Messages

Have you seen the GAP commercial that has been running recently for the "holiday" season, not the one with the girls singing about boots, but the one with adults singing and dancing? Maybe it is just the prude coming out in me again (see my post from 2 weeks ago) but I don't think so, I have seen it several times now and it really bothers me.

If you are not familiar with the commercial, here are a couple of lines in the "song" that are sung after they list just about every possible winter holiday and/or celebration (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Solstice);

"You 86 the rules, you do what just feels right, you do whatever you want and to all a good night"

Does that rub you the wrong way like it does me? Do we really need to be encouraged to forget about the rules and just do whatever we want, whatever feels right? Don't we do that enough as it is? Isn't that what has caused EVERY problem we have in this world? We do our own thing too much and it leads to; hurt, pain, frustration, anger, sadness, etc.

I was a marketing major in college, so I understand not wanting to limit advertising just to people who celebrate Christmas. In fact, I have no problem whatsoever with Target, WalMart, Macys, etc. advertising holiday sales instead of Christmas sales and with them instructing their employees to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. These retailers exist to sell things and it is legitimate business to not exclude portions of the population. What does bother me are the messages that are put out like the one above from the GAP in an attempt to be inclusive of everyone (at least I think that is what they are trying to do).

We receive hundreds, even thousands of messages a day all trying to tell us something, trying to impact how we see things. I think most people are oblivious to these messages, they take them in and it shapes their thinking without even knowing it. I am trying to be more sensitive to God and what He wants for me and often times it is a struggle to choose what He wants instead of what I want or have been told I should want or should have. The Bible says that we are to be in the world but not of the world. That means that we are to live here, have relationships here, be salt and light here, but, we are not to think like the world thinks or act like the world acts. Pay attention to the messages that are being given to you and filter them through what the Bible says.

Anticipation

There has been some anticipation, some cautious optimism in my house recently. These feelings aren't all that uncommon this time of year being the Christmas season and all. However, the anticipation and the optimism had nothing to do with Christmas but instead had to do with the decision of 21 or 22 year old college student. My son and I were eagerly awaiting the announcement of whether Jake Locker would return to school for his senior season on the Husky football team or if he would enter the NFL draft where he would make millions of dollars. I know that this seems really silly to many (if not all) of you but we were waiting much like kids (and even adults) wait to see what they are getting for Christmas. We got what we wanted in this instance which was that he would return to the team. The problem is that next year that choice will no longer be available, he will have to move on to the NFL or somewhere else.

That's the problem with anticipating things like whether Jake Locker returns or not or most of the other things that we anticipate. What are you anticipating, what are you hoping for? Is it gifts under the tree, the departure of your latest illness, the return home of a loved one, kids, grand kids, a spouse - what is it that you are looking forward to? All of these things can be great, but, they all fall short of what we should ultimately anticipate. I am as guilty as anyone of fixing my eyes on things that don't last but my desire is to fix my eyes on what does last, what I can always count on and that is Jesus.

The Christmas season and end of the year is a common time for people to reflect on what is important, what we want to do differently, what our hopes and dreams are. As such, I encourage you to spend some time this year reflecting on these things, then ask yourself "where am I focused?" or "what am I focused on?". If you are like me, you may notice that your focus needs frequent adjustment, it needs to be refined. I am constantly needing to remind myself to adjust my focus and put it back on Jesus, I encourage you to do the same.

Viewpoints

Maybe I'm becoming a prude in my old age. I went to a movie this past weekend and was bothered by it. Now usually when I am bothered by a movie it is because it has nudity or sexual activity or perhaps if the violence is over the top. That wasn't the case with this movie, I don't think there was even one woman in the movie and although there was violence it wasn't over the top. What bothered me about this movie was the message that it sends to those that watch it (of the other 10 or so people in the theater many of them were young which makes it even more disappointing). The message was essentially that you don't have to be completely good or righteous you just need to be more good than bad. Now this is certainly not the only movie that gives this sort of message, there are and have been over the years, many such movies.

I think that it may have bothered me so much because I see hints of it in my own life. Comparison and justification are tools that I use to make myself feel better or look better to others. I am sure that you have heard people justify their behavior before or excuse their behavior by comparing it with others who are worse. The problem with those comparisons and justification is that we are using our own standards when we do that, we are trying to categorize our sins. God doesn't have a sin scale where as long as you don't do any of the sins in the top 5 you are OK. All sin separates us from God and nothing that we DO can earn us favor with Him. Our only comparison should be Jesus Christ. He lived the PERFECT life that we can't live and because we can't live that perfect life, HE died for us so we would no longer be separated from God if we choose to accept what Jesus did and give Him control of our lives.

The main character in this movie was willing to help steal 42 million dollars as long as nobody got hurt, after all, he needed it, he maybe even deserved it (according to his thinking). Then when things went bad and people started getting hurt, he fought against his buddies, his cohorts and became the good guy. While many of his actions were admirable and courageous, HE WAS STILL WILLING TO STEAL $42,000,000. What are you justifying, what are you excusing by comparing it with other people who are worse on the "sin scale"? On our own we fall short, no matter how "good" we are. My desire is to stop justifying my sin and stop minimizing my sin and to truly follow Jesus, will you join me in this challenge?

Looking Back

I got an email last week from someone that I was introduced to through a mutual friend. This guy is feeling that God has something different in store for him and is trying to figure out what it might be and how to know if it is really God putting these things on his heart or not. We were introduced because our mutual friend knew my story of becoming a pastor and felt that the journey started in a similar fashion and thought that I might be able to help this other friend of his. I agreed to help in whatever way I could so that resulted in the email I received last week.

Do you ever look back over your life or periods of your life and see the areas where God has been working? Some of those areas are probably fairly easy to spot and some are probably a little more hidden. Often times though, you don't really see what God is doing as he is doing it but instead you see if when you look back at it later on. That's kind of what happened for me as I tried to answer the questions in the email. I had to look back over the last several years as I explained the process of how I went from a guy in the corporate world to an Associate Pastor. As I looked back I could see the times and places where God was preparing me for His plan. There were various points along the way where I thought I knew His plan but it turns out what He wanted was something different. That is pretty common in my life, I think I know the plan but soon find out that I was wrong. God is never wrong! He never wastes anything!

I don't know how helpful I was in my response to the questions I received, afterall, everyone's journey is different, but, I'd like to end this post the same way I ended my email, hopefully it will be helpful to you; "Listen to what God is saying to you and pursue Him and whatever He is calling you to as best as you can, especially if it is pulling you out of your comfort zone. It is only when we are stretched that we can truly grow and only when we give up control that we can truly follow."

All or Nothing

I had a brief conversation about the Word of God (the Bible) a couple of days ago and the topic of whether it is without error. It is my belief that the Bible, in it's original form, is in fact without error - it is infallible or inerrant. Many people throughout the world do not believe that the Bible is inerrant so they choose not to believe it, not to follow it. What I find strange is the people that profess to be Christians (followers of Jesus) yet don't believe that the Bible is 100% true. If any of the Bible is untrue, how can the rest of it be believed or followed? If we can't trust the word of God how can we follow Him? If the Bible is not 100% true it becomes simply a book with some good morals or suggestions.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that "all scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." The Bible came from God Himself and is necessary for us to be "thoroughly equipped". 2 Peter 1:20-21 says; "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." God wrote His word through man, much like I have written these words through a computer keyboard. Man was just the tool that was used and had no more impact on what was written than the keys on my keyboard had on what I have written.

I think we all like to pick and choose which parts of the Bible we choose to follow and which we deliberately disregard or perhaps just ignore. But, if you believe that the entire Bible is inerrant, like I do, you don't have the luxury of disregarding or ignoring it. The Bible is the 100% true word of God please join me in trying to live it out and share it with others.

Don't Miss the Present

There are times in my life where I have been so focused or concerned about what is going to happen or what I wanted to happen that I didn't really pay a whole lot of attention to what was actually happening. After watching the movie "Up" with my kids last night, I realized that the main character, Carl, did the same thing. He wanted so badly to go on an adventure with his wife to Paradise Falls that it became his focus. Near the end of the movie we see Carl looking at his wife's "adventure book" feeling like a failure because he wasn't able to take her to their dream place so she could complete the "things I'm going to do section" of her book. As he is closing the book, he realizes that there are pictures in that section that he didn't know about. His wife had put pictures of their life in that section, her adventure had been their life together. He was so focused on his idea or dream of what their adventure would be that he missed the actual adventure of living life with his wife.

The apostle Paul struggled through this problem of being so focused on the future that you miss the present with the church in Thessalonica. Some of the people were so focused on Jesus' return that they stopped working so they could wait for the second coming of Jesus. These people were so excited and eager for the future to come that they stopped living in the present. We do this too. We get so focused on finishing school, getting a new job, etc. that we miss what God would have for us right now.

I have been watching a new show this fall called "Flashforward" in which most everyone on the planet saw a vision of the future during a global blackout. Since waking up from this blackout people are either trying to ensure that the future happens as they saw it or are trying to prevent it from happening. Everyone in the show is living based on these visions of the future which is causing them to change how they live in the present. Only God knows what will happen in the future, only God knows when Jesus will return. While it is good to think ahead or to plan ahead, it is not good to do it at the expense of NOW. Since we do not know when Jesus will return we are to live as if it could happen at any moment, we are to be ready. It is impossible for us to be ready if we are so focused on the future that we miss the present. God has a plan for you for however long you are here or until he comes back, that plan includes today. Don't miss it!

Comfortable

I have wanted chairs like these for quite some time. They aren't all that practical for a family (especially if you only have 3 chairs and 5 people in your family) but they sure are comfortable. Look how far that middle chair is reclining. These would be great for me as I watch football, watch movies (I do more of both of those things than I should admit), or just take a snooze on a blustery fall day. The best ones are the ones with the power buttons to bring up the leg rest and to recline. And look at the cup holders, 4 cup holders for 3 chairs, I could have my diet coke right there ready for me and wouldn't even have to lean over to grab it off a table.

Last night I was deeply challenged by Luke 9:57-62 during a devotional time at our Elder Board Meeting. This passage is about the cost of following Jesus and it reminded me that my life is essentially symbolized by these chairs. I love to be comfortable. Not sitting on a soft seat in a warm house comfortable, but rather, living life without really risking anything comfortable. Most of my life has been lived that way. I tend to avoid things that I think I will fail at or look silly doing. It is hard to risk and avoid failure and/or embarrassment, so, I typically choose the avoidance of failure/embarrassment.

That's not what Jesus calls us to however. Instead, he calls us to step out of the comfort of the boat onto the water. Even when we feel like we have been stretched and gone beyond where we thought we could go, Jesus doesn't leave us there. That's a hard thing and an amazing thing about following Jesus. It can be hard, at first, to see the reward in the "risk vs. reward" equation. But, look back at your life at the times where you have truly followed Jesus into something that felt risky, uncomfortable or even dangerous and what do you see? While it may have been all of those things, it was probably also one of the most rewarding and/or life shaping things you have experienced, right? I look back at my life and I am doing things now that I would never have done 10 years ago, 5 years ago or even 2 years ago. I mean seriously, 10 years ago I never would have guessed that I could or would be a pastor and what on a national level would be considered a medium to large sized church. 2 years ago, I never would have guessed that I would be comfortable driving in to a homeless "encampment" (by myself) to drop someone off after taking them grocery shopping and then sticking around even longer to visit with their "neighbors".

I am an admitted "chicken", but I am also someone that wants to be more like Christ and my hope is that I am willing to trust Him enough to be obedient to His call no matter the potential risk or lack of comfort. I pray that for you as well.