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.