I would write something intricate, but you wouldn’t like it.

So, I write something simple.

I tell you a story.

Once I was in the Galleria at the age of five.  I was running up the steps of the escalator.  My grandfather was with me and told me to slow down.  I didn’t.  I fell.  There was blood.  I honestly believe it cut all the way to the bone.  It was one of those escalators that had a really sharp edge on the steps.  Really sharp.   It hurt.  I wanted to sit down, but he wouldn’t let me.  “Keep walking, and it will wear off.”  So, I walked on, and it did.  I felt better.

Life is about moving on.  Even when you bleed.

The writer of Hebrews was writing to some people who knew what it was like to bleed.  They thought about sitting it out.  Giving up.  Here’s what he told them.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”  Hebrews 12:1.

Keep moving.  Keep walking.  You’ll work out the soreness.

The writer of Hebrews tells those Christians that they’re not alone either.  He says,

“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”  Hebrews 13:6.

One more thing.  One reason I kept walking is that I trusted my grandfather.  And, he was right there with me.  So, I kept walking.

Maybe you’ve fallen down.  Maybe you’ve bled.    The son who never came home.  The love who betrayed you.  The dream that hasn’t panned out.  It cut to the bone, and you bled.  What are you going to do?

Well, I’ll tell you what I did.  I got up and walked.  I saw the new mall.  I saw my family, and told them about how I was walking it off.  And, now I have a story to tell you.  What story will you tell?

flickr photo by MikeKalasnik https://flickr.com/photos/10542402@N06/8089136558 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license

 

I can’t believe this!  Even Christians are embracing these things!  It’s scary.  It’s real.  It’s time to rise up.  It’s time to start a revolution.  It’s time to say, “No!”

If we don’t, I can tell you where we will end up.  It won’t be pretty.  We’re already headed in that direction.

It’s time to redirect the ship.  It’s time to chart a new course.  It’s time to say, “No!”

Just say, “No!” to

 1.  Trashy Behavior

Have you ever watched the Jerry Springer Show?  It’s pretty sad.  It’s basically people acting as trashy as possible.  The trashier and more ridiculous the guest acts, the more popular they become.

Have you watched the current presidential election coverage?

Notice any similarities?

Think about it.  Winning at Jerry Springer and becoming the leader of the free world should be VERY DIFFERENT.  I’m concerned that it’s basically turned into the same trick.  Why could that be?  Well, we have glamorized the trashy.   We have demonized virtue and exalted vice.

What can we do?  Get yourself a real hero (Philippians 3).  Then, you can set your mind on things above (Colossians 3).  Then, you can rise above all the mess of this world.  You can make it a better place.

2.  Making Egotism a Virtue

Should we set self above others?  Should we be puffed up?

We can take pride in the fact that we have worth greater than the whole world (Matthew 16:26).  We can take pride in the cross.  We should be hard workers.  But, should we be puffed up?

Christ followers are not puffed up.   Why is that?  Well, our worldview just doesn’t allow it.  You see, we see ourselves as we are.  We are imperfect yet loved.  We see the world as it is.  It’s a fallen creation that is being redeemed.  We see God as the awesome Creator who has rescued us and given us mission and purpose.  We see our life work as being driven by grace and God’s Spirit.  We have a great sense of worth, but it’s all wrapped up in our identity that is found in Christ.  And, his story is all about serving.  It’s not about being puffed up.   By the way, the whole book of I Corinthians can be summed up like this:  Don’t be puffed up.  Rather, build each other up.

3. Putting Others Down

It’s obvious that if we’re going to build each other up, it’s not OK to put others down.   One would think this is a given.  But, it seems we need a reminder.  If we are Christ followers, our MO cannot be to put others down.   We must treat others the way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12).  It’s called the Golden Rule.   Christ came to lift us up.  John 3:16.  He sacrificed for us.  We do the same.  We bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6).  We lift up the fallen, and bind up the broken hearted (Luke 4:18).  We esteem others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:1-2).  We put on the same mindset of humility (Philippians 2:5-10).    That’s the way we are  are exalted (Philippians 2:9-11, James 4:10).

Just say, “No!”

Sometimes it feels good to tell someone off.  Just really let them have it.

Sometimes it’s tempting to be a shameless self-promoter.  You don’t have to tell me, I’m trying to promote this blog!

Sometimes the allure of the trashy is real.  It’s entertaining to watch someone tell off color jokes.  It’s funny when adults act like silly kids.  But, in the end, it is not rewarding.

I’m hungry for the reward.  I plead for a prosperous country.  I desire a Christ honoring culture.  And, above all, I want to know Him myself, and be a part of his great Story of restoration and redemption.

Well, when the prize is so great, you realize that you have to deny some of this temporary foolishness.  You have to turn your back on self-serving egotism.  You have to walk away from bullying.  You have to turn the channel away from the trash.

If you’re a Christ follower, sometimes, you just have to say, “No!”

Featured image photo credit:  Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2191241

I want to

• Enjoy my job
• Do the right thing
• Be transparent
• Have real friends
• Be generous
• Be successful.

Do you?

There is only one way to do it.  You have to have a holistic view of life.  You have to have a story that ties together all the different pieces of your life and makes sense of it.

If you want to do work that matters,

If you want to have real relationships,

If you want to be authentic and generous,

Then, I believe you have to enter the story of what’s really going on in the world.

I believe that what’s really going on in the world is that love wins in the end. I believe that what’s going on is that intelligence and love is building a better tomorrow.  I believe that what’s going on is that we can do this together in mission, where we have real relationships, real generosity, and we’re doing the work that matters most.

Want to join me?

“You’re far happier to give than to get.”  Jesus said something like that.    He was teaching us that we need to be thinking about more than ourselves.  When you just think about yourself, you’re miserable.  When you begin to think of others, by some paradox, you become happy.  I don’t know how it works, but it does.

Start Where You Are

One of my good friends started an organization that is based on the idea that we should be grateful and give.  It makes us happier and better.  He’s right, and he’s changing an entire country in a profound way.

But, you don’t have to start a huge organization.  You don’t have to become a doctor or teacher or a preacher.  You can start right where you are.  Here is my challenge to you:

Make someone happy every hour of the day.

Now, don’t let me hold you back.  You can make more than one person happy each hour.  But, as a bare minimum, you must make one person happy (or at least try to) every hour of the day.

Don’t worry.  I’ve got some ideas for you.

 24 Ways to Make Someone Happy

Note:  You will only need about 16 of these (I assume you sleep).

1. Smile.  If someone smiles back – you just succeeded.  Don’t do the creepy smile, either.
2. Say “Thank You” sincerely.
3. Treat service people (waiters, cashiers) with sincere dignity and respect. That doesn’t mean asking for their number, though.
4. Take an old person to lunch.
5. Take a person with few friends to lunch. You might make a friend!
6. Invite someone new to be a part of your group.
7. Show sincere appreciation to a coworker. They might be your boss someday.
8. Bring donuts to the office. This is always a winner.
9. Bring biscuits to the office. Even bigger winner in the South.
10. Bring cookies to the office. Another winner.
11. Give someone a sincere compliment. “Your hair looks oily” does not count.
12. Sing for someone. Don’t be too loud or you might scare them.
13. Write someone a sincere letter of appreciation.
14. Call someone to check on them if you haven’t seen them in a while.
15. Take a home cooked meal to a shut in.
16. Take takeout to a shut in. This is probably what I’d do.
17. Send a birthday card. Facebook messages don’t count.
18. Send a get well card. Facebook messages don’t count.
19. Send a congratulations card. Facebook messages don’t count.
20. Tell someone a corny joke. If you don’t know one, there’s “The Google.”
21. Really listen to someone who needs it. That means pay attention and don’t talk a lot.
22. Give someone a standing ovation.  Some people make it through life without ever receiving one.
23. Protect or help someone physically.  God made you strong not to hurt but to help.  Use your strength to help someone.
24. Take a walk with someone.  People need to get outside, and if you ask the right person, it will make their day.

Can you think of some more ways?

There once was a Christian college president with a Southern face.  I say a Southern face because this was the kind of face you could only get from years of pan fried chicken, iron skillet corn bread, buttermilk biscuits.  He was a very happy looking man…especially when he was around prospective students and wealthy alumnus.  We will simply call him President.

The Board of Trustees loved President.  He was a great fundraiser.

Sleep Walking

His wife was a dutiful woman who always cooked a full lunch, and he loved coming home to it.  He loved her, too.  Even though she was the plainest girl this side of the Mississippi, he was so excited to marry her.  See, her daddy was the last college President, and was as rich as she was plain.  And, she was so good to him, even after he started sleep walking at night.  Story goes that sometimes she would get up at night and find him out in the living room shaking hands with imaginary donors.  She’d have to show up and shake his hand and lead him back to bed.

More Hand Shaking

In the morning after his nightly hand shakings,  he would head to the local Hardee’s.   He loved their butter biscuits, and he would sit down there from 7:00-8:00AM.  Turns out he not only loved the biscuits, but there were a few wealthy alums who would come in and have coffee with him.  He would get to shake their hands.  They would come in with their suits and pressed shirts, and he would smile so big you’d think his few remaining real teeth might fall right out on the plastic tray.

Mr. Humble’s Tragedy

It turns out there was another man who would come in there every day.  He was an older gentleman who was always dirty, the kind of dirty that just doesn’t wash off.  His name was Mr. Humble.  His calloused hands were missing the ends of a few digits.   President would quickly waddle along whenever Mr. Humble would walk by.  They literally never spoke.  Perhaps the saddest day of his life was when Mr. Humble died, and President found out that Mr. Humble was secretly the richest man in town.  And, he was even more appalled that Mr. Humble didn’t leave the college one cent in his will.  President didn’t know what to do about this.  He got so worked up that he had a heart attack and died.

Like the President

I won’t deliver President’s epitaph, but I will ask you a question.  Are you anything like him?

If you only perk up for your superiors at work,

If you are nicer to rich people than to poor,

If you are nicer to doctors than to nurses,

If you smile for the popular, but don’t even notice the loners,

If you make every effort to please the powerful, and don’t do anything for the weak,

If you would give up your seat for your boss but wouldn’t budge for someone that reports to you,

If you smile for the wealthy and won’t shake hands with the homeless,

If you’d do anything for the quarterback, but won’t move a finger for a bench warmer,

Then you might be a little like President.

What would Jesus say?

I wonder what Jesus would have to say to President.  Well, on this earth, it would be hard for him to say anything, because when he saw Jesus, President would surely scuffle away.  He certainly wouldn’t shake his hand.  I mean, why shake the hand of a poor, manual laboring, no bank account Middle Eastern looking man.  If anything President would have been scared of him.  In fact, President did meet him, so to speak.  Jesus was there in Hardee’s.  In some way, he was there in disguise as Mr. Humble.

Matthew 25:40 says, “Then the King will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, anything you did for even the least of my people here, you also did for me.’”

More Than President

Now, here’s a question for you, how can you be more than President?

Some ways:

1. Offer your seat to a poor person if they visit church
2. Feed the hungry
3. Clothe the needy
4. Take care of widows
5. Take care of orphans
6. Visit people in prison

These are specific examples, but the heart of the matter is that you have to learn to see the face of the Master in the face of your brothers.  John makes a huge point – if you can’t love people, how can you say you love God.  And, loving people doesn’t mean shaking their hands in order to get something out of them.  It means something else.

The King

Here’s an alternative picture.  The most powerful man who ever walked the planet was accused of being a friend of sinners.  He was seen as the enemy of the religious elite.  He was accused of being a friend to the outcast and loving to people like prostitutes and outsiders.   And, he made a huge donation to his cause.  It was a blood donation.   He calls his followers to do the same thing.  To reach out to the least, to befriend the sinners, and to share his good story, and to put some blood in the game.

Sleep Walking

President would sometimes be found sleep walking and asking for donations.

If you were a sleep walker, what would you be doing in your sleep?

Would you be singing a song of praise?

Would you be helping the hurting?

Would you be writing a story of redemption?

Would you be teaching someone to be a better person?

Would you be working for a better tomorrow?

You can do all of that, and now is the time to be more than President.  Now is the time to befriend the humble king.

Have you ever been door knocking?  Some of you know what I’m talking about.  It turns out your success at door knocking and your overall experience has a lot to do with your partner.

One young man went door knocking and had this very memorable partner.  We’ll affectionately call her Granny.  It turns out Granny had a particular strategy that was a little brusque.  Here’s what she’d do:

• Granny knocks on door.
•  Person opens the door.
• Granny says, “Did you know that it’s most likely you’re headed to hell?”
•  Person invites Granny to go first.

You wouldn’t do anything like that, right…

If you think of the gospel as learning the right list of things to do, and making sure we all get them right, then you might be like Granny.

If most of your Jesus sharing looks a lot like an argument or a debate, then you might be a little like Granny.

If you’ve spent more time in worship and studies talking about how to be baptized than how to love like Jesus, then you might be like Granny.

If you’re sure that once saved/always saved is wrong, but you’ve never really felt secure in your own salvation, then you might be like Granny.

Can we do better?

Can you know a way to present the truth of the Jesus in a way that people feel valued, respected, and loved?

Let me tell you another story.

” ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” Philippians 2:5-11

This is a story of a King.  He laid down his crowns.  He laid down the crown of timelessness and was bound in time.  He laid down the crown of boundlessness and entered a breakable human body.  He laid down the crown of holiness and entered a sinful world.  He lived, and he died for us.  Then, he took up his crown again.  He reigns now, and he gives you the opportunity to work with him to build his kingdom in this world.

We seek to model him.  We model his humility, his sacrifice, and his service, and you know what?  We knock on doors.  We’ll knock on the doors of the heart with our service.  We will knock on the doors of their minds with our integrity.  We will knock on the doors of their souls with the living Word.  And, even if you feel  like you’re alone, it turns out you have the very best door knocking partner of all:

^“19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age,”  Matthew 28:18-20.

So, let’s go knock on some doors.  Now, you know who will be with you.

Do you have a “door knocking” story?