Leadership

On March 10, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 12: 6, 8

However, since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly . . . the one who is in leadership, with diligence.

There is such a thing as Biblical Leadership. It actually makes an interesting study. The one point I want to bring to light today is that bossing isn’t leading. Christian leaders must lead by love.

It’s funny how Yahweh can use any circumstance of life to teach. I started watching a new TV show last week. The first episode includes a classic set up. There is a family of Mom, Dad, a son and a daughter. The eldest child is the boy. There is an apocalyptic event. The parents depart to go find help, leaving the two children with a group of other survivors. As the parents prepare to leave, they tell the eldest child to look after the younger and the younger to listen to the older. From that moment you see the dynamic which is about to unfold.

I immediately knew the older brother was going to try to boss the younger sister and that the sister would be a free spirit who would constantly rebel against the rules and restrictions the brother would try to impose. If only they could see from a distance and not fall into the trap which would strain their relationship.

As I watched this introduction to their situation, I heard this thought, “Bossing isn’t leading.” What a challenge those words can impose upon us. Perhaps you have the burden of leading or of being responsible for others. How does one walk the tight rope of responsibility and leadership?

Christian leadership is better couched in the term “edification.” In other words, Christian leaders are supposed to build up others. Look at Ephesians 4: 29 from the NIV Bible, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Hence, Christian leaders are meant to lead by love. No one suggests this model is easy, but it is Jesus’ model. It is the way, and I believe we are much more inclined, and able, when we think about it consciously. Now that we know, we can endeavor to be the older brother who nurtures his charge into a positive growth cycle rather than repressing them and their development.

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Divine Love

On March 9, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Romans 13: 10

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.

1 John 4: 8

God is love.

A friend of mine brought up a very good point recently; one that deserves more than a mention. The substance is, how does love behave. I draw on the teachings of Bill Johnson in answering this.

There is much hurt and anguish in the world. Yet, purportedly, God loves us. Why, then, is there so much hurt? Why do bad things happen to those whom the Lord loves? My friend, Lynn, brought to my attention that some churches teach that God does not do these “bad” things to us, but that He does allow them. Not only does that sound schizophrenic but also just sick at a nauseating level. Is this Divine Love, to sit and silently watch as evil doers lavish all modes of hurt upon us? If this is the measure of Divine Love, then what shall we expect of human love?

This is where I draw upon an analogy given by Bill Johnson. What do you think of a parent who abuses their child? It is abhorrent, is it not? It is below human norms, below human decency. It is bestial at best. Now, what about a father who sits idly by and watches someone else defile his own child. Is he not a repugnant, sub-human specimen? Can you say that Father loves his child? Is he even sane? Bill Johnson pointed out that not only is this parent socially aberrant, but he is also legally and criminally negligent. In other words, human institutions would punish the father who “allows” harm to come to his child. We would want to eject him from our congregation, yet we believe, somehow, that our Heavenly Father, the one who created us, and whom we praise could be so apathetic as to stand by while someone harms His child. Is He no better a father than a human we would reject and scorn?

To say that our Beloved allows evil to befall us is to attach all those same negative adjectives to Him that we would for a negligent human parent. Our Father is not mentally deranged, nor in any measure insensitive. He is the epitome of a loving parent. When I shared with you recently about how stressed people are and gave the example of someone who verbally attacked me, my Mom called asking who she needed to beat up. That is a parent! They go to the mat for you. They risk life and limb for their children. Are we to say that our Heavenly Father is less loving and protective than our earthly parents?

Anyone who believes that cannot know Love. Love will never allow harm to another. Love is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, if you will allow me that small paraphrase. In other words, Love is the culmination of everything Yahweh Father has ever said and done. This ball of dirt we live on is here because of Love. The air in our lungs was sourced by Love. It is irrational and bordering on insane to believe, much less teach, that our beloved Father allows bad things to happen to us intentionally. But then, if we blame Him, we have no need to search for an explanation closer to home.

Believe me! Your Father loves you with a love that is beyond anything you have ever experienced in the earthly realm. He grieves at every bruise and empathizes with every tear. Take my word on this, but not for long. Take the time to come to this conclusion on your own. Follow me in faith until you can explain to your own heart the madness of mistrusting the one who loves you most. Search for the truth and you will come to know, beyond any argument, that God is Love. He is the lover of your soul. He is the strong tower you can run into, not the ignorant spectator. Be informed in the depths of your spirit that God is good.

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He is Here

On March 8, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 139: 7

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

Wherever we go, whatever we do, Yahweh is right there with us. This can be a spooky thought in the beginning. It may feel like someone is watching you in everything you do. With time, however, and as we draw closer to the Lord, knowing He is with you becomes a bar to loneliness and a constant source of comfort.

It is natural that He should be everywhere we are because, at our invitation, He intertwines His Spirit around ours, effectively becoming part of us. He is where we are because He is in us. He is always with us. I have learned to not only take comfort in the idea of “God with us,” but also to accept it at a very basic level. I find myself talking to Him as if He is standing right beside me. I have this awareness of Him with me that has now permeated my subconscious mind. That understanding can radically change your life.

I used to be a person who was not good at being alone and I became lonely very easily. That is no longer the case because I know I am not alone. In fact, I now crave “alone” time so Father and I can have time to ourselves. I love social interaction, but I have learned to enjoy being alone with Father. When I began cycling in groups a couple of years ago, I had a very mixed reaction. I truly enjoy making new friends and riding together. However, I found myself missing riding alone because bike riding had developed as time with Father. In the early days of the pandemic, I jumped on my bike and went cycling with Yahweh. I didn’t mind riding alone, nor need a cycling partner because I always carry my cycling buddy with me. Riding certainly alleviated much of the stress of those early days of the coronavirus crisis. Not only did I get in the physical exertion; I also got time with my Father.

We are never without our number one fan and love. He is ever with us, watching over us and desirous of simply being with us. I hope you take great comfort in that.

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Seek and Find

On March 5, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Luke 19: 10

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

I am re-reading probably my favorite Christian book of all time, The Return of the Prodigal Son by Henri J. M. Nouwen. In chapter 8 the author hits on what I believe is a critical distinction. He writes, “The question is not ‘How am I to find God?’ but ‘How am I to let myself be found by him?’” (Image Books, 1994, P.106) Many of you read my own story recently in a Word of the Day entitled, Lost and Found. About that momentous event in my life I often say, “I chased Him until He found me.” It’s so true. Father wasn’t holding out on me. I needed to lower a couple of walls and I needed to accept Him.

It is so enlightening that we spend so much time and energy talking about judgment when Jesus explicitly said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world,” (John 12: 47). He came to seek and save the lost. He meant us. He isn’t judging us; he is seeking us. We were lost and now we are found. However, that is not the end of the story. We think of this as a salvation message and that is not wrong. It is not the fullness though.

Remember in my story, I was already saved. So, why was God seeking me? He had already found me, right? Not completely. I was saved, spirit filled and going to heaven, none the less, I was separated from Him here on earth. It was not as if I did not know the Father at all. In fact, if you had known me before the fateful trip to Anaheim, you would have said I was a pretty religious person. However, there was much more for the Father and I to share, much more that He wanted with me and for me. It makes me wonder; despite our closeness now, how much more does He still want to give me? Does He still wish to “find” me in new ways or at new levels? Is there more Father?

This is the reality I want us to ponder and question. Though we have come to know the Father, have we really allowed ourselves to be found by Him? Are we allowing Him to speak to us, express Himself to us, love us? Though you may have been saved for fifty years now, I think the need of seeking Him has not lessened. It seems the more of Him we have, the more we can have and even the more He longs to give. The closer we get to Him the more of Him radiates on us. Therefore, my admonition to you is, “Seek and be found.”

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Messy Drawers

On March 4, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Matthew 23:27

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.”

This verse reminds me of someone I once knew. His desk was immaculate; no folders, papers or files upon it, contrasted to my own which currently has multiple books, composition books, a calendar, pens (plural), a folder and a pad. I can still see a little of my desk but his showed more wood than anything else and each item; pen cup, etc. was precisely placed. One day, though, I got a glimpse in his desk drawers. It was pandemonium. There was no order whatsoever.

That is the way Jesus saw the Pharisees. They had their public (visible) personas worked out to the last detail. They wore robes, attended the feasts, gave offerings, made their tithes and said their prayers. Inside, though, they were rotten and full of bedlam. Their religion only went skin deep. In the private times of their lives, in their private thoughts and ambitions, they did not serve the Lord God. Religion was, for them, a public expression rather than a private one. This distinction is, of course, of first importance.

Jesus has invited us into the private realm of life. He offers his assistance and presence in our private lives and invites us into the intimacy of his life. Think about the Apostle John reclined on Jesus’ chest. Is this the Lordly relationship the Pharisees sought? No wonder it was hard for them to recognize him as their Messiah. And just think what it would have meant to their existence had they received and accepted him. Walls of isolation and separatism would have to be shattered. Formalism would have to be abandoned. Could a Pharisee transform enough to lay his head on Jesus’ bosom? Could he surrender that much of himself?

Jesus destroyed the protocols becoming a friend and brother. He changed the way we think of ourselves in the larger landscape of “religion.” He is gentle but longs to occupy all the private corners of one’s life. We can appreciate how uncomfortable that might make a person. He didn’t come demanding to be worshiped as a king, though he had that right. He came requiring much more. He asks for our lives; for our lives to be intimately wrapped around his and he offers himself as our lover. Wow! It is a bit much to wrap your head around, but it has the sweetest aroma about it. It calls us forward, even into the uncomfortable.

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Runneth Over

On March 3, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 23: 5 – 6

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, and my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.

Many of you have considered the 23rd Psalm in depth so I don’t want to retrace the same thoughts. None the less, this psalm is popular for good reason. It is packed with good news about our standing with God. I mean, how confident in God’s protection and provision must one be to sit down and have dinner in the midst of enemies?

I really wish, today, to focus on poverty. You can define and categorize poverty as fits your situation. When David wrote about the cup overflowing that means overflowing with friends, finances, health, etc. So, where do you need overflowing provision? It is right here in this psalm.

The language about the overflowing cup stood out to me but so did the idea that goodness and faithfulness are to follow us every day of our lives, every day! How can we be impoverished with those two following along with us daily? The reason these two parts stand out to me is because much of the church likes to enshrine poverty. We even pretend that Jesus was broke which just isn’t true. His garments were so fine that the soldiers gambled over them. You don’t do that over rags. But also, if Father God treated David so magnanimously, would He really let Jesus go around broke and destitute? I mean, really? David’s cup overflowed but Jesus was broke? I don’t buy it.

Sometimes we, church people, put such a high value on poverty that we say we are suffering for Christ or make up other such excuses. It is hard to bless God’s kids when you’re busy being broke. And Lord forbid we actually cause the cups of our pastors to overflow.

I think we need a shake-up from the neck up. We need to revise our thinking and revamp our vision of Christianity. We need to change our image of who God is and what He wants for us. He isn’t destitute so why should His kids be? Cups running over in every area of life, that is a vision I can sink my faith into.

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Shepherd

On March 2, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

Psalm 23: 1 – 4

The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Yesterday in our discussion of Psalm 138 I mentioned that I was reminded of Psalm 23 so I thought we should have a look at it. Many of you know this psalm from the King James Bible which is poetic and lovely, but it is good for us to look at a variety of versions. This is the New American Standard.

So, I want to use your imagination again today. Picture yourself as a little lamb with Jesus as your shepherd. The first thing represented is provision. The Lord provides for you. You have everything you need. Then we see him leading you to a place of comfort and peace. Here you can lie down and not worry. The pastures are green, ripe with nutritious food and a comfortable place to sleep. There is a bubbling brook there with sweet, clear water, no raging rivers to ford, just a pleasant sound to lull you into peaceful slumber. Of course, this is restorative. He wants you to lie down and rest your mind and body. He is standing guard so that you do not have to worry. Be at peace and rest.

Jesus has a stake in all this. Not only does he love you. Not only did the Father give him charge over you but also, his name is at stake. He leads you in right paths to protect and bless you but if he didn’t, his name would be smeared, his lordship tarnished. He has a duty to lead in right paths. If you stumble and fall off the edge of a narrow trail, his name is besmirched. So, he keeps his little ones from harm.

Lastly, and this reflects back to yesterday, we can be in the midst of trouble, in the very valley of death and yet have no fear. We think of the rod as a disciplinary tool. Jesus thinks of it as a protection tool. The staff and rod show their first use when a ravenous wolf appears. You may be threatened by the wolf but then you see the shepherd’s crook flash from the corner of your eye and the wolf scurry for cover. He also uses his rod and staff to guide you so that you are kept to the safe path. Remember, he is leading us all to fertile fields with creeks of refreshing water. If you stray from the correct path, you will not arrive at Eden. Therefore, Jesus uses his staff to guide you, keeping you on the fruitful path. The path is narrow which leads to the land of plenty, so he is vigilant to guide you with the rod and staff so that you do not stray and find yourself in a thicket.

So much of what Jesus does in our lives is directly spoken to by this psalm. He is obligated, by God Himself, to guide us, to lead us in the way we should go. His rod and staff comfort us because our confidence is boosted and worry eradicated as we perceive the protective guard rails he establishes for us. The moment we begin to wander in the wrong direction he nudges us back in the right direction. He is constantly trying to direct us. Only stupid sheep ignore their shepherd. Ignoring his voice leads to being lost, lonely and without provision. Seek him, yes, but seek also his instruction and guidance. Daily listen to his direction for you.

I hope you were able to enjoy your visual journey as a lamb. Perhaps you added your own images.  It is a good visualization to play with. As you wander, visually, with Jesus, you see the care with which he guards his beloved.

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