We should do this more

How many times have I uttered or heard uttered the phrase "we should do this more often." Yesterday was one of those occasions. We joined with two other churches from our area for a joint service and festival. The attendance was fantastic, each church had a strong showing. Our worship was incredible. The chili and pie contests were tons of fun to judge, and the festival booths turned out to be a lot of fun for everyone.

The only comment uttered was why don't we do this more often? It's the same comment I say after hanging out with friends or going to do something I really enjoyed. How great it was to see our church people sitting with friends and acquaintances from other churches. We shared one common interest and goal yesterday...to celebrate Christ.

Last night, my wife asked me if we were planning to keep our "budget date" this Thursday where we plan our spending for November. Her thoughts on the matter, "we should do this more often." It is a a one purpose meeting...to make sure we are on the same page financially which is even more important given the state of the economy. It ensures we are on the same page and our relationship is better for it.

It is a good reminder that when we come together with one clear purpose, we have one heartbeat and we are always left saying, "why don't we do this more."

Have a great week.

Tough Sermon

Sunday was a hard Sunday, the message for the week weighed heavily upon me and it proved to be a grueling task. When I was finished, my feet and back hurt in a way they never have before. The honest confession is that 3 months ago, I penciled in the story of Jepthah, but wasn't sure I wanted to do the story.

Last Monday, I began working on Samson and planned to skip Jepthah. There are sevral challenging stories in the Bible, but this one is between a father and daughter.

Judges 11:29-40 (NASB) 29 Now the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah, so that he passed through Gilead and Manasseh; then he passed through Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he went on to the sons of Ammon. 30 Jephthah made a vow to the LORD and said, "If You will indeed give the sons of Ammon into my hand, 31 then it shall be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, it shall be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering." ... 34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, behold, his daughter was coming out to meet him with tambourines and with dancing. Now she was his one and only child; besides her he had no son or daughter. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are among those who trouble me; for I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot take it back." 36 So she said to him, "My father, you have given your word to the LORD; do to me as you have said, since the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the sons of Ammon." 37 She said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go to the mountains and weep because of my virginity, I and my companions." 38 Then he said, "Go." So he sent her away for two months; and she left with her companions, and wept on the mountains because of her virginity. 39 At the end of two months she returned to her father, who did to her according to the vow which he had made; and she had no relations with a man. Thus it became a custom in Israel, 40 that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in the year.

There is just so much wrong in this story...to go from having the Spirit of the Lord upon himself to sacrificing his daughter to the pagan god of the very enemy he had just defeated. After travelling for years on a job, I know who was always the first to greet me when I came home...two girls running to the door and gripping me as tight as they could. Certainly, as a wandering rebel, he had been greeted at the door on numerous occasions by a loving daughter. He knew exactly what kind of deal he was making when he made his vow. Add to that Leviticus 27 shows how he could have paid 10 pieces of silver to redeem her, and my hot head gets the best of me.

So there is my dilemma, in one way, I want to sing the praises of God's chosen deliverer, in another, I want to render him as an obsolete foolish jerk. It's hard to deny the Bible touches our human emotions, and I can honestly say mine were touched. Over the course of 40 or so years, I have seen many sacrifice their family for something. I have seen people with the hand of God on their life turn away from God. The sad relaity I have seen is that there is nothing good from such things, so what do we do?

Our best response is to stay near the cross of Christ. Take up our cross daily (Luke 9:23), crucify the sinful nature, (Romans 6:6), and allow Christ to live through us (Galatians 2:20). Tough message, tough words, but what a gracious God.

Creativity Counts

The scared little kid in the picture is one of my two wonderful daughters. Cori recently won an award at our local Red Robin restaurant for creating their winning burger in a contest. She called her burger the "Super Fresh Salad Burger" and the poster behind her is on the door of the Red Robin praising her victory.

I remember the night my two creative chefs put their minds to creating the absolute best burger possible. It was exciting to watch their minds churn and listen to their questions as they settled in on their ingredients. Both did an excellent job, and Cori was fortunate to win a gift certificate and get some recognition. We are proud of both girls and happy for Cor's award.

I was thinking about rewards and awards the other day as I prepared a memorial message for a dear saint. I referenced in her message the parable of the talents. The story where two of three took their resources and on behalf of the owner managed to double his take. The two of them received those wonderful words of praise: "Well done good and faithful servant." One thing about doubling anything is that it takes creativity. We often reflect only upon those words in relationship to our faithful use of the gifts God has given us, and many times fail to reflect on the creativity needed to accomplish that task.

In a world where there seems to be so few lines of distinctions and a clear voice of reason and faith is so desperately needed, the creative are the hope of our future. I hope people of faith will filter into the more creative elements of our culture in the movies and media. I pray that we will continue to see a new generation of songwriters with a heart for the Lord. I hope and pray that God will help tap into what creative juices I have. How great it would be to have a double impact on the world around me.

Creativity is not always received without criticism, but nothing new ever comes without someone with a creative desire to blaze a new trail. So if you ever think that you are stuck in a box, get outside of it a do something creative. Create a new small group or a new friendship with a neighbor. Create a pictore slide show to go along with your favorite song of worship. Rewrite Psalm 23, to say "the Lord is my ___________" share it with your friends. Let the juices flow because creativity counts.

Sometimes It just Hits Me

I spent a great deal of time studying the life of Gideon last week preparing for the first of two sermons on his life in our series through Judges. As I sit here on Monday, I am re-thinking through the message. The words I emphasized in God's response to the future, but presently questioning hero still echo in my mind.

Judges 6:11-14 (NLT) 11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, "Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!" 13 "Sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn't they say, `The LORD brought us up out of Egypt'? But now the LORD has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites." 14 Then the LORD turned to him and said, "Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!"

Go with the strength you have. If there ever was a need to link the Go's in the Bible together, it is now.

Genesis 12:1 (NASB) 1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;

Joshua 1:9 (NASB) 9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

1 Samuel 16:1 (NLT) 1 Finally, the LORD said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now fill your horn with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my new king."

Matthew 8:13 (NASB) 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.

Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT) 18 Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Luke 10:2-4 (NLT) 2 These were his instructions to them: "The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, and ask him to send out more workers for his fields. 3 Go now, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don't take along any money, or a traveler's bag, or even an extra pair of sandals. And don't stop to greet anyone on the road.

Luke 14:23 (NLT) 23 So his master said, `Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.

Acts 5:17-21 (NLT) 17 The high priest and his friends, who were Sadducees, reacted with violent jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the jail. 19 But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, 20 "Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!" 21 So the apostles entered the Temple about daybreak and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council, along with all the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought for trial.

The statistics from a recent poll are mind numbing. Though it was not compltely scientific meaning its margin of error is greater than 5 %; it nonetheless has made a mark on my life. It suggests that of those people classified as senior adults, over 65% of them can identify as having a personal relationship with Christ. The next generation was almost half, the next over another half was cut. By the time we get to a generation of people born after 1984 and were at least 17 years of age, only 4% of them could identify themsleves with a genuine faith in Christ. (Thom Rainer's research).

Think about that. Was there more faith in Gideon's day than in our day? Those numbers have left me a little staggered and somewhat downcast. I find myself a little less brave and unsure at times, and yet we have God's charge to his deliverer, "Go in the strength you have." That is our sole responsibility to go in whatever strength we have. Why? Because He is with us, just like He was with Joshua in following Moses, just like he was with Samuel as he approached Bethlehem to annoint David as king. God is with us when we go in simple faith like the centurian did. God is with us when we go into the hedges and backroads. God is with us when we open our mouths.

Our God of motion! None of us knows what lies down each road, but we do know this...God wants us to Go.

Have a great week on the go!