Good Tools Handed Down

Dad and me back in the day. Nothing like the grip of a father's arms...Selah.

Originally published October 2016

Yesterday started out like many a Saturday morning around the homestead: Up early because I have farmer's blood in my veins, some rugged coffee, a check of the headlines and a good dose of some good Words, a hearty breakfast where the locals hang out, then off to the recycling center, the hardware store, and a bunch of other chores around the house. I used to think I had to defend this satisfying routine whenever anyone asked "so, what did you do this weekend?" But no more. It's good to rest in the fact that life doesn't have to be complex and busy to be simply good.

But in the midst of the beautiful routine yesterday came an unusual jolt of a beautiful "and to remind you." A gray and damp late fall day, with most of the hardwoods partially naked except for a scattering of yellows and browns, and woodsmoke in the air, somehow brought me back several decades to Saturday mornings with dad. This is where and how he spent his Saturday mornings, too, complete with pipe smoke and the aroma of sawdust from his workshop where he had seemingly endless fix-its and cool projects. Even at that grade school age, I learned many lifetime lessons and habits by watching what dad did, and how he did it. Never really got the hang of being adept at fix-its and projects, but I know the reason I have a clean desk at work at the end of the day is because on dad's workbench, every nail type had its can, and every screw its jar so that he'd know just where to find what he needed the next time.

And to keep the routine and fix-its and projects straight, dad always had a list. Sometimes, there'd be a lengthy list near his workbench, with most of the items crossed off. A few long-range tasks remained. And so, whether on paper, on a laptop doc, or in my head, to this day there is nothing like that universally felt rush of accomplishment whenever I can cross something of "the list."

But amidst the damp fall morning, the routine, the sawdust, and orderly workbench and lists, also came a reminder of how dad followed Jesus in a very practical and meaningful way, and how he modeled being a servant to God and others long before I understood what that meant. Because there are some things in life for which dad made a list that were never meant to be crossed off or erased, but to be walked out over and over again.

Things Jesus said and did.

Things He said and did only because His Father was saying and doing them.

Things His first followers saw Him do in the routine of their days, and wrote down for our benefit for the routine of our days some 2000 years later.

Things dad embraced, just like he felt the arms of his Father around him in the day-to-day.

Things like this:

• "Love others well, and don’t hide behind a mask; love authentically.
• "Despise evil; pursue what is good as if your life depends on it.
• "Live in true devotion to one another, loving each other as sisters and brothers.
• "Be first to honor others by putting them first.
• "Do not slack in your faithfulness and hard work.
• "Let your spirit be on fire, bubbling up and boiling over, as you serve the Lord.
• "Do not forget to rejoice, for hope is always just around the corner.
• "Hold up through the hard times that are coming, and devote yourselves to prayer.
• "Share what you have with the saints, so they lack nothing;
• "Take every opportunity to open your life and home to others."

(Romans 12:9-13, The Voice)

Good tools handed down...and passed along as a baton...

Football, Mom and the 'It'

(Photo: Charismanews.com)

"I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord!' And now, here we are, standing inside your gates, O Jerusalem." (Psalm 122:1, New Living Translation)

Among the many things the pandemic has revealed is something God has been trying to get through to us believers for centuries: worship of the living God is not confined to a sometimes closed or quasi-opened building. We are all mobile temples who carry His presence in us and with us wherever we go. We were meant to worship God at any time, anywhere. But at the same time, God also designed the purposeful gathering of His family in a particular location to be something akin to a stick of dynamite. It's "where the tribes go up"— different people from different neighborhoods, backgrounds, and interests with one common purpose, to...

...Worship the Lord who alone gives us life and breath and everything else we need.

Whether spaced apart and with masks on now or shoulder to shoulder once more when the pandemic passes, sparks of goodness and encouragement and faith-building occur when iron sharpens iron, elbows rub elbows, and completely different people who may never hang out with one another on a regular basis are of one mind about the incredible, daily reality of the living God working in their lives. It’s what happens when the dynamite Spirit of the living God swoops in and galvanizes it all, refreshing and re-energizing a bunch of imperfect people to go out the door and be the Church again for another week, wherever that may be.

If we’re not careful, though, doing all of that every Sunday can become routine and begin to feel like you’re going through the motions. Good. Not bad. But mostly feeling like you’re doing your Christian thing. Life gets messy and can preoccupy.  And then, “Oh look, here comes another Monday… “And sometimes, you’re reminded that it also means dealing with, well, people, and the idea of avoiding that can sound really appealing.

And so God invented football! And Super Bowl Sunday is a good day to be awakened and even humbled a bit….

Because millions of people really love football. They can't wait for Sunday. They think about "it" all week long, even in the midst of their daily stresses and routine. "It" keeps them going until that hour on Sunday afternoon when they can either enter the building with thousands of others or enter it vicariously through a 48-inch flat screen. The "it" of the game may mean one thing to one fan and another thing to someone else, but whatever "it" is, "it" has captivated their collective attention, stirred their expectancy and anticipation, and they cannot wait.

Whenever the whole idea of gathering in a building or joining the tribe online on any given Sunday feels a bit routine, it is good to think of the expectancy of the football fan. Better than that, unlike football, it is good to know that there is one very definable and powerful "it" that believers can always cling to and that should jolt alive any ho-hum Sunday into a day of worship expectancy and anticipation:

The cross and the empty tomb.

Even though none of us may ever fully understand the mystery of it all in this lifetime, when worship/church routine tries to creep in, all we have to do is look to the cross once more. That's “it!" Because through that cross, and Jesus' final gasping words on behalf of all who would believe — “It is finished! — something more amazing than the best football game ever played took place: the veil of separation between us and God was ripped open once and for all. Not only that, we are no longer destined for an eternity of death because the Savior of the world didn’t stay in the tomb but rose to life again and went back Home to be with His Father. And to this very day, He continues to intercede for us as we go on our daily journey.

This grandest of all “it” means we can regularly and always be in God's presence in every situation, and can approach Him with boldness and confidence. Every single minute of every single day... the God who always says "Yes" to His own promises, the God who has and still does the impossible, for Whom nothing is too difficult, and Who is the God of all comfort and wisdom.

I am reminded of my mom in her golden years, when walking and standing too long were painful and slow. It would take her forever to get from the car to her seat in church each Sunday, but nothing was going to stop her. And when the songs of praise and worship began, she wanted to be helped to her feet so she could grab the chair in front of her with one hand and have the other free for expressing her love for Jesus…

"Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe”…it’s more than a great song to sing, it’s a battle cry to follow the lead of the endlessly passionate football fan (and my mom)  and always be eager to worship with our very lives, both together and one-on-one, every single Sunday and especially all the Mondays-through-Saturdays to come. 

"Salvation is not mainly the forgiveness of sins, but mainly the fellowship of Jesus. Forgiveness gets everything out of the way so this can happen. If this fellowship is not all-satisfying, there is no great salvation. If Christ is gloomy, or evenly calmly stoical, eternity will be a long, long sigh." —John Piper

A Firehouse Parable

No matter how old you are, there seem to be certain snapshots from your childhood that are seared in your memory. You know. The ones that were so traumatic at the time and that the enemy to this day still tries to use to get you to doubt the goodness of God. Not to be outdone, however, God uses the same snapshots to, as a modern song says, “take what the enemy meant for evil and turn them for good.”...

When I was about 5, I had lots of fun memories of following my dad to the town fire station on Saturday mornings. Big trucks that made a lot of noise. Marveling at the size of hoses. The chicken barbecues and the auctions. And because dad was a captain with the department, there was one Saturday that topped them all—when I got to ride in the cab when he went to pick up the new pumper. I remember the feeling of being high above the ground and on top of the world.

Then one Saturday, while mom was out shopping, the fire alarm sounded. Dad had to go. And I had to go with him. Up to a point. When we got to the firehouse, he said I couldn’t come with him this time but that he’d be back soon. The sirens, the commotion, guys racing to get their gear on, and then disappearing down the road was scary enough—but not as scary as being left alone by dad. But I was never really alone because he put me in the care of a family friend who was station manager for the day. He gave me peanuts and a soda and we turned on the black and white TV to watch cartoons as a distraction that worked really well. He stayed right there with me until dad came back just as he promised, picked me up high and hugged me tightly….

This was a Divine set-up, long before I knew who Jesus was or why I should give my life to follow Him. Because while the enemy has many times since tried to take that snapshot to remind me that this is a scary world and you are on your own to figure it out, God inspired the writing of John 14 as the ultimate reinforcement of the promise that just the opposite is true.

The microwave version is this: After spending three amazing years with Jesus, filled with adventures and wide-eyed wonders, there in an upper room on the night He was to be betrayed, the fire alarm of Time’s fulfillment sounded:

“I have to go, and you can’t come with me right now.”

“Wait. Where are You going, and why, and when are You coming back?” 

“I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you.”

“And I will give you Someone who will take care of you and guide you and remind you of everything I said until I get back.”

Fear of the unknown is real. Fear of things seeming to be out of control is real. It’s part of being human. But you can feed the fear by believing the 24/7 news cycle and people’s scary and screaming posts on your social media feed, or you can choose to turn fear to ever-increasing faith by remembering that no matter how you feel or how it may look, God never leaves you alone to figure out life by yourself. Ever.

And on those days when you feel like a little kid who has been left at the fire station, it’s better to remember that:

“He brings out the starry host one by one

And calls them each by name

Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”—Isaiah 40:26

And…

“You hem me in—behind and before;

You have laid Your hand upon me…

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?”—Psalm 139:5, 7

And so then…

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified …for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

—Deuteronomy 31:6

Adventures in Attitude

Photo by Victor Freitas from Pexels

“After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!”—2 Corinthians 2:11, Message

One day this week, I stopped walking past the mess that kept saying “it can wait until another day when I have more time and nothing better to do.” With a bucket of cleaner, a long-handled brush, a ladder and a hose, the years of buildup of mildew on the north side of the house and garage disappeared faster and easier than my mind kept telling me it would.

On another day, I stopped digging in my heels in irritation over someone else’s last minute plans that were tossed in my lap that kept singing, “It’s all about you, and this is a total inconvenience and I hate it and so I’m going to grumble on the inside about it until I feel better.” Which, of course, you never do. And so taking the opposite approach of honoring and serving, something strange happened—there was no inconvenience, the day zoomed by fruitfully, and I felt better than my mind could have imagined.

And then yesterday, determined to keep my running schedule on track in spite of pouring rain, I stopped the urge to turn back after the first quarter-mile, already soaked to the bone and miserable and hearing an increasingly louder voice, “Just give up already!” One step in front of the other. And then again, and again, and again until I no longer felt the carwash-like downpour and completed a 5K in a mind-blowing fastest time in weeks.

It seemed like a bunch of nice little personal achievements. Which they were. Until you also realized that all those voices of negativity—“it can wait,” “it’s all about you,” “give up”—were simply typical “sly ways” of the adversary to render your life and witness ineffective, and at the same time, the Holy Spirit may have been working in ways you couldn’t have imagined at the time….

“…be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind—focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes—so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you.”—Romans 12:2, Amplified

...We can get locked into the idea that renewing our mind is all about fighting to absorb scripture and Truth into your skin day by day. That’s definitely a big part of it. But just as important in the battle against giving the adversary an opening to cause mischief in our lives is to fight for the right attitude, to “take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.” (Ephesians 4:23, Message)

Even and especially in the seemingly routine things of life.

“We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Our attitude is everything.”—Chuck Swindoll

What Difference Does it Make?

Photo: Suliman Sallehi, pexels.com

Let the Word of Christ..."richly inhabit your lives." (Colossians 3:16, The Voice)

While going about what was an otherwise normal day at work not long ago, writing business-related articles about people and processes and achievements, there was an earthquake.

Over a word choice.

What I thought was a harmless and actually very appropriate word to describe someone’s positive contribution to a situation wound up offending that person and a colleague.

Their email made me go “whaaaat?” A change in word choice was expected.

And because it’s what humans tend to do when they go on the defensive,

I was ready for an all-too-familiar reflex:

To dig in, to defend myself, to be offended by their offense.

Which never goes anywhere good.

To my surprise, I didn’t go there

This time.

“What is this strange feeling I’m feeling?”

And I realized that the word that came to mind to describe this person’s admirable quality was a word prominently found in the Gospels.

All from that reading, both because “you need to” and because you want to,

But sometimes, wondering “what difference does it make, practically?”

Until I also realized that the word that rolled out of my brain and into type that day was a natural reflex,

A "richly inhabit"

An overflow of that which was now living within me from “all that reading” and through the mysterious power of the Spirit...

“For the Word of God is alive and powerful…”

—Hebrews 4:12, NLT

...And on this day, that same Word didn’t get hung up on words.

Instead, it took the temptation to be defensive and turned it on its head:

Humility. Grace.

(What the world needs now.)

“No offense intended, I’ll make the change.”

Which was met by grace—and, as a result, peace—in return.

It is always a good thing to pray, as you head out the door, things like:

“Lord, help me to carry Your light into work today”

But while we may be thinking some really big things

Often, it is the little things God uses to answer that prayer that carry the biggest light—for others, and especially for your own encouragement on this Journey.

It’s not always pleasant or full of acceptance,

But this Word, these Words, make a difference.

And these Words of life that will come out of your pores from all that reading

Matter.

And will change you, bit by bit.

This Life is not stuck in a Book.

This Life is practical and for real, and fully meant to be lived…

Way beyond Sunday.

Selah

“Sometimes, we are called to experience rejection for the Son of God living in us. When we carry the cross of Christ, the world and even our families sometimes look at us as though we have a few marbles out of place. A miracle [salvation] often has a cost. But it is the seed for something imperishable. It is the seed of Eternity in our hearts.”—Os Hillman

Pick Up Your Tent

Photo: Cliford Mervil

“Now Moses used to take his own tent and pitch it outside the camp, far away from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting—of God with His own people…And so the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his attendant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.”—Exodus 33: 7,11, Amplified

Sometimes, God can “show up” to us in the “tent” of church in a powerful, meaningful and intimate way, and though we’d rather stay, the “camp” of the world beckons. It would be great to be Joshua—to never have to be in a rush to leave the goodness of God’s presence. But for every Sunday when life’s demands—a job, a family reunion, the yard work that didn’t get done on Saturday because of the rain—require you and I to scoot out the door of the “tent” of church and back to the “camp” of this world to face them, there is good news in this passage.

That’s what happened with Moses. But being in the tent wasn’t a thing to check off his list. Even though he couldn’t stay, it was still his fuel for life. And the takeaway for us when life gets nuts and we have to scoot out the door of the tent is to remember and take to heart what Moses says a few verses later:

“If Your presence does not go with us,

do not send us up from here.”

It is good to remember that God’s presence is not trapped in tents or buildings. And on those Sundays when we reluctantly have to scoot, and even when we don’t, we can always take the songs, the prayers, the Word, the holy stillness and the holy roar of the tent—take them all with us into the craziness.

His Name is “God with us,” and God is and wants to be with us just as powerfully in the camp of life as He is in the tent of meeting.

Some things we can’t be reminded of enough.

“If we are to be effective in anything we do for the Lord, the Lord must be in the midst of it. Unless the Lord’s power is seen among us, we will be just another person who has religion. Unless we manifest His life to others, they will see only good behavior that is easily counterfeited by moral people.”—Os Hillman

The Roar of Small Waves

“I will keep coming with waves of My presence upon you until I make you in to all that I have destined you to be…”—from a prophetic prayer by Jim Goll

While walking the beach the other day, I was suddenly aware of the line from an old hymn: “This is my Father’s world…He speaks to me everywhere.”

But here? Right now? On vacation?

And what exactly should I be listening for?

There were no Bible verses in the sand.

No praying hand cloud formations.

No angelic chorus announcing the sun glistening off the water.

Nothing.

Except kids and family laughing and splashing, the sound of surf licking the shore, and an occasional hungry seagull.

And then my eyes, not my ears, caught something:

A lone surfer, patiently and joyfully riding the very small waves,

Paddling out into the deeper water and catching the next roll of surf

Over and over again.

At one point, a small boy approached and the two shared a brief and happily animated discussion before the surfing delight continued.

It was hard not to stop and stare, but then deep inside, I heard something:

"Keep riding with the waves of the Spirit, even when they seem small 

The key word is with: abide in the Vine—apart from Me you can do nothing. 

Keep going deeper still into My goodness and strength, 

And keep a childlike heart of wonder and joy in the journey 

Even when things and life and stuff seem small 

Even if most people are not paying attention 

Or would rather spectate from a safe distance. 

It is your faithfulness in riding the waves of My faithfulness,

Even when they seem small, that matters. 

Because I AM huge, but I AM mostly in your small stuff. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength 

And your great reward. 

And if you fall along the way (and you will),

Just get back on and keep riding. 

With me."

"I pray that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may comprehend the hope to which he has called you, what are the rich benefits of his glorious inheritance among the saints…”

—Ephesians 1:18, Mounce Reverse Interlinear New Testament

“This is my Father’s world…He speaks to me everywhere.”

Even on vacation.

Even when listening means opening your eyes

And simply asking.

A Bold Reflection

“That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency…”—Acts 2:14, The Message

As amazing and out-of-this-world as these things were—tongues of fire, a mighty rushing wind, many voices speaking in languages only understood by the hearers—maybe the most amazing takeaway about the move of the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost was this:

Boldness.

Boldness to stand up and live out all that Jesus has taught and modeled.

Boldness to conquer all of the other-Peter moments, seen only a few days earlier, that can be ruled by

fear, compromise, and wanting to blend in under cultural pressure,

No matter how determined I am that I would never-ever.

Boldness, when all the highs of a holy moment fade away, to fight complacency and daily live out a simple, naturally supernatural kind of life:

Devouring the Word daily as a meal 

Hanging out regularly with other believers in a purposeful, encouraging, joyful way 

Praying. Together, alone, and along the way of the route—A nonstop conversation with the One who made us for such a time as this

Contending for humility and harmony 

Living simply, giving generously 

Worshiping every day, in song and in deed and in attitude 

Living the Life wherever I go: At church where it is safe, at home where I can shut the door on the world, and especially in places where I can be seen 

Being continually, outwardly, publicly grateful and praising God for it all.

And to remember that I cannot possibly do any of that without being continually filled with a Pentecost moment;

To not once-and-done but continually let the Wind and Fire of God’s presence empower me

To boldly reflect the One I follow

To simply be faithful in the moment, every moment,

Until whenever He returns, as if "whenever" is in the next five minutes.

#bolddoesnotalwaysmeanloud

“There’s no economy class Holy Spirit. He only comes fully equipped. He is loaded, full of power and glory. And He wants to be seen as He is—in us.”

—Bill Johnson, “When Heaven Invades Earth”

The Lord Is...

…Not could be, might be, perhaps under certain conditions, or in theory. Is. When the Bible says, and says so countless times and in countless ways, that “God is…” or “The Lord is…” it means just what it means in everyday life:

To “be.” 

Some definitions say it even better, with clarifying words like “present.” The Lord is…as in not a far-off, aloof, go-figure-it-out-yourself-and-call-if-you-need-anything God, but a “God with us” 24/7 God. And then there are some jaw-dropping "is" synonyms that are much more than just clarifying words...

Abide

Act

Breathe

Continue

Do

Endure

Hold

Inhabit

Last

Live

Move

Obtain

Persist

Prevail

Remain

Rest

Stand

Stay

Words can be amazing. But a picture paints a thousand words. And so the veil of familiarity and casual head-nodding dissolves once and for all while hiking through favorite brookside woods and fields. The accompaniment, which seems to come out of nowhere (yeah, right), is a familiar Psalm but set to a different tune…

"The Lord is…my best friend and my shepherd.

I always have more than enough.

He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love.

His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.

That’s where He restores and revives my life.

He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure
and leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name.

Lord, even when Your path takes me through

the valley of deepest darkness,

fear will never conquer me, for You already have!

You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way.

Your authority is my strength and my peace.

The comfort of Your love takes away my fear.

I’ll never be lonely, for You are near...

...You become my delicious feast

even when my enemies dare to fight.

You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit;

You give me all I can drink of You until my heart overflows.

So why would I fear the future?

For Your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life.

Then afterward, when my life is through,

I’ll return to Your glorious presence to be forever with You!"....

“I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  - Revelation 1:8