Christ

Rainy Thursday Night Reminders

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uncle billy

Side note: I thought about titling this “The You-niqueness of You,” but decided against it, because I actually want people to read it.

I think sometimes we have a “one size fits all” theology when it comes to how God operates in people’s lives. Testimonies have to be bloody and dramatic and have a pivotal moment when the main character hits absolute rock bottom and has no where to go but up.

But not all testimonies are like that. Some people grow up around church and get saved at an early age, but it took just as much of a miracle to save them as it did the drugged-up alcoholic who comes to Christ after a near-death experience. Both are equally valid testimonies and both can reach people.

Jesus never healed people the same way twice. Every call for people to follow him was as different as the individuals he called. God’s plan for your life is as unique as you are.

Don’t ever let people force God’s call on their lives on you. Don’t let other people define your life by their (or some other arbitrary) standard. Your life and your ministry are your own.

I love a story I read in Johnny Cash’s autobiography. He relates a story about how a music executive was looking for the next Randy Travis. Johnny Cash basically told him straight up, “What’s wrong with the Randy Travis you have?”

You are not called to be the next Billy Graham and save millions of souls. You are not called to be the next Mother Teresa. You are called to be you, just as I am called to be me.

Honestly, sometimes I get discouraged because my life doesn’t look like someone else’s. But God’s plan for me is my own. It may not look like your’s or anybody else’s, but it’s still mine.

The only question is this. Will you be faithful to God’s call on your life? Will you obey what you know God is calling you to do right now at this very moment? Will you accept where God has you as a gift and an opportunity to reach out to the people he’s put in front of you?

Late-Night Thoughts About Joseph

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“Joseph replied, ‘Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people.'” (Gen. 50:20)

As I have confessed before, there’s a whole lot I don’t know. Especially when it comes to why horrible things happen to godly people. I can point to verses that talk about God working in mysterious ways and how he works all things together for good, but at the end of the day, I’m unable to explain why God couldn’t have worked it out for them in a less painful way.

That’s when I yield to faith. I yield to what I know of God and his character. I yield to what I know of his proven track record in my own life. And I have to fall down on my knees and confess that he is good and that I have nowhere else to turn.

Joseph comes to mind. If anyone in the Bible had a right to play the victim card, it was Joseph. Sold into slavery by his own flesh and blood, falsely accused and slandered by the wife of the man that he had done nothing but serve faithfully for years, and forgotten in prison by those who promised they would remember. I would have thrown in the towel long before then.

But Joseph chose forgiveness. He chose to look with eyes of faith to what human eyes couldn’t see– that God was working even in the worst of circumstances to save not just one man, but an entire nation. He, like so many others, looked to the promises of God and counted them as good as done even when they seemed as good as dead.

I love what a pastor says. God can take that worst moment of your life, that most painful and humiliating season, and make it the first line of your testimony. To borrow a quote I’ve heard a lot lately, he can turn your mess into your message, your test into your testimony, your trial into triumph, and the victim into a victor. You will be able to speak to the pain that no one else can touch because you’ve walked through it.

I love this verse in Hebrews 11: “By an act of faith, Joseph, while dying, prophesied the exodus of Israel, and made arrangements for his own burial.” In other words, Joseph saw that God was able to redeem every single part of what he went through for a purpose far greater than himself. A purpose that saw the rise of a people of God, and later the Messiah.

May you and I see our circumstances with that kind of faith. May we trust that God is just as able to redeem our pain to make something equally as glorious and beautiful out of our messes.

Not Forgotten

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Do you ever sometimes feel like your friends have forgotten that you exist? Does it seem that they can make time for other friends but not for you? Do you feel ignored?

First of all, know that you are not alone. Many people have felt this way from time to time (including me).

Second of all, remember that it’s probably not a good thing to overthink it, especially late at night, because when you’re tired, you don’t think as clearly and things seem worse than they really are. Innocent remarks can take on sinister undertones at 2 am.

Third of all, God has not forgotten you. When you seem most alone, God still knows who you are and where you are. He knows your name, your true name, that no one else but he and you know. You are still on his mind and there is not a moment that goes by where he doesn’t think of you and love you and root for you.

So, if you’re having trouble sleeping tonight (like me), try some warm milk. Meditate not on what feels like the abandonment of your friends, but on the promises of God for you which are as good as done.

 

 

 

Chasing Cool

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Something we talked about at Kairos Roots made me think of the movie Clueless. I realize that the confession that I’ve seen the movie will result in my man-card being confiscated and quite possibly shredded, burned, and the ashes buried in cat litter, but I don’t care. It’s a good movie and there is a point to this.

In the movie, Brittany Murphy’s character starts off desperately trying to fit in and be what everybody else thinks she should be. I’ve done that. Sometimes, it’s like wearing shoes that are one size too small or clothes that may be in fashion but don’t really fit who you are (another hit to the ol’ man card).

The best part of the movie is when she finally is able to be comfortable in her own skin and be who she is, qurks and all, instead of trying to conform to everybody else’s ideas of who she should be.

I think many of us do that because we don’t think that the real you and the real me is good enough. We think nobody will like us if we present our true selves. But the burden of wearing masks and living somebody else’s life can be just as burdensome and overwhelming.

Can I set your heart at ease about this?

God made you and called what he made very good. He thinks you’re good enough. Not every single person in your life will think that way, but  the right people, the ones God puts in your life, will think so. Not only that, they will make a point to remind you and to call out in you those qualities and gifts and talents that you may not even see in yourself.

Surround yourself with these people. Look for those who bring out the best in you and lift you up and want to be around you because you’re you. Not those who want to mold you into something you’re not.

Also, look for those who might need your encouragement. Those who are walking down a path that you’ve already been down. Those who need to know that somebody believes in them and likes them for who they are without them having to play games or wear masks or jump through hoops.

The most powerful people on earth and the greatest examples of the power of the gospel are those who have found their true identity in Christ and are living out of that, empowered by the confidence that comes from knowing they are the chosen and beloved of God.

May we come to the place where we live like that.

The One Who Remembers

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I looked up the word “witness” in a Greek dictionary just for kicks, ’cause that’s what really cool people like me do for fun, in case you ever wondered.

The definition I got startled me a bit. The literal meaning of the word is “one who remembers.” As I’ve mentioned before, believers are not called to be attorneys and prove the existence of Christianity and God, but to be witnesses and tell our stories.

Being a witness is remembering. It’s remembering where you were before Jesus found you, how lost and hopeless you were, how nothing made any sense and life had no meaning.

It’s about the moment you said YES to Jesus and how your life forever changed in that moment and how you became a new person, or a new creation as the verse in Galatians puts it.

You remember who you could be apart from the constant grace of God and how you’re capable of any sin under the sun apart from the indwelling Spirit of Christ. You remember enough times where you fell into temptation and messed up your witness to keep you from pride and thinking too highly of your own abilities.

Most of all, you remember God’s promises. How he promised to finish the good work he started in you. How he promised to never leave or forsake you. How he would see you through to become every bit of what he created you to be.

The Holy Spirit’s job is to bring those things to mind. His job is to remind us of all that Christ taught us, all of the lessons of faith we’ve learned along the way.

May you and I help each other remember our stories so that we can tell them to those who need to hear them most.

 

The Word of God

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“God means what he says. What he says goes. His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey. Nothing and no one is impervious to God’s Word. We can’t get away from it—no matter what.” (Hebrews 4:12)

I mentioned earlier that I’m really good at collecting Bibles and carrying them around. I like to talk about the Bible and read books about the Bible, but I don’t really read the Bible as much as I should.

Only the Bible is transformative. The commentaries, as insightful as they are to me, are not living and active. The books on doctrines and theology are not inspired and God-breathed the way his Word is.

Sometimes, that Word cuts deep. It’s described as a two-edged sword. I heard a pastor say that means that it cuts both going in and coming out. If you want a safe, nice book that leaves you the way you were when you picked it up, I certainly do not recommend the Bible. Not if you’re serious about really digging into what it says.

It’s no good to read the Bible if you’re not willing to do what it says. I am as guilty as anyone for reading the Bible for information and not for transformation. If I don’t do what it says, then reading it does me no good. As that same pastor has said many times, “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.”

So that’s what I want. To not only read the Bible, but to live it out. A friend of mine once said that you’re the only Bible some people will ever read, and they may only read you for 5 seconds. So it’s important to be living out the Word in such a way that others can see.

Just a thought.

 

A String of Random and Disconnected Mutterings

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For those of you who blog or do some other kind of writing, you know that some days you have this incredible burst of inspiration and creativity, and some days you don’t. Or as the old commercial says, “Some days you feel like a nut, some days you don’t.”

I think as I sit in front of my laptop at 11:37 pm that today is going to go down as one of those nutty yet uninspired days. I just have some randomly disconnected thoughts to share.

I keep thinking about a blog that I read recently. It speaks to how the world tells you “only,” as in only the best qualified get the jobs, only the most talented will make the sports teams, only the most popular can be in the social clubs. But God says “every.” As in “every one who asks, receives,” and “every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” I like that. I like it so much I’m putting a link to the blog here so you can check it out for yourselves.

http://brianlamew.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/only-versus-every/

I’m also convicted by how shallow most American believers are. We don’t really know what we believe or how to articulate it. We are by and large Biblically illiterate and easily taken in by all kinds of false doctrines and heretical teachings.

I am also still stoked about the super deals I got at thrift stores recently. I bought a suitcase for $8, a tennis racket for $3, and  a Johnny Cash autobiography for $2. But so far, no tacky Christmas sweaters.

I think that the difference between all the other religions and faiths and Christianity is grace. Religions are all about what you have to do to appease God; Christianity is about what God in Christ has already done, and all you have to do is receive it. Religions are all about working harder and being good enough (although how good good enough is is rarely ever defined); Christianity says you can never be good enough, but you can trust in the perfect life of Jesus and believe that he died in your place.

That’s all for now. More randomness to come in the days and weeks ahead. I can promise you that.

 

Finishing Well

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I’ve considered running a marathon once or twice. Not seriously, but I did mull it over in my little noggin. Then I decided to lie down for a while.

I can imagine me in a marathon. I’d do well for 3-4 miles, then I’d slow down to a fast walk. By the end, I’d be crawling and begging for death. My time wouldn’t be measured in hours and minutes. It would be measured in days, ’cause that’s how long it would take me to finish.

In the race of faith, all that matters is that you finish. Even if you come crawling over the finish line, you’re still a victor. The only ones who lose are the ones who don’t finish.

It’s never too late to get started. It’s never too late to start over. Even if you dropped out a long time ago and haven’t run in years, it’s still not too late to get back in the race.

Hebrews 12 talks about how a great host is cheering us on. Imagine all the great biblical heroes of the faith. All the saints down through the ages. All the people you’ve known who inspired you with their faith before they finished their own race. Every one of them is looking down on you, cheering you on, rooting for you.

Most of all, God himself is cheering for you and rooting for you. He wants you to finish, but more than that, he’s given you everything you need to finish well. All you have to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trusting with that mustard-sized faith that can move mountains.

The prize is not to the fastest or strongest or best-looking. The prize is for those who keep showing up and keep believing. It’s for those who fall down 1,000 times but get up 1,001 times. It’s for those whose race looks more like one of those maze games than a straight line.

It’s for you and for me if we just keep running.

 

For a Good Friend

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This is for you, my friend who will remain anonymous but not forgotten:

I know that you’re getting ready to move to a new city in a few months and a brand new adventure in the story God has authored for you. I know I probably won’t see you anymore, unless God has a surprise twist in the story that I’m unaware of (and he’s better than anyone at that sort of thing).

I wanted you to know how very thankful I am for you. Your friendship truly has blessed me more than you will ever know.

You believed in me and my blog when it seemed that no one else did. I had almost decided to quit when you encouraged me by telling me how much my blogs had blessed you. You helped me believe in myself and the gifts God gave me again.

No matter what I was going through or what my day had been like, seeing your smiling face always made my day better. I couldn’t help but smile and be filled with joy.

We never hung out that much. You had a crazy hectic schedule that probably could have benefited from having a 26-hour day instead of the usual 24. While I wish we could have hung out more, I’m grateful for the times we were able to get together and talk and share stories of God’s faithfulness.

You’re the kind of person that has hundreds of friends, that anyone would be lucky to know. I’m still not sure why you wanted to be friends with me in the first place, but I’m glad you did. I’m better for it.

I heard once that a friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words. You reminded me of my song that I had forgotten and, thanks to you and a few others, I am singing again.

I hope we can keep in touch after you move, but if not, I still have your footprints in my heart to remind me that God still does bless me, because one of those blessings was you.

I will be praying God’s best for you, believing great things for you, and rooting for you every step of the way. I firmly believe that the future God has for you is better than even your wildest dreams can conceive.

May the Lord always bless and keep you and make his face shine on you and grant you peace. Every time I order a chai frappacino with caramel drizzle, I will think of you and smile.

Phil. 1:3,

Your forever friend in Christ.