T.E.A.M.

Do you ever get worn out, weary, and ready to quit? I think I heard that chuckle. Occasionally, we all do. Why? Because, a life that is goal oriented and purposeful requires continual effort. Lawns, homes, and hearts must be maintained or they go to ruin; and honestly, that work is tiring. That is why the disciplined have an advantage. If we step up to do what needs to be done today, the work is manageable. But, if today’s chore gets thrown onto tomorrow, right along with the tasks of that day, in short order a little procrastination can create a monstrous mess!


God gave Nehemiah the job of leading the Jewish people in an effort to take a pile of rubble that was once Jerusalem and to turn it back into a beautiful city. He was miraculously given all the resources he needed. But, Nehemiah had to provide the sweat! He planned the work, enlisted the laborers, and resisted his critics. Then, his work force started to tire. With their fatigue came demoralization. "Soon word was going around in Judah, The builders are pooped, the rubbish piles up; We’re in over our heads, we can’t build this wall. And all this time our enemies were saying, “They won’t know what hit them. Before they know it we’ll be at their throats, killing them right and left. That will put a stop to the work!” The Jews who were their neighbors kept reporting, “They have us surrounded; they’re going to attack!” If we heard it once, we heard it ten times." (Nehemiah 4:10-12, The Message) The people were worn out and ready to quit! This godly leader responded by addressing their concerns about security, renewing their understanding about why they were working so hard, and reminding them of the Lord’s promise and provision. What a man!

There’s a lesson in his story for us. It’s relatively easy to deal with the opposition that comes at us from outside ourselves. We learn to ignore critics and overcome unanticipated setbacks. But, when our strength gives out and we feel like we’re falling apart on the inside, it’s much more difficult to rally to the task. “What’s the use in going on?” we’re tempted to think. “It’s a thankless, hopeless, miserable mess that I can’t deal with any longer.” If that’s where you’re at today, reach out to somebody NOW. Yes, of course, you should pray and ask the Spirit of God to renew your strength, but you also need a Nehemiah, somebody who can help you to reclaim your sense of purpose, who can restore your connection to others who can give support. Wisely, Nehemiah said, “Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!” (Nehemiah 4:14, NLT)
God calls us to be part of a community because He knows life must be shared. "Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down." (Romans 12:15, The Message) Alone, we are quickly overwhelmed. Together, we can stand. It is not only for ourselves that we work; it is for our brothers, sons, daughters, wives, and homes.
An acronym that I remember often is based on the word-
TEAM: Together Everyone Accomplishes More!

Don’t forget that when you’re tired and ready to quit. Instead; reconnect, refocus, and find renewal.

__________________

Sometimes it's hard for me to understand
Why we pull away from each other so easily,
Even though we're all walking the same road.
Yet we build dividing walls
Between our brothers and ourselves.

The day will come when we will be as one,
And with a mighty voice together,
We'll all proclaim
That Jesus, Jesus Christ is King.
It will echo through the earth;
It will shake the nations,
And the world will see,
See that…

You're my brother, you're my sister,
So take me by the hand.
Together we will work until He comes.
There's no foe that can defeat us
When we're walking side by side.
As long as there is love,
We will stand.

We Will Stand
Taff, Russ / Taff, Tori / Hollihan, James
Word Music Group, Inc.
© 1983 Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

See Russ sing this song...   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=narXOiZP2U4

Facing Goliath? What do you see?

Standing 9 feet tall, carrying a spear that was 12 feet long with an iron tip weighing 15 lbs, his body encased in a leather wrap that was covered with metal scales, Goliath lumbered to the front line and roared his challenge at the army of Israel. “Why are you all coming out to fight?” he called. “I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves!" (1 Samuel 17:8-9, NLT) Every day it was the same; he taunted and the men of Israel cowered. After all, who could meet such a freak of nature on the field of battle and succeed? It was an impossibility, or so it appeared to every reasonable man with military experience!

Jesse of Bethlehem woke up his youngest son and told him to take bread and cheese down to his three oldest brothers in the army. He arrived in the morning, as the army was assembling on the lines and just as Goliath came out to terrify them. Only David did not simply see a big man in armor. He saw and heard an insult to the Lord God of Israel. Faith rose up in him and he started asking questions. "Who is this pagan Philistine anyway, that he is allowed to defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26, NLT) His oldest brother, Eliab, tried to silence him, calling him an arrogant pup, a know-nothing kid.

But, you know the rest of the familiar story. David’s faith was contagious and King Saul agreed to send it out to meet Goliath. Even the giant mocked the shepherd boy until he felt smooth stone from the slingshot connect with his forehead and his last conscious thought must have been, ‘what happened?’

Disciple, perspective is important! David saw the same giant as a thousand other men, but he saw him through eyes of faith. Others saw a champion they could not defeat. David saw a man challenging God. God has a purpose for everyone of us. What’s yours? When we hear the Spirit’s commission, we can be sure that someone or something will show up to taunt us; “Do you really think that you can do this? You’re naïve, foolish, too young, too inexperienced, too …. (just fill in the blank).” Will we cower or conquer? That largely depends on our perspective, and whether it is informed by faith that flows from a daily conversation with God and truth of the Scripture. Pray often, "Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." (Psalm 119:18, NLT)
Is your vision limited by the possible as natural life defines it, or do you see with eyes that are faithful to the supernatural work of a living God? We can only see as God sees when we are living near to Him, walking in holiness, and listening intently to the voice of the Spirit.

Here’s a word from the Word. I pray it will bring faith to you so that you will be prepared to meet the Goliath in your life with supernatural sight! “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:9-12, NLT)
____________________

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,
Open the eyes of my heart;
I want to see You, I want to see You.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord,
Open the eyes of my heart;
I want to see You, I want to see You.

To see You high and lifted up,
Shining in the light of Your glory.
Pour out Your pow'r and love;
As we sing holy, holy, holy.

High and lifted up,
Shining in the light of Your glory.
Pour out Your pow'r and love;
As we sing holy, holy, holy.

Holy, holy, holy,
Holy, holy, holy;
Holy, holy, holy,
I want to see You.

Open The Eyes Of My Heart
Baloche, Paul

© 1997 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)

CCLI License No. 810055

When you’ve had enough

I’m a fairly strong individual, generally resilient, awakening each morning prepared for the challenges of the day. But the maelstrom that is ‘life’ these days is wearing me down! It feels like a I am swimming against the current, trying to hang onto hope while each day brings another announcement of more bad news. Friends send word of serious ailments. A couple of months ago, I had my own experience of hospitalization and recovery. The economic reports are gloomy and it’s not just ‘out there’ in some other region. People I care for are losing their jobs, even their homes. The endless political strife that fills the media is wearing on my mind, causing me to wonder if my country has a future.

“Ah, Jerry,” you say, “you sound depressed.” No, I’m just tired from pulling against the current. And, I know I’m not the only one in this state of mind! Many disciples of Christ are telling me, “I do not know how much more I can stand. I have had enough.” Those who work hardest, who pour everything they have into building God’s church and serving His people can become burnt out. It’s an emotional state that we see in a prophet who gives it a name – the Elijah complex. Elijah valiantly stood for God, taking on the king, challenging false prophets, and praying for his people. The great spiritual conflict reached a peak at Mt. Carmel, where he had his famous encounter with 400 prophets of Baal. He built an altar and so did they. Then, each called on his god to send fire from Heaven. In the end, Elijah’s faith was vindicated, but the struggle left him worn out! The Bible sums up the story like this: "Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life." (1 Kings 19:4, NLT) God ministered to the worn prophet with food to strengthen him, rest to refresh him, and renewal of faith in Divine providence! The Lord did not sideline the man, nor did He chide him for his complaint. He met him in his need.

That’s what all tired Christians can expect from their loving God! We need food for our souls, rest that allows us to recharge physically and emotionally, and renewal of our grasp of the promises of the Lord. He will provide those things for us, if we accept them from His hand. One of the reasons that we are commanded to take a day each week for worship, a day when we stop working, is because God knows we need rest. In that worship, we can find the strength to carry on. Then, too, we must know how to look up, waiting on the Lord. There is a kind of prayer that is silent, that is not wrestling with God for an answer, that is not focused on holding up another in need to Him. In the prayer of meditation, we simply wait for Him- filling our minds with a word from the Word – so that He can breathe new strength into our spirit.
When you’ve just had enough, when you feel like the very ground on which you stand is crumbling away, make a choice that seems counter-intuitive. Do less! Grow quiet. Wait! Here’s a word from the Word on which to meditate in such times.

"But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.


For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." (Isaiah 43:1-3, NIV)

_______________

I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He lifts me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay

He set my feet upon a rock
And made my footsteps firm
Many will see
Many will see and fear

I will sing - sing a new song
I will sing - sing a new song
How long to sing this song?
How long to sing this song?
How long? How long? How long?
How long to sing this song?

Oh Lord I wait, I wait on You
And I will sing, I'll sing this song
Oh Lord I wait, I wait on You
And I will sing, I'll sing this song

(from the 40th Psalm)

Forty (40)
Paul Hewson, Larry Mullen
CCLI License No. 810055

Safety in numbers

I love you, you love me, we're a happy family." Barney sings that line to the kids watching TV and we want it to be true. It's a corny expression of the importance of 'connectness,' but... we do need each other. We can only be all that God wants us to be when we nurture strong and close ties to other disciples. That is why the Enemy of God and His people works so intently to destroy or diminish relationships. Yesterday, I quoted from 1 Corinthians 12 where the Spirit illustrates our connection to others with this statement: "The way that God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part."



It not always easy to stay connected! Sometimes we just want to do our thing and go our own way, don't we? I had a difference with a brother who some hard things to me and about me. I'd like to be able to tell you that my first impulse was to listen carefully, to sort through his words searching for the truth. It wasn't! His criticism hurt, badly. His stinging words echoed over and over in my mind, like a looping tape. But, the Spirit of God is faithful, and helped me (eventually!) to work toward an honest consideration of what he had to say. As I gave up my need to be 'right,' God granted me peace. With that peace came the perspective that was necessary to evaluate his message, unpleasant as it was. Though this brother and I see the way God works with some difference, his perspective is important to me, and I hope mine is to him. We are both stronger for having each other 'in the Body.'


The natural result of that kind of conflict is to pick up our toys and move on. That's one reason in most American towns there are 20 different churches preaching nearly the same message. When difference arises, instead of doing the very difficult work of working through our disagreements and asking the Spirit of God to help us to remain 'one' in His love; we hit the road, off to do our own thing, learning little or nothing from conflict except how to avoid it, mask it, or worst of all - to employ tactics that allow us to 'win at all costs,' without realizing that we are destroying the work of God.
Never confuse the very real freedom in Christ that makes keeps us from being slaves to religious rules and regulations imposed on us by others with a libertarian attitude that says, 'Nobody's gonna tell me anything except the Holy Spirit!' (Please re-read the previous sentence, thoughtfully.)

As I wrote yesterday, our American love of independence mutates into a toxic virus when we bring it to church with us. That virus blinds us to the fact that we are interdependent by God's design, which is to say, "we need each other." The result of being a free-lance disciple with weak or non-existent commitment to the local church is that sins and weaknesses go unchallenged and thus, unchanged, in us.

People who have been Christians for decades are often still acting like infants because they will not consider any words that are unpleasant as possibly being true. Truth and love, they are in balance. That is why the Word teaches us to love the truth and to keep talking with each other about it! Notice the result of that extended conversation: "... we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."(Ephesians 4:15-16, NLT)
God means for us to enjoy the safety of numbers!
Proverbs pithy wisdom goes right to the core of the matter saying, "...victory depends on having many counselors." (Proverbs 24:6, NLT)
Get connected, stay connected - through good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant. That's God's way of getting you and me to 'grow up' in Christ.

And remember, when you're tempted to be offended, as I was, lighten up!
"Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused."

It's not just 'Jesus and me.'

We Americans love our freedom. We get to choose where we live, where we go to school, with whom we associate, our political philosophy, where we worship. We believe that we are self-reliant, strong, and independent. We admire the stories of rugged frontiersmen who made a new nation. The cowboy on the lone prairie is admired by every little boy, and secretly by not a few grown men. In more modern tales, we like stories of those who fight their way out of obscurity, beating the odds like Rocky Balboa. Like many myths, it’s only partially true. No one achieves his highest potential by living alone or only connecting with others on his own terms. The best lives are not lived by those who are fiercely independent, but rather by those who weave large webs of relationships with others.

As a young man I was quick to insist on my independence, resisting what I called ‘fetters’ of memberships and associations. Then the Spirit revealed, over time and through difficulties, the truth of the Word about being ‘in the Body!’ "The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other." (1 Corinthians 12:21-25, NLT) Is this just about my human body? No! The context makes is clear that the Lord is describing our mutual relationships in the church, our surrender to one another, our integral connections with each other.

No principle in the Word is more ignored than this one. In my three decades of Pastoral ministry I have felt the sting of disappointment too many times to count caused by people who drift through church after church. They bring amazing gifts and could be an incredible blessing but they won’t ‘marry’ the church. They hold themselves in reserve, resisting the kinds of relationships that would maximize ministry results and personal effectiveness. But, in contrast to these church wanderers, I have known some who have done exactly the opposite- staying with their local church through good times and bad. They endure misunderstandings that inevitably arise in all human interactions. They see leaders come and go and watch as their church shifts ministry and mission, all the while faithfully loving, praying, supporting, working. And, they become beloved people, steady as a rock, respected and admired by the community they have served! Instead of chasing the mirage of self-fulfillment, they choose to serve the Body, for Christ’s sake.

Steadiness is under-rated by those of us who live in a culture of novelty!

Disciple, have you been deceived by the myth of individuality?
Do you protect your ‘freedom’ and hold back your loyalty?
I would urge you to meditate at length on the 12th chapter of 1 Corinthians. You will find that a cherished cultural ideal is at odds with the Truth of God. Love the Lord and His Body, the church. Tell Him that you will serve faithfully, pray earnestly, give sacrificially, and love completely. Oh, yes, there will be a chorus of voices that will tell you that such commitment is foolish, dangerous, and a way to lose control of yourself. The Word says that those choices lead to a strong disciple, supported by a strong network of disciples, whose spiritual gifts find maximum effectiveness.

Here’s a word from the Word, full of revelation of the potential glory of His church. May the Lord, the Spirit, release fullness into our hearts and minds.
"And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. … But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift. … He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love." (Ephesians 4:2-3, 7, 16, The Message)