How do you feel about “Floaters”?

Reading Luke 14: 33-35, I want to jump right to the salt.  The salt is easy.  Salt with or without flavor is so much easier to paint good or bad over “…any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”  Am I right, or not?  I mean, I can be a little salty.  I can have a little flavor.  But to just say if I don’t drop everything, well it’s outrageous.

There was a little boy who loved going to the pool.  He could not swim but he loved to splash around in the shallows.  This boy was asked, “Would you like to go deeper?  Would you like to swim?”  He of course said “YES!”  Every week this boy would go to swimming class.  He would listen intently to the teacher and watch the teacher model the best swimming techniques.  He did this all while holding on to the side of the pool.  The teacher said, “If you just let go and trust me, I’ll keep you afloat.  I will not let you drown.”  The boy ventured out into the arms of the teacher once or twice, but he now hangs out in the shallows or holds the edge of the pool and works his way around to the first rope.  He’s still at the pool, but he doesn’t know how to swim.

Jesus’ statement is matter of fact.  If you hold onto your own life, your own stuff, you will drown.  You are just like salt without any flavor.  He says that those who refuse to let go aren’t even fit for the “manure pile”.  It is only when we trade what we hold in our hands for holding His hands that we are able to experience the Truth.  It is He who upholds us when we are weak and can’t stay afloat.  It is He who lifts us up to heights we’ve never seen.  But He will only do this for those willing to drop what they have for Who He is.

What’s in your hands?

Suit up. You’re going in.

“That’s not the way we do it here.”  That’s what I heard when I offered some help for a project in which I had much experience.  I saw a need and wanted to help fill that need.  That’s how my dad always defined success, and I tend to agree with him.  Nevertheless, I was shut down because I had not gone through the volunteer coordinator’s office, checked in, and finally been assigned to help.  All I want to do was to help.  I had hoped with my insight and experience to help that small group finish their project early and with greater success.  I was confident it might even enhance how future projects were handled.  And yet, I was now looking elsewhere for a place to serve.  It appeared I wasn’t wanted at this time or in this place.

Abraham had a whole different dilemma (see Genesis 12).  Here he was – an old geezer.  His wife was an old geezer too.  They were ready to ride out the rest of their days loving God, loving people.  That’s what attracted the King of the universe and all there is to their doorstep, or tent post.  He brought them in on the plans He had for the future of their people, not to mention the world and He wanted them to play point.  They were the starters in this “game” of His, but they were already too old to make it through the tryouts.  Oh well.  He says “Suit up.  You’re going in.”

Abraham and Sarah suited up and played till their dying breaths because He had seen in them something more than they could see in themselves.  Because He had called them, and commissioned them, they would always hope and rely on Him to complete that which He’d started.  And He will.  Oh, did you here Him?  He just told you to suit up too.  Come on!  Let’s get in the game!

How Do You Fear God?

I believe it was Louie Giglio that said, “I believe to fear God is not to be afraid of Him, but to fear disappointing Him.”  All my life I have heard the scriptures, memorized the scripture that referred to the fear of the Lord.  I never was settled in my spirit until I heard that statement from Louie.  I had always wondered how I could fear someone whose name is Love, who is the Creator and Lover of my soul.  I recognize that I would cease to exist if He simply chose to forget who I am, and could squish our world flat as a pancake at will, but fear Him.  I cannot fear that which loves me enough to die for me, can I?

One of the things I’ve had to battle with in growing to be like Him is my temper.  Most people who know me have no idea of the issues of the heart that lay under the surface of who I am.  But God knows.  Several years ago I had been visiting with my grandma.  We had really enjoyed our time together but it was time for me to go.  She had decided it was time to give F.W., her pet cockatiel to someone who could handle and care for him better than she could.  I was attempting to fit the bird’s cage into the back seat of the car and it kept catching on something.  I finally yelled, “Get in there you stupid cage!”  It wasn’t until I looked at my grandma’s face that I realized I had shocked her.  I might have even scared her with my outburst.  I knew instantly that one of my greatest enemies had come out.  I can still see the disappointment in Grandma’s eyes.

I long to lift up the name of Him Who saves me, loves me, purifies and heals me.  I fear the moment that I might cause Him to look at me as Jesus looked at Peter when the cock crowed, longing for him to recognize that he was relying on his own strength rather than the Master’s.  Father let me glorify rather than deny You, to trust in You rather than me, always and forever. Amen.

Check out Psalm 22: 23-31 for further inspiration.

Faith’s Disclaimer

II Timothy 2:11-13 could almost be labeled as a disclaimer for Christian faith.  If we stick with Christ we will die and yet live, and will reign with Him.  If we disown Him, He will disown us.  If we lose faith, we’re on our own.  What?  No, that’s not how it reads.  He will remain faithful because He cannot go against His own nature.  He is faithful and will always remain as such.  We, on the other hand, are fickle, following our own fancy.  We give up when we think there’s too much opposition, even when we know it is right to continue.

Jesus, along with His disciples faced some pretty strong opposition in His day.  He had it coming from political fronts, from religious fronts, and yes even from His friendship fronts.  He was nearing the end of His stay here on Earth and was preparing His friends for His departure.  He knew what was right and had purpose enough to complete the task.  It’s at this point where Peter pulls Him aside and implies that Jesus is mistaken ion this line of thought and he’d better straighten up.  Jesus was not deterred, even by a well meaning friend.  He kept at the task God had placed in his heart and mind to do.  He remained faithful to the call.

We too, have a choice to remain faithful in those tough times.  Even when our friends or family are telling us we’re headed the wrong way, God is faithful and longs for our faithfulness.  You might even be thinking about “Honor your father and mother…” and other scripture that tells us to listen to the counsel of the wise.  This is where your relationship with the King is of utmost importance.  You need to be so close to His confidence that you will be able to recognize the truth from the messages that would steer you away from keeping the faith.  If you ask, seek, and knock, He will always answer, show you the way, and open the right door.

Who’s Your Hero?

When I was a kid I may not have admitted it or even realized it, but I loved to have my dad’s attention and ultimately his approval.  When I wasn’t in school I would follow him around at work, whenever his job allowed.  I would walk right on the edge of the sidewalk, just like he always did.  I wore long sleeve button down shirts, just like him.  I even quit wearing shorts because he didn’t like to wear them.  I emulated him because I wanted him to find pleasure in me.  Quite honestly, I still do.

I can only imagine what the human Jesus felt when He heard His Father’s words, “You are my Son, whom I love; with You I am well pleased.”  Can you even fathom what it will be like to hear that one day?  Even the prospect of hearing it makes me push even harder to become more like my heavenly Father so that I might please Him.

I will admit that when considering the task of pleasing the Father I am overrun with thoughts of monstrous tasks, miracles to perform, etc.  And then I recall that He has asked me to simply follow the example of His Son.  If I study Jesus, His words, His actions, and His purity, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance and work continue to reflect Him more, I just might see that glance over the shoulder and smirk of amusement as He sees someone so small as me attempting to be someone like Him.

You see, it’s that smile that makes it worthwhile.  When He smiles on me I know why I’m here.  I am here for His pleasure.  I am here to please Him by being the best me I can be, the me He created me to be.  Can I do it on my own?  No.  But He doesn’t care that He’s the One who makes it possible, only that I’m committed to the task.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some pleasing to do.  Come along.  Will you join me?

Whining: The path to knowing your destiny

If your haven’t read Numbers 14:17-19, you might want to.  That’s what spurred this post.

I have to tell you that when I read today’s reference I thought, “Well, that’s nice.”  I had to go back and read the whole chapter to see the context of today’s passage.  After doing so, my attitude jumped from that’s nice to “That is awesome!”  Here we have a prime example of how God works with us to establish His will and purpose within the hearts and minds of those who follow Him.  He has just let Moses know that the disobedient, whiny, complaining, and traitorous Israelites are about to be struck down with the plague, ending in their deaths.  Moses responds by praying today’s passage.  He’s prays with skill and stealth, using scripture (Ex. 34:6).  God answers Moses’ prayer by sparing the people immediately, but lets him know that not one of the whiners’ families would enter the Promised Land.

Regarding prayer, some think it’s just a positive thought, and others almost can’t move a muscle without praying first.  Why is there such a broad spectrum of ideas?  Well, simply put, prayer is one of those things that requires faith.  The old “certain of what we do not see” from Hebrews 11 is evident in prayer.  Prayer is talking and listening to God.  You may be most aware of the talking to part, but the listening to God is something a bit more out there.  Am I capable of hearing Him speak?  Does He still speak?  Does it really matter?  In answer to all of these, YES.  God indeed listens to us and speaks to us regularly.  Too often we’re distracted and don’t hear Him, but yes He speaks.  In fact, He longs for open conversation with you and me.  He wants us to draw so near to Him that we can’t help but hear His voice.

Take some time to talk to Him, and to listen to Him.  The more you do it the more chance you’ll have of working out His will in your life and those around you, just like Moses in today’s scripture.

Boy Oh Boy, Was He Mad!

Take a look at Hosea 14:1-4 then read on.

Just at the moment I do that thing I’ve promised to never do again, that’s when I feel it.  It’s that sensation that runs down my spine and makes me shiver inside.  It’s that still small voice asking me why I’ve broken my promise once again.  I even wonder if it isn’t a spiritual extra-sensory perception of the disappointment and anger of God.  He’s angry that the tempter has succeeded with the “sin that so easily entangles” (Heb. 12:1-3) me.  Where was my discipline?  Why didn’t I see it coming?

I was raised in a home where the words “gosh” or “darn” (Forgive me, Mom for even writing them here) were absolute NO-NO’s.  We switched the channel whenever someone swore on TV; had certain shows we just knew were off limits because of the language.  Thus you will understand my need to drop to my knees in repentance on the front lawn of my grade school while we were playing soccer.  I’d had enough of the cheating from the other team and let out some cursing and expletives that might have made a sailor blush.  Immediately I knew I had disappointed my Father, not to mention myself.  I had lost the favor of the One I love most.  My witness was diminished with one line of verbiage.  You may smirk at this but I had to pray.

Each of us has areas of our lives where we do what is right without thinking.  We do this because it is second nature or extra-normal for us.  That’s where the Israelites should have been, but they weren’t.  They were idiots and repeatedly broke God’s law and likely His heart, requiring repentance.  Guess what.  Each of us has some of that idiocy within us.  There are things we fall for every time because we allow ourselves to take over God’s place of importance.  We want what we want and we’re going to have it.  Instead of giving in so easily, let’s do this instead.  Start and live your day with this prayer.

Today, God, I know I need to give __________ to You because if I don’t I’m bound to disappoint You.  I will not settle for less than what You have to offer.  So take this from me in exchange for Your perfect Spirit instead.  Thank you.  Thank you. Amen.

Please let me know if this or any of my posts are helpful to you.  Thanks.

Getting Our Just Desserts

Check out Genesis 9:8-17 for insight into the thoughts below.

Sometimes I wonder just how much like today’s world was that of Noah’s.  I certainly know of several people I would put in the category of “righteous”, so the comparison is not exact.  Nevertheless I often wonder how far from experiencing raining down of fire we are.  Praise God, we know we can trust Him to not give us what we deserve.  As in today’s scripture, we know that those who are obedient to the call and command of God have a covenant, a binding contract as it were with the Creator, Lover and Judge of eternity.  He promises to keep us safe from the punishment and wrath that is also promised to those who disobey and deny Him His rightful due.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t recall all of the times I have said or thought that I deserve better, or thatI didn’t deserve to be treated that way, etc.  When it comes right down to it, I almost always think I deserve better.  In fact it’s about time people start recognizing me for who I am.  I have skills.  I am worth so much more than…

Ok.  OK.  You might have noticed the egocentric, self-centered, prideful, arrogant, place your adjective here, bent in that last paragraph.  The sad thing is that all too often these are the thoughts and temptations that go through our heads.  Pride is one of the devils greatest tools for tearing, slipping someone from sainthood onto skid row, spiritually speaking.  Today’s scripture reminds me of the graciousness of our Father.  He has promised His blessing and protection.  Not only that, He shows us His signature on that contract again and again every time there is a rainbow.  Why He keeps making rainbows is beyond me, other than He loves us more than we deserve.

What are you doing to show honor to His love and grace?  Do you live a life that would allow you to hear it said of you, “He/She walked faithfully with the Lord?” (Gen. 6:8-9) What needs to change to make it so?  Let’s do it today.

Praising When It’s Inconvenient

So there we were on the side of a mountain in Montana.  We hadn’t planned on sitting there looking at the beauty surrounding us.  In fact, we weren’t really enjoying the view.  You see, we were an evangelistic team that traveled from church to church, town to town to share the Gospel, and to make a living.  There we sat on the side of the road, again, because our bus had broken down, again.  There we were, what seemed a million miles from everywhere.  And remember, this was before cell phones were fact instead of fiction.  My mom says, “Let’s sing the Doxology.”  What?  Sing a worship song when it seems we’re on the brink of yet another financial set back.  We’re stuck on the side of a mountain, for Pete’s sake.  We sang.  In fact, Mom prayed first and then we sang.  We sang the Doxology perhaps in the most beautiful harmony I’ve ever heard pass through our lips.

Why, you may ask?  Because Mom had it right.  God deserves our absolute worship regardless of what we are going through.  It is in the simple assessment of “Is what I’m going through right now going to matter in eternity?”  We can choose to become victims and let things happen to us, or we can become participants, players in the orchestral piece the Father is writing.

As we lifted our voices in praise of the Trinity, God was reworking the engine of our bus.  We drove another 50 miles to Billings and when the mechanic opened the engine up he couldn’t believe what he saw.  The parts were disintegrating.  In fact he said that if he hadn’t seen us drive it into their lot he wouldn’t have believed we had it running.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow…

I Didn’t Know That! Situational Accountability

In my post yesterday I referred to accountability as living in responsible community.  As I allowed these thoughts to percolate thoughts surfaced about how different areas of my life require or benefit from different levels or approaches to accountability.  Let me explain.

I show up at work on time every day not because my boss will accost me if I don’t.  I show up on time because I have coworkers who notice when I’m late.  Their looks of concern or frustration when I am late keep me accountable to the expectation of timely arrival at the office. *This form of accountability is informal and external.

In contrast, accountability at home looks a little different.  When the trash can is full I know to take it out to the dumpster, especially if my wife asks me to do so.  If I don’t take out the trash, a few things could happen.  A) Dawn takes it out herself and I regret it later because I’ve let her know that trash duty is my responsibility until the kids get big enough to handle it.  B) The trash continues to accumulate and I come to regret it because strange odors and new residents are emanating from my neglected duty. *This accountability is informal and self-imposed.

A while back I was pulled aside by my manager and informed of a promotion I was receiving.  I was ecstatic.  As soon as I’d clocked out I hopped in my Subaru and flew home, or at least part of the way home.  I was encouraged to seek the side of the road by flashing lights and a siren behind me.  I was then ticketed and encouraged to participate in a defensive driving course as a result of my excessive speed. *This was formal and externally imposed accountability.

By this point, if you’re still here, you’re wondering “OK, Tooley.  Where are you going with this?”  Well I’m glad you asked.  Each of the scenarios above offer different levels and approaches to accountability, but how can they be applied to the life of the leader or believer?

As we walk and talk, love and live we develop relationship which offer some form of accountability, or responsible community.  My required greeting for the receptionist at a church I attended four cities and nine years ago is “Hello, Beautiful.  How are you today?”  If I call and don’t say that I am held accountable by my friend.  You see, we unintentionally, informally, and perhaps unconsciously decided to encourage each other to be positive and encouraging people to each other and to others.  Whether she answered the phone with a gruff or happy voice, my greeting was always the same.  In turn her attitude changed.  She, more often than not would answer the phone with evident joy in response to my consistent complimenting and caring about her well being.  She adopted my approach while serving at her post.  She began to encourage and care for those on the other end of the phone line or the other side of her desk.

I have another friend who, whenever he sees me, will ask “Did you take your allergy medicine?”  This was a case of more intentional and conscious accountability.  He had confronted me about my obvious negative attitude about a situation that was going on in our church and I had asked him to use the allergy med’s question as a code for “How’s your attitude? Does it need adjusting?” He and I are both far removed from that situation but his coded question still challenges me today.

I guess what I’m saying is that as we all long to succeed in life and love, we need to build into our days and hours relationships when and where we are challenged to be better and do better than we will settle for if we allow aourselves to coast.  Look for those informal, internal, external and or formal situations where you are or could hold yourself and others to a higher, more healthy standard.