Servant Leadership

I have been alive long enough to witness many kinds of leadership styles. I have seen the leaders with what seem to be surgically attached suits, neatly coiffed hair, toting a briefcase and having the ever-present smile and handshake. I have seen the ones who bark out orders. I have witnessed the ones who try and satisfy everyone and "keep the peace." I have been around the ones who take a "hands-off" approach, allowing those they lead much leverage to do as they see fit. I have heard about, or read about, all kinds of approaches, styles, principles, and experiences for all kinds of situations.

One principle that I believe never changes: A God-led leader is a servant.

Take a look at 1 Kings 12, excerpts taken from The Message. When the new king, Reheboam, heard from the people about the work-loads and lightening up on them in comparison with his father, Solomon, he sought the advice of his father's experienced advisors. They told him, "If you will be a servant to this people, be considerate of their needs and respond with compassion, work things out with them, they'll end up doing anything for you" (verse 7).

He didn't like that. He grew up in Solomon's household. He liked the stuff those workloads resulted in. So, he went to his friends. They told him, "Tell them this: 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. If you think life under my father was hard, you haven't seen the half of it. My father thrashed you with whips; I'll beat you bloody with chains'" (verse 11).

Reheboam followed the advice of the latter and instantly lost the 4/5 of the kingdom he inherited from Solomon. Eight tribes wound up under Jereboam's control, a man whom Solomon tried to assassinate. But Reheboam, rather than follow the advise of the prophet who addressed him in 1 Kings 11, took an equally selfish tact as Reheboam from a different angle. He thought to himself, "It won't be long before the kingdom is reunited under David. As soon as these people resume worship at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, they'll start thinking of Reheboam king of Judah as their ruler. Then they'll kill me and go back to Reheboam" (verses 26-27). Jereboam wound up building two golden calves, telling the people that these were the gods that led them out of Egypt. He built shrines, and designed festivals to replace those God had required people to follow in Jerusalem.

Two leadership styles were on display, while only one was advised by God: (1) Autocratic, intimidating leadership; and (3) God-led, servant leadership. Two are self-absorbed, while the third is self-less. Two view leadership as ownership or manipulation, while the third sees leadership as stewardship.

Servant leaders have the best interests of people in mind. They see their responsibilities as stewards of whatever God has given them leadership over. They put a God-given vision before people and serve people to help them accomplish it. They respond to people, and they are compassionate. They work things out rather than tell people what to do. People love to work with a servant leader because they know that a servant leader has their back.

My desire is to be a servant leader. I know there are hiccups along the way, because there will always be that foolish advisor in the back of my head telling me to do it differently. I feel it is crucial for servant leaders to thus surround themselves with others who hold them accountable to God's vision for their leadership and to being a servant. My ultimate goal as a servant leader is to be led by God to serve as Christ served people.

Lead by self-ambition, intimidation, or placation, reap rebellion. Lead by serving, lead to God, and reap peace and prosperity that builds up people and honors God.

War!

A day that will "live in infamy"--December 7, 1942, the day that the Empire of Japan bombed the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Such an act was unmistakeable. This was war!

September 11, 2001--the day in my lifetime that I have vivid memories of that will also "live in infamy." It was a declaration of a different type of war, and really a war that had been ongoing and remains ongoing.

In war, there is very little middle-ground. Oh sure, there will always be countries who remain "neutral," even in a "World" war that may directly affect them. We get the phrase, "I'm Switzerland here," during conflicts as a testament to determined neutrality.

There are times, however, when taking a stand, and taking a side, becomes necessary. Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 12. Take a look, from The Message, at Verse 30: "This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side, you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse."

The acts and the teachings of Jesus in Matthew very much revolve around the Kingdom of God. As such, Jesus's very living presence in the world was an invasion, a frontal attack on the enemy, Satan, on his "home turf." His weapons were very non-conventional:

• Teaching people
• Healing people
• Casting out demons
• Decreeing justice and hope.

Where people stumbled in the ignorance of Satan's devising, Jesus taught the truth, lifting the veil of ignorance. Where people suffered under the results of sin--sickness, injustice, hopelessness--Jesus fought with healing and decreeing justice, giving hope where there was none. Where Satan controlled people, inhabiting and torturing them, Jesus cast him and his legions out, freeing them from unimaginable oppression.

This was His Father's will. "I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations... Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers" (from verses 15-21).

When you choose the side of Jesus--and remember, being a non-combatant is not an option--he even calls you family. "Obedience is thicker than blood," he says in verse 50.

Christ has declared war on the enemy of souls. He calls on us to join his side, to even fight with him. Here's the good news: The enemy may still fight, but he is defeated. Even a dead snake can bite you, but... he's dead! You can only be bitten by a dead snake if you put yourself under his nose.

Christ teaches us... do the will of the Father. Teach people of the character of our God of love and His desire to have us in His family. Extend the touch of Jesus, believing that He works through us as we do this. Speak love, hope, and justice into someone's life and do what you can to deliver these things. 

The defeated enemy fights and wants you to share in his defeat. The victor fights and wants you in His eternal family. Seems like the choice is clear.

Success: What you want? Or what God intends?

"You can be anything you want!"

"Hard work pays!"

"Go after the church/lifestyle/home you want!"

Some of that sounds good, doesn't it? We pump our kids full of messages of success and how success is achieved all during their growing years. We encourage hard work and determination. We build up a limitless bank of opportunities available to them.

I sometimes wonder if the messages we send to our children are the kinds of messages Solomon received. He was raised a prince, a future king. He was given wisdom beyond what any other human would ever experience. He could, literally, do whatever he wanted. He knew that he was going to be the king one day, inheriting a fabulous monarchy established by his father, David.

It all seemed to be going well. He was sought after for his wisdom, admired for his wealth and his unique ability to obtain it. Dignitaries sought him for his counsel and knowledge in many areas. By all accounts, he had it made and was blessed!

Then comes 1 Kings 11. I think of a couple of overused cliches. "The higher they climb, the further they fall," for instance. Solomon was "obsessed with women." He married women from all the nations surrounding Israel, nations who worshipped false gods, nations God expressly commanded Israel to have little to do with (or even to destroy, originally). God's own Name was to be protected, and Israel was to bless by showing the true God to be different than these false deities that required horrific things of their worshippers. He was to be attractive for His goodness and love, for the value of human dignity and His creation, and for the promise of redeeming the world in a way no other god was able.

But Solomon fell. God said to him, "I'm going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won't do it in your lifetime."

To the one to whom 10 of the tribes was to be given, Jereboam, was given the promise that was very similar to what was given to David and to Solomon: "If you listen to what I tell you and live the way I show you and do what pleases me, following directions and obeying orders as my servant David did, I'll stick with you no matter what. I'll build you a kingdom as solid as the one I built for David. Israel will be yours! I am bringing pain and trouble on David's descendants, but the trials won't last forever."

Assimilation to surrounding influences outside of God's directives and community is a dangerous game to play. Playing political games and relenting to personal desires, and using one's power to do it, yields disastrous compromise. With great influence comes great responsibility: The intent of Godly influence should be to bless the world as God desires, and to make God known.

Solomon used his power to consolidate his power, work for political gain, and satisfy his lusts, and it led him away from God and caused him to drag God's great Name through the muck.

Whatever influence you may have, what is the intention of using it? Is it Godly? Is it driven by His mission to save humanity, by Christ's commission to make disciples? Anything less than this, including using it to satisfy one's own preferences for "appropriate worship" of God, or to realize the "Great American Dream," or anything else with self and the building up of self as the primary focus, falls short and leads down a path with a bad end.

May the unfortunately lesson of Solomon lead us to something different and God-honoring. Godly intent with God-given influence leads to Godly success.

The Hero We Need

Hollywood has made a killing off our ideal hero-image. For years, this hero was hyper-masculine, cartoonishly muscular, uniquely-abled, good-looking, had an extreme sense of morality, and wore underwear on the outside of his pants (not really sure what that was about). The consummate hero-image was Superman when I was growing up.

More recently, heroes have started to seem a lot different. Heroes are much more diverse. They have a "moral-compass," but are flawed. The strongest ones may be men or women. They embody something we want more of in ourselves, but with humanity that previous generation's heroes seemed to stand above. The consummate hero today is far more complex, and far more difficult to pin down. Captain America + Black Panther + Wonder Woman + Iron Man + Hulk + Captain Marvel + ... Even Superman is no longer portrayed as someone of near-perfection.

Regardless of the generation, humanity creates its own heroes based on what seems to be best at the time. What if the hero we need doesn't look anything like the hero we wanted? Actually, that's kind of why I like the hero-depictions today a little more. They can do the very best thing possible to save people from certain doom, and people may still reject them. Case-in-point, the Avengers save the world time after time, but a popular mass turns on them because they didn't save enough people, or their actions to "save" caused destruction, and what makes them any better than the villains anyhow?

Reminds me of the consummate hero.

John 5 depicts Jesus saving one person from suffering. He is the hero that the man at the Pool of Bethesda needed, but not the one he initially wanted. The man would have been happy with a Jesus that tossed him into the pool first before someone else got the healing the rippling waters were supposed to bring. Jesus showed Himself more powerful than any myth, or any false god or demon that day, healing the man with a simple command: "Take up your bed and walk home." He wasn't the hero that was wanted (at least initially), but He was the hero that was needed.

He also wasn't the hero that was wanted by the popular "hero-watchers" of His day. He healed on the Sabbath, commanding the man to do something on Sabbath that He wasn't really supposed to do. Then Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, doing what the Father told Him to do. He told them that to believe that He was the Son of God was to have eternal life. He told them He was there to save them. He told them that His works confirmed His identity. He told them the Scriptures were always talking about Him.

They wanted to kill Him. He was the hero they needed, but not the hero they wanted.

Here's the formula for the consummate Biblical hero: God's Word + Jesus's Action = Jesus's true identity as Messiah. And with the "formula" comes a challenge for each of us. We must prove Christ for ourselves based on who He claims to be, not on who we want Him to be.

He is not the hero who will just give us what we want when we want it. He is not the hero that is here to please those with a cookie-cutter image of who they think he needs to be. He is not properly defined on our terms: "Nice Jesus," "Warring Jesus," "European/Asian/African/American Jesus," etc. He can only be properly defined on His own terms--what the Word teaches Him to be.

God help us if Jesus is just who we want Him to be. Superman can't save us from what we need saving from. The totality of the Avengers/Defenders/Justice League/X-men can't save us from what we need saving from. They form the "saviors" we think fit our time and needs, but will never save us from the absolute worst villian. Only Jesus can do that.

But when He is right in front of you, don't miss out because He doesn't look like what you thought He'd look like, or do what you thought He'd do. Don't play the Pharisee game we are so tempted to play with today's heroes.

Prove Christ for Who He claims to be, based on the Word He claims as proof.

"Word plus action prove the worth of any claim. Look for Messiah of your own making, miss the Messiah you need. Accept the Messiah of the Word's making, receive the life you need." (A Proverb, by me, based on today's reading).

The Idol in the Mirror

You've been around them, probably. The ones who are constantly talking about themselves. Drives you crazy, doesn't it? Me too.

Saturday Night Live had a series of skits with Kristen Wiig starring as "Penelope," the girl that had to one-up everyone's stories. If she overheard you talking about your uncle, the astronaut, she'd butt in with her story about her trip to Mars. It was fairly entertaining, as most of us have been around "that person" before.

I think there is a narcissist inside all of us, however, wanting out. Left unchecked, with nothing to remind us that are real successes and failures, advantages and disadvantages, triumphs and tragedies outside of ourselves, most (if not all) of us have a tendency to admire ourselves for our "greatness," or we do the really weird thing and grant ourselves points for how much worse off we have had it.

Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel. The way Eugene Peterson puts in The Message is interesting:

"Then they said, 'Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower that reaches Heaven. Let's make ourselves famous so we won't be scattered here and there across the Earth.'"

People build cities for a sense of community. Jerry Seinfeld jokes about all the land surrounding New York City, and yet everyone crams themselves into that city because they'd rather literally live on top of each other. That's not wrong on its own.

The tower reaching Heaven? Without some idea of why they were building it, it's hard to judge it as wrong. We're still doing things like that now all the time.

It's the "Let's make ourselves famous..." part that is problematic. "Fame" is to be well-known and talked about for ones notable achievements. Now, this is odd. When I read this passage, it occurs to me that everyone is pretty much still living in the same place. They are all pretty much starting to work on, more or less, the same thing. It almost seems like they wanted something to congratulate themselves on, to unify around their own creations. They wanted to be able to talk about how great they were and how foolish it would be to disperse.

Here's the thing. According to God, they'd never stop doing this. They'd keep achieving, keep patting themselves on the back, and keep building themselves up as great until they'd see no need for Him.

We have a narcissist in us that would love to get out. He'd love to look in the mirror and congratulate himself for his work, even his "work for the Lord." She'd love to be able to see how much better she is than the other girl at work, or at church. He'd smile over how "sinless" he has become, and how he is helping God make the decision to "come sooner."

That narcissist sees herself in her own skin and compares herself to others, judging them as clearly inferior and less-desirable. He may even think to himself, "My world would be perfect if '______' wasn't in it."

You see the fingerprints of narcissism--self-idolization--in all kinds of things: racism, sexism, and abuse, addictions, but maybe even in overachievement, workaholism, and rehearsing the good things you've done for others.

So learn the lesson of the inhabitants of Shinar. The idol's gotta go! My fame is nothing. God's fame is everything. Lift your eyes and thoughts above the mirror and spend time looking at God. Look at Christ Himself, the best "image" of God you'll ever see. Take regular note--write it down on the mirror if you must--of what He has done. He must increase. We must decrease. When Christ is who we witness, we become our true, and our best, selves.

Declaring War

When it comes to Jesus, there is little that irks me more than the idea of a tame, nice Jesus. It may surprise some to know this, but the authors of the Gospels hardly saw Jesus as tame. In fact, much of what He did, and how they portrayed what He did, would have come across as a declaration of war against Satan and the powers of the world he controlled.

Kingdoms are at war with whatever threatens their sovereignty. Satan, from the very beginning, waged war against God. His lone victory was in getting humanity of this world to give over control to him. This world being God's creation, it was a threat to the Kingdom.

Matthew 8, when you read it with this in mind, takes on different meanings than we might otherwise apply.

From Verses 1-4...

"Then a leper appeared and went to his knees before Jesus, praying, 'Master, if you want to, you can heal my body.'

"Jesus reached out and touched him, saying, 'I want to. Be clean...'"

From Verses 10-12

"'I've yet to come across this kind of simple trust in all of Israel... This man is the vanguard of many outsiders who will soon be coming from all directions... Then those who "grew up in the faith" but had no faith will find themselves out in the cold, outsiders to grace...'"

Verse 22: "'Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.'"

Verse 26: "'Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?'"

Verse 27: "'Wind and sea come to heel at his command!'"

Verses 28-34 spell this out. Jesus and His disciples had been through an amazing night. Jesus calmed wind and waves at a single command before they came to shore at a region called "Gadarenes" (Garasenes). The very word, in Greek, meant "Those who come from pilgrimage or fight." They were in Gentile territory, a culturally Greek place likely filled with Hellenistic Jews. They worshipped the Greek and Roman gods, such as Zeus and Jupiter, at their temples. In their worship, it was expected that pigs would be used in sacrifices.

This was about as anti-God a place as it comes. It should not surprise us that demons inhabited people here. Satan was in full control, toying with these people and their superstitions.

Why would Jesus land here? May I suggest that this was bringing the fight to the enemy? 

The word itself... to come from a fight... is interesting. Satan fought for control of this world and won when Adam and Eve sinned. Jesus came to take control away, and went to the very places Satan was most in control.

He defeated sickness. He defeated unbelief. He defeated death. He defeated Satan and his use of the very forces of nature.

And in this land of idol worship and sacrifice, He sent the demons into the objects of the sacrifice and over the cliff. A full frontal assault on the enemy of souls.

The Gospel teaches us that Jesus wins. He restores us from the fall. He went to war for us!

May your day be full of confidence and simple trust in Jesus. May you fight with the winning and bold warrior today!

Remember Who We Are

On my list of Scriptures to read when I am looking for hope, for good reading, for a dose of "umph" in my day... Genesis 10 is not on there. It is not easy beach-reading. It does make for good material when you're trying to get to sleep perhaps. So, when I sat down to read today and saw that this was going to be my reading, I sighed and read through the chapter, highlighting some of the following texts...

This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth...

"The sons of Japheth... the sons of Javan... the seafaring peoples developed from these, each in its own place by family, each with its own language. (Seriously, that's about the most interesting thing about them)." - From Verses 1-5.

Interestingly, Moses' pattern in many of his writings is to get the "lesser information" out of the way first, so it is not surprising that little is said of them since Moses's own people of his day didn't have much in the way of encounters with any of Japheth's sons.

So, on to Ham.

"The sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, Canaan" (verse 6). So there are some fairly familiar names... names that the Children of Israel would've been a lot more concerned about.

"Cush also had Nimrod. He was the first great warrior on Earth. He was a great hunter before GOD. There was a saying, "Like Nimrod, a great hunter before GOD." His kingdom got its start with Babel, then Erech, Akkad, and Calneh in the country of Shinar. From there he went up to Asshur and built Nineveh..." (From verses 8-12).

There are some that think Moses was complimentary of Nimrod. I don't think so. He also wrote about the men of renown before the flood, giants known for great evil, setting themselves up as superior, giants of arrogance. If you just go further into Scripture, Nimrod's towns don't have a good reputation. Nineveh was later going to be destroyed if Jonah didn't preach. Babel--Babylon--would be a town throughout Scripture that was used to illustrate nations, systems, or governments that set themselves up as their own god, in defiance of the true God, or not in need of God. Babel--I'm getting ahead of myself, but--Babel would build itself up to reach the heavens on its own, a tribute to its own greatness. Babylon--Nebuchadnezzar, in Daniel 4, would strut around bragging about "this great Babylon that I have built..." The whore of Revelation that goes by that name sets itself up in opposition to God and His people.

That's a lot of words to say that, in my opinion, Moses thought of Nimrod as an arrogant oppressor... like in the last century of our time saying, almost tongue-in-cheek, "That great leader, Stalin."

Going on... "Egypt was the ancestor to the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, the Pathrusim, the casluhim (the origin of the Philistines), and the Kaphtorim" (verses 13-14).

"Canaan had Sidon his firstborn, Heth, the Jebusites" (the origins of Jerusalem come from them)" the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites... Later the Canaanites spread out, going from Sidon toward Gerar, as far south as Gaza, and then east all the way over to Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and on to Lasha" (from verses 15-19).

So, as we read of the sons of Ham, we see a lot of nations there that would become infamous as enemies to the Children of Israel, people in direct opposition to Yahweh.

Moses writes that "Shem... was ancestor to all the children of Eber." It is commonly thought that it is from "Eber" where the name "Hebrew" may have come. We read of Peleg, so named because the human race was divided in his day (spoiler alert for Genesis 11). I've heard some suggest that "Jobab" may have been Job. (Verses 21-31).

Finally, he finishes with "This is the family tree of the sons of Noah as they developed into nations. From them nations developed all across the Earth after the flood" (verse 32).

As much of a struggle it was to concentrate on Genesis 10 without the temptation to fill in the blanks, here are a few of my thoughts on this mostly-read-quickly chapter that is, nonetheless, part of God's Word.

1. People are quick to forget God. Nimrod was Noah's great-grandson who established cities known throughout the history of Scripture as being in direct opposition to the purposes of God. One has to wonder if his attitude--and that of his related clans--was one of resentment for the curse handed down to their father, Ham, in Genesis 9:24-27. But really, how different are we? We don't have to be directly fighting God to forget Him. Blissfully going about our lives as if He isn't there is not too far removed from being in opposition.
• The Gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ was the very image of the Father. He told Philip, in John 14:9, "... anyone who has seen me has seen the Father..." The Bible teaches us that humanity is made in God's image, so every human being we look at is an opportunity to remember God, and remember that Jesus Christ came to save every person (every child of God/Adam/Noah) and restore the image of God in them.
2. People are quick to forget their common ancestry. We all share fathers. 1st God, 2nd Adam, 3rd Noah. We owe our existence, regardless of our culture of origin, to God's action through Noah to protect humanity, made in His image. When Moses wrote Genesis 10, it could be that he was pointing out that their "enemies" were also their "brothers."
• The Gospel teaches us that Jesus Christ was an even "better Noah." He came to a world not dissimilar to the pre-flood world. He came to rescue people who would be rescued from the flood of sin we are surrounded by. He came to rescue everyone... not just people who look like us, or speak like us. We owe our eternal existence to God's action in Jesus Christ.
3. Moses was concerned with Israel's identity... and such is our concern. He pointed out their ancestry. He pointed out how their ancestry was different than that of their oppressors and opponents.
• Our first identity, as followers of Jesus, is "Followers of Jesus." He is our identity. He is our nation. We are a "chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter 2:9). Regardless of your origin with Shem, Ham, or Japheth, Jesus came for you! He came and won the victory at the cross, giving Him the right to restore His identity and image in us!

Remember who you are today. Accept the gift of Jesus' death on the cross, and accept the greatest ancestor we could ever have. In Jesus, even Genesis 10 comes to life!

Value-full Living

1 Kings 9. God, to King Solomon, upon the completion of the Temple.

"I've sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back your kingly rule over Israel, make it a sure thing on a solid foundation. The same guarantee I gave David your father I'm giving you: 'You can count on always having a descendant on Israel's throne.'

But if you or your sons betray me, ignoring my guidance and judgments, taking up with alien gods by serving and worshiping them, then the guarantee is off: I'll wipe Israel right off the map and repudiate this Temple I've just sanctified to honor my Name.'" (Selections from verses 3-9, The Message).

Then, when predicting what would happen when people came across the ruins of the Temple and of Jerusalem and inquired of what happened: "'The people who used to live here betrayed their GOD, the very God who rescued their ancestors from Egypt; they took up with alien gods, worshipping an serving them..."

It's clear that faithfulness to the One who rescued them and was faithful to them was key. The end of Chapter 9 seems to wrap up Solomon's response to this.

"Everything that had to do with The Temple he did generously and well; he didn't skimp."

Wow! Sounds great! Except sometimes what seems to be true covers up a dark side.

"At the end of twenty years, having built the two buildings, The Temple of God and his personal palace, Solomon rewarded Hiram king of Tyre with a gift of twenty villages in the district of Galilee. Hiram had provided him with all the cedar and cypress and gold that he had wanted. But when Hiram left Tyre to look over the villages that Solomon had given him, he didn't like what he saw. He said, What kind of reward is this, my friend? Twenty backwoods hick towns!" People still refer to them that way. This is all Hiram got from Solomon in exchange for four and a half tons of gold!" (verses 10-14)

At the very end of 1 Kings 9, we are told that Hiram helped Solomon get another sixteen tons of gold. With Hiram's help, Solomon amassed over 20 tons of gold! If "Finance Guru Google" is correct, that would be valued today at almost $1.3 trillion (rounded up), and that isn't counting the cedar and cypress wood. Twenty low-value towns could not approach an expression of gratitude for what had been done. The amount spent, and the amount Solomon saved, far exceeded the value of his gratitude.

It is remarkable to me that this part of the story winds up in the middle of all this. I feel it is important that this was recorded. Solomon clearly valued service to God, and gifts in His honor. Yet if we are to believe the values of God as reflected in His Law... love for God, love for people... it seems as if Solomon's lack of value to people undercut something in his life. Maybe this is why one can have a mentality that you can make an agreement with someone in exchange for a wife, something he would become known for. Somehow, what he saw and wanted, even what he saw as honoring God, clouded his view of people.

As I consider the Gospel, I cannot possibly value such a gift. Christ has redeemed us, a gift more valuable than we can ever repay or show adequate gratitude for.  How we live--toward Him and toward other people for whom Christ died, reveals how we value His gifts to us.

It is always right to honor and show gratitude for everything God has done. But if you believe in what He has done, and that what He has done flows out of Who He is, never forget that He is love, and that He loves people. Honor Him, and honor people. Show your gratitude for God's goodness in how you treat others. This will reveal a lot about you and how much you really love Him.

Jesus, you gave your life or me. You gave me freedom to live in gratitude and in generosity to You and Your cause, and to those You love--hand in hand! May I value You and the people you put in my life in my thoughts

The Gospel in David

Recently, I finished preaching a series on "The Gospel." My desire is that our community of faith begins to become a "Gospel Fluent" church, meaning that the truths of Jesus become our first language.

One of the major points had to do with speaking the truths of Jesus into each others' lives when we feel distressed and begin to identify ourselves with our distress. When we say, "I am afraid... I am worried... I am anxious..." in some way we are expressing a belief that Satan himself places in us that is contrary to the Gospel.

In times like this, we have an opportunity to speak the Gospel to each other. When we do so, we can ask three questions: (1) Who am I? (2) What has God done? (3) Who is God? Or, if we are helping someone see the truths of Jesus in their lives, we ask: (1) Who are you saying you are based on this? (2) What do you believe God has done? (3) Who do you believe God is?

This becomes a "confession of sin." Sin is not just about behavior. It is about belief.

To illustrate, consider the words of David in Psalm 6, from The Message.

"Treat me nice for a change; I'm so starved for affection. Can't you see I'm black and blue, beat up badly in bones and soul?" (Verse 2).

"I'm tired of this--so tired. My bed has been floating forty days and nights on the flood of my tears. My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears. The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope."

Really, this follows the big three questions mentioned above. If we were to do this with David, perhaps this is how the conversation plays out. Keep in mind, this assumes David is part of our faith community, a fellow follower of Jesus. The following conversation would not have the same effect with an unbeliever.

1. David, based on what you are saying here, who do you believe yourself to be?
• Alone
• Mistreated
• Abandoned
2. Based on what you are saying here, what do you believe that God has done for you? Or failed to do?
• He has left me.
• He has abandoned me.
3. OK, so if this is true, what does it say about who, in this moment, you are believing God to be?
• Weak
• Uncaring
• Distracted

This is a confession of what Satan has convinced David to be true in a moment of distress. This gives a follower of God, a believer in the Gospel of Scripture, a chance to speak this Gospel into David's life. Even if we only use the Scriptures that existed before David's time (what he had access to), this works because the Gospel has existed from the beginning! It is the story of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.

So let's try this with David by speaking the truth to him and going backwards.

• David, God has told us otherwise. He has said, "I will never leave you nor abandon you" (Deuteronomy 31:6; Joshua 1:9). He says that He is the "merciful and gracious God" who shows "steadfast love" and forgives "iniquity, transgression, and sin." He had the power to create and to deliver an enslaved nation, your ancestors, while destroying their enslavers.
• Do you believe this?
• Who do you believe God to be, if this is true?
• Powerful.
• Merciful.
• Present
• Based on who God is, what has He done for you?
• Well, he delivered my people through me when I killed Goliath.
• He has forgiven my sins.
• He has been present in my life all along. How else could I explain being king?
• So, considering who God is, that you are made in HIs image, and what He has done for you, who are you, according to God?
• Loved
• Delivered
• Not alone
• Answered

This confession of sin (belief) has now turned into a confession of faith that results in David bearing the fruits of the spirit. He is free to love. He is free to experience joy and peace in God.

Anyone can do this, and it is even better to do this in community. Right now we are experiencing an unprecedented time when we cannot gather. But most of us still have a phone. Most of us have figured out how to meet online (Zoom, Factime, Skype, etc.). When you are feeling under distress, or when you are talking with someone under distress, how can you speak the truths of Jesus into each others' lives? Maybe you don't follow the outline above, but try something! Base whatever you do in the actual truths of Jesus, not something you think to be true (which means daily time in God's Word is critical!). But we have to do this--become Gospel fluent!--if we are to rightly represent Jesus to each other and to our neighbors.

May the Gospel make the difference for you today. May the Gospel become your first language!

Dependence

I sometimes wonder if David was manic, or bipolar. In the course of one Psalm, David can go from the despair of being attacked by evil-doers, to asking God to do what appears to be horrific things to them, to celebrating God's goodness. One thing I do know about David is that he truly held nothing back from God in his prayers, from his darkest moments and darkest wishes, to what seems to be his calls for wild and unfettered celebration.

I think so much of this comes from his deep relationship with, and dependence on, God. In reading through the Psalms, it seems to me that David seems to know things about God's character and attributes no one else has as open a window on. In Psalm 5, this becomes fairly evident. Just some samples from The Message.

"Listen, God, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings, my groans and my cries? King-God, I need your help!" (verses 1-3)

"And here I am, Your invited guest--it's incredible! I enter Your house; here I am, prostrate in Your inner sanctum, waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines." (verses 7-8)

"But You'll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to You. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration. You are famous, God, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight." (verse 11-12)

David was clearly banking on God's attentiveness, invitation, safety, welcome, and celebration of him and his fellow God-seekers. He counted on what he knew about God.

What do you know about God? Do you believe in His attentiveness to you? Do you know of His invitation for you to be in His Presence? Do you ever stop to think that God loves you so much that He celebrates you just for seeking Him? In the context of the Great Controversy, where Satan accuses God of being distant and uncaring and inaccessible (among other things), how could God not celebrate this when His own people, weak and feeble as we may be, seek out God and believe He is Who He claims to be in the Bible?

I don't know about you, but it is pretty awesome to me that He would celebrate me like this! That He is attentive to me, even in my ramblings (and believe me, I ramble to Him... sometimes I look back on my pray five minutes later and wonder what I was even talking about!).

So, what do you know to be true of God? Is that something you contemplate? Is it reflected in your prayers?

May you find yourself falling in love with the God of the Bible. May you depend on what you know of Him, and may what you know of Him grow larger today and moving forward!

Simply You

I have to make a confession. I am an introvert. Big time. On a test I took several years ago, intended to reveal where you would be on the "introvert/extrovert" scale, I was almost pegged on the introverted side.

This surprised me at the time. As a pastor, I wondered if this would be my undoing. I mean, would my preferences for smaller circles of friends, having a conversation with one person at at time and giving that person my focus, my tendency to kind of be in the background at social gatherings, never feeling terribly comfortable being the gregarious type, really enjoying just being at home with my family and a good book, or out in nature with peace and quiet... doesn't seem like the typical pastor's personality. By the way, being an introvert doesn't make one a recluse. I can be outgoing and be an introvert. It's all about where you get your energy. I have to get away to recharge. Others need to be around people.

I must say that a chapter like Matthew 6 is a life-saver for me. Here are some highlights...

"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so you don't make a performance out of it... don't call attention to yourself... When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it-quietly and unobtrusively... And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production... just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage... Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (selections taken from The Message).

What I have discovered is that it is better to embrace who you are and be that person, regardless of your role. Who you are is far more important than a role. What you do flows out of who you are far more than the role "assigned" to you. So, if I am an introvert, operate as an introvert! I have learned to be OK with focusing on the one. Sometimes people have to wait a little longer, and that's OK. It isn't personal, it is simply my nature to finish one conversation. I think this may reveal why interruptions have always annoyed me so much (well, that and not getting used to interruptions--I don't have any siblings). The compulsion to finish with one causes irritation when it seems like I am being prevented from doing so. Knowing this, it becomes important to adjust accordingly. I cannot be offended by the interruptions, for who someone else is plays into how they operate differently. I have to challenge myself to make people not feel "left out."

But the good news in all of this is that, before God--as His child, as a husband and father, as a friend, as a pastor--I am free to be myself! I don't have to be someone else's definition of success or a role. I am responsible to Him! When my attention is on Him, I lose the anxiety to put on a front for people.

This is my example. What is yours? Are you a fellow introvert? (Introverts unite! In their own homes! By themselves!). Are you an extrovert? (I feel for you... having to, mostly, stay home over the last couple of months has probably been more difficult for you than for me). But, to the question... do you feel you can be yourself? Before God? Before others? No matter who you are, when you are engaged in worship, prayer, service, etc... Who is your audience?

Here's what I think God wants from any of us: For each of us to be our true selves. He wants to be your audience. He wants you to stay in the moment with him, unconcerned with the past or the future, and unconcerned with the flawed perceptions of others. He wants, simply, you!

He loves you! Not someone's ideal version of you, but you! He made you like you are, like no other. The best worship ever has nothing to do with liturgy or a specific spiritual practice. The best worship is you, being yourself, your attention on God, in the moment with the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Simply be you!

Rooted

I love trees. In my front yard, when I was a kid, there was this massive oak tree. If a squirrel ran up there, our dog would stare up there for hours, long past when the squirrel had probably jumped to 5 other tree. It was terrific for the shade it gave the house, though, and beautifully strong. Another one was a fairly large hemlock. In the winter, it would provide shelter from snow, and it’s branches would bend to the ground to form a magnificent little teepee shelter. Every spring, not too far away, fields of rhododendron would bloom bright pink—the “Pink Beds” just odd the Blue Ridge Parkway—and the dogwoods would flower in their pinks and whites.

They were there every year. They were consistent, productive in what they were there for, and felt timeless.

The Psalmist wrote, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” (Psalms‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

To delight means to be consumed by something in this context. One finds pleasure in... has a day-and-night longing for whatever that is. For this author, to be consumed by the Law of the Lord—Torah, to the author—is to be consumed by God Himself, for Torah is the ultimate revelation of God to him, at that time (Jesus Christ had not yet come in the flesh).

Maybe this sounds simplistic. But I want a life with roots, productivity, and staying power in the purpose for which God put me on earth.

I suspect you may also want this. If so, I cannot give a stronger recommendation that God’s Word—the Bible. Make it the first thing you think about when you get up and the last thing you think of before you retire for the night.

Let me share with you my approach. I have a daily reading and journaling plan. Each day, I read a minimum of one chapter from the selections shown. I don’t really put a specific time on how long it takes, but I allow enough time to at least do the one chapter. Throughout the year, here is my schedule:

Sunday: PsalmsMonday: Genesis - 2nd SamuelTuesday: Matthew, Mark, LukeWednesday: 1 Kings - Song of Solomon (excluding Psalms)Thursday: John, Acts, RevelationFriday: Isaiah-MalachiSabbath: Romans-Jude
After I read, I journal. On one side of the journal, I write out a passage from my reading, my thoughts on that passage, and a prayer. On the other side, I may write out a little teaching or sermon idea based on my reading, or a sentence or two of gratitude and a little proverb of my own making.
Each day, I also try and commit one verse to memory, using the “Bible Memory” app (free from the App Store for smart phones or tablets).
Whatever works for you, do it! Find yourself in passionate pursuit of God! Start today!

The Primacy of Blessing

Genesis 1

22 Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”...

28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”...

Genesis 2

3 And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation...

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. If we are honest, gift-giving, while celebrated as something almost commercial by many, has a lot to do with making it what it is. There are some that feel this is not appropriate, but I disagree. The opportunity to bless friends and family, even if for a moment, is appropriate to do. Yes, it is possible to be opulent, but not necessary.

There is joy in both blessing people with a meaningful gift, and being blessed with a meaningful gift. That someone sacrifices for another to bring them joy is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, there is that one person who just seems to know what gift would be the most meaningful. As a child, my aunt would often send something I liked. As an adult, my sister-in-law has given me some of the best shirts I ever wore (seriously, she has a great eye for stuff I would not necessarily buy for myself, but winds up looking great).

When I was 12 years old, my parents bought me a trombone. The presentation was incredible. They woke me up extremely early with an "emergency," that there was a group playing a special Christmas early morning gig nearby and they needed a trombone player right away. They drove me down to the school auditorium (we lived on the campus of Mt. Pisgah Academy near Asheville, North Carolina, where they taught at the time). I walked in to Christmas music playing, but there was no one and nothing in there except a spotlight on a big, wrapped box on the stage. My dad's voice came over the PA system, telling me to unwrap the box and open it. I was really in a fog at this point still, but went over are started to unwrap it, revealing a brand new, very nice trombone. I was over-the-top ecstatic! That present wound up paying itself back, too, as playing that trombone got me scholarship money for all the years I attended school at Southern Adventist University.

I am convinced that God blesses us to give gifts to others, because I feel it helps us to understand Him a bit better. He has always given the best gifts.

In Genesis 1, two times we read about God blessing living beings. To all living beings he "blesses" them with the ability and purpose to procreate and fill the earth with life. That theme of separating and filling finds its completion in this, but filling was not enough. God goes further and "blesses" humanity with the purpose of reigning over what He created... subduing it and governing it. But that was not enough yet! At the beginning of Genesis 2, God "blesses" a day, which sounds strange, but the end result was really a blessing for creation. In this, He blesses the seventh day of creation with rest (stopping what He was doing), making it holy (set apart). The reason was because that was the day He stopped the act of creation. It was a day for creation to stop their own work and set apart that day to enjoy and appreciate what God had done the prior six days.

To "bless" was a special thing. It came from the word, "barak." The word can also mean to "kneel." If you look at the Hebrew letters that form this word, the "B" (bet) was created to denote a house, or container, or full vessel. The "R" (resh) was meant to represent the "head," or leader, and a channel of sorts. The "K" was meant to represent an empty cup, or outstretched, cupped hands. There were no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet, and Hebrew reads right-to-left. So, the word for "bless" carried meaning: "Full House" + "Head-Vessel" + "Empty Vessel." It is the picture one giving to one who is ready to receive.

In essence, what God did was to gift living creatures and a day with purpose: to procreate and fill (all creatures), to reign over creation (humanity), and to set apart the seventh-day for the purpose of rest and the enjoyment of what God had done--create & give purpose!

I have received and have given some pretty good gifts (at least I think I have), but what God gifted this world with is unmatchable. God gives the best gifts.

God really only asks us of one gift: thanksgiving and praise. These are but reflections on His goodness and what He has done. It is the only thing we can really even give Him.

So let's start honoring this word. Who is God? What about His character is most meaningful to you? What has He done in your life, and can thanksgiving become a habit?

God gives the best gifts. Today, give God the best gift you can give Him!