Reading The Signs

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.  Luke 15:17-19

Just when you think you have it figured out, life throws you a nasty curve ball.  A person who I followed online committed suicide yesterday. It was ironic considering the day was ‘Suicide Prevention Day.’  A young life of only 30 years would never see their fullest potential.  That made me incredibly sad.  What made it much worse was this was a pastor.  Now to be clear, no life matters more than another.  But this had far reaching ripple effects across many lives.  His wife.  Family.  The congregation he shepherded, and the thousands of others who followed him.  The one person who you would think to be immune to such harmful behaviors had somehow succumbed to the very thing he would at times preach about.

Why?  I began to question my own faith for I felt either a lack of response from or distance between God and me.  This is not what I signed up for.  I struggled continually to find an answer, but alas, I could not.  I was suddenly in that very lonely place: lost.  When I first gave my life to Christ as an adult, my pastor back then spoke about being lost.  However, that was more about someone who had been wandering aimlessly like the Prodigal Son than a long-time believer like me.  Then it occurred to me I was wrong.  Being lost is not just about knowing where you are.  Sometimes, it’s about recognizing you are not where you are supposed to be.  As I thought more about it, perhaps the pastor was close to God, but somehow lost his way.  He knew where he was, but did not see the signs directing him where he was going.  As a result, he found a way that ended in his death not knowing the wrong path he had gone down.

Recognizing where you are is always important in finding God.  My pastor this week talked about having a sense of direction.  He mentioned about a sibling of his driving for miles without recognizing where they were.  Sometimes, our journey of faith will take us somewhere, and we make the wrong turn.  It’s important to have God as a compass.  Sometimes, it is to give a guidance as to what path to take.  However, there is more to it than that.  Other times it is to simply read the signs to know if we are going the right way.  The Prodigal Son had reached a point in his journey where he realized not only had he gone the wrong way but also was not where he belonged.  You see the story is not always one dimensional.  We see it most often as it never being too late to come back to God and how His grace alone is enough.  In reading this, we can add to the meaning saying that if we know who our Father is, we too can find when we are indeed lost.  We too can see where we do not belong, and can begin to make a way to where we do.

God is always there watching to lead the way if we are in tune with Him.  Prior to the story, Jesus said, “there is joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (Luke 15:7b)  Many of you are taking your walk of faith, and doing so with a clear sense of God’s direction.  That is great.  I write to you today not because I have lost God.  I write because if you are like me, sometimes you know you’re not exactly where you should be.  And that’s ok!  Just acknowledge where you are and move down the path that will lead you closer to where God wants you.  Do you know where you are with God today?  What hints can give you a sense if you are on the righteous path?  My prayer is that we are wary of our relationship with God, and make sure to read the signs.  Amen.

Taking A Holiday With God

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.  Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables.  Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  Acts 6:1-4

Many of us took advantage of the 4^th of July holiday to do many things.  Some of which included reflecting and embracing the freedoms we enjoy and watching fireworks displays.  Others included getting away from the house to do mini-vacations to places both near and far from home.  It’s good to get away to unplug from all the things that go on in your life whether it be work or home to just relax.  In that space, I thought about focusing on God and those things that can prevent me from connect with Him.  We are influenced by so much like personal relationships, business situations, and political climate that it can overwhelm one and potentially impede our own ability to focus on God.  How can we successfully connect with Him when so much can become barriers to that connection?

Our efforts to connect with God must be one filled with intention.  We all can get caught up in the ‘busyness’ of life.  If we do not have an intentional plan of action to combat these times, we can lose sight of that which we can all rely on; God’s faithfulness and strength.  We must always focus on our relationship with Christ for the relentless pressures of the world are never ceasing.  In a similar circumstance, the Apostles in their early stages recognized such challenges, and thus looked to others to aide with other business to give themselves “continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:4b)  Thus even then, a great emphasis was placed on ‘getting away’ from other things to focus on God and task they had ahead of them.

We are given access to God; the one who gives us peace.  Matthew 11 tells us what Jesus provides for all of His people.  It says:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

Let us not be too shy to call or overburdened to forget.  Remember that God is your resting place.  How can ensure you rely on God when distracted?  What practice can you start to ensure a continual connection with God?  My prayer is that we go about finding peace with God . . . even if it means taking a holiday with Him.  Amen!

Focus And Do

So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.  For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.  You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.  James 1:21-25

My youngest daughter is a master of diversion.  When she is in trouble, she will try to quickly acknowledge what has happened and been done wrongly.  However rather than focus on what was the poor behavior, she tries to quickly change the subject.  She realizes that the place of punishment and consequences is not where things end well for her.  So she moves quickly to things like, “Dad, I did really well in school today,” or, “Mom, do you know what happened in cheer?”  Of course, we direct her back to where the focus should be, but nonetheless, she will keep trying.  Her determination and persistence is a great thing.  However as parents, we have to channel it where she focuses on the right things, and then does the right thing.  In thinking of the big picture as a Christian, that is our challenge as well.  It’s a lot more challenging though because we may tend to focus on the stuff that seems important instead of on Christ.  Today, I want to encourage you to focus and do.

If we trust in God, we will walk closer to Him with each step.  In each action where we read His word and act on it, we move closer to God’s plan for our lives.  Here is the interesting part.  If we are truly focused on God, it is not to say that every step will be in the right direction.  In fact, we may very well fall off course.  My life is filled with errors and missteps where I knew the right pathway but made the wrong step because I might have wanted something more than what God wanted for me or got distracted and hastily made a decision without trusting God.  In the end, these were choices I was neither proud of nor happy with.  Yet, they were key moments of learning where God through either His discipline or revealing to me His plan allowed me to move forward.  In the end, the steps still moved me closer to Him and not further.  There’s a reason the Bible is called ‘The Living Word Of God.’  It is not a vacuum that we read and say, “Ok.  That makes sense.”  It asks us to focus on it, reflect, and then act.  It is how it manifests itself from just being words on the paper to as James wrote the living “word God has planted in your heart.”

We live in a world that is built to ensure that we are disconnected from God.  The thing is that it can be so subtle, we often lose sight of it.  Hebrews 12 states, “(L)et us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”  That is why it is important that we focus on Jesus Christ for if we do, our actions (or walk) will be on God’s right side and our faith found ‘perfect.’  What is stopping you from converting God’s word into action?  How can we be better doers than readers?  My prayer is that we not only pause to adjust but also focus and do.  Amen.