Confidence in God's power

I was born in that era when doctors gave injections to children rather than worrying over pills that might or might not be taken. And, I've had this lifelong bronchial - sinus thing that caused me to see a doctor a lot when I was a boy. And, the resulting injection of antibiotics was always administered in my butt cheek.

It was humiliating, especially when I got to the age of 7 or 8. It wasn't cool to drop your pants in front of a nurse you might see at church on Sunday. Forced to take a painful injection in the butt added insult to injury.

In the timeline of my life, one particular visit was in 1967. I was almost 8 years old. For months, I had protested receiving the injection in my rear-end, and my mama had assured me that 7 was the magic year in which I could switch from an injection in my hip to an injection in my arm. Thank the Lord.

So, on this particular visit in 1967, at almost 8 years old, I was confident that I would graduate from embarrassment to victory, and receive my injection of penicillin in the arm.

When we arrived at the doctor’s office, I was pleasantly surprised to see – in the waiting room – my Papa Paul – my mama’s daddy. He was there in his trademark white shirt and dark tie – a tall man who walked confidently and spoke authoritatively. To this day, I’m not sure why Papa Paul was at the doctor’s office that day.

But, on this day, I was so glad to see Papa Paul, and he was glad to see me. It gave me strength knowing he was there at the doctor's office, too. My mama began telling him about my ailment, and she continued telling him that I was anxious about getting a shot and mostly about pulling my pants down to receive the shot in the butt.They called him back to see the doctor ahead of me.

He was still back with the doctor when they called me, and mama and I began the slow walk back along the green and white tiled, sterile hallway to a room that smelled of antiseptic and cold metal. Dr. Jim made a quick assessment, told me I was going to get a shot, gave me a cherry Charms pop, and left the room. Soon, the nurse came into the room bearing the instrument of my humiliation. Okay, she said, pull your pants down.

I looked at my mama, and in slow motion, waited on her to rush to my defense. Finally, she half-heartedly said, “He would prefer to have the shot in his arm.” I was so disappointed; I expected my mama to be more forceful than that. And, the nurse dismissed her and said, “It will be better in his hip; pull your pants down son.” I took in a big breath of air, on the verge of tears, and then looked up.

My Papa Paul was standing in the door, and he said, “If that boy wants the shot in his arm, give him the shot in his arm.” For just a minute I thought my mama would protest, but the look the great man gave her reduced her to silence.The nurse looked at my Papa Paul. Tension hung in the air. I quickly buckled my pants and jerked my shirt over my head, thrusting my arm at her and looking away.

The nurse wanted to protest, but my Papa Paul just said, “Hurry up, I have other places to be.” I got my shot in the arm. I didn’t know my Papa Paul very well. He died within months of that experience, and it’s one of only a handful of memories that I can remember. But, I will never forget the swell of confidence that rushed through me, knowing that someone bigger, someone more powerful, someone with authority had stood in the door for me. For the first time in my life, I knew what it was like to know the confident power that comes from a support system.

That support system begins and ends with Almighty God, who is front of us and in our tomorrow, beside us and in our today, and behind us shielding us from the pain of yesterday.

"Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But, with God everything is possible." - Matthew 19:26.

God is not a human being. I once heard someone refer to a quarter moon as the "thumb nail of God." I've stared up at a quarter moon, imagining God's thumb nail as the moon and then grasping how God would literally fill the sky if that were true. And, then I remember that God is even larger and mightier and more sovereign than that.

God is heavy - not in a suffocating way - but in a thick and ever-present way. He doesn't sleep. He doesn't nap. He doesn't take a lunch break. He is everywhere in His fullness and all at the same time. He is all-knowing; he is even in the thoughts occurring in the deepest and darkness places of our minds. 

God is with us in our best and brightest moments. He is with us when we stumble and fall. And, He is with us when we are scared, lonely and worried over the future coming at us. God is powerful beyond our ability to comprehend it. Isaiah 40:22: "He sits enthroned above the circle of the Earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in."

Like a little boy, scared at the doctor's office over an injection and seeing his granddaddy there as powerful support, so is God there with us in everything. And, with God, everything is possible. Nothing that we face - as confident confessors of Jesus Christ - nothing that we face do we face alone. God is already in it, He is already with us, and He is already behind us. God's love, strength and power covers it.

Sure, I was still a sick little boy. I still had to go to the doctor's office. I still had to get a shot, but what an unbelievable feeling of confidence and peace to know someone big and forceful was in my corner. Over and over again, in Joshua 1, God says, "Be strong and courageous because I am with you!" And, in Isaiah 26:3-4, the prophet writes, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."

Still don't get it? Read Psalm 136. In 26 verses, the Psalmist writes over and over, "God's faithful love endures forever." In those words, I see and feel the God who resurrected his son, Jesus, who had died for all of our sinfulness. In those words, I sense the hammer of God's power, the stomping of His feet as he rushes to our aid, and the jerking away of Satan's confusion that surround us. God never fails us. He never will.

But, as I bump into the pain of life – my own, my family's, and so many others, the thing that people are often missing is the confidence that God is with them. They will ask, "Where is God? Why isn’t God here? Why can’t I feel Him? Why can’t I have that confidence that He is in this storm with me?"

God is there. God is asking a question, too. As you and I ask, "Where is God?" God is asking, "Scott, where are you?" God is asking, "Scott, why can't you plow your life into Scripture and know me better? Why are you so easily blown about by the storms of life? Why can’t you take more seriously your prayer life – and if you don’t understand prayer, get around people who can teach you? Why are on the fringe of faith with others? Why are you so easily led by people who don't confess Jesus?

"Where am I? I am everywhere. Where are you, Scott, in pursuing me?" God will not make us choose Him. We make the choice.

If you are in a measure of pain or you are ministering to someone in pain, I want to encourage you to pursue God. Study your Bible. From one who studies the Bible every week for Sunday School, I can tell you that the more time you spend in Scripture, the more you will lean your life on Scripture. And, the more you lean on Scripture, the more the power of prayer will be revealed to you. God will send other believers into your life for the good times and the hard times. Scripture helps me recognize when God is sending people on His behalf. But, the choice is up to each of us - pursue God or not. Trust God or not. Walk confidently with God or not.

The closer I draw to God, the more I will confidently feel His awesome power and His peace in life's storm.

Intentional Ministry

By Chris Hammett -- How does ministry translate to you?

How about the word intent?

I want to look at the concept of doing and being church with intent. Random acts of kindness vs. intentionally acts that lead to KINGDOM reward.

For the most part we could testify, this class wants to help the hurting. This class does wonders when there is a need brought to them. Whether it’s Operation Kyle, Imagine Christmas, Hammy’s for Tammy, and the list goes on and on, we open our hearts and wallets when called on.

What about your day to day life? What about the family next door, or the coworker down the hall?

How many times do we wander through a day and everything we do is reactionary? You know, just going through the motions of life. Wake up, get a cup of coffee, drive to work, get another cup of coffee, look at your daily schedule, do what you do, have lunch, do some more of whatever you do, leave work drive home and the rat race goes on and on.

What was the last thing you did with intent? It could be any number of things. I contend that whatever it was you made a plan. Why should ministry be any different?

On Feb. 27, 2008 the NCAA announced it had reached an agreement with the city of Omaha NE. to extend the Baseball Collage World Series for 25 years which included Omaha City building a new stadium. My wife and I have given each of our children a Special 16^th birthday gift. With Rebecca it was a trip to NYC with her best friend. With Adam it was his SCUBA license and a dive trip in the Dominican Republic. I like to think of myself as a baseball guy and Isaac had taken an interest in baseball as well. When I heard they were closing Rosenblatt Stadium and building a new stadium in Omaha I asked him if he wanted to go. I also asked him if he wanted to take anyone. He chose a friend and I spoke with the dad and he agreed. Tickets went on sale on April 3, 2008 at 10:00 eastern and was sold out by 10:12. I had secured 4 books of General Admission tickets and seated tickets for game 4 and game 7. Next, I called our travel partners and let them know we had tickets. Did I mention this was April 3? There was no way of knowing who was playing in the CWS let alone which teams would be playing games 4 and 7. Next we started looking at flights and hotels. We decided we would stay in Lincoln and drive the 46 miles into Omaha each day. Plans were made, flights were booked, and rooms were reserved. Now we wait till June 15 to go to Omaha. Did I mention Isaac and I are Carolina fans, and his friend and dad are Clemson fans? Most of you know how the Old Rosenblatt stadium was closed in 2010.

I share that as an example of doing something with intent. I want to look at a couple of places in the Bible where followers did things with intent. First let’s look at Acts 9: 10-18. Here is where God calls Ananias to do something he very much did not want to do. Saul (later the apostle Paul) was not someone Ananias would have ever sought out to minister to. The scripture records when God called him, Ananias never said NO. He just wanted God to understand what He was asking. Once that was clear Ananias did what he was asked. Do you think he hem hawed around? The Bible says he went to Saul and called him brother. No beating around the bush. He intended for Saul to know who had sent him and why he was there.

Now look at Genesis 22. We all know the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac. Look at vs. 3-8 of Genesis. 22. Abraham did what God asked with intent. I can’t imagine what he was going through. But what he did was answer God with Intent.
No, Abraham didn't find wood along the way; he got up and cut the wood to take with them.

No, Abraham didn't sleep in, giving God a chance to change His mind. Abraham got up early the next morning.

He even brought the fire. No ZIPPO or BIC liters in those days. Everything he did he did intentionally. No accidental obedience here.

Have you ever wondered what people really think of you? I think we all have from time to time. What about what we think of ourselves? A survey taken in 2009 by one of the leading denominations determined 85 Percent of people surveyed felt they we good people. You know all the right reasons, I don’t steal, I haven’t killed anyone, and I don’t cheat on my wife etc . . . You may even be one of those GOOD people. How many people do you expect to win for CHRIST by just being good? Can you be good enough? When is the last time a lost person came to you and said “you are really good and I want to know JESUS because you do”?  When Sharon and I went on staff with the International Mission Board, they were very clear. We were not being sent just to live a good life in front of others. We were being sent to build relationship that would lead us to introduce people to JESUS. NO OTHER REASON.

Why should we think doing ministry is any different? God calls on His people to share the Good News of Salvation. When you share, it’s more than letting people see what you have. I could be having a double slice of cheesecake and if you see me enjoying it might cause you to want a piece. Unless I offer you a bite, you are most likely only going to want it. You probably won't ask for it. I contend that salvation is much the same. When things are rough and we lean on Jesus people see that and may even want that. Really though, how many do you think will ask for it? I want to challenge you to think about those you come into contact with daily. How many of them have no personal relationship with JESUS? Then ask yourself what you can do to introduce them to JESUS. The rest is up to HIM. ACTS 1-8 is very clear as to what is expected of us. Like any good witness we are to share what we have seen JESUS do in our lives.

Make a plan. I shared that Sharon and I lived overseas and we were intentional about building relationships that would lead to faith sharing. You may be the person God has called to go and tell them what He has planned for their lives. So I guess all that is left is to ask: "What is your plan to reach the lost in your life?"

Death causes us to pause

Throughout my 20-year newspaper career, at both small weekly and large daily newspapers, I became quite skilled at writing obituaries. Granted, there was a style format for writing them and some were very basic. But, often a family would provide extra information and I enjoyed helping tell a person’s story for the family, and sharing light on how the person lived his life. I especially enjoyed helping accentuate a person’s faith in Jesus and involvement in her local church. Sometimes, I would even call the family and ask them to give me more information about the loved one’s faith story.

Obituaries are important on two fronts: First, they are the final written record of a person’s life. I call them the semi-colon, separating the Earthly chapter from the Eternal chapter.

Obituaries should tell the story of a person’s journey. Second, obituaries are not for the immediate generation; obituaries are for the future generations who want to reach back and understand their family legacy. I tell people the obituary is for four generations away, and it’s important to help that generation understand family and faith.

Writing obituaries and death always causes me to pause and reflect on our human existence. When death comes knocking, it always serves as a wake-up call for me, forcing me to recognize death as a reality of our human existence. The closer death knocks to our lives, the more it causes us to face some realities and ask ourselves some questions.

First, we are reminded that we are frail, that we are a vapor. Psalm 39:5: “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.” And Psalm 102:3, “For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers.” And Psalm 144:4, “Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.”

When talking to my boys about the value of each day lived, I would breathe on the bathroom mirror and tell them, “What you see on the mirror is the total beginning-to-end of your life. What will you bring to this day? Order or chaos?”

How many times do we catch ourselves saying, “Where has time gone?” Each year, at Halloween, when I drag out all of my pirate gear and prepare for our church’s Halloween Carnival, I find myself saying to my Vicki, “Didn’t we just pull this stuff out yesterday?” and “Before we know it, Christmas will be here and gone.” I cannot believe three of my four boys are already in college. How did that happen? Time is fleeting.

Under the best of circumstances, we really have a very short existence here.

Secondly, death reminds us that it can come for you and me, and the ones we love, at any minute. And, so it begs us to be ready. Ecclesiastes 9:12 tells us, “People can never predict when hard times might come. Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy.” And, Luke writes in his gospel, in 21:35, “For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth.” Luke is referring to the final judgment, but that judgment follows death and death will truly come to all who live on the face of the whole earth.

These two realities beg then the question: Am I ready to face my death?

I believe our readiness comes in two ways. First, and most important, we must be followers of Jesus. Secondly, we are wise to be connected to a fellowship of other believers.

Can you imagine, for one minute, death and tragedy coming to your life and being found (a) on the outside of faith doomed to an eternity without God’s love; and (b) facing tragedy without the love and support of other believers, pulling around you and lifting up your arms, carrying you and your family through it? I have to tell you, I think those who go at life alone are among the most ridiculously foolish people that I know. I hurt for them, and I want them to find faith and I want them to find the fellowship of other believers.

Being a part of this family of faith is not about sitting in a classroom as a spectator. Certainly, the weekly gathering through Sunday School is critically important because it’s what keeps us bound together. We recharge and refocus together with laughter and study together. But, beyond our weekly gathering, it’s through our relationship that we are able to put feet to faith, exercise our faith, and get our hands dirty in ministry toward an eternal impact.

Acts 2:42-44 relates to the early church and it also relates to our fellowship and to fellowships like ours. Luke writes, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Scripture), and to fellowship (loving and serving), and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” Then, look at verse 47, and they did all of this “while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”

Doesn’t that sound just like what we are experiencing as a fellowship of believers? Well, minus the Lord’s Supper, but we can take that if we choose to do it. Absolutely, it does. And, what convicts me is that God loves sending people into that kind of fellowship. So, we must be faithful in our journey with God, alongside God, waiting on God, and leaning on God. Because it’s through the fellowship of believers that people come to know Jesus; it’s through the fellowship that each of us is strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our daily walk.

I hurt for those who make a conscious decision to avoid real involvement in the fellowship of believers, whether the church at large, a group like ours, or both. Personally, I choose both and encourage you to do that, too.

But, before a person can embrace this community spirit, that larger issue stands as bold and rugged as Calvary’s cross. A person must first be a believer before they can fully join a fellowship of believers. Sure, people can join our class and discover Jesus through it. Some have. We celebrate that. But, in the long run – we are likely to share a thread in that we have made a confident confession of Jesus as our personal Savior from God’s wrath upon sin. Attendance at a church property will never save anyone. Only that confident confession of Jesus as Savior will actually save a person.

Our lives don’t end with the grave. The grave simply launches a new chapter of our eternal existence. For those who love Jesus, Romans 8:38-39 remind us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. While nothing separates us from the love of God, we have to know Jesus as our Savior in order to have that blessed assurance. Life without Jesus is bad enough. (A life without Jesus is wasted; you can never fully know the depth of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control – Galatians 5:22-23.) But, imagine life without Jesus on the other side of death’s door. That place we call hell, leading to the lake of fire, is the eternal no-second-chance penalty for a life lived without Jesus. It is a place more awful than the human mind can fathom.

And, yet, some people foolishly choose chaos over peace.  John 14:6, the apostle quotes Jesus saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” And Matthew 7:13, the apostle quotes Jesus this way: “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” What does that say? We must be confidently confessing followers of Jesus; our lives must reflect that we love Jesus; our words must reflect that we know Him; and we must acknowledge our secret places of self-love and not brag about or worship those times (repentance). Our lives cannot be about what the world calls important, but what God calls important – loving Him, loving others, and helping others discover Jesus. That marks the believer.

Death causes me to ante up. Where am I in pursuing a closer relationship with the Savior that I claim to love? Occasionally, I still find myself very broken before the Lord, knowing I’ve let my life slip into the ditch, knowing I’ve disappointed my Savior, and knowing He is weeping over my words and decisions. I have found, personally, in those times of brokenness, a sweet, sweet peace as I draw closer to Jesus.

Death is a wake-up call. It’s a reality check. 

As believers, we must call each day precious and ask, “Am I ready to face death and spend eternity with Jesus? Am I surrounded by a family of faith – a close network of other believers? Who’s life will be better because I lived this short existence? Who will enter the gates of heaven because they saw and heard Jesus through me? Anyone? No one? Someone? Everyone? I pray, it’s everyone.

Gossip is a destroyer

I don’t know of a single person who hasn’t been a victim of gossip and, at the same time, a gossiper about others. What’s more, every one of us gets caught up in gossip – coming and going – every single day.

More than once I’ve had to come to the rescue of family and friends who were the victims of gossip; a lot more than once I’ve had to be shamed because of things I said about others. There’s one thing about gossip that you and I need to remember: Gossip always finds its way home. Always.

The Proverbs, in the Old Testament, warn against gossip at least four different times. (Proverbs 20:19, Proverbs 11:12-13, Proverbs 16:28, and Proverbs 18:7-8). Proverbs 16:28 likens a gossip to a “perverse man.” A gossiper is defined as “one who reveals secrets, one who goes about as a tale-bearer or scandal-monger.” Many will position gossip as “information sharing” or “within the realm of good business practice” or even, wickedly, as “prayer requests.”

Many, with an already poor self-esteem, lacking attention or praise or recognition from anyone about anything, will use gossip to pull others down and lift themselves up. Gossipers like to be at the center of attention; the center of the all-knowing, all-wise and all-perfect.

In Romans 1:18-32, Paul writes boldly and straight-forward about “God’s Anger at Sin.” Paul is writing about all of us – wrapped up in our sinful living. Put a finger on the first sentence of v. 26 that reads, “That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires.” We’ll come back to that.

Beginning in verse 28, Paul writes, “When they refused to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. (Again, Paul writes that God abandons us). Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud and boastful. They are forever inventing new ways of sinning and are disobedient to their parents. They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless and unforgiving. They are fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”

You may be asking, “Scott, who is Paul writing about?”

Continue reading into Romans 2:1 – “You may be saying, 'What terrible people, you have been talking about?' But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things. (v. 2) And, we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things.”

Here are some things we need to consider:

• Paul throws a wide net in making a case that God hates sin – all sin – and there’s no pecking order for it. Beyond the listing in v. 28-32, Paul also includes homosexuality in v. 26-27. But, understand, God hates all of it equally. He lists murder in the same sentence with gossip. I thought that was interesting, especially since gossip does murder another person’s reputation and character. Anything that lifts self over God and others is sinful, and God hates it.
• In Matthew 28:19, Jesus gives us clear direction that we are to go and make disciples, and help people discover Jesus as Savior. As we have studied before, this mission often includes building relationships with people. If we are involved in envy, fighting, deception, gossip, breaking promises and greed, well, we are not building relationships – we are destroying them. Not only that, but we are exhausted in the things of sin and have no energy left to reflect Jesus.
• We are all guilty. I can point a finger at a homosexual. You can whisper around about someone’s alcohol problem. We can talk arrogantly about someone’s sexual missteps; we can hold up another person’s failings and shake them out for all to see. But, as you and I do this to others, we need to remember that somewhere someone is breathing that same acidic breath in our direction. God will punish you and me, and everyone, for our lack of mercy and grace and love toward others.
• What does God’s punishment look like? In v. 26 and again in v. 28, Paul writes that God abandons us. I can’t think of a punishment worse that being out of daily fellowship with Almighty God. It’s as if God takes His hands off of us and lets us slip into the muck of the world. We lose our calm, we lose our peace, we lose our courage, we lose our patience, we lose our sense of direction, and we lose our sense of right and wrong. We become adrift because we can’t be in fellowship with God, following Jesus, and be mired up in hurting others with our tongues. We can’t be destroying people on the one hand and be in the center of God’s will for us at the same time. Each of us chooses - God or self. And, God lets us choose.

To put the wickedness of gossip in a modern day context, I turn to Joseph Goebbels, who served as Adolph Hitler’s Reich Minister of Propoganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. It was Goebbels’ strategy that vilified the Jews so that everyday Germans would not rise up when the Third Reich moved in to destroy the Jews. Goebbels led book burning, took control of the media, produced anti-Jewish films, and created a frenzy of anti-Jewish sentiment throughout the German people. But, it has been said of Goebbels, and wrote of him, that his most effective tool in pushing people toward mass hate and extermination was simply this: The Whisper Method of propaganda. Gossip.

The Whisper Method of propaganda works like this: Human nature is so rotten that when presented information about another person – good or bad – we can’t help but tell someone else and often twist it to our own biases. My friends, I want to tell you something. This is dangerous shifting-sand. If you and I do anything to harm the ones that God loves (everyone), we can fully expect that to come home to us. Gossip finds its way home.

James 3:6: The tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.”

This lesson has given me some things to clean up in my own life, and to pray about with vigor. Here are a few considerations. My friend Rob Motley would call them “guard rails” in daily living.

• Let’s not talk about anyone without their permission. I know that’s impossible, but let’s set it as a goal to perhaps curb some of our gossip.
•  Let’s not say anything about anyone that would hurt another person’s reputation; let’s not say anything about someone that we are not willing to say directly to them. Let’s stop living around the perimeter of people’s lives, guessing and speculating about what’s happening with them. Let’s instead get inside people’s lives, live with them, encourage them and even correct them toward being complete with Jesus Christ
•   Let’s protect relationships, preserving the opportunity to talk about Jesus and faith.
• When in positions to talk about someone as in an employment discussion or whether to accept someone as a volunteer, let’s seek open and prayerful discernment regarding what’s appropriate and inappropriate to discuss. Let’s get God in the center of our discussions and trust Him to guide our motives and our discussions.

Fighting jealousy and discontent; finding peace

I am friends with two sisters on Facebook. They have children who appear to be about the same age. They are constantly bickering through Facebook. Now, they don’t verbally do it; they do it through photographs. One will post a photograph of her daughter doing something very special; the other sister will soon after post a photograph of her daughter doing something very special. One will post where her family is going on vacation; the other tries to trump it. This weekend, as the girls moved into college, there was a war of photographs comparing dorm rooms.

Last football season, as Richard finished out his year on the offensive line, I was approached by a parent who said, “I pray that none of these boys ever gets injured, but I realize that my son is just one injury away from getting to play.” Translation: If your boy gets hurt, mine gets to start on Friday nights.

I have told you before about the time we were at a birthday party, and a friend said to me, “My wife is always complaining about our yard and griping because she’s embarrassed of what our neighbors think. When she does that, I just drive her past your house.”

A year after we were married, Vicki and I had some friends who invited us to their house for dinner. The after-dinner entertainment was a one-hour, narrated slide show about their vacation to the Caribbean. When we left their house, we drove in silence for several minutes, contemplating our camping trip to a local state park. Finally I said, “I hate the Caribbean.” And, we laughed all the way home. I wanted to ride back by their house and just give them the finger on the drive-by.

We get restless don’t we? And, we compare ourselves to others, don’t we? Why is this happening to me and not you? Why do you have and I don’t have? Why are your children over-achievers and mine don’t seem to care about today, much less tomorrow? Why am I having to care for my parents day-and-night? Why do I worry all the time? Why do we bicker all the time within our family? Why does life seem so easy for you and so difficult for me? Why do I feel jealous? Why do you seem so jealous? Why is your life so perfect? Why does my life stink?

I want to tell you something. No one’s life is perfect. None is righteous; no, not one. (Romans 3:10) Or, how about Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 1 Peter 5:10 says that only Jesus will eternally put us on a firm foundation. So, get this straight: No one is perfect. Not me, not you and not them; not anyone. No one's life is perfect. Don’t get into comparisons. I remember the story of Miss Kate, in Jesup, Ga., whose husband died without life insurance, whose children were all addicts, and whose house burned completely to the ground, leaving her a stranger living in a friend’s basement. Someone said, “Oh, Miss Kate, if only you could trade your life with someone else.” And, she said, “I would not trade my problems for anyone’s problems. I know my problems. Behind the mask, their problems may be worse than my own, and I know through my Savior that all my problems are just temporary anyway."

Today’s lesson is a reminder to find contentment with where you are. And, I want to use Philippians 4. In this passage, Paul is writing to the church at Phillipi, and he opens with instruction for two women who are bickering with one another. We don’t know why they are bickering, but let’s assume they are comparing children, or comparing homes, or comparing cornbread recipes. Maybe they are fussing over who is more prominent within the church. Maybe they are squabbling over theology. Whatever it is, I like to think they are comparing lives and opinions, and that leads to envy and jealousy.

Paul reminds them that (a) they both belong to the Lord; and (b) they must settle their disagreement (they can’t be in true fellowship with God, as believers, if they are ugly to one another). Paul says to the rest of the church that friends shouldn’t sit on the sidelines, but should be involved in bringing peace to these women. Because all the energy should be on matters of faith – not jealousy or envy or feeling sorry for yourself or comparing yourself to others.
And, knowing that we all share times and feelings of discontent, of comparing ourselves to others, of restlessness, or jealousy and envy, Paul gives us some very encouraging words in the rich, rich Scripture of Philippians 4:1-8.

1. "Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – Rejoice!" What? ? Are you crazy, Paul? In times of being angry and dispirited, I am supposed to be joyful? Yes. Consider that when Paul wrote this he was in prison - so he practiced what he preached.. Paul is saying that our inner attitudes should not be dependent on our outer circumstances, because no matter where we are – Jesus is with us. My son, Andrew, had a tough week this week. As he pulled out of the funk, he wrote, “When, I look in the rear view mirror of my life, I can see how God was with me in the times of joy and sorrow, and years from now when I look in the rear view mirror, I will see what I know is true – God is with me now.” This past week, even in tough circumstances, my boy did not let it change his inner perspective.
2. "Let everyone see that you are considerate in all that you do. Remember the Lord is coming soon." The most important thing you and I can do is protect our witness, and when we slink into the darkness of despair, envy, jealousy, and discontent it becomes very difficult to fully reflect the love we have for Jesus. In fact, I believe a person's spiritual growth is evidenced by how much they wallow in negatively, envy, jealousy and bitterness. We can’t get caught up in petty revenge and ugliness – it reflects that we really don’t love Jesus like we claim to love Him. And, others see that false witness we project. And, He is coming soon, and the world must know Him or be lost forever. We have to keep on mission despite the swirl around us.
3. You know this beautiful verse (v. 6): "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful that the human can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Many have delivered college-age children to schools this weekend, saying good-bye in very real ways to childhood. And, I don’t care who you are – when they leave home (even for college) there is worry, and there is some personal pain over the reshuffling of the family deck and its relationships. And, I know many of you are worried about your jobs, and most all of us are worried about the economy’s toll on our lives now and in the future, when we attempt to retire. But, Paul says, “Worry about nothing.” In fact, every time you feel the need to worry – turn that worry into prayer. Middle of the night? Don't take sleeping medicine; Get up and pray. The more you pray – the less you will worry. Philippians 4:7 says, “If you do this – pray over worry – you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." One more thing – Yes, God knows our problems without our prayers, but He wants us to come talk to Him about them. And, that’s what prayer is – talking to God about the concerns of our lives. He will listen, and is on call for us 24/7. No conversation with God is too small; if it troubles you and me – it troubles Him. True peace is not found in positive thinking, in the absence of conflict or in good feelings. True peace comes from knowing that God is in control.
4. Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. What goes into your life will come out through your life. Each of us should take time to self-evaluate what we are putting into our lives. For me, I have moved away from the network sitcoms and reality shows to old movies on Turner Classic Movies. I have also replaced television with good books – good fiction, biographies, and the occasional devotion book. You may be at place where you need to reshuffle the deck of your friendships, especially if you can’t say ‘no’ to some of the places those friends are taking you. If you are distracted easily, like me, pray for God to keep you so busy in day-to-day service to others that you are too exhausted to do anything but sleep at the end of the day. Focus on the honorable and right; expect Jesus to come right now and find you honorable.

Mostly, today, I want you to know that it’s sinful to compare yourself to others, and put people in positions of comparing themselves to you. Live the life that God has given you, put all of your trust in His plans for you, and fully love and serve anyone and everyone He sends to you. In that, you will find peace in all of these very temporary circumstances.

When Jesus says, "Go" - it's not optional

In the last words of Matthew, the apostle writes that the 11 remaining disciples (Judas is dead) left for Galilee and went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they arrived, they saw Jesus, who was preparing to take His eternal place at the right hand of God. Seeing Jesus, the disciples worshipped Him, but some still doubted. Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20) told them, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

The Bible is full of rich Scripture passages, but for me this is one of the richest of them all. Ben and Jerry’s makes an ice cream flavor called Chocolate Therapy. It contains chocolate ice cream, chocolate cookies, and swirls of chocolate pudding. It’s loaded. That’s how I see Matthew 28:18-20: Loaded.

Jesus proclaims Himself as King Of Everything – heaven and earth. You and I must bite down on that one. When I was a little boy, my daddy had complete authority over me. I did exactly what he said, and if I refused there were consequences. If there was wiggle room it was because he gave it to me and not because I demanded it. He was the boss of me. Well, Jesus trumps that father-son and every other relationship that I have. Jesus has authority over me and everything about me, and that authority extends to everything, everywhere, natural and supernatural. So, when Jesus says “Scott, go do xyz” I have two responses – submit and do it, or reject Him. If I reject Him, I am disloyal. Whew. Reject Jesus? Whew, again.

Because Jesus is King of Everything, when He says, “Go! Make disciples . . .” I have no choice but to do it. Neither do you. None of us have a choice if indeed Jesus is our Savior and our Lord. In the context of today, I believe Jesus is saying, “You have slipped into believing faith is sitting in a seat, serving on a church committee, throwing your coins in an offering plate, and calling yourself a ‘Good Christian.’” That’s not good enough. That’s not “going.” Jesus is saying, “Do Something – and not just roll back poverty at Christmas.” No. Jesus is saying, “The end result is not the going and doing – the end result is making disciples, seeing people baptized, and teaching the gospel to people who haven’t heard it.”

And, Jesus reminds us that as we step out of comfort zones and "Go," we don't have to worry about anything. Because He is "always with us - until the end of time as we know it" and - He is King over everything, including both our comfort zones and where we are being called to go.

When my dad told me, “Scott, go cut the grass,” I went and cut the grass. When my dad said, “Scott, I need you to help me after school today,” I helped my dad after school that day. As my authority, He commanded and I submitted.

Jesus expects that, too. Business commitments? Family commitments? Physical restraints? He understands all that because all of that is under His authority, too. Still, He says, “Go, and as you go, be prepared to share your faith story.”

If Jesus knocked on your front door and said, “Come with me. I’ve got something for you to do.” What would you do? What are you doing? He is knocking all the time. His call to “Go” is constant.

Our class response to this Scripture mandate is to a be a missional Sunday School class. That’s why we are involved in partnerships with Lexington Interfaith Community Services (LICS), our Behind The Badge work with local law enforcement agencies, our annual walk with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, our trip to North Dakota, and our response to Lexington Baptist Church missions and ministries. It’s why I want to see us be intentional about providing devotions at Sunday morning youth sports events. It’s why we have adopted a parking lot to greet people on Sunday mornings. It’s why we engage local benefit projects. God may be calling you to lead us in a new partnership. Because as we get our hands and feet involved in faith, we build partnerships and relationships, and through those the Holy Spirit will help us share Jesus with others. The end game is not the charitable work. The end game is making disciples and seeing people come to know Jesus as Savior . . . and King of Everything natural and supernatural.

We cannot hide from God

A dirt road separated our chicken and hog farm from the angus beef farm of Mr. John Strozier, who my granddaddy liked a lot and was a good neighbor with.
Between our two farms was a large corridor – not quite a forest – of thick woods, mostly pine trees and underbrush. Some of it was easily passable; but other places were not, especially for boys without a machete.
We called those woods, “Strozier’s Woods” and Mr. Strozier was more than gracious to let us play in them and camp in them, and build forts in them.
One summer – I know it was summer because my cousin Jeff was visiting from Atlanta – me, my brother Tim and Jeff decided to explorer the deeper recesses of Strozier’s Woods, going far beyond our usual haunts.
With canteens of water and sticks to beat back the underbrush, we began our descent into Strozier’s Woods. There were places we had to lie on bellies and crawl through the brush, giving not one thought to rodents or snakes or chiggers. There were places we had to use our sticks to beat through the brush, clearing a little walking path. At one point, we even had to climb one of the pine trees and jump to a spot more clear.
It was such a great adventure for three pre-adolescent boys with nothing to do on a summer day.
As we got deeper into the woods, the canopy of the pine trees cast an eerie and kind of dark pallor over us, and as we were walking along, my brother Tim noticed something to our right, several sections of pine trees stacked up like a wall.
That certainly deserved investigation, and so we walked over to it, and then realized it had walls! And, it had a bit of a roof on it – some pine sections covered with pine straw. And, we continued walking around it – not sure what we would see at the opening, which faced a dense part of the woods.
Around the short corner we went, and peeked inside, fully expecting to see a skeleton.
Instead, we saw a collection of beer cans and glass liquor bottles.
We ran out of the woods, finding the dirt road that separated our farm from Mr. Strozier’s, and we beat a path to find our grandfather. We needed to report this “hideout” we had discovered.
When we told our papa, he told us to never go back that deep into the woods, and to stay away from that place.
A few years later, when I was older, I went back down into those woods and the hideout was gone. The boards were scattered and the mess cleaned up.

I don’t know whose hideout it was, but it was someone’s secret place to hide from the world and indulge in self.

Whoever built the hideout likely did so alone – a place to escape from the world. They carefully sought a place hidden within dense woods, away from roads and away from people. It was a place to go, to get away, to find solace in the darkness of self-retreat.
And, yet what that person failed to know and realize was this: God was there.
God was there in the selection of the place. God was there in the placement of each pine tree branch. God was there in the slipping away to the place. God was there in the lies that led to the place. God was there when the top came off the bottle. God was there in the self-indulgence. God was there in the depression and the self-pity. God was there in the guilt that came after the sin. God was there.
We all have those hideouts, don’t we? I know people who sneak around and do all sorts of things, forgetting that God is literally right there with them. I’ve done it, too – still do it some. I know people whose “hideout” is sitting in front “the screens” computer, television, smart pad and smart phone consumed with self-indulgence, forgetting that God is there, too.

On a scout campout, when I was in the 9^th Grade, some of the older boys brought their Playboy and Penthouse magazines. Unbeknownst to me, one of those boys stuck the April 1974 issue of Playboy into my backpack, and I discovered it when I got home. I didn’t throw it away; I kept it – put it under my bed. I cleaned my own room; my mama would never find it. Sadly, the scars of sin hang around – I can tell you the name of that centerfold to this day – she made a big impression on me.
But, that summer, while I was away – on a church trip, no less – my mama did clean out from under my bed and she did discover Miss Marlene Morrow.
When I came home, I walked in my room to find the magazine neatly in the center of my bed. As I turned around, my dad stood there. He said, “You need to get rid of that. Your mama went screaming through the house that we raising a smut king.”
I was so ashamed and guilt-stricken – I couldn’t stand to be around my mama for days. She didn’t say a word about it until one day she said, “There are no secrets from God. Not one. You can hide your life from people, but you will never hide not one passing thought from God.”

Like you, I’ve done a lot of things in the past 52 years – some I was able to keep hidden; some not. But, regardless, there is no hiding anything from God. There is no hideout. There are no dark places beyond the vision of Almighty God.

The heart beats our life, doesn’t it? It is the source of our life, and Scripture over and over defines our heart as the center place – the HQ – for our moments of triumph in the Spirit and for our moments of wickedness.
Matthew 15:7-8 says, “We might praise Him with our mouths, but it may be that our hearts are far from Him.” And, in Matthew 5:27-28, “We might refrain from committing adultery with our bodies, but it is still possible to commit adultery with our hearts.”
Jesus said, in Luke 16:15: “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”
We can’t pull the wool over God eyes. Psalm 90:8 – “You have kept our hidden sins under the light of your scrutiny.” Matthew 23:28: “You outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
After lamenting the inexplicable dark mystery of the human heart (“the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt”), Jeremiah cried out, “Who can understand it?” But, God immediately replied, “I, the Lord, search the mind and try the heart.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10). We are not stuck forever with the limitations and defects of our hearts, if we confidently entrust them to Him who is greater than our hearts.

Nothing is hidden from God. There are no hideouts. If you are burdened by self-focused action, self-focused thinking, self-focused talking – now is the time to clean it up. God knows. And, God may not allow you to live in private, continuing to sin as if no one is watching. My mama likes to say, “God will not allow one of His to continue ignoring Him and living in unrepentant sin.” You may find your hiding place discovered by a group of boys or by your mama cleaning under your bed. Turn from The Hideout. Seek a new refuge in the Lord, throw yourself into the company of other believers, and remove from your life the distractions that keep you from following Jesus and listening to the Holy Spirit within you. In the light is where we are called to live. And only in the light can we find peace, joy, love and hope.