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?

BLACK DIRT?

In Illinois, we have some of the best soil for growing crops in the nation. In the central part of our state, ground is very expensive--it has wonderful, nutritious, black dirt.

I am a believer in Christ and a preacher. Sunday I will be preaching from Jesus, "Parable of the Soils" in Luke 8. As I study and prepare, I have to ask myself, "What kind of soil am I (today)?" What I so often find in myself, when I am honest with myself, is that some days I'm pretty rich and fertile soil for the seed to penetrate and grow. But other days, (even as a preacher), I am pretty rocky or allow the thorns of life to disallow the seed to grow as it should. Believe it or not, preachers are still people too! (Oops! The secret is out.)

One nice thing to remember is that the same One who wants me to be "black dirt," the soil ready for planting, cultivation, growth and maturity, is also the One who says,"I have loved you with an everlasting love." (Jeremiah 31:3)

So what does that mean? Even when I am not "black dirt," the best soil today for the seed (Word of God) to penetrate and do its work in, He still loves me and wants the best for me. He forgives me and has a plan to work in me, even despite myself. (I believe that might be Jeremiah 29:11)

Maybe tomorrow I will be better soil than today. Maybe I will learn to persevere and stick with what I believe, who I am, and who I was made to become. Maybe I will be more willing to listen to the One who loves me with an everlasting love--and incredible love that has no end. Maybe at some point, I will "get it."

But when I am not "black dirt," then He is willing to forgive me, and love me anyway. He is willing to not give up on me. He is willing to continue to work with me and in me and around me. Sounds like perseverance on His part, right?

What kind of dirt am I today? Maybe I need to check and see, so I can get darker as the day goes on, by His love and His forgiveness.

What kind of dirt are you TODAY?

(By the way, and this is free, there are some pretty relevant and practical things written in the Bible. Check it out for yourself and see, and then tell me what it says to you.)

SAFE OR GOOD?

Are you safe or good?

My wife and I recently saw "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," making us want to revisit the previous Chronicles of Narnia movies.

In the first, "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," Lucy asks about Aslan (the Lion), whether he is safe. The beaver says, "He's a lion; of course he's not safe; but he is good."

At the end of the movie, that statement comes out again about Aslan (who represents Jesus in C.S. Lewis book), "He's not safe, but He is good." I believe Lucy herself made it at the end, having seen and experienced that for herself.

Jesus was not safe, but He was good. His heart was for others. His heart was one of service rather than life being just about Him. He came here for others, not Himself. (Philippians 2 says he left being with God the Father in heaven--a perfect place--and emptied Himself). Who after being in heaven would want to come back to this earth? But He did, for others. That is good.

Jesus didn't fit into the religious establishment of the time. Many beliefs He held were 1st century beliefs, but as He said, "I come not to nullify the law, but to fulfill it." He went beyond the norm and the expected, and it was not accepted by most in His time. He was not safe.

So often, I find today that I, and other followers, are safe but not good. I try to keep myself out of trouble as I carefully watch what I say and who I offend (by my beliefs and practices). I live a quiet life and try to not put myself out too much for others (safe but not good). I find it hard to serve others but instead work to serve myself and work on myself individually. I try to dabble with worldly things and get by with what I can, rather than wholeheartedly living to be good (as Jesus would mean "good").

Why are we so safe but not good? Instead we are selfish and all about us and what we can get. I want mine the way I want mine, and don't want things shaken up or changed, because I rather like life and church and my world MY way.

Is it that we can't have both? Can we not have safe AND good at the same time here? Will we opt for safe over good? Will we accept less than we were meant to be? An Old Testament scripture says, "Taste and see that the LORD is good." (Psalm 34:8)

Maybe in spending more time, "tasting" of Him, I would be less safe but more good." Instead do we not more often opt for "tasting" of the world and all it offers?

God is working on me to make me less safe and more good. What about you?

I AM A HYPOCRITE!

"I am a hypocrite!" And from my observations and experiences of life, and my extensive reading, so are you! Sorry.

Paul says in Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous; no not one." (See the Hebrew writing in Psalm 14:1-3 and 53:1-3). The Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, said in 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" We like to think we are ok, good, and have it all together, but if we are honest, we realize, we are not.

One of my friends said several years ago, and it was so true, "I have come to the conclusion that we haven't got a clue. None of us has got it all together." Yes, I can relate--and so can you.

Even the Apostle Paul, the greatest of Christian evangelists and church planters and authors (he wrote over 1/2 of the New Testament writings), said in Romans 7:15, "For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." He didn't have it together either.

But a few verses later, Romans 7:24, he wrote, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" He realized on his own, he couldn't live a life where his beliefs and his actions always corresponded. He didn't have the power, in himself, to live what he believed or said he believed.

Interesting in Matthew 23:3, that Jesus said of the religious leaders and Pharisees, the very religious people--pious ones of their time, "And the things that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds, for they say things and do not do them." Glad I'm never like that! Don't you feel the same?

No one has it together--no one is righteous--no one can live their beliefs all of the time. Sounds like hypocrisy.

But Paul went on to say in Romans 7:24-25, "Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

The only hope to overcome our hypocrisy is the help of God through the only One who ever lived on this earth without sin--without doing wrong. The Gospels call Jesus, "God in flesh" and "God with us." He was fully man, but also fully God. And He had the power of God to overcome the hypocrisy we struggle with. He has the way, truth and life, because He is the way, truth and life (John 14:6).

Need help integrating head and heart and feet--right thinking and right doing--beliefs, values, and living them out? Then seek Jesus. Read the Bible to learn more, especially the life of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. As you do, you will find a power to live life that you never had and will never find anywhere else.

There is hope for us hypocrites. "Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!"