My Best Effort?

My family recently undertook a project to tie-dye some T-shirts. With the material and the shirts there was a video to show us how to design them. I was a passive participant in all of this. I watched the video. But I didn't choose one of these unique designs. The video also encouraged someone to use their creative imagination. But to have a bulls eye, or a spiral, or a pleated design, it seemed like it would take a lot of work. More than I wanted to invest. And if you know me well, you would agree that I am less than creative in my imagination. There were shirts to pre-soak in some solution... and rubber bands to tie at strategic points... and colors to mix... and shirts to soak overnight... and washing and drying them the next day...Whew!! It was enough to wear me down!! So I took the easy way out. I used the excuse that colors didn't matter much to a color blind man and tied four knots in the shirt itself and told my granddaughters to decorate the shirts any way they liked. I promised that it would be the most attractive. The next day, the shirts of the rest of the family looked good enough to wear in public. But mine was only suitable for pajama wear!! I tried to justify the lackluster appearance to my oldest granddaughter. I told her that I did the best I could. This nine year old responded with some timeless wisdom. "Sometimes, people say they do the best they can when they really do the best they want to do," she said. Ouch!! I find it discomforting to have someone preach to the preacher. It reminds me that striving for excellence is something that pleases God.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:17)
Now does this mean that God frowns upon my sorry excuse for a tie-dyed T-shirt? I don't think He worries about that too much. But I do think that God is concerned when I say I do my best and it is evident that I didn't give it my best effort. Someone is always watching. It is not the best example that I set for my granddaughters. They need to see a man that strives for excellence because He has a God with an excellent name. Someone is also watching when other people never see us. Our lives are lived before the all-seeing eye of a most excellent God. It's amazing that a person can learn in nine years what it takes another one over fifty years to forget. Some times we only do what we really want to do. I'm glad God didn't stop halfway to the cross.
Blessings to you,
Sam

Looking Good, Seeing Clearly

I was reminded lately of an experience in an optical shop a few years ago. After an eye examination, I took the lens prescription to a local business that specialized in offering a large variety of eyeglass styles and boasted of custom fitting each customer. They took a lot of time measuring the distances between my different facial features, and promised to offer me the perfect fit of the frames that I had chosen for the lenses. When I returned to pick them up after a few days, I sat in a chair while the technician observed how the glasses fit my face.
"How do they feel?" the young man asked.
"They feel fine," I said, "But I can't see through them."
"Great!" he exclaimed. "And they look so good on you!"
"But I can't see through them," I responded.
"But they look good," he maintained.
"But I can't see," I repeated. It's like he can't hear me, I thought. Maybe he's a deaf man in an optical shop. I wondered if hearing and seeing are connected. Finally, I began to break through to this guy. Evidently, someone had misread the lens prescription. He seemed heartbroken as he sighed and told me that they would have to send them back. "And they really looked good on you," was the last thing I heard him say.
The memory of this experience was triggered after my recent eye surgery. A lens implant from a cataract surgery ten years ago had slipped out of place, causing me to see double images in one eye. I am so glad that the surgeon wasn't like the optical shop technician. They seemed to have radically different understandings of the ultimate purpose of their service. The technician focused on how my eyeglasses "looked" and not how well I saw. The surgeon wanted to correct my vision. I have learned that it's far more important to see clearly than to look good. God wants me to see clearly so that He looks good. Jesus had something similar to say to His disciples. He told them stories that helped people gain a greater understanding of God and His purposes. Some of the people didn't get it. They were more concerned with looking good than with seeing clearly. But for the ones who heard the word of God...their vision was corrected.
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-17)
Hearing and seeing are connected. Ponder awhile on this leftover thought: Instead of asking myself, How do I look?, focus on the question, What do I see? The world looks radically different through the lens of God's word. If anyone has ears to hear...
Blessings to you,
Sam

What's He Looking For?

One morning this week I had an opportunity to share spiritual truth with my granddaughters. While we were all sitting together in the living room, I was explaining that God was pleased when He found a broken and contrite heart within us. This led into the discussion about the meaning of the word contrite. I explained that it means crushed...more than just broken...broken beyond brokenness. In the middle of our informal lesson, helping them think through the concept of a broken and contrite heart as opposed to an arrogant and proud one, my daughter began to examine the hair and scalp of her daughters' heads. "Let me look at your head," she said to each one. They sat very still for this process, as their mother parted the hairs on their heads and looked closely at the scalp. "What are you looking for?" said one of the children. "This is the season for ticks and I'm looking to see if any of them have gotten into your hair," her mother said. All this went on while our spiritual discussion continued. I told them how sometimes the troubling experiences of life's circumstances could break our hearts. And in this time of brokenness, God is looking for contrite hearts. He is looking for those whose hearts are broken beyond brokenness. He is looking to help those who cannot find anyone else to help. It is in these times that God cares for us in ways that only He can. I thought the informal session went well. Some of God's greatest truths are learned in this way. So, a few minutes later, I decided to review. "OK, girls, tell me," I said. "What is it that God is looking for?" "TICKS!" said the youngest. Well, so much for the spiritual lesson, I thought. Until God began to teach me. A tick, you see, is a parasite. Left unnoticed and unchecked, a tick can do much damage. It can suck the lifeblood and vitality from us and leave us more broken than broke. So God is looking for much more than the broken and contrite heart. He not only comes to us in our brokenness, He comes looking for the source of the pain. He comes to destroy the parasitic infection within us, enabling us to overcome the affliction of sin's destruction. He comes to help us in areas that no one else can. Here's the leftover thought for today: The devil is like a tick. God is looking into our lives, parting the numbered hairs on our head, so to speak, looking for evidence of sin's attachment and the unauthorized parasitic usurping of a life that belongs to Him. The devil is a thief, who comes like a tick, stealing life from God's people. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) And furthermore, The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) So what is God looking for? Jesus comes to the heart that is broker than broke, bringing life that is larger than life. He is a spiritual tick's worst nightmare. And He's my Savior.

Who's Your Boogie Man?

In the 1970's a musical group named K.C. and the Sunshine Band recorded a song that was extremely popular called, "I'm Your Boogie Man". The tune came into my head recently and stayed in there long enough to chase out the thought, Who is this Boogie Man? Yeah, I know. If I can remember the tune, I am close to being a relic of antiquity. I'm telling my age. But the older I get, the more I come to terms with life. Telling my age is just another thing I'm not afraid of anymore. But the "boogie man" is still a concept of my consciousness that needs to be addressed. The lyrics of this song are such that I wonder why people of my generation ever gave it a serious hearing. Well...I've just thought through that notion and answered the question for myself. We've never been the most clearest of thinkers. A few of these lyrics demonstrates that when language is used in general (rather than specific) terms, it leaves room for the mind to wonder...and wander. Check out some of the lyrics: I'm your Boogie Man... that's what I am...I'm here to do... whatever I can. What does that really say?? So here's the leftover thought, which came out of my head at nearly the speed of light, as far as I can tell. The "boogie man" concept seems to be inherent in nearly every culture. Almost everyone seems to have grown up with the knowledge that there really is a boogie man. At least in our minds. So, if he is really there, what does he really want??
The culture in which I grew up was primarily small town and rural. We altered the boogie man's pronunciation, and even the spelling. Our Boogie Man was called the Booger Man. Boogers are boogie terrorists. In my time, I've heard tell of some mighty scary boogers! Anyway, as children, we were cautioned and counseled (politically correct terminology for threatened and terrorized) to behave ourselves or the booger man would come and get us. We were never told what he would do when he got us or where he would take us. That part was left for the imagination. For a young mind to be so soon a-wondering about such things and a-wandering through life was pretty scary. Further looking into some of this song's lyrics can give one the impression that this boogie man is there to do whatever he could to please the listener. Kind of like the boogie man was some sort of genie, your-wish-is-my-command sort of thing. He was there to serve whoever is listening to the song. This is a rather seductive suggestion. Well, my booger man philosophical worldview goes something like this. The booger man is in our earliest memories because he is real. We are born with that reality in place. And he is not there in our lives to serve us. He is there to be served. His presence is not there as a deterrent for bad behavior...he is the source and originator of bad behavior. He dominates our lives because he is a strongman, who inhabits our thinking and intends to control our behavior. He is not our friend. He is our enemy. And he is the enemy of God. The Booger Man is the devil. And it is his intention to destroy our lives by holding us captive. Wow. If that was the end of the story, it would be sadder than sad. But consider Jesus. He has hope for this grim reality. The authority of Jesus is constantly being questioned. Always has been. But questioning authority does not change the truth. Jesus is ultimate authority. He is stronger than the strongman. He's the booger man's booger man! And on one occasion He had this to say: "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter the strong man's house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." (Matthew 12:28-29) Jesus, God in the flesh, has come to destroy the works of the devil. The kingdom of God has come upon me when I fear God more than I fear the booger man.

Making A Bold Statement

More times than I have been willing to count I have been in the spotlight, and sometimes the hot seat, for making bold statements. As a child I would get in trouble with my mother when I would tell her that I was not going to do what she wanted me to do. She would often say, “That's a mighty bold statement!” That would be the last thing she said until she demonstrated what the result can be when you have a lack of discretion about making bold statements. You need to be careful who hears you make bold statements!
When you make a bold statement, it can be very costly to you and those around you. In the workplace, a bold statement that is in opposition to the boss's philosophy may cost you your job. Disciples of Jesus Christ will often find themselves with the opportunity to give credible testimony of God's incredible power. When that happens, there are risks associated with making bold statements. When we suffer for making bold statements about the favor of God, our questions become, is it all worth it? Why does God put us in these uncomfortable situations anyway? Wouldn't it be easier just to keep quiet?
When we have our head on straight, and our thinking is focused on eternal things, it makes a little more sense. Here's a news flash. God is not as concerned for our comfort as He is with the integrity of His name. He wants others to know about the faithfulness of His provision. Often that only comes from the mouth of a witness. We should not be ashamed of suffering for Christ. Consider what this ancient witness says in the Bible:
...we may boldly say, " The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me." (Hebrews 13:6)
Because of what God's word boldly says, we can make two bold statements:
I. THE LORD IS MY HELPER BECAUSE HE PROMISED TO BE WITH ME.
This help is nearby and constant. I don't have to wait hours, days or months for help to come. His help is immediate. He is with me. He will never leave me.
II. I WILL NOT BE AFRAID BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY HELPER.
Only fools will attack a superior force. With God on our side and at our side, whom shall we fear? The real danger is living our lives enslaved to fear. When we fear God, man is no threat.
Are you living in fear of suffering some loss of perceived status in the eyes of those people around you? Or are you concerned with what the eyes of the Lord sees?
Take the opportunities that God presents to testify about His greatness. See what God can do with your witness in the world and in the workplace. Fear God. And fear nothing. Be bold. Be free.

Can You Hear Me Now?

I wasn't the only grandpa there, but we were certainly in the minority. I was asked to fill in for a dad in a preschool class for five-year olds. It was "Doughnuts for Dads" day. The plan was that the dads (or their substitutes) would spend some time sharing a doughnut and a small part of the first part of their day with the child. What a great concept. It was a sight to behold. All those men trying to sit in those tiny little chairs at those tiny little tables was hilarious, but in my case was hazardous. Once I got down that low, I didn't know if I could ever stand up straight again! The kids were so excited as they served the men their doughnuts and I could see that this day meant a lot to them. Then I saw a couple of kids that made me sad. They had no dads or fill-ins with them. They were just watching the others interact. I wonder what they were thinking. I silently prayed for them to overcome such a shortcoming in their early lives. I began to muse about the influence that a father has in the life of their children when they are present to share in their lives, or even when they share some doughnuts. There is also a huge influence when a father is absent...not only on "Doughnuts for Dads" day, but everyday and all day. Nothing compares with the lack of a father's presence. But here is one thing that competes with it. It's the father who is "there, but not here". I saw a few of those. At least five of the men were there with their cell phones in their ear, managing their business from a distance, while the children were competing for their attention, close by, yet far away. The kids tried in vain to show a couple of the fathers a favorite book of theirs or something they had made. "Doughnuts for Dads" only lasted a few minutes. In fifteen minutes we were done. I wonder how many of these fathers had gone to a movie lately or a concert where the cell phone was off limits, and they willingly complied. In ancient times, I wonder how guys like me ever survived when someone left a message while we were busy and we called them back later. I don't want to sound like I was the perfect father. But I am speaking from a perspective of one who may have been "there, but not here" more than I realized. We can waste the years we have been given to be a great influence when our priorities are skewed. The potential for damage is great. Communication works like this. When one person calls another, they usually have the option of leaving a message...or not. The person who was called has the option to return the call...or not. If there are too many unreturned calls, the day will come when there will be no more messages. There will be no more calls. The caller will talk to others, interacting with them and being influenced by them, for good or evil. For the fathers who are "there, but not here", I'd like to leave the following message: Hey, dude...listen up! Your children are calling you... They have left many messages... they will stop calling you sooner than you think...take the phone out of your ear and put it in your pocket...nothing is more important today than hearing your child's heart, interacting with them, and using your influence...for good and not evil. Consider the following:
"Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem; ...He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. For he walked in all the way that his father had walked, and served the idols that his father had served and worshiped them. So he forsook the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD." (2 Kings 21:19-22)
"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." (Ephesians 6:4)
It's hard to argue with this kind of Fatherly wisdom, don't you think? Can you hear me now???
Blessings to you,
Sam

One Man's Trash, Another Man's Treasure

I guess I am one of the last holdouts when it comes to garbage pickup. Most of the neighbors have curbside pickup, although our street doesn't have curbs. They roll their trash carts out at night and the truck comes early in the morning to collect it, rather noisily, I might add. But I still take my trash to the local collection site. It's a state of the art facility, with different kinds of bins and dumpster containers for cardboard, plastic, aluminum, glass, and paper recyclables. There is also one for metal objects. Lately, it has been a time-consuming and frustrating experience. I don't know how much longer I can hold out being a holdout. No matter what day of the week or time of day, there always seems to be a line of vehicles that stretches all the way out into the road. If you are the last in line, as one will always be at some point, it can be pretty hazardous for your health with the rear end of your vehicle sticking out in the travel lane of the passing traffic. Then, as I approach the dumpster, in absolutely no danger of setting any land speed records, my blood pressure goes up when I see the "garbage nazi". That's what I have decided to call him. He seems to wait until it's my turn to throw my garbage bags away to bring an already snail's pace operation to a complete halt. As I get out of the pickup truck, he decides to close the door to the dumpster and spend a few minutes compacting the trash. So I wait. Now I know the trash needs compacting inside the container. It's way more economical to transport compacted trash, especially with the high fuel prices, these days. But it always seems to be my turn when this happens. Isn't my time worth something, I ask myself? To make matters worse, this guy inspects what you throw away, spotting a plastic recyclable or a piece of cardboard in the back of the truck. So he informs me how to properly dispose of these things in their respective places. By now, I have identified him as the primary cause of the backed up line all the way out to the road. Sometimes, I have been so frustrated with the wait, I have gotten out of line and driven away, as a sign of protest. And while I'm thinking I really showed him, the wind in the back of the truck whips these bags around when I get up to highway speed. This causes me to wonder if these bags could blow out, becoming a traffic hazard, as I begin to imagine what it would be like if a tractor trailer truck ran over the bag of trash. Not to mention about what kind of mess this would make, I begin to think it would really not be in my best interests for my trash to be exposed to the world... I might have my identity stolen from some scrap of paper containing some personal information! So I experience no small amount of anxiety over a hypothetical situation. Since I don't talk to myself as much as I used to and my "self" no longer responds as wisely as I'd like, I have started to talk to God about this. It is amazing what happens when you pray. Lately, there's been another guy at the dump. I call him the garbage servant. Before I can get out of the pickup truck, he often reaches over in the back and throws my garbage bags away. He is pleasant and helpful and always tells me to have a "blessed" day. Here's my new perspective. The garbage dump in itself produces two kinds of folks. One who stays at a distance, pointing to the place where you must discard your garbage and really doesn't care about your scheduled and agenda-laden life. The other one gets involved with the process. He actually touches the trash, disposing of it himself. This one is a servant. We are born into a world that on its best day, is a garbage dump. I know the beauty of the sunset or ocean breezes and mountain ranges can be pretty awesome to experience. But this world is dying and cursed with the fallen nature of sin. And the only hope is that One came to this dump and bore the curse of all humanity so we could be restored. Creation is His recreation. He is personally involved in our lives, and cares about us. He not only tells us to dispose of our garbage, He helps us do it. Jesus came as a servant. He's coming again as Lord. His desire is to bring about a truly "blessed" day.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
This is encouraging for those of us in the garbage dump of life today. Jesus...one man's trash...another man's treasure. Is Jesus your treasure today?
Blessings to you,
Sam