Driving the Nails

Watching "The Passion of the Christ" the movie produced a couple of years ago by Mel Gibson, I was deeply moved by the depiction of the Lord's anguish as He carried the sins of the world on our behalf. From the opening scenes of His heart wrenching prayer in Gethsemane to the last moments when He commends His spirit to His Father in Heaven, I was held in this thought - He did this by choice because He loves me! My sin nailed Him there- every rebellious act, every selfish word, every miserable moment focused on myself.

In a very real sense, we continue to drive the nails yet today when, as Christians, we live selfishly, lustfully, or unlovingly. There is a difficult text in the book of Hebrews the full meaning of which Believers argue about it for it speaks of turning away from Christ. Can a Believer lose her relationship with God completely? What does it mean to 'fall away?' Those questions are hard to answer and are not the focus of my thoughts today. There is one line in that passage that echoes in my mind today - "... if they fall away...they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6, NKJV) But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation." (Hebrews 6:9, NKJV) When I am cruel to another, I need to hear the ring of hammer on nail! When I choose deliberately to reject the humble way of the Spirit, exerting my selfish will against God, I need to feel the handle of the whip that opened Jesus' back in my own hand! When my voice is raised in angry accusation against another, I need to realize I joined the crowd screaming for His blood - "Crucify Him!"

If we turn the atonement (Jesus becoming the sacrifice that brings a holy God and sinful humanity back together) into an exercise in theology and individually distance ourself from the Cross, we err badly! Jesus not only died for the sins of the world - He died for my sin, your sin, dear Believer. If we let ourselves realize that our sin, personally, nailed Him there, we will come to true repentance instead of the momentary regret that so often passes for it in our lives. Singer song writer Ray Boltz captured the thought in this song. Read the lyrics thoughtfully.

They tell me Jesus died
For my transgressions;
And that He paid that price
A long, long time ago
When He gave His life for me
On a hill called Calvary.
But there's something else
I want to know.

Does He still feel the nails
Ev'rytime I fail?
Can He hear the crowd cry,
"Crucify," again?
Am I causing Him pain?
Then I know I've got to change.
I just can't bear the thought
Of hurting Him.

It seems that I'm so good
At breaking promises,
And I treat His precious grace
So carelessly.
But each time He forgives,
What if He relives
The agony He felt on that tree?

Do you still feel the nails
Ev'ry time I fail?
Have I crucified You, Jesus,
With my sin?
Oh, I'm tired of playing games,
I really want to change.
I never want to hurt You again.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.

© 1989 Sonworshipers Music (Admin. by Integrated Copyright Group, Inc.) / Shepherd Boy Music CCLI License No. 810055 Feel The Nails Boltz, Ray / Millikan, Steve

Let's not rush past the Cross to the Empty Tomb this holy week! Yes, I love the joyful hope of Easter morning. I am thrilled by the proclamation of eternal life that is made by His resurrection. But we cannot forget that without Friday there would be no Sunday, that without the willingness to die for our sins there would be no triumph over sin, death, and Hell. Kneel at the Cross today anew. Be made holy by the act of atonement which Jesus Christ willingly accomplished there, moved by obedience and love.

Then rise with a forgiven, humble heart and walk to the Empty Tomb, joyfully and with holiness that is a gift of God, not of our works, so that none can boast of his own goodness before God.

He prays for me!

At the risk of sounding weak, I'll admit that I often find life exhausting! One task is completed only to have two more pop up on the to-do list. Some personal victory is celebrated but only for a moment until the next crisis starts to unfold. One of Job's friends wryly observed, "People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire." (Job 5:7, NLT) Now that is an interesting turn of phrase. No matter how smart you are, how well you think you have prepared for tomorrow, how faithfully you take your vitamins - from some unexpected corner, at some unexpected moment, difficulties and disappointments will find their way to your door.

Believer, here's the best news. We have a High Priest who is always praying for us! I love when somebody sends me note or gives me a call and says, "Just wanted you to know that I was praying for you today." There is no gift that compares to the sincere prayers offered on another's behalf. But to think that Jesus Christ is at the Father's right hand making a case for me, asking for mercy on my behalf, directing the Spirit to keep me on my feet when life is coming at me hard and fast- is amazing - and true! The Bible says, "He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens." (Hebrews 7:25-26, NIV)

John's Gospel records the final hours of Jesus' earthly ministry in greater detail than the other Gospels. The 17th chapter is a record of the prayer that Jesus prayed on behalf of His disciples and for Believers to this day. It's a wonderful prayer that gives encouragement. It allows us to hear the heart of Jesus' prayers on our behalf. In part He says, "I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth." (John 17:14-17, NLT)

What He does not pray is as important to note as what He does ask on our behalf. He does not ask God to make life easy or to provide a rocket ship out of this world! We pray that way sometimes, don't we? "God, let me outta here! Change this situation. Just let me have an easy time of it today." Yes, I pray that foolish, childish prayer sometimes. But Jesus prays that we will be preserved from spiritual destruction, that we will be full of the Spirit's life and distinct as the people of God in a dark world, and that we will understand God's word and will.

There are two things I want to leave with you today.

1st - He is praying for you! Never forget that. You are not alone, forgotten, or forsaken.

2nd - He asks the best for you, not the easy! Pray like He prays; not for release, but for courage; not for an easier place, but for His glory shine through you as remain faithful to Him in your present situation.

Remember this. Our High Priest understands our needs for He was tempted and tested in all the ways we are. When you're wrestling with life and the will of God, remember He did, too. As He prayed in Gethsemane, under terrible pressure and in great anguish, He pleaded for another way, but eventually came 'round to surrender, "Not my will, Father, but Yours, be done!" So He understands when you're pressured, squeezed, stressed, broken, disappointed, distraught, confused, or afraid! He is praying for you.
________________________________

Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Our Great Savior - Chapmen, public domain

I am a friend of God!

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Those words which Jesus screamed in His agony on the Cross are precious words, despite the ugly context that tore them from His throat! Why? Because they let me know that my Lord and Savior understands the despair and sense of alienation that stalks each of us when we are separated from God. The grim facts are that sin entered the world. Sin separates us from God. All sin and therefore, all are orphaned from their Father. And yet, there remains a longing, often undefined, to know Him. We attempt to fill up that longing for God with many things - success, owning things, working for rewards and awards, sex - to name a few.

We search for significance in different ways attempting to make the statement- "I matter, I am a person of worth." But, none of our efforts brings lasting satisfaction. Why? Because the hole in our being is a God-shaped gap that only He can close! The only lasting satisfaction for our longing for purpose and place in this world is restoration of the relationship with God.

The Bible explains the concept like this- "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. . . . God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God." (Romans 5:6-11, NLT)

There are dark days in our lives, even after we have come to faith, that cause us to wonder if God has forsaken us. Sickness, death, and disappointment come to saint and sinner alike. In those seasons we hear the whispers of doubt, the hiss of demonic tormenters, that say - 'Where is your God? Has He turned His back on you?' Then I remember Jesus' greatest agony, the alienation He felt as He was torn from His perfect relationship with God, the Father, as my sins were laid on Him. And I am able to pray that He will strengthen me, knowing that He has stood where I stand and that He will keep me in the hour of trial. "Since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:14-16, NIV)

Do feel that God has forsaken you?
Apart from Jesus Christ, that is not just a feeling. It is a fact. Our sins have torn us from our Father! Look to Jesus. Believe that He has provided the full price for your forgiveness and, by faith, accept your place in God's great family!

If you are 'in Christ,' and you are feeling forsaken, ask the Spirit of God to work with you on an inventory of your life. Persistent disobedience to the will of God creates distance in our relationship. If you find that kind of willful rejection of God's will, turn to Him with open admission and "He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing." (1 John 1:9, The Message)

Know this, too. Sometimes our sense of being alone is just that - a feeling, not a reality. Fatigue and disappointment resulting from missed expectations give us a feeling that God has left us. But He is near! Stay steady, hold onto faith.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.

For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
Calamity will surely overtake the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned." (Psalm 34:18-22, NLT)

Church, who needs it?

The man said, "I really do believe in God and Jesus, but I hate church." The irony underlying the conversation hit me hard. How could I, a creature of the Church, a man who has spent his entire adult life employed by religious organizations address that statement with any kind of integrity? I understood what he meant though, for I, too, have found myself despising parts of organized religion. Sometimes I, a full-time Pastor whose calling is perceived by most people as being all about spirituality, long to escape religious enterprise to do something 'spiritual.' My friend went on to ask, "Do you find many people like me?" The answer is yes! There are a lot of people who claim faith on some level but who have abandoned organized religion. The reasons are many, but a few are common. What are they?

1. Too much emphasis on money.
Church buildings need maintenance. Programs have to be funded. People who teach, preach, and lead have to be paid. But what about ineffectiveness, waste, and a lack of accountability? May I dare to say that if businesses were operated like a lot of local congregations, they would be bankrupt in a year or less! Many church leaders expect people to pour their money into the offering plate, but resent the questions about results. It is somehow considered unkind to ask - what did that all that money accomplish for God and good? And, yes, there are those few preachers who live extravagantly. The few get a lot of press and live high profile lives. But the truth is that most church employees live on salaries that are less than they would make in the secular world. They do so gladly. I am convinced that where the mission of a church is defined, where results are being observed in terms of that mission, and where real people needs are being met - there will be ample funding for God's work to be done without resorting to gimmicks, pleading, or pressure.

2. Too many hypocrites.
It's true that the church has its share of people who talk faith better than they walk faith; but, many others are totally sincere, if imperfect. If I somehow managed to poll family members and/or work associates of each and every person who sits in the pews of my church, I would find gaps in every one of their lives. I know that I don't get it right everyday, or even every hour of a single day. I'm sometimes less than loving. I allow fear to overtake faith. I misjudge others. I become the victim of my own pre-conceived ideas; but I do really love God! Christians are 'becomers,' works in progress, growing in Christ. If you're throwing stones at the 'hypocrites' in the church, watch out, because your own sins are likely to be revealed sooner or later. That said, I know there are churches where image has overtaken substance, where tradition is worshipped on a higher level than God Himself, and where conformity to the accepted rule is king! I probably would not hang out in that kind of church too long, either.

3. Irrelevant to my life.
Yes, the message of the Gospel must be connected to the culture. Paul himself said that he was willing to become all things to all people so that by all methods he could bring them to Christ! It is important to be conversant with the people that we hope to influence. The rest of the story is this: too much accommodation of the culture destroys the distinctive quality of a real Believer's life. Our calling is to be 'the salt of the earth.' But the Believer who has become 'worldly' no longer functions in that way. A healthy church will always have a tension between those who guard the gates and those who drag in the sinners! It will always have the evangelists whose hearts bleed for those in need and the theologians who work to protect both orthodoxy (right beliefs) and orthopraxy (right practices). The church isn't just about being relevant. God has given the Church (and Christians) a message of transformation that conflicts with the sins of whatever culture into which it is spoken! A church that is so compromised as to have lost her voice to call people to live in love, in mercy, and justly, isn't worth a thing, no matter how many fill up her building on Sunday.

Who needs to be a part of the church?
Every Christian Believer! The Christian experience is not a Lone Ranger one. The highest and best spiritual life is not lived in isolation from other Believers. Christianity is a communal experience according to the will of God. We are called to be a part of the Body of Christ, working at the relationships with other Believers.

The Bible says, "God has put all parts of our body together in the way that he decided is best. A body isn’t really a body, unless there is more than one part. It takes many parts to make a single body. That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands. That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet.
In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body that seem to be the weakest. We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies. We are modest about our personal parts, but we don’t have to be modest about other parts. God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable. He did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly, with each part caring about the others. If one part of our body hurts, we hurt all over. If one part of our body is honored, the whole body will be happy.
Together you are the body of Christ. Each one of you is part of his body." (1 Corinthians 12:18-27, CEV)

Find a group of Believers who are serious about the prime commands- Love God wholeheartedly, and love others unselfishly - and commit yourself to their company. Work at it. Give your all, for God's sake.

The Bible says that the results will be simply amazing: "we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. No prolonged infancies among us, please. We’ll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors. God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. 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 4:13-16, The Message)

Strengthen your brothers

Nine young Believers from The Church at Chapel Hill in Georgia traveled to NJ to be at our church this past weekend. Pastor Jeremiah and members of Fulfill The Call sang, danced, spoke, and injected our church with a dose of healthy enthusiasm. Their visit reinforced a truth I already knew but had forgotten - living in isolation is unhealthy. Groups and people tend to get ingrown. We can become paralyzed by our own sins and failings. We begin to think that our way of living the Christian life is 'the' way. The cross pollination of ideas can make us strong, will force us to stop and think, to ponder life from a new perspective. Hearing what God is doing in the lives of others renews our hope in Him for our own lives. That's what FTC did for us. They didn't invent some new truth - thank God! They told us the Gospel story as seen through the lens of their experience. They came and brought us strength!


Luke records a poignant moment at the table where Jesus celebrated the Passover and told his friends to celebrate it in His memory in the future. After that important moment, the disciple fell to squabbling among themselves about who was most important! Amazing, isn't it? They got so caught up in making sure that their place in the pecking order was protected, they lost sight of the One who gave them true Life. Jesus reminds them that true greatness is found in serving each other, that the way up is down. Then I can almost hear Him sigh and He says these words directly to Peter - "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers." (Luke 22:31-32, NLT) His is a bitter-sweet charge. "Simon Peter, you're going to be a failure, shaken like wheat in a sifter by the work of Satan, but you will come through it and repent. Use your experience to restore your friends who will fail even worse than you will."

Peter did emerge weeks later a new man, infused with the authority and power of the Holy Spirit. He was the leader of the first generation Church, not in title, nor even in intellectual abilities, but by his testimony. James held the title of Pastor of the Church at Jerusalem. Paul came to be the thinker who distilled Christian theology, but Peter was the one with the story to which people could relate. "I was the one who fell on his face when the Lord needed me. I was the one who missed the point of the lessons - but He loved me still and restored me. Now, He'll do the same for you!" The broken, the failing, the hopeless heard a word of hope in his testimony and turned to follow the Lord. He embraced the Lord's command - "Peter, strengthen your brothers!"

Do you think you're too _____________________ (what's your excuse?) to be useful to the Lord?
Do you let the mistakes and failures of another day disqualify you from serving the Lord today?
Are you trying hard to pretend that your sins never really happened, burying them?

Take Peter's example for yourself. Get right with God. Confess the sin, find forgiveness, let the Spirit do His restoration work, then strengthen your brothers!
Are you telling the Story to others who need to hear it anew? Are you strengthening others by sharing your experience?

Here's a word from the Word. Put it into practice."Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV)
_________________________
I don't care
What label you may wear.
If you believe in Jesus
You belong with me.
The bond we share
Is all I care to see;
And we will change the world forever
If you will join with me,
Join and sing.

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
Author: Taff, Russ / Taff, Tori / Hollihan, James
Copyright: 1983 Word Music, Inc. (a div. of Word Music Group, Inc.)

Paradigm Crash

Dr. Earl Creps, in a book titled, Off -Road Disciplines, uses the phrase, "paradigm crash." He explains the phrase this way. "A paradigm expresses my basic orientation toward how life works; it is my 'operating system' of unspoken premises that runs in the background unattended. ... A crash happens when pain makes the frailty of those assumptions impossible to ignore... sometimes violent, sometimes gradual - paradigm crashes create an opportunity for God to take us off road, awakening me to mission by crucifying aspects of my culture... and spirituality that need to die."

Twenty years ago, I experienced a paradigm crash. Many of my carefully laid plans for life fell apart as a result of cracks in the foundation that were hidden away beneath layers of denial, religiosity, and apparent success. At the time what I did not realize was that though Jesus was my Savior, He was not my Lord and King. I believed He was the King and Creator, sang of His majesty and love, but lived as the lord of my own life. I was morally upright, serving people in a church ministry, preaching messages that others found helpful in their spiritual development. But, I was still 'in charge' of my life and was unaware that I was trying to make God serve me, rather than me serving Him. From time to time, I sensed all was not well and felt deeply conflicted, but did not know why. When those feelings arose, I brushed them back by working harder, serving more, and singing more loudly in the darkness! Over a period of about two years, God allowed me to experience bitterness of disappointment that I had never tasted in my life to that point. I experienced a 'paradigm crash.' My assumptions about Him, myself, and the way that life should work proved faulty and He loved me enough to let me know my sin! The descent into depression and disillusionment that followed was a dark period of my life but what followed, I can now say, was a grace gift of God. In the death of self and dreams, a new faith emerged, a rock solid foundation for life.

Is Jesus the King of your life or is He King in name only?
Who is really determining how you live - Self or Jesus Christ?

That is a tough question, perhaps one you cannot honestly answer today. Maybe you're like I was two decades ago, doing right things for wrong reasons, and deeply in denial about your real spiritual need.

The people who greeted the Lord as He came to Jerusalem that final week before His crucifixion, thought they had found their king. "They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" (John 12:12-13, NIV) Several days later, the yells in Pilate's courtyard were much different. "Crucify Him, crucify Him!" What happened? Their expectations were disappointed. Their paradigm taught them to expect an earthly monarch who would throw off the Roman rulers and restore the glory of David's kingdom. That paradigm was wrong, and there was a crash. Their plans were not the plans of God. Jesus declared, "My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36, NLT) His throne was the Cross where He conquered sin, Hell, and death but most could not grasp what He was doing. But, even to those who had turned on Him, Jesus offered grace, praying from the Cross - "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing."

Peter, too, experienced a 'paradigm crash,' as he stood in the yard outside of the house where Jesus was being interrogated. When he was challenged about being one of those who loved the Lord, he vehemently denied his association, swept away by fear and, in his confusion, his weakness was exposed for all to see! From the rubble of his broken life, Peter looked up and found new faith in the King of Glory. He was filled with the Spirit of God and became, as Jesus had promised, the leader of the Church.

Is life not working as you thought it would? Is confusion lurking in the darkness at the edges of your mind? Does it seem that you're working harder but realizing less?
Ask God to show you the truth about your self, your assumptions about the world, even your expectations of Him. Perhaps you believed on Him a long time ago as Savior, but only now are coming to grips with making Him Lord and King of your life. Trust Him! He will not write you off, throw you away, or forget you. There is a new grace to be discovered at the end of the life you have planned, when He is allowed to bring into existence the eternal life He has planned.

Crown Him King today. Surrender it all to Him.
_______________________________

If there ever were dreams
That were lofty and noble,
They were my dreams at the start.
And the hopes for life's best,
Were the hopes that I harbored,
Down deep in my heart.
But my dreams turned to ashes,
My castles all crumbled,
My fortune turned to loss.
So I wrapped it all in the rags of my life,
And laid it at the cross.

Something beautiful, something good;
All my confusion He understood.
All I had to offer Him
Was brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful of my life.

Something Beautiful -
Gaither, William J. / Gaither, Gloria
© 1971 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management CCLI License No. 810055

Use stress for strength!

Medical studies are suggesting that one of the reasons for the rise in rates of allergies in American children are the clean environments they live in. Our bodies are designed with an amazing immune system to deal with germs and dirt, but if that system is left on constant idle because of an overly clean environment, it becomes overly sensitive and is triggered by agents it should ignore! Interesting, isn't it? Every little boy who is up to his elbows in backyard dirt can truthfully say, "I'm strengthening my immune system, Mom!" Our bodies need the stress of physical exercise, too. If we are constantly in a state of 'rest,' we turn into marshmallow fluff, our muscle become flabby, our bones soft, and our hearts incapable of meeting peak demand.

Emotionally, we need stress, too. An overly protective parent, who shields her child from every sad situation, who steps into every school yard dispute, is doing that child a tremendous disservice. Learning how to negotiate, how to stand up for ourselves, and how to build relationships are skills that start when we are two and three, and fighting for ownership of our toys. We develop the ability to cope with loss when we experience disappointments that are not life-threatening. Without the experience of those trials and tests of a normal childhood, we grow up to be "Momma's boys," who will not move into a fully independent adulthood. America is full of young adults whose parents thought they were helping by over-managing the details of their childhood or by making sure that little John and Jill were never disappointed or unhappy. Now, they are 25 year old men and women who cannot hold a job, build a marriage, or get up everyday to deal with the realities of life. They think that a little stress will kill them!

Dave Dravecky was a major pitcher at the top of his game when cancer invaded his body. The cancer eventually ended his career and took his arm! In all that tragedy, he went through depression, asked a lot of questions, and wondered why. On the other side of it all, years later, he reflected that losing his baseball career was the door to gaining better things in life and becoming a godly man! He writes, "In America, Christians pray for the burden of suffering to be lifted from their backs. In the rest of the world Christians pray for stronger backs so they can bear their suffering. It’s why we look away from the bag lady on the street and to the displays in store windows. Why we prefer going to the movies instead of to hospitals and nursing homes."

Are you asking God to take away all the challenges of life? Are you praying for your troubles to be erased?

Consider that you might well be praying against your best interests! Paul, the man God called to reach the world with the Good News of Jesus, faced daunting trials. He was often the object of ridicule, arrested by authorities for disturbing the peace, endured shipwrecks during his travels, was rejected by the very people he had brought to Christ, and frustrated by lack of response to his preaching. Did he pray for these trials to be taken away? Yes! Did God do it? No! And, with maturity, here's what the apostle came to know about the value of those difficult situations: ". . . we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NLT)

Are you in a tough time in life?
Is each day a struggle, with troubles cropping up everywhere you turn?

Before you conclude that God has forgotten you, that you need a 'new life,' or that you should just give up, pray for guts!

Ask God to strengthen you, to keep you on your feet, to keep you facing into the battle unafraid and unbowed. He's promised - "I will not leave you as a orphan!... I will never forsake you!"
______________

Here's a word from the Word to ponder today -- "God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out. He’s treating you as dear children. This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children. Only irresponsible parents leave children to fend for themselves. Would you prefer an irresponsible God? We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them.
But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God." (Hebrews 12:7-11, The Message)

___________________________

TFTD will be back on Thursday, March 29. See you later this week!

An Abundance Mentality

When the Mega-Millions lottery prize climbs into the stratosphere, like it did a couple of weeks ago, with a prize of $370 million, I indulge in ridiculous escapist fantasies about what I could do with a sudden windfall of wealth of that magnitude. What would it be like to pay off the church mortgage, to be able to fund tuition for poor students, to support various ministries with gifts that would let them accomplish their mission? I think of dozens of ways that philanthropy could make a difference in the lives of people around me. It's fun, but foolish! But, I also know that there are lots of people who do the same, for I hear the chatter between members of the news media, in the coffee shop, and among my friends. Most of us think, 'if I had more, then I would be more generous.' The truth is that most of us adjust our standard of living upward when we have more resources available to us. As our income grows, we discover all kinds of 'needs' exist in our lives that must be satisfied - a larger home, a newer car, a vacation to an exotic location, higher quality clothing, and things like that. Generosity will not necessarily increase if more 'stuff' is suddenly available to us.

Generosity is an attitude that we can develop whether we are poor or rich by society's standard. All of us have something that others need: be it love, acceptance, support, time, or a listening ear. The book of the Acts tells the story of two preachers going to the Temple to pray. Their generosity is in inspiration! Take a look.
"One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John.
Then Peter said, "Look at us!" So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." (Acts 3:1-8, NIV)

Don't lose touch with a major point of this story by focusing exclusively on the miracle! The fact that a crippled man was made whole is wonderful and usually becomes the thing we talk about in this account. However, there would have been no miracle without the willingness of Peter and John to be generous- taking note of a man's need, getting involved, and offering to help him! What if those two preachers had pretended not to notice him, embarrassed by the fact that they were too poor to give him a dime? What if they had just pulled their pockets inside out to reveal their lack of resources and shrugged off his request? But, they didn't! A generosity of heart and spirit possessed them because they knew they had a Rich Father, so they drew on His account, and shared the power of the Spirit that they did have with the man.

And we can do the same. Wait! Don't be so literal that you only read that story as indicating that we should be out healing people, though that could be what God wants you to do in a given situation. Don't limit your faith in God! Evaluate your resources and go beyond your bank account. Then, adopt the attitude of Peter and John - "What I have I give you!"

What has God given you in abundance? Hope, Love, Peace, Purpose, Eternal Life, Insight - are a few things that our Rich Father promises us. The question is - are we hoarding those blessings, or generously sharing them? Covey, in his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, observes that we live in one of two mentalities. Many of us have a Scarcity Mentality that sees the pie in life as limited in size. If someone gets a bigger slice, we assume it means our slice will be smaller. So we protect our resources and live defensively. Some have grasped an entirely different way of life based on God's provisions. They possess an Abundance Mentality that trusts God to make the pie bigger as we share. From a place of a sense of security and personal worth, founded on God's promise to meet their every need, they are generous - with their resources of every kind. And the Word says, "The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed." (Proverbs 11:25, NLT)

When God called Moses to leave the desert and his father-in-law's little flock of sheep, to return to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery and to the Promised Land, he offered all kinds of excuses why he was incapable of obedience! "I stutter. I'm a nobody. They'll think I just made all this stuff up." The Lord asked Moses a question that I want to leave with you today. "What is that in your hand?" Moses was holding an ordinary shepherd's staff, a stick of wood! But, God used that stick to shake up the court of Pharaoh, like a scepter of authority in Israel, and even to part the Red Sea! But, when all was said and done, Moses had to give what he had before God could use it to change the world.

What is in your hand? What resources do you have? When God asks you to share, do it generously and see what He can do with what you thought was nothing!

The Dutiful Son

One of the best stories that Jesus ever told is recorded in Luke 15, the story of a wayward son who finally comes home to discover that his Father has been waiting for his return with open arms. It's a scandalous story that doesn't include 'appropriate' punishment for the son who took advantage of his dad's generosity, squandering his inheritance on drink and prostitutes. We expect the errant son to find an angry father who, at the very least, lectures him on his failures and puts him on probation to see if his change of ways is sincere. Instead we read of a grand party, a new suit, and restored access to the family fortune. It is a grace story! And there is a part of the story that doesn't get much attention from many of us.

"All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

"The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’ "

His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours— but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’ " (Luke 15:25-32, The Message)

Many people who have been Believers for a while, who live in obedience and serve the Lord earnestly, can identify with the anger of that dutiful son! Forgetting that they are the beneficiaries of God's grace, they close the door to 'those kind of people' who would bring their messes, their failures, and the stink of their sins into the congregation. "What would people think of Christ if they saw us allowing people like that into our membership?" they think. The mission of Christ (to save sinners!) is lost to a maintenance Christianity that is focused on church programs, conformity to rules, titles for the important, and committee work that gives the appearance of progress. These dutiful sons do some good and charitable things for those they consider beneath them, but they are careful never to extend an invitation for 'those kind of people' to enter the church, for they believe it is important to maintain the distinction between 'us and them.'

Jesus is not suggesting that the only way we can really know God's grace is to rebel royally, make a total wreck of life, and then come to God! As the Father said to the good son, "You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours." A holy life has rich rewards including fellowship with God and an eternal inheritance. But, when we cross the line from realization that "but for the grace of God, there go I," to "what a good guy I am: so smart, so superior, so important to my Father," we enter the territory of ugly self-righteousness and begin to replace the beauty of true holiness with an ugly substitute called religion!

When you hear yourself speaking like a dutiful son, assuming a superior attitude, shutting another out of God's kingdom, stop and remember the pit from which God pulled you!
"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."(1 Corinthians 1:26-31, NIV)
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Amazing grace,
how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now I'm found;
was blind, but now I see!

John Newton

It is finished!

Enthusiasm runs high at the beginning of a new project. You can count on it! Everybody is psyched about the possibilities, loving the chance to be a part of the grand opening. It's getting the thing completed that is so difficult. Real character is shown, not by signing on to start something, but by sticking with it until it is finished. This applies universally through out our lives. Marriage is a classic illustration. Many unions come to a disastrous end just a few years after two wonderful kids exchanged loving vows at an altar strewn with flowers. What happens? The grind of life wears down the excitement. A mortgage, a car payment, and two kids can pour a lot of water on passion's flames! Facing the drudgery of paying the bills, dealing with bad moods, and discovery of the hard work of keeping a relationship fresh and alive can make a person forget why they said, "I do," in the first place and soon they find themselves looking for a way to say, "I don't!"

Ministry service wears us down, too. I hear some people talking about 'burn out,' and wonder if that's just a fancy excuse for quitting when the going gets tough or boredom sets in? It's not always easy or fun to serve God or others. The fact is that even the called and Spiritually equipped get weary with serving. Showing up to teach a Sunday School class week after week, collecting food for the pantry, mowing the church lawn, leading in worship, going to an outreach, taking boys on a Ranger campout - they are all exciting opportunities for a while, and then they become real work as the 'newness' wears off. Does that mean a person is 'burnt out,' just because he is not as excited about his place of ministry today as he was a year ago? Or, does it just indicate the ordinary humanness of liking things novel? I get tired of my call, from time to time. I'll admit to that. There is no doubt at all in my life about the reality of God's call to full-time pastoral service that He gave to me one Sunday night in the Summer of 1971. And, truthfully, nothing gives me more joy than introducing someone to Jesus Christ and teaching people how to find the rich life of the Spirit. But, there are weeks when I think, "No more! I cannot take another call, face another critic, sit through another meeting, or write another sermon!" The temptation to look for an exit grows strong and creates all kinds of illusions about the existence of some easier place in life, out there, somewhere.

Nobody remembers people who started strong! They remember those who finish well! Those who enter Halls of Fame are those who stick with it, who keep developing their skills, who perform well until the end. So what does it take to finish well? The Word says, "do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:" (Hebrews 10:35-36, NKJV) We need a strong faith, a real confidence that rests squarely on God's promises of eternal life and heavenly rewards. When we want to quit, it is time to call for a 'time out' and to renew our understanding of why we started, what He promises, and what He asked us to accomplish.

Then, too, a good dose of 'stick-to-itiveness' is important. We need determination that fires us to say, "I'm not quitting!" and then the stubbornness to put our heads down and go forward. Perhaps endurance is a better word, but endurance and stubbornness are surely first cousins, at least! Some days it is just pure guts that gets us through! The truth is - that's life. Hebrews tells that when we are weary, we should think of Jesus! He endured the Cross. He dug deep, sweat blood, wept real tears, and felt the cold breath of dread - but He didn't quit. Isaiah says of the Messiah - "I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed. He is near who justifies Me; Who will contend with Me? Let us stand together. Who is My adversary? Let him come near Me." (Isaiah 50:7-8, NKJV) At the risk of sounding flip, I imagine that Jesus took a deep breath, looked Satan, death, and the Cross squarely in the face and said, "Bring it on!" He trusted God's promise that He would emerge from the dark into glorious Light.

And, from the Cross, He felt the curse fall on Him, knew the work of bearing the sins of the world was done, and He cried - "It is finished!" That was no whimper of regret or self-pity. It was triumphant battle cry that announced His completion of God's assignment. When I come to the end of my journey, I want to be able to throw my hands up to heaven, like a runner crossing the finish line, and yell - "It is finished, Glory to God!" Let's stay the course, dear Believer.

And, here is the Lord's Promise. Ponder it today and take heart from it.
"Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name." (Revelation 3:10-12, NLT)
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A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powr's engage
To do my Master's will!

Arm me with jealous care,
As in Thy sight to live,
And O, Thy servant, Lord, prepare,
A strict account to give!

Help me to watch and pray,
And on Thyself rely,
Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forever die.

A Charge To Keep I Have
Wesley, Charles / Mason, Lowell © Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055

Child-like trust

My kids once thought their Dad was the smartest guy in the world, could fix anything, and always knew exactly what to do. As little children, they trusted me with their lives, literally. It was my God-given responsibility (and privilege) to teach them about the world they lived in, how to interact with other people, the meaning of life, and even about God Himself. Good thing I didn't spend too much time pondering that idea, for even writing it makes me feel overwhelmed! With maturity, they have come to realize that Dad is an ordinary mortal. Sure, they call for advice now and again, but they know that I speak from a place of limited knowledge and experience. They still trust me, but not in the same way they did when they were 5; and that is a very good thing!

We should never out-grow our complete trust in God! But, often we do. As we become more sophisticated in our grasp of the teaching of Scripture, we learn to 'explain away' the promises of God. Jesus once brought a little child to the center of the circle of friends He was teaching and told them, "Unless you become like a little child, you will not enter the Kingdom of God." (Mark 10:15) How I pray for a heart that comes to my Lord with child-like simplicity, that trusts Him without arguing, that accepts each day from Him without demanding that He act differently! How about you?

Our experiences in life require that we work at trusting Him, don't they? I read a story from the life of King David today. David wanted to do a good thing and bring the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. (The Ark was the symbolic dwelling place of God among His people.) His enthusiasm for the task outran his knowledge of the right way to do it. Instead of putting the Ark on poles, carried on the shoulders of priests, in the manner God demanded in the Law, David put the Ark in a cart. It seemed like the right thing to do, but it wasn't God's way. When the cart shook on the bumpy road, Uzzah reached out to steady it and as he touched it, God judged him and he died! Take note of how David reacted to this tragedy - "Then David got angry because of God’s deadly outburst against Uzzah. . . .David became fearful of God that day and said, "This Chest is too hot to handle. How can I ever get it back to the City of David?" (2 Samuel 6:8-9, The Message)

When God acts in ways I cannot understand and/or allows things to happen that do not make sense, I find myself angry and fearful, too. Word reached me on Sunday about a tragedy. A friend in ministry lost his 18 year old daughter in a car crash during the snow storm last Friday. I wept for Craig. And I was upset with God! "Is this the way You treat those who love and serve You? Who will ever trust You if you let things like this happen to people who give themselves wholeheartedly to You?" The Holy Spirit was gentle with me and after I spouted off, I felt His gentle whisper - "Jerry, let your mind and heart become child-like. I know what I am doing! Pray for Craig and Cindy to be sustained by faith and to take new solace from my promise of eternal life." So, I did! The sorrow I feel for that couple is mitigated by a choice to trust God's wisdom and providence in a situation that appears to have no 'up' side, at all.

On this side of Eternity, some (should I say, many?) of our 'why questions' will have no apparent answers. We can demand that God give us a reason, and remain furious with Him, cutting ourselves off from knowing His peace and comfort. Or, we can pray for a child-like trust that accepts each day from His hand with thanksgiving. That, my friend, reveals true spiritual maturity. When we trust Him like that, we show that we are growing in our understanding of His majesty and greatness. I'm not talking about the insincere, chirpy 'faith' chatter that passes for trusting God in some circles! Too often that is just a cover for great insecurity or is a perceived way to get God to do what we want Him to do by saying the right things, even those things we don't really believe.

Child-like faith admits anger and frustration with His ways, but steps over the barrier of 'why' and trusts Him anyway and shows that trust with total obedience!
Do you trust Him today? Really trust Him in a way that causes you to obey Him completely, even when the sinful nature screams to do things differently?

Here's a passage for your meditation today. May the Word inform your faith and make it strong today.

"We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose, and he has always known who his chosen ones would be. He had decided to let them become like his own Son, so that his Son would be the first of many children. God then accepted the people he had already decided to choose, and he has shared his glory with them. What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us?" (Romans 8:28-31, CEV)
Amen.

Why pray when you can worry?

Hundreds of opportunities- no, wait, make that, millions- are available to keep a person in a full state of anxiety. Just turn on your TV and be convinced! Here's what I learned recently.

Terrorists are regrouping in Afghanistan and laying new plans for attacks on America. Multiple health problems are growing threats which could develop at any time in your body, especially if you're like me, over 50! (Cut to ad for cholesterol reducing medication because high cholesterol comes from two sources, your food and your family, just ask your Dr.!) The stock market is down, along with real estate values. Could the economy be preparing for a major down turn, with lay-offs to follow? (Cut to ad from financial firm and learn that Roger has been making people secure since he was a kid.) The earth is allegedly warming and cataclysmic climate changes are certain to leave our coastal cities under water and our fertile farm land will turn into a desert that stretches from Minnesota to Mississippi! The most dangerous thing you will do today is drive. (Cut to ad for Swedish made vehicle which earned 5 stars in latest crash tests.) On the road with you are teenagers who lack skills and experience, trucks that are not properly maintained, and people talking on cell phones whose driving is impaired as much as if they had two alcoholic drinks. If they crash into your car, you may severely injured and unable to work - which will lead to your inability to pay your bills. (And, now it's time for an ad featuring the AFLAC duck!) Maybe I should worry that I watch too much television.

Yes, friend, worry flourishes in the land of so many blessings. Geraldo, Hannity, and O'Reilly (and their fellow TV 'news' reporters) make a very good living by stoking our fears with whirling graphics, ominous music, and charts in vivid colors. All of the noise and fury of our media culture keeps most of us from realizing that on the whole we live amazingly good lives in a very wonderful society. It's not Heaven, but most of our fears are tremendously overblown and exaggerated. (Read about The "Fear Industrial Complex" at http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2898636&page=1)

For the those times and situations in our lives that really do bring us anxiety, the Bible gives each of us a tremendously wonderful invitation. This passage is a mix of realistic appraisals of the threats we face and the resources we are richly provided for dealing with those threats. "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you." (1 Peter 5:6-10, NKJV)

Jesus directs Believers to cease worrying and to choose to live under God's rule, secure in His provisions for each day. A real case can be made that when we keep on worrying, we are disobedient and displease our Heavenly Father. A friend remarked to me in a prayer meeting, "Fear is sin!" I did not like his statement because it judged my heart! I argued with him, but the more I have thought about what he said, the more truth I realized it contains! I cannot control the arrival of thoughts that tempt to me to be afraid and/or to worry, but I do have a choice about what to do with those thoughts. I can persist in worry, which is an act of disobedience and therefore, sin; (Lord, I need forgiveness. Help me in my unbelief!) or I can prayerfully present those threats and needs to my Father and, according to the promise of the Word, enjoy the gift of the 'peace of God which transcends human understanding.'

What will you do with those things, big and small, that threaten your peace and security today?
Will you worry or will you pray?
Will you praise God that He is bigger than any trouble that could come into your life or will you try to be your own god and 'manage the risks' as you grow increasingly anxious?

I'm going to pray!
_____________________________

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry,
everything to God in prayer.

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
everything to God in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He'll take and shield thee,
thou wilt find a solace there.

-Joseph Scriven, Charles Converse, Public Domain

Don't buy the lie!

ABC News reported on the pornography industry of America which is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. The story was focused on the young women in the industry and the 'endless supply' of girls who want in, thinking it is an easy way to become a celebrity and to be rich! One of those interviewed for the program was a true beauty from Florida, raised in a Christian home, whose rebel ways brought her a daughter she had difficulty supporting, which led far from home, making pornographic videos for a 'reputable' distributor. Though she made good money and received a lot of attention, she soon found herself hating herself, hating life, and doing illegal drugs to cope with the inner pain.

On the surface, her life looked glamorous, but it was anything but that! Through tears she said, "You have a million people tell you you're beautiful every single day, a million — and not one of them really give a (care) about you." At the end of the show, the young woman was back home in Florida, trying to rebuild her life, reclaim her daughter, and living with her sister. The price she had paid for her trip to the edges of Hell was obvious from the deep lines etched her her face and the deep pain of the soul that could be seen in her eyes.

Sin always extracts a heavy price, friend - whether it is the kind that is big and bold or the more subtle rebellion against God hidden in the heart. But, sin dresses up in fancy clothes, turns up the music, and puts on the sequins to make itself look wonderful. The ugly price of rejecting God's way is hidden by the illusion of happiness and/or success. The Word says we should not marvel at the deceptive of sin for Satan himself is the 'father of lies.' We also read that he "disguises himself as an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14, NLT) From Eden, one of sin's most successful pick-up lines has been, "Did God really mean to keep you from being happy, from enjoying __________?"

Need we fear being deceived by sin and/or Satan? Not if we are keeping step with the Holy Spirit! Jesus promises "The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen." (John 16:13, CEV) If we want to stay whole and holy, then we must seek the Truth, even when the truth is not pleasant, or what we want to hear at in the moment. I am blessed to have people in my life who will tell me the truth, no matter what. They hold up a mirror for me! Thank God for them. When we learn the Truth- in the Word; by the inner work of God's Spirit; or from those who live in Truth - we must accept it and choose to live in it.

James reminds us "Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:21-25, NIV)

Dealing with temptation today? Does that thing seem so attractive, so harmless, a way to find some happy and 'fun?'
What does God say? What is your conscience saying? What do your trusted counselors say?
Be careful about attempting a negotiation with the Devil. He is a liar and cares nothing for 'full disclosure' of the cost of walking away from God and good.

Keep in step with God's Spirit, and He will guard and guide you into the paths of life.
"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. " (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message)

A rich resource to treasure

"Hey, Dad, what do you think.....?" I hear those words or ones similar about once a week from one of our adult children who call for advice or just to share the latest news about life. Phones and email keep our family connected despite being scattered along the East Coast of the USA. Their requests for advice, prayer, or encouragement are never an imposition, never too much because we are family! The importance of an intact family unit cannot be over-emphasized. One of the leading predictors of a child's academic and social success is his family of origin. A child who is raised in a dysfunctional family environment or one who goes through the breakup of his family either because of death or divorce has a much difficult road to travel to adulthood.

In addition to being part of the Scott (by birth) and Catalano (by marriage) clans, I am part of another family, too: the family of God (by Divine adoption). I realized again the importance of that family this week. I felt the darkness of spiritual attack settle over me. I do not know why these times come, but they are a spiritual 'flu' that hit me every now and then. Terrible feelings of unworthiness and inadequacy fight to control my thoughts. Prayer becomes a major struggle. Doubts about the love of God and fears of the future crash through my mind like a stormy ocean's waves crashing over a seawall. Are these times based in my physical body, coming from some chemical imbalance in my brain? Are they spiritual in nature, attacks by the demons of darkness? Are they a combination of both? Probably! Without being overly dramatic, whatever the origin, those seasons of my life are terrible, and in times past, I thought I would be destroyed. With maturity, I have learned to hang on 'til the storm passes over.

Tuesday of this week, as I was struggling with the darkness, I reached out to the 'family of God' of which I am part. What blessed ministry they offered to me - encouraging words, and best of all, prayers that went up. A couple of saints took time from their own busy lives to come and pray with me and over me with powerful intercession. And, bless God, the Light broke through. It is hard for me to ask for prayer and support, because of a sense that as a shepherd of God's people it is somehow wrong to turn from the one who serves into the one who is served. Yes, you're right. That's really just an expression of a silly macho pride! I am a member of God's great big family and I am foolish not to draw on the rich resources of it.

David exults in the joy of being part of God's family. "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." (Psalm 68:5-6, NIV)

Woven through St. Paul's letters to the Christian churches is the theme of familial care that should characterize the relationships of those who are Believers. His favorite descriptive words for those in the church are brother and sister. "Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10, NIV)

Are you strengthening your ties to God's family?
Take every opportunity to pray for others, seeking God's favor for His family.
Keep the connection strong by quickly dealing with conflict and by stepping over the inevitable offenses that will arise in the church, just like they do in our natural families.
Be forgiving, open, honest, and loving.

Take this word from the Word with you today and meditate on it, even as you praise God for the gift of His great family.

"Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.

Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!" (1 Peter 4:8-11, The Message)

God's kind of people

Some people have the right stuff. They are the cool people of this world; beautiful, stylish, witty, gifted with social grace. They are it in any crowd. My wife, a teacher, says that in among the little ones she teaches in first grade, the social pecking order is already firmly in place. The it girl sets the pace for the rest of the class. Others maneuver to be near her, to bask in her radiance. The handsome, square shouldered athletic guy rules in high school. His queen is often the pencil slim blond girl who has the look patented, the casual toss of her head just so! We never really outgrow this silly stuff. In every social group that I have ever been part of, there are always those who are in, who have mastered the social code.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extends an invitation to people to join another kind of in group. His invitation has nothing to do with good looks, fashion, athletic prowess, or brains! Read His words. They are amazing! "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied." (Matthew 5:3-6, NLT) Those who are impoverished in self-confidence, who are broken by the pressures of life and full of sadness, who do not enjoy privilege at the top of the social heap and thus long for justice - these are the ones invited to God's party! "Why," you may be asking, "does God have something against beautiful people?" Not at all. The problem with those who have it made in this world is that usually they are satisfied with life and unwilling to pursue a relationship with their Creator.

Jesus widens the invitation in subsequent verses: "You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world. You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family." (Matthew 5:7-9, The Message) The world loves the guy without a care in the world, but God loves those who let their hearts be touched by the needs of others. The world loves the sensual, the sexy, the materially successful but God loves the person who understands that real life is lived from the heart. Our society praises the smart ones who know how to play the game to win, but God loves those who bring others into the game, sharing what their knowledge about where to find bread!

A man once told me I was wasting my life in Pastoral ministry. "You spend way too much time around losers," he said; oblivious to his own spiritual poverty because of his pride of place and face in this world. By the standards of society, he may be right. I do spend a lot of time with hurting people, marginalized people, those forgotten by the rich and powerful. And that is just fine with me! The church should be a refuge for 'losers,' to use his term. Anytime a church is structured to marginalize those without the it factor, that church has lost touch with the true mission of being "God's kind of people."

Paul reminded the Corinthian Believers, those who had forgotten where they were when God's love found them, that they had no reason to adopt a superior attitude or to assume they were somehow better than others. "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, NIV)

Are you striving to learn to be one of the world's right people, adopting the superficial standards dictated by the social elite, spending your time and money on being fashionable?

If you're a Believer, I urge you to stop, now!

Make it your goal to be one of God's people instead - full of God-confidence, with a heart broken on behalf of the suffering, with a strong desire for justice and righteousness, who builds up others. God's blessings far outweigh being cool, and best of all, they last into eternity.

Wrestling with God

Sometimes our old sinful nature hangs on doggedly and, like Jacob of old, we wrestle with God. I spent most of yesterday in a conflict with the Lord, unwilling to just 'let it go' for God's sake and as a result, dropped into bed last night weary- not from work, but from wrestling! Some spiritual issues are resolved quickly. One temptation to serve myself presented itself to me early yesterday and I immediately prayed, "Lord, here it is. Please take this from me today." He did and it was gone. Another issue found a place in my mind and dug in for a long struggle. Was it God's fault that I spent a restless day? No way. A part of me knew that what I needed to do was to die to self, but another part of me was determined to have my own way in the matter.

"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (Matthew 16:25, NLT) is what Jesus teaches us. What does He mean? That "Me" must never be the reference point for the way we live. All decisions must trace back to His will. This requires self-denial. The word is an uncompromising one: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23, NIV) Self-denial is not self-hatred! The Gospel does not teach us to that we must kill our personality or become mindless drones to please God. But the Lord does require us to surrender ourselves totally to His will, to place ourselves at His disposal. By faith we accept that we can live a God-blessed life that is marked by the fruit of the Holy Spirit if we make a practice of daily surrender. Yesterday, on that single issue, I refused God's will. That is precisely why I spent my day in an exhausting internal struggle.

Jesus offers each of us a 'rich and satisfying life.' (John 10.10 NLT) The paradox is that we find it through dying! Every part of our natural mind screams for survival and free expression. The world around us teaches us to seek power and many methods of controlling the world to assure that our 'needs' are met. And, in a limited way, a selfish life produces some happiness, for a short time. But, Self is never satisfied. When one plateau of self-realization is reached, Self drives us to grab for more... and more ... and more.

All the while, in the heart of the Believer, the Spirit is whispering, "Come and follow me and I will give you life to the full." The choice always belongs to you and me. God has given us the gift of Will and allows us to choose Him or lesser gods. The Enemy of God is a deceiver who creates an attractive illusion around self-will and sin. If we give him an inch, he always take a mile. That is why we must pray, as Paul does, "that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." (Ephesians 1:18, NIV)

Dallas Willard, who writes extensively on the subject of spiritual formation, observes: "As we keep before us the clear and forceful vision of Jesus and his kingdom, we make daily progress. Our personality becomes increasingly reorganized around the Kingdom of God. Our self-denial moves beyond tentative and intermittent acts, to a settled disposition and character. At first we must very self-consciously deny ourselves. We must work at reject the preeminence of what we want... but when we do this, we discover surprisingly specific motions of God's grace in and around to guide and strengthen us.... and we will eventually come to live in a way described by St. Francis - as one who 'wears the world like a loose garment, which touches us in few places and there, lightly.' " (Revolution of Character)

Are you wrestling with God today, trying to convince Him to let you have your own way?If so, you are robbing yourself of peace and joy.

Whatever the issue is, big or small, take it to Him and lay it down at His feet. Learn the prayer of the Lord Jesus, and utter with deep faith, "Not my will, but yours be done!" And the Spirit will step in to empower you to choose life.

Die to live! That's the way of the Cross, the way to eternal life.

"We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up." (Hebrews 12:2-3, NLT)

"So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong. Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many." (Hebrews 12:12-15, NLT)

Scared Straight?

Jim was taught that the world was a terrible place, that dangers lurked everywhere. He was taught that God is an angry deity who must be feared, that the Devil is a powerful threat, who is waiting to pounce. Jim is afraid and feels powerless in an environment of uncertainty. As a result he builds defensive walls in his life and only relates to people who think and act like he does. He is isolated, alone, and convinced that everyone is 'out to get me.'

Sam was taught that the world was a beautiful place created by God for our enjoyment. He was also cautioned that the world contains real dangers and that a wise man knows the way to minimize the impact of those dangers on his life by inviting the Holy Spirit to guide his life into good places. He learned that God is a loving Father who demonstrated His care for us through Jesus Christ; and that He seeks the best for those who love Him. He knows, too, that the power of evil is diminished, by doing good and living in the love of God. As a result Sam lives joyfully, hopefully, and effectively engaged as a godly influence in his world.

Which kind of world do you inhabit- a fear filled one like Jim, or a Spirit-filled world like Sam?

I watched a documentary film last night called "Jesus Camp." It follows a group of children from their local church in Missouri to a week of Christian camp in an aptly named town, Devil's Lake, North Dakota. (I'm not kidding on that point.) The children are indoctrinated with a fear-based theology that is interwoven with a paranoid world-view. The film made me deeply angry as I watched young children (ages 9-12) being scared to death, their emotions manipulated by leaders who were in the grip of their own fears of the world. These little ones were subjected to political rants filled with apocalyptic views about the imminent destruction of America which left them obviously shaken and weeping real tears of terror! There was no evidence of a true God-confidence. What a twisted presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! But it was all too familiar to me as I've experienced it and seen it up close and personal so many times in my own life.

Preaching a fear-based Christianity is not a new thing. For the two millennia of our faith, there have been those who majored on Hell and the Devil. Why? Because, at first, fear is a powerful motivator to change. If a preacher can make the fires of Hell hot enough, he can scare people into a confession of faith. Fear also bonds people together, getting them to stick with the Church. Give them a common enemy, the Devil (or abortionists, or homosexuals, or liberal judges, or Muslims) and they will overcome their differences to fight the feared enemies. But the downside of fear is its diminishing returns. Anyone who lives with fear, over time learns to adapt to it, to turn it off. That's why fear based Christianity ultimately fails to keep people living for God. Hell fade into the distant future. In time, the boogeymen in the world and even the Devil himself, no longer produce the same levels of fear.

That's why Jesus does not drive people to God with fear.
He calls them to God with love!

Over time, love deepens into maturity of faith, and as a person walks with God, it intensifies. To be sure, Jesus recognizes the reality of evil and the fact that people who rebel against God will perish, but that is not His major theme. Jesus' Gospel is not so much a defense as an opportunity. He says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29, NKJV) Here's the way The Message (a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible) reads - "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." (Matthew 11:28-29, The Message)

John reminds us that love perfects (completes) us. "God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first." (1 John 4:16-19, NLT) How can we miss this wonderful truth? How can we give up the rich promise of acceptance for a paranoid fearful experience of 'faith?'

Don't let your Christianity be shaped by fear! Study the story of the Prodigal Son (or as I prefer to call it, the story of The Waiting Father) and let the Word and Spirit convince you of God's gracious favor. To be sure we live in a world where the Devil rages and where evil men seek destruction - but we are not afraid because "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4, NKJV)

More questions than answers?

I came home from our church's Leadership Team meeting last night with questions running through my mind -
How do we fire up the enthusiasm of our volunteers? Where can we find another $120,000 for that project that needs attention? How do we stay relevant and effective in God's work here?
What must we do to help the newer people in our congregation to feel 'connected?'
Are the needs of the elderly members being addressed?

There was more than a small amount of fear fighting for traction. I could hear the whispers of doubt at the doorway of my mind telling me that "You're just not up to this challenge. You need to let somebody with a better set of skills take over." Am I the first person who is pressed by his responsibilities? Of course not. Anyone who attempts much of anything in this world - from a Little League coach to the President of the USA- will come up against barriers that look formidable!

In my Scripture reading I was in the book of Zechariah, not exactly one of my favorite texts. But the Lord brought this passage to memory in the middle of my musings and prayers last night: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty. "What are you, O mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’" Then the word of the LORD came to me: "The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. "Who despises the day of small things? Men will rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. " (Zechariah 4:6-10, NIV)

Zerubbabel was one of the men who returned to Jerusalem some 70 years after the Babylonians had destroyed the city. His mission was to rebuild the Temple for worship. The obstacles he faced were multiple - the difficulty of clearing the rubble, the threats from the nations that surrounded Jerusalem, and the despair that fell on his work force when the job dragged on and on. Zerubbabel was trying to do something BIG, with limited resources. God sent him a word to encourage his efforts, reminding him that his greatest resource was the Spirit of God and that when he finished the task, everyone would realize that it was God, not Zerubbabel who made it happen.


Every Believer is a temple builder. We are not building a physical place of worship, a church. We are building a life to honor God, where His majestic Presence dwells. To be holy and to live a life worthy of Him- now that is one huge challenge, . Given that we are flawed by a sinful nature, the idea of being God's temple seems ridiculous - except that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit." In Ephesians God's promise to empower us is clear. Paul writes, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NLT)

Are problems multiplying around you like rabbits in the springtime? Are there more questions than answers in your life today?

Take the Word to heart. Look up with faith. Don't ask for release or reassignment. Instead, ask for more faith to stay steady, for greater wisdom to see the solutions, and for release of Divine resources so that anyone who sees your victory will say, "Look what God has done!" And, in that, you will have accomplished the calling we each share - to glorify the God who saved us.
"We felt sure that we were going to die. But this made us stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting God, who raises the dead to life. God saved us from the threat of death, and we are sure that he will do it again and again." (2 Corinthians 1:9-10, CEV) Amen.

A word to the wise

When my grandsons come to visit, they love to play in our back yard, which is sizeable. They can run and dig and explore - but we keep our eyes on them because they are boys in need of boundaries. Soon after going out to play in our yard, they are eyeing the neighbor's yard, which becomes more and more inviting as the moments pass! It's not just little boys in the backyard who need guidance. Our hearts need boundaries, too. The hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing says: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, oh take and seal it; seal it for Thy courts above." An old proverb points out that 'the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.' That's why we need good fences!

Don't confuse knowledge of the boundaries with wisdom to remain within them. Gavin and Payton know they should stay in my yard, but they need the wisdom of an adult to keep them there! Plenty of people who have wandered from the right way into sins of every description know full well what they are doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. The Proverbs reminds to "Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track " (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message) Trust God... He will keep you on track! It is a foolish person who thinks he will never wander off the right path because "he's too smart or too good."

The road of life is strewn with wreckage from lives of educated, intelligent, and moral persons who thought they were above making some 'stupid' choice. So how do you and I avoid the same fate? The Word reminds us- "Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." (Proverbs 4:23, NLT) That principle is stated in various ways throughout the Bible. What we do flows up out of who we are. The way to stay within the boundaries of a life that invites God's blessings, is not with handcuffs, but with heart change. It is critically important that you and I give the Spirit of God total access to our inner person on a daily basis. A time of quiet meditation and prayer, for even just a few moments each morning, allows Him to speak to us, to guide us, to redirect our heart's intents. Then, too, we need to feed our heart with the wisdom of the Scripture. "But, Jerry, I've already learned so much of it." You know, so have I, but we 'forget' like a kid forgets his parent's instruction. That's why we must go back again and again to reinforce the Truth. And, we must stay in regular communication with other Believers who are true friends, who love us enough to speak truthfully to us with affirmation and correction.

It is so much easier to curb an impulse of the heart than to correct a course of action!

So, are you tempted by the greener grass next door? Guard your heart!
Ask God to help you to stay within His boundaries.
Remember this -"No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it." (1 Corinthians 10:13, The Message)

______________________

Search me, O God,
And know my heart today;
Try me, O Savior,
Know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be
Some wicked way in me;
Cleanse me from every sin
And set me free.

Lord, take my life,
And make it wholly Thine;
Fill my poor heart
With Thy great love divine.
Take all my will,
My passion, self and pride;
I now surrender,
LordIn me abide.

Cleanse Me - Edwin J. Orr
© Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055

Be authentic!

Much has been made in the media this week about Senator Hillary Clinton's speaking appearance in Selma, Alabama last weekend during which she attempted a Southern accent while quoting an old Gospel hymn. Apparently she was making an attempt to 'connect' with her audience, but it was so phony that it plays like a joke wherever it is shown on TV or the Internet. She made a mistake for which I imagine she is mortified on reflection. What makes the clip so comic is the completely forced attempt of a woman born in Illinois and educated in the Ivy League to be a good ole' gal from Alabama. She knows now, or at least she should, that the better road is just to be who she is. Sen. Clinton is not the first politician to trip over image-making that comes off as hollow, nor will she be the last.

Of much more concern to me than a politician's comedic attempt at a regional accent is the temptation - common to every Christian - to pretend to be someone or something we are not spiritually! Our desire to enjoy the approval of other people tempts us to cover our failings with professions of faith unmatched by the true attitude of our heart. Jesus speaks directly to this issue and He condemns it. Take a look.
"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. "When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. "And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?" (Matthew 6:1-5, The Message)

Just as the Senator's well-meaning but fake attempt at fitting in with her audience failed; any attempt you or I make at pretending to be better Christians than we really are will fail. Self-deception may make us the last to realize that we are making a joke out of our Christianity. One of the most frequent criticisms of Believers is hypocrisy, and sadly, it is a criticism that has real merit. Secret sins are often hidden away under religious robes, rhetorical prayers, and hymns sung without engaging our hearts.

One of the reasons that 12 Step recovery groups like AA work so well is that they invite people to 'come clean,' about themselves- to tell the good, the bad, the ugly truth. "Hello, my name is __________, and I'm an alcoholic." That introduction is not an excuse to go get drunk again. It is an admission of weakness that invites encouragement to change and sobriety. My sincere desire is to lead a community of Believers who share that sense of acceptance that leads to authenticity. I sometimes wonder if we should lead off our church services with an introduction like that used in AA, "Hello, I'm Jerry, and I'm a sinner, saved by God's grace alone." The Apostle Paul felt no need to pretend. He wrote of himself, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." (1 Timothy 1:15, NKJV)

Confessing our innate sinfulness does not create, as some say, an excuse for sin. It opens our lives up to the encouragement of our follow Believers, to self-examination, and to the work of the Spirit! It is a declaration of dependence. Paul reminds us about the folly of thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. "Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence." (1 Corinthians 10:12, The Message)

"Honest to God," is really a great phrase, when we really mean it. He sees us - naked, vulnerable, as we really are - and loves us deeply. So why do we pose and pretend? Don't make a joke of Jesus by adopting a phony religious tone in life. Be real. When you fail, admit it without excuse - to God, to others. When you find a measure of success, celebrate it - for what it is, nothing more, nothing less. If you're afraid, doubting, confused, tempted - find a faithful friend to whom you can unburden your heart and together take your needs to the Lord Jesus, an ever-present Source of help.

When live authentically, we find great freedom, and we become living proof of the goodness and glory of God that shows through our weaknesses. Be authentic, for God's sake, today.