Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Good Medicine

Our three year old son, Seth, often requests me to sing "Twinkle Little Star" to him at bed time. The reason he asks me to sing it is because I can never remember the lyrics. Rather than try to remember, I simply make up words to the song that are silly.

The other night, I was doing this and Seth giggled so hard I thought he might pee himself. His giggling then made me laugh. Then he asked me to sing again, so I made up another silly line and he about fell off the bed in laughter. Then he saw me laughing and decided to get in on the action. He made up a silly line to the song, which made me laugh out loud. We just laid there in his bed and belly-laughed for a good 5 minutes. When I walked out of his room, he shouted, "I Wove you, dad." "I love you, too," I said back.

As I closed his door, I said, "Thank you, Father." I have no doubt that my Father in heaven used my son to lift me up. You see it had been one of those days all day long. I was feeling discouraged and beaten up by some circumstances. Through a silly song with my son, God gave me exactly the medicine I needed. It is the medicine the Bible talks about in Proverbs: "A cheerful heart is good medicine." How true? A cheerful heart allows you to release stress, see things from a fresh perspective and to be reminded of all you have for which to be thankful.

That is one of the reasons I am so excited for this Sunday's celebration! It will be good medicine to rejoice with parents and help them bless their children. It will be good medicine to clap and cheer with brothers and sisters in Christ who will share their fresh stories of God's love and life-change. It will be good medicine to share a meal together and know that by eating some chili or PB&J we will be helping our teens serve Native Americans in need. It will be good medicine to hear the laughter of children as they play in bouncers, have their faces painted and play games. It will be a day of good medicine!

I don't know about you, but I could use some good medicine like that. Who do you know that could use a dose of that? Invite them to join you. Who knows, it may just save their life.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

"Do you Believe what you Believe?"

This week, I was writing in my prayer journal. It was the start of a day that had a somewhat stressful looking to-do list. I was already beginning to feel the weight and anxiety. I simply wrote, "Father, I need you to do what I can't today."

No sooner had I penned those words, then I heard this scripture in my mind, "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world."

Then a question entered my mind. "Do you believe that?"

"Yes," I wrote, "I believe that you are greater than anything I will face today."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes, I really believe that you are greater."

"Will you live like you believe that?"

I paused. I had to think about that. Now, God was asking this not just to be a verse I have memorized, but a truth by which I would live. What does it mean to live like "Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world"?

It means that I will face the day with hope rather than dread. It means I will look away form the negative what ifs and worries and looks to the God for whom nothing is impossible. It means I choose to rejoice to in the day God has given me knowing that my security is in him and not in what did or did not happen that day. It means I choose to put my faith in what God can do rather than what I or others can do. It means I choose to find my worth in him and not in what I accomplish.

It means I have to figure out if I believe what I believe? Do you believe what you believe?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"Failure Isn't Final"

The people of Israel wanted a king like all the other nations had. The prophet Samuel warned the people that they did not want a king. A king would tax them, take their land and force them to serve him, warned Samuel. But the people insisted and so God told Samuel to give them what they wanted. God even told Samuel who to choose as the first king of Israel; a man named Saul.

Saul started out serving God as king, but ended up serving himself. It got so bad that God rejected Saul as king. It is at this point in the story that we pick up in 1 Samuel 16:1, "God addressed Samuel:'So, how long are you going to mope over Saul? You know I've rejected him as king over Israel, Fill your flask with anointing oil and get going. I'm sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I've spotted the very king I want among his sons."

Samuel was moping over the failure. He had done what God told him to do and it it failed. Saul had a free will. His will led him to act contrary to God's will. The "King Saul plan" failed and Samuel was sick over it.

Been there? I have. Just because we do what God asks of us does not mean we will reap success. Sometimes we can be doing everything right and yet still nothing goes right. Some people (we call them Fundamentalists in theological terms) are offended by this. They back peddle and say in order for God to be sovereign he has to determine all that happens in this world--the good and the bad. The truth is other world religions believe this about their God, but we don't. We believe that God has a will, but that our will can divert or detour God's will. That is what Samuel was experiencing as he mourned the failed "king Saul plan".

But God said, enough will the moping, "get going." There is a time to mourn the failure and a time to get up and get going. Just because the will of people can divert and detour God's will does not mean God cannot redeem and reroute all things, even failures, back in line with his good and perfect will. Now that is the power of sovereignty--God allowing free will to ruin his plan and yet God being able to use even what we have ruined to accomplish his will.

I wonder if anyone reading this needs permission to quit mopping and get moving forward from failure. I can relate to that? How about you? The message of God to Samuel and to us is the same, failure is never final where we let God give us permission to quit moping and get going!

Well, enough of this...I am going to get going...

PS I want to thank Dr. Doug Van Nest for sharing these thoughts with a group of pastors today. I know God used it to speak to me.