Thoughts from the Blind Man

The following is a monologue narrative based upon the blind man found in John 9. 

I was born without sight.  I didn’t know that at the time, and in fact it took me many years to know that there was something that other people could do that I was not able to do.  People always ask me what it was like to be blind, and I don’t know how to answer that.  When you’ve never experienced sight, how can you describe what it’s like to be without it?  That’s like me asking you what it’s like to fly like the sparrow?  How would you know if you haven’t experienced it before.  To me, I knew the world around me through the gifts that God gave me.  I could tell you what time of day it was just from the feel of the sun on my skin, the sound of the birds and people around me, and even the smells of the food being cooked.  You don’t have to see to know there are people all around you – most of us make enough noise that even a person without hearing would know that there are people in the room. I didn’t know what sight was like because I never had it.  But what I did know was that people treated me differently because I couldn’t see.

Growing up, people always felt like they needed to help the “poor blind kid.”  “Here, let me guide you so that you don’t fall.”  Come on – I can make it on my own from my home to the city market just fine!  You think I can’t notice when I’ve got to step up or down?  You take for granted the information that your eyes give you – I never had that, so I learned to adapt. 

People would tell me all the time how they felt sorry for me that I couldn’t see.  I’d get so frustrated, because I’d try to tell them that there was almost nothing that they could do with vision that I could not do without.  They’d say, “but you can’t read!”  Hardly anyone except the priests, tax collectors or maybe the rich could read – so most people I knew couldn’t read either!  They’d say, “but you can’t see the beauty of God’s creation!”  I’d say, “but you can’t smell the beauty the way I do, or hear the beauty, or notice the gentle breeze as it blows across your skin.” They’d say, “but you can’t work – you can’t have a job to support yourself.”  I’d say, “I could if someone would give me a chance!” 

 

I wanted to be a tax collector – you don’t have to have eyes to tell when someone is short changing you and when they’re not.  But no one believed in me.  They just felt sorry for me.  I tried to be a carpenter, but no one trusted me with a hammer – eh, I guess I understand that part.  After I had tried so many things, I gave up and even tried to be a shepherd.  You may depend on your eyes to know when there is danger, but I can hear it.  The sheep will get real quiet – and I can tell something is wrong.  Or if one sheep strays and gets lost, I can hear that it's gone before someone could see it.  I was willing to take the lowest job around, and I was going to be the best shepherd that God would allow me to be, but everyone just wanted to feel sorry for me.  “I can’t believe that God let this happen to you,” they’d say.  They said it so many times that I eventually began to believe it.  Why would God make me like this?  You know – I would have been fine not ever having seen a thing if it wasn’t for all the people who felt sorry for me, or who wouldn’t even let me be what God had created me to be. 

Eventually, I settled into the lot of life that everyone kept expecting of me.  Day after day, I’d sit outside by the road, and I’d beg.  As people walked by, some would actually make faces at me – and they’d act like I didn’t know that they were mocking me.  I mean, when somebody says, “Hey – watch this,” and then they go silent, and then their buddy starts laughing, even a blind man could know what was going on.  Or they’d walk past with their hand over their money pouch, hoping that I wouldn’t hear the money jingling when they said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t have any money today.”  I got so tired of it all that I even quit asking.  I’d just go out and sit – enjoying the warmth of the sun on my face; the morning breeze blowing across my brow; the aroma of bread baking; the sound of children’s playing and laughter. Everyone else had given up on me because of my lack of vision; I gave up on everyone else because of their lack of sight. 

One day I heard a group of voices that I was not familiar with approaching.  When you’ve been around this place as I have, you really do know everyone around – and everyone has their own unique way of walking and talking – and some particularly have their own smell.  But those who were coming my way, I did not know.  When someone is approaching that I don’t know, I go on high alert – because too many times those unfamiliar voices have led to someone stealing from me, or even striking me.  I remember one time a group of soldiers that were passing through that decided to take the liberty of making fun of me and even spitting on me.  So now, I take extreme caution when someone is approaching that I don’t recognize their voice, their walk, or even their smell. 

As they got closer, I heard one voice ask “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”  I was well acquainted with this sort of question.  People asked me all the time what I had done to go blind: did I stare at the sun too long, or did I eat something bad for me?  I had even heard people say that my mother must have done something wrong when I was in the womb, and that must surely be the cause of my inability to see as they do.  Again, I knew all the questions, and I also knew all the answers that they gave.  So now I was curious what this “rabbi” would say.  Yes, teacher, explain why I cannot experience the gift of sight!

And then I heard the voice of the one who I could only assume was the “Rabbi” that was spoken to.  It was a voice so kind and pure that I could just sit and listen to him read the census in the book of Numbers.  “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”  I wasn’t sure if I heard him correctly, but I was pretty sure that he said it was neither my fault, nor Mom and Dad’s!  I’ve heard a lot of other people’s reasons that they thought I was blind, but I’ve never heard one that didn’t place blame on one of us! 

It then began to sink in on me that he was saying that I was blind so that God’s work might appear.  And I start thinking, “Once again, something is going to happen and I won’t be able to see it!”  I was still trying to process what had been said, when I noticed something.  I could hear that this group of men had stopped walking, and I could tell that they were all looking at me.  I felt my pulse quicken and I heard one step towards me.  I heard him bending down near me, and I began to clutch at my belongings, thinking for sure that he was getting ready to rob me.  And then I heard the disgusting sound of this one that was near me spitting.  “Oh no, not again,” I thought to myself.  I reached up to my hair, because even though I had not felt the spit, and though it sounded like he spat on the ground, I fully expected to be disgusted when I found it in my hair.  I tried to ask “What are you doing?,” but nothing would come out.  More desperate to see at this moment than at any other point in my life, I began to hear him mixing the spit into the dirt.  In horror, I felt as he began to place this mud from his spit onto my eye – and I tried to stop him!  I grabbed at his hands, but he breathed “Peace” to me – and I suddenly felt a calm.  Soon he was placing more mud on my other eye.  I felt humiliated as this “Rabbi” made a mockery of me; I felt anger at his friends who let this happen; I felt so confused – what did I ever do to deserve this?

And then I felt his strong hands take hold of mine, and he began to pull me up.  He told me “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”  And then he and his group continued down the road.  They just left me – standing there with mud on my face.  Did he really just tell a blind man to go and wash at the pool of Siloam?  And no one is even going to even offer to guide me there?  I can’t go anywhere without someone trying to “help” me.  “Let me give you hand,” or “here, take my hand.”  But not this man.  It was like he knew more about me than anyone else did.  He knew that I could make my own way there.  I didn’t need any help! 

As I began to walk to the pool, I was filled with such confusion that I didn’t know what to do.  I couldn’t believe what had happened – the spit, the mud, and then sending me on my own without anyone’s help.  On the one hand, I was humiliated and angry; on the other hand, someone actually believed in me that I was capable of making it there on my own!  Just as I got to the pool I started thinking that once I got cleaned off, I might just go back to the town square and try to find this man.  Maybe he has a job that he might offer me.  In fact, when he sees that a blind man can track him down based on smells and sounds, then maybe he or someone will offer me the job of a shepherd!

Several other people were at the pool, gathering their water for the day to take back to home.  I was so tempted to just jump in, and to feel the water cool my skin – and to wash away all the dirt and muck that had fallen upon my body as I sat by the road – but I knew that if I wanted to find the man again, I really just needed to wash the mud off of my face and get going.  I leaned over the side, and I dipped my hands in the water, and I brought the cool water to my face.  For some reason, just as the water was about to hit my face I was reminded of one of the sayings of Moses – “Now if I have found favor in your sight, show me your ways, so that I may know you and find favor in your sight.”  As I felt the mud washing down my face, I reached down for more water, I experienced something that I had never experienced before – I saw my own face looking down in the water!  Not understanding what was happening, I splashed more water on my face, and more water, and more water.  People began to stare – and I could see them staring!   I looked back into the water and stared at myself – and I overheard someone say, “Someone needs to help walk him back to his home.”  And I shouted, “Praise to the Lord God Almighty!  I can see!  I can see!”

I could hear them and I jumped and danced for joy, and I knew they were doubting that I could actually see.  As I sprinted back home, I heard some of my neighbors asking each other, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”  A couple of them even began arguing with each other, “This is the one that was blind!,” and another saying “No, but it looks like him.”  In a way, they were both right – because I am the one who was blind, but now I’m not that man any more!  I may look like him, but this man that put his spit and mud on my eyes has made me new!  He’s given me a new life!  I once was blind, but now I see! 

 

The Puzzle

Once a great artist created a true work of beauty. He was ever so proud of his beautiful creation – the way the colors blended together, the way the images offered such perspective. One day this image was torn, through no fault of the artist. When he looked at how the image was torn, he thought to simply destroy the image and create a whole new one. Yet upon further reflection, he realized in a strange mysterious way, the torn piece could be put back together re-representing the original beauty. In fact, the tear even seemed to add character, so the artist proceeded to cut the original work into hundreds of different pieces of all shapes and sizes. He drew a simple image of the orignial so that someone else might be able to put all the pieces together – reassembling the original work of beauty. As he gazed upon the many different pieces, each one alone was a beautiful thing. Some of the pieces had a straight side, while others had many different contours and edges. Some were covered with the vibrant colors of the original image, others were covered with the dark shadows. Alone they were beautiful, but the image would never be complete until someone put all the pieces together again. So he placed the pieces all together in a box, and placed the copy of the original on top of the box, hoping that one day someone might recreate the original beauty.

Inside the box, the pieces became aware of themselves. Some began to notice that they had a nice, clean straight edge, while the others were just sloppy shapes. Those with the straight sides began to gather together, recognizing their own superiority to the other pieces. “This image would never be contained were it not for me!” proudly proclaimed one piece. Not to be outdone, a piece that consisted of curves and dips pronounced, “Yet without me, this image would have no heart!” Piece after piece exclaimed its own importance to the overall work of beauty, and day after day it became more and more obvious that the original work would never be recreated.

One day the artist’s son found the box. Seeing the beautiful image on the top of the box, the son opened it up – only to find all of the hundreds of pieces scattered about within the box. The son could see the work of beauty that his father intended, and so he set out to bring these broken, torn pieces back together. As he poured out the pieces upon the floor, he began sorting them so that he might begin to assemble the original creation. He first began to grab the pieces with the straight edges so that he might create the border. The straight edge pieces took such pride that they were chosen first. They linked together as he placed them, and they held together tightly, thinking to themselves, “I knew he would not want those sloppy pieces! He’s liked us best all along!” When the son had finished the border, he looked down at what he had put together. What he saw was the shape of what was originally intended: it held the basic form of the original, and the edges maintained the order of the original, but the beauty of the original was not found only in the border. Much to the horror of the straight edge pieces, the son began to take the “sloppy” pieces and he placed them with great care according to what he knew the original image was to look like. As the picture began to be recreated, each piece was able to maintain its own personal shape and size, but amazingly it became a part of something much more beautiful. The pieces with all of the curves and contours began to realize that while they held such beauty independently, together they formed the heart of the image. The straight edge pieces began to realize that while they maintained order and structure independently, together they completed something much, much greater. As the son placed the last piece, he realized that he had, in fact, recreated the very work of art that his father had first made.

Spreading Wings of Hope - Devotion for 5/11/09

Spreading Wings of Hope – Devotion for 5/11/09

I’m coming into the last week of the worship series “Hope in Troubled Times,” and without a doubt, sometimes I know I am preaching more to myself than anyone else. There are some Sundays that after the service I just say to God, “Ok, Big Guy – I know who I was preaching to today, and I sure I hope I was listening closely.” I think we all need hope, and it can become quite easy for any ray of hope to be covered up by the clouds of our troubles. But as we have been looking at the way God strengthened and directed Joshua, I have been reminded of how God strengthens and directs us. And I am reminded that many of the troubling things in our lives now will only later prove to be something miraculous.

You may have heard the ancient parable about the creation of birds. Its says that God laid at the feet of each bird a pair of wings and said, “Wear these.” The birds tried them on, but they felt heavy, cumbersome, and awkward. Why would God give them such burdens to carry? But then, in time, the wings became bearable and, with more time, the birds began to spread them in the wind. Eventually they realized that these burdens were in reality blessings that offered them the gift of flight.

As I was visiting just last week with a veteran of World War II, he was telling me about what it was like to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. Bullets whizzing, bombs blasting, and thousands of soldiers pressing onto the shore. He told about jumping into a foxhole with another soldier right behind him, and when it seemed safe he got out of the hole, but the other soldier had been killed. That night when he finally found a safe place, he found bullet marks on his helmet from the bullets that just missed. He found his rifle and radio on his back had been destroyed probably by shrapnel that could have hit him. And he found himself weary from the horrors of the day, so he lay himself down to sleep. As he laid there, he knew he was not the most comfortable, and it seemed that the ground he was laying on was both soft and hard at the same time, but he was so completely tired he didn’t move an inch. At morning light, as others were beginning to stir around him, he got himself up and looked down and saw what had made him so uncomfortable as he slept – an unexploded shell that he had slept on. As he relayed the story to me, he talked about how he still could not believe that he was not killed that night by the shell. He told me, “If I had tried in the night to move the thing that troubled me so, I probably would have triggered it and it would have killed me.” But instead, he endured the difficulty, the burden, and eventually was able to spread his wings of hope knowing and trusting that God would take care of him.

Sometimes the things that burden us and trouble us are the things that God has already taken care of. Sometimes those things that trouble are there to help produce something beautiful within us – hope, if you will, just like a pearl.

Where is God now? - Devotion for 5/7/09

Where is God now? – Devotion for 5/7/09

The week after Easter I was able to go with a mission work team from the church out to Beaumont, TX, where we were engaged in helping people recover from the damaging hurricanes Ike and Rita that hit last year. Though I’ve been a part of mission work teams for hurricane recover before, it has been several years, and I think that somehow as time goes by you seem to become anesthesitized to what you are seeing. Being there that week reminded me of how amazingly powerful nature can be. I think it all really hit home for me on our next to last day there when we had finished up the work that we had been assigned to do, and so we took a drive to Galveston to see the damage. Breathtaking is truly the best word I can think of to describe what I felt. For miles all you could see was pylons of where homes once stood. Half a mile or so from the road you could see cars that had been washed away and carried off. It simply looked like God had taken his arm and wiped the face of the earth in the same way that I may clean off the kitchen table after the boys have eaten. I can only begin to imagine how those people felt when they came back and saw what was left behind. It truly put my own troubles and difficulties into perspective.

I know that many times in those types of situations people will ask the question, “Where is God in all of this?” That being said, that very question is being asked right now by people near each and every one of us as we are facing such troubling times. Many people have attributed the suffering of so many in our country to what they deem as our country turning away from God. I’ve heard some remark that they think that God has abandoned the blessing of America because America has abandoned God. I really, really, really do not like that mode of thinking. Because I think that we can see God all around us in the middle of the difficult and trying times.

During the First World War, many of the battles were fought in muddy trenches, with soldiers looking through barbed-wire for their enemy, who was down in a muddy trench doing the same thing. Two particular soldiers were side by side, and as they surveyed the battlefield before them, they saw the barbed wire strewn about, they saw the mud holes, and the broken bodies of men. The younger soldier asked, “Captain, where is God in all of this?” At that moment, two non-combatant stretcher-bearers climbed over the top and moved out under enemy fire to pick up a wounded soldier. At that moment, the captain turned to the young soldier and said, “Look, Son, there God is. There goes God now.”

God is present throughout America. He is found in the people who are willing to serve Him. He is found in those who are His hands and feet – reaching out to the least, to the last, and to the lost.

Taking the hits - Devotion for 5/6/09

Taking the hits – Devotion for 5/6/09

I was talking with a friend the other day who was talking about these difficult and troubling times, and all you could hear was the despair and hopelessness in his voice as we talked. It seems like this friend has taken more hits in his life lately and you could tell that he was struggling, as we all would be. I think we all can relate to those times where it seems like one thing after another keeps coming at you, and you just feel like you want to crawl in a closet and hide. As I’ve been working on this worship series I’ve gone back through a lot of books that I’ve read and finding great reminders of hope, and I have truly been inspired.

I was reminded as I was preparing for this series “Hope in Troubling Times” of a story that I had read about an incident that took place during World War II. In the midst of all the battles on land, air, and sea, there was a plane flying on a dangerous mission. It was not long before the plane was hit by enemy fire, not just once, but nine times. The crew and everyone onboard thought they were goners, but somehow the plane was able to remain airborne, and we able to land safely back at base. What became even more astonishing about their survival was that they found that the all of the 9 hits that the plane took were from shells that are supposed to explode on impact – and any single one of those shells should have taken the plane down. The crew was so perplexed and confused about how 9 shells could misfire, so they called in the bomb squad to take them apart. None exploded. Inside each of the shells was a note written secretly in Czechoslovakian that read, “This is all we can do for you now.”

Sometimes it seems like we get hit not just by one thing that could take us out, but 8 more after that! The hope that we can cling to is that sometimes we can’t understand everything that is going on at the moment. I believe in a God that goes before us, that prepares us such that we can take the hits, and I believe in a God that directs us once we’ve gotten hit. Though we may not see clearly what He is doing now, just hold on, and maybe one day we will see what He is doing. Maybe, just maybe, these hits we’ve taken will only make us stronger – instead of bringing us down – when we see how God has already been working.

Not living in fear

Not living in fear – Devotion for 5/5/09

Like I mentioned yesterday, I’m in the middle of a worship series called “Hope in Troubling Times” (HiTT for short). As I’ve been preparing and going through this series, one word keeps coming up – “fear.” People fear what will happen with the market. People fear what’s going on with their retirement account, if they still have one left. People fear the swine flu. People fear the rising violence. People even fear the pirates – and no, I don’t mean ECU. We live in a state of fear and worry, and that causes us to miss out on so much.

Somewhere I was reminded recently about Cinderella. We all know the story of Cinderella, how she was able to go to the ball in spite of her stepmother and stepsisters. Through the help of her fairy godmother, she is able to attend the ball, but she is given the warning that the spell will wear off once the clock strikes midnight. Wonder what would have happened in the story if Cinderella had gone to the ball, only to be fully consumed by the warning that she must be home by midnight? If Cinderella had gone off to that royal ball focused on the fact that it would all be over when the clock struck midnight, she would never have been the kind of companion that so enchanted the prince.

God gave us the gift of life – not so that we should always prepare for the worse and live in fear, but that we should prepare for the best. In the gospel of John, Jesus states, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Though we have many things we could fear, instead of focusing on all of those things, let’s focus on what we do have – the life that is in front of us right now.

Hope in troubling times - Devotion for 5/4/09

I'm in the middle of a worship series right now called "Hope in Troubling Times," and we're trying to give hope to people who pressing on the the midst of a troubled world. In my devotion time today, I was reminded of a story I once read about how we must always press on in the midst of difficult, trying times.

A high school basketball coach was trying to motivate his players as the end of a difficult season was approaching. Many players had become so disgruntled and frustrated that they had approached the coach with the possibility of quiting the team before the season even ended. So the coach decided to call all of the team together to try to inspire them to finish strong. As he gave his pep talk he was just starting to get fired up when he asked the players, "Did Michael Jordan ever quit?" The team reponded in unison, "No!" The coach yelled, "What about the Wright brothers? Did they ever quit?" "No!" shouted the team. "Did Abraham Lincoln ever quit?" Again, the team yelled "No!" The coach then asked, "Did Abner Plumbody ever quit?" There was a long silence. The players looked back and forth at each other, and a few started scratching their head as if that would help them remember the name Abner Plumbody. Finally one player mustered up the courage to ask, "Who's Abner Plumbody? We've never heard of him." The coach fired back: "Of course you never heard of him! He quit!"

We all face things that we become discouraged about. We all have things in our lives that may seem hopeless. But if we want to be a part of something truly special we know we must press on and not quit. Have hope.

Stressing Sabbath - Devotion for 2/4/09

Stressing Sabbath – Devotion for 2/4/09

Back at the end of this past summer I began to run again. Well, I’m not sure I would exactly call it running, however I would put on a pair of running shoes and move them swiftly (a relative term) as I propelled myself down the road. For me, running became an escape – an escape from basically anything and everything. I would crank up the ipod and I’d be gone – listening to either some rockin’ music or one of my favorite podcasts. For that half-hour to hour I would be in my own world - most of the time I wouldn’t even be aware of the pace I was running at until I got back. Having run a successful half-marathon in November (coming in at 1:59), I began to set my goals on a couple of half-marathons in the early months of 09, with the goal of a marathon in May and November. Pushing my pace faster and faster each day, I became obsessed with the running, and I was driven with each run – even runs that were supposed to be light and easy runs – to run faster than I did the day before. I began noticing a sharp pain in my left shin in late December, but I was determined to run through the pain. It wasn’t until I realized that it was hurting so badly that I needed to take some time off that I began to realize how hard I had been pushing myself. Even after 2 weeks of no running I was still hurting with each step that I walked. So it really shouldn’t have been a surprise last week when I was talking with a member of my congregation that is an orthopedic doctor about my shin pain and what I thought was just shin splints, and when he checked me out he told me that without a bone scan he couldn’t be certain, but he felt pretty confident that I have a stress fracture. So now, to avoid further damage, I am having to take a break from running for several more weeks.

What I overlooked in the midst of everything was my own need for a Sabbath. As much good as my running seemed to me, without some form of rest or recovery, I was doing much more harm than good. We see this kind of thing all the time in our own lives or in the lives of friends: people that can get so involved in various activities (church, clubs, sports, etc.) that they absolutely get run down and burned out. And for some of us to learn, we have to learn the hard way. I believe that there is a reason we are encouraged to take a Sabbath, though that may mean many different things for each of us. But what it means to me is to take some time away from those every day activities where we can step back, just as an artist steps back to look at the canvas to assess what has been done.

Life-giving Voice - Devotion for 1/28/09

Life-giving Voice – Devotion for 1/28/09

Have you ever noticed the way the words you say can take on a life of their own? You may have said something to a friend about someone or something, and before long, what you said has been twisted and turned in such a way that you know that you didn’t say that. A few years ago someone stole Mary and baby Jesus out of the church nativity scene, and it began to get a bit of news coverage. I didn’t mind the TV coverage so much, because most of the time instead of someone quoting me they simply showed me saying it. However, I have learned you have got to be extremely careful when talking to a newspaper reporter, because those words become so easily twisted and turned into something you never actually said. It reminds me of a game I used to play with my youth groups, a game called Rumors. As the group is sitting in a circle, one person turns to the person on their right and they whisper something – anything – to that person, who subsequently turns and is supposed to whisper the same thing to the next person, and so on. Inevitably, someone will change the message, and by the time it gets back to the person who originated the message, the message has taken on a life of its own. The words we say everyday have the potential to take on life.

In my devotion time this morning I was reading once again from Genesis 1, and in particular focusing on the passage of verses 20-31. In these verses I am reminded of God’s voice not just being distinct and powerful, but his voice is also life-giving. In these passages God speaks, and there is life. Today, let our voice give life in a Godly way – giving life to those that are down – giving life and hope to those who fear – giving life to the oppressed.

Powerful voice - Devotion for 1/27/09

Powerful Voice – Devotion for 1/27/09

In Genesis 1 we have this amazing creation image where God speaks, and something happens. In my devotion time this morning I was to read from Genesis 1:1-19, and it made me think about how I have the power and ability to create with my voice as well! In fact, several years ago I could create a sleeping baby with the gentle sound of my voice singing a lullaby to my sons. Moments later I could create a crying baby as I exclaimed too loudly, “I finally got him to sleep!” With my voice, I can create feelings of satisfaction, as I give praise to my wife over the meal she made. And with my voice I can create feelings of resentment, as maybe I offered up too much criticism on something. Without a doubt, I have a powerful voice. Unfortunately I am not always mindful of how I use it.

As God spoke, “Let there be light,” and then there was light, God was mindful of the power of His voice. Through His voice and His word, He created things that would benefit others. Today that is going to be my goal - that I will ever be cognizant of the ways that I use my voice, and that I may use it in such a way as to create something of benefit for someone else.

Distinct Voice - Devotion for 1/26/09

Distinct voice – Devotion for 1/26/09

Everybody has a distinctive voice. Each one of us has something about our voice that makes it unique: maybe it is the tone, the clarity, or even the subtle nuances of the accent. Some people seem to think that their voice is so distinctive that when they call someone they don’t even have to say who they are (don’t you hate that?). However, to this day, I know that there are certain voices that I recognize every time. Even if it has been months since I had talked to him, I would recognize the voice of my buddy John saying, “What’s going on, Ad-man?” I certainly would recognize the “What up, dawg?” from Jay. I even recognize the voice of my dad as he still calls and tries to crank me. It is because we all have a unique, distinct voice, and if you know someone well enough you will recognize the voice when they call.

This morning in my devotion time I was reading Psalm 29, and many of the verses in the Psalm speak of the voice of God. Some of the attributes of the voice of God, as given by David, are:
• The voice of the Lord is upon the waters
• The voice of the Lord is powerful
• The voice of the Lord is majestic
• The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars
• The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire
• The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness
• The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve, and strips the forests bare; and in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Now that’s what I would call a distinctive voice! So the question I have is this: If God’s voice is so distinctive, how come it is so difficult sometimes to recognize it? If God’s voice is so powerful and majestic, how come it is so difficult sometimes to hear it? I think the answers to these rhetorical questions would differ for each one of us. Some don’t want to hear it; some are striving to hear it, but are listening to the wrong things. We could each have hundreds of different answers to these questions. However, whatever our answers may be, today I want to encourage you to join me in simply trying to listen for that distinctive voice.

Exciting Advent(ure) - Devotion for 12/3/08

Exciting Advent(ure) – Devotion for 12/3/08

I came across a quote in one of my books this week that has really had me thinking. The quote is from Abbie Jane Wells, and the quote is attributed to her book, The Gospel According to Abbie Jane Wells. I was reading an excerpt from her book, and she was reminding us that “it took a ‘yes’ from Mary before God could ‘send forth his Son.’” I buy that part hook, line, and sinker, because I have always loved how God calls on people to do his miraculous work (such as Moses leading the people of Israel out of Egypt, the prophets delivering God’s word, even the men who had to roll away the stone for Lazarus to come forth). But the part that has really had me thinking this week is this:
For all I know – for all anybody knows – God may have proposed (or propositioned). . . through the ages but, as far as we know, Mary was the first one to say an unqualified “yes.”

When you think through the Biblical tradition, many times when God calls someone, the initial reaction at least is an unqualified “no.” Moses tried to weasel out of his call by proclaiming that he couldn’t talk well; Isaiah explains to God that he has “unclean lips”; Jeremiah posits that he is “just a child.” But Mary, when called upon by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:38 proclaims, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” Mary said “yes.” Which makes me wonder – just as it seems that Abbie Jane Wells wondered – were there others who were approached and propositioned before Mary, but Mary was only the first one to say yes? No one actually knows the answer to that question, but it is the kind of thing I love to think about. Could there possibly have been someone to have turned down such an amazing journey?

The answer to my last question is simple really. Of course there is the possibility that someone could have said “no” to such a thing. By virtue of us having complete freewill, we freely choose whether we will or will not do the things God proposes us to do. So I guess now the question becomes, What is God proposing to us? Will we, like Mary, be the first to say an unqualified “yes”? What exciting adventure is God calling us to that our first impulse is to say “no”?

Debbie Downer - Devotion for 11/17/08

Debbie Downer – Devotion for 11/17/08

A few years ago there was a skit on Saturday Night Live that was called “Debbie Downer.” In these skits, there would be a gathering of family or friends who were having a great time, and then the title character would add share some horrible news which would completely bring down the whole mood, subsequently followed by the comedic “Wah-wah.” For example in one skit, Debbie was with family at a Disney World theme restaurant, and when Pluto comes and visits at their table, Debbie remarks, “Oh, hey Pluto. Boy, it must be fun to work here ... although, the biggest drawback to working at a theme park is that you must live under constant fear of deathly terrorist attacks." Pluto responds by immediately storming off, leaving the family trying to call him back to cheer him up again. “Wah-wah.”

Have you ever known a “Debbie Downer?” Sometimes there are people around us who just seem to have something negative to say, and sometimes we really just don’t want to hear the negativity. I thought about that this morning as I was reading Matthew 16:21-28. Just before this particular passage, Jesus had asked his disciples who other people said he was, and then he asked who they said he was, and Simon had answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”(Matt. 16:16) Jesus seemed to be thrilled with his answer, and basically said, “Simon – you Rock!” That’s really just the Adam Seate paraphrase, but Jesus did say that his name would be Peter (rock), and on that rock he would build his church. Everything seemed great – everyone seemed happy. But then verse 21 comes along – “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” Can’t you almost hear the “wah-wah?” As you can imagine, that’s not exactly the kind of happy, good-feelings stuff that some of them wanted to hear, so Peter took Jesus to the side and began to rebuke him, saying “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” In one way, I sort of feel like he was trying to tell Jesus to quit being a “Debbie Downer.” Jesus then says, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your might on God’s interests, but man’s.”

We all may have known a “Debbie Downer.” Maybe it is someone who always says something that you ultimately know, but you really just didn’t want to hear it. For me it’s kind of like enjoying a piece of pizza, only to have someone mention how many calories are in that one piece. “Wah-wah.” However, as much as we don’t want to hear these types of things, sometimes I think that if we don’t hear them we might miss something. Jesus was able to go on and explain that as great as life was, there is something better. Without his rebuke of Peter we might not have learned how necessary it is for each of us to sacrifice, to take up our cross and follow Him. Next time you have a “Debbie Downer,” before we so quickly dismiss them or ignore them completely, maybe we need to recognize that it might be something we need to hear – even if we don’t want to. Wah-wah.

Debbie Downer video clip: http://media.putfile.com/SNL-Debbie-Downer-WDW

My right hand man - Devotion for 11/13/08

My right hand man – Devotion for 11/13/08

Last month my family and I went to the North Carolina State Fair. Exciting carnival games, fried food, fried food that was then subsequently fried again – and then covered with sugar, sideshows (although some of the best were the free ones where you got to watch the natives eat some of the fried food), all the animals (no – I don’t mean the natives), and last but not least – the rides! I did not ride too many of the rides this time, but the boys had a blast. There was one particular ride that one of the boys wanted to go on, however the other did not want to ride it, and he absolutely would not ride it. Neither Jenn nor I had any real interest in riding it either. But the thing was that as bad as he wanted to ride it, he didn’t want to ride it alone.

We take great comfort in knowing that we are not alone. We want someone to be with us when we ride the scary rides, and we want someone to ride with us to the doctor. We want someone to be with us when we go to eat at a restaurant, and we want someone to be with us when we are driving in the car (if you don’t believe me, pay attention to how many people are driving alone yet are talking on the cell phone). We want to be with someone. Being with someone make the experience more complete. Being with someone makes the experience more real. Being with someone makes the experience more bearable. Being with someone makes everything more.

I referenced Psalm 16 earlier this week, but as I’ve read that Psalm each day this week, I continue to be drawn to two particular verses – verses 8-9: “I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.” We need to be reminded that we are not alone in any of our endeavors. We need to be reminded to “set the Lord before us.” And we need to be reminded to rejoice that we have one who desires to be our “right hand man.”

Call on me! - Devotion for 11/12/08

Call on me! – Devotion for 11/12/08

There seems to be a natural instinct in us that when we are in a class and the teacher asks a question, almost everyone does everything they can to avoid eye contact with the teacher. I’ve seen this even when I’m teaching Bible Study, and I’m not even giving grades! We have this built in fear of embarrassment, and answering the question incorrectly in front of the whole class would be embarrassing, so we do what we can to avoid having to even try. I always had a fear that maybe I somehow misheard the question, and so if I answered the question that I thought I heard then I would be completely wrong. I eventually developed a tactic that never quite worked: I would initiate eye contact with the teacher when the teacher asked the question, and then I would suddenly glance at someone else as if that person had the answer. Yes this tactic actually worked a time or two, but not nearly enough for my liking (however, it was more than enough for the poor saps that the teacher did call on).

Christians know that we are called to share our faith with others; however we don’t always know how to do it. So sometimes we live as though we are trying to avoid being called on by God to share what we have. Truthfully, there are a lot of so-called Christians that I wish would try to avoid their sharing tactics a little bit more, as it seems they almost do more harm than good. However, this morning in my devotion time I read from Colossians 4:2-6, and I was reminded that we need to earnestly devote ourselves to prayer, and pray that “God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ” (Colossians 4:3). We need to pray for the opportunities to be called on, and when we are, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”(Colossians 4:6)

What am I going to say? - Devotion for 11/11/08

What am I going to say? – Devotion for 11/11/08

Do you ever find yourself worrying about what you are going to say before you even have to say something? So many times before I have a meeting I tell myself, “I am not going to say anything other than what I have to.” I say that because I know how I am, and I have a tendency to say more than I should, or begin to get passionate about something and say something that I probably shouldn’t. So I go into a meeting just constantly reminding myself, “I’m not going to say anything – I’m going to keep quiet – I’m only going to say what I have prepared to say.” Unfortunately, that plan doesn’t always work, and I’m not sure that is always a bad thing.

This morning in my devotion time I read Luke 12:1-12, and in particular this passage Jesus is talking about hypocrisy. As the passage reminds us to live a life of integrity and not concealing who or what we actually are, verses 11-12 read, “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” As I read that I believe that although it is a good and safe plan to be prepared when I go into a meeting, there will be times that the Holy Spirit is truly guiding me to speak what has been laid upon my heart. Just like the passage from yesterday said regarding God instructing us in the night, He can also guide and instruct us in the day, and instead of going in with a plan to silence what He lays upon my heart, maybe I need to listen a little more closely to what He is saying.

Restless night - Devotion for 11/10/08

Restless night – Devotion for 11/10/08

You ever have one of those nights that you simply can’t get any rest at all? Maybe it is that you are filled with anxiety and worry over something going on in your life. Or maybe it is that you can’t sleep because you don’t feel well. Or maybe even it is that your spouse is snoring a bit much. Saturday night was one of those restless nights for me. It had nothing at all to do with worry or anxiety, because I was pretty much at peace with the world. It had nothing to do with not feeling well, because frankly I felt pretty darn good. It didn’t even have anything to do with my spouse snoring (on this occasion). No instead it had to do with constant interruptions. Somewhere around 1:00, my youngest son came in to tell me he really needed to show me something, and when I asked him what, he replied, “I don’t know, but I really gotta show you this thing.” Aaron went on to explain that it was this “thing” that did all these awesome and amazing things, and I finally in my sleepy haze began to realize that Aaron was sleepwalking-and-talking, as he has been known to do from time to time. Though I found our conversation tremendously amusing, I also was completely exhausted so I was finally able to get him back to bed. Then around 3:00, my other son came into the room telling us that he thought he was going to throw up, and so with all the love that father could manage at 3AM, I told him “Well, go to the bathroom!” Jacob did not throw up, which I was tremendously grateful for, however by the time I got him settled back down into bed, and then by the time I got settled back down into bed, our crazy dog Oscar was deciding that 3:30 was a perfect time to play! Between all of these interruptions, something kept hitting me about the message for Sunday morning, and even though I had thought previously I was going in one direction, I was beginning to see and understand something much different, which I subsequently got up and incorporated into the message. I felt this complete peace with the new message, and I actually became grateful for the middle of the night interruptions.

I thought about that experience this afternoon as I read Psalm 16. Verse 7 of that psalm reads, “I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.” I think that many times God does speak to us in those long sleepless nights, and those long restless nights provide ample opportunity for God to instruct and help us to face hard facts. And though I tend to be one who gripes and complains about such restless nights, truthfully I should bless the Lord because it is those nights that I usually find clarity. Maybe when we all have those kinds of nights we need to listen a little more closely to what God is saying as He counsels and instructs us.

Is this really working? - Devotion for 11/3/08

Is this really working? – Devotion for 11/3/08

Do you ever feel like you’re doing something and you’re not quite sure it’s working or not? Maybe you’re following an exercise and diet plan and not quite seeing the results you were hoping for. Maybe you’re taking medicine for a medical condition and you’re just not sure if it is working or not. Many times we can think of situations such as these where we are taking a certain course of action, hoping and praying to see some sort of confirmation that what we are doing is actually working, and yet we are left wondering, “Is this really working?”

I can only imagine how many times someone like Moses must have wondered if what he was doing was really working or not. As he led God’s people through the wilderness, hearing complaint after complaint, I wonder if Moses every wondered if God had him deliver the right people or not. Frustration was apparent several times in the life of Moses, as it seemed he simply wanted to see some of the fruits of his labor. That is a legitimate desire I believe, and a completely natural one, to want to get to see just some of the fruits of our labors – to have confirmed that what we are doing actually is working and making a difference.

The oldest psalm that we have is Psalm 90, and it is a prayer of Moses. In this psalm, Moses acknowledges the eternal nature of God, the frailty and sinfulness of man, and he prays for God’s grace on His people. In verse 17, Moses prays “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.” As Moses prayed such a prayer, let us join with him today in praying that God would confirm the work of our hands, showing us in the places of our frustration what is really working. May God reveal to each of us today what He is really doing through our work.

Cleaning up others mess - Devotion for 10/30/08

Cleaning up others mess – Devotion for 10/30/08

Last night we had a fall festival and “Trunk-or-treat” at the church, and it was crazy! There were people everywhere, and believe it or not, all the kids actually made a lot of noise (I know, shocking, right?). In the chaos of getting set up for everything I had a guy randomly show up who needed some assistance so off I went to try to help him. As soon as I finished with the dude, I found out it was time for the “trunk-or-treat” to begin, and I had missed supper (or dinner if you prefer). I thought maybe I was going to get to eat after the outside festivities, however then we all went in for the costume contests (I won – I was “Batman” – I simply stood holding a baseball bat – nice, right?). At the end of the evening, all the food had been eaten and put away, and I never got a bite to eat – other than 1 or 20 packs of SweeTarts. As the fellowship hall was a complete mess, I felt the need to help the youth clean up, so we proceeded to clean off all of the tables and pick up the trash. As hungry as I was, I have to admit my thorough disgust at the mess that everyone else had left. Half-eaten hot dogs, chewed on cookies, and spilled drinks – it was really quite gross. All I kept thinking as I was picking up the mess with everyone else was, “I didn’t even get to eat, and here I am cleaning up other people’s mess.”

With that in mind, this morning I came in for my devotion time, and the passage I was supposed to read for today was 1 Peter 2:21-25. Verse 24 in particular stood out for me: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” Sometimes I think I forget how much of my mess Christ had to clean up for me. As I felt disgust at having to clean up other people’s mess when I didn’t even get to eat, I can only imagine what it was like to suffer for something I didn’t even do. Today I want to try to set out with a purpose of living in that way – will to take on other people’s mess so that they may be free.

Be bold - Devotion for 10/28/08

Be bold – Devotion for 10/28/08

If you are the fan of any sports team, you have no problem letting that be known. Even if you are in the midst of fans of different teams, once again, you still don’t have a difficult time showing your support. About the only time that we become a little quiet about the teams that we root for is when our team is doing horribly. Well, there may be another time – such as when we actually at an away game for our team, and we are completely surrounded by the threatening home fans. In that type of situation it may be best for our own personal safety to be a bit quiet. It is in such a context that Paul wrote to Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”(2 Timothy 1:7)

The author of 2 Timothy is imprisoned and it is not a good time to be a follower of the Way. Greatly outnumbered by every other religion of the day, followers of Christ were being persecuted and imprisoned, much in the way that Paul had done earlier in his life. And now the author is writing a letter of encouragement to Timothy, and instead of telling Timothy “lay low and keep quiet,” he instead tells him to be bold, and as he continues in verse 8, to “not be afraid of the testimony of our Lord.”

We all have moments when it would be much easier for us to just “lay low and keep quiet” about our faith. We all have those moments where we are almost “afraid of the testimony of our Lord.” I honestly don’t think I need to spell those out, because I truly believe you can easily think of one or two of those moments right now. I do believe that today we have an opportunity to be bold with our faith, and that when those moments arise that instead of being timid, fearful, or quiet, we will instead be bold.