What has Jesus called us to do as Christians? If you have been attending an evangelical church for any time at all, you will immediately answer, “Make disciples!” Of course. Matthew 28:19-20 records Jesus’ words commissioning each of us to go into all the world and make disciples. So is it any wonder many of us labor under a sense of failure? After all, how many disciples have you made recently, and how many parts of the world have you touched? Don’t answer that. It will probably only make you more miserably guilt-ridden.
Let’s face it. This matter of making Christian disciples is really tough today. The media has sold the public on very unappealing caricatures of evangelical Christians, the gospel has been maligned and misrepresented over and over again, and the church, whose mission it is to train and send out disciplemakers, seems impotent. As if that is not enough, Satan has effectively blurred the lines between being a church attender and being a disciple of Christ. I live in Lynchburg, Virginia. After just five months here, I am convinced that at least 90% of Lynchburgers would consider themselves Christians. They attend a church, they have a “Not I but Christ” sticker on their car bumper, and they know that Amos is a book of the Bible, not a character on an old-time radio series. So how am I supposed to find people who want to know the Lord, and desire real discipleship? How am I to become actively involved in helping people come to faith and grow into maturity?
My wife Penny and I spent several years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Two things about that organization became very clear: first and foremost, Crusade is all about evangelism; and second, the organization has not put enough emphasis on discipling new Christians. But that seems to be changing. With the creation of a worldwide internet outreach ministry called Global Media Outreach, Crusade has tapped a seemingly endless well of spiritual inquiries and directed them to trained workers who can encourage and equip their contacts.
Not sure about the value of spiritual inquiries online? Look at these recent statistics. In July alone, 9,373,000+ people visited Crusade websites to make spiritual inquiries. Over 1,128,000 decisions were recorded (either first-time decisions or recommitments), and 196,000+ of these were followed up with contacts by workers. In the period January to July, the figures look like this: 70,711,000+ visitors, 9,318,000+ decisions, and 1,433,000+ email follow-up contacts by trained workers. And this is not just a matter of recording numbers, like so many evangelistic efforts of the past have been. These web-site visitors who indicate a decision are contacted by a real person who has been equipped to respond to them individually, resources are offered to allow the new disciples to begin to grow, and their progress is tracked and made available to their disciplers.
Sound interesting, but a little daunting or beyond your capabilities? Believe me, it is easier than it sounds. And Crusade is recruiting more online disciplers all the time. Go to www.GMOJoinUs.com for a 4 1/2 minute video summary of what is involved. If you sign up, you will be trained to answer inquiries, given suggested responses and websites to direct your disciples to, and assigned a training community to monitor your progress through the preparation process.
Over the past few months, I have been in contact with 121 people, and I have had extended online conversations with 17 of them. They come from all over the globe, from Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Animist backgrounds, as well as various Christian points of view. What a blessing to be extending the kingdom all over the world. Join me, and you too can find an outlet for that desire Jesus has given each of us to create disciples.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
An Easy Burden
If you have any propensity for music, you know what it is like to have a song stick in your mind. Sometimes it is a melody line that you just can’t seem to shake. Or it may be a lyric that repeats itself again and again in your head. But when a songwriter combines a captivating melody with inspiring lyrics, you are doomed. That has been my plight over the past couple months as a song titled “Come to Me”, written by Scott Baker and distributed by EarReverent Music, has been used in worship at our church. The lyrics come from Jesus’ words in Matthew 11:28-30. Here is how Scott has chosen to present that message musically:
Behold my child
my chosen beloved
the pleasure of my soul
I will put my Spirit upon Him
to bring justice and hope to the world
Come to me (all who are heavy-laden)
Come to me (weary of being your best)
Come and take this easy burden
and I will give you rest
This question keeps running through my mind: What exactly is the easy burden? Do you find being yoked to Jesus an experience you would characterize as “easy” or “restful”? Or would you at times describe your Christian life as a “burden” which causes you to feel “heavy-laden”? Evidently Jesus found Himself surrounded by people who were of the “heavy-laden” camp because He addressed them specifically in this passage (“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden…”). And if I am brutally honest, I find a lot in the Christian life that makes me weary and heavy-laden myself. Obviously Jesus did not intend the life of a disciple to be this way. His words make that clear. So what are we doing wrong?
Here are a couple possibilities I have come up with. First, the burden isn’t easy because we are trying to be good. Scott Baker calls it “weary of being your best.” When we find ourselves trying to measure up to a self-imposed performance standard, there is no possible outcome but weariness. The answer to this laborious approach to the Christian life is found, I believe, in the opening lyrics to the song. We are the chosen of God, beloved by Him, and endowed with His Spirit. God loves us just as we are, and could never love us more no matter how “good” we are able to be. So our task is to live in that Spirit and relax in the knowledge that we are the beloved of our Creator, and we are totally accepted by Him because we have the righteousness of Christ Himself.
A second mistake we make that can bring weariness to our souls is to accept someone else’s idea of what our lives ought to look like, and hammer ourselves because we don’t measure up. The whole issue of personal evangelism is a good example. You have heard this kind of directed application, or read it, I am sure. “You should be sharing your faith with everyone you meet.” Or this one: “Not everyone has the gift of evangelism, but everyone is called to evangelize; so get out lead someone to Christ.” For some, this is an invigorating message, but for others such a call can bring about feelings of failure and a guilt-ridden existence. I don’t want to minimize the scriptural admonition to be ready to defend your faith and explain the hope that it within you (1 Peter 3:15), but our primary calling is to live the life of Jesus before people. It is His Spirit who will do the wooing and softening of hearts, and He alone is tasked with creating the divine appointments that result in true disciplemaking.
These are two of the ways I have become a weary disciple in the past. How about you? Are there things about the faith that seem burdensome to you? Share your experiences in a comment on this blog. Maybe Jesus can help us learn from each other and we can all find the “rest for our souls” that He intended.
Behold my child
my chosen beloved
the pleasure of my soul
I will put my Spirit upon Him
to bring justice and hope to the world
Come to me (all who are heavy-laden)
Come to me (weary of being your best)
Come and take this easy burden
and I will give you rest
This question keeps running through my mind: What exactly is the easy burden? Do you find being yoked to Jesus an experience you would characterize as “easy” or “restful”? Or would you at times describe your Christian life as a “burden” which causes you to feel “heavy-laden”? Evidently Jesus found Himself surrounded by people who were of the “heavy-laden” camp because He addressed them specifically in this passage (“Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden…”). And if I am brutally honest, I find a lot in the Christian life that makes me weary and heavy-laden myself. Obviously Jesus did not intend the life of a disciple to be this way. His words make that clear. So what are we doing wrong?
Here are a couple possibilities I have come up with. First, the burden isn’t easy because we are trying to be good. Scott Baker calls it “weary of being your best.” When we find ourselves trying to measure up to a self-imposed performance standard, there is no possible outcome but weariness. The answer to this laborious approach to the Christian life is found, I believe, in the opening lyrics to the song. We are the chosen of God, beloved by Him, and endowed with His Spirit. God loves us just as we are, and could never love us more no matter how “good” we are able to be. So our task is to live in that Spirit and relax in the knowledge that we are the beloved of our Creator, and we are totally accepted by Him because we have the righteousness of Christ Himself.
A second mistake we make that can bring weariness to our souls is to accept someone else’s idea of what our lives ought to look like, and hammer ourselves because we don’t measure up. The whole issue of personal evangelism is a good example. You have heard this kind of directed application, or read it, I am sure. “You should be sharing your faith with everyone you meet.” Or this one: “Not everyone has the gift of evangelism, but everyone is called to evangelize; so get out lead someone to Christ.” For some, this is an invigorating message, but for others such a call can bring about feelings of failure and a guilt-ridden existence. I don’t want to minimize the scriptural admonition to be ready to defend your faith and explain the hope that it within you (1 Peter 3:15), but our primary calling is to live the life of Jesus before people. It is His Spirit who will do the wooing and softening of hearts, and He alone is tasked with creating the divine appointments that result in true disciplemaking.
These are two of the ways I have become a weary disciple in the past. How about you? Are there things about the faith that seem burdensome to you? Share your experiences in a comment on this blog. Maybe Jesus can help us learn from each other and we can all find the “rest for our souls” that He intended.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Will of God
During my 25 years of pastoral experience, I counseled many people on the topic of how to know God’s will. In State College a large part of our congregation was undergraduate and graduate students at Penn State. Often as graduation neared, a student would come to me asking, “How can I know what God wants me to do next?” Since I had pawned my crystal ball to buy books at seminary, and God seems to enjoy keeping me in the dark as much as the next person, my answer was always the same: pray, look for open doors, and then move through them. God will stop and redirect you if He has something else in mind.
When arrived in Lynchburg in early April, it was with a plan. We would get settled, and I would get a part-time job, entry-level, anywhere that I could be with non-churched people and begin to develop relationships. I spent time in April applying for jobs at McDonalds, Lowes, Arbys, Home Depot, Kroger, Wal-Mart—all the stores we frequented. My plan was simple. When I got an offer, that would be God’s leading and I would take it.
A little over two weeks ago I received a call from Wal-Mart. They wanted me to come in for an interview. Over the next two day, I sat for three separate interviews and found out that the job was in the dairy department of a very busy store on “the strip” in Lynchburg. I had no expectations other than to work for 15-20 hours each week, so I agreed to attend a one-day orientation. Seven other new hires filled out tons of paperwork with me that day and began an extensive series of video training sessions to prepare us for work. That was on a Wednesday. I was on the job in the dairy department on Thursday, and by the following Tuesday had put in forty hours in 6 days.
A couple observations about working at Wal-Mart. First, if you are under the impression that these are cushy jobs, or that most Wal-Mart employees stand around and welcome people, think again. I haven’t worked that hard for years. The job entailed unloading pallets of milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and a hundred other products from trucks, shelving them in a 30 degree dairy cooler, and then rolling them out to the floor for stocking. The store was so busy that you could stock the egg area, turn around to straighten up the cheese, and return to find that the cooler of eggs showed no signs of your previous work. And there was endless cleaning to do. Eggs break, yogurt containers split, milk jugs leak—you quickly find how to use the business end of a mop. On top of that, the video training is relentless. You learn how to use a box cutting knife, how to deal with all kinds of spills, how to handle store emergencies, operate a cardboard compactor and various kinds of jacks, avoid committing sexual harassment, and how to follow company policies on everything from time cards to union contacts.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience…and I quit after one week. Why? That brings me back to the topic of this post. I didn’t feel that is where God wanted me. My reasoning for taking the job seemed sound: that was the only offer I had had and therefore God must be in it. And maybe He was. I’m still not sure about all that. But one thing became clear after a week of work: I need to find a job that uses more of my education, experience and gifts. So I reluctantly left Wal-Mart and am now again in the job market.
I learned a lot during the time I spent at Wal-Mart. It was an experience that will shape my shopping forever. I have a new appreciation for what it takes to keep a store looking clean, neat and ready for the shopper. I am more careful now to put a yogurt container back where it belongs when I have looked at it and decided on another. Wal-Mart employees are taught to look the customer in the eye and say hello. I do that with employees now. And I am even more convinced than before that if you are uncertain of God’s direction, you should keep moving. He will use every experience you have to make you into a sensitive and obedient servant. And when the time is right, His perfect plan will become a reality in your life.
When arrived in Lynchburg in early April, it was with a plan. We would get settled, and I would get a part-time job, entry-level, anywhere that I could be with non-churched people and begin to develop relationships. I spent time in April applying for jobs at McDonalds, Lowes, Arbys, Home Depot, Kroger, Wal-Mart—all the stores we frequented. My plan was simple. When I got an offer, that would be God’s leading and I would take it.
A little over two weeks ago I received a call from Wal-Mart. They wanted me to come in for an interview. Over the next two day, I sat for three separate interviews and found out that the job was in the dairy department of a very busy store on “the strip” in Lynchburg. I had no expectations other than to work for 15-20 hours each week, so I agreed to attend a one-day orientation. Seven other new hires filled out tons of paperwork with me that day and began an extensive series of video training sessions to prepare us for work. That was on a Wednesday. I was on the job in the dairy department on Thursday, and by the following Tuesday had put in forty hours in 6 days.
A couple observations about working at Wal-Mart. First, if you are under the impression that these are cushy jobs, or that most Wal-Mart employees stand around and welcome people, think again. I haven’t worked that hard for years. The job entailed unloading pallets of milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, and a hundred other products from trucks, shelving them in a 30 degree dairy cooler, and then rolling them out to the floor for stocking. The store was so busy that you could stock the egg area, turn around to straighten up the cheese, and return to find that the cooler of eggs showed no signs of your previous work. And there was endless cleaning to do. Eggs break, yogurt containers split, milk jugs leak—you quickly find how to use the business end of a mop. On top of that, the video training is relentless. You learn how to use a box cutting knife, how to deal with all kinds of spills, how to handle store emergencies, operate a cardboard compactor and various kinds of jacks, avoid committing sexual harassment, and how to follow company policies on everything from time cards to union contacts.
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience…and I quit after one week. Why? That brings me back to the topic of this post. I didn’t feel that is where God wanted me. My reasoning for taking the job seemed sound: that was the only offer I had had and therefore God must be in it. And maybe He was. I’m still not sure about all that. But one thing became clear after a week of work: I need to find a job that uses more of my education, experience and gifts. So I reluctantly left Wal-Mart and am now again in the job market.
I learned a lot during the time I spent at Wal-Mart. It was an experience that will shape my shopping forever. I have a new appreciation for what it takes to keep a store looking clean, neat and ready for the shopper. I am more careful now to put a yogurt container back where it belongs when I have looked at it and decided on another. Wal-Mart employees are taught to look the customer in the eye and say hello. I do that with employees now. And I am even more convinced than before that if you are uncertain of God’s direction, you should keep moving. He will use every experience you have to make you into a sensitive and obedient servant. And when the time is right, His perfect plan will become a reality in your life.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Weeds
I have a mug on my filing cabinet, a gift from an anonymous member of my last congregation, that carries this inscription: “A clean uncluttered desk is a sign of a SICK MIND.” I’m not sure what the reasoning is behind that statement, but I am sure that if it is true, then a perfectly manicured yard must point to a person who is psychologically in real deep do-do. I worked on my yard in Wooster for ten years, and finally got it to the point where it was so lush and thick that I could pull a couple weeds each time I mowed and the yard was truly weed-free. Call me sick, but somehow that yard was a great source of comfort to me.
Fast-forward to Lynchburg, Virginia, and our new home (as of April). Obviously, the people who lived here before were not at all sick in the way we have been discussing. In fact, if the yard is any indication, they were extremely healthy. I have never seen so many different varieties of weeds in so small an area. There is clover everywhere, and of course the ubiquitous dandelions. But that is just the beginning. There is a weed that sends tough tendrils out and multiplies like crazy. And then there is the Creeping Charlie. It is really creepy. So every time I mow my weeds (read “yard”) I think about the difference between weeds (what you don’t want in your life) and grass (what you do want).
I have noticed, for instance, that the good stuff needs fertile soil to grow well. When I filled in the bare spots on my lawn with new seed, I had to put in topsoil and peat to get it to grow in this red Virginia clay. But not so with weeds. They can grow anywhere, including the cracks in my driveway. And I find the same is true with bad habits, unbiblical thinking, and sin in general. It will take root anywhere in your life. You don’t need to prepare a place for the bad stuff.
And if you want a lush, green lawn, you’d better be fertilizing regularly. Healthy grass needs to be fed if it is to stay healthy. Weeds? No food necessary. They will grow strong and propagate abundantly without any attention. I find that to be true of all the parts of my life that I want to eliminate as well. I lose ground in my Christian walk every time I ignore it for any length of time. But by feeding my mind and heart with God’s word, I can keep the good stuff growing. And eventually, if the habit continues, my life ceases to be a place where sin can find an easy place to grow.
One last observation. I know my battle with weeds is going to be a long one. I plan to hit them soon with a weed-killer, and then again in the fall. I don’t expect that even those two efforts will end the struggle, but with perseverance I know it is possible to keep the weeds in check. Our lives are pretty much like that, aren’t they? We are in a war with the world, the flesh and the devil that will determine who will control us and what kind of a life we will present to the Savior. Every day we need to check our progress, reinforce the good growth and attack the weeds. So get out your sprayer and join me as we prepare the lawns of our lives for the return of the Master.
Lord Jesus, show me the weeds that threaten to destroy the beauty and witness of my life. And help me to work as hard at keeping my life holy as I do at keeping my lawn green. Amen.
Fast-forward to Lynchburg, Virginia, and our new home (as of April). Obviously, the people who lived here before were not at all sick in the way we have been discussing. In fact, if the yard is any indication, they were extremely healthy. I have never seen so many different varieties of weeds in so small an area. There is clover everywhere, and of course the ubiquitous dandelions. But that is just the beginning. There is a weed that sends tough tendrils out and multiplies like crazy. And then there is the Creeping Charlie. It is really creepy. So every time I mow my weeds (read “yard”) I think about the difference between weeds (what you don’t want in your life) and grass (what you do want).
I have noticed, for instance, that the good stuff needs fertile soil to grow well. When I filled in the bare spots on my lawn with new seed, I had to put in topsoil and peat to get it to grow in this red Virginia clay. But not so with weeds. They can grow anywhere, including the cracks in my driveway. And I find the same is true with bad habits, unbiblical thinking, and sin in general. It will take root anywhere in your life. You don’t need to prepare a place for the bad stuff.
And if you want a lush, green lawn, you’d better be fertilizing regularly. Healthy grass needs to be fed if it is to stay healthy. Weeds? No food necessary. They will grow strong and propagate abundantly without any attention. I find that to be true of all the parts of my life that I want to eliminate as well. I lose ground in my Christian walk every time I ignore it for any length of time. But by feeding my mind and heart with God’s word, I can keep the good stuff growing. And eventually, if the habit continues, my life ceases to be a place where sin can find an easy place to grow.
One last observation. I know my battle with weeds is going to be a long one. I plan to hit them soon with a weed-killer, and then again in the fall. I don’t expect that even those two efforts will end the struggle, but with perseverance I know it is possible to keep the weeds in check. Our lives are pretty much like that, aren’t they? We are in a war with the world, the flesh and the devil that will determine who will control us and what kind of a life we will present to the Savior. Every day we need to check our progress, reinforce the good growth and attack the weeds. So get out your sprayer and join me as we prepare the lawns of our lives for the return of the Master.
Lord Jesus, show me the weeds that threaten to destroy the beauty and witness of my life. And help me to work as hard at keeping my life holy as I do at keeping my lawn green. Amen.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
The right tools for the job
Ever tried to cut square corners with a circular saw? Or even worse, mitered and beveled parts? I have, and it’s the pits! Even if you get the pieces to fit, and usually they didn’t for me, there is this nagging sense that the job just wasn’t done right. For 43 years of marriage and through the maintenance of eight different homes, the only cutting tools I have owned are a Craftsman circular saw and a hand saw. For some reason, I could never bring myself to buy a table saw or other more expensive tools that are not used every day, but are absolutely essential when you face a more complicated cutting job.
Last week, with the encouragement of my wife, I went out and bought a table saw and miter saw. I have been cutting everything in sight. And I find that I now look forward to tackling those home improvement projects that I used to dread. It is fun to work around the house when you have the necessary tools to do the job!
You’re probably wondering where all this is going. Well, as I was cutting mitered corners for a molding repair this morning (big grin) I got to thinking about the parallels between being equipped for home improvement projects and being equipped for life. I can remember a time when I was really frustrated by the demands of my day-to-day life. Failure, especially moral and spiritual failure, was more the rule than the exception for me, and I struggled with the knowledge that what I should do I wasn’t doing, and what I shouldn’t be doing I was. Sound familiar? The Apostle Paul testifies to the same experience in Romans 7. Then, as chapter 8 begins, he writes: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” In other words, we no longer need to cut the tough pieces of our lives with a circular saw. God has made available the Spirit of life in Christ (read table saw, miter saw, scroll saw, planer, belt sander, etc., etc.) which not only provides a beautiful finished product, but also makes the process of creating it fun, as it was meant to be.
What does this Spirit do? He comes to reside with us, always there just like the table saw that now sits in my garage. And He is ever ready to enable us to cut the difficult angles, and in so doing, to actually enjoy the work we have been called to perform in His name. Jesus said the Spirit would abide with and in us (John 14:17), teach us all things and help us to remember what He said (14:26), guide us into all truth and disclose to us what is to come (John 16:13). We even have our Lord’s word that His Spirit will give us the words to say when we need to explain the hope that is within us.
So have fun with the tools, that endless array of spiritual equipment God has provided to live a life that glorifies His Son. Take on a long-delayed project. Restore something of God’s to its rightful place in His creation. And work with both joy in your heart and anticipation of the Master’s soon-to-come assessment: “Great cutting, good and faithful servant!”
Last week, with the encouragement of my wife, I went out and bought a table saw and miter saw. I have been cutting everything in sight. And I find that I now look forward to tackling those home improvement projects that I used to dread. It is fun to work around the house when you have the necessary tools to do the job!
You’re probably wondering where all this is going. Well, as I was cutting mitered corners for a molding repair this morning (big grin) I got to thinking about the parallels between being equipped for home improvement projects and being equipped for life. I can remember a time when I was really frustrated by the demands of my day-to-day life. Failure, especially moral and spiritual failure, was more the rule than the exception for me, and I struggled with the knowledge that what I should do I wasn’t doing, and what I shouldn’t be doing I was. Sound familiar? The Apostle Paul testifies to the same experience in Romans 7. Then, as chapter 8 begins, he writes: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.” In other words, we no longer need to cut the tough pieces of our lives with a circular saw. God has made available the Spirit of life in Christ (read table saw, miter saw, scroll saw, planer, belt sander, etc., etc.) which not only provides a beautiful finished product, but also makes the process of creating it fun, as it was meant to be.
What does this Spirit do? He comes to reside with us, always there just like the table saw that now sits in my garage. And He is ever ready to enable us to cut the difficult angles, and in so doing, to actually enjoy the work we have been called to perform in His name. Jesus said the Spirit would abide with and in us (John 14:17), teach us all things and help us to remember what He said (14:26), guide us into all truth and disclose to us what is to come (John 16:13). We even have our Lord’s word that His Spirit will give us the words to say when we need to explain the hope that is within us.
So have fun with the tools, that endless array of spiritual equipment God has provided to live a life that glorifies His Son. Take on a long-delayed project. Restore something of God’s to its rightful place in His creation. And work with both joy in your heart and anticipation of the Master’s soon-to-come assessment: “Great cutting, good and faithful servant!”
Monday, May 31, 2010
Waiting
I pulled into my driveway after getting coffee a couple mornings ago to find a turtle crossing the blacktop. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself.
How are you at waiting? I just stink when it comes to the whole patience scene. I fume when the lady in front of me at Kroger waits until checkout is complete and then counts out $25.41 in quarters, dimes and nickels. I mumble unspiritual lectures at those drivers who cause one car to get through on a light because they don’t know enough to pull into the intersection and wait for the light to change. When I think about it, most of my life has been spent hurrying…rushing from one project to another, one job to another, one phase of life to another. There are few times in my six plus decades that I have stopped long enough to really call it waiting, and even fewer waiting patiently.
Over the last four weeks, we have attended two local churches. At one church, two full services have been devoted to the subject of waiting for God, and yesterday at another church, the sermon was on that same topic. I’m not the fastest gun the west, but even I began to suspect that I’m supposed to be thinking about the subject of waiting right now.
So back to the turtle. I have no idea where this thing came from. But it was moving across my driveway, and since I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I decided to wait until it crossed to pull into the garage. I waited, and waited, and waited. This box of legs and neck was definitely in low gear. It would poke its head out of the shell, look right and then left, stand immobile for minutes, and then take two steps and repeat the vexatious process. That turtle was driving me nuts by doing nothing but patiently taking its time to cross my drive.
As I sat and pondered all this, it occurred to me that the turtle was in no hurry. Wherever it was going (it eventually crossed my neighbor’s drive as well and disappeared into his grass), it was not programmed to stress out getting there. In some instinctive way, for the turtle the trip was just as important as the destination. And sitting there sipping my coffee, I wished I could live the same way.
My recent retirement has forced me to think about some new issues. Suddenly I find myself not working, not producing, not directing or planning or creating or…busy. And the question that I am dealing with is simply this: Is God as pleased with me when I am just being as when I am doing? I have taught for years that we don’t please God by our works (the Bible sometimes calls this sacrifice), but with our obedience and faith. Now I am testing that biblical principle as I wait. For what? I wish I knew. That might make the waiting easier. But whatever God has for me in the future, I know He wants me to wait patiently. Like the turtle, I have decided to take a few steps and stop. To look right and left and not miss what is happening around me. To enjoy the trip and appreciate that the Master Planner can make the waiting just as worthwhile as the arriving.
Are you waiting? How goes the wait?
How are you at waiting? I just stink when it comes to the whole patience scene. I fume when the lady in front of me at Kroger waits until checkout is complete and then counts out $25.41 in quarters, dimes and nickels. I mumble unspiritual lectures at those drivers who cause one car to get through on a light because they don’t know enough to pull into the intersection and wait for the light to change. When I think about it, most of my life has been spent hurrying…rushing from one project to another, one job to another, one phase of life to another. There are few times in my six plus decades that I have stopped long enough to really call it waiting, and even fewer waiting patiently.
Over the last four weeks, we have attended two local churches. At one church, two full services have been devoted to the subject of waiting for God, and yesterday at another church, the sermon was on that same topic. I’m not the fastest gun the west, but even I began to suspect that I’m supposed to be thinking about the subject of waiting right now.
So back to the turtle. I have no idea where this thing came from. But it was moving across my driveway, and since I had a cup of coffee in my hand, I decided to wait until it crossed to pull into the garage. I waited, and waited, and waited. This box of legs and neck was definitely in low gear. It would poke its head out of the shell, look right and then left, stand immobile for minutes, and then take two steps and repeat the vexatious process. That turtle was driving me nuts by doing nothing but patiently taking its time to cross my drive.
As I sat and pondered all this, it occurred to me that the turtle was in no hurry. Wherever it was going (it eventually crossed my neighbor’s drive as well and disappeared into his grass), it was not programmed to stress out getting there. In some instinctive way, for the turtle the trip was just as important as the destination. And sitting there sipping my coffee, I wished I could live the same way.
My recent retirement has forced me to think about some new issues. Suddenly I find myself not working, not producing, not directing or planning or creating or…busy. And the question that I am dealing with is simply this: Is God as pleased with me when I am just being as when I am doing? I have taught for years that we don’t please God by our works (the Bible sometimes calls this sacrifice), but with our obedience and faith. Now I am testing that biblical principle as I wait. For what? I wish I knew. That might make the waiting easier. But whatever God has for me in the future, I know He wants me to wait patiently. Like the turtle, I have decided to take a few steps and stop. To look right and left and not miss what is happening around me. To enjoy the trip and appreciate that the Master Planner can make the waiting just as worthwhile as the arriving.
Are you waiting? How goes the wait?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
A great read!
“If you are going to grow as a Christian, you need to be reading the Bible every day.” How often have you heard that? Not that I disagree with the statement, but if you are like me, it has sometimes been just one more thing to put me under the pile. C.H. Spurgeon is reported to have said: “A Bible which is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” I can’t really argue with the sentiment, but actually sitting down and reading the Bible every day can be a real challenge.
So what do we do? Pick up a Daily Bread. Five days later, the interest level has diminished and we are back at square one. Or our January 1 resolution (how many times has this happened?) is to read through the Bible in a year. We invest in a guide, trudge through Genesis and Exodus, and then the first week of February find ourselves “lost in Leviticus” and abandon the whole thing.
Lately, I have been trying to spend more time in the gospels. My reason is that those books are where we see and hear Jesus firsthand. Since I really want my life to conform to His, reading accounts of His life seems to be a wise strategy. But there are four accounts, each with a different approach to recording the events. And there is so much, especially in the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) that is repeated. Start reading in Matthew 1, and by the time you get midway through Mark, you are wishing someone had put all these together into one story. And then there are the “discrepancies”, the places where two accounts of the same event seem to be at odds.
Here’s a thought. What if the Holy Spirit, superintending the writing of these four books, allowed each author to address a different group and come at the task with differing capabilities and interests, but still supernaturally created a single account? What if someone took out all the passages where information is duplicated and then combined the four gospel accounts into one chronological biography? Would it flow without discrepancies? Would it make reading about Jesus’ life and ministry fascinating? Would you find that you could hardly put the book down?
Well, someone has. And the answer to all these questions is a resounding “YES!” The format I have described is called a harmony of the gospels. And the particular harmony I have found most helpful is titled, “The Life of Christ in Stereo” by Johnston M. Cheney. A number of features make this an excellent book to use as a devotional. Each passage carries a raised numeral to identify its gospel author. In the back of the book, explanatory footnotes and an outline of the life of Christ give additional information to encourage further study or assist in teaching the material.
If you are looking for a way to get into the Bible every day, I would highly recommend this book to you. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print. But used copies are available on Amazon, and you can probably find them at a used bookstore, or even at some libraries. If not, then any harmony of the gospels will fill the bill. Read…and enjoy!
So what do we do? Pick up a Daily Bread. Five days later, the interest level has diminished and we are back at square one. Or our January 1 resolution (how many times has this happened?) is to read through the Bible in a year. We invest in a guide, trudge through Genesis and Exodus, and then the first week of February find ourselves “lost in Leviticus” and abandon the whole thing.
Lately, I have been trying to spend more time in the gospels. My reason is that those books are where we see and hear Jesus firsthand. Since I really want my life to conform to His, reading accounts of His life seems to be a wise strategy. But there are four accounts, each with a different approach to recording the events. And there is so much, especially in the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) that is repeated. Start reading in Matthew 1, and by the time you get midway through Mark, you are wishing someone had put all these together into one story. And then there are the “discrepancies”, the places where two accounts of the same event seem to be at odds.
Here’s a thought. What if the Holy Spirit, superintending the writing of these four books, allowed each author to address a different group and come at the task with differing capabilities and interests, but still supernaturally created a single account? What if someone took out all the passages where information is duplicated and then combined the four gospel accounts into one chronological biography? Would it flow without discrepancies? Would it make reading about Jesus’ life and ministry fascinating? Would you find that you could hardly put the book down?
Well, someone has. And the answer to all these questions is a resounding “YES!” The format I have described is called a harmony of the gospels. And the particular harmony I have found most helpful is titled, “The Life of Christ in Stereo” by Johnston M. Cheney. A number of features make this an excellent book to use as a devotional. Each passage carries a raised numeral to identify its gospel author. In the back of the book, explanatory footnotes and an outline of the life of Christ give additional information to encourage further study or assist in teaching the material.
If you are looking for a way to get into the Bible every day, I would highly recommend this book to you. Unfortunately, it seems to be out of print. But used copies are available on Amazon, and you can probably find them at a used bookstore, or even at some libraries. If not, then any harmony of the gospels will fill the bill. Read…and enjoy!
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