Saturday, June 13, 2009

What if the storm continues?

Last October, my brother-n-law emailed me an insightful quote that I’ve been recently been reminded of: Sometimes God calms the storm and other times He calms the sailor. I think writing that Perfect Storm blog triggered my memory of that email. Let me share my observations – perhaps they will be helpful to you…


“This kinda goes along with how my prayer-style has changed through the years… I used to always pray, “please Lord, get me OUT of this storm now!”…


then when I realized that we can grow in spiritual maturity going through our storms, my prayers changed to, “Lord, give me the strength to endure this storm”…


then as I realized that we often learn spiritual lessons going through storms, my prayers changed to “Lord, give me the wisdom and understanding to maneuver through the storm and learn it’s lesson”


Though I hardly have prayer down to a science by any means, I see that my prayer-style has changed from the focus of God evacuating me out… to God getting me through the storm via the brute force of strength… to God getting me through the storm via the finesse of wisdom and understanding…


Now days I’ve come to the realization that I need to pray that God gives me the proper combination of strength and wisdom… the proper balance between enduring the storm and maneuvering the storm…


So it is true that God sometimes calms the storm, while other times calming the sailor… here’s another way of viewing this… sometimes He doesn’t change the storm, He just changes the sailor…”


Do I believe that God can speak directly into our storm and bring immediate peace? Absolutely! I have experienced this in my own life and have observed it in the lives of many people through the years. Divine intervention can take on many forms.


But what if God doesn’t calm the storm and lets it continue on? Does that mean that He’s abandoned us or somehow failed us in the midst of our storm? Absolutely not! Does that mean that it’s our fault or our faith was weak? That may not be the case either.


We can’t fit God into a box, as if He has to do this or has to do that. Certainly His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than ours (Isaiah 55:9). None of us can pretend to have God completely figured out. Perhaps He weighs out all the possible outcomes of divine intervention and chooses what He feels is best for our souls, regardless of our physical convenience or personal preferences.


It seems that there are several possibilities of divine intervention during a storm: a) God may speak peace into the storm and the environment which initially caused the storm is changed, b) God may speak peace into the sailor, allowing him / her to continue on through the remainder of the storm or c) He does not intervene and allows us to experience whatever the storm deals out. Perhaps there are even more possibilities that aren’t immediately coming to mind at the moment.


Ummmm, I don’t like option three. Can we just remove it? I wish I could, but I can’t.


The only promise we have regarding option three is if we built our life upon Christ, the rock / cornerstone, that the rains, floods and winds would not overcome us (Matthew 7:24-27, 21:42). Though the picture painted is that of a house built upon a rock foundation rather than a boat out in the water, the overall concept of deliverance is the same.


The rains, floods and winds will all hit our lives sometime, someplace but God is always there with us. Which option of deliverance is ultimately His choice. That choice may not yield the results we want, but God always has it under control. Regardless of which choice He makes, remember that there is no better place to be than in God’s hands.


Just some more thoughts to ponder…

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

15 Tools every Christian needs


The other week I was reading my newest May ’09 Popular Mechanics magazine, and boy, oh boy did it bore me out of my mind. I should have definitely renewed my PC World magazine instead. Anyhow, one article that caught my attention was 50 Tools every Man Needs. Talk about the ultimate “home-improvement” wish-list, this was it. Socket wrenches, circular saws, extension ladders, chalk lines, you name it, this list had it.


As I read through their list, I was quickly convinced that I’m not a “home improvement” guy at this particular stage in my life. I think I only had five or six of these items and I’ve rarely used them but a few times. Though as I thought about it more, being more of a tech guy, I have a million and one computer utilities and programs that I use to keep my “digital age” adventure racing smoothly forward. I took the thought a step further and came to realize that we, as Christians, should have a few tools in our toolbox as well.


I’ll try to keep my observations brief, so if any of you out there dispute that any of these items should be on my checklist, just send me an email inquiry and I’ll happily give you some more in-depth info to ponder. =)


Buckle your seatbelt, as I sense some colorful “Tim commentary” on the literary horizon. Please don’t be offended if I accidentally, and unknowingly, step on your toes. If your toes got stepped on, there might be a chance that you were standing in the wrong place to begin with. haha Here we go (though in no particular order):


1. A handful of favorite worship CDs – Pick your vice. Some people like old-school southern gospel, some people prefer Hillsong. Personally, I like Lindell Cooley, Jason Upton, Jeff Deyo, Clint Brown or Israel Houghton for my usual worship selections. Burn CD’s (if you own the original, of course), load up your iPod or iPhone and get that music cranking in your house, your apartment, your car or your prayer place. Wherever and whenever. It doesn’t make a difference if you can’t sing or not, just find a way to glorify God in praise and worship, hum along or howl out the musical tabs. Just get to worshiping God!


2. A favorite prayer spot you can call your own - I’m all about dim lighting, a long straight path to pace back and forth on, none of those yester-year instrumental prayer CD’s, post- 10am and it preferably dark or raining outside when I pray. But to each their own. The rain actually doesn’t have anything to do with how I pray, I just happened to like it. hehe Some people like bright lighting with background music, that’s fine. Whatever fits your fancy, just as long as you’re communicating with God. Not just *talking to* God, but also *listening to* God as well. Two-way communication. It's my observation that if you don’t have a spot (place) you consistently go to, its quite possible you won’t make a spot (time) to get with God.


3. A favorite Bible, preferably heavily worn due to usage - If your supposed “favorite Bible” is somewhere in the back of your car covered in last week’s Burger King garbage, you’re already in a world of hurt. Is your Bible on your bookshelf collecting a layer of dust? Get in that book! Read it on the web, on your phone, on E-Sword, or even *imagine this* in an old-school printed copy of the Word. Just find a way to read it! The Word of God is our manna from heaven and you gotta keep getting a steady dose of the Word or you will gradually grow weak and hungry. An impoverished Christian walk is no way to live!


In my opinion, the devil has within the last several generations, yet again, implimented an effective plan to hinder many people from getting into the Word of God – through illiteracy. Nearly 1 in 3 American adults is illiterate or barely at a 4th or 5th grade reading level (nostudentleftbehind.org). Amazing, yet today’s reality. Worse case scenario, buy an audio Bible and let someone read the living Word of God to you.


4. A devotional guide or a supplement book resource – Ask around of your fellow Christians, you may come across a real winner. Through the years, I’ve found that reading books and resources is much like mining for gold. Sometimes you end up going through a TON of dirt and nothingness to occasionally come across an absolute gold-mine of valuable info that can add a spark to your Christian walk. Be careful not to get caught up reading books about The Book, though mixing in a good variety of materials can really add depth to your personal devotions and study times.


5. A blank spiritual journal or prayer diary - I confess this is one of my blindside areas and I sincerely hope that most folks do better in this area than I do. Get one of those cheap $1 journals (for guys) or girlie-looking diaries (for girls) haha. Then start scribbling stuff down in it. Stuff you get in prayer. Stuff that makes you happy or sad. Spiritual mysteries that you want to learn about. Victories and defeats. Write an unabridged, and unedited, version of “this is what’s happening in my spiritual life”. From time to time read through it and you may find that God is trying to help you put puzzle pieces together in your life or has helped you rattle off an encouraging list of victories over the last few weeks/months/years.


6. A truth-preaching “on-the-mark” pastor you’ll submit to – You might not like his quirky personality, his ugly ties or distinct mannerisms, but whatever you do acknowledge and submit to the shepherd that God has placed in your life and circumstances. God isn’t ignorant and He knew that we, like sheep, sometimes need a physically-present shepherd to help us along in our journeys. In spite of their willingness and desire to help, sometimes pastors get a bum rap. I think that some people actually expect pastors to be on becon-n-call 24/7 for any personal trouble they may experience, then come Sunday or Wednesday they’re thought of as some lowly hired-hand who “certainly can’t know more about where I am in my spiritual life than me”. Wake up folks! God commissioned and called pastors to help us avoid shipwreck, working as an extension of His very own voice. We need to follow our pastor, as He follows Christ. God never approves of “lone-ranger”, independent spirits because it undermines His structure of authority and blessing.


7. A Godly mentor or spiritual life coach (if you’re one of those modern types) – This could be a pastor, an elder in your church or even a wise parent/gparent. You have to find someone who is interested in you succeeding as a Christian. Someone that will invest some of their time and wisdom in you. Then when they speak, listen up! If you want to have an Elisha experience, you’re going to need to have an Elijah to help you get there. You can’t cut corners in regards to submitting to a pastor, nor you can’t cut corners in regards to rubbing shoulders with a mentor. If you don’t have one, find one ASAP! And preachers and pastors, you like Elijah, need to go out of your way to spot an Elisha that you can mentor… because these Elishas are our future…


8. A person or small group to which you remain accountable – On my phone I have a few people who could call me anytime, day or night, and ask me *any* tough question about who I am as a person or the direction I’m heading. I have placed these people at the highest level of respect and I trust they always have my spiritual well-being in mind. I give them full occasion to bring to light any place in my life where I may be straying off course and need to change. Personal accountability has become a dirty word in today’s society and the very thought of having another person to whom you remain accountable makes some people cringe. Guess what folks, you *never* get too big, or so established/accomplished, in life that you don’t need at least one person to whom you always remain accountable, under any and all circumstances.


9. A good handful of church folk you enjoy being around – Christian folks aren’t meant to become dull and boring. Get out and socialize with those of like-minded faith. Don’t get into such a regimented routine that you can’t, or won’t, make time to fellowship with Christians in your local assembly and/or neighboring churches. And whatever you do, don’t form clichés! Fellowship with new people or even people you might not otherwise socialize with and show yourself friendly. You never know how a simple conversation or fellowship over Starbucks coffee may brighten a person’s day. Ohhhh, and I like strawberry-n-crème frappichinos. =)


10. A handful of sinner folk that you are showing God’s love to – We need to make sure that we never forget the hurting people that are out in this world. People experience depression, anxiety, life-shattering addictions or even family troubles. They might have just lost their job or are buckling under the stress of a trying medical condition. There are a million and one possibilities out there. But we need to show love to these people. I SOOOOOOOO need to step up in the area of compassion and empathy. Apparently, sarcasm doesn’t compliment compassion too well. Regardless, it’s been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. So show God’s love to them for awhile and you might be surprised at the interest they show when you begin to talk about Jesus with them.


11. A God-given sense of duty and faithfulness to God – This is a pretty easy concept to verbalize I think… God gave His all for you and He expects that you will give your all to Him. Living for God should never be lowered, or degraded, to a mere decision of convenience or inconvenience. We live for God because He lived and died for us. We have been bought with a price and redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus. If you’re basing your decisions to live for God on convenience, you need a “Calvary” reality check. Read and pray about Calvary, about the ultimate price He willingly paid and how He pulled you out of a miry pit of sin… then duty and faithfulness to God shouldn’t be a problem for you anymore.


12. A “kingdom-minded” ministry you are actively serving in – You’d better be doing something in the Kingdom. Teaching Sunday School kids, preaching in nursing homes or jails, feeding the hungry, worshipping in the choir, teaching the Word of God, running a sound or media booth, etc etc. Something. Anything, great or small, that God places on your heart to do. If you are a seasoned saint and you are just sitting on a pew, you need to get in gear and find a place where you can minister. You never have served enough time to retire in the Kingdom of God, nor are you ever too young to do something special that furthers the Kingdom. If you’re just a kid, be the best kid you can be. Memorize Bible verses, pay attention and respect your teacher(s) during Sunday School – you can be a valuable part of the Kingdom of God too you know!


13. A Bible-driven moral compass that you actually follow – Guess what folks, your opinion isn’t on equal grounds with the Word of God. The Word of God trumps our logic and opinions by a LONG ways. The wisdom and understanding that God possesses supersedes our own, that’s why we need to obey the truth of the Word of God. It’s not a book of suggestions or ideas, but the inspired Word of God, written and delivered as God’s letter to humanity. If we grasp and understand this to be the truth, the Word becomes the moral compass that drives our every thought-process and decision.


14. A Christ-centered focus in all aspects of your life – I have been wearing this point out like a broken record. Living for God isn’t a Sunday / Wednesday thing. It’s a 24/7 lifestyle that has to become who you are. Not apart of who you are, but who you are. You can’t compartmentalize your walk with God. It doesn’t make a difference who your Daddy is, or who your pastor is, or who your grandma is! We all gotta personally experience God for ourselves. We can’t embrace a mindset of entitlement (I might post an entire blog just on the “broken mindset of entitlement” in Pentecost), we have to give our all to Him! Not some of our lives, but all of it! 24/7!


15. A deep passion and hunger for more of God – Simply, if we ever become content with where we are in God, we will stop moving and growing at the exact moment we came to that conclusion. We need to always be striving to draw closer to God, to experience more of who He is, to explore more of His limitless depths and dimensions…


If you find you are missing anything on this checklist, you owe it to yourself to get your "Christian toolbox" up to speed, as you don't want to find yourself in a situation where you are ill-equipped.


God bless... y'all be good! =)