faithfulness

Like a Dream

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“Remember when the Eternal brought back the exiles to Zion?
    It was as if we were dreaming—
Our mouths were filled with laughter;
    our tongues were spilling over into song.
The word went out across the prairies and deserts,
    across the hills, over the oceans wide, from nation to nation:
“The Eternal has done remarkable things for them.”
We shook our heads. All of us were stunned—the Eternal has done remarkable things for us.
    We were beyond happy, beyond joyful” (Psalm 126:1-3, The Voice).

We had our very first worship service today in our newly renovated, fully paid for building. It really was like a dream. I kept expecting to wake up and find myself going to the old campus.

But God knew. Even before The Church at Avenue South was a dream in the minds of those who had a goal of reaching the city of Nashville for Jesus, God saw this day. God planned this day.

Long before creation, God orchestrated that one day there would be a church that met on the hill overlooking the intersection of Elliott and Acklen, a virtual city on a hill.

For a while, it didn’t seem possible. We were told that there was nothing available and even if there was, we couldn’t afford it. Some developers would swoop in and pay in cash way more than we could hope to match.

Then we found the property and ran into red tape. For a while, it seemed improbable. I was beginning to think we’d never get the necessary paperwork to even get started on the renovations and additions.

But God showed up. Any time you see a passage in the Bible that starts with “but God,” then you know something good is about to go down. Something amazing. Something miraculous.

Every time we meet, we are standing in the faithfulness of God. We are standing on the promises of God — literally as many of us wrote Scripture on the floors and walls before the carpet and pain went in.

Hudson Taylor said it best: “There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.”

I’m reminded of something I heard at another church: what seems impossible to us isn’t even remotely difficult for God.

I can look back and see the hand of God all over this new property, starting on day one. I can’t wait to see what God will do in the weeks and months and years to come at 901 Acklen Ave.

Beauty from Ashes

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“To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair” (Isaiah 61:3, NLT).

On my weekly Radnor Lake hike, I saw something that took a minute to register. There were these beautiful yellow flowers growing out of a pond of green scum. If I knew anything about botany, I could tell you what kind of flowers or maybe what kind of green scum was covering the pond.

I do know that what stuck me is that out of something I perceived as ugly grew something that I saw was beautiful. But isn’t that just God’s way?

The prophet Isaiah speaks about God bringing beauty from ashes. I honestly can’t think of anything more hopeless than ashes. Ashes are what’s left after the destruction of fire. There’s literally nothing left to restore.

But God can take these ashes and turn them into something beautiful the same way He could take a valley of dry bones and make them into a living army.

I heard a pastor say once that what seems impossible for us isn’t even remotely difficult for God. That means even the most hopeless of circumstances can be transformed into the most amazing outcomes. He can make miracles from mud (just ask the blind man Jesus healed).

It’s easy to forget God’s goodness when you’re staring at a pile of the ashes that are what’s left of your life. But God can turn even those into something beautiful, something better than before, something that will always be a reminder of God’s faithful love for you.

Longing for Simpler Times

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I’ve been in a nostalgic mood a lot lately, thinking about people who have passed and remembering places like my grandmother’s house on Dee Road in Memphis. Sometimes I have a longing to go back to those people and moments that is so strong that it feels overwhelming.

Maybe it’s because I’m really wanting to go back to when times were simpler. At least they were for me. I didn’t have so many cares or concerns. I knew my parents loved me and would take care of me. I knew my family loved me and watched out for me.

I see now that the times weren’t necessarily simpler, but my life was simpler. Because my parents did their job, I didn’t have to grow up carrying the proverbial weight of the world, dealing with issues beyond my years. I could be a kid, safe and secure from all alarms.

I do think the world seemed less chaotic than it does now. Maybe that was because of the absence of 24-hour news channels constantly telling me how bad the world is. Maybe it’s because I was blissfully unaware of so much of the evil around me. Maybe it’s just that the world is trending down as we get closer to Jesus’ return.

I do know that the Jesus I asked into my heart when I was little is the same one who is with me now. His promises are the same. His presence with me is the same, though I am probably more aware of it — and my need of it. I am just as loved and cared for and cherished and secure as I was back then because it was really Jesus all along who was my protector and provider.

So maybe those places and people I miss were glimpses of something greater that I will only ever fully realize in heaven. Those were like the appetizer before a really great feast. My best days aren’t behind me — they’re ahead and coming soon.

Growing Through Obedience

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“‘Aslan” said Lucy “you’re bigger’.
‘That is because you are older, little one’ answered he.
‘Not because you are?’
‘I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.’ (C.S. Lewis, Prince Caspian).”

There’s one part in Prince Caspian where Aslan calls out to Lucy to follow him, and to get the others to do the same. The catch is that Lucy is the only one who can see or hear him. The others will have to take her word for it.

That’s the moment where Lucy chooses to trust in Aslan and obey him, even though it might feel like she’s the only one. She has to go even if she goes alone.

That’s what genuine faith looks like. Faithfulness and obedience can be lonely sometimes, especially when so many others are too busy trying to blend in and not make waves to truly follow Jesus. When you are obedient, sometimes your biggest critics will come from inside the Church, not outside.

William Carey, the father of modern missions, faced opposition from other clergymen for wanting to take the gospel to India. Imagine that. Pastors and church leaders not wanting to take the gospel to unreached people. But it happened.

William Carey’s faithfulness made it possible for others to take the gospel around the world, so that heaven could be filled with voices from every tribe and tongue, every skin color and hair color, gathered around the throne as depicted in the book of Revelation.

Obedience might mean standing in the minority for what’s right versus what’s popular. William Penn once said, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

In Prince Caspian, Lucy gets the rest to follow her. Some were more willing than others to go, but they all went. None of them could see Aslan until after they had stepped out in faith, but once they were committed to following, they could see him leading the way.

That’s the way faith is sometimes. You can’t see God until you obey what He’s told you to do. Obedience leads to faith being made sight.

The Legacy of Little Things

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“A river touches places of which its source knows nothing, and Jesus says if we have received of His fullness, however small the visible measure of our lives, out of us will flow the rivers that will bless to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Oswald Chambers, Run Today’s Race).

That’s it. Your seemingly insignificant little life could be the ripple in the pond that affects the world. Your small random acts of kindness might leave a legacy that will outlast you.

Mother Teresa once said that there are no great acts but only small acts done with great love. Even your sheer optimism and dogged determination in dealing with the daily drudgeries can have an impact on people that you may never meet in this lifetime.

People are watching. People notice. For better or worse, how you act and how you react will inform others on how much you really believe what you profess. Your life may be the only Bible that some will ever read.

While that could be daunting on one hand, on the other, it’s a reminder that no good deed done out of faith is ever in vain. Your life, small and trivial as it seems, matters.

One day, someone might just tell you. It will most likely be someone you never would have suspected even knew you existed. There could be ten others who you will never meet but whose lives will be just as changed by your faithfulness in the trivialities and details.

My cat snoring is a sign telling me I’d better wrap this up quickly. Ultimately, you being as true to who God made you to be and being faithful where God puts you is as powerful a testimony as any of the dramatic conversions out there.

Here endeth the lesson.

 

 

For All the Josephs

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“While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: ‘Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.’ This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term: Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for ‘God is with us’)” (Matthew 1:20-21 MSG).

Not everybody gets to be in the spotlight. Not everybody wants to be.

Some of us will be thrust into the spotlight where our faith will shine brightly, as Mary’s did through her faithful obedience to God’s command– though at times it must have seemed overwhelming and impossible.

Some of us will play the part of Joseph, who was just as faithful and obedient in the shadows and behind the scenes. His part was no less important though he has fewer verses dedicated to his story.

No matter how great or small your part seems in the story of God, your faithfulness and obedience matter. You may feel unimportant- and sometimes ignored– but you never know who is watching you to see if this God of yours is real or not.

You may never know the far-reaching impact caused by the ripples of casting your small stone into that great ocean. And it may not be you but the child you raise or the spouse you support who makes the greatest impact. Even then your own steps of faith still count.

At the end of the day, it’s God who sees your good deeds and rewards your long-suffering faith. That’s the audience that really matters.

 

 

We Can Be Heroes

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“Everyday a champion dies. We only hear about the popular entertainers.” A friend of mine posted that comment on one of my posts about how many celebrities we’ve lost so far in 2016.

It does seem to me that a disproportionate number of famous people have died this year as compared with previous years. It also seems like just as we’re getting over the shock of losing one, another passes away.

But think of this. Every single day, unsung heroes pass into eternity. They may not have sold millions of records or grossed billions of dollars on box office receipts. They may not be household names or have instantly recognizable faces. Still, their names are in the lamb’s book of life and their faces reflect the glory of God.

They are mother and fathers. They are grandmothers and grandfathers. They are Sunday School teachers. They are Scout troop leaders. They can be next-door neighbors.

They are the ones quietly influencing the world around them and changing the lives of those they encounter. They are the ones who live out the gospel daily with words and deeds.

They are the ones whose life and deeds will most likely go largely unnoticed by the world but who will receive the best accolade of all with the words “Well gone, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

They are the ones whom future generations will rise up and call blessed. They are the ones whose legacy of faithfulness will live on long after they and their names have been forgotten.

I’ve known a few of these that have profoundly impacted who I am today. I can recall a grandmother, a piano teacher, a few Sunday School teachers, and so many more who have gone from this world but who still live on in the lives they radically influenced.

I truly believe that ultimately the real heroes aren’t the ones making music and movies or writing books. They are the ones who are faithful with what they’ve been given where they’ve been planted with the people God has entrusted to them.

Those are the real heroes.

 

Keep On Walking

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“For it’s by God’s grace that you have been saved. You receive it through faith. It was not our plan or our effort. It is God’s gift, pure and simple. You didn’t earn it, not one of us did, so don’t go around bragging that you must have done something amazing. 10 For we are the product of His hand, heaven’s poetry etched on lives, created in the Anointed, Jesus, to accomplish the good works God arranged long ago” (Ephesians 2:8-10, The Voice).

At Room in the Inn, some guys from The Church at Station Hill led a Bible study for the homeless men on Ephesians 2. What caught my attention was the part in verse 10 where Paul states that we are God’s poem, created by God for good works, which He prepared ahead of time that we should walk in them.

The guy leading the study pointed out that walking denotes remaining steady and grounded. It means you aren’t flashy and don’t garner a lot of attention, but you are faithful in the little things and the daily chores. It’s a day-by-day thing, more of a marathon than a sprint.

Plus, it’s more than lip-service. It does no good to know all about the Bible if you live contrary to what it says. It does no good when you profess faith with your lips then deny it with your lifestyle (to borrow from the original Ragamuffin, Brennan Manning.

Walking in good works means that you make a habit of doing what God says to do, not in your own way, but in God’s way. It doesn’t mean that you don’t occasionally falter and fail, but that you never stop striving for obedience and faithfulness to Jesus.

Rather than hearing us quote verses and spout doctrine, what those around us really need to see is a quiet life of committed faithfulness and staying true to the path of walking in what God commands. That in itself is the greatest witness a believer can have.

All that from one Bible study.

 

Roam and Rest in God’s Faithfulness

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“Believe in the Eternal, and do what is good—
    live in the land He provides; roam, and rest in God’s faithfulness.
Take great joy in the Eternal!
    His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!” (Psalm 37:3-4, The Voice)

  “Believe in the Eternal, and do what is good.” Or as Oswald Chambers said, trust God and do the next thing. Don’t worry about how you will serve God over the next fifty years. Be concerned with being faithful and obedient for the next five minutes.

“Live in the land He provides.” Bloom where you’re planted and treat your job as your holy occupation and your act of worship. In fact, treat everything you do from the moment you wake until you lay your head on your pillow as worship.

“Roam, and rest in God’s faithfulness.” Trust that God will provide. Trust that God’s faithfulness in the past is a good indicator of how the future will play out. In fact, you can safely rest in the same God who’s legacy of faithfulness is well documented through the 66 books of the Bible.

“Take great joy in the Eternal!” Live life as the gift it is and live in a constant state of joy, remembering that you are always loved and cherished by the God who made you. You are still the apple of your Father’s eye.

“His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!” The best gift God gives is always God Himself– His presence is the best gift you’ll ever get. When you start living out of thankfulness for God’s nearness, you will find  His other gifts along the way.

God is good. God is faithful. What He said, He will do. Believe that and rest tonight. Live as if what He promised has already come to pass. Thank Him for what you’ve yet to receive. Then joy unspeakable will be yours.

 

 

Who’s Who, Kairos-Style

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Mike Glenn made an interesting point tonight at Kairos.

When you think of the great heroes of the faith in the Old Testament, your mind immediately goes to Noah, Abraham, and David among others.

But who were these people before God called them? Would anybody have ever heard of them if God hadn’t chosen them?

Noah might have lived out his life in anonymity. Abraham might have stayed in his parents’ basement and never left his hometown. David? His own father forgot that he was one of his sons, so that probably wouldn’t have amounted to much.

The old saying goes that God doesn’t call the equipped as much as He equips the called.

Look at Zachariah and Elizabeth. They were just another old couple, one who was a priest and another who was a woman who was barren. Probably not too uncommon in those days.

Still, God chose them to bring John the Baptist into the world.

If I had a takeaway from tonight, it’d be this: if God can use Noah, Abraham, and David, then He can use you. He can take your life and use it to make a difference in the lives around you. He can make your life matter.

The best example is a poor carpenter and his teenage wife-to-be. Their names? Mary and Joseph? God chose them and though they may not have understood everything, they said YES to God’s plan for their lives.

The result? A Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Jesus.

Who knows how far God will take your YES to Him? Who knows where the ripples from your small acts of obedience will end? Who knows but that people you’ve never heard of and may never meet in this lifetime may reap the rewards of your faithfulness, even though it seems like nothing to you.

It may take nine months (as in the case of Zachariah and Elizabeth) or nine years or 40 years. Keep moving forward, keep being obedient, and keep being faithful to what you know God is telling you to do and be.

Don’t give up. God is faithful.