When Those Guys is Us Guys

“No one calls on Your Name or strives to lay hold of You.”—Isaiah 64:7

Biblical zingers like this aren't always directed at the unrepentant, rebels, Pharisees and Sadducees, and people-who-smoke-and-chew. In fact, just about every time we're thinking, "yeah,those guys," God is prone to reply, “Hmmm. Anything hit close to home?”

Unrepentant, maybe not, but OK yes, we sure do like hanging out with its cousin Stubborn. And we can hardly help ourselves. It’s an attraction that’s been engrained deep within from birth (thank you, Eden), with roots deeper still simply by being an American, and double-knotted if you are a New Englander. A nicer word for it, or so we'd like to think, is “self-sufficiency”—which certainly has its merits for many things in life.

But not in the Kingdom of God, where roots of “one another,” and "My grace is sufficient for you," and “trust in the Lord” are deeper still and endless. And beautiful and rich.

And yet how often do we claim to walk with the One who does “awesome things that we did not expect” (verse 3), over and over again—and yet more often than we’d like to admit, we don’t lay hold of all that?  Or of Him? At least not right away. Because when things aren't working out the way we'd like, and "nothing is happening!," and God seems to be nowhere in sight, it's surprising how often all of that will be rooted in trying to be self-sufficient in serving, in attitude, and in pursuing the seemingly noble things of fixing stuff, and people, and patterns, and bad habits. On our own.

Condemnation? Nope. Much-needed course correction? Yup. Us guys. And every five minutes, actually.

Lord, thank You that Your Words aren't merely wonderful words of life, but that they also lovingly and surgically pierce the heart for our good. And that for every passage that seems to be directed at ‘those guys,’ healing, strength, wisdom, and perseverance awaits any one of Your kids who would swallow hard and confront the course correction that might be staring us right in the face—the one whose anthem is...

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; prone to leave the One I love. Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it—

seal it for Thy courts above…

...so that we would increasingly live and strive to lay hold of You (in spite of ourselves) at the dawn of each new day.

Even So, 'But Go!'...

“He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee.’ There you will see Him, just as He told you.”—Mark 16:6-7

This morning, and the 51 other Resurrection Days to come, we who consider ourselves Christ-ones are reawakened to the mind-boggling reality of the greatest victory…ever. There has never been a more joyous triumph—because unlike even the most amazing and exhilarating sporting events or personal accomplishments, the eternal joy of the reality of the Resurrection never fades or becomes diminished with time or fleeting memory. Death and hopelessness met Love, and were destroyed once and for all. And what could possibly be better news than that?

The “He is risen!” of the angel shouts that not only was the cross not the end of the story, but that the One who is very much alive is God Himself who was, and is, and is to come. Just as He said it would be, over and over and over again. He is still the One who became flesh and “moved into the neighborhood.” He is still God with us, and yet so much more—now Christ in us, the hope of His glory before a world in need of more hope than ever.

Eternal reality is one thing. Living it out is another. And on those days (sometimes weeks) when the cares and stresses of life are compounded by an accelerating unraveling in every corner of the world, it’s good to remember that God has great patience, encouragement, and a relentless Resurrection-living call on our lives, no matter how imperfect and weak our faith may be at times.

In fact, according to the Gospel of Mark, here’s the kind of week the very first ones who followed Christ in person had during His last days physically on earth:

 

They fell asleep when they should have been alert

They deserted Him when they said they wouldn’t

They ran home where it was safer

They followed at a distance hoping no one would notice

They caved in to public opinion

And even on this day at the empty tomb, they doubted, were filled with confusion

And ran some more

And some 2000+ years later, we have all, at one time or another, sung together: “Owned the t-shirt factory!”

All the more reason why Resurrection morning is a reminder to “but go….” and join the weak-of-faith who’ve gone before us at Galilee, to worship with renewed awe, wonder, and joy even if hounded by the tiniest of doubts and fears, and to be reminded of our purpose in this lifetime—and especially that the strength for the journey is His anyway:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations….and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

"The point of your life is to point to Him.

Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified, because this whole thing is His."—Francis Chan

Best Resume Ever

The Lord, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, and maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin."--Exodus 34:5-7

Praise, in its purest form, is focusing on God's resume....and that can make all the difference in the world.

"Find hope when all the world seems lost

Behold, the triumph of the cross

His power has trampled death and grave

Our life found in His Name, the greatest Name of all..."

--Joel Houston & Jonas Myrin

"Who, me?"

“Through thick and thin, keep your hearts at attention, in adoration before Christ, your Master. Be ready to speak up and tell anyone who asks why you’re living the way you are, and always with the utmost courtesy.”–1 Peter 3:15, Message

This is not comfortable, but it is undeniable: The Gospel is shared not by osmosis and good vibes but by opening our mouths. We much prefer the option of "Preach the gospel at all times, and use words if necessary." Except that St. Francis of Assisi never said that, never lived that way. There is simply no way around this. Most people won’t know the Good News by mere good example; at some point, someone has to declare it.

And that would be?.... Well, scripture seems pretty clear that this is not the sole task of the pastor or evangelist, or the well-schooled or extroverted. Instead, as a pastor friend once put it:

“Proclaiming the Gospel really comes down to telling your story and letting God do the rest.”

After all, God has ordained that praise come from the lips of children and infants as an instrument of life and light to silence the darkness of this world—and are we not His kids? 

"Yes, but…"

It is good to remember that two of the most significant outpourings of the Holy Spirit were not for personal edification or to be enjoyed within the four walls of a fellowship hall, but were for boldness to enable those who didn’t think they had it in them to speak the Good News with heavenly power and authority, but also with grace and courtesy.

It is also good to know that the Bible is full of heroes of the faith whose first response was either “Who, me?” or “Please send someone else.” And yet, God empowered them for the mission at hand.  Even so today, with the sand in the hour glass seemingly rushing down to the last few grains, God has not changed His modus operandi. The time has never been better for story-telling—a conversation, a letter to a friend—fueled by another fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit….

“I desire to do Your will, O my God;

Your law is within my heart.

I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly,

I do not seal my lips, as You know, O Lord.

I do not hide Your righteousness in my heart;

I speak of Your faithfulness and salvation.

I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly.”

—Psalm 40:8-10

Heaven's Songs on Earth

“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”—Psalm 145:3

One Day, there will be the greatest “Hymn Sing” of all hymn sings, when individual shout-outs from beautiful, countless multitudes will request their favorite:

“Psalm 23, what else?!”

“Psalm 84, because Your dwelling place is indeed more beautiful than words!”

“Psalm 119! …Hey, why not? We’ve got the time, and this is definitely the place!” [heavenly crickets]

“OK then, how about Psalm 117!?”

And while aliens just passing through this dry and weary land, here are three good reasons why Psalm 145 might be one of the most requested numbers in that great hymn-fest on the streets of gold:

Because we can’t remember what we had for lunch three hours ago, or why we just walked down the hall into that room to get, um, well… this song shouts the one theme we may need more than any other in this Walk: “Remember! Remember!....the LORD is trustworthy in all His promises and faithful in all He does!”

Because it is too easy to try to do this Walk solo, to the tune of “I’ve Got This”….this song shouts instead “one generation commends Your works to another”—yes, even, that the younger can sometimes say the most encouraging things to the older without even realizing it, and put a much-needed “keep going!” spring of Hope in their step.

Because in a special effects-filled, noisy, bigger-and-better(?)-and-bigger-still world, where the mind and heart can’t help but become numb to true awesomeness….this song shouts reminders that our God and Savior is so far above all of that we see and think, that it sometimes takes a wonderfully crazy combination of ultimate words to come close to expressing our praise. Word combos like “glorious splendor.” Who knows what that is, exactly, but it sure sounds like the psalmist has thrown down a fantastic special-effects trump card.

Lord, each day until that Day, lead us not into small words and small-minded thoughts of who You are, but help us more and more to “Remember! Remember!” Your faithfulness and unfailing love with the highest, abandoned praise and deepest, humble reverence. And never let us forget that some of the most encouraging, just-in-time words You speak to us on this journey may come from the most unlikely of places—even out of the mouth of a child.

“Everyday I will praise

For You open Your hand

And satisfy the desires of all things

My God, the King” 
—Shane Barnard

Fuel Carriers

"Feed My lambs...."
"Take care of My sheep...."
"Feed My sheep..."
    —John 21:15-17

It can be easy to nod as these words glide by and think they are on their way to those with a pastoral calling. But this entire Great Adventure is full-time ministry as we go about our day—and all participants, not just pastors and church leaders, are given the t-shirt. And among other things, these sheep-ish words are a reminder to snap out of something just about every one of us is prone to do:

Keep stuff to ourselves.

It's one thing to take in and take in and take in through the Word, books, podcasts, and sermons. It's another to become contentedly spiritually stuffed and doze off. The high calling is to give it away as God prompts and nudges—a simple word of wisdom gleaned from a past experience or trial, a heaven-sent download jotted down somewhere in a notebook, an affirmation of one of God's unshakeable promises learned not from going to seminary but because you've seen, felt, and tasted it to be true.

Without throwing discernment out the window, it's good to know it's always the right season to "feed" our fellow trekkers with fuel for the Journey—whether they are lambs in age, experience, or maturity...or older, seasoned, and perhaps a bit too settled sheep (like ourselves, maybe?).

And not only that, someday soon—maybe even today—you'll be at your wit's end, running on empty, and grateful to know that some other lamb or sheep on the Journey took these words to heart, too, and had some fuel to share at just the right time.

"Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." —1 Thessalonians 5:11

Exit Ramp

“…and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey,  sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.”—John 4:6

There are lots of action words that come with being a Christ-one, like “go” and “come” and “follow” and “be.” But it’s good to know that one of the most important and energizing ones of them all might be....

“Pause.”

(And not only that, you never know what life-changing conversation may come up while in the midst of doing seemingly not much at all.)