A Testimony with Bite

"But God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don’t be afraid...—Luke 12:7, Expanded

“Look for them—Not everything is just ‘life happening.’ It begins with awareness…” This was the first takeaway from last Sunday’s message on the testimonies we carry. And wouldn’t you know it, it hit home…

That evening while having dinner, I felt something in my dental work shift or give way, but there was no sign of anything broken, so I ignored it for a day or so. Two days later, I figured I'd better call the dentist to make an appointment just to see what was going on. It didn't seem like a big deal, and all seemed like it could wait. There was an opening available on Thursday, which seemed good since it was just before heading out for the weekend. Done. About a minute later, though, a callback: “We just had a cancellation at 3 today if that will work.” It seemed more inconvenient than Thursday, but I sensed (a vague awareness) I should make the change. Done.

During a hasty lunch a couple of hours later while en route to a meeting, I felt my teeth quake again—and that slight tremor I'd felt during dinner on Sunday evening was a sign of more to come: my crown was about to give way. And sure enough, shockingly while munching something non-crunchy, out it came in one piece.

Freaked out? A bit. But because I had strangely decided to change the appointment from Thursday to that afternoon, my dentist was quickly (and painlessly, thank you very much) able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. In the grand scheme of things, a very small blessing, but very large in its own way.

Since God knows everything, even before it happens, I chose not to believe that it was dumb luck or mere circumstance that it just so happened that the tooth issue was a today issue and not a Thursday issue, and that an unexpected door opened with that 3 p.m. cancellation. Skeptics laugh at that and say it was “just life happening.” Maybe.

But maybe instead it was a reminder that a Sunday morning message is supposed to be more than words, and then you go home, and that's that. There is Power in words, after all, if you look for them and believe.

And not only that, that just as He numbers the very hairs on our head, maybe it was a reminder that there is no life circumstance too small that the God of Love doesn’t care about in our lives.

I think I’ll stand on those maybes. #praiseGodfromwhomallblessingsflow

"God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him. God is great because nothing is too small for Him, either."

—Mark Batterson

Wake Up the Wonder

“…but Mary has chosen the better thing.”—Luke 10:42

Doing stuff big and small is important, even necessary.

Always being ready to have something constructive to say can be just what someone, or some situation, needs.

These are the modus operandi of healthy Christ-ones and the Church.

Right?

Until Jesus walks into the room of our good busy-ness

And drops the mic: 

“Remember, there always needs to be a time and a place for ‘the better thing.’”

Of being contemplative, in a good sort of way.

Not to navel-gaze or become a Monk,

But to cultivate pausing from all the doing and saying of life,

And, as one writer has put it,

To be observant of and attentive to God’s presence

Where “our minds descend into our hearts.*

To be still and know.

Pause. Reset. Breathe.

To step out into a wide open field or walk through a lush woodland;

To take in the color, the sound, the aromas.

To wake up the wonder of ‘Who did this?’

And then especially to remember a line from an old hymn:

“I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me…”

"Let all people stand in awe of the Eternal;

    let every man, woman, and child live in wonder of Him.

For He spoke, and all things came into being…"

    —Psalm 33:8-9, The Voice

To be stopped in our tracks, for once, is never a waste of time.

It is fuel for a life that worships beyond Sunday,

And fuel for returning to the right perspective:

That God is God and I am not

And that’s a very good thing.

* Brad Roth, "God's Country--Faith, Hope, And the Future of the Rural Church"

Seeing God Downtown

“Grace must find expression in life, otherwise, it is not grace.”

—Karl Barth, Swiss theologian

Just as God continually makes Himself known through creation, so, too, does He often speak through things like donkeys and through people who may or may not have any clue they are being His messengers.

Whatever it takes to get our attention, He speaks to us everywhere. Even downtown. You just have to be paying attention, and be ready to be surprised. And take mental notes to carry with you...

“The Lord passed by him and proclaimed, ‘the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…’”—Exodus 34:6, ESV

...Yesterday, I sensed the Lord was passing by at my favorite Saturday morning breakfast spot. Booths and countertop stools were quickly filling, occupied by familiar faces, a local police officer, and other good hometown folks ready (even if yawning) to start their weekend. 

There was one server for all of them. One. Help was on the way, but for now at this early hour, she stood alone. Or rather, scurried about—checking the cash register, filling the coffee makers, going from booth to booth and stool to stool greeting people as best she could, always ready with a nearby pot of coffee.

Five words dominated her conversation: “I’ll be right with you.”

I waited for someone to lose their patience. Never happened. For some, it was a long “I’ll be right with you.” But the universal response—dare it be said, even the heart and “voice” of God inside this downtown restaurant—was ... grace.

If you believe what you see on the news, you'd think the world is a mess because too many people at stores, ballgames, gas stations and slow fast-food lines are complaining, yelling, insulting, and otherwise ugly-manifesting their impatience. The news, of course, tends to paint life situations with way too broad a brush. Because here in this little small-town restaurant—as perhaps in millions of similar places around the globe, every minute of every day—there seemed to be a holy moment of Heaven-sent goodness, even if those participating didn’t have a clue. The stressed server, eyes brimming with tears even through a smile, was instead greeted back with a smile, a laugh, and words of appreciation and encouragement. “No rush. It's not your fault. You’re doing a fantastic job.” Some helped clear their own table of debris and dishes left from the previous guests. One got up and grabbed the coffee pot and began pouring.

Soon, the promised help arrived, everyone exhaled with the server, and laughter and animated conversation was everywhere.

So, that was a cool, and surprising moment. And, yes, it was a common grace on display, something that's deep inside everyone because we're all made in God's image (no matter what anyone believes). But then that reminder: don’t forget to take notes. Don't let the cool and surprising moment just walk by when perhaps God is speaking loudly in it. Because what appeared on the outside to simply be a beautiful picture of common grace may have also been a "pay attention" type-and-shadow reminder of how to live this life as Christ ones: To live and to love others with amazing grace. And the notes were obvious, and quite loud, as the Lord, the Lord passed by with familiar words:

"So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy—set apart, sanctified for His purpose—and well-beloved by God Himself, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper; bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in unselfish love, which is the perfect bond of unity, for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others."—Colossians 3:12-14, Amplified

Heaven is all around us, even downtown. Look, take notes, and live….Selah.

“We should be so joyful from God's grace that others would respond by saying, 'I wish I had your God.'”

—Francis Chan

Following Your Dreams

"Great moves of God are usually preceded by simple acts of obedience."—Steven Furtick

On one of those restless nights when it seemed like dreams were changing as quickly and randomly as people’s Stories on Facebook, I saw a page of a notebook that said in bold letters: Luke IX.

Huh. So out of curiosity, I turned to it when I got up, and nothing really jumped out except the opening passages about Jesus sending out His 12 guys into the world. Because I was reminded all over again that I think it really strange that Jesus—the most thoughtful, wise, and intelligent person to ever walk the earth—tells them to take nothing for the journey.

Nothing? Why? Makes absolutely no sense.

And then, a surprising response: Instead of going down that brain-pretzel rabbit hole one more time as I re-re-re-read those Master instructions, I found my pen writing two words in the margin:

Maybe the disciples were overthinking it. Maybe Jesus knew their minds were going, “When I’m prepared and other stuff is out of the way, when I’m ready and stocked up with faith, when I feel secure with the words that come out of my mouth, when the time is right…then, we go.”

Always looking for a safety net, just in case.

Maybe them is me,

And maybe these instructions aren’t at all about relying on sensible preparedness. Maybe the Master’s call to “go” is instead an encouragement to fight the natural tendencies of going through the motions of life, of hesitancy, of waiting for the perfect moment…that never comes.

"Go" doesn’t have to be to a land far away, or to throw yourself into some huge mission. But instead, to be faithful and naturally supernatural right where you are. Kind of like where Jesus sent the Twelve.

To begin each day at the beginning, at the door, with keys and coffee in hand. To become intentional about cultivating purposefulness in direction every single morning. To pursue bold wisdom: “God, You know I’ve got plans, and to-dos and obligations, but what seemingly small or even life-changing thing do You want me to see, hear, think, do and be along the way?”...

“Wisdom is a gift from a generous God.

And every word He speaks is full of revelation

And becomes a fountain of understanding within you.

For the Lord has a hidden storehouse of wisdom

Made assessable to His godly lovers.

He becomes your personal bodyguard as you follow His ways

Protecting and guarding you as you choose what is right.”

—Proverbs 2:6-8, Passion

Follow your dreams. Just go….