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Thoughts on God’s gift to us

Sunday I quoted from a Western movie called Open Range. Know that I am a sucker for westerns. Also recognize that all the words in them are not necessarily inspired, but I think these words might be because they represent so much the sentiment and truth of Christianity. The doctor’s spinster sister says these words to a damaged cowboy as she offers him a small locket for luck. He at first wants to reject the gift thinking he is not good enough, but the “good enough” is her opinion of him and has little to do with the disabled opinion he has of himself. Read the words:

“It’s not your choosing if it’s a gift!”

I think these words in Ephesians say much the same thing, only they are speaking of salvation.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

People often think they have to talk God into helping or saving them. Others think they have to pay some kind of price for God’s mercy. Still more simply think they are not of enough value to experience God’s love and blessings.

“Indeed rarely will anyone die for a righteous person; though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves His love for us, in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:7-8)

The giver of the gift decides the value of the one who receives the gift, not the one who receives. This is a core idea of the Christian faith. God has decided, acted and proven that each of us is of immense value to Him ? a value qualified by the cross of His only Son, the perfect, sinless, complete offering of Jesus Christ. God has chosen to give us this gift. We just receive, say thank you and respond.

In the movie, this broken cowboy and former gunfighter becomes a better man begun by such a simple, undeserved, but accepted gift.

God wants to save us!
God wants to help us!
God wants to bless us!

We don’t have to pay for it, deserve it or talk him into it, just accept with a simple act of faith in God, God who has revealed Himself in the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ. As we approach Thanksgiving and the Christmas season, think on these things!

I hope you will be able to join us for a special weekend of worship, Celebrate Recovery tonight, then Saturday worship at 6:00 p.m., a reception for the ZOE mission at 7:30 p.m., and then all our Sunday services, including our new 5:00 p.m. worship. We will celebrate what God has done in and through us through ZOE Ministry in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. You will be inspired as we begin Thanksgiving week with such big-deal moments. I think we need to hear Vincent’s (a 15 year old from Rwanda) story. And he needs a place to tell it, God at work.

Thoughts on looking for the 5%

Some years ago, Bill Hybles, the pastor of Willow Creek Church, one of the largest churches in America said, “Ninety-five percent is 5% too little!” Since then it has become a guide for his church and many others as we think about what it is to be a Christian. What would my life, your life, the life of the church look like if that last 5% found its way into the hands of a saving, loving, generous God?

What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “Come follow me”? Could 95% of Peter get out and make the amazing journey Jesus would demand? What do you think Jesus meant when he said, “He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not worthy of me”? (When someone tries to plow without his eyes front, the furrows get crooked.) It takes 100% to follow and 100% of eyes straight ahead to experience the life Jesus expects of those who believe in him.

Why are we so tempted to look for shortcuts, settle for less and look for easier ways to be Christians? Wouldn’t you think we would want to be 100% of the best thing there is to be?

• 100% holy
• 100% generous
• 100% forgiving
• 100% loving

As we are in the season of Practicing Extravagant Generosity, an idea that pervades it all — an idea as biblical, as Jesus as it can be — is generosity begets generosity. One hundred percent Christians experience 100% of what the Christian life can look like and be like. This doesn’t mean life is perfect, without flaws or trouble, but it does mean that we walk with God. Walking with God as Jesus walked with God is the greatest of reward in itself. In other words, faithfulness is its own reward just as belonging to God is faith’s greatest gift.

I think spending some time looking for the 5% can be a life-changing journey, especially when we find it, we give it to God.

Thoughts on peace

There was a time when boxing was one of the biggest sports in America. It has fallen on hard times in recent years. But I remember the excitement that surrounded the three fights between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier. Ali won two out of three of those fights. There was a bitter rivalry between the two. Each spent time in the hospital after the fights, and some think Ali’s debilitating health later in life came from the damage experienced in those fights. Frazier certainly did not escape unscathed on these three brutal times in the boxing ring. There is peace between the two men today. Neither can fight in the ring anymore, and they have become friends today, reminiscing on the old days when their fights caught the attention of the world.

Sometimes people don’t have peace because they are in a constant fight with God, fighting as to who is really in charge — them or God. Pretty much everyone wants peace. But peace doesn’t come in a magical way. It is not forced upon us. And, it is not a possession or even a character trait. It comes when someone submits to God, to God’s love, God’s authority, God’s salvation, God as God. Until we submit to God, bend the knee, accept the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, there can be no peace. Instead there is a constant battle of wills with God, a battle that cannot be won. God does not exist to do our will and achieve our dreams. We exist to do God’s will and live in relationship with God. From this place of submitting our hearts and lives to our creator, we live our lives in a new way.

I want to be happy, want to experience joy, know meaning and purpose, love and be loved. But I have learned that none of it works for very long without peace — peace, one of the fruits of the spirit listed in Galatians — peace with God, peace that overwhelms the human heart, peace that guides the human soul, peace that fills the mind and directs one’s life.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” Romans 5:1

“All knees shall bow, and all tongues confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father.” Romans 14:11

The way to experience peace is submission to God, standing up after we have spent some serious time on our knees.

“Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:28-29

Thoughts on what satisfies

I think one of the interesting creations of the last few years is artificial candles. You can buy an artificial candle that you plug in that emits the scent of apple pie. Not only is there not real apple pie, just an unsatisfying smell, but there is no candle either. For someone who might be hungry and an apple pie fan, it’s a trick. The candle has a smell but no substance. Our culture has a lot of smell, but there is not always substance.

“But Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” (1 Timothy 6:6)

“Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future.” (1 Timothy 6:18,19)

Two ideas that come to mind:

1. If you are not happy with what you’ve got, you won’t be happy with what you get!
2. The devil wants to deceive us into thinking something is nothing and nothing is something.

Some years ago the stock market went up like crazy on the dot.com industries. It seemed like every day a new internet company started up and began looking for investors. Billions were invested and lost on speculation. Millions of Americans watched as their investments faded away. They had invested in hype instead of substance and eventually paid the price.

Only God can satisfy the soul. Psalm 42:1 says it with great imagery, “As the deer thirsts for streams of water, so does my heart thirst after you, O Lord!” We do our loved ones a disservice when we ask them to satisfy our souls. We ask our world the impossible when we look for things in it to satisfy, for only Jesus Christ can quench the thirsting of the human soul. Jesus said, “If you drink the water from this well, you will thirst again, but if you ask of me, I will give you water that you never thirst again.” (John, chapter 4).

The scent of apple pie has some appeal but not nearly as much as apple pie itself. Our culture is full of all kinds of smells that promise satisfaction but can’t deliver. God delivers on His promises because God is the deliverer.

Thoughts on Family

One of the most exciting and exacting things someone ever gets to do is build a home. This process usually takes a year or so. Getting financing, selecting the lot, working with an architect and builder to get the design down, picking out all the details — appliances, colors — and then watching as the plumbing is laid down, foundation is laid, framing goes up and the home is slowly completed. Then finally the great day comes when it can be said, “It’s done!”

As we walk through the Picture Perfect series, sometimes people might think the family, marriage and relationships, even the church are like this. Someone has a dream for what a family — their family should look like. They begin the planning and design stage, discuss some of the ideas with experts, pick out some of the details and they begin to build, watching as a foundation is laid and the framing goes up. And, then the family builder anticipates the moment when he or she can say, “It’s done,” and their family is picture perfect. This is not the way it works and is a counterproductive and frustrating way to think about family. It is damaging to those who try to build a family like this and even more damaging to those who feel like they are the bricks. The family is not a building but a living, loving, changing thing that even transcends this life into the next.

Some time ago, I shared a message centered in the idea that life is not a train; it’s a tree.  In this thought, I want to say, “Family is not a building; it’s a vine, a living vine!” Jesus uses the same analogy in the Gospel of John saying, “I am the vine, and you are the branches.” Just as Jesus is the life of the vine, so God plants the seeds of life and possibility in a family. God is the author of it all, a living vine that is best understood through the Fruits of the Spirit that should be at work in all the relationships of a Christian, including, of course, the family — living pieces of God, of God’s spirit — “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  (Galatians 5:22) These Fruits of the Spirit are the life of a family, family that is not a building that we must somehow get to the “finally done” stage but a family that is a living thing, even living beyond this life into the life to come, the Kingdom of God made up of God’s people.

Thoughts on what makes a church work

The Dallas Cowboys won on Monday Night Football just a few days ago, catching up in the last few minutes to beat the Washington Redskins (sorry to any Redskins’ fans still recovering). There are many keys to the success of a football team — good players, a good game plan and sometimes a little luck. But there is one key so overwhelming that no team can win without it, and that is the players submitting to the leadership and direction of the coach. Putting their own agenda, concerns and will aside enough to follow the game plan of the coach enables a team to put the ball across the goal line.

I was thinking early this week about what really makes a church work (put the ball across the goal line) and win. For me, this was in the context of all the amazing things First Methodist Church does and the special congregation it is. As churches go, First Methodist has a lot of wins and scores touchdowns pretty much every week. Are you ready for the answer, at least as I understand it?

“ . . . And Jesus is also the head of the body, the church . . .” Colossians 1:18a

I am convinced the church works because its members bend the knee to Jesus Christ. It’s not because a church has the best worship services, the best programs, the best building and certainly not the best preachers but because people in that church family submit to the lordship, authority and direction of Jesus Christ. When a church family is full of people who give, worship, serve and do so from their commitment to Jesus, then there are no boundaries to the success of that church. When a church is made up of people who put aside their own agenda and concerns for the agenda that Jesus calls us to — to live out the plan the Lord has for His Church — then that church family is going to score a lot of touchdowns, make the difference that Jesus leads that church to make. I am convinced this is why First Methodist is the church it is.

We give because of a knee bent to Jesus Christ.
We serve because of a knee bent to Jesus Christ.
We worship because of a knee bent to Jesus Christ.

When I kneel before Jesus first, then everything else I relate to — the church, my family, my workplace, my neighborhood — all falls into place in a very different, even dynamic way, falls into place because God can now work as God chooses.

I can’t promise you that the Cowboys are always going to win when they submit to the coach, but I can promise you that each of us as well as the church will win as we bend the knee to Jesus.

“That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow!” Philippians 2:10

Thoughts on chage

I remember Carl one year pointing to the sky at hundreds of Monarch butterflies on their way south. Every year at that same time they migrate thousands of miles to lay their eggs. They fly the same route year after year, and along that way, multiple predators such as the Oriole and the Grosbeak are waiting for them. Most won’t make it. They can’t alter this genetic tendency; they will attempt to fly to Mexico no matter what. These butterflies just can’t change!

But people can change. God has given us free will to love or hate, believe in Him or turn our back on Him, submit to His authority or reject it, accept the savior Jesus or refuse this amazing grace. We can choose to live between the guardrails the Bible teaches or choose another way of life, even though guardrails are designed to keep us safe, placed at the places of greatest danger — guardrails often given to us from the Bible in the form of God’s commands.

A sign I occasionally see on the highway that seems so ironic to me — so ironic I almost always comment to Rhonda when I see it — “Guardrail Damage Ahead!” If the highway department has time to put a sign up, don’t they have time to fix the guardrail?  It is not a bad idea to have the signs up that warn us of a potential problem at a curve, but isn’t it much better to have the guardrails clearly in place?

Questions to ask myself:

• Where is my Bible? (I have dozens but often can’t find the one I am looking for.)
• How is my spiritual health? (My recent blood tests didn’t rate this.)
• When was the last time I prayed to God seriously? (Depends on how much trouble I am in or how serious the problem of the moment is.)
• What are the convictions that guide my behavior? (I always find time for a Maverick’s game.)
• What should I say “yes” to, what must I say “no” to? (No’s are hard; do I have to?)
• Do I know the Ten Commandments as well as I know the theme song to my favorite television show? (I am pretty sure I can sing the theme song to “The Brady Bunch,” “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Flintstones.” Yes, I am dating myself.)
• Do I love God enough to struggle as much to keep the 10 (commandments) as I do to drop 10 (pounds)? (Darn that Mexican food.)

Butterflies can’t change, but you and I can. Look for the guardrails!

Thoughts on September 11

On September 11, 2001, after a session of Congress to address the significance of the terrorist attacks, the U.S. Congress gathered on the Capital steps and sang “God Bless America,” many holding hands. In the midst of chaos and fear, Congress called upon God for help and blessings. In our own church (the original attacks were on a Thursday although the tenth anniversary falls on Sunday), we put a sign out on Walnut Creek Drive advertising a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. that night. Our church was full. In fact, people came in and out all day to gather together and to pray. That Sunday it looked like Easter as people gathered to pray. Churches, government agencies, capitals all had the same experience, people gathering and praying.  It was a remarkable time. I remember it like it was yesterday, as most of you do. As a nation, and certainly as a church, we were drawn to one another and to God. Political correctness was left on the sidelines as a nation got serious about prayer.

Since the prayers we prayed that week, our daughter Kelly married Chad, our son Michael married Gladys and our daughter Julie married Jason. Our son Michael got out of the Marine Corps, and Chad has had two tours in Iraq. We have also added six more grandchildren to the two little ones we had back then. There have been no more significant terrorist attacks on America since then by Al Qaeda. The American economy has survived the economic meltdown that immediately followed the attacks. Airplanes are back in the air, businesses are back to work, families are back to being families and the church still worships and serves God, thriving in life, mission and ministry. I know you have your story as well, the stories of what you were doing and where you were when the attacks happened (I was preparing for a funeral and left to go to the funeral home as the towers began to fall), but even more, the story of your life and family since and certainly the story we share as Americans — a common story of a nation that said “God help us” as the tragedy of senseless terrorism unfolded and the story of God who heard those prayers and overwhelmed that same terrorism with grace and the heroism of many Americans who heard God’s call to give, serve, help and rebuild.

Jesus came upon 10 men with Leprosy. They were easy to spot; they were covered from head to toe to hide the disfiguring disease. They had to wear clothing that let people know this was their disease, and they were isolated beggars. They could never return home, and after years, they would eventually die of the disease, unrecognizable as to whom they had once been. They, too, asked Jesus for help and mercy. He gave it and healed them all. As they headed to the temple priests to be declared “clean” so they could return to their own communities, only one turned back to give thanks. Jesus asks, “Ten were healed, why does only one return to give thanks?”

I would like us to think of this coming weekend as a season to give God thanks, to not forget how God heard our prayers and the many ways God has answered those prayers these last 10 years. In any service you attend — Saturday, Sunday and even our new service on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. in the Chapel — you will have that opportunity. I hope we will all turn back from the busyness of our lives and stop for a moment and say as the leper said, “Jesus, thank you!” Is it unthinkable for me to hope that the crowds coming to give thanks to God would be as significant as those asking for God’s help and mercy?

Ten lepers cried out, “Jesus, master, have mercy on us.” One returned to give thanks.

God is always the answer

The pastor got up to tell a story to some children.  He began by trying to get them to guess the right answer to a question.  “What kind of animal runs around in trees?”  No answer.  Then, “What kind of animal runs around in trees and stores up nuts for the winter?”  Still no answer.  Frustrated, the pastor then said, “What kind of animal runs around in trees, stores up nuts for the winter and has a bushy tail?”  Still, no child gave an answer.  Finally one boy blurted out, “I know you want us to say God, but it sounds like a squirrel to me!”

The moral to the story is simple — even a child knows that somehow God is always the answer.

One of the most important questions anyone can ask is “why?”  Why is God’s will so hard to find?  Why do our prayers seem to go unanswered?  Why is there suffering?  When these questions are asked, people typically want specific reasons, specific explanations, specific answers — reasons, explanations and answers that really can’t satisfy — when in reality, the satisfying answer is as simple as a big God.

When Jesus told his disciples that he was soon to leave them (speaking about his journey to the cross), they asked him, “Where are you going?” . . . certainly hoping for a specific answer.  He said, “You know where I am going!”  Philip asked, “How can we know the way?”  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life!”  Then after the resurrection, he gave them a simple command and promise, “Go make disciples, and I will be with you!”

Somehow God is always the answer.  God is the author of life, the giver of salvation, the saver of the soul, the founder of eternal life, the creator of a cross-based grace.  When Peter was asked by Jesus why he did not quit following him when so many others had, Peter said, “To whom else shall we go, you have the words of eternal life?”  And, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

I often wear on my arm not only the blue God Is Big Enough wristband but a white one that came from my brother’s church in Waco.  Steve came up with the God Is Big Enough wristband idea when he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer at M.D. Anderson.  I gave it to Gary who loved the God Is Big Enough wristbands so much that he gave many to people in the Dallas hospital where he spent the last few weeks of his life, dying of cancer not long ago, leaving a young wife and two little children.  Gabby, his wife, came up to me after church and gave it back to me.  I told here, “No, you keep it.”  She said, “Gary would want you to give it to someone else.”  So, I am waiting for the right time and place to give it to another.  No explanation necessary, no reason enough, but a God Is Big Enough, a God is enough answer.

When we sometimes want a small answer that fits in a small situation, God wants to be our complete answer — where we fit into the kingdom of God, a kingdom defined by a cross-based grace and a resurrection-based power.  Explanations are seldom the answer for our “whys,” but God always is.