Thursday, October 27, 2011

It's the end of the world as we know it!

     Outside my office is a cute little candy dispenser that my assistant fills with gourmet jelly beans.  Every single time I walk into my office I swear I hear it call my name.  My response is always the same, "Ah its just a handful of jelly beans, why not."  Well doing that once a day isn't a big deal, but ten times a day is a constant reminder of my lack of self-control.
     I was reading in Titus this morning: "Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and to live wisely.  They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience."
     Imagine what our world would look like if we simply lived out those two sentences.  Ok, not even the entire two sentences, just two words: self-control.  In one sense it would be almost apocalyptical.  Imagine the industries and businesses that would have to close their doors because people were no longer buying things that they didn't need.  Imagine all of the police officers that would be out of work because no one was committing any crimes.  Imagine all of the politicians, without a job, because the government would no longer be needed.  Actually, I really like the sound of that last one.
     Think about it, every negative thing in our society comes back to a lack of personal self-control.  Unfortunately, we don't promote the value of self-control in our culture.  In fact, we revel in self-indulgence.  That is what nearly every movie, magazine, or commercial is about.  We teach our kids to "say no to drugs" but basically we communicate, "say yes to everything else."
     Even in Christianity, we don't promote self-control.  We write books about how YOU can have your best life now, and how every day can be a Friday.  We say give, stretch your faith, and dream about what God can bless YOU with.  We don't talk much about Christ's command "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me."  Of course we don't.  You will never get on TBN or the New York Times best seller list with that kind of a message.
     But let's face it, that is exactly the kind of people we want to be around.  We want our boss to have self-control.  We want our kids to have self-control.  We definitely want our spouse to have self-control!
     I leave you with the words of the great 21st century philosopher Michael Jackson: "I'm starting with the man in the mirror."   I am striving by the power of God's spirit that lives in me to model self-control to all of those around me.  I know that I have a long way to go, but the journey of a 1,000 miles is taken one step at a time.  Listen to what else Paul had to say to Titus "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.  Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching."        

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Don't step in the Poop!

     My dad tells a hilarious story of when he was a kid walking in the woods with his father (my grandpa.)  Dad was intently following in my grandpa's fresh footprints when they came along a fresh pile of Cow manure!  Grandpa quickly sidestepped it, but neglected to alert my dad to the impending danger.  Dad then hit the pile of Cow manure and slid into it up to his elbows!  Needless to say my dad was infuriated at my grandpa's neglect in pointing out the potential disaster.
     As I think about this story, I think about how much trouble a quick statement such as "Watch out!  Don't step in the poop!" would have saved my father.  I was recently hanging out with a young man and having a conversation about his family.  He told me about his brother becoming a father outside of marriage and the intense emotional problems he was facing.  He also told me that his sister was going to move in with her boyfriend.  These are kids who were raised in church and was a family that I care deeply about, so I was troubled to hear what they were going through.  I began questioning the young man about what he was learning from his older sibling's example.  His final comment in our conversation troubled me.  "I have a lot of examples of what not to do, but not too many of what I should do."
     I was reading in Titus this morning "I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives."  First of all, I long to be like Paul to this young man and "teach him to know the truth that shows him how to live a godly life."  Secondly, I know this young man's parents desire for their son to live a godly life.  But I get so frustrated at the crap the enemy throws in the path of families.  And unfortunately it can be difficult to see at times.
    I so badly wanted to say to this young man, "Don't step in the poop!"  The answer is so simple.  The lesson you can learn from your brother and sister is clear: "Follow God's plan, save sex for marriage."
    So my simple challenge to you today is "Who is following in your footsteps?"  Who is following your example, and is it an example worth following?  Do you have someone in your life that you are teaching to know the truth and showing them how to live a godly life?  I am following Christ today not because I went to church and heard enough sermon's and Sunday school lessons.  I am following Christ because of my parents and many other role models who lived out their faith in front of me.  I followed their example and many times they had to have the guts to say, "Watch out!  Don't step in the poop!"      

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Why do we hurt the ones we love?

     My wife and I are blessed to have three of the most beautiful children in the world!  (Yes, I am fully aware of how biased that statement is.)  Our kids our great students at school and rarely have discipline issues at church.  But I am amazed at how these beautiful angels can morph into something that I can't even recognize when they come home!
     Take our five year old Lydia for example.  She has such a sweet spirit and smile that melts my heart every time, but if you ever take something that is hers: Watch Out!  Yesterday, her brother made her mad, and my precious little angel walks across the room and punches him as hard as she can in the face!
     This kind of behavior always makes me livid, and I feel completely justified in my anger.  I think I would be just as angry if a random child came up and punched my son in the face.  I ask my daughter, "Do you act like that at school if someone makes you mad?"  Her response is always, "No, Daddy."  "Then why do you treat your brother like that?"  I respond.  For whatever reason, she can never answer that question.
     But if I were to be uncomfortably honest, I am guilty of the same behavior.  No, it isn't physical violence, so don't call DHS on me.  Many times I have found myself talking to my wife and children in a way that I would never speak to total strangers.  Why is that?  Why do we hurt the ones we love?
     Unfortunately, I think it is because we think we can get away with it.  We think our family is obligated to love us regardless of how we act.  I know the home should be a safe place to be ourselves, warts and all, but there has to be boundaries to our behavior.
     Listen to what Paul told Timothy "But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith.  Such people are worse than unbelievers."  Could he have said it any more forcefully than this?  Obviously how we treat our family is a big deal to God.
     I want to emphasize that again.  God's word says that people who claim to be Christians but don't care for their family are worse than an unbelievers.
     Here is how the Message translation puts it "family members. . .let them learn that religion begins at their own doorstep. . . This pleases God immensely."
     So why should I give people I work with more grace than my family?  Why do I show more restraint with strangers that I interact with than with the people I love the most?  Sounds to me like I have things backwards.  I am trying my best to reverse this ugly fact of life in my family.
     Scripture tells us that if we will embrace the fact that "religion begins at our own doorstep" it pleases God immensely.  I am striving to be a person who is guilty of pleasing God immensely.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

A Pastor hires a Prostitute!

     Unfortunately, the big news in my town is that a local pastor was arrested for trying to solicit a prostitute.  You may be expecting me at this point to go off in an angry rant against this man, but my reaction is just the opposite.  My heart is broken for him.  This man was deceived!  He was deceived in so many ways.  He was deceived to think that he would get away with it.  He was deceived in thinking that seeing a prostitute would somehow cure whatever desire he was trying to fulfill.
     Even though I have never met the man, I am trying to understand his motivation.  What would drive a pastor of a church who has a wife and three children, to risk all of that for a temporary physical pleasure?  Obviously, you don't just wake up one morning and say, "I think I will see if I can hire a prostitute today."  There were a thousand small steps the man took in this direction before getting to this point.
     Maybe he was hurt repeatedly by people in the church.  Maybe he was overworked and burned out on the ministry.  Maybe he had allowed his marriage to begin falling apart.  Maybe he hadn't prayed or read  God's word for himself in months.  I don't know what emptiness he was trying to fill up, but something drove him to this point.
     I was reading this morning Paul's encouragement to the young pastor Timothy, "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching.  Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you."  This instruction is so simple to understand but much more difficult to live out.
     Paul understood how the enemy works.  The enemy knows that the best way to get us into some "big" sin is to get us to agree to a lot of "little" sins that will lead us in that direction.  Paul is saying that the "little" sins are just as damning as the "big" sins.  He instructs us to keep a close watch out for those "small" compromises, because each one leads us to a bigger one.
     Paul also tells us how high the stakes are for us.  He says not only is our salvation at stake but also the salvation of those who we have influence over.
     My challenge to you is that you will never be able to avoid sin either "big" or "small" on your own.  It will only happen as we rely on the power of God's spirit.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, His Spirit lives inside of you and is the only hope we have to stay on the right path.

Additional Resources: Exit Ramps
Click on the above link to read an excellent blog on this topic by Pastor Steven Furtick. 
             

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The myth of a balanced life!

     It seems like the word "balance" is the new buzz word of our day.  We are supposed to eat a balanced diet.  We are supposed to have a balanced schedule.  Politicians are supposed to have a balanced approach to their campaign.  I guess it makes sense.  Whenever we lose our balance it isn't a pretty sight.  Physically, when we lose our balance we normally end up on our behinds with other people laughing at us.  When we lose our balance emotionally it doesn't normally turn out to good either.  Our government has long since given up on the concept of a balanced budget and look at the mess it has gotten us into.
     What I find disturbing is that I have noticed this concept creeping into Christianity. It seems like we have some how made "living a balanced life" a Biblical mandate.  While I see the merits to balance in a lot of instances, I believe that there can be an unhealthy toxic view of balance as well.
     This toxic view of balance can be used to convince us to live a totally vanilla, mediocre life.  Because we want to avoid "extremes," we are some how convinced that we are to give small parts of life to a million different things.  It is like we have all these different baskets, friends, dating, career, hobbies, school, marriage, kids, and o yeah God.  You don't want to put "all your eggs in one basket" so obviously to achieve balance you must give a little bit of yourself to everything.
     The problem is "balance" seems so unachievable.  Your boss probably isn't going to come to you and say,  "I noticed you have been working too much lately.  You need to go home and be with your family."  Your spouse and children are never going to come to you and say, "Honey, you have been spending too much time with us as a family.  We think you need to spend more time at work."     
     Where do we find this concept in the Bible?  Do you see Jesus preaching about how you need "balance" in your life.  No, you find him saying crazy things like "If you love your father or mother, wife or children more than you love me, your not worthy to be my disciple."  All throughout the New Testament we consistently hear about making Jesus "Lord" or "Master" of our life.  Does that sound like a "balanced life?"
     What we do see throughout the Bible is that God wants us to give all of ourselves to him first and foremost and then he wants us to give all of ourselves to those around us.  Jesus summed this up when he said that the greatest commandments were as follows: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself."  That doesn't sound like "balance" at all.  Give 100% of myself to God then give 100% of myself to those around me.  That doesn't even sound mathematically possible.
     God teaches us that a fool gives part of himself to a lot of important things.  But a wise man gives all of himself to a few crucial things.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Why I am losing my hair!

     Over the last few years I have experienced every man's nightmare!  Every time I looked in the mirror I noticed that I had fewer and fewer hairs on top of my head.  My wife has several theories as to why this is happening: weightlifting, body building supplements, blah, blah, blah.  But I am convinced it could only be one thing: Family Pictures!
     When you have three young children family pictures are like trying to rake leaves in a tornado.  That is why we have taken very few family pictures in the last few years.  It seems simple enough for the kids.  Dianne and I make the appointment with the photographer.  We give them a bath.  We pick cute matching outfits.  We get them dressed.  We put them in the car and take them to the studio.  We get their hair looking perfect.  With the help of the photographer we get them posed perfect.  Here comes the children's part: All they have to do is STAND THERE AND SMILE!  Seems simple enough.  Well that is why I am losing my hair, because I pulled it out trying to convince them to stand their and smile.  Somehow they manage to do everything but that.
     What I find interesting is that I think Christians are often like my kids. Listen to Colossians 1 "through Christ God reconciled everything to himself.  He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross.  As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault."
     God did everything that needs to be done.  He reconciled us!  He made peace with us!  He brought us into his presence!  He made us holy and blameless!  Here is our part from Colossians 1 "But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it."  
      We don't have to work hard to earn God's approval.  We don't have to twist God's arm to get him to listen to us.  We don't have to chase God down or run after him.  Christ did all of the heavy lifting for us.  All we have to do is BELIEVE!  Our part is so simple.  All we have to do is STAND THERE AND SMILE!
     I want to make sure you heard that last part correctly.  I said our part is so simple.  I didn't say it was easy.  All we have to do is trust God.  All we have to do is stand firm in our belief.  When I was fired from my first pastor position, standing firm in my belief was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.  I have been tempted to quite my job a thousand times, and it has been extremely difficult at times to just STAND THERE AND SMILE!  When Dianne and I have went through tough financial times, it has been very challenging to "stand firm in our belief."
     But through every single challenge over the past thirty years of following Christ, he has always proved himself to be trustworthy.  He has never once failed me!  That is why I continue to "stand firm in my belief"  because I know God can be trusted.
     I challenge you today to stop running, stop striving, and just STAND THERE AND SMILE!