Otherwise

11.22.11

Matthew 13.14,15 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

   they hardly hear with their ears,

   and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

   hear with their ears,

   understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’ NIV

Trust me, it’s not because God didn’t want them to see or hear, it’s because they couldn’t and they kept trying to…

Relationships are hard work, but they are for a reason: the condition of our souls makes them hard work. Few people I know of have close, close friends. I know of many who have pals and chums and people around whom they are comfortable – but I of few who would fall into the close friend category. The reason is, close friends are those who will disagree with us yet accept us despite the disagreement. Close friends are those who will rebuke us because they know that such action is sometimes what we need and their voice is one we’ll accept. A close friend is one who sees our potential and nurtures that potential but doesn’t baby us or excuse our bad behavior or poor choices. A close friend is someone we’ll turn to when we run out of resources.

A close friend is one who has gained access to our heart and has become a voice of reason when we won’t listen to anyone else. Pals and chums are in it for what they can get out of it – a close friend is in it for the long haul. Pals and chums are in it to feed their own need, a close friend will actually pray for us and intercede for us at our worst. Jonathan, in 1 Samuel 18, was such a friend to David. It doesn’t say David was one back… A close friend loves us but doesn’t necessarily need us – that’s why they are so valuable.

When Jesus quoted Isaiah 6.9-10 He was making the point that the relationship between men and God had become strained. It wasn’t that God gave up, it’s that man quit keeping the appointments. In mens minds, God quit being a Close Friend to them because they became enthralled with their pals. Pals will tell you what you want to hear and when they don’t you can write them off as misinformed. A close friend seems to know the condition of our hearts and loves us anyway. Jesus quoted what He did because they had become what they were: distant from God; and looking everywhere for justification except from Him. Pals are in it for the party – God is in it for eternity.

I always get hung up on the word otherwise: Otherwise they might see [Me] with their eyes, hear [Me] with their ears, understand [Me] with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. They would come to their senses and come back to their Close Friend for help, healing, and restoration. Because otherwise they’ll just continue down the path they’re on without Me to their destruction…

Dealing with Mountains

11.20.11

Matthew 5.1 1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them. NIV

Part of the reason Jesus went up on a mountainside was it was easier for Him to project what He was going to say to these crowds. When I think of crowds, I think of the Oregon State Fair – there are crowds at the state fair. When I think of crowds, I think of a Boise State University football game – there are massive crowds of people at BSU games. So, regardless of whether we think there were lots of people or not, Jesus began to teach them. Matthew recorded there were crowds…we have to take Matthew at his word.

So, there were crowds but there was also a mountainside. I know it was where they were and I’m going to take a bit of license this morning because it’s often the mountains in life that need addressed: not the molehills. True we can make mountains out of molehills in our perspective or our attitude, but we deal with real mountains in our lives. A friend of mine was preaching one time and to the gathered crowd he said: Just go back to your neighborhood today and look up and down the street; seven out of ten homes in your neighborhood are in financial crisis! Financial crisis is a mountain… and there are many of those mountains out there these days.

Do you know anyone who’s been divorced? I do. I know dozens of people in my sphere of influence who’ve been divorced. Many, if not most of my kids friends have parents who’ve been divorced. Divorce is a relational mountain of selfishness and stubbornness. Not to indict those who’ve been divorced, but it is a mountainous problem in people’s lives today; the heartache and heartbreak is immeasurable. The effect on children is immeasurable.

I know Jesus went up on a mountain for reasons other than what I’m saying but in my perspective I think about the mountainous problems people face in their lives these days, and I’m of the opinion that listening to Jesus teach this Sermon might be the answer to what mountains – seemingly insurmountable mountains – people are looking at in their lives today – crowds of people; millions of people: sickness, poverty, hunger, disease, death...

One of the biggest mountains out there is the Mountain of No Answer. Many mountains can be overcome with a plan, hard work, and patience. But often many times the mountains are so big – so vast – that whatever effort we give to them seems so small and pathetic that we just give up. When there seems to be no answer people usually give up. Remarkably, when facing the Mountain of No Answer is when God often shows up. Remarkably as well, God speaks from the mountain, or from within the storm; or from within whatever is facing us… because God is not affected by mountains and He provides solutions to mountains to the humble and faithful one(s) who are looking for Him and will listen to Him.

The so-called Sermon on the Mount is a great place to start when faced with the mighty mountains of life. Psalm 121.1-2: I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. If you’re faced with an insurmountable mountain, look to the One who knows all about them and put His words into practice – through Him and by His word, those mountains will become molehills…

What Words

11.19.11

Matthew 4.19 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” NIV

Well, it happened: Regis did his last show on Live. Cathy and I sat and watched the recording last night (aren’t DVR’s nice?). I enjoyed the show and the way they honored Regis for his entertainment value and his contribution to the television industry. It was nice and only a little teary. Regis is gone but the show must go on…

In one segment of the show Regis reflects on his late start as a star and shares with the audience these bits of advice: don’t wait like I did, (he would say) to follow your dreams; do it now. If you want to do something in life, don’t wait, go for it now. In other words, you don’t know if you don’t go, and if you wait you might be too late… something like that. Great words, but I got to thinking about the Christian and asking myself, what words will motivate us to do the greatest things in our lives. And Jesus said, Come follow Me and I will send you out to fish for people.

I always enjoyed watching Regis because he was funny and did some crazy, but tame stuff, on his show. But the bottom line is that Regis, as good as he was at his craft, is only an entertainer. He may have done some charity work and all that but he is just an entertainer and as good as he was at what he did, that is all he has. The believer is called to do the bidding of the King. The believer is called to follow Jesus, regardless of vocation, and learn to fish for people. We could say that Regis did what was nice, the believer is called to do that which is eternal.

I look at my life and ask, Paul, what have you done, and on what, do you hang your hat? My answer is to say I have given my life to the King. My life is to be guided by what the King says, not what Regis tells me. I admire and respect Regis for his accomplishments, work ethic, and talents, but I worship the King. I would echo Regis’ words and say to anyone who would listen, don’t wait to serve Jesus, learn to do it now. The ride and the adventure will be worth everything you give it, and infinitely more.

So, if we need words to motivate us and to help us achieve our dreams, Regis’ words, as good as they were, only go so far. Jesus’ words however, take us into an eternal relationship with God…how cool is that!? So, what am I to do today in response? Follow Christ, and then fish for people.

To Succeed Spiritually

11.18.11

2 Corinthians 13.10 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down. NIV

For years I have read Paul’s letters to the Corinthians and ‘heard’ sternness in his voice (tone) in my mind as I’ve read. When I heard sternness, it seemed to give his letters more weight and validity. But I realized this time through that these letters came from a man with a broken heart and a real sense of compassion for those who’d veered from the path spiritually. Paul didn’t want to beat them up; he wanted to build them up. His desire was that they would succeed spiritually so that they could impact their world, and their society. I believe that is to be the goal of every church of Christ in the world.

Sometimes churches fail – sometimes people fail, but that is never an excuse to destroy them emotionally or drive them away as some kind of enemy. People need constantly to be reached out to and restored. Sometimes the tone to do so needs to be blunt, but never are people to be written off completely – that just isn’t how things are to be done in the Kingdom of Love and Light.

I believe Paul got frustrated with the Corinthians, but then I think he also got frustrated at himself that he could’ve or should’ve delivered his message better or fought a little harder or something like that. His bottom line for them was concern that they got the message in its entirety and live up to it earnestly. But I think Paul was smart enough to know that what got started in the Spirit was going to be attacked in the flesh and that by the enemies of God. From a distance (because he was traveling) Paul through his letters wanted to help them pull things back together in the Lord. Paul may have been blunt but he wasn’t a raging maniac. Paul may have come across passionate but he desired to see them succeed against the attack that they were under and to see him as on their side – not just as one to beat them up and criticize them.

I think it is easy to see someone’s failures and jump on the write-off bandwagon. I think it is easy to see someone struggling and say inside, they’re never gonna make it. I think it is much harder to see someone failing and come alongside, even at their worst and encourage them and help them to pull it together. The harder is worth every bit of energy it takes to do.

God has never once has expected me to fail in Christ. That thought has never been on His mind. And God knows how often I do. But God never writes me off and He always shows up at just the right time in just the right ways to let me know He hasn’t forgotten me or left me all on my own to fail. Since before the world was formed or before Adam did his thing, God has seen me and has loved me to build me up in Himself and not to tear me down because at times I just don’t seem to get it… Paul’s tone in his letters to the Corinthians may have been passionate but it was only for his reader’s success in Christ, nothing else.

Standing

11.14.11

1 Corinthians 15.17 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. NIV

Some among the Corinthians had been convinced through cultural pressure, false teaching, or human reasoning that the resurrection of Christ was not true. It happens: someone brings us incredibly good news and when the heat dies down from how good the news is, then second thoughts begin to emerge: was this really what I thought it was? If it is, how come…? Such, is what happened to some in the Corinthian Church. And so Paul addressed it powerfully.

Sometimes, I don’t fully grasp the magnitude of things Paul said – this is one of them: And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. This is a huge statement about where we are in relation to sin. If we are in Christ through His resurrection, then we are apart from sin. If Christ wasn’t raised, then there is no remedy for sin and we are still in them and apart from God. Only part of Jesus death had to do with the removal or remission of sin; the other part has to do with where we are: our standing. This is how big this is: in Christ we have been removed from our standing in sin. Oh, my! That’s big! Sin is the great separator.

If there is one obstacle that stands between man and God, it’s sin. If there is one thing that prevents us from life, it’s death. Sin and death were introduced when Adam and Eve decided to have their own way apart from God. Jesus came to reverse that order through His life, death, and resurrection – His resurrection being the key. People die in their sins.

But since Jesus lived and died and rose again, the whole process of normalcy is changed and the key to it all is belief that Jesus rose again! That changes everything. That turns the natural order on its head. The whole of the Christian faith hinges on that one truth: “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15.3,4 NIV) Jesus’ resurrection nullified our standing in sin and our being unacceptable to God in it. Our new standing is in Christ – unless we can’t or won’t believe in Him and what He did for us.

Where most folks get hung up is that they can’t handle the fact that after believing all this, they still sin; therefore what Jesus did for them is somehow impotent. In other words, I still sin therefore something must be wrong because it isn’t working for me. It has to do with standing and that is what nullifies sin. Yes, our sins need to be dealt with, but in Christ and because of what He did, sin no longer identifies us as who we are – Jesus does. And only in Jesus is there remedy for sin and acceptability with God. That’s how important this is! So, to deny the resurrection is to trade life for death; faith for futility.

Knowing who we are and where we stand is vastly important. Knowing that, despite our behavior at times, we are remedied and rescued from the unacceptability of standing in sin is crucial to our spiritual survival and the growth of our faith. Standing stops the voices that say, this can’t be working – just look at your behavior! The one thing we need to do is to look at the Risen Christ and thank Him that despite our behavior from time to time, there is eternal standing through faith in Him and what He has done for us – His resurrection is key!

Where Many Hop In

11.13.11

Job 40.8 8 “Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? NIV

Strangely, sadly, for most folks, “Yes” would be the answer to the above questions – especially in condemning God to justify oneself. How man looks at God is very strange and sad. But that would explain the depth of our fall, and also the height to which God wants to take us.

Every day, I find myself wanting to control my circumstances: there is a deep-rooted sense of control in me that would have me condemn God for His inaction, and justify my heart and thoughts accordingly. One of the things in my life that has never really grown is humility. Submission, in me, is weak and small as well. And both of these things require a trust in God that despite what I feel, see, or think, that God really is in control of all of my life all of the time, and I can honestly believe I will not crash and burn in the process. Life is often like a scary movie: it’s hard to separate oneself truthfully from graphically displayed fiction.

The flip-side of this is looking objectively at what is happening in my life today: what do I do, who do I know; what am I reading; how am I spending my time? All of these things are indicators of whether I am investing trust in the Almighty or using these things as drugs to dull my senses as to what God is accomplishing in me. How am I praying? What am I saying to God in the midst of how I feel? And please understand me: feelings are not necessarily true, but they are indicators of the level of my cooperation with my heavenly Father. I might feel like crap but what are my dealings with my feelings; do I entertain them, or do I carefully consider them and assess what they are doing to me in my faith journey?

My thought is: feelings are largely responsible for us coming to that place where we would discredit God’s justice; that we would actually condemn Him to justify ourselves. Feelings need to be dealt with carefully, and more often than not, ruthlessly. I do not walk by sight or how I feel: I walk by faith that says regardless of how I feel, I will trust Father for all I need (and especially the things in me that I know are there and I am reluctant and/or afraid to deal with!) Fear will cause me to doubt God and justify my own actions or inaction. Faith will cause me to damn the torpedoes and steam on knowing God is on the other side of the torpedoes (whether real or imagined) to save me.

Job, fairly or unfairly, was party to a divine action for which he had no choice in the matter, and no voice in its outcome. Job did what most of us would do: blame God for treating him so poorly, and cry out in self-righteousness that God’s treatment (for whatever reason) was unfair. And there’s the killer:  blaming God for being unfair. That attitude alone is where many hop into the blame-game that God is untrustworthy in His dealings with us… it’s a sad and tragic place to be.

Fortunately for Job, God lovingly set him straight; and fortunately for us, in Christ  and through our circumstances He’ll do the same if we’ll trust Him and praise Him and quit giving Him the blame. God bless you as you serve Him in faith today no matter what you’re going through.

Whether the Weather

11.12.11

Job 37.13 13 He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love. NIV

“My father was a farmer but his head was in the skies

He worked every day but Sunday ‘til the day he died.

He prayed for rain and thunder, and listened for the sound.

In the dry years he went under; he never got off the ground.”

-       Allison Krauss

“Never Got Off the Ground”

I suppose there are two ways to look at rainy days: God’s punishment or God’s love. In the song lyrics it looked like punishment. I guess it depends on what the rain does to you as to whether it’s punishment or love. When I worked on a cattle ranch, I felt the rain was always love – I got to get out of changing irrigation pipe!

This past week was a hard week of sales for me but at least I got sunshine every day. Today was snow. It seems I do better when the sun’s shining than when it’s cloudy and pouring. But the statement from Job caught my attention and made me think about what I think about rain and snow and cloudy days. Karen Carpenter sang that rainy days and Mondays always brought her down. There is just something inevitable about rain and the beginning of the work-week.

Job says, “He brings the clouds to punish people, or to water his earth and show his love.” It all depends on how we look at it. God’s love is not gauged by the weather although we men tend to think in those kinds of terms. God’s love is immeasurable both in its quantity, and quality. Rain has nothing to do with whether God loves us or not, but it sure can spoil a party or an occasion. And sometimes rain is used by God to get us to go in another direction – God will use whatever means to direct us to where He wants us to be. The question will be, will we get it when we get there?

Rain can be God’s love expressed in the words of water – uh, change of plans! It’s amazing how we all seem to act in a rain shower – the hurry and hustle to dodge the drops and make it to shelter with as few water marks as possible. But despite sunshine or clouds, rain or dry God’s love is there for the taking for you and me: it’s all in how we approach it. And rainy days don’t last forever and sometimes we just need a good soaking. Whether or not we get the rain and thunder, it’s God Himself who directs our lives and when we look only to Him, sales or no, rain or no, He will get us through and will do it according to His divine will and the outcome in our lives will be indescribably good – and eternally so.

It’s not that rain is never a nuisance, but it is true we have absolutely no control over rain and when it decides to show up. However, God’s love is a constant and seems to be impervious to water and weather. It also seems to be resistant to circumstances and situations. And God’s love can be a great comfort in the midst of great pain or disappointment: it’s all in how we respond.

So whether it’s to punish or to please, how God uses the weather is not the issue: it’s how we choose to respond to His use of nature and what it does to our hearts. BTW: I have steeled my heart for this coming week. The forecast is for clouds and snow and I’ll be out in it trying to make a living with God’s presence with me all the while …