Category Archives: The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

The Sincere Listener

23 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown. When he said this, he called out, Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8: 8 & 15

 

What is good soil? These are people who listen intently to the Lord. They honestly seek to learn and know the truths which flow from the Lord. Jesus will say in a few verses later… “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” (Luke 8:21) They hear and do! The person closest to God is the person who obeys God and takes His Word seriously. Would Jesus consider you a close relative? Wow, what a thought!

We learn from Jesus that it is imperative for us to keep and obey His life-words to us. Good soil retains those heavenly seeds. Nothing or no one is able to steal them away. Good soil affords the seed opportunity to grow, mature, and bring a harvest. Jesus reiterates it takes patience and perseverance to ultimately bring God’s word to harvest in our life. Those who are the “good soil” are those who have patiently, with trust, continued to commit themselves to the growth and maturity of the Word of God in their life. Real spiritual growth then is not something which happens quickly and will soon be over. No, real spiritual growth occurs over time and takes a lifetime.

You and I must never hurry the growth of the Word of God in our lives or we will become discouraged and disillusioned. We must commit ourselves to growing and doing everything we can to strive for excellence in pursuit of the heart of God. Patience is knowing… God is always at work. Yes, Satan will come in to try and “snatch” the word away by whispering lies in your ears. Good soil holds on to its commitment. The winds of trouble will swirl in to try and sweep away the seeds of God… but good soil stays true. The pleasures of life will nudge their way in to try and suffocate the Word of God, but good soil remains true. Commitment is essential. Commitment is crucial. Your commitment to excellence in your pursuit of Almighty God and your growth in Him will determine how large your garden of God grows.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

The Suffocated Believer

21 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. Luke 8:7 & 14

Jesus’ parable of the sower moves on to the person who receives God’s word and honestly seeks to live for Christ.  Like other believers, they profess faith in the Lord, join a church, and move ahead. The problem doesn’t show up immediately. According to the Lord, they are not willing to sever themselves from the world. This neglect isn’t fatal at first, but eventually the weeds choke out the God-life within them.

Jesus uses a graphic word to explain the reality of this situation. The word “choke” means “to grab by the throat and suffocate by drowning.” We may not think the world has this type of impact on our life but the Lord does. So many things are choking the Word of God out today as it did in Jesus’ day. Jesus organizes them in three categories… “life’s worries, riches and pleasures.”

Life is all about choices. If we spend most of our time and energy on worry, riches and pleasure, then we have little or no precious time to tend to our spiritual garden. The seeds of God which sprouted and were growing become choked and eventually suffocated by our own neglect.

I can’t tell you how many times the Lord has actually spoken to my wife and me about our own personal lives as being a garden. It is the single easiest way to understand spiritual growth. It is an analogy take keeps on giving. The Lord has used this illustration to talk with us personally about what He is doing or needs to do to bring real spiritual growth into our lives.

If you ever wonder what God’s goal is for your life, then read the last word of verse 14. The Lord is seeking to bring “maturity” to your life. It doesn’t happen instantly. Anyone who has worked in a garden knows this fact. But when we are faithful to God’s plan, eventually we will bear fruit and the process is repeated over and over.

Listen, I don’t know of any believer who has not battled the weeds of worry, riches and pleasure. All believers have felt these issues grip their spiritual throats. I believe it is time to not simply cut them down, but pull these nasty weeds up by the root. Weeds grow faster than plants. It is imperative we deal with them once-and-for-all.

British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once had a discussion with a man who firmly believed that children should not be given formal religious instruction, but should be free to choose their own religious faith when they reached maturity. Coleridge did not disagree, but later invited the man into his somewhat neglected garden. “Do you call this a garden?” the visitor exclaimed. “There is nothing but weeds here!”
“Well, you see,” Coleridge replied, “I did not wish to infringe upon the liberty of the garden in any way. I was just giving the garden a chance to express itself.”

 

Blessings,

Pastor

 

The Superficial Spectator

20 Tuesday Nov 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Jesus’ parable of the soils moves to a second type. Unlike the first type of listener, this person hears the word and becomes excited over it.

Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Luke 8:6

Unfortunately, this immediate impulsion to receive the word doesn’t last long. They fail to count the cost, to consider the commitment, the self-denial, the sacrifice, and study to stay close to Jesus.

Can you say “moisture”? Jesus said the seeds fell, they sprouted, and everything appeared great on the surface until the young shoots began to wither because there was no nourishment in the soil to sustain them. I can’t even begin to count all of the folks I have known through the years who have embodied this section of Jesus’ illustration.

Many have begun the Christian journey with gusto and exuberance only to quickly wither. Initially, they were excited about their new-found faith, or so it seemed. Without warning they began to slowly fade away and eventually stopped growing. Maybe they will catch a wave later, maybe not. There are no guarantees.

It is a matter of growth! Jesus explained how this takes place when in verse 13 He said,

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. Luke 8:13

 

The crucial element missing from those Jesus is talking about is growth. Growth is essential if we ever want to mature. Peter encouraged new believers to crave milk.

Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3

 

Salvation is not the question, growing up in the fullness of our salvation is the issue! God desires that we grow up into all fullness of our salvation. It is imperative that all new believers take advantage of the opportunities which are set before them. We have more books, internet resources, teachings, and churches in our day and time than ever before in church history. Moisture is everywhere. There is no excuse to exist as a superficial spectator. I believe the Lord places in each new believer an inward desire or craving for spiritual milk. The first test every new believer faces is the removal of milk. It is not that the milk is gone from their life. They simply have to make a shift to seek it out. The honeymoon phase dissipates and real work begins. Those who fail to make this adjustment eventually wither and fade.

Got spiritual milk?

Blessings,

Pastor

 

The Could-Care-Less Hearer

19 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air (literally birds of heaven) ate it up. Luke 8:5

These types of listeners are not careless hearers but are could-care-less hearers. The word of the Lord goes in one ear and right out the other. I am not talking about going to church where you normally think about hearing a word from God. For the most part, this parable from Jesus has nothing to do with going to church, so don’t think this way. God speaks all the time, to all people, everywhere.

Jesus reminded us the “seed” is the Word of God. Isn’t it interesting that the seed is scattered to all. The Sower doesn’t scatter only on ground which looks promising or productive. He scatters His seed upon all types of ground… to the good, bad, and indifferent. God is an indiscriminate sower. Jesus’ parable reminds us the seed doesn’t determine the outcome. The conditions of the soil and surrounding areas determine the outcome of what will happen to the seed.

One of the disturbing truths of Jesus’ teaching is the seed is not afforded the opportunity to linger in our lives.

Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Luke 8:12

 

Whether we admit it or not… or whether we realize it or not… more of God’s word has been stolen from our lives than has been rooted, grown, and harvested. If you are honest with yourself and your process, you will agree. It is always in these early stages of God speaking to us that the devil is afforded the opportunity to steal God’s word. Satan is a word snatcher. He doesn’t care where or when the word comes to you. He will snatch that word from you at work or worship. This is why Jesus focused upon the art of listening. Those who are truly in the know, realize the Lord speaks all the time. They are ready to receive and implant God’s word immediately so that the word is kept from being stolen. If you are one of those spiritual procrastinators, rest assured God’s word will be stolen from your life. The unsettling reality is that once the word is whisked away, we forget it ever was present. A sort of spiritual amnesia settles into our minds and hearts.

Are you tired of God’s word being stolen from your life? If so, purpose to be a careful, diligent listener today. God’s word will be sown your direction today, tomorrow, and next week. The only question is what will you do about it?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions. So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying.
As each person came up to him with extended hand, he flashed that big smile and said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” People would automatically respond with comments such as “How lovely!” or “Just continue with your great work!”
Nobody listened to what he was saying, except one foreign diplomat. When the president said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning,” the diplomat responded softly, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.”

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Sowing, Sowing, Gone!

12 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

 

 

Johnny Appleseed was said to plant apple seeds everywhere he went. He was a prolific caster of seed. He planted seeds because he wanted to see a harvest of apple trees in his wake.

The parable of the Sower was one of the most well-known parables of Jesus. It may be the most important. Jesus even blasted His disciples for not understanding it’s meaning. “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13) Jesus’ inference indicated that in order to unlock the mysteries of the kingdom it was imperative we understand this parable and it’s meaning. I am sure this was why this parable came first in the Gospel narratives.

God the Father is also a prolific sower. He sows twenty-four seven. He sows to all people at all times. Like Johnny Appleseed, the Lord is looking for a harvest. This is why I can always confidently say to you He will be speaking into your life this week, next week, next month, and next year. He has always been speaking and always will. Get this…The Lord even speaks and sows when we sin and are living in complete disobedience to His will. This parable confirms what I am saying. Whether we are good soil or bad, God sows.

Just because the Lord sows seed in our lives doesn’t mean we will be changed. This was why Jesus compared people to four different types of soil. Jesus said there were four different kinds of responses people made to the Word of God  being sown in their life. Out of the four types of people, there was only one type which truly was committed to excellence in his or her walk with the Father.

I read about a lady who had a hearing problem. One day she and her husband were driving from Tennessee to Little Rock, Arkansas. They were pulled over by a state trooper who asked if the husband knew how fast he was driving. The wife asked, “What did he say?” The husband replied, “HE ASKED IF I KNEW THAT I WAS SPEEDING.”
Looking at the driver’s license the trooper said, “I see you’re not from around here.” The husband said, “No, we are from Memphis.” The wife again asked, “What did you say?” The husband told her, “I SAID WE ARE FROM MEMPHIS.”
The state trooper then commented, “You know, the meanest woman I ever met was from Memphis.” The wife again asked, “What did he say?” The husband replied, “HE SAYS HE THINKS HE KNOWS YOU!”

The Lord knows us each intimately. In order to know Him, we must deal with the issues which are detrimental to our hearing Him speak. Follow me in the next few blogs and lets deal with those issues. The Lord will be speaking to you. The only question is will you be able to hear and respond to Him.

Blessings,

Pastor

 

 

 

 

Are You Dangerous?

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

One of my favorite stories to hear retold is about Telemachus, a 4th century Christian monk. He lived a life of no importance in a small remote village in Asia Minor. Like most monks of his day he spent his time tending the garden and most of the time in prayer. One day he thought he heard the voice of God telling him to go to Rome. So he obeyed the voice and quickly set out for Rome on foot.

After a long, weary journey, Telemachus arrived in the huge city of Rome during a time of great festivity. It was easy for the little monk to know what to do and where to go…. follow the crowds. The city was like the circulatory system of a wild animal. The surge of the crowds quickly led Telemachus around the city and into its heart, the Colosseum.

Soon the lone monk saw the gladiators stand before the emperor and say, “We who are about to die salute you.” It was then he realized these warriors were going to fight to the death…all for the entertainment of the crowd. The little monk was in shock. Telemachus cried out, “In the name of Christ, stop!”

As the games began, he pushed his way through the crowd crying over and over again, “In the name of Christ, stop!” Eventually the little monk made his way to the wall crying even louder, “In the name of Christ, stop!” He climbed his way over the wall, and dropped to the floor of the arena. When the crowd saw this tiny figure rushing to the gladiators and saying, “In the name of Christ, stop!”, they thought it was part of the show and began laughing. When they realized it wasn’t a part of the show but only a protester, the laughter turned to anger. As Telemachus was pleading with the gladiators to stop, one of them plunged a sword into the monk’s body. He immediately fell to the sand. As he was dying, his last words were, “In the name of Christ, stop!”

Then a strange thing happened that day on the Colosseum floor. The gladiators stood looking at the tiny figure lying there. A hush fell over the Colosseum. Way up in the upper rows, a man stood and made his way to the exit. Others began to follow. In dead silence, everyone left the Colosseum. The year was 391 AD, and that was the last battle to the death between gladiators in the Roman Colosseum. Never again in the great stadium did men kill each other for the entertainment of the crowd. The course of history was changed promptly by one tiny voice which could hardly be heard above the roar of the crowds. This one voice was prompted by God to speak truth and make a difference.

This is a true story and is found in the writings of Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus in Syria (393-457 A.D.)  When I share it… I like to embellish it a bit.

Another martyr, Jim Eliot spoke succinctly and clearly about this same issue. “While we profess to know a power the 20th century cannot reckon with, we are all side-liners. Coaching and criticizing the real wrestlers while content to set by and leave the enemies of God unchallenged. We are spiritual pacifists, conscientious objectors in the Battle-of-the-Death, with principalities and powers in the heavenly places. The world cannot hate us: we are too much like its own. Oh that God would make us dangerous.”

It is difficult many times being a lone voice. Maybe you’re a lone voice about the injustices you discern. The crowds around you believe and are flowing one direction, but you stand alone and are going the opposite way. It takes heart to speak out when it’s easier to keep quiet. It takes courage to stand up when you’re standing alone.

Whether you are mislabeled, misunderstood, isolated, or just afraid…don’t let the flow of the crowd define who you are and what God has called you to be. I think one of the most important points of Telemachus’ life was not that he went to Rome and stood in protest in the Colosseum. No, one day in the quietness of his garden and prayer time…he heard God speak and followed Him in obedience. People don’t stand alone for very long without fully knowing “why” they are standing in that place. The most dangerous people in the world are those folks who have a word and take their stand. How about you… are you dangerous?

Be Blessed and Dangerous,

Pastor

 

Is It Wrong to Punish Jesus for Going to Church?

19 Thursday Jul 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

Ever lost a child in a mall, store, or park? Maybe the child innocently broke-away from you and became separated. I remember being lost as a child and feeling frightened. “We have a young boy in the manager’s office, whose parents are lost.” (Usually my fault.) I also remember keeping close tabs on my own children, so they couldn’t get lost.

This story in Luke 2 is interesting because Jesus is the one who becomes separated from His parents…on purpose!

 

41 Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43 and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44 but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. Luke 2:41-45

 

Jesus was now twelve. According to Jewish custom…He was a man. I don’t know if Jesus had a bar mitzvah ceremony or not. But, it was obvious from the story His parents considered him a boy and set out to search for Him. For Jesus it was all about “business“…. His Father’s business. Listen to Jesus’ explanation of why He did what He did.

48 When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49 And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s House?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them.   Luke 2:46-50

 
Jesus was never “lost.” He was checking out His Father’s House. How can you be angry and punish Jesus for going and staying in His Father’s House.
We all want Jesus to be somewhere in our life where we know we can locate Him. It is difficult, if not impossible to “box” the Lord into these types of parameters. The Gospels are full of stories about people having certain “expectations” of Jesus.  Just like Jesus’ parents, these individuals were shocked when they learned Jesus never had any intention of fulfilling their expectations. The Lord’s response was always the same, “If you knew My Father’s will, then you would know why I do what I do.”

Jesus’ response to His parent’s inquiry was, “Didn’t you know?” Obviously, His parents didn’t know or they wouldn’t have spent three days searching the streets of Jerusalem for their Son. Can you imagine the guilt of losing God’s only Son?

If we struggle to secure the presence of the Lord, most assuredly we are not “in-tune” with the Father’s will. Jesus can always be found. We needn’t search. If the presence of the Lord is absent from our church, home, and life, then it is a sure bet we have abandoned doing the Father’s business. Jesus can always be found doing the Father’s business. We need to stop advertising the presence of God when it is not true. The world is on to us.

 
Blessings,

Pastor

I Heard the Sound …

14 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

 

 

I am going to wrap up these last few blogs on the Holy Spirit by relating an experience that happened to me over twenty years ago.  Back in the early 1990’s I had the opportunity to travel to Kenya for a forty day mission trip. It was basically a trip to strengthen churches in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru, as well as other small towns.  Our small group didn’t do any construction, medical work or other activities, but we were able to preach, teach, and give testimonies in all sorts of venues and occasions. Aside from preaching and teaching on weekends in different churches, I had the opportunity to also speak in movie houses and parks during lunch hours.  It was during one of the lunchtime services I wish to elaborate on in this blog.

In Nakuru there was a park in the middle of town and the church regularly held noontime services as an outreach to the community.  As you can imagine, the crowds there varied from service to service.  On this occasion a group of over 100 people showed up for the noon gathering.  Everyone present from the church walked around the park inviting people to come for the service.  The church also brought a small P.A. system and a few instruments to sing songs to help attract a crowd.  I noticed several people laying on their stomachs under the trees.  I was told these were the hungry who had been looking for work.  Since they couldn’t find work that day, they were sleeping in the park on their stomachs to help quell their hunger.

I was the guest speaker on this occasion.  That should have been enough to attract some folk’s attention.  I probably was the whitest preacher from America with the funniest accent they were ever going to encounter.  At this time, I had been in the country over thirty days and had grown accustomed to speaking with an interpreter.  Also, I was beginning to understand which messages to share and which illustrations to use in order to minister to people.  We sang several songs and I began to share.  From all appearances everything was “normal”.  At the end of every service I would turn the service over to a local pastor.  I did the same after this service.  Several people came forward and  some gave their lives to the Lord and a few made other decisions.

While I was standing up front listening to the pastor with my back towards the crowd… I heard the sound of a galloping horse, bull, or water buffalo.  What was galloping towards us, I did not know.  At the time I wasn’t even sure if anyone else heard it.  Because I wanted to know what it was, I turned towards the crowd to detect what was going on behind me.  I looked and looked but couldn’t see anything….but the sound was getting closer.  The galloping came right into the crowd but no one seemed to care or even be aware.  I know all this sounds crazy.  It is one of the reasons I don’t share this story very often.  But I knew I was hearing the sound of a galloping animal coming into the crowd.

All of sudden the galloping turned into a crash!  The galloping horse, bull or whatever ran straight into and over a young Kenyan girl.  She immediately hit the ground with a thud.  It was like a sack of potatoes had fallen off a ten story building.  She was just six to eight feet away from me.  She laid there like someone shot or clubbed her.  Fortunately, some of the ladies in the church gathered around her and started fanning her as if she had fainted.  In fact, as the minutes passed, several of the ladies tried to stir her, all to no avail.  She continued to lay there like a corpse as the service broke up.

As time continued to pass, I heard some of the people who spoke English talk about the “galloping” right before the girl went down.  Now, at least I knew I wasn’t hearing things.  The conclusion everyone was drawing was this young lady had been slain in the spirit.  I had seen such activity before… but not in services I’d held.  I’m not against it or anything… at the time I just didn’t normally see such events.  This young lady’s experience was not like what you might have seen on t.v..  The people I had seen on t.v. barely even went down.  Still after about 20-25 minutes the people were still trying to wake this young lady.  Finally, I could see in her eyes…she was still groggy and wasn’t sure where she was or what was going on around her.

Some have asked me what I thought of the whole situation.  Because I wasn’t able to talk to her after, I don’t know what really happened to this young lady physically or spiritually.  Some would easily write the whole thing off as a coincident.  I didn’t.  I felt then and I still do now, the Lord was moving.  It might surprise you to know all I could think about was … I wanted to be her.  I wanted the Holy Spirit to come galloping across some park and run me down like a Mack truck.  I didn’t care if I was in some foreign country or at home in the U.S.A..  I didn’t care if anyone was watching. I just wanted to be taken out by God and wake-up never being the same.  Here I was preaching some “important” message and the Holy Spirit came head hunting for one lone Kenyan girl.  I am sure He knew what He was doing… but I desperately wanted to be her in that moment.

My whole point for sharing this story is to remind believers that we all should be ready in the blink-of-an-eye for the Lord to move, even in unusual ways.  We never truly know just what the Lord is going to do in any given situation.  We quietly go about our business, even sometimes spiritual business and the Lord is just about to break into our world with a visitation.  I do believe we should desperately desire Him to do more and be more in our lives.  There have been other occasions when the Lord showed up when I least expected Him.  I was just as shocked on those occasions as I was in this one.  Not everyone needs to be run down by a wild, galloping invisible force… but I do believe we need to be touched from time to time. I don’t think the Lord ever intended us to travel this life without Him visiting us and giving us just what we need in those moments.

If you are saying to yourself…”The Lord has never touched or visited me,” well that just may be the issue.  You are neither believing or expecting the Lord to move in your life in any supernatural way.  You just may have relegated the Lord to the quiet recesses of your life and never really expected Him to show up in any way.  When the Lord does show up, you don’t even believe it is Him.  It is sad when all we read about is “what God did long ago in history past” and never hear stories about “what God is doing in the here and now“.  I know I have grown tired of reading about what God did years ago in revivals past.    Praise God He moved back then.  But, what I really want to see and experience is God moving today.

Let me encourage you to seek the Lord anew.  Give the Lord permission to move in your life anyway He sees fit.  And if you are hearing the sound of a galloping horse coming up behind you… get ready!  Your time of visitation might be at hand.

Blessings,

Pastor

 

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

24 Tuesday Apr 2012

Posted by in Abraham: Life of Faith, The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

I watched American Idol last week and was sad when Colton Dixon was voted off.  Being from Nashville, knowing he was both a believer and a Preds fan, I was pulling for him.

While watching, the Lord reminded me of a spiritual principle all believers must eventually realize and assimilate into their lives. It goes something like this… Just because we are given the freedom to do a certain activity doesn’t mean we should participate in that same activity.  Let me give you some examples.

  • Just because you can go on that date, doesn’t mean you should go on that date.
  • Just because you can attend that party, doesn’t mean you should go to that party.
  • Just because you can attend that college or graduate school, doesn’t mean you should attend.
  • Just because you can attend that church, doesn’t mean you should join there.
  • Just because you can listen to that particular music, doesn’t mean you should.
  • Just because you can go to that movie, doesn’t mean you should go.

The list is endless….

In Colton’s case…Just because he could sing Lady Gaga, didn’t mean he should sing Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance.  Some would say Colton veered from the formula that got him into the top seven.  This is true to a certain extent.  Following the Lord is more than following formulas.  It is about knowing the Lord’s voice and following His heart.  The Lord gives us the freedom to choose.  It is those choices which reveal how well we know Him and follow His heart.

Somewhere in every believer’s walk with the Lord, he or she crosses a line.  It is a line of demarkation.  They know from that point on …their life is no longer their own… they are the Lord’s.  The decision is made to only honor the Lord and bring glory to Him in everything they personally accomplish.  In other words, they have chosen to serve the Lord wholeheartedly.  It is not about bringing glory to themselves, but only the Lord.  By the way… the Lord doesn’t force anyone to make this decision or cross this line.  Everyone gets to freely choose to walk this road.

Back to Colton… I could see it in his eyes, even before the he was voted off…  He knew he didn’t honor the Lord the previous evening.  Other believers could have sung Lady Gaga and everything would have been fine… but not Mr. Dixon. The issue was not about Lady Gaga’s music, it was about the decision Colton made long before he went on American Idol.  There was an altar somewhere with Colton Dixon’s name on it.  At some point in the past, Colton knelt at an altar and became a “living sacrifice” to the Lord and that was the end of Colton Dixon’s flesh. He didn’t have surrender but he did. He didn’t have to offer himself up to the Lord, but he did. He freely gave himself to the purposes of the Lord. He knew from that point on, just because he could do certain activities, didn’t mean he should participate.

In the interest of full disclosure, I too have a long list of occasions when I failed to honor the Lord with the decisions I made.  I have had to learn the hard way, the best course of action is to quickly confess and repent.  There is no need to sit around and mourn a bad decision.  The Lord doesn’t require it.  The Lord requires we acknowledge our sins and move on in humility.  I believe that is what Colton did and so should all who have crossed the line and given their entire lives to the Lord.  The altars we build and sacrifice upon determine our destiny and future. They continually speak to us throughout our life.  What do the altars you have built reveal about you?  Sometimes like Abraham, we have to go back home to worship and sacrifice on those old altars again.

 

Blessings,

Pastor  

 

Where I Am Weak, He Is Strong!

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by in The Strange & Unusual Voice of God

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

 

 

I guess like most pastors I have had my number of anonymous letters, phone calls, and notes slipped silently under my door.  People usually do this to tell me something, but do not want to be the source.  It is usually news I don’t want to hear.  Occasionally though, people feel the need to get up close and personal.

One day a man dropped by my house that I had never met or seen before.  He communicated that he had some distressing news which I needed to know as pastor.  I braced myself for the impact because he intimated that what was causing the distress in his life was my fault.  I invited him in and we sat down.  He informed me that a deacon in my church had stolen the affections of his wife and now she was going to divorce him.  He had elaborate details of the affair because he had been following them for weeks.  I was shocked and could hardly get my head around the validity of the accusations.  This was a fairly young man with a young wife.  The deacon he was referring to was retired, had been in this church for over forty years, and was currently leading the music.  In other words, the pairing didn’t seem probable or possible.

The bottom-line for him approaching me was that he wanted me to put a stop to their activity and somehow get his wife’s affections aimed back towards him.  It was my fault because I was the pastor and was allowing this type of behavior to happen in my church.  Again, I was floored to hear this type of news.  I consoled him as best as I could and told him I would look into the situation.  I also felt the need to defend the Lord’s reputation and His church.

This man was not a believer and he told me so.  I treaded lightly because I didn’t want to impair or tarnish what the Lord might be doing in his life.  I promised to do all I could to repair whatever damage he felt this deacon and the church had done against him. We agreed to meet at a later date.  I knew then I had my hands full.

I didn’t know then, but I soon discovered later that this situation was more about me than it was about this alleged affair.  God was doing a work in me.  Back in those days I hated confrontation and avoided it at all costs.  I always wanted just to “get long” with everybody and wanted everybody to like me in return.  This situation created what the Lord termed a “horseshoe canyon.”  There was only one way in and one way out.  I now had to confront this situation because this man was pressing the issue.  I needed to confront the issue because it was sin!  At the time, I wasn’t appreciative of what the Lord was purposing to accomplish in my life.  I signed up to be a pastor, not a prophet.  The Lord saw things differently.  He knew avoiding confrontation was my weakness and this “horseshoe canyon” was His solution.

 

 

At our next service I ask the deacon about this situation.  He strongly denied anything inappropriate and stated he was simply doing some marital counseling.  I told him about the man’s allegations.  The deacon replied the man had mental problems.  I was hoping this might be the end of the situation.

The Lord had everything lined up.  Just when I thought I might be able to write-off my visitor  as crazy or overreaching, someone else from church popped by to tell me they had seen the deacon out with this lady.  They had details which I will not go into here.  I knew I was headed for the confrontation I didn’t want.  The person also informed me that others in church had seen this situation but were not willing to say anything about it.  For someone who didn’t like confrontation, I was getting upset.  I was becoming deeply troubled with this deacon.  I was getting disappointed at my voice-less church members.  I was also getting frustrated with the Lord for making me deal with this mess.

Have you ever been in a situation similar to this?  You knew everything was orchestrated by the Lord, but you didn’t want to walk through it.  I guess if handling confrontation was one of my strengths, I wouldn’t have trusted the Lord and simply marched on through in my own resources.   Little did I know the Lord was also going to make me stand alone or it would cost me my job as pastor.

At this point in the situation the Lord was beginning to shore me up for a showdown.  I didn’t want one, but no one was recanting their story or repenting.  The church business meeting was coming up and I knew I was going to have to say something about this situation.  The deacons met before each business meeting and I felt led to confront the situation during the deacon’s meeting.

You might be thinking why my job as pastor would be in jeopardy when I hadn’t done anything wrong?  At the time, I was wondering the same thing.  During the deacon’s meeting I brought up the issue.  Of course he denied all the allegations.  It was just one person’s word against the other.  Since I was the only one interested in pursuing justice, the whole issue just sat there like an unwelcomed visitor in the room.  The deacon was threatening to leave.  He stated he was being treated unfairly after all his years of service.  We finally dismissed and headed for the business meeting with nothing accomplished.

Before the business meeting began I discovered a coup might be in process.  Another deacon, who knew the allegations were true, walked by me and said, “Are you looking for another job?  I don’t think you are going to be here very much longer, pastor.”  I knew what he meant and I was angry.  Remember, I hated confrontation but now I was looking for one.  I was angry because these deacons were too spineless to confront the situation with me and were content just keeping silent.  I felt about them the way the Lord felt about me prior to all this.  This attitude of just getting along to get along doesn’t always work.   I began to pray for the Lord to work a miracle and make something happen from nothing.

 

 

The business meeting went on as usual until the end.  The deacon asked for permission to speak.  I was moderating the meeting so I yielded the floor to him.  He began by saying he was going to resign because some allegations were being made against him and his character.  What he really wanted was for the church to rally behind him and leave me in the dark as the lone conspirator.  After he spoke there was dead silence.  It was then that the Lord gave me an idea.  I stood up and asked for a motion to receive his resignation.  It was accepted and the church promptly approved his resignation.  It happened in less than a minute.  It was over and he was gone.

I relate this story for a reason.  The Lord is always challenging us and changing us into the image of Jesus, His Son.  This process is usually an ugly process because it involves fire.  The things in our lives that need to be exercised have to be burned away so that the Lord’s real work might be completed.  It is never a comfortable process.  It is usually painful because the Lord moves in our weakest area.  We tend to hide our weaknesses, hoping the Lord doesn’t touch those tender areas.  The Lord knows how to arrange circumstances so that these areas might be exposed and dealt with on a continuous basis.  When we fight the Lord, His process for refining us only becomes more difficult.  If you love the Lord and desire to be conformed into the image of Jesus, He will create these horseshoe canyons so that your weakness might become His strength.  How you react to these dead-ends will determine how deep the Lord’s refinement process will go.  When we allow Him to have His way, He can do so many good things on the other side of our refinement process.

The whole process was a struggle for everyone.  It always helps to know the Lord’s way is the correct way.  Afterward, the deacon and the young woman got together.  He didn’t get to relish in this new relationship because he soon went blind.  I was, however, able to minister to the young man who came to my house.  I lead him to the Lord and counseled him through the process of his wife leaving him.  Had I not stood up for what was right, I would have had no rapport with him.  God is good.

 

Blessings,

Pastor