A draught of kindness

We are living in a time in history unlike any I have ever known. We are living in a time when there is a draught of kindness.  

As I watch the news and read the morning headlines I see anger, harshness and cruelty. It seems we have become, as C.S. Lewis described it, "Men without chests."  We have lost our identity as a part of humanity, we have lost all heart and kindness for others and now we see the results.

We are now seeing what happens when we take God out of our lives and culture.  The outcome?  Men have become animals devouring one another with words, anger and weapons if possible.  We have lost our humanity and with it we have lost the essential ingredient of civility- kindness.

Somehow our culture assumed they could ignore God and suffer none of the consequences of such a decision, but when you remove God from a life you remove all that God is- love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness....ETC!  And what we end up with are animals walking on two feet fighting, biting and devouring one another.

What did we expect? Did we think we could ignore God and suffer none of the withdrawl that would go with it?  

Without God we lose the one thing that makes us different from the animals- our humanity!  Now that we have lost what makes us uniques God has turned us over to the outcome.  

Much like a good zombie movie we have become cruel, mindless and abusive with only one goal- devour one another.  It seems the zombie apocolypse has happened, but not as we imagined. 

But God invites us to a different story, a different outcome when he says, 

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you."

What we are missing today is the "just as..." part of this passage from Ephesians.  When we dismiss God we also dismiss all he has done and we lose the model, the example of how we should live with each other....we lose the example of Jesus.  And now we see it....a culture without God and all the side effects that go with it.  

Only in Christ will we discover our humanity again, only as we follow him do we live as he designed us.  In a time when there is a draught of kindness imagine what your kindness will taste like to someone dying from thirst for it. 

We dare not look like the world around us.  Instead we are called to a higher place when Paul wrote these amazing words, and in these words is the cure for the draught around you as you go through your day,

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."

And how can we finish without a word from Solomon?  I will close with his words,

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart."

(For further study  on this topic read Jesus' words in Luke 6:27-38)

He's on your side!

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you."

-God, Isaiah 43:5

Do  you realize the "why" is often more important than the "what?"

Why would I worry about money IF I have millions in the bank?

Why wouldn't I enjoy life IF I knew everything would work out?

The why of things makes the what easy!  If my "why" has enough substance then my "what" will be much easier.

And so, God gives us this simple what:

"Do not be afraid"

It's a big what really!  Imagine someone saying that to you in the midst of a tornado.  Don't be afraid? 

Are you crazy? Do you see the storm around us?  

But what if the "why" made their "what" perfectly reasonable?  What if...after you tell me something like that....your reason I can do that makes me reply, "Ohhhh, of course, I can do that!"

Why shouldn't I be afraid?  BECAUSE GOD (you know...the one who made everything...the one who is in control of everything....the only God who can do anything...you know..that one)...because God is with you.

If you have that "why" then the "what" is really pretty small, isn't it?

As my dear mom reminds me when we talk, "Don't forget, God is on your side, he's for you!" 

Now, relax, enjoy your day.  There's an amazing God ruling and reigning....don't worry.

The BIG question

There are verses in the Bible that trouble us. 

They were meant to give us pause and make us think.

They were meant to make us ask questions.

Here is one of them,

^{Revelation 20:15} Anyone whose name 

was not found written in the book of life 

was thrown into the lake of fire.

Our culture will scream in protest at this verse.  It's a very serious verse!  It is meant to sober us, to make us think, to make us aware of a bigger reality.

I can imagine the protests and questions as I write this, "How could God be so unfair?"  "I've lived a good life, why isn't that good enough?"  or "I don't even believe in God, what right does he have to judge me?"

The questions flow as I think about a response from the world I live in, but there is only one question that we should be asking, one question that puts this all in perspective-

How do I get my name in that book?

That is the BIG question we each must ask.  And it means we must deal with a God who says there is only one way to get your name written in the book of life, only one path that gets you to the goal.  In a world full of religions God tells us you must come my way, you can't get here any other way.

As a Christian I'm considered narrow minded, simple, ignorant, politically incorrect and a dozen other adjectives that culture would throw at me, but IF there is a God in heaven doesn't he get to make the rules?  And, honestly, there is a God who made everything, rules everything and tells us he has written a book....

so I come back to this key question, this most important question, How do I get my name in that book?

That's the BIG question.

Just thinking

Here are a couple things I've been thinking about this week.  I'll add more as they happen.

"Everyone believes in absolutes. You can dismiss them if you wish and do as you please, but absolutes have consequences and you can't dismiss those quite so easily."

"Most people's lives are like a ship at sea without a rudder. They are moving through life well enough but have no idea where they are going or why and when they find themselves broken on the rocks of a distant shore they blame God instead of the real culprit- themselves."

Change

Whether you like it or not things will change.

Your life will change,

your job will change,

you will change.

It's part of life.

Change is ahead, are you ready?

Will you embrace it or run from it?

Will you look forward to the adventure

or fear something new?

Every new day is a step towards

something different,

something new,

something unknown.

Every day change is happening...

whether you like it or not.

Do you look forward to it

or

dread it?

That one question will tell you a lot about

your view of "today."

Don't hold onto today too tightly,

soon it will pass

and

tomorrow will come...

and it will be something new!

Isn't that exciting?

Tears

Tears

They speak of pain

hurt

loss

grief

They speak of brokeness

They tell you

as they wet your face

that things are not as they should be

They are the tears of woundedness

of wrong done

of loss suffered

of pain ongoing

of lonliness haunting

They tell me things are not as they should be

Not as they are supposed to be

They tell me something is wrong

a heart is broken

and the tears remind me...

THIS IS NOT THE WAY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE!

But

One day

Perhaps today

Tears will be no more

Can you imagine the implications of that?

Can you imagine what that says 

about the days ahead?

One day

Every tear and the reasons for them

will be done away

One day tears will be a distant memory

because

the reasons they came

will never haunt us again!

One day...

Perhaps today

It's Monday!

It's Monday morning, I can't believe how quickly things are moving.  I haven't written anything of substance in weeks.  It appears my pen is dry as is my mind.  I loved the days of rich thoughts flowing, but now I'm trying to simply navigate a day.  Strange how the cycles of life go.  Up one day, down for the next month.  It's part of how life goes.  I do look forward to the days of rich content, but I need to celebrate these dry days and really listen as God speaks.  Even in the desert God works.  Even when you think nothing is happening it is!

Quote of the day

Quote of the day from an old friend-

“I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts, when suddenly I realized I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer to the reality of answers that I cannot escape, and it's a wonderful relief.”  ― Tom Skinner

Speak Lord....

"Speak Lord, your servant is listening." -Samuel the prophet

These should be our first words to God each day as well. 

An availability, 

an identity, 

a role to play, 

a master to serve. 

What else do you need?

Do you know that?

You are not here by accident. 

You were born in this time, 

in this place 

designed by God to glorify him 

where he has placed you. 

Do you know that?

The captain's face

A number of years ago I had the opportunity to go sailing with a good friend of mine. Ray was an oil man who had literally gone from struggling to pay the bills to millionaire overnight. In the 80's it happened to a number of guys, but Ray was a Christian and a friend, so we talked about our faith, God's provision and his blessings often. After his new fortune Ray bought a boat he had always wanted, it was a 38' sailboat. He had it delivered to Grand lake in eastern Oklahoma. It's a large lake and a great place to sail. There was a day one spring when we both had some time and Ray asked me to go sailing with him. I was thrilled to join him. I had never sailed before and looked forward to the experience. We met at the lake and got on the boat to get underway. Slowly we motored out of the inlet into the lake and then put up the sails. It was a great experience! I loved the sounds of the wind in the sails, the waves on the boat and the experience of sailing by wind power alone. We had a great time and a wonderful visit. ... Then it happened. Suddenly, and really without warning, a storm came up. It was a big one. 50-60 mile per hour winds and gusts, 3-4 foot waves, black clouds moving overhead. Quickly the lake cleared of other boats. Within minutes we were in a storm I can imagine the disciples experienced on the sea of Galilee when they woke Jesus and declared, "Don't you care that we are drowning?" I think I understood the fear they experienced. Our boat was leaning with the storm winds at 50 degrees or more. The waves were washing over the deck. The skies were black. The rain was intense. I WAS AFRAID! But then I turned around and looked at Ray as he steered the boat across the lake. HE WAS SMILING! I couldn't believe it. Didn't he see what I saw? Didn't he know this was bad? In my amazement I yelled through the storm, "How can you smile in this storm? Don't you see the wind and the waves?" I heard the disciples in my own voice as I said, "Don't you care that we might drown?" Ray smiled back and said, "You don't understand. I know my boat. It has a 9,000 pound keel. This boat was built for the oceans. This storm is nothing! We are fine! Relax, enjoy the ride." Suddenly, my fear subsided. I had looked at the captain's face. He knew things about our boat that I didn't. He knew we were fine. Within a few moments my fear turned to calm. Because I trusted the captain I began to enjoy the ride. Nothing had changed....the wind still blew, the rains still came, the waves still washed over the deck, but something was different....I had seen the captain's face. ... The Christian life is much like this little adventure of mine. We are often caught in the storms of life and fear for our lives, our finances, our health. This life is often overcome by a storm when we least expect it. Fears overwhelm us. Death feels close. Panic is in our voices.....but then, with fear growing, we look at Jesus and discover that he is smiling! How can he smile in this storm? Doesn't he know we are about to go down? And he replies, "You don't understand. I know this boat. I know what I have planned for you. We are fine. I'll bring you safely home. Enjoy the ride." It's funny how a glance at the face of our captain, Jesus, can change a fearful storm into an exciting adventure. A look at the captain's face makes all the difference! ...

A Smile for your day

Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully perched in his cage. The next he was sucked in, washed up, and blown over.

The problems began when Chippie's owner decided to clean Chippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up. She'd barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked in.

The bird owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag. There was Chippie -- still alive, but stunned.

Since the bird was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water. Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do . . . she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.

Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

A few days after the trauma, the reporter who'd initially written about the event contacted Chippie's owner to see how the bird was recovering. "Well," she replied, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."

It's hard not to see why. Sucked in, washed up, and blown over . . . That's enough to steal the song from the stoutest heart. -Max Lucado, In the Eye of the Storm, Word Publishing, 1991, p. 11.