What Constitutes Success

I was in a discussion one day with a friend about Paul and Barnabas and John Mark and Silas and their journeys and how God was working through them.

My friend commented on the fact that Paul and Barnabas got into a severe argument about John Mark. He had left them in the middle of their journey to return to Jerusalem.  After Paul and Barnabas got back to Jerusalem and stayed for a while, they started out again. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark; Paul did not. The argument was so tense that the two men separated. Paul and Silas went together and Barnabas and John Mark went together.

My friend asked who was right Paul or Barnabas. He contends that Paul was because we don't hear about Barnabas any more. I said that is the wrong way to look at it. You can't measure the right or wrong, the success of the ministry by how visible it is or how many chapters of the Bible are dedicated to it.

Although the book is anonymous, it is generally accepted that this same John Mark is the writer of the Gospel according to Mark, the first written account of the life of Jesus. I believe that without the encouragement of Barnabas, he might never have written this account. It is also believed that he used the sermons and teachings of Peter as the basis for most of his writing. Peter was in Jerusalem and not out on the road like Paul was.

Too often I think we look at people and ministries and churches and make judgments about their "success" based on our worldly viewpoint. I think many of us will be surprised when we get to heaven at those who are found faithful to God's calling because they didn't seem very successful to us.

The Wonder of it All

I'm reading a new book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It's about being radically in love with Jesus. At the beginning of the book he talks a lot about the magnificence of God. He had a short video on his web site about the size of outer space - or maybe more correctly - how small we are in all the billions of planets and suns and galaxies out there.

That prompted me to go the the Hubble images web site. I am really overwhelmed that the God who created all this vast, far-flung universe also created me. And like the universe He created me for His glory. I am utterly in awe of a God who made me purposefully and who loves me more than I can ever imagine. My mind just can't grasp it but it does cause me to worship Him.

I was watching a PBS show on the space program and one of the astronauts who went to the moon said how sure he was - after seeing everything from a different perspective - that there is a designer, an intelligence behind it all. I'm glad I did not have to go to the moon in order to understand and believe that.

I don't ever want to lose the awe I feel in seeing a sunset or clouds scudding across the sky or seeing the flowers bloom and trees bud in the spring or feeling the warmth of the sun in the summer or watching my grandchildren grow and develop knowing that they too are uniquely created by God.

Spend to Save

I saw a few of the Black Friday sales ads on TV last night. One was 3 women who were talking about how they were spending to save.

That is such a backwards mind set...if I spend $10 on this t-shirt, I save $8. Well, no you don't, you spend $10. I can't remember when I have been shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving - too many people, too much traffic and too much money spent. It is so easy to get caught up in the "on sale" mentality and purchase way more than intended.

I have a few presents to buy for the grandchildren and the gift I want to get may get gone but if it does, I will go to plan B...and they will never know the difference. I don't remember anyone's life being devastated because they didn't get the gift they wanted. Even me when I was a tomboy and wanted guns and footballs and got baby dolls as a child. The excitement of Christmas morning with packages and paper and laughter and family overshadowed any unreceived gift. And after a few weeks it became "old" and was just another toy in the toy box anyway.

Grounded in God

My devotion this morning included this statement, "The apostle Paul had a strong and steady underlying consistency in his life. Consequently, he could let his external life change without internal distress because he was rooted and grounded in God."  Paul suffered some of the most horrible abuses yet never stopped praising God and never stopped praying for his friends.  

That is what I want more than anything. To have the faith that God is in control no matter what the circumstance so that nothing shakes my faith and nothing hinders me from pressing on toward the prize.

In Acts 4 Peter and John had been brought before the religious leaders and threatened with bodily harm and warned to not speak about Jesus but in Acts 4:29 they pray not for protection but for the ability to speak boldly in the face of the threats. That is grounded in God. Not looking for personal safety or comfort but in speaking the name of Jesus to a lost and dying world. 

Twenty Ten

There is just something so science fiction-y about living in the year 2010. It seems hard to believe that some of those science fiction books I read back in the 50's and 60's have come true to a degree. We have put men on the moon and have a space station orbiting the earth. We have aircraft that span the globe and wireless global communication that were the stuff of vigorous imaginations 50 years ago.

And now I am living in the year 2010. I'm not sure exactly how we will say the year. Just saying "10" seems off somehow even if we write it that way. But no matter...I am thankful to be alive so see all that is taking place! I think it's kinda cool that God chose me to live is such a time as this.

Acts 1:8

As I have been reading through the book of Acts, I keep thinking about "the beginning" of the spread of the Gospel. Jesus told his followers that they would be the instrument He would use to spread the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ to all the world.

Jesus had selected 12 followers to be His closest friends, men He would mentor to be the leaders of this revolution. By the time Jesus ascended into heaven that number had grown to 120. These men became powerful speakers, boldly proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I am a believer today because of the faithfulness, the boldness of these men.

What if I had been one of the 120 in that day? Would I have done my part to tell everyone about Jesus? Would I advance the Gospel? But the challenge is NOT what would I have done 2000 years ago but what will I do TODAY! The truth of the saving grace of Jesus Christ is still spread primarily by individuals who invite family and friends to church, who share Jesus when the opportunity arises, who live lives above reproach. Am I doing what I can to be a leader of this revolution?

Today is just as challenging as it was in Bible days. With all the interest in Eastern religions and New Age and atheism and witchcraft and politics as salvation and money as salvation and the stock market or laws or government or public figures. We look to anyone and anything OTHER than Jesus Christ for our salvation. But nothing else works. EVERYTHING else will lead to destruction.

Lord God, help me to fulfill the role You have called me to. To be obedient in all the little things You ask of me. To be unafraid to speak when opportunities arise.

Christmas Time

I don't think I am a scrooge or a bah humbug person but I'm not particularly glad that Christmas music is already on the radio. Maybe it's because I get so tired of hearing the same songs over and over. Or maybe it's just a hold over from my retail days.

When I owned a retail store, we went to the gift shows in January to purchase Christmas merchandise for the upcoming season. That was 3 or 4 days of total immersion in Christmas. The merchandise would begin to arrive in my store about May. Over about 3 months merchandise would arrive, be unpacked, priced, repacked.

Because I owned a flower shop and things were hand-made, about September we began to make Christmas arrangements for tables, doors, mantels, etc. Then by mid to late October we began to put merchandise on the shelves...more and more until there was almost nothing but Christmas by Thanksgiving.

And Christmas was around (hopefully in lesser quantities) until the after Christmas sale. Then right after New Year and inventory, left-overs were packed up and 3 weeks later I went back to the show to buy Christmas for the upcoming season.


So maybe I just got Christmas overload for the 30 years I worked retail. 

Jesus vs Religion

One of my favorite devotional books is Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost for His Highest". I don't know when this book was first written but Chambers died in 1917 so it was a long time ago. In the 1960s the book was updated with modern language and modern word usage.

Today I read something that I guess I knew but had not really thought about. Directed to men who were studying to be preachers of the Gospel, Chambers said, "If we simply preach the effects of redemption in the human life instead of the revealed, divine truth regarding Jesus Himself, the result is not new birth in those who listen. The result is a refined religious lifestyle..."

I thought about sermons I've heard in various churches and on TV and realized I have heard many sermons about the "effects" that didn't say a whole lot about Jesus. The "refined religious lifestyle" is what Jesus fought  against while He was on earth. I don't know why it is hard for us to comprehend that first and foremost we MUST have a relationship with Jesus. We can be religious all we want but that doesn't save us, doesn't result in new birth.

Eye Witness Testimony

Some people who don't believe that the Bible is the word of God or perhaps are just looking for an excuse to discount the Bible, will pick out random verses that "disagree" or seem to contradict each other. As I have been reading through the Gospels it struck me that these same people would not find it odd that two people observing a current incident might have a different take on what happened.

I have heard law enforcement people say that many times witnesses to crimes give very different descriptions of people or cars or who was where.

I say that to say that if the Gospels were more "identical", if every story used exactly the same words, if every writer saw the event the same way, I would be more inclined to think it was all just copies of copies of copies and not a uniquely inspired version of the same event. Even the fact that some of the events surrounding Jesus are in each book and some in only one, tells me that God used each man's personality and perspective to say just what God would have him say.

The fact that every verse does not "agree" is not a reason to discount the Bible. Rather it is a reason to celebrate the unique giftedness of the men God used to give eye witness testimony of His story.

The One You Have Chosen

Perry started a new preaching series at NewSpring this week. The series is aimed at singles primarily and is titled "Don't get married until..." This first message was "until...you hear from God."

As Perry was reading the scripture from Genesis 24 one phrase that really stuck out to me was in verse 14. As Abraham's servant was talking to God about how he would recognize the woman from Abraham's family and be able to make the correct choice, he said, "...let her be the one You have chosen for your servant Isaac." The one YOU have chosen.

Yes, Abraham's servant had conditions - she needs to say and do this and that - but ultimately he wanted the woman that he believed God had already chosen for Isaac. And when Rebecca came along, she said and did what the servant had asked for. And then the servant bowed down and worshiped God.

When it's all about God, He comes through in a big way. I don't have to stress over stuff, just seek His face knowing that He already knows, that He already has plans, that He loves me passionately and wants only the best for me...in all areas of life, not just marriage.

Christmas Offering

Perry mentioned today that we will be taking a December/Christmas offering. He told us to begin praying about what we would give. Not just a "$5 thank you Jesus" offering but a real expression of God's faithfulness and my gratefulness.

As soon as he said "give", a dollar figure came into my head so I'm pretty certain that figure is what God would have me give back to Him. But that doesn't mean my mind is closed to what God might want me to do. I am open to whatever God wants from me. God may increase the figure but I certainly don't believe He would ask me to give less. I like it when God speaks and I am listening!

I agree with Perry that I need to give more to my local church than para-church organizations. Not that these organizations are unworthy, just that God asks me to support His church before everything else. Giving is as much an expression of my worship of God as any song I might sing, of any service I might perform, of any words I might speak.

Thank you, Jesus, for caring for me; for providing me with a job and income that I might give back to you. I want to be like the widow who gave out of her poverty - giving until it hurt - rather than those who had plenty and only gave a little.

Who Touched Me?

There is a story in the Gospels about a woman who had suffered from a "discharge of blood" for 12 years. During this time she had gone to many doctors and no one was able to heal her even though she had spent a lot of money. Basically, that means she had an incurable disease.

As the crowds pressed in around Jesus, this woman - who was trying to remain unseen (possibly because of the type of illness she had) - believed with all her heart that just touching the fringe of Jesus' garment would be enough to heal her. And she was right!

Jesus immediately knew something had happened and asked, "Who touched Me?" The disciples seemed to think this was a pretty silly question to ask because of all the people trying to get close to Jesus. But Jesus knew this touch was different. The woman confessed what she had done - and why - and Jesus blessed her for her faith

What about me when I try to "touch" Jesus? Is my reaching out to Him superficial? Am I seeking Him with pure motives? Do I really believe He has the power and the desire to do what is best for me...to bring HIM glory?! Would Jesus look at my faith and bless me?

This woman was a "nobody" in her day but she reached out to Jesus and her life was changed forever. Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, is still in the business of changing lives for all eternity.