The View From The Top

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y first visit to Paris wasn’t what I had expected.  For years I had studied the French language and had learned some of the history of Paris and the stories behind its most famous monuments.  I had learned to recognize the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre Museum, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, the Basilica of Sacré Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe, as well as other famous landmarks around the city.

However, when we arrived, Paris looked nothing like I had imagined.  Buildings blocked my view of the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, and none of the monuments seemed to relate to the map I held in my hand.  In addition, the subway diagram only added to my confusion as I tried to figure out the best way to get from one part of the city to the other.  What I needed was another perspective on Paris, one that would provide me with a better understanding of the city and its layout.

While visiting the Cathedral of Notre Dame, I saw my opportunity.  The cathedral has two great bell towers.  From the top of the bell towers, I knew I could get a bird’s eye view of the city.  So, I started to climb, beginning the long, upward journey at the base of the left tower.  The spiral stair case was built along with the tower so workers could reach their stations and could also carry provisions with them.  I thought the stairs would never end but just as I was about to give up, I saw a shaft of sunlight coming through the door just ahead.

I stepped out, fully expecting the see the city.  Much to my disappointment, however, I had only climbed half the distance between the ground and the top of the cathedral.  I crossed over to the next tower, took a deep breath, and began climbing again.  After several minutes of going in circles, and almost at the point of physical exhaustion, I emerged at the top of the right bell tower. The entire city of Paris lay at my feet.  To my left was the Eiffel Tower, to my right was the Basilica of Sacré Coeur and the Seine River was flowing in the right direction.  The Left Bank was easily discernible from the Right Bank and the entire layout of the city made sense.  What a difference the view from the top made.  The long climb, the sore muscles, and the dizzying heights were all worth the view!

The Christian life is exactly like this.  We spend so much time studying God’s word, making sure we understand his commandments and requirements.  However, when we start walking in earnest with God, we find the road ahead to be vastly different from how we imagined it would be.   

Moses found this to be true as well.  For forty years he had led the people in a great circle, wandering in the desert, wondering where they were going.  He was sure he had understood God’s directive and directions, but the terrain around him didn’t remotely resemble a “land flowing with milk and honey.”  That’s when God took him to a higher plane to gain a different perspective.

Deuteronomy 32:49 gives God’s final directions to Moses: "Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession;”  From Mount Nebo, Moses could see all of God’s provision in one glance.  From that perspective, Moses knew the journey had been worth it.  However, he was not allowed to cross over into the Promised Land because he had disobeyed God.  Nonetheless, God let him see all the land, to make sense of his life’s journey, and to understand God’s faithfulness better.

Today, you may be wondering just where your journey with God is going.  Circumstances around you may seem unfamiliar and the landscape may indeed look foreign.  Although you have studied God’s word and have faith in him, you long for just a glimpse of where you are going and where you’ve come from. That view is always encouraging and inspiring but it will mean moving to higher ground. Are you ready to tackle Mount Nebo today?  I hope so!  There’s nothing like the view from the top!

That Don't Make No Sense!

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hat don’t make no sense!”  Movie aficionados among you may recognize a quote from the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou?”  I must admit, the first time I saw it at my parents’ home I fell out in the floor laughing when I heard this line.  What could be more nonsensical than a band of three convicts, having escaped prison, searching for a buried treasure which doesn’t exist and in the process getting into more trouble than you can imagine?

Watching their exploits, I wondered what would happen next that could make the situation they were presently in seem harmless.  And, just about that time, I received my answer.  Something more fantastic, far beyond anything you can imagine occurred, and the boys found themselves in another fix, much worse, more complicated, and more serious than the preceding predicament.  In all honesty, the movie could be have been subtitled, “The Predicament du Jour!”

We are all familiar with this scenario, especially if we are living a life of faith.  Just about the time we have the next step figured out, just when we have the master blueprint all drawn, when every “T” is crossed and every “I” is dotted, that’s usually when the unforeseen happens and all our plans go up in smoke.  We look at the new situation life throws our way, we scratch our head, we may even shed a few tears, and we say, “God, that don’t make no sense!”  I’ll bet you didn’t know God spoke Southern, did you?

Well, lest we believe we are all alone when this happens, let us look at the life of a man who lived a long, long time ago; who understood that life “don’t make no sense” and that sometimes even our best and most noble attempts often fail.  The don’t fail because they are bad or wrong, they fail because God has something better for us, even though we can’t see or understand it from where we are now standing.

Genesis 41:1 gives us a very straightforward look at the life of Joseph.  The passage simply says, “When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream…” The whole of Joseph’s life can be summed up in this statement.  His was a life of waiting, of not understanding the difficult circumstances.  I am sure Joseph never understood why his brothers betrayed him, why Potipher’s wife tried to seduce him, why he was unfairly imprisoned, or why the cupbearer forgot him.  In fact, the Scriptures never tell us that Joseph ever received any of this information.

After trying to orchestrate his own exit from the prison by asking the cupbearer to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf, we find Joseph waiting two more years until Pharaoh had a dream.  But once Pharaoh had his dream, Joseph was positioned and ready for God’s use.  After all that had happened to him, after all the false accusations, after all the betrayal, and after all the long nights in a lonely prison wondering what had become of his world, Joseph found himself second only to Pharaoh in all the land of Egypt.

My fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to take great encouragement from this passage of scripture and from this man Joseph.  The last verse of Genesis 40 tells us the cupbearer forgot Joseph.  The cupbearer did; God didn’t.  For the next two years, he was with Joseph and he was already making preparations for Joseph’s promotion two years down the road, a promotion Joseph never dreamed of!

This is the way God works.  Whatever your present situation today, I pray you will know that God is not only above it; he is working beyond it!  It’s when life just “don’t’ make no sense” from our perspective that God does his greatest work in us and through us.  Stay the course! Hang in there! Trust God’s heart even when you can’t see his hand.  One day it will all make sense!  Who knows, that day just might be today!

What A Dump!

             

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he look on my mother’s face confirmed that my words had hit their mark and had drawn blood.  As most kids do, I had made a simple observation.  My statement had been blunt with absolutely no tact and no compassion, going right for the jugular.  Little did I know that my comment actually echoed a very famous line from a Betty Davis movie.  Her line was simply, “What a dump!” my line was, “What a shack!”

I was commenting on our home which was anything but a shack! My mom and dad worked very hard to provide a nice house for our family.  Our home was always clean, it was attractive, the yard was well maintained, and everyone who visited us was always welcome.  However, I didn’t quite see it that way. 

I had been visiting one of my friends in another neighborhood where all the houses were made of brick.  Our house was constructed of wood with siding.  Our house had to be painted at regular intervals while brick houses always looked as if they had just been constructed.  The point was, I thought that those living in brick houses were more well-to-do than those of us who lived in wooden houses.  When I shared my observation with my mom, she was not pleased and had an interesting solution to this situation.

She shared my convictions with my dad, who himself was just a little displeased with my observation.  She suggested he take me and show me a “shack” so I could see the difference. I will never forget that ride into the country to see a shack. When we got there, I was greatly embarrassed because in front of me was a dwelling that was not at all attractive.  There was no yard, the siding was discolored and falling off the structure, the windows needed replacing and the roof was in desperate need of repair.  Nothing about the structure looked comfortable or inviting and I was ashamed that I had hurt my parents by not appreciating or respecting their hard work to provide me with a good home.

There is a great parallel between my observation as a child and the way we view ourselves daily both as Christians and as people.  The world’s system does its best to convince us that we can always improve ourselves and be better.  Advertisers constantly bombard us with products to make us look better, to make us feel better, to remove unwanted wrinkles, to give us 20/20 vision, and to remove all signs of aging.  These ads are filled with “beautiful people” who don’t need the products they are advertising.  Does it bother you that people in perfect shape are selling diet pills?  Or how about the people without one shred of fat selling liposuction surgery? 

All this is geared toward making us believe that our bodies are indeed shacks, old, worn out, unattractive dwellings that no one wants or cares about.  The problem is we believe them.  We buy the notion lock, stock, and barrel that we are not good enough, that we are substandard, that we have little, if any, worth.  What a vast difference there is in our perspective and the way God sees us!

Isaiah 43:7 simply says, “everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made."  This verse is part of a larger passage where God promises to bring the children of Israel from the four corners of the globe and to re-establish them in their own land.  But I also find great comfort in the words of this small verse.  Three things we need to understand from this statement pertain to who we are and what our purpose in life is.

First, we are called by God’s name.  Think about that for just a minute.  All of us have a name and that name carries with it all the character of the person who gave it to us.  If that is true on a social level, how much more wonderful it is to know that God has given us his name and calls us his own. 

Second, we were created with a purpose and that purpose is to glorify God.  Every aspect of our lives is to glorify him because when we live life according to his plan and his will we are happy and satisfied and when we live life this way we glorify God.  This means we fulfill the purpose for which we were made. 

Third, and my personal favorite, is the fact that God says he made us and formed us.  Have you ever watched someone working with clay?  It is a fascinating process.  To make something from the clay, it must be formed.  Forming means to give shape to something. The craftsman must get his hands dirty and work and mold and gently rub the clay until it becomes what he intended.  Can you grasp the truth that when God created you, he got his hands dirt? He molded and worked and shaped and rubbed until you became you—a masterpiece!

The God we serve does not make junk and he does not make shacks!!  He is in the business of making masterpieces.  The Scriptures also tell us that we are God’s temple, his dwelling.  God does not live in a shack—he lives in you.  If you are one of his children, there is no way you can ever look at yourself as a shack!  That is the world’s perspective while God’s is completely the opposite.  Which perspective are you living today?

Are All These Heart Patients?

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 few years ago, I found myself sitting in the waiting room of Presbyterian Hospital in downtown Dallas.  I was there for a two-day stress test, just to see that everything under the hood was in working order.  For me, the real stress test had occurred prior to my arrival at the hospital.  After facing the traffic between Dallas and Fort Worth, especially during early morning rush hour, I figured any test they threw at me would be pretty much a cakewalk! 

My appointment on Thursday morning was set for 10:30. I arrived 45 minutes early, just to be on the safe side.  When I entered the waiting room, there were already several people occupying chairs and sofas, reading magazines or talking to family members, trying to pass the time until their name was called to see the doctor or go for testing.

About 30 minutes into my wait, an older gentleman entered with a younger man I took to be his son.  After completing the preliminary paperwork, they took a seat across the room from me.  As the gentleman sat down, he blurted out in a rather loud and somewhat surprised voice, “Are these all heart patients?” 

At first, I thought the question somewhat rhetorical since we were all waiting to see a cardiologist or to take different types of tests for our hearts.  But the more I thought about his words and the more they resounded in my ears, the more I began to think this man had made a statement that had profound implications.

The prophet Samuel learned firsthand that God is a cardiologist at heart (no pun intended).  When asked to anoint the next king of Israel, Samuel saddles up his donkey and goes to Bethlehem to visit Jesse and to select one of his sons to rule Israel.  Upon his arrival, Samuel is taken by Jesse’s oldest son, Abinadab.  This young man is handsome, tall, well-built, and carries himself as a king should.  Samuel is ready to dump his horn of oil right then on Abinidab’s head when God calls him up short and teaches him a very important lesson; a lesson we need to hear again today!

1 Samuel 16:7 gives us God’s perspective on human nature: “But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Talk about a stress test!  God wanted Samuel to know that outward appearances count for nothing; it is the inward attitude which God sees and the character of heart for which He searches.  Outwardly, Abinadab possessed all the desirable attributes, but inwardly something was lacking.  Abinidab’s baby brother, David, a young boy not so handsome, not so tall, not so well built, but one whose heart was right before the Lord possessed that something lacking in his older brother.

On that Thursday morning I learned this truth all over again.  The answer to that man’s question was, and is, a resounding yes.  All of us in the waiting room that day were heart patients.  In fact, as far as God is concerned all of us are heart patients.  God wants to change our hearts, to make them better, to cleanse them and restore them to a right relationship with Him.  This can only be done when we accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives.

How long has it been since you had your heart examined?  The stresses and strains of every-day life leave all of us in need of a checkup on a regular basis.  God wants to look into your heart, to examine it, and make whole.  Won’t you make an appointment today to have your heart examined and repaired by the Great Physician?  You’ll be glad you did!

The Caterpillar

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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!

Let Nothing Be Wasted

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he main hallway of West Lincoln High School hadn’t changed much in the 9 years I had been teaching there.  Every day kids would pass through on their way to classes, or on their way to the gym, or, if it were during fourth period, they would be on their way to the cafeteria for lunch.  I would walk down the hallway if I needed to go to the office to file a report, pick up a package, or see the ladies who ran the office and kept all of us on the straight and narrow.

But one afternoon, in the spring of 1995, the hallway at West Lincoln High School was suddenly different.  It was during my planning period and I was on my way back to my classroom after a quick visit to the lounge for a much-needed cup of coffee.  As I turned to make my way up the ramp connecting the upper hall to the main foyer, my world changed. It was there that I felt the call to enter the ministry.

In the weeks that followed, the feeling and the call grew stronger. Finally, I went to see my principal who told me that this was something I needed to pursue earnestly and sincerely.  So, I began looking at seminaries and learning all I could about answering God’s call on my life.

I made arrangements to visit a seminary a few hours from home.  What I had not yet done was to tell my parents I was going to seminary.  I mean how do you, at the age of 33, tell your mom and dad you’re leaving your job, you have no idea where you are going, and you have absolutely no idea how you are going to meet your financial obligations?

I just remember asking my mom one question.  I asked her, “Mom, please tell me that my life to this point has not been wasted!” She assured me it had not but I wasn’t totally convinced until I re-read the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand.

John records what I believe to be the most important statement about this miracle.  After the people have sat down, after the little boy has shared his lunch of five loaves and two fishes, and after all the people have eaten their fill, Jesus tells his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” (John 6:12).

Those last four words from Jesus jumped right off the page!  God is not in the business of wasting anything. No trial, no hardship, no difficulty, nothing is ever wasted in God’s plan.  Everything he does, every plan he makes, every situation he causes to come into our lives is not wasted.  All of it works for our good, just as Paul wrote in Romans 8:28.

Wherever you are today in your walk with the Lord, please know that everything you have gone through in the past, every single trial, hardship, or blessing has had its purpose and has made you the person and the Christian you are now.  God has been working on you, molding you and shaping you into the person he wants you to be and all the preparation has been for the work he has for you to do. No matter where you are or what you are facing you can be sure that nothing will be wasted!

             

Through The Kaleidoscope

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ike most people, I have several important things in my home that I simply will not part with.  Some of them I purchased on my trips to Europe.  Some I have come across in little shops or in out-of-the-way places.  Some of them are gifts from dear friends and others are moments captured with the aid of a camera.  But perhaps the most precious items are ones that my parents have given me over the years.

There is the clock that hangs in my living room which was a Christmas present from mom and dad.  There is the clock hanging in my bedroom which they presented to my brother and me as a house-warming present when we moved into our home on Oak Street.   There is the silverware in my kitchen that mom brought and when I moved into my first apartment. It is the same silverware I used growing up and I love it.  I also have my great grandfather’s ice cream scoop and the scoop my mom used to measure sugar when she made cakes.

There are several little knick knacks around the house that mean very little, if anything, to my visitors but they mean the world to me.  One of these items is a small kaleidoscope that resides on my coffee table.  Mom and dad found it in an antique store in Ohio and brought it back to me.  It is very simple, made of three mirrors joined together to form a triangular tube.  At one end is a piece of metal that securely holds one of four differently colored marbles that rest in holes cut in the wooden base that holds the kaleidoscope.

The marbles are very unremarkable.  One is blue, one is yellow, one is red, and one is light orange.  Taken by themselves they aren’t very inspiring but once placed in the end of the kaleidoscope, they spring to life with unimaginable shapes and patterns.  What was a few seconds earlier a commonplace marble changes into a vibrant splash of color that changes formations as the marble is turned around and around.

The secret of the kaleidoscope lies in its ability to make us see an image, not for what it is, but for what it can become when seen from another perspective.  This idea was not lost on Jesus.  In fact, when calling his first disciples, he saw them not for what they were but for what they could become.

In Matthew 4:18-19 we find these words, “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”  Here is Jesus walking along the shore when he spots two ordinary marbles, Peter and Andrew.  They have been fishing all of their lives and have earned their living from the sea.  They are like so many others who ply their trade on the Sea of Galilee.  But if we look closer at this passage, we see that Jesus sees so much more in these brothers than is visible to the ordinary eye.

Notice Jesus words, “I will make you…”  These men are fisherman, anyone can see that.  But Jesus sees so much more. He sees them not as fishermen, but as fishers of men.  When seen through the eyes of Jesus, Peter and Andrew are no longer men who catch fish; they are men who catch souls. What they can become is unimaginable to them but is crystal clear to Jesus.

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s it any different with us?  God sees deep into our hearts and souls.  He sees us not for what we are but for what we can become through a relationship with his son, Jesus Christ.  What may seem ordinary to us becomes alive once we are placed in Jesus Christ and our lives are viewed from God’s perspective.  Wherever you are in your walk today with the Lord, rest assured his plans for you are beyond anything you can imagine.  Only when we are placed in Christ can we ever fully reveal what is inside.  What does God see when he looks at your life today?  Are you willing to see yourself from his perspective?

The Lesson of the Sponge

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ne perk of owning your own business comes from all the samples of neat stuff various salesmen try to sell you.  They enter your place of business—unannounced I must add—open their brief cases—which look more like suitcases—and pull out all types of nifty little samples of their wares.  I remember some of the things my dad used to receive on consistent basis at work.  There were pens, notepads, calendars, refrigerator magnets, you name it. 

Once in a great while, however, a salesman produced something out of the ordinary, an item that was so unique and unusually captivating that you couldn’t help but be mesmerized by it.  I arrived home from school one day to find just such an item sitting on our counter top in the kitchen.  Mom was busy cleaning the kitchen sink and right beside her was a small plastic package filled with a long yellow strip.  Mom picked up the package, tore open the plastic wrapping, and removed the slender material. By now, my curiosity was peaked.  I had no idea what the material was but I rushed to the sink to find out.

Mom threw the strip into the water.  There, right before my eyes, the yellow material began to move and grow.  What was a strip of yellow a few seconds earlier began changing into something two to three times the size.   Finally, it stopped and in the sink was a new sponge, sopping wet, fully loaded, and ready for action.  Mom reached into the sink, took the sponge, wrung out all the excess water, and began using the sponge to clean the cabinets.

I have never forgotten the image of that sponge or the lesson it taught me.  What I learned from that sponge many years ago was one of the greatest of life’s lessons.  The sponge is no good until it is plunged into water, allowed to swell to the bursting point, and wrung out, removing all the unnecessary water.  A sponge that is too dry cannot clean and sponge that is too full just makes a mess.  In order for the sponge to be effective, it has to be both soaked and wrung out.  The soaking part is the fun part but the wringing out process requires work and isn’t terribly exciting and wonderful from the sponge’s perspective.

Perhaps no one in the Bible understood the plight of the sponge better than Noah.  After all, he was plunged into a great sink of water and left there for over a year before he was allowed to exit the ark.  Sometime after his 500^th birthday, God called him to build a boat, better known as the ark.  This is proof that retirement at age 65 is NOT biblically based!!  For years Noah labored building the ark, preparing it for the day the first drop of rain would fall.  This was the soaking up part of Noah’s life.  Although he was working hard on the ark, he was gathering strength for the long journey ahead, a journey that would wring out everything but the most necessary element of his life—his faithfulness and obedience to God’s calling.

Genesis 7:23 provides an interesting window into Noah’s life after the rain had stopped. “Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.”  Thus began the wringing out process in Noah’s life.  The account of the flood in Genesis 6-9 tells us that Noah was in the ark for over a year.  During that time, Noah worked, caring for all the animals on the ark, tending to their needs, fulfilling the purpose for which God called him. 

The last sentence of this passage tells us that Noah and those with him were the only one’s left.  Can you feel God’s fingers squeezing the last bit of water from the sponge?  Noah must have felt alone, isolated, and forgotten.  While the waters were soaking the earth, God was wringing him out.  While the tide continued to swell beneath him, God’s purging of his life continued.  While everything else perished, Noah remained alive.

This is God’s way with us.  There are times when we bask in His presence, soaking up all that He has to teach us.  At times such as these, the journey is easy, the spiritual lessons we learn seem so evident, and the presence of God is so near and so real to us.  But there are times when God chooses to wring us out in order to use us for His purposes.  Like the sponge, this means God will remove all but the most essential elements of the spiritual life so that He can use us for His purposes.  At times you may feel abandoned and pressed beyond all measure.  But nothing could be farther from the truth.  God knows where you are, He understands your situation, and He is using it to wring from your life everything that keeps you from being all that He knows and wants you to be. 

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ave you experienced the lesson of the sponge in your life?  Are you soaking or are you being wrung out today?  Where ever you are in this process, take heart from another statement from Noah’s life, found in Genesis 8:1, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” God always remembers where you are! Have a great day in Him today!

The Backside of the Desert

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n the distance the first tendrils of sunlight appeared on the horizon.  In a few moments it would be dawn with sunlight splashing over the landscape as it had for thousands of dawns before this one.  Not far away, the bleating of sheep and goats signaled that the night was indeed ending as man and beast eagerly awaited the arrival of the morning sun.

He had been lying there for over an hour, waking from a fitful sleep.  His tent was open and he stared at the vanishing stars fighting against the breaking of the dawn with all the fury and determination of someone battling for his life. The sound of the animals and the ever-brightening sky meant he needed to start his day.  It would be a busy one as it always was when he moved the flock from one area to another.  He was tired from lack of restful sleep but tonight he knew his rest would be sweet and deep.

The flock gathered around him, eager to begin the long journey.  Although they didn’t know where they were going, anticipation filled the air.  The tents were struck, camels were loaded, and all the animals were gathered into one place.  Finally, after one last check around the campsite, man and beasts set out for the pastures found at the foot of the mountains on the backside of the desert.

The journey took most of the morning and by early afternoon they had reached their destination.  Once camp was established, it was time to visit the pastures and feed the flock.  The shepherd was finally relieved, having arrived at the base of the mountain and its pastures in record time.  He joyfully led his flock to the grasslands to graze.  That’s when he saw something he would never forget, something that shouldn’t be, something no one had ever seen, and something that would change his life forever!  What he saw defied all logic and yet it was real—a bush on fire that did not burn up!

Yes, our shepherd is Moses, the man who would stand before Pharaoh, the man who would deliver the children of Israel from slavery, the man who would use his staff to perform miraculous signs, and the man who would be known as the lawgiver.  But all of these things were in the future.  Moses’ past still haunted him.  He had fled Egypt because he had murdered an Egyptian.  He had come to the wilderness of Midian, married a woman named, Sephora, and became a shepherd for his father-in-law’s flocks.  But from this day forward, nothing would be the same.

Let us take a closer look at Moses’ not-so-usual-day-at-the-office.  Exodus 3:1 gives us the following account, “Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.”  Notice that Moses is in the wilderness.  It was a remote place where he had very little contact with others.  As if this weren’t enough, the passage tells us that Moses led the flock to the backside of the desert. Now I ask you, how much more remote can you get?  Exactly where is the backside of a desert anyway?  Wherever it is, it had to be one of the loneliest and most challenging places Moses knew.

Yet it is in this very setting that God performs one of His greatest calls to ministry.  Although the story of Moses and the burning bush is well-known, we need to understand exactly what took place at Horeb, the mountain of God, on the backside of the desert.  In the conversation between God and Moses, Moses learns he is to return to Egypt.  God has chosen him to walk into Egypt and break the good news to Pharaoh that the Hebrew slaves are free and will be leaving right away!  Lucky Moses!  But it is not so much the message God gives Moses as the manner in which it is given.  Notice in verse 12 that God tells Moses he will return to this very mountain to serve God.  Notice also that Moses is leading a flock of sheep, caring for them and tending to their needs.  For the past forty years he has covered this ground, learning everything about its contours, its dangers, and its safe havens.  The time has now come for God to take all that knowledge, all that training, and all that skill, and put it to use for His divine purposes.

But in order for Him to make that point clear to Moses, God leads him to the backside of the desert.  This encounter with God forever changes the life of Moses and forever alters the future of mankind.  Where once he led sheep, he will now lead people.  Where once he fed animals, he will provide for God’s own.  Where once he traveled alone; he will now lead a multitude.  Everything Moses did for his father-in-law, he will now do for God on a scale never before imagined.

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re you wondering in the wilderness today?  Do you feel you have covered the same ground countless times and performed the same tasks over and over so that they now are just part of the routine?  Take heart from Moses.  Who knows how many times he had been to the backside of the desert?  Who knows how many times he had seen that bush in previous years?  Who knows how often he had gazed at the summit of Mount Horeb, wondering what views could be seen from its heights?  Then one day God called Moses to the far end of the desert to be His own.  Are you ready to visit the backside of the desert today?

Road Work Ahead

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k, I’ll admit it. I lost my cool the other day as I was driving around running errands. On no less than four occasions I encountered that little annoying orange sign which reads, “Road Work Ahead.” Is it just me or does anyone else believe the transportation department strategically places those “little signs” in order to cause the maximum amount of frustration possible? To top it all, every time I come across a construction site, no one is ever there working! Why erect a sign advertising work if there is no work taking place?

Do you feel my frustration yet? I know this seems like a small thing—and it is—but I really get bent out of shape when I am forced to take a detour just to go around the block! It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the construction were completed in a reasonable amount of time. But the signs remain in place for weeks or months on end with very little if any visible progress. For those of you working for the transportation department, please accept my apologies for getting so worked up. There is a great lesson in all this as we will now see.

OK, my little tirade is over and all the frustration is out of my system. While sitting at one of the intersections currently under construction, I had time to sit and think about the process of repairing or building road. It is quite fascinating, especially if you really observe all that goes into the laying of pavement. The ground must be prepared by bulldozing all the obstacles out of the way, by leveling the soil, and by preparing the shape the road will take. Next the workers build a form to hold the necessary components required to build a road and give it shape. They introduce gravel, steel bars, an extremely thick portion of concrete, and then they add asphalt on top. When all these steps are completed and the surface is painted, the road is open for business and cars travel back and forth, easily riding on the smooth surface that months of back-breaking work has produced.

As I sat there thinking about this, a very popular verse from the prophet Isaiah came to mind. It is one simple sentence carrying a wonderful promise about the coming of the Messiah. It also indicates that a lot of road work needed to occur before Israel was ready to receive him. The prophet writes these words in Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth.’

You want to talk about road work!! God had so much to do in order to prepare the people for the coming of His messiah. Mountains had to be bulldozed, winding roads had to be straightened, valleys had to be filled-in, and all the rough, washboard roads had to be smoothed out. The process was ongoing. Year after year, generation after generation, and century after century it seemed the work would never be completed. At times, God seemed to be on vacation, not working as the countless years dragged on but God was working. He was on the job every day, working in and through the lives of His people until the coming of a man named John the Baptist. It was he who had the wonderful job of proclaiming the road was open and he did it with these words found in John 1:23 "I am "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Make straight the way of the LORD.”  Finally, the time for construction was over and the road was open for business.

Today, we continue to walk this road started so many years ago. At times, God still puts up road work signs, making us wait or take detours. At other times it appears as if He is not working, that He has abandoned us and left us stranded. But rest assured and know that our God is always working. The times when you can’t see His hand, it’s probably a good indication he is doing work on your foundation, making sure you are ready to bear up under the rest of the journey as you continue your daily walk along life’s road.

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he next time you see a sign labeled “Road Work Ahead” keep your cool. Use it as a wonderful reminder that God, in Jesus Christ, prepared the way for your salvation and that from time to time, when He deems it necessary, He closes your personal road to make repairs and do construction so that your walk with Him will be all He wants it be. Are you experiencing road work today?

Molded Into Shape

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y kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in my home.  It seems I am always in there for something.  Either I’m making myself a quick snack, cleaning out the dishwasher, pouring myself a drink, or talking on the phone.  No matter what time of day or night, it is just a given that I will be in the kitchen at some point, even if I have no real reason to be there.

             

On the wall above my kitchen windows hangs a series of gelatin molds that belonged to my grandmother.  There are five of these molds and I brought them back with from North Carolina after my Christmas visit home.  These molds hung together in a pattern on a prominent wall in my grandmother’s kitchen.  They had been there for years and after her death, I asked my mom if I could have them. 

I wasted no time in installing the molds in my apartment.  The spot over my stove proved to be the perfect place for them and, after several attempts, I succeeded in spacing them evenly and hanging them in a straight line. When I moved into my house, the molds came with me. My mom hung them in the kitchen and they are the first things I notice when I head for a quick snack or sit down to a meal. My eyes are immediately drawn to them and every time I see them I am reminded of what is perhaps the greatest spiritual truth and reality in the whole of the Scriptures.

Have you ever stopped to consider just how a mold works?  Have you ever thought about the process that goes into the shaping of gelatin?  If you haven’t then lets briefly reflect on this process.  First, the gelatin must be changed from its powdered form into a liquid.  This requires water and heat, especially heat.  During this process, the mixture is constantly stirred until it is completely melted.  Once this is achieved, the gelatin is transferred into a mold.  The mold is completely filled to make sure there are no air bubbles inside.  Next, the mold and its contents are placed into the refrigerator and left alone for hours or overnight.  During this time, the mold is left alone, out of sight, in the dark and in the cold until the gelatin sets.  Finally, the mold is removed, placed into warm water, turned over, and the contents are dumped out.  If all has gone as planned, the gelatin bears the exact resemblance of the mold into which it was placed.

In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul talks about the importance of being molded into the image of Christ.  In fact, Paul says that this is God’s main objective for all those who believe in Him and accept the gift of salvation through His son, Jesus Christ. We find this in Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

Most people are familiar with these verses, especially verse 28.  Notice that Paul speaks with certainty.  He knows that all things work together for good.  But it is equally important to notice what Paul does not say.  He never says that all things are good, just that they work for good.  From the perspective of the gelatin, I dare say that being thrown into a pot of boiling water is not good nor is it fun. Likewise, being placed into a mold, turned upside down, and stuck into a cold, dark refrigerator can’t be the most wonderful thing either.  But all of these steps are necessary and they work to turn that liquid into a wonderful and refreshing dessert that all can enjoy.

The second part of this passage is equally, if not more important for us today.  Paul also states that God’s purpose for all those in Christ is to be conformed to the image of God’s son.  That word conformed is a bit bothersome, isn’t it?  To be conformed means we are shaped into something else.  We undergo a metamorphosis, much like a caterpillar into a butterfly, which requires us to die to our old nature in order to put on a new one.  Although everything we encounter in life is not necessarily good, God can and will use it to conform us more and more into the likeness of Jesus.  This is a lifetime process.  We are constantly being conformed into the image of Christ so that those around us will see him in our lives.

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oes it seem that God has turned up the heat on you until you feel as if you are melting?  Do you feel you have been left in the dark with no one taking notice of you or your circumstances?  Take heart, both of these are indications that God is working in your life, molding and shaping you into the very image of Christ.  When He is finished, you will bear the wonderful likeness of Christ and you will be ready to share his love with those around you.  Are you being molded into shape today?

Everything's Upstairs!

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othing tests a family’s mettle more than going through a remodeling project.  I should know because I survived three such projects at our home on Main Street.  Every time our family grew, the house grew right along with it.  We added rooms, divided rooms; carpeted, painted, wall papered, enclosed porches, and added a driveway.  For the twenty five years I lived there though, no change was more dramatic than our last remodeling project.

This project involved enclosing a carport to make a den, enclosing our sundeck to create a sunroom, installing a bay window in our living room, installing a spiral stair case to connect the upstairs and the downstairs, and remodeling the front room of our basement into a bedroom for me.  The house also received new carpet and new paint from ceiling rafter to floor joist.  Nothing, and I mean nothing, was overlooked.  This was a complete overhaul of our home and when we were finished it looked much different from the house I grew up in.

Finally, after twenty-five years, I had my own room and my brother had his.  We shared a room through college but when this last project was completed, I had control of the downstairs.  The front room of the basement, converted into a bedroom, was mine and the new den was adjacent to it.  The backdoor provided me with my own entrance and with the exception of a bathroom and a kitchen; I had my own little apartment.

The novelty soon wore off, however, because every time I needed something, I had to climb the stairs.  If I wanted to eat, I had to go upstairs to the kitchen or the pantry.  If I wanted to see my parents, I had to go upstairs to their room or to the sunroom to talk to them.  My brother’s and my sister’s rooms were on the main floor so I had to climb the stairs to pay them a visit.  When I needed a shower, I went upstairs and so on and so forth!

You get the picture don’t you?  Everything I needed was upstairs and I spent the vast majority of my time working out on that spiral staircase.  It really wasn’t that bad.  I enjoyed my time downstairs but several times during the day, I had to go upstairs in order to take care of all the necessities of life.  Food, relationships, and provisions were all upstairs which meant I spent a lot of time there!

There is a great lesson to be learned from my childhood home.  It is a direct parallel to life and the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father.  Far too often we are content to live our lives on the ground-level of existence, comfortable and content with the circumstances life has afforded us.  The sad part is that everything we need, all our necessary provision, the need for relationship, and the very staples of life are to be found upstairs!

Our Heavenly Father wants us to live life on a higher level than the ground floor.  His plans for us are so much larger and greater than we can ever imagine.  The provisions He has for us are far beyond our ability to imagine and the relationship He longs to share with us is far deeper and richer than anything we have ever known before.

Jesus spoke of this in Chapter 5 of John’s gospel.  In one of his many conversations with the Pharisees, Jesus stated very plainly that he had come to bring life but that men refused to come to him to receive it.  In John 5:39-40, Jesus says the following, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” 

There is a determined sadness in this statement.  The Pharisees were the religious leaders of their day. No one knew the Scriptures better than they and no one should have been more aware of the Messiah than these learned men.  Yet for all their searching of the Scriptures, for all their knowledge of God and His ways, they completely missed the boat.  They searched the Scriptures diligently, looking for signs of the Messiah’s coming and all the while he stood before them. 

The real tragedy here is that these learned men refused God’s invitation to have life.  They were content to live on the ground floor while God had so much more waiting for them upstairs.  With the coming of Jesus, God installed a staircase which allowed them direct access to all His provisions.  All they had to do was climb the stairs but they refused to do so.  All they needed was standing there, staring them in the eyes, and they refused to accept God’s invitation.

My mom and dad have built a new home and moved away from Main Street.  However, when I am home, I ride by the house and look through the windows.  The people living there don’t know me and I don’t know them.  Yet I wonder if they ever stop and think how important that spiral staircase in the back of the house is.  I wonder if they realize that without it they would have no access to any of the provisions necessary to life in that house. 

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hen my thoughts turn inward and I ask myself if I understand the importance and the significance of the staircase God has provided in Jesus Christ so that I can have direct access to the throne of grace.  Am I content to live on the ground floor of life or do I understand that everything I need is on the next level?  All I have to do is climb the stairs.  I think I’ll do that right now!  How about you?