Jesus

Just Stay Calm

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I just found out today that my car has been deemed a total loss.

I was in a fender bender last Wednesday on my way to work, and apparently the damages exceeded they value they assessed to my car. That doesn’t take much when you drive a vintage vehicle.

But to me that red Jeep is worth more than a numerical value based on age and wear. I’ve been through a lot of life in that 1997 Jeep Cherokee.

I’m not ready to let go just yet.

So I’m praying.

I don’t know if it’s theologically correct to pray about things like cars, but I’m praying. I believe that God says to come boldly to the throne of grace in time of need. Not just for what you and I consider the major events and the important stuff.

I think it means to come all the time. To pray without ceasing until praying is as natural and automatic as breathing. To bring my need to the God who cares for the lowliest of sparrows.

I can’t imagine how this scenario with my car will play out favorably, but I will bring my request before the Father in heaven and let Him do the fighting.

I’m more than a little stressed at the moment. It’s my default setting, and try as I might to pray verses and claim God’s promises that perfect love casts out fear, I’m still worried sick.

I’m taking my mustard seed-sized faith and trusting that God will do not what I want but what’s best. In the end, I always find that God’s best is what I would have wanted from the start had I been wise enough to look from a broader perspective. God’s best easily surpasses the wildest and biggest imaginings of my heart.

Now I will wait and see and trust and hope.

 

Be At Rest

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“God is at work. He does not slumber.
Christ intercedes. He does not fail.
The Spirit comforts. He does not forsake.
Be at rest. Be at peace.
Your name at the end of the day is Beloved” (Ann Voskamp).

You and I can be at rest and have peace, even on those Mondays when our devices aren’t working, when our circumstances don’t cooperate with our plans, and when fear and anxiety seem to have the upper hand in our thoughts.

We can rest because we know that our identity is not what we do but who we are. Or whose we are.

All the diplomas and titles and honors and rewards in the world count for nothing apart from Christ, and nothing is lost if you lose everything and still have Jesus.

That is peace. That is rest.

 

Good Borrowed Words on a Rainy Sunday

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“It should be plain .  . . that the One we preach is not Christ-in-a-vacuum, nor a mystical Christ unrelated to the real world, nor even only the Jesus of ancient history, but rather the contemporary Christ who once lived and died, and now lives to meet human need in all its variety today. To encounter Christ is to touch reality and experience transcendence. He gives us a sense of self-worth or personal significance, because he assures us of God’s love for us. He sets us free from guilt because he died for us, from the prison of our own self-centredness by the power of his resurrection, and from paralysing fear because he reigns, all the principalities and powers of evil having been put under his feet. He gives meaning to marriage and home, work and leisure, personhood and citizenship. He introduces us into his new community, the new humanity he is creating. He challenges us to go out into some segment of the world which does not acknowledge him, there to give ourselves in witness and service for him. He promises us that history is neither meaningless nor endless, for one day he will return to terminate it, to destroy death and to usher in the new universe of righteousness and peace” (John Stott, Between Two Worlds).

This is the Christ who once said, “If you don’t take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciples,” because He knew that it’s better to save your own soul and lose everything else than to gain the whole world and lose your soul in the process.

It’s a good reminder for me on a rainy Sunday in April when hope for many can seem like its a million miles away.  Hope has come and has never left. He’s still here.

 

Another Serving Saturday

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I have a feeling I’m going to be sore in the morning. But it was worth it.

I took part in Engage Middle Tennessee, a serving Saturday for all the regional campuses of Brentwood Baptist Church.

I chose to help out with Monroe Harding. I found out this morning that we’d be moving dirt that got dumped into their driveway.

I pictured the kind of soil that you put around flower beds and thought, “This won’t be too bad. I might actually break a little sweat.”

Little did I know that the dirt in question was to fill in an old swimming pool. This dirt consisted of more rocks than dirt.

I think I broke more than a little sweat. I can’t remember the last time I did so much manual labor.

Depending on how soon the ibuprofen I took kicks in, I might be feeling achy and old in the morning. But I can say without question that it was worth it.

The family we served has adopted three children and fosters several more. They probably expend more energy on a daily basis than I did today. They probably have more than a few mornings where they wake up sore and achy. But I’m sure they’d do all of it over again for the sake of these kids. I believe God’s heart is for orphans and widows, so I know God is blessing what they’re doing.

I remembered the verse where Jesus said that if we had faith, we could move mountains. Maybe I’m not being exegetically correct or theologically sound, but I wonder if those mountains don’t sometimes get moved one shovel-full at a time, one wheelbarrow-load at a time. Maybe it’s the faith of several people united in purpose and belief that moves mountains and changes the world.

 

H. A. L. T.

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Note: I’m not taking credit for any of what follows. I’m only trying to reproduce it as faithfully as I can.

Everyone knows that you’re most vulnerable to temptation when you’re hungry, angry, lonely, and/or tired. Any one of these is tough to overcome, but a combination of two or more makes it even harder.

At Kairos tonight, Chris Brooks suggested some methods to deal with these emotions.

When you’re tired, you need to fill up on God and His word. As strange as it sounds, the best way to do that is to fast, whether that be from food or social media or anything that can distract you from or take the place of God in your heart.

When you’re angry, it’s best to seek awareness of what it is that is causing that emotion. Rather than always blaming something or someone else, you need to look within to find what’s off in your own life. The best way is by spending time in silent reflection.

When you’re lonely, you want to seek to be united in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. You want to seek to love and be loved. Sometimes, that takes the form of seeking guidance by asking others to speak into your loneliness or sometimes you need solitude to be better able to interact with others out of a place of wholeness and not approval-seeking.

When you’re tired, sometimes you need a time out from doing. God created the Sabbath so that we could rest and worship (and sometimes the best worship can be resting). No one was ever meant to go full-steam 24/7.

Something that grabbed my attention is the idea of secrecy– that is, doing an act of service and kindness for someone else with the intention of no one finding out. That way you take the attention off yourself and put it on another.

Again, I’m parroting what I learned tonight. I’m probably leaving out a good deal of important information, but I myself am tired, so I will make use of Chris’ advice and get me some rest.

 

 

There’s Always Something

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Absolutely. There truly is always something to be thankful for.

Today, my list includes a good church service at The Church at Avenue South that saw the dedication of several parents and babies, a commissioning of missionaries for a short-term trip to Honduras, and another great sermon from Aaron Bryant from John 21:15-17.

The weather was anything but spring-like, but you can’t always have everything. Supposedly, all this April rain is bringing some May flowers, but I’m not sure what all the cold weather is supposed to bring.

I did have my old and trusty Jeep to get me everywhere I wanted to go today. I had a comfy jacket to keep out the drizzle and chill.

Plus, there’s all those little details that I routinely take for granted– good health, eyes to see, ears to hear, two legs to take me where I want to go, etc.

I’m learning to be grateful for every new day. It doesn’t always work. Some days I’m grumpy and feel entitled. Some days I choose to see the grey clouds instead of the sun peeking out behind them.

Yet on the days I choose gratitude, it’s always worth it.

Every single time.

Things I Miss

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Usually, I’m a fairly contented human being. I’m learning more and more all the time to live in gratitude rather than expectation. I try to live focused on what I have rather than what I don’t.

Even so a memory will occasionally hit me and I realize that sometimes I wish I could go back in time. Every now and then, I’ll see an old photograph and wish that I could even for a minute or two step into it and relive that moment.

I miss a few things.

I miss Sunday lunches at my grandmother’s house. Usually, there was fried chicken and green beans and lots of other yummy stuff like only grandmas can make.

I miss those times when I would take my other grandmother to Taco Bell. She did love her some tacos and it was some quality time that I got to spend with her.

I miss Christmas at my old house when all the relatives would come over and the house would be full.

I miss Blockbuster and going on a Friday night to spend way too much time trying to figure out what to rent because I didn’t have something specific in mind when I went in.

I miss music stores.

I miss family reunions on the last Sunday of every June when I’d see some distant relatives that I hadn’t seen since last June, with enough food brought to feed Custer’s army. And lots of fried chicken.

I’m thankful that I was blessed with so much in my life that I loved enough to miss it when it was over. I’ve known a lot of remarkable people that I hope a little bit of them rubbed off on me. I’ve been to some amazing places and created some special memories that can come alive for me at just the right moment.

Charcoal Fires and Forgiveness

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“The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards[a] from shore. 9 When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them—fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread” (John 21:8-9, New Living Translation).

I learned something very interesting today in church. Yes, I do pay attention and take it all in (when my ADD isn’t kicking in).

Apparently, there are only two times in the entire Bible when the word translated as charcoal fire is used– this passage and the one where Peter betrays Jesus three times with his Lord within hearing distance. In fact, after the last one, Jesus looks at Peter.

I love how special pains are taken to parallel the two scenes. In one, Peter is at his weakest. You’d think that denying his Lord would be unforgivable. Maybe you’d think that Peter should just go back to fishing– the regular kind that involves fish and not people. He should give up on being a disciple.

But Jesus went out of His way to include Peter in His post-resurrection appearances. He said to get all the disciples — and Peter– together.

Peter thought he’d blown it. He was sure Jesus could never speak to him again, much less forgive him. Peter had gone back to what he knows best, fishing.

In this same chapter, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me, Peter?”

I like to think that’s one for every time Peter pretended not to know Him.

It’s not so much that Jesus needed to hear that Peter loved Him but that Peter needed to know. Peter needed to know that the forgiveness offered through the cross was for him as well as everyone else.

Peter spent the rest of his life living out his gratitude for what Jesus did for him in front of that charcoal fire. Forgiveness is a beautiful thing.

 

Listen

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“Listen, Israel! The Eternal is our True God—He alone. You should love Him, your True God, with all your heart and soul, with every ounce of your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, The Voice).

I heard something today that I’d heard before, but it was worth the repeat. I can’t claim any originality in what follows.

The first and greatest commandment that Jesus embraced and taught to His followers is to listen. Not merely take in sound via your ear canals but to actually listen with the intent to comprehend and obey what you hear.

Jesus is saying that the utmost way we show love to God is by listening to Him. Repeatedly, Jesus says, “For those who have ears, let them hear.” In other words, “Pay attention, because this is something you really need to know.”

The greatest way you can show love for someone else isn’t by sacrificial acts of service or by words of affirmation and affection. It’s by listening to them.

I confess that most of the time I’m not the best listener. I can be engaged in a conversation and walk away and not remember the bulk of what the other person said five minutes later. I oftentimes am listening to respond and not to comprehend.

The culture doesn’t encourage listening. It’s more about making your own voice heard and talking over those who don’t share your views and opinions. The art of dialogue is becoming a lost art.

But you gain authority to speak by listening to understand. Above all, you gain wisdom by being attentive to the voice of God and constantly listening to what He’s saying.

“Listening is such a simple act. It requires us to be present, and that takes practice, but we don’t have to do anything else. We don’t have to advise, or coach, or sound wise. We just have to be willing to sit there and listen” (Margaret J. Wheatley).

Happy Easter, Everyone!

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“O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen” (The Book of Common Prayer).

It’s officially Easter. It also happens to be April Fools’ Day. It seems fitting when most of the world looks at Christians as fools for believing and living as they do.

It does seem foolish to strive for greatness by becoming the servant of all.

It does seem foolish to turn the other cheek instead of striking back.

It does seem foolish to seek to gain your life by losing it and to pick up your cross daily to die to sin and to follow Jesus.

It does seem foolish to proclaim Jesus words that He is the way, the truth, and the life in the face of so many others who would tell you that there are many paths to God.

It does seem foolish to follow a carpenter’s son who wrote no books and led no great revolts. His ministry lasted barely three years and He died as a criminal in the worst way possible.

Yet what seems like foolishness to most is the wisdom of God.

That same carpenter’s son lived sinlessly, and after dying on the cross, defeated sin, death, and hell forever by raising from the grave after three short days.

We now mark history by His life and there are billions who profess to follow this Jesus, who is both Lord and God.

So once again, happy Easter. May both your words and your actions testify to this foolishness that is wiser than the wisdom of men.