A man recently came to my office full of questions. He had hit bottom – lost his business and dream home that he had his wife had built – lost them in part because of the economy and in part because of less than wise decisions. He felt empty and without hope. He had an acquaintance with faith but had not be drawing on faith or on God for a number of years. We talked and he decided to commit his life to Christ – to allow Jesus to come into his life and become Lord. He prayed and I prayed and God begin to open his eyes to the voids in his life. He had tried to fill them with the pursuit of money, possessions and busy-ness. We have begun meeting together to talk about the implications of this new faith and what God is doing in His life.
He called today. A friend he had known for 25 years was found dead in his truck of an overdose of drugs. He had become involved in gambling and owed more than 7 figures in outstanding gambling debts and was about to be indicted on embezzling charges. The pressure had been too much.
As I talked with my new friend, he made several observations about his friend: “He had no spiritual direction.” “He had a void in his life that he was trying to fill with gambling.” Then he said, “that could easily have been me until two weeks ago.” God is beginning to fill the void and give him spiritual direction.
As we talked today, I found myself thankful for two things: 1) that my friend recognized the emptiness in his own life and sought a relationship with God. 2) the my friend is able to look at the circumstances, actions and attitudes in others and see that the bottom-line problem is the lack of a relationship with God.
I am thankful because it affirms that God is working – these new insights are not from me but from eyes being opened by a relationship with God.
Encouragement takes on several of forms:
- I can be encouraged by the words of an observer who says, “good job; well done.”
- I can be encouraged when plans succeed – when I know I have put in time and effort and those efforts have produced desired or greater than expected results.
- Sometimes I can feel encouraged simply because the sun is shining.
- I might feel encouraged when all bills are paid.
- I feel encouraged after a physical exam and the doctor finds nothing wrong and declares that I am in good health.
The first two are related to accomplishments – the last three are more about circumstances (which can change quickly). Sometimes encouragement comes because we have interest in something totally outside of ourselves.
In October of 2007 I made my first trip to Uruguay with a team of people from several churches who were looking for ways to be a blessing to that country. During our trip we met a pastor -who was raising pigs and tending bee hives to make a living while attempting to start churches in several towns within driving range of his farm.
I have kept in touch with him for the past 16 months. We do not correspond often but he does send periodic e-mails. I pray for him and try to write encouraging words.
His most recent e-mail told of two men who are now helping him in ministry. Both are men he has invested in and now they will soon be pastoring churches in the region.
I have nothing tangible involved in this ministry. I have contributed nothing financially. This pastor is not a part of my particular tribe of churches. He is simply a man who loves God and is being used of God to touch the lives of people in Uruguay. I have nothing to gain or lose by his “success” or “failure” and yet I feel encouraged by what I see God doing in His life.
My investment is simply that I pray for him -for his fruitfulness and effectiveness. As fruit multiplies, I am encouraged.
It feels like a busy week already. Today is a study day – reading, taking notes, filling in the details for Sunday’s message. But the week is punctuated with numerous other activities:
- Tonight is my small group – studying “Toward a Deeper Walk” by Marcus Warner. We are just getting started – we will be addition another person to the group tonight – enlarging this circle of people.
- Tomorrow – a pastors prayer retreat from 8-11 AM – I will leave a bit early for a luncheon appointment at 11:00. The pastors’ prayer retreat keeps me connected with what God is doing in the city.
- Tomorrow – lunch with a leader from the church who is ministering to men in his work place – although he is very involved in ministry at the church, he sees his greater ministry to be in the workplace – his circle is bigger than the church.
- Tomorrow evening – hosting a community meeting to discuss an addition to the sewer near the church – an opportunity for us to simply minister to the people in the community – another circle.
- Wednesday – an appointment to interview a possible part-time secretary – to enlarge our capacity for ministry – to enlarge the circle.
- Thursday – lunch with a man who has recently begun attending the church – who is looking for greater involvement in ministry -
- Thursday – meeting with a committee to finalize our church directory (the inside front pages challenge people to think about friends and family who are not a part of a church who should be in the next edition of the directory – enlarging our circle)
- Friday – early morning coffee with two young leaders who are already having an impact on the lives of others – they are continually enlarging the circle.
- Friday – mid-morning – meeting with a man who recently committed his life to Christ and wants to grow in his faith – another arc in the circle.
Several of these appointments require that I enlarge my circle of friends and therefore influence. It is much easier most of the time to remain within the same circle of friends but God is all about enlarging the circle. I’d rather spend my time in expanding relationships than chairing meetings.
My prayer is that God would continue to give us opportunities to expand the circle.
I have preached numerous sermons through the years on the value of the sabbath rest. That day “off” was about more than rest – it was also about being refreshed in the presence of God – a day of worship – a day to focus on Someone other than the stuff of everyday life.
I have also chided numerous colleagues and those in the local church for not having a day of rest.
I find that I am violating my own preaching and advice. It seems that the Lord has opened numerous doors for ministry (a good thing). There are opportunities for building faith into the lives of others – some who are new in faith and others who are maturing. I am approaching my capacity.
I normally take Saturdays as my day. However the past two and the next several are full. This week I decided I would take Friday. I have had numerous requests for appointments for this Friday. When I finish writing this I have to return a phone call regarding another request for Friday.
While I know the value of the day away, I don’t like to miss opportunities for ministry. Even though I am reminded that Jesus frequently slipped away to a quiet place alone – away from the crowds – away from the ministry, I still have difficulty saying “no.”
My wife frequently quotes (out of context) that section from Psalm 23 – “the Lord makes me to lie down,” as a warning that if I don’t take a break, a break will come.
I am going to make my phone call. My intent is to keep Friday clear.
I have a favorite pair of shoes. I liked them the first time I saw them on the shoe rack. I reach for them without thinking. They are incredibly comfortable and have endured several seasons of wear and my near inattention to care. When I bought them, I treated them to make them water and salt resistant and I do polish and buff them periodically.
The last time I wore them I notice some scuffs and their limited shine. Before I put them on, I polished and buffed them again. They still don’t look like new and they are showing the seasons of wear but they are still sound and comfortable. While I would like them to look as good as possible, I put a higher value on their comfort – how well they serve me.
As I thought about those shoes I began to wonder how much attention we place in our lives on “looking good.” We primp and adjust and match colors. Some go to the extent of surgery to improve how they look. Then there is the face (usually a happen one) we wear for the public to see. We not only want to dress to look good but we want our countenance to look good.
I wonder what might happen if we spent as much time working on being good – on having such an inner peace that we look good to those around us because we are good on the inside. I am thankful that people work hard to look good but, like my shows there is a greater value than just looking good.
The Apostle Paul talked about the things we should think about – things that are lovely and of good report, etc. (Philippians). If we filled our minds with those things, would we begin to “be good?” Then of course there is the simple thing of allowing Christ to come into our lives and change us so that we begin to reflect Him. Then our looking good is not something we have to work at but is a reflection of becoming like Christ.
I choose my old shoes, not because they look great but because they are really good shoes. Given a choice, I’d rather spend time with someone whose heart is really good but whose appearance may not attract the masses than someone who looks really good but whose heart is hard and empty.
I was in a conversation recently about our relationship with God. It began with a focus on God’s incredible love for us – that He pursues us in order to have a relationship with us. It was also stated that He loves us in spite of what we have done – that our behavior does not diminish His love and there is nothing we can do to increase His love.
That discussion raised questions about the expectations for “being good.” If we claim to be Christians, then aren’t we supposed to be obedient to God’s laws (even though we live in an age of grace) and to live good lives?
Then came the question of motivation. Do we obey in order to earn His love or as a response to His love? Do we try to live good, moral lives to gain His favor or out of gratitude for the favor He has shown?
In the middle of this conversation, I remembered the days when my children were small and still at home. I can tell you that I always appreciated their compliance with instructions; obedience to prohibitions and attempts to live according to the values of our home.
As I reflected on those years, I can’t remember many particular acts of “obedience” unless they were associated with conflict and “I won.” I do remember a general pattern of them trying to do what we expected as parents and to meet our expectations.
What I do remember are times when they blessed me – times when they did something special just to see me smile. When they were really small, it might have been as simple as a picture they drew.
I wonder how our relationship with God might change if we began to think of ways to bless God rather than worrying quite so much about obedience and earning His favor. I’m not suggesting we should not be obedient but that we might begin to see God as a loving Father that we desire to bless instead of the God who is looking to punish us every time we step out of line.
I meet with a small group on Monday evenings. We have been studying Paul’s Epistle to the Philippians (mostly because I like the letter and I’m the leader). We are nearly finished – in fact we should have finished last night.
We began, as usual with prayer, followed by a time of worship. One member of the group leads us in worship songs. Out of that time of worship flowed several different little rabbit trails of discussion – first about worship, then about the importance of the word -and some expressing feelings of inadequacy regarding their own study of Scripture. It then moved to talking about prophecy and discussions about current events.
I tried at least twice to bring us back to Philippians but each time my attempts were met with another question. I finally gave up and decided that since these things were on their hearts and minds, it was best to talk about them.
There was a time when I would have been totally frustrated by the fact that we didn’t stick to the agenda – that we didn’t do the study I had prepared (sounds a bit self-promoting doesn’t it?).
The journey we took last night was unplanned and at times seemed to go only to dead-ends. Yet it seemed that even the dead ends represented resolution to questions – allowing us to return to a new trail.
We live in a culture that is all about plans and goals and direction and yet sometimes, it is the unplanned journey’s that are the most productive.
I have been studying the various accounts of Jesus upsetting the tables of the money changers and chasing them out of the temple. It appears that He had incredible passion for the temple. But there are several observations that come to mind:
- He said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John tells us “the temple he spoke about was His body.”
- Paul tells us in I Corinthians 3 that we are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in us. He repeats it in chapter 6.
- When Jesus chased the money-changers out of the temple He said, “my house shall be a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers.”
Some questions -
- Where is the temple? Is the church building the temple? Are individuals the temple? Is the temple the collective body of Christ?
- If His house (the temple) is to be a house of prayer, what are the implications if we are the temple?
- If we are the temple, what does it say about the condition or expected condition of the heart?
- Is the church building to be the “house of prayer” or are there other implications?
