From Where God Sits

What Part of “For a Lifetime” Am I Missing?

2011-09-16T09:34:00.001-04:00

What Part of “For a Lifetime” Am I Missing?

I am not one to get riled up, but this one ticked me off. Big time!

As Sheila and I were winding down the evening last night, she told me of hearing about Pat Robertson’s latest public degree that a man would be morally justified to divorce his wife with Alzheimer's disease in order to marry another woman. The dementia-riddled wife is, Robertson said, "not there" anymore. http://ow.ly/6vzjE. It had made a secular news broadcast in Pittsburgh.

What part of “as long as we both shall LIVE” am I missing?

Pat Robertson’s statement is so wrong at so many levels!!!

There’s the human commitment level. We live in a culture that is already confused about commitment and is attempting to redefine it all the time. Jesus is the model of commitment and we are to follow that example of never, ever, ever giving up on commitments. “’til death do us part” or “as long as both shall live” is a lifetime commitment, not just until we selfishly conclude “she is no longer there.”

It is wrong at the caring level. In Sheila’s work with the elderly, she has learned that most often the last part of the brain to cease functioning is where feelings are sensed. Even though his wife may not respond in any other way, it is highly likely that she could respond to loving, self-sacrificing, heartfelt touches and words of love. People are “still there” long after our observations believe they are not.

It is wrong because of God’s purpose in marriage. Marriage is not just about the commitment between husband and wife. The Bible is clear that it is also a picture of the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the people who are His Church. If Christ was willing to die for His bride, what right does a husband have to divorce his wife because she no longer fulfills the husband’s needs? Rather, it is an opportunity for the husband to live out for God and the world the picture of Christ’s love for us! I love Gary Thomas’ book, “Sacred Marriage.”* The subtitle gives you a taste, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?” Yes, marriage is a gift from God, but a much different gift than most of us think. It is the opportunity to live and love as Jesus modeled.

Our human nature tends toward selfishness. Our world’s culture promotes that same selfishness. Those result in an attitude that marriage is for me, my happiness, my pleasure, me… me… me!! God’s design for marriage is an opportunity to become like Christ in self sacrificing commitment FOR A LIFETIME! Not until it is no longer convenient or enjoyable or my spouse “is no longer there.”

I would ask Pat Robertson, If it is right to abandon a spouse when “she/he is no longer there” then what prevents abandoning the spouse any other time my desires, needs, satisfaction are not fulfilled? Where does it stop? It is a slippery slope that we should not even peer at through binoculars.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND: my heart goes out to spouses and family members who must watch a loved one suffer the effects of Alzheimer’s disease or any other debilitating condition. I watched my mother care for my grandmother through long years of Alzheimer’s, my uncle lovingly care for my aunt through ALS, my best friend love his mother as she deteriorated and my father-in-law care for Sheila’s mom through debilitating illness. I don’t dismiss the pain, but I celebrate the courage and commitment of people who refuse to give up!! It is the right thing to do!

At the end of the issue is the fact that only God has the authority to proclaim what we should do, not any other human being. And He does not provide a loophole for us to abandon our commitment because we are not happy.

Just my thoughts. As passionate as they may be. I’d love to hear from you on this issue.

Boldly, Herb

*I highly recommend this book. It has given me a Biblical understanding of marriage as nothing else.

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What is God Feeling? 9/11 Revisited

2011-09-09T11:22:00.001-04:00

On September 13, 2001, I wrote the email newsletter below. With all the remembrances around the ten year anniversary, I thought it appropriate to post it here again. At the risk of offending. Please understand that my heart and prayers go out to those whose lives have been forever altered and in no way want to diminish their loss. But more than that, my heart belongs to God. So read if you dare.

From Where God Sits, Special Edition
September 13, 2001

"What Is God Feeling?"

Along with millions of other people I listened and watched Tuesday’s tragic events unfold. Sheila and I were on our way to a night away and were headed for the PA Turnpike through Somerset County. After hearing the report of the fourth plane going down within 40 miles of us, it felt like the world was coming to an end. We turned around and headed home. Shock, horror, sadness, anger, frustration, hurt, disbelief were just some of the emotions we all felt. I hope your first reaction was to pray. Sheila and I did. Along with millions, our family has kept praying.

September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in infamy with Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, and the Challenger explosion. Only worse because of the nature of the tragedy and the cruelty of the terrorists

Interviews reported the emotions of people close to the scenes. Those of us removed by distance can only imagine the emotional, mental as well as physical trauma endured by those involved close up and those who lost loved ones. That trauma has only begun.

For the first 24 hours I was in shock, overwhelmed by feelings of being violated, by emotions of sadness for the victims, by a sense of helplessness that we can’t change what happened. Finally on Wednesday I asked God, “What is Your perspective on this tragedy, from where You sit? How do you feel?” He answered me. In a moment I’m going to let you know what I heard, but I’m taking a risk that you will not understand. I expected God to let me know how sad and angry He is. I expected words of comfort I could pass on to others. That is not what He said to me. Frankly, He shocked me and I have hesitated to pass it on. But I asked for Him to tell me. I guess I have to be ready for anything when I ask God a question!

I don’t want to sound cruel or heartless. What has occurred is a tragedy of enormous proportions. There are thousands of people who have been killed, wounded or have loved ones who are dead or suffering. That is awful. So, please understand I’m not trying to make light of it. I am not insensitive to the pain. But I heard God’s Spirit clearly speak two messages. (If you don’t like them, you can take it up with God. Remember I’m only the middle man.) Here they are…

MESSAGE #1. Moments after I asked God to give me His perspective, I heard Him say, “You kill 3,500 innocent Americans everyday. Why are you so upset and so angry about those killed Tuesday?” I was shocked. I was expecting words of comfort, of direction, of help, or anger. I heard none of that and I was immediately convicted. God’s right. He’s always right. Why are we so upset when foreign terrorists kill thousands when we do it to ourselves everyday through abortion? The life of an unborn child is just as valuable to God as any of the people who perished in these attacks. In fact the Bible is clear that God is even more protective of the little ones.

MESSAGE #2. “There is something worse than dying physically. It is dying without a relationship with Me and going to Hell.” All of heaven welcomed many of the people who died Tuesday into an eternity beyond our wildest imaginations. Those people are better off, they’re receiving a reward that will last forever and ever and ever. Others, however, entered an eternity beyond our nastiest nightmares because they refused a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is worse than the cruelest death we will hear about.

God’s words to me, as surprising as they were, have helped bring me out of the fog of the tragedy and have given me His bigger picture perspective. Yes it is a tragedy. The ripples will last for decades. The worst may be yet to come. But thousands of people around the world suffer daily. Persecuted Christians perish day after day. People die every day within blocks of us, sometimes even cruelly. Perhaps if we are honest with God and ourselves, we have to admit that our feelings are selfish. The tragedy has threatened our personal sense of security, our personal comforts, and our self-absorbed way of life. It grabs our attention because of the unthinkable way in which we were attacked and the enormity of the loss. We are shaken. This one hit home where we thought we were safe and secure.

I invite you to refocus. Ask God to give you His perspective. Live by His promises. Absorb these…

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV)

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV)

I also invite you to put your full trust in God. Only in Him do we have true security. All other kinds of security are myths.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalms 20:7 (NIV)

Let’s be God’s hands and feet, His Presence in the world. Whatever we can do, we should do. Pray, give blood, make donations, and talk with others about God’s desires for people to know Him and invite them to place their hope in God.

But let’s keep God’s perspective and live for Him in dailyness as well as times of tragedy.

Boldly, Herb

What Kind of Day Will I Have?

2011-09-03T08:22:00.000-04:00

Funny thing about the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had better days than we can ever fathom. Perfect. Wondrous. Full of meaning, pleasure and excitement. Day after day after day, by following God’s lead, they experienced incredible days. The day they decided they wanted to have the kind of day they wanted, EVERYTHING went south. TRULY everything. In the moment they decided they had a better idea of what a good day would be, they sent all of existence on a trail of bad days and tears. They reached for the ONE fruit that was off limits and forfeited the ENTIRE garden. Astonishing and plain stupid. If we could ask them, I am 100% sure they would tell us that the worst day WITH God is a gazillion times better than the best day WITHOUT God.

Same with us.

As I (and you) begin each day, the question is not, “Will I have a good day?” Rather, it is, “Will I have the day God has in mind?”

Embedded in the second question are further questions.
“Do I really believe that the day God has in mind is better than anything I can conjure up?”
“Do I truly embrace that a difficult day with God is better than a day that seems to be easy?”
“Am I convinced that walking in alignment with Jesus is more satisfying than any other pleasure in the world?”

7I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ Philippians 3:7-8 (New Living Translation)

If I cannot answer the above questions, “Yes. Yes. Yes. And YES!!” I am with Adam and Eve, reaching for the fruit, believing I am smarter than the eternal, all-powerful Maker of the Universe and know better what a good day will look like.

Look at that equation and the choice is clear. But what will YOU do about TODAY? Reach for the “me” fruit or trust God and have the whole Garden?

Your choice.

Stupid or smart. I’m determined to choose smart today.

Boldly, Herb

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Counter-intuitive

2011-03-08T18:31:00.001-05:00

I was wrong! I can’t believe it, but I was wrong. I’ve read the account hundreds of times, thought I had it right, but I was wrong.

Lying in bed, just before going to sleep a couple weeks ago, I grabbed the Bible by my bed and read Matthew 4. It is the account of Jesus going into the desert for 40 days with no food, going toe to toe with the devil with no human companions. At the end of the 40 days, the Bible says Jesus was hungry. I used to consider that one of the great understatements. But I’ve learned that when a person fasts for an extended period of time the feelings of hunger disappear, reappearing only when the body has no more reserves and needs to eat to prevent damage.

It was at this point the devil ramped up the temptations, coming after Jesus with the big three: turn rocks into bread, jump off the temple, bow to the devil and sidestep the pain.

Here’s where I was wrong. I’ve always believed and taught that the devil came after Jesus when He was at His weakest – 40 days alone in the desert and hungry. As I was reading the scripture in bed that evening, I sensed the Holy Spirit hit me with this truth: Jesus was not at His weakest but at His STRONGEST! And in that moment, I knew it was true.

Yes, Jesus was worn from the 40 days, but through the extended time with the Father and the counter-intuitive discipline of fasting and prayer, Jesus was the STRONGEST He had ever been. Scripture confirms it…

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. Luke 4:13-14 (NIV)

Soooooo… Is it possible God might be calling us to pray and fast during this Lenten season to become the STRONGEST we’ve ever been?

It is counter-intuitive after all we’ve heard about eating right, etc, etc, but in the spiritual realm, it is THE right formula for experiencing life as God designed.

WHAT WILL YOU DO? Take the hard road of discipline that Jesus traveled to emerge in the power of God’s Spirit, to see God work supernaturally, to hear God speak clearly, to watch God work in those we love, to experience life as God has designed – OR – take the road of saying yes to your desires and no to God’s and experience WAY, WAY less than God designed or desires?

Your choice. But I invite you to join me to the “Focus 40” this Easter season. I hope you will.

Boldly, Herb

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Jesus Was Always Picking Fights

2011-01-08T09:58:00.000-05:00

Here’s a topic you won’t hear a lot of people talk when they refer to Jesus. But it is true! Jesus was always picking fights. Just read the accounts of His life looking for it, and you will find it was His lifestyle. Not something that just happened or that He couldn’t avoid. It was what He did consistently, along with the teaching, miracles, healings, etc. Yet even in those, He often used them to start a fight!!

Jesus even did so in His home town. First time back from His baptism, desert temptation and beginning of His public ministry, He immediately picks a fight. Seems like it would be the time to let people know that the kid they watched grow up had actually been the Son of God incognito. But, NO! He picks a fight. Look at it…

1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” 3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” 4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. 9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew 9:1-9 (NIV)
At first glance it appears He was picking fights with people, but really He was picking fights with wrong beliefs that led to wrong actions. Picking fights with falsehoods was actually the loving thing to do! Imagine that! God is showing me that we must be doing the same. If we do not follow Jesus’ example to reveal falsehood by our words and actions, we are, by omission, allowing lies to stand unchallenged. And that is not living lives of truth, being salt, light and fragrance of Christ. Nor is it “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), which is our mandate.

So… go pick a fight to for Jesus!

Boldly, Herb

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It Doesn’t Work

2010-10-28T16:46:00.001-04:00

Imagine for a moment you wanted to learn how to pop really, really good popcorn. You come to me because you know that I am a pro. I am thrilled to show you because we all love to show others that in which we find enjoyment.

“What do you do now?” I inquire.

“I do this,” you reply as you take a small pan, put a cup of oil in the bottom and 2 kernels of popcorn and turn the stove on low.

“Yeah, um…” I mutter, trying not to call you something inappropriate. “Let me show you.” I cover the bottom of the pan with oil, turn the stove on medium high and add ½ cup of popcorn. “Every minute shake the pan until the popping slows to less than a pop every 5 seconds.” I empty a perfect pan full of popcorn into a bowl and you enjoy it. “Got it?” I ask. “Got it!” you enthusiastically exclaim.

You return the following week, despondent. “It doesn’t work.”

“Okay, show me what you did.”

You pull out a pan, put a teaspoon of oil in the bottom of the pan, add 3 cups of popcorn and turn the stove on high. In a few minutes the smoke detector starts screaming. “See, I told you it didn’t work!” you growl.

Being a patient man and giving you the benefit of the doubt that I didn’t explain well, I say, “Let me show you again.” I cover the bottom of the pan with oil, turn the stove on medium high and add ½ cup of popcorn. “Every minute shake the pan until the popping slows to less than a pop every 5 seconds.” I empty a perfect pan full of popcorn into a bowl and you enjoy it. “Got it?” I ask. “Got it!” you enthusiastically exclaim.

You return a week later, angry. “It doesn’t work!”

“Alright, show me!”

You rip a pan out of the cupboard, turn the stove on medium high, put 3 cups oil in the pan and add 10 kernels of corn. I cover my ears before the smoke alarm taunts you again. “See!” you scream, clearly mad at me. “It doesn’t work! You must not know what you’re talking about!”

“Look!” I try to respond without sending the message that I think I should call the padded truck for you. “It does work. It has worked every time I have done it.” I even show you one more time. You settle down a little as you enjoy the perfect bowl of popcorn. “Now just do it that way and it will work.”

You stop coming around and I assume you’ve started doing it right. Much later I hear that you are spreading the news that popcorn doesn’t work and Herb has no idea what he is doing because you tried to follow my instructions and IT DIDN’T WORK.

Sound silly? Sure. When it is about popcorn.

But when it is about God, it’s not silly. It’s TRAGIC! We don’t do that, do we? Yep!

So many people have come to the conclusion that God and church don’t work because they hear His instructions over and over. They even see peoples’ lives that clearly demonstrate Jesus’ peace, joy, contentment, healthy relationships, good attitudes and more.

But they walk away to try do life their way instead of God’s way and angrily blame God and church for their lives not working.

How about you?

Boldly, Herb

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Don’t Feed the Animal!!

2010-10-20T09:20:00.001-04:00

As I stood in the shower, an enlightening and profound thought popped into my head. The concept was not new, but the statement caught me in its simplicity and profundity.

DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL!!

If I don’t want the stray kitten to hang around, grow, become attached and impossible to excommunicate – DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL!! So simple, yet so true.

“Why,” you might be saying, “Is this so profound to you, Herb?”

Because I look around in my own life and others and realize the reason we struggle is because we are FEEDING THE ANIMAL!! And in the shower it occurred to me that we are being dense.

If I don’t want to have thoughts and behavior hang around, grow, become part of my life and impossible to excommunicate – DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL that is my thought life!!

If I don’t want hurt and anger to consume me – DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL!!

If I don’t want to struggle so hard with temptations of any kind – DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL!!

If I don’t want to be negative – DON’T FEED THE ANIMAL!!

And then, on the flip side, DO FEED THE ANIMAL you want to hang around, grow, become part of you want to be part of your life and impossible to excommunicate…

… right thoughts and behavior
… the opposites of the temptations that threaten
… forgiveness, love, patience
… positive thoughts

So simple, yet so profound and CHALLENGING to actually do.

Which animal will you feed today?

Boldly, Herb

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Not so Random Thoughts on Trust

2010-05-12T11:32:00.001-04:00

May 12, 2010

Trust comes from going through insecure situations and experiencing God coming through for you.

The path to deep trust is one of fear, uncertainty, challenging all we rely on … and it is very painful.

The natural response is to resist and cling to what we can see even though we THINK and SAY we believe what we can’t see. That is not trust.

Trust is CHOOSING to do what is against our natural inclinations, what causes us fear, what seems to make no sense, to let go of control and OBEY God’s invitation.

Trust goes against everything we understand to give us all that we really desire but cannot grasp.

Trust requires that we obey BEFORE we understand – and then we understand AFTER we obey.

When we go through really tough times, God is offering opportunities to develop deeper trust that we think we even want but the kind of trust that God knows will deliver what we really desire.

Boldly, Herb

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What Wavelength Are You On?

2010-03-23T16:42:00.003-04:00

Why do we hear requirements instead of promises? Demands instead of unbelievable offers?

HOW we hear is as important as WHAT we hear.

And it seems to me we are hearing WAY wrong when we listen to the instructions of God. Let me try to paint this picture…

Suppose you have a stern, distant, demanding, finger pointing teacher who seems to delight in reminding you of the monumental amount of work required for class. Every day she reminds you “If you want to get a decent grade in this class you will have to do better than you’re doing.” Toward the end of the school term she makes a different statement, “If you score well on the final exam you will get an A for the year.” What do you hear in that statement? A demand filled warning or a promise? That you had better study well because you’re not doing well or the promise that an A is in your future if you will only study well? Because of the way of hearing she has created, my bet is on the first choice.

Somehow most of us have developed the picture of a stern, distant, demanding, finger pointing, scolding, unhappy-with-us, nothing is ever good enough God. From the time you’re born he schemes to create that image and does so in many, many ways so don’t worry about HOW we got there. We’re there. With that picture in our heads, how in the world will we hear anything other than demands and requirements when we read the Bible? And why will we want to read the Bible?

God has been showing me that we’re missing His incredible promises and the unfathomable depth of His love because we are hearing wrong. That in this “if…then…” covenant relationship with God, we’re focusing on the “if” (requirements and demands) when He wants us to experience the “then” (promises). And it is KILLING us, causing us to live with the hole in our souls that God soooo wants to fill with satisfaction that comes from embracing Him. For example…

John 8:31-32 (NIV) 31To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

What did you hear when you read that? That we had better work harder at holding on to Jesus’ teaching, that our efforts are not good enough, that we’re sad excuses for disciples? That’s the way I’ve typically read it. But I’ve come to believe that instead Jesus is making the promise of freedom – that He soooo wants us to have freedom and is showing us the way to accept the offer – hold to His teaching. IT’S A PROMISE FROM A LOVING, GIVING, SACRIFICING, DOING ALL THAT HE CAN FOR US GOD!!!!!

Or…
Matthew 6:12, 14-15 (NIV) 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

What did you hear? That you had better do better at forgiving people, no matter how much they hurt you or you’re in trouble? Yet instead Jesus is pointing us to the promise to cleanse us from anger, bitterness and hurt, that He soooo wants us to experience the exhilarating release from emotional chains that He is showing us how to accept the offer – let go of the hurts people have inflicted on us just like He let go of the hurts we inflicted on Him. IT’S A PROMISE FROM A LOVING, GIVING, SACRIFICING, DOING ALL THAT HE CAN FOR US GOD!!!!!

Or…
Malachi 3:10 (NIV) 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Did you hear a demand from God to give him 10% of your income? That He wants your money and does not understand how hard it is for you to pay your bills? Yet instead God is pointing us to the promise to provide for us in flood-like ways, that He soooo wants to give us what we need and He is showing us how to accept the offer! IT’S A PROMISE FROM A LOVING, GIVING, SACRIFICING, DOING ALL THAT HE CAN FOR US GOD!!!!!

I challenge you to read the Bible this week looking for the promises of the real God of the Universe, who actually died for us so we can experience true life and crush that warped, ugly, twisted image.

Then WALK INTO HIS ARMS. You will never do anything to make Him happier!!!!

Boldly, Herb

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Can’t Believe How God Hangs With Us!

2010-01-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

January 15, 2010

The other day my wife, Sheila, got excited. “Herb, did you see my baby?” she asked. My mind reeled. We’re way too old to have kids and I was pretty certain she was not pregnant. Let alone ready to deliver.

“No… where is it?” I asked tentatively. She pointed to a shelf by the hallway window.

“Look! Isn’t it exciting? It’s growing!” she enthused as she gently touched a tender shoot.

Sheila bought a plant two years ago. An orchid plant. She has nurtured, cultivated, watered, protected, and moved it from window to window. It is a spoiled brat! And it has given her NOTHING. Not one bud, not one bloom, not one aromatic fragrance. Nothing.

“It will only have one bloom a year,” she informed me.

ONE BLOOM! I thought (but did not say out loud), “You’ve got to be kidding! You’ve been caring for this green thing for two years and when it finally blooms it will only give you ONE flower? What a waste of time!” I kept my mouth shut, nodded and smiled. (Hey, I’ve been married a long time!)

“But when it blooms, it will last a long time,” she assured me. Rats, she saw through the smile.

“And when it blooms, it will be BEAUTIFUL!” Sheila continued. Obviously, it is worth it to her. All the time, effort and care put into something with great possibilities but no guarantees.

The “baby” continues to grow; Sheila continues to care for it and wait in anticipation of what is coming.

A lot like US. A lot like GOD.

God looks at us in the same way Sheila looks at the orchid plant. Full of great possibilities but no guarantees. He cares for us, nurtures us, protects us, gives us the best shot at becoming something beautiful. And then He waits. And waits. And waits. And waits some more. Knowing that if we turn to Him, we will bloom into something of incredible beauty.

Can’t believe how FAITHFUL God is with us. I would have given up on the orchid and us long ago. But not God.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV)

Is your life beautiful? Can be. Turn to Him and He guarantees to transform us from a lump of green leaves to a magnificent creation.

Boldly, Herb

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It’s Amazing What a Decade Will Do

2009-12-31T10:58:00.000-05:00

December 31, 2009

Exactly 10 years ago we were bracing for the worst as we faced uncertainty resulting from glitches in original computer language. Can you remember the level of insecurity ten years ago? Who should we believe, the “experts” who said the glitches were fixed or those who identified all the possible things that could go wrong? On what should we base our judgment as this was completely new territory? Would planes really drop out of the air, power plants shut down and modern comforts disappear?

Some folks were mega-doomsayers, predicting the end of civilization as we know it. Others were saying there was absolutely nothing at all in any way whatsoever to be concerned about so go about life as normal. Most of us were somewhere in the middle. In fact, our family still has a white “Y2K” cupboard in the basement where we stored some food, water and gas masks (just kidding). After ten years we’re still calling it that. Hey, habits die hard with us!

Turns out about the worst thing that happened was 150 slot machines in Delaware shut down and bus validation machines in Australia failed to operate. Guess we didn’t need all those generators and caches of supplies after all. Oh, well, at least we still have a perfectly good cabinet in our basement with a very cool nickname.

Today we approach the beginning of another new decade and that serious fear is nearly forgotten. Amazing what a decade will do! Amazing what perspective will do. It’s easy to look back, laugh and wonder what the fuss was about. But on December 31, 1999 that perspective was hidden. It’s all in how we look at it.

Though the Y2K threat is history and amusing, the past decade has given us a host of real threats that could cause us to shut ourselves into that Y2K cupboard and never come out. Really. Or we can stick our heads in the sand and pretend that the threats are not really there, that we still live in Mayberry with Andy Griffith and everything will turn out right at the end of the show. Appears to me that neither works very well. Besides, there’s not enough room in the Y2K cupboard anyway.

There is another choice as we step into the new decade. Another perspective. Another way of looking at life. You see, it all depends on what we see is biggest. If the threat of terrorism, worldwide hunger, disease, illness, or economic disaster is the biggest thing in our lives we’ll run for the cupboard. But what if just maybe there is something bigger than it all. Something so big that it dwarfs all threats?

Job came face to face with the Being Who is bigger than all. (Read Job chapters 38-42 to begin the New Year.) After questioning God, God shows up! In the biggest bit of Biblical sarcasm I know, God challenged Job’s perspective, verbally pinning Job to the wall. As you read the account we hear God reveal how big He is and how very, very, very, very small all else is. And that GOD IS ON OUR SIDE WHEN WE CHOOSE HIM, dwarfing all else in our lives.

Job 42:1-2 (NIV) 1Then Job replied to the Lord: 2“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.

Job saw differently after that. I’m guessing Y2K and any other threat would never faze him again. My prayer for you is the same. That you will really see God and allow all else to fade.

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade!
Boldly, Herb

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It’s a Long Time Between Promise and Delivery

2009-12-09T18:37:00.001-05:00

December 9, 2009

It’s embarrassing. It really is.

Been thinking about the many people in the Bible that were given promises and how long they had to wait for God to deliver on the promise.

Abraham: 25 years between the promise of a child and the (literally) delivery.

Moses: 40 years (at least) herding sheep in the wilderness from calling to deliver Israel from slavery in Egypt to actually confronting Pharaoh.

Peter: 3 years of hanging out with Jesus, and a lot of embarrassing statements and actions, until he was fully ready to go fishing for men.

Joseph: 13 years of being a slave after seeing God’s vision of being a ruler until God miraculously moved him from the dungeon to the palace.

Israel: 400 years of silence, not even a peep from a prophet, prior to Jesus being born.

Jesus: had to live in a human body for 30 years after Christmas before going about His purpose.

And we get impatient when God doesn’t deliver in a day!!

I think I’ll go apologize to God and try to get some perspective.

Boldly, Herb

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What We Can Do for Tiger Woods

2009-12-03T11:47:00.002-05:00

December 3, 2009

What do you do when nothing thrills anymore? When you’ve pushed, worked, sacrificed, sweated and finally reached that which you believe will satisfy, and it does… for a while… then it doesn’t?

You conclude that you were mistaken, that what you were expecting to fill the hole inside you was the wrong thing and thus it must be something else. You step back, evaluate (consciously or unconsciously) and aim for the new target. You push, work, sacrifice, sweat and finally reach it. To find that it satisfies… for a while… then it doesn’t.

What do you do now? Take new aim and give it another go. Some people repeat it over and over again their entire lives, always reaching for something different because there is always something else to reach for. Others get tired of chasing a new target and give up by emotionally shutting down, medicating with something that dulls the pain or just end it all.

There are a very select few who run out of targets. They reach all that there is to reach and find that they there is NOTHING else to aim for. What do you do when you still want to pursue what satisfies and THERE ARE NO MORE TARGETS?

We hear about these rare people in the news. We common folk are baffled because we think, “If I had wealth, success, fame, family – all I could ever want and more – I WOULD BE HAPPY!” And we would be stupid to think so.

I don’t know any more about Tiger Woods than you do, probably less. But I’m guessing this has something to do with his recent struggles. What do you do when, at 33 years old, you have everything you’ve been told all your life would make your life meaningful… and it doesn’t? The human soul cannot live with that and will drive a person to do something, sometimes anything, to gain relief.

Many are angry because they would like to have what Tiger has.
Others are hurt that he has plummeted from the pedestal they had him on.
Some are mad at the hurt he has caused to his family and friends.

What would Jesus do if He showed up in visible form at Tiger’s house?

I have a Bible based hunch that He would put His arm around him and say, “I’m your friend, I am here for you and will not walk away. I am not your friend because of your wealth or success. I would be your friend if you were nothing by the world’s standards because you can’t earn or loose my friendship.
Now, what’s really going on? Whatever has happened (and we don’t really know) are symptoms, not the real issue. No matter how stupid your choices have been, we can deal with them. Let’s dig underneath it all to get to the hole in your heart, figure out how to fill it and restore your life and family.”

That’s what Jesus did in the Bible and still does. For Tiger or for you.

Instead of gossiping about Tiger and all the lesser known people we hear about, how about if we pray for them. Let’s put our arms around those that are close to us and help them figure out that the only piece of life’s puzzle that fits into that hole in their hearts is Jesus. If that happens, tragedies turn into the greatest triumphs.

“6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:6-10 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

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Grace That Turns Us into Puddles

2009-12-01T14:28:00.000-05:00

December 1, 2009

I am blown away by the way Jesus reached into Peter’s life when he was at his worst. Jesus KNEW that Peter would betray Him, denying Him three times. At the time when Jesus needed His close friend most, Peter turned his back on Jesus in every way. Jesus KNEW Peter would but believed in Peter anyway.

Jesus erased the evidence that could have gotten Peter the death penalty when He replaced the guard’s ear.

Jesus prayed for Peter so he would have the strength to return rather than hang himself as Judas did.

Jesus made eye contact with Peter as the rooster crowed signaling the third denial, reminding Peter that Jesus KNEW it would happen and reminding Peter of Jesus’ instructions: 31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32, NIV)
If Jesus had spoken anything, He risked Peter being taken prisoner as well. Mark Batterson states that Jesus’ was not scolding or saying “I told you so!” Rather Jesus’ look said, “Peter, look at Me. I forgave you before you even denied Me. I just want you to know that I haven’t given up on you. We’re still in this thing together!” (“Wild Goose Chase”, Mark Batterson, p. 108)

Following His resurrection, Jesus specifically restored Peter (John 21:15-19) with unconditional grace. And then the Holy Spirit used Peter and others to turn the world upside-down.

UNCONDITIONAL GRACE.

What is it within us that resists grace?

The undeserved, unearned favored position with God that causes Him to pour out His love, mercy and forgiveness without end. We don’t understand it, we can’t comprehend it, we have a hard time accepting it when it is extended and so we try to earn it. Often we reject or try to alter it because we believe it must somehow cost us something.

We grow up believing that you get what you earn; nothing is free in life; “If it sounds too good to be true it is;” there is a cost for everything and if someone is offering you a free gift you better check around for the catch. That’s true in the human world and works well in school, purchases and jobs. Not so good in relationships.

In relationships most of us have experienced conditional love – that if we want someone’s love there are conditions (act right, give back, live up to it, do what I want, etc.) It’s not that our parents tried to love us conditionally; it’s just what the whole human race understands and lives out.

That’s why it is so hard to catch, believe and embrace God’s grace. We have no point of reference for it. We have no experience that prepares us to accept it.

But when we see it, it takes our breath away. It will turn us into a puddle or make us run. Peter was a puddle; Judas ran. There was nothing short of total rejection that could prevent Peter from experiencing the incredible grace of Jesus. All he had to do was stay in the vicinity with Jesus. And grace washed over him like nothing he had ever known. When he expected Jesus’ rebuke, he got His unconditional grace. Jesus instruction was not how badly Peter blew it but was simply, “Follow me!” (John 21:19).

It’s the same for you.

God’s grace really, really, really is free and better than anything we can imagine. It is too good to be true, yet it IS true. For YOU!

I’m a puddle.

Boldly, Herb

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Sheep Dung or a Burning Bush

2009-11-17T17:00:00.000-05:00

November 17, 2009

Interruptions. A negative image. The phone rings… the email alert goes off… an annoying co-worker plants himself in front of us… the pile of laundry threatens to destroy the home… the alarm clock buzzes… Like a child who insists on attention, “Mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy, MOMMY” interruptions interrupt often and loud.

There is a different breed of interruption.

A neighbor stops by, interrupting your busy day, “C’mon, let’s go. I’m taking you out for some fun.” Before you can object, the friend continues, “I’ve made arrangements for a babysitter and hired somebody to do your chores. The day is on me.” Would you welcome that kind of interruption? In a HEART BEAT!!!!

Those are God’s kind of interruptions. Really. If we open our lives to embrace them. Sometimes they don’t look like it on the surface, but if we give ourselves to what God has in mind (don’t whine, complain, resist) we will experience satisfaction and adventure.

Moses was in a comfortable routine and I’m guessing he didn’t like interruptions any more than we do. I don’t know when his 401K was due to kick in, but it had to be close with 40 years of service at 80 years of age. Then one day God interrupted, lit a bush on fire that kept glowing like a gas light, spoke to him from the bush, told him to give up his security and fulfill his life’s purpose. Moses balked, threw up objections and finally asked to be excused. To no avail. Reluctantly he went on the adventure of a lifetime – of several lifetimes. Never in his wildest dreams could he have concocted what God delivered.

An interruption.

I wonder how many adventures we miss because we refuse to go see what the burning bush is about. That’s all Moses did. Nothing heroic, he simply saw something that made no sense, “Hmm, that’s new,” and walked to where God was up to something. Interrupted. Could have been too zeroed in on his routine to see it. Or if he saw it, been too busy to leave the sheep. Or if he walked to the bush he could have been so enamored by the phenomenon that he missed hearing God’s voice. Or if he heard God he could have simply walked away.

What do you do when God interrupts? Dodging sheep dung or talking to burning bushes? Your choice.

Boldly, Herb

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When God Shows Off

2009-11-13T13:40:00.000-05:00

November 13, 2009

It is incorrect to say “God shows up.” He is “omnipresent” (theological term that means God is everywhere all the time). God is always around us so it is impossible for Him to “show up.”

But sometimes God SHOWS OFF!

There are times when He makes it unmistakably clear that He is present. And it seems to me that He touches every part of us when He shows us that He is showing up when He shows off.

It’s one thing to know it with our heads. It’s quite another to EXPERIENCE it with all our being. I mean, you can “know” that God is in the room because He told us He is and not feel like it. In fact it can feel like God has stepped out for a divine coffee break just when everything comes unglued.

But there are those wonderful times when God shows off. That He is not only in the room but putting His finger on us. This week I watched God show off in our monthly prayer gathering. We sang. We read scripture. I started to share and something happened. I stopped talking (a VERY good thing to do when God is peeking around the corner ready to show off), and invited people to pray.

God reached out to touch our whole beings. Physically some knelt, some bowed, some raised hands toward Heaven and we all felt physically lighter afterwards. Mentally there was confirmation that this is God. In our spirits the Holy Spirit resonated like a singer who makes drinking glasses ring. Emotionally there were tears and laughter. Relationally we sensed a deeper closeness with one another and a stronger commitment to others in our lives.

God SHOWED OFF.

I felt so honored and privileged to be in the room when He did.

Those times cannot be manufactured or forced, but we can put ourselves in a position to experience them when God decides to show us that He is showing up in tangible ways by showing off.

Boldly, Herb

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Get-To’s or Got-To’s?

2009-11-10T15:27:00.000-05:00

November 10, 2009

As the holidays approach, let’s serve a helping of honesty to one another.

Who are the people in your family that you “got-to” visit? C’mon, you know the people that empty you of emotional energy. Like human vacuums they suck the life out of everyone in the family. The initiated play “rock-scissors-paper” in the kitchen to figure out who has to sit close. The newbies soon learn (the hard way) to jockey for position so as not to be the last one in the room one on one, captured. You feel emptied and bored by a “got-to” person.

But…

Who are the people in your family that you “get-to” visit? You know, the people that cause everyone to light up and smile? Like a human IV they pour life into all around them. The family collects close to them. When laughter echoes through the house or someone needs a caring touch he/she seems always to be in the middle of it. You feel more alive and energized by a “get-to” person.

You would travel great distances to be with a “get-to” person and (except that you are a person of character) would avoid a “got-to” person if they lived next door.

When you think of your religious experiences, is it “got-to” or “get-to”? When you think of worship, prayer, Bible reading, serving others or other spiritual experiences, what does you gut say? Do you make excuses to avoid or do sacrifice to experience them?

HERE’S THE DEAL: when we experience Jesus, the real Jesus, (not the plastic imitation that some have confined Him to but the REAL Jesus), He is the #1 “get-to” person ever. Ever. EVER!

Boring was never a word those who physically walked with Jesus would even THINK of. He spoke words that resonated with their souls and they walk away ENERGIZED. He put them in adrenalin spiking experiences and they walked away THRILLED. He stirred them to tears when He healed and they walked away HEALTHY and MOVED. Their jaws dropped when He did His miracle thing and they walked away with HOPE. They bent over in gut wrenching laughter when they tried to picture a camel going through the eye of a needle and they walked away LIGHTER.

Jesus has not changed.

Now, back to one of those holiday servings of honesty. How come so many of us have the knee jerk reaction of “I’ve got-to .. go to church… read the Bible… pray… serving… sharing… learning...” Instead of “I get-to be with Jesus by going to church… reading the Bible… praying… serving… sharing… learning…”

Is it possible we have propped up a plastic Jesus in our lives that bores and empties us instead of truly experiencing the life of the party Jesus that the Bible actually describes?

Problem’s not with Jesus.

Boldly, Herb

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Fort Hood

2009-11-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

November 6, 2009

My heart ached as my friend Steve told me about the tragic news of the Fort Hood shooting yesterday. What a waste! What unimaginable sadness for the families! What a heartrending irony!

I awoke to more details of the appalling attack and the efforts of so many to DO SOMETHING in response. But most of us are too far removed to really do anything about such nightmares.

That’s a big part of why these events hit us so hard. FRUSTRATION because we feel helpless as we hear the ongoing news. FRUSTRATION because it makes us feel vulnerable. FRUSTRATION because things like this are not supposed to happen. FRUSTRATION because we want to do something, anything to help others and relieve what we feel inside.

WE CAN. Problem is that the thing we can do is something that we don’t really think makes a difference or we would not be feeling such deep frustration. We have come to believe it is something you do when you can’t do anything else. Instead we should believe and practice it as THE thing to do first… THE thing that makes a difference… THE thing that makes us powerful no matter the distance.

PRAY.

Be honest, if someone looked at your knee-jerk reactions and all the things you do before you pray, would they conclude that prayer is something you do when you can’t do anything else? Yet, it is THE MOST POWERFUL thing we can do. And should be the first thing we do.

We should pray first because it is POWERFUL. Prayer mysteriously moves the hand of God and transforms us at the same time. It is the one most powerful activity a human being can do.

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has GREAT POWER and produces WONDERFUL RESULTS.” James 5:16 (NLT)

We should pray first because it will LEAD us to what we should do that will make a difference. When we act first we often do things that are not helpful or make matters worse. By praying first our actions can be most effective.

Let’s pray for the victims and families of the shooting at Fort Hood. And for all other circumstances. FIRST.

Let’s be powerful.

Boldly, Herb

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Walking to Your Own Funeral

2009-11-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

November 5, 2009

Imagine you get the dreaded phone call – your son/brother has been killed in an auto accident. Grief overwhelms you. Relatives go to the morgue to identify the body, glance, turn away, horrified at the brutal injuries.

The next day you stand in front of the casket, tears streaming down your face, thinking, “What a waste! We didn’t even get to say good-bye.” As you mourn, looking at the body, arm in arm with your closest loved ones, you look up toward the door to spot a man walking purposefully toward you. You blink, look at the body, look at the man, look at the corpse, look at the man, look at the dead, look at your son/brother walking toward you!

Your mind struggles to comprehend, “How does a person WALK to his own funeral? Is there a twin you didn’t know about? Is there a clone?”

Flip the story.

Imagine you are driving your truck home from another part of the country. You decide to stop, visit and spend the night with friends. You’re an adult; you don’t bother to call because no one is expecting you home. You get home a day late to discover that your family is at the funeral home. “For who?” you ask. “For you!” Realizing there has been a terrible mistake and your family is distraught (at least you hope), you hurriedly WALK TO YOUR OWN FUNERAL!

“Dead man walking.” True story about 59 year old Ademir Jorge Goncalves, a bricklayer from Brazil.

You don’t have to go to a funeral home to see dead people. They are walking all around us every day. Maybe you are one of them. Hearts are beating, lungs are drawing air several times a minute but they are walking around dead. They go through the motions but have lost purpose, joy, meaning, fulfillment, LIFE! Sometimes they are hard to spot because there are so many of them around. Other times you can see the glazed look and apathy. Maybe you see it when you brush your teeth. The walking dead settle for things that temporarily provide pleasure and then return to living graves.

Jesus said, "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (The Message)

Don’t walk to your own funeral. Choose life. Real life. More and better life than you’ve ever dreamed.

Choose Jesus. Not once, but every day. Discover LIFE.

Boldly, Herb

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GRACE

2009-11-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

November 4, 2009

GRACE

He was probably fulfilling a life-long dream, riding shotgun with his friend in a fighter jet! As the plane rolled, he grabbed for something to brace himself. Turns out he did more than brace himself – he fulfilled a nightmare. Instead of the side of the seat he accidently grabbed the eject lever. In a nanosecond he was shot through the canopy 300 feet into the air by his rocket powered seat.

Now, what would you be thinking at that moment? Unless you were very familiar with jets, I believe you would be thinking, “I’m a dead man! I’m in the air on a SEAT with no wings or landing gear!”

After his ascension peaked, a parachute automatically deployed, gently lowering him to earth. Experts say he was lucky to escape unharmed, that if his posture had been slightly different at ejection he could have sustained severe spinal cord injuries or death.

GRACE

How many times in life do we grab what we think will help us, provide security, buffer life’s jarring maneuvers only to find ourselves falling? How many times do we discover too late that the things that promise stability actually send us into helplessness? It’s not that we are trying to get into trouble; it’s just that we have not yet learned what we should be grabbing on to.

God shakes His head, smiles at our confusion, and provides a parachute to get us back to reality safely. There’s still a pretty jolt when we hit the ground, but we realize we survived that which we had no business surviving. Left to ourselves we should be walking away with serious injuries or worse. And He asks, “Now, what have we learned here?”

GRACE

The undeserved, unearned, unwarranted, unmerited, unjustified favored position with God.

What will you do with God’s grace today?

Boldly, Herb

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Sometimes God just doesn’t make sense

2009-11-03T10:52:00.002-05:00

November 3, 2009

I’ve heard religious people attempt to refute this, but their reasoning clunks to the floor of the laboratory of life in pieces.

There simply are times when God does not make sense.

Tell me this thought has not occurred to you! Name the situation, the baffling circumstances, the challenging intellectual argument, the scientific deduction, the inexplicable relationship issue. I don’t care what anyone says; sometimes God does not make sense.

What are we to do with that? Let’s think for a second.

Are there things that make sense to you as an adult that did not when you were a child? Sure.
Are there ideas that have cleared up after you got more information? Yes.
Are situations that make sense in hindsight that were baffling when you were in them? Of course.
Even Garth Brooks sings “Thank God for unanswered prayers.”

Here’s the deal: there are some things that make no sense while we’re in them because we are not yet capable of understanding them at the time but make sense in looking back. Because God is timeless He can see the future but it would fry our circuits if He tried to explain.

A second line of thinking… Are there things that make all the sense in the world to you but others cannot grasp? And are there things that you cannot “get” that others seem to understand without trouble? Ever had a conversation with a rocket scientist? My eyes glaze over after about 30 seconds. Yet when I talk about relationships with them, it appears I am talking about, well… rocket science.

Here’s the deal: there are some things that make no sense to us because we don’t have the education and capacity to understand. Same with God – while we’re in the middle of stuff, it is not that He is incapable of explaining them. We are incapable of comprehending if He did.

BACK TO GOD: Would you really want a God who would make sense all the time. Think about this because it is a trick question. On the surface, we would say “Yes! Absolutely!” However, that would mean …
Our God would not be able to see the future nor would His knowledge be greater than ours.
We could be our own God because He would be our size, no greater than us.
God would not love us any better than our ability to love. (Uh-oh!)
God would not have any greater mercy and grace for us than we have for ourselves or others.

Seems to me that the fact that God sometimes does not make sense, that sometimes we cannot understand Him is actually A GOOD THING.

What do you think?

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Balloon Boy

2009-10-31T07:16:00.000-04:00

October 31, 2009

It ticks us off when we get fooled.

It REALLY ticks us off when someone touches our hearts, gets us to pull for them and THEN fools us.

It REALLY, REALLY ticks us off when someone touches our hearts, gets us to pull for them, fools us and THEN we find out they did it for their own selfish intentions.

That’s what ticks us off at the balloon boy’s family. Thousands of people across the country were pulling and praying for this young fellow and his family, thinking he was frightened to his toes and in danger of losing his life. Then we discover that it was all a sham to get publicity and probably money for his parents. “How low can you get?” was a question being asked.

Sad. What must be going on in their hearts to go to all that trouble, risking everything for a moment of fame that would lead to money?

Same thing that goes on in our hearts. Okay, maybe we don’t send up a balloon claiming our kid is soaring into local flight patterns, but how many things do we do to get what we want at the expense of others? There’s a hole in our hearts we try to fill and we’re blind to it. You and I may never get the United States Air Force in our efforts, but it really is the same issue.

What are you doing to fill the hole in your heart?

Try this from Jesus: Gospel of John chapter 10, verse 10. (The Message) 10A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

And check with someone you trust before you launch the balloon.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Just because it's hard or painful doesn’t mean it's bad

2009-10-29T06:46:00.003-04:00

October 29, 2009

Our generation has a problem. Well, okay, we’ve got more than one, but a problem that seems to get us into emotional knots is that we have adopted a couple of incorrect life formulae. The first one: pain = bad. The second is not as blatant, yet can be even more detrimental to balanced living is this: hard (as in difficult) = bad. One of the worst parts of that formula is that it lies underneath the surface, unspoken yet driving our lives.

“Wait a minute, Herb,” you might say. “I’m okay with some things being hard.” You’re right. We’re okay with it when we can choose what is hard such as athletics or education. But when we don’t get to choose – relationships, physical heath, financial struggles, (name yours), we default, consciously or unconsciously, to the formula: hard and painful = bad. We want to choose the times when life is and is not hard or painful; we want to be in control. But life (grrrr) somehow doesn’t give us those choices.

Just because it is hard or painful doesn’t mean it is bad.

Part of the problem is that we have defined “good” as easy, comfortable, pleasurable… what we naturally like. What is your gut response to this scripture?
James 1:17 (NIV) 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Here’s my guess: when you read “good and perfect gift” your kneejerk reaction was “a raise, a promotion, a nicer house, a better car, kids’ success, health…” Am I close? I’m betting no one said, “pain, difficult times, hard things.” Am I right?

Just because it is hard or painful doesn’t mean it is bad.

This week we’ve seen that one of the loving processes of Jesus is to disorient us to reorient us to truth (thanks Mark Batterson for that phrase!). Disorientation, without exception, means some kind of pain – emotional, physical, social, financial, circumstantial or otherwise. It also means it is hard.

Since God gives good and perfect gifts AND He sends us through painful and hard things, the conclusion we have to draw is that pain and hard times are sometimes His gift for our ultimate, greater good even though they cause temporary angst.

Just because it is hard or painful doesn’t mean it is bad.

Have you noticed that a child who is exhausted, in desperate need of sleep, will often fight to stay awake? She cries, fusses, fights being held or rocked while we adults shake our head in wonder. “Man, I’d like to take a nap!” we muse. Why doesn’t she give in to this wonderful gift of rest? Because she doesn’t realize by trusting the “big people” to go where she doesn’t want to go and do what she doesn’t want to do she can experience something very good. Much better than how she is feeling now.

We are often like that child when we pain or hard things come. We fight against the very thing we need most, pushing against or pulling away, thinking it is bad. We don’t realize that by trusting the “big Person” to go through what we don’t want we can experience something so much better. We must give in to the journey that Jesus has us on even when it feels bad, TRUSTING Him in the middle of the pain and hard things.

Just because it is hard or painful doesn’t mean it is bad.

I have a hunch (no Biblical proof), that the storm Jesus and his disciples ran into (Gospel of Mark, chapter four) was Satan trying to keep Jesus away from His destination because even the devil could see the indications of all the good Jesus was going to do there. If Jesus had allowed the painful circumstances or the hard things happening to deter or distract, the good on the other side of the storm would have been lost.

Don’t let pain or hard things deter or distract from the good God wants to do in your life. Ride out the waves, endure the high winds, trust the One Who controls it all because…

Just because it is hard or painful doesn’t mean it is bad.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Process

2009-10-28T08:38:00.001-04:00

October 28, 2009

I love the scene in the movie “Evan Almighty” when Evan’s wife, Joan, and kids are sitting in a restaurant distraught and disoriented after leaving Evan because they believe he is certifiably crazy. The kids go to the bathroom and “God” (looking an awful lot like Morgan Freeman) shows up asking Joan what is wrong. God shocks her by observing that her crisis looks like an opportunity to him. As Joan sits stunned, he continues to ask how she thinks God answers prayer.

"If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does He give them the opportunity to be patient? If they pray for courage, does God give them courage or does He give them the opportunity to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings? Or does He give them opportunities to love each other?"
— Morgan Freeman in Evan Almighty

I’ve noticed that is EXACTLY what God does.

PROCESS. Disorientation to Reorientation. From where we are to where God wants us to be. Painful and thrilling. Frustrating and fulfilling.

When God wants to do something in our lives He takes us through a process rather than zap us. He starts with circumstances that are opposite of what we want, seemingly ignoring or abandoning us. Though we feel that way, it is NOT TRUE! In those moments God is closer than we can imagine, rooting us on to exercise our spiritual muscles to seize the opportunity to experience what we really want. Those feelings are intended to disorient us so that we are open to His reorientation.

Joan Baxter, Evan’s wife, was floored by this truth. Then she pulled herself together and went back to seize the opportunity God presented to experience what she prayed for. (Okay, it is a movie but is exactly what God does!). God is doing the same thing in YOUR LIFE. What will you do?

What are you praying for? What are the opportunities to experience it that God is offering that look like crises? I challenge you to get up and seize the opportunity TODAY!

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Storms

2009-10-27T18:51:00.002-04:00

October 27, 2009

Storms.

Storms are those times when the waves crash over us and the winds threaten to blow us overboard, never to be seen or heard from again.

They come in lots of forms, but one thing is for sure: EVERYBODY has storms! Financial storms. Relational storms. Physical health storms. Emotional storms. Sometimes they are predictable, but more often than not they catch us by surprise.

We tend to think of storms as bad. And they are painful, no question. But it is in the storm that we see what is bigger… what is most powerful. Or should I say “Who” is.

When Jesus sent his disciples into the storm (Mark 4), He was deliberately sending them into a situation that would challenge their previous understanding of power. He slept while his followers struggled to row toward shore, all the while hanging on for dear life in the teeth of a monsoon. Finally, they shook Him awake, scolding Him for not caring about them. He calmed the storm and asked them why they still had no belief in Him. Their response? They were terrified that their leader had such power. They were so disoriented by the whole deal that they had to think things through in a brand new way.

Mark Batterson contends that Jesus must DISORIENT us so He can REORIENT us. I agree. Jesus must force us through circumstances that get us out of “whack” so that He can align us with what is true. The disciples believed that the devil controlled the sea; Jesus had to show them that He did. The disciples believed the storm was going to kill them; Jesus had to show them nothing could even hurt them unless He allowed it. The disciples believed that Jesus did not care about them; Jesus had to show them He did even IN the middle of the fiercest storm.

Truth is every storm we go through is a gift for future storms. Every time we come through one, having been disoriented enough to be reoriented to Jesus’ truth, we are more capable to handle an even bigger storm. And, believe me, they WILL come. If we never went through storms and discovered that we can survive and thrive, the mildest wind would destroy us.

So let’s not bemoan the storms that come, let’s look for the reorientation that is a gift from Jesus.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

"I KNOW..."

2009-07-31T09:35:00.002-04:00

July 31, 2009

What is the first thing a child does when he gets hurt? Looks around for a parent, grandparent, or caregiver to run to and cry. When our children were younger some days they would return home from school, look for Sheila or me and burst out crying. He fell and scraped his knee. She was called a name. He was left out of a group. She was not invited to a party.

Do you know what they needed? To be enveloped in some big arms and to hear, “I KNOW… I know it hurts. I know what you’re going through. I know it is unfair. I know it makes you feel sad, alone, different.”

They did not need answers. Oh, they would need to talk it through later and get answers to go forward, but in that moment they needed someone to identify with their feelings and emotionally respond. They needed to know that someone bigger, who loved them dearly, could assure them it would be okay. They needed to know they were not alone. They needed to know someone else “knew” their hurt and hurt with them. They needed to know that someone will help see them through. They needed to hear, “I KNOW…”

That is one of the reasons the Bible tells us we need to become like little children, because when we face hurt we need to know the same thing. If we “act like adults,” pretending that life does not hurt, then it bottles up on us and we end up angry and depressed. In reality, we have the same needs as little children – God created us that way. We can “grow up” after we deal with this stuff.

Around 95 AD, the Christians in the church at Smyrna are going through incredible pain. They had been persecuted, their property confiscated or destroyed, slandered for their loyalty to Jesus, facing more pain and possibly death, feeling like they were less than others. They were coming into the house of God hurt and confused. What did they need? They didn’t need answers, they needed to hear “I KNOW…” from someone bigger than it all.

In the letter from Heaven that Jesus dictated while He appeared to the Apostle John, He did exactly that.

Revelation 2:9 (NIV) I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.

Jesus wraps His arms around His children and tells them “I KNOW…”

We all get hurt. Life delivers pain to us with frustrating regularity. No one is exempt. What do you need, what do I need during those times? We don’t need answers right away, though eventually we will so we can go forward.

- We need to be enveloped in some big arms and to hear, “I KNOW… I know it hurts. I know what you’re going through. I know it is unfair. I know it makes you feel sad, alone, different.”
- We need someone to identify with our feelings and emotionally respond.
- We need to know that someone bigger than us, someone who loves us dearly can assure us it will be okay.
- We need to know we are not alone.
- We need to know someone else “knows” our hurt and hurts with us.
- We need to know that Someone will see us through.

And TODAY Jesus will do that for you if you run to Him. It is most often through another of His children – Jesus’ arms holding us through the flesh and blood arms of a human being. Sometimes it comes through His Word, prayer, or worship. But you can be ABSOLUTELY sure that if you run home to Him, He will be there with arms outstretched, tears in His eyes as you weep, saying “I KNOW… I KNOW…”

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet at http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Lent 2009: Repentance

2009-03-05T15:30:00.003-05:00

Repentance
09-3-5

One of the mistakes we make… one of the schemes of the enemy… one of the consequences of busyness… one of the results of focusing on ourselves is to take what Jesus did lightly. To be in relationship with God means that we take God seriously.

The Lent season is a traditional opportunity to take God seriously. It is much more than giving something up. Abstinence from something that we like is a great reminder, but not the focus. Doing without is worthwhile as it causes us to appreciate Jesus’ sacrifices and move toward Him.

Repentance is one of the themes of Lent. It is not another word for asking for forgiveness. It goes much deeper than that prayer and is CENTRAL to having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Repentance is “turning around.” When I sin I am facing what I want and I have my back to Jesus. Repentance means I turn my back on my sinful desires, turn my face toward Christ and walk toward Him. Repentance means I leave my sin behind me and zero in on growing closer to and in deeper relationship with Christ, evidenced in obedience.

Repentance is ESSENTIAL. Without turning around there is no forgiveness, no relationship, no Heaven.

Look at these messages from Jesus Himself to first century congregations.

1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: 2I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Revelation 2:1-5 (NIV)

It doesn’t matter how much good we do if we are not fully turning to Christ and turning our backs on all else to REPENT.

1“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. Revelation 3:1-3 (NIV)

It doesn’t matter how good a reputation we have if we are not fully turning to Christ and turning our backs on all else to REPENT.

14“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:14-20 (NIV)

It doesn’t matter if we have material blessing from God – they do not prove God approves of us – if we are not fully turning to Christ and turning our backs on all else to REPENT.

During this Lenten season, ask God to show you all areas where you have your back to Him, then REPENT!

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

When the World Turns Upside Down

2008-08-18T08:57:00.001-04:00

The crowd stood on the dock watching the three ships sail west. Some shook their heads, some shed tears, few if any thought they would ever see their loved ones again. Everyone in the world KNEW. It wasn't that they THOUGHT they knew, they KNEW. Scholars knew, scientists knew, theologians knew, paupers on the street knew, even little children knew. It was the truth, undebateable, undeniable, any other thought unfathomable, which is why all thought they were saying good-bye for the last time.

Thus the shock when the three ships appeared on the horizon many months later. Christopher Columbus stepped off the ship signaling that the universe had changed. What was the undeniable fact? The world is flat. Everybody knew that. The maps detailed it, religious leaders defended it, nothing else was ever considered. Yet they had not sailed off of the edge of the world.

The entire known world had been wrong and had to REORIENT themselves to the TRUTH that the world was round and Chris Columbus was a genius rather than a madman.

As I look at the Christianity we know in western civilization and contrast it with what I see in the accounts of Jesus by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as well as the early church in the book of Acts, it appears much the same. Is it possible we have been so inculturated by the American version of Christianity that we think we know, but are missing the truth?

Here are Jesus' words:

John 14:12 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

If Jesus meant what He said, and He did, is it possible we are missing it just as badly as those who thought the world was flat! Is it possible that the Christianity that we've gotten used to is not what Jesus had in mind? That it is too passive, too powerless, too safe, too meaningless, too boring, too lifeless?

Is it possible what Jesus brought is MIRACULOUS LIVING? That is God engaged in our lives in supernatural ways? Ways beyond the normal "miracles" of birth and love, etc.? The miraculous living of seeing the extraordinary become the ordinary as if we are in a different dimension?

I think so. C.S. Lewis had it right when he wrote,

We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. (The Weight of Glory and other addresses, C.S. Lewis.)

Can you imagine how dizzying it was? How the minds of the scientists, mapmakers, rulers of the world were reeling when Chris Columbus pulled his boat to the curb and unloaded his groceries from North America? But the journey into the danger and discomfort and unknown was worth it, changing the world and the destinies of millions of people.

It is the same with us. It will be dizzying for us to take a hard look at what we have long assumed to be true, leave our comfort, risk our reputations, venture into the unknown to live into the Kingdom of God Jesus offers. But the journey will be worth it as Jesus changes our worlds and the eternal destinies of many.

Will you take the journey with me?

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Sometimes There Just Aren't Enough Hugs

2008-08-14T10:44:00.003-04:00

I’ve come to the conclusion there just aren’t enough hugs, that no matter how many times you embrace a person you love deeply, it will never, ever, ever, ever be enough. It is simply impossible to fill up your heart.

Where did this come from? Sending off my kids to college. (Read: tearing my soul apart by letting my kids grow up, become adults and move away from home).

Sent the first one off and was completely unprepared for the antics of my heart. In my head I knew it was right, he was in God’s place for him, he was ready and it was all-good. Yet my heart was in full-scale mutiny, “Nooooooooo. Don’t let him go, bring him back, spin the clock in reverse, hold him tight, protect him and never let him go.” I’ve never had such a civil war in my body. “Let him go – hold on to him-let him go-hold onto him…” During the long 8-hour drive home my heart won and I sobbed like a baby.

One of the hardest pieces of letting go that first time was my perceived regret combined with the finality of the moment. I wished I had spent more time, done more things, had more conversations about the important issues of life, taught more skills, and on and on and on. And I wished I’d hugged him more. As if that would have made it easier to have him out of hugging range. My son now tells me I did enough of all those things (perhaps even too many of some).

So I determined I would do more of those things with the remaining 3 kids. And I did. Probably to their chagrin. The next one went off to school and it still wasn’t enough. I stepped up the effort with the third, she left, still not enough. One more chance, all out blitz in his final year. I dropped him off last weekend and my head and heart rekindled the war. I’m thinking, “C’mon. What more could I have done?” The answer: nothing. It was not lack of effort, it is a reality that I hate living with and can no longer deny.

It is not possible to fill up our hearts. There just simply are not enough hugs.

No matter how many times, we will always wish for one more hug.
No matter how many times, our hearts will break when we have to say good-bye.
It is not something I did or didn’t do; it is the reality of life that doesn’t make any sense to our heads. There is nothing that can keep us from longing for those we love.

And it is not just hugs. You can replace “hugs” with all the other things we enjoy. Smiles, dinners, walks, ballgames, concerts, touches, laughs, and on and on and on. We think, “Just one more…” Take it from a dad who keep giving “just one more” – doesn’t work. There just aren’t enough to fill our hearts.

There are always regrets. But truth is, it is impossible to do everything we wanted to because it would have taken 60 years of 48-hour days. There just isn’t enough time or resources. So choices are made, and our faulty best really is enough. Better be because there is nothing more.

Hence, the empty nest is here. Sure, the youngest two will come home from college and be with us for a while, but not as children. An era is over. It is right. It is good. It is as it should be. It just stinks that my heart can hurt this bad when things are going the way they should!!! But I’ve realized that if I let myself bawl and grieve it, the memories get brighter, stronger and more meaningful as the loss fades. And grieving allows me to let go in a healthy way, develop an even stronger, healthier relationship with these adults that look an awful lot like the little kids that used to run around our house.

Boldly, Herb

Psalm 30:5 (NIV) "weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

When the Phone Rings

2008-06-18T16:40:00.001-04:00

What is your response when the phone rings? All depends…

First picture.

The phone rings, you pick it up and immediately feel a gag reflex. That relative who can make a rock frown and keep a telemarketer from hanging up. You love her but you don't want to take a cross-country trip with her. She goes on and on and on and on. Without breathing. Or pausing. Or listening. You could set the phone down on the coffee table, do your laundry, return in half an hour to say, "uh-huh" and she wouldn't notice. You used to try to tell her your latest news, but get out no more than, "Did you hear…". You love her, but she wears you out. You look at your spouse, who breathes a deep sigh of relief that you picked up the phone, make a horrible face and moan. You hit the mute button and almost shout, "We have GOT to get caller id!" You love her, but you don't want to get caught by her. Three days later, you pry the phone from your ear and collapse in exhaustion. Because you love her, because you know she is lonely, because you are a nice person you refuse to hang up rudely, but it is nothing but a DUTY to talk with her.

Second picture.

In the past year our kids, Amber and Chadd, have both spent time out of the country. Amber in Ireland, Chadd in Thailand. During those times the ringing of the phone signaled a footrace. Sheila was especially brutal at elbowing me to get to the finish line. We longed for the phone to ring because of the limited times when they could call. We'd schedule phone appointments just so we could hear their voices. The few times we missed their calls and we got the message they left on the answering machine our hearts would plunge. We just wanted to hear their voice, to know they were okay, to connect with them in some small way. The house was so quiet, our hearts were empty with their absence. If one of them called and Sheila got to talk with them while I was away, I felt cheated. We reveled in the time talking and the half hour sped by. It was nothing short of a PRIVILEGE. When they returned home, well, you'd thought we'd won the Reader's Digest Sweepstakes!

What was the difference? Same phone. Same activity. All are human voices. All take time. All are relatives.

The difference? the kind of relationship. The needy relative is distant, disconnected and a duty. The kids are our precious, treasured, heart connected loved ones and a privilege.

What is your response when God invites you to talk? All depends…

If you see God as a duty, it will be something like a gag reflex.

If you see God as a loving Dad who fills your heart with joy, it will be a longing.

Tragedy is that the most view God as a duty while He stands by longing to fill our hearts and lives with meaning, joy, encouragement, instruction, protection, wisdom and so much more. Truth is there is nothing like conversation with God. Not duty kind of talking, but real, meaningful, heart-to-heart conversation that connects us with the one Who knows us best and loves us most.

It is time to pick up the phone.

""Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Mat 7:7-11 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Forgiving and Moving On

2008-06-04T15:21:00.001-04:00

(This is the cherry on the previous 3 blogs. I suggest reading them first, then coming back to this one.)

I do not make light of the pain some of you have been caused. Some of those reading this have been abused, abandoned, betrayed, cheated, stepped on, and harmed in ways that I can't even imagine. I do not dismiss those offenses or trivialize them. Forgiving those people is even more important for you, not less. For your good, your future and those you love. You are my heroes when you put your full energy in forgiving.

As long as we view forgiveness as a feeling, we will be stuck. Forgiveness is a mental transaction. A choice in opposition to our feelings because we know it is the right and best thing to do. The truth is "forgiveness" can seem "touchy-feely." Nothing could be further from the truth – it is AN ACT OF THE WILL, a calculated decision often made in conflict to our strongest, raging feelings. It requires all the strength of character within and God's strength poured into us.

It takes a real man, a real woman to forgive when all within cries out to give into emotions of anger, hate, bitterness and revenge.

So when we pray, "Forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors" (Matthew 6:12) it is one of the most courageous, self-sacrificing, strength of will actions possible by a human being.

How do we do that? In previous blogs I described the first steps: realize forgiveness is best and receive God's forgiveness. Once we have done that, here are the rest of the practical steps to choosing to make the willful transaction.

FORGIVE MYSELF. The extent of our acceptance of God's forgiveness and forgiving ourselves determines the extent that we can forgive others. The transaction is the same, I choose to release myself from the guilt of my actions, I pardon myself and cancel the debt. We will always have regrets, but the guilt must be forgiven.

SEEK FORGIVENESS OF OTHERS. Do you know the definition of major surgery? Major surgery is my surgery; minor surgery is your surgery. We tend to amplify the offenses of others against us and minimize the offenses we have done against others. We excuse ourselves and hold others to a high standard. We need to reflect, identify anyone we have hurt, and ask for forgiveness.

GRIEVE THE PAIN. One of the reasons we don't like to think about forgiveness is that it brings the original pain back to us, often in vivid Technicolor. To truly forgive, we need to grieve the pain that was caused and the pain of what will never be. If we lose a leg because of someone's negligence, the leg is lost. Gone. Never to grow back. We need to grieve the pain involved just as we grieve the loss of a loved one until we can come to accept the circumstances as they are, not as we want them to be. (In another blog I talk about living in reality rather than fantasy.)

TRUST GOD WITH THE PAIN AND JUSTICE. Forgiveness does not mean the other person gets off the hook. Justice will be delivered, but we are not the ones to exact that justice. God will hold them accountable and justice will be given, in His time and His way.

Remember the Old Testament story of Joseph? His eleven brothers sold him into slavery out of jealousy, his master's wife accused him of attempted rape, he was thrown into prison and left there for over ten years. In God's time he was promoted to vice-president of the world (read it, it's in Genesis chapters 39-50), in charge of selling food to the famined world. His brothers come, don't recognize him, he tests them, finally reveals himself, tells them he forgives them, moves the entire family to Egypt and they prosper. Some years later their father dies, the brothers believe Joseph will now get even so they concoct a story to protect themselves, "Dad told us to tell you that you have to take care of us…" Joseph is dumbfounded at their fear. He forgave them long ago. (SIDENOTE: notice how unforgiveness and fear hurts those who hold on to it more than those who forgive? It had left Joseph's mind over a decade ago.) Joseph responds, as we all should as we trust God:

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20 (NIV)

RELEASE THE OFFENDER. Choose to remove the chain of guilt and unforgiveness that binds you to the other person and place it into God's hands. With the chain gone, both of you are free. Even if they never ask. Even if you never see them again. Even if they are dead. How did Jesus forgive us? Completely and before we even knew we needed forgiveness.

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

MAKE FORGIVENESS A LIFESTYLE. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Don't be easily offended. When hurt, release it as quickly as possible. Get some perspective on what is important and let things go. Lighten up.

Most important, pray blessings on those who offend you. It is impossible to hold on to hurt and unforgiveness when you pray for blessings on that person. Jesus knew this.

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you," Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

Forgiving others, no matter how hard it is or how deeply they have hurt us, is worth it.

Holding on to hurt and unforgiveness, no matter how it seems to satisfy, is not worth it. Ever.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

If Jesus Did So Can We

2008-06-02T15:41:00.001-04:00

What is forgiveness? Here's a definition: "canceling a debt, pardoning an offense, releasing an offender from guilt."

Imagine this…

You loan me $2000 interest free because you think I'm a dependable guy and you are a very nice person. You're not wealthy, so it's a stretch. A few months later I do some electrical work on my house and I blow the thing up. I know, I know, I should leave that to the professionals, but I don't. Now I'm in a heap of trouble and have even more financial woes. You decide, again because you are a nice person, to forgive – cancel the debt.

More serious: You invite me to your house I have no place to live or eat, (remember I blew up my house). As I pull into your drive way, I run into your classic car. A car that has all original features from bumper to fenders to upholstery. That dent means it will no longer be original equipment. I have damaged it in a way that can never be corrected – repaired, yes, but not corrected. I can't tell you how bad I feel. I'm devastated as I walk into your house to confess, offer to fix the car and give you the $2000 someone loaned me. But no matter what I do, the car will never be the same because the fender will not be original. I beg you to forgive me. Though you are deeply hurt, you forgive. You forgive - pardon my offense. It does not go back in the past and make it never happen, but you no longer hold me guilty.

Even more serious: Your child is driving when another driver has a mechanical failure, crosses the center line, hits your child and kills him. The most devastating experience ever. Through no fault of anyone, the child is taken from you. The driver comes to you devastated, begs you for forgiveness, sobbing in sorrow. Not because you feel it (forgiveness is not about how we feel), you choose to pardon the offense, to release the offender from guilt. THAT IS FORGIVENESS.

Most serious: Someone sees your child, stalks and targets her for no reason, follows and brutally murders your child. Senseless. Heartless. A child taken from you and nothing will ever make it right. The murderer is caught, tried, convicted. While in prison Christ gets hold of his heart and he is miraculously transformed. He comes to you, sincerely expresses his sorrow and regret and then asks for forgiveness.

"Herb", you might be saying, "What kind of hurtful picture is that?" THAT is exactly what we did with God. We deliberately chose to turn our backs on God, go our own way and the price was the death of His Son. By our sin we brutally murdered Jesus.

Deeper and stronger: Back to the saved, repentant stalker - the time comes for the death sentence to be carried out for the murderer of your child. You meet the executioner and murderer in the hallway to the room where the lethal injection will occur. You stop them, take the handcuffs off the murderer, put them on yourself and walk into the death room to take the murderer's place. That is what Jesus did for us. Not only forgives when we ask, but before we even knew to ask, He took our place, writhing in the punishment we deserved, paying the price for our offense and offering deliverance.

Romans 5:6 (NIV) "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."

Here's the formula of forgiveness, whether it is us with God or with another person, whether we're on the giving or receiving side of forgiveness:

Offense Ú pain Ú responsibility Ú choose to release from guilt

For me and you: An offense occurs (I hit your car) Ú pain follows (for me and for you) Ú someone has to take responsibility (me to fix the car, you to hear out my apology) Ú you have to choose to pardon, to release me of guilt or hold on to the hurt, anger and unforgiveness

For God: we sin (the offense) Ú causes pain for God (Jesus has to suffer and die, we experience the damage of sin) Ú God takes responsibility to pay for our sin with Jesus' death Ú God chooses to offer us forgiveness, pardon, release us from our guilt before we even ask.

So what do we do? Accept it. It is free, but it is not cheap or easy. It cost God everything. It will cost us ownership of our lives. If we truly believe Jesus gave everything for us, the only way to receive the forgiveness is to do the same in return.

I hope you will.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Forgiveness and the Big White Box

2008-05-30T15:50:00.001-04:00

Why do we struggle so to forgive? to ask for forgiveness? to address the problems in our relationships?

Most often it is because we don't want to face the pain.

Picture this:

You move into a new home to find a big white box in the kitchen next to the fridge. You've never seen one before so you don't recognize it. It has a flat surface you use to stack stuff, cut vegetables and set your coffee mug. For three years. Then one day a friend comes to visit. While there he asks if he could make a snack. He pulls out a pan, sets it on the front right black circle of this white box, turns a knob on the back of the white box, pours the ingredients into the pan and makes the best snack of all time. Popcorn. You're amazed, dumbfounded and excited. Not because of the popcorn, but because he was able to make it on the counter you've been using. As you inspect this contraption, you put your hand on the black circle and scorch your hand. Pain, oh the pain! You say not very nice things about this box, the very same one you raved about a moment ago.

QUESTION: For the next three weeks, when you walk through the kitchen and see the stove, what comes to mind? Do you think about the three years you put your hands all over the burners without consequence or the ONE TIME you burned yourself? It's the ONE time, right? You rub your hand, scowl at the memory, creep along the opposite wall. In fact, it may take quite some time before you are even willing to THINK ABOUT using the thing again. Sound extreme? Yet that is what we do in relationships where hurt and unforgiveness resides.

TRUTH: Relationships are what life is all about. But one of the few guarantees about relationships is that we will have problems, confrontations, disagreements and struggles every day. Blame Adam and Eve. Forgiveness is the number one issue in relationships. Of all the phrases in the Lord's Prayer, Jesus chose forgiveness as THE phrase to add additional commentary. Why? Because He knows that hurt, anger, bitterness, grudges and distance are all forms of unforgiveness. Develop a lifestyle of forgiving everyone and many of the relationship issues are quickly resolved.

No one, except people who should be carried off in a special white jacket and locked up in a windowless room, really likes the idea of confrontation because we have in our minds the times when we've been burned. And we HAVE been burned. Like walking through the kitchen with the demon stove, when we think about confrontation and forgiveness we remember the big blow-ups when it did not go well and caused searing pain. Truth is that we actually have relational confrontation daily and have to forgive often but most of the issues are minor or quickly resolved or automatically overlooked because we have learned how to take care of them. Like your friend navigating the stove to your awe. We don't even think of them as confrontations or issues of forgiveness. They are like three years of having the stove in our kitchen without getting burned.

The moral of this story: take on relationship confrontation and forgiveness head on. Quickly, lovingly, with the desire for resolution and reconciliation. Don't back away out of fear or you'll miss the joy of relationships. Relationships cannot be good and strong without it. In fact, they cannot be good and strong without going through it. You'll still get burned once in a while, but it will be worth it.

""Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Life in Your Universe When You Don't Forgive

2008-05-20T12:06:00.001-04:00

Life is about relationships. Everybody, raise your hand if you have relationships in your life. Good, everybody confesses.

Relationships mean we will get hurt. Sorry. But it is the truth. When we are in relationships we are guaranteed to get hurt. Comes with the territory. Then comes the great decision. What will I do with my hurt – hold on to it or forgive. Do I allow the hurt to turn into controlling anger, bitterness and grudges or do I let it go by forgiving?

One problem is that we live in an angry society where the opposite of forgiveness is applauded and encouraged. Phrases like, "Go ahead, make my day" and "Hasta la vista, baby" are part of pop culture language. It feels good to be mad and to give into it. So what's the big decision? It is about the aftermath, not the moment.

So why should we forgive? The irony here is that it is hard to think clearly when we are angry, but try to put any anger aside, any hurt that is controlling or unforgiveness that you believe is justified for just a couple minutes and consider the reasons below calmly. YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT.

Here are some good reasons to forgive, to let go of the hurt and anger.

1. We damage ourselves. What does holding on to anger look like? Chains.

Have you ever met an angry, bitter, harsh, hurtful person? If you listen to them you discover QUICKLY that they were hurt and they are RELIVING it over and over again. Have you ever met a kind, loving, caring, helpful person that everyone seems to want to be around? Listen to them long enough and you will discover, though it may take much time, that they were hurt but they have let it go. And sometimes the attracting person has been hurt worse!

Unforgiveness does more harm to me than to the one who hurt me.

O Physically

Some physical symptoms: unable to sleep and constantly feeling tired; rapid heartbeat, headache, stiff neck and/or tight shoulders, backache, ulcers, increased blood pressure and cholesterol, upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.

O Emotionally

Unforgiveness builds a wall around my soul so that I cannot develop relationships, enjoy friendships, laugh, cry and live emotionally healthy. An unforgiving person will become irritable and intolerant of even minor disturbances, feel irritated or frustrated, lose his temper more often, and yell at others for no reason, feel jumpy or exhausted all the time, worry too much about insignificant things.

O Mentally

Unforgiveness slows the ability to think, blinds, distracts, gets obsessed with hurt. That person will find it hard to concentrate or focus on tasks, will doubt ability to do even common things, and imagine negative, worrisome, or terrifying scenes.

O Spiritually

Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

It is impossible to connect with God and hold on to unforgiveness at the same time because I have to turn my back on God to do so. My prayers will bounce off of the ceiling, the Bible will seem foggy, worship will be a duty rather than a connection with God. My soul dries up.

2. When we refuse to forgive we damage our relationships.

Obviously we damage the relationships where we have the hurt, but it is bigger and broader than that. We damage ALL our relationships when we refuse to forgive in one. The problem is unforgiveness leaks. We can try to hold back the anger from other relationships, but the consequences above leak on to others. We can get to the place where people just don't want to be around us.

3. When we hold on to anger, we damage the future. Our future and the future of others.

I rob myself of healthy relationships now and in the future. I also rob others of the healthy relationship they could have had with me, and I prevent them from experiencing the value I could have added to their lives.

I cannot set off a bomb and not have collateral damage, and that damage goes into the future.

4. When we refuse to forgive others, we separate ourselves from God and remove ourselves from His blessings. In this life and in eternity.

Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

1 Peter 3:7 (NIV) "Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

It is not that God so much punishes us, but that we turn our backs on God by our disobedience. God is our loving Heavenly Father. Literally, our Daddy. He looks down on us, sees the damage that anger and unforgiveness causes and does not want that for His kids. He disciplines us when He sees us doing wrong so that we will stop hurting ourselves.

Holding on to anger, hurt and unforgiveness is choosing the temporary rather than the long term. Feels good for the moment, but it causes immeasurable damage as we go forward. And we can get so used to it that we don't realize the depth of the damage.

In the days ahead we'll look at this more. Until then, would you commit to let go of the hurt and anger – FOR YOUR OWN GOOD? Not because you have to, but because you truly want the best for yourself and those around you.

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

God and I Had a Fight

2007-11-30T21:38:00.001-05:00

God and I had a fight last Saturday. Didn't mean to. Didn't want to. And it wasn't a knock down, drag out fight. I mean, c'mon, really. When has that been possible with God? You might get knocked down and drug out, but God won't break a sweat.

I actually didn't even WANT to fight with God, it's just that, well, sometimes God asks some pretty awkward stuff, you know? Stuff that looks like it's going to get embarrassing, making you look odd.

Chadd, my youngest son, and I joined a bunch of other Marching Band parents to set up the Christmas tree sale last Saturday. Ever tried to unload and set up 900 trees? A great time working together. After six hours we were cleaning up when Tom, another parent, and I started talking. I asked him how he was doing and found out that he had hurt his neck a couple days before and was in excruciating pain. The day before he had gone to the emergency room because he couldn't stand it and had come home with some humongo pain killers. They really weren't helping much and he had been awake since 2:00 am.

It was at this point when God and I got into it. I had a very distinct impression that I was to pray for Tom. You might know that kind of impression. There are times when "a good idea" comes to mind. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. The thoughts are common sense or just me. Then there are the times when a thought pops into my mind and it is not just a good idea, it is a GOD idea. It is strong, definite, significant. And I've learned this is something that I had better do. And that it is not about me (see my last blog for more on that).

"Okay, God. I'm willing, but there are a lot of people around and I don't want to embarrass Tom."

"Pray for Tom."

"Okay, God. I'm not saying 'No' here, I just want to do this properly." (Which is good sometimes, but I've also learned that God is not always real concerned with "properly." Just ask Mary and Joseph.)

"Pray for Tom."

I walked away. I wasn't trying to get out of it, just making sure it was really God and not me. Really.

People began to leave, Chadd and I stayed to make sure everything was cleaned up, to make sure Tom didn't lift anything and to look for an opportunity. Problem was, another guy that didn't seem like the praying type, kept hanging around to help Tom as well. Again, I wasn't trying to shirk, but I didn't want to embarrass him either. And he kept hanging around.

So I did the spiritual, pastor thing. I left. Truthfully, I wasn't running. I just thought maybe it was just me. As we drove away, it refused to shut up.

"Pray for Tom."

I turned around at the next street. "Dad, what are you doing?"

"I think I'm supposed to pray for Tom."

"Okay." I think Chadd was readier than I was.

We drove back to the parking lot where Tom, his wife, his son and the other dad were still talking at a picnic table. I promptly drove right past.

"Pray for Tom." Not mean, not loud, but ever so clear and distinct. This was not me, this was God. He was not going to let me off the hook. The only way to get out of this was to blatantly, intentionally refuse. Here's another lesson I've learned: If I choose to refuse I take a step away from a closeness with God. And I hurt other people. I certainly didn't want to step away from God. Been there, done that and it ain't pretty. And it was becoming increasingly obvious that God wanted to do something for Tom. I certainly did not want to rob him of God's touch. I've been in pain and I don't want anyone to endure it a second longer than necessary.

"Pray for Tom."

We went through the intersection and turned left – the way home. Chadd probably thought I'd lost my ever' lovin' mind. "How many times are we going to drive by before you just do this?" he could have asked, but didn't. Turned around at the next intersection and headed back to the now familiar parking lot. Yep, the whole crew was still there.

With God watching, and Chadd wondering, I finally had the courage to turn into the parking lot, drive up to the group, get out and start walking toward them. They all grinned and teased. "What did you forget?"

"Nothing. Just returning the screw you gave me," I said to the other parent and held out my hand. He smiled, remembering he had given me the gift of a bent screw while working together. Christmas spirit, you know.

Deep breath. (And you thought us pastors had it all together). "Actually, I feel like I'm supposed to pray for you, Tom. Would that be alright?"

"Sure. Every little bit helps."

"Well, I'll be going home now," said the other parent. He left, I put my hand on Tom's shoulder and prayed. Nothing special. I prayed that God would remove the pain, heal the source of the problem and let Tom do the things he wants to do. No thunder or sparks. Frankly, I felt nothing at all. Sometimes, I can sense the Presence of God, but this time I felt nothing except relief that I obeyed. We talked for a few more minutes. Tom and his wife were appreciative for the concern and mentioned again how every little bit helps.

And we went home. Very glad that I obeyed, as much for myself as for Tom. That was Saturday. I've wondered throughout the week how Tom was doing and I've kept praying for him.

Tonight (Friday), Chadd said, "Oh, yeah, I forgot. I saw Tom at the tree sale Tuesday night. I'm sorry I should have told you sooner. He said to tell you that when he woke up Sunday morning the pain was completely gone."

WOW! God actually healed Tom. Just like that.

And to think I almost missed it. I nearly allowed someone else to continue in pain. I nearly lost the opportunity to be used by God to do something signficant. My spirit is soaring this evening. THIS IS WHAT MAKES LIFE WORTH LIVING. An incredible honor.

I've GOT to stop fighting with God.

Gal 5:25 (NIV) "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Me Gets in the Way

2007-11-28T10:30:00.001-05:00

This is the time of year when, supposedly, we are filled with the spirit of giving and we become less selfish and more focused on others.

There is much giving. I don't want to discount that at all. It warms my heart, sometimes brings tears to my eyes, to see people giving of themselves to touch others, especially people struggling in some way.

Fact is, I like to think of myself as a generous, unselfish person. I pray regularly, "Lord, what do you want me to do? Where do you want me to go? Who do you want me to touch? Use me." All very unselfish, eh? I find, however, that I usually want to be unselfish on my terms, in ways that are not too difficult. Sure, it will cost me time and money to give and serve, but I get to choose when, where, how and why, right? Oops. I hear warning signals going off.

WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!!!!!!!

God (no other way to explain it) began to blow this all up in my face beginning Nov. 1 when I read Oswald Chambers devotional for the day in "My Utmost for His Highest." (I strongly suggest you read it. You can buy the book or access it online at http://myutmost.org/).

Chambers identified that God involves Himself in our lives, not for ourselves, rather so that we can become "a thoroughfare for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other"

and that "things happen that have nothing to do with us"

and we must let God have His way in our lives or we will become "a hindrance and a clog"

and "why shouldn't we go through heartaches? Through these doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son."

and "If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart." ^[1]

Whoa! I really, really, really thought I had dealt with the self-focused thing, but this is a couple levels up. Guess I made the mistake of comparing myself to little leaguers instead of the pros.

I love this book. God has used it to speak deeply into my life, but on this day I had a few issues with dear Oswald. We had a talk. (Not sure what it means to talk intensely with a dead guy, staring at his book. I may need therapy.)

First of all, Oswald, "can I call you Oswald?" (He didn't answer, for which, looking back, I'm grateful) a "thoroughfare" is a road that people drive on, use to get somewhere with little thought of the road itself. I'm supposed to be THAT for God and others? A path, a way for others to get to God and God to get to people while people hardly notice the road that got them there? Whoa!

Next, Oswald, when things happen in my life, how am I supposed to think they are NOT about me? I mean, it is happening in MY life. Can it actually be true that pain in my life is necessary for God to reach into others' lives and that it is not about my disobedience or obedience at all? Is my response to God a key to Him working in others' lives, though I cannot see it? And can it be true that failure to be a proper "thoroughfare" makes me a hindrance and a clog to others? THOUGHT: Like my car breaking down in rush hour traffic in the Fort Pitt Tunnel, my failure to run properly can clog others from getting to God and how He wants to touch their lives. Whoa!

Now, about that heartache thing, Oswald. Can't we have "fellowship" with Jesus through inspiring songs, good books, Bible reading, etc. etc. etc. without the pain thing? "Sure", God, not Oswald, seemed to respond, "but not to the depths needed." It was how Jesus learned obedience and the reason He was exalted after His death. "A privilege" the Apostle Paul calls it. Whoa!

Finally, Oswald, there's this bit "thank Him for breaking your heart." Okay, it's one thing to appreciate the pain, but to thank God for doing it? Yep. Not FOR the pain, but because of what the pain will do for OTHERS. Another picture. Talk to any loving mom, they are grateful for the honor of birthing a child, but not one of them enjoyed the pain. Worth it? Oh, yeah. Enjoyable? "What, are you crazy?"

Wait, there's more. Oswald and God had been very patient and understanding, and we finally settled these issues with, "Alright, go ahead. Whatever You think is best." More resignation than excitement. Hey, I'm human. God was not done (never is). He reminded me of the prayers I usually pray when I think I'm being unselfish. Read them again at the top of this page. See anything jump out? Yeah, they are still all about ME. ME to do, go, touch, be used.

If I'm to become a thoroughfare, then I must start praying, "Lord, I'm yours. Do whatever you want in me and through me." The word "me" is still there, but with a different focus. Subtle, yet HUGE.

It is a journey to become that kind of unselfish. I feel like I've just taken a step or two. It would be a much more enjoyable journey if you'd join me on the path.

"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phil 1:21 (NIV)

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings , becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Phil 3:10-11 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm)

^[1]Chambers, Oswald: My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year . Grand Rapids, MI : Discovery House Publishers, 1993, c1935, S. November 1

Time and God and Us

2007-11-22T09:41:00.001-05:00

Time and God and Us

How does time happen?

Moment by moment like frames of a film, rolling out consecutively so quickly you can't really see them individually?

Like those flipbooks we drew in elementary school – individual pictures that have the appearance of moving as you flip the pages quickly?

The obvious answer is that from our human perspective, time happens just like that. We live moment by moment, measured for everyone the same. An hour for you is an hour for me. Our only actual option, no matter how frustrating it might seem, is to live the moment we are in. We cannot relive the past, though many of us rerun the tape in our heads and our hearts. Nor can we fast-forward into the future, though many of us borrow anxiety that only belongs there.

For those of us on the big ball we call earth, time happens moment by moment. That is how time comes to us, but is that how time actually exists? Are we imposing our finite ability to comprehend on the infinite? How do eternal beings experience time? Or do they experience time at all? And how does that affect us?

Some of the mind disrupting questions are about time travel, parallel universes and the like. (Which for some reason enamors me. "Are we back to the future or forward to the past, Marty McFly?")

Are those questions rooted in the spark of eternity created in all of us, longings that tell us "There must be something more?" In reading the October 26-29 entries in "A Year with C. S. Lewis" the dead guy made me stop and rethink. He states, "We tend to assume the whole universe and God Himself are always moving on from past to future just as we do." (p. 327)

Are you like me in truly believing that God is eternal, meaning He has no beginning or end, but that He is watching time unfold moment by moment, deliberately moving toward a concrete end. He knows how it all turns out and is working toward our good as it progresses toward a massive climax. Makes sense and seems spiritual.

But that is too limited. The eternal nature of God causes Him to experience time as one massive unit, that "past, present and future" are concepts that simply do not apply.

Here's where it really hit me, where it moves from ethereal concept to practical impact on my day. C. S. Lewis proposes that God "does not see humans making their free contributions in a future, but sees them doing so in His unbounded Now." (p. 326) If true, God is not watching time unroll as a motion picture at all, but sees Abraham Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address at the same time He sees me accepting a pizza delivery. Deeper – he does not hope that I will make the right decision with my son so that it adjusts his future trajectory, God actually sees the decision and all the ensuing consequences at the same time. Whoa!

Even more impactful was when Lewis applied to this characteristic of God to prayer. What if an event has already been decided and I wish I had prayed for God to intervene? Lewis contends that is not a reason to not pray. Indeed the matter is decided, though I may not know how, such a medical test or a job decision or safety for a loved one. Can the event be changed? No, it has already occurred in the way time happens for us. But my prayers at 4:00 in the afternoon may be the very reason the event occurred as it did at noon. Why? Because God and our prayers are not limited to the way time happens for us.

To be honest, this has fried a few circuits in my brain as I've spent days digesting it. But it has also given me great encouragement and motivation to pray, especially about those things that seem to already be done.

I hope it does the same for you.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Heb 13:8 (NIV)

"I (Jesus) am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." Rev 22:13 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

(To listen to Herb via the internet go to http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

Quotes and material taken from "A Year With C.S. Lewis", 2003, Harper Collins, pages 326-329, originally from "Mere Christianity," "Miracles," and "The Screwtape Letters."

Thanksgiving, Heinz Field and Training Camp

2007-11-21T17:48:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving, Heinz Field and Training Camp

Ask anyone what they are thankful for and you're likely to get a common list called "basics of life." Family, food, shelter, job, health, football, popcorn. Okay, so the last two might not be high on everyone's list, but this is my article, alright? Now where were we? Oh, yeah.

So what would be on your list? Those listed are things we should be thankful for. Absolutely. But let's drill a little deeper to things that you can't touch, taste or feel. Friendships (deeper than family because you can have family without friendship. Just ask anyone who has one.) Air – don't quickly think about, but where would we be without it? Time – can't touch it but to have "time" to pause in the busyness of life, ahhhh. Love. Thoughts. Sleep. What else?

Let's keep drilling. C'mon, what are you after here, Herb?

I'll bet there's one you didn't come up with. Times of trouble. Yep, read it again. Not a misprint. Now before you click away thinking I've lost my ever lovin' mind, stay with me.

The Bible says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 (NIV)

Now you might be thinking God has lost His ever lovin' mind. I would agree if you only read it on the surface. Dig deeper and we see God is not telling us to be thankful for pain. Those are the people hauled off in trucks by men in white uniforms after they dress you in a shirt with really, really long sleeves. No, God is saying to be thankful, to count it sheer joy for the opportunity for our faith to develop to strength, to maturity, to completeness.

Imagine, (since football goes with Thanksgiving) you are an excellent college football player, but come April no team drafts you. Through my connections, I get you a tryout with the Steelers (we're imagining here, okay?). They give you a workout at their Southside facilities and like what they see. On a suffocating day in July you find yourself unloading your personal items into a dorm room at St. Francis College to participate in the Steelers training camp. For the next five weeks you are going to endure the most grueling exercises, drills, beatings, and testings of your life. It's inhumane. Are you whining?

Keep imagining - how do you feel as you walk into that dorm room? Something like, "Whoah! This is the most incredible OPPORTUNITY of my life! I can't believe I'm here. I can't wait to prove myself and get myself mature and complete (Bible words) as a player." Yet you are heading into "trials of many kinds." (More Bible words) Why are you "rejoicing"? Because you know that "persevering" through these you will get better, stronger, more knowledgeable, ready to accomplish your dream.

Perspective. The same "trial" that can cause one person to complain causes another to "rejoice." Why? Because one sees it as opportunity, the other as a problem.

You have a Heavenly Coach who wants to help you take your faith to the next level, but He knows the only way to do it is through spiritual training camp. Our responsibilities are to first rejoice at the opportunity, then do what He tells us to do.

Back to our imagination. It is now September. Instead of a practice jersey, you're wearing the proud uniform of the black and gold. Instead of a practice field, you are standing in the tunnel at Heinz Field. Instead of doubting yourself, you are confident because you are fit physically and prepared mentally to play in the big time. You are about to get beat black and blue. Are you complaining? No way! This is another opportunity and it is yours because you faced the "trials of many kinds ," you "persevered" and you are now "complete and mature."

Life is full of big games that we can only be ready for if we "rejoice whenever we face trials of many kinds", persevere and grow to spiritual maturity. You don't get that without the spiritual training camp. Not many of us will intentionally go through trials, so our Heavenly Coach must arrange them for us.

Those who whine believe He is hurting us, forgetting us or not loving us. Those who rejoice know He is doing what is best for us, giving us an OPPORTUNITY. Which are you? Which will you be?

NOW, what are you going to be thankful for? Trials/ training camp. Yeah. Perspective.

Chihully and What You Cost

2007-09-20T11:13:00.001-04:00

"Chihully and What You Cost"

My wife, Sheila, called me up on a Friday and asked, "Would you like to go to the glass show?" Several pictures came to mind. A museum filled with drinking glasses on display – plastic ones, glass ones, ice tea tumblers, juice glasses (4, 8 and 12 ounce), colors of all sorts. You get the idea. Another picture: rows and rows of reading glasses in display cases of every shape, color, size and style. Neither seemed right, but we've sight-seen strange things before. However, having been married, lo these many years, I said, "Sure, but… what is it?"

"Oh, it's at the Phipps Conservatory (read plants and flowers) where a blown glass artist has an exhibition placed among the normal displays. It is supposed to be beautiful." Okay, that makes a bit more sense and is a lot more appealing. Though I was warming up the reading glasses thing. We went.

The artist is Dale Chihully. I never dreamed the creations possible with blown glass. Starts with an incredible blown glass chandelier hanging in the Phipps entryway that whets the eye appetite for what is to come. Throughout every room blown and shaped glass was placed, lit, hung, and planted in arrays of colors that dazzle and awe. Huge, small and everything in between. Solid colors, mixed colors, speckled colors, bright colors, dull colors. Though I am not a cultured man, I was impressed.

After walking for a couple hours through the displays with the masses, I thought we were done. Anyone want to guess where we ended up? That's right, the gift shop. "You've seen it, now you can buy it." The primary product was displayed in plexi-glass cases of about 15 inch cubes. Beautiful creations of glass, molded and shaped into wonderful art for the home or office. I have to admit, they would add value to any room. Guess the price. I've asked many people to speculate and the highest is $1800. Way low. There was not one under $5000, some up to $7000. For a piece of glass I would be afraid to set out. We bought 25. Just kidding. I walked away hands in pockets; afraid I might knock one off. That would give a whole new meaning to "Oops!" "Sorry Amber, I bumped your college education on to the floor!" Made us wonder what that huge chandelier was worth. Had to be way up there. The entire display must have been in the millions of dollars.

Question: how much are those Chihully pieces really worth? Not the price, the real value.

Answer: whatever someone is willing to pay for them. If no one is willing to buy them, you might as well use them for target practice. True of anything. My boys used to come to me excited about how much a sports card in their hand was worth because a price book listed it at a dollar amount. Truth is, they are only worth that if someone will pay the price. Otherwise, fasten it against the spokes of your bike to make a motor noise and enjoy it.

BIGGER QUESTION: what are YOU worth?

Answer: whatever someone is willing to pay for you. Some of us think that is nothing, and we feel like we are being used for target practice. But someone has paid for you. Do you the price? Here it is:

""For God so loved the world that he gave (read "paid") his one and only Son , that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NIV)

TRUTH: The God of the Universe paid with His Son for you. THAT is how much you are worth. You are worth the life of the very Son of God. Doesn't matter how others might appraise you, that is the price already paid for you. That is your value.

Since you are of such high value, what will you do with yourself? If I had a Chihully, I would protect, treasure, polish, display with pride, value it. I would not abuse, harm, misuse, chip, treat it with disregard. Since you are of much greater value than all the Chihully pieces in the entire world, what will you do with yourself? God has purchased us, we belong to Him, someday we will answer for how we treated ourselves.

You are of great worth. Live like it.

Boldly, Herb

(This is taken from a message given by Herb Shaffer on September 2, 2007. You can listen to the entire message at http://www.newsongpittsburgh.org/sermons.htm )

2007-04-25T11:49:00.001-04:00

"What is the Right Response to the Virginia Tech Shooting?"

The nation was saddened, and rightly so, by the senseless shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech University. Our hearts went out to the students. Those of us who are parents immediately thought of our children – the deafening realization that it could happen to them hit hard. We thought of the staff and all that they will deal with, and those at other colleges, for years to come.

Lives cut short.

Lives traumatized forever.

Lives never to be the same.

A culture altered forever.

But at the risk of being politically incorrect…

Have we stopped to realize that 33 people die on college campuses every week? That 33 people die in most communities every day? That many more than 33 people are shot and killed every day in the USA? That countries around the world have to face this kind of senseless killing every day?

Why are we so devastated? Could it be that the devastation we feel is not about those on the VT campus, but about us? That it threatens our security? That we feel violated? That we feel we have been unfairly interrupted from our bubble of safety?

What other explanation is there for our response to this tragedy (and it is a tragedy) and the many that occur relentlessly?

PLEASE DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME! I'm not being calloused, but challenging us to gain perspective. What should our response be?

Jesus' disciples, I think, were feeling something similar in Luke 13.

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Luke 13:1-9 (NIV)

Jesus is saying: Tragedies happen. They are part of this imperfect world. Don't think this is God's punishment, or that it is the worst thing that could happen. There is something worse than death, death without repenting and having a relationship with Jesus.

If this life is all there is, then these incidents ARE the worst that can happen because it ends the only life that is. But if there is an eternal life (and there is), then those who were in relationship with Jesus experienced the reward of an unimaginable Heaven and those that did not have that relationship entered into a punishment in Hell that is beyond comprehension. There is something better than life and something worse than death.

So how do we respond?

What should be our response?

1. Live with an eternal perspective.

2. Pray for and support those hurt, the families and friends left behind, and all touched.

3. Live as a light, to point those around us to God because someday we all, too, will die.

There is something worse than death – death without Jesus

Let's live like we really believe it.

Boldly, Herb

"What's In Your Wallet?"

2006-09-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

“What’s In Your Wallet?”

What would you think of a man who carried his god around in his wallet, pulling him to bow down to him or talk to him at appropriate times? Never talked back, never did anything, never acted like you’d think a god would act. My bet is that you’d give him plenty of room. “I mean, really,” you’d probably say to me, “How can that thing be god if he can carry him around in his wallet?”

Truth is we carry around our gods in pockets and purses and don’t even realize it. C’mon, admit it – the things that tend to rule our lives are held in our hands or, if too big to physically hold, they possess our minds. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah about this.

5“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? 6Some people pour out their silver and gold and hire a craftsman to make a god from it. Then they bow down and worship it! 7They carry it around on their shoulders, and when they set it down, it stays there. It cannot even move! And when someone prays to it, there is no answer. It has no power to get anyone out of trouble. Isaiah 46:5 - 7 (New Living Translation)

So what’s the job description for god? What’s the resume require? Let me give you some suggestions.

If you can contain it, it is not god.
If you can understand it, it is not god.
If you can create it, it is not god.
If you can control it, it is not god.
If you cannot depend on it, it is not god.
If it changes, it is not god.

Now think through the things at top priority. We may not literally bow down to modern “gods” but they rule our lives. Apply these tests and see if they stand up. Money is god to many. Can we understand, create, control, and contain it? Can we depend on it? Does it change? 6 for 6 and it doesn’t qualify as god. Run through the others people put at the top of their lives: power, popularity, success, cars, sports, beauty, possessions, people, and on and on. None qualify.

Do the same with the real and only God, Jesus. Can we understand Him? Not a chance. Can we create Him? No, He created us. Can we control Him? HA! Much as we think we’d like to at times, we can’t. People couldn’t even when He walked here. Can we contain Him? The entire universe could not. Can we depend on Him to be there for us, true to His promises? Absolutely. Does He change? His character, personality, and purposes never, ever change. HE PASSES!

That being true, don’t you think it a good idea for us to stop carrying around god and allow Him to carry us? As it should be.

Boldly, Herb

“Mayor O’Connor, the Steelers, and 9/11”

2006-09-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

“Mayor O’Connor, the Steelers, and 9/11”

Do me a favor, click your fingers. You know, using your middle finger and your thumb, click them.

I’m waiting. I’m not going on until you do, ‘cause this is an object lesson.

C’mon… indulge me. There, you go! Now don’t you feel better?

Do it again to get the feel. How long does the snap sound last? A fraction of a second.

What is the use of clicking your fingers? To feel the rhythm of music, as a signal that you forgot or remembered something, as a warning to your dog or children. There’s one more. The most important. That “snap” represents your life.

Whoa, that’s heavy. Yep. A fraction of a second, a breath, a moment – that’s our lives. On the CD of history, reaching thousands of years back to Adam’s first heartbeat and forward to who knows when, you and I are a “snap.”

Today we buried the beloved mayor of Pittsburgh, Bob O’Connor. 61 years young, still so much life to live and good to do for the people of the Steel City. Who would have thought this would happen less than a year ago when he realized his life long dream of becoming mayor, or when he stood at the podium with the victorious Steelers, or when he put such effort into the Baseball all-star game? No one. Not one. He went into the hospital with flu like symptoms and never came home. “Snap.”

Today the Pittsburgh Steelers begin defense of their Super Bowl title. Long awaited and much celebrated. Five months from now, no one will be talking about them unless they are playing for the title again. They will be a buried story, old news, yesterday’s paper. All that effort and hype. “Snap.”

On Monday we will remember the tragic events of 9/11 five years ago. Over three thousand people lost their lives that day. And our nation has never been the same. Do you think any of those people had any inkling that it would be their last day? It was a day like any other, a bagel on the desk, dinner plans for the evening, a birthday gift to buy at lunch time, a ball game to catch with a friend. “Snap” and everything changed.
Five years ago I wrote the following words in my email article for “From Where God Sits.” I thought it appropriate to say again.
“As I prayed following the events of 9/11, I sensed God saying to me, ‘There is something worse than dying physically. It is dying without a relationship with Me and going to Hell.’ All of heaven welcomed many of the people who died Tuesday into an eternity beyond our wildest imaginations. Those people are better off, they’re receiving a reward that will last forever and ever and ever. Others, however, are damned to an eternity beyond our nastiest nightmares because they refused a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. That is worse than the cruelest death we will hear about.
God’s words to me, as surprising as they were, have helped bring me out of the fog of the tragedy and have given me His bigger picture perspective. Yes it is a tragedy. The ripples will last for decades. The worst may be yet to come. But thousands of people around the world suffer daily. Persecuted Christians perish day after day. People die every day within blocks of us, sometimes even cruelly. Perhaps if we are honest with God and ourselves, we have to admit that our feelings are selfish. The tragedy has threatened our personal sense of security, our personal comforts, and our self-absorbed way of life. It grabs our attention because of the unthinkable way in which we were attacked and the enormity of the loss. We are shaken. This one hit home where we thought we were safe and secure.”

“Snap.” Click your fingers again. Someday that will be you and me. Could be ANY day. What are you doing to make it count? Little things, big things, in between thing. Reaching toward those you love, reconciling with those where hurt has gotten in the way. “Snap” and the chance is over.

Start with this prayer of David, listen for God’s answer, and live life BOLDLY.

""Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. 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." Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

"Looters of Our Lives"

2006-08-15T21:02:00.000-04:00

“Looters of Our Lives”

We guard what we value.
Walk through a parking lot. To the left, an old, “seen way better days” pick up truck, more body putty than paint. Windows open, keys in the ignition, maybe even running. The owner as much as put a sign on it, “Take me, take me, PLEASE, somebody take me!” To the right, a late model Mercedes Benz, Corvette, Jaguar and Cadillac. BREATHE within three feet of them and an irritating, squawking horn erupts to make you the horrified object of passerby’s laughter and gawks. What’s the dif? We guard what we value.
Tell me what you lock, protect, guard, insure, defend, and I’ll tell you what you value.
Why is it, then, that we don’t guard our hearts?

Military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan wear body armor and helmets. Why? To guard their most vital organs, to protect their lives as much as possible. Why? We guard what we value.
Why is it then that we do not guard our hearts?

Why? Is it that we don’t value our hearts? Must be, because we do not guard them?
Is it possible we don’t know what we have?
Is it possible we allow them to be trampled like yesterday’s newspaper, because we do not realize they are the very key to our lives? Listen to the words of the wisest man who ever lived.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

“Above all else,” = more than any other possession, as our most valuable asset in all the world, as that which we would defend to the death, protect with every ounce of strength. “Above all else” said Solomon. Yet we don’t… because we do not realize it is the source of all that matters.

Instead …
we give our hearts, or in the very least, open our hearts to so many things that steal, plunder, ravage – we allow our hearts to be turned into playgrounds for activities we would never admit except under duress.
we open the door of our hearts just enough to allow them to be polluted, thinking it is still clean and end up with toxic hearts, not realizing a little poison destroys.
we sometimes resist the intruders of our hearts at first, but allow them to keep their foot in the door until they talk their way into our hearts.
we sometimes allow the neighbors to convince us to open the door of our hearts. Even when we can see the devastation the intruders have caused in others’ lives when they cannot.
we sometimes believe the pleasant sounding promises of the intruders to fool us, even when we the angels of God are shouting that they are all lies.

How often do we wade through the aftermath of the raiders of our hearts, view the havoc wreaked, the mess made, the filth flowing to feel the regret of allowing such to tramp on our hearts, vowing “Never again!” Only to foolishly unlock the door of our hearts once again?

Is the problem that we do not realize the treasure we possess as owners of our hearts?
Is the problem we do not value the Presence of Christ more than the marauders? Do we forget that to allow the marauders into our hearts is to expel Christ? Only one can occupy the heart. When the intruders walk in the front door, look to the back door. You will see the sad face of Christ, a tear slipping down his cheek as He shakes His head and walks out.

There is another option. If, at the appearance of the intruders, we call to Christ, He will join us at the front door of our hearts. At the nod of our heads, He will close the door, lock it and stand guard over it. And no intruder, marauder, looter, barbarian can come through with Him there. Appealing, but He only aids if we ask.

So, how’s your heart? Guarded or given to pollution? Not sure? There’s a sure fire way to know. Hear Jesus’ words.

Mat 15:18-20 (NIV) "But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'""

So how’s your heart. No time like right now for some house cleaning.

Boldly, Herb

"Fearing the Right Thing"

2006-08-09T00:51:00.000-04:00

“Fearing the Right Thing”

It is not that we will never have fear. There is some kind of psychological term for THAT disorder. To not fear is a recipe for disaster, it is not healthy, proper, right or good. Having no fear leads to harm. Just try living a day without it. It was one of Ben Roethlisberger’s mistakes on a motorcycle. One moment, one car, one mistake almost cost him everything, and the roar could be heard around the world.

Yet there are times when those who appear to have no fear are celebrated. A firefighter runs into a burning building to save a child. A soldier, against all odds, captures a machine gun that is killing his fellow soldiers. A parent marches into the principal’s office to defend and champion a child’s education. A passing motorist jumps into a lake to rescue a stranger, though he cannot swim. Heroes, we call them. Subconsciously, we think, “They must have no fear.” Not true. We may think we are applauding people because they have no fear.

In reality, we are applauding the courage that we see, not the lack of fear that we perceive.

Interview those heroes. What do they say? “Afraid? I was scared spit less! I thought I was going to die. I’ve never been so terrified in my life. I don’t know how I overcame my panic, but I HAD to do something.” What are they saying? “I was MORE afraid of what would happen if I did not do something.”

It was not that they had no fear, it was that they feared something even more than the obvious, in their face, what we see kind of fear.

TRUTH: We will fear. Thus, we have to decide what we will fear most, because THAT will determine what we do.

When I was about 7 my sister and I were playing on the playground at our elementary school. I climbed to the top of the monkey bars, looked down and froze. I was scared spit less. I had just enough spit to cry out to my sister, 6 years old, “Bobbi, go get help. I can’t get down.” Oh, where is Lassie when you need her? Timmy didn’t know how good he had it!

Being the caring sister, she just stood there. Smiling. Didn’t get help, run for home or even show empathy. If I remember correctly, she laughed that evil, younger sister laugh. At that moment we heard it, “THE WHISTLE.” Everyone in the neighborhood knew, “THE WHISTLE,” heard for blocks and hated by dogs, dad’s signal for the Shaffer kids to get home and quick. It was never explicitly stated what would happen if we didn’t get home quick enough, but my imagination had conjured up all manner of torture. I can picture neighbors standing at their doors, watching to see how quickly frightened little legs can move. “THE WHISTLE” struck fear in my heart as little else. I’m alive today because I answered the call of “THE WHISTLE.”

Meanwhile, back at the monkey bars. One moment I was paralyzed, pleading for my sister to get help. The next, hearing “THE WHISTLE,” without concern for safety or thought of method, I climbed, no, flew down, and was running the block back to the man whistling. Did circumstances change? No. Was I miraculously infused with climbing abilities? No. Did I suddenly have no fear of heights? No, I still hate them today. It was an autopilot, internal decision, because of what I feared most. Just as the firefighter, soldier, parent and motorist, I realized there is something greater to fear. From somewhere deep inside I decided I would rather risk breaking my neck than having my dad wring it.

PRINCIPLE: What we fear most will determine what we do. Without exception. So what do you fear?

This is what Jesus was talking about when He said,
4“Dear friends, don’t be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill the body; they cannot do any more to you. 5But I’ll tell you whom to fear. Fear God, who has the power to kill people and then throw them into hell.” (Luke 12:4-5, New Living Translation)

We will always have fear. That fear will control our actions. If we fear God more than all else, other fears will submit. If we truly believe that He alone controls our now and our eternities, then we will not allow those things to control us. Even monkey bars or whistles.

So what do you fear? What you do when you don’t have time to think reveals it. Not what we say, sing, or claim in our controlled moments, but in moments of danger. Only God deserves that place and only by giving it to Him will we find what we really want.

Boldly, Herb

"What a Melt Down Means"

2006-08-04T22:09:00.000-04:00

“What a Melt Down Means”

I know very little about Mel Gibson’s recent problems, except that he was stopped for driving with an illegitimate level of alcohol flowing through his veins, that he raged with anti-semitism when stopped, and that he appeared contrite in asking for forgiveness in national media. I know even less about his personal life – what was going on behind the scenes.

But there are some things that we do know for sure about him, us and the human race.

First we know that Mr. Gibson has been all over the map with his movies. And that movies are not real life. Thus, when he did his Lethal Weapon movies, he displayed anything but the character I want my kids to emulate. When he portrayed Braveheart, he inspired me to give myself for something beyond myself. In The Patriot and We Were Soldiers I was challenged to determine what I am willing to fight and die for. When he sacrificed and endured criticism to produce The Passion of the Christ, I wept in sorrow at my sin and the suffering Jesus went through for me. I was disappointed and refused to see What Women Want because of the huge amount of sexual content.
So who is the REAL Mel Gibson? Can’t tell by the movies.

We also know that Satan will do all he can to discount God’s truth. When Mel Gibson took on the project of making The Passion of the Christ, he placed himself in the crosshairs of the devil. Doesn’t matter whether Mel personally lives out the truth presented, the forces of the evil one were put in motion to discount in every way possible the truth presented. The criticism during the film’s release were just the tip of the ever present iceberg. It will go on as long as we continue to view the DVD. Thus that which Mel struggles with most and drove Mel to heavy drinking will be used by the enemy to make people wonder if the truth of the movie is a farce.

We know that none of us is perfect. Though I have a friend (Gary O) who claims to be, in jest. I hope. We have no idea why Mr. Gibson made these particular blunders, but we do know he is not perfect. Neither are we. And, as Augustine said after viewing a sinner caught in terrible sin, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Finally, most importantly and what is most disconcerting, we know that what we do comes from somewhere inside of us, regardless of the circumstances. Please don’t misunderstand me here, there are NO EXCUSES. But there are reasons. And the reasons should cause us to freeze in our tracks. We do stupid things because of what is inside of us. “Garbage in, garbage out.” It is exponentially stupid to dismiss actions with “I didn’t really mean that, it is not really me.”
Mel Gibson made a series of mistakes that led to the debacle of his ranting. It might be that he fights the feelings his dad drilled into him growing up, that he is struggling to give up alcohol, that there is conflict in his family or that he is stinging from a recent deep hurt. If any or similar conditions exist, my heart goes out to him. HOWEVER, what came out in the traffic stop was inside of him. What we do is determined by who we are. Our character is revealed in the hardest of times, when the chips are down, when the bullets are flying, when danger boils and especially when we are alone. Mel is guilty of stupidity and shameful behavior, made worse by his fame and moral claims. He needed to apologize and ask for forgiveness. He needs to get help for the root causes. He should not expect people to easily forget, but rather to earn their respect. So are we, so do we, so should we.
So here’s the important question. What stupid and shameful things are you guilty of in recent months. What does it reveal about you? Fear, faith, anger, peace, hurt, joy, worry, confidence each result in different actions. What’s inside comes out in our behavior.

Jesus said it this way…
Mat 7:16-23 (NIV) "By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

The only hope for Mel, Gary, you and I is to get the inside changed. That’s a job only God can do and only if we turn to him with no excuses, full submission and a willingness for Him to do extreme spiritual surgery. I pray that for Mel and for you.

Boldly, Herb

"Do You Trust Me?"

2006-06-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

“Do You Trust Me?”

I hate it when someone asks the same question over and over and over again.
“Are we there yet?” “Did you take out the garbage?” “Do you like me?” “You’re not going to wear that shirt, are you?”

I hate it when someone asks the same question over and over and over again.
It usually means they aren’t listening or they don’t like the answer. “If I keep asking, maybe I’ll get a different one,” seems to be the thinking.
“What do you want for supper?” “I don’t know, you choose.”
“What do you want to do for supper?” “I don’t know, I said you choose.”
“Hey, what are we going to do for supper?” Sigh.

I hate it when someone asks the same question over and over and over again.

So you can imagine my surprise when the “someone” turned out to be God.
“Do you trust me?” “Lord, of course I trust You.”
“Do you trust me?” “Lord, I said I trust You.”
“Do you really trust me?” Sigh.

You get the idea. On and on it has gone for over a decade. That quiet, inner soul-voice keeps asking.

“Do you really trust me?”
“Okay, Lord, I’m getting the feeling You’re probing for something here.” I can be dense, but I eventually catch on. “Alright, Lord, it seems obviously must be some ways that I’m not trusting You. So, SHOW ME!” I try not to yell at God much, but He can get pret-t-t-ty frustrating.

So He showed me. All assortment of ways I need to trust Him more. In the early days of this saga I’d think, “Okay, God’s identified it. I’ll trust Him with this and we’ll be good to go.” Sometimes I’m dense, but I finally caught on. This question is not going to disappear. “Do you trust me?” is laser burned into our conversation. So I’ve taken to responding with, “Yes, Lord, I trust You. Show me how to trust You more.”

During one prayer conversation a picture popped into my mind… I was standing on a narrow bridge, very much like the Indiana Jones movie, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” as Indy attempts to cross the bridge over a deathly deep gorge. The bridge is narrow and camouflaged to look like the terrain below. Standing on that narrow piece of rock (with my fear of heights fully flourishing, mind you), I looked up to see Jesus saying, “Do you trust me?” Changes the flavor, don’t you think? “Yes, Lord.” Then a new wrinkle sprung to life as I heard, “Just keep in step with me.”

Pause the tape for a second. We find in Galatians 5:25 these words, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (NIV) I LOVE that scripture. Having been in high school marching band, I had always pictured Jesus at the head of the Christian band and we Christians marching in step with Him, being sure to look to the side to match strides with the Holy Spirit. So when I heard, “keep in step” that is the image that came to mind.

Restart the tape. I expected Jesus to turn His back so I could keep in step. Instead, He continued to face me, holding out both hands for me to grasp. Locking eyes with me, He took a backward step, clearly inviting me to take a step forward. “Trust me,” He seemed to say without speaking. It wasn’t long before I looked down, down, down, down, waaaay down, to the treacherous bottom of the crevasse. As soon as I did, I heard, “No! Do not look down.” I knew better before my eyes dropped and I half expected the correction to my deep fear. But then came the unexpected, “Just keep looking into my eyes. Keep in step and keep looking into my eyes and I will guide you across.”

I confess, saltwater seeped past my clenched eyelids as God spoke so clearly in the depths of my soul. Nothing audible, but absolutely unmistakable. I was overwhelmed by God’s message, the love behind it and the assurance He promised. That picture has changed how I see that scripture and how I hear that persistent question, “Do you trust Me?” No longer is it a disconnected COMMAND by a drill sergeant, but rather an INVITATION to walk through anything and everything this life throws at me. In the middle of danger, confident, strong, bold, focused, resolute, courageous.

I still hate it when someone asks me the same question over and over and over again. So don’t even think about it. Except when that someone is spelled SOMEONE and reminds me to grasp His hands, keep looking into His eyes and keep in step with Him.

Boldly, Herb

The Greatest Group Ever

2006-06-09T21:31:00.000-04:00

“The Greatest Group Ever”
Frankly, I don’t NEED to be part of one more organization that sucks the life and time out of my schedule. I’ve had the chance to serve as a volunteer and a leader in enough ‘til death do us part. Most involve committees. No one aspires to committee membership. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Never in the history of human existence has a child or adult answered with, “I want to be a committee member.” Why? Because it usually comes down to attending meetings at which few meaningful decisions and even fewer accomplishments are made. Necessary, but not necessarily pleasant.
Is that what the church is all about? Sadly, for many, that is often what it becomes.
Is that what Jesus intended? Not in the least.
In Dan Brown’s book and the recently released movie, “The DaVinci Code,” the church is portrayed as an organization made up of power grabbing men. Our experiences can perhaps identify with that – bureaucracy, institutionalism, do’s and don’t’s. Sadly again, that is too often true. But not in the true church.
In America, if you ask a person, Christian or not, about a particular church, they will direct you to a building. Nearly without fail. You may even be wondering why I mention this. Isn’t the church a building? Sadly, we have gradually exchanged an understanding of the Biblical church for a cultural one. A little better is when people refer to a particular church as the organization that meets in the building. Closer, but no prize.
So what is it?
The church is ALWAYS people, never a building or organization,
God’s means on earth to reveal Himself and to do His work
The Church for whom Jesus gave up His life to create, to whom He sent His own Spirit to empower, to whom He has left the promise of His return and reward is not an organization, it is an ORGANISM. A living, growing, changing, dynamic group of people in relationship and on mission.
The Church is the creation of God to reveal His wisdom to demons and angels.
Eph 3:10 (NIV) "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,”
The Church is the creation of God to bring Him glory forever and ever.
Eph 3:20-21 (NIV) "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."
Here are a couple of pictures the Bible gives us of the Christ created Church.
a The “Family” of Christ
Mat 12:49-50 (NIV) "Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.""
A family to provide relationships that can be “closer than a brother,” united for eternity. We were created for relationships, we desperately need people who love and accept us for what we are. Kind of like “Cheers” only so much better.
a The “Army” of Christ
Eph 6:11-12 (NIV) "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
An army to battle the devil for the souls of people, to be the Army Seals that will rescue those who are captured by sin and headed for Hell in eternity. We are left here to be on that mission.
Either of those pictures sound like committee meetings in any organization you’ve been a part of? Jesus created the church as a group of people with whom we can share deep, meaningful relationships and accomplish the most important purpose on earth or in eternity. THAT’S the church.
You may be thinking, “Herb, you are looking through some glasses pretty deeply colored rose. You’re awfully idealistic.” Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I’ve been in this church going business for nearly half a century and will soon “celebrate” a quarter century of leading congregations. I’ve seen the worst and the best. And, now more than ever, I believe in the Church Christ created. I just now know that it takes more effort than I ever imagined. Worth it, but full of ups and downs.
Imperfect? Yes. (Find one that is perfect, join it. But be forewarned, as soon as you do, it will no longer be perfect. Because of YOU. Sorry.) But when you find one that is striving to be God’s church in relationships and purpose, you’ve found a treasure. No matter how imperfect.
The church is the church when it being and doing what God through the Bible instructs. When it ceases to do so, it is no longer God’s church, just another human organization. Commissioned to do the work of Christ in His Power, in His way/ to make a difference in eternity and to rescue those captured by sin. Because it is made up of humans, it must always be held against the pictures given to us in the Bible.
If you’re part of one that is close to the Biblical picture, thank God and then give yourself fully to it.
If you’re not, do not rest until you find one, because you will never experience life as God designed until you join the family and the army.

Clay Jars or Crack Pots

2006-03-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

Clay Jars or Crack Pots

"Fragile human beings who handle difficulty so differently that people are attracted to them."

That is my definition of the Biblical reference to jars of clay in the first century.

Those in palaces did not use clay jars for their valuables. Oh, you would have found them in the kitchen and the outhouse. For everything but the most ordinary functions, they used gold, silver, other metals, and well cured ceramics. Expensive liquids were not put into clay jars; they were stored in expensive, sturdy containers. In fact, it would be easy to be as impressed with the container as it was with the contents inside. "What an impressive pitcher you have," you might have said as the hostess poured your drink. Those were not ordinary clay pots presented to Jesus by the Magi, as they worshipped Him with gold, frankincense and myrrh. Those were expensive containers.

Clay jars in the first century were ordinary, common, easily broken, often discarded. They were used for carrying water and other ordinary functions, as trash containers, even as toilets. They would not have appeared as a main character in the cartoon version of "Beauty and the Beast." Bottom of the household totem pole, but functional.

So it's terribly humbling to realize that the Apostle Paul tells us we are clay pots. Harshly unflattering. It would not be so bad if he was talking about our lives B.C. (before Christ), but he's talking about after we have Christ in us. What is that about? Look at this.

2 Corinthians 4:4-12 (NIV) "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."

Here it is:

God puts the unbelievable, inconceivable, unthinkable, unimaginable, implausible treasure of the Universe "the very Presence of the Almighty God of the Universe" IN US! You'd think that would make us expensive containers. Precious contents go in valuable containers - that would make perfect human sense. But no.

He places this most precious treasure in "jars of clay." Why? So that others will see and experience the treasure of Christ rather than being impressed with us. Remember the earlier definition of clay jars? �Fragile human beings who handle difficulty so differently that people are attracted to them.�

What happens when a clay pot gets jostled around, bumped, passed from one person to another, or even cracked? The contents spill out. Or in the Apostle Paul's words, what happens when a fragile human being who is filled with Christ is 'hard pressed' perplexed'persecuted'struck down'faces death�' That person spills out the Presence of Christ on all in the area, filling the place with the aroma of Christ. What happens if it is not jostled? That treasure just sits there.

The jostling in our lives is not because God has abandoned us at all. It is because He believes in us as His treasure holders who spill His Presence.

Problem is that too often we whine when we're jostled, spilling out stuff that does not look, smell or taste like Christ because we've never learned or somehow forgotten that we are clay pots filled with Christ. Rather than cracked and leaking a treasure that attracts toward Heaven, we've simply become "crack pots."

What will it be for you?

Boldly, Herb

Living for the Dot or the Line

2006-03-08T21:36:00.000-05:00

Imagine you and I are standing together in my back yard. I have in my hand a stake with a roll of paper 3 inches wide wound around it. I ask you to drive the stake into the ground, which you do with finesse and strength. A helicopter descends, a passenger reaches out, takes of the roll of paper, flies north, carefully unwinding the 3-inch roll of paper. At 25 miles, it reaches the end of the roll, lands, and the passenger drives another stake in the ground, attaching his end of the roll to it. (Okay, Herb, where are you headed on this one?) Hang with me.

We begin to walk along the roll, reading the history of time. We see the story of Adam, Eve, the serpent and the expulsion from the Garden. Cain and Abel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and the exodus from Egypt, conquering the Promised Land, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah. The kingdoms of Babylon, Greece, Rome. David killing giants and writing songs, Solomon exercising wisdom (as judge if not at home), the enslavement of Israel for disobedience. We come to a picture of a huge cross, the story of Jesus "earthly life" Christmas, His temptation, miracles, death, resurrection and the gift of His Presence through the Holy Spirit.

We continue on to see the early Church continuing the work of Jesus, we see persecution after persecution, the acceptance of Christianity by Caesar Constantine, the fall of the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the sad irony of the Crusades, the Dark Ages, the Enlightenment, George Washington and the American Revolution, Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, the embarrassing hairstyles and clothes of the seventies, the upheaval of the past two decades, September 11. We finally pause, after many miles of history, at the present day.

You look carefully for your own life, (as we always do, trying to find ourselves in a picture), but can't quite make it out. I hand you a very powerful magnifying glass, with which you finally see your name and birth date. After checking for a date of death (sorry, it's not there), you look closer to see the symbol representing your life - a dot. "A dot!" you roar, "My life is only a dot! All the time and energy I put into living on this rock, and it is only a dot!"

Yep, a dot. In the scheme of history you and I are only a dot, a spot, a pencil mark, a speck, an instant, a moment, a mark on the long march of time. Perspective is humiliating. Read on.

Only a dot, but we are on the long line of time. A dot in the context of all that is before and all that will be. I found a definition: "a line is a straight one-dimensional figure having no thickness and extending infinitely in both directions." (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Line.html)

What catches my eye is the phrase "extending infinitely in both directions." Standing on our dot we can see the line extending forever, (not human history, but God's existence). Looking forward we see the same, except there is a change. Somewhere ahead the line fades into a vast, golden carpet that leads to a mansion beyond anything the lives of the "rich and famous" have ever imagined. At the door stands the Savior Himself, open armed. Catch the picture? You are an almost invisible mark on the history of time, yet part of the eternity God has created.

All of which begs the question, are we living for the dot or the line? And another, should we be living for the dot or the line? The second question is easy to answer; it is a simple matter of mathematics. The first is harder, challenging us to surrender what we can see, touch, taste and feel, for what is mostly unseen but claiming to be more real. The dot will quickly be over; the line and all the dots on it, will last forever.

Living for the dot of this short, earthly existence or the line of eternity that lasts forever and ends in an existence in Heaven that, for Christ followers, is beyond our best imagination is the choice we make every day. Just that most days we don't recognize we are making it. What will you do today?

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" Mat 16:24-26 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

God of Do's Not Don'ts

2006-02-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

God of Do’s, Not Don’ts

It would be easy to conclude that God is all about “Don’ts.” Listening to preachers, parents and misinformed media, you’d think God wants to stop us from pretty much everything that is appealing, limiting us to activities that put our teeth on edge.

Perhaps that is a bit harsh, but, c’mon, haven’t you ever felt that way?

Look at God’s ultimate top 10 list delivered by Rev. Moses to a people living in desert tents, eating flour that miraculously appeared each morning with the dew. (Deuteronomy 5:6-21). There are only two “Do’s” in the bunch.

In our relationship with God,
Don’t… have any other gods, worship any idols, misuse God’s name
Do… keep the Sabbath holy

In our relationships with other people,
Don’t …murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, covet.
Do… honor your parents, (which, as a parent I’ve come to embrace and lovingly exhort my children to follow God by keeping the commandment. They love me for it).

So is it that God is holding out on us by restricting us with all these don’ts? Is He trying to squelch our desires, desires that he hard-wired into us at creation?

No, no, no. God is the God of Do’s! Because behind every don’t is a bigger do.

Take a look at the list above. Why the first 3 don’ts? So we can experience the bigger do of a relationship with the real God of the Universe, discovering the meaning and fulfillment that only He provides. It is what we were created for and what only He can deliver.

Take a look at the other 5 don’ts. What are those about? So we can have healthy relationships with other people. We have to get the unhealthy barriers out of the way before we can experience the incredible value. I mean, if you murder your friend, what are the real chances of ever building a lasting friendship. And before you get too smug (“Well, I never murdered anyone”), move to the New Testament and gander at the explanations Jesus gave. Murder = anger. Adultery = lust. On and on it goes.

REALITY: when we settle for doing the don’ts, we miss what brings meaning. The don’ts are counterfeits, fakes, empty promises that provide a momentary rush, and lasting guilt. Not a good deal. But by obeying the don’ts we swim past the shallows to experience the exhilaration of the big waves of God’s great blessings. God is the God of do’s. Let me say it again, behind every don’t is a bigger do.

C.S. Lewis in “The Weight of Glory”, (Copyright 1949, C.S. Lewis Pte.Ltd), says it this way,
“…Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

WOW! “far too easily pleased.” Trespassing the don’ts, we forfeit the depth of the do’s.

The apostle Paul discovered it.
"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" Phil 3:8 (NIV)

Is it possible you and I need to work harder at mining it out as well?

Boldly, Herb

What is it?

2006-02-22T13:21:00.000-05:00

What is it?

What is it, really, that causes us to get into trouble when we say we don’t want to?
That causes us to say something that we know we’ll regret yet we allow it to escape?
That causes us to eat something that we know will go to waist?
That causes us to purchase something that we don’t have money for, think we can’t live without, yet later ignore? (Except for the monthly payments that scream at us degradingly through the envelope?)
That causes us to entertain ourselves in ways that cause us to neglect what is truly important and later heap guilt on us like the bad aftertaste of cheap cough drops?

We’ve been told that it is because our hearts are not right. Sometimes that is true.
But is it possible that sometimes it is because we have not trained our moral muscles to respond in the right direction? That we are still stuck in the lifestyle of our natural, selfish desires? That we have not retrained our moral muscles to respond in a virtuous direction?

James Spiegel in the book, “How to be Good in a World Gone Bad,” tells us that virtues are moral skills that require skill training.

Is it possible that the reason we often fail in our quest for living as we desire is that we have not taken up training our moral muscles, somehow expecting the moral fairy to sprinkle pixie dust on us, instantaneously transforming us into mirror images of God?
Is it possible we have ignored, forgotten, denied, or believed there is another way to living up to God’s standards other than the clear teaching of scripture?

1 Cor 9:25,27 (NIV) “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."

“Strict Training!” Sounds like work! Yep, but it’s so much better than paying the price of giving into our frustrating failures. What does it mean? Sorry, I can’t give you the entire training regimen in one bite, but here’s the start: Every day choose some things to say “no” to and some to say �yes� to that you don’t have to. “No” to a TV show, an extra dessert, an angry response or too much time with the newspaper and “Yes” to opening the door for a stranger, getting a cup of coffee for a friend, complimenting a family member, reading an extra chapter in the Bible.

By exercising our muscles in small ways we begin the training that develops the moral muscles in the big things in the future.

The Longing That Won't Go Away

2005-06-19T14:08:00.000-04:00

I thought it would go away if I could just find the secret. The longing, the deep yearning that says, “There must be more than this.” We all land there pretty early in life.

Sitting at the kitchen table with my mom in our little starter home shortly after John F. Kennedy was assassinated I said, “Mom, I don’t want to just die, be buried and be forgotten.” The longing was there.

In high school I thought if I could be accepted and applauded then it would satisfy the longing. I experienced it and it didn’t.

Well, maybe when I go to college, live on my own, make my own decisions and not be controlled by my parents that will satisfy the longing. I went and it didn’t.

Perhaps if I find a wonderful, beautiful, loving woman and marry her, that will satisfy the longing. I did and it didn’t.

Surely when I go into pastoral ministry, preach God’s Word, help other people, give my life to the service of the Lord and people, that will satisfy the longing. I did and it didn’t.

Possibly if I have children, that will satisfy the longing. To invest myself in other, to make a difference in young lives. I had four and it didn’t.

If I could gain some notoriety, some success in preaching and writing that might satiate the longing. I did and it didn’t.

Then I thought, maybe I just wasn’t close enough to God. If I pray harder, take more time in the Bible, worship more deeply, fast consistently -- that will satisfy the longing. But no matter how much I did the things preachers say will make me close to God, something still burned within me. The longing.

After all that, I read a book by Larry Crabb called “Finding God.” The lights came on as I read his explanation that there will always be a longing within us while we are alive on earth because the longing is a desire to be with God. What a relief! There’s nothing wrong with me, this longing is normal. Okay, so there may be some other things wrong, but not this.

C.S. Lewis said it this way, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” (Mere Christianity).

God, speaking through the Apostle Paul, attempts to show us this truth. My comments are in parentheses.
"Now we know that if the earthly tent (our human bodies) we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven (a glorified body), not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed (be in Heaven with Jesus) with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked (in our earthly bodies). 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come." 2 Cor 5:1-5, NIV

God, Himself created us with this longing. Because He is mean and doesn’t want us to be happy? No. He did so out of love, to lead us to Himself. He has placed a deep, intense, profound longing, a yearning, a soul-hunger, an ache, a desire for something beyond ourselves when He created the human race, even before sin landed us in such trouble. He does not want us to be satisfied with this world, but to live and long for that for which we were made.

The wisest man who ever lived put it thus, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

We naturally strive to satisfy this longing. As I did, we look to pleasure or possessions or position or pride in accomplishments to fill the vacuum. The human soul cannot sit idle while this longing boils inside. But nothing we seek ever satisfies.

Here’s the test: What do you do when you feel bad? What do you turn to when you are sad, angry, hurt, lonely, feeling bad about yourself? Pleasure (food, alcohol, things that make feel good), possessions (playing with toys, shopping, trading up), pride (doing things that accomplish, tinkering, hobbies). Whatever we turn to is THAT to which we look for satisfaction. It delivers momentarily, but the longing comes roaring back with ever increasing energy. Instead of trying to medicate the pain or cover up the fear, sometimes we need to hold on to it, take it to God to find out what He is trying to do in our lives. If we do so, we discover that God does offer to satisfy the longing.

He offers “samples” here on earth. You know the tastes they offer in the grocery stores on the high traffic days. Amber and Chadd loved to grocery shop with Sheila when they were pre-school. Sausage in one aisle, crackers in the next, cheese farther down, juice near the dairy. They could get a full toddler meal. But for adults those are only tastes, a concerted effort to whet your hunger and convince you to buy the product. They did not, could not satisfy the hunger because they were only tastes of what you could have for supper if you purchased the product. So with God, He has given His Spirit as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come, but the deep longing cannot be satisfied on earth.

God offers complete satisfaction in Heaven. Not floating around playing a harp or singing songs we don’t even like, but the deepest satisfaction being in the place we were designed to occupy.

If we make Jesus Lord of our lives, Heaven will be home. Like that trip you took. You remember, the one where the wheels came off. You’re driving the 15 hours home with a carload of people who are tired, grumpy and smell like they’ve been in a hot car for 15 hours. They complain until they finally fall asleep, leaving you to drive alone in the dark. Then it starts to rain, hard. Your body aches, you can hardly stay awake, you desperately need a shower and you’re wondering why you brought all these people along on such a depressing adventure. Then your headlights hit it – home. You feel the relief the moment you step out of the car. Your heart leaps as you walk in the door. Home where you belong.

That is a very frail picture of Heaven. It will be complete satisfaction for those who live for the destination rather than the journey.

So what are you doing with that longing? Trying to satisfy it with the temporary? Deny that it is there? Keep busy enough to ignore it? Pursue a dream in hopes of satisfying it?

STOP IT! Enjoy the tastes God offers. In fact, grab as many samples as you can get. But focus on “Home.” Let the longing capture your mind and heart with an eternal perspective.

Boldly, Herb

Strengthening the Resistance Muscle

2005-06-09T14:33:00.000-04:00

I'm using muscles that have very happily remained latent for a long, long time. And don't seem any too thrilled to be disturbed. Oh I'm sure they were used when I was young, but they haven't been pulled out of storage in recent memory. The aching is a bit of a surprise since I've been going to the gym for five years and thought I was exercising everything in sight. Turns out I was wrong. There's a whole civilization of muscles that have been hiding.

It started in February when we finally received the building permit for the church property. We immediately dove in with everyone's feet to put insulation between the first floor joists. At first I was really sore, then sore, then a good tired, until finally the muscles were strong enough to do the job without screaming. At which time we finished the insulation job and moved to nailing 5/8" drywall on the ceiling of the lower level. Again - really sore, sore, good tired, strong. At which time we moved to nailing spacers to the ceiling. Then screwing another layer of drywall. (Did you know you use different muscles to nail drywall than to use a screw gun?) Then taping and mudding the drywall. Then ripping up the third level floor. Then digging footers. Well, you get the idea. I think it's a conspiracy by my church family to keep me so sore I can't preach very long. Sorry, doesn't work.

On Sundays you can spot the people who worked at the property the day before. They are the ones stretching their arms and shoulders to get kinks out, who stand slowly with a groan, who have blisters on their hands. And who have BIG smiles of satisfaction on their faces. They are experiencing this truth: we grow strong through consistent use of our muscles. Those who don't use their muscles do not get stronger, experience the soreness or enjoy the benefits.

Another interesting phenomenon - when I first started a task new to me, I struggled and fumbled and was really slow. As I did it over and over and over, it eventually became almost second nature. (Notice I said "almost." I'm talked about working with my hands here...) It's what sports trainers call "muscle memory." When we become familiar enough with a task, we don't have to think about it - our muscles automatically respond in a certain way. Remember the times you've driven home and don't remember doing so?

"Okay, Herb, are you going somewhere with this or just trying to impress us?" I hear from across the country. Hang with me.

Joseph, you know, the guy with the multi-hued "dad loves me best" coat. The one sold by his brothers, a slave to Potiphar, put in charge of the whole estate. That guy. Doing his job with distinction when his boss' wife tried to seduce him. Over and over, until she grabbed his clothes, an attempt to force him into her embrace. Do you remember his IMMEDIATE response? He RAN, leaving her holding his outer cloak. He didn't think about it, discuss it with her, gather research, take a public opinion poll or consider his options. He RAN because his spiritual muscle memory kicked in. The one he had exercised by resisting all kinds of lesser temptations over many years. The one that gave him the strength to resist when he needed it most.

Where are the Josephs today? Those who will blatantly resist no matter the cost, even if no one else will do so? We live in a world where the resistance muscle has gotten flabby. Frankly, it's easier to give in than to resist just as it is easier to stay in the recliner than go to the gym. But the result is deadly. God had plans to make Joseph co-ruler of the world, but he would have missed it if his resistance muscle had not been developed. Oh, it would have been pleasure for a short time, but he would have missed what really mattered.

Look at this scripture...
"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Hebrews 5:13-14 (NIV)

It is by CONSTANT USE Christ followers get strong. THERE ARE NO SPIRITUAL STEROIDS. Sorry.

So what do we do? I have learned that only by using the soul muscle to resist temptation does it become strong, causing us to more automatically resist and immediately turn away. But the more we give into temptation, allowing that muscle to lie dormant at best, to deteriorate at worst, the weaker, more vulnerable and accepting of sin we become. And each time it is easier to give in and stuff the guilt. "Dangerous ground, that is," says Master Yoda.

Beyond resisting temptation, you can build the resistance muscle by deliberately denying yourself things that are okay. You know, give up TV, the newspaper, talk radio, or a computer game for a week. The best way of denial is fasting for a period of time, either all food or certain foods. It forces us to use the resistance muscle and turn to God.

You can spot the people who use their resistance muscle. They are the ones who experience the most robust joy and most durable freedom, who are often sore from the battles, who have the deepest wisdom. All that comes from the highs and lows of living for Christ by the power of Christ to resist temptation. Those are the people who are real, who admit their weaknesses, celebrate their strengths, who reach down to help the fallen rather than criticize and judge. And who never give up. Perfect? Not hardly. But focused and growing as they help others do the same.

"That's hard work," you say. Well... OF COURSE. But worth every effort.

So, ladies and gents, get your soul off the spiritual recliner and start resisting, exercising, strengthening and stretching. You have no idea how good it will feel.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Cor 10:13 (NIV)

Boldly, Herb

Mud Pies or Beach Vacation

2005-04-17T15:40:00.000-04:00

Looked into the mirror this morning to see a man glaring at me. He looked vaguely familiar. A lot older than I remember, bags under his eyes, needing a shave and a shower. I don’t think he was very nice at all – he mimicked everything I did. I reached out to smack him and jammed my finger. On his finger. “Who let the old man in our bathroom?” I yelled to Sheila. She ran in thinking I was in trouble. She looked in and realized I really was in trouble. Walking away, shaking her head, she was mumbling. I only caught a few words, something about “I must have a hole in my head” and “what was I thinking” and “the day she got married.” I think she was expressing her amazement at having the intelligence to marry such a wonderful man.

Turns out it was me! Well, it wasn’t really me but an image that looked just like me. The reflection was real, but the reflection wasn’t me. No matter how hard I tried to do something to the reflection, I couldn’t because it wasn’t the real me.

Everything in life is a reflection of God.

I dare you to name anything that is not. Oh, sure, many of them have been so distorted that they don’t look anything like God. That doesn’t negate the fact. This truth has rattled and thrown me against the wall once again.

Think about this for a moment: everything that we enjoy is a reflection of God or His creation. Every pleasure, every desire, every longing, every delight, every wish, every joy. Every experience that warms or breaks our hearts. Everything that makes us laugh or cry. Everything that pulls or drives us. EVERYTHING. Without exception.

How do I know that? Because God created everything, without exception. The enemy has created nothing. He cannot. Rather, he attempts to pervert all of God’s creation to pull us away from Him and into destruction. Satan wants to convince us that the reflection is all there is. Do you see it?

The enjoyment, pleasure, fulfillment …

of eating is perverted into over indulgence
of work is perverted into workaholism or valuing tasks over people
of play is perverted into a selfish pusuit
of wholesome laughter is perverted into empty comedy
of relationships are perverted into self-seeking expectations
of parenting is perverted into a desire for children to make us happy and live through them
of the greatest gift of intimacy of a husband and wife is perverted into a self-centered act of lust
of intimacy with God is perverted into empty, dry, ritualistic religion
on and on and on the list could go

Problem is that we don’t often glimpse the reality behind the reflection. It’s not that the reflection doesn’t exist, it is that it is incomplete. We inhabit the reflection, though it’s promises fall short and its pleasure is short-lived. However, we perceive the reflection to be reality. What else is there? So we settle for far less than God longs to give us here and hereafter.

God has created so much more. Earthly life is a pre-cursor to the forever life. Selfishness is culprit. When we follow our sinful, human desires without embracing the connection with the eternal behind them, we miss it. Oh, how we miss it!

C.S. Lewis understood this truth and expressed it well…
“If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire, not too strong, but too weak.
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
The Weight of Glory and other addresses, by C.S. Lewis. (The Macmillian Company, New York 1949).

It’s not that we want too much, but that we look for fulfillment in all the wrong places.

It’s not that we are never satisfied, but that we look for satisfaction in things that are incapable of delivering.

It’s not that God denies us what we seek because it is wrong, rather He denies us because He knows that what we seek is destructive.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is perched at the edge of our lives in the excitement of giving us what truly brings pleasure and fulfillment. He is longing, hoping, offering to give us far more than we can ask or imagine. It is not that He is willing, it is that He WANTS to.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." Ephesians 1:17-21 (NIV)

We can experience a slice of the true on earth and revel in it completely in eternity by surrendering the reflection and embracing the reality of Christ behind it.

eating as a reflection of the enjoyment of the future feast
work as a reflection of accomplishing the work we were created for
play as a reflection of the unquenchable joy of God
wholesome laughter as our God given inner delight escaping
relationships as enjoying the second greatest gift of God
parenting as participating in the creative and formative process of God
the intimacy of a husband and wife as experiencing the vulnerable connection and pleasure God gave and a prologue of the depth of relationship we will have with Christ
relationship with God as restoring our purpose stolen by sin, that connection that alone brings what we were created for. Not dry, but the most moving experience possible.
on and on and on the list could go

Mudpies or holiday. Putting it that way makes it a simple choice. The challenge
is to live it. Will you join me in doing so? Now, go put on your beach hat and
let’s go!

Boldly, Herb

Over the Hill or On Top of the Ridge?

2005-01-18T15:43:00.000-05:00

I was recently asked to write a few words for a friend who was turning 40. I thought, “Herb, why let this sit on only one person’s desk? Why not clutter up a whole bunch of desks?” So here it is. For those of you on my side of 40 years, I think you’ll especially appreciate this. For those young ‘uns, hold on to this. Someday you’ll need it.

John, they asked me to write a few words in honor of your 40th birthday. They did NOT ask me to attend because they know that I am so much older than you and too frail to travel. I’ve known you for over 20 years and, quite frankly, am amazed you’ve made it this far. But since your parents, your wife and your church have not yet put you away, you might be okay. Let me give you some words of wisdom that most people won’t tell you. As your mentor, I feel responsible to let you in on the truth.

Myths of Turning 40

Myth number 1, “Life Begins at 40.”

If someone has not already done so, they will soon tell you this. It is a lie. Mostly told by people who are trying to soothe the pain of aging and share their own misery. It is sometimes said by people who haven’t seen 40 yet and HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!

Life does not begin at 40, it just keeps walking on. If it actually began at the big 4-0 it means you would not be married, have children or gained any wisdom at all. Pity your mom if you arrived like you are today!

Myth number 2, “Life Ends at 40.”

Usually mockingly said by the young whipper-snappers. They think death is on the door step when you hit 39 years and 365 days. It’s not so, it just freezes up a lot and you have to “reboot” more often.

Myth number 3, “You’re not getting older, you’re getter better.” (Usually followed by, “You’re like a fine wine that gets better with age”).

Again, not true. You ARE getting older. Time marches on, buckaroo. And a day older does not automatically mean you’ve gotten a day finer, better or smarter. Fine wine might get better with age. Cheese might get better by fermenting. But the same amount of time will turn bananas into a big mass of bruised goo and potatoes into a stinking mess. Your choice.

Myth number 4, “You’re only as old as you feel.”

Sorry, but you’ll never be 25 again, no matter how your sensory nerves communicate with your brain. You are the age you are… and you WILL feel it.

Myth number 5, “You can still do anything you put your mind to.”

Those 40 year old football and baseball players are one in a million. The rest of us mortals are limited by the damage age inflicts. My jump shot will never be the same because my knees won’t allow it. No matter how I put my mind to it, I will not hit another home run because my mind doesn’t swing the bat, my aching shoulder do. The rest of my body has a huge say in the matter.

Okay, those are some myths you need to be aware of. Now let me give you some truths of turning 40.

Truth number 1, “Old age and experience will beat youth and strength every time.”

This comes from a bumper sticker my dad had. I didn’t understand it when I was in my 30’s and didn’t believe it until after I turned 40. Good choices come from wisdom. Wisdom comes from experience. Experience comes from bad choices. Enough years of that and you ought to be wise enough to overcome the impulses of those young brutes. Or you’ll probably be dead from the effects of the bad choices.

Truth number 2, “If it hurts, be thankful you can still feel it.”

Something is going to hurt every morning for the rest of your life. That is not the problem. The problem is when you can no longer feel that it hurts. Be
grateful.

Truth number 3, “Entertainment is redefined.”

Webster is not the only one who changes the meaning of words. When you were young a night on the town started early, involved a lot of activity and, sometimes, strenuous movement. It did not involve sitting still. Get ready, that is about to change. A night on the town will soon mean comparing the fiber content of cereal at Wal-Mart, driving through the automated car wash, going home to sit on the front porch to sip iced tea, and going to bed by 10:00. AND YOU WILL ENJOY IT!!

Truth number 4, “You will get excited about the simplest, oddest things.”

Laugh if you want, pal, but you will leap with joy (at least you’ll think it is leaping; others will think you are burping) at things you once took for granted.
You will get excited…

when you can remember why you entered a room. Mark it down, some day you will walk into the bedroom, get a puzzled look on your face, turn around to retrace your steps in the often vain attempt to recall your purpose for walking there. You’ll do circles like a dog getting its bed ready. And sometimes that is exactly what you came into the bedroom to do.

when you can sleep after eating anything spicier than toast. At 40 all the enzymes that digested pepperoni pizza at midnight retire and you are left with only
rebellious stomach gremlins that love to keep you up and turn your digestive
track into a roller coaster.

when you can carry on a complete conversation without saying, “huh?” The eyes, the ears, and then who knows what after that slowly fade into the sunset.

when you see a commercial that addresses one of the things that ail you. Who cares about the movie you were watching, what was that commercial?
when you can read a book without propping it up on the other side of the room. Your arms will not be long enough to read the fiber content on the cereal during your exciting night on the town.

Now, John, I don’t mean to sound negative. Frankly I wouldn’t go back to the days when the body worked much better because the downhill slope of the body is such a small part of life.

Here’s the best truth of all – “Your best days are ahead.” You’re not over the hill, you’re standing on a ridge that is half way up the mountain of life. God is doing good things in your life. I’ve watched you grow and succeed and stretch and surrender and strive to be all God intends. Your spirit is soaring. When we are young we don’t stop to consider what is of highest importance. Growing older causes us to reconsider as we realize we will not live forever. We can use the last half of life to more intentionally make a difference that will last.

Listen to what the Bible says,
"Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life." Proverbs 16:31 (NIV)

"The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." Proverbs 20:29 (NIV)

Here’s to living life boldly on the good side of 40!
Your old brother in Christ, Herb

P.S. I would have written more, but it’s almost 7:00 and Sheila and I are headed out on the town. They’re having a special on fiber at Wal-Mart!

Are You a Survivor or a Thriver?

2005-01-11T12:56:00.000-05:00

There aren’t many who are ambivalent about the “reality” TV show, Survivor. People either really, really like it or really, really don’t. Those in the first category arrange their schedules to watch. Or they will tape episodes if dire circumstances prevent them from viewing. “Honey, I think Junior chopped his leg off.” “Put a band-aid on it and we’ll take him to the hospital at ten,” a Survivor lover would respond. And don’t even think about telling them what happened if they haven’t yet viewed the tape.

Those in the second category simply think it’s stupid. “Why would anyone want to watch all that malarkey when I have to deal with cut throats in real life?” these people say.

“It’s a microcosm of human nature, an interesting study in human nature,” Survivor lovers insist. On and on it goes.

Personally, I am in the second camp. Hey, I’m a pastor – I LIVE on Survivor Island! I had never even seen a full episode of Survivor until last fall when I was traveling with a good friend who shall remain nameless to protect him from assault by anti-Survivor terrorists. As Jim Callender and I were traveling, we ended up in a motel room on a Thursday night. He is in the first group. “Oh, Herb, it’s great!” he insisted. “It’s a microcosm of human nature.” Thus I was trapped with Jim, forced to view bickering, gossiping, fighting, immunity challenges, and voting to kick some of that human nature off the island. He also made me watch the TV show.

The next day, as I was teaching, I used the Survivor episode as an illustration. As soon as I asked the question, “Has anyone seen Survivor?” the heretofore unified class was immediately split. “It’s a microcosm of human nature,” exclaimed one group. “It’s stupid,” responded the other.

About the same time, during some prayer time with God, He pointed out some of the similarities between Survivor and life. Let me give them to you.

We’re dropped into a situation we didn’t choose. The participants are put on a boat or a plane, not knowing where they are going. We didn’t choose the situation in which we were born. We were simply dropped into it one day.
We have to put with people we didn’t choose, some of whom we don’t like. Survivor participants didn’t get to choose who they are dropped onto the island with. In fact, I’m convinced the producers intentionally choose people who they know will be in conflict. Nor did we choose the family we end up with. And sometimes it seems God intentionally stuck us with people He knew we would struggle with.
We compete in unfamiliar ways. Have you heard of some of the bizarre contests on Survivor? No way any of these folks have competed like that before. Unless they lived in a men’s dorm. That might be close. I’ve looked, trust me, and I have yet to find a manual that details the situations we live through. True, the Bible gives us principles and commandments, but so much of life is lived in unmarked territory.
There is always a chance we will be eliminated. Every week somebody goes. It could be anyone and sometimes it’s the nicest ones on the show. Every day thousands of people leave this life. Every day there is a chance it could be you or me.
It appears the ultimate point is to “survive” and win a temporary prize. Last person standing wins a million dollars or so. A lot of money, but it is only temporary. As we look around, it could be easy to believe that the point of life is to survive the ups and downs to gain money, position, or pleasure. All of that is fleeting. There is much more to life than surviving.
It is over quickly and we go home. I don’t know how long it takes to film a season. My impression is a couple weeks. Then the producers draw it out into months of TV episodes. Over quickly and everybody goes home, whether winners or losers. When we’re young it feels like life will last forever. Us old folks know that it is quick and then everybody goes “home” to heaven or hell.
There are many watching from far away, both cheering and booing. Millions of TV viewers each week, none seem to be emotionless. Around water coolers fights break out over who should win and who should be booted. All the while another groups stands at a distant mumbling, “That show is stupid.” To which one of the water cooler group responds, “No, it’s a microcosm of human nature.” As we live this life, the hosts of heaven cheer us on while the demons from hell boo us.
What we do reveals something to those watching. In this microcosm of human nature we see what people are at their most basic level. What the survivors say and do reveals who they really are. The difficulties peel back the facades. It’s the same with us – it’s not what we say, but what we do that reveals our true loyalties, desires and nature.
We must choose between “the end justifies the means” and what is right. This is the part that repels me. The vast majority on the island will do whatever necessary, including lewd and dishonest actions, to stay on the island for one more show. Folks have told me that a few participants show integrity and are sometimes rewarded. True of life as well. Daily, moment-by-moment, we choose between the two philosophies. The vast majority chooses selfishly. A relative few live with integrity and are sometimes rewarded. Other times they pay a dear price.

Even if we survive to the end, we can still come up empty. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO ONLY SURVIVE. God has created us to thrive. I challenge you to “Thrive in ’05.” Listen to Jesus’ offer…

"… Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." John 7:37b-38

God offers to place His Spirit within us so that what we long for, what we thirst for will not just fill us, but overflow, flood, overwhelm us and those around us.

Paul says that we are not survivors, but “MORE THAN CONQUERORS.” THRIVERS, NOT SURVIVORS.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 37 in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Rom 8:31,37 (NIV)

“Okay, Herb,” I can hear you saying, “How?” Glad you asked. Simple and hard – give yourself completely to God by making Him Absolute Lord and Master through Absolute obedience. Every day. Moment-by-moment. Here’s a daily prayer to pray that will lead us that way…

"Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." Psalm 86:11

Do you want to be a survivor or a thriver in 2005? Your choice.

Boldness and Blessings, Herb

What is this "MERRY" Christmas Business?

2004-12-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

There’s much sword rattling about the physical display and verbalizing of the phrase “Merry Christmas” these days. It’s getting quite a bit of press.

But have you ever stopped to ask yourself, “What MERRY Christmas is all about?” Fact is, it’s bothered me over the years and since everyone else is talking about it, now might be the time to lay it out there.

Is it akin to “Robin Hood and his MERRY men?” What kind of a description for thieves, however noble, is that? Were they really jolly? Was it that they drank so much Nottingham apple beer that they were artificially happy? Did they laugh a lot? That sounds more like the men in tights movie than the brave warrior in the Kevin Costner film. Do you really want to wish others a “TIPSY Christmas?” I don’t think so.

Or is it, like, merry is like, really giddy and like, giggly and like, the stereotype of like, cheerleaders? You know, like, scattered? (My apologies to all those wonderful, intelligent cheerleaders out there.) Is that MERRY? Do you really want to wish others, like a “GIGGLY Christmas?” Like, I don’t think so.

Maybe it means hanging enough lights on your house to light the city of Pittsburgh? Is it to highlight frosty, mount genuine deer hide reindeer on your roof with a Santa that waves and chuckles? Is it the glitz and glitter and entertainment and (I’m not kidding - this is a real song) “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas?” Do you really want to wish others a “SUPERFICIAL Christmas?” I don’t think so.

If not, what is this MERRY Christmas business all about?

I was recently listening to the radio program, Family Life Today. Dennis Rainey had invited writer Ace Collins to help the audience understand some of the background of Christmas songs and traditions. He explained that the phrase “MERRY Christmas” goes back over 500 years to old England. As with so many words, the meaning has changed from its original use. Rather than happy, MERRY meant “MIGHTY,” powerful, grand, strong. Thus, the Christmas phrase was much more than a nice greeting; it was a desire for others to have a MIGHTY experience of Christ’s birth. Robin’s men may have been happy, but being merry meant they were strong, powerful men. Makes a whole lot more sense.

Mr. Collins goes on to explain in his book, “Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas,”* that the song, “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” has a far deeper meaning than our first glance indicates. “Rest” did not mean to sit around in the recliner watching Steeler football. Rather, it meant “to make.” In addition, the comma was not originally between ye and merry, but between merry and gentlemen. Hmmmm, changes everything. With the restoration in hand, what we have is, “God Make You Mighty, Gentlemen.” Whoa! A far cry from, “I hope Santa makes you giddy!”

Think of the implications.

Not singing, “I Wish you a Merry Christmas”, but “I Wish you a MIGHTY Christmas.”

Pretty much destroys, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas.” MIGHTY and little just don’t seem to stick to each other.

At the end of that best loved Christmas poem, you know the one where your wife is wearing a kerchief and you’re wearing a cap in bed. (What is a kerchief and why in the world would I be wearing a hat in bed?) The part where Santa flies off into the sky, and yells to the sleeping town below now becomes “MIGHTY Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

As Ebenezer Scrooge is, well, scrooging through Christmas Eve, I wonder if he could have avoided the 3 ghosts if Bob Cratchet had wished him a MIGHTY Christmas. You know, he’s the kind of guy who may have gotten into that.

Guys may be more willing to shop and decorate if they had to rise to the challenge of a MIGHTY Christmas! Maybe it’s the subconscious idea of “merry/ giddy/ jolly” that deters us.

And, of all adjectives, the One who came that first Christmas is perhaps described best by MIGHTY. Mild as a child, but MIGHTY as the God-man. Humble, yes. Loving, yes. Kind, yes. Holy, yes. But encompassing all the characteristics of Jesus, HE IS MIGHTY!!!

So as we approach Christmas in the next few days, let’s start a conspiracy. Instead of the standard “Merry Christmas,” let’s wish others “MIGHTY CHRISTMAS.” That’s sure to turn a few heads! Probably even create some opportunities to talk about the good news of God coming to earth. Which the most important activity of Christmas for those who personally know Him.So, my family and friends, I wish you a MIGHTY, POWERFUL, BOLD celebration of the God of the universe coming to earth to rescue us!! GOD WITH US!

MIGHTY CHRISTMAS,

Herb

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his MIGHTY POWER." Eph 6:10 (NIV)

"For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit OF POWER, OF LOVE and of self-discipline. 8 So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9 who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time," 2 Tim 1:6-9 (NIV)

*Ace Collins, “Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas”, pages 53-57, Zondervan Publishing, 2001.

How Big is Jesus This Year?

2004-12-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

A girl of ten years went with a group of family and friends to see the Christmas light displays at various locations throughout the city. At one church, they stopped and got out to look more closely at a beautifully done nativity scene.

"Isn't that beautiful?" said the little girl's grandmother. "Look at all the animals, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus."

"Yes, Grandma," replied the granddaughter. "It is really nice. But there is only one thing that bothers me. Isn't baby Jesus ever going to grow up... he's the same size he was last year."

Is Jesus the same size for you as He was last year? Does He occupy the same space as He did 365 days ago? In your heart? Your mind? Your soul? Or is He smaller, having less reign in your life?

Will the Christmas season cause Him to get bigger or smaller? Will the busy-ness push Him out or will your actions pull Him in?

Sadly, for many, Jesus doesn’t stand a chance. Doesn’t have to be that way, it’s a choice. At the end of the season He can be bigger than ever. And that is incredibly better for us.

How?

It’s not complicated, but takes effort. Mary knew the way,

30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her." Luke 1:30-38 (NIV)

Saying, “Yes” by living out 3 priorities will cause Jesus to get bigger in us.

1. Time with God. What better gift can we give to people than our time? What better Christmas gift can we give to Jesus than to spend time with Him? Time in conversation, listening and speaking. Time with His Word. Time in worship. Time in service to others. But in all times, time getting to know and love Him in personal relationship. That will make Him bigger.
The season is about Him, after all.

2. A God-focus on the season. Going against the consumer driven culture that envelopes us by surrendering and focusing on God. In everything we do… sending cards, giving gifts, visiting with family and friends, shopping (yes, gentlemen, even shopping), worshipping, decorating. Whatever we do, doing it through the filter of a priority of God’s firstness. By so focusing we give Him His proper place and He will get bigger.

3. Salt and light opportunities. Jesus is everywhere during the season. This time of year is an annual unique opportunity to point Him out and what He’s doing in our lives. At every turn, every situation, every chance. Being salt of the earth that flavors and the light of the world that shines the way to real life.

As we spend time with Him and focus on Him, Jesus will be at the forefront of our minds and hearts. Talking about Jesus is the natural response. We must consciously choose to do so, especially with those who need it most. THAT is the heart of God and will do more to make Him bigger than anything else we can do.

So … do you want to hit December 26 weary, exhausted, empty and with a smaller Jesus in your soul? Or physically spent, but spiritually refreshed, mentally renewed, emotionally filled and with a bigger Jesus to propel you into the next year?

Your choice, but you’ll have to make it throughout the season.

The Mountain of Impossibility

2004-11-19T12:40:00.000-05:00

Have you ever wondered, (c’mon now, be honest), why God often allows life to be so trying?

Doesn’t it seem that He should step in to take care of the difficulties just a bit quicker? I mean, why does He have to take us to the edge before He steps in?

There they were, standing on the beach, waves lapping close to their sandaled feet. Any other time it would have been a calming moment. Not today. The reason they were looking out at the sea is because their enemies were in hot pursuit. Red Sea in front of them, the Egyptian army, complete with horses and chariots, (the ancient equivalent of tanks), quickly closing the distance behind them. God could have parted the waters as they reached them and saved the Israelites the sweat. But He didn’t. He let them sweat and sweat and sweat. They were standing at "The Mountain of Impossibility."

The man had been blind for over 30 years, since birth. Surely his parents had prayed with hurting hearts when it first became obvious he couldn’t see. "Think of all he will not experience," his parents must have thought. "He will be consigned to begging for life. Is that what you want, God?" Surely he prayed as he got older, but the heavens were silent. God could have intervened any time along those several decades. But He didn’t. He let the man suffer in terminal darkness, until He had given up hope of ever seeing. He was feeling his way around the base of the "Mountain of Impossibility."

You’ve been there, too. Circumstances, a relationship, a financial dilemma, a health struggle that goes beyond difficult to impossible. Maybe you’re there now. If not, you will be in the not too far-away future. Not because God is not near, but because He is up to something.

As God moves us (sometimes without us knowing it is Him) through impossible situations, He forces us to stay at the foot of the mountain, staring at its impossibility until it overwhelms us. He makes us linger there, causing realization of the height, breadth, snow, ice, cliffs, wind, dangerous animals, lack of food and equipment, need of a guide, and our inadequacies. It all comes crashing down on our minds, hearts, spirits and bodies until we are compelled to recognize its impossibility, not just its enormity.

The problem is not that the mountain is big, but that it’s impossible. Big we could handle. Impossible is not handle-able. There is just no way we can cope with it on our own. When He has kept us staring at the mountain long enough for that to truly sink in, then He can do His best work. He has forced us to the point where we have only two choices: to turn away or trust Him. If the Israelites turn away from God’s command to walk toward the sea, they get slaughtered. If the blind man turns away from Jesus’ instructions to wash, he remains blind, but worse, he ends up in hell. That decision to turn away or trust determines what we experience next. Forcing us to that choice is the only way God can build deep trust in us. Moving the mountain is the easy part for God. Getting us to deeply, completely trust Him is hard and requires removing our options.

Therefore the moments we feel most abandoned are moments of greatest potential for experiencing the things that are most important.

Read that statement again. Lot of superlatives there. Rightfully so.

The Israelites cried out to Moses. Moses cried out to God. Moses obeyed and BEHOLD, the mountain moved. Well, actually the sea parted left and right, but it’s pretty much the same thing. God delivered them through the water and from the army. The mountain of impossibility was a moment of miracles, but more important, of trust-building.

Jesus told the blind man to wash off the spit and mud in the pool of Siloam (John 9). He did and the mountain moved. After 30 plus years the mountain moved and he could see for the first time in his life. The mountain of impossibility was a moment of miracles, but more important, of trust-building for his life and eternity.

God’s heart is tender toward us. He will not force us to stand at the foot of the mountain of impossibility any longer than necessary. But He will not cut us loose one second early. That would be the harshest cruelty of all.

There is a catch. The mountains only move for those who obey. Moses obeyed and the mountain moved. The blind man obeyed and the mountain moved. Pharaoh refused to obey and experienced worse agony. The blind man’s pastors refused to believe and their darkness increased for this life and the next. God can only take us to the mountain. He will not force us to obey.

And it is not a "one mountain and done" experience. There are a multitude of mountains in the obedient Christian’s lifetime, for God is ever trying to get us to deeper and deeper trust. In that trust we experience Him and His incredible work.

My advice: embrace the mountains of impossibility through quick surrender and trust. Sometimes there’s simply no quick way through those times, but don’t make them last any longer than necessary. Get on to the mountain moving part. It’s a lot more fun looking at them through the rear view mirror!

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."" Mat 17:20b (NIV)

"For nothing is impossible with God."" Luke 1:37 (NIV)

"Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."" Luke 18:27 (NIV)

"Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."" Mark 10:27 (NIV)

Making History

2003-12-19T12:37:00.000-05:00

It had been an incredibly hectic Christmas season (aren’t they all?). The businessman was busier than he had been in a long time. His fellow merchants encouraged him to seize the opportunity to make money while he could. This was their black Friday, a time to turn a profit. Nothing wrong with that. As Christmas Eve was winding to a close, he was ready to rest and relax.

You know how it is. Weeks of long days have worn you out. All you want to do is sit down with a nice big bowl of popcorn, think of nothing, do nothing. Just stare at the wall and breathe. So there he was, finishing up the days’ work at the family owned motel. His wife drying the last dish from feeding the over abundance of guests. The kids sweeping the floor and bedding down the animals. ALL of them are looking forward to that big bowl of popcorn. Made with bacon grease.

Then the knock. He and his wife sigh as they get ready to turn yet another weary traveler away. Opening the door they saw a terrible sight. A young, haggard man and a pale, quickly fading teenage girl, hugely pregnant. As the motel manager stands in the doorway, his wife looks over his arm and the kids peek past his legs to see the couple. In their hearts, in their weariness, they’re glad they have no room. They’d already turned many travelers away. There is NOTHING in them that wants to serve these people, but they all know that there is no way dad is going to turn them away. He will do whatever necessary to find a place for this worn out couple, not because he wants to but because IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. And it cost them.

The innkeeper has gotten an incredibly bad rap for centuries. But check out the scripture. It does not say anything bad about him. Scripture states reality: there simply was no room available. Fact. But somehow Mary and Joseph were offered room in a barn. Maybe, just maybe, it was this maligned innkeeper. Rather than a villain, I think he is an example for us. Especially during this week leading up to Christmas.

HE MADE TIME. The innkeeper was busy, but he did not use it as an excuse not to do the things that were important. It wasn’t that he had time. We’ll never have time lying around, just waiting to be used. Time for the right things has to be MADE, seized, grabbed and used. This begs the question, “What are we busy with?” We’re going to busy!! Accept that fact. Life is not going to get unbusy and we can’t wait for the day when things slow down before doing what we should. The decision is to choose to use our time to do God’s things.

HE MADE ROOM. You may be thinking, “Herb, you don’t realize that I don’t have anything.” I can’t tell you how many times people have told me, “If I win the lottery, get a new house, get a better job, and on and on … THEN I’ll be able to do good things for people.” God doesn’t need our stuff, He needs us. Once we make ourselves available God, will use what we have. Look through the Bible to see Moses’ staff, David’s sling, Gideon’s trumpet, Jehoshaphat’s choir, Balaam’s donkey. Simple, every day stuff. God has made a career of using the simple things people have. He doesn’t use what we don’t have, how could He?

What did the innkeeper have? A barn. Can you see the other innkeepers on motel row as the innkeeper started clearing a place for Mary and Joseph? No beds, no rooms, nothing but a stable with animals and straw. His family had some food, perhaps a stool, some rags, odds and ends. They used what they had to make a difference that will be remembered for all time. Which shows us…

HE MADE HISTORY. What an honor to be the owner of the shed where God showed up to save the world! I am absolutely sure the innkeeper had no idea who was standing at his door. It didn’t matter to him. He did the right thing for people who needed him and, without realizing it, he made history. So can we, just don’t expect to know it at the time.

Let’s hear it for the innkeeper. Maybe no room in the inn, but plenty of room in his heart. There’s always room for what God wants as we kick out the clutter in the way.

Have a great Christmas.

Luke 2:1-7 (NIV) "In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Valuing the Valuable

2003-12-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

I looked around after walking and walking and walking. I was in the same place. How could this be? I had to be making progress. The sweat pouring out of my body told me so. The ache in my muscles could not have been for nothing, could it? But it was excruciatingly obvious I was in the same spot from which I started at least forty-five minutes and two miles before. Same scenery, same building, same place. In spite of great effort I had made no progress at all. Then I stepped off the treadmill. In my basement.

Did I getcha? Actually I did make progress because my purpose was not to get anywhere, but to get exercise. In fact, it was very worthwhile because I prayed for a while and then read a great book while I walked. If I had been trying to make my way to a specific, physical destination, the treadmill was wrong. When we want to cover ground, we need to get off the treadmill to travel on solid ground.

Our dog hasn’t been for a walk in a while. She loves going for jaunts. She covers twice as much ground as we do, back and forth, back and forth sniffing out varmints. I thought about putting her on the treadmill to get some exercise. She’s looking pretty lethargic, you know. I explained to Sheila, "Just put her on slow and let her walk. As she gets used to it we can speed it up … and see what happens." I thought I was being helpful. Well, sure it might throw her right into the washing machine, but hey, no pain, no gain. Sheila wasn’t amused.

If you’re like most people I see these days, you’re on a treadmill, too. Different from the one in my basement, but just as draining. It’s called Christmas. You know, the season of joy to the world, glad tidings, peace on earth and good will toward men. That’s not what I saw at Wal-Mart. It’s more like grab from the world, sad tidings, give me a piece of the earth and my will against other men. Especially during the wrestling match at 5:00 am on Black Friday by the $49 DVD players.

Does anyone believe this is an accident? That the season that is supposed to celebrate the coming of God Almighty to the world in human flesh has turned into a treadmill to nowhere? That wears us out and leaves us spent? Could it be it is a carefully designed strategy to cause us to miss that which is of utmost value? Think about it – if you attempted to prevent people from experiencing "God with us" what would you do? Wouldn’t you distract, disrupt, hurry, overwhelm, and appeal to their selfishness?

Immediately below our relationship with God, what is most important during the Christmas season? People. But what do the pressures of our culture cause us to zero in on? Material possessions and activity. Who made it a rule that we have to spend money that we don’t have, to do things that will wear us out and strain relationships with people we don’t take time to love? Who said that the tree, the decorations, the cookies, the dinner, the presents, the cards, the stuff all have to be perfect? How many times have we gotten upset with very people we are doing all this stuff for because the stuff didn’t go the way we thought it should go? Sure, we all have things we have to do, but does it really have to be like this? I have a suggestion.

We have 8 shopping days until Christmas. During these days, let’s create a conspiracy to value the really valuable – God and the people in our lives. Slow down, eliminate some of the activity, decrease the focus on material stuff and deeply enjoy the purpose of the season. Take time to just sit with God, hum some carols, (sorry, the musak at the mall doesn’t count), and allow God to refresh us. Make time to be with, really be with, not just occupying the same area with our loved ones. Realize it is okay to let some of the stuff go. Really, it will be okay. Pause to realize how fragile life is, that it is important to value our loved ones today.

Part of the problem is that we take it for granted that people will always be with us, so we don’t take time to value them. We get caught up with stuff, climb up onto the Christmas treadmill until we realize the "moments" that could have been during the season have passed us by. We didn’t make any progress at all in our relationships; in fact we made some of them worse.

I hope the following anonymous poem provides perspective. I wish I’d written it.

If I Knew

If I knew it would be the last time that I’d see you fall asleep,

I would tuck you in more tightly and pray the Lord your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time that I see you walk out the door,

I would give you a hug and kiss and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time I’d hear your voice lifted up in praise,

I would videotape each action and word so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time I could spare an extra minute,

To stop and say, "I love you," instead of assuming you would KNOW it.

If I knew it would be the last time I would be there to share your day,

Well, I’m sure you’ll have many more, so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there’s always tomorrow to make up for an oversight,

And we always get a second chance to make everything right.

There will always be another day to say, "I love you,"

And certainly there’s another chance to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong and today is all I get,

I’d like to say how much I love you and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone, young or old alike,

And today may be the last chance you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you’re waiting for tomorrow, why not today?

For if tomorrow never comes you’ll surely regret the day,

That you didn’t take that extra time for a smile, a hug, or a kiss,

And you were too busy to grant someone what turned out to be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today and whisper in their ears

Tell them how much you love them and that you’ll always hold them dear.

Take time to say, "I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, It’s okay."

And if tomorrow never comes, you’ll have no regrets about today.

Let’s celebrate this Christmas and New Year’s season by valuing what is truly valuable.

"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. 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. Selah" Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV)

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV)

Getting Grateful

2003-11-25T12:21:00.000-05:00

The problem does not lie in our lack of action, but in our lack of gratitude. When we get grateful, we will act.

Simon the Pharisee had invited Jesus to dine at his house. As they were reclining at the table a woman of ill repute showed up. In that culture, one did not sit to eat as we do, but leaned on one elbow toward a low table. The poor were allowed to drift in for handouts and thus the woman
slipped in. The woman stopped at Jesus’ feet. As Simon and Jesus ate, the woman wept, her tears falling on Jesus’ feet. Impulsively, she wiped them with her hair. Without thought, she kissed the clean feet. With abandon she poured expensive perfume on them. With abandon, no thought of propriety she expressed her love for Jesus.

Simon harrumphed. "If Jesus was really a prophet, he would know the kind of woman is touching him and would NEVER allow such a thing to happen." It’s a scary thing to think such thoughts around God. Though Simon’s words were not spoken aloud...

40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii (20 months wages), and the other fifty (2 months wages). 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Luke 7 (NIV)

Simon had not even offered Jesus the most basic of common courtesies. Ordinarily a servant would wash guests’ dust caked feet as they entered the home. Simon didn’t even offer a basin for Jesus to wash his own feet. A kiss, much like our handshake, was a common practice to welcome a guest. To place a drop of perfumed oil on an honored guests’ head was simply being considerate. Simon did none of it, but the woman, probably without forethought, took care of those courtesies with abandon.

The problem did not lie in Simon’s lack of action, but in his lack of gratitude. The woman reveals to us important truths.

WE LOVE WHEN WE ARE GRATEFUL.

WE GIVE WHEN WE ARE GRATEFUL.

WE SERVE WHEN WE ARE GRATEFUL.

Our actions simply flow out of a heart full of appreciation. The difference between Simon and the woman is that she knew the truth of who she was and what she owed Jesus. He gravely mistakenly thought he was a good person.

We need to "get grateful" to get our actions right. How? Adopt 3 realities.

1. WE DESERVE NOTHING BUT HELL.

The sinful woman knew that, but Simon thought he deserved much. Religion always teaches us that if we do more good than bad then we deserve God’s love and rewards. Problem is that it is just not true. At the moment of committing one sin, we deserve nothing but hell.

2. WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN SO VERY MUCH.

The sinful woman knew she was guilty of much sexual sin. Simon was comparing himself to her and others who were murderers, adulterers, thieves and the like. Problem is that we have to compare ourselves to Jesus. If we are not that good, we are not good enough.

Take a moment here. Think about what you would consider your very worst sin. Got it? Now email it to everyone in your address book. No, wait, I was just kidding. But it did send a chill up your spine, didn’t it? Why? Because we are GUILTY. However, if you have accepted Christ as personal
savior, God has completely erased it, buried in the deepest part of the ocean and doesn’t even remember it anymore.

We have been forgiven so very, very much.

3. Our forgiveness cost God exorbitantly.

We can easily become so familiar with the idea that Jesus forgives us that we forget how much it cost. The Father sent His very own son to die in your place so you could be stamped "NOT GUILTY", given the love and presence of Almighty God and welcomed into heaven someday. God did not take that lightly. It cost Him the lashes on Jesus’ back, the thorns stabbing his head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side. And worst of all, it cost Jesus being abandoned by His father, separation from God – the true meaning of hell. The agony caused him to cry out just before he died, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34b (NIV)

The human race was literally racing to hell without hope when God stepped in. And it cost Him everything.

When we live with these realities undergirding our attitude toward life, WE WILL BE GRATEFUL. We will love, we will serve, we will give with abandon toward God and others.

As you think about your actions over the past week, which are you most like, Simon or the woman? C’mon, be honest. I challenge you to get grateful this Thanksgiving week. It leads to experiencing God and hearing His words of approval,

48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

Bob and the Box

2003-11-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

Bob was walking through his neighborhood on a sunny Saturday morning, doing nothing of importance, enjoying the day. Off to the right of the sidewalk, he noticed a box. Not hidden, but a bit off the beaten path. He dodged the water puddles to investigate, lifting lid of the box to reveal stacks of hundred dollar bills. In shock he dropped the lid into a puddle. Quickly he scooped up the lid, grabbed the box and headed for home.

He set the lid in the sunshine on the kitchen counter to dry and the box on the table. Stacks of hundred dollar bills!! Bob counted them, slowly, deliberately. 50 bills in each bundle. 200 stacks in the box. Exactly a million dollars!! Immediately he phoned the authorities to report his find. Bob’s mind spun with thoughts of all the detective shows he’d ever seen. Could it be a ransom, a blackmail, a robbery?

Bob lived in a very small town. The entire police force consisted of the county sheriff, Cliff, and 3 part-time officers. Several hours later, Cliff showed up at Bob’s house.

“No”, Cliff said. “Nothing has been reported about missing money.”

“What should I do with this? It’s not mine and someone is sure to be missing it.”

“I don’t trust the office to hold that much money. My officers are out of the building most of the time.”

“I have a commercial safe here at the house. I could keep it here for now, especially if no one else knows about it.”

“Not a bad idea. I’ll check the nationwide reports for any clues,” Cliff replied. “That sure is a lot of money, Bob. You know that if there’s no report after a year, the money will be yours.”

Now there was a thought Bob had not even considered. Bob looked at the calendar. June 9th. He was an honest man with a comfortable life and had not even contemplated keeping the money. The thought was fleeting. “C’mon,” Bob thought to himself. “What are the odds that a million dollars will not be missed.” Bob laughed as he pictured it, someone looking into their trunk, realizing their box of a million dollars was missing and saying, “Oh, well. Didn’t really want that anyway.”

Cliff called Bob the next day to let him know there was still nothing being reported about missing money. “Just keep it safely tucked away,” was all the advice Cliff provided. It was a very small rural town, after all. Bob wondered to Cliff, “Do you think the owner might give me a reward?” He got a bit excited, “What if he gave me just 1/10th of the money to say thanks? That sure would go a long way!”

Several months went by uneventfully. Most of the time Bob hardly remembered “the money”, except when he opened the safe to get his wife’s jewelry or check his insurance papers or grab a new book of checks. One day Bob mentioned “the money” to his best friend and told him the story of finding it. Ron thought Bob was pulling his leg, so Bob opened the safe and showed him “the money”. Ron whistled in awe and congratulated Bob on being such an honest person. In fact he made such a big deal about it that it made Bob feel really good about himself. So good, in fact, that he began to show the money to some of his other friends. “The money” became a topic of conversation, a focus of visits by friends. Bob found himself opening the safe, pulling out the box and showing people several times a week. It became a source of pride for Bob’s entire family.

One day in January, Bob carried the box out to the dining room table yet another time and said to the visitors with a bit of flair, “Here it is, MY million dollars.” Bob’s wife, Maggie, looked at him in shock. “What did you say?” “I said, ‘Here’s the million dollars.’” Bob replied. “No, you didn’t. You said, ‘Here’s MY million dollars.’” “No, I didn’t. Why would I say that? It’s not mine, I’m just keeping it safe.” “You said ‘MY’ not ‘the’” Maggie insisted. Because there were visitors, they both dropped it.

The next week the money was on the dining room table again between Bob and Ron. Both were quietly looking at it, simply admiring the money. “You know, I think my money deserves a better box,” Bob said as he went to another room. He came back with a plastic case with a hinged top and Bob’s name displayed on the front. He placed the money gently into the case and admired how well he was taking care of the money. Ron and Maggie both noticed the change. It was no longer “THE money.” It had become “MY money” in Bob’s mind and words.

In February, conversation turned to what Bob was going to do with HIS money after June 10th. He decided that he would give half of it to charity, invest 25% to put his kids through college and pay off his house and share the remaining 25% with his friends.

In March Bob decided that he would give ¼ instead of ½ of HIS money to charity, invest 25% to put his kids through college and pay off his house, keep 25% for himself, and share the remaining 25% with his friends.

By April Bob was spending time every day looking at the money, worrying about the money, thinking of ways to avoid taxes on the money. He was no longer coaching his son’s teams, helping his daughter with her homework or taking walks with Maggie. Ron no longer dropped by because he was tired of looking at “MY money.” As Bob looked at the money on tax day, he decided he was going to be very generous and give 10% to charity, invest 25% to put his kids through college and pay off the house, keep 50% for himself and share the remaining 15% with his friends.

In May Bob stopped going to work and stopped showing the money to visitors. He pulled the blinds and didn’t answer the door. Maggie took the kids to stay with her mom until after June 10th and told Bob she wouldn’t be back then unless the old kind, fun and loving Bob came back. He sat by the safe thinking about “MY money.” And he decided that he would give 1% to charity, (“that’s a lot of money, you know”), invest 25% to put his kids through college and pay off the house, share a few thousand with Ron and keep at least 70% for himself.

On June 2nd Cliff knocked on Bob’s front door. Standing with him was a distinguished, elderly gentleman. Bob’s heart went to his throat. Cliff kept ringing the doorbell. “I know you’re in there, Bob. Open the door. He let them in and was introduced to Charles, a resident of the Dutch Hill Retirement Center.

“About a year ago I was preparing to move,” Charles began.

Bob knew what was coming. Not the particulars, but he knew that this old man was trying to take away “his money.” He had to be a crook or a con man.

“Growing up during the depression caused me to mistrust banks. So all my life I saved my money in the attic. I kept it in a metal case I brought home from the war, so it was safe from fire. When we were packing up my house for the move, my son finally convinced me to put the money in the bank.”

“A likely story,” thought Bob. “He’s even got Cliff duped.”

“Last June I was on my way to the bank with the box of money. I’d counted out exactly one million dollars to put in the bank and I gave the rest to the grandkids.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. He’s really worked up all the details.”

“I realize now that I shouldn’t have gone by myself, but this has always been such a safe town, and it was only two blocks to the bank, and it was such a nice morning, that I decided just to walk the box of money to the bank. That’s really the last thing I remember. Evidently, about halfway to the bank I had a stroke, fell to the ground and dropped the box. A couple of joggers found me, called the ambulance and I’ve spent the last year recovering from that stroke. My short term memory was erased by the stroke and I’d forgotten completely why I was out that day until my son recently checked my bank statements and realized the million was not there. We called Cliff and here we are.”

Bob was dumbfounded. His mind was in overdrive trying to conceive of some plan to keep “HIS money.’ His stomach was in knots. His emotions were ready to erupt.

“Bob,” Charles continued. “I know that you must have thought the money would be yours.”

“Oh, not at all,” Bob said sarcastically. Charles didn’t seem to notice the edge in his voice.“

I would like you to give me 10% of the money. That is all I really need right now to live on.”

“10%!! He’s asking for $100,000 of my money. A few hundred would be fine, but that’s way too much money.” thought Bob to himself.

“I want you to invest the other 90% and use the interest for your family, your friends and other worthy causes.”

Bob’s mind began to spin. “He wants to control ALL the money!! How could he ask such a thing,” he thought.

“From time to time I may ask you for a portion of the money for a special cause, but other than that I want you to manage it for me.”

Bob sat down as the room began to spin.

“And, Bob. When I die the money becomes yours. As your reward.”

Bob’s emotions exploded as he jumped to his feet toward Charles. “You want $100,000 of my money right now?” he screamed at Charles. “You want me to hand it over just like that? That’s 10%, 1/10th of all my money that I’ve worked so hard to protect!”

Cliff stepped forward. “Bob, it’s all his money,” he said trying to calm him.

Bob kept shouting. “And you want to call the shots on the rest of it?”

Cliff grabbed Bob’s arm, “He’s offering you an incredible gift, Bob. Don’t you remember when you first found the money, you said you’d be happy with 1% as a reward. Now you’re acting as if it’s actually yours and Charles is taking it.”

“Well, it is!”

“No, Bob. It’s not your money and Charles is giving you the chance of a lifetime. You need to apologize and take him up on it.”

STOP Here for a moment. What is the ending of this story? You can finish it any way you would like, because it is your story. Charles represents God and Bob is each one of us. Here are some possible endings.

1. Bob grabs the box, runs and tries to keep the money. The result: the police track him down and haul him off. We can try to do that and we will face God as a policeman at the judgement.

2. Bob pretends to agree, but keeps the money for himself. The result is the same as the first.

3. Bob accepts Charles’ offer, returns 10%, manages the other 90%, enjoys the benefits and at Charles’ death receives a great reward. That is God’s plan – provided for now, pleasing to God and in heaven we will receive a great reward.

So watcha’ goin’ do? The choice is yours.

Mat 6:19-21 (NIV) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I Want My Heart Back!

2003-09-22T11:59:00.000-04:00

It has been a lifetime crusade for Indigo Montoya in the movie Princess Bride, this search for the man with six fingers on his right hand. He explains that this man commissioned Indigo’s father to craft a special sword that took a year to make. The six fingered man returned and demanded the sword at 1/10 the promised price. The man killed his father when he refused. Indigo loved his father and challenged the man to a duel. He spared him but scarred his face on both cheeks. He was eleven years old. "So I dedicated my life to the art of fencing. Then I began to search for the six fingered man. When I find him I will say, ‘Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.’ But it’s been twenty years and I’m starting to lose confidence."

Later in the film, Indigo finds the six fingered man and chases him through the king’s castle. As he rounds a corner, his enemy throws a dagger into Indigo’s stomach. He gasps, falls against a wall and whispers, "Sorry, Father. I tried. I tried."

His adversary mocks, " you must be that Spanish brat I taught a lesson all those years ago. Incredible. You’ve been chasing me all these years only to fail now. I believe that is the worst thing I’ve ever heard. How marvelous!" Indigo pulls the dagger out as he attempts to stand.

"Good heavens! Are you still trying to win?" jeers the six fingered man. He walks toward Indigo and thrusts his sword. Indigo has just enough strength to block the attack and step forward. "Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die" he mumbles as he falls against a table. Again the murderer attacks. Indigo defends himself a little stronger.

"Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die." He begins to walk haltingly forward as he protects himself against a third attack. With every step he regains strength, "Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die." His passion returns. He moves from defense to offense and shouts, "Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die!"

"Stop saying that!" barks the six fingered man as Indigo backs him against a table. He stabs each shoulder. The man knows he’s in trouble.

"Hello, my name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die!" Indigo slashes the man’s left cheek.

"Offer me money."

"Yes!"

"Power, too. Promise me that." Indigo slashes the man’s right cheek.

"All that I have and more. Please."

"Offer me anything I want."

"Anything you want!" The six fingered man raises his sword to swing. Indigo grabs his hand, delivers the death thrust, and with faces inches apart says, "I want my father back." Indigo drops him to the floor, dead, justice accomplished for his father.

While praying, walking on the treadmill last week, God brought that scene to my mind. Then my soul surprised me. From the depths of my heart came this cry...

"I WANT MY HEART BACK!!"

I want every corner cleared and free. I want to live and love with passion. I want to be free to be all God created me to be.

I believe that is the cry of your heart, too. The heart-cry of every person.

Problem is that early on our enemy began to steal our hearts. Through temptations, hurts, disappointments, lack of love, abuse, condemnation, legalism, unreasonable expectations, and on and on the list of his methods go. Satan steals a corner here, a corner there. Until either we lose heart or build such a wall around it that we no longer function "with heart."

I’m not talking about feeling or emotions. Rather, I’m talking about the real you. Your heart is who you really are. It is the place of motives, desires, creativity, courage, commitment, dreams. It is the location of conscience, creativity and deepest thinking. Emotion is simply the real you coming out. Your heart is where God gives life. Through giving into temptation we give Satan pieces of our hearts. Through the actions of others Satan causes us to hide our hearts. The result is we live "without heart", without the abundant life Jesus came to give us.

I know what some of you are thinking, "But I’m a Christian, so my heart is already back." Not quite. There is a difference between forgiveness and reclaiming our hearts. Forgiveness cleanses us of the guilt of sin. Reclaiming our hearts, our true selves only comes from allowing Jesus to kick the devil’s influence out, transforming our hearts into His image and living in step with God. Intimacy and freedom.

Indigo was not a murderer, he was a man with a little boy’s heart – still stinging from the loss of his dad.

We still sting from the loss of our heart until we snatch it back and give it to God.

Indigo refused everything, all the offers of the six fingered man. His request for money, power, everything he wanted was only because he wanted to prove that there was nothing of value that could buy him.

When we value nothing more than God’s possession of our hearts, we will begin to reclaim our hearts and be transformed.

Just as the six fingered man mocked our hero, telling him how marvelous it was that Indigo was going to fail, that he wasn’t good enough, that he was a loser, our enemy attempts to convince us of those same lies.

When we cling to the truth of God, we will respond to life "with heart" to be what we were created to be and accomplish what God has created us to do.

How about you? Want your heart back? Then you’re going to have to fight for it, in the power of God. Start today. Tell Satan, "I want my heart back!" Tell God, "I give my heart back to You, do whatever You want." You will rediscover your heart.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

NOTE: This edition was inspired by John Eldredge’s book, "Waking the Dead." I highly recommend it in your crusade to reclaim your heart.

Seeing the Father's Heart

2003-07-25T11:44:00.000-04:00

A poem for Curtis and Libby Fletcher as they are perched,
waiting for the future God promises to deliver.

“Doesn’t my dad love me? Doesn’t he care?”
Wondered the fifteen year old boy.
“He could change these circumstances
He could make life so much easier, if he only would.
He has the power. He has the freedom.
Why, oh why, does it seem he likes me to squirm?”

“Why is it so painful to help my son?”
Wondered and wept the dad.
“It would be so much easier to cut him free of the discomfort,
the frustration, the anxiety.”
But he didn’t.
Though he could hardly restrain from doing so.
In truth, he intentionally forced the teen into uncomfortable
circumstances that could have been sidestepped.
Because he knew the discomfort would not last,
But that the character and confidence would.
Though the child could not see it nor understand.

All that the lad could see and feel was the pain.
It seemed deeper knowing the dad could remove it and didn’t.
Sometimes he felt betrayed though the father repeatedly voiced,
“I love you, son. Dearly. Undyingly. More than you know.”
Yet the pain seemed so much louder than the words.

The dad wanted him, oh how he wanted him,
To see beyond the pain to the father’s heart.
His eyes moist often as he watched the struggle
Heard the cries, wiped away the boy’s tears.
The father’s heart was blurred from his child,
His distress and inexperience held that vision away.

Only now that the boy has become a man
Can he look back to see the father’s heart.
to see the pain was temporary.
to see the benefits are lasting.
to see that he could trust the father’s heart through it all.

Only now that the boy is past the earlier pain
Seeing it in the 20/20 vision of hindsight
Can he understand that it would not have been kindness
or love or care or help at all to remove the pain.
Rather, now he understands that had the father removed the pain
It would have been the greatest cruelty of all,
For the father would have stolen from the son’s present and future
The ability to be all that he was meant to be
And have the heart of the father beating within him.
(July 6, 2003)

Curtis and Libby,
(and all readers of From Where God Sits)

I pray that increasingly you will be able to see past
the financial, mental and emotional discomfort of these days.
To catch glimpses of the Father’s heart.
Not only with the intellect of faith that comes
When the mind is wrapped around knowledge.
But with the hearts of children pulled up
onto the lap of the Father, wrapped in His arms,
feeling the tingle of His whiskers
and the breath of His words as He expresses His delight in you.
Dearly loved, protected, provided for
And promised a hope-filled future.

Trust the Father’s heart. No matter what comes or what you feel.
Trust the Father’s heart.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity."" Jeremiah 29:11-14a (NIV)

(This poem was inspired by God and written especially for a good friend of mine and his wife following a phone conversation. Curtis has been out of work for over a year, in spite of the fact that he is one of the smartest and most talented men I know. God has closed door after door after door after door. Would you pause to say a prayer for Curtis, Libby and their three sons if this poem encouraged you?)

UPDATE - September 22, 2003 - THANKS!! to all who prayed for Curtis and Libby Fletcher. Within 2 weeks Curtis was offered a job by a company that had told him they didn't have anything for him, though they had all but promised a job for a couple months. I'm convinced your prayers made all the the difference!!