Purple Flowers, Cornfields, and Killer Walnut Trees

As I was out riding my bike this morning before coming into work, I was talking to God.  Okay, no, actually, I was complaining to God.  I was complaining about finances.  I was expressing frustration with some of my friendships.  I was upset about...., well, you get the idea.  I was complaining.

So, I 'm cruising along, tense and rather unhappy deep inside, and I look over and see some beautiful morning glories.  They are climbing slowly up the cornstalks in a field, facing east.  As the sun was rising, they were brilliantly open and shining.  I love seeing them when I ride.  Immediately I started thinking about how awesome and beautiful they were, and I heard God remind me "I care for the flowers of the field.  I clothe them and watch over them, and they are just flowers that are here today and burned up tomorrow.  Why are you so worried that I won't take care of you and all the "problems" you are dumping on me?"

It's been a pretty constant theme the past several months.  I worry, God says "Wait.  Don't worry.  I have you."  But the flowers hit me and drove it all home again.  He has me.  In the much used words, I need to "bloom where I'm planted."  I need to face the sun and shine just like they do.  They make their quiet section of nameless corn field so beautiful.  It's my job to do the same.  I need to make my small piece of the world more beautiful.  Complaining won't get me there.

As I'm having this conversation with God, He reminds me of our yard.  We have five huge, very old (100 years or so) walnut trees across the front of our yard.  They define our house, they anchor everything around them, and they are focal point of the yard.  They are also poisonous.  I never knew it till we moved into our house a couple of years ago, but walnut trees put acid into the soil around them, and will kill most other plants trying to grow in their area.  A few trees can grow near a walnut, but not many.  They are poisonous.  They don't mean to be, it's not a defense or a planned attack.  They just emit acid and kill other things when they stand there.

God asked me which I want to be?  Do I want to be a morning glory, or a walnut tree?  My attitude and faith will drive me in one direction or the other.  It's up to me.  Gratitude or grumbling?  Bitterness or beauty?  Humble or hateful?  It's all up to me.

And you.  Which will you be today?

The Waiting Game. Again.

I almost couldn't take it anymore.  I was reading through Hosea and Isaiah today in the Bible, and I was feeling so beat down by it.  Over and over God warns His people, and they refused to listen.  So God promised to send other nations in to destroy the country and get the people's attention.  The warnings were dark, ominous, and seemed to go on, verse after verse, chapter after chapter, without end.  It was discouraging.  


In Isaiah 30:17, God says
"A thousand will flee 

at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.” 

He's saying that the nation will be completely routed and destroyed.  No one will be left.  

I read these things and I think about my own sin, my own places I wrestle with God, where I don't want to listen to Him.  It breaks me, scares me, and worries me.  I want to follow God, I want to serve Him, but there are still so many issues in my own life that I am working on and have so far to go yet.  

Then, after verse 17, I read verse 18:

"18 Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them.21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

And I have hope again.  God is a God of justice.  He will do what it takes to get our attention and get us back on the path.  He is also a God of grace and compassion.  It just gives me hope that as long as I keep trying to follow Him, even when hard times come, or consequences for my sins fall, He will stand with me in them and never leave me.  Blessed are those who wait on Him.  Again with the waiting.  It's finally starting to get through my skull.  Be faithful, stand, and wait on the Lord.

That's not quite the normal plan for business in our culture.  That's for sure.  "What is your five year plan look like Jason?"  "Oh, you know, I'm waiting on God."  (awkward pause......)

But really, what else is there?  What else can I do?  I can try to run everything myself, work myself into a worried mess, stress over a ton of details, some I can influence and some I can't.  Or I can trust that God is a God of compassion and grace, and I can wait.

That's enough.  It's more than enough.

A Miracle Plant, a Hateful Prophet, and Them

I read through the book of Jonah today in my reading.  The part that sticks out to me in the story is why Jonah ran in the first place.  If you've never read the book for yourself, it's very short.  Take a few minutes today, and sit down and read it.

Jonah is told to go preach to another city, in another nation, to a different people.  They are his political enemies. He says no, and runs.  You know most of this part of the story.  Big storm, sailors have to throw Jonah overboard, swallowed by big fish, fish throws up, Jonah preaches in Ninevah, people of Ninevah turn to God.  If you've been around church for awhile, you've probably heard the story.  Then at the end, God has to get on Jonah for being unhappy that the people repented.

But it just hit me today why.  They were political enemies.  Jonah says that he knew if he went, that God would forgive them because He is so good.  Jonah doesn't want the people forgiven.  He hates them.

Hmmm.....

Who in my life would I be upset if God forgave?  Who do I hate so much that I'd rather them suffer than seek God's forgiveness?  No, really, who would it be?

Because God is having none of it.  He tells Jonah that they are his children, and he needs to get over it.

Is there someone that we would secretly like to see suffer?  What will it take to see them through God's eyes?  To love them the way God does?

For Jonah, he had to go through a storm, be buried at sea, and then be digested by a fish for three days.  Then, he only got 1/2 of it.  God had to grow a miracle plant, then kill it, and the scold him.

And at the end of the story, it never tells us if Jonah got it or not.  It's open ended.

Just like your story and mine.  It's not done.

Will we get it?  Will we offer forgiveness and mercy to those "others" in our life today?

The Power of the *

I was reading in 1 Kings 15 today, and it is talking about the different kings of Judah and Israel.  One of the kings, Asa, follows God, and the writer compares him to his great great grandfather David.  So, a couple of hundred years after David has died, he is still seen as the standard.  Here is what the verse says about David:

"⁵ For David had done what was right in the eyes of the LORD and had not failed to keep any of the LORD's commands all the days of his life--except in the case of Uriah the Hittite." 1 Kings 15:5 (NIV)

David has an * on his record.  He kept all of the commands of God, except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.  That was Bathsheba's husband, the woman he had an affair with.  Uriah was the general in his army whom he had murdered.

So many times today, we have athletes with great records, but there is an * on their sheet, either for cheating, steroid use, or whatever else.

It's the power of the *.

I really don't want to have a record that is 99% great, but then have an * after it.  "Jason did very well, and served God faithfully for decades, except for *".  God is working on my to understand that the little habits, the  small sins that I coddle, the things that no one sees today, those are the things that lead up to the *.

What is yours?  Is there one?  Are you forming habits, and babying sins because they are "small", that are going to lead to an * on your life one day?  Be ruthless.  Go after it all.  Because of God's generous grace and forgiveness, we always have a second chance.  I want my life to leave behind a !, not an *.

What about you?

Standing in the Middle of a Hurricane of Grace

Yesterday I spoke in the main service as we ended up our iPray series. I got to speak on the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6. One of the points I continue to work through, even after the sermon is done, is the plurality of the prayer. What I mean is, it's a community prayer (OUR Father...give US...forgive US...etc.).

As I was prepping the message, and praying, I got to thinking about some of Jesus' other teachings. "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there". Why is two or three better than one? When Jesus goes on the mountain for the transfiguration, He takes three with Him. When He goes to Gethsemane to pray, He takes all the disciples, but then He calls three further on. Over and over, He points to this idea of two or three in prayer. Why?

I think it goes back to the idea of a robust Trinity (a phrase I stole from LeRon Shultz, a seminary prof of mine.) God exists forever as a three in one community. Father loves and serves the Son and Spirit, Son loves and serves Father and Spirit, and Spirit loves and serves Father and Son. Forever. Always has. Always will. It's the definition of what it means to be alive.

So when Jesus prays that we will be one they way He, the Father, and the Spirit are One, it means much more than we think. When He tells us that His death forgives us for our sins, but His resurrection leads to a new life, He means it. We get invited to live inside of this eternal, ridiculously beautiful, frighteningly powerful love relationship the Three have. We get placed right in the middle of it and it flows in and through us, all because of the resurrection.

So is it possible that when we pray with one or two others, that at that point we are most like God? Could it be that when we abandon our selfish, autonomous fears and open our lives up to others, we most become like Jesus? Is it that in that moment, we are truly, at our best, Christians?

It's something to think about. I surely am.

If you'd like to hear the sermon, you can find it here.

I'd love to know what you think.

Hmmmms, Hymns, and Him

Leviticus 26 is terrifying!  In this chapter, God promises the people that if they will do what is right, and will continue to follow Him, He will make them invincible.  He will take them and turn them into an amazing force, bless them with food and resources, and give them peace and joy.  All for being obedient to what they are supposed to do.  That's a good deal.

Then He discusses what happens if they won't do what is right.  At first, when you read it, it seems overboard in how rough it is.  God says He will drive them from their homes, they will starve to death, they will have sores and diseases, and all sorts of bad stuff.  At first read, God comes off like a jerk and a bully.

But wait, think about it.  If they simply do what is right, do what they are supposed to do, God offers to bless them in one big act.  Just for doing what they are supposed to do anyway.

But on the punishment, it comes in three waves.  He gives the first level of punishment.  Then, if they won't stop being disobedient, He gives a second, tougher level of punishment.  If they still won't turn around, a third, even harsher punishment will drop.  Do you see what He is doing?  The rewards come in a flood all at once for simply obedience.  The punishment comes gradually, in waves.  In fact, the people do just what God warned them not to do, and the punishment took hundreds of years to fall on them.  But at first, when they were obedient, they received ALL of the blessings He promised.

If that isn't a sure sign of grace, He adds one more section at the end.  Check this out:

40 “ ‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me,41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin,42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham..."

Even after they disobey Him repeatedly, forcing Him to use all three levels of punishment, if they will simply stop, turn around (that's what repent means), and ask for His forgiveness, it will all stop.  That's all it takes.  God's blessings flow over them like a flood, His punishments trickle in over hundreds of years, and one honest act of repentance, and all is good again.

THAT is amazing.  THAT is grace.  

Maybe that's why we sing the song...

God (s) Rules!!

As I keep working through Leviticus and all of it's lists of rules and guidelines, I hit chapter 19.  I love this chapter!  It's still a list of rules, but it is easy to see the heart of God in this chapter, especially the first 18 verses.  Check it out:

The Lord said to Moses,

2 “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.

3 “ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.

4 “ ‘Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. 5 “ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.

8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because they have desecrated what is holy to the Lord; they must be cut off from their people. 9 “ ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

11 “ ‘Do not steal.
“ ‘Do not lie.
“ ‘Do not deceive one another.

12 “ ‘Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

13 “ ‘Do not defraud your neighbors or rob them.
“ ‘Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight.

14 “ ‘Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the Lord.

15 “ ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

16 “ ‘Do not go about spreading slander among your people.
“ ‘Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the Lord.

17 “ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.

18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

Look at the issues of honesty, respect, kindness, generosity, and justice.  This is such a beautiful set of guidelines.  If I could simply strive to follow Him and live more like this everyday, my life would be full.  And it's just 18 verses.  Which of these speak to you the clearest?  Which ones do you and I need to work on today?

Pretty as a Pile of Rocks

In Exodus 20, we've got the 10 Commandments.  My youngest daughter and I have been working on memorizing them.  (It's her doing it, she's just that cool.)  After the 10 Commandments, I read something that hit me in a new way.

24 “ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.25 If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.

I love this!  God says that we can build an altar to offer sacrifices on.  BUT, we can't try to engrave it or dress it up.  Why?  Because we'll defile it if we do.  We can make a pile of rocks to offer Him our best on, but don't mess with the rocks.  He made them.  They can't be improved on. 

You see, what we think is beautiful and what God knows is beautiful rarely lines up.  Often our beautiful things are more about us than about beauty.  We want to be seen or heard or known, so we create to accomplish that.  But He says that what He has done is beautiful.  Don't mess with it.  Go ahead and pile the rocks up, but don't try to dress them up.  Just spend time with Him.  The rocks are fine like they are.


How many times do we begin to give God some part of our life, our time, our schedule, our personality, but then we stop because we need to "make it better" before we bring it to Him?  He wants our best, but understand, if He made it, that's enough.  Give Him what we have, and don't mess with His side of it.  God created your intelligence, offer it back instead of telling Him you aren't smart enough.  God created your beauty, don't tell Him you aren't yet pretty enough.  God created your personality, don't tell Him you aren't gifted enough yet.  Don't mess with the rocks, just build an alter and trust that He sees the real beauty that we miss.


I just love that picture.  


It's beautiful.

Making Bricks and Calling God by Name

This weekend, the reading plan I am on hits the beginning of Exodus.  Joseph, all of his brothers, and everyone else his age has died.  Moses enters the story.  So much of the story is very well known.  Moses is saved in the river, raised in Pharoah's house as a prince, kills an Egyptian, and flees to Midian.  God speaks to him in the burning bush, and tells him to go back to free His people.  Moses complains because he is still living in fear, and God finally gets him to go.

This time through, a tiny detail stood out to me.  In Exodus 6, God is talking to Moses, He tells him that He appeared to all of Moses' ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) as the Lord Almighty.  But to Moses, He told him His name.  Jacob wrestled with God, and wanted to know God's name, and He wouldn't tell him.  But here, now, in this story, He tells Moses His name repeatedly.  And He brings up the fact that He is telling them His name.  Why?

I'm not sure.  I wonder if it has to do with relationship at some level?  The people have forgotten who He is, and are so oppressed with slavery, that they need to hear from God on a different level.  He wants to know them in a different way.  I'm not sure, but I wonder it that has something to do with it?  Or if it has to do with the fact that He is trying to set Himself apart from the Egyptian gods they are surrounded with?  There are a lot of different theories, and I'm not sure why He does it.

But He does.

He reveals Himself to them in a new way, when they are broken.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all wandering herdsmen with a lot of money and resources.  These people are slaves, stuck in one spot, with very little.  To them, God is Yahweh.  He gives them a name.  I am your God, you are My people.  We are together.  I have not left you, even though no one else around you knows Me.  I am here.

This is why it's so crucial we live in some sort of humility.  We have to pursue humility, a healthy level of brokenness, in our lives.  It is there that God meets with us at a new level.  He's not lost in the noise.  He isn't off somewhere else.  When we recognize that we are in need, when things are all rolling in the direction we are steering them, it is there that He says "I'm here.  You and I, we know each other.  Come know me better."

The Egyptians were in control.  They were decended from Noah, just as the Israelites were.  But they had forgotten.  A few Pharoah's back, they had known.  But power had numbed their memories.  Resources had built walls between them and God.  When God spoke directly to them, their response was "Shut up and go back to work."

Where will you and I stand today?  Will we hear God and know Him by name?  Will we embrace the brokeness and humility it takes to hear God's voice?

Or will we simply focus on making mud bricks?

You're Such a Heel Grabber!!

I read Genesis 30-37 today (catching up on my weekend reading on my one year plan).  It's the story of Jacob.  There is so much lying and deceiving in it, and yet God blesses Jacob like crazy.  I read it, and I'm so baffled at it.  Why in the world does God bless this guy, who just lies and deceives people, and raises a group of boys who does the same?  I thought God blessed the faithful and cursed the disobedient.

Well, yes and no.  One, I realized that I only have snapshots of Jacob's life in the story.  Genesis isn't about Jacob, or Abraham, or Moses.  It's about God.  So the only parts of Jacob's life that show up in Genesis are the parts God wants to share to show the advancement of His story.  In Jacob's case, the stories that get told are really embarrassing.  But it only shows a couple of months of history from a life that spans over a hundred years.  This isn't necessarily who Jacob is, it's who we see as God tells the key points in His story.

Secondly, God doesn't reward the faithful and curse the disobedient.  Not the way we think.  CLEARLY, when we obey God, our lives run much better, and our relationship with Him is stronger.  Don't be confused on that for a minute.  But for God to bless any of us, He has to lead with Grace, not Justice.  We are all disobedient.  I am just as sinful as Jacob.  I lie, deceive, live arrogantly, twist things for my own advancement all the time.  If God boiled my whole life down to a couple of stories over a couple of months, it could easily look worse than Jacobs.  Yet God blesses me.  Why?  Not as much because I am good, as the fact that He is good.

That is where I fit in the Jacob story.  He and I are brothers, under God's Grace.  Twins, it would seem at times.  And God blessed Him.  And, by the way, God gives him a new name.  He takes away the Jacob name ("heel grabber"), which alludes to Jacob being a thief and deceiver by meaning, and names him Israel ("God's chosen"), the one blessed by God.  He goes from being known for his own mistakes, to being known as one of Gods.  God has changed my name too.  I have gone from being one known by my own strengths and weaknesses to one claimed by God, a follower of Jesus, a little Christ.  I am a Christian.  I am His.

I like my new name much better.

How Sweet the Sound

Ok, so I read Genesis 27-29 today, and I've got to tell you, it always leaves me messed up.  I've read these stories over and over and over, and never walk away without shaking my head.  I really, really want to encourage you to read them for yourself.  But here is a short summary of the story.

Isaac has two sons, Esau and Jacob.  Esau is older and should receive the inheritance and blessing.  Jacob bought the inheritance earlier for a bowl of soup.  Now, he and his mom trick his father into giving him the blessing as well.  He puts on his brother's clothing so he smells like him, and goat skins so he will feel like his hairy brother.  (Just how hairy is this dude, anyway?!)  Since Isaac is blind, it works.  When Esau comes home and finds out what has been done, he begs his dad for a blessing.  The blessing Esau gets is that he will have to live in the desert, he will be a warrior, and his brother will rule over him, but eventually he will get sick of it and rise up.  Okay, really?  This is the dad's blessing??  That's horrible on so many levels.

Jacob runs for it, and flees to his relatives far away.  He goes to find a wife there.  When he gets there, he falls for third cousin named Rebekkah.  She is beautiful, and he wants to marry her.  He agrees to work for seven years to gain permission to marry her.  The Bible says it seems like a few days because of his love for her.  Awww, isn't that romantic?  Well, hold on.  It goes downhill again.  The wedding comes, and Jacob gets so plastered that his uncle sends in Rebekkah's older sister, Leah.  Guess what?  She's blind too.  So, he sleeps with her, and doesn't know it's not Rebekkah.  Yeah, he's not THAT romantic if he can pull this off.  So then he has to work seven more years to get Rebekkah.

Meanwhile, his bro back home realizes that his parents don't like his wives, and he marries someone more acceptable to impress his parents.  He was so blind to what was going on, he didn't realize his parents didn't like his wives. 

So now Jacob has two wives.  He loves one and not the other.  Leah, the unloved, is given four sons.  So Jacob doesn't love her, but they are still able to conceive four boys.

Everytime I read these stories, I get mad.  These guys are heroes of the faith?  They are Jerry Springer rejects!  They are selfish, conceited, deceitful, angry, murderous, lying, hateful, dysfunctional people.  ALL of them are.  These are Jesus' great(x20) grandparents for pete's sake!

BUT, God uses them.  They found the nation that saves the world.  God speaks directly to them.  Why?  Not because they earned it.  It's because of Him.  Through the whole story, with the "blind" motif seen over and over, it says that God sees what is going on, and gets involved.  He keeps promises, He shows grace, He works miracles, He cares for the broken.  Why?  Because that is who He is.  Our junk can't stop him.  Ever.

That's the real story here.  Not the Malcolm in the Middle level of dysfunction.  The unbelievable, beautiful, awe inspiring, powerful, over arching Grace of God.

And He offers it to us.  To our friends.  To our enemies.  To the people on Springer.

Always.

Everyday.

He comes to us and offers Grace.

Amazing Grace.

God's Favorite Dysfunctional Family

Today my reading hit Genesis 25 and 26.  The stories involve Isaac and Rebekkah, and their sons Esau and Jacob.  It's Abraham's son (Isaac) and then his grandsons.

A couple of things hit me today.  Isaac is told to stay in the land of Israel, even though there is a famine.  He could have went to Egypt where there were supplies and food, but God said to stay.  So he does, even though there is a famine.  God multiplies his money and family, and then blesses his crops.  While there is a famine.  But then, he has conflict with the people around him, because they are jealous of him being blessed.  So, he sent away with his crew.  As they try to find a new place to settle, every time they get to a well, someone argues with them about whose well it is.  Instead of fighting, Isaac moves on, until finally he hits a well and no one fights with him about it.  Who cares, right?  Think about it a bit.  The famine, the crops, and the well are all of the needs of life.  It equates to our jobs, homes, food, bills, and money.  Same idea.  Isaac is in trouble with his needs.  They are going to starve.  God says stay put and trust me.  Don't fix it yourself, but trust me.  He does.  God blesses him.  Then, because God took care of him, it causes conflict.  His obedience cost him in his relationships.  He moves on, without causing problems, and again faces issues of need (water).  Continuing to be a peacemaker, God provides.  How often in life when we need something do we simply devise a plan to fix it and move on, without ever asking God?  That would have been like Isaac moving to Egypt.  Problem solved.  But God had different plans, and different blessings for Isaac.  Do we miss the same types of blessings when we don't stop and ask God what we should do?

Secondly, Isaac's kids.  Geesh.  Esau is this all guy, hairy, drives a truck with a gun rack, shoots everything in sight, makes quick decisions, and let's his temper guide him type of guy.  Jacob stays home with mom, would rather cook than hunt, and is always trying to leverage things to go his way.  Parenting those two?  What a nightmare.  Both are seen as kind of jerky.  But God still uses them to accomplish his plans.  The parents screwed them up, both boys did their own things, yet God worked in and through them.  It's so good to know that none of us are past God's dreams and His reach.

The stories of this family are like a weird, but true, soap opera.  I encourage you to take some time and read them for yourself.  And then ask, where am I in this story?

Sickos, Angels, Fireballs, and Salt

In Genesis 19-21, God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah.  It's a rough, rough story.  God sends the two angels into the city, and Lot tries to protect them in his house.  He knew what would happen to them if they stayed on the street.  Every guy in the city shows up, and wants the men given to them so they can rape them.  Yep.  It's that ugly.

Here's the thing.  Lot knew the city was like that, and yet he stayed.  He wasn't acting as a good influence on them, and he was raising his daughters in that city.  Why would you live in a city like that, when you could move ten miles away and be completely out of that influence?

It's the same question as asking "Why do we keep watching movies that we know are teaching us values that are not what God wants?" or "Why do we keep going back to those websites, even though they are full of junk that's rotting our soul?" or "Why do we keep trying to impress those friends when we know they are pulling us away from God?"  It's all the same.  Yet we do it, just like Lot.

So God sends the angels in, and they have to physically, literally drag Lot and his family out of the city before it's destroyed.  Lot knows it's going to be destroyed.  He completely believes the end is coming.  Yet, they have to drag him out.  It's so hard to leave sometimes when we have so much invested in sin.  It is what we know, and it feels like we have some control over our lives.  But really, IT owns US.  And we're afraid to leave it behind.

Once they leave, they bargain with God to reduce the pain.  He grants it.  And then, his wife can't take it.  She stops and looks back, longingly.  She wants what is being destroyed in the city more that the future God has laid out for them.  God promises if they will move forward and trust Him, even though they have been living in filth, He will use them in great ways.  She doesn't care.  She looks back.  And she dies for it.  It kills her.

What are you and I holding onto that God is telling us to leave behind?  What do we run to, that is actually destroying our souls?  Will you let it go, walk away, and never come back?

You Thought It Was Bad When Your Grandparents Just Kissed....

In Genesis 18, we have a story of Abraham, this chosen man of God, who has been told that he will have a son at the age of 99.  Sarah, his wife, is 89.  And those years are the same then as they are now.  They are way beyond child bearing years.  But they are promised to have a kid.  It would take faith to simply try to get pregnant at that age, let alone actually have a child.  But they do it.  It's God's grace that brings them a son.

In that same chapter, Abraham bargains with God for the lives of the people in Sodom.  If you've never read it, you need to read it today.  It's a really funny story.  God has heard how bad the people in Sodom are living, and they are going to be punished for it.  Abraham begins a bargaining session, because his nephew Lot and his family live in the city, and he doesn't want them destroyed.  So, he bargains with God for forgiveness for the city if God finds 40 righteous people in the whole city.  Then 30.  Then 20.  Then 10.  At this point, Abraham is relieved, because his nephews family is there, and they are more than 10, so the city is safe.  What Abraham doesn't understand is that the city has corrupted his nephew, and there is no one in the city who is obeying God.

There are so many lessons from this.  One, how generous God is with His grace, to forgive an entire city for the sake of 10 people.  Two, how powerful the influences we allow into our lives are.  Lot was completely corrupted by where he lived.  And three, what a role we play when we follow God in a hostile place.  If Lot had been obedient, and led his family well, he could have saved an entire city.

So, three questions for today: 1. Where do you need to see God's grace?  He still offers it freely.  2. Who is influencing you the most?  Is it towards God or away?  What do you need to change in that relationship?  3. Do you really believe how you live can be used by God to save others?  That's His plan, but do you believe it?  Really?

Eliphaz Could Have Thrown Down a Killer Podcast

Reading through Job 35-37 today, it's all about Eliphaz's continuing speech.  I read his version of what is going on with Job, and I'm pretty sure Eliphaz listens to Mark Driscoll's podcasts and considers himself a Young Calvinist.  What I mean is this; there is a large group of the American church who understands God as someone who transacts in sovereignty and justice.  He is a God who chooses whoever He wants, and then gives them whatever He wants.  He loves the pure in heart, and is heavy handed on the rest.  They tend to be very close minded about any other views but their own, and live out of a place of fear.

God is sovereign (totally in control), there is no doubt.  He is a God of justice, for sure.  But He loves all of us equally, and gives all of us an equal chance to serve and love and follow Him.  He extends grace after grace after grace to us, even though none of us deserve it.  He saves us when we call on Him, over and over.  We are all equal before Him, because He is so very, very, very good.

Because of this, we need to be humble in how we approach each other.  It is not our place to judge.  That's one of the big points in Job.  Job did not lose everything because of sin.  Had he sinned?  Sure.  But that wasn't what caused the detonation.  In his case, God wanted to stick it to Satan, and He trusted Job to stay faithful through it.  Nothing more. No one should have been judging Job for what happened.  They were all off.

Obviously, when we sin, it has consequences.  But even when it's obvious, it isn't up to us to judge people for those sins and consequences.  When we love someone, we can talk about the consequences they face without begin judgemental.  We need to walk in humility and speak in grace, just like the Almighty One does with us.

Who have you been judging lately?  What do you need to tell them?

I Wanna Be....Your Sledgehammer!

Today I hit Job 32-34.  It's the story of Eliphaz, this young dude who jumps into the fray with Job and his friends.  He's waited and listened to the older men while they spoke, but then his anger gets the best of him and he lets it fly.  He tells them in no uncertain terms that he too has wisdom, and they need to shut their mouths and listen to him for awhile.  He is strong on judgment and heavy with truth.  He gets a lot of his understanding of God correct.  But, it's incomplete.  You see, that's the back story to the book of Job.  Every one in the story has truth about God, but it's incomplete.  The problem is, Eliphaz speaks his out of anger. 

Truth is not a weapon in our hands to be used on other people.  It's not.  We think it is, but it's not.  The word of God is a sword, but it's to be used against our enemy, Satan.  Not other people.  It's God's job to convict with truth in other people's hearts.  We are to speak truth, and speak it in very tough spots.  We are to speak truth when it isn't convenient, or when someone doesn't want to hear it.  But if we are speaking it as a weapon in our anger, we are probably out of line.  Especially when we tie that anger to our pride.  We're in deep water then.

I have done, and continue to do this, far too much.  God is changing me as the days pass by, but it is taking alot of work on His part, to be sure.  What about you.  Do you believe that if you have truth, that gives you the right to swing it like a hammer when you are angry?  Have you used truth in anger to hurt someone lately?  What do you need to do about it?

Coming in First/Last

What does it mean for Jesus to say "the last will be first and the first will be last"?  No, really, what does that mean?  In Matthew 20 He tells the story of the guy who hires people to work for him, and pays them all the same, even though they all worked different lengths of time.  When people complain, the landowner says "don't complain because I'm generous".  What does this all mean?

How do I complain to God about His fairness and grace?  I think personally when other people who don't love Jesus get away with stuff, I get upset.  When people around me whine, or lie, and I am expected to work harder to cover for them, I get mad.  When I have to do jobs I don't like, and other people don't, I get indignant.  It's because I forget maybe the key part to the story.  God is the landowner.  No one else is.  I work for Him, no matter what "field" I'm in at the time.  I mean, I serve as a dad, husband, son, friend, co-worker, pastor, mentor, professor, etc.  Each of those is a different "field".  But it's all for my Boss, who owns it all. 

When I remember that He is the One in charge of every facet of my life, that He is the One who has put me there, I calm my little self down a bit.  It's all fair in the grand scheme of things, because the Landowner who oversees it all is full of grace.  Don't worry about it.  Keep moving forward.  It will all work out in the end.

We don't fight fair.

Jesus tells a parable about the dude who is forgiven for hundreds of thousands of dollars by a king, and then refuses to forgive someone else a $50 debt. The dude is thrown in prison and loses everything because he was so selfish.

What I noticed today is that Jesus starts the whole deal by explaining that the parable is about the Kingdom of God, and that God will punish us if we are unforgiving. In fact, we will lose everything if we are not willing to forgive others from the heart, it says in verse 35.

Ok, let's all stop for a minute. Do we believe this? Really? I don't live like I do sometimes. I hold a grudge because it's justified. But here's the deal; in the story dude #1 is owed a bill by dude #2. It's a legitimate debt. Dude #1 technically is in the right. This isn't a story about who is right or wrong, or what is fair. It's a story about ridiculous grace, and the blazing expectation by God that we will live reckless lives full of grace and deficient in fairness.

So do we? I like fair, personally. And not just for the deep fried snickers bars. I like it when things are all even-steven, equal across the board. Jesus says dump that, it will land you in Hell. We are a people of grace. Not equality or fairness.

Who needs a heaping dose of undeserved, unmerited forgiveness and grace in your life? Do you have the belief to give it? It's a huge risk if you don't.







(completely unrelated, I noticed this is my 200th post. not sure what that means, but it caught my eye.)

A Prayer for the Day

Jude 1:20-23 (NLT)
²⁰ But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit,
²¹ and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way, you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.
²² And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering.
²³ Rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.

May it be so with me.

What a Beautiful Mess...

Phew!

Yeah, phew!

• Let's see... Middle School retreat at Springhill Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
• Got home at 3 pm
• Started setup for Senior High worship night at 4 pm
• Played in worship band and directed event.
• Got home at 10 pm.
• Ran to Taylor on Monday and taught my first class, but almost showed up late.
• Annie came home from school early sick on Monday.
• Stayed home with Annie on Tuesday.
• Ran a huge game night for middle school on Tuesday night with two hours prep.
• Stayed home on Wednesday.
• Ran to staff meeting and back during the day on Wednesday.
• Now it's Thursday and I'm tired and overwhelmed.

What do I learn from this stuff?

• I still stink at delegation.
• I try to carry too much on my own shoulders.
• I'm not planning ahead as well as I should.
• I overestimate my abilities on a regular basis.

Change is in the air, once again. I must keep learning to get better at this stuff. It's just frustrating, because you'd think I'd be better at it by now.

Here is what God did in the middle of my mess.

• Two boys accepted Christ for the first time over the weekend.
• Several girls made significant decisions.
• The worship night was powerful and enjoyable.
• I got to spend time with Annie and love on her some.
• The game night was a raging success due to my leaders.
• I appreciate my wife, family, and friends so very, very much.

Just gotta keep learning and moving forward. Be faithful; cause God likes to make beautiful things out of our messes. He never gets tired or gives up.

Thank goodness.