creation

Sneaking Up

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As usual, Labor Day weekend snuck up on me. I never remember that it’s an actual holiday until the Friday before. The same goes for Memorial Day. Not in anyway to diminish either of these holidays, but I can be a little thick sometimes.

I am thankful for Labor Day (or should it really be called Labor-Free Day?) and for the extra day off. Even if it’s 145 degrees outside in the shade. And no, I’m not counting down the days until fall starts (15).

Today, the sermon at church was on Luke 10:1-2 where Jesus says that the fields are ready for harvest but the laborers are few. According to multiple studies, 20% of church people do 80% of the work. Most people are content to occupy a space on the pew or the chair and spectate rather than participate.

But God created all of us with unique gifts and passions that bless those within and without the walls of a church gathering. Plus, there’s joy in finding your place of serving and ministry in God’s kingdom. Not all of us are called to preach from a pulpit or lead worship, but we can all worship in our own way, no matter how small it seems to us or to others.

I love my church. I love that I get to sleep in tomorrow, even though it’s a Monday. I love that every day God wakes me up is a gift and I find that I take it for granted less and less as I get older. Too many people I know who are my age or younger have passed away for me ever to think that I’m guaranteed 80 years in this world.

So happy Labor Day! May you enjoy a restful day — and if you’re one of those who don’t get a day off, may you find joy in your labors, knowing that you’re not really working for a human boss or a human organization ultimately, but for God and God alone.

An Excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew

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If you want a good read (and you’re okay with reading children’s books), then I suggest The Chronicles of Narnia. It’s best to start with The Magician’s Nephew, a story which tells of the origins of Narnia. I’ve included an excerpt to give you an idea. Also, good books are good books, no matter who the intended target audience is. I’ve learned that much in my life so far:

“Well,” said Aslan, “can you use a spade and a plough and raise food out of the earth?”

“Yes, sir, I could do a bit of that sort of work: being brought up to it, like.”

“Can you rule these creatures kindly and fairly, remembering that they are not slaves like the dumb beasts of the world you were born in, but Talking Beasts and free subjects?”

“I see that, sir,” replied the Cabby. “I’d try to do the square thing by them all.”

“And would you bring up your children and grandchildren to do the same?”

“It’d be up to me to try, sir. I’d do my best: wouldn’t we, Nellie?”

“And you wouldn’t have favorites either among your own children or among the other creatures, or let any hold another under or use it hardly?”

“I never could abide such goings on, sir, and that’s the truth. I’d give ’em what for if I caught ’em at it,” said the Cabby. (All through this conversation his voice was growing slower and richer. More like the country voice he must have had as a boy and less like the sharp, quick voice of a cockney.)

“And if enemies came against the land (for enemies will arise) and there was war, would you be the first in the charge and the last in the retreat?”

“Well, sir,” said the Cabby very slowly, “a chap don’t exactly know till he’s been tried. I dare say I might turn out ever such a soft ’un. Never did no fighting except with my fists. I’d try—that is, I ’ope I’d try—to do my bit.”

“Then,” said Aslan, “you will have done all that a King should do.”

C. S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

Happy Summer Solstice Eve

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I had to look because I wasn’t sure if Summer starts today or tomorrow. Of course, summer starts in Tennessee whenever it darn well pleases and lasts as long as it darn well pleases, kind of like the actor who wins an award keeps on droning well after the allotted time has passed. Or like that houseguest who just flat out refuses to leave.

But it’s officially Summer Solstice Eve. I know that’s not really a thing, but it should be. Tomorrow is the longest day of the year, so the days start getting shorter from here all the way until December 21. Or maybe it’s December 20. Then it can be Winter Solstice Eve.

But I’m thankful for each season, even summer. Despite of all the sticky humidity, I’m still love summer (but not as much as fall or spring). I’m a fan of the longer days and the slightly less traffic on the roads until school starts back in August. I like being able to wear shorts and sandals so everyone can see my pasty legs and hairy feet.

I learned a long time ago that any day’s good when God is in it. As long as God wakes me up, He has a purpose for me. His plans for me are still good, so I can celebrate another 24 hours of being alive. The moment I fail to appreciate my own life, I cease to live and start merely to exist.

I also love summer because I love A/C. I know that I have an escape from the heat by going inside. Seriously, whoever invented the air conditioning unit needs a federal holiday where we can all stay home from work and bask in the glory of the A/C. I’d spend all day sitting directly in front of an oscillating fan and not consider it time wasted.

Happy summer! May you find your way to the nearest ocean or lake or pond. Or river. Or neighborhood swimming pool. Or maybe just step in a puddle. It’s gonna be a hot one. But for me, summer is great because it will help me to appreciate fall all the more. And all God’s people said . . . . AMEN!

Getting God Right

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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like” (A W Tozer).

A lot of people today seem to have reimagined God into their own likeness. The old joke says that God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the compliment ever since. We want a god like us because that’s a kind of god we can manipulate and control. That’s the kind of god who will never push us or challenge us or make us uncomfortable or ever ask anything of us.

If you get Jesus wrong, you get God wrong. If you get God wrong, you basically get everything else wrong. This doesn’t fall under the category of “you do you,” meaning whatever you believe about God is fine. The Bible has given us the one true God and anytime we try to deviate from that, we mess up big time.

Every part of our worldview and our worship springs from how we view God. Is He a benign old grandfather who will tolerate anything and everything? Or is He a moral busybody looking to crack down on the least little offense and throw some lightening bolts at sinners?

Brennan Manning said it best: “I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery.”

Lord, help us to know You more and more. Forgive us for when we try to make You more like us instead of trying to be more like You. We confess that so often we would rather choose comfort and complacency than stepping out in faith to follow where You lead, no matter how costly the road. Help us to see that knowing You and following You is worth whatever the cost and is infinitely better than anything we might lose. Amen.

A St. Patrick’s Day Prayer

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I found a prayer attributed to St. Patrick that seemed appropriate and fitting for St. Patrick’s Day. It’s also very useful for the other 364 days of the year:

“I arise today
 Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity.
 Through belief in the threeness,
 Through confession of the oneness,
 Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today
 Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
 Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
 Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
 Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
 Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
 In the obedience of angels,
 In the service of archangels,
 In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
 In the prayers of patriarchs,
 In the predictions of prophets,
 In the preaching of apostles,
 In the faith of confessors,
 In the innocence of holy virgins,
 In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
 The strength of heaven,
 The light of the sun,
 The radiance of the moon,
 The splendor of fire,
 The speed of lightning,
 The swiftness of wind,
 The depth of the sea,
 The stability of the earth,
 The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
 God’s strength to pilot me,
 God’s might to uphold me,
 God’s wisdom to guide me,
 God’s eye to look before me,
 God’s ear to hear me,
 God’s word to speak for me,
 God’s hand to guard me,
 God’s shield to protect me,
 God’s host to save me
 From snares of devils,
 From temptation of vices,
 From everyone who shall wish me ill,
 afar and near.

I summon today
 All these powers between me and those evils,
 Against every cruel and merciless power
 that may oppose my body and soul,
 Against incantations of false prophets,
 Against black laws of pagandom,
 Against false laws of heretics,
 Against craft of idolatry,
 Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
 Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
 Christ to shield me today
 Against poison, against burning,
 Against drowning, against wounding,
 So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
 Christ before me,
 Christ behind me,
 Christ in me,
 Christ beneath me,
 Christ above me,
 Christ on my right,
 Christ on my left,
 Christ when I lie down,
 Christ when I sit down,
 Christ when I arise,
 Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
 Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
 Christ in every eye that sees me,
 Christ in every ear that hears me.”

Never Too Late

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“It makes me smile to think there’s a grinning thief walking the golden streets of heaven who knows more about grace than a thousand theologians. No one else would have given the thief on the cross a prayer. But in the end, that is all he had. And in the end, that’s all it took” (Max Lucado).

We speak a lot about salvation by grace through faith alone, but then turn around and talk like it was something to be earned or deserved. Have you ever heard anyone say something along the lines of, “Well, if anyone deserves to be in heaven, it’s . . .” followed by someone who has recently passed away.

But that’s just it. No one deserves to be in heaven. That’s why it’s called grace. We didn’t get what we deserve. I will never side with karma, because I know if I got what I deserved, it wouldn’t be heaven or anything close to it.

I remember Alistair Begg’s illustration about the thief on the cross. He pictures the angels in heaven questioning the man who had been crucified next to Jesus immediately after he arrives in heaven. They ask him all kinds of questions like “Do you know what justification by faith means?” and “Do you understand the doctrine of Scripture?” to which the man gives a blank stare.

Finally, an angel asks him, “On what basis are you here?”

The man says, “Because the man on the middle cross said I could come.”

That never fails to move me. If anyone is a case study for salvation by grace through faith alone and not by works, it’s this guy. He was a sinner right up until moments before he died. He never had time to get down off the cross and attend a Bible study or get baptized or take communion or join a church. We only have his one request to Jesus: “Remember me when you come into Your kingdom.”

That’s it. In that very moment, Jesus told him that he would be in the same Paradise as Jesus. In the moment the man died, he was instantly in the presence of Jesus and forever and fully justified, sanctified, and glorified.

That means it’s never too late for anyone reading these words to turn to Jesus for salvation. It’s never too late to recognize that you are like the rest of us and have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It’s never too late to admit that you’re a sinner, repent of those sins, believe with your heart that Jesus died for those sins and rose again, and confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

If you believe that and want to pray these words, you can be saved. Not because of saying words or praying to God but by grace through faith. Here’s the prayer:

“Thank you, God, for loving me, and for sending your Son to die for my sins. I sincerely repent of my sins, and receive Christ as my personal savior. Now, as your child, I turn my entire life over to you. Amen” (from At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon).

The Lines of Your Likeness

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“Oh Lord Jesus, deepen in us our knowledge of you. You have made the first lines of your likeness upon our character; go on with this work of sacred art until we shall be like you in all respects. We wish that we had greater power in private prayer, that we were more often wrestling with the covenant angel. We long for the Word of God to be more sweet to us, more intensely precious—that we had a deeper hunger and thirst after it. Oh, that our knowledge of the truth was more clear and our grip of it more steadfast.

Teach us, oh Lord, to know the reason of the hope that is in us, and to be able to defend the faith against all objections. Plow deep in us, great Lord; and let the roots of your grace strike into the roots of our being, until it shall be no longer I who live, but ‘Christ who lives in me Amen’” (Charles Spurgeon).

I love that imagery. God is chiseling away at His child. With each hammer blow, a little bit of me falls away and more and more of His own likeness remains. What must seem like chaos to the created is simply creation to the One who made us.

The end result is “no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” That means less and less selfishness and petty anger and more and more love, joy, peace, patience, and all the other fruit of the Spirit. The less of me saying and doing what I don’t really want and not doing and saying what I truly desire, and the more I find the life of Christ within me taking root and taking over.

Lord, help Your children to endure patiently as You chisel away all that does not look like You or reflect Your glory. Remind us of the finished product that we are becoming that is worth whatever painful blows and patient waiting we endure. In the morning, You will see Your likeness in us and be satisfied. Amen.

Turning the Wine Back into Water

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“Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory).

I’m guilty all the time of looking at people like they’re ordinary. I think that’s the default setting for the human race. We rarely if ever see anyone and see the image of God in him or her. We just don’t take the time to see beyond the surface labels of pretty, plain, fat, skinny, tall, short, etc.

I wonder what would happen if we could see people the way Jesus saw people. He didn’t see a stereotype or a caricature. Every time, He saw a unique individual with a story like no one else’s. He created each person with a one-of-a-kind purpose and plan that no one and nothing else can do.

He looked at you and me and thought we were worth dying for. Even at our worst moment in those times we wish we could take back or do over, Jesus still chose to go to the cross and lay down His life for us. While we were still sinners, the Bible says, Christ died for us.

I’ve been guilty of prejudging people before I’ve even had the chance to get to know them. Sometimes, I see the way they interact with others or maybe the expression on their faces. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but I’m also sure glad that Jesus didn’t judge me like that. He saw the absolute worst version of me and still loved me.

I wonder what would happen if we loved people like that. Maybe we wouldn’t have to hunt high and low for gospel conversations and opportunities to share our faith. Maybe people would seek us out and want to know more about this Jesus they see in us, even if they can’t put a name to what they see.

What We Think About God

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“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like” (A W Tozer).

Most people have the idea that God is like us — only bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, etc. He’s like the advanced, idealized version of us. But He’s not.

A lot of us have probably fallen into the trap of thinking that God would never do or say something because we would never do or say that. That’s a dangerous theology that puts me as the standard by which God must abide instead of the other way around.

God is not me on steroids. God is not like me. God is completely other. Apart from God’s divine initiative in revealing Himself to us, we could never ever in a million lifetimes know Him. But He revealed Himself generally through creation and specifically through Jesus. One famous author and theologian once said that Jesus was God spelling Himself out in a language humanity could understand.

All this talk about how religion is bad and we just need to follow Jesus is true to a degree. It depends on how you define the word religion. If it’s a set of rules that you need to follow to get to God, then it’s bad. But if it’s a way of understanding God, then it’s a good thing.

Believing in God is essential, but what you believe about God is vital. If you sincerely believe wrong things about God that don’t line up with the God of the Bible, then you’re sincerely wrong. You’ve chosen to follow a god of your own devising instead of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Who we are depends a lot on what we believe about God as much as if we believe in God. How we view God says a lot about how we view ourselves and others.

“I want neither a terrorist spirituality that keeps me in a perpetual state of fright about being in right relationship with my heavenly Father nor a sappy spirituality that portrays God as such a benign teddy bear that there is no aberrant behavior or desire of mine that he will not condone. I want a relationship with the Abba of Jesus, who is infinitely compassionate with my brokenness and at the same time an awesome, incomprehensible, and unwieldy Mystery” (Brennan Manning).

Unique

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“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original” (Galatians 5:25-26, The Message).

Something came to mind that I heard a long time ago. It must have been good, because it has stuck with me all these years: never judge anyone else in comparison with yourself or other people. You never know where they started off or how far they’ve come to be where they are. They may not look as polished as some, but maybe they’ve gone through a lot more than most.

Each person’s story is unique. That’s why comparison is a thief of joy. Comparison robs us of the individual way God has shaped and molded us in our family, circumstances, and environment. We do best to live in the story God laid out for us, not trying to copy someone else’s story.

God is a master creator. He never makes two people the same, just as no two snowflakes are alike. The beauty of the body of Christ is how all the different people from different walks blend together and become one glorious representation of the hands and feet of Jesus. We’re like a mosaic of broken pieces that individually may not about to much but together form a priceless work of art.

No matter how insignificant you feel, the world isn’t the same without you in it. God’s Church isn’t the same without you in it. All of us have unique gifts and contributions that no one else can bring to the table of our Lord. All of us fit together into a picture of the glory of God that those outside can see and those inside can feel.