My Dad was right...How Aggravating.

Proverbs 1:7 ^--The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
Fools despise wisdom and instruction

I am just old enough now to know that when someone with more years and experience in their field speaks to me, that I should listen. I can still accept or reject the advice based on how sound it is or how I see it playing out in their lives, but it is still important for me to stop and listen.

When I have five different conversations with five different pastors and they all tell me similar stories of the mistakes they made in their early years of ministry, it would be wise for me to take that into account and learn from their mistakes. I really feel like I have a leg up in some ways because of the input of men with 20+ years in the ministry.

I wish I had believed in the value of this practice as a teenager.  I know now that my Dad was right about EVERYTHING we disagreed on. Had I listened then perhaps it wouldn’t have taken me 7 years of military service and a host of hard knocks to understand how God intended to use us.

That is not to say that I regret where my life has gone. Change one detail of the last six years and I would potentially have a completely different life. And I like this life. With all of the “I should haves” over the years the only answer I have is “but I didn’t”. And looking at where we are now and where God is taking us, I wouldn’t change a thing except perhaps send an extra apology out to those I was a jerk to at some point.

There is something to be gained from the advice of those older and younger than you. If all you gain is the ability to discern between good and bad advice, between sound and unsound doctrine, you are going to be in a good place.

The Boat is a Lie

Matthew 14:23-33 tells us the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water. When I was in Sunday school this story had a very simple moral. "Jesus walked on the water." Which really didn't teach me anything to live my life by, but served as an example of Jesus's diety...but then I didn't know what diety meant at that age either. In an adult Sunday school class the lesson probably shifts focus a bit to Peter and says "If I keep my eyes on Jesus I can walk on Water" (cue Audio Adrenaline...GO!)

But other than these two true yet basic answers I think we gloss over this passage to a great extent.

Consider that this is the second time recorded in the Gospel that the disciples are in a boat with a raging storm all around them. Only this time around the one person they know who can calm the storm is back on the land praying. I think we ignore the storm in this story to focus on the miracle itself. If this was only about Jesus proving His power, He could have the made the same point on a clear day.

The disciples have put their faith in two things. The wind and the boat. The wind is described as "contrary" so they have already lost on that front. All they have left is the boat and they can't even control the direction that it will move becaues of the wind. We often put our faith and trust into material things that cannot truly provide support when the going gets tough.

Jesus appears on the water and Peter seems to determine that no matter how windy it is and no matter how choppy the water is, it surely must be safer out there with Jesus than it is in the boat. It is then while Jesus is accomplishing the impossible through Peter, that he begins to doubt and starts to wonder how he could possible control the elements to keep himself from slipping. And as Peter thinks hard about how not to sink, he finds himself doing just that.

It is notable that no one jumps in after Peter, and Peter doesn't try to swim for it either. The conditions on this water are such that an experienced swimmer like Peter realizes that he cannot rescue himself but must call out to Jesus. When he does, Jesus wastes not a moment. Jesus doesn't scold Peter and THEN save him. He saves him and then convicts him for his lack of faith. Jesus then returns a much humbled Peter to the boat and the storm ends.

This is not the last storm that Peter will experience either literally or figuratively. But he will make it safely to shore due to Jesus.

So often we try to control our surroundings and situations when all we need is Jesus. People go to God in prayer under two conditions--1. Things are going great, 2. Things are going poorly. I tend to err on the things are going great side of it. When things are going poorly I often take it upon myself to fix it and all I do is make a mess. When I call out to Jesus is when I find peace.

Peter recognizes his condition as being unstable, so he leaves the boat. He falls to his own control issues and has to cry out to Jesus to save him. Jesus does so and changes Peter's life. This does not mean that Peter's life on earth was perfect, but it was changed.

We must also recognize that a life apart from Christ is unstable. Jesus has come out onto the water in the midst of our life's storm and he is saying, "Come". I challenge you, step out of the psychological safety of the boat, set your eyes on Jesus, let Him carry you across the stormy waters, cry out to Him when you sink, be saved and let Him change your life.

Prayer Time

Time and time again we see Jesus doing miraculous things followed by a pharisee asking him for a sign to prove he is the Messiah. Check out Luke 11:14-16.

It seems we are never looking for the sign we are actually given. I prayed for rest to come to my wife and child one night and before I knew it I was rocking the little guy to sleep at 2am while my wife got some much needed slumber. This was an answer to my prayer, but not what I had anticipated.

I was once told to never pray to God for patience unless I had time to sit in traffic. He doesn't just grant these things, it would appear that He gives us opportunity to grow in the area we pray about. Embracing this hard fact is paramount to seeing how God has answered some of your prayers.

We tend to want our prayers answered, but at no personal cost to ourselves. But personal sacrifice is where it is at! This whole rigamarole started when God chose to share His universe with us. He sent His only Son into the world not only to teach this principle, but to offer himself up as the ultimate sacrifice to atone for our sins.

But my Dad was a Christian!

A very kind elderly gentleman at a Baptist church in central London explained to me quite simply a primary difference between a Baptist and other lanes of Christianity.

“We aren’t particularly popular among the masses for the very simple reason that we ask people to make a choice for God. We ask them to make that commitment to Jesus and they feel it should simply be given freely with no effort on their part. It’s the choice. The choice is what sets us apart.”

How many people do you know who feel their place in Heaven is assured simply by believing that there is a God? I know many. I know some who feel their salvation is imminent because their parents were Christians.

“I don’t know if there is a god, like THE god in the bible, but I do believe there is a higher power who watches over us. I can’t say that it is the Christian god for sure though.”

This type of comment is typical of those who wish to have the belief without the effort. They want fire insurance but do not care for the personal sacrifice that it will take to let Jesus be real in their lives. They want a faith that will not offend.

It has almost become cliché for pastors to point out how offensive our faith truly is to

nonbelievers—but it doesn’t make it any less true. Our faith says that many will go to hell. And that offends people regardless of how true it is.

 Let’s face it: It is hard to give up sin. It is hard. Sin is fun while we are engaged in it; it only stinks afterwards when we face the consequences through guilt, a spiritual deficiency and possibly physical ailments.

Must we actually make a choice for God? Or is the choice made for us?

I sit in awe as I read Genesis and see how it outlines the early dealings between God and man. By the time we get to Abraham, God has a plan, but man is still learning how to deal and interact with God. God manifests himself to Abraham both from the Heavens and in human form. He gives Abraham opportunities to follow him. God goes so far as to ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son. And then guess what? Abraham chooses to obey him.

God reveals Himself to Abraham and promises the impossible in return for Abraham’s faith. He reveals Himself also to Isaac and Jacob but for each of them a faith in God does not seem to be an inherent trait that they are born with. God proclaims His promise to them and they in turn choose to follow.

All three of these men sin. Each of them fail to live up to God’s standard and yet they remain in God’s grace. Abraham twice presents his wife as his sister out of self preservation. Isaac does the same. Jacob deceives his brother and father and neglects his wife. But God still fulfills his promises to them because they have chosen to follow Him. They choose to live where God wants them to live and take the wives God wants them to take.

Perhaps it all relied to some extent on the willingness of these men in the early stages of the Bible to choose a life that would honor God. There could come from this a great debate about free will versus predestination. But I believe all of these men throughout the Bible had a choice. A choice to follow God or follow man. A choice to live for God’s glory or for their own gain. By choosing the way of righteousness they accepted their role in God’s plan for the Salvation of Man.

God could have and surely would have used others of course had these men fallen to the wayside, but they didn’t and He didn't. And because of the choices made in these early years of history a prophecy was given and fulfilled through our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we find our salvation.

The End of the World as We Know it

I feel fine. Before all of this Camping--Armageddon business came into the spotlight, someone asked me if I thought the world would end in 2012. Time is relative. We created calendars and time measurement, so what does 2012 really mean in terms of the end of the world?

And if the world ends what do I care? Has God not promised me a place in Heaven? I am secure in my faith. At the end of the world I am going to be with God. We may get hit by a meteor or have some massive global warming breakdown…I’m not sure, but a disaster like that wouldn’t signify the end of the world. The subject of the end of the world is discussed in scripture at length and  it is the shout of Jesus returning that I will be waiting for rather than a natural disaster or a date determined by man's mathematical figures.

I wrote a play once about two dead men. Both appear in a limbo-like state out of darkness. One arrives with a sigh and takes a breath of fresh air. He behaves as if a great weight has been taken from him. When the second man arrives it is with a cry of pain and anguish. He is scared of this new situation. The idea is that one of these men was a Christian prior to death. The Christian is relieved to be gone from Earth. Each second in his new surroundings is another moment he remembers less about his life. What’s back there isn’t what’s important. What is waiting is.

We should take care of our planet. We should be good stewards of the resources God has given us and we should spend our time on this Earth enjoying God’s grace and seeking ways to further His kingdom. Enjoy your family, enjoy your kids, have that care-free cookout with the guys. Enjoy it! But don’t lose sight of what is important and what is simply…a cookout. You can sink into nihilism if you aren’t careful, but if you simply maintain perspective on what it means to be a Christian at the end of life, there should be no fear or anxiety regarding what is to come.

Of course you don’t want to die right now. Who does? We have bills to pay, loved ones we want to enjoy. We get attached to this globe. I do not want to die until my children are grown and can support themselves. But if God sees fit to take me sooner than that, I simply have to trust Him that it is for the best. And not my best at that—His best. Easier said than done, but personally I do not fear death.

I made the statement, “So what do I care if the world ends?” Even though we are secure in our faith and know our place in heaven is assured, there is something to care about for as long as this world exists. There are lost people who will not be joining us in Heaven and for us to sit back and allow that is unacceptable. Only God can change their heart, but we are commanded to reach out and help make the introductions.  God uses us as His tools for ministry and evangelism. Do not hide your light under a bushel. Let it shine until the day God takes you home.

I want to go the way my Gramps went. He opened his eyes in the middle of the night and said, “Lou Ada. I’m dying.” My Granny called in the nursing home staff and they tried to revive him, but I imagine that Gramps was at the gates of Heaven and there was no turning back. Why would you want to turn back when you are so close to eternity with God? I think he saw Jesus at that moment and wanted to, out of common courtesy, let Granny know that he was headed out.