As I reflect on my life, I find it quite interesting what people, which moments, and the circumstances that have made the most lasting impressions and have had the greatest impact. Some, unfortunately bad; others, quite exhilarating; while many, deeply reflective.
I remember the first time I heard Keith Green's, The Sheep and the Goats. This is his musical rendition of Jesus' teaching from Matthew 25:31-46..."but when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him..."
Most of us are very familiar with the passage. I, myself, was so (un)familiar with the passage that I had missed the most important concept within those sixteen verses. The way Keith emphasizes..."you did it unto Me" in verse 40 and "you did not do it to Me" in verse 45 began a transformation in the way I live life. Jesus is referring to what the 'sheep' and the 'goats' did and didn't do.
Honestly and truthfully, I had never perceived that what I did or did not do for a fellow human as being the same response that I would have for Jesus Himself.
"Now wait a minute, Lee. That is not actually true! Because I know if Jesus Himself was in need of a shirt or jeans, I would give Him mine; if He was hungry and thirsty, I would definitely go get Him something to eat and drink immediately; if He was feeling lonely, I would spend time with Him; if He...." You get the picture.
Any one of us would emphatically claim, "If it really was Jesus Himself, then..." And yet, what I continue to learn from this passage is this: That in every person I meet, in every situation I encounter along my way, Jesus said, "That's Me". No matter how hard I try to explain this truth away, honestly, it just will not let go. THE WAY I JUST DEALT WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL, IS EXACTLY THE WAY I WOULD HAVE TREATED JESUS!
And this teaching penetrates even deeper for me, because Jesus also mentions the "least of these" in this passage.
NO, please no, not the least!!!
From this passage, the Spirit of God has convicted me to ask myself this question at the end of each day, "How did I treat that 'least' person in my life today?" And who may this least person be? Well, for me he or she takes the form of the homeless, the one who is lonely, an enemy, a stranger, or even the one who misunderstands me. And so this spiritual maturity process grows even deeper with the evaluation that THE WAY I DEALT WITH THE 'LEAST OF THESE' TODAY PROCLAIMS THE WAY I WOULD HAVE TREATED JESUS TODAY!
WOW!
I thank you God for revealing this eternal truth to me through Keith Green's song. Daily, I must ask for wisdom from above to carry it out in my life only to the glory of You and Your Son. Amen
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
"But What About 'Them'?"
It hit me 'like a ton of bricks'! This question, that is. About a month ago I was sitting in a gathering with my wife and many others who make-up my church family. For once I was sitting in a gathering behaving, minding my own business, being quiet, not contributing, not saying a word, keeping my opinions to myself, just listening...
...listening to the facilitators that evening and members of my church family discussing another way for us to encourage one another and build-up each another. It was about halfway through that discussion when the Spirit of God dumped His load of bricks upon me with, "But what about 'them'?"
I did not have to ask Him who the 'them' were? I knew. I still know. They are the Lost. They are the Ignored Ones. They are the Different Ones. They are possibly even the Forgotten Ones. They are the Ones the church has found little time for, because we believe we need to find even more time to be together encouraging and building-up one another.
My initial reaction to this invasion was one of fear. I was scared. I was even terrified, because we the church do not want to hear this at all! And, by the way, 'thank you' God for placing that on my heart and electing me to be the messenger. I now have a little taste of how the prophets of old must have felt. That is main reason why it has taken me a month to build-up enough courage to just put this down in writing.
We 21st Century Christians enjoy fellowship. We love being together. And anyone even hinting at questioning the amount of time we spend together must be crazy, "off", a real looney-bird! Yet there, right there, right there in black and white is the very aspect of our fellowshipping that truly puzzles me..."the amount".
Lee, are you going to claim that there is a passage of Scripture that actually states..."Of course not". Lee, have you become the 'on earth' judge deciding when someone has had enough fellowship..."God forbid"! So Lee, now do you know what is best for each individual Christian..."No...No...a thousand times, No"! If this is not what you are suggesting; then what is it?
I am simply wondering... Have we begun to forget the other side of the coin? Because we have become sooooo infatuated with the one side(us being together), have we forgotten that there is another side(them being away). Do we understand the nature of our heavenly Father enough to know that "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all may come to repentance".
It is a matter of our mindset/our lifestyle. Where our minds are set, does it match the mind of Jesus? Does Philippians 2 come to mind here? He also says in Luke 19 that He came 'to seek and to save that which is lost". Who did He consider first...'Him' or 'them'? Who do we consider first...'us' or 'them'?
II Corinthians 5:14 says, "...for He died for all , that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf"
I realize that this will not be the end of this discussion. However, the Spirit of God believed that it must begin somewhere! Honestly, where do you see the pendulum setting in this realm?
The spirit of man asks, "What about us"?
The Spirit of God asks, "But what about them"?
Which one do you hear speaking to you?
...listening to the facilitators that evening and members of my church family discussing another way for us to encourage one another and build-up each another. It was about halfway through that discussion when the Spirit of God dumped His load of bricks upon me with, "But what about 'them'?"
I did not have to ask Him who the 'them' were? I knew. I still know. They are the Lost. They are the Ignored Ones. They are the Different Ones. They are possibly even the Forgotten Ones. They are the Ones the church has found little time for, because we believe we need to find even more time to be together encouraging and building-up one another.
My initial reaction to this invasion was one of fear. I was scared. I was even terrified, because we the church do not want to hear this at all! And, by the way, 'thank you' God for placing that on my heart and electing me to be the messenger. I now have a little taste of how the prophets of old must have felt. That is main reason why it has taken me a month to build-up enough courage to just put this down in writing.
We 21st Century Christians enjoy fellowship. We love being together. And anyone even hinting at questioning the amount of time we spend together must be crazy, "off", a real looney-bird! Yet there, right there, right there in black and white is the very aspect of our fellowshipping that truly puzzles me..."the amount".
Lee, are you going to claim that there is a passage of Scripture that actually states..."Of course not". Lee, have you become the 'on earth' judge deciding when someone has had enough fellowship..."God forbid"! So Lee, now do you know what is best for each individual Christian..."No...No...a thousand times, No"! If this is not what you are suggesting; then what is it?
I am simply wondering... Have we begun to forget the other side of the coin? Because we have become sooooo infatuated with the one side(us being together), have we forgotten that there is another side(them being away). Do we understand the nature of our heavenly Father enough to know that "He is not willing that any should perish, but that all may come to repentance".
It is a matter of our mindset/our lifestyle. Where our minds are set, does it match the mind of Jesus? Does Philippians 2 come to mind here? He also says in Luke 19 that He came 'to seek and to save that which is lost". Who did He consider first...'Him' or 'them'? Who do we consider first...'us' or 'them'?
II Corinthians 5:14 says, "...for He died for all , that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf"
I realize that this will not be the end of this discussion. However, the Spirit of God believed that it must begin somewhere! Honestly, where do you see the pendulum setting in this realm?
The spirit of man asks, "What about us"?
The Spirit of God asks, "But what about them"?
Which one do you hear speaking to you?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
A Nagging Question Bites the Dust
For most of us, Jesus' parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is quite familiar. A master is leaving on a journey and calls to himself his slaves. The three appear, and he entrusts his possessions to them. The possessions are not divided up equally, but actually according to each one's ability. The first receives five talents; the second receives two talents; and the third slave receives one.
Upon the master's return, he settles accounts with each one. The first two slaves have each doubled what they had been entrusted. To each of theses slaves the master responds, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master." The third slave confesses his fear of the master, so he simply went and hid his master's talent and now proudly returns it to him. The master's response to this third slave is quite different from the first two slaves. The master begins his response to this slave with, "You wicked, lazy slave...."
Now, I can tell that the third slave did something different from the first two. I can also conclude from the parable that what the third slave did(or not did) was wrong, even eternally wrong.
Even though there is a lot that I can understand about this parable, there still remains a nagging, bothering question. My question is, and I have actually had it for a long time, "Show me a 'picture' of what that third slave did?" In other words, "What does '...going away and hiding your talent in the ground' looks like?"
Well, last week, I was shown 'the picture'.
Last Friday, April 22nd was also Earth Day. The company I now work for strongly encourages daily practices to become a GREEN-er place. One challenge set before us this past week was to bring in, for recycling purposes, as many plastic shopping bags as possible. As incentive, the participants with the highest number of bags donated would be rewarded.
I actually placed third, and received a nice prize. The co-worker who contributed the most brought in 147 plastic bags for the Grand Prize.
'The picture', however, began to be revealed to me when another co-worker told me that he could have won, because he had 200 plastic bags crammed into the cabinet beneath his kitchen sink. In the next ten to fifteen minutes, he proceeded to repeat this two more times. "My wife and I have 200 of these plastic bags underneath my kitchen sink." "I just did not bring them in." "If I would have, I would have won first prize."
He had the means;
He was given an opportunity;
He simply did not follow through.
Now I realize that saving and contributing plastic shopping bags to a company project is not an eternal matter. However, the principle established by this mindset, this way of thinking, and this lack of action is very, very dangerous according to this parable.
The point of the parable is this:
The slave had been given the means according to his ability;
Unlike the other two slaves, the third slave could not see the opportunities;
Therefore, his means(talent) remained buried and hidden.
If I, first, do not recognize and understand what my God-given talents and abilities are; and secondly, if I do not fully understand that God will send opportunities in my path to use those given talents and abilities; and finally, if I do not faithfully step into those opportunities that come my way; then I too have taken away my God-given talents and abilities and hidden them in the ground!
And, those 200 plastic shopping bags will remain 'buried' inside that cabinet until....?
Thank you Father for using something as simple as plastic shopping bags to answer a nagging question of mine!
Upon the master's return, he settles accounts with each one. The first two slaves have each doubled what they had been entrusted. To each of theses slaves the master responds, "Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master." The third slave confesses his fear of the master, so he simply went and hid his master's talent and now proudly returns it to him. The master's response to this third slave is quite different from the first two slaves. The master begins his response to this slave with, "You wicked, lazy slave...."
Now, I can tell that the third slave did something different from the first two. I can also conclude from the parable that what the third slave did(or not did) was wrong, even eternally wrong.
Even though there is a lot that I can understand about this parable, there still remains a nagging, bothering question. My question is, and I have actually had it for a long time, "Show me a 'picture' of what that third slave did?" In other words, "What does '...going away and hiding your talent in the ground' looks like?"
Well, last week, I was shown 'the picture'.
Last Friday, April 22nd was also Earth Day. The company I now work for strongly encourages daily practices to become a GREEN-er place. One challenge set before us this past week was to bring in, for recycling purposes, as many plastic shopping bags as possible. As incentive, the participants with the highest number of bags donated would be rewarded.
I actually placed third, and received a nice prize. The co-worker who contributed the most brought in 147 plastic bags for the Grand Prize.
'The picture', however, began to be revealed to me when another co-worker told me that he could have won, because he had 200 plastic bags crammed into the cabinet beneath his kitchen sink. In the next ten to fifteen minutes, he proceeded to repeat this two more times. "My wife and I have 200 of these plastic bags underneath my kitchen sink." "I just did not bring them in." "If I would have, I would have won first prize."
He had the means;
He was given an opportunity;
He simply did not follow through.
Now I realize that saving and contributing plastic shopping bags to a company project is not an eternal matter. However, the principle established by this mindset, this way of thinking, and this lack of action is very, very dangerous according to this parable.
The point of the parable is this:
The slave had been given the means according to his ability;
Unlike the other two slaves, the third slave could not see the opportunities;
Therefore, his means(talent) remained buried and hidden.
If I, first, do not recognize and understand what my God-given talents and abilities are; and secondly, if I do not fully understand that God will send opportunities in my path to use those given talents and abilities; and finally, if I do not faithfully step into those opportunities that come my way; then I too have taken away my God-given talents and abilities and hidden them in the ground!
And, those 200 plastic shopping bags will remain 'buried' inside that cabinet until....?
Thank you Father for using something as simple as plastic shopping bags to answer a nagging question of mine!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A Deeper Look at the Parable of the Sower...
"Behold, the sower went out to sow..."(Matthew 13:3). These are the words which Jesus used to begin the well known(to most of us) parable of the sower.
For most of my life when I heard these words at the beginning of a sermon, I realized that this was going to be a message with an evangelistic purpose; you know...to reach 'the lost'. "You 'lost ones' in the audience, what is the condition of your heart(the soil)?" "Is your heart prepared(condition of the soil) to accept the salvation God through Jesus and to follow Him faithfully through the rest of your life?" Simply stated, that was the message of this parable for the first fifty years of my life.
Then(I just love 'then')...Yes, then one Sunday morning sitting in a Bible class in the midst of studying this very parable, God allowed His Spirit to use that spiritual 'two-by-four' on me once again! The extended and expounded truth(s) of this parable "hit" me right between my spiritual eyes!
The application of this parable is not so much for the 'lost ones', but for us, the 'following ones'!
This was the 'two-by-four' question for me that morning, "How do I tend to receive God's Word into my own heart?" I have had to ask myself this question many times since then, "When through hearing or reading or studying God's Word, a new or deeper truth is uncovered or revealed to me; how do I tend to receive that revelation?" And maybe even the most important question for me today is: "Does my heart stay prepared to receive deeper truths?"
The way my heart is resting today leaves me with four options with God's truths...
1). with a hardened heart, the word simply is heard, sets on the surface of my life, and the
devil easily takes it away;
2). with an unfocused heart, the word is received initially, but it is not fully accepted nor
understood, so it is soon gone, not to be found;
3). with a preoccupied heart, the word is received like so many other things in life, and
simply gets lost in the mix;
4). with a prepared heart, the word is received gladly, understood, kept possession of
firmly(Luke 8:15), and is therefore applied into one's life.
The evaluation of this in my own life...once, twice...; nope...daily!
For most of my life when I heard these words at the beginning of a sermon, I realized that this was going to be a message with an evangelistic purpose; you know...to reach 'the lost'. "You 'lost ones' in the audience, what is the condition of your heart(the soil)?" "Is your heart prepared(condition of the soil) to accept the salvation God through Jesus and to follow Him faithfully through the rest of your life?" Simply stated, that was the message of this parable for the first fifty years of my life.
Then(I just love 'then')...Yes, then one Sunday morning sitting in a Bible class in the midst of studying this very parable, God allowed His Spirit to use that spiritual 'two-by-four' on me once again! The extended and expounded truth(s) of this parable "hit" me right between my spiritual eyes!
The application of this parable is not so much for the 'lost ones', but for us, the 'following ones'!
This was the 'two-by-four' question for me that morning, "How do I tend to receive God's Word into my own heart?" I have had to ask myself this question many times since then, "When through hearing or reading or studying God's Word, a new or deeper truth is uncovered or revealed to me; how do I tend to receive that revelation?" And maybe even the most important question for me today is: "Does my heart stay prepared to receive deeper truths?"
The way my heart is resting today leaves me with four options with God's truths...
1). with a hardened heart, the word simply is heard, sets on the surface of my life, and the
devil easily takes it away;
2). with an unfocused heart, the word is received initially, but it is not fully accepted nor
understood, so it is soon gone, not to be found;
3). with a preoccupied heart, the word is received like so many other things in life, and
simply gets lost in the mix;
4). with a prepared heart, the word is received gladly, understood, kept possession of
firmly(Luke 8:15), and is therefore applied into one's life.
The evaluation of this in my own life...once, twice...; nope...daily!
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Lesson I May Not Want to Learn...
Estate sales. I find them quite appealing and so very interesting. I saw the fluorescent pink signs advertising one while driving down 21st street between Memorial and Sheridan the other day. I was in no real hurry to get anywhere or to do anything, so I thought I would stop and take a quick look...Big mistake!
Oh really, and why was that?
Because I walked out of the place with $150.00 worth of stuff? No! I spent $3 on a precision screwdriver set, because members of my family and I tend to lose, then find, but then cannot tighten the eyewire screw of our glasses.
Because I spent the rest of my day scouring Tulsa for more estate sales? No! That was the only estate sale I went to that day. And I have not been to another one since.
Because you passed on some items that now you wish you would have purchased? No! Considering all of the 'stuff' this man had had, the screwdriver set was really the only item I considered a need(and really not even a necessity).
No! The big 'mistake', so to speak, was not revealed to me until I was walking back to the pick-up truck. God's inquiring Spirit asked me, "Lee, what would have Jesus' estate sale looked like"? I was so stunned by the question that I thought I had not heard it correctly. Upon hearing the question repeated from the Spirit, I realized that what stunned me was not so much the question itself, but the implication or application of the question in my life!
I can envision these signs posted all over Jerusalem the day after His ascension:
Oh really, and why was that?
Because I walked out of the place with $150.00 worth of stuff? No! I spent $3 on a precision screwdriver set, because members of my family and I tend to lose, then find, but then cannot tighten the eyewire screw of our glasses.
Because I spent the rest of my day scouring Tulsa for more estate sales? No! That was the only estate sale I went to that day. And I have not been to another one since.
Because you passed on some items that now you wish you would have purchased? No! Considering all of the 'stuff' this man had had, the screwdriver set was really the only item I considered a need(and really not even a necessity).
No! The big 'mistake', so to speak, was not revealed to me until I was walking back to the pick-up truck. God's inquiring Spirit asked me, "Lee, what would have Jesus' estate sale looked like"? I was so stunned by the question that I thought I had not heard it correctly. Upon hearing the question repeated from the Spirit, I realized that what stunned me was not so much the question itself, but the implication or application of the question in my life!
I can envision these signs posted all over Jerusalem the day after His ascension:
Mini Estate Sale
Possessions of Jesus of Nazareth
Only Two Items:
Cloak
Pair of Sandals
This truth is so profound and so penetrating and potentially so convicting that I cannot wrap my mind around it all yet. However, one aspect of this truth that I have realized is this: it took the laying out/spreading out of another's life accumulations to understand that I have/possess/accumulate/hoard way, way too much!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Are You Afraid to be Called a "Do Gooder"?
I can still recall the 'snide' remarks my friends and I would spew out at them, "Oh you must be Miss Goodie Two Shoes" or "Who are you; Mr. Goodie, Goodie" or " You Brown-noser". And who exactly were these individuals who received these verbal jabs? I remember them very well. They were the ones who went 'over and beyond' the accepted and did something noticeably good for someone else, naturally. And was there anything wrong with what they had done? No, not at all. Yet I was determined not to be identified with such a group; I wanted no part of being called as a "Do Gooder"!
And that mindset actually stayed with me for many, many years, even decades...until I read and discovered something about Jesus:
Peter speaking to Cornelius said, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about(as He passed through) doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Acts 10:38 and,
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written." John 21"25
Revelation Lee!...Jesus was a "Do Gooder"!!!
In the very category of people who I 'rolled my eyes at' and wanted to avoid...I found Jesus as a Member. And not only a Member, but the Charter Member, the Exemplary Member. You see, the skies do not have enough stars to count how many good things Jesus did; the world does not contain enough lead for the pencils to write the books about all that Jesus did.
So how many good deeds did Jesus do? Immeasurable. How many Acts of Random Kindness? Countless. How many different people did Jesus help? Only God knows.
The apostle Paul's short letter to Titus has become one of my favorite books of the New Testament. I have read and reflected deeply on these words of encouragement and instruction that he wrote to this young evangelist:
"...in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds..."
"...Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."
"...I want to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds."
"And let our so learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful."
To find myself, after reading and honestly studying these(and other) Scriptures, not eagerly pursuing good deeds(acts of kindness) for others, would tell me that I completely misunderstand the very heart of Jesus. I would have to also conclude that I totally missed the spirit of the Spirit of God. Furthermore, that I have no idea of the purpose for which I have been called; for Paul also wrote:
"...we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk(around) in them." Ephesians 2:10
Therefore, God welcomes each of us into His kingdom as Mister or Miss "Do Gooder"!
And that mindset actually stayed with me for many, many years, even decades...until I read and discovered something about Jesus:
Peter speaking to Cornelius said, "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about(as He passed through) doing good, and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Acts 10:38 and,
"And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books which were written." John 21"25
Revelation Lee!...Jesus was a "Do Gooder"!!!
In the very category of people who I 'rolled my eyes at' and wanted to avoid...I found Jesus as a Member. And not only a Member, but the Charter Member, the Exemplary Member. You see, the skies do not have enough stars to count how many good things Jesus did; the world does not contain enough lead for the pencils to write the books about all that Jesus did.
So how many good deeds did Jesus do? Immeasurable. How many Acts of Random Kindness? Countless. How many different people did Jesus help? Only God knows.
The apostle Paul's short letter to Titus has become one of my favorite books of the New Testament. I have read and reflected deeply on these words of encouragement and instruction that he wrote to this young evangelist:
"...in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds..."
"...Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."
"...I want to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to engage in good deeds."
"And let our so learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, that they may not be unfruitful."
To find myself, after reading and honestly studying these(and other) Scriptures, not eagerly pursuing good deeds(acts of kindness) for others, would tell me that I completely misunderstand the very heart of Jesus. I would have to also conclude that I totally missed the spirit of the Spirit of God. Furthermore, that I have no idea of the purpose for which I have been called; for Paul also wrote:
"...we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk(around) in them." Ephesians 2:10
Therefore, God welcomes each of us into His kingdom as Mister or Miss "Do Gooder"!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
"What's God been doing during your 'book-fast'?"
I have been asked this question several times since my stated 2011 resolution to read less; and to practice more of what I have already read. Here is what I have been experiencing the first four weeks of the resolution...
- Less talking and commenting back; more listening to what people are actually saying in their conversations with me.
- Back to the Bible. Even though I love to read, since I pledged not to read man-written books for a year, I am finding myself in the God-written book much, much more.
- As a result of being in the God-written book more, a new and clearer understanding of God's will is developing.
- Relaxation in the work of the kingdom. Ministries seem to be finding me instead of me wondering, "What should I be doing next?"
- Simplification of life.
So, there it is: God's workings in my life in 2011 so far. May not sound very exciting or exhilarating; but for me, it is calming, refreshing, and relaxing.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Divine Frustration...Is There Such A Thing?
"...we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love" Ephesians 4:15b and 16
Puzzles. I sure have worked and completed a few in my life. That satisfaction of finishing a puzzle began very early for me. Probably at age 7, I found myself working five hundred to thousand piece puzzles with Dad, Mom, and my sister.
For three years in the mid '60's, my family lived in West Germany. Dad was stationed outside Munich at a military hospital as a nurse. At that time, Mom and Dad felt that they did not have the means to pay for television, so we spent many evenings together playing board games or working puzzles.
What had begun for me as a simple, family-time activity during those early years, has now developed into a priceless, non-replaceable piece of my life. Sorting through and piecing together hundreds of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle has become my 'getting away from everything'-time; my meditation-time; my listening to the Spirit-time. And so, off and on for most of my life and especially for the past eleven years, I have had a puzzle 'working' in the house.
And God has not wasted a single moment of that time to accomplish His will in my life. For many, many Bible classes have been birthed during the sorting of puzzle pieces; thoughts for leading communion have developed while putting the edge pieces together; and understanding a passage of Scripture more completely happened while picking up pieces off the floor. And for the most part, who I am spiritually today has been formed both late at night and early in the morning while surveying hundreds, even thousands of puzzle pieces.
My gratitude for all of that developing and forming which God and His Spirit have done and continue to do while working puzzles cannot be expressed with human words. And God even adds another benefit. It's the spiritual applications that come to mind while putting a puzzle together.
I would like to focus on just one right now. Question:
What do you think is the greatest frustration for a puzzle worker?
Yep, you guessed it...finding out at the completion(or near completion) that there is a missing piece or pieces!!! How unexplainably frustrating; how unendingly annoying; and how unbelievably irritating that is!!!
It is then that I have been reminded of God's stated vision and hope for His Son's body the church as described in Ephesians 4. I suppose the reason why I think of these verses is because of the terminology Paul used: fitted and held together, every joint supplies, and each individual part.
(Could Paul have been a puzzle worker, too?)
So the question that comes to mind is not so much this one: "Since I as human get so frustrated and irritated over the missing pieces to a simple puzzle, how much more must God become frustrated or irritated with 'missing' parts to His Son's body, the church?"
No! But rather this one: "Does not the feeling of frustration that I have over a puzzle missing a piece fail in comparison to the frustration that God must feel when members of His Son's body(the church) are not properly working(functioning) as they were individually created to do?"
For me it's a matter of understanding the Divine nature; not God, putting on our nature.
Puzzles. I sure have worked and completed a few in my life. That satisfaction of finishing a puzzle began very early for me. Probably at age 7, I found myself working five hundred to thousand piece puzzles with Dad, Mom, and my sister.
For three years in the mid '60's, my family lived in West Germany. Dad was stationed outside Munich at a military hospital as a nurse. At that time, Mom and Dad felt that they did not have the means to pay for television, so we spent many evenings together playing board games or working puzzles.
What had begun for me as a simple, family-time activity during those early years, has now developed into a priceless, non-replaceable piece of my life. Sorting through and piecing together hundreds of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle has become my 'getting away from everything'-time; my meditation-time; my listening to the Spirit-time. And so, off and on for most of my life and especially for the past eleven years, I have had a puzzle 'working' in the house.
And God has not wasted a single moment of that time to accomplish His will in my life. For many, many Bible classes have been birthed during the sorting of puzzle pieces; thoughts for leading communion have developed while putting the edge pieces together; and understanding a passage of Scripture more completely happened while picking up pieces off the floor. And for the most part, who I am spiritually today has been formed both late at night and early in the morning while surveying hundreds, even thousands of puzzle pieces.
My gratitude for all of that developing and forming which God and His Spirit have done and continue to do while working puzzles cannot be expressed with human words. And God even adds another benefit. It's the spiritual applications that come to mind while putting a puzzle together.
I would like to focus on just one right now. Question:
What do you think is the greatest frustration for a puzzle worker?
Yep, you guessed it...finding out at the completion(or near completion) that there is a missing piece or pieces!!! How unexplainably frustrating; how unendingly annoying; and how unbelievably irritating that is!!!
It is then that I have been reminded of God's stated vision and hope for His Son's body the church as described in Ephesians 4. I suppose the reason why I think of these verses is because of the terminology Paul used: fitted and held together, every joint supplies, and each individual part.
(Could Paul have been a puzzle worker, too?)
So the question that comes to mind is not so much this one: "Since I as human get so frustrated and irritated over the missing pieces to a simple puzzle, how much more must God become frustrated or irritated with 'missing' parts to His Son's body, the church?"
No! But rather this one: "Does not the feeling of frustration that I have over a puzzle missing a piece fail in comparison to the frustration that God must feel when members of His Son's body(the church) are not properly working(functioning) as they were individually created to do?"
For me it's a matter of understanding the Divine nature; not God, putting on our nature.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Resolution: 2011
Two thousand three hundred fifty-three. As close as I can tell, that is the number of pages I read in books written by Christian authors in 2010. Among those books were the best: Fearless by Max Lucado, Forgotten God by Francis Chan, Radical by David Platt, and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The simple yet profound messages of just those four books would take the rest of my life(and probably much longer) to implement as a lifestyle . But for me that was not enough; so I read more and more and more throughout the entire year. As a matter of fact, in December I found myself planning out and even accumulating the books I wanted to read in the coming year.
Fortunately, however, a light came on; prompted by an illustration that I had read(somewhere) in all of those pages.
Members of a football team's practice squad get to do just that...practice. They practice a whole lot as a matter of fact. Very rarely, if ever though, do they get the chance to play in the real game. But they do practice a lot though...
As I was reading through those hundreds of pages last year, I found myself visualizing(practicing) 'being in the real game'. But that was not enough...I needed more 'practice'. So, I read another 'playbook', then another, and another.
Just one more angle; one more twist; another new aspect of our spiritual walk . . .
But thanks be to God; for through His Spirit, He informed me clearly, "Lee, you have had enough practice for the time being. Go, get in the game"!
Really? Yes, really!!!
I am reminded of something Shane Claiborne realized about his walk, then shared in Irresistible Revolution. When he and his college friends began living out(on the streets of Philly) what they had been reading all along in the Scriptures, he said, "The Bible came to life for us there . . .now the words jumped off the pages"(page 48).
So, my resolution for 2011 is this: very little, if any, reading outside the lines; and a whole lot of 'living' between the goal lines!!!
The simple yet profound messages of just those four books would take the rest of my life(and probably much longer) to implement as a lifestyle . But for me that was not enough; so I read more and more and more throughout the entire year. As a matter of fact, in December I found myself planning out and even accumulating the books I wanted to read in the coming year.
Fortunately, however, a light came on; prompted by an illustration that I had read(somewhere) in all of those pages.
Members of a football team's practice squad get to do just that...practice. They practice a whole lot as a matter of fact. Very rarely, if ever though, do they get the chance to play in the real game. But they do practice a lot though...
As I was reading through those hundreds of pages last year, I found myself visualizing(practicing) 'being in the real game'. But that was not enough...I needed more 'practice'. So, I read another 'playbook', then another, and another.
Just one more angle; one more twist; another new aspect of our spiritual walk . . .
But thanks be to God; for through His Spirit, He informed me clearly, "Lee, you have had enough practice for the time being. Go, get in the game"!
Really? Yes, really!!!
I am reminded of something Shane Claiborne realized about his walk, then shared in Irresistible Revolution. When he and his college friends began living out(on the streets of Philly) what they had been reading all along in the Scriptures, he said, "The Bible came to life for us there . . .now the words jumped off the pages"(page 48).
So, my resolution for 2011 is this: very little, if any, reading outside the lines; and a whole lot of 'living' between the goal lines!!!
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