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Worthy of the Call

Background Passage: Ephesians 4:1-16; Acts 19:20, 23

Serving as a pastor or minister is a more than a job. For most of the men and women who serve as ministers, their work is a calling. When we speak of a “calling” we tend to speak in reverential tones. It is a beautiful idea of being set apart for service by God.

Many who serve in other capacities speak of their call to service. A police officer who puts his or her life on the line every day to serve a community speaks of a calling. A doctor or nurse feels called into the field to care for the sick and hurting.

Watch a kindergarten teacher work his or her magic while trying to corral 22 five-year-old children. See the middle school teacher fending off the preteen hormones. Follow a high school teacher preparing teenagers for a world that is changing before their eyes. If you do, you know these saints of schools have been called to that profession.

Being God-called to serve in whatever occupational capacity is, in my view, the definition of that which is honorable and noble.

The police officer who violates community trust, the doctor or nurse who turns a callous heart to a suffering patient, or a teacher whose actions diminish the potential of a child, fail to live worthy of the call they received.

If we allow God to rule our lives, I believe that we have been called to the career to which he led us…with godly intent and purpose. The Bible teaches a higher scriptural call for every believer in Christ.

The Bible tells us there will always be a battle between the way of Christ and the way of the world. In this clash of cultures, Christians are called to live distinctive lives, different from the world around us.

Paul, the apostle, spent years in Ephesus sharing the gospel to a diverse group of Gentile and Jewish individuals who, in the real world, stood at odds. In Christ, Paul needed them to love one another and to be united in spirit and faith. In his letter to the Ephesian church he encouraged them to join in relationship with one another and to grow in wisdom and maturity of faith.

When division crept into the church, Paul addressed the issue head on. He knew it was the only way they could distinguish themselves from the cutthroat culture of the community that surrounded them. He told them that God had given them everything they needed to live those distinctive lives.

Ephesus was an important city in the Roman Empire during the first century. Its harbor opened onto the Cayster River of Asia Minor which emptied into the Aegean Sea. At one point, Ephesus, with its 250,000 residents, was a hub of commerce and the second largest city in the known world.

In addition, it was a major religious center. The city boasted a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess, Artemis, (the Roman goddess, Diana) one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

During Paul’s three-year stay in Ephesus, the gospel of Jesus Christ took hold. Acts 19 tells us that people were abandoning their pagan religion and that “the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” (Acts 19:20)

The clash between the pagan culture and the growing Christian culture shook Ephesus to its core.

“About this time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.” (Acts 19:23)

A silversmith, named Demetrius, who made small shrines to Artemis, complained that this new Christian religion was cutting into his business. He called together his workmen and craftsmen of all related trades stirred up a city-wide riot that threatened the lives of Paul, his pastors and all Christian believers in Ephesus.

It was within this clash of cultures that Paul admonished the believers to keep living distinctive lives.

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

What a challenge he presented the followers of Christ 2,000 years ago and today. Live a life worthy of your calling. He wasn’t talking about one’s profession or work. He was talking about the call to live life in the image of Christ. Let Paul explain what that meant.

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

What does that kind of life look like? A Christian, in Paul’s definition is one who puts others before self, extending kindness to all he or she encounters, answering the hurts and disappointments inflicted by others with self-control and restraint and showering both friend and enemy in God’s love.

Nothing quite destroys the witness of a Christian or the church as quickly as when humility is replaced with arrogance. Gentleness with Rudeness. Patience with restlessness. Love with hatred. Peace with discontent.

Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Love. Peace. Living lives patterned by these traits…what Paul identifies elsewhere as “fruits of the spirit…” builds unity within the church and enhances our witness in the world.

It’s not just the unity within a local congregation of which Paul speaks. It is our relationship as Christians to all people of faith regardless of social status, political affiliation, or ethnicity. It is our purpose to keep that unity from being disturbed by focusing on that which unites us.

“There is one body and one Spirit…just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all…”

There is nothing wrong with our denominational divisions. There is nothing wrong with the varied worship styles. We all belong to one faith. When we allow our differences to overshadow the similarities, we diminish our witness. Baptist. Methodist. Catholic. Male. Female. Black. White. Brown. Saints and sinners. One faith in glorifying God. One faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. One faith in the spirit who guides. One faith in serving our fellowman. One faith in building the kingdom of God in this world.

God desires us to live lives worthy of his calling. God wants to live in unity as believers in Christ. These things are so important to him that he provides us with the means to make it happen.

“…To each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…he gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service so the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in faith…and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

You and I have been called to serve in some unique way and given the gifts to be so very good at it. When we use those gifts we’ve been given, the engine that is the Christian faith fires on all cylinders at its utmost efficiency and effectiveness. Every time we live unworthy of the calling nothing in life runs as smoothly as it could.

The clash of cultures between the way of Christ and the way of the world is starkly evident today. Because the world delights in our failure to live up to our calling, we need an extra measure of those distinctive characteristics that set us apart from the world.

Lest we think it’s impossible to live with one another in humility, gentleness, patience, love and unity, we simply must keep our eyes on the one God, the one Lord, the one Spirit and the one faith.

Seek God and his will. Look to serve one another. Set aside that which divides us and open your hearts to love all those who love the Lord. Reach out to the world community in ways that demonstrate the love and compassion of Christ.

“Live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

I don’t know about you, but it is a reminder I needed to hear and heed.

Amen.

The Greatest of These

Background Passage: I Corinthians 13:1-13

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Its origin traces back to the memory of a saint who was executed on February 14 over 1,500 years ago. Not exactly a Hallmark moment, is it?

Two legends surround St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, epileptics and beekeepers. The first story says that Valentine was a Roman priest and physician who was martyred on February 14 during the persecution of Christians by the Roman emperor Claudius II Gothicus in the late third century. Apparently, Valentine defied the emperor’s orders and secretly married couples to spare the husbands from war.

Again, not exactly a Hallmark movie. However, according to the second legend, Valentine befriended his jailer’s daughter whom he had healed from blindness, often exchanging letters from prison that he signed, “from your Valentine.”

Okay, that’s more like it.

Despite this noble beginning, no one celebrated Valentine’s Day for more than 1,000 years. The first valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his young wife in 1415. The Duke had been captured at the Battle of Agincourt and jailed in the Tower of London shortly after their marriage.

As such, it was a rather depressing note dated February 14.

My very gentle Valentine,
Since for me you were born too soon,
And I for you was born too late.
God forgives him who has estranged
Me from you for the whole year.
I am already sick of love,
My very gentle Valentine.

I seriously doubt Hallmark will resurrect that one on one of their cards.

Over time, Valentine’s Day has morphed into a time when we celebrate romantic love. And, as a concept, it’s worth celebrating. Romantic love provides the starting point for one of the world’s most cherished relationships between two human beings. It is a gift from God, not to be taken lightly or dismissed easily.

However, anyone who’s marriage lasted beyond the honeymoon stage knows that romantic love gets buried in the messy reality of life. To be sure, healthy relationships dust it off as often as possible in a haphazard and sporadic reminder of the things that brought us together in the first place.

When Robin and I married 45 years ago, we had read at our wedding the beautiful verses found in I Corinthians 1:13, a passage many have used to define married love.

While such definition wasn’t Paul’s intent, it does take love to a new dimension that serves as the spiritual glue that binds two people together.

Paul wrote those words to address the growing discord in the Corinthian church that hampered their relationship with God and with one another. Within their relationship as the body of Christ they each had gifts to share, none more important than the other. All God-given and necessary.

Paul told them that despite all their gifts, they lacked one thing. As a result, all their words and deeds sound as “noisy gongs and clanging cymbals.” Meaningless.

Paul implored them, “Let me show you the most excellent way.” Then, he shared some of the greatest poetry of the New Testament.

“Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.

“Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

All else, Paul reminded the Corinthians, will fall away and disappear, leaving us incomplete. But, all is not lost.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.”

Here’s the point I’m trying to make, I hope. The love we share with our spouse never reaches its greatest depth absent of the love of God within that relationship. As great as one might think their marriage to be…and it could be marvelous by the world’s standards…it could be infinitely richer and more meaningful when grounded in God’s love.

This “agape,” God-like love that he shares in abundance with us, demonstrates itself in our lives when we love each other as he loves all of us. It is the measuring rod of our spiritual and marital maturity.

When love is patient it never tires of looking out for the well-being of others. When kind, love is tenderhearted in word and deed, never harsh and bitter. Love cannot look at the accomplishments, possessions and abilities of others with jealous intent. It cannot look at its own success with boastful pride.

Love remains approachable, always. Not arrogant or overbearing. Love is courteous and polite. Never selfish or indulgent. Love is slow to anger despite cause and easily forgives, holding no grudges. Taking no offense.

Love cannot inflict pain upon another. Love rejoices when we get it right. Love celebrates truth.

Love believes the best of others and trusts in the other’s intent. Love hopes always that those who fail will not fail again rather than insisting that failure is inevitable. Love always lasts through life’s difficult moments.

When you think about it, love like that is exactly how God loves us. Love like that is exactly as we are to love one another. Love like that is the definition of married love.

Therefore, it seems to me, that married love is at its best when both individuals within that relationship are filled with God’s love to the extent that it flows freely through them and into the heart and soul of the other.

I am grateful that my wife loves me like that, despite my mistakes. I am hopeful that she knows I love her like that.

It’s Valentine’s Day!

I hope you and yours are reminded today of that which brought you together in the first place and God’s love that allows you to grow deeper in love each day.

Abide in Me

Background Passages: John 15:1-11; Galatians 5:22

When I enrolled at Texas Tech University many years ago, I left a high school with 120 students to enter a college with more than 20,000 students. It was a little intimidating. My brother, who was already a senior at Tech, shared some great words of advice.

He simply said to make the enormous a little smaller by creating a connection with a group on campus.

Made sense.

I chose to make the Baptist Student Union my connection. I made great friends, discovered tremendous spiritual mentors and found Robin, my wife. As far as I am concerned it was the social trifecta of my college experience.

I maintain peripherally connected to this day. I follow the Tech BSM on Facebook, receiving information about the ways that organization continues to minister to its students.

I saw a post this week about one of those programs that encourages students to pray for their friends, their campus and the world. The BSM is encouraging alumni and others to pray as well. That, I can do. The program is called ABIDE.

After reading that post, that word kept creeping back into my thoughts this week. When that happens, it’s usually a sign that God has something he wants me to learn. That became the focus of my devotional thoughts this week.

Abide is not a word we use much anymore. At least, I don’t.

The dictionary calls it an “Old English word.” That must be why the translators of the King James Version of the Bible (living and breathing old English men) loved the word. They used it often.

By definition “abide” carries the meaning of “await, remain, lodge, sojourn, dwell, continue and endure.”

The word points me to a beautiful passage in John 15:1-11. Rather than using the more archaic “abide,” my New International Version uses “remain.” Let’s break it down.

Jesus and his disciples just left the solemn confines of the upper room. Jesus sought to ease their creeping sense of anxiety and uncertainty. As he frequently did, he drew a parable from a familiar life experience to focus their thoughts on the point he needed them to understand.

“I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I spoke to you. Remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”

Jesus wanted, needed, them to understand that even though he would go away, the connection he had with them was strong. He had already told them about the Comforter he would send in his place, but here he reminded them that the gardener had already pruned them for fruitfulness by the “word” he spoke to them.

John called Jesus the Word back in Chapter 1. The truth he shared with them, the truth they learned from him would serve them through every step of life as long as they allowed the word to remain. Everything Jesus had taught them for three years was to prepare them for this moment. If they never forgot what they had been told and put those words into practice, they would bear fruit.

Isn’t the same true for us? The pull to walk our own path grows strong when we forget what we’ve learned about God’s truth…his way and his word. When we ignore God’s word because it doesn’t fit with our personal desires.

We remain in him and he in us when we immerse ourselves in his word, putting into practice all he has taught us through the years.

So Jesus says, “Abide in me.”

“I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing…if you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Jesus’ illustration of the vine and branches is brilliant imagery. Our ability to be fruitful hinges on our connection with the one, true vine. If we claim that all things are possible through Christ, we must also accept that nothing meaningful and lasting value is possible without him. When we pull away from the vine, we cannot bear fruit.

Galatians gives us a great idea of what that fruit might be.

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

By remaining and abiding in Christ, we find our lives demonstrate the character of Christ. We become more Christ-like. When our lives take on the character of Christ, it glorifies God and tells the world of the transforming nature of Christ. Without wearing the t-shirt, a sinful world will know are his disciples.

So Jesus says, “Abide in me.”

“As my Father has loved me, so I have loved you, now remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so my joy may be (remain) in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Jesus knew the disciples would soon have the bottom drop out of their world. These words were meant to reassure them.

“I have loved you…remain in my love.” What must it have meant to his closest followers to hear those words? During the darkest of hours yet to come, the disciples heard Jesus remind them to cherish and cling to his love. It is the same sustaining love you and I experience when the bottom drops out of our world.

When Jesus told his disciples, “If you keep my commandments,” he wasn’t saying his freely offered love was conditional on their obedience. God’s love is always unconditional. He was saying to the disciples and to us that our obedience keeps us from drifting so far from him that we can no longer feel his love.

Everything I learn of God through his Son, his Spirit and his word, reminds me of all I’ve gained through my relationship with him.

I hear those final words spoken as clearly to me as if I were standing among those shaken disciples. I hear the promise of abiding joy, utter contentment, at the life God has given me and in the future he has planned for me.

And here is the real kicker. Hear what Jesus said in this passage. “…remain in my love…” “so that my joy may be in you…” Did you hear it? My love. My joy. That’s what he wishes for us.

No one this world has known love more deeply, more authentically, than did Jesus. No one this world has loved more deeply, more authentically, than did Jesus. His joy was absolute contentment, despite the difficult circumstances and the horrendous task he faced.

It is the fullness of that love and joy that he desires for us. Not the feeble imitation offered by the world. His love. His joy. We gain access to that depth of feeling when we remain in him.

So Jesus says, “Abide in me.”

I join in prayer with those college students at Tech who seek that connection with the Father, through his Son. Those who desire a connection with the vine. Those who wish to be pruned in order to be fruitful to the glory of God.

Jesus told us how. It simple remains for us to listen. Make the connection real and personal. Allow Jesus to “await,” “remain,” “lodge,” “sojourn,” “dwell,” “continue” and “endure”within our hearts throughout our lives. Then, do our best to “await,” “remain,” “lodge,” “sojourn,” “dwell,” “continue” and “endure” in him.

If that sounds too complicated, let’s keep it simple and go old school grounded in the old English.

“Abide in me as I abide in you.”

No Where Else To Go

Background Passage: John 14:23-27

I spent the bulk of my professional career trying to put the right words together to explain things. I always felt I did it fairly well. Today, I’m at a loss to explain what’s happening in our country.

It’s not that the events of the past year have caught me by surprise. It’s just that it all seems so senseless. The ideologies and actions of a radical left and radical right keep tearing at the fabric of our republic.

I have no words to ease the angst of my adult children who wonder what kind of world their children will inherit. I certainly have no words to adequately answer the questions of my nine-year-old grandson whose innocent heart cannot comprehend hatred and bitterness.

I am at a loss. All I can do for them is listen and love.

We’ve become a people who call others blind because of the sawdust in their eyes without paying heed to the plank obscuring our own vision. A people unable to see that spiritually an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” gave way to “turning the other cheek” or “walking the extra mile.”

An essay published by the Lincoln Home National Historic Site shared information about President Lincoln’s thoughts on the eve of the Civil War.

Step back in time and travel the world in 1860. Visiting every continent, every country, you would find monarchies, dictatorships and authoritarian rule. When you return home and set foot on American soil after all your travels, you would have found only one republic established on democratic rule. The United States of America.

France tried shortly after the American Revolution, but mob rule and the guillotine determined outcomes more than the ballot box. If we are honest with ourselves, it is a startling comparison to our present circumstance when taking over a downtown or storming our Capitol building are accepted as necessary by factions of our population, each declaring that the end would justify the means.

President Abraham Lincoln led our nation at a time when the world’s monarchists and tyrants watched our Civil War with glee, hoping to see the end of this unnatural democratic experiment in the dissolution of the United States.

Lincoln understood this well. It was not simple political rhetoric when he described America as “the world’s last best hope.” Lincoln believed if the war were lost, it would be the end of America. If America ceased to exist as a united nation, it would end the hope of people everywhere for any form of democratic government.

I suspect there are foreign nations today dancing with joy at the discord so prevalent among our people.

When he was most overwhelmed, Lincoln found the only answer available to him. It’s the only answer I can find to my current inadequacies. Lincoln turned to prayer.

During the worst days of the Civil War, Lincoln met privately with his friend and journalist Noah Brooks. The president told him, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had no where else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”

“Driven to my knees…” When the politics fail, when our own understanding fails us, maybe it’s time to hear those words from President Lincoln. Maybe today, we have “no where else to go” except to our knees in prayer to our Father in heaven.

On March 4, 1861, at his first inaugural address, with his nation divided and on the brink of Civil War, Lincoln offer this prayer for peace.

“Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage;
We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves
a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will.

“Bless our land with honorable ministry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion,
from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way.

“Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people,
the multitude brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues.

“Endow with Thy spirit of wisdom those whom in Thy name
we entrust the authority of government, that there may be
justice and peace at home, and that through obedience to Thy law, we may show forth Thy praise among the nations of the earth.

“In time of prosperity fill our hearts with thankfulness,
and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in Thee to fail;
all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

It was the perfect prayer for an imperfect era of discord 160 years ago. It’s a good prayer for this day of uncertainty. I claim it for our nation today and ask you to join me in praying for our country, our leaders, our people and our future.

Prayer is something I can do. It is prayer that will bring me the peace I need to feel.

As a politically divided nation, peace is at a premium. Trying to find peace in the events of this world is a fruitless effort. Life’s circumstances and events might bring a welcomed calm, but, ultimately, nothing that happens around us will ever bring peace. We must look upward and inward for that.

Jesus’ words to his disciples in the Upper Room hours before his arrest and crucifixion offered instruction, hope and encouragement. He knew the disciples were about to have the rug pulled out from under their feet. He knew how dark their days would grow and how burdened their hearts would be. He knew exactly what they needed to hear.

What I know in this moment is that God knows my struggles and burdens of my heart. He knows how dark these days feel to me at times. That’s why his words to his disciples bring comfort to my heart. He knows what I need to hear.

“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching…but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom my father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:23-27)

Don’t worry, he says, about what is happening around you. Just stay true to all I’ve taught you. Be who I have called you to be. Remember all I’ve taught you and don’t be influenced by others to abandon your faith and your hope.

In the middle of life’s turmoil, trust me. Trust my peace, not as the world understands it, but peace as you have experienced in the past. Do not be afraid.

I don’t know about you, but it is God’s peace we need as a people and a nation. It is a peace that comes only on bended knee.

Happy New Year

Background Passages: Isaiah 43:18-19; Philippians 1:4-6

Julius Caesar and his scholars got it all wrong back in 46 BC, when they put the emperor’s name to the Julian calendar. They did the math and calculated that the solar year lasted 365.25 days, To minimize the impact of that .25 days on the seasons, they added a leap day to February every four years to catch up again.

It turns out they shorted the solar year by 11 minutes. For the next 1500 years or so, those 660 seconds per year created havoc with the calendar, causing it to fall out of sync with the seasons.

That Easter no longer fell near the spring equinox concerned Pope Gregory XIII. Using his papal powers, he ordered Aloysus Lilius, an Italian scientist, to take another look in 1582. Under the Gregorian calendar, Lilius devised a slight variation that adds leap days in years divisible by four, unless the year is also divisible by 100. If that is not complicated enough, if the leap year is also divisible by 400, a leap day is added regardless.

When Pope Gregory XIII made his pronouncement, the world was slow to adopt it. In 1752 the Parliament in Great Britain finally adopted the Gregorian calendar, advancing the calendar from September 2 to September 14 overnight. Protests erupted across London demanding their days back.

On the other side of the pond, however, Benjamin Franklin welcomed the change, writing, “It is pleasant for an old man to be able to go to bed on September 2, and not have to get up until September 14.”

If there was ever a year in which I could stand losing 11 days, it was 2020. It was nice this week to put last year in my rear-view mirror.

The pandemic and its wide-ranging impact on our lives, consumed our thoughts over the past 12 months…and three hours. It certainly tested our faith. I have to admit, I let the weirdness of the year get the better of me at times. Every time it did, it seemed God found a way to remind me of his presence and his love. I’m grateful we worship a God who is bigger than circumstance.

It is fast becoming one of my favorite verses in the Bible throughout the year. However, at the beginning of each new year, it is especially meaningful.

“Forget the former things: do not dwell on the past. See! I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)

God spoke those words to Isaiah in the middle of his promise of restoration to the exiled and enslaved Hebrew people.

Hear the excitement in God’s voice as he tries to revive the broken hearts of his people. “See! I am doing a new thing!” It’s as if he is saying, “Look! Wake up! Don’t hang your heads! Look at the exciting things in store for you in the year ahead! I’m getting ready to rock your world! Can’t you see it?”

Maybe you found the past 12 months filled with pain, uncertainty, heartbreak and grief. Maybe you felt disconnected and alone. Maybe you realize you walked a path of your own choosing that took you too far from God. Maybe, like me, you just feel…off…somehow. Just not quite right. Hear God’s word of encouragement. “See! I am doing a new thing!”

When we are wandering in our personal wasteland and wilderness, he reminds us with genuine excitement in his voice, “Have I got plans for you!”

Don’t let the chaos or the Covid-19 distort the reality of your relationship with your God who loves you. Focus on the new thing God is doing in your life. Open your heart to the possibility that this new thing he is doing will be the absolute best thing for your life, your heart and your soul.

If you doubt this promise for a minute, consider Paul’s greeting to the Philippian church.

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:4-6)

The God who began a good work in you will see it to its completion. He will never stop working in our lives. Not in 2021. Not ever. So as we look to this New Year, it’s out with the old and in with this new thing God is doing.

I don’t know about you, but that makes me look forward to what this New Year will bring.

And the good news is that, thanks to Aloysus Lilius, we will have another 26 seconds longer this year than we should for God to get it done.

Happy New Year!

Worship and Adore Him

Background Passage: Matthew 2:1-12

The little fold-up Nativity that sat beneath our Christmas tree when I was a child is now displayed on a small table in the entry of our home. I’m not exactly sure how old it is, but it has been around for as long as I can remember.

Interestingly enough, the old family Nativity appears to show four magi, unless the bald one on the end is a out-of-place shepherd. It’s hard to tell.

That Nativity is one of more than two dozen Nativity sets my wife and I have collected over the years. Almost all of them display the typical scene. Joseph and Mary huddled over the baby in a hay-filled manger, surrounded by cattle and sheep. In a few, you’ll find shepherds off to one side and three wise men bearing their famous gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It is usually these gifts that give the wise men their claim to fame.
In the case of the magi, maybe it isn’t so much about the gifts. Join me in Bethlehem so many years ago.

*****

The commotion outside brought Joseph to his feet. He and Mary exchanged uncertain looks. Pulling the curtain back, Joseph peaked outside as Mary scooped her toddler in her arms. The baby, unaware of their caution, laughed in delight.

Opening the door Joseph quietly told his wife to remain inside. In the fading light of day, Joseph nodded to his neighbors as they stood in their own doorways, awestruck by the sight of the well-dressed men stepping down from their camels.

The oldest of the men bowed his head and stretched out his arms in greeting. As quiet words were shared, the other men pulled several boxes from the satchels attached to the donkeys carrying their baggage.

“Come,” Joseph said, inviting the men inside his home. The men
stepped through the door of the humble stone house, dimly lit by small oil lanterns. A fire burned in its hearth. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the room.

Joseph crossed the room to stand beside his wife who held a small child on her hip. The child’s large brown eyes darted from his mother to the men, more curious than frightened.

In the quiet broken only by the crackling of the fire, the men stared in amazement at the small boy without speaking. Finally, the elder of the men slowly dropped to one knee, bowing before the child and his family. One by one the others followed their leader until all were on bent knee.

As one they began to offer words of praise and worship to the one they had traveled so far to see…the king they read about in the Hebrew scripture. One by one they shared their offering as tribute…among their gifts were gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In the hours that followed, they told their remarkable story. How they had studied the ancient texts and followed a star, searching for the one who would be king of the Jews.

Mary and Joseph listened. Cherished their words. Affirmed for the visitors their own stories of God’s promises.

As the night grew longer, the men rose to leave, bowing again in worship and adoration before the child, certain in the knowledge that they had found the one for whom they had searched. They knew they found the Messiah.

*****

Almost every manger scene you and I have seen includes three wise men. We sing the popular Christmas carol about the three kings who came to see Jesus bearing expensive gifts. Three kings. Three gifts.

When we read this story in scripture or hear it told, we tend to focus on the gifts. The gold. The frankincense. The myrrh. Reading into each gift a symbol of some deeper meaning.

When we focus on the gifts, I think we miss something fundamental in the story. These magi, these wise men, did not travel the weeks across some 600 miles of awfully desolate land, searching for the king of the Jews, just to bring him gifts.

The desire to worship drove these men to find the Christ child.

What these learned men read in their texts, their interpretation of the star they followed, led them to believe that the child for whom they searched was the “king of the Jews.” Not a king, but the king.

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” (Matthew 1:1-2)

The phrasing of their question was such that it “disturbed” Herod. As the regional king appointed by the Roman Caesar, a new king would upset his apple cart. The long-promised messianic king who was to set his people free would really throw a wrench into his cushy life.

Herod, fearful of losing his power and position, called together his priests and scholars to ask them where scripture said the Messiah would be born. His reference to the Messiah would seem to indicate that the magi told him they were searching for God’s anointed one.

When their review of scripture pointed toward Bethlehem, he passed the word to the magi, instructing them to find this new king and report back to him so he could also “worship” the Messiah. Herod had no such intentions. He’s intent was to eliminate the competition.

After traveling hundreds of miles, the wise men of the East traveled the last five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Once in the small village, it didn’t take them long to find the one for whom they had been searching so diligently.

The gifts they brought were secondary. They came to this obscure house in this out-of-the-way village to worship the Messiah.

As we think on this part of the Christmas story, perhaps there are a few things the wise men can teach us about our own worship.

The magi’s ardent desire compelled them to find the Messiah and to worship him. They faced a thousand obstacles and a thousand distractions. Little else mattered to them. Not the difficulty of the journey. Not the weeks of searching. Not Herod’s feelings. Not the humble house of a carpenter. Not the sight of a child without a crown.

None of that mattered once they dismounted their camels and walked through that door. Their hearts were ready for worship.

Our lives during the Christmas season are filled with distractions. The desire to find the perfect gift. The necessary shopping on top of the normal work routine. The parties. The travel.

In this most unusual year, we must add the bizarre political environment, the social disruptions and the pandemic to our list of things that divert our attention from that which God accomplished when he sent his son to be born in a manger.

Worship doesn’t happen without intent. We don’t walk into church, turn on a switch to eliminate the distractions and worship. Worship requires us to deliberately seek him. He is not hiding, making it more difficult for us to find him. We must sift through the distractions of our hearts, set them aside until the only thing in front of us is Jesus.

The magi prepared their hearts by reading God’s word. By listening to his spirit. When face to face with the savior of the world they could bow down before him, without distraction, in sincere worship and praise.

As we approach Christmas, let’s set aside the distractions. Let’s prepare our hearts to worship our king.

When Herod told them the Messiah would be found in Bethlehem, imagine their excitement. As a child, I remember the last five miles to my Grandma’s house through the winding streets of Fort Worth. When we passed the zoo, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation of her hugs.

I’m guessing the magi felt the same on those final miles to Bethlehem. Image the excitement building over the course of the next couple of hours as they urged their camels onward. In a short time they would be in the presence of the one for whom they were searching. Matthew says as they followed the star it seemed to stop above a small house.

“After they heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:9-10

Their joy didn’t come because they were saddle sore and could finally get off those camels after such a long trip. Their joy came from their growing excitement and anticipation to see the Messiah…for their chance to worship the one they had read and heard about.

I wonder how often we anticipate our chance to worship our Lord. How often do we enter the sanctuary overjoyed at the prospect of offering our praise to our savior? How different would our worship be if we approached the throne of God with the eager anticipation of the magi?

We sometimes overlook what was truly happening in the that little house in Bethlehem as these Gentile men from the East fell down to worship the King of the Jews. These were men who by their own faith and cultural traditions should have no interest in a Jewish messiah. Yet, here they were. Miles from home. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and a star. On bent knee before God in human form.

The enemy of worship works hard to plant seeds of doubt and despair in believers through discord, distraction and distress. The events of 2020 and the impact on churches everywhere can easily divert worship away from the king.

The wise men let nothing get in the way of their worship. Given all we’ve been through this year, what an example the magi have set for all of us.

Christmas will always be “the most wonderful time of the year” for me. Maybe you feel the same. However, if we are not careful, Christmas will be just gold, frankincense and myrrh. Presents given and received.

Let us approach this Christmas especially without the distractions that will tug on our hearts, in eager anticipation of our chance to worship, really worship, the one whom God sent to offer his grace and salvation to a world in need of his touch, his love.

Let us follow the example of the magi. Let us approach this season on bent knee, overjoyed at the chance to worship our king. Let us consider the true worth of the one whom we worship.

Chances are you have at least one manger scene in your home. Maybe, like us, you have dozens. Join me today. Take a moment. Look at the manger scene you have displayed. See the wise men. Be reminded of their deep desire to worship the king of kings.

Let’s pledge to make this Christmas about our personal worship of Jesus. It could well be the best thing to happen in 2020.

Grateful

Background Passage: Psalm 106:1

We approach the most joyous of holiday seasons from Thanksgiving to Christmas this year under the darkening shadow of Covid-19 as the long-promised fall surge in corona virus cases hits our nation with a vengeance.

We continue to endure a bitter political season that has fractured our country with seemingly no one willing to walk the higher ground. Suspicion invades our hearts, leaving our country teetering in its wake.

Many among us feel…

Isolated and alone.
Divided and angry.
Worried and scared.
Suspicious and accusing.
Pessimistic and hopeless.

That seems to be the condition of the world. I’m not so naive that I cannot see these issues or feel their impact around me. As a Christian, I am not immune to its gravity, but I refuse to let these events steal my joy.

I…we…have so much for which to be grateful even during this uncertain time for God’s gifts and grace transcend pandemic and politics. Surrounded by family, friends and God’s ever-present love, there is a place of peace even in the turmoil of the day. For such things, I am eternally grateful.

So, I remind myself in this week of Thanksgiving to take a deep breath and relax.

We use the term “overwhelmed” to express that feeling of being swamped by the circumstances around us. We rarely, if ever, talk about being simply “whelmed.”

Yes, it’s a word defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “an act or instance of flowing or heaping up abundantly; a surge.”

Rather than feeling overwhelmed, I want us to feel whelmed…to feel a surge of thanksgiving as we reflect on the blessings of life granted by a loving God.

I cannot speak to those things for which you could be grateful. You alone can do that.

As I sit in the quiet of this moment, I am thankful for my parents, my brother and sister, my wife, my two sons and their wives, and my grandchildren. I am grateful for an extended family of “laws and in-laws” who have forever accepted me for who I am. I am grateful for love given and love received.

I am grateful for friends from childhood to present day who, even today, continue to create and share in the best moments of my life.

I am grateful for God’s gift of this community as a place of service and belonging. A people who let me serve and who served me in my times of need.

I am grateful for a church who for four decades has been my spiritual foundation, filled with fellow imperfects who love each other into a more perfect understanding of God’s grace and peace. A people who know their responsibility to be the face, the hands and feet of Christ not just within the walls of the church, but in the city, state, country and world beyond.

I am grateful to my God who saved me and loves me in spite of myself. Whose presence brings healing and comfort to every hurt and need in my life. Whose blessings and grace deepen the joy I feel in my connections and relationships with those I encounter. Whose spirit continues to open my eyes to the vitality of his word.

A host of scripture speaks to our need to express thankfulness to our God. Here are a couple of my favorites.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1)

The language of the psalm is an imperative, a command. To the believer loved by God, the call to thanksgiving is not an option. Thankfulness ought to be our natural response as recipients of God’s unmerited favor.

We respond with thankfulness because of God’s goodness. Our limited understanding of goodness, tempered as it is through our lens of sin, is a pale facsimile of goodness that is truly in God. Jesus told us as much in Luke 18:19 when he told the rich, young ruler, “no one is good, except God alone.”

To declare that God is good is to know with certainty that his every word and act is always true and right. It is his goodness that offers redemption to a sinful world…the ultimate act of goodness through the sacrifice of his own son.

When you read “steadfast,” think resolute, unwavering. God’s love never fails. Never abandons. Never falters. Never withdraws.

God’s love always provides. Always sustains. Always nurtures. Always remains. Always embraces. Always comforts. Always endures.

Thanksgiving is a good day to remember. If you dig deeper in Psalm 106, you find that the people of God lost their way when they failed to remember what God had done for them.

“…they did not remember your many kindnesses…” (vs. 7)
“…they soon forgot what he had done…” (vs 13)
“…they forgot the God who saved them…” (vs. 21)

I don’t ever want to be guilty of their forgetfulness. I think that’s why the Psalmist makes his statement in the form of a command, “Give thanks…,” as an on-going directive to always remember what God has done for us.

We are a forgetful people with short-term memories and a “what have you done for me lately” mentality. Thanksgiving is remembering in gratitude a God who does not forget his people nor his promises.

Those people I mentioned earlier, the ones for whom I expressed my gratitude, they came into my life sent by God to be a part of my life. They have been before and beside me the face and hands of his steadfast love and his unfathomable goodness all the days of my life.

I am eternally grateful.

Thank you, God.

What Now?

I’m sitting here tonight with my arm in a sling following surgery to remove bone spurs and reattach a torn rotator cuff tendon. I share that with you not to garner sympathy, though sympathy helps, too.

I share it with you simply because the surgery limits my typing to a ponderous, one-fingered hunt and peck that tries my patience and stifles my creativity. The prospect of typing my regular Bible Study blog this week is one hunt and one peck too much.

My uncle, Les Lewis, is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Slaton, TX. He writes two brief devotional thoughts each week to share with his congregation, family and friends.

Once on a snowy day in West Texas when I was in elementary school and Les was in high school, he carried me home on his back for more than a mile through a foot of snow (uphill both ways, I’m sure.) Les regales our family with stories, each with the Lewis gift of embellishing the truth to make things more interesting. He makes me laugh.

When it comes to his faith, he is a spiritual thinker and often presents a new thought that challenges my own thinking. The following is one of my uncle’s devotionals. As I think of the number of family and friends dealing with personal moments of grief in the past weeks and months, his message resonates with me as one whose hope is in Christ. I hope you find it helpful.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

“We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have not hope.”

The young first century church was still struggling to find itself; deciding where it stands on issues of the day. This is was especially true of the church at Thessalonica having only recently been established by the itinerant apostle Paul.

Since the day of Pentecost, the church had been inundated with odd beliefs, theories, superstitions, and speculations about God’s organization. Leaders were forced to deal not only with each of these notions but also with those who introduced them to the church.

High upon the list of topics of discussion was the belief that the Lord Jesus would be returning to earth to redeem His Church and take His followers to ever be with God in heaven. The people of the church were in a constant state of waiting anxiously for His return.

But this very issue was disturbing for some of the people, for their loved ones had died, and they feared that the dead would be left behind when the rapture came. The letter of Paul to the Thessalonians addressed the issue. He introduced them to his own doctrinal theory, “by the word of the Lord,” to give it divine authority.

The text for today very clearly lines out in orderly fashion the event of the second coming that includes all of God’s children. It’s impossible to say for sure whether or not Paul’s discourse put the matter to bed, but I imagine it was very comforting to those grieving members for whom it was intended.

Grief has received bad press in that it tends to be looked upon as a sign of weakness, or a lack of faith. Grief is autonomous! It forces us deep into our very souls to meet with us there even as we struggle to follow the advice of well-meaning friends who tell us we “must be strong for the kids.”

The dark silence of the soul may be strange territory for many of us for it is the place where deep processing takes place; where all phony business is pushed aside leaving only the pain of reality.

We will feel as if grief is going to utterly consume us, but HOPE is the solvent that softens our grief and ultimately makes us feel human again. Hope does not get rid of grief, it only makes grief, OUR GRIEF, bearable, thereby blending “our” grief into our personality enabling us to be present for “others who have no hope.”

Paul’s image offers hope to all who are in grief. “Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

Les

*****

Thanks, Les. I add only one thought and one verse.

With every loss comes grief. It’s arrival and departure are rarely in a confined time frame or orderly progression. Just when we think grief has finally taken its last breath from us, another wave breaks over our heads threatening to drown us once again in our sorrow.

That’s why we fight it. Try to ignore it. Try to push it away only to find ourselves lost again in our brokenness. Grief is the life process God uses to put our pieces back together again, different to be sure, but whole. It is his presence, his hope, that sustains us.

I find comfort in the following verse from Psalms.

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

That has been my experience and is the basis of my hope.

The Uncomfortable Christian

Background Passage: Acts 20:7-12, 2 Timothy 15

I thoroughly enjoy college sports. As a graduate of Texas Tech, I am a Red Raider through and through. While I suffer a bit each fall while our football team tries to find its way, my blood runs with a healthy mixture of scarlet and black during baseball and basketball season. A trip to the final four and to the national championship will do that to you.

Michelle Trotter, the girls’ basketball coach in the Crosby Independent School District, is a committed Christian. She posts motivational moments on her Facebook pages that speak as much to life as to the game she loves. She recently posted an interview with Chris Beard, the head men’s basketball coach at Tech. In it, Coach Beard talked about the value of staying uncomfortable.

“Comfortable gets you beat. You see it all the time in sports. Life’s the same way. You have a great day, a great win, and it takes the edge off. It takes a special person, we use the term “elite,” to remain uncomfortable…Everyone has high expectations and focus in times of adversity. Only the elite people can push themselves each day to stay uncomfortable. Uncomfortable is where growth comes from.”

He’s got a point. As soon as we get comfortable, we get complacent. When we’re complacent, we don’t work as hard. To adapt his phrase. Complacency gets you beat, in sports, in life and in faith.

There is a rather obscure passage of scripture in Acts that may speak to this idea…at least in my weirdly wired mind.

Paul is leaving Philippi to head back through Macedonia for another round of preaching and teaching. Along the way, he spent a week in Troas on the coast. Gathering the believers together on his last day in the city, he began to impart his words of wisdom on redemption and responsibility.

I can imagine this kind of meeting happened frequently in the early church. They needed to be taught the fundamental truths of the teachings of Jesus, the theology of their faith. They also needed to learn how to put that faith in practice, the organization and structure of their ministry. It would require a great deal of teaching and reteaching. I’m guessing this was a reteaching moment.

Luke tells us that Paul called the people together for a mid-day meal. It was a working lunch. As they ate, Paul talked and taught. He had a lot to say to the standing-room-only crowd. As the sun set, the apostle was still going strong speaking past midnight.

As the night wore on, we find Eutychus perched in a third-story window, one leg in and one leg out, his back against the narrow window frame. Perhaps it was his short stature (think Zacchaeus) that made him think the third-story window was a good idea. Yet, there he was, high above the crowd listening to the apostle speak.

Is it possible that God’s word and work can feel so ordinary…so comfortable…to us that grow complacent in our understanding, believing that we know everything we need to know? That our reading and study of scripture become too routine? That we take our knowledge of God’s grace and love as that of an ever-present friend that we take for granted? Is it possible that we hear a scripture explained to us one time and assume that is all God has to reveal? Is it possible to believe you know it all and don’t need to hear the same message again?

I don’t know if that was Eutychus’ problem or if he was just tired after a long day, but Luke tells us he fell asleep. As he drifted off, he fell, sadly, out the window and to his death. It seems not only does comfortable get you beat, it also gets you killed.

The good news is that Paul, with the power of the Holy Spirit, gave life again to the young man in a miracle reminiscent of those performed by Jesus. When Paul finally wrapped up his presentation, the sun was peeking over the horizon. Eutychus walked home with his family and friends, rejoicing in God’s goodness.

It’s a peculiar story set in scripture, one in which there is no spiritual truth obviously revealed. No incident of any deep, historical significance. We see God working a miracle through Paul’s undying faith, but there is no direct message. So, in absence of a more direct word from God, you have to open your heart to the spirit’s leading.

So, I want to talk about this idea of staying uncomfortable. Avoiding complacency.

You and I have both seen people who come to know Christ as older adults. Their passion for this new, redeemed life, infuses their hearts and minds. Every passage of scripture is eye-opening. Every lesson they hear energizing. They hunger for God’s truth.

You and I have also seen people who allow time to diminish their hunger and thirst. Their salvation is a one-time thing, guaranteed by scripture, but they never engage in the process of salvation…the on-going growth and development of our spiritual selves. What they read and hear in scripture is no longer profound. This little light of truth gets hidden under their bushel. They no longer let it shine. They get too comfortable in doing church.

I recognize those people because I’ve been those people. I know how easy it is to fall into that trap. Complacency leaves us feeling empty. As one pastor wrote, “When we are complacent, our life of faith becomes just about God, not (a life) for God. Not (a life) with God.”

The problem gets magnified when too many of us grow comfortable in our faith. When too many of us rest on our own understanding, the church begins to suffer and slide. Attendance drops. Membership falls. Worship rarely inspires. Our outreach suffers. People find other things to do.

It is the “elite” Christian who learns to remain uncomfortable. We do tend to sharpen our focus in difficult times and allow it to dim when things are going well. If we can push ourselves each day to stay uncomfortable, we can growth in spiritual maturity.

To remain uncomfortable in our faith is to remain open to being taught. Avoiding complacency in our faith allows us to grow. It’s choice. It’s intention.

Our church has a series of stained-glass windows depicting the seven “I am” statements of Jesus. Our pastor is now preaching a sermon series on these statements. In his almost 40-year tenure with us, Dr. Lyles has preached on these “I am” statements at least five times, he said.

If I’m a comfortable, complacent Christian, I might write off the sermon series. “I’ve heard it before. There is nothing new here I need to learn.” Been there. Heard that. Bought the t-shirt.

If I am uncomfortable, open and willing to be taught, the message will resonate under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with truth I need to hear and apply in this time of my life. Being uncomfortable is what makes us hunger and thirst for more of God’s instruction. It is what gives our faith its life.

Paul gave words of advice to his pastoral protege Timothy. The words are helpful for the uncomfortable Christian.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Most of us learned that verse from the King James Version of the Bible translated into English in 1611. It starts off with the phrase, “Study to show thyself approved…” in the 17th century, the word “study” carried the meaning of “striving” or “being diligent.”

So Paul is reminding Timothy and us to do our best. You see, being an “elite” Christian, like the “elite” athlete, requires hard work. Daily practice. Intense study. Commitment to fundamentals. Willingness to learn a new way of doing things. To avoid the complacency of the routine and embrace the idea of being uncomfortable in the moment.

“Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness…” Jesus could easily be saying, in my less poetic terms, “The happy person is the one who knows he doesn’t know and diligently keeps his heart open for the next tidbit of spiritual wisdom and insight that God wants to reveal.”

Blessed are the uncomfortable.

Coach Beard values hard work from his players. He demands it. They practice hard in order to play hard. His recruits are not always the most talented, but they are workers. He finds people knowing that if they put in the work, they will grow to be better basketball players, better people.

Paul would understand this. This passage from Paul to Timothy tells him to be a worker. We know people among our circle of friends or within our church who are workers. They cannot sit idle. If there is work to be done, you’ll find them in the crew.

We also know people steeped in scripture who never quit studying the Bible. These people are constantly trying to work at this business of spiritual growth and maturity to ensure their lives are lived consistent with God’s word of truth. Workers are never complacent with their relationship with God in word or deed.

Based on all of that, this is the part of the Eutychus story I like. Paul ran to the young man who fell from the window. Gathered his lifeless form in his arms. When Paul wrapped his arms around Eutychus, he said, “There is still life in him.” In the next moment Eutychus is awake and walking.

I hope that when I fall victim to my own complacency that the Holy Spirit will wrap his arms around me and declare, “There is still life in him.” I hope that spiritual hug gets me up and walking again in faith.

Eutychus got a second chance at life. God is a great God of second chances. When we grow too comfortable, it might be time to shake the tree. To move our faith to the edge of our comfort zone and beyond with a sense of wonder about what God will reveal to you tomorrow.

So, if you’re feeling a little too comfortable in your faith, this much I know. There is still life in you.

What’s In Your Hand?

Background Passages Exodus 4:1-5; Romans 12:6-8; Ecclesiastes 9:10

The bedouin stood on calloused, bare feet with his sandals in his hand, trembling in the glow of the burning bush. Seeing its light. Feeling its heat. Listening to the voice from its flame.

The 80-year-old shepherd heard these words and more…

“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…I’ve heard the cries of my people…I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people out of Egypt.”

Moses hid in the desert for 40 years after an unceremonious exit from Egypt. Face to face with the oppression of the people of his birth, he reacted in the heat of the moment, killing the offending Egyptian. Once the son of the Pharaoh’s daughter. Now a old man, tending sheep that didn’t even belong to him. O, how the mighty had fallen.

God spoke to Moses on the slopes of Mount Horeb from a burning bush that was not consumed. The God of his fathers called him to a mission of eternal importance. It was the next phase of God’s redemptive plan. To make it happen, he needed to get his people out of Egypt and back to the land he had promised them. He needed Moses.

This unbelievable experience in the wilderness should have lifted his spirits and emboldened Moses to act. Instead, the miracle on the mountain left him filled with anxiety, offering one excuse after another.

“Who am I? I am no one. Pharaoh will not listen. I know the man.”

God said, “Go!”

“To the Hebrew people, I’m nothing. When they ask who sent me…and they will ask…what do I tell them”

“Tell them I am who I am! Now, go!”

“They’re not going to believe this…not the Hebrew people and certainly not Pharaoh.”

God chose this moment to ask Moses a critical question.

“What is in your hand, Moses?”

Moses looked at his right hand. Fingers wrapped around the thick shepherd’s staff, worn smooth by years of use. His mind raced. This was the tool of his trade. A staff for protection. A staff for balance. A staff for herding. Just a stick.

I wonder at that moment if Moses saw a flash of something more ominous in the staff he held. He was once a prince of Egypt. Perhaps, in that moment, the staff served as a symbol of all that had gone wrong in his life. The perfect manifestation of his failure. He had traded a scepter for a shepherd’s crook so he could herd a flock of sheep that weren’t even his. As he heard God ask his question, “What is in your hand?” Perhaps Moses felt unworthy, certain that God could choose a better man.

Moses swallowed the lump in his throat and said simply…

“A staff.”

Nothing more. Nothing less. An old tree branch whittled and shaped to serve his needs. God knew it could represent something new and different. He just needed Moses to see it, too.

“Throw it on the ground, Moses.”

Moses let it drop. As it bounced on the rocky soil, the staff transformed into a snake. Startled, he took two steps back and stared.

“Now, pick it up.”

As soon as Moses lifted the snake from the ground, it turned back into a staff.

Moses looked in awe at the bush.

“This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers…the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has appeared to you.”

What is in your hand?

What a great question!

I wonder how many of us have starred at the burning bush and heard the voice of God telling us, “I’ve got something I need you to do for me. It’s important. I need you to go….”

I wonder how often you have done what I’ve done and responded immediately with every excuse in the book to avoid doing what God needs us to do. My excuses sound remarkably similar to the ones Moses muttered into the face of a burning bush.

Who am I that you would ask this of me?

I’m not capable.
I’ve made too many mistakes.
I am no longer the man I once was.
I’m too old.
No one would listen to me.
They’re just going to laugh in my face.
Find someone else…please.

How like Moses I am at times. Too comfortable in my place. Too embarrassed of my failures. Too willing to believe my mistakes trump my potential. Too unwilling to open myself to God’s transformative power.

Then, the question comes to me just as it came to Moses.

“What’s in your hand?”

When you get down to it, that’s an intriguing question. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s a question we’ve all heard at some point in our lives. When God asks the question, it deserves an honest look.

Scripture is filled with stories of individuals who possessed no extraordinary gifts. That which they held in their hands was ordinary. Yet, God called. When they quit making excuses, God began to use them. Consider these examples.

Gideon defeated the Midianites with trumpets and lanterns.
Samson slaughtered the Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey.
David took down Goliath with a sling and a stone.
A child with a small basket of bread and fish fed a multitude.

So I ask again, the burning bush question.

What is in your hand?

One of the greatest mistakes we make as believers in Christ is to underestimate who we are and what we have. We hold an old whittled stick…an ability to carry a tune, the skill to bake a cake, the temperament for a kind word, the sensitivity to encourage a troubled soul. Yet, we deem it insufficient, weak, small in comparison to abilities we see in others.

Then, the excuses flow. Maybe, it doesn’t matter as much exactly what is in our hand. Maybe all that really matters is, as one writer said, “how much God is in your stick.”

And, there’s the lesson Moses learned. As long as you hold on to your stick, God can’t demonstrate his power. You’ve got to throw it down. Let it go. Surrender it to God. Once God is in it, his power flows through it.

Then, your ability to carry a tune inspires. Your skill in baking brings comfort. Your kind word changes another person’s outlook on the day. Your encouragement lifts a burden from a neighbor’s shoulders. There is nothing insufficient, weak or small about that.

Whatever is in your hands, when surrendered to God, gets infused with his power that makes a difference. And, people will see what is in your hand and know that God is present in your life.

So, what is in your hand?

The truth is, I can’t tell you. It is a matter between you and God. But, know this. There is something there. God has put something in your hand. It may look ordinary to you, but it was given to you for a purpose. He has gifted all of us, placed something in our hand, to use toward the glory of his kingdom.

Whatever God has placed in our hands we are to use it. Paul wrote about it extensively.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance to your faith. If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If it is to encourage, then give encouragement. If it is in giving, then give generously. If it is to lead, do it diligently. If it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:6-8)

I don’t know what your gift may be, but it does no one any good if you never use it. Each of us has been gifted by God so he can send us wherever he needs us to go. To do what he needs us to do. When we surrender that gift to God, when we throw it down, God’s power is alive through us.

Whatever your hand finds to do; do it with all your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

An unknown poet penned a bit of prose a few years ago entitled, “It Depends Whose Hands It’s In.” It’s not Shakespeare or Byron, but it holds a pretty good message. This is how it starts off.

“A basketball in my hands is worth about $19
A basketball in Michael Jordan’s hands is worth about $33 million.
It depends whose hands it’s in.”

As one who has missed his share of lay-ups, I ask you…

What is in your hand?