Valentines Month Is Not Over!

Since Dr. Howard Hendricks recently passed away, I’ve been reading various quotes of his.  One of his, from 1975 was; “In Dallas/Ft. Worth it takes three weeks of intensive training to become a garbage collector, but about all you have to do to get married is to stand before the justice of the peace and grunt and you are in—you are married!”  A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the effort that marriage takes and the importance of putting effort into our marriages.

Why?  Isn’t God more important?  Yep.  But, quoting Dennis Rainey, "Marriage and family are about the glory of God."  Dennis goes on to write; “Genesis 1:27 makes it clear, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”  From the beginning, marriage has been central to God’s glory on planet Earth. The Bible begins with a marriage and ends with a marriage. What God designed, lifted up, and gave a transcendent purpose, man has dumbed down."

"Many today make the purpose of marriage to be one’s personal happiness—of finding another person who meets my needs. God created marriage to reflect His image, to reproduce a godly heritage, and to stand together in spiritual battle.  Your marriage, your covenant-keeping love, will be your greatest witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Marriage is about the glory of God—not about the happiness of man."

Rainey goes on to list 39 more “Lessons from 40 Years ofMarriage”.  It’s worth your time to read through them.  Slowly.  Thoughtfully.

SDG.

Quote to Ponder

“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How about you? 

How were you raised?

How are you raising your kids?

I’m guessing most all of us would answer the same way.

8 Letters

This past summer Pastor Brett allowed me to “preach” one Sunday while he was on sabbatical.  I related how Daniel 3 was an encouragement to me during a difficult time in my life.  (Daniel 3 is the chapter in which Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into the furnace.)

One of my key points came from verse 18.  It is underlined and asterisked in my Bible.  The king gives these guys once last chance to bow down to the golden image.  They refuse.  There is a bit of a dialogue, but in verse 18 they say three very important words:  BUT   IF   NOT   Their allegiance and commitment was to God.  They knew He could save them, BUT IF NOT, they were still going to be faithful.

Just the other day, I read an article by Margaret Feinberg.  She had met a guy with a tattoo across his bicep.  You guessed it.  It said, BUT IF NOT.  He related this story from Daniel 3 to her and after a little while, she realized that these eight letters were the same amount in the word “faithful”.  And if you read on further in that chapter, you will see that the faithfulness of these three guys caused a prideful king to praise the Almighty God that we serve.

While I think that would be a cool looking tattoo, I don’t know if I have enough of a bicep to pull it off.  However, I can ask God to help me be faithful, even in circumstances where the result may be BUT IF NOT.  

It's not Easter, but let's talk about hopping.

I came across a post by a pastor in North Carolina regarding church hopping.  As a board, this issue comes up periodically.   You can read the post in it's entirety here, but here is a quick summary...with my additions  in burgundy from me (I couldn't resist).

First, church isn't about you.  Sorry, but it's not.  It isn't one of many stores in a mall that exists to serve your spiritual shopping list.  Church is a gathered community of believers who are pooling their time, talent and resources to further the Great Commission.  Rick Warren said it well in the very first sentence of his best selling book: "It's not about you."

Second, the very nature of authentic community is found in the "one anothers".  Love one another, serve one another, encourage one another; this cannot happen apart from doing life with people.  Romans, 1 Corinthians and the Epistles have a ton of "one another" references.

Third, the absence of a ministry you desire may be God's call on your life to start it, rather than leave to find a church that has it.  Remember, every member is a minister, and has been given at least one spiritual gift for service in the life and mission of the church.  Pastors are often told what kind of ministry their church needs.  Meanwhile, there are plenty of "holes" (i.e. volunteers needed) in existing programs.  Please get involved.

Fourth, you aren't going to agree with every decision the leadership of any church makes, regardless of its structure or decision-making process.  You either feel you can trust the character of the leadership, or you can't.  Leadership isn't perfect.  But we do pray,  discuss and send lots of emails before we make a decision.  Are they always right.  Of course not.

And being able to trust that leadership doesn't mean they will always do things the way you think they should.  In other words, don't hop every time you disagree.  That's immature.

(And for goodness sake, don't stay and pout either.  Either get on board once the decision is made, if it was one that didn't breach doctrine or ethics, or find a place where you can.

Fifth, don't worry about being fed as much as learning to feed yourself.  Even more, concern yourself with taking what you already know and applying it to your life, and then helping others who are new to the faith!  Let me quote from Mark Batterson's blog.  I saved this from years ago.  It's good.  "My kids learned to feed themselves when they were toddlers.  If you're not being fed, that's your fault.  I'm afraid we've unintentionally fostered a subtle form of spiritual codependency in our churches.  It is so easy to let others take responsibility for what should be our responsibility."

Finally, spiritual depth isn't fostered by satiating your sense of felt needs.  It's receiving a balanced diet of teaching and challenge, investing in service and mission, living in community and diversity that you probably would not select for yourself.  Not long ago we watched the Olympics.  All of those well-tuned athletes, while they focused on their sport, cross-trained so that all their muscles got a workout.  While maybe not fun, it made them a better athlete.

I thought he had some good thoughts and challenges.  Certainly worth our consideration.

"so that"

This morning Pastor Brett referred a passage in John 17 in which Jesus prays for our unity -- not just for  our sake -- but so that the world may know.  That brings glory to God.

It struck me, because an hour earlier I had been with the 7th and 8th graders, trying to get across the idea that when we do good deeds, we don't do it so that we can feel good about ourselves.  We do it because it brings glory to God.  We do it, so that....

Let's remember those two words this week as we go about our activities.  "So that...."

Prayer of a Martyred Zimbabwe Pastor

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit's power.  The die has been cast.  I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made - I’m a disciple of His.  I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.  My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.  I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.  I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.  I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.  I now live by faith, lean in his presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and I labor with power.  My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions are few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear.  I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed.  I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.  I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till he stops me.  And, when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me. . . my banner will be clear!

Stalking God

Pastor Mike asked me to teach the 7th & 8th graders this fall.  I gladly accepted.  And as I've contemplated meeting with these kids on Sunday mornings, I've tried to think of ways to make what I teach stick -- not in their heads, but in their hearts.  I've run across two things lately that have challenged me regarding that.

First, in one of the closing chapters in Bob Goff's book, Love Does, is one called: "Memorizing Jesus".  In that chapter, Goff talks about "stalking Jesus".  That is, collecting information and memorizing facts. But that's it.  He said he quit a "Bible study" he was part of because he wasn't doing anything with what he learned.  He in turn, started a "Bible doing" group.  They read, "what God has to say and then focus all their attention on what we are going to do about it."  Goff says by engaging in the Word, we will remember it better because we are living it.  Good stuff!

The second was a comment made by D.A. Carson regarding Psalm 27, verse 11.  This verse talks about teaching and leading.  But Carson's comment challenged me.  He wrote; "This cannot be said too strongly or too often; to claim that one is pursing God without concomitant reformation of life and growing conformity to the ways of God is wicked and dangerous nonsense."  That ties right back to Goff's thoughts above. Reform and conform - continually.

This is a great reminder of James 1:22-24, that tells us not to just read the Word and forget - but to put it into practice.

Crappy Package

Have you ever felt unjustly criticized?
How about justly criticized, but just didn't want to hear it?
Or, justly criticized, but in a pretty harsh manner?

I heard a guy recently mention that he received some criticism in a pretty harsh way. The problem was, it was pretty legit.  However, his complaint to God was; "Why did you have to send this criticism in such a 'crappy package'?"

God's answer (according to him): I wanted to see if you were humble enough to receive it.

Ouch!

I'm not saying it's right to rip into people.  It's not.  But,  are we able to hear God -- even if it comes in  a "crappy package"?

This sort of reminded me of Jeremiah.  I've been reading this book lately.  It seems that most of what we know about Jeremiah are the verses in chapter 29.  You know, the good verses that tell us that God wants to prosper us.  Funny, we don't talk about the rest of Jeremiah much.  It's not that pleasant a book.  That poor guy had a tough calling.  He was told to bring bad news (i.e. "crappy message") to his people.  He told the people that because of their disobedience, they were going to be overthrown and captured.  But -- they didn't want to hear it.

It didn't go well for ol' Jeremiah.  In chapter 36 the king burned Jeremiah's scroll (chapter 36).  Nice, huh?  At one point he gets tossed into an old abandoned cistern that was all muddy in the bottom and left for dead (chapter 38).  Not seeing a lot of humility from the king or the people here are we?

So what happens?  Well, in chapter 39, sure enough, down goes Jerusalem. Captured and taken off into captivity (at least the ones Babylon let live).

A crappy message isn't a bad thing -- if we're humble enough to hear it.

Ten Financial Commandments

No one likes hearing about money - and how they are supposed to use it.  It's human nature.  But I heard these from John Ortberg the other day.  Obviously, he expounded on each one. Convicting.

1. Thou shalt remember who the Owner is.
2. Thou shalt embrace your work.
3. Thou shalt not fall into debt.
4. Thou shalt teach thy children (about $).
5. Thou shalt have a plan.
6. Thou shalt declare...enough!
7. Thou shalt find an alternative to "keeping score".
8. Thou shalt look around (& help those in need).
9. Thou shalt seek wise counsel.
10. Thou shalt look forward to thy "final audit".

The Power of the Cross: Convergence.

About a year ago, I shared at a congregational meeting, some comments I heard from Rev. Samuel Rodriguez.  After Rev. Rodriguez made these comments about having a "cross-centered worldview," the interviewer said; "That was good stuff folks.  You should hit the rewind button."  And so I am.  Here, once again, are Rev. Rodriguez's comments about how we should have a cross-centered worldview.  I feel like they are quite appropriate for a body of believers that call themselves "CrossPoint".

The cross is vertical and horizontal.

The vertical direction represents God's Kingdom, His glory,  His presence.

The horizontal direction represents community relationships, culture and society.

Vertical is redemption.

Horizontal is relationships.

Vertical is the covenant.

Horizontal is our community.

Vertical is Billy Graham.

Horizontal is Martin Luther King.

Vertical is righteousness.

Horizontal is justice.

Vertical is the New Jerusalem.

Horizontal is Hennepin County.

The cross is BOTH / AND.

It is not either / or.

The strongest part of the cross is the point of convergence.  That is where we need to minister out of -- the strength of the cross!  It is where righteousness meets justice.  It is where John 3:16 meets Matthew 25:45.

Quote of the Week

Just for grins, I put a "Quote of the Week" under my electronic signature at work.  Every so often I get a comment back from one of my customers either via email or the phone.  Because I know that many pay attention, I try to be somewhat intentional with what I put there.

This week, I had a quote by Doug Larson that says; "People mistake a short memory for a clear conscience."  I received a quick comment (positive) early in the week, so I know this one probably caught a lot of attention.

Due to some current thoughts I've had regarding Psalm 139:25-26, I see a little bit of a correlation between this quote and these two verses.  The Message version says it this way:
Investigate my life, O God, 
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me, 
get a clear picture of what I'm about; 
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong -
then guide me on the road to eternal life.


I know I'm guilty - and probably not alone - in that I try to stuff sins away. Forget about them.  Like God isn't aware of them! I understand that God forgives and forgets.  That's grace and I don't know if any of us really can get our whole head around that.  But, what about wrong thoughts?  Wrong attitude?  Wrong intention?  Pride?  Sins of comission and sins of omission?

I'm fine with God's forgiveness.  But, I should not be fine with thinking I'm better than I am.  I'm forgiven because of God, not because of Todd.  But what this psalm says to be me is -- slow down.  Reflect.  Listen.  What does God want to change in my life?  Even today, I had finished reading about the 7 churches in mentioned in Revelation.  Then what do I do?  I start praying....about my needs!  Seriously?!  I just finished reading that portion of Scripture and instead of thinking about how that applies to me, I just start in asking God to make things in my live easier and better.

Yep.  I need Psalm 139:25-26.  I need it a lot.  I don't know how many of my customers will think about the Quote of the Week like I have this week.  But that's O.K.  I guess this quote is for me.

The Cross

The cross that represented defeat - for a follower it is an image of victory.
The cross that represented guilt - for a follower it is an image of grace.
The cross that represented condemnation - for a follower it is an image of freedom.
The cross represented pain and suffering - for a follower it is an image of healing and hope.
The cross that represented death - for a follower it is an image of life.
The cross may not be attractive - but for a follower, it is beautiful.

From the book, not a fan and the chapter, "take up your cross daily - an everyday death".

What kind of ministry can I have?

As Pastor Mike was winding up his Sunday morning message with the Amazing Grace video and story of John Newton I started to think about the influence Newton had on Wilbur Wilberforce, thinking I'd maybe blog on that.  Then - Mike gets back up on the platform and finishes off with comments about Wilberforce.  But what I really appreciated was that Mike - as pastor - emphasized the need for Christian living from people like you and me - lay people.  Not pastors, though they should probably live Christian lives too.  ;-)  He impressed the significance of  Newton telling Wilberforce not to leave politics "for the ministry", but to remain in politics and do ministry.  Preach it Mike!

C.S. Lewis said something along the lines of; "We don't need more Christian writers.  We need more great writers who are Christians."  That applies to all areas of life.  And notice, Lewis didn't say we need more writers who are Christians, but "great writers".  We are told in 1 Corinthians 10, that whatever we do, we should do it for the glory of God.  If we're doing something for God, it should be good.

Off the top of my head, I think of these people who are doing business "in the world".

Business:  I think of the Cathy family.  Owners of Chick fil a.
Music: I think of John Coltrane.  Scotty McCreery.   A jazz musician and country western singer.
Education: Guy Dowd.  (A former Teacher of the Year and now a motivational speaker.)
Athletes: There are many.  Ryan Hall. (Olympic marathoner) Tim Tebow. (NFL)  Jeremy Lin. (NBA) Tony Dungy. (NFL)
Authors: John Grisham.  (If you haven't read The Testament, you need to.)
Movies: Randall Wallace (Director & screenwriter.)
Financial: Dave Ramsey.  (Do you know how many secular stations his radio show is on?)
Politics: This is a tough area because of the volatile nature, but I remember hearing Chuck Colson interviewing Jimmy Carter a couple months ago.  Two guys from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but meeting with a common bond of faith.

OK, so we don't have high profile venues like those listed above.  We can make a difference in our everyday jobs and life.  When I went to college, there was a custodian named Keith Tekautz.  He earned the name, "Keith, the Jolly Janitor".  It was not unusual to see a student helping him out.  People wanted to be around him. He affected thousands of kids over the years.

So, whatever we do - whether a salesman, teacher, accountant, custodian, student, mother, father, parent - we are challenged to do it in a way that brings glory to God.

SDG

The Right Attitude

I’ve been reading the book, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, so I’ve had this idea of aligning myself with God’s will while praying in the forefront of my mind.  This morning as I was reading Luke 1, I noticed the attitude of two people in that chapter.  

Zechariah, who when visited by an angel asked, “How can?” (sort of a negative question).  

Mary, who when also visited by an angel asked, “How will?” (more of a positive question).

Well, Zechariah didn’t get to talk for 9 months.  Mary went on to sing what is known as The Magnificat.

When I hear from God, what kind of question do I ask?  What kind of question do you ask?