Mine!

I often joke that the first word infants learn to speak after “mama” and “dada” is “mine!” I usually joke that this is an indication of the sinful, prideful nature that is inherent in all humans.

But what do you think about when God says, “Mine!”?

He does say this, and He says it about you. God says, “You are Mine!” Not only that, but God wants us to say back to Him, “God, You are mine!” David expresses this I-am-God‘s-and-He-is-mine mentality in a great prayer in 2 Samuel 22. Forty-four times in just 51 verses David uses the personal possessive pronoun my.

David is thankful for the reality that God is close to him. He calls God my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my God, my Shield, my Salvation, my Stronghold, my Refuge, my Savior, my Support, my Lamp.

David says, “I am aware that God hears my voice and my cry, and He sees my distress. He delivers me from my enemies, my foes, my disaster. He rescued me because He delighted in me! Why? Because of my righteousness and the cleanness of my hands.

“God makes my way perfect, He makes my feet like the feet of a deer so that I will not stumble. God trains my hands and strengthens my arms for battle. You stoop down to make me great. You make my adversaries bow at my feet; You make my enemies turn their backs in flight; I destroy my foes. You delivered me from the attacks of my people. You set me free from my enemies; You exalted me above my foes.

Therefore I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name. The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!

Why does God want me to say, “Mine!”? Because it‘s only when I know that I am fully His possession that He is fully exalted. God loves to bless me when I acknowledge that “I am Yours and You are mine!”

Right now God is saying to you, “You are Mine!” Have you said “Mine!” to God today?

Giant Killers

Multiple choice quiz: with which of the following biblical characters are you familiar?

(a) David son of Jesse.
(b) Abishai son of Zeruiah.
(c) Sibecai the Hushathite.
(d) Elhanan son of Jaare-Oregim.
(e) Jonathan son of Shimeah.

Honestly, now, how did you do? I’m guessing you at least got (a) since David is probably the best known king of Israel. But what about the other guys? Have you ever heard of them before?

Do you know what they all have in common? They are all a part of King David’s inner circle, and they are all giant killers.

Isn’t it interesting how like attracts like? David became the original giant killer when he killed Goliath. Abishai, Sibecai, Elhanan, and Jonathan were probably attracted to David because of his bravery, because of the stories they had heard of his victory over Goliath. But then something starts to stir inside of these men—they want to emulate David, they want to be giant killers too.

So here are the questions I’m asking myself today:
(a) Have I won any victories that would attract other “warriors” to me?
(b) Is what I’m doing today something I would want those closest to me to emulate?
(c) Are there some giants still hanging around that I need to defeat?

You can find out a lot about the significance of the victories you have won by who’s attracted to you, and by who’s imitating your lifestyle.

Celebrating Stones Of Remembrance

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In 1 Samuel 7, there is a story where God defeated Israel’s enemies. After the victory, Samuel erected a stone of remembrance and said, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” Year after year when Israelite families would journey past this monument, and children asked, “Dad, what does that big stone mean?” They could be reminded of God’s protection and provision and they could celebrate.

We setup our own stone of remembrance at church last night. We took an evening to gather together and celebrate what God did for us in 2008:

  • People became followers of Jesus Christ and began their discipleship journey, others became disciple-makers.
  • We offered our first Vacation Bible School, and made great relationships with the families in our neighborhood.
  • Our Back 2 School party provided bags and bags of school supplies to area students.
  • Light The Night was a great alternative to a dark-and-scary Halloween night.
  • The Gift told the true story about the greatest gift.
  • We were able to show the true meaning of CHRISTmas to some special families.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! What a joy it is to know that “thus far has the Lord helped us.” And what anticipation energizes me as I’m already looking forward to an even bigger stone of remembrance next time!

There are so many people to thank. I won’t start naming them all here (you know who you are!) so that I don’t accidentally leave some people out. But I do want to single out my wife Betsy. She is my constant companion, my best friend, my favorite playmate, my wisest counselor, my daily encouragement, and a great pastor’s wife. I couldn’t celebrate all of these stones of remembrance without you!

Brothers And Sisters The Same

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I love my Coffee With The Pastor times every Tuesday! Yesterday a relatively new Christian (and a great friend), Barney Fritcher, shared with me his heartache over people who snipe and bicker and complain about their church. In Barney’s short time of being a follower of Jesus Christ, he has attended two churches which have closed their doors as a direct result of infighting. How incredibly sad!

God has given Barney a great gift of poetry. After our conversation yesterday, he penned the following lines that are just too good not to share with you:

Look around at the sign of the times
churches are closing their doors
is it because God has left them
or because of internal wars

There’s people trying to find the Savior
but they don’t know where to go
one says, “This church is a good one“
another says “No, it ain’t so”

What happens when the doors lock
what happens to the lost soul
is this what Jesus was all about
was fancy carpet His real goal

Does anyone know where God truly is
did He tell you while deep in prayer
does He need stained glass windows
for Him to be present there

If Jesus Himself came to your church
do you think that they’d let Him in
or would they say, “That’s outrageous
the people He’s with commit sin”

Do you think that you’ve overcome
that you’re a sinner no more
if that’s what you think, I’m sorry
Jesus has something for you in store

We all are sinners each and everyone
none of us are innocent and pure
if you think that you are different
I don’t think that you are so sure

So before you go pointing your finger
before you go laying the blame
remember what it says in the Bible
we are brothers and sisters the same

How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! —Psalm 133:1 (The Message)

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Lingo

On Sunday nights I am teaching a series called Huh? It’s a practical set of talks geared to help us all increase our level of effective communication.

One huge hurdle to effective communication is the lingo into which we so easily slide. The dictionary defines lingo: a characteristic language of a particular group that is unfamiliar to those outside that group.

Last night—even as I am teaching on effective communication—I discovered how guilty I am of using Church Lingo. After our service was over, my daughter Samantha handed me an offering envelope on which she had written a Church Lingo lexicon.

Street Word           Church Lingo
Yes                          Amen
Mr. & Mrs.                Brother & Sister
Goodbye                  God bless
Ticked off                 Grieved
Sing                         Worship together

Ouch! A good reminder that I can so easily slip into Church Lingo and leave people all around me saying, “Huh?” I’m trying to get better.

What Church Lingo have you heard (or adopted yourself) that needs to be changed?

Hearts Like Prisms

God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” This is the same God who made His light shine in our hearts by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ. —2 Corinthians 4:6 (NCV)

Today I was at the Flint Institute of Arts with my kids. There was a really cool exhibit made of hundreds of pieces of glass that cast a rainbow of colors all over the wall. Yet all of these colors sprayed across the wall are generated by just two lights.

This made me think, “How am I reflecting God’s light? Is my life a prism that accurately transmits God’s light and love to others? Or does my lifestyle make it difficult for people to see God?”

Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights. —Philippians 2:15 (NLT)

I want people to see the brilliance of God’s love through me.

A Weird Week

We’re all creatures of habit. Even if you think you’re a spontaneous, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinda person, you still have routines and habits that make you you. I am no exception: I like my routines: they work for me: they help me keep my life (sorta) organized.

What happens when our routines are interrupted? Usually I go into Sulk Mode—I want things the way they are supposed to be! Or at least, I want things the way I want things!

This week I am being tested in this.

My kids had no school on Monday, no school today, and no school on Friday. Weird week.

The kids have no school, but Betsy, along with the other teachers, have to report to school for in-service training. Weird week.

I began the week rather sulkily. My routines are all messed up. The kids have no school, but I still have all my work to get done: How am I going to get everything accomplished?!

But then I realized that God had given me some “bonus time” to invest in some of the most important relationships I have.

So I broke my routines, came out of my comfort zone, and I am enjoying these weird moments.

  • On Monday, the kids and I took a long, leisurely lunch at Taco Bell. Nothing fancy, just a lot of laughs around the table. In those unguarded, spontaneous moments, it’s amazing the insights I caught into my kids’ lives.
  • On Tuesday, I took Betsy out to dinner at our favorite restaurant. Quiet dinner, great reconnect time, and the food was pretty good too! During our dinner we moved into an incredible conversation that helped me clarify some stuff for church. I’m going to be able to tweak a couple of ministries that are going to re-energize me and our church.
  • Today I’m working from home. Not quite as convenient as the quietness of my office, but the laughter of kids in the background reminds me of why I really do what I do.
  • Tomorrow we’re off to the Flint Institute of Arts to see the cool comic collection. Another wonderful opportunity to engage with my kids.

What do you do with the weirdness in your life?

It’s just possible that God might be giving you an opportunity for insight, for re-energizing, for reconnecting, for reengaging with some very special people. Don’t let the weirdness of broken routines set you back, but use them to propel you forward.

Up!

Someone left this note on my office door yesterday morning. It sure encouraged me, so I thought I’d share it with you.

Wake up
Sing up
Preach up
Pray up

But never give up
Or let up
Or back up
Or shut up

Until the cause of Christ
in the world is built up

Super strength
Super peace
Super joy
Super whatever

When Nothing Is Something

I’m not a typical Type-A person, but I do find it very hard to take time off. As soon as I find I’m doing Nothing I’ve immediately got to start doing Something… Anything.

When I’m doing Nothing I feel guilty.

“Who do you think you are? What makes you so special that you can do Nothing! Everything is not finished, so get up and do Something. Do Anything. Just don’t do Nothing!”

By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done (Genesis 2:2-3).

God did Everything in six days. There wasn’t Anything left to do.

So God did Nothing.

And yet that Nothing was Something special.

The Hebrew word for rest is shabath which means, “sit down and sit still.” Why? Was God tired? No, the resting is not Nothing; it is Something.

God paused from His work because He wanted to reflect on what He had accomplished. That’s the point.

Doing Nothing is really doing Something. When we take a shabath we’re taking a day to reflect on God’s blessing, His provision, His faithfulness.

I did Nothing today.

My Nothing was really Something special! I began the day by thanking God for all of the blessings in my life. And the more I gave thanks, the more reasons I realized I had to give thanks! After all that thanks-giving, I found that I had one of my most creative and encouraging days.

It’s amazing how Nothing can be a very special Something.

If you’re not already, find a day to do Nothing. I think you too will discover that Nothing is Something.

***A postscript for my pastor friends. Just a reminder: If you have church services on Sunday, then Sunday is not your shabath—it’s a day you’re doing a whole lot of Something. Find another day to do Nothing. God will bless the rest of your week when you do.***

I have some other posts about sabbathing that are worth your time here, here, and here.

Even Greater Things

A stream-of-consciousness post. This is just how the Holy Spirit speaks to me, and I hope it will be helpful to you too.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” —Jesus (John 14:12)

“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible—what a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” —A.W. Tozer

“I don’t want to live my life in a way that the best I can do is the best I can do.” —Mark Batterson, in Wild Goose Chase

“God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.” —Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Sonnets Of The Portuguese

I’m dreaming big dreams today—dreams of “even greater things”—impossible dreams that would fail unless God helps me.