Books to read

I read a column recently where the writer composed a list of books to read. As I read his list I wondered about what books I'd put on my list. So, knowing that I'm going to leave something out and later think "Man, why didn't I include this book?", here's my list with the exception of the first book, in no particular order:
• The Bible – the book that ought to top every believers list
• Radical by David Platt – he will rock your world
• Crazy Love by Francis Chan
• Wild at Heart by John Eldredge – a must read for men, wives, and mothers of boys
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell – any book by Maxwell if you want to develop your leadership ability
• Confessions of a Pastor by Craig Groeschel
• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom – not intended to be theologically correct but it does make you think about how you live in the here and now
• Any book by Max Lucado (one of my favorite authors)
• The Warrior Leader by Bobby Welch
• The Power of a Whisper by Bill Hybels
• Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala – a classic but worth the read
• Safely Home by Randy Alcorn
• When it comes to fiction I like to read James Patterson, Lisa Gardner, and right now I’m reading Michael Connelly

So what about you? What books make your list of must reads?

Preachers preaching the whole counsel of God

In a May 2008 article in Your Church magazine, 55 percent of pastors asked reported they can identify one or more topics on which they would not preach at all or only sparingly, because the sermon could negatively affect their hearers' willingness to attend church in the future. What? Are you kidding me? What happened to the man of God with a backbone of steel unafraid to say, "Thus sayeth the Lord!"

Among the topics these "men of God" would preach sparingly include:
• Politics (38%) – God’s people Israel might still be worshipping Baal if Elijah had been afraid to preach on politics.

• Homosexuality (23%) – to avoid this we must ignore Genesis 1-3, Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, Ephesians 5-6, 1 Timothy 1:9-10 … well you get the idea.

• Abortion (18%) – we as preachers must affirm the sanctity of life. Proverbs 6:16-19 says there are “six things God hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him” and the third thing listed is “hands that shed innocent blood.” I ask you what is more innocent than a child in the safety of its mother’s womb? If we don’t speak out for the unborn who will?

• Same-sex marriage (17%) – the entirety of scripture affirms the home and establishes it between a man and a woman. How can these preachers look in the mirror if they are not willing to preach the counsel of God? The home between a man and woman did not originate in the heart and mind of man but in the heart and mind of God. God has uniquely made man and woman so that they might complement one another as they serve Him together.

• War (17%) – Romans 13 clearly affirms what we would refer to as a “just war.” Now I’m not saying that all wars are “just” but rather that scripture affirms there is a time for government to wage war as instruments of God and good.

• Women's role in church and home (13%) – I know Southern Baptists are viewed as Neanderthals when we affirm the biblical teachings 1 Timothy 3 and state that the offices of ministers and deacons God established for men. All other jobs in the church women do and do well. But for whatever reason God stated these two positions are to be held by men who are called to be spiritual leaders in their homes and the church. Now I know that some of my more liberal friends would point to Romans 16:1 and state that the Greek word for deacon is used in reference to Phoebe. While the word is used there are a few problems with saying Phoebe was a deacon. First, the word primarily means servant so Romans 16:1 could be translated that Phoebe was a servant of the Lord. Second, to use this text to prove she served as a deacon goes against the teachings of 1 Timothy 3 and scripture does not contradict scripture. Third, Romans 15:8 uses the same Greek word for deacon in reference to Jesus. So if we are going to say that Romans 16:1 proves Phoebe was a deacon, to be consistent we must say that Romans 15:8 proves Jesus was a deacon as well.

• The doctrine of election (13%) – I have a sneaky suspicion that those who would not preach on the doctrine of election lean toward a Calvinistic view of election and know that the masses in the church would not affirm that position so they “steer clear”.

• Hell (7%) – Jesus taught more on hell than He did heaven because He wanted us to understand the reality and terribleness of hell. Everyday thousands head to an eternity in hell separated from a God who loves them forever. How can we remain silent?

• Money (3%) – of all of these topics I guess this one surprises me the least. Nothing likely gets a preacher in more trouble than preaching on money. But I have found it’s those who are not practicing Christian stewardship that complain. After all as my adopted grandmother used to say while I was in college, “Son, when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs the one who yipes is the one who got hit.”

These are just my thoughts. What do you think? Are there topics preachers should avoid? Are there topics that we need to address even more?

Tom

Funny things heard on a plane

So having flown a couple of times during the past month I heard some funny stuff both from fellow passengers and stewards / stewardesses . So I thought I'd look around and try to find the funniest things people have heard from flight attendants. Here's some of the best I found:

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Ronald Reagan, a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: "Whoa, big fella. WHOA!"

"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

From the pilot during his welcome message: "Delta Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a "Thanks for flying our airline." He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, "Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?" "Why, no, Ma'am," said the pilot. "What is it?" The little old lady said, "Did we land, or were we shot down?"

After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

A plane was taking off from Kennedy Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from New York to los Angeles. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax.. OH, MY GOD!" Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!" A passenger in Coach yelled, "That's nothing. You should see the back of mine."

A crowded United Airlines flight was canceled. A single agent was re-booking a long line of inconvenienced travelers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, "I HAVE to be on this flight and it has to be FIRST CLASS." The agent replied, "I'm sorry sir. I'll be happy to try to help you, but I've got to help these folks first, and I'm sure we'll be able to work something out." The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?" Without hesitating, the agent smiled and grabbed her public address microphone. "May I have your attention please," she began her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal. "We have a passenger here at Gate 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Gate 14."

"Hello Everyone, we have a first time flyer on board today - and it is also their 50th birthday!" After everybody cheers, the flight attendant continues, "Will everyone please wish the captain a Happy Birthday!”

So, what’s the funniest thing you have ever heard on a plane?

In the game?

It was the 1st 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, who most likely would be at the end of the bench and never see the court except in practice immediately sat down on the bench and began shoot the ball toward the basket from there.

Now we might try and justify this by saying that boy didn’t expect to get to play much. And we might suggest that he was just trying to get a laugh out of his teammates. But, 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. And because of that: they’re always going to sit the bench.

It’s as if we’ve made Christianity into a spectator sport. We just sit back in church and listen to the music, and the sermons and never really get involved in the game. We need some Christians today to get off the sidelines and get on the front God has so much for you and I but we will never discover it as long as we watch safely from the sideline. We need to put our faith into action and get involved in the spiritual battle that is taking place all around us.

So I want to quickly give you a "test" so that you can see if your faith is active or if you're sitting on the bench:
1.If you are not attending church with an expectation that a great God wants to do great things in worship that day, get off the bench.
2.When you are no longer or not concerned about the spiritual condition of neighbors, family members, or your co-workers, get off the bench.
3.When you haven't shared your faith with the express purpose of someone coming to know Christ, get off the bench.
4.When Bible study is a drudgery and it seems lifeless to you, it's time to get off the bench.
5.when ones happiness on a Sunday mornings is more important than holiness... when simply making sure you get your parking spot, your seat, and hear the music you like, everything’s fine, it's time to get in the game.
6.With the mention of the word "missions" you think to yourself "I hope they are listening" rather than saying like Isaiah "Here am I, send me Lord" - then you have willingly taken yourself out of the game.
7.When giving cannot be done cheerfully, the hearts not right and the coach can't send you in the game.
8. When it never dawns on you that God might do something radical in your life at any moment today, when that's not even on your radar, you have lost touch with the coach.

Let's put down the spiritual remotes and get off the pew and start walking by faith with the Father.

Waiting on God

Not long ago in a sermon I told our church family the story of John Claypool. Claypool wrote a book, The Light Within You, where he recounts the story of his young daughter who had been diagnosed with Leukemia and was in a great deal of pain. One night in the hospital she asked him, “Daddy, when will my pain go away.” And John said, “Honey, we’re doing everything we can to get rid of it.” His daughter then asked, “Daddy have you asked God when my leukemia will go away. Have you asked Him daddy? What did God say?”

Claypool writes that he didn’t know what to say to her. “What do you say to a little girl when God seems as if he is not listening. What do you say,” he writes, “when the heavens seem silent.”

Some of the most difficult days of our lives are those times when God seems like He is a million miles away; when He seemingly is not answering our prayers. God promised in His word to always be with us, but all of us have had days when it seemed as though He were giving us the silent treatment. Job experienced those days and in Job 23:8 Job said, “I go east, but He is not there. I go west but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him in the north for He is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find Him.”

Maybe right now there is some issue in your life and you have found yourself wondering where God is.
• Maybe it’s a disease you have been diagnosed with and are wondering if God notices
• Maybe it’s a rebellious child and you’ve asked God to help; but your child just dives deeper into rebellion
• Maybe you’ve been abused and the pain is deep and it just won’t go away and you wonder if God even cares
• Maybe you have a decision that you need to make but there is no clear picture as to what you should do. And God is not helping you see what you should do. He’s silent.

I’d like to suggest some lessons we can learn when God seems to be silent.

1. Expect it to be difficult – when you seem to have a promise from God and yet find yourself waiting on His perfect timing, it is difficult. But know this, God is using that difficult period to mature your faith. Harold Wilke was born with no arms and one time when he was a preschooler he was struggling to get his shirt over his head and shoulders. He said, “I was grunting and sweating and my mother just stood there and watched.” A relative turned to his mother and said, “Ida, why don’t you help the child?” His mother responded through gritted teeth, “I am helping him.” Sometimes God stands by in silence and does nothing because it actually helps us mature. James 1:2 says, “My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (CEB).

2. Be careful not to get ahead of God – when we take matters into our own hands rather than wait on god, disaster happens. Abraham and Sarah decided not to wait for God’s perfect timing and so Abraham had relations with Hagar. Today we still see the consequences of that sin as they got out in front of God. Sometimes the best way to determine God’s will for our lives is to do nothing but simply wait and allow things to play out. That is often hard to do; but it is the wisest thing we can do. Considers these verse in the book of Psalms about waiting. Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 38:15 “I wait for you, O Lord; you will answer, O Lord my God.” Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.” And you know what we should do while we wait on God? Pray.

3. Finally, when God is silent, don’t try to understand Him - We should never try to understand or interpret what God is doing because we will never fully understand His ways. In Isaiah 55:8 God says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My way, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways.” In other words, don’t try to understand God because His ways are beyond our comprehension. I have found that we may never truly understand God’s plan for us completely in this life. God never promises us that we will understand fully what He is doing. He just asks us to trust. The apostle Paul was imprisoned, tortured, stoned, hated and rejected. And yet in great faith he penned Romans 8:28, “In all things God works for the good of those who love Him.” Paul just trusted that God was working things out for good.

On a wall in Cologne Germany were some Jews had been hiding from the Nazi’s these words were scratched, “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. And I believe in God even when he is silent.” God has a plan for each of us. He loves us, the question is do we love Him enough to trust Him?

The clock ticks down and the end is near

No, I'm not going all "Harold Camping" on you. I'm talking about the fact that as of the next sunrise 50 will have dawned. I’m thinking I will likely wake up tomorrow and not feel much different than today when I was a mere 49.

Have you noticed that kids can’t wait to grow up? If you ask a young child how old they are, seldom do they say “6”. Instead you get something like “6 ½” or “6 ¾”. Or maybe they phrase it like this, “Well, I’m almost 7”. Thinking of kids and their desire to grow up I thought of the stages they go through. For those of us as adults, our “stages” are defined as “spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, and wills” (I think I’m officially in between the bills and ills stage).

But as kids, man we were in such a hurry to “grow up.” As children, we couldn’t wait to:
• crawl
• walk
• run
• ride a bike
• stay up late (now we long to go to bed early)
• spend the night at a friend’s house
• wear make-up (I never really longed for this one)
• find a girl friend or boyfriend
• get our driver’s license
• get a job (now we fondly think of retirement)
• have our own cell phone (anyone besides me wonder how we lived without these and at the same time want to “chuck” yours some days)
• buy a car

We still have “stages” we long for as adults though I think they are a bit more intense and costly. We long to:
• have kids
• will they ever talk?
• are they ever quiet?
• kindergarten
• retirement
• grandkids

What if we desired and looked with anticipation to our “growing up” spiritually with the same fervor we long for all of these other things?

So with 50 here, today I have reflected (as we old people like to call thinking) on the “good old days” (not really any better today but our memories are selective).

So what time period qualify as the “good old days” for you? For you maybe it was …
• The 90’s – Beanie Babies; Teenie Beanies; Grunge; and the phrase cha-ching
• The 80’s – PacMan; Rubic’s cube; Leg Warmers; and fraggle rock
• The 70’s – 8 track Tapes; platform shoes; and leisure suits (they WILL come back some day … NOT!)
• The 60’s – LP’s; troll dolls; and lava lamps
• The 50’s – (I’ve only been told and read about these days) wax coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water inside, the 1st hula-hoops, and putting peanuts in your $.10 7 oz. glass coke bottle before you drank it
• The 40’s – party lines on your telephones; and “Big Band” music

All of us can remember some “good old days” … Days when we could spend an entire evening catching fireflies. Days when money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly." Days when it was not strange to have 3-4 "best" friends. Days when “old” referred to people past 30. Days when the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was "cooties". Days when you were finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park. Days when a foot of snow was a dream-come true. But what helped those days to be so “good” was the simple existence of “do-overs”; when a mistake could be easily corrected by simply yelling "do over".

So here’s the point in all this rambling (it’s what we old people do to entertain ourselves … ramble). The good ole days are not done! God has given us the opportunity of “do-overs”. The greatest do-over happens when someone is born-again. But even then the need for “do-overs” does not end, that is why God’s mercies are new every morning.

Results may vary

Today I sit at my desk and am reflecting on how much of a difference the Lord has made in my life. We’re all familiar with those “before and after” pictures used in advertising. From the guys with hair loss, to the teen with complexion problems, to Jared Fogle the guy who lost all that weight eating only Subway sandwiches. We all know the lure of seeing potential great change by the way things are advertised. Most of us have probably tried a product before based solely on the potential seen in "before and after" pictures. Whether it’s ads for weight-loss products, exercise programs, or hair replacement procedures, most people’s results are less than what's advertised. Usually somewhere in the fine print is a qualifying statement that says something like, “Results may vary.”

But what about the Christian life and the "effect" the Lord seeks to have on our lives? You'd probably agree that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present. You'd also probably agree that God desires to make us into the image of Christ. With that agreement, why is there the fact that "results vary" from Christian to Christian? Paul writing to the church at Ephesus said "God can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20). So the variance in results must mean that if there is a breakdown in our Christians lives and a failure to experience the "best results", it is not God’s fault, but our own. But lest you read this and are only discouraged by any failures on your part, I want you to be encouraged by the difference that God has made and is in the process of making in your life.

There are two examples from Scripture that show what God can and wants to do in your life and mine. The 1st example is Mary Magdalene. She is probably the most prominent of the women who accompanied Jesus. She is named in all four Gospels as a witness to Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Luke tells us in Luke 8:2 that Mary had seven demons exercised from her. Many have confused her with the Mary that was a prostitute but they are two different women. Mary Magdalene was a person of means and as a companion of the wife of Herod’s steward, was a woman of high social status. She was also a woman in need of spiritual transformation.

We know that at some point Jesus came into Mary’s life, cast out the demons, and she became a devoted follower. From that point forward, she financially supported the ministry, and she was faithful to stand by Jesus during his crucifixion, burial and was the first to see him resurrected. Mary Magdalene, before and after, what a pretty picture!

The 2nd example is Simon Peter. He's pictured as a redneck fisherman; a prideful guy who knew everything about anything. His pride led him to say that no matter what the other disciples did, he would never turn his back on Jesus. Peter is an example to us of how the Lord often has to first break us before making us into what He'd have us to be. Jesus invested a lot of time and energy into Peter in preparing him to become the man He wanted him to be; about 3 years of teaxching and training. But the real transformation of Peter came after the bragging, after the denial, Peter's life was changed a few days after the resurrection.

In John 21, early one morning, on the shore of the sea of Galilee the resurrected Jesus made the disciples breakfast. No one said a word until Jesus singled him out and said, “Peter, do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Three times Jesus asked Peter the same question. The third time, John wrote, “Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, ‘Do you love me?’” (Jn. 21:17). Peter responded by saying, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” In spite of all that had happened, in spite of the fact that Peter had failed, Jesus still wanted Peter, and still wanted Peter to be a leader in the kingdom. It is as if Jesus wanted to give Peter the chance to make up for his three denials by giving three affirmations. It was Peter who preached the sermon on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. He was a faithful, though not perfect (you remember Paul had to confront him on one occasion), church leader the rest of his days. Peter, before and after, wow!

The “before and after” pictures in our lives are continually changing, and hopefully for the better. If you are like me, then you can pinpoint a number of significant moments in your spiritual journey. Maybe it was the moment of conversion, or your baptism, or some other significant spiritual marker in your life. There have likely been numerous ups and downs; times of spiritual highs and spiritual lows, of spiritual victory and spiritual defeat. I thank God for both the fact I'm not what I once was and also that I'm still not yet all that I will be. What about you? How is your “before and after” picture looking? In what areas of your life do you need to make greater spiritual progress?

Will you miss Him?

Vince Lombardi, the late Hall of fame coach of the Green Bay Packers, once watched his team suffer a humiliating defeat. They lost to a team that they were highly favored against. The next day, as practice started Lombardi stood before the team holding a football. Calmly he held it out and said, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” After the humiliating defeat Couch Lombardi figured that it was time to call his team back to the basics.

There are times when each one of us needs to go back to the basics. It happens at our jobs, at school, in our relationships, really in all aspects of our life at one time or another. It even happens in our personal relationship with Christ. Jesus at one point in the gospels is bringing His disciples back to the basics. After teaching His disciples for nearly three years, Jesus paused to ask them a very basic question, “Who do you say that I am?” Then He waited for them to respond. He waited for them to give an answer. Today I think Jesus looks to you and I to answer that same question. So hear Him today as He asks you, "Who do you say that I am?”

With hindsight it's a bit easier for us to formulate the correct answer to that question. but if we were alive in the 1st century would we have "missed" Him?

They were looking for a Lion, He came as a Lamb, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a Warrior, He came as a Peace maker, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a King, He came as a Servant, and they missed Him.

They were looking for Liberation from Rome, He submitted to the Roman cross, and they missed Him.

They were looking for a fit to their mold, He was the mold maker, and they missed Him.

What are you looking for? A Lion? A Warrior? A King? A Liberator? What is it exactly that you are looking for? What do you expect of Him?

They were looking for their temporal needs to be met, He came to meet their eternal need, and they missed Him.

He came as a Lamb to be sacrificed for your sin. Will you miss Him?

He came to make peace between God and man. Will you miss Him?

He came to model servant hood for all mankind. Will you miss Him?

He came that we might have true Liberty. Will you miss Him?

He came to give you eternal life. Will you miss Him?

When we submit to the lamb we will meet the Lion.
Join with the Peacemaker and we will meet the Warrior.
Work with the Servant and we will meet the King.
Walk with the Submitted and we will meet the Liberator.
Concern ourselves with the Eternal and we will have the temporal.

If Jesus is not fitting into the mold you have then maybe it's time to come to the "Mold Maker" and get a new one. Submit to His plan for your life and you will find your eternal needs met! And when those needs are met, all the other things you have need of will be taken care of as well.

Texting for 50 year olds

I’m delighted that AT&T has “unlimited texting” as part of their family plans. When I look at our monthly bill I find our family consistently adds rollover minutes to our balance. What's interesting is the fact we typically have sent substantially more texts than we have made phone calls. I have learned that there is a language that is only used in “texting”. If someone types “bff” that typically means they are calling you a “best friend forever”. Whereas if they type “lol” it means they are “laughing out loud”.

Just when I thought I’d figured out most of the texting abbreviations, I have found there’s a whole new set of texts I need to learn since I am joining the over 50 crowd. I know that some of you that read my blog are either over 50 already or soon closing in on it yourselves, so I thought I’d be kind enough to share my research data on “Senior Texting Codes for the Over 50 Crowd”. Now I realize for some of you that anything and everything in life is "serious" so I apologize in advance for offending you and hope we can stay "bff".

So, if you qualify for Senior Discounts this is the code list for you:
ATD: At The Doctor's
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DMSSCC: Did My Social Security Check Come?
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWBB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
GGLKI : Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
HMPDUT: How Many Pills Do You Take?
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LMGA: Lost My Glasses Again
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
MOH : Man On Hood
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas.
ROFL... CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WWAITTA: Wait, Who Am I Talking To Again?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil

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!