Defining Moments!

In the course of our lives there are only a handful of defining moments that significantly impact our direction and purpose and make us the people we are. Let's take Abraham as an example. His story is found in Genesis 11-25. Out of his 175 years of living, less than 20 significant events are recorded in history. Its roughly around one significant moment every 8-10 years. Some of these events are common to most of us: marriage (his and his son's are recorded), births (children and grandchildren), deaths (his father, his wife, other family, his own are mentioned), moving (Abraham did a lot of this). Some are failures (Abraham made some poor decisions that nearly cost him his wife.) Some are victories and successes that richly blessed him and others. But the most significant moments were when God spoke and Abraham trusted, followed, obeyed. Those are the ones that marked him as the "friend of God."

In the last 10 years, the first of June has become a significant time in the life of our family and ministry. They have been times when we believe God has spoken, directed, led and to the best of our ability, we have trusted, followed and obeyed. Let me share three of these:

1. June 2, 2002 - My family and I with the support of family and friends held our first worship service as the Axios Community Church in Holly Springs, GA. The decision to start this church came after much prayer and confirmation through others, circumstances, and His Word. We can recount many stories of how God opened doors (and closed some), graciously provided, and significantly blessed us and others through this endeavor.
   
2. June 1, 2008 - On our 6th birthday, we held our last service as the Axios Community Church in Holly Springs, GA. This was harder than starting the Church. We had put so much of our lives, energy and resources into this work and God was continuing to use our ministry that the decision to close was difficult. But it was clear to me through prayer, circumstances and the Spirit that this was what God wanted and that He had other plans for us. He immediately made it clearthat our next opportunity would be in Denver.
3. June 2010 - After 2 years of what feels like a wilderness experience, God seems to be suddenly moving us forward to our new calling. There have been significant lessons that needed to be learned during this time and God's graciousness of allowing us to stay and care for Pattie's mother in her last days and experiencing greater relationships with our kids and grandkids will always be appreciated and looked back on with fondness. We now have a target date of the first of June to move to Denver, CO. Oh, the things we may do, the people we will see, and the places we will go!

These have been defining moments and this one will set the course of our lives for the next 10 + years but God only hands us a handful of these opportunities in the course of our lives and we are ready to trust, follow and obey!

Hurting People Hurt People

We have recently had several painful encounters with people we hold dear. It has once again verified the statement "Hurting people hurt people." I am not trying to cast judgment on these dear people. We love them dearly. But since I have known them for a long time, I know the hurts and pains they have experienced. Many of these hurts have cut them deeply and they still carry them around as a great burden. Their hurt is justified, their pain is real, and many of their words, actions and reactions flow from this hurt place. Carrying hurts like this is not easy. It's like wearing my hoodie in the rain. The more rain, the heavier it gets. It weighs me down, hurts my shoulders, affects my posture. Hurts are the same way. They weary you and are tiresome.

The truth is that we are all hurt people, we are all damaged goods in some way. We all could stand a few good sessions with a counselor to help us sort through the pains of life. But there is a difference between "hurting" people and "hurt" people. "Hurting" people continue to wear their "wet hoodie" and allow it to dampen their lives. "Hurt" people have found that through acts of forgiveness and love made possible by the forgiveness in Christ, they can actually take off this heavy jacket and put on a "light wind breaker" that won't absorb the hurts and pains of life. Paul in Colossians 3 says it this way:

⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these (the list that follows is why hurting people hurt people): anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

It is a beautiful thing what God wants to do with our lives. May we all find the healing that God made possible through His Son and be "hurting" people no longer.

Facebook

I used to update all my activities on this blog but since joining Facebook, this blog has been reduced to my venting, ranting and sharing what God has been teaching me. Check in here periodically to see what God is doing in my life but it would be better if you became my friend on Facebook. There you can keep up with my day to day life and I will let you know when I have posted to my blog. My desire is to blog once a week but it seems that God has been teaching me so much recently that it has been difficult to put it in brief words. I will eventually figure out a way to communicate it all with you.

Being Set Free From Freedom

Freedom is a strange bird. Its on the short list of those things that we value most. We will fight for it, die for it, kill for it, live for it, yet, ultimately, its the very thing from which we need to be rescued. All freedom eventually takes us down a path from which we need to be saved.

I hear the clamor on talk radio about how our freedoms are being threatened and how our nation will catastrophically change if the healthcare bill passes. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but that is for another discussion. My point is that we are where we are because of freedom. The freedom to choose led our nation to elect this administration and fortunately in 2012, we can choose again. Christmas is approaching and I am sure that we will once again hear the outcry of saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." We will hear about equal time for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah but we are where we are because of freedom of religion.

Generally, we are all right with freedom as long as everyone chooses what we feel is the right and acceptable path. But freedom opens the door for all paths to be explored and will take us to places that we never intended to go. (Just ask Adam or read his story in Gen 3. He was the first to experience this truth.) And it is at the end of that path, my friend, when we will cry out to the only one who can save us, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Freedom in Christ is the only freedom that matters. Paul writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." I love that verse. Its the only freedom that will not lead us to enslavement, to self-destruction, and a bitter end. Its the only freedom that will lead to the peace, love, joy, life that we all long for.

George Bush once said that it was the mission of our nation to spread freedom around the world. I assume by freedom, he meant democracy. But democracy is not the answer for mankind. It may be a better form of government than communism, socialism, dictatorships, monarchs, etc., but it cannot change a heart, transform a life, set one completely free. Our mission is to set people free through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us not fight for our freedoms in such a way that hinders us from presenting true freedom to all for whom Christ died.

Guardians vs Followers

There is a story in the Gospels of Jesus and His disciples walking through the grain fields on a Sabbath day when they begin picking the heads of grain for a healthy, all natural snack. This immediately draws the attention, as well as the ire, of the religious crowd. The Pharisees, the religious leaders of that day, were “keepers” of the Sabbath. This is not a bad thing. God, of course, had established the Sabbath a long time ago as part of the “Ten Commandments.” No work was to be done on this day. It was a day of rest and remembrance.

But they were not content to just be “keepers” of the Sabbath. They took it one step further and became the self-appointed “guardians” of the Sabbath. It became their job or responsibility (so they thought) to make sure everyone else kept the Sabbath also. They created stringent laws on how to keep the Sabbath. It became a litmus test on who loved God and who didn’t. Those who broke such laws were outcast and condemned. They showed more mercy toward animals on the Sabbath than people who were in need which was the greatest evidence that this was misplaced zeal.

So here comes Jesus and His disciples breaking the Sabbath by picking grain and the “guardians” are ready to pounce. Jesus answers their accusations with a statement, “I am Lord of the Sabbath.” He’s saying, “I made the Sabbath, I’m above the Sabbath, I made it for man, not for men to be a slave to it.” I imagine their mouths fell wide open. “Lord” trumps “guardian” every time. And, if they had accepted His claim as Lord, they would have relinquished their role as “guardians” and would have become “followers.” Instead they began to plot against Jesus.

I think that we, as Christians, are in danger of falling into this same religious trap of being “guardians” rather than “followers.” I don’t think you can be both. When we see ourselves as “guardians” of the Christian religion we usually stop practicing the things that distinguish us as “followers” of Christ, that is, faith expressing itself through love. When you are a guardian, everything becomes a threat and people become enemies. He is Lord. We are not. He did not establish a religion for us to protect but a faith to be practiced. Faith cannot be imposed or legislated. It must be modeled and demonstrated. If we don’t realize this, we may find ourselves undermining the Gospel rather than advancing it.

I have a dream! Part 2

The dream for "greatness" is alive in all of us.

We are all aware of this dream because it's God's dream for all of us. I just read Erwin McManus saying the same thing in his book, Soul Cravings, "The maddening reality is that each and everyone of us has been created with a soul craving to become - to become something - something better, something different, something special, something unique, something admired, something valued, something more than we are."
The original disciples were also caught up in this dream and asked Jesus about it on more than one occasion. Jesus never really rebuked them for such aspirations but used the opportunity to redefine "greatness" for them. He described a "greatness" that is not found in title or position or exercised in acts of power and control but displayed in the role of a servant and in humble acts of love, kindness and service. He made greatness possible for all.

Let me be the first to say that I certainly don't feel that I have achieved anything "great" or have become "great" in any way. But God has shown Himself "great" in my life. He took the broken and shattered dreams and fulfilled them all. He gave me a wife that I can't imagine life without. He gave me a beautiful family. He allowed me to fulfill my original calling as a youth pastor and has called me beyond that to "greater" things. I feel a little like Job after all was taken from him in the first chapter of his book and returned to him in greater ways in the last chapter. God is good and God is great!

I have also seen Him do "great" things in other people's lives in which He has allowed me to play a small role. There is no boasting in accomplishment or character when living God's dream of greatness. Our acts can seem so small and trivial, and our words so random and ignored but they become great because our great God takes them and puts His love and His power behind them. We can only say, "God is good and God is great!"

I am still pursuing the dream.

I believe that God still has greater things for me to do, that there is yet a work for me to accomplish. I believe that everything that has happened in my life up to this point has been preparation for this work. That work may be in Denver or somewhere beyond but I am ready now to get going. I am anxious to move forward. I am excited about the future. I am ready for the adventure. I never want to stop pursuing this dream.

I have a dream! Part 1

I have a dream.

My dream began at a very unusual time. It came to me in my darkest hour, during my greatest failure, at my lowest point, when all my other dreams seemed to be shattered. It came to me through a prayer that I would verbalize out loud to God. God seemed very far away and I would shout it out hoping God would hear. "I don't want to die like this, God! I don't want this to be the end of my story!" I know it sounds morbid but thankfully God, in all of His faithfulness, heard me. At that point it came to me - an overwhelming sense that God had something "great" for me to do. And not just a "great" work to accomplish but that He actually wanted me to be "great." This was a bold dream, a completely absurd dream, possibly could be construed as an arrogant dream but, I assure you, it was a God dream. For me, it took the shattering of my dreams and future in order to embrace the dream that God had for me. It took this low point to realize that . . .

God has a dream for me.

It's a dream for me to achieve greatness in the way that God defines greatness. It's a dream for me to find success in the way that God defines success. It's a dream for me to truly live as He defines living. It's easy to miss out on this dream. We are often duped into thinking God saved us to be "good." So we go by the rules, conform to a standard, put on our Sunday best. We strive to be "good" instead of pursuing something "great." It can be a disappointing life to live to be "good." It's hard to be "good." We and everyone around us fail at it often. And when this happens, we tend to write people off, judge and condemn, as well as live with guilt and shame that God never intended us to live under. We were never able to be "good" before Christ entered our lives and to pursue it now falls well short of God's dream for us. I'm not suggesting that we are suppose to be "bad" or that being "good" doesn't matter but I am saying that "good" is a poor substitute for "great." God's dream for you is bigger than that. And, to be honest, its easier to be "great" than "good." To be "good," I have to follow a lot of rules but to be "great" I only have to keep two: Love God and love others. And the funny thing is, when you start practicing these, you find it much easier to be "good" and to be "good" for the right reasons.

And now I have a dream to fulfill God's dream.

(To be continued)