Category Archives: Blessing

More than you thought; better than you imagined.

More than Decency: Jesus for President

Max Lucado wrote a very nice piece about decency.   His basic premise is that Donald Trump doesn’t even pass the basic decency test.   Why would we even consider electing him President?  Good point, Max.

Let me ask you something, though.  Are you interested in a minimally decent leader?  If so, then I suggest you support a candidate that is decent.  One that doesn’t go around insulting everyone.  Minimally decent is much better than terribly indecent.

More than Decency

Can you imagine someone saying, “I know he’s not that great of a man.  He lies.  I don’t really agree with him on some basic issues.  But, he has good manners.  He won’t embarass us when he speaks.  He’s decent.  Yes, I want him for my leader!”  Not me.

When you’re talking to your kids about school work, do you aim for decency or excellence?

When a college football program is looking for a coach, is their goal to find a decent one or the very best?

When you purchase music, do you go for decent or great?

Now, if you won’t spend $.99 on a download that is just decent, why in the world would you settle for a leader that’s on the same level? 

Here’s the kind of leader I’m after:

  • He inspires me.
  • He has unending courage.
  • He has great power, but is meek.
  • Great holiness but equally gracious.
  • So committed to my wellbeing that he would literally die for me.
  • So powerful, that death can’t hold him down.
  • He’s smarter than Einstein, stronger than Superman, and wiser than Solomon.

Jesus for President

You are in the voting booth every day.  You vote with your heart.  You vote with your actions.  Are you choosing a leader who is more than decent?  Or, are you settling?  Settling for decency.

You can follow the only leader who can set the world to rights.

You can follow the only leader who is “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,” Ephesians 3:20.

You can choose Jesus.    

When you choose Jesus, something happens.  You become like the leader you follow.   This is how you get the very best that life has to offer.  This is how you become more than average, more than mundane.  This is how you embrace all that you were meant to be.  And, you were meant to be a lot more than just decent.

More Than Health and Wealth

There was once a speaker who told everyone what they wanted to hear.  He said that if you followed his message you’d make more money, have better health, and people would just like you.  His name was  Mr. Little.  People liked to hear him.  Problem is, his message was lacking.   In fact, some Christ followers began to listen to his messages, and found out the message wasn’t Christian at all.

You Might Be Like Mr. Little

Now, before you say…I’m nothing like Little….let me tell you that you might be like Mr. Little if…

  • You believe that following Jesus means you’ll have an easy life.
  • You believe that a good life means having lots of money and being super popular.

You Can Know More than Little

The truth is, you can know much more than Mr. Little.

  1. You can know how to be more than rich and better than happy.
  2. You can know more than a financially successful job; you can become a vital part of a world changing mission.
  3. You can know more than happiness; you can know joy.
  4. You can know more than popularity; you can find friends that stick closer than brothers.
  5. You can know more than being hot; you can find your true value.
  6. You can know more than fear and power; you can know love and peace.
  7. You can know more than how to become rich; you can know how to become blessed.
  8. You can know more than making the best of your situation; you can know the one who can change your situation for good.
  9. You can know more than seeking approval of the powerful; you can know the applause of heaven.
  10. You can know a blessing so great it can’t be measured in square feet, bank accounts, nor rungs on the ladder of achievement.

Aim Higher

I’m not trying to get you to shoot lower.   I want you to aim higher.

The truth is, the problem with Mr. Little is not that he’s promising too much.  Rather, he’s going for too little.

Is it possible that we’re looking a little too low, we’re expecting too little, and being satisfied with mere crumbles?

 “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.”  C.S. Lewis

More Than You Can Ask or Imagine

So, don’t sell yourself short.  You can know more than Little does, and you can get more than he promises.  I, for one, am shooting for something bigger than Little can even imagine.

I’m shooting for something bigger than I can imagine, too.

“With God’s power working in us, God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.   To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen,” Ephesians 3:20-21.

Question:   How can I aim higher?

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Start with God

Should we start with “Why?”

If you haven’t seen Simon Sinek’s Ted presentation, it’s worth checking out.  He says to “Start with Why?”

Motive

Simon Sinek’s presentation is all about our motive, or why we do things.  The Sermon on the Mount is all about motive, too.  Jesus said it’s not just about what we do; it’s about why we do it.   He reinterpreted the Law to say that God isn’t just interested in your external action.  He’s interested in your internal motive.  So, God’s Law is not really about simply not doing terrible things like killing, or committing adultery.  He’s wants us to change our hearts, to change our motive, such that our actions flow from a heart of love (see Matthew 5-7).

Should we stop with “Why?”

Our greatest motivation is love.  But, where does love come from?  Isn’t it true that love breeds more love?  Think of the people you love deeply.  Isn’t it often that we love them because they love us?  What if someone loved us so much they’d rather die than live without us.  Wouldn’t that make us love them?

Where should we start?

The Apostle John wrote, “We love him because he first loved us,” I John 4:19.  Christ loved us so much he died for us.

Love was his “Why.”  So, we start with Him.  We start with who He is and why He did what He did.  You see, it’s His story, and we get to be a part of it.  It’s our story, too.  It starts by telling us the answer to the question, “Who?”  It starts with…

“In the beginning God.”

Somewhere in the middle, this story has a cross.

And, in the end, it has a crown.  This story give us purpose, and it gives us hope.

He is our “Why.”

He is that which transforms our identity (who) and our motivation (why).  He is our all in all.  He is our Alpha and Omega.  He is our beginning and our end.

Start with God. 

The Invisible Person

You can’t do what Jesus did until you see what Jesus saw. 

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is how he gave sight to the blind.  This post is the story of how Jesus used coffee to open my eyes.  It might do the same for you. 

Let me paint a picture for you.

You’re in the Fresh Market (fancy grocery store).  It is a visual and olfactory cornucopia.  That is to say…it’s real nice, Verne.  People are in there that look like maybe they drove all the way out from the yacht club.  Some drove in from lesser country clubs, and you can sort of tell which ones those are.  Then, there’s the college students, the ones who are making daddy proud, as they wear “North Face,” tennis skirts, and drive their very own Mercedes.  Then, there’s the people like me who really are shopping above their socio-economic status, but really like premium pork.

Justin's Iphone
Justin’s Iphone

Anyhow, so there I am at the coffee stand…you know, the one where you can get coffee samples.  I was examining the Kona Blend and all the other varieties, and I saw a young woman reach in and refill the one closest to me, the Almond Amaretto.   I thought, “Great, that one is super fresh.  Better get it.”  Then, I realized something.   There was a person behind the counter.   Then,  it hit me.

I had seen the coffee, but not the coffee brewer.  I had missed the person right in front of me.  She was invisible to me. 

So, I spoke to her.  I asked her if she drank coffee…she didn’t, but, that one question lit her up like flipping a switch.   She was a thoughtful person and an excellent coffee brewer, and I am glad that I got to speak to her.  Then, I realized something…Am I the only person who has spoken to her all day?   I think she knew what I had just started to realize:  People didn’t really see her.

How many people are invisible to us?  Brain science tells us that we focus on the things that are important to us.  The things that our brains have said we need to see to survive.

Is it possible that you have missed some really important things, maybe the most important things?

Now, what in the world does this have to do with the gospels? 

Answer:  It has everything to do with them.

Jesus talks about us being judged by the way we treat the least among us.  He says that when you do good things or bad things to the least, you’re really doing it to Jesus.    Somehow he’s there.  His presence is there.

Have you ever known someone who only wanted to focus their energy and enthusiasm the “important people”?  Maybe it was an employee who is super nice to his superiors, but treats his peers and those he manages in a completely different way.  You can think of a student who treats the cool kids with respect, but won’t have anything to do with those on the fringes.  You see it in churches, you see it in rich,  and you see it in poor.  I sometimes see it in me, too.  After all, it took me months to see the person behind the coffee stand.

This brings me to a key point about the gospels.  There are these people in Jesus’ time that didn’t recognize him.  They try to trap Jesus.  They try to trick him into making a stupid mistake.  He, of course, outwits them in ways they couldn’t imagine, but the thing that I keep on thinking about is how these people could be so ignorant, so blind, so foolish that they couldn’t even see Jesus right in front of them.

Oh wait…but I couldn’t see him at the coffee stand. 

But something happened.  I saw the touch of his hand, and I opened my eyes.  I was jarred into the reality of his presence by the simple extending of a hand (yes, to refill the Almond Amaretto…but you get the point).  I didn’t realize it then, but I believe I looked up, and I didn’t just see the coffee brewer lady.  I saw Jesus.  I saw him in a unique, beautiful, valuable, human being.

So, I wrote a post about how you can read the gospels.  We talked about how the best way to read the story of Jesus is to enter the story by doing what Jesus did.

Here’s the thing.  You can’t do what Jesus did until you see what Jesus saw.    So, I ask you,  Have you seen Jesus my Lord?  He’s here in plain view.

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Food for thought/Articles on Invisibility:

On the Invisibility of Black Women and Girls For Harriet                      The Invisible Poor Global Policy Forum

 

Better than Happy: More than a Pig Chaser

Have you ever seen anyone trying to catch a greased pig?

Well, if you’ll look around, you’ll see many people out there chasing something that just can’t seem to catch..and that’s the greased pig of happiness.  Yes, I said that.  Read it in a very Redneck voice if you’d like..

 5 reasons why chasing happiness is like catching a greased pig:

1.  It’s slippery.

When you focus on trying to catch happiness, it keeps slipping out of your grasp.  Have you ever thought –

  • If I only got this job, I’d be happy.  But, guess what…in a little while, after you’ve got that job…it doesn’t bring you happiness.
  • If I only got this relationship to work, I’d be happy.  But, after you get the relationship going, you find that maybe that didn’t quite make you happy either.
  • ON AND ON

The point is – if you’re seeking happiness…it just keeps slipping away…like a greased pig.

2.  It’s messy.

In fact, when you chase a greased pig, you wind up in a pit with other nasty, messy, poopy animals.  Gross, huh?

Now, what about if you wind up in the rat race.  You wind up chasing money above all else.    You chase the happiness that is found in jumping over your colleagues.   And, you wind up clawing and gnashing out every last ounce of energy you have, and you wind up at the end of the day surrounded by other frustrated, nasty, messy people who are ultimately as unsatisfied as you are.    Sure, it sounds like a fun game, but it turns out badly, and the company is nasty.

3.  The pig kicks.

It turns out the way to catch a greased pig is to grab it by the hind legs.  This is known.  However, there’s a problem…sometimes the pig kicks.  So, instead of a pig catching trophy, you wind up with bloody shins, bruised forearms, and a weird pig infection.  Not fun.

Same with chasing happiness.  Sometimes, you don’t really get happiness, but you get close.  You grab it by the heels…and you get kicked…and it hurts.

4.  It’s lonely.

When you’re so focused on catching a greasy pig, you forget connect with others.  It’s hard to connect deeply with others when you are so focused on the greasy pig.

When you focus on self, you shut others out.  When you shut others out, people don’t like you.  The more you force others out, the less connections you have.  The less connections you have, the lonelier you are.  Thus, you are sad.  This is back by both common sense and studies.

5.  You might just catch the pig.

Let’s say you catch the pig.  Great!  Now, you have a nasty, squirming pig that really all you can do with is fry, roast, or grill.  Oh wait, you might also make some delicious bacon.  And, I love bacon.

But, you know then thing about bacon?  It seems like you always need more.  There’s never enough bacon!

I want to get out of that mess.  I want more than greasy hands and everyday bacon.

Have you ever heard this story?

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. “You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman. “You should be working rather than lying on the beach!”

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, “And what will my reward be?”

“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” was the businessman’s answer.

“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied, “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”

“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.

“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”

Once again the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”

Source: Heinrich Boll

So, the question is, can we find something better than happiness?

Well, it turns out there is, and you can find it.  You might find it where you least expect it (see the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount).

And, what might really surprise you is how you get it.   And, let me tell you something, that story is better than bacon.  

It’s dynamite.

More than Cool: The Woodcutter

Max Lucado tells  a great story about life.  It goes something like this,

“Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before—such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them. “It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?” The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again. “All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?”

The story goes on…the horse returns, but not alone.  Turns out a pack of wild horses comes with it.

The people say it’s a great blessing.  The old man says you don’t know what it is.  It may be a blessing or a curse, says the old man.

Well, one day the wood cutter’s only son is breaking one of the horses.  He falls off and is injured.  Same story.  The people say it’s a curse.  The old man says,

 “You people are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments.”

Then, there is a war.  Everyone’s son is drafted into the war, and most all of them are killed.  The wood cutter’s sun isn’t drafted because he is injured.

The villagers come to the man and say that he was right after all, that the injury was a blessing because he got to keep his son alive.

The old man spoke again. “No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.”

In a way, the old man is right.  He was certainly cool.  Jesus said not to worry, but he also told us WHY we don’t need to worry.  Someone is taking care of us.

The old man said, “No one knows if it’s a blessing or a curse.”

Well, you can know.

You can know that for you, everything will work together for good.  It won’t be a curse.  None of it will be.  It will be a blessing.

It could hurt so much it makes you wake up crying.  But, it still will work together for good for you.  It will be a blessing.

It could be something that puts you on top of the world.  That, too, will be a blessing.  There are contingencies, though.  This truth is not for everyone.  It’s only for those who will receive it.

It all starts with knowing a story.  Truth is you can know a story that gives the world purpose, meaning, and hope to all of the good and the bad things you experience in life.  Not only can you know the story, but you can know the Author.  Not only that, but you can work with him to unfold his Story in your life and in the lives of others.  And, let me tell you when you do that, you’ll know something, too:

You’re a blessing.