Spiritual dementia

This morning I am reading Psalms 106.  It's a challenging chapter because it describes God's work for Israel and their response.  

One thing I notice repeating itself over and over in this chapter is this theme-  "they did not remember," "they forgot," "they forgot God."

In spite of all he had done for them they had developed spiritual dementia!  They saw the miracles in Egypt, the Red Sea parted, the cloud and the fire, the manna and the water from the rock....

....and still they forgot!

How is that possible?  How could they (and we) forget all God has done as if he never acted?  

To be honest, it's far too easy.  Scripture tries to describe it.  In it are elements of a hard heart, a loss of focus, lack of faith or trust in God and the febbleness of our flesh.  We are a mess!

How can we forget all God has done?  I don't know, but we do. I do! And so he gives me scripture to remind me of how easily I forget his great love, care and provision.  

In reading of the failures of Israel God is saying (as he does in 1 Corinthians 10) don't do what they did!  Don't forget to remember.

You need to know you have spiritual dementia.  You will forget what he did today and live in fear this afternoon or tomorrow.  You will have to constantly remind yourself of the great love of God.  This constant reminder of his great love is the only remedy for fear, panic and the spiritual dementia that plagues us all.  

God says, "I will never leave you or forsake you."  Don't forget to remember that.

Seeing clearly

"Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

These two verses are from the book of Philippians, in the last chapter.  I'm sure you have heard them or memorized them in hopes of having the tools to deal with the issues of your life, but today may I add a different lens to his picture?

Do you realize what Paul is saying in these verses?  He's not giving us a way to make the things we worry about go away.  He's giving us a different perspective, a different way of seeing the problems themselves.

What Paul is saying to the Philippians, and to us, is this-  Don't forget that God is in charge of everything....even the things you are worrying about.  Worry is a distraction from the big picture- God is sovereign over everything, even the things that worry you.  You don't have to ask him to be in charge of them, he already is in charge of them and working it all out (see Rom. 8:28).  

What Paul is inviting is a way to deal with worry, not to deal with the problem.  The problem is part of God's plan, his purpose.  Paul is giving us a way to see clearly and enjoy our problems with the peace of God fully ruling in our lives.

Imagine seeing someone in a storm on the lake sleeping in the boat.  That is someone who has peace even as the storms pound.

Sleeping in the storms is a great picture of trust in God, of experiencing God's peace as the clouds darken.  The storms still come, the problems still swirl, but to be at peace in the midst of it all...what a blessing.

Be kind

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Ephesians 4:32

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked."

Luke 6

Kindness is a rare thing.  

In our culture and world today it's every man for himself, if you don't take care of yourself who will?

But in this culture there is a rare gem that is hard to find, yet precious even today.  It's the rare gift of kindness...a grace to a harsh person, a mercy to the weary, a sweet word to the discouraged.

It's rare, but that makes it even more precious.  And, believe it or not it's a treasure each of us possesses and can give to another.

Yesterday I sat with a dear man finishing his life as he battles Alzheimers. He is far along in the disease, but he is still present at times. Yesterday he was here, but his usual happy disposition was now tearful, a bit anxious.  I felt so bad for him.

I sat with him, comforted him, stroked his furrowed brow and gave him that rare gem of kindness.  To be honest it didn't cost me anything to share, but it calmed this dear man's troubled heart. 

I wonder, in eternity, how God values that rare gift given to another?  

Be kind.  It's so easy, free to give, but priceless to the one who receives it.

The business of dying

I find myself in the business of serving the dying.  It is the most difficult and rewarding work I have ever done.  Each day I visit those who are lingering at the door of eternity.  I see something profound in this work.  

Those who have hardened themselves to God over a lifetime now come to the end with hearts of stone, unable to seek God or even respond to him.  The hardness has left no room for God, no cracks where he can reach them.  They have wanted nothing to do with him and now, at the end, see no need.  Their end is the saddest of all.

Those who have sought him over a lifetime find at the end they will move from one breath of the air of earth and the next a fresh breath of eternity.  The transition for them will be soft, sweet, as if walking through a door into another room.  Their end of life is a celebration, a runner crossing the finish line, a discovery that they are finally home.

The contrast couldn't be more dramatic and more tragic.  And yet I pray for them all that the people of the stone hearts might be softened and find the God who loves them.  For the children of the King that they might cross the finish line with arms lifted high in celebration of a life lived for Christ.

There is nothing more important than this, that each of us will respond to God's sweet offer of his son with a "yes".  It makes all the difference.

The most important question

The most important question anyone will ever answer is this- 

What will you do with Jesus? 

There is no answer more important than this. It is the only answer that has eternal consequence.

Imitating Father

"Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that." 

Eph. 5:1-2

These verses are profound. They give us a simply guide for how to live and what it looks like.  It is basically this- imitate God.  But you say, 'I have never seen God work, how do I imitate him?'  And the passage replies, 'watch Jesus and do that.'  Love like he loved, that's what imitating God looks like.  

In a world in chaos there is no better instruction than this- Love like Jesus.  With that simple guide each of us could change the part of the world where God has placed us.  It's not glamorous, glory filled or financially rewarding, but it will change eternity.  It will comfort a discouraged friend, help a grieving neighbor or give hope to a hopeless life. 

If all you did as a Christ follower was to live out these two verses you would have a glorious life.

Let's try it and see what happens.

The best part......

"God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble."

Psalm 46:1

Today I attended a funeral.  (I'm doing that a lot lately.)  The pastor, in his message for the funeral, used this verse.  He spoke more than 30 minutes on just these 12 words!

He said, "This is a wonderful promise. It's a great promise for his children but that's not the best part...."

"Even better than that is its permanence. This is a present tense promise.  God IS our refuge.  It's a present tense reality for every generation." And then he said, "but that's not the best part..."

And he continued,  "This promise speaks of a place of refuge, a place of safety and that place is a person!  God is the refuge for his people.  He is the safe place for his children to run to.  But it's not a refuge from the battle, it's a refuge in the battle. A safe place in the middle of your trials. But that's not the best part..."

(This is getting exciting....and as he talked my thoughts unpacked this verse even more...but back to the sermon.)

As he continued, with his rich deep voice he said, "This is a promise with a permanence in a place promised by a PERSON.  The best part is this...the person who promised it is God himself!"

And with that final piece of the puzzle the funeral audience was standing and praising God for this amazing promise. 

A promise, a present tense reality for every generation, a place of safety all promised by a person who is able to make it true for each one who trusts him.

"But that's not the best part..." will be words we will hear in heaven over and over again.  How sweet to catch a glimpse of it now.

I met a man this week....

I met a man this week who wanted nothing to do with God, religion or me.  He's dying. I really liked this guy right away. He was honest, angry and direct.  

I do wish we could have visited more, but he would have none of it!  I will be praying for him.  Although he doesn't believe in God, I do. 

The moment he told me what he thought of me, faith and God I knew he had been wounded somewhere in the past. It's sad how we so often blame the only one who can help us for the wounds we have encountered at the hands of others.

I will be praying for this man because I know God loves him. God's amazing grace and mercy are wonderful to watch. I will keep you updated.  I can't wait to see what God does in the life of this dear man.

Stuck

In Luke 18, as we follow Jesus through the days of Luke's narrative, he finds himself going through Jericho.  As he and the crowds walk along they pass a blind man sitting by the road.  This man is doing the only thing he can to survive.  He's begging.  He's stuck.  There is nothing else he can do, no place else he can go.  

Like many of us he found himself with few options.  He was probably bitter and discouraged. He may have given up hope.  But he still had to eat, so there he sat with hat in hand, begging for mercy, a gift, a kindness.

When the crowd passes, something that I am sure rarely happened on that road, he asked what was happening.  When he was told Jesus was in the crowd the blind man begged for the one thing he needed most, God's mercy. 

He cried out, "Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!" I'm sure, if we had heard it, it would have been a desperate cry for help.  The crowds told him to hush, be quiet, don't bother Jesus, but that only made him more desperate, "JESUS, SON OF DAVID, HAVE MERCY ON ME!" 

Jesus heard him, told the crowd to bring him forward and in this simple story we see the plea of each of our hearts....it's this-  Lord, see me.  See my needs. Listen to my prayer. Stop for a moment and help me.

In the midst of this encounter is a question that made me smile.  Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?"  I'm sure Jesus was smiling too as he asked it.  The blind man blurted out, "I want to see!"  And in the moment that followed his blindness was gone.  The crowd, who only moments before had told him to hush, now welcomed him to their ranks as they followed Jesus together.

He was stuck.  He needed help.  The crowds took no pity on him, but he wasn't in need of pity, he needed mercy and so he cried out.  There is much more to say about the depth of this story, but for these thoughts I would invite you into this simple story as a blind man yourself, stuck on the side of the road, without hope and purpose.  Some might give you a little pity with a coin, but what you need is mercy and only one can give that.

Andre Crouch had a wonderful song with these lyrics, "Mercy's what we need, in times like these. Won't you have Mercy please?" If you find yourself stuck today maybe what you need most is a bit of God's sweet mercy.  All you have to do is ask.

A different congregation

I apologize for not writing in a while.  

I find myself with a new congregation.  One that looks much different than the last.

As part of a church staff our church family was fit, able and mobile.  They drove to church, had good jobs, were articulate, able body and able to share their thoughts with you.

Now my congregation is much smaller.  They are the cast aways, the forgotten, the dying.  Many cannot speak, some are wheelchair bound, others bed bound, most needing help with eating and daily functions.

It's a humbling role I find myself in.  A pastor to the dying.  One dear lady, in bed and dying, replied when I came in this week, "You mean I get my very own chaplain?" as her eyes lit up with joy.  It's most humbling.

These dear ones are facing eternity.  Some are excited to go and see their Lord. Others have no idea what's ahead and fear death.  All know it is near.  

I never imagined I would say to someone, "You will probably die this week, isn't it exciting?"  And yet, this week I heard myself say those words to one man who loves God and is finishing this life in terrible pain.  

It's a new congregation, but what a wonderful band of broken and dying.  I look forward to what God will do in these dear lives each day.  It seems, when we are on the edge of life and death, we finally become honest, clear headed and willing to deal with the real issues of life.

And so here I go, off to care for his sheep.  The wounded, dying and forgotten.

Sons, Saints and Servants

Identity is critical.  We live out who we think we are.  How we see ourselves drives how we function in society and how we interact with others.  Identity defines us.

If our identity isn't clear we look for a group we like and adopt their identity even if it isn't who we really are, what we are really like.  We all have to be somebody, anybody, so we can fit into the world around us.

Often,  when we meet someone new, we ask, "what do you do?"  It's a way of establishing identity.  And with their answer we have them tagged, marked, we think we know who they are and how they will act.  Identity, for each of us, is vital for a healthy emotional life.

The greatest problem I see in the Christian church in America is we don't know who we are.  We don't have a clear and focused identity that defines and drives us as we live in the world and so we live badly, represent Christ poorly and tell the world being a "Christian" isn't really all that great.  (And, honestly, that's the current view of Christians in our culture.)

As I thought about this three words came to mind.  There is so much more I could write on identity in Christ it would fill volumes (and many have written books on this topic) but let me just focus on three small words.  If you will weave these into your identity as a Christian believer it will dramatically change the way you live in the world and in your relationship with God.

1. Sons.  We are identified by God as sons.  Adopted, beloved children of God.  You and I are sons of God!  Heirs, his children dearly loved, members of his house. Sons and daughters who will never lose our family relationship with Father.  It defines first of all our relationship with God.  With God we are sons.  His children. Part of his family.  If a son of God how should I act?  Pragmatically and simply-  I should live like the son of God himself, Jesus, who came to show us what sons do in a fallen world.

2. Saints.  Second, we are called saints, holy ones.  This is both an "already, but not yet reality."  I am holy and yet I'm called to live a holy life.  I'm a saint!  A holy one of God.  Hebrews 10:14 says, "he has made perfect forever those who are becoming holy."  I am a saint, but still becoming one.  I'm called into a new kind of life as I live in a fallen world.  I'm called, you are called to be holy.  That defines how my mouth works, how I live with others, how I treat those who cheat me.  It's an identity that describes how I live until he comes.

and, 3. Servants.  We are called, like our Savior, to be servants, to serve God and serve others.  Being sons doesn't change the reality that we are to live out the life of a servant.  It means I take the lowest place, I don't seek honor or fame, it means I serve others whenever possible.  It means, like Christ, I pick up the towel and bowl and wash the feet of others.  Servants and Sons. The lowest and highest identities blended in the lives we live.  It means this- knowing I'm a son of God I can freely serve others, not expecting anything, knowing I already have everything.

Identity is critical.  If we, as believers in Christ, would simply live out these three aspects of our identity in Christ it would be world changing.  For sure it would change how the world around you sees Christ.

And so, I invite you to the quest to imbed these three key aspects of your identity in Christ into your life.  I think you will find it changes every encounter, every relationship and every opportunity to sin into a new way to relate to the world around you.  I can't wait to see what happens in the lives of those who take this identity seriously.  You are a Son, a Saint and called to be a Servant.  How does that change the way you live?

The fingerprints of God

God has his fingerprints on everything around us  

He is working in us

through us

and for us

to accomplish

an amazing outcome

Often his work is unseen

but just dust the area for fingerprints

and you will see 

that God was here

He works

and we are clueless

to his amazing plan

The fingerprints of God are everywhere

And that's a good thing!

Talking to God

 "It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God." Luke 6:12

Last night I woke at 3 after only a few hours of sleep and was unable to get back to sleep.  As I sat in my recliner waiting for the night to pass I began to pray, to talk to God.  As I did my mind went to this passage ofJesus' night of prayer.  And I wondered....how do you pray through the night like that?

My mind wandered from prayer to worries of life to things I needed to do tomorrow and then back to prayer.  Focus in the dark hours is difficult.  But I thought, as I sat in the dark alone, what it must have been like for Jesus to spend the entire night talking to his Father.

How little I know about this God I love!  I talk to him, but my mind wanders.  I try not to ask for things, but I can't help it.  As best I can I worship, but it all feels so small.  

And yet Jesus spent the entire night in prayer.  I wonder what he and the Father talked about.  What did he say? What did he ask?  How did he worship?  Did he get sleepy like I did?  Was he weary the next morning as I am?

I know this- I have an amazing God and I value my time with him far too little.  To spend an entire night with God rather than sleep?  My normal response would be, "God, can we talk in the morning?"  And yet Jesus knew something I miss, valued something I don't, loved someone I only claim to love and that made all the difference.

After 4 or 5 hours of sitting in the dark, talking to God, wishing for daylight or sleep, I know this....I don't really know this God I claim or time in the night hours would have been much different.  And yet I long to spend a night like Jesus did, giving up sleep because time with the Father is so much better.

Can anyone see it?

"This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”

So, how's that going for you?

Can anyone see it?

The one sign Jesus gave us that we are his disciples is love for one another.  That's it.  Not our great theology, wonderful preachers and beautiful buildings....just this one thing....love.

But we have lost sight of the most important thing. We have become judgmental, arrogant, self-righteous and critical.  We have repelled the world around us from their only cure- Jesus Christ.

The only task we had to do well was love one another and we failed, at least in this time, in this place...and now the world wants nothing to do with their only solution for sin, death and eternity away from God.

How do we recapture the one thing we were told to do? 

We have to do that one person at a time. We, I must commit myself to a focus on this one thing- loving others as Christ has told me to do.

What if they are "wrong?"

Right now, that's not my problem. My job is simple. Love.

If I do that maybe one day we can talk about truth and lies, but for now loving others well is my job.

I pray for a few who have a passion for the main thing, the one thing that will change lives. I pray for my own heart to be willing to love those I have avoided in the past.

What about truth? What about Jesus? What about all the important stuff?  

We will get to that....but first let's love well.  The time for the rest will come.

Love one another as Christ has loved you.

That's your only job right now.

A new year

This morning the sun rises on a frigid morning in Texas.  It's cold!  The dogs have to go out shortly for their morning "walk" but I know it will take 30 seconds before they are ready to retreat to the warmth of the house again.  I watched the morning change from black to a hazy gray.  Now, shortly, the sun will rise for the first time after many days of gray gloom.  It's frigid all over the country as people try to stay warm.  But on this first day of a new year I'm thinking about a year ahead and how I can live it out for the glory of God.  Each encounter, each task I have I pray, "Lord, glorify your name in this."  and then I do the next thing.  It seems simple, maybe too simple, but God wants to work through the little things, the encounters, the relationships of our lives and show himself to those around us.  Now, as the spiritual lights of the world dim, as it grows ever darker,  it seems the light of Christ has a chance to shine brighter than it ever has.  Lord, in this new year, shine through me.