What Color Is Grace?

While an education in Hebrew and Greek is certainly a wonderful instrument to have in your repertoire, not every Christian is equipped with those language skills. In this technological age, however, we have plenty of tools available to us. A good Bible concordance, a lexicon...even a simple English dictionary can produce plenty of hooks for study.

In First Peter 1:6, the Apostle depicted the Christian experience as having some “manifold temptations". There is, of course, the assurance that these trials are only for a season, until we are revealed in our incorruptible inheritance at the Rapture. But it is the length of the season that often serves to discourage us. There is help and hope, however, in the word "manifold". The Greek term literally means “multi-colored” and encourages the believer to experience the wonder of being tried for the purpose of growing closer to the Lord. Likewise, the trials of this life come fully loaded with the MANIFOLD GRACE of God in First Peter 4:10. You might say that God puts prisms of light (rainbows, if you will) in our life. These prisms, in turn, enable us to minister more effectively to others who will ultimately go through similar testings. Who knows, perhaps someone is watching the colors of your life right now and gaining strength from them. I know that dark days lie ahead...and I'm looking for the light to shine out...that it might glorify my Father who is in Heaven (Matthew 5:16).

Maintaining Balance

Three times in II Kings, chapter seven, an officer of the king is described as "a lord on whose hand the king leaned” (verses 2, 17, 19). This is an interesting way to describe someone, and the Hebrew word literally means “the third;” but just what does this officer do? Until recent times the answer to that question had been shrouded in mystery. Archaeologist W. W. Boulton uncovered some ancient pictures on Assyrian monuments that reveal the duties of this mysterious third man. The pictures show a chariot speeding into battle. There are three men in the chariot: one is the driver; another is the fighting man, with spear and shield ready for battle; and the third man is the balancer, shown holding two straps which are fastened securely to the back of the chariot. By shifting his body, this soldier prevented the chariot from being toppled by obstacles in the road or a sudden swerve. It is understandable that a king would not want to ride his chariot into battle without a faithful balancer on board as insurance against a preventable accident.

The passage in Kings illustrates the importance of maintaining a balance. Consider the talent and ability required to provide that equilibrium. This lord would not only have to be aware of his own body and strength; of necessity, he must be fully aware of his surroundings...watching the driver, watching the king, following the battle and keeping an eye on his own back. Is it possible that our own lives fall out of balance when we cease from paying attention? One moment of distraction and Satan has us off-kilter. The Apostle Paul said: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means , when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. [I Corinthians 9:27; see also 2 Timothy 2:4]

Peter's New Approach

A few posts ago, I mentioned my catch phrase: Find a hook and hang this on it. Here's one of those hooks that caught my attention and made me pause awhile. In Matthew 17:27, Jesus and Peter had been discussing taxes. The Lord told Peter to go and cast a hook into the sea and the resulting catch would ultimately pay their Temple tax for the year. Now, this miracle is interesting for several reasons: it is only recorded by Matthew; Peter was the only one cognizant of the miracle; and it is the only miracle where Jesus utilized money. In addition, let’s not forget the divine power it took to get THAT coin in THAT fish’s mouth. But we should not lose sight of the fact that it all began with a simple fishing hook. Peter was, of course, a career-fisherman, but he had always used a net to do his work. Jesus asked him to find another tool with which to accomplish his task...and that is the key to the entire passage. Standing on the shore, or rowing out in the boat would only accomplish so much for Peter. It was in trusting the Lord and looking for a hook that enabled Peter to be successful in his endeavor. And what a story he could pass on to others. When it comes to finding real treasure, many approach the Scriptures with a wide net. Others stand on shore and wait to see what the preacher will bring in. When was the last time you looked for a hook in a single verse of scripture and trusted the Holy Spirit to land the big one?

The Swine Flu

With all the commotion surrounding this new dreaded disease, there is something in the Bible I have wanted to point out. In Mark 5, Jesus cast demons out of the “maniac” of Gadara. In and of itself, the miracle does not surprise us. After all, Jesus did those kinds of things all the time. But what is peculiar is the presence of the pigs nearby (verse 11). Ironically, it was the demons who recognized Jesus and understood what He was about to accomplish. They were concerned with having to leave the country (verse 10). They had grown comfortable in the land of the Gadarenes and did not relish the idea of going elsewhere. Of course, the Lord was not concerned with the comfort of fallen angels, so His willingness to allow them to go into the pigs should not be construed as such. What we don’t want to miss, however, is the presence of the pigs themselves. The land of the Gadarenes was where the tribe of Gad had settled. Do you see it? In the Old Testament, the tribe of Gad had chosen land on the east side of the Jordan River in which to live. Moses warned them that they would become distanced from the rest of the nation...but they promised that would never happen. Now, hundreds of years later, the long-awaited Messiah arrives in their midst. These farmers, who later became angry at Jesus for killing their pigs, were JEWISH. They had grown so cold in their religious observation that raising prize pigs was more important than the presence of their promised Messiah. How often have we, as believers, gotten off course and refused to allow the Lord preeminence in our lives? Don’t forget, in Revelation 3:20, Jesus is standing on the outside, knocking, and desiring to come back inside the church...to the place He once enjoyed in the lives of believers.

And what in the world does all of this have to do with a disease in Mexico? Look at Mark 5:13...the demons were cast into the pigs, who then ran violently down the hill and jumped into the sea. Get it? The swine flew.

A Stand Up Guy

Last week I attended a funeral at the Los Angeles Police Academy. The deceased was a 35-year veteran of the LAPD, having served as a detective during the late sixties and seventies. During the funeral, his former partner, fellow officers and various lawyers and judges shared stories of working side by side with him. Over and over they used the same words to describe him: He was a "stand up guy." Naturally, this made me wonder about the meaning of the term. Of course I've heard the phrase used before, but in the context of a decorated police officer who had been touched by any number of violent and horrible crimes, I began to define my terms. Likewise, his generation would have a different idea than would mine. Later, I posed the question to my church members..."From your experience, what character traits are required to identify someone as a stand up guy?" These are some of the responses I received:

1. A person that is honest and straightforward; a person of good character not easily swayed by popularity; someone who has your back when the going gets rough; someone who will tell it like it is.
2. One who puts the welfare of church, family, friends and others above their own. One who faces fear, danger or adversity with personal courage. One who does what's right, legally and morally.
3. Someone who is always there for someone in need and is always there to give a helping hand without thinking of the consequences; a person who will tell you the truth no matter what.
4. Someone who, through good times and bad, leads their lives with moral correctness and conviction. A person who doesn't stand by and watch when something bad is happening but takes action to defend the weaker party. A stand up person is balanced and fair, kind, generous, firm, and loyal. For me, a stand up person constantly walks in someone else's shoes, takes the time to really appreciate how other people feel and then lives his life always willing to stand up and do right.

It's obvious that we can recognize a stand up guy when we see one. For me, the whole idea of "stand up" carries with it the implication that he will rise to any occassion. Certainly he would defend his friends and help in anyway possible. But even more, this person would do what was RIGHT. He would tell his friends what they needed to hear, not just what they wanted to hear. He would not do something if it would better serve those involved. And most of all, as his friend, you would accept that from him whereas you wouldn't let others get away with it.

As a Christian, I know that there are scriptural principals involved...things such as grace, mercy and forgiveness. But from a simple human standpoint, what about just doing right? What about speaking truth? I fear that there are not as many stand up guys anymore simply because we have become a society that doesn't want to hear truth. We don't want to do what is right because it requires too much effort. In turn, we accept less from those who are closest...those who might remind us how very far we've removed ourselves from a once-common characteristic.

In front of a lost world that defines being a "Christian" in the most abstract of ways, what better testimony could a person have than to come to the end of life and have his buddies simply say: He was a stand up guy.

State The Obvious

I was preaching on the topic of missions not long ago and I came across a passage that caused my sermon to take a totally different direction...right in the middle of preaching it. In Joshua 1:2, God came to Joshua and said, "Moses, my servant, is dead." When you think about it, that seems to be a pretty obvious statement: of course Moses is dead. He was 120 years old. He had gone up the mountain and not come back. The people were looking around and looking to Joshua. They were confused. Everyone thought Moses was dead, but no one was certain of it. If their beloved leader was really dead, who would lead the multitude into the Promised Land? Joshua was confused and did not even know what questions to begin asking. God, however, was not willing to let Joshua remain paralyzed and wonder about Moses...about the past...about the future. So, very simply He said..."Moses is dead." Well, that cleared everything up for Joshua...no doubt about it now. He was the leader. If the people were going to enter the Promised Land, it was on Joshua's shoulders to lead them.

I believe the lesson to learn from this obscure verse is that we should remember to state the obvious. In a time of advanced technology and information, it is easy to assume that everyone understands what we are thinking...or saying. As a pastor and teacher, I often forget that people DO NOT KNOW everything I believe they should. To be effective, I must state the obvious and proceed on common ground from there. At the same time, we can't assume that people know how we feel about them. Say "I love you" every once in awhile. If someone does something foolish, make them aware of it (without being pedantic). It lets people know where they stand with you.

Finding The Hook

As a teacher, one thing I say all the time to my students is "Find a hook and hang this on it." By that, I mean the information about to be given is important and should really be remembered. As a preacher, I find myself reading the Bible and looking for "the hooks." The hooks are the words or phrases that jump out at me, grab my attention, and make me think "hm-m-m-m." Once I have found a hook, I stop and dig for awhile. Most of the time, the hook takes on a life of its own and is enlarged into a sermon or even a series of sermons. There are times when I don't find anything at all. I keep notebooks full of unformed thoughts and ideas (kinda like Rainman, but so far I don't have a "squeezed and pulled and hurt my neck in 1988" notebook). At various times, I will go back over those ideas and see if anything develops. I say all of that to give an idea of what this blog is intended to be. I hope to share "hooks" and ideas with my readers. You don't have to agree. In fact, you probably won't. That's okay. But let us not be rude. If you have questions, feel free to leave a comment.

And by the way...Shelly, if you are reading this, I'll do my best not to share all the family secrets. I know how you worry about that.

The Journey Of A Thousand Miles

Strange new journey starting here. I'm not real sure just how this experiment is going to work. Me? Blogging? It seems like only yesterday I stumbled upon my first weblog and didn't know what it was. I remember thinking, "Wow, someone sure is fond of herself. Why does the entire world need to know about your pets and your friends and your pet peeves?" Fast forward a couple of years and now I'm the guy spilling forth about nothing. Of course, I could make all these promises about not complaining too much and how I won't get caught up in politics and such. But those promises aren't likely to be kept. How about this: I won't start every post with "So..." and I will do my best to get all the grammar and punctuation correct. If I keep those two promises, I will be accomplishing more than ninety percent of the self-absorbed keepers of weblogs on the 'net, today. Oh yeah, and no exclamation points...nothing is that exciting.