Where shall I put my confidence today?

"Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is not help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighted down. The LORD loves the godly. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The LORD will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!" (Psalm 146, NLT)

Where do we put our daily confidence...really? Don't we too often look within our own ranks; to those whom we believe have the power to affect our lives? As Christians, we know the right answer but is that answer the continual reality in which we live?

I find myself always in need of a reality reminder. Psalm 146 helped me refocus today. I hope it helped you too.

Don't point; that's rude?

Parents have said to their children for centuries (maybe not centuries) "Don't point; that's rude." I have to admit, as a kid I really didn't understand what was so rude about pointing. In fact, I'm still not really sure about it but I now find myself saying it too. Here's an example. On Mother's Day this year we went as a family to Olive Garden (Stacey's favorite). When we came out there was a young couple waiting to be seated and the guy had these huge circles in his ear lobes. Seriously, those things were at least 2 inches in diameter. As we walked out, our five year old Wes immediately turned to the man. When he did, I flew into super high speed mode to get Wes as far away from the man as I could as quickly as possible. Why? Because at this stage in his life, Wes says whatever he is thinking. I knew that if I didn't act fast Wes would probably say to the man "Hey, what's those circles in your ears?" or "Hey, look at that boy's ears!" We would have been totally embarrassed because pointing is rude, right? I think you know where I'm going with this so I'll just leave it there.

The book of Lamentations is one of the saddest in all the Bible. Jeremiah the prophet weeps over the devastation of his people. The nation of Judah was being taken into captivity by Babylon. They, like their brothers the nation of Israel, had rebelled against God to His breaking point and were now being judged, severely. If you have never read the book of Lamentations I recommend you do so. You will come face to face with the reality of God's judgment.

Lamentations 2:14 says "Your prophets have said so many foolish things, false to the core. They did not save you from exile by pointing out your sins. Instead, they painted false pictures, filling you with false hope. (NLT)" As I read that verse I wondered what motivated the prophets to do what they did. Was it that they didn't want to be the bearer of so much bad news that they let the people think everything was okay in order to remain in good favor? Or was it that the people refused to listen to the truth? "Don't point; that's rude." Whatever the motivation, the result still stands - the sin was not exposed, the truth was masked by a lie, the people waxed more and more wicked & God's heavy hand came down on them.

When it comes to exposing and dealing with sin there are two avenues of responsibility - the speaker & the hearer. The speaker is God's mouth piece. Those who are called to herald God's truth are responsible to say what God has said about sin, period. We will be held accountable for how accurately we say what God has said. This world is filled with "speakers" who are saying anything and everything about what God simply calls sin. May God have mercy on them. May God change their mind. But we all are responsible to be a speaker. Whether we are called to be a pastor/preacher/teacher or not, we are called to speak into the lives of our brothers and sisters. The other avenue is the hearer. Have we taken the "don't point; that's rude" philosophy and applied it to God's truth spoken to us? Do we get upset when our sin is brought to our attention? When was the last time someone said to you "(your name here), I think what you said (or did) was not very Christlike, in fact, it was very hurtful" and you broke under the weight of that truth? You may have never heard anyone say that because not only do we not want people to point at us, we're afraid to point because "pointing is rude." Of course it's rude to point in a proud or hypocritical way. In fact, that too is sin. But, true Biblical exhortation requires that we speak God's truth into one another and we allow others to speak His truth into us for the glory of God and the building of our character. Sadly, very little of that happens in the body. Why? Because "pointing is rude."

Wouldn't it be refreshing if we all determined today that we would welcome God's truth into our lives no matter how (or from whom) it comes. Wouldn't it also be encouraging if we all determined to no longer wink at our brothers and sisters who are living in open sin and be courageous enough to point. It really is up to you both in the giving and the receiving.

What a "hot mess"

I don't know who says it on TV (I think it's the woman who helps hoarders) but my sister has taken the term "hot mess" and it makes me laugh when she uses it. A "hot mess," as I understand it, is a regular mess that has just gone plain crazy, gotten out of hand or gone beyond normal parameters.

Josiah, one of the greatest kings of Judah (and there weren't many great kings), found himself in the middle of a true-to-life "hot mess." Josiah became king when he was just 8 years old. The nation of Judah had, at the poor leadership of previous kings, become about as pagan as the nation of Israel who had abandoned their allegiance to Yahweh years before. For Josiah, unfortunately, he suffered a great deal from ignorance. The scriptures had long been forgotten and, in fact, were lost in some back closet of the Temple. When Josiah was about 26 he recognized that the Temple in Jerusalem was in bad need of repair and he commanded that it be fixed. As they started the repair the priest discovered "The Book of the Law of God." When Josiah heard what God's word said he tore his clothes as a sign of deep regret and sorrow of how disobedient his people had become. He heard the truth and responded appropriately.

After hearing God's word he commanded that the priests go to a prophet who could communicate with God on his behalf. God told the prophet that he was very angry with his people and that he fully intended to bring strong judgment on the nation for their disobedience but because Josiah had genuinely humbled himself, God would withhold his judgment until after Josiah was dead. Great news for Josiah (and Judah). But the king refused to leave it at that. He commanded the people to gather and hear God's word and he re instituted the Passover Feast which had been abandoned years before. He also let the people know in no uncertain terms that they were going to realign themselves with God's word and the worship of Yahweh alone. However, to get to that point was going to take a whole lot of work. Read 2 Kings 23:4-25. There were altars and shrines to pagan gods all over the place in Judah. They were even in the Temple at Jerusalem. They had partitioned areas in God's Temple for male and female ritual prostitutes. Can you imagine that? Judah was indeed a "hot mess." Josiah had quite an elephant to eat (metaphorically of course) but he ate every bite. He broke altars, burned shrines, tore down monuments, killed pagan priests and set his nation in order. Verse 25 of chapter 23 says that there was never a king before Josiah who "turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses, and there has never been a king like him since." Good job Josiah.

The spiritual "hot mess" that Judah had been reduced to had become....normal. Given enough time, the most spectacular structure will become overgrown and deteriorate. If you had asked king David if his beloved Judah would have ever become a place where multiple gods were worshiped he would have probably ordered your death. But that's exactly what happened.

Why is it that so many Christians find themselves in their own spiritual "hot mess?" Well, it doesn't happen overnight. It comes slowly but given enough time, every believer is capable of becoming a wasteland in their walk with God. I know this from personal experience. It's much easier to not read God's word, not to pray, not to really connect with other believers and strive for a closer walk with God. But if one disconnects, even for a little while, it's easier to stay disconnected and even harder to get going again. It's easier to not cut my grass each week. But in Florida, if you don't cut it this week it'll be tough to do next week and if you take 2 weeks off, it'll be a monster the week after that. It's not an impossible task but it's not necessary for it to get so out of hand. I'm a part of a Crown Financial small group here at Haven. If you've never heard of Crown click here and if you are in financial trouble they can help you. We going through the training in order to understand God's design of true financial freedom and we are hoping to make the Crown study a normal part of our discipleship plan at Haven. One of the things we are learning is that when people find themselves in a financial "hot mess" it is usually because of bad spending habits that have continued over a long period of time. The good news is that God will lift folks out of the mess that they are in but it takes time and commitment. King Josiah knew that Judah could be singular in their worship again but it took a lot of work. I guess what I'm trying to say is that believers can avoid "hot messes" in their lives by staying focused on God's word and his purposes. But at the same time, should you right now sense that you are living in the middle of a spiritual "hot mess," there is a way out. It's simple but it won't be easy. The first step is to hear what God has said and respond appropriately. If you don't know what God has said about your mess, grab a Bible and find out. If you don't know where to look, ask someone you trust to help you. If you don't have anyone you trust, give me a call. Then once you know what God wants, it's only a matter of picking a corner and getting started. It might take some time but it will be well worth it in the end.

Kenosis (Phil. 2. 7)

In our study two Sundays ago we dealt with the truth known as "the kenosis." Kenosis is from the Greek verb kenoo found in Philippians 2:7 which is translated as follows:

• "made himself nothing" (NIV)
• "made himself of no reputation" (KJV)
• "emptied himself" (NASB & NET)
• "he gave up his divine privileges" (NLT)

As we tried to make clear in the lesson, Philippians 2:5-11 is not a theological announcement so much as it is an illustration or bench mark for the disciples see how they were to live selflessly following the example of their Lord, Jesus Christ. However, in doing so (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), Paul gives the church one of the most theologically rich nuggets in the entire New Testament. The key is to properly understand what is being said about God the Son in this passage.

In order to be as brief as possible, let's first look at what the "kenosis" can't mean. Some theologians in the 19th century proposed that the "self emptying" of Phil. 2:7 meant that God the Son gave up some of his divine attributes when he became flesh. While that might seem a logical understanding, it opens the door to a major problem of Christian orthodoxy. If God the Son gave up any of his divine attributes at any time then he would (at least for that time) cease to be God. The church has always maintained the eternal deity of God the Son. Jesus, himself, claimed deity during his earthly ministry which, if he were not fully God, was bold face lie. The "kenosis" therefore, can't mean that Jesus Christ gave up any divine attributes.

So then, what was Paul trying to describe about God the Son in this passage? The latter context, I believe, explains his meaning. He qualifies how God the Son emptied himself - "by taking the nature of a servant, by being made in human likeness, by humbling himself and by becoming obedient to death." I like the way one author put it when he said that the kenosis is not about subtraction (Jesus losing something) but about addition (Jesus taking on a human nature). God the Son left his place of glory and subjected himself to the limitations of the human nature. Yet in doing so, he never ceased to possess any of his divine attributes or essence (this is the foundational concept of the God/man - 100% God & 100% man). Like a king who voluntarily leaves his castle & throne to live within the poverty of his people, so God the Son voluntarily left his place of glory so that he might walk with his creation. The difference in this illustration is that the earthly king simply changes location while our heavenly king actually took on our human nature. Awesome!

So the bottom line is that God the Son (in the incarnation) never ceased to be God in any way.

Click here for another explanation.

You have heard it said...

The thing about Jesus that really ticked off the religious leaders of his day was the way he turned the light on their dark hearts. They had become very skilled at looking good on the outside & thinking that was what mattered. Their problem that Jesus was exposing, of course, was on the inside - what really mattered.

So as I'm reading the later part of Matthew 5 where Jesus says "You have heard it said....but I say" about things like adultery, divorce, revenge, vows & enemy relations; the reality that I could not escape was that even though my inside has been addressed by faith in Christ, it's still easy to act good on the outside while concealing what's really going on inside. I'm constantly reminded that even though I am God's child and have been adopted into His family, I am still waiting for the day when I will no longer have to wrestle with a stinky inside.

Then I began to think about what Jesus said in 5:38-48 in regard to revenge & loving enemies. I have to say, there's not much harder than responding to someone who hurts me with love. It simply doesn't feel right no matter how it's served it up. Of course that's because I think I have the right not to be hurt and that the world is supposed to stop until everything has been balanced out where I'm concerned. What's the chances that you too struggle in this area? By the way, it's not an acceptable alternative for me when I am hurt to just pout or crawl down in a hole. And responding in love is not a outward smile while grinding teeth on the inside or saying something ugly while smiling.

Truly responding in love to someone who hurts us is (at least in my mind) the pinnacle of humility. It's the ultimate expression of "it's not about me." In fact, I'm not sure I can even comprehend what it means to respond in love because all I want to do is retaliate. It probably looks and sounds a whole lot like "Father, forgive them because they don't even know what they are doing."

"I hate that guy..."

I came to one of my absolute favorite Bible passages today. It's neatly tucked away in 1 Kings. Chapter 22 gives the account of the death of Ahab, one of Israel's most ungodly kings. In the first 28 verses we're given the scene that leads up to his death.

Ramoth-Gilead was a city in northern Israel, east of the Jordan River (transjordon) and was one of the cities God gave to the Levites as their inheritence instead of land. Anyway...I digress. Ramoth-Gilead was under the control of the Arameans (Aram-Damascus). The king of Aram wast trying to pick a fight with king Ahab and Ahab took the bait. But Ahab thought he might need some help winning the battle so he called Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, to lend a hand. Jehoshaphat agreed to help but wanted to consult the Lord first. So Ahab called 400 of his prophets to seek and give a word regarding what they should do. All 400 prophets agreed that the kings should go to battle because "the LORD" would with them and give them the victory. Jehoshaphat knew that Ahab wasn't very well known as a follower of the God of Israel so he wisely asked if there were any more prophets who had a better audience with God.

The next part of the story is what causes me to laugh every time I read it. In my mind, king Ahab looks like Danny DeVito. I don't know why, Ahab just seems like a complete slime ball to me who's like a foot shorter than his "lovely bride" Jezebel. On the old TV show Taxi, Danny DeVito played the part of Louie De Palma, a taxi service manager/dispatcher...and slime ball. In fact, I think DeVito almost always plays the part of a slime ball. Again, I digress. In the story, king Ahab (Danny DeVito in my mind) agrees that there is at least one prophet in the area who serves the God of Israel, Micaiah son of Imlah. But the king doesn't want to hear from Micaiah because he "hates that guy...he never has any good stuff to tell me, only bad stuff." You can read it in verse 8. And if you keep reading you'll see another probable reason why Ahab hates Micaiah - it seems like he's kind of a smart alec with a mission (like maybe Robert Downey Jr. in my mind). So Micaiah shows up and tells Ahab and Jehoshaphat just what God has said. God had revealed that they should indeed go up and fight because that's where Ahab's life was going to end. Can't you just see Ahab turning to Jehoshaphat and saying "See there, that's why I hate that guy; nothing good only bad." So Ahab gets mad and has Micaiah thrown into prison.

To sum up the story, that I hope you'll read for yourself, they do go to battle and Ahab is killed just like God's prophet said. I know I took the long way to get here but I really do have a point. Here it is. How do you feel about the folks that tell you what you need to hear even when you don't want to hear it? I know that some people feel it's their lot in life to "set everybody straight" and those aren't the folks I'm talking about. They annoy me too. At the same time, God can even use them to speak on His behalf. The bottom line is that we all hate being told where we are falling short. And just so no one gets any wrong ideas...we all fall short all the time. Ahab didn't hate Micaiah because he stole his girlfriend in High School or edged him out of a job promotion or had the superior Christmas light display in their neighborhood. Ahab hated Micaiah because he told the king what he needed to hear & Ahab didn't like what he had to say - what God had said.

In this passage we can see some things to do and some things not to do.

• Unlike Ahab, we should eagerly want to hear what God thinks about what we are planning.
• Unlike Ahab, we should willingly accept what God has to say and respond correctly no matter who the messenger is.
• Unlike Ahab, we should never want to do something that we know God is not pleased with.
  
• Like Micaiah, we should always be ready to share the truth of God's word.
• Like Micaiah, we should speak God's truth even when doing so is dangerous.
• Like Micaiah, we should not worry a whole lot about what people might think of us when we speak out on God's behalf. But do try not to be a smart alec.
  

Humility out of Dependence

I've been a Steven Curtis Chapman fan ever since I arrived at Liberty in 1992. One of my favorite SCC songs is "Declaration of Dependence." For one, it's got a catchy little hook but more important it's a reminder of our absolute dependence on Christ for everything. I know, nothing you've never heard before.

My reading this morning took me to the 123rd Psalm. Psalm 123 is one of the fifteen Psalms (120-134) identified as "Songs of Ascent." Traditionally, these songs were sung by Israelite pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem at the scheduled Feast times. This particular Psalm is a cry for God's mercy (also translated grace & favor). The pilgrim is crying out to God on behalf of the nation seeking His merciful provision or relief from the continual taunts of the proud & arrogant (neighboring nations). One commentator describes how that Israel's neighbors who worshiped false gods would constantly hurl insults at God's people. They did this because they appeared to be prospering while Israel struggled. Israel knew the promises that God had made to their forefathers and they desperately wanted Him to bring it to pass. It's a wonderful Psalm with which I can relate because I too run to God when I get beat down by the words and actions of others.

However, this morning what struck me most was the picture used to describe the relationship between the pilgrim and God. The Psalmist said that he looked to God like "the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master." I so often get backward in how I see myself in relation to God. I get caught up in the blessing of being adopted into God's family, having become an heir of God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ having forgotten that I have never brought anything whatsoever to God's table. At best, I have always been helpless and I remain so. Apart from Jesus, he tells me, I can do nothing. I have nothing to offer but what He gives me. I, like the pilgrim of Psalm 123, look to my God as a slave looks to his Master in complete dependence. This humbles me. Notice that I didn't say "I'm humble." In fact, more often than not, I'm as proud and arrogant as Israel's enemies. God's word and it's ability to remind me that I am absolutely without hope apart from the God who loves me...humbles me.

Here's the really great thing about God being your master and you being completely helpless; you are absolutely depending on the One who never acts apart from your best interest. He does hear your cries. He does see your hurts. He does know your weakness. He will always give you all you need to accomplish His purposes in and through you.

Keep going pilgrim.

Disobedient dummy...

1 Kings 11

Solomon had it all...fortune, fame, authority, power and above all else, wisdom. King Solomon, the son of David, was considered the wisest of the wise. Why? Because when he was approached by God with an opportunity to choose anything he wanted from God he chose wisdom. And God granted him the wisdom he chose. Unfortunately, Solomon did not always choose to use his great wisdom in his personal life. He often followed is own lust for pleasure. Sad but true.

Here's what I know. I know if I climb up on the roof of the church and dive off that I'm going to break some bones. I might even die. I know the law of gravity. I'm exercising wisdom when I don't climb up on the roof and dive off. Pretty deep stuff. Would it be legitimate to call me a dummy if knowing better than to dive off the roof, I do it anyway? I think so.

God had given clear instructions to Israel on who they could and could not marry. He did not want them marrying foreigners because foreigners worshiped pagan gods. He knew that if an Israelite married a foreigner who worshiped a pagan god that eventually the Israelite would be torn between his loyalty to his spouse and his loyalty to his God. In fact, He knew that the divided loyalty would likely lead the Israelite to begin worshiping the pagan god in addition to or instead of the God of Israel. The instruction was clear - don't marry outside of the nation of Israel.

So what does the wisest of the wise do? You guessed it...he dove off the roof. Dummy.

700 official wives. 300 official lust suppressants. We don't even have time to get into all that's wrong here. But a big thing is that many of these women were...you guessed it again...pagan god worshipers. Dummy.

Can't you just hear the palace dialog..."Solomon, honey, I love what you're doing at your temple but can you make me a place to worship the god of my people?" "Yes dear, whatever you want." Then after he get's it built..."Solomon, sugar, since I go to your temple sometimes can you come to my new place of worship with me today, I feel so alone without my husband there with me." "Sure dear, anything you ask." How does this happen? How is it that the King of Israel, God's representative to His people uses his position to create pagan shrines to pagan gods and even participate in pagan worship?

Who did Solomon think he was? Was he above God's instructions? Did being the king mean that he was somehow exempt from the marriage instruction? Does gravity apply to everyone but the king? No, it applied to him too.

Solomon knew better but did his own thing and fell head first into the trap God warned about. Dummy. God didn't let him off the hook either. He raised up enemies who would continually trouble Solomon and Israel. He took the majority of the kingdom (10 of 12 tribes) away from Solomon's family. He chose a replacement king for Solomon's son and promised to bless him if he would obey. It didn't have to be like that though. Solomon could have wisely obeyed but he chose not to. Dummy.

So...what do we learn from Solomon? God's instructions are for the good of His children. When God says do or don't do something, He means it. When God says that consequences will follow disobedience, He means that too. We can be wiser than Solomon every time we choose to obey the instructions in God's word. We're a dummy if we think God's instructions don't apply to us. Gravity applies to everyone. Don't be a dummy.

I'm Back!

Hey everybody! Summer might not be officially over but school's back in full swing and that pretty much does it for me. Hope you either enjoyed a relaxing vacation away or took the opportunity to relax at home on "stay-cation" sometime during the summer months.

My goal for this year on the blog is to just share thoughts that come from my personal Bible reading time during the week. I have no planned day to write but I'll try to write each week. When something jumps off the page at me I'm going to do my best to tell you about it. We'll see how it goes! Thanks for reading...

Community in the making...

Without a doubt one of most difficult processes (if not the most difficult) for a church is embracing their need for real, genuine, authentic, biblical Christian community. This kind of authentic Christian community stems from vital connection between disciples. We're making that leap at Haven. We're coming to grips with the fact that we desperately need connection because we desperately need community. "It ain't gonna be easy but we're gonna get there."

Community is forming already at Haven. A few groups experimented over the past year and they experienced the reality of vital connection that produces authentic Christian community. The most exciting of these groups for me right now is the one we are calling "1830." 1830 is a brand new group made up of singles between the ages of 18 & 30. Get it...1830. Pretty clever isn't it? Unfortunately I can't take the credit for the name. I actually stole it from Brook Hollow Baptist Church in Desoto, TX. It's okay though. They know me at BH and they're okay with the theft.

1830 is only about 2 weeks old. Meaning, they have only met a couple of times. They formed in my living room about 3 weeks back. We encouraged them to commit to connection and we partnered with them to see it through. Of course they are going to enjoy their own set of problems and set backs; every group will. The "new" will wear off and each member will be challenged with whether to make their group time a priority or not. That is to be expected. The exciting thing is this - they're making a go at it! They are being intentional about getting to know each member of their group. They're praying together. They're conversing about the sermon topic from the previous week by means of provided discussion questions designed to lead them to deeper levels of application and response. They're hanging out and before long I believe they will recognize their need for each other. Hopefully they'll start leaning on each other and encouraging each other and challenging each other in their Christian walk. That's what a body in community does.

Is it possible that the 1830 group will fail? Of course it's possible but it doesn't have to be likely. In fact, I believe that if 1830 or any other group is constantly encouraged by other members of the body also engaged in connection, then they will soar to the height of everything that God designed the body to be. At least that's what I believe. I think the NT has some things to say to back me up on that.

There is only about 5 weeks before we will ask everyone at Haven to commit to a Fall connection group (Life Group). The groups will run from the last week of August until the week before Thanksgiving (12 weeks). Everyone will have an opportunity to begin a new chapter in their journey towards becoming a mature disciple of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that we all will catch a little bit of the excitement that is beginning to build in the 1830 group and choose to intentionally connect. God is already beginning to build real community at Haven. Decide right now that you are not going to miss out. You'll be glad you did.

Now after another month...

One of the real blessings of the year for parents of school aged children is summer break. Of course I'm speaking from the perspective of the father who leaves the house each morning and not the mother who's home with three young boys. Never-the-less, it's nice not having the pressures of rigid bedtimes, wake up times, clothes to prepare, lunches to be made and so on. Basically, it's nice to relax.

One of the realities of summer relaxation, however, is that we create a whole new routine - a "relaxed summer routine." I find that my relaxed summer routine can (if I allow it) affect every area of my life, areas that for me are no different whether my kids are in school or not. One really big area where I can't afford a relaxed routine is my personal walk with God in prayer and Bible reading. A quiet time, for most folks, is a hard hard practice to maintain. In fact, I tend to be skeptical of anyone who says "Oh I never struggle to maintain a consistent quiet time." While that might be true for a select few (but I doubt it), it's just not the case with me. I constantly struggle to maintain a consistent quiet time. I even have a hard time not letting the words "consistent" and "maintain" hurl me into a check-list mentality. Basically what I'm saying is that I find it hard everyday of my life to walk with God the way I want to walk with Him in my heart and mind. Maybe all that rambling resonates with you too. The point is this - I already have an ongoing struggle and there is the real danger of letting a relaxed summer routine compound the problem. I have to work even harder during the summer and I figure it's probably the same for you.

It doesn't matter whether you are a parent of school aged kids or a school aged kid or a college student or a young adult or a senior adult. We all have to be careful not to allow our relaxed summer affect our walk with God. We can't afford to get lazy in this area. When we do, we suffer. Our hearts and minds become clouded and conflicted. Our choices often become fueled by our sinful lusts and our actions become selfish and vain. Does anyone really want that to be true of their life as a Christian? Me either.

Let's enjoy the summer. Let's go to the beach and the water park. Let's enjoy a hike or a boat ride. Let's make homemade ice-cream and invite friends over on a weeknight to grill out. Let's sleep in a little bit if we can but let's don't get lazy in our walk with God in prayer and Bible reading. We simply can't afford it!

After more than a month...

After more than a month of not having much to write about...I think I'm ready. That doesn't mean I haven't had something to talk about for a month. In fact, I just finished 5 weeks of sermons laying out what I believe God would have us focus on as a ministry. I am convinced that Jesus Christ called us to "make disciples." As a church we are going to be very intentional and strategic in our approach to making disciples and we are going to be motivated by excellence in all our efforts to the glory of God. It excites me to think about us sharpening our focus and keying in on the thing that brings God the most glory in the lives of his children - Christ likeness. We look and sound more like Christ as we mature - as we begin and continue to Worship God, Connect in the body, Serve the body and Grow in our understanding of God through His Word.

I'm convinced of another thing that we need to focus on at Haven...Prayer. I've been talking to several folks over the last few weeks about my burden for prayer at Haven. In seminary I was trained how to evaluate ministries by either their stated or unstated but assumed core values. One of the questions you would ask of a ministry being evaluated was ""Are they doing the things they say they value?" It wasn't enough to say you valued something if you were not doing it. In that line of thought, I was asking myself this question - "Do we value prayer at Haven?" The knee-jerk response might have been "Absolutely we value prayer; what kind of question is that." However, I wasn't asking if Haven believes prayer is good or if Haven believes that prayer is important. I know that every person associated with our church would agree that prayer is good and important. Yet my response was "No, we don't value prayer at Haven." My response did more to point the finger at me than anyone else. Someone has once said, "If you want to know what's important to someone, look at their checkbook register." Most folks don't use a checkbook so much anymore but I think you get the point. People spend their money on the things that are important to them. And in the same way, people spend time doing the things that are important to them. We don't spend a whole lot of time praying at Haven. Actually, we don't spend much time at all. Maybe you're praying on your own. That excites me but it doesn't let me off the hook as the leader of this local body. To my shame, I don't think I have done a good job leading Haven to value prayer. I've got to do better. I have resolved to strive for a stronger personal prayer life. I have also resolved to lead this ministry to focus on prayer. To a place on our knees before God asking Him to lead us and empower us to be and do all that He desires.

I'm trying to think of ways that we can focus more time in prayer in our worship services. As pastor, I've wanted to take time to lead us in times of prayer during our worship in song but I have allowed playing the drums with the praise team to hinder that. Not anymore. It might be odd for me to lead in prayer from a drum stool but then what could be more odd than a pastor who also plays drums on Sunday. The point is that we, as a body, need more focused prayer time on Sunday.

But I don't want us to simply stop at praying more on Sundays though. I want us to go farther to recreate a culture at Haven that says "we value prayer because we make it a priority." One way that I would like for us to begin making prayer at priority is by adjusting our Wednesday night program for the entire summer. For 13 Wednesday nights (every Wednesday in June, July & August) we will open the auditorium from 6:00 - 8:00 pm for prayer - no teaching - just prayer. During those two hours we want our folks to come and spend as much time as God leads. We don't expect anyone to come and stay the whole 2 hours. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure what to expect. I do, however, expect that God will hear us and answer us according to His perfect and holy will.

I can almost hear some of you (even my own wife) saying "What about our small kids; what are we supposed to do with them?" Honestly, I don't know. I haven't thought that far out. I think you can bring them and I think that they can watch as the family begins to value prayer in a new way. But, if that's uncomfortable I can surely understand. Who knows, someone might just pop up and say "Hey, I believe that God would like for me to commit to watching small kids on Wednesdays this summer while their parents have a chance to pray." We might even think of ways to get creative and take turns as parents. Either way, I want every family to be a part of this opportunity and we'll figure out the logistics together.

Maybe you're afraid that you'll be pressured to pray out loud. Fear not. This will be a time when you can come and go as you please with no pressure of any kind. Some folks might want to pray out loud. But you don't have to. We do want to encourage folks to pray together if they will. It would be wonderful if several folks got together as a group and just connected in prayer for the evening. But if you want to be alone that's okay too. If you want someone to pray with you or for you, we want to be able to do that too.

Here's the bottom line. I believe that God will honor our desire to make disciples. I believe that our process for discipleship is rooted in scripture and theologically sound. I believe that if God does not empower us that we will fall flat on our faces. I want Haven to succeed in ministry. I want Haven to be a sweet aroma in the nostrils of God. I believe that will only be achieved as we come humbly before Him in prayer. I'm excited about the fall but my dad use to say "Half the fun of being there is getting there." That wasn't always true then but I believe it's the absolute truth for us now. Let's be excited about being there but let's also recognize our need to get their bathed in prayer. Hope you're on board.

Something you must hear...

In the spring of last year I was given the greatest honor that Dallas Seminary could have offered me - to preach in chapel during Senior Preaching Week. For me, that was the mountain top experience of seminary.

This year my friend Bill Gressette was given this same honor. Bill is a "man's man." He's huge. He's a southern boy too - South Carolina born and raised. He's a Clemson fan and that proves that he too still possesses a depraved nature but I love Bill. Bill is the real deal. I took time to watch his sermon today and it was so much what I needed. I believe that every Christian would benefit greatly by hearing and heeding Bill's challenge. Please take the time to watch and respond.

Click here to watch.

Great job Bill!

Passion Week: FINISHED

RESURRECTION SUNDAY!

"Christ was resurrected from the dead (Matt. 28:1-15; Mk. 16:1-13; Lk 24:1-35; Jn. 20:1-18). He was a type of the offering of the first fruits which was offered the day after the Sabbath (Lev. 23:9-14; 1 Cor. 15:23)." H. Hoehner

He is alive! Sin and death have been defeated! Satan has lost! What God had planned before creation has come to pass and He stands victorious! On the cross He waged the war but in resurrection He has claimed the victory!
Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Have you ever by faith accepted as true what the Bible has revealed about what God the Father planned, God the Son obeyed and God the Holy Spirit empowered? You can be his follower, a believer, like me. Click here to learn how you can, by faith, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Passion Week: Saturday

"As Jesus was lying in the tomb during the Sabbath, the Pharisees secured Roman guards to keep watch of the tomb (Matt. 27:61-66; Mk. 15:47; Lk. 23:55-56)." H. Hoehner

Passion Week: Friday

"Early in the morning, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas and Pilate again (Matt. 27:1-30; Mk. 15:1-19; Lk. 22:66-23:25; Jn. 18:28-19:16). Jesus was then led to the cross and crucified at 9:00 a.m. and died at 3:00 p.m. and was buried later that day (Matt. 27:31-60; Mk. 15:20-46; Lk. 23:26-54; Jn. 19:1-42). Christ the Paschal Lamb (1 Cor. 5:7) died at the time when the Israelites were sacrificing their Passover lambs." H. Hoehner

Behold the Lamb.
See Him.
Watch the brutality.
Observe the inhumanity.
Hear those that hate - their curses, their jokes and jeers.
Feel with those that loved - the loss of a friend, the loss of a leader, the loss of a son, the loss of hope, the loss of all that they had believed...loss.
Yes we know the end of the story, but today...let us dwell on today.
Anger.
Hate.
Revenge.
Destruction.
Rebellion.
Rejection.
Pain.
Suffering.
Darkness.
Separation.
Sacrifice.
Love.
Grace.
Forgiveness.

Death...

"Love so amazing, so divine; demands my soul, my life, my all."

Passion Week: Thursday

"On this day, Jesus and His disciples prepare the Passover lamb (Matt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14:12-16; Lk. 22:7-13), and He and His disciples had their Passover meal in the Upper Room (Matt. 26:20-30; Mk. 14:17-26; Lk. 22:14-30; Jn. 13:1-14:31). Leaving the Upper Room, Jesus had a discourse with His disciples and offered an intercessory prayer in their behalf (Matt. 26:30-35; Mk. 14:26-31; Lk. 22:31-39; Jn. 15:1-18:1). They arrived a the Garden of Gethsemane, and it was here where Jesus suffered in agony (Matt. 26:36-46; Mk. 14:32-42; Lk. 22:39-46; Jn. 18:1). Later that night Jesus was betrayed and arrested (Matt. 26:47-56, Mk. 14:43-52; Lk. 22:47-53; Jn. 18:2-12). During the rest of that night, Jesus was (illegally) first tried by Annas and later by Caiaphas with the religious leaders (Matt. 26:57-75; Mk. 14:53-72; Lk. 22:54-65; Jn. 18:13-27)." H. Hoehner

If you did not click on the scripture passages in bold, go back right now and read each of them. Don't listen to what I have to say until you first hear what God has said.


There are many different things we could focus on in all these passages. One, however, sticks out more than all the others to me. That scene is found in John 13. Jesus put on the attire of a servant and began washing the feet of His disciples. The King of Kings, the LORD of all creation, the God of heaven and earth took on the role of a slave and washed the feet of the twelve. Yes, there were still twelve in the room at that time. Yes, He took the feet of Judas and cupped them in His holy hands. Yes, He brought refreshment to the very one who had already made plans to betray Him. Friends, is a preview of the great grace of God to be demonstrated and offered at Calvary!

Before you drop off to sleep tonight try to remember that Jesus, on the night He was arrested, was allowed very little sleep. Already exhausted from agony in prayer Jesus began the final stages of His examination. See Him for yourself. He is the Lamb without spot.

Passion Week: Wednesday

"Wednesday, on the way to Jerusalem, the disciples saw the withered fig tree (Matt. 21:20-21; Mk. 11:20-26). At the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus had a day of controversy with the religious leaders (Matt. 21:23-23:39; Mk. 11:27-12:44; Lk. 20:1-21:4). That afternoon Jesus went to the mount of Olives and delivered the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:1-25:46; Mk. 13:1-37; Lk. 21:5-36). Two additional things occurred that day: (1) Jesus predicted that in two days He would be crucified at the time of the Passover (Matt. 26:1-5; Mk. 14:1-2; Lk. 22:1-2); and (2) Judas planned the betrayal of Christ with the religious leaders (Matt. 26:14-16: Mk. 14:10-11; Lk. 22:3-6). " H. Hoehner

One of the most difficult passages in the New Testament to wrestle with is the Olivet Discourse. Many hundreds of books have been dedicated to explaining this part of Matthew's gospel particularly. Someone will generally understand this passage through the filter of how they believe the Bible relates to us those events of the "end times." All true Christians believe that what Jesus revealed will come true just like He said it would. Yet not all Christians will agree on when those events will take place. They disagree because there are multiple approaches to the doctrine of End Times or Eschatology. I see this passage through Dispensational, Pre-Millennial, Pre-Tribulational lenses. What does all that mean? I was afraid you'd ask that. I'll try to explain.

Because I am Dispensational, I believe that God has and will deal with Israel in a special and unique way. The promises that God made to Israel were and are for Israel only. That doesn't mean that all followers of Christ won't enjoy some benefits of the promises but it does mean that I believe God never promised me any land. So I see that what Jesus is referring to in the Olivet Discourse has to do with Israel specifically and not the church. Incidentally in this passage, I also believe that in several places Jesus refers to the near and distant future without much indication of when He shifts.

I believe in a thing called the Tribulation. I believe that scripture clearly describes a time when God will pour out his judgment on the nation of Israel for rejecting their Messiah. I believe that the books of Daniel and Revelation (among others) also have much to say about this time as well. I believe that Jesus, in the Olivet Discourse, is refering to events that will happen in A.D. 70 (when Jerusalem is destroyed by the Roman general Titus) as well as events that will happen in the time many refer to as The Great Tribulation. Because I am Pre-Millennial, I believe that the Tribulation will occur prior to Christ returning to rule on this earth for 1000 years, which is still in the future.

I believe in a thing call the Rapture. I believe that the scripture clearly describes a time when Christ will "snatch away" his church - those who have placed their faith and trust in His death and resurrection. Because I am Pre-Tribulational, I believe that the Rapture will occur prior to The Tribulation. Since I believe that Jesus is refering specifically to Israel in the Olivet Discourse, I don't believe that it has anything to do with the Rapture. I don't believe that 24:40-41, which talks about one being taken and one being left, refers to the Rapture. Some might disagree but I believe they will uncover many more problems to deal with if they try to see the Rapture in this passage.

Some dear brothers and sisters might read this post and disagree with almost everything I have written with the exception of the following: (1) they will agree that what Matthew wrote was inspired and inerrent; (2) they will agree that what Jesus said was and is true and that it will or has happened just like He said; (3) they will agree that Jesus will return to this earth someday and (3) they will agree that the Olivet Discourse "is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17). That's the beauty of the body of Christ. In the essentials - unity. In the non-essentials - liberty. In everything - charity.

I walk away from the Olivet Discourse and see that God is in control, that God's promises are sure, that God must be approached on His terms no matter who your ancestors are and that God's judgment is eminent. God help us to see that Lamb that will be honored, one day, by all.

Passion Week: Tuesday

"On the way from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus cursed the fig tree (Matt. 21:18-19; Mk. 11:12-14) and then He went to Jerusalem to cleanse the temple (Matt. 21:12-13; Mk. 11:15-17; Lk. 19:45-46). The religious leaders began to seek how they might destroy Him that evening, and that evening Jesus left Jerusalem, presumably returning to Bethany (Mk. 11:18-19; Lk. 19:47-48)" H.Hoehner

Since I generally take Mondays off (from the office at least), Tuesday is the day when I try to get my week started and I often feel like I don't get much accomplished. For Jesus, however, on this Tuesday what might seem small to us (only 8 verses) was actually the opposite.

Consider first the fig tree. I'm no horticulturalist but based on what I have read on this event, it's quite a telling and fitting illustration of the nation of Israel (primarily their leadership). As I understand it, though it was not the normal season for figs, it was not improbable for the tree to have either late fruit from the Fall or early fruit in the Spring. The issue was this; on a fig tree, the full leaves that cover the tree always follow the fruit. The tree was "demonstrating" it's fruitfulness by presenting it's leaves. However, when Jesus arrived he found that the tree, like the nation of Israel, was barren of fruit. The tree was a hypocrite - like Israel's leaders. So Christ cursed the hypocritical tree - like Israel's leaders. The Jewish leadership was responsible for pointing the nation to Messiah. There's no way that they could have been mistaken about who Jesus was yet they refused to acknowledge Him as such. Examine the Lamb for yourself. He is true.

Lastly, consider the temple scene. And what a scene it was. This was the second time Jesus had taken strong action on those who turned the temple into a Farmer's Market (see John 2:13-16 for the first account). If you think of Jesus as this soft-spoken, mouse of a man, then you need to listen carefully to these verses. For the second time in just 3 years, Jesus is dumping tables and chasing people (and evidently animals) out of the house constructed for the worship of His Father. Jesus was not a weak man; He just chose his battles well. He refused to let "the house of prayer" be used for anything else. Did this man, Jesus, have the authority to do this? Examine Him. You will find that, indeed, He did. It royally ticked off the chief priest but they knew better than to try and stop Him. Examine the Lamb for yourself. He is without blemish.

Two thoughts: (1.) What does your tree look like? Are you displaying the leaves of fruitfulness only to be found barren of fruit? (2.) What is your motivation for religious activity? Is it possible that you participate only for what you stand to gain? Jesus, on that day, refused to allow those in the temple who were there for the wrong reasons.

God, help us this Tuesday not only to see and hear the Lamb, but to be changed by Him.

Passion Week: Saturday, Sunday, Monday

Over the next 6 days we will follow the events of the last week of Christ's life leading to His death and resurrection. The Chronology we will be following is that of Bible scholar Dr. Harold Hoehner from his book "Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ" (pages 90-93). Please keep your Bible handy or click on the passages in bold to follow along in the text.

"A few days before the final Passover, Jesus drew near to Jerusalem (John 11:55), arriving at Bethany six days before Passover (John 12:1), namely the Saturday before the Passion Week. That evening, Jesus was anointed at Simon the Leper's house (Matt. 26:6-13; Mk. 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). On the next day (Sunday), there was a great crowd that came to Bethany to see Jesus (John 12:9-11).

The next day, Monday (John 12:12), was Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:1-9; Mk. 11:1-10; Lk. 19:28-40; John 12:12-19), His visit to the temple (Matt. 21:10-11; Mk. 11:11), and then His return to Bethany. The day of the triumphal entry would be Nissan 10 when the lamb was selected for Passover. Hence, the triumphal entry was the day when Christ presented Himself as Israel's Paschal lamb."

We should not allow the proposal that Jesus' triumphal entry might have happened on Monday bother us. There is nothing theological hinging on a Sunday entry. It is simply the day traditionally recognized. The thing that we should allow to ring in our minds is that Jesus Christ came into Jerusalem in order to be God's perfect sacrifice.

In Exodus 12:1-6, as God was preparing His final judgment on Egypt, He gave the command and procedure for Passover. Each family was to choose a lamb on the 10th day of that month and examine it for 4 days to prove that it was pure and free from defect. Then, on the 14th day, the lamb was to be slain. Jesus Christ, God the Son, was selected by God the Father as a lamb without spot or blemish - God's perfect Lamb (Rev. 5:6-10). Then, over the next 4 days (Mon.-Thur.), He was examined. Examine Him. See, as you read, that He is pure and without defect. He is without one spot of sin. His worth is immeasurable.

God, help us to see your Son, God the Son, as the Lamb this week.

Writer's block & other odds-n-ends...

To be totally honest, I haven't posted in a couple of weeks because I haven't been impressed with anything to write. That's terrible I know. Truthfully, I'm not a writer anyway. I hear you - the one who's agreeing with that last statement. Be nice.

I thought it might be healthy to just be transparent and share some of the things that are on my mind. Maybe even help you know how to pray for me.

• Last Sunday night's Small Group Preview was a wonderful success! We still have 3 more weeks left (April 5, 19 & 26). Please plan to join us for the remaining sessions. I promise that you will be glad you did.
  

• On April 19, I will begin a 5 week series of sermons. Folks have seen, heard and even read on this blog about the four words Worship, Connect, Serve & Grow. What I hope to accomplish in this 5 week series is explain to our people how we, as a church, have a Christ commissioned responsibility to be a part of a discipleship process in which we both participate and labor. You can pray with me that God's will might be accomplished and that our people will begin mobilizing to that end.

• Today's Rett's birthday. He's 10. He's an awesome kid - tenderhearted, compliant, smart, loving and kind. I'm glad I get to be his dad.

• We've got drums at Haven again! Someone donated a brand new set of Roland V-Drums to the ministry. God is so good. Our praise team so badly wanted drums and we wanted them to have em but the budget said otherwise. I think we're really going to move forward in the area of music with this addition. Pray that God will send us someone who can play them on a regular basis. Until then, I guess I'll get to do it.
  

• HCA needs a new Administrator. We believe that God has this need well under control.

• You really need to read Pastor James' last post to his blog (click here). It's frankly wonderful.

• God is fully aware of us here at Haven. He knows who and what we need at every turn. I submit to His leading. I need your continual prayer to this end. We need God to send us some more strong believers. He has already begun to do this and I believe He will continue. I dream of a church where believers of all levels of spiritual maturity come together to participate and labor in the discipleship of one another as we are sharing our faith and the love of Jesus Christ in every arena of our lives.
  

• The Thursday morning small group, where I get to be a peer, is so HUGE! Not in size. There's only 7 of us. It's HUGE in its impact on my life. I am so refreshed by those men. That, is REAL COMMUNITY! Have I told you that you really need to read James' last blog post?

• My sister's married. That's kind of cool. It still sure hurt seeing the flowers on the pew where my grandparents would have been seated. God's still good though.
  

• Our family's going to have to move out of our house at the end of May. That's kind of aggravating. The home owner doesn't want to renew our lease. Do you reckon God already knew about this? Of course He did.
  

I guess I had more to say than I thought I did. I hope it's okay with you that I want to be transparent. No sense letting anyone think I somehow have it all together. I'm just a follower of Jesus Christ, called to serve Him with the gifts He has given me right here at Haven. Hope to see you this weekend.

"Biblical Mulligan?"

Before I get to the point of my post today I want to encourage those readers that don't attend HBC to go to our sermon page and listen to Matt Wiggins' message from a couple of weeks ago. You can access that sermon by clicking "here."

When I returned from GA I brought with me a horrible case of Bronchitis and Matt graciously filled in for me with very little notice. When I later took an opportunity to listen to the sermon, titled STAND, I realized that it was indeed what I needed at that very moment and, no doubt, what our people needed that day. I believe you will be greatly challenged and encouraged by listening...then go and do what God's word says - STAND.

Now, to the mulligan. If you are a golfer, you know exactly what a mulligan is. For those non-golfers, still living in their sin, let me explain. A mulligan is, simply, a "free do-over." Someone, somewhere in the world came up with this wonderful little device that allows a novice golfer to erase a bad shot and get a free do-over from the same spot. Depending on whom you're playing with, you may or may not be allowed any mulligans. Generally, the better the player the fewer the mulligans they want to allow during a round. Or they can get really spiritual and say things like "I don't use mulligans but you feel free to use as many as you like." What they're really saying is "I'm much better than you are but I want you to have fun." But I digress... My point is that a mulligan, in golf, is a chance to take another shot and forget the first one ever happened.

When I was sick last, I got off my planned preaching schedule. Because I didn't want to have to adjust several weeks I decided to address Joshua 8 here on the blog. In Joshua 7 we saw that Israel made a very bad "shot" at the city of Ai. Sin was in the camp which caused Israel's aim to be way off the mark. God had removed his hand from them and they suffered a great defeat. God revealed their sin and instructed them to remove it from the camp, which they did. Once the sin was dealt with, God was again ready to fight for Israel. Chapter 8 takes us right back to where Israel was before chapter 7 - facing Ai. You can read the chapter for yourself but I'll let the cat out of the bag by saying that God did, indeed, give Israel a great victory over Ai. My question is this, "Was Joshua 8 a "Biblical Mulligan?" Was this God granting Israel a free do-over? I don't think so and I'll explain why.

When I'm playing golf with "good friends" that allow mulligans, the bad shot never makes it to the score card. It never happened. No one ever knows about the first shot that went into the woods or across the street or into the the fairway of the next hole or that never made it off the tee box. That's the beauty of a mulligan - the bad shot never happened. This is not the case with God and His dealings with His children. Chapter 8 is not a mulligan. Chapter 7 happened. Thirty-six funerals occurred. One man and his children and all he owned were stoned and burned because of sin. Israels defeat was entered onto the score card of God's word. It's there to remind readers of the severity, effects and consequences of sin. Chapter 8 is not a mulligan. It is, however, a picture of the grace of God. Chapter 8 is Israel having a chance to do the right thing the right way but it's not a mulligan. Now don't take this thought to the extreme or misunderstand and think that God doesn't really forgive because He does. When God forgives, He truly forgives. When God forgives, He doesn't hold our sin on display or beat us over the head with it. God forgives - don't ever forget that. God forgave Israel and He honored their obedience in dealing with the sin in the camp. But every time they passed by that way they had to see the grave stones of those killed in defeat and the big pile of stones that covered Achan. We must not ever presume upon the forgiveness of God. We must never think that God's forgiveness allows us to intentionally take risky or bad shots in our Christian walk.

If I know I have a mulligan to use in a round of golf I will likely take a risky shot because I know I have a free do-over. I think a lot of Christians live that way. They love the fact that God is long-suffering, forgiving and merciful and they're willing to take bad shots because they believe God is a God of the mulligan. Don't deceive yourself friend. You take a bad shot and it will cost you. It might even cost you more than you were wanting to pay. Bad shots make it to the score card and they can leave big scars; scars that you will see every time you look in the mirror. The truth is you don't have any mulligans. You don't have any free do-overs. You do have a gracious God that loves you and wants you to avoid the consequences that accompany sin. And you do have a God who is merciful and forgiving and will pick you up when you mess up in a royal fashion. You have a God that will walk with you down the path a second or third or forth time, as many as it takes for you to learn what it is He's trying to teach you. But God's not giving out any mulligans. There is no free do-overs. They all cost. They all ultimately cost the blood of God the Son. So line up straight. Keep your eye on the ball. Don't try to kill it. Keep your shoulders square. Keep your feet still. Rotate your hips. Let the club do the work... See you Sunday.

Time sure swirls...

Wow, has it really been February 4 since I last took the time to write? That either means I'm lazy or I had a lot on my plate or a little combination of both. Time flies doesn't it? Time "swirls" may be a better way of putting it.

It's an easy and dangerous trap not to pay attention to some things as time swirls by. At the same time, it's equally as dangerous to try to be involved in everything swirling around you. Balance is the key isn't it? I don't ever want to use this venue as a personal sounding board but this week I came really close to seeing time just slow down to what felt like a stop. At least it felt that way to me. I would really like to share something very personal.

Everyone close to me is aware that this past week both of my maternal grandparents went to be with the Lord as a result of a car accident in Athens, GA. Ma-maw died on the way to the hospital and Pa-paw died 4 days later as his body just shut down from all the trauma. When I got the news on Tuesday, I honestly didn't really know how to feel. My world gets so fast sometimes that I just can't wrap my mind around sudden reality as it applies to me. In fact, I really didn't know how to feel until we were all at the grave side on Saturday looking at two caskets. And that's when it happened...time just kind of stopped. The grave site was off the beaten path away from noisy traffic and the hustle and bustle of normal paced life. For a brief moment I remembered the times I had with my grandparents in a similar place - in the woods mending a fence or looking for a calf, sitting on a porch at a place where there was no phone and not much of a TV, sitting around a supper table or casting a line in the pond. That's when it hit me just how much I was going to miss them both. They represented so much of who I am when I just slow down for a minute and enjoy the life God has given me. For that brief moment, time stopped swirling and the memories I have of two very precious people flooded in. I needed that moment. I need that moment more often. God reminded me right there that I can't do too much regretting the things I didn't say or do but I can makes some plans to slow down every now and then and enjoy those other precious people he has placed in my life.

Not as I say do...

Sunday in our series "A Brand New Focus" we looked at Joshua 4, specifically verses 1-8. In this chapter we found God instructing Israel to erect a memorial shrine (12 large stones from the dry river bed to be placed at their camp site) that would serve as a reminder of His power, ability and work in their crossing the Jordan river to enter the promised land. God's instructions were not only for the benefit of those who actually crossed but also for the benefit of those generations that would follow and ask what the stones meant. God's majesty would be passed down from generation to generation!

Verse 9, however, points us to something very telling about Joshua, the nation's leader. Verse 9 says, "Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day." Apparently, while the twelve men selected from the twelve tribes were retrieving their stones for the camp-side memorial Joshua was doing some stone stacking of his own in the river bed. Joshua didn't stand on the shore tapping his feet while others did the work he ordered them to do (actually God ordered it but I think you know what I mean). No, Joshua rolled up his sleeves and erected a memory of his own. Not to overshadow the memorial that God had ordered but, I believe, to demonstrate his commitment to his role as Israel's leader. A sort of "Do as I do, not as I say do" moment.

So this post actually has more to do with me than it does with most of you. I am keenly aware that, more often than not, I will not measure up to everyone's expectations of "what a pastor is supposed to be or do." I've embraced that reality and accepted that I can only do and be so much in vocational ministry without failing as a father and a husband. But that doesn't mean that I can't or won't get lazy and fall into the "Do as I say do, not as I do" trap. I am also keenly aware of that reality too. This is where you come in. I'm pretty sure that you want a pastor that demonstrates the kind of commitment to his role as Joshua did in this instance. That's the kind of leader that I want to be too. It will take a lot of work for me to be that kind of leader. It will take a lot of prayer and submission to God's leading. In fact, I doubt that I will be able to do it as consistently as I would like but that's why I need you. I need you to pray for me - daily if possible. I need you to realize that at the end of the day I am just a human being that wants what I want, when I want it and at any cost. I'm figuring that you can relate to that description. But as a follower of Christ, that simply isn't an option. I need you to pray that I will have the sensitivity and passion that Joshua had. I need you to pray that I will have the courage and endurance that Joshua had. I need you to pray that I will, more often than not, exhibit the kind of character and action that says "Do as I do, not as I say do."

Can I count on you to do that?

No Trust Without Obedience

This past Sunday in the series "A Brand New Focus" we paid close attention to the Trust of Rahab in Joshua chapter two. The week before we paid close attention to the Obedience of Israel's leader and the people.

In the sermon on Obedience I laid forth the challenge to "Embrace a lifestyle of Obedience." As a Christian, God is not going to make you obey Him. He's also not going to let you ignore Him either but that's a subject for another day. The challenge is that we constantly bring ourselves to the end of ourselves and constantly resolve to Obey - Embrace a lifestyle of Obedience.

Last week in the sermon on Trust I challenged the people to "Pursue a life of Trust." Drawing from the example of Rahab, who was a citizen of the pagan city Jericho, we can see Trusting God risks real physical danger, is based on who God is and what He has said and results in blessing. God wanted his people to trust Him like Rahab did and He wants us to trust Him in the same way today - Pursue a life of Trust.

Here's the thing though; you won't really Trust God consistently UNTIL you decide to Obey God. Many times in the Bible we see people called to Trust God. But, in order to do so they must do or not do something that God has said. Think about Abraham. God promised him and Sarah a son. Did Abraham Trust God? No. Not at first. He took matters into his own hands. It kind of makes the song "Trust and Obey" seem backwards and I think it probably is. First Obey, then Trust.

Occasionally I like to watch the reality show "The Biggest Loser." They bring together a dozen or so severely overweight people to help them get fit and the one who loses the most weight (percentage) wins. Actually, they all win because they are getting healthy and losing weight. My point is this, the coaches are not simply trying to help the contestant lose weight. They are trying to help the contestant learn what got them to the point they are and embrace a change in lifestyle that will naturally lead to greater health and weight management. Most people who struggle with their weight live a roller-coaster life in that area because they never embrace a new lifestyle. So they stay frustrated with their up and down weight. The same is true with Trust. I can Trust God today and Trust me tomorrow. Chances are great that I'll do just that if I don't first focus on Obedience. Obedience to God. Obedience to His Word.

For unbelievers, Trust does come first. An unbeliever won't Obey God until he first Trusts Christ. But believers won't really Trust God on a daily basis until they first learn to Obey God. How's your Trust? How's your Obedience?

Am I wierd because I get scared?

I'm teaching a Bible study on Wednesday nights to a few folks using Swindoll's book David. We just finished with the section of 1 Samuel that deals with David's victory over the Philistine giant. One of the neat things about that story is that the author never even hints that David possesses an ounce of fear. In fact, we see him explaining to King Saul how reasonable it is that he fight the giant because God already allowed him to destroy a lion and a bear that threatened his father's sheep. What we don't see in 1 Samuel is a frightened boy, with knees knocking, hoping that God will come through for him.

The same thing is true in the accounts of Elijah at Mount Carmel; Joshua at the walls of Jericho; Daniel in the face of lions; Peter and John before the high priest; Paul before every human judge he faced on his way to Rome and ultimately Christ, himself, as he faced his passion. Scripture is full of examples of those that have followed God's leading with what seems to be fearless resolve. Even if there was a measure of fear, the aurthors do not tell us.

I'm sure I'm alone in saying that I don't always possess the fearless faith of those biblical heros. Since I'm the only one who feels this way let me take a minute to explain. There have been, and are, times in my life when I know what the right course of action is. I have every intention of doing the right thing and most of the time when I get that far I follow through. However, the circumstances around doing the right thing might mean that some people I love could be upset with me or it might bring some measure of embarassment to me or it might cause some measure of heart ache or suffering. I know what to do but the prospects of all might go on around me makes me afraid or nervous.

In these times, it's hard for me to find real encouragment from the heros I mentioned above because, as bad as want to, I don't have that sense of "fearlessness" that they seem to possess. I was encouraged today in my reading from the OT book of Ezra. I was a day or so behind in my reading from a devotional guide I try to follow and it began in Ezra chapter 3. Ezra, in part, records for us the events that immediately follow the decree of Cyrus (King of Persia) for the Jews to be allowed to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. When this group arrived they faced great opposition from those that were living in the land at that time (foreigners who were placed there by the Assyrians). Verse 3 really stood up and yelled at me. "They (the Jews that had returned) established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples, and they burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the morning and the evening offerings." This verse really encouraged me. It says that even though they were scared to death, they still did the right thing. Now I can relate to that. It reminds me that I'm not as wierd as I thought I was.

Let me be real...I get scared! Can you believe that? I even sometimes get scared when I know I'm doing the right thing! That's okay. What's not okay is when I let that my fear keep me from doing the right thing. Let's stop thinking that because we sometimes get scared that we are, in some way, less spiritual than those who boast of their fearlessness. Let's be real with each other. You encourage me when I'm scared and I'll do the same for you.

As much as it pains me to admit it....

From time to time (more often than I like to admit it) I make verbal blunders. It's one of my many flaws that God uses to remind me of my utter imperfection. Then when you add to it the fact that what I say on Sunday mornings is recorded for the world to hear again and again and again, it makes verbal blunders much more humbling. I want to share with you a few blunders that I have made over the past few months so that you will know that I know I did it. I also want you to be sure that I appreciate those precious people who tell me when I use words that I think are words that aren't really words. Of course I may, from time to time, attempt to coin a word as my very own and I reserve that right. Let me tell you just a few things that I have blundered over just since being at Haven and this short list certainly isn't comprehensive:

1. On several occasions I used the word "irregardless" to express the thought of the word "regardless." I looked up the word "irregardless" and it is, in fact, in the dictionary. However, it is an improper combination of the words "irrespective" and "regardless." I think I've probably used the word "irregardless" for years and will probably use it again...but I'm sure going to try not to.
2. My recent sermon on December 28, focused on the three major Christological heresies of the 5th Century and how the Definition of Chalcedon helped frame how we are to understand "the Word became flesh." One of those heresies, Eutychianism, is credited to a man named Eutyches (U-tic-ese). However, I got tongue tied and repeatedly called him Eutychetes (U-tic-a-tese). Now chances are great that no one present had any idea of my blunder but I guarantee that there will be someone who listens to that message online and catches it. Sorry, Eutyches.
3. Just this last week (I amaze even myself), one of my sermon application points had to do with the fact that God will work whether I obey Him or not. If I chose to disobey then He will either work around me or move me out of the way - meaning that "everyone is expendable." However, what I said was "No one is expendable" and then proceeded to explain it as I described above. I know what expendable means and yet I wrote it, typed it and spoke it the exact opposite way.
   

So I share all this to say "I goof up, as much as it pains me to admit it." I say and do dumb or wrong things. Sometimes I do them on purpose and sometimes by mistake or accident. I need grace in big dump truck loads. It's not easy for most of us to admit our imperfections (though they are as clear as the nose on our face). But it sure is a good way of trying to maintain some measure of humility or at least reality. Why don't you try it for yourself this week? Admit to someone you trust some of the dumb things you have done lately. Maybe even be transparent enough to share some of the sin you struggle with and pray together about it. I think James 5:16 will give you more than enough reason to do so.

A brand new series..."A Brand New Focus"

Beginning this Sunday we will start a sermon series in the OT book of Joshua entitled "A Brand New Focus." I love the book of Joshua. It has a freshness that feels to me like the first day of a new school year. I always used to dread the first day of school after the Christmas holiday break like getting a tooth filled but I never dreaded the first day of a new school year. That brand new school year meant that all my failures and mistakes of last year were in the past and I was working on a brand new "slate." A similar thing is happening for Israel in the book of Joshua.

The inexcusable act of disobedience by the children of Israel at Kadesh-Barnea (see Numbers 13-14) had required a 40 year punishment. Now that's some detention! In the book of Joshua we find the children at the same point of their original disobedience but with a brand new opportunity to obey. The first time they focused on all the reasons why they couldn't obey and it cost them dearly. This time they will have "A Brand New Focus."

Of course, the nation will not always follow God's lead and we'll see that along our journey too. But the key is to catch a glimps of everything that is possible when God's people focus on God's plan, that never changed by the way, and begin to experience everything that follows obedience.

Hope you will join us in person or online as we journey through the book of Joshua with a challenge to gain "A Brand New Focus." Happy New Year!