populace in verses 10-11: "Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, 'You have been unfaithful and have married foreign wives adding to the guilt of Israel. 'Now therefore, make confession to the LORD God of your fathers and do His will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from the foreign wives.'" How did the people respond? The answer is found in verse 19: "They pledged to put away their wives, and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their offense." I stopped and at that verse and chewed on it a moment. Ezra told them they needed send their wives (and children) away, and they complied willingly. That seems crazy!

Keep in mind, God had specifically told them on numerous occasions to not intermarry with the locals. They disobeyed God, and the result was being led down a path of idolatry that eventually got them stuck in exile to begin with. (Please note this had NOTHING to do with God hating interracial marriages, it was all about getting involved in the pagan religious practices of those indigenous people i.e child sacrifice etc.) So, here Ezra reminds them of what God had told them, and they took the measures to align themselves with God's instruction.

hunderds of years later Jesus says multiple times that demonstration of our love is epitomized in obedience to God's word... even when it seems crazy. Our love for God makes us do crazy things. If you want a concise list of what I am talking about visit Hebrews 11. Okay, those are cool Sunday School stories, but really that is what God calls me to live. The same crazy love-filled life.

Who's Fault is It?

Decisions have been made, and along with much of the same pattern of past elections, blame goes back and forth as to how this could happen. Along with it comes the racial slurs and off color jokes. We have a new President-elect. I really don't care about their color, I care about their character-- their skin color has nothing to do with that. I am more sadden that our country has morally decayed to the point where wrong seems right. That speaks more of the lack of influence the Body of Christ has had on the society. I have said it before, I will say it again-- we have failed to be "salt and light."

The testimony of Scripture clearly shows that when evil leaders come to power it has more to say about God's judgment and cleansing of His people. As long as we continue to live in the mind set of "Heaven on earth" rather than "thy kingdom come," we will fail to be effective as a people of God. As long as we fail to do that which God has told us to do, and as long as the body of Christ looks exactly like those who are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the result will be God's judgment.

Thus begins the spiral. I told Jill this morning, now more than ever, we must not waver to instill in our children the knowledge of God's word and the perseverance of the saints. Their generation will see persecution, of this I am confident. I am, however, encouraged to know that God is still sovereign and in control, regardless of my comfort level. It is times like this we should be very familiar with the writings of Daniel and Ezekiel. In particular, how God's people should behave under evil leadership.

Regardless of who is in the White House, God is on the throne. So, if our nation goes to hell in a hand basket, whose fault is it? It's my fault.

Play the Fool

When I was a child, I had a traumatic experience. My sisters sang frequently for churches, and I was added to the trio. It was my solo debut and I was five or six. I looked out into the crowd at our church, sang one note and ran off the stage in tears right to my mother who was standing in the choir behind us. I froze up.

For weeks, my little friends picked on me and made fun of me. I was ashamed. I had made a fool of myself. That event scarred me in such a way that I refused to sing in front of people for a decade.

Nobody likes to make a fool of themselves. And yet, there is a certain degree of foolishness that is required for us to really be followers of Christ, isn't there? I mean think about it, God becoming a man, dying on a cross because He believed He was fact in the flesh, and much more. Still more, we are called to lives our lives drastically different in response to this.

I read a really cool quote this morning. Madeleine L'Engle wrote, "We try to be too reasonable about what we believe. What I believe is not reasonable at all. In fact, it's hilariously impossible. Possible things aren't worth much. These crazy impossible things keep us going." The Apostle Paul echoed this same sentiment when he wrote to the Corinthian church, "but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong," (1 Cor. 1:27) You see God's economy is opposite of our own. So how should we as the church function as a result?

I have been thinking about this today, how much emphasis do we place on conformity. Mark Batterson says often we measure spiritual maturity by how well we can get others to look and talk like us. But when you look at the church, at least as God designed it, we should use our diversity to make us stronger since we all have different gifts and functions. Perhaps we are missing out on some really awesome impact we could be having on the world around us.

Of course the other extreme is being so different we needless draw attention to ourselves. I think the balance is that we live and talk and act so differently that we draw attention to God! Are we willing to make fools of ourselves for God? If we are wrong, what do we lose? We help people, love each other, etc. But if we are right, and they are wrong. . . now who's the fool? I'll take my chances.

Don't Come Empty Handed

Have you ever come to a party that was given in someone's honor, and when you arrived everyone but you is carrying presents? It is a feeling that can only be described as shame and embarrassment. Yes, you have the honor of having been invited, and yes you can wish the person well, but when you are empty-handed, you miss out on the joy of showering this person with gifts to whom honor is deserved.

I recently began reading the Revelation of John the Apostle. It has been a while and since I have been reading John's gospel and epistles, I decided to spend some more time with the Lord's earthly best friend. Beginning in chapter 4, there is a description of the throne room of heaven that defies the imagination. It is obvious that John struggles to adequately describe what he sees, as the beauty is just amazing.

In verse 4, he mentions that the throne of God is surrounded by 24 other thrones, and seated on those were 24 elders, whom I believe to be or represent the 12 Apostles and 12 tribes of Israel. These Elders were all wearing crowns. The bible uses two different words that we translate as "crown" John uses the Greek word "stephanos" for these crowns. A stephanos is a wreath-like crown used to honor one for their victory or accomplishment- much like the medals we see being given in the Olympics. These are crowns that are described in passages like 2 Timothy 4:8 that the saints are rewarded with for their obedience and faithfulness. These Elders then take these crowns that they earned with their lives, and then lay them at the feet of the One seated at the throne in the center.

In our society, culture tells us, "hey, you deserve the best!" or "you worked hard for it; treat yourself!" This picture is opposite. Here are those who suffered and died and followed Christ, and yet they are laying their crowns at the feet of the Lamb. John hears the words, “Worthy is the lamb who was killed to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev. 5:12)

I was then convicted by these thoughts. How often do I do things for my own pleasure and reward? When I do obey, is my motivation for His ultimate glory or my own. Scripture teaches that when our motives for obedience are impure, we get our reward here on earth and will have nothing to lay at His feet. When I stand before this King of kings, will I be empty handed or will I have gifts to express my gratitude for how He saved me? He definitely deserves it, and after all, it is His party!

Grab the Rope and Swing!

Our girls love playing outside, and God has blessed us with a big back yard that accommodates much play. Out back, we have two swings tied a large pecan tree: a one-rope swing and a two-rope swing. Both have plastic seats, but I was noticing that the single-rope swing doesn't get as much use by the girls. It has less to hold onto, but swings higher.

My oldest, daughter, really struggles with fear. She has an amazing imagination, but that imagination causes her trouble sometimes, like being afraid of the dark, and it also prevents her from doing some fun stuff... like swinging on the one-rope swing.

I too have been struggling with fear: fear of the unknown, fear of failure, and fear of rejection. However, God has been teaching me lately that the child of God does not need to be afraid. Apparently this is a very common problem we all have and the Bible deals directly with this. The New American Standard version of the Bible mentions the words "fear" and "afraid" over 500 times, and many of those references include commands to individuals and groups to not be afraid. Why is that? Well, I believe that our fear comes from a lack of trusting God to the point of not obeying Him. In my reading through the Apostle John's letters, I read one verse that really speaks to this issue in my life. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." (1 John 4:18) Later, John describes this love that expresses itself in obedience to what God tells us to do. (cf. John 14,15; 1 John).

What God is showing me right now is that to grow in this area I must face my fears-- head on. When I do, it's amazing God takes care of the fear. He literally casts it out! Does that mean that nothing bad happens? No, but it helps us to stretch out a little bit more next time we are faced with fear, because God has shown us His faithfulness. It is not a fear issue, as much as it is a love issue. Do I love God more than I fear my circumstances?

Back to our swing story. Knowing the fun she was missing, I recently came along side Melody, and began encouraging her (aka forcing her :-D) to get on the single rope swing. She was afraid at first, even to the point of tears, but after a few times, she learned that her daddy loves her and was there with her. She is beginning to enjoy the new heights to which she can go. She is still hesitant, but her fear is being cast out by the result of her obedience. There is always a possibility she might fall, but she is learning that her daddy is near to pick her up when she does fall.

Sometimes facing our fears takes a little nudge from our Heavenly Daddy, but when we fall, it gives great peace knowing that our Father is there to pick us up when we do fall. Let's take a step, grab the rope put our heads back and swing!

Caution, Challenge Ahead...

I read the following lines this past week, and it has really challenged me at the core of who I am, what I really believe, and what I am doing about it. I just started a new book that falls right in line with what God has been teaching me called, In a Pit, With a Lion, on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. I haven't read it in this book rather, I read it in an article, but I believe it comes from this book. It is called the Lion Chaser's Manifesto:

"Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshiping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze new trails. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion."

We only believe what we live.

GPS (God's Protection System)

My oldest sister, Sheryl, is coming for a visit! I have been looking forward to her coming. She is working very hard these days as she has a high-responsibility job at a university; plus, she is working on her PhD. So, she has taken some much needed time off and is coming for a visit today.

Before coming here, she ran out to Georgia to see her daughter who lives in a rural community (a.k.a. the sticks) north of Atlanta. I asked her about her trip out there. Sheryl had told me earlier that she had purchased one of those GPS systems for her car that tells you, not only how to get from point "A" to point "B," but also tells when there are traffic issues ahead and how to route around them. She explained that she hadn't quite figured it all out and on her trip she ran into a lot of construction, traffic jams, etc. that prevented her arriving being earlier. I told her it would be wise to get it set so it would help her avoid that stuff when she headed this way.

When I spoke with her this morning, I asked whether she got it working for her. She said it was. Then I asked what she had to do adjust, and she told me, "my attitude." She went on to explain that it had been working right, she just didn't trust it. She placed her faith in it this morning; and lo and behold, it worked and she was able to avoid some traffic jams. Hmmm. I told her that sounded like a good spiritual lesson. She agreed.

She had called while I was spending time in the Word, when we were done talking, I got back to it. In typical fashion, God's Word was very appropriate this morning... what a "coincident!" I am working through the Gospel of John and was in chapter 12 this morning. Following the triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the donkey, verses 35-36 had this to say, "So Jesus said to them, 'For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.'" This is a lesson that God has been teaching me lately. So often, I am heading in a direction in life and want to stay on the straight and narrow, but sometimes life's path gets rocky, and I gets scared, but God's Word tells me to trust and obey. But oftentimes, I don't trust Him, and try to go my own way. Consequently, things end up a big mess. Had I listened to God's GPS, I would have been protected from a lot of pain.

God's Word is always true and will always guide us in the paths around destruction. It is not because God doesn't want us to have fun, but rather He knows what is best, as He has a much broader perspective. I was reminded of a famialiar Proverb that also speaks this very issue, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (14:12) At times we don't understand God's directions, but we need to follow our GPS, He loves us and He always knows the best way!

Hard Lessons Learned

If you have children, you are no stranger to the reality that raising kids can be very difficult. As a parent, I am given the responsibility by God to teach my kids obedience, and in turn teach them about being obedient to God. Sometimes, kids do foolish things out of ignorance, and sometimes they do them defiantly. An effective tool that we use periodically in discipline, we call natural consequences. Simply put, when the child insists on ignoring warnings, sometimes experience is the best teacher. Sometimes, experience teaches regardless of the circumstances, for example, when we learn the reality of death when we lose a loved one. Those are hard lessons in life. When we fall, we learn not to climb where we do not belong.

This morning in my reading in 1 Chronicles, I was reminded of this truth. In a narrative that begins in chapter 13. David, recently made king, begins the process of bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to where it belonged -- with God's people. In it's transport, one of the animals pulling the cart that was carrying it nearly over turned it. One of David's men who was nearby reached out to keep it from falling. He stopped it by putting his hand on it, and the man was immediately struck dead. Wow! The first time I read that, I tho't to myself, "that seems a little extreme! He was trying to keep it from falling." David felt the same and scripture recorded the fact that he was mad at God about it. However, the harsh reality is that God had established His standard for moving the Ark, and David and his men had not followed those instructions.

They pulled back and regrouped and did their homework, and God began to bless them in battles in chapter 14. This was a message repeated all through out the Old Testament, obey God, He would bless them, disobey God and He would curse them. Later, when they finally did move the Ark in chapter 15, this time they followed God's instructions to the letter.

Funny, how we so often get upset when we fail to follow God's standard because we either want to do it our way, or rather we just go about things haphazardly, and things fall apart. we mishandle money, and we go broke. We marry someone who doesn't love the Lord, and surprisingly they get mifted when we want to go worship. But had we consulted the Lord to begin with, we could have saved ourselves much grief. This is a hard lesson that I know I am still learning. It gets easier with maturity, but I cannot say that I have mastered it. The awesome thing is that God is a gracious God and he doesn't destroy us when we mess up. He allows us to get up and try it again.

Finding Favor

Big Tom is a new friend of mine. I have only known him for a few months, but he has quickly become one of my favorite people. He is a great story teller and an all round funny person with a huge heart for serving God and others. He has been a believer for only a few years, but God has truly transformed this man's life. His background, like many, is pretty rough, but the hand of God on this man's life is very evident. He recently was offered a new job. And while all new jobs have that honeymoon period before the reality sets in, this job seems to be a stark contrast to where he served the last few years. Not only did his compensation go up, but the work environment and his schedule has drastically changed and this has been a tremendous blessing from God.

Big Tom is a hard worker and always has been as I understand. From what I have personally observed, he can work most people under the table - as can his boys. I know that his ability to get things done definitely attributed to his new-found employment, but I also firmly believe there is more to it. You see Tom's life transformation took place at the core of his being. When he came to Christ, he was truly a model of what Paul talks about in Romans 12; Tom was transformed by the renewing of his mind. As a result, the way he thinks and consequently, the way acts is controlled by the Spirit of Christ in him. He understands where he came from, and so he has a truly humble attitude about himself. And as a result, I believe Tom got his new job, like the one I read about this morning, because Tom found favor with others.

As I was reading through the life of Joseph, one thing began to stand out to me. Joseph like Tom had a rough start. He was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery. But beginning in Genesis 39:2, we see a key thing that I think made a huge difference in Joseph's life. God was with Joseph. As a result, everything that Joseph touched went well. Even when he had been falsely accused and thrown into prison, we see that Joseph found favor in the eyes of those he served.

Now that does not mean, as I know that Tom can attest to, that everything is roses. I definitely do not fall into the camp of thought that just because you are a Christian that you have the right to wealth and riches, because I firmly believe that God uses the roughest times and trials in life to shape and develop our character. At those times, we are compelled to realize that we are not in control and consequently we must rely on God which is where He wants us to remain. It was obvious that Joseph's attitude and actions were affected by his trust in the Lord, and as a result people took notice. It is an Old Testament example of what Peter's charge to the church that I discussed in my sermon, "Living Out Loud." There are many other passages that teaches this same truth.

It causes me to ask, am I finding favor with those that I come in contact with because my actions have been affected by what I believe? This is contrasted by the seeking favor of men. I think Big Tom is an example of the way it should happen. He found favor in others because he was seeking after God. As a result God has blessed him. Congrats Big Tom!

Missional Living

This week was a long one. Jill & I spent from Sunday evening to Wednesday at the SBC Convention in San Antonio. It started Sunday afternoon with my getting sick, and still recovering to this day. It was long primarily because sitting through a 2 1/2 day Baptist business meeting is hard enough trying to keep focused, but when your head is pounding and you are battling a upper respiratory infection, the days really drag on. Nevertheless, we survived. I have little patience for this type of convention, and found myself remembering why it was that I left the Baptist church years ago. In spite of this, I find myself once again serving in a Baptist church.

This convention did have a couple of redeeming points. The most significant being an after hours session which included an 1 1/2 hour worship set of awesome contemporary music followed by a teaching session by a pastor I have been following in recent months by the name of Bob Roberts. It was a powerful and challenging time as he spoke on something he is on the leading edge of- "Missional Living." Missional living is essentially a postmodern alternative to the ecclesiology and missiology of Evangelical Christians. Is is a relatively new concept and has been a topic I have found myself studying recently. There is much debate on the topic, but guys like Roberts, Dan Kimball, and Ed Stetzer are leading the way on the more conservative evangelical side of things. In short, it is a mindset of outside the box thinking on missions and how to do church- a mindset I find myself embracing. Roberts defined missional living in this way, he stated that it is living your life in Christ in "total abandonment." Living here and now as if you were a missionary wherever God has you. He went on to say that to live missionally is to live not caring whether you live or die pursuing this kind of life. I kept waiting for a comic or sarcastic remark to soften the blow, but it never came. As I meditated further on this, my first response was, "wow, that is extreme!" However, the more I thought about it, the more I found myself accepting the validity of this statement, especially when the Spirit reminded me of a familiar passage where Paul says, "to live is Christ to die is gain..." When I looked up the passage in Philippians, it was even further driven home. Listen to the his words:

"I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!" -- Phil.1:20-22

It IS extreme, but true nonetheless. The conviction and shame that followed was heavier than I have experienced in a long time. I began to realize that although he was not saying that we must adopt an evangelical version of jihad, the attitude of total abandonment is a willingness to sacrifice all for the sake of Christ. It is wear the rubber meets the road. It is not the "touchy feel-ly churchianity" that I and most fo the American church has grown accustomed to. Even in the midst of my own frequent disgust with status quo religion, it was a wake up call to ask what do I really believe? I can't say that I have had this same conversation that Paul had with the Philippians, and that I have lived much of my existence trying to satisfy the desires of my flesh.

Lord, please forgive me. Your servant Jim Elliot was right, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Tragedy

I observed a horrific tragedy in the news this week. A young mother of 4 hanged her children and herself in desparation. All but the youngest (8 months) perished. The mother was 23, her oldest child was 6. She was apparently distraught when her commonlaw husband left her. I do not know this woman beyond what the media has told, and my heart breaks over the murder of her innocent little girls. If my math adds up she was a mother at 17 years old. The sad thing is that this example is becoming increasingly more common.

What I find even more tragic is I wonder where the church is in the midst of lives that are so desparate that they feel that killing themselves and their own children is the only way out. Jesus Christ has called us to be salt and light... he has called me to be salt and light. We are to live our lives in such a way that we draw people to Jesus. Jesus said we are either gathering or scattering. I often get caught up with others in complaining about how our society has gone to pot, but I wonder if we as the church were truly being salt and light where we live and work how much of this would be going on. Now please don't misunderstand me, I understand that this world is not our home, that we are sojourners here, and that this is a fallen world. However, that does not negate the fact that we are to season and illumine our world. But instead, the world influences us.

I know that sometimes this responsibility can be overwhelming, what can I do? I am one person. True, but each one of us can make a difference in the lives of a few.

Consider the lyrics of this song, Love Them Like Jesus by Mark Hall:

The love of her life is drifting away
Their losing the fight for another day
The life that she's known is falling apart
A fatherless home, a child's broken heart
You're holding her hand, your straining for words
You trying to make - sense of it all
She's desperate for hope, darkness clouding her view
She's looking to you

Chorus
Just love her like Jesus, carry her to Him
His yoke is easy, His burden is light
You don't need the answers to all of life's questions
Just know that He loves her and stay by her side
Love her like Jesus, Love her like Jesus

The gifts lie in wait, in a room painted blue
Little blessing from heaven be there soon
Hope fades in the night, blue skies turn to gray
As a little one slips away
You're holding their hand, your straining for words
You trying to make - sense of it all
Their desperate for hope, darkness clouding their view
Their looking to you

Chorus

Lord of all creation holds our lives in His hands
The God of all the nations holds our lives in His hands
The rock of our salvation holds our lives in His hands
He cares for them just as He cares for you

Chorus

We are to love them like Jesus.

Wake Up Call

I am by no means an expert when it comes to travel, but I have stayed in my share of hotels and inns. One of the amenities that I have found to be pretty standard regardless of the number of stars the establishment boasts is the wake up call. Very simply, you call the front desk and let them know you would like a wake up call and what time you would like it to happen. The clerk or concierge then inputs your request into their computer which in turn rings your room phone at the requested time telling you it is time to get up.

I think we get all sorts of wake up calls from God. God's Word calls it fruit. One of these that I was talking about recently with a friend is the issue of family life and spirituality. This area of my own walk with the Lord has been a real struggle for me. I guess this is hard for me because of my learning style. I am one who can read it and learn some, hear it and learn some, but I tend to learn exponentially more when I see it modeled and have someone coach me as I do it. I, like many, grew up in the church. Yet, it grieves me that I saw (or see) so few examples of how to lead my family spiritually. Oh, I received the message that I was supposed to be doing it, and even saw a few doing. However, until the last few years, after I have blown it big in many ways, there hadn't been many who were willing to invest in me and my family. I have had a few astute people that have been gracious enough to point out the obvious to me (that I screwed up) but never said, "Say, do you know how to do this, I noticed you were having trouble. Can I show you how I do it?" Usually what I heard was versions of "You moron, get your head out of your rear and get it done!"

When you look at instruction Deuteronomy and in Paul's letter to Titus, we get very specific instruction in verses 1-8 of chapter 2 that examples should be set as a key element instruction, not just imparting information, but demonstrating how to do it. Mentoring is becoming a lost art. Author, speaker and pastor, Steve Farrar, attributes this to the Industrial Revolution when fathers were taken out of the homes where their sons worked along side them. If this is the model Christ used, shouldn't we pay a little more attention to it? Now parents are absent from the home, they abdicate their responsibility to the church. We step outside of God's design, for the family, the church or society and then have the gall to act surprised when our world comes crumbling down around us.

God gives us wake up calls every day. It is time we pick up the phone and answer the call. "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." - Galatians 6:7-8

Lessons, Part 2

The lines had been clearly drawn. The decision had been made. This had been a repeated offense. The consequences were pre-established. We had walked this same path earlier this same day. Consistency had to be maintained. She would now have to face the music, once again, for the same crime.

After the verdict was declared and sentenced rendered. Melody looked up at me with her pleading eyes and cried, "But Daddy I'm sorry, I love you!" I was not expecting, however, that we would both be disciplined that day. Before I realized it, the words were out. "If you love me, don't just tell you're sorry, do what I told you." Ouch! Discipline had been administered. It still stings even though it has been over a year since. Christ told us His Spirit would remind us of things He has taught us. The only thing that didn't flash in my head was chapter and verse. John 14:21a "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me."

In my last post, I spoke of how one of the main reasons we continue to sin is our lack of true fear of God. Another is found here. How many times have I looked into my Father's eyes with tears streaming down my face from my guilt and said the same thing to Him, and He has reciprocated my response. Just like the familiar scenario described above, my Father longs not to just hear the words, "I am sorry," but to see my actions to prove it. To repent means to turn and go the other way. But often, rather, for me it means, stop, cry a little in regret that I got caught, and do it again later. A study in 1 John reveals some awesome truths on this matter. We learn that as we grow in our faith, it doesn't mean that we are sinless, but rather that we sin less.

Father, oh that we would demonstrate our love to You, by doing what you tell us and sin less.