Wisdom - Jeremiah's Vow

Lent 2022 | Day 35: Truth

The question asked by Pontius Pilate at Jesus’s trial is one of the most important questions ever asked of God. The question reminds us the truth is not merely some abstract or undefinable reality with no consequences.

³⁸Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
John 18:38a ESV

The question asked by Pontius Pilate at Jesus’s trial is one of the most important questions ever asked of God. The question reminds us the Truth is not merely some abstract or undefinable reality with no consequences. Truth is something that can be known. It is something that must be known. And within the context of the Christian faith, it is someONE we must build a relationship with!

Each and every day millions if not hundreds of millions of people wake up to repeat what they have done over and over again. This continuous and seemingly endless cycle can become monotonous. But for too many this process is a mindless repetition empty of any purpose. It is this feeling of senselessness that causes many to question whether there is anything beyond the present experience of life.

We cannot go into an in-depth defense of the Truth here. Much wiser individuals than myself have offered better answers to the question. However, what can be said in this limited space is that without the truth nothing else can maintain its integrity. The denial of truth is a self-defeating proposition.

The Truth serves as a binding agent to the experience we call life. Without the Truth, we can trust nothing we claim to know. Without the Truth, we can have no confidence that what we have learned can be of any benefit to us or anyone else. And without the Truth, we resign ourselves to a life of doubt and confusion.

It does not matter how far we try to run and hide from the Truth, the greater our descent into fear and chaos. We may think we can avoid this. We may even convince ourselves that we can escape the effects of living without the Truth to sustain us. But, eventually, that lie will catch up to us. We may never admit it to anyone else. What we will not be able to do is deny it to ourselves.

Those who claim that the Truth is relative undermine the very proposition they make with the declaration. There is no person who has ever lived who has ever been able to operate their lives according to the principle when they know something is a lie.

We can have philosophical arguments as to the nature of truth. We can have theological arguments about the reliability of truth claims. We can even have ethical arguments as to whether or not the truth can be employed indiscriminately. But what we cannot do, and at least maintain any semblance of sanity, is to deny that we all operate from the perspective that at least what we believe and what we claim is true.

It is this approach to life that reminds us that without the Truth we all are subject to the whims of others. We do not have to have delusions of grandeur or be seekers of power to understand the need for truth in our lives. But to reject truth as a form of escape from the difficult realities of life or the pains we have endured because of others is no reason to reject that the Truth exists.

As we continue our time of reflection and prepare for Easter morning we too must ask the question that Pontius Pilate asked: What is truth?

But rather than leaving the question hanging and not waiting for an answer, we should look to Jesus and see what he says on the matter. As we consider the importance of the question, and if we were to give it its proper weight, we would realize that without truth we all are truly lost. Not because we did not have lives we could enjoy but because we could have no confidence in anything that we attempted to do with our lives.

Lent 2022 | Day 12: Words

One of the first lessons my father taught me as I was growing up is that words have meaning and that we should therefore make sure to know what those words mean.

This simple axiom has served me well. In many ways, it has protected me from being deceived by those who were ill-informed or had ulterior motives. And it has given me the patience I need to know that I don’t know everything.

In this time in history when almost every person on the planet has the potential access to information, it becomes more important to make sure you know what people are saying. Communication is not a static exchange. It is very dynamic and the nuance and texture of possible meanings can make it difficult to know if we are being effective in our communication.

If we are to take seriously the idea God has spoken, we must then consider that what he has said is the most important thing ever spoken.
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This is why when we read Scripture we must take the time to make sure we know and understand, to the best of our ability, what God has chosen to capture on those sacred pages. The fact we have God’s revelation written down means God has chosen to use the medium of human language to communicate his will. So the limitation in our understanding of what God has said is not because God has made it difficult but because we have rushed to reach a conclusion.

Jesus said that the words he spoke were words of life. If we are to take seriously the idea God has spoken, we must then consider that what he has said is the most important thing ever spoken. With this as an underlying assumption and one that would be safe to make, we should engage with the Scripture in a different way. Not merely as the work of human agency, but as the work of God through human agency.

Words have meaning. And it is this meaning that makes it possible for us to have confidence we can understand what God desires. As this confidence grows we become more diligent in our obedience. And as our obedience becomes more regular our passion to serve God increases. The relationship described between desire and obedience and passion is so close as to be the same thing. But they are distinct enough for us to understand how they should relate to each other.

In the season of Lent, the practice of self-reflection and surrender is a call to a deepening awareness of God’s goodness. This goodness is seen in his willingness to declare and codify his promises and prerogatives on the pages of the Scriptures. By doing this God has bound himself to his own word. He has declared that he is not a liar nor is he one to go back on his promises. When God speaks he offers us the conditions by which he will operate and conduct himself with us. This is not a limitation upon God. It is a declaration of how he has chosen to interact with us. We can therefore have confidence that if God has said it he will fulfill it.

Therefore as we continue our march to Easter morning, we do so with the confidence that is born out of God’s character. Not out of a fear that we must sustain this faith in our own strength.

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Gamaliel’s Wager: When you Risk Making God your Enemy

A Startling Realization

Several years ago, I read the passage below and was startled by what it said. I had not considered the implications of it because I had not seen them before. I’ll explain more as we go. But first let me set the stage for what is going on.

The story begins with the arrest of the apostles for teaching and preaching the Gospel in the public square and in the Temple. There is the added wrinkle of the jealousy of the Pharisees because the disciples were performing signs and wonders, and many people were being healed (Acts 5:17). The Pharisees were no longer the cool kids. Their influence was shrinking. And they did not like that at all.

In an attempt to silence the apostles, the high priest had them all arrested and put in prison. But, during the night, an angel of God came and freed them, and instructed them to go back to the Temple and continue teaching and preaching.

Imagine the surprise of the high priest and the council when they could not find the apostles in the prison!

As they were trying to figure out what was going on, word got back to the council. The apostles were back at the Temple doing what got them arrested in the first place.

So, the guards went to go get them, but with great care. These simple soldiers knew something was different about these men. No need to stir things up with the people either.

Gamaliel’s Wager

It is into this context we find the speech given by one of the members of the council. A Pharisee name Gamaliel. Who, not uninterestingly, may have very well been the Apostle Paul’s teacher in the rabbinic tradition.

Luke records what was said for us in Acts 5.

³³When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. ³⁴But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while. ³⁵And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. ³⁶For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. ³⁷After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. ³⁸So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; ³⁹but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, ⁴⁰and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 5:33-40

The sentence that caught my attention was at the end of verse 39: You might even be found opposing God!

I was floored by the both the wisdom and challenge of what Gamaliel said. As human beings, we are limited in our abilities to see beyond the moment. We have to be careful not to suppose we know more than we do.

Gamaliel was calling for a deeper wisdom. A wisdom grounded in humility rather than pride. We could all benefit from listening to his words.

But there is also a challenge. It is what I have called Gamaliel’s Wager.

A wager is a gambling term. It describes the risk a person takes in the hopes of gaining more than what is at stake.

If you have watched any casino movie in your life, you have probably heard some version of these statements. “Don’t bet against the house.” Or, “the house always wins.” Why? Because in the long run, the casino has also made a wager, that you, in all your cunning, will not be able to outlast the house’s patience in winning their money back.

The reason the house has this confidence is because they understand one thing about people. People, given enough time, will get greedy. They will think they are invincible and try to continue maximizing their returns.

The problem is the game is rigged. This is how you get reeled in. You are enticed by small gains so you are tempted to bet everything you have. Not realizing that by this time it’s too late. You have become the victim of your own hubris.

Refrain from Speaking for God

What does this have to do with making God our enemy? It’s this. The wager the high priest and the Pharisees made put them on the opposite side of God!

What’s worse is they thought they WERE on God’s side. They are not unique in making this mistake. We are capable of doing the exact same thing.

Let me give you a little secret: The one thing we should avoid more than anything in this world is to bet against God!

We don’t always know what God is up to, so we should be extremely careful when we start saying where God is working or is not working. Who God is using and who he is not using. That is a bet we should never take.

To make the kind of declaration the Pharisees were making is to assume access to information not available to any of us. To many of us think ourselves counselors to God and capable of predicting his actions. But we are mistaken to ever take that position.

This is the wager the Pharisees were making by how they were treating the apostles. They were the religious leaders. They were the ones trained and educated. They were the ones who were responsible for knowing what God was doing.

It just did not make sense to them that those silly apostles of Jesus could ever be a part of God’s plan.

And that is the wrong bet. That is the wrong wager. And that is exactly what Gamaliel was warning against.

Because, what if God, in his sovereign wisdom, WAS using people we would not normally consider “worthy” of the honor? Or doing something we had never seen God do before? What then?

Well, at that moment, we will be found “opposing God!”

We will have put ourselves on the wrong side of the battle line.

And like in any good casino movie, we will lose because the house always wins!

There are No Winners

The events that transpired and the responses of many people, both within my circle and in the general population, left me with a sense of foreboding. There is something wrong in this nation.

Introduction

I went to bed last night with a heavy heart. The events that transpired and the responses of many people, both within my circle and in the general population, left me with a sense of foreboding. There is something wrong in this nation. This feeling reached a high intensity yesterday, leaving me fatigued. But in my spirit I don’t believe we have crested the hill yet. I pray I am wrong. But again, as a student of Scripture and human nature I fear I am not. I believe there is worse yet to come.

In order to contextualize my thoughts I need say a few things first. About 11 years ago I had a conversation with a dear friend. We were journeying in a process of discipleship and he asked me a question. One that I “knew” the answer to, but I had never been asked out loud. I don’t remember the exact phrasing, but it had to do with what I believed God had called and commissioned me to do with my life in the body of Christ. When me met one week later I shared the answer with him. I believe that I am called to serve the Church. Not to a church. But to the whole of the body of Christ. But even as I serve a local congregation, my eyes are keenly vigilant to the greater purposes of God for those who have called upon the name of Jesus in faith.

I can honestly say, I have not always understood or appreciated what that calling means. Today I feel I have a better grasp on what I means for me. But I will proceed cautiously.

Our Current Situation

I have not felt the weight of this purpose as strongly as I have in the last 12 months. And in the last 24 hours the magnitude of it has only increased. I am fighting back tears as I write this. My heart breaks for the Church. She has been scandalized and ridiculed from without and within. She has been taken advantage of for personal gain and used as a toy by some who have been called to lead her and be her. The damage has been extensive. The trail of the carnage left in the wake of these acts of malfeasance has become incalculable. The harm has been catastrophic for those who have had to endure this abuse. And the few left willing to pick up the pieces are struggling under the weight of it all.

For the better part of twenty years I have found and grounded my sense of identity in ministry in the life of the Prophet Jeremiah. A man who’s example scares me as much as it inspires me. What I was not wise enough to see as a younger man, and what I have come to realize as I have become older, is that we often pray for peace when discipline is about to be handed down. Jeremiah understood this better than most.

The problem with this is, as I learned as a child, most often it is too late to stay the hand of discipline when it is coming down on you. And as my siblings learned, discipline will fall on all of us regardless of the level of culpability.

The Pieces of a Broken Nation

What we saw in the reports coming out of Washington, D. C., and what I am seeing from a smaller circle of friends on social media is what I believe to be an unfortunate misunderstanding of what is happening. Too many in the Church seem to believe what we see happening is political. That what has happened is the breakdown of the political processes of this nation. So the accusations from every side are being thrown around. Blame is being assigned, but no responsibility is being claimed. Those who support the President are calling out the hypocrisy of those who don’t. And those who support the President-elect are acting like they have been vindicated against the other side. Do you see the problem? It’s taken me some time to see it too.

There are Christians on both sides of this divide. There are Christians throwing arrows at each other about who supported who, and what that says about the “other.” We have reduced righteousness to political affiliation. And do you know who is right? The devil.

The Sin of This Current Moment Revealed

I am going to say this as simply as I can. I don’t care who you voted for. And I don’t care why you did it. We were wrong in doing it. Not because it was a sin to participate in the civic process. And not because one candidate was better than the other. We were wrong because of the result.

We were wrong because of the chaos it has created. And we are wrong in the rationalizations and justifications and smug retorts that are being thrown around. We have sinned against each other by standing in judgment over one another. There are too many Christians today who think that God is on their side of this political disaster. He’s not. And he never has been. And to say otherwise is to reveal our idolatry.

A political victory is not the grounds for calls to repent. Or for admonitions for reconciliation.

This is why making public political statements has been forbidden in our local congregation since its founding. And it has been the practice of our Pastor for over 40 years of ministry. It breeds division. And it fosters pride. They do not lead to forgiveness or grace. Politics is about victory over an enemy. And if we view other Christians as enemies, we have forsaken the unity of the Spirit. We have become agents of division, all in the name of being proven right.

The church has been infiltrated and the battle line has been drawn within the four walls of our congregations! We have been encouraged to turn against each other over something that changes every 2 or 4 years. We have lost sight of the ultimate aim of the Church. Which has caused us to lose perspective of one another.

The Gospel is Our Only Hope

What is frustrating to the point of being maddening to those of us who see this festering problem, is we are made to feel like we are going crazy. Well, I’m not crazy.

Holding onto the Gospel as the only hope for humanity is not crazy.

Believing that Jesus is the only way to peace with God and neighbor is not crazy.

Struggling and fighting to live a life that is pleasing to God and satisfying to me is not crazy.

Serving those whom God has led me to cross paths with is not crazy.

What is crazy is thinking that any system—political or otherwise—in this world will accomplish anything remotely resembling heaven is not only foolishness bound up in madness, but it is bound to fail. Not because our efforts are not many, but because our strength is not sufficient to the task. Our good intentions are always tainted when not surrendered to the wisdom of God.

This has been the clever façade placed before us by the spiritual agents at work against us. Like a cat trying to catch the laser dot, we have been distracted by the superficial and the temporary.

“This is the most important election of our lifetime.” That’s what we have been told we are supposed to be focusing on. That’s like saying this is the most important breath of air you will take. There’s no end to this kind of histrionic thinking. And now we are seeing how this strategy has not done anything to advance the work of the kingdom of Christ. In fact, it has worked against the purposes of God.

We are Fighting the Wrong War

As Christians we are not in a battle with flesh and blood. Flesh and blood is the vehicle for spiritual warfare. The war that matters is fought in the prayer closet and in our own heart. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:4 ESV). And there are many strongholds in each and every congregation in this nation.

But, on the surface we are seeing the breaking down of a nation that no longer believes all its citizens are equal. And you can interpret that in anyway you want. Because there will be some kernel of truth to it regardless of your perspective.

What we are witnessing, in real time, is the disintegration of the social bonds that at one time held us together. And again, define that as you want, and you will probably be “correct” to some degree or another.

However, as a follower of Christ, I feel compelled to point out that what is happening in this nation, and has been happening for several decades, is not new. It is not recent. (Which is another convenient lie we believe and/or promote to justify our actions.) It is the the culmination of where we have been headed for some time. And the question we must ask is why?

Regardless of your understanding of the founding of this nation, what made America prosper was the presence of the Church. Everywhere the Church is, God is. It’s a promise. We are mobile temples of the Holy Spirit. And as long as we are abiding in Christ he is abiding in us. But there has been a drift in the Church in America over the last century. It has been steadily gaining speed. That drift has borne full bloom in our day. It is the substitution of our trust in God for a trust in government. And our move away from God leads to sins and eventually discipline.

The physical prosperity of the nation has eroded as the spiritual foundations of the Church have shifted. It is a pattern that is as old as the book of Genesis. They have been shifting for a while, and now the spiritual disaster is primed for release.

We Have Failed to Discern the Times

Societies are always in motion. Nations are always in conflict with other nations who’s interests may or may not be aligned with each other. The difference has been that much of that discourse happened in the halls of national power and in the offices of officials who did not clue the citizenry into the machinations of governing. That is no longer the case.

Technology and social media and the growing political divides have exacerbated and amplified what used to be remote and foreign to us. But now, it’s in our face and on our screens in an unrelenting stream.

I started by referencing the Prophet Jeremiah. And I want to bring my thoughts full circle. Jeremiah’s ministry has been described as a failure. He did not change the mind of a single person that we know of. As a matter of fact, he even tried to quit being a prophet. But God would not accept his resignation.

Jeremiah was disheartened by the fact no one seemed to care about what God had said. The people ignored God and his prophet. They disobeyed God’s law and did as they pleased. Then, when the warnings were not heeded, God judged the descendants of Abraham and they were shocked. And that judgment came at the hands of their enemies.

Here’s what I have realized. Was the nation of Israel and Judah 100% evil and wicked? Fighting against God? No. I don’t think that is a reasonable assumption. But there was enough intentional sin and enough indifference to sin that the entire nation was held to account.

We Must Correct Course as the Church

It does not matter what side you feel an affinity to, the judgment of God will fall on all. If one side is the problem, the whole will suffer. If the other side is the problem, the whole will suffer. There are no winners when spiritual discipline is meted out.

This is one of the reasons, as Christians we should not be aligning ourselves with the systems of the world. They do not belong to us. And we do not belong to them. We have to see that they do not promote nor can they secure the ends for which we have been called into Christ’s service. Regardless of the promises made. The apostle Paul said as much in his encouragement to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:4). But for some reason we can’t seem to figure this out as the Church. It’s as if we keep trying to convince God, and ourselves, that we can serve two masters. We cannot. And Jesus said as much.

The breakdown of societal norms and political discourse is downstream from the spiritual decay of a nation. As a matter of fact, it is the warning bell of divine discipline. This is not a new pattern. It has been the way societies have fallen since the beginning of time. From Babel to Israel to Rome, from the British Empire to the United States of America. All nations will fall because all nations who reject God must. Only one kingdom will be standing at the end.

So what should the church do? Allow me to offer three actions for your consideration.

First, if you are a Christian, I implore you to stop using political language and political ideology as the paradigm of conversation. Trust in the words of God to convey what you believe should be. We must reject the new, the novel, and even the ancient for the eternal. When we don’t we are tacitly confessing a lack of faith in God’s word to be enough.

Second, refrain from publicly endorsing and celebrating political parties, candidates, and policies that are not in line with God’s character. And especially stop anything that causes animosity among and between followers of Christ. The only party we should champion is the Church, the only candidate is Jesus, the only policy is the Gospel. Any and every thing else will work to foster divisiveness—in your congregation and in your heart. Being “right” is not worth the soul of your neighbor.

Third, the Church, from leaders to the nursery, must do what it was commissioned to do from the first, it must seek the kingdom of God above all other aims, intentionally rejecting any supposed suitors; it must disciple the nations beginning in our own homes, and it must surrender any and every claim it feels entitled to in the earthly realm. Those treasures are not worthy of our ultimate sacrifice or our deepest allegiance. The cost is too high and the reward too cheap.

Lent 2020 | Day 29: “Answer”

Thinking you know the answer does not mean you really do.

As we continue trying to navigate living in a world surrounded by an invisible enemy, I am reminded of something I learned many years ago. It is a principle that my father taught me about how to study the Bible. The principle is this: For every physical principle there is a corresponding spiritual one and vice verse.

What this means is that whenever we find and learn a principle in one area, if we take the time to plumb its depths, we may gain insight into the other.

One of the best examples of this is the idea of seedtime and harvest. All throughout scripture, and particularly in several of Jesus’ parables, the principles of agriculture are used. The purpose of these comparisons was to help his listeners understand the principle that governed a higher spiritual reality.

The problem is that if we do not understand the ideas and concepts that make up the examples being used, it will be difficult to understand the spiritual principle being taught.

This reality came into sharp focus when I served a small, rural church in a farming community while in college. One of the members had been a farmer his entire life. And his family had been farming in that area for three or four generations. During one of our bible studies, Jesus’ words in Luke 9 was the focus of discussion.

Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (9:62)

I asked the “logical” question. Why is this true?

The seasoned farmer something like this (because I don’t remember exactly), “Because if he looks away from what’s in front of him, he can’t make a straight line.”

Was going to make some spiritual sounding point about commitment to the task, but a man who had plowed more fields than in his lifetime than I ever would saw the wisdom in the command.

I asked him to explain further. He went on to say that every farmer, before the time of tractors and GPS, would place a pole or marker of some kind at the end of each row. It was the plowman’s job to keep his eye on the marker. By doing this across the entire field, he would make straight rows that made it easier to plant and harvest. But it would also maximize the usage of the field.

Let’s just say my mind was blown. And so was my understanding of what Jesus was saying. By using a physical principle, Jesus was making a powerful statement about those who have been called into service in the kingdom. Thinking you know the answer does not mean you really do. This exchange taught me this valuable lesson.

As we continue our journey toward Easter and continue to practice the recommendations of our medical and civic leaders, I want to remind us all that there is still much work we can do. We can continue to redeem the time that we have been given for God’s glory, our edification, and our neighbor’s good.

The Power of Wise Counsel

What do you do when you rant? Most people just let it rip. But, that is not my style…usually.

Well yesterday, I wrote something that was pretty “rant-y”. I wrote it, and was about to hit “publish.” But something said I should check with a few people first.

Well, I did and as a result I put the rant in the trash.

One of the lessons of living in this period in history is the reality that once we put something out there, it is impossible to take it back. That is true of inter-personal relationships and it is true of social media.

We are all learning. We are all capable of saying encouraging and beautiful things. But, there is a “bonehead” living in each of us. And, from time to time they want to get out. We just can’t let them.

When I heard back from the people I sought counsel from, I was disappointed. I wanted them to tell me to let it rip. But they didn’t. They told me what they believed was right and wrong with my rant. And the wrong outweighed the right. It would not have produced the effect I wanted.

To be honest, I wanted to say it. But, in the end, wise counsel won out. Wanting to do something is not justification enough to do something foolish.

Now, my “rant” was pretty mild as far as rants go. But it would not have been helpful or kind. It would have felt good, but it would not have advanced the conversation. So, rather than put something out there that I would second guess, I hit delete.

The lesson for me was twofold. First, if you have access to wise counselors, use them. When you do you everyone benefits from it, not just you.

Second, don’t take it personally when what you hear back is not what you wanted. If you trust your counselors, trust their counsel. Pride is a dangerous friend and an even worse counselor.

I am still growing. Still learning. Still in need of reminders that just because it popped in my head does not mean that it needs to escape my lips.

Lent 2018 | Day #32: Caution

Whenever we rush into decisions; whenever we make decisions emotionally, we run the risk of being careless.

I have worked with young people in the middle and high school stages of life for the past twelve years. I did not think that I would be good at it, but I have discovered that I have more of an aptitude for it than I thought. God knew better.

As an observer of human behavior, I was able to learn a great deal about the youth mind. I did not know these things when I was passing through this particular stage of development. But, now as an adult, I am more keenly aware of some of the hazards that young people face during this transition. I want to address one of these today and see if we can’t learn something ourselves.

Over the years, I have noticed that most youths have a hard time seeing past the immediate situation they are facing. This can create some very serious problems. The biggest of which, in my opinion, is committing to a rash decision. Because a young person does not have enough information, through life experience and education, they are prone to respond emotionally. As a result, these decisions can become more burdensome than was necessary.

The lesson we can take from this is the idea of “caution.” Whenever we rush into decisions; whenever we make decisions emotionally, we run the risk of being careless. Not that we meant to, but that we are unable to reflect and consider the effect of our choices. This is one of the many reasons for teaching and encouraging youth to have caution.

Another way of thinking about this idea of caution is to remind ourselves to slow down. Not every important decision is an urgent one. And not every urgent decision is an emergency. Until we are able to tell the difference between these levels of intensity we will get bent out of shape. I saw this more often than I can count.

As we get closer to Holy Week I would encourage you to be more cautious. Don’t get hurried. Take your time and learn to keep a steady pace. Life is short enough, let’s not speed it up.

Lent 2018 | Day #18: Patience

I have stopped asking God for patience. I don’t do it anymore. And the reason I don’t do it is that I know that the second I ask God to increase my patience, something is going to happen to test it! I have decided that I would rather ask God for wisdom. There are several benefits to this approach. The first is that God promises to give me wisdom if I ask for it. I would rather have the wisdom to deal with the events of life than patience. I want to be patient. Please don’t misunderstand. I really do. However, I also don’t want to be constantly putting out fires in my life.

The second benefit I want to point out is this, when I ask for wisdom I am asking God to change my perspective. I cannot look at my situation in the same light if how I see it changes. And wisdom will change the way I see things. That is why it is called wisdom. I would say that almost all of the wise people I know have an uncanny ability to see things before they happen. Not that they have some special revelation from God, but that they can think through situations and important decisions so effectively that it’s almost as if God had told them what was coming. One of the bonuses of growing in wisdom is that if God does share something, we will be able to manage that information in a far better way.

Patience is a virtue, but wisdom is a gift. It comes from experience and from reflection. I hope that as I get older I will grow wiser and by extension more patient. I find that Lent is a great opportunity for both to happen. Don’t waste the opportunity to ask God for wisdom and thereby learn how to be patient.

The Pastor’s Greatest Enemy

It was one of the most pronounced encounters with the Holy Spirit of my life because I knew that I had crossed a line in my relationship with God.

I have shared this story in a couple of places, but I will share it again here for those who may not be familiar with it. It is the best example I have of what can happen to those of us called to vocational ministry if we are not watchful over our lives. I actually give thanks to God for his grace in teaching me through the events you will read below about how wrong my thinking was with regard to my place in God’s great plan.

I was 19 years old and had accepted the position as Interim Pastor of a small, country church. I want to say from the outset that this was a wonderful church filled with some of the finest folks I have ever known. This is not a story about them exactly even though God used the intersection of our paths to teach me an important lesson.

My responsibilities were to preach on Sunday morning and evening and to teach a Wednesday night bible study. At the time I was trying to figure out what I should be doing because I knew God had called me into full-time ministry. At the campus ministry where I was involved, I saw an advertisement had been posted for someone to come and preach. After some “encouragement” (a story for another day) I called and made plans to go and preach. For the next three weeks, I was asked to return and preach the following week. After the fourth week, I told the members (all 7 of them) that I would continue to preach until they were able to find someone to take over the position full-time. I was still in school and did not feel that I should take on the church.

Everything was going wonderfully (or so I thought). After several months I was growing frustrated because I felt that my talents were being wasted in this small, country church. I decided to vent to my dad as I was driving home one Wednesday night. I can’t remember if I actually said these words, but they capture the sentiment from which I was speaking. To summarize, I was essentially telling my dad, “I am too good for this place.”

Even now as I write those words it is shocking how pretentious and arrogant they are. But that is how I was feeling at the ripe old age of 20. My dad reminded me that I wouldn’t be there forever; that God was using that small church to help teach me some things about preaching and ministry. I don’t remember everything he said, but I do remember not being entirely satisfied with his words.

A few days later it was Sunday again. The service was going as normal. We typically sang a song before the message and this morning a song I had never heard before was chosen. It is called “Little Is Much If God Is In It” by Kittle L. Suffield.

Here is a rendition of that song by The Gaither Vocal Band.

They do a much better version of the song than I heard that day. However, I can tell you, as God is my witness, I will never forget how the Holy Spirit used that moment and that song to absolutely take a wrecking ball to my pride.

In particular, the second verse brought on me such a heavy weight of conviction after the things I had said and thought in the days prior, that I began to weep. I lost all control. It was one of the most pronounced encounters with the Holy Spirit of my life because I knew that I had crossed a line in my relationship with God. I could not deny it and I accepted the burden of my shame. I had not only been disobedient, I had become rebellious against God’s purposes in my life.

The second verse goes like this:

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.

Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

After that day, I made a promise to God. I told God that I would NEVER hold back in my preaching or shy away from any opportunity to share the Gospel. I promised to never look at the numbers and determine how good I was going to preaching. If all I was called to preach to were 7 (as was the case in that small church), I would preach with everything within me. And if it was to 700 or 7,000, I would preach with the same energy and passion. I have not gone back on my promise.

If you are a pastor or called to some form of vocational ministry, you have a great enemy. But, that enemy does not exist “out there.” That enemy is that small voice that keeps telling you that some task is beneath you. It is that feeling that you are too good for some assignment or that you are too talented to listen to someone of lesser ability. That is not the posture of a servant of God.

Your calling is a gift to you. God did not have to call you, but he did. But your calling is also a gift to those to whom you are sent. When you accept an assignment you are there to take what God has placed within you and share it with others.

That is why when we hold back we are doing harm to both them and us. We harm those we serve because we deny them the best we can offer. And, we harm ourselves because we grieve God with our disobedience, causing a rift in our relationship with him.

I want to encourage you to not give ground or to give in to this enemy. Never forget that where you are is where you are supposed to be. God is at work if we are available to work alongside.

I’ll say this as final thought. It’s something my dad says frequently: “I want to be so available to God that he has no choice but to use me.” That has become a helpful reminder to me.

How about you? How available are you to God?

Time Marches On

Each lesson is an opportunity to understand myself and the world a little bit better.

November is here! Where has this year gone.

The older I get the more I understand the saying that time flies. It really does. The steady march of time is the most constant reality of the human experience.

I look back over this year and I am just amazed. I am amazed at how much has happened—the Cubs are in a World Series! And I am amazed at how little has changed—I still feel the same as I did on January 1. Continue reading “Time Marches On”