Time Lines Mess Up Perspective!

     Art Linkletter used to host one of my favorite TV shows.  He had a segment on the show when he would ask school children questions that garnered some of the funniest and interesting answers.  I would sit there, watching the segment, laughing my head off.  He would ask little boys questions about girlfriends and vice versa.  Sometimes their unrehearsed answers would amaze you at the raw understanding of the subject matter.  "Out of the mouths of babes" come some profound statements.  One particular episode Mr. Linkletter asked the kids, "What does God look like?"  Everything from a big man with a long white beard, a strong man with lightning bolts in his hands,  a strong man holding the world over his head (Atlas), a man with children always hanging all over him (obviously a Sunday School product), a man with a big stick ready to hit the bad guys, a man with a long beard with his hands out wanting to hug you and the list went on and on.  A lot of different ideas, some with  some degree of accuracy, but most pretty far off from the true nature of God.
     Picture yourself sitting in one of those desks on Art's show and he asked the same question of you.  What would you answer?  What does God look like to you?  How do we begin to answer that question?  Does the way you live your life match what you say God looks like?  Craig Groeschel's book, The Christian Athiest, addresses the fact that a lot of us have correct answers about God, but live as though those answers aren't really what we believe.
     Don't you think we all fall into that category to some degree or another.  I can preach a heck of a sermon on faith, but the truth is  I am struggling with believing God is ever going to get me out of this financial downward spiral I have been experiencing.  I can teach about God's faithfulness in response to a "cheerful giver", but wonder if God sees my giving, because I see such little return.  Life has a way of keeping tension between belief and experience.  Which is the most important?  Does experience trump doctrine or belief?  That is a good, honest question.
     Let me give one word of caution about something that causes us to shift from trusting what we believe about God to defining Him by our personal experience.  We must remember that God's timing is not our timing.  We have a tendency to draw a "time line" in the sand and say, "if God doesn't answer by such and such a time, then we assume He is not going to answer.  We then chock one up to the unfaithfulness of God and our belief in God drops a notch or two.  That is almost like giving God an ultimatum.  "You answer by then or we are going to write you off."  We may not say that, but in our mind His reputation is certainly tarnished.  Two of three things develop out of this kind of approach; putting a time line on God's answers. 

• There is a tendency for that time line to shrink with each different circumstance, until we develop a vending machine mentality.  I inserted the prayer, where's my answer?
• We develop a demanding attitude toward God, as though He owes us, after all, He is lucky to have us as believers.  This destroys any intimacy we have developed with God and causes us to view Him as our supply only.  
• Instead of looking for the answers to come, we start looking for the deadline to come so we can say, "I knew He would come through for me!"  Time lines foster doubt instead of building faith.
• We simply become impatient with God, with faith and hope.

     These are all very subtle tendencies, but if we are honest, most of us have had these thoughts from time to time.  One valuable thing to do is go to the Scriptures and read the stories of Abraham and Sarah, Noah, Moses, Caleb, Joseph, Job and look at their time lines.  God wasn't so "hoppy do" with them, yet He was faithful to His promises.   It will give you a better perspective than in the middle of the battle.  Remember: Time lines cause a distorted view of God and if you are not careful, your "God" will change instead of your character and your circumstances.
     This is a tough journey we are on.  We must have a firm belief in an unchanging God that is not subject to our time frame.  Let's help each keep things in perspective.  Let's JOIN THE JOURNEY together.

Q & A About God

         I want to thank you for being a part of this journey with me.  Hard to imagine being on it by myself.  God has given me a wonderful wife and daughter who love God and journey with me daily.  We have faced some tremendous challenges this past year, finances probably the biggest one.  Through this difficult season, Cassidy and Marcia never lost their laughter, never lost hope, always pushing forward.  We face our challenges in life with what we know about God.  Those beliefs are the moorings that guide and sustain us.  It is not just the beliefs, but the God that is attached to those beliefs.  Head knowledge alone leaves us frustrated if it does not connect us to the God it describes.  That connection turns head knowledge into heart knowledge.  Heart knowledge is a "living" belief that combines what we have learned about God in the Bible and in our everyday life.  We must be careful to interpret life based on what we know about God, not define God based on our life's experiences.  If we do the latter, we will have an ever changing God, totally unreliable.  In other words, our theology should dictate our lives, not our lives dictating our theology.
       The above comments bring us to the second leg of our journey, What We Believe About God: Good and Bad.  This part of the journey will really invite your comments.  We all share the same Bible for our theology, but none of us share the same life experiences.  We all have something to bring to the discussion.  We all can learn from each other. You are to be brutally honest in your comments.  Hard questions and even hard conclusions don't scare God off.  He knows when life's struggles are hard to understand,  we  have doubts, questions, fears and even at times want to chunk it all.  We never have to pretend with God.  Actually it is a futile exercise anyway, He knows all.  I welcome all comments and would love for there to be more discussion on this leg of the journey than the last.
        You're on the entrance ramp, hit the gas, hang on and let's go.   Let's discuss what we believe about God.  I want you to know on the front end; this leg of the journey is a setup for the next leg..  Here's what I mean.  We spent 30 days (blogs) talking about how God loves us.  If we don't get the fact that He is passionate about us settled deep down inside, then nothing else will matter.  On the other hand, if we know that we have never been loved like He loves us and that love is not based on anything you have or have not done, then you have a basis for trust.  You couple the assurance of His love with an understanding that He has a role for you in His "great plan" and  that His capabilities are totally unlimited then you have to respond to that.  You can't just let that kind of information leave you unchallenged and unchanged.  If God loves me, wants me to be a part of what He is up to and He has no limits, then we have the recipe for an incredible journey that will be more than you and I could ever imagine.
         In my mind, the first question is answered and settled.  GOD LOVES YOU!    He is passionately pursuing you all the time.  So if we are convinced that this God loves us then how we respond to that will be determined by what else we believe about Him.  Here are some questions we will need to answer on this leg of the journey.  Be thinking about these kinds of questions and be ready to bring your thoughts into the discussion.  This will be fun and powerful.

1. Does He really want to be involved in our everyday life?
2. Does He really want to use me?
3. Is it really possible to communicate with God?
4. Why would He depend on me to help carry out His "big dream"?
5. Is He really all powerful and unlimited?
6. Does He really know everything?
7. Does He still perform miracles?
8. Can I trust Him with my life?
9. Does He really forgive my past?
10. Does He really provide for my needs? 

We won't be limited to the above questions.  They are just examples.   Wouldn't you agree, if we can answer these question, we are faced with a need to respond with our lives.   Well, that's the leg we are on and we want you  to JOIN THE JOURNEY!

The Perfect Gift - YOU!

      I am a horrible gift giver.  Brain freeze takes over when faced with choosing a present for someone.  It is as if  I don't know the person.  It doesn't matter the occasion: wedding, graduation, birthday, anniversary, house warming, going away party, Christmas, etc..  The more I care about the person, the more I stress.  The stress comes as a result of having failed miserably with past gifts.  Example:  My wife sings like a lark and loves to write songs.  I've got the perfect gift, I thought to myself.  Get her a guitar, she can learn a few chords and that will help her music world.  Not interested.  Bad gift, expensive, but bad.  I wanted her to learn to play; she didn't want her to play.
      On the other hand, there is nothing like knocking it out of the park with a gift.  That gift that exceeds all wishes and expectations.  Now I have to be honest, I can count on one hand the number of gifts that fit that description and have enough fingers left to eat an overstuffed sandwich.  But one such occasion, I will never forget.  My daughter Cassidy was four years old and really getting into the Christmas gift thing pretty big.  They learn so young.  She got her usual barrage of  toys, dress up stuff, stuffed animals, electronic games and then the big surprise.  Drum roll please!  We wrapped up a pet carrier, sized for a small dog.  To a four year old, that was a pretty big package and big packages at Christmas excited them!  Here were her words, "A puppy box for when I get a puppy!"  Okay smarty pants, you are getting ahead of me.  What she didn't know was in the back of the kennel still shielded by wrapping paper was a 4 lb poodle pup.  Up popped the pup and a four year old little girl went nuts.  The perfect gift:  Cassidy's Christmas Angel was her name.  We called her Angel.  I will never forget that moment as long as I live.
     I can think of a lot of gifts I've seen exchanged around the Christmas tree.  Many of them very nice, but its those perfect gifts that turn into perfect moments, never to be forgotten.  The expressions on the faces are priceless and certainly treasured.
     There are two others I know of that gave gifts that will never be forgotten.  Their gifts have put smiles on peoples faces that were drowning in despair, mended broken hearts and gave purpose and meaning to directionless lives.  They were gifts that were both desired and needed.  These gifts exceeded all expectations.  They were expensive gifts, one of a kind.  They were chosen out of love.  God gave His only begotten Son and His Son gave His life.  Two costly perfect gift.  Our lives are full a good gifts from heaven.  Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above.
      God gave us Jesus.  Wow!  Jesus gave us Himself.  Wow!  But there is another gift I want to mention.  It is a gift that God is going to give Jesus.  If there ever was the perfect gift giver, it was God and He is not done yet.
      Jude verse 1 ends with the phrase, "kept for Jesus".  Wow! What an awesome thought.  God kept us, preserved us , prepared us so that one day He will be able to present us to Jesus as a prize.  You and I will be a gift to the one who gave His life for us.  God must love us a lot the consider us worthy to be a gift to give His own Son.  He is after all, the perfect gift giver.  Live your life so you will be well wrapped ready to be a present.  It is a part of the journey and I want you to JOIN THE JOURNEY!

Catch Me If You Can!

      This has been A fun journey the past two months.  Identifying all the different ways God shows us He loves us.  It is only when we understand that love that we will trust Him with our lives.  When we really believe that He wants more for us that we ever have wanted for ourselves.  When we know that He is more committed to our good than we are ourselves, we can start to live for Him.  When I was a child, I would rather my mother kiss my "boo-boo" than put a bandage on it.  There is something about love that heals our wounds, soothes our hurts and turns fear into courage.  It is God's love that draws us to Him when we are fearful, hurting and broken.  I am convinced when we understand just how passionate God is about us,  it changes everything, but until then, we are reticent to yield our dreams, hopes, plans, our lives to Him.
      I often imagine in my mind what it would be like to hear a conversation between God and Jesus about me.  I can hear Jesus say, "That Keith, he is such a knucklehead.  I told him I would provide everything he needs if he will just trust me.  I don't understand why he keeps worrying!"  "Yeah, I know what you mean," God says.  "I have given him gifts, talents, abilities; if he would just use them in serving me and others, everything would fall right in place."  "Why do you think he is that way?"  "The only thing I can think of is that he doesn't know how much we love him and want good for him."  "Well, I guess we'll just have to keep showing him.  It will make sense to him some day."
      You know, it just may be that simple.  Why do you think He goes to such measures to prove His love for us.  It is because there is such freedom and power in that realization.  We are free to abandon ourselves to His plans for our lives, because we know how much He loves us.  We can face any challenge, any giant because we are secure in His love.  We can live a worry free life of faith and trust  because the One who is passionate about us has "promised" to take care of us.  We can attempt bold and big things because we know He loved us so much when He made us that He gave us the talents necessary to do great things for Him.  We can simply be ourselves, because it best serves Him and us to "just be me."
      That is why we have spent so much time making these "love stops" along the journey.  The best you, the most free you, the most useful you and the most unstoppable you comes when you realize how much God loves you.  Who has He put in your life that makes it better? That's His love.  What experiences have you had that has made life more rewarding?  That's His love.  What successes have you had? That's His love.  What failures have you grown from?  That's His love.  Those times you have been used to help a hurting friend, lift up a fallen brother, encourage a struggling traveler!  That's His love.  Everything we have experienced on the journey that adds quality to our lives are all signs of His love.
      I  love to chase the little kids at church.  Off they run, laughing the whole way.  Its as though they are saying, "catch me, if you can!"  They love it when I catch 'em, hug 'em, tickle 'em and just love on 'em.  They are so fast, sometimes they have to let me catch them and they do.
      Let me make a suggestion.  LET GOD CATCH YOU!!!  He just wants to love on you.  When you allow His love to engulf you, you will be taking the first step on the most incredible journey you ever imagined.  Come on!  JOIN THE JOURNEY.

Jesus Loves Me, This I Know!

      The famous Swedish theologian, Karl Barth, was once asked what he consider the greatest theological truth he had ever known.   The audience waited, expecting to hear something that would need further explanation.  Something deep and profound.  His answer: "Jesus loves me, this I know, because the Bible tells me so."  The audience was shocked, but applauded his sincere simple answer.  He knew that if we don't grasp that simple but powerful truth, we will miss it all. 
      I don't use a lot of Scripture in my blogs because I want to remain conversational and I seldom blurt out Scripture in my general conversations.  However, this week is the last week we will be on the How God Shows Us He Loves Us part of the journey.  So I want to give you an opportunity to help me write this blog.  Here's how it works.  I want you to think of a story in your life when you were clearly aware that God was saying to you, "I love you!"  Try to put that story in a single paragraph and post it in the comment box at the end of this blog.  If you do not know how to leave a comment, select anonymous and type your name at the end of your comment.  In addition to or instead of the story, share your favorite verse about God's love for you. 
     I'll get us started.  In Ephesians the third chapter, verses 14 thru 21 Paul prays for the church at Ephesus.  It is an interesting pray because of the simplicity of prayer.  Three things mentioned in this passage that sheds some truth about God's love that is more than the wonderful warm fuzzy feeling of simply knowing God loves you.  In verse 17 we see that having an understanding of God's love, anchors us.  Being rooted and established in His love brings stability to our lives.  When there are tough times we will find a solid footing, simply by understanding His love for us.  Not only finding a firm footing, we also find power linked to an understanding of His love.  Power comes from being firmly planted in the assurance of God's love for us.  It is not power for ourselves, but rather something we share together (v. 18).  The rest of verse eighteen and verse 19 is one of my favorite verses on God's love.  How wide, how long, how high, how deep is God's love.  The idea is that we are encompassed with His love.  No matter what we are going thru, we face it being totally surrounded in God's love. 
       Paul wants us to grasp just how "big" God's love is.  That is why he uses dimensions that carry the idea of vastness.  Paul says this is more important to understand than having knowledge.  It is not knowledge that brings us into a vibrant relationship with God.  There are a lot of people who have a knowledge of God, but not a relationship with God.  Paul says when we rest in His love, we will begin to experience the fullness of God.  That is incredible!  His love roots us, empowers us and fills us with all God has for us. 
      That is why we have spent two months talking about how God shows us His love.  Without understanding and being secure in His love, we become nothing more than fleshly encyclopedias.  It is experiencing His love that pumps us full of life, gives us purpose and meaning. 
      Please take time to share your favorite "God's Love" verse or story.  I look forward to reading them.  Remember, God loves you and that is why it is exciting to JOIN THE JOURNEY.

Side Street - Rob Bell & Hell

      Remember the ground rules of my blog.  When you see "side street" in the title, it means I am leaving the main theme we've been traveling on and taking a side street to address an issue or share something really strong on my heart.
      If you have been following the ministry blogs, reading any ministry articles or pubs., then you are aware of the "ROAR" Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, has caused.  He has been called everything from a false prophet, a heretic, apostate, lost, universalist and list goes on and on.  In my opinion, the attack in many cases has been on Rob rather than his book.  I have been embarrassed at some of the facebook posts, blogs and articles that I've read.  So much poison spewing out.  Certainly, some of it does not honor Christ.
      Here's my take.  I do not agree with Rob's position on everyone eventually being won over by love, so no one ends up in hell;  if that is what he is saying.  I have not read the book.  Is it even out yet?  The first barrage of attacks came before it was published.  It is important to stand against false teachings and stand for the truth, however, everyone who is roasting Rob probably has differing views on heaven and hell. Some of them must be some of the things they called Rob since their beliefs differ.  Summary of this paragraph:  Jesus is the only way to heaven and anyone who does not accept Him as their personal payment for their sins will spend an eternity separated from God.  He has done everything necessary for all to spend eternity with Him. 
      Now back to Rob Bell.  The true test for a false prophet, according to scripture,  is not their teaching as much as it is their fruit.  The Bible says to judge them by their fruit.  I would suspect that if there were a "fruit inspection station" set up, many of those who roasted Rob Bell, would pale in comparison to the fruit Rob's ministry has produced.  I would not want to be in the line after his fruit was inspected with mine on the table next.  He has been a leader in getting church people off the pews into the streets making a difference.  So, although I disagree with what I think he is saying (not sure), I will not be showing up at the Rob Bell Celebrity Roast!
      David Platt, one of my fav preachers, makes a good point when he says it is far more dangerous to live like we don't believe anyone is going to hell than it is to teach that no one is going to hell.  There are 1.15 billion people living in India.  97 %  of them profess a belief other than Jesus.  96 % percent of us will spend our lives building mega churches, with big buildings, big budgets, big everything.  Or at least that is our goal, although we would never admit.  Doesn't sound spiritual.  We all say that this is what God has called us to do.  I have a hard time believing God calls only 4 % of us to take on the task of evangelizing  90% of the lost world.  My percentages may be off a few, but you get the point.  Unless we are willing to pack up our families and go after those whom we  say are doomed to an eternal hell, we probably have our emphasis on the wrong thing.  We need to come out of our theological "guard shacks" and hit the mission fields.  Paragraph summary:  Seems to me, I've heard more "ROAR" over Rob Bell than over millions going to hell.  Seems as though some are willing to guard the truth, but maybe  not as many live the truth.
      One more paragraph and I'm done.  I do not believe that you have to be theologically correct to be holy.  I do not believe you have to be theologically correct to serve God faithfully.  I do believe that we need to be more upset about the lost, the hungry, the poor than someone who missed it on a point of theology.  Focus on the fruit and JOIN THE JOURNEY. 
     One last thing.  I know where you can get a special on a box of rocks whenever you are ready to start throwing.

Journey of Questions

      Today's blog was inspired by a blog written by Kendra Logan.  In her blog she talks about the energy that unanswered questions bring to our lives.  In Columbus' day,  "Is the world flat or round?"  Science has now answered that question, but imagine being a part of that debate before the answer was known.  I'm sure they were lively.  Does the sun rotate around the earth or the earth around the sun?  We know now, but quite a debate for a long time.  Can we find a cure for polio, measles, diabetes, cancer, and the list goes on and on.   There will always be some unanswered questions in the scientific world.  Knowing that there will always be the unknown keeps me awake.
       There is another line of questioning I want us to follow today.  The answer to these questions might determine if you are one of those looking for cures to diseases, alternative fuels, nuclear meltdowns, or how to mend a broken heart, feed the hungry of the world, foster creativity in children or invent things that change the world.  Answers involve people.  There always has to be that person willing to ponder the questions that others find meaningless. 
      Today I want to ask questions that could go unasked and things could go on as usual.  You would still get up, go to work, pick up the kids at school, buy groceries, fix a meal, eat, watch American Idol, go to bed and repeat tomorrow.  But for some of us, finding the answers to the questions I am going to throw out would change everything in our lives.  Tomorrows routine would look nothing like today's.  What we spend our money on would be totally different.  Who we interact with would be totally changed.  Our understanding of who we are and what we are about would transform our minds, the way we think, where we're headed.  As we answer these questions collectively, it might change how we do church.  How we do community.  How we do life.
      Are you ready for the questions.  Here goes.  Did God really make me different than everyone else on the inside?  I know we are all different on the outside, but am I unique on the inside?  Did He give me something special given to no one else?  If yes, why?  What great stories are waiting for me to be written?  Have you ever known anyone who was totally surrendered to God?  Who?   Did they change history?  Could you be that someone?  If I made a choice to surrender to His design, His destiny, His dreams for my life, how big a difference in my world would it make?  Is being radical good or bad?  What does it look like?  Do you have a willing heart?  What are you willing to give up?  What if we had to change the way we do church completely?  Any suggestions?  How different would my beliefs be if I lived in a third world country?  How important are possessions to me?  How would someone observing me answer that?  Do I have any talents that I am using for myself, or do I have any talents I am not using for God?   Why not?  Am I afraid?  Who am I afraid of?  What am I afraid of?  Do I believe God can really use me?  Why isn't He?  Is He waiting on me?  How do I know His will?  How can I be for sure?  What is a vision?  Does He give everyone a different one?  Can we share the vision with some one else?  Can it be equally all of ours?  How about the vision for the church?
      I have personally asked every one of those questions, and many I am still asking today, believing that if I keep asking them, I will find some answers.  Those answers could change everything and if there has ever been a time I wanted change, IT IS NOW!  Are you asking those questions too?  If so, we share a journey and we could probably be an encouragement to each other.  Which of those questions are you asking now?  Maybe we could pray for each other, specifically.  Maybe we can surrender to God in a pact together.
      I am not looking for someone who knows the answers.  I am looking for someone who is asking the questions.  Can you imagine what fun it would be, how exciting, to be in pursuit of the answers with a group of people equally devoted to finding the answers and responding to the challenge those answers present.  Would church be different?  You bet it would, because we would be different and we are the church.  Would what we invest in be different?  You bet it would, because our hearts desires would change.  Would our lives be different?  You bet they would, because we would be headed in a different direction.  
      Here is how to be a part.  Leave a comment on this blog.  Share which question you are most asking right now.  As we seek those answers together, I believe we will discover a level of God's love we have never known.  That is the journey we have been on these past few months, discovering God's love for us.  Be a part of the conversation.  Leave a comment, ask a question, JOIN THE JOURNEY!