What's the combination? - Devotion for 9/5/07

What’s the combination? – Devotion for 9/5/07

Jacob and Aaron have been riding their bikes to school each day, and because they were unable to do the bike locks that I had for the, that meant that I rode my bike to their school each day. So, I decided to get them each a new bike lock – one that they can easily do for themselves. It is a simple combination lock, and it came preset with certain numbers that they would need to memorize to be able to unlock the chain. In telling them about the lock and combination, I explained to them why it was important for them to memorize the combination and not tell it to anyone else. “Because if you are the only one who knows the combination, you are the only one who will be able to open up the lock.” I told them that other people could come up and claim that the bike was theirs, but if they didn’t know the combination to the lock, it would be easy to tell that they weren’t telling the truth.

2 John 2:3 states, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” This epistle goes on to explain that when someone claims to know God, but doesn’t keep God’s commandments, it is obvious that that person is a liar. As it states in verse 8: “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.” The right combination to truly demonstrating that we are children of God is to live according to His word, and to live out that word through our love and forgiveness of others. Recognize that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”(Romans 3:23). But God calls us to live a life that shows the right combination of things that proves we belong to Him.

Facing forgiveness - Devotion for 9/4/07

Facing forgiveness – Devotion for 9/4/07

As a child, I found myself in mischief from time to time (yes, only when I was a child – not when I was a teen, young adult, or even now at 36 . . . ok, maybe just a little mischief). Whether it was getting into a little trouble at school or breaking (accidentally) some of my mom’s china, I’m not sure what I feared the most – the punishment I would receive, or the forgiveness. See sometimes the punishment wouldn’t be that bad, and while being punished I could find some way to direct my anger at the punisher instead of myself for doing whatever it was that I was being punished for. Somehow as I would be sitting in detention writing sentences (and sentences and sentences), I could transfer my shame and sorrow for what I had done into anger at my teacher for making me write “I will not throw spit balls in class” 500 times (or more). So, in some ways, sometimes punishment was welcome, because in receiving punishment I didn’t have to fully accept for myself what I had actually done.

But forgiveness – now that was something completely different. Forgiveness was something to be feared, because in receiving forgiveness I would fully understand what I had done, and that I was being let off the hook. Sometimes forgiveness accompanied the punishment that I still had to incur, and that was even worse because then I had to endure the punishment (such as sentences, spankings, or sitting out recess), yet knowing that I had been forgiven I had to own up to what I had actually done.

Listen to a couple of verses from Psalm 130 – “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4) It was difficult for me to relate “forgiveness” and “fear” that the author speaks of here until I really began to think about what forgiveness really means. To me, it really means that my “iniquities” and sins are washed away, and as I understand it in relation to Jesus Christ, He endures the punishment that was intended for me. That kind of love is something to revere, something to almost fear. I take that back – that kind of love isn’t something to fear, but the true understanding of all of our sins being forgiven is something to fear – because when we recognize how much we have been forgiven, we will recognize how much we are loved. Today, let us face forgiveness together, no matter what we have done.

"What, me worry?" - Devotion for 8/30/07

“What, me worry?” – Devotion for 8/30/07

This morning as I was reading Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus talks about worry, I got to thinking about this passage in a different way. When I usually read this passage I think about how we worry about food, money, clothes – basic essentials of life, and Jesus reminds us that somehow someway God will provide for us. But today, something else comes to me. “Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’” Today when I read that verse (Matthew 6:31), I think about my sons attending Camp Rockfish this summer.

You see, Jacob is a very picky eater (I have no idea where he gets that from!). Before he went to camp Jennifer and I kept telling him that he was going to have to eat things that he doesn’t necessarily like, but he would need to eat them anyway so that he would have the energy to survive the week at camp. We hounded that poor child before he left for camp because we were so worried about what he was going to eat. The entire week that they were gone Jenn and I worried about him – “What’s he going to eat at camp?” When we picked him and his brother up from camp on Saturday and asked Jacob about the food, you know what he said? “I don’t know – I mostly just ate bread.” For almost an entire week, except for breakfast, Jacob hardly ate anything other than bread. He said he’d look at the food and knew he couldn’t eat it, so he just got some bread. Now breakfast (Jacob’s favorite meal of the day), he really stocked up. But everything else, he basically just ate bread.

We also worried about Aaron that week because Aaron has a tendency to lose things – even things that are right in front of him (Where’s my glasses? “Check your face.”) We were worried about Aaron running out of clothes over the course of the week, so we even went and bought him new pajamas to sleep in (pajamas that wouldn’t have the other kids picking on him for wearing them). As we packed, we gave Aaron clear instructions about what to wear and where to put stuff, and then all week we worried, “What’s he going to wear? I hope he doesn’t lose his stuff.” So, on Saturday when we picked him up, we were a bit surprised to find Aaron in his bathing suit. The reason that was surprising was Aaron hadn’t been swimming since the day before. He slept in the bathing suit (although it was dry at least by the time he went to bed). When we looked at the DVD the camp gave us of the week, we saw several clips of Aaron running around camp wearing his brand new pajamas – in the middle of the day!

There we were that whole week worrying about them. “What’s he going to eat?” “What’s he going to wear?” And ultimately they got through it. I would have preferred Jacob to have made better food choices, and I would have preferred Aaron to have worn his play clothes, but in the end Jacob ate and Aaron wore clothes. Such it is for us in life. Just as God provided for my boys that week, God will provide for us. And our worries will just give us more worry. Worrying didn’t do us a bit of good, but trusting in God did.

Attention getting - Devotion for 8/29/07

Attention getting – Devotion for 8/29/07

From our earliest days of life we learn how to get the attention of someone else. Don’t believe? Check out a baby. Dirty diaper that isn’t getting changed? “Waaaaaaa!” Hungry? “Waaaaaaaa!” As we get older, our tactics may change (hopefully!). Teenagers will begin to push the limits in how they dress to get the attention of other. Adults will acts in “interesting” ways to get the attention of others. We are surrounded by people trying to be noticed by someone, and we ourselves (if we are honest) seek to be noticed as well.

In Matthew 6:1, Jesus talks about us not getting noticed. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” He then goes on to talk about how we should give to the poor, pray, and fast – all in private so that no one else notices. We should listen to His words, because we should be giving to the poor, we should be praying, and at times we should be fasting, but we shouldn’t be doing those things to get the attention of someone else. We shouldn’t be doing those things to put a focus on ourselves when the focus should be on God. Today I want to encourage you to find a way to randomly, quietly, and secretly give to someone in need, without doing it to draw attention to yourself – your gift may be their prayer answered. Today I want to encourage you to find a way to quietly and secretly pray to God, in particular praying for the ability to forgive others (as Jesus emphasizes in Matthew 6:14-15) – your prayers make be the petition that brings about a miracle. And today I want to encourage to find a time when you need to fast – when you really need to hunger for the Lord – and do it quietly without telling another – your fasting may give you the guidance to bring about the full Kingdom of God.

Surviving the drought - Devotion for 8/28/07

Surviving the drought – Devotion for 8/28/07

My grass is brown. No, I’m not too disappointed about it, because when it is brown that means it is not growing, and when it is not growing that means I don’t have to mow it. The thing is it just really looks brown because my neighbor waters her yard (on the days that she is allowed to by the city). So there is a very defined line between my yard and hers – the line where green grass turns to brown grass. I’ll just keep on waiting for it to rain, because I know that sooner or later it will rain. In fact, it rained a bit yesterday morning, and I feel that I can see some benefits in the yard already. So, I will not even attempt to water my yard – I’ll just keep waiting for God to bring the rain. Surely He’ll bring the rain again soon.

This morning as I left my yard, it kind of struck me that sometimes we live our spiritual lives like this. We keep waiting and waiting for God to come into our lives to do something special or amazing that will really lift us up – and sometimes we find ourselves just waiting and waiting while we keep on drying up. I’ve had those dry spells where I just pray to God to come and show me the way, to shine His light before me to direct my paths, but other than just a prayer I don’t do anything else to seek God – I just keep waiting through the drought. Psalm 1 is talking about what it is like for the one who walks in the light and law of God: “He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does he prospers. The wicker are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1:3-4) When I read that I think about my neighbor’s yard, and my yard. My neighbor’s yard has survived this brutally hot and dry summer, and is just as beautifully green now as it was in the spring. My yard is like chaff – as my boys run through the yard you can see the dead grass just flying up as they go. So it is also when we daily seek out the source of life, and when we just simply wait for that source to come to us. God will come, but we can’t just keep waiting for those “mountain top” experiences – we’ve got to actively pursue God daily – pursuing His word, pursuing His will, pursuing His love, pursuing His people, pursuing His “water.” Today, if you find yourself in one of those droughts, and you find your life has started to simply turn as brown as my yard, seek out the source of life. Make it a part of your daily habits. Don’t just wait for God to come in some unique and special way to you (even though He eventually will). Seek out His water today, and tomorrow, and the day after that . . .

Map to greatness - Devotion for 8/27/07

Map to greatness – Devotion for 8/27/07

Gotta admit it – before I go to any destination that I do not know where I am going, I hit up Mapquest. I love to go in there and put in the info for where I am heading and then get out there and hit the open (or not so open) road. I will stay on Highway XYZ for 13.7 miles, and then I will bear left onto Route ABC if that is what my little Mapquest printout tells me to do. Yes, I have found that at times Mapquest is not exactly correct, but from my experience, it usually quite accurate (and pretty freaky that it can tell anyone how to exactly get to my house!). The reason I love using Mapquest so much is that I remember what it was like before I began using Mapquest. I might look at a map before I headed off, or I might have just gone in the direction that I thought I should go. Or you might ask someone else for directions, and they may tell you to go turn onto the road just past the maple tree (not the oak, just in case you know the difference), and then you will take the left just past the field with the pigs. Yep, I have found that for me, taking the time to consult Mapquest for the directions is a much better alternative, and it exponentially increases my chances of actually getting to my destination.

Unfortunately in life many times we just head out without a plan or direction. We just follow our hearts desires or whatever whim comes across our minds without any sense of direction or even destination. That’s why in college there are academic advisors, who will help keep you on track to graduation by taking the course you need to take, instead of just the courses you may want to take (like basket weaving – sorry, NC State fans ;-p ). Those academic advisors will help you map out a plan, and by you following their plan, you can usually achieve what it is that you set out to achieve. But to achieve that, you have to submit to their plan, and not your plan. You have to be willing to follow what has been set out for you, and not take the detours you may want to take. You have to play “follow the leader,” and follow the wisdom before you.

One of the weird things that Jesus said is found in Matthew 23:10. The first half of that verse seems to stand in direct contrast with the world today, and even in direct contrast to the expectations of some within the church universal – “Do not be called leaders.” You can go to any bookstore and find an entire section on leadership. You can go to any Christian bookstore and find an entire section of leadership. Yet Jesus instructed us to not be called leaders. The second half of the verse explains a little more: “for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.” OK – I’m going to go off the farm a little here, but the way I see it, Jesus is our Mapquest. Jesus is our “academic advisor.” We shouldn’t be out there living life based on our wills, our wants, our plans – we should be consulting the plan that our Leader has laid out before us. Matthew 23:12 states, “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” If we set off ignoring God’s plans for us, we are in essence exalting ourselves, and trust me on this one, we will be humbled (some of us learn the hard way). So if you want to achieve greatness in this lifetime and beyond – true greatness – there is a map and a plan to that greatness. And it begins with you consulting the Leader – the “Mapquest” – the “academic advisor” – the Christ.

Sleep through anything - Devotion for 8/23/07

Sleep through anything – Devotion for 8/23/07

My son Aaron was born in the middle of a hurricane. OK – maybe not in the middle of one, but he was born on September 13, 1999, which was 2 days before Hurricane Floyd hit North Carolina. Aaron came home from the hospital on the day that the hurricane came ashore, and needless to say, Aaron’s first night at home was full tilt . . . or at least that’s what my wife tells me. You see, child birth is a difficult thing to go through, and I was incredibly tired from the experience of watching my child being born, so when we finally got him home, I was ready to get some much deserved sleep. Knowing that the hurricane was likely to come inland to where we lived, I took care of everything that I could outside, putting away the grill and some outside chairs. I moved our cars because where we parked was near some trees that could potentially fall on them. Everything was set, so I helped get Jacob ready for bed (who wasn’t quite 2 at the time), I helped get Jennifer and Aaron settled, and off to bed I went. Apparently Jennifer was up and down a bit that night – I wouldn’t know because I was sleeping. At some fateful hour Jennifer got up with Aaron because he was apparently hungry (who knew?), and she took him out to the living room to feed him. As she sat in the rocking chair near the front window, she was amazed at the power of the storm as it was really bearing down. The lightning and thunder – the howling winds – she was amazed that anyone at all could sleep . . . anyone except me. As she was listening to the sounds outside she began to hear a strange noise – sort of a “popping” sound. She thought to herself, “What in the world is that noise?” Suddenly, something just told her to get up and away from the window, which was a wonderful thing, because one of our neighbors large oak trees fell and broke the front window. The front window where she had just been sitting. Sitting holding our newborn baby. Glass strewn all over the chair and the living room. Jacob comes out screaming and crying after hearing the tremendous sound. Me? Still sound asleep, that is until Jennifer came in and woke me up.

Are you a sound sleeper? We know that Jesus was. One of my favorite passages is Matthew 8:23-27, where Jesus is on the boat with his disciples and a storm comes up, and waves are covering the boat. The disciples are terrified, but Jesus is down below sleeping. As the wind howls and the waves batter the sides of the boat – as the disciples are up top screaming and hollering at each other over the sounds of the wind and water – Jesus is down catching some Z’s. How was it that Jesus could sleep? Well one could argue that since he was God that he already knew that everything would be OK, and that argument truly does make sense, as obviously Jesus knew that his death was intended to be something much more meaningful than drowning in the sea. But I like to think that Jesus was able to sleep in the face of the storm because ultimately Jesus was resolved to the will of God. I believe that when we find ourselves at peace with God in the midst of whatever storms we face, we will find peace in the midst of the storm, and be able to sleep through anything.