Work in Progress

So the job is not quite done.  There is still a bit more to do but don't worry about it.  We will get right on it.  Just make the best of it until then.

Have you ever been waiting on someone to complete a project, and it never seems to get done.  It can be really frustrating.  Either you are in a holding pattern waiting on them, or you continue on, but your part is that much more difficult.  We have all been there. Actually, most of us have been on both sides of this problem.  We have been the one waiting on someone else and the one causing someone else to wait.  For some reason, it seems more inconvenient when I am the one waiting.

How much are we like this?  The project that never quite gets done.  We all know areas for which we need to improve.  Physically, emotionally, spiritually, probably in every area there is a part that needs more refinement.  I remember once reading a quote from Mother Teresa (I could not find the actual quote, so I paraphrase.) She said that she knew her own heart and it was black as night.  

This has always struck me.  If a person who forsakes worldly goods and devotes her life to helping the poorest of the poor sees herself this way, my heart must need industrial strength cleaning.

So what issues are you facing?  What work do you need to do?  As Christians we ask the Holy Spirit in to our hearts.  And once in, the Holy spirit doesn't just put its feet up and celebrate a job complete.  No, the Holy Spirit, once inside says, "This place is a mess.  Let's get to work." 

I imagine that God gets frustrated with us.  Not because we are an unfinished work, because we all know that it will not be completed in this lifetime.  No, I think God would be frustrated with our spectacular lack of progress in some areas.  

Well, it's labor day weekend.  Time to pick an area and get to work. 

Did You Say Something?

When I first moved out of my parent's home, I had a little apartment out of town, near the river.  It was nice and quiet, but a bit too quiet.  I grew up with three sisters and it seemed like there was always something going on around the house.  I would often turn the television on just so that it sounded like someone was talking.

We live in a world where silence is distracting and clutter is the norm.  We hear so much about multi-tasking that I think that people have lost the art of mono-tasking.  No one seems to be able to have an actual conversation one on one with a live person while neither is engaged in doing something else.

There is a lot to be said for focusing on a single objective.  When a predator is chasing down prey it will pick a single individual and chase it down.  Animals instinctively know that constantly changing the objective, the target, the goal makes achievement much harder.  Why do we find that concept so puzzling?

It can be difficult to pick out one voice in a sea of noise, even if that one voice is the voice of God.  God is still speaking today, we have a world that can make it hard to hear.  Hearing through the clutter requires focus.  The lower the amount of clutter, the easier it is to hear.

If God is speaking to you today, would you even hear it?

Random Acts of Kindness

The world is falling apart.  You have to look out for yourself.  Everyone is trying to get into your pocket.  What is wrong with people and why don't they raise their kids better?

Naaaah.

Most people out there actually treat each other pretty well I think.  One time when my son, we were in Marquette.  In one park along Lake Superior people were jumping off the tall rocks and into the water.  He was too and we were watching him.  At one point he asked me, "If I got hurt in the jump, would you come in and save me?" I said, "Of course I would.  But you know what, all of these other people here would too.  If they saw you in trouble, they would save you too, even though they don't know you.  That's how people are." 

Sometimes there's that little extra help when you need it.  Watch this video about a boy who passes on a little kindness to a soldier.

A small act of kindness that means a lot.

Have you ever been in the situation where a potential disaster is averted at the last minute.  Someone is all of a sudden there to help.  We all have them but they end up being not very memorable because the day turns out pretty normal, and not a disaster,  We sometimes think, "What would I have done if they weren't there?"

But they were there.

And sometime were called to be that person that is there for someone.  Have you ever gotten the inkling, the feeling, the nudge that you really should do something for someone?  One time I remember getting this feeling that I needed to call this old friend.  I hadn't spoken to him in a while. but I was busy and I kept putting it off.  Finally in the afternoon I give him a call.  He was moving.  Things were not going well.  He had to leave his apartment and there were a lot of issues with it.  We talked for a while.  I think that it helped.  Now this was pre cell phones so if I would have waited he would have been gone and I would not have had any way to contact him.  Sometimes we need to listen to those nudges.

God often uses us to be a blessing to others.  We need to listen to the call and respond to the prompting.  What is He calling you to do today?

If You Need a Reason

In 1917, Teddy Roosevelt wrote in Ladies Home Journal on his reasons to go to church.  He lists ten practical benefits to going to church each Sunday.  One of them is this...

Yes, I know all the excuses. I know that one can worship the Creator and dedicate oneself to good living in a grove of trees, or by a running brook, or in one’s own house, just as well as in church. But I also know as a matter of cold fact the average man does not thus worship or thus dedicate himself. If he stays away from church he does not spend his time in good works or in lofty meditation. He looks over the colored supplement of the newspaper.

I think this is a valid point.  God is everywhere.  He CAN be worshiped anywhere, but how many people DO worship him everywhere?  

At a craft show once a booth had several handy products made out of every day items.  I found myself thinking why would I buy that, I could make it easy enough.  Then I saw a sign hanging up that said, "Yes, you could make it, but will you?" 

Worshiping God is like that.  We can do it anywhere, but will we?  Going to church sets an environment that is predisposed for worship.  The stage is set, music plays, prayers are said, scripture is read, all you need to do is engage.

God wants a relationship with us.  Building that relationship takes time and attention and while church attendance alone provides neither salvation nor a relationship, it is a good start.

One last thought from Teddy Roosevelt on going to church.

The man who does not in some way, active or not, connect himself with some active, working church misses many opportunities for helping his neighbors, and therefore, incidentally, for helping himself.

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

We have all had that moment.  Thing go south in a hurry and we are left with that uncomfortable feeling of "What was I thinking?" And the sad part is there is no excuse. There was no way that you were going to pull this off.  Clearly it was a plan fraught with peril.  Disaster was predictable.  Sometimes we are only left with the consolation that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

But what about the decisions that aren't disasters, but also not quite as good as they could be.  You make the purchase and it's fine, but you later find out that you could have had a better model at a lower price.  Just missed out on an opportunity.  You should have been there.  There is nothing wrong with what's going on here, but man let me tell you.

We live in a world full of abundance.  Life is usually not a question of good choices and bad choices but rather good choices and better choices.  Discerning the difference is a function of wisdom.  CS Lewis said, "The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are." And of course God is the ultimate circle of wisdom.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. - 1 Corinthians 1:25

The difference between a Good Idea and a God Idea is what Pastor Mike called the difference between the world's good and God's best/  It is the difference between "Everything's fine." and "Excellence".

Which do you want for your life?

First Things First

When we were little, my Dad would read to us and his favorite book was Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hatches an Egg".  We heard that story so often that mt sisters and I could recite long passages from memory.  If you have never read it, it is a story of an elephant that sits in a tree and hatches an egg.  Early on in the story, Horton is preparing to climb up into the tree and the line in the story goes, "The first thing to do muttered Horton lets see.  The first thing to do is to prop up this tree." Horton need to make the tree stronger to support his weight.  Without a strong foundation, it would never work.

First things first.  What is the priority?  What one thing will affect the success of everything else?  It is remarkably easy to lose track of this.  John Lennon famously said that "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." We can get so caught up in the details of life that we lose sight of the priorities and what I do ends up being counter productive.  

This idea is never more true than it is with our relationship with God.  Christianity ultimately isn't about a religion, it's about a relationship.  Relationships take time and attention.  But talk about the one underlying foundation that will affect everything else.  

At the end of Horton Hatched the Egg, the egg hatches and what comes out is part elephant and part bird.  The ideal is that Horton's love and faithfulness is reflected.  The same is true for us in our relationship with God.  As we develop our relationship, His characteristics will be reflected in us.

Filling Your Own Mold

I once went to an art exhibit in Grand Rapids that featured work from the sculpture Rodin.  All I knew about him at the time was that he had sculpted. "The Thinker", a large bronze stature sitting in front of the Detroit Institute of Arts.  When we got there they said that there were several original Rodins, but many of them were this same statue.  Most were smaller.  Some much smaller.  It didn't make sense.  How could they all be originals?

It seems that the sculptor makes the original image from clay.  Then it is encased in plaster, so a mold is made.  The mold is removed and used to cast multiple versions of the statue, all of which are considered original.  This is true even if it is done years later, even if the original artist is dead.   So if there would only be one casting from the mold, only one original, when the artist got done, they broke the mold.  Hence the expression.

At the Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC there is a bronze casting of Thomas Jefferson.  It is another celebrated piece of art.  What if we tried to force the Jefferson statue into Rodin's mold for the Thinker?  It wouldn't fit,  No matter how hard we tried it wouldn't work.  They are both works of art, but different.  We are like that.

Society has a certain mold or expectation that it tries to squeeze each of us into.  But it never quite fits.  

I guess now that I think about it, society doesn't really have a mold for us, but a caricature.  An exaggerated view of who we are and what we do.  They see us one way, but there is a lot more inside waiting to come out.  If you are a teacher, you must be like this.  If you are a builder you must be like this, if you are an accountant you must be like this.  If you are a Christian you must be like this.  Fill in the blank.

   

The trick is being true to the image and the purpose that God has for us.  We can't try to fit the mold or fulfill the caricature that the world has set for us.  It never works. 

Welcome to the Freak Show

Several years ago I saw a skit on Saturday Night Live that was about two VERY normal people on a first date.  Both dressed in beige, drove their brown Chevy Novas to a mid range restaurant, ordered their meat medium with ranch dressing on their salad.  Listening to lite rock they cranked their volume up to 5.  You get the picture.  So there we have an extreme picture of normal and it feels pretty boring.

   

We all have our things.  It's what makes us unique.  Some of these things we share, others we keep private.  Of course some people let their uniqueness run amok.  Some people like this others do not.  How about a t-shit that reads, "I don't like Unique People.  I'm different that way."  That could be a million dollar idea.

We are all freaks in one way or another.  It's just that some people don't let their freakishness show. 

God Uses Freaks.  Our freakishness, our individuality, our uniqueness is what sets us apart.  For each of us God has a purpose.  It is a unique purpose for you and you alone.  If each of us were the same, then anyone could take your place.  Someone can fill in and take your spot, but it will never be the same.  

When King David was fleeing from Saul he gathered the other outcasts and from them formed an army.

There were outcasts in the desert.  David said you have a place with me.  In the same way God tells all of us that in our uniqueness, in our freakishness, we have a place and a purpose.

Facing the Opposition

So you've got a plan, an inspiration, a mission.  Who is the opposition.  Every plan, activity or program has opposition. Someone is invested in the status quo, or it wouldn't exist in the first place. The opposition may be there due to financial constraints.  It may be there due to tradition. It may be just apathy. But there is always some opposition.

One form of opposition is inertia.  Newton's first law states that objects resist changes in their state of motion.  Objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion.  Inertia is not good or bad, it just is.  Inertia keeps a car sliding on the ice when the breaks want it to stop, but inertia also keeps the Earth moving forward when the Sun's gravity would pull it in.  

Organizations have institutional inertia.  A group of people are used to doing things one way and now it's different.  I went to vote this past week and the township hall was arranged differently than it has been in the last 16 years I've been voting there.  I made some comment about it and joked about not liking change and went on to vote.  While I was there I heard at least three other people comment on the new arrangement.  I imagine those ladies heard about it all day.

Organizational inertia is also not good or bad.  It just is.   We don't want to resist changing to make it better.  But if we spend all of our time changing, then we don't have time for doing.  Opportunity cost is another form of opposition.

So every plan has opposition.  The real problem is facing the opposition and getting past it.  Now maybe the opposition has a point and we need to redirect our efforts.  But if the plan, the task, the mission is a calling from God, then there is no choice but to face it and get through.

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

Every thing new has opposition.  When was the last time that there was a proposal on a ballot that was unanimously approved.  For some things the opposition is active and for others it's passive, but it's always there.  But if the plan is God's will, He will be there to see you through it.

Unlikely Warriors

History is full of people who rose up and succeeded where no one thought that they could.  Those are the compelling stories.  After all if we here about a child that grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth, was dynamic, loved, good looking and then went on to do great things..... where's the story.  We like to root for the under dog.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one such leader.  Here is how he was described in time magazine in 1964...

King is in many ways the unlikely leader of an unlikely organization -- the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a loose alliance of 100 or so church-oriented groups. King has neither the quiet brilliance nor the sharp administrative capabilities of the N.A.A.C.P.'s Roy Wilkins. He has none of the sophistication of the National Urban League's Whitney Young Jr., lacks Young's experience in dealing with high echelons of the U.S. business community. He has neither the inventiveness of CORE's James Farmer nor the raw militancy of SNICK's John Lewis nor the bristling wit of Author James Baldwin. He did not make his mark in the entertainment field, where talented Negroes have long been prominent, or in the sciences and professions where Negroes have, almost unnoticed, been coming into their own. He earns no more money than some plumbers ($10,000 a year), and possesses little in the way of material things.

He presents an unimposing figure: he is 5 ft. 7 in., weighs a heavy-chested 173 lbs., dresses with funereal conservatism (five of six suits are black, as are most of his neckties). He has very little sense of humor. He never heard of Y.A. Tittle or George Shearing, but he can discourse by the hour about Thoreau, Hegel, Kant and Gandhi.

God raises up unlikely people at the right time.  We can't say that the civil rights movement was lucky to have Dr. King.  We can say that Dr. King had God's anointing and that made the difference.

The story of David and Goliath is so well known that it's almost cliche.  David is the ultimate example of an unlikely warrior.  A boy that couldn't fit in the armor and couldn't lift a sword became the champion of a nation.  How could a boy beat a great warrior?  The answer is he can't.  It's impossible.  And that's where God comes in.

So what battles are you fighting?  In life there are many trials that seem insurmountable.  But God equips us to fight the battles that we are called to face.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. - Ephesians 6:10-18

How We Are Seen

Who are you?  There is always a difference between perception and reality.  A while back a series of pictures/posters were on facebook with captions like, what the public thinks I do and so forth.  They played on the different perceptions seen inside and outside of a profession.

The problem comes when we start defining ourselves based on the perceptions that others have of us.  We aren't smart enough or rich enough, or tall enough or popular enough.   Society is quick to put us into molds and define us based on what they think we are or what we can be.  God has another view of us.

This goes a step further than being true to yourself.  Sure, we want to resist the pigeon holes that society places on us.  We want to set our own course and do what is in out hearts.  But God offers us more.

Who we truely are and do is good.  But seeing ourselves through God's eyes, not for what we are but for what we can become, is not the world's good.  It's God's best.

Somebody Should Do Something

Do you know what's wrong with this world today?

OK, you probably do know.  If for some reason you have no opinion on this issue than stop by any restaurant in small America and ask that group of guys sitting around that big table.  They will fill you in.  Identifying problems is never a problem.

Actually finding solutions to the problems isn't hard either.  Ask that same group of guys.  They will tell you how it should be.  Now there are reasons why some problems are hard to fix.  Money, materials, politics.  But sometimes the problem is motivation.  No one has the drive to make it different. No one steps up and says, "I will fix it."

This is the way that we often treat God.  We pray that God should fix a problem, and that is a start.  But as we pray the prayer needs to change from God, You should fix this to God, please help me fix this.  Its seems like a small change, but it's huge.  Prayers change things starting with us.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. - James 2:14-17