Archive - May, 2008

Having the Nerve to Follow Christ (Part 2)

May 30, 2008 in Fear with 7 Comments

coffee5_1.jpg"Well of all the nerve!"

 
I’m not sure where I first heard that expression.  It may have been from my grandmother in Searcy, Arkansas, who used to utter that phrase quite often.  Whenever I have heard that expression, the context is usually the same.  Someone is expressing shock or disbelief at someone’s behavior.

 
It really does take some nerve to follow Jesus.  Perhaps in some respects, following Jesus simplifies life.  After all, it becomes very clear as to what one’s priorities are to be.  "Seek first the kingdom," Jesus said.  He also said that the first and second greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbor.  Now that clarifies what is really important.

 
On the other hand, following Jesus can complicate life.  Following Jesus can lead to pain, suffering, etc.  Look at what happened to the earliest Christ-followers.

 
We are called to look into the face of Jesus and trust him through this life.  This trust gives us the nerve to follow him.

 
Now let us think about all of the reasons that we have to be afraid:
 

  • Gas prices.  We are close to $4 per gallon.  It seems to go up almost every day.  You wonder how expensive gasoline will be by the end of summer.  What will happen?  Will God take care of me?
  • The overall economy.  Constantly we hear bad news about the housing market.  You feel this need to cut back.  "I could stop eating out so much.  I could car pool.  I could cut back on what we give to our church."  Will God take care of me?
  • "What if_______ happens?"  Just fill in the blank.  Will God take care of me?
  • "What about my problems?"  If you are like many of us, you know what it is to wake up at 3:00 AM and for your mind to be flooded with anxiety over your children, your parents, your brother or sister, etc.  Will God take care of me?

The truth is that so many of us live with constant worry and anxiety because we are just not sure that God will come through.  We are just not sure that he can be trusted with the kinds of things we are wrestling with.

 
Trusting God does not mean that we trust God to fix or repair each and every mess we are in.  Nor does trusting God mean that we will not go through pain.  Many people trust God and still end up divorced, terminated at work, and familiar with difficulties in general.    

 
Trusting God means that God will not let go.  He will not abandon us.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  At times that will seem obvious.  At other times you may feel as if he is doing nothing.  Yet, even in the mystery of this life, even when God is silent, we continue to believe that he is present and faithful.

 
Do I need to hear this?  Yes

 
Do I sometimes get wrapped up in my own fear and anxiety?  Yes

 
Do I, at times, attempt to live out of my own strength and resources?  Yes

 
That is the reality of my own life.  Yet, I have been comforted and encouraged by the constant faithfulness of God throughout all of life.  When I get bogged down by anxiety, I go back to the truth of God’s faithfulness.

 
You may be a husband, wife, father, mother, or church leader and you just have difficulty getting beyond your own fear.  Can you relate to this?  Does this sound familiar?  

Having the Nerve to Follow Christ (Part 1)

May 28, 2008 in Encouragement, Faith, Fear with 8 Comments

coffee24.jpgIt takes a lot of nerve to follow Christ.  It takes a lot of nerve to minister to a church and to a community. 

 
No matter who you are and what your vocation might be, if you are going to follow Christ, it will call for courage.  Before the late Edwin Friedman passed away a number of years ago, he had been working on a book entitled A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix.  The book is very good and I recommend it highly, particularly to Christian leaders.  However, I love this title!  A failure of nerve.  I suspect that if you have wrestled with fear, as I have at times, you relate to this line.

 
Christians have always struggled with fear, timidity, and cowardice.  Early on in the book of Joshua, God reminds his new leader Joshua: 

". . . As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."  (Joshua 1:5b-9)

Courage!  One Christian writer has said that courage is the willingness to say or do the right thing regardless of the cost.  For most of us in the West, the cost comes in the form of mental and emotional pain.  Yet, perhaps such pain really shouldn’t be a surprise to Christ-followers.  After all, the earliest Christians suffered for the sake of his name.

 
Friedman spoke of the danger of being a "peace-monger."  This is the person who often disrupts the Christian who is displaying courage.  This person, according to Friedman, is actually a highly anxious risk avoider.  He described this person as being incapable of taking a stand.  This person functions as if he/she had been "filleted of their backbone."  Such a leader may be nice but spineless.  When a church leader hears the words, "I’ve never heard anyone say anything negative about you," that is not necessarily a compliment.  In fact, such statements may actually feed a person’s addiction to good feelings rather than God-centered progress.

 
What kind of courage is needed by believers in general and Christian leaders in particular?
 

  • The courage to keep your marriage covenant even though the present season of marriage may be far from satisfying.
  • The courage to be faithful to your husband/wife even when you are traveling and are away from home and enticing opportunities for sin appear.
  • The courage to trust God when faced with opportunity to serve and do good instead of yielding to fear and then using your fear to terrify others in the church.
  • The courage to model personal holiness and purity in an R-rated culture.
  • The courage to challenge believers to move toward risk and sacrifice for the kingdom of God instead of ease and a soft, easy, self-indulgent life. 

What evidence of courage do you see among some Christians today?  What evidence do you see that fear has been allowed to rule some Christians?

 
More later. 

Jesus Creed

May 26, 2008 in Spiritual Life with 0 Comments

One of my favorite blogs is Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed.  At Scot’s request, I recently wrote a post for a series he has been doing.  It is posted on Jesus Creed today. You can read it here.

Only God

May 26, 2008 in Church, God with 9 Comments

coffee11.jpgOnly God can work through situations that seem impossible to human beings.  

 
Like yesterday.

 
OK — maybe I am exaggerating.  Maybe it was not an impossible Sunday.  Still it was an unusual Sunday.  

 

Yesterday, while I was attempting to preach, the following happened:
 

  • The air conditioning stopped working.  (Remember that I live in Texas and it is late May.)  Fortunately, our very fine volunteer who takes care of many of our maintenance issues was dealing with it.  At various times, I could see him walking around at the back.  I could see another person walking around at the same time.  Wasn’t sure if he was trying to help him or not.
  • At one point, there was a loud noise behind me as the air conditioning attempted to turn on.  (I just remember that this noise seemed to happen twice.)
  • Somewhere in all of this there was a loud boom at the back.  It happened twice.  It seemed to come from behind a wall near one of our back rows.  (I later learned that it came from the nursery where one of our toddlers kicked the wall.)

Finally, the message was over.  Someone led a prayer during which three cell phones went off.  Again, all of this is in one Sunday morning.

 
The morning ended and people stood around for a while talking.  Just as Charlotte and I were getting ready to go home, a man stopped me near the stairs and said, "I want to tell you about a conversation that I just had."  He went on to say that the message had deeply touched a woman he had been talking with and as a result she was planning to deal with a situation in her life in a very Christlike manner.

 
I know that God was at work.  Only God could take that morning and redeem it for good.  :)  

Question: How Does a Person Come to be a Friend?

May 22, 2008 in Relationships with 18 Comments

question_mark_778895.gif.jpgRight now I am thinking about "friendship."  That word alone can mean so many different things.  Some friends are closer than others.  Sometimes friendships will vary with intensity and closeness.  

 
I have known some people who seem to regularly invest in their relationship with others.  I have known others who are almost totally passive in their friendships.  (The other person must be the one to initiate, to call, to invite to lunch, etc.) 

 
Sometimes couples will have a season of life where they are particularly close to a few other couples.  Then, their friends move and for the next few decades, they struggle to experience the same kind of relationships. 

 
I believe that to some degree, every human being needs relationships.  Scripture affirms over and over that we were made for relationship and for life in community in some form.  But how does a person come to be a friend to another person?

 
Now you may wonder why I would post this today.  Maybe it is because so many people are starved for intimacy on some level.  It is interesting that we are a culture that reveals most everything about ourselves on the Internet.  Person after person will reveal the most intimate and personal details about themselves on Face-book or My Space.  Yet, even though we reveal so much, so many of us seem to be starved for real relationships.  How does a person become someone who knows another and is really known by another?  

 
This morning I have been thinking about a variety of people:
 

  • The salesperson
  • The office worker
  • The university student
  • The stay-at-home mom
  • The Fed-Ex delivery person
  • The minister
  • The school teacher
  • The university professor
  • The medical technician

The list could go on and on.  Each one of us needs a friend or friends.

 
Questions:  How does a person come to be a friend?  What, in your experience, is important if one wishes to experience a good and rich friendship with another person?

 
Why do some people seem to have great difficulty finding a friend(s)?  What kind of behaviors might get in the way of experiencing a healthy friendship with someone else?  

A Different Point of View

May 21, 2008 in Jesus, Spiritual Life with 1 Comment

coffee32.jpgYesterday, I had lunch with a group of area church leaders, ministers, pastors, and others from some very fine para-church organizations.  We meet once a month for lunch.  Our purpose for meeting, besides the fact that at this point we really enjoy just being together, is to remember the needs of the poor, forgotten, and neglected in our area.  Each month the lunch is hosted by a different church or organization.

 
Our lunch was hosted by Viento Fuerte Church, a fairly new Spanish speaking church in our area.  We ate a wonderful Mexican lunch, including a dish that was new to me.  It was "nopalas" or cactus.  It was delicious.

 
Cactus for lunch.  Hmmmm.  

 
Now for years, I had one view or opinion of cactus.  Cactus was a plant growing in certain regions of the country.  It was green and had thorns on it that could inflict much pain.  That was my view.  Now, on a Tuesday in May, I am eating it for lunch.  My view of cactus has changed. 

 
We often have very strong opinions about all kinds of things.  Our opinions are often based on our own experiences, what we saw in the lives of our mom and dad, or bits and pieces of information that we have gathered from somewhere.  We can even be quite stubborn about our opinions.

 
"I want my son to play sports!  I don’t know what I will do with him if he does not"

 
"I wasn’t raised that way.  If it was good enough for my mom and dad, it is good enough for my family."

 
"Try something new?  Why would I want to do that?  What’s wrong with doing what we always do?  What’s wrong with going to the same restaurant, vacation spot, etc"

 
"What’s wrong with our marriage the way it is?  I’m perfectly happy!  You are the one with the problem." 


You know the attitude that I am referring to.  There is one way of seeing things.  (That would be my way.)  Yet, along comes Christ and he completely changes the way we approach life.  He changes the way we see and handle life.  He impacts our values, our priorities, our goals, and our entire point of view.  In Christ, we learn that life is about him living in us and seeing everything through his eyes.  We make it our aim each day to please him, not to do what we have always done or what makes us feel most comfortable.  He has a way of getting us out of our self-made ruts and on to a life of trusting him.

 
Consider Paul’s words, "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) 

 
Think for a moment about your own life and experience as a Christ-follower.  How has Christ impacted the way you see your marriage, your children, your job, etc.? 

Reading: A Passion for God (A.W. Tozer)

May 20, 2008 in Spiritual Life with 0 Comments

Tozer.jpgThe last few weeks, I have been reading Lyle Dorsett’s new biography of A.W. Tozer, entitled, A Passion for God.  The subtitle is: "The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer."  I read the book because I have read a number of Tozer’s books but knew little about his life.

 
I like what Erwin Lutzer says regarding this book:


"…I found myself absorbed with this realistic biography of A. W. Tozer, a man whose writings have blessed all of us.  In these pages we are invited to walk with a man who passionately pursued God but at the same time had obvious faults, particularly in his relationship with his family.  Tozer’s life also introduces us to the various battles that the church was fighting in the forties and fifties, and how evangelicals responded to them.  This book encourages us by reminding us that god uses imperfect but God-focused people to bless His church and strengthen the saints…"

I came away from the book admiring so much about Tozer:

 
1.  "Those close to him explained that despite his busy schedule, the modern-day prophet spent several hours each day in prayer–not simply interceding but ardently seeking God’s face and desiring to be in his presence." (p. 16)

 
2.  "…he became magnificently obsessive about the shaping of the soul into Christlikeness." (p. 21)

 
3.  "…Tozer also endeared students to himself because of his transparency.  He admitted that he was a flawed man and was not reluctant to mention his own shortcomings." (p. 103)

 
4.  "Tozer spent incalculable hours in prayer.  Most of his prolonged prayer time–along with his Bible and hymnals as his only companions–took place in his church office on the back side of the second floor." (p. 121)

 
5.  "Like his preaching, Tozer’s prayers were honest, frank, humorous, and intense.  ‘His preaching was affected by his praying.’  Indeed, ‘preaching was a declaration of what he had learned in prayer."’

 
Yet, there was a sad aspect to Tozer’s life as well.  While his wife deeply loved him and his children admired and respected him, there seemed to be a distance between himself and his family.  This distance was limited, by any means to his family.  In fact, early in the book, Dorsett says that in the 1950′s Tozer confided to a friend, "I’ve lived a lonely life." (p. 16).  

 
Dorsett remarks:

 
"But what an irony that Mr. Tozer lived a lonely life.  He had a devoted wife and lovely children, all of whom would have treasured more personal intimacy.  And among those throngs of listeners to his sermons, and many of the faithful members of the four churches he pastored, many would have stood in long lines for hours just to have a few minutes of personal time and intimate two-way sharing with the man who helped them know God but refused to let them know him." (pp. 16-17)

 
As I read Lyle Dorsett’s book, A Passion for God, and as I saw the life of this complex man unfold, I realized again that this is such a picture of our humanity.  Even at our best, we remain imperfect, flawed human beings.  I am thankful that for a few days, in reading this book, I had the opportunity to come to know Tozer and to appreciate so much about his life.

 
And—I was reminded again: Thank God for his grace. 

41 Things Encouragers Ought to Know (part four of four)

May 19, 2008 in 41 Things..., Encouragement, Spiritual Life with 4 Comments

coffee33.jpgThe following is the conclusion of a list I am calling: "41 Things Encouragers Ought to Know."   You can find part one here, part two here, and part three here.

 
31.  Encouragers need to know the power of listening.  Some people just need someone to listen.

32.  Encouragers need to know the power of paying attention to another.

33.  Encouragers need to know the power of Scripture.  Sometimes we just need to hear the promises of God from someone who genuinely cares.

 
34.  Encouragers need to know that even those who may appear to have it "all together" outwardly often need encouragement.

 
35.  Encouragers look at another’s genuine intention and not just their imperfections.

 
36.  Encouragers want others to do well and do not delight when others fail. 

 
37.  Encouragers are people who communicate hope when others feel like giving up.

 
38.  Encouragers add to the life of another instead of using them.  

 
39.  Encouragers love to see others overcome difficulties.

 
40.  Encouragers love to see reconciliation happen whether it is a marriage, friendship, or something else that has been broken.

 
41.  Encouragers lift up one who has been broken down by life. 

Your Concerns About Money

May 15, 2008 in Spiritual Life with 16 Comments

coffee29.jpgMoney.  We all deal with it almost daily.
 

  • We make money.
  • We spend money.
  • We save money.
  • We invest money.
  • We save money.
  • We owe others money.

Whether single or married, we deal with money.  We have checking accounts.  We have debit cards.  We visit ATM machines.  We pay bills.

 
I need your help.  I am reflecting on our use of money as Christians.  Specifically, I am thinking of how we handle our personal finances.  Right now, I am trying to get a grasp on some of the challenges we face and difficulties we are experiencing.  Some of this concern comes out of the on-going conversations in churches about personal debt, standard of living choices, etc.    

 
(Every year about this time, I start thinking about the messages I need to prepare for our church for the next school year.  Of course, some of that thinking ends up on this blog.)

 
I realize that our experiences differ from place to place.  But, I want to ask you to think about your own life, as well as what you hear among friends and co-workers.  Please reflect for a moment on the following questions.  Your comments will be very helpful to me.
 

What are some of the challenges that families face with their finances?  What do many people seem to be doing well (in terms of dealing with money as Christ-followers)?  What concerns you?  What mistakes do many of us seem to be making?

If You Feel Stressed Today

May 13, 2008 in Starting the Day, Stress with 13 Comments

bluebonnet.jpgLast week, with Christine (who lives in Tennessee) and Jamie (a student at Oklahoma Christian University) both home, we drove to Marble Falls, Texas, about an hour and a half away.  

 
Marble Falls is a little town, not far from Austin, that has a renewed downtown area with lots of shops, etc.  More importantly, it is the home of the Blue Bonnet Cafe.  The Blue Bonnet Cafe is a place well known for its good food — in particular its pies.  Friday afternoon, we stopped by to sample some outstanding pie that alone was well worth the drive.  

 
This cafe is laid back.  I’ve only been there twice, but both times I had the same impression.  This isn’t fast food.  Oh, the service was very good, quick, and responsive.  No, I’m referring to the way the place "feels."  I sense that people come in this cafe to eat a good meal, visit, and then eventually slip out.  We enjoyed being there and being with our children.  We talked, laughed, and told stories.  

 
Years ago, I preached in Pulaski, Tennessee, a small town about an hour from Nashville.  One couple that was particularly encouraging to Charlotte and me in those days was Dennon and Joy Alsup.  Dennon used a word quite often that had a way of relaxing me.  He would said, "Let’s ease over there and get a coke."  Or he might say, "Why don’t we ease by their house and just say hello."  I learned that it was difficult to be in a panic mode (as I would be at times) and use the word "ease" at the same time.

 
I am thankful that God breathes an "ease" in the middle of life that is often characterized more by panic, noise, stress, and hurry.  No matter who you are, you might just need to hear (along with me) that it is God who still rules and controls this world and our lives in particular.   Consider these words from Psalm 46:

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

 
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
       and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

 
3 though its waters roar and foam
       and the mountains quake with their surging.

 
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
       the holy place where the Most High dwells.

 
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
       God will help her at break of day.

 
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
       he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 
7 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 
8 Come and see the works of the LORD,
       the desolations he has brought on the earth.

 
9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;
       he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
       he burns the shields with fire.

 
10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth."

 
11 The LORD Almighty is with us;
       the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 
This morning I have written this post primarily for myself as I reflect on God as my own place of refuge and strength.  Perhaps you need to hear this as well.  Whether you are a university student, a young single working in a large city, a busy minister, or a young mother with two small children, you may just need to be reminded that God is very much in control.  Does this relate to what you have been thinking about lately?

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