Imbibe

To my emails, I have been attaching a thought I had the other day, "When we talk, we have to take a breath to utter words. When we read scripture, we pray to imbibe His word."

Someone just asked me about "imbibe."  Imbibe means to drink, take in, absorb. And thus to receive nourishment....  In a social  sense, when we're talking with a friend it feeds our soul to have our soul connect or touch his.  Giving and taking information, feelings, and dreams we learn more of the other and receive something back for our lives when we connect with that friend.  It helps us to move forward another day when we can make sense of what we're feeling and why that failed relationship so many years ago still hurts so much or why my relationship with my wife is so amazingly fresh after 13 years.  It is in those patterns of relationship that we learn more about ourselves and develop hopes and dreams for the future.

Prayer is one of those lost arts which we need to help us make sense of our spiritual lives.  And really not only of our spiritual lives but of the rest of our lives as well.  It is in prayer that breathe out and in of God's Spirit and come to know him better.  Ultimately, however, we learn about God through reading his word.  When we read God's word we must read it with a prayer on our lips so that our soul touches His.  In this connection we reframe our lives in terms of his and learn about ourselves in the process.  Yes, we learn we're failures and fall short.  Yes, we learn we're not all that we once were.  But we also learn of God's grace and his power to bring us from a position of stagnation to a place of movement toward eternity.  I wonder if one component of our sin is a human attempt to bring movement to a stagnated soul?  If we would but wait on God, we would learn that this is not stagnation.  God will provide for us a release that will propel us toward the ultimate focus of our souls: life in God.

So we drink deeply of God through breathing his word in and out of our soul: imbibe and live.

Ebbs and Flows

The world has not stopped spinning, a new degree was not award by a dean, nor was there even a flap of a butterfly wing at last night's events. But I believe God is smiling with head up and eyes closed this morning at the thanks I offer him now for a woman who is greater than any President, King, Dignitary, or Scholar.
My wife and I just wrote her resignation letter for her job. This marks a significant day in our lives because four years ago she went back to work so that I could complete seminary. At that point it was a very painful, shameful, and depressing thing for me. We had worked very hard to get her home with our children and I simply did not want to ask her to go back to work. I thought I was a failure because I couldn't do it all. But God had to teach me one more lesson.
We tried to do it with my working full-time and her working part-time but I didn't have enough time to do what I needed to do. So without my asking, she graciously offered to go full-time in her job. She did that and now she has worked seven-on-seven-off for four years. The stress and hours have taken a toll on her health, but she has not complained. The kids have had to be without their mom and put up with a dad that doesn't always handle things well but they have survived. I am truly honored to be her husband and to have benefitted from her life. She epitomizes what Proverbs 31 is about and she inspires me to continue in this thing of ministry. I really don't know how I would function without her. She keeps me sane, loves me when I'm wrong, finds new ways to help our kids, and elevates others above herself. She is simply incredible.
In the next few weeks she will quietly resign a post that she has poured her heart and soul into - as she does everything she does - and will give up any career aspirations or goals she might have so that she can stay home and raise godly little people. The pundits will grind on in their cynicism of Christianity, the atheists will whine in their crass accusations against Christians, and vile heathens will rail against God himself. But if they would just cast their eye on the quiet Saints like my Tracey, all their pustules would shrink and their profanity would become empty. Godliness, Christ-likeness, and Love are summed up in a brilliant woman stepping away from her accomplishments to pour herself into her children. This is the summation of the Gospel.
I know I cannot repay the love she has shown me and it would be a poor epitaph to try do so. My pedestrian thoughts or thanks cannot begin to attain the heights of the love and dedication to me and the Kingdom she has given. So I ask God to reward her for her deeds. His is a sure and lasting reward. But what I can do is say, "thank you" and "I love you." Tracey, you mean more to me than words can possibly say and I thank God for you. "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."

Generation

My friend, David Freeman, and I went to The Generation last night at Gardendale's FBC.  Andy Heis did a great job bringing the word while Dave and I pumped at the worship and message!  Awesome job, Andy!  He challenged us to deal with our envy and work for the kingdom within the constraints (and abilities) that we have.  But to realize that anything we do we do it for GOD and that HE is the one who will bring about our success.  SO - it is GOD who deserves our praise.  What an awesome night.  Check out http://www.generation145.com/.  

David Freeman - aka DFREE - leads worship and can be found at www.davidfreemanworship.com.

David and I have a heart to reach the next generation of people who are coming up.  We are praying for a great work of God to begin in Trussville. 

God's Amazing Grace

I spoke to an old friend of mine last night.  I was amazed to hear from him and hear that God had invaded his world and brought him back to him.  I don't want to share any details out of fear that I will embarrass him.  But I have been rejoicing that God still chases us years into our rejection of him.

Supplemental Information on Jonah

Hi ya'll, if you're looking for more information from my class from Jonah, then you have come to the right place.

For additional information on Khesed or Sheol, see Allen Ross' word study at http://www.christianleadershipcenter.org/otws.htm. You will see a number of other word studies here as well. Dr. Ross teaches Hebrew, archeology, and OT Studies at Beeson Divinity School. Also be aware of his great books...a couple of examples include Recalling the Hope of Glory, and Holiness to the LORD. I read him often for background on my work. OOPS that's kind of spoiler. You will not come to my classes if you read all that!

I happened to be reading the Psalms this week and came across Psalm 136. The writer of this psalm repeats the phrase "his love endures forever" a number of times. The word translated "love" in this passage is khesed. Have a look at it; I think it is very illuminating.

An Amazing Christmas

Christmas conjures up thoughts of mistletoe, parties, snow, presents, Santa Claus, and oh yeah—Jesus. It is an idyllic time where we strive for “peace on earth, good will to men.” We want to see the turnaround in the lives of people at this time of year similar to what happened with Ebenezer Scrooge in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. We want life to work the way it does in Carol or in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

But of course most of the time, our lives are more like A Christmas Story (remember the little kid with Red Ranger Rifle with the compass in the stock) or perhaps more tragically like Nightmare before Christmas.

As a single young man, several years ago I found myself in search for the right episode or condition for Christmas Holidays. I began to plan it out so that everything would work just to my satisfaction. I arranged parties, scheduled dates to Christmas plays, went to see all the holiday movies at the Alabama Theatre, and on and on. And in many ways I succeeded. Those are wonderful memories. I highly encourage everyone to make the most of this season and get everything you can out of it.

But there was a certain emptiness which inevitably came upon every year. Here’s why: all of my activities involved only myself and how I could smooth over the loneliness and pain in my heart.

One year when I was about 25, I went through a breakup (one of many) with a girlfriend. I began to mope around the office and whine to my co­workers about this person when a woman I worked with challenged me to do something. Patsy suggested that I borrow a Santa suit that she had and go to the Children’s Hospital on Christmas Day. I wanted to argue but I felt rather exposed as to how selfish I was being so I agreed. Patsy arranged it with the hospital and on Christmas morning I got up early and put on the Santa suit – complete with pillow and beard - jumped in my little red Miata (yes I put the top down) and I drove to Children’s Hospital to see the kids there.

Please understand that they send home everyone they can at Christmas, so they are left with the sickest of the sick on Christmas day. Some of those children would not live to see another Christmas. One child in particular was the only one in the psychiatric ward. I asked about his condition and all the attendant would tell me is “he’s extremely violent and his parents abandoned him.” I sat with him for a while and prayed with him and talked with him. He was not mean or nasty to me. He just needed a friend. Every other per­son or child I met that day treated me like a king. They would hold onto me and ask me to pray for them. They asked me when I got in from the North Pole. There were so many parents who would light up when they saw that someone was willing to come on this day of all days to see their child.

I cannot remember every detail of that day because most of the day my eyes were filled with tears. But I can tell you this: I was changed man.

I did this several other times in other hospitals and over time it became more difficult to get in so I finally had to stop. It was always fun, however, to watch the reaction of people as they were on their way to grandma’s house for Christmas. People took pictures and waved and kids would shout “thanks Santa!” as I drove in the Miata.

It was truly an amazing Christmas.

As you think about this season, I cannot relieve your pain or make this time idyllic. I cannot take you out of your element and transport you into another time and place. God did not promise that either. God said to Isaiah that Immanuel would come. Immanuel means “God with us.” Jesus dressed up like us and visited those of us who were sick and reminded us that God indeed cares and loves and hurts for you as he did when he gave his son on the cross.

In fact, with that in mind, every Christmas is an amazing Christmas.office at 228-1014.

Why do you need to know?

One disclaimer: this is more of a rant than I am used to doing, but I hope you find it helpful.

Why do you need to know?

Someone asked me last week, “Is Obama the Anti-Christ?”  I am going to answer that question, but first I want to deal with the question itself.  It is a bad question.  Some say there are no bad questions, but I think there are.  This is a wrong question.  If you want to ask that question, then let me first ask a few….

Why do you need to know?  Will it help you in your walk with Jesus?  Will it make you lead one more to Him?  Will it make you want to love your family more?  If so, then let that be added motivation for these core things.  But the fact is, most Christians want to know who will be the Anti-Christ for the same reasons others read horoscopes, tarot cards, or Ouija boards.  Perhaps we want to know the future because it gives us a sense of power or control over our lives.  We cannot face the tension of thinking that America may actually be part of the engine of the Beast of Revelation, or that the United States will become part of the ten member organization that aligns itself against Jesus.  Some people try to say that America is not mentioned in scripture and will not be part of that organization.  Some say that something else will happen or that we’ll go down swinging against the other nations.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

The truth is that the United States, in my opinion, will indeed be part of the ten member organization; that we will indeed align ourselves with the False Prophet and the Beast; that we will deny God and persecute Christians.  There is simply not another way to interpret the passages.  There of course will be a remnant and there will be the people of Israel who will stand against the beast, but honestly, truthfully, the United States will become a pawn in the hand of Satan.  Perhaps she already has.  People have labored long and hard over who the great harlot is in Scripture: is the Roman Catholic Church?  It is the Muslims?  Maybe the great harlot is the USA.  Maybe the nation who says “In God we trust,” who has sent more missionaries than any nation ever known, who has done more good, given more money, and defended more weak than anyone will become the first to fall when the Anti-Christ appears.  Maybe not.  But scripture does not leave us much to go on here and we have to be honest with ourselves that this could be the case.

But in case I have not offended already, here is another offense: Christians should not care where the USA fits into apocalyptic history.  When Jesus ascended into heaven in Acts 1, the disciples asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"  You see the early Christians had the same problem we do: we want to know things.  We want our team to win.  We want to be number one.  The Jews and believers of that day saw within the Old Testament passages these large passages describing how highways would be built to bring people from Egypt, Assyria, etc. to Jerusalem.  They envisioned a big kingdom.  And they wanted to be at the head of it.

But Jesus would not be swayed.  In verse 7, “He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”  Basically, Jesus said, “not your job.  Get back to work of bringing people to me.”  The rest of the book of Acts details that effort.

Paul had to deal with this again.  In 1 Thessalonians he hits on this.  People in that city were quitting their jobs, sitting on roofs, and looking for Jesus to come.  Nero ruled and people were being persecuted: torn limb from limb, hot oil poured on them, thrown in jail, thrown on sticks and impaled, thrown to lions, thrown in the rivers, thrown out of cities.  Surely, this is the end of the world as we know it.

Paul did not even touch on these issues.  Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 through the end of the book.  Paul talks about the end and that we need to have hope.  He talks about the end and that it will come suddenly.  He says that we are to be in the light and children of light – not of darkness.  That is, we need to be informed, be wise, be alert and self-controlled.  Verse 8 is the key here:

“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Faith, love, and the hope of salvation is our focus and what we encourage one another with. 

Now look at the sections before 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and after 1 Thessalonians 5:11.  Paul emphasizes to work hard, mind your own business, live in peace, and win the favor of outsiders.

When I worked for a large corporation, I went through a time where I had a great deal of responsibility and I felt like I needed to know everything that was going on in the organization.  I needed to know a lot but not everything, of course.  But over time I tried to worm information out of people and finally I overstepped my bounds and got into trouble.  I was rebuked by a Senior VP – as I should have been – and told to get back to work and mind my own business.  You see the fact of the matter was that I was not doing what I should have been doing because I was getting into things that were not my responsibility.  When I reset my vision on my job and its goals, I functioned better.  I didn’t need to know everything.

Is Obama the Anti-Christ?  I really don’t know.  Could be, but probably not.  If so, then we have Revelation to tell us that God wins, Jesus cleans house, the permanent Kingdom is established, and we get to enjoy it.  If he is not, then we have a while to wait.  Some are going to try to use scripture to say that he is or isn’t.  I am not going to make that move because I think that if I put my mind to it I could convince a few people that he is the Beast.  But then again, I think I could demonstrate that Alexander Putin or the President after him is the beast and/or false prophet.  They fit more of the criteria: they are from Europe, they are possibly of Jewish origin, they are making moves again to take over large portions of land, they are largely anti-God, and on and on.  Many have done that with Hitler, Stalin, Nero, and on and on.  Obviously, none of them were the false prophet or the beast in terms of post-tribulation prophetic interpretation.

So you see, you read your tarot cards and I’ll read mine and we’ll be in Scotland in the morning.

God’s holy word is not a Ouija board to be used for telling fortunes.  God gives us his word for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.  It is not to be used as a horoscope.

 The Old Testament writers got it right when they called the last days the “day of the LORD.”  It is the LORD’s day when he brings to an end evil, Satan, and the flesh: not ours.  We try to make that day ours when we try to bring our questions to scripture and demand answers the way we want them answered.  The right question is not “is Obama the Anti-Christ” but “what am I doing to bring redemption to my world?”  If we focus on that and mind our own business then I think we will not only live in more peace and hope, but we’ll bring a lot more people with us.

The Dark Night of the Soul

I have been doing some reading in Devotional Classics, edited by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith. This week's reading is by John of the Cross (1542-91). John wrote a book called "The Dark Night of the Soul." Many people today do not want to endure the drought times that God sends on our souls. He gives us sweet milk when we are young and we enjoy the milk. But to promote growth, God will separate us from others and place in a situation where we are not depressed, but where we are just going through a dry, dark time. Several years ago I read a book by Isobel Kuhn called Green Leaf in Drought Time. It is now out of print, but it is by a dear missionary who endured just such a time during China's turn to communism, but I digress slightly.

Part of the reason why God brings this dark time, according to John, concerns our emotions or feelings. Over time we develop a sort of spiritual greed where we want the next spiritual experience to outdo the previous. So we seek out "certain religious objects or holy places and begin to value visible things too highly." Hmm, I wonder if we do that in our worship styles, in our types of churches, in our worship venues, or in our Bible reading? When we do this, we put a demand on God instead of his having a demand on us. So God puts us in a place where the pleasure is removed so that the soul may be purified. "For a soul will never grow until it is able to let go of the tight grasp it has on God."

There are many of these spiritual sins. One of which he mentions is spiritual gluttony. "The sin of spiritual gluttony will prompt them to read more books and say more prayers, but God, in his wisdom, will deny them any consolation..." so that they will be removed from this sin.

I believe that spiritual sloth is where many are in our society. "They begin to lose interest in God for they measure God by themselves and not themselves by God." We approach God with our questions (and answers) and expect him to address us in our way and in our time. Even as Christians we do this, but God will not be made a toy in the hand of the child. He will take us through arid times to prove he is the oasis for which we search.

Read Psalm 42 and see David's response to the Dark Night.

The Woman at the Well

This is an amazing video about the woman at the well... It's worth checking out.

This is the passage from John 4.

Where did Lazarus go when he died?

This question came to me this week so I thought I would post my thoughts on this here.

I have a long version and a short version answer to this. 

Where did Lazarus go?

SHORT ANSWER: Abraham’s Bosom – boy did he have some stories to tell!  And then he’d have to die again!

LONG ANSWER:

The Hebrews and other ancients thought that death was a three day journey.  Sheol was your destination.  So you would make your journey and you probably did not know anything about your journey on your way there.  Nor would you know anything if you came back from the “dead” before your journey was complete.  Part of this may have come about because they would see people seemingly expire and then resuscitate.  Of course, we have a more technical understanding of this now and don’t see it quite the way they do.  This is interesting in context of Jonah, by the way.  Some folks think he may have actually died and God resurrected him in the belly of the whale.  This would further explain why Jesus compared himself to Jonah when speaking of his D.B.R., but  I digress.  Lazarus as it reads in John was in the tomb four days.  He had already completed his journey in the minds of the Hebrews which made his resurrection more interesting. 

 

So, what did he see?  Jesus gave us the story in Luke 16 of the rich man and another Lazarus (poor man).  He went to Abraham’s bosom.  This place was apparently separated from hell by a gulf and each side could see the other.  I am not sure if the geography should be taken literally on this.

 

The bigger question is really where did Jesus go? 

Okay, I am going to finally answer your question.  Some I have read on this believe that prior to Jesus’ death everyone went to Sheol: saints went to Abraham’s bosom, non-saints went to tartarus or hades which was/is a holding place for those without Christ awaiting judgment.  At the judgment then those without Jesus will be cast into gehenna – lake of fire burning with sulfur (some may not equate hades and tartarus with actual burning).  I can track down the scriptures on this later.  Basically all three of these words are used for hell and this creates a lot of discussion.  Hades and maybe tartarus correspond to the basic OT idea of living without God and being cast into a holding place.  But then Jesus comes along and talks about gehenna quite often. 

Insert here the Apostle’s creed which says Jesus descended into hell… or more correctly … Sheol. 

http://www.creeds.net/ancient/apostles.htm 

Matthew 12:38-41 

38Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."

 39He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

Did Jesus just die and do nothing or did he do something else?

See 1 Peter 4:6 (New International Version)

6For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

Hmm…

If we take 1 Peter 4 with Luke 16 then perhaps the Creed is correct and Jesus went to preach the good news to Abraham and the others and bring those people out of Abraham’s bosom and take them to heaven.

Answer to the question then is that Lazarus went to be in Abraham’s bosom and then Jesus called him back.  Jesus therefore is truly the master over death and the grave.  That is the point of the passage – not where he went, what he saw, or what he did!

1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

Other texts:  Job 38:17, Psalm 68:18-22; Matthew 12:38-41; Acts 2:22-32; Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:7-10, 1 Peter 3:18-20, and 1 Peter 4:6.

See also: http://www.creeds.net/ancient/descendit.htm

Knowing God

I am re-reading J.I. Packer's classic, Knowing God.  I certainly think I know some things about God, but what Packer wants to do with this book is to help us to know God.  Most people think they know about God (or even know him).  My kids do this as well.  They will joke with one another say, "Hey look out you just sat down.  God is in that chair...you sat on him!"  They laugh and my wife and I sort of grimace at their callous joking.  We try to carefully explain that this is not how it works.  God is everywhere but he is not in the chair, per se.  That's hard for me to understand much less for kids.  Now that I am a minister, people expect you know more about God and to actually lead them to God.  I can't really do that.  In fact I don't think anyone can.  There was a man who died to bring us all to God.  Of course his name is Jesus.  I wrestle with this question of how well I know God.  How well do I really know him, his ways, and what he wants of me?

Need Discernment

I am memorizing Philippians 1:9-11 which says "And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."  This captures our vision of "Commit, know, do because it is all about him" at our church.  But I also think I need the discernment for ministry to young adults.  Statistically they are supposed to be here but where are they?  I need help from God to do this ministry.  But gratefully it is God will complete it, and not me....

Busy Summer

It has really been a busy summer, but I have had some good experiences recently.  I attended a singles Connect Conference in Charlottet which I found helpful.  It helped to give me a greater passion for our emerging generation and how to reach it for Christ.  A link to the "Threads Conferences" can be found at: http://www.threadsmedia.com/index.php?/events/connect

Psalm 62

Psalm 62 is one of my most favorite Psalms. Take a minute and read it if you like. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2062&version=31

My refuge is in God alone. I must admit I don't always do this. Taking my heart and soul to God and looking to him for everything I need is more than I can muster. That's why David said that his honor and his salvation depend upon God alone.

The psalms are such a great collection of writings by people who want something to happen but cannot make it happen on their own. Or they want deliverance from something that is beyond their control. Their satisfaction and hope come from God so that whether the situation changes or not, God is there to deliver them.

Who Knows?

Years ago in rural Alabama, a regular tradition in my family was to visit my grandparents. I am not that old but I can remember as a child that country-folk would take Sunday afternoon and visit other people in the community. Whether folks went to church or not people would show up at my grandparent’s house and “shoot the breeze” (that is, they would talk). My grandfather would ask someone who came, “what do you know?” “Aw, nothing good” they would respond. But then they would proceed to talk on for hours. Those long, hazy, lazy days of summer – dog days – as we call them – were passed talking about stuff and discussing the local gossip. Frequently you would hear someone ask, “Who knows about …” and then they would proceed to ask their question.

These were the days before the internet and instant information; before Google search engines and minute by minute updates of football scores. Information passed slowly and deliberately by word of mouth and people depended upon individuals who were in the know to tell the news of what was happening in the next county.

No wonder that in many of these sorts of cultures people give themselves over to superstition and cult logic. When information is scarce, then we tend to rely on rabbit’s foots and voodoo dolls to make sure that we cover our tracks against anything that might happen. Who knows, it might work.

But then at times things would happen to shake these individuals out of their superstitions. A major natural disaster such as a tornado or flood would jolt them out of their normal sensibilities and then strangely the church would fill up and people would return to something more firm than their rabbit’s foot or witchin’ wands.

Ancient peoples did the same things, but when a prophet named Jonah showed up on the scene declaring that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days, the people stood up and took notice. The King heard it and declared a fast for everyone – even the animals. He said in Jonah 3:9 "Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish."

In the OT, there is this sense of “who knows.” Who knows if perhaps God will relent and leave a blessing? The King of Nineveh responded to Jonah’s preaching and asked the same question, “Who knows?”

Unfortunately in our information-crazed era our sense of superstition has not vanished with our knowledge. After 9-11 we filed into the churches looking for some sort of answer to the question “Who knows why this happened?” This is not even a prediction but it will not be surprising to me if our country embraces Islam after these attacks because we will instinctively think that if we go to that religion then it will keep “bad things” from happening to us. Who knows, it might happen.

But in reality, we do not need to worry nor do we need to think “who knows” when contemplating whether or not God will destroy us. God has already delivered his ultimate punishment. Yes, in case you missed it, he has already inflicted his wrath and he did this to his own son, Jesus. His anger and his penalty was taken out on him. There is no longer any reason to question and worry as the King of Nineveh did. Jesus answered the question of “who knows?”

Why do we need a Singles Ministry anyway? Thoughts on Singleness and Wholeness. Part i

The church has always had an uneasy peace with Singles Ministries. Some churches treat them as an extension of the youth ministry and focus on retreats, programs, and dogma. This works to an extent. Many of us like to travel, go on mission trips, and learn more about God’s word. Those things should always be part of the components involved in a Singles Ministry. But when we think in terms of programming, we end up with titles such as “SAM” (Single Adult Ministry), “YAM” (Young Adult Ministry), or “GAP” (Graduates and Professionals). I was part of a “YAM” group and I have to admit I still like the “GAP” title it seems to describe the class a little bit more. But these titles are still programmatic functions and not organic descriptions.

Once a person reaches adulthood and does not marry, he or she develops a way of behaving which is very independent and self-organized. To try to place that person into a class or program is sometimes difficult to do. My story is perhaps different from many but I fell into the program and then stopped pursuing the next step.

I reached a point in my life where I was no longer taking risks in my relationships nor in my professional life. Look at just about any Will Ferrell movie and it will describe this condition that men get into when we fail to take on a challenge and do something risky. We tend to be perpetually part of a fraternity with nothing but the next party to plan.

That’s why many people would say to me when I was single, “All you need to do is get married. Then you’ll have some responsibility and will get your life together. I can remember people saying to me in another church, “Why do we need a Single Adult ministry anyway? We need to start a ‘how-to-get-married ministry’ and let that fix the problem of the single person.” I think this person was serious.

Apparently, this is the logic of many churches. Some churches I hear are abandoning a Singles Ministry altogether. Sure, they have some small groups which put some single people together and loosely manage those groups into the bigger whole of the church hierarchy, but there is no cohesive focus on making that group a part of the larger church organism. Nor are they focusing on the issues which make a person single. There are people, like myself, who were single because they were indeed waiting on the right one, those who were single because someone else made a different choice and they were either never married or single-again because of another person’s actions.

Marriage does not “fix” singleness. Hear me clearly: putting two single people together who have not learned how to be whole, while single, will never be whole, though married.

Singleness, Introduction

Since being named the Minister to Singles at FBCT, I have taken quite a bit of time to think (or rethink) my days of singleness. I was single until I was 30 and had developed quite a few opinions about the situation and what God wanted of us as single people. I have been married now for almost 13 years and have two children. So I am sure my memories of those days and my opinions shaped from my situation have been either lost or corrupted. But over the next few days, I want to rethink, rehash, and reconstruct what I believe about being single, married, and living in community. What do these things mean and what am I supposed to do to lead, help, and minister to those who are single? Anyway, I am going to try to think about these things and I pray for God's help as I do....

Jacob's Mishaps and Mission

This post is sort of thinking through Genesis 37-50.

It is easy to think of Jacob as a deceiver, theif, coniver, and polygamist. And he was all those things. But he was also Israel. It is interesting to me that he had some issues but then raised a man like Joseph. Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery and all he had to go on was what his father had taught him. It's amazing to think that the man who struggled so many years to rely upon God raised a son like Joseph. His brothers struggled and really did not turn out so well. It makes me wonder if perhaps God had to take Joseph away from his home and put him in the pressure cooker so that he could become the leader he was. I don't know. But the longer I am a Dad, the more gracious I am toward Jacob. I am certainly no better than he and need God's grace just as much (if not more) than did Jacob. Joseph's story gives me hope that maybe in spite of my failures as a father, God will make something of my children.

The Miracle of Prayer

This is in reference to Matthew 6:5-15. Click on this link to read the passage: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=6&version=31&context=chapter

A couple of days ago I was asked to lead prayer in our meeting at church and when I began to pray I felt a unique sense of God's presence that morning. I was concerned about a couple of individuals in our group and prayed for them accordingly. The thought hit me that when I prayed that morning I was not simply making an appeal to God for something to happen. God placed upon me the desire to pray for the person who was present. The prayer was for them and their encouragement as much as it was for God to act and work. Too many times I have the perspective that God is distant and uninvolved. Therefore, I must get on my knees, fast, cry, pray, plead, pull, and beg to get God's attention so that maybe he would stop what he is doing and pay attention to me or my needs (or those of someone else). Fasting, crying, and begging are part of our spiritual lives and need to be done. But they are done with the view that I am limiting myself in recognition of God's greatness, not as a way to gain divine attention.

God is our Father in heaven. He is working to bring into effect his will on this earth. And he will accomplish it. God is not the detached, ex-officio member of the human race. In his immanence - his presence – he became a part of the human condition and breathes with us as we breathe. So that when I pray as I did that morning I was not praying out of my own superior understanding of my friends. I was praying out of the concern and intervention of God who prompted me to pray as I did and love as I did. This indeed was not me but God.

This is not to elevate myself to some sort of superior spiritual condition. God made the decision to intervene in a way that morning on the behalf of another. If someone else stood in that place I think they too would have been moved to pray for those individuals and pray for them with passion. Make no mistake about it: Prayer is not my seeing a need and bringing God along to the meeting of that need. Prayer is God intervening in our lives to complete his glory and our good. That is the miracle of prayer.

Snapshots and Movies

Identify these famous movie lines:

• Luke, I am your father.
• Rosebud.
• I won’t think about that today. I will think about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day!
• The one ring to rule them all.
• Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.
• And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!

Answers:

• Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi
• Citizen Kane
• Gone with the Wind
• The Lord of the Rings I
• Casablanca
• Braveheart

Did your church or school ever rent movies and show them in the gymnasium? Our church would do that sometimes. Of course this was in the days of the dinosaur when you actually needed a 35mm projector. The movies came in the big reels and someone would drape a large bed sheet on one end of the wall. The movie was loaded and threaded, popcorn was popped, lights were dimmed, the projector clicked away, and cinema heaven began.

Once while Herbie Rides Again was playing, the project motor stopped and the light on the film kept going. This was a bad thing because the heat from the bulb burned through the movie film. Celluloid freakishly burned on the bed sheet and then it would fall or pull away. It was really weird to watch Herbie burn into a rainbow of colors right before your eyes!

Funny how we remember images like that isn’t it? Life is like that. When something bad happens, an image is burned onto our subconscious so that the smell of the burning celluloid, the image of the looks on worried faces, and the collective “ohh man” from the crowd forever clings to your little gray cells in your brain.

We tend to carry around these snapshots of ourselves and others to further cement those memories into our lives. The unthinkable happens – your spouse divorces you, the kids rebel, your boss turns on you, and suddenly the film stops and the image of that moment is burned into the minds of yourself and those around you.

Some of us never work on repairing that film. We carry around snapshots to remind us of “the good ol’ days” before our trauma (and of the trauma itself) and try to relive the memories of by-gone movies, popcorn, and a life that seemed oh so much better.

But God – remember those words – but God – does not carry around snapshots. He is the grand Movie Director who will come back and tape back together the movie and restart the film. Yes, there is permanently a scar on the reel. Yes, there is a blip in the movie and the scenes are somewhat disjointedly arranged. But the movie plays on.

Read what our brother Paul said about these things in Ephesians 2:4-10

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved
us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ- by grace you have been saved- and raised us up with him and seated us
with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he
might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not
your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may
boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Do you see that? We are His workmanship. The movie is complete. God has already prepared it and we are made for good works to walk in Him.

Put away the pictures and get some help to tape together the film. Restart your life’s “projector” by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is not finished with you….