Friday, September 28, 2018

Can We Make A Deal?

“W
hat’s behind door number one?”  That question and the familiar voice emanating from the big console television in our den told me that one of my favorite game shows was playing.  For years, “Let’s Make A Deal”, starring Monty Hall, dominated the air waves.  I loved to watch it as a kid, just to see how people would react to pressure and the ever increasing temptation to let go of a sure thing for something uncertain.
At times I found myself hoping they would make the deal, especially if all they were holding was a box of chocolates while there before them was a curtain or a door.  Now that door could have been hiding a car, or an old mule.  The box could have contained chocolates or several hundred dollars rolled up inside.  The point was to get the contestant to trade or keep what they had in hand.  Sometimes refusing to trade was a good thing and sometimes not trading was the worst mistake any one could make.
In addition to some of the zany deals Monty offered were the zany costumes of the contestants.  In order to get noticed, people disguised themselves and masqueraded as fairy tale characters, professionals, and all manner of odds and ends.  The more outlandish the disguise, the more ingenious the costume, and the more clever the ruse, the more likely it was that a contestant would be chosen to play the game.  At that point, they would embark on a series of deals leading up to the ultimate deal of the evening in which three contestants were asked to give away their prizes in hopes of getting something in return.
Sounds sort of like the Christian life at times, doesn't it?  We find it so difficult to take God at his word and to trust that he has our best interest at heart.  When he is dealing with us, when he wants to work in our lives, we have a hard time letting go of our present circumstances in order to accept something else from his hand.  We aren't sure that what he has is better than what
we currently hold in our hand.  We know in our heads that God loves us, but in our hearts, we don’t really trust him.  We believe it would be so much better if he dealt with us on our terms instead of us dealing on his.
This last picture is nowhere more evident than in the life of Abraham.  Yes, Abraham!  The great patriarch of faith found himself in a situation where he tried to bargain with God.  Although God had promised Abraham a son, Sarah remained barren.  She thought that she could have children through her servant Hagar, and Abraham’s first son, Ishmael was born.   But this was not God’s plan.
When Abraham was 99 years old, just one year before Isaac’s birth, he made the following statement from Genesis 17:18 to God: "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"  In other words, Abraham was saying“Can we make a deal, here?  Can’t Ishmael fulfill your promise?  Can’t it be some other way?”  God’s answer was a resounding “No!”  God’s promise was that Abraham would have a son with Sarah and he would be the child of the promise.  There would be no ifs, ands, buts, or deals about it!
Can you identify with Abraham today?  Do you find it so very hard to let go of what you have in order to accept something else from God?  If so, then I fully understand where you are!  But the fundamental truth is this, God has plans for us, plans we can’t even imagine.  The things he wants us to have are so far superior to anything we possess that we would be foolish to miss out on an opportunity such as this.  But God will not force us to accept anything from him.  Instead, he wants us to trust him, to come to the realization that he only offers his best to us.
Can we make a deal with God?  Not hardly!  And if we did, could we hold up our end of the bargain?  Think about it!!

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

The Great Explorers

W
hen I was a small boy, I wanted to know everything.  I plagued my dad with questions about anything and everything I could think of. To this day, he still jokes with me about the questions I asked him.  It seems my favorite question was, "Why daddy?"  I wanted to know everything from why the sky was blue to the reason you couldn't see the wind.  And, to his credit, he attempted to answer my questions.  I was rarely satisfied with the answers he gave, especially when he said, "I don't know!"

Although I wasn't overly mischievous, I did enjoy exploring things and gaining first-hand knowledge of the world around me.  Like any normal boy, I did what I wasn't supposed to do, I went where I had been told not to go, and conveniently forgot certain things my mom and dad told me to do or not to do.  My desire to know took me on little jaunts, never too far away, but far enough away to appease my sense of adventure.

Behind our house, there used to be a drainage ditch.  It wasn't large by any means and was easily crossed with a single leap.  As kids, we never took notice of the ditch until after a good downpour of rain.  The ditch then became a roaring, torrential river, much like the Amazon.  As the rainwater from the local drainage pipes filled the ditch, it became alluring.  All the guys in the neighborhood would go home, find some old boots or goulashes, and we would change into old clothes.  Then we ventured forth to "explore" the ditch.  Although there was nothing to explore but dirty water, we were convinced we would find something of important value and set diligently about the task of finding it.

We walked for several minutes, facing torrential waterfalls, forging impossible rapids, determined to accomplish our task in the face of these overwhelming odds.  Sounds romantic doesn't it?  However, the results were far from attractive.  We had wet feet, wet cloths, and we were covered with enough slime and mud to effectively clog any washing machine drain.  When we arrived home from conquering the world, mom refused to let us into the house.  We had to strip off outside before we came inside.  The clothes, the boots, and the dirt were left outside.  The results of our great adventure prevented us from coming home and entering mom's clean house.  We had to remove all the dirt and grime before we could enter.

Does this sound vaguely familiar?  As kids we all did things and went places we shouldn't have.  However, as adults, we still do the same, especially in our walk with God.  As humans, we are constantly searching for things to satisfy our curiosity.  We want to know all that we can and sometimes that desire to know takes us into some dirty and smelly places.  Our sense of adventure causes us to wander away from God, to put on old clothes, old shoes, and go exploring in the ditches of the world.  We are so convinced we will find things of importance and things of significance that we joyfully abandon the comfort of home to go wade in a smelly, grimy, and filthy ditch.

At first, it is fun and exciting.  We see things we hadn't noticed before and we want to continue.  Finally, we realize we have wondered away from home, that there is nothing in the ditch worth searching for.  We are tired, cold, wet, smelly, and dirty.  Our condition has changed and we no longer look as we did when we were back home with mom and dad.  Jesus described this perfectly when he quoted a passage of scripture from the prophet Isaiah.  Matthew 15:7 records Jesus' words for us, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me."

Although Jesus is addressing the Pharisees in particular, his words apply to all of us in general. These people, while paying tribute to God with their mouths, were wandering away from Him in their hearts.  Their words did not match their actions.  They had gone exploring in the ditches of tradition, religion, politics, power, and greed.  These ditches still exist today, along with many others, and are attractive to all of us.  However, we need to understand that they offer us nothing more than the opportunity to grow smelly and dirty.

We can always come back home, that's the good news!  The door is still open to us and our Father is ready to welcome us.  However, we must rid ourselves of the grime and filth found in the world's ditches.  We cannot enter His presence smelly and dirty.  We have to remove everything, all the dirt, all the grime, and all the filth before we come into His presence.  When we do this, we get new clothes, good food, a warm home, and a loving hug from God.  No ditch, no matter how inviting, is any substitute for that!

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Yes, We've Got Milk

W
hen I was a little boy, I loved to play with boxes.  Sometimes daddy would let us have some of the big cardboard boxes that were destined for the trash dump.  We’d be so excited at the prospects of what those large boxes would become.  The other kids from the neighborhood would come over and we would build houses, forts, ships, and secret hideouts complete with a secret escape door in the back.  This usually meant the entire back end of the box was out but we pretended it was a well fortified and impenetrable wall through which only we could escape.

There were also other boxes I had in my room.  There were shoe boxes filled with all kinds of “important” stuff.  My mom didn’t have the same understanding of important as I did and occasionally she made me clean out those boxes and throw them away.  I did exactly as she instructed and then I started over with a new box.  I had them tucked away under my bed, piled in the bottom of my closet, and stuffed in the drawers of our desk.  There were things like string, important buttons, erasers with no pencils attached, coins, gum wrappers, and the ever-present collection of rubber bands.

There was one other box that played a very important role in my childhood.  This was a very special box and it had a prominent place at our house.  The box was made of metal and it sat on our front porch.  Most of the time this box stood empty and we paid little attention to it.  Once a week, however, something magical happened to that box.  My mom would step out onto the porch, open the box, put her hand inside, and draw out a carton of milk!  It was amazing!  I can still remember walking to that box, pulling the lid back, and looking inside at the tall, cold carton of fresh milk.

The milkman always came on the same day of the week and he delivered milk in all kinds of weather.  Even when we weren’t home, even if no one greeted him at the porch, and if no one was watching, the milk man delivered his precious cargo right on schedule.  I can still hear my mother asking me to check and see if the milk man had come.  I would dash to the front porch, tear open the box, pull out the milk carton, and triumphantly announce as I entered the house, “Yes, we’ve got milk!”

As I think back on our milkman and the days of my childhood one thought comes to mind—faithfulness!  We could always count on the milkman to deliver milk when we needed it.  We never worried he would miss his rounds and we never went without fresh milk.  1 Samuel 26:23 reminds us of the importance God places on our faithfulness.  “The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness.”

In this passage, David is speaking to King Saul.  Saul has been pursuing David with the intention of killing him.  On at least two occasions, David has the opportunity to take Saul’s life but refuses to because Saul is the Lord’s anointed king.  David remains faithful to God by revering and respecting God’s chosen leader.  David does this with the full knowledge that God has selected him to be king after Saul.

This is the very picture of faithfulness.  We are to be about the work God has called us to and we are to honor his word and obey his commands even when the circumstances of life indicate everything is against us.  David had been anointed king and he found himself running for his life, living in caves, and hiding in the wilderness.  Although circumstances seemed to be contrary to God’s promises, David continued to believe the Lord and to obey and honor his word.

God is faithful to us at all times.  He always keeps his promises to us and he never abandons us to fend for ourselves.  But God also wants us to be faithful to him.  That is the essence of this passage from 1 Samuel.  God will reward us according to our faithfulness to him.  If we cling to him, if we obey him, if we place our trust in him, and if we walk with him daily, we will reap the rewards of a deep and abiding relationship with him.

One last thought about that milk box.  The milkman was faithful to deliver the milk each week. However, if we weren’t faithful in removing it from the box, we had no one to blame for spoiled milk but ourselves!  God has more than enough milk for his children.  Are you visiting his milk box on a regular basis? 

Monday, September 24, 2018

Spell Check

I
t happens every time I sit down to write on the computer.  I’ll be typing along; minding my own business, and suddenly little red lines will appear underneath several words, indicating they have been misspelled.  This drives me bonkers and the more I try to avoid misspelled words, the more of them I type.  Although my intentions are good, I simply cannot avoid the fact that before I complete this Tidbit, I will have stopped several times to correct my typographical errors.

Of course there are also the times when I spell a word correctly but the word itself is completely wrong.  All of you are very kind to overlook my errors but I do appreciate it when you bring them to my attention.  Many times I have emailed a Tidbit only to discover a misspelled word or a misused one.  When I come across them or when they are pointed out to me, a deep groan wells up within me and I thoroughly regret having committed such a blunder.

There is, however, a positive side to the spellchecker on my word processor.  It constantly brings my shortcomings to the fore and makes me aware of the numerous mistakes I make when I write.  Were it not for this feature, I would make many more errors and my writing would be completely riveted with all types of blunders.  The role of the spellchecker is to locate my mistakes, no matter how small, and to bring them to my attention so I can correct them.

It shouldn’t surprise us to learn that the idea of the spellchecker goes all the way back to the time of Christ.  Jesus often spoke of our mistakes and how God’s love is so complete and so pure that he will not allow any flaw or any sin to blemish our character.  God means to bring into the open anything that prevents us from conforming perfectly to the image of Jesus so that we will bring glory and honor to Him.

Luke 12:2 demonstrates this great truth, “But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.”  There are two distinct sides to this passage of scripture.  We can find both a word of warning and a word of encouragement in these words from our Lord.  As a warning, Jesus states categorically that everything we do will one day be brought to light.  That is, all our actions, our motives, our feelings, and our intentions will all be revealed.  God is not as interested in what we do as he is in the spirit in which we do it.  Performing noble and worthwhile deeds is meaningless if the motives of our heart are anything less than pure.

However, this passage also serves as a great encouragement to the Christian.  Seen in its positive light, this passage tells us that God is constantly watching over us, supervising our actions, motives, thoughts, and deeds to point out the areas where we make mistakes.  Spending time in His word reveals the areas in our lives which need attention.  These areas are the ones constantly underlined and highlighted as we write the story of our daily lives. As soon as we do something wrong, God’s word brings it to our attention so we can correct it.

As with the spell check feature on a word processor, we do have a choice.  We can both acknowledge the error and correct it or we can choose to ignore it with the intent of “fixing” it later.   Unfortunately, once we choose to ignore the warning, seldom, if ever, do we actually go back and change our mistake. The result is a document full of typos and misspelled words and those errors cause distractions for those reading our writing.

Are you heeding or ignoring God’s spell check of your life today?  Do you see the areas that are underlined, indicating things you need to correct and work on?  Are you taking the time to address these areas of difficulty or are you ignoring the warning, thinking of attending to them later?  Remember, God brings the areas of our lives into light so we can become more like his son.  Won’t you let God run your life through his spell checker today?

Friday, September 21, 2018

Rest, Two, Three, Four

A
 few Christmases ago, a good friend gave me a collection on CD of Beethoven's symphonies.  They have been good companions while studying, writing, or just relaxing and reflecting.  Of course, I have my favorite symphony, the fifth.   The opening of this symphony is unmistakable and once heard, becomes unforgettable.

The entire symphony is built upon just two notes with the rest of the music exploring the various themes that Beethoven creates from them.  However, it is not so much the notes you hear that make the opening of the fifth symphony so remarkable, it is also the notes you don't hear that also make it memorable.  The opening goes like this: Ta, Ta, Ta, Dah, REST, Ta, Ta, Ta, Dah, REST.  It is those rests that grab our attention because they prepare us for what is to follow.

Rest is so important!  When I was taking piano lessons, the idea of the rest was very hard for me.  I didn't want to stop playing, I wanted to barrel on through and play all the notes until I finished the piece.  However, when I skipped or ignored the rests, the music didn't come out right.  It didn't sound as pretty or as wonderful as the composer intended.  All notes were there but they weren't played correctly and I ended up starting over until I learned to play it exactly as it was written, rests and all.

Life is a lot like this, isn't it?  We are constantly up and doing something.  We believe that every moment of every day must be filled or it is wasted.  This is especially true for Christians.  From the time we wake until the time we sleep, we feel we must be busy doing anything and everything we can think of for God.  We decide to spend so much time in prayer, so much time in volunteering, and so much time studying the Bible.  We are so "busy spiritually” that we need a secretary and a day planner just to ensure we meet all the "spiritual" appointments we have set for ourselves.  And, heaven forbid we arrive at the end of our day without completing all the "spiritual" tasks we have set for ourselves.

God looks at this, at the music of our lives, and says, "We need to put some rests in here.  This music is too busy, too fast, and too noisy!"  Have you ever stopped to think that your life is a piece of music?  Have you ever stopped to consider what your life would sound like if played on an instrument?  Mine would be one continuous run of notes, with no breaks and no slow downs at all.  It wouldn't sound very pretty and, quite frankly, I don't know that I would enjoy listening to all of it.

Jesus talked about rest.  He knew that rest was important because rest prepares us for what is to come.  It is during rest that we rejuvenate our minds, it is during rest that our bodies become stronger, and it is in during rest that our souls can communicate with God.  Looking around him, Jesus knew that people were tired, that they were weary, and that they were looking in the wrong place for rest.  That is why in Matthew 11:28, he talks about rest: Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

The next time you are listening to Beethoven's fifth, or any other piece of music, pay attention to the notes that are not there.  Listen for and learn to appreciate the rests in the music.  They serve a very important purpose.  Now, apply that to your own life.  Is it too busy?  Are you running through all the notes without taking a pause?  Does your life sound out of tune, too noisy, and too rushed?  You are probably ignoring the rests God has placed there.  He is the great composer and knows how the music should sound.  Let's learn to play it just as he has written it.  I believe we'll find it sounds perfect every time it's played.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Roll Up Your Sleeve

O
ne of the fun things about being a high school teacher is the variety of duties you are asked to perform in addition to teaching in the classroom.  In the contract, this is affectionately referred to as the “catch all” phrase.  Essentially it says that the teacher will perform all other duties assigned by the principal or other administrative personnel.  Essentially, you are legally bound to sponsor clubs, coach sports teams, attend all types of meetings, and sit on several different committees.

I fulfilled several of these roles during my years as a high school instructor.  However, one of my favorite duties was the annual blood drive held at our school.  It took several days of planning to make sure this was done correctly.  The library or the gym had to be reserved, the local blood center had to be contacted for an appointment, and the local papers and radio stations had to be provided with all the pertinent information.

People came from miles around, voluntarily rolling up their sleeves, pumping a pint, and then resuming their normal activities.  We always had a large turnout and consistently collected between 90 and 120 pints of blood each year.  The people of that community were generous givers and looked forward to the bloodmobile’s arrival at our school.

Several years ago, our church sponsored a blood drive.  Our pastor set the example by rolling up his sleeve early in the morning and pumping a pint.  He encouraged all those at our early service to do the same and he also requested those in the late service to stop by the mobile collection center on their way home.  He told us that one pint of blood could be used to help as many as six people.

Now, stop and think about that for one minute.  If you’ve ever been in the hospital and needed blood, you were only able to receive a transfusion because someone voluntarily gave a pint.  Blood cannot be manufactured and it doesn’t appear out of thin air.  No!  It must be given by a volunteer so that others may live.  This fluid that courses through our veins and arteries is so important.  Without it, there would be no life, only death.

This truth was not lost on the people of Israel.  Their entire law centered on the concept of sacrifice.  Sacrifices were performed for various aspects of life.  There were sacrifices for births, for thanksgiving, and for forgiveness.  On the Day of Atonement, known as Yom Kipuur in Hebrew, a sacrifice was made for all the people to cover their sins.  Nothing short of the blood of a spotless animal would fulfill God’s requirements.  His command was very clear about the use of blood for this ritual.  The people were not to eat meat with blood in it nor were they to drink blood.  Blood represented a life that had been poured out sacrificially to purify their sins.

Leviticus 17:11 gives us God’s command concerning the role of blood: “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.”  Look at the importance God himself places on blood.  It is to be used to make atonement, to bring the people back into a right relationship with God.  In order for this blood to be used, an animal had to die, to be sacrificed, and to give of itself so that others could live.

All of this prefigured the coming of Jesus and his sacrificial work on Calvary’s cross.  Christ is the perfect lamb of God, without spot or blemish.  He sacrificed himself, spilled his blood, so that we could have eternal life.  God says there is life in the blood, and only in it.  It is the blood that makes atonement possible.  The sacrificial system in the Old Testament had to be repeated yearly.  The blood of an animal only covered sin; it did not destroy it or remove it from the people.  No animal’s blood could do that.  Instead, God sent his son, innocent and perfect, to give his blood for us.  Through his death, through his gift, through his blood, God made a way for us to be forever freed from sin and its hold over us.  The blood of Jesus does not cover our sin; it cleanses us from all sin.

Each time someone donates blood, pain is involved.  There is momentary discomfort while the blood is being donated.  However, after the pint is collected, the donor is free to leave and resume normal activity.  Yet, when Jesus gave his blood, great pain was involved.  Not only physical pain, but spiritual and emotional pain was part of the process.  In addition, Jesus didn’t give just a pint of blood, he gave all he had.

This is always God’s way.  God always gives his best to us and for us.  When mankind needed a blood transfusion to save him, there were no flyers, no advertisements, no phone calls, and no one begging for donors.  Instead, God rolled up his sleeve and willingly gave his own blood, all of it, so that we might have life.  There is life in the blood.  Won’t you roll up your sleeve and receive your transfusion today?

Let's Go Shopping

S
aturday afternoon I embarked on that great American adventure known as a visit to the local supermarket!  Yep!  I went in with all the prowess of a professional hunter, determined not to come out until I had a kill!  With my list in one hand and my checkbook in the other, I moved quickly forward, confident in my ability to return with a successful catch.

Now, a visit to the grocery store isn't this romantic.  Very few of us anticipate entering the store with the expectations of a big game hunter. It requires very little knowledge or skill to approach the meat aisle and simply select meat that has already been killed, dressed, and packaged.  It isn't very challenging to reach up on the shelf to find a can of soup.  The real problem is in choosing which can of soup you want.  Every aisle is simply chock full of items from which we may choose.  The supply of foods is endless it seems and every row holds something new for us to consider.

As I perused each aisle, I was able to find all the items on my list.  My cart slowly filled with the items I needed and soon it was time to leave the store.  Before I left home, my list looked incredibly long.  I wasn't sure if I could find all the items nor if there would be enough room at home to accommodate them all.  But in the checkout lane, the number of items I selected paled in comparison to the entire stock of the grocery store.  My worries about not finding certain items were simply unwarranted.  Even if I had wanted to, it would have been impossible for me to exhaust the supply of groceries housed in this store.  There was simply more there than I could ever hope to use.

The Apostle Paul would have understood my amazement at the enormous supply of the grocery store compared with my small needs.  In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses the sufficiency and overabundance of God's provision for his people.  In 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul writes, "And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 

Today in the grocery store, Paul's point hit home.  The items in my cart were as nothing compared with the overall inventory of the store.  I purchased one can of soup, and I left several hundred there.  I purchased one loaf of bread, leaving countless others on the shelf.  In no way did my small purchase drastically diminish the store's supply.

This is what God is like!  No, I'm not suggesting that God is a great big grocery store where we shop at our leisure.  But I am stating that God does supply all our needs and our needs in no way even remotely begin to tap his resources.  When we come to him in prayer and present him with the list of our needs, he never says "Let me check to see if I have that in stock!"  His supply of love is endless, his grace is boundless, his mercy cannot be measured, and his understanding cannot be fathomed.  He is ever ready to hear our requests and he openly invites us to come to him and boldly make our desires known.

When we obey him, he opens to us all his riches, and his riches are in Jesus Christ.  At anytime, day or night, in any location, we may come to God and present our lists. We can get our carts filled, confident in the knowledge that when we our needs arise once more, he will be more than able to fulfill them over and over and over again.  So, today if you are in need of experiencing more of God's love, if you feel the need for more of God's grace, if you are longing for a deeper relationship with him, or if you desire a more profound knowledge of your Heavenly Father, all you have to do is go shopping! Everything is always in stock!.

Monday, September 17, 2018

Six Hours Ahead

I
 have always been a clock-watcher.  No matter where I am, no matter the circumstance, at least once during a conversation, a class, or a presentation of some kind, I will look at the clock just to get my chronological bearings.  My students are very used to this by now.  The first thing I do in class is place my watch on the table where I can see it and the last thing I do is check it before dismissing them.  In between, I glance at it several times just to make sure I’m on track and on the pace I’ve set for the class.

When I lived and studied in France for the first time, I became even more sensitive to the time both in France and back home in the United States.  I had a digital watch that displayed two different time zones so I always knew what everyone was doing back home.  While I was eating breakfast, they were sleeping.  When lunchtime came, they were just getting out of bed and as I lay down to sleep, they were sitting down to the dinner table.  We lived in the same moment of time, but we measured it differently.  No matter the day or the situation, while in France I was always 6 hours ahead of my family and friends at home.

This proved to be particularly important because my mom and dad would call on Saturdays around lunchtime.  For them, it was 6 a.m. but for me it was high noon.  It took me a while to grow accustomed to my parents telling me good morning when it was clearly afternoon where I was.  Eventually, however, I adjusted to the change and could go about my business without worrying too much as to what time it was half a world away.  I knew that if I needed my parents, I could call them, I just had to be sensitive to their time zone.

The writer of Psalm 46, however, didn’t worry about time zones.  He understood that God doesn’t carry a watch and that time is meaningless from His perspective.  We live in time, God lives outside of it.  For us the clock is always moving forward and for our Heavenly Father it is always now.  This idea is reflected in the opening verse of this psalm.  In Psalm 46:1, the writer tells us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Two words in this verse leap off the page at me, “trouble” and “ever-present.”  First, let’s consider this notion of trouble.  We usually understand this word to mean something bad has happened in our lives.  However, trouble can also mean we are in a difficult place, facing challenging circumstances.  For example, we may experience a difficult illness, we may find ourselves with an emotional crisis we didn’t see coming, or we may be backed into a corner where we must learn to trust God with our situation.  None of these situations is a result of something we did; it’s just that life happens while we are living it.

This is where the word, “ever-present” comes into play.  God is always with us.  He constantly knows all that we are facing.  His eyes and ears are always attentive, always alert to His children, always aware of their situations and needs.  While the Scriptures tell us God knows the beginning from the end and the end from the beginning and that He is all-knowing, they reassure us that God does not leave us and is not six hours away from us.  No, He is very near, as close as our heartbeat.  Whatever the circumstances are, whatever the situation, God is always present, ready to help us in our time of need, caring for us and doing for us those things we cannot do for ourselves.

What time is it where you are today?  Rest assured that no matter what the clock on the wall or the watch on your wrist says, God’s clock always reads right now!

Friday, September 14, 2018

How Do I Get There, Daddy?

M
y dad has one of the best senses of direction of anyone I know.  No matter the destination, no matter if he’s been there or not, he isn’t at all intimidated by driving across unfamiliar territory or blazing a path into the unknown.  This is one aspect of his character that drives my mom crazy!  Daddy never returns by the same route that he took to arrive at a destination.  So, as you can imagine, this has led to some very interesting trips in the family car.

Several years ago, I flew to Detroit, Michigan to purchase a car from a friend I met at seminary here, in Fort Worth.  Getting to Detroit was not at all difficult; the pilot did all the work.  I wasn’t concerned about which direction the plane needed to take to arrive in Michigan.  Once on the ground, however, it was a completely different story.

Fortunately for me, daddy was on the job. In fact, he had been on it for several days, studying maps, plotting out the most direct and the safest route for me to take. All I had to do was ask a simple question, “How do I get there daddy?’ and he did the rest.  I have a good sense of direction and I know how to read a map.  What I lack, however, is the years of driving experience my dad possess and whenever I travel, especially to unfamiliar places, I defer to a higher level of expertise.  Daddy possesses that expertise and he has never steered me wrong yet. 

From Detroit, he laid out a way home that was both enjoyable and low key.  He knew that driving a different car would be stressful and driving a manual transmission after having been accustomed to an automatic one, would require a greater level of concentration and attention.  He plotted a way home whereby I made good time but covered roads that were not heavily traveled.

The writer of the book of Proverbs understood what it was like to defer to a higher authority for directions.  Instead of a road across the country, he needed directions for his life.  In lieu of asking his earthly father for these instructions, he took his request directly to God, himself.  The writer preserved this wonderful piece of advice for us in Proverbs 16:9, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” 

Please take a very close look at this passage.  In the first half of the verse, we are reminded that we can, and do, make decisions in life.  The writer says that in our hearts, which is in our inmost being, we determine what path we want to take.  We submit our plans to God and then allow him to work out the details of that plan.  The Scriptures are filled with examples of this.   Consider Abraham who wanted a son and God worked out the miraculous birth of Isaac. And how about Solomon who asked for wisdom and received much more because he submitted his life to God’s plan?

God cares very much about us and about the choices we make.  He alone knows what path we must take to fulfill the purpose he has for us.  God directs our steps and we must follow. Sometimes these paths take us into places we have never been before, but God goes on ahead of us.  At other times, the path grows steep and hard to travel, but God gives us the strength to persevere.  God knows what is best for us.  He will not make our path more difficult or more challenging than is necessary to ensure our safe arrival at the place he has for us.

The trip from Detroit was pleasant.  Taking the road my dad picked wasn’t always understandable.  At times, other roads seemed to be more direct and much easier to travel.  But daddy knew what I needed.  He understood my situation and he took it upon himself to make my travel the best it could be so I would arrive home safe, sound, in one piece, and more confident than I was when I left.  If this is how our earthly fathers lead us, how much more will our Heavenly Father direct the paths we walk every day?  Are you submitting your life and your way to him today?  Is he giving you traveling instructions and are you traveling by them today?

Thursday, September 13, 2018

The Caterpillar

A
s a kid, I was fascinated by just about anything.  On summer evenings we used to chase and catch lightening bugs in our backyard.  We collected them in a jar and watched them glow.  It always amazed me that such a little bug could produce that much light.  With the other kids in the neighborhood, I collected worms, bugs, birds’ nests, and even small toads.  There was just something exciting about catching a creature and peering at it through a glass jar.

One of the most interesting animals I collected, however, was a caterpillar.  In fact, what I found was a cocoon and my dad explained to me that inside, a caterpillar was becoming a butterfly.  Well you can imagine how excited a little seven-year-old boy can become!  I couldn’t wait for the cocoon to spring open and for the butterfly to emerge.  I was convinced that in twenty-four hours max, a butterfly would emerge and I would have something new to observe.  Days went by and still no butterfly.  I almost lost all interest in the cocoon until early one morning.

I awoke and checked the jar for any signs of progress.  I noticed that the cocoon was moving back and forth and that a small slit had appeared in one side.  Long, slender legs had emerged as well as most of the butterfly’s body.  However, it was having a difficult time pulling its wings out of the cocoon.  I wanted to help it but my mom told me to leave it alone and to watch.  The poor thing fought, kicked, pushed, pulled, and shook violently, attempting to break free from its prison.  I felt so sorry for it and wished it could just shed the cocoon and fly.  But mom said to leave it alone and after a long while, the butter fly was free.  It was absolutely gorgeous and I took it outside and released it.

I have often thought about the process of becoming a butterfly and how it applies to our daily lives. All around us we see people involved in different types of struggle.  Some struggles are physical, some are emotional, some are mental, some affect our livelihoods, and others affect our relationships.   Everywhere we look, it seems there is some sort of struggle or challenge to face.  As Christians, we are sometimes at a loss to explain why God allows things to happen to us or to others.  Why do people get sick?  Why do people die at an early age?  Does God really care what happens to us?  Why does he allow disease, death, and impossible circumstances to enter our lives?

These are all good questions and ones that have no satisfactory answers.  However, I do believe God does offer some explanation in his word to comfort us in the difficult things of life.  In Isaiah 48:10 we find a wonderful nugget to enhance our understanding of the way God works in our daily lives.  The prophet writes“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”  

There are three important words here.  The first word is refined.  The purpose of our testing is our perfection.  God will remove anything that prevents us from being conformed to the image of Christ.  The second word is tested.  When we are tested, it is always for the purpose of growing our faith and teaching us to lean more heavily on God.  The more difficult the test, the more we need our Heavenly Father.  Remember, the test is passable.  God promised not to place on our shoulders more than we could bear so we know that God trusts us with it!!  The third word is in. Precious metals cannot be refined outside the furnace.  They must go inside and be subjected to the searing heat.  Caterpillars cannot become butterflies outside the cocoon.  They must go into the darkness and fight their way out in order to become one of nature’s most beautiful creatures.

And what about us?  We are far more precious to God than gold or silver.  We are more beautiful to him than any butterfly.  His goal for us “in the furnace of affliction” is to conform us to his image.  I do believe in God’s power to heal.  I know people who have received healing from God and the Scriptures teach that God heals “all our diseases” (Psalm 103).  But the body is temporary and the soul is eternal.  God is more interested in perfecting our souls than he is in perfecting our bodies.  If trials and tribulations, if disease and difficult circumstances provide the heat necessary to refine our souls, then God will turn up that heat.  He created the body to house our souls, but his first love and his main objective is the soul of man.

Whatever you are facing today, I pray you will take courage and strength from it.  God is near you and he understands your circumstances.  He is in the process of perfecting you, of refining you, of growing your faith.  Like the caterpillar in that jar, God knows that struggle is necessary. Without it, we would never develop into what we were meant to be.  God loves you today, from the inside out; but the inside is what it’s all about.  May God’s best be yours today!

Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Left Lane Closed

T
he construction crews continued to work next door to my apartment complex. For the past year, they had been building a new community of townhouses that would be available to the public.  The progress of this team had been staggering.  Almost overnight, the vacant lot adjacent to our complex had grown into a beautiful, vibrant community filled with beautiful new homes.

At times, it had been a challenge negotiating around heavy equipment including graders, bulldozers, steam shovels, and the scores of workers charged with the responsibility of constructing these homes.  For the most part, everything had gone smoothly with very few interruptions to the flow of traffic on our street.  But one day, that changed just a little bit.

As the crew completed the construction, they had been busy reshaping the road outside my complex.  This was no small task as were six lanes of traffic which constantly used this road.  The project involved creating a turning lane so that westbound traffic could make a left-hand turn into the complex.  In order to do this, the island separating the westbound traffic from the eastbound traffic had been isolated and was being reconfigured.  This meant that the left-hand lane on the westbound side was closed.  Signs in the road gave ample warning that the left lane was closed but traffic still piled up.  I had to make a left-hand turn myself just after the construction site so you can imagine how fun it was to maneuver from left to right and back to left just to get home.  I was ready for the Indy 500.

The project was completed by the following week and things once again returned to their normal, hectic pace.  But the sign indicating the left lane was closed had given me great cause for reflection about the road signs we often encounter along life’s highway and the changes we have to make in order to arrive safely home.  The Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, understood road construction; but he also knew it wouldn’t last forever.

In Isaiah 40:4 we read these words, “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and will made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.” As is usually the case in Israel’s history, she found herself in the middle of a construction zone.  The direct lane of traffic had been cut off, barriers had been erected, and the long process of road construction had begun.  Although God had promised a Messiah would come, there was much construction necessary to prepare the way for his arrival.  Isaiah was in the middle of this construction but he knew it wouldn’t last forever.

Notice that his words look forward to the coming of God’s chosen Messiah, Jesus Christ. His speech is full of optimism and expectation.  The difficulties Isaiah encountered could not deter him from looking ahead to the day when the road work would be completed and God’s promise would be fulfilled.  Every pot hole, every dip in the road, and every low place would be raised and filled and all the rough places would be smoothed over.  In God’s perfect timing, Isaiah knew the road would be completed and traffic would flow unhindered.

Are you in a similar place as Isaiah?  Do you see signs telling you that the left lane is closed, forcing you to alter your course and switch lanes?  Does it seem the construction will never end and that the road conditions grow worse and worse instead of improving?  Take heart, trust the Lord, and know that the road construction is necessary so your journey can continue unhindered at a later time.  The work God does today will be invaluable to you in the future.  New construction always requires some demolition but in the end the new additions are vastly superior to the current situation.  If the left lane is closed, just change lanes and keep going.  The project will be finished and much sooner than you think!

Monday, September 10, 2018

A Talk In The Garden

I
 remember my dad telling me on more than one occasion that you are nearer to God in a garden than in any other place on earth.  It is in a garden that you really understand how patient God has to be with us.  Look how long it takes plants to grow and the constant care they require in order to mature and produce fruit.  If plants require that much attention and care from the farmer, just imagine how much more love, care, and attention God lavishes on us as he grows us toward spiritual maturity.

There is another lesson, a much harder one, the garden also teaches us.  That is learning to accept and pray for God’s will.  Anyone who has ever worked a garden knows the frustration and the disappointment of receiving too little rain.  I have seen my dad work in a garden—staking tomato plants, pulling weeds, plowing around plants—all the while waiting for and praying for rain with no results.  It almost seems God shuts his ears to our requests and our circumstances grow worse instead of better.  Then, one day, the heavens open up and send down rain, just in the nick of time. 

This sounds familiar in our spiritual walk as well doesn’t it?  We go to our knees before God and pour out our hearts to him.  We bring our concerns for our families, our friends, our co-workers, our pastor, our churches, and ourselves before his throne.  We wet the bed with our tears and we pray with all our might for God to act and move in our behalf.  We then close the prayer by asking that God’s will be done. But do we really mean that?  Do we fully understand all that entails?

Jesus, himself, prayed this very kind of prayer.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, he had a talk with God.  Jesus poured out his heart and was so full of agony that drops of blood fell from his forehead.  In unspeakable and incomprehensible sorrow, he asked God for some other way to fulfill the plan of salvation.  Look at his request as recorded in Matthew 26:39"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."  Jesus prayed this prayer, not once, but twice that evening in the garden.  Jesus knew the difficulty of praying and accepting God’s will and in this prayer we find great encouragement to do the same.

In life’s garden there are many opportunities to talk to our Heavenly Father.  Sometimes we speak to him of the goodness of his blessings in our lives.  Sometimes we bring requests to him on behalf of other people and at other times we bring heavy hearts and kneel before him in silence.  But every time we come to him, we must ask that his will be done.  This is difficult when we are facing unknown and trying circumstances.  When there seems to be no way out of a trial but to go through it, we still need to pray for his will.  God promised to be with us through every part of life; he never promised to remove all the obstacles so that life’s road would be easy.

In the garden that evening, Jesus prayed for God’s will to be done.  This is the acid test of faith.  We must be earnest in our request for God’s will to be done, even when we don’t understand all that entails.  We must believe that God is in complete control and that he knows what is best for us because it is certain that we don’t know what is best for ourselves.  So, the next time you are in prayer, don’t be afraid to pray that God’s will be done in your life.  He will be with you in every situation, working to bring you to full maturity in Christ.  When was the last time you had a heart-to-heart with God?  When was the last time you had a talk in the garden with him?  How about having one today!

Friday, September 7, 2018

Just Add Water

I
t hardly seems possible but I have been living in my house for twelve years now.  A while back, I was thinking about the moving process and all the wonderful people who helped me either by moving boxes, by carrying furniture, or by sending something to eat.  I was so blessed to have people willing to sacrifice their time, effort, and money to help me move.

As I was unpacking the myriad boxes I used during my move, I came across a small gift bag that one of my students had given me at the end of the summer.  Inside were things to snack on, a book mark, some neatly shaped paper clips, and a triangular box containing something really special. Inside this box was a foil pouch filled with enough ingredients to make a rather large pot of three-cheese mushroom soup.  I love mushrooms so I was eager to prepare the mix according to the directions and sit down to a piping hot bowl of soup.

Everything was included in the pouch except water.  When I poured the contents into the pot, it didn’t look very appetizing.  All I could see was brown powder with bits, pieces, and chunks of dehydrated mushrooms.  It didn’t really make my mouth water as I looked at what was supposed to become a delicious and nutritious bowl of soup.  The process, however, was not complete because I had not supplied the most essential ingredient—water!

I opened the cabinet, took down my measuring cup, held it underneath the faucet, and filled it with the required amount of water.  As soon as I added the water to the soup mixture, a wonderful metamorphosis took place.  The powder completely dissolved and the mushroom pieces grew to several times their size.  I put the pot on the stove and in just a few minutes I had my soup, all piping hot and very delicious.

As I thought about this the story of the woman at the well came immediately to my mind.  Here was a woman whose life, like my soup mixture, was dry and unappetizing.  Her soul was all dried up, her life was filled with shriveled chunks of meaning, and she lacked the essential ingredient that would give her life purpose. 

Day after day, she went to the well to draw water for her needs and when the water was gone, she went back to do the same thing over again.  All her efforts and all the water in the well could not satisfy the longing thirst in her soul.  Society couldn’t fulfill her needs, her many relationships could not fill the void in her spirit, and every day was an endless search to slake the parching thirst of her soul.

One day she met Jesus sitting beside a well.  He was thirst and asked her for a drink. She was surprised that Jesus, a Jew and a man, would speak to her.  Jesus, however, continued speaking with her and he offered her a drink of water.  The woman found it hard to accept water from Jesus because he had nothing with which to draw water.  However, Jesus was not speaking of well water, he was speaking of the water of life, the water that cools the thirst of the most parched soul and gives life from within.  Listen to what he told her as recorded in John 4:14, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

This was the water she had longed for, the water she had searched for all her life.  She took Jesus at his word and quenched her thirst forever.  One taste of living water and the dried recesses of her soul came alive, the shriveled areas of her life were filled with new meaning, and her life took on meaning and purpose.

All of us are just like this woman at the well and the soup mix in the packet.  Without the water that Jesus offers, our lives are just powder, dry and useless.  There is nothing appealing, nothing nourishing, and nothing appetizing about them.  But when we add Jesus to the mix, life takes on a whole new outlook.  We have a purpose and we can be used to refresh, nourish, and strengthen others. 

The ingredients on the back of the soup package said, “Just add water.”  That’s exactly what we must do spiritually as well in order to be all that God wants and intends for us to be. We are wrapped inside containers of dust, longing for the one thing that can bring us to life. What we need is Jesus Christ and the life-giving water her offers.  Have you added this living water to your life?  Don’t you think it’s about time you did?

Thursday, September 6, 2018

Constantly On The Move

E
very evening when the lights are out and all is quiet, I lie in my bed listening to the sound of the ticking clock that hangs on the wall in my living room.  All through the day and night, this vigilant sentinel keeps watch over my home, faithfully marking the passing hours.  While the pendulum swings back and forth, the hands move around the clock, marching through the hours with a determined and steady cadence.  This dance of time occurs whether I am present or not.  The clock continually fulfills its purpose, no matter what!

Clocks have always been a part of my life.  Our house was filled with them because my dad loved, and still loves, listening to a ticking clock.  What continues to amaze me is the precision with which these wonderful instruments work.  The most important part of the clock is the pendulum because without its faithful back and forth motion, the clock would not function.  As the pendulum swings through space, it causes the hands of the clock to move around the dial at a steady pace.  Each swing of the pendulum results in the forward motion of the hands as they mark the passing seconds, minutes, and hours.

The real secret of the clock lies in the fact that its parts are constantly on the move.  The visible motion of the hands and pendulum belie the intricate dance of the clock’s wheels, springs, and gears.  Yet the very fact that the hands move with such devotion indicates that the steadfast march of time moves forward from one passing moment to the next.

The Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles reveals the importance of being constantly on the move in God’s service.  2 Chronicles 27:6 is a brief passage about a man named Jotham, King of Judah, who walked in a manner pleasing to God “Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.”  But who was this Jotham and what do we know about him?

Jotham’s name appears 28 times in the Old Testament.  His father was King Uzziah who had leprosy.  Uzziah could not enter the Temple and he lived in a separate house, relieved of his responsibilities.  Jotham represented the people and ruled for his father.  When his father died, Jotham became King of Judah.  He rebuilt the Upper Gate of the Lord’s Temple.  He was 25 when he became king and he reigned for 16 years.  He conquered the Ammonites and they paid a tribute to him for 3 years.

But what we know historically about Jotham does not compare to our scripture passage today.  Notice that there is a direct correlation between Jotham’s power and his walk before God.  In the Old Testament, walking before the Lord meant to please him on a consistent basis.  Like a clock’s pendulum swinging back and forth, walking also requires constant movement, placing one foot in front of the other. The goal of walking is to move forward, to go from one place to another in a methodical and determined pattern.  Walking before God is a commentary on a person’s life and Jotham’s life was pleasing to God.  We know this because the Scriptures also say that Jotham increased in power and that his walk was steadfast.

This is always true of a man or woman today who walks with God.  The word steadfastly means determined, continually, and consistently.  God wants us to walk with him on a daily basis, always looking to him for all our needs, always communicating with him in every situation, and always walking forward with him as we mature in our faith.  When we walk with God in this fashion, we find that our spiritual lives become more powerful, that our relationship with God grows ever deeper, and that our faith and trust in him grow ever stronger.

What do the hands of your spiritual clock tell you about your walk with God today?  Is your pendulum swinging, marking out a constant rhythm, making the spiritual gears of your life turn?  Are the hands of your spiritual clock indicating that you are moving forward, growing and maturing in your walk with God?  Or do the pendulum and the hands show no movement, showing that your forward momentum and your walk with God have stopped?  If this is the case, don’t rest until you talk with God and have your clock rewound.  Remember, in order to please God, you must spend time with him.  Are you constantly on the move today?