Just a Little Thank You Note

 Dear Father,

Thank you for meeting me at church today. It was really awesome. I'm sorry that last week, even though you never left my side, I wasn't focused entirely on you. I confess listening to some of the cheap shots the enemy threw my way the last few days. He followed us to the gym tonight as I'm sure you are aware. During the three miles and 45 minutes of pumping iron, he spewed more lies. I told him everything I could remember from your word. I told him how you've given me a spirit of power and love. I told him how he can't use me since you've given me a spirit of discipline and a sound mind. I promised him I'd learn more to remind him things I don't even know yet. I told him how you are going to continue to use your church. He knows our community is going to become the hardest place on earth to get to hell from. So we'll be needing you now more than ever. Oh yeah, I told him how your word says perfect love cast out fear and how I'm not afraid anymore. 

The Reason for Everything

http://millertimejedidiah.blogspot.com/2014/07/does-everything-really-happen-for-reason.html?m=1

You should check out the link above to Ryan Miller's blog. He's obviously hurting and trying to make sense of the loss of his friend. I understand and maybe too well.

 Miller gives a well meaning, yet misguided  attempt to answer the question "does everything happen for a reason ?"  To be fair, Miller's blog contains some biblical truth and paints some beautiful pictures of grace. While he accurately points out the bad things happening to Christians are not a lack of faith, he fails to draw biblical parallels and passages to back up his statement "will" and "desire" are interchangeable. Miller suggest there isn't   necessarily a reason for everything. He says, "For many circumstances, there are NO reasons... it's just life!"  Yet, God offers an explanation and Christians should know better.  Even for Christians, life can sometimes stink, but there is a reason.  Every circumstance is a result of the original sin. God gave us a paradise and we blew it. While God never desired us to sin, by giving us a right to choose in first place, His will allowed it. God never desired slavery for Joseph but His will allowed it. And He saved the world through it. God did not desire a cross for Christ but His will allowed it . And He saved the world through it. Just because you don't see a good reason for a tragedy , doesn't mean God doesn't have one. 

Miller also says,"To define God’s sovereignty as one who controls all things, circumstances and people is essentially a borrowed pagan theology," The bible is filled with examples that dispute this.  It's not a pagan but rather John who says, " Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created ." Revelation 4:11.  All things were created for His glory. That includes even what we find disgusting. Likewise, according to Paul, the potter has power over the clay. Romans 8:28 declares "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28  NIV ." How about the entire book of Job ? God declares His continuing involvement in creation while stating since He is God he owes us no explanations.  

Later Miller further laments,

"it grieves my heart to know that our theology can damage others in the wake of loss and the burden of life when friends go through cancer or the sudden loss of their child, etc. ".  Perplexing it is, how Miller could think the idea of God using our losses for His glory would damage already broken hearts. Just because we don't understand something doesn't make it untrue. You could know every human idea about the crucifixion but never understand why beyond it was God's will. Does that make it untrue? Would it make it more or less palatable? 

The blog continues with his personal ideas that seem to include a need to get God off the hook for allowing bad things to happen to "good" people. Miller makes  an ill attempt at claiming God isn't all controlling. As if that were true, God would seem more merciful. 

God does not need our understanding.  He doesn't need our defense. He doesn't need anything. God owns it all. Everything. Right down to our skins. He can do whatever he wants because A. it's all His and B. He's always right. That's why we can trust Him with the details we can't control.

Enormous comfort can be found in the fact that God is God, and we are not. 

Is there a reason for everything? I sure hope so. I hope God is the reason for everything. That's the only way this mess makes any sense. Something larger and more majestic than we can fathom is at work in the microscopic and the mundane.   Where is the comfort in not believing there's a reason for our pain?  For sure  God leaves nothing to chance but instead He gives purpose to all things for His glory. Even the disgustingly ugly hurtful things. How else could this be true? "

... them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified." Isaiah 61:3

A Living Legacy

Four years ago, I started writing The Broken Vessel because of a challenge from my pastor Kevin Childs. He said we should do what God has called us to do.

       Privately I said to Kevin,'Everytime I think I have given everything to God, God shows me I have more to give." 

       The pastor replied," Christians are like buckets with holes in them. We keep leaking and God keeps filling us up. Over and over." Our pastor was the most encouraging man I have ever known. That day the Broken Vessel was born. Since then, I've been" Pouring out my thoughts and love for Jesus Christ, who is still shaping and molding me. He can fill broken vessels, over and over." 2573 people from sixteen countries have waded in the shallow waters leaking from a busted bucket, constantly under repair by the master. He used Kevin Childs to do much of that repair. While constantly challenging us to be the best we could be, Kevin reminded us, God loves us even when we are at our worst. It's easy to say " I love god, love people, and want to do something about it. It's much harder to make Conway the hardest place on earth to get to hell from." Kevin wanted us to be "doers". 

Last year, Kevin said to me, " think about what you aren't doing that you should be." I gave him a puzzled look but I knew I was supposed to be counciling lost people. So I did. This year I have been there as four people passed from death into life. I saw firsthand, marriages healed by counciling instructions we learned in his sermons. I have seen financial miracles. I've seen broken hearts healed. It is the greatest thing I've ever been part of. It wouldn't have happened without Kevin and the Rock. I will miss him.

There would be a huge hole in my heart if I hadn't met Kevin Childs. Not just him, but people I met because of him. I couldn't have let Ian take his first drive. (Kevin said I was crazy). I couldn't have met his wonderful wife,  Polly.  I'd never met Matt or Randy who do their best to teach us. Or Debbie who is an angel in my book. I wouldn't have read "Let Me Fall " because I wouldn't have known Beth Pensinger. I couldn't brag about being taller than Jerimiah. I'd never met awesome believers like Phil & Wendy Adams. Without Kevin I'd never have known Tina Arms is as sweet as she is pretty. Or what a great man Perry is. I wouldn't be in John Lowe's my group. That's huge. And not just cause John's the man. Meaning, what if I'd never tasted Gina's cake? Or heard their boys sing? What if I'd never heard Julie pray? Or hugged Donna? or picked on my man Tony. I'd never felt the safety from being under Jim and Mike's protection. Ann wouldn't have encouraged me to keep on writing. Becky the first person to befriend me, wouldn't be keeping me straight. Martin and Danielle whose generosity is overwhelming, would be in other peoples lives. Jody and Kevin Gray would be making someone else laugh. Julienne wouldn't be there to keep reminding us there is two sides to every story. Never would I have known one of Bob's incredible prophetic one liners? Speaking of Bob, without Kevin, no moped and no house. And there's many more wonderful people I could list. What if I'd never met them ? " Jesus slays the WHAT IF monster." Remember who taught us that?
    Kevin, taught us so much. One of the most important things he taught me was the importance of bringing people together. How only eternal things matters. He kept telling

us our job to " make our community the hardest place on earth to get to hell from" would go on after he was gone. It's part of our legacy in Christ and it is connected forever to our pastor and friend. It is as alive as our savior.  It's a living legacy.