Being unreasonable - Devotion for 10/31/07

Being Unreasonable – Devotion for 10/31/07

One thing that I hated hearing from my parents when I was growing up was “because I said so.” I swore I would not ever say that to my children, but guess what? I say it all the time when they try to argue with me. “Because I said so” is the near perfect way of saying to your child, “Quit arguing – I’m the parent and I’m right and you’re just going to have to live and trust it!” As a teen, I thought that “because I said so” was completely unreasonable, because that really isn’t much of an excuse why I should do something or why I wasn’t allowed to do something. But it was my parents word that won, so I had to abide by it, whether I believed it to be reasonable or not.

John 9 is one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. In this familiar passages, Jesus and his disciples happen upon a blind man, and after a brief discussion as to why the man was blind, Jesus ultimately healed him with some mud made from his spit and dirt. Well, the Pharisees get all worked up because Jesus did this on the Sabbath, and they felt that him healing this man on the Sabbath was a sign that he was not from God. The Pharisees interrogate the former blind man and his parents, simply trying to understand what and why this has happened. The Pharisees ask him a leading question: “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” (John 9:24) In their words, they want him to give glory to God by proclaiming that God is the one who healed him, and not this “sinner” named Jesus. The formerly sight-impaired replies, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind.” (John 9:25) What I love about his reply is that he didn’t know how it happened exactly. He couldn’t explain the science of his healing, and he didn’t need to. He didn’t even really know who Jesus was, and he certainly didn’t know whether or not Jesus was a sinner, and to him it didn’t matter. What mattered is one moment he was blind – the next moment because of the touch of Jesus he could see, and he was just fine with not knowing the rest of the who, what, why, when, and where. To him, it was kind of like accepting a “because I said so” thing – he didn’t need to know anything more.

Oh that I would live that way sometimes. Sometimes I get so caught up in why something happens, or why I’m supposed to do this or that. I want a reasonable explanation for everything, and I try to rationalize everything. I have a difficult time accepting “coincidences,” and I try to find a reason for those types of things. Sometimes I just need to quit asking why. Sometimes I need to just acknowledge that I don’t have all the answers and I’m not going to figure it all out. I need to accept that God doesn’t need a reason for everything that He does or allows. I think I need to accept that I can be unreasonable.

I.O.U. - Devotion for 10/25/07

Debt is a four-letter word. Usually that title – “four letter word” – is used to categorize certain cuss words such as “%$&*” and “#@?>” (come on, you didn’t think I’d actually include them, did you?), and I believe that debt belongs in such a category. It truly is amazing how quickly and easily debt can spring up on someone. Think about a student that heads off to college (that is financed via college loans). That student arrives on campus and is offered a “free” t-shirt and other assorted goodies just for applying for a new “low-interest” Student Visa card. After growing tired of the campus meal plan, that Visa card provides an attractive option as he or she can go off campus to get some real food. After 4 years (or 7, if you’re an NC State grad – hehehehe) of college, you matriculate with probably at least $33K in college loans and debt accumulated from those late night trips to Taco Bell (open till 3AM!). Finding a new job after college, one has to spruce up the wardrobe and maybe even need a new car, so again more debt is charged and incurred. Love struck, the fellow buys a diamond ring on credit which costs far more than he can actually afford, but he really wants to “prove” his love. Fortunately Mom and Dad are helping with the actual wedding costs, but the happy couple wants a honeymoon that they will remember for the rest of their lives, so they plan an elaborate week-long cruise. When they get home (with plenty of souvenirs for everyone), they settle into their beautiful new home, which is way too big for just the 2 of them, but just right for when they start a family. Kids come along, cars break down, taxes come due . . . get the idea why that word “debt” is such a dirty word?

But debt seems to be a fact of life. My hope is that by the time Jacob and Aaron earn their scholarships to play soccer at Duke, the debt that Jennifer and I incurred through our education will be paid off. I think it is interesting that to have a good credit rating, you actually have to incur some debt. Something seems backwards about that to me. Paul brings up debt in the book of Romans – “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) Somehow I always get caught up in that “owe nothing.” Why is being in debt to someone such a bad thing? Because it limits what you can do with what you have. Debt is usually a sign of us living beyond what we actually have. It is a promise, “if you give this to me now, I will give you that when I get it.” As faithful Christians, God wants us all to be healthy within our soul, our body, and yes also in our wallet. If you’re in debt like me, don’t become overwhelmed by that huge mountain before you. How do you scale a mountain? One step at a time. Every day work to make the mountain smaller by paying more, and work to not make the mountain bigger, by living as close to within your means as possible. Trust me – I’m not just preaching to the choir on this one.

Put in our place - Devotion for 10/24/07

Put in our place – Devotion for 10/24/07

Last night as I was coaching my sons soccer team at practice, I overheard one particular little boy saying that he was the third best player on the team. I personally despise hearing that kind of talk, because as I have learned so many times that kind of talk takes the emphasis off of the team as a whole and puts the focus on individuals. I told the little group of boys that I didn’t want to hear that kind of talk, but sure enough boys being boys, I heard the one boy continuing on that he was the third best on the team (hey – at least he has something to strive for, I guess). We were doing a particular drill that was a one-on-one drill, and I could see that each time he was up he was aligning himself against another player who wasn’t quite as strong of a player as he was. So his next time up, I called forward one of the better girls on the team and had her go against him. Just like I had wanted, she went out there and just smoked him in the drill. As he came back to the group, I called him to the side and told him that I didn’t want to hear any more talk about who was better because there was always someone better. I almost felt bad about doing it, but I didn’t say it so that others could here, and I knew it was important for him to understand it is not about one person, but the whole group. And, I needed to put him in his place. Well, I guess I didn’t actually put him in his place – the little girl that smoked him did.

Sometimes we all need to be put in our place. It’s called being held accountable. We’ve got to recognize that there are consequences for our actions or inactions, and if there is no one around to put us in our place, then there is no accountability. In 2 Chronicles 7:12-22, God is speaking to Solomon, and He tells Solomon that there is a level of accountability that he and his people will be held to: “humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) However, if they do not do these things, He is going to put them in their place: “Then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you, and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.” (2 Chronicles 7:20) As Christians, sometimes we tend to begin to think a little too highly of ourselves. We can attempt to be smug about how holy and pious we are, but the fact is we still sin and we still fall short of what we are called to be. Let us not forget that even though we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, God still has expectations of us. As God told Solomon, let us too keep ourselves humble, pray and seek the face of God, and turn from our wicked ways.

Finishing sentences - Devotion for 10/22/07

Finishing sentences – Devotion for 10/22/07

Many of us have a friend or 2 that knows us so well that they can finish our own sentences and thought before we do. Jay Locklear is one of those friends of mine that can do that to me – Jay seems to know what I’m going to say before I even do. Jay and I have played music together on a variety of occasions over the past few years, and there have been so many times where we have been playing, and we look at each as if to ask, “What do you want to play next?”, and almost instantaneously we start playing exactly the same song. We’ve just played too much music together to not know what the other one is thinking. Same thing with anyone that is close to you that knows what you’re thinking before you even say, or they finish your thought as you are saying it – it is a result of the familiarity that they have with you due to the amount of time they have spent with you.

“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my though from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.” (Psalm 139:1-4) God know knows all of your thoughts before you even say them because of how well He knows you. He knows what you’re going to do next, not because He has ordered you to do it, but because He simply knows what you’re going to do in virtually all situations. He is intimately acquainted with all of your ways. He could finish just about any sentence you could begin because He is that good of a friend.

Could we live up to a similar standard with regards to our friendship with God? I’m asking if we spend enough time with God, know Him well enough, that we know His words, His plans, His desires for us? As David went on in Psalm 139:6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.” But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t keep reaching to draw as close to God as He is close to us.

Modern tribulations - Devotion for 10/18/07

Modern tribulations – Devotion for 10/18/07

Recently here in Fayetteville, NC, there has been somewhat of a religious/political flap. A memorandum was sent out to all city and county employees by the city and county attorneys stating that no employee should pray “in the name of Jesus” at any public function or ceremony so as to prevent any potential lawsuits. There have been a few letters to the editor in the paper regarding this “persecution” that Christians are experiencing, and that if we “deny Christ, He will deny us.” In the mindset of persecution, I was drawn this morning to 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 as Paul describes some of his “persecutions”:

Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

Sometimes we forget what it really means to be persecuted. Going back to something I said earlier this week, John Wesley always felt that Christian when rightly practiced will always be met with resistance. In that mindset, persecution can be confirmation that you must be doing something right. Being told to not pray at a public government function in the name of Jesus is not persecution, although I would argue that abiding by it is compromise, which is something I can’t say I believe God feels too good about. I take strength in knowing that in the midst of all of Paul’s persecutions, struggles, and tribulations, although his body became weaker his faith seemed to be made stronger. Today, let us lift up in prayer all who today may actually be experiencing real persecution, real suffering, real hardships in the name of the Lord. And if our time ever comes, let us too be willing to face those same persecutions “in the name of Jesus.”

Concealed Faith - Devotion for 10/17/07

Concealed Belief – Devotion for 10/17/07

I remember there was a time that I didn’t want people to know that my dad was a preacher. Once they found out I was a PK (preacher’s kid) they would automatically make one of 2 assumptions: either I was a “goody-goody Holy roller” or I was “Hell on wheels.” It was embarrassing to me either way, because even if I was thought of as “Hell on wheels,” people still assumed that I had the same faith that my dad did, and that was something I didn’t want people to think. I’ve said it before how embarrassed I used to get when our family would be eating at a restaurant and we would say a prayer of blessing over the meal – I felt like everyone in the world was staring! Yes, in this world full of stereotypes, I remember wanting to keep my dad’s vocation and our faith concealed.

As I’ve been reading from Matthew 10 this week, it seems to really be hitting me how much Jesus is pressing on us living a life that reveals our faith. The passage I read today was Matthew 10:24-42, three times Jesus encourages his disciples to not fear what might happen as their faith is revealed through their preaching, teaching, and living. In that same passage, He also offers this: “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33) Let’s live a life that doesn’t deny the presence of Christ in our lives. That doesn’t mean go push your faith down the throat of your co-workers (they wouldn’t appreciate that much, probably). But you can live a life that proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ and models the love that Christ showed you.

Love me, Hate me - Devotion for 10/16/07

Love me, Hate me – Devotion for 10/16/07

Do you have a mortal enemy? I love to watch the re-runs of “Seinfeld,” and I always love it when Newman comes walking into the room, and you have this exchange between the two enemies: “Hello, Jerry.” “Helloooo, NEWMAN!” Even if you’ve never seen the show before, you know what it is like for two people to hate or strongly dislike one another, and it is not a pleasant thing to be around. Most of us want to love and be loved, and like to think that people like us and not hate us. The problem is this: we aren’t supposed to always be liked or loved!

John Wesley felt that Christianity when rightly practiced would always be met with resistance. As Jesus Christ is sending out his disciples in Matthew 10, he warns them, “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22). As I understand it, if we are living in the name of Jesus Christ, whether we know it or not, someone hates us. Conversely, if we aren’t living fully in the name of Jesus Christ, then all people may not like us, but we probably aren’t hated. So to experience true love we must also experience true hate. For someone to hate us, we’ve got to take a stand in the name of Jesus Christ – we’ve got to be identified with Him by more than just our words. Today, are you identified with Christ? Are you ready to be hated? “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.” (Matthew 10:24) If Jesus was hated, we can’t be above being hated as well. Stand up for Christ. Be identified with Him.