It's Time To Grow Up!

Aniston's first cereal.

She's not too sure about it.

But for this sweet baby (my youngest grandchild) mushy cereal is age appropriate. She can't eat steak.

However, as Aniston grows up she will eat adult food. It's the natural way of things. Babies eat baby food; grown-ups eat grown-up food.

The writer to the Hebrews scolded adult Christians who were satisfied with baby food: "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! " Hebrews 5:12

Infants are wonderful examples of God's creative love. But people who choose to remain infants all their lives are out of sync with God's plan for maturity. Spiritual infancy is as important and necessary as physical infancy. But adults who choose spiritual infancy as their lifestyle prove themselves to be immature, shallow, weak, unable to eat or digest solid spiritual food, and a logjam in the Body of Christ.

None of us are perfect--yet. By grace we believe in Christ and become infants in his family. However, after the baby season is over, it's time to grow up.

What does a grown-up Christian look like? He or she not only believes in Jesus but also shares his beliefs. Maturing believers pass through stages of spiritual growth from faith in Christ to having the faith of Christ.

Failure to grow up in Christ produces weak, anemic, hypocritical, phony, legalistic, church-going Christians who aren't worth their weight in authentic spirituality. They are pretenders; people with "lips close to God and hearts far away from him" Isaiah 29:13.

Only when we wean ourselves from spiritual baby food and eat solid spiritual food will our spirit-person become strong and mature. It's time to grow up!

To Forgive or Not to Forgive?

"To forgive sins is divine not only in the sense that no one is able to do it except God, but also because no one can do it without God." S. Kierkegaard

"Forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors" Matthew 6:12.

It's not easy to forgive. We want forgiveness for our offenses yet we're reluctant to forgive the offenses of others.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" Matthew 6:13-15. Jesus wasn't kidding. If the forgiven refuses to forgive others, then forgiveness will be withheld from him.

Forgiveness means "release" -- a release from personal judgment. It means I release the one who sinned against me from my judgment and release him or her to God's mercy. Forgiveness lets go of revenge, anger, and hurt. I want to get even; God requires me to give mercy instead.

A forgiven person is a broken person. We admit our sin. We own our guilt. We confess. And Papa-God quickly forgives. It is the broken person who is asked to forgive others. Only when we see our own dirt can we forgive others their dirt.

To ask God for forgiveness and then refuse to forgive someone else affronts God's grace. This self-righteous attitude disqualifies us from receiving forgiveness.

To forgive or not to forgive? That is the question.

Ouch!

So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth, Revelation 3:16.

Who said this?

God.

Who did he say it to?

A church.

What does it mean?

"The person who is neither cold nor hot is an abomination to God. God is no more served by dud individuals than a marksman is served by a rifle that, in the moment of decision, clicks instead of firing." -- Kierkegaard

Lukewarm indecision -- halfhearted commitment -- finds no home in the radical claims of Christ. He requires a clear "yes" or "no." No middle ground. No wishy washy response. No grey area. Christ prefers a hostile rejection to a "maybe." He prefers radical obedience to "I'll see."

Lukewarm indecision indicates that we haven't grasped either the impact of Jesus' call or the substance of his message. Therefore, lukewarm indecision meets with a gesture of disgust -- "I'll spit you out of my mouth!"

God can't stomach indifference. He won't tolerate it. It's an affront to him. He expectorates unresponsive, middle-of-the-road disinterest.

Charles Williams suggests that "the whole labor of regenerating mankind has to begin every thirty years." What starts out with passion often ends in pathetic sluggishness. Spirit-power dissipates into indifference. Spirit-empowered lives dwindle into going through the religious motions. We live in the gray shadows of religion long after the Spirit has been grieved and gone away.

Apathy is the sin of the 21st century church.

We're lukewarm. If we're not careful, we'll become little more than divine spit!

What's Your Cause?

Almost everyone has a cause? What's yours? We are anti or pro something; sometimes, we're anti and pro at the same time.

Causes are everywhere. And they come in a variety of flavors: noble and ignoble, noticed and unnoticed, political and religious, environmental and social, moral and immoral.

Does God have a cause? He must because his kids are involved in God-causes on every level. His cause is our cause! Or, is it the other way around?

Would it shock your grey cells to discover that God doesn't have a cause? Not one.

Would it rearrange your mindset to know that God is not the God of causes--any cause, my cause, your cause? If God were to support a cause it would mean that he is weak, needy and that he can't do what he wants to do without help. His cause would either succeed or fail based on his ability to recruit our participation.

Does the Lord of the universe need human endorsement to succeed?

Think about this: Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him, Psalm 115:3. God's will cannot be strangled by either the presence or absence of our endorsement. God is God. He does whatever He pleases without any limitations or restrictions.

Because he is mercifully patient with us God may bless us in our cause-addictions, at least, for a season. But his goal is to wean us from causes as we mature in our relationship with him.

If God had a cause it would be love--his incredible, selfless, unending, love. Papa's goal is to draw us into his love.

If we must have a cause let it be Papa-God's love. God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life, John 3:16.

Is there a greater cause than this?

The Insecure Man

The word insecure means "lacking assurance or confidence, uncertainty." It also means "a dangerous state of affairs; something unsafe, not firm, liable to give way."

Most of us are insecure. Most of us hide it. It's an old story worth repeating. An experienced preacher gave his apprentice some last minute advice before the novice delivered his first sermon: "Son, your third point is your weakest. Raise you voice and pound on the pulpit when you make that point. No one will notice."

Insecure men pound on something--their point-of-view, accomplishments, money, sexual conquests, physique, social position, political power, charitable work, church work, skills, sacrifice. Anything to distract from their lack of confidence; anything to conceal the dark hole of uncertainty in the middle of their soul that refuses to go away no matter how hard they pound or how loud they boast.

Like the Pharaohs before them insecure men build monuments to themselves--pyramids to immortalize and validate their existence. Something that says I am here; I make a difference; I matter; I'm important.

Yet our self-made monuments only tell the world how inadequate we really are. Our accomplishments, drivenness, lust for things and power, "outght's" and "have-to's" make us look busy and important but, in reality, they keep us from living at peace with ourselves or with God.

The insecure man is never at peace with himself. He hides behind a mask of intelligence, humor, skill, charisma, good looks. The mask lies about who he really is to everyone except himself and God.

If the insecure man wears his mask long enough he'll believe his own lie.

How is insecurity erased and confidence embraced? The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever, Isaiah 32:17. The immediate context of this promise begins a few verses before--till the Spirit is poured out on us from on high.

Confidence is God's work. It comes from the Spirit. Only when God's Spirit fills us, covers us, works freely among us will we move from insecure men to confident men. Only God can change our condition. Only His righteousness will cause quiet confidence to flow from a once insecure soul.

Things Are Not Always What They Seem

It was a beautiful Pennsylvania bed-and-breakfast--a working farm. After breakfast, Lynne and I walked around the grounds and down to a farm pond. A large white swan was swimming at the far end of the pond. We noticed something unusual. The swan was chained to an iron post on the bank with about 25 ft of chain.

Later, we asked the owner why the swan was chained. He told us that last Spring his wife was working in the flowerbed near the pond; her back was to the pond. He was in the barn about 100 yards away when he heard his wife screaming for help. He ran out and saw the swan beating her with its powerful wings. He knocked the bird off her, saw that she was seriously hurt, and rushed her to the hospital. She had multiple contusions, deep bruises, and fractured ribs.

The swans was a new addition to their farm. And what they didn't know is that during mating season the male swan becomes territorial and aggressive. And a male swan can seriously injure, in some cases, kill a human with its wings. She was fortunate that her husband was there. The attack might have been worse.

Things are not always what they seem. Beauty can be deceiving. Samuel was on a mission to anoint a new king for Israel. God sent the prophet to Jesse's house. The new king was to be of Jesse's eight sons. Samuel took one look at Jesse's son Eilab--strong, handsome, tall--and thought, "Here he is! God's anointed!"

But God told Samuel, "Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and statue. I've already eliminated him. God's judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks at the heart" I Samuel 16:7.

Appearance, charisma, personality grab out attention. We're drawn toward beauty like a moth to flame. Is it any mistake that the one who deceived Adam and Eve was a supernatural being of exquisite beauty?

God bypassed the better looking sons and chose the "runt of the litter" to succeed Saul as king of Israel. It was his inside, not his outside, that grabbed God's attention. "Samuel took his flask of oil and anointed him, with his brothers standing around watching. The Spirit of God entered David like a rush of wind, God vitally empowering him for the rest of his life" I Samuel 16:13.

Ask God to give you His eyes. Dare to look below the surface. God does. He is a heart-man, first and foremost. Shouldn't we follow His example?

Life From a Four-Year-Old

Emery squeezes every ounce out of life. She's four-years-old. Full of spunk. Nothing gets past her.

It was a "bad week" at preschool for Emery. Not listening and disobedience sentenced her to time-out and the principal's office. All of which Emery took in stride.

The next week, her dad, Rob, had a heart-to-heart talk with Emery about her behavior and each morning she made a "pinkie-promise" to be good. It worked ... until Thursday morning. Emery refused to make the "pinkie-promise." "Daddy," Emery explained, "I've been good for 3 days and I don't think I can do it again. I think it's going to be a bad day today." However, Emery pulled out another good day.

Then, the weekend came. Emery went to three birthday parties/Easter egg hunts. She misbehaved at all three. She refused to participate or play with the other children. She whined, cried, and clung to her mommy. The final Easter egg hunt at church got so bad that Rob took Emery home early.

After Emery's tears dried, they had a father-daughter talk. Rob asked Emery why she continued to misbehave when she knows it's unacceptable and she missed out on all the fun. "But daddy," Emery said, "It's so easy to be bad and it's so hard to be good!"

"That's right," Rob responded, "that's life."

Emery didn't like her dad's response. She thought about it for a moment and said, "I think I need to talk to Granddad about this."

She did.

We had a great talk. Her childlike honesty is refreshing. She's more honest than I am. And she's right: it is easier to be bad than it is to be good. Unlike, my granddaughter, we're reluctant to admit it.

Now I understand what Jesus meant when he said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

Triumphant or Militant?

What is the nature of the Church on earth? Triumphant or militant? Victorious or warring? Do we know the difference?

A winning Church is a trophy-holding, crown-wearing, undefeated community of faith on top of their game. King of the hill. Top of the heap. Successful. A warring Church never arrives. It's always in one struggle or another. It may be as brave as a loin and as tenacious as pit bull but it never arrives. It is in the process of becoming.

A winning Church displays the kingdom of God polished and gleaming in a trophy case. A warring Church understands God's kingdom is an alien kingdom and can only be partially realized now.

A winning Church doesn't suffer because it's made a deal with society: "Don't bother us; we won't bother you." A deal that dilutes Christianity. Once the deal is made the triumphant church concentrates on itself --- expands its holdings, increases its resources, multiplies its programs, builds its buildings. Its only struggle is to keep people coming, giving, and happy.

Christians in a warring Church don't fit the mold. They live risky lives. They're too focused on the fight to be concerned about externals. Little else matters. Hardly the warm, feel-good, comfortable Christianity we're accustomed to.

First century followers of Jesus wouldn't recognize winning Christians. We do. They're just like us. Somewhere we forgotten or conveniently ignored our Lord's warning: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world. John 16:33.

Let's be clear. Serious followers of Jesus Christ are at odds with society. They've made a deal with God and are arch enemies of the god of this world. They don't fit in. They can't conform. They will be exempt, overlooked, rejected, demeaned, hurt, tortured, and killed. They're at war and they know it.

Victory comes later.

A warring Church understands that friends of the world are enemies of God James 4:4 and if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him 2 John 2:15. And the warrior also knows: Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers from them all Psalm 34:19.

Triumphant or militant? It's our choice.

Marginal People

Marginal people played a prominent role as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. Probably, the most marginal of any of Jesus' followers was Mary Magdalene.

We know little about this Mary except that she was possessed by "seven devils."

Possession allowed the seven foul spirits to control Mary--mind and body. Which probably drove her into a debauched moral life coupled with frightening emotional and psychological madness.

Mary was a mess. Nothing was normal. She was driven by her personal demons into a life of living death. No hope. No help. Scorned. Shamed. Used. Avoided. Feared. Life was hell.

Then she met Jesus and he delivered her from her evil captors. Immediately, Mary became a devoted follower of Christ. Nothing could separate her from the pure love she found in Christ. When most of his followers fled, Mary was one of the three Mary's at the foot of the cross.

It's no mistake that Mary alone appears in all four gospel accounts as the prime resurrection witness. Her encounter with the Risen Christ was quiet and holy. Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?' 'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there..." (John 20:11-14)

Mary didn't recognize Jesus at first. Then he called her by name. And Mary cried out in Aramaic, "Robboni!' (which means Teacher)." Resurrection is personal, quiet, and gloriously supernatural.

Never forget that the Risen Christ appears to marginal people ... like me ... like you. Have a blessed Easter!

Forgive Them

Justice or forgiveness? "I have my rights." "I demand justice." Forgiveness is weak; justice has teeth. Forgiveness dismisses the offense; justice avenges the offense. Forgiveness throws the offender on God's mercy; justice throws the offender into hell.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34 One of the one-sentence prayers of Jesus' from the cross. Who is the "them" and "they'? Exactly who is being forgiven? Everyone who is killing Jesus.

The high priest, the Roman governor, Judas, the crowd crying for his blood, the eleven disciples who at his arrest ran like cellar rats. The Roman soldiers who carried out the execution and threw dice for his clothes. And don't forget ... me. And don't forget ... you. Is anyone exempt from the guilt of putting Jesus to death?

Did they know what they were doing? Jesus was tried on false charges. His arraignment, trial, torture, and execution were all based on false charges. Lies. The religious court and the secular court wedded together in the big lie to destroy an innocent life. But they didn't know they were executing God!

And what does Jesus do? He didn't demand justice; he absolved them of their quilt. He asked Papa-God to forgive them.

"Father, forgive them" overlooks "I have my rights! No one is going to push me around! I'll be damned if I'll be any one's doormat!"

So, which is it? Justice or forgiveness?

Justice is important. But forgiveness is more important. Justice rights wrongs, punishes criminals, keeps order. Forgiveness rains mercy, relieves guilt, releases sin. Forgiveness doesn't eliminate justice; it trumps justice. It walks alongside justice.

Forgiveness is not soft passivity. It takes guts to forgive. Forgiveness does not lessen the offense; it offers mercy to the offender.

Two condemned criminals were executed by crucifixion that Friday afternoon outside Jerusalem; one on either side of Jesus. One asked to be "remembered." Jesus said, "Yes!" The first person to recognize Jesus as Savior was a condemned criminal. Justice carried out his execution. Forgiveness changed his destination: "Today you will be with me in Paradise."

Where is God When You Need Him?

"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani ... My God, My God, why have your forsaken me?" (Matt. 7:46; Mark 15:34).

Can God abandon himself?

He did. Papa left his Son. Jesus died alone.

Few of us would choose to die alone. While death rips life from our bodies, it would be comforting to know we were surrounded by people who mean the most to us, people who love us, people willing to walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death.

Who wants to die alone?

Have you noticed that we die a thousand deaths before we're buried--"mini-deaths" Eugene Peterson calls them. We're shunned, rejected, ignored, betrayed, abandoned, abused, and taken off the list as if we were invisible. Each "mini-death" leading to the final death.

During my "mini-death" experience I want God to show up and rescue me from the harsh isolation of betrayal. But He doesn't. At least, He doesn't seem to be there. Heaven is silent. And I'm left to stumble around in the dark night of my soul. I feel desperate. Cut off. I die alone.

"Why?"

I don't know "why?" No matter how many times I ask or how long I wait, God never answers my "whys?"

Yet, no matter how alone I feel, I'm not alone. I will never leave you; I will never forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 That's His promise.

How do I handle my mini-deaths? I do what Jesus did. I trust; I pray; I wait for Papa's presence.

He's on His way. He's never broken a promise yet.

Get Out of the Kiddy Pool

I love the ocean. Oceans are is important to life. They are also important to our Christian life. Christianity is about water.

"Everyone who thirsts, come to the water.' It's about baptism, for God's sake. It's about full immersion, about falling into something elemental and wet. Most of what we do in worldly life is geared toward our staying dry, looking good, not going under. But in baptism, in lakes and rain and tanks and fonts, you agree to do something that is a little sloppy because at the same time it's also holy, and absurd. It's about surrender, giving in to all those things we can't control; it's a willingness to let go of balance and decorum and get drenched." -- Anne Lamott

Christians tend to hug the boat. Jesus walked on water and invited Peter to join him. Not us, we'd rather stay where it's dry, safe, stable. We don't want to get our clothes messed up, our hair wet, or look like drowned rats. Most of all, we don't want to fail!

So we stay on the shore and wade in the shallows. After all, sharks, rip currents, and rogue waves haunt the ocean. Ankle-deep is good enough for us.

Maybe it's time to swim beyond the breakers, to let the currents take us out where we can't touch bottom, where we're less in control, where trust takes over. The depths of God beg us to leave the beach.

Ezekiel was led into the river of life. He started ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, and finally over his head: a river that I could not cross, because the river had risen and was deep enough to swim in--a river that no one could cross. Ezek. 47:5

Get out of the kiddy pool; swim beyond the breakers. Take the risk. Explore the depths of God. You won't be disappointed.

Lord, I am yours; I do yield myself up entirely to you, and I believe that you accept me. I leave myself with you. Work in me all the good pleasure of your will, and I will only lie still in your hands and trust you. -- Hannah Whitall Smith

Consider the Source

One way I deal with criticism is with an angry shrug or sneer and a quip, "Consider the source!" This tactic is particularly effective against critics who can't do what I do, don't know what I know, or haven't walked where I've walked.

Like a critic of my public speaking technique who has no public speaking experience, or a critic of my children who has no children of their own, or a critic of my leadership skills who has never led anyone anywhere except their puppy outside to pee.

This tactic worked well until I read a story about a professor of military science and one of his ROTC officers in college. The young officer walked off the drill field where his marching platoon, "The Pershing Rifles," was given a low grade for their drill performance.

The judges were from another college and one of them was a short guy with thick glasses and an enormous belly. "I don't mind being judged as a poor performer," the young officer said to his professor. "But I resent the fact that one of the judges couldn't perform one of our drills if his life depended on it. When was the last time he saw his knees? What does a fat ass like that know about maneuvers?"

Consider the source!

The prof replied wisely, "A man doesn't have to be a butcher to know if a steak tastes good or not."

Ouch!

I miss God's corrective voice through the voice of my critic if I sluff it off with, "Consider the source." If I have any chance of learning from criticism, I have to look beyond the critic and see if God is speaking to me even through this ... annoying ... person.

King David lusted for another man's beautiful wife. He devised a plan to get her husband out of the way. Then he had sex with Bathsheba. David felt he had gotten away with it until Bathsheba sent him a message with those three little words a men never wants to hear from his mistress, "I am pregnant."

David devised another plan. He brought Bathsheba's soldier husband back from battle and encouraged him to spend time with his wife. The valiant soldier refused. Instead, he slept outside the palace. So, David ordered him sent back to the fight, this time to the front lines. As planned, Uriah was killed in action.

After a time of mourning, David brought Bathsheba into his palace. She became his wife and bore him a son. Again, David felt he had gotten away with it.

Then an annoying prophet showed up. Shaking his long finger in the King's face, the prophet Nathan declared David guilty of adultery and murder. God said, "I'll make trouble for you out of your own family. I'll take your wives from right out in front of you. I'll give them to some neighbor, and he'll go to bed with them openly. You did your deed in secret; I'm doing mine with the whole country watching" 2 Samuel 12.

No angry shrug or sneer. David humbled himself, looked beyond his critic, and heard the voice of God. David confessed, "I have sinned against God." Months later, he wrote Psalm 51, the greatest example of personal repentance ever written.

The next time you're criticized, no matter how small the issue or how annoying the critic, do what David did. Look beyond the critic, see if God is saying something to you. When I do this I move from an angry flash-point of self-justification to a humbling insight of penitent recovery.

Consider the Source!