Suffering: Hope's Romances

Pick up a book written by some modern evangelical pastors and we will find the romanticized version of evangelism. Story after story of  lost souls coming to faith through their conversations and interactions. Of which some, I’m sure are true and unarguably a treasured source of hopeful reassurance. Most of us cherish those moments of much needed inspiration. What we won’t find between, in, or on the majority of those pages is broken heartedness, frustration, and helpless concern any person of faith feels for those who are lost or strayed from the faith. Especially for, but not limited to, those we are closest to.

It’s not the sorta exciting world changing glamour that sells books ...or anything else for that matter. It’s just an emotional reality known, all too well, by those who believe and share the gospel. We just can’t nonchalantly take the “you win some, you lose some “ stance when it’s the eternity of those you know best on the line. No matter where our doctrinal beliefs fall in the theological perspective, it simply just isn’t up to us. Suddenly, this glorious knowledge of the free setting truth make is us realize we are in unshackled chains without the ability to free another soul.

We mourn for those we love who are still chained. Though Christ has empowered us through His  death and resurrection, when we are close to those who are squandering grace, we can feel spiritually paralyzed. If God planted our Hope within us, then spiritual paralysis is Hope’s great fertilizer. Organic fertilizer. In other words, it feels like crap dumped on us to make us grow.

Proverbs 13:12 says

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Understanding who we are and who God is, is the key to hope in this life and for the next one. Nothing of this world can destroy our hope if we don't find it here or keep it here. 

Hebrews 10:23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised God keeps His promises.

Do we know all of those wonderful commitments He has sworn to Himself on behalf for us?

To maintain hope requires a connecting focus on God's word. 

Psalm 119. 114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word

Most of us Christians avoid disappointment and emotional suffering as if it were the plague, but the Bible teaches us to rejoice in suffering. 

Romans 5:3 but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

Suffering, is when God frustrates the attacks of the enemy, for His glory, to grow us into something more powerful and beautiful than we were before it attacked.

If we are to share the gospel, we must overcome the fear of disappointment. In short, you must have hope.

Psalm 42:11

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

 If I were to define Hope, it would be: practicing the emotional goal setting to intentionally think differently now about circumstances, in order to keep from being blinded to the potentially positive outcome of those circumstances in the future.

To hope, you must have more than just a need for it.

You must have faith to go with it.

The well known biblical definition for faith found in Hebrews 11:1 confirms:

...faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Sometimes, when we've bared our soul, prayed our hearts out, made our concerns known,  hoping is the only thing we can do. When all we can do is hope, it becomes a catalyst for testing our faith. These verses bare, not only a reminder, to not lose hope, they teach us God is the God of Hope.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

When we were not connected to the creator, we were not connected to the source of this life and had no hope for another.  But God’s grace gave us Hope. Sometimes, most times, the best thing to do for ourselves and those who doubt is Hope. Hope in God. He is a good God. He is merciful. 

If you'd like someone to pray for you or someone you know who needs hope, feel free to contact me.

Psalm31:24

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.

 

Let the Way Wow You.

Some honest people will bluntly tell you a church ( not The Church ) operates as a business. In many aspects, they must. 

While marketing a venue is inevitable, sermons mirroring varietal sale techniques should cause us to examine more than mere merchandise. You can't buy or sell a relationship with Christ as if it were a weekly special at your favorite store.

Jesus is the same yesterday and today, God has no limitations and no room for improvement. Consequently, we can serve Him, but never help Him. Even if we could give Him all of ourselves, we can never add anything to Him. 

Yet, if you listen closely to the sensationalized sermons, you're bound to hear voices sounding oddly similar to infomercial salespersons declare,

”But wait, there's more!” If you act now, we will throw in a WWJD bracelet absolutely free.

Constantly entertained and instantly gratified we like the Gospel with a side of wow!

Palatable conjecture is easier to deliver than hard truths. Thereby, setting the trend for popular pastors to unveil an exciting new perspective every week. It doesn't have to be doctrinally sound. Never mind if it's biblically inaccurate. So long as it makes an audience gasp with surprise or promotes prosperity, happy thoughts, and book sales, we will buy it. 

There's nothing wrong, per se, with excitement or positive thoughts in sermons. Slogans and catch phrases are not necessarily harmful . Selling books is not intrinsically evil. The volume level or light intensity does not communicate anything other than audience preference. When bold definitive statements are made that unintentionally entice conjecture, unworthy of the All-knowing, All-powerful God we serve, we got problems.

 Why isn't the Way Wow enough? 

The privilege to Worship God, who created everything, who lived, suffered, and died to save us in spirit and truth, should be more than adequate. Why isn't the clear commandments of His Word enough of a challenge for us? The Sword of the Spirit cannot be dulled by the sharpening of man’s senses. Dynamic platitudes aren't equal to simple truths of His Word.

The the inerrancy of God’s Word is as sure as man’s inability to become worthy of opening it. Knowing the impossibility for flawed creatures to handle God’s perfect Word perfectly, means eating the meat and spitting out the bones of most sermons. It is essential to verify the teaching. The wow factor must stand up to the way factor. The teaching must be biblically sound. 

Learning to ignore the tones and the nuisances of our imperfections is key for “iron to sharpen iron”. The pulpit, rightfully so, is the most scrutinized place on the planet. Sometimes, you feel as if you are underneath a microscope being dissected by the blind. To stand in the pulpit is to invite criticism, both constructive and destructive, to a mysterious, yet necessary task. 

AW Tozer wrote these words,

”What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us...For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like.”

Don't take Tozer’s word for it.

What we allow ourselves to be taught matters to God. 

Colossians 2:8

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

In hopes of catching a glimpse of God's supernatural power, two thousand years ago people used to follow Jesus waiting for a miracle. Two thousand years later, while focusing on dynamic teachers, we often forget salvation and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the most supernatural event we can experience. Look out the window or a mirror to see evidence of God's power.

When the rivers of living waters pour from the broken vessels the Almighty has called to carry the Gospel, His people should be refreshed, empowered, and ignited.

We shouldn't allow the conceptual ideas or energy of our favorite preachers or teachers cause us to focus on the mysteries rather than our thankful obedience to our Redeemer. The Way, The Truth, and the Life does the saving. The truth sets you free to live the life. Let the Way wow you. 

5 Biblical Responses To Bullying

I don't do subtitle. I hate it when there’s a problem and the preferred solution is to pretend there isn’t one . I’ll sacrifice pleasantries most any time to get to the point.

 Bullying is a REAL problem. No, it’s not a new problem or a bigger problem. It’s just a different world with new minds with a new problem that complicates the old Bullying problem.

I know, cause I’ve been on both sides of this. I am ashamed of been on either side because  it means I believed lies and told them. I offer my apologies.

On this subject, I’ve read and listened to everyone from teachers to psychologists chiming in. Meanwhile, crickets are chirping louder than those who should teach the righteousness to cry out to the Lord. Pastors should attack this as any other sin.

(I am committed to teaching a biblical response and practical application of God’s word on this subject for healing, survival, and redemption. While this post is written primarily to a mature audience, It can be modified to impact teens.  Contact me, if I can help you or your organization)

I remember saying, “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me” , before I knew Proverbs 18:21 says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” We all have misunderstood and misused this power.

Words can hurt. Words can kill.

At the risk of sounding like the Water Boy or Forest Gump, My mama says, “never point out a problem without offering some sort of a solution.”

While I cannot,  here’s 5 things in God’s word that does.

1.Teach your kids and yourself of the intrinsic worth of all people. Every person we have ever met, including the one in the mirror, was fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the one who made them. Though we have all corrupted that image, we mustn’t forget who owns everyone. We must not have the audacity to have contempt for His work. SEE

  PSALM 139 :13-15    GENESIS 1:27

2 Never forget God sees differently than people.

1 Samuel 16:7

....For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Before us may be a farmer, a poet, a musician, a warrior, or even a king. Perhaps, even all of these rolled up into one. It might be that guy, or it could be you. Only God knows... for now. 

3 Be careful what you think and  say. 

Jesus said, what comes out of a man defiles him and we will give an account for every word. We can’t make your fire burn hotter by peeing someone else’s coals. Never try to make yourself feel better by tearing down the spirits of another.

Proverbs 15

26The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

4 Be different. Not just different, but make a difference. Change your mind.

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 Its a rare, beautiful thing in this world to reach across the aisle to those who need love. Especially, when it comes from those who you have rejected or those who have rejected you . No matter what part in this mess we’ve played , learn to love like Jesus. Remember Christ called out for to the Father for the forgiveness of those who crucified him. Because He was perfect, He responded perfectly to bullying.

5 Change

Over and over the Bible says change. 

Ephesians 4

22to put off your old self,f which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

In general people don’t like change. Most southern people, like myself, ain’t going down that road of change peacefully. Even if it means we lose touch with reality, so long as we don’t make waves, we can live at peace. All we have to do is pretend the world is the same place it used to be.

One problem with that philosophy for Christians is following our savior requires us to embrace the truth. And the truth is, this world is radically different from the world that us parents grew up in.  It’s not a brave new world. Though it’s a different world, it is the some old lost and dying one. Only this age has a new problem. It doesn’t fear the creator nearly as much as it used to. Therefore, it isn't wise and it doesn't love like it used to.

Christ has always instructed us to change, not just ourselves but change the lives for others. Christians should lead in combatting the evils that come with bullying.

 Most people might agree on what the problems are, but spend so much time debating solutions, nothing gets done. Let’s change that.

Thank God for Sledgehammers

This Thanksgiving,

I’m very thankful for sledgehammers. I’m not just referring the kinds they sale at the hardware store. I’m talking about the metaphorical figurative ones. 

Back in the day, our youth leaders used hammers for an illustration of proper Christian behavior. Eloquently, they explained hammers have a side for building up and a claw to tear down. “Christians should be in the building up business.” I’ve never forgotten the truths in this lesson.

Over the years, I’ve  discoveredafew more, harder learned 
truths. The truth about the Truth is one of those.

The world would have us believe every word must be co mmunicated in a fluffy coating of powdered sugary sweetness. Never mind it might be dripping from the tongue of the devil himself. Truth is, you can deliver truth, nice and sweet, only to have, those who don’t want it, claim you sent it laced with poison and delivered it on a wrecking ball.

Christians should be good hammers. We should build up people, but building takes time. Construction is often painful sometimes even deadly. It is a labor intensive cooperative affair .

During construction, it’s incredible how much tearing apart, and breaking down, goes into building something. 

No matter if we remodel or began a new construction, the greater the building, the more tearing down will be involved in the process. The builder will pick up a sledgehammer and separate the useless pieces of the design to carry the project forward. Occasionally, he will break away concrete to correct the problems buried beneath the hard exterior. Eventually, much as the artist breaks stone, he will reveal the finished work. 

God said to Jeremiah 

"Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock? (23:29)

God sometimes uses people as sledgehammers. A great example is Peter’s reaction to Simon the Sorcerer. 

Trust me, Peter was all out of powered sugar that day.

He was a sledgehammer.

God’s sledgehammers tear down walls.

Once torn down, it reveals a separation of the beautiful truth of His Word from the hideous truth of man’s destructive damnable faith in themselves. Once out of the way, the construction can proceed.

Christ would be broken, so we might build upon a firm foundation.

While the foundation is perfect, as we who are not, work together, let us encourage those laborors,

who focus on the finished product, rather than how dirty the process can be.

So the craftsman encourages the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, So that it will not totter. 

                    Isaiah 41:7

Construction isn’t something most would want to listen to.

Sledgehammers breaking things into pieces
doesn’t sound anything like Beethoven’s 9th in D minor ( Ode to Joy) Then again, Ludwig wasn’t in the construction business. Construction is the culmination of unpleasant sounds to produce a complicated structures, built to endure the world’s harsh elements.

God has shown me to trust His process and His truth, regardless of unique and sometimes unpleasant tone, He created His messengers to deliver it with.

I’m indebted to those, Who were bold enough, to chip away the stones with ultimate truth of His Word and continue to do so. 

A word that reminds me 

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Proverbs 27:6

With this truth in mind,

Occasionally, reluctantly, I’ve been the sledgehammer.

Being an instrument of truth doesn’t offer instant gratification. To be honest, Most truth doesn’t offer any. 

Often, it’s a source of depression. Just like no one want to use a sledgehammer, no child of God enjoys being one.  Occasionally, someone will come and thank you for allowing God to use you in breaking down their walls. You’ll tearfully recollect the pain you underwent doing the unpleasant job you know God called you to do, but rejoice when you see the finished work of the changed lives. You’ll recall a moment, when God punched a hole in your wall, with someone and it came down and changed your life for the better. And then you’ll praise God for His Sledgehammers.

Has God ever called you to be a Sledgehammer?

Who has been your Sledgehammer?

Brain Tumors, Hell, and Pecan Trees

In September of 2014, I wrote this blog announcing to the world I had a brain tumor.  On the day I learned I had a brain tumor, I discovered a new pecan tree that had sprouted from the roots of one I was loosing, despite having pampered it.

The new tree reminded me, God brings dead things to life. 

 It was a beautiful sight having just returned home with a stable report from my second annual checkup. The tree has become a symbol of my struggle. Reminding me, God is good.

Lots happened over those three years.  Besides daily pain, I've experienced a misdiagnosis, a cancer diagnosis, brain surgery, temporary relocation for proton beam radiation treatment, recovery. In three years I witnessed a 100 year blizzard in Boston. A thousand year flood, trumped by the following year with Hurricane Matthew. Visited the Grand Canyon.

A daughter moved out, a couple of friends (whom I was sure would outlive me) died, a couple of friends finally conceived, an aunt passed away, and a granddaughter is on the way. 

I answered God's call to the ministry, went fishing for men in Tanzania, got ordained and left a church I loved to teach at another. 

I'm overwhelmed by what God has done and shown me in three short years. But every day, when I get home, a pecan tree reminds me God is good. 

In my meditations, I've learned to

beware of the "ations" when interpreting God's Word.

God's Word isn't for mere admiration, justification, or gratification. It is for salvation, not just to, but also from a God of perfect love. God's Word cannot simply be read for His pacification. It should be practically applied. Practical application of God's Word, will be nothing more than a speculation, unless there's a dedication, to the implication of God's word. And confirmation, will become nothing more than a fascination, if we succumb to the temptation, to use our imaginations to interpret God's word. Scripture interprets Scripture. Jesus doesn't want mere infatuation. He wants our total love, in Action.

Intentional efforts to make Christianity a custom fitted truth for this generation's cult of personality, has become impossible to ignore. 

Much of what God has said and done, is being ignored, making God appear more approachable. Obscuring part of who He is.

So, in an effort to highlight God's grace , we sacrificed the truth. Hell disappeared and famous pastor author, Rob Bell, declared "Love" the winner.

We've taught we should hate the sin while loving sinners. I believe that's true. It only makes sense, after all, none of us are perfect. Still, let's not forget or pretend the harsh reality is unbelievers, not sin, suffers in Hell. They suffer, not for having never obtained perfection, but from having never embraced perfection. Pretending that isn't the truth, isn't loving.

1 Corinthians 13:6 teaches that love rejoices in the truth. The truth is God is good even when the report is bad. In every moment, in every circumstance, which we we are unable to change, but wish we could, God is good.

 When He destroyed Sodom, He is good. In the flood, when He wiped from the Earth, every living thing except those He saved, God is good. Even in the moment He created Hell, He is good, justified, and righteous. He is holy and worthy of glory, honor, and praise.

God is perfect. Every attribute of His divine nature, every aspect of His eternal power, is a transcendence beyond our comprehension. He created and defines love. He hates sin. Therefore, He loves perfectly And He hates perfectly.
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
Romans 5:9
Our salvation comes not simply from what poured out of Christ, but also from what God poured onto His son.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:2
The greatest act of love the world has ever known, simultaneously wrought in wrath against all that God hates.

The pecan tree has really grown. In many ways its more lovely now than the first tree I had lost. Here's the thing,

It's not the same tree. 

As I have grown, I'm not the same person. The more Christ reveals Himself to me, through His word, the more I hope to one day become completely unrecognizable to myself. He must increase and I must decrease.

I'm overwhelmed by the love shown by the inventor of Love.

Who has, by His Word, shown me God is Love, but love isn't God. God can be our everything, but everything can not be our God. 

Every time I see the new tree, I am reminded God is good.  He saved me for a relationship with Him. 
He's done miraculous things in my life. He saved me from cancer. He shown me marvelous and beautiful wonders.

I cut the old dead pecan tree down. It was stealing life from the new tree and rejecting everything I did. So, I burned what I planted, and watched my time and resources go up in smoke, knowing whatever beauty or love we see in this life comes from a good God.  And knowing, God's never looked more loving, or more beautiful to me, than when He saved me from the Hell I deserved. 

The Greatest Hinderance to Church Growth : Gray Elephants

Ask practically anyone in ministry and they will tell you what they see as the greatest threat to the church. Of course, they'll usually offer the greatest solution... their  style of worship.

Theories on what most threatens the church can range from Isis to a dogmatic orthodoxy. 

Let's not forget Jesus said, the "gates of hell will not prevail against " His church. While I find hope in those empowering words, I'll not pretend the church is without her adversaries.

It's not Islam, or Isis that scare me. Neither the darkest, vilest, shameful acts pose a threat to those Paul calls " more than conquerors". No particular style of worship, or denomination offers a solution to what I call, the Gray Elephants.

Gray Elephants, the things the Bible neither labeled as black or white. The amounts it never quantifies. The permissions it never grants or denies. The things that inspire the questions, " how much of something can I do or have? Is this a sin? Maybe there's no right answer, but for sure those are the wrong questions. How can we draw near to Christ, while focusing on how much of the world we can still cling to? 

Don't feed the Gray Elephants.

1 Corinthians 10 

12Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

Unchecked strengths are our weaknesses waiting to exploit us. By thinking we can handle things in moderation, gives us the illusion of being immunized from the effects of sin,  rather than just being saved from it. Once we let pride remove our borders, we use our strength to move away from God. In the wake, families break up, pastors fall, churches close.

Do we want 

to live simply delivered or live completely devoted?

Are we only liberated, or wholly dedicated?

Let's Look at 1 Corinthians 10

31Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God

: 33 Even as I please allmen in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

It's that dedication, our love for God and fellow man, causing our light to shine through the denying ourselves. Likewise, it's the lack of such causing us to stumble or causing others to. There is no greater threat to our walk or our ministry.

Elephants, just like our compromises and liberties, begin small, yet have a tendency to grow into massive uncontrollable beasts.

Eat the Word.

Feed the sheep.   

Starve the Gray Elephants.