Who's Closer to God?

I remember as a child taking a trip through the Indian reservation that was near my grandparents. I was surprised to see that tar-paper shacks really did exist and people lived that way in my lifetime…that it wasn’t just a piece of history I learned about in school.

I recently stopped by to drop something off for someone who lived in what, by definition, is nothing more than a flophouse. I recalled the amazement that something that I’d only read about or seen in movies or on TV really existed so close to me in my life in small-town America…and this was over forty years later.

More amazing to me was my reaction. I was introduced to all the residents, and given a tour of the property. It was obvious that these people lived a life I’ve never seen firsthand. But as much as I was saddened that someone is making a small fortune off these people “down on their luck,” I found that I had no desire to share my comfortable lifestyle with the one I was there to help. But I could come up with a list of excuses a mile long for not helping more.

That saddens me and even more, embarrasses me. Here I work with people less fortunate, cry out against others who don’t have compassion for them, and am willing to “minister” at places such as rescue missions, etc. But when I examine my own heart, I don’t have the faith to move someone in with me who has a history of making bad choices and associating with the wrong crowd. I enjoy my comfort more than I maybe should, and am maybe a little more afraid of risk than I’d like to admit.

And though I’m appreciative for the things I have, and recognize that it’s only by God’s grace that I’m not in the same situation as these people I met, I also know that my Lord and Savior didn’t even have a place to call home while He lived here. Are these people I have so much compassion for really closer to Jesus’ lifestyle than self-righteous me? Maybe, just maybe, I got a better glimpse of the Beatitudes through this person’s life than through my own.

The Fortress

Like so many others, our church and individuals in it, are receiving their fair share of trials. For us I think it's because we have chosen to move outside the walls of our church. Our pastor preached a message September 7th that said "These walls must come down!"

Slowly, but surely they are coming down, and what we are learning is great stuff. People are coming to know Christ and turn their lives around. We're coming in contact with more and more people in need of human compassion and eternal love. Dreams we had for ministry are starting to grow and bear fruit. But as we do more all this, we are tried more.

It dawned on me the other day that when we take the walls of our church down to be in our world helping people, that those walls also provided protection, as a type of fortress. I would never discourage anyone from going outside the church to do God's work. Instead I would advise that you be ready to stand firm with much less protection that you're accustomed to. The battle is God's, and He's already won it. Sometimes we struggle with remembering that, especially when in the midst of a trial. But if we are armed and ready, we can do it! So go ahead, take the walls down in your church and reach out to the world as Christ did. Satan tried to tempt Christ, why would we think it would be easier for us!

Compelled

I recently read something that used the word "compel." It's not a word we use often, but I like the word. You know, there are just some words that have pleasant memories, or special meaning. I think for me it's a song (the Hornet Song) from long ago about how God doesn't make us do anything (that free will thing) but He can compel us to do things. (It's

Anyway, I was thinking about how I'd often wanted to just give up the whole free will thing so it would be easier to know and do what God wanted. (I'm lazy by nature.) I realized that free will is what makes us who we are, so God would never remove that. But I could ask Him to start compelling me.

It's amazing what you get when you ask for that. All of a sudden I didn't need to think twice about doing things anymore. I just knew something needed to be acted on, and it was second nature to me. No second guessing, just second nature. And to see God working when you are doing what He wants when He wants is so amazing. Surprising sometimes, yet a blessing.

But just like praying for patience brings adversity to teach us that patience, asking God to compel me had its downside. You see, the thing that gave me that knowledge of what to do, was an increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. With that came the sensitivity to pray for others more. Knowledge that things might not be right. Knowledge at times that I wouldn't have thought of someone let alone pray for them. A sensitivity that produced empathetic emotions...sometimes the tears and actual pain of that person.

As they say, be careful what you pray for...but I'd encourage you to think about praying for ways for you to become more sensitive and decisive in seeking out God's will for you.

How Do You Talk to God?

I had an interesting conversation with a friend last night, where she pointed out to me that, though she didn't think it was wrong, I certainly had a different way of conversing with God than she did. (I'd had an "argument" with Him this past week about how much hurt I thought I could take, and I was thinking of choosing my will against His in my life...He won.)

I guess I didn't realize that everyone didn't talk to God that way. But it certainly made sense. Some of the things people have said to me in the past started fitting together. God and I have our own way of conversing about many things.

This friend and I talked about how each of us has our own unique relationship with God, just like our relationship with every other person on the planet is unique. And that's some of the wonder of His creation.

I shared how I first discovered this "familiar" way of conversing with God. It was at least 20 years ago when I was so unexpectedly overcome with emotions from a lifetime of hurt, that I got downright angry with God. I penned and cried for what seemed like a very long time. I screamed (in my head at least) "why" over and over. And when I was done, I felt the physical exhaustion of being released from this tormenting past, but I also felt His comfort...His love...His patience...His understanding of how I felt. I realized God could take it all. And willingly did. And He wanted to give me His peace and love.

So when people tell me they are angry with God, I tell them it's all right. Because if we can't be honest with God and have that conversation with Him, we won't heal. Not everyone feels that type of emotion, but those who do, need to learn to talk to God in a way that they feel He's listening. Because we all know that when we feel we're being heard, we listen better ourselves.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I Seen

I had an interesting conversation with someone recently. And though their emotions weren’t unusual, they are wrong. When bad things happen to us, we ask some pretty strange questions sometimes. We might ask, “What did I do now to deserve this?” “Why do you hate me so much, God?” “Will this life of trouble ever end?”

Or we could ask, “What can I learn from this?” “How much of Your strength will I need to get through this one, Lord?”

Or have you reached the point in your Christian walk where you have learned to ask for trials?

I think many of us think of poor Job when we face trouble. If anyone got hit hard and for no reason, it was Job. He lost it all, and even his friends were of no help. Another favorite is Joseph. Yeah, he was probably a little snotty to his older brothers, but nothing merited his being sold into slavery! And though we think about Job having all these catastrophes happen close together, good old Joe seemed to have a lifetime of false accusations thrown at him. Yet in the end he achieved what most people never dream of. I’m not talking about being second in the kingdom stuff, or even reuniting with his family. He was used by God to save a family and set the groundwork for one of the most amazing history stories of a nation to happen. And he recognized that God was in control of his life the entire time.

So, how do you react to problems? Do you question and blame or do you embrace the learning experience? And what do you use as a meter to gauge how bad really bad is? Lastly, what do you do with the trial when it’s past? Do you bury it deep inside, or do you share the experience so others can learn from it, be blessed by it, or see God through it?

The Shack

OK, so I was leary about reading the book The Shack. Come on, comparing it to Bunyon's Pilgrim's Progress! It was loaned to me, and I finally read it. I think people will love it or hate it, and I happen to have loved it. It provokes one to think about some deep issues. It helps you understand possible answers to some of those age old questions that people ask us about God such as, what's this stuff about good and evil? If God is love, why does He let so many bad things happen? Why would God send people to hell if He really wants everyone in heaven? and so on.

In a nutshell the book is about a guy who experiences a tragedy in his life, and his encounter with God. Now the God character will surprise you, and you may bristle at first, but I encourage you to read on, because there are some wonderful nuggets of wisdom in the book. My favorite is when God tells the main character that He lives in expectancy, not with expectations of us. The conversation about the whole verb/noun thing might get you to thinking.

I enjoyed it enough to buy my own copy. I'm already loaning it out since I'm told the waiting list at the library is 400!

Conflict Resolution

Matthew 18 has been a topic of discussion lately for me. It’s the part of scripture that tells us how to resolve differences or gripes we might have with other people. We either hate it because we hate confrontation, or we love it, trying to justify every petty thing we perceive someone does to us in our lives. I’ve seen both extremes of this practiced in churches.

This time though, I went beyond Matthew in my reading, and got some new insight into this type of internal strife that can destroy relationships and entire organizations.

First, I looked at examples of quarrels in the Bible, and read how they handled conflict resolution. First were Lot and Abram when their servants started fighting over land because they’d become so wealthy. Then there was Isaac & the Philistines when water was a little scarce because Isaac had become so wealthy and had too much livestock. (Do I hear “jealousy”?) Joseph even gave his brothers a warning not to get caught up in bickering when Pharaoh sent them to bring back their families. (As long as they’d been apart, he still knew the dynamics of that family!)

I read about the Children of Israel and their beef with Moses in Exodus, and that they were frustrated with other things and God, but took it out on Moses. (Hmm, have I ever misdirected anger?) Exodus goes further to give us laws about making restitution when we wrong someone. (Unintentionally, of course.)

I looked at the story of Naaman (the leper) with new eyes. The king was upset that Naaman came for healing, when who Naaman really needed to see was Elisha. (Wow, miscommunication, assumptions, overreactions…sound familiar?)

When I looked in the New Testament, I found general advice (besides Matthew 18) about this subject. James 4 tells us where this stuff comes from (deep inside our carnal nature.) And Colossians 3 has great advice about how to move forward with forgiveness.

What am I trying to say? In a nutshell, when we are offended or upset with someone, first look at our own hearts and see what might be causing that emotion. If it really is us, maybe God is trying to tell us to clean up a part of ourselves. If someone is truly doing something wrong, look at it from the perspective of the Body of Christ, and how God will be glorified in it. And always ask yourself how you would feel if someone were coming to you with the same issue.