Monthly Archives: November 2019

Pastoral thoughts

Thanksgiving: An Incomplete List

Thanksgiving Day. (1) As I prepare to celebrate this festive day, I like to make a list of blessings for which I’m grateful.
To keep it short – my top three are Jesus and Salvation, a godly loving wife, and a precious family. I have much to be grateful for. Yet I recall an old story I once used to challenge others to consider what gratitude and blessing are all about – and I’m wondering if my list is incomplete. The story goes like this:

An old man (2) showed up at the back door of the house we were renting. Opening the door a few cautious inches, we saw his eyes were glassy and his furrowed face glistened with silver stubble. He clutched a wicker basket holding a few unappealing vegetables. He bade us good morning and offered his produce for sale.  We were uneasy enough that we made a quick purchase to alleviate both our pity and our fear. To our chagrin, he returned the next week, introducing himself as Mr. Roth, the man who lived in the shack down the road. As our fears subsided, we got close enough to realize it wasn’t alcohol but cataracts that “marbleized” his eyes. On subsequent visits, he would shuffle in, wearing two mismatched right shoes, and pull out a harmonica. With glazed eyes set on a future glory, he’d puff out old gospel tunes between conversations about vegetables and religion. On one visit he exclaimed, ‘The Lord is so good! I came out of my shack this morning and found a bag full of shoes and clothing on my porch.’ ‘That’s wonderful, Mr. Roth!’ we said. ‘We’re happy for you.’ ‘You know what’s even more wonderful?’ he asked. ‘Just yesterday I met some people who could use them.’

When the Lord is our treasure, when our heart has been given over to Him and filled by Him, thankfulness and gratitude should never be an end in themselves. Rather, they should lead to sharing our wealth of blessings, no matter how much or little they are. That’s where I sense some incompleteness in my list. Shouldn’t the joy of giving be somewhere near the top? Yes – it should. And once again I am challenged to see what more, and in what other ways I can give – not as a duty but joyfully because of what God has given me in His Son. Surely – what I have is something someone else can use! Surely the blessing I have received is one someone else needs.

I need to embrace again the worlds of the Apostle Paul.

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

That pretty much says it all.

May my blessings and your blessings find their way into the life and heart of someone who needs them. May the heart of Christ find its way through us into their hearts. Then my list will be complete. (3)

(1) Photo by Simon Maage on Unsplash

(2) Photo by Madhav Rajesh on Unsplash

(3) Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash (bless)

 

 

 

 

 

Pastoral thoughts

Tailgating the Future

One of my few pet peeves is tailgaters. Not the ‘party at a football game people’ but the ‘following my car too closely people.’ It’s dangerous, it’s unnecessary, it’s rude, it’s pointless, it’s irritating, it’s nerve-racking – and it can easily become distracting.

That’s probably why I smile at the Allstate television ad with the ‘mayhem like me’ man – the one where he’s tailgating on his way to the tailgating party. The driver ahead of him – the one being tailgated – is so distracted looking in his rearview mirror that he crashes into the car ahead of him.[i] The ad doesn’t send me to an Allstate agent. Rather it reminds me of life principle: to navigate the future, face forward.

Unfortunately it’s not always easy. We know what’s behind us, be it good or bad. But what’s ahead of us is unknown, and that is cause for some anxiety. So the past can be more comfortable. It’s easy to long for and desire to live in the past even though our guilt can haunt us, our failures can plague us, our hurts can pain us, and our successes can inflate us. But to avoid crashing in the present we need to look ahead. To navigate the future face forward. We need to learn from the past but we cannot go forward while looking backward. We must not forget the past but we cannot dwell in it; rather we build on it as we move forward into God’s future. We must live with our backs to the past and our face toward the future.

The Bible offers us two beneficial opposite examples that underscore our principle. The first example is that of the nation of Israel. As J. M. Boice wrote, “When God led the people of Israel out of Egypt toward the Promised Land, he provided everything that they needed for their journey. They had shade by day and light by night. They had water to drink and manna to eat. The time came, however, when the people ceased to look forward to the land that God was giving them and instead looked back to their life in Egypt.”[ii] They crashed in the present and lost their future – the generation that left Israel had all died by the time the nation finally entered the Promised Land.

In contrast the apostle Paul powerfully states: “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14) ‘Forget’ does not mean to totally wipe from memory – that’s impossible for most of us. It means to cease letting things from the past overshadow or unduly influence the present. Do not let the past become a distracting tailgater. I love the cartoon in which Lucy and Charlie Brown are talking about the ballgame.[iii] Lucy explains why she missed the ball. “I remembered all the others I’ve missed… the past got in my eyes,..” (iii)

Which way are you facing?

Think of it this way: ‘Don’t let the past tailgate you; rather tailgate the future.’ To navigate the future face forward and strain towards what is ahead. Happy tailgating!

[i] https://www.ispot.tv/ad/ozlo/allstate-tailgate

[ii] Boice, J. M. (2000). Philippians: an expositional commentary (p. 197). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

[iii]Peanuts, July 7, 1989

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pastoral thoughts

More Bite

I was being the good husband. There were tree branches and limbs that needed to be cut down and cut up. While I’m not the handiest handyman around the house, this is something I’ve done and can do. So I readied our chainsaw and got to work. Things rolled along smoothly for a while – until the chain got stuck and came off the blade. Still no problem – I’ve put the chain on before. I had to loosen everything, take the chain off completely, and then put it back on and tighten it. So I did that – and began to cut away again – except that the saw wasn’t cutting. After some looking I discovered that the teeth of the chain were facing the wrong direction; therefore they had no bite. Thus my lesson for that day: when it comes to chain saws, “If you want more bite, face forward.”  It would be nice to tell you that once I removed the chain again and put it back on everything was fine – but I kept getting it wrong and it took several efforts – and a great deal of time – to get it right. (Remember I said I wasn’t the handiest handyman!) I suppose there are some lessons there as well but I do not want to digress.

So back to the direction of the teeth. The principle, “If you want more bite, face forward,” is not limited to saws. If I want to have more bite in my witness, more bite in my testimony, more bite in confronting the darkness of our world I must face forward. I cannot turn my back or assume that “If I live right the world will notice.”  The letter to the Hebrews is both instructive and inspiring. Hebrews 12:2 states (NLT), “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”  The chapter follows the great ‘Hall of Heroes’ in chapter 11. After offering this long list of inspirational Christian witnesses, the author is ready to make his application. I think Eugene Peterson put it well in The Message: “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:1-3) “If you want more bite, face forward.”

Such living, exemplified in Hebrews 11 & 12, will take a big bite into our world.

 

 

 

 

Such living will cut down the rotten limbs, clear away the sinful brush, and make room for the good healthy branches to grow and produce richer fruit. So how is it with you?  How big is your bite? How great is your impact? Which way are you facing? Is it time to strip down, face forward, and start running – no spiritual fat or parasitic sins?  Is it time to focus your eyes on Jesus? Is it time to go over His story again? After all, “That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” “If you want more bite, face forward.”

 

 

Pastoral thoughts

Powerful Ads

Summer has faded fast. One of the things I miss most is the fresh fruit. I love and hunger for fresh fruit. And we live in an area where it is usually abundant. So abundant, in fact, that sometimes it’s hard to know where to purchase it. Which market, which stand, which store has the best fruit at the best price? That means checking a lot of ads.

Yet as I think about this, I wonder where we go to quench our hunger for a godly, fruitful life. According to the Apostle Paul the godly fruitful life is filled with “…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) And note that ‘fruit’ is singular. It is not like the ‘gifts’ of the Spirit where we have some but not all. There is one large fruit that consists of all these characteristics – we do not get to pick and choose!

      

Paul was actually posting an advertisement. He said the fruit comes from the Holy Spirit. “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” In other words, the Holy Spirit offers the best fruit available.

But how do people find this fruit? Well, when thirsty for fruit, check the ads. Yet where are the ads? Advertisers know what they are doing. They tease our senses with just enough to whet our appetites and entice us to come and see, believing that once we see we will buy. Similarly shouldn’t we be the ads for the Spirit’s fruit? Jesus says we should be: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” (John 15:16-17) We should be living advertisements for Jesus Christ. Others should be influenced to come to Him because of us. Our lives should be neon signs advertising the fruit and pointing to Jesus – so when people are thirsty for fruit, they’ll have ads to check. Does the fruit of the Spirit spring from your life enough to whet appetites and entice others to come and see Jesus?

May the Holy Spirit transform your life into a living advertisement that draws others to Jesus. How will He do that? “Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.” He’ll do it as you love others. When you genuinely do so the Spirit of God will fill and flow through you. Then you will have full access to all the fruitful blessings of our Father – and will be His powerful living advertisement for the fruit that’s available all year round!