On Time

Some people have different opinions on the subject of punctuality.  One summer, long ago, when I was working at summer camp, we had a camp director that liked to schedule things with an ish.  "We need to have a staff meeting this afternoon, let's say two-ish." If this sounds frustrating, you have no idea.

In practice, the way this would work is that we would show up pretty near to the time.  As he was always behind, he would be the last to arrive.  When he finally did arrive, the meeting would start.  He probably never saw a problem with it because he was never the one waiting.

In every circle there are those people who are chronically late.  (If you can't think of anyone like that, It's you.)  But just as aggravating are those who come early.  Now if you are supposed to meet someplace and they are early you may never know about it.  But sometimes our early birds are sitting on our doorsteps.  This is frustrating because we aren't quite ready for them and now there is this pressure to be ready too.  Why can't people just be on time?

So what is all of this about?  As we walk with God, part of the path is understanding that God's time and our time is not the same thing.  God does all things at the appropriate time.  And sometimes we approach God's instructions to us with a big ISH.  We know what God would have us do, but we say "Yeah, I'll get after that this afternoon ish." We don't approach God's priorities as if they are our priorities.  We treat them as more distant goals than pressing needs.

Other time we show up early on God's plans.  We are sitting on God's doorstep saying, "Are you ready yet God?  Come on, let's go." But God's time is not our time.  He will wait for the perfect time and we should too.

This clip from Pastor Chris refers to Jesus calling His disciples as told in Matthew 4:12-25.

Jesus waited for the right time.  He let the preparations of John the Baptist run their course, then at the right time he was on his way.  We should all appreciate that example.  There is that perfect time for God's will and we should be ready for it.

What Ever You Want

Has anyone ever said that to you? "What Ever You Want." We all know that they really don't mean it.  They are letting you decide and sounding generous, but there are always limits.  When you tell your five year old to choose a restaurant and say, "Where ever you want," You usually mean "Any fast food place that isn't too far away." We would all be surprised if they asked for surf and turf in the grand ballroom.

Just for the sake of curiosity I googled the most expensive restaurants and as the most expensive restaurant in the United States they have a place called Masa in New York.  Their website does not have a menu, but one review said that the AVERAGE dinner bill was $1269.  Masa seems to be the name of their chef.  Oh, and it's a sushi place.  It would seem like for that much money they could at least cook the food.

So for most of us. "Anything you want" really means "Anything within reason."  We all have limits and we don't get the blank check for truly ANYTHING.  But that is where God is different.  When Christ came to Earth he was fully God and fully man.  He had the universe at his fingertips.  He truly could have anything that he wanted.  He could have set himself up as eternal king in the grandest of palace.  He could have gone to such excess that even Donald Trump would say, "Don't you think you should tone it down?" 

He could have, but he chose the life of humility.  He chose to walk with the common people, feel their pain and cure their diseases.  He could have had a thousand servants but chose to wash the feet of others.  He could have lead a great army, but he chose to die on a cross.  He could have chose anything, and he chose to die for us.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

Christ could have chosen anything and he chose to serve.  He chose to put others before himself and to follow the will of God.  Now it's our turn.  What will we choose?

Whose Got Talent

Even if you have never watched it, I'm sure that you have heard of the TV show "America's Got Talent,"  People come on the show and perform their routines.  Celebrity judges criticize and make suggestions.  Viewers vote, some get eliminated, the survivors come back next week.  Finally a winner is chosen who receives a large cash prize and a chance to headline a show in Las Vegas.

There are several talent type shows out there right now.  There is The Voice, American Idol and X Factor to name a few.  One thing that makes AGT different is the variety of acts that come on,  While many of these shows highlight just singing or just one talent, this show is a mixture of talents.  So the competition includes dancers and acrobats and magicians and comedians and dog acts and yes, singers too.  The mix is interesting and that is probably why it is popular.  And not just in America.  Shows in this format have become popular in countries throughout the world.

So we all have talents.  I know a lot of interesting facts that I am willing to share, I am pretty handy with a spreadsheet and I can assume that since you are still reading this, my writing skills are at least passable.  And while I have some talents, like most people, they don't translate well onto the Las Vegas stage.  So there probably won't be a show where I format cells on Excel during the first act and discuss atomic structure in the second.  I could tell you about the third act, but I would hate to spoil the surprise.

 

Fortunately, if we want a life of significance and purpose, we only need one talent.  We need to be willing.  When we seek to follow the will of God opportunities will arise that make use of our talents or we will grow and discover new talents in new places.  All it takes to get on board is to seek God's Will for your life and to allow the Holy Spirit to influence and guide you as you follow that will.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

Seeking God's will and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our lives may seem like a massive first step.  Trusting in God, like so many things, is a talent.  It is a talent that can grow as we practice it and ask God for His help.  It may not be an act for the Vegas stage, but it will definitely impact those around us.

Other Duties as Assigned

Many companies issue job descriptions to their employees.  I believe the purpose is to clarify the specific duties expected of the individual.  But it seems that each of these lists always have one thing in common, "Other Duties as Assigned."  It says that you will definitely do everything on the list, plus anything else that we think of.  I wonder if there was a time when job descriptions did not include this item and people refused certain tasks as not being their job.  I bet it didn't take long before "other duties" became everyone's job.

During my summers working at summer camp, it seemed that there were more other duties than assigned duties.  There were the normal tasks of a camp counselor, plus mopping floors and picking up trash and cleaning the showers and washing dishes and fighting fires and destinking out houses.  None of which were in the job description.  Ultimately though, there is a job that needs doing.  There is an ultimate mission and that mission is not accomplished by a specific to do list, but rather it is accomplished by not losing sight and doing what needs to be done.  It means that you wear a lot of hats, but if the job gets done, so be it.

Christians have a certain job that needs to be done.  We are all his priesthood and need to show others God's love.  We don't do this only by following the Ten Commandments, but through the other duty that Christ Assigned.  We need to let the love of God shine through us in what ever way is available to us.  

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

The Bible refers to believers as a Royal Priesthood.  The job description is to love the world and let people see God's love through us.  That is the duty to which we have been assigned.  Let's get to it.

Votes and Polls

Unless you live in a cave someplace, I'm sure that you haven't been missing the daily play by play of the presidential primary season.  If you watch cable news, the horse race coverage goes around the clock, but in all news formats it is several times per week.  Of course in Michigan we voted last week.  In the build up it seemed that every last commercial was for one candidate or the other.  Then the net day they were gone.  On to the next states down the list.

Like most people, I have strong political convictions along with definite opinions on the pros and cons of the various candidates.  But this isn't a political blog, so I will keep those opinions to myself.  What I really want to write about is the break down of the election results.  

When people vote there are those who conduct exit polls.  They ask people leaving the voting site who they voted for.  They also ask about their background and opinions about several issues.  So we see that women supported this candidate or twenty-somethings supported that candidate and so on.  But the one that always gets me is the votes of Christians.

So to get on the list, you have to be someone who is willing to talk to the pollster, and willing to reveal how they voted and who describes themselves as a Christian.  So with that in mind I continue to be confused with people who claim Christ as their lord and savior but support people and policies that go against His teachings.

There are topics that we as believers disagree about.  Some baptize babies and others adults.  Some believe in confession to God alone and in private, while others believe that confession is done vocally to another believer.  We disagree and the discussion of those disagreements helps us all clarify our faith.   

However, their is one teaching of Christ that we can all agree upon.  Love.  Christ tells us that we need to show love.  First to God.  Then to each other.  Christ sent all believers on a mission.  We need to demonstrate the love of God and through that others will know Him.  I don't understand how candidates can enthusiastically advocate violence and hate, and still attract Christians.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are on a mission to show the love of Christ.  I know the world is a complicated place.  And maybe I'm too naive.  But I think that anytime that we call ourselves Christians we need to represent His values and ideas as well. 

Let's Get At It

Sooner or later we all face that thing that we would rather avoid.  There may be a gathering that you would rather skip, or a conversation that you would just assume not be part of.  Basically there is a job that needs to be done.  It's your job to do, but you really really really wish that it wasn't.  When faced with this dreaded task, you only have two choices.  You can put it off or get on with it.

Now maybe you can put it off indefinitely and get out of it, but probably not.  Probably, that will just let you anticipate it longer, and who wants that.  I think when faced with something that you don't want to do, you might as well get it over with.  

This of course is easier said than done.  A lot easier.  But it is better in the long run to get it over with than to live in its dread.  If the right thing was the easy thing, we would never do the wrong thing.  So when doing the right thing when it is hard, we need a little help.

It is in these difficult times that we as Christians can rely on God's strength through the Holy Spirit.  And that is the choice of Jesus in His last hours.  He could have put it off.  He could have left Jerusalem or called an army of Angels to conquer, but that wasn't the plan.  In the last hours he asked God if there was another way, but when there was not, he went on with it.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

When there is something that needs to be done, it is better to get at it, than to dread it.  This is not easy, but it becomes easier through the grace of God.

Give and Take

Years ago we were looking to buy our house.  We had been searching for a long time without much luck and it had been getting pretty discouraged.  One day the realtor called and told of us of a house that had just come on the market.  We went out to drive by and we were pretty excited.  We went back to the real estate office telling ourselves the whole time that we needed to play this cool.  I guess we weren't very convincing.  We walked in to the office and asked about the house and the realtor asked, "Did you want to look at the house first or are you ready to make an offer now?"

 

So we did end up getting the house and the negotiations were pretty straight forward.  Negotiations are usually a question of give and take.  In a negotiation nobody gets everything that they want.  Everyone has to give up something and hopefully everybody gets something to feel good about in the process.  Kids can be funny to negotiate with.  They want it all and aren't prepared to give up anything on their end.  

   Adult:  If you do extra chores, you can stay up past your bedtime.

   Kid:  How about I stay up late and eat chocolate cake.

For a kid, win-win doesn't mean that we both win.  It means that they win twice.

We can't really negotiate with God over are future.  God is God and we aren't,  God sets the terms and we take them or leave them.  Fortunately, what he wants us to give up is more than fair.

He wants us to give up hate and anger and self-pity.  He wants us to give up greed and covetousness.   He wants us to give up our petty demands and our self absorbency.   In return we get the fruit of the Spirit.  Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.  And that is a deal that even a child could love.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

God wants to bless us abundantly through the Holy Spirit.  All He asks is that we give up the things of this world that are holding us back.  Not a bad deal.

War Room - We Rented a Movie

Last night we rented the movie "War Room" and streamed it through Amazon.

War room is the story of a family that is collapsing.  The story centers around Elizabeth, the wife-mother.  As a real estate agent she meets Clara, an elderly lady who takes Elizabeth under her wing and teaches her how to fight for her family through prayer.

I thought it was pretty good (but not great) and I can give it a thumbs up.  (There may be some spoilers here on out so read at your own risk.)


I liked Elizabeth's transition into faith.  I liked how it showed her dabbling in it at first and not knowing what to do on to growing deeper in it.

I thought the movie did a good job of showing the impact of their fighting on their daughter. And the girl who played their daughter was convincing.

As far as things that held it back a bit.  I thought that there was too immediate of results between prayer and results.  This movie came from the producers of Fireproof.  And I think that Fireproof did a much better job of showing how prayer isn't an immediate fix and we need to press on through.

Also, while I enjoyed the character of Miss Clara, at times she seemed like a younger person playing an older person.  Which is exactly what it was.

But all in all, I'm glad we watched it and I think that it is worth your time.

The trailers are here and here and embedded down below.

And Because of That

Have you seen the pictures that people take of their dogs misbehaving.  Usually there has been some extraordinary mess and the dog is either looking guilty or the owner hangs a sign around their neck putting in in context. They make it look like the dog feels guilty for what it has done.  Of course the same joke doesn't work with cats.  Where dogs look guilty when you are unhappy, cats are smug and unrepentant.

The funny part of a dog looking guilty is that we all know it will not stop the dog from doing it again.  So often the changes that are made are in the owners, not the dogs.  We put our shoes away in a closet, keep a lid on the trash can, close the bathroom door and keep the dog out of that part of the house. In the end it is easier to train ourselves than to work those tendencies out of a dog.

Everything has consequences.  For good or for bad.  Either to ourselves or to those around us.  I live on a rural road that tends to get covered in snow drifts and ice.  If I drove 100 miles per hour down the road, there would be consequences.  I could hit and kill some one.  I could run people off the road.  I could lose control and go off the road myself.  I could upset my Amish neighbors.  I could put undo wear and tear on my vehicle.  There would be consequences, that is a guarantee.  

I think that wisdom is seeing beyond the immediate cause and effect of a situation.  Wisdom is the ability to see the big picture.  It is the ability to see far down the road and far off to the periphery and to anticipate the implications of our actions.  For example, a company can say that they will save money by paying their employees less.  The wise will see that if we pay them less, then they will be less content in their work.  And because of that, they will be looking for a better working situation.  And because of that, we will be spending money on acquiring and training new employees, and because of that we will not save what we thought.

Wisdom is seeing beyond the immediate.

The problem is that even the most wise can only anticipate so many possible options.  They say the difference between a chess player and a chess master is how many moves into the future they can anticipate.  But life isn't about facing one person in one space with a very limited number of options.  Life involves the thousands of people we encounter with infinite numbers of possible choices that each could be doing.  And because of that, we can't anticipate every thing.  

In First Corinthians, Paul writes that God "Catches the wise in their own craftiness".  Many of us think that our own knowledge is enough to carry ourselves along, But really, none of us can anticipate enough.  The key to real wisdom is to surrender our will to that of God's.  And through that surrender, He will reveal the best path for us.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

We accept the loving grace of God through Jesus Christ.  And because of that we can allow God's wisdom to guide our lives.  And because of that we can work for a greater purpose than we ever could achieve on our own.

Truth or Dare

There is a classic party game called "Truth or Dare".  OK, so it's a classic if you a middle school girl, but still.  In this game one person is asked a question.  That person can either answer the question or complete a dare.  So tell us this secret or run around in the snow barefoot, or gargle with lemon juice, or lick the floor or put ice down your back.  The possibilities are endless.

It is odd how often they pick the dare.  They would rather lick the floor than give up a secret.  Basically our secrets are our own.  A dare might be embarrassing or uncomfortable for a short time, but a secret revealed can never be hidden again.

We like to keep our problems to ourselves.  When a problem erupts, our first instinct is to figure out how to hide it.  We don't want everyone to see what we have done.  This however, can be counterproductive.  Studies show that when a doctor who has made a mistake admits it and apologizes, he is LESS likely to be sued.  But still, it's hard for doctors to do.  It's hard to admit that there is a problem.  In politics, it is often the cover up that creates more problem than the original mistake.

It is never easy to admit a mistake, but it is usually the right thing to do.  God calls us to confess our transgressions so that we can get past them.  You see what we keep hidden can grow and fester into a much bigger problem.  Supreme Court Justice Louis Branideis was talking about transparency when he said, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant,"  Bringing our problems out into the light of day allows us to receive support from our fellow Christians as we deal with the real world consequences.  

But there is more than that.  Confession, bringing our transgressions out of hiding allows the grace of God through His Holy Spirit and the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ to wipe our spiritual slate clean.  And there is no better reason than that.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Confession is all about bringing our transgressions to light.  It allows us to clear the air, receive a healing Grace and move on to a new future.  Confession isn't easy, but it is worth it.