player on bench-warmer?

I just came in from umpiring a couple of softball games at Logan County. After that I went and watched the Eastwood adult’s team put a “beatdown” on their opponents (it is okay for Baptist to use the term beatdown isn’t it?). During Eastwood’s game I stood over by the dugout and talked to our adults. There was a part of me that said “You know, I could still play this game.” But then I realized that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (grin). So I have relegated myself to the role of “cheer-pastor”, though Greg Swack may try and get in on my gig.
As I thought of no longer playing and only cheering I was reminded of a true story from a few years back. It was the first day of basketball practice at Wingate High School in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Coach handed a ball to each player. “Boys,” he said, “I want you to practice shooting from the spots you might expect to be in during the game.”

One of the boys one the team was basically a substitute and would be only used in the event of multiple player injuries or a blow-out win or loss. As the coach instructed them to shoot from where they’d be during the game, this young man immediately sat down on the bench and began shoot the ball toward the basket from there. I’m sure part of what he was doing was to get a laugh out of his teammates and he obviously didn’t expect to play much. But this same thing plays out weekly in the average Baptist Church. There are some people who sit the bench, because that’s where they’ve gotten used to being. They never strive to much more than that, because they don’t believe in themselves enough to put in the extra effort and practice to change their status. With that kind of attitude they likely are always going to “sit the bench”.

In our churches, it’s as if we’ve made Christianity a spectator sport. Many simply want to sit back in the pew, listen to the music and sermons, and never really get involved in the game. With our nation grasping desperately for hope anywhere they can find it, it’s time for Christians today to get off the sidelines and get on the front lines. God has a “position” for all those who are in Christ to play, but you will never discover it as long as you watch “safely” from the sideline. I would rather attempt something great and fail than to attempt nothing and succeed. So let’s put action to our faith and get involved in the spiritual battle that is taking place all around us.

This weekend pull out your playbook (the Bible), head out to the field (church), ask the Head Coach (the Lord) to speak through His position coach (your pastor) to reveal your part of the game plan. So that when He says “Go to the position you expect to play in the game” you will be prepared, and head somewhere other than the bench.

Words of the Resurrected Christ

Many preachers have preached about the “7 last words of the cross.” These were not literally only 7 words but rather the 7 things the Lord said from the cross. They were each words of significance. In these seven statements Jesus said things that because of the message they convey remain important to us today. He made statements like “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing,” “Today you will be with Me in paradise,” and “It is finished.” I thought because we are approaching Resurrection Sunday it might be good to consider the 7 words after the resurrection as I find them equally important in the message they speak.

1. John 20:15 “Woman, why are you weeping?” – It’s interesting that Jesus does not take away the woman’s tears but rather simply asks why she is crying. In this life there will be heartache and the Lord never promises to take those things away that cause us to weep. But He rather says He will be with us and see us through the difficult days of this life, that we can bring to Him those things that break our hearts. But we know a day is coming (Revelation 21:4) when He will wipe away all tears from our eyes.

2. John 20:16 “Mary” – Now you might be tempted to question what’s so important about the fact He calls Mary by name. Here it is are you ready? He KNOWS your name! You are not just a number to Him. You are a person of great value … He was willing to go to the cross for you. And just as He knew Mary individually after the resurrection so I Believe He knows us and we will know one another in heaven.

3. John 20:17 “Go to My brethren” – She was to carry the message of the resurrection to others. That should serve to remind us that it’s the resurrection that makes the difference. Many so-called “gods” have died, but only One came back to life … the Lord Jesus. The resurrection shows there is hope beyond the grave; that this life is not all there is. What a message to carry to a world groping in darkness.

4. John 20:21 “Peace to you” – When the Lord offers peace to us we get peace with God as well as the peace of God. Our sins are forgiven and we are transformed from “children of wrath” and “enemies of God” to joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, adopted into the Father’s family. And because we have the One called the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6) living inside of us in the form of the Holy Spirit, we can know the peace of God in the most trying of times.

5. John 20:21 “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” – Jesus said in Luke 19:10 that He came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” In Mark 10:45 He states He came “not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for the many.” I think clearly the Lord has sent us to those that are lost to point them to Him as the way out of their darkness. In a world consumed with trying to ascend to the top, let us be the hands and feet of Christ; not looking for folks to serve us but rather for those we can serve.

6. John 20:29 – Is the passage where the Risen Lord appears to His disciples. Thomas, likely verbalizing what many felt in their heart said “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” So when the Lord appears He speaks those exact words and invites Thomas to do just that. Then He looks into Thomas’ eyes and says “Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” Thomas in the midst of his doubts met the Lord. I think even when we doubt, if we earnestly seek Him, He comes to us in very real ways and removes all doubt and fear.

7. John 20:29 “Blessed are those who have not yet seen and yet have believed” – This is a word to those of us alive today. We have not seen, but rather we simply come to Him by “faith”. Ephesians 2 reminds that it is by faith we are saved.

Let’s go back to the words of the pre-crucifixion Jesus. I find it interesting that the first words recorded of Jesus were, I’m sure not the first words He ever spoke. For the first words recorded are of a youthful twelve year old Jesus in Luke 2:49. Mary and Joseph have taken the boy Jesus to the Temple and they marvel at His wisdom as He teaches the religious leaders. Luke tells us when they had performed all things that the law required they began to make their way back to Nazareth. So they assume He is in the caravan walking with other relatives and they walk about a day’s travel from Jerusalem before they realize Jesus is not in the group. I can imagine the panic they feel as they hurriedly make their way back to Jerusalem. When they find Him teaching again in the Temple Mary chastises Him asking why He would do such a thing, that she and Joseph had sought for Him “anxiously”. It is here we read the first recorded words of Jesus when He says, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Now fast forward to John 19:30 where we find the final words of Jesus before He dies on the cross. These words I think are of great importance, especially in light of the first recorded words of Christ. In John 19 Jesus simply says, “It is finished”. Now notice He did not say “I am finished”. I don’t believe this was a statement about His life but rather a statement about His life’s task … the Father’s business. Jesus as He breathed His last breath on the cross told all generations that the Father’s plan for redemption had been completed; that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will now be saved. Thank God “It is finished”. I will see you Sunday as we celebrate the fact He lives!

working out

So 2011 has started (at least since February 1st when we joined the ROC at 1st Baptist) as the year of the “workout”. I have been going at least 4 times weekly to walk 2-3 miles at a fast pace then lift weights. I haven’t seen the weight loss I’d like to, but I think that has more to do with my eating habits than it does my working out. I just finished my lunch hour with a workout and a shower and now am back at the office feeling really well.

I remember that 1st workout in February … I stood in the doorway of their fitness center, and that particular day the center was filled with slim and trim, toned and tuned hard bodies. My greatest fear was that they would all look up at me simultaneously and fall to the floor, laughing hysterically. As I entered I couldn’t help but notice the mirrors on the walls ... they seemingly were everywhere. Guys lifting weights were staring at their arms as they lifted. I carefully ignored the mirrors since I already knew what I looked like.

So I get back to the office today and I started reading in the Word and come to 1 Timothy 4:8 which states, “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” So what is the Apostle Paul saying? Is he telling Timothy not to worry about exercise and the care of his body? No. I think it’s similar to when the Pharisees were puffed up about their tithing and neglecting justice, mercy, and faith. Jesus tells them “These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone.” So I think Paul is telling us we should spiritually workout toward the end of godliness without leaving the care of the physical body “undone”.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were such a thing as a spiritual workout system with machines similar to those in fitness centers that can zero in on specific muscles you want to develop. My spiritual fitness center would be a place with individual stations where muscles of the faith would be purposely developed, a place where we could be intentional about cultivating spiritual stamina.

So having resolved to work out this year, today I’m resolving to spend even more time than in the past exercising some “spiritual muscles”. I plan on targeting the following areas:
1. My tongue – no necessarily by talking more but rather by harnessing my tongue more. To be quiet when it’s time and to be bold when it’s time and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.
2. My eyes – the bible is littered with characters like David, Samson and even Achan who saw their lives ruined by sins that began with the eyes (which I believe are a window to the heart). So I resolve to train even more my eyes to focus on the things and ways of God.
3. My neck – I remember playing football we’d do many neck exercises to strengthen the neck and hopefully avoid perilous injury. How many times do we find God in His Word calling His people “stiff-necked”? It’s not that their necks were literally stiff but that they were stubborn and proud. So I’m going to exercise my “neck” to help protect from getting stubborn and proud with God.
4. My hands – I can use my hands in service or blessing to others, but the Lord desires that they be “clean” first. James 4:8 says, “Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded”. This exercise station will have plenty of towels which will serve to remind me to go “wash the feet” of others by serving them.
5. My knees – I’d also have a station that required a person on their knees in order to fulfill this exercise. It likely would have to be done with a bowed head as well (prayer). Prayer has a way of loosening muscles that are in knots from the strain of worry, pressure, stress, and long hours of work.

Let me close by reminding you of Romans 12:1-2. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your BODIES a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God”

This roller-coaster called life

I love what we as Christians have come to call the “mountain top” experiences of our life and faith. Seeing my children saved and baptizing them, going to Israel twice and walking where Jesus walked, and the many mission trips I’ve been on are all examples of those kinds of experiences for me. One thing I have learned about mountain tops is that no one lives on them perpetually. Most of us don’t live on the mountain top but rather in the valley.

As I have thought about this today, I’ve come to believe that God doesn’t really want us to live only on the mountaintops; our times in the valleys is part of His plan as well. And when I say this, I think he wants us to LIVE, not just exist, not just endure until the next mountaintop. Many people seem to believe that God only shows up on the mountaintops, and that those times of their lives where they are walking through the valleys are the barren times “in between mountains”. These folk tend to view life like a roller-coaster, simply a series of ups and downs – times when you are on the mountaintop and times when you are down in the valley, “far from God”. When you live like this, you find yourself longing for the next mountaintop. Then life really becomes like a coaster, going from mountaintop to mountaintop as if life were a game of spiritual hopscotch.

I’ve come to believe this is not a biblical approach to life. God is not just God of the mountaintops; He is God of the valleys as well. Jesus takes us up to the mountaintops, but He also sends us through (and walks with us in) the valleys. His power is there to fill our lives in both places, and His purposes are accomplished in both. The Christian life is not the occasional exciting high surrounded by mostly boring low points. The whole Christian life is one wild ride. Sure there will be high points, but there will also be deep valleys. There will be unexpected twists and turns, dark tunnels, and even some places where your world will be turned upside-down.

How do you keep from freaking out on a roller-coaster? You know that if you are a roller-coaster rider, you have to trust that the engineer that designed the path your car takes knows what he was doing, despite how out-of-control you feel at the moment. You also have to have faith that if you hang on and stay in the car, it will bring you safely home. No one gets aboard a roller-coaster without recognizing that at times the ride will get bumpy but they also realize they have a bar across their lap designed to hold them in the car. For the Christian, that lap bar is called faith. Most of the ride you probably don’t really need it, but when you do need it, it better be there. Emergency equipment is just a nuisance until you need it, and faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.

Jesus was not only the architect who planned our ride through life; he actually became flesh and rode the ride himself. Jesus’ life was filled with twists and turns, high places and low. One moment He was entering Jerusalem as a King, surrounded by cheering crowds and the next He was betrayed, tortured, and crucified. Jesus never got off the track designed for Him. He rode the whole ride with his hands in the air!

When the roller coaster car we are in goes over the crest of the hill and plummets toward the ground, it’s easy to forget about having faith in the roller coaster designer. Our human nature is to scream out and not worry with who hears or sees us. We, at those times try to hang on to the physical things around us and trust in them for our survival. It’s fairly easy to discern who those are who really have placed their trust in the designer … they let go, raise their hands, and enjoy the ride. This is a great metaphor for the Christian life. The next time you find yourself anxious or fearful, simply let go, raise your hands to the heavens and surrender it to Jesus. You’ll be amazed at how enjoyable the ride really is.

As we enter the valleys its natural for us to concentrate so hard on the problems at hand that we are no longer conscious of much else taking place around us. Just like a roller coaster when we grab the safety bar holding us into the seat and stare straight ahead at the tracks below, we can easily become so concerned about our immediate situation that we lose sight of everything around us, including what we call the big picture. Jesus did not intend for us to sit on a bench and watch others ride the roller coaster of life; He intended for us to experience it for ourself.

There’s one stark difference between a physical roller coaster ride and the spiritual roller coaster of our Christian lives. A physical roller coaster begins with the highest peak at the beginning of the ride. As the ride progresses, each peak gets lower and lower while the valleys, or dips, stay the same. That is an excellent picture of a life without Christ. A person without Christ will spend his or her life looking for any way possible to climb above the valleys they find themselves in. As they progress along the track of ups and downs of life, it seems they find fewer and fewer things that lift them up. Those Christians who walk by faith close to the Lord find just the opposite to be true. Each low point is often not as low as the previous low point. But, the best part is how each high point is always bigger and better than the previous high point. As we progress through life’s roller coaster ride we climb higher and higher, making it possible to better visualize the big picture. This in turn makes it easier to keep a strong faith in the fact that God really will take care of everything we need.

So hang on, feel the power, and enjoy the ride. When the ride is over, and your car comes out of the last bunny hop and rolls back into the terminal, you’ll get to praise the designer and tell him how much you enjoyed the whole ride. Now this is important … You and I only get to ride this ride once; there is no “coming back next year”. When the ride is over we have to live forever with the results. When I get to heaven and am looking back on my life, I wonder what my souvenir photo is going to look like. Will I be surprised to find that Jesus was in the seat beside me the whole ride? Today I plan to let go, look forward, and enjoy both the ride and the view.

fun things that made me go hmmmm

So I like to collect these things I call “ponderings” … thinks that make you go “hmmmm.” I know I’m twisted a bit different than lots of folks but I find these funny to read and thought I’d share some of the best of them that I have collected through the years.

• If a robber tried to rob a dance club and yelled, "Everybody get down", would all the people start dancing?
• If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
• If your named Will and you are in the army do you get worried when people say fire at will?
• When you put 'THE' and 'IRS' together, it forms 'THEIRS'. Coincidence? I think not!
• If Dracula has no reflection, why did he always have such a straight part in his hair?
• If Milli Vanilli fell in the woods, would someone else make a sound?
• Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out"?
• How come you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?
• Do you need a silencer if you are going to kill a mime?
• Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
• Why does your nose "run" and your feet "smell"?
• Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?
• Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know you don't have the money?
• Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?
• Why do psychics have to ask you for your name? Ever notice how in the 60’s people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and the same people take Prozac to make it normal?
• Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
• What disease did cured ham actually have?
• If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
• Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway!
• Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
• If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?
• Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one
talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

Final food for thought: Statistics on sanity say that one out of every four persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best friends … if they're okay, then it's you.

Ups and downs, questions and answers

Is it just me or does the Christian life sometimes feel like a roller coaster ride? There are days when my strong hope and faith collide with an unexpected reality in my life; one of those “uh oh” moments when something happens that I didn’t see coming. Other roller coaster moments for me are when my prayers aren't answered as I desired or when my dreams become shattered. When this happens, invariably for me disappointment, and sometimes disillusionment come as a result.

I believe that all of us, whether we’re new Christians or long-time believers, battle feelings of disappointment when life goes wrong. Deep down somewhere in the recesses of our hearts is the belief that following Christ should give us special immunity against trouble. We're like Peter, who wanted to remind Jesus, "We have left everything to follow you." (Mark 10:28). The reality is most of us haven’t “left everything” to follow Jesus, but most of us have made some painful sacrifices. So we ask ourselves, “Shouldn’t that count for something?” and thus we hope for that free pass when it comes to suffering and disappointment.

What makes matters worse, at least in my heart as I wrestle with this, is the fact that godless people seem to be thriving with a sort of “Midas touch” where everything they touch turns to gold. I wrestle with the question why are they doing so well and I’m not. This week I have had to remind myself of a lesson I learned several years ago. Namely, when I’m in the midst of pain and disappointment the correct question is not “Why Lord?” but rather “What Lord?”. I’ll be honest, it is hard to ask the “right” question when the hurt and disappointment are so very real. But I’m trying to learn to ask the right questions … “What Lord are You trying to teach me? What Lord do You want me to do next?”

But what do you do when you ask the “right” questions and get no answer or the answers you do get just don’t seem to be enough? Let me close by quoting from the Scott Wesley Brown song when Answers Aren’t Enough …

You have faced the mountains of desperation
You have climbed, you have fought, you have won
But this valley that lies coldly before you
Casts a shadow you cannot overcome

And just when you thought you had it all together
You knew every verse to get you through
But this time the sorrow broke more than just your heart
And reciting all those verses just won't do

When answers aren't enough, there is Jesus
He is more than just an answer to your prayer
And your heart will find a safe and peaceful refuge
When answers aren't enough, He is there

The wonderful grace of Jesus

I received a phone call today and we talked a good bit about how marvelous the grace of God is and how undeserving we are to receive it. That conversation reminded me of a story another pastor had told recently.

This pastor told a true story about one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months. He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.

One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered. Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely. 16 of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.

So here’s my point in telling you this story. We humans owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it. But far too many people will not even open the letter (the Bible) that explains that. I think they fear reading about a God who is ready to discipline them and as I used to say as a child “beat the fool” out of them. But the reality is we find a God willing and ready to forgive every sin we have ever committed by simply placing our faith in the sacrifice He made on Calvary’s cross.

For those of us already a child of God, perhaps this story best illustrates our need for grace. In 1818 one out of six women who had children died of something called "childbirth fever." A doctor’s daily routine back then started in the dissecting room, where he performed autopsies, and from there he made his rounds to examine expectant mothers. No one even thought to wash his hands...at least not until a doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis began to practice strict hand washing. He was the very first doctor to associate a lack of hand washing with the huge fatality rate.

Dr. Semmelweis only lost one in fifty, yet his colleagues laughed at him. Once he said, "Childbirth fever is caused by decomposed material conveyed to a wound...I have shown how it can be prevented. I have proven all that I’ve said. But while we talk, talk, talk, women are dying.. I’m not asking for anything world shaking, only that you wash your hands." Yet virtually no one believed him. And Jesus is not asking anything earth shaking from us. John writes, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We only need to confess our sins, to regularly wash our souls before God. It’s essential. The failure to confess our sins will result in spiritual infection that will hinder our ability in the spiritual journey.

Is it time to “wash”?

NFL and the Church

I watched with dismay just now about fifteen minutes of Sports Center on ESPN and learned about the players union decertifying their union in order to take the owners to court in an antitrust lawsuit. I find it difficult to side with either group, especially when they cannot figure out an amicable way to divide $9 billion in annual revenue. With all the talk of football I sat on the couch and started thinking how much the church is like football. Not that we have $9 billion to divide, but there are some other startling similarities.

All of the NFL team have owners. The owner pretty much makes the rules because he owns the team. When there are coaching changes to be made, like with the Titans this year, the owner ultimately has final say over who serves on the coaching staff. The owner has expectations of his team and typically will supply all of the means necessary for them to hopefully reach their goals. All owners want to have a winning team and typically will settle for nothing less than 100% effort from the players and coaching staff. The church also has an “owner,” the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who makes the rules though we sometimes get this backwards. He makes the rules because it’s His team. He selects the pastors who serve because it’s His team. He tells the “coach” (pastor) what His goals are for the “team” (church) and He always provides the means necessary for the church to achieve His goals. Because He is Lord, He will settle for nothing less than a life committed wholly to Him.

Every NFL team has a playbook that is often several inches thick. Players are expected to memorize their assignments in that playbook. Often games are won and lost based on how well the players carry out the game plan from the playbook and not solely because their talent was superior. We also have a “playbook” (the Bible) where our Owner (the Lord God) has given instructions for us to live by. If we carry out what He has designed in our playbook, to the best of our ability, the church goes forward because everyone is following the same game plan.

Every team in the NFL is made up of individuals that work together as teammates. Peyton Manning would be the first to tell you that if the offensive line does not block, if his backs and receivers do not catch his passes, that the team is likely going down in defeat. These teammates help each other and encourage each other to give their best. Watch when a player gets a penalty, often teammates will come up and slap him on the back or the helmet as a way of encouraging him to put that behind him and look to being the best he can for the rest of the game. There are times when strife rises up on football teams, and often leaders of that team will have a “players only” meeting where they air their differences and pull together as a team. As church members we need to encourage one another to live for Christ. When a brother or sister sins, we need to come alongside of them, and when we know they have talked to the Lord about their sin, then encourage them to put that behind them and look to the rest of their life to bringing the Lord glory. When there’s strife in a church, according to Matthew 18, we should go to our brother in private and hopefully make peace. This reminds me of the player’s only meetings, with the difference being that part of our “ownership team” (the Holy Spirit) is always sitting in on those meetings.

There are different positions on football teams. Not everyone can be the quarterback. Not everyone can be a running back. Not everyone can be the middle linebacker. Those are known as the “glory” positions. But the teams also need interior linemen, special team’s players, and even reserves to step in as needed. Every position is vital to the team if it is going to win. Likewise we each have different “positions” in the church with different responsibilities, but all are necessary for the advancement of the church.

There are opponents every game that try to keep a team from gaining yardage, scoring touchdowns, and winning games; they are out to defeat the other team. We likewise have an opponent, the devil. Sometimes teams get a little too cocky because maybe they are playing a team with a poor record, and next thing you know they have lost a game to an inferior opponent. Likewise we know the devil is already a defeated foe and that the Lord has already achieved the victory. But as Peter said in 1 Peter 5:8 we need to be attentive to the fact that our enemy is seeking to not only defeat us but do us great harm in the process.

In 1995, the Carolina Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars joined the NFL as “expansion” franchises. In less than 10 years the Panthers made it to the pinnacle of their sport playing in Super Bowl 38. We are about to embark on an “expansion” project into the Plano community. I believe this expansion will be highly successful for several reasons:

• We have an owner who has provided all of the resources we need to achieve His goals.
• We have a perfect playbook that is fail-proof if we will but follow it.
• We have a team of players who genuinely enjoy being on the same team. When a teammate slips up, we try and hold them accountable, encouraging them to give their best from that point forward.
• We have a team of players who recognize the position they have been called to play and understand that if each person fulfills their responsibilities by properly using the gifts and talents they have been given, that the church is likely to achieve great success.
• Finally, we recognize who the enemy is and understand that our success is not achieved by lining up and going toe-to-toe with our foe, but for us success is achieved on our knees.

I know there are many short-comings in this metaphor, but there are also many truths in it. If you speak “sports”, maybe this has helped you understand a little better the church. And if you don’t, well there’s always another day and another blog. Thanks for reading.

Would God choose to use you?

The devil, whom Jesus described in John 8 as a “liar”, is quick to place into the mind of the believer the thought that God would never choose to use the likes of someone like them because of their great sin past. Truth be told, there are days I am amazed that God would use me. I relate to what Paul said about himself when he said he was the “chief of sinners.” So let me ask you a question. Do you really think, in light of all the sin you have committed throughout your life, that God could or even would, choose to use someone like you? Consider the following story.

There was a man who was born on August 19, 1843 near Clinton, Michigan. When he was 17 years old he moved to his sister’s home in Tennessee where he enlisted in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He got out of the army a year later in 1862 and he went to St. Louis to study law. On September 21, 1866 he married his wife, Loentine. In 1869, he and family moved to Kansas where he practiced law. He then entered politics and served in the Kansas House of Representatives. President Grant appointed him United States District Attorney for Kansas in 1873. But he resigned within six months under suspicion of misuse of his office for personal gain. He began to drink heavily. His wife gained a legal separation from him and then eventually divorced him. He returned to St. Louis and reentered law practice. But during this time he sunk into a life of stealing and drunkenness. And then, in 1879, a man named Thomas McPhetters witnessed to him and he got saved; he trusted in Christ alone as his Savior.

He immediately became active in Christian ministry. He assisted in the evangelistic crusade ministry of D. L. Moody in St. Louis that year. He joined the Pilgrim Congregational Church.

He was licensed to preach by the St. Louis Association of the Congregational Church shortly thereafter. And then he organized and pastored the Hyde Park Congregational Church in the city. In 1882 he accepted a call to a mission church of the denomination in Dallas. He started the church with fourteen people. Thirteen years later, the church reached a membership of eight hundred.

He was also involved in Bible teaching and theological training. He helped start several schools, including Southwestern School of the Bible in Dallas, Northfield Bible Training School in Massachusetts, New York School of the Bible, and, finally, Philadelphia School of the Bible (now Philadelphia Biblical University).

When it came to missions, he founded the Central American Mission in 1890. And he presided over its direction for nearly thirty years.

He was a voluminous writer. He authored countless pamphlets and books on numerous biblical subjects. And he mentored a young man named Lewis Sperry Chafer who went on to become the Founder and President of Dallas Theological Seminary.

So, who is this man? Who is this one-time divorced drunk and thief who went on to do such great things for God? The man’s name is Cyrus Ingerson Scofield—C. I. Scofield—the author of the Scofield Reference Bible—the study Bible that has helped me and countless others gain a clearer understanding of the deep truths and riches of the Word of God.

Now, if God can use a repentant divorced drunken thief, then He can use you. And He can use you in a wonderful way. The choice is yours.

The crisis draws ever closer

So I'm a month closer to this "crisis" than I was the last time I posted some fun stuff about age, so I thought it was time for some more humor. Someone sent this to me recently and I found it really funny. The scary part though is that I now understand it whereas at thirty I'm not sure it would have made as much sense. So here it is ... enjoy!

“When I bought my Blackberry I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie, Twittererific, Tweetdeck, Twitpix, and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other program within the texting world.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, 'Re-calc-u-lating.' You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead. Well, it was not a good relationship.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden 'Paper or Plastic?' every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never remember to take them in with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, 'Paper or Plastic?' I just say, 'Doesn't matter to me. I am bi-sacksual.' Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, 'No, but I do toot a lot.'”

So I, Tom, keep reminding myself that age is merely mind over matter, if I don't mind, it don't matter.

Fear of failure

Have you ever approached a rather significant moment in your life and suddenly been plagued by the thought “What if this fails?” or phrasing it more personally “What if I fail?” I have come to believe there is no shame in failure; even the most successful people have failed at rather significant times of their lives. Consider the following:

• Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft) dropped out of Harvard and his 1st business venture “Traf-O-Data” failed to get off the ground.
• Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “He lacked imagination and had no good ideas” … can you imagine?
• Albert Einstein, considered a genius by most, did not speak until he was four, and did not write until seven causing teachers to label him “mentally handicapped.”
• Oprah Winfrey early in her career was fired from a job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for television”
• Jerry Seinfeld, his first time on stage as a comic had severe stage fright and froze. He ended up being jeered and booed off the stage
• Stephen Spielberg, the widely acclaimed motion picture director was denied admittance three times into the University of Southern California School of Film, Theatre, and Television. He eventually gained acceptance to another school only to drop out to become a director
• In 1954 Elvis Presley was fired by Jimmy Denny, the manager of the Grand Ole Opry after just one performance telling him, “You ain't goin' nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin' a truck”
• Michael Jordan, the man often lauded as the best basketball player of all time was actually cut from his high school basketball team. Luckily, Jordan didn't let this setback stop him from playing the game and he has stated, "I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

Did you catch what Jordan said? “I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed!”

There’s an interesting parable in Matthew 25 where Jesus tells the story of a man who would be traveling that trusted some of his “talents” to various servants. To one he gave five, to another two, and finally to one he gave one talent. When he returns the servants who’d been given five and two talents had invested them and returned even more to their master. But the one who had received one talent was afraid to fail so he buried the talent and returned to the master the one talent back. Jesus says the talent was taken from him and given to the others and he was cast away into outer darkness.

So here’s my point – when we refuse to try anything new, being paralyzed by fear, we are not living by faith. Faith, by the very nature of the word takes risks I believe. It is risky to love, yet we have faith that our spouse and children will love us back. It is risky to change jobs but we have faith the new company will take care of us and will prosper. Just about every area of our life requires us to take risks and live by faith.

Let me remind you of four simple truths that maybe will help you as you battle the fear of failing:

1. Everybody fails – The bible is filled with people who “failed” yet God loved and usedthem in spite of their failure. King David, a murder, adulterer, and liar repented and the Book of Acts calls him a “man after God’s own heart.”
2. Failure does not have to be the final – What if after being cut Michael Jordan decided to quit because he just wasn’t good enough to play basketball? What if Bill Gates decided he just didn’t have what it takes to cut it in the world of technology? What if Saul of Tarsus believed the lie that there was no way God would ever choose to use someone like him?
3. Look for the “benefits” of failure – the Lord used Peter’s three denials to teach him some things about the Father and His forgiveness so that when Peter preached at Pentecost he preached with power and passion!
4. Stop comparing yourself to others – Change your definition of success from being the best to rather doing your best.

So what is it you are afraid of failing at today? Marriage? Parenting? Your job? Remember that success is never final and failure is never fatal. If we had all the answers and could see into the future they wouldn’t call it “faith.”