"It's the Hard that makes it great"

It's a great line from the movie, "A League of Their".  Tom Hanks plays the baseball manager for an all Girls team trying to keep the normalcy of baseball alive in a country where nearly all it's men were serving in the military during World War II.  Hanks' star player, Dottie (The Queen of Diamonds), decides to quit the team prior to the start of the World Series to go back home to Oregon.  Her reasoning for leaving the team, "it got hard".  That is when Hanks' fires back with his classic response, "it's the hard that makes it great".

Now maybe it's a stretch to pull this movie line into spiritual parallels but do you ever feel that Christianity is simply too hard.  The Call of Discipleship is stifling.  It's almost like Christianity feels like the "No Fun" zone.  Look at all the things we have to give up.  Look at all the sin the world joyfully endeavors in that we have to resist.  If that wasn't enough, Jesus tells me to love those who "hate" me, pray for all the punks in the world who "persecute" me and then I even have to give up my own life to live sacrifically for Christ.  You want to talk about hard!!!

Sometimes it feels like we are called to do the impossible.  To truly live for Christ and not for self, feels so "hard" that it makes me wonder if Tom Hanks quote here would fit. Where is the "great" of Christianity found?  Now I could ramble off all these Scriptures, ideas, or theology but honestly, where's the fun in that?  Parents, talk to your Students about that very question and see what they come up with.  Is their view of Christianity the "no fun" zone or do they see the "great" in it?  You might be surprised at what you hear.  By the way, it would be in your best interest to spend some time in prayer over your answer.

Who is God?

Art Linkletter used to have a show called, "Kid's say the darndest things".  Bill Cosby recreated that show decades later.  The premise of the show was to put kids on stage and have them interviewed about things in their family, life, and even politics.  The hilarity came with the things that would come out of their mouth.  Ask any Kindergarten teacher and they will tell you that you never know what you can learn about a family from the mouth of a 6 year old.  It makes me wonder what my 3 angels (or devils depending on the day) would say about me?  Would they say I'm playful, angry, busy, addicted to Penn State Football, competitive, loving, obsessive, vulgar, and hopefully Christ-like.  I guess they could say all of those thing because in some ways they all could describe me.  How would you and your Student describe God?

We could describe God as full of Grace and loving.  No greater testament to that than Jesus Christ himself.  We could call him powerful, he did speak the world into creation.  We could call him jealous (Exodus 20:5).  We could call him angry (Amos 1:3).  We could call him forgiving, joyous, and paternal.  Just like me, we could use all these to describe God and in some ways I personally like them all, even the angry part just as long as he's not angry with me!  But there is one descriptor of God that really makes me nervous.  There is one aspect of him that shakes me to the core and leaves me scrambling, God is intimate.

In Luke 12:7 Jesus tells us that God loves us and knows us so well that he even knows all the hair on our head (or lack thereof for some).  Now that is what I call intimate!  He knows my comings and goings.  He knows my thoughts actions, dreams, ambitions, and even the little white lies I've told that no one knows.  He knows my insecurities, my failures.  He knows my successes, my faith, and everything about me.  He knows me better than My Bride does.  I don't know about you, but that is kinda scary.  There are a lot of things I don't want people to know about me for obvious reasons, the main one being, will they still love me or respect me if they knew all of me?  I guess it should be comforting to know that God still does but I don't know how he does.  It is one of those things that just doesn't make sense and while it scares me it also in a way draws me closer to him.

Parents, talk to your Students about all the different aspects of God.  My list above is hardly exhaustive.  Ask them the parts they love about God and the parts that make them nervous or scared.  Share with them your thoughts.  Be honest with them and your Student will be honest with you.  God will know if you are holding anything back and believe it or not, your kid probably will too.

As Iron Sharpens Iron

I just came back from a significant lunch.  We did  not discuss budgets, politics, the cure for cancer or anything of the sort.  We simply talked about our families, our struggles, our praises, and the mutual desire for our lives and families to be focused on God.  In the age of power moves and high rolling business luncheons, I feel that this very lunch was far more impactful and carried a more significant impact on my community and Church then anything else.  I left Freebirds full from my burrito, encouraged, and slightly sad.  The sadness comes from the wonderment of whether the rest of you have relationships that push you to a higher level of holiness and devotion to God.

An extremely tough lesson to learn is the significance of outside relationships.  We very seldom see the impact of our Friends and Family in our own personal walk with God.  Have you ever taken stock in the relationships you have at work, school, or even Church and asked yourself whether those relationships are drawing you closer to God or pushing you further from his truth?  Solomon writes in Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron so does one man sharpen another."  Are your relationships sharpening you for God's service or making you dull and apathetic to the influences of the world?

Often times I come across Students who suffer from the poor choice of friends or even the poor choice in who to date.  I ask these kids why they chose to hang out with people who don't love God or date people who aren't in love with Jesus?  Typically I get the response, "look who Jesus hung out with, aren't I supposed to be like Christ".  It's a good comeback but it has it's flaws.  Immediately I ask them what was the nature of Jesus friendship with "those" people?  Was he the influencer or the influencee?  We all have levels of relationships.  We have those acquaintances that we see every once in a while and they are nice but not overly impactful.  We then have that intimate ring of relationships that carry a ton of influence as to who we are and what we do.  My question is, what do those relationships look like?

I once visited with a Mother who was concerned about the friends her son was hanging out with.  I simply wondered out loud, "I wonder what the Parents of those boys are saying about their relationship with your son?"  That's a tough question to hear isn't it?  It's a tough question that I have to ask myself.  Is my Bride, My family, My Church, and this Student Ministry better for my presence and influence or worse off?  Am I providing my share of the "iron" to sharpen them?  Ask yourself and your Student that question.

For some families, these questions might possibly spark a long and intense discussion on the nature of their kid's relationships.  For some families, especially if you have teenage boys, the discussion may only last a few minutes with the final response of, "uhhhh I don't know".  If this is what happens when you talk to your kids about this don't be alarmed and don't push, now is the time to pray.  Pray with your kid about their friends.  Pray for them to have friendships with people that love God and will sharpen their "iron".  PRAY FOR THE  PEOPLE THEY WILL MARRY.  Pray that they will marry God loving and Jesus worshipping people who will help them in their walk.  Pray that your own Child will be an influencer for God. The significance of friendships may be lost on the Student, but don't let it be lost on you.  Pray out loud for these things and let your Student hear that prayer.  Believe it or not, the audible prayer will find it's way to significant meaning eventually in their hearts.

Arctic Outbreak

Just as I am typing this blog I am looking outside and contemplating the serious "Arctic Outbreak" that is heading to South East Texas.  I am what you would call a weather junky.  I am constantly searching the web for up coming fronts, chance or rain, or pressure systems heading our way.  Don't ask me why I do this.  I'm not a farmer and whether it rains, snows, hot, or cold my life doesn't change too much but this cold air coming my way has got me in a tither.  I've got my chainsaw in the back of my truck heading to some friends to cut and split some firewood for the upcoming cold.  I've prepare a warm shelter for my precious dogs to keep them safe.  I've insulated my pipes, laid out some cold weather gear, and made sure the cars are full of antifreeze and filled up.  This is way overkill!!!  You would think I lived in Canada but alas I am in Texas where it will be cold next week and 70 degrees the week following. As I take stock of my weather preparations it makes me consider if I am just as tenacious in my preparations for the coming events in the life of a Christian.

We believe that Jesus is coming back and that a judgment day will happen but how ready are we?  Are we preparing our hearts and souls to face our Savior?  Are we anticipating the words, "well done good and faithful servant" Mt.25:21 or are we expecting something else?  Are we confident in our standing with God or are we blindly walking through the days verbally admitting the Savior is coming but not actively preparing for that return?

After we answer those questions and if the answer is "yes" then what about the friends and family that we love?  What about the casual acquaintance or lunchroom friend at school who knows we live in faith but they unfortunately do not?  Are we prepared to share to gospel with them?  Are we prepared to help guide them through the above qustions in their own personal lives?  This is scary stuff.  Being prepared to share your faith takes courage and strength.  In most people, including me, the troubling part of preparing myself to share my faith is what if I don't have the answers and what if I want to share my faith but have no idea what to say?  In 1 Peter 3:15 we are told to always, "be prepared to give an answer for the hope we have".  This brings up 2 problems for me, will people recognize a hope in me, and will I be able to give an answer?

In most Students they struggle with the "Superman" syndrome.  Nothing will ever happen to them and mortality and eternity are difficult concepts to follow.  Truth be told, they are difficult for this 34 year old.  Parents, sit down with your kids this week and talk about eternity.  It will be a tough topic and one you may not have grasped either.  Talk about it anyway.  Share your hope or desire for them in their walk with God.  Share your hope for yourself and your own walk.  Talk about how your life now is preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ.  Keep the words simple, and work on your answer that you will give to your friends and loved ones when they ask you about the hope you have.  Be prepared.  In that light I'm closing this blog off for today, there is firewood that needs to be cut.  Bring on the cold!!