I’ve noticed a growing trend among many in the church (especially evident on Christian blogs) regarding “preaching”.  It seems that “conversations” are all the rage now, and preaching is out!  We’re called to “join the conversation”, but who wants to sit and listen to the preacher?  Is there still a place for preaching in the church?   

I find it strange that people would question the idea of preaching, as if to say it was useless or even unbiblical.  Aren’t we commanded in scripture to “preach the Word”?  (2 Timothy 4.2).

I’ve always understood that the meaning here is one of making a proclamation; that we are to be heralds for Christ.  When I think of a herald, I think of someone who declares a message.  That implies a monologue, not a dialogue.  Questions and discussions may follow, but first a message is declared.  In fact, I remember reading Wuest’s Greek translation many years ago concerning this subject, and here it is:

“Make a public proclamation of the Word with such formality, gravity, and authority as must be heeded…”  (2 Timothy 4.2)

That sounds like preaching to me!  As I continue in the passage, I can see how preaching would lead to discussion and further exhortation. (Which I’m all for, by the way.)  I guess my point is, why throw the baby out with the bathwater?  Preaching and discussion are both biblical, and both are needed in the church.

I believe the present “anti preaching” bias that is present in so many who are questioning the traditional church structure is simply a reaction to not having been allowed any type of discussion in our gatherings.  As is so often the case, the pendulum then swings to the far extreme and we end up having the opposite problem!  I see the same thing happening regarding “leadership” in the church.  (See my post, “Leaderless Church“.)  Christians who have felt that they were oppressed by leaders, leave the traditional churches and opt for a leaderless church.  This type of reaction will never produce the right results; we simply exchange one lopsided form with another.

One reason given for not liking preaching-  “I can’t remember a single sermon I’ve ever heard.”  Really?  Is there so little impact from the preaching of God’s Word?  God has many tools at his disposal, and one of the best is preaching.  Under inspiration of the Holy Spirit I’ve been arrested by preaching throughout my entire life as a Christian!  Preaching that came from a pulpit, a car radio, a book, a song, or a friend… I’ve been challenged and changed by preaching.

For the record, I love discussion as well.  I think it’s invaluable, but I’m not buying into the anti preaching sentiment that seems so prevalent today.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

Do you think God is the only one who would like you to “be still”?  I have a feeling there might be more people out there wishing you’d slow down, relax, and stop doing what you’re doing long enough to notice them…

Be still, and know that I’m your wife.

Be still, and know that I’m your son.

Be still, and know that I’m your friend.

Be still, and know that I’m your neighbor.

Even your pets probably wish you could relax long enough to pet them!

Anxiety, worry, distractions and busyness plague us and rob us of the most important things in life.

My wife and I were in Door County, WI for a few days “getting away from it all” when God’s Word came to mind… “Be still…”  I didn’t expect the words, “and know that I’m your wife” to follow!  But that was, after all, what we were up there for.  It’s one of our favorite places to go and just be with each other.  It’s wonderfully quiet in the off-season when we most often visit, and it’s a place we’ve been coming to ever since we got married 11 years ago.  I look forward to it each time we travel there because it’s one of the special ways I can connect with my wife.  When we go, I don’t check my email; I don’t turn on a cell phone, I don’t even like to have a TV on most of the time, and rarely, if ever, do I have the car radio on- it’s just me and her together- and that’s all I want.

When we get away like that I often realize how distracted I am in the rest of my “everyday life”- When I’m back at home I’ve got tons of distractions and lots of things to occupy my mind and attention.  I have purposed lately that I need to “be still” and notice my wife more.  Not in those words exactly, but the thought has occurred to me at various moments just how blessed I am to have her.  Time will stand still every now and then and I will look at her and really see.  And I will think, “Wow!  This is the wife I asked God for all those long years of praying.  She’s actually here standing in the same room with me!  There was a time I thought it would never happen; when I thought I’d never be married- and there she is!  I have a life with her and God answered my prayers!”  And it will wash over me just how wonderful God has been to me and just how blessed I am to have her as my wife.

That’s what should happen more often!  That’s what “being still” is all about.  You can’t really see, if you’re not being still- life just flies by you along with all the people in your life, and it all becomes a blur.  Being still brings things back into focus.  Being still allows you to see that which is really important.

”Be still and know that I’m your wife…”

Husbands, I think you know that’s the heart’s cry of every married woman in the world!  They long for that.

It’s also the heart’s cry of children all over the world- “Be still and know that I’m your child.  I’m here!  Notice me!  Appreciate me!  See ME!”

We’re so busy and so distracted that we fail to really interact with people all around us.  Most of the world is crying out, “Be still, and know that I even exist!”

God most often gets the last scraps that fall off the table- if that.  In a world where we’re too busy to notice what’s right in front of us, a God who is unseen is all too often barely thought of at all.  We run around like chickens with our heads cut off- distracted, worried, anxious, stressed out- and miss the One who could help us through our daily life.

“Be still, and know that I am God!”

“I can help you!  I’m Almighty God, maker of the heavens and the earth!”

I like the alternate translation in the NASB:  “Relax, let go, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

The God who loves you

But there’s something even sadder than failing to get God’s help: it’s failing to know His love.

God would love nothing more than to spend time with us and we fail to see it.  We run about oblivious to the greatest love the world has ever known.  He’s right there in front of us and we don’t appreciate what we’ve got- we’re too busy to notice, too distracted to care.

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

Our Heavenly Father, along with many other people in our life, are just wishing, waiting, and hoping that we’ll be still long enough to notice them- Will we?

“Then Moses said, ‘Show me your glory!’” (Exodus 33:18)

Moses was a man who prayed big prayers and because of it he received HUGE answers! I’m struck by that this morning as I think about the life of Moses- this man’s entire life was marked by the conversations he had with God.

“Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.” (Exodus 33:11)

One of the things that stands out about the relationship God had with Moses is that the LORD would not only speak to Moses “as a man speaks to his friend”, but Moses would also speak to God in the same way! Throughout his life Moses was utterly candid and blunt in his prayers to God. It’s hard for me to even call these exchanges “prayer” in the sense that we often think of prayer as being today. Prayer could more accurately be called “conversation” in the life of Moses. Moses had conversations with God, not “prayer times”. One of the most wonderful conversations Moses had with the LORD is recorded in Exodus 33:

“Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.” (Exodus 33:12)

And so begins an amazing conversation where Moses basically tells the LORD that he gets the fact that the LORD wants him to ‘Lead these people’, but he feels like he’s understaffed (who is going to help me, I can’t do this by myself!)- Moses feels that he lacks help, and that God hasn’t given him enough details, instructions, and resources to do the thing God has called him to do. Moses also would like to remind the LORD of the fact that the people he’s been called to lead are actually the Lord’s people. In essence- “if we’re going to get this done I’m going to need a little help here!”

God assures Moses there’s nothing to worry about, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)

It’s not that Moses doesn’t believe God, but still, he wants God to know in no uncertain terms that he wants nothing to do with this plan if God’s not going to be in it and back him up.

Even though the LORD had just finished telling Moses that His presence would be with him, Moses has the audacity and boldness to ask, “What if?”  What if God changes His mind?  Moses doesn’t want any surprises!

“Then Moses said to Him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.’” (Exodus 33:15)

God could have said. “Hey, I just told you I’d be with you” and rebuked Moses for his not so subtle lack of confidence that things were going to happen just as the LORD said they would. But God didn’t do that- in fact the LORD seemed rather pleased with Moses:

“And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17)

What a wonderful thing to hear the LORD say that He is pleased with us! And not only pleased, but that he knows us by name and is intimately familiar with who we are.

Now show me your glory!

But here’s where the story really gets good: Moses has been assured of all that he’s asked of God, but there’s one more thing that Moses desires; something better than even all of that: Moses wants to see God Himself!

“Then Moses said, ‘Show me your glory!’ ” (Exodus 33:18)

Now Moses could have stopped at the assurance that God would be with him; he could have left it at that and said, “Thank you, LORD, it means the world to me that you will be with us- I need nothing more than that.”

Isn’t it true that we often content ourselves with the blessings of God knowing that His favor rests on us and that He is “with us”? 

Moses, however, was not content that God would simply be with him, Moses wanted God Himself.

Moses was a man who prayed big prayers and because of it he received HUGE answers! Moses was a man who walked with God, and out of his friendship with God was emboldened to ask for things that others would not.

And God responded!

“And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.  But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (Exodus 33:19-20)

Moses was given a new revelation of who God is because he dared to ask- he dared to ask because he was a friend of God.

God’s glory is His goodness

Consider for a moment the treasure revealed to Moses- God’s glory is His goodness.

Moses had previously seen amazing things from the Lord; he’d seen God’s presence go with them and guide them in the desert:

“After leaving Sukkoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.” (Exodus 13:20-22)

He’d seen God part the Red sea, saving the Israelites as they “went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.” (Exodus 14:29) Out of the entire army of Pharaoh who followed them into the sea, not one of them survived, as God caused the water to flow back over their enemies.

On many other occasions, over and over again, Moses had seen God do glorious things- how could he now pray “show me your glory”? Hadn’t he seen it? Wasn’t that enough?

I would venture to say that if most of us had witnessed the kind of things Moses saw we’d certainly feel we’d seen the glory of God. Moses, however, was looking beyond the outward manifestations of God’s power and might- he wanted to see something of God Himself. What he was given to see was that the LORD of power and might was good- God chose to reveal His heart to Moses and not just His hand- God’s glory is His goodness!

I’m struck this morning with the fact that Moses was a man who prayed BIG prayers, and saw HUGE answers, but I’m even more struck by the fact that it was Moses’ intimacy with God that caused him not only to pray boldly, but to seek God for no other reason than to know God Himself.

May we be encouraged to pray boldly as Moses did, and may our love for God exceed our desire for the blessings and gifts that God is able to give.

I was pondering the love affair that many people have with their cell phones when I came across an interesting article from a blogger living in Guatemala:

“You have internet but no running water”

I’ve read a number of articles documenting the disparity between living conditions and cell phone/technology ownership. This blogger did a good job illustrating the contrasting image:

“The family I live with has satellite TV, a wide screen television (and a television in every bedroom) but they have no indoor running water or heating…And they all have cell phones, MP3 players and their favorite “novellas” (soap operas) on television…”

My first impulse was to ask, ”What’s wrong with this picture?”  It’s fairly easy to see plenty of things that are incongruent, but instead of focusing on the obvious, I thought I’d focus on, “What’s good about this picture?”  It’s actually surprising that cell phone companies haven’t hopped on board and used this to market their phones to the church! 

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel- with 4G cell phone service!”

I don’t write ad copy, but this just seems like a commercial waiting to happen.

As our blogger went on to say:

“At dinner, in the weeks before Easter, my host family would sit around the dinner table and listen to the story of Christ’s resurrection told in K’iche, being broadcast over a radio on someone’s cell phone.”

Amazing!  Whatever conclusions we may draw about the gap between living conditions and the ownership of technology- one thing we can praise God for is that the gospel is being preached around the world in ways that the Apostle Paul never imagined!  God will see to it that His Word reaches every “tribe and language and people and nation” for whom Christ shed His blood.

“And they sang a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

How wonderful that we live in a time when the gospel can come to the remotest parts of the earth in a moment’s time.  Now that’s what I call a “smartphone”!

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

The passage goes on to say, “This is what the ancients were commended for.” It is also, might I add, what the modern man most lacks.

Pity the one who only believes what He can see.

The man without faith is poor even if his outward life pretends riches, for he lives in a world of his own making, devoid of the knowledge of God. How strange to live in a world created by God without knowing God! Is it any wonder why we fumble about blindly feeling our way?

How confident the world acts; how self assured! You don’t have to live long to see that it’s all a sham, a puffing up of the chest to project the image of “having it all together”. Not having eyes to see the unseen, we can only believe in ourselves. How tragic! Looking to ourselves we build all sorts of support structures- all based on what we can see; all based on us. We deify knowledge, philosophy, human wisdom, science, technology; in place of God sits the psychologist along with a host of other “experts” who purport to understand the human condition.

God shoots the whole thing down with a word:

“For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (1 Corinthians 1:19)

The world and it’s support system are considered by God to be utter foolishness!

Looking for answers

There was a time in my life when I looked to the world for answers. I read many self-help books, all the time failing to see that they all had one thing in common: they put man at the center of the universe instead of God.

Through the ages we have made a specialty of making gods out of ourselves; is it any wonder we fail to see beyond our own faces in the mirror? Having enthroned ourselves, and having put the King’s crown on our own heads, we went on to spin deep sounding philosophies that keep us always at the center. Sometimes we may even allow God in our peripheral vision- thoughts of His existence may intrude, but in the end sight wins over faith: We can see ourselves, we can’t see God- we reason that we must be the center of the universe.

Into a world that seeks “proof” God speaks about “faith”. The greatest treasures of life are only accessible by faith!

The day finally came when I saw a little bit of what God saw. He lifted the veil on my heart and I saw the poverty of a life that revolved around me. It was going to take more than a self help book or a trip to the psychiatrist’s office to deal with who I was.

Suddenly the world’s answers seemed pretty shallow and foolish. I found myself agreeing with God- the world doesn’t know what it’s talking about!

“Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20)

None of my self help books ever told me that I had a “sin problem” (an important omission since that was my main problem!). My guidance counselor at school never said anything about me needing to be “reconciled to God”. The psychiatrist who gave me tranquilizers to calm my anxious nerves in my early 20′s never told me that Jesus was “the prince of peace” or that my sinful lifestyle could be causing some of my guilt and anxiety. Even if I were to be able to sail through life having riches and health and every desire satisfied (and who can say that!) I’d still be faced with death.  I’d still be faced with the reality that whatever kind of life I was able to make for myself would eventually end- leading me to the ultimate conclusion: There must be more to life than this! This world can give you a lot of things, but after everything is said and done this world’s treasures and wisdom can only take you so far; without faith you can never enter into what real life is.

Real life centers around God; real life does not have man at the center.

If you’re going to enter into this “Life” it’s going to have to be by faith, because God has set things up so that faith is the only way in:

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”  (Hebrews 11:6)

The entrance of faith

The bible says that, “Faith comes by hearing; and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

As we read and hear the Word of God faith has an opportunity to grow in our heart. Faith itself is a “gift of God” and not something we can boast about. (Ephesians 2:8-10) In the world of faith GOD is at the center and GOD is the initiator. May He open your heart to believe in Him!

“… so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 3:17)

The world offers up it’s substitutes for God, but they can never come close to knowing and walking with God Himself. The world will try to tell you that God doesn’t exist; failing to do that it will try to tell you to not make too big a deal out of God. Don’t let the world crush your faith!

“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

The riches of a life lived by faith

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” (Hebrews 11:3)

“All things were created by Him, and for Him.” (see Colossians 1:15)

By far, the greatest riches of a life filled with faith is that we are introduced to, and begin to know the God who created the entire universe.  How can we ever begin to understand life, and our place in it, without knowing the One who created it all?

The entire universe was created by an unseen God- but He has revealed Himself through the person of Jesus Christ.

“All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:3-5)

Have you comprehended it? Have you seen the unseen; believed by faith? Even though God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus many could not comprehend it. They could not see who He was even though He was standing right in front of them! For them, as well as for us, the requirement is the same- only by faith can we see that which is hidden; only by faith can we enter into the true riches of knowing the God who created us.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how most of the people I know are so busy.  I’ve just been noticing more and more that friends who were at one time pretty easy going, and always seemed to have time to talk or get together, just don’t have the time anymore.  I was talking to another brother in the Lord recently and he’s been noticing the same thing with people he knows.  Everyone’s so busy that they don’t seem to have the time to do the simple things of life- there’s less peace and more strain.  Are we just rushing from thing to thing and not realizing how foolish it really is to live like that?

My mom died of cancer 5 years ago and one thing that she said really stuck with me.  We were in a grocery store one day and she noticed how stressed and rushed so many of the people seemed to be.  She told me she used to be like that, but after being diagnosed she saw the futility of it all.  She told me the difference between her and the people that she saw racing around, was that she knew her time was almost up here and how precious life really is.  It’s worth the time to slow down.  Constantly being preoccupied and busy robs us of the quietness we need to think, to ponder- to really live.

The great paradox that I saw with Mom was that even though she was running out of time here on planet earth, she started to slow down and live like she had all the time in the world.  She took in the flowers at spring and noticed things we just passed by.  When talking with her, you had the sense she wanted to hear every word you had to say, and there was no place she’d rather be than right there with you.  Sometimes I could see her taking me all in, or looking up at the sky and absorbing it all like a big sponge.  She was dying, but in many ways I’d never seen her so full of life.  She embraced it, treasured it, took it all in.

Only a month or so before Mom died, we walked out of Wal-Mart on a beautiful spring day.  I watched her look up into the sky, take a deep breath of the spring air, and say, “What a glorious day!”  She taught me one of the most priceless lessons.  It’s one we all know, but seem to forget… Life is short, and too precious, to just let it pass us by.

But if this life is too precious to just let it pass by, how much more are we missing out on if we fail to live for eternity?  Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”  Life is too short to make this world your goal!  The best lived life soon ends, and then what?

The great tragedy is that Jesus is wanting to spend time with us but we think we have “better things to do”.

How can we take this most precious of treasures and just walk on by?  Jesus is speaking from heaven, are you too preoccupied with this world to hear the voice that speaks of eternity?  Soon you will be there, and what will this world be to you then?  How the devil loves to keep us distracted by that which will soon be gone.  Jesus is your greatest treasure.  How He longs to walk with us “in the cool of the day”.  What could be better than that?

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:20)

I’ve been a Christian a long time now (over 25 years) and what I’ve discovered about myself is not that I’m strong, but that I’m weak- much weaker than I ever thought I was going into this Christian life. I knew I needed Jesus when I became born again and started down this path, I just didn’t know how much I needed Him. If you would have asked me when I started this journey what I’d be like 25 years down the road, I probably would have pictured myself an incredibly strong Christian who loved and obeyed Jesus all the time, and never gave into temptation or struggled with bad attitudes and motives. As it turns out, I’m not the perfect man I pictured myself as being. Hopefully most Christians aim high, but the truth is, we still very often fall far short of the mark.

On a recent Wednesday my wife and I gathered in a living room to worship Jesus, fellowship, and hear God’s Word. During our conversation someone said how it was wonderful that Jesus loved us and forgave us all our sin. We talked about the love of God and what it was like as a new Christian to have all our sin washed away and to be forgiven by Jesus- to be accepted and loved by Him. For me it was the most amazing thing in the world- I needed Jesus so much and He was there for me without so much as an accusation! What many of us don’t want to admit is that what we needed as a new Christian we need every day of our lives. The truth about me is not that I’m strong and can live life on my own now, but that I’m still very weak even after 25 years. I still need Jesus just as much as I ever did!

God loves sinners, but does He still love me?

It’s pretty easy for Christians to believe God loves unsaved sinners- we usually don’t have any doubts about that! We tell them to “come just as you are” fully believing that Christ will receive them with open arms. We get a warm feeling when others say “yes” to Christ and are glad to know that they have been fully forgiven and are now children of God. But having that warm feeling and assurance of God’s love for ourselves can sometimes be a lot harder than believing it for others. Can we come to Jesus “just as we are” or is He sick of who we are? Has God’s patience run out? Is He tired of hearing us repent of the same thing for the millionth time?

As Christians we often try to hide our weakness: I know what I should be, and I know who I am- hiding who I am from others is a horrible game, but most of us play it to one degree or another. We’re convinced other Christians would reject us if they really knew us- and we might be right! But what about Jesus? 

The God who runs to the weak

Jesus doesn’t despise the weak. He doesn’t look down upon the one who is struggling, and broken, and ready to give up.

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:20)

The amazing thing about Jesus is that when He sees weakness He runs to it. He first impulse is to heal, and comfort, and restore. The Holy Spirit Himself is called “Parakletos” in the Greek language- “one who is called along side to help“. Jesus will never turn away from you because you are weak.

“If we are faithless, he will remain faithful…” (2 Timothy 1:13)

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

Present tense: “of whom I AM the worst.”

I hate that about me. It’s something I never knew about myself until I became a Christian- I’m a wretched man (Romans 7:24) and I’m the worst of sinners. People have told me I’m being too hard on myself when I say that. But all I’m really saying is what the Apostle Paul said about himself, and what the bible says about me, and what I now know and accept to be true- yes, I am a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17), but I am also a sinner, and I am “the worst”.

This battle between the old man and the new man is unique to Christians. Before being born again I had no such internal struggle. I would sometimes struggle with conscience, but this is different! When I became a Christian I literally became a “new creation”- the only trouble is the “old me” and the “new me” don’t get along- they desire opposite things and battle each other constantly. (Galatians 5:17) This battle isn’t fun, and in time it wears you down. If you listen to the enemy of your soul it can lead you to despair. Sometimes we can get so weak and so discouraged that we don’t even have the strength to come to God. We are literally like “a smoldering wick”- all that’s left is a puff of smoke; there’s no flame, no oil left in our lamp- the fire has, from all observation, gone out. It’s at that time that we begin to see just how tender the love of Jesus is:

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:20)

When you’re bruised Jesus will never deride you, accuse you, come to break you, or destroy you. He will not snuff you out and walk away. He will lead “justice to victory”- in fact, He already has! When the enemy of your soul comes to accuse and destroy you, Jesus reminds us that He came to give His life for us on the cross!

“…For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” (Revelation 12:10-11)

Weakness comes in a million forms, and Jesus understands all of them. He knows everything about me and hasn’t walked away, not once. Jesus “loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) on the cross. Personally, I’ve always been amazed by that- He’s utterly for me, He totally loves me, and nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)

So wherever you’re at today, take a deep breath and try to take it in… I think it’s one of the most beautiful verses in the bible:

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory.” (Matthew 12:20)

I couldn’t help but notice the disconnect: I’d just written an email to someone in which I reveled in the sovereignty of God… but the very next day I was bent out shape about the weather!

It didn’t help having my wife tell me to “go with the flow” as we drove down I-5 in torrential rains. We were on vacation. We’d been waiting a year to come out to Seattle and were heading down the highway to Cannon Beach, OR. For months I’d envisioned what it’d be like… perfect blue skies, moderate temps; this was the Northwest I knew in the summer; a bit of heaven on earth… nothing like the one you hear about all the time with incessant drizzle and cloudy depressive skies. We’d come at the right time of the year to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the Great Northwest as it was meant be experienced- in the sun!

But there was no sun that morning; only rain- not even the aforementioned drizzle Seattle’s known for. This was a Florida downpour! The kind I’d come to know when I’d lived in Clearwater FL during the summer. The kind where buckets and buckets fall and you can’t see through the car window no matter how fast the wipers are going. It doesn’t rain like that very often in Seattle, and it just so happens it would have to be during the one time we were on vacation there.

I was not happy about it. And I didn’t hide it. The only thing worse than the rain was me! (I’m sure my wife would completely agree with that statement.)

Oh the irony- the day before I had waxed poetic on God’s Sovereignty and now I couldn’t even trust Him with something as small as the weather! He does control the weather, doesn’t He? The Psalms tell me the forces of nature are at His beck and call. The Gospel of Mark tells me Jesus calmed the sea. In the scheme of things the weather’s small potatoes with God. He created all things and they continue to exist because He holds them together- I don’t think the weather’s a big deal to the Creator of the heavens and the earth!

Now as a Christian, I believe God holds me in the palm of His hands…

So let’s see… God’s got me in the palm of His hands, and He’s got the weather under His complete control, so what am I complaining about? Wait… Who am I complaining about? That’s right, I was complaining about GOD! I mean, let’s be honest here: when it comes right down to it, if He’s in control and I’m complaining, I must be complaining about Him!

To top it all off- as if to highlight how wrong I’d been to complain- it actually ended up only raining 3 hours; the exact length of our trip to Cannon Beach! As we approached the beach it stopped raining, the sun came out, and it was gloriously beautiful. You see how bad I was? I couldn’t even wait a few hours to be in a sour mood, I started complaining as soon as the rain began to fall! “Great, so much for our plans!”, I grumbled with each falling drop. I guess my plans were more important than God’s. I didn’t want to voice it at the time, but isn’t that what it had come down to? God could be sovereign as long as it didn’t interfere with my plans! Hmmm.

Why couldn’t I trust God with such a little thing? Why get so bent out shape over something like the weather?

Why can I often trust God for the big things in my life, and not for something small?

Here’s the strange thing: 4 years ago my Mom went to be with the Lord after a battle with Ovarian cancer. You know what got me through it? The belief that God is Sovereign. When she was first diagnosed God gave me a verse to hold on to:

“My times are in Your Hands” (Psalm 31:15)

That is the king of verses for God’s sovereignty! God wanted me to know from the beginning of my Mom’s diagnoses that He was with us; that this was not just life spinning out of control- God knew the intimate details and was somehow weaving all things together for good.

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“My times are in your hands” would become the verse I would cling to as my Mother battled cancer. I saw the truth of that verse lived out right before my eyes- God carried my mother; giving her strength through every battle, and grace that shone like the sun. In some very big ways, and many small ways, He proved He was with her in the fight of her life. One time after she almost died in my arms as we waited for an ambulance to arrive, God actually spoke clear words to my heart that “her time was not yet” … she had more life to live, more things to do, more people to touch and life to experience. At the very moment I should have been most in fear of losing my Mother, a peace flooded me, and I knew she would not be leaving us- at least not yet. And she didn’t die- she lived an entire year after that, making a strong recovery and embracing life! God showed me that day that He was sovereign; that she would not leave this earth even a moment before His time.

It was funny, because my Mom baffled her doctors- they couldn’t understand how she could still be with us. Many times they predicted she’d be gone, but she continued on, often growing stronger- living life, visiting with friends, sharing in meals, going out and being with family. She had a piece of chocolate that she kept on her end table; she would sniff it and smile- she couldn’t eat it because the cancer had invaded her digestive system and certain foods would be very painful if eaten- but she could sure enjoy the smell of chocolate! Nobody was going to take that away from her! Such was my Mom’s attitude. On another occasion, just months before my Mom died, she walked out of Wal-Mart, took a deep breath of spring air and exclaimed, “What a glorious day!” God carried my Mom.

And He carried me too. He let me see in many more amazing ways that He was sovereign- that all of this was under his control. Holding on to this verse and trusting in His sovereignty brought me through and helped me cope with the rollercoaster ride of victories and defeats. Trusting in God’s sovereignty could not answer the question, “Why is this happening to my Mother?”, but it did bring me calm in the storm- God was in our midst, and knowing that helped calm the sea.

Anyone who has gone through something like this knows about hope, and hope crushed; we rode the ups and downs with her- I would have been shattered and broken had not God held me in His hands and reminded me of His love, care, and sovereignty. Over and over again when I needed it most, God would remind me of that verse, “My times are in Your Hands” and it would bring me through.

But just to seal the truth of His sovereignty to me, He did one more very amazing thing: The month before my mother died she went into her kitchen, turned the page on her calendar, and guess what verse she saw?

“My times are in Your Hands”!

 There it was again! The very verse God had used to comfort and encourage me from the beginning of her illness- and here it was, a year and a half later, and my Mom was reading it on her calendar!

She walked out of her kitchen, walked into the living room where I was sitting, and asked me, “Mike, what does this verse mean to you?”

“Mean to me? What does this verse mean to me?”  It meant the world!

 Here was the verse that God had used time after time to help me through the difficult moments of Mom’s struggle with cancer. He’d given it to me at the very beginning; spoken it to me over and over again through the most painful times; used it to bring me peace and remind me that He was in control; that He was sovereign; that this would be okay- because nothing was happening outside of His control and He loved my Mom.

So you can only imagine how I felt when she asked me what the verse meant to me. It meant everything! It was my lifeline- my connection to the God who held my mother’s life in His hands.

But instead of telling my mother what it meant to me, I asked her, “Mom, what does it mean to you?”

She paused and told me she felt God was telling her that this would be the month she would be going to be with Him. And she said there was something else… I didn’t even have to ask, I could tell by the look on her face what it was. Her birthday was on the last day of the month. I said, “Mom, do you think it’s going to be on your birthday?” She nodded, “Yes”.

On May 31^st 2006, the day of my mother’s birthday, my Mom went to be with the Lord.

The verse God began with, He ended with- “My times are in Your Hands”.

God had let me see His sovereignty. I would always know that God was in complete control… even to the very day she left this earth to go to heaven.

Now you would think that someone who’s seen God’s Sovereignty like that would have no trouble with seeing it in the little things of life like the weather! And that’s what really struck me- I had trusted God through the most difficult thing in my life, and here I couldn’t even trust Him with something as little as the weather! I could bow before Him and knowledge He was sovereign over my Mom’s very life and death, but here I was having trouble with just a few clouds and rain, that in the scheme of things, really didn’t matter at all.

What a lesson! And I’m sure I haven’t completely learned it. But it’s surely a clue why God would say, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

He wants us to understand that He’s GOD; that He’s sovereign. And it’s not always in the big things that we forget that; more often than not it’s probably in the little details of life that we lose our perspective, that we fail to see our glorious and Sovereign God. I have to say, I was a little ashamed of my temper tantrum about the weather. Is this the same guy that’s been a Christian for 26 years, who sings and writes about trusting and following Jesus, who makes much of the sovereignty of God? Yes, unfortunately it is! I’m glad God’s not only sovereign, but full of love and mercy!

“Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)

Would you like to surprise people and really make their day?  Try saying “Thank You”!  Gratitude is one of the things that should mark every Christian.  Gratitude is the polar opposite of entitlement.  Gratitude acknowledges that what we receive from God and others in life, is most often a gift, and not an obligation.

Entitlement is nothing new; there’s an account in Luke 17:11-17 where Jesus came face to face with it.  As He was making his way to Jerusalem ten men with leprosy called out to Him from a distance.  They asked Jesus for mercy and pity, and He gave it to them- as they walked away they were healed on the spot!  One of them seeing he was healed, turned around and came back, and threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him.  Jesus couldn’t help but notice the other nine took off without even a simple, “Thank You.” 

“Were not all ten cleansed?  Where are the other nine?”  (Luke 17:17)

I just want to say, “Don’t expect people to say “thank you”… they should, but probably won’t.  We live in an entitlement, flesh driven, self centered world.  If they didn’t thank Jesus for something as wonderful as being healed from leprosy, what makes you think people will thank you for the things you do for them?  It’s probably not going to happen!  This is the story that I go back to when I encounter ingratitude.  It’s easy to get callused if we’re not careful.  It’s easy to just throw up our hands and say, “What’s the point!”  It’s not really wrong to wonder as Jesus did, “Where are the other nine?”  Ingratitude hurts!  The least they could have done was say “Thank You”…

I’m just standing here thanking Jesus!

For the Christian, things should be different: Gratitude is to be our way of life!

In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

As Christians, entitlement should be giving way to gratitude; selfishness should be giving way to thankfulness.  Each of us is a leper cleansed.  Are we returning to thank Jesus?  Do we see the world in a brand new way?  Notice what the one who returned to Jesus did after he was cleansed…

“He threw Himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him..”  (Luke 17:16)

He fell at his feet, he humbled himself.  The heart of gratitude is humility.  The number one reason people don’t say “thank you”?  Pride!  The self centered nine that Jesus healed just went on their merry way; healed but not humbled.  The one that returned to give thanks “threw himself at Jesus feet”; an utter abandonment of self to give praise to another.  When we “return to give thanks”, whether to God or other people, what we’re really doing is saying, “This is not about ME, this is about YOU!”  Saying “Thank You!” is recognizing others for what they’ve done. 

Spread the joy!

Take a quick glance through the book of Philippians… have you ever noticed how “thanks” and “joy” are intertwined?  The joyful Christian, is the thankful Christian!  If you’ve lost your joy, check your gratitude.

You are the fragrance of Christ to the world… spread the joy around!  (2 Corinthians 2:15)  Amaze someone by noticing them, and saying, “Thank You!”

Have you ever spent a lot of time on a Christian blog or forum and when you go to find out something about the author, there’s nothing there?  No way to get a hold of them, no clue as to who they are, no name except some generic “screen name”?

I spent much of the day today reading blogs that I guess you could say are “discernment ministries.”  I was reading about things that are going on in the prophetic and revival movements, that quite honestly, I think are appalling.  But that’s not what I want to talk about right now.  I want to know why hardly anyone is using their real name?  I’m tired of Christians who author blogs, and people who post to them, hiding behind some kind of anonymous title.  What’s going on here?  Why are you afraid to post your real name?  Do you believe what you’re talking about?  Then have the guts to sign your name to it!  

Please don’t try to spiritualize it, and use the excuse that “it doesn’t matter what my name is, or who I am… all that matters is that I speak truth…”  All I know is that God uses people with NAMES!  Like Peter and Paul, Jeremiah and Stephen, John, Mark, and Timothy…  All of them putting themselves out there to live and die by what they believed and spoke.  I don’t have a bible filled with anonymous preachers and prophets.  If you believe you speak for God then stand up and be counted, and ACCOUNTABLE. 

I can understand why you want to take the easy way out, but what honor does that bring to the Lord?  Elijah, fearing Jezebel’s retribution, was afraid and ran for his life after he’d spoken for God. (1 Kings 19:1)  That doesn’t happen if you’re anonymous, does it?  It’s much easier not to have to go through that!  Too bad Stephen didn’t have the internet when he gave that speech to the Sanhedrin… He could have spared himself being stoned to death with a simple anonymous post!  Of course, he was rewarded for his stand when he looked up to heaven and  saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 6:8 – 7:7-59)  He would have missed that by posting anonymously online.  See, God wants people who will take a stand for Him.  Hebrews 11 is the great “Hall of Faith”:  I see Noah, and Abraham, David, and Rahab and many others, but I don’t see “anonymous”!  God’s looking for those who will stand for Him and “love not their lives even unto death.”  

I can understand wanting to be anonymous.  When I began to advocate more “body ministry”, and the need for real “participation” of the body in church gatherings, (1 Corinthians 14:26), I knew some might not like what I was saying- they like the ways things are and see no reason to change.  They may feel like I’m challenging “authority” by questioning the status quo, or possibly feel that what I’m saying will threaten their ministry positions.  The decision to speak out on the things I believe could cost me friendships with people I love and respect.  Whenever we take a stand for what we believe it can be costly.  Being anonymous is all about loving our lives because we don’t want to deal with that cost.  Why do you think so many write and post anonymously?  Isn’t it that we’re afraid our pastor, a friend, our church–someone we respect and love–may not like what we have to say?  We still want to say it, we just don’t want to own it!  God showed me that I shouldn’t even bother saying it if I can’t own it; put your name on it and stand for something if you believe it! 

The other thing signing your name does is make you accountable.  Anyone can blast out a post if they know that no one will ever know who wrote it.  You can spew anything!  You can be utterly wrong and suffer nothing from your reckless words.  You can be rude, obnoxious, and inconsiderate when anonymous, but that all changes once people know who you are.  Sure you can still be a jerk; but you’re less likely to be, and you’re more likely to pay a  price if you are.  

A special word for “discernment ministries”…

I’m especially bothered by so called “discernment ministries” who blog anonymously:  

You have a “discernment ministry” that specializes in calling out everyone else, on every issue, by name… but you’re afraid to post your own name?  Get real!  

If you’re speaking about people and calling them out by name, the least you can do is have the guts to use your own name and stand behind what you’re saying. 

There is nothing spiritual or Christian in talking about others anonymously.  I’ve just really come to a point where I take with a grain of salt any of these blogs that claim to tell the truth, blowing a spiritual whistle on others, while hiding behind spiritual sounding screen names.  You have the audacity to make a public show of other Christians while keeping yourself so safe from scrutiny that no one even knows your name?  And you want me to believe what you’re saying, and that God told you to say it?  Sorry, my God doesn’t hide in a corner and neither does He call His servants to do so.