Take a Dive.........
Growing in the things of God is a continual process and a life-long process. Once you stop growing, you're dead. You might still be breathing and taking up space, but if you're not growing you're not living like God designed you to. You are dead. We are designed to grow.
A friend and I were talking the other day about how many folks in the church don't take advantage of the opportunities to really grow in the things of God. Instead, they remain dependent upon others to feed them and they never get past what the writer of Hebrews refers to as the "elementary things."
In Hebrews 5, towards the end, we are encouraged to grow. To do the elementary things in our walk with God so we can move to the other things God has in store for us. The writer of Hebrews says too many of us are still taking milk when we could have steak. (Okay, so he didn't say steak, but he did say meat. Might have been a lamb chop.)
If you continue reading the first couple of verses in chapter 6 (they really should be part of chapter 5) the writer of Hebrews (okay, I believe it's Paul, in case you were wondering) informs his audience to do the elementary things of the faith so they can move on to the meatier or in our terms, the deeper things.
My friend Josh Singleton gave me a great line a few years back. He said, "Deeper is doing." And that's exactly what Paul.....er the writer of Hebrews says at the end of chapter 5 and beginning of 6. Deeper is doing. Do the simple stuff so you can handle the deeper stuff. You can't jump into the deep end of the pool without mastering the shallow end. If you do, you will drown.
Too often we take the path of least resistance. We make a choice for the low road and we don't grow. We can grow as deep in the things of the Lord as we want. Spiritual maturity or being a spiritual giant has already been declared part of God's plan for our life. It's not just for a few, but it's for all who claim the name of Christ.
In the book of Isaiah we find the prophet being led into the waters, first ankle deep, then thigh deep, then deeper and deeper until his feet won't touch and he has to swim. At every point he could have said stop. This is enough. But he didn't. He allowed himself to become completely immersed in the things of God and completely dependent upon God's guidance for his survival.
To be honest, there have been times where I've said stop, or wanted to say stop. Stop the refining process, it's too hot. Stop the pruning process, I was attached to that. But that's not God's plan for my life. The refining and pruning continue. Fortunately, the refiner and the one doing the pruning, loves me and cares very deeply about me.
One of my mentors from my youth had a great saying. He used to say, "I'm up to my ankles in the things of God." But with a twinkle in his eye would also tell us that he dove in head first!
See you on the diving board! The water is great!
Always in Pursuit!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Treed
It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I heard this term. My pastor and friend, Pastor Mac, mentioned one day that he felt like a "treed rabbit."
Not being a hunter but feeling fairly confident that rabbits couldn't climb trees, I asked what it meant to feel like a "treed rabbit." Patiently this great outdoors man explained to me that it meant the rabbit was cornered either by a hound or a hunter and was about to become rabbit stew. The emphasis was on feeling cornered or in this case, treed.
In Luke 19 we meet a second tax collector, Zacchaeus, who knew what it meant to be treed.
We are told that Jesus was near and was going to pass by. Zacchaeus wanted to see him. But we are also told he was short and couldn't see over the heads of the others who wanted to see Jesus. In his desperation to see Jesus, he looked around and noticed a tree that he could climb. Up he went. Perfect seat. He could see everything below him including Jesus as he passed by. But what Zacchaeus didn't count on was that not only could he see Jesus, but Jesus could see him.
You know the song. Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, you come down here.....for I'm going to your house today."
Tommy Tenney has a great insight into this event. He says that many years before this event happened, perhaps even before both Zacchaeus and Jesus were born, God knew that Jesus would be passing by this place and that Zacchaeus would need a boost up in order to see him.
So God arranged for the wind to blow a seed form a nearby tree to land in this spot. He then assigned an angel to stand guard over this seedling to make sure no one stepped on it or that an animal didn't eat it or someone didn't chop it down for firewood. This tree was going to be the perch used by Zacchaeus to see Jesus. Maybe it didn't happen this way but maybe it did.
God does things like this for His kids all the time. So the next time you feel "treed," look around, it just might be a God thing!
Always in Pursuit!
It wasn't until I was in my late twenties that I heard this term. My pastor and friend, Pastor Mac, mentioned one day that he felt like a "treed rabbit."
Not being a hunter but feeling fairly confident that rabbits couldn't climb trees, I asked what it meant to feel like a "treed rabbit." Patiently this great outdoors man explained to me that it meant the rabbit was cornered either by a hound or a hunter and was about to become rabbit stew. The emphasis was on feeling cornered or in this case, treed.
In Luke 19 we meet a second tax collector, Zacchaeus, who knew what it meant to be treed.
We are told that Jesus was near and was going to pass by. Zacchaeus wanted to see him. But we are also told he was short and couldn't see over the heads of the others who wanted to see Jesus. In his desperation to see Jesus, he looked around and noticed a tree that he could climb. Up he went. Perfect seat. He could see everything below him including Jesus as he passed by. But what Zacchaeus didn't count on was that not only could he see Jesus, but Jesus could see him.
You know the song. Jesus looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, you come down here.....for I'm going to your house today."
Tommy Tenney has a great insight into this event. He says that many years before this event happened, perhaps even before both Zacchaeus and Jesus were born, God knew that Jesus would be passing by this place and that Zacchaeus would need a boost up in order to see him.
So God arranged for the wind to blow a seed form a nearby tree to land in this spot. He then assigned an angel to stand guard over this seedling to make sure no one stepped on it or that an animal didn't eat it or someone didn't chop it down for firewood. This tree was going to be the perch used by Zacchaeus to see Jesus. Maybe it didn't happen this way but maybe it did.
God does things like this for His kids all the time. So the next time you feel "treed," look around, it just might be a God thing!
Always in Pursuit!
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Simple Stuff
It's not glamorous, doesn't take a boat load of courage or requires a lot of smarts, but the simple stuff God tells us to do more often than not becomes the key for Him to work.
Remember, four of the seven miracles in the Gospel of John happened after some simple instructions were followed. Peter experienced the greatest catch of his career by following simple instructions. And most of the victories in our lives will come through our obedience to the simple things.
I've recently been reminded of the military genius, Naaman, in 2 Kings 5. Some how he joined the ranks of the lepers. As a result he became desperate for a cure and was willing to pay anything, travel anywhere and do whatever was required of him in order to be cured of this disease.
But when he was instructed to do a simple thing, like dip himself seven times in the Jordan River, he balked. Seven dunks in a muddy river was not what he had in mind. It took the words of a simple servant to remind him that if he really wanted to get rid of this disease, he needed to obey.
Just a thought......I'm convinced that it took all seven times for Naaman to get any better. He wasn't 1/7 of the way healed after the first dunk, or almost healed after the sixth dunk. I don't think anything happened until he had obeyed, fully. No substitutes. No shortcuts. Simple obedience.
It wasn't glamorous, wasn't highly intellectual, didn't require great strength or strategies, just obedience.
Doing the simple stuff is so important but often overlooked. Perhaps we need to become like the simple servant, more than we need to become like the great soldier.
Always in Pursuit!
It's not glamorous, doesn't take a boat load of courage or requires a lot of smarts, but the simple stuff God tells us to do more often than not becomes the key for Him to work.
Remember, four of the seven miracles in the Gospel of John happened after some simple instructions were followed. Peter experienced the greatest catch of his career by following simple instructions. And most of the victories in our lives will come through our obedience to the simple things.
I've recently been reminded of the military genius, Naaman, in 2 Kings 5. Some how he joined the ranks of the lepers. As a result he became desperate for a cure and was willing to pay anything, travel anywhere and do whatever was required of him in order to be cured of this disease.
But when he was instructed to do a simple thing, like dip himself seven times in the Jordan River, he balked. Seven dunks in a muddy river was not what he had in mind. It took the words of a simple servant to remind him that if he really wanted to get rid of this disease, he needed to obey.
Just a thought......I'm convinced that it took all seven times for Naaman to get any better. He wasn't 1/7 of the way healed after the first dunk, or almost healed after the sixth dunk. I don't think anything happened until he had obeyed, fully. No substitutes. No shortcuts. Simple obedience.
It wasn't glamorous, wasn't highly intellectual, didn't require great strength or strategies, just obedience.
Doing the simple stuff is so important but often overlooked. Perhaps we need to become like the simple servant, more than we need to become like the great soldier.
Always in Pursuit!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Me and God.....what a great team!
One of my favorite speakers loves to tell the story about the night in March, 1990, that the Chicago Bulls were playing. Superstar Michael Jordan and a rookie on the team scored 70 points. It sounds great until you discover that Jordan scored 69 of those points.
In a post-game interview, the rookie, tongue in cheek, told the reporter that he would always remember this night as being the night he and Michael teamed up to score 70 points.
I've thought about that story often, as I fondly remember my friend. But recently this story took on a new meaning for me. I was reviewing some notes on the Gospel of John and discovered that in four of the seven miracles Jesus did in this Gospel, obedience on the part of someone else was needed.
In the Miracle where the water was turned to wine, the servants had to "do" what Jesus told them to do. Then when Jesus fed the multitude, the disciples needed to "serve" and the folks needed to "sit." Even the blind man had to "go" and "wash" the mud from his eyes before his sight would be restored. And finally, in the miracle of life itself, someone had to obey and "move" the rock, Lazarus had to "hop out" and then someone needed to "remove the grave clothes."
Nothing was too difficult, maybe worth only a point on the score book of miracles, but these actions were necessary to the miracle.
Nothing was outside the realm of what those folks could do. They didn't need special training or inside information. Kind of makes you think that all we need to do in order to see Christ miraculously work is the simple stuff.
I wonder if Moses ever talked about the time he and God parted the waters?
Always in Pursuit!
One of my favorite speakers loves to tell the story about the night in March, 1990, that the Chicago Bulls were playing. Superstar Michael Jordan and a rookie on the team scored 70 points. It sounds great until you discover that Jordan scored 69 of those points.
In a post-game interview, the rookie, tongue in cheek, told the reporter that he would always remember this night as being the night he and Michael teamed up to score 70 points.
I've thought about that story often, as I fondly remember my friend. But recently this story took on a new meaning for me. I was reviewing some notes on the Gospel of John and discovered that in four of the seven miracles Jesus did in this Gospel, obedience on the part of someone else was needed.
In the Miracle where the water was turned to wine, the servants had to "do" what Jesus told them to do. Then when Jesus fed the multitude, the disciples needed to "serve" and the folks needed to "sit." Even the blind man had to "go" and "wash" the mud from his eyes before his sight would be restored. And finally, in the miracle of life itself, someone had to obey and "move" the rock, Lazarus had to "hop out" and then someone needed to "remove the grave clothes."
Nothing was too difficult, maybe worth only a point on the score book of miracles, but these actions were necessary to the miracle.
Nothing was outside the realm of what those folks could do. They didn't need special training or inside information. Kind of makes you think that all we need to do in order to see Christ miraculously work is the simple stuff.
I wonder if Moses ever talked about the time he and God parted the waters?
Always in Pursuit!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Ya gotta go deeper.......
I mentioned in the last entry that Jesus was challenging Peter, the fisherman to think outside his box. The instructions Jesus gave to Peter were outside the box. It was going to require Peter to do something a little different than he had been doing.
I love to read the verses in Luke 5:1-11. Peter and his crew had been fishing all night, just like they always did. This was their box. And for the most part, doing things this way seemed to be working for them, but not this night. They came up empty handed. But Jesus came along and told them put out a little deeper and then throw their nets in the water.
You know the rest of the story. It was a great catch. All the fish that had gotten away before now had ended up in their nets and they had to call for help to bring the catch in.
When we begin to think outside the box, or as our genius friends reminded us, when we start doing something different, we get results we've never seen before.
This whole event is a great reminder of what happens when we obey the simple commands Jesus gives us to do. Just doing what he says will turn our lives from being disappointing and empty to exciting and overflowing.
My favorite part of the story comes in verses 10 & 11. Jesus tells Peter to not be afraid. Afraid of what? Could it be that Jesus wanted Peter to live outside the box? Could it be that Jesus' plans for Peter's life were beyond anything that a second or third generation fisherman from Galilee could imagine ever being so for him? Probably. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He was going to change Peter from being a fisherman of fish, to being a fisherman of men.
There would be challenges. There might be some big waves, a few soldiers, an angry mob, and even some Gentiles to encounter. But Jesus said "don't be afraid."
It's a great reminder for me and probably for you. It's going to be different than we think. It's going to be outside our box. But don't be afraid!
Always in Pursuit!
I mentioned in the last entry that Jesus was challenging Peter, the fisherman to think outside his box. The instructions Jesus gave to Peter were outside the box. It was going to require Peter to do something a little different than he had been doing.
I love to read the verses in Luke 5:1-11. Peter and his crew had been fishing all night, just like they always did. This was their box. And for the most part, doing things this way seemed to be working for them, but not this night. They came up empty handed. But Jesus came along and told them put out a little deeper and then throw their nets in the water.
You know the rest of the story. It was a great catch. All the fish that had gotten away before now had ended up in their nets and they had to call for help to bring the catch in.
When we begin to think outside the box, or as our genius friends reminded us, when we start doing something different, we get results we've never seen before.
This whole event is a great reminder of what happens when we obey the simple commands Jesus gives us to do. Just doing what he says will turn our lives from being disappointing and empty to exciting and overflowing.
My favorite part of the story comes in verses 10 & 11. Jesus tells Peter to not be afraid. Afraid of what? Could it be that Jesus wanted Peter to live outside the box? Could it be that Jesus' plans for Peter's life were beyond anything that a second or third generation fisherman from Galilee could imagine ever being so for him? Probably. But Jesus told him not to be afraid. He was going to change Peter from being a fisherman of fish, to being a fisherman of men.
There would be challenges. There might be some big waves, a few soldiers, an angry mob, and even some Gentiles to encounter. But Jesus said "don't be afraid."
It's a great reminder for me and probably for you. It's going to be different than we think. It's going to be outside our box. But don't be afraid!
Always in Pursuit!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Sheer Genius
"Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of insanity" said my friend Wayne Howes in a Sunday school class discussion several years ago. I was fascinated with the statement and have hung on to it for a long time.
Several years later, I discovered that it was Albert Einstein who had first said these words. But when Wayne spoke those words, they went straight to my heart and they have been the inspiration for many times of re-evaluating things in my life that I've wanted to be different.
I was also introduced about the same time to the phrase, "thinking outside the box." I believe both the formula for different results and "thinking outside the box" are pretty much saying the same thing.
Here are some conclusions about boxes I have come to in the intervening years:
#1--before you can think outside the box, you have to realize you are in a box
#2--boxes can become caskets if we are not careful
#3--not all boxes are wrong
#4--all boxes have a life span of their own (I think Scripture refers to these times as seasons)
At a recent conference, I was reminded of the Dakota Indian tribal wisdom that said, "If the horse is dead, it might be time to get off."
I was also reminded of the temptation for some of us when we discover that the horse is dead, to yell louder at the horse, work harder at spurring the horse on. And some of us even pray for a resurrection of the horse instead of getting off, taking our saddle and search for a new ride.
I've had folks ask me why they weren't growing in their faith or why their marriage was getting better. It could be that something different needs to be done if they are truly interested in seeing different results. They need a new horse!
Remember the words of the genius, insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting something different to happen. Just maybe we need to do something different today.
This was the experience that the fisherman, turned apostle, Peter, had early one morning. But that's for the next entry......hope to see you there.
Always in Pursuit!
"Doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is the definition of insanity" said my friend Wayne Howes in a Sunday school class discussion several years ago. I was fascinated with the statement and have hung on to it for a long time.
Several years later, I discovered that it was Albert Einstein who had first said these words. But when Wayne spoke those words, they went straight to my heart and they have been the inspiration for many times of re-evaluating things in my life that I've wanted to be different.
I was also introduced about the same time to the phrase, "thinking outside the box." I believe both the formula for different results and "thinking outside the box" are pretty much saying the same thing.
Here are some conclusions about boxes I have come to in the intervening years:
#1--before you can think outside the box, you have to realize you are in a box
#2--boxes can become caskets if we are not careful
#3--not all boxes are wrong
#4--all boxes have a life span of their own (I think Scripture refers to these times as seasons)
At a recent conference, I was reminded of the Dakota Indian tribal wisdom that said, "If the horse is dead, it might be time to get off."
I was also reminded of the temptation for some of us when we discover that the horse is dead, to yell louder at the horse, work harder at spurring the horse on. And some of us even pray for a resurrection of the horse instead of getting off, taking our saddle and search for a new ride.
I've had folks ask me why they weren't growing in their faith or why their marriage was getting better. It could be that something different needs to be done if they are truly interested in seeing different results. They need a new horse!
Remember the words of the genius, insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting something different to happen. Just maybe we need to do something different today.
This was the experience that the fisherman, turned apostle, Peter, had early one morning. But that's for the next entry......hope to see you there.
Always in Pursuit!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)