OBSESSIONS

1 Kings 20:1-21:29; Acts 12:24-13:15; Psalm 137:1-9; Proverbs 17:16

“A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”

“The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.”

“We put away our harps, hanging them on the branches of poplar trees. For our captors demanded a song from us. Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn….”

There is a time for boldness. Circumstances do sometimes cry out for a champion of vision and courage willing to stand in the gap and fill our desire for charismatic leadership. Those so gifted, however, need to hang onto their humility, because boldness is just a step away from arrogance. And arrogance is a potent seducer of common sense.

Tonight, I am watching a PBS special on the “king” of lobotomies, Dr. Walter Freeman. A man actually fond of the moniker “the Henry Ford of lobotomies,” Freeman allowed apparent initial success in calming certain violent patients fool him into thinking he was doing the human race an indispensible service. Sometimes doing over a dozen procedures a day, Freeman shamelessly promoted day surgery lobotomies until he was literally performing them any time and any place. On the street, he lobotomized an accused criminal who refused to submit peaceably to the police. One patient died when the icepick Freeman was using slipped while he was taking pictures of himself. As the medical community which had once been so supportive turned against him, Freeman redoubled his efforts. Only Thorazine saved numerous other patients from literally losing their minds. As the medication replaced the procedure, Freeman’s career began to crash. He recognized that losing the ability to lobotomize meant losing himself. So, he moved to California and began to market the process as a way of dealing with “unruly” children and depressed housewives. Over his lifetime, Freeman performed in excess of 29,000 lobotomies, including 19 children in California and one as young as four years old.

Obsession wears many faces. Mainly, though, obsession is the primary symptom of an empty soul. When we can no longer justify ourselves based on what we do, one response is just to do more of it. This explains why we literally lose ourselves in our work. It explains why we have less and less in common with our spouses. It also explains our de-socialization. We cannot function around others when we are obsessed with our own accomplishments – or any lack thereof.

Nothing on this earth is worth the loss of our souls or the destruction of others. Nothing in the world is worthy of any obsession which denies compassion and empathy. If we are destined or determined to be obsessed, let us be obsessed with Christ. In Him, we find something far greater than ourselves. In Him, we find acceptance and healing when the ol’ self image begins to tarnish. Before we just grasp at any opportunity to make ourselves feel better, we need to remember Christ is the Great Physician. Our efforts to heal ourselves, and our attempts to make something of ourselves, have little earthly longevity and no eternal consequence. It is only when we allow the Spirit to make something of us that we find we no longer need our obsessions. Indeed, as we allow the Spirit to fill us, we find our true selves.

ANGELS WATCHING OVER US

1 Kings 19:1-21; Acts 12:1-23; Psalm 136:1-26; Proverbs 17:14-15

“…The Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’”

“The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, ‘Quick! Get up!’ And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, ‘Get dressed and put on your sandals.’ And he did. ‘Now put on your coat and follow me,’ the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening.”

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever.”

What would we do differently if we knew we were surrounded by angels? That’s kind of like asking how we would live if we knew we could not fail. I’m not sure what I would do, but I do know where I would start: with fear, or rather, celebrating the absence of fear. Wrapped in the wings of celestial beings, I wouldn’t worry about physical injury or looking like a fool. I wouldn’t worry about emotional instability. I wouldn’t worry about finances or the office. In short, I wouldn’t worry, period. Guarded by angels, I wouldn’t have to be anxious about anything.

Well, I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, but I probably would fret nonetheless. Because angels sound too good to be true. They seem like fantasy, not real life. Swooping down in the nick of time, angels are pictured saving the hapless from all manner of evil and self-destructive behavior. Angels in the Outfield are filmed helping mediocre athletes become great. Well, Lord, where are your angels now? Why do they not protect us from ourselves? Confronted with  - or blinded by – reality, it’s easy to dismiss the idea of angels… until you’ve seen one. A person can never be quite the same after an experience like that.

Back in the late 80s, my wife and I served as Sponsors for our church’s growing Youth Ministry. We had gotten quite close to many of the kids, and this particular day was sad because so many seniors were graduating and moving on to college or adult independence. It marked, for many, the end of innocence and a testing of all they’d learned as kids and teens. As I crafted the message for that evening, very clearly, I felt called to speak to their fears of the coming unknowns. But the harder I worked, the more difficult it became. How does one respond effectively to the paranoia of everyday life? What does one say to another bound by stress? I could not presume to know the fears of that generation, and my own anxiety about my personal inadequacy only increased as the time of our session approached. I took a break. I got up, stretched and headed off for a glass of water. Around a corner, I came face to face with an angel.

Stay with me. This was no illusion. I’ve tried to describe what I saw numerous times since, yet nothing does the being justice. (Forget the wings, though.) However, there is no doubt in my mind that there was an angel, because I immediately knew precisely what it feels like to be overcome by the holiness of the Lord. Never before or since have I felt so dirty and fearful on the one hand and so humble and awestruck on the other. A raw power crackled through the air. The angel then spoke clearly, although not audibly. I received his reminder – “perfect love casts out fear” – in stunned silence. Then, he was gone. 

The message that night was the same as it is today. Perfect love does cast out fear. Our fear is in direct proportion to the amount of time we spend thinking of ourselves. If we truly love, we put others first, and fear fades proportionately. I do not know why this is exactly. I only know that if we desire to live fearlessly, we need to live for others.

Peter and Elijah both had their issues and their times of cowardice. They also knew what it was to have angels watching over them. Those angels guided. They inspired and protected. They shared a good word. But mainly, they were present, providing tangible counsel and physical assistance. The next time we start fearfully thinking we are outside the reach of God, let’s remember there is no place we can go where the Father won’t send His angels to be with us. The fact we seldom, if ever, see them does not make them any less real. It just proves we need to sharpen our spiritual vision considerably.

THE BLAME GAME

1 Kings 18:1-46; Acts 11:1-30; Psalm 135:1-21; Proverbs 17:12-13

“’I have made no trouble for Israel,’ Elijah replied. ‘You and your family are the troublemakers, for you have refused to obey the commands of the Lord and have worshiped the images of Baal instead.’”

“Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. ‘You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!’ they said. …[Peter replied,] ‘Since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?’”

“I know the greatness of the Lord—that our Lord is greater than any other god…. For the Lord will give justice to his people and have compassion on his servants.”

“If you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your house.”

This week, another athlete “confessed” to using steroids. Alex Rodriguez was called out by ESPN after it got hold of some supposedly confidential drug tests taken in the early 2000s. Caught red-handed, Rodriguez at least had the honesty to admit his wrongdoing instead of denying it like so many others. But he did not miss the opportunity to blame the security of the supposedly “confidential” testing, either. The implication: clearly, he never would have come clean had his malfeasance not been revealed first. He was just a victim of the system. His defense was that he was young and impressionable and just responding to the overwhelming pressure of Major League Baseball. Mule muffins! If his was old enough to command all those multi-million dollar checks, he was old enough to be held to some standard of integrity.

Bank CEOs have been testifying before Congress this week as well, trying desperately to justify their use of the first, $350 billion bailout money to pay bonuses and perks. “It’s not our fault,” they cried. “We had to pay or we would lose our people!” Two questions: 1. Where would they have gone in the economic mess they helped create with any hope of making even the “paltry” hundred of thousands they were guaranteed as salary; and 2. So, what’s the downside of having the people who got us into this mess leave? Still, the CEOs rationalized their decisions were not about greed. They were just victims of evil market forces. Beagle bagels!

The human tendency to claim victimization, to blame something – or anybody – else for our errant ways is just another way of lying to ourselves. We get so upset when others lie to us! Why then, do we tolerate it from ourselves? Yet it seems that, in our sinfulness, our instinctive first reaction is to lie, to blame someone else, to make excuses. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see someone who rejects defensiveness in favor of the simple truth of upfront confession, just because it’s the right thing to do?

Ahab certainly had his chances. The King of Israel led the people down the road to spiritual ruin, blatantly disobeying the Lord’s commands, for years. As punishment, Yahweh imposed a severe drought. Ahab promptly blamed Elijah, God’s mightiest prophet. When Peter’s change of heart revealed the Jerusalem disciples’ bigotry for what it was, their first reaction was to blame instead of congratulate Peter for reaching out to the Gentiles. What is a man of God to do? Exactly as both those men did: stand behind the Great I Am.

With Christ, there should be no reason to play the Blame Game. God can defend Himself. People need to get back to living as if they are playing to an audience of One. It is amazing how that level of accountability will strengthen a soul. This week, I have been working with a number of younger lawyers, training them on a new analytical process. At the beginning, they were full of themselves, defensive about errors and resentful of correction. But they hung in there. They knew they were accountable only to me, and that I was not going to take advantage of their mistakes or broadcast their errors to others, so they ventured on. As they did, they also began to see the beauty and greater accuracy of what we were working to accomplish. By week’s end, they were actually grateful for having learned a new way of looking at things. It’s not the easy way, but the best option rarely is.

Only those who pull themselves out of the Blame Game ever see the light that honest evaluation and correction can bring to a life. Putting it another way, the more we play the Blame Game, the less we have of Christ in our lives. There’s a red flag for the next time we find ourselves resorting to misdirection and defensiveness when answering for sin. Those with Jesus in their lives have no need of such tools; they are already forgiven and freed from the bondage. When we resort to blaming other things or people for our shortcomings, when we feel the need to do so, what does that say about our security in the Spirit and our appreciation of grace?

PASSIONATE LOVE

1 Kings 15:25-17:24; Acts 10:24-48; Psalm 134:1-3; Proverbs 17:9-11

“Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?’ And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.’ The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. ‘Look!’ he said. ‘Your son is alive!’”

“Peter told them, ‘You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.’”

“Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord.”

“Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.”

It’s Valentines Day, and there isn’t much in today’s Scriptures about romance. But there’s a TON about love we may have missed. Two loners beaten down by life and poverty are brought together in their isolation to support each other, and a son is resurrected. A prejudiced Jew of great importance to a fledgling religion finally opens his heart to the fact that God loves those who are different, too, and “foreigners” are united in Christ for eternity. God’s wisdom reminds us that, sometimes, love just ignores the faults of another. No, there isn’t much romance in today’s words, but true love is not just about romance. It’s about passion, a passion strong and secure enough to withstand adversity. A passion so focused it is willing to defy convention and explore new avenues of love. A passion so dedicated it accepts faults and love despite shortcomings, and maybe even because of them. Passionate love is not always pretty. It’s not all roses and chocolates and heart-shaped cards. Passionate love can even be decidedly un-romantic. But passionate love is always real: it risks; it’s longsuffering; it endures; and it is willing to confront life in the trenches and do what it takes to save. Even when what it takes to save is personal vulnerability and sacrifice.

For almost thirty years now, my wife and I have had our share of romantic moments, and we love our candlelit dinners and late night chats (which means, for us, any conversation after the nightly news) as much as the next couple, I suppose. It’s fun being romantic. But we were both blessed to have parents who taught us that love is not just, or even primarily, about cosmetic romance. We learned by watching them that real love is the fruit of committed passion, a passion for the other that remains steadfast in the face of any circumstance. I think of my father-in-law watching his wife die of a brain tumor, insisting on keeping her at home and lovingly caring for her even when the cancer ravaged her physical abilities and her personality. Or my Mom – all 110 pounds or so of her - taking care of Dad - all 280+ pounds of him - while he was completely dependent for almost a year. Through these and so many other examples, we’ve learned passionate love has relatively little to do with sex; it’s a dedicated commitment that endures through the tears. It is a love unafraid to get dirty. It is, in a word or two, unmerited grace that stands by, supports and sustains, especially when it is not comfortable or romantic to do so.

The best description of my wife, and one I will always cherish, came out of the blue one day from a mutual friend. “She’s just so there.” I understood immediately what our friend meant. My wife loves with an absolute passion for me, and for others. She stays put, no matter how insufferable I get. That’s not always a comfortable, let alone romantic, place to be, but it is a place love must live, if it is to live at all. In simplest terms, my wife is a daily, tangible reminder of Christ, and romance aside, it’s hard to be more loving than that.

Romance assuredly has its place, but any relationship based solely on romance has a very short expected life. We learned quickly that romance is wonderful when it is the result of passionate dedication and trust. However, put the ultimate priority on romance, and pretty much the best one can hope for is an intense but shallow lust. Praise God that we do not have to rely on lust or romance to hold us up at any point, and that we never have to depend solely on ourselves to generate passion. Indeed, we cannot do so and expect love to last for eternity. Enduring love is a love that can afford to sacrifice only because Christ fills the voids and gaps of our humanness. “We love, because He first loved us.” Praise God for His example of passionate love!

THE SINCEREST FORM OF FLATTERY

1 Kings 14:1-15:24; Acts 10:1-23; Psalm 133:1-3; Proverbs 17:7-8

“The people imitated the detestable practices of the pagan nations the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.”

“Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.”

“Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting.”

Most of us look for role models. That’s a good thing, at least when our role models are worthy of imitation. But we don’t always follow those we should follow. We look for people who are wealthy, celebrities or otherwise seemingly above the difficulties we face. It is no wonder we are ill equipped to deal with the realities of everyday life when we attempt to mimic others whose lives have nothing in common with our particular circumstances. The point of role models is not to facilitate wishful thinking. Their point is to provide an example of a more effective way to live. We should not be surprised, then, when our obsession with athletes and movie stars provides us little practical help in living our own lives.

For a number of years, I was involved in youth ministry. The kids went through a variety of fads and crazes. Each one claimed to want to establish him or herself as an individual, but they usually ended up doing their best just to fit in with their peers. Some worshipped the latest teen idol, some allowed themselves to become lost in the drug culture, but virtually all of them were most comfortable when acting with a herd mentality. For most, the herd was their role model. Some had no role model at all. Regardless, true individuals were usually dismissed as nerds or just plain weird or, on the other hand, as overachieving bookworms. In a world that supposedly valued individualism above most everything, few of its inhabitants realized they were stereotypes blinded by their need to conform and avoid notice.

The Israelites chose to follow their corrupt leader, Jeroboam, and Jeroboam choose to follow his pagan contemporaries in worshipping idols and turning his back on the Lord. Not once does the Bible talk of anyone who confronted Jeroboam about his wicked ways or his responsibility as a political leader to protect the welfare of those he ruled. The people were too busy imitating the worship practices of their pagan neighbors. In doing so, they unwittingly sowed the seeds of Israel’s complete destruction and the crushing military defeats that lead to it. We, as Christian brothers and sisters, can and must do better.

Christians have the perfect role model – literally. Jesus Christ came to earth so all humanity could see the best way to live. But when He was not being persecuted, He usually was simply ignored. The Man who literally was “the way, the truth and the life,” the one soul who understood the secrets of effective living, was too often dismissed as a heretic or disregarded as impractical or, worse, a lunatic. We need to rethink our feelings about Christ. We need to see and follow Him as the example he still is today. Only by attempting to imitate Jesus will we become the people God created us to be: the very Body of Christ!  

DISCERNING THE VOICE OF GOD

1 Kings 12:20-13:34; Acts 9:26-43; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 17:6

“But the old prophet answered, “I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this command from the Lord: ‘Bring him home with you so he can have something to eat and drink.’” But the old man was lying to him.”

“When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!”

Why did the old prophet lie? It is a sad fact of life that many things done and claimed in the name of Christ have nothing to do with Him. Most self-appointed prophets are more interested in filling their own coffers or elevating themselves than in preaching the true Word. People need to know when they are hearing Godly teaching, and when Satan is masquerading as an angel. Trust in those who say they are dedicated to the Lord is sometimes a gift given too easily.

On the other hand, like Paul’s early audiences, we can be too skeptical when it comes to accepting the Word from our peers, friends or relatives. Familiarity may not breed contempt, exactly, but accessibility and normalcy can make it harder to accept Yahweh’s direction from the mouths of those we know personally. After all, when they claim a better line of communication with Christ, we can get pretty jealous. But when we are blinded and deafened by sin or personal troubles, we actually need others who can effectively direct us back to the Spirit’s love and grace.

The question comes down to one of discernment. How can we separate the Word of God from manipulative emotionalism that will only disillusion and destroy faith? It’s an important question. More than a few Christians have been seduced by the allure of the charismatic “prophet,” preacher or counselor. Sometimes, we ourselves are seduced by religious spirituality into believing – or wanting too much to believe – that we have gifts the Lord has not really given. In any situation where a human substitutes for the true voice of God, isolation and anger are typical outcomes.

When Christians counsel, or open themselves up to the advice of others, we must always insure Christ, not any other result or object, is the ultimate goal. If security, personal health or even human relationships supersede the goal of aligning with our divine purpose and Creator, bad things inevitably will happen. How many of us have fooled ourselves into believing our desires were part of the Spirit’s plan, only to be left feeling stupid and exposed when it became obvious the Father had other ideas?

All teaching and counsel should be judged by how it matches up with Scripture (the primary source), Tradition, Experience and Reason. The Bible is a unique testimony to God's self-disclosure and the guide to our redemption. If we immerse ourselves in Scripture and open our minds and hearts to the Holy Spirit, we will be better equipped to make Christian decisions. The Tradition of the Church, not the "little traditions" of one denomination, can also help guide us into Truth. The cumulative understanding and beliefs of the whole Christian movement can provide a powerful pragmatic balance to the immediate emotion of supposedly “new” revelation. Similarly, Experience really is a great teacher. This includes individual experience and the experience of the Church (God's people), or even more simply, “what works.” While what has worked in the past may not work today, experience can still provide additional food for thought as we seek God’s Will. Finally, there is Reason. When we go to church, we must not check our brains at the door.

God made us thinking, rational beings. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. If we do that better, better understanding of God’s Will certainly will result. That’s what God meant when He said we will find Him when we dedicate our whole self to finding Him. The Spirit still speaks. We just need to tune our ears to His higher frequency.

MAINTAINING THE RIGHT FOCUS

1 Kings 11:1-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3; Proverbs 17:4-5

“Now King Solomon loved many foreign women…. The Lord had clearly instructed the people of Israel, ‘You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.’ Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. … And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the Lord.”

“The Lord said, ‘… Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying to me right now. I have shown him a vision of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him so he can see again.’ ‘But Lord,’ exclaimed Ananias, ‘I’ve heard many people talk about the terrible things this man has done to the believers in Jerusalem!...’ But the Lord said, ‘Go, for Saul is my chosen instrument to take my message to the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the people of Israel.’”

“Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself….”

Solomon, in all his wisdom, was not wise enough to avoid the perils of indiscriminate sex, and it led him away from the Lord. In his old age, he could not sustain his focus. Ananias, in his obscure humility, was blinded by understandable prejudices and nearly lost the Gentile world its greatest apostle. He maintained his focus, but it required some fine tuning to be in harmony with the Lord’s. Neither man was perfect. The difference between them ultimately came down to simple obedience. One man thought he knew better than God. One man trusted that he did not. All of Solomon’s incredible riches and glory eventually faded and were stripped away. Ananias left behind arguably the greatest legacy of any Christian, for without Ananias, there would have been no Paul.

Faith is like that. It usually comes down to a single question. Do we think we are wiser, or better informed, than God? Then, there’s the follow-up: why? In reality, those of us who think ourselves wiser or better informed than God are just the worst at trusting God. We have not put ourselves at risk for Him, so we do not appreciate His wisdom or the depth of His understanding. In a word, we have never let Him save us, or we have allowed ourselves to forget that He did so. We have lost the divine focus.

Where did this penchant for focusing on myself instead of the Lord come from? Spiritual dimensions aside, it’s just embarrassing and frustrating as a practical matter. My personal track record of decisions is nothing to write home about. Without Jesus, I know I’m not wise or knowledgeable enough to deal effectively with life. My best decisions always come when I finally decide to reconcile and submit to asking the Spirit for help. By now, that ought to be my first choice every time, but it’s not, and I’m not sure why. No disobedience is intended. I don’t mean not to follow Christ. (Well, OK, sometimes my disobedience is very deliberate, to be honest.) Certainly, I never plan to sabotage myself. But I do. I wander off on my own and pretty soon am lost and isolated. Only one conclusion makes any sense. Unless we are intentional about actively seeking out and following the Spirit’s Will and plan for our lives, we will mess things up. Inspiration does not come from osmosis. It is the result of diligent seeking and purposeful compliance.

Consistently looking for God and following His Will and plan can grow to be a habit, an instinctive reaction to every challenge we face. We just have to work at it. We never will if our main desire is to establish our self-sufficiency. Independence is a curse when it is not given back to the Lord. The greatest freedom we have is the freedom to come back into God’s presence and give Him ourselves. Only as we commit totally to Him will we have the strength to follow Him and claim the blessings of obedience.  

TESTING OUR HEARTS

1 Kings 9:1-10:29; Acts 8:14-40; Psalm 130:1-8; Proverbs 17:2-3

“When the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame, which brought honor to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions…. When she met with Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. Solomon had answers for all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her.”

“Philip asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The man replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him…. So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.”

“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.”

I am ashamed to say it, but my first reaction to the Lord’s challenges is usually rejection. Or feigned confusion. Or anything else that has any chance of getting me out of the fear the call inspires. I am what one would call risk-adverse. Yet as I’ve said before, when I doubt myself in such situations, I actually doubt the Spirit in me.

This weekend, I was blessed to hear testimony from a Costa Rican missionary who quite literally bet his life on Christ. He spoke entirely in Spanish (through a translator) and took boldness and courage to a whole new level. We did not need to understand his words to know his heart or his passion. He talked unflinchingly of the drug culture, warlords and abject poverty which surrounded him, and of the seemingly impossible Spirit directive to feed hundreds of starving children in the area. He himself had nothing to eat and no money. Nevertheless, with little other than inspiration and the Lord on his side, this man challenged the local people to sacrifice out of their own poverty so the kids could eat. He got in their faces. He badgered them. He preached to them. But most of all, he loved Christ. And the people responded. His own children were the first to sacrifice a meal, but others followed their example. Soon, dozens of children were getting much-needed nourishment. As the pain in their bellies subsided, their hearts, and those of their parents, opened to the Spirit, leading to much healing, reconciliation and rebirth in Christ. As the missionary exhorted us, sometimes, Jesus wants us to be uncomfortable, because He wants to know our hearts and not just our heads. Grace under pressure is the only grace that sustains and preserves. The missionary could have become bitter and frustrated at the enormity of the task before him. Instead, he chose to simply trust and be obedient to God. He understood the problems were not his; they were God’s. He trusted God to work them out, and so He did.

The Spirit thrives in the uncomfortable because only in the uncomfortable do we confront the limits of our own capability and strength. That I know I usually see and hear Christ best when I am uncomfortable is more than a little disconcerting, but it does little to change my attitude about discomfort. I get that the Spirit uses unease to get my attention. That doesn’t mean I accept it gracefully or gratefully. But when the Father asks about the condition of my heart, all my impatience and frustration comes crashing down. I sit or kneel in private, ashamed and humbled by my selfishness, wondering if my health and prosperity are blessings or barriers to God.

Jehovah’s ways are not our ways. Neither are His thoughts ours. He values what we discard. He elevates the weak and destroys the strong. Mainly, though, Christ judges not as we judge. People see celebrity, criminality, charity, lies and truth, but only God can judge the heart. He does so by judging what comes out of a man, not what goes in. All the head knowledge and emotional spirituality in the world can bring us no closer to Jesus. Not, at least, until we come to own it by relying on it and actually applying it. Philip obeyed the unusual call of God to walk beside the eunuch’s carriage, and a soul was saved. Only in obedience was Philip given the chance to share what he knew of Christ in a way that mattered. It was no good waiting for would-be converts to approach. The Lord wanted Philip to actually live his faith before he presumed to share it with others.  

The Queen of Sheba knew words and intellect alone won’t save anyone if they have not first been tested and found true in the school of everyday life. She came to test Solomon’s knowledge, but also to test his heart in the application of that wisdom. Only when our faith and courage can be maintained in the face of the “tough” questions and situations can we claim a heart worthy of God. 

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES

1 Kings 8:1-66; Acts 7:51-8:13; Psalm 129:1-8; Proverbs 17:1

“May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us or abandon us. May he give us the desire to do his will in everything and to obey all the commands, decrees, and regulations that he gave our ancestors.”

“’David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built it…. You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit?’ …The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage…. Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.”

“But the Lord is good; he has cut me free from the ropes of the ungodly.”

Christians need to get to the point. The point, of course, is Jesus, and how His sacrifice has both saved those who accept Him as Savior from judgment and guaranteed them eternal life. When we get distracted from Jesus, we risk losing the audience God intends for us. Distractions can include sin, but it is just as important to recognize that our own testimonies also can get in the way of Christ. Anything, literally anything, that obscures Christ is a disservice to those seeking Him and even to those who should be seeking Him, but aren’t.

Stephen was by all accounts a great disciple. His final sermon, however, is a case study in missed opportunities. Careful reviewers of his last testimony will be hard pressed to find any reference to Christ’s saving work or the certain salvation on which Stephen bet his life. He jumps from a fine summary of Old Testament history to cursing the Pharisees and their ancestors. Without a word of grace, Stephens language so incited his listeners that they resorted to cold-blooded murder just to quiet his accusations. The fact that he was right does not mitigate the magnitude of his error. Stephen let his passion and prejudices carry him away. It not only cost him his life but, just possibly, cost Jesus converts.

Many of us have heard similar testimonies. Too many would-be disciples seem more interested in proving others are wretched sinners than in sharing a word of grace that might result in their salvation. Certainly, Stephen’s testimony is one of the most succinct and complete Old Testament summaries ever recorded, but its benefits were rapidly lost when his words turned accusatory rather than conciliatory.

If God is nothing more than a tool we use to set ourselves above others, or to judge others, we miss the very center of the Gospel, and this no real disciple would ever intentionally do. We must guard against the tendency we all have to allow our good to get in the way of God’s best.

“I know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.” How much better is Paul’s simple faith statement than Stephen’s dissertation on Hebrew history and blanket condemnation of his audience and their ancestors! Certainly, Paul may raise more questions than he answers, but he puts the clear focus where it needs to be – on Jesus, not the apostle - and he centers his testimony on the Lord’s merciful sacrifice, not on man’s unworthiness.

Every person has a history. Every person has certain failings. But without hope of redemption, no amount of regret or recognition of sin is going to save anyone. However well-intentioned, any testimony that has more to say about sin than about redemption, reconciliation and resurrection is nothing more than a disservice to the Lord. If we are going to win souls to Christ, it is time to put our judgment, bias, past experiences and injuries behind us and substitute words of blessing and hope for words of disappointment and condemnation.

HANGIN' WITH THE CREATOR

1 Kings 7:1-51; Acts 7:30-50; Psalm 128:1-6; Proverbs 16:31-33

“Solomon also built a palace for himself, and it took him thirteen years to complete the construction.”

“How joyful are those who fear the Lord—all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!”

“Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life. Better to be patient than powerful; better to have self-control than to conquer a city.”

Wow! It’s already Sunday evening, and I still have not put together anything for today’s blog. I’ve known, of course, for some time that I would need to do it, but it’s almost as if God Himself encouraged me to be a little less scheduled and slightly less obsessive about my writing today. I actually had a project that’s been waiting on me for several weeks. We bought a new storage shed for the lawnmower and yard tools. My project was to design and construct added overhead storage and shelves. The job was really beginning to gnaw on me, so I finally planned accordingly. I didn’t have to lead our Sunday school class, so I planned to take the whole day to get the task completed, as soon as I got my blog done. (Yeah, I was going to skip church.) But nothing came to me for the blog yesterday, and then the Lord got in the act. “How about you let me plan your day tomorrow, Tom, and we’ll build out the shed together in due time?” OK, I thought, I’m working on my obsessions. This is a good chance to see if I can relax about my to-do list a little. But, Lord, I need a blog entry, too. Could you throw me a bone if I --? “All in good time….”

I awoke fairly early. Time to blog? “Nope.” said God. “Why not go to early service instead? You can’t start using power tools yet, or you’ll have some angry neighbors. (The Spirit does have its practical side.) This way, you can put this dead time to use and still be home in time to finish that job.” So, we went to the 8:15 worship service. Home, Lord? “If you want. But you might enjoy just being in your class and listening, Tom. You haven’t been a student in a while, have you?” So, we went to class, and were just blown away by a missionary from Costa Rica. He was real, inspiring and bold beyond anything I’d ever thought of attempting. Most of us hung around afterward to pray over him and his wife. I do enjoy watching our prayer warriors do what they do best. All in all, it was a great morning, especially given my lack of expectations going in! Home now, Lord? “OK, Tom, home. We do have a shed to outfit, after all.” And a blog, Father, don’t forget that. I promised you, one entry a day for 365 days, remember? “I remember. But let’s tackle that shed first. I know that’s important to you, so it’s important to Me. Besides, you don’t have anything much to say in the blog yet, do you?” Well, there wasn’t much new meat in today’s Scriptures…. (I swear I heard Him chuckle.) Oh, not that I’m criticizing Your Word. It’s just that nothing’s hit me, yet. “Patience,” Christ answered. “I’d actually enjoy doing a little work with you. Yes, it’s the Sabbath, but I understand working around the house is how you play and relax, and I’d like to join you. It’s a beautiful day to enjoy, isn’t it?”

Finally, then, I donned my jeans and headed out back. I got all my man toys ready, laid out the wood and other materials and got started. There were some early technical glitches. I didn’t really want studs supporting the overhead area from the ground. They’d be in the way. “Why not suspend it from the rafters, Tom?” Great, idea, Lord. How? Everything’s turned wrong and the measurements don’t work. “Oh, you just don’t have enough of the right wood. Use two, not one, plywood sheets, and lay them crosswise, not lengthwise. Insert three extra studs underneath into the framing for more support. You can cut everything to fit, and I’ll bet we find a use for the leftovers in due course.” Pretty good idea, Jesus. How’d you see that? “I was a carpenter, you know.” Right; off we went to Home Depot, the Spirit and me. But still, I doubted we could really suspend all that weight from the roof. Toenailing wouldn’t be safe…. “One word: brackets.” Huh? How’d you know what I was thinking?!? Uh, I mean, what kind of brackets? “Right down that aisle.” Perfect! Those really will work, won’t they? I never knew there were such things. “Did I mention I was a carpent-“ Got it, Lord. ‘Nuff said. Time’s a wastin’!

I made it home in time for a late lunch. We caught the last five minutes of a great Spurs game. (San Antonio over the Celtics in Boston on national TV – Go, Spurs, Go! I wasn’t sure if Christ was a basketball fan, but then I figured He’s pretty much an everything fan when you get down to it.) Finally, we hit the shed. We worked all afternoon, me just knowing how to do new things even before I realized they needed doing. It was way cool, being creative. Finally, it got too dark to see. “But you’re not done, Tom. That would have infuriated you in the past. What’s up?” Hmm, not sure, Lord. But ya know, it wouldn’t stink if we could finish up together next weekend. I think I can squeeze out a few hours for it, and it shouldn’t take long, now. Would that work for you? “I’d like that very much. I miss the carpentry, and I really like being more involved with you, my son.” It has been fun, hasn’t it? “It has, indeed. See ya. Oh, and don’t forget that blog. I know you’ve been worried about not having anything to write, but you’ll think of something. I trust you.” Well, if you do, then I’m not gonna worry about it. You’re probably right. Something will come to me. Have a great evening, Lord. “I always do. But I won’t be too far away, just in case you get stuck.” That’s always good to know!

Sometimes, the greatest revelations come from the everyday. I just spent a day hanging with God. WAIT A MINUTE! I JUST SPENT A WHOLE DAY WITH THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE! And He enjoyed it as much as I did! Oh, my gosh! Even today’s Scriptures fit in now, Lord. How did you – oh, never mind! Wait ‘til I tell others about this. They’ll never believe it!

RECLAIMING TIME; GIVING HOPE

1 Kings 5:1-6:38; Acts 7:1-29; Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 16:28-30

“But now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’”

“Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.”

When one goes to Rome, Italy, it is like traveling through time and space to an almost entirely different planet. It is impossible to walk the city without being affected by the magnificent works of art and overwhelmed by the thought of how much time and consideration went into the creative process. The Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, even the Vatican itself, all tell of a civilization with very different priorities from ours today. More than that, the remnants of Ancient Rome remind us that, when humans take the time to imagine and develop their creative powers and capacity for beauty, their positive legacy lives on far beyond their physical presence. The city is a testament to people of vision who chose not to be overcome by the political strife and economic injustice they faced. Instead of being swept away by the instability and ugliness within their society, they chose to look beyond the tangible and create from an inner vision of deeper significance. Rather than focus on the uncertainty and loss of principles that eroded Roman culture, these artists dedicated their lives to imagining and revealing loveliness and capturing the beauty which underlies all of life. It is almost as if the city was a battleground where the forces of paganism and Christianity met in sacred, artistic warfare. The weapons of choice were chisels, paintbrushes and drafting boards, and the goal was to use splendor to draw people to their particular gods or God without bloodshed or coercion. How different the political reality was which surrounded those sculptors, painters and architects! Even as they worked feverishly to create images of hope, the city itself was rotting from the inside out, as lesser men and women chose to live only to use, manipulate and destroy their fellow humans.

I don’t think I ever understood the Temple until I went to Rome. Solomon’s obsession can only be explained against the backdrop of nomadism and warfare which was the history of the Hebrew nation. Finally, when the conflict was over and unity and stability restored, the Temple became a symbolic testament to the redemptive powers of a forgiving and ultimately benevolent Creator. Solomon’s God very deliberately made his crowning glory, Man, with the capacity to worship through art and a creative process which gives others new hope and aspirations. When we allow ourselves to be rushed into a life devoid of time for thought and contemplation, we risk losing altogether the capacity that differentiates us from the rest of Creation.

Scripture seems to make a simple, single point today. It takes time to build hope. Encouragement is not an event, but a lifestyle that requires unwavering commitment and dedication. Maybe it’s no coincidence we are going through a literal depression today. (Time to quit playing games with economic terminology and call a spade a spade, too, but that’s a thought for another day.) Technology; our insatiable desire for ever greater “efficiency;” and just the overall speed at which we live have actually conspired to rob us of the one thing they all were intended to preserve: time. Overscheduled and overcommitted, we rob ourselves of the beauty in life. We lose hope because we lose sight of great priorities and settle for immediate impact and effect. Few seem to have either the remaining capacity or even the desire to think creatively in terms of great projects or major acts.

We were created to be much more than our calendars suggest. We were designed for magnificence. Let us hope and pray the Spirit will send a new generation of visionaries willing to take the time required to once more find and uncover beauty in the midst of our torn and misguided world. 

STAY HUNGRY!

1 Kings 3:3-4:34; Acts 6:1-15; Psalm 126:1-6; Proverbs 16:26-27

“The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, ‘Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies—I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!’”

“But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent.”

“Restore our fortunes, Lord, as streams renew the desert. Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.”

“It is good for workers to have an appetite; an empty stomach drives them on.”

There’s a saying in sports many coaches use to motivate successful teams and keep them from resting on their laurels. “Stay hungry!” It’s a reminder that when we stop growing, we start to die. When we stop learning, we become fools. When we become self-satisfied, we begin the journey to sloth and apathy. There is a world of difference between contentment and complacency. It’s the difference between life and death. Contentment sets a firm foundation that leaves one’s heart and mind open to potential and new ideas. It frees us from the burden and obsession of always striving for things we do not have, even as it prepares us to reach out for the unexpected. Like a tree well fed and cared for, we remain free to bloom and grow, confident in our roots but always willing to expand when circumstances are right. Complacency, however, stifles growth. Complacency’s focus is on what is, not what could be. Consequently, complacency never sees the intangible promise of life, and it is typically fatalistic. This is most likely why even God entreats his children to stay hungry. An empty or half-filled soul that seeks out the Spirit is a delight to the Father. A stunted soul which just accepts things as they are has little likelihood of discovering grace and almost no chance of blessing without a major shift in perspective.

Solomon’s choice of wisdom over riches is a case study in the spiritual importance of contentment. As David’s son and heir to the throne, the last thing Solomon needed was more stuff. As a young king, he needed to get beyond the trappings of personal wealth and power to understand his people. Contentment gave Solomon the ability to see his real need. Complacency would, like as not, never have believed God’s offer was real. It would not have seen God’s bounty as an opportunity to govern better. It would have seen little but the chance to protect what Solomon already possessed. In his contentment, though, Solomon was free to grow as a person and acknowledge his need for greater wisdom without being defensive about not yet having all the necessary royal skills of diplomacy and statesmanship. Whatever his political clout and treasury may have been at the time, Solomon was wise enough on his own to understand that one of the most difficult things to hang onto is wholeness, and it is never done through complacency or without effort and the exercise of wisdom.

Throughout history, the more the Church has matured and mellowed, the more complacent it has become and the more internal its focus has gotten. The Body is becoming ingrown, which accounts for a lot of its inside conflicts. Its disciples, being mired in complacency, have little to do but complain. Show me, for example, a church without a healthy missions ministry serving others at personal sacrifice, and I will show you a church on the verge of spiritual abandonment if not outright death. God will not stick with any congregation which feels its mission has been accomplished with the building of a sanctuary and Sunday worship. Church is supposed to be a dangerous place, a place of miraculous change and growth, a place where one cannot afford to be complacent. A healthy Church is a group of believers that lives and teaches contentment in Christ and growth in the Spirit.

Most any kind of discord usually begins with those who have gotten complacent. Vision makes them nervous because it disturbs their complacency, so they tend to fight it. We need to constantly ask the Lord for the ability to identify and challenge complacency whenever our brothers and sisters begin to develop a sense of self-satisfaction or, worse, entitlement. Satan never sleeps, so we shouldn’t either, and we do so at our peril. 

FINAL IMPRESSIONS

1 Kings 2:1-3:2; Acts 5:1-42; Psalm 125:1-5; Proverbs 16:25

“As the time of King David’s death approached, he gave this charge to his son Solomon: ‘I am going where everyone on earth must someday go. Take courage and be a man. Observe the requirements of the Lord your God, and follow all his ways. Keep the decrees, commands, regulations, and laws written in the Law of Moses so that you will be successful in all you do and wherever you go.’”

“And Peter said, ‘How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.’ Instantly, she fell to the floor and died.”

“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

Death tends to strip us of all artifice and reveal our true character. It also makes clear what we hold most important. David, even at death, chose not to bless, but only to instruct, Solomon. David did much to prepare his son for the mantle of leadership but, as we shall see, precious little to help him live as a man, father or husband. Ananias and Sapphira likewise found Peter’s instructions and explanations of very little help. In both situations, the point seems to be that the simple admonition to “Do right!” does little real good, whether it’s being given or received.

David and Peter both would have benefitted from following Christ’s example. Jesus did not condemn anyone, even from the Cross. In fact, He forgave His executioners. He did not pronounce death; He promised life to the criminal at His side. He did not bother admonishing anyone, either. Instead, Jesus simply entrusted His soul to His Father, and died without recriminations. Oh, how I pray my last words – or the last impressions my friends draw from my life - would be packed with such positive potential. “Do right!” never opened heaven’s gate to anyone.

My problem is, I have a difficult time being as positive or hopeful as Christ under any conditions. I tend toward the critical, even under the best of circumstances. Under stress, I’m particularly bad about applying rules and regulations to life, rather than falling back on the relationships that make it all worthwhile. I, like Peter and David, spend too much time speaking of “dead,” non-eternal things, and not enough time encouraging others to seek peace and reconciliation with their Creator and fellow humans. I remember the perceived slights and faults of others with an accuracy that would put an elephant’s memory to shame. But I don’t typically make it a priority to remind or show them forgiveness is an option, too.

Few of us know the moment of our deaths, and even fewer have given it much thought or prepared for it. Thus, when the Grim Reaper does come knocking, too frequently, we leave something less than our best behind as a final impression.  I, for one, want to do better, in part because I believe the Lord wants us to do better. Odds are, if I become more intentional about re-presenting Christ on a daily basis, my final impressions also will be more likely to convey love and appreciation. We can do no better than to leave reconciliation and forgiveness in our wake. But to be assured of doing so, it’s a good idea to begin the process of cultivating and spreading them now.

THE EXAMINED LIFE

1 Kings 1:1-53; Acts 4:1-37; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23

“About that time David’s son Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, began boasting, ‘I will make myself king.’ So he provided himself with chariots and charioteers and recruited fifty men to run in front of him. Now his father, King David, had never disciplined him at any time, even by asking, ‘Why are you doing that?’”

“’For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, “The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.’ The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

“Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

David’s humanity has always been an encouragement to me. For all the wonderful things he did, and who he was to God, he still had his flaws. In particular, while he loved his children with his heart, David doesn’t seem to have been much of a father.  Scripture does not record him spending time with his kids. Obviously, they were rebellious and did not seem to appreciate who he was as a man or a leader. He taught them nothing of loyalty. Probably worst of all, David provided his sons no discipline or guidance as they grew into men. He allowed them to lead completely unexamined lives, apparently accountable to no one. As a result, not just one, but two, of David’s own sons led rebellions against him and for a time sat as pretenders on his throne.

I give thanks to God that my Dad never let me get away with an unexamined or undisciplined life. He was, and remains, the unquestioned Patriarch of our family. My brother and I may not always like what he says, but we respect him enough to listen, and we understand we’d better have a good reason for any disobedience, because Dad will call us on it. He understands my brother and I and our families have separate lives involving facts and circumstance he doesn’t always know. But he also listens, watches and reasons as well as any man I’ve ever known, even today. Even when his advice is not quite right, it’s worth listening to because it is always given in love and with a desire that we see and lay hold of only the best options in life. The greatest blessing in Dad’s counsel, however, is that he doesn’t let us kid ourselves. Ever since I was a wee lad, Dad has insisted my brother and I be prepared as much as possible for whatever life threw at us. This meant being honest with ourselves as much as it meant being open and honest with him. But mostly, it meant being accountable, and owning responsibility for, and learning from, our mistakes. It was not a comfortable or easygoing lifestyle. It was not the path I would have chosen for myself left to my own devices. But I am grateful beyond measure that Dad had a better perspective on and understanding of life than I did growing up, and that he was not afraid to engage in conflict with me, when that is what it took to keep me on the right path.

All of us stray. All of us need others who love us enough to pull us back in play when we get out of bounds. As a Dad myself now, I struggle with how much of my so-called “wisdom” to impart to my kids. I’ve learned the greatest part of credibility is earned just by listening. But I’ve also learned that, after I’ve listened, they actually hunger for my reaction. The very worst thing I can do is nothing. They want me in their lives. They want me to be proud of them, but more than that, they want to make the right decisions, and they value my judgment because they have seen it work. They have seen me weather disappointments and job losses. They understand I may not always be right. They nevertheless respect the fact that I give them both my heart and my head when I share my thoughts, and they are certain I do so only wanting the best for them. Being a Dad does not mean standing apart from our kids. It means standing beside them with love and support and appropriate discipline. They may not always like it, but they will learn to depend on it. Trust and loyalty only come from personal contact. God came to earth to engage His kids. We need to stay engaged with ours.

THE KINDEST CUT

2 Samuel 23:24-24:25; Acts 3:1-26; Psalm 123:1-4; Proverbs 16:21-23

“Will you choose three years of famine throughout the land, three months of fleeing from your enemies or three days of severe plague throughout your land? Think this over and let me know what answer to give to the Lord.”

“Have mercy on us Lord, have mercy, for we have had our fill of contempt.”

“The wise are known for their understanding, and instruction is appreciated if it’s well presented…. From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.”

We all make bad decisions from time to time. Mistakes are, in fact, a great human commonality. What is not common, however, is how we respond to our own errors. Most consume ourselves with unhelpful rationalizations or unnecessary explanations. Some try to learn from the experience. A select few, though, actually accept responsibility, confess and simply suffer the consequences without complaint.  I am coming to believe that only this latter group is truly blessed for several reasons. First, excuses may explain, but they never justify. Second, while learning from our experiences is good, it is not all. It does not remove the guilt or permanently improve our underlying natures. That leaves confession, a different sort of “name it/claim it” which is the only response that gives the Holy Spirit a chance to redeem the situation. David had multiple chances to try out various strategies for dealing with his sin. His consistent return to simple repentance and redemption was a big part of what made and kept him a man after God’s own heart.

Why would God expressly tell David to take a census and then punish him for doing so? Because David did not blame God or complain of injustice, I took a second look. Turns out, the Lord wanted a tribute census, where each Hebrew counted would have been required to contribute to a Temple offering. The Jews had angered God, and this was to be their sentence/sacrifice. David, though, corrupted the process and turned it into a military census, counting those able to fight so he could more precisely number (or, possibly more accurately, gloat over) the size of his army.  In that light, one can see how what was intended to appease the Father ended up compounding His anger. The best thing David could do at that point was just own responsibility for his pride and accept the punishment. He did not implement God’s prescribed discipline. He could not undo or justify the harm his pride wrought or avoid the punishment the people’s sins against God required. That the two compounded each other is a lesson on what it means to ignore or cover up sin in the first place. Only when sin is effectively addressed can there be any hope of restoration or resurrection. David had actually interfered with the process, and a serious price had to be paid.

In studying this, one final tidbit also struck home. Turns out, I Chronicles 25 tells the same story, but attributes initiation of the census to Satan instead of to God. One of the better commentaries pointed out both accounts are right. God started the process to lead to restoration. Satan corrupted it to cause alienation. David carried it out for personal recognition. Explaining this gets us nowhere. Who doesn’t understand we are all subject to having our greater purposes and projects aborted or misdirected by the Evil One? Just learning this (again!) doesn’t provide much room for growth, either. Humans have understood their tendency to be spiritually misled for centuries, even as they have also exhibited a frustrating inability to avoid or withstand it over time. It is only in repenting that we, like David, find the deepest spiritual truth: forgiveness is not the absence of punishment; it is the restoration of relationship, and that never comes without cost.

My inability or failure to understand this basic concept kept me confused for years. I thought forgiveness meant no punishment. Therefore, as a parent, I did my kids a grave disservice by sometimes choosing to correct more through voicing disappointment than by discipline. I didn’t realize I wasn’t fighting fair. Disappointment may not intentionally punish, but the scars it can inflict run deeper than any penalty. Disappointment burdens. Disappointment also lingers. No one is ever truly sure when they’ve gotten past it, and it has a nasty way of compounding with each new, perceived failure.

That’s probably why Christ never corrects with disappointment. Because He does love us, He never pussy foots around sin’s penalty or His punishment of disobedience, either. He loves us enough to prove our errors have consequences, however unintended. But Jesus also loves us enough to pay the ultimate price for our sin Himself. Because of the Cross, we know where and when our guilt ends. We know redemption, and one more thing, too. Whatever the quality of our performance as God’s adopted children, as long as we remain willing to own our shortcomings and accept the Father’s loving discipline, our eternal relationship with Him is guaranteed. Godly discipline is actually “the kindest cut of all.”

GOD'S DELIGHT

2 Samuel 22:1-23:23; Acts 2:1-47; Psalm 122:1-9; Proverbs 16:19-20

“He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies.... The Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.”

“I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope.”

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’”

 “God’s Delight” is hardly the way either my wife or I would describe ourselves. Come to think of it, there aren’t very many people we know who would presume to take that title for themselves. Yet that is exactly why Christ chose to die for us. We are God’s delight. No matter our shortcomings or our mistakes, the Lord delights in giving us hope. He stays beside us and believes in us, even when we don’t believe in Him, or ourselves. Scripture says again and again that the Holy Spirit will rescue us, if we will but be with Him. I have to resist the temptation to think that just hanging out means I have been “good for nothing.” Just being with, and abiding in, God, is the greatest act of worship. It allows the Spirit access to our hearts, and gives Him the chance to fill our emptiness.

In the course of the last twenty-four hours, I have again learned that lesson. Spending time with my parents, I haven’t done much but unplug from my normal world of business and busyness and just hang around the folks. We went to Sea World. We enjoyed the shows and walked about a million miles. We watched the Super Bowl and ate way too much junk food. I have not seen them so happy in at least five years. It really was a wonderful day. But they also left no doubt about what the best thing was for them. It wasn’t the shows or the game. It was just being with my wife and me, talking, laughing and sharing each other. The most valuable gift they got, the only gift that really mattered, the one thing they really treasured, was our presence. We didn’t have to do or work at anything in particular. We just had to be available and responsive. We delighted them simply because we cared enough to slow down for a few days to be with them.

This was a real revelation for me in particular. As I’ve said before, adolescence was pretty much a constant struggle. I spent my youth feeling I had to earn my parents’ love through achievement. I thought that was what they wanted. But maybe I was too hard on them, or too insensitive to really grasp their ultimate goal. Perhaps they just wanted me to understand I was not as inept or socially incompetent as I usually felt growing up. It could be they challenged me so I would realize my own potential. Whatever. None of that seems especially important today. Today, our bond has unquestionably changed. No longer is achievement the centerpiece, if it ever was. Relationship is what matters now, to all of us.

So it is with our heavenly Father, too. All of us spend more of our time trying to please Jesus than just being with Him. When our actions fall short of what is pleasing to Him, we tend to get down on ourselves and pull away from Him in shame. But that’s the last thing Christ wants. What He wants – all He really asks - is to spend time with us sharing our thoughts, feelings and hearts, whatever their condition.  We may be ashamed, or full, of ourselves. No matter. Christ just wants us spending time with Him. Once we reconnect, His Spirit in us will take care of the rest, and will heal whatever is in us that is not of Him, if we allow it.

God wants only what is best for us. What is best for us is Christ. In Him, we have forgiveness of our sins and are reconciled to God. We are free to just hang out with the Father.  We should all spend more time doing that and worrying less about what else we are going to accomplish. After all, no accomplishment will win us eternal life, and compared to heaven, no earthly reward or recognition has much significance. God wants to delight in us. We owe Him the opportunity. All it takes is a little time and attention. It really isn’t any work at all. We just have to get used to the idea that we really are more than what we do.

THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR

2 Samuel 20:14-21:22; Acts 1:1-26; Psalm 121:1-8; Proverbs 16:18

“When David and his men were in the thick of battle, David became weak and exhausted. … But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue and killed the Philistine. Then David’s men declared, ‘You are not going out to battle with us again! Why risk snuffing out the light of Israel?’”

“’Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

“I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.”

“Pride goes before destruction,
and haughtiness before a fall.”

I’m tired. I admit it. Not yet at the end of my rope, I nevertheless see the rope has an end, and I am fast approaching it. Yet, I continue my headlong dash toward exhaustion, unable, it seems – or unwilling, more honestly - to say no mas to much of anything. The good news is that, even as I write this, I am finally forced to disengage a bit, flying to Orlando for a long weekend with my folks. The Blackberry won’t be off (C’mon, Lord, I can’t just go cold turkey!), but it will be separated from my belt. I’ll still do this – this was a one year covenant with the Spirit which has already borne enough fruit that I cannot bring myself to deliberately miss even one day. And I’ll probably still think more than I should about what I’ve left behind and what will be waiting for me on my return. But I’m determined to be less entrenched. Each time I see my folks, there’s less chance of a next time. It’s not a maudlin thought; it’s reality. It is a reality that should make the times we do still have together all the more precious. Such sacred moments help me reprioritize and reset my stress tolerance back to the green zone. They help me face it: I am an adrenalin junkie. As a beloved sister in Christ pointed out last night, adrenalin kills. At best, while it delivers a rush, the experience is always necessarily superficial. The risk is, if we diet too long on adrenalin, we can get to where we think it’s the best thing. Just like a crack addict, right before the overdose.

I bet the disciples struggled with this, too. Imagine speaking directly to the Living Christ, then being told to wait for the Holy Spirit to empower them! Who could do that? I personally identify more with David. Not that I’m anyone’s light, but I am getting older, certainly less able and less willing to attempt the things I did easily at twenty-five. Several folks have challenged my sanity in taking on so many projects since September. Maybe it is middle-aged crazy, but in any event, it also keeps me feeling vital, and in my prideful baseness, I’m not above admitting I like that quite a lot.

The problem is, it’s not about me. It’s about, or ought to be about, the ongoing relationships with those I love the most. Those folks (mine, included) are counting on me to be there for them for a long time to come. They really do love me (hard as that can be to understand), and want to be able to tangibly love me, hug me, and hear me laugh and fuss until the Lord Himself calls me home. So, this entry is cathartic. It’s revealed an ugly underside to the life of an adrenalin junkie. Anyone who favors the rush of the moment, the feeling of self-importance, to the feeling of another’s arms around them, is not just a victim of adrenalin overload. They are being fundamentally, destructively selfish.

I was not created to be an adrenalin junkie. It’s not who I want to be in my heart of hearts, and it’s not who my loved ones want me to be, either. God calls us to a balanced life, one in which we need not substitute the rush of adrenalin for the filling of the Spirit.