Light-Like

Like many families, we have to get up pretty early in the mornings in order to have all the kids (and adults) ready in time to get to our specific destinations in a timely manner. As a result, there are many days when the house is still pretty dark as I wake up the boys. However, because I’ve been in the kitchen already, the light is on in there. It never fails, as soon as any of them walk into that room, they wrinkle up their noses, and squint their eyes. My three-year-old has grown rather fond of shouting “It’s too bright, daddy! Turn the light off!” Coming into the light out of the darkness can seem harsh and even painful to sensitive eyes. But, usually within minutes, they have transitioned from their “night vision” to the “light vision,” and are doing just fine.

Now come on, you know this screams for spiritual application! Before we begin a relationship with Jesus Christ, we exist in this area of darkness. The bible tells us we walk in darkness, or if you want to take the less subtle approach, we were dead in our sins. (Check out Ephesians 2 as one example.) Once the light of Christ was revealed to us, at that time when we place our faith in Jesus and call out to Him for our salvation, we leave the darkness and step into the light of God. 

That’s not always an easy transition. Even for those who already know Christ, and are just discovering another area of darkness in their lives that they need to turn over to Jesus, stepping out of the darkness and into the light of Jesus can be kind of rough. Just like the sudden light can make our eyes and even our head hurt, the transition between “away from God” and “Walking with God” can be painful. Many times it’s simply pride. We don’t like to realize we’ve been wrong, and the sting of having to admit that can be difficult. Other times can be worse; what if we’re involved in relationships and friendships that are not honoring to God and we know the only way to get back into the Light is to cut ties with those people? Just because we’re doing what God wants doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy and painless.

Scripture is clear on the point, however. We cannot remain in this darkness and have fellowship with God. “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:4-7

Not only does our relationship with God improve (or begin, as the case may be) but our fellowship with other believers is strengthened when we walk in the Light of God. All the amazing qualities God instilled in us through the Holy Spirit are revealed in His light, and we become blessings to those around us. 

So, while transitioning out of the darkness can be a difficult and potentially painful experience, once it is done, we will experience life through our “light vision,” and can see the world the way Jesus sees it. This will help us to better know our purpose, and our place of service to God as we seek to make a difference to those around us, sharing this Light of Christ with them. “...Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

Everyday Journey

So life as I know it has changed drastically in the past few weeks--well, months, really. It started with a morning in which I was very sleepy. I had been working to discipline myself to get up early and start each day in the Word and Quiet Time with God. Some days are more successful than others. On November 30, 2011, I was not having much luck, as I was sleepy and couldn't stay awake while trying to read the Bible.

I put on a jacket and went outside to pray. I figured the cold morning air would do wonders to keep me awake. As I prayed, I felt like God was prompting me to just clear my mind and focus on hearing Him. So I did. I got still and did all I could to quit the storm in my head. I tried not to hear the birds chirping and the crickets...whatever you would call their sounds. My eyes were drawn to a couple of squirrels chasing each other through the trees, and I couldn't help but enjoy watching. I was afraid if I closed my eyes, I would fall asleep, so with these few distractions, I did my best to listen for a Word from God.

Funny how God's promptings can open your heart to multiple lessons. The first that I learned is that all the things I was trying to NOT see was part of what God wanted me to see. I was in the presence of HIS creation, and was blessed to witness some of the things I usually ignore or take for granted, and don't experience. It was in that moment of realization that I heard God speak to my heart as clearly as I ever have. "I want you to start a new church."

What? Did I just have an aneurism? What did I just "hear?" Surely this wasn't right. I was a youth minister who never had any aspirations to become a Pastor, much less a church planter. I was pretty convinced I'd fallen asleep anyway. However, I began to pray for confirmation and telling God that if He was really calling me to this new journey, I would be willing to follow. But I had my hesitations!

First, I put out my "fleece," sort of half-heartedly asking God to have someone mention the same thing to me that did not already know I was praying about it. He did that through a good friend. Then, I got "practical" about needing experience first and put out resumes to try and get a new job as a Pastor, and God closed those doors. The more I prayed and tried to reason out of this, God made it more clear that He wanted obedience, and nothing less would settle.

So now, here we are. I have finished my tenure, and even career as a Youth Pastor, which is kind of surreal. I am technically the Pastor and Church Planter for "Everyday Church," as we have named it. (More on that in a moment.) Finally, and the most "in your face" part of this whole thing is that we are pressing on with a drastic change on the income scale. If ever there was a time when my family's faith in God was put to the test, this is it. We are totally out of our comfort zone, totally dependent on God to provide, and completely sure that somehow, some way, God will provide for all of our needs, and for the needs of Everyday Church.

You see, the vision of Everyday Church is to lead people to become faithful, everyday followers of Christ. That simply means that for believers in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord,  in every aspect of our lives, we represent Christ. Being a true believer does not mean we give God an hour or two on Sunday, and maybe an hour on Wednesday night, but every hour of every day. You may be a veteranarian. If you are a believer, you wake up each day as a follower of Christ, who cares for His creation by treating animals. If you are a banker who is also a Christian, you wake up each day as a follower of Christ who works hard to be a good example of steward of other people's trust and their earnings. No matter what your job is, if you are a born-again, Holy Spirit-lives-in-your-heart, trusting, committed, believer of Jesus Christ, you are always His, even when life changes.

I believe that if we can reclaim this everyday surrender to Christ in the lives of His followers, and then make more disciples that learn to do the same (pretty sure Jesus said something about that at least once), then we will begin to see a more obvious change in the culture and communities in which we live.

So here I am, committed to this vision, this calling, this dream, this roller-coaster ride of planting a new church, and it is what I lovingly call a "bi-polar experience." I jump back and forth between apparent opposites: I am scared. But, I'm also excited. I have some big ideas, and I'm totally overwhelmed. I am looking for a job, even though I technically have a job. I trust God, but worry about my abilities. But regardless of all these things,  I am committed to this journey every single day, even on days when I fail. On what Journey has God placed you? Are you a faithful follower of His each day? Do you begin the day as a believer in Christ and THEN whatever else? As brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit to living everyday to the honor and glory of God the father, and shine the light of Jesus to the world around us.

(Ever since God laid this vision on my heart, this particular song keeps coming to mind. Enjoy!)

Mystery Ride

While on our trip to Tennessee during Spring Break, my family and I visited Dollywood with my wife’s family. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s basically exactly what it sounds like. It is a theme park that Dolly Parton started to help support the commerce in the area where she grew up. Once you get used to the twangy music that pipes through the whole place, you see that it is really quite fun. Not only that, but since it’s built on some of the Smoky mountains there, it’s beautiful.

Of course, I always enjoy the rides the best. I’ve even written about it here in my blog before! Now that my own sons like to ride some of the same rides, It simply doubles the fun for me! (That was a joke--for those that don’t know me, I have twin sons. Get it--double the fun?) There is something special about climbing that first hill in the coaster, and reaching over to reassure my kids, and just knowing I can be there for them. In fact, last summer, when he was on his first roller-coaster, one of my boys said, “I know I’ll be okay since you’ll be with me, daddy.” There’s a lot of theology in that statement, but that’s a blog for another day.

One of my boys is less thrilled about roller-coasters than the other, but for some reason, he got it into his head that the “Mystery Mine Train” would be one he would like and could handle. For the most part, it was an indoor ride made to look like an old mine that was abandoned. There were even some cool pyrotechnics that added to the fun. However, about two seconds into the ride, my son changed his mind. Immediately the ride dipped and dropped and hit some hard, fast turns. If it hadn’t been my own kid, I would have found it funny as he shouted, “I hate this ride, I hate this ride!” and screamed in fear. (Okay, I’m a terrible dad, because now that the incident is past, I do find it funny.)

Then we came to a stop and noticed something odd. The track was directly in front of us. The ride took a ninety-degree turn upward, putting all the riders flat on their backs. As it turns out, what goes up on a roller-coaster, must come down at a much faster rate. It dropped us turned us, twisted us, and flipped us upside down before coming to another abrupt stop. This time it was pitch black. After just a moment, strobe lights from above us barely illuminated the track, revealing yet another straight up climb, only this one was much higher, and as it tipped us forward to drop us, the aforementioned pyrotechnics blasted just over our head, leaving us feeling the heat as we plummeted once again. As a final nail in the coffin that once was my son’s adventurous spirit, and further sealing the fact that he will probably never get on a ride again, the ride went through a corkscrew, but left us upside down for about 25 feet of track. I’ve been upside down quite a few times, but being left to ride that was was new for me.

Finally, the ride ended, and everyone survived. All I could do was apologize to my son, even though he was the one who was convinced that he should ride the “Mystery Mine Train.” I just felt responsible, because he had these expectations built up in his head, and I could do nothing to warn him of the truth and let him know what horrible thing really lay ahead.

Fortunately, many of us DO know things for which we feel the need to warn people. We gladly tell people which dishes not to order at a particular restaurant, which movie not to see in the theaters, which cell phones don’t work, which mechanics to avoid, and which roads not to travel in order to avoid traffic. We are really good at warning people not to do some things.

Why is it that we are quick to warn people of the things that won’t last forever, like a bad burrito, or a boring movie, but when it comes to eternal things, such as the condition of a sinful soul without Jesus, we keep our mouths shut? Why are we so quick to point out the negatives in life, but simply refuse to share the joy of God’s love with others? I am just as guilty of this as anyone. I can’t count on two hands the number of times in the past couple of weeks that I have had an opportunity to just talk with someone and see if it opened a door, and didn’t even say hello to them. Scripture tells us in more than one place that when this life is over, Jesus waits to greet us, and will separate those He knows through a personal relationship, and those He tells to depart from Him. Those that He sends away are going to a place that will be so much worse than we can imagine. It’s not just a scary ride that we want to warn them about, it’s about eternal separation from God, in a place of torment and agony. “Oh no, don’t order the Kung Pow chicken from that place, it will kill you. But Jesus, well, I’m afraid I’ll temporarily offend you so I won’t warn you about what happens to those that don’t know Him.” We care more about other people’s digestion problems than we do about their very real, and very lost soul.

Ouch. I’m looking at my own reflection off of this computer monitor, and right about now, it’s as guilty as anyone else that might feel the sting. If you are a follower of Christ, like me, then we have NO excuses for not telling others about the saving grace and relentless pursuit of a loving God through Jesus Christ. What can we do to make clear what they can expect about life after this earth? Jesus’ command was pretty clear when He said, “Go and make disciples.” We are living in disobedience when we won’t share Him with others, and that leaves us responsible for the mystery that will drop them into a dark, horrifying place.

Foggy Mirrors

I’ve mentioned before that our house is not terribly young. As a result, it is designed much more for function than for form. As a result, the bathrooms are very simple, and not too large. What that basically means is that you get what you need, and nothing more. With the exception of some really nice tile work that a good friend did for us, they are very basic. In the Master Bath, the ceiling is literally about seven feet, and you can pretty much touch both walls at the same time if you stand in the middle of the room. There is only a stand-up shower, a toilet, and a sink. There is a vent, but because the room is so small, if anyone takes a hot shower, the mirror in there still fogs up pretty quickly.

About a year ago, I discovered one trick to kind of help with that. We have a little tower fan that stands about eighteen inches high, and we have a little towel rack/shelf combo on the wall perpendicular to the mirror. If we run the fan pointed directly at the mirror while we shower, as well as running the vent, we have no fog, and can see when we get out. However, if you forget to turn on the tower fan, it still takes awhile to de-fog after the steamy shower. Just goes to show that a little preparation goes along way.

I tend to see the world in a way that shows me even little applications that relate back to Biblical principles. I believe it is a blessing that God gives me. Unless it’s one of those times I’m smacked in the head about how I’m doing it wrong. Then I don’t like it so much.

There are definitely things that happen in life that we don’t see coming. If we live every day expecting tragedy and heartache, then we miss out on the abundant life that is available for followers of Christ, as He told us in John 10:10. However, since we also know that things come out of the blue, there are some things we can do in a general sense that will help. As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth an apple a day.” Or something like that.

If you read the book of Daniel, you get a glimpse of a man and his friends who were committed to following God no matter what the consequences were. As it turns out, the consequences were death sentences in more than one of those stories, and yet, God showed up and saved the day. I think you can trace it back to one little verse. Daniel 1:8 says, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself…” In this context, it was a resolution not to eat the food of the King, which because of the way it was prepared, would have been a direct violation of God’s laws.

However, I believe that goes to a deeper issue than just the food. Having been captured and brought to a place where any and all things of a “worldly” nature would have been made available to Daniel, and none of which would have been honoring to God, Daniel made his decision not to dishonor God, no matter what. The words that we translate as “resolved,” or “Made up his mind” in some translations, are Hebrew words that literally mean “to set, ordain, establish, or determine the inclination, resolution, determination of will, conscience, or heart of moral character.” (See why there are so many English Translations and versions?)

In other words, if you’ll indulge me, Daniel decided that no matter what came his way in this little Babylonian adventure, He would honor God first and foremost--even if it cost him his life. Daniel was making some preparations. The food being offered made it very clear to him that in this place away from home, there would be many things within his reach that appealed to his flesh, but were sinful in God’s eyes. He wanted to Honor God, so he established his spiritual and moral boundaries in anticipation of what could possibly happen. As a result, you can read that Daniel not only stayed faithful to God, but earned respect and audience from, and outlived three different kings in the process.

No, we don’t know what this life will bring, but by now, it should be very obvious to anyone that our culture makes sure we have readily available many worldly things. In a consumer world, if we have the cash, we can have the stash. If we’re willing to pay enough, and look in the right places, we can pretty much get whatever we want. This is NOT a good thing, and if we have not already determined and set the inclinations of our inner heart towards the things of God, we might find ourselves up to our eyeballs in sinful behavior.

Our mirrors will be exposed to the steam of this world. Our decision to be prepared and keep the fan on may be what it takes to keep us from getting covered in a sinful “fog.” The more “foggy” things become, the more difficult to even see your sin issues.

What is your fan? Is it reading the Word of God? Is it remaining active in a faith community at church? Are you praying that you will spot the extra-humid places before it’s too late? Do you have friends that will hold you accountable to your “fan plan?” Whatever you choose to do, do something. Be proactive, and keep your heart set to honor God, no matter what.

Tossing Out Trash

Our house is situated right on a relatively busy street here in town. As as a result, we see lots of cars pass by, and at high traffic times of day, they get stuck right in front of our house. Occasionally, we can not even pull out of our own driveway for awhile, but we try not to let it bother us to a great extent. The truth is, because of this traffic, we believe we got a very good deal on our house. Most people didn’t even want to look at a house in our location, and failed to see the back yard, which is what sold us on it. Never judge a book by it’s curb address...or a house by it’s cover...or something like that.

Now that spring has sprung, so have the weeds. All over my yard! I’ll see a nice green lawn at some point in May, but for now, it’s just messy. This all means, of course, that it is time to mow. Now, with this house situated on a busy street, I have a regular brush with death as I mow the part closest to the street. I am literally inches away from cars that drive by with high speed and velocity. So far, I still have all my parts, but I worry.

The other issue about having this yard near the street is that inevitably, I have to clean up trash on the grass. Everything that people throw from their windows between Kempsville Road and my house ends up in my front yard. We are the only house with a fence on one side of the front yard between us and the neighbors, and so it works as a trap for all the junk that the breeze blows our way. I have cleaned up many fast food bags and cups, candy wrappers, empty drink cans, plastic drink bottles, cigarette butts, cigar wrappers, newspaper, plastic bags, used losing lottery scratch-offs, even scarves and a sock. Don’t worry, I use gloves to clean up. Why can’t people toss money out the window?

It’s mostly irritating when I fail to see something hidden when the grass gets taller, and the next thing I know, my mower is making really odd sounds, and spitting pieces of whatever from the side shooter. (Beer bottle caps are the worst--they’re like little ninja throwing stars, ready to do some real damage!) I end up left with a really large mess, and the clean up is a pain.

I just try to clean up with a good attitude, because I am very thankful for the house. But yesterday, as I tore through a green plastic wrapper of some kind, and subsequently cleaned up the approximate 1,478 pieces that it left in the wake, I silently prayed down a curse on the person who left it to end up in our “crap trap.” If they only knew…

So THAT got me thinking: how often do we throw nasty words around with little to no concern with where they will end up or who they affect? Are there times that we let “trash” come from our lips thinking that the ones that hear it won’t mind?  Ephesians 4:29 is one of my favorite Bible verses to deal with this very idea. Paul says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

The word Paul uses for “unwholesome,” or “corrupt” in some translations, was SAPROS. It is a Greek word that means rotten or putrefied. The idea is that it is offensive and immediately draws a reaction as rotten meat or a putrefied animal corpse would immediately make you gag, cover your nose, or any other colorful responses. It can also basically mean something that is no longer of any use. If you speak a word that is profane, hurtful, slanderous, gossipy, or immoral in nature, you’re using SAPROS speech. There’s no reason for any of it. It’s all rotten, and does not bring a good response.

Instead, he says, we need to be speaking things that are encouraging and supportive of others, but not just randomly--according to their needs at the time! Truth is always supportive, even if not easy to hear. Compliments are encouraging, and are usually welcome in all situations. Scripture is valuable for others at any time, and if you can’t say anything good, then silence is golden. There are so many different things that can come from our mouth that we do not have to toss that SKUBALON around. (You’ll have to look that one up.)

The other idea here is the “toss off” quality of what we say. The truth is, you never know who is standing just around the corner. You never know how thin your walls really are. You can’t guarantee that what you say won’t be heard by someone else. While the words we say should be worthwhile to the intended recipients, they should also be beneficial, or of some constructive value to anyone who is standing nearby and overhears what we say.

If you offer an encouraging word to a friend with relationship struggles, the person behind you in line at the grocery store may get a nugget of wisdom from that. If you are gently correcting your child for pitching a fit at Walmart, another parent may observe it, and be challenged to better handle their own responses to similar situations. These are the positives, but the negatives can go just as poorly as these went well. What if you claim to be a Christian at work, but your quiet gossiping about a co-worker reaches her ears while she’s getting coffee just outside your office? What if you are criticizing your wife with harsh words and your daughter is playing around the corner where you didn’t realize she was there?

You see, the stuff you toss out there haphazardly can get caught on the winds of life, and can reach people you never intended. What is the clean up that will be necessary? Will it damage the ones that finally hear it? Will it kill your reputation? Will we lose all chance to share Christ with someone because we couldn’t exercise our self-control and choose our words more carefully? I put this in the collective, because I am equally as guilty of it as anyone, and I regret all the times it’s happened before.

Don’t let your trash end up in the yard of innocent home-owners. Choose carefully the words you put out there, so that if anyone hears it unintentionally, they can still receive it as if it were something of great value!

A Happy Driver

You can tell a lot about people by the way they drive. For example, you can tell when I’m running late, because I tend to believe that by switching lanes fifteen times, I am actually working my way closer to my destination. It shows that I am someone who needs to work on my time management. I also tend to demonstrate my tendency to “space out” when I’m driving by driving really close to the right side of the lane I’m in. I’m not really sure why that side, but it’s what I do. It shows that I should concentrate on the task at hand a bit more, and not be such a “day dreamer.”

This morning, after dropping off my youngest at his day-care provider, I was waiting to back out of her driveway into the street. I saw one more car coming, and then there was a large gap in the traffic that I was planning on hitting. However, as that particular vehicle was getting closer, they slowed down, and then I saw “the wave” letting me know I could pull out. I took the opportunity, returned “the wave” as a thank you, and went on about my business. (Interesting how one waving motion of the hand can mean so many different unspoken things. But that’s a blog for another day…)

I kept wondering if that lady knew that there was plenty of room behind her and that she didn’t really need to let me go. That’s when it occurred to me that it didn’t really matter whether or not there was space behind her. In her mind, the right thing to do was to let me go. If I was appreciative, then great. If my day was made better--awesome. If not, then it still didn’t hurt her to let me go. She decided to let me go, and she did.

Yes, I may be assuming too much about what went on in my fellow driver’s mind. BUT, since it doesn’t paint her in any negative light, I’m okay doing that. How else will I deliver the astounding truth that jumped out at me all the while this is happening?

You see, there are many times that all of us have great intentions. We decide to eat healthier. We intend to stop the late night snacks. We want to be more patient with our children. The plan is to read our Bibles more. We know that prayer works, and we hope to do it more. These are all good things. But, good intentions alone don’t get us where we need to be.

Sometimes God lays things on our hearts that He wants us to do, and we recognize these with no problem--as long as they are things we consider to be “big” things. Time to change jobs? We listen hard for God. Financial troubles? We are more willing to try new principles for our money. Children having trouble? We pray hard that God will take them away. Just kidding--at least about the taking them away part.

But what about the little things? What if we’re leaving the grocery store, and as we walk through the door, there’s an elderly person coming out behind us, but we’d have to wait an additional five seconds to hold the door? Sometimes God says to wait, but our selfishness tells us we need to hurry. How about while we’re out and about somewhere, and we see that the person walking towards us looks very unhappy? We often follow our natural inclination to keep our eyes forward and away from them, while we ignore that still small voice whispering that we should make eye contact and simply smile.

I have one place where I struggle so very often. It’s here in town, and it’s the place on Independence Blvd. (for those in the know) where the I-264 traffic is merging with the right lane heading towards Baxter road. I never know if I should slow down and let someone in and risk getting plowed in the back by an over-eager driver, or just keep moving and let the lights behind us provide the natural holes for cars to enter.  The truth is, if I plan far enough in advance, I can start slowing down early enough to be safe AND to provide room for several cars to merge. I believe this is the right and courteous thing to do. Yes, it’s a little thing that may go completely unnoticed by the merging drivers, and could be a big inconvenience for three-and-a-half seconds for the cars behind me.

But here’s the deal: as silly as it sounds to some people, I have felt a bit convicted about making that plan every time and letting one or two people merge. Like I said before, you can tell a lot about the way a person drives, and I want people to be able to tell I’m a friendly driver. Friendly is one aspect of love, and if I want to truly follow God love my neighbor as myself (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39), then I need to be willing to extend to others the same courtesies that I would appreciate.

More than once in my life, my day has been lifted by someone smiling at me, holding a door for me, or simply slowing down to let me back my car safely onto the street. Just like little things can become big things in a negative way, they can have equal impact in a positive way. Many, many times it doesn’t even cost us anything but mere seconds, or slight muscle contraction in our cheeks to make a difference for someone else. But even if it did--would we be willing? (John 15:13. Check it out.)

What kind of “driver” are you? Even when you’re not in the car, what can people tell about you by the way you handle the little things in life?

Treasures in Old Boxes

Every once in a while, I like to pull old boxes out in the garage, just to see what’s in them. This week I pulled out a box with some old pictures from when our twins were just about a year old. I can’t believe how much has changed, and how fast it did! In another box next to it, I busted it open and found some old concert programs from people I went to see in college and the first few years I was out of school. Exactly NONE of the hairstyles would fly anymore. Also crammed in the same box were a handful of VHS tapes of movies that I liked in the past. For those that don’t know--a VHS tape is a designation given to a thin plastic rectangular “box” that actually contains a roll of very thin film, which is used for making an analog copy of video. It must be used inside of a Video Cassette Recorder, or VCR. Some people still have them, but they don’t get used very much anymore.

Though none of them are terribly ancient, these would all be considered old items by one standard or another. But, the fun of them is still there, and I definitely traveled along memory lane as I flipped through all the stuff. While I obviously don’t need the things I found, I certainly see the value of each of them, even if it is sentimental.

Old things are not always bad. Depending on the model of it, and antique car almost always has a cool factor that a hybrid Prius can’t match, no matter which celebrity is driving one. Vintage guitars have a tone that only comes from a hand-crafted instrument that won’t be heard in a machine-generated, assembly line guitar.

Last week, while I was working, I heard someone playing the piano in the choir room here at church, which is separated from my office by a mere door. They were playing a hymn that I know because I grew up singing it in church as a child, and then as a teenager. It brought back memories of old hymns that mean a lot to me.

I’m a big fan of new, modern music in churches. I think it is a “language” by which some people are able to focus on God and worship. Only a fool would think that it is the only way to worship God, however, and I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the close-minded option in front of me. Instead, I prefer to recognize the value of all hymns and songs based on the content of the words, not the tune or the style. It just so happens that two modern versions of “old hymns” have been brought to mind lately, and both have words that have clobbered me.

Forbid it, Lord, That I should boast
Save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
From “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”

How many times am I pulled away from my commitment to Christ by things that are insignificant and unimportant? (The way vain would have been used at the time this was written.) Why am I so quick to point out my temporary accomplishments, when it is the death of Jesus that gives me permanent life in Him? These are the things that I need to sacrifice and put to death, as Paul talks about in Colossians 3. They also tie in nicely with another modernized hymn we sang in church recently:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to Leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord, Take and Seal it
Seal it for thy courts above.
From “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”

After what I felt to be a particularly good Bible Study recently, I caught myself silently patting myself on the back about how well I presented the information, as if I really had anything to do with how God used His own Word to move through a Bible Study time that is supposed to be about Him. This passage jumped to mind, as if God were using a language I understand (music) to really get my attention about something that needed fixing.

I am prone to wander from bringing glory to God and pointing to my temporary accomplishments. I tend to boast in things OTHER than the death of Christ that brings me hope for my eternal salvation with Him. Why do I do these things? I know that “...Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved,” (Acts 4:12) and yet I still want to draw attention to me so many times.

Jesus said that to follow Him means to daily die to myself. (Luke 9:23) That means that I must sacrifice all of my pride and accomplishments, and put the glory on Jesus Christ. It also means that I must trust Christ to seal and guard my heart against the things that have the potential to pull me away. I truly do want to serve and honor God with my life, but if I’m not careful, I will be pulled away and become self-serving. But, if I abide in Christ, and He in me, then through Him, I can accomplish all things HE would have me do, and all for His glory, that others may know Him.

I thank God for the hymn writers through all the ages, and in all styles. So often, and for many people, their words can so often be the way the Holy Spirit gets our attention and challenges us to more effectively live our lives for Christ.

Broken Eggs

In our house, we eat eggs for Breakfast quite often. I know some people disapprove, and say they’re not so good for you, but they provide a relatively easy option to get some protein into the family, which is good for us, so we’ll go ahead and make the choices for our family, and leave your family to you. Deal? Good.

I say relatively easy, because for as long as I’ve been making my own eggs in one or more of it’s many different available varieties, I have had trouble with eggs. Not digestively, or anything like that. It’s a physical problem. I physically have difficulty with that stinking shell on the outside. If I’m scrambling or frying eggs, or even using them in a recipe, I have the worst time breaking eggs without getting the albumen (that’s the clear part that turns white when you cook it--for the uninitiated) all over my fingers. I keep the trash can close so I don’t drip all over the floor, and some days it’s only a little bit, but inevitably, I’m getting gooey stuff on my fingers.

Unless, of course, I’m boiling the eggs. Then, it becomes a battle with the shell and the little membrane that lies under said shell around the now solidified albumen (See above note). I have done all the tricks I can find in Reader’s Digest, Cook Books, Magazines, websites, and even watching the occasional food show on TV. Unfortunately, I always have one that ends up looking like Humpty Dumpty after a hard-night of partying. It’s just all messed up. The egg is no longer smooth, but has pieces that have been pulled away by the shell, and sometimes even just leaving a large crater in the surface. I am no stranger to making a highly emotionally-motivated decision that the egg is no longer worth it, and with great, uh, gusto, I “place” it in the very bottom of the trash can through the first fifteen layers of trash with the impact sound reverberating through the crawl space under my house.

Isn’t it interesting how people are kind of like eggs? Even though we put up our outer shell that protects us from some level of impact, if we’re hit in just the right place, or encounter something that provides enough resistance, we crack, and our lives can end up a big gooey mess. (Okay, so I used the word “gooey” two--now three times in one entry. It’s just fun to type.) Some people have been through hot water in life, think they are more resilient, and have a stronger layer of protection around them. They are just trying to fool themselves, because they can be broken by different things in life. Those that feel like they were broken, but managed to pull it all together themselves will eventually discover that their lives are just scrambled and scarred. No matter the situation, we eventually feel like all the king’s horses and all the king’s men will never get us back together again.

The good news is, we don’t have to rely on human or equestrian “fixers.” We have a God who specializes in bringing about restoration and transformation. If we’ve never turned our hearts to Jesus, we can, and in doing so, be redeemed AND made new from the sticky mess that once defined us. Even those who are followers of Christ have times where they fall and are broken. Fallen eggs get broken--and we are all fallen people. (Romans 3:23) 

The King Himself can pick up the pieces of our lives, and not simply “put us back together again,” but He will recreate us into something new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We can have new life, and be defined not by the shells we put up, but by the heart within us that is full of the Holy Spirit, and belongs to God. It would be easy to think of all the ways that eggs can be fixed, or used together with other ingredients to make something wonderful, and that certainly would fit the illustration. But, I prefer to think outside that box, and remember that even though ten eggs in a row may look very much alike at one point, once they are broken reveal Swans, Turtles, Chameleons, Eagles, and quite the variety of different animals. In each of those, the egg must be cracked and broken to reveal the true beauty of what God has created. In the same way, until we let our King put us together in HIS way, we can never become all that we were made to be.

I know that brokenness hurts. I’ve been there, and I’m sure I’ll be there again. What my experience has taught me is that in all these things, we are not separated from God (Romans 8:38-39). Instead, it provides us with an opportunity to turn to Jesus, and allow Him to work through the pain to make us stronger than we ever were before, and revealing who we can be in Him.

Spiritual Zits

FYI: I hope the new layout is not too confusing for you, but I wanted to keep it fresh!

I know that I am not old. There are people who laugh when folks of my age begin to talk of “getting old.” It’s at this point that I would like to quote a very wise song-writer name Jon Bon Jovi: “Like your favorite pair of torn blue jeans, this skin I’m in’s alright with me. I’m not old--just older.” I’ve gotten used to who I am, and I’m cool with the whole idea that I’m not going to be “young” forever. I also ascribe to the whole “you’re as young as you feel” mentality, and hope I can hang on to my “young mindset” for many years to come. I also hope that my “appreciation” for quotation marks remains.

So, this part about getting older. First, my hair started falling out. Then, I noticed arthritis creeping into my shoulder. I hoped it was an injury that could be treated, but two doctors, several x-rays, and one cortisone injection later, it’s just arthritis, that is threatening to become painful again. I am pretty sure I have it in my left pinky as well. I have recurring tendonitis in my wrists--yeah, both of them. When my mid-section started to grow a bit faster (my fingers just had a freudian slip and typed “fatster”), I really had to come to grips with my age.

Is there such a product?

With all of these things pointing towards the fact that I am “not old--just older,” why is it that I am not too old to get a pimple? When do I outgrow those things? It seems only fair that if one is going bald, they shouldn’t have to deal with zits anymore. The other day, I had an itch on my nose, and as I reached up to scratch the underside, It hurt! As luck would have it, brewing beneath the surface of my skin was one of those pimples that starts deep within the skin and hurts for days until it finally comes to the surface. All in all, it’s a very pleasant experience. Yeah, right. Just call me Eeyore.

Most people just put Clearasil on it and move on. However, I have to think about it. Here’s how all of this craziness came together in my mind. As we grow as Christians, things about us will change. Both Peter and Paul said that we can’t stay on spiritual milk for long--we must grow up in the faith and move to solid food. (1 Peter 2:2, 1 Corinthians  3:2) Since we will live forever in eternity,I suppose age really doesn’t matter, so I guess we don’t get old--just older. However, no matter how mature in the faith we get, while we still live in this limited body on earth, we can never escape that blemish that lies beneath the surface. We are all still very prone to sin.

We can do all the exercise we want to maintain our strength and our health for our bodies, and even spiritually as we pray and read God’s Word on a daily basis. However, it only takes one little temptation or unguarded thought to begin the painful process of bringing sin to the surface.  Often times, the Holy Spirit brings conviction long before anyone can see outward manifestation of the sin in our hearts, and I believe it’s safe to say that most conviction of sin is painful. Sometimes others can’t see evidence of the “spiritual zit,” (that phrase is currently being trademarked) but we certainly feel the pain under our skin. Whether we have to swallow our pride and admit short-comings, or agonize over a confession we must make to a loved-one, we feel the sting and the hurt of these blemishes.

I kept looking in the mirror over the last few days, waiting for the inevitable, but the pimple never surfaced. In fact, it seems to have healed up and gone away. If we learn to deal appropriately with our sin at the first pain of the Spirit’s conviction, the grace of God may protect us from the embarrassing, and sometimes explosive (yeah, I went there) public showing of the “spiritual zit.” If that happens, thank God from the bottom of your heart, because it is most certainly NOT what you, or any of us deserve. Then, learn from the experience and do what you can to keep your spirit clean from that point on.

We will spend time and money on products and treatments to keep these blemishes from appearing on our skin, but how many of us really put in the same amount of effort to keep these blemishes from appearing in our spirit? There are no guarantees that face wash will work, but it never hurts to try. Getting into God’s Word daily, and spending time with Him in prayer can only benefit each of us as we grow in our faith. Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” If we fill our hearts and minds with the things of God, we have a better chance at defeating the temptations and thoughts that can become full-fledged sin in our lives. Chances are, you’ll scrub your face today. What will you do to clean your spirit?

Songs of the Past

I’m a nostalgia kind of guy. It’s not that I’ve ever been accused of being overly-sentimental or silly about it, but I can be take back to past experiences very quickly. I’m sure my wife would like me to tell her more often, but every July 4th I remember that it was on that very day in 2001 that I kissed her and “knew…” Yeah, THAT kind of “just knew.” When I was in Baton Rouge last summer for my brother’s wedding, I remember seeing a few places that I would frequent growing up, and it triggered some fun memories of times with friends. For the record, I now realize that cruising town in a mini-van with M.C. Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit” blasting out the open windows is not quite as cool as me and my friends thought.

Which brings me to the one thing that has always been the strongest pull of nostalgia. Music is my weakness, and has made me into a crazed fan more than once in my life--as one friend from college recently remembered on a Facebook post. Because I tend to saturate myself with different music, certain songs immediately take me to different places in my life. Anytime I hear “Dreams” by Van Halen, I am transported to third grade when their “5150” was my very first album. (It was on cassette--do any of you remember those?) “Go West Young Man” by Michael W. Smith was what I listened to over and over during my tenth-grade year of Youth Camp. “Love of a Lifetime” by Firehouse is one of the songs I sang at my (now) Brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s wedding that made my (now) wife pay attention to me, “Faithfully” by Journey is the song we first danced to at their reception, and just over a year later, “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain was our first dance as a married couple.

Since it’s Valentines Day, I felt like going down that particular memory lane to make my point. The truth is, many songs will take me back, and many of them have great meaning. Just last week, I discovered and bought a used copy of a CD that was stolen from me just after college. The singer is Jonathan Pierce, who is pretty well unknown by many people. He never really “made it big,” but certainly had his fans. He got his start singing with the Gaither Vocal Band, and released a solo CD in the mid-1990’s. I bought the CD and on it are two songs that quickly meant alot to me.

Because of different things I was going through, I was really challenged with the lyrics (and powerhouse vocals) of two songs. “One Love” is the title track that quite simply just reminds us that with all that’s going on in our world, the Love of Christ is powerful enough to change individuals, those around us, and even the world. It’s a personal, pursuing, and deep love that Christ has for us, and that took Him to the cross on our behalf. “Healing Hands” is another song that simply reminds us that no matter what condition our hearts are in, no matter how beaten, bruised, or broken, the hands of Jesus are waiting to heal us and restore us with His love.

As far as deep spiritual insight goes, I haven’t shared anything new or particularly life-changing. But, sometimes the simple musings of one person can trigger our own thoughts and send us to that place where we remember songs or experiences that mean a great deal to us. Just for grins, I’m posting videos here with those songs, and maybe you will enjoy them for yourself. Either way, don’t ever be afraid to reminisce and think of how God has brought you to where you are either because of or in spite of the different places you’ve been. Just don’t stop there--make yourself available for God to continue moving you where He can use you in the future!