FULLY ALIVE!

Your life will be as bright as the noonday sun. Job 11:17

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God-Help

One of my favorite places to wile away literally hours – a good book store.  When I drive past a Barnes & Nobles or a Books A Million, something inside me stirs.  I even get that same feeling in the book section of an Ollie’s.  Ollie’s slogan is “Good Stuff, Cheap,” and it is.  Especially the books!  While other people love navigating the aisles of kitchen gadgets, flipping through the room-sized carpets and rambling through the clothing section, you can find me in the book corner.

I found myself in a book store this weekend.  Nirvana.  My sweetie is the most patient of men, so I literally had as long as I wanted to bask in the smell of new editions.  While the “Religion” section is my favorite (though I honestly dislike that name – Christianity is about Relationship more than Religion, but that’s another blog post perhaps), I also spend time in Magazines, Cook Books and Children’s Books.  But this weekend, the Self-Help section caught my attention.

Self-Help.  Just the name of the section is interesting.  So, I walked the aisle reading some of the titles aloud.  “The Power of Intention:  Co-Create Your World.”  “Real Magic:  Creating Your Own Miracles.”  “The Mindful Way Through Depression:  Freeing Yourself From Chronic Unhappiness.”  Interesting.  Lofty Ideas.  The last title I glanced was the most interesting:  ‘Working on Yourself Doesn’t Work.”  Now, I’ve not read any of these, but the only title I was inclined to agree with was the latter.

Working on yourself doesn’t work.  That’s not what much of society, especially the “self-help” segment would have you believe.  If you just focus, meditate, tap into your true inner self and dig deeper, you will be successful.

Let me suggest you look to the example of Joseph.

Genesis 39 (NIV) opens, “Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.” You know the story – betrayed by his brothers, stripped of his precious coat and sold into slavery.  So he arrives in Egypt – alone, half-naked with only the clothes on his back.

Well, he had one more thing because Genesis 39:2 (NIV) says, “The Lord was with Joseph.”  Continue reading this chapter, and I am confident you will agree with me.  This was all that Joseph needed.  In about five verses Joseph goes from arriving, alone and naked to running the house of Potiphar.

He must have read “How to Attract Wealth, Health, Love and Luck in 10 Easy Steps.”  Or maybe it was “Winning Friends and Influencing People for Your Personal Wealth.”  Probably not.  Rather than meditating, chanting mantras or digging deeper, Joseph looked to God.  He didn’t look within; he looked up.  The Lord was with Joseph.  That means that Joseph was also with the Lord.

And the best news this Monday morning?  The same God that was with Joseph, is with you if you accept Him as your Lord.  The promise He made to Joseph is the promise He makes to you.  “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.”  (Genesis 28:15 NIV)  

He offers you what is needed, God-Help.


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Just Where He Wants You

The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods. When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. (Acts 16:22-24 NASB)

Paul and Silas had not been long in Philippi when they met Lydia, a seller of purple fabrics. (Acts 16:14 NASB) The Lord opened her heart and she and her household were baptized. What a great high Paul and Silas must have experienced. Their ministry here was off to a great start. They headed next to a place of prayer, perhaps to thank God for safe travels, for the Holy Spirit leading them past Phrygian, the Galatian region and Bithynia to Macedonia. Along the way they meet a slave girl with a spirit of divination. What a great opportunity to show God’s power and to share His Gospel! Without missing a beat, Paul says to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. (Acts 16:18 NASB)

How pleasing this must have been to the Lord. His Spirit had led Paul and Silas to this region and they were busy about His work. It seemed they were just where He wanted them to be! How pleased God must have been. How displeased Satan must have been.

But wait a minute. In the very next verse (19) we find Paul and Silas being seized and dragged into the market place before the magistrates. Keep reading and we find them being beaten with rods, thrown into prison and fastened in the stocks. How displeased God must have been.   How pleased Satan must have been. It seems that he now has them just where he wanted them to be.

That’s the thing about looking at situations through earthly eyes.

Lost jobs. Foreclosure. Bankruptcy. Divorce. Death. These all seem like tragic conclusions, ends of the road and final chapters in our eyes. Seems like Satan has us just where he wants us. Confused. Distraught. Alone. Weary. Feeling Forsaken.

“But about midnight,” says the Scriptures, “Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”  And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:25-30 NASB)

Seems like God had them right where He wanted them.

What Satan intended for evil, God used for testing and ultimately for good.

Every day God tests us through people, positions, problems or pain. Our first inclination (and prayer) is to escape the situation or experience. Rather than pray for immediate deliverance, quick relief or escape, determine to understand and do the work that God has for you in the place where He has you.

He knows where you are, and He has you just where He wants you.


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Beyond the Clouds

It rained today.

It rained yesterday.

It rained the day before.

I’m not fond of rain. It messes with my hair. It messes with my shoes. It messes with my mood.

James 1:17a (NASB) says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above…” Amidst this soggy season and my soggy mood, God gave me a good and perfect gift. I saw it while driving in the rain. A blue patch peering out from behind the dark, ominous clouds that loomed above as rain poured down.

Have you ever seen that? Just a little patch of blue peeking out from behind the gray of storm clouds. Though I was hurrying to class, I pulled over and tried to capture photos with the camera on my cell phone. They didn’t come out so great, but the image is forever etched upon my grateful heart – this reminder of God’s great love and that He is always there, just beyond the clouds.

Now the only thing that beats one gift is two gifts!

God gave me a second gift during the afternoon drive home. The sun had come out, so I enjoyed a surprisingly dry and breezy walk to my car. But during the 59-miles journey home I experienced a little sun, then an immediate and heavy downpour, more sun, some dark clouds which changed gradually to fluffy white clouds, then a quick shower and more sun and finally another downpour for the last 5-8 miles. All along my route conditions changed.

So what was the gift? It was this second reminder of God’s faithfulness through the storms of life. Just as I experienced sun, downpour, clouds and showers during my drive, so it is with life. We have sunny seasons, cloudy seasons and seasons of rain. But He does not leave us in one season. We pass through.

He is with us, and He will not leave or forsake us Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV).

A gift for you may be found in Deuteronomy 30:9 (NIV) which promises, though your season may be stormy, He will, again, delight in you.


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A Decision You Can Stand By

I remember being a teacher and wondering why my principal didn’t seem to have common sense. Though I didn’t say anything to anyone, I often wondered. “Why doesn’t he get it?” “Why doesn’t he just do this?” “Can’t he see that he needs to do that?”

I had all the answers.

And then I became a principal. Let me just say that it was much easier being a “behind the scenes” principal and knowing what my principal ought to do than doing it myself. Until you actually walk the halls of a principal you don’t realize how much there is to deal with. Students. Parents. Superintendent. Community. Central Office. And the teachers. And the custodial staff. And the cafeteria staff. And the law. And local board policy. And…

While some decisions are relatively easy, others really require deep thought and consideration. You learn quickly that no decision is made in isolation. Many individuals will be impacted by the simplest of decisions. Many precedents will be set. Be careful what you give a nod to today because tomorrow others will be lining up outside your door with the same or similar requests or other variations. Things can quickly mushroom. And no matter how you answer most questions, someone is unhappy with your response. Soon you come to realize there is no completely satisfactory answer.

Yes, that last statement was a little facetious. A little.

You learn to “do your homework” and get as much information as possible, then you make the best decision you can at the time. You make a decision that you can stand by, and then you move on.

There are many occasions in our lives when there are no completely satisfactory answers.

Have you ever wondered where God was? During a storm like Katrina. During the September 11th attacks. When someone we love dies or, as I learned yesterday, when the mother of a 2nd grader and a 5th grader is killed. Just stepping out of her car. Here one minute. Gone in the next.

Did God take a holiday? Step off the throne for just a moment? Look away? Blink?

In times like this we have no completely satisfactory answer.

But if we “do our homework” and get as much accurate information as possible, then we know that God does not take holidays, step off the throne, look away or blink. In Hebrews 13 He tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. In the words of my pastor, “Never means never.”

Make the best decision you can. Make a decision that you can stand by. Make the decision that even though we, in our humanness, cannot understand suffering we must trust Him, trust His faithfulness, trust His promises and trust His Word.


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TGIF!

“Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret; and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. And He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the people from the boat. When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”  Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing…” (Luke 5:1-5a, NASB)

The last thing fishermen do is wash the nets and pack them up, and that is what Simon and the others were doing. It had been a long night. They had worked hard. And caught nothing!

Are you right there with them? Been a long day? A long week? Are you glad that it’s finally Friday? Feel like washing the nets, packing them up and heading home – or somewhere other than where you are? So did the disciples. But over walks Jesus and tells them to put out into the deep and let their nets down for a catch. Excuse me? Isn’t this omniscient Jesus who already knows that they’ve been at it all night? Doesn’t He see them washing the nets? Surely He understands the routine – washing the nets means we are quitting?

Yep, that’s Jesus. He waits until we get to the end – not of the rope, but of ourselves. Because as long as we believe that we are in control and that we can handle things, we don’t look to Him. We don’t listen to Him. We don’t seek Him. We don’t follow Him.

Let’s look back at the Scriptures. Luke 5:5-6 (NASB) says, “Simon answered and said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets.” When they had done this, they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break.” How did the disciples go from packing the nets to breaking the nets with a heavy catch? Immediate surrender (of their own thinking), immediate acknowledgement (of the command) and immediate obedience (to Jesus). Jesus said, “Put out…and let down your nets.” Simon said, “I will do as You say.”

If things don’t seem to be working for you, perhaps it’s past time for you to surrender your thinking and look to Jesus. One more thing – look ahead at Verse 11 of this same text. “When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.”

TGIF! Thank Goodness I Follow!


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Attention Deficit Disorder

You’ve probably heard or read this old joke.  I just found it in my email from 2004.  (Yes, I have archived email from 2004…and before that, too!)

“Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. – Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

 This is how it manifests:  I decide to wash my car. As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can under the table, and notice that the trash can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.  But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.  I take my checkbook off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

 My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the can of Coke that I had been drinking. I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. I see that the Coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the coke a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need to be watered.  I set the Coke down on the counter, and I discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.

I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn’t washed, the bills aren’t paid, there is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter, the flowers aren’t watered, there is still only one check in my checkbook, I can’t find the remote, I can’t find my glasses, and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.

Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I’m really tired.  I realize this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail.”

This semester I am teaching two undergraduate courses in Special Education.  On the first day of class my 46 students and I engaged in some lively dialogue about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).  I asked them to please tell me who does not have ADD?  They laughed as we launched into deeper dialogue about the differences and challenges that we all have, but beyond that dialogue I have continued to think about ADD – Spiritual ADD that is.

You’ve experienced it.  (I refuse to believe that I am the only one.)  You know how it goes.  While praying your mind wanders to the children, the dry cleaning, fixing dinner.  While listening to the minister on Sunday you begin to doodle a grocery list or a “to do” list in the corner of the bulletin.  While reading your Seminary homework sleep overtakes you and you weren’t even sleepy when you began reading. (Yikes, I slipped a confession in there with that last one.)

Peter experienced ADD.  He left the boat to join Jesus as He walked on water.  As long as he kept his focus on Christ, he was fine.  The very moment he became distracted, looked away, took his eyes off Jesus – he began to sink.  And that is what happens to us.  We become distracted, turn our focus away from God and we sink.

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus.”  The Amplified translation of this Scripture says “look away from all that will distract” and “look to Jesus.”  Easier said than done?  Certainly.  But we must be intentional in our walk, our service and our relationship with Christ.  Identify your distractors and rather than a pill, endeavor to take captive every thought and cease every action that is not of the Lord.  Determine to maintain focus during prayer, worship and life.

At the end of the day you still may not know where your keys are, but you will know where YOU are – centered in the will and plan of God!


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Risk or Trivial Pursuit?

Forrest Gump said life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.

Actually we apply a lot of metaphors to this journey called life. Oops, there was one right there! Perhaps you’ve compared life to riding an elevator. It has a lot of ups and downs and someone is always pushing your buttons. Sometimes you get the shaft, but what really gets you are the jerks. Or maybe for you, life is like cooking. It all depends on what you add and how you mix it. Sometimes you follow the recipe; at other times you just throw something together. Or maybe one of these best suits you:

Life is like a novel. You are the author and every day is a new page.

Life is like photography. We develop from negatives.

Life is like money. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.

Life is like an onion. You peel off layer after layer and sometimes you weep.

Life is like a pencil. Sometimes you are sharpened. Sometimes you correct your mistakes. Always you leave a mark.

I think life is often like a game or at least that is how we play it. Something like Trivial Pursuit. We drift from day to day without a plan and without purpose, and we focus a lot of energy on things that don’t really matter. Like what we wear. Or what we drive. Or where we live. And what people say about us. All of these are trivial. Our focus should be what is important to God – what matters to Him.

Consider Psalm 50:7-15 (MSG), Scripture that you likely don’t read every day:

“Are you listening, dear people? I’m getting ready to speak; Israel, I’m about ready to bring you to trial. This is God, your God, speaking to you. I don’t find fault with your acts of worship, the frequent burnt sacrifices you offer. But why should I want your blue-ribbon bull,  or more and more goats from your herds? Every creature in the forest is mine,  the wild animals on all the mountains. I know every mountain bird by name; the scampering field mice are my friends. If I get hungry, do you think I’d tell you?  All creation and its bounty are mine. Do you think I feast on venison? or drink draughts of goats’ blood? Spread for me a banquet of praise,  serve High God a feast of kept promises, And call for help when you’re in trouble—  I’ll help you, and you’ll honor me.”

Did you get it?

He said, “This is God. I’m telling you what matters to me, and it’s not your religion, and show and rules even though you are following the laws and traditions of sacrifice.” For us today He might say, “I could care less about your fancy sanctuaries and what you wear to church and all those programs you have and rules you have made up. All of that is trivial.”

What God wants is faithfulness, obedience, full trust in Him, kept promises and praise, lots of praise, genuine praise, a “banquet of praise.”

Are you serious? Doesn’t God realize that we need those rules and procedures, rituals and hierarchies?

No, He doesn’t.

He wants you, challenges you, calls for you to step away from all of that and to risk simply loving, following and praising Him. And not just on Sunday. Every day. Every moment. He wants you to love Him with “all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind…” (Luke 10:27, NIV)

I think He’d rather you play a game of Risk instead of Trivial Pursuit.

Your move.


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Unpack Those Bags

My pastor tells members of missions teams to pack their suitcases then take half of what they packed out! Good advice. But easier said than done.

How do you choose what to take out? That shirt? Those shoes? The towels? It all seems so important. Good boy and girl scouts are always prepared. You never know what will happen on one of these trips, so you try to plan for every scenario imaginable. And the good news is that if there is an emergency, you are prepared. The bad news? Navigating with that luggage!

Three experiences come readily to mind.

During the first, my luggage exceeded the maximum allowable weight. There I was with my things sprawled across the airport floor trying to shuffle, rearrange and part with (as in throw into the trash) my stuff. Some I was able to tuck into someone else’s luggage, but some simply had to be tossed. If only I’d left it at home.

During the second experience, my strap broke AND a wheel came off – all because my luggage was over-stuffed. It was a nightmare for me to carry it and a burden for team members to help me. After all, they had their own luggage.

And my third experience was similarly embarrassing and stressful. The team was literally running from one gate to another because we had mere minutes to catch a connecting flight. The team was running, and I was struggling, fumbling, dragging, dropping and stumbling because my luggage was simply too heavy. If only I hadn’t brought so much. I was miserable.

And that’s how it is when we carry excessive emotional baggage. It weighs us down. It keeps us from navigating freely. It causes us to struggle, fumble, drag and stumble. Romans 8:1-2 (NIV) teaches, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.”

If you are carrying heavy baggage, it’s time to unpack. Don’t shuffle it around or try to rearrange it. Toss it. Let it go.


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Traveling Light

Indulge me, I’m going to stick with this traveling, packing, suitcase thing that I started in the last post.  And I’m going to try to make it short and to the point. (I’ve been getting a little long in these posts – sorry!)

For about the past 10 years I’ve engaged much more actively in missions abroad.  I remember well, still, my first trip.  I started packing months before our departure.  I packed on paper (which I still do for most trips) before I packed my actual luggage.  I had a luggage scale at home, so I was constantly weighing my luggage.  Too heavy. Take something out.  Weigh it again. Take something else out.  I must have repeated this cycle a gazillion times.

There was NOTHING that I felt that I could take out.  Look, I was going to some strange land.  I needed to be prepared for every possible situation.  I was thinking (and I was right) there will be no convenient mart, drugstore or fast food joint around the corner in case I need something.  If you don’t have it in your suitcase, you do without, and I didn’t want to do without.  Definitely packed some Nabs! (Did you figure out what Nabs are from my last post?)

My pastor always advised us to pack then take half of the stuff out.  Then, on one trip, a roommate shared a tip that I have followed to this day when traveling abroad.  Pack old clothes!  Take old linens.  Wear old underwear.  Yes, wear it and throw it away.  Use it and toss it.  Two things happen.  Your suitcase gets lighter and lighter (so you can bring home lots of new stuff and souvenirs without exceeding your luggage weight limit) and your dresser drawers and closets at home get cleaned out!

We have a lot of stuff in our life suitcases that we need to just toss.

Hebrews 12:1-3 (ESV) refers to the baggage or weight we need to lay aside.  I believe there are two categories of baggage here – past experiences and personal sin. 

Past Experiences include things like guilt, defeatist attitudes, feelings of rejection, fears of failure and poor self-image.  These are attitudes and feelings that weigh us down and keep us from being our personal best.  They are not from God!

Personal Sin is sin that is very specific to individuals, and we all have experienced the weight of our weaknesses and struggles such as unforgiveness, jealous spirits, pride, greed, lust, anger or bitterness.

Both, our past experiences and our personal sin, can drain our energy, slow our pace and cause us to stumble.  They are the equivalent of trying to carry extra luggage without wheels and those wonderful straps that connect several pieces together!  We become distracted from our purpose and focused on trying to maneuver with all that baggage.

Hebrews instructs us to “lay aside every weight, and sin” so that we can run. (Picture OJ running through the airport.  Oh my.  Did I just reveal my age with that reference?!)

The bottom line – WE DON’T HAVE TO CARRY OUR BAGGAGE!  Think how you feel when you drag your luggage to the airport, across the parking lot and into the terminal.  Then you finally check it, and you are free from struggling with it and stressing about it.  It is especially wonderful when you are able to check it through to your final destination.  You walk about freely through the terminal shopping, eating, etc.  You travel “light.”  God would have us “check” our past experiences and sin laying them at His feet so that we may navigate freely enjoying the abundant life that He offers us.  And unlike the airport, He will never give your luggage back to you all ripped and ragged and dirty. (I could really write some posts about that!)  He will carry it forever!

Can you say, “Check it straight through, please?”