Since my Dad died, I am trying to slow down and smell the flowers a bit more. Spending a year with a man whose cancer gradually reduced him to total helplessness, made me realize that most of what I was doing with my life, though good and even efficient, is not going to matter all that much when they close the lid on my coffin someday! But, people will remember the conversations, the real interest in who they are, investments of time and love, so I’m slowing....
And, for a man who is driven by nature, who likes to ‘get things done,’ that’s not as easy as it sounds. For example, a year ago, if someone had suggested to me that I should have an Irish Setter in my house, I would have laughed! I would have told you, “I don’t have time for that!” Now, I have a dog and yes, she demands time. However, I think I’m a better man for making the time to love a dog!
Disciple, do you know how to love Jesus Christ?
Does your practice of Christianity include time to love Him, or is it primarily functional?
Are you getting all the right things done - going to church, praying as you ready yourself for each new day, catching a few moments in the Bible here and there, giving regularly to the church - and yet missing out on knowing Him?
We sing, “what a friend we have in Jesus,” but I do not think most of us understand what that requires of us. We speak of worship, but again, most of us make quick work of our so-called acts of devotion, as though loving Him were a matter of working through a checklist. Even our so-called ‘worship services’ are governed by time consciousness. May I suggest that we need to slow down and learn to love Him more deeply?
Let me urge you to think less about doing something and more about just being with Him! When your eye catches a beautiful sight today - a mother loving her baby, a bird on the wing, the sun’s rays refracted into a rainbow, a smile from a child - instead of rushing past that, take a moment to thank the Lord for His gift! When you worship, privately or in a church service, be fully present and focused. This weekend the Christian world remembers the love of our Savior. We remember the Cross where the Son of God became sin for us. We remember the empty Tomb, the door of hope for all of us. Soak it up! Don’t rush past these things. Ponder them. Stop what you’re doing long enough to hear the Spirit’s whisper. Let God love you, and He will.
"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:5-8, NIV)
___________
A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss
That one so weak as I
Should ever have a Friend like this
To lead me to the sky!
A Friend when life’s short race is o’er
A Friend when earth is past,
A Friend to meet on Heaven’s shore,
A Friend when home at last!
Friendship with Jesus!
Fellowship divine!
Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
Jesus is a Friend of mine.
- Joseph Ludgate, 1898, public domain
Friday, April 10, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
I know this, I once was blind, now I see!
When I drive my Miata with the soft top up there is a blind spot just over my left shoulder that can make lane changes hazardous! Just a few degrees of my peripheral vision is obscured but it is enough to hide a car overtaking me. Knowing this, I am extra cautious, adjusting my position and double checking my mirror before moving into the passing lane. It took a couple of near misses to educate me about this blind spot, thankfully with nothing more than my pride damaged by the rude gestures and blasts of the horn from the drivers I'd just cut off!
There is another kind of blind spot that is even more troublesome, that which obscures some part of our spiritual vision! Jesus engaged with religious leaders while He walked this earth who simply would not see the Truth He brought. Of them, He said, "They look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand." (Matthew 13:13, NLT) They were dealing with big blind spots, created by their traditions, their assumptions, and their pride. Nothing, it seemed, could open their eyes, not even direct challenges, not even miracles!
In John 9, we read a story of a man blind from birth that Jesus healed. What should have been cause for rejoicing brought about a crisis for the Pharisees. If they acknowledged the miracle, they would have to reassess their conclusions about Who Jesus really was. So, they chose to attack the man. "Who healed you?" they probed. "I don't know," he replied. When pressed by the board of inquiry to denounce Jesus as a `sinner,' the man grew bold. Take a look. "I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" (John 9:25-26, NLT)
Are you open to God's leading, ready to acknowledge His work even when you don't fully comprehend what He's doing? Are you willing to consider that He can operate outside of your preconceptions without asking your permission? I am not suggesting that we become foolish or gullible!
Discernment is a spiritual gift, one that is very important. However, it is simple to confuse discernment with prejudice! Prejudice, as the word's appearance suggests, means that we have prejudged a situation or a person before giving them consideration, before listening to all of the facts. When Jesus returned to the man He had healed of blindness, He found a person ready to consider His claims to be God's Son, the Savior. The Gospel says that the man believed and worshipped Him. The Pharisees, on the other hand, refused the evidence! "We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses!" and with that, they dismissed the possibility that they could revere Moses and see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the First Covenant of the Law.
The chapter closes with a terrible indictment. "Jesus said, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."" (John 9:41, The Message) In other words, if you were truly ignorant, God would not harshly judge you, but since you're determined to live without letting anyone, including Me, point out your blind spots, you bring judgment down on your own heads!
Disciple, be open to the work of the Spirit!
In this season when we remember and celebrate Resurrection Life, live in it! Let God lead you to new discoveries of Who He is, what He is doing, where He is leading. It has been said that the seven deadliest words are "We've never done it that way before." Tradition is great. We derive stability in life by drawing on the experiences of the past. But, if we only focus on yesterday, resisting all things new, we will certainly develop blind spots about God's work right here, right now. That blindness will lead to death. Near the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God's news! How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me." (Matthew 23:37, The Message)
May He never weep over us because we have turned away from His offer of Life.
There is another kind of blind spot that is even more troublesome, that which obscures some part of our spiritual vision! Jesus engaged with religious leaders while He walked this earth who simply would not see the Truth He brought. Of them, He said, "They look, but they don't really see. They hear, but they don't really listen or understand." (Matthew 13:13, NLT) They were dealing with big blind spots, created by their traditions, their assumptions, and their pride. Nothing, it seemed, could open their eyes, not even direct challenges, not even miracles!
In John 9, we read a story of a man blind from birth that Jesus healed. What should have been cause for rejoicing brought about a crisis for the Pharisees. If they acknowledged the miracle, they would have to reassess their conclusions about Who Jesus really was. So, they chose to attack the man. "Who healed you?" they probed. "I don't know," he replied. When pressed by the board of inquiry to denounce Jesus as a `sinner,' the man grew bold. Take a look. "I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!" (John 9:25-26, NLT)
Are you open to God's leading, ready to acknowledge His work even when you don't fully comprehend what He's doing? Are you willing to consider that He can operate outside of your preconceptions without asking your permission? I am not suggesting that we become foolish or gullible!
Discernment is a spiritual gift, one that is very important. However, it is simple to confuse discernment with prejudice! Prejudice, as the word's appearance suggests, means that we have prejudged a situation or a person before giving them consideration, before listening to all of the facts. When Jesus returned to the man He had healed of blindness, He found a person ready to consider His claims to be God's Son, the Savior. The Gospel says that the man believed and worshipped Him. The Pharisees, on the other hand, refused the evidence! "We are disciples of Moses. We know God spoke to Moses!" and with that, they dismissed the possibility that they could revere Moses and see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the First Covenant of the Law.
The chapter closes with a terrible indictment. "Jesus said, "If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you're accountable for every fault and failure."" (John 9:41, The Message) In other words, if you were truly ignorant, God would not harshly judge you, but since you're determined to live without letting anyone, including Me, point out your blind spots, you bring judgment down on your own heads!
Disciple, be open to the work of the Spirit!
In this season when we remember and celebrate Resurrection Life, live in it! Let God lead you to new discoveries of Who He is, what He is doing, where He is leading. It has been said that the seven deadliest words are "We've never done it that way before." Tradition is great. We derive stability in life by drawing on the experiences of the past. But, if we only focus on yesterday, resisting all things new, we will certainly develop blind spots about God's work right here, right now. That blindness will lead to death. Near the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus wept over Jerusalem. "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! Murderer of prophets! Killer of the ones who brought you God's news! How often I've ached to embrace your children, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you wouldn't let me." (Matthew 23:37, The Message)
May He never weep over us because we have turned away from His offer of Life.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Iowa, Vermont - gay marriage! Now what?
Last week’s news out of Des Moines was a shocker. A unanimous court declared that Iowa’s law banning same-sex marriage unconstitutional and the judges opened the door for homosexuals to wed. Yesterday Vermont’s legislature over-rode the governor’s veto and put that state on the map as the fourth state in the United States to make marriage available to same sex couples. I am surprised that so many Christians are surprised! I think we’ve only seen the foreword of the story yet to be written in this land. The authority of the Scripture and reverence for the Truth are lost in our country.
God, for the majority of Americans, is now a Sunday hobby enjoyed on the occasional holiday. God as a Reason for living, God as the Source of Law, God as Creator, Jesus Christ as the Revealer of Truth and only Savior – no longer exists, for a significant percentage even among those who go regularly to a church. Thus, we have become a nation of secular humanists, some of whom wear a thin veneer of religiosity. The late Francis Schaeffer warned of this tsunami of social change all the back in the 1980’s. Most of the time, for most Americans, God is isolated from commerce, law, and public policy, though He is given a nod as a unifying Tradition, useful in times of crisis.
Romans 1, written in another time, is an apt description of 21st century America. "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:25-28, NIV)
Disciple, we can wring our hands and bemoan our loss of majority status, or we can do what true Christ-followers have done in other times and cultures: be faithful to our calling! That calling is not to power, but to service. Consider Jesus’ own words. "Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves." (Luke 22:25-27, NLT)
A spiritual awakening will not come from hateful speech, attacks on certain groups of ‘sinners,’ or demonstrations with signs demanding change in laws or courts. The government will never be the Church, especially in a democracy where policies are shaped by ‘leaders’ who are elected only if they can appeal to the greater numbers of people. I believe is it is time that we abandon the quest to own the government with the hope of making America a “Christian nation” and recover our divine mandate to be the “Christian church.” It is time for the church to return to her high and unique calling to be the “Body of Christ.” When we are the ‘salt and light’ that Jesus commissioned us to be, we will influence the culture and the laws as we should.
Jesus and His disciples had no access to government power structures and yet, they changed the world! They did it despite persecution and oppression. Their holy lives and passion for the weak, the poor, and those who were enslaved by sin allowed the Holy Spirit to work through them to bring about a transformed world – one life at a time. This, disciple, should be our goal, as well.
How?
Our minds must be trained to think Biblically, our lives oriented to the Cross of Christ.
Our hands must be yielded to service, obscure and forgotten except in Heaven.
Our wealth must be invested in the true temples of the Spirit – men and women – not in huge complexes that mostly exist to feed our need for respectability or comfort! When Jesus Christ is our passion, when we treat sinners like He did – dying for them instead of attacking them – perhaps our doctrines will be credible once again, first to our own children.
__________
Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us;
Set us free by the truth You now bring us.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Lord, I come to Your awesome presence.
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.
As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirror'd here, may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine.
Fill this land with the Father's glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze.
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow.
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word,
Lord, and let there be light.
Shine, Jesus, Shine
Kendrick, Graham© 1987 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055
God, for the majority of Americans, is now a Sunday hobby enjoyed on the occasional holiday. God as a Reason for living, God as the Source of Law, God as Creator, Jesus Christ as the Revealer of Truth and only Savior – no longer exists, for a significant percentage even among those who go regularly to a church. Thus, we have become a nation of secular humanists, some of whom wear a thin veneer of religiosity. The late Francis Schaeffer warned of this tsunami of social change all the back in the 1980’s. Most of the time, for most Americans, God is isolated from commerce, law, and public policy, though He is given a nod as a unifying Tradition, useful in times of crisis.
Romans 1, written in another time, is an apt description of 21st century America. "They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done." (Romans 1:25-28, NIV)
Disciple, we can wring our hands and bemoan our loss of majority status, or we can do what true Christ-followers have done in other times and cultures: be faithful to our calling! That calling is not to power, but to service. Consider Jesus’ own words. "Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’ But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves." (Luke 22:25-27, NLT)
A spiritual awakening will not come from hateful speech, attacks on certain groups of ‘sinners,’ or demonstrations with signs demanding change in laws or courts. The government will never be the Church, especially in a democracy where policies are shaped by ‘leaders’ who are elected only if they can appeal to the greater numbers of people. I believe is it is time that we abandon the quest to own the government with the hope of making America a “Christian nation” and recover our divine mandate to be the “Christian church.” It is time for the church to return to her high and unique calling to be the “Body of Christ.” When we are the ‘salt and light’ that Jesus commissioned us to be, we will influence the culture and the laws as we should.
Jesus and His disciples had no access to government power structures and yet, they changed the world! They did it despite persecution and oppression. Their holy lives and passion for the weak, the poor, and those who were enslaved by sin allowed the Holy Spirit to work through them to bring about a transformed world – one life at a time. This, disciple, should be our goal, as well.
How?
Our minds must be trained to think Biblically, our lives oriented to the Cross of Christ.
Our hands must be yielded to service, obscure and forgotten except in Heaven.
Our wealth must be invested in the true temples of the Spirit – men and women – not in huge complexes that mostly exist to feed our need for respectability or comfort! When Jesus Christ is our passion, when we treat sinners like He did – dying for them instead of attacking them – perhaps our doctrines will be credible once again, first to our own children.
__________
Lord, the light of Your love is shining
In the midst of the darkness shining;
Jesus, Light of the World, shine upon us;
Set us free by the truth You now bring us.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Lord, I come to Your awesome presence.
From the shadows into Your radiance;
By the blood I may enter Your brightness,
Search me, try me, consume all my darkness.
Shine on me, shine on me.
As we gaze on Your kingly brightness,
So our faces display Your likeness;
Ever changing from glory to glory,
Mirror'd here, may our lives tell Your story.
Shine on me, shine on me.
Shine, Jesus, shine.
Fill this land with the Father's glory;
Blaze, Spirit, blaze.
Set our hearts on fire.
Flow, river, flow.
Flood the nations with grace and mercy;
Send forth Your Word,
Lord, and let there be light.
Shine, Jesus, Shine
Kendrick, Graham© 1987 Make Way Music (Admin. by Music Services)
CCLI License No. 810055
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Skubalon!
(What follows is not original with me. The material was originally ‘inspired’ by an editorial written by Alan Nelson, then a pastor in Arizona. If this CWTW offends you, please know I'm not sending it to be mean or to be cute, though I will plead guilty to an attempt at truth wrapped in humor! There is a point buried in it ... which just might stick, if you'll read all the way to the end! When my son told me about his encounter with ugly religious pride this past weekend, I could only think 'skubalon!' )
Can you say the vulgar word for "manure" if you're a pastor? I didn't think so...
OK, so I'll use the Biblical term, "skubalon." (pronounced, skoo- ba - lon) (Dung, if you want to look it up.)
You might say I have a Ph.D in the stuff-- yeah, piled high and deep-- 'cause I grew up on a farm where I scooped tons of it into the wagon that carried it to fertilize our fields. I just had no idea I'd have to scoop so much of it as a pastor! Here's what I mean.
*I get a whiff of skubalon during meetings I attend when a personal agenda overtakes God's agenda.
*The distinct odor drifts out of notes from people who are angry over this or that in their church.
*During most conversations that include the famous line - "Pastor, God is leading us to another church," I start looking around for a shovel for the skubalon is about to pile up.
One of the big problems with church is that we spend way too much time trying deny or sanctify skubalon instead of seeing it for what it is and just shoveling it out the door. In many places the wonderful treasure of the Gospel get buried in it and the sweet fragrance of Christ is obscured by the stench of selfishness and self-righteousness coming out of the church. We need to call it what it is.
When we over-react, let's just call it skubalon, instead of making excuses for ourselves.
When we are trying to impress someone with our overblown story or tragic tale, somebody needs to sneeze, “skubalon!” and bring us back to our senses and the truth.
When pettiness and political pomp are hindering real progress we need to send for the skubalon wagon to haul it away so God's work can continue unhindered by phoniness.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you call it. If it looks like skubalon, smells like skubalon... more than likely - it is skubalon.Yes, it is true that skubalon happens! That's life. But ignoring it, renaming it, or even playing around with it in conversations or gripe sessions, just isn't right! Identify it. Clean it up, and move on. Ever been drawn into a conversation where the ministry of another person is being coated with critical comments that stink like skubalon? Did you stop it or nod in agreement, piling it on? Ever been part of a gripe session where somebody's skubalon was hurled at at undeserving leader, just because for personal reasons?
Of course, I will be the first to admit to the need for the golden rule principle in this discussion. I've flung more than my fair share of skubalon from time to time; and I repent for letting myself deal in such base stuff! It's kind of difficult to point out the pile in your front yard when mine is stinking under the sunshine, but.... if we all commit to telling the truth and start to deal with the skubalon in our lives, the world will be a better place.
From the summit of Mt. Midlife, my skubalon detector has become more sharply honed. I am told that the Busters (born between 1965- 1980) and the Millennials (born in the 80's and 90's) have particularly keen skubalon detection skills and that if we are not willing to be authentic, they are quite willing to discard our Christian faith as so much skublaon, and they will head for the door of our church without looking back! They quickly see when somebody's position, power, or prestige has become more important than the truth, than Jesus' will, or loving people! They will shake the skubalon off their feet. Tragically, they often turn their backs on the Truth, too.
Jesus has a word for those who let the stink of the skubalon in their lives drive others away from Him and His community: "if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck." (Matthew 18:6, NLT) Lest you think that I've become overly coarse, let me share what Paul, the Apostle, wrote. He apparently had little tolerance for skubalon after his transformational meeting with Jesus Christ on the road to Damacus. He wasn't polite in his description of his B.C. (Before Christ) days. Here's what he wrote-- "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (yes, the word in the Grk, NT is skubalon!), that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Philippians 3:6-9, KJV)
Just in case you're having a little trouble with the old English... here's the heart of that passage from The Message. "Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant-dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him."
The glorious Truth is that God, the Spirit, offers a powerful disinfectant to us that can rid us of even the odor of skubalon in our lives! We don't have to live in lies, traffic in deception, or serve self any longer. Because we are powerfully loved, we can face the truth even when it stinks! Once we call the stinky mess what it really is, God can help us deal with it effectively!
Here's a word from the Word. This Holy Week, take time to think it through, to let the Truth sink deeply into your mind. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4, NKJV) There is freedom from the stink of sin offered by Christ. It’s no deodorant! He cleans out the skubalon and makes us new, if we allow Him to. Let's breathe the fresh clean air that is blown into our lives by the Holy Spirit and the glory of the Gospel, the beauty of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit will become evident to all who see what God has done!
_____________
We bow our hearts,
We bend our knees.
Oh Spirit, come make us humble.
We turn our eyes
From evil things,
Oh Lord, we cast down our idols.
Give us clean hands,
Give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
Give us clean hands,
Give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
Give Us Clean Hands
Hall, Charlie © 1997 Generation Productions
CCLI License No. 810055
Can you say the vulgar word for "manure" if you're a pastor? I didn't think so...
OK, so I'll use the Biblical term, "skubalon." (pronounced, skoo- ba - lon) (Dung, if you want to look it up.)
You might say I have a Ph.D in the stuff-- yeah, piled high and deep-- 'cause I grew up on a farm where I scooped tons of it into the wagon that carried it to fertilize our fields. I just had no idea I'd have to scoop so much of it as a pastor! Here's what I mean.
*I get a whiff of skubalon during meetings I attend when a personal agenda overtakes God's agenda.
*The distinct odor drifts out of notes from people who are angry over this or that in their church.
*During most conversations that include the famous line - "Pastor, God is leading us to another church," I start looking around for a shovel for the skubalon is about to pile up.
One of the big problems with church is that we spend way too much time trying deny or sanctify skubalon instead of seeing it for what it is and just shoveling it out the door. In many places the wonderful treasure of the Gospel get buried in it and the sweet fragrance of Christ is obscured by the stench of selfishness and self-righteousness coming out of the church. We need to call it what it is.
When we over-react, let's just call it skubalon, instead of making excuses for ourselves.
When we are trying to impress someone with our overblown story or tragic tale, somebody needs to sneeze, “skubalon!” and bring us back to our senses and the truth.
When pettiness and political pomp are hindering real progress we need to send for the skubalon wagon to haul it away so God's work can continue unhindered by phoniness.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter what you call it. If it looks like skubalon, smells like skubalon... more than likely - it is skubalon.Yes, it is true that skubalon happens! That's life. But ignoring it, renaming it, or even playing around with it in conversations or gripe sessions, just isn't right! Identify it. Clean it up, and move on. Ever been drawn into a conversation where the ministry of another person is being coated with critical comments that stink like skubalon? Did you stop it or nod in agreement, piling it on? Ever been part of a gripe session where somebody's skubalon was hurled at at undeserving leader, just because for personal reasons?
Of course, I will be the first to admit to the need for the golden rule principle in this discussion. I've flung more than my fair share of skubalon from time to time; and I repent for letting myself deal in such base stuff! It's kind of difficult to point out the pile in your front yard when mine is stinking under the sunshine, but.... if we all commit to telling the truth and start to deal with the skubalon in our lives, the world will be a better place.
From the summit of Mt. Midlife, my skubalon detector has become more sharply honed. I am told that the Busters (born between 1965- 1980) and the Millennials (born in the 80's and 90's) have particularly keen skubalon detection skills and that if we are not willing to be authentic, they are quite willing to discard our Christian faith as so much skublaon, and they will head for the door of our church without looking back! They quickly see when somebody's position, power, or prestige has become more important than the truth, than Jesus' will, or loving people! They will shake the skubalon off their feet. Tragically, they often turn their backs on the Truth, too.
Jesus has a word for those who let the stink of the skubalon in their lives drive others away from Him and His community: "if anyone causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose faith, it would be better for that person to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck." (Matthew 18:6, NLT) Lest you think that I've become overly coarse, let me share what Paul, the Apostle, wrote. He apparently had little tolerance for skubalon after his transformational meeting with Jesus Christ on the road to Damacus. He wasn't polite in his description of his B.C. (Before Christ) days. Here's what he wrote-- "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung (yes, the word in the Grk, NT is skubalon!), that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." (Philippians 3:6-9, KJV)
Just in case you're having a little trouble with the old English... here's the heart of that passage from The Message. "Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant-dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him."
The glorious Truth is that God, the Spirit, offers a powerful disinfectant to us that can rid us of even the odor of skubalon in our lives! We don't have to live in lies, traffic in deception, or serve self any longer. Because we are powerfully loved, we can face the truth even when it stinks! Once we call the stinky mess what it really is, God can help us deal with it effectively!
Here's a word from the Word. This Holy Week, take time to think it through, to let the Truth sink deeply into your mind. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4, NKJV) There is freedom from the stink of sin offered by Christ. It’s no deodorant! He cleans out the skubalon and makes us new, if we allow Him to. Let's breathe the fresh clean air that is blown into our lives by the Holy Spirit and the glory of the Gospel, the beauty of Jesus, and the power of the Spirit will become evident to all who see what God has done!
_____________
We bow our hearts,
We bend our knees.
Oh Spirit, come make us humble.
We turn our eyes
From evil things,
Oh Lord, we cast down our idols.
Give us clean hands,
Give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
Give us clean hands,
Give us pure hearts.
Let us not lift our souls to another.
Give Us Clean Hands
Hall, Charlie © 1997 Generation Productions
CCLI License No. 810055
Monday, April 06, 2009
Let’s be careful out there!
Way back in the 1980’s, I was a fan of “Hill Street Blues,” a police drama set in the gritty urban streets of America. Just before dismissing his men from the roll call at the beginning of their shift, Sgt. Esterhaus would say, “Let’s be careful out there!” Disciple, you’re headed out to work today where most of you will spend 8-10 hours with people that are without a love for God, materialistic, and focused on this present world. We need not fear that world. In fact that would be a mistake, since we are called to bring His Light to dark places. We will not fulfill that mission unless we leave our safe places! And yet, we need to be careful out there.
The Scripture says, "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." (Ephesians 6:10-13, NLT)
Disciple, God wants you to be different – not odd, not weird for weirdness’ sake – but distinct from those who are godless! We are owned by Him, representing Him, making Him known! Jesus reminds us of the unique calling we have: “You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." (Matthew 5:13, The Message) We bring love to places full of hatred. We bring peace into confusion. We live purposefully among people who ‘wander in darkness.’ We care for those considered worthless.
But, there is always a risk, if we fail to practice spiritual disciplines that invite the inflow of the Spirit’s renewal, growing sloppy about our high calling. "Watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1, NIV)
Let me urge you at the beginning of this Holy Week, to renew your commitment to the call of God. Intentionally, prayerfully, present yourself to the Lord before you engage your world. Ask Him to keep your heart and mind aware of His Presence, to lead you to those who are hungry for God. Begin to pray for one or two with whom you spend hours each day, asking the Spirit to build a bridge through you. And, remember, we have a real Adversary who doesn’t fight fair, so let’s be careful out there!
_______
I know not why God's wondrous grace
To me He hath made known;
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me.
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
But "I know whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I've committed,
Unto Him against that day."
I Know Whom I Have Believed
Whittle, Major Daniel W. / McGranahan, James
© Public Domain
The Scripture says, "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." (Ephesians 6:10-13, NLT)
Disciple, God wants you to be different – not odd, not weird for weirdness’ sake – but distinct from those who are godless! We are owned by Him, representing Him, making Him known! Jesus reminds us of the unique calling we have: “You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage." (Matthew 5:13, The Message) We bring love to places full of hatred. We bring peace into confusion. We live purposefully among people who ‘wander in darkness.’ We care for those considered worthless.
But, there is always a risk, if we fail to practice spiritual disciplines that invite the inflow of the Spirit’s renewal, growing sloppy about our high calling. "Watch yourself, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1, NIV)
Let me urge you at the beginning of this Holy Week, to renew your commitment to the call of God. Intentionally, prayerfully, present yourself to the Lord before you engage your world. Ask Him to keep your heart and mind aware of His Presence, to lead you to those who are hungry for God. Begin to pray for one or two with whom you spend hours each day, asking the Spirit to build a bridge through you. And, remember, we have a real Adversary who doesn’t fight fair, so let’s be careful out there!
_______
I know not why God's wondrous grace
To me He hath made known;
Nor why, unworthy, Christ in love
Redeemed me for His own.
I know not what of good or ill
May be reserved for me.
Of weary ways or golden days,
Before His face I see.
But "I know whom I have believed,
And am persuaded that He is able
To keep that which I've committed,
Unto Him against that day."
I Know Whom I Have Believed
Whittle, Major Daniel W. / McGranahan, James
© Public Domain
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