FOR NOW!

Recently I have been reading Total Church, by Timmis and Chester, and rereading Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard. Today it really hit me that I have been seeing salvation too much only for the life to come and not for this life now. For a while now, I have been frustrated with salvation efforts, thinking that was all there was to it, for the life to come--to get people saved before they meet their God. (By the way, this is a very, very important thing!)

But it really hit me today, in the midst of all my reading and study of Real Life Discipleship, by Putman and others, and all the study of discipleship in other things, that Jesus wants to save us to give us a better life NOW. Not just pie in the sky, by and by, but NOW. I've read it and taught it and been hitting pretty hard lately on living the Christian life, but somehow it had just not gotten through to me.

Jesus doesn't just want to save us for heaven. He wants to make us better people now, here on this earth, so we will live better lives. (Could that be what He meant by "abundant life" in John 10:10?)

That living life better is good for me. I give my life to things that are worthwhile and make a difference in both me and others whose lives I touch. I give my life to people in ways that make them better people also. Is it more than doing better materially? But of course it is! Much, much more!

If I learn to control my anger, I am better off and so are others around me. If I learn to control my appetites--be more Spirit-controlled, rather than "out of controlled," I and all those around me are better off. Also it will help others to look for the way THEY TOO can control their lives, their appetites, their power and money and influence.

So giving one's life to Jesus, letting Him be Lord and Master and Ruler, is something that begins now. And I am in training now to get better and better by living among others here, many of whom do not share my values and beliefs (or His values and beliefs).

Why is this such a stark reminder for me today that my salvation is for NOW, not just for heaven later? I am not sure. But I am glad that today, at least, I got it. Maybe it will be a reminder for you too, or maybe a challenge to investigate Jesus for yourself, not for heaven later (a very good thing), but for life now. So you can become a better person now by imitating the life of Jesus, and allowing Him control of your life and appetites and words and actions through the Holy Spirit who comes to live inside the one who gives his or her life to Jesus.

Now just for later (heaven)--but for NOW! Maybe that will give me more motivation to let Him have His way in my life. Could it help you too?

TRUST IN THE GOVERNMENT WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Trust in the government with all your heart. Is that how it goes? Not with a 14 trillion dollar deficit. Trust in the state with all your heart. Yeah, the state of Illinois, unable to pay its bills on time is much better, right? Trust in your employer with all your heart. With job layoffs, and reduction in force, and downsizing and recessions (we don't have depressions anymore). Right. And with employers allowing employees to pay more of their health insurance and more of their retirement contributions.

Trust in your relationships with all your heart. With parents killing their kids and people not being committed to their marital vows or marriage partners--leaving at the drop of the hat. And with marriage, that once had some "stability" to it--now we don't even marry in our relationships. And that is cause for more stability, right?

Trust in your church--with so many churches struggling just to survive and with aging populations unable to support the church like they once could and did. And with the commitment level down among the churched in areas of morality and "living for Jesus."

Trust in yourself--like you have the ability to take care of your own self in this world of turmoil and hardship and aging and unhealth.

Trust in retirement--with possible cuts in Medicare and such. With companies looking to cut their retirement benefits, even among the already retired. Recently, a friend said he felt he could afford to retire. But many working people, even ministers and teachers, (helping professions) can't even afford to work, let alone retire. And that is many, many working people today in many, many other jobs and professions.

A guy could really get down and give up--unless, there is more.

Do I know the answers? No, I too struggle with living life and struggling, not to get ahead, just to survive and get along.

That is why I have to keep coming back to the biblical proverb which says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart." (Prov. 3:5-6)

I have to believe there is some hope. I have to believe there is some help. I have to believe for myself, but also to give hope and trust and help to others. As one in a helping profession, that is what I am all about. And as a believer in a God who loves everyone, helps everyone, and wants the best for everyone, I have to believe that or give up.

Yes, I pay the same amount for gas in America that you do. And we too have spiraling costs in our part of healthcare costs (18% up for the coming year for our part). And we too pay taxes and phones and house payments and on and on and on.

But I just have to believe there is something worth trusting--something worth seeking--someone who will not let me down and who is worth serving. I choose God. I choose to give my life for Someone that I have to believe will make a difference somewhere.

I can't do it alone--I have found that out from experience, even with hard work, education, jobs that matter, friends, living in America, and many other benefits.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart"--that is what I choose. It is a daily choice. It is a choice when bad news comes just as good news comes. It is a choice--because even that belief and trust never comes easily.

Trust in the __________________. You fill in the blank. But for me (and I hope, my house), we will choose the LORD. Proverbs 3:5-6; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 27:1, 13-14.

I choose God! Everything else I have tried has been found wanting. So I choose God!

Pressures of Ministry

The pressures of ministry--they are many. I remember the last couple of years before my pastor retired. The years of dealing with other people's problems were taking their toll. His health was not good--the problems seemed to get bigger--the ability to adapt and change and adjust became less and less. He really needed to retire when he did. It was just too hard to take all the pressures anymore.

Just yesterday, when I got in my car, I thought to myself, "I need a vacation--bad." The pressures of life and ministry seem to compound for the minister. We too have problems of life with job (church), family, taxiing, serving, financial pressures and attempting to find peace in the midst of hectic life.

I realized yesterday that a minister constantly has problems. Most of us just have our own problems or the problems of our family to deal with, and then they pass for a while. But the minister constantly has people in the hospital, people dealing with the death of loved ones, people dealing with family crises and divorces and financial constraints. Constantly--always--on-going. There seems to be no or at least, very little let-up. And all this with his own personal crises as well. Look at your church's prayer list to see the constancy of the problems that your pastor deals with. The prayer list never seems to get smaller.

Psalm 27:1, "The LORD is my light and my salvation-- ... The LORD is the stronghold of my life ..." And Psalm 27:13-14, "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness o the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

The apostle Paul once talked about this--all the pressures of doing what he did, and the pressure he felt for the churches he began and served. Today it is no less easy. We are in the midst of a massively changing nation, with the Christian values many of us grew up with being challenged, fought against, and believed less and less each day, it seems. We see dwindling churches and the need to do things differently when that's not the way we learned it or have ever seen it. And all the while, the enemy working through both unbelievers and believers alike.

It is hard to care, at times. Some call it "compassion fatigue." Getting tired of caring because it doesn't seem to be getting you anywhere--just more problems. When you care, it is easy to let the pressures eat you.

But the advice of the Psalmist is to "take a vacation." The vacation is to seek help from the LORD. He is "my light and my salvation." He is "the stronghold of my life." He will help one--even a minister "see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." But what must the minister--the Christian architect--the believing lawyer or contractor do? He or she must "wait on the LORD." Spend time with the LORD to gain perspective again--to find "rest for our weary souls"--to provide the vacation we need--the sabbath--the "restoration."

This is really a good thought. Now all I need to do is "heed it"--and that's the hard part.

How do you make time to "wait on the LORD" and gain strength, perspective, hope?

MORE CONVINCED

Today is the day before Easter, 2011. Lots of hoopla about tomorrow--Easter. Hoopla among those who believe and those who don't believe. Is it about bunnies and eggs? Is it about Jesus coming alive again from the dead? What do you think?

There was a very accomplished Jewish rabbinical student years ago who believed totally that the resurrection of Jesus was all false. He went looking for those believing in "the way" to bring them to be persecuted. He agreed when they were stoned and left for dead. But one day, (Acts 9), that same man was radically changed--totally--about-face--into one of, if not the, strongest evangelist, teacher, and church planter of the Christian faith. He wrote about 1/2 of the books that now are in the Christian New Testament. (This was Saul, later named Paul.)

In one of his letters to the Christian church in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:13-14, 20), he writes, "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. ... But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, ..." (NIV)

Was he convinced of the truthfulness of Christ's resurrection? Well, did you just read these verses? This is a man who was stoned for his belief and preaching, under threat of death several times, and tradition says was finally martyred for his faith. Did he believe it?

For 44 years, I have been a Christian. For about 35 years, I have been a minister of that same Lord, Jesus. After all those years, with all the education I have (B.S. in Ed.; M. Div.; D. Min.; with all of the reading I have done, certainly in Christian but in other religious literature, in secular thought; being with people from many, many countries of the world, having been exposed to believers from many world religions, I am MORE CONVINCED than ever, of the truthfulness of Jesus and His coming alive from the dead. More convinced than ever! (I do not mention these "credentials' as a way of drawing attention to myself nor thinking I am smarter than anyone else--just sharing who I am and what God has worked through in my life.)

Paul said, if it is not true then his preaching (all Christian preaching actually) and Christian faith is useless (if indeed based on a false and faulty premise). If it is not true, then my (Sam's) life and ministry have been based on falsity as well.

But the more I study, the more I pray, the more I live life even in this world that for the most part does not believe the resurrection, the more convinced I become of its truthfulness and the crucial nature of believing it and Him.

I also believe more strongly the closer I get to the grave--my grave--my death--my "time of departure" (as Paul put it).

Would you die for something "not true"? Would you give your life for something false (unfortunately, many people in our world do)? I would not, at least I hope I would not.

Would you live for what is true? Easter 2011--a time to investigate again, for yourself, the truthfulness and the importance of the resurrection of Jesus. Look at Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 20, and 1 Corinthians 15 and read for yourself. How do you read it--and how do you interpret it?

Are you convinced? Check it out for yourself, ask God to show you the "reality" and also the meaning of that event. Then celebrate this life and the life to come with me. I AM CONVINCED! Are you?

TOO!

Do you ever feel "too"? I certainly do.

I see the world as it is today--not the world I grew up in, and I feel "too" out of it. I feel like I don't fit as well anymore. (Actually I guess that is true, for as Peter said in 1 Peter 1:1, 2:11, believers in Jesus are "aliens and strangers" here.)

At the age I am now, I feel "too" young to retire, and yet "too" old to adjust to the changes necessary for what I need to do right now.

I feel "too" old to change, and yet feel "too" young to quit and give up and not continue to grow and mature and seek for more in terms of my life with Christ and spiritual growth. (See Philippians 3:12-14)

I look at the new life of the church in the world we live in today, and I feel "too" old to retool for ministry and service to a new age and new world and new needs, and yet feel "too" young to give up and throw in the towel and just glide along or slide along until retirement or death.

Someone said that we all "live our life as novices." Just when we get comfortable with the stage of life we are in, then another stage of life comes along that causes us to learn new things, face new issues, and so we begin again as amateurs at this new stage. It causes us to want to go back rather than living forward. Always living with the tensions of change. But we can't really go back, can we? Time marches on, whether we want it to or not. And I find that I would not be happy or content with where I once was either, because I HAVE changed and am not who I used to be.

I guess with all this introspection, Philippians is a good letter for me to read and study right now. In it the author, Paul, said that he "had learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:11 ff.). I need his word that God can supply all my needs (4:19). I need his admonition to "not worry, but to pray" (4:4-9) and realize that I can have the peace of God as I have the God of peace with me.

Are you "too"? Maybe you "too" need "too" much more of Philippians, like I do right now.

Lord, teach me to be content in "all" circumstances, especially when I feel the "toos"! Let me realize when I am caught in the middle of the "toos" that You are there with me, and I "too" can see that you will supply my needs, according to Your riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Teach me to be content with You, above all things, even the "toos."

A SMALL WORLD

English--who in the world thought it up? English as a ministry--no way! Well, yes.

For over 17 years now, I have been teaching English as a ministry (not professionally) to internationals who are here in America. They have been from Australia, from Asia, from the South Pacific, from South and Central America, from Europe and Africa. None I know from the Arctic nor Antartica yet (not even a Penguin). They have been students and immigrants and husbands and wives and PhD students and taxi drivers, etc.

I have traveled all over the world without punching a ticket and spending my money. (I did get to go teach in Kazakhstan once for 2 weeks at a church there). I've done that travel to many countries though through teaching English to internationals--from Nepal and Peru, from Indonesia and Thailand, from Nigeria and Sudan, from Iran and Saudi Arabia, from Viet Nam and Japan and China and Korea, and ... I am not sure how many countries. Maybe 50 countries or more through the years. (That may be a conservative estimate--not sure)

I tell my classes that I hope they have lots of fun and learn a little English.

And I've trained other Americans who were staying here or going overseas to teach English as a ministry too. Most have wanted to work among Hispanics or Chinese in restaurants or such in their communities here. But some have been going to do this work in England (with Africans who are transplanted there) or in China or Korea. Many I have trained have been doing short-term mission trips to other counties. God has blessed me and extended my ministry in this way--I am thankful to Him.

What has happened through this ministry? Many things I will never know this side of heaven, but what a wonderful thing it will be one day to hear from people I don't even know that this ministry may have touched. I hope that my ministry has helped missionaries around the world through my ministry of teaching English and my love and presence and friendship. I hope that some have grown closer to God or come to know God personally as a result of this ministry. I believe that all is true.

I will never travel to all the countries that my students have come from, but I have traveled there through their eyes and experiences of their country, through their pictures and things they have shared with me. Through their love and respect and culture that they have allowed me to see through themselves.

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) For God to continue to leave me here on this earth a while longer is to continue to make the impact He wants my little life to make. I plan, like Paul in Philippians 3, to "strive for the reason and purpose God made me and the things I can do on His behalf." (Sam's paraphrase) I plan to use what God gifted me with to touch the lives of others.

Maybe I have even made some impact with the Americans I've worked with and ministered to in collegiate ministry and pastoring churches and being a friend.

It is a very, very small world, and I love people from all over our world. God loves them so much more than I could ever do or imagine, and to think he could use a man from a little town to have somewhat of a worldwide ministry--Nah, couldn't happen. Well ... we never know, do we? God is a big God, and He has plans for us that go way beyond our thoughts or dreams. I'm not bragging about a big man today--but a big God who has a big purpose for every one of His creation.

English--yes, even teaching English. But most of all love and respect and honor--love for God first, and then loving others as we love ourselves. Maybe they will see the love of Jesus in me. That's my dream.

Find His purpose for you today--ask and you shall receive. And you will be blessed in a way you never thought possible.

IN OUR DAY

A verse in an unlikely place seems to keep coming up as I read, hear from others, etc.--a verse from Habakkuk. (Habakkuk??) Yes.

"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." (Hab. 3:2)

A few years ago I ran across this verse. We had revival at our church, and God touched me that I should pray this for us--"renew them in our day, in our time make them known."

Now I keep hearing these again. Is there a message for me in this repetition or just a coincidence? What do you think? The sovereignty of God and His purposes lead me to believe that things do not just happen apart from either His doing or His allowing. So why am I hearing this message?

It is easy today to look at many of our churches in America and to think, "God is not working today," and to just hold our hands up and give up. Many just do this while waiting for Jesus to return or for their death--heaven to come.

But is that the right attitude. I know that God is working today in some new ways--creative ways--outside the box ways. He still is God and He still is at work (remember what Blackaby says in "Experiencing God"?). We see a house church movement--we see amazing things in China and other countries, and, yes, we see God is at work in America too. Some of us are needing to learn some new ways to reach and teach and disciple. (Isn't that fun and easy?) Some of us are just not fitting in anymore in this world or the new ways the church is moving. But God is "renewing His deeds in our time, making Himself known."

Maybe you and I need to get into more of the prayer for this. I am praying "Urge the LORD of the harvest to thrust out workers into His harvest fields." Maybe I need to add this verse from Habakkuk to my prayer. Does this have something to agree with our Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

It is great to see God at work anytime, but especially in our time. I love hearing of God's work in China and Guatemala and Korea and other nations, but isn't it also super when we see it for ourselves--in our own time and our own place? When we see God at work around us (Blackaby again) and through us and in us? When we experience His revival and supernatural work in our church and town and region?

Church planting movements--this movement of God today reminds me that my vision is way too small. It is not just about "me and God" or "God and my church." It is about God doing a massive outpouring and us "standing in awe of Him and His deeds, in our time." Would you love to see that?

God is at work. Will we stand idly by as the apostles did when Jesus ascended to heaven, or will we let Him work through our prayers and our lives to see what He wants to do in "Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1:8) through us.

Stand in awe of Him and His deeds more, and maybe your vision will grow to include more than just "me and mine" and the small things we want. Or just sit and wait til He returns. God told the apostles to go where He told them and wait. But sometimes, waiting means active waiting rather than passively holding on for heaven and Jesus' return.

Lord in our time--in our lives--in our region and nation and world, renew Your deeds, and let me stand in awe of You more!

What do you think?