Winter clothes and other transitory things

Last night Kelly began taking the kids' winter clothes out of their closets and putting them away until cold weather returns--which is always a tricky proposition in Arkansas. It may be 90 degrees next week or it may snow. But we've always been the kind of people who give a strong, Celtic laugh in the face of danger so we're going ahead with the plan.

When you change out the seasonal clothes it's a time of transition. You are transitioning from one season to another, one need to another, one time of year to another. And as I was looking over all the winter stuff I was reminded that all our lives are times of transition. When you're an infant you are transitioning through various stages of helplessness. You transition to a person who can communicate, move about independently, and control your bowels--all of which prove marvelously useful in the years to follow. As you grow older and begin school you are continually transitioning through different grades and different social situations and different friends.

The transitions continue through college as you study a discipline that you'll use to gain employment. Often during this time you transition into marriage. And with time, you'll transition to parenthood (which is often accompanied by frustration-hood, lack of sleep-hood, and extreme gratitude to God for such amazing gifts-hood).

Life is a series of transitions. Right now I've got a pile of winter clothes that need to be put away. Before long there will be a pile of summer clothes. Right now we're getting ready to transition Owen to Pre K. But before I know it we'll be getting ready to transition Lily into college. Life is a series of transitions. And those transitions happen faster than we realize. James 4:14 says, "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." Sounds pretty transitory to me.

So here's the point--we can either fight against these transitions or we can embrace them and make the most of them. We can realize that this transition, this life we live, isn't going to last forever. And we can seek to make the most of it. Charles Spurgeon said, "God gives His people life, not as the clock ticks, but as He helps them to serve Him; and He can make them to live much in a short space of time." I don't know how long I'll be a misty appearance on this earth. I don't know what transitions I have before me. But what I do know is this: I won't be here forever. So I need to make the most of the time God has given me. And I need to realize that this world is not my home. I've been made for a different home. A home where I'll find eternal rest and eternal joy in the presence of the One who loved me and gave Himself for me. May our lives be lived for His glory. And may the transitions remind us of our temporary stay here.

Father, thank You for the gift of life. Thank You for the gift of time. And thank You for the gift of transitions in our lives. You use these to gently remind us that our time here is short, and that this world is not our home. Help us to live passionately, to embrace the life You've given us--but help us also to hold to it loosely, knowing that we are here but for a moment. Help that moment be used to bring great honor to Your name. Amen.

In which we seek to destroy self-reliance

Ask a group of Christians what matters most, what is the most important thing for them to become more like Jesus and you'll probably get similar answers. Things like prayer, reading the Bible, and sharing our faith with others will dominate the list. And those things are monumentally important in our daily walk with Christ. We're called to evangelize, to pray without ceasing, and to regard the Bible as inspired and useful for making us more like Jesus. But there's something else I would add to that list, something that is just as important as anything on that list. And, that is, as the title might suggest, the importance of destroying self-reliance.

Self-reliance is, as you might have imagined, relying on yourself. And in our culture its put forth as a virtue. "Believe in yourself", we are told; "trust in your heart"; "visualize the life you want to have and it will be yours." Now the problem with this is obvious--it leaves out Jesus. And rather than teaching self-reliance, the New Testament emphasizes a complete reliance on Jesus.

One of the most well known illustrations of this is found in 2 Corinthians 12. As Paul describes a struggle he has faced with a messenger from Satan, and his prayers that were offered to God seeking that this be removed, he reveals that God says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." God essentially says that only when confronted with our weaknesses do we run to Him for His power. And its crucial for us to take hold of this in our lives. The only way we learn to trust in the strength of God is by being forced to see that our own strength is insufficient; the only way I learn to rely on God is by the systematic destruction of self-reliance in my life. Paul goes on to say in vs10, "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Paul recognizes what God is telling Him. And he embraces it. He says, "Lord, if the only way to strip away self-reliance is by You demonstrating to me my own insufficiency, then I will glory in those times."

Now that might seem cruel. It might seem heartless that God would expose us to these types of situations. But rather than being cruel, it is actually a demonstration of the great love God has for us. You see, God wants what is best for us. And that doesn't mean He wants what we think is best for us but that He wants what He knows is best for us--and what is best for us is a life given over to bringing Him glory. And the only way this is accomplished is when our lives are devoid of self-reliance, when we boast gladly of our weaknesses, knowing that when we do so the power of Christ will rest upon us.

God loves us enough to put us through that sanctifying surgery, for lack of a better term, that strips away the reliance on self. And that's not an easy process. There is no general anesthesia for that surgery. But it's a worthwhile surgery. And the reason is this; the less I rely on myself, the more I rely on my Savior. That's huge for us because when we rely on ourselves we will do all we are capable of; when you "believe in yourself" you'll do all that 'yourself' is capable of. But when I rely on Jesus, I can do all things through the One who is giving me strength.

Now does this take away the pain of those times of insults, hardships or betrayals by friends? Of course not. But as a follower of Christ I must learn to embrace those things because I know that God is using them to destroy self-reliance.

Father, thank You for loving me, for saving me, and for committing to make me like You. Help me to see things through Your eyes rather than mine. Help me to remember the sufficiency of Your grace. And help me to glory in the fact that through times of hardship I am being made more like You. Amen.

Lessons on the Nature of Truth by Emma Cox

As we were heading out the door this morning Lily was telling me all about the new book she's been reading. And God love my Lily-bug, she tells stories like her mother. No detail is left out, no character is unmentioned--often I have to encourage her (in a loving, patient, dad of the year kind of way) to find the point. Don't judge me. So as she was telling me about one of the characters, Emma asked, "Is he good or bad?"

I was struck by the simplicity of her question. To her 5 year old mind there was a simple classification for this character: either he was good or he was bad. That's the way the mind of a child works, isn't it? There are good people and there are bad people. There is right and there is wrong. There is black and there is white.

I thought further about how as adults we are eager to outgrow such simplistic thinking. We pride ourselves on being able to identify moral gray areas. We pat ourselves on the back for our tolerance and our intellectual evolution. Others may view the world through so narrow a lens but we are able to look beyond that. We are able to see that "absolute truth" is a misnomer.

But lost in our self-congratulatory euphoria (which might be my new favorite phrase) is the fact that there are things as simple as right and wrong. There are things as concrete as good and bad. There is, as the photo suggests, a right way to do things, and a wrong way to do things. And maybe what the world needs is more child-like view of things. Please don't misunderstand: I'm not anti-intellectual and I'm not suggesting we all hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" around the campfire. But I am suggesting that sometimes we can overlook the obvious-that there is right and that there is wrong. That there is truth and that there is falsehood. There are moral dilemmas in the world. There are difficult decisions to be made. But there are also things that are true; not "sort of in a round about way" kind of true but "absolutely and without question or equivocation" kind of true. Jesus said in John 8:32, "...you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." According to Jesus, not only is truth a reality, truth is knowable. We can know truth. And as I thought about what Emma said, her simple understanding that there are things that are right/true and things that are wrong/untrue, I though about some of those things, some of that truth that we can know.

We know, for example that God is. Throw away all your smart sounding arguments and bid words. Throw out your philosophers and people who tell you what to believe. Now go and stand out in a dark place on a clear night. Look upward at the blanket of stars. Look at the innumerable lights in the night sky. Can you really conceive of such things just happening into existence? We know God exists because He has revealed His existence to the world. The heavens declare the glory of the One who spoke them into existence. Every cell, every strand of DNA shouts to the creative brilliance of our King. Every star that shines is a light that points us to the throne of the Master of this world. We know that God exists and we can hold to that with unshakable certainty.

We know that God is holy. His word declares to us His holiness, the perfection of His character. In addition to the testimony of His word we all have within us a desire for what's right, don't we? We are grieved when injustice is allowed to flourish, we desire to see the guilty punished and the innocent vindicated. That desire is there because we were made in the image of a holy God, a God who loves justice and righteousness. That desire that resides within our fallen flesh reminds us that God is holy.

We know that we are not holy. You don't have to be a theologian to understand this. We can argue about degrees of sinfulness but the bottom line is that we are all unholy; we are all guilty of sin. None of us can match the standard of Our creator. The answer to Emma's question about whether or not a character was good or bad is ultimately, "He's bad." And that's true for each of us. We are sinful people; sinful by birth and sinful by choice. This is truth. This is beyond debate.

We know that Jesus saves sinners. Now this is good news, isn't it? We know that Jesus Christ saves sinners. He came to this earth for that purpose. Luke 19:10 tells us that the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. Jesus came to the earth to save sinners. His life was the life I couldn't live. His death was the death I should have died. And His resurrection was the proof of the truth of His words. Through faith we can be forgiven. Though we didn't live a perfect life, the perfect life of Jesus can be imputed to us. Though we didn't die for our sins, the death that Jesus died was a substitutionary death--He took our punishment in our place. And since He rose again, we who are dead in our sins can be raised to walk in newness of life.

We know that Jesus will return. The past, as they say, is prologue. That means that what has happened before is a pretty good indicator of what will happen next. God promised a Redeemer would come to save the world; and He did. That redeemer promised that He'll return; and He will. If all the prophecies of the Old Testament were proven true, if everything in the New Testament has been verified, why would we doubt that this same Jesus will return?

Jesus said that we will know the truth, and that knowledge of the truth will set us free. I encourage you to take hold of the truth; and as you do, experience the freedom it offers. Freedom from worry, freedom from guilt, freedom from anxiety or fear. The truth is that we have a God who loves us and has given Himself for us. We have a God who has promised to return for us. And we have a God who has promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Father, thank You for Your truth. Thank You that You love us, that You saved us, and that You'll return for us. Thank You that in a world of confusion and chaos, we can hold to what Your word tells us. We can hold to Your truth. Give us a childlike acceptance of what Your word says. Help us to see the world as You do-through the lens of right and wrong. But even more, help us to love the world as You do. Help us to share the good news with them. And use our lives to glorify Yourself. Amen.

In Which We Learn About Reality

This morning started off like most weekday mornings at our house. I went into the girls' room to get them up. I told Emma it was time to get up and she said, "There's no school today", rolled over and covered herself back up. It's not that she was confused about the day of the week. She knew it was Tuesday. She further knew that Tuesday means school. However, she was making a declarative statement. She had decided that today would be a school-free day. Unfortunately, Emma had to learn a difficult lesson this morning: we cannot create our own reality. In Emma's world there would have been no school today. It would have been a day full of lollipops and gumdrops, video games and princess movies. But alas, Emma doesn't live in Emma world. She lives in the real world. And no amount of declarative statements, regardless of the force and conviction with which they are delivered, will allow us to change our reality.

The reason this stuck with me is that I see so much of myself in Emma's statement, in her desire to make things be as she wishes them rather than accept them as they are. How often have I done the same thing? How often have I tried to justify my own sinful behavior by comparing myself to others rather than to God's perfect standard? I'll say, "It's not that bad, not that big of a deal, not really that sinful." But no matter how often I say that, God's word is plain-all sin is abhorrent to God.

How often do we see this in other people? I read the other day where Bernie Madoff, the guy who swindled so many people out of billions of dollars said, "I'm not a bad person." My apologies, Mr. Madoff. I was under the impression that being a liar and thief, that stealing people's savings accounts, and college funds, that lying about it and covering it up and living in luxury at the expense of others did in fact make one a bad person.

We can't change our reality. But the good news is that we serve a God who can. Rev. 21:5, "And He who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold I am making all things new." We serve a God who was not only able to create the world we live in; He is able to recreate our world, to recreate our reality. And this isn't some abstract concept. This goes to the core of who we are. The reality we all live in is that we are sinners who are separated from God. The reality is that there is nothing we can do to change who we are. We are sinners by birth and sinners by choice. We return to our sins, like a dog returns to its vomit. But in Christ, who we are can be changed. 2 Cor. 5:17 says, "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come!" In Christ, our reality can be changed. Rather than being sinners, we are made into saints. Rather than being separated from Christ we are baptized into Christ. And who we are is no longer who we were.

Remember in John 2, when Jesus was at the wedding in Cana? The host ran out of wine. Jesus told them to fill 6 jars with water; when they drew the water out to serve it, it was miraculously changed into wine. Jesus changed the reality, didn't He? He made it into something completely different. And that's exactly what He can do in our live. When we come to Him in faith and repentance, when we bow to Him and acknowledge His rightful place as Lord and Ruler of our lives, He makes all things new. Who we are, where we're going, everything is changed. For that we ought to worship Him. Even when we have to go to school.

Father, thank You for being able to recreate my reality. Thank You for saving me, for forgiving me, for placing Your affection on me. Help me to live not in the reality I desire but in the reality You have given me. Help me to find my joy, my fulfillment and satisfaction not in other things but in You alone. Help me to rest in You, and be content with wherever you place me. Amen.

Of Grief and Despair. And Hope.

Tragedy struck our town this week. 3 young men were involved in a car accident. One of them, a 16 year old named Kynan Barrett, was killed. I didn't know Kynan. But those who did speak very highly of him. They speak of his friendliness to others, of his infectious smile. Teachers speak of his great attitude, and they joy they took from teaching him. When tragedy strikes, when our hearts break, our minds are flooded with questions. We wonder how this could happen, we wonder why it did happen?

I know those questions well. In August of 2007, Kelly and I moved back to Arkansas after pastoring in Oklahoma for 2 years. We had an incredible time there; the people at First Baptist Church in Wakita were amazing; they were patient with a 25 year old who knew nothing of how to shepherd a flock. They loved us and took care of us and we treasure the memories we made there. At the same time, we were excited about being close to family again. I was especially thrilled to be close to my grandmother again. Grandma practically raised me and I looked forward to being close to her again, and making sure that Lily had a great relationship with her great-grandmother. 2 weeks after coming back to Arkansas Grandma suffered a massive heart attack and died. To make matters worse, she died the night before I was to leave for a 10 day preaching trip to Kenya. There was no way I could attend her funeral. And in the days that followed I wondered, "Why would God do that? Couldn't He have waited until I got back? Couldn't He at least have let me be there for the funeral? Why did I only get 2 weeks with her? After all, I was serving Him the previous 2 years."

None of it made any sense to me. But what sustained me through that time, and what will sustain each of us through the tragedies of life, is knowing that even when things don't make sense to us they still make sense to God. Or said another way, "why?" is the wrong question to ask. The right question is, "Even though this doesn't make sense to me, does it make sense to God?" And please don't misunderstand; I'm not suggesting that we never go to our Father and tell Him we don't understand. I'm suggesting that what will sustain us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death is not grasping for answers that we could probably never understand anyway. What will sustain us is knowing that even if I can't understand it, I serve a God who can. I serve a God who is able to work all things together for good. I serve a God who is able to use all things--even my times of heartbreak and despair--for His glory.

C.S. Lewis said, "...if God is wiser than we His judgment must differ from ours on many things...What seems to us good may therefore not be good in His eyes, and what seems to us evil may not be evil." The question in any time of tragedy is this; is God wiser than I? If the answer is no, then we despair without hope. But if the answer is yes then we despair-but with hope. We despair knowing that even in the midst of our heartbreak God is working out all things according to His sovereign goodness. That even if I'm facing something that I would never have chosen for myself, God has chosen it for me. And He is a Great and loving King, a King in whose hands I have placed my very eternity. And I've trusted Him with my future--I can trust Him with my present.

To those who mourn in times of tragedy I say, mourn. But not as those who have no hope. Cry for your loneliness and weep for the emptiness in your heart. But rejoice in a God who is so great that He is able to take unspeakable tragedies and work from them unspeakable goodness. There is no greater example than the cross of Christ. At Calvary, the Creator lay down His life for His creation. He died in their place, killed at their hands. Is there a greater tragedy than this? Morally, philosophically, is there a greater tragedy than a loving and benevolent Creator being murdered by those who created Him? And yet from this great tragedy comes great hope. For when Jesus arose victoriously from the grave, salvation was secured for all who would receive it. And if God is able to take the greatest tragedy and work from it the greatest miracle, the miracle of redemption, how much more can we trust Him to work out these light and momentary afflictions for His everlasting glory?

Father, thank You for being so much greater and wiser than we. Thank You for knowing all things and being surprised by nothing. Thank You for being so great and so amazing that You can take the heartbreak and tragedies we face and somehow work them out for Your eternal glory. Thank You for taking the greatest tragedy-the death of King Jesus-and using it to bring about redemption for all who will receive it. Comfort us when we mourn, strengthen us when we are weak, and help us to look to You for our joy, our comfort, and our peace. Amen.

What Fishing Teaches Us About Evangelism

There are lots of descriptions for evangelism; churches today use all sorts of words and phrases to convey the idea of sharing the good news. But perhaps the clearest, most descriptive phrase used is how Jesus described it. In Matthew 4:19 He called Peter and Andrew in this way: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

In a culture where fishing played a major role, this is was an incredibly descriptive phrase for Jesus to use. It would have brought an image immediately to mind. In the same way, most everyone in our culture is at least somewhat familiar with fishing. And so Jesus' description of evangelism is equally clear to us. When He links evangelism to fishing, the lights come on as it were. We get what He's talking about. In thinking about this illustration, I began to jot down a few of the things that fishing can teach us about evangelism. Jesus said He would make us fishers of men. In other words, there are similarities between fishing and evangelism; there are things we learn about evangelism from fishing. What are they?

First, we have to go to where the fish are. If you want to catch a fish, you have to go to where the fish are, right? It's ridiculous to expect the fish to come to you. In the same way, if we want be fishers of men that means we have to go to where the fish are. In Luke 14 Jesus told a story about a man who threw a big party. He invited all the usual folks but they all backed out. His response was to invite the folks who wouldn't normally be invited to a party; the people that society didn't value too highly. And in vs23 he told his servant, "Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled." Point is, he didn't sit back and wait for people to come to him--he went after them. In the same way, to be effective evangelists we have to go to where people are. To catch fish, you go to where the fish are; to catch sinners, you go to where the sinners are. Too many Christians have decided that they would never stoop to go to certain establishments; as a result the people in those establishments--people who are precious to God, people with eternal souls--those people don't hear the gospel. Jesus tells us to go to where the fish are, so to speak. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." The Son of Man didn't come to sit in a chair and wait for His subject to come kneel before Him. He came in pursuit of them. To catch fish, we have to go where the fish are.

Second, we have to use the right bait. Now here's where we sort of go off the rails a little bit in the church. When we hear "fishers of men" we think about how we fish today. We think about using the right bait, about using the right kind of lures; we fish over here and wait for a nibble, fish over there, etc. We talk about how to 'set the hook' in evangelistic events, all that good stuff. One problem; in Jesus' day they didn't use a rod and reel (despite the picture above). They used a net. So it's pointless to talk about the right kind of lure; that's not what Jesus is referring to at all. Churches waste all their time trying to figure out the right lure--we've got to have the coolest music, the hippest graphics, the flashiest website--all that is fine and dandy. But it won't save anybody. The bait we use is simple; the gospel of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16 makes a staggering claim; "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God for salvation..." Consider the implications of that. The gospel--not the music, not the building, not the lights, not the cool shirt from Target with the cross on the shoulder that the ultra-relevant Pastor wears--none of that has any bearing on the saving of a soul. All that matters is the gospel. When we preach Jesus, lost people are saved. John 12:32, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself." Jesus promises that when He is lifted up, when He is crucified, He will use that message to draw men to Himself. When Jesus is lifted up, people are drawn to Him. By the way, "drawn to Him" sounds an awful lot like being caught in a net, doesn't it? Now don't misunderstand. I'm not against a church striving for relevance and modernity. I am against a church thinking that those things are necessary for the salvation of a soul. The gospel--the message of a crucified, resurrected, and coming again Jesus--that message is sufficient for the salvation of the lost.

Third, sometimes you won't catch anything. If you've fished very many times you know that there are times when you won't catch anything. Just the way that it works. But one thing I learned while fishing on farm ponds is this: where are they going to go? Think about it, if I go out fishing one afternoon and don't catch anything I don't have to get all upset about it. Where will the fish go? They aren't going to walk to another pond. I just have to be patient and keep fishing. In the same way, we need to understand that in evangelism, sometimes we won't catch anything. There are times when we preach the good news, share the gospel, just do the work of an evangelist--and nothing happens. And that's OK. Because saving them isn't our job, it's God's job. Our job is simply to cast the net of the gospel. It's the work of the Spirit to pull them to Himself. If someone refuses to hear the good news, don't despair. You'll get another chance with them.

Fourth, there's a mystery to catching fish. I love to fish with my dad. Nothing like spending time with him, talking, being encouraged, and catching fish. But at times it can be pretty frustrating fishing with him. He can cast to the exact same spot I did and while I didn't even get a bite, he'll catch the fish. I don't know how that works I just accept that there is a mystery to it. In the same way, we have to accept that there is a mystery to salvation. We can preach the gospel with all the eloquence in the world, present a clear plan of God's love and be completely rejected. Other times we can stumble and stammer, not thinking we're getting out a clear message at all--and God will use that to bring a sinner to repentance. There's a mystery to catching fish. And rather than trying to figure it all out, I choose to rest in the sovereignty of a God who loves me and gave Himself for me. A God who has chosen to set His affection on rebels and traitors and has guaranteed to His gospel will bring them to repentance.

Finally, anybody can catch a fish. Bill Dance can catch him some bass. Sometimes I think that guy could cast into a mud hole and pull out a seven pound bass. But you know what? I can catch a bass too. Maybe not as big, maybe not as frequently; but I can catch a fish. Know what else? Owen can catch a fish. I might have to help him cast, maybe help him reel it in; but if he gets that cricket in the water, the cork is going down. Here's the point; anybody can catch a fish. You don't have to be Bill Dance; and thankfully, you don't have to be Billy Graham either. The power isn't in the presentation or any of that stuff. The power is in the message. If we are faithful to preach the good news, and to live the good news; if we are faithful to take the opportunities God provides for us, we'll catch souls for the kingdom of God. Don't let what you perceive as your lack of abilities hinder you from being a fisher of men. Don't think you need a seminary degree to reach lost sinners. Share the eternal gospel of Jesus Christ and people will be saved.

Father, thank You for the gospel. Thank You for letting us take part in sharing that gospel with the world. Help us to be faithful to share it, to take every opportunity You give us to tell people about Jesus. Help us to clearly and passionately present Jesus to the world. And glorify Yourself through us. Amen.

Book review time!
Albert Pujols is one of the most recognizable names in pro sports. And in their book Pujols: More than the game, authors Scott Lamb and Tim Ellsworth seek to help the reader gain a better understanding of this sometimes controversial, always electrifying star slugger.
The book is heavy on statistics, all of which are presented with the purpose of illustrating Pujols’ dominance as a hitter. It’s also heavy on quotes, both from Pujols himself and from those who have crossed his path; coaches, teammates, and pastors, for example. However, this reliance on quotes makes the book read less like a biography and more like an extended Sports Illustrated story. Another glaring omission was a lack of photographs in the book. When I read a biography, especially of a current sports star, I enjoy seeing images from his/her life. This book had none. Now this doesn’t make the book unreadable by any means, but it should be noted by those considering it.
All in all, Pujols is an enjoyable read. And the authors do a commendable job of portraying the star as more than just a baseball player. In the words of the man himself, “Baseball is simply my platform to elevate Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.” Albert Pujols is presented as an admirable role model; for both his amazing baseball skills and his unwavering commitment to Jesus Christ. He is presented openly and honestly, with no attempt to cover up or make excuses for his mistakes and sometimes surly reputation. He’s an amazing man-he deserves an equally amazing biography. This is not it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com http://BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.