Live Well by Listening Well...

In 2 Kings, chapter 12, we find the story of Joash the boy king. He came to power at seven years of age in a tumultuous time in Judah's history. At the death of his father, Ahaziah, his grandmother, Athaliah took advantage of the vacant throne and had all the sons of Ahaziah (her own grandchildren) put to death in order for her to claim the throne. She ruled six years while the remaining heir, Joash, was hidden in the temple and raised/protected by his aunt and the priests.

When Joash was publicly revealed and Athalia overthrown, he began his rule. At the beginning of his rule, he was instructed and led by Jehoiada the priest. Jehoiada instructed and guided Joash in the ways of God and the Bible says that Joash, "did what was right in the Lord's sight."

Many good things happened in his early years. The kingdom was strengthened. The temple was repaired. The nation regained its prominence. Everything went well as long as Joash listened to the word of the Lord through Jehoiada.

However, Jehoiada grew old and died. With Jehoiada gone, Joash began to fall away from God. He abandoned the temple of God and began serving the Asherah poles and idols. God's wrath returned to Jerusalem and God sent the prophet Zechariah, son of Jehoiada, to call Joash and the people back to God. Then the Bible tells us, "King Joash didn't remember the kindness that Zechariah's father Jehoiada had extended to him, but killed his son..." (2 Chronicles 25:22). In the end, Joash, in an untimely way, is wounded in battle and then assassinated by his own 'loyal' servants. Sad.

I have often experienced that I tend to live better when I listen better. God places wise guides in my life from people to His inspired Word, the Bible. When I spend time listening to God through their counsel, I find myself walking God's path instead of one contrived in my own power.

I also find that cultivating the art of listening for God has its practical rewards in life as well. Foster says that, "We are to live in a perpetual inward, listening silence so that God is the source of our words and actions. If we are accustomed to carrying out the business of our lives in human strength and wisdom, we will do the same in worship..." We also will tend to not trust in the Lord and we will tend to lean towards our own understanding.

I pray today that I will not run ahead or run behind God but take time in every moment to listen for His wise counsel and His Word for my life. I pray then that I will have the wisdom and courage to follow whatever His prompting.

To hear...to obey...

It could be an interesting day!

What's for Lunch? Cole Slaw...

Yesterday morning, as per my usual routine, before I left out the door for the office, I opened the refrigerator door and peered into the great abyss. I do this every work day excited to find what leftovers are available to take to work as my lunch of the day. If I'm lucky, it will be one of Regina's famous dishes. If the refrigerator is bare, well it's whatever is available.

Now, I could make a sandwich if I wasn't so lazy (or in a rush to get going). Or I could even buy my lunch (if I wasn't so cheap). But the truth is that I really do enjoy taking bits and pieces of things - leftovers - and making that my noon meal of the day. However, yesterday was different.

All that was in the refrigerator was cole slaw. To make matters worse, it was mayonnaise slaw and not vinegar slaw which I am more partial to. It was what was left of the "penny item" that Regina gets as a promo from a local supermarket and it had been in there a few days because no one in our family particularly likes mayonnaise based cole slaw. Even worse, there was lots of it.

So...because I'm lazy, cheap and in a hurry, I have a tub of mayonnaise slaw for lunch. Please don't get me wrong, I am not a cole slaw basher and I have nothing against folks who love cole slaw (even mayonnaise based). Its just that when I pulled my lunch out at noon and saw the tub of slaw I thought, "Really? I settled for this?"

In our spiritual lives, we tend to do the same thing if we are truly honest with ourselves. We tend to "settle" for good enough when God has even better for us. Maybe it takes too much effort or maybe we're just in a hurry to get somewhere. Maybe it just costs too much to quit striving and receive what God really has planned for us. In many respects, I settle for spiritual "cole slaw" when God really has something much more tasty and filling in store for me.

I look at the Old Testament and am constantly amazed that the nation of Israel seemed to always settle for something else besides God. "Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!" (Ps 34:8), urges King David. And yet constantly after tasting the goodness of the Lord, the people immediately go back to the gods of the land and settle for "cole slaw."

I don't know about you, but today, I choose not to eat cole slaw...

A Funny Thing Happened Yesterday...

Late yesterday afternoon, Regina and I went to run some errands. On the way to the car, she picked up the mail and we took off.

Looking through the mail, we saw that we received a sample of a new type of granola bar in the mail (we sign up for all those special promos) and being late afternoon and a bit hungry, I encouraged her to open it and eat it together. It was one of those really good kind with a chocolate coating (read 'healthy') but the only problem is that it was quite melted. No worries. We ate it anyway. Me driving while she stuffed my half (or three quarters) into my mouth.

Our first stop was at our bank. Regina remained in the car while I went in to make a quick transaction. Lucky me! No one was in the bank! There were four lady tellers all ready and eager to wait on me. And as I drew closer to the counter, they all were smiling and looking right at me. I thought, boy, what a friendly bank. And then, or course because of my vanity, I thought, I must still look pretty good at my age to have four women looking at me and all smiling.

Feeling smug, I completed my transactions. The smiles only increased even to the point of a bit of a chuckle. I quickly returned to the car, jumped in and Regina looked at me and broke out laughing. My face (mainly my lips) were coated in chocolate from the melted granola bar!

Regina promises she didn't send me in the bank knowing that my face was covered in chocolate. I believe her (for the most part) but I'm kind of glad it happened. It reminded me of two valuable lessons...

1. When people smile at you it may be because you have something all over your face, not that you are a good looking guy/girl.
2. Sometimes our own sins that are so hidden to us are obvious to others. They are especially known to God.

I think of the stories in the Bible where people tried to cover up their sins. Achan and devoted things taken from conquered Jericho. Saul who defeats the Amalekites and keeps the best of the spoils. David, who as supreme commander of God's army and all of Israel, steals and murders to claim the wife of one of his most trusted warriors, Uriah the Hittite.

The message? Be sure that your sins will find you out.

I resolve to do better today. I resolve to see myself in God's eyes; to let Him expose every area of my life to His loving mercy and grace.

Oh, another lesson...I resolve never to eat a melted chocolate granola bar and go out in public.

Granola bar anyone?

My Obituary...

The early classical Christian writers talked of a spiritual discipline known as "looking" or "peering into the abyss." As strange as it might sound, it is a discipline one uses to contemplate ones own mortality. It was used as a tool of personal transformation to help the practitioner come to a sober judgment of his/her life and to put things in perspective such as the things eternal versus temporal.

Foster says, "In our day of runaway narcissism it is a practice we would do well to revive. What would happen if you were to die today? If I were to die today? One of the most sobering insights from such a meditation is the realisation (sic) that life would continue right on without us - and quite well for that matter. The sun would come up the next day. People would go about their normal duties. Nothing of substance would be changed. This is a hard reality for us who carry the illusion that the world revolves around our decisions..."

So, with that in mind, I want to take this opportunity to write my obituary or at least outline some major points. Like Momma said, you can never be too prepared! Or was that my Scout leader?

Anyway, here are some things that I would like to be said or written about me when I'm gone...

* He loved God and he loved people
* He was a most fortunate man who knew the love and companionship of one woman and three excellent children
* He served his King well
* He had a passion for the lost and for the least
* He is more alive now than he has ever been...Rejoice!

The helpful thing about writing ones own obituary is that you can look at it and ask, "Is this the life I am now living?" And if not, what do I need to change and get right with God in order to make my life what I want to be remembered for?

Help me today, Lord, to keep in perspective that I am mortal and at best, in the process of dying. May my physical dying day by day be an outward sign of my daily spiritual death to self and conformation to the image of your Son, Jesus.

Amen...

Arrows From Unexpected Places...

In their book, "The Sacred Romance", Brent Curtis and John Eldredge talk about arrows in our heart that cause pain and are a part of our journey of growing into the people we are. An arrow of an abusive parent that sometimes shapes a young child into an abusive adult. The arrows of withheld love that tells a teenager that he or she will never be good enough and so they look for fulfillment in worldly avenues. There are even arrows we inflict on ourselves; arrows of poor self image or low self esteem that constantly finds ourselves pitting and comparing our lives to others who seem to have it all together.

Of all the arrows that pierce the deepest are the arrows that come from the ones we love the closest. I think of King David in the Bible in relation to his son Absalom. David loved Absalom with a father's heart. Even when Absalom brutally murdered his brother Adonijah, David's love for Absalom stayed true. When David fully restated Absalom to his place of sonship, Absalom took advantage and leveraged everything he had to dethrone and even have his father murdered. David's love for Absalom was only equalled by Absalom's deep craving for power and taking by force everything that belonged to his father. Yet, even when it was all over the the young man Absalom lay dead, David cried out, "My son Absalom!...If only I had died instead of you..."

It is easy to recognize the "arrows" that come from our enemies. David could tell the difference between a Philistine and an Amorite arrow, I am sure. What trips us up is when the arrows come from those we love the most. An unkind word. A betrayal. An intentional plot to take us down.

Fortunately, for the most part, few of us have to experience the deep arrow of betrayal such as an Absalom with his father David. But even the smaller arrows can be hurtful and cause deep wounds that may take years to heal.

* A colleague who puts us down in some way in order to build himself/herself up in the eyes of others
* A confidence shared with a friend broadcast for the world to see
* A word of criticism from a loved one when a word of encouragement is what is needed

These seem like small things and maybe they are but when these particular arrows come from those who are supposed to be watching our backs, it can be discouraging and even crippling.

What are some of the arrows of affliction that God is bringing to your mind right now? How do we allow Him to take those arrows of pain and turn them into something good like a life-lesson? How do those arrows become building blocks for us to become more conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus?

I am tempted to think that all of the arrows in my heart are "about" me. Sometimes I need to realize that they might just be "for" me in order to make me more like Jesus.

If Life Were Only a Series of Recipes...

I marvel at my wife. She is undoubtedly one of the best cooks on the planet. Yesterday, she whipped up a batch of her amazing brownies to go with our homemade vanilla ice cream. She took a recipe that she had marked as one of her favorites, placed it on the counter and began following the steps that she had followed many times resulting in perfect brownies. The recipe, if followed correctly, works every time.

Sometimes, I wish life were like this: a simple recipe. We do the things that are "right", follow what God asks us to do, write it down and pull it out and follow the steps every time we need it. However, I have found that a life that is called to follow God is never as simple as following a recipe. There is no cookie cutter philosophy in cross-filled living. I wish there were but my experience and the Bible proves otherwise.

Yes, there are general Biblical principles that we all should strive to live by. Yes, there are some practical spiritual disciplines that we all should seek to cultivate. But over and over I am amazed at those who seek to follow God with all their heart and in all their practices and decisions can arrive at very different destinations. There is no guarantee that if we "do the right things", life will be all that we expect it to be.

* Consider the parents who raise their children according to God's word. One turns out a lover of God and the other turns out a prodigal.
* What about a young mother who lives according to God's laws and ways and wakes up one more to find that she will soon die of cancer leaving too soon a family behind.
* Or the father who does everything right to the best of his knowledge and ability who loses his job and self-esteem and cannot provide for his family anymore.

It just seems unfair. At least from a worldly standard.

The truth is, we live in a world that God loves but it is a fallen world. A world that was meant to be something else and is becoming something else. It is a world that brings, at times, unspeakable joy and happiness but at the same time sin, death, suffering and pain.

We are created with a purpose to learn to love God and keep our eyes and hearts fixed on Him. No matter what circumstances we find ourselves or our loved ones in, our call is to constantly seek the face of God and Jesus, focusing on Him and His perfection and not our present trials.

In my perfect world, "A" plus "B" plus "C" would equal "D". That makes sense to me. In God's world, add the same things together and you might come up with "Z". The truth is that there are no failsafe recipes to make life here turn out the way that we all desire.

And this should not be discouraging. Rather, it should be liberating to know that no matter what the outcome of this life, no matter what results in the final equation of life, our eyes should be fixed on Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith because it is in Him we move, breathe and have our life.

The prize is not our expectations of what should turn out when we get the recipe right. It should be God Himself and His Son Jesus.

But, Let Me Explain Myself...

We all have those times when we are misunderstood or something we did or said was misinterpreted. At least we say we were misunderstood. But maybe we really meant that action or that particular word but find ourselves having to come back and do damage control or worse, image adjustment. The simple fact is that this worldly flesh prompts us to want to make ourselves look good in the eyes of others.

I am at time my own worst image consultant. I am at times addicted to others' approval. I don't really want to, but I find myself time after time trying to explain things in a way that put me in the best light of others. It's a deep flaw and it is a deep addiction.

David, before he was King, could have fallen prey to this malady. He was a very winsome person to both men who would follow him and ladies who would more than once glance his way. He had a natural way in which people just fell in love with him. And yet early on, and throughout much of his latter years, he was the recipient of some of the most unjust accusations and character assassinations than any one person ought to have to bear.

His response? He constantly went to God. He refused to lift his hand against the Lord's anointed. He bore the loss of most every convenience and every right he had and responded mostly in silence, allowing God to be his justifier before others. Radical.

Richard Foster says, "The tongue is our most powerful weapon of manipulation. A frantic stream of words flows from us because we are in a constant process of adjusting our public image...If we are silent, who will take control?..."

Today, I determine to live my life without having to excuse or justify myself to others. I pledge to let God be my justifier. I choose to let my "self" image be immersed in a "God" image and let Him be my identity to a world so in need of Him.

I vow today not to have to use the phrase, "But, let me explain myself..."