490 Times?

There are magical moments in my house when my living room transforms into something akin to the old School WWF (World Wrestling Federation) ring.  There are giddy screams of laughter, flying pillows, and children tossed about and twisted in true wrestling form.  It's simply beautiful and fun.  The kids love it, I love it, and Ginea.... well she just leaves the room.  Sometimes however, I will confess that the laughter turns to tears when the perfect body slam turns into something less than perfect.  There's no permanent damage of course and I quickly address the situation with a kiss and the proverbial, "I'm sorry".  The crazy thing is that simply because I say those words the tears don't instantly stop because those words haven't taken away the pain.  It's still there and it is still real but the problem is, there's nothing else to say.

In Matthew 18:21-22 Jesus tells Peter that he is not to simply forgive 7 times but rather 70 times 7.  That's 490 apologies!!!  What happens when we reach 491?  Forgiveness is a very difficult virtue.  So often the hurt is not grown out of a simple accident but rather the deliberate choice of someone else who was solely thinking of themselves.  They never considered you or their effect on you and now the innocent suffer.  Sure, you can say you are sorry but that doesn't take the pain or the consequences away.  It doesn't magically disappear with a few words.  Trust, confidence, and intimacy have all been violated if not destroyed.  So now what do we do with this forgiveness thing?

So often when I am put in the position of forgiving someone the first thing I question is their motive.  Did they really mean it?  Are they sorry they did it or are they sorry they got caught?  The second thing I do is to immediately go into self preservation and yes, even self-righteousness.  The "I can't believe you..." or the "I would never..." come out.  These are natural responses and hopefully I'm not the only one who does this but maybe I am missing the first and most important step to forgiveness, finding a personal peace with God in this process.

Forgiveness is not about fixing things to make them better. It is not even about the person that wronged you. Forgiveness is about letting go so that you may bring peace to your heart. Forgiveness is about turning to God and letting Him work in your life. The sooner you forgive, the sooner God can work for you.  In and of ourselves we are completely incapable of forgiving.  I know for sure I am not.  That is where the power of the Holy Spirit comes in.  We need help from God in this process and when anger, rage, and disappointment are allowed to create a buffer between you and God forgiveness will never take place.
For every action there are consequences and those consequences don't disappear with two little words, "I'm sorry."  Maybe the next time we are put into a positon to forgive, those words should serve as an invitation to get really personal with God.  Dive deep into a personal place with God where peace is found and we are able to see as God sees and then do as God says. 
As for me, this blog has gotten to deep for my simple mind.  I think I'll just do a little warm up and get ready for wrestle mania tonight in the living room with a 9, 7, and 3 year old.

ONE

It didn't take long for the commercial to hit the airwaves.  Just the day after the SuperBowl we see Aaron Rodgers, SuperBowl winning quarterback, trotting off the playing field with his pointer finger in the air declaring that he was, "going to Disney World".  I began to wonder how they got that footage in a commercial so quick?  How did they know he was the SuperBowl MVP and did they have  a deal cut with him and possibly Big Ben Roethlisberger before the game even started to see who would make that bold exclaimation?  At lease Aaron got one thing kind of right, they were number 1 as his pointer finger suggested.

Have you ever seen an athlete win a big game but still be last in the league and walk off the field or court exclaiming that they were number 1?  It's exuberance in it's finest.  They have an hour, a moment, a flash of brillance and the pointer finger is raised high.  No one wants to be number two or three.  There is not nearly enough power in holding four fingers in the air exclaiming you are in fourth place!There is a lot of competition in your and my life to be number one or even to fight for the top position in your own personal life.

In Ephesians 4:4-6 Paul says, "the is ONE body, and ONE spirit-just as you were called to ONE hope when you were called-One Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all".  That's a whole lot of pointer finger waving isn't?  Apparently the only ONE bold enough to wave that pointer finger is God himself.  The great "I AM".  We all share the same God and same son in Jesus Christ.  We all share in the same redemption and grace but not all of us share in placing God as the number ONE thing in our life.

A man named Willard Tate once told me that he could tell me what was important by looking at my day planner and check book.  Ever think about that?  Parent's here's what I want you to do this week, go through yours and your Students "day planner" and see where your investment of time is.  Look at your financial portfolio and see where God and his kingdom fit.  Lots of people want to be spiritual or want to raise spiritual kids.  There is a part of you that wants that too or you wouldn't be reading this.  The starting point to that is looking at how much you are investing in your relationship with God.  Talk with your Students about your time and money.  Ask yourself the tough question, is God number ONE in my life?

Why did God make the Fire Ant?

For those of you who are not from Texas you may have no idea what a fire ant really is.  Let me quickly educate you.  A fire ant is a tiny insect that I am convinced is spawned by Satan himself.  First and foremost they are a constant battle in my yard.  They destroy things, make life miserable, and HURT!!  Their little bites sting and make you just about miserable.  I have yet to find a good purpose for them.  All they do is inflict turmoil and aggravate me.  Have you ever wondered why God would create such a thing?

In my Bible reading this morning I read in Judges 3:4 where God explains why he left several nations alone who were Godless for the expressed purpose of causing trouble for the Israelites.  "They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands, which he had given their forefathers through Moses".  Just like the Fire Ant, these nations were left to test the true devotion of his people.  Is it possible that God allows temptations and struggles in your life simply to see how truly willing you are to worship him?

It kind of reminds me of the couple who is fresh in love.  They get that butterfly feeling in their stomach whenever they are around each other.  They put their best foot forward and make sure their breath does not stink whenever they go out.  This is understandable but I always look forward to seeing what they do when they have their first fight or figuring something that is truly annoying with that person the just "love".  How will they react when that happens?  Is their love strong enough to endure a hardship?  Is their devotion strong enough to see through the annoyances?  Is their commitment strong enough to face obstacles together?

Trials, persecution, and other struggles might just be there to strengthen your faith and test your true devotion to God.  I visited with a friend lately who is going through some serious struggles and turmoil.  I asked him about his marriage and how it was holding up to the strain.  Amazingly, he told me that these trials have brought he and his Bride together in a more intimate way then they have been ever.  Struggle was drawing them closer.  When facing something hard or unexplainable one of two things will happen.  It will either draw you closer to God or further from God.

Life is not perfect and it never will be.  Our kids need to know that, and more importantly they need to see that.  Sit down with your Students this week and tell them about a struggle, or a hard time you have gone through.  Share with them the hand of God in all of that and how God used that hard time to draw you closer.  Our Students need to see a devotion to God and each other when things are hard.  It is the stuggle that brings us together and the hardship that tests our commitment to God.

"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!!