To Keep It, Give It Away

Frank

Saturday afternoon, roughly 150 people gathered in a nondescript church building in an industrial area of Orange County to celebrate the recovery of 17 individuals who “graduated” our Chemical Recovery program. The setting was appropriate. A building that if you didn’t know it, you would never guess a church met inside its walls. The building looked just like all the others in this industrial complex. In the same way, addicts blend in with the rest of the population. Unless an addict is suffering a physical response to their drug of choice, they look just like you or I. Some are powerful executives, some are homeless. Some have perfectly functional families, others have had their families torn apart. Addiction does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, or economic status. Regardless of circumstance, addicts cannot overcome without divine help. (Even AA requires the acknowledgement of a “Power greater than ourselves”)

So we rejoice in the Lord when we see others delivered from their addictions. This day was filled with prayer, with song, with the preaching of the word, and with personal testimonies that didn’t leave a dry eye in the place. The graduates came from every corner of the LA region (and even a brother from as far away as Bakersfield), represented every race and gender, every age, and every possible drug.

I want to share a couple of their stories.

One brother first used Meth at the age of 14. Just three years later he was arrested for am armed home invasion robbery, where he tied up an entire family with duct tape. He spent 8 years in jail. While in jail his brother sent him the book, Some Sat in Darkness, and his life was changed. “Finally I could explain what was wrong with me,” he exclaimed. Out of jail and 10 years sober (8 in prison), he wants to start a Spanish-speaking recovery ministry.

Another brother is a successful Korean businessman. His career required him to base himself in Korea, leaving behind his family in LA. His addiction alienated himself from his family and eventually he saw that he could not maintain his lifestyle. He returned to the US to reconcile with his family. They wouldn’t. His minister recommended he go to this recovery group. He didn’t want to, but did anyway. He didn’t want to follow the directions given him, but he did anyway. He didn’t want to be open, but he was anyway. Eventually, he broke free from the slavery of his addiction, became reconciled with his family, and wants to start a Korean-speaking recovery ministry. (I chuckled inside at the consistent theme) Not only that, but he wants to go back to Korea and start this ministry there.

The Twelfth Step of AA is to “…carry this message to alcoholics.” To spread the word of recovery. In other words, to keep it you have to give it away. Paul was thinking along those lines when he instructed to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) In sharing with others’ joys and sufferings, we do more than sympathize or empathize, we spread the love of Christ and participate in the rejoicing in heaven where “there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7)

This post is one of many, part of a Blog Carnival being hosted by Peter Pollock. This week’s theme is “Rejoice“. Be sure to visit others’ entries to appreciate the diversity of thoughts and opinions present in the Body of Christ.

Where to Now?

Frank

Continuing our discussion on Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well. This week we’re on Chapter 18, the final chapter of the book. You can check out Glynn’s thoughts here and Nancy’s will coming later here.

I’m struggling to come up with a reaction to this final chapter of Mere Churchianity that would also be a standalone post. Maybe I’m being sentimental, now that this discussion is drawing to a close, though I have some follow-up thoughts that will come later. I guess I just don’t feel resolved. Sadly, Michael Spencer’s life was cut tragically short. In fact, he didn’t even live to see his book on the shelves. He was struggling with his health as he was making the final touches on this book with his editor (as described in the epilogue). Maybe he knew his time was short, so he got in what he could. The last chapter does seem like a compilation of “these are the other topics I wanted to cover, but ran out of time” as he listed out a series of questions or objections one might have in response to his book. Personally, after spending chapter after chapter describing (very well, I might add) what is wrong with the Church, I don’t see much offered as solutions. And my nature is to want a quick-fix, five-part plan with vision statements and mission goals- the very things Michael pontificated against.

But maybe the story is meant to be left unfinished. Our walks with Christ and our eternal destiny are known only by one, and it not us. We look for answers in this world, hoping that everything will wrap up nicely in a bow. But from our mortal perspective our life, our faith, and our eternal purpose are uncertain. I’m not comfortable with that. And if I take away anything from this book, maybe it should be that I can’t control everything (or anything for that matter). I cannot control my church. I cannot control other brothers and sisters in Christ. I cannot control whether someone I am reaching out to accepts or rejects the message of the Gospel. I cannot control whether mainstream Christianity will ever mold into “Jesus-shaped spirituality”. I cannot control the reactions of the readers of this blog. I cannot control…

But I can control my relationship with Jesus. I can control my thoughts and attitudes to be Jesus-focused. I can control my prayers and with whom I choose to share in fellowship. In other words, I can control my own spirituality to be Jesus-shaped and strive to surround myself with others who share the same passion.

Hah, I guess I have post for this chapter after all.

*************** 

I also want to share some excerpts from this chapter that I think are worth reflecting on:

First, it is worth noting that Jesus’ condemnations of the Seven Churches in Asia found in Revelation came only a generation after Jesus’ death. In other words, it didn’t take long for these early churches to become “church-shaped” instead of Jesus-shaped. Michael reminds us of Revelation 3:20, “I stand at the door and knock…” The implication is that for our churches to return to being Jesus-shaped, we need to invite Jesus back in as the focus of our church. Ironically, Michael follows up with the admonition to “pursue Jesus-shaped spirituality [that] won’t take you to a building with a sign out front.” (pg 210) In other words, “go and do” to seek Jesus-shaped spirituality. However, I think the lesson we can draw from Revelation is instead to “stay and invite” Jesus in to where we are. That may be too passive, and I see Michael’s point, but I think Jesus-shaped spirituality is not a matter of going to find Jesus, but of inviting Jesus in. You could argue that the former is divisive and rebellious in the context of organized religion while the latter is individualized and subjective.

Second, Michael’s response to the question, “Are you antichurch or antidenominations?” Is worth its own post. And I may go there at some point. But I want to at least quote part of his response. “It doesn’t take a scholar to understand what the New Testament says the church is supposed to be doing. If a church isn’t supporting and growing disciples, isn’t crossing cultures with the gospel, and isn’t encouraging and producing Jesus-followers, I believe you’re entitled to look for a different form of community that is doing these things… Denominational labels will tell you very little about whether the people in a congregation are all about Jesus or are blissfully disconnected from him… I want every Christian to find a Jesus-shaped community that is doing what the New Testament says a church should do… Christians follow Jesus into the world as disciples on the mission Jesus gave us. The best churches facilitate the mission of Jesus and grow Jesus-followers who pursue that mission.” (pgs 212-213, emphasis added)

Finally, Michael closes with a terrific description of Jesus-shaped spirituality accomplishing the above. First, a warning from earlier in the chapter, “You may find yourself far outside the doors of many churches and thrown in with whomever the scapegoats of the hour happen to be. (interesting choice of words since Jesus is literally the ultimate scapegoat) You should expect to be called liberal, emerging, naive, rebellious, and unsaved…Your faith will likely be questioned, and you may experience moments of suffocating doubt and discouragement.” (pgs 210-211) So what do we do? “The Jesus-shaped life is found where Jesus would be found… talking to a single mom… going to India… working in an inner city… leading a worship service…taking in foster kids… counseling… pray[ing] with anyone who asks… starting a church… volunteering to teach… Stretching the influence of the gospel outside the comfort zone of the usual. Being a witness to the church of what Jesus would be doing… And finally, when we come home, we will find that Jesus has made us like himself, and yet, amazingly, we will have remained in every way ourselves.” (pgs 219-221)

I pray that each of us, through our own unique experiences, may one day stand before our Lord Jesus-shaped, shaped by Jesus.

Flashback Friday: What was Old is New Again

Frank

***Originally posted December 17, 2009. Reposted because A Charlie Brown Christmas aired this week. I’m a sucker for Charlie Brown holiday specials, but especially this one. You think the “war on Christmas” is bad now? You should’ve been around when this special was first aired. And there’s a link buried at the end of this post that is worth clicking on as well. The outrage wasn’t limited to Charlie Brown, it also extended all the way to space with the Apollo Program.***

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

We’re at the heart of the Christmas season, which means we’re in the thick of the “War on Christmas” and are inundated by the overreaction to this “war”. For some reason we think our circumstances are unique. We look around and think our culture’s morals are worse than they have ever been. And we are hyper-sensitive to criticism or even just contrary opinions. And for some reason, the image we often portray is that of the 1950’s white picket fence America where ‘Christians were Christians, and non-Christians were too.” But not long after this utopia was the upheaval of the 1960’s. Darn hippies.

Tuesday night ABC aired A Charlie Brown Christmas, the second-longest running Christmas special on Network Television (beat out by only a year by Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer) which first aired in 1965. I’m not ashamed to admit we bought the box set of Charlie Brown holiday specials a year ago and we’ve already practically worn them out. My children are quick to run up and press play after any movie finishes, but sometime the menu screen isn’t the ‘top menu’ but is the menu for Special Features. These Charlie Brown DVDs are an example of this. So they come running in wanting me to fix it, because what 4 and 2 year old wants to watch a “making of…”?

The first time this happened I was surprised as they were talking about the negative backlash they received for having the nerve to quote scripture (Linus’ famous reading of Luke 2). Producer/director/and snoopy actor Bill Melendez tried to talk Peanuts creator Charles Schulz out of including the scripture. CBS executives were hesitant to air it. And the public response was as expected.

This was in 1965. It could be argued we have much greater freedom today when we televangelists can be found on multiple channels, political pundits on both sides of the aisle who aren’t afraid to reference their religion, and movies such as The Passion of the Christ being commercial successes. Yet we still feel this insecurity whenever anyone has a different opinion than what we consider “mainstream Christianity” which some of us believe should dominate our culture and every facet of society.

For those of you fighting in the latest go-around of the War on Christmas, hearken back to 1965 (or 1968) and remember than “nothing is new under the sun.”

One of These Kids is not Like the Others

Frank

From the latest Family Christian mailer:

Sarah Palin, present poster-child of the politicized American Christianity (TM) persecution complex. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, perhaps the 20th Century’s best example of faith under persecution who was imprisoned and later hung for his convictions. (I’m still trying to wrap my head around how Sarah Palin is an example of “faithful perseverance”)

On the surface, they are both very similar. Both are tied to movements that insist Christianity should oppose cultural and governmental moral decay. However, that’s where the similarities end, unless you liken our current administration to Nazi Germany (and those who do, really, really need to brush up on their history). Christians in America are under no threat of imprisonment or death for our beliefs. Our government is not conducting a systematic slaughter of a specific segment of our population, which would be worthy of opposition. And no, I’m not going to relate abortion to the Holocaust; a person’s choice, whether we agree with the laws allowing it or not, is still the decision of the individual, independent of the government. And no political leader is elevating themselves as a leader of the church, which would also be worthy of opposition.

Wait. That is happening, albeit subtly. This advertisement demonstrates it. Here is a potential presidential candidate being promoted by a Christian bookstore. She’s not the first. I’ve seen books by Gingrich, Bush (Sr and Jr), and Huckabee displayed right in front next to Joel Osteen (if that’s not a clue, I don’t know what is). Yet I’ve never seen any books by Jimmy Carter, President Obama, or others from the Left side of the aisle promoted in such a way. No, they’re not leading any church, but they are leading public opinion, especially those on the religious right.

I strongly believe our convictions should guide our politics, whether it’s Left-leaning Social Gospel or Right-leaning Family Values. However, our politics should not shape our convictions. While the secular world argues to keep faith out of politics, I argue we need to keep politics out of faith. And that includes bookstores.

“Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.’“ (John 18:36)

Who Shapes You?

Frank

Continuing our discussion on Michael Spencer’s Mere Churchianity with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well. This week we’re on Chapter 17, the penultimate chapter of the book. You can check out Glynn’s thoughts here and Nancy’s here.

This is it, this is the home stretch. Only one chapter to go. For the past 16 chapters of Mere Churchianity, Michael Spencer has described symptom after symptom of what is wrong with the Church in America today. Now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty of what to do about it. I’ve been worried while going through this book by an undercurrent of go-at-it-alone Christianity since the target audience are those who have left the Church physically or spiritually. I’m grateful for this chapter to put those worries to rest. In this chapter, Michael gives a simple description of what Jesus-shaped spirituality is: it is personal and communal, it is mentored, it is saturated in the Scriptures, it grows in the context of service and the Gospel, it is found in relationships.

As I was reading through this chapter and pondering what to write about this week, I couldn’t help but think of those in my life who have shaped my spirituality (hopefully to some degree to be Jesus-shaped). I felt it appropriate to lift them up before the Lord in thanksgiving. Most of these names will not likely mean anything to you, but that’s ok. Some are heroes in the faith. Others are brothers and sisters I fought beside through different spiritual battles. Still others are those whose subtle influence have directed my spiritual course. Off the top of my head, I’m certain this isn’t an exhaustive list. Collectively, they have brought me to where I am today.

Obviously my family, especially my dad and grandpa for their tired service to the church, my sister’s example of “live to serve”, my mom’s patience, and my grandma for being the most loving person I’ve ever known. Fr. Bauer, Mike and Matt, Justin and Bart, Ryan and Kevin, Fr. Roger and Fr. Carl, Joe, Rob, Matt, Jesus, Justin (again, just at a different stage in life) and Justin, Jeff, Jeremy and Paul, David, Jim(!), Steve, John, Flavian, Roel, Rama, Brandon, Sam, Brent, Rob, Steve, Wes, Amy, Alyson, Glenn, Tim, Morris, Shawn, Josh, Bob, Fred, Steve, Neil, Luke, Dave, Jon, Todd, Lathan, Chris, Lorenzo, Marion and Tommy, Fred, Ivan, Kenny, Fabian, Glynn, Jay, Duane, Kevin, Bridget, Ryan, Dusty, Peter, Michael, Jason, and of course, my wife.

My spirituality would look differently if not for these people inspiring me, challenging me, and/or simply befriending me. I could not have ever had a relationship with Jesus alone. I cannot continue to have a relationship with Jesus on my own. These friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ have helped me to “Follow Jesus in the Life I Have”.

Are you a fan of Jesus?

Frank

Playing catchup on our Mere Churchianity discussion group with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. I’m a week behind but am catching up on Chapter 16, “The Evangelical Sellout”. Be sure to check out Glynn and Nancy’s thoughts on the latest chapter here and here. Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well.

 

I want to throw some numbers out there to set the tone. From Chip Ingram’s book, Living on the Edge referencing a Barna study he commissioned:

  • 81% of those calling themselves Christians said spiritual maturity is “following all the rules”
  • Half of churchgoers don’t know how their own church defines a “healthy spiritually mature follower of Jesus.”
  • Only 21% of Christians described their relationship with Jesus as a sign of their own personal spiritual maturity, 14% living a moral lifestyle, 13% being involved in spiritual disciplines.
  • A minority of churches have a written statement outlining the expectations of spiritual maturity and they often define this by what people do, not what they believe
  • Outside of this Barna study, Chip gives the anecdotal case where he asked 50 pastors what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and only one was able to give a coherent answer. Everyone else gave a vague version of “a follower of Jesus”. When asked further what that looks like, answers varied as described above.

From an interview I heard a couple of weeks ago with Phil Vischer, writer of Veggie Tales:
  • 50% of adult Protestants cannot define the word grace
  • 60% of high schoolers in youth ministry drop out after graduation

We know the symptoms. In Chapter 16 of Mere Churchianity, Michael Spencer defines the disease: we are fans of Jesus, not disciples of Jesus. He gives the comparison between a baseball player and a fan of baseball. I like the joke of “eating at McDonald’s every Sunday doesn’t make you a hamburger.”

When I became a disciple of Christ, the visible evidence of the numbers above drove me to the fellowship I am in now. I was converted in a campus ministry after being part of another campus ministry that prayed hard Sunday nights after partying hard Saturday night. And the fellowship was more about who was sleeping with who than how were our own personal walks with Christ. I knew there had to be something more than this, and I thank God for leading me to where he did.

I remember when one guy started coming around our campus ministry. He was active in his home church, a few hours down the road, and wanted a local fellowship. He participated in our worship, we studied the Bible, we prayed together, and when he looked at the lives we were striving to lead he told us, “this is just like my church back home. But only for those in leadership.” Michael gives a similar story of a brother who was taking a course on discipleship who dropped out because, “This is for preachers, not me.” (Mere Churchianity, pg 189)

I look around the current Christian climate and I see a malaise that is contagious. I read book after book and follow blog after blog to try and find the magic formula for what is wrong and how to fix it. But I’ve forgotten my own conversion and what brought me to the foot of the Cross. I’ve forgotten the stories of those like my friend above, to whom it never occurred that the lifestyle of a disciple is the expectation of all Christians, not just those in arbitrary positions of leadership. And so I’ve fallen into the Christian consumerism trap that Michael describes. He gives a great outline of the catalogue of endless “Christian” products that would be worth a post of its own, but instead I’ll give my own checklist:

  • I write a blog, tweet about my convictions, and follow several others who do the same as we all preach to the same choir.
  • I’ve taken classes on Christian marriages and Christ-honoring finances.
  • I’ve attended countless conferences, seminars, and workshops.
  • I’ve taken classes on Biblical survey and apologetics.
  • I listen to Christian radio and buy some of the CDs.
  • My kids watch Veggie Tales and we own several DVDs.
  • And I can’t even begin to count the number of books I’ve read, most on how to be a “better fill-in-the-blank Christian”.

And truthfully, not a single one of these has changed my walk with Christ. Sure, they motivate behavioral and attitudinal changes and feed my knowledge as well as my ego. But at the beginning and end of the day, it is only me and Jesus that matter and there’s not one silver bullet program, book, study series, conference, song, et cetera that is as important as that. I am a disciple of Jesus, not just a fan who wears some officially licensed jersey with his name on it and has his poster on my wall. I thank Michael for that reminder.

Eyes and Hands

Frank

Playing catchup on our Mere Churchianity discussion group with Glynn Young and Nancy Rosback. I’m a week behind and hope to catch up with another post either this evening or tomorrow. For the discussion on Chapter 15, “The Good and Bad of Being Alone,” be sure to visit (or re-visit) Faith, Fiction, Friends and NancieMarie. Meanwhile you can check out their thoughts on the latest chapter here and here (but don’t spoil it for me!),  Melissa at In Silence, Humming Softly has also joined the discussion so be sure to check out her thoughts as well.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!'” (1 Corinthians 12:21)

Unity but not uniformity. Community but not conformity. Sounds nice, but sadly is rarely seen. Authentic Christian community offers an uncomfortable paradox: one one hand, we are all parts of one body commanded through dozens of ‘one another’ passages in the Bible; on the other hand, we are all given unique gifts and talents to be used to advance the Church. We are expected in Christ to be part of a collective while forging our own path of faith. Oftentimes, churches do not know how to handle this delicate balance, so they err to the side of homogeneity. And free-thinkers, as Michael Spencer describes, are often forced out.

I don’t agree with Michael’s depiction of Jesus in this chapter, but I do see his point. I don’t believe Jesus was a solitary man. Yes, he often sought solace, but that was for recharging himself spiritually. He poured himself into those closest to him, yet he intentionally kept that number small. A theme I continue to oppose in this book is the notion of Christianity without community. I just don’t think you can survive spiritually that way and I think the instructions to the Church we read in the Bible bare that out.

But, we also cannot fall into the temptation to be a conformist or a yes-man and identify our spirituality by our fellowship rather than our own faith. The Body of Christ is not made of only feet or hands as 1 Corinthians 12 describes. We need our own faith, our own relationship with Christ, our own struggles with God in prayer. And sometimes that might mean walking away from the structure, the system.

It’s a delicate balance, as I said, and I’m sure we all have stories of how we’ve had to “fight the power” so to speak. I won’t belabor this point, but do encourage you to read Glynn Young’s post on this subject linked above. His story is too close to mine for it to be worth sharing again.

How are you doing…?

Frank

(forgive the typos, I’m thumbing this in on my mobile)

How are you doing? That’s a question that sets us right up to be fake.

How are you doing? With a hammer and nails.
How’s it going? Forward.

My dad would get on his soapbox on this all the time in a kids-these-days kind of way. I don’t blame him, the question is too vague and open ended, leaving limitless possibilities of vague, fake, answers. It is this fakeness that Michael Spencer addresses in chapter 14 of Mere Churchianity, the man who wouldn’t smile.

Christians are almost pre-conditioned on giving the right answer. Just as outside of the church, inside we know better than to answer honestly. Most of the time, we really don’t want to know the truth in someone’s life- their pains or their sins. And when we do sincerely want to know, we don’t know how to ask. We default to the standard “what’s up?” I hate being asked because I am often so in-the-moment to answer
truthfully. How am I that moment? My answer is independent of whether I committed mass-murder the day before, if I’m tip-toeing through the tulips at that moment I’ll answer as though nothing happened.

We put on other masks as well. I was recently in a Christian book store (please don’t hold it against me) to stock up on books and music for a long business trip. The store was semi-busy, and I felt awkward with every other shopper I saw. I assumed they were Christians, so should I have greeted them in a special way as if there’s a secret handshake? If they ask how I am, am I expected to answer, “blessed” or openly confess my sins? So I intentionally kept to myself and didn’t dare look anyone in the eye. But I would sneak a peek or two and I noticed I wasn’t the only one feeling and acting I’m this way.

It is tragic that the Church has developed such a country-club mentality that real vulnerability is rare and awkward, almost unwelcomed. When we are commanded to “bear with one another” and “carry one another’s burdens” such an environment is contrary to Jesus’ expectations of others knowing we are His disciples by our love for one another.

I posted similar thoughts here (http://theoppositepc.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-without-hypocrisy.html) and here (http://theoppositepc.blogspot.com/2010/02/love-must-be-sincere.html). Also check out the discussions by Glynn Young and Nany Rosback at http://faithfictionfriends.blogspot.com and http://nancemarie.blogspot.com/.

Weekend Reading, 13 November

Frank

Not a lot of time spent online this week, but a common thread ran through most of what I read. I don’t think that’s unintentional. The following posts challenged my faith, my hope, and my joy. It was exactly what I needed this week.

Of course any challenge in life can be related to by someone’s experience in the Bible. There is no shortage of examples to follow and lessons to be learned.

  • Rick Lancaster wonders what we think is too hard for God, then reminds us of Abraham and Sarah.
  • Colleen Foshee gives some driving tips for our faith and encourages us to not slam on the brakes when the road gets rough by reminding us of Joshua.
  • Michael Perkins reminds us of Peter and how he got distracted by the wind and dedicates himself to focusing on what’s important.
  • Jay Cookingham looks towards the example of Bezaleel who used his talents to worship God.
  • Herb Halstead sees Moses being given the promise of seeing his reward after he obeyed God, not before.
  • Kely Braswell thinks of a young David as a small young man in a small backwater town. But God saw something more. Like David, we are not too small or too remote for God to see us.
  • Tullian Tchividjian uses the example of Job to see that our joy is robbed not by suffering but by idolatry.

But we have personal stories and anecdotal parables to draw from.

  • Ryan Tate asks us where we are going. The challenge is do we really have an answer?
  • Chuck Salser thinks when we get stagnate and stale in our faith, we become like a smelly locker room. Yeah, that sounds about right.
  • Trevor Lund introduces a series of lessons on faith by asking how big is your but?
  • Justin Davis wants a new story to tell.

And to add to all this, I received the following email, forwarded from a sister in Christ who just lost her husband.

A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might.

So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sunup to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!

Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing discouragement, the Adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!

You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn’t moved” Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man.

Satan said, “Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time, giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.”

That’s what the weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of prayer and to take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

“Lord,” he said, “I have labored long and hard in Your Service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

The Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when I asked you to serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all of your strength, which you have done.

Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed.

But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back shiny and brown; your hands are callused from constant pressure, your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven’t moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. That you have done. Now I, my friend, will move the rock.”

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him.

By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God Who moves the mountains.

When everything seems to go wrong……. ……… ……… .Just P.U.S.H.

When the job gets you down…….. ……… ……… ………..Just P.U.S.H.

When people don’t do as you think they should…………. Just P.U.S.H.

W hen your money is “gone” and the bills are due………..Just P.U.S.H.

When people just don’t understand you…………………….Just P.U.S.H.

P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens

And if that isn’t enough, check out Kevin Martineau’s Favourite Links Friday, Jason Stasyszen’s Light Friday Hit List, Glynn Young’s Saturday Good Reads, Ryan Tate’s Five to Check Out, and Tyler Braun’s Fortuitous Bouncing.

Have a blessed weekend.

Flashback Friday: Armistice

Frank

***Originally posted for Veteran’s Day last year. Although the holiday has passed, the message still applies today. Wars are still being fought, physical and spiritual. There are victors and victims in both. One day is not enough to remember this. I also added the clip from one of the most powerful movies I’ve ever seen, To End All Wars. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.***

[Yesterday was] Veterans’ Day, where we honor and remember those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces. My wife asked me why this holiday falls on November 11. At 11:00 on November 11, 1918, (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) armistice (or truce) was signed between the Western Allies and Germany ending hostilities on the Western Front of World War I. World War I was called “The War to End All Wars”. We know how that turned out. But the holiday remained and is still celebrated throughout Europe as well as here in the United States.

Pause and think of that for a moment- The War to End All Wars. How we wish that were true. So we honor those who serve in battles across the globe while we enjoy the comfort of our home, hoping that the next battle will be the last.

Now think about Jesus. His sacrifice was The Sacrifice to End All Sacrifices so to speak (ref: Hebrews 10). He fought our sins for us so that we wouldn’t have to fight on our own, and ultimately someday to never have to fight again. But like The War to End All Wars, it was not the end and battles continue. So we honor Christ, who fought and still fights for us, while we enjoy the comfort of our own lives.

While we remember the physical conflicts our Armed Forces are engaged in worldwide, let us not forget the spiritual conflicts that continue in our own lives and the soldier, Christ, who fights alongside us.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17)